MealEnders Review

Thank you to Fit Approach and MealEnders I had the opportunity to try out their appetite control lozenges. I have to admit at first I was a little skeptical that it would work. Who would think that a small lozenge would have the power to stop hungry me from overeating at dinner or grabbing an extra snack? Let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. They work very well. Which is awesome for someone like me who absolutely loves food and loves to eat. 

So how does it work, you may ask? I asked the same question and found this great answer on their website. 

MealEnders’ active-taste formula rewards and resets your taste buds, distracting you from the temptation to overindulge.  First the delicious Reward Layer treats you to the sweet taste of dessert – a signal we typically associate with the end of a meal.  Then the Inner Core’s Active-Taste Layer releases a proprietary blend of gentle, cool tingling sensations on the tongue, which engage the trigeminal nerve, distracting your mind from the urge to continue overeating.  You can feel your MealEnder go to work instantly.

Another question, you may ask, is it convenient? My answer is absolutely. Inside each bag is 25 individually wrapped lozenges. So you can throw some in your purse to take with you when you are out. 

How does it taste? They are delicious. I've tried a few of the flavors and they are all good. With the citrus one, the first taste you get is the chocolate outside, and then you have a citrussy (is that a word?) hard candy on the inside. Make sure that you just let it dissolve naturally in your mouth and don't chew it to get the full effects of the lozenge. 

How long does it last? I found that when I took one after a meal, it lasted at least a couple hours and when I took one just when I was feeling hungry, it usually lasted about a 1/2 hr. Both times getting me to my normal time to have a snack. 

Lastly, how much does it cost? It's actually very reasonable. One bag of 25 lozenges is $14.95 and if you when you buy one month and three month supplies. Where can you get this awesome product? Head on over here and place your order :D

** I received this complimentary product in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are 100% my own.**

Midori Spring Ceremonial Gold Class Matcha Review

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try Midori Spring Ceremonial Gold Class Matcha tea. At first I was hesitant to try it because I had tried match tea before and it really bothered my stomach. This was not the case with Midori Spring. The tea was so smooth and delicious and didn't affect my stomach at all.

This has not become my afternoon staple. I just mix 1/2 teaspoon with hot water and stir well, and it leaves a slight froth on the top. Super appealing and super delicious. I definitely would recommend it to all of you. You can find it for purchase right on Amazon for just over $25.


** I received this complimentary product in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are 100% my own.**

Tasteful Thursday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe: Tortilla Chicken Soup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low

Yield: 6 servings

Serving size: 1¾ cups and 2 tablespoons tortilla strips

Ingredients

Soup:
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small onion, diced
• 15-ounce can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 12-ounces frozen corn
• 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• Two, 10-ounce cans Ro*Tel® Original Mile Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1-ounce less sodium taco seasoning
• 32-ounces Pacific® Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• ¾ cup Fresh Gourmet® Lightly Salted Tortilla Strips
Optional toppings*:
• reduced-fat sour cream
• sliced Jalapeño peppers
• avocado
• reduced-fat Mexican shredded cheese
• cilantro, chopped
• lime wedges
• *Optional toppings are not included in nutritional calculations.

Instructions

1. Place the chicken on the bottom of slow cooker.
2. Add the onion, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green chilies, taco seasoning, and chicken broth. Stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
4. Remove the chicken and shred. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and mix well.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and, garnish with 2 tablespoons of the tortilla strips.

Nutrition Information

Per Serving (1¾ cups and 2 tablespoons tortilla strips):

Calories: 331

Fat: 4g

Carbohydrates: 52g

Fiber: 7g

Sugar 11g

Protein: 25g

WWP+: 8

Taken from http://www.skinnymom.com/skinny-crock-pot-chicken-tortilla-soup/

Inspiration Wednesday

Tasteful Thursday - Autumn Egg Salad

Autumn Egg Salad

Whether you're cooking for a crowd or looking for something nutritious to feed your family at lunch, try this better-for-you egg salad. It's super easy to make this healthy egg salad, and the mix-ins add great nutrition to every bite. 

Author: Liz

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 12 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a box grater (1/3 cup)
• 1 celery stalk, trimmed and cut into ¼-inch dice (1/4 cup)
• ⅓ cup finely diced unpeeled apple
• 3 to 4 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 3 to 4 tablespoons 2%-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons honey mustard
• Kosher salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Place the eggs, carrot, celery, apple, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, and honey mustard in a large bowl and mix together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Serve on its own, on top of a salad, or in a sandwich.

