Guest Post: 3 tips make eating right a breeze

May 4, 2012 Leave a Comment

Thank goodness it’s Friday!! Although maybe I shouldn’t be saying that since it means we only have 1½ more days here in the tropics…No doubt, we are having the time of our lives, but family, our furry kiddos and home are definitely calling our names. To keep you occupied on your Friday morning, we have Jessi Haggerty of Bee Rooted with us to talk about good health. You may remember her from this post of yore, where I expressed my deepest thanks for her help in steering me in the right direction when it comes to my diet. Her advice has been invaluable and I am so pleased that she is here to share some more tips with you, my faithful, enthusiastic, creative readers. We’ve all made excuses for ignoring the facts when it comes to eating a balanced diet. She’s here today to kick those excuses to the curb and supply you with the motivation to get back on track.

At 13 years old, I learned how to make excuses for things before I even had to. Sitting in my room participating in some mindless activity like watching re-runs of Friends, or chatting on the phone with my best friend (she’s still my best friend, by the way), I knew to pause and make up an excuse after I heard my mom yell “JESS!” from the office downstairs. Despite what I thought at the time, I didn’t really have a whole lot going on so things like “I have to do my homework,” and “I have to apply for summer jobs” were sometimes sufficient. But usually, when my mom came to me with a simple chore like cleaning up the (already clean) bathroom, or picking up my shoes that trailed throughout the house, I would find a way to say “later” in its many forms: “Not now,” “in a bit,” “after I finish this…” etc. Yet, no matter what the excuse, she and I always ended up in the same place: Mom pointing out that in the time that I spent arguing and making excuses, the task could have been done already. Touche, Mom. Touche.

Ironically, today it seems like all I do is listen to lists and lists of excuses people have for eating unhealthfully. Most common excuses are that there’s not enough time, it’s too expensive, and I’m not a good cook. What I’ve learned from my experience as a 13-year-old is this – Most of the barriers to “doing my chores” were barriers I put there myself. So, in an effort to break these 3 simple barriers to good health, I decided to find solutions by teaching you a simple method to preparing healthy food fast and cheap, while implementing simple cooking techniques that you can apply to pretty much any meal.  

Step 1:  Keep your kitchen stocked with the following…AKA the cheapest grocery list you’ll ever follow.

  • Whole Wheat Pasta (or any other whole grain like barley, quinoa or brown rice)
  • Green Frozen Vegetable (spinach, kale, broccoli)
  • Vegetable Broth
  • Canned Diced Tomatoes
  • Canned Beans (white beans have a nice neutral flavor that compliment most dishes)
  • Garlic and Onion (perishable, but keep much longer than most vegetables)
  • Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper

Step 2:  Mise En Place.  

A french term for having all of the ingredients in a recipe measured, chopped and in place before getting started. This little piece of advice was taken from Fiona Gubelmann (costar in the hit series Wilfred) in her interview in Vegetarian Times Magazine.  

For amateur cooks, or avid kitchen experimenters like myself, this is SO KEY to preventing burning, forgetting and mis-stepping (like baking your cookies before you add the sugar). It makes my least favorite part (clean-up) a breeze and makes you feel like you’re on a hit day-time cooking show. The best part? Once all of the ingredients are measured out (which can be done pretty much at any time), putting your meal together takes no time at all! 

For this meal: Chop 1 onion and 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, open all cans and spice containers and measure out about ¼ cup of vegetable broth. Place one large (empty pot) on the stove at medium heat, and 1 medium size pot filled with water for pasta or grain at medium heat. If cooking barley or rice, you will need 3 parts water to 1 part grain

Step 3:  Prepare Your Quick Dinner

Saute onion and garlic in a hot pan in a few tablespoons of vegetable broth, until tender. Mix in a dash of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes, cover and let simmer.  

While that’s cooking, boil water and cook pasta or grain according to package. When tender, drain and add to tomatoes. Add 1 package of frozen greens and cover just until defrosted (over-cooking leads to nutrient degradation). Add can of beans, give it a quick stir so everything is mixed throughout. Top with optional parmesan or pecorrino cheese.    

Serve and be proud of your 15-minute healthy meal.  

It’s not rocket science, it’s faster than ordering out and all it requires is some inexpensive pantry items and the ability to boil water.  

What are some of your barriers to good health?  How do you overcome them?

