For more info about 22 Days Bars, see our other Review.

MommyReview: This vegan protein bar was so good I actually re-read the label thinking there was no way this was good for me, it must be a candy bar! The makers of GREENS PLUS has done it again with the amazing blend of raw and organic super foods that are also free from gluten, soy and dairy. Most protein bars inevitably have a bland or gritty taste but not the Buddha Crunch. The bar had just enough of the natural nut taste without being overwhelming. Containing only 230 calories this little bar was filling enough to be a meal replacement and who can ask for a better replacement than something that tasted like candy with 10mg of protein! And yes, I said it is vegan!

About: Greens Plus 22 Days Bar Goji Mate Firecracker – 50 Grams Greens Plus 22 Days Goji Mate Firecracker Vegetarian Bar made with raw and organic superfoods. Replace hunger with a healthy habit 22 Days Goji Mate Firecracker Bar. 6000 years ago the ancient masters knew that Goji berries protected the eyes, boosted immunity ans improved sexual performance.  But today 22 Days Bar want more – so they added cashew butter for strong bones to punch through throngs of ninjas and Yerba Mate to boost mental acuity so they can’t sneak up behind you. Kapow!!! Vegetarian Bar Made with Raw and Organic Superfoods Free of common allergens: gluten, dairy and soy Why 22 Days?It takes 21 days to make or break a habit, with 22 Days you found the way! We believe that foods made with best ingredients should satisfy not only the body but also the spirit. That is why we created 22 Days nutrition products, a smart alternative to many of the well-known nutrition products on the market. These gluten and soy-free, vegan products are specially formulated using raw and organic superfoods, and provide the exceptional benefits of hemp and rice protein. As part of an overall healthy diet, 22 Days nutrition products are lightly sweetened with organic ingredients and do not contain high fructose corn syrup. Additionally, these delicious bars and smoothies are free of trans fats, cholesterol and low in sodium. Whether the goal is to improve overall health and fitness levels, or train for a triathlon, 22 Days nutrition products inspire through taste, attitude, and a global conscience, replacing hunger with a healthy habit.

MommyReview: At my first glance I suspected that the best part of this bar might be the wrapper. Free from gluten, dairy and soy, made with all raw and organic superfoods. This energy bar was absolute amazing! Fresh and chewy each bite was better than the one before. The Goji berries that I have always enjoyed have meet with the perfect blends of flavor and satisfaction. I could have one of these everyday just for it’s wonderful taste but it gets even better with it’s energizing boost and healthy ingredients.

My Blue Cheese Bacon Burger

The other weekend I was surprised with tickets to see Little Shop of Horrors (FEED ME SEYMOUR)!  The theater was near Coco’s Bakery so we decided to check out their new menu. Let’s just say that if Seymour had fed Audrey II some Coco’s he’d probably still be alive ;)

Who knew Coco’s was so hip?! Each waiter had an electronic tablet that they enter your order on saving I’m sure time, money, and trees! The new menu looked delicious from  summer pasta dishes, french style prime rib to the all american burger. We were impressed with the Fit Fresh items for healthy alternatives like a turkey burger and we liked the fact that the calories were listed. This is a great feature for health minded families.  Coco’s has a great family atmosphere… we noticed many families enjoying their dinner with kids, this is definitely a family restaurant. This Coco’s is near a retirement community, so it was hoping with the seniors as well (hehe)! I have to give props to the waiters who were oh so patient with their senior customers (I definitely wouldn’t have be able to handle that).

California Chicken Cibatta

We ordered the California Chicken Sandwich on Cibatta and the new Blue Cheese Bacon Burger, both items were delicious. The food was cooked well and the food came out super fast (probably in thanks to those handle digital tablets they enter your order on). + The sweet potato fries were YUM!

I definitely look forward to taking Ryan with us next time to Coco’s (she loves to ‘go out’ to eat) to see what’s in store on the kid’s menu.

I was provided a gift card to eat Coco’s. The opinions expressed are 100 % mine as are my experiences. Monetary compensation is never received for my opinion, opinions are mine alone and are not the opinions of the company. The company has no say in my review these are my own words and opinions.

