Our next stop is Greece! From September 1-14, guests can enjoy Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes freshly prepared Greek dishes including the Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and Whole Grain Greek Couscous w/ Feta and Pine Nuts. Looking for some more fun facts to share with the kids? Below is a little extra information about Greece.

• The first Olympic Games were held in Olympia in 776 BC
• Over 1,400 islands make up Greece. Only 169 are inhabited
• There are about 63 different Greek folk dances

Don’t forget to visit www.souplantation.com or www.sweettomatoes.com during your trip. Information and downloads including kids activity sheets for each country with coupons included are available online. In addition, you can share your trip around the world with friends by sending postcards from different countries to friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget about the Greek feast we have at Souplantation/ Sweet Tomatoes starting September 1.

Classic Greek Salad

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Old World Greek FocacciaLemon Greek Penne Pasta — NEW!

Whole Grain Greek Couscous with Feta and Pine Nuts

House-Made Lemon Greek Vinaigrette Dressing — NEW!

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Did you know we serve breakfast on Sundays?

Most guests don’t know we have breakfast every Sunday. When you think of Souplantation/ Sweet Tomatoes, most don’t associate breakfast with our brand because we are all about fresh soups and salads… but on Sunday, we have a little more to offer. Every Sunday morning, guests are lining up to decide on breakfast, lunch or both at their local Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, from 9:00 a.m. – noon our restaurants serves breakfast in addition to all their lunchtime favorites.

Whether you are in the mood for a hot breakfast, cool salad or both, our restaurants satisfy any craving. The menu includes our regular favorites including an expansive salad bar and made-from-scratch soups, plus breakfast treats like scratch-made Zucchini Egg Frittata; freshly made Belgian Waffles; French Toast with Fruit Topping; Potatoes O’Brien, Egg Scramble Focaccia; our own signature Mediterranean Breakfast Pasta with Feta Cheese,  the “to die for” Cinnamon Chip Biscuits with Butter Cream Glaze and much more. Still hungry? We have all the fixins for making your own Breakfast Burritos. YUM!

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Calling all vegetarians! This is by-far one of our most popular soups during the year. Our Asian Ginger Broth is a great, light soup that can be created to your likings with all the veggie toppings and any add-ons you want to include.

We offer sliced green onions, shredded carrots, chopped spinach, sliced mushrooms, wonton Strips and cubed tofu at our soup bar to mix in with the broth. Tell us what your favorite combination is.

Asian Ginger Broth

4 Tablespoons finely minced ginger

3 tablespoons finely minced garlic

2 Tablespoons canola oil

Combine ingredients in a pot and sauté for 5 minutes

6 Tablespoons corn starch

2 cups cold water

Combine ingredients and whisk to dissolve

14 cups water

6 Tablespoons Vegetarian base

(* Vegetarian base – we use Custom brand vegetarian base powder. Substitute with a similar base.)

corn starch mixture

Add ingredients to pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

What is your favorite way to eat the Asian Ginger Broth at Souplantation/ Sweet Tomatoes?

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On Wednesday, August 25, the Brandon Sweet Tomatoes, located at 10017 Adamo Dr. will celebrate its fifteen-year anniversary with a special party complete with an all-day banana split bar for guests.   The event will also serve as a fundraiser for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a non-profit organization with a mission to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. The Brandon Sweet Tomatoes restaurant will donate 10 percent of lunch and dinner sales for the entire day on August 25 to MADD.

Anniversary party guests will enjoy a banana split bar at Sweet Tomatoes featuring soft- serve yogurt, bananas, strawberry and pineapple toppings, various syrups, sprinkles, granola and peanuts to top their banana split creations.  Sweet Tomatoes provides a healthy salad bar full of fresh, seasonal vegetables and tossed salads, made-from-scratch soups, hand-crafted muffins, focaccia and breads and tasty desserts.

For information about Sweet Tomatoes call (813) 661-0803 or visit www.sweettomatoes.com or for information about MADD visit www.madd.org/fl.

