This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

is a sponsored review from BlogHer and KraftIn honor of the Real Women of Philadelphia cooking video competition, I decided to test out a recipe by one of the finalists. These Coconut Shrimp Poppers with Chili Mango Cream are the creation of Carmell Childs, a finalist in the appetizer category, and they sounded so good, I just had to give them a try. Carmell’s recipe was easy to follow, especially after watching the video, and they were ready to eat in about 30 minutes!

What I really liked about these fried shrimp was that they weren’t overly sweet like a lot of the Coconut Shrimp you find at restaurants. The shrimp were a perfect balance of savory and sweet and I loved the combination of chili and mango in the creamy dipping sauce. These were a huge hit with the friend I shared them with – I’m glad I grabbed one right away, because once I turned my back they were gone. I had halved the recipe since there were only two of us, but next time I’ll be making a full batch for sure.

Coconut Shrimp Poppers with Chili Mango Cream
recipe by: Carmell Childs for Real Women of Philadelphia

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook Time: 15 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes
Serves 6

6 ounces of whipped Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temp.)
1 large sweet ripe mango
1 canned pineapple ring
3 – 4 tablespoons Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
2 cups of medium, raw deveined shrimp
1/3 cups of flour (season with salt and pepper)
2 large eggs
1 lemon, zested
1 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut
4 -5 cups vegetable oil for deep frying (enough for 2 in. deep oil)

1. Peel and dice mango into chunks; combine with pineapple ring and puree in blender until smooth. In a medium bowl combine 4 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese and fruit puree. With a mixer on high speed, beat until thoroughly combined. Add desired amount of chili sauce; mix to combine and chill.

2. Rinse and pat dry shrimp. Pour flour in a deep bowl and season with 1/2 tsp salt and a few twist of ground pepper. In a separate deep bowl, combine 2 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, eggs, and lemon zest; mix until incorporated. In a third deep bowl mix together Panko crumbs and coconut.

3. Toss shrimp in flour; shaking off excess, dip in egg, then lightly press and cover entire shrimps in coconut mixture; set aside on large platter.

4. In a deep saucepan, heat 2 in. of oil to 350*. Fry shrimp, 4-5 at a time, for 1/2-1 minute or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Serve warm with chili mango Cream. Enjoy!

Nicole’s notes: I used regular, softened Philadelphia cream cheese, not the whipped kind. I used a mini food processor to puree the fruit and cream cheese for the dipping sauce. Make sure the cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature before mixing them together for the shrimp batter, or you’ll end up with lumps. I used my Fry Daddy for the deep frying the shrimp (in batches of five) and it worked perfectly. Watch the shrimp carefully, they will turn from brown to burnt in a matter of seconds! Make sure you season the shrimp with salt when they come out of the oil – the extra salt really helps to balance out the sweetness of the coconut.

Watch Carmell prepare these delicious Coconut Shrimp Poppers from start to finish in her Real Women of Philadelphia video entry.

For even more creative video recipes by home cooks, visit the Real Women of Philadelphia Site and join the community. The four winners will be announced June 30th at the live event in Savannah by Paula herself, so stay tuned!

I’d love to know which videos are your favorites, so don’t forget to come back and let us know which ones you’d like to try!

To see what other bloggers are creating with Philadelphia products, check out the BlogHer Roundup page!

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

I’m well-known for my mini cheesecakes, but it’s been a while since I’ve created a new flavor. I’ve been staying away from sweets for a few months now and when I do start adding the occasional dessert back into my life, I plan on avoiding refined sugars as much as possible. With these cheesecakes, I tried using less-processed, more natural sweeteners like honey and sucanat and I honestly wasn’t sure how they would turn out.

Well, guess what? I think these are the best tasting mini cheesecakes I’ve ever made.

It’s dessert week over at Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia recipe video contest and I made these Honey Almond Mini Cheesecakes to help inspire you to create your own cream cheese dessert recipe. How would you like the meet the Queen of Cream Cheese, Paula Deen, herself? Do you think you have what it takes be a cooking star? Would you like a chance to win $25,000? If any of these things sound good to you, head over the Real Women of Philadelphia site to join the community, find inspiration, and learn how to enter!

I was looking through the dessert videos this morning and one of my favorites so far is the Philly Brulee recipe by Cindy Gleason Johnson. Creme Brulee is one of my all-time favorite desserts and although it really isn’t that difficult or time consuming to make the real thing, I like Cindy’s no-bake, four-ingredient shortcut version. It’s simple, elegant, and with the addition of cream cheese, I’m pretty sure it tastes fantastic. There are tons of great dessert recipe videos that have been submitted so far at the Real Women of Philadelphia site, have you checked them out yet? Head on over to the Dessert Gallery and let me know which are your favorites.

