Flavor Matters California | Support AB 782

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with FlavorRX to help get the word out to California families about AB 782. 

It is no secret that children do not enjoy taking medication. Parents plead, struggle, and even force-feed their children just to swallow bad-tasting medicines, they often desperately need.

We need your help. Every once in a while a “cause” uncovers itself in our work that we identify as truly important to moms. We see firsthand the effects it has on moms so we decide to toss aside our business hats and embrace it with our hearts.  This is one of those causes. 

 

Late last year, BSM Media began working with FlavorRX, a company that supplies flavoring to pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reed, and many others. Most moms don’t know that you can request for a pharmacist to flavor your children’s medicines to a specific flavor that your child may tolerate easier. With our influencers' social posts, we got the word out among moms that this service of flavoring exists, making it easier for moms to get their children to take medicine.   What we learned in the process is that many parents with chronically ill children rely on medicine flavoring to get their children to cooperate in the daily routine of taking their prescriptions. We also learned that some children can only tolerate particular flavors. Moms like our own, Christian shared her need for medicine flavoring in this video. She needs to be able to flavor her daughter's medicine but soon she may not have the ability to do so in California. 

 

Here’s where we need your help. Recently, California attempted to eliminate medicine flavoring which subsequently takes away a mom’s ability to get prescriptions flavored. I know you would agree that it’s hard enough to have a sick child but then to have local government restrict changing the flavoring just compounds the struggles. 

 

On July 10th, the California Appropriation Committee will be voting on a bill to allow medicine flavoring to remain in pharmacies. We need this bill to get out of committee and move on in the process.  We need to have California moms show their support for AB 782 by submitting a letter to committee members. Head to FlavorMattersCA.com to access the pre-written letter as well as additional information on the bill.

 

Here’s how you can help:

1. If you live in California, please consider clicking here and signing the pre-written letter. It’s quick and easy. 

2. Share this information with friends and family who live in California and ask them to please send in the letter. 

3. Share this information in any Facebook groups that may have California moms in them or ask a California mom to share it in state-specific groups. 

4. If you feel compelled to share on your social media use hashtags #FlavorMattersCA #MomsforFlavor and please link to FlavorMattersCA.com

It’s imperative that we get as many letters sent as possible by July 3rd. I hope you will take a minute to help and demonstrate the power of moms when we come together. 

 

On behalf of moms who rely on flavoring to keep their little ones healthy, we thank you in advance for your help.  

Here is more information from the FlavorMatters website. To lessen this challenge, pharmacists in California have been able to help parents and children skip the medication-time meltdown by adding flavoring to prescription medicines to help "make the medicine go down."

Approximately 6 million children under the age of 11 live in California. These children typically take liquid medications when they are sick. 

300,000 to 500,000 medications are flavored every year in California's pharmacies, without a single reported incident of harm over the past twenty years. 

3,000 California pharmacies currently offer medication flavoring for families and customers. 

Flavored medication is at risk. The California Board of Pharmacy is considering a proposal that would inhibit the state’s more than 5,000 pharmacies from flavoring medication for children, a practice that has been in place for years without any downside or ill effect. To keep flavoring for children’s medications widely available, the California Legislature has introduced Assembly Bill 782 so that most pharmacies in California remain able to offer flavoring to their customers.

Without AB 782, parents in California, who rely on flavoring now, will be forced to resort to home-cooked methods to get the medicine down or, what’s even more likely, kids won’t take their medicine at all. That would be disastrous for children’s health.

Take Action! Please voice your support for AB 782  by submitting the following letter at this link click here, which will automatically be sent to your respective legislator based on your address. (Your personal information will not be used for any other purpose).

You can read the BILL TEXT here. 

Easy Patriotic Jell-O Poke Cake

Have you made a Jell-O Poke Cake before? With the 4th of July weekend upon us and my son's birthday on June 30th, I decided I'd make him a red, white, and blue-themed Jell-O Poke Cake. I already had everything I needed, the only thing I bought was fresh strawberries and blueberries. Feel free to scroll to the bottom straight to the recipe, although I would love it if you read this entire post. 

