Heart Healthy Recipe for Summer Tailgating with Save Mart Supermarket #FreshFinds

*I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. #FreshFinds All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

My son thinks race cars are cool. He loves the Cars movies and the first time he saw a race on tv he yelled "Wow Mom thats so cool!" We have had friends tell us about the races in Sonoma but we have yet to attend one, perhaps when our son is a little older so he can actually stay in his seat we will attend a race. For now we are happy to have a home tailgating party and watch races on tv. 

We headed to Save Mart Supermarket to buy food for our Race Party for the Save Mart Toyota 350 race. We are planning a heart healthy meal to health promote the cause of Nascar driver Jeff Burton who is raising money to help fight heart disease. At times tailgating and home tailgating can turn into a bunch of junk food and goodies but we are planning something delicious and good for you.

I made my menu list based on items that are heart healthy and on sale at Save Mart. I plan to serve one of my husbands favorite drinks I make, Wine Fruit Punch. It is like a Sangria without the traditional brandy in it. To contrast the sweetness of my drink I am serving Chicken Tacos, Sauteed Veggie Skewers and Cheese & Olive Bread Rounds with Guacamole. 

  I am planning to serve food that is hand held and easy to eat while watching the races. I like to serve food with skewers and toothpicks. Its fun to eat and less messy! I am making potatoes sauteed in olive oil with red onions and red bell peppers. My mom has made sauteed potatoes for many years. I love them so much I make them all the time. So much healthier than a deep fried potatoes.

I love cooking with my family. We get to bond while we make a meal. My son was having a hard time not eating things while we waited for friends to arrive.

Simple to make! These were a huge hit with our friends that came over for dinner. 

I want an appetizer that is not cooked. On a hot day like this one at 108 degrees we need something cold and light. Many times at a party we put out bowls of chips or other salty snacks. For the summer we like more of a lighter and healthier snack. In the intense heat with salty junk food can make you feel even more drained, not a fun way to have a party. I made my appetizer with bread rounds, cheese, guacamole and olives. My son really liked these, I was surprised since he can be a picky eater. 

For the main course I made chicken tacos with cilantro, red onion and cherry tomatoes. These were one of the best tacos I have made. I made them with boneless chicken breast. I left the skin on to cook topped with taco seasoning but then took of the skin before I cut the chicken to serve it in the tacos. It was a perfect flavor! 

This is a great way to serve a drink for grown ups that is not heavy like a beer. Typical tailgating usually involves beer but for us we like to have a sweet and refreshing wine punch. I make mine with different fresh fruits and juices to change the flavors. I selected strawberries, cantaloupe, kiwi and oranges with Mango Lemonade & Sierra Mist Natural for this party. I made the kids a non alcoholic version using blueberry lemonade.

Sweet, fresh and so tasty! 

We had a fun time at our Save Mart Race party! We enjoyed good food as we watched some older races on tv. I am excited that Danica Patrick will be racing this year. After the day cooled off from the 108 degree weather we went to the pool to cool off, after waiting at least 30 minutes to swim after eating. That is what they say right?!? :)

You can see my shopping trip to Save Mart and the live lobster tank by reading my Google+ story. 

Connect with Save Mart for other Heart Healthy Recipes for your Summer Parties on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. 

Ubooly the Educational Toy Smart Phone App Review and Giveaway #UboolyLab

*This is a sponsored review and giveaway by Ubooly. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

My son has been downloading apps for the last few weeks, how he figured this out I am baffled! I see all sorts of games on my phone that are cute but a bit pointless. I have deleted many of them and now have a proper passcode on my phone. One App that I have kept on my phone that I have found is the Ubooly app. Ubooly is an educational toy that is an app and has a cute little stuffed animal that you can place your phone into to give your Ubooly a face.

My son loves stuffed animals, we have a ton of them but he has never had any of his stuffed animals talk to him and know his name. When he first heard his Ubooly say his name he looked at me in shocked and yelled he knows my name!! It was so cute. He has full on conversations with Ubooly and they go on make believe adventures. This is my first experience with this type of app and I think its so cool.

You can wake up and make sleep Ubooly by touching and holding his face.

Ubooly has a website, the Ubooly Lab where I as a parent can go on and download learning games, update my son's likes such as color and hobbies and check how many coins we have. The coins are fun to earn since the kids can buy little items for Ubooly like glasses, mustaches or a pirate patch (my son really wants the pirate patch!)

My son has a lot of fun talking to Ubooly. He can tell Ubooly to tell a story, tell a joke or play music. My favorite thing Ubooly does is play make believe. Ubooly makes up a story line and the kids can join along by doing what the story dictates. My son was a pirate looking for treasure, a school bus driver (which by the way I thought it was odd that Ubooly said they could do donuts in the parking lot with the school bus, not very age appropriate for a 3 year old) and they also danced to music.