Honey Almond Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberries

1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons sucanat or brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
stevia or powdered sugar, to taste
fresh raspberries

special equipment: mini cheesecake pan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat mini cheesecake pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine almond meal, sucanat (or brown sugar), and melted butter. Stir with a fork until well combined. Divide crumb mixture evenly between the 12 cups of your mini cheesecake pan. Press crumbs firmly onto the bottom and partially up the sides of each cup.

Using an electric mixer, blend softened cream cheese, egg, honey, and almond extract together in a separate medium bowl. Spoon cream cheese mixture into each cup (they will only be half filled). Bake for 14-16 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven, or until filling has just set. Remove from oven and place pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then carefully remove cheesecakes from pan and let cheesecakes cool completely on the wire rack. Chill completely before serving.

Just before serving, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Sweeten to taste with stevia or powdered sugar. Put a small dollop of whipped cream on each mini cheesecake. Top with fresh raspberries.

To see what other food bloggers are creating with Philadelphia products, check out the BlogHer Roundup page!

You are currently on my review blog, would you like to return to Pinch My Salt?

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

The more I eat this soup, the more I think I should have named it “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Loaded Baked Potato Soup!” If, like me, you are trying to cut back on your carbohydrate consumption but have occasional cravings for a hearty potato soup, this one will definitely satisfy your needs.

But this soup isn’t just for low-carbers. It’s one of the best soups I’ve ever made and I’m pretty sure that everyone will love it – even cauliflower-haters. It’s amazing what a little cream cheese and bacon can do to a vegetable soup!

I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese in this soup and it’s one of the products you can use to enter Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia recipe video contest. Want to meet Paula Deen? Think you have what it takes be a cooking star? Want a chance to win $25,000? Head over the Real Women of Philadelphia site to join the community, find inspiration, and learn how to enter.

It’s entrée week over at RWoP and I created this hearty soup to help inspire you to participate!

I’m always amazed when a soup that tastes as great as this one starts with such simple ingredients. I used onion, cauliflower, bacon, cream cheese, cream, chives, and chicken stock. The cheddar is for garnish.

Start by cooking the bacon in your soup pot – a large saucepan is perfect.

Cook over medium heat until the bacon is nice and crisp.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crispy bacon pieces to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Pour off some of the bacon drippings, but leave about 2 tablespoons in the pot along with all that brown stuff stuck to the bottom. If your bacon doesn’t leave you with 2 tablespoons of drippings, just supplement with some butter.

Add the chopped onions to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned. It will smell amazing!

When the onions look like this, it’s time to add more ingredients!

Turn up the heat then add the cauliflower and chicken stock and stir, scraping up all those browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let the liquid come to a boil then cover the pot, turn down the heat, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender enough to mash.

Add the cubes of cream cheese…

then mash it all together with a potato masher.

Now it’s time to stir in the heavy cream.

The first time I made this soup, I left it a little chunky like this. If you like a smooth and creamy soup, then break out the immersion blender! Of course you can puree it in batches in a regular blender as well. If you want a chunky soup, then skip this step.

This time around, I made the soup very smooth. It’s delicious either way, so the choice is yours.

Now it’s time to add the bacon and chives. Be sure to reserve some of the bacon pieces and chives for garnish!

Stir everything together and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. That’s it!

Serve the bowls of soup with lots of shredded cheddar cheese, reserved bacon pieces, and chives.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Bacon, Cheddar, and Chives
Serves 4

1/2 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium (2 1/2 pound) cauliflower, cored and chopped into florets
2 cups chicken stock or broth
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 6 pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook bacon pieces until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Pour off bacon drippings, reserving 2 tablespoons in the pan (if you end up with less than 2 tablespoons of drippings, add enough butter to bring the total amount up to 2 tablespoons).

Add chopped onion to saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Turn up the heat, add cauliflower and chicken stock and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When liquid comes to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until cauliflower is tender enough to mash, 15-20 minutes.

Add the cream cheese and mash and stir the cauliflower and cream cheese with a potato masher. Stir in the heavy cream. If you would like a smooth soup, puree to desired consistency in the pot with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender (then return to pot).

Stir in 3/4 of the reserved bacon pieces (save the extra for garnish) and 1 tablespoon of chopped chives (save the extra for garnish). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot soup garnished with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon pieces, and chopped chives.

Yield: 4 servings

Now that you see how easy it is to incorporate Philadelphia Cream Cheese into an entree, maybe you should create your own! Head over to Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia site to join the community, see what other are cooking up, and if inspiration strikes, enter the contest for a chance to win $25,000!

To see what other food bloggers are creating with Philadelphia products, check out the BlogHer roundup page!

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

One thing I always have on hand is a bag of frozen peas. Although I love to eat them plain or with just a touch of butter, sometimes it’s nice to dress them up a bit. This simple but decadent side dish features Philadelphia Cooking Creme, a new product that provides the rich taste of original Philadelphia Cream Cheese (another thing I always seem to have on hand), but melts easier and can be spooned and stirred right into the dish.

