Summer Adventures + Tasty Outshine Bars

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OutshineSnacks #CollectiveBias

The days I've spent paddling around the water this summer have to be some of my favorite days, owning a kayak has been a real joy. Although kayaking is a ton of fun, it's a lot of work, especially when we go out for hours and hours at a time.

I'm definitely not complaining. Being able to travel to "islands" and check out what uninhabited beaches look like is really, really cool. But I must say, this July heat is really, really hot, that's why after a long day out on that little boat of ours I love to treat myself to something sweet, cold, and full of delicious fruits & veggies: Outshine Bars!

Since these tasty treats come in so many different varieties, it's always a difficult choice deciding which one I'm going to treat myself with! I'm in love with the fact that Outshine only uses ingredients that taste as good as they make you feel, a refreshing treat from the inside out.

When I'm craving something creamy I grab the Outshine Simply Yogurt Bars in Strawberry, they offer the perfect texture and sweetness to please my sweet tooth and satisfy my creamy cravings! I'm in love with the texture and the strong strawberry flavor is so indulgent, I'm in love!

When I'm wanting something hydrating I grab the Outshine Coconut Water Bars, these bars pack a punch of coconut water and the taste is incredible! The little chunks of pineapple add the perfect amount of kick and make this Outshine Bar a favorite in my home!

Whenever I want something sweet and tangy I grab the Outshine Fruit Bars, they come in so many different fruit flavors and I'm totally in love with all of them.

When I'm needing an extra serving of veggies I opt for the Outshine Fruit and Veggie Bars, they offer a fruit & veggie infused kick of goodness without sacrificing taste!

No matter which delicious Outshine Bar I choose, I'm bound to have a smile on my face! What more could a girl ask for than a delicious snack bar and a day spent out on the ocean? Check out all the other delicious ways you can enjoy Outshine Bars here and learn more about how they give back to the community! Want to give Outshine Bars a try for yourself? You can grab a pack at Walmart today!

Since Outshine is all about feel-good snacking, they want everyone to enjoy delicious fruits & veggies. That's why they're helping provide 1 pound of produce to local food banks (and sharing cool savings) when you take their super fun snacking quiz! Do your part to help contribute and you'll receive $1 off coupon! Don't forget to take the snacking quiz now through July 31st here!

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

If you are anything like me, you love a good home cooked meal but sometimes cooking just sounds like no fun at all. Since life gets busy and most of us have pretty full agendas, spending hours in the kitchen (even though I work from home) just really isn't an option. I'm all about quick and convenient; but now that I've recently lost a bunch of weight, I'm also all about eating healthy and nutrient rich foods.

These easy to prepare Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wraps are insanely delicious with pops of spicy flavor and cool ranch mixed together inside of a romaine lettuce wrap. There really isn't anything better on a hot summer night than a healthy and super delicious meal like these wraps. Plus, all the prep work you really have to do is boiling a pot of water! That means if you can make ramen or macaroni, you are totally capable of making your friends (or family) this delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breast

Buffalo Sauce
Large Romain Lettuce Leafs
Tomato

Onion
Salt & Pepper
Lemon
Ranch Dressing (choose a dressing wisely)

Start this recipe by boiling a medium sized pot full of water. Right before the water begins to boil, place chicken breast into the water and allow to boil until it's done. While waiting for the water to boil, remove the super hard stems from the romaine and chop up enough of the onion and tomato for everyone.

Remove from water and shred in bowl with two forks (or using a beater in a mixing bowl).

Drizzle a small amount of lemon, season with salt and pepper lightly, and pour a decent amount of hot sauce.

Spoon about an ounce of chicken inside of the romaine lettuce and top with a nice amount of tomato and onion. Add a little bit of ranch to each wrap and dinner is served!

Enjoy!

Celebrate Independence Day with 4th of July Fruit Kebobs

Fourth of July weekend is officially here and we are excited to celebrate at our house. We broke out the BBQ and made some super fun 4th of July themed snacks today and I just have to share this super simple recipe with you so you can indulge in some of this deliciousness this weekend as well. The flavors of roasted strawberry, marshmallow, and blueberries combined together taste like a decadent dessert and leave a deliciously fruity and sugary after taste that embodies everything summertime. Plus, since these are so easy to make, kids can help with the prep work!

Ingredients you'll need to make these tasty kebobs:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Marshmallows
Skewers

To begin rinse the strawberries and blueberries and then pat them dry.

Next cut off the tops of the strawberries, making them easier to eat in skewer form.

Now add a strawberry, a marshmallow, and 2-3 blueberries and repeat so that each skewer has two levels of deliciousness.

Warm up the grill or a make a small fire pit and place the skewers above the flame for about 10-15 seconds a piece, rotating it so that it all gets a nice bit of heat.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for a second or two, then slide from the strawberry up for a nice fruity, toasted marshmallow dessert in every bite!

Enjoy!

This treat is sure to make your family smile on the fourth and if you don't feel like firing up the grill, these kebobs are just as tasty "raw".

I'd love to hear what your plans for the 4th include...? Will you be making any delicious recipes or setting off fireworks, I want to hear all about your adventures this weekend in the comments below!

