March 28, 2012
Dachshunds Love the Sun
My little friends Ava and Jaxen will find the tiniest bit of sun in the house and lay in it. They love any warmth that they can find. Enjoy these funny pictures of my crazy puppies. <3 them!
March 28, 2012
Get in Shape with CafeWell
This post brought to you by CafeWell . All opinions are 100% mine. I am writing this post to inform you of a neat program that includes Reach for the Peaks where you can join for free to get in shape and maintain being in shape. What is CafeWell ? It is a social network to get well as stay well. It partners with some large health plans such as Altius to provide member with health programs. It gives free advice, tips, and motivation from real Olympic athletes. Also, it gives information from health and wellness experts as well as diet and nutrition experts (hopefully from some dietitians too). They can help answer nutrition and fitness related questions. Some examples of these great health programs include Reach for the Peaks which the members participate with CafeWell in a pedometer program that is wireless. It helps to focus on becoming more active and getting in shape. This programs encourages activity and gives away prizes often and social
March 27, 2012
Chobani Review and Giveaway
Chobani Greek yogurt is becoming more and more popular. It started out as just a few flavors and now has grown to many more flavors. It is definitely my favorite yogurt and is delicious. It is filling, creamy, and keeps you full for a long time. In the last couple of months, Chobani came out with 3 new flavors including passion fruit, apple cinnamon, and blood orange. I was sent a case of these new flavors to try. The passion fruit one is definitely my favorite. It is so rich and creamy. It has a unique taste that is different than other yogurts. The only thing that I don't like about it is the seeds. I don't really like biting into one of these. The blood orange is slightly tangy and tastes great. I think that the apple cinnamon would be amazing in a breakfast recipe like on a German pancake or something. As I have been through about 7 months of my dietetic internship, at each place that I have been they have recommended this Chobani yogurt. At a bariatric clini
March 26, 2012
Josie Maran Review
Josie Maran is a luxury cosmetics line. The products are sold at stores like Sephora and other luxury places. I had read about the line online and became interested. For my review, I was sent two eyeliners and a bronzer. The Argan Bronzing Powder was made in a universal shade to look good on multiple colors of skin. I have been looking for a new bronzer that I liked and this one fit the bill. It gives a sun kissed look which is perfect right now since the weather is warm and my skin is still very pale. My husband and I went to the beach this past weekend and I realized how ghostly I really am! This bronzer helped to give me some color. I also was sent the black and brown eyeliners . This liner goes on easily and stays on a long time. It gives a nice natural look too. I really like both of them! Here is some information about the line : As a truly natural beauty, Maran realized there was something missing in the world of makeup. Existing eco-friendly, natural beauty products
March 25, 2012
Bathroom Redo
Troy and I are working on our whole house to make it look as good as possible before we move in. There have been lots of wonderful changes and my parents have helped us out a ton. Recently, we painted our bathroom upstairs grey. Here are the before and after pictures: Before- The bathroom was a pinkish color. Even the ceiling was pink. The paint was peeling and it looked terrible. After- We chose a Behr Premium Plus paint called Classic Silver and love it. The bathroom floor has white and grey mini tiles in it and the paint matches with the tiles. Also, we painted the ceiling and trim white. Hope you like it!
March 23, 2012
Thai Peanut Kale Salad
Last weekend at my parent's house, we had a ton of fresh vegetables to use so I got creative and created this Thai peanut kale salad. It turned out great! I would use the dressing over another lettuce such as spinach or romaine too. Thai Peanut Kale Salad Ingredients: Salad 1 large bunch of kale torn into bite sized pieces 1/2 cup chopped carrots 2 shoots diced green onion 1/2 large diced cucumber Dressing 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves 1/4 cup peanut butter Juice from 1 squeezed lime 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/3 teaspoon black pepper Directions 1. Combine all chopped vegetables in a large bowl. 2. Melt peanut butter in the microwave until runny. 3. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. 4. Pour salad dressing over the kale mixture and mix well. *For best results, let this salad sit and marinate for at least an hour. It can last in the fridge up to 2-3 days and does n
March 21, 2012
Barielle Review
Barielle is a company that sells many beauty products. The make nail, hand, foot, and skin products. I had read a review about them on another blog and became interested. They agreed to send me a few products to try out and I had a fun time choosing some. I chose the nail polishes because I have been wanting grey nail polishes for a long time now. I have seen it all over the trendy magazines and wanted to give it a try. I painted my fingernails this color and loved it. It stayed on for a long period of time and looked professional at work. The polish is affordable at $8.00 each and if you buy one, you can get the second 1/2 off. I chose the A.M. puffy eye relief cream for a good reason. With my dietetic internship, I have to get up between 5:30 and 6 AM everyday and sometimes, I do not get enough sleep. I get dark circles under my eyes and hate it. I tried this product to see if it could help me with my circles. You apply it after washing your face and before putting any m
March 20, 2012
St. Patrick's Beach Day
On St. Patrick's Day, my husband and I went to the beach and it was amazing out. We went on about an hour walk and enjoyed the beautiful day. Troy braved the freezing water to take a picture for his students (he's a teacher) lol : ) We will miss this beach so much when we move : (
March 19, 2012
Beach Trip in March?
As most of you know, I live in Michigan. The beach near me is usually too cold to go to until at least May. This year is very different! On Friday night, my husband Troy and I went to the beach just after sunset when it was still light enough out. We were literally wearing shorts, flip flops, and a light sweater. And we were not even cold. This weather is so crazy!! It was really nice to be able to go to the beach since we will be moving far from it soon. Enjoy this beautiful weather! I really wonder if it will last or not.