Philadelphia Cooking Creme is one of the products you can use to enter Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia recipe video contest.  Would you like to meet Paula Deen in person?  Think you have what it takes be a cooking star?  Want a chance to win $25,000?  Head over the Real Women of Philadelphia site to join the community, find inspiration, and learn how to enter.

It’s side dish week featuring Philadelphia Cooking Creme at the RWoP and I’ve created this Creamy Peas with Ham and Mint recipe to help get your creative juices flowing.

This dish is simple to prepare and only requires a handful of ingredients: ham, peas, onions, chicken stock, Philadelphia Cooking Creme, and fresh chopped mint. Don’t worry if you are cooking for picky eaters… the onions are cooked down and they aren’t noticeable at all in the final dish.

First, find a large skillet that has a lid or that can be covered somehow. Now heat the skillet and add a chunk of butter (Paula would be proud, right?).

When the butter is melted and hot, add the onions.

Cook the onions, stirring them every once in a while, until they are very soft and golden brown.

Now stir in the chicken stock, scraping up all the browned, buttery, onions.

Add the frozen peas and ham, bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat until the peas are nice and tender.

Now just spoon the Philadelphia Cooking Creme right over the top of the ham and peas.

Stir everything together and let cook over low heat for a few minutes to blend all the flavors.

Just before serving, stir in the fresh chopped mint then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

And that’s it! Enjoy!

Creamy Peas with Ham and Mint

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 pound frozen peas
6 oz. cooked ham, diced (about 1 cup)
1 10-oz. container Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Original Flavor
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried mint)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet (make sure it has a lid) over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken stock, peas, and ham. Turn heat up and bring liquid to a boil. Cover, turn heat back down to medium-low, and let cook until peas are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in Philadelphia Cooking Creme and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 5 minutes just to let the flavors combine. Stir in fresh chopped mint then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately

yield: 6 servings.

Now that you see how easy it is to incorporate Philadelphia Cooking Creme into a recipe, maybe you should create your own! Head over to Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia to join the community, see what other are cooking up, and if inspiration strikes, enter the contest for a chance to win $25,000!

To see what other food bloggers are creating with Philadelphia products, check out the BlogHer roundup page!

For even more creative video recipes by home cooks, visit the Real Women of Philadelphia Gallery. I’d love to know which videos are your favorites, so don’t forget to come back and let us know which ones you’d like to try!

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and The Laughing Cow.

Last month I talked about getting back into my exercise routine to combat the extra calories I end up consuming as a food blogger.  Well I’m sure you all know that while exercise is very helpful, it’s not enough to keep the pounds from piling on.  There needs to be some kind of balance.

It’s hard to find balance, especially during the holidays.

Our lives are hectic; we are constantly bombarded with advertising designed to make us crave excess; we want things.  Faster.  NOW.

All of this has affected the way we eat in a big way.  Eating out is the norm and making meals “from scratch” is considered a luxury.  I know plenty of people who spend hours in front of food TV watching others cook, but can’t seem to find the time or energy to cook anything themselves.

So how do we learn how to eat again in a world where the role of food has changed from nourishment to entertainment?  I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I can share the things that have helped me over the years.

Turn off the TV: It wasn’t until I lived in Sicily and was without American television for four years that I realized how much television affects how and what I eat.  Cut back on TV and you’ll be amazed at how many food cravings magically disappear.

Get a good cookbook: Cooking didn’t come naturally to me.  I taught myself how to cook by reading cookbooks and food blogs.  Get a good book or two and read it.  If you are having trouble learning a certain kitchen skill or technique from a book, search for a video on YouTube.  There are so many resources for home cooks now, anyone can learn anything; it just takes commitment.

Cook meals at home using real ingredients: You don’t have to eat diet food to be healthy.  Making the switch from eating out to cooking real food will automatically cut some calories, sodium, and sugar from your diet.

Serve yourself small portions and eat slow: One of the benefits of eating at home is that you control the portions.  Instead of putting all the food on the table and digging in, plate the food in the kitchen like at a restaurant.  Serve small portions and eat slow.  Learn what it feels like to be full, not stuffed.  If you really want seconds, go back to the kitchen for a little more.

Drink water: Drink water instead of soda,  juice, sports drinks, or sweetened teas.  Save the calories for food!

Keep healthy snacks at home: One key to not overeating at meals is to not let yourself get too hungry.  Make it easy to snack throughout the day on healthy things by keeping healthy snacks in the house.  If you make your lunch to take to work, add a mid-morning and afternoon snack to your lunch bag.  If you are at home during the day, plan your snacks in the morning and get them ready for the day.  Things I like to snack on:  apple slices and cheese, crackers and cheese or hummus, yogurt with fruit and/or nuts, a bowl of cold cereal, a snack-size portion of leftovers.

