I crave salt.  I salt everything twice, which I know is not healthy for me.  

According to Laura J. Lefkowitz, M.D. "Every major health study on hypertension conducted in the past five years points to high sodium as a top health problem in the U.S.  Nutrasalt is quite interesting because it provides the perfect balance of sodium and potassium without increasing sugar and caloric intake.  It really is a better salt."  

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I'm sure the people who check us out and help bag our groceries at the store think we have a half dozen kids in our family.  You would think so by seeing how much milk and dairy products are in our cart each week.  The three of us consume a lot of dairy.  3 gallons of milk per week, 14 cups of yogurt, a brick of cheese, and some shredded, and don't even get me started on the ice cream!


Did you know that nutrient-rich foods, like dairy deliver more bang for your buck than other options at the grocery store?  For example, an 8-ounce glass of milk delivers 9 essential nutrients, like calcium and protein, at about 25¢ per serving.  One tip is to avoid the expensive snack aisles and focus on easy nutrient-rich snacks that pay you back, like yogurt and string cheese.

Dairy Makes Sense sponsored by Midwest Dairy Association has wonderful recipes and tips, that will help save you money, and get those all important dairy servings into your family's bodies.
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This newly launched company sells fair trade, organic teas and has exceptional, chic and elegant gifts.

I was able to sample a couple of varieties of tea that The Tea Set - New York offers, a green tea and a chai.

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I'm a big fan of Tyson products. From chicken fingers to the Heat N' Eat Entrees I featured on my blog last month. They always provide quick, filling and tasty meals and snacks.

From Tyson:

Available in your grocer's frozen food section, the new Tyson® Any'tizers varieties include Chicken Breast Chunks with General Tso Sauce, Chicken Breast Chunks with Spicy Sweet & Sour Sauce, Crispy Breaded Wings with Citrus Fire Sauce and Crispy Breaded Wings with General Tso Sauce. Made with the highest quality chicken, these bold new flavors offer protein-packed options that can be customized with the two included sauce packets to satisfy any snacking occasion.

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We stock up on that at the warehouse club, but when we shop at the grocery store, we pile up with the many other varieties Campbell's offers (now sing the jingle with me "So Many Many Reasons, It's so Mmm Mmm Good!").

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Do you ever get a craving for a really good donut? I grew up chowing down on yeast donuts on a regular basis. When we moved to the city we're living in, all I could find were cake donuts. That didn't leave me overly pleased. Finally, finally a donut shop opened in town, but it didn't last long (what is wrong with all the people in the city I live in!?!) and closed up. Which left me with that elusive hunt for a good yeast donut
And then I got to experience Holey Donuts (okay well I actually got to try their cinnamon buns, but I'm absolutely positive they sell the donuts I'm looking for). Get this, not only do their baked goods taste delicious, they are ...low in fat and calories! No joke.
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Even before I received the invitation to be a part of the Mom Central Ultimate Party Meatball Recipe Blog Tour, I was looking for an abundance of meatball recipes. 

You see a few weeks ago, I was wanting to make a recipe that required meatballs.  That was the week we were doing our once a month warehouse club run.  I had thought of just running to the grocery store to pick up a package of meatballs, but that would require an extra trip, so I got a warehouse sized bag.  Um...that's a lot of meatballs for three people to eat, LOL!!  Hence the looking for recipes to use meatballs with.

So here is the recipe:
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Typically one always thinks of turkey for Thanksgiving, but just a month later we're celebrating Christmas and ham is always a great option so the bird doesn't need to get roasted again. There are so many different cuts of it, and the glazes you can use to enhance ham are as unique as they are plenty.  Trust me, it's as good as it looks too!

Take a look at your grocery store's coolers, and you'll find many different brands of ham, and Cook's is likely among them, and that's because Cook’s is the nation's leading brand of traditional and spiral sliced smoked bone-in ham, corned beef and smoked picnics.
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Think Wow Toys has a whole line of products that let kids make real food in a matter of minutes.

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As I have mentioned in posts before we love gingerbread!  We especially like building gingerbread houses, and have enjoyed viewing oversized ones produced for hotels and other places.

