Posts by admin:
- 1- 11-ounce So Delicious full fat culinary coconut milk
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons NuNaturals or Truvia (stevia + erythritol blend)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- In a medium pot, add the cooked brown rice along with the rest of the ingredients except the chia seeds.
- Mix well and heat on medium without a cover.
- Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes before adding the chia seeds.
- Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the mixture has thickened and some of the liquid has evaporated.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve.
- This is also delicious after being refrigerated.
- “Just” Green Tea
- “Just” Black Tea
- Organic Unsweetened Lemon Tea
- Ginger Oasis Herbal Tea
- Cinnamon Sunrise Herbal Tea
- Golden Ginger Ale- nice ginger flavor, not too spicy
- Root Beer – my second favorite and super flavorful
- Professor Fizz – a spiced cherry soda with yerba mate
- Lemon Limey – great substitute for Sprite and 7-up drinks
- Orange Pop– my favorite! If you like orange soda this is pretty delicious
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons NuNaturals or Truvia (stevia+erythritol blend)
- 1/2 Tablespoon finely chopped basil
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 bottle Crabbies ginger beer
- 1/2 can Honest Fizz Ginger Ale or Orange Pop
- 1-2 Tablespoons Sugar-free cranberries
- ice
- Add ingredients into a small non-stick pot and and allow the cranberries to slightly pop and set aside to cool.
- In an 8-ounce glass, add ice halfway.
- Add the finely chopped basil and lime into glass as well as the sweetened cranberries.
- Add the Honest Fizz and Ginger Beer.
FRESHLY: Ready-Made Meals for Busy Families (Review + Giveaway)
April 4th, 2016My family has a busy lifestyle starting with raising little ones and then adding commitments, obligations, and responsibilities. It can get overwhelming at times. My goal has always been to make fresh ready-made meals on a daily basis, but when life just gets frantic and out of control, something has to give.
Since the end of January, my husband and I have been very proactive with keeping a healthier eating lifestyle. I admitted to him, perhaps a little longingly, that I desired his help by being my accountability partner. Truth is, we both needed to get our eating habits a wake-up call because our healthy eating had gone on the wayside. When it was time to call it quits, we both decided to do something about it. We added more vegetables and fruits in our lifestyle and took out the unhealthy carbohydrates that were easily helping us pack the pounds. All this required a lot more work with planning meals and days to prepare those meals. Some weeks it has just been truly difficult to keep my head above water.
A few weeks ago I had a chance to try Freshly, a meal subscription service that delivers fresh and ready-made meals that could be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It was the first time both my husband and I had ever received FRESH meals ready to be heated and consumed during a week. What made this service different than others I had come across is the fact that it advertised the eating lifestyle we were following.
High protein. Low carb. Gluten-free.
Use my promo code SINGERS2FREE to get 2 FREE meals with any plan you choose to try.
Yes, you read that correctly. I received a variety of meals that both my husband and I enjoyed and we were extremely impressed by the flavor, presentation, variety and quality of the food. Frozen meals just do not cut it even though we have tried those long time ago. These meals just do not compare because from what I learned, Freshly is a Web-based food company that is made up of a team of doctors, nutritionists, health-conscious entrepreneurs and professional chefs dedicated to making healthy eating and achieving your health and fitness goals easier than ever!
Their menu and meal plans are developed by Dr. Comstock, a board-certified weight-loss specialist and the author of Anti-Aging 101. There is definitely comfort in knowing that the meals created and packaged by this company are being thoughtfully created for those pursuing a healthier lifestyle. It is PERFECT for the busy individual and even for couples trying to save money or even unhealthier options while eating out during lunch hour during the week.
Hey, I am a working mother of three young girls and having a meal that I could just pop into the microwave like this Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Creamed Spinach and Potato Hash. Oh my goodness ya’ll. This meal was AMAZING!!! I hope this picture has your mouth watering because this lunch was so satisfying and flavorful. I had energy to keep up with my children and my work.
