Nacho Mama's "Pie in the Sky"

If there's one food I love more than nachos? It's pie. I honestly can't think of a pie flavor I won't eat with gusto. By far the biggest threat to my diet plan come Thanksgiving isn't the turkey, the mashed potatoes or the stuffing-it's the pie.

But this year? I'm gonna eat all the pie I want without feeling guilty. In fact, I will feel AWESOME! Okay, maybe I won't actually eat all the pie I want, but I will definitely BUY all the pie I want (and maybe just taste a little of each one) because this year I AM SELLING PIES FOR MAMA'S KITCHEN! No, not "Nacho Mama's Kitchen"-Mama's Kitchen here in San Diego.

What's Mama's Kitchen?

Mama's Kitchen has been around since I was in high school, at the height of the AIDS scare in the late 80s. Back then the paranoia was so out of control that people thought you could catch HIV just by sitting next to someone on a train or using a public restroom. It was so bad that some patients with HIV were actually dying from malnutrition, not AIDS, because it was so hard for them to get help they needed. Mama's Kitchen was started right in my own neighborhood to help bring nutritious meals to patients with HIV. Today they serve over 1300 patients (and children of patients) living with HIV and cancer. Many of the cancer patients are moms with breast cancer who have young kids. These women are too sick to cook for themselves, let alone their children, and the meals they get from Mama's Kitchen make all the difference. The staff and volunteers of Mama's Kitchen prepare and deliver 3 meals a day to their clients (remember there are over 1300 of them!) all over San Diego County.

Want to help? I knew you would! Here's the fun part:



BUY OUR PIES! Or join our team and become a seller yourself-click the image to learn more.

  Every fall, Mama's Kitchen holds it's "Pie in the Sky" campaign. The best bakeries in the county prepare delicious pies that you can order for your Thanksgiving table and pick up at your local Wells Fargo (San Diego County only). My sister bloggers at San Diego Momfia and I have teamed up for one whopper of a bake sale! You can read more about it HERE.  Our goal? To sell 6,200 pies by Thanksgiving.  Each pie costs $20 and buys this much food:

Just ONE PIE can feed a sick person or their child for THREE DAYS

PLUS a hot meal for an HIV/Cancer patient or the child of a patient. That's enough food to feed that person for three days. From just ONE PIE, folks.

Isn't it wonderful to know your Thanksgiving pie can make a real difference someplace other than your thighs? If you don't live in San Diego County, I hope this will inspire you to help end hunger in your community. If you DO live in SD County, I hope you'll order your pies from ME! You can order your pies from my Mama's Kitchen PIE page at:

http://mamaspies.org/mypage.cfm?ID=306

And the person who orders the most pies from me? Gets a PRIZE! So get ordering please!

NO-the prize is not the pie hat!



Wishing you love with extra cheese on your APPLE PIE!

Nacho Mama



Proud to be a Positivity Ambassador for Milk!

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but when I was a kid? I HATED milk! Can you believe it? Fortunately for me (and my bones), however, my mom and my Mama Lola were very resourceful women and came up with many clever ways to sneak in my daily servings of leche. Mom would serve me cold cereal or avena (oatmeal) with one serving of milk, then pack a large thermosful of chocolate milk in my lunchbox every day. My Mama Lola could always be counted on for delicious mugs of cafe con leche in the afternoon-yes, even as a child I was a coffee addict. Of course, Mama Lola's "cafe" was mostly leche!

As a young adult living on my own, my diet became frightfully devoid of milk. Like many college students, I developed some pretty unhealthy diet habits that lasted until after I was married. Then I decided to make my health a priority and adapt a healthy eating plan-one that included at least 2 servings of milk a day. And you know what? I learned to LOVE milk!  I came to love the taste almost as much as I love the way I feel when I am getting my daily servings of milk. And because my kids only know a mami who is a regular milk drinker, they are regular drinkers, too. So between my husband, my kids and me, we go through A LOT of milk in our house!

And that is why I am very proud and honored to announce that I have been chosen to be a Positivity Ambassador for Milk! This is a super fun an educational campaign, especially their fictional spokesman-meet El Maestro Del Vaso Lleno (The Master of the Glass Half Full)!


I love it!


Want to know more? Stay tuned here at Nacho Mama's Blog for more posts and be sure and check out the following links:
Learn the whole hilarious and positive story of The Master of the Glass Half Full at his website
or click these images to enlarge and read his story in English:

"Like" The Master of the Glass Half Full on Facebook (and get his hilarious and truly inspiring posts!)
Follow The Master of the Glass Half Full on Twitter

Are YOU getting your daily servings? Are you positive?

Wishing you love with extra cheese-and MILK!
Nacho Mama

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor's Board and Latina Mom Bloggers

WATCH ME DAILY at SheKnows.com!

I am so thrilled to announce that I am part of the daily "Mommalogues" webshow over at SheKnows.com!  You can now tune in daily and watch my take on all things mami-related, the good, the bad and the chancla!

Click HERE to be taken to my "Mommalogues" page, which will have links to my daily vlogs, like THIS ONE, about toddler meltdowns.

Thank you all so much for your support, your comments and your tips!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Are your kids bilingual? Would you like them to be? HBO Latino GIVEAWAY

I feel very blessed to have been raised in a bilingual household. I even attended bilingual school through the 4th grade! I truly feel this is why I am able to see the world from more than one point of view, a skill which has seen me though many difficulties. I've tried to raise my kids to be bilingual as well, but I somehow always lapse into English, despite my best intentions. So when I was approached by HBO Latino to review their kids' show "El Perro y El Gato" I was very excited to see how my kids would receive it.

They LOVED the show! Especially my 2.5 year old, who pretty much only speaks English. It's muy cute, easy to follow and the animation is very cool. Even my gringo husband picked up a few new words! Here's just a little taste...

Don't you just love it?


There's a NEW "El Perro y El Gato" special that will be airing TOMORROW MORNING (September 15th) at 7am on HBO Latino-don't miss it! And here are some links for you to keep ahead of everything going on at HBO Latino:

www.hbolatino.com

www.facebook.com/hbolatino

www.twitter.com/#!/HBOLatino

www.youtube.com/hbolatino

PLUS the folks at HBO Latino have generously agreed to send one of YOU a set of "El Perro y El Gato" DVDS!!

If you'd like a little help teaching your kids (or your spouse-or yourself!) Spanish be sure and enter!

Here's how:

1. Leave a comment below telling us if you've seen the show, or why you'd like your kids to see it.

2. "Like" Nacho Mama's Blog on Facebook (and leave a comment below letting us know you did)

3. "Like" HBO Latino on Facebook (and leave a comment below letting us know you did)

3 entries per person, winner will be chosen at random and announced here on Monday, September 19th. Contest ends at midnight Sunday, September 18. Open to US residents only.

Good luck and don't forget to catch the NEW "El Perro y El Gato" special that will be airing TOMORROW MORNING (September 15th) at 7am on HBO Latino!

Wishing you mucho amor with extra queso-

Nacho Mama

Disclosure: I was gifted a dvd of El Perro y E Gato for review by HBO Latino, who are also providing the dvds for the giveaway, the above is my true and honest opinion.

Today, more than ever...

image via Wikipedia

I tried at least a dozen times to write this post for you and just couldn't. Then San Diego Momfia asked me to write it for them and that made it a little easier, but it was still harder than I ever imagined it would be.

There were so many friends, neighbors and strangers who said things to me that day which were too private to include, so I purposely tried to keep to my own thoughts and experiences. For all of you, especially those of you who lost someone that day-I hope this day for you to be surrounded by people you love.

You can read my post at San Diego Momfia here.