Try Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers for free

MyBlogSpark and Green Giant sent me some coupons for fresh vegetable steamers, which were introduced last fall to the grocery stores. Send me your address, and I'll send you the coupon. The only catch: You have to write me a review :) Email me privately with your contact info.

NEW! Green Giant^® Valley Fresh Steamers^® Vegetables with Pasta

Green Giant^® is adding pasta to their already popular Valley Fresh Steamers^® lineup, with two new varieties, including Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli and Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce. 

Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables with Pasta are made with 100% natural ingredients and are prepared in less than seven minutes, offering a more convenient way to make family-friendly meals! With creamy sauces and freshly steamed vegetables, these steam-in-the-bag sides help make serving dinner to your entire family a whole lot easier. 

Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables frozen mixes let you steam vegetables in only four to seven minutes and are perfectly sauced.  No messy pans to clean up as the sides include steam-in-the-bag technology, making it super convenient for mom. 

·         Varieties:  

o                      Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli - classic elbow pasta and broccoli in a mouth

     watering cheese sauce

o                      Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce – delicious corkscrew pasta with 

     carrots and broccoli in a savory Alfredo sauce

·         Package Size:  2 ¼ cup (244g) frozen, 1-2 servings per package

·         Currently available nationwide

·         Suggested Retail Price:

o           Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli (MSRP $2.39)

o           Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce (MSRP $2.39)

Green Giant Valley Visit - Videos!

Green Giant posted the videos from our visit to the Green Giant Valley last summer! That was such a fun trip, and I had a great time meeting the other bloggers, many of whom you can see on these interviews. My favorite was the testing lab. Now that I work in a test kitchen, the test lab makes so much sense! The endless taste-testing and comparison testing must be as palate numbing as it can get, but it's so important to make sure that the product is consistent and delicious.

I hope you enjoy the videos. Again, thanks to the marketing team and Green Giant Valley for a fun, expenses-paid trip and to my friend Stephanie who put me in touch with MyBlogSpark and other great opportunities through General Mills.

Ho Ho Ho! Many thanks, Green Giant and Sprout!

Justifying Super Bowl Snacks

All right, I admit, unless the Seahawks or Broncos are playing, I am probably not going to watch the Super Bowl. Don't mistake me; I like football, and I've enjoyed a few Huskies games in person. But games on television just don't carry the same magic. So I usually just watch the commercials, but now you can watch them on Hulu too. Hmmm now why would I want to watch it?

 

I have gone to a few football parties for the snacks and the chatting. When we lived in Pueblo, some women in the Junior League hosted a really great party. Two years ago, we went to an uncle and aunt's house "on the Eastside" in Lake Sammamish. This year, we're probably going to try juggle football parties and some relaxation time. As a food researcher, I feel that it's my responsibility to inspect snacks at the football parties. As a nutritionist, I should probably also double check the choices that we have for healthier snacks. Most of the time, you'll find typical party fare, like chicken wings, chips, dips, nachos, beer, soda, and cookies. These are delicious, but they're a bit hard on the beach body.  So, if you're trying not to damage your diet or train for your next 8k run (Torchlight anyone?), then maybe try some healthier game foods.

You can add a vegetable platter, hummus dip, fruit and yogurt dip, baked chips, and even flavored calorie-waters to the menu to provide some slightly healthier options. Don't forget, you do get days off your diet, so don't feel like you have to forgo a bite of a delicious treat, but choose those indulgences carefully to enjoy them the most.

 

Green Giant sent a tasty looking recipe for Sriracha Veggie Cheese Balls, so I figured I'd share it with you. It's not gluten-free, but you could substitute Pamela's gluten-free baking mix for it. Sriracha is spicy, so use it sparingly, or generously, to your taste.

 

Sriracha Veggie-Cheese Balls and Sauce

Looking for wonderful appetizers made using Original Bisquick® mix and Green Giant® frozen broccoli? Then check out these baked cheese balls served with sauce - perfect if you love Thai cuisine.

