Chobani Champions: Greek Yogurt that Kids Love!

Contributed by Maytal Wichman, of Mama’s Healthy Bites and contributor to Long Island Mamas and The Mama Maven.

As a vegetarian mom, it’s not always easy to find enough protein sources for my kids who would subsist only on pasta, cheerios and crackers if it were up to them. Yogurt, particularly Greek yogurt, is packed with protein, not to mention calcium, vitamin D and probiotics, so I’m always trying to encourage my kids to eat it. My daughter is easy – she’ll eat plain yogurt with a spoon. My son, on the other hand, is a different story. He won’t have yogurt. Won’t even try it. End of discussion. (Did I mention he’s three?!)

My daughter and I recently attended a Chobani Champions (http://chobanichampions.com/) event at Taste Buds (http://www.tastebudscook.com/index.html). Chobani Champions are Greek yogurts made especially for kids and are 100% natural. My daughter got to use the different types of yogurt to bake Orange Yogurt cake and make a yogurt parfait but her favorite part was sampling the Chobani Champions flavors: Orange Vanilla, Very Berry, Honey-nana and Vanilla Chocolate Chunk. Like all chobani products, the Chobani Champions are kosher-certified, gluten-free and low in lactose.

 

After we got home from the event, I called my son over and showed him the Vanilla Chocolate Chunk yogurt. “I no like yogurt!” He turned away, clearly not interested. “Look, this has chocolate!” I showed him the picture of the chocolate chunk on the container. Well, let’s just say he got interested. So now my little yogurt snob is a changed man (or rather toddler) and is loving Chobani Champions Yogurt! Thanks, Chobani Champions!

I was not paid for this article. I did receive a gift bag with Chobani Champions samples.

　

　

　

Oprah Speaks About Her Visit With An Orthodox Jewish Family

Oprah speaks with Rabbi Motti Seligson from Chabad.org about her visit with an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, NY. It reminds me of how I felt when I first spent Shabbat with an Orthodox Jewish family. I still feel the same way and I have been celebrating Shabbat ever since!

Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.

Food Has a Way of Connecting Us All

I wanted to share this video. The story behind it is that a very talented food writer and blogger, Jennifer Perillo of http://www.injennieskitchen.com, suffered a major loss last Sunday at 5:52pm. This woman, a wife, mother, and friend, lost her husband. He was the love of her life. 

I first found out about this on twitter and I reached out to @Hip2Housewife to see what happened. She told me. I had never met Mikey. I have met Jennifer and she is very special. Talented, beautiful, and modest. The online community continues to reach out and show her and her 2 small daughters love and support. This experience has left me with so many feelings about life. Jennifer learned the reality of loss. As an online community, we have learned the value of sharing and showing support in times of distress.

If you have a few minutes, watch this beautiful video created by @whiteonricecouple. It is so beautiful. Make a #pieformikey and share it with somebody you love!

http://vimeo.com/27654447

All Oxi-Active Invites Moms and Dads To “Get Messy”

Sometimes, life can be very unpredictable. This most often happens when I have a grand plan in place, like inviting new friends over for a Shabbos meal. My plan is to have stains removed from my special white tablecloth, my daughter’s white Shabbos tights, and the slipcover for our couch. I’m afraid that the state of our couch would scare any family out of our house, it is that bad. Thank G-d, my kids love jumping around the house, but when they do so with grape juice in hand, there is always something left behind….grape juice stains. Even if my slipcover is stain free as Shabbos approaches, in just a hop, skip, and a jump, the canvas can change. Can a mother really go into Shabbos without feeling angry because her “stain free” slipcover, tablecloth, and daughter’s tights were no longer? The answer is yes.

Not just because life is short and the kids will be grown-up one day and I will long for such excitement, but because I heard it straight from Dr. Michele Borba, parenting expert and author of “The Big Book of Parenting” last week. All Oxi-Active was brave enough to invite mom and dad bloggers to a birthday-themed media event in New York City. We were encouraged to relax and let our kids be kids and “get messy”. They even provided the shirts for our kids to “get messy” in, which wasn’t a problem for my “spill prone” 2-year old. We had been at an event for JAHM earlier in the day and his button-down shirt was already decorated with a myriad of stains. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent spritzing stains out of clothing since having children. How I longed for a product that would eliminate those extra hours of standing in the basement (our laundry room) just to make sure my children would arrive at school stain free. Oy!

