Free Martha Stewart Cookbook Download at SIRIUS XM

Free Summer Grilling Cookbook by Martha Stewart All of the acclaimed chefs and experts participating in the first-annual Martha Stewart Living Radio Grilling Hotline contributed their own recipes for Martha Stewart Living Radio’s Summer Grilling Cookbook, a free online cookbook created for SIRIUS|XM especially for the occasion. This extraordinary collection of recipes and tips covers everything from delicious sides, salads and starters to savory burgers, steaks and chicken, desserts and summer drinks. Click to download Martha Stewart's Cookbook

Check out Join Word-of-Mouth, Try Free Products

I love the site, Freebies4mom.com! Heather is one busy bee! Besides my own blog, it is the ONLY blog that I go to every single day! 
Stop in and check out the below link! You will find places that offer products for you to try and blog!

Thanks Heather for putting together such a great list!!
Check out Join Word-of-Mouth, Try Free Products

Free Download One eskimO Music Review and Giveaway (ended)

One eskimO is a critically-acclaimed English band fronted by singer-songwriter Kristian Leontiou and includes musicians Pete Rinaldi (guitar), Jamie Sefton (bass, horns), and Adam Falkner (drums).

 They currently have the #1 adult alternative song called "Kandi" which I'm sure you've heard on the radio.  It is the most played song on adult rock radio for over 4 weeks running.
Billboard Magazine calls One eskimO's self-titled debut album "...catchy, ambient pop." and Los Angeles Times Magazine hails the song "Kandi" “a beautiful, aspirational track.”  The album is available in stores now.  


MY TAKE ON THE CD: I'm an 80s music girl trying to get into the music of 2010. My teens listen to a lot of fun music.  They are always introducing me to what is cool! Now it's my turn with One eskimO. I'm all for pop rock and I believe that is what One eskimO is being called. I'm a huge fan of the sexy vocals of Kristian Leontiou.  Love the CD title- All Balloons. The T-shirt that goes with the album giveaway is very crazy cool! (gray with balloons).  Of all the songs on the CD, I do love Slip and Simple Day. Chocolate is a song that shows he "gets" his girl...knows to give her space and chocolate! lol The song, Amazing, is just that!

One eskimO will be opening for Michael Franti & Spearhead in May & June (all shows except Mountain Jam & Mile High Festival).
 

Tour Dates

May 14     Miami, FL                 Fillmore
May 15     Jacksonville, FL       Free Bird Live
May 18     Orlando, FL              House of Blues
May 19     Tampa, FL                The Ritz Ybor
May 22     Raleigh, NC              Lincoln Theatre
May 24     Asheville, NC           The Orange Peel
May 25     Charleston, SC        The Music Farm
Jun 01     Toronto, ON              The Guvernment
Jun 03    New York, NY           The Beach at Governor’s Island
Jun 04     Boston, MA               House of Blues
Jun 05     Essex Junction, VT   Camplain Valley Expo
Jun 06     Hunter, NY                Mountain Jam Festival
Jun 08     Royal Oak, MI           Royal Oak Music Thtr
Jun 09     Grand Rapids, MI     Orbit Room
Jun 12     Memphis, TN            Minglewood Hall
Jun 13     Kansas City, MO       Crossroads
Aug 14    Denver, CO               Mile High Festival

Giveaway- one Album and one T-shirt to one winner!!!!

To enter:  Go visit One eskimO website and come back and tell me something about them.

Bonus entries- 

1) One entry for each one of these you do or have done. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one! Look to the right side bar to find these things- Follow my blog, Follow me on Twitter, Like me on Facebook, Follow on Networked blogs, Follow my RSS Feed.

2) Comment on any of my other blog post and or enter any other of my giveaways for 2 extra entries each! Unlimited! (leave 2 separate entries for this to count)

3) Enter the Giveaway here for The Weekly Organizing Challenge 

This will give you 10 entries! Leave 10 separate comments-they can all be the same!

