Category Archives: mealtimes

LUVO – Healthy Heat & Eat Meals – Mama Feed Yourself, You’re Important, Too! – Review

March 15, 2017Mama Stuff, mealtimes, problem solver, Product Recommendations, Raising twinsLara

In a previous blog post, I mentioned the phenomenon of Post-Pregnancy Depletion that can persist for several years, even more than a decade after giving birth.

Sadly, the majority of moms neglect to take proper care of themselves, while wearing themselves out to the bone taking care of their family! We grab kid-chewed leftovers or whatever’s available within reach that our significant others haven’t already devoured, and stuff it in our mouths, or we go for the keep-us-going junkfood so we can be at least minimally functional, while we further starve ourselves of nutrition, because who’s got time to cook a nice gourmet meal for mama? Certainly not mama!

Well guess what? Someone’s got the time, after all: LUVO!

These two were my favorites: Orange Mango Chicken & Red Wine Braised Beef and Polenta!

“Luvo [loo- vō] has Latin roots, and it loosely means to give aid or strength to accomplish a purpose. To us, Luvo is a person who takes care of themselves so they can in turn, care for others. Luvo is a movement that sparks the belief that leading a healthy lifestyles creates your best self and inspires the world around you.”

You might have seen LUVO meals in your grocery’s frozen food section lately, as you were shopping for your family. Mama, it’s time to do some shopping for YOU! 😀

LUVO meals are heat and eat meals that are filled with tasty, natural and healthy ingredients. While they’ll certainly be a treat for someone with a refined palate, they might not match a junk-food fan’s taste profile. You can actually taste the spices and herbs that are used for seasonings. They aren’t over-laden with salt or other shelf-preserving ingredients. And best of all – they are EASY to prepare! Toss one in the oven and a relatively short time later, you’ve got something yummy that’s not going to deepen your nutritional deficit.

Convenient steam-in-bag (non BPA) servings.

You NEED healthy food, mama, and since no one’s likely going to be cooking it for you (including yourself if you’re like a majority of (sorry, it’s got to be said!) self-neglecting mamas, this is as close as you’re going to be getting to having a chef prepare tasty, healthy, chock-full-of-nutrition meals for you on demand, unless you actually do have a chef on your household staff.

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“Luvo is all about helping people make healthier choices for themselves and their families. We believe it should be easy to enjoy delicious and nutritious food that is responsibly sourced. That’s why we’ve created chef-inspired frozen meals that have quality proteins (from whole plants and lean meats raised without antibiotics), whole grains, generous portions of fruits and veggies, responsible amounts of sodium and added sugar, and no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners.”

Just the facts
• Signature Luvo meals offer delicious culinary recipes with full servings
of veggies, whole grains and quality proteins, flash frozen in custom
Steam in PouchTM packaging. Inspired by the French cooking technique
“en papillote,” which means “in parchment,” the pouch creates an
aromatic steam that gently cooks each meal in its own flavorful juices.
• Luvo Bowls offer delicious recipes in a convenient paperboard bowl
that steams quickly in the microwave. These Bowls feature a self-venting
film that does not require puncturing, peeling back or stirring
during the cooking process, maximizing convenience and locking in
flavor.
• Luvo PlantedTM Power Bowls offer delicious recipes with at least two
full servings of veggies, organic whole grain rice from Lotus Foods and
plant proteins – in a convenient paperboard bowl that steams quickly in
the microwave.
• Luvo meals use responsible amounts of sodium and added sugar.
While other frozen brands load up on salt, Luvo uses herbs, spices
and quality ingredients to deliver amazing taste. Luvo never uses any
artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners.
• Luvo’s people-, animal- and planet-friendly practices include using
antibiotic free meat and poultry, using non-GMO ingredients whenever
possible, and giving back to the community through partnerships with
local nonprofit organizations.

Learn more online

. luvoinc.com

facebook.com/LuvoInc

twitter.com/luvoinc

pinterest.com/luvoinc

instagram.com/luvoinc

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* I received this product for free from Moms
Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the
manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest
opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.

