Oat Beverage from Sneaky Pete's

I am not much  of an Oat fan but my daughter and husband  are.  I mean, I like oats in a cookie but not  the ones you cook for breakfast, I just don't like the slimy texture of it.  But anyhow, glad  I could supplement my oat needs through  an all natural beverage from Sneaky Pete's.   I received five bottles of Sneaky Pete's Beverage new  flavors of juice which includes  raspberry, mango, apple, peach, and  grape.

I like all the flavors but my favorite was the mango.  A bottle of this Oat Beverage contains 40 calories, a perfect one to hydrate  me when I am doing my fitness routine.  This is a healthy juice that  you can add to your diet , it has a great taste  and it is good for your heart's healthy diet.  

 To get in touch with Sneaky Pete's like them in Facebook or follow them in Twitter.  You may also want to use   SNEAKYBLOGGER code to to get a 15% if you want to give it a try.    I am telling you, you won't regret it, it has an  OATstanding taste.  OAT beverage is a refreshing way of enjoying the  goodness of oatmeal in a drink.    Thanks Sneaky Pete's for sending me  these new beverage that I like so much.  I will surely buy them from the store.

Disclaimer:  Products mentioned above were given for FREE for review purposes only.  There is NO monetary  compensation involve in facilitating the review.

Five Ways To Keep Your Heart Happy And Healthy

Heart disease is the top cause of death in Australia. In 2010, it was estimated that over 45,600 Australians died from this disease. The good news is that heart disease is a condition that can be prevented. Below are some of the things that people can do to cut their chances of developing heart disease.

Avoid Smoking And The Use Of Tobacco Products

Smoking and tobacco use are two of the major contributors to heart disease. Tobacco contains chemicals that can cause atherosclerosis, which is a condition that causes the arteries to narrow. Atherosclerosis can eventually lead to heart attacks. Cigarettes and tobacco also cause the heart to work harder.

It is important to note that females who take birth control pills while smoking or using tobacco products are at a greater risk for developing heart disease. The good news is that everyone can cut their chances of developing heart disease drastically if they quit smoking and using tobacco products.

Exercise Every Day

Exercise helps control many of the risk factors that lead to heart disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity. Regular exercise also helps keep the heart strong. That is why you want to get between 30 and 60 minutes of exercise every day. Keep in mind that you do not have to go to the gym to get exercise. Walking, riding your bike and hiking are some of the ways that you can exercise without even going to the gym.

Furthermore, you do not have to exercise for 30 minutes consecutively. You can exercise for 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes in the evening.

Eat Healthy

You should follow a diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein. You should also try to get two or three servings of salmon or another type of fatty fish. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids, which are a type of healthy fat that have been shown to cut the risk of heart disease. If you do not eat fish regularly, then you can get your omega 3 fatty acids from walnuts and flaxseed. Additionally, you should limit your consumption of red meat, sugary foods and processed foods.

Limit Alcohol Consumption

Small amounts of red wine have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease. However, if you drink alcohol in large quantities, then your risk of heart disease will be greater. That is why you should only drink one or two alcoholic beverages per day.

Get Regular Checkups

If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, then you are at an increased risk for developing heart disease. That is why regular health screenings are important. Getting those conditions treated early will drastically cut your risk of heart disease.

These are some of the main steps in ensuring that your healthy heart stays that way for a long time. It’s never too late to break bad habits.

Author Bio: Michelle is a Brisbane resident who loves travelling, food and writing. She is currently studying nutrition and writes blogs to inspire other health kick starters and hopes to encourage people to start focusing on their health.

Pepperoni Rolls from Barney's Bakery

Someone told me that the bread sticks at Barney's Bakery  was really good so we drove by there  last Sunday.  They did not have  bread sticks that day but they  have a lot of  pepperoni and cheese rolls.

 Hubby and I think that their pepperoni rolls are better than the ones we  buy at  Belmonte Pizza but Ms. Burrito disagreed.  I liked the former's pep rolls because their bread are more soft whereas  the latter's  are more dense.     

