Congratulations!

Uncle Lynn, the Pop'r King, is pleased to announce the winners in our first-ever Pop'rs Giveaway! Each winner will receive two free flavors of Pop'rs.

• Megan, at Reed's Home for Our Savior, says her 2-year-old "won't touch anything green, and even turns down most fruits." We hope Pop'rs will help him Eat His Veggies!


• Cindi reports that her family could use more convincing to eat broccoli, cauliflower and peas. We're going to be sending some Buffalo and Taco Pop'rs her way, without delay!


• Elizabeth, who blogs at blueviolet, says her daughter "hates carrots and celery, and I can't figure out why." We hope Pop'rs will solve your conundrum, Elizabeth!


• Angie, aka John Deere Mom, informs us that her kids don't like most cooked veggies, but they do love BUTTER. We'll send some Pop'rs your way, Angie, and see if that does the trick!


• Sean, over at DC Sports Plus and one of two men to enter our contest (we're an equal opportunity blog, ya know!), tells us that his sisters hate most veggies, but if he snuck some chocolate-flavored Pop'rs into their meals, they might be agreeable. If not, Sean plans to keep the Pop'rs all for himself!


• Speaking of being KooKooForCocoaPuffs, Lynette laments that "If I could get my youngest to eat anything other than chocolate or sugar-coated stuff, I'd be living large, I tell you!!" We're sending Pop'rs to the Rescue!


• Deanna, proprietor of Deanna's Corner, says Her Hubby absolutely shuns green beans. Do we have a Pop'rs Surprise for him!


• Brandy, who definitely is Not Your Average Soccer Mom, blogged poetically about Pop'rs' ability to "spice up your food." She predicts that your kids will eat broccoli, for goodness sakes, if Pop'rs are involved. We're gonna put her family to the test!


• Sherri, over at Kaysville Momma, boasts of her "Random Ramblings" on her blog, but nothing was random about her Pop'rs Post. Hope Pop'rs help out in the veggies department, Sherri!


• Jena, who manages A Scrap in Time, tells us that her 5-year-old will only eat fruits, and that she'll Eat Her Veggies when she "gets older." As soon as the Pop'rs arrive, we expect Little Miss will be growing up mighty fast!

Thanks to all of you who entered our giveaway. We'll be running another Pop'rs Contest next week, so Stay Tuned!

These Critters Need Care!

While Blog-Surfing yesterday, I came upon a poignant post over at Scholastic Scribe. The terrible flooding in the Midwest and fires in California have brought serious consequences to victims beyond the people who are flooded and burned out. I'm re-printing some of Melissa B.'s post here, with permission.

Much like in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of household pets are now homeless. Fortunately, volunteer organizations are stepping in to help. The United Animal Nations is one such group.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, almost 1,000 household pets have passed through UAN's temporary shelter. Hundreds more dogs, cats, birds and other pets are still in the Cedar Rapids shelter, waiting to see what will become of their humans' homes.

What can we do? UAN has only 10 paid staff, and 2,600 animal care volunteers in the field. They are accepting donations from concerned folks like us, to keep their critical operations afloat when disaster strikes.

Thanks to Melissa B. for bringing this important issue to our attention. Please consider donating to UAN's Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS). No contribution, I'm sure, will be too small.

Would You Like Geraniums With Your Coffee?

I've been round and round with four scraggly geranium plants I adopted after my Mom passed away. Dear Old Mom always had such a green thumb--I seem to have a decidedly brown one! When I was growing up, we had geraniums blooming--both inside and outside--all year long!

The Sad Sack plants I've been tending for a couple of years are part of the garden that my girls helped plant at Mom & Dad's house. We put four of Mom's geraniums in pots, and I've been overseeing them ever since. They seem to do the best in the summer, when it's hot & humid; in the winter, I'm lucky if I get a few green leaves and an occasional blossom out of them!

