healthy

Ready to Eat Meals from Meal Prep Sunday San Diego!

Abby H.

Friends- This review is for those of you who have told me that you like the IDEA of meal planning/meal prep, but you lack the time, kitchen space, or energy to do it.

I’ve reviewed other Meal Prep companies before, but they aren’t local, so the food is frozen and delivered, and it’s… meh. Full of salt/sodium, bland, squishy textures, or just not satisfying. Hold onto your pants, because…

Meal Prep Sunday San Diego is 1000% different. They are located here in San Diego. The food is prepared here in town, delivered fresh in a custom insulated bag with an ice pack with reheating directions. And if you aren’t in San Diego? No Problem!
Delivery is available in all San Diego, Orange, LA, Riverside, and Imperial counties.

How is Meal Prep Sunday different (aka why is it so cool??):

1. Personalized Meal Prep: By Inputting your physical information, and fitness goal, we portion, and select the right source of ingredients.
2. They Shop for You: Never Frozen, fully organic produce, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef all provided by our local suppliers
3. They Cook for You: Their team of culinary professionals develops fresh seasonal recipes for you to enjoy
4. Advanced Packing Technology: Their modified atmosphere packaging system naturally keeps your meals fresh for up to 7 days
5. Free Delivery Every Sunday: Every Sunday 3-6 pm you will receive your meals in their custom insulated bag with an ice pack
6. Weekly Rotating Menu: They change your menu every week so you can have a variety of new meals week by week
7. 90 Days Workout Plan: They provide weight and cardiovascular training plans synced with your menu and fitness goals, included with your package
8. Save Time, Money: Save up to 10 hours, and $60+ per week, by removing shopping, cooking, cleaning, thus increasing your productivity

Meal Prep Sunday delivered 6 meals to me last week. You’ve probably seen pictures on Instagram.

Steak, Salmon, and Chicken. Yum. Not shown, but gobbled up quickly: An amazing omelet with andouille sausage, veggies, cheese, turkey bolognese with pasta, and a southwestern chicken dish with pulled chicken and southwestern veggies and black beans.

Everything was flavorful, tasty, and easy to re-heat.

One of the things I like about Meal Prep San Diego is that when you sign up, they ask for your age, weight, height, gender, fitness level (how much you are active per week), and what plan you want (build lean muscle, burn fat, balanced, or senior). Meal Prep Sunday San Diego uses these answers to generate a plan that is as unique as you.

They have three plans available.

For restaurant-quality, organic food that is ready to eat in 5 minutes or less and delivered straight to your door, that’s a great price.

The meals change weekly. For those of you who live alone, or if you are finding that you are eating out/getting delivery frequently, a meal delivery service once a week is a great way to save money and eat better.

A steak, mashed yukon potatoes, and green beans is a lot healthier than a burger and fries! not to mention more filling, and cheaper than a trip through the drive-thru.

Meal Prep Sunday San Diego delivered 6 meals to me to facilitate my review. I received no financial compensation. For more information, please see my disclosure page.

Achievement: Stay Active and Donate Your Points to Charity!

Abby H.

I love Achievement. It’s a great way to earn a little extra cash for syncing your fitness tracker! You can learn all about Achievement here and which Health and Fitness Apps are supported.

b0e5d5e05457e2c8a12dc87c9b6eafc7 (1)I received an email this week from Achievement about how you can use your points to help others!

Did you know you can donate your points to charity? Join Achievement in raising donations for these organizations that have made life-changing impacts in Black Communities across the country. In honor of Black History Month, they are highlighting these organizations on Achievement:

And if you are already hooked up with Achievement, Right now is a great time to refer your family and friends! When you refer a friend to Achievement and earn 450 points for EACH friend you refer (max of 20 referrals all time)! Refer a friend, earn points, and join them in amplifying Black voices all month long. Offer ends on Mar 1st 11:59 pm PST.

Disclaimer: if/when you click on my link above and sign up for Achievement, I’ll earn 450 Achievement Points. You can learn more on my Disclosure page.

Exclusive Avocados from Mexico- Recipes, Savings and More!

Abby H.

Growing up in California, everyone knew someone who grew avocados. Creamy, rich, delicious… Avocados are one of my favorite toppings for toast, salads, omelets, enchiladas.

Avocados from Mexico wants everyone to enjoy this amazing veggie! More than just a yummy ingredient in guacamole, check out these important ‘Cado facts:

 

  • Avocados From Mexico contain good fats and nearly 20 vitamins and minerals making them part of a balanced lifestyle.
  • When you eat a meal with avocado, the fruit acts as a nutrient booster to help your body absorb the fat-soluble nutrients found in the other foods.
  • Avocados are a good source of fiber, which slows down digestion helping to leave you satisfied.
  • Fresh avocados are a heart-healthy fruit. They provide naturally good fats, are low in saturated fat, and are cholesterol, sugar and sodium free.
  • Eating dietary fat helps the body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Avocados contain mainly naturally good fats with 5g of monounsaturated fats per serving (1/3 of a medium avocado).