Every meal, like this delicious Maple Quinoa Porridge with Spiced Butternut & Currants, is a 1.5 serving and can be enjoyed by one person. The menu for both breakfast, lunch, and dinner are changed often especially since customers are on the subscription service and received meals often. While Freshly is only currently delivering to Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana, they plan to continue expanding our delivery range in the coming year, starting with a kitchen facility in New Jersey that will service the Northeast!
Freshly currently offers 4 different meal plans:
FRESHLY FIT:
– $229 per week.
– 21 all inclusive meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
– Doctor and nutritionist designed to boost your metabolism, optimize your health
and help you develop healthier eating habits.
– Two weekly deliveries.
FRESHLY 12:
– $129 per week.
– 12 gourmet meals.
– One weekly delivery right to your doorstep.
FRESHLY 9:
– $99 per week.
– 9 gourmet meals.
– One weekly delivery right to your doorstep.
FRESHLY 6:
– $69 per week.
– 6 gourmet meals.
– One weekly delivery right to your doorstep.
Want a chance to try this service? If you are busy like us, Freshly’s meal service will be a lifesaver, especially on days you can’t get to cooking or even for a busy mom of many kids, who never gets to eat her own meals because she is so busy taking care of everyone else!
Use my promo code SINGERS2FREE to get 2 FREE meals with any plan you choose to try. You can subscribe now, try it, continue with the service or pause the service until you need it again. It is an amazing opportunity to try Freshly.
Disclosure: I received a variety of meals to sample and experience in my every day life. All opinions and photos are my own.
Sharing is Caring!
Quick Easter Dessert: Creamy Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding
March 23rd, 2016
Family Traditions
We have been enjoying attending the same church the past 4 years and are looking forward spending more time there as we have more families joining. One of my favorite holidays, if I can even say that, is Easter. Not only is it because we get to spend it with friends and have delicious food, but really because I get a chance to share and relive what Jesus did for us on this Earth. My husband and I get a chance to share to our little ones about what Passion Week is all about starting with Palm Sunday.
Follow Opera Singer in the Kitchen’s board Passion Week -Easter activities on Pinterest.
Activities and Traditions with Little Ones
Every year we tell a little more to our girls and it is amazing that at their ages, 3 and 4, they are able to understand so much. I am seeing very quickly that the cross, Jesus living on earth, and dying on the cross is resonating with my oldest daughter. While many might think that the Bible might be a little too deep for little ones, my husband and I have been reading out of the Gospels to our girls and a lot of it they listen to and sometimes they do not concentrate as well, but we are thankful we get a chance to share with them.
This year I have been much more intentional about doing a few crafts especially since there is so much to the week leading up to Easter. We talk about Jesus meeting with his disciples, the Lord’s Supper, praying with his disciples and then being betrayed leading up to the cross.
Today we spent coloring and talking about the Lord’s Supper and doing some spring crafts as well. It is great to vary and to introduce how after winter there is growth and life when spring arrives just like what Jesus does in our lives.
Follow Opera Singer in the Kitchen’s board spring crafts on Pinterest.
Food
We look forward celebrating with friends this year as we did the last year, but this time instead of going to brunch, we decided to celebrate at our friends’ home with their kids so we could be a lot more relaxed. When you get 5 kids under the age of 5, it can get pretty busy and hectic so we opted to stay at home.
I came up with a simple dessert that would be a great option for this Easter that could be for the kids and even the adults. While I do not feed my girls an immense amount of sugar, I feel like they desire it more or even expect a treat after meals. Sometimes we will offer a fruit and other times it will be a cookie or other type of treat. Since we have been making an effort to rid our lives of refined sugar we have been trying to do this with our kids as well.
I made a Creamy Coconut Vegan Rice Pudding that was a huge hit. After we read about it in some children’s book, the girls had been asking me to make some so I decided to make a healthy and creamy dessert that they would enjoy. I took a regular rice pudding that I grew up with and enjoy and replaced them with some healthier alternatives so my girls could enjoy.
