Untouched wilderness and majestic fall foliage may just be the perfect prescription for the 2020 blues. This month, we invited eight lifestyle influencers to join us in Staatsburg, NY for an immersive three-day experience sponsored by some of our favorite brands, including: Bowl & Basket, Paperbird, Wholesome Pantry, Oreo, Sunshine Bouquet, Filippo Berio, The Perfect Granola, Hudson River Fruit, Purely Elizabeth, Febreeze, Microban, Cascade, Mr. Clean, Caulipower, McCain Foods and Huggies. We gained more than just elevation, as our guests experienced everything the Hudson Valley has to offer – from rugged backwoods trails to picturesque apple orchards. The talented team of influencers on the trip had the opportunity to network and learn from one another – from a safe social distance, of course – and share more about their favorite brands with their followers throughout the trip.

To shop the products in this blog post, click this link: https://www.shoprite.com/shopritegetaway

Day 1: September 13, 2020

Our guests arrived to the property in the evening, driving up the winding dirt-road driveway to the guest house of The Dutchess – a stunning property and secret experience tucked away in a remote section of the Hudson Valley. The Inn next to the guest house is a totally renovated red barn with 10 rooms, each decked out with Madison Luxury Home linens and blankets, only available at ShopRite.

Floral Arranging Class with Gary Diamante

Sponsored by OREO Thins

Overlooking the property in the gazebo, our guests filed in to learn from the best – Gary, our ShopRite Floral Expert. He guided everyone – step by step – through crafting their very own colorful fall-themed arrangement, complete with glass vase and floral preservative (can’t forget!). As we were piecing together our flowers, we snacked on crisp, delicate and delicious OREO Thins in regular and mint flavors! Like their original OREO counterparts, these treats are perfect for dunking in your favorite milk. Special thanks to our friends at Sunshine Bouquet for supplying all of the gorgeous flowers for this event!

Murder Mystery Cocktail Hour

Sponsored by Filippo Berio

Featuring Celebrity Chef Josh Capon

No, it was not Miss Scarlet in the library with the candle stick, but the hunt for the murderer was just as exhilarating during our very own “murder mystery” experience. The guests made their way over to the main residence in full 1920s regalia, ready to be assigned their unique roles. While we sipped cocktails in the lobby, we tasted fresh crostini smothered in delicious Filippo Berio pesto and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a perfect complement to the evening, and had a delicious spread of seafood appetizers from celebrity Chef Josh Capon (@chefcapon).

Murder Mystery Dinner & Dessert

Sponsored by Bowl & Basket and The Perfect Granola

Featuring Celebrity Chef Josh Capon

We settled back into the gazebo for a delicious golden hour dinner prepared by Chef Capon with ingredients from Bowl & Basket, a line of thoughtfully crafted food and delicious ingredients created by ShopRite. The salad course featured Bowl & Basket Mixed Greens with Grilled Peaches, Hearts of Pal, Charred Red Onion & Crumbled Feta. Next up, the pasta course had everyone requesting the recipe for Bowl & Basket Rigatoni with sautéed Wholesome Pantry Shrimp, Artichokes, Tomato, Lemon and Basil. The main entrée featured Wholesome Pantry Roasted Chicken Breast, deliciously paired with Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, Olive Oil Crushed Potatoes and Broccoli Rabe. While we were enjoying each course, we had a ball diving into our roles and reciting character-driven monologues to remember. We solved the crime just in time to enjoy the pièce de résistance– an incredible Fall Apple Crumble for dessert, featuring The Perfect Granola cherry walnut streusel over Bowl & Basket Specialty Caramel Sea Salt Gelato. We were so happy to partner with The Perfect Granola because they are a clean, mission-focused label. This female-owned brand shares profits with homeless shelters, outreach centers and food banks, and creates opportunities for the underserved to help break the poverty cycle that fuels hunger. Everything they do has a community component, aimed at creating a better world through food and love! 

Day 2

Breakfast

Sponsored by Purely Elizabeth

What better way to start a long, active day than with a wholesome bowl of oats? Our bloggers returned to the main residence the next morning for a hearty bowl of Purely Elizabeth Collagen Protein Oats, a quick-and-easy breakfast option on the go. Made with clean ingredients, it’s a great source of protein and collagen – new at your ShopRite! After a few cups of coffee, the crew was briefed on the day as we boarded a bus to the orchard.

Apple Orchard Tour

Hosted by Hudson River Fruit Distributors

There’s something about being on an orchard in the northern Hudson Valley that entices the senses and activates the taste buds. Our bus went down dirt roads to the heart of the Hudson River Fruit Orchard. Established in 1963, Hudson River Fruit is a family owned-and-operated apple orchard. Our tour guide was 4th generation owner and operator, Alisha Albinder. They grow, pack, store and ship apples for our ShopRite stores! As we toured we had the opportunity to pull perfectly ripened, ready-to-eat gala apples right from the trees! We were lucky to be joined by ShopRite Produce Buyer Brian Kenny and ShopRite Registered Dietitian Shelbi Thurau to co-lead the tour and answer any questions.

Lunch

Sponsored by Wholesome Pantry

Hosted by Heritage Food & Drink

From the farm… to the table! After our tour, Alisha was kind enough to host us at her family’s nearby restaurant, Heritage Food + Drink. Heritage, simply put, is a celebration of New York and all things local. The head chef was kind enough to prepare a tasting menu featuring our own Wholesome Pantry brand, exclusively at ShopRite. Wholesome Pantry ingredients are free from artificial flavors, colors and preservatives you can’t pronounce. You could say it's made of, well… food! The lunch menu kicked off with a Heritage Market Salad, filled with fresh baby red romaine, honey crisp apples (right from the farm!), shaved baby carrots, cucumbers and marinated baby tomatoes with a unique apple-mustard dressing. The second course featured a crispy Wholesome Pantry chicken breast with smoked apples, apple-cabbage slaw, ricotta salata and a cider demi. Finally, we ended on a sweet note with a Local Apple Crostata – brown sugar crust, salted caramel, apple chip and vanilla bean ice cream! After our plates were cleaned it was back on the bus to head back to The Dutchess.