Jessi is the creator of Bee Rooted a blog and business that offers a broader perspective on food and nutrition. “Healthy” is not defined by the nutrition facts label on the back of a grocery store item, but by the impact a food has from our earth, to your body. All of her advice and recipes are compiled together to provide you with solutions to sustain our earth and our food system, sustain your health and sustain your lifestyle – The ultimate definition of “sustainability.” With a love for food and knowledge, and passion for teaching others, she is always prepared with helpful tips, time-friendly, delicious recipes and creative life-management suggestions. Subscribe to her blog at www.BeeRooted.com or contact her at bee.rooted@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Healthy Living, How-To, Inspiring, Kitchen, Kitchen Overhaul, Our Influences, Simple Fixes, Yummmm Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Confession time: Healthy living

March 16, 2012 6 Comments
I’ve got a lot to catch you guys up on…
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So a few months ago, I made the big announcement that John and I were going gluten-free with our eating. This new pact was based on the assumption that, after years of upset stomachs, a gluten allergy must be our culprit. Except for one blatant disregard for that new promise (as seen here), we were doing pretty well, even choosing to eat out only at restaurants that offered gluten-free options (for locals in the area, this meant Mangia and La Villa).
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Then something pretty major happened that, in a way, helped us to explore the REAL root of the issue…John lost his job.
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By no fault of his own, John was forced to reconsider goals, routines, finances and the direction he wanted to take in his life. In fact, what could have been the biggest let down of the year, ended up being a major blessing in disguise. Suddenly John had all the time in the world to really get to the bottom of the dietary issue, so he made the appointments and got tested for gluten allergies once and for all.
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What we didn’t really anticipate though was the negative result…I think we were so stuck on the idea of a gluten allergy, that the sudden reality of it NOT being the case was a little bewildering. All-in-all, the real issue was nothing more than nutrition. (As a sidenote, I wasn’t able to undergo testing and doctor appointments, but John and I are pretty symmetrical in discomfort so I’m just following his lead.)
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Enter Jessi Haggerty of Bee Rooted. Our second major God-send was a random message I got from Jessi, a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Movement Instructor from Boston, MA.
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A blogger herself, Jessi approached me in the hopes of helping John and I out with finding better and healthier balance in our lives in terms of what we eat. Since then, I have learned the ins and outs (no pun intended) of good food and just how much of an impact diet has on our lives, moods and energy.
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As I am by no means an expert on these things, and since Jessi is, I’ve gotten her permission to share some simple tips with you all here on DG-DIY to possibly help you along with your own nutritional journey. She started me off by listing some “do”s and “don’t”s for good digestive health:
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Things to increase:
-Soluble fiber:  whole grains like oatmeal, barley, and brown rice, starchy vegetables
-Omega-3 fatty acids from whole plant sources: walnuts, flaxseed meal, small portions of fish
-Antioxidants: berries, green leafy vegetables, foods high in vitamin C & E like citrus fruits and strawberries
-Sprouted foods: sprouted quinoa, grains, beans, breads and tofu.  Sprouting is a process of soaking and rinsing the seed, grain, or bean for a number of days to literally ‘sprout’ it, and works to pre-digest it making it easier for your body to breakdown.  It also allows the nutrients to be more available to your body to use.
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Things to decrease:
-Large portions of concentrated fat: oils, butter, lard, most processed foods
-Concentrated sweets: juices, sugar/sugary foods like cake and cookies, large portions of dried fruits; can cause excess water to be drawn into your digestive tract
-Dairy: it just doesn’t do good things for the belly!
-Meat/animal products: stick to no more than 3 oz. portions of fish, meat, chicken, etc. per meal.
 