Now that you know all of that, aren’t you longing for creamy avocados from Mexico? Join new Avocados from Mexico – The Avosauce newsletter and get your customized scoop on avocado recipes, health tips and much more.

Healthy Swap Recipe: PB Chocolate Malts!

Abby H.2 Comments

This is a family favorite, and I’ve been making this shake recipe for almost 10 years.

I’m linking to most of the items on Amazon, so if you don’t want to leave home to try this recipe, you won’t have to. As a reminder: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This recipe all started back when I was doing medically supervised weight loss and we had to drink 5-9 shakes per day, so adding in low-calorie flavor options was a must. A few of the “approved” options were peanut butter powder, malt powder, and in phase 2, frozen fruit (in the case of this recipe, frozen bananas). Now that I’m no longer on the program, I still have a shake once a day, usually to curb cravings for sweets.

Feel free to use whatever type of protein powder you like. I use the HMR brand. My kids love these shakes. In fact, the big kiddo has one a few times per week for breakfast.

I use a Calphalon Active Sense Blender, but any blender or immersion/stick blender will work.

Mrs. Bear Special –  PB Chocolate Malt

serves 1 grown-up, or two kiddos

Ingredients:

  • 1 Scoop Chocolate protein powder
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter powder
  • 2 tablespoons malt powder
  • 1 frozen banana, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1-2 handfuls of ice
  • 8-12 ounces of water (If you want it creamier or are not calorie conscious, you can use fat-free or plant milk)

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients into the blender.
  2. Blend on smoothie or ice breaker mode until smooth.
  3. Serve with a milkshake straw.

 

Depending on your protein powder, the completed shake will have 25-30 grams of protein per shake.

 

Staying Healthy This Fall and Beyond!

Abby H.

Fall and Winter are the prime time for illnesses to go around, especially the flu. While the flu shot isn’t effective against all strains of influenza, it does help to keep those to receive it safely again many strains.

Most insurance companies offer no or low-cost flu shots, but if you are uninsured and facing financial difficulties, even $20 for a flu shot can be out of reach. Thankfully there are organizations and resources to help keep you healthy and safe.

If you are in San Diego County, Champions for Health offers free Flu shots, PCV13 shots for those over 65, and Tdap shots for those between the ages of 10-64. They have opportunities all over San Diego County throughout the fall.

If you or your children are in need of vaccinations (flu and beyond) but are without insurance, the san Diego County Health and Human Services Agency offers no-cost vaccines. More information can be found here.

In addition to vaccines, there are a lot of other ways you can stay healthy this fall and winter. Most of us are already doing them!

  • Wash your hands frequently- use soap and water and scrub for at least 20-30 seconds.
  • Try not to touch your face.
  • Cover your nose and mouth when your sneeze (either with a tissue or cough or sneeze into your elbow).
  • Use hand sanitizer when you cannot wash your hands with soap and water.
  • If you are wearing re-usable/cloth masks, make sure to wash and dry them frequently. Disposable masks should be used once and thrown away. Please remember to clip the elastic ear loops before throwing the mask away- animals can get caught up in the loops.
  • Avoid sick people, and if you aren’t feeling well yourself, do not go out in public.
  • Eat well, include lots of vitamin and mineral rich foods.
  • Stay Hydrated. This is my favorite water bottle.

Earn Money for Staying Active with Achievement!

Abby H.

b0e5d5e05457e2c8a12dc87c9b6eafc7 (1)If you are like me, you are looking for a way to stay physically active while gyms and fitness outlets are closed. The kids and I have taken up Pokemon Go- It’s a great way for us to get out and remain active while having something that keeps the kiddos engaged.

I’ve worn a fitness tracker (I have a Fitbit right now) for almost 10 years. I’ve been using Achievement to earn extra cash for tracking my steps and exercise for about 3 years now.

It’s super easy to use: Connect your fitness tracker (see the list below) to Achievement and be rewarded when you exercise, sleep, and log calorie or water intake.

It is non-intrusive, and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for cash via PayPal, gift cards, or you can donate your earnings to various charities.

I earn $10 in PayPal cash about 4-5 times a year. I usually use it to reload my Starbucks Card.  It’s a nice little perk for being active.

It’s super easy to get started. Click here to sign up! This is my referral link- If you sign up using my link, I earn an extra points.

