Granola Butter, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, and Brussel Sprout Sauté Kit Review

This week I tried 3 new products. I shared them with you guys on Instagram, and there was quite a bit of interest in each so I wanted to share some more in depth thoughts on them! While I loved the flavor of all of products, they are not all #shedapproved, so have a read for the deets!

Original Granola Butter with collagen peptides by Kween & Co

I’m late to this party. I’ve been eyeing this granola butter since it came out in 2018– but with a $12 price tag for a small container of what is essentially a “topper” it just fell low on my list of priorities. I will fully admit this was a mistake because after 4 days it has completely rocked my world. This is an awesome way to add “treat yo self” to your Shedding life! I’ve been able to use it in so many ways I’m going to run out soon if I’m not careful! Scroll to the bottom for a fun oatmeal recipe featuring tha buttah!

Cons

• $12 a jar

• Addicting 😂

Pros

• Low sugar and no refined sugar

• Added collagen peptides (pasture raised to boot) for a bonus protein boost

• Tastes like cookie butter

Verdict: Shed Approved for both months 1 and 2 of the program if used according to serving size daily. Side note: if you aren’t into collagen there is a vegan version that is shed approved too!

Some of the many ways I used the granola butter this week! Also links to my amazon affiliate page if you click the photos above! (If you buy through there I receive a small commission!)

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi from Trader Joe’s

Sooooo a lot of you have tried this and everyone was surprisingly impressed. It definitely tastes amazing and is very easy for a quick weeknight dinner. The bigger question is it Shed Approved? Welp, unfortunately I think we have to give it a no go. It contains wheat flour, white potatoes, butter sauce, and cheese. Dairy, wheat, and white potatoes are not included in the Shed program. It’s just too much inflammation and high GI.

Cons

• Gluten and dairy (aka inflammation)

• High in calories (don’t obsess over this, but when something is packaged, its something to be more mindful of)

Pros

• Delicious

• Literally takes less than 10 minutes to make

• Shed for the Preg approved (lol the only rule there is that there are no rules!)

Verdict: Not Shed approved, but enjoy it on occasion post-shedding!

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Brussels Sprouts Sauté Kit from Trader Joe’s

Again a lot of you had tried this! It absolutely tasted fantastic. And while there are quite a few ingredients, they seem to be high quality. This is a nice quick option for weeknights! My biggest qualm is that there quite a bit of cheese in there, and to be shed approved it would have to be a garnish sized amount. I made this for my step-dad who isn’t a fan of brussels sprouts at all and he loved it!

Cons:

• Too much cheese (that dairy will get ya!)

• More sugar in the dressing than I would like

Pros:

• Super delicious

• Fast

• Getting your greens in!

Verdict: If you use only half of the cheese, or just truly treat it as a garnish, it is Month 1 Shed Approved. If you aren’t shedding it’s a nice occasionally side for a weekday din!

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Cherry Vanilla Oats with Granola Butter

Ingredients

• 3/4 c gf oats 

• 1/3 c vegan vanilla protein powder 

• 1/2 c macadamia milk 

• Splash of water to cover remaining oats 

• 8 frozen cherries 

• A drizzle of granola butter

Instructions

Mix oats, protein, milk and water in a bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir it up. Add cherries and granola butter and stir it up before you eat! The juice from the frozen cherries melting mixes in and gives it extra oomph! 

A Guide to Taking a Break from Booze

A lovely sparkling water, with a dash of cucumber shrub and splash of simple syrup.

I always thought that when I became pregnant, I was going to hate not drinking. I don’t think I drink very much compared to the general population, but I enjoy the social component that accompanies drinking and I love an occasional glass (or 2) of red to unwind during the week. Spoiler: it hasn’t been that hard!

If you are considering skipping booze before the wedding this post is for you! The second month of the Shed program is booze-free. While it is not required for longer than a month, I highly recommend skipping booze for the few months before your wedding. It will really bring out that bridal glow! Below, I’m sharing my experience and tips on skipping booze from over the past few months!

