This Shakshuka Starter Kit from freezer section of Trader Joes was surprising easy and delicious. The tomato and pepper sauce comes frozen and I was able to easily remove the packaging and reheat it on low in the pan. I set aside the sauce on a dish when it was hot and used the same pan to fry up two eggs in oil. I kept the lid on the pan until the whites were cooked and the insides were still runny, then added the eggs over the sauce and garnished with some chopped parsley, ground pepper and a side of toast.

For a semi-frozen meal, I was pretty impressed with the flavor and it took very little effort. It made a big portion too. You could easily share the sauce between two people and fry up four eggs. While I normally try to make recipes from scratch, especially for the blog, semi-homemade meals are a huge help when meal planning. Please let me know if you enjoy this post and I will post some more meal hacks.

Make a resolution to cook more in the New Year? I know I did.  Meal Planning using farm fresh healthy ingredients is one of the most important things you can do for you health and for your pocket book. Even though I would love to go to farmer’s markets and I generally don’t mind grocery shopping, sometimes, our schedules can get pretty insane and we need help.

That’s where Milk and Eggs comes in. They are a delivery service in Los Angeles that delivers you fresh milk, eggs, dairy, meats, vegetables, and fruits on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Membership & Delivery are FREE and orders can be changed anytime. All vegetables, fruits, dairy, eggs, and meats will be the freshest available, and locally acquired.

The website was really easy to use. I did my order à la carte. I choose a delivery date, and it was delivered on time before I had to leave for work on Monday morning. Which was awesome, by the way, having a fully stocked fridge in the beginning of the work week. It forced me to cook more, since I didn’t want food going to waste, which saved me money from going out to eat or ordering delivery. Yes, I’m not perfect and don’t always cook or eat healthy food. Life happens, and all you can do is your best, and get help where you can. Did some waste happen? Yes, but that happens when I go grocery shopping normally as well.

Overall, I’m really happy with the service and can definitely see myself using it in the future.  Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

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I was lucky enough to receive a week’s worth of FITzee Foods in exchange for an honest reveiw, and I’m really excited to share this company with everyone. Here are some reasons why I love them:

• Their turkey is nitrate-free and hormone free, the chicken is free-range, & the beef is grass fed.
• Their meals are delivered fresh, never frozen.
• Meals are portion controlled to ensure you eat the right food and the right amount.
• They offer meals in four different sizes: Small, Medium, Large, and Family Size.
• Labels that show you which meals are DF- Dairy Free, GF- Gluten Free, PF- Paleo Friendly, VG-Vegetarian, and/or *LC- Low Carb (love this!!!)
  
• All nutritional information and ingredients are labeled on each package.
• Multiple heating method options – Microwave, Stove Top or Oven. I used the oven at 350 for ten minutes and had no issues.
• Option to freeze meals for up to 3 months.
• The ingredient lists consisted of fresh real food without chemicals or preservatives.

Overall, when I don’t want to deal with grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning, this is a great, healthy alternative. The portion sizes for paleo and low carb meals are perfect for someone looking to lose weight. Plus, I think these would definitely make great lunches to take to work as well. The portions are a little small for me for dinner, since I consume a ton of food, so sometimes I ate two instead of one.

Everything I tried had been flavored well, and tasted good. Obviously, I wouldn’t compare this to my own cooking, but for a busy person who doesn’t have time to cook, I think this would be really helpful. Even though I try to cook and meal plan as often as I can, life can get crazy, and a lot of times I don’t have the time or energy. I love the labeling since I always want to know if the food I buy has dairy in it, and I love being able to quickly tell if the food is paleo or gluten and dairy free without going over every single ingredient.

 They were generous enough to provide a promo code that can be used at checkout at www.fitzeefoods.com

code: healingandeating15

value: 15% off

expires 10/31/16

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So, I received a ton of skincare products to review for Luminance Skincare. They are a really awesome organic and vegan skincare line, and all the products are made with the healthiest and most effective ingredients. No synthetics or toxins are used, and everything smells amazing!

The Bulgarian Lavender soap was my favorite, it seriously smells so amazing, I almost didn’t want to use it. There are no GMOs, alcohol, or wax in the soap and it contains only 100% pure essential oils. The oils in this soap are coconut, palm, sweet almond, avocado, apricot, macadamia, kukui, argan, and jojoba oil. It also contains white benonite, french green, and red morrocan clay, which gives the soap it’s  lovely warm green color.

If you are like me, and usually use liquid soap with loofahs, I recommend getting a Exfoliating Mesh Soap Saver Pouch. It’s pretty genius, you put the bar of soap in the exfoliating bag and it keeps the soap from getting scummy, and makes it easier to grab, and then the bag suds up and you can use it to exfoliate in the shower. There are super cheap too. I got a 4 pack for $6.29 on Amazon from Aquasentials. Most liquid soaps contain way more toxins, to prevent mold and bacteria, which can grow when exposed to air and water. So this a great alternative if you want to keep your loofah, and ditch the chemicals.

When we were moving our stuff out of our old rental, I happened to find my Fitbit One Wireless Activity Tracker ($93.49). I didn’t use it that often when I first got it as a gift, since I tended to use the pedometer app on my phone. However, since finding it during the move, I started using it on a regular basis. And I’m in love! It even worked on the treadmill, for keeping track of my steps. It’s small and lightweight so you hardly notice you are wearing it. The battery has such a long life, that you barely have to charge it, and the fitbit app on the iphone can show you in real time your steps increasing.

The app also keeps track of your miles, calories burned, floors, and active minutes. Basically,  the active minutes times your workout, so you can set goals not just for steps, but also how long you want to work out per day. Even as a much as a half hour can give huge health payouts. I was really impressed with this feature. It could tell the difference between a low intensity workout and me walking around at work during the day.

One of my goals this year, is to go back to good habits that I’ve let slide. That includes long walks, which are gentle on the body and great for stress. Walking has always been the best way for me to relieve my nerve pain and I couldn’t be happier walking with my fitbit.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the fitbit company, nor have I accepted payment, or even a free product for this review.

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of Make it Paleo II  and it’s gorgeous. Tons of large beautiful pictures, each one more delicious looking than the one before it. I’m doing a giveaway for this cookbook, so some lucky paleo fan will also get to join in the fun.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I recently tried the recipe for tomato jam. I thought it sounded pretty creative. You can make your own paleo bread (check out my recipe) and enjoy it on toast. I put it over some chicken breasts, which was also delicious. It’s really up to you 🙂 I substituted a few things in this recipe. I used organic palm oil instead of butter and I used granulated coconut sugar instead of granulated maple sugar. (It’s what was in the pantry)

Tomato Jam & Make It Paleo II Review & Giveaway

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 50 mins

 

Author: Lauren Bolanos

Serves: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 15 roma tomatoes halved and seeded
• ½ cup of finely diced yellow onion
• 1 tbsp of palm oil
• 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp granulated coconut sugar
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 7 grinds of black pepper
• ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
• pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Place tomatoes in a food processor and process into small chunks.
2. In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, carmelize the onion in the butter until light brown, about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring periodically, until the jam has reduced by about half and is thick, like a very thick tomato sauce.
3. It will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

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