March 18, 2012
Village Harvest Wheatberry & Barley Feta Salad
Recently, I was sent a bunch of varieties of Village Harvest products to try out. They are frozen whole grains and only take a couple minutes to heat up and then are ready to serve. The reason that I was most interested in trying this out is because I had never tried farro or wheatberries. I love trying new-to-me foods and could not wait to try these. Also, something awesome is that I was reading my Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics magazine (formerly known as the American Dietetic Association) and these products were in there. They were saying how great these are. Of course I already knew that they were healthy but that's really cool to be endorsed by the AND! Most of these products are whole grains and have nothing else added. There is no added salt or fat which is nice because you can add your own flavorings and make it as healthy as you want it. The wheatberries and barley was awesome. It took just 2 minutes to heat in my microwave and was ready to eat. The grains
March 17, 2012
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Hello, Hope you all are enjoying this amazing weather we have! My husband is here in town for our last weekend in Fennville before we move in April. We plan to go to the beach and have some fun. Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day from me and my favorite Irish friends...my mom's Irish Setters! Isaac Trina These two crazy redheads will be drinking their St. Patrick's Day away : ) What are your plans for this weekend?
March 13, 2012
Good Clean Love Review and Giveaway
Good Clean Love is a woman owned company that wants to increase the awareness and experience of love. They sell love products such as candles and massage oils for loving and passionate relationships. For my review, I was sent the Love That Works- Spicy Gift Set. Here is some information about the set: Get ready to be inspired to deepen your love! Wendy's new book, Love That Works is being hailed by critics as an essential handbook for the daily practice of learning to cultivate the renewable resources of loving relationships. Our flavored lubricant, combined with our Spicy Orange Body Candy and our Indian Spice Love Oil will allow you to be ready for whatever mood you and your partner are in. The kit includes: 1 copy Love That Works, 1 Cinnamon Vanilla or Lavender Rose 4oz Lubricant, 1-4oz Indian Spice Love Oil, and 1-2oz Spicy Orange Body Candy. I have not had a chance to read the book yet (you know, sometimes a 45 hour a week internship plus a master's progr
March 12, 2012
Spicy Chili
A couple of weeks ago, my husband Troy and I made our first batch of chili. We never cook together so it was really quite fun. We were excited to create our own recipe and it turned out very well. Spicy Chili Ingredients: 1 lb venison steaks (can use beef) 1 large onion 2 cans drained and rinsed kidney beans 3 large chopped carrots 3 stalks celery 1/2 bag frozen peas 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes 1 16 ounce can tomato sauce 3 frozen red chili squares (can use hot pepper flakes, hot sauce, or cayenne pepper) 1-1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder Directions: 1. Cut meat and onion into bite size pieces and stir-fry until thoroughly cooked and slightly brown. 2. Meanwhile, chop up carrots and celery into small bite sized pieces. 3. Plug in crock pot and add meat, vegetables, and spices. 4. Cook on high until chili is the consistency that you like. (We cooked it about 7 hours be
March 11, 2012
Lodge Cast Iron review
Lodge Cast Iron is a company that sells all things cast iron. My mom is a fan of cast iron pans so I was interested in trying something from this company out. For my review, I tried out a ceramic knife, aebleskiver pan, and a Lodge cast iron cookbook. My parents recently got some ceramic knives and they are awesome. I wanted to try one out for myself from Lodge. These knives are amazing. It cuts through food so easily. You do have to be careful though because they are sharper than almost all other knives. For example, I cut through raw beets so easily with this knife. I will definitely be using this knife all the time to cut foods that are tougher or hard. As seen in the picture above, the aebleskiver pan is for making pancakes. The Lodge has a Danish pancake recipe for these pancakes anyone is interested. You can also make pastries with this pan and fill the food with fruit. The pan is very heavy and sturdy. It seems to be good quality. I have always thought that these w
March 08, 2012
Clinical Dietetic Internship
I am now 9 weeks into my clinical rotation of my dietetic internship. It started off as very stressful, time consuming, and confusing. I was tired and stressed at the end of each day initially. After taking a few weeks to get used to everything, I actually love it. Prior to this rotation, I was mainly interested in going into more of counseling dietetics such as diabetes or weight loss. Now that I've been working in a hospital seeing patients, I see that I am extremely interested in doing this. There is a lot to know and it is much busier than other rotations but I really enjoy it. I feel like I'm really helping people. In fact, once I finish my internship, I now would love to find a position as a clinical dietitian in a hospital. Here are some interesting things that I have done so far in my internship: -Wrote tube feeding orders for patients. I'm able to choose the formula, the rate, and how many calories the patient gets. This really uses my math skills and is
March 07, 2012
Michael Season's Popped Giveaway
When Michael Season's contacted me seeing if I wanted to try their Popped black bean crisps, I said sure. They have three flavors including roasted red pepper, nacho cheese, and sea salt. This past weekend, I brought a bag up north with me and opened them for a little snack in the car. The crisps look a lot like mini rice cakes. I tried the roasted red pepper ones which were delicious! They are reduced fat and tasted good on their own. There is not too much seasoning powder on them which was nice. You could taste the black bean taste very well which I liked. Michael Season's also makes reduced fat thin and crispy chips. Can't wait to try these! These are gluten free which is nice for those who need gluten free. They are reduced fat and have only 4 grams of fat. These could be eaten with salsa or guacamole. They have 120 calories, 3 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein. The main ingredient is black beans and they are fairly low sodium (140 mg). These cr