This SWAG ALERT is going to make you say “Yummm!!!”  We are giving away a complete Beaba Babycook Babyfood Maker valued at $150!!!

To enter, visit www.babycookstore.com and comment on this post with what you think about their company/website/product for your chance to win!

This SWAG ALERT will be open for daily entry until Monday, January 19th at midnight PST.  Our same fabulous SWAG ALERT rules apply, including EXTRAS, but if you need a refresher on the details just CLICK HERE or visit our “SWAG INFO” page by clicking the tab at the top right of this page.

Thanks to Beaba for sharing their innovative product with us, and of course to you for reading BellazizasFavorites.com!

This week’s second SWAG ALERT is going to make you say Yummm AGAIN!!! We are giving TWO lucky readers a full 1-year subscriptions to Relish! sweetly packaged with a Crate and Barrel spatula!

To enter, visit www.relishrelish.com and comment on this post with what you think about their company/website/product for your chance to win!

This SWAG ALERT will be open for daily entry until Monday, January 19th at midnight PST.  Our same fabulous SWAG ALERT rules apply, including EXTRAS, but if you need a refresher on the details just CLICK HERE or visit our “SWAG INFO” page by clicking the tab at the top right of this page.

Thanks to Relish! for sharing their fabulous dinner saving ideas with us and, of course, to you for reading BellazizasFavorites.com!

Also, be sure to check out the Praline Pork Tenderoin recipe that they are sharing exclusively with you, our fabulous readers, that is posted below…

How important is it to you that your baby eat the healthiest foods available?  Breast or bottle, a common question…but what about after that?  Choosy moms everywhere are spending up to around $1.30 per jar for the better branded organic baby food in a jar and much more than that for the new frozen gourmet foods.  Seriously though, how great is it actually, considering it’s been on the shelf for how long – preservatives or not?  Lots of moms prefer the ‘make your own’ baby food, but how many of us really do have the extra time?  It’s totally worth it, but if there were only something that made it just a little easier?

There is!  The Beaba Babycook has been around in Europe for years and has recently been made available in the United States!!  We are really excited here as it’s yet another tool for all of us supermoms who CAN have it all!  Life is all about having our cake and eating it too!

First of all it is totally safe for baby being BPA free and made with only the best materials…whew!  The Europeans have always been stricter with all of the kids products being safe, so it’s just a little more trustworthy in our opinion.  It’s both a steamer and a food processor and makes FRESH baby food in 15 minutes or less!  It’s a huge time saver and with the fact that you can use fresh fruits, veggies, meats, etc., your little sweetie can have his or her cake and eat it too…ok maybe not CAKE, but you know what we’re saying.  It’s a great time saver, a money saver – considering the high cost of the better baby foods, AND the quality of what you will be feeding your baby will be absolutely up to where it should be and of course made with love…thanks Marie!

The Beaba Babycook retails for $149.95 and can be purchased at www.babycookstore.com and it ships for free!  They are also sold at Williams Sonoma stores nationwide if you just can’t wait for shipping:).  So go supermom!  Be the baby gourmet that you know you are… quickly and with care, the Beaba Way!

Now wouldn’t it be just fabulous if in the middle of your day as supermom, that FAQ ‘What’s for dinner?’ no longer left you stumped???  Relish! is an online weekly meal planner with a dash of style and a whole lot of flavor and is a very welcome addition to our Favorite Things!!  We just love it, and we know you will too!

What we love most about this hip new way to plan meals is how incredibly easy it is to use!  It’s as simple as picking your faves from the weekly selections and Relish! does the rest!  Instantly you have a meal list, recipe list and grocery list ready to print!  Relish! offers the solution and the tools to help families get back to the dinner table, establish healthy eating habits and save money at the same time.  With Relish! by your side you will avoid that last minute rushing to the grocery store to find dinner… and of course the fast-food drive thru!  Doesn’t Sauteed Pork Chops with Pomegranate and Fennel Relish or Pasta with Carmelized Onions and Arugula and Lemon Garlic Bread sound better than heart-stopper hamburgers!?!

For only $7 a month, Relish! will provide you with the following amazing services!!

• Five dinners and sides costing about$85-$95 a week!
• All Relish! recipes require only 30 minutes or less prep time!
• Monthly freezer menus are included for those nights when you need something fast!
• An easy to use Recipe Legend helps you easily choose meals in each category like Kid Friendly, Quick, Vegetarian and many more.
• Extra menus for seasonal dinner parties and other specialties like desserts and horsdoeuvres provide recipe ideas for every occasion!

