What are you doing for New Year's Eve this year? Since we had kids, most years we have had a house party at our home with lots of delicious appetizers. Last year was especially one for the books! My parents, siblings, in-laws and close cousins came over dressed in sparkly clothing and we all made delicious appetizers to share. It was a blast.
Troy and I have talked about trying a cleaning service a few different times over the last few years when life has gotten super busy. With blogging, sometimes things are slower or manageable and at other times, it can be so incredibly busy that I am working 12 hours a day at a fast pace and still not getting everything done that I need to.
Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I wanted to share some photos of my family this holiday season with you. Merry Christmas!
December Degusta Box I really enjoyed the contents of the December Degusta Box! I loved the Vahdam Darjeeling Summer tea as I've been loving black tea. Along with these fruity marshmallows, we got a bag of regular marshmallows and my husband used them to make Lucky Charms Crispy Treats to bring to a party and they turned out perfect. I loved the maple flavor of this Garden of Life bar that has 12 grams of protein. The chocolate chips will be fun for baking and I was excited to try the Hu Kitchen chocolate bar after hearing great things about this brand from many. Starkist Tuna Creations The kids and I are crazy for tuna! We usually make our own veggie-loaded tuna salads and serve it on a bed of lettuce or crackers. I was excited to see all of these flavors from StarKist in tuna and chicken. It is fun to switch it up and try different kinds and I really like the ranch tuna! I think that the buffalo chicken will be fun too. FitSnack Box My favorite item in this mo
The holiday season is here! Our house is decorated, we signed up for a couple of Santa events, we are attending a few holiday parties and we couldn't be more excited!! The kids are freaking out about Christmas of course. I wanted to share some of the ways to include your pets in your holiday fun. We have our two mini dachshunds, Ava and Jaxen and they love to be loved so I wanted to include them in some of our Christmas traditions!
Wondering if you are deficient in any vitamins? Here is how to find out with vitamin level testing! I previously partnered with Health Testing Centers to test for food sensitivities. It was an at-home blood test that let me know a few foods that I am sensitive to that I had no idea about. I recently had the chance to try out a different test from Health Testing Centers and chose the comprehensive vitamin panel which tests your body for different vitamin levels. I had been wondering if I was deficient in any vitamins and had the perfect opportunity to find out if I was.
My kids are currently 4 and 1 1/2 for this holiday season. These are some of the items that they are getting for Christmas or things that I know that they would like to ask for! **Keep reading for a huge Read Kids sunglasses, pediped, Stuck on You and b.box giveaway!!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyAgeBeautiful #CollectiveBias I have a secret that I've been keeping from you. You see, I have a decent amount of grey hairs that are easily hidden when my hair is worn down. That is why you will rarely see photos of me with my hair up because the grey hair will show. I have decided to ignore it for a few years and finally decided to give dying my hair a try. I have had some grey hair for most of my 20's and of course, it was only getting worse.
Pear and Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken features an oven baked chicken breast stuffed with fresh pears, blue cheese and spinach and is topped with a creamy Dijon sauce! Happy Holiday season! Do you have lots of parties planned? Are you hosting? Troy and I are hosting Christmas Day and we are super excited to have everyone over. I wanted to make a holiday entree that is super impressive but easy enough to make. This Pear and Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken is sure to impress guests and can be enjoyed year-round.
I am so excited to share my 2018 Women's Holiday Gift Guide with you! These are all products that I personally use and recommend. I have been a fan of most of them for many years and some of them are products that I use every single day and would totally gift people! **Keep reading for a MEGA giveaway for a $100 PACT Clothing gift card, a 2-pack of Kyocera ceramic knives, two 7 Charming Sisters Necklaces (Juried Jewels necklaces) and an 18 x 12 inch canvas from Canvas Factory!!
The Ultimate Chili Bar features a spicy chili and all the toppings including shredded cheese, onions, jalapenos, hot sauce, corn chips, and sour cream. At least a couple of times a year, I enjoy making a huge pot of chili for my family. When hosting a party, it is a perfect dish to serve. In fact, one Christmas, we had a chili party with a few different kinds of chili and lots of toppings. For this chili bar, I made a spicy turkey chili with all the toppings that you're going to love.
