Ionutrition: Healthy Meals Delivered To Your Door (Review)

April 30, 2017 By Heather Little

So many of us want to start eating healthier, but we just don’t know where to start. There are countless books and articles out there about the latest diet trends and research, it’s sometime hard to know what is the best. Even when we try to prepare better, healthier food, the task becomes too much and we go back to our old ways of fast food and unhealthy grab-n-go meals. But now, Ionutrition is taking the guesswork and struggle out of giving your body the best fuel it can get. Made fresh from 100% natural and organic ingredients, meals are delivered fresh right to your door. The delicious meals have NO preservatives, additives, dairy, gluten, GMOs, hormones, added sugar or soy and are very easy to prepare at home or eat on the go. Choosing to eat healthy has never been easier!

My meals came in an insulated box delivered right to my door. I just unpacked the items and placed them in the refrigerator until we were ready to eat them. I was surprised by the wide variety of meals and even snacks – from fiery squash frittata to blueberry white peach oatmeal to complete chicken, steak, and even salmon meals with sides. My kids really enjoyed the breakfast oatmeal, hearty granola, and coconut almond butter cups. The Moroccan salmon with veggies was delicious and my husband really liked the pepper beef and broccoli. Preparing the meals could not be any easier – just poke a few holes in the plastic wrapper and heat in the microwave for a few minutes and they are ready to eat!

Ordering is easy – just pick a meal plan or order a la carte. There are original, Paleo, protein, and even vegetarian meals to choose from – all are fresh, healthy, and delicious and delivered right to your door. The Ionutrition website is very easy to navigate, complete with pictures of all the meals and snacks so you know exactly what you’re getting. You can even order bulk meals and sides large enough to feed a family.

So if you and your family are on a mission to eat healthier or you’re already there and just looking for easy, convenient, delicious and nutritious meals, I would definitely recommend checking out www.ionutrition.com. You’ll find a wide variety of healthy meals, snacks, and sides, delivered right to your door, ready to eat in just a few short minutes.

Connect with Ionutrition: Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest

*I received meals in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Heather Little

My name is Heather Little and my husband and I have two sweet girls and one crazy dog. We moved to Florida 6 years ago and have loved every minute of it! I enjoy crafting, good food, shopping, and of course travel!

Shopping Online at Walmart – MardiGras King Cake

February 26, 2017 By Anne

I tested out Walmart’s Online Grocery service mentioned in this post, and received grocery shopping funds from Walmart in order to do so.

Photo Credit

This past Christmas I did most of my shopping online. I loved not having to go to the store and fight the crowds. Even when the stores are not crowed I enjoy shopping from home. That’s why I love shopping at Walmart. They have the best prices around and if they don’t you can get it back on their Savings Catcher app.

I was asked to give the Walmart Grocery Shopping a try, so I did. I wanted to make a Mardi Gras King Cake for Mardi Gras. I found the recipe on All Recipes. But I needed a few items from the store. I needed dry active yeast and raisins. But I also needed a few other items; toilet paper, Clorox wipes and batteries.

Shopping on Walmart.com is super easy. To order groceries to pick up just go to Walmart.com and then schedule your pick up! Super easy. You can also order and have it shipped to your home in 2 days with free shipping! There is a minium for the free delivery but it beats going to the store.

So I ordered my items and was told they would be ready Friday February 24th. I went on Saturday the 25th and there they were, all ready for me to pick up.

I then came home to make my Mardi Gras King Cake.

MardiGras King Cake

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: All Recipes

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients

Pastry:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup melted butter
Frosting:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10×16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners’ sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Serve up some Old-Fashioned Caramel Cinnamon Rolls for your Valentine on Valentine’s Day!! #PremierProtein

February 11, 2017 By Marijean

Old-Fashioned Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 9 Buns

Ingredients

Rolls

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet)

1 cup Premier Protein® Caramel Shake warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop to about (110° F), or warm to touch but not boiling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus additional for greasing bowl and pan, melted

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading and rolling out

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon Premier Protein® Caramel Shake

Directions

In medium bowl, sprinkle yeast over 1 cup warm Premier Protein® Caramel Shake and stir to combine. Let sit for 3 minutes. Then stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg and mix until well until combined. Gradually add in flour, stirring after each addition. Once dough is no longer too sticky to handle, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 3 to 5 minutes to make moderately soft dough. Shape dough into a ball.

