Go, Go, Go!

Have I mentioned how much I love Influenster? Free full sized products to spread the word about and review? I recently received the biggest Vox Box (what they call their boxes) yet! It is called to Go Vox Box... You can see the openings of my Vox Box here http://instagram.com/p/oRl6Pnr7gd/ and http://instagram.com/p/oRniydr7iv/ here!

So I came home to a huge box that looked a little something like this:

and because most vox boxes are this size:

I was definitely excited to get it open. When I did get it opened I was not at all upset about the amount of products there were to test and most likely fall in love with.

The box included the following items:

• ProFoot Pedi-Rock
• ProFoot Orthotic
• Free coupon for a Mueller greek yogurt
• 3 samples or The VitaminShoppes Fit N' Full Shakes
• A Jaxx Shaker Bottle
• A Box of Playtex Sport Fresh Balance Tampons
• Package of Blue Diamond Blueberry Almonds
• Aqua Spa bath soak.

 So MANY products, I will be doing reviews on each of them so you can learn about them. I can tell you I've already tried the Pedi-Rock and the Aqua Spa bath soak and I have great things to say about both of them!

If you want an invite to influenster just leave your email!

Friday Funny

I am suffering from my 6th sinus infection in the past year currently. This is also the weekend of my 3 year anniversary, so I'm trying to kick this infections butt! Thank you vitamin C and Elderberry syrup.

The puppy is your Happy Friday.

Rainy Day

I was supposed to start my day off by going to the local co-op to pick up lots of veggies, however the rain stopped that plan! Today has been just a relaxing day inside, I finally decided to bake some spaghetti squash instead of just throwing it in the microwave:

So these are the spaghetti squash after I pulled them out of the oven, baked them for one hour at 375 degrees. Make sure before you bake them you puncture them with a knife in a few places. The smell of them when they came out of the oven was so so so Delicious!

Here is one of the squash cut open, if you have never made spaghetti squash before you will see that the inside has seeds that will need to be scraped out.

Here is after the seeds were all out and I used a fork to string the squash, notice the fact that it has a "noodley" look. I think this is such a fun vegetable!

So one spaghetti squash filled a large Tupperware full of "noodles".

So today I used the squash as a spaghetti base, I topped it with tomato sauce (no sugar added and low sodium), yellow squash, zucchini and a little bit of Parmesan cheese!

A great healthy rainy day meal.

As much as I don't like the number 13, I'll let it slide.

I don't know what it is about that number, but I just don't like it. I don't know when it started but I just know I don't like it. I remember when I went to get my first license plate for my car they handed me one with a 13 on it and I asked them to switch it because I just felt like it would be bad luck, luckily they did. BUT I will not let my dislike of that ugly number ruin this year or my hopes for it so...

HAPPY 2013!

2012:
-Lennon turned one and has been growing and just such an amazing human being to watch.
-I joined two amazing companies and have seen my sales grow, plus I get to talk about two things that I love and use on a daily basis.
-My relationship is stronger than ever and I am proud to see that we have grown.
-I've learned much more about myself and about life.
-I got a promotion and a raise at my 9-5(or 7-3:30) and I have learned so much within this company.

I really know 2013 will bring so many more blessings to my life. One of the things I am focusing on again is getting healthy, I was doing so good I lost 80 pounds and then the holidays came around and I started slacking so I want to get back on track! One thing I would like to tell you about is Greens a daily vitamin supplement you put in your water:

Build your immunity and it helps with weight loss, click on the picture for more details. It's cheaper and better than the leading alternatives! Plus it's something I use daily. 

What are key things that helped you change around your mentatlity in regards to becoming a healthier person? I need any tips I can get to get me back on board!

Thank you to anyone and everyone that checked out my blog in 2012, I know I can be scatterbrained and sometimes lack content but I appreciate every view. I can't wait to see how this grows in 2013!

AND we're back...

Sorry for the hiatus, we had little one's first birthday party two weekends ago, then last wednesday we left for San Diego! We got home Sunday night, Monday was little one's birthday but he woke up with a cold so we didn't do too much except cuddle cuddle cuddle. Tuesday I woke up feeling horrible and decided to go to urgent care Wednesday and was diagnosed with a sinus infection and so it's been a rough couple of days in our house hold. Now my lovely other half who has been taking care of us is starting to feel sick. We need a healthy household ASAP.