Fun fact, Jell-O Poke cakes were first made around the 1970s when Jell-O made an advertisement to increase their sales. I would say that was smart advertising because they are still popular all these decades later, in 2023. It also goes to show the impact of advertising and marketing. Something you may not know about me, is many years ago I worked for a local newspaper. Fast forward to 2014, I started my blog and I am very active in social media marketing. I know social media marketing and influencers are a newer form of advertising. I often think brands are too focused on the immediate return, they want to know how many views did it get in seven days, and they want to know all your engagement rates and insights. I think they too often forget that it is about the long haul. 

As a brand you shouldn't be so focused on the immediate to see if it was a good investment, the fact of the matter is that Instagram Reel, TikTok Post, or static posts will live on and produce fruit for many years to come. I personally will search for a certain product or service I once saw on social media oftentimes, many months later, or even years later. Do you know how many times, I think "Where was that place they vacationed or visited?" I frequently save recipe Reels and TikTok's, for next year's holiday. Oftentimes I will save a post featuring a local restaurant or place I want to take my family, to later visit. So when a brand collaborates with an influencer for a sponsored post I know that is well worth the investment and I am not just saying that because this is what I do, I also use social media as a search engine in my personal life. 

In the same vein, I hope brands and people realize why influencers charge. A lot of time goes into creating a Reel or TikTok. You have to shoot the content, then edit the content, then post and actively participate on the social media platform in comments, replies, and stories to get that content in front of people. There is also the investment we make into nice cameras, upgraded phones with quality cameras, lighting equipment, and the list goes on. I often hear people say that it would be so easy to create content, and I also hear from people once they actually try to grow their social media platform, once they actually post content and see how much work goes into getting engagement, that is when they realize how much work goes into it. They realize how it takes consistency over a long period of time before you start seeing your work pay off. 

I think the term influencer often gets a bad name because of what some influencers charge or who they work with and the list goes on. I think people, followers, if you will often forget that they started somewhere, they did FREE content for months, years, and many times still do FREE content. It is not all about the money, some of us really do love blogging, really do love creating content on social media, we love the art, we love the process, and we love learning about photography, lighting, and framing a shot. Social media platforms are constantly changing and adding features and then we have to learn how to implement those features. 

Another thing I often hear from people who are just starting out blogging or posting social media content as a business, is they think their idea, recipe, or small shop product, already exists so why should they even try. I always encourage them that what they post may be similar to someone else, but it is going to be different because they will add their voice and their style. I am sure you have stumbled across plenty of Jell-O Poke Cake posts and they didn't go into advertising and social media marketing in any way. 

While I do believe in giving credit to a content creator if you are using their exact recipe, that is the right thing to do. Even if you are going to change it up a bit, it is very kind to tag the one who inspired you to make it, there are some recipes or ideas that you just simply can't pick one creator, because there are so many. There are also so many recipes that who really knows who the original creator is for example a basic taco recipe or enchiladas. What about a Jell-O Poke Cake Recipe, there are thousands or even millions of posts. When you see someone share a popular recipe, be kind, and support their love of baking, creating, and sharing. A simple that looks yummy comment is so greatly appreciated. Or a great idea I'm going to make that this weekend too!

When I first started this post I didn't intend on sharing all of that, but that is another thing I love about blogging and creating content, it is a fun creative outlet that can start in one place and end up someplace completely different than what you first thought. Thank you for reading all of that if you did and now I will move on to the Patriotic Jell-O Poke Cake.

JELL-O POKE CAKE RECIPE

What you need:

1 White Box Cake Mix

3 Eggs

1 Cup of Water

1/2 Cup of Oil or Applesauce

1 Berry Blue Jell-O Mix (I used a 6-ounce box, you could use a 3-ounce box)

1 Cherry or Strawberry Jell-O Mix (6-ounce or 3-ounce box)

Icing Ingredients:

16-ounce Tub of Cool Whip softened

8-ounce Cream Cheese softened

1/4 Cup of Sugar

Garnish:

Either patriotic sprinkles or berries to create a flag. I used strawberries and blueberries, but you could also use raspberries and blackberries too. 

