Lean Cuisine Salad Additions

 SALAD ADDITIONS: SOUTHWEST-STYLE CHICKEN

So I have been really trying to stick to my guns when it comes to eating healthier. That means watching my salt intake, portion sizes, and cutting out junk food. I love eating salads and happily will eat them for lunch or dinner, granted they have tons of carrots. So while perusing the frozen section I noticed Lean Cuisine's Salad Additions. Sadly my area store only had the Southwest Style Chicken, but there are three other varieties. The other three are: Asian Style Chicken, Bistro Chicken and Cranberry & Chicken. The salad additions are pretty affordable with them being about $249 each. Don't forget to check your papers for coupons because there are usually some for $0.75/1.

The kit came in three different packages: the chicken and veggies, chipotle salad dressing, and crispy tortilla shreds. The chicken comes with corn, roasted red pepper, and poblano peppers.

The chicken and veggies went straight into the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes. Leave the bag in there for a bit because it is steaming hot. Believe me do not just try and grab it because you will burn your fingers. After letting it cool down I opened up the bag and this is what I saw. Yup the colors are that bright! The reds, yellows, and greens really livened everything up. Sadly I found that I'm not a fan of roasted peppers. The texture just threw me off and I'm a sucker for texture. For me it was just too soft and so out the went, but not in the trash. I put them aside and ended up saving them for breakfast - mixed them with some eggs and onions, yum!

For me a salad isn't a salad without cheese. Okay so I know cheese isn't the healthiest option as it can have a lot of salt, but its skim milk cheese okay? I used a mixture of baby greens, which I love, and added the chicken and what was left of the veggies right on top. I threw the tortilla shreds and some cheese and got some light ranch dressing to finish it off. Yes I also found that I do not really like chipotle. I thought I'd give it a try even though I didn't like chipotle dip, yea not happening.  I don't think the ranch dressing took away from the salad additions though. Everything was super crisp and tasty, and the chicken was so tender and juicy. I definitely would like to try the other varieties as I am really going to do it this time. I've gone down one pant size so far and hoping to drop some more.

So have any of you out there tried the Lean Cuisine Salad Additions? If so what did you think about it? I'd love to hear your opinions about it.

Disclaimer: This review is my opinion only and no compensation was given. I purchased the products for myself and loved them.

China Glaze Polish Review

 

CHINA GLAZE: #622 MOONLIGHT

 Here I have China Glaze's Moonlight which is a creamy milky white polish. I grabbed this polish up because I like China Glaze and I needed a white nail polish. While I do like the look it just isn't opaque enough for my likes. The pictures show 3 coats and still the polish is not opaque. It does look great underneath other polishes such as Shaken Snow Globe from Spoiled by WNW.

Mystery Box Giveaway!

I'm doing it again, another mystery box giveaway so be on the look out for some hints and other games during Mar 06 - Mar 27. During this time I'll also have some other great giveaways for some products going into the box. That means more ways to win some great stuff! So getting sharing, liking, and get ready for some fun!

Check this photo out for a clue to one of the products going into the box! Yup not just beauty products this time guys so should be fun.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UGLEE Pen Review

UGLEE PEN
by Dr James Lee

The UGLEE pen is the Ultimate grip pen made by Dr James Lee. Dr James Lee has his BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and his MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. While in college he found out real quick how uncomfortable all the writing could be with regular pens. He used all different types, materials, and shapes and still none worked well for him so he decided to come up with his own. It took Dr Lee 8 pen obsessed years to create the UGLEE pen! He must have a very patient and understanding wife, although the way I love pens I'd be right in there trying them all out!

The UGLEE pen weighs only 11 grams, which is less than 1/2 ounce. The shape fits perfectly into your hand, for a better grip and feel. The UGLEE pen also features the smoothest ink system known, better than roller ball, gel ink, or fountain ink pen!

Now, I suffer from arthritis and a little carpel tunnel so writing has become an issue for me. I actually love to write though and even write my reviews on a paper before typing them up. It makes me feel like I'm able to really put down what I think without all the extra mistakes. Also it gives me a chance to edit my work before it gets posted here. I have been using the UGLEE pen and notice that I'm able to write more longer. I don't have the immediate strain that I get from other pens. It's comfortable to use and I actually don't think its that ugly. I like the rubbery type grips on the pen, I think it gives it character. It also has a little glitter mixed into the dark rubber, glitter! It's a pen after my own heart and has become my favorite pen to use.

So if you're like me and love to write then you should definitely look into getting an UGLEE Pen! 

