Oh Joy … it’s that Holiday time of year again, my favorite time of year! ‘Tis the season of family, fun and FOOD! Food is the cornerstone of the Holiday Season and usually brings the family & fun along with it!

But let’s face it, it’s not the most waistline friendly time of the year! That’s why whenever there’s a chance, any chance at all, to enjoy a delicious, healthy and figure friendly treat, you take it!

Salsa is that treat and so much more! It’s a refrigerator staple at my house all year long and fits in well with our healthy and active lifestyles. But I’ve never had Salsa quite like this one! This salsa is different because the veggies are grilled, slightly blistered and charred, for a one-of-a-kind deep & smoky flavor in every bite!

WOW … what a HUGE difference that grill makes to those veggies! This is easily the most flavorful salsa I’ve ever, EVER had. But what really takes this salsa to the next level of flavor intensity is the Del Monte’s Petite Cut® Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles! They add the perfect amount of spice balanced by the most succulent, sweet tomatoes … turning average Salsa into a succulent snack experience! And this is one healthy snack you can feel good about sharing with your friends and family!

All of Del Monte’s canned Fruits, Vegetables & Tomatoes contain similar nutrients to fresh. There are NO added artificial colors or flavors, so I feel good about feeding it to my daughter! They’re also packed at the peak of ripeness with nearly 90% canned the very same day in order to lock in freshness!

All of Del Monte’s Fruits, Veggies & Tomatoes are grown in the best regions for consistently high-quality product, the majority of which are grown in the good old United States of America. How great is that?!

In a matter of minutes you can have a nice, big bowl of the freshest, healthiest and tastiest Salsa ever to hit your table! Make it fancy served with some Fish or Chicken, or fun and casual with a big bowl of chips!

However you serve it up, it’s a delicious way to counter-balance some of that holiday over-indulging we all do! It’s so good you won’t miss one saved calorie!

What you’ll need:

1 Can Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

1 Bell Pepper

4 Medium Tomatoes

1 Small Onion

1 Bunch Cilantro

2-3 Garlic Cloves (to taste)

1 Jalapeno (not shown, optional)

2 tbsp. Sugar

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

A grill pan

A Food Processor

Directions: Spray the grill pan with non-stick spray and get it nice and hot. Place all of the Veggies (not the canned tomatoes or cilantro) onto the grill and char them up on both sides; they smell ahh-mazing …

Add all of the grilled veggies, the can of Del Monte Tomatoes, sugar, S&P and the bunch of cilantro into the food processor …

Pulse until it’s well blended …

Serve it chilled or at room temp, with some fresh veggies and/or crispy chips! ~Enjoy!

And now for the AMAZING $100.00 VISA Gift Card Giveaway! Who couldn’t use an extra $100.00 right about now?!

Simply comment below and tell us about meals that make you feel good and are also good for you!

Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post “b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “”#SweepstakesEntry””; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post” c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. **The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 11/19/2012 – 12/21/2012

Be sure to visit Del Monte’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

And like Del Monte’s Facebook page for additional opportunities to win prizes and learn about their wonderful products. ~GOOD LUCK!