Our Happy Place - Page 2 of 129 - Life's a journey, let's make it a good one.

katpetrunia March 25, 2019

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup | Recipe

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe

Heading into Spring, we’re stepping away from heavier foods and turning to lighter options. This lasagne soup is one of those recipes that is hearty and filling and is a great way to get in a healthy serving of veggies. I’m excited to be teaming up with reebee on this recipe to help you enjoy easy-to-make, healthy comfort food, and to help you whip up your favourite recipes at the best price.

Make it on the stove top or slow cooker, either way this lasagne soup is a yummy, simple recipe.

I based this recipe off of one of my favourites from Liv B’s cookbook, Vegan on a Budget, and adapted it a little for our family. Every time I’ve made this soup it’s been a hit, and I thought I would try making it in the slow cooker for this blog post for the added bonus of extra convenience and it doesn’t disappoint. Her recipe for Famous Lasagne Soup caught my eye when I was first going through the pages and knew it would be one my family would love. Her original recipe is a vegan one so I swapped in a few different ingredients and have made this soup with and without meat, both turning out equally delicious; I also made ours with gluten-free lasagna noodles, but of course this is a simple substitution you don’t have to make if you don’t need to.

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe Ingredients

I love that this is a healthy comfort food option that is simple to make, especially if you’re using a slowcooker, and thanks to reebee, I can help you find where to stock up on the ingredients you need at the lowest price. Our family has used reebee for a few years and it is our go-to resource for finding the best prices for our weekly grocery list. Whether it’s for regular items that we use all the time, or big-ticket purchases, reebee is a great resource right at your fingertips.

Find everything you need for this recipe for the best price thanks to Reebee!

For this recipe, I have teamed up with reebee to show you how to get the best prices on the ingredients you’ll need for this lasagne soup. All you have to do is download the app and enter your location to receive current and upcoming flyers from a variety of stores for your area. To show you how it works, simply click on the items in the ingredient list below and reebee will do the rest, showing you what ingredients are on sale and where to find the best prices this week. Savings at your fingertips!

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe reebee app

Ingredients

1 carton or 3.5 cups of broth ( I used chicken, but vegetable or beef also work)

1 jar or 2.5 cups of marinara pasta sauce

1/2 an onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup dried red lentils

1 cup spinach, rinsed and patted dry

8- 10 lasagne noodles

Optional:

1 package of ground beef

Shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Directions

In your slow cooker, pour in broth and pasta sauce, followed by the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and lentils. Stir to combine. Note: If including ground beef, brown in a frying pan and add with these ingredients.
Set your slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the lasagne noodles as per the package directions.
Add the noodles and spinach to the soup approx. 5 minutes before serving.
Top with shredded cheese if desired and serve.

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe

Want to try reebee with your family? Download the app today!

About reebee

Reebee puts finding the best price for everything your family needs right at your fingertips. Simply download the app and enter your area to find the best prices on everything from groceries to appliances, seasonal items, and more. reebee features flyers from favourite stores including Costco, Superstore, Walmart, Canadian Tire, just to name a few.

Features include:

Search option to help you quickly find exactly what you’re looking for and compare prices
Shopping list- stay organized and create lists within the app to keep track of what you need
Sync Reebee across devices for seamless use for everyone in the family

For more information about Reebee and how it works, visit the reebee website and find them on social media: Facebook | Instagram

reebee is available for through the App Store and Google Play.

Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe reebee app

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Slow Cooker Lasagne Soup Recipe

For more simple + healthy meal ideas, visit the blog’s Recipes page!

Disclosure: This recipe post is a paid partnership with reebee. I was compensated to share a recipe in partnership with reebee, an app my family loves and has used weekly for several years. All opinions are my own.

This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

katpetrunia March 22, 2019

Healthy Family Expo 2019: Everything You Need to Know

Healthy Family Expo 2019 #HFE2019

The Healthy Family Expo is coming up this Sunday for the 6th year and I’m looking forward to checking out some new exhibitors plus some returning favourites (there’s going to be 200+!). Our family has gone every year since it started and each event gets bigger and better (and based on what organizers have planned, Healthy Family Expo 2019 looks like it’s going to be the best one yet!). See below for event details and highlights, what’s new to the 2019 event, plus some of my picks to check out this year, returning and new.

Click below to shop some of my favourites from #HFE2019 (I’m just a little excited to try out Nora’s dairy-free ice cream!). Love Child Organics and FreeYumm are two of our family’s favourite snack brands, featuring healthy and allergy-friendly options for your little ones (also, the LCO Cookbook by founder Leah Garrad Cole is a great addition to your cooking library. And if you’re looking for some music the whole family will love (aka the adults won’t cringe when the kids request it! 😉 ), Jessie Farrell is a local Vancouver singer-songwriter who has produced several albums for kids; you can check her out during the Gumboot Kids Live Shows.