I love playing with my kids but guess what, I don't have time to do it all day long. Between preparing meals, chores and working from home, I have other things that I am required to do through the day in addition to my favorite times through the day which is playing with the kiddos. Starting at a young age, I encouraged my kids to play independently. I read up a bunch on how independent play encourages creativity and imagination in children and loved the idea of that. Kids need to learn to work through boredom, not have an activity planned for them all the time. When they are left to their own devices, it is amazing to see what they come up with!
Mediterranean Hummus Bites are loaded with red pepper hummus, kalamata olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese on a toasted English muffin for an easy appetizer ready in 10 minutes that everyone will love! This post is sponsored by Bays English Muffins. All opinions are my own. I love to entertain and love to find easy recipes to make that everyone will love, but won't take all day to make. Whenever I have people over, if we aren't eating dinner right away, I will put out a couple of easy appetizers or snacks. Anything Mediterranean is a favorite with my family and Troy's family so I know that those types of recipes are sure to be favorites.
Here in Michigan, it has gotten cold which can especially be hard for parents with kiddos with a lot of energy. I know that for my kids, they need physical activity daily and getting outside to play is the best way to do this. Otherwise, they may be seen bouncing off the walls and screaming through my entire house.. We make it a priority most days to get outside and I wanted to share some of my tips that help us get outside.
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Kaukauna100 The Ultimate Holiday Cheese Board is loaded with your favorite cheeses, berries, pomegranates, apples, nuts, sausages, homemade Greek yogurt ranch, vegetables, crackers, olives, pickles and more for a super easy holiday appetizer that everyone will love! To me, nothing looks prettier than a well-arranged cheese board! I have enjoyed practicing on making pretty cheese boards over the years and have a Greek one, Fall one and an ultimate cheese board. I challenged myself to make a pretty holiday cheese board that would be easy, affordable and of course, delicious! For my cheese board, I loaded mine with three different cheeses (sharp white cheddar, sharp cheddar and Kaukauna ® Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball , three different kinds of sausages, cucumber, celery, homemade Greek yogurt ranch dip, blackberries, Granny Smith apples, pomegranate, almonds, 2 kind
This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. For those of you who are newer to the blog, did you know that I have spent most of the last 8 years working in long-term care focusing on nutrition for the elderly? I love this type of work and am passionate about helping older adults in rehab facilities and long-term care facilities to have the best nutrition possible. For the last 20 months, I have been doing my blog full-time and taking care of my two kiddos but most likely, I will go back to working with the elderly at some point in my life.
I recently had the chance to visit Nestlé in Arlington, VA for their Nestlé More Ways to Love Plant-Based Choices live event. I was already a fan of Sweet Earth especially as well as some of the other Nestlé brands. I was excited to learn more about their plant-based foods and was super excited to find out how many plant-based products that they had. Nestlé helps feed millions of people and they taught us how they leverage nutrition needs, culinary expertise and consumer trends to inform innovation and renovation of the foods they sell.
Tomato Pesto Cream Cheese Crostini are the perfect easy appetizer that are ready in just 15 minutes! They are great to serve at a party and will impress guests. I have the perfect easy holiday appetizer to share with you! I made this dish before I went up north with my family and brought it for a little snack for everyone and everyone really enjoyed it! These Tomato Pesto Cream Cheese Crostini are so easy to make, require really no cooking skill and are ready in 15 minutes!
I've been running again for 5 months now and am loving it! Here is some of the gear that I am loving and would recommend. They are all items that I personally use for running and enjoy using. **Keep reading for a $50 Amazon gift card giveaway!
Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Cheesecake is rich and creamy and full of pumpkin spice flavor! Made healthier with Greek yogurt, less sugar and whole-wheat flour! I cannot wait to share this Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe with you! It is so rich and creamy yet much healthier than typical cheesecakes. I lightened it up by using low-fat Greek yogurt and neufchatel cream cheese instead of regular. There is a whole can of pumpkin in this recipe for lots of vitamin A and C. I used less sugar yet is still tastes totally sweet. It tastes so indulgent and I am so excited to have come up with this recipe. I hope you enjoy!
My kids already had one cold this season which told me one thing- it was time to stock up on goods for cold and flu season sadly. To me, when you are sick or your kids are sick, one of the worst things is to not have the supplies that you need and having to go to the store when you aren’t feeling well. During the fall and winter months, I always keep stock of different things so that when sickness hits, we are prepared with what we need and can just focus on getting better ASAP.
