Smart Living Tip #3

Smart Living Tip #3: Learning to Online Bargain Shop

It's been a while since I imparted some smart living tips upon my faithful (er...4) readers. So here's a little smart living tip to tickle your "Let's Better Our Lives" fancy.

I LOVE to bargain shop. I rarely buy anything online without some sort of discount (yes, that even applies to things I have to get printed at FedEx Kinko's). I just feel like if some person out there is taking the time to create all those cute little coupon codes, I wouldn't want all their hard work to go to waste. :) (plus, it helps me save money for other things that I just can't get discounts on!)

So here are the steps I go through when shopping online:

(1) Check the home page of whatever website I'm on. Typically, if they're running seasonal deals that are for everyone, they'll be listed on the home page.

(2) Go to the sales section first. Almost every online store has a section dedicated solely to sale items. It's a great way to do a quick run-through of everything that's available at already-marked-down prices.

(3) Once I've decided which items I want to purchase, I go to some of my favorite discount-aggregating websites to search for coupon codes. They often provide codes that give you free shipping or even discounts of up to 15 and 20% off if you're lucky! Here are a couple of my favorites:

Coupon Cabin
Retail Me Not

I hope this helps some of you out with your online shopping. Smart living takes a little extra planning sometimes, but the payoffs can be great. Start Smart Living today!

Inspired by M.S. (Martha Stewart, that is)

Smart Living Tip: Create a Calendar to Increase Productivity

Those of you out there who are around me for any significant amount (or maybe not even a significant amount) of time know that I LOVE being domestic. I love cooking and cleaning and organizing, but most of all, I love party planning/hosting. I am a self-proclaimed Martha Stewart (without the scandal...I'm pretty scandal-less). I have recently been purchasing her magazine off the newsstand because she has wonderful ideas for party decor as well as tasty from-scratch recipes that I think may be useful for parties as well.

While Martha has some wonderful ideas about party planning, cooking, and tending to farms (which I plan only to read about because while I love being domestic, I have no intention of ever owning chickens/horses/any other farm animal), I believe her greatest contribution is the calendar she creates every month. (see example here) I mean, honestly, my life would be SO much more productive if I would sit down at the end of each month and plan out what all needs to be done in my life/home for the entire next month. There is just something about writing down a task on a particular day that makes me want to actually do it. I am already a HUGE fan of list-making, (I find that list-making increases my ability to accomplish tasks in a timely manner) so surely a calendar would have the same sort of effect. So, I thought that to complete my Martha Stewartness, I would try out making a calendar for the month of October. In reality, it'll probably be more trouble creating the calendar than it was worth, but I've got another week until school starts, so why not? We could all use a little organization in our lives, after all. So, this will be my project for the next week. Then, as October rolls along, I will be conducting a bit of an experiment to see if it actually makes me more productive (I have a feeling it will). I encourage you all to tune back in to the blog at the end of the week to see the finished product, and I encourage each of you to do this little experiment with me, because I would LOVE to see what's in store for your October!

Until next time...

Fave Food: Spinach

I stare at words all day. On paper or on the computer, I am constantly using my eyes to read. Not only does this put a strain on my eyes, but it also makes me tired. For any other law students/lawyers out there, I'm sure this is old news. Fortunately for us, there is a great food out there that helps with both of these problems: Spinach.

Popeye had it right. A little spinach each day is the key to a healthy mind and body. Not only does spinach contribute to long-term retention of mental health, but it also helps prevent macular degeneration (read: loss of eyesight) and because of its high iron content, it also aids in the movement of oxygen through the body, raising energy levels. In addition to all of its internal health benefits, it's also filling, which makes it a great addition to your meals when you're trying to watch portion sizes. I mean really...what more could you want?!

(To read more about the health benefits of spinach, click here. Also, you can look at the nutrition facts related to spinach by clicking here. I absolutely LOVE the second website because it gives you tons of information on just about any food you can think of. I encourage you to browse around.)

Thanks to Adrian's love for spinach, I have been introduced to this superfood and have begun incorporating it into many of my meals. I make it as a side to my chicken, a topping for my pizza, and a base to my lunchtime salads. The possibilities for the use of this food are absolutely endless. Try adding some spinach into your life.

Happy Living!

Smart Living Tip #2

Smart Living Tip #2: Learning to Create Easy and Delicious Meals

Healthy eating doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. Using simple ingredients combined with strong flavorings, coupled with basic vegetables can be the key to eating healthy on a busy schedule.

Adrian and I are in the midst of finals madness right now, so I have transitioned into a quick-fix meal regime. This means I'm making the kinds of meals that have very little prep time and cook up within 30 minutes. Last night was lemon rosemary chicken with basic vegetables and a slice of toasted bread. Cooking the chicken in the foil helped it retain all its juices and made the chicken super tender and tasty with only a few ingredients. The meat was so good that it made us feel like we were eating at a fancy restaurant without even having to leave the house!