** Text in italics was provided by Moms Meet and the manufacturer.

Organic India Moringa Leaf – for the mommy with the nutritional deficit!

April 11, 2015Mama Stuff, mealtimesLara

Does this sound familiar to any other mom (or dad) out there:

You make every effort to get healthy food down the gullets of your little precious one, but when it comes to your own well-being, really – can you honestly say that the same amount of nutritional foodstuffs makes it into your own tummy? Or do you sometimes realize that you’re making do with on-the-go, convenient things, maybe of somewhat dubious nutritional quality because you’re just so darn overloaded and overwhelmed taking care of everyone else that you, yourself, get short shrift?

That’s me. I’m getting better at realizing that taking care of my health is just as much a priority as my kids, but I’m still in the habit-formation stage of putting it into practice. So anything that makes it easier to ingest things of a higher nutritional value is something I want in on!

Last year, Moringa leaves popped onto my radar – commonly ground up and used to supplement the diet of people in India, Moringa leaves are chock full of amino acids, vitamins and antioxidants and in powdered form are so darn easy to add into smoothies! They also are pretty affordable! The brand I use, ORGANIC INDIA, is very reasonably priced. I usually order mine from Amazon.com, but recently was very pleasantly surprised to be offered the chance by Moms Meet to try out and review their latest product – the same Moringa leaf powder I know and love – now in capsule form!

This was AWESOME!!! ‘Cause let’s face it – when you’re REALLY pressed for time, you can’t just stand there fussing with the blender and a drippy smoothie when you’re trying to hustle the kiddos out the door to the schoolbus stop! I’d say that I was WAY better at consistency in taking my Moringa leaf supplement in the capsule form. Just pop 4 into my mouth, take a swig of water and down the hatch! And later on, when I had more time, I had my trusty ol’ canister of ORGANIC INDIA Moringa Leaf powder for smoothie-making time!

If you’ve been procrastinating for awhile about changing your nutritional habits for the better, ORGANIC INDIA Moringa Leaf, either in powder or capsule form is a great and easy way to kickstart turning over a new leaf (sorry – couldn’t resist the pun! :D)!

**Gram for gram, these tiny leaves contain BIG NUTRITION!

7 Times the Vitamin C of Oranges*

4 Times the Calcium of Milk*

4 Times the Vitamin A of Carrots*

2 Times the Protein of Milk*

3 Times the Potassium of Bananas*

400 Times the Vitamin B12 of Steak*

*USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

Moringa is considered one of the most complete, nutrient-dense plants on Earth, containing over 90 nutrients, 46 antioxidants, and abundant minerals.
Moringa leaves have been eaten for thousands of years as a superfood nutritional supplement, and are often used to combat malnutrition in impoverished countries.
Daily use of Moringa as a dietary supplement can help restore nutritional imbalances.
This concentrated superfood is both alkalizing and energizing, and is abundant in vitamins, minerals and complex amino acids.
ORGANIC INDIA Moringa is USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher and Halal certified, gluten-free and vegan.
One 8 oz. canister of Moringa Leaf Powder retails for $22.99, and 90 capsules of Moringa retails for $19.99.

You can learn more online:

* ORGANIC INDIA’s website – organicindiausa.com

* ORGANIC INDIA on Facebook

* ORGANIC INDIA on Twitter

ORGANIC INDIA’s mission is to provide true wellness for all by offering 100% organic, pure, and natural products. ORGANIC INDIA also strives to create a sustainable global environment by working with thousands of family farmers in India on tens of thousands of acres of certified organic farmland. The company actively promotes sustainable agriculture and pays these farmers premium prices for their crops. ORGANIC INDIA makes their trademark product, Tulsi (Holy Basil) tea, in over 20 delicious flavors and offers a variety of organically grown herbal supplements, including Moringa Leaf Powder and Capsules.