Place dough in lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until size has doubled (about 1 hour). Punch dough down, cover and let rise again for 1 additional hour. Punch dough down. Grease an 8 x 8-inch glass or metal baking dish and set aside.

Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl. On lightly floured surface roll dough into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Brush about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining butter evenly over the dough using a pastry brush. Sprinkle 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture over.

Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut dough into 9 even 12-inch strips. Roll up each strip tightly, sealing the end by pressing it into the dough. Arrange rolls in prepared pan. Pour remaining butter over the buns, then sprinkle remaining cinnamon and sugar on top. Let rise, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. While cooling the rolls slightly, prepare glaze. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and Premier Protein® Caramel Shake in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle rolls with glaze. Serve warm.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Chefsteps Joule Sous Vide Review

December 17, 2016 By Marijean

My husband loves to cook. I always said he missed his calling in life, he should have been a chef. He loves kitchen gadgets and always buying new ones that come out. I am very lucky that he does all of the cooking because, to be honest, I am NOT a good cook. I always say I wish there was a simple way for me to cook with food coming out actually edible. Well, luckily for me I have found a way! Let me introduce you to the best cooking tool you could have in your home….Chefsteps Joule.

Joule is a rugged kitchen tool that’s made for everyday use. Its strong, durable body is made of extruded polycarbonate, and the top and foot are 316L stainless steel. There is no display to break, which also means Joule is half the weight and size of other sous vide tools, so you can carry it in your knife bag or store it in your top drawer. Joule preheats water way faster than other sous vide devices, and the LED is all the display you’ll need for information at a glance. Heat a pot of water. Or a Cambro. Or the kitchen sink. Capable of heating 20 liters of water or more and equipped with a universal clip along with a magnetic base, Joule works where you want it to work. With Bluetooth LE and WiFi control, you can cook from anywhere. When’s the last time you started cooking from work? Or the bus? Never, that’s when!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous Vide is a French term that describes cooking food in a sealed bag, immersed in water that is kept in the exact temperature that you set. That means steak is never over cooked, chicken is always tender and briskets are fall apart tender.

When I first heard about Sous Vide cooking, I kinda looked at my husband like he was crazy. Cooking meat in a bag? Say what?! No thanks.. not for me. If I only knew then how much of a staple this would be in my kitchen. This little cooking tool is AMAZING. It will honestly change the way you cook forever.

How to use the Joule:

Using the Joule is really easy peasy. As long as you have a smart phone, you are good to go. Just download the Joule app (free!!) for Android or IOS and connects via bluetooth. This app gives you easy step by step instructions on how to use the Joule to cook the best meal. You pick the recipe and it will tell you exactly what to do. I love that because I am the type of person who needs detailed step by step instructions on how to cook a meal. All the controls happen on the app, other than the On-Off button on Joule.

The first meal I cooked was New York Strip Steaks. We are BIG steak eaters in our house and my husband hates when his steaks are overcooked. So, the first thing you do is pick a recipe from the app. Then plug in and set the Joule in your water (The unit is waterproof – the entire thing can be submerged). This can be a pot, a bucket…anything you wish that the Joule will fit in. Since the Joule is small in size you do not need a giant pot to cook in. How cool is that?! Then we seasoned each steak and pre-seared them per recipe. Put each steak in a separate zip lock style bag (another awesome thing is this does not require bags to be purchased from Chefsteps, you can put your meat in any type of ziplock bag you please). From there, we attach the bags to the sides of the pot with clips (we use chip style clips, thank you oxo) and you just press start on the app and then that is it! You just sit back and relax and wait for your meal to be done! So simple! When it was done we gave it a quick sear over the grill (you can also use a pan) and the steak was ready to eat. You will be able to enjoy the most perfectly cooked steak you have every had.

