Written by Sylvia Geiger MS, RD, CD, Price Chopper Community Nutritionist

The dog days of summer are here and everyone is looking for ways to beat the heat. You may not be able to get to the beach and you may not have air conditioning, but you can still cool down from the inside out by sipping water or beverages throughout the day.

In this hot weather, it’s especially important to drink enough! Afterall, water is the key nutrient involved in regulating body temperature.  It also pads and protects organs and is essential for all bodily functions. Your body will actually start being dehydrated before you get thirsty, so in situations where you are sweating a lot (hot weather and exercise), you need to keep ahead of your thirst.  When you sweat you also lose electrolytes (mostly sodium) that need to be replaced. Most people get enough electrolytes from foods, but sports drinks are one of many ways to replace them. If you’re out in the sun or exercising more than an hour at a time—a sports drink may be the easiest way to replace electrolytes. Nutrition experts agree that the best way to prevent dehydration is to be well hydrated before exercising—especially in hot weather.

Here are some delicious recipes to keep ahead of your thirst.

Cherry Fizz

Tropical Smoothie

Watermelon Smoothie

The Center for Disease Control has these great ideas for keeping hydrated:

• Carry a water bottle for easy access when you are at work or running errands.
• Freeze some freezer-safe water bottles. Take one with you for ice-cold water all day long.
• Choose water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages. This tip can also help with weight management. Substituting water for one 20-ounce sugar-sweetened soda will save you about 240 calories.
• Choose water instead of other beverages when eating out. Generally, you will save money and reduce calories.
• Give your water a little pizzazz by adding a wedge of lime or lemon. This may improve the taste, and you just might drink more water than you usually do.

For more ideas to beat dehydration go to National Institute of Health or Center for Disease Control

Recipe Ideas using this week’s sale items

All main ingredients are on sale

 

Seared Scallops with Crispy Leeks   or  Red Curry Tofu with Vegetables

Braised Green Beans & Summer Vegetables

Arugula Salad with Honey-Drizzled Peaches

Chocolate, Cherry & Almond Bread Pudding

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No one likes a hot oven on a hot day. That’s why easy “no bake” desserts are the perfect solution if you have to go to a party or picnic on a blistering day. Ice Cream sandwiches are a refreshing no bake treat! You can purchase cookies at our Price Chopper bakery and choose from a variety of flavored ice creams, frozen yogurts or our new Central Market Classics gelato! You can also try our No Bake Peanut Butter Pie recipe! It’s quick, easy, tastes delicious, and best of all there’s no oven required! Rice Krispies Treats, probably one of the most famous no bake desserts, are also a great oven-free option. And this week we have coupons for the main ingredients! On the coupon tab of our Facebook page, we have a coupons for Jet Puffed Mini Marshmallows for $1 with card and coupon, Rice Krispies Cereal for $1.49 with card and coupon, and M&M’s Chocolate Candy for $1.99 with card and coupon (coupons valid 7/24/11-7/30/11). Don’t sweat over a hot oven. Instead, try a no bake dessert! As you may know, today is opening day at the Saratoga Race Track! To many, opening weekend means fun, horses and hats! The Saratoga Race Track is a great place for a family outing, a day out with friends or even just a day by yourself with the horses! To get you even more excited about the upcoming meet, we have decided to hold our own Hat Contest! Send us a photo of a hat you would like to wear to the races or a hat you have previously worn. All photos should be sent to photos@pricechopper.com and all photos must be submitted by Monday, July 25^th, 2011 at 10 AM. After this deadline, we will post all appropriate photos to a photo album on our Facebook page.  The three winning photos of this contest will be determined by which three photos have the most “likes” at noon on Tuesday, July 26^th, 2011. Each winner will receive a $50 Macy’s gift card to buy their very own hat! Please, see our official rules below. So whether you’re enjoying the races from the picnic tables, grandstand or the Club House, this season will be filled with great giveaways, the barber shop band and Tom Durkin wishing you a great day at the Spa! Price Chopper Hat Contest Official Rules As you may know, today is opening day at the Saratoga Race Track! To many, opening weekend means fun, horses and hats! The Saratoga Race Track is a great place for a family outing, a day out with friends or even just a day by yourself with the horses! To get you even more excited about the upcoming meet, we have decided to hold our own Hat Contest! Send us a photo of a hat you would like to wear to the races or a hat you have previously worn. All photos should be sent to photos@pricechopper.com and all photos must be submitted by Monday, July 25^th, 2011 at 10 AM. After this deadline, we will post all appropriate photos to a photo album on our Facebook page.  The three winning photos of this contest will be determined by which three photos have the most “likes” at noon on Tuesday, July 26^th, 2011. Each winner will receive a $50 Macy’s gift card to buy their very own hat! Please, see our official rules below. So whether you’re enjoying the races from the picnic tables, grandstand or the Club House, this season will be filled with great giveaways, the barber shop band and Tom Durkin wishing you a great day at the Spa! Price Chopper Hat Contest Official Rules

National Ice Cream Day is on July 17^th this year! This amazing day falls on the third Sunday of July. Starting on July 17^th and lasting all week we are celebrating with a Facebook coupon for our new Central Market Classics Gelato! CMC gelato can be purchased for $2.00 with card and coupon (valid 7/17/2011-7/23/2011). To print the coupon, visit our Facebook page and click on the coupon tab!

