Potatoes? No, Tomatoes. Learning to love them.

I love tomatoes.  Enough said.  Blog post over.

One of the favorite joys in my life is walking to my garden in the summer, picking a tomato, slicing it up and eating the whole thing.  My lips and cheeks are puckering just thinking about the taste.

Four people live here and we are a house divided.  My husband is not a fan of the tomato and that is putting it nicely.  My youngest daughter has not yet discovered the joy of a tomato, in fact she actually says it's "potatoes" that she doesn't like.  But if I put a tomato anywhere near her she cringes.  But my oldest daughter has discovered that she likes tomatoes, she- is on my team.

I love to cook with tomatoes.  Sauce, diced, stewed, whole, and canned tomatoes are a great way to add juice and flavor to many things including one of our favorite recipes.  This recipe doesn't have an official name.  It's just a crock pot meal that a friend posted on a message board years ago.

You will need:

• One pound stewing beef
• 1 can tomato sauce (we use Hunt's)
• 1 small bag of frozen peas
• 2T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 onion chopped
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.
• Add a can of stewed tomatoes for more sustenance, and more health benefits.

Place all ingredients in crock pot, stir, cover and cook on high for three hours or on low for 10.  Serve over linguine, other pasta, or mashed potatoes.  Top with Parmesan.

This recipe makes me happy because our garden hasn't even been planted yet this year, heck it snowed last week, and making this crock pot tomato stew is one way I can expose my family to the benefits of tomatoes in the off season.  I recently read the article Tomato Consumption and Health: Emerging Benefits and was very interested in a few of the basic tomato facts, such as:  

• Tomatoes are the most consumed non-starchy vegetable.
• Tomatoes are the most significant source of dietary lycopene.  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that gets more powerful after cooking.  Which, this time of year, most of the tomatoes I use are cooked!
• Tomatoes are one of the top contributors of potassium to the American diet.
• Tomatoes are good for your heart. (It’s easy to remember because they’re red.)  They are low in calories, but rich in fiber.
• Emerging research underscores the relationship between consuming tomatoes and tomato products with reduced risk of certain cancers, heart disease, ultraviolet light-induced damage, osteoporosis and other conditions.

A favorite of mine is Hunt's tomato products. All of Hunt's products are grown in California, 100% Natural, and they come in a lot of varieties including No Salt Added.  Only Hunt's uses the natural FlashSteam process to lock in the natural tomato goodness of every tomato in their diced, whole and stewed varieties.  And each Hunt's tomato goes from vine to can in just hours so home cooks can enjoy the summer-fresh taste of tomatoes all year round.

If you think I'm just tomato happy then check out the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and see how tomatoes and other healthy foods can benefit your life.  These guidelines recommend one or more servings of tomatoes a day, as part of the new red-orange vegetable sub-group.  Now if someone could just convince my husband that they really taste great too!

I received a stipend from Hunt's and The Motherhood in exchange for this blog post.  All opinions, ideas and statements are mine and mine alone.

I tried the new Wendy's Pick 2 menu and you can too!!! GIVEAWAY!

Last week I was invited to an awesome luncheon at the Wendy's on Northwestern Hwy in Southfield.  A bunch of us Michigan Bloggers all gathered together to try out the new Wendy's Pick 2 menu.  We had a great time getting to know each other and talking about this great opportunity to try something new.

There are 28 different combinations you can walk away with with this new menu.  For me, I opted for a half BLT Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch dressing and a baked potato.  My dear friends Tonya and Amy who attended with me, went with the Apple Pecan salad and they both said it was fantastic.  One complimented their salad with a baked potato and one with a side of chili.  Isn't this fun?

It was a great opportunity to see the faces behind the words and avatars I have been following for some time now, and I hope we meet up again soon.

Here's a pic of the whole group, I am the floating head third from the right. :)

I have an awesome opportunity for a lucky reader to try the new Wendy's Pick 2 menu as well.  I am giving away a Wendy's gift card and you can enter two ways:

1. "Like" My Life of What Ifs on Facebook, then return here and leave a comment telling me you did so!
2. Leave another comment telling me what your Wendy's Pick 2 combo would look like.

If you only want to enter once then you can combine the above actions.  If you already "Like" MLWI just leave me a comment saying that you're a MLWI Liking Pioneer!!!!  Just kidding.  Kind of.

One winner will receive a $7 Wendy's gift card to purchase your own Pick 2 Combo.  It's a beautiful thing.  Right?

See more of our lunch in my whrrl story below!

More check-ins at Wendy's

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Contest runs through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 24,2010.  Only residents of U.S. and Canada may enter, and must be 18 or older to win.

Disclosure:  I am working with TheMotherhood and Wendy's, and they purchased my lunch, provided a giveaway and have compensated me for my time.  However, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Oh yes, I said "Boo" to the flu!

This last Saturday, I was one of the mean ones.  The ones that drag their kids to a Halloween themed flu clinics and force them to dress up and take candy from strangers.  Someone call the cops.

OK, so it wasn't bad at all.  In fact, due to some unforeseen circumstances I was the only one who made a date with a needle, but fear not young daughters-o-mine!  You will be visiting the pediatrician's office before you know it!