Directions:

Make the box cake according to the package directions. Mix the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of oil, and combine.

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish, or whatever baking dish you want to bake it in. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

While the cake is baking prepare your Jell-O. You can prepare according to the package directions. I like to use a little less water than what it calls for. Since I used the 6-ounce size box, it calls for 2 cups of boiling water and 2 cups of cold water. I used 2 cups of boiling water, but only 1 cup of cold water. Set your Jell-O aside on the counter, do not put it in the refrigerator.

Let your cake cook for about 30 minutes. Then poke holes into the cake. I used a metal straw, you can use the handle of a wooden spoon, and you can even use a fork or butter knife if you need to. 

Pour the Jell-O into the holes, I used a medicine syringe, I mostly see people pour it over the cake. Because I used the larger 6-ounce boxes of each color, I knew I would have leftover Jell-O and did not want to drench the entire cake. After using the medicine syringe I had enough Jell-O to make 7 small Jell-O Cups. 

Place the Jell-O-filled cake into the refrigerator for 1 hour and make your icing.

You could just use cool whip alone, but I wanted to doctor it up a bit. So used a 16-ounce tub of cool whip, one block of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup of sugar. I would have left the sugar out if I was just eating it, I thought it tasted fine, and plus you are going to eat it with sweet Jell-O and sweet cake, but my kids tasted it and wanted it sweeter so I added 1/4 cup of sugar and blend those three together. Then put the icing over the Jell-O Cake and chill for 3-4 hours.

You could leave the cake as is with just the cool whip or you could use patriotic sprinkles to garnish it. I used strawberries and blueberries to make a flag. Slice your strawberries and arrange your patriotic flag design. I've also seen others use raspberries and blackberries. Use what you have! That is one thing I love about cooking, baking, and creating, is you can totally have fun with it and improvise using what you have. 

This Jell-O Cake was very easy to make and I love how pretty it looks with the red and blue Jell-O. This would be a great dessert to make on this 4th of July weekend, or Pin this post on Pinterest to remind you to make it next Memorial Day weekend. 

As always if you would like to see this Jell-O Poke Cake in video form, check out our TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. I truly appreciate every one of you that reads my blog posts, and thank you for every like, comment, and share. It is because of your faithful support of my little creative outlet that it has turned into a nice little business for our family. 

Broadway at Music Circus 2023 Sacramento, CA

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets, in exchange for my honest opinion. Although I receive this benefit, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was invited to a preview night of Broadway Music Circus to see Cinderella. I was able to bring two of my kids, which was exciting for them, they have never been to Music Circus. Whenever they have a family-friendly show available I encourage you to take your kids, anytime you can expose your children to the arts, I think it will have a lasting impact on them. 

2023 is the 71st Broadway at Music Circus Season, which is pretty amazing! I have not been to a Music Circus event since 2019, they did have a 2022 season, but I did not make it out to one of those shows. Photography and taking videos are not allowed during the performance, but you can watch video highlights from each season here. They have a great lineup this season with Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Music Man, The Adams Family, Ragtime, and Rent. Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance as these shows do sell out.

My children and I thoroughly enjoyed Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella. The cast did an amazing job of singing and kept us laughing. I am always impressed with the props and costumes. In Cinderella, the costume changes were truly magical. The entire program was about two and a half hours, including the twenty-minute intermission. When you go to a show be sure to take photos before finding your seats. Look for the photo backdrop pictured below, they often have fun props. In the photo below my son is holding Cinderella's glass slipper and I put on one of the tiaras, so fun!

