Plant Based BabyGanics Hand & Face Wipes

This is a review with no payment: Financial compensation was not received for this post.  A sample product was gifted from BabyGanics.  Opinions expressed here are my own.

My little guy is such a happy little mess maker, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I enjoy letting my children just be kids.  Part of being a kid is being a bit messy.  The only hard part can be the cleaning up.  He has sensitive skin on his cute cherub face and wiping him can be harsh.  I used to always use a damp paper towel or wash cloth but his cheeks would break out in little bumps from those.  If the goo had dried on his face then it would be a little wrestling match of me trying to hold him still while I wiped, not fun!  It gets even harder when we are away from home.  I needed something disposable that I could take with me to get him cleaned up.

BabyGanics send me some of their new Hand & Face wipes to try out.  The wipes are fragrance free and free of all the bad stuff like sulfates and toxins.  We especially love that the wipes are made with natural plant based ingredients. 

The Hand & Face wipes have a great soft texture.  The raised bumps make sure that you clean every nook and cranny with less swipes.  Less swipes equals less irritation to my little one's face.  I thought that the moisture level of each wipe was perfect, not too wet and not too dry.  The recloseable pouch is great because you can easy peel the sticker up, take a wipe and then seal it all shut.  The package fits easily into my diaper bag or purse.  Each wipe is the perfect size for cleaning the whole face and even the hands of my toddler.  With 30 wipes per pack these will last me for a long time.

Little dude was so happy that mommy did not have to scrub and scrub his soft little cheekies.  It took me only a couple of swipes to clean the dried on snack goop off of his face.  He was fresh and clean with no tears!  Furthermore his face did not break out at all.  I love using BabyGanics Hand & Face wipes and totally recommend them to all moms.

You can find out more about BabyGanics here on their website or follow them on Facebook to stay connected here.  Also check out their fragrance free sunscreen spray and Deet free insect repellent, we swear by them!  BabyGanics is also a sponsor to Healthy Child Healthy World - find out more here.

Living Healthy Honeyed Thyme Chicken on a Biscuit Recipe #GrilledAndReady

I can hardly believe that school will be out in just a few short weeks.  How did this year fly by so fast for us?  It seems like only yesterday I was taking the kids to their first day of school.  Every year goes by more quickly than the last.  This year my older two kids were in 1st and 3rd grade.  We recently began soccer which is over the end of this month.  Then there is baseball and that begins end of June.  I love keeping the kids active, it keeps them living well and healthy.

I myself have begun being more active and healthy.  I started working out at a local gym and my eating habits have changed a lot.  I prepare lower fat meals with less calories but not less flavor.  If it doesn't taste good I don't want to eat it and that has been the hard part of past diets.  I now look forward to eating the meals that I prepare and so does the rest of my family.

My latest healthy family dinner was so quick and easy!  I used Tyson Grilled & Ready chicken breast strips from Walmart (see my shopping trip here).  I love using these in anything that calls for chicken because they are flavorful, moist and ready to use right from the bag.  Tyson doesn't use any preservatives and the chicken is 98% fat free!  This works perfectly with our healthy eating plan.  There were a few other kinds of Tyson Grilled & Ready chicken available as well.  I like that there are many versions, perfect for almost any recipe I could dream up.  No heating up the grill but we still can have that delicious grilled flavor.  My favorite is the frozen variety but the Tyson chicken also comes refrigerated, found near the deli at Walmart.  Their packaging is bright and easy to find.  I like that the freezer bag has a zipper to reclose it.  I don't think that the small refrigerated version has the zipper but I could be wrong. 

I know you will love my recipe for this summery honeyed thyme chicken on a biscuit!  I served ours with some fresh fruit and iced tea, the perfect quick healthy meal for the whole family.  To find out where Tyson is sold nearby check here.  Now let me show you how easy it is to make this...

