Archive | June, 2013

Tasty Tuesday: Crazy About Quinoa (Recipe)!

25 Jun

20130625-160024.jpgI recently discovered I love quinoa. My husband bought a giant bag at Costco one weekend and we have tried to come up with different dishes to use it up. I also love Mexican and crave it often. To satisfy my crave and use up that bag, I came up with an alternative that wasn’t loaded down with cheese and is easy to throw together on those busy evenings.
Ingredients:

  • Red Quinoa
  • Vegetable or Chicken Broth
  • Chile Olive Oil (I used Ah Love Oil)
  • Red and Green bell pepper (diced)
  • Yellow Onion (diced)
  • Fresh Garlic clove
  • Chile powder
  • Can of Corn
  • Can of black beans
  • Cherry or grape tomoatoes (cut in half)
  • Avocado
  • Low far Sour Cream
  • Lime

Here’s how to make it:

  • Follow cooking instructions for Quinoa using 1 cup quinoa, 1 cup broth and 1 cup water.
  • Sauté peppers and onion in chile olive oil. Add chile powder, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic to taste ( I didn’t measure) continue to sauté until desired texture.
  • Meanwhile, drain corn and black beans.
  • Slice avocado
  • Place a serving of quinoa on a dish. Top with sautéed peppers and onions, corn, black beans, tomatoes and avocado. Add a little sour cream and squeeze lime all over.
  • Enjoy!

The dish was a hit with my husband and have made it several times since my first trial run. It makes a lot so you can take it for lunch the next day or use the left over ingredients to create a new dish or use in a salad.

Tune In Today For Healthy Strategies For Children and Families

21 Jun

Tune in at 2 p.m. to www.preventcancerwebcast.org to learn strategies to encourage healthy habits early on. Topics will include: nutrition, exercise, childhood obesity and sun safety. If you have any questions you would like answered submit them to www.facebook.com/preventcancer or via twitter to @preventcancer. For more details see the Save the Date below or visit the event Facebook Page! Hope you will be able to join! Have a wonderful and healthy weekend!

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Temporary Tattoo Earrings…Genius!

19 Jun

20130619-140729.jpgAbout a year ago my oldest daughter, almost 5, asked many times for her ears pierced.  She does not like going to the doctor for her annual check-ups and leaves the office hysterical because of the shot she received.  I sat her down and explained that when you get your ears pierced they give you a shot in both ears.  She immediately told me “I’ll get them pierced when I’m 20 because maybe shots won’t hurt anymore”.  As an alternative, I have tried many earring stickers but they fall off easily. We went through an entire sheet in a day and I was finding them around the house and stuck in laundry.  I tried clip-on’s too but they hurt her.

I was at Doodle Doo’s the other day and came across Poppy Drops, a temporary tattoo earring.  Talk about a GENIUS idea!  The temporary tattoo earrings are easy to put on with the earring applicator. We are on day 3 of our first pair of the In Bloom collection and they still look great.  Poppy Drops come in so many adorable styles that would be perfect to add to a gift.  They are sold in a collection, mini-pot, or bundle/ starter kit.  Next, on our list to try is the Glitter Collection.  Thank you to Poppy Drops, now I can hold off on the real thing!  I’m not sure how I missed this great product before because my daughter is LOVING her new earrings!

Left to Right: In Bloom Collection, Glitter Collection, Butterfly Mini-Pot, and Springtime Bundle (Images from Poppy Drops)

Left to Right: In Bloom Collection, Glitter Collection, Butterfly Mini-Pot, and Springtime Bundle (Images from Poppy Drops)

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post.  All opinions expresses are my own.

Fun Food Friday: Flower Power

14 Jun

My girls are all about flowers. When we walk by the neighborhood garden, my oldest stops to see if any new flowers have bloomed. She is currently doing a gardening unit at school and is going to be a flower girl in a wedding this weekend so her interest has peaked even more recently. Every time we go to Whole Foods, both of my girls want to pick out fresh flowers for our apartment, which I don’t mind because fresh flowers always brighten up the place. We were home one rainy day when I decided we needed “flowers” for lunch to make the dull day a little brighter. We also talked about what my oldest was learning at school and her upcoming role as a flower girl.
I made due with what we had in our refrigerator and freezer but there ate many ways to alter the meal. How I made it:
Flower Pedals: round spinach and cheese ravioli
“Stigma”: halved cherry tomatoes, could also use halved meatballs
Stem and Leaves: sliced cucumber
For the leaves you can also use fresh basil.
You can also add Blueberries at the bottom of the “stem” to make it look like “dirt”.

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Have a Happy Friday!

Skipping Around Town in pedipeds (review)

13 Jun

Picture 1120130612-142118.jpgLast week I received a reminder note from my daughter’s teacher that sandals without a back are not permitted at school. My daughter loves sandals and the couple she has don’t have a back.  Luckily, I recently received a pair of pediped Vivian sandals for review. I loved pedipeds when my girls were learning to walk because not only do they have many great styles to choose from, they come in various stages from infant with a soft sole to a sole with a little more stability and grip for the little one’s taking their first steps. After they outgrew their last pair, I never realized the sizes went as high as a 10/11, which my girls wear now. Pediped sizes start at newborn and go all the way up to 8 years old.
The pediped system , the three steps below, is available for boys and girls:

First Steps:

Image from pediped.com

Image from pediped.com

• The Originals line of soft-soled, flexible infant shoes is recommended by pediatricians and podiatrists as the shoe’s design closely mimics barefoot walking.

