Retail Therapy

I love Wednesdays! I don’t have class so the whole day is mine and this week I decided to go do some shopping 🙂 Since starting grad school I’ve been slowing updating my style and making it more mature. Which is great because I’m getting to work in all the brands I love but until now could never justify buying. Until now my wardrobe has mostly consisted of jeans, American Eagle everything and more comfy/casual clothes. As is true of most college girls I was trying to balance sleep, 8am classes and looking put together. However, now that I want to look professional I’m looking at brands like Kate Spade, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch and Tommy Hilfiger (just to name a few).

Naturally, better clothes come with a higher price tag so my wardrobe overhaul won’t be a quick task. To save myself money wherever I can I usually start at stores like TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack and the outlets. I still get the name brand clothes I’m looking for but at (usually) much better prices. Here’s what I picked out today…

 

Anchors!

 Shorts: Tommy Hilfiger – how cute is the anchor pattern?! It totally fits with my preppy style ❤ (TJ Maxx)

Top: St. Tropez West – I love the flower patter in this top. It’s feminine but versatile enough to be paired with really any outfit. (TJ Maxx)

Necklace: Kate Spade New York – I’m obsessed with anything Kate Spade! I love how girly and fun the brand is and the copious amounts of pink, polka dots, bows and sparkles. (Nordstrom Rack)

I’ll be posting more favorite pieces from these brands and others over on Pinterest.

Happy Shopping,

Homemade BBQ Sauce

One of my biggest pet peeves, as a person trying to eat as healthy as possible, is the amount sugar that is in everything! Recently I’ve gotten a lot better about checking labels at the store and you’d be amazed how many of the things I used to eat say that “sugar” or “high fructose corn syrup” are the first ingredient. With that in mind, when I was craving barbecue chicken I knew I was going to have to make my own BBQ sauce.

I found this great recipe on seashellsandsitups.com who got it from mywholefoodlife.com originally. I made a few tweaks to make use of what was already in my pantry but it was pretty close to the Seashells and Situps version.

Ingredients:

2, 6oz cans tomato paste
1 cup water
8 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (I used Annie’s organic version)
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg’s)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons organic honey
3 teaspoons black pepper
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix together tomato paste, water, Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar. Add in honey and stir again. To finish, add in spices and stir until well incorporated.

I poured the sauce of chicken breasts in the crock pot which I cooked on low for 4 hours. I then pulled the chicken apart with forks and let the shredded chicken simmer in the sauce for about another 20 minutes.

This sauce is so good ya’ll! While it doesn’t taste sweet the honey keeps it from being too spicy and the apple cider vinegar kept it light. I loved how it was thinner than store bought BBQ sauce and I knew all the ingredients that went into it! It also got the Husband seal of approval so I will definitely be making it again.

Happy eating,

 

 

Drink your Greens!

It’s official, I’m obsessed with green juices and smoothies. (In fact I’m sipping on a green juice while writing this!)

I love that by drinking a juice I can get usually at least a full serving of veggies (or more) and plenty of all the vitamins my body craves. While I certainly love a good salad, nothing beats a green juice for an added healthy boost.

Here are some of the health benefits of the vegetables usually in green juices:

 Kale: Low calorie (zero fat) and high in fiber which helps to fill you up.  Contains antioxidants and is thought to be a powerful anti-inflammatory food. It is high in Vitamins A, C, and K and calcium.

 Lemons: Excellent source of Vitamin C and antioxidants. Despite being an acidic citrus fruit, lemons exert alkalizing effects on the body which can help with digestion and reduce hunger.

Spinach: good source of iron and calcium and is full other important vitamins and minerals.

Celery and Cucumbers: full of water and help keep you and your skin hydrated without adding many calories.

*All the nutrition information above is from the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan.

While it may seem like all green juices would be good for you, there are some that are better than others. I choose ones with more veggies than fruits, and try to pick the one with the lowest amount of sugar. While I know sugar from fruits is still natural and better than processed sugar, I still try to limit my intake; especially after lunch. A great choice is the Green Supreme from Suja. It only has 21 grams of sugar and includes just 3 yummy ingredients: kale, apple juice and lemon juice. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. I find Suja juices most often at Target but you can also order them online.

My new favorite place to go for a green juice (they’re not new, I’m just new to the West Coast) is Nekter. They have some delicious green juice choices as well as other juices and fruit smoothies. It’s affordable too; which is great because so oftentimes the healthy options are more expensive.

Speaking of affordable, I recently picked up this great book at Barnes and Noble (in the discount section) full of amazing green juice recipes. Now all I need is a juicer and I can stop having to go out to get my daily dose of green goodness.I’ll post reviews as soon!