Healthy Mama Diaries: Freezing Foods Can Save Time and Money
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| Amanda Denker and Baby Jet |
Editors Note: This is the premiere edition of the new monthly column for the La Mirada Blog, "Healthy Mama Diaries" by Amanda Denker that will feature healthy cooking, fitness and lifestyle tips for busy Moms. You can follow Amanda on Instagram @healthymamadiaries and on Twitter @healthymamablog.
Hi La Mirada, welcome to my column, Healthy Mama Diaries. I’m a La Mirada native, wife, first time mama, traveler, social media enthusiast, essential oil wellness advocate, and I have God to thank for all of it; that’s me in a nutshell.
I am over-the-moon excited for the opportunity to write this column for you. I would like to invite you to join me on my journey of living a healthy balanced lifestyle as I share my life and experiences with you. I hope that after reading this column you feel empowered, encouraged, and inspired to make healthier choices for yourself and for your family. So, let’s get started!
Fun Foods to Freeze
On any given day I can open up the freezer at my parent’s house and find a misplaced food item or two. A chocolate pudding cup, a bag of Skittles, and a whole apple are just a few items that my dad has frozen out of curiosity, just to see if the frozen version is desirable or not. The man loves to freeze things. Unlike my dad and his curiosity, it was efficiency, and preparedness that spiked my love for freezing foods. I learned that certain foods when frozen could save me time, money, and waste.
Here is a list of 25 foods that you may also enjoy freezing:
1) Garlic-Having garlic on hand is a must, but chopping it every time you need it can be time consuming. Freezing garlic is a huge time saver. Finely chop or mince multiple cloves of garlic and add it to BPA Free ice-cube trays with a little bit of olive or grape seed oil and freeze. When the garlic is frozen, pop the cubes out and store them in the appropriate size freezer bags. Tip: I suggest mincing 4-5 heads of garlic at a time using a food processor. When doing this you can drizzle the oil directly into the food processor with the garlic and then add the mixture straight into the ice-cube trays.
2) Fresh Herbs-Whether you buy them or grow them, once cut fresh herbs do not stay fresh for long. Freezing them will allow you to preserve them longer. Wash your herbs, allow them to dry, chop them, add them to BPA Free ice-cube trays with a little oil or water, and freeze them. Once they have frozen, pop them out of the trays and add them to the appropriate size freezer bags.
3) Coffee-Pour your leftover coffee into ice-cube trays and freeze. Use the frozen coffee cubes instead of regular ice in your iced-coffee. Coffee cubes will not water down your iced-coffee.
4) Avocados-Avocados can be expensive and they tend to overripe rapidly. When you know your avocados are ready to eat but you are not ready to eat them, freeze them. Frozen avocados can be used to make ice-cream, pudding, smoothies, and guacamole. To freeze avocados cut them in half, take the pit out, and take the avocado out of the skin using a large spoon. Freeze in an airtight freezer bag. Tip: Save money by buying a bunch when they are on sale and freeze them for later.
5) Butter-Buy butter on sale and freeze until you are ready to use it.
Tennis Pro Michael Chang Opens Pieology Pizzeria in La Mirada
La Mirada~Pielogy Pizza, where pizza lovers go to create custom pizzas in endless flavor combinations, is now open in La Mirada.
This is the second franchised location opened by tennis professional and brother of Pieology founder, Michael Chang along with his wife, Amber. Their first restaurant opened in late-2014 in Irvine.
Pieology La Mirada is located at 12259 La Mirada Blvd., in the Crossroads Shopping Center at La Mirada and Imperial. A proven favorite with pizza fans, Pieology currently has 29 locations across Southern California, with plans to open 6 more by summer.
“My wife and I are proud to be members of the Pieology family during this very exciting time of growth and innovation, and we’re looking forward to bringing the customized dining experience to our new guests in La Mirada,” said Chang. “I’ve been a believer in my brother’s vision for Pieology since day one and I’m thrilled to see that the concept is exceeding expectations in all areas, from sales to guest satisfaction. These first two locations are only the beginning of my franchise plans with Pieology!”
