Puppies vs. Babies: Which is cuter?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

Alright folks, who is ready for a little dose of cuteness? Since the beginning of time, there are two things that never fail to bring a smile on your face and get awwwwwwwwwwws from everyone. I do not think anybody can disagree with me when I say that puppies and babies are the two cutest things on this planet! However, the age old question remains, which is cuter? Puppies or babies? Well America, you have a chance to play a part in putting this long lasting debate to rest. Puppies vs. Babies, who wins?

From now, up until November 23^rd, there is a fun Puppies vs. Babies online contest going on that will put a rest to this ongoing feud and guess what? You get to be the judge! Hundreds of photos were received as part of the casting call and now, you get to vote. All you need to do is rate each photo, on a scale of 1 to 10. Then, the 16 photos with the highest vote would go to the next round and a winner for each category will be chosen. Ultimately, the two top contenders will face off and put this age old question to rest!

So, who will you vote for? Puppies or babies? Don’t get me wrong, I totally love puppies. Kevin and I would sometimes spend all afternoon on Animal Planet, just watching shows about puppies. They are just so cute! However, I think that babies win hands down! Nothing is cuter than chubby babies, cooing and making all types of gurgling sounds! Also, babies do not have stinky puppy breathe and they don’t nip at your heels! So, what about you? Who would you vote for? Leave me a comment to tell me who you are rooting for and don’t forget to head over to the website to cast your vote today!!

Take the Sunkist® S’alternative Sodium Quiz today!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sunkist S’alternative. All opinions are 100% mine.

Let’s have a show of hands, how many of you actually bother about checking your sodium intake? I know many of us worry about the amount of calories, fats, carbs and even sugar that we consume, but many tend to forget about sodium. Did you know that most food include “hidden salts” that can be dangerous to your health? How much sodium are you consuming on a daily basis? Don’t know? Well, there is a way to find out. Take the Sodium Style Quiz from Sunkist on Facebook to find out where you fall on the sodium scale! That’s right; The Sunkist Sodium Quiz will tell you where you fall on the sodium scale based on your daily food choices. After you discover your sodium style, you can also invite your friends to take the fun and fast quiz to compare results!

I took The Sunkist Sodium Quiz and the sodium scale revealed that I am a Mover, Not A Salt Shaker! Wow, that’s really good to know. What about you? Are you Serial Salt Offender, Sodium Smarty or somewhere in between? No matter what your results is, taking the quiz will help you the quiz will help you be more salt savvy by teaching you all about Sunkist S’alternative! What’s that, you ask? Well, S’alternative is using fresh-squeezed Sunkist® lemons as a healthy sodium-free alternative to salt. By using Sunkist lemons as an alternative to salt, it can help reduce sodium, increase potassium and enhance the flavor of recipes. To get the ball rolling, let me share with you an awesome Sunkist® recipe that uses fresh Sunkist lemons.

Sunkist® Lemon Seafood Paella

Ingredients: (Makes 8 servings)

*1- 32 oz can low sodium vegetable broth

*1 cup dry white wine

*1 teaspoon saffron threads

*1lb. of firm, fresh pieces of whitefish such as tilapia, bass, halibut and swordfish, cut into 16-21 pieces

*1lb. or 16-21 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded

*1lb. or 16-21 medium sized clams, rinsed

*cup chopped fresh parsley

*3 Sunkist® lemons, zest and juice

*3 Tbsp. olive oil

*1 _ cups minced onion

*3 cloves garlic, minced

*teaspoon crushed red pepper

*3 cups uncooked short-grain rice such as Valencian, Arborio, or Calrose

*1 cup frozen green peas

*1- 8oz jar of sliced, roasted red peppers

Instructions:

• To prepare broth, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

• To prepare paella, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large paella pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish pieces to pan and sauté 1 minute. Remove fish from pan, reserve and keep warm. Add onion to pan and sauté 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, bring to a low boil and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

• Stir in the peas and red pepper slices. Add mussels and clams to pan, nestling them into rice mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until shells open; discard any unopened shells. Stir in the reserved fish and chopped parsley and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in lemon juice and check for seasoning. Cover with a towel and let stand 10 minutes before stirring

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Pho Mac Vietnamese Restaurant - Staten Island, NY

We were driving through Staten Island the other day and decide to stop for dinner. It's probably like my fourth or fifth time in Staten Island, so I had no clue what's good to eat there. Kevin on the other hand works in Staten Island, so he was given the very important task of deciding where to go for dinner. He suggested a few places and we finally went with Pho Mac. He says that he would sometimes have lunch there (since it's rather near his office) and that it's pretty good. Sounds good!!
Parking at Pho Mac can be quite a challenge, especially during busy hours. We had to park at a side street about a block away from the restaurant because there was very limited street parking in front of it. The restaurant itself has two levels and since the lower level was full, our server brought us upstairs. The decor of the two levels were totally different! It seriously felt like two different restaurants! The lower level was pretty much your regular hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant, with basic tables and chairs and minimal decor. Upstairs was wayyyyy nicer. They had nice booths and really nice and rather upscale decor. The servers were all really friendly and they seem to know a lot of the customers (regulars I presume) on a personal level. One thing that kinda bothered me was that all of the servers were speaking in Cantonese. I knowwww, it's a little bit silly to assume that in order for the food to be authentic, the place should be run by Vietnamese instead of Chinese. However, it still made me go "Hmmmm? I wonder how authentic and good the food will be?" :P
We started off our dinner by sharing two appetizers. Of course, we had to order the Goi Cuon or better known as the Vietnamese Summer Roll ($4.75). It looked really yummy when they brought it out. However, when I took a bite, it was all rubbery. Something tells me that it was not freshly rolled upon order. I think it must have been sitting, pre rolled in the kitchen for quite a while. It wasn't flat out bad but I must also say that it wasn't really the best and freshest Goi Cuon I have had.
We also shared the Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring Roll). It comes in three sizes, Small (2 rolls for $3.25), Medium (4 rolls for $5.50) and Large (8 rolls for $9.95). We ordered the small and boy, it was really SMALL. The rolls were tiny! However, what it lacked in size was made up for in the taste department. Those tiny spring rolls were delicioussssssssssss. Crispy on the outside and the filling was really very flavorful. At that point, I was kicking myself and regretting that we didn't order the medium instead :P
For my main, I tried the Pho Dac Biet with Bo Vien ($7.75). A huge yummy bowl of rice noodles with beef brisket, frank, omosa, tendon, eye of round and beef balls in a some piping hot beef soup. The soup was good but it wasn't great! Compared to the pho from other Vietnamese restaurants in the city as well as other parts of Northern NJ, I would have to say that this was just alright. I would eat it but there is really nothing to shout about.
Kevin had the Com Suon Bi Cha ($8.25). Grilled pork chop with shredded pork and crab patty, served on a plate of steaming white rice. I tried a little bit of everything and I must say that it was really really good. Totally love the grilled pork chop and crab patty, sooo yummmy! I must definitely remember to order this the next time I eat there. So, overall Pho Mac is a pretty decent place. The servers were really really friendly, prices were rather reasonable and the food wasn't too bad as well. No wonder Kevin and his colleagues likes heading out to Pho Mac for lunch! :D

Pho Mac - Staten Island, NY
1407 Richmond Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10314-1553
Tel:(718) 982-9292/8283