food Archives - Reviews by Kathy

7 Ways To Get Ready For A Night Out With Your Partner

October 30, 2019 Leave a Comment

If you’re planning a night out with your partner but don’t know where to begin when it comes to preparation then don’t worry, you have come to the right place. With so many different things to organise before your big night out, you need to ensure you’re as organised as you can possibly be. From arranging a babysitter to booking your table reservation, the more you do in advance the better. With that in mind, here are 7 ways to get ready for a night out with your partner:

Think About Where You’re Going To Go

One of the first things you need to think about when it comes to planning a night out with your partner is where you’re going to go. With so many incredible options it’s important you have a good idea of where you’re going before you head out. Not only will it allow you to make reservations but it will also help when it comes to knowing what to wear. Great date night ideas include:

Heading out to your local town for a meal in your favourite restaurant
A night out at the movies followed by dinner
A fun evening of bowling and other competitive games
A walk in the park followed by dinner as the sun sets
A double-date games night at your friends’ house

For more great date night ideas, you can visit this handy site here.

– Hire A Babysitter To Look After Your Kids

Once you know where you’re going to be going and when you need to think about hiring a babysitter. Whether you have hired a babysitter before or you’re completely new to the process, the sooner you start looking the better chance you have of finding somebody. For more information when it comes to hiring a babysitter, you can visit Urban Sitter here.

– Treat Yourself To A Nice New Outfit

If you’re heading out for the first time in a while, you might want to consider treating yourself to a nice new outfit. Whether that means buying a little black dress or a new pair of dress shoes, treating yourself is never a bad thing. For a guide on what to wear for date night, you can visit this handy site here.

– Have Your Hair And Nails Done At The Salon

Depending on whether or not you’re going somewhere fancy, getting your hair and nails done might be the perfect date night preparation. Although it can be expensive, you may be surprised how much better you will feel with a new do and a fresh pair of nails.

If you can’t afford to head to the salon on the day of your night out, you might want to consider doing it yourself at home. With a box dye and some false nails, you can create the same feeling for just a fraction of the cost.

– Prebook Your Transport In Advance

If you know you’re going to need a taxi both to and from your evening plans, you need to ensure you’re booking your transport well in advance. Taxi companies can become incredibly busy during the weekend and if you don’t book in advance, you could find yourself waiting hours for a car to arrive. Although it means deciding on a time to come home, it might be the best solution if you have a babysitter waiting for you.

– Consider Taking A Look At The Menus Before You Head Out

Although this isn’t necessary, taking a look at the menu before you head out is the perfect way to get an idea of what you’re going to eat. Whether you’re eating a three-course meal or just heading out for drinks and nibbles, having an idea of your budget and what you’re going to eat will also help you choose the best possible restaurant to go to. For a guide to choosing the perfect restaurant for your date, you can visit this site here.

– Make Sure You Lock Up When You Leave

Finally, you need to be sure you’re locking up your house when you leave. Although it may be a natural instinct for you to lock everything up, double-checking is definitely important if you’re heading out at night. After all, you never know what could happen.

Are you and your partner heading out on a date soon? What do you need to do to ensure you’re as organised as you can possibly be? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

Filed Under: Date Night Tagged With: date, eating, food, love, menu, partner

It’s Always BBQ Time!

October 9, 2019 Leave a Comment

Summer has gone, and with it, the joys of outdoor living. For a few months, families enjoy the pleasure of a long evening in the garden, feeling the warmth of the sun as they prepare their dinner outside. Everybody loves a good BBQ party. There’s a sudden sense of freedom about food that no other cooking method can reproduce. Grilling your food outside is all about conviviality, simplicity, and healthy choices too. Indeed, people are more likely to create balanced dinners that focus on the real taste of food when they’re in front of a BBQ. Simple food is always the best! Unfortunately, now that the summer has gone, you can wave bye-bye to your beloved BBQ recipes. But what if we’d tell you that it’s always BBQ season?

Pexels – CC0 License

But it’s raining outside!

How can you prepare a BBQ party in autumn, when the rain can fall without warning? The answer is: You don’t need to plan an outdoor meal. You can use an indoor, smokeless grill, for instance. Gotham has some excellent models that are guaranteed to meet your expectations – you can click here for more Gotham smokeless grill reviews. Indeed, grilling remains a viable cooking option throughout the colder months of the year. While you might need to move the BBQ indoor, nothing is stopping you from enjoying the same effortless recipes you loved during the summer.

It’s unhealthy!

You are always in charge of your food. While the summer BBQ tends to stay on the healthy side, because of the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in summer, things can be a little different in winter. However, all you need to do is to take a look at what you’re eating. Making nutritious meals your priority can help to tackle indulgent excesses in winter BBQ parties. For instance, if you’re going to make burgers, you can prioritize wholemeal buns. Alternatively, if you’re worried about sugar-loaded sauces, you can easily add flavors to your food with spices instead.