4) Tweet giveaway! Leave tweet links here and make sure the tweet links to this blog post. unlimited and 2 entries each Tweet!

5) Go get your free download, "Astronauts"- plus claim 10 entries 

GIVEAWAY ENDS May 29th 

More fun with One eskimO :

• “Kandi” Video
• Band’s Facebook
• You Tube Channel
• Deluxe Edition on iTunes

 Thanks to One2One Network for sending me the CD to review and giving one and a tshirt to one of my readers. The opinions on MY TAKE ON THE CD are of my own tasty words and opinions.  

10 simple food substitutions to get bikini ready!

I'm on a healthier lifestyle journey and am updated this post from a few years ago. I won't be beach body bikini ready but I do want to be healthier, eat healthier recipes and look much better in a bathing suit for summer. Enjoy this article.

 

MY TAKE ON ARTICLE: I'm sure for some of us ,if we follow these 10 steps, we are not going to be ready to step in a bikini by summer! The most important thing to do is to take these 10 steps and make positive, healthy changes in the way we.  These changes of behavior will help in the long run for a healthy, happy life. 

By Chef Susan Irby,
Author of Substitute Yourself Skinny: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions!

Bikini season is just around the corner! There's still time to get in top bikini shape and what tastier way than with these easy, simple, and delicious substitutions. Great tasting food doesn't have to be bland, boring, and flavorless. 

As the Bikini Chef, my food philosophy is fresh, fresh, fresh. Fresh citrus, fresh herbs, fresh natural ingredients that wake up your taste buds, are pleasing to your palette, and give you the satisfying flavors your body craves. In fact, most people love the lower calorie, lower fat substitutions once they've tried them and have gotten past their fear of trying what they perceive will be tasteless food.

The best part to these substitutions, besides achieving your bikini goal, is that they are simple substitutions you can make every day. Easy, affordable, and flavorful, these simple tips will help you stay in bikini shape all year long.

10 Simple Food Substitutions To Get Bikini Ready

Using ½ wheat flour and ½ plain flour will make your scones more bikini but adding fresh wild raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries will also liven up the flavor, wake up the color, and give a fresh, flavorful twist to an otherwise boring biscuit.

Cream sauces and creamy soups get most of their creaminess from fat and calorie laden heavy whipping cream. Use ½ nonfat milk and ½ nonfat sour cream instead for the same creamy texture without the unwanted creamy fat that will sabotage your bikini body.

Eggs vs egg whites. Some people go the extreme and swear off eggs forever using only egg whites. However, using only egg whites can get expensive and eggs are necessary as a binding agent for many recipes. For breakfast, use 2 egg whites for every one egg for a leaner, lighter breakfast and when baking or making dishes such as burgers, use ½ whole eggs and ½ egg whites to keep the texture but save on calories, fat, and cholesterol. As a side note, the majority of protein in eggs comes from the egg whites, not the yolk, making them a deliciously healthy option all around.

Cut back on the beef. If you crave a hamburger, make your own lighter, leaner version by using ½ lean ground beef and ½ lean ground turkey. You'll find you sacrifice nothing on flavor or texture but save yourself plenty on fat and calories. Enjoy these leaner burgers as smaller sliders for lunch, dinner, or for tasty bites at summer pool parties.

Nonfat vanilla yogurt is a delicious substitution for mayonnaise. Use as a healthy substitution in chicken salad, tuna salad, and dipping sauces such as aioli. It is very flavorful and naturally creamy so you don't need to use a lot of it.

Cut the cheese. Skip the cheese altogether but if you must have cheese, go for lower fat versions such as reduced fat cream cheese, reduced fat Monterey jack, reduced fat feta. If you must have your full fat versions, opt for freshly grated parmesan and cut back on the amount you use. Fresh, good quality cheese such as this has great flavor so a little goes a long way.

Add a little citrus. The rind, or zest, of lemons, oranges, and limes is edible and adds a refreshing flavor to steamed or grilled vegetables, sauces, meat dishes, practically everything. Cut back on salt which causes bloating and add a little fine grate citrus zest for tons of flavor with no fat or calories.

