101st Post: An Explosion of Questions & Answers!

Today, we'll wrap up our Sweet Centennial Celebration: Day 2.

We have a few more questions from Faithful Readers, who are also in line for Our Great New Pop'rs Giveaway. Remember, Uncle Lynn starts handing out Pop'rs prizes tomorrow. We'll have a finalist every day until Saturday, when we'll announce our Grand. Prize. Winner! Uncle Lynn is fielding these questions, unless otherwise noted. Here We Go!

1. Tracey P. is a Minnesota Vikings Fan. They like to taunt their Green Bay Packers Bretheren, across the Mighty Mississippi: I would like to know who is Uncle Lynn's favorite player on the Minnesota Vikings! :-) Anyone who gets beat for a Packer’s touchdown!
2. And also for Uncle Lynn, from Tracey P.: When is he planning to come out with a matched set of purple and gold pop'rs (I'm thinkin' butter and cheese flavors) for us to put on our popcorn while we watch football? 'Cuz that would totally rock! Think green and gold!
3. Tiffiney wants to know: What is the best flavor of Pop'rs you have tasted? :) Love them all!
4. Gombojav Tribe is kinda silly, but has a point: Can Pop'rs make brussel sprouts taste like truffles? :-) Hmmm–chocolate truffles? Maybe not, but only Pop’rs can make brussel sprouts SING!
5. The Tribe has another question, too: How long have you been using Pop'rs? Pop’rs are brand new!
6. And The Tribe weighs in with one more: What's your comfort food--the one you will eat without any Pop'rs needed? Carrot Cake!
7. Tiff, she of no Linky Love, has a question, nonetheless: OK, I'd like to know which Pop'rs flavor makes the best tasting drink! Now, that is a neat idea for us to work on. Should we make one to change water?
8. And, here comes Tiff again: Can you tell us some fun Pop'rs cocktail recipes? Meaning, which two or more Pop'rs can you mix together to make an awesome flavor? That is a tough one–I am not sure any of them improve by mixing together. But, thinking about it, I think we may introduce a “plain” Pop’rs so that you guys can have some fun trying out different things to mix in and shake on–you would have to share your ideas with us, though.
9. Simply Anonymom, who's also celebrating her 100th Post, asks: What was your inspiration for Pop'rs? Kids!
10. She's not trying to be very anonymous in her questioning, is she? Can I use them on my popcorn? Yes, I especially like the Butter Pop’rs! Popping popcorn!
11. Anonymom has another: Can I put the Pop'rs on my vegetable soup and will it still work? Very cool. The hotter the soup, the quicker the noise will be gone, though. We do this all the time. We are playing around with a formula which will last longer in hot foods, and will keep you posted!
12. And, one more from Anonymom: Can I use Pop’rs in place of salt? Pop'rs are a good-for-you seasonings, but they don't taste "salty." They'd be a good option to "wean" you off of salt, though!
13. Tiffiney was all about Marla's Poppin' Video! Very cute video! How often do you use Pop'rs? Every day!
14. Z's Mom, a previous Giveaway Winner, has another question: Hey, any plans for vanilla or banana-flavored Pop'rs???? Yummy!!!! We do now! How about this one: We just started adding Pop’rs to Chocolate and making popping chocolate candy bars!
15. Vicki, our Bloggy Friend who also happens to be the proprietress over at Best Posts of the Week, asks a poignant one of Veggie Mom: How are you enjoying your empty nest? I think I've mentioned before, I can't wait until I'm at that stage :) It’s pretty lonely around here. And awfully quiet. But Moker and I talk more, and get to watch the TV in the family room, so we can get used to it!
16. Tabitha Blue sounds like a gal who doesn't necessarily stick to the everyday life: What are some of the more “exotic” (not everyday) veggies you've served to your family that they like and that aren't too hard to prepare? Veggie’s kids love artichokes and acorn squash!
17. Angela has a great question: What is your favorite recipe of those you have posted to use Pop'rs for? Veggie thinks Taco and/or Buffalo-flavored Pop'rs would taste good in Oven Stew.
18. Melissa B. has a thought: Do you recommend eating Pop'rs straight from the container like that, or are they better on food? Oh, it's FUN to fool around with the Popping Part of Pop'rs, but we prefer them on food! BTW, Lula, one of our Giveaway Winners, recommends the Buffalo flavor on baked potatoes!
19. Marrdy wants to know: At what age did you become a Packers fan? We are all born that way!
20. Nissa asks a question that actually comes up quite a bit in our family: Do you prefer your drinks with or without ice? :) Veggie Mom is an ice-lovin’ gal! But no ice-crunchin’ around Aunt Julie!