We all know that there is nothing like a family dinner to bring us closer together.  Another one of the ways Relish! will help you make your Family Night the coolest on the block is with their Dinner and Movie menus.  A meal and dessert plan is made to go along with your family’s favorite movies!  We loved King Fu Panda night with Jack Black Punch, Kung Pao Chicken, Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Chinese Noodles and Panda Cake.  What a creative idea and so much fun!

Check out Relish! on your own at www.relishrelish.com and you will see why it’s one of our Favorite Things!  The Relish! slogan sure has it right…Time. Food. Life.  Need we say more?

In the spirit of helping you spend more time with our families around the dinner table in the new year, Relish! has shared one of their favorite recipes exclusively with you, our readers!

Praline Pork Tenderloin

Prep and Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons butter, olive oil cooking spray

Instructions:  Preheat Oven to 350 degrees, Place pecans in a small skillet and toast for 3-4 minutes, until golden.  Pour pecans into a small bowl and set aside.  Spray an OVEN SAFE non-stick skillet with cooking spray and brown pork on all sides.  Transfer pan to oven and baked until cooked through, 20 minutes.  (Careful of the hot handle!)  Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes before slicing.  While meat is resting, pour off grease in skillet, then add sugar, syrup and butter.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, scraping up any brown bits.  Continue to cook, stirring until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in pecans.  Serve sliced tenderloin with pecan sauce.

Nutritional Information: per serving: 375 calories; 30 grams protein; 13 grams total fat; 1 gram fiber; 3 grams saturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 96 mgs cholesterol: 77 mgs sodium

It’s a beautiful, chilly morning.  I  take a sip of my perfectly infused tea as I watch my little ones enjoying a wooden train se, playing so happily, with such innocence.  Then, suddenly, a wave of sadness comes crashing over me.  No, I’m not mentally unstable (well, I guess that’s up for debate).

“Why so blue?” you ask?  Because after feeling such a strong sense of pride and joy in my boys, I look over at my oldest son (he just turned eight, but he’ll always be my baby!) and he says those words that make every mom cringe…”I’m bored!”  There he is, my perfect little angel, snubbing his nose at something so childish as a wooden train.  The coolness of things like video games, Star Wars and various other super heroes call to him like a beacon in the night.  “Play with us!” they call, waiting to destroy that last bit of innocence that hangs in the balance.  I try and try to shine my own light in his eyes.  “Look at how this track can be rebuilt different ways!  How cool is that?!”  But alas, nothing!

So what’s a momma to do?  “Let him go!” shouts my husband, video game controller in hand.  But I can’t bare to do it.  I am hanging on for dear life to that little boy with rosy cheeks and a freckled nose that thinks one day he may just marry me.

Congratulations to subscriber Shari and commenter #44, Jennifer S., who are the winners of Alexis Martin Neely’s book, Wear Clean Underwear AND the Kids Protection Planning Kit, a $500 value!!!

Congrats also go out to our 5 lucky winners, David B., Danielle C., Leah, Connie M., and Susan F.  who will all receive a copy of Wear Clean Underwear AND get the Kid’s Protection Planning Kit for half off as well!!  Now that’s some fabulous prizes for some fabulous readers!

Thanks for reading and watch for TWO fabulous SWAG ALERTs this week!!!!

There are not many things better for a family than to simply have meals together. Families, especially kids, benefit enormously from frequent positive family meals:

1.  Improves family communication

2.  Improves nutrition and eating habits

3.  Improves literacy development among preschoolers

4.  Develops a protective factor for adolescents against tobacco, alcohol, drugs and low grade point averages

“Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2004 Study: Correlations between family meals and psychosocial well-being among adolescents.”

The more meals your family has together, the more you’ll enjoy these amazing benefits! And remember, keep the meals positive, lighthearted and fun.

More specifically, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, children and teens who have frequent family meals:

• Are at half the risk for substance abuse compared to teens who dine with their families infrequently
• Are less likely to have friends or classmates who use illicit drugs or abuse prescription drugs
• Have lower levels of tension and stress at home
• Are more likely to say that their parents are proud of them
• Are likelier to say they can confide in their parents
• Are likelier to get better grades in school
• Are more likely to be emotionally content and have positive peer relationships
• Have healthier eating habits
• Are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide
• Are less likely to try marijuana or have friends who use marijuana

Information courtesy of www.ftfgames.com
Image courtesy of "Daddies" Little Golden Book, Illustrations by Tibor Gergely