Get the latest on some Food City initiatives in WBIR’s interview with CEO Steve Smith:

Perhaps one of the most sentimental times of year is when the school days start to come to an end. What makes it even more emotional is when you have a child that is graduating! Whether its pre-school or college, graduation is a special, busy time that gets here all too quickly. And before you know it, there are invitations to send, parties to plan and presents to buy. To help you with the process, I put together a graduation day checklist below:

Photo from Mixblog

1.) Invitations – As you’re racking your brain for good ideas for invitations to your son or daughter’s graduation, search on the Internet (at sites like this and this) for invitation and party ideas. Or you can check out the great selection in the card aisle at Food City, where Gibson Greeting Cards are also 40% off everyday!

2.) Cap and gown – More often than not, your graduate will find out about ordering these through his/her school, but don’t forget to remind your child to be on the lookout! You definitely can’t graduate without a cap and gown and sometimes our kids forget things oh so very easily.

3.) Party supplies – Stocking up on party supplies is easy on Food City Direct! You can pick any color scheme you want for your party and order it online. Food City also has a lot of great decorations in-store.

4.) Graduation treats – Order party trays and graduation-themed cupcakes online ahead of time here. Then pick them up on graduation day and you’ll have a fully catered (and delicious) celebration.

5.) The perfect gift – Have you decided what you’re getting your graduate to celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments of his/her life? Knowing how plugged in my graduate will want to be in college next year, I will be choosing a gift from the variety of electronics available on foodcitydirect.com.

What else would you add to the list? Congratulations on making it to this exciting time!

-Katie Swanson, Power Shopper

 1.) Cake Pops

2.) Begonias

3.) Sensation Fruit Basket

4.) Cucumber Melon Relaxation Gift Set

5.) Mother’s Day Cookies Gift Tote

Happy Mother’s Day!

- Jill Montgomery, Power Shopper

Food City’s first initiative makes it so that a lot of the produce and products we pick up each week are grown right in our own community. In the latest Local Growers video, we meet Harvey Lafollette, a grower from Surgoinsville, TN, who provides Food City with beautiful flowers.

Food City’s second initiative gives you two chances to give back to your community in honor of Earth Day this week. On Saturday, April 27, Food City is hosting a Goodwill clothing drive. You can drop your lightly used clothing off at participating locations between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In order to further eliminate waste and in effort to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft —you can also bring expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs and OTC medications to these locations on the 27^th.

You can also help by doing little things like bringing reusable bags to shop and loading coupons onto your ValuCard instead of cutting them out!

– Meg Jensen, Power Shopper

Get Your C’s – Foods high in Vitamin C such as oranges, tangerines and other citrus fruits can help boost immune function and lower stress hormone levels. Other not-so-obvious foods containing Vitamin C include red bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries, kale and cauliflower. Eat the rainbow and “C” how it helps to lessen your stress!

Be Complex – Whole grains—like brown rice, oatmeal, air-popped popcorn, 100% whole wheat bread or English muffins—as well as vegetables and fruits contain complex carbohydrates, which may help the brain increase production of serotonin. Because serotonin aids in mood regulation, you could feel more upbeat when eating your grains and greens!

Tea Time – Certain teas, including peppermint and chamomile, are frequently consumed for their calming effect and for relieving symptoms of stress, like insomnia and stomach disorders.  During cooler weather or closer to bedtime, they are also a nice, warming comfort.

Go Fish and Go Nuts! – Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce the flow of stress hormones and protect against depression. Foods rich in Omega-3’s include fatty fish (such as salmon and mackerel) and nuts (like almonds, pistachios and walnuts). Remember to watch your portions: a serving of almonds is 24, pistachios is 49 and walnuts is 14 halves. Delicious foods that make you feel more positive?!  That should immediately improve your outlook!

For tips to reduce stress when shopping and planning for healthy meals, visit TNhealthandwellness.com.  Click the “Tri-Cities Edition” tab to read my April is Stress Awareness Month: Grocery Shopping Solutions article.

- Audrey Kessler, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian for Food City.  Contact Audrey at RD@foodcity.com.

Resources:

Huso D. Fight Stress with Food? Yes, Really! Today’s Dietitian. Available at: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/healthandnutrition/health/fight-stress-with-food.shtml.  Accessed March 24, 2013.