Is the Joule powerful?! Yes it is! Joule features 1100 watts of power. This is the most powerful Sous Vide on the market for home use.

Usually when we cook steak or go out to a restaurant, we ask for medium or medium rare. With traditional grilling, we usually end up with overcooked meat. The Joule will never overcook. You will get edge to edge perfection. Our steak came out perfect as you can see from the photo. It was very tender and super juicy. My husband brought the Joule to work and cooked chicken, he said it came out super moist and flavorful.

Meat isn’t the only thing you can cook in the Joule. You can cook vegetables, eggs and desserts!! The possibilities are endless with all of the delicious recipes on the app. The Joule makes cooking so easy, and the app is super helpful with the detailed instructions and pictures.

We are so happy with the ChefSteps Joule. It has changed the way we cook forever. We are very excited to try Prime Rib with the Joule for our Christmas Dinner!

ChefSteps is selling Joule for $199. This would make an awesome gift for someone who LOVES to cook (or wants an easier way of cooking, like myself)!

Connect with ChefSteps: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram

*I received a Joule in exchange for this review. All thoughts are my own.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Get Your Kids Eating A Healthier Diet By Making These Simple Changes

December 1, 2016 By Anne

If you are a mom, you will know only too well the struggle of getting your children to eat healthy food. Many children have a fear or at the very least, a severe aversion to vegetables when they are young. No one is exactly sure where this hatred comes from – some believe it is simply because if children are told something is good for them, they will naturally resist it. Others think that it is because after trying it, they realise they don’t get the instant energy rush that they get from sweets and fast food. But we all know that children cannot grow up purely eating fast food and takeout. All of these types of food contain very high levels of salt, sugar and fat, and can sometimes lead to a lifelong food addiction as well as a whole myriad of different health problems. All of this doesn’t mean to say that you can’t give your children treats. But simply by making a few small changes to your family diet, you can get your kids eating in a more healthy manner – without them even noticing!

Image source

Baking cookies with your children is one of our life’s little pleasures. It is a fun family activity that everyone can get involved in, whether it’s stirring the mixture or simply decorating the finished result. Many families bake together frequently. The downside of being a family that bakes weekly is that your children are regularly ingesting a lot of unhealthy fat and sugar, which can have a negative effect on their bodies over time. But by using some slightly alternative ingredients in your batch of cookies, you can give them to your children with slightly less guilt. Switching regular flour to coconut flour can still make great tasting cookies, as shown in this recipe: blog.paleohacks.com/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies/. Coconut flour is higher in protein and in healthy fats than regular flour, making it an all round healthier option. Plus, if you or anyone in your family is coeliac, it is gluten-free, too.

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Pizza

Let’s face it: every kid loves pizza. You’ve probably lost count of the amount of times your little ones have pleaded with you to order them a Dominos, after all. There’s nothing wrong with getting takeout every once in awhile. But making a habit of ordering pizza can end severely damaging your family’s health. Next time they ask for pizza, why not try making it yourselves instead? If you’re feeling adventurous, pre-make the bases yourself. But if not, you can just buy them from the store. Let your kids experiment with their own toppings and after half an hour in the oven, you will have some delicious homemade pizza to tuck into!

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Cake

Another sweet treat, nearly everyone would have to admit that they love cake. A lot of us tend to use Sunday as a day to bake a cake for the week – one that we know our kids will love. But think you have to cut out cake completely in order to live a healthy lifestyle? You couldn’t be more wrong. There are now ways to have your cake and eat it, and it’s all to do with changing some basic ingredients. Vegetables such as zucchinis and aubergines are now being used to bake cakes out of, as they can create a moist sponge that rivals a regular cake, with half the sugar. Try your hand at whipping one up and see if your kids notice the difference!