8th Continent Soymilk Giveaway ends 3/1 (5 winners)

Lookin' Good and Feelin' Good

8th Continent Soymilk has a new sweepstakes out that is all about Lookin' Good and Feelin' Good. They want to promote the happiness and healthiness of all of their consumers by offering tips and challenges on how to not only be physically healthy, but mentally as well.

"Until April 17, 2012, you can visit 8th Continent's Facebook Fan Page or webpage and enter to win the grand prize of a five star luxury resort and spa getaway! You can also vote on responses in the forums, share feedback and tips and encourage one another. You also receive a $1.00 off 8th Continent Soymilk coupon just for entering!
In addition to the Grand Prize of an all-expenses paid trip, 10 first prize winners will receive a $2,500 physical education program donation to a school of their choice. Twenty second prize winners will receive a $1,000 physical education program donation and 50 third prize winners will receive a $500 physical education program donation to the school of their choice. Nearly 100 schools will benefit from the participation of Lookin’ Good Feelin’ Good entrants."

8th Continent has generously given me coupons to share with 5 of my followers. Each winner will receive 2 coupons to enjoy their yummy soymilk for free! Each coupon is for half gallon carton up to $4.00.

To enter my giveaway please do the following:

Follow my blog.

Like 8th Continent on  Facebook 

If you are on twitter you can also follow 8th Continent here

Leave a comment on how you stay healthy along with your email address or twitter handle. I need some way to contact you if your name is picked.

1 entry per person. I will contact winners by email address or twitter and also post names at the end of giveaway. US 18+ only please. No purchase necessary. Giveaway ends 3/1/12 at 8pm Central. If not claimed within 48 hours another name will be picked. Void where prohibited.

*Information obtained from 8th Continent Soymilk. I was given 2 coupons for my posting.

A Day at Home

Today was one of those days I look forward to. I didn't have to go anywhere. I had a lot on my to-do list and it felt so good to get everything done. Amongst all the laundry, dishes, and cleaning I was able to get in a little fun stuff too. My mom came over for a few hours and had lunch with us.

We had tacos. Yummy!

The boys and I also got in some time on the Xbox. Had to work off those tacos! I was also able to sit and relax with a cup of my favorite Cafe Escapes Cafe Mocha and read a magazine. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. I had a few extra moments afterwards so I also started working on our taxes. I like to keep up on them as papers start to come in. It doesn't feel so overwhelming then. Since I was digging in paperwork I decided I might as well balance the checkbook too!

So nice to get so much done and still have one more day of the weekend to enjoy! I think I have to give myself a high five and relax for the rest of the night. :o)  

Pizza Date

We met some friends for our monthly lunch date at Pizza Hut. Our boys are able to participate in the BOOK IT program just like kids in school. It's so nice more companies are extending their promotions to homeschoolers. The kids each get their own personal pizza for reading a certain amount each month. They are very generous and get 6 coupons per school year.

Table full of boys!

 The one on the far right normally does not look so odd. :o)

We had the nicest waitress. She came with drink refills before we even asked and also let us request a pizza for the buffet. My friend and I do the buffet since the boys get their free pizzas. We asked for the chicken alfredo. Wow! It was so very yummy! We always have such a nice visit. You can't go wrong with pizza and friends!

Ice Time

You can always tell what season it is in our house by what is piled up by the kitchen door.

We finally got cold enough temps to flood the rink in our backyard. The boys took advantage of the nice weather the other day to get out and play some hockey. The first few times back out on the ice are always slow going and full of laughs as they try to remember how to stand up.

Three of the boys getting ready to play. The 4th one was on his way out.

Good thing we have the rink set up since there is no snow for sledding or playing in. Last year we had so much snow we built a huge hill for them to climb and sled down.

POM POMS are Wonderful

100% California-Grown Wonderful Pomegranate Arils

I was recently sent some of these tasty bits of goodness to try from http://www.pomwonderful.com/. Pomegranates are so very tasty. Like a lot of things that are good for you they require a little bit of work. The lovely people at POM Wonderful have come up with a convenient solution for us! They now have these ready-to-eat in 2 sizes: 4.3 oz and 8 oz cups. They come with a cute little spoon folded up inside the lid so you can eat them on the go.

POM POMS are perfect as they are- straight out of the container. They are juicy and fresh! I also had some this morning with my  greek yogurt and granola. What a wonderful addition they were and no extra mess! Tomorrow I plan to mix a few into some tasty muffins! These would also add a nice burst of color to a fresh salad.

POM POMS are available nationwide now through February. Here's a link for a coupon for $1 off so you can try them out yourself! www.pomwonderful.com/?vopen=coupon_pomidays

For more info you can visit their website at http://www.pomwonderful.com/. They are also on facebook and twitter.

* I was sent a sample of POM POMS from Pom Wonderful to try and review. Opinions are my own.

  



Venison Jerky

My husband is an avid deer hunter. He loves being out in the woods. Bow hunting is his favorite. This year he got a good sized buck in October. We process our own meat. It's a family affair with my husband doing the cutting, I'm the washer and packager, and our boys help with some of the grinding when we make hamburger.

Yesterday I decided it was time for another round of fresh jerky. Venison jerky is such a good snack and so easy to make. It takes a little planning since you have to thaw out the hamburger one day, mix it up and then let is sit overnight in the fridge, and then put it in the dehydrator for a few hours.

We've tried a few different mixes but always go back to the same one. It's easy, inexpensive, and the flavors are great! Each packet only requires 1 1/2 lbs meat and 1 T vinegar.

I made a batch of original and one of hickory. After mixing it well it sits in fridge overnight.

Here's my little helper using the jerky gun.

After about 4 hours of the house smelling wonderful our jerky is ready! It doesn't last long so you have to grab it while you can.



Baking With Meyer Lemons

 I recently won these beautiful Meyer Lemons from Dandy Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.

I contemplated for a few days what to make. They are just such beautiful lemons I wanted to be sure I made something worthy of them. Well, I just got my current issue of Everyday FOOD (Jan/Feb 2012) and there was the recipe on page 96 that called out my name - lemon pudding cakes.

I had all the ingredients and also my ramekins have just been waiting to be used for something tasty. So I got everthing out and ready. No strange ingredients are needed. It is a little time consuming and I dirtied a lot of dishes but as you'll see in a bit that the end result is so very worth it!

This is part of the 1st two steps. Dry ingredients in green bowl & I'm working on getting ready to put in lemon juice and zest.

Here I'm whipping my egg whites & sugar for another step.

Ramekins are ready to go in oven. The pan is filled with hot water so it was a little heavy & I had to be careful not to slosh it around too much!

Here they are out of the oven with a little powdered sugar on top.

The end result is this amazing light & fluffy lemon cake on top and at the bottom is this little layer of lemon pudding sauce. It was just beyond good. I wish I could share it with you! I will definitely be making this again.

*I won the lemons from a comment posting on Dandy Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Facebook page. They are not compensating me for posting this. I just wanted to share with you how amazingly good this dessert came out using Meyer Lemons.