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Quick Tip:
-When you are cooking beans and grains, try soaking them overnight, then drain them and cook as directed.  This helps pre-digest the fibers and prevents excess gas build up.
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Who knew?! This first feedback email was incredibly eye-opening. I proceeded to print it out and race home to show John all of the fun new things I had learned. Not kidding. I literally ran inside, practically jumping up and down. In the course of my nutritional health journey up to that point, I had been told what not to eat but not really what TO eat. Well Jessi’s quick “Things to increase” list was only a taste of (again, no pun intended) of what she was to help me understand in terms of my future diet.
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To begin the nitty gritty part of the process, Jessi asked me to keep track of what I ate with a food diary spanning the length of three days.
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(and no, that’s not me, but I’m all about the visuals today and wanted you to see how poised and focused I MIGHT have looked while keeping my food diary) 
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After the three days were up, I had a pretty keen awareness of my normal diet, which is fairly consistent. This is (or was) my typical day’s worth of food:
  1. fried egg cooked over extra virgin olive oil
  2. piece of whole wheat toast (no butter)
  3. blueberry muffin
  4. cup of fresh fruit
  5. cup of plain cheerios
  6. 8 saltine and peanut butter cracker sandwiches (homemade/assembled, not packaged)
  7. brown rice with asparagus, almonds and soy sauce
  8. 3 Hershey’s kisses
  9. a few handfuls of lightly salted peanuts
  10. 1 oatmeal, chocolate chip cookie
  11. Homemade pizza subs (fresh French bread, mozzarella cheese, pepperonis, pizza sauce, shredded turkey lunch meat)
Right away, Jessi was able to point out the aspects of what I ate that might be giving me some trouble. Here’s a quick overview of her suggested “this-instead-of-that” changes:
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  • Do away with the egg, toast and muffin since it’s heavy on the saturated fat and a little light on the fiber and plants
  • Instead eat a bowl of plain whole rolled oats (add things like fruit, nuts and a touch of honey for flavor)
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  • Do away with the saltines in the peanut butter cracker equation because saltines tend to be more processed
  • Instead eat Triscuits with a bit of peanut butter since the only ingredient is wheat
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  • Do away with salted peanuts
  • Instead eat an unsalted trail mix combo with an assortment of nuts and dried fruit rather than chocolate
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  • Do away with lunches and dinners high in dairy and meat
  • Instead eat a whole grain wrap for lunch with things like hummus, avacado, lettuce and tomato; for dinners, focus on beans and grains (check out these recipes on Jessi’s blog for delicious-sounding and healthy alternatives to a meaty, cheesy, buttery dinner entree)
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Since reading over Jessi’s advice, I have been super focused on transforming my diet. I now start every morning with a bowl of plain oatmeal with honey, brown sugar, bananas and strawberries added to it. For the first time in years, I am able to get to work after breakfast without feeling sick. The other thing is that I’m actually full. I used to get to work at 8:30 a.m. after my fried egg breakfast and feel the need to start munching on snacks right away. Now though, I am able to stave off the hunger until around 10:30 a.m. – This feels like a small miracle to me. I’ve also worked hard to all but eliminate meat and dairy from my daily routine. So far, I don’t even miss it!
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I think we are well on our way to regaining control over our food rather than allowing it to control us…
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Stay tuned!! I hope to continue to get advice and guidance from Jessi as we work towards our health goals – We’d love to have you guys along for the ride! Also, feel free to provide your own input, advice and/or experiences with us in the comments section.
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P.S. In case you were wondering, John is now happily employed and our routine and outlook on life is better than ever!
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Want more information and advice from Jessi? Be sure to check out her blog, BeeRooted.com, for TONS of helpful thoughts on food, diet, exercise and general healthy living. In case you were curious, I am not being paid to talk about her blog – I am just so thankful and appreciative of her help and want to pay it forward. Maybe she could be the answer to your prayers as well!
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Speaking of, if you DO need a some guidance, Jessi is offering her readers (and now mine!) a super sweet discount on her consult – Instead of $125 for an initial personalized consult, she’s only charging $50. The consult can be done via phone or skype. If you want to take the first step to a healthy lifestyle, then I highly recommend getting in touch with her. This is starting to sound like an infomercial (which I assure you, it’s not meant to be), so I’m going to stop here.
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Have a GREAT weekend everyone!
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Filed Under: Gluten-Free Lifestyle, Healthy Living, Our Influences, Take a break!, Yummmm Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pinspiration Monday: S’more Dip

February 6, 2012 6 Comments

So remember a couple of weeks ago when we made this little announcement? Well to catch you up, we haven’t exactly started yet…It seemed a bit silly to either toss or give away all of the gluten-laden food we had already purchased, so we decided to suffer through and eat what we had before getting started. Anything new however, has been largely purchased with a gluten-free diet in mind (except for bread). Our new mantra is “stick to the parimeters” at the supermarket – We are doing our best to consume a LOT more fruits and veggies and fresh meats instead of processed meals that come in a bag. I’ve actually already noticed a shift in the way I feel just by eating more fresh ingredients and meals, so I know we are on the right track.

But then something bad happened and I fell off the bandwagon. Like the thing bucked me off, stepped on my gut and then dragged me in multiple circles through the dirt while rodeo clowns pointed and laughed.

“What on earth happened?” you might ask? All I did was have an innocent little “Mean Girls” viewing party with girls from work! But you know what girls do when they get together to watch a chick flick…We’re talking pizza rolls, cheese doodles, wine and s’more dip. Yes, I said “s’more dip”, and, yes, I can blame Pinterest for this delicious little treat.

If I sound a little bitter, I am. But that’s my own fault. Someone who knows they are lactose intolerant should presumably know better then to engorge themselves on chocolaty, marshmallow dip. But just wait until you see this pan of pure joy – You would risk the stomach ache for it too.

Source: Tastebook.com

This dip was, just as the Pinterest caption says, so easy – There are only three ingredients to the dip itself (sweetened condensed milk, semisweet chocolate chips and marshmallow creme) and one ingredient to enjoy it with (graham cracker honey sticks). As you can see in the photo below, we stuck to the store brand stuff to keep costs down – Trust me when I say that this did not minimize taste. My mouth is watering just reliving the memory, even despite the tummy ache afterwards.

