My Review of Euro-Pro Ninja Master Prep

Originally submitted at As Seen On TV

Rule The Kitchen with the Euro-Pro Ninja Master Prep, the revolutionary food and drink maker with the power of a Ninja. The Ninja Master Prep combines the best features of a blender, food processor and stick blender in one appliance. Turn ice into smooth, creamy drinks and deserts in seconds. Make ...

Euro-Pro Ninja Master Prep

Awful - Magic Bullet is SO much better!

By StephyG from Las Vegas, NV on 1/24/2012

 

1out of 5

Describe Yourself: Power User

Primary use: Personal

Was this a gift?: No

This thing is so awful, at least compared to my Magic Bullet!

I use my MB at LEAST twice a day for protein shakes and smoothies, which both involve a lot of pulverizing of frozen food. I used this when I flew out to NY for my birthday, and instead of LOVING my protein shake (which I still look forward to after drinking one every day for two years) I HATED them!

There were still ice chunks at the bottom because the blade is too far away to ensure it's all crushed. I had to run it about three times as long as I do my Bullet to get that half-crushed ice as well. And for something as small as a 16 oz protein shake, the clean up that is necessary is INSANE!

Go get a Magic Bullet. Or even a generic personal blender from WMart, KMart, etc. This thing is disappointing and a total waste.

(legalese)

Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #2 - Vegetable Chili

Chili is one of my favourite foods for several reasons - it's yummy, it's different with every bowl and every bite, it's filling, and if you do it right...it's extremely healthy. And did I mention cheap? This meal, much like my Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Chunky Garden Vegetable Sauce, can be made in huge portions and then dosed into individual servings.

As opposed to the chili that you can find in the canned bean aisle of your grocery store, this recipe for chili cuts down the calories, fat, salt and sugar while increasing your protein, vitamin, fiber, and mineral intake, and all for a much, much lower cost than filling your cart with cans of the greasy factory made stuff.

Here are the ingredients and cost analysis per 14 serving batch:

(Please don't be afraid...I made a double batch.)

1 lb 96/4 ground beef ($3.15) (ground turkey also works extremely well!)

2 tbsp garlic, minced ($.15)

1 medium onion, diced (.25)

1 medium green pepper, chopped ($.50)

1 medium red pepper, chopped ($.75)

1 medium yellow squash, chopped ($.50)

1 medium green zucchini, chopped ($.50)

1 14.5 oz can yellow corn, drained ($1.25)

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes ($1.00)

1 14.5 oz can fire roasted canned tomatoes ($.50)

2 14.5 oz cans dark red beans, drained and rinsed ($.57)

2 14.5 oz cans light red beans, drained and rinsed ($.57)

14.5 oz can black beans ($.57)

1 packet chili seasoning ($.64)

1 tbsp red chili flakes ($.05)

1 tbsp ground cumin ($.25)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($.05)

Combine 1 tbsp minced garlic and half of your onion in a large pot on medium heat until they sweat. Add ground beef (or turkey) and raise heat to medium high heat until beef starts to brown. Add chili packet and mix until combined.

Add zucchini, squash and peppers, stir and cook until they sweat.

(Don't ask me why, but I love how a vegetable strata looks!)

Finally, add undrained tomatoes, drained beans and drained corn. If you are looking for a spicy chili, this is the best time to add any crushed chili flakes (try a teaspoon to start), cayenne pepper, red hot, or whatever you like to add to yours.

Stir everything together, allow it to come to a boil for 10 minutes, and then let simmer for at least a half hour. Make sure to stir frequently, as this is such a dense mixture that the bottom may be black by the time the top starts to get warm. The batch may seem really large, but after the vegetables cook, the volume will decrease by at least a quarter.

This entire batch cost $11.25, and made 14 one cup servings per batch. Each serving only cost $.80, has 240 calories, only 3 grams of fat, 19 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber, as opposed to store bought chili, which is 260 calories, but 7 grams of fat, 17 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber - for $2.30 a can (compared to Hormel Chili).

(What do YOU think?)

Have a potluck coming up? Need an appetizer? Something to munch on while at the pool? Then stir in some low fat sour cream, a little cheddar cheese, and break out a bag of corn chips...it makes a GREAT dip!

Enjoy!