Colorful Dinner

My kids love those wingettes and drumettes that we buy in the store.  I boil them first with onion, salt, and pepper then I  fry them.   Since fried foods is oily, I  try to balance it by serving  vegetable salad and  fruit slices for dessert.  

The colorful the food you serve for the kids, the more they want to eat it.  It works for my kids.

5 Ways to Organize Your Kitchen

While flipping through magazines, it is so easy to be in awe of the beautiful dream kitchens. The cupboard doors are gleaming and pristine, there is no clutter anywhere, every food item is categorized and everything is new and sparkling. Now for a reality check. The pile of papers on your kitchen bench seems to be growing taller every day, the pantry is in disarray and you are sick of tidying out the plastic storage drawer. It is so easy to amass a collection of every size container imaginable.

Sort and discard

Anything you haven’t used for months, discard or give to charity. All the useful gadgets that do the most amazing things, if you haven’t even tried them, it’s probably time to get rid of them. Dispose of all the odd china plates, the containers with no lids and anything that you've been hanging on to for years but have never used.

Use labels

If you store spices and condiments in plastic ware, instead of tipping it upside down to try and work out what’s in there, why not label them? You can order personalized stickers online for help with this. If transferring packaged products to containers, cut off the use by date and tape to the inside of the lid.

Rearrange

If you are constantly reaching up high to use crockery daily, why not rearrange these items to a more reachable level? This will not only save strain on your back, but constantly used items will be within easy reach.

Clear the benches

Try to have clutter free bench tops. If you are accumulating paperwork that needs to be looked at later, medications or knick knacks, try to find an alternative space for these. Anything that really doesn’t need to be there, shouldn't be there. Give all these items their own space somewhere else.

Get rid of the junk drawer

Every kitchen seems to have one. It is full of things that ‘might come in handy’. Rubber bands, twist ties, batteries, sticky tape, screws, tools, these are all things that could easily be relocated. Use plastic storage containers, categorized and properly labelled, for all the small items that you do use occasionally. Discard all the other useless bits and pieces in the junk drawer.

 When organizing your kitchen, you have to be ruthless. There is no room for hoarding or storing something that ‘you may use one day’. Have a look at the cheap stickers online available to order on Vistaprint website. You can choose colors to coordinate with your kitchen. You can also select decorative pictures to identify items such as spices, baking ingredients and dry goods such as rice and cereal. Being realistic, kitchens will need organizing every few months. This is a good opportunity to go through the pantry and discard anything that is past its use by date. However, if your first kitchen organisation is conducted logically, with things labelled and rearranged, it will be much easier to give your kitchen an organisational touch up in the future.

Cabbage Roll

Cooking for me is a challenge  especially that I have three lovelies who wants different  kinds of food.   I never liked cooking when I was single but now that I am a Mom,  I have learned to like it although it is still tough at time because you run out of ideas  on what to cook every single day.  Cooking the same ,menu  everyday could be boring so I tried to find things that  my kids and husband would like.  Sometimes I look for recipes online but sometimes, I just follow my guts and cook!

One day, I had a left-over  giniling (sauteed pork with carrots, green peas, soy sauce, onions and tomatoes).  I did not want to serve it again the next day and at the same time, I did not want to throw it away.  I looked in the fridge and saw the  Chinese cabbage and I thought, maybe if I wrapped it in a cabbage, add some  tomato sauce  in it and bake it, it would taste good.  It turned out really well and my husband loved it!

Then the other day, I made some  fried rice and bacon.  I wanted some greens  in it so I blanched the Chinese cabbage (I love Chinese cabbage more than the regular because it is a bit sweet) with a little bit of salt and butter and wrapped the  fried rice and bacon.  Ms,. Burrito and hubby liked it but Mr. Burrito did not (he is picky sometimes).

So there you go, my cooking challenge experiments.

Pinteresting

I have  noticed lately that every business establishments I looked online uses Pinterest as one of their Social Media.  I was not interested in Pinterest before but I created an account because it was  a requirement to one of the tasks I  wrote.  But anyhow, I am starting to love it now  because  I can share all my blog posts there and gain  additional exposure from the people who are following me and friends who are on my list.  I even  got some re-pinned for my pins.  

