What We Eat

Nothing bothers me more than wasting food. It’s like throwing money right in the trash and 9 times out of 10, the next time I go grocery shopping, I’m rebuying that wasted food!

The other night I really wasn’t prepared for dinner and thought I’d end up making a meal I had in the freezer plus a salad but I realized I had some squash and a potato on their last leg and needed to make them that night. As much as I love veggies, Ryan is not going to appreciate a meal consisting of just a bunch of different vegetables and frankly, I probably wouldn’t like the meal these items were heading for either.

So after combining a few recipes I’ve seen I came up with the perfect dish to use up all my veggies at once. It was super easy and really could have added a ton of different vegetables if I had others I wanted to use. Very versatile recipe as far as ingredient go!

Ingredients

1 yellow onion

1-2 zucchini (I used two small and has a couple pieces unused)

1-2 yellow squash

1 medium potato

1 tsp minced garlic

Italian cheese blend

dried thyme

salt and pepper

olive oil

*tomato would be a yummy addition to this dish if your family likes tomato or any other round vegetable you need to use up.

Instructions

1.    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2.    Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute in a skillet with olive oil until softened.

3.    While the onion and garlic sauté, thinly slice all the vegetables into equally as thick rounds.

4.    Prepare an 8x8 baking dish (I used coconut oil spray). Spread the onion mixture evenly over the bottom of the dish. Place the rounds in alternating order until the dish is full.

5.    Sprinkle salt and pepper and thyme. Add shredded cheese as desired.

6.    Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are about done. Uncover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

7.    Enjoy!

*This recipe is also great reheated the next day! Depending on how fresh our veggies are will determine how long the dish will keep.

** After thought: If I was going to the store to deliberately make this recipe I would try to find vegetables a little closer in size as our potatoes took longer to cook.

Clarins Gift with Purchase

Clarins is having a gift with purchase at Nordstrom right now so I wanted to share some of my must-haves from this brand. I really love Clarins and have been using them for about 2 years now. About half of my everyday products are Clarins products and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon. I switch back and forth between two of the face oils but this product, hands down, is the most important part to my skincare routine. My skin can’t live without this… or at least wouldn’t live well!

Firstly, I’m obsessed with Clarins Face Oil, which I’ve mentioned before, here. I have dry skin so I use the BlueOrchid Oil everyday, but when I do experience a breakout or we have a hot summer day, I will switch to the Lotus Oil which I find helps with congested skin. Both these oils set great under makeup. I find that when my skin has proper hydration my makeup stays put all day, which this oil is the perfect base for that!

Next, I love both these masks! I use the hydraquench mask a few times a month and notice an instant difference in the hydration of my skin after washed off. My skin feels smooth and soft! I recommend this mask to anyone because no matter your skin type, we all have days of needing a boost of hydration and this mask supplies just that. You wont get oily like some other masks, just pure hydration. I also love the pink claymask. This is for oily or congested skin. I don’t normally put this on my entire face because I’m too dry, but I will put it over a pimple area and leave for 20 min or so and when I rinse I notice less redness, a dried out pimple, but not too dry of skin in the surrounding area. It’s a gentle mask for congestion.

For those with oily skin, the poreminimizing serum is amazing! My husband uses this (works great for men and women!) daily in the summer and a couple times a week in the winter and has noticed a big difference in his skins balance. He isn’t overly oily, which is why he only uses a couple time a week in winter, but this serum shows signs of smaller pores instantly. Another great product for oiliness or oily spots (great for T-zones) is the gentle exfoliator/brightening toner. I use this about once a week or if we are going out on my t-zone to balance that area of my skin. I love how gentle it is yet effective. I definitely notice a brighter balance in the areas I apply it to.

Lastly, Clarins Skin Beauty Repair or SOS treatment is unique to anything else I’ve ever tried. I keep a bottle in our general medicine cabinet and in my bathroom drawer. We have used it on minor burns (my husband hit his arm on a hot motorcycle pipe and I used this… it was minor!), bug bites, sensitive skin patches, cracked knuckles, and more. I love this product. It’s a little pricey but so worth it!

What We Eat

We have a couple staple food item in the fridge at all times. I find we eat healthiest if we have quick meals already prepared. I’d much rather grab something fresh and homemade than eat out if we are in a hurry. Usually Sundays and Wednesdays are my days to make sure all our staples are freshly stocked. Sometimes I’ll use them as a side for dinner if I didn’t have time to prepare a full meal, other times I’ll add them to Ryan’s lunch or eat them myself of course!

I found a set of stacked bowls in 4 sizes from Costco last year and absolutely love them. They always contain the same things in our fridge. My brother and sister in law bought us another set we asked for for Christmas so I use one at all times and have the other either in our trailer or use it for leftovers, etc. I always have one full of quinoa. I love quinoa and it’s great because it can be eaten cold or warmed up.

Another key thing we have is the salad below. I love this salad because it’s so simple to prepare and is super filling. It affectionately has been named the garbage salad because I can basically add any extra veggies from the week’s dinners inside it if they need to be used up! I’m always munching on it and there is nothing bad about it! I sometimes add feta in but even still this salad is super healthy and delicious. It’s also husband approved!

Disclaimer: I make this salad in a large quantity because I want it to last us a few days. If you want less, just adjust the recipe, as you desire. This salad doesn’t last long in our house, but it will keep for at least 4 days in a container depending on the freshness of the veggies being used.

Ingredients

3 cucumbers

2 yellow bell peppers

2 orange bell peppers

1 red onion

1 large can garbanzo beans

feta cheese

olive oil

red wine vinegar

oregano

salt

Instructions

1.    Chop all your veggies into about equal sizes and toss in a salad bowl. Add beans and feta.

2.    Add a splash of red wine vinegar and olive oil so veggies look slightly coated. You want enough to taste but you don’t want the salad to look too wet or have any liquid sitting at the bottom of the bowl. The salad won’t keep as well.

3.    Sprinkle with oregano to taste. Add a pinch of salt.

* I also like to add olives, artichoke hearts, or tomatoes if I need to use it up from another recipe or if I’m just being a little fancy! This salad tasted amazing with quinoa for a little added substance.