Oscar Mayer Premium Selects Nitrate and Nitrite Free Hot Dogs Better Than Hebrew National

I don't like serving hot dogs to my family--too much junk, too little food value. Alas, said family loves homemade Coney Island.

I was happy to find that Oscar Mayer makes Select Premium uncured hot dogs with no nitrates, nitrites. fillers or preservatives. Cheap too--only about $.75 more per package than junk hot dogs. The all beef Oscar Mayer Select Premium with no nitrates or nitrites were $3 per pound.

This is great news for a family of six who wants to each healthy. It's nothing for me to cook three packages of hot dogs at a time. We are always feeding extra people. Up till now, if I wanted a healthy hot dog to grill, the only option was Al Fresco preservative free chicken sausage at $4-$5 per pound.

Everyone loves Oscar Mayer Selects Premium. One son confused them with some organic free-range hot dogs I used to buy from co-op (much higher priced). They're as good as higher-priced Hebrew National. And those, I found, while being kosher, aren't necessarily nitrate free.

Here's the list of ingredients in Oscar Mayer Select Premium: chicken, turkey, pork, water, corn sugar, salt, celery juice, vinegar, lemon juice, cherry powder and sodium phosphates (less than 2%). So the corn sugar isn't great. They're not lowfat, low sugar or low sodium. So not good for special health diets, just a more natural alternative. And I've read that celery juice is a nitrate--but it's a natural source--better than chemicals.

For more on Oscar Mayer Selects Premium, click here. For more food product reviews, healthy eating, recipes and cooking hints, visit me at www.greatfood4u.blogspot.com.

Quick, Cheap Kid-friendly Leftovers Use-Up, One-Pot Meals

I admit, I'm a cookbook addict. I enjoy perusing them for recipes and cooking styles. I've noticed many cookbooks are limited. And most recipes are needlessly complicated. Busy families need meals that don't require multiple steps or that dirty a sink full of pans. So I've written recipes for nutritious meals that can be made while helping a child with spelling words or nursing a baby. Ingredients are cheap and adaptable to what's on hand and use up leftovers plus have enough for another meal. If you line baking dishes with heavy foil, you can freeze food, remove pre-wrapped in foil and store. Read onSuper Easy, Inexpensive, Kid-friendly Leftover Use-Up, One-Pot Meals

Feed a Family of Four for $75 a Week Shopping at Walmart

Food prices, like all other costs, are rising. However, it is possible to feed a family for four on $75 a week by shopping at Walmart, practicing once-a-week cooking, and buying fresh options. Here's a menu, meal plan, recipes, and a shopping list that covers three meals a day for seven days. I've also included special diet options, including vegetarian meals.  How to Feed a Family of Four on $75 a Week from Walmart

Budget Graduation Open House, Party Shopping Guide With Recipes

Hosting a graduation open house and don't know where to start? Use this party planning guide to throw the perfect backyard bash for your graduate! Here are recipes plus shopping lists for groceries, supplies, decorations and equipment. Being the perennial penny pincher, I've listed cheaper and DIY alternatives--to save you money and hassle! Read on.  Budget Graduation Party Open House Shopping Guide With Recipes. Oh and be sure to use free printable decorations, cards and invitations to save even more. Check out my blog DIY Party Planner and click "graduation" for printables.

Candy Alternative Easter Baskets, Healthy Holiday Treat Recipes

I know, Cadbury Creme Eggs are to die for. Peeps are an Easter staple. But really, why must Easter baskets overflow with candy? Holidays seems to involve increasingly more sweets and junk food. With one in three kids overweight or obese, says KidsHealth, it's time to rethink our sweets craze. I've been dieting and lost 96 pounds by substituting sweets with healthy alternatives. Here are good-for-you Easter treat and snack recipes. Healthy Easter Snack and Treat Recipes