This kind of meal is also a great example of how to balance your meals with protein, vegetables and a carbohydrate. Normally we eat whole grain bread, but occasionally we like to splurge on a different kind of tasty bread, and that's what we did with this meal. When you choose mostly low-carbohydrate components, you can add in some other splurgier component you like without the guilt. Enjoy!


Lemon Rosemary Chicken

INGREDIENTS
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 tbsp olive oil
garlic salt and pepper
1/2 large lemon
1 tbsp dried rosemary (or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary)
Foil

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Lay out a piece of foil (big enough to wrap around the 2 chicken breasts). Place the chicken breasts in the middle of the foil and drizzle with olive oil. Then, season the tops with garlic salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon on top of the chicken breasts (you may need to fold up the edges of the foil so it doesn't run out), and then spread the rosemary out on top of the chicken (or lay the fresh sprigs on top). Fold up the edges of the foil to create a packet that completely covers the chicken. Place the chicken in a glass baking dish or a cookie sheet (just in case the juice drips out). Bake the chicken for 28-30 minutes, then remove from the oven (don't uncover) and let sit for about 5 minutes so the chicken can absorb some more of the juice. Enjoy!


Roasted Vegetables

INGREDIENTS
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt & Pepper
1 large red/orange/yellow bell pepper
1 large onion
1 head broccoli
1 medium zucchini
Any other vegetables you like!!!

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the vegetables up and drizzle with olive oil. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes. Enjoy!


Italian Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 Slices of Ciabatta Bread
1-1 1/2 tsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

DIRECTIONS
Set the oven to Broil

Place bread on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle Italian seasoning on top and broil until golden brown on the edges. Enjoy!

Smart Living Tip #1

Smart Living Tip #1: Learning to make small exchanges

We all struggle with going cold turkey on the things we enjoy in life. Forcing yourself to give things up completely generally tends to end in destruction, as we all know. Rather than depriving yourself of the things you like, learn to take small steps such as substituting one-for-one or halving your portions and substituting other things in for the rest.

For example: If your vice is soda, start doing a one-for-one exchange with your drinks--for every one glass of Coke that you drink, have one glass of water. If you really like chips, cut your serving down by 1/2 and grab one handful of almonds or a slice of low-moisture, part-skim string cheese to add to it. You'll find that you still get to enjoy the things you like, but you end up wanting less of the thing that's bad for you, because you're filling yourself with other, healthier products.

Happy living!

Getting back to it

Well, it's been quite some time since my last blog. An entire second quarter of school has come and gone, and I'm almost finished with the last quarter of my first year of law school. I can't believe it! It's been a fantastic year, full of challenges and opportunities for growth. I have begun to realize some of my weaknesses, but at the same time, I have begun to realize the areas where God has given me strength. In addition, I've started discovering interests I never realized I had!

Adrian and I are so excited that I get to spend this summer with him in Houston. I was hired at Baker Botts, LLP, a law firm based in Houston, and he will be returning to Houston to work at 3 different firms for the summer. We feel so fortunate to be able to spend the summer together and look forward to it very much.

As my family knows, but most of you may not, in the last year I have gained a real interest in health, nutrition, and fitness. Paying attention to what I ate and how my body was functioning was never a real concern for me in the past, since I danced when I was younger and never faced any real health problems. However, when I moved to Chicago, I began cooking for Adrian and it sparked an interest in me to learn more about cooking healthy meals (and let's face it, after I graduated college, I had a lot of time to watch the Food Network). This interest in healthy food transformed into an interest in fitness as well. Adrian and I are very committed to living healthy lives, and we are learning more everyday about how to take care of our bodies as God intended us to. For us, that involves learning to cook extra-yummy, healthy meals at home, exercising regularly (even if it means just taking a walk), and being sure to visit doctors to make sure our bodies are functioning as they should. It has been such a fulfilling journey so far, and we are really excited to take the things we are learning everyday and apply them throughout the rest of our lives.

A few months ago, my pastor was talking about things that we can do to allow God to use us for his glory that most of us never think about. One of the things he mentioned was being the healthiest versions of ourselves. He mentioned practical things that having a healthy body can allow us to do for God's glory (carrying something for an elderly neighbor, for instance). I think God has given me a special interest in these things for a reason, and if I can, I want to help everyone I love live a happy, healthy life! For that reason, I'll be sharing some of my tips on my blog with the hopes that you will take up the challenge to take control of your body and your health so you can serve God with the best version of yourself. I am excited to share our journey with you.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week, and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.