One of Our Loves! – Thrive Market!

Hey y’all!!

I wanted to share a love we have had for a long time, and know you will love too! I talk about this all the time…if you know me personally, you know!

W and I love Thrive Market! We’ve been using it for 2.5 years and have yet to be anything but happy with it! It really is the end all be all market place in our opinion.

Thrive gives you the ability to search by diet, whether you are Paleo, Keto, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, all Organic, Whole 30, Low FODMAP…you name it, they have it! And from there friends, it is the easiest shopping you’ve ever done. There’s no worrying about if it’s Keto, if it’s certified Organic, if it is Gluten-Free…Thrive has done all the work for you.

We really depended on Thrive when the world shut down for a little bit recently. W is Italian, and we couldn’t find pasta to save our lives in the grocery store. And friends, pasta is a necessity in this house! But, you know Thrive came through for us. We got so many staples during that time because of Thrive and were so thankful for it.

Y’all, I can’t talk enough about Thrive Market. It’s like a Costco membership, but you can choose to pay for the year, or go month to month. You order things when you need to, and there are no minimums or catches. And when you get your membership you also get to choose a FREE gift that values at $24!!

Thrive has never done us wrong friends. Their deliveries are always super fast and we haven’t had anything come damaged or missing. They personalize their boxes and y’all…that small touch really makes a difference to me. It’s the tiny touches that keep me coming back.

I hope you’ll try Thrive Market. We couldn’t be happier with them. And in all honesty friends, when you try something through my website or use a code of mine, you are supporting my family. You are supporting my business; a small, woman owned business that is helping pay for my families needs. In advance…thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Click here to check out Thrive and grab your membership and shop all of their amazing, healthy products. It’s like a Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Costco mixed into one…my heart y’all!

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hiya friends!

I’m sitting here, my third week being unemployed, watching Jamie Oliver and getting so inspired! This strange time has really made me, and W and I as a couple, be more industrious. A little more creative. A little more flexible. And friends, I have never been happier!

I have hacked so many of our household products to last longer. I have used ingredients in things that I never thought to put together. We have really had to think outside the box since our lives have changed, not only because of the recent world events, but because of my employment status as well. And y’all, I’m going to say it…I’m proud of myself. I am proud of us as a couple. We have been challenged and we have come out on the other side. And no, we aren’t through it yet, but man I am so proud of the things that we have accomplished and I am not ashamed to say it.

Let’s talk about our meals for the coming week!

What We’re Eating!

August 8^th – August 14^th

Saturday: Vegetable and barley stew (we are providing this meal as a request for a friend that is under the weather, so instead of making two meals, we are eating what we are making for her!)

Sunday: Meatball sliders on Hawaiian rolls with salad

Monday: Blackened salmon with sauteed zucchini and homemade soda bread

Tuesday: Pesto pasta with chicken breasts

Wednesday: Spicy peanut butter noddles

Thursday: Steak quinoa bowls with pico de gallo, cotija, roasted corn and fajita veggies!

Friday: Breakfast for dinner (most likely waffles with bacon!)

Dessert for the week: Pound cake with homemade berry sauce and light whipped cream

Now, don’t get me wrong friends, this unemployment thing hasn’t been all roses and rainbows. It’s hard. Really, it is! Sounds like a dream right? To quit your job and pursue things you’ve always wanted to do? But, in reality, it feels a lot like swimming in the ocean. It feels so good at first, the salty water, warm sun on your skin…But the farther you swim off shore, the rougher it gets, the waves start crashing up over you, the water is deeper and you can’t seem to spot the shore anymore. Y’all, this is the most exhilarating and terrifying thing I have ever done. I have had to do more things outside of my comfort zone in the last three weeks than in my entire life.

I hope you enjoy this weeks inspiration! I already can’t wait to share next weeks with you!

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hey y’all!

We have some exciting news!

Yep…you read that right. I quit my job. In the middle of a pandemic. In the year 2020 which has already been very strange. And, without a super clear plan set in place. But friends, we are very happy with our decision.