 

Prep Time 25 Minutes

Total Time 50 Minutes

Makes 25 Servings

Veggie-Cheese Balls

2 cups Green Giant® frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, squeezed to drain

2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)

1 cup Original Bisquick® mix

1 egg

1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

2 tablespoons sliced green onions (2 medium)

2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray or grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan.
2. In large bowl, stir together veggie-cheese ball ingredients. Slightly wet hands with water for easier rolling; shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix dipping sauce ingredients.
4. Immediately remove balls from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping.

Makes 25 Servings

 

Do-Ahead

•Cover and refrigerate unbaked balls up to 24 hours. Bake as directed.•Cover and freeze unbaked balls up to 1 month. Heat oven to 350°F. Place frozen balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until brown.•Bake as directed; cover and freeze up to 1 month. Heat oven to 350°F. Place frozen balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through.•Bake as directed; cover and freeze up to 1 month. Place 6 frozen balls on microwavable plate. Loosely cover with waxed paper. Microwave on High 45 seconds to 1 minute or until heated through.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Veggie Ball)

• Calories 70
• (Calories from Fat 40),

• Total Fat 4 1/2g
• (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g,
• Trans Fat 0g),
• Cholesterol 20mg;
• Sodium 170mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 4g
• (Dietary Fiber 0g,
• Sugars 0g),
• Protein 3g;

Percent Daily Value*:

• Vitamin A 4.00%;
• Vitamin C 4.00%;
• Calcium 8.00%;
• Iron 0.00%;

Exchanges:

• 1/2 Starch;
• 0 Fruit;
• 0 Other Carbohydrate;
• 0 Skim Milk;
• 0 Low-Fat Milk;
• 0 Milk;
• 0 Vegetable;
• 0 Very Lean Meat;
• 0 Lean Meat;
• 0 High-Fat Meat;
• 1 Fat;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

© 2012 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved

You can view the original recipe here and browse for other ideas as well.  Thank, Green Giant, for the ideas!

Culinary Expertise Important for Nutrition Professionals

Ever since the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, manufacturers have been required to post nutrition labels on their products. Up to recent years, freshly made foods from instutional and restaurant food services have not been required to post their information. However, that has changed in the last few years. Restaurants of certain sizes and numbers of locations are required to provide their customers with the nutritional information about the items they serve. This has opened up a huge window of opportunity for nutrition experts to assist food service companies with providing accurate information about the foods prepared. However, it also requires a handy and advanced knowledge of professional cooking.

In the May 2011 ADA Journal article "How Accurate Are Your Nutrient Calculations? Why Culinary Expertise Makes a Difference," the authors say that this is an excellent time for nutritionists, registered dietitians specifically, to step up their culinary expertise and assist manufactureres in product development and nutrition knowledge. However, they caution eager experts from rushing in and providing incomplete information. There are challenges intrinsic to recipe writing and nutrient calculations, and nutrition experts must know the recipes well and the quirks to cooking, such as volume change and unused portions of ingredients (like marinades).
While it is a great window of opportunity for nutrition and diet experts to assist food manufacturers and restaurants with nutrient label development, those embarking on this type of work should be sure to develop competencies in culinary nutriton. This is the core of the thesis of these authors, and this is one of the biggest reasons that I chose to attend culinary school. I knew how to cook, and I was comfortable with reading recipes and entering nutritional data. But now that I have developed an understanding for restaurant prep cooking and line cooking, I see how it can change and how the knowledge has enhanced my understanding in utilizing the  nutrient databases more effectively.

Source:
Powers, Catharine H., Mary Abbott Hess, and Mary Kimbrough. How Accurate Are Your Nutrient Calculations? Why Culinary Expertise Makes a Difference. May 2011 Journal of the American Dietetic Association Supplement. S8-S11.