Food — Page 14

Nutrisystem Week 3 – Getting Closer! #NSNation

“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” – Jack Dixon

This quote is posted on my fridge. It’s to remind me NOT to think too much about results yet. Losing weight can be so difficult – and when I think about trying to lose 40-50 pounds – Holy heck, that feels so overwhelming! But, I try to remember – every goal is reached in small steps. So each day I focus on making good choices, and changing more of my bad habits. And I am SO proud of myself already, because I’ve made some awesome changes!

How About Results??

I know, I know – What you guys all really want to know is, “How much have you lost so far??!!” I know this, because it’s what my friends and family keep asking too. But, I’m sorry to disappoint you – I don’t have a number to give you yet. I did weigh myself when I started – But our old scale is really unreliable. After a ton of research online, and asking friends for suggestions – I just ordered the EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale. It definitely seems like the best one in my price range. That way, I’ll be able to truly track my progress. But – here’s the good news… Our old unreliable scale weighs me differently 4 times in a row. BUT – it’s now weighing me at lower numbers than I’ve ever gotten before. That’s VERY encouraging and motivating!

Almost the One-Month Mark

Next Sunday will mark my one-month mark on the Nutrisystem program. So, this weekend I’ll have my new scale, to finally get firm numbers of what I truly weigh. AND – I’m going to retake all of my measurements. Since I took a very full set of body measurements before I started, and logged them all in my personal Nutrisystem online journal system – I am incredibly excited to see what kind of results I’ve gotten!! Watch for the big reveal this Sunday night….

Until then, remember…. “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.” – Jim Rohn

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visitingNutrisystem.com!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 19, 2012 Filed Under: Nutrisystem | No Comments

Nutrisystem Week 2: Challenges & Successes

“It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.” – James Gordon

I told you guys about my big news the other day – I am officially a member of the Nutrisystem Nation! I could not be more excited about this – I know that this is the solution that I’ve been needing for quite awhile now. I shared the basics of the program with you last time, and now I’ll catch you up on my progress so far, since I’ve gotten just a bit behind on posting the past 2 weeks.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” – Maya Angelou

I have never had much trouble with my weight. Yes, it’s crept over the years after turning 21, but was still in a healthy range. Then it happened – I found out I was having a baby! I had dealt with 3 previous miscarriages over the previous 3 years, so I was – as you can imagine – very nervous. I wanted to make sure I was making choices to be as healthy as I possibly could! I started a prenatal yoga program, and was eating the healthiest foods I’d ever eaten. I even – GASP!! – stopped drinking coffee, cold turkey, the day I found out. But even with all of my new changes to my life – at about 6 months I had a checkup, and learned that I had already gained over FIFTY pounds. Ohmyheck. They had me tested for gestational diabetes and a few other lovely things, but all was negative. I was just going to be a big ol’ momma!! My own mom gained over 60 pounds during all 4 pregnancies, and she’s a tiny little thing. So I guess it’s just in our genes. But now – that baby weight is still filling out my JEANS!! Abby is 19 months old, and I still have 40 pounds of baby weight to lose. Yikes.

“Little by little does the trick.” – Aesop

During my first week of Nutrisystem, I’ll admit – I was pretty hungry. Mostly it was because it was a big change for me to eat smaller meals much more often – and it took awhile for me to really find a pattern of when to eat those meals, so that I’d feel full. You get a great little book to help you track everything that you eat – so I also marked down each day which times I was feeling super hungry. By week 2, I was into a good rhythm, and finding it much easier to stick to the plan. These are the pieces of the program that are easiest for me:

Drinking enough water. I don’t drink soda, and am used to chugging down tons of water. Nutrisystem provides you with a big 32 oz. water bottle, and you’re encouraged to drink at least two of those a day. I drink 4 :)
Eating the mini-meals. I have IBS, so I often suffer from tummy troubles. Switching to the smaller meals, spaced throughout the day, has done wonders to help me manage this. I feel SO much better.
Dessert is included. Without this, I’d probably end up cheating! But, with a perfectly portioned dessert choice each night, I don’t feel deprived. Love it!

