Going Vegetarian (Kind of)

My husband & I have decided to go vegetarian kind of.  Let me explain.  We will be eating veggies & fish & occasionally chicken or turkey.  I am not sure it there is a name for that so I will go with vegetarian kind of for now.  This will be kinda a big change for us.  But we are ready to start a healthier lifestyle. 

We have been doing this for about a month and it has been going good.  We both feel better.  Blue Apron has a very good menu for us.  We get 1 fish meal & 2 vegetarian meals.  I am pleasantly surprised that vegetarian eating in very tasty.


Over this past weekend I made Turkey Meatballs.  I thought I would share the recipe:

1 or 2 lbs. Ground Turkey (you can also use chicken) (I used 2 lbs.)
1/2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
1/4 Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cloves Minced Garlic
1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning (oregano, basil & parsley)
Salt & Pepper

1. Mix together the turkey, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt & pepper.
2. Form into 16 equal sized balls.
3. Heat pan on stove top with oil (maybe 1-2 tbsp. of oil).  I use Canola Oil.  It's heart healthy.
4. Brown on meatballs on all sizes until lightly brown and cooked through.

We put these in our spaghetti. I also ate these with rice & sautéed sweet peppers.

Here are a few of the vegetarian & fish dishes we have made with Blue Apron!


 

Mushroom & Broccoli Cassarole 

Seared Cod with Potato & mixed greens

Seared Salmon & Lemon Labneh with Freekeh, Kale & Dates

Taking Care of Myself

As I get older I have realized that it is important go take care of myself. That includes my skin, my hair & my body. I thought I would secrets (well not really secrets) but what I use & do!

 

My skin routine is the Clinique 3-step skin care system.  This includes Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion 3 (for combination skin) & Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. At night I use Turnaround Overnight Revitalizing Moisturizer. I have tried other skin care products but I always come back to Clinique.  I have been doing this routine for about 2 weeks & I have seen a huge difference in my skin.

 

 
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

For my hair I use Biolage Sugar Shine products.  They were recommended to by my awesome hair dresser Jess.  I have been using this shampoo for a few months.  I don't think I will ever go regular store brand hair care again.

 

I have ordered some new foundation & powder from Clinique which should arrive today.  I will share my thoughts about them soon.

 



Great Supperbowl Snack

Last Sunday was the Super bowl!  Actually I didn't have a team in the game so I basically watch for the commercials (which BTW sucked big time).  I watch the half time show just because I wanted to see what Lady Gaga did.  I thought the halftime was pretty good.  This is coming from a girl who is not a big fan of Lady Gaga.

Anyway on to the food!!  I made Buffalo Chicken Dip.  YUMMO!!  Here is the Recipe I used:

3 cans Chicken, Drained (I normally don't like chicken but for this recipe it's the best)
2 (8 oz.) Packages of Cream Cheese
3/4 cups Buffalo Chicken Sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
1 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
About a Cup of crumbled Blue Cheese
About a Cup of Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Combine chicken, cream cheese, hot pepper sauce, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue cheese in a large bowl.
3. Transfer chicken mixture to a 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese & some crumbled blue cheese.
4. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

This is one of our favorite go to GameDay snacks.  

That's it for now,

Kristin Rae

 





  

Happy 2017

Hello all! I have been away for awhile but He I am back!

 

I have 2 goals for 2017. First goal is to start eating healthier.  My husband I started using Blue Apron about 3 months ago.  If you don't know what Blue Apron is here is a brief overview of what it is.  I am food delivery service.  They sent you all the ingredients to make 3 meals a week for 2 people.  It is perfect for us.  It also sends the recipes with step by step instructions. Very easy to follow.  With Blue Apron we have been able to try different types of foods we wouldn't normally try.  Here are a couple pictures of some of the meals we have had.

 

 

My 2nd goal is to get into shape.  I have not worked out in several months.  I want to start running again. 2016 was just not a get year but I am determained to start eating healthier & get into shape.