Lowfat, Low Sodium Gluten-Free Thai Recipes, Cheap and Quick

I love Thai food, but I'm trying to lose weight. So I improvise recipes with lowfat tweaks. I substitute foods to cut calories, sodium, gluten, fat and sugar. I swap for high fiber, vegetable and protein alternatives. As a busy work-at-home mom, I don't have time for labor-intensive cooking. Here are three quick, easy Thai recipes with diet alternatives.    Lowfat, Low Sodium Gluten-Free Thai Recipes, Fast and Simple

Grain, Bread Food Swaps to Cut Calories, Lose Weight

I started dieting 18 months ago. In the first year, I didn't lose much. I cut calories but was still hungry. My problem was bread; it's filling but highly caloric. I won't cut grains completely. Instead, my strategy is to "tweak." Here are bread, starch and grain switches to cut calories, get full and eat healthier. Use this shopping list to for cheap, reduced-calorie diet options.  Starch Food Swaps to Cut Calories, Lose Weight 

Foods Donations for Holiday Drives

Tis the season for giving and my favorite is food drives. I love seeing people come together, across religious and cultural lines, to reach out to neighbors in need. If you're donating, be sure to follow the suggestions list. But if there are no suggestions here's a list of food items that are always needed. I've put in many hours in food banks, food pantries and shelter missions. I've seen first-hands that some foods there's never enough of and some that are donated in abundance. Here's a food bank shopping list.  Best Items to Donate to Thanksgiving and Christmas Food Drives

Jerusalem Cookbook--Kitchen Must Have and a Lot More

I love to cook--I particularly love to experiment with different ethnic foods. My youngest son mentioned a cookbook he'd heard about on NPR (he listens to intellectual radio, so yeah--brag!) The book "Jerusalem" celebrates this religiously and culturally diverse region through food. I'd forgotten his suggestion until, perusing new books at Barnes & Noble, I happened on a cool book called "Jerusalem." When I mentioned it, Jake quipped, "That's the one I was telling you about!"

The authors, both natives, are agemates but from different poles of the religious (and geographic) map. Yotam Ottolenghi is a Jew from the western side of Jerusalem and Sami Tamimi, an Arab from eastern Jerusalem. Not only do they share recipes and historical information from their own backgrounds, but they include cultural tidbits from the myriad of heritages represented in this "flavorful" city. Jerusalem is a celebration of differences and a tasty mix of similarities. And what better medium than food to share it? I, a Dutch-Irish, native protestant, Catholic convert was proud to recognize many of the terms used and I look forward to exploring it further. Beyond a cookbook, "Jerusalem" is a comprehensive social studies unit. Run, don't walk,  to your local bookseller and get your copy. And for some yummy Mediterranean recipes a la this newb, read How to Make your Own Za'ater. 

Scary Halloween Party Foods and Treats--Cheap, Easy

Want to scare some little ghosts and goblins this Halloween? Make these cheap spooky trick-or-treat party goodies. Ghoulishly yummy, monstrously healthy, these treats will satisfy every vampire, witch, bat, zombie, ghost, mummy and creature on your Halloween party guest list. Set out food in bowls, buffet style. Label each treat, just in case ghouls don't recognize them. Before eating, play the blindfold game. Give each guest a paper plate and blindfold them. Give out samples of each item, tell them what it is and let them touch and feel it before eating. Everyone should be good grossed out. Here's the menu (did I mention this was a cheap, easy party?) Read on for spooky Halloween party food tips 

Annie's Homegrown Bunny Pasta Mixes Product Review

Annie's Homegrown Totally Natural Organic Bunny Pasta Mixes
Annie's Homegrown Totally Natural Bunny Pasta mixes are organic, preservative and additive free, contain no trans-fats and lots of protein. Annie's Homegrown Pasta in quick, easy and come in green, recycled packaging. Annie's taste good, too.
Read More

International Delight Coffee House Inspirations Skinny Fat Free Creamer

International Delight Coffee House Inspirations Skinny Fat-Free Creamer
I don't normally drink flavored coffee. You know, the frothy kind with names you can't pronounce that cost, like $5 a glass? Since I've been dieting, I use International Delight Coffee House Inspirations Skinny Fat-Free Creamer for a treat.
Read More