Honeyed Thyme Chicken on a Biscuit Recipe

Time: 15 minutes (includes bake time)

Serves: 6

Ingredients you will need:

-Reduced fat golden wheat refrigerated biscuits (the kind in the can)

-1 small red onion halved

-6 tsp honey (I used raw honey)

-1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

-1/2 tsp kosher salt

-1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

-1 tsp salted butter (optional)

- 18 oz of Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips (thawed if frozen variety)

1. Bake biscuits to golden brown on an ungreased pan according to the package.  Mine were 375F for 14 minutes.  The biscuits were done just as my chicken was heated through.  Set the whole pan on a rack to cool slightly then cut in half.  TIP* using a fork to split these gives them a rough texture inside that is more absorbent for the saucy chicken mixture*

2. While those biscuits bake slice red onion in half and then thinly slice.  I used my mandoline to get even thin slices.  Save out a very small handful of onion for later.

3. Take out a large saucepan and begin to put the sliced onion, honey, seasonings and butter into it.  Place the pan on medium low heat and stir every so often for about 5 minutes.  Do not let this boil, a slow simmer is what we are looking for.

4. Weigh out (or just eyeball) 18 oz of Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips onto a cutting board.  Take each strip and run a knife through it a couple of times to make thinner strips.  

5. Take the sliced strips and add them to the simmering onion mixture.  Toss chicken in with a spatula or spoon.  Add in the onion that you saved out.  I find that having a small bit of less cooked onion gives the sandwich a nice bit of crunch and freshness.  Keep tossing the chicken to coat and heat through for about 5-7 minutes then take off the heat to serve.

 6. Load up 6 biscuits equally with the chicken mixture and serve with your favorite healthy side and refreshing drink.  The other two biscuits can be saved for a healthy breakfast the next morning OR if you have an extra hungry guy just spread the chicken mixture out a little more between all 8 biscuits!

Cheers to living healthy and eating well!

Arby's Roast-beef-atopia and Hawaiian Dream Vacation for Two!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Arby's. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you love Arby's?  Arby's has been a favorite of my family for oh so very long.  Once in a while we will splurge and have Arby's for supper or a picnic lunch at the park.  I love how flavorful their roast beef is and everything is served hot and fresh to order.  My husband coulld literally just eat Arby's Sauce plain!  He likes that stuff more than the average person I'd say. 

Recently I decided to check out the new Arby’s KING’S HAWAIIAN roast beef sandwich for myself.  I looked the new sandwiches up on the Arby's website before going because I wanted to see what came on them before I headed out.  There are two new sandwiches.  The first comes with an amazing heap of roast beef topped with a slice of swiss cheese.  Under the huge pile of shaved roast beef is a nice spread of dijon mustard and then under that are chips of dill pickle.  The second is just the KING's HAWAIIAN bun with a large serving of roast beef.  Both sound equally delicious.

At first I was apprehensive of the whole pickle situation.  I am not one that necessarily enjoys pickles on a sandwich or so I thought.  After one big bite into the soft KING'S HAWAIIAN bun, layers of beef, dijon and pickles I decided that pickles on a sandwich were not too bad.  In fact I absolutely loved the crunch and acidic flavor of those pickles!  I was beginning to think that I had been really missing out all of my life for taking pickles off of everything.  Of course if someone were to really dislike pickles, dijon and swiss cheese Arby's does offer this same sandwich with just the KING's HAWAIIAN bun and heaps of delicious shaved roast beef.  The bun is simply amazing and it really makes these sandwiches extra special.  These are only available for a limited time so hurry in to your local Arby's and take yourself to roast beef paradise before they are gone!

I thought the new Arby's sandwiches were pretty exciting but NO there is something even more exciting from Arby's.  I just found out that I can enter to win a Hawaiian vacation in the Arby’s Hawaiian Getaway Sweepstakes!

How do you enter?  Go to http://www.arbyskingshawaiian.com/

What are the prizes?  The grand prize winner will receive a round trip for two with four nights stay in Honolulu, HI.  Plus a premium group lesson at one of the island’s premier surf schools, Hawaiian Fire.