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Day-to-Day Sans Alcohol

In general I wake up with more energy. I can only imagine how wonderful I would feel if I wasn’t pregnant (AKA not waking up in the middle of the night to pee every night and the general exhaustion that goes along with it!). In all honesty, I think that most of the benefits of not drinking are somewhat compromised by pregnancy symptoms (for me at least)– so non-prego brides-to-be take advantage of this time! More on this in section 3!

While I do miss the occasional relaxed buzz vibe from a nice glass of shiraz, I really have been amazed at how little it has affected my overall enjoyment of social events. I’ve been to several large parties and weddings sober now and have been able to really enjoy them. Here is how I have taken them on to maximize my enjoyment:

• I always carry a drink- preferably similar to what I typically drink. Like a soda water with a splash of cranberry (all I’m missing is the vodka!). Before I was showing, people had no idea, and I even felt like I was drinking with them. My mom was laughing at me on the dance floor at a wedding, still holding my drink. Holding a drink, alcohol or not, is a part of my party persona and it really makes me feel like my normal self. Pro tip: ask the bartender to use the same glass that they are serving alcoholic drinks in especially if you are not public with you news yet! It can be a dead giveaway (I’ve busted several friends this way!).

• The above works until the witching hour- which is now what I refer to the period of time when everyone’s eyes begin to glaze over and don’t make sense anymore. That is now the time I know its time to GTFO. It’s no longer fun when your people don’t make sense. I find that leaving around 12:30 on average is probably the best call.

• I also have been able to chill at crazy bars and have an amazing time, but at the end of the day it comes down to the company! I don’t need to be drinking to enjoy hanging with my friends!

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What to drink

It is really nice to find any beverage besides water to drink - it can be really boring drinking water all day every day (including sparkling!).

If you are shedding for the wedding, you’ll want to avoid sugary mocktails:

• Go for soda water with a splash of juice of your choice.

• You can always add a dash of cucumber shrub (vinegar based flavor) or a tiny bit of bitters to change things up. But it’s really easy to overdo it! Gotta keep it in very small amounts!

• If you want an extra caffeine boost- unsweetened iced tea is great and looks like it could be boozy.

• You can enjoy kombucha just make sure the sugar content isn’t higher than 4g.

If you are shedding for the preg, all of the above works but be mindful, kombucha can have trace amounts of alcohol, so be mindful about your consumption. Feel free to enjoy those mocktails, but treat them as a dessert and enjoy them on occasion. Just don’t make them habitual.

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Sober but still having hangovers

Oddly, I haven’t stopped getting hangovers! What?! How is that possible you say?

Well, what I’ve learned is that what I always thought was a standard hangover is a combination of either 2-4 things:

1. Dehydration

2. Fatigue

3. Previous high sugar consumption

4. Alcohol

Typically it just takes 2 (of the 4) to make it feel like a hangover. Obviously, #4 isn’t an issue for me right now, but if three happen, I’m really in trouble. So my number 1 objective is to drink enough water consistently throughout the day so I don’t need to drink a lot before bed. Number 2 objective- I now get like 9 hours of sleep- yeah I know that’s a luxurious amount. If I have less than that it’s problematic. I chalk it up to growing a human. But that being said this is why I feel like I’m hungover all the time. It’s hard to get that 9 hours. Lastly, I try not to overdo the sugar. It’s very easy to do if you are not being 100% active in keeping it down. Added sugars are in everything, and then if you are allowing for a treat most days, it can add up and really negate all of those positive benefits from skipping the booze!

If you are shedding for the wedding, added sugars are out and probably won’t need quite as much sleep. So hopefully, if you drink enough water, you should feel “hangover”-free, energized, and fabulous!

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Overall, I think I may be choosing to skip the booze even after baby arrives! What do you think? Are you sober curious? Let me know if you are tempted to take a drinking hiatus or if you have any questions on the drink-free life! -AHS

Avocado Pineapple Popsicles

Avocado Pineapple Popsicles

Well there has been a lot of debate over these bad boys. My first bite I was apprehensive, but by the time I finished, I thought I wouldn’t change a thing. Others thought it needed more sweetness. Others thought lime would be a good addition. I’ll let you try them and you decide for yourself! This is a perfect maintenance #treatyoself! It won’t hinder your wedding bod and is a super satisfying treat! .⠀

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado 🥑 ⠀

• 1 20oz can of pineapple 🍍 chunks in juice

• A quick squeeze of 🍋 ⠀
  

Instructions
Blend ingredients. Pour mixture into popsicle mold and freeze overnight (you probably just need a few hours but I’m not actually sure). ⠀

Thoughts on a Healthy Marriage

In all fairness, everyone looks happier on vacation. :) (Roma 2018)

I am by no means a marriage expert. But in honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to share a quick little post on what a healthy marriage looks like to me! And while Conor and I are going on 5 years of marriage- we have been a couple since 2007 (😳) so we have learned and grown a lot together as people and in our relationship.

Understand your spouse for who they are and accept them unconditionally: the good the bad and the ugly. What I mean by this is that if you are married (hopefully!) you really know your spouse inside and out. If you fell in love, you know all of the wonderfulness they bring to the table. But let’s be honest, no one is perfect. We all have our shadow sides. And knowing the dark sides of your spouse isn’t a bad thing. Always try to bring out the best in them, of course, but also allow them to not be perfect. Accept their imperfections and love them for them.

Along those lines, don’t try to change their essence. This may sound obvious, but we all have a something unique we bring to the table. I’ll use myself as an example. I am often floating high above the clouds dreaming big. I have lofty aspirations. I’m a very woowoo Pisces who loves reading books on self-improvement. My husband is not into any of it (at least not in the same way!). But instead of trying to change me to be more like his practical self, he loves me for it (even though I’m pretty sure it drives him crazy sometimes!). Along the same lines, my husband loves sports (playing and watching) oh so much, and I couldn’t care less most days. But instead of trying to change that part of him I have leaned in to the most important games for him (Indiana University Basketball, in case you were wondering) and prepare myself with other things to do for other big games I can’t mentally care about. Obviously, we compromise- he would watch sports all day every day if he could, but instead we watch lots of other things that we both like (current favorites being Schitt’s Creek and Medici!).

Spend alone time together. Make time to recharge your relationship. Having a regularly scheduled date night will help keep things fresh and fun. It’s easy to have your weekends dominated by social plans with friends and family. But it becomes increasingly more important as you have less and less time for yourselves (yeah I’m talking to you young parents!). You need alone time in order to keep your bond strong and to feel connected. Related to that, it’s important to keep intimacy a priority. Yeah, I said it. It’s easy to let it slip away, but if you prioritize intimacy it helps your connection stay strong.

Lastly, remain independent. Remember you are an individual first and foremost. Don’t rely on your spouse to define you or fill every need you have. Friends are important. Family is important. Your spouse can’t be everything to you. Other relationships are important to our mental health too. I don’t expect my husband to understand all my woowoo inclinations- but I have a whole other tribe for that! Just like he has all of the bros to talk/play sports with. Take responsibility for your own happiness! It’s not your spouse’s job to make you happy. You make yourself happy and the rest will follow. If that isn’t romantic, than I don’t know what is! ;)

Happy Valentine’s Day! Treat your boo right today and every day! :) -AHS

Celery Juice

16oz of the good stuff!

What is the celery juice fad? Why is everyone doing it?

The “global celery juice movement” has been popularized by the Medical Medium (MM). If you haven’t heard of him, there is lot to process there. As a medium, he receives all of his information from the “spirit of compassion” on the other side. Let me tell you, I am all into the woowoo. I don’t doubt that people can communicate with other planes, spirits, or even with God. But whenever there is too much celebrity involved (he has a whole half page of testimonials only from celebrities), I just get a little skeptical. I haven’t read any of his books, but I did read one of his diets when my step-dad was really sick and no one knew what was wrong with him for almost 2 years (he tried the diet for 3 weeks it didn’t help). While I have reservations about the Medical Medium himself, he touts the power of fruits and vegetables, and in that we are 100% aligned. I will cover the basics in this post, but to get a full understanding on all things celery juice from the main source, I recommend reading Celery Juice 101.

The basics

What to do:

Drink 8-16oz of fresh celery juice every morning before eating or drinking anything else. Wait 15-30 minutes before eating breakfast.