We thought about it all summer, had many discussions, I cried lots of tears and our hearts were very heavy when we decided to finally go through with it. It has been the most crazy, freeing, scary, passion building experience I have ever been through.

But, needless to say, with a change in employment, came a change in our budget. So, not that I didn’t focus on our budget before, but now we will be even more focused on budget friendly meals or ones that can be stretched. So, let’s jump in!

What We’re Eating

August 1^st – August 7^th

Saturday: Panini with assorted Italian meats, havarti, arugula and pesto aioli

Sunday: Baked potatoes with turkey chili and cheese (didn’t use this meal last week) 🙂

Monday: Crunchy cabbage salad with sesame ginger dressing and grilled chicken breasts (this was such a hit last week we are having it again!)

Tuesday: Jalapeno, green onion bun-less turkey burgers with W’s famous baked french fries (friends, they are to die for!)

Wednesday: Tamale pie

Thursday: Rigis 🙂 (W loves rigatoni with my homemade red sauce; we call it Rigis)

Friday: Date night!!!!! Ahi tuna poke bowls with homemade sushi rice, cucumber, avocado, radish, and all the other yummy poke bowl toppings

Dessert for the week: Keeping it simple with a square of dark chocolate here and there 🙂

Y’all, I love to make ingredients go further by using them for more than just one meal (turkey for chili and burgers, ground beef for tamale pie and rigis; stretching meals with lots of extra veggies mixed in. A good time to clean out your fridge too!). We eat a lot of leftovers and always try our best to use all we can so not much goes to waste, if anything.

Our meals this week are budget friendly and have allowed us to have enough money left over in our weekly budget for a date night of poke, which isn’t always the most cost friendly meal. But, saving during the week on meals and having date night at home with games, homemade cocktails, and quality time together, allows us to splurge a bit on the meal itself.

I hope y’all have a really nice week! We will keep you updated on all of my new adventures. I am so excited for this new chapter in our life. My future is wide open…

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hello my friends!

Rainy season has officially begun here and I couldn’t be more excited! Me and rain go way back. Ever since I can remember, when it would get stormy out and the rain started to fall, all I wanted to do was be out in it. Feeling the drops on my bare skin. And I still do that to this day. My heart skips a beat and I run to any door I can find and wait for that oh so familiar feeling of those tiny droplets hitting my skin. Makes my heart feel so calm. Like I can let out a breath I’ve been holding in. Even W knows now how the rain makes me feel and opens any door or window that is close so that I can see and hear it. I’ve often wondered if it’s the Native in me that makes me feel so connected to rain…

We have a busy week ahead, so needed some quick, low maintenance dinners that can be put together in a flash. We always like to balance healthy meals with some that…aren’t so healthy, but feed our hearts and souls. Enjoy friends!

What We’re Eating

July 25^th – July 31^st

Saturday: Crunchy cabbage salad with sesame ginger dressing and grilled chicken

Sunday: BBQ beef and beans with rice – good for Sunday since it cooks slow and is low maintenance

Monday: Mushroom egg rolls – not Chinese egg rolls, more like an egg pancake rolled up 🙂

Tuesday: Loaded Italian pasta salad

Wednesday: BBQ chicken sandwiches with slaw and oven fries

Thursday: Baked potato with turkey chili

Friday: Peanut butter and jelly pancake bake!

Dessert for the week: Raspberry Jell-O pie!! A childhood favorite 🙂

We can’t wait to update y’all on our recent life changes! They are good and scary and happy and make my stomach hurt 🙂 Change is hard friends. We think about it, we plan for it, we dream about it, but when it actually happens, it can be one of the scariest, hardest things we have ever done. No amount of planning can prepare us completely can it? And unfortunately change doesn’t always turn out as rosy as we imagined. But it sure does make life interesting…

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hey y’all!

