LITTLE ROCK — It’s no secret that our pets are often as loved and spoiled as our children. We have a yellow lab/shepherd mix named Daisy that we adopted from the Sherwood Animal Shelter a couple of years ago. And while she’s not quite as spoiled as my son, Alex, she ranks a close second.
The High Hopes for Pets Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to provide support for those who are dedicated to the prevention of homelessness for companion pets. It was started by animal lover Paula Etchison, who came up with the idea of birthday and celebration cupcakes for our canine friends.
Etchison is now marketing cupcake kits for dogs in Celebration, Birthday and Party Packs that contain cake mix, miniature silicone baking cups and party tips. They range from $10 to $15, and are only available at HighHopesForPets.com. Three-and-a-half percent from every sale goes to the foundation, and they disburse the funds to animal care groups.
The company also sells dog treats in peanut butter and apple, peanut butter and banana, and peanut butter and carrot flavors. They’re sold in 11-ounce bags that cost $9.
And cat lovers, don’t feel slighted. There are plans for cat products as well.
For years I’ve used Betty Crocker Hamburger, Tuna and Chicken Helper products when I’ve needed a quick and tasty meal. The company is working to be a bit more nutrition conscious with its products, so I have to give them credit for that. I recently tried one of the new whole grain products and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and quality of the finished dish.
The Whole Grain Helpers come in lemon and herb, and honey mustard for use with chicken, and cheeseburger macaroni and stroganoff hamburger flavors. I made the honey mustard version and it was delicious. The whole grain rice cooked up firm and the seasonings were nice, but did not overwhelm with too much mustard, which I feared.
They’ve also got a relatively new Asian Helpers line of beef fried rice, chicken fried rice and Mongolian style beef. I tried the beef fried rice and it was pretty good as well.
Betty Crocker Helper products are sold at most major supermarkets for about $2. For nutrition information and ideas for creative additions, go to BettyCrocker.com.
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Food, Pages 35 on 02/23/2011