 

Until next time

Kristin Rae

 





Rodan & Fields Unblemish

My mom bought some Rodan & Fields Unblemish for our son to help his acne but he 

wasn’t using it.  So while shopping with my mom on Saturday she suggested that I start using it.  I started it this morning.  It is a 4 step program for your skin. 

1. Acne Treatment Sulfur Wash

2. Clarifying Toner

3. Dual Intensive Acne Treatment

4. Oil Control Lotion SPF 20

Not that I have bad acne but I do have scares from years of acne.  This will help reduce my scares.  I use it in the morning & in the evening.  I have taken a before picture & I will take another picture in 2-3 weeks to see the difference.  

Until next time!!

Kristin

Before

Easy Dinner

I like super easy dinners.  Here is one of my favorite’s!

Chicken Rice with Mushrooms & Spinach

2 packages Chicken Rice-A-Roni

Chicken Both

About a 1 ½ cups Mushrooms

About 2 cups Spinach

Butter

Olive Oil

1. Sauté mushrooms in a little butter & olive oil.  Then welt the spinach in a little butter, olive oil & some chicken both.

2. While spinach is welting start the rice-a-roni.  Just following the directions on the package.  I used chicken broth instead of water.

3. Once everything is done mix everything together & enjoy. 

4. I toasted some Italian Bread with olive oil to have with it. 

Until next time!!

Kristin

Freekeh Review

Though Sweatpink I was chosen to review a product called Freekeh.  Freekeh is a process which means "to rub" in Arabic. Freekeh was created by accident nearly 2,000 years ago when a Middle Eastern village was attacked and their crop of young green wheat was set ablaze. Most folks would sulk over their misfortune, but the crafty villagers rubbed off the chaff, cooked it up and "Eureka!" Freekeh was created. We're proud to offer you this tasty, nutritious ancient grain with a funny name.

You can do so many things with Freekeh.  I made dinner & breakfast with mine.

Rosemary & Sage grilled Chicken with Rosemary & Sage Freekeh

Dinner

4 Chicken Thighs

½ cup Olive

Handful Fresh Rosemary

Handful of Fresh Sage

½ tsp Dried Thyme

1 cup Rosemary & Sage Freekeh

3 cups Chicken Both

1 tbsp Butter

2 bunches Asparagus

Bunch of Mushrooms

1. Marinate Chicken Thighs in olive oil, rosemary, sage & thyme for about 1 hour.  Turn half way though.

2. While chicken is marinating put asparagus & mushrooms in an aluminum pan.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Also, add a little butter to the pan.  Cover pan with foil & place on preheated grill for 30 minutes.

3. Next start the Freekeh according to the package.  I used Chicken both to cook mine.  After it is cooked add just a little butter to it just to give a little creamy texture. 

4. While the Freekeh is cooking take the veggies off the grill & put the chicken on the grill.  Cook until it is no longer pink in the center probably about 30 minutes.  I stirred in some of the asparagus & mushrooms in with the Freekeh.  I was amazing! 

5. When everything is done plate it up and serve with some toasted bread.

This was a really good meal!!  My 17 year old son even like the Freekeh which totally surprised me.

With any dinner there must be dessert!

Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix (Any Brand)

1 Can Coca-Cola

1.Mix the cake mix & soda together & bake according to the cake mix package.  That’s it.  I frosted the cake with store chocolate frosting & decorated with mini Kit-Kats.

Warm Breakfast with Freekah

1 cup Original Freekeh

3 cups Almond milk

¼ Cup raisins

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ dried apricots, cup up into small pieces

About 1 tbsp honey

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Cooked Freekeh according to package, instead of water I used Almond mile.

2. Once Freekeh is cooked let it cool slightly.  Add dried fruit, honey & cinnamon.

Breakfast

3. Then what I did is put into separate containers for the week. 

4. To reheat just add a tablespoon of almond mile to the container & heat in microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

The breakfast turned out like a very hearty oatmeal!!  I will defiantly be making this again!!

 

Because I really like this product & Freekeh is a such a good company.  They are giving any one package of Freekah.  The chocie of original, rosemary sage, or tamari to one of my readers.  To enter comment on this post.

 Until next time!!

Kristin