Accept who you are right now: If  you are unhappy with yourself, you won’t care about what you put in your body. I know, I’ve been there. You have to accept who you are now in order to move forward toward a healthier life.  If you aren’t wearing the clothing size that you once did, accept it.  Believer me, I know it’s a hard thing to do!  Here’s a suggestion that helped me:  Set aside some money and take yourself shopping.  Find something nice in your current size – something that fits now – and buy it.  When you start losing weight, you can give the larger clothes to charity.

I’m not a health expert or a dietitian. These are things that have helped me lose a bit of weight and feel better about myself over the last six years.  They aren’t hard and fast rules, just things I try to keep in mind – especially during the holidays when it seems like I’m constantly surrounded by sweets and treats.  I think the real key to eating healthy during the holidays is to relax.  Give yourself permission to indulge on special days, but surround yourself with healthier food choices the rest of the time.

Here are some delicious and healthy recipe ideas to try at home (click on each image for recipe):

Now it’s your turn to share!  Leave a comment on this post sharing how you plan on staying healthy this holiday season, and you will be entered to win a $150 Visa card!  Official rules can be found here. Sweepstakes will run from 12/8/2010 – 12/28/2010.  Please keep your comments G-rated as any profanity or offensive content will automatically disqualify you from sweepstakes entry.

Sweepstakes Rules:

• No duplicate comments.
• This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.  You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a)      Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b)      Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c)       Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d)      Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

The Official Rules are available here.

And don’t forget to visit The Daily Dose of Well-Being hub to read helpful content each day and for weekly chances to win $100 at the “Play For Laughs” game.  If you share a really great tip, we may even use it in The Daily Dose!

This is a sponsored review by BlogHer and Ghirardelli.

I grew up a few hours from San Francisco, one of my favorite cities and home to Ghirardelli Chocolate. When I was a kid, trips to San Francisco meant baseball games, sourdough bread, and good chocolate.  That was before Ghirardelli was widely available on grocery store shelves, so the chocolate was a special treat!

Maybe it’s because I still associate it with special occasions, but I don’t often buy Ghirardelli even though it is now widely available in stores.  I have used it in recipes that require premium chocolate, but I don’t often splurge on Ghirardelli when making something basic like a chocolate chip cookie.  So when BlogHer approached me to test some samples of Ghirardelli chocolate in a couple of recipes and write about it, I thought it was an excellent chance to try it out in some recipes where I might, out of habit, use a lesser quality chocolate.

The first recipe I tried was a Ghirardelli recipe for Classic Blondies.  Blondies are something I’ve never made before, so I thought it would be fun to try something new while testing out the chocolate.  The blondie batter is made with Ghirardelli Premium White Chocolate and then chocolate chips are folded in before baking.  I decided to use the Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips instead of semisweet because I thought it might help cut the sweetness of the blondies themselves.

The recipe worked perfectly and a shiny golden block of Blondies emerged from my oven.

After they cooled for a bit, I cut them into squares.  The blondies were rich, moist, and chewy with dark chocolate oozing from all sides.  Just as I figured, the bittersweet chocolate was perfect in the almost too-sweet blondies.

If you’d like to try making them yourself, here is the recipe for Classic Blondies.

The second recipe I tried was my favorite Hot Fudge Sauce.  I found this on Epicurious a couple of years ago and it originally appeared in Gourmet magazine.  The main change I made to the recipe was to use Ghirardelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa instead of dutch process cocoa.  I also use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar because that’s what I usually have on hand.

This hot fudge sauce is simple to make and is far more delicious than any store-bought ice cream topping I’ve ever tried.  It can also be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.  I like to divide the fudge sauce into a couple of glass jars – I keep one in the fridge, and share one with a friend.

Hot Fudge Sauce
(adapted from Epicurious)

2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup Ghirardelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of the chocolate pieces to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until chocolate is melted. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally,  for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat then add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool sauce to warm before serving.

Store leftover fudge sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Reheat before serving.

Yield: about 2 cups.

I decided to combine the blondies and hot fudge to create a completely decadent Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Blondie Sundae.  Yes, it was as amazing as it looks!

I’m happy to announce that as part of this review BlogHer is helping me give away a $100 Visa gift card to one lucky reader!  To enter the contest, please leave a comment at the end of this post and tell me about your favorite homemade chocolate dessert.  For a second entry, you may do one of the following:

• Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)
• Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)
• Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

The contest will end on December 15, 2010 when one comment will be chosen at random.  Official rules can be found here.

Please visit the BlogHer/Ghirardelli round-up page to see what 9 other bloggers have made with Ghiradelli Chocolate.  And for more amazing recipes, be sure to visit Ghirardelli where you can search through hundreds of chocolate dessert recipes!

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and The Laughing Cow.

As a food blogger and recipe developer, I am constantly faced with the temptation to eat more than I should.  I’m always cooking and baking, tasting and eating.  It’s my job!  And yes, I do try to exercise a bit of restraint in the eating department, but I don’t like to deprive myself too much.  I’d much rather use exercise to burn the extra calories I end up consuming in the course of my job.