If you haven’t tried this new product yet, now is a great time to do so! This gelato is imported from the country that has perfected this deliciously creamy dessert! This Italian dessert is available in eight savory flavors including: Limoncello, Coffee, Pistachio, Blood Orange, Chocolate, Coconut, Panna Cotta and Mixed Berry. Indulge yourself with CMC gelato and you’ll find that it is a refreshing and delicious summer treat!

Happy National Ice Cream Day! Spaghetti is a traditional dish that has been uniting families around the dinner table for a long time. There is nothing like good food and good conversation with the ones you love. In this fast-paced world, it’s getting harder and harder to coordinate family dinners around everyone’s busy schedules. But, most people recognize family dinners as a time to bond, even if they tend to get a little chaotic at times. Tell us about your most memorable family dinner. Was it a loud, chaotic family dinner experience? Or maybe you enjoyed an unusually quiet and relaxed dinner with great food and conversation? Post your stories to both this blog and the corresponding Facebook post. We will choose 4 winners who will each receive $50 in Price Chopper gift certificates. Celebrate eating dinner together with the family! Please see official rules below. ALSO, don’t forget to check out our ad this week! We’re featuring a buy one get two deal for delicious Tuttorosso 29 oz tomato sauce or 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes (puree, plum or diced).  The mouth-watering aroma of cooked Tuttoroso tomato products will be sure to make your family flock to the table for dinner. So enjoy a home-cooked meal with your family and Tuttorosso! Price Chopper & Tuttorosso Family Dinner Offical Rules

Price Chopper and Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) are giving away 2 American girl dolls (one for you and one for a BFF) and 4 tickets to the Emma Willard American Girl Night at SPAC on July 12^th, 2011!  Two American Girl Dolls of your choice will be directly ordered from americangirl.com.

The Emma Willard American Girl Night will feature:

• Music
• American Girl crafts
• Pink lemonade and sugar cookies
• Classic photo booths
• American Girl Doll giveaways!

This year, you’ll get to meet the newest doll-Kanani from Hawaii! Here’s how to enter to win: For a valid entry you must post to BOTH our blog and corresponding Facebook post. Tell us why your child wants to attend American Girl Night at SPAC with a friend or sibling in your child’s words! The winner will be announced on Thursday, July 7^th, 2011. For official rules click the link below.

The Emma Willard American Girl Night is a pre-party for the NYC ballet show. After you attend American Girl night you will see the Martins/Robbins ballet. The show will feature:

• Cirus Polka: A dance with 48 students from the School of American Ballet
• Dances at a Gathering: Choreography to the music of Chopin
• Thou Swell: Four elegant ladies and their partners dance the night away

Price Chopper and SPAC American Girl Night Contest Official Rules Good luck! Price Chopper is pleased to announce our partnership with SavingStar. This program allows you to register your AdvantEdge card on their website in order to build savings with branded offers. Your total at the register does not change, instead you automatically compile savings on an account that you set up with SavingStar (such as a bank account, Paypal, an Amazon gift card, or donation to charity). For example, you can activate your AdvantEdge card and choose to add the savings to your bank account. If you save $10 using SavingStar, then the $10 will be added to your bank account. Currently, there are $19 worth of savings when you activate your AdvantEdge card. Each month there are several offers loaded onto the SavingStar website for you to activate. Once you have activated the offers, you can then purchase the item at Price Chopper using your AdvantEdge card. The “savings” amount accumulates in your SavingStar account, and you can then choose your payout method. You should not print and cut these eCoupons, as they are not coupons in the traditional sense. Savings accumulate in an account; therefore, they are not discounted at the register. They even have apps for iPhones and Androids to make these savings available when you are on the go. We have a special offer for Chopper Shoppers only! Click the picture above to sign up and try SavingStar today! When you do you will be able to activate our special Central Market Classics ice cream coupon. There is a limited quantity available so hurry and join! How SavingStar Works: It’s simple!