With the recipe up on the computer, I got to work putting together our sweet “girl’s night” dip about 30 minutes before people started showing up. All-in-all though, the process took about 10 minutes. So if you try this at home for your own party, wait until the last minute since it needs to be served hot.

The best thing about this dip is that you do the entire thing in the microwave – very simple. First, you dump the 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into a bowl and top it with a cup and a half of the semi sweet chocolate chips (I ended up using the entire bag which was only a hair over a cup and half).

Then you microwave it for 1 to 2 minutes. I microwaved it in 30 second intervals and stirred, that way I could keep an eye on it and avoid burning.

Here’s what it looked like after one 30 second spin in the microwave:

And here it is in all it’s melty, soft goodness after another 30 seconds:

Next, I dumped the chocolate/condensed milk mixture into a glass pan and spread it around. Once the chocolate was even, I dumped spoonfuls of the marshmallow creme on top.

After yet another 30 seconds in the microwave, this time in the pan, I took a knife and swirled everything around to achieve the pretty marbelized look. Don’t STIR it, just run the blade through the mixture in swirly motions. You’ll know when it’s right.

Oh my gosh, it was SOOOOOOOOO good…When the girls arrived, I took it out of the microwave and set out a bowl full of the graham cracker sticks. We didn’t even make it into the living room where the movie was set up – Instead, we stood around the kitchen island dipping and chomping away at the sticky sweet treat. We actually ran out of graham cracker sticks before we ran out of the dip!

To be honest, I doubt that my stomach ache the next day had to do so much with the dip as it did the dozen or so pizza rolls I ate or the twenty-some cheese doodles I downed. I am disgusting I know. I think we all probably could have done nothing but the s’more dip and a couple glasses of wine and been satisfied.

If you are looking for a sweet, indulgent treat at your next party, I think all six of us ladies would recommend this recipe. With Valentine’s day right around the corner, it’s the perfect way to enjoy chocolate and impress your Valentine. Maybe just practice a little more restraint then I did :)

Hope you have a great start to your week!

(Photo credit for gluten-free logo: here)

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Inspiring, Kitchen, Simple Fixes, Take a break!, Weekly Pinspiration Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The beginning of a journey

January 20, 2012 10 Comments

Confession time this Friday morning…

But first, a little week’s end wrap up: After working our tails off for a full week of daily sanding/priming/painting/styling in our now-finished kitchen, I decided that John and I deserved a break from household projects. Don’t worry – I was pretty busy the weekends before the kitchen overhaul, so I have plenty of fun and handy projects saved up to spout off about beginning next week. But for now, we are going to bask in a little project-free time. Today is actually our anniversary so, to celebrate, we are heading out of town tomorrow to our nearest Ikea for a little retail therapy. This will be my maiden voyage to the wonder that is Ikea, so I’m pretty pumped about hitting the road first thing in the morning – It’s about a three-hour drive, so it’ll be an all-day-palooza. Can’t wait!

But back to the confession…As we ease down from our big kitchen reveal I wanted to let you guys in on a little “W” household struggle: Food. Neither John nor I have had a great relationship with food in the last several years (yes, I said “years”). It’s finally gotten to the point that we know we need to make a change. After a heated discussion over the merits of going vegan or completely cutting our dairy (I think it’s safe to say that we are both lactose intolerant), we finally settled on the idea of looking into a gluten-free diet – We are at least going to try it out to see if it makes us feel any better.

John has been an awesome research hound over the past several days – So much so, that he’s probably much better equipped to write this post…But we are both pretty excited to try this diet out. The problem is that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. What even is gluten? I’ve been doing a little research here and there (namely, Googling the word “Gluten” and seeing what I see), but I know myself and the only way I’m really going to get into it is to see the food I will be able to eat. A “bad relationship with food” doesn’t mean that we don’t LOVE to eat – We do. But food just doesn’t love us…

Enter this cookbook:

Before even Googling “Gluten” and “Gluten-free diet,” I started out on Amazon. I needed some visuals to get me excited and amped. The options were wide-spread, but I decided on Kelli and Peter Bronski’s Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking  because of the amount of recipes included (250+) and because of the sheer variety of meals you can make. From several different types of pizza, muffins, bread, etc. and a list of food genres to blow you away (i.e. Italian, Tai, Indian, Asian, Mexican, American, etc.) I was sold. It didn’t hurt that there were a lot of used copies for sale – I was able to snag my book for only $2.99 after picking a “Like New” used copy and redeeming some credit card points I had saved up.

