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The Great Birthday Quest

Posted on December 4, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey there, broccoli fans!

How’s your week going? Anyone nab up any CRAZY Cyber Monday/Week deals?

As someone who’s always been the worst procrastinator when it comes to Christmas shopping (as in I’m usually rushing out to the stores the week of!), I’m proud to say that I am almost completely done! After scoring some bargains online last night, there are only a few more items I want to check out before I call it a wrap…ha! See what I did there? 😉 Oh and please allow me a moment to rub my hands together while laughing mischievously since I did all that shopping while ON THE CLOCK!

Muahahaha!

I mean, SHHHH!! That’s our little secret, mmmkay?

Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar

And speaking of secrets, it’s NO secret that I kind of have a thing for Quest bars, is it? Ever since I had the opportunity to try and review the bars for the company last year, they’ve basically become my go-to, on-the-go, life-saving snack!

Was that enough hyphenated words for ya?

But seriously, even though I had some reservations about a few of the flavors in the beginning, nowadays it’s hard for me to narrow down my favorites. When you HAVE to rely on bars to get through your days or if you just have the attention span of a three-year old like me, it’s good to have variety! 😀

So obviously when considering what companies to reach out to for the Broccoli Birthday Bonanza, they were at the TOP of my list! You can only IMAGINE the happy dance that ensued when I got the email response giving me the ok to host a giveaway!!

Or how big my eyes got when they informed me that it could be open WORLDWIDE!!
😯 <- Yeah, kinda like that!

TWO lucky KMB readers will be lucky enough to receive a 15-flavor sampler pack – one bar of each flavor…including the newest ones to hit the shelves, Double Chocolate Chunk and White Chocolate Raspberry…to use in any life-saving predicaments they may encounter! 😉

Giveaway will run until Friday at midnight (CST)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, and may the Quest be everrrrrr in your FLAVOR! 😉

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I reached out to this company on my own for the sake of the blog birthday celebration week. While I have been given free product from the company in the past, all statements expressed above are of my personal opinion and I was not paid for this post.

Thanks to all who entered my NuNaturals giveaway! With over 220 entries, you guys sound really excited about that new cherry vanilla flavor! Click HERE to see if you’re a winner!

If by chance you weren’t one of the lucky four chosen, the company is extending a discount for you guys! Use discount code: BLG1213 at checkout and receive 15% off your ENTIRE ORDER. This discount will run through DECEMBER 31, 2013 so feel free to stock up for yourself AND those on your Christmas list! 😀

Posted in Giveaway | Tagged blog birthday, Christmas, giveaway, Quest bar, Quest Nutrition | 192 Comments

Boozy Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Posted on December 2, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Monday, friends and welcome to day ONE of
The Broccoli Birthday Bonanza! 😀

Before we get into our planned festivities, I believe it’s MORE than acceptable to pop open a bottle of wine and let loose a bit, right?

Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere!

This year for Thanksgiving, I had the honor of making the cranberry sauce that would ~~show up~~ sit next to my father’s gelatinous mold on the dinner table. Since it’s MY blog’s birthday week and all, I’m gonna go ahead and take the liberty of saying that I TOTALLY outdid myself with this one! I mean, when your mom takes a taste test and can’t catch her breath afterwards, you KNOW you did good! 😉

Boozy Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce www.kissmybroccoliblog.com

I took a cue from my girl, Melissa, and decided to booze it up a bit this year and seriously, it made SUCH a difference! The red wine that I used is from a local winery here in Clarksville and is one of my absolute favorites…it’s very similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon but feel free to use a Merlot, Pinot Noir, or other dry red wine.

I LOVED the contrast in this sauce…the soft, squishy cranberries with the “pop” of the pomegranate seeds and then the faint hint of orange in the background? HEAVEN! I kept the sweetener low so it’s more on the tart side, like my family prefers, but if that’s not your deal, feel free to add a whole cup of your favorite granulated sweetener.

Boozy Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: boil side cranberries Christmas Thanksgiving winter fall

Ingredients (Serves 6)

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup pomegranate seeds (from one medium-sized pomegranate)
1 cup of your favorite red wine
3/4 cup NuNaturals Tagatose (or other granulated sweetener that measures like sugar)
1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized sauce pot over high heat.
2. Once boiling, reduce temperature to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes uncovered until thickened.
3. Serve room temperature or chilled with your holiday spread!

Oh and Broccoli Mama would like you all to know, as she insisted on telling me THREE times at the dinner table, that this is AHHHHmazing on top of roasted turkey! So maybe make up a batch to help all those leftover turkey sandwiches go down this week? 😉

As you may have noticed…you know, if you read the recipe and all…NuNaturals joined in on the holiday celebration this weekend! And seriously, if I wasn’t already smitten after making these beauties,

then I’d definitely be a convert now! Not a single person noticed there wasn’t any REAL sugar in this! That’s one of the things I love most about NuNaturals…quality.

The OTHER thing I love about them would be their FINE generosity!