21. Channah, every the curious sort, throws this out: Has there ever been a Pop’rs flavor that didn't make the cut/make it past the family taste testers? Well, this wasn’t Pop’rs, but we made a carbonated hard candy once in BACON flavor that was particularily nasty! The jalepeno was pretty bad, too!
22. Nik asks: Was there a different name that was considered that almost beat out Pop’rs? Sparkling Spice–we still use that to talk about the product, but just decided Pop’rs was best. It has more POP! to it, don'tcha think?
23. KKJD1 must really like spicy food! What do you think the Buffalo Popr's would taste like on hot wings? Awesome!
24. Always thinking of family dinner plans, KKJD1 also wants to know: Do you have a certain flavor for chicken or other meats? Taco and Buffalo are great on chicken and also on tacos, sausage pizza, and burgers!
25. Kally comes back with a thoughtful question: Buffalo...hmmm very interesting. Wondering what this tastes like? Just like the seasoning on Buffalo Hot Wings--nice and spicy!
26. Sarah, a curious reader who didn't Share the Linky Love (at least with us, anyway, has the first in a series of questions: Are there any health benefits to using Pop'rs? Every Pop’rs seasoning contains kid-targeted vitamins as developed for us by our friends at Fortitech –check them out, they are outstanding at this stuff! Also, the whole idea of Pop’rs is to make Pop Rocks relevant–soooooooo...Pop’rs are designed to bring the same popping excitement, but applied to GOOD foods to make the GOOD foods more fun and interesting to your kids.
27. Sarah has another one for Uncle Lynn: How did you come up with such a fun name--"Pop'rs"? Thank you very much for the compliment–I wanted to have something that had the word POP in it, be simple to say, simple to make into a logo for our products, and maybe shirts and hats, but still be totally unique so we could begin to build a following; we think we got it right!
28. Sarah also wants to know: Are you going to come out with a Pop'rs recipe book anytime soon? It'll be fun for both adults and kids! Wow–We will need some help with that one, since the best laboratories and kitchens are the ones that belong to our customers.
29. Always thinking about Eating Healthy, Sarah asks: Are your Pop'rs flavors vegetarian/vegan friendly? Of course–just don’t shake them on the wrong stuff!
30. Sarah's also up for the challenge: Please tell us how you went about creating these flavors. Was it a challenging process? We work with some really good companies to help us with our ideas, like Fortitech for the vitamins, and a really cool company named Van Druenen Farms for the real fruit flavors. We, our kids and their friends, come up with ideas, then we get samples of the flavors and materials we need and Aunt Julie, our lab “cook” Lori, and Uncle Lynn (me) all play around until we think we have it right–then we let Soccer Boy share it with his friends to see what they think. For instance, the boy shaking Pop’rs on the Broccoli in our Giveaway photo at the top of the blog is Soccer Boy's friend, Eric.
31. Here's Sarah with another quick question: How did you first react when you were featured in Rachael Ray's magazine? Scared, then excited, then scared–it is a big responsibility when someone like Rachael notices you!
32. OK, Sarah, give us another one: How would you describe Wisconsin in one word to someone who has never been there? Friendly!
33. And one more question from Sarah: What are Veggie Mom's, Aunt Julie's and Uncle Lynn's favorite Pop'rs flavors? Veggie Mom’s faves are Taco (natch; she’s a Native Texan!) and Colorburst, 'cause it tastes so good and is so pretty! Julie also loves swirling color changing in yogurt, & Lynn. of course. luvs them all!
34. Simply Anonymom has a couple more questions: Did you like vegetables before Pop'rs? Some of us did; others, well, now you know part of why we invented Pop’rs!
35. Simply Anonymom also wants to know: What is the best combination of Pop'rs and vegetables? The very first one we ever did was Butter Pop’rs on a nice warm bowl of cut corn–nice.
36. And the Lovely Mannequin, a previous Giveaway Winner as well, asks our final 100th Post Centennial Celebration Question: Any plans of adding even MORE great flavors? Maybe a holiday edition? Yummy. YES! Watch our site, and we will of course let Veggie Mom know, so she can spread the word when we are ready–we won’t have this one in time for this year, but I promise next year we will have a Pumpkin Pop’rs! Shaken on vanilla ice cream–there goes my diet again!

