Super Bowl Sunday is right around the corner! Stores will be packed with people rushing to buy game day junk food and snacks. Pizza delivery companies are going to experience their biggest sales day of the year! With proper planning, you can create a healthy game day menu that will please even the pickiest eaters!

Take a look at the mouth watering recipes at www.PorkBeInspired.com then head to Publix for your ingredients. I am going to share a few recipes that jumped out which are perfect for game day parties OR every day meals! While boneless pork loin chops are NOT Publix’s featured pork this week, I decided to use this cut since it is a healthy option and ties in with the “Good And Good For You” theme.

Check out what you can use pork loin chops for (warning: get ready to drool)!

For instance, how about a Game Day Pork and Chile Wrap? Sounds amazing, huh?

Or a Stuffed Pork, Cheddar and Apple Panini?

The final game day idea I’ll leave you with is this: Thai Lettuce Wraps With Satay Pork Strips!

I have to be honest, I would make all of these! The recipes seem easy and are bursting with flavor! But the reality of it is, we are a family of three and have no game day party plans. My first choice was to make the lettuce wraps; however, my family out voted me two-to-one for the stuffed pork, cheddar and apple panini!

Here is the full recipe so you can give it a try! Prep time is 10 minutes, actual cook time is 15 minutes (so you will have this masterpiece complete in under 30 minutes)!

Stuffed Pork, Cheddar and Apple Panini

8 boneless pork loin chops, cut 1/4-inch thick and trimmed (10 to 12 ounces total)
4 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
Nonstick cooking spray
8 slices country wheat bread, 1/2-inch thick
3 tablespoons margarine, softened
1 granny smith apple, cored and sliced 1/8-inch thick
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, reduced-fat (made with 2% milk/fat free), thinly sliced

In a small bowl, combine apricot preserves and mustard. Set aside.

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes or until internal temperature of pork reaches 145 degrees F., turning pork chops over halfway through cooking. Remove from pan and set aside 3 minutes.

Drain pan of juices and scrape bits from bottom of pan with metal spatula. Wipe pan dry with paper towels..

To assemble sandwiches, spread one side of each slice of bread with about 1 teaspoon margarine. Place bread slices, buttered sides down on clean cutting board. Spread unbuttered sides with apricot-mustard mixture. On half of the bread slices, layer pork, apple and cheese. Place remaining bread slices on top, buttered sides up, to form sandwiches.

Meanwhile, preheat skillet over medium heat. Place the 2 sandwiches in skillet without a Panini press. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Repeat cooking remaining 2 sandwiches.

Makes 4 servings

*To cook sandwiches using an electric Panini grill, preheat grill according to manufacturer’s directions. Place sandwich(s) on grill; lower top of grill and grill for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

What an easy recipe! I opted to use my stove top instead of panini maker because I wanted the cheese really gooey (almost like a grilled cheese) and the bread toasty! I also used wheat bread since that is our favorite. While at Publix, I forgot to purchase the apricot preserves and instead used Annie’s Naturals Organic BBQ Sweet & Spicy Sauce. The sauce was a perfect compliment to the apples and cheese!

I sliced the pork loin chops in half prior to cooking and also trimmed the fat. Since the pork is so thin, be careful not to overcook it.

A snapshot of the ingredients used:

Drum roll please….here is my version of the Stuffed Pork, Cheddar and Apple Panini.

One more close-up!

This was a hit, very tasty! My husband came back for seconds. You should give this a try, you won’t be disappointed.

To see recipes from other “Good and Good For You” challenge bloggers, you can follow @AllAboutPork on Twitter and search the hashtag #Publix4Pork.

* Disclosure: Thanks to The Motherhood and Publix, I received gift cards to purchase my recipe ingredients.  I was also compensated for my time and efforts to share my experience. All opinions are 100% mine.

Tampa park welcomes another baby giraffe that will become part of the herd by spring!

TAMPA, Fla. (February 3, 2012) – Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a new baby female reticulated giraffe on Monday, January 27, 2011. At 6 foot, 2 inches tall and weighing approximately 176 pounds, the newborn is the calf of father, Jafari and mother, Cupid. This is Jafari’s second calf, and cupid’s fifth.

This new addition brings the park’s reticulated giraffe population to 19. Exactly one month to the day before this most recent birth, another female in the herd, Tesa, gave birth to Jafari’s first calf, which was also female.

The new mother and baby are currently in an area out of guest view so they can be closely monitored by zoo staff to ensure the baby is nursing and growing properly. The duo will join the other animals on the Serengeti Plain in about three months.

