Travel the world with "Try The World": Become a Culinary Traveler

 This post is sponsored by Try The World & Cooperatize, regardless all opinions are my own.

I've already shared my passion for traveling in the past, while I've had some crazy adventures and some amazing vacations; one thing every single one of my favorite vacations has in common is fantastic food. I have loved getting to try food from different countries, flavors that we would never combine in America are embraced around the world and my palette embraces all of these flavors as well. I will try any food once, if I like it I'll probably eat it again... I suppose you could call me a culinary traveler... heh. I like that title, I think I'll officially adopt it.

As a culinary traveler, I'm always interested in trying out new foods and when I heard about the "Try The World" Subscription Box, I just had to learn more. At "Try the World" they have the same philosophy I have towards culinary travel, they "believe that life is too short to not try everything that's out in the world. So [they] created the first subscription program to discover the best gourmet food and cultural finds from across the globe, delivered to your door." I think we can all agree, it's good to explore, learn, and grow... this box allows you to do all of these things in the comfort of your own home.

I love receiving subscription boxes, it's like Christmas morning when I open the box and delve in. I love discovering what was sent and reading the labels on products... I'm a total nerd like that. This subscription box service is unlike any other though, they are offering products from around the world that you may not be able to find on your own, products that are rare - if not impossible to find in The US; there's a little bit of magic in every box because of this.


The last few boxes have been from Istanbul, Tokyo, and Rome. The collections are full of authentic, traditional ingredients allowing you to remake recipes and taste foods as if you are in these countries. If you can't get away right now but want to experience some exquisite cuisine, then you should join Try The World today.

Are you ready to travel the world with "Try The World" and become a Culinary Traveler?

Once you sign up, you'll begin receiving a gourmet box from a new country every 2 months (at the end of the month in which you enroll), beginning this month with a box from Paris! Soon they'll begin offering "surprise boxes", can you say hello to happiness arriving at your doorstep?

The best part of the boxes is that all of the products are sourced from traditional and local producers that love what they make and their passion really shows in the quality of the foods! The local foodies gather all of the most delicious and authentic foods from all over the world and bring these boxes together to provide you with food that tastes great.

This box is officially on my Holiday Gift Guide, as well as my wish list! This is one product that I recommend giving as a gift to family members, co-workers, or just that person that has everything. If you want to subscribe to Try The World or learn more about their subscription services, you can find more information here.

 Oh and did I mention 1 in every 100 subscribers now have the opportunity to win a trip to Paris! How cool is that?

Creamy Vanilla Coffee Recipe

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I've been jazzing up my coffee lately. I've made coffees with caramel syrups infused in, I've made coffee with homemade cookies and cream creamer, I've even made some frozen coffees that could make your mouth water but today I'm going to share the secret to the gorgeous fluff I topped several of the coffees with... I made this mysterious and gorgeous fluff using my Milk Frother... That's right, I'm officially a "barista" at home with this little baby and can make the creamiest and most luscious coffee! Speaking of which, you need to try this Creamy Vanilla Coffee Recipe today!

Creamy Vanilla Coffee     INGREDIENTS: 1 tbsp Tate & Lyle Vanilla Syrup 1 packet all natural sweetener 1/3 cup milk 3/4 cup coffee Sprinkles Begin by frothing milk according to directions, which is super easy - you put milk in and press a button! Add frothed milk into cup, then add sweetener, syrup and stir lightly. Mix in coffee and top with either more frothed milk or add whipped cream! It's that easy to get a coffee house quality cup of joe at home!

You can make your own fluffy creamer with a milk frother! This little kitchen gadget is on my holiday gift guide this year for the foodie in your family or friend circle. Be sure to grab one of these for yourself as well, everyone deserves a Creamy Vanilla Coffee!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pumpkin Spice Frappé Coffee & Crafting Date with a DIY Office Calendar Tutorial

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. #CollectiveBias #Feast4all

I told you about my office project earlier this week and how much fun hubby and I are having putting it together. It's been a blast gathering materials and trying to design them in a way that really fits our style and our tiny town home, you can check out how the office turned out here. We love taking on creative projects so I decided I'd make one of our weekend morning's together a little more fun by putting together a coffee and crafting date. I really wanted to set the "coffee house" vibe at home so I decided to take a trip to Walmart and bought the supplies we needed to make pumpkin spice coffee (frappés to be exact)!

