Make It Monday: Cucumber Salad

Summer is upon us and that means we will start to have an abundance of fresh produce from our garden and available at area farmer's markets. The cucumber salad I grew up eating contains mayonaise, but this is a clean eating version that uses vinegar and a little honey to help flavor it and enhance the natural flavors of the vegetables.

Cucumber Salad serves 2
1 large cucumber (or 2 medium), peeled and chopped or sliced
1 large Roma tomato, chopped
1-2 T chopped onion (red onion will add a nice color, or 2 green scallions)
1 T fresh cilantro, chopped
2 T apple cider vinegar
3 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

• Chopped cucumber, tomato, onion and cilantro and toss together in a bowl
• Mix together (a shaker works best)vinegar, honey, cumin, salt and pepper
• Pour wet mixture over vegetables
• Serve and Enjoy!

Five Dollar Friday - Slackling Class

I thought I would try a new Friday segment occasionally like I had seen on Inner Child Fun in the past. Fridays have been kind of my days that I post about Pottery Crafts or My Pinterest Inspirations or some kind of 4-part series. Friday is my catchall day to cover stuff that might not fall under another heading or I just don't want to schedule it out so far.

The idea behind $5 Friday is that we do something that costs five dollars or less. It could be an event or a project or whatever. It is to help give you ideas on things you can do that cost little money. I will probably save more of the "Free" ideas for my Thrifty Thursday posts.

I decided to try out Slackling and as a member of the River Bend Nature Center I was able to take the class for $5, be sure to check places where you are members and area nature center to see if they offer affordable classes.

We started out on a 2" slackline that was about a foot off the ground and I wasn't sure if I could do more than that, but I did manage to walk by myself (not holding anyone's hand) across the 1" slackline that was about 3-4 feet off the ground not just once, but twice. I was feeling pretty good about that accomplishment. There was another 2" slackline about 3-4 feet off the ground but the length was twice as long and the longer a slackline the more it will jiggle towards the center, so that one I only got about 1/3 the way before jumping off. I will have to see if we can fit it in our schedule to take another one of the slacklining classes this summer.  There is still 3 more of slacklining classes scheduled this summer at River Bend Nature Center.

Sponsored Review: Jamba Juice

I had the opportunity to review fruit and veggie smoothies with my family through the Kiwi Moms Meet Program. I was given gift cards to Jamba Juice in order to try out these products and post my thoughts on them and also what my kids thought of them too. We went to the Jamba Juice in the Mall of America and ordered a Tropical Harvest Smoothie in the original size and a Jamba Kids Berry Beet It Smoothie.

Both of these smoothies are made with a combination of fresh fruit and a vegetable juice blend. As you can tell by the name the the Berry Beet It contains beets in the vegetable juice, but it also contains carrots, broccoli, spinach and kale. The Tropical Harvest Smoothie only said it was a orange vegetable juices so we were trying to figure out what they were and we could definitely taste some carrot but were unsure of the rest, which are butternut squash and sweet potato.

My kids had no idea there were vegetables in these smoothies until they heard my husband say he could taste the carrot in the Tropical Harvest Smoothie,. They still thought they tasted very sweet. My kids are pretty good eaters, so I don't need to sneak veggies in foods to trick them, but if you do you might really be interested in these smoothies.

From doing this review I learned that only 8% of Americans get enough servings of fruit a day and 6% of Americans get enough servings of vegetables a day. Only 1% of adults and 2% of children get the recommended fruit and vegetables. As a fruit & veggie lover, I have to wonder why that is. Is it they don't like them, or parents are not buying them or an economic issue.

My daughter said she liked the Tropical Harvest best and my husband liked the Berry Beet best, but my son and I were sucking both down equally. They were tasty! And quite filling too.

I did notice that Jamba Juice is offering kids meals not too that include a smoothie paired with a carbohydrate so that they can have a balanced meal that includes multiple food groups.

I can't wait to try more Jamba Juice products next time we head to the mall. I had not been to a Jamba Juice since they first opened and was surprised at how expansive the menu was and the new items on there, as well as the kids meals.

I really liked their mission statement that they had on the wall and wanted my readers to be able to read it too!

I received this product for free from the
sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media
Group LLC, who received it directly from the
manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed
to use this product and post my opinion on my blog.
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions
of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the
product.

Thrifty Thursday: Lowe's Build & Grow a Toy Story Pizza Planet Truck

These Lowe's Build & Grow Clinics are FREE and a fun way to do an activity with your child and help them make their own toy (sometimes it's a gift type item, but often it is a toy.) Both my kids (ages 3 & 7) love going to them.

This one is THIS WEEKEND! You can choose between Saturday @ 10am or Sunday @ 2pm. If your nearest one is full, it will say so when you register.

Register for This Lowe's Build & Grow Clinic!

Wordless Wednesday: Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls in Oregon

Review: Olay Fresh Effects B.B. Cream

I have really enjoyed reviewing Olay Fresh Effect B.B. Cream. It combines five different benefits in one tube. It moisturizes and hydrates your skin; it has a tint to even skin tone; it has a SPF15 to help protect your skin from the sun; it brightens your skin and gives it a glow; and it leaves your skin feeling soft. Sounds like a win-win-win-win-win to me!

I love that it combines multiple products in one, so now I don't need to lather on multiple products (sunscreen, moisturizer and foundation). I still will use foundation is I am looking to have a more "made-up" look, but this Fresh Effects cream is perfect when I want my skin to look natural, and well, fresh.

You can buy Olay Fresh Effects Cream at Amazon  or on the Olay Website.

I received Fresh Effects complimentary from Influenster.

Review: Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics

I wanted to share some picture with my readers of the Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics that I have been reviewing. I have these on Instagram, but I know not everyone is on there. I really like these elastics. I have long hair, really long hair! That I almost always have in a ponytail of sort sort most of the day. One of my biggest pet peeve with hair elastics is when they don't stay tight and easily stretch or break. That has not been the case with these. So far they have been staying tight. Also, I really like the shimmer of the ribbon.

These #ouchless ribbon elastics from @goodyhair are awesome #sunvoxbox

Wearing a side pony using my goody hair out with ribbon elastic. I received them free #sunvoxbox from for the purpose of review. @goodyhair #ouchless

 I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster.