A Dinner Story

Happy Friday peas-ful pea-ple! You made it through the week and congratulations are in order.  To end the week and begin the weekend festivities, we've brought you A Dinner Story.  This week we're celebrating Amber Estrada, a wonderful Mom of two totally adorable kids! Get ready for Amber's awesome meal ideas as well as some great tips on how to eat healthy during the busiest of weeks. 

Three cheers for Peas!

Where do you live?

"Livermore, California."

What are your kid's names and ages?

"Adeline 3years and Antonio 1year."

What meal do you make that you know, no matter what, your family will devour?

"It’s a tie….Macaroni & Cheese (they don’t even know it has vegetables hidden in) and homemade pizza."

What's your favorite Saturday morning breakfast to enjoy as a family?

"Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Bacon, and Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins…YUM.  We try to include the kids in the cooking as much as possible, so Saturdays are great because we’re not as rushed as the weekdays and we have lots of fun together in the kitchen."

What's your favorite Peas of Mind Product?

"The entire family loves Veggie Wedgies – we devoure Broccoli, Carrot, and Apple!  When we asked which flavor was our kid’s favorite, Adeline declared she loved them all and Antonio cheered (I’ll take that as all of them as well)!  Adeline is a very picky eater so her love of Veggie Wedgies shows how fantastic they are!"

How many times per week do you cook from scratch?

"At least 4 nights a week; we spend time on Sundays prepping food for the week so we can still have healthy options with our busy schedules."

What's your go to "I'm feeling unhealthy and need a nutrient-power punch" meal?

"Salmon, Quinoa, and Brussel Sprouts."

What kitchen tool could you never live without?

"Our food processor/blender is a necessary tool used daily!"

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

"Hawaiian Pizza."

A Dinner Story with a Rookie Mom

It's FRIDAY which means we're back with another Dinner Story. This week we'll be talking to the Heather from Rookie Moms!  And we're pretty sure that after reading this, we know what you'll be having for breakfast tomorrow!  

Photo by Alex Cave

Where do you live and how many kids do you have? 

"Berkeley, CA. We have 3 kids."

What meal do you make that you know, no matter what, your family will devour? 

"Cinnamon bread french toast using Semifreddi's cinammon swirl bread."

What's your favorite Saturday morning breakfast to enjoy as a family? 

"Cinnamon bread french toast!"

What's your favorite Peas of Mind Product? 

"Veggie wedgies fries. My son will eat anything that resembles a cracker or fry."

How many times per week do you cook from scratch? 

"Do scrambled eggs count? For dinners only, let's call it 3. The rest of the meals are supplemented by leftovers, convenience food, and carryout."

What's your go to "I'm feeling unhealthy and need a nutrient-power punch" meal? 

"I love kale salad or if I don't have time to wait for it to marinate, I'll throw together a green smoothie."

What kitchen tool could you never live without? 

"My Breville toaster oven."

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

"Chicken parmesan made by my husband."

FORT FRYDAYS are BACK!

TGIFF stands for Thank goodness it's FORT FRYDAY.  After a one week hiatus, Fort Frydays are back to bring in the weekend.  As you know, we're celebrating that military families can now buy our non-fat, vegetable loaded Veggie Wedgies in military commissaries!

This week we're celebrating Kristine Schellhaas, the founder of USMC Life, hometown hero and military wife.  USMC Life is an incredible resource for Military families;  providing an overview of every major Marine Corps base focusing on specific base information, military housing and photos, schools, youth programs and sports. It's got everything!  Thanks for everything you've done for military families, Kristine, you truly deserve a celebration and some yummy veggie fries of course.

More From This Week's Hometown Hero, Kristine Schelhaas:

How long have you been a military wife?

"We have been a military family for almost eleven years. I first met my Marine at the age of nineteen; we dated for six years before we married in 2002.  We have two kids: my big second grader who is eight, and my pre-k darling who is four. My husband and I met in our hometown of Boise, Idaho in college where most of our family lives today."

What made you start your website, USMC Life?

"I kept thinking about how Marine wives needed a place to go online to find out more about the Marine Corps. It really takes a few years to get to know the area, so what happens if you don’t know someone to ask advice from? I started asking friends to participate and give me feedback on the major Marine bases and voila, USMC Life was born three years ago. I added a blog last year to add a new element to the site so people could relate to other people’s military and family life."

Do you or have you lived on base? Which one?

"I love base living. When we first were stationed at Camp Pendleton, we chose to live off base because my husband wanted to get a break from the Marine Corps. I was pretty lonely because I was away from the community. We decided to move on base after my husband returned from deployment and I have loved every minute of it. We currently are back living on Camp Pendleton!"

What is the best thing about base life?

"The community hand’s down. I love our neighborhood. Everyone is so great about supporting each other, keeping an eye out for one another’s kids, bringing each other meals, joining together in events and more."

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family this time of year?

"Something about winter just screams comfort food. I love to buy vegetables in season and cook up a great soup or chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes."

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

"My husband! He would take control and make sure everything is okay. Plus if anyone knows survival stuff, he's the perfect guy for the job."

Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?

No. I really didn’t know what to expect from military life. I had this idea that we would be living a glamorous life, traveling the world, and living these great adventures. This is partially true, but it gets pretty lonely and stressful at times. The best part is building the community around each other and making each other’s lives better."

We're heading to Expo West

This is an exciting time here at Peas of Mind because next week we’re heading to Southern California to introduce our new product line at Expo West.  Expo West is a huge trade show highlighting organic, natural and other healthy products; anything you’d find in the aisles of a Whole Foods will be exhibiting at this show (all the way from Pet food to tea to hummus to kid's food)!

We’ll be there handing out samples of our new product! Any guesses what it might be? Here are three hints:

1. It's a kid's food classic.
2. It's loaded with Broccoli and carrots.
3. When paired with our veggie wedgies it makes a really yummy, complete and healthy meal.

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!

Veggie Wedgies vs The Competition

We're dedicating this blog to Veggie Wedgies!

See how they stack up against the competition (store bought frozen french fries and fast food french fries):