Achievement is compatible with over 20+ Android and iOS apps (and counting!).

Health and Fitness Apps:

  • Apple Health
  • Daily Mile
  • Expresso
  • Fitbit
  • Garmin
  • Google Fit
  • MapMyFitness
  • MapMyHike
  • MapMyRide
  • MapMyRun
  • MapMyWalk
  • Misfit
  • MyFitnessPal
  • Record
  • RunDouble
  • RunKeeper
  • Samsung Health
  • Stop, Breathe & Think
  • Strava
  • Withings

Lifestyle Apps:

  • A&D Connect
  • Qardio

Social Media Apps:

  • Twitter

Link to research that is done with the information collected: https://www.myachievement.com/research

4 Fresh, Healthy Smoothie Recipes Kids will Love!

Abby H.12 Comments

37f39aabb6da4ee265e271d175c59991.jpgWe have smoothies a lot. It’s a good way to get fruit and/or veggies into the kids without any fuss.

It’s important to have a good blender that can handle fruits/veggies and ice. I love our new Calphalon Blender. I received it through one of my review programs.

We also have reusable shake straws– they are perfect for thick smoothies.

Here are the four recipes that my kids love!

Copycat Strawberries Gone Bananas (from Jamba): 1 cup apple juice (or milk), 1 frozen banana, 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

The Big Orange Smoothie: This one is the big kids’ favorite and is a version of one of his Jamba Juice favorites that is no longer on the menu. 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup frozen peaches, 1/2 c. frozen mango pulp, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

Green Berry Surprise: The surprise is the spinach. You can’t see it or taste it! 1 cup water & a scoop of protein powder (Or milk of your choice), 1 cup frozen berries, 1 frozen banana, 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

Tropical Freeze: 1 cup juice (I like to mix orange and the pineapple juice from the can if you used canned pineapples until it’s 1 cup), 1 frozen banana, 1/2 c. frozen mango pulp, 1/2 cup pineapple,  1/2 c. frozen peaches, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

The nice thing about smoothies is that you can use fresh or frozen fruit or veggies, any kind of juice, it’s all up to you!

Liquids:

  • Milk: Dairy, Oat, Hemp, Soy, Almond, or other nut milk. Your Choice.
  • Juice (Apple, Orange, and Carrot are popular)
  • Water and a scoop of protein powder
  • Water

Some of our favorite fruits include:

  • Bananas (I peel and slice overripe bananas and put them in ziploc bags, so they are ready to use!)
  • Strawberries- 99 Cents Only and Dollar Tree both stock 12 oz bags of strawberries. If you can’t find them in season, this is a great alternative.
  • Peaches- I usually buy them frozen.
  • Mangoes- 99 Cents Only sells Mango pulp, which is just the good parts of mango formed into a brick and frozen. I love mangoes, but I hate peeling and slicing them.
  • Mixed berries- 99 Cents Only sells mixed berries, which is usually strawberries, blueberries, blackberries.
  • Pineapple- Either canned in its own juice or frozen chunks. Frozen Pineapple is good straight out of the bag. Fresh pineapple is a lot of work to process just to turn into smoothies.

Tasty Veggies we enjoy in our smoothies:

  • Carrots- I usually chop them up small so they are easily incorporated.
  • Spinach- It blends in well and isn’t noticeable.

 

Talk Back: I’d love to hear what your favorite smoothie flavors are!

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate links are used, please visit my disclosure page.

Earn Money for Tracking You Steps with Achievement!

Abby H.

48c653a4c4f659c243bbd22d0971b521.jpgI’ve been using Achievement to earn extra cash for about 2 years now.

Connect your fitness tracker to Achievement and be rewarded when you exercise, sleep, and log calorie or water intake.

It is non-intrusive, and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for cash via PayPal, gift cards, or you can donate your earnings to various charities.

I earn $10 in PayPal cash about 4-5 times a year. I usually use it to reload my Starbucks Card.  It’s a nice little perk for being active.

It’s super easy to get started. Click here to sign up! This is my referral link- If you sign up using my link, I earn an extra 100 points.

Achievement is compatible with over 20+ Android and iOS apps (and counting!).

Health and Fitness Apps:

  • Apple Health
  • Daily Mile
  • Expresso
  • Fitbit
  • Garmin
  • Google Fit
  • MapMyFitness
  • MapMyHike
  • MapMyRide
  • MapMyRun
  • MapMyWalk
  • Misfit
  • MyFitnessPal
  • Record
  • RunDouble
  • RunKeeper
  • Samsung Health
  • Stop, Breathe & Think
  • Strava
  • Withings

Lifestyle Apps:

  • A&D Connect
  • Qardio

Social Media Apps:

  • Twitter

Link to research that is done with the information collected: https://www.myachievement.com/research

 

Organic Shoppers Rejoice! BerryCart is here to help you Save!