Part of my problem, I know, is that these Mediterranean-born plants are water-logged. They're outside on my deck for the summer, and we've been getting a lot of rain recently. My sister also told me that geraniums love to "feed"--in other words, I should do something about fertilizing them.

I'm a bit wary of commercial fertilizers, so my sis recommended coffee grounds. Does anyone out there in the Blogosphere know about this home remedy? I've taken all four of these pitiful plants, transplanted them together in a larger pot, and fertilized them with grounds from my kitchen counter percolator.

Please let me know if there's something else I should--or should not--be doing. It's been two days, and I'm already seeing new blossoms. Coffee & geraniums might be kissin' cousins--who knew?

Of Deadlines, Blueberry Pie & How to Play With Your Food

Ah, Summertime! Gotta love the long days, the cool (sometimes) nights & the extra time to spend with family & friends.

Because Summer is such a special time, with extra moments to cram between the nooks & crannies of our busy lives, I decided to start a blog. And to inaugurate my latest endeavor, Uncle Lynn, the Pop'r King (& my Most Esteemed brother-in-law, BTW) gave me the chance to thank all my Bloggy Friends by running a Contest.

If you tuned in a couple of days ago, you'll know that we launched Giveaway Tuesday #1. The Deadline has been extended to Sunday, so make sure you enter! As Uncle Lewie used to say, "Nothing is free, except when it is." And that's exactly Uncle Lynn's belief. So, make sure you ENTER TODAY! I'd love to win Free Pop'rs myself, except I imagine I'm not eligible. Well, ethics are a good thing, right?

And speaking of eligibility, I tried Aunt Julie's Blueberry Pie recipe. MMMMMMM....GOOD! Blueberry season lasts for a good long while, so hope you take advantage of all Mother Nature has to offer. I can't think of a better way to honor the Bounty of the Season!

One more thing, before I skedaddle. The Pop'r King and two of my nephews are on their way down to New Orleans on a business trip, of sorts. Pop'rs, a family-run company, is exhibiting at a trade show sponsored by The Institute of Food Technologists. As near as I can tell, it's a convention that pulls together the Greatest Minds in Food--including Pop'rs. Uncle Lynn's amazing product is part science & part art; he's one of the leaders in a wave aiming to improve the sensory & nutrition side of the business.

As some of you know, Pop'rs are the ultimate in sensory eating experiences. Uncle Lynn's product actually encourages kids to play with their food. Please enter our Contest to find out why!

Salute Your Shorts! And Don't Forget the Pop'rs!

Ah, the joys of summer camp. I have to say I always cried, even when my youngest went to Church Camp for four days! I love watching re-runs of "Salute Your Shorts" with the kids, although this early-'90s Nickelodeon gem apparently only produced 17 episodes! None of it is at all realistic, but we still get a good laugh out of it!

Your kids aren't going off to zany Camp Anawanna, but many of you are packing them up, nonetheless. Here are some Helpful Do's & Don'ts to keep in mind when organizing Little Miss & Junior's Camp Duffle Bag:

Things to Take:

• Family, pet photos
• Pre-addressed & stamped postcards to send home.
• Bug spray (More than one can would be nice)!
• A favorite blanket
• A flashlight
• A packable folding chair

Things to Leave at Home:

• New sneakers (unless you don't care if they get trashed)
• Jewelry (The expensive stuff could get lost/stolen; many camp activities aren't friendly to rings, bracelets & necklaces.)
• Your good watch (Purchase a cheap one at your local drug store.)
• Expensive camera (Disposables are best!)
• Anything in a glass bottle (plastic/unbreakable containers only!)

Online Summer Camp Resources

• Campparents.org is sponsored by the American Camp Association & will help you find a camp, help with camp planning & give you summer camp advice.
• CampSpirit.com will help you with homesickness issues.
• Cloz.com features camp wear, stationery & other cool stuff.
• Funcampstuff.com advertises "hot items" for campers, plus advice for parents.
• Summercamp.org is sponsored by the National Camp Association & offers advice on summer camps, plus practical info for both kids & parents.