On Saturday, my girls and I, along with Melissa from Rock and Drool, and Amy from Coffee with the Mrs., attended "Say 'Boo!' to the Flu" at Alliance Mobile Health in Troy.  We were invited by our new friends at the Visiting Nurses Association of Southeast Michigan (VNA), Families Fighting Flu, and The Clorox Company who want everyone to know the dangers of influenza, and that vaccinations are available.

The cool thing about the VNA is that they are a non-profit organization and if you stop at one of their clinics for your flu shot, all proceeds go back into the community to help provide home health care and hospice services to the uninsured.

Saturday's event had a nice steady turnout which pleased Alexandra Hichel, Senior Communications Consultant for VNA, "This is a big community event and the theme distracts a lot from the agony of the flu shot."

The events are designed to encourage families to keep themselves and the children protected. And for those wondering H1N1 is one of three strains in this years' vaccine.

One of the scariest truths about influenza is that it can kill healthy children of all ages. Parents like Detroit area resident Zack Yaksich know the heartbreak only too well after his 5-year-old daughter died suddenly of influenza complications in 2003.  You can read Zack's story by visiting Alana's Flu Foundation.

There are two more "Say 'Boo!'" events planned by the VNA this month:
• Saturday, October 16, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the North Oakland YMCA (3378 E. Walton Blvd.) in Auburn Hills
• Friday, October 29, 2010, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Ultimate Soccer Arenas (867 South Boulevard) in Pontiac

People can also come to the VNA Oak Park office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to get their flu shots or visit them at our many other public clinics.

“Vaccination is a key step in helping fight the flu,” said Kay Renny, RN, manager of community programs for VNA.  “According to the CDC, the flu vaccine can prevent as many as two-thirds of influenza infections in young children, with even higher estimates for older children.”

And DON'T FORGET!!!!!  There is still time to take the pledge to "Say 'Boo!' to the Flu!"  By taking the pledge to vaccinate your family against influenza you enter to win some awesome prizes.  You can also visit my post here, and leave me a comment stating that you took the pledge and be entered to win one of two awesome flu prevention gift baskets (with Clorox hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, a $25 Target gift card, a trick-or-treat bag with goodies like Silly Bandz, etc).  You can enter through 11:59 p.m. on October 17!

So take the pledge!  Enter all the contests including this one and this one!  Check out my whrrl below!  And take care of yourselves!  Peace out. Boo!

More check-ins at Alliance Mobile Health

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Disclosure:  I am working with TheMotherhood and The Clorox Company, and they have compensated me for my time.  However, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Don't forget to say Boo to the Flu AND WIN!!!!!

Don't forget about the Say Boo to the Flu event in Troy on Saturday.

Fox News Detroit even did a segment about this great event!

And now, to add a cherry to the top I am offering a super cool Say Boo to the Flu giveaway!!!!

Just visit the Say Boo to the Flu website and take the pledge to vaccinate your family against the flu.

Once you take the pledge come back to My Life of What Ifs and leave me a comment!  Two lucky commenters, chosen at random, will each win a flu prevention gift basket (with Clorox hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, a $25 Target gift card, a trick-or-treat bag with goodies like Silly Bandz, etc).
So take the pledge!!!!!  This is an awesome event!

Winners must be in the U.S. and 18 years of age or older.

Disclosure:  I am working with TheMotherhood and The Clorox Company, and they have compensated me for my time.  However, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Say Boo to the Flu (i.e. Creepy crud, death-warmed-over, virus, snot, yuck!)

So I'll get right to the point.  Do you get flu shots for yourself and/or your children?

I did for many years for myself.  Every year since I was had Ryann in 2000.  Then I would have the girls get them too.  Until last year, when their pediatrician didn't have the flu shot clinic and I caved to the girls whining "we don't want to get a shot!"

This year I am taking the girls to "Say Boo To The Flu" at Alliance Mobile Health in Troy.  It's a Halloween-themed flu shot clinic, and what better way to fight off the flu shot worries than to dress up for the process?

Families Fighting Flu, Visiting Nurse Associations of America and The Clorox Company have teamed up to help you keep your family protected from the flu.   Detroit-area residents are invited to educate (and vaccinate) about flu prevention from noon until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 9 at 2045 Austin Dr. in Troy.

You can also take the "Say Boo to the Flu" pledge and be entered to win some awesome prizes including an AMAZING sweepstakes to win a trip for four to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando!!

So join me, Melissa from Rock and Drool, and Amy from Coffee with the Mrs. at "Say Boo to the Flu"!

The cost for the flu shot is $25 – and at least 24 free flu shots will be available. FluMist is $30 and pneumonia shots are $50. VNA is able to bill the following insurances: Blue Care Network, Medicare, HAP, Health Plus of Michigan and Priority Health. VNA also accepts cash; checks should be made payable to VNHSS.

P.S.  If you hear two girls, one six and one 10, screaming from afar at this event it's because they still hate me for making them get a shot.  Candy involved or not.

Disclosure:  I am working with TheMotherhood and The Clorox Company, and they have compensated me for my time.  However, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.