When can you enter?  April 29 to May 26 2013

Our Olive Garden Family Supper Recap and a Visit to the Flooded Grand River

This is a review with no payment: Financial compensation was not received for this post.  A gift card was gifted from Darden so that I could sample this deal for myself.  Opinions expressed here are my own.

Family meals dining out are always such a treat for us.  We do not go out very often because we try to live frugally on our smallish income.  Going out to eat has been something that we have always reserved for special occasions and celebrations.  We also have to think about how much of a punch the budget will take with five mouths to feed.  It's definitely never easy and I'm sure a lot of other families can relate.

A short time ago we found out that both of our oldest children had received terrific grades on their report cards.  Doing well in school is definitely something to celebrate!  So our whole family dressed up a little bit and we took off for Olive Garden because we had heard about their Buy One Take One deal.  It had been over ten years since we had last been to an Olive Garden.  We did not have a great experience with the food back then and it made us never go back.  I was really skeptical about dining there even though I'd been sent a free gift card to dine.  The kids pleaded with me and the BOTO deal sounded too good to be true, so we went.  It was the best dinner decision I had made in a long time!  FYI the BOTO deal ended on May 5th but Olive Garden always has some really great specials going on so keep your eyes peeled.  You can see their specials page here.

When we arrived we were greeted by such a friendly and smiling hostess.  She grabbed some menus and led us straight to our large table.  The table was large enough for us and then a few people.  I liked not being cramped together.  I've been elbowed and spilled upon by my family one too many times while dining out.  The kids were given papers and crayons to color on while my husband and I read through the menu.  A few moments later our waiter dropped by to take our drink order.  He was a super friendly guy and he made us feel right at home.  We ordered waters all around and off he went to fill our drink order.  The kids were kept busy with coloring while we decided on what to order.

Zuppa Tuscana soup

When our drinks came to the table we were ready to order.  I asked if we could have the kids split one BOTO deal and the waiter said yes.  That made it so easy because they can never finish off their plates and they all wanted the same thing- Five Cheese Ziti al Forno.  All of us began with the unlimited soup and bread sticks.  We ordered the Zuppa Tuscana soup and I must say that it was the best soup I'd had in a very long time.  I was going crazy over it!  I ate almost three bowls of it because I could not get over how delicious it was.  I am definitely 100% for sure going back for that soup again!  The kids cleaned their plates and that is a rare deal.  They enjoyed the cheesiness of their pasta and I was happy looking at their quiet little munching faces.  Sometimes silence can be so golden.

Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

Smoked Mozzarella Chicken

I think the phenomenal soup made me forget that I had an entree coming because when my entree arrived I was too full to even take more than two bites.  The two bites that I did take from my Smoked Mozzarella Chicken were so good and made me wish I'd saved more room.  I asked to have a container so that I could take it home with me.  The lovely waiter took my plate and put it into a container for me back in the kitchen, now that's service.  My husband had the same pasta dish and he said that the smoky cheese really won his taste buds over.  He was raving about the little bits of sun dried tomato over the top and the moist chicken.

The kiddos definitely thought that it was pretty cool to be able to ask for bread sticks to their heart's content.  I have to say that the bread sticks were very soft and fresh.  I was surprised at how delicious they were.  This was a sharp contrast to the bread sticks we had dined on over 10 years ago.  I only ate part of one bread stick myself but my family must have consumed at least 2 or three each.

The best part about this deal was the fact that we took home an additional three meals plus my leftovers!  It was so much fun to just open the fridge the next evening and viola we had dinner already made for us.  This could be ever mom's dream, it certainly is mine and it came true!  I am not a super big fan of Olive Garden and am counting the days until we can go back again.  Check out my little video below to actually see my crazy excitement after this amazing meal!  Be sure and check out http://olivegarden.com/ for all the latest deals and to find the location nearest you.  The BOTO deal unfortunately ended on May 5th but don't let that stop you from enjoying some Olive Garden goodness!

We ended our family dinner date with a lovely walk over a bridge in our lovely city of Grand Rapids Michigan.  We have been having record high levels of flooding in our area.  The kids were awestruck over the water level and loud rush of the flooded Grand River.  The cold air blasted us but it was still so much fun! 

