Red Apple Lipstick: Eyeliner

Recently Red Apple Lipstick launched their gluten-free, paraben-free, non-toxic eyeliner. I love me some black eyeliner so I had to get my hands on some! Sometimes I'll just throw on some eye liner and mascara and call it a day. It is a bit of a staple in my makeup case. Needless to say I was pretty excited to give it a try! 

What I really like about this eyeliner is that is goes on really easy and really smooth. I feel like I can't mess it up! Thats a good thing for me. It also holds up all day without smearing or fading. So far I have used it with just a little bit of mascara and was good to go and other times I found that it works perfectly with my RAL eyeshadow!  It doesn't blend or smear while applying and goes on smooth enough that I can have just the right amount!

You can order your very own eyeliner here!

Now all I need is some Red Apple Lipstick Mascara and I will be a 100% Red Apple Girl! Keep your fingers crossed that that comes soon!

See all Red Apple Lipstick has to offer on their website.

www.redapplelipstick.com

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Gluten Free Coconut Shrimp

Recently, I was in the mood to make a healthy, gluten free version of coconut shrimp. I found this recipe from SkinnyTaste, and decided to adapt it to make it gluten free. I must say - it was one of the best dishes I've made in awhile. 

Skinny Coconut Shrimp 

(photo from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (24) large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Gluten Free bread crumbs 
• 2 tbsp all gluten free purpose flour (I love the one from Trader Joe's)
• 1 large egg (or egg substitute) 
• pinch salt
• non-stick spray 
• 
  

For the Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves 
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine coconut flakes, bread crumbs and salt in a bowl. Place the flour on a small dish. Whisk egg in another bowl.

Lightly season shrimp with salt. Dip the shrimp in the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.

Lay shrimp on the cookie sheet then spray the top of the shrimp with more cooking spray; bake in the middle rack for about 10 minutes. Turn shrimp over then cook another 6-7 minutes or until cooked though. Remove from oven and serve with dipping sauce.

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients and place in a small bowl.

It's very simple, and really delicious. I threw together an Asian inspired slaw to go with it, with shredded zucchini and carrots, and for the dressing I used a little bit of honey, tamari, and ginger. It was so awesome. Here's a not so enticing picture of the meal, but I promise you, it was great. 

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A Couple Smart Cookies

Recently, I was browsing the aisles looking for vegan/gluten-free treats, and I came across A Couple Smart Cookies. They had a peanut butter chocolate chip and a chocolate fudge option, and I decided to try the chocolate fudge. I was surprised how much goodness was packed into a little cookie. It's the perfect amount of sweet, and is definitely the perfect little treat to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

They have several cookie options to choose from, and all are delicious. 

Visit their website here, and find them in a store near you (you can also purchase online).

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Truebar Giveaway!

Its time for another giveaway!

We told you all about Bakery on Main last year and mentioned how we were so excited to try the TrueBars. Well, the fantastic people over at Bakery on Main were nice enough to send us some to try and a few extra to give away to you guys!

There are 6 different Truebar flavors.  Hazelnut Chocolate Chip, Walnut Cappuccino, Coconut Cashew, Fruit and Nut, Raspberry Chocolate Almond, and Apricot Almond Chai.

The Truebars are made with low glycemic index ingredients (Good for Bailey as the diabetic), they are full of omega 3, dairy free, casino free, gluten free, kosher and non-GMO verified. Basically good for everyone! With all that good healthy stuff, you might think that they taste like cardboard and dirt. Nope, not even close these have so much flavor and each is completely unique. Sometimes with really healthy snack bars, they all kinda taste the same, but each TrueBar flavor is completely different.

Mahaley tried the Apricot Almond Chia, Fruit and Nut, and Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry.

The two standouts were the Fruit and Nut, and the Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry. Both absolutely delicious, but I definitely enjoyed all three. The bars were the perfect amount of sweet and savory, and filling. (I hate when you eat a granola bar that's 200 calories and 10g of sugar, but you're still hungry 20 minutes later). I was really impressed with the three flavors I had of true bar, and I have made multiple purchases of the Fruit and Nut, and the Chocolate Cherry. 

Bailey tried the Walnut Cappuccino, Raspberry Chocolate Almond and Coconut Cashew Bar.

If I had to pick a favorite, I could honestly tell you I liked all of them, but I guess the Walnut Cappuccino would be what I liked best. Only because I don't think I've ever had a bar that tasted like that! It was a really unique flavor.  Even though raspberry chocolate and coconut nut bars are more commonly found in energy bars, protein bars and snack bars the Truebar was a bit different. It was very moist and tasted fresh. Even though they were familiar combinations, they were still unique and had a lot of flavor. They were also nice and filling I used them either while getting ready to go ride my horse on the trails, before a yoga class and just in the middle of the day when I needed something to hold me over. I absolutely loved them and I was so jealous that Mahaley got to try the others. 

And remember, they really are healthy and good for you ! Take a look at the ingredients and nutrition facts!

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment below! Let us know which flavor you are most excited to try!