I did the whole, “Look Inside” thing that Amazon so kindly provides and was amazed by the first few recipes for muffins (this sounds kind of like a commercial for both Amazon and the cookbook – It’s unintended though. They have no idea I’m bragging about this!). The muffins don’t seem that hard to make and sound oh-so-yummy. Check this one out:

Banana Nut Muffins

(makes 16 muffins)

4 bananas, peeled

1 egg

2/3 cup sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted

1 teaspoon gluten-free (GF) vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups Artisan GF Flour Mix (I’ll give you that recipe in a moment)

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoons GF baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 16 cups of two 12-cup muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Place paper liners in the greased muffin cups, if desired. (Liners are not strictly needed – the muffins should pop out of the tin, but the liners make it easier.)
  2. Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until mostly smooth with a few large lumps. (A stand mixer is ideal for this job, using the paddle attachment.)
  3. Mix in the egg, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix until incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the side of the mixing bowl while mixing to ensure that the batter is thoroughly mixed. Fold in the nuts.
  4. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. (A cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works very well to transfer the batter.)
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. The muffins should be golden brown on top.
  6. Let the muffins cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Remove and serve.

Um, hello? YUMM!!! I can’t wait to try that recipe out. I have visions of us baking a double batch on Sundays so that we have a healthy, gluten-free on-the-go breakfast that we can grab on our way out the door. So often, I find myself eating things that I know won’t make me feel that great (even something as rich as strawberry jam and butter on toast is too much for my sensitive stomach), so a premade, from-scratch banana nut muffin sounds like a great alternative to me. I Google searched “Gluten-free banana nut muffin for a visual:

Well those are actually “grain-free” – Is there a difference between that and “Gluten-free?” Do you see just how clueless I am about this stuff??! (for the recipe to go along with the photo above, click here.)

According to the little that I was able to read of the book from Amazon, it looks like the first thing you need to start out with is a pre-mixed custom flour mix. It’s mentioned in the banana nut muffin recipe I shared and I promised the low-down on that, so here it is:

Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Mix

(makes about 3 cups)

1 1/4 cups brown rice flour

3/4 cup sorghum flour

2/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup potato starch

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon potato flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

  1. Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Sounds easy enough for us to handle! They also provide a doubled recipe because apparently you’ll use this mixture a lot in making the recipes they provide. We’ll try it out and let you know our experience.

Have any of you ventured into the land of Gluten-free eating? I’d love some help/suggestions/recipes/encouragement as we make this lifestyle change. I’ve already made myself a “Gluten-Free Eatings” Pinterest board to boost my inspiration. Wish us luck!

P.S. Also found out that the Bronski’s have a blog – No Gluten No Problem. Hoping this could be a great resource in the future…

(Photo credit for gluten-free logo: here; grain-free banana nut muffins: here)

Filed Under: Gluten-Free Lifestyle, Inspiring, Product Review, Product Search, Take a break!, The Big Reveal, Yummmm Tagged With: , , , , ,

Merry Christmas!

December 26, 2011 4 Comments

Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Hope you enjoyed a lovely holiday :)

Rudolph Sandwiches:

  • sliced sandwich bread
  • peanut butter
  • classic style mini pretzels
  • red and green M&Ms

Cover the bread with peanut butter and then slice into triangles. Put two mini pretzels at the top of the “long” side to make the antlers. Then make two eyes and a nose with M&M’s. Admire the extreme cuteness and then enjoy!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Seasonal/Holiday, Take a break!, Yummmm Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Holiday Gift Guide 2011

December 2, 2011 9 Comments

Since Monday’s proclamation of the official start of Christmas Time (read up on more of that here if you missed it), it’s time to unveil DG-DIY’s first annual Holiday Gift Guide! I have scoured the internet for the last couple of weeks (and also consulted with John on men-related wish list items), looking for unique gift ideas for all genders, ages and interests. I’ve thrown in some inexpensive things and some for a bit of a splurge…But hopefully you’ll be able to find something for your picky family member, your special someone or just a good friend/acquaintance. There are even a couple of quick holiday treat recipes at the end in case you’re planning on gifting the joy of freshly baked goods to save a little $$ this year (go you!!).

Just to preface, I am not being compensated in any way for these suggestions – Most of the sellers (whether big or small) don’t even know I’m shouting out about their products! I like free advertising just as much as the next person, so here’s to them and their creativity - They deserve it!

