Nail Polish Organization Tip

Today I'm changing it up a little bit here on the blog!

I don't have any food pictures, exercises, or recipes to share but rather a fashion tip! I'm not a fashionista by any means but I do think that this little tip is something worth sharing.

I absolutely love painting my nails. Sometimes I paint them two times a week just because I love all of the different colors so much it's hard to choose just one! I'm always trying out new designs and color combos and this little trick has came into handy, especially when I need just the right color.

Whenever I buy nail polish I stick a toothpick into the jar and then dab a little bit of paint right on top of the lid.

This helps a lot when I am looking at all of my colors at once (see photo below) and it also helps me see what the color looks like when dried. How many times have you caught yourself in the middle of the nail polish aisle with little paint swatches all over your nails?

By adding a little drop of color to the lids I am able to quickly see what colors I have in my box of polish rather than take them all out and look at the bottles. I also love that if I have a big date planned, a wedding, or other event where I want my nails to match my clothes, I am able to match the already dried nail polish to the outfit! I don't have to guess which one will match the best and then be disappointed when it doesn't match the dress!

Question:

What do you think of my little life hack? 

Do you want me to share more of my amazing beauty secrets here on the blog? Ha!

Double Chocolate Chip Paleo Protein Shake

As I've stated before, I'm really bad at getting out of bed in the morning. Really, really bad. But this morning I was able to wake up right away with a little help from my needy kittens. They have taught themselves that the alarm corresponds with them getting fed so when the alarm goes off, they jump all over the bed and meow until I get up. Somedays I can sleep through it, others I can't.

What am I supposed to do with all of that extra time? Instead of sit on the couch until it was time for work, I decided to make a healthy and delicious protein shake for breakfast. It included lots and lots of chocolate. What better way to start a Monday morning than with chocolate? I'm pretty sure I will have the best week ever because of it!

A few weeks ago, Artisana was kind of enough to send me a few samples of their coconut butter squeeze packs. I absolutely love coconut so these have been perfect for adding to my morning smoothies or for quick pre-workout fuel.

I have also heard that by combining coconut butter (or oil) with chia seeds you are bound to have a ton of energy! I honestly didn't even need my morning coffee this morning because I didn't feel sluggish after drinking this.

This smoothie can easily be tailored to fit what you have on hand. For instance, if you don't follow a paleo diet, use regular milk & whatever protein powder you have on hand. If you do follow the paleo diet, I highly recommend you check out the Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I am able to find them at Meijer and other health food stores and they are soy, gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, casein, potato, wheat, fish, sesame, shellfish, tree nut, and sulfite free! The dark chocolate chips do contain cane sugar, but if you aren't crazy strict on your paleo diet, I say they're ok every now and then ;)

Ten Years Later

A few weeks ago I promised my mom that I would drive home to help her clean, organize, and rearrange the storage room in the basement. This room holds everything from Christmas decorations to extra microwaves (thank you college dorm life). There are boxes of toys and stuffed animals, boxes full of birthday cards, trinkets, old clothes that should never see the light of day again, and so many photos.

Instead of just throwing the box of photos to the side and continuing on with the cleaning "fun" I decided to take a break and go through all of the photos. It's so strange to me to actually hold pictures in my hands as the new norm is to have them all on your phone or computer. This also makes me want to print every single picture that I have and put them in a big, old fashioned photo book just incase my computer were to randomly die and I lose every single one. (Are these considered old fashioned now?) 

Out of all of the photos, this one really stuck out to me.

This photo is from the summer of 2005, almost 10 years ago! I'm pretty sure it was taken on my 13th birthday. Ethel, my black lab was about 3 years old at the time and the only white speck on her is that tiny little spot you can see on her neck.

When I was 12 I volunteered at a local animal shelter and was told that I wasn't allowed to bring any animals home. Well when I was working there I wanted to save every single animal I saw but this sweet pup stood out to me. Every time I took her out to play she was so sweet and loving. She had a sister, Lucy, that had already been adopted so she was left on her own. I begged and begged my parents to let me bring her home. When I say begged, I literally had to ask about 100 times and tell them that I would scoop poop every week, take her to the vet, and buy her dog food. They finally gave in! So we all loaded up in the van, I gathered together every penny I owned ($50) and we headed to the animal shelter to bring Ethel home! The first night all of us kids slept in the living room with her on the floor in our sleeping bags and we've been in love with her ever since.

Fast forward 10 years and look at us now.

Still best friends! Just a little bit grayer - her, not me... yet ;)

It's crazy how fast these years have flown by and the changes in her! Looking at these two pictures side by side, I can hardly believe that it's the same dog!

Boy, oh boy do I love this girl! 

MealEnders Giveaway Winner & Discount Code

I just wanted to stop in on this late Friday night to say thank you to everyone who entered the MealEnders giveaway that I hosted on the blog this week!

The winner is.... Sandy K! You have been contacted via e-mail so please be sure to keep an eye out.

For all of you who entered but didn't win, don't worry - you are all runners up and get to enjoy 30% off your MealEnders order! Just enter the code "WINNER-TOO" at checkout to receive your discount. Visit www.mealenders.com to order a pack or two for yourself.

Have a great weekend!

Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Paleo)

I have a delicious recipe to share with you all but first a story about the "heart attack" I had today.

This morning on my way to work I was in a bit of a hurry. I really like hitting the snooze button (like a lot) which doesn't leave me with a lot of extra time to make breakfast. Today was one of those days. Heck, almost everyday is one of those days. So I threw a banana, some almond milk, almond butter, chia seeds, protein powder, and spinach into a blender and ran out the door.

When I got home and went into the kitchen I had a mini heart attack because I thought that tiny little bugs took over my kitchen counter! I was so grossed out. Then I took a closer look only to realize I spilled some chia seeds on the counter during my morning rush! What a relief! I honestly don't know what I would have done had there been a million little bugs all over my counter. 