If you want to find some TrueBars near you, look here to find the closest location! You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter

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Delgado Diet Review

Well it has been a little over a month on the Delgado Diet and I think it is time to let you know how it went!

Just in case you are not sure what I'm talking about, be sure to check out  the video I posted last month here.


What I loved about the diet...

I felt great the whole time I was on diet. I was never hungry since it did not limit what I could eat, but I also never had an overly full feeling. It was a nice balance with a lot of options.

I totally lost a few pounds... during the holidays! I think that could be rephrased as, I did the impossible. It is clearly a diet that would be helpful for anyone not only trying to eat healthier, but also anyone who wants to lose a few pounds.

I learned quite a few alternative ways to make my old favorite dishes as well as quite a few new dishes that are gluten free, dairy free and oil free. It took some extra visits to the grocery store or farmers markets and lots of conversations with the helpful Whole Foods employees.

Because I was on the diet I was more aware of what I was eating and learned a lot more about the foods I used to snag up when I was in a hurry. Some were great options, some not so much. It also got me into a habit of bringing more fruit and veggies as snacks to munch on at work.

The Simply Healthy Cookbook introduced hundreds of gluten free recipes to me that I think I can spend a full year exploring and learning from. It is just a bonus that they are also soy free, dairy free and oil free. This is a great cookbook regardless of whether you plan to go on the diet.

What I didn't love about the diet...

It definitely takes a lot of planning and time to prep everything. I tried to do as much as I could over the weekends and because of the holiday season I had extra days off from work where I could do some cooking. However I can see how it would get pretty exhausting and difficult to keep up with.

This next one is a personal dislike that probably wont be an issue for most of you. Because of my diabetes, there are quite a few times that I need to eat food asap. When that happens sometimes I don't have a lot of time to make a choice.  Most of the time I used juice or fruit, but there were some times when I would grab a granola bar, some cookies or chips to get the job done quick.

This did make being social a bit of a challenge. Going to restaurants or dinner parties was pretty difficult if I wasn't cooking.  But I did discover some new restaurants that are very accommodating and have some great options.


What I am taking from the diet...

I have decided to continue eating dairy free. I have felt great and realized how easy it is so I'm sticking to it! (p.s. I have mentioned this to a few people and every time got the "I could never live without cheese" line. Yes, you totally can, you just have to want to.)

I'm going to continue to use the new tips and tricks I picked up to use an alternative to oils for most of my cooking. Not all just because I think a little bit of coconut or olive oil every once in a while isn't too bad. I know I could live without them, but currently they are something I'm not quite ready to let go.

I will continue to leave the majority of soy out of my diet with the exception of edemame and the occasional tofu when an alternative or better option is not available. To be honest I never actually liked soy milk and preferred almond, coconut or hemp milk. So this one isn't really a big change.

And obviously I'll continue to be gluten free :)


Check out my video review here!

Let me know what you think about this diet. Do you think it is something that would be good for you? Will you give it a try?


You can get the cookbook here!

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Cucumber and Tomato Quinoa Salad

The recipe I am about to share with you should not even be called a recipe, in all honesty. It's so simple. However, it's the meal I eat most frequently, and I find it more delicious every time. 

Cucumber and Tomato Quinoa Salad

1 tomato (on the vine preferred)

1 cucumber 

1 green onion 

handful of cilantro

housemade vinaigrette (find my original recipe here

1 cup cooked quinoa 

pinch of salt and pepper

Chop the first four ingredients, and combine with cooked quinoa. Drizzle with vinaigrette, and eat by itself, in a wrap, or with crackers (my favorite way). 

Optional: Add feta cheese. It's delicious with feta, I just don't do dairy anymore.

I wasn't lying when I said this was so simple it shouldn't be called a recipe, but it is one of my favorite meals to make, and travels so well for on-the-go, and is incredibly nutritious. 

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My Grandma's of New England

The holidays are a time of yummy treats and tins full of delicious desserts, nuts and well pretty much anything these days.

It is always nice when your family and friends supports your diet restrictions, it is even better when they send you gluten free treats in the mail!

I received a tin full of gluten free treats from My Grandma's of New England and was not expecting mail order gf desserts to be so delicious!

The tin was full of a variety of goodies. A congo bar, brownie, chocolate chip macaroons, oatmeal cinnamon raisin cookie, and biscotti.

Both the Congo Bar and the Chocolate Chip Macaroon were good and coconutty. 

Did I mention there are two of each of them! Perfect to share or so when you have your favorites you have a bonus one waiting.

The oatmeal cinnamon raisin cookie was pretty tasty as well. I may have had one for breakfast.

Grandma's has non GF options as well, but if you want to check out what their gluten free selection you can find it here. 

I think the only downfall is their limited options. Don't get me wrong all the options in the tin were fantastic, but when I checked out the website I was hoping for more GF options. Maybe in the future they will come up with some more. I'd be all about ordering some of their cakes if they were gluten free. Fingers crossed!

Do you know of any other gluten free treat deliveries? We would love to hear about some new ones so we can give them a try?

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