Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Soup's On! + The Winter Market at Bryant Park’s Fountain Terrace! cc @DuaneReade @CollectiveBias #cbias #cbiasNY #DRAsianMeals


Perhaps it's because I was born in April, but I am a total Spring baby. There is something about the mere thought of Spring that makes me perk up! Me being ever the optimist, I was ever so hopeful when Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring. And I have tried to find signs of Spring being on the way, I really have, but when your streets still look like this:

Snow very much still on the ground around here!


It's a bit hard to think Spring!

Even with this little cutie on the windowsill:

Check out that sweet little birdie on the windowsill!


It is still FREEZING out! The wind was actually so strong today it was pushing me along and I kind of felt like I was skiing along as I ran my errands today!

On my way home I decided to stop off at Duane Reade to pick up some stuff:

Duane Reade, Bronx, New York


Not sure why that happened, but these shots were actually taken at the same time back to back but one looks like it's darker than the other, I guess it's the shooting angle:

Duane Reade, Bronx, New York

This isn't my regular Duane Reade shopping location so I had to check the Aisle names to find what I was looking for, in my usual location I have all the Aisles pretty much memorized. (I could probably shop my usual location blind-folded!)

Aisle 1, Duane Reade, Bronx, New York

I am trying to change my eating habits so I bypassed those tempting bags of chips and since my fingertips still felt like ice cubes I thought I'd check out the soup aisle! And I spotted something new!

Asian Meals Malaysian Noodle Soups are sold Duane Reade!

Asian Meals currently offers 3 varieties of Noodle Soup being sold at Duane Reade, Sesame Ginger, Shitake Mushroom and Lemongrass Noodle. The Sesame Ginger was not available at this location or another one I tried, so I was only able to purchase two out of the three varieties.

Asian Meals Malaysian Shitake Noodle and Lemongrass Noodle Soups

While most soups are way better than any bag of chips, some can be very high in sodium, and while I don't have any dietary restrictions when it comes to sodium, it's still something I try to be very careful not to over consume, so I am definitely a label reader.

Asian Meals Malaysian Lemongrass Noodle Soup
What I loved about the label:


Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 0 grams trans fat
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - No MSG
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - No preservatives
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - No artificial color
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - No 3-MCPD
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Non-GMO
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - A portion of every AsianMeals purchase helps children with cancer.

Asian Meals Malaysian Shitake Noodle Noodle Soup

You know just how much I love 'give backs', when I can do something good for me and my family and also give back to others at the same time, it's a total win/win in my book!

Feeling artsy and created a cute vignette with my soups!

A soup that will warm up my heart and my tummy? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me! As you can see I decided to bring them both home! They are super easy to prepare, they can be put in the microwave, or you can just add boiling water.

Asian Meals Malaysian Shitake Noodle and Lemongrass Noodle Soups

I chose to heat mine up in the microwave, don't you just love getting home cooked, simmered all day taste in just minutes?

Asian Meals Malaysian Shitake Noodle Soup

It's B.Y.O.C, yep, bring your own chopsticks, it's that easy! I'm definitely going back to Duane Reade to try and find the the Sesame Ginger, I might add some of my own extra chicken or shrimp to that one, I added a few extra mushrooms to my Mushroom Noodle! Soups are my favorite place for leftover proteins!

My Take:

These are warm and perfect anytime for dinner, you might want throw in some extra proteins or vegetables if you have something in the fridge leftover, or add a nice crusty bread to it. They are also perfect if you brown bag your lunch to work, since you can make them even if your office doesn't have a microwave with just boiling water! I do like to keep readers fully informed, and I think it's important that you are aware that they are manufactured in a facility that uses wheat, peanut, tree nut, soy, fish and shrimp, while they do follow good manufacturing practices to segregate ingredients to help avoid cross contact with allergens, I just thought I'd be sure to point that out. They contain soy and oyster so if you or your children are allergic to either you may want to avoid these. But if you are not allergic to any of the ingredients, go for it!



