Archive | HOME AND GARDEN

Back to school is right around the corner! If you are like most parents, you’ve probably felt the pull of delivery pizza or Chinese food on those busy back-to-school nights where you just don’t have time to cook. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to just pick up the phone and have someone bring hot food straight to your door? Of course, if you’re like me, you probably don’t feel so hot the day after eating too much processed, unhealthy food. If only it were that simple to get a healthy, organic, vegetarian (or vegan!) meal delivered, freshly prepared and ready to eat. With the explosion of internet-based food delivery services, it is actually possible to have this option, though it can be frustrating to figure out which service to use in order to get your favorite organic restaurants to deliver, as they’re all associated with different ones. Enter Bootler, the aggregation service that changes everything.

Bootler is essentially a search engine for delivery food. Basically, they work with multiple different delivery services, allowing users to pick a restaurant and then compare prices, availability and delivery time. This saves you both time and money when trying to get good, healthy delivery options. Although there is still more typical fare available, Bootler lets you find the largest selection of healthy and organic restaurant options. Interestingly enough, you can also order alcohol from them if you feel like having a bottle of wine or a craft beer with your meal. Alcohol comes from a delivery service called ‘Saucey’ which they are partnered with.

Bootler is not the delivery company; they only bring together other delivery companies and then redirect you to the appropriate website when you’ve decided on your order. You may have used a similar service before to book flights. Similar to Kayak.com, you book the flight through Kayak, but you fly with American Airlines, Delta, or whichever other company is offering the best flight deal. This way you can get healthy, organic, and vegan or vegetarian food options delivered at competitive prices and with the shortest wait time.

I know if I were located in Chicago (which is currently the only city they’re available in) I would be using this service to eat healthy, organic take-out food at home instead of just ordering a pizza on Friday night. Luckily once they’re out of beta, they plan on expanding to NYC by the end of the year and more major cities soon after. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for their expansion into Florida, that’s for sure!

If you are lucky enough to live in the Chicago area, I’ve got two coupon codes that you can use with Bootler‘s delivery partners:

• Use “Saucey” to receive $10 off your alcohol order.
• Use “Bootler” to receive $10 off your food order from Postmates.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve used Bootler (or a similar service in your city) in the past, and what your favorite healthy delivery meal options are. I’d love to know how you found your experience with the service!

This post is sponsored by Bootler – all opinions expressed are my own.

A Note from Sweet Greens: This post wasn’t written by me – thank you for supporting the companies that support Sweet Greens.

If you’re like me, part of kicking off a new week involves sitting down and planning out meals for the week ahead. Not only does it make it easier for me to get all my grocery shopping done in one trip, but it allows me to feel less stressed during the day knowing that I already have everything I need to whip up a quick and tasty meal for the family. It takes a little while to get into the habit, but once you’ve got it down, you’ll wonder why you weren’t already planning your meals in advance!

That doesn’t mean it isn’t sometimes still challenging to get enough variety into your diet, though. Many of us can slip into a groove where cooking the same foods week after week is both effortless and comforting, so we never try new things. I know this is what kept me from adding fish into our weekly plan for a long time! However, there are some pretty excellent reasons to consider making the change. Once you think about the benefits, it’s practically a no-brainer! But what exactly makes fish a good fit for your next week’s meals? Here’s what sold me on the idea.

1. Eating fish in moderation comes with measurable health benefits. It’s no secret that fish is chock full of omega-3 fatty acids, which doctors say keeps your heart healthy, but those acids also play a significant role in a young child’s brain development. If you’d prefer not to take fish oil supplements, adding fish into your weekly diet provides a simple, easy way to get those vital nutrients.

2. There are now sustainable seafood sources of seafood on the internet. What is the difference between sustainable and wild caught? According to the National Resources Defense Council, “The health of different species varies by fishery. Alaskan seafood such as salmon and halibut, when caught in sustainable ways, is generally good for you and the environment. Use the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide to learn which fisheries provide the most sustainable seafood choices.”

3. These sustainable sources can come right to your door with little difference over fresh fish.Rapid shipping and refrigeration technology combine to get fresh seafood delivered to your door. How amazing is that? You can even buy Alaskan seafood, including wild Alaskan salmon — a prime source of omega-3s. Just one serving delivers the equivalent of three days of fish oil capsules! Wild salmon is even better for you than farm-raised, so having a convenient way to obtain it is just incredible.
4. Fish like salmon are extremely easy to prepare in simple, healthy ways. Maybe you’ve been hesitant to put fish into your plan because you aren’t sure how to cook it. Don’t worry! Salmon especially, is easy to prepare. Even on my busiest days, it’s not hard to throw some fresh salmon into a tinfoil pouch with herbs, olive oil, and lemon. The foil pouch even acts as a serving tray – just throw it away after dinner! Who doesn’t love skipping the hassle of doing the dishes?

With all of that in mind, the choice to keep fish on the menu each week for my family was a simple one. Plus, when it’s just so easy to get fresh scallops, crab, fish, and even lobster delivered fresh, it’s hard to resist all the tempting dinner possibilities!

Next time you sit down to plan your weekly meals, give fish a second chance. Experiment with seafood more often and you might discover a brand new family favorite! Don’t forget to download my free meal plan sheet to make the process even easier. Use it to plan your next trip to the supermarket for all kinds of tasty side dishes to accompany fish!

Every morning my alarm clock goes off at 5:35 a.m. with just enough time to grab my favorite prAna yoga clothes to get to the studio for my 6 a.m. hot yoga class. As I have shared before, hot yoga has saved my life and business, and I couldn’t image not starting my day with those amazing 90 minutes.

When I get home from class, I get ready to start my business day by grabbing a cup of hot chai and an apple cinnamon Oh My Yog. It’s my go-to fall morning breakfast and the perfect fuel for starting my work day.

As a busy entrepreneur that not only blogs here at Sweet Greens but that runs a very busy virtual assistant firm, I don’t have a lot of time to fuss over my daily attire. I need clothes that are comfy for sitting/standing at my desk all day, but that can easily transition to hitting the gym with Eben or walking the dogs with the mister in the afternoon. That’s why prAna is one of my fave brands! Whether I am working in my office all day, hitting the farmer’s market or yoga studio, I am always comfortable and ready for fun.

Today, prAna and Stonyfield have joined together to offer one of my lucky readers the chance to win 1 item from prAna’s organic cotton collection. That’s right! You can pick any item you want up to $99. So whether you are a yogi like me, or you just need a really great pair of organic jeans to run your kids to soccer practice, this giveaway is for you.

And even if you don’t win, you can get 15% off at prAna.com using the coupon code JBYF15MSG valid Nov 1 – Dec
15, 2015.

To enter, leave a comment telling me how you #JustBeYou – winner will be announced on November 16th!

Good Luck!

This post is sponsored by Stonyfield and prAna – all opinions expressed are my own.