I had the opportunity to try out all Oxi-Active and it is really something. As the grape juice was spilled and chocolate-chocolate chip shmushed into my slipcover this past Shabbos, I just sat back and let it “slide”. As Dr, Michel Borba added, “By teaching kids that it’s okay to get messy sometimes and even encouraging it occasionally, we as parents show them that nobody is perfect, that accidents happen and most importantly, we teach them to be themselves,” I love that, and so do the kids!

Visit http://www.all-laundry.com for more information about all Oxi-Active and download a coupon today. Have some fun and share your favorite messy moments at http://www.facebook.com.

 This was not a paid post. I was invited to the all Oxi-Active event and received sample to try out on my very own loads of laundry. The opinions expressed in this blog post are mine, and I’m now a happier housewife because of it!

How Social Media Made My Passover Preperations Easier This Year

Passover Made Easier

Who knew? Social Media really helped me “kick-tush” this year in my Passover preparations. From Twitter Parties with @koshereye and shmooz sessions on Blog Talk Radio with Jamie Geller author and mom, Koshereye, and Elizabeth Kurtz from gourmetpassovercooking.com, I can go into Passover this year without being a sleep deprived and a muscle aching mommy.

 If you want to know what I learned from my kosher foodie friends in the blogosphere this year, listen in and see the “chi-lights”, you’ll want to tune in before every major Jewish holiday!

Happy Passover and may all of your recipes come out right! I just hope that matzo is easier to clean out of my keyboard than chometz!

Passover Shmooz On Blog Talk Radio

Chef Jacques Pepin and The 4th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off

When I was young and Passover was in the air, a bottle of Manischewitz Wine was always part of my families Seder. Fast forward 30 years and Manischewitz has added food products that Jews and non-Jews can appreciate, like Manischewitz All Natural Ready to Serve Broth. This broth contains real kosher chicken and beef. What it does not contain is MSG! There is also a low sodium broth available. This product was used in the recipes (it was required) at

The Fourth Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-off. Out of 3,000 recipes submitted, 5 finalist were picked to show their stuff last Thursday in Manhattan. Legendary

Chef Jacques Pepin and Esti (Me!)

Chef Jacques Pepin was one of the judges that picked Sarah Freedman-Izquierdo, as the winner. She won for her Mandarin Dumpling Soup . Sarah loves experimenting with food and coming up with unique recipes. She has been in the food industry her whole life and is now in the process of launching her own marketing company. Here is what she had to say about what she would do if she won a state-of-the-art GE Profile™ Stainless Steel Kitchen*, a $5,000 check from Manischewitz, plus other goodies.

 

The other finalist were all so interesting and different. Who knew a can of soup could bring so many different people together? Manischewitz!

Rachelle Lapidus from Lawrence, NY with her Creamy Tarragon Chicken is a stay at home mother of six who loves to cook and bake for her family and friends and volunteers at St. John’s Hospital every Saturday.

Harold Cohen from Hollywood, FL with his Ethiopian Chicken Stew is a
retired reconstructive plastic surgeon and a Vietnam war veteran who loves  to travel and compete at national cooking competitions all over the country. I had the chance to ask him a few questions, here is what he had to say about being a finalist. What a mensch!

Julie DeMatteo from Clementon, NJ with her Hungarian Chicken Spaetzl is a retired high school English & French teacher and mother of two; she has been entering cooking contests for over 20 years.

Jamie Brown-Miller from Napa, CA with her Rosemary Duck Cassoulet gets her inspiration from head judge Jacques Pepin.  She loves wine tasting and is a dog lover who regularly makes donations to the local Humane Society. She even invented a beer for dogs with the help of her company!

This was a really fun day and I loved hanging out with some of my favorite kosher and non-kosher foodie friends from twitter @susqhb, @NiceJewishGirl, @c2cmom, @kosher.com, @kosherDIY, @elierosenfeld, @JewishTweets, @JenniferPerillo,

Hashtag, You’re It! Passover Twitter Party Tonight!

My friends over at koshereye.com are hosting a twitter party tonight and Chef Jeff Nathan will be their guest co-host. You can catch the stream tonight, Monday, March 15th from 8:00 – 9:30 PM, EST. To follow the Tweets and participate, use the tag #Passoverpty. Koshereye will be “chatting” about Passover tips, recipes, ingredients, menus, Abigael’s restaurant and Passover friendly recipes from Jeff’s books. 

