For more Wordless Wednesday, visit:

5 Minutes for Mom ~ Latina on a Mission ~ Look What Mom Found… ~ Mom of 3 Girls
MomStart ~ New York Chica ~ Robyn’s Online World ~ Run DMT ~ Two of a Kind…

My idea of a power lunch isn’t sitting around schmoozing Senators and Congressmen, though. To me, it’s a nutritious meal that will give me sustained energy to keep me going for the rest of the day. This concept was my inspiration for this post, in which I was challenged to create a recipe that embodies the spirit of my hometown. The catch? It must include avocados, which isn’t much of a stretch, considering how much I love ‘em! I eat at least one avocado every day. An avocado a day keeps the doctor away. That’s my motto.

Why do I love avocados?

They’re delicious. Avocados can be eaten at every meal – diced up with eggs for breakfast, atop a salad for lunch, or sliced over a steak for dinner. Don’t discount them as a dessert, either. Avocado ice cream is yummy, or blend up an avocado and an apple for a sweet mousse. Consider adding a few slices to a smoothie for an incredible creaminess. Honestly, I’m happy eating the avocado right out of the skin! I just sprinkle a little salt on it, maybe a squeeze of lime, and grab a spoon!

They’re nutritious. Avocados digest quickly and easily, have a variety of different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, are a good source of protein and fiber, and have even more potassium than bananas! Plus, avocados have the mono- and polyunsaturated “good” fats that are recommended as part of a healthy diet. Replace the “bad” fats with it; instead of spreading butter on your morning toast, try avocado.

My recipe: Avocado, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Reduction

An insalata Caprese is a classic salad, so this isn’t a unique recipe, but avocado adds a delicious twist! The measurements don’t matter so much. Just eyeball it.

2 avocados from Mexico, diced
2 pounds of heirloom tomatoes, diced
1 pound of fresh Buffalo mozzarella, diced
bunch of fresh basil, julienned
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
balsamic reduction*

I like to dice the avocado, tomatoes, and mozzarella, as it makes it easy to eat. Bite-size. I toss it all with the basil in a big bowl, and drizzle just a bit of olive oil over it. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste, then drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Spoon this mixture onto some crostini, and it could be a twist on traditional bruschetta.

*A balsamic reduction may sound fancy, but it’s actually really easy to make and is so flavorful! Just pour a cup of balsamic vinegar into a small pan and heat it on low until it’s reduced to about a third cup. It’ll be thick and syrupy; let it cool and store it in the fridge, though you’ll have to let it come to room temperature before using.

How to store avocados

I usually can’t find ripe avocados at the grocery store, but once I get home I store them in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process. What can I say? I’m impatient. Once they’re ripe enough, you can refrigerate them (for up to a week) to slow down the ripening.

The “Big Hit” Contest

The Avocado League is featuring hometown recipes from a variety of big cities across the nation. The Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association (MHAIA) will choose 8 bloggers – one from each featured hometown – with the best recipe as members of the Avocado League, with public voting of their dishes to take place in late September. Also, any consumer can submit their avocado recipe and may be featured on www.theamazingavocado.com/bighit as an “all-star” recipe!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. Photo of avocado courtesy of Andrea Pacheco.

THE LADIES

‘Television personality’ Audrina Patridge

R&B singer Brandy

Alaska’s most famous daughter, Bristol Palin

From the Brady Bunch, actress Florence Henderson

Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey

Comedian Margaret Cho

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THE MEN

Actor David Hasselhoff

Actor and rapper Kyle Massey

NFL quarterback Kurt Warner

Singer Michael Bolton

Reality star Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino

Former pro-basketball player Rick Fox

What do you think of these ‘stars’? They seem younger than usual, especially the ladies. I wonder who they’ll be paired up with. According to TMZ, professional dancer Edyta Slwinska is no longer on the show. She told TMZ: “The producers’ vision of what they wanted my career to be did not meet my expectations. They wanted my career to be the show. I can’t be a dancer my whole life.” Sad news, as she’s been on the show since the beginning, and is one of my favorite dancers! Apparently she’s still under contract, though…

I love Jimmy Fallon, so I was excited to see how well he’d do as host. The tribute to canceled shows halfway through the broadcast was hilarious! I also thought it was funny when Neil Patrick Harris took a stab at Jimmy for picking on him. “I’d like to take a moment to thank the Academy for allowing a gay man to host the Emmys two years in a row. Congratulatons, Jimmy! You’re doing a great job!” LOL

Singing ‘Goodbye 24′ a la Elton John.
The Good Wife is one of my favorite dramas on TV at the moment, so I was thrilled that Archi Panjabi won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She does amazing work on that show.

