America's Top 10 Favorite Holiday Comfort Foods & Holiday Kitchen Prep Kit Giveaway #americasrecipes

The countdown to Christmas is almost over! Are you ready for all the festivities in the days leading up to the New Year? My favorite part of the holidays has always been the opportunity to enjoy what I love with those I love, including all the tasty food I can't wait to feast on! Del Monte, the country's prominent grower and distributor of green beans and many other delicious vegetables has recently published their their Del Monte Comfort Food Index, which revealed some fun stats on what Americans love to eat during the holidays, such as the Top 10 Holiday Comfort Foods:

1. Potatoes (mashed or scalloped)
2. Pie
3. Baked goods (cookies & muffins)
4. Macaroni & cheese
5. Cake
6. Casserole
7. Stews and hearty soups
8. Meatballs (with or without pasta
9. Sweet potatoes (mashed or cut)
10. Cornbread

Are you surprised by the ranking? Does it cover what your family loves most on the holiday menu? My favorite items from the list are casserole and pie and I have discovered quite a few delicious recipes on the Del Monte America’s Recipe site! Take a look at my top picks--

Money Saving Coupon & Recipe for Del Monte Pineapple

We love pineapples. It's great that we can enjoy this tropical fruit all year long.

Are Del Monte’s Gold® Extra Sweet Pineapple available in your local store? Download this exclusive coupon to save 50 cents on your next purchase to get a boost of Vitamin C and add some sweetness to your favorite fall dishes.

To download the coupon, "like" Del Monte Fresh Produce on Facebook, fill out a short form on the "Holiday Coupon" tab and you will be directed to the printable coupon. Limit one per person. While supplies last.

Try this recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins for a tasty treat!

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins
Created by EatingWell

Ingredients
Topping
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 10-ounce can pineapple slices

Muffins
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons pineapple juice or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (not drained)
1 cup grated carrot (1 large)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup raisins, preferably baking raisins (see Ingredient note)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Serving Size: 12

Directions
Glistening like sticky buns, these unusual muffins are packed with wholesome ingredients--vegetables, fruit and whole grains--so you can feel good about serving them to your family. If you prefer to make simple carrot muffins for lunchboxes or breakfasts-on-the-go, omit the topping; sprinkle 2 tablespoons chopped nuts over the muffins before baking, if desired.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

To prepare topping: Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into each muffin cup. Sprinkle nuts, if using, over the sugar. Stack pineapple slices and cut into 6 wedges. Place 2 wedges in each muffin cup.
To prepare muffins: Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in oil, juice and vanilla. Stir in crushed pineapple. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in carrot, oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they'll be quite full).

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and firm to the touch, 15 to 25 minutes. Immediately loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a baking sheet. Restore any stray pineapple pieces and nuts. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve upside-down, either warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Tips & Notes:
Ingredient Note: Baking raisins, moister than regular ones, ensure a better texture. To substitute regular raisins, plump them first: soak in boiling water for 10 minutes; drain well.


Go to www.fruits.com for more pineapple recipes and facts.

Disclosure: I was compensated for posting this information provided by Del Monte.

Win 1 of 200 Banana Costumes from Del Monte!

Have you decided what to wear for the big night this Halloween? Have your tried dressing up as your favorite fruit? How about a Del Monte Fresh Produce Banana?

Del Monte Fresh Produce is randomly giving away 200 banana costumes to its fans on Facebook.

Enter to win today by clicking on the "Costume Giveaway" tab on Del Monte Fresh Produce's Facebook page and complete a short entry form. Two different banana costumes are available. Deadline to enter is October 18th.

Turn this Halloween into an opportunity to teach your kids how to make healthy eating choices while still enjoying their treats. Here are a few tips:

• Before heading out the door for Trick-or Treating, make sure your child has a filling and nutritious dinner or healthy snack, such as a peanut butter and banana sandwich, or a piece of fresh fruit. They will be less tempted to dig into their candy bag before they get home.
• Limit the number of treats your child can have after each meal and make sure they eat their fresh fruits and vegetables before digging into that candy stash.
• Set a good example. Don't let your kids see mom or dad snacking on Halloween candy before meals.

Go to Facebook.com/DelMonteFreshProduce to enter to win your own banana costume today.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this publication. Tips have been been provided by Del Monte Fresh Produce.