Book: 4 INGREDIENTS: More Than 400 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients

MommyReview: “The easiest cookbook you’ll ever own!” Many might attempt this claim on the cover of their cookbooks to boost sales but in this case it’s actually true! We have all had those tough days as a mom when we hit the door at 5pm exhausted and just barely getting through our days to-do list when we realize “I have know idea what to make for dinner”. These are the times this amazing gathering of recipes can save us! With every recipe comprised of only four ingredients we can create any meal or snack without having to run to the store. This saves time, money and our sanity! Not only did I have most of the ingredients stocked in our pantry already but they were delicious as well. Not a single one of the dishes I have made so far have resembled the “thrown together from what we had” meals of the past. While the ingredients themselves only toped out at a required four items most also included tips of how to season and add additional flavor or a side dish to pair with. The entire book is very family friendly but I loved the kids only section complete with ideas for mixing up the standard school lunches. As if this wasn’t enough there is an EXTREMELY useful section at the end with tons of home remedies and household fix it tips. This truly is the best addition to every moms cookbook collection!

Overview: A breakout bestseller in Australia and the UK, 4 INGREDIENTS features hundreds of delicious, money and time-saving recipes using four or fewer ingredients!

When two mothers wrote a cookbook to save themselves time and money, and hopefully get them OUT of the kitchen, they had no idea that it would to go on to become an international bestseller.  Indeed, Australian natives Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham have stunned the culinary world outselling Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, and Gordon Ramsey with their cookbook, 4 INGREDIENTS, which has sold over two million copies to date, and consistently sits near the top of the bestsellers lists in both Australia and the UK.

Kim and Rachael believe their cookbook has been such a huge success (even outselling J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter series in 2008!) because people can relate to the 4 INGREDIENTS concept. Why? Because it helps people get great food on the table fast, without compromising on taste, and uses ingredients that are already mostly found in the kitchen cabinet or fridge.  And now, Atria Books is bringing this revolutionary cookbook to busy Americans with the US publication of 4 INGREDIENTS: More Than 400 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients (Atria Books; $18.00; March 29, 2011).

Kim and Rachael spent hours upon hours gathering the recipes for 4 INGREDIENTS and then spent even more time preparing them.  The result is a cookbook that uses the following simple and highly effective guidelines:

Every one of the recipes in 4 INGREDIENTS is made with only 4 or less ingredients.

4 INGREDIENTS contains more than 400 recipes that range from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner, and everything in between.  From Antipasto Tarts, to Carrot & Coriander soup, to Apricot Chicken, to Tandoori Lamb, and Orange & Almond Cake, each recipe is delicious and most importantly, simple!

Kim and Rachael are first to admit that they’re not professional chefs but everyday people, career women, mothers, and wives, who try to be the best they can be for the people they love in their lives.  In fact, they probably represent 80% of the entire population—busy people who want simple solutions in the kitchen.  Whether you’re a parent who is always running around, on a tight budget, or simply don’t have time to shop for groceries, 4 INGREDIENTS is the book for you!

To learn more about Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham, visit www.4ingredients.com.au

Where to Buy:

This product was sent to us  for review by the company or PR company. The opinions expressed are 100 % mine as are my experiences. Monetary compensation is never received for my opinion, opinions are mine alone and are not the opinions of the company. The company has no say in my review these are my own words and opinions.

6oz Milk/ Soy or Water. I use vanilla soy.
12 oz ice
2 scoops chai tea mix
Optional- flavored creamer (yum)
Blend and tell Starbucks to take a hike!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. fresh minced garlic (optional)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup brown sugar (optional, substitute with white sugar)

2 Tbs. Honey (I like to use a local honey)

2 Tbs. cornstarch

*Always remember, you can add and subtract items to your liking.

Directions:

Mix soy sauce, water, seasonings, sugars in sauce pan and heat.

Then mix in cornstarch.

Heat until boiling, then cool, sauce will thicken

Be sure to keep an eye on the sauce, as soon as it boils and starts to thicken, remove from heat!