100 Calorie Apple Pie

I love this recipe for quite a few reasons...it's a great 100 calorie snack, satisfies a common comfort food craving, it's pretty high in fiber for a dessert (4.5 grams with Grape Nuts, 3.5 without), and it's a great way to get rid of apples that are getting to the end of their life span (and if you're anything like me, apples that aren't crunchy will NOT be eaten.)

Depending on the season (and when are apples really THAT expensive anyway), this recipe is very cheap for an entire week of snacks. If you average the cost of all of these ingredients at $5.00 (which is a rather high estimate considering the cost of your spices are negligible, and you don't need to buy a specific kind of apple so those "value bags" your local market sells are almost always the way to go), you're still spending less than $.75 a serving.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs apples (about eight small, any kind)

4 tsp Truvia

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/2 cup Grape Nuts cereal (optional, not HCG-friendly)

Directions

Peel and dice apples into medium sized chunks. It should yield about 28-32 oz of usable apple.

Toss with Truvia, cinnamon, ground cloves and allspice. Ground nutmeg also works nicely, especially with the cloves, as it gives the mix a nice autumn feel.

Sweat apples in a large skillet set on medium/medium high heat for ten minutes. Reduce to medium/medium low for five more minutes, stirring mix frequently.

(Optional) In one cup plastic storage containers, cover bottom with 1 tbsp Grape Nuts cereal.

When apples are a soft, spongy consistency, remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup to each storage container.

Store in the refrigerator; these are great hot or cold. To warm up, microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Serving Size: 3/4 cup apples with 2 tbsp Grape Nuts

Number of Servings: 7

McDoubled on fat, calories and cash!

There is a misconception among the masses that eating unhealthy food is actually cheaper than making healthy food, especially in the fast food industry. This drives me NUTS. The media has trained us to believe that cheap eating can only be done by eating unhealthy. The truth is, we're addicted to convenience.

I'll give you an example...a McDonald's double cheeseburger vs. a healthy homemade cheeseburger.

A double cheeseburger from McDonald's is actually now a McDouble, as it has one less piece of cheese than a regular double cheeseburger. It costs a buck, and just a normal, right-off-the-menu McDouble contains 460 calories (edit - as of 1/19/12 it's listed as 390 calories, thank you to Anonymous who corrected this fact for me, and I'm updating the other information as well!!), 19 grams of fat, 29 carbs and 22 grams of protein. Each McDouble consists of 3.2 oz of meat (which after a lot of Internet searching AND calling McDonald's customer service number, I couldn't find out the fat to muscle ratio of the beef), 1 slice of cheese, 1 tsp ketchup, .5 tsp mustard, 2 pickle slices, and some weird re-hydrated onions, in between two buns. Let's say each family member eats two McDoubles...that's $8, and we'll throw in another 6% for tax (US average via 2009 statistics), so $8.48 altogether. Not bad for 720 calories,58 carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 38 grams of fat, and 44 grams of protein.

Now let's look in my freezer. I have a good amount of 96/4 US beef in there that I scored at $2.64/pound, so essentially, I could make 8 double cheeseburgers for $4.22 (at less than $.17 an ounce, or $1.06 a person). Going to my local grocery store (and living in Las Vegas means food is slightly more expensive than other areas of the country), I was able to find 8 whole wheat buns for $1.16 ($.29 a person), a package of 16 slices of deli cheese for $1.13 ($.14 a person), a 16 oz bottle of ketchup for $1.79 ($.11 a person), a 32 oz jar of pickles for $1.88 ($.23 cents a person), a 9 oz bottle of mustard for $.76 ($.01 a person) and an onion for $.35 ($.04 a person). There is no tax on this since it's all grocery food, so adding everything up my total comes out to $7.52, or $.96 CHEAPER than the McDouble.

But what about nutrition? Is saving $.96 a meal really worth it? Well, each person will consume 643 calories, 68 carbs, 7 grams of fiber, 19 grams of fat and 55 grams of protein. This is a deficit of 137 calories for each person in one meal. So imagine if people could save $.96 and 137 calories per person per meal? This would result in more than $1,051 a year saved, and almost 43 pounds per person a year!

And I know MY burgers taste a heck of a lot better than Mickey D's!

Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #3 - My 99 Calorie Omelet

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and I was about to buy a carton of Egg Beaters, you know, the already premixed egg whites in the carton. And after sighing at the price of $5.64 for a quart, I decided to see about making my own. And apparently, it's really easy...and cheap!

