URBANDALE, Iowa - The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) presented home and style expert, Sandra Lee, the star of the Emmy-nominated show “Semi-Homemade Cooking” on the Food Network.

The evening was held at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on July 17, from 6-8 p.m. Sandra Lee prepared a delectable menu of Semi-Homemade® foods using healthy, soy-based ingredients. Afterward, there was an opportunity for everyone in attendance to taste samples.

Erin Kiernan of WHO-TV News moderated the evening. Kiernan, who co-anchors the evening and nightly news, helped inform the audience on all the health benefits soy provides and how to incorporate into everyday meals, especially with all the new soy products.

“What’s on Your Plate in ’08 was a spectacular event,” said Sandra Lee. “The audience was fun and the evening was well-organized. I am so in love with the Iowa Soybean Association and the Soyfoods Council — they’re brilliant. The creative strategies they use to get people to incorporate soy into their everyday lives is ingenious.”

Lee demonstrated how easy it is to add soy into recipes by cooking an appetizer of Smoked Salmon-and-Olive Blini; main dish Mojo Chicken Halves; a side dish of Edamame Salad; for dessert, Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Mint; and a beverage, Peach-Mango Smoothies.

“It was wonderful to see how simple Sandra Lee made incorporating soyfoods into everyday meals,” says Linda Funk, executive director of the Soyfoods Council.  “The recipes she prepared were so delicious and foods you would make time after time for family meals. We hope everyone will start adding soyfoods to everyday meals.”

Also, Sandra Lee’s best-selling collection of cookbooks was on sale during the event, and attendees had the opportunity to purchase a personal, autographed copy.

The event was all part of ISA’s “What’s on Your Plate in ‘08” program. ISA is a progressive advocate for a healthier planet – in our lifestyles, environment and communities.

(Photos of this event are available. Please request them by emailing LeAnn Strother at lstrother@iasoybeans.com.)

Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade
Sandra Lee is an internationally-acclaimed home and style expert with an Emmy-nominated television show, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, which airs on the Food Network. With 14 books to her credit, she is a New York Times and Amazon.com best-selling author with three new books scheduled for release in fall 2008. Semi-Homemade is a media company that revolutionizes the way people think about creating from scratch. With its trademark 70/30 philosophy, which combines 70 percent ready-made products with 30 percent fresh and creative touches, Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade has become the advocate for the over-extended homemaker. Semi-Homemade allows anyone to take 100 percent of the credit for something that looks, feels or tastes as if it were made completely from scratch.