Help Them Chef-Up Healthy Meals

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Not every kid is cut out to be the next Top Chef. Some fledgling cooks need a little motherly advice in the form of easy-to-follow and achievable recipes in order to chef-up fast, fresh, healthy and delicious dishes.

The Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe collection features delicious, nutritious and budget-friendly recipes for main dishes, sides and salads. Each recipe includes a photo of the completed dish, clear instructions and an ingredient list that combines pantry staples with fresh ingredients to create wholesome meals.

There’s no reason to give the twenty-something in your life another music gift card when you can help them feed their hunger or wow their friends with a streamlined cookbook targeted to their needs.

The Mama Says “No More Frozen Pizza!” Recipe Collection is available at target.com and amazon.com.

View at Picasa It only looks like a pizza box! Inside are nutritious, delicious and affordable recipes designed for busy, new cooks – from Mama Says.

Order today for holiday delivery.

• Bonus Feature: From the Mama Says website, users can download suggested list of Pantry and Kitchen Essentials along with grocery lists for the recipes!
• The easy-to-follow directions and photos of the completed dishes inspire them to turn fresh (and affordable) ingredients into healthy meals.
• Designed to encourage young adults and busy professionals to put down the take-out menu and pick up a spatula.

Help the new cook in your life say “no” to processed food and “yes” to cooking quick and nutritious meals.

View at Picasa Happy Halloween from Mama Says (www.mamasays.us)29-Oct-2009 03:04, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 400

Happy Halloween! Hope your treat bags are filled with the goodies you crave.

Wishing you fast, fresh and healthy meals,

Mama Says

Friends, Breaks and Dishes Worth Sharing

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Remember the line from the popular sitcom Friends – “but we were on a break!”

Well, the Mama Says team has been on a break as well. We’ve used our time away from blogging to delve into new avenues and ideas. Iris is student teaching as she explores how kids learn English as a Second Language (ES) – talk about wanting to make a difference in your community. And I’ve been in the thick of remodeling a 27 year-old kitchen that was in need of TLC; taking time to focus on my local community and nesting.

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We are happy to announce that our break is over. Welcome back and thank you for joining us once again in the Mama Says kitchen.

In these tough economic times it feels conspicuous to write about a kitchen remodel. Especially when the focus of the Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe collection and this blog revolves around maximizing your food dollar with fast, fresh and healthy recipes, useful tools, entertaining with an occasional splurge. That said our remodel is something my husband and I have been dreaming about and saving for during the past ten years. As we embrace the empty-nester phase of life, we’ve decided to age in-place. So the work we are doing on our home will help us do just that. We have thought about the placement and selection of appliances, cabinetry and finishes to give us another 20 years in our home. While time may improve certain wines it isn’t always a friend to your home – so this is the ideal time to replace our cook-top with its intermittent burners and address the water damage from a slow leak in both an old refrigerator and chimney…you know the list!

During the next several posts, I look forward to sharing ideas on how to survive a remodel, tips on the sort/purge/recycle process and how to create fresh and healthy meals when you don’t have a functioning kitchen.

Kitchen remodel survival tip #1: Ask For Help

Put the word out to friends and family that you are available for meals. Sweeten the deal by offering to gladly bring a dish, co-chef at their house, do the dishes, and return the favor at a future date in exchange for a home-cooked meal, time in a functioning kitchen and a dust-free home. Facebook is an ideal venue for this appeal.

Just because you don’t have a working kitchen, doesn’t mean you can’t bring a delicious fast, fresh and healthy dish to dinner. This Roasted Tomato side is made in a crock-pot! And it has all of the flavors of oven-roasted tomatoes.

Kitchen remodel survival tip #2: Fall in Love with Your Crock Pot

Roasted Tomatoes in a Crock Pot

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Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Cooking Spray
• 3 medium tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Italian Seasoning, fresh thyme or other herbs
• Fresh basil, fresh thyme, Parmesan cheese (optional toppings)

Preparation

1. Spray the bottom and sides of the ceramic crock-pot
2. Slice tomatoes in half and place cut side up in the crock-pot
3. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and herbs, cover and cook on high for one hour.
4. To serve: sprinkle with minced fresh herb(s) and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Leftover roasted tomatoes are wonderful in soups, chili, omelettes, and sandwiches.

Mama Says wants to know: How did you survive a remodeling project?

We’re Ready for Our Close-up

The Mamas took the “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe collection for a photo session at Studio Chambers in historic Inman Park (Atlanta, GA). 

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View at Picasa 22-Oct-2009 03:00, 3.2, 5.9mm, 0.067 sec, ISO 400

Of course we had fun – and got the job done. Talented photographers, assistants, an art director, great music and an inspirational workspace (that is a combination photo studio, sound stage and back lot studio) made for productive day. Here are some photos we took for the Mama Says photo album and scrapbook:

To see the actual photos from the photo session visit our website www.mamasays.us next month!

Need an afternoon snack? Rum Cake anyone?

Share Our Strength

September 20 – 26, 2009

Help in the fight against childhood hunger!

Help end childhood hunger just by dining out! During this week, participating restaurants will graciously donate a portion of their sales to support Share Our Strength‘s efforts to end childhood hunger in America.

During September 20 – 26, participating restaurants will graciously donate a portion of their sales to support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in America.

Cities participating in the Great American Dine Out:

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City.

To find a restaurant participating in Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out click on this OpenTable.com link to see participating restaurants and make your reservation. Thank you for dining out and supporting this important cause!

DID YOU KNOW – Mama Says donates 2% of proceeds from the sale of our Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza” recipe collection to programs that assist American families in need with meals and
access to food via projects with Food Banks and other community programs. The Mama Says recipe collection is an ideal gift for new cooks, recent college grads, new apartment dwells and busy young professionals — not only does it help them to prepare healthy and delicious meals (which are good for their waistlines and wallets) – it also assists those in need.