Ryan Murphy won an Emmy for Best Directing in a Comedy Series for Glee. He dedicated his award to all his “teachers who taught me to sing and fingerpaint…” I love how Glee is bringing awareness to the importance of arts education! You can see all the winners here.

Hot, hot, HOT guys!

George Clooney, Matthew Fox, Boris Kodjoe, and Matthew Morrison.

While I thought the show itself was entertaining, I was left disenchanted with the fashions on the red carpet. There was lots of black and white, various shades of purple, and deep, dark navy blue. Jewel-encrusted necklines and one shoulder gowns were a big trend, and everyone seemed to be wearing Lorraine Schwartz jewels! Below are my top 10 best and worst-dressed of the night… and a few others that I just couldn’t make up my mind about.

BEST-DRESSED

Amy Poehler just had a baby 3 weeks ago and looked gorgeous in a Max Azria dress. Fun fact: she celebrated her 7th wedding anniversary with Will Arnett yesterday.
Amber Riley wore a white Grecian-inspired Melissa Masse gown. So pretty, and definitely a trend last night.
Brooke Burke, also in white, wore a flawless Mark Zunino gown.
Claire Danes’ Armani Privé gown may have been my favorite of the night. She was glowing!
Heather Morris wore a glittery gold Ina Soltani gown. The black belt is what makes this dress a winner in my book.
Jayma Mays doesn’t get to show off her figure much on Glee, with those cardigan sets she wears everyday… but she did last night! She chose a dark blue Burberry gown that complimented her red hair.
Keri Russell looked effortlessly beautiful in a bright pink vintage Jean Louis Scherrer gown.
Kelly Osbourne surprised me. First of all, she’s super skinny! Her black Tony Ward gown fit her like a glove, and suited her personality perfectly… a little bit goth. I love her blonde hair, though not sure about the style.
Kim Kardashian wore a gorgeous white Marquesa gown. Very Cleopatra-esque.
Lea Michele wore a navy blue, almost black, Oscar de la Renta gown. Flamenco-like and quite pretty.

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WORST-DRESSED

Anna Paquin wore what is probably her favorite designer, Alexander McQueen. May he rest in peace. I just didn’t like it.
I want to like Diana Agron’s Carolina Herrera gown. Black and dusty pink, super feminine… but I think it’s just too much. Maybe if the bottom layer was removed and it was cocktail-length I’d be happier with it. She’s a gorgeous girl, though!
Heidi Klum loves to show off her legs, that’s no secret. This Marchesa gown does nothing for her, though. And I usually love Marchesa.
January Jones wore a blue Versace gown. Very stiff and futuristic looking. Imagine Joan Jetson at an awards show. Just not my cup of tea.
Jenna Ushkowitz wore a red halter-style gown by Kevan Hall. It had a weird pink lining that you can’t reall see in the photo. I thought it was a little frumpy and could’ve fit her better.
Jewel wore a peach Zuhair Murad gown. I think the color washed her out completely. The song she performed during the “In Memoriam” part of the show was amazing, though. She wrote it for a close friend that died of cancer.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wore a black a Narciso Rodriguez gown with a sheer black bodice. Unnecessary, in my opinion. Also, while it is a nice pop of color, I just didn’t get the jade jewelery with the black dress.
Lauren Graham wore a Yigal Azrouel gown that was just cut weird. It made her shoulders look broad, which isn’t flattering at all.
With a big shiny dress (by Simin) and over-the-top hair, Naya Rivera looked like she was going to the prom.
Rita Wilson wore a strange crystal mesh gown from Prada’s Spring 2010 collection… right down to the matching shoes! Sometimes runway looks are meant to stay on the runway…

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MEH

Eva Longoria Parker’s black Robert Rodriguez dress was blah. Her hair, boring. I feel like I’ve seen it before.
Jane Lynch wore a purple Ali Rahimi dress. While a pretty color, the fit was just okay for me. She didn’t own it.
Mariska Hargitay wore a light grey Vera Wang gown. Boring and predictable. I wish she’d go for a different silhouette.
Sophia Vergara’s Carolyn Herrera gown… hmm. I liked the pale yellow color, but could do without the beading. It reminded me somewhat of the red dress she wore to the SAG Awards earlier this year, also Carolina Herrera. Come to think of it, she always wears Carolina Herrera.
Tina Fey’s Oscar de la Renta gown felt a little mother-of-the-bride to me. It’s pretty, but I think she could do better. Or maybe it’s one of those gowns that doesn’t photograph well.

