‘Meatless Monday’ Vegetable Stir-Fry over Long-Grain Brown Rice

PictureAre you looking for a quick, delicious yet satisfying meal?  Or maybe you have a refrigerator full of vegetables you bought with the intention of making something else but didn’t want to or forgot and now you need to use these veggies pronto before they all go bad??? Sound familiar? Trust me this happens far too often but I have a meal that can help you use up those delicious vegetables tonight!

When life gets hectic and time is precious the last thing on your mind is meal prepping for the week.  Even though you had all the good intentions of making a list, buying the produce, now comes time to actually prepare the meal.  Oh yeah, and not to mention, you may have to navigate around picky eaters you have in your household.

I have made this meal so many different ways from steak, to chicken, to kielbasa; and although they all were good and unique in their own right, I sometimes want a meat free dinner.  I feel the older I am getting the less I choose to want to have meat for every meal or even every day.  Sometimes, the flavoring of vegetables and spices is all I need in a dish without the ‘block in my stomach’ feeling meat tends to give me after I eat.

So I challenge you all to go and throw whatever you have from your refrigerator and experiment, use it up, have fun with making dinner if not tonight then sometime in the near future.  Make up your own dish and see how it turns out. 

In my refrigerator, I had red and green peppers, portabella mushrooms, and broccoli.  In my pantry, I always have my staples like garlic and onions, but for this dish I only used one medium yellow onion and vegetable broth.

As I was slicing my veggies, I had brown rice cooking so it all finished around the same time.
You might be wondering at this point; ‘…so what’s the benefit of a Meatless meal?’

If you have been on social media lately you may have noticed a movement called “Meatless Monday” which is one day designated during the entire week you don’t consume any meat or meat products, rather you increase your consumption of plant-based proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. Why, you might ask?  Cutting back on your consumption even just once a week may actually be a protective barrier that may reduce your risk of chronic preventable diseases like, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

In addition, to getting increased fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, you’re also cutting out extra unwanted calories, as well as learning how to make new dishes with a twist!

**I did not include an exact recipe because I literally just put it all together with random vegetables I had in my frig.


Garnier Fructis Hydrating Hair Mask

garnier-fruictis-hair-mask.jpgWho doesn’t absolutely love trying out new products…especially complimentary products from Garnier USA that can help restore my hair during this time of the year?  You may be someone who also falls into one or maybe two or even all the following categories:

1.  Dull hair
2.  Hair is lifeless and lacking volume
3. Hair is completely dried out not to mention brittle
4. Hair is overly processed and damaged beyond any kind of repair

Then, I have found a great solution for you to try!!!

Garnier’s Hydrating hair mask not only has been a total game changer in giving my hair an additional color boost, yes I said color boost as if I just left the salon, but it seemed to reverse the dried out damage ends in about 1 treatment, AND by the way smells amazing as an added benefit!

This hair mask is definitely a ‘must use before any gathering or function’ you have coming up!  This is the type of product I know I will continue to use and not just during those cold sub-zero temperatures but also during the crazy hazy, hot and humid summer months too!   Just like during the cold winter months can cause some major damage to your hair, so can spending an entire day at the beach or a few hours out by the pool can also weaken and damage your hair just the same.

It is probably safe to say at any point throughout the year from season-to-season your hair is being put to the test from every fashion and beauty angle.  So now you have one very powerful defense tool in your arsenal to help protect and restore your hair by using Garnier Fructis Hair Mask to help your hair truly look and feel its very best!


Baked Marinated Chicken, Granny Smith Apples, Brussels Sprouts, and Smoked Bacon

PictureIt’s officially after the Holidays and for many the New Year brings new resolutions.  Many people scour the web for not only healthy recipes but recipes that taste delicious; recipes that don’t appear as though you’re trying to eat healthy especially if you have picky eaters in your house, recipes that actually taste amazing with little effort in prep time.  This recipe has many fan favorites that are sure to be enjoyed by even the pickiest of eaters; like smoked bacon or pancetta, apples, and other herbs and spices to add flavor not fat.

When I am preparing any type of meat I always choose healthier and leaner options so the overall fat content is relatively low.  For this recipe I marinated the chicken overnight.  Now, most of you may see this and say ‘I don’t have time for that!’ That’s’ perfectly fine if time is of the essence then marinate 15-25 minutes.  Also, make sure your chicken is cut in thicker pieces so it does not dry out baking in the oven. In preparation for the marinade I used a large bowl because I wanted to make sure the chicken was submerged in the bowl to properly marinate.  I used a mixture of olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, paprika, garlic, thyme, lemon zest and lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. 

As the chicken is marinating you then have time to cut the apple slices, Brussels Sprouts, and bacon to the mixture.  I also used pre-cooked bacon since I had it available in my freezer.  On a side note I personally, did not add the bacon the second time I made this meal and it turned out fine.

Once everything was cut I placed and spread out the Brussels sprouts, Apples, and Bacon on the largest baking sheet I had that was lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  I then strategically placed all the marinated chicken with the marinade over the sprouts, bacon on the baking sheet.   Finally, I added additional fresh thyme, lemon zest, and craisins for more color and flavor!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb chicken breasts of medium thickness boneless and skinless
  • 5-6 strips of bacon
  • 1 lb bag of Brussels sprouts sliced
  • 1-2 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and sliced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 large cloves garlic crushed
  • 1/2 lemon squeezed
  • ½ tsp lemon zest
  • 6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme stripped from the stem
  • Directions: 
  1. First you prepare the marinade for your chicken.  In a large bowl, combine the ¼ tsp Himalayan seas salt, ¼- ½ balsamic vinegar, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice 4 cloves of garlic chopped, and fresh thyme and mix together. 
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  3. If chicken is already cut then place it in the marinade, but if you do not have the chicken pre-cut, cut the chicken breasts into smaller but thicker chunks.
  4. Marinade the chicken for the 20 minutes
  5. Spray your largest cookie sheet with cooking spray
  6. Start slicing your Brussels Sprouts an apples and place on cookie tray
  7. Cut your 5-6 pieces of pre-cooked bacon (if you have raw bacon cook then cut) and place on over you Brussels sprouts and apples.
  8. Finally, once chicken has marinated place with the marinade juice over mixture on cookie tray
  9. Bake 25-30 minutes and check chicken to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.


**Optional, you could place the cookie tray of Brussels sprouts, Apples, and Bacon in the oven to bake for 10 minutes before you add the chicken, allowing the vegetables, apples and bacon crisp up for further flavor.