Andrea's Column

Profiles in Excellence - A Celebration of Dance

In honor of Black History month, we are pleased to once again offer our annual free booklet, "Profiles in Excellence" which honors the cultural history of African Americans. This year celebrates the rich contribution of African Americans to the art of dance.

From early dance forms to current trends, dance has played an important role in African American history. Booklets will be available in stores in February, and can also be downloaded here.

More Matters in 2010

Have you made the commitment to eat more fruits and vegetables this year? Good for you!

Here are some easy ways to help you increase your choices throughout the day.

• Use bananas and frozen strawberries to make a delicious morning smoothie.
• Keep a bowl of fresh fruit handy on the kitchen counter or table.
• Keep dried fruit handy at the office for snacking, like boxes of raisins and dried apricots.
• Add garbanzo, kidney and/or black beans to salads.
• Thirsty? Drink a glass of 100% fruit juice.
• Make vegetables part of a quick dinner - microwave or steam them in only a few minutes.
• For dessert, try apple slices with peanut or soy butter.

All forms of fruits and vegetables - fresh, frozen, canned and dried count towards helping maintain your health. Enjoy!

New Year Party Planning

Are you hosting a New Year's party or potluck this year? Stop & Shop is your one stop destination for all your holiday party needs. Here are party planning ideas to help you celebrate the New Year:

• Choose recipes that can be prepared in advance or use prepared foods and party trays to give you more time to enjoy your guests.
• Serve food buffet-style. Great staples for holiday buffets include our wing platters, deli meat and cheese platters, meatball trays and wrap sandwiches.
• Place a variety of drinks in a tub with ice so guests can serve themselves.
• Have snack foods like pretzels, cheese and crackers, and nuts handy. Our veggie and fruit trays are great for healthy snacking too.
• Ask family or friends to make a food item for the buffet table or keep the party simple with snacks, dessert and drinks.
• Use one-stop shopping to pick up paper plates, condiments, food and drinks, party platters, balloons and other decorations.
• For a festive touch, visit our floral department for a beautiful centerpiece for your table.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year!

Holiday Helpers

The holiday season is special, especially for children. But as a mother, I know that young children can also be a handful when rushing around, trying to prepare for the holidays.

Here are a few tips I use that help make life a little easier:

• As you rush around shopping for gifts, odds are you will get caught in long lines-bring along treats like, stickers and snacks, to keep the kids occupied.
• Give children the task of helping with the holiday cards. Allow them to either place stamps on envelopes or for smaller children, to decorate each envelope with a holiday sticker.
• Include the children in simple baking - let them stir ingredients or make extra dough just for them so they can have fun making shapes with cookie cutters.
• While visiting family and friends, remember that their homes may not be child-proofed, so keep an eye out for danger spots and bring along favorite books, coloring books and crayons or toys to keep them happy and busy.
• Ask for a suggestion with the holiday menu and make their favorite dish - even if it is not exactly traditional!
• Put them in charge of place cards for the table - small kids can decorate and practice writing letters.

Enjoy your holiday preparations and creating wonderful memories with your children!

Turkey 101

Whether you're a novice or just need a refresher course, here are some basic guidelines for preparing the centerpiece of a delicious holiday meal, the turkey.

1. Make sure you have a roasting pan large enough to hold your turkey and a meat thermometer.
2. Purchase 1 to 1¼ pounds of turkey per guest to guarantee plenty at the dinner table.
3. Thaw frozen turkey in the refrigerator. Allow 2 days for a 10 pound bird; 4 days for a 20 pound bird.
4. Keep a fresh turkey in the original packaging in the refrigerator and use within two days after the sell-by date.
5. After unwrapping, remove neck and giblets from the cavity.
6. For optimal safety, cook stuffing in a separate dish. If cooking in the turkey, fill loosely.
7. Place turkey in oven set no lower than 325 degrees.
8. Turkey is done when a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone. Stuffing should reach 165 degrees.
9. Remove turkey from the oven and let "rest" for 20 minutes.
10. Plan to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking.
11. Carve and enjoy!

Fall in Love with Fall Produce

The autumn harvest season is a perfect time to enjoy the beauty of fall foliage, take family walks on crisp, cool days and enjoy the abundance of fresh and deep-colored fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, and cranberries.