Another thing to note: Some summer camps don't want their participants to bring food along, although others encourage small snacks in critter-proof containers. Uncle Lynn's youngest went to camp a couple of years ago. If his Dad had invented Pop'rs back then, he probably would have packed a couple of 1-ounce containers in his duffle. Some of that camp food can be atrocious!

Yes, separation anxiety is a very real & sometimes potent thing. But in the end, summer camp can be a fun & fulfilling experience. One bit of advice does bear repeating, though: Don't forget the bug spray!

Scrumptious!

Aunt Julie--The Pop'r Queen--is known for her attention to detail. No one tends a prettier garden; no one pieces together an heirloom quilt quite like my sister-in-law. Aunt Julie's quest for perfection spills over into the kitchen, as well, where her Christmas Cut-Out Cookies are almost as good as those baked for so many years by my mother-in-law--and her Mom--Grandma Vera.

Auntie J's Blueberry Pie is no exception. This confection fairly oozes sweetness and tartness at the same time, played in out in a delightful combination of a little bit of sugar with the bounty of early summer's blueberry crop. What makes this pie even more delectable is when you & the family pick the berries yourselves. Both my daughters chose Aunt Julie's Blueberry Pie as the recipe to commit closest to their memories. Sounds like a family outing to the Blueberry Patch is in order!

Why don't you take some time out this afternoon, reflect on all that life has to offer, & bake one of these absolutely scrumptious pies? And while the pie is cooling, you can contemplate your entry in this week's Pop'rs Giveaway Tuesday #1!

Aunt Julie's Blueberry Pie
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine in a bowl:
6 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp. cinammon
1/4 cup tapioca
Pour blueberry mixture into a prepared pie crust.
Top with a lattice-style crust.
Sprinkle crust with sugar.
Bake for 45 minutes--cover the top of the pie with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes.
Cool.
Enjoy!

Giveaway Tuesday #1!

OK, friends, here's the deal. Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r King, has given me permission to inaugurate Our First Ever Giveaway Tuesday. Here's how Giveaway Tuesday #1 will work.

If you're interested in winning 2 Free Jars of Pop'rs (you pick the flavors!), you need to follow these Five Easy Steps:

1. If you'd like to enter the contest, please e-mail us at sales@poprs.com . Please write the title of the contest (Giveaway Tuesday #1) in the subject line of your e-mail. In the body of the e-mail, please write your Name, Address, E-Mail, Blog Title (if you're a Blogger--you don't have to be a Blogger to enter!) & Phone Number (we FedEx in the summer, so the product arrives fresh and tasty at your doorstep!).
2. Then, please write a short post in the comment box for today's post, Giveaway Tuesday #1, explaining the food your kids or another member of your family dislikes the most and What Flavor of Pop'rs you would use to jazz it up to make it more appealing.
3. After you post on our blog, please post the same comment, with a reference & a link to Eat Your Veggies! on your blog. The way we see it, The More the Merrier!
4. Comments must be made on this post and your info sent to sales@poprs.com by Sunday, June 29! Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r King, says he'll send 2 Pop'rs Flavors of Your Choice to 10 contestants, selected at random.
5. When you win (yes, we believe that the glass is always half-full) & receive your Free Pop'rs, we'd be mighty pleased if you'd agree to try our product on several different foods, & Blog All About It.

Dear Readers: We Believe in Our Product & in Our Blogging Buddies! So, please, Put Your Thinking Caps On! Everyone knows there's No Free Lunch. But there are Free Pop'rs, & they're oh-so-easy to win!

You Say Tomato, I Say Pop'rs!