For the ladies in your life:

  1. Pai Macadamia & Rose Organic Dry Skin Cream from Spirit Beauty Lounge – $38
  2. Glass shadow boxes from West Elm -$24 t0 $79
  3. Rodna Halter Dress from Anthropologie – $158
  4. Luxe Face Cream from Una Biologicals – $25
  5. BDG Suede Stiletto Heel from Urban Outfitters – $49
  6. Back in the Game Dress in Dutch Darling from Mod Cloth – $95
  7. Cotton full length leggings from OnlyLeggings.com – $15.00 (Come in 9 different colors!)
  8. Antique bronze filigree rose long drop earrings from oldisnewnow – $3.95
  9. Floral paisley print scarf (lilac) from My Scarf Shop – $12.72
  10. Owl charm brown leather bracelet from pinkyourlimb – $8.50

For the men in your life:

  1. Krups Beer Tender from Crate&Barrel – $99.95
  2. Retro Series Hot Air Popcorn Popper from Nostalgia Electronics – $39.99
  3. Sony Bloggie Touch 8GB HD Camcorder with 3″ LCD Touch Screen from Best Buy – $159.99
  4. “Pugs Not Drugs” tee from Urban Outfitters – $24.00 (John would love this one – He gets a kick out of anything with a pug on it)
  5. 4-in-one pocket screwdriver from Amazon – $4.97
  6. Men’s Hipster Wallet from Overstock.com – $24.49
  7. Col. Conk lime shave soap from Target – $3.49
  8. Swiss Army Classic knife from Swiss Knife Shop – $14.95 (BONUS: Can be ordered in one of eleven different free color choices)
  9. Bar III Tie (Elliot Skinny Stripe) from Macy’s – $31.99
  10. “Wilco: Ashes of American Flags Live” Concert DVD from Hot Movie Sale – $8.07 (This gift could be an inexpensive alternative to actual concert tickets)

For the home:

  1. Herringbone throw from West Elm – $59 (BONUS: can monogram with the recipient’s initial!)
  2. Burgandy and mustard wreath from The Yarn Barn – $35
  3. Lights/Darks laundry bag from Crate&Barrel – $22.95
  4. Looking Glass Decanter from Anthropologie – $48
  5. “Flying Bird” rubber stamp from BlossomStamps – $5.50 (I bought these to decorate envelopes and the stamped image is exquisite…seriously)
  6. “Battle of the Sexes” board game from Amazon – $14.97
  7. Happy Family Illustration from oohmoon.com – $99 (your family portrait, cartoon-ified!)
  8. “Mid-Century Chairs” printable calendar from bluetricycle – $5.00 (I have this and LOVE it  - she also sells a beautiful “Nature” calendar)
  9. National Geographic Magazine from National Geographic- $15.00 for 12 monthly issues
  10. “The Fashion File: Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men” from AMC – $26.99

For the kids:

  1. Tic Tac Toe game from Pottery Barn Kids – $10
  2. Baby Octopus from thecuteoctopus – $25
  3. Barbie styling head from Mattel- $13.99 (will this ever get old? I don’t think so!)
  4. Moon Girl nursery wall decal from dezign with a z – $34
  5. Rock Star Mickey from Fisher-Price – $44.99
  6. Organic wooden rattler/teether from SmilingTreeToys – $14
  7. Nintendo 3DS from Nintendo- $169.99
  8. Kid-Tough See Yourself camera from Fisher-Price – $61.88
  9. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes from Baby Einstein- $8.99
  10. Sassy Bathtime Pals Squirt and Float Toys from Sassy- $6.29

For the “kids” (i.e. pets):

  1. “All You Need Is Love” hemp dog collar from collarswithcolor – $17 (seller makes cat collars too!)
  2. Aluminum bar dog tag from DoglegLeftDesigns – $11.95
  3. Wood Chuck Orbee-Tuff Chew and Fetch Ball from Lands’ End – $24.50 (BONUS: Personalize with your pet’s name on the handle!)
  4. Fleece pet blanket from L.L. Bean – $29.95 to $79.95
  5. Home Again Microchip membership from HomeAgain – $16.99 per year (Ginny the cat had this when I adopted her and it gives me SUCH peace of mind…BONUS: You get emails of lost pets in your area and can possibly help reunite families!!)
  6. Zack and Zoey Brite Stripe Sweater from Zack & Zoey – $18.48
  7. Kong Wobbler from Kong – $8.99
  8. Bergan Turbo Track from Bergan – $24.99
  9. Custom pet portrait from Yellow Brick House – $44
  10. PetHoliday Rawhide Dog Treats from PetHoliday- $5.99

And as promised…Here are a few low cost recipes for delicious little Christmas treats in lieu of big store-bought gifts this season. Your friends will LOVE the taste and the special effort you put into it. Just click on the source links below the photos to get the full recipe info!