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About Sweet Tomatoes

Sweet Tomatoes was founded in 1978 in San Diego and currently operates 115 salad buffet-style restaurants across the western, southern and eastern portions of the United States. Sweet Tomatoes cares about what comes out of guests’ wallets and into their bodies by creating an exceptional, all-you-care-to-eat dining experience with a daily selection of made-from-scratch soups and salads and hand-crafted muffins, focaccia, breads and tasty desserts. By combining high-quality, farm-fresh and scratch-made foods for a fixed price, the restaurants provide guests with the freedom to create their own wholesome meals. The restaurant concept is built around fresh prepared, great-tasting recipes with a salad bar full of seasonal vegetables and tossed salads prepared exhibition-style every 20 minutes. Sweet Tomatoes restaurants are open daily for lunch and dinner. For more information, visit www.sweettomatoes.com.

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Orange Park Sweet Tomatoes General Manager Bryan Butterstein, brought staff and family out to volunteer with Clay County Habitat for Humanity. The day consisted of  painting a rehabbed CCHH Home in Green Cove.

Bryan said it was an opportunity for the business to support other families, to make a difference in people’s lives.  For his staff, it was also an opportunity to show how, as a Clay County business, they can make a change in their community, said Habitat Executive Director Gamble Wright.

Great job Bryan and team!

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TASTE THE WORLD IN 8 WEEKS!!

First stop—Italy! From August 1-15, guests can enjoy Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes freshly prepared Italian dishes including the Three Cheese Tortellini Soup, Classic Antipasto w/Salami Tossed Salad and the famous Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes Focaccia—Italian themed Quattro Fromaggio and Bruschetta of course. And with everyone in back-to-school mode, why not make family dinner time educational by sharing a few fun Italian facts with the kids.  Here are a few:

• The average Italian eats about a half a pound of bread a day, and drinks 26 gallons of wine a year
• Italy’s national dish is pasta (are we surprised?)
• The leaning Tower of Pisa is 8 stories high
• There are seven bells, all tuned to musical scales, in the Tower of Pisa
• The Tower of Pisa weighs 14,453 tons

Before heading out on your international tour visit www.souplantation.com or www.sweettomatoes.com to prepare for the trip. Information and downloads including kids activity sheets for each country with coupons included are available online. In addition, you can share your trip around the world with friends by sending postcards from different countries to friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget about the Italian feast we have at Souplantation/ Sweet Tomatoes for the next week! Here are a few of the Italian Specialties!

• Spicy Sausage & Pasta Soup
• Classical Minestrone Soup — a Guest Favorite!
• Bruschetta Focaccia
• Classic Antipasto with Salami Tossed Salad
• 100% Whole Wheat Sicilian with Feta & Pepperoni Prepared Salad
• Italian White Bean Prepared Salad
• House-Made Italian Vinaigrette with Basil & Romano Dressing — NEW!

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Upcoming passport promotion lets guests enjoy world culture and cuisine without leaving home

Italy, Asia, Greece and Mexico! While the economy may be keeping many families from traveling around the world, this August and September Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes guests are invited on a culinary trip around the world as part of the upcoming passport promotion.

Every two weeks, Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes chefs will cook up international inspired recipes from around the globe. Below are the scheduled stops on this food filled world tour as well as a sneak peak at a few of the freshly prepared dishes guests will get to enjoy at their local restaurant.

“Our passport menu has been a guest favorite for years, so we’re definitely looking forward to another successful world tour,” said Joan Scharff, executive director of brand and menu strategy. “Not only is it a great option for a healthy family dinner, but it’s a fun way to educate children about world cultures and cuisine.”

Before heading out on their international tour, guests can visit www.souplantation.com or www.sweettomatoes.com to prepare for the trip. Information and downloads including kids activity sheets for each country with coupons included are available online. In addition, guests can share their trip around the world by sending postcards from different countries to friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter. And, back by popular demand, flat Sweetie photos are available to download and print so he can join families on their vacation. Guests are encouraged to share their photos with flat Sweetie on the company’s Facebook and Twitter Pages. Guests can follow Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes at www.facebook.com/souplantation and follow Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/souplantation.

About Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes

Celebrating over 30 years, Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes was founded in 1978 in San Diego and currently operates 115 salad buffet-style restaurants across the western, southern and eastern portions of the United States. Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes cares about what comes out of guests’ wallets and into their bodies by creating an exceptional, all-you-care-to-eat dining experience with a daily selection of made-from-scratch soups and salads and hand-crafted muffins, focaccia, breads and tasty desserts. By combining high-quality, farm-fresh and scratch-made foods for a fixed price, the restaurants provide guests with the freedom to create their own wholesome meals. The restaurant concept is built around fresh prepared, great-tasting recipes with a salad bar full of seasonal vegetables and tossed salads prepared exhibition-style every 20 minutes. Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes restaurants are open daily for lunch and dinner and also for a special Sunday Breakfast that features a variety of delicious morning favorites in addition to regular selections. For more information, visit www.souplantation.com or www.sweettomatoes.com.

