It's FORT FRYDAY

TGIFF stands for Thank goodness it's FORT FRYDAY.  We're back bringing in the weekend and celebrating  that our Veggie Wedgies are now available in military commissaries!

Today our hometown hero is Stacy Fiore, a military wife,  mom and blogger who writes for  Raising Chaos a sweet and funny blog about living life military style.  We hope that Stacy finds some Peas of Mind with our Veggie Fries while she's raising all that chaos!

More from this week's hometown hero, Stacy Fiore:

How long have you been a military wife?

"I've been a military spouse for almost 7 years. September of this year will make 8!" 

What made you start your website/blog?
"I love to write. One of my closest friends had a great blog going and I loved reading everything she wrote. She inspired me to start writing my stories down on the internet and that's how my blog got started. If it weren't for her, I probably would have never started it."

Do you or have you lived on base? Which one?
"Nope. Never lived on base. We've always chosen to live close enough to take advantage of what the base offers but never on."

What is the best thing about base life?
"I don't live on base but I still take advantage of the commissary. We live near a big base so it has a lot of events year round that are very family oriented. Also, I LOVE watching all the planes and helicopters flying around. You can even see the paratroopers jumping from where we live. It's really cool to watch."

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family this time of year?
"Soups. Winter to me means lots and lots of soups. Our current favorite is broccoli and cheese or chicken tortilla."

You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!
"My family. I could stay on the island forever if I had my family with me. If I couldn't bring my family (since technically it would be 4 things) I would bring my cell phone and pray that I had reception so I could call for help."

Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?
"Before my husband and I got married, I only had a glimpse of military life. I really had no idea what all it would entail. It is definitely not what I thought it would be. I think some people think of military life as glamorous. They think of homecomings like they are in the movies. But military life is hard and homecomings are nothing like they are in the movies. In fact, most spouses will tell you the coming home and reintegration is harder than the actual deployment. But seeing my husband do what he does makes me so proud of him and all of our servicemen and women. I've learned so much and grown so much as a person because of all the challenges thrown our way. I love him so much and wouldn't change my military wife life for anything."

Fort Frydays

It's Friday, so you know what that means! FORT FRYDAYS is back and once again we're celebrating that our Veggie Wedgies are now available in military commissaries!

This week we're featuring Michelle, the awesome mom, wife and blogger behind Military Wives Savings.  If you haven't visited her website, you should check it out ASAP; she's constantly posting great deals, coupons and wonderful ways to help military families save money!

More from Michelle, this week's hometown here: 

What branch of the military is your spouse in? 
"Army. He's been in since January 2007, so a few months before we met."

How long have you been a military wife? 
"I've been a milspouse since January 2008, 2 months after we started dating. One of our mutual friends set us up on a blind date when we were at Ft Lewis, WA and we spent everyday together since that night :)"

Do you have kids? If so, what are their names and ages? 
"We have 2 and one on the way (any SECOND now LOL) ... Hailey is 4 and Clint, Jr. is 2." (We found out that a few days after Michelle sent this, she gave birth to her third child. CONGRATULATIONS MICHELLE!)

Do you or have you lived on base? Which one?
"We have never actually lived "on-post" ...It's always been off. However, we are at Ft. Bliss now and I honestly wish we lived on-post for that sense of community and family-feeling. We do not speak spanish so we really don't know our neighbors ...."

What is the best thing about base life? 
"Best thing about military life ... gotta say Tricare! I've saved about $20,000 having my two kids so far :) Seriously, I would say the sense of pride being of apart of the military. You know your spouse is doing something so selfless to defend our country and you get to share that with them. It makes me so proud to say that I'm a military spouse!"

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family? 
"Mmmmm, that has to be Chicken Cacciatore hands down. Whether it's on the stove or in the slow-cooker, it's simply delicious. It's even better the next day! The kids don't like it but hubby and I do!"

-You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go! 
"Hopefully someone is paying the internet bill back on land, so that would be my laptop with built-in wifi :) If there's no wifi, I'd bring a fishing pole for food and fun."

-Is Military wife life what you thought it would be? 
"I never thought I'd be a military wife, although I grew up as a military brat, go figure. I have to say I'm used to this lifestyle, moving every few years, having to readjust. When I was younger, I went to three high schools, and I truly can't remember some of my teachers names. It's just been a way of life for me and I don't know how to live any other way."

Fort Frydays

Fort Frydays is back for 2013!  As you know,  Peas of Mind’s Veggie Wedgies are now in military commissaries, which means we get the honor of feeding the brave men and women who serve our country and the families who love them.  Fort Frydays is a celebration of the moms and dads (or Home Town Hero’s as we like to call them) who take care of the household while their spouse is/was away. 

This week we’re celebrating military wife and mom, Chantal Shelstad. When Chantel's not busy with her daughter and husband, she writes for her blog Scattered Seashells about life as a military mom helping her family live a healthy lifestyle (her life just got a little easier because now she can get Peas of Mind products at her commissary)! 

More from Chantel, this week's hometown hero:

What branch of the military is your spouse in?

“My husband is in the Army. He is training to be a helicopter pilot.”

How long have you been a military wife?

“We've been married since June 2008, and he's been in the Army since then too! So it'll be five years come this summer.”

Do you have kids? If so, what are their names and ages?

“We have one daughter, Penny, who just turned one in December.”

Do you or have you lived on base? 

“We live on base here at Fort Rucker. Before we lived here, we were stationed in Hawaii, and we lived on base there too.”

What is the best thing about base life?

“We love being close to his work so he can come home between breaks.  There are lots of perks of living on base - proximity to the commissary and PX, close to other families, good housing. I especially love being on post here because I'm close to friends, because my husband is gone a lot for training in flight school.”

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family?