A reticulated giraffe’s gestation period is approximately 15 months, and the new baby will nurse for about one year. This birth is part of a successful long-term breeding program at Busch Gardens. The term “reticulated” refers to the giraffe’s net-like pattern of spots.

Busch Gardens’ 65-acre Serengeti Plain is a naturalistic habitat featuring a diverse population of free-roaming African animals including giraffe, zebra, white rhinoceros, eland antelope and several other species of hoof stock and birds.

You can view these amazing animals from the Serengeti Express, the Skyride or on a Serengeti Safari, an open-truck tour during which you can hand-feed reticulated giraffes and get up-close with the other animals on the plain.

Now through February 8, spend $100 on groceries and receive a free $10 Publix gift card!

For full details and to print your coupon found in the weekly flyer, click here!

Host: Mother’s Against Drunk Driving of Central Florida

Date: February 6, 2012

Time: 6:30PM-8:00PM

Location: Orlando City Hall Rotunda, 400 South Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

Complete event details can be found here. MADD is also hosting a 5k walk on April 21, 2012 in Baldwin Park!

Join us February 6th at 6:30 pm at the Orlando City Hall Rotunda for food, fun, and prizes! Anyone who attends the kickoff that registers prior to or at the kick off will be entered into a drawing where you could win a Walk Like MADD duffle bag, Walk Like MADD hat, or our grand prize of a $50 Publix Gift Card!

We would love for you to attend and celebrate with us if possible and bring out anyone who might be interested in participating in the walk. For anyone who hasn’t registered for the walk yet, we will have registration forms for the walk at the kick-off (registration cost is $20), or registration for the walks is available online at www.walklikemadd.org/centralflorida.

If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Hall at Melissa.Hall@MADD.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

GET THE LATEST UPDATES FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA WALK LIKE MADD 2012

Walk Like MADD, MADD’s signature walk, is a fun, community-driven 5K walk that raises funds and saves lives. According to the Traffic Crash Statistics Report 2010 presented by Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the counties that MADD Central Florida Affiliate serves (Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia) saw alcohol related injuries decrease in 2010 by 17.57%, alcohol related crashes decrease in 2010 by 17.39%, and alcohol related fatalities decrease in 2010 by 7.56%. While we are encouraged that all of these areas saw a decrease, that meant that in 2010 the counties that MADD Central Florida Affiliate serves still had 2,123 alcohol related injuries, 3,198 alcohol related crashes, and 172 alcohol related fatalities. Help us bring all of those numbers to ZERO by participating in our 1st Annual Central Florida Walk Like MADD 5k event!

BANDS, BREW & BBQ FESTIVAL AT SEAWORLD ORLANDO 

 Now Includes Saturdays and Sundays, February 11 through March 4

SeaWorld Orlando’s Bands, Brew & BBQ festival is twice as fun this year when the park hosts rockin’ concerts Saturdays AND Sundays on Feb. 11-12, 18-19, 25-26, and March 3-4. That’s four weekends of smokin’ hot bands, sizzling BBQ from your favorite local restaurants and SeaWorld’s very own culinary team, plus a thirst-quenching beer garden and amazing atmosphere.

Bands, Brew & BBQ is included with park admission. And the best way to experience this festival is with a Fun Card where you pay for a day’s admission and come back all year – with no blackout dates – to experience all of SeaWorld’s remarkable events.

This year’s awesome line-up features top artists in classic rock and country music including a side stage showcasing local bands.  For those who want to show off their line dancing and boot scootin’ skills, a DJ will be spinning music to satisfy movers and shakers of all levels.

Concert times are at 4 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday, February 11:  Foreigner

Sunday, February 12:  Gary Allan

Saturday, February 18:  Trace Adkins

Sunday, February 19:  Kenny Rogers

Saturday, February 25:  Doobie Brothers

Sunday, February 26:  Ronnie Dunn

Saturday, March 3:  Sara Evans

Sunday, March 4:  Scotty McCreery

This year beer lovers will rejoice with our “brew”-licious Beer Sampler.  Hoist your mugs in our thirst-quenching beer garden that showcases nearly 50 craft beers from domestic and international breweries.

A haze of sweet-smelling BBQ smoke will fill the air as SeaWorld’s culinary team serves up a cornucopia of all things BBQ including the authentic Homemade Beef Jerky and bodacious Famous BBQ Spare Rib Platter.  In addition, favorite local restaurants will be on hand serving BBQ foods tendered to perfection.

For those who want to feel like a rock star there are VIP and Elite VIP ticket packages available. Guests who take advantage will enjoy the best seats in the house, mouth-watering food and a unique experience that they’ll never forget as they get up-close and personal with some of today’s hottest classic rock and country music performers.