So after I cleaned up that mess, I made these.

I experimented with a flourless cookie recipe I already had and swapped the peanut butter for almond butter, added a few chocolate chips, and used maple syrup instead of honey. I also topped them with a pinch of sea salt for the most delicious sweet and salty taste. These cookies were super soft and chewy too! 

I enjoyed my cookie with a big, cold glass of almond milk. The perfect afternoon snack!

I'm thinking that these would be an amazing breakfast cookie. Especially since I suck at waking up on time. Maybe I'll experiment by throwing some protein powder into the mix next time. 

Recipe

1 c. almond butter, refrigerated* 

1/3 c. pure maple syrup

1 egg

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips

* I keep my nut butters in the fridge so this could make a difference if yours is room temp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all of the ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl until creamy.

3. Mix in the chocolate chips

4. Place by the spoonful on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Sprinkle each cookie with a few extra chocolate chips and a pinch of sea salt.

5. Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Yields: 1 dozen cookies

Enjoy!

MealEnders Review & Giveaway

Any time that I come across a product that claims to help people lose weight or prevent overeating I always become wary. There are hundreds of products out there in every form imaginable - from liquids, to pills, to the stuff you sprinkle on your food (what is that stuff anyways?) - that all claim to help people stop overeating, lose weight fast and keep it off. While all of these products seem like they would work, they all focus solely on your stomach by shrinking it, filling it up, and contorting it into a different shape (I made that last one up, but you get the idea). That's where MealEnders is different. MealEnders are drug and stimulant-free signaling lozenges designed to work with the body's natural hunger rhythms by combining behavioral psychology and sensory science.

MealEnders are made up of two layers. The first layer is a sweet layer that provides a small dose of dessert which signals the end of a meal. The second layer is a cooling/tingling layer that clears the palate and cues the end of eating by engaging the trigeminal nerve. 

When you eat a meal it takes your brain longer to realize you are full than it takes your stomach to realize it. When you "eat" a MealEnders after a meal, you are not supposed to chew or bite it, just suck on it. This allows your body's natural satiety process time to catch up and let you know you are full. 

Personally I think that the concept of these lozenges is great for someone who has a poor relationship with food or constantly snacks between meals when they aren't hungry because it allows them to take 15-20 minutes to decide if they actually need dessert or not. I don't think I will find myself consistently reaching for one of these after a meal because I feel that I do a good job with portion control and not over eating but I can see myself using them late at night when I am fighting those hard to beat cravings.

Click here to visit their website to learn more about the concept behind MealEnders, see nutritional info, and read their story!

If you are interested in trying MealEnders out for yourself now is your chance! MealEnders has offered to give one of my readers 4 packs of MealEnders (1 of each flavor) to try out for their self! To enter complete the Rafflecopter form below. A winner will be chosen on March 21st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners will be selected by Rafflecopter subject to the eligibility requirements set by MealEnders and FitApproach. Eligibile winners must be U.S. residents. SweatPink Ambassadors are not eligible to win. Winners will be notified by e-mail and must respond within 48 hours.

Disclaimer: I was sent this product free of charge in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. 

My Favorite Kitchen Gadget

Following a paleo lifestyle makes it hard to eat out. While it is possible, you never know if the waiter is actually listening/writing down all of your modifications and allergy restrictions. Plus, in the end you never really know what is going into your food unless you are cooking it yourself. As a result I find myself in the kitchen a lot and to keep things interesting I like experimenting with new gadgets every now and then!

My current obsession is the Spiralizer. This thing does wonders and you can do so much more with it than just make zoodles. 

My inspiration for meal ideas stems from Ali, the Instagramer behind @Inspiralized. She just came out with a new cookbook and has a website full of delicious recipes. 

Did you know that you can spiralize almost anything?! Apples, beets, squash, cucumbers, radishes, pears, onions, potatoes... You can even make spiralized desserts! Check out this recipe for Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Noodle Muffins. Talk about delicious.

So if you are looking to spice things up in the kitchen and haven't used a spiralizer yet, I highly suggest you add it to your list of "Must Have Kitchen Gadgets to Try!"

Question of the Day

What's your favorite thing to make with a spiralizer? 

Kasandrinos Olive Oil Review & Giveaway

When I first began living on my own and following a paleo lifestyle cooking became a huge part of my life. I loved researching different recipes, creating my own, and shopping for the ingredients. Being a college student I never thought it was important to spend those extra few bucks on basic ingredients such as olive oil when I could be saving them for a night out with friends. They were just basic, every day ingredients so what could be so special about the $15 bottle vs. the $7? I used to tell myself that all olive oils that are cold pressed and organic must taste the same so I always reached for the cheapest bottle on the shelf.

A few weeks ago I began using Kasandrinos extra virgin olive oil in my cooking and my view on olive oil is forever changed and I now understand the importance of using a high quality, authentic olive oil. The taste is clean and balanced, the color is bright golden yellow with a hint of green, and the aroma jumps out at you. It's simply perfection.

(Photo source)

Kasandrinos takes pride in the quality and authenticity of their product. Their olives are grown in a warm and stable climate, hand-picked, and mechanically pressed within 48 hours of being harvested. They never use any chemicals which makes their olive oil that much better!

In addition to their olive oil, Kasandrinos has a few other products available for sale on their website such as lip balm, soap, and a body polishing scrub. They will be offering dry rubs and seasonings very soon!

And now something special for all of you - Kasandrinos has offered to let one lucky reader try out their olive oil for their self! All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win. A winner will be chosen on Friday March 13th.


a Rafflecopter giveaway







Disclaimer: I was sent this product free of charge. As always, all opinions are entirely my own.