There are also a few areas of the plan that challenge me a bit. I can tell that it’s going to get easier to follow the longer I stick with it, and build better habits. But these are my current trouble spots:

Portion Control. I had NO idea that I was eating such oversize portions! No wonder I have taken off more weight. It’s been kind of tough to get used to the smaller portion sizes, but I love that it’s teaching me what a realistic meal should look like.
Dinner time. I do fine on the plan all day – But dinner does get a little tough. I live in a big household filled with people – And when my brother is cooking a big taco night dinner, or my Mister is grilling up his amazing steaks, it is SO tough to not have a bite!

I admit it, I did fall off track, just a little bit, a couple nights. But – I was honest with myself, wrote it down in my tracking notebook, and tried to make up with it the next day by having one less snack. I know next week will be even better!

“Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” – Emilie Coue

Here’s that moment of truth I talked about…. Yep, I got brave enough to post my starting weight on the internet. Wow. {No mean comments!!} But, I feel like sharing this super embarrassing weight will help keep me motivated to stay on track! Our scale isn’t exactly the most accurate, so I’m going to buy a new one this weekend – {suggestions welcome in the comments!.} But I did take full measurements, and am tracking those in the totally amazing online support system from Nutrisystem, so I’ll be able to see if there are big changes. Wait – Not “If”, “WHEN” I see big changes!! I can do this.

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visitingNutrisystem.com!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 14, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 1 Comment

Family Game Night: Super Mario Bros Wii #CouchCritics #CBias

Super Mario Bros Family Game Night

These are my nephews – Mario and Luigi. I mean, Cade and Cole :) For this weekend’s family game night, we rented the new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii from Redbox, and the boys really got into character. They are BIG fans of Super Mario Bros! And I admit, so am I. I’m a child of the 80’s, and you just can’t help but think of your childhood when you play this new version of Super Mario Bros – So much fun! It was a perfect choice to bring the kids AND adults together.

Shopping for Game Night Goodies

I was super excited about this week’s game night – My dad moved to Seattle a few months ago, so the kids haven’t seen him since last November. He had a really serious surgery recently, and is finally feeling better again. He was coming over to stay with my brother and I for the weekend, and I was SUPER excited to see him! So, Abby and I headed to Walmart on Friday afternoon, to pick up some great goodies for our game night with Grandpa. Here’s what I had on my list – and you can see our whole shopping trip on Google+ for more pictures too:

Lasagna, garlic bread, and salad for dinner: Because, you know, Mario is Italian and all. I also got some mini-pizza rolls for appetizers, and drew little mustaches on them with tinted sour cream :)
Star Cookies: Sugar cookies cut into stars, frosted yellow, with little faces drawn on. To look like the stars in the game. Um – ended in disaster. I’m not sure how to get the cookies to stay really pointy and sharp – mine turned into puffballs, and looked NOTHING like the stars on the game, lol.
Mushroom Cupcakes: I planned to make yellow cupcakes, frost them red, and then add little white polka dots – like the mushrooms on the game. Another disaster! I could NOT get the frosting for the spots to set. I made little dots on waxed paper, and put them in the freezer, so I could have great disks to place on the frosted cakes. Nope – they wouldn’t set. I made totally sloppy looking mushrooms. They were yummy, but not pretty. I get an A for effort, right??

How can you mess up a candy bowl?

I figured I’d also make a big Mario-themed candy bowl too, for everyone to much on through the night. You’d think that there is no WAY to mess this up, right? But – we couldn’t find ANY of the candies I wanted! The holiday candy we were shopping in above, had been switched out to only Easter – but I’d been hoping to find gold coin candies in with St. Patrick’s Day supplies. Then we headed to the “regular” candy section, for Fireballs and bright M&M’s, but no Fireballs either! So, I settled for the mixture below – M&M’s to feature the Super Mario Bros bright colors, gold-wrapped Rolos instead of coins, and Cinnamon Disks instead of Fireballs.

Game Over for Game Night??

Well, even though most of my desserts didn’t work out the way I planned – they did all still taste good! And everyone had a BLAST. I even went to Amazon later that night and ordered the new Super Mario Bros Wii game for the kids – it was that fun. Like I said – it’s such a great game for kids AND adults, since pretty much all of use remember playing this as a kid. This brand new version for the Wii is similar enough to make you feel nostalgic, but new enough to feel fresh and fun.

Redbox Makes Family Nights Easy!

You can find a Redbox Rental Kiosk at just about any grocery store these days. That makes it super easy to put together a family game or movie night – Head to the store to pick up supplies for dinner and snacks, and then grab your favorite movies and games on your way out. You can even check out the selection online from home, and reserve your favorites before you shop – if you want to plan a theme night like we did! I used to think that Redbox was only for movies, but lately we’ve been changing up family night to include games too, and it’s a blast.

