Latina on a Mission

98.7 Kiss FM is helping children in New York get ready for Back to School by providing FREE haircuts!

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, 98.7 Kiss FM will team up with Matrix Cuts to provide this Latinalicious freebie. The haircuts are available to children enrolled in elementary through High School.

While at the event you can sign up for the All Madden 2011 Football Tournament, to win the grand prize, a PS3!
Free food will also be provided all day.

Below I have noted the pertinant information:

• Date:
  Sunday, September 5, 2010

• Time:
  12-8PM

• Location:
  Matric Cuts
  314 W. 36th Street
  Between 8th and 9th Avenue
  New York, NY

Click HERE to go to the official page.

This week I am sharing a video that a friend, Annette, shared on Facebook. It is a beautiful reminder to those who feel invisible.

Quote from Video:

“… it was as if I heard God say, “I see you. You are not invisible to me. No sacrifice is too small for me to notice. I see every cupcake baked, every sequin sewn on and I smile over every one. I see every tear of disappointment when things don’t go the way you want them to go…”

It’s Sabroso Saturday (Translation: Tasty Saturday)!

The day when we share recipes that have helped us stretch our budget, our imagination and/or our taste buds. Recipes that have been tested and approved by YOU.

So link up and share those savory, satisfying, succulent, ¡Sabroso! recipes. Be sure to also visit the other participants!

¡Buen provecho!

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This past week I attended the Baking With Betty event in Minneapolis with several fantastic bloggers. While at the event we were able to bake, fry and try lots of sabroso/tasty recipes. Although I LOVED them all, I have to admit crepes were my favorite because of their simplicity.

I used the original crepe recipe, changing a few ingredients to suit my family’s taste and my mission to live a healthier lifestyle. You can view original crepe recipes by going to the Betty Crocker website.

Crepes

1. In small bowl, beat Bisquick mix, sugar, 1/2 cup skim milk, melted butter and egg whites until blended.
2. Grease nonstick skillet, heat over medium heat.
3. For each crepe, pour two teaspoons batter into skillet; immediately rotate skillet until batter covers bottom.
4. Cook until golden brown on bottom side. Turn and cook other side until golden brown.
5. Stack crepes as you remove them from skillet.

Crepes can be filled with various items. I filled my sons with bananas (noted below). I prefer mine with eggs and veggies.

Banana & Strawberry Filling:

• 1 1/2 cup fat free whipped cream (I prefer Reddi-Wip)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 to 3 bananas, sliced
• 6 strawberries, sliced

In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream and sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Spoon about 3 tablespoons whipped cream down center of each crepe; top with 4 or 5 banana slices. Roll up; top each crepe with whipped cream and add strawberries. 

Note: You can use  any berry, or even granola/nuts, to the crepe. This way your children receive their daily fruit/fiber intake without realizing it!

Enjoy!

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Want to join in the Sabroso Saturday blog hop? It’s easy! Just share a sabroso/tasty recipe you have posted this week by adding a DIRECT link to it.  

Make sure you visit the other participants as well!

Disclosure: General Mills covered my travel expenses; however, this in no way influenced my opinions or post.

The Perricone Cold Plasma Giveaway has ended. Cold Plasma, an anti-aging solution, works with all skin types, even sensitive skin, to combat the 10 signs of aging, shown below.

1. Firmness
2. Elasticity
3. Clarity
4. Radiance
5. Smoothness
6. Texture
7. Redness
8. Blotchiness
9. Fine lines and wrinkles
10. Dryness

Not surprisingly, the giveaway had a few HUNDRED entries but only one Latinalicious reader can win.

So without further ado, the winner is @Ardy22, lucky Number 187 !

An email has been sent, please provide the requested information no later than August 30, 2010, 3:00 PM, EST, or a new winner will be selected!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Glidden. All opinions are 100% mine.

This past week, I traveled for a few days. While laying on my hotel bed, staring at the walls, I couldn’t help but compare them to my apartment walls. The hotel walls were lifeless. Sterile. They lacked character. Picture frames and the window couldn’t cover it up, they needed paint!  

I recently used Glidden paint to redo my apartment. My walls are as colorful as a rainbow, with blues, oranges, reds, greens and a grey wall thrown in for contrast! While deciding on the colors, I went back and forth to the The Home Depot store in Manhattan. They had paint testers in every color, XL color chips with coordinating color ideas, and pictures to inspire every project. 

I used the paint testers to decide my color scheme before purchasing full sized cans of paint. The paint testers are also great because they can be used to quickly touch up the scrapes and stains my sons leave.  They store easily in my closet and barely take up any apace.  

Reminiscing about my home, made me realize that not many are as daring as I with color! My color scheme shocks when one first hears it. Its hard to visualize the hodge podge of colors. For those of you who need to see, before selecting your colors, Glidden Paint makes it easy with the Glidden Room Painter. It takes the guess work out of paint selection, making it easy for you to find a color schemes to suit your personality!

I’m back home now, laying in my own bed. I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am to stare at my orange walls. They have character. They are Latinalicious!

I’ve noticed a trend in New York City, socks with heels!

What do you think? Let me know your thoughts!  Is it Chic or just plain Cheap?

Due to the economy, New York City has faced a slew of budget cuts. Many programs were closed or drastically reduced. Sadly, children were not spared.

Come September when schools open their doors in New York City, many children will be left without after-school programs, tutoring services, and sports and arts classes. Parents will also be forced to provide the basics that were normally given to our generation, like books, pencils, crayons, and even cleaning supplies!