What you need:

18 large eggs ($1.56)
3/4 Dry Nonfat Milk (I already had some, but it's only about $2.50 for a small box...which will last quite a while. I'd say this cost about $.30 cents)
4 tsp vegetable oil (which I already had, but this costs about $.02)
Yellow Food Colouring (which I had, but was the equivalent of $.05)
What you do:

Separate the eggs from the yolk. You can do this a few different ways, by shuffling the yolk back and forth between the broken halves of the shell (which I think is the hardest, myself), by breaking the egg into a mesh sieve, (which is easier but not always foolproof) or break the egg into the palm of my hand and let the white slip through your fingers while you hold on to the yolk. You can also buy things like egg separators and such, but I prefer using my hands, myself (and you get to squish egg yolks into the sink, too!) After you have your 18 egg whites, pour in your oil and dry milk, colouring and blend all the ingredients together (I use my stick blender for this). Let the foam settle for a few minutes and viola...instant Egg Beaters.

Now as for the food colouring, yes, it's purely optional. I prefer it, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. I like my eggs to be yellow in the morning, and won't enjoy them nearly as much if they're white.

Each batch makes 12 1/4 cup servings, and cost a total of $1.93. Each serving has 50 calories, 8.5 grams of protein, 2 carbs, and 1.5 grams fat. Now, I use 1/2 cup every morning, so I get 6 servings altogether, which costs $.32, as opposed to a dollar.

So now that you have this batch of runny yellow goop, what can you do with it? Well, I divide mine in small 1/2 cup batches in small plasticware. The best part is you can prepare all your morning omelets at one time for the week and make all sorts of different kinds or all the same. This week, I made 6 of the same, each had a tablespoon each of frozen chopped spinach, chopped onions, canned mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in each (which was 99 calories!) Then I just pop on the top, shake them up, and stick them in the fridge. The entire process took took MAYBE a half hour, but now I have no excuse in the morning to skip breakfast (or even worse, go visit the yellow arches on my way to work) because all I have to do now is break out a frying pan.

A quick note on cooking...when you put them in the pan they're going to look watery...real watery. This is okay! They cook up just as well...but they DO cook up quickly, so beware...don't leave the stove for more than a minute or you'll come back with browned eggs.

So enjoy your newfound gift of variety in the morning. Go on, spice it up, veg it up, cool it down...just make sure it's healthy (and cheap)!

The Great Vegetable Hunt

Feed a kid a lump of green, heavy, stringy spinach and you're likely to get a look of disgust. Feed a kid spinach hidden in a dip, a pastry, a sauce or an omelet, and you'll most likely get requests for more. This same argument goes with a myriad of other vegetables...and not just for your kid, but for your husband, your wife, your neighbour, or even you!

Like I've said in my previous posts, I'm a huge fan of vegetables...especially spinach. I love it because it's dense, it tastes good, it's packed full of nutrients, vitamins and fiber and it's easy to add to a variety of dishes...making it easy to hide. Oh...and it's CHEAP! You know those frozen boxes of spinach? Those, my friends, can be as cheap as 79 cents! 79 cents for a pound of already cooked, cut, or even chopped, spinach that will make YOUR life easier and healthier!

So what exactly can you do with this leafy green? Well, I thought I would give you a few of my favourite recipes and a couple ideas. So sit down, grab your fork an knife, and try not to tuck the table cloth into your pants this time, okay?

A few things you can effectively hide spinach in (or at least make it look more palatable):

Spaghetti Sauce
Soup
Eggs
Meatballs (or meatloaf)
Lasagna
Pizza
Alfredo

Just use chopped spinach for these things...it's small, so even if it's noticed, it's not stringy (thus scary!) After your frozen spinach thaws, make sure to wring it all out, squeeze out ALL the water! I love this stuff because it's so cheap and versatile, but it involves no preparation besides this!

Spinach as a whole leaf is also a great substitute for lettuce. Lettuce, for the most part, is a nutritionally empty food, especially the light versions like iceberg. But spinach, as baby spinach or whole leaf spinach, has more nutrients, fiber and vitamins than lettuce, and is pretty unnoticeable, too. If you are using whole leaf spinach, make sure to cut off the long stems, or your trick will be found out!

Try using the whole uncooked leaves in:

Salads
Hamburgers
Wraps
Sandwiches
A bed for food like tuna salad, egg salad, etc.