Love Redbox? Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to get updates on cool new products and promotions – even free rental codes!

{Disclaimer: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All photos, opinions, and kitchen catastrophes are totally my own.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 11, 2012 Filed Under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Chef Boyardeelicious Party – & HUGE Contest Too!

For men, the phrase that sends their stress level rising is – “Honey, we need to talk…” – For many women, it’s, “Mom, what’s for dinner? I’m staaaaaarving!” Followed by whines of, “But I don’t like that!” in response to any dinnertime suggestion you come up with. Ah, motherhood. One food that will put a smile on just about any kids face is Chef Boyardee. So, Chef Boyardee came up with some fun new recipes to help you put a great meal on the table that will please everyone by featuring some of their products that are already family favorites. Save time, money, and stress – Make it Chef Boyardeelicious!

Family Dinnertime Favorites

You know I’m a big fan of sorta-homemade cooking. I love to cook and bake and create in the kitchen – But I have way more enthusiasm than I do cooking skills, lol. So recipes that feature simple ingredients, that are easy to prepare – but still let me look and feel like I made a home-cooked meal are totally my style! That’s why I love the new recipes from Chef Boyardee – they totally fit my style of cooking, and so far, my family has loved them all. And don’t think that because these recipes start with a canned pasta that they can’t be healthy – With the addition of some veggies, and using the whole grain versions of these great pastas, they make a great balanced meal. Our very favorite is the Taco-Roni!

Chef Boyardee Taco-Roni – Love it!

We made a few changes to the original recipe – used Doritos instead of tortilla chips, since that’s what I had on hand, used diced tomatos with green chilies instead of regular, and added a few more veggies {chopped onions, peppers, and olives}. The kids asked for seconds – which is pretty rare around here!

“Chef Boyardee Beefaroni combined with tomatoes, black beans and corn, topped with cheese and crunchy tortilla chips for a taco-inspired dish, try Chef Boyardee Taco-Roni tonight!”

You can find the rest of the great recipe ideas on their site too – Cheeseburger-Roni, Chili-Roni, Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake {another kid favorite!}, and Ravioli Lasagna {a sneaky way to get the kids to eat spinach!}.

Chef Boyardeelicious Party Time!

We received a super fun package of supplies, so that we could try out a bunch of the new Chef Boyardee recipes at a rockin’ in-home party. I love any excuse for a party, and love to share great new products with my friends – so this was very cool. We got some awesome baking dishes that I used to make a couple of the recipes I found on the Chef Boyardee site, and coupons so we could stock up on a TON of different varieties. {I have a super adorable photo of Abby and I in our Chef Boyardee aprons too, that I’ll post this weekend, along with a couple more recipes we came up with! Stay tuned…} I already have a house full, with me, my Mister, and Abby – Plus my brother and my nephews, and Grandma! But we invited over one of my best girlfriends and her family too – to see what recipes were favorites. I tried to get creative with the products, and come up with recipes not on the site. We made deep fried raviolis as appetizers, Beef-a-Roni on a Bun {think sloppy joe}, and mac ‘n cheese biscuit cups. I’ll get the recipes written up to show you soon!

Enter to WIN!!!!

Ready to put your kitchen creativity to the test, and see what Chef Boyardee recipes you can come up with? They’re running a super cool contest on Facebook – and you can win big!

Enter the Make it Boyardeelicious Recipe Contest on the Chef Boyardee Facebook page for a chance to win a grand prize of free groceries for a year!
Now through March 11, 2012, you can submit an original recipe that uses Chef Boyardee as an ingredient. Simply upload a photo of the recipe, and share why your family loves it.
Each week, a winner will be chosen based on creativity, all-family appeal, ease of preparation, and palatable appeal by an expert panel of judges. {One of the earlier week winners is a new favorite of mine too – Braided Spaghetti Loaf!}
The weekly winner receives a $500 prize as well as $75 in Chef coupons. If you don’t win in one week, you can re-enter again the next week!
Each of the top ten finalists from all the accumulated weeks will have the chance to win the grand prize of free groceries for a year. The winner will be chosen based on a combined score of taste points and voting.
The voting period lasts March 26-April 8, 2012. Voters get entered into a daily sweepstakes for the chance to win $100. Share it on Facebook and get an extra sweepstakes entry.