1 | 2| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Who will I see at #HFE2019?

Follow along day- of on social media with #HFE2019!

Event Details

Date: Sunday, March 24, 2019

Time: 9am- 5pm

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre (East Building) 999 Canada Place Way

Tickets

Adults 17+- $25

Kids 0-16- FREE

Purchase tickets online here. Use code HFEHAPPY to save 25% off your tickets!

Event Highlights

NEW to HFE 2019

Live Dino Shows
CircusWest tightwire & stilts workshops
HoverBall Safe Archery
Toddler Sandbox thanks to 6 Pack Beach Vancouver – Indoor Beach Center
Vancouver Aquarium Oceanwise AquaVan
Science World Stage Show

Returning Expo Favourites

Gumboot Kids Live Shows featuring Jessie Farrell, Scout, Daisy, with Daniel Tiger & True from True and the Rainbow Kingdom.
Climb Base5 rock climbing wall
Springfree Trampoline Vancouver
Sportball Vancouver games
Dancing with Life DANCEPL3Y class
Bouncers
Face painting thanks to West Coast Railway Heritage Park
Amazing Taekwondo demo by Third Eye Martial Arts Studio Inc.
Sample & shop all day in the Whole Foods Market Canada Zone & London Drugs Health Zone with 200+ exhibitors!

Healthy Family Expo 2019

For a full list of Healthy Family Expo 2019 exhibitors, click here.

Get all the details for the Healthy Family Expo 2019 on the event website + find them on social media Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

katpetrunia March 15, 2019

Hiring a Personal Trainer: My Transformation After Two Months | Muscles and Mommies Review

Hiring a Personal Trainer: Muscles and Mommies Review

Have you ever thought about working with a personal trainer? For the past few months, I’ve been working with Erin from Muscles and Mommies and have been enjoying getting my butt kicked trying out her Ultimate FitB!tch training package. I consider myself fairly disciplined when it comes to exercise, but this experience has taught me that an added layer of accountability can go a long way. Whether you are trying to add fitness into your routine, or want to switch things up and try working with a personal trainer, I hope you find this post helpful.

Self-care has become a buzz word over the past few years and whatever form it takes for you, it’s a positive reminder we’re seeing everywhere to find time to take care of ourselves. For me, self-care comes in a few forms, but exercise is one that satisfies me on many levels with the added benefit of getting my body in better shape. I heard about Erin and her personal training business, Muscles and Mommies, at my friend Janette’s third annual #AtoZSelfLove Yoga Retreat last October, and the rest, as they say, is history. After working with Erin for two months I want to share a progress report and why I’m continuing to work with her moving forward (initially Erin and I agreed on an exchange for a two-month period, so I could share about her services with readers. I have enjoyed our sessions so much that I’m excited to continue working with her as a paid client! If that doesn’t tell you something about Erin and her personal training services, I don’t know what to tell ya).

From our first conversation, I felt an instant connection with Erin and knew I’d love working with her.

This is the first time in several years that I have worked with a personal trainer. I came into this experience with Erin and Muscles and Mommies not really sure what to expect with my only hope being that I could work on strengthening my body and feeling better from the inside out. For me, this journey wasn’t going to be about a number on a scale (even though that lurked in the back of my mind), but about making my body stronger and healthier.

My fitness journey over the past couple of years has been largely focussed on cardio (running) and yoga. In general, that routine was working well, and my cardio was great, but my overall strength was lacking. I was only focusing on certain areas and neglecting others; then I just fell off the exercise wagon altogether, which brings me to last October…

When I first met Erin and talked to her about my fitness journey and goals, there was an instant connection and comfort. Here was someone I could talk to openly and comfortably about my body, my fitness experiences, and goals, and in return have a realistic expectation of where my body was capable of going since having two kids. What I loved about Erin right off the bat was that she advocates for women in a way that transcends physical goals related to training; she has a respect for and understanding of the female body and its capabilities, and has an amazing way of helping her clients feel encouraged and empowered but not limited by the physical changes that they have gone through (pregnancy, childbirth, aging). Her overall message: enjoy the journey.

