Real California Milk - Ice Cream Social

I had the pleasure of attending an Ice Cream Social last week, hosted by the California Milk Advisory Board.  Since the event was kid friendly, I invited my nephew, Beans, to be my date for the afternoon. 

Before the festivities were underway, Beans and I had a chance to do something that you're almost never allowed to do with permission... SCREAM! We went into the scream booth and screamed as loud as we possibly could, after all everyone screams for ice cream, right?

Before we had a chance to lose our voices, we were able to make ice cream crafts.  Beans added extra cherries to his.

It wasn't long before we were mesmerized by television host, food writer, and award-winning cook, Kristina Vanni, who was gracious enough to make several phenomenal ice cream dishes for us. Get a load of these:

OMG! All three were absolutely delicious! But the best part is they seemed pretty easy to make. My favorite was the Blueberry Float, by far the best float I have ever had in my entire life!  You can find these and other awesome recipes at Better Recipes: Daily Dish (featuring Kristina Vanni).

After Kristina's impressive display of ice creamery, we tried our hand at making our own ice cream creations. Every topping imaginable was at our disposal! Chocolate fudge, gummy bears, nuts, and even potato chips! Beans did manage to have a little ice cream with his toppings! LOL

As a native of the beautiful state of California and self-proclaimed ice cream lover, I was thrilled to find out the following ice cream fun facts:

• July is National Ice Cream Month - as declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
• California is the nations number one ice cream producer!
• It takes an estimated 50 licks to finish a single scoop ice cream cone.
• Approximately 12 pounds of Real California Milk are used to make one gallon of ice cream.

Overall, we had a great time at the event, we had scrumptious treats and we learned a little something too!

Make sure you look for The Real California Seal!

I was invited to the Ice Cream Social by the California Milk Advisory Board. All views expressed are the opinion of Just Say I Told You So.

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt - Now open in Rolling Hills, CA

When I was a kid there was a frozen yogurt shop inside my favorite mall. Nearly everytime I went to the mall (which was quite often), I would get a cup of yogurt. Of course that was more than 20 years ago (am I telling my age again?). Well unless you've been living in a bubble, you may have noticed that frozen yogurt has made a serious comeback in the last couple of years.

Both my sister and my daughter are now die hard, self-appointed, yogurt aficionados. They can hardly pass a yogurt shop without stopping, but there is one yogurt shop that has unanimously won their affection - Menchies! When they heard that a new Menchies was opening up in the Rolling Hills, they could hardly wait!

Menchie's Rolling Hills

Mechie's always has a great selection of divine flavors to choose from. They've got regular, low-carb, no sugar added, and dairy free flavors too! Plus, as required by the National Yogurt Association, Menchie's yogurt has live and active cultures (with the exception of the low-carb and non-dairy sorbet selections). For the topping lovers, they have plenty of treats at the "Snackage," "Chill," and "Hottie" bars, perfect for turning your yogurt into a work of art!

Getting your fill at Menchie's is easy. First you choose your mix, weigh, and then pay. It's that simple!

The new Rolling Hills location is nice! Bright and vibrant, with a freindly staff, and fun things for the kiddies to do. The family friendly atmosphere at Menchie's makes it a treat for everyone!

I'll bet your Valentine would love you even more if you brought home some Menchie's tonight!!!

If you live in Southern CA, visit the Rolling Hills Location at 2533 Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance, CA 90505.  Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter too!

Visit the Menchie's website for a location near you.

This is not a paid post. The yogurt used to facilitate this review was self-purchased. All view expressed are the opinion of Just Say I Told You So.

Real Seal Appeal - Collect seals and help schools

Everyone has been a victim of the budget crisis, schools in particular. Every year schools are scraping to make sure that they have the tools they need to teach our children. Education is without a doubt the foundation to success.  It is every one's responsibility to make sure that our children are given every opportunity to flourish.

Real Seal Appeal is a program that has been launched by Real California Milk to support schools in California.  The program will award up to $2 million dollars in cash, prizes, and books to California Schools. Every time you purchase a product with the Real California Milk seal on it, you will be supporting the 1,620 dairy families, who work hard for us each and every day,  and you'll also be supporting California schools.

Milk and dairy products play a vital role in child development.  It is very important that children have the right amounts of calcium-rich foods in their diet.

What can you do to help?

Collect: You and your family can collect the Real California Milk seal from items you purchase.  Send the seals to school with your child so they can be turned into his/her teacher. Every seal is like a sweepstakes entry, the more seals that are collected, the more chances for your son or daughter's school has to win.

Enter: Teachers submit the seals, along with a 3x5 card (with your name, school name and address, phone number, email address, grade, and number of students in your class). For every 100 or more seals you submit, you will receive either 25 free scholastic books or a $25 school supply gift card.
  
     Mail seals to:
     Real Seal Appeal Sweepstakes
     c/o Scholastic Inc.
     P.O. Box 711
     New York, NY 10013

Win: Up to $2 million in cash and prizes! Nine schools will receive cash awards + Wii Fit™  games for each child in the winning classroom!

• Grand Prize: 3 winning schools will receive $20,000 plus a Wii Fit™ game for every child in the winning classroom (up to 50)

• 2nd Place: 3 winning schools will receive $10,000 plus a Wii Fit™ game for every child in the winning classroom (up to 50)

• 3rd Place: 3 winning schools will receive $5,000 plus a Wii Fit™ game for every child in the winning classroom (up to 50)

• Runner Ups: 2,595 winning schools will receive $500 prizes

There are soooo many chances to win. Join the challenge! You have from 10/1/11 through 12/31/11 to collect as many seals as you can. Get your friends and family to collect seals from the dairy products they already buy. Ask the people in your community to donate their seals too, churches, neighbors,  sports teams, and block clubs. Everybody can help!

Check out the Real Seal Appeal site addition information and complete details. Follow Real California Milk on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

*Participating elementary schools in Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and am eligible for a prize drawing.  The views expressed are the opinions of Just Say I Told You So!