Unless you've been living under a glacier (assuming you can find one big enough--poor dears!) at the South Pole, you've heard about the Deadly Tomato Salmonella Outbreak. OK, a tomato is a fruit, but Veggie Mom feels a close kinship with the juicy red critters. My kids are real tomato afficionados, too. It just breaks their Tomato-Pickin' Hearts that Mom's not acquiring these tasty treats on her bi-weekly jaunts to Ye Local Grocery Store.

But there's a Silver Lining here. First, the Good News. Not all tomatoes are affected--we can still pick up Cherry & Grape Tomatoes & Tomatoes on the Vine, all the while resting assured that our little darlin's will sleep well at nite. The Even Better News is that we can now introduce other yummy fruits & veggies to our families, with a fun twist.

You've probably noticed in my bio to the right that I'm a Mom who's committed to her family's health & well-being. I'm also related to Uncle Lynn. He's the Pop'r King, & boy, does he have some great suggestions for jazzing up that food that Junior & Little Miss turn their noses up at now & again.

Here are some Neat New Ideas for serving those delectable fruits, veggies & other yummy treats that The Family has gotten so close to over the years. The 8 different Pop'r flavors, BTW, come in fun 1-ounce shakers, & are available online at http://www.poprs.com/:

• Try Cinammon Pop'rs on applesauce.


• Sprinkle Color Burst on any flavor of yogurt.


• Chocolate's a super flavor on top of pudding.


• Introduce Strawberry to your kiddos' cereal in the morning.


• Raspberry is a treat with yogurt & ice cream.


• Corn & other veggies take well to Butter.


• Taco can't be beat on mashed potatoes.


• Buffalo (as in the seasoning used on wings) goes hand-in-hand with brocolli & its kindred spirits.
  

Did I mention that these Fun & Scrumptious Seasonings are vitamin-fortified? Hey, if they get my kids to Eat Their Veggies, what's not to love?

Listen to Your Mother

I read in today's paper that College Campuses are Going Green throughout the country. Kids are moving beyond the Recycling & Organic Foods that they already know & are now getting credit for learning about how to better the environment, in venues ranging from classrooms to research projects. Variations on Environmental Science are now also becoming popular majors.

The campuses are Going Green as well. Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, is building a Brand New Campus Center, keeping the environment in mind during the actual construction. The structure will adhere to the LEED Green Building Rating System, and the center will even have grass growing on the roof, to help with insulation and other enviro-friendly priorities.

Fears of climate change & high gas prices, of course, are driving a lot of this national movement toward Going Green. I can say from my experience that it's about time! Saudi Arabia's oil ministers are meeting this weekend to talk about worldwide energy prices. Do you think they have my family's health or my pocketbook in mind?

Top 10 Childhood Health Concerns Are Preventable

According to a National Online Survey administered by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, smoking, drug abuse and childhood obesity are the Top 10 US Childhood Health Concerns.

The poll, administered last year, surveyed 2,000 adults & asked them to rank their concerns. The list is pretty revealing, considering that internet safety is now considered a health problem, & that childhood obesity made the Top 3, ahead of alcohol abuse & teen pregnancy. Another thing to note is that all of the "concerns" on this Top 10 List are entirely preventable problems.

1. Smoking. Forty percent of adults rated smoking as their top health concern for children.

2. Drug Abuse. Adults were more likely to rate drug abuse as a concern based on their children's emotional health. Those who reported their child's emotional health as "good," "fair" or "poor" were more likely to view drug abuse as a major health problem for children compared with parents who rated their child's emotional health as "excellent" or "very good," according to the study.

3. Childhood Obesity. According to poll results, adults with a higher education were more likely to rate childhood obesity as their No. 1 health issue for children than adults with high school education or less.

4. Alcohol Abuse. "Households with lower incomes less than $30,000 per year are significantly more likely to rate alcohol abuse as a problem than families with higher annual incomes," according to Dr. Matthew Davis, who conducted the survey. "We also found that alcohol abuse by teens was a bigger concern in households with a single or divorced parent, compared with households with married parents."