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| Michael Chang at the 2014 US Open of Tennis |
The Pieology experience starts with fresh house-made dough that is pressed into 11.5-inch thin pizza crusts. Guests first select from eight signature sauces, moving down the line to choose from more than 30 fresh and flavorful meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbs and spices. The customized pizzas are then stone oven fired to perfection in less than three minutes. To finish, guests have the option to add after-bake “Flavor Blast” sauces, including fiery buffalo, pesto and BBQ.
Most custom pizzas with unlimited toppings are $8.00 or less. Pieology offers gluten-free crust, whole wheat crust and a selection of seven signature pizzas, which can be modified upon request. The La Mirada location also offers Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese.
Energy Resource Center to Receive First LEED Recognition in State
Downey~Southern California Gas Co.’s (SoCalGas) award-winning Energy Resource Center (ERC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary by becoming the first building in California to receive LEED “green building” recognition and one of only two buildings in the state to be awarded Platinum Level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Energy Resource Center will be hosting a celebratory event on Wednesday June 10th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that will feature a time capsule, speakers, demonstrations and displays. Tours begin at 1:00 p.m.
The 44,572 square-foot building was designed in part by recycling its former 1957 building and adding cutting-edge materials and technologies.
The ERC uses 40.7 percent less water than other commercial buildings its size (outdoors) and uses 38.3 percent less water (indoors). It also uses 51.39 percent less energy than the national average and 60 percent of its employees use energy-efficient transportation, including bikes, low-emission vehicles and carpooling.
Menchie’s La Mirada Grand Opening Celebration
La Mirada~The new Menchie’s La Mirada is now open and celebration is planned for the new shop open at 12261 La Mirada Blvd. in the Crossroads center.
Guests are invited to come by for a ribbon cutting and free yogurt on Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. to kick off the week-long festivities.
Saturday 11am – 1pm:
Ribbon cutting with Menchie, free t-shirts for the first 25 guests, free frozen yogurt for all guests, balloon artist (entertainment).
Sunday 1pm:
Free plushie doll giveaway (qty 25), Color-in t-shirts (while supplies last), Face painting
Monday 5 – 6pm:
$1 for $1 hour – Fill up your cup
Tuesday 2 – 4pm:
Kids eat free, Arts & crafts
Wednesday 11am – 1pm:
50% off lunchtime yum
Thursday 3pm:
Free dodge ball giveaway (qty 25)
Friday 8pm – close:
Buy one cup of frozen yogurt get one free.
REVIEW: The Wonderfully Magnificent Mary Poppins at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
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| Brandi Burkhardt stars as Mary Poppins (center) and Leigh Brian Wakeford (on knee) stars as Bert with the company in the LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS/McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT production of MARY POPPINS, directed by Glenn Casale and now playing at LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS. |
Editor’s note: We would like to introduce Sandra Green to the La Mirada Blog team as a theatre reviewer. Welcome aboard Sandra!
La Mirada~As the last showcase of the McCoy Rigby Entertainment series for the 2014-2015 season, the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts welcomes the wonderfully magnificent Broadway musical Mary Poppins, now showing through June 21st.
Not just for kids, theatre goers of all ages and tastes will enjoy this production directed by Glenn Casale and choreographed by the late Dan Mojica. In no way do you need to be familiar with the Disney movie or original book by PL Travers-- Mary Poppins brings to life the fun and magical antics of a British nanny trying to tame the mischievous Banks children.
For those who are familiar with the Disney film Mary Poppins (also celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year), you will enjoy the beloved score featuring “Chim-Chim Chiree”, “Step in Time”, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, and many more.
Brandi Burkhardt (Mary) and Leigh Wakeford (Bert) lead the strong vocals in this show as well as engage the crowd with their show-stopping performances both “above” stage and crowd (choreographed by Paul Rubin).