Most people love crispy bacon but it adds loads of fat and calories that are often an afterthought for many dishes. If you must have crisp bacon crumbles on your salads or even for breakfast, use leaner turkey bacon instead. It has great flavor and crisps nicely like traditional full fat bacon. Or, better yet, skip the bacon all together. If you are having a luscious salad, add fresh, crisp asparagus tips or diced fresh zucchini. For breakfast, substitute crispy no-sugar added bran cereal or fresh berries. Pass on the bacon, it's just not worth it.

Watch out for sugary pasta sauces and dipping sauces. Sugar has empty calories that add up quickly. Instead, use freshly diced tomatoes with a little freshly chopped basil leaves or cilantro leaves. Add a hint of lemon zest, drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (½ tablespoon each) and finish with a small pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Toss with pasta such as penne or fettuccini or serve with baked wonton crisps.

Wonton wrappers are perfect as crispy crackers instead of crostini and tortilla chips. Buy the squares and cut into triangles. Brush lightly with olive oil and bake in a 225º oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp and golden. Top with salsa, serve with chicken salad or other dips as you would crostini and chips. As a bonus, they are inexpensive and unused wonton wrappers keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

© 2010 Chef Susan Irby, author of Substitute Yourself Skinny: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions!

Author Bio
Chef Susan Irby has worked with multiple Master Chefs including George McNeill, Todd English, and Ming Tsai. Known as the Bikini Chef, specializing in "figure-flattering flavors," Chef Susan is host of The Bikini Lifestyle with Susan Irby The Bikini Chef on KFWB News Talk 980 in Los Angeles and author of The $7 a Meal Quick & Easy Cookbook, The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook, and Cooking with Susan. She has cooked for several celebrities including Patrick Swayze, David Spade, Kate Sagal, and Bill Handel, and appeared on The Patti Gribow Show and KLAC Los Angeles and numerous other media outlets. She lives in Orange County, CA.

For more information, please visit www.susanirby.com.
Become a fan of the Bikini Chef on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to FSBAssociates for providing the article for my readers. MY TAKE ON THE ARTICLE is of my own tasty words and opinions. 


CLICK HERE TO READ the other article about this COOKBOOK

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Play with your Veggies! Grow your own fun recipe

I love cooking in the kitchen with my 11 year old! She is so much to work with! I gave her a red, orange, yellow and orange pepper and told her to create an appetizer for dinner! This is what she came up with! When was the last time you cooked with your kids in the kitchen? 

TwitterMoms put out a challenge to revamp Hidden Valley® Flower Power Bell Peppers and Ranch Dip Recipe and make it your own! So with that in mind, Emily went to work! Have you ever done this before? If so let me know what you did! Feel free to leave links!

Here is her recipe and photos!

SPICY RANCH Dip and Flower Power Artist Veggies


Ingredients

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 bottle of Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch dressing

1 each green, red, orange and yellow peppers

Directions Mix cream cheese and dressing with a mixer. Chill until ready to serve.

Get out cutting board, knife and platter. Clean and take out seeds and core from peppers.

Start cutting and creating veggies into desired shapes!

Pour dip into half of one of the peppers (use it as your dip bowl)

Eat!

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Top 5 Family Fun Vacation Ideas

Today is my Tuesday Top 5 Family Fun Vacation Ideas!!!  

1) Local Museum- When was the last time you took your kids to a local museum? Pick one that you haven't been to in awhile and go visit! It is amazing how something old becomes something new and fun, again! Besides that, most museums have activities for all ages. Activities and events at one Museum the kids did at age 4 will seem like brand new when they are age 8! The first time we went to this museum the kids couldn't climb the rock wall. On the return visit, years later, they were scaling the wall like professionals!

2) Renaissance Festivals/Faires- These are a family must!! They are so much fun! Most of them are free, too! They have cool activities, shows, live demonstrations, jousting activities, yummy food, candle making and more! Click here: Renaissance Faires to find one of over 180 listed all throughout the USA!