I seem to be at a loss for words this week friends. I’ve been sitting here staring at a blinking cursor for-what-feels-like-ever, and can’t come up with anything insightful to say. W and I have had a busy week and are grateful for a little downtime. Although sometimes the weekends feel more busy than the week. Anyone else?!

Let’s jump in and maybe more words will come to me 🙂

What we’re eating this week!

July 18^th – July 24^th

Saturday: Grazing dinner

Sunday: Focaccia…we didn’t make it last week

Monday: Salmon packets with carrots and broccoli with marinated vegetable salad

Tuesday: Pasta Scallopini, which isn’t really scallopini but we call it that 🙂 Maybe I’ll post the recipe soon

Wednesday: Chicken quinoa bowls with pico de gallo, black beans, lime, shredded cheese and corn

Thursday: Panino! Italian meats, havarti, arugula and pesto aioli

Friday: Pork with homemade rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables

Dessert for the week: Low sugar Jell-O with Lime Vitality for a summer twist!

As I sit here listening to Gilmore Girls and deciding what to organize next in our house, I am relieved. Relieved and at peace that I am surrounded by my family, whom I love so much and is so supportive, that I have the things I need and that I have had this amazing opportunity to try and make a dream of mine come true. To write for strangers on the internet 🙂

If you are here and reading this right now, give it some love, share it with your friends and family if you think they would love it, and help support a gal that is daring to dream.

Until next week friends.

xo

S

Italian Tuna Pasta

Hi friends!

I can’t wait to share this one with you!! Quite a few of you have been intrigued by the mention of this one on our meal plan the last few weeks. It may sound a little weird, a tiny bit crazy, even a little icky…but I promise you, if you give it a chance, it may make a few appearances on your meal plan.

Italian Tuna Pasta

Ingredients

16 oz. Linguine (or other long pasta of choice)

Salt

2 Tbs. neutral, high heat oil (we use Avocado oil)

4-6 anchovies

3-5 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped

3 oz. bottle of capers, drained

12 oz. canned tuna (preferably canned in quality olive oil), drained

1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Lemon Vitality essential oil

Preparation

In a pot of boiling water that’s salted like the ocean, cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. When draining, save 1.5 cups pasta water.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook until they almost disappear into the oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add capers and lightly fry them until they blossom (open up and start to crisp up).

Once the capers are crisped up, add the tuna and break it up with your spoon or spatula. Add half the pasta water and stir to combine. Add pasta and fresh herbs and gently toss. If the pasta is dry, add the reserved pasta water until it is the consistency that you would like. Add any additional salt, if needed.

Now add Lemon Vitality essential oil a few drops at a time until it tastes right to you. Start slow, 2-3 drops, and taste. If it needs more, add more! Lemon oil is super refreshing and boosts the flavor of anything it’s added to. It really makes this pasta taste like summer. Drizzle a little high quality olive oil over the top once the pasta is served for a little extra decadence.

When it comes to ingesting oils y’all, remember that quality matters. I personally wouldn’t use just any oil to put into the food I cook for my family. Definitely not the ones from Target or other online companies. Young Living has the Seed to Seal promise and I feel so safe ingesting their oils. Did you know that Young Living doesn’t even use land to grow their plants if it has been treated with pesticides in the last 50 years?! That’s what I mean friends…it matters to me how my oils are made.

I hope y’all try this pasta, even during these warm , summer months. It is so light and tastes like the ocean in the best way possible. And don’t be afraid of the anchovies. They won’t taste fishy; they just give this dish a nutty je ne sais quoi. Plus, the Italian in my family really likes it 🙂

xo friends

S

What We’re Eating

Hello friends!

It’s that time again! We’ve had a busy weekend so I’m a bit behind, but never the less, I am here and sharing with you what we will be making this week, hopefully providing you with some inspiration.

There is one repeat from a couple of weeks ago because it was so amazing that we had to have it again! I plan to post the recipe soon for y’all. It is super easy and definitely budget friendly. It may sound a little weird, but, I promise if you give it a chance, it really is delicious and, surprisingly, really light for summer.