Optional – Add water to thin if sauce is too thick

Decided to try baking Lasagna in my Crock Pot, what the heck right. I’ll try anything in the crock pot! It turned out AMAZING! It was super simple and easy, as well. I generally look up a recipe and put my own twist on it, so these are the ingredients and steps I created that worked for me.

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian Sausage (I get delicious ground sausage from my local butcher, but any type will do)

1 package No Boil Lasagna Noodles (You can also use normal lasagna noodles, if you want to add in an extra step and boil them before)

12-15 oz Ricotta Cheese

2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

2 Jars of Pasta Sauce (I used Classico  Florentine Spinach & Cheese)

Italian Seasoning, Season to taste

Directions:

Cook sausage over medium heat till brown.

Spray interior of slow cooker with a non-stick spray, like Pam Olive Oil

You can layer the ingredients like a typical lasagna or throw it all into the crock pot and mix.

Mix Sausage, Cheeses, Seasoning and Sauce

Layer noodles and mix

Cover and slow cook 4-6 hours (I only cooked mine for 3 and it was perfect!)

Optional – 5 minutes before serving, top lasagna with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

Optional – Feel free to substitute the meat for vegetables and/or add in any vegetables to your liking (bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.)

P.S. Hubby took some for lunch, and he says it’s even better the 2nd day!

My husband has a milk allergy, so does Ryan, my 5 year old, and I’m lactose intolerant, sooooooo I’m always trying to spin recipes to make them as dairy free as possible. We love dairy, so sometimes we endure but when I can substitute milk for soy or rice I do. These are the recipes that I have and turn out awesome, even without milk.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter (softened)

2 eggs

3 Bananas (put as many as you want ,depending on how you like your bread to taste)

1/2 cup SOY MILK (normally you would use buttermilk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

I used my bread machine (1st, time!) to make this, so I dumped all the ingredients in, it mixed it up and then started baking on the Quick Bread setting, depending on the machine you can use a cake setting, or set the timer for an allotted time (usually 1 hour). Took a little longer to bake (about an hour and half), since this was my first time experimenting with the bread machine, it was a large loaf that needed longer to cook through and I was unsure of all the settings but the bread came out delicious and worked well with the soy substitute. The bread was gone in a day!

If you want to make this recipe in the regular old oven, mix the ingredients together, pour into 2 loaf pans, put in the oven and 350 degrees and bake for 1 hour.

Mixing in the Bread Machine

Bread Machine in Action

Call it a cooler, colada, spritzer, blitz, julep or non-tini, the “mocktail,” a non-alcoholic cocktail bursting with flavor is shaking things up!

New Crystal Light Mocktails are available in multi-serve canisters with five 2-quart packets so there is always enough to share.  They are available in three delicious, low-calorie flavors - Margarita, Mojitoand Appletini.  Crystal LightMocktails is on shelves for a limited time in grocery stores nationwide.

• Contains just 5 calories and 0 carbohydrates per 8 fl. oz. serving
• Sweetened with a blend of non-nutritive sweeteners
• Gluten free

I am a huge Crystal Light addict, I get the giant box from Costco of the Natural Lemonade flavor. So, I was excited that they came out with MOCKTAILS! These are fantastic for Girls

Night In! Also, they are a great way to enjoy a refreshing beverage, feel sophisticated and still keep the calories down!

To make my Mocktails more fun, I add little umbrellas, and put them in fun colored Margarita glasses, who can resist a little umbrella?! They make the Mocktails feel more ‘adult’ and fun at the same time. The girls were in love with the Margarita flavored Mocktails. Since many of us ‘moms’ have left our drinking days behind, this is a great way to indulge in a little ‘me’ time.

I will definately be stocking up on these limited edition Mocktails so I can enjoy them year round.

Would you use Mocktails at your Girls Night?

• Crystal Light gives women a new reason to love summer with new, limited-edition Mocktails in three fun flavors - Margarita, Mojito and Appletini!

Find out more about these fantastic Mocktails on the Crystal Light Facebook Page

I was compensated for my time for sharing this information as part of the Crystal Light campaign hosted by One2One Network.  All opinions are my own.