By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 3/6/2013 12:19 PM
Update 3/7: Thank you to everyone who entered on Twitter and Pinterest. This contest is now closed!
There really is a holiday for everything, isn't there? Yes, it's true - March 6th is Frozen Food Day (and according to some sources,
March is Frozen Food Month)! The history books (by which we mean, Google) tell us that former president Ronald Regan was such a fan of frozen dinners that he chose this date back in 1984 to be the official day upon which we Americans celebrate frozen foods: "I call upon the American people to observe such a day with appropriate ceremonies and activities," the president said.
So what do you think of when you picture frozen foods? Do you picture this?
Frozen foods get a bad rap these days - partially because TV dinners like this creepy looking number were high in fat and sodium, not to mention kind of, um...
not delicious. But who among us hasn't thrown a frozen pizza in the oven at least once? And don't forget - frozen foods include some really healthy choices, too, like a frosty bag of blueberries to throw into your kefir smoothie, and our favorite -
Frozen Kefir!
So maybe we do want to celebrate frozen foods day, after all! In fact,
we have 5 VIP coupons for free pints of Frozen Kefir to give away on this special occassion. There are two ways to enter:
- Send a tweet telling the world how you eat your frozen kefir. With sprinkles? With fruit? Straight out of the carton? Tag your tweet with #FrozenKefir so we see it!
- Check us out on Pinterest & repin your favorite kefir treat, whether it's one of our recipes or products! Post a link to your repin in the comments below.
We'll choose five winners on March 7 - happy Frozen Foods Day!
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 3/5/2013 10:07 AM
We had lots of fun this weekend participating in the 2nd annual Kid's Food Festival in partnership with Cooking Light! Event participants joined the fight against childhood obesity through fun and flavorful activities to learn about balanced food choices.
The festival included kid's cooking classes curated by the James Beard Foundation, food samplings from healthy brands like Lifeway Foods, product demonstrations, live music, a balanced plate scavenger hunt, giveaways, ice skating, and more!
The Kids Food Festival supports Cooking Light’s charity partner, FoodCorps, a nationwide team of service members who help kids build an enduring relationship with healthy food.
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/28/2013 10:56 AM
Are you ready for The Bachelor: Kefir Edition?
We’ve combed the nation for the 20 most eligible drinkware bachelorettes – glasses who have been unlucky in love, unable to find the perfect drink to be filled with. Like Lindzy, a glass who dated a carton of skim milk for six months only to split when she realized he didn’t want kids. Or CassiDee, a parfait cup who met a bottle of yogurt at a trendy LA bar but couldn’t make it past the first date because of his vanilla personality. Or Samantha, a can of root beer who was exclusive with a frosty mug for two years but split after she found him cheating with a carton of ice cream.
Our Bachelorettes are stunning drink receptacles searching for their beverage match. Will it be Lifeway kefir? Stay tuned…for the most dramatic season of The Bachelor: Kefir Edition – EVER.
Highlights from the 2013 season will include:
THE MOST SLIPPERY GROUP DATE EVER: Kefir wrestling! Our Bachelor takes seven glasses on a competition-themed group date where they all change into skimpy bikinis and, one by one, jump into a pool of Lifeway lowfat blueberry kefir and wrestle until someone gives up.
CATFIGHTS: Blakesley, a curvy hurricane glass from New Orleans, gets ganged up on by the other ladies and is reduced to tears as she breaks down in her bunk bed. “She’s so plastic,” one of them is overheard snarking.
HOT TUB ACTION: Chantal the shot glass and Alexi, a bleach-blonde margarita glass, get frisky in the hot tub when Lifeway kefir is turned the other way.
FIREPLACE ROMANCE: Lifeway kefir invites Brandi, a tumbler with legs that won’t quit, to relax in front of the fireplace, and cameras catch a hot and heavy makeout session that will leave you THIRSTY!
During the final rose ceremony, Lifeway kefir will be asking one lucky glass, “Will you accept this bottle of kefir?” Stay tuned to find out…on the most dramatic season EVER.
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/27/2013 11:58 AM
First Lady
Michelle Obama is in Chicago this week as part of a national health tour in support of her Let’s Move! initiative to get America’s children up and active - and eating healthy! She'll be joined by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and lots of celebrity guests as she announces her plan to bring physical activity back to schools, according to a White House announcement.
Read More »
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/26/2013 11:26 AM
The Lifeway team spread out across the country this week end, bringing kefir goodness to some really fun events! We kicked things off Thursday night sampling
Frozen Kefir at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) at
Moët Hennessy's The Q hosted by Paula Deen and Sons presented by Omaha Steaks sponsored by MIAMI magazine.
On Friday and Saturday we split our time between sampling Frozen Kefir at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village featuring Mastercard Grand Tasting Tents at SOBEWFF and the
2013 Eco Oscars. At the Eco Oscars we sampled our
Kefir and Frozen Kefir and did our best to stay cool around the cast and crew of Oscar nominated films such as Lincoln and Curfew and other VIPs.
Where will Lifeway Kefir pop up next? Stay tuned to our blog to find out!
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/20/2013 7:32 AM
Nothing against the lower 48, but if you had the chance to skip on over to beautiful, sunny Puerto Rico right now wouldn't you take it? Us too, which is why we're proud to announce that Lifeway Kefir is now available in Puerto Rico!
Our Lowfat Strawberry, Blueberry, Strawberry-Banana, Peach and Mango kefir flavors are currently available in select Supermax and Pueblo Markets with the same selection
plus Organic Strawberry available in select Walmart and Amigo Supermarkets.
Looking for Lifeway Kefir in a store near you? Use our
Store Locator, or check out
this blog post about how you can request our products in your favorite stores.