“We have tons! But I like a good meatloaf with roasted broccoli and sweet potato fries on the side. I’m so excited to try Peas of Mind Carrot fries, they seem super healthy and easy to make.”

You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!

“Does my husband count as a thing? Seriously, he would get us out of anything. I'm sure that's putting a lot of faith in him but I trust him beyond words. I know he would work to get us off that island.  Well, unless we liked it so much, and then he'd work to make us a great house!”

Is Military life what you thought it would be?

“That and more! I love the relationships I have with others who understand exactly what I'm going through. I love the opportunities we have to travel. I love the activities they organize. I love the sense of community. I love being an Army wife!”

Fort Fryday's : Celebrating our Hero's at Home!

A huge accomplishment of ours this year was shipping our products into the Military Commissaries! Commissaries are similar to grocery stores accept they are located on military bases all over the world. They stock similar items available in the US regardless where they are stationed, so a service member in the Middle East is able to purchase foods he would buy at home, like burgers and buns!

We started shipping our veggie French fries into the commissaries a few months ago and to celebrate this exciting accomplishment we created Fort Fryday's designed to honor the mom or dad who takes care of the household while their spouse is/was away. We call these strong amazing people, our Hometown Hero's!

Here is our next Hometown Hero and her story:

Name: Amy Cruder
Affiliated Base: Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach

-Amy, what branch of the military is your spouse ? "My husband is in the Navy for almost 10 years now and he was just promoted to 1st class. The kids and I are so proud of him." 

-How long have you been a military wife? "We were married a couple of months after my husband joined in July of 2003 and are currently on our 3rd deployment which is also the hardest because the kids are now old enough to realize daddy is gone." 

-How many kids do you have? "Hunter, our son, is 5 and Arelyn, our daughter is 3."

-Do you or have you lived on base? "As a Navy family we have never lived on base but instead bought a house in Virginia Beach which is a strong military Community with ties to all branches of the military and NASA."

-Tell us, what is the best thing about miliary life? "What I like about living here is the relationships you forge with other military families.  I have friends all around the world because we met here and hope our travels will bring us back together one day."

-Since we are a food company we must ask, what is your favorite food to prepare for your family? "My favorite food to prepare for my family has always been spaghetti because I buy veggie packed noodles and the sauce we buy has 1 1/2 servings of veggies per serving so I am able to get a good amount of vegetables into my family without them being any the wiser, although my kids would probably pick your cauliflower fries over the spaghetti.  In reality, anything that is healthy and natural that my family will happily eat is enough to make me happy which is why I was ecstatic to be directed to your amazing options by another military wife and friend, Jodi Martin."

-Ok, so you are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go! "If I was on a desserted island and could only take one thing?  Oh my that is a tough one.  In hopes that the desserted island would be full of vegetation I would have to take a fully loaded tool box so I could build myself a raft to get home to my family.  Is that cheating?  I would love to say my family but I would hope that fate would never befall them."

-Is Military wife life what you thought it would be? "I am an Army brat so I was prepared for some of the challenges of being a Navy wife, however it is a little harder when it is your spouse leaving all of the time.  Sometimes you feel like a single parent and it's a hard feeling to deal with but then your husband calls and it makes all the hardship worth it to know that he is out there keeping us safe and free.  I would do it over again in a heartbeat.  I am proud of my Sailor and all he does for us."

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your story with us! Keep on pushing those veggies into your family and enjoy your Peas of Mind care package!

Fort Fryday's : Celebrating our Hero's at Home!

A huge accomplishment of ours this year was shipping our products into the Military Commissaries! Commissaries are similar to grocery stores accept they are located on military bases all over the world. They stock similar items available in the US regardless where they are stationed, so a service member in the Middle East is able to purchase foods he would buy at home, like burgers and buns!

We started shipping our veggie French fries into the commissaries a few months ago and to celebrate this exciting accomplishment we created Fort Fryday's designed to honor the mom or dad who takes care of the household while their spouse is/was away. We call these strong amazing people, our Hometown Hero's!

What better time of year to deploy Fort Fryday's than now, the time of year we give thanks!

Here is our first Hometown Hero and her story. 

Name: Ashley Lopez
Affiliated Base: Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington

-Ashley, what branch of the military is your spouse ?
"My husband, Miguel, is in the Army. He is a sergeant"

-How long have you been a military wife?
"I have been a military wife for about 6 years now"

-Do you or have you lived on base?
"We lived on base while we were at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. We lived on post for 2 and half years. My husband is currently stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and we are living off post in our first home."

-Tell us, what is the best thing about base life?
"It is like a little city, everything that you need is right there, from everyday necessities to great friends."

-Since we are a food company we must ask, what is your favorite food to prepare for your family?

"My favorite food to prepare is meatloaf, because I love sneaking vegetables into my husband and son’s diet. I love hiding vegetable in all the meals I make."
Cool Ashley, it sounds like we have similar missions!

-Ok, so you are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!

"If I was in a deserted island I would want to have an ultimate survivor’s kit  because it would have everything I need for a little while . But when I asked my husband this question, he answered that he would want the portal gun (from the game “Portal”) and said that he would become the only survivor in history to become obese. He said he would portal a wild boar straight into a fire pit, then portal the food straight into his mouth. Yeah, my husband is a nerd."
We just laughed out loud after reading this!

-Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?
"I really didn’t know what to expect, everything happened so fast, from when my husband left for boot camp, then schooling and then 2 deployments, but I wouldn't change a thing, all the places I have been and seen because my husband joined, all the great people I met and those I will meet have been a great life altering experience."

Such a cool story Ashley! Sounds like you are open to whatever life throws your way and you handle it with such a great positive attitude! Thank you for sharing your story with us! Enjoy your Peas of Mind care package!