I added full fat coconut milk, golden raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, chia seeds, stevia and erythritol to brown rice and let it boil down for a creamy thick dessert that was even more delicious after being in the fridge. I hope that you are able to enjoy the rest of the week and that you are able to attend a service with friends or somewhere nearby.
Ingredients
Instructions
Sharing is Caring!
Cran-Ginger Basil Spritzer {Sugar Free} { Review + Giveaway}
March 22nd, 2016
Spring Cleaning the Body
When spring rolls around it begs that we unload on everything in our lives, from old clothes, furniture, books and even with our own bodies by doing a detox. Our family has started eliminating a lot of things from our daily menu in order to start a new lifestyle, especially one that is sugar-free. My husband and I decided to partner together to eat healthier and since the end of January we have been blessed with seeing results from ridding our lives of excess everything.
Sugar has been a huge addiction in my life and I knew that I needed to slowly purge my life from its talons because I realized what it was doing for my emotional and physical health. As I started removing refined white sugar, I tried to do without any sweetener and try stevia and other natural sweeteners for those following a sugar-free lifestyle.
One of my stumbling blocks was drinking sugar-ladened drinks. I purposed to drink all my beverages without any sweetener in order to see what would change. I learned to appreciate the flavor of coffee, tea and any beverage I ordered or made at home.
Honest Tea for a Sugar-Free Lifestyle
I’ve been a fan of Honest Tea for a long time especially since I am just a fan of all kinds of tea. I actually did not know that the company has been in business for almost 18 years until I read more about how Honest Tea started . Now they are the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea. While in college I purchased the Mango White Tea all the time because it was my favorite. While most of their teas are lightly sweetened and low-calorie, I needed to keep my goal of not consuming sugar.
When I visited Honest Tea at Expo East in Maryland 6 months ago, I was introduced to new teas and beverages that are not sweetened or are made with stevia and erythritol. I was excited to try them and have them as options when I went shopping.
Honest Tea has three black or green tea options that are unsweetened called:
There are also two herbal selections that I enjoyed immensely:
I really liked having an option of already-brewed tea ready to take with my lunch or to be able to purchase from the store. These teas are fair-trade certified and organic which should make anyone rest assured that no synthetic chemicals are being used. The green tea and black tea have a nice brewed flavor and did not taste watered down flavor. The Lemon Tea was delicious cold and was like having a big lemon slice squeezed into the tea. The “Just” Black Tea was my favorite though. The herbal teas are nice because I did not have to worry about excess caffeine and are perfect for mornings or late evenings.
Honest Fizz – Zero Calorie Soda
I like soda and when I got married I actually started drinking diet because my husband drank it. I broke my own rule of not consuming fake sugars but I did and suffered for it. I am so thankful for many options in the market now though. Honest Fizz is a great alternative to all sodas especially since they are organic and zero calorie and zero sugar per each can. Here are the flavors:
I took the Orange Pop and Ginger Ale and mixed them in simple cocktails for a once a week treat. I made a Cran-Ginger Basil Spritzer with Crabbies Ginger Beer, fresh basil, lime juice, and Honest Fizz soda. I then decorated with sugar-free cranberries.
Ingredients
Instructions
Giveaway!
Have you had a chance to taste any of the Honest Tea products? If not, you have a chance to enter the giveaway below.
Disclosure: I received product to review. Company is providing winner with product. All photos and opinions are my own.
Sharing is Caring!
Nature’s Promise Products on a Budget + Giveaway
March 17th, 2016Disclosure: This is a sponsored post through Giant Food Stores. All opinions and photos are my own.
One of the things I like doing, mostly on my own, is grocery shopping. I like looking for deals and I love comparison shopping especially on a budget. It is really challenging and impossible, really, to even do it with kids. Since I have a tight schedule during the week, I alternate between my favorite grocery stores, depending on the area and the time of day. I also know what my stores carry when the times comes to replenish our main food staples.