Regular, single-day SeaWorld admission is $81.99 for adults and $73.99 for children ages 3-9.  The Fun Card is valid from the date of purchase and good throughout all of 2012 with no blackout dates.

Fun Cards are available at the front gate, online at SeaWorldOrlando.com or by calling 1-888-800-5447. Event dates, times and artists are subject to change. Performances are included with any daily admission or annual pass. Concert seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Concert dates and artists are subject to change.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates 10 parks across the U.S. including SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio; Busch Gardens parks in Tampa, Fla. and Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove and Aquatica in Orlando; Sesame Place near Philadelphia, Pa.; and water parks Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country USA in Williamsburg. 

The 10 parks play host to 25 million guests each year and employ 26,000 people nationwide. To learn more, visit SeaWorldParksandEntertainment.com or call toll-free 1-888-800-5447. Additionally, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment created the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a non-profit, private charitable foundation committed to supporting wildlife and habitat conservation, research, education and animal rescue programs worldwide. Learn more at SWBG-ConservationFund.org.

I’m finally back in the swing of things, so we are on our regular fun schedule again…which includes visiting the playground regularly! Here are a few photos from our adventures this week!

On February 4, popular kid-favorite entertainers Choo-Choo Soul will be performing at SeaWorld Orlando’s “Just For Kids” festival!

Show times are at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. and are INCLUDED with park admission.

Take a look at the video they recorded exclusively for SeaWorld’s Facebook fans!

At Discovery Cove in Orlando, Halid Shokunbi took the plunge and proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Kyla Brown, while 14-feet underwater during the new SeaVenture experience.

Both from the Chicago area, Shokunbi popped the question in a most unique way — surrounded by schools of exotic fish and velvety rays gliding overhead.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, there’s nothing more unique than celebrating with dolphins in a tropical paradise as part of Discovery Cove’s Special Occasions Packages.

Discovery Cove is part of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, based in Orlando, with more than 21,000 employees nationwide. The other parks include: SeaWorld and Aquatica in Orlando; Busch Gardens Africa and Adventure Island in Tampa; Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va., and Sesame Place near Philadelphia. For more information on multi-park tickets and vacation planning tips, guests may visit WorldsofDiscovery.com or call (800) 327-2424. 

Learn more at Discovery Cove’s website or call 1-877-557-7404.

Check out this new commercial featuring a true Medifast success story. No, this person is NOT a celebrity or actress, instead she is a normal person just like me and you. Her name is Jessica Westmoreland and she has lost 85 lbs with Medifast AND has kept it off for 3 years! Not only has Medifast helped Jessica become healthy, but she is also an athlete, opened her own law firm, and became engaged! She is a true example of how you can “become yourself” with Medifast!

Check out Jessica’s new Medifast commerical on YouTube!

This is so inspiring! I am already seeing beautiful results from using Medifast in such a short amount of time (19 lbs off in 30 days, I am more than halfway to my goal weight already)! It’s not just about the weight loss for me, it’s about gaining confidence and relearning healthy eating habits. I cannot wait to go shopping for new cute clothing instead of hiding in my normal, comfortable “mom” clothes! I am also hopeful that my knee pain will decrease as the weight continues to come off.

Here are two of my Medifast buddies sharing their inspiring journey. I encourage you to check out these specific blog posts! Stephanie is in the maintenance phase while Kelly is almost to her 100 lb weight loss goal! These two are true inspirations!

• I Was. I Am. by Stephanie at The Adventures of Goober Grape & Monkey Man
• I Still Think by Kelly at The Turnip Farmer

***Stop stressing about your weight! If YOU are ready to shed unwanted pounds QUICKLY and do not want to mess around with counting points, calories or carbs…then this program is for you! It really is that simple! Best part of all, once you achieve your weight loss goal, Medifast has a maintenance program to help you keep the weight off forever!***

Here’s an opportunity for YOU to join Medifast and get free meals!

Last night, we took our son to his very first Orlando Magic game. To say he had a blast is an understatement! The kid sat and cheered for the entire first half. There was no whining, complaining, running around…just a little boy watching the game and cheering nonstop (sometimes for the wrong team, but that’s ok)! At half time, we let him stretch his legs at Stuff’s Magic Castle (an amazing playground at the Amway Center)! He was sad we lost, but asked if we could go again…so it was a hit!

The previous day, we visited the Monster Jam at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. He was AMAZED by the monster trucks and wanted to touch all the huge tires! Only thing that disappointed him was that he didn’t get to drive one. He’s SUCH a boy!