How can it be Thursday night already? I have been neglecting my blog. You might see some changes in the appearance of the blog. I handed John the reins to fiddle with stuff. I just don’t have the time to make sure the layout and links are up to snuff.

I’ve come to the realization that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you have to do it because time is just as valuable – or more – as the money you would spend to have someone else do it for you.

I guess that’s a good segue into the last of the Diet To Go meals LOL!  You can review Day 1 and Day 2 with those links. I was shipped the meals last week. The literature says they are good for 7 days or you can freeze. Since I wasn’t going to eat the last day until Monday, I decided to freeze the last 3 meals and let them thaw in the fridge the day before.

Breakfast was a cheese omelet topped with roasted tomatoes and vegetables:

The cheese kind of melted out into the tray when I was heating it, so I poured it on top of the omelet. This was pretty good. The eggs didn’t taste fake or anything and I really liked the roasted tomato topping. It added a nice punch of flavor to the omelet. I have to try doing that.  The side veggies were standard. I was fine with all of them except for the bell peppers. Not sure why, but those just were not for breakfast. Too strong a flavor maybe.

I swapped out lunch and dinner because the burrito seemed more “lunchy” to me.  This took a while to heat up as it was pretty cold still from being frozen. Now this was called chicken fajitas, but to me it was a burrito.

That little white cup was sour cream. I should have checked the package because I didn’t notice it before the tray went into the freezer. In case any of you don’t know, you can’t freeze sour cream. It curdles on thawing. I was kind of bummed because it would have gone great with the burrito.  I should have taken a picture of the inside as it was stuffed with a spicy chicken mixture. Man, this was tasty.  And I even ate the refried beans! I have a thing about beans. They usually seem so grainy to me, but these were super smooth. Go me!  The carrots were cooked. They look raw in the picture, but they were cooked. I’m still undecided as to whether I would have liked them to be raw or not.

Dinner was a basil parmesan chicken.  Holy green Batman!

The chicken was covered with the pesto on a bed of spinach (which I moved out for picture purposes).  I think this is the same pesto that was on the pita from the other day. It has a really good flavor. The veggies were maybe over cooked. Broccoli is just one of those veggies that doesn’t do well the next day after being steamed. It was okay, but you guys know how much I love broccoli. The spinach was spinach LOL. Pretty much what a frozen spinach mixture tastes like. The chicken was a large portion and quite tender and moist. Again, they seem to have the chicken down pretty well.

So, my overall opinion over the few days? I would give a thumb’s up to pretty much all of them. They seem quite balanced and you certainly get in your vegetables! Again, my biggest beef is all the packaging. If they could use biodegradable plastic wrap around the trays, that would be great.  Each day was around 1200 calories and the lunches and dinners were really filling. Surprisingly so.  Note – I did supplement with snacks. I did Nutrisystem for a while probably 7 years ago?? This is leagues better than that LOL!  I think this would be an option not just dieters, but for people who either don’t have the time or desire to cook, but want something fresher than a Lean Cuisine or takeout all the time. Like I mentioned above, sometimes it is worth it to pay for a service.

Tomorrow is What’s Blooming and here is a preview of one of my favorite types of flowers in the garden!

****Disclaimer: I was sent this product free for review. Opinions are mine. I am not compensated in any way if you click on the links in the post or if you order from them.

Here is day 2 of the Diet to Go meals that I was sent for review.  You can read about day 1 and the company here.

Breakfast was called Whole Wheat Monte Cristo. If you’ve never had one, it’s basically a ham and cheese sandwich dipped in egg batter and cooked like French toast. Or sometimes it is deep fried.  Usually served with raspberry jam. This was an open face one:

It’s cold in that picture. The side dish is plantains. I don’t know if they were roasted or what, but I did like it.  For this one, I chose to toast the sandwich rather than microwave it.  I heated the plantains in the microwave.

Looks better plated up!

This was surprisingly good. I wasn’t sold all together on the cheese, but the French toast slice was good and I loved the raspberry maple sauce.  The plantains also were tasty as I noted above. I need to try more plantains.  This breakfast was 280 calories. Seems like all the breakfasts were right around that.

Lunch:

This one I heated up in the toaster oven since it was on a pita and had cheese on top. I heated the apples in the microwave.