As I’m sure you all know, staying motivated to exercise is no simple thing.  It’s a constant struggle for me to stay active, even though I know it’s good for me.  As soon as my life gets a bit hectic or overwhelming, my exercise regimen is the first thing that suffers.  Sound familiar?  With the holidays quickly approaching, stress levels are bound to increase, free time is almost guaranteed to disappear, and the temptation to skip the gym will be strong.  I know this is going to happen – it happens every year.  So I’d like to figure out how to take control of this holiday season before it arrives and takes control of me!

Here’s my plan:

Step one: Start exercising now! My life has been pretty chaotic this year.  I’ve moved two times in seven months, I’m going through a divorce, starting a new career, and basically starting a whole new life from scratch.  It’s been hard to keep up any kind of routine in the midst of all this and I just realized that the last time I put on my running shoes was over 5 months ago.  But the only way to get started again is to do just that.  I’m going for a walk this morning.

Step two: Find some support. Last year, I started jogging for the very first time in my life. I followed the Couch-to-5K program and worked my way up from 30 minutes of walking to jogging an actual 5K race without walking at all.  It was fun and difficult and rewarding and something I will always be proud of achieving.  But I didn’t do it alone.  I started the C25K program with a friend and found all kinds of online support through Twitter and Facebook.  I shared my story and found others who encouraged me and needed encouragement themselves.  I found myself checking in with my online support network after every workout.  Although it was wonderful to have a real-life friend to work out with, my twitter and facebook friends were just as helpful.  Now that I’m ready to (slowly) jump back into jogging again, I know that I will be able to do it with the help of my friends.

Step three: Stick with it through the holidays. By getting into my exercise routine before the holidays arrive, I plan to keep the momentum going right through the end of the year.  Instead of letting stress derail my jogging routine, I will use jogging to deal with the stress.  While others will be trying to start a new routine at the beginning of the year, mine will already be going strong and I can save my resolutions for something else!

Now it’s your turn to share!  Leave a comment on this post sharing how you plan on staying healthy during this holiday season, and you will be entered to win a $150 Visa card!  Official rules can be found here. Please keep your comments G-rated as any profanity or offensive content will automatically disqualify you from sweepstakes entry.  The sweepstakes will run from November 15 through December 5th.  Good luck!

And don’t forget to visit The Daily Dose of Well-Being hub to check out other 14 other bloggers’ stories for more chances to win.  And be sure to visit weekly for chances to win $100 at the “Play For Laughs” game.  If you share a really great tip, it might end up in The Daily Dose!

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Tamron.

It’s kind of funny that I am participating in this BlogHer Review program because I’m not very good at reviewing things.  I’ve never been into reviewing movies, music, or restaurants.  I’m no good at assigning star ratings – thumb up or down is more my style.  I really like something or I don’t – end of story.

But because of my interest in photography, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review this Tamron lens -  AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) LD Aspherical (IF) Macro.  I’ve never used a Tamron lens before, but I’ve been hearing a lot about this one because the zoom range (15x) is absolutely incredible.  I’m calling it a Mega-zoom, although I’m pretty sure that’s not the technical term for it because I’m not good with technical terms.  For those of you who are, here are a few specs:

Focal Length: 18-270mm
Maximum Aperture: F/3.5-6.3
Minimum Focus Distance: 0.49m (19.3″)
Weight: 550g (19.5 oz.)

The lens retails for $629.00 and is designed for Canon or Nikon Di II DSLR cameras.

Since I’m not sure how to properly go about a lens review, I’m just going to show you some photos I took with it over the weekend.

When I first took the lens from the box, I was surprise at how compact and light it was.  The build didn’t feel cheap, but it was definitely lighter than I was expecting.  After attaching it to my Canon 30D, I started looking around the room for a decent subject.  My cat Thumbelina was the first thing I saw.  She was way across the room, but I managed to get a nice closeup of her face with the lens extended all the way to 270mm.  The room was fairly dark, so I used the on-camera flash.  The autofocus was a bit slow, but it certainly worked.

Next I went over to a friend’s house to carve pumpkins.  I took this next photo in the dark with the ISO bumped up to 1600.  I didn’t have a tripod, so I switched on the Vibration Compensation and tried to hold the camera as steady as possible.  The VC worked wonders and I managed to get a decent handheld shot of Emma and her pumpkin in the dark.  Of course it would have been much better if I had used a tripod in this instance, but how many of us actually carry a tripod around all the time?

The following morning, I decided to drive up to the mountains to see if I could find some autumn colors.  Unfortunately I mostly just ran into clouds and rain, but still managed to jump out and snap a couple shots when the rain let up.

Luckily, the next day brought beautiful weather so I went back up to the mountains to try again.  I decided to try to show what 15x zoom actually looks like, so first I took this wide shot of a meadow a cabin in the distance at 18mm.