**Information in italics was provided by ORGANIC INDIA and Moms Meet/May Media Group LLC.

***I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to used this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Feed Your Snack Attack With Funny Face Cranberries! #Free #Rafflecopter #Giveaway

November 17, 2014Giveaways, mealtimes, Product Recommendations, Raising twinsLara

One of the things I’ve learned in dealing with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), is that I can’t rely on spur-of-the-moment snacking decisions to keep me healthy.

Really, how many of us start feeling a bit lightheaded because we’ve skipped a meal – hey, we’re busy parents! It’s easy to get distracted by rambunctious small children and let our own need for food go by the wayside. Or maybe the kiddos actually cleaned their plate for once and the deliberately small portion we chose for ourself won’t be supplemented by our children’s leftovers.

And there we are, in the midst of our busy schedule and we need something FAST! So we make a grab for whatever is closest – or make a pit stop at a convenience store or fast food joint – and hurriedly stuff our face with junk that’s overloaded with carbs, fat, sugar, chemicals and barely any redeeming nutritional value whatsoever. The short-term sugar-high may feel good for a few minutes before you inevitably crash and burn, feeling a little ill and regret all the empty calories you ingested.

In my car, my purse, my workbag, my work area and my kitchen, I’ve got a stash of tasty healthy snacks that I can grab on the go. (Sometimes I feel a little like a squirrel hiding its stash in all these places!)

Here’s what I have in my basic Snack-Aid Kit:

A bottle of water
A mini-can or two of Low Sodium V8 (higher potassium than regular version)
A packet of nuts
Dried fruit (Currently, my fave is Funny Face Cranberries)
Whole grain crackers
A nutritional food bar like Clif or Larabar (no relation to me :D)

If my budget allows, I’ll even get those DIY Tuna Salad mini-kits and add that.

You can even combine the nuts and dried fruit in a tasty trail mix!

Try out this recipe for Choo Choo Cherry’s Easy Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix from the Funny Face Cranberries Recipe Page!

Besides being a change-up from same-old same-old raisins, let’s do a nutritional comparison between the two:

famous brand of raisins Funny Face Choo-Choo Cherry flavored Cranberries

There’s a heckuva lot more sugar and a lot less fiber in the raisins compared to Funny Face Cranberries! Wow! Half my daily requirement of fiber in just one serving of the cranberries! Half the sugar per serving, too! And that’s with the raisins’ serving being a miserly 1/4 cup, while Funny Face treats me nice and serves me 1/3 cup of tasty goodness! (It means I get to stuff my face with a lot less guilt :D)

Funny Face Cranberries are also a great substitute for any recipe that calls for raisins – bread pudding, muffins, oatmeal, etc.

The little snack-sized boxes are the perfect size to slip into your children’s lunchboxes, too!

And with Thanksgiving coming up, here’s a useful tip: nibble on some of your healthy snacks prior to sitting down for the Big Meal. You can still enjoy all your favorites, but it’ll be easier to keep to smaller portions if you’re not going into the meal while suffering from hunger pangs!

If you’d like to win a chance to nibble on Funny Face Cranberries for yourself, and receive a nifty reuseable lunchbag and other fun treats, please enter our giveaway below that’s been generously sponsored by Funny Face Cranberries!

And if you enjoy hanging out on social media, you can find Funny Face Cranberries here:

Happy Holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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*I received samples of Funny Face Cranberries from the manufacturer to facilitate this review and they have sponsored a giveaway prize for my readers. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced by the sponsor and do not necessarily reflect the sponsor’s point of view.

Dave’s Killer Bread is perfect for Autumn cooking! #momsmeet

November 2, 2014mealtimes, Product RecommendationsLara

I was recently given the opportunity by Moms Meet to review some samples of Dave’s Killer Bread. Since I’m always in favor of healthy foods for my family, I was pretty happy to try it out. The loaves I tried were Organic and Non-GMO (YAY!!) and I was pretty happy with the results.