Taken from Meal Makeover Moms

Inspiration Wednesday

Tasteful Thursday - Cauliflower Pizza

Makes 4 servings

Start to Finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 garlic cloves

⅓ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pizza Topping

½ cup marinara sauce

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cauliflower with the garlic. Pulse until the mixture resembles a fine meal, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and eggs, and mix to combine. Stir in the herbs, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Press the cauliflower mixture into a ½-inch-thick circle on the prepared baking sheet. 

5. Bake the crust until it’s crisp and golden around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven.

6. Spread the marinara on top of the crust. Arrange the mozzarella slices evenly over the sauce. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes more.

7. Let the pizza cool for 5 minutes before slicing.Garnish with basil just before serving.

Taken from PureWow

Inspiration Wednesday

Tasteful Thursday - Cashew Go Bars

Cashew Go-Bars

NOTES

I ended up cutting the bars in half to make them more snack-sized. The recipe will make 16 larger rectangular bars or 32 smaller square bars.

INGREDIENTS

Cooking-oil spray
1 cup regular rolled oats
1/3 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons flaxseed
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup roasted salted cashews, chopped
1 cup dried mission figs, chopped
3/4 cup cashew butter
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup honey
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a 9- by 13-inch pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on the 9-inch sides, and coat with cooking-oil spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, oat bran, flaxseed, flour, baking powder, salt, cashews, and figs until well blended.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together peanut butter, milk, egg, honey, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well blended.
3. Add flour mixture to cashew butter mixture, and beat until completely blended. Scrape dough into pan, and with wet fingers or a rubber spatula, pat to fill pan completely and evenly (dough is sticky, so you may need to coat your hands in cooking-oil spray). Chill dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300°F. Invert pan onto a work surface, lift off pan, and peel off plastic. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut straight down lengthwise through the middle, then crosswise to make 16 bars, each 1 1/2-inch wide. Place bars about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake bars until lightly browned and somewhat firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely. Bars will keep up to 2 weeks, stored airtight, or 2 months, frozen.

INFORMATION

Yield

 

16 bars 

Cook Time

 

1 hour 30 minutes

Taken from Popsugar

Tasteful Thursday - Quinoa Chili

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Quinoa Chili Recipe

Makes 12, 1 cup servings

For first 5-6 hours:

1.5 pounds dried small red beans, soaked overnight
1-28 ounce can tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups hot water

For last 30 minutes:

1 pound frozen corn
1 cup quinoa

In a 6 quart slow cooker, mix soaked beans, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and water. Cook for 5-6 hours on high until beans are tender.

When beans are cooked, add quinoa and corn and cook on high for 30 minutes.

For one cup = 283 calories, 1.4 g fat, 0.0 g saturated fat, 53.2 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g sugar, 15.2 g protein, 15.8 g fiber, 411 mg sodium, 6 Points+

Points+ values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only.

Taken from http://www.snack-girl.com/snack/slow-cooker-quinoa-chili/

Inspiration Wednesday

Tasteful Thursday - Cucumber & Tomato Bites

Cucumber and Tomato Bites Recipe

Makes 6 bites

1 medium cucumber
1 ounce Neufchatel cheese (next to cream cheese)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (optional)
3 cherry tomatoes
dusting of paprika (optional)

Peel the cucumber into strips so that you leave half the peel. Slice into 1.5 inch rounds. Heat cheese in microwave for a few seconds to soften and mix in thyme. Core out a bit of the cucumber and fill with ½ teaspoon or so of cheese.

Slice tomatoes in half and stand up in cheese and dust with paprika. Refrigerate for later or eat immediately.

One bite is 22 calories, 1.2 g fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 2.4 g carbohydrates, 1.1 g sugar, 0.9 g protein, 0 g fiber, 20 mg sodium, 1 Points+

Points+ values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only.

Taken from http://www.snack-girl.com/snack/cucumber-bites/

Inspiration Wednesday

#BOSUstrong Madlib Fun!!

To announce the start of the BOSU and Sweat Pink #BOSUStrong challenge Sweat Pink thought it would be fun to do a madlib. So won't my awesome readers join in.........

5 THINGS THAT MAKE ME #BOSUStrong

Today I am embarking on a 4 week challenge with BOSU and Sweat Pink to prove to the world that I am #BOSUSTRONG. Being #BOSUSTRONG means I make fitness part of my everyday life, at home, out and about, and with my friends and family.I will squat, mountain climb, plank, push-up, lunge,  ________  and ________ my way to a stronger and ____________ body.  And I will encourage ________ [person] and ________ [person] to join me on this fun journey because we are one big, happy #FitFamily.