I honestly was going into this think I would not like it since I am not a big raw tomato fan. I think the pesto is what made this.  It was really flavorful. Plus the tomatoes were sliced thin, which helped. Again, not sold on the cheese. Maybe it is low fat? I definitely would not heat this in the microwave. The apples were a cooked spiced apple. Kind of like pie filling, only drier. Nice side.

Dinner was roasted turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, side of green beans with almonds:

Again, the dinner was huge! That was not even all the green beans. I gave some to John LOL.  The instructions were to heat this in the microwave for 90 seconds, but I had to heat it up for several minutes and remove the green beans.

The turkey slices were really thick and like real turkey, not a rolled and pressed meat (if you know what I mean). It was surprisingly moist. I would have liked a little more gravy, but I am a gravy lover 😀 .   The green beans were not seasoned, just steamed. I added some salt to them since they were a little plain. They were fresh tasting. I’m not a big fan of green beans so I will just note that they seemed fresh and crisp/tender. This meal was really filling and calories were around 480 if I remember right.

Day 2 down. There hasn’t been anything so far that I really haven’t liked. Some not so much as other and some I really did like.  Day 3 coming soon!

**Disclaimer: I was sent this product free for review. Opinions are mine

A few years ago I was contacted by Diet To Go about reviewing their products, but then they didn’t have delivery to my area. Now they do, so I agreed to try a few sample days.

Diet To Go is a home meal delivery service. It’s fresh cooked food, vacuum packed and shipped in a cold pack box.

They have pick-up locations in several major cities across the US, so that is an option if you live near one. You can find distribution sites on their website.  If you have it shipped, it is about $20 for shipping.

The 21-day meal plan costs $142 for 21 meals, although I think that can change depending on your menu.  There are several meal plans to choose from such as balanced, carb controlled, and vegetarian.  I chose the balanced meals.

I’ll be reviewing the 3 days separately as it’s just too much for one post.  My initial thought on this program is the packaging. The environmentalist in me cringes at all the packaging. Now the trays are recyclable, but the wrap isn’t and then there are the cold packs. You can only keep so many.  But on to the food.  Here are my menus:

The balance meals alone are 1200 ish calories. I had to add more food since we are in biking season and after a 17-mile ride today, 1200 calories isn’t enough LOL!  My choice for breakfast today was the apple pancakes.  It came with 2 rolled pancakes with apple filling, 2 turkey sausages and a little pack of imitation maple syrup:

Calories for this meal were 280 and I supplemented with some apple compote and my coffee.  This tasted pretty good. The directions were to microwave for 60-90 seconds. I think in the future I would actually  pan cook the sausage rather than microwave it to brown it a bit. The pancakes were soft and I liked them. Not a fan of the imitation syrup, though. Real maple gal here.

Of note, the literature that came with it stated to plate the food nicely for yourself, so I did. I would have anyway. 🙂

Lunch was Waldorf salad. Calories around 450.

The stuff in the bowl is a crispy snack mix:

I did not drink the V8 as I hate tomato juice. I’ll save that for someone who likes it.  This was my favorite meal of the day. The chicken salad was really good! Tasted very fresh. It was real chunks of chicken and not what you might find in, say, a Lean Cuisine. There were bits of celery and dried cranberries (?) . I actually ended up dumping the snack mix on top and eating it together which gave a great combination of soft and crunch, sweeter and saltier.  If I did this program, I would definitely keep this one on the menu.

For dinner I had the blackened salmon:

The instructions were to heat for 2-3 minutes. I found that the sides were really hot after that, but not the salmon, so I removed the vegetables and continued heating the salmon for another couple minutes. The filets were thick.  Plated nicely:

This was a *lot* of food. I seasoned the brussels as they were just steamed. They were small and tender. Maybe a bit on the bitter side. I really enjoyed the spinach and cauliflower souffle. That was tasty and very fluffy. The salmon was pretty good. You all know I have that love/hate thing with fish and I was concerned this would taste really fishy. It didn’t. Not as good as freshly cooked salmon, but way better than frozen. It was quite moist, too. That surprised me. Very lightly seasoned – I could have used more blackening seasoning. I was stuffed after eating all of this meal! It was so filling, probably because of the fatty salmon. Lots of veggies with that meal, too. Go me!