For fun, fall ways to get more fruits and veggies, try new ways to prepare and serve fall favorites:

• For breakfast, top whole grain waffles or pancakes with warm apple slices and cinnamon.
• Pack broccoli and cauliflower pieces with low fat Ranch dressing for an afternoon snack that fills you up!
• Instead of French fries, serve seasoned, baked sweet potato "fries" with your favorite dinner.
• Stir-fry green beans or Brussels sprouts with garlic and olive oil.
• Bake acorn squash with a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon-it's sweet and loaded with antioxidants.
• Finish your meal with a bowl of warm, baked, sliced pears and apples; top with cranberries, almonds and low-fat vanilla yogurt. It is delicious!

For added convenience, look for all ready cut-up varieties such as cubed butternut squash, apple slices and baby carrots. Or stop by the salad bar.

A variety of colorful fruits and vegetables provides the range of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to stay healthy and fit.

So, remember that More Matters this fall and include fresh fall produce in your daily diet!

Family Meals Make A Difference!

September 28th is National Family Meal Day - join Stop & Shop and families around the country in renewing our commitment to family meal time.

Research shows that there are real benefits to sharing family meals...children have overall better diets and are more likely to adopt healthier lifestyles. Here are some suggestions on how you can make mealtime a family time more often:

• Every Sunday, pick nights during the coming week when the family can eat together.
• Encourage children to create menu ideas and help with meal preparation.
• Keep meals simple. Spend time on one dish and use convenience foods for the rest.
• Turn off the TV and radio so everyone can focus on conversation. Share what happened during the day.
• Remember that kids often take more time to eat then adults. So, relax and enjoy a few extra minutes sitting at the table before cleaning up.

For healthy recipes, click here.

Healthy Ideas

Looking for an easy way to find healthy foods?

Many of us want to live a more healthy lifestyle by eating healthy foods and exercising. But the fact of the matter is, most of us are time-pressed, and need solutions to make choosing healthy foods easier.

As a busy mom, I can certainly relate!

Stop & Shop has a tool to make it easier! Just look for the healthy ideas symbol on shelf labels and on Stop & Shop brands, and you will know that the food is limited in total fat (except for a few categories), saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars. And a healthy ideas food must provide at least 10% of the Daily Value of at least one nutrient.

Remember to check the Nutrition Facts as well if you have a particular diet concern. For complete Healthy Ideas criteria, click here.

Bag It!

Looking for new ideas for your kids' lunchboxes this year? Or your own lunch too?

It's that time of year when schools are opening and routines set in - including packing lunches. While there's nothing wrong with relying on favorite stand-bys like peanut butter and jelly, try some new foods too!

• Instead of bread for sandwiches, try tortillas or pitas.
• New flavored lunch meats will perk up the sandwich filling.
• Sneak shredded or grated vegetables into sandwiches.
• Make it convenient with fruit cups, dried fruit snack mixes, pudding cups and baby carrots.

It is also important to make sure that the food you pack will be safe. Use gel packs, frozen drinks, and insulated lunch bags to keep foods safe until lunchtime.

Make it fun for kids by including a surprise every once in a while such as a sticker or special note or drawing. Remember to keep portions kid sized for little ones too - use bagelettes or mini-pitas for sandwiches and choose small pieces of fruit and easy to handle foods such as string cheese and mini-muffins.

Here's to a healthy school year!

Smart Snacks

As kids head back to school, keep up their energy level and improve their concentration with healthy snacks. There are a variety of nutritious and convenient choices throughout the store.

• child-size fruits that are easy for kids to eat
• colorful veggies such as baby carrots, broccoli, celery sticks and yellow peppers - look for the pre-cut veggies packaged with low fat dip
• pre-packaged apple slices are a kid favorite
• dried fruits, nuts, raisins and 100-calorie snack packs
• low fat and fat free yogurts and yogurt drinks
• string cheese
• applesauce cups and fruit cups
• whole wheat pretzels and whole grain crackers
• shelf-stable or refrigerated puddings
• fruit leathers

These snacks provide the energy boost kids need!