That’s my Emmy wrap up. What did you think of the show?

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Have a great week!

Disney Guilty Party

Guilty Party, out next week, is a fun mystery party game, exclusively for Wii. The game tells the tale of the Dickens Detective Agency as they solve crimes set in motion by a criminal known as Mr. Valentine. There’s been a crime… can you follow the clues to find the Guilty Party? Players step into the shoes of the Dickens family and work together to explore crime scenes and play mini-games to collect clues and interrogate suspects. It reminded me a little of a board game… like Clue, but in video game format. The game’s characters and locations are inspired by classic detective lore, as you can see in the screenshot below. My favorite character was the Agatha Christie-esque Charlotte. There are 8 to choose from, and you can play alone or with up to four people in head-to-head gameplay or cooperative modes.

Maya’s favorite part of Guilty Party was the mini-games. There are dozens of them that are unlocked during gameplay. In these games, the Wii Remote becomes a lock pick, a flashlight, a magnifying glass, and more. Quick wits and reflexes are needed to win, but it adapts to your skill level, which I found really neat. Players then discuss and piece together the clues in their detective notebooks to deduce the identity of the culprit.

The concern many parents have when considering a new video game is ‘replayability’ – will my kids want to play the game again and again? Yes. Once the mysteries are solved, players can play Guilty Party again with a new set of clues, suspects and mini-games. Like a board game, it’s a different experience (and a different ending) every time. You can also just play the mini-games by themselves.

BUY IT! Guilty Party, rated E for Everyone, will be released this upcoming Tuesday, August 31, 2010, for a suggested price of $39.99. The target audience is kids ages 8 -12, though my 6-year-old daughter played it with me; I just had to read all the text to her.

Tip: Order it now from Amazon and get $10 off a future video game purchase.

Disney Sing It Family Hits

Fans of Disney’s popular video-based karaoke series, Sing It, expressed a demand for songs from Disney’s classic movies, so Disney Interactive Studios complied and created Disney Sing It: Family Hits! It features songs and videos from classic Disney films like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book as well as contemporary favorites from films like The Princess and the Frog, The Lion King, Aladdin, Cars and Toy Story.

This karaoke game allows players to sing solo, partner up for a duet, compete head-to head, or pass the microphone around to up to 8 players in Family Mode, while viewing full screen videos directly from the movies. The Princess and the Frog’s Anika Noni Rose provides fun vocal exercises and techniques to help players improve their performances. To relive key moments, the Sing It Encore Mode enables players to play back their performances and add fun effects to customize their tunes. This made for a good laugh!

I found the game to be easy to follow and very entertaining. My only disappoint lies in the song selection. I only liked maybe 20 out of the 30 songs. I have a feeling Disney is saving some of my favorite songs for a future release. There’s a lot of talking in some of the Disney songs (like Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo) which makes them a little awkward to sing at times. Toy Story’s ‘You’ve got a Friend In Me’ was a lot of fun to sing along to. A song from Toy Story 2, not so much. I can’t even remember the name of it. It was really slow and obviously forgettable! You can’t unlock any new songs in this game, but can unlock new awards and Disney themes, which aren’t really a big deal. You can choose to sing up to 20 songs in Spanish, though. That’s what sold me on the game!

BUY IT! Disney Sing It: Family Hits is Rated E for everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). It’s available now for Wii and Playstation 3. $39.99 for the standalone game, and $49.99 if you get the bundle that includes a Logitech microphone. The target audience is kids ages 4-8, but Disney fans of all ages may enjoy it.

Disney Sing It: Party Hits

Living up to its name, Disney Sing It: Party Hits is packed with current hits from the biggest names in pop music. You’ll find songs that teens and tweens want to sing, from artists such as Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas, Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Paramore, Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, One Republic and many more.

Demi Lovato plays the part of the in-game vocal coach, teaching players various ways to improve their vocals, from breathing and pitch exercises to learning how to harmonize in a duet. As far as game play goes, players can sing solo, or up to 8 can compete in new competitive modes, including Sing Off, Performance and Karaoke mode where players have the ability to reduce the vocal level of the artists. You can also record and create fun special effects with the Encore voice effects feature.