Then standing in the same spot, I zoomed all the way to 270mm and focused on the cabin.

I decided to try the same thing in a vertical shot. This first image was taken at a wide 18mm:

The next one is taken from the same spot, but zoomed all the way to 270mm.  The focus is on part of the fence that can be seen on the right side of the above image, just where the road bends to the left.

I had a great time wandering around with my camera, not having to worry about changing lenses – this one lens definitely covered all my needs!

Although I was very happy with this lens for travel, there was one more thing I needed to do before I make a decision about whether to recommend this as a great all-purpose lens.  Food photography!  I made some Pumpkin Whoopie pies and set everything up my standard nighttime food photography lighting.  The only change I made was to use the Tamron lens in place of my standard food photography lens.

I have to say that I was really impressed with how the photo came out.  I even took some with my Canon lens to compare and was shocked when I slightly preferred the photo taken with the Tamron.

Although I’ve only had a couple of days to play around with it, I feel confident in recommending this Tamron AF18-270mm as a solid all-purpose lens.

Things I love about the lens:

• Zoom range – this really is an all-purpose lens.
• Compact size and weight – was really shocked that Tamron was able to fit so much performance into such a compact package.
• Vibration Compensation – it actually works!

Things that I didn’t love about this lens:

• Autofocus is slow.
• The zoom is a bit sticky – sometimes to the point where it’s almost a struggle to turn the zoom ring.

Now for the exciting part – I am giving one of these lenses away!  There are a couple ways to enter the drawing.  For the first entry, leave one comment on this post telling me what/who you most love to photograph or your favorite place to take photos.  Please read the official sweepstakes rules.

For a second entry you may:

• Tweet about this post including a link to it (and put your tweet url in a separate comment below).
• Blog about this post including a link to it (and put your post url in a separate comment below).
• Read the official rules for an alternate form of entry.

For even more chances to win, check out the lens reviews from other bloggers – we are each giving away a lens and you may enter to win on their sites as well. Check out the review roundup for six other chances to win!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Fage.

When I was approached by BlogHer to receive and review a free case of FAGE Total Greek Yogurt, I almost jumped up and down in excitement!  You see, I’ve been devoted to FAGE Greek Yogurt for over a year now and had already been planning to write a blog post about it. The free case of yogurt was just an added bonus!

So what’s so great about FAGE Total Greek Yogurt?  Lots of things!  But what’s most important to me is that the yogurt is 100% natural and tastes amazing! FAGE is made without any extra ingredients, additives, preservatives, thickeners or stabilizers.  Plain yogurt should basically have only two ingredients: milk and live active yogurt cultures.  That’s it!  And that’s all you’ll get when you eat FAGE Total yogurts.

I was so excited when the Fed Ex guy arrived with my box full of ice-packed yogurt!  Although I buy containers of plain FAGE weekly at Trader Joe’s, I had never tasted any of the flavored varieties.  I opened the box to find samples of  lowfat (2%) Honey, Peach, Cherry, and Strawberry-flavored FAGE as well as a few containers of the plain, nonfat yogurt.  SCORE!

Now first of all, let me tell you a little bit about Greek-style yogurt.  You probably already know that it is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt, but perhaps you don’t know why.  Greek-style yogurt is strained to remove much of the watery whey.  This concentrates the milk solids and results in a thick, luxurious yogurt that is packed with protein.  Now, if the  yogurt is made from whole milk, the end product is also filled with an outrageous amount of fat!  Full fat Greek-style yogurt is absolutely delicious, but should certainly be more of an occasional indulgence than an every day snack.

But this is where FAGE Total 2% and 0% come in.

FAGE has managed to create lowfat and nonfat Greek-syle yogurts that are creamy, delicious and indulgent with tons of protein and little to no fat!  I am not a non-fat yogurt girl so my favorite is the FAGE Total 2% yogurt.  One cup (8oz) of FAGE Total 2% has only 150 calories, 4.5 grams of fat (3g saturated), and a whopping 20 grams of protein!!  And the best part?  It is so creamy and delicious, it feels like you are eating something sinful!  Seriously, this is the only yogurt I will buy now.  FAGE Total 2% has ruined all other yogurts for me!

And for those of you who prefer something completely nonfat, the FAGE Total 0% is pretty good as far as nonfat yogurts go.  One cup of FAGE Total 0% contains 120 calories, 0 grams fat, and 20 grams of protein. While I can eat the 2% yogurt by itself, I find that the nonfat has a slightly strange flavor (like I said, I’m not a nonfat girl!) so I like to pair it with a drizzle of honey or some fresh fruit.  And I  definitely feel that this is the best nonfat Greek-style yogurt out there!  I’ve tasted just about every brand of yogurt that’s available in California and there are no nonfat yogurts that even come close!  And yes, I have tried the Trader Joe’s brand of Greek yogurt. It might be cheaper, but it just doesn’t compare to FAGE.  It really doesn’t.

