Striving for a Balanced Lifestyle in 2014 - 5 Rules To Live By

These tasty ideas for starting the year right are part of the Nestle Back on Track, #WowThatsGood Campaign. I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Happy New Year!

I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a great one. Don't get me wrong, last year was a big one for me. My son Elliott was born, my oldest started Kindergarten and I turned 35. The last one was probably the hardest for me, but I have achieved a level of comfort in my own skin that my 20-year old self would envy.

Of course, that doesn't mean I don't want to improve on a good thing...

I am not big on creating New Year's Resolutions. I have a rather bad track record for completing them, but I do enjoy goals. Sometimes it is nice to have a game plan for achieving a balanced lifestyle. My plans include some simple switches, tricks and products like Lean Cuisine, Skinny Cow and Coffee-mate to help achieve my goals for the year.

So on our weekly trip into Walmart I picked up a few extra items in addition to our household staples to get  ready for the first day of the year and beyond.

I am not worried about a quick fix. Yes, I have baby weight to lose and could eat healthier this year, but I am not interested in eating bland tasteless meals or trying out a fad diet. Instead I am looking for ways to be healthier and happier long term. So my first rule of 2014 centers around starting each day right.

1. Fuel up with Breakfast
The most important meal of the day? For this busy Mom, it is often the hardest to fit in. Up with the alarm, going non-stop till my son is safely on the bus, wears me out. Then my attention turns to the baby and getting my daughter going, chores and obligations fill up every other available moment.

Too many mornings I haven't gotten around to feeding myself. Now, my head knows I can't make it through a busy day without eating, but my schedule doesn't always leave me time. At Walmart I grabbed the LEAN CUISINE® Morning Collection™, Turkey Sausage English Muffin so I would have no excuses.

This is the perfect grab and go option. I started yesterday by defrosting and heating my sandwich in the microwave. It was delicious, filling and I didn't have to prepare each piece separately or leave my house to enjoy it.

Okay, so breakfast?

Check.

2. Move More
This one should be easy with small kids, right? Well, all those short bursts are great, but I would like to carve out more time to elevate my heart rate, 30 minutes or more. So with new shoes and some new tunes on my iPhone, I am going to lace up each morning when I take my son to the bus stop. I have a good stroller and shoes for my daughter. Since I have to leave the house anyway, this is the perfect time to fit exercise in.

Okay, movement?

Check.

3. Cut Back on Sugar
I have a sweet tooth the size of New Jersey! I do enjoy baking (you may have noticed this with my frequent dessert posts) and don't plan to give it up anytime soon, but I can cut back on sugar in other places. My morning coffee is one.

The first thing I do when I head downstairs is make a fresh cup of coffee. Coffee creamer has been my weakness since the baby was born. I look forward to it in the morning. A simple switch of the Sugar-Free French Vanilla Coffee-mate and I am only adding 15 extra calories per serving to my cup of coffee, no extra sugar, but loads of vanilla flavor.

Now, that is a reason to get out of bed in the morning!

Less sugar?

Check.

4. Plan Ahead to Eat Right
Okay, now that I started my day right, I still need to keep the momentum going. Life always has unexpected surprises in store for me. I don't always make the best food choices if I don't have easy and fast options on hand. Again, I was able to find more Lean Cuisine options to help with this.

I love simple and fast foods. These LEAN CUISINE® Stuffed Pretzels in Three Cheese & Spinach appealed to my ooey gooey love of pretzels and cheese. These are easy to heat and take with me or eat one-handed while feeding the baby.

The outer savory pretzel crust was great with the cheesy, rich filling. The perfect finger food.

Then there are veggie days. Some days I really just want to chow down on a big salad or a big wrap bursting with veggies. The LEAN CUISINE® Wrap ADDITIONS™ in Creamy Balsamic Chicken was perfect for lunch yesterday. With a microwavable steamer bag filled with broccoli, peppers, asparagus, and chicken, the package also contains a pouch of tangy balsamic spread. All I have to do is supply was the wrap and lunch is served.

This would also be perfect for a whole wheat pita, flat bread pizza or even lettuce wraps. I didn't want to waste a drop of the spread. I think they should market it on it's own. It would make a killer veggie dip.