I was feeling especially fancy and decided to share a video of our adventure to Walmart too:

A video posted by Lauren Paints (@sunkissed_sweetheart) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:12am PST

After I got everything I needed, we headed home and set up our craft station, I turned Pandora to an acoustic station, and poured us the most delicious Pumpkin Spice Frappé Coffee thanks to NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamer in Pumpkin Spice and NESCAFÉ® Tasters Choice® House Blend, you can find my recipe below. We topped these off with a good dose of whip, just the same as they would at a coffee shop and got to work.

Interested in making a Pumpkin Spice Latte or Frappé at home?
Enjoy a flavorful moment of your own.

Pumpkin Spice Frappé Coffee Recipe  Ingredients:  NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamer in Pumpkin Spice  NESCAFÉ® Tasters Choice® House Blend  Ice Cubes  Water  Sugar or Sugar substitute (to taste)  You can make a super yummy frappé at home with just a few simple items and your blender!  Begin by adding the correct amount of Tasters Choice coffee and water (as instructed on package)   and about 3-4 ice cubes into your blender. Blend until it begins to foam a bit. Pour into a glass and sugar and NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamer in Pumpkin Spice to taste, garnish with whipped cream! I meant to add a dash of pumpkin spice seasoning over the whip as well but the coffee were so good, I just forgot and started sipping! Want to make a PSL instead? Just switch the coffee out for espresso!

Now that we have your caffeine fix satisfied, let's get to the crafty fun from our coffee date. I absolutely love how my calendar turned out and since it's such an easy project, I hope that some of you will decide to add one of these beauties to your home.

The best part about these calendars is that you can customize them completely. If you only like shades of blue and green, then make it only those colors! If you are trying to make a calendar to help your kids learn the days of the week, this would be a fun and playful way to get them involved in calendar building. Do you need a super girly chore chart for your little princess, make one! There are so many other uses for these boards - from art work to grocery lists, you can write anything on them!

DIY Calendar/Organization Board  For this project, you will need:  A giant hole punch  (scrapbooking supplies aisle)  Magazines (paint swatches work as well)  A large frame with the glass  Scrapbooking Photo Stickers  You may also need*:  White poster board  Scissors (*I was lucky and frame happened to have the stock photo still, I just flipped it over and used the white side as my background for my calendar... if you don't have that option, I suggest using poster board trimmed to the size of your frame instead!) This project is all about getting creative. If you are using magazines, you'll need to find photos that have patterns you love or spaces of just color without words. If you are using paint swatches, just begin hole punching the colors you want to use. Note that you'll need 35 circles total if you are making a calendar, if you want to make a "waterfall" organization board as shown in my office picture - just get to hole punching and count later! I should also mention the downside of using magazines is that they don't cut as easily with the hole punch as the paint swatches do. With that said, I've found that if I hole punch the magazine clipping with one of the stock paper "mail this in to subscribe" post cards as well, it makes the process much easier. You can see the technique I use showcased below. After getting all your dots cut out, arrange them on your background and use small scrapbooking mounting stickers to hold the dots in place. It's easier to line them up if you use something like a ruler or a piece of paper to help make sure your lines are even. You can arrange your dots however your heart desires, for my calendar I did a semi-ombre effect with my dots and love how it turned out... but then I made my "waterfall" organization board and I love it even more. The possibilities are endless with this project! After getting it all organized, place it all together in frame behind the glass, hang your frame, & get to writing!

We had a blast on our "coffee date", we even laughed our butts off while trying to hang the picture because these stinkin' frames would NOT stay on the wall. We ended up buying some sticky wall hangers to help keep them up but the whole ordeal made for a really good belly laugh... It actually all reminded me of when I first met my husband: The belly laughs, crafting, and coffee dates just like when we were kids and first started dating. The day was perfect and I'm so thankful to have a spouse like mine. Want to have a coffee and crafting date of your own? Use my recipe and tutorial and surprise your sweetie with a fun date today!

Epic Cajun Potato Casserole with Kraft Triple Cheddar Cheese & Andouille Sausage + 6 Tips to Help You Throw the Perfect Friendsgiving Party

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.   This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #TasteTheSeason

I'm so excited Thanksgiving is around the corner and Fall weather has hit Florida with temperatures just cool enough for jeans and a hoodie, it's been beautiful here. While I'm enjoying the weather, I'm also trying out new recipes so that I have a great Turkey Day line up!