If you want to see an amazing culinary creation check out this Gingerbread Pirate Ship at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. 

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Hickory Farms has great gift basket ideas. I have often had to buy a gift, not having a clue as to what the person wants or needs. Have you ever had that experience? Yeah, I thought so. During the holiday season we often have to buy gifts for teachers, co-workers, business colleagues, and really know nothing about what they would like or their hobbies. But what better way to show your appreciation for what they have done through the year, than by giving them a consumable gift from Hickory Farms.
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If you have kids or grown ups in your home that are gum chewers here's a cool product to toss in their stockings this year!

I enjoy chewing gum, but generally choose the minty types of flavors, and so was curious as to whether I would like the new Trident Layers. It comes in two flavors, Wild Strawberry/Tangy Citrus and Green Apple/Golden Pineapple.
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It is not always easy to have a healthy meal on the table during these weeks, but I was recently introduced, through Mom Central, to an easy healthy way to get a yummy dinner on the table that your whole family will enjoy.

Ronzoni Smart Taste comes in a variety of different noodles (spaghetti, thin spaghetti, rotini, elbow macaroni & penne), all of which are fortified with calcium and fiber.  I was a bit skeptical before we tried it, because we have tried whole wheat pasta before and weren't thrilled with the texture or the taste of it.
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For the first post of Holiday Food Week I want to introduce you to Calorie Count.  Calorie Count is a free service of About.com  Health.

This holiday season you can have your cake...and eat it too!

Mary Hartley, R.D. from Calorie Count put on a roundtable for bloggers to share hints and tips on how to make the food that we serve and eat during the holiday season healthier.

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Starting December 6th through to the 12th Three Different Directions is going to be posting all about Holiday Foods!!

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I love to eat.  And I can eat. A lot.  This 4'9" less than 100lb body, can eat her Hubby's 6 foot frame, plate for plate.  Actually I could probably beat him and eat one more!

Of course the love of food comes at a price, and on a 4'9" person it doesn't take much to make those extra pounds noticeable.

7 years ago, I realized I was heading down an unhealthy slope and began the Weight Watchers program.  I lost 30lbs and have kept it off.

It isn't always easy but companies like Vitalicious sure do help!

Vitalicious makes all natural, high fiber products.  They are very low in fat (most of them are fat free), and they are chocked full of vitamins too.

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I am fortunate to not have any food allergies in my family.



For those families that don't eat gluten as part of their diets, Michael Season's is a good way to snack.  The gluten-free and wheat-free snacks come in chips, crisps, puffs and curls.  All natural ingredients are used to make their products.
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Are you looking for a way to cut calories?  Silk Hearth Health SoyMilk is a great way to cut your calorie intake and at the same time help to make your heart healthy too!

Silk Soymilk can be substituted for milk in many of the recipes you're planning on making this holiday season, and no one will be the wiser either ☺.

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Back in February when I was still getting my feet wet doing reviews, I had the wonderful privilege to review and host a giveaway of some jam from The Jam Lady (also known as Pat) from T P Kitchen.

The organic blackberry jam that I got to try was so tasty, I mean you could really taste the berries, probably because you could see the berries, so you knew they were in there lol!  The berries in the jams are all organic and the jams are all home made one batch at a time.  You know that a lot of care goes into the making of these products, which in turn is reflected in their taste.

There is so much you can do with T P Kitchen jams besides the obvious breakfast toast spread.  Use them as ice cream toppings, pair some of the flavors up with cheese and crackers, english muffins, how about blueberry jam on blueberry scones?  I'm sure when you see the abundance of flavors Pat offers up in her online store, you could think of a bunch of other pairings too.
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I struggle with menu planning.  Sometimes I go armed to the grocery store with a list and coupons in hand, all ready to cook for the week.  Yet other times, I wander the aisles aimlessly, wondering if this is the week my family loses 5 pounds, because I can't decide what's for dinner.  Can you identify?

I was introduced to this great website called relish! last month, which has helped me overcome the cooking blahs.

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