And the last selection I chose was the LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken. Again, It was delicious, easy and fast to make. No excuse left for me to grab fast food or skip a meal.

With so many tasty options, which would you grab for a fast lunch? I am not sure I could choose just one. I love variety in my food though, so having a wide selection ready in my freezer will keep me looking forward to lunch time.

Delicious, portioned food, fast?

Check.

5. Treat Yourself
And after a long day of being a Mom, I like to have a simple treat. You know that moment when the house goes still and everyone else is finally asleep? That is my time. Time for a cup of herbal tea and a little chocolate treat.

I don't do well when I try to deprive myself.

I found this Skinny Cow Divine Candy and it was the perfect evening sweet for me. 3 chocolates per package with caramel centers for just 130 calories a pouch. Did I mention I love caramel? Now, that I can work into my 2014 plan.

A treat for me?

Triple check.

And if you still aren't sure that these Lean Cuisine meals taste as amazing as I hope they look, Lean Cuisine currently has a Try It Money Back Guarantee at Walmart. Purchase 10 Lean Cuisine entrees between 1/1/14 and 2/15/14 and see the difference. Here are the details:

LEAN CUISINE Feel Great Money Back Guarantee (“MBG”) available to residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C. only and only valid at Walmart. One MBG per household/address. Cash register receipt(s) and UPC codes required; no copies accepted. Register receipt(s) must be dated no later than 2/15/14, nor be postmarked later than 2/28/14. MBG covers Walmart price of 10 LEAN CUISINE entrées and any tax thereon; postage required to mail in MBG request not included. Official MBG Form (required), and full terms can be found at Walmart.com/nestle. Offer ends 2/15/14.

Do you make resolutions? 

How will you achieve your goals in 2014?

SunRype Snacks - Putting Fruit into Our Busy Hands

As a Mom, I keep myself armed with snack options for the kids.

They always seem to be hungry at the worst moments. I do carry things like applesauce and fresh fruit, but if you have ever had a banana get smooshed and rot in the bottom of your diaper bag, you start to shy away from that sort of thing. I even found a rather mummified orange in a pocket once. Blech.

Sadly, junk food seems to have no expiration date and usually comes all neatly packed and ready to travel. Well, I am not ready to settle.

The folks at #SunRype were kind enough to send me a goodie box of snacks. It was filled with Just Fruit & Grain Bars, Fruit Strips and Fruit Bars. My kids can't have the grains, but I was more than glad to stash those away for myself. Hey, mama needs snacks, too!

The Fruit Strips were perfect for little hands.

My kids love their fruit leather and fruit snacks. I would love to tell you that I slave away and create them all myself, but the fact is... I'm pregnant, tired and busy. I do enjoy to make some of our treats using fresh fruit from our farm, but right now the trees, vines and bushes are pretty bare.

I always cringe at the ingredient list on the back of most fruit snacks. The SunRype Fruit Strips are 100% fruit with no added color or preservatives. It's just that simple. Speaking of that, the Fruit Source Bars were also 100% fruit. We all thought the Blueberry Pomegranate was delicious.

As for the Just Fruit & Grains Bar? Well, they were all mine. Sweet, but not too sweet. It contains 4 grams of fiber, so it was just what I needed in between meals on a busy day. Summer Berries was my top pick, but berries are my absolute favorite.

We still have a few of these snacks left and I plan to bring them with us on our upcoming family vacation. I know they will be the perfect, portable snack while we enjoy an active day at the water park.

Mmm... want to try it for yourself? SunRype has a Facebook BOGO offer you should check out and snag. Believe me, you won't want to have just one of these on hand.


*Disclaimer - This is a sponsored post on behalf of SheSpeaks/SunRype. I received these products for free to share my firsthand opinion. I was not compensated and am under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Grab Some Snacking Fun with Del Monte - #SmartSnack #CBias

If you peeked inside my pantry, you would always find a wide selection of Del Monte fruit cups. Both of my kids love them and we have found many creative ways to enjoy them as well. Oh, yes, you can always just hand us a spoon (fruit is a fabulous snack on its own), but there are many fun ways to dress them up as well.