Cleaning Demo

Sponsored by Proctor & Gamble cleaning products, including Microban, Febreze, Cascade, Dawn and Mr. Clean

Our socially-distanced, masked-up getaway in the wilderness would not be complete without learning about some exciting new germ-fighting products in our stores! Morgan Brashear, a scientist from Proctor and Gamble, joined us virtually to explain and demonstrate the incredible effectiveness of brand like Febreze LIGHT, Cascade, NEW Dawn Powerwash and NEW Microban 24 Hour Sanitizing Spray. Performance, power and ease of use is what this family of products are all about. Our guests were blown away by the cleaning properties and Morgan’s intelligence and expertise!

Dietitian Consultation

Hosted by from the ShopRite of Kingston

We were happy to be joined by Kristin Kessler, the Registered Dietitian at the ShopRite of Kingston, New York. Kristin sat down with our guests and discussed all of the free community services offered by the ShopRite Dietitian program — from store tours, to free nutritional consultations to even sampling events. ShopRite’s Well Everyday program is committed to helping families eat well, and our services have even extended online where you can chat live with a ShopRite dietitian! Kristin shared a lot of great tips about eating seasonally and had the opportunity to answer nutrition questions from each guest.

Tasting Dinner

Sponsored by CAULIPOWER, McCain Foods and Bowl & Basket

We capped off a long day of events with a deliciously fun meal from some of our favorite brands. CAULIPOWER set the stage with new flavors of their delicious, gluten-free cauliflower crust pizzas - SRIRA-CHA-CHA! and BUFFA-WHOA! We started by spicing with the Sriracha Veggie! A hot sriracha base topped with red bell peppers, black beans, green onion, and mozzarella cheese make this the hottest CAULIPOWER pizza to hit the freezer aisle. And of course, it’s all on top of the crispy better-for-you cauliflower pizza crust! Next up – Buffalo? More like Buffa-WHOA! CAULIPOWER has taken one of the hottest pizza flavors in town - Buffalo-Style Chicken - and turned it on its head, giving it the ultimate better-for-you makeover it needed. The crispy cauliflower crust is topped with diced chicken, buffalo sauce, mozzarella, red onion, and parsley to create this zesty pie that everyone at the table will be raving about.

Finally, we introduced our guests to the New Chick on the Block – Delicious CAULIPOWER frozen chicken tenders – reinventing our favorite comfort food with a golden, crispy cauliflower-packed coating. This gluten-free fan-favorite is available now in the frozen aisle of your local ShopRite!

And what would a party be without the French fries? McCain Quick Cook Fries are high-quality fries ready in just ten minutes, with no flipping required! Talk about making dinner time easy. Available in straight-cut, crinkle-cut or waffle, McCain Quick Cook fries are delicious, crispy and golden brown – perfection. We paired with a variety of dipping sauces and voted on our favorites!

Day 3

Morning Yoga Session

What better way to center yourself and refresh than with an early morning yoga flow with our on-site instructor. Our guests entered the red barn and were led through a vinyasa yoga practice to leave them present and ready to take on the day!

Nature Hike

Immediately following yoga, we took in the natural beauty of the upper Hudson Valley. We hit the trail behind The Dutchess for a 1.5-mile hike that winded its way through the heavily wooded part of the property. We walked past massive boulders deposited during the last Ice Age and reflected on the last few days at The Dutchess. Halfway through the out and back trail, we came across a beautiful lake, where we stopped to take in the views, then headed back to the property.

Baby Shower Brunch

Sponsored by Huggies and Bowl & Basket

After cleaning up from an active morning and packing our bags, we made our way back over to the gazebo for a sendoff brunch, sponsored by our incredible partner, Huggies. Huggies® Special Delivery™ is the softest, plant-based diaper available with trusted protection and over 25 stylish designs. Any purchase of Huggies at ShopRite from September 13-26, 2020 Huggies will donate a day’s worth of diapers or wipes to the Diaper Network! To celebrate our sponsor, we decked our gazebo out for a full Baby Shower Themed brunch, featuring delicious cupcakes from our ShopRite of Kingston Bakery, and elevated breakfast staples from our Bowl & Basket line, like eggs, English muffins and peanut butter. Our on-site chef prepared our veggie and goat cheese-stuffed omelets over an open flame, giving the morning staple a delicious smoky flavor.

Thank you for taking the time to follow along with us. We love to share our passion for food with our valued customers. Special thanks to our guests – a smart, passionate, talented group of women and our brand partners for your support.

Until next time, we’ll be here – helping you get it together, together.

Our Guests

Erica (@ericaligenza)

Stacy (@allroadsleadtohealthy)

Karen (@parisandalatte)

Tammy (@houseofleoblog)

Amber (@perfectly_redefined)

Jessica (@thisseasonsgold)

Dana (@danastargazertruitt)

Amanda (@amandakorina)

The Brands

ShopRite (@shopritestores)

Bowl & Basket (#ForLifesRecipe)

Paperbird (#CleanInPeace)

CAULIPOWER (@caulipower)

Febreze (@febreze)

Filippo Berio (@filippoberio_us)

Huggies (@Huggies)

McCain Foods (@McCainUSARetail)

Microban (@microban24)

Mr. Clean (@MrClean)

OREO Thins (@Oreo)

The Perfect Granola (@PerfectGranola)

Purely Elizabeth (@Purely_Elizabeth)