If you can’t make it to the #Passoverpty tonight, you can still catch some excellent Passover tips. Check out Jewish Shmooz Network on Blog Talk Radio.

Kitchen gloves on your hands, no problem. You can listen while you clean, cook, or take a break.

Nutella Is Not A Chocolate Spread But It Is Gluten-Free

 

When I was invited to attend Nutella’s Tasting Event in New York City at Citibabes, I knew that two very important needs would be met. I would be able to learn more about a kosher (dairy) chocolate product and my son would be able to join me.

 

 

This exclusive event was held at Citibabes, an indoor playground in NYC. This place is clean and populated by children smiling, laughing and playing. The babysitters were also very caring and responsible. I was able to leave my son in a safe clean play area while I walked down the hall to participate in a breakfast and presentation about Nutella. Your probably wondering what is there to “present” about a chocolate spread? Hold it right there! Nutella is not a chocolate spread but a hazelnut spread that contains hazelnuts, skim milk, sugar and a hint of cocoa.   This product is gluten-free, contains no artificial colors and no artificial preservatives. It’s no wonder that this product is winning the breakfast battle every morning in homes across America. Yes, there is a breakfast battle in our home and I think I have just found the peace maker.

 We all want to make sure our kids are eating enough, especially those that are able to feed themselves. During the Nutella Tasting Event, we were able to hear some great breakfast ideas from nutrition expert, Connie Liakos Evers, MS, RD. She also is the author of “How to Teach Nutrition to Kids”. She opened up the floor for questions about Nutella and told us how to incorporate Nutella at the breakfast table:

 Nutella is made in a factory that is completely peanut and Gluten-free

Nutella is a hazelnut spread and NOT a chocolate spread.

Nutella on whole grain bread has less sugar than a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Nutella can help those fussy eaters get excited about breakfast

Nutella is great for breakfast accompanied by a protein source, a fat and a fruit/veggie

When you invite a mom blogger to an event, you need to think about “her children” and what they will be doing while at your event. Another huge plus, transportation was provided. Even though we were stuck in traffic on the way to the event (note to driver, please check traffic report) we made it home from Manhattan to Flushing in under 15 minutes.

My Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience Was Good

Why would a very exhausted mother of three children, four and under, go out to Chelsea Piers on a very cold winter night? The Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience was in town. I firmly believe that everything that happens between meals is life and everything that happens during a meal is living. Let me explain, I’m an Orthodox Jewish woman, wife, and mom. I am always preparing for some type of Jewish function that involves both food and wine. Every week we prepare two meals in celebration of Shabbat. Every month there is a holiday and food is either a part of it or in between the meal before and after a fast.

I tasted some of the best brisket from Pomegranate Kosher Supermarket, outstanding salsa from My Brother Bobby’s Salsa , Empandas from El Gaucho, and on the spot guacamole from Noah’s Ark. The puring section was full of young business professionals with class. My favorite wine of the event was Baron Herzog Late Harvest The taste was fruity and full with a kick. It is kosher for Passover and we will be serving this wine at our seder!

That’s right, the buzz has already started about two upcoming Jewish celebrations, both which will involve food and wine. If you don’t have a Jewish calendar, you may not be aware that Fast of Esther and Purim are at the end of the month, and at the end of March, Passover.

This is such a fun time of year, as we use up all of our not kosher for Passover items before and during Purim. Not sure what I’m referring to, I’ll explain. Purim is a celebration of many things and at the center of the story is Queen Esther. An orphan that grew up and then found herself in the life of King Ahasuerus because his current wife, Queen Vashi, was sent away for disobeying him. He made Esther, a Jewish woman, his wife without even knowing she was Jewish. Esther became the queen of Persia.

When Haman, the king’s prime minister, decides to kill all Jews because he is angered when one of them, Mordechai, because he refuses to bow down to him. The king agreed to kill all Jews because Haman added that the Jews were all of the land and would not obey the king. Not kosher at all. The word gets out to the people that on the thirteenth day of the Hebrew month of Adar, the killing would begin. The Jews fast and mourn and mourn and fast. Mordechai, Queen Esther’s Uncle, told her this news and pleaded that she do something about it. A strong women and a Jew, Esther risked her life and requested that the king put Haman’s deadly plan to an end immediately. She had told him how Haman was upset by Mordechai and that he should be hung. This man was no stranger to the king. Mordechai, the Jew, had saved the king’s life at an earlier time from two plotting courtiers who had tried to poison him. Now it was Haman that would go down and Mordechai and the Jewish people to go on. Haman was hung on the same gallows he had prepared for Mordechai.