So even if your not a creative cooking genius – you still have some awesome chances to win! Make sure to check out the other winning recipes {mmmm, they look goooood!}, enter your own, and then come back and vote to be entered for more prizes. Love it, right?

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a In Home Party campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Chef Boyardee and received product samples to facilitate my party and review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on March 7, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 4 Comments

Win a Gevalia Luxury Prize Package {3/5}

My name is Meagan, and I’m addicted to coffee….

If you’ve read even a couple of posts on this blog, then you know I am a total coffee junkie. I drink a full pot in the morning by myself. I like an iced coffee in the afternoon. Sometimes, when my darling toddler is in full-on adventure mode and I have more piles of work to do than usual – I’ll just keep that pot brewing me new cups of dark & delicious liquid-energy all darn day. And, being such a serious coffee lover, I can tell the difference between different cups of coffee. I’m always looking for new brands to brew, but as a budget momma, I just can’t justify the high-cost on some of the premium varieties, you know?

Tall, Dark, Rich, & Smooth – What more can you ask for in a cup of coffee?

I used to order Gevalia coffees by mail – back in my early 20’s. I loved the flavor of the coffee, and loved the convenience of having it shipped right to my door each month. I had kind of forgotten about that experience until I got this fun package from MyBlogSpark a few weeks ago… As soon as I opened it I remembered how fun it was to get a monthly delivery of amazing new varieties of coffee, and hoped that the products were as good as they used to be. They had sent me over a couple of types to try out –

House Blend: A Gevalia favorite, House Blend is a robust yet never bitter coffee. This roast has a captivating aroma that is only matched by its exceptional flavor. (Medium/Dark Roast).
French Roast: Gevalia French Roast is a coffee of impressive richness and dimension, expertly crafted from prized Arabica beans grown in Colombia and Brazil. Hints of aromatic smoke give this dark-roasted French Roast blend an intense, yet uniquely satisfying flavor. (Dark Roast).

Let me tell ya ladies – these totally did not disappoint me. I’m not sure if it’s just that I appreciate things more now in my old age, {lol, but seriously – I’m over 30 now. With gray hairs and frown lines. I’m creeping up over that hill…} or if they’ve made changes to their coffee, but it was even better than I remembered it. The French Roast was especially impressive – I love a dark coffee, but hate spending a ton on the couple of expensive brands that I liked best. And so many affordable dark coffees have a burnt or bitter taste to them. But this was perfect – a totally smooth French Roast. A dash of vanilla creamer, 10 minutes of quiet “me” time with my newspaper = total heaven.

Gevalia brings Swedish-style luxury to the Supermarket

Now, coffee of any type is a Busy Mom Solution. It helps you get things done – it gives you the energy for 204 more rounds of peek-a-boo, the strength to not smack your husband when asks why you’re wearing two different shoes {we all have those days}, and the courage to grab the cleaning spray and tackle that horrible odor coming from under the kids beds. But what makes Gevalia extra special is that it’s a seriously good, total luxury product – but you can now find it right at your local Safeway or other supermarket, at an affordable price. Most of us don’t have the money for a ton of premium brands in our lives, and cut a lot of corners to make ends meet. I love that this new selection of Gevalia Kaffe is a perfect solution for every mom – fabulous living on a frugal budget. {Still not convinced? Check out the comments on their Facebook page too – there are some great ones from fans!}

Win Your Own Gevalia Package Too!

One lucky winner will get a sweet shipment of the exact same goodies that I got –

(1) sample of the House Blend from Gevalia Kaffe
(1) sample of the French Roast Blend from Gevalia Kaffe
A Gevalia Kaffe branded coffee mug

Sounds good, right? Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in. I’ve partnered with a few other of my favorite blogging buddies for this giveaway too – if you see this on their pages, don’t worry – you only need to fill out the form on one site, and it enters you on all of them! And if you’re feelin’ lucky, check out the rest of the giveaways in my sidebar – the more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

{Disclaimer: Kraft Foods through MyBlogSpark has provided sample product to me and is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but
solely by me.}

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 28, 2012 Filed Under: Giveaways | 4 Comments

