This week’s blog post is by Leah Kelley.

Our first family camping trip was a success! The kids had a blast playing in the dirt, hiking, and roasting marshmallows. We did have to cut our trip short due to bad weather but that’s okay because we have plenty more camping trips planned.

 Summertime means grill outs and picnics! For today’s meal planning post I thought I would share some of my favorite picnic foods. I do want to stress the importance of food safety. Anything cream or mayonnaise-based should remain cold and/or not left out for more than an hour. I am a stickler for this. Eat one bad batch of potato salad and you’re food-paranoid for life!

 Here are a few of my favorite picnic recipes:

 Pasta Salad ~ The possibilities are endless when it comes to pasta salad! I tend to stick to basic pasta salad if I’m bringing it to a grill out: cooked pasta, diced cucumbers and red onions, cherry tomatoes, and Italian dressing. I love feta cheese sprinkled on  mine.

 Potato Salad ~ Who doesn’t love a good potato salad?! My husband’s grandma makes the best potato salad but won’t part with her recipe; it’s killing me!  However, the Dill Potato Salad recipe below is also very delicious.

 Cole Slaw ~ As with pasta salad, the possibilities are endless with coleslaw. Mayonnaise based or vinegar based? Red cabbage mixed with green cabbage or just green cabbage? Maybe you want to get fancy with some Asian Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing!

Baked Beans ~ I love cold baked beans! Not sure how many other people do so I would serve them warm.

 Mac and Cheese ~ If you know you will be able to keep it warm I would make big batch and bring it! I love mac n cheese with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I have a picky daughter who would just eat mac and cheese and nothing else. I’m sure a few of you have that one picky eater in your family, too.

 Watermelon ~ Don’t forget the watermelon!! For the kids you could slice small pieces and stick a Popsicle stick through the rind and make them watermelon pops. You could also have a little fun with watermelon and let the kids have a seed spitting contest.

 Lemonade ~ Nothing says summer quite like homemade lemonade!  Make a big batch for your next grill out or summer party. Kids and adults alike will thank you for the delicious drink.

Perfect Lemonade

from Simply Recipes

• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Dill Potato Salad

• 3 pounds new red potatoes, diced and unpeeled
• 1 cup of reduced fat mayo
• ¾ cup of light sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
• 1 Tbs. dried dill weed
• 4 green onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook about 10- 12 minutes.  Drain and cool in an ice water
bath until cold, about 5 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, dill, and onions and stir until well blended.  Pour mayo mixture over potatoes and toss to coat evenly.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.  Stir before serving.

Happy Win It Wednesday!   The weather is heating up and we’ve got a HOT summer giveaway for you, sponsored by KY Girl’s Crafts! Martha has great new summer designs, including cute patriotic ones that you’ll love.  If you’re the winner, you’ll receive a custom embroidered onesie or toddler t-shirt of your choice with your child’s name on it!

KY Girl’s Crafts’ prices are a coupon queen’s dream!  Many of their shirts are only $12.50 plus shipping and they will embroider your child’s name for FREE.  You can find additional designs on KY Girl’s Crafts Etsy page and on their Facebook page.

Entering the contest is super easy by commenting here on the blog and telling us which design is your favorite!  Good luck!  Giveaway runs from June 12^th through June 16^th.

This week’s blog post is by Christine Luken.

Nothing makes it feel more like summer than hearing the jingle of the music from the ice cream truck coming down the street.  When I was a kid, my favorite treats from the ice cream man were the red-white-and-blue bomb pops and ice cream sandwiches.  My brother loved the orange push-up pops and Drumsticks.  I’m not sure that any of us outgrow that love of frosty desserts when the weather is hot.  So, I thought that this week, I would share some ideas and recipes for grown-up summer desserts that are both healthy and delicious.

Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream – My friend Shirley shared this recipe on Facebook and I can’t wait to try it!  There are only three ingredients: coconut milk, vanilla, and honey.  Anything coconut reminds me of my vacations in Hawaii, so I’m sure I’ll love it.  Plus, there’s no dairy in this ice “cream” so you can eat it even if you’re lactose-intolerant!  You will need an ice cream machine to make it, which I don’t currently have.  My husband is a huge ice cream fan, so I think I know what I’m getting Nick for his birthday in a few weeks!

