Life Just Got Easier & Healthier Because Of Healthy Choice ~ So Can Yours

Health, Happiness, Hamstrings readers do I have a FABULOUS program to tell you about. Not only will this program make your life a little easier (at least in my opinion) and healthier, but the research findings are quite interesting.

As you know, from previous posts, I have been working with TheMotherhood and was thrilled to participate in a program with Healthy Choice. Healthy Choice has conducted a 30-day study where participants replaced 10 meals per week with a Healthy Choice meal for either lunch or dinner. They have found, as part of a reduced calorie diet, eating Healthy Choice prepared meals can lead to more energy and feeling healthier. Other findings from the study that peeked my interest include:

• Participants in the study lost an average of six pounds and trimmed their waistlines by about one inch. Improved the quality of their overall diets by increasing dietary fiber, reducing saturated fat intake by 50 percent and consuming 30 percent less cholesterol and sodium.
• As Americans look for ways to make simple, positive changes to their diets, incorporating a ready-to-eat, pre-portioned healthy option, such as Healthy Choice, is a simple way to be more healthy conscious, lose weight and improve quality of life.
• Portion control is key to successful weight loss. Healthy Choice takes the guess work out of this fundamental fact. With 70 varieties that are fewer than 400 calories you are provided with positive nutrients such as whole grains, fiber, protein and antioxidants.
• Brands with “healthy” in their name are held to a higher nutrition standard by the FDA. Healthy Choice is the only major brand in its category that can all 100% of its products “healthy” as defined by the FDA. This means each meal must be:
• Low in fat
• Low in saturated fat
• Controlled in sodium and cholesterol
• Supply at least 10% of the daily value for three beneficial nutrients (calcium, protein, fiber, iron, vitamin A or C)

We were then asked about three healthy choices our families have made for a healthy lifestyle. The three that we have implemented include:

1. One meatless meal a week: Every week we have one meal that is all vegetarian based. One thing that has been fun about this choice is the new things we have tried. I have come to love tofu and my daughter now adores beets. When we go to the famers market I challenge myself to try one new vegetable or use a vegetable in a different way. I love asking the farmer for suggestions.
2. Since the weather has finally nice my daughter and I take a walk, however long or short, after dinner. It has become a tradition and she runs to her car (the little push toy car) after she eats and chants “outside, outside” after she eats her dinner.
3. We are starting to bring lunch instead of getting it out. Thank goodness for Healthy Choice. This is where this study comes in and makes my life easier.

The review:

Healthy Choice gave us the opportunity to review two Healthy Choice meals. I tried the following meals:

        

Golden Roasted Turkey Breast:

The meal was VERY flavorful. How fun…..Thanksgiving in May. I really liked the green beans which were perfectly cooked. Kind of silly, but I was so happy to know I had the dessert waiting. LOVED the portion control aspect of the meal. The cranberries in stuffing made me smile. On to dessert, which was tasty. It was a nice compliment to the dish especially since there were cranberries in the stuffing. I actually went and got a spoon to finish the sides of the try for the dessert. My ONLY complaint was that there was less crumble than I hoped for, but I am a berry fan so it didn’t really bother me. Best of all……………..No guilt finishing and cleanup  was a BREEZE!!!!! For a busy mommy that is key.

Honey Balsamic Chicken:

I could smell the aroma immediately which made me excited to dig in. I was thrilled that ALL the veggies stayed whole including the asparagus and tomatoes. The tomatoes really impressed me that they kept their shape. The sauce was nice and thick and there was enough left to dip the potatoes in. This was a VERY flavorful dish.

I will be purchasing both of these again. Nice thing about these Healthy Choice meals is they are pretty accessible. Make sure you pick some up to day and get your self on track. I know you will be happy you did especially since Healthy Choice makes it so easy.

Enjoy this beautiful day!!!!!

~Lauren

****I was compensated by Healthy Choice and TheMotherhood to do this post****

Wonderfully Wordless

Ever since Mr. Man has opened the second paper spending time together as a family, especially during the week, has been difficult. By no means should you see this as a complaint, since he is doing this FOR our family, but it makes the day we spend together even MORE important.

Last Saturday, which I mentioned in this post, we spent a wonderful day an hour away from where we live. All we did was laugh, play, laugh some more, and had fabulous food. It was so nice to get out of our surroundings and focus only on US. THIS is when memories are made…..what a wonderful day we had.

While I intended to make this post wonderfully wordless I had to add a few details on our adventure and what it meant to me. Now for the wordless part:

 

 

The picture that is one of my favorites is the one in the middle with our shadows. How cool is that!!!!!! Have a fabulous day.

~Lauren

Dr. Oetker Pizza Review and Giveaway

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Mr. Man, Bean and I spent the day with my family and his parents attended the celebration. Mr. Man and I are very fortunate that are parents get along and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. More on Mother’s Day in another post.

Now on to the good stuff….. I don’t know if you remember, but back in February the TheMotherhood invited me to I participate in a virtual conversation sponsored by Dr. Oetker. As part of the discussion I was fortunate to test two of Dr. Oetker’s  Ristorante frozen Pizzas. Mr. Man and I decided to test Ristorante Pizza Spinaci (spinach pizza) and Ristorante Quattro Formaggi (four cheese).

From the very second I opened the packages I was impressed with both pizzas. The spinach pizza had spinach that was whole leaf, not chopped. The cheese looked like it was grated on with quality mozzarella. When I opened the four cheese I loved that I could actually tell that there was four different cheeses. On both pizzas the toppings where spread nicely and it looked like care was taken in putting the pizza together. It didn’t look like someone threw the ingredients on.

The instructions did tell you to put the pizza directly on the grates of the oven. At first I was a little nervous about the method, but it resulted in the most perfect crust. It was thin like the box indicated, but crunchy and delicious. Best part it was done in the EXACT amount of time they promised.

 

The Ristorante Pizza Spinaci ,also known as spinach pizza, had a lot of flavor. The great thing about it was how the spinach added flavor. Mr. Man , who tends to shy away from vegetables,  something we are working on in this house, he said this was his favorite part. The pizza also had the perfect amount of sauce and spinach. Although, if Mr. Man had his way, keep in mind he is a cheese man, he would have wanted more cheese. We will be having more Ristorante Pizza Spinaci in this house.

 

The cheese on the Ristorante Quattro Formaggi melted beautifully. Like I said above, I was thrilled with the fact that you could see the different cheeses. This pizza had the prefect amount of sauce and flavor. If you are looking for a cheesy pizza  this one is for you.

Now for the best news of all is Dr. Oetker is giving YOU a chance to try out their pizza. One lucky reader of Health, Happiness, Hamstrings has the chance to win the following prize pack:

• Cooler bag
• Pizza cutter
• Apron
• Dr. Oetker coupons.

All you have to do is go to their WEBSITE and tell me which pizza you would buy with the Dr. Oetker coupons. Comment and you will be entered in the giveaway.

Best of luck!!!!!!! Thank you Dr. Oetker for the wonderful opportunity.

 

 

***I was by Dr. Oetker and TheMotherhood to do this post*****

Flashback……..

This weekend Bean, Mr. Man and I had some FABULOUS family time. More on the day in another post, but I had to share these pictures:

 

2009

2011

Bean-

All I can say is WOW….you are growing. You are officially a toddler and are almost 2. This beach will always be a place where we have such wonderful memories. Can’t wait for the next trip to this wonderful place. Nice to know it is only an hour away. As you know……it is dear to Daddy’s heart. Boy did we hear LOTS and LOTS of stories. One’s he will tell us EVERY time we go.

Love always,

Mommy