What we’re eating this week!

July 11^th – July 17^th

Saturday: Grazing dinner. We like to do these once in a while. Olives, deli meats, fruit, pretzels, pickled eggs, etc.

Sunday: Pork belly tacos with pineapple salsa, shredded cabbage slaw and homemade Spanish rice

Monday: Steak salad with tomatoes, crispy onions and croutons! And the ACV dressing that I didn’t get to post to IG last week 🙂

Tuesday: Grilled chicken with grilled eggplant and corn

Wednesday: Smashed chicken burgers seasoned with green onion and jalapeno, with caramelized red bell pepper and onion and vinegar slaw on the side

Thursday: Italian tuna pasta!!!! This was so amazing a couple of weeks ago that we decided to do it again!

Friday: Homemade focaccia topped with homemade red sauce, fresh basil, mozzarella and prosciutto

Dessert for the week: Dark chocolate and port…again 🙂 we love an after dinner cocktail

We have a busy week ahead of us with possibly some big decisions to make. We hope to make the right ones for us, but it’s always scary to jump into the unknown isn’t it?! I’ve tried to ask my close friends and family for advice and they have all basically said the same thing. That it’s a leap of faith. And that is what we will do if we need to. Of course we are preparing as best we can, do our part to make this leap as predictable as possible, but in the end, it is all based on our faith. That things will work out, even if it looks different than what we pictured in our mind.

We appreciate your support friends. I want to remind you that when you support someone like me, a gal who is trying to run a small online business, you are helping an entire network of people. By purchasing starter kits through me, or using Essential Rewards to get healthy products delivered to your door each month, or using promos codes with companies I have partnered with, you are helping my family. You are helping me make a paycheck that I can use to pay for medical bills, feed my family and take care of our everyday needs. You are also helping in making my dreams come true of being a small business owner, a writer and a dreamer that has seen the impossible come true. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Until next week friends!

xo

S

Clean Hand Sanitizer?!

Hey y’all!

This isn’t a long one, well maybe it is, I just love this product so much! I just wanted to drop in and talk real quick about hand sanitizer. Have you seen the news reports recently about certain sanitizer companies being harmful and encouraging their customers to stop using them?! It is scary what is allowed into the products that we bring into our homes and trust around our loved ones.

This is why we only use Thieves Hand Sanitizer friends. Despite me owning an oily business, I had been looking for a clean hand sanitizer for a while and to my hearts cry, Young Living had one and I fell in love instantly.

This unassuming, yet beautiful bottle, kills 99.9% of germs with the power of plants! It has Peppermint EO so it’s cooling and smells amazing and contains denatured alcohol (denatured with the Peppermint EO instead of harmful chemicals) to help kill germs. Thieves Hand Sanitizer also has aloe in it so it doesn’t dry your hands out like other sanitizers can. It contains the ever coveted Thieves EO blend that is known for it’s antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.

It comes in a couple different sizes, but my favorite is by far the 1 oz. bottle. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket, purse, diaper bag, your kiddos backpack…anywhere! W carries it around with him everywhere he goes, and my father in law loves it! And y’all, they are a tough crowd 🙂 So, if you trust anyone’s opinion or testimony, trust theirs! I even have a co-worker whose daughter asks me for some every time she’s in my office and needs to clean up. Her mom also uses this sanitizer at home and I can trust that when she uses it when she’s with me, she won’t be in any danger. Peace of mind when you’re using products around your littles is priceless!

Y’all, why should we worry what is in our cleaning products? The ones that have poison warnings on the back and we can’t use when our kids are in the same room because they are so toxic. The ones that make the news. Make the move…ditch and switch! Ditch your OTC hand sanitizer and switch to Thieves. Make an investment in your health. The health of your family. Help prevent possible problems that would cause you or your loved ones to have to go to the doctor. This one small change can make a big difference friends. And don’t worry, this one bottle will last you a loooooong time! We have been using the same 7.6 oz. bottle for a few of months now and it’s ALMOST empty. And ask W, we use it all the time!