Being #BOSUStrong is not just about movement, sweat, or even owning a BOSU, its about being a leader, an inspiration to others, and sharing my own fitness journey with others. It’s about not letting ________ and ________ stand in my way of sweating and getting strong! The 5 things that make me #BOSUStrong are:

My strong______________________.

My ability to____________________.

My love for______________________.

My healthy _____________________.

And my _________________________.

So I want to know - are you #BOSUStrong? Copy and paste the above, fill it in and make it your own and then tag me in it and share with your friends! Let’s all be #BOSUSTRONG.

Ok, here's mine.......

5 THINGS THAT MAKE ME #BOSUStrong

Today I am embarking on a 4 week challenge with BOSU and Sweat Pink to prove to the world that I am #BOSUSTRONG. Being #BOSUSTRONG means I make fitness part of my everyday life, at home, out and about, and with my friends and family.I will squat, mountain climb, plank, push-up, lunge,  burpee  and run my way to a stronger and healthier body.  And I will encourage Christina [person] and Lydia [person] to join me on this fun journey because we are one big, happy #FitFamily.

Being #BOSUStrong is not just about movement, sweat, or even owning a BOSU, its about being a leader, an inspiration to others, and sharing my own fitness journey with others. It’s about not letting lack of time and motivation stand in my way of sweating and getting strong! The 5 things that make me #BOSUStrong are:

My strong commitment.

My ability to workout.

My love for running.

My healthy legs.

And my strength.

So I want to know - are you #BOSUStrong? Copy and paste the above, fill it in and make it your own and then tag me in it and share with your friends! Let’s all be #BOSUSTRONG.

Inspiration Wednesday

Inspiration Wednesday

Bulu Box Review

So the wonderful people over at Bulu sent me a box of delicious and healthy goodies and products to try out. The Bulu box is a really neat concept. You sign up for a monthly subscription, and each month they send you a sample box of health and nutrition items. They offer subscriptions on a monthly, 3 month, 6 month or annual basis and of course the longer the subscription you pick they better price you get. What's even cooler about this is that once you try the sample boxes, you can order full sizes of the items that you really loved right from their site.

With my box, I got to try some really great items, but my absolute favorite out of the box was the lemon pepper chicken jerky. Bad thing was my family loved it as well, so I had to fight them for it :) I also really liked the movit energy gels, they tasted great and kept my energy up during my 8 mile run. While those were my favorite items out the box, all of the items were really awesome, and I will be looking into purchasing the other items as well.

So, I definitely am recommending Bulu boxes to my readers. It's a great way to try out new health and nutrition items monthly for a really reasonable price. The even better news is that they are letting me share a discount code with my readers. If you purchase a 3 month subscription, you can save 50% if you use the code SWEATPINK when you place your order over on their site.


This review and giveaway was made possible by #SweatPink and Bulu Box. A one month subscription to Bulu Box was sent for my time and effort on this campaign. 

Tasteful Thursday - Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

Crispy Oven "Fried" Chicken

 

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Now that families everywhere are getting back into a dinner routine, gather them around the table with this better-for-you version of "fried" chicken. No deep-fat fryer required.

Author: Meal Makeover Moms

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Four 4-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium Old Bay Seasoning
• ¼ cup 1% low-fat milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 generous cups cornflakes, crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray a cooling rack generously with nonstick cooking spray and place in the prepared sheet.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season generously with kosher salt and pepper and set aside. Prepare the breading by placing the flour, flaxseed, and Old Bay in a wide bowl or on a plate, and mix together with a fork.
3. Place the milk, lemon juice, and mustard in a second wide bowl and whisk together until well combined. Place the cornflakes in a third wide bowl or plate.
4. Dredge each chicken piece in the flour mixture until well coated; tap off excess flour. Coat each floured chicken piece in the milk mixture and then roll in the cornflake crumbs until very well coated.
5. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack and place in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350°F and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is crispy. (Adjust cook time accordingly if chicken breast halves are greater than 4 ounces each.)

Notes

You'll get 40% iron per chicken piece.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: (1 piece), Calories: 230, Fat: 3.5g, Saturated fat: 1g,Carbohydrates: 24g, Sodium: 340mg, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 26g

Taken from http://mealmakeovermoms.com/