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Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes announced today that their annual Easter Seals Fundraiser hosted at 20 regional restaurants raised $70,000—the largest amount raised since beginning the annual fundraiser in 2008. The money was raised from the sale of 34,754 bags of homemade chocolate chip cookies at Sweet Tomatoes restaurants in the Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis areas during the month of June. This year’s donation amount brings the three year total to $119,000.

To celebrate this year’s milestone, Sweet Tomatoes will host a check presentation at the Lombard Sweet Tomatoes on Wednesday, July 28 at 10:00 am. Easter Seals staff, volunteers, children and families as well as the Sweet Tomatoes staff will all be in attendance.

“We’re thrilled at the participation we saw in the communities this year. We decided to work with Easter Seals three years ago because it reminded us so much of Sweet Tomatoes in its core values,” said Lesa Pickinpaugh, Director of Operations, Chicago. “They have a passion to serve, exemplify integrity and show their respect for each individual by helping all people with disabilities. In working with Easter Seals, we know our donation will make a difference and benefit families within Sweet Tomatoes communities.”

Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical and mental disabilities, and other special needs. For more than 90 years, we have been offering help and hope to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play in their communities. Support children and adults with disabilities at www.easterseals.com.

The funds raised will benefit seven Easter Seals affiliates, including Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, Easter Seals UCP Heartland, Easter Seals Oregon, Easter Seals Washington, Easter Seals Colorado and Easter Seals Northern Rocky Mountain.

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Celebrating Independence Day is important to all citizens but also means a lot to those that have family serving for our country. It’s thanks to them that we are able to celebrate our freedom. Souplantation was honored to partner with United Service Organization, a non-profit that gives active duty military personnel and their families a “Home Away From Home” where they may watch television, play pool, email friends, read or just relax and hang out.  The 18,000 square foot center offers a monthly  complimentary Tuesday night dinner to active duty military families who have husbands and fathers that are deployed and that are leaving for deployment soon.

Souplantation provided a full meal of the restaurant’s most popular menu items to over 250 women and children who have fathers and husbands away serving for our country on Tuesday, July 6. Souplantation gave mothers and families a day off from cooking and let them enjoy a healthy, wholesome meal. Souplantation was delighted to feed the family members with a nutritious and nourishing meal from our restaurants and hopes to continue working with United Service Organization.

Some of the Military families:

and finished off with our famous chocolate chip cookies:

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Every month I give a recipe that reflects our monthly menu promotion, this month we featured our NEW Summer Tropics Menu. With a very exciting and flavorful menu we thought we would share a great pasta salad that you can make at home perfect for any summer BBQ and party!

Our Penne Pasta with Chicken is surrounded with carrots, cucumbers, celery, and chicken tossed in our refreshing Citrus Vinaigrette accented with subtle flavors of ginger and cilantro. We hope it is a great addition to your main dishes at home!

Penne Pasta w/ Chicken in a Citrus Vinaigrette

(Low-Fat)

CHICKEN PIECES:

½ lb. ½” diced chicken pieces                           Cook chicken in 325 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes.  Cut into ½” pieces.

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COOKING PASTA:

12 cups water                                                            In a pot, bring water and salt to a full boil. Add pasta and

1 tablespoon table salt                                          cook for approximately 10 minutes in boiling water

1 ¼ lbs. penne rigate pasta                                 until al dente (soft, but still firm). Immediately strain pasta

2 tablespoons canola oil                                       and flash cool in cold water. Drain water completely.

Coat pasta with oil to prevent sticking.

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VINAIGRETTE:

6 tablespoons soy sauce                                     Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly to

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar                        combine.

4 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Korean teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 ½ tablespoons orange juice concentrate

1 ½ tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger

1 tablespoon finely minced orange zest

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ASSEMBLY:

2 cups shredded carrots                                                        Combine ingredients and mix to evenly coat with dressing.

1 cup quartered – ¼” diced cucumbers                          Allow to marinate for 2 hours. Season to taste with salt and

1 cup ¼” diced celery                                                             pepper.

½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Vinaigrette

cooked penne rigate pasta

cooked chicken pieces

Yields approximately 12 cups

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