1. Melissa's Produce Baby Vegetables Basket I love Melissa's produce because they always have high quality produce and always have unique types. I love this baby vegetables basket because it is just the cutest! It is filled with potatoes, radishes, onions, zucchini, brussels sprouts, squash carrots and more. I think that this would make a super fun gift as a hostess gift or for someone in your life who is a big fan of vegetables like I am. I tossed everything on a sheet pan and roasted it and everything is just adorable being so tiny! I love it! **Keep reading for a RawSpiceBar Giveaway!
Thank you PayPal and Walmart for sponsoring this post. Introducing PayPal cash in and cash out money services, the financial services alternative which allows you to manage your PayPal account and cash flow needs on your own terms! I don't know about you but I rarely carry cash. I do everything with my credit card because it is easier and saves us money. We pay it off each month plus we earn 2% back on all purchases. A lot of times though, I do need cash for different things. I need to have cash on hand for going to my local farmer's market, when we split the bill with someone at a restaurant and need to add in our share and for Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace pickups for example.
Carnitas Burrito Bowls feature crispy, flavorful pork carnitas, brown rice, cheddar cheese, tomato, green onion, tortilla chips, bell peppers and more for a fresh, filling meal ready in about 30 minutes! My family is all about Mexican food as my husband and kids are part Mexican, plus, it's delicious! I make all different kinds of Mexican food including fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, taco salads, etc. I have actually never made carnitas before even though I've eaten it out at a restaurant, so I wanted to try out these Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowls and they came out delicious!
In my household, we love our vegetables! Veggies are packed full of all different nutrients and eating a variety of vegetables is important to ensure that you get the nutrients your body needs to feel its best! Today, I want to share some different vegetables that are super loaded with nutrients, why they are healthy, different ways to eat them and some different recipes that you can find them in (made by me!).
When I was in high school, I helped take care of my Dzia-Dzia (grandpa in Polish). His health had deteriorated over the years and he had been in and out of the hospital. It came to a point where he needed 24/7 help and Busia (my grandma) couldn't do it by herself. My brother and I mostly helped and my mom and sister did a little bit too.
3 Easy Vegetable Side Dishes are perfect when you need a quick healthy side dish! These include Asian Roasted Broccoli, Dijon Roasted Carrots and Garlic, Lemon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts. With the upcoming holidays, I wanted to share some easy vegetable side dishes with you! I may not be the best at baking or knowing how to make a perfect steak but my specialty is definitely cooking vegetables. I can cook them every which way and know how to make them taste amazing while still being healthy.
I received product and compensation from Mead Johnson Nutrition to create this post written by me. All experiences and opinions expressed in this post are my own and not those of Mead Johnson Nutrition. You can contact Mead Johnson Nutrition with product related questions or comments toll free at 1-800-BABY-123 (1-800-222-9123). Oliver is 1 1/2 now and is learning so much! He loves to play and does really well with fine motor skills for his age. I am constantly trying to think of new things for him to do and wanted to share some of our favorite brain-building activities for babies and toddlers that we have done with him to help him learn and help with different developments. I find it super important to give my kids the best start possible and do everything in my power to help make sure that they are where they should be developmentally. Stimulating cognitive development is important for developing memories, concentration and perception skills!
This post was sponsored by Optimum Nutrition as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. I'm so excited to share that I am a runner again! I can't believe that I waited so long to share it here on the blog. Back in July, my dad who is a runner was going to start running again after an injury. He asked me to run with him. I am super lucky that my parents only live 1/2 mile away from us! He was going to start with "low mileage" at 3 miles. Well, if you haven't run for awhile, 3 miles is a lot! I was scared the entire night before. I made it through that first run without too much trouble but it was pretty hard for me.
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreEggo2Love #LeggoYourEggo #CollectiveBias Make Your Own Waffle Bar features tons of fun toppings including fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, raspberry sauce, maple syrup, peanut butter, chocolate chips and more! When I see the word "bar" for any type of food, I am always intrigued. My kids, husband and I all love waffles. On weekend mornings, we sometimes have more time than usual and make a more involved breakfast. I decided to make make a Make Your Own Waffle Bar so that we could design our own waffles however we want them. I always like a little of this and a little of that so I love being able to have one waffle one way and a second waffle a totally different way! So fun!