It's amazing how Social Network   make a big impact to the business world.   The interesting aspect about  Pinterest is that, you can showcase whatever it is that you are selling or promoting   It allows you to  post photos, write about it and you can also  share it to other social media  through  their sharing buttons  all ready  after you pin your post.  I am actually getting a hang of it now, before I did not really pay attention but now I see it's benefits already.  An advertiser I work with before asked me how many Pnterest followers do I have, when I told him the number, he gave me additional tasks.  How awesome is that!  So now you know a little bit about  the site, happy Pinteresting!

Flood Wood Care

We had  rain and thunder storm last night that made  our dogs freaked out.  We were watching TV when the rain started pouring and the wind was gushing, then when the thunder rolled in, our dogs just lost it.  Some part of our State were on flood watch last night.  We lost our satellite connection for a couple of hours but it went back when the rain stopped.

Anyhow,  one of the projects that we are looking forward  into doing  this year is  staining and painting our wooden fence.  I was looking at the projects  on Staining Made Simple at Flood® Wood Care and  it showed me exactly how to perfectly  pick the right   product to use for  our project.  We used pressure treated lumber with our fence before  so based from the guide that I followed from Flood Wood Care, we have to use a wood finish remover and flood semi-transparent finish.  I think this would look great when   pushed through.  The only concern I have now is on how to save the money to do the project .  As you can see in the photo below,  our fence  need  re-staining again.  

Bento Lunch Box

Laptop Lunches Bento Ware  sent me one  Bento Lunch Box  to review.  My daughter  was very happy to have it because she loves  vegetable salad  and whenever she  have a cold lunch, that's what she  asks me to prepare.   I received it last Saturday and since she  did not order a hot lunch  for Monday, we used it to pack her lunch.  I always wanted to have a bento  lunch box because it is fun to prepare  my children's  lunches.    I had two lunch boxes before but  Laptop Lunches Bento is by far  the best there is.  It contains four  individual containers and a compartment for  spoon, fork, or chopsticks.

My daughter got complimented of how her lunch box is  very unique and how good looking her food was.  One of the teachers  asked m me where I bought it so I referred them to  the website.  I also  suggested to check out Laptop Lunches Bento Ware in   Twitter and Facebook.  I am thinking of buying two more of this because my husband  want one and so does our son.  Thanks once again Laptop Lunches Bento-Ware.

Thank you  Laptop Lunches Bento for sharing my article to your FB Page and Twitter.  Greatly appreciate it.

Disclaimer:  Products mentioned above is received for FREE in return of my honest opinion in the form of review.  NO monetary compensation was involved in facilitating this review.

Pizza Hut and Our Homemade Pizza

We ordered   some pizza from Pizza Hut last Friday.  There is a  pizza delivery available but we  away chose to  order it online and pick it up afterwards.  My daughter love their Cinna-Sticks or Cinnamon Sticks and  our son likes their mini pizzas.  I like their garlic bread and hubby likes the Hawaiian pizza.  My son  is sad that  the school program "Read Your Heart Out" sponsored by Pizza Hut through the school has come to an end, he was nit able to complete his booklet because we failed to redeem two pizza coupon that he had.  Reading is still going on though at home.  

Anyhow, if you want to pre-order online, their  pizza menu is complete.  You can also find their  deals of the day.  Ordering online is  a lot better than going  to the   store and wait in line.  Wee don't  buy pizza that often , we just do it when I am not in the mood to cook during weekends or when they are  craving for some pizza.  I am not much of a  pizza lover so  I don't mind.    Hubby and  our son are the ones who craves it more often.  Sometimes,  I make pizza at home depending on what kind of ingredients I have in my refrigerator.  Below is our homemade pizza.

Newtons from Nabisco

We went to the park today and played tennis. My FIL went with us and we all had fun. I brought some snack to munch on after our play. I brought some nanners and some fig newton from nabisco. It is made with real fruit which is healthy.