On a healthier note, we are doing no fried/fast/or added sugar foods for the next 35 days. Why 35 days you might ask? Well Jacob saw this online one day and it inspired him and he came up with the idea.

We are also trying to eat as much gluten free food as possible and we will see how we feel at the end of 35 days. We want little one to grow up loving healthy food, he already is addicted to Carrots, Bananas, Strawberries and Grapes! Lead by example!

I would love for any of you to share healthy recipes with me, I always need new ideas! 

I leave you with a picture of my little man at the beach, he was not so sure of the sand on his feet (he doesnt like being dirty) so he sat on my lap most of the time.

Thirsty Thursday

We don't celebrate Thirsty Thursday in my house but I thought the title was clever, if we didn't have early morning work maybe we would partake! I found these great recipes on pinterest, healthier ways to drink your favorite adults beverages!

 

ENJOY! 

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins! YUM

I am on a total oatmeal raisin kick right now, since Safeway had low calorie healthy oatmeal raisin cookies on sale. These muffins look SO DELICIOUS, and I'm sure you could substitute to make even LOWER calories. If you do substitute certain ingredients I would love for you to comments with your take on the recipe.

Total time: 50 minutes
Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 20 minutes

Cool: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup reduced fat milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine milk and oats. Let soak for 15 minutes.

3. Beat together egg, maple syrup and butter. Stir into oatmeal mixture.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the raisins.

5. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

6. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in pan until easier to handle, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Nutrition per muffin
Calories 152.1
Total Fat 5.3 g
Saturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 27.4 mg
Sodium 291.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 28.3 g
Dietary Fiber 2.9 g
Sugars 10.2 g
Protein 3.6 g
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 5 points

Mocha Protein Shake

I CAN'T wait for my chocolate profit to get in to make this recipe, it sounds so DELICIOUS! I'm going to use almond milk in my recipe! YUM!

Click on the picture to get more info on the profit protein powder!

Food Friday

Tonight's dinner was DELICIOUS, super easy and pretty healthy!

Ingredients:

• 1-4 large boneless skinless chicken breast (use as many as you want per person or if you are cooking for multiples use more)
• Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
• Franks Red Hot
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Garlic Powder
•  salt/pepper to taste

Boil the chicken breast in a pan full of water, should take about 20 minutes but the time will depend on your oven, make sure the chicken is cooked all the way.

Set the chicken on a plate and shred away using a fork. Place all the shredded chicken pieces in a bowl:

Add BBQ Sauce, Franks Red Hot, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder all to taste. If you want it more spicy add more of the red pepper flakes and franks red hot, if you want a BBQ flavor add more BBQ Sauce. Mix all the ingredients until the chicken is all covered:

Place in the fridge for about an hour or two to let the flavor marinate into the chicken.

The chicken will already be fully cooked, but place on a skillet to heat up and to cook the flavors into the chicken (I recommend cooking on medium heat so you don't burn your chicken-or dry it out):

The best part about this chicken is you can put it in a wrap, on a salad, eat it by itself or the method in our house tonight was to place on hamburger buns and enjoy:

Super easy super tasty!




You can purchase sweet baby ray's and franks red hot here:

Tasty Tuesday Tip

Courtesy of the wonderful Jamie Oliver

 

Quick and Easy Flavored Water

(it's summer make sure you stay hydrated, do it the healthy and cheap way)

It only takes a second to turn a plain jug of water into something much more exciting. Chuck in a few handfuls of ice then try any one of these simple things:
• Add a few slices of fresh lemon or lime.
• Quarter an orange, squeeze in all of the juice, then toss in the squeezed quarters for color and extra flavor.
• Mash up a handful of strawberries or raspberries with a fork then add to the jug and stir through.
• Scrunch a handful of fresh mint in your hands to get the flavor going then add that to the jug with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, add a few slices of cucumber too. It might sound strange, but it is seriously refreshing.