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TasteIt2BelieveIt #CollectiveBias Loaded Falafel Bowls take 10 minutes to make and are full of flavorful ingredients including falafel burgers, tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta cheese, bell peppers, hummus, lemon and red onion! I can't stop making Mediterranean food! I have countless recipes on The Nutritionist Reviews that use hummus, feta, tzatziki, chickpeas and more. When I have the option of choosing a restaurant, the first thing that always sounds good is Mediterranean. I love it! Yesterday, Troy and I had the opportunity to go to lunch and found a Mediterranean place a 1/2 mile from where we were. We drove there and it was CLOSED. I was so disappointed! No worries though! I can make great Mediterranean food at home including these easy Loaded Falafel Bowls. I made these the very next day after it didn't work out at that restaurant because
Fried Riced Cauliflower with Chicken uses riced cauliflower instead of traditional rice for extra fiber and vitamins, lots of veggies and is ready in just 15 minutes! This post is sponsored by Pinnacle Foods. All comments and opinions are my own. Are you a fan of using cauliflower in unique ways? I'm totally on the cauliflower bandwagon. I love using frozen cauliflower in smoothies, I've tried cauliflower pizza crust and love making "fried rice" out of riced cauliflower. This meal is super simple and tastes delicious! It is loaded with vegetables and is ready in just 15 minutes!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #DASANISparkling #FlavorContest #CollectiveBias Banana Bread Protein Bars have everything you love about banana bread but in bar form! They are whole-wheat, high in protein and fiber and make the perfect snack! It is still pretty here in Michigan and we are loving getting outside on outdoor walks and enjoying fall before the snowy winter sets in. Yesterday, I had a fun idea for the kids that went so well! We went on a nature walk with baskets to find colorful leaves. Adalyn and Oliver both got really into it (ages 4 years and 19 months). They really enjoyed nature and found the prettiest red, orange and yellow leaves. It made me so happy!
BBQ Chicken Pizza with Cauliflower Crust is nutritious with an 80% cauliflower crust and is topped with shredded chicken, BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese, bell peppers and jalapenos! This post was sponsored by Green Giant as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. When it comes to the holidays, I think that it is completely okay to indulge if you like but if you are looking for a little bit healthier options, that is okay too. I made the easiest which could be served during the holiday season or anytime really! I seem to entertain a lot during the holiday season and having an easy pizza recipe at my fingertips is perfect!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., Kleenex, Lipton, and Theraflu. All opinions are mine alone. #FluSeasonHacks #CollectiveBias I am going on a work trip tomorrow and I am so excited! I'm going to miss my family but a couple days away where I can learn about a brand and meet other bloggers sounds wonderful. I have a love/hate relationship with taking an airplane. First of all, I don't do it often so when I do, it is pretty exciting. I love walking around an airport and seeing all of the restaurants and shops. I love the takeoff and watching the clouds. What I do not like is having to wait forever for a flight with possible delays and all of the germs and possible illnesses that you could get. My kids already had one cold this year and Troy and I had a super minor cold so I know that cold and flu season is here early this year. I wanted to share my tips for healthy travel during cold and flu season.
1. Artisan Tropic Plantain Chips Have you guys tried plantain chips yet? I have a huge problem when it comes to them! I am so addicted. These Artisan Tropic plantain chips are so delicious and I accidentally ate almost the whole bag in a serving. They do not taste like banana but are actually pretty similar to a potato chip but are thicker. They also make cassava strips which are tasty as well! Highly recommend these as a fun alternative to chips. **Keep reading for an Artisan Tropic chips giveaway!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Overnight Oats are super creamy and taste like your favorite dessert but are healthy with oats, Greek yogurt, pumpkin and collagen peptides! Loaded with swirls of cream cheese, pumpkin spice and graham crackers for that true cheesecake flavor. Out mornings are so busy (I'm sure like anyone else) because the kids wake up needing to eat RIGHT AWAY or else. They are not a fan of waiting for something like eggs to cook or pancakes. Adalyn is also in school three days a week so those mornings are especially busy because we walk to school and leave 35 minutes before school even starts because we live 1 1/2 miles away.