Treat: Holiday Chex Mix; Source: Living Locurto

Treat: Skillet Toffee; Source: The Kitchn

Treat: Snowman Brownie Pops; Source: Grin and Bake It

Treat: Holiday Pretzel Kisses; Source: Little Birdie Secrets

Well there you have it, folks! Hope you enjoyed this year’s gift guide and that we were able to help you pick out some fun options for your loved ones this holiday season. I LOVE Christmas shopping – I don’t think about it for a moment when dropping money on people who make my life worth living…Make it fun this year and remind yourself that this is the season of giving.

Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Product Search, Seasonal/Holiday, Yummmm, Babies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Farewell to Summer

September 7, 2011 2 Comments

Yes, I know I’m about 15 days early on that blog title, but I’m just SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! Fall is definitely my favorite time of year…John’s too! Our anticipation is palpable – Every time we see that one of our neighbors put up their fall wreath or even just a random pile of fallen leaves (which usually equates to about five or so collectively), we both point and scream “FALL TIME!”. We are a little giddy…

But before I go absolutely nuts with our fall obsession on the little ole’ blog, I thought it was only fitting to give a little adieu to the CURRENT season: Summer…

Today, we are going to chat about plants! I must admit that my “green thumb” is more of the brown variety in that I very seldom have luck when it comes to keeping things alive. I just tell myself that “If I had a real yard with real dirt and soil” things would be different…

Take my friends Savannah and David for instance! When they bought their house last year, they inherited quite an array of plant life. From mint that just about took over the ENTIRE WORLD, to a gorgeous array of flowers that added color and texture to their already stunning back yard.

When I was over there a month or two ago to document this project and this project, Savannah took me around to show me all of the “fruits” of her summer. The results were so pretty…Too pretty not to share with you all!

Isn’t that just a wonderful testament to the season??? Thanks for letting me and my camera raid your back yard, Savannah and David!

And then…We come to our house…

Now, you’ve got to admit that I don’t have nearly as much to work with since all we have for a “back yard” is a back deck. But, that still doesn’t really excuse this catastrophe:

Yeah, that used to be a hanging pot of pansies. I SWEAR that I watered it! It just didn’t want to live, that’s all…

It’s lifeless stems (yet still hanging on for some reason, as is evidenced by the last little flower) was just making me sad, so I gingerly placed it in the trash can and hopped on over to Lowe’s to start over – The goal was to fill our back deck with color and life. Here’s what we came home with:

We got some sage and thyme and also a new hanging pot full of colorful (and living) flowers, which I’m not even going to attempt to identify. John and I love to cook, so I thought growing our own herbs was definitely the way to go.

I also put out some red flowers that my dad potted for me:

And this tomato plant, which was actually a gift from Savannah and David. I lovvvveeeeeeeee our tomato plant…It looks pretty sad in the photo below, but it has given us tons of veggies (fruit?). For whatever reason though, our plant produces cherry tomatoes instead of the big behemoths that Savannah’s produced pictured several photos up. Luckily for me, John doesn’t seem much interested in our tomatoes – Most of them don’t even make it to the plate since I just pop them right into my mouth.

But back to our herbs – So the plan was to stick both the sage and the thyme into a long, thin window box planter I already had. The only problem was that the thyme was rather fat! Too fat to fit in my planter…So I settled the sage in the dirt towards the end of the planter and plan to get a few more pots of it to fill in the rest.

The thyme got its very own pot:

Here it is all planted, looking lush and beautiful…Can’t wait to cook with it soon!!!

Here’s a wide shot of our little “back yard oasis” – No, it’s not a real yard, but we really do love it and use it all the time for a lazy bit of fresh air in the evenings. We are looking forward to spreading out in a detached home sometime in the future, but for now, we are making the most of our small space and not really feeling like we’re missing out on much! We just keep reminding ourselves that we don’t have to mow a lawn ::happy sigh::

How have you guys made the most of the summer season? Or, better yet, how have you made the most of your small space? Which do you like best – Summer or fall? Or maybe winter or spring? Tell us why! We’d love to hear from you!!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Simple Fixes Tagged With: , , ,

What’s for Dinner?

July 15, 2011 Leave a Comment

I think that, no matter if you’re a 25-year-old with no kids or a mom of four, the idea of putting together a delicious and healthy dinner at the end of the day can be a bit of an annoyance. It’s certainly not something I looked forward to, even when I was single living by myself in an apartment! I KNEW that I should be putting together better, less-processed meals, but a lot of the time I would end up making a box of mac and cheese…

Then, sometime last year I found something that had the potential to truly turn my idea of dinner around (this is starting to sound like an infomercial…I promise you that this is a true testimony. Oh and it’s definitely not motivated by perks – The managers of this product have no idea I’m blogging about it).