When it comes to washing the leaves, they can be riddled with sand or dirt. The best way to rinse them is to fill your sink with water, put the leaves in, and swish around. The leaves will float, and the dirt/sand/debris will sink to the bottom. Trust me on this one, I once had chicken and dirt and fully learned my lesson afterward. :-)

A pound of fresh spinach yields 96 calories, 352 mg of sodium, sixteen, yes, sixteen grams of fiber, and another whopping 16 grams of protein. It's also rich in Vitamin A, providing 53% of your daily value.

So try something new, or at least trick the kids into eating healthy. Spinach is easy to hide, tastes really yummy, and is healthy, but cheap!

Vitamins are important, too!

I work for a vitamin company, and I like it. I like it a lot actually, because I get to help people become healthier and get to hear these amazing stories about how vitamins saved them from a life of drugs with horrible side effects and so on and so forth. So I thought I would toss out the top few supplements I think everyone should be on, whether they're fat, thin, old, young, whatever.


Not that I'm endorsing LEF's products, but let's face it, you're going to hear about them cuz that's what I deal with for at least 8 hours a day, five days a week. So smile, read about it, and make an educated decision.


Daily Vitamin - a daily vitamin is the foundation to healthy supplementation. It gives you a good base with the general A's, B's, C's, D,s, some antioxidants, calcium, the regular junk your body needs. There are two typical ways to take your daily vitamin, the majority of companies have a tablet or two, like LEF's Two-Per-Day. Then there are your more comprehensive daily vitamins, which are the same A's, B's, C's, etc., multiplied a few times, along with a much larger selection of antioxidants, minerals, and other ingredients to help optimize your body. These vitamins typically have several capsules/tablets. The LE Mix, for example, is 14 capsules. I personally take the Two-Per-Day, but when I'm in middle age territory (about another 13 years) I'll switch over to something more comprehensive.


Fish Oil - Fish oil, or your omega-3 fatty acids in general, are extremely beneficial to the body in several ways, and are also very cheap. Fish Oil is excellent for the brain, the cardiovascular system, the liver, the prostate, skin, hair, nails, and has some really good results when it's used as an aid to regulate cholesterol/triglyceride levels. Confused about what to take? See if the brand you're taking/considering has been rated by IFOS, or International Fish Oil Standards. They have a star ranking of 1-5 and is a completely non-biased organization. Also, if you're worried about the mercury content, try to get something molecularily distilled, like LE's Super Omega 3.


CoQ10 - CoQ10 (also known as CoEnzyme Q 10) is an extremely powerful and potent antioxidant that especially helps the cardiovasular system. Its function is to assist the cells' mitochondria to produce cellular energy (ATP) so the cells can repair themselves from damage. CoQ10 has a tendency to perform best within the heart, mainly because the heart is such a dense muscle. One thing to beware, CoQ10 comes in two forms, (the older) Ubiquinone and (the newer) Ubiquinol. Ubiquinone CoQ10 is a very low absorbing form is CoQ10, and the formula that the majority of companies carry, especially those who sell in stores like WalMart, Walgreens, GNC, etc. The Ubiquinol form is broken down from the Ubiquinone form, and is therefore the much more absorbable, bio-available form, up to 66% higher than the Ubiquinone form. Most companies do not carry this form as it is generally more expensive to purchase and produce, but it's still out there. An example, of course, is LE's Super Ubiquinol CoQ10.


Resveratrol/Antioxidants - When it comes to maintaining your health, antioxidants are a very important part of anyone's diet or supplementary regimen. They help protect your cells and tissues, they help your body repair itself, and they also fight free radicals, therefore slowing the aging process dramatically. Antioxidants are in all sorts of fruits and vegetables, especially dark-coloured berries like blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc. The problem with getting antioxidants in this way is that you would need to eat a LOT of these fruits and vegetables in order to get your daily recommended value of each, which would be a lot of calories and sugar. Most vitamin companies now have different forms of antioxidants, the most popular one being Resveratrol, which is found in the skins of Red Grapes, also notorious for being in Red Wine. I have personally tried all sorts of antioxidants throughout the past six months, but I've been continuously using Optimized Resveratrol, which is 250 mg of Resveratrol and 60 mg of Quercetin, which is an excellent antioxidant that helps recycle any unused Resveratrol in your body. Resveratrol is extremely good for the cardiovascular system too, so paired with CoQ10 and Fish Oil, you'll get a myriad of great cardiovascular benefits.