Seafood Dinner for Two ONLY $25 at Red Lobster!

This is a review with no payment: Financial compensation was not received for this post.  A gift card was gifted from Red Lobster so that I could sample this deal for myself.  Opinions expressed here are my own.

There are few foods in this world that my husband enjoys more than seafood.  Every couple needs a date night here or there and I plan to make my date night special by taking my special man out for a delicious seafood dinner for two at Red Lobster.  I don't have a lot of money to spend but there is good news for me yet.  Red Lobster has a special deal going on where two people can dine for only *$25!  The deal is going on until May 26th 2013.  *Prices higher in Times Square and Hawaii.

First we will start off our meal with those delicious signature Red Lobster unlimited Cheddar Bay biscuits and crisp salads.  Then both of us will choose an entree.  The two entrees come from a wide variety of chef inspired dishes such as:

NEW Honey-Garlic Shrimp: Hand-battered shrimp fried to a golden brown, drizzled with a honey-garlic glaze and topped with green onions. Served over cilantro rice tossed with broccoli.
or
Seafood Lovers Linguini: tender shrimp, bay scallops, mussels, roasted tomatoes and green onions in a white wine and lemon-garlic sauce over linguini.

To round out our meal we will get to choose either a dessert or an appetizer.  One dessert that makes my mouth water is Red Lobster's Pineapple Upside Down Cake!  Oh I can barely wait to take my honey out for some good food.  I'll be blogging all about our dinner experience with Red Lobster very soon so look for that post, it will be bursting with yummy photos.

Be sure and Visit RedLobster.com for more information and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Healthy and Natural Products Delivered to Your Doorstep

This is a review with no payment: Financial compensation was not received for this post.  A sample product was gifted from Conscious Box.  Opinions expressed here are my own.

 

For quite some time now subscription boxes have become a favorite thing of mine.  You pay a small flat fee, get a box filled with items and it's like a surprise gift each month.  It's quite fun!  One recent box that I tried out was the Conscious Box.  I was sent a Gluten Free box.  Subscribers may also select a vegan box or classic box.  I was most interested about this box because I love discovering items that are better for my family.

The Conscious Box is based upon sending it's subscribers only the best healthy and natural products.  Each month's box contains a handpicked variety of pure and sustainable products.  It's a great way to get to test things out and maybe you will find some items that you want to swap with a product that you already use.  In addition to receiving 10-20 new products at your doorstep you have the chance to earn points on the Conscious Box website.  After you accumulate enough points you get to spend them on rewards in the Conscious Shop.

My square shaped green colored box arrived in the mail and at first glance I didn't know what to think.  The box seemed a tad small to me.  When I opened it up I really loved the presentation of it.  There was a thin cardstock type box inside of the thicker cardboard style shipping box.  I opened the little box inside and was greeted by an incredible note card.  Printed onto the card was the most perfectly chosen quote.  It definitely set the tone for the exciting moment of exploring my box contents.

Once I got my treasure open I saw that the box was actually filled up to the top with product samples.  Conscious Box definitely did not disappoint!  I was glad to see that there was a wide variety of different products for me to try out and enjoy.  All of the samples were packaged quite nicely and there was no fear of any non food item leeching into a food type item. 

I grabbed my box and spread the contents out before me.  There were 13 items total.  One item that I had been wanting to try for a while now was the Episencial Cheeky Salve and that was in my box.  I think that it only took me a week to use up all of the samples.  Each item was very useful to me in my family's daily life.  I even found two items that we loved so much I bought the full size versions right away.  Conscious Box was definitely an awesome experience for me.  I'll be recycling the inner cardstock box and re-purposing the outer cardboard shipping box.

I'll be putting this on my list of things that I might like for Mother's Day.  It's a gift that would keep on giving.  If you are interested in Conscious Box then I urge you to visit their website for more information.  Use coupon code CONSCIOUSSAVINGS to save 25% off of ANY subscription!  Click the banner below to see what you might be missing out on.