Let's Talk About Emotions with Inside Out Cupcakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias

Stop for a moment and tell me, how are you feeling today? Are you full of joy? Feeling a little sadness? Possibly even a little red in the face from anger after a tough day? Maybe it's hard to translate how you are feeling at this very moment?

If you really think about it, we have some super complex emotions, so if you are having trouble I don't blame you. Some of us cry when we are happy, a lot of people smile a joyful grin when they are embarrassed, and some people even laugh when they are angry, translating those mixed signals into words is so very difficult at times.

Emotions are a difficult thing to discuss; when we are children we can't quite put our feelings into words and once we are older we are told to keep composure. While it's nice to keep your emotions at bay in some situations, here's some news for the adults holding it all in all the time and the kids learning to express themselves: all emotions are normal and it's healthy for us to express ourselves.

While I'm not an expert on the expression of emotions, I will be the first to admit I wear my heart on my sleeve. I am passionate and feel everything deeply so not sharing how I'm feeling is abnormal for me. 

After seeing Inside Out recently, I'm a huge fan of the movie and just have to share my joy! I love that the characters in the movie make relating our emotions to situations so incredibly easy. It's like a guide book for kids to learn to express themselves in an emotionally healthy way, while still having plenty of humor for adults to get a real chuckle.

In celebration of all the joy I'm feeling about Inside Out, I decided to make a rainbow of Inside Out cupcakes, sharing all of my emotions through baking! I made yellow cupcakes for Joy, blue cupcakes for Sadness, red cupcakes for Anger, purple cupcakes for Fear, and green cupcakes for Disgust! They all each had their own little twist but were made with the same delicious, cake batter recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

1/2 cup almond milk with a pinch of lemon juice added (or buttermilk)

Gel food coloring in yellow, blue, red, purple, and green

Frosting:

1 stick of butter
1 tbsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tbsp of almond milk

 *This recipe yields about 12 cupcakes, I made two batches so I could make plenty of each color.*

Directions-

You'll want to begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add eggs and beat with mixer for about 10 seconds.  Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 40 seconds, now add the vanilla and oil, beat for an additional 10 seconds or so.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about a fourth of the flour mixture.  Add about a fourth of the milk, then add another fourth of the flour and another fourth of the milk and so on.  Beat until just combined.

Pour batter into 5 bowls and add desired amount of food coloring. I added a pinch of coconut and lime to the disgust cupcakes, 1 tbsp of cocoa to the anger cupcakes, 1 tsp of lemon extract to the joy cupcakes, and left the fear and sadness cupcakes just plain ol' vanilla for those that like that type of thing. These additions are totally optional but add some fun flavor varities to the cupcakes.

Then pour into a muffin pan prepared with silicone liners or directly into a silicone baking pan.  Fill approximately 2/3 full.

Place in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. We ate some Inside Out fruit snacks while we waited for our cupcakes... Remove all the cupcakes from the oven once you can stick a toothpick (or fork) into the center and it comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a minute or two, then remove cupcakes from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

While your cupcakes are cooling, you can start on your frosting prep! Combine the butter, vanilla, confectioners sugar, and almond milk in a large mixing bowl and mix on high for about a minute or until the frosting is smooth in consistency. Separate the frosting into five bowls again and add desired amount of food coloring and flavors, if you desire.

Once your cupcakes are completely cooled, cut each one in half and add a thick spoonful of frosting to each "top" of the cupcake and place the bottom on top. You want the inside of your cupcake to be the outside, hence their name "Inside Out" cupcakes! 

Add Sprinkles, if you wish and these little emotional cupcakes are ready to serve!

Enjoy!

These Inside Out Cupcakes are like little cupcake sandwiches and are absolutely delicious. The perfect colorful addition to a conversation about emotions or a very happy celebration of any sort! 

Now that I've shared my delicious (and emotional) Inside Out cupcake recipe, I'd love to hear which cupcake you think best represents how you feel on a daily basis...? I'd also love to hear if you've seen Inside Out or if you plan to see this adorable movie? If you want to celebrate seeing the movie in style with all the fun emotions, you can find all kinds of cute plush animals, toys, and more at Walmart!

Fourth of July Firecracker Popcorn

Fourth of July is such a fun holiday, full of so much happiness and all kinds of colorful fireworks in celebration of our country... 'Merica! I'm so excited to watch all of the fireworks shows around town and make some memories this year!

I'm also really excited because I've been getting creative in the kitchen in celebration of the holiday and I have some awesome recipes to share. Today I'm sharing the most simple recipe and it's so incredibly delicious, you should make a batch right this second.

This salty and sugar coated treat is the perfect way to treat yourself while watching the fireworks and you can throw it together right before they start.

All you'll need to make this simple recipe:
popcorn
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
red and blue sugar
(or just normal cane sugar lightly coated in food coloring)

Start by making the popcorn in the microwave, remove and place in a bowl. You'll want to add the unsalted butter and sprinkle a decent amount of both red and blue sugar all over the popcorn and toss!

