Food Lion Frugal Cook-off

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Food Lion.

Having five kids, my mother was the master at ordering groceries for a large family on a very limited and tight budget. Looking back I'm still amazed at how she managed to not break the bank on groceries because we ate a lot! And during my early childhood years before my parents split, it was my father who first sparked my passion for cooking. Some of my favorite memories from those years are the cooking lessons he gave us in the kitchen and being glued to our seats watching Food Network the few months we could afford cable.

Thus, it's not a shock that my siblings and I all have a passion for food and cooking. Being in the kitchen helped us to bond and taught us how to work together as a team. In addition, it gave us the opportunity to experiment with our recipes and a greater appreciation for the art of cooking as a whole. Now as a mommy and wife, I become even more passionate not just about being a frugal grocery shopper, but putting together meals that are healthy and meet my family's diet restrictions.

Therefore, I am proud to announce that I will be participating in the 2015 Food Lion Frugal Cook-off on Saturday, August 29th!! The cook-off will be held at the Charlotte Southern Women's Show (Charlotte Convention Center Hall A - 501 South College Street, Charlotte, NC 28202) starting at 11 AM. This cook-off will be a bloggers versus bloggers version of Iron Chef (also one of my father's favorite cooking shows). My team for the cook-off includes Jen of Peanut Butter Runner and Amy from Atta Girl Says. While we're going up against some awesome competitors, we're confident that our "cuisine will reign supreme" when all is said and done in the kitchen arena.

I'm not going to lie, I am a bit nervous about this event. Cooking in your kitchen for the people you love is much easier than cooking for a judging panel, Food Lion reps and in front of a room full of strangers. Not to mention, there will be cameras rolling! We're all feeling the pressure to put our best foot, or should I say feet forward.

Nevertheless, I feel blessed to have received this opportunity. I'm so grateful that Food Lion reached out to me to participate in the Frugal Cook-off. It is my hope that someone in the audience will be inspired by the meals that we create and that they see that it is possible to be a frugal shopper and still feed your family healthy foods. And if you're in the Charlotte area and planning on attending the Southern Women's Show please stop by and cheer us on! Also, I'm giving away 2 tickets and you can enter to win by tweeting:

Going to @SWSCharlotte this Saturday? Come cheer on @YUMMommies, @AttaGirlSays & @jdecurtins in the @FoodLion #FrugalCookoff at 11 AM!!