I burned about 600 calories on my ride today, so on this day, I supplemented with the apple compote in the first picture, a protein bar split before and after my workout, my afternoon latte and (being honest) some pretzels while heating dinner. Plus a couple peppermint patties for my snack.

I’ll recap the other 2 days next week. Overall first impression is pretty good.

**Disclaimer: I was sent this product free for review. Opinions are mine

I was recently contacted by GlassesShop.com to do a product review.  Last year I had my contact and eyeglasses prescription updated. I had used another company to order my eyeglasses from online and was not happy with the quality (I won’t mention them here, but you can ask me privately). I wasn’t in a hurry to replace them as I really only use my glasses at night or when my eyes are tired. However, this opportunity came up, so I wanted to try them out.

GlassesShop.com is headquartered in MI, although I’m not 100% certain the glasses are manufactured in the US.  The site has been around since 2004 and is run by a group of eye doctors.  There are a large selection of frames to choose from – almost overwhelming – in an affordable price range (IMHO).

When you are looking at the frames, each description will give the sizing info so you can see if the width will be comfortable for you, as well as whether those frames come in your PD (pupillary distance). Not all frames are available in all PD.  You obviously need a prescription to order the glasses LOL!  You can also virtually try on the glasses by uploading a picture or you can look at the glasses on the models online.  You can add on options to the lenses such as polarized, tinted, etc. The straight clear lens is included in the frame price. Once you choose your frames and the lenses, you just upload your prescription and wait for the glasses to arrive.

I chose the Lena Purple. I wanted something a little more fun with the glasses.  It took about a week to get the glasses, quite fast.  They came in a case with a polishing cloth:

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I like a large frame as I don’t like to see any of the frame in my peripheral vision. The prescription was spot on. Very clear. I actually have to say clearer than my contact lenses, but I have astigmatism and the contacts I have don’t correct for that, although I will be getting those next time. John gave the thumbs-up to the look. In fact, he needs to order his own glasses 😀

You can just see Pixie behind my head on her throne 😀

I’m really happy with these. It almost makes me want to forget my contacts and just wear the glasses. Almost.

GlassesShop.com is offering all of you a coupon code GSHOT50, which is 50% off for all eyeglasses and sunglasses with free lenses with the exception of sales frames.  So if you want to dip your toes into online glasses purchasing, here’s a good opportunity. Glasses frames are available in readers, progressive, and prescription sunglasses.

Disclaimer:  I received a pair of glasses free of charge for review. All opinions are my own. Upon request, there are some words bolded with links to their site.  I am not compensated in any other way for this post and any orders that you might make do not benefit me.

I was contacted by Block Island to see if I would do a review of their organic sunscreen product.  I am a firm believer in lots of sun protection, so I was happy to do this.

Block Island is a family-owned USA company that makes a line of organic skin care products from moisturizers to sunscreen. The sunscreen is made with natural mineral sunblockers.  According to their website, there are 2 different types of sunscreens:  Mineral and chemical. Chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays. A mineral sunscreen prevents the rays from reaching the skin by scattering them (like with zinc or titanium dioxide).  Both types of sunscreen protect against UVA and UVB rays.

You all know I am really pale, so I wear a lot of sunscreen when we go biking (and other times). While it would be ideal to go out with full sleeves and no skin showing for protection, that just isn’t practical in the summer. 😀  I wear a high SPF because I will burn in about 10-15 minutes without protection at noon.  With that said, studies have shown that anything over 30 doesn’t give you exponentially better protection, so you are better off with a 30 and and reapplying several times.  I don’t have a preference as to mineral or chemical sunscreens, as long as they work.

Block Island Sunscreen

The active mineral sunscreen protection in this product is Zinc.

The Block Island is a little thinner than other sunscreens that  I use:

Here is after one swipe with my thumb:

The thinness of this makes it easy to squirt too much out of the container, so be careful with that.

The sunscreen rubs in easily and is not greasy at all, which is a huge plus for me.  Even with the zinc, it doesn’t show on the skin, although after I was sweating a lot while riding, I noticed some white lines in the crook of my arms.

While this says there are no artificial fragrances, it does have a scent to it. One is the smell of the zinc – that sunscreen smell. The other is the very faint scent of eucalyptus.  There is eucalytpus oil in it and it gives just a hint of the menthol. I was sniffing my arm several times after applying each time (I am sure the people in Saratoga were wondering what I was doing) and could just catch a whiff of it.