I love going out for sushi, but my kids have PKU and can't eat meat, fish, etc. So I wanted a great after school snack they could enjoy with me using our favorite fruit while still giving a nod to to my favorite Asian food.

We headed down to our local Walmart to pick up a few different packs of Del Monte fruit cups. You can see my entire shopping experience in my Google+ album. I love the selection there and $2 is a great price as well. My kids love the Diced Peaches, Mandarin Orange segments, Diced Pears and especially the Cherry Mixed Fruit in Cherry Syrup. Do your kids have favorites?

I love trying out new recipes and since my kids tried and enjoyed coconut rice I thought this would be a great addition to my fruit rolls and hand formed rice 'sushi'. I know, sushi means vinegar-flavored rice, but I am going to make a stretch with culinary creativity. To compliment the Del Monte fruit, I think it worked well.

I have three great recipes to share with you today, all tested and kid approved! I made hand formed Mandarin Orange Fruit Sushi with Coconut Rice, Baked Spiced Peach Won-tons, and Coconut Rice Rolls with Mixed Fruit. Sushi is a hands on activity, since these are just with rice and fruit this would be a great activity to do with older children

First make the Coconut Rice. I used this for both the hand formed and rolled sushi.

Coconut Rice
You Will Need:

• 1 cup dry Japanese sticky rice
• 1 can light coconut milk
• water, enough to add to the coconut milk to equal 1 1/3 c. or the amount suggested by your rice cooker
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. coconut cream

Make rice as directed by the package or your rice cooker substituting the coconut milk, water and sugar for the usual water. Let cool slightly, cool enough to touch, then mix in some coconut cream to help hold the rice together. Form as desired and allow to cool completely before serving.

Coconut Rice Rolls with Mixed Fruit
You Will Need:

• Coconut Rice
• 1 Cherry Mixed Fruit in Cherry Syrup fruit cup
• 1 Tablespoon clear jell (thickener)
• toasted coconut
• 2 Fruit Roll-Ups

I use a sushi rolling mat, but any heavy cloth placement could work. Put down kitchen wrap and then a Fruit Roll-Up. Spread a thin layer of rice over the roll-up. Mix clear jell with the fruit cup. Clear jell works as a thickener like corn starch, but doesn't need to be heated to be activated. Spread a thin strip of fruit mixture in the middle of the rice. Fold one side over and press. Then start to roll the rest of the way, gently pull back the wrap as you roll. Press firmly to compact the rice so it will hold its shape. Roll in toasted coconut.

Sushi cutting tip: Leave the plastic wrap around the sushi as you cut it. Using a sharp knife, saw gently back and forth trying not to compress the roll. Between cuts rinse the knife.

Baked Spiced Peach Won-tons
You Will Need:

• Won-ton wrappers
• 1 Diced peach with cinnamon and brown sugar fruit cup
• 1 Tablespoon clear jell
• cream cheese* optional
• Cinnamon for dusting the tops

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. 

Mix the fruit cup with the clear jell. Add a teaspoon to the middle of a won-ton wrapper. Seal the edges by placing a little cool water on a finger and tracing 2 sides. Fold over and press to seal. If you want, add a 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese to the won-ton before sealing. Place filled won-tons on the baking sheet and spray the top with more cooking spray. Dust with cinnamon. Bake for 10 minutes, turning half way through. Let cool slightly before serving.

Hand Formed Mandarin Orange Fruit Sushi
You Will Need:

• Coconut Rice
• 1 Mandarin Oranges fruit cup, drained

When the rice is still warm place a little kitchen wrap in the palm of one hand. Place a few tablespoons of rice in the wrap and form by hand. Press the rice firmly so it will hold its shape. Top with mandarin orange segments.

And there you have it! I let my rice cooker do most of the work, but the hands on time to make the three snacks was around 20 minutes total. It was easy, different and fun.

And what did my picky eater think?

She was all smiles and loved the spiced peaches in the won-tons as well as the fun fruit sushi. So many great ways to play with your fruit, what would you make with a Del Monte fruit cup?

To learn more about Del Monte and their products be sure to check out their website, follow them on Facebook and catch their tweets on Twitter.

*Disclaimer - I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Del Monte #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.