And I’m not kidding when I say I’ve tried just about every brand of yogurt out there.  When we lived in Europe, I fell in love with the delicious plain yogurts available there.  They were made without any extra ingredients, stabilizers or preservatives and for the first time I started craving and snacking on plain yogurt.  When we moved back to the states, I had a really hard time finding yogurt that compared to what I had grown accustomed to eating.

I set out on a quest to find the best yogurt available here and was disappointed to find that almost everything had additives and stabilizers in it.  But I tried them all anyway.  And I was disappointed over and over again.  And just when I had resigned myself to start making my own yogurt at home, I discovered FAGE. It tasted so great that it seemed almost too good to be true.  And I haven’t bought anything else since!  And although I still want to try making my own yogurt someday, I really don’t want to stop eating my FAGE!

So I’ve talked a lot about the plain varieties of FAGE Total yogurts, but what about those fruit flavors?  It’s true that I had never purchased any of the fruit-flavored varieties, and that’s because I was afraid that they would be too sweet or artifical tasting and quite frankly I didn’t want to ruin my love affair with my favorite Greek-style yogurt.  But how wrong I was!

I love every single flavor! The yogurt containers come with a cute little fruit cup attached to the side so you can decide whether to mix the fruit into the yogurt or just add a little bit of fruit flavor to each bite.  The fruit, although definitely sweetened with sugar, tastes like real fruit!  And although the ingredient list does get a bit longer for the fruit-flavored yogurts, it’s certainly shorter than most store-bought fruit flavored yogurts!

For example, here is the ingredient list for FAGE Total 2% with Strawberry:  Grade A pasteurized Skimmed Milk and Cream, Live Active Yogurt Cultures, Strawberries, Sugar, Corn Starch, Strawberry Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavor, Xantham.

And here are some quick nutrition facts for one 5.3 oz. container of fruit-flavored FAGE Total 2%: 130 calories, 2.5 grams fat (1.5g saturated), 18 grams total carbohydrate, 10 grams protein.

Not too bad for something that tastes like an indulgent dessert!  In fact, I’ve already purchased some more of the fruit-flavored FAGE and I’ve been using it to satisfy the after-dinner sweet tooth I’ve recently developed.  Trust me, eating a container of FAGE is a better choice than a bowl of ice cream!  And quite frankly, I feel just as satisfied.

Now I know that many of you are already as addicted to FAGE as I am.  I see it in your shopping carts, I’ve read your blog posts and I’ve heard you talking about it on twitter.  But what I want to know is, what’s your favorite way to eat it?  I love eating it both plain and drizzled with honey.  But it’s also wonderful topped with fresh fruit…especially chopped mangoes!  I also like to add a handful of granola when I’m feeling a little crunchy.

Greek yogurt is also great to use in place of sour cream or mayonnaise when you want to lighten things up without losing a creamy texture.  I use it often in dips and dressings and Greek yogurt is a must if you want to make a great tzatziki.  Once you start using it, you’ll find the possibilities are endless!

So have I convinced you to try FAGE yet?  Would it help if you got your own free case of FAGE delivered to your door?  I thought so!

BlogHer is giving away a case of FAGE yogurt every single day for the next 30 days!  SERIOUSLY! All you have to do is leave a comment sharing your thoughts about FAGE and you could have the chance to win a case for yourself! Just head over to BlogHer now to find out the details!

And to learn even more about FAGE products, they have a wonderful interactive Web site that will tell you anything you need to know. In fact, why don’t you head over there now?

And one last thing…

If you’re going to eat FAGE Greek yogurt, you need to learn to pronounce it!  No, it doesn’t rhyme with ‘rage.’  FAGE is pronounced “fah-yeh.” Now say it aloud with me…FAH – YEH!

Enjoy!

Recipes using Greek-Style yogurt:

• Curried Turkey Salad with Apples, Cranberries, and Walnuts at Pinch My Salt
• Creamy Cilantro Lemon Dipping Sauce at Pinch My Salt
• World’s Best Tzatziki Sauce at Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Greek Yogurt Cupcakes at Big City, Little Kitchen
• Rich and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing at Dani Spies
• Frozen Yogurt to Rival Pinkberry’s at 101 Cookbooks

Now that I can do!

JCPenney and I go way back.  When I was young, JCPenney was one of the stores lining the main street of my hometown. I can remember going to Penney’s with my mom and my sister and making jokes because my sister is also named Penny.  We did a lot of shopping there when I was young, but the big downtown store eventually moved, and at some point, JCPenney and I grew apart.

During my early teenage years, it became uncool to shop at JCPenney, and for years, the only time I would visit was when I was walking through on the way to other stores in the mall.  And nowadays, I generally try to avoid malls because of the crowds so I end up doing the majority of my shopping online.  So this recent trip to JCPenney was, for me, a new introduction to the store.