Broadway At Music Circus is nationally recognized as a mecca for musical theatre’s finest practitioners and most devout audiences.  No other professional theatre offers the same ingredients: the intimacy created by its round stage and seating configuration; the variety of its programming, from Golden Age classics to the most recent Broadway hits; the quality evidenced in all of its production design elements; the depth of talent displayed by every performer that takes its stage.  Combined, these ingredients become a fail-safe recipe for joy and inspiration.

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is a Broadway at Music Circus Premiere.  The Tony Award-winning musical from the creators of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and SOUTH PACIFIC continues to delight audiences of all ages.  A contemporary take on the classic tale, it features some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago.” 

Broadway Music Circus is an exhilarating musical theatre experience that has taken place every summer, it is a Sacramento tradition!  They do a wonderful job of mixing comedy, music, and dancing. During the Cinderella show, they even found a way to mention our beloved Sacramento Kings. They are doing a fantastic job of developing the next generation and fostering the current generation of talent.  I love that the patrons, donors, staff, and volunteers of Sacramento are keeping the musical theatre alive. Each summer the Broadway At Music Circus series features new productions of classic musicals with some of the most talented professional actors available, Tony-winning Broadway veterans, and stars of touring Broadway, film, and TV. The theatre-in-the-round setting puts audiences so close to the action that they feel like part of the show. It’s been a summer tradition in Sacramento for generations.

Here are the dates for this season's shows, hurry and purchase your tickets because shows sell out. Shows run Tuesdays through Sundays and each show is only available for one week.

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella - June 27th through July 2nd, 2023

The Music Man - July 11th through July 16th, 2023

The Adams Family - July 25th through July 30th, 2023

Ragtime - August 8th through August 13th, 2023

Rent - August 22nd through August 27th, 2023

You can save up to 25% on Tickets with the new discount program. The more shows you see, the more you save! For 2023 Ticket prices visit here.

Did you know they have a $35 under 35 club?  Although I don’t make the cut, this is a great deal for those of you who are 18-35, you can purchase up to two tickets at $35 each for select shows. It is free to join the club you must join in order to have access to the $35 tickets when they become available. By joining there is no obligation to purchase. To join sign up click here.

After you’ve joined the $35 Under 35 Club, you will receive email updates approximately 1-2 weeks prior to each show telling you when and how you can purchase tickets. You will be able to call or visit the Box Office or buy tickets online.

After purchasing, your tickets will be held at the Broadway Sacramento Box Office, 1419 H Street in downtown Sacramento. Your tickets will be available for pickup on the day of the show at the Broadway Sacramento Box Office. When you pick up tickets you will need a valid ID showing your birth date so the Box Office can confirm your eligibility for $35 Under 35 Club tickets.

You can also save when dining Downtown at select restaurants. Each season enjoy 10% off at several local participating restaurants when you present your same-day Broadway At Music Circus or Broadway On Tour show tickets before or after the show! 

Here is a list of participating restaurants:

Smic's Sip & Quip, 1200 K Street #8

Brasserie du Monde, 1201 K Street #100

Cafeteria 15L, 1116 15th Street

Public House Downtown, 1132 16th Street

Flatstick Pub, 630 K Street #120

Capital Garage, 1500 K Street

Frog & Slim, 1420 16th Street

The Porch 1815 K Street

Roscoe's Bar & Burgers, 2007 K Street

We were invited as a Sacramento Broadway Ambassador from Sacramento Top 10 and Get on the Map, thank you to Julie who created the #SacramentoGoingPlaces community check out her sites to find great Sacramento events, restaurants, and more! You can find her on Instagram, and Twitter.

Follow Broadway Sacramento on Social Media at:

FB: @BroadwaySacramento and @BroadwayAtMusicCircus

Twitter: @SacMusicals

Instagram: @SacMusicals

Broadway at Music Circus is held at the UC Davis Health Pavilion

1419 H Street, Sacramento, CA
Website: BroadwaySacramento

Parking:

• Memorial Garage: 801 14th St (between H & I Streets)
• 1500 K St (between 15th & 16th Streets)
• 1151 14th St (between L & K Streets)
• We reserved our parking at Reserve.SacPark.org, and we parked at the Memorial Garage it was a really quick and easy walk to the UC Davis Health Pavilion, literally right across the street. Parking was $7.50.