Del Monte Teacher Monday Contest & Giveaway: $30 Fresh Fruit GC & School Supplies (3 Winners)!

From now through November 7, 2011, Del Monte Fresh Produce is hosting its second annual online contest: Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms, which awards cash and fresh fruit to K-12 grade school teachers in US and Canada to encourage them to incorporate healthy eating and living messages into classroom activities. Ten Grand Prize winners per week, for a total of 60 winners, will each win $750 in cash and $250 in Fresh Fruit Gift Certificate. In addition, the winner and Del Monte will choose a qualifying school in Africa, Asia, or Central America to receive a $1,000 Grant.

To enter, simply submit a short essay on Fruits.com and ask your students and their parents to vote for your entry. Winners are selected based on the amount of public votes received during each weekly entry period. If you're not a qualified teacher yourself, please tell your child's teachers about the contest and encourage them to enter! Don't forget to use your voting power to help them win!

The Giveaway

To encourage you to either enter the contest or vote for current entries, Del Monte Fresh Produce has generously offered to give three of my lucky readers some nice prizes. One Grand Prize Winner will receive a backpack filled with school supplies! Two first prize winners will each receive $30 worth of Fresh Fruit Gift Certificate (in the form of 6 $5 GCs). The GCs are good for any Del Monte brand fresh fruits and vegetables including avocados, bananas, melons, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, grapes, pineapple, and tomatoes. Valid through April 30th, 2012!

Please use the Rafflecopter form below to submit your entries. A few things to note:

*You must enable JavaScript to see the widget and it may load a bit slower than the rest of the webpage. Thank you for your patience! Need help to enable JavaScript? Click here.

*Please make sure you fill in the "Extra info" field in the form as instructed. I moderate all entries and only valid ones will count in the drawing. If you submit an empty form by accident, you can note that in the comment and I'll correct the entry for you.

* Comments are for feedbacks, questions, etc. but NOT for entries unless otherwise indicated. Thank you for following the rules and making things easier for all of us!

Del Monte Teacher Monday Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificates (2 Winners)

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

Del Monte Fresh Produce is currently hosting "Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms," an online contest where K-12 public school teachers in the US and Canada can win cash and fresh fruit for their classroom. Each week, 10 winners will be awarded $1,000 each ($750 in cash and $250 in fresh fruit gift certificates)!

If you are a teacher, please enter the contest by submitting a short essay and then invite your family, friends, students and parents to vote for you. Winners will be the top 10 teachers receiving the most votes each week.

Even if you're not a teacher, you may help your friend or your kid's teacher by encouraging her to enter the contest and voting for her entry. Voting is extremely easy and completely anonymous. Limit one vote per person per day. You may take a look at all the current entries here.

The contest ends on November 15, 2010. Don't miss your last chance to enter and win! Plus, you're encouraged to follow Del Monte on Facebook and Twitter for contest updates.

The Giveaway

To encourage you to participate in Teacher Monday,  Del Monte Fresh Produce has generously offered to give two of my lucky readers a $25 Del Monte Fresh Fruit Gift Certificate each!

Required Entry: Visit Teacher Monday website and leave a comment telling me how you plan to support the promotion. Are you going to enter yourself? Are you going to tell a teacher you know to enter? Or are you going to vote for a current contestant? (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).

Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Sign up for Juno Baby Newsletter and put icefairy as the referrer (1 extra entry)
• Join the Parents Insight Network and put icefairy as the referrer (1 extra entry) 
• Enter this iPad giveaway and put my name as the referrer (1 extra entry) 
• Rate this Win A Trip To Africa contest (1 extra entry)
• Rate this Win $1000 To Give Away contest (1 extra entry)
• Vote for me on PF & TMB daily (1 extra entry per day)
• Follow my blog
  
  publicly (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my feed via email and leave your email address (1 extra entry)
• Follow Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler Yummy #giveaway! Win 1 of 2 $25 @DelMonteFresh Gift Certificates! http://bit.ly/dmftm #fbz #health
Please leave the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Join Crowtap via this link and leave your registered name (1 extra entry)
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• Grab my button and tell me where to find it (1 extra entry)
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post. Then leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm Central Time on 11/15/10

Open to US Residents Only

Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Disclosure: I did not receive any form of compensation for hosting this giveaway. Giveaway prizes are provided by Del Monte Fresh Produce.