The Restaurant We Love

We tried several restaurants here in the area but only  one  really  stands out for us.  That's where we go every time we want to dine out. The ambiance  is very inviting and the food is superb.   Our kids  love it there because they get to eat the food they love and the   crew are always friendly.  One of the menu that I always order is the Nantucket Cod, it is so good that I don't event want to try their other menus lol.  My husband love their pot roast sandwich and  our kids love  the garden salad.   

The restaurant has  beautiful display of  old paintings, attractive design of  restaurant menu cover, and their  lighting are very unique that even my kids  notice them.  As you can see in  my son and  husband's photo, they are   a very happy eater duo.    

When it comes to pizza, we also have a favorite to go to. My husband is a pizza lover so once in a while he craves for it so we go there  to satisfy his cravings.  What I like about the place is that, not only that they serve delicious pizza, they also have menus that the kids love.  

Puto Keyk

I just got done eating chicken and vegetable salad with my kiddos. Our kitchen is a little bit messy right now, lots of things going on with egg coloring hehehe. For the meantime, here's the picture of the snack we made. We call this puto in the Philippines, it's made from rice flour mix with added sugar and cheese. It's our version of cupcakes.

Oh, the word cake is Keyk in tagalog.

Blu Apple

Did you ever experience having  some produce that seems to  lost its freshness   very easily?  Fruits and vegetables are quite pricey too especially if you are buying the organic ones.   To help your fruits and vegetable keep its freshness longer, you should try the BluApple.  BluApple   is what professional uses in their refrigerators in order to keep the freshness of their produce.    This  would last for three months then you can refill it again.

As you can see in the picture, this absorbs  ethylene gas causes produce to over ripen.  I don't stack much on fresh produce as  we can just easily buy it from the store but  since I have the bluapple, I decided to buy more  to see if it would really help.

After 6 days of bluapple being inside with the veggies and fruits, you can see how the cabbage still looks very fresh. My kids love to snack on fresh cut up veggies so the vegetable in we have in the refrigerator doesn't last very long. I do like having the bluapple as it prolongs the freshness of my produce. It is very easy to use, you just place it in your crisper/chiller and it's good to go.

BluApple has the ability to  absorb ethylene gas which causes  produce to over ripen thus it keeps fruit and vegetables fresher longer.  I would definitely buy a refill for this  after three months.  The  good thing is that the old packets are environmentally friendly so you can use it to  add to your houseplant.  You can buy this product amazon online of you can check your local store if it's available.

Disclaimer:  The product described above was  given  to me for FREE in exchange of my honest  review.  There is no monetary compensation  receive  in facilitating this  review.

Your First Try at Hydroponics

The right filters for hydroponics are usualy charcoal and/or carbon. Grow lights are an important part of hydroponics, and selecting the right charcoal filter can be a big decision. There are lots of different  carbon filters and lights available from www.thelashop.com. 

There are tons of different nutrient additives that you can add to your hydroponics set-up to make your plants successful. Happy plants are healthy plants and you can be sure that with the right nutrients, you will be growing a fantastic indoor garden. With the right supplies and the right amount of knowledge, anyone can turn into a super hydroponics grower! 

If you want plants that will be grown in stable environment as opposed to outdoors where weather can harm them, try hydroponics! You don’t have to wait for a certain season, you can start growing tonight if you wanted. There is lots of information available online for people to learn about indoor plant growing, and it is continuing to be a growing trend in many communities. This is very helpful to those cities that dwell in colder areas since crops are harder to grow outdoors. Hydroponics is the answer to most of outside gardening problems! 

Having a hydroponics garden is extremely smart if you want to start growing food for your family all year round to save on groceries, as well as for hobby growing! No matter what the plant, with the right grow lights and nutrients you will have a wonderful garden and collection. Choosing the right grow light can be crucial to making sure your plants grow as they should.

Yummy Easter Feast

We devoured  Filipino foods at the Easter  Party yesterday.  Everyone brought some dishes.  Some of the foods includes dinuguan, pancit, kare kare, fish, puto, kutsinta,  and many more.

I made some pigs in a blanket and deviled eggs out of the   ones that we colored.

Catching up with friends while enjoying  Filipino dishes   absolutely feels like home!