EVENT:

Just wanted to be sure my New York and tri-state area readers got the heads up about The Malaysian Winter Market at Bryant Park’s Fountain Terrace! On February 20 - 21, 2013 Malaysia Kitchen for the World will host The Malaysian Winter Market at Bryant Park’s Fountain Terrace, featuring a variety  of signature Malaysian dishes and traditional Malaysian food products by restaurants and vendors in New York City and the Tri-State area. The event will be held in the heart of Bryant Park, under large, stunning heated tents near the iconic Bryant Park fountain and skating rink, surrounded by colorful umbrellas and lanterns reminiscent of the street markets of Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The Malaysian Winter Market will be open all day, but be sure to stop by for lunch and dinner on both February 20 & 21 for great Malaysian dishes for up to $8 each:

Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm (or until sold out)
Dinner: 5:30pm – 9:00pm (or until sold out)

The event is open to the general public. Chef demonstrations and special performances by an authentic Malaysian dance troupe will take place on an elevated stage throughout the day. 

Participating restaurants include:

Laut 
   
Participating vendors include:


Get Social With It:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Malaysia Kitchen USA on Facebook
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @ on Twitter
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Visit the Malaysia Kitchen Website
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Duane Reade on Facebook
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like @DuaneReade on Twitter

Check out a few more photos that didn't make this post on the Google + album of my shopping trip!

So butterflies, SOUP it's what for dinner! What are you making today?

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FTC Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®Duane Reade and Malaysia Kitchen #CBias #SocialFabric #DRAsianMeals

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Win a Weekend Getaway in Boston!


Win a Trip to Beantown!

Our good friends at Kettle Cuisine are hosting a really fun and easy contest for a chance to win a weekend getaway in Boston this Spring.  Here’s a  link where you can learn more (www.facebook.com/kettlecuisine).  The Kettle Cuisine team has also created this short video to show you how easy it is to win http://youtu.be/ySqQ4G8_uqY.  All you have to do is take a picture with any of their soup packages in a fun, interesting or every day location and post it to their facebook page.  Then you just get as many of your friends as possible to vote for your picture.  The great news is you win an amazing giftpack, just for entering. The contest is only open for a very limited time so check it out as soon as you can and come back here and post the link to your entry after you enter so the Ascending Butterfly Community can vote for you!

Contest Instructions: Snap a 'soupah' photo of a Kettle Cuisine package in fun, interesting or everyday places for a chance to win a fun filled weekend getaway to Kettle Cuisine's hometown, Boston, MA. To enter, upload your photo to their facebook page (press where it says 'soupah snapshots' on the left hand side, it's 3 down from where the picture is) between January 10, 2012 and January 31, 2012 and tell all of your friends to vote for your submission by liking your photo! (Make sure they vote early and often!) Voting will be open through February 14, 2012. Online votes will determine the top five finalists and a team of soupah smart expert judges will choose the winner.

Prize Details: Win a weekend getaway for 2 to historic Boston, Massachusetts to experience the best the city has to offer. The prize includes: Red Sox tickets (right field box seats! We’re talking 6th or 7th rows back in the ballpark!), dinner for 2 at one of the city’s finest restaurants, a ride through the city with the original Boston Duck Tours, and hotel and travel accommodations. It gets even better because everyone is a winner!  All entrants will receive an official Kettle Cuisine lunch bag! Remember: Only persons who are at least 18 years of age can enter.       

Personal Recos on Places to See and Things to Do: I absolutely LOVE Boston, and I greatly encourage you to enter this contest, you'll love visiting Boston, it's a super fun city with so much to do. Take a New England Aquarium whale watching tour while you are there, eat at Legal Seafood and you have to hang out at Jillians at least once while you are there! If you decide to visit the House of Blues out there, just don't take any pictures on the inside, they are pretty adamant and quite rude about it. Improv Boston is fun (especially with a group). The Cheers Bar is also a must visit, there are two locations. I'm not sure which hotel is part of the prize package, but I greatly enjoy The Lenox when I visit Boston. Remember these are all my personal recommendations of places to go while you are there, these are NOT part of the prize package being offered in this contest.

Souper Considerate!

OK a little pun intended here. But I just wanted to take a moment to personally thank Kettle Cuisine for a recent gesture that truly touched my heart.

When they read about my recent nightmare hospital stay, they sent me a care package box filled with assorted soups! It meant so much to me that they would take the time to do something so thoughtful, and because Kettle Cuisine soups are Gluten Free I knew there would be no conflict with my post hospital dietary restrictions.

I tried:

Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans - A slow simmered Angus Beef Chili with a blend of Southwestern spices, red beans, ripe tomatoes, peppers and spicy green chilies.

New England Clam Chowder - Fresh Light Cream from local New England Dairies, hand shucked clams, sauteed onions and potatoes.