Freezy PB S’mores Sandwiches – I recently downloaded the new dessert cookbook from Hungry Girl, Just Desserts: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories.  I’ve been on a chocolate and peanut butter kick lately, so I was eager to try this recipe.  Take 1/3 cup of Cool Whip Free, mix it with 2 teaspoons of powdered peanut butter (like PB2), 8 miniature marshmallows, and 1 tsp. mini chocolate chips.  Take one graham cracker sheet and break it in half.  Spread the Cool Whip mixture in between the graham crackers to make a sandwich.  Freeze for 90 minutes or until filling is firm.  It’s a lot of yum for only 160 calories!  Make a bunch and freeze them in individual sandwich baggies so you can grab one whenever the mood strikes you.

Angel Food Cake with Berries - Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are coming in season right now, so take advantage of their yummy ripeness with this easy dessert!  Mix one 6 to 8 oz. container of lemon Greek yogurt with one cup of Cool Whip.  If you can’t find lemon flavored Greek yogurt, mix 1 Tbsp. of fresh lemon juice with a container of vanilla Greek yogurt before combining with the Cool Whip.  Take a slice of store-bought angel food cake and top it with a dollop of the yogurt/ Cool Whip mixture then top with fresh (or freshly frozen) berries.  Absolutely delicious!

Protein Milk Shakes – Milk shakes are awesome, but they can really derail your healthy eating plan because of all the sugar.  Burger King’s small (12 ounce) chocolate milk shake has 588 calories and NINETY GRAMS OF SUGAR!  Holy moly!  (Don’t believe me?  Check it out on Calorie King for yourself.)  The good news is that you can have a tasty protein shake that will satisfy your cravings without all those calories and sugar grams. Diet Free Life has a bunch of great smoothie recipes, like Apple Surprise and the Coconut Berry Smoothie.  I freeze berries and ripe bananas for smoothies on a regular basis.  Lately, I’ve been taking my Chocolate Fit Pro and putting it in the blender with a few ice cubes and a tablespoon of PB2.  (I told you I was on a peanut butter and chocolate kick!)  The great news is that there are only about 200 calories and 10 grams of sugar – plus 28 grams of protein! – in my chocolate “milk shake.”  It tastes so great, I can’t even believe that it’s so good for me!

What is your favorite summer dessert?

Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/11. I love adding new Disney movies to my collection and this one will be no exception. See where to buy it for the best price on Online Movie Coupons.

You can also enter to win Oz The Great and Powerful on DVD! The giveaway will end on 6/14 at 11:50 pm est.

Just enter on the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

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Disclosure: Your Strong Tower was not compensated for this post and is not responsible for prize shipment.

Summer weather is here! Melissa & Doug has all kinds of great toys for you to help keep the kids entertained for the summer. You can get toys for all ages including classic toys, tents, sand toys, puzzles, art & craft, plus more!

My nieces and nephews LOVE Melissa & Doug toys!  I love them too, because they are classic and sturdy, so I know they’ll get plenty of use out of them.

Not only do you have the opportunity to win this giveaway but you can also head on over to the Melissa & Doug on Facebook fan page and then click on the Play to 250k Sweepstakes tab to enter the Play to 250,000 Fans Sweepstakes.

Each time their fan base grows by 1,000 fans, a fan will win a selection of Melissa & Doug toys. Plus, when the Facebook page reaches 250,000 fans, all fans will receive a special gift. WOW!!

If you are curious about what real moms thinks about Melissa and Doug toys, you can read these reviews:

Baby Costcutters Review

Mom to Bed by 8 Review

Powered By Mom Review

One lucky winner will receive a $200.00 eGift Code to Melissa & Doug!

Giveaway ends June 27, 2013 at 11:59pm, open to US only, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: By entering this giveaway you agree to receive email communications from Melissa & Doug. I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.  Your Strong Tower is not responsible for prize shipment.