 The Jews were saved and hence the celebration of this on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the Hebrew month of Adar, which coincides with March 27th and 28th this year. This celebration is complete with meat dishes and glasses of wine, hence, the feast of Purim.  

Passover falls out about six weeks after the Purim feast, which is good because we need to use up all of our not kosher for Passover items. This includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with water. Wines also need to be kosher for Passover, so here we go again. Four glasses of wine served during the course of the Passover Seder. For the answer as to why we drink four glasses of wine during the Passover Seder, I wanted to include an explanation that I found on Torah.org. This answer, by Rabbi Yehudah Prero, explains that the most famous answer to this question revolves around two verses in the Torah found in the book of Sh’mos/Exodus (6:6-7):

“Therefore, say to the children of Israel ‘I am Hashem, and I SHALL TAKE YOU OUT from under the burdens of Egypt; I SHALL RESCUE YOU from their service; I SHALL REDEEM YOU with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I SHALL TAKE YOU TO ME for a people and I shall be a G-d to you….”

Rabbi Prero responded by explaining that ”The Four Expressions of Redemption” translate in the way that G-d spoke of the redemption to the nation of Israel as to how they would be taken out of slavery in Egypt. We therefore drink a cup of wine, on this night that we commemorate our redemption, for each expression of redemption that G-d uttered.

Once you’ve experienced a Passover Seder, you can understand the connection even more. So, L’Chaim and look for more articles in the coming weeks about these two Jewish holidays. If you have a special brand of wine or special recipe for either Purim or Passover, please share it here.

Martha. Martha. Martha. How Tweet It Is!

I was so excited when I received an email from the Marth Stewart Show to be in the audience for their upcoming #blogShow. This sounded so perfect for me, since I am blogging, twittering, linking, and updating numerous social networks about life as a 40+ kosher foodie mom (if you don’t know where to find me online, you will by the end of this blog post).

So, getting invitations to mommy blogger events is a huge thrill for me. The events are fun and most of the time kid friendly. Today, things were a bit different and I had to arrange several things before leaving the home-you know, taking car of the kids is my main squeeze-and I had to have everything arranged before I left my house at 6:30 am-ouch- this morning. 

The good news I accomplished it all-picked up and organized dozens upon dozens of blocks, Disney Princesses, Little People, DVDs, and Dora The Explorer playing cards. I also made lunches and laid out clothes for the girls. The table was set for breakfast, and I charged up my cell phone and computer and confirmed the directions to the Martha Stewart Show and the nearest Starbucks. That is the good news, the bad news is that I was up until 2:30 am. In between putting toys away and washing dishes, I tweeted with @jenrab about meeting up at that nearest Starbucks for a strong cup of coffee before our 8:30 arrival at the studio in Manhattan. 

I also wrote down all of the instructions for the babysitter before I went to bed last night-time of pick-up for the girls, who was picking them up and where.  Brief instructions onhow to play a DVD and easy access to extra wipes and diapers. That’s not all.

Preparing my kids for my the babysitter is key. I’ve learned to prep them a few days before and let them know that Beth, thebabysitter, will be helping them get off to school on Thursday. I made sure that all of the kids were awake and waived to me before I left and, Thank G-d, things went perfectly.

Enough about before the show and more about the show. It was inspiring, interesting, and a lot of fun. I love being able to shmooz with other bloggers, especially @dancingHotdogs @prissymama @ComplicatedMama @NYCSingleMom @STYLEMOM @mommyfactor @newyorkchica and @mommyniri. I met some really great new bloggers like @lizhanne (thanks for the picture) and @centsiblelife.

We watched live as Martha and her blogger guests spoke about how they use the “blogosphere” to share, link, archive, and thrive via their blogs! “Martha Moments” creator Andrew Ritchie showed us how to use leftover yarn to embellish cards for any occasion, “Chez Pim” author Pim Techamuanvivit shared what looked like a very delicious recipe for authentic pad Thai and the entire audience received  a copy of her book, The Foodie Handbook. We also saw Martha  as she taught “Cooking School” chronicler Jeff Blumenkrantz (“Jeff and Martha”) how to frost a cake. For more of a play by play, follow the #BlogShow discussion on Twitter and look for all of our tweets!