3) Local Sporting Event-Spring and summer are the times to hit local baseball games!  If you don't have a team in your City then find one near you! You can make a day trip or a fun over night trip out of it! We love the Minor League teams!  They play in smaller parks and are cheaper on the pocket book, too!  Go visit Minor League Baseball to find a team near you! I love this site! They have a "Road Trip" helper to help you plan your summer vacation! You can also find out about "Tuesday Night Tickets" where you can buy one ticket and get one free!!!  Don't think that just boys want to see a baseball game! My girls have great memories from several different minor league games that they have attended!

4) Visit Old Folks- Take the kids on a road trip to visit an older relative! This can be Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousin, etc.  Old folks love it when the young come and visit! Make a day trip out of it.  Take them all out to dinner. Good times for all! Don't forget your camera on this vacation trip! You will want to follow up on the person you visited.  Best thing to do is send them snap shots of your time together!

5) Local Town Fairs- Some of our best memories come from stopping in at local fairs. Small towns know how to a do the fair!  One of the fairs we found had a pie eating and hula hoop contest!  How fun! Check out The Weather Channel link for a great search tool that they offer to help you find one! I love this one because they offer the expected weather of where you are going! Check out County Fairs and Festivals link, too!

Do you have any Family Fun Vacation ideas? Leave a comment below! Check out Manilla, too! It is a one stop place to get all your finances & travel reward programs organized.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Manilla.

Foxy: A Memoir from Pam Grier Giveaway

Foxy: My Life in Three Acts by Pam Grier with Andrea Cagan

Full Description from Hachette Book Group

Some may know her as hot, gutsy, gun-totin' Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Coffy, and Jackie Brown. Others may know her from her role as Kit Porter on The L Word. But that only defines one part of the legend that is Pam Grier. Foxy is Pam's testimony of her life, past and present. In it, she reveals her relationships with Richard Pryor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Freddie Prinze Sr., among others. She unveils her experiences as a backup singer and a blaxploitation star. In particularly candid and shocking chapters, she shares-for the first time-her view of those films and the persecution that blacks, especially women, needed to endure to make a name for themselves. . . including how it felt to be labeled one of the most beautiful women alive, yet not be permitted to try on clothes in a department store because of the color of her skin. And in words sure to inspire many, she tells the story of her ongoing battle with cancer. From her disappointments to her triumphs, nothing is held back. With FOXY, Pam wishes to impart life lessons to her readers-and hopes to touch their hearts.
MY TAKE ON THE BOOK: What a woman! I learned a lot about Foxy Brown!I can't even imagine being label as one of the most beautiful women alive and not be able to go shopping because of skin color.  Her book is upbeat and her positive attitude shines through.  She is about giving back. I was so impressed with the video of the book, listening to her speak about her life.  She said that that if you are open and curious in life so much more will come back to you to make you feel good and you'll be able to reach out and help others.
It is truly amazing to read a star's memoir.  I love reading about what life was like in America as she was coming of age and making her way. 

GIVEAWAY- 3 copies

To enter- Tell me one way you have reached out and helped someone in need. (Please leave email address with your entry)

Bonus- (do all, none or one! up to you)

1) One entry for each one of these you do or have done. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one! Look to the right side bar to find these things- Follow my blog, Follow me on Twitter, Like me on Facebook, Follow on Networked blogs, Follow my RSS Feed.

2) Comment on any of my other blog post and or enter any other of my giveaways for 2 extra entries each! Unlimited! (leave 2 separate entries for this to count)

3) Enter the Giveaway here for The Weekly Organizing Challenge 

This will give you 10 entries! Leave 10 separate comments-they can all be the same!

4) Tweet giveaway! Leave tweet links here and make sure the tweet links to this blog post. unlimited and 2 entries each Tweet!

ENDS5/24 US and Canada
Thanks Hachette Book Groups for sending me a review copy. My Take on the Book is of my own tasty opinion.