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/19/2013 9:01 AM
“It’s not easy eating clean.” So begins Natural Health magazine’s 2013 Good Food Awards, a compendium of best-for-you noshes – packaged foods and drinks you can feel good about including in your diet. It features 30 top picks for your pantry, fridge and freezer that are good for people as well as the planet.
We are thrilled to announce that the “Best Kefir” award (in the fridge category) went to Lifeway Green Kefir. Other healthy, cool treats include Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods All Natural Wasabi Hommus, Earth Balance Roasted Garlic & Herbs Organic Culinary Spread, and Veggie Patch Mediterranean Spinach & Chickpea Patties.
In the same issue of Natural Health, a feature story on fermentation highlights the health benefits of incorporating probiotic foods into one’s diet. “Even once-exotic kefir and spicy kimchee are now headlining supermarket aisles on both coasts,” note writers Nicole Dorsey and Jill Neimark, and traditional items like Japanese miso soup, Chinese kombucha and German sauerkraut are being touted as hot new superfoods.
“Probiotics promote the health of your entire digestive system,” says Richard Sarnat, M.D., author of The Life Bridge: The Way to Longevity With Probiotic Nutrients. “The process of fermentation breaks down the fats, proteins and carbohydrates in the food before we eat, unlocking all of these wonderful nutrients.”
The authors explain that, “Fermenting foods do not cook, marinate or decompose. They actually synthesize, and undergo biochemical reactions that break down particles into more accessible, healthful versions.”
Try Natural Health’s recipe for
Cultured Cabbage Salad with Tarragon Kefir Dressing, whichcombines multiple fermented elements into one mouth-watering bowl. Feeling even more adventurous? Their Young Coconut Crème Pudding with Almond Whipped Cream calls for a hammer and cleaver in addition to a home kefir starter kit.
*Recipes created by Donna Gates.
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/15/2013 12:32 PM
So you
“like” Lifeway Kefir on Facebook or you
follow us on Twitter and you’ve seen photos of a new flavor like Coconut-Chia or a product like Frozen ProBugs but you can’t seem to find it in your local store? Well believe us, if we had our way every store nationwide would have a Lifeway Kefir selection as impressive as this Whole Foods in North Raleigh, NC:
Luckily, as customers, you have lots of ways to have your voice heard in your favorite stores! Here are a few steps you can take to enjoy our full line of healthy, delicious kefir products:
- Use our store locator to search for specific flavors and varieties in supermarkets near you. Keep in mind that some stores stock our kefir in the natural foods section as opposed to the dairy section.
- Talk to your dairy manager! Many dairy managers are willing to bring in new flavors and varieties if their customers ask for them. Some of them will even special order cases of products just for you. Click here to download a PDF of all of our products that you can print & bring into your local store.
- Fill out a customer request form at the customer service desk. Many big box stores like BJ’s and Costco rotate items in and out of stock – so be sure to fill out a request form and let them know you want them to bring kefir back if it’s out of stock!
- If you’ve exhausted all of these suggestions and still can’t track down the kefir you want, we offer cold shipping on our website here. Keep in mind that kefir is perishable, so it must be shipped overnight in an insulated box, which makes the shipping cost quite high. Consider splitting an order with a friend or neighbor to help cut your individual cost.
Stay tuned to our blog to find out about all of our newest products and flavors!
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/14/2013 1:40 PM
Valentine’s Day is here again, and before you accuse this of being another “Hallmark holiday” you might want to look into the historical roots of this romantic day! Now that we’ve softened your cynical side, let’s talk about kissing. Snogging, necking, smooching – call it whatever you like, just check your breath before you get to it!
Gums and mints only mask the problem because the cause of your dragon breath might actually be way down in your gastrointestinal (GI) track. So what to do when your breath renders you nearly unkissable? Drink some Lifeway Kefir, of course!
According to Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, and several other studies, consuming probiotic foods such as kefir can help to replace the bad bacteria (read: stinky) in your body with beneficial bacteria! But don’t just take a bunch of doctors’ and scientists’ word for it, check out all these lovey-dovey couples in Starfruit Café, our chain of soft-serve frozen kefit stores in Chicago.
These folks couldn’t get enough of our kefir, or each other during our Kissing & Kefir event. Who could blame them? Breath this fresh is impossible to resist.
By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir on 2/14/2013 11:00 AM
Our boss is quite the globe trotter. Whether she's meeting with retailers far and wide to expand distribution of kefir or spreading the word about healthy foods and probiotics at numerous speaking engagements, the Lifeway mission travels with her. Earlier this week she participated in a Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee for job-creators from across the country. Julie shared the Lifeway story and conveyed the importance of working with lawmakers to help responsible businesses can grow and create jobs in their communities.
Above is Julie with IL Senator Dick Durbin, who had this to say:
We can continue growing our economy from the middle-out by supporting job-creating small businesses like Lifeway Foods and the hundreds of others across our state and the country. I was pleased to welcome Julie Smolyansky to Washington and to hear from her and other entrepreneurs and business leaders regarding their successful strategies for expansion and job growth. We can learn a lot from them.
Today Julie will be on WGN Radio at 12:35pm CST speaking with Carol Roth about job creation, healthy eating and kefir/probiotics, her new role with the UN as part of the Global Entrepreneurs Council, and her participation in today's One Billion Rising rally at the Daley Center here in Chicago. Listen live to the show on WGN 720 AM Chicago or stream it online here: http://tv.trb.com/extras/wgnam/player/listen.htm
EDIT: Don't worry if you missed the show! WGN is hosting a special page for us with a recording of the full program: http://wgnradio.com/2013/02/14/living-a-healthy-lifestyle-with-lifeway-foods/ (Thanks to Carol and all of WGN!)
Which brings us to a very important point. You should follow Julie on Twitter for all the latest: @JulieSmolyansky. We can barely keep up with her!