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Mirrored Book Review

BY FREDERICK J, ARCENEAUX

Mirrored has a lot going on - murder, suspense, romance, and voodoo? Set in Thibodaux, Louisiana on an old plantation that was the scene of double murders. It's new owner, Christine Albright, doesn't know what she is getting into. She meets the only survivor of the murder, Celestine Badeau who is now a teenager and seems to have more in common with Christine than she knows. Both women have had a run in with some bad paranormal stuff, and I definitely wouldn't want to be either of them.
Meeting Celestine actually opens up some really bad old wounds for Christine and it threatens to undermine everything she has overcome thus far. Thrown into the mix is a budding romance with a gentleman named Jonathon. The paranormal element in the story is well written and thought out. This book could have made out well without the romance part in it because it kind of hurts it. The way Jonathan and Christine address each other kind of turned me off. I really couldn't deal with someone calling me honey, sweetheart, and darling when I've just met them. Also the length of their romance left a sour taste in my mouth. It was just way too short for me to see a couple falling that deep in love in such a short period of time. That could just be my opinion, but for me it would not be the norm. 

Overall the supernatural elements save this story as I loved being scared at 1am after reading it. Those parts were really put together well and if Frederick were to rewrite the romance part, I'd be completely sold.

Shadows Over Taralon Book Review

Shadows Over Taralon

by Jacquelyn Webb

Shadows Over Taralon is not your regular romance story, its a mystery as well. Jacquelyn Webb really did a great job in combining the two genres into one smooth plot. Jenny Flemming is a strong willed young woman hired by Bill Williams to help with book keeping as well as a caretaker for his children. Bill owns a seemingly prosperous horse ranch and is a widower after his wife died in a car accident. Jenny finds out really quick that things aren't what they seem at the horse ranch. She also runs into Bill's brother, Wayne, and finds she has a little interest in him. Things see to be going alright until cattle starts missing and the Williams' race horse gets poisoned. Jenny obviously has to get to the bottom of the things. Well let's just say she does and she may have to pay for it. 

I am new to Jacqueline Webb's writings and she definitely didn't disappoint. It was a great short read that had me guessing until the end. I really would like to see more on what happened after the story with Jenny. It was pretty safe as it had no sexual acts or even swear words. Pretty tame in that sense when it comes to romance novels. So if you're looking for a sweet romance with some mystery thrown in then check out "Shadows Over Taralon" by Jacqueline Webb.

The Taste: Tuesday at 8|7c on ABC

photo belongs to ABC

So there is a new cooking show out there and surprise it isn't on the Food Network. Yup ABC has brought their own food challenge show to their Tuesday line-up. So the whole premise for the show is 4 "mentors" will each coach 4 cooks ranging from professional chefs to home cooks.

photo courtesy of ABC - all rights reserved

The 4 mentors are famous chefs in their own right: Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre, and Brian Malarkey. I can honestly say I hadn't heard of Ludo or Brian at all. I had seen Nigella on a couple of shows, but my favorite of the quartet is definitely Anthony Bourdain. I love his shows, all on another tv station, and am totally biased as to whom I want to win. He has a straight forward way of speaking and cooking and I like that. Nigella seems really soft spoken, and has an easy way about her. Ludo is definitely a bit more harsh and more hot tempered. Brian seems like such a trash talker and always seems to pick on udo, though it is kind of funny to see Ludo get all bent out of shape. The contestants all seem to be pretty good cooks and of course I've already picked the one person that will be the "villain" -- GREG. Yea this guy, whether its real or not, definitely acts like a jerk and is so sure of himself. He's the type of character you want to see fail just so he can realize he isn't as good as he thinks.

So each of the 16 contestants have to cook up a dish - which in turn is served up on a spoon. Yup, just one taste to see who gets immunity and one taste to see who is out at the end of the competition. The spoons are blind tested so the judges have no clue until the very end whose spoons they liked and didn't like. Episode 4 was a hard one for Ludo and Nigella as the 4 on the bottom were from their teams, two cooks from each team. They would be sending home 2 cooks, the two they decided had cooked the worse dishes. I wasn't surprised at who got sent home though and look forward to next Tuesday to see what happens next.

Overall its a really great show and the interaction between the mentor/judges and the cooks works pretty well. Just as long as the crazy antics doesn't get to out of control the show will be fantastic.  I'll definitely keep watching though because I love Anthony Bourdain. I'm sure I mentioned that already, but thought I'd mention it again. If you want to catch ABC's new show, The Taste it airs on Tuesday nights at 9/8C. Here is a link to check out the most recent episode - http://abc.tv/Z3jimp! Also if you want to check out other episodes you can go to The Taste on ABC and look under recaps.


*Disclaimer: I watched the show and reviewed it for Influenster and ABC. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.