Hands down the best granola

Most people hear the word “granola” and automatically think healthy, but the truth is many granolas come chock-full of fillers and some are even loaded with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (ie the worst kind of fat). Avoid the trap and beeline straight for the fantastic pick below!

Anahola Granola has been hand making granola in small batches since 1986 so trust that these folks know their stuff. Based in Hawaii they exclusively use fresh, high quality ingredients and zero fillers – that right, no mystery ingredients with tongue twister names here. Better yet many of their varieties incorporate some of Hawaii’s delicious (and incredibly healthy!) native exotic tropical fruits. Granola varieties include original, tropical, mango ginger, and there’s a trail mix along with some bars for when you’re on the go. All of the brand’s orders ship the day after they’re made and trust us when we say the mixes are so incredibly delicious that they won’t last long, so order in bulk.

Who would have ever thought the kids [...]

The ultimate high performance blender

Ever wished you could make a meal using just one container or better yet, ever wish you could make a meal and the contraption you made it in would clean itself? Well, thanks to the Vitamix that’s now possible. Powerful enough to heat, freeze, chop, and more you can make anything and everything from green juice and split pea soup to ice cream and guacamole in mere minutes. Then, just add water and a squirt of soap and the blender literally cleans itself!

A truly unparalleled blender, the Vitamix also allows you to get the most nutrients out of your fruit and veggies. The one downside is that it doesn’t come cheap. At $400-plus it’s far from affordable, but luckily now, thanks to health expert Kimberly Snyder, you can enter to win one of two here.

Now if only [...]

For slow carb dieting, or otherwise

Forget low carb, no carb, all carb – the latest diet craze is slow carb. We’re not ones to listen to diet fads, but one of our girlfriends has dropped serious pounds after struggling with her weight for a good four years after giving birth. We’ll spare you the scientific details – the book she based her diet off of is massive – but we highly recommend picking it up for its lifestyle change-driven approach. A particularly welcome part of the diet is that while the book maintains that you shouldn’t “drink your calories” red wine can be enjoyed every day….you’ve got our attention!

While we haven’t gotten [...]

Breakfast made easy

A mama’s life is all about multi-tasking and West Bend’s Egg and Muffin Toaster just made it a heck of a lot easier to do just that weekday mornings.

We all know by now that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only will it help fuel the little ones and the hubbies for their long day ahead, but it’s been consistently shown that women who eat breakfast are more likely to lose weight – and hey, you won’t ever hear us complaining about weight loss. This nifty device allows us to toast our muffins, toasts, breads, bagels, and croissants (toasting carbs makes them easier to digest), while at the same time [...]

70 Simple Paths to Everyday Serenity

Serenity? Peace? Sign us up! Of course that’s easier said than done and while we’d love to take an hour of our day and devote it to mediating or yoga, that’s simply not feasible on a regular basis. Ashley Davis Bush understands the time crunch and stress that comes with modern day living and in her new book, “Shortcuts to Inner Peace: 70 Simple Paths to Everyday Serenity” she outlines easy ways we can all work on achieving a stress-calm balance. What’s great about this book is that it’s not only rooted in science, but the exercises outlined take seconds and can be done anywhere from mid-walk to mid-shower.

While we can’t say that Bush has completely cured us of our heart palpitations, the book has made us more keenly aware of how important it is to have mindful [...]