After deciding that working together would be a fit, Erin checked out what workout equipment I had so she knew what I had to work with and conducted an initial assessment and spoke to me about my goals and expectations. What did I hope for? What areas did I want to focus on? She then made it her goal to help me get there, but with a gentle reminder that it may not happen as fast or possibly quite in the way I wanted it to. For example, I like a flat stomach and having toned abs, but since having two children achieving that goal has become a lot harder, if not impossible to obtain. No matter how hard I try, things are just a little softer and squishier where my babies spent 9 months each; something I’m proud of my body for doing, but nonetheless a change I have had to accept. But through our initial conversation, Erin was able to help me understand what realistic expectations of my body were, and that regardless of the results at the end of this two months, the process was going to be an amazing one, to embrace the journey.

In addition to the initial consultation and a personalized workout plan, Erin also offers access to the Muscles and Mommies closed Facebook group, The Fit B!tches, as part of her personal trainer programs, which you gain access to upon signing up for one her monthly fitness packages. Here she offers demonstrations of certain exercises, fitness tips, links to articles of interest, recipes, and group challenges. She also sends out monthly newsletters featuring a recipe and exercise of the month, and specials, among other info. If training with Erin wasn’t value enough already for the monthly fee, the additional resources she provides further extends their investments in her services.

Her mantra and outlook is something I absolutely love about Erin and her approach to physical training.

As a former Doula and as a mother herself, she understands how our bodies change as we age and the changes that pregnancy and childbirth bring. Two factors that are not always related but certainly can be. Erin’s outlook and understanding have been things that continue to motivate and inspire me as I continue my fitness journey with her. Thanks to my weekly Skype sessions with her (2 per week), I’ve come to a point with my body that falls somewhere between pride and acceptance. Pride of what my body has done and has been able to accomplish through these training sessions, and acceptance that how I feel means waaaaaay more than any number I see on a scale and that the strength I have built both inside and out surpasses any ideal I had to let go of in my head.

My body is not what is used to be; it’s better. In all it’s imperfect, post 2- babies glory.

It’s safe to say, I’m loving seeing the results and the hard work paying off. But just so you don’t think I’m dancing around every week like a unicorn bouncing on rainbows, let’s be real for a minute. Admittedly many nights I am tired and burnt out heading into our sessions, the idea of relaxing with a book much more appealing than ramping up for a workout. But I know I’ll feel so much better afterward and I look forward to my time with Erin, so I push through my lack of motivation and am always better for it. When we started working together, Erin was just launching her Skype sessions and they have proven to be a valuable option for me; I love working out in person, but training with her via Skype has made her services much more accessible and eliminated the challenge of coordinating childcare, etc.

Working out in the convenience of my own home with a personal trainer? Yes, please!

Hiring a Personal Trainer: Muscles and Mommies Review

As I have mentioned, I am looking forward to working with Erin on an ongoing basis, and can’t recommend her enough. Even if you don’t live within her service boundaries, but are wanting to work with a personal trainer, her online personal training sessions via Skype are a great option to consider. If you would like to learn more about her range of services, make sure to visit the Muscles and Mommies website. You can also find Muscles and Mommies on social media: Instagram | Facebook.

Disclosure: I was provided with two months of personal training services in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

katpetrunia February 27, 2019

Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins Recipe

There’s something about a good, warm muffin right out of the oven that’s hard to beat. Even more so when it’s gluten-free muffins that are just as good (if not better!) than the regular version. We’ve experimented with a variety of recipes over the years but this one for gluten-free blueberry banana out muffins has been a hit on many levels: Healthy? Check. Tasty? Check. Liked (loved) by the kids? Check. Easy to make? You guessed it, check!

I’ve made these muffins with both regular unbleached flour and GF flour and you can’t tell the difference, they’re that good.

If you’re gluten-free, you know how satisfying it is when you find a recipe that doesn’t taste like cardboard, isn’t loaded with sugar, and is as good (maybe better?!) than the regular version. Whip up a batch of these for weekday breakfasts or snacks, or add them to your weekend brunch selection. Whatever way you make them, I hope you enjoy them as much as our family does! PS for more GF recipes like this one, make sure to check out the blog’s Recipes page!

PPS- if you like this recipe, you’ll also love this recipe for chocolate chip banana bread, which is also amazing gluten-free

See below for the easy recipe for these yummy gluten-free muffins!

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup gluten-free flour (I used a combination of brown rice and coconut)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup gluten-free oats

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper liners (silicone liners also work great for these).
In a large bowl, mash bananas and add the egg, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Mix until combined.
In another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and fold into the wet ingredients a little at a time until everything is added.
Stir in the blueberries until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Scoop batter into liners and bake for 20- 25 minutes (test with a toothpick to check when ready).
Pop out of the oven and enjoy!