UCLA Center for East-West Medicine.  Eat Right, Drink Well, Stress Less: Stress-Reducing Foods, Herbal Supplements and Teas.  Available at: http://exploreim.ucla.edu/nutrition/eat-right-drink-well-stress-less-stress-reducing-foods-herbal-supplements-and-teas/.  Accessed March 3, 2013.

After I was done jumping up and down with excitement, I logged on to my.foodcity.com and started loading coupons onto my card immediately. The next time I went shopping, the savings were automatically subtracted from my bill once my card was scanned. Now that adding coupons to my card with eValuCard Savers is so convenient, that’s all I’ll ever use.

Food City’s latest Facebook contest is giving everyone a chance to win a $250 Food City gift card just for having a ValuCard and using it to save in April. Go here to enter!

- Wanda Johnson, Power Shopper

Sometimes getting caught up baking and cooking can distract from the special time you get to spend together.

One of my family’s longest standing inside jokes is the year that grandma played Just Dance with the kids. Since I was in the kitchen cooking for hours, I missed this hilarious moment that is still talked about to this day! It really bums me out that because I was busy preparing food all day, I missed out on a funny family memory.

This year I’m ordering the hot Spiral Ham Dinner prepared by Food City for my family to enjoy on Easter Sunday. Complete with premium Food City bone-in spiral ham, 2 lbs. of cornbread dressing, 2 lbs. of mashed potatoes, 2 lbs. of green beans and a dozen dinner rolls, my family will be happy to have a home-cooked-style meal and I’ll also get to spend more time with the people I love. I’ll also be ordering some Easter treats, too!

Check out other delicious prepared meals here and some fantastic Easter-themed bakery items here. What are you having for Easter dinner?

Some good luck centerpieces:

Some tasty St. Patty’s Day treats:

And some cute clover necklaces:

And the best part is, there is even more stuff on Food City Direct to check out! Now I can’t wait to order some party trays from Food City online and celebrate!

- Jill Montgomery, Power Shopper

With snow still sticking to the ground, all I can help but think about is how spring is just around the corner! And with the time change coming up this weekend (don’t forget to spring forward!), you better believe I am looking forward to longer, warmer days filled with sunshine and the sweet smell of budding flowers. My favorite flowers are Easter lilies, tulips and hyacinth, which is why I absolutely love going into Food City this time of year. They have the best freshly cut flowers including all of my favorites and then some! You can also choose from the most beautifully displayed arrangements to brighten someone’s day.

Check out some of Food City’s spring-themed arrangements below:

Breath of Spring

Spring Showers

Sweet Springtime

If you’re like me, and you can’t wait for spring to get here, go order some flowers from Food City and feel happier instantly.

- Katie Swanson, Power Shopper

Coach Warlick’s Grilled Hot Wings (benefitting Champions for a Cause):
Ingredients:
24 each Food City Fresh Chicken Wings
8 oz. Food Club Hot Sauce
2 tsp. Honey
3 tbls. Food Club Butter
1 can Beer
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Salt to Taste
Harvest Fresh Celery Sticks
1 btl. Food Club Ranch, Bleu Cheese

Directions:
Marinate wings for 6 hours in beer, cut butter into chips  and let sit at room temperature. Drain wings and return the wings to the container and rub with cayenne and black pepper and salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Cook wings on grill over low to medium heat turning frequently and basting with the hot sauce until fully cooked. Place cooked wings into a clean container and add the remaining hot sauce, honey and butter chips. Blend wings and sauce until butter is melted. Place on serving tray and serve with dipping sauce and celery sticks.

Coach Martin’s Nachos (benefitting the local YMCA):
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Red Onions, small diced
4 each Tomatoes, small diced
1/4 bunch of Chopped Parsley or Cilantro
1/4 Cup Food Club Olive Oil
1 each Lime
1 – 8 oz. package Terry’s Tortilla Chips
2 cups Food Club Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 oz. Food Club Sliced Jalapenos
1/2 cup Food Club Sour Cream
1 each Avocado
Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel and dice avocado. Drain jalapenos. In a bowl, mix together  the onion, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, juice from the lime, salt and pepper. Layout half of the bag of tortilla chips on a sheet pan in a single layer. Sprinkle 1/3 of the tomato mixture evenly over the chips and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Mound the remaining chips over the first layer and top with remaining tomato mixture and remaining cup of cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is melted or about 5 minutes. Top with jalapenos, sour cream and diced avocado. Variation: Add 8 oz. of diced fully cooked grilled Food Club chicken breast.

Now go vote for your favorite recipe here to get a coupon from Coca-Cola to use at Food City!

- The Power Shoppers