I added in some "firecrackers" to add some extra pizazz to my Firecracker Popcorn! I think this simple dish will make the perfect appetizer and addition to my 4th of July table spread. I hope you all have a very happy and safe Independence Day and that you enjoy your Firecracker Popcorn!

Simple Spicy Shrimp Cabbage Salad: Healthy, Low Calorie, and Delicious!

I've been watching what I'm eating lately and trying to include a LOT more veggies, I'll explain that more in detail later this month... but for now I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes! It's easy to whip up in minutes and the flavors combine together perfectly to make your mouth (and eyes) water with a kick of spice and the tartness of lemon!

I only had my cell phone handy when I made this recipe so my pictures aren't perfect, being in between homes can be hard a girl (we're moving, in case you don't follow me instagram)... but I still had to share this delicious and easy recipe!

Ingredients:
1 lemon wedge
3.5 oz shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup tomato
1/2 cup cabbage
a pinch of cilantro
Pinch of Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning (or the combination of spicy flavors in your cabinet)
Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Simply saute the shrimp with some lemon juice and cilantro for about 9 minutes, or until fully cooked. Add in a pinch of Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy and sautee for a few seconds longer. Remove from heat.

Place a layer of cabbage into a bowl, followed by a layer of onions, and add a layer of tomatoes. Now add your spicy shrimp on top of the salad you've created... and top with more onions and tomatoes as well as some Himalayan salt and a dash more lemon juice.

Bon Appétit!

Get #CookingwithGuyFieri: Tex-Mex Scramble AND Quesadilla Pizza Recipe

I participated in a Influencer Activation for Guy Fieri Sausage. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I'm pretty much the definition of a foodie, I love good food (like most people) and I'm always willing to try something new. I love watching food related shows and I often crave what I watch afterward, one show that always gets me is Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. He's always discussing some off-the-wall food combination or trying something so drool-worthy I almost decide to road trip across country to eat, daily. I’m a bit of a fan, I suppose you could say.

So when I heard Guy Fieri, one of my foodie idols, came out with a new line of sausages I knew that I needed to try them ASAP. I'm all about a good meat and knowing that he loves all food just as much I do, I knew he wouldn't disappoint me.

I decided to include the Guy Fieri Seasoned Fajita Chicken Sausages and the Mozzarella and Parmesan Pork Sausages in two of my favorite dishes to throw together in a hurry and these meals definitely are a ticket straight to "flavortown"! I love that they're made with fresh ingredients, natural hickory smoked, and available at Walmart!

I made the Guy Fieri Fajita Chicken Sausages in a rice, pepper, and sausage scramble and the dish is the bomb. I like to refer to it as a Tex-Mex Scramble but I'm not really sure what to call it other than delicious! With roasted red and green bell peppers, garlic, sauteed onions, and natural pork casing making the sausage have just the right flavors to season my sauteed onions and peppers, I literally am craving this again and I just made it.

Quick and Easy Tex Mex Scramble Recipe

Ingredients:

White and Jasmine Rice Blend

Guy Fieri Fajita Chicken Sausage

Diced Onions

Diced Peppers

To prepare this recipe, simply make rice as instructed and slice the chicken sausage, place in a large sauce pan, and saute with diced peppers and onions.Once the peppers and onions start to absorb some of the heat, they'll soften making the perfect compliment to this scramble.

Remove from heat once the mixture is prepped to your liking, I tend to like my peppers super soft so I leave my pan on for a bit while I prepare a salad to eat on the side!

Serving this dish up is simple! Place the rice on plate and add the delicious sausage, onion, and pepper scramble over the top of a bed of rice. I also like to add a little bit of spicy mayo to mine, just because I'm a saucy foodie and the kick to the mayo adds a nice twist to the recipe!

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The other dish I made is one of the easiest dishes you can make, ever! Using the Guy Fieri Mozzarella and Parmesan Pork Sausage as a star ingredient I made little stuffed pizza quesadillas - the perfect treat for a busy, chaotic night when you still want something tasty! I love making these little pizzas whenever I get the chance, but with this double cheese and italian sausage added in as the main ingredient, it really takes these quesadilla pizzas to another level!

Quick and Easy Quesadilla Pizzas

Ingredients:

2 Tortillas

Pizza Sauce

Guy Fieri Mozzarella and Parmesan Pork Sausage

Pizza Toppings of all kinds

Cheese

To make this dish, just grab all of your favorite pizza ingredients and a counter top grill or even just a pan!

I like to break up my sausage and saute it in a pan so that it has a tastier texture inside the pizza, but this is totally optional since the Guy Fieri sausages are pre-cooked and delicious as they are!

You'll want to place one tortilla on the grill (making your bottom crust), coat the tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce, and add toppings until your heart is content, I loaded the works with peppers, spinach, and this delicious pork sausage on mine! Next you'll add your other tortilla over the top and close your counter top grill and allow it to brown on both sides.

That's it, your pizza is ready to serve! Just slice into fours with a pizza cutter and get ready to see smiles all around the dinner table!

Now that I've shared two of my favorite ways to get #CookingwithGuyFieri, I'd love to know how you plan to use this new, delicious sausage as an ingredient in your recipes?

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