If you have questions friends or need help finding the sanitizer and getting it at 24% off, email us or DM us on Instagram.

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hello my friends!

I hope you had an amazing week! Ours has been full of work, talking about our future, praying about the right decisions to make, organizing our home slowly and taking some time to getaway and not talk about anything too serious.

We went up to the mountains on Friday, walked through the aspens and got caught in the rain. It was magical! I needed that time in nature…to reconnect and listen to the wind through the trees, feel the rain on my skin. The Native in me was infinitely happy! We then went back into town and got some ramen at our favorite place, and seeing as it was only 62 degrees in July, it was a welcome bowl of warm, tasty soup. We ate in the hatch of our car next to a beautiful park and honestly, it was one of the best dates we have ever had.

Okay, who is ready for this weeks meal ideas?! Nothing too fancy here this week y’all. In all honesty…we are trying to cook meals with things out of our freezer so we can make room for some vanilla ice cream so we can make affogati! Yes, we are adults lol

What we’re eating this week!

July 4^th – July 10^th

Saturday: Freshly

Sunday: Freshly

Monday: Freshly

Tuesday: Our famous chili and sweet potato tots!

Wednesday: Green salad with grilled chicken and veggies and creamy ACV dressing. (Head to our Instagram for the recipe later this week)

Thursday: Vegetable and sausage casserole in the slow cooker

Friday: Breakfast for dinner…French toast and bacon with fresh fruit!

Dessert for the week: Dark chocolate and port

We are using Freshly again this week because we loved it so much last week. It was amazing to have a little break from cooking and dinner was ready in minutes. The meals are healthy and taste sooooo good! I am working on a code for y’all 🙂

I hope y’all have a fun and safe week! I plan to get lots of sunshine, workout when I can and maybe get some cupcakes from our favorite little shop. It’s called balance people 🙂

Comment and let us know what you’re up to and what meals you’re enjoying this week!

xo

S

What We’re Eating

Hi sweet friends!

I hope you had a really nice week! Did you find some inspiration from last week’s post? If you follow us on Instagram you may have seen our grain bowls…they were my favorite meal this week!!! Turmeric grilled chicken, homemade hummus and baba ganoush, roasted sweet potatoes and onions and of course, lots of healthy grains! Yummm!!!!

We have some repeats from last week making an appearance this week…I’ll explain 🙂

What we’re eating this week!

June 27^th – July 3^rd

Saturday: Freshly (more about this down below)

Sunday: Freshly

Monday: Freshly

Tuesday: BLT wraps (from last week)

Wednesday: Italian tuna pasta (from last week)

Thursday: Sausage and rice with broccoli (from last week)

Friday: Freshly

Dessert for the week: Low sugar strawberry jello with fresh fruit and light whipped cream

This week is super simple friends! To be honest with you, I over-planned last week because I forgot we were getting a Freshly order. Thankfully, I have a couple shelf stable meals from last week that we can use this week. Little tip, I always try to plan one or two shelf stable meals for the week just in case something comes up and we don’t cook. That way we don’t waste food. I’m a waste not, want not kind of girl 🙂

We are trying Freshly for the first time and are super excited about it. W and I had recently talked about wanting a break from cooking, doing dishes, taking the time to plan, and suddenly a coupon for Freshly showed up in the mail! If we like it, I will reach out to the company and see about getting y’all a code to use. My business is obviously still really small so I’m not sure that I’ll get one, but no harm in trying right?!

I am relieved to have some extra time that won’t be used cooking and cleaning because W and I are contemplating some serious life changing decisions right now and I need to focus my time in other places. I just asked my mom today, “how do you know you’re making the right choice?” and she said, “you don’t.” Not the comfort I was hoping for, but she’s right. You just have to pray and have faith and hope and do your best to make the right decision for you.

Not as much inspiration this week but it was nice talking to you friends. I hope you have an amazing week!

xo

S