I sang the Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow… and really got into it LOL. Then Maya chose a Selena Gomez song. Naturally. I recognized the video from seeing it on Disney Channel. I only played Party Hits for a few minutes, but I have to say I enjoyed this game more than Disney Sing It: Family Hits. The target audience is girls ages 8 –12, but fans of the pop music that’s found on Disney Channel/Radio Disney and mainstream radio will probably love it as well!

BUY IT! Rated E for Everyone, Disney Sing It: Party Hits will be available on October 12th of this year for both Wii and PLAYSTATION 3. The game will be sold as a standalone (for $39.99) or bundled with one Logitech microphone (for $49.99). You can preorder it on Amazon.

Surprising my kids with a new bookapp is so fun, especially when it’s something they can really relate to… and that’s exactly how Maya felt about the book What A Pest! It’s a funny story… that she could’ve probably written herself! The illustrations even look a little like Maya and Maura.

A little sister can be a big pain. I know. My little sister is always bugging my best friend and me…

The other two book apps that are free right now are BlueBeary and Yum! Yum! Yum!. Very cute! Usually the free App Friday apps go back to regular price at midnight, but this weekend PicPocket Books is extending this special promotion through Sunday night.

(So if you’re reading this on Saturday morning, you can still download your free apps!)

So what do these celebrities have in common?

They can all be found at Madame Tussauds in New York City.
Read my review of this attraction at Mom Central Travels.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit:
5 Minutes for Mom ~ Latina on a Mission ~ Look What Mom Found… ~ Mom of 3 Girls
MomStart ~ New York Chica ~ Robyn’s Online World ~ Run DMT ~ Two of a Kind…

Maya is starting Kindergarten in two weeks, so I’m compiling a collection of potential school lunches and could use some inspiration… MissionMenus.com has lots of great recipes!

At BlogHer a couple of weeks ago, I stopped by the Mission Foods booth for a bit to pick up a snack and some quick and easy meal ideas. I had a pinwheel filled with cranberries and orange zest, and cream cheese to hold it all together. So good.

Why do I buy Mission Flour Tortillas? Easy! I reach for these because they:

• Are budget-friendly.
• Are a great pantry staple. They can be eaten anytime – for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, or desserts.
• Contain 0 grams Trans fat per serving and are cholesterol free.
• Are available in small (6″), medium (8″) and large (10”) sizes in major grocery stores nationwide.
• Provide a fun twist on a boring ol’ sandwich.
• But most importantly… my kids love them!

Sometimes the girls will even make their own snacks with these tortillas. Whether it be filling a tortilla with ham and cheese, peanut butter and banana, or just wrapping it around a big sausage… they’d agree that wraps like these are more fun than sandwiches! Quesadillas are also a popular (and effortless) choice for dinnertime. I can usually even sneak in some veggies with the cheese, and they’re none the wiser.

Visit Mission – Back To School for more examples of quick and easy, kid-friendly back-to-school meals using Mission Flour Tortillas.

Egg and cheese wrap photo above courtesy of Doug (dmosiondz) on Flickr.

Eggs, like meat, poultry, milk, and other foods, are safe when handled properly. Shell eggs are safest when stored in the refrigerator, individually and thoroughly cooked, and promptly consumed. The larger the number of Salmonella present in the egg, the more likely it is to cause illness. Keeping eggs adequately refrigerated prevents any Salmonella present in the eggs from growing to higher numbers, so eggs should be kept refrigerated until they are used. – from CDC.gov

You probably already know that an outbreak of Salmonella has sickened about 1000 people across the country. This has led to a recall of more than a half-billion eggs. Traced back to the two Iowa egg producers, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, this recall is the biggest in recent history, and includes a handful of brands such as Lucerne, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Dutch Farms and Kemps, among others. It seems that these companies were not operating with proper safety standards. Very irresponsible!

These eggs were shipped to 17 different states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Cases of Salmonella have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Nevada, but most can’t be confirmed as related to the recalled eggs.

How can you tell if your eggs have been recalled? Visit this site for instructions on how to read the numbers on your egg cartons and to see if your brand and number is on the list.

If you live in one of the affected areas, don’t give up eating eggs completely – consider buying pasteurized shell or liquid eggs instead. Visit www.safeeggs.com to find a local retailer.

Resources:

• FDA.gov: Salmonella Enteritidis Outbreak in Shell Eggs
• FoodSafety.gov: Eggs and Egg Products
• CDC.gov: Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Salmonella from Eggs