I was at Wal-Mart the other day picking up tons of ingredients for this recipe (I'm stocking up on the Kraft Triple Cheddar Shredded Cheese as pictured above) & I also bought stuff to try some amazing new recipes from the Cooking Up Good website. If you want to try out new recipes as well or if you would like the opportunity to win something awesome, I highly suggest you check it out.

While I love trying brand new recipes I'm blessed enough to have many amazing cooks in my family and recipes that are passed down through generations. Among the best cooks in my family are my mother-in-law and my grandmother; they both create works of art in the kitchen that really wow you with flavors.

Since hubs and I are in Florida without most of our family on Turkey Day this year, including our favorite family cooks, I'm starting a new tradition. I want to bake my Grandma's famous dishes while mixing in some tricks my hubby loves from my mother-in-law's cooking while throwing in my own twists - a fusion of styles, if you will. After this re-make of my family's favorite casserole this week I'm super excited to see what other creative adaptions I can come up with!

This Epic Cajun Potato Casserole with Kraft Triple Cheddar Cheese & Andouille Sausage is an amazing fusion of my mother-in-law's Cajun cooking and my grandmother's traditional cooking with little adaptations that make this recipe amazing. I may be flattering myself a bit but this cheesy, gooey delicious casserole is unforgettably good and according to hubby it's a recipe that we'll have to repeat, again and again.

One of the awesome aspects of this casserole is that it can be a stand alone dish all year long or served as a coveted side only on holidays; but be warned, this recipe will probably end up in your "regular" weekly dishes and you may be asked by your co-workers or friends to bring this to every single upcoming event. It's definitely a recipe everyone will be thankful for... With all of that said, I'll get to the good stuff, here's the recipe so you can make this dish for your family and friends:

Epic Cajun Potato Casserole with Kraft Triple Cheddar Cheese & Andouille Sausage  Casserole:  1 bag of hash browns  15 oz cream of chicken soup  1 white onion, diced small  12 oz sour cream  1 bag of Kraft Shredded Triple Cheddar  1 large link of andouille sausage  Dash of Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Oregano {or a cajun spice blend}  Salt & Pepper to taste  Casserole Topping:  1 1/2 cups corn flakes  1 stick of butter Pre-heat oven to 350°. Peel the casing off of the andouille sausage and sauté until thoroughly cooked, remove from heat and replace with the diced onions, sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes allowing them to soften a bit. Next you'll combine the onions, sausage, hash browns, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and Kraft Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese in a large mixing bowl, or if you are into having less dishes to do you can mix them together in your baking dish (as pictured). Stir in a dash of cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano, salt, & pepper to add some kick to your dish. Now spread evenly across a 9x13 baking dish. Place in oven & bake for 30 minutes. When there are only a few minutes left for the dish to bake go ahead and soften a stick of butter. Remove the dish from the oven and spread a layer of corn flakes across the top of the casserole and drizzle butter over the top of cereal, then bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven & serve.

Give your friends and family a little something extra to be thankful for this year, make this dish during your "Friendsgiving" or Thanksgiving! Since it's time to party with friends and family, here's 6 tips to help you throw the perfect Friendsgiving party!

 6 Tips to Help You Throw the Perfect Friendsgiving Party

1. We're going to start with decor! I think a printable is the easiest and most economical way to decorate for the season; printables are easy to switch based on your mood, holiday, season,etc. I love that printables can offer so much color and festiveness in any room! You can find printables online nearly every where, just like this free printable I made for you below!

Click here or on the printable below to and right click to save!

{Just a reminder,  you are welcome to use my printables anywhere - just please give credit wherever appropriate! :) }

2. Serve Delicious Refreshments! Make sure you keep your guests entertained and their glass full while they're visiting. I served my guests some delicious raspberry cocktails and garnished with a fresh raspberry - so tasty and festive in these richly colored mason jars!



3. Get Competitive! Playing games with family and friends on a holiday is a must! I love busting out the cards or scrabble, both games are so much fun and almost everyone can play! Some of my favorite family memories include laughing while playing games.


4. Table Decor is FUN! I'm not usually a big "centerpiece" person (is there such a thing...?), but this year I decided to jazz up our table with some pretty items to make it feel festive. With fresh beautiful flowers from the florist (and my husband) and a few mini-pumpkins - my tablescape is perfect for Fall. Pick up a small bouquet and add it to your table or create something yourself. Not only does it make your table more beautiful, it could provide for some interesting conversation as well!