1. Click: Go to SavingStar.com and select the offers you like. SavingStar will link them to your Price Chopper AdvantEdge card.
2. Shop: Use your Price Chopper AdvantEdge card at checkout in the store. (Note that your bill will not change because you are not discounted at the register.)
3. Save: Your money is automatically added to your SavingStar account where you get to pick your payout! Choices include bank deposit, a Paypal deposit, an Amazon gift card, or a donation to charity.

Frequently Asked Questions: 1. Can I use SavingStar offers more than once? SavingStar offers are generally marked as “one time use” on each offer. If an offer can be used more than once, the offer will clearly state “Unlimited Purchases” 2. Can SavingStar offers be used along with coupons from other services? Yes. 3. Can the savings be taken off my bill at checkout? No. All savings are added to your SavingStar account so that you can choose how you would like your payout from bank deposit, Paypal, Amazon gift card or charity donation. 4. When are the savings added to my SavingStar account? Your money will be added to your SavingStar account within 7-30 days after you purchase the item. 5. Will the savings appear on my receipt? No. Your savings will appear in your SavingStar account within 7-30 days. Your account will track all the offers you activate and all the offers you redeem. 6. How can I get in touch with SavingStar? Please email SavingStar at support@savingstar.com. For more questions about SavingStar visit their FAQ page.

 

Independence Day is just around the corner! What comes to your mind when you think about July 4^th? A popular association with the 4^th is fireworks, with their bright colors, loud crackling sounds and general splendor. Here in the good ol’ USA, fireworks have become a symbol for the celebration of Independence. At Price Chopper, when we hear “4th of July” we not only think fireworks and independence, but also a time for grilling! Price Chopper’s House of BBQ has a lot to offer grill enthusiasts. We love the mouth-watering aromas and sizzling sounds associated with grilling. There is nothing like good grilled food with family and friends after working up an appetite on a busy summer day. 

Are you thinking about throwing a 4^th of July BBQ bash? Price Chopper, Kraft and Kingsford Charcoal want to help you throw your own great party by giving away two $250 Price Chopper gift cards! All you have to do is share a picture of a past 4^th of July celebration or who you will be celebrating with this year. Send your pictures to photos@pricechopper.com. Winners will be randomly generated and announced on June 30^th. Please, see the link below for the contest’s official rules. 

Price Chopper also has some great coupons to help with your 4^th of July party supplies! Do you prefer grilled food with a deliciously smoky flavor? We have an exclusive Facebook coupon on our coupon tab for $2.00 off Kingsford Match Light Charcoal.  Kingsford Charcoal has great products that will suit your charcoal-grilling needs. Their products range from charcoal made with natural ingredients to their hickory or mesquite flavored wood chips. Kingsford also offers their Match Light product, which is easy to light so you’ll be ready to grill in about ten minutes! You can check out the Kingsford website here for more information. In addition to the Kingsford Charcoal coupon, we have a coupon for $1.00 off any A1 steak sauce.

You can’t forget about dessert! We also have a coupon for $0.75 off a package of Oreo cookies. Kraft has some refreshing dessert recipes that would be great treats after dinner and before the fireworks begin. Why not try their Easy Ice Cream Sandwiches or their Triple Strawberry Pops? These dessert options are easy to make in advance and make a great summer dessert, especially when the weather is 80 or 90 degrees!

Need some plans for the 4^th? Check out the Price Chopper Sponsored events! Price Chopper wishes you a safe and happy Independence Day! Price Chopper, Kingsford and Clorox 4th of July Offical Rules

Written by Sylvia Geiger MS, RD, CD, Price Chopper Community Nutritionist 

The parade is over and the fireworks are hours away. It’s time for the backyard cookouts to begin! The 4^th of July is all about an outdoor celebration with family and friends. Of course, it wouldn’t be a cookout without all the yummy foods—the grilled chicken & steak, burgers & dogs, baked beans, potato salad and yummy desserts such as pie topped with loads of ice cream.  Even though such delicious foods are part of the celebration, they’re not really the best choices for those trying to watch their sugar, salt or calories in order to stay on track with health goals or their doctor’s order.  And let’s face it— these days many of us have to do just that! But eating at a BBQ doesn’t mean sacrificing your health goals in order to enjoy and indulge your self. After all, it is a party! Here are some grilling ideas that are so delicious; you’ll forget that they’re also good for you! All of these recipes feature this week’s sale items. Black Bean Salsa and Baked Potato Chips or Pita Grilled Chicken Ratatouille Turkey Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps   or try our vegetarian Grilled Portobello Burger Grilled Shrimp with mango BBQ sauce Need some ideas for dessert? Try… Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust Grilled Peach Sundae So slather on the sunscreen and bug repellent, and get the yard ready for a party! Your family and friends are gathered and everyone is looking for a good time.  For more grilling ideas for some healthy BBQ foods read or download our House of BBQ brochure.