Time for another random acts of kindness challenge!

1. Introduce yourself to your neighbors
2. Compliment a stranger
3. Pay for the coffee, the toll, or the bus fare for the person behind you
4. Let the person who seems rushed cut in front of you
5. Hold the door open for someone
6. Call your parents and tell them you love them 
7. Don’t complain 
8. Avoid gossip - No need to spread any negativity
9. Leave nice comments on Facebook 
10. Let someone else have your seat on the crowded bus or subway 
11. Offer a ride to someone who is car-less 
12. Go to your friends art opening  
13. Be inviting - Ask people to do something with you
14. Participate - The people who organize events always worry that no one will take part. That ugly sweater contest or bake-off needs you! 
15. Respond timely – Even if you have to say, “Hey, just wanted to let you know I got your email and I’ll get right back to you.” People like to know they’re not being ignored.
16. Be super enthusiastic when people have good news!
17. Don’t leave others waiting for you - Be on time  
18. Call up a friend just to say hi.

Allow me introduce you to the greatest thing ever. It's called PB2 a.k.a. powdered peanut butter. You may think... "What is that?" or "That sounds like the nastiest thing ever." But guess what? You'd be wrong. It's the GREATEST thing ever. They figured out a way to take the fat out of peanut butter!!  All you do is mix 2 Tbs of PB2 with 1 Tbs water and you've got peanut butter- minus most of the fat!  Add it to your protein shake! Also, PB2 has only 3 ingredients- Peanuts, Sugar and Salt. 2 Tbs. of PB2 is only 35 calories and 13 grams of fat. And it also comes in chocolate flavor!

I'm going to Spain soon so I wanted to eat some Paella but the Spanish restaurants in town charge $40 for a pan of it which means I'd need a team of people to eat it with me. lol Well I decided to make my own! I figured unlike theirs I would add vegetarian protein to it so it would be even better! I made a spicy and hearty paella full of delicious veggies.


The most important ingredient for paella is the rice, and not any will do. Bomba is the strain of rice native to Spain and is quite pricey due to how its grown. I got a 1 kilo bag for $13 at Sur La Table. It cooks differently from other types of rice in that the grains widen allowing it to absorb more liquid (and flavor) yet remains separate and individually loose from one another and its hard to overcook it.

The second most important ingredients are the spices. You want good quality saffron, smoked paprika (secret ingredient) and piquillo peppers (from Spain) if you want a nice complexity of flavors and an incredible color to your dish. I have smoked paprika from Trader Joes but it has no flavor, when I opened up the tin of smoked Spanish paprika I could smell the smoked flavor!  For protein I used vegetarian sausage which is made from wheat gluten and is super spicy! My vegetables were peas, carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli, but you can use any vegetables you like but I think peas are always a staple.

Ingredients:
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1½ cups Bomba Rice
3 cups vegetable stock (adjust if using different rice)
3 piquillo peppers
½ sweet onion
3 garlic gloves minced
1½ tsp Spanish paprika 
5-10 strands of saffron
1- 14oz can chopped tomatoes
2 large carrots diced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 Chipolte Field Roast Sausages cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces 4 oz baby bella mushrooms
1½ cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the Piquillo peppers, onion and carrots.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the onion is translucent.
3. In a separate pan sauté mushrooms and set aside.
4. In the large skillet add the garlic, smoked paprika, saffron, and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the rice, broccoli and warmed stock and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid, and simmer 20 minutes.
7. Bake in oven at 325F for 10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
8. Add the mushrooms and mix in. Then add peas on the surface (do not stir yet), cover, and allow peas to steam 1 to 2 minutes. Then mix in peas and top with sausage.
9. Season 
with salt and pepper, if desired.

Prep time is one hour and it makes 6 servings. One serving is 324 calories, 15 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber. This is going to be my lunch for the week. I already divided it into 5 containers so in the morning it's easy to just grab out the fridge. No guess work on what to eat, I save money and calories from not going out to eat everyday. This week I'll be snacking on grapes since Whole Foods had a one day sale on Friday for 99¢ a lb!

Do you take the time to plan your meals and snacks throughout the week? This is one of the things that I do every week to keep myself accountable! It also helps save on groceries too!  Message me for help with meal planning or picking a workout to meet your needs!  I absolutely love love love helping others and would like to do the same for you!!! Have a great week!

Well not really, that's the name of the Shellac nail polish my friend and I got. If you've been living under a rock and don't know what Shellac nail polish is, it's gel nail polish that lasts for 2 to 3 weeks and has to be soaked off. I like to get it in the summertime to allow my nails to grow without peeling like they usually do. It's also great for vacations because you don't have to worry about chipped polish while traveling!

You can get it done at a salon or buy the kit to do at home. See the polish doesn't dry on it's own, you have to put your hands underneath a UV lamp so be sure to put sunblock on your hands beforehand. The great thing is it dries must faster than regular nail polish, no worried about smudging it soon after it's done.

I'm thinking about doing an accent nail, glitter maybe.
 

I have to say I'm a sunscreen addict and have been putting sunscreen on my face daily since high school to prevent pre-mature wrinkles. I often see Japanese tourists wearing white gloves in the summertime and thought you know they're probably on to something. My mother had the age spots on her hands lasered off and said it was very painful! So I started wearing sunblock on my hands everyday as well.



Growing up I was partial to using Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, just seemed like a fun brand with their events and competitions plus I loved the coconut smell! But recently I switched to Neutrogena because they use Helioplex which is a breakfthrough technology in sunscreen protection. Until recently it was only available in Canada and Europe and let me tell you I was already looking into where I could buy it online until Neutrogena annouced they were going to bring it to the US market since it finally got FDA approval. The FDA also created new sunscreen labeling guidelines preventing companies from using the words "waterproof or sweat-proof labels" on their label and instead have to state how many hours someone could be in water. For example it could say 80 minutes until you have to reapply, so make sure you look for that on new sunscreen bottles. But you should be reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours anyways.

Consumer Reports tested sunscreens for their July 2013 issue and found that some products don't meet the SPF claims made on the bottles. First off you shouldn't use anything below 15 SPF  because it won't protect you from skin cancer or aging and anything over 50 SPF isn't any stronger than 50 SPF research has found. The brands with the top scores after testing were: Coppertone Water Babies, Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch SPF 30 and Coppertone Sport High Performance SPF 30. Surprisingly Neutrogena Wet Skin SPF 45+ scored poorly.

One of the biggest sunscreen mistakes I see people making is applying sunscreen once they arrive at the pool. For best protection you should apply your sunscreen 30 minutes before you go outside, if you apply sunscreen in the sun it just melts off, it needs time to be absorbed into your skin. Sunscreen bottles should be changed every two years because the active ingredients do expire. These two rules I've been following for years. Don't forget sunscreen for your lips! If you do get sunburned, keep an after sun lotion with aloe at home, my favorite is Burt Bee's. Then do a moisturizing facial mask.

A game changer in the suncreen world is Color Science who makes a  facial powder called Sunforgettable that has sunscreen in it! You might have seen it featured on the Today show last week. If you look at the picture from yesterday's post you'll see I use their Mineral Finishing Powder to absorb oil on my forehead.