Two contests offer opportunities — one for doing something good for yourself, the other in doing something good for others.
Last week's story on the Golden Door spa recipes likely struck an envious note. Wouldn't it be great if we all could spend a week being pampered and pummeled while creaming, steaming, shaking and baking away excess pounds? If you don't happen to have a cool $6,000 to spend, you can try your luck at winning a spa getaway through Lean Cuisine.
Stouffer's healthy frozen-meals company is launching a "Do Something Good for Yourself" contest to give away 10 free trips to "Destination Lean Cuisine," This is a stay at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Southern California Sept. 4-7, featuring four days of wellness-type activities, worth up to $5,000.
Besides relaxing, winners can practice yoga with a master trainer, create mouth-watering meals with a celebrity chef, and arrange their lives with a professional organizer.
Experts teaching the classes include Art Smith, who has been a private chef for the families of various celebrities and is the author of "Back to the Table"; Rodney Yee, co-director of the Piedmont Yoga Studio and who teaches workshops and retreats worldwide; and Julie Morgenstern, who is the founder and owner of the professional organizing firm Task Masters, which has organized the cluttered homes, offices and schedules of several top companies.
To enter, you need to answer the question, "What good thing do you do for yourself with regards to fitness, nutrition, pampering or life management?" in 250 words or less.
Entries will be judged on appropriateness to theme, an example of how Lean Cuisine plays a role in the solution, appeal to other consumers and originality.
Yeah, it's obvious that the intent is to hype Lean Cuisine products. But if you really want that spa getaway, here's the chance. (Go ahead, be creative — write how you use frozen dinners as a face scrub.)
Submit your entry to LeanCuisine.com by June 15, or mail them to "Do Something Good for Yourself" Contest, P.O. Box 19680, Seattle, WA 98109-1680. For the complete rules, visit LeanCuisine.com.
Now, let's jump to doing something good for others. If you've published a community cookbook this year, you can enter the Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards, which honor outstanding books and the volunteers who compile them. The deadline is Sept. 30. The Tabasco award recognizes the best of the thousands of cookbooks issued every year to raise funds for charities.
Winners receive contributions to their charities — $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, $750 for third place and $500 for six regional winners. Each charitable group entering a book should submit five copies with a completed entry form. Books are judged on layout and design, title, theme, story line, incorporation of regional culinary traditions, recipe content and the group's fund-raising efforts. For an entry form, visit www.Tabasco.com or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards, c/o Hunter Public Relations, 41 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010.
E-MAIL: vphillips@desnews.com