Healthy Bites | SoCal Savvy Mom

Oct 26
2020

Healthy Halloween and DIY Treats

Halloween is almost here and we love to make fun treats and healthy options as well. Below are some of the ones we highlighted on our Fox news segment earlier today.

Mummy Juice Boxes – Items Needed to Make:

Regular juice boxes
Toilet paper
Tape
Black Marker

Rrip toilet paper into long strips, wrap around juice boxes, use tape as needed. Use black marker to draw on the eyes.

Tangerine Jack-O-Lanterns – Items Needed to Make:

Tangerines
Black Marker
Fun Halloween Tray

Use black marker to draw different faces on the tangerines similar to a Jack-O-Lantern

Candy-Corn Fruit Cups – Items Needed to Make:

Pineapple cut into pieces
Tangerines (or oranges cut smaller)
Whip Cream
Mason Jar (or other clear container)
Candy-Corn

Cut pineapple, peal tangerines and pull apart into pieces. Place pineapple at the bottom, tangerines next, fill the rest with whip cream and top with a candy-corn or two.

String-Cheese Ghosts – Items Needed to Make:

String Cheese
Black Marker

Simply draw eyes and a mouth on the string cheese and you are finished!

Frankenstein Rice Crispy Treats – Items Needed to Make:

Rice Crisp Cereal
Marshmallows
Green Food Coloring
Black Frosting
Thin Pretzels

Make rice crispy treats as normal (see side of the cereal box in most cases) Add green dye and stir in until you get the color you desire. Let sit to firm for about an hour. Cut into rectangles, use black frosting to draw on hair, eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth. Break pretzels in half and stick to side near the mouth.

Oreo Eyeballs – Items Needed to Make:

Oreo Cookies
Sticks
White chocolate chips
Red Frosting
Blue Frosting
Black Frosting
Wax Paper

Twist oreos apart and put stick into the frosting in the middle, it is best to let this set for a while (20 minutes) before attempting to dip in melted chocolate as it may slip off. Melt white chocolate chips (we use microwave in 30 second increments) dip oreos into the melted chocolate. Make sure you cover the entire cookie, set aside to harden (can be put in freezer to speed it up) After chocolate has hardened and is firm to the touch use the blue frosting and make a big circle in the middle of the cookie, then take the black frosting and put a dot on the blue circle. Next use the red frosting to draw the veins on the eyes.

Pretzel Broomsticks – Items Needed to Make:

Pretzel sticks
Plastic bags
Halloween Ribbon
Halloween Pencils

Put the pretzels into the plastic bags and insert pencil into the middle of the bag, use the ribbon to tie it closed.

Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats – Items Needed to Make:

Rice Crisp Cereal
Marshmallows
Orange Food Coloring
Green Frosting
Mini Rolos
Wax Paper

Make rice crispy treats as usual (recipe can be found on the back of the cereal box) add orange food coloring to desired color. Wet your hands and shape into pumpkins. Add mini rolo for the stem, and use the green frosting to add leaves.

Dec 31
2018

As seen on Good Morning San Diego

by Nicole Connerley

Did you see our segment today on Good Morning San Diego? It was New Year – New You! Just in time for the new year! We have great products to share with you.

Celsius Energy Drink

CELSIUS is a Fitness Drink which has been clinically proven to accelerate metabolism and burn calories & body fat while providing healthy energy. Available in both sparkling and non-carbonated flavors, CELSIUS is an ideal pre-workout drink and also serves as a refreshing alternative to coffee and other caffeinated drinks. CELSIUS is the perfect addition to an active lifestyle and has no artificial preservatives or flavors, no aspartame, or high fructose corn syrup and is very low in sodium. CELSIUS is delicious that delivers, (clinically proven to do so).

Hydro Flask – There is a new 64 oz Insulated Beer Growler

Product Benefits

The first stainless steel growler on the market
Fresh Carry System™ allows beer to stay carbonated
Streamlined handle for easy one-handed pour
TempShield™ insulation eliminates condensation and keeps brews cold for up to 24 hours
Durable 18/8 Pro-Grade Stainless Steel construction
BPA-Free and Phthalate-Free
Lifetime warranty

Boiron USA

Cold & Cough

Temporarily relieves symptoms of the common cold such as nasal and chest congestion, fitful cough, sneezing, minor sore throat, and runny or stuffy nose
Children 3 to 12 years of age: Take 5 mL^¥ every 2 hours
Not recommended for children under 3 years of age.

https://www.kusi.com/socal-savvy-mom-new-year-new-you/

Apr 4
2018

Spring Break Fun with Juicy Juice!

by Nicole Connerley

Spring break is upon us and who isn’t looking for this to keep kids busy during their week or weeks off from school. Juicy Juice has a full list of fun crafts and activities to do with your kids during the break. A lot of the crafts can be up-cycled from Juicy Juice bottle tops, or juice boxes. Above is some Bottle Cap Ladybugs which are so cute and fun to make. Easy to make only needing the bottle cap, paint, and eyes.