And, since it seemed fitting, I invited my sister Penny along for the shopping trip!  Before the big day, I did a little reconnaissance online and figured out what my biggest purchase would be.  I have always wanted a countertop oven.  Not just a wimpy little toaster oven, but something I can actually bake in.  I have never owned a toaster oven because I’ve just never had the counter space.  And to tell you the truth, I still don’t have the counter space.  But I decided I wanted to purchase one anyway.  I picked out this KitchenAid Countertop Oven online, so when we got to the actual store, we headed straight for the housewares department!

Luckily, they had the one I wanted in stock!  And look, I even found a place to put it!

Well maybe I should call it a Bookshelf Oven!

After securing the KitchenAid oven, I moved on to the next item on my wish list: a pressure cooker!  I’ve never owned a pressure cooker, but I’ve wanted one for quite a while.  It just so happened that JCPenney had several sizes of pressure cookers on sale that day.  I decided on the four quart size and I can’t wait to try it out!

Penny and I realized at this point that it would be best to purchase the oven and pressure cooker and take the boxes to the car before continuing the shopping spree.  Although the store was a bit busy with early Christmas shoppers, we didn’t have to wait in line at all!  In fact, I noticed that any time a line would form, someone would open a new register.  Now that’s something I don’t see very often!

After filling the trunk with the two big boxes, we headed back into the store to spend the rest of my gift card.  I’m not going to write about the Christmas gifts I purchased (the recipients might be reading this!), but I will say that they had a great selection of gift items to fit any budget.

Now back to what I bought for myself!

Ok, so it might seem a bit selfish that I spent the majority of the gift card on myself considering it’s so close to Christmas. But the fact is, we purchased our very first home over the summer and since then, money has been rather tight around our household.  Between unexpected household repairs and unexpected car repairs, we just haven’t had any extra money to buy fun things for the house.  So I just couldn’t resist splurging a bit!

First, I decided to treat myself to some new bathroom rugs.  JCPenney had a HUGE selection of towels and rugs so it took me quite a while to decide on some rugs.  I loved the Chris Madden Hotel Collection and picked out some super thick cotton reversible rugs.  They feel so good under my feet!  Someday I’d like to buy a set of the towels, as well!

For the other bathroom, I picked out a Chris Madden Hotel scented candle and some Bliss bath products.  Now that the weather is finally cooling off down in San Diego, I can finally take advantage of the huge bathtub that we have in our second bathroom.  The candle and Blood Orange White Pepper bath gel were a special treat just for me!

And speaking of special treats, check out this cute Dr. Pepper lip gloss I found in the Sephora section:

I loved that JCPenney had a miniature Sephora inside the store!  Am I the only one who didn’t know about this??

I enjoy shopping at Sephora, but the regular store in the mall is always so crowded that browsing in there is never a comfortable experience.  The Sephora in JCPenney was set up in a way that was nice and open and my sister and I had lots of fun testing out several different products.  I absolutely fell in love with the Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper line of bath products!  Bliss is expensive, but I was able to find a gift set that included a small bottle of bath gel and a small bottle of body butter and decided to splurge (once again)!  I think out of everything, the Bliss products were my favorite purchase!

The last thing I decided to search for was a new set of cotton sheets.  Once again, they had a huge selection so it took me a while to make the decision.  It was my sister who finally convinced me to get the 300 thread count Linden Street sheet set because they were made from Egyptian cotton.  And for only $39.99 (for a queen size set), they were a great price!  After washing them and sleeping on them for a few nights, I really believe they get softer each time I crawl into bed.

I like them so much, I hate to make my bed and cover them up

All in all, it was a great shopping trip!  I was very surprised at how much JCPenney has changed over the years.  With the great new home collections, and the ability to shop at Sephora without even leaving the store, JCPenney has a lot more to offer than I realized.  I was also impressed with the customer service and the fact that we didn’t have to wait in line (although that might be very different now that we are so close to Christmas)!  But the best part about shopping at JCPenney was the prices.  I felt like I got great quality merchandise for much less than I would have paid at one of the higher end department stores.

My only complaint was that the housewares department was kind of unorganized and I wish they had a better selection of cookware and utensils.  However, they did have a great selection of small appliances including several products by KitchenAid and Cuisinart.  And seeing the way the rest of the store is improving, I have high hopes that the housewares/kitchen department will continue to improve as well.

I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have been given this opportunity!  Not only did I get to outfit my new home with some things I would not have been able to purchase otherwise, I also got to spend a wonderful afternoon shopping with my sister!  And now that I’ve been re-introduced to JCPenney, I know I’ll be shopping there again.

Thank you, BlogHer and JCPenney!!

And now here’s your chance to win your own shopping spree at JCPenney.  BlogHer and JCPenney are giving away a $300 gift card each week this month (ending Dec. 30). Visit BlogHer for the details and good luck!

Happy shopping, everyone!