Our stores are closed today (although, pssst, you can still buy gift cards online in case you forgot someone!) so the 250+ employees of Let’s Dish! can spend the day with their loved ones.  After shopping, chopping, prepping and cleaning all year long, here’s hoping they get some well-deserved pampering from people close to them.

And to our customers, many thanks for staying with us through a challenging 2008.  With 4+ years under our belts, we’ve made many wonderful friends.  We love seeing you every month, and are proud of the important role you allow us to play in your busy lives.

As for the future, we’ll keep working a little harder… to make your lives a little easier.  Thanks to you — employees and customers — our business is strong.  As a company, and as a country, we’re not out of the woods yet.   But as long as we keep getting notes like this one we know we’ll be OK:

“I was very impressed with the meals and the staff at ‘Let’s Dish’.  I do not like to cook, but ‘Let’s Dish’ provides a fun atmosphere in which to make healthy meals for my family.  It is also more economical than going to the grocery store.    I will definitely visit ‘Let’s Dish’ once a month.” - Ellen S, first-time disher, Fairfax VA.

We look forward to continuing to serve Ellen and all the other dishers out there.  Just not today.  Today we’re with our families.

Wishing you all the best,

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You see, at this school there’s a very special first grade teacher. She’s the kind that you remember when you’re all grown up as one of your favorite teachers. Well, this special teacher has breast cancer, and she’s fighting for her life. She’s scared and exhausted but she comes to school every day and does amazing things with and for the children.  I was brought there before the entire faculty and administration to share the news with this first grade teacher, Susan Marrinan, her husband and her daughter that she was named the recipient of Pink Dish!-For-A-Year, a year of free meals from Let’s Dish! as part of Let’s Dish!’s Pink Dish Campaign.

In October, 50 local families were nominated by their communities as part of our Pink Dish! Campaign.  Thanks to the generosity of Let’s Dish! customers and staff, all nominated families will receive healthy, convenient meals to help them face the challenges of a breast cancer diagnosis.  And, Susan, who was nominated by 150 separate people, learned that she was going to get a free Let’s Dish! order every month for an entire year. That’s 96 dinners to feed her family of three. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Jill Malinchock, school secretary at Little River Elementary and Susan’s colleague, shared with us, “These meals will relieve the stress and guilt of wanting to provide dinners for the family but being too tired to be able to do it. It will be a big help for Susan and her family to have healthy fresh meals when they need them most.”  Jill, who along with several other teachers as well friends and family, organized the nomination push for Susan, added, “When Susan receives these meals each month she will be reminded how much we love and honor her and how much we appreciate what she does for our children.”

That was one of the highlights of my professional career and my life.  I am proud to work for a company that makes such a difference in our communities.  And I was delighted to be the bearer of such wonderful news.

RELATED LINKS:

- A Pink Dish! Success Story, Thanks To You
- WMAR Tells the Pink Dish! Story
- Elizabeth Dishes Pink on WUSA9
- The Pink Dish! Campaign website: www.letsdish.com/pinkdish

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Here are some of the principles I always keep in mind:

Fresh, high-quality ingredients:  Whether it’s our all-natural chicken breasts or ice-packed, never-frozen salmon, I’m always on the lookout for top-of-the-line ingredients.  We offer whole grain pastas, pitas and brown rice.  Not only do they taste better, they’re better for you.  Our vegetables?  Always colorful and picked fresh.  Ifwe need to freeze them, we use the “individual quick freeze” method, which retains optimal flavor and nutritional value.  

Information and balance:  We want you to have the data for good decision-making.  That’s why we make all nutritional information as accessible as possible, including fat, calories, Weight Watchers POINTS, etc.  Each menu includes at least 4 meals that meet American Heart Association recommendations for heart-healthy living.  That said, we always offer our Decadent Molten Chocolate Cakes too, because, a-hem, nobody’s perfect.  In any case, you’ll find all the info you need through the “i” icon on our monthly menu, or if logged in, on the My Cookbook page.  

Portion control:  At a time when portion sizes are inflating as fast as waistlines, our ”dishes” generally provide 6 standard servings as stipulated by FDA guidelines.   Our chicken breasts, for example, are 5oz each… which is what the government recommends.  If you divide your “full” meals into 6 portions (e.g., 5 dinners and 1 leftover for lunch), you know you’re eating the “right” amount of food.

Convenience:  What does convenience have to do with health?  A lot.  Families often make their worst health-related decisions when they feel trapped by their busy schedule (5pm piano lessons, 6pm soccer, 8pm PTA… sound familiar?).  By making our healthy meals convenient too, we enable good decisions even when time is short and the drive-through is beckoning.

I am proud of how Let’s Dish! allows busy families to eat right, on a budget, with limited time.   If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the “comments” section below.

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YouTube Direktvideo link

Pink Dish! has gotten plenty of publicity this fall. Thanks to all the media outlets who have chosen to feature us. If you enjoyed the video above, please catch Elizabeth on Channel 9 as well!

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Watch the video to learn more about Pink Dish!, our special entree this month, and how you can get involved in this year’s campaign …

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