We have had fun playing with Ubooly and learning with the lessons. The only drawback for me is that my iPhone shut down due to overheating twice. I am thinking the Ubooly toy needs to have a back or side mesh vent or something. Living in CA we have hot summer days that I know I will not let my kid take Ubooly with him. We took Ubooly to the pool and he was a huge hit with all the kids. My son loved showing him off. 

• Ubooly will know your child's name, like the same: colors, interests, food, hobbies etc.
• By purchasing credits parents will be able to unlock Educational, Interest, and Helper packs. 
• Educational Packs: Our Lesson packs are created on a 5 day schedule, and keep parents in the loop with progress reports.


Interest Packs: Our interest packs are full of fun facts of trivia to get your child excited about specific topics.
Fitness & Helper Packs: Ubooly will also help with personal growth & create healthy habits through the Fitness and Helper packs.


• Content packs are all designed to be age appropriate for different age ranges (3-9)
• Content packs are written by a large team of elementary teachers and comedians 

On the patio with Ubooly learning about the season. You can purchase credits at the Ubooly lab for lessons and helpers for your kids. We have a helper one that sings songs while my son brushes his teeth and games to make brushing teeth more fun. One I really like and cant wait to try more is the Spanish lessons.

You can download the Ubooly app for free at the iTunes store and the Ubooly doll at Toys R Us. 

You can connect with Ubooly on Twitter and Facebook.

GIVEAWAY

Ubooly Pet (valued at $29.95) and $30.00 credit to the Ubooly Lab!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 9, 2013 and ends on June 23,  2013 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Happy National Donut Day!!

 How are you celebrating National Donut Day today? 

Me, I am trying to steer clear of them. Donuts are so yummy but not on the diet today ;)

Read here about how Patricia at Popcorn and Pearls could not even look at a donut for years!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Last week we were in sweaters and warm socks, this week we are in swimsuits and swimming pools! 

That's Washington for ya.

Enjoy your weather wherever you are!

Update On Our Walmart Family Mobile Plan #FamilyMobileSaves

*I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #cbias #SocialFabric #FamilyMobileSaves All opinions expressed in this post are my own.


From the first day I gave my husband his new phone and we had a pizza party at the park my husband has loved his phone. I quote him as saying "This phone is awesome" "My phone is way better than yours" and "My camera takes better pictures". I must admit its sadly true! Good for him yes, I just thought I was the cool one with the iPhone lol.

Just the money he is saving monthly on his cheap wireless plan is worth me switching my phone to the Walmart Family Mobile Plan, not to mention the clarity on his camera and the bigger screen. I am so use to the way my iPhone works I did have a bit of trouble using his phone but our son was using it very easily. My son likes the new phone a little better since he does not always want to hit the home button like on my iPhone. My iPhone the home button is big and it tempts my son to click it and he loses the game he was playing. The Samsung Galaxy phone has touch buttons for the home button which even I like better.

I love that my husband has had his own phone this last month. So many things they have done together while I am at work I have been able to see through him texting me photos. I love checking my phone and seeing my son's sweet little face smiling as he does something fun for the day. They attended a Kids Event across the street from my work that was a one day event that I did not want my son to miss out on because I was working and he got his face painted, made a necklace and I was able to see it all through the pictures that were taken. We do have a really nice camera to take photos but as any parent knows getting out a big camera and turning it on in time for a moment to capture is not an easy task with kids. The camera and video features are a reason in itself for him to have a phone. With the low monthly bill its a no brainer for him to keep it going.

I even got to see pictures of my son swimming at the pool while I was working. I get to be in the a/c all day at work so I do not realize how hot it gets outside. My son loves to cool off in the pool, hang out with other kids and practice his swimming skills.

Even a fun afternoon playing at Chuck E Cheese I get to be a part of when I am not there. I LOVE that! My husband even has my son call me to say Hi or tell me what he is doing for the day. I feel so much more connected to them while I am at work. Now that we have the affordable Walmart Family Mobile there is no way we would ever not have him his own phone. For my husband as a stay at home Dad he loves the phone for not only for keeping in touch with me but being able to Google stuff to find places to go, local stores and even sales ads or coupons ( I have taught him well in the savings area!)

The clarity of the camera is great! This was a cool rooster we saw at the County Fair that my husband used his phone to take a picture. We were both taking pictures of the same things that day to compare and most of the time his pictures were better. A few times my iPhone did take a better motion picture when our son was jumping or running.

We can manage our Family Mobile account online and pay the bill online so we do not have to go in store or mail a bill, super simple! My husband now knows as a stay at home Dad the easier something is the better! I find it funny that it took us so long to finally have two phones to feel more connected during my work days but then I realized it was because before we could not afford two phones on the plan and contract I have. As soon as my contract runs out I will add my phone to my husbands plan and we can pay the same price for two phones as I do my one phone!

You can read my Google+ story about how we found the Walmart Family Mobile Plan.