Southwestern Chicken and Corn Chowder - Fire grilled all natural chicken, hand-chopped fresh red and green peppers, corn chowder infused with cayenne and Southwestern Spices.
Thai Curry Chicken Soup - All natural chicken, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, bell peppers, brown rice combined with aromatic green curry, lemongrass and coconut milk in made from scratch chicken stock gives you a great Southeast Asian Flavor.

My Take:

I have tried pretty much all of Kettle Cuisine's Soups and haven't found one I don't like yet! I love that they are Gluten Free, combine all natural ingredients, come in perfectly portioned sizes, and are fast and easy to re-heat. It gives you the taste of a slow simmered soup, warm and satisfying in no time at all! The soups are also a good source of Fiber and Iron as well as protein. They are good for you, yet taste good too! And if you don't have any bread restrictions, then accompany your soup with a nice crusty bread for a great lunch or dinner.

I love the facebook contest they are currently running, a chance to visit Kettle Cuisine's hometown for the grand prize winner, and everyone gets a lunch bag to tote your Kettle Cuisine Soups to work in style!

And any company with a heart is one that will always have my loyalty, I totally appreciate the care box of love they sent me just to let me know that they were there for me!

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FTC Disclosure: I received a box of assorted Kettle Cuisine Soup to help facilitate this review. All Opinions are 100% my own. I really do love the City of Boston, and think the person who wins this contest will be very happy! I also love Kettle Cuisine Soups!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Kettle Cuisine Review and Giveaway!

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Kettle Cuisine, We look forward to working with you again! The winners have been notified and upon confirmation his/her follower name(s) will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are still some great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!
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Today's Butterfly Sponsored By:


Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The North East has been pelted with snow this winter. And the weatherman is saying there will be more snow this week! I'm getting pretty snowed out and a bit stir crazy to be honest with you, but one thing still holds true for me, nothing is better when it's cold outside than a warm bowl of soup! Nothing says comforting to me more, and there is definitely nothing that I want to eat more when I have a cold or the flu.

I recently had the opportunity to try what I'd like to call a 'hot bowl of comfort' from Kettle Cuisine. Two hot bowls of comfort actually!

I sampled the 'Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans' and the 'New England Clam Chowder' and they were absolutely perfect on a cold winter's Day. There are ten chef-inspired varieties that are all natural and all gluten free. The savory soups, hearty chilis, and rich chowders are available in convenient, single serving bowls and can be found in your grocer's natural food freezer. They arrived in an insulated box packed with dry ice, these are in no way like the canned soups you are used to.



New England Clam Chowder

Equal parts rich and satisfying, Kettle Cuisine's New England Clam Chowder starts with fresh light cream from local New England dairies, then we add hand-shucked clams, perfectly sautéed onions, and potatoes peeled just moments before cooking.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High in Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin A
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 15g Protein


Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans

Kettle Cuisine's slow-simmered Angus beef with a blend of Southwestern spices, red beans, ripe tomatoes, hand-chopped peppers and spicy green chilies for a chili as hearty as it is wholesome.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High Fiber
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin C
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 22g Protein

They were both fresh and very tasty. The chowder wasn't as thick as I am used to in a traditional clam chowder, but I expected that as these are specially prepared with gluten free, dairy free diets in mind. The clams were fresh and there was tons of potato in it, it was hearty even though it wasn't thick. The Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans was my favorite of the two. It was amazingly hearty and very satisfying!

WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Kettle Cuisine would like to provide 3 winners with the opportunity to become official Taste Testers! The Grand Prize winner will receive their choice of soup shipped directly to their home and two runners up will each receive one free coupon AND a $1.00 off coupon as well . (Don't you just ♥ Kettle Cuisine?)

How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Kettle Cuisine and pick another soup (other than the two being reviewed!) that you like and leave the LINK to that soup in your comment entry! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com, If it is visible in your profile, just say so, that's OK!). Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older.

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Wednesday, March 03, 2010 until Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your Twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this: Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - #ascendingbutterfly + @kettlecuisine Soup #Giveaways! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #win here - http://tinyurl.com/ygogz2g

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here).

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Kettle Cuisine (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @kettlecuisine on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Ning Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW METHOD OF EXTRA CREDIT, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review and the sponsor is also fulfilling product to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of my experiences with this product. All product provided by Kohnstamm Communications on behalf of Kettle Cuisine.