Abby H.

You may have seen my post on Smartphone Apps mention BerryCart, but I haven’t posted about it specifically, so, let’s dive in and I’ll fill you in on all the deets.

berrycart-logo-300x73.pngFor those of us who are Organic/Healthy Shoppers, a lot of the shopping apps can be a bummer because there are not a lot of choices.

BerryCart to the rescue! With BerryCart, you can find Cashback deals on the best Organic, Gluten-Free, non-GMO, Vegan foods and more.

What I really like is that you can combine BerryCart savings with other savings apps (like Ibotta, Checkout51, and Fetch Rewards) to double and triple dip! BerryCart can be used at any store that sells the items in your BerryCart list!

You can also use coupons and other savings (like your Target RedCard to save an extra 5%) to bring down your out of pocket costs!

What I love about Berrycart is that a lot of these brands are carried at stores that don’t accept coupons like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only.

Examples of items I have seen for sale at our local Grocery Outlet in the past week:

BerryCart is a game-changer for those of us who want to eat better, but have a budget.

Screen Shot 2019-09-17 at 9.38.47 AM.png

All Cashback rebates are redeemed through the BerryCart iPhone or Android apps. To get started, click here to check out the website and download the app.

Recipe: Pasta Free Lasagna

Abby H.2 Comments

img_3880WHAT? Pasta free lasagna? Are you nuts? I know that’s what you are all thinking, but bear with me.

I know so many people are sticking to their New Years Resolutions of eating healthy, but they are longing for the warm, cheesy, rich gooey-ness of their favorite comfort foods. Mr. just finished a 10 day cleanse, and we are slowing adding things back into his diet. He missed cheese, so I set to find a recipe that contains cheese that I could make a little more healthy by omitting some of the other things that he isn’t quite ready to add back in (meat and lots of heavy carbs). I did make spaghetti to go on the side, but you can skip that if you want.

We had a bag of yellow squash in the fridge, so I decided to make lasagna using the squash in the place of the lasagna noodles.

With this recipe, you can add as many veggies as you want. I opted for mire poix (I had bags of it prepped in the freezer), garlic, shallots, tomatoes, and little pieces of the squash that I chopped into bite size pieces. These were the neck or end that I couldn’t cut into planks. I recommend that you use what you’ve got on hand that you really like. You can add ricotta between the layers, but I skipped it because we didn’t have any, and Mr. isn’t ready to add eggs back in yet (if you’ve never made lasagna before, the ricotta filling is a mixture of egg, Parmesan cheese, and ricotta).

img_3875This recipe makes a big 9×13 inch baking dish- There will be leftovers!

Pasta Free Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 4 yellow or green crooked neck squash (zucchini), cut into planks, Reserve remaining pieces for sauce
  • 1 jar sugar free pasta sauce (or use your favorite)
  • 2 medium onions or 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1 can (approx. 14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 T. Italian seasonning
  • 2 T. Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup parmesaen cheese
  • 2 cups Italian blend cheese
img_3884
Dinner is served (salad not shown)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large stock pot, saute onions, celery, and carrots in olive oil until onions are soft and translucent.
  3. Add garlic and shallots, reduce heat. Cook until garlic and shallots are soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Burnt garlic is gross.
  4. Pour wine over veggies and scrape any yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pot. This is called De-glazing the pan. Those brown bits are full of flavor.
  5. Add pasta sauce, herbs, and both cans of tomatoes (diced and paste). Cook on medium for 15-20 minutes. If you want, you can simmer the sauce on low for as long as you want. Make sure to stir frequently and put a lid on the pot.
  6. Add reserved squash bits to sauce. They will cook quickly, so you need to add them last.
  7. Remove from heat.
  8. Ladle sauce in the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom of the dish.
  9. Cover the sauce with planks of squash, then layer cheese, and sauce.  repeat until the pan is full- the top layer should be cheese. If you like lots of cheese, use more than the 2 1/2 cups listed above.
  10. Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350. after 20 minutes, uncover pan and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbly.
  11. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.
  12. Serve with salad and a small portion of whole wheat pasta. I made whole wheat pasta and topped it with a dollop of Chef Shamy Garlic Butter. It’s amazing.

Variations: This meal is already vegetarian and gluten free. If you are vegan, use dairy free cheese. I cannot promise it will be as gooey and delicious, as I’m not familiar with how dairy free cheese cooks.

If you just gotta have meat, start by sauteing 1 lb of ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or turkey), then continue the recipe as written.