La Mirada Resident Alexander “A.J.” Hernandez Graduates From Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, MA~Alexander "AJ" Hernandez, son of Michael & Leticia Hernandez of La Mirada, was awarded his Undergraduate Degree in Communication and a minor in Environmental Studies from the Morrissey School of Arts & Sciences, at the 139th Commencement of Boston College recently on Monday, May 18, 2015.
AJ Hernandez is a graduate of Servite High School. At Boston College, AJ was a Thea Bowman Scholar, a member of co-Ed a Capella group BC Dynamics, and is a mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. He is employed with Ogilvy Public Relations in Cambridge, MA.
Congratulations A.J. from the La Mirada Blog!
Send us the info about YOUR La Mirada graduate to news@lamiradablog.com; we would to share the good news! Word up!
Barricade Causes School Lock Downs
La Mirada~A suspect barricaded himself inside a home early Wednesday afternoon resulting in the temporary lock down of both Eastwood Elementary and Los Coyote Middle Schools.
The incident began around 11:30 A.M. and is still on-going with suspect reportedly still inside home on near the intersection of Ashworth Drive and Mercado Avenue in La Mirada.
All roadways in the surrounding area of the incident have been adversely affected.
It is unknown to us at this time what the suspect is wanted for; earlier unconfirmed Twitter reports suggested the suspect had weapons.
Follow the La Mirada Blog on Twitter for the latest and check back here for more updates.
UPDATE: 19:25 052715: Suspect taken into custody, https://twitter.com/LaMiradaBlog/status/603724607141638144
Memorial Day Service at Olive Lawn
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| HONORING FALLEN VETERANS -- Rotary Club of La Mirada members present a wreath during Memorial Day ceremonies at Olive Lawn Memorial Park in La Mirada. Pictured are (l to r) Mayor Pro Tem Steve De Ruse, Chris Robinson, John Lewis and Zurich Lewis. Speakers at the event included Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Mayor Pauline Deal and former Mayor and Councilmember Wayne Rew. |
FROM THE EDITOR: New Healthy Lifetsyle Column Coming to the La Mirada Blog
We are pleased to announce a new column is coming to the La Mirada Blog-Healthy Mama Diaries by Amanda Denker.
Amanda's column will feature healthy cooking, fitness and lifestyle tips for busy mamas who want the best for their family. Amanda says, "Life is good, it's better when you are healthy!"
Amanda is also a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and will offer information on essential oils from doTERRA.
She is a La Mirada native and still lives in La Mirada with professional baseball player Travis Denker. Needless to say because of hubby's profession they do a lot of moving around. La Mirada is home-base for the fam, but I have a feeling Amanda will be providing some Mama Road Tips.
She is a first-time mom to 18-month old son, Jet. She is also a part-time counselor at a residential treatment center, helping clients overcome eating disorders.
She enjoys spending all the rest of her time being a mom and lives and loves a healthy balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise (I should take some hints from her).
For a sneak preview, check out her Instagram feed @healthymamadiaries.
Look for her first column to debut soon. Welcome to the team Amanda!
FROM THE EDITOR: La Mirada Blog Expanding Its Horizons
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| Look for the new La Mirada Blog website to debut in 2015, a long way from our first post in 2004 (pictured). |
These are exciting times for your La Mirada Blog.
In late 2003, with the La Mirada community craving for a local print newspaper, I decided to jot/type down a few news items (I was already covering local news) on something called a web-log or blog, on the still relatively-new Internet.
You long-timers might remember we were on a site called weatherscout.com and you still had to type in the www. The first official post was on January 30, 2004 (see insert) and the La Mirada Blog was born, ushering in the hyper-local news movement.
Of course, when we started there was no such thing as Facebook our Twitter or social media. Now, the LM Blog is approaching 3,000 followers on Twitter and 8,000 on Facebook-a total of almost 11,000 fans, a fifth of the La Mirada population. We are also on YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and Flickr.
I am thrilled to announce 2015 has and will be an exciting year for the La Mirada Blog.
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