First off, I’m American and I grew up knowing the awesomeness of bread. I like this brand of bread – it’s very hearty, good amounts of the seeds/grains, very chewable, nice flavor – kind of like artisinal breads that you’d find in an actual bakery or at a farmer’s market. And using similarly hearty and rustic-y ingredients for a sandwich with this bread is the way to to go. Bold flavors that also add to the texture already present in the bread.

This is not the bread for a PB&J, or a single slice of american cheese. My kids just do not have the mature palate needed to appreciate this bread. Also, I think they weren’t comfy with all the seeds and grains in the bread. They prefer more ‘squish’ when they chew their food. Sadly, my Japanese husband grew up bread-deprived. His idea of proper bread rhymes with ‘blunder head’.

So I decided to circumvent their ‘overly healthy’ sensors and resorted to subterfuge.

Good Seed Bread

This bread makes a darn good french toast! I don’t mean that ‘barely dip the bread in the beaten egg’ nonsense – I mean making a real custard base – eggs, milk, a little brown sugar, various spices – and SOAKING the bread until it’s almost falling apart (and this bread actually holds up pretty well!), and then placing it in the frypan (I use cast iron) or grill and COVERING it, so it can steam itself, turning when the bottom side is brown enough for your tastes – the french toast will rise a bit.

The beauty of this bread is that it’s flavor is complemented by the custard base, not overpowered by it, and all the seeds and grains add lovely texture to it, instead of the mushiness that regular breads end up with.

The kids ate this with no complaints and my husband asked for seconds! SCOOOOOOOORRRRRREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This bread gets a 5-star rating for french toast-ibility!

21 Whole Grains And Seeds Bread

So I decided to stay within the non-sandwich range of cookery and tried this flavor of Dave’s Killer Bread in a bread pudding recipe – Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Pudding.

And again, the bread keeps it’s flavor clear, the seeds/grains adding to the texture, saving the world from mushiness, and just generally being awesome! This was a great autumny, rustic-y showcase for this bread. And the kiddos and husband also enjoyed eating it!

This bread gets a 5-star rating for breadpudding-ibility!

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Dave’s Killer Bread started out in 2005 and quickly became the favorite organic bread at their local Farmer’s Market in Portland, Oregon. Less than a decade later, they are the #1 best-selling organic bread in the country. All their breads are organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and packed with killer taste and texture. Dave’s Killer Bread is known for its trademark explosion of seeds, delicious chewiness, and high quality ingredients. But the company strives to be more than just breadmakers – they believe in creating lasting change for the bread industry, their communities and their employees.

Available in 12 varieties in major grocery chains across 17 states and parts of
western Canada, Dave’s Killer Bread packs a punch with delicious flavors loaded
with seeds, ancient grains, and whole grain nutrition. Each slice also contains
as much protein as one egg! A loaf of Dave’s Killer Bread retails between $5.00
and $6.00.
• You asked, and Dave’s Killer Bread delivered! As requested by several
moms who participated in last year’s sampling, Dave’s Killer Bread added
100% Whole Wheat bread to their product line. With a smooth texture and
a touch of sweetness, it’s the perfect seedless bread for everything from
sandwiches to french toast.
• Seeded Honey Wheat is the first Non-GMO Project Verified honey wheat
bread on the market. With 5g of fiber and protein, the sweet taste and
crunchy texture of Seeded Honey Wheat will make it an instant family
favorite.
• With 21 Whole Grains and Seeds Thin-Sliced, you don’t have to sacrifice
taste and nutrition when watching calories. Loaded with grainy texture and
hearty flavor, 21 Whole Grains and Seeds Thin-Sliced only has 60 calories
per slice.
• Packed with a whopping 6g of protein and 4g of fiber per slice, Good
Seed™ has the boldest texture and sweetest flavor of all of their breads.

You can find Dave’s Killer Bread online at:

DavesKillerBread.com

Twitter: @KillerBreadMan

Facebook: DavesKillerBread

** I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms
MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it
directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger,
I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog.
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May
Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product

* All text in italics was provided by Moms Meet.