Biggest Loser Sarah Nitta Becomes a Mom

Deni Hill and daughter Sarah Nitta at Biggest Loser finale.

Sarah Nitta of Season 11's "The Biggest Loser"  is now a proud mother, with another baby on the way. The road to motherhood wasn't easy, though.


Those who watched BL remember that Sarah said she wanted to lose weight to become healthy enough to bear children.  She did lose 106 pounds, but a round of fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization in 2011 ended in disappointment. 


She felt she needed some time for her heart and body to heal before attempting more fertility treatments.  So she and husband Jason decided to try to adopt a baby. In April, just three weeks after the couple was chosen for adoption, they found out they were also pregnant — not one, but two miracles coming to the Nitta family. 


Photos Sarah posted on Facebook this past week show her cuddling newborn Jade Kiyoko Nitta, with Grandma Deni Hill (at-home winner of Season 11 Biggest Loser) also welcoming her newest grandchild.  Sarah is due with another little girl in October.


She has been working as a social media specialist for The Biggest Loser Resort in Ivins, Utah. 


In April, Sarah posted on Facebook: MOST EXCITING STATUS UPDATE OF MY WHOLE LIFE!!! We are adopting a baby girl due the end of June and finally starting our family!!! We are SOOO excited and feel so blessed! But wait... there's more. Three weeks after we were chosen to adopt I found out I AM PREGNANT! I am 15 weeks and due in Oct! So we are having TWO BABIES!!!! God is great!"


And I couldn't agree more with your last statement. God IS great. Congratulations, Sarah!

Free Orange Chicken Friday at Panda Express

Today, June 22, marks the official start of summer and things are heating up at Panda Express. With extended summer evening hours already in effect, Panda is celebrating the start of summer with a free single serving of Orange Chicken today from 9 p.m. to closing.

Guests can download a coupon at http://www.facebook.com/pandaexpress for a free single serving of the Orange Chicken™ entrée, starting today.  Panda’s world famous Orange Chicken features bites of chickenlightly battered and wok-tossed in a sweet and mildly spicy chili sauce.

See's Lollypop Sweepstakes

July 20 is National Lollypop Day and to celebrate, See’s Candies is hosting a sweepstakes to win  a behind-the-scenes tour of See’s Lollypop Factory in Burlingame, CA. The grand prize includes round-trip airfare for two and three nights at a San Francisco hotel. Ten other lucky entrants will also win $50 See’s Candies gift cards. Consumers can enter the sweepstakes from July 5, 2012 through July 22, 2012 by visiting www.sees.com/lollypopsweepstakes or completing an entry form at any of See’s retail shop locations.

ON July 20, the company will also be giving out free samples of their lollypops at over 200 retail shop locations across the U.S.  See’s Candies has produced lollypops for the past 80 years, and the current range includes the signature Chocolate, Vanilla, Café Latte, and Butterscotch flavors.  A perennial customer favorite, See’s sells over one million pounds of lollypops a year.

See’s Candies will also attempt to break a Guinness World Record by creating the world’s largest lollypop. Weighing in at 7,000 pounds, it will be on display to the public in San Francisco on July 20 in honor of National Lollypop Day.  

 For the location of the See’s Candy Shop nearest you, call toll-free (800) 347-7337 or log onto www.sees.com.

Utah's Texas Roadhouse Events

Taylorsville's Texas Roadhouses is celebrating its 15-year anniversary with a rib-eating contest between Murray firefighters and Taylorsville police, on Wednesday, June 27, 2 p.m. at 5418 S. 1900 West, Taylorsville.

Meanwhile, Lehi's Texas Roadhouse is inviting the public to a lunch fundraiser on June 28,  11-2 p.m., to benefit Freedom's Families, a local not-for-profit organization that provides recreational therapy services to recently disabled veterans and their families.

For $10, the public can buy a receive a hot pulled pork sandwich, baked beans and a Caesar salad. Lehi's Texas Roadhouse is at. 1402 E. Main St. in Lehi. 

Chipotle's Sour Cream From Pasture-Raised Cattle

The animals must also have access to shelter, housing or windbreaks that provide adequate protection from the elements.

Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that it has reached a milestone in its effort to serve sour cream and cheese made with milk from pasture-raised dairy cows. Beginning this month, 100% of the sour cream served in its restaurants is produced with dairy from pasture-raised cattle. Under this protocol, cows have daily access to outdoor pastures, are never given added hormones, and are fed an all vegetarian, plant-based diet. 

The animals must also have access to shelter, housing or windbreaks that provide adequate protection from the elements.

According to Farm Sanctuary, a leading farm animal protection organization, three out of four dairy cows in the United States never graze in pasture, and a significant amount of dairy cows are denied routine access to the outdoors.

Chipotle serves all naturally raised meat – from animals that are raised in a humane way and never given antibiotics or added hormones – in all of its restaurants.

Chipotle’s pasture-raised dairy protocol states that dairy cattle must have regular access to pasture and that all natural resources, including plants, soil and water, must be sustainably managed. The animals must also have access to shelter, housing or windbreaks that provide adequate protection from the elements.

In addition to its sour cream, 65% of the cheese served at Chipotle restaurants is produced with dairy from pasture-raised cows. 

Food Writer John T. Edge Coming to Salt Lake City

 JOHN T. EDGE, award-winning food writer, will be in Salt Lake City on June 26,  11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. across the street from Weller Book Works  (607 Trolley Square). Edge is the author of "The Truck Food Cookbook:150 Recipes and Ramblings from America’s Best Restaurants on Wheels" (Workman; May 2012). It's a country-wide collection of today’s most imaginative dishes from some of the most creative chefs pedaling their wares curbside. Visiting hundreds of restaurants on wheels, John T. has collected their  recipes while interviewing the proprietors, customers, and small business supporters who boosted this trend. 

Think again.  From offerings like Breakfast Waffle Tacos to lunchtime Salmon and Chipotle Fried Pies to dinnertime Taiwanese Fried Chicken, the U.S. has been struck with truck food mania.

Edge will talk about the  Salt Lake City street food scene, including the recent legislation affecting the local food trucks. Several local trucks will be in attendance. The event is hosted by Weller Book Works.

A prolific writer with a discerning palate, John T. Edge guides readers and home cooks through each city and recipe with authority. He has written several books on American food and has been included in the Best American Food Writing every year since 2001. His food writing has garnered two James Beard Awards. In addition to being the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, Edge writes the “United Tastes” column for the New York Times and contributes to Oxford American and Garden & Gun. He was a commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, and a judge on Iron Chef America.

Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt

Butter or olive oil? Each of these offer a certain flavor profile.
Now you don't have to decide. Land O Lakes has put both flavors together in a new product, Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt. It comes in half-stick packages.
My recipe for caramelized onions calls for sauteing in half olive oil and half butter. I also have a great recipe for garlic bisque that uses both olive oil and butter. I'm looking forward to using this new butter to add some sizzle the next time I saute.