3 Ways Walmart Can Help You Eat Healthy on a Budget

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

At first, that headline feels a little bit surprising, right? I mean – We all love Walmart, but you don’t usually associate it with healthy living. But that’s about to change – Walmart is rolling out a huge campaign to help children have access to better foods, help busy moms learn how to shop for healthier family meals, and have brought in Dr. Ro, one of America’s top nutritionists, to share easy steps that every family can take to eat healthier on a budget!

walmart

3 Ways Walmart is Helping Families Live Healthier

Walmart is giving away $9.5 million in grants to great organizations around the country that work to ensure families get access to healthier and more affordable food choices. This funding will help to support nutrition education programs, provide classes on learning to shop for healthier foods on a budget, and even provide live cooking demonstrations at local stores around the country – How cool is that?
The addition of Dr. Ro will help Walmart share easy to follow tips that can help moms learn which foods in their local Walmart are the best to feed to feed their families, and how to find the best value. I can’t wait to learn some of her great tips on healthy living!
Not every community has a health foods store – But almost everyone lives close enough to a Walmart store to visit and shop regularly! By educating families about healthier choices, and making them easy and accessible to shop for – Walmart can really make an impact on the diets of thousands of American families!

Shopping Matters Tour!

As you can see in the video, Walmart is working to busy moms the basics of how to find the best nutrition at the best prices in their own local stores. They’re also using all of that grant money I mentioned to fund amazing programs across the country – Like Action for Healthy Kids, a group that works to get healthier foods into schools nationwide. The $1.5 million grant from Walmart will bring better foods and nutrition education to 400 schools, which will impact over 160,000 children!

How these changes can help you

In our family, I’m always trying to guide us towards cleaner, greener, healthier lives. I’ve noticed over the past year that our diet and exercise habits have gone down hill quite a bit – The Mister was laid off and has been out of work for almost a year, I’m so busy running this site and all of my other projects I don’t always have time to plan for healthier meals, and I have a toddler now who can keep things running pretty crazy around here. I love that Walmart is using their enormous power as one of the biggest grocery retailers to encourage a movement towards better nutrition! Walmart reaches so many families, that they’re education programs can make a big difference in helping other busy moms like me shop for great foods to serve to their families.

What do you think?

I love hearing what you guys think about things – What do you think about the grants that Walmart will be sharing in communities across the country? Which one of the organizations listed are your favorite? Are you excited to see things like live cooking demonstrations or shopping education tours in your own local store? What else should Walmart do to help encourage and enable moms to prepare great meals for their kids? Share in the comments!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 8, 2012 Filed Under: Deals and Coupon Codes, Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Take a Tea Time-Out for a Chance to Win – #LiptonGreenTea

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” – Sydney J. Harris

As busy moms, we’re often so busy taking care of everyone else that we forget to take care of ourselves. We all know we do it, we all know how important it is to carve out a little “me-time” during the week – Yet most of us still don’t find a way to do it.

Take a Tea Time-Out

I was sent an amazing package of the new Lipton Superfruit teas a couple weeks ago. I wanted to share them here with you guys – which meant I had to take a few minutes to sit and really pay attention to what I was tasting. I am so glad that I did, because this is quickly becoming my favorite afternoon ritual – When I get Abby settled in for a nap, I have some time to sit down with a my planner, a cup of Red Goji and Raspberry tea, and one of my favorite goodies – These Cranberry Chip Muffins. It’s the perfect way to kind of break away from my daily stress and craziness, enjoy a really great treat that’s packed full of good stuff, and center myself again. If you’d like to try sneaking in a “mommy break” each day too – Here’s the recipe for Cranberry Chip Muffins:

Cranberry Chip Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Grab a big bowl, and combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Then grab another big bowl, and whisk your juice, oil, and the egg.
Next, stir the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ones, but just until they're moistened.
Lightly fold in the cranberries and mini chips.
Either spray cooking spray into your cupcake pan, or use some cute paper lines - then fill each cup about 2/3 full of muffin batter.
Bake 'em up at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.
You can also sprinkle sugar crystals on top if desired.

https://sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/02/take-a-tea-time-out-for-a-chance-to-win-liptongreentea/

Join the Conversation

Now that I have shared what I would pair with these refreshing Lipton Green Tea Superfruits, I want to know, how do you enjoy your tea?

Share your tea time must haves for a chance to win a year’s supply of Lipton Tea, a tea kettle, a tea box, a mug/saucer set, a travel tumbler and a $50 gift card to Amazon.com!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton Green Tea Superfruit. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.