I don’t eat meat

You don’t have to be an enthusiastic meat-eater to throw a BBQ party. In fact, there are plenty of yummy vegetarian grilling recipes from cooking light here, for inspiration. Grilled eggplant, for instance, is super nutritious and filling too. If you want a meat substitute, tofu works well on a grill and is ideal with a salad of warmed vegetables. For a casual pick and mix dish, use grilled sweet potatoes with a homemade salsa – and don’t be shy with the chilies!

There’s so much to prepare!

There’s no reason why planning a BBQ meal should be the job of one person. The advantage of grilling your food is that everybody can contribute to the meal and help to get things ready. You can enroll the kids to prepare a marinate for your veg and meat, for instance. Once the ingredients are cut, you can let your family pick and mix them as they see fit. A BBQ party is the occasion for the family cook to relax!

If you’re missing your summer BBQ party, there’s still plenty of ways to enjoy a deliciously grilled dinner at home, even when the weather is horrible outside. More importantly, a BBQ can be fun, relaxing, and healthy, so there’s no reason to deny yourself the joys of winter grilling!

Filed Under: Cooking Tagged With: BB!, Cook out, food, healthy

What Are The Dangers Of Sitting Down All Day?

September 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

It’s believed that more than 25% of us live a sedentary lifestyle. This involves sitting down for most of the day whether it’s watching the TV, working at a desk or driving.

Most of us are regularly told that sitting down for long periods is unhealthy, but what exactly are the health dangers. Here are just a few of the possible negative health consequences of sitting down all day.

You’ll gain weight

The most obvious health risk is weight gain. Without being active, the body is unable to burn off excess calories. Sitting down also weakens muscles – these often end up converting into fat. The thighs and stomach are common places for fat to store up as these muscles are rarely used at all when sitting down.

It’s bad for your joints

Sitting down all day is also bad on the joints. Because a sedentary lifestyle can cause weight gain, this extra weight can then put pressure on the joints such as the knees and hips. This increased pressure can then cause cartilage to wear away, which can eventually lead to bones rubbing against one another – a well-known condition known as osteoarthritis.

It can cause sciatica

A sedentary lifestyle can also increase the risk of sciatica. This is a condition that usually results in pain leading from the lower back all the way down the leg. Sciatic nerve pain is believed to be caused by discs from the spine irritating the sciatic nerve root, which itself is linked to spending too much time sitting down. Such pain can be chronic and can seriously affect day-to-day life.

It can cause DVT

DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein, usually in the legs. It is sympathized by reddening and swelling. A common cause of DVT is sitting down for long periods – restricted movement stops blood from flowing freely, which can then cause it to clot. DVT is dangerous if not treated and has been linked to heart attacks.

It’s bad for your heart

Sitting down all day can negatively affect the heart is various ways. The heart, like any muscle, needs to be exercises to keep it healthy – this can only be done through physical exercise. As stated already, sitting down all day also increases the risk of clots through restricted movement.

It’s bad for your back

A sedentary lifestyle can also be bad for your back. The back becomes stiff and weak when sat down for long periods as it’s not been used to support your body. Craning over a desk can be particularly bad for the back – if you spend all day at a desk, you should try to get into a habit of sitting up straight.

It’s bad for your mental health

Staying sedentary could also have a negative impact on your mental health. There have been many links that show exercise to be good for the mind – it pumps the body full of feelgood endorphins, which help to fight stress. Exercise also helps to get a fresh supply of oxygen to the brain, helping to improve concentration. All this can help to improve mental health. By being sedentary all day, you won’t be getting these benefits of exercise.

You’re more susceptible to diabetes

Sitting down for long periods also increases the risk of diabetes. This is because a sedentary lifestyle can result in changes to the body’s metabolism including insulin resistance. This can lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can result in multiple organ failure if it isn’t treated properly.

There’s a greater risk of dementia

There’s also a strong correlation between people that live a sedentary lifestyle and people that develop dementia. While scientists aren’t entirely sure as to why this is, it’s another good reason to not spend all day sitting around.

There’s a greater risk of cancer

To top it all off, a sedentary lifestyle has also been linked to an increase in the risk of cancer. Lung, head and neck cancers are some of the most common types associated with sitting down for long periods

How To Take A Stand…

With so many possible negative health consequences, it should be easy to see why we should all be spending more time on our feet and less time sitting. Of course, taking a stand isn’t easy, as many activities are more practical to perform while sitting (you can’t drive a lorry while standing).

If your job requires you to spend long periods sat down, you may be able to compensate for this by exercising a lot out of work hours. If you usually commute to work by car, consider whether walking might be an option. If this isn’t possible, you could always go to a gym in your spare time or go jogging or simply exercise from home. This could help to give the mind and body the physical activity that it needs.