Another fun craft you can use an empty Juicy Juice box to make a Walkie Talkie. The only items needed are an empty Juicy Juice box, construction paper and a black pen, kids will love playing with these for hours. A full list of activities and crafts may be found on Juicy Juice website here.

We love Juicy Juice’s 16 different flavors, which no sugar added, the sweetness comes right from the fruit. They have teamed up with Food Network Star Jeff Mauro to help families discover a world of flavor with our 100% juice line, inspiring kids to expand their taste palates with original recipes like these! Emmy-nominated Chef Jeff Mauro was born and raised in Chicago, where he was determined from an early age to become the funniest chef in the world. Today, Jeff is cohost of Food Network’s hit daytime show The Kitchen and the star of the network’s Sandwich King.

One of the things Jeff likes to do with his son is something I love doing with mine as well, which is cooking. From a young age I found if he helped me make it then the odds of him actually trying it were a lot higher. My child can now make my lasagna as deciduous as I do, and he loves to eat it. Spending time with kids in the kitchen is fun for them and you may even get them to try new foods. There’s no tastier way to educate kids than through cooking. From fractions to conversions, kids can learn simple and complex math equations all while measuring out ingredients and following a recipe. Make it a theme night! Have your child look at a map and pick a state (or country), then find a recipe together that might be a native or traditional dish. You can even play music from the region or decorate the dinner table with a theme. Ask your kids to help in the kitchen, you will both enjoy it, I promise.

Jan 5
2018

New Year, New You with Lovidia!

by Nicole Connerley

Happy New Year! This year I decided was the year I wouldn’t gain an extra 2-5 pounds during the holidays, just to have to struggle to get it off in the New Year. I was proactive and found Lovidia, it helps control your hunger, eat less, feel full faster, and lose weight. Sounds too good to be true right? I thought so as well until I used it, and it actually started working.

Lovidia puts you in control, you can eat less without feeling hungry. It is a patented formula that uses Gut Sensory Modulation to reduce hunger. It was simple to use as well, take one tablet in the morning, one at lunch, both with a large glass of water. I noticed I was less hungry and satisfied with eating fewer calories, and I began to start losing weight. I lost 6 pounds total using Lovidia in a two week period. It isn’t a magic pill, you still need to be Food Smart and exercise. But it does work, and because it is made with a natural blend of ingredients there is no unpleasant and possible dangerous side effects typically associated with weight-loss pills. Results vary based on program adherence. In the Lovidia Way study average weight loss was 13.6 pounds and waist circumference reduction was 2.7 inches.

The Lovidia Way gives you the support you need to guide you on a long-term path to a healthier you. The path is different for everyone, for me the appetite suppressant partnered with exercise and nutrition is helping reach my weight-loss goal. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. I can only give my experience with LOVIDIA over the past two weeks and I loved it and plan to continue to use it. If you would like to try Lovidia use my 20% off coupon code SoCalSavvyMom20 at Lovidia’s website.

The Lovida Way app is so helpful, I have been using it everyday to track calories consumed, calories burned, weight tracker, and the recipes. It also reminds you when it is time to take your Lovidia pill based on your personal preferences. The Lovidia Way App is a simple solution helping you achieve your goals on your path to LOV a Healthier YOU!

This post was sponsored by Lovidia. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review. All opinions are mine alone.

Sep 7
2016

Why we Love Meal Delivery Services & 3 Free Meals for You

by Nicole Connerley

Meal delivery companies are everywhere these days, and we have tried a lot of them, so you don’t have to! How it works is pretty standard across the board, you are offered different meals to choose from each week. Most plans are 3 meals per week, which at first sounds odd because there are 7 days in a week, but it really is perfect because most of us don’t cook at home 7 days a week. Some meal plans you can switch out a dinner for a breakfast, order more than 3 meals per week, or order for more than 2 people.

We started with Blue Apron last year when my husbands co-worker gave us a free week of meals. It was great, we enjoyed the delicious meals and having all of the ingredients sent directly to our door. What we didn’t enjoy was that the meals took 45 minutes to an hour to prepare, and all the ingredients were thrown together in the box, not divided up per meal. When one meal from Blue Apron can have 20 ingredients this becomes an issue, especially when some meals call for the same ingredients. Nearly every part of the meal is cooked in a different pan, so after dinner there is a huge clean up, which isn’t fun for anyone.

Blue Apron

Next we tried Plated, again I especially enjoyed having the food sent directly to my front door. I am famous for having everything for a meal but forgetting one ingredient, which most of the time isn’t an issue, but when you are making chili it is harder when you forget the chili powder. The food from Plated was pretty good, however it too took a while to prepare and they charged you more if you wanted to switch out a chicken dish for a steak dish.

Plated

Next we tried Hello Fresh, the food was probably my least favorite of the three, not bad by any means, it just didn’t stand out. I did enjoy the recipes were easy to follow and unlike Blue Apron didn’t have a thousand ingredients. I also liked that the meals were separated by meal, and that I could choose a larger serving size for 4 people, as pictured above.

Hello Fresh

Next we tried Sun Basket it is organic and non-GMO produce, sustainably sourced with seasonal ingredients, from local farms in California. All of the meat is grass-fed, and antibiotic-free, there are also a lot of options for different diets. The healthy options you can choose from are Chef’s Choice, Rise and Shine, Paleo, Gluten-free & Vegetarian options. We usually opt for the Paleo options every week, however we do try other options if they look tasty. The meals take less than 30 minutes to prepare and are delicious, the meals are separated by meal, making it very convenient when you are pulling items out of the refrigorator.

Sun Basket

The recipe cards are written well which makes them easy follow and turn out like the picture every time, the competitors pictures don’t always turn out like the picture. Nearly every recipe only calls for you to use a cutting board, and one pan, making clean up a breeze. Generally you will need a couple items out of your own pantry such as olive oil (we always substitute for Avocado oil and turns out perfect) butter, or salt and pepper. Be sure to have some type of oil and salt and pepper on hand when making any of the dishes. Below is one of my favorite dishes it is Thai turkey lettuce cups, they taste delicious an only take 20 minutes to prepare.

To order your three free meals use this link http://www.sunbasket.com/3free/Nicole3033 and choose between the many options Sun Basket has, next week the menu item above the Thai Turkey wraps are one of the options! In order to receive the three free meals you will need to purchase an additional three meals at the total price of $34.47. With that you will receive 6 organic, non-GMO meals delivered to you and shipping is included in that price! I don’t know about you but I can’t make 6 organic meals for under $35 in a week. I hope you enjoy Sun Basket as much as we have over the past year. Please let me know if you enjoyed it after your free meals and if you plan to continue to use it.

Jul 26
2016

Back to school fun with #a2Milk, #IC (ad)

by Nicole Connerley

This post was sponsored by a2 Milk® as part of an Ambassador Program for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

Hard to believe back to school season is upon us, my son has a couple more weeks before he starts back at school. We have started our back to school shopping in fact we are almost finished! With back to school on the mind, I have already started thinking about the dreaded school lunch debate. My son wants over-processed aka junk food and want him to eat fruits and vegetables, in the end we usually meet in the middle. I usually add veggies in muffins with a2 Milk® for a healthy snack during school.

Mornings before school I love to make my son scrambled eggs with the help of a2 Milk®. Or on those morning when we have a little extra time, his favorite is organic pancakes with a2 Milk®. The reasons we enjoy a2 Milk® is because my son and I experience tummy troubles from other milk, but can enjoy a2 Milk® without any symptoms. Before a2 Milk® my son drank organic whole milk, I drank almond milk and my husband coconut milk, now I don’t have to purchase three different types of milk!

How does a2 Milk® do this you ask? Milk has two different proteins, A1 and a2. The A1 protein is the culprit behind many people’s discomfort after consuming dairy, and currently in all conventional and organic milk. The a2 Milk® only comes from specially selected a2 cows, whose milk is naturally free of the A1 protein. a2 Milk® is the real replacement to overly processed alternatives. My days of compromising taste with inferior nut- or bean-based beverages are gone! In the past if I accidentally poured the wrong milk on my son’s cereal it was a huge issue. Now we are a one milk family, it makes my life just a little easier.

For more information and resources click here to visit the Lactose Intolerance section of the a2 Milk website.

a2 Milk® can be found in the dairy section near the ‘organic milk’ to learn more about which stores sell a2 Milk®, see the a2 Milk® Store Locator: https://a2milk.com/find/ For more information please visit the company website a2 Milk®: https://www.a2milk.com/