That's all, Folks! We did get a few Giveaway Questions after the deadline had passed. We're sorry, but rules are rules, and we have to stick to 'em, or we would incite a Bloggy Riot! Tune in tomorrow, for the first Giveaway Prizes of the Week. Remember, we'll be awarding Popr's Prizes all week, culminating in our Grand Prize Winner Giveaway on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my Sweet Centennial, and Good Luck!

A Centennial Q&A. Or, Happy Hundred to Me!

Today's Veggie Mom's 100th Post, everyone! As you well know, Uncle Lynn is offering a 2-Part Giveaway in celebration of this Sweet Centennial. Part 1 culminates today and tomorrow in an exciting fashion. Yup--you Asked, and We're Answering! Thanks for being so Doggone Curious! Your questions are answered by Uncle Lynn, the Pop'r King, unless otherwise indicated. And, Readers Beware: We tried to weed out duplicate questions. If you don't see yours today or tomorrow, don't worry, 'cause you're still entered in the Giveaway. So, bring on the Q & A!

1. Melissa B. has a pressing question: In which season do Pop'rs taste the best: Fall or Spring? In whatever season, since they are SEASONINGS!
2. Lula, one of our recent Giveaway Winners, wants to know: Are there any new Pop'rs flavors coming out anytime soon? I'm thinking something cinnamony would be fabulous. We have a cinnamon flavor already, and it is great on toast. Just ask Rachael Ray; you know, OPRAH’S friend! It’s her favorite!
3. The Pink Potpourri asks: What is YOUR personal favorite Popr's flavor? I like color-changing on yogurt the best!
4. Kamewh is curious: You have such a wide variety of flavors, but I was wondering if there were any plans to have any cheese-flavored varieties? We have made a cheese flavor (this IS Wisconsin, after all) and it’s great on all veggies. However, it is not available to you yet! Good suggestion!
5. Mannequin, who has played this Pop'rs Game before and won, has a sports-oriented question: I've a question for Soccer Boy if you don't mind please. It's easy to see that you are a dedicated soccer player! What are the chances of your playing professionally? More important, is one able to get a scholarship to college on their soccer playing skills? Soccer scholarships are available, but we lost last weekend 10-0, so I don’t feel too great right now about my chances of turning pro!
6. Ritch in Love has a regional query: What do each of you love the most about living in Wisconsin? I've been there one time and I loved it. I thought it was beautiful! Gotta love the changing seasons! There is a saying in the Dairy State: “If you don’t like the weather in Wisconsin, just wait a half-hour. It’ll change!”
7. Imanoptomisticbeauty is concerned about the natural order of things: Is there any artificial coloring in your products? Or artificial food additives like msg? There is some artificial color in some, but we work hard to keep everything natural–see the back panels of the jars for the full ingredients–for example, we use real fruit in the strawberry and raspberry! Natural chocolate, etc. BUT, if you need to stay away from artificial colors, you will want to stay away from one of my favorites, the color changing. We thought we had to include it since it is such fun, but it is the only one like that
8. Ever the optomist, she also asks: Your containers seem on the small side; any plans to have bigger containers in the future? Great idea. We will ask Veggie Mom to run a contest to pick what flavor should be introduced in a "Giant Pack." Maybe one of those Zip-Lock bags?
9. The Purloined Letter is a Poe fan, so we totally understand where she's coming from with this one: I feel a little uneasy about adding processed ingredients to my family's diet. Can you talk about why Pop'rs are a good choice? Pop’rs are designed to make GREAT FOODS interesting and fun for kids, so I think we are on the same page!
10. Bookworm wants to know: How do you decide which flavorings to use in the Pop'rs? My favorite part of this is to come up with new flavor ideas and try them on everyone I can find. I also listen to what everyone says they want us to try, and look forward to adding more and more. Kind of like the Ben & Jerry’s of kids' seasonings!
11. Angie, one of our previous Giveaway Winners, has a good one: What's your personal favorite flavor? Cinnamon! But Aunt Julie has made a new one we have not introduced yet–LEMON. I know everyone will go crazy for it on everything from yogurt to chicken!