So, how does it work?  No burns at all!  I applied before we left for Saratoga and then applied again before riding home. We spent a good 4 hours in the sun. Proof is that I missed about a 1 inch section on one thigh at the top of my bike shorts (probably because they rode up a little) and I have a small stripe of red there from sunburn. Nowhere else. I used this on my arms, legs, neck, throat, ears and face.  It did not cause any breakouts so far, either.

So, if you are looking for an organic mineral sunscreen, this will certainly do the job.

This 3.4 ounce bottle is normally $19.99, but there is a sale going on through Father’s Day where it is $15.99. Good timing on this review, I guess! This seems a little above average for organic suncare on the market.

Whatever you use, protect that skin!

Disclaimer:  Block Island sent me this sunscreen product free of charge to review. All opinions are mine, good and bad. I don’t receive any compensation if you purchase from them.

I get a lot of product review requests and most end up in the recycle bin (weight loss tea, anyone?), but this product caught my attention as I am getting older! My skin has always been on the oily side, but seems to be normalizing as I get older, and probably will continue heading on to dry skin, I imagine. I was provided a bottle of Even Glow Vitamin C Serum  by Valentia Skin Care for review. (Valentia Skin Care Amazon Link)

 The Even Glow Serum is supposed to hydrate the skin, reduce wrinkles, and even skin tone.  I have been using this daily in the morning for about a month now right out of the shower.

This is a decent sized bottle, just a shade over 1 ounce:

Here is the ingredient list: KEY INGREDIENTS – 1.18 oz.  20% VITAMIN C, ORGANIC ROSEHIP OIL, ORGANIC SEA BUCKTHORN OIL, RESISTEM (PLANT STEM CELLS), HYALURONIC ACID(BOTANICAL), GREEN TEA EXTRACT.  Made in the USA!

For some reason, I had an idea that serum mean oily, so I was expecting an oily product, but this is not at all. It is an opaque thick liquid. It has a really light grapefruit smell from the grapefruit essential oil, which I loved.  That’s my favorite part – the scent.

Here is what it looks like:

A little goes a long way. I really only needed 4 drops of the above size to do my whole face . My skin felt nice and soft after using it. Seems like this bottle will last a long time, which makes $35 seem not too bad.  In a month I have maybe used 1/4 of the bottle if that.

I have a bit of redness to my cheeks and I think this product may be evening that out some.  I don’t notice too much as far as wrinkle improvement because honestly I don’t have too many wrinkles for a 46-year-old, other than my forehead wrinkle (affectionately called “The Divot” by John and I).  It also did not make me break out.  My skin will break out at the drop of a hat, so I don’t like to try new stuff on my face very often, but this didn’t cause any problems.

So, all in all – I actually like this product, again especially for the scent.  I am a sucker for anything citrus.  

** Disclosure: I was provided this product free for review. All opinions are my own.  The amazon link is for the Valential Skin Care company, so I am not compensated in any way when you click on that link.

The nice people at Makai’s Sporting Goods contacted me and wondered if I would like to review a couple products.  I said, sure – and a nice little package made its way to me.

Makia’s is an outdoor/sporting supply company and have a lot of things on their website.  Any sport or activity and there is something there.  I was surprised to see how much stuff the website has on it.  They even have outdoor gear for your pet!  It can be a little hard to find stuff, though.  I think they need some more specific categories in the front without having to click through so many sub menus.

Makai’s sent me 2 items.  The first is this nice little aluminum canteen, which is perfect for walking or hiking.

Does anyone know if you can freeze water in a canteen?

The other item was travel wipes.

I really liked these.  This is a resealable package and you can take it camping, hiking, biking, or whatever.  I used mine after a bike ride.

The towel is a nice size and very sturdy.

The pack gives directions on how to actually clean yourself to prevent any kind of cross contamination going from top to bottom and limb to limm.  However, I was just getting off sweaty bike grime and not using it as a substitute bath.  Look at all the grime that came off from my ride just from my arms, legs, and face!

Ewww!  Riding with sunscreen on and every speck of dust sticks to you.

The cleanser in these wipes needs no water and left my skin soft.  Also nice was that it only had a very light scent to it, not over powering.  I like these. Good for a quick clean up or refresher.

So if you have some time, check them out.

* note: These products were provided to me for free. The opinions are mine.