Calcium/Vitamin D - Calcium isn't just for women, although women are more prone to Osteopenia/Osteoporosis. But people are not getting enough calcium in their diets, especially with the increased rate of fast food that people have eaten since the 70s. On average, people should get around 1200 mg of Calcium a day, preferably broken up into smaller doses throughout the day. Vitamin D, as well, has been linked to better bone density and improved immunity, and should be supplemented with 1000 IUs a day. LEF's Bone Restore has both of these necessary vitamins, along with Magnesium, Zinc, Boron, Manganese, and Silicon, all good for optimal bone strength and density.

So there's my list of Top Five Supplements. These will give you a good balance and a great foundation to start with.

Sneaky and Healthy Recipe #1 - Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Chunky Garden Veggie Sauce

Compared to my friends, I was lucky growing up when it came to food. My grandparents and my mom all grew gardens with fresh fruits and vegetables...peppers, beans, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and even odd things like kohlrabi, asparagus, dill. Now that I'm an adult, I REALLY appreciate that, because now I don't have to struggle with myself over whether I want to eat a plate of vegetables vs. a bag of chips and dip (although sometimes the chips [or fries, in my case] win).

Every week I prepare a huge meal and portion it out into smaller portions so I can bring it to work, grab it out of the fridge for dinner, freeze it, whatever I choose. And for me, one of the most important things is to add as many vegetables, fruits, whole grains to whatever meal that I can. I not only do this for myself but I do it because my roommate, whom I love immensely, is borderline terrified of vegetables, although I will say (even though he'll never read this) I'm VERY proud of him as he's been eating a LOT of fruits and veggies lately.

Last night I made a cheap staple, pasta and sauce, and the batch will last about 12-14 meals. But I didn't just get a can of sauce and dump it on some spaghetti that I found in the back of my cupboard. I planned my meal, spent very little money, yet made a very good meal with lots of vitamins, whole grains, antioxidants, and fiber. Here are the costs of the ingredients, the recipe, and the nutritional information stats:

3 15 oz. cans Hunt's Pasta Sauce ($.78x3=$2.34)
2 14.5 oz. boxes 100% Heartland Whole Wheat Pasta ($1.25x2=$2.50)
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed ($.89)
1 14.5 oz can DelMonte diced tomatoes ($.89)
2 large (or 3 small) zucchini, chopped ($.67)
1 large (or 2 small) yellow summer squash, chopped. ($.50)
2 medium onions, diced ($.50)
2 green peppers, chopped ($1.00)
2 red peppers, chopped ($1.50)
16 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms ($2.00)
Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Chili Flakes, Diced Garlic to taste (minimal cost)

In a large pot, combine onions, garlic, and cook on medium until onions begin to sweat. Add mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, squash, spinach, and canned tomatoes, raise heat to medium high, stir until mixed well. When mushrooms look like they’ve begun to sweat, add sauce and spices. Turn heat up to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Let the pot boil for ten minutes, then bring it down to simmer, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. While sauce is simmering, prepare pasta as box specifies.

I use one cup of pasta and one cup of sauce per meal, which equates approximately 12 servings per batch. Each serving is 297 calories, and consists of only 3 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 63 carbohydrates, which 12 grams are fiber. Fiber! The average person eats 12 grams of fiber a day, but NEEDS 25-35. And the cost? All twelve batches cost $12.79, or $1.07 a meal. Those diet dinners you get in the frozen section of your grocery store cost around $2.50 a pop, are half the size, and comparatively, well, you may be getting only 270 calories, but you’re also only getting 4 grams of fiber, 9 grams of fiber, and a whole lot of empty calories (compared to Lean Cuisine’s Penne Pasta With Tomato Basil Sauce).

Now, if you’re sitting here thinking, “Okay, sounds good, but where’s the beef?” then feel free to add it. But I implore you to try substituting the ground beef with ground turkey. Per 4 oz, lean ground beef has 300 calories and 23 grams of fat, whereas lean ground turkey has 160 calories, and only 8 grams of fat. So give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised. As for me, I now prefer the turkey over the beef, I think the consistency is much heavier and leads to a much heartier meal. But overall, one of the big keys to weight loss and living healthy are making smart decisions, but making decisions you can stick with.

