Met Melissa d'Arabian

Met Melissa d'Arabian of the Food Network at The Bread Art Project
event at Sprouts Academy Preschool and hosted by Jennifer James of the
Mom Bloggers Club.

Am Looking Forward to the Chicago Green Festival

Am looking forward to the Chicago Green Festival that's coming to Navy Pier on May 22nd and 23rd. It takes place during the weekend so you can bring the entire family to learn more about green products and services.

About 350 booths will offer organic foods, fair trade beverages, beauty products, clothes, and green home services, etc. Last year SodaStream Soda Maker attracted a big audience to its booth - people wanted to learn more about how to make flavored soda at home to save money and help the environment. There will be lectures galore on everything from urban agriculture to toxic homes to social media for social good. Amy Goodman, Dr. Alan Greene ("Raising Baby Green"), and Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun are among the festival's 150 speakers. A Community Action pavillion, Fair Trade pavillion, a Green Home pavillion, and Green Kids' Zone offering children's activities will be at the festival. Free bike valet being provided courtesy of Clif Bar.

The Chicago Green Festival is offering a free ticket ($10 at the door) if you give them your name and email address at: http://www.greenfestivals.org/chicago-free-ticket-offer/

Food Technology Innovation & Safety Forum

Attended the Food Technology Innovation & Safety Forum at Hyatt O'Hare
yesterday. Speakers included Mark Timble (president - North American
Consumer Foods at McCormick & Company), Todd Hale (SVP, consumer &
shopper insights at the Nielsen Company), Dr. Chor-San Khoo (senior
fellow, former VP global nutrition and health at Campbell Soup
Company), and Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka (president and CEO of Produce for
Better Health Foundation).

Learned about the challenges of reducing sodium in foods from Dr. Khoo.
Afternoon break refreshments included fresh fruit (appropriate after
hearing about health benefits of fruits and vegetables), biscotti, and
huge cookies. Sponsored by Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts Inc.

Self Workout in the Park this Saturday

Looking forward to Self Workout in the Park being held this Saturday
in Chicago's Grant Park. Have gone to this event for a number of
years. Love the workouts, free beauty and food samples, and makeovers.
Maria Menounos of "Access Hollywood" will share fitness tips. The cost
is $20.95. More info at http://www.selfworkoutinthepark.com/

Starbucks Frappuccino My Way

This week Starbucks launched its however-you-want-it program to allow customers to customize their Frappuccinos. The old Frappuccinos used a dairy base so vegans (or others like myself who are avoiding dairy) could not partake. Now you can get one made with soymilk for an extra charge or add extra coffee. Yeay! I had a caramel soy Frappuccino no whip earlier in the week - yummy! Am ready for another one today.

Lecture at Housewares Show

At the March Housewares Show at Chicago's McCormick Place, Karen Kranz of Starpoint Consulting Group gave a presentation on "How to Make Your Store a Destination: Insights from Home Shopping Channels". Accessibility, authenticity, affordability, and community were some key
points she mentioned. TV channels HSN and QVC offer authenticity by having company founders,
makeup artists, celebrity chefs, and product inventors such as Bobbi
Brown, Mally Roncal, Nate Berkus, Colin Cowie, Emeril Lagasse, and
Wolfgang Puck appear on the shows.

Andrea Robinson Cooking

Here's a photo of chef and sommelier Andrea Robinson from March Macy's
State Street culinary demo where she paired wines with two dishes
including edamame pesto and chocolate ganache made with tofu.