It’s called Emealz! Some of you may already be aware of this little gem of a service – If you are, then you probably know just how AWESOME it is!!

I first came upon it during a health kick I was having at the time, perusing websites for quality recipes that would make me feel better about myself. There was a little banner ad to the side of one recipe website and you’ll NEVER guess what drew me in…

That’s right, friends – Their logo is an owl :) This little guy used to be a little more prominent on their website, but they recently revamped and he’s not QUITE as visible anymore ::sad face:: But their marketing ploy at the time worked like a charm, because I was all over their website within seconds. What I found was something that actually interested me though and I ended up grabbing my wallet for credit card info.

Here’s the low down: First you choose your meal plan. They have several options from 5 meals to 7 meals per week, recipes that serve 1 to 2 people or 4 to 6 people. You can even choose an option that gives you recipes that are low in fat, low in carbs, portion controlled or gluten-free! You also specify your grocery store – I chose Wal-Mart because they have good prices on groceries, but you can do Publix, Kroger or “Any Store” depending on where you shop.

Here’s a screen image from the website of the plan variety (or you can click here and check out the website yourself)

The reason you choose your grocery store is because the service will plan certain menus around the store’s specials for the week, saving you some moolah.

Speaking of money, how much does this cost…? Well it’s only $5 a month (I get charged $15 every three months) – For that price, members can log into the Emealz website and download/print off a weekly meal plan menu and corresponding shopping list each Friday.

Below is a sample of what these look like (feel free to click here to see it loaded up from the website):

(the image above is cut off since it’s just a sample from their website – The meal plan you print out will list all 5 [or 7] of your weekly recipes depending on what meal plan you choose)

And here’s the shopping list that corresponds to the daily recipes. As you can see, it’s oh-so-conveniently organized by aisle and you can see which meal it links to by checking out the number in the far left column. It does that for you so that if you don’t like a certain meal in the list, you can just cross off those ingredients from your list.

The staples are listed at the bottom to show you what you’ll need for the meals but that you probably already have in your pantry. If you DON’T happen to have bread crumbs or sour cream though, you can simply write it in under the “Other Items I Need” notes section. Oh, and did you check out the projected total cost for all of that stuff? $38.44!!! For a whole week’s worth of dinners!! Not too bad at all…They help you keep costs down by listing shopping items that are generic and don’t cost as much – For example, all the items that have a “GV” next to them mean “Great Value”, which is Wal-Mart’s generic brand. MUCH cheaper than the name brand stuff.

But here’s how it works for us in REAL life.

I print out the menu on Friday afternoon when they post them on the website. Then, sometime over the weekend (we like to do it on Sunday morning over coffee at Starbucks or Barnes & Noble), we go through the recipe list crossing off the ones we aren’t interested in. I tend to cross of the seafood ones and John crosses off the ones that are high in creamy ingredients. We probably cross off one or two from the list each week but we are kind of picky – You might not have to cross ANY off! Then we take the shopping list out and cross off the ingredients we won’t need based on the meals we rejected. We fill up the “Other Items I Need” section with, you guessed it – All of the other stuff we need for the upcoming week (ex. tooth paste, toilet paper, lunch meat for lunches, etc.). From there we hit Wal-Mart and get it all done!

It’s always a little bit over the approximated total cost just because we have lunch/breakfast stuff to get too, but our total cost for weekly groceries for two people usually comes in around $60-70. It probably wouldn’t be that much if I refrained from wandering over to the “Home” section where there are pretty candles and picture frames…

You saw last week where we keep our meal list:

It’s front and center in a kitchen cabinet so that we can access it at any time to plan ahead (ex. take chicken out of freezer to thaw on Monday night).

John and I started to really buckle down and use this together two weeks ago and I think it’s going really well! The meals are DELICIOUS and they are home cooked, which always makes things taste better…They are EASY to make too!!! I mean, if you can fit five recipes onto one sheet of regular-size copy paper, you know the steps are going to be pretty simple, short and sweet. But that definitely doesn’t make them any less worthy of your efforts. Seriously, just try a sample week and see for yourself!

I was going to take some photos of our meals for you, but there’s something about photographing food that is beyond me. It never looks like the delicious pictures restaurants have on their menus or websites…But here’s one to tempt your taste buds!

It was a Salisbury Steak recipe with baked potato and fresh green beans on the side. Yummmmmm…I gobbled that meal up in about 5 minutes flat.

So I just thought I’d share one of the ways that we have simplified our life without skrimping on the good stuff. For all the information you could ever want on this service, definitely check out their website. We loooooovveeee it!!!

Have a great weekend :)

(Photo credit for owl logo: here; All other images from the Emealz website: here)

Filed Under: Product Review, Simple Fixes Tagged With: , ,
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