The lack of cleaning supplies is particularly disturbing since children spend most of their days at school; consequently, it can become a breeding ground for germs. Knowing this Clorox wishes to remind families that we should teach our children the below three easy steps to prevent the spread of germs and maintain environments that inspire brighter futures:

1. Sing and Scrub: Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds (the time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice).
2. Do the Elbow Cough: Cough and sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands to help prevent the spread of germs by touch.
3. Disinfect Hot Spots: School staff and adults should routinely clean areas that people touch often, like desktops, remote controls and light switches.

What’s important to note is that even if a classroom starts out clean, germs can – and do – build up all day. In a study done at the University of Arizona by Dr. Charles Gerba*, evidence of Influenza A virus was found on 13.6% of swabbed surfaces in the morning and jumped to about 50% by the afternoon! As a parent, this concerns me; as such, I plan to support my children’s teachers in keeping their classrooms clean by providing teachers with hand sanitizers and canisters of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to help make clean-up easier.

Clorox is also helping needy schools via its grant called “Power a Bright Future”. Power a Bright Future is a grant program that will provide resources to schools in need of support. They program will give away a total of $110,000, one $50,000 grand prize grant and three $20,000 grants.

You have until September 27, 2010. There are two ways to get involved - by nominating a school or voting for your favorite nomination. To nominate a school or to vote for your school go to www.powerabrightfuture.com. Nominations can be submitted in one of three categories, Learn, Play or Create, between August 12 to September 27, 2010. For more information, official rules and to nominate a school program, visit www.powerabrightfuture.com.

For more tips on helping keep classrooms cleaner, visit Clorox.

*University of Arizona workplace study, Fall 2005, Dr. Charles P. Gerba

Bilingual Power a Bright Future Twitter Party

In order to get the word out about the Clorox Power a Bright Futureprogram and give a voice to your ideas on how YOU can help create a healthy and happy school, Clorox is sponsoring a twitter party and giveaway with Latina On a Mission and two other bloggers. Giveaway information can be found below.

To join in the Twitter fiesta/party follow the party hosts and organizers :

• Migdalia Rivera – @MsLatina
• Silvia Martinez – @mamalatina
• Melanie Edwards – @modernmami
• Ana Flores – @laflowers
• Clorox – @clorox

Party Details:

The twitter party will be conducted in ENGLISH and SPANISH so feel free to join in whichever language you feel comfortable!

Date: Thursday, August 26

Time: 9-10 pm EST

Hashtag: #CloroxBrightFuture

Prizes: Three (3) $25 AMEX gift cards will be given out during the twitter party.

RSVP: It’s not mandatory to RSVP in order to join us, but if you want to connect with fellow party attendees ahead of time, RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

Twitter Party Giveaway Rules:Three winners will be chosen at random from all #CloroxBrightFuture tagged tweets between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m EST 8/26/10. Winner must be present and using the tag between these times to win. Winner must be 18 years of age or older and have a valid U.S. address.

Bilingual Power a Bright Future Giveaway

Prize: One Latinalicious reader will win a $50 AMEX gift card.

MANDATORY ENTRY- YOU MUST DO THIS BEFORE YOU CAN RECEIVE ANY EXTRA ENTRIES:

Leave a comment answering one of the following questions:

Now that you’re preparing for back-to-school, how can you help in keeping a healthier and happier school for your children?
1. If you had $50,000 to fund one program in your child’s school, what would it be?
2. How have state budget cuts affected your child’s school?

NOTE: You must be an e-mail subscriber to enter. Click HERE to subscribe.

EXTRA ENTRIES - LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY:

1. Follow my blog with Google Friends and/or ”Like” my Facebook page for 1 entry EACH. If you’re already do, let me know!

2. Follow @MsLatina on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway, stating the below. Provide me with the tweet url in a comment. One tweet per day till the giveaway ends, so go ahead tweet away!

Enter to win a $50 AMEX gift card from @MsLatina. http://tiny.cc/GW35 (Ends 9/10) #GIVEAWAY #MsLatina #CloroxBrightFuture

3. Blog about the Power A Bright FutureGiveaway, linking back to this post, and provide me with the url for 3 extra entries.

4. Leave a comment on a non-giveaway related post for 3 extra entries. Note the post in your comment and don’t forget to enter each entry in a separate comment! Wouldn’t want you to miss an entry!

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GIVEAWAY ENDS September 10, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. EST

Open to US, including Puerto Rico

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Be sure to also check out my co-hosts’ blogs for additional giveaway opportunities. They are each hosting the same giveaway.

• Melanie Edwards – Modern Mami (Expires 9/3)
• Silvia Martinez – Mamá Latina Tips (Expires 9/7)

Official Rules: Entrants can only win a $50 American Express gift card on one (1) Bilingual Power a Bright Future Twitter party host’s blog. If an entrant chooses to comment on more than one host’s blog post, he/she is only eligible to win one (1) prize, even if randomly selected as the winner more than once. Entrants for the Giveaways may not participate with multiple e-mail addresses. Any entrant who attempts to enter with multiple e-mail addresses, under multiple identities, or uses any other device will be disqualified from participation in the promotion, and all entries submitted by that entrant will be void.

As always, I will use random.org to select the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Also, don’t forget, in order for random.org to count all of your entries a separate comment must be entered for each item that is completed. Random.org will not count it otherwise.

Disclosure: I am being compensated for co-hosting the Bilingual Power a Bright Future Twitter party. This post was written in conjunction with the campaign, but all opinions are mine.