Top Five Things I Learned at Kraft My Way Plus FIVE $80 Grocery Giveaways

It’s no secret that when you blog you sometimes get the opportunity to do some really amazing things.  When the invitation to #KraftMyWay popped up in my inbox I jumped at the chance to spend the day cooking in the Kraft Kitchens with the experts and some of my favourite fellow bloggers.

When I arrived at Kraft Canada I was greeted with hot Tassimo coffee, warm hugs from some amazing women and the friendliest group of PR specialists you have ever met.  The team at Edelman had been charged with coordinating the event and no detail went unattended.

The day was packed full of taste tests, questions answered and a cooking experience like no other (since kitchen fairies had prepped all the ingredients AND came to clean up after you). 

I could go on and on about the experience I had, but in the interest of time and of course getting to the fantastic giveaway multiplied by FIVE, here are the top five things I took away from my trip to Kraft Canada.

1.  According to Dino Bianco, President of Kraft Canada, 99% of Canadian households have a Kraft product in their kitchen.  Though some of my fellow bloggers balked at that, I challenge you all to take a look in your pantry, cupboards and fridge and see how many you have.  I was thoroughly impressed that Dino came into a room filled with women and spent well over his allotted amount of time answering all of our questions.  What man has ever done that?!?  He assured us that not only was Kraft committed to addressing the biggest struggles moms have (Time, Ideas and Skill) they are also committed to the Three No’s! No artificial colour, no artificial flavour and no preservatives. While not all of their products are there yet, change is coming.  In other good news, Kraft has taken the trans fat out of all their products (except where they occur naturally – like in cheese).

2.  Cauliflower Kraft Dinner tastes the same as the regular one.  Seriously – I tasted it myself!  I will admit it was a little softer than what I remember and they tell me that it smells slightly different when it boils.  My kids would never notice but I just want to put it out there in case your kids will notice the smell.

3.  Cooking with Kraft is EASY even for the two “non-chefs” I was paired up with.  I have been receiving the “What’s Cooking” Kraft magazine for years and from those pages I have built a repertoire of easy, family pleasing recipes.  It was so much fun to meet the Dietitians and the “Kraft Kitchen’s Team” and learn about how the recipes are created, tested and then tested again!  I urge you all to go over to www.kraftcanada.com and register for email recipes and get your copy of the What’s Cooking magazine several times during the year – including their holiday issue!  Did I mention it’s free?

4.  When you’re the only one baking with Cadbury Mini Eggs in a set of kitchens filled with over a dozen women you quickly become the most popular girl in the room.  After suiting-up in our Twitter aprons the Kraft Kitchen’s team split us up into groups.  We were each handed a Kraft recipe, all the pre-measured ingredients and instructions to do our best because we were having a pot-luck lunch featuring all of our creations.  Someone thought it was a good idea to hand me a Mega-Size bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs.  Since I take direction well I quickly launched into baking these super easy Easter Cookies.  Of course, I was interrupted frequently as people asked if they could “sample” my ingredients (well actually just one – the MINI EGGS!).  I was fairly impressed that I was able to save my cookies from the “sampling” long enough for them to make it to the pot-luck buffet.  I have to say, it was the most AMAZING pot-luck I have ever been to. 

My favourite recipes were from the Spring 2011 issue of What’s Cooking and included the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, the Mango-Orange Chicken, the Creamy Layered Squares and of course the  Homemade Fruity Marshmallows!

5.  If you have a chance to shop in the Kraft Canada Store always take a friend!  Especially one who loves her Tassimo as much as I do!  Shannon from Shasher’s Life and I *may* have had a hand in depleting the Tassimo stock just slightly. 

But the best part?  Kraft Canada has given me FIVE packages to give away to five lucky Maija’s Mommy Moment readers.  Each prize package is valued at $80 and include:

1. Caramilk Secrets
2. Cadbury Buttons
3. KRAFT Shreds Mozza-Cheddar Light LE (coupon)
4. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Dill – (coupon)
5. Cracker Barrel Block Havarti – (coupon)
6. Kraft Signature Dressings (Mango Chipotle & Creamy Masala)
7. Kraft Refrig Pure Ranch – (coupon)
8. Jell-O Mousse Temptations (Chocolate Indulgence, Crème Caramel) – (coupons)
9. Kraft Peanut Butter Whipped
10. Crystal Light (Raspberry Peach, Mixed Berry, “fibre” benefit and Splenda)
11. Brown Rice Crisps (3 current skus)
12. Peak Freans Lifestyle (Peach and Yogurt, Banana Chocolate) 

Here’s How:

FIVE lucky readers of Maija’s Mommy Moments will win a Kraft Canada prize package.

• Giveaway closes April 29, 2011 at 8 p.m. EST.
• Open to residents of Canada ONLY .
• Can only win once per household.
• Winners will be chosen via And The Winner Is plugin. In the event of plugin failure random.org will be used.
• Winners will be announced Monday, May 2, 2011 and will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail and declare any household allergies or a new winner will be chosen.

Mandatory Entry (Must complete before doing optional entries):

• Leave me a comment below and tell me which favourite Kraft product you found in your kitchen.

Optional Entries (Must leave a comment for each optional entry that you do as winner is picked from the comments):

• Follow Kraft Canada on Twitter by clicking here.
• Like Kraft Canada’s What’s Cooking on Facebook by clicking here.
• Like Maija’s Mommy Moments on Facebook by clicking here (if you already do – just let me know in a comment – it still counts!).
• Follow Maija’s Mommy Moments on Twitter by clicking here (if you already do – just let me know in a comment because of course it still counts too!)
• Subscribe by email to Maija’s Mommy Moments by clicking here.
• Tweet about this giveaway using both the link and @KraftCanada. (Can be done once daily).