5. Motor Vehicle Accidents. Driving accidents involving teenagers are a universal concern across all socio-economic groups

6. Teen Pregnancy. This is one of those Good News/Bad News deals. Although teen pregnancy made the Top 10 List, Dr. Davis reported that rates continue to fall across ethnic groups & income levels.

7. Internet Safety. Thirty-two percent of women and 21 percent of men reported they were concerned about Internet safety.

8. School Violence. The poll measured school violence concerns a month before last year's tragedy at Virginia Tech, so it is likely that it may rank higher now than it did last year, according to Dr. Davis.

9. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. STDs were considered a problem across ethnic groups, but households with lower incomes also rated these infections as a greater health concern for children than households with moderate or high incomes.

10. Abuse and Neglect. About 22 percent of survey respondents viewed abuse and neglect as a health concern for children.

This poll is a heads-up for parents, teachers, community leaders & even the federal government. Parental involvement in kids' lives still appears to be the best way to combat these ills. Targeted government involvement--at the local, state & national levels--could help, too. The Prevent Defense can be more than just a football strategy.

Let's Get Poppin'!

Mom's running late, Dad's stuck in traffic, and the kids are Home Alone--snuggled up to the Boob Tube and munchin' away. The chips & salsa are the first to evaporate down the gullets of the Wee Ones. Then the ice cream bites the dust. And so on, and so forth. By the time a Parental hits the front hallway, nobody's interested in Family Dinner Time.

We've started this blog because we've had this experience--we've lived this experience over & over, like the re-runs of a bad movie--too many times. And with childhood obesity off the charts & nutrition losing out, too, we thought we'd start a forum for those of you who care if your kid swallows Too Many Donuts in one sitting. Not that donuts are a bad thing, but still...

That age-old admonition, doled out by Moms, Uncles, Grandmas & sometimes even Dear Old Dad on occasion still holds true. If you Eat Your Veggies (and Don't Forget the Fruits!), chances are you'll live longer. Hotshots at places like Harvard report that a modest consumption of 4 1/2 cups of Fruits & Veggies per day will produce a lot of positive outcomes: lower blood pressure; reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and probably some cancers; lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and a mellowing effect on blood sugar that can help keep appetite in check.

Trouble is, a lot of us don't like to hear about the Crunchy Side of Life. We have deep-seated suspicions about spinach, carrots, rutabagas (rutabagas?), broccoli & tomatoes (they're fruits, ya know). That's where Pop'rs come in.

OK, we have an ulterior motive in this message, but it's a good one that people should know about. Sprinkle some Pop'rs on that salad, & suddenly you're Cookin' With Gas. Pop'rs add great flavor, and fun, to just about any kind of food, from applesauce to broccoli--all the way thru the alphabet, to yogurt and beyond. Just like that exploding candy that you remember from when you were a kid, Pop'rs have an added kick--as the name implies, they go POP! These delightful seasonings come in 1-ounce shaker jars, easy for even very young kids to handle. AND--all Pop'rs contain kid-healthy vitamins.

Who can argue with that? Flavors include cinnamon, chocolate, strawberry (made with real strawberry powder), raspberry (made with real raspberry powder), butter, taco, buffalo & a really cool color change called Color Burst (that one is really good with yogurt).

Over time, we want to tell our Friends in the Blogosphere more about our company, where the idea for Pop'rs started, what people are saying about the product, and more. You can look forward to contests, recipes & even crazy Mr. Wizard-type experiments on video. But mostly, we are hosting this blog as a forum for you, Dear Reader. Do you think Great Auntie Edna gives Junior too much to eat when he visits? Are you tired of Sister feeding her spinach to the dog? We're here to listen to your comments & ideas about life, nutrition, kids and, of course, about our products, including new uses and flavor ideas. Maybe we can become the Ben & Jerry's of the popping seasoning world!

So sit back, relax, and join the fun. Don't be afraid to Eat Your Veggies--Pop'rs are here!