This event was organized by MomPoweredMedia please contact tina@babycostcutters.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

 Your Strong Tower and a group of great bloggers are excited to bring you this giveaway for a Junior’s Smart Saver Bank, sponsored by DaveRamsey.com!  This is a great tool to teach your young children the importance of saving, giving, and spending.  The clear and compact set of piggy banks makes it easy to see their progress.

As a Dave Ramsey Financial Counselor, I know it’s never too early to start teaching your kids about how to handle money the right way!  While you’re at it, check out the entire line-up of Dave Ramsey’s youth products.  Whether you’ve got preschoolers or teenagers, there are great age-appropriate tools to get your kids on the right track with money management.  And that means they’ll be less likely to move back in with you after college!

 Entering is easy via the Rafflecopter form below.  Contest runs from June 5 through June 9, 2013 and is open to US residents age 18 and up.  Prize will ship directly from Dave Ramsey’s organization.

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This week’s blog post is by Christine Luken.

Most of us have plenty of food in the house and more than enough to eat, and our waistlines are proof of that.  I’m always hearing about the obesity epidemic in this country, so I was a little surprised to discover that 50 million Americans (including 17 million children) are “food insecure,” meaning that they aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from.  This Memorial Day, my church, The Vineyard of Florence, participated in the Hunger Walk.  This raises money for the church to do monthly grocery giveaways and hot food giveaways in the poorest areas of our community.  During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, there’s an increased  focus on feeding the hungry, but food insecurity is a year-round problem.

Often we hear about issues such as hunger, and think that the problem is so big that our small contribution couldn’t possibly put a dent in it.  But nothing is further from the truth!  If enough of us take some small steps, we really can make a difference for those who are facing hunger right in our own communities.  So this week, we’re going to take a break from meal planning and  recipes to talk about some practical steps we can all take to have a positive impact.

• Support your church’s food pantry or local homeless shelter with donations of non-perishable food items.  At least twice a year, I go through my stockpile and donate items that I don’t think we’ll eat before they expire.  Many shelters will take  items that are past their “best by” date.
• Use coupon codes from Save1.com when shopping online.  You can find money saving coupon codes for popular websites like Macy’s and Ulta, and Save1 provides a meal for a hungry child with every coupon code used.  How cool is that?
• If you know someone who is struggling to pay for groceries every month, buy some for them.  If you can’t afford to do that, teach them what you know about couponing and meal planning to help them stretch their food dollars.
• Money Saving Mom published a great post last year about how to eat on a grocery budget of $30 per week.  If you or someone you know is “food insecure,” this is a good resource.
• One-third of the trash in America is food waste.  Make a conscious effort to only buy what you’ll use, freeze leftovers, and donate the money you’ll save to organizations that help fight hunger.

For the month of June, I’ve challenged myself to make use of the food I already have in my pantry and freezer and buy as few groceries as I can.  I’m going to try to buy only fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy.  I’ll donate what I’ve saved to help fight hunger in my own community.  Feel free to join me on this challenge!

Nothing brings back the memories of carefree childhood summers for me quite like the smell of lilac bushes in full bloom.  That’s why we are kicking off our summer season of giveaways with a 1-ounce bottle of Demeter’s Lilac Pick-Me-Up Cologne Spray, a $20 value!  Your Strong Tower has joined with a group of great bloggers to bring you the Scents of Summer Giveaway, which runs from May 29th through June 2, 2013.

If you’re not familiar with Demeter Fragrance, be sure to check them out!  They carry some cool and unusual fragrances like “Dirt,” “Thunderstorm,” “Sunshine,” and “Laundromat.”  There are a whole host of yummy food scents too.  My current favorite is “Ocean,” which I wear with a coconut scented body lotion.  The scent combo instantly transports me to Maui, where it feels like summer all year round!  Which fragrance would you like try?

Entering is easy with the Rafflecopter below.  Contest open to US residents age 18 or older.
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Wishing all of our fans a Safe & Happy Memorial Day!  Take time to remember the true meaning of today and thank our troops for risking their lives for us daily.

Our Meal Planning Monday feature will return next week.