5. Make Recipes that are easy! No one needs to know if you take short cuts to get more accomplished in less time. Don't take credit for the frozen pie (that wouldn't be honest)... but you can add a few extra items to the top of the pie to make it more tasty. Get creative, make ahead, and relax on the day of your "friendsgiving" event.

6. Think outside the box - You don't have to make dishes that are expected for Thanksgiving either, technically you don't even have to cook! A great alternative would be to ask your guests to bring their favorite dish from their childhood and have a pot luck dinner... Can you imagine how tasty this could be? I would bring my Epic Cajun Potato Casserole with Kraft Triple Cheddar Cheese & Andouille Sausage!

I'd love to know, what party tips do you have to offer? What's your favorite holiday party moment?

     

Cellucor Sports Nutrition: My Weight Loss Stack Review + Coupon

 I was provided with samples of Cellucor to facilitate this review; With that said, I'm super excited about the products and all opinions are my own, I only share what I feel will truly benefit my readers.

So as you all already know, I'm on a journey to get fit this year... While I'm not a personal trainer, I do know that providing your body with the right amount of nutrients while working out is super important. It's not only part of weight loss - it's part of building muscle and just getting healthier in general! So when I had the opportunity to work with Cellucor, a company dedicated to the belief that "results matter", I was beyond excited.

I've only been using Cellucor products for a few weeks but I can already feel a huge difference so I wanted to share my opinion on the products they sent over. I was gifted a few different types of Whey Protein, an Alpha Amino Sports Drink Powder, and Super HD which is a metabolism boosting drink as well as two samples of C4 Extreme, their pre-workout... The best part of being spoiled by Cellucor is that it feels like I'm "cheating" because the drinks are delicious but I'm actually doing amazing things for my body.

I used to think protein powders were for body builders or people trying to gain weight. I finally did some research after seeing a friend use Cellucor products and I learned I was so wrong. Now that I've been spoiled with two bags of Whey Protein from Cellucor in Peanut Butter Marshmallow and Mint Chocolate Chip I'm able to get plenty of protein in my diet and enjoy every last sip of it... especially after learning from Shape magazine and Paul Arciero, Ed.D., the director of the Human Nutrition and Metabolism Lab at Skidmore College, that “Whey is perhaps the most effective dietary strategy to aid weight loss because it is the most thermogenic food source you can eat. This means it burns the most calories after you eat it." With that said, I feel way more inclined to drink my protein every single day! Hello Peanut Butter Marshmallow yummy-ness, I can't believe you actually help me burn fat... I think I love you. 

 

The Alpha Amino Sports Drink is super delicious and is packed with heavy hitting nutrients that help fuel endurance, hydration, and recovery. This super healthy concoction is made with a Chia Seed Extract that contains eight essential amino acids, coupled with Raw Coconut Concentrate's - this means each and every sip is full of nutrients your body needs! If you like to drink other sports drinks but don't like the amount of sugar they have or you simply want to try something new, this Alpha Amino blend is made for everyone so you should give it a try! Whether you are out playing volleyball, hitting weights in the gym, or just running errands Alpha Amino will keep you hydrated while keeping you healthy and is the perfect addition to anyone's daily routine.

I've saved the best for last though, Super HD Powder in Peach Mango is my favorite product they sent over. It's an epic weight-loss product that I have to shout from the roof tops about... I actually have a heart murmur so I have to be careful with products that claim to boost metabolism, simply because most of them just make your heart rate increase. Luckily, this awesome fat burning cocktail is intense yet doesn't offer that horrible side effect that others on the market leave me with. The combination of ingredients not only taste incredible, this drink is aimed at reducing fat storage and promoting better appetite control - the perfect addition to "my stack". I also notice that my ability to concentrate on tasks increases when I drink the recommended serving in the morning, a great substitute for my coffee when I'm just not feeling it.

Just a little shoutout to the C4 Pre-Workout in Icy Blue Razz, it's SO yummy and if you need something to get you ready for the gym on your "lazy" days, I highly recommend taking a scoop of this on the way. I work out harder and longer every single time I take it!

So now that you know all about how I've started using Cellucor products to transform my body, you'll be excited to know you can now receive 25% off your own Cellucor stack with the code CELLUCORFIT! Which product will you choose to transform your life and body?