While Cinderella was a fun show to go with my kids, I must also mention Broadway at Music Circus is such a great idea for a date night and a great idea for a girls' night out. Over the many years, my husband and I have made it a date night. I also have attended shows with my mom and sister and at other times friends. So grab your besties or your honey for a fun night Downtown!

Homemade Creamy Hummus Recipe

Do you love hummus? It is one of my favorite snacks! Here is an easy recipe for homemade hummus. This is a basic recipe for creamy hummus, you can always change it up by adding more spices, or roasted red pepper, you could add some avocado and cilantro. I love cilantro hummus! You could add some pumpkin puree, you could add beets, use this basic recipe as your base and have fun trying new flavors.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup of Tahini

1 can of Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans

Minced Garlic

Juice of 1 Lemon

Salt, Paprika, and Cumin

2 Tablespoons of Chickpea Can Liquid

Fresh Parsley to Garnish

Drain and rinse your chickpeas, and save the liquid from the can. I have seen others boil the chickpeas, and even try to peel off the outside of the chickpeas. Honestly, in my opinion, that is not needed. This hummus is so creamy. If you want to see a video of it I have a video on my TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

I use my NuWave blender to make this, but you can use a food processor or even a small Ninja Bullet blender, use whatever you have.

First blend the 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/4 Cup of Tahini, and Minced garlic, I used two cloves, a sprinkle of Salt, Paprika, and Cumin, and the juice of a lemon. I found this Tahini at my local Walmart. You could add pepper, my husband doesn't like pepper so I don't use it often, or I'll add it to my serving. 

Once blended, add in your chickpeas, two ice cubes, and two tablespoons of the liquid from the chickpeas can. I don't know the science behind adding the ice cubes, I have just seen other people do that and that is how I have made it. I have never tried it without the ice cubes, because I love how creamy and delicious this turns out, it is not watery and is the perfect consistency. Blend everything into creamy goodness, scrape down the sides, taste, and see if you need more salt or any other spices. I also like to add a sprinkle of cumin, it gives it a smoky taste. 

Plate the creamy hummus and drizzle on top more Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Paprika, and chopped Parsley. I love eating this creamy hummus with the thin, crunchy pretzel crackers by Snack Factory, we get them at Costco or Sam's Club. If you plan on eating this hummus with salty pretzels, remember not to add too much salt to your hummus. We also love to eat this with sliced cucumbers and pita bread, I even have used warm tortillas, when I didn't have pita bread. 

This one-can recipe is perfect for our family of six to snack on, there are usually no leftovers. We recently had a party and doubled the recipe and it was plenty for about six families. 

FREE Chick-fil-A Rewards Code Moo Game

Right now and for the next six weeks, you can receive FREE Chick-fil-A food for playing the Code Moo Game. This is a nice treat, especially since they have not done the Cow Appreciation Days since 2020. Here are some pics from previous Cow Appreciation Days. We loved seeing everyone show up in their cow costumes. 

This is also perfect during summer to take the kids to Chick-fil-A for lunch. You do have to be 13 years or older to play. I am happy to give my nuggets to my youngest and order myself a Chick-fil-A sandwich! 

You can play the game click here, on your mobile device. This week the game had some questions related to locations, every Wednesday a new set of clues is given. You answer the questions, and hopefully get them right, I am not sure what happens if you miss one. After answering the questions the reward was added to my Chick-fil-A App under Rewards. 

Here are the rewards for the next six weeks, under the official rules it does state there are 2,500,000 available rewards each week.

1. Chick-fil-A 8-Count Nugget

2. Medium Fountain Drink

3. Chick-fil-A Medium Waffle Fry

4. Chick-fil-A Medium Sunjoy

5. Chick-fil-A Brownie

6. Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

All rewards expire six days from the day they are rewarded, to play visit Moo.Chick-fil-A.com.