These are a few of my favorite things lately...
OK, be honest. Were you one of those people that ran out to buy all the toilet paper when this whole pandemic started? I was SO THANKFUL that I didn't have to scramble to track down toilet paper when it became scarce. Or settle for crappy industrial sized rolls from amazon like a certain friend of mine. LOL! I had already been using a toilet paper subscription company. Yup, you read that right. I was already on auto-ship for TP to be delivered to my door. And bonus: it's actually way better for the environment, the company has an amazing mission to install toilets in 3rd world countries, and they recently announced they are now a CARBON NEUTRAL company. How cool is all of that? I'm also a sucker for cute packaging and humor, which Who Gives a Crap totally nails.
Hello, my name is Steph and I'm a cold brew addict. I've been making cold brew coffee at home for yearrrrrs. I'm totally hooked. I have some every single afternoon as my treat/pick-me-up. It's prooooobably not the best habit, but it's not something I'm interested in giving up, LOL. A few months ago, I saw an ad on Instagram for this thing called a Rumble Jar. I was so intrigued and had to try one! There are a few different sizes, but since it's a daily habit of mine, I needed the biggest one (64 oz). I ordered straight from their website, but they've since made the big one available on amazon! #hiPrimeShipping After a few months of using this thing, I'm still so in love with it! Clean up is a breeze (everything can go in the dishwasher), and it makes the most perfect cold brew!
So while we're on the subject of coffee, let me tell you about my new favorite coffee mugs! They're from Swig Life. They have the most fun colors and prints, and the mugs keep my morning coffee nice and hot. This mama used to have to reheat a few times before finishing. They're dishwasher safe, but I mostly hand wash with my Thieves Dish Soap so the colors don't end up fading too quickly. Besides a few coffee mugs, I have wine cups, some skinny can coolers that keep our White Claws nice and cold, and I just got one of the new combo can coolers that holds bottles, regular cans, and also can be used as a cup! #addicted
Fall is here and the kids are hopefully going back to in-person school in about a month. Woohoo! We're ramping up on taking good care of our immune systems, and that means using all things Thieves. We can't live without the usual basics like Thieves Household Cleaner, the most amazing smelling foaming hand soap, Fruit & Veggie Soak, etc. Buuuuut now we're starting to use a lot more Thieves Essential Oil blend in our diffusers and on our bodies topically. We've also stocked up on plenty of hand sanitizer. The list of Thieves products we use goes on and on, haha! I can not imagine not having these tools going into the fall season. Have you tried any Thieves products? What's your fave? If you're curious what the big deal is about Thieves, I have a free email series for you to learn more: All Things Thieves
So near the end of summer... my beloved Maui Jim sunglasses fell off my head, onto a tile floor. Ughhhhhh! I'm still debating on sending them in for a lens replacement, but in the meantime, I needed some sunglasses. I decided to grab a few pairs from Blenders to try. They have free returns, so I ordered like 4 pairs to try on. I have 2 pairs now that I LOVE! If you're looking for some new stylish sunglasses that won't break the bank, give them a try!
This one seems a little silly to be excited about, haha! Over the summer, when we were packing lunches for the beach all the time, I realized I was wasting wayyyyyy too many plastic bags. I try hard to not be wasteful when it comes to disposable things like plastic bags. I also just try to avoid plastic ANYTHING whenever possible, especially when it involves contact to our food and drinks. The less my family is exposed to scary, questionable plastic materials, the better! So I decided I needed to come up with a different idea and I found these Zip Top Containers. I've had similar things in the past, but they've turned out to be a pain to clean, even in the dishwasher. Guys. These containers are SO AWESOME!! They open and close so easily, they stay open in the dishwasher so they actually get clean inside. I freaking LOVE THEM! If you're looking for a solution like this, give these a try for sure!
Tell meeee! What are a few of your favorite things right now? I'm always looking to try new things!
Did anyone else ever do Plated? You know, one of those subscription boxes where they send you the ingredients and recipes to cook a few meals. Sadly, that one is no longer. I did Plated off an on for a few years and there are a few recipes that I've made again and again! This is one of them! However, just like most recipes I try, I tweaked it slightly each time until I ended up with my own favorite version. My kids actually LOVE this fish!
Miso-Glazed Cod with Sesame Mashed Potatoes and Baby Bok Choy (makes 2 servings)
For the fish...
- 12 oz. cod or pollock
- ½ Tbs soy sauce
- 2 Tbs rice vinegar
- 2 Tbs miso paste
Whisk the soy sauce, rice vinegar and miso to combine. In a bowl or ziploc bag, marinate the cod, making sure the fish is well coated. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
For the potatoes...
- 10 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes (or I love the multicolored little potatoes, whatever they're called, haha! When some purple potatoes are in the mix, these turn out so pretty!)
- ½ Tbs miso paste
- ½ Tbs toasted sesame oil
- 1 scallion, sliced
- And 1 drop of Black Pepper Vitality, if you'd like
Soak potatoes in a bowl water and a splash of Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak for a minute or 2. (Don't dump that bowl, you'll need it to wash the baby bok choy!) Rinse and dice into 1 inch size pieces. Add the potatoes to a pot with a generous pinch of salt, then cover with cold water. Bring it to a boil and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and return the pot , but turn the heat off. You can either add the scallions now, or wait until just before serving.
For the Baby Bok Choy...
- 12 oz. baby bok choy
- 2 Tbs avocado oil
- 1 to 2 drops Ginger Vitality
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or like 3 if you're like me and LOVE garlic, haha)
- ½ tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 450°. Chop off the base of the bok choy, separate leaves, and soak for a minute or 2 in your veggie wash bowl. Rinse, then dry with a few paper towels. Lay the bok choy out on a large baking sheet. Mix the avocado oil, garlic and Ginger Vitality, then toss well to coat the bok choy. Try to lay the leaves out in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Pop them into the oven for a total of about 8 minutes, flipping halfway. You want them to get a little brown and crispy on the leafy ends! When they're done, take them out and switch your oven to broil (if your oven has low and high broil settings, I've found low works best for me).
OK, time to cook the fish! Remove it from the marinade and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Don't make the mistake I made once by using parchment paper for this part. Trust me! Haha! Pop the baking sheet into the oven on the top rack and broil until glazed on top and the fish is opaque, about 7 minutes.
Place a piece of fish, some bok choy, and a scoop of potatoes on a plate and impress someone with this fancy dish... even if it's just yourself!
Guys. These muffins. I seriously buy extra bananas in hopes of having a few turn brown just to make these muffins!
The recipe has evolved over the years, but this has been THE recipe for a few solid years now. They're SO GOOD. We're lucky if they last 2 full days in this house of 5.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (makes 12 muffins)
- 3 overripe bananas
- 1 egg
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup avocado oil
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (or 8 oz by weight)
- ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. Mash the bananas in a big bowl. Add the egg, coconut sugar, and avocado oil and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda. Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips, and then fill your lined muffin pan. I love to use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the lined muffin pan. #easybutton 
Bake for about 18 minutes. Once they're cool, hide them from your kids... and your husband. Otherwise, they'll disappear wayyyy too quickly! Haha!