12. Kate Coveney Hood is wrassling with Kids and Veggies: I'm not having much luck getting my kids to fall for the pureed additions/substitutions. If you think that they're great - do you have any tips to make the recipes, um, sneakier? Just before serving, sneek in some Pop’rs; they will start to SING right away, and should make the kids curious enough to try
13. Lisa wants to know: What is your best selling Pop'r? They are all sold in the 8-pack mixed cartons, so the best seller is all of them!
14. Nina asks Veggie Mom to do a long-term Blog Assessment: Of the 100 posts you have written what has been your personal favorite and why? I love writing the personal posts about my family. Of the 100 posts I’ve written so far, the Empty Nesters struck closest to my heart.
15. Corgidogmama is all about origins: How did you come up with the Pop’rs idea??? Can I say, "You need to buy the book"? I am writing the Pop’rs story chapter by chapter as a Guest Blogger for Veggie Mom! Please click on the links to check out Chapters 1 and 2!
16. Z's Mom, who, as one of our September winners, has turned adorable little Zander on to the Perfection of Pop'rs, asks: Is Uncle Lynn planning on selling other sizes of Pop'rs? Let's say I fall in love with Cocoa ('cause I did) and I just want one big jar of that.....is that something that might be doable in the future? Working on it–maybe a big bag so you can refill the jars?
17. Kally is getting anxious about availability: When, When, When do you think Pop'rs might be sold in stores? Stores are a part of the big plan, but right now we feel we are in better touch with our customers selling online. Click here for more info
18. Channah wants to know: What new flavors are coming out? We are working on several: Lemon, chamoy, cheesy, catsup, salty, peppery. No timetable yet–but the fun part for me is thinking up new flavors and seeing what new surprises I can bring.
19. Along the same lines, Joy in the Burbs is curious: Will these be coming to a retailer near me soon? Working on it, but for now, Pop'rs are always available on online.
20. Dawn, who is such a Dear, Dear Bloggy Friend, AND just redesigned her blog, BTW, asks Veggie Mom about Keeping Current: How do you keep up with all the questions/commenters? As a famous Civil War admiral once said, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
21. Dear Dawn also asks Veggie who's Going to be Accountable in Part 1 of the Grand Giveaway: Will someone (one person) be answering the questions? It depends. Most of the time, Uncle Lynn will. Sometimes Veggie will.
22. Dawn also is Concerned About the Future: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Veggie says on a beach somewhere, preferably in The OBX!
23. OK, Dawn, what else is on your mind? Is Aunt Julie starting a recipe blog? Uncle Lynn says he has too much fun working with Veggie Mom to start another blog. Aunt Julie says she's way too busy, developing new flavors of Pop'rs and all. But what Veggie wants to know, is: If we start a recipe blog, do you wanna run it for us, Dawn?
24. And then Dawn Asks the Obvious: Do you know that I want to win??? Veggie can tell you’re stoked, Dawn!
25. Moving on to another reader, Blue Violet wants to know: Will Pop'rs be available in larger sizes? We're still working on this. As they say in the Corporate World, that idea is "under development"!
26. Probably because Halloween is knockin' on the door, Blue Violet also asks: Do you have seasonal-flavored Pop'rs? Not yet, but if you served Taco and Chocolate during the course of the same meal, would that be considered a Halloween Theme?
27. And One More from Blue Violet: Do you think you might have some Pop'rs designed for topping ice cream in the future? If so, what would they be? Got them right now: Try chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, and maybe even cinnamon?
28. Keeping the Centennial Celebration in mind, Mrs. 4444 offers a choice: Okay, 100th post. If you could have 100 hours of massage or 100 hours of free housework, which would you choose? Veggie will take that one. Definitely the free housework. Then, I wouldn't need the massage!

That's all for today, Dear Friends! If you didn't see your question today, we'll have it up for you tomorrow, in Veggie Mom's 101st Post! We'll finish up the Pop'rs Q&A, and then move on the Most Important Thing (MIT): The Prize-Giving! And remember: We're starting Six Days of Giveaways on Monday, so stay tuned!