Use organic celery, and rinse it. I also cut off the ends. If using conventional celery, wash with clear fragrance-free dish soap. Juice it in a juicer, or blend and then filter through a cheese cloth. Drink up.

Working your way up to 16oz is advised, because it can have a cleansing effect (which is your body eliminating toxins). If you prepare in advance, it will only keep for 24 hours. Seal it in a mason jar with a lid.

What not to do:

If you do any of the following it will take away from the “medicinal properties”, per MM:

• Make more than 24 hours worth in advance. It won’t keep.

• Add anything else (ice, or other fruits or vegetables)

• Drink with the fiber (like if you blended it and then skipped the filtering)

My experience

The process:

I drank the celery juice for about 6 days in total non-consecutively.

It was also recommended to me to use a blender and use a cheese cloth instead of a juicer. I never bought the cheese cloth so I just kept using my juicer. I love my juicer but it needs to be cleaned almost immediately after use– time consuming and annoying. Because of that I didn’t do it every morning.

I did add ice sometimes, it made it super delicious to me (that was before I knew it was a no no!). A couple of times when I made it for me and hubby, I added other things (apple and cucumber) to make it more palatable. It was super yummy we both couldn’t get enough of it–but I did notice that it didn’t feel quite as awesome as when I drank it plain.

How I felt:

I felt very clear and light when I drank the juice in the am. It also made me crave healthier things throughout the day. During this time, I had some dental work done and my gums were sore. Unintentionally, I realized that the juice was totally soothing on my gums.

It really did “cleanse,” even with just 8oz- so starting slow was important. I did work my way up to the 16oz and didn’t notice a huge difference.

Overall, it just made me feel just, good. Its hard to explain, but it definitely felt like my system was very pleased to have the green boost!

Final thoughts

Ideally, I would have done it for a longer period and sequentially, but it just didn’t work out that way. I think I would have been able to see stronger results. Without a doubt, when I drank the juice as prescribed, I felt good. Very good. And that is never something to discount. I know now that it is a great thing to do when I just need to feel good in my body.

The question I kept asking myself was how to make this a tangible apart of my daily routine. And is it worth the time. It can be a bit of a pain making it fresh every morning. Just time consuming. I recommend washing and trimming ends in advance to save some time.

Also, as a generally healthy person, I question if I need to be drinking it every day. It is supposedly very healing, and great for breastfeeding, but I just can’t imagine a world I make this juice every day. I do know that if I was suffering from an illness, I would prioritize making it.

My net takeaway: it definitely doesn’t hurt. Especially if you feel like your body needs a serious pick me up. If you can find the time to add it into your routine, I would definitely recommend it.

Have you tried celery juice? I would love to hear your thoughts! Send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook to let me know what you think. Chin chin! - AHS

Buffalo Quinoa

This is one of my favorite healthy meals that really feels like it’s not. Hot sauce creates the impression that the food is indulgent, but sneaky- you’re eating QUINOA AND BROCCOLI! It’s perfect to hit your Super Bowl junk food craving this weekend! I’ve been making this for years and this is a 100% #shedapproved variation. It only takes 20 minutes to make AND it’s #vegan if you skip the cheese! Feel free to improvise with adding any other veggies you love! I will warn you, this dish does pack some heat, so if you are sensitive to spice, you may want to skip this one. Enjoy! -AHS

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Buffalo Quinoa

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa⠀

• 2 cups water⠀

• 1/4 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (original - NOT the wing sauce - it’s not Shed approved)⠀

• 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced⠀

• 2 tbsp olive oil (plus a drizzle)⠀

• Salt to taste⠀

• 2 cups frozen broccoli ⠀

• Optional: sprinkle of feta or blue cheese (month 1 only)

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Instructions

In a medium size pot, add quinoa and water. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. ⠀
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Meanwhile, add olive oil to a small pan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until they are nicely browned. Add salt to taste. ⠀

Steam broccoli in the microwave. You could use steamer bags or I just put the florets in a bowl with a little bit of water and microwave for 4 minutes. Be sure to drain any excess water.

When quinoa is ready add Frank’s and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix in onions, broccoli, and optional feta/blue cheese. Serve warm. ⠀
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