OK, so it's been more than a day...

Sorry guys, I got caught up in life and such. Good news...it's SUMMERTIME!!! OK, maybe not REALLY...but the pools and hottubs opened in my condo complex and the water was BEAUTIFUL...about 80 degree water, maybe more. So I sat in the hottub yesterday and it was FABULOUS.

So after doing some thinkwriting, I've come up with a lot of insight into my weight problem. I've decided that I've given food the distinct label of Happy Maker, and that is NOT a healthy platform to have food on.

So I need to come up with things that MAKE me happy that DON'T involve food. This is hard for me because cooking is one of my favourite hobbies. But this is what I've come up with...

Pottery - there is a pottery place somewhere in Vegas that allows you to throw on a wheel, fire, and paint your own pottery. This is something I REALLY loved doing back in HS, so I'm going to explore this as an option now, too.

Writing - I really love to write, especially off-the-wall funny stories and farce. It helps keep my mind strong, too, so I don't get so bored so easily. Cuz when I'm bored...I eat.

Playing with my dog - pretty self-explanatory, really. I love my dog more than anything else in the world...which is funny because I never thought of myself as an animal person. But now I have a Baxter, and he's my world.

Hanging out with friends - I have the BEST time hanging out with the people in my life I call "friend". That's why summer is so important to me, we get together and hang out in the pool and talk and play games and plan our futures. The main problem with Friend Time is it usually means Food Time, AND can be pretty expensive. But this year we are doing it Potluck Style - which means it's cheaper for the host (me) and we can also do it healthily.

Explore a new part of the city - I live in Vegas, so there's always something to explore out here, mountains around us, hotels on the strip, the old strip (which is also considerably cheaper if I want to blow a little money), other parts of the city, etc. But even when I lived in tiny little Rochester, NY, there was still a lot to explore, and I wish I'd taken advantage of it. Feel stuck in your area? Check out nearby towns, museums, parks, whatever. Just get off the couch/out from in front of the computer/out of bed and do something!

I'm sure there are more things I can list, but I thought I'd start out small. The main point is that I need to find something BESIDES food to be my Happy Maker - and after I attain this, maybe I will start to achieve my goals...AND maybe one of my newfound hobbies will lead me somewhere new!

Let's get this thing rollin'...

I hope that at some point this blog becomes something that is read by a lot of people, both people I know and don't know, and becomes a melting pot for people's who want to share, ask, or just make a comment of their own. If not, that's fine, as I also hope this is a way for me to keep track of my own progress and to inspire me to continue on my quest to physical, emotional and financial health.

I've decided to write this blog as if I were already talking to an audience of 500 people, giving some (hopefully) good-tasting, healthy and cheap recipes, provide some easy money-saving tips, inspire some people out there who need the inspiration, and just give some information on things that have helped me along with way immensely. Have anything you want me to add/discuss? Throw me a comment, and I'll see what I can do. Since I live in Las Vegas, I'll be posting some pieces of local interest as well.

To give you my background, I am a 27 year old woman living in Las Vegas, although I grew up in Western NY. I have two siblings, a barely younger step-brother in NY and a sister who's my junior of six years in KY, both of whom I'm very proud of. I live with my best friend of eight years, and together we have a dog (Baxter, whom you'll hear a LOT about), a Beta fish named Toby, and two Dwarf Hamsters named Jasper and Julian. I work for a non-profit Vitamin/Research company called Life Extension, which I enjoy a lot, even though I'm still Low Girl on the Totem Pole. But my company has a LOT of great information about health and wellness in general, not to mention the best supplements you'd be able to get on the market. Not that I'm using my blog to promote the company, but I may mention our products from time to time. Hey, it's what I know! I also have a part time job as an assistant for an arbitrator/Realtor who also happens to be my cousin.

My dream would be to own my own pastry bakery or healthy eating restaurant, a place that people could confidentally get healthy, good-tasting food without worrying that they're eating stuff that is will taste like grass or dirt OR will be two days of their calorie allotment in one meal. I'm still sketching out my menu.

I will try to update this once a day, as long as time allows. With both of my jobs, and then Baxter and our constant stream of visitors, I may not hit it up. But I'll try, and if you subscribe, well, I can 99% guarantee that you'll be entertained and educated. Unless you have no personality or sense of humour, and in that case, well, hopefully you'll at least be educated. =)

So here goes...