Flavorful Low-Sodium Family Meals

With both my father and grandfather suffering from high blood pressure, I'm highly aware of the importance of controlling the sodium in our diet and I'm always on the lookout for tips to maintain a low-sodium diet. It is also one of my top priorities to cultivate healthy eating habits for my kid.

But does eating less salt mean eating bland, boring foods? Not necessarily! There are many ways to make meals that are both flavorful and healthy.  Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms have teamed up for new blogging program asking you to share your tips and recipes for "Flavorful Low-Sodium Family Meals." The first 50 qualified submissions will receive a $50 Amazon.com gift card! You can learn more about Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends and get great recipe ideas from their site to inspire your own creations!

Here's my favorite low-sodium recipe:

Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash® Italian Medley Seasoning Blend
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

Directions

1. In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice,  Mrs. Dash® Italian Medley Seasoning Blend and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

About Mrs. Dash

Mrs. Dash® doesn't just offer the tastiest salt-free seasoning you can find, they also have hundreds of delicious recipes. Most of these recipes are low sodium, and you'll find everything from appetizers, salads, vegetables and main dishes. Prepare tasty, healthy cuisine when you're cooking with Mrs. Dash® Salt-Free Seasoning Blends.

Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends are available in 15 different salt-free varieties that add flavor to foods - everything from seafood to salad and meat to mixed vegetables.

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Bloggin’ for BUCKS!!!

Blogmania bloggers are all about building relationships – between our blogs, our cherished readers, the online community and business owners. We value each other’s opinion as we all are endeavoring to make the best choices for our home life. So it seemed natural to partner up with The Lane Real Estate Team and Breebee’s blog to bring you our first ever twitter and blog blast party. The Lane Real Estate Team is all about building relationships through communities – specializing in Kennewick Homes for Sale. And Bree is a blogger – and a mom – trying to think outside of the box and help build community ties in NW Columbus OH via her Kid event website! Our other twitter party sponsors also offer items to help strengthen and maintain relationships – from stationary to hand stamped sentiments.

Our Party Theme: “Building toward Blogmania with The Lane Real Estate Team” [http://www.joelane.com/]

Info on the Blog Blast:

If you post on your blog(s) our announcement between now and the twitter party you will be entered to win $100 cash. If we reach 500 blogs there will be two additional $50 drawings, totaling 3 winners! You can email me, breejanderson@gmail.com or blogmaniapr@gmail.com for the HTML code for blog(s) links and some posting specific OR ask the post owner for info and that blog owner will provide you an HTML code.
Please return with your specific blog post links on Bree’s Blog, under her Twitter Party PAGE tab.

Info on the Twitter Party:

9:30-10:30pm EST - SUNDAY AUGUST 22 – we will party!
There is a custom tweet grid and a linky for early RSVP. RSVP’ing early also enters you into special drawings. You do not have to RSVP to tweet and win but the ‘extra’ will not be available.

You can win both the blog blast and at the twitter party!

RSVP at BreeBee’s:

Dinosaur Train Themed Products Giveaways

To celebrate the Get Ready for Kindergarten Month (August), the Jim Henson Company has sponsored Dinosaur Train Themed Products Giveaways on 48 blogs. The prize pack is worth $53. The products look very cute. I'd love to win some for my son. So here goes the list of blogs I've found that are hosting the giveaway.

Firefly Blog 8/20
Flying Giggles and Lollipops 8/27
Grammy Janet's Place 8/27
Toronto Teacher Mom 8/28
Keeper of the Cheerios 8/31
icefairy's Treasure Chest 9/1
Momma Findings 9/2
Confessions of a Psychotic Housewife 9/4
Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports 9/4
and Twins make 5 9/9

No-Go BlogHer Blog Hop

Are you staying home during the BlogHer 2010 conference? Well, there is no reason to be down about it. Maya from Musings of a Marfan Mom and Stefany from ToBeThode are hosting a No-Go BlogHer party to cheer you up.

Here is what you need to do to participate:

1. Answer the questions below on your blog and then link up that post in the linky
2. Grab the button for the No-Go BlogHer party and place it on your sidebar during the duration of the party.

Here are the questions and my answers:

1. When did you start blogging?

I started this blog in June this year, but I started blogging back in March 2009, when icefairy's Treasure Chest was born.

2. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because of my love for freebies and giveaways. I benefited a lot from the valuable information provided by many great blogs and wanted to carry on the spirit of sharing. You may read more about why I started this new blog here.

3. What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer?

I was at BlogHer last year. Although I had a great time and grabbed home a huge suitcase of swags, I missed my son and hubby badly. This year, I'm able to spend some quality time with my family and I think that's way cooler than going to BlogHer on my own. We just came back from a Rodeo Tournament show, which was a lot of fun!

4. Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite.

My favorite post on this blog is certainly this one, because I put a lot of work into it and hope it'll benefit a lot of people. 

Once you post your answers on your own blog, don't forget to link up. Then start hopping around and meeting some new bloggers. It would be great if you would leave a comments for everyone you visit regarding their answers (so they know you stopped by). Also, follow some blogs if you like them! If you are playing along, tweet about it using the hashtag #NoGoBlogHer!