There are some commonly sedentary activities can be done whilst standing up or exercising. For instance, you don’t have to be sat down to watch the TV and could add in workouts such as squats and push ups as you watch certain shows. Standing desks meanwhile are becoming an option in some offices, allowing workers to use computers whilst standing.

You don’t have to be on your feet all the time to make a positive impact to your lifestyle. In fact, simply going on a five minute walk on your lunch break instead of sitting at your desk the whole time could make a difference.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: brain, cancer, dementia, diabetes, food, Health, oxygen, risk

Ling Ling Yakiniku Beef Fried Rice & $2.00 Off Coupon

October 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by Ling Ling, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I decided since the Ling Ling Yakiniku Chicken Fried Rice was so good, I would try the Yakiniku Beef. Wow, this was just as amazing as the Yakiniku Chicken was. The flavor was delish and the ingredients are so fresh.

We are always on the go, this meal is quick, good and filling. You can’t beat the price either, you get two bags. Since it is only my husband and myself now, I can do one bag and save the other for another night.

They have an amazing variety too, here is some:

Yakitori Chicken
Yakiniku Beef
Thai-Style Chicken
Chinese-Style Vegetable
Bibimbap Beef

I love when I get to share deals with my readers, so here is a $2.00 off printable coupon. This won’t last much longer so hurry and print it!

We live in the middle of literally nowhere, we drive 30 miles at least to the nearest store, so having an Asian inspired meal would consist of a long trip. Now we can have it anytime we are craving it.

I love to serve it with a salad and breadsticks, so good. These dishes are based on pure and authentic Asian inspired recipes from Japan, China, Korea and Thailand. So unique.

I have added, some of my favorites to make it a meal!

Ling Ling Yakiniku Beef Fried Rice Meal

2 eggs

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 bag frozen peas/carrots

1 Bag Ling Ling Yakiniku Beef Fried Rice

Scramble the eggs in olive oil add the rest of the ingredients, cook low to medium for 20 minutes on the stove top.

Let sit 5 before serving.

“Ling Ling delivers superior flavor and exceptional taste because of the way we cook – e.g. Our Infusion Cooking Method. Infusion Cooking means each grain of rice and noodle is infused with Ling Ling signature sauces for incredible flavor in every bite.” I really didn’t have high expectations for this meal since the price is so good, but after eating it, I am hooked. The flavors are so good even my picky grandkids came back for seconds. Of course, that makes me so happy.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food, Fried Rice, Ling Ling, Quick meal

7 Layer Dip, Recipe + Love One Today® Avocado Party

August 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

“This post was sponsored by Fresh Avocados – Love One Today® as part of an In-Home Party Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.”

Growing up, my mom served avocado with just about every meal we had. She loves them more than anyone I’ve met before, except maybe me. I don’t know if it was due to her influence of serving avocados so much or if it’s because I have the same cravings as she does, but like her, my kids were raised on avocados. From tacos to salads to my 7 layer dip recipe, I serve avocado’s just about daily. I even use them in my smoothies. As much as I love avocados, I equally love to host parties. Of course, I show off my favorite avocado recipes during all of my events. Some I’ve created myself and some I talked my mom out of. I’ve tried just about every avocado recipe online that I could find as well.

There are several reasons why it’s easy to get the kids to eat avocados. In fact, they were my kids first fruit. They are smooth and have a creamy consistency along with a mild taste. I would mash them up and feed them from a spoon until they were old enough to have slices of them. Like my own kids, even before I knew about the nutritional value of fresh avocados, I loved them. After learning that Avocados contribute nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytonutrients, that are important to infant/toddler nutrition, I started giving them to the kids even more often than I already was. My mom probably knew all of this when she served us avocados, but being a child, all I knew was that I loved the taste. She was counting on that when she served us meals with avocado in them. I’m sure she also knew that wholesome, fresh foods are less likely to contain added sugars, salt, and other processed ingredients.

Today I’d like to share my favorite 7 layer dip recipe with you so you can encourage your own kids to enjoy avocados. It’s sure to be a party favorite so go ahead and bookmark my post to save my recipe.

Ingredients:

5 Ripe Avocados. Use 4 in recipe and dice 1 for the top.
1 can of refried beans.
16 ounces of sour cream.
1 pack of dry taco seasoning mix.
1 to 2 lemons (need 2 teaspoons) or lemon juice.
Garlic cloves (grind 3 cloves).
Green onion (chop 3 to 4 stalks)
2- 8-ounce blocks of cheese, grated (I use mild). If you’re in a hurry, pre-grated cheese works well.
1 small can of sliced black olives.
1 medium-sized tomato diced, chunky sizes.

Instructions:

In a glass bowl spread the can of refried beans evenly along the bottom.
Combine the sour cream and the dry taco seasoning, then spread on top of the beans.
Mix the avocados with the lemon juice and garlic. Sometimes I mash them, sometimes I cube them. Add on top of the sour cream mixture.
Add the cheese, green onions, black olives and tomatoes to top it off.

Serve with Tortillas.