Giveaway

Remember that breakfast rut I was in? No more. About a million years later than the rest of the world, I’ve discovered the appeal of smoothies. And thanks to all of your comments on that post, I’m not short on ideas for combinations for my morning drinks. But until last week, I was short one ingredient: an incredible blender. I tried making smoothies in my food processor, but the “smooth” part of the title started to seem like a misnomer.

Enter Driscoll’s, who offered to provide me with the ultimate in blenders, the Vitamix. Last week, I started blending my shakes in their CIA Professional Series, and I can’t get enough. My current favorite smoothie contains: banana, peanut butter, plenty of ripe strawberries and blueberries, a touch of honey, and milk (either 2% or homemade coconut milk–more on that blended endeavor soon). Thirty seconds in this powerful blender, and all those ingredients become a filling, healthful breakfast.

Now that I’m in love with an appliance, I’m happy to announce that Driscoll’s is going to supply one of you with your own Vitamix CIA Professional Series (a $500 value) to delight in. The winner also receives a $25 gift certificate to Whole Foods so that you can stock up on summer’s juiciest berries, to throw into your smoothies.

You’ve got three chances to enter the Vitamix + Driscoll’s + Whole Foods Giveaway:

• {one} Leave a comment below and tell me what item in your kitchen (from your butter knives to your blender, your prep bowls to your electric mixer) you love most.
• {two} Be a subscriber to the Big Girls, Small Kitchen newsletter and leave a second comment letting me know you’ve subscribed.
• {three} Tell your facebook friends and/or twitter fans about the contest – post the link and tag @Big Girls Small Kitchen (facebook) or @BGSK (twitter). Leave a third comment letting me know you’ve done so.

The contest will run for 10 days, and I’ll announce the winner in my June 28th newsletter. Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed, 12/18/12.

As the gift-giving season gets into full swing, I always seem to notice tons of adorable clothes, accessories, and jewelry…for myself.

It’s completely selfish, and totally weird, considering I don’t even like shopping that much the rest of the year. But as soon as I get frustrated prowling the aisles for the perfect gifts for family and friends, all I seem to notice is the perfect gift for me.

That’s why I’m so happy that my friends at Nespresso have offered this compact Lattissima+ machine for me to give away to you. Sure, you could gift it to your mom, your best friend, or your partner. But you could also win it for yourself. That would mean treating yourself to lattes and espressos at home all through the Christmas season and beyond. To make it yours, you don’t have to prowl any aisles. Just share your ideal holiday breakfast, the best possible treat you’d want to pair with your cup of Joe–who knows, you might just see your recipe come to life on the blog in the coming months.

To enter the Nespresso Lattissima+ Giveaway, you must:

• Leave a comment below and tell us your favorite special breakfast (cinnamon buns? extra-crumble coffee cake? homemade bagels & lox?) to go with your coffee.
• (Extra Entry) Become a fan of the BGSK Facebook Page
• (Extra Entry) Tell your facebook friends/fans about the contest – post the link and @Big Girls Small Kitchen
• (Extra Entry) Tweet about this contest @BGSK

I’ll announce the randomly selected winner next week on the blog. Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed – 9/12/12.

When I ask friends and fans what stands in the way of getting a home-cooked dinner on their tables, what I hear is that grocery shopping can be a real impediment. If you’re working late or you don’t live close to a supermarket, the thought of shopping and cooking can be a huge downer. I do my best to write about meals that don’t require too many ingredients, and if you stock your pantry, you’ll often be able to make a grilled cheese sandwich or a bowl of tomato soup.

Until there comes a day when you can’t. And that’s what brings us to today’s giveaway, for a product that solves the supermarket shopping and dinner decision problems in one fell swoop: Hello Fresh.

Hello Fresh sends three creative recipes and all the ingredients necessary to make them to customers’ doors every week. Ingredients are sourced locally, and the company does its best to have all fresh, quality ingredients (though not everything is organic). When you receive a box, you simply follow the gorgeously printed instructions, and in about half an hour, you’ve got a home-cooked meal. It’s a fine midpoint between doing all your own shopping and planning, and ordering take-out every night, and I’m happy to say I’m giving away two boxes today. 

This giveaway is now closed.

Caffeine cravings don’t stop just because it’s summer, and that’s why I’m gracing this busy weekend with a giveaway for an awesome – yet tiny and portable – espresso maker from Nespresso. It’s called the Nespresso Pixie, and you’ll get one in a lovely dark red if you win! The other half of the giveaway is an Aerrocino Plus, which will foam up your milk for cool iced lattes all summer long.

In honor of father’s day and this beautiful weekend, enter to win this wonderful espresso gadget below!

This giveaway is now closed. 

Because I’ve embraced Earth Day in a big way this year–green pizza and a round up of how foodies stay green in the kitchen–I figured I’d round it all out with a giveaway, thanks to our friends over at Full Circle Home.

Anything that makes cleaning a little more pleasant sounds good in my book. (Cleaning’s not my favorite job.) Full Circle uses only sustainable and renewable resources–scrub brushes made with sleek bamboo and sponges from cellulose–so today’s giveaway is an awesome way to pick up on my Earth Day obsession in a clean, green way.

Thanks to all of you who entered The Naptime Chef cookbook giveaway! We chose a randomly selected winner to receive Kelsey’s fabulous book.

Congrats to Jamie Ann!

Here’s what Jamie Ann said about making dinner in under 20 minutes:

My quick go to is pasta with some pesto and chicken. Always a hit!

(If you didn’t win, grab The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food into Family Life by Kelsey Banfield here.)…

 When we first “met” Kelsey, The Naptime Chef online (I think it was through Food52, where she ruled the dessert contests for a while), we immediately connected over the parallel between cooking for quarter-lifers (our niche) and cooking with a little kid around (hers).

When we first actually met her, over pretzel croissants and hot chocolate at City Bakery, we figured out exactly why that parallel was so telling. See, new moms are pressed for time, because they’re juggling an extra aspect of life, aka a child. Quarter-life cooks are pressed for time because we’re juggling a developing career, roommates, …