GIANT Food Stores, is one of the grocery stores where I shop and find great deals. They offer their own line of organic and “free from” products called Nature’s Promise. It’s an affordable option for customers looking to save money and still go organic. Since we started using YNAB, or You Need A Budget, program, we have set aside a percentage of our income to groceries. Personally I always battle with the most important items to buy that are the best for my family, but when it is affordable it makes it easier to make a part of your pantry.
This is what I have experienced with Nature’s Promise. While at first I thought it was only offered in the meat department, I quickly realized I was sorely mistaken! There are actually more than 800 different Nature’s Promise products from perishable to non-perishable and health and beauty care to household items. BOY, was I wrong! GIANT Food Stores is currently in the midst of a refresh of Nature’s Promise with updated product packaging and addition of more products.
Most recently introduced products include all-purpose household cleaners, laundry detergent, hand soaps, vitamins, baby food, spices, artisan breads, marinades, and turkey bacon. All Nature’s Promise organic products meet the standards of the USDA National Organic Program and feature the USDA Organic Seal. Beginning in 2015, GIANT / MARTIN’S made improvements to its Nature’s Promise products to provide customers more transparency by migrating from “natural” to ” free-form.” This means customers can clearly see what is found in the products in order to know what unnecessary artificial ingredients there might be.
I was able to try a few more products from different departments and really thought the toilet paper was at a good price and good quality. I also tried the coconut spray which was great on days I keep my healthy fats on a minimum. The apple cider vinegar I use every day and was at a great price compared to the other brand I purchase. Healthier options for pasta sauce which included some veggies in the puree, was delicious and well-consumed by my kiddos.
The granola was another delicious product our family enjoyed. My girls can consume a bag within 3 days and it is probably one request I will put in to GIANT Food Stores, make BIGGER bags so they can last longer. Ha! Either way, I was happy with all the options in each department and the price point did not break the bank and I was able to stay within budget. I like going with a list of items that I would need for 2 weeks and stock up so I do not have to go out again. Knowing that there are options in every department with a specific brand that is affordable, makes grocery shopping easier.
Want a chance to purchase a few Nature’s Promise products the next time you are at GIANT or MARTINS? Enter the giveaway below!
Sharing is Caring!
Nectarine Crisps for Healthy Family Classics Cookbook + Giveaway
March 15th, 2016Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with Produce for Kids. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links which means I receive a very small percentage if you make a purchase using this link.
A few months ago I tantalized my Facebook and Instagram readers with a delicious recipe that I had created that was kid-friendly and healthy as a treat or dessert using seasonal fruit. I partnered with Produce for Kids to create a unique and tasty dessert to go in their first cookbook called Health Family Classics.
In the cookbook, Produce for Kids’ mission is to help families eat healthier by providing family tested, registered dietitian-approved recipes, expert advice, and tips from real parents. In the Healthy Family Classics cookbook, you’ll find a collection of easy recipes, created by our team of moms, food bloggers and registered dietitians, that make eating healthy a breeze, plus tips on involving kids in the recipe process.
I am very thankful and blessed having food on our table every day, but the fact is there are families across America who do have meals provided because of various reasons. I like supporting causes and this cookbook definitely serves as one. I am so excited to be included in the production of this cookbook even more so because 100% of all proceeds from the cookbook will go back to help feed families across the country through Feeding America.
Want several chances to win a copy for yourself or a friend? Produce for Kids is having a Twitter tomorrow, Wednesday, on March 16th at 9pm EST. There will be great conversations about recipes, healthy tips, and more plus cookbook giveaways. Follow the hashtag #HealthFamilyClassics and @ProduceForKids.
Want a copy now? Enter a comment below letting me know how you love serving your community.
Want to purchase the book now and give your donation to families across America? Consider buying NOW and from my Amazon shop for an e-book or for a hard copy. Thanks for the support!