• The Originals® collection will be priced at $37 and is available for children ages 0-24 months.

Next Steps:

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Image from pediped.com

• The Grip ‘n’ Go™ line is made with all the benefits of the Originals®, but adds special feature G2 technology for the unbalanced toddler transitioning into walking more confidently.

• The Grip ‘n’ Go™ line will retail at $48, and will be available for children ranging from nine months to three years of age.

Big Steps:

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Image from pediped.com

• Flex® is the ultimate shoe for an established walker who has developed a confident, natural stride. The Flex® line offers more than 50 styles covering an array of color options ranging from pastels and neons to signature browns and black.

• The innovative line of washable athletic shoes, made with Ultra Light Technology™, is especially designed to support children’s growing feet. Featuring flex grooves to support natural foot movement and heal cushioning, this line provides maximum flexibility while remaining light as air.

• Flex® styles range in price from $39 to $59 and are available in EU sizes 20-33 (available sizes vary between styles).

Click to learn more about pediped and the technology behind the well-known brand.

20130612-142106.jpgWhat I love about the pediped Vivian Flex sandal:

  • Ideal for active girls while still looking adorable with the dressed my daughter loves to wear.
  • Velcro straps made it easy for my daughter to get on and off on her own.
  • Able to scoot or go run in the park after school without having to go home and change shoes.
  • Closed back, perfect for school or camp this summer
  • Durable
  • Reasonably priced: $35.99

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A couple of my favorite styles for boys:

Flex Sahara, water-safe and washable, $49.00 Image from pediped.com

Flex Sahara, water-safe and washable, $49.00
Image from pediped.com

Originals Charlie, $37.00 Image from pediped.com

Originals Charlie, $37.00
Image from pediped.com

Check out pediped on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest.  If you like Pediped, check out Brian James Footwear, the new women’s footwear line by pediped founder, Angela Edgeworth.

Disclaimer: I did not receive compensation for this post.  All opinions expressed are my own.  I received a pair of pedipeds for the purpose of this review.  Information in italics came from a press release I received.

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Monster Republic $100 Giveaway

7 Jun

I have two girls and it’s a lot of fun dressing them. I get the “are you going to try for a boy” question often. I must say, I am pretty happy with my two girls and lots of pink until I see the awesome clothes from brands like the L.A. based Monster Republic collection (images below). Luckily my girls have lot’s of friends that are boys who I struggle to find cool and unique gifts at a reasonable price. Monster Republic comes in sizes 12 months to 10 years and would make a great present or hip addition to any boys wardrobe (giveaway details below images).

Images from Monster Republic

Images from Monster Republic

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Image from Monster Republic

Image from Monster Republic

Image from Monster Republic

Monster Republic is giving a lucky reader a $100 to use towards their clothing line. To enter click the Rafflecopter Giveaway link (a Rafflecopter giveaway ).  Ends 6/14 at 12 a.m.!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. Thank you to Monster Republic for giving a reader $100 to use towards clothing.

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Lost Phone

6 Jun
Image from Apple

Image from Apple

The past week and a half has been a busy one. I finally sat down to do all the posts I have to do and realized I haven’t posted anything since before Memorial Day. Last week I lost my cell phone for a while so that only added to the craziness that was going on. Fortunately, a Nanny had found it in my building, but didn’t want to leave it with anyone. My daughter had played with it and set it on a table. I was able to use Find My Phone to know that it hadn’t left the building. It took a lot of asking around but I eventually got it back 2 days later. I felt completely naked without it but it was also nice because I wasn’t checking my e-mails, texts, tweets, and Facebook all the time. I enjoyed time with my girls at the park and wasn’t distracted.

The few days without my phone made me realize how dependent I have become on it for many reasons, listed below:

Communicating with the World: I can remember the days I never had a phone to begin with. Play dates were scheduled in advance and you had to be on time to the scheduled meeting place because there was no way to get in touch if anything came up. Before you left, you needed to make sure you had enough quarters, dimes, or nickels to call home, just in case. These days I have no home phone, I can’t even tell you where the nearest pay phone is and I only know a handful of numbers. Luckily there were no emergencies. I also rely on text messages and e-mails to schedule last-minute play dates or to get in touch with my husband to make dinner plans.

Time Management: It’s been years since I’ve worn a watch. I haven’t needed to since I carry my phone. I set alarms and can check the time easily. Without my phone I was late to everything and didn’t want to go far from home because I was afraid of missing their scheduled classes.

Pictures: I have no idea what I would have done if my phone was gone for good. I hadn’t backed up my phone in a while and I take pictures of my girls primarily with my phone since it is on me all the time. I was unable to finish my reviews and posts because all the photos I had taken for them were on there. Time to commit to backing up my photos to the Cloud or saving them to my computer.

Lessons learned: Make sure to get your phone back from your child when they are playing with it and make sure you consistently backing up your information.