To kick off KMB’s birthday week off right, NuNaturals is offering up a wonderful prize pack of their best-selling liquid stevias AND a 50-count box of powder packets. And while it may seem that the little bottle on the left is taking the whole “birthday suit” thing literally, that is actually part of the birthday surprise…along with a bottle of lemon and peppermint, one of FOUR winners will receive a bottle of the newest flavor to hit the market…CHERRY VANILLA!!

I haven’t yet tried this flavor myself, but seriously? HOW could you go wrong with that combo?!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and will end Wednesday at midnight (CST)

Good luck, my little broccoli sprouts! 😀

Posted in Apps & Sides, Giveaway, Holiday, Recipe | Tagged cranberries, giveaway, NuNaturals, pomegranate, tagatose, wine | 116 Comments

Spill It!

Posted on December 1, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!

I’m happy to be participating in Arman’s brand SPANKIN’ 😉 new link up called Spill it Sundays where each week there will be a series of questions to answer to get to know all us bloggers a bit better! Obviously, since I’m a raging narcissist, I had to jump in on this! Oh and the best part? More excuses to plaster pictures of myself online!

Only this time I got Broccoli Mama in on it too! Here we are putting the finishing touches on Friday’s Thanksgiving Day feast…mmm, candied sweet portaters!

And I’m sorry but Broccoli Sister is just too freaking gorgeous not to show you guys too! But c’mon, when did I get to be so short? Eight years older and two inches SHORTER?…What?!

Yeah…so.. since this post is quickly turning into whatever I want it to be, I might as well go ahead and show you Friday’s spread…because it was INSANE and well, this week is going to be pretty busy…for YOU 😀 …so this may be the only chance I get to share…

Turkey and dressing (which mom & I pilfered from my grandmother’s the day before…seriously, it’s THAT good!) with giblet gravy, steamed green beans, boozy cranberry pomegranate sauce (recipe coming tomorrow!), candied sweet potatoes, Caramelized Onion, Cranberry & Kale Saute, and the obligatory ~~deviled~~ Angelic Egg!

Seriously, the family agreed it was the BEST Thanksgiving meal we’ve ever had…and Mama Broccoli would NOT quit raving about the cranberry sauce! 😀

Anyhoodles…I believe Arman’s got some questions I need to answer!

1. What is your cultural background?

Ok, so I’m part Irish…you know, in case the whole ginger thing didn’t already give it away…but get this, my mom just told me that my great great grandfather on her side was full-blooded Cherokee indian! So yeah, that gives me the ok to make fun of my heritage with flippant captions such as this! 😉

2. When was your most memorable birthday and why?

That would be my Sweet SEVENTEEN birthday! I didn’t get to have a party the year before due to some school obligations, so my mom and dad and all my friends made sure to make up for it the following year!

Sweet 17 Birthday

I can’t even remember the presents I got that year (by the way, that’s me in the top right pic with the daisy shirt on), just the ridiculous and hilarious memories…anyone up for a round of Twister and Fluffy Bunny?

I’ll give you some bonus points if you can spot the besties! 😀

3. What is the #1 thing you wish to accomplish in your lifetime?

Ok, gonna get a little serious on ya here because honestly, the thing I want more than anything (at least right now in my life) is to get back to being completely carefree about food and accepting of my body. While Friday’s Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely amazing, the thing that excited me the most was how completely normal I felt the whole time! I was present with my family and still in tune with my hunger/satiety…I didn’t even finish my plate! Definitely a proud moment for me and a milestone in my journey with intuitive eating…and I’m keeping that in mind since yesterday was NOT the best of days. 😕

4. What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?

Ehh, I may get serious, but I’m not gonna get THAT serious. I promise I’ve never been arrested or anything, but let’s just say that in my early twenties I allowed someone to talk me into doing something I knew I shouldn’t have and I lost my job over it…

What is it they say? Love is blind? Yeah, this love which was my marriage that I tried to keep alive by using marital aids like the ones described at this wand massagers test blog posts.

5. Who was your childhood hero?

Gonna have to go with Howard the Duck on this one…

Circa Halloween 1987

Hey, I warned ya…the throwbacks are coming!

Well, that’s it for the questions, but I think I still promised to spill a little something else, didn’t I? With the hustle and bustle of the recent holiday, a pretty special day was slightly overshadowed. For that reason, it will now be recognized and celebrated for the ENTIRE week! Hmm, wonder what it could be…?

Any guesses?

Thursday, November 28, 2013 was the blog’s THIRD birthday!

And please, for the love of all things holy, hold the “blogiversary” wishes. Not only does the word make my eye twitch a bit, but really? It’s a BIRTHDAY…as in I created KMB…gave it life…I didn’t marry it! 😉

For this shhhouper shhhhpecial occasion (sorry, couldn’t help myself), I teamed up with some AMAZING companies and have the privilege of hosting not one, not two, but THREE birthday giveaways just for YOU! One for every year of KMB’s birth! #happydance

Festivities will begin tomorrow at midnight (CST)…be sure to bring your party hats, noise makers, and clicker fingers!

When was YOUR most memorable birthday and why?

What was the BEST thing you ate this weekend…
Thanksgiving related or not?