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Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins Recipe

katpetrunia February 16, 2019

Testing Out Juicers with Breville | Review + Giveaway

Breville juicers review centrifugal and slow compression

Ok friends, I’m just going to say this up front: I’m excited about this post. Our family has been juicing for some time and having the chance to work with a company whose products you love was a great way to kick off this month. Will and I shared a comparison of two styles of Breville juicers on Instagram Stories earlier this month (look under the Food highlights and tap through to see)- our existing, centrifugal juicer and our new slow compression juicer- and I’m now sharing some more information about them, plus giving away a juicer to one lucky Canadian reader!

If you’re interested in trying juicing, or already do, read on to learn more + enter to win!

We’ve been really happy with the juicer we got from Breville five years ago, the Juice Fountain Elite, but we’ve been wanting to try a slow compression juicer like The Big Squeeze for some time. The main difference between the two styles is that the centrifugal juicer (the Juice Fountain Elite) uses rotating blades at high-speed to extract the juice, while a slow compression juicer (The Big Squeeze) crushes and squeezes the juice out. The idea being that there is no heat generated during the process, leaving the nutrients intact.

When we had the opportunity to try out a slow compression juicer, we wanted to test the two juicers to compare and honestly both perform very well, it just comes down to the style of juicer you prefer and what your budget is.

As I mentioned with our existing Breville juicer, the Juice Fountain Elite, that we purchased a couple of years ago, we’ve been very happy and impressed with the quality and performance. Before purchasing Will did research into the different styles of juicers and Breville came back at the top of the list. This juicer still performs great, and we have replaced the filter basket twice simply due to use (which cost us approx $55 CAD each time, an investment we feel was well worth it both times to extend the life of our juicer).

Let the testing begin!

When it came time to try our new juicer, we decided to test them side-by-side and use an equal amount of ingredients for both juicers to get as accurate of a comparison as we could. This was a fun way to try out out new The Big Squeeze while also comparing the performance of two different styles of juicers. Having recently replaced the filter basket in our Juice Fountain Elite it was almost like having two brand new juicers to compare.

Centrifugal vs Slow Compression: The Results

To cut right to the chase, the new The Big Squeeze is quieter than our other juicer and produced more juice with the same amount of produce, and the pulp that was leftover was much dryer (we weighed the pulp from both batches of juice to compare how much moisture was left over, ie how efficient the juicers were at extracting the juice). One item to note in the preparation process for The Big Squeeze is that you have to cut your produce into smaller pieces than with a centrifugal juicer like the Juice Fountain Elite to fit into the shoot at the top, as opposed to simply feeding it straight down. It’s a minor additional step in the preparation, then you simply use the wand to help push the produce down the shoot where it is crushed and then squeezed. (Visit this link for our go-to juice recipe)

To view the juicing process of both a centrifugal juicer and a slow compression juicer, check out the videos on my Instagram Stories under Food highlights. Our family has been very happy with all of the Breville products we have bought over the years, especially the juicers, and we would happily recommend this brand and either of these juicers. Note: A fun bonus with The Big Squeeze juicer is that you can watch the process through the clear shoot, which is something the kids like to watch. Our kids already like to help in the kitchen, but this brings another level of involvement and fun to a healthy food option they can be a part of.

What we liked about this juicer

– yields more juice

– quieter

– easy to clean

– great value for the price

If you’re in the market for a juicer I highly recommend either of these models, and I feel The Big Squeeze is an exceptional value for what you pay- especially when you take into account how efficient it is in extracting juice. Groceries aren’t cheap and the more juice you can get the better! I’ll include some basic product stats onThe Big Squeeze below, but you can also find both the juicers mentioned in this blog post on Amazon, including product- specific info. One more note: when we bought our originalJuice Fountain Elite on Amazon a few years ago, Will did quite a bit of research and found the reviews very hopeful. It’s definitely worth it to take some time to read them and I hope that this review helps inform your purchase when it comes time to buying a juicer.

The Big Squeeze Specs

– slow compression juicer- crushes produce to extract juice from produce

– retail price approx. $460 CAD (as see on Amazon.ca)

– easy to clean- hand wash in warm, soapy water- use basket cleaner (included) to clean the filter basket

Find both juicers on Amazon.ca:

The Big Squeeze

Juice Fountain Elite

Want to win a juicer from Breville? Enter below to win a The Big Squeeze juicer (a $460 value)!

*Please note this giveaway is open to residents of Canada only
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Learn more about Breville products on the Breville Canada website and find them on social media: Facebook | Instagram

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Breville juicers review centrifugal and slow compression

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I received product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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