Saples $25 Gift Card Winner

The winner of the Staples gift card is Heather.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered!

Seventh Generation Winner!

The winner of the Seventh Generation Kit is Jami!

I have emailed you Jami.

Congratulations!

Review and a giveaway: Back-to-School with Staples

School has started. I am in school and the girls are back. Routines are in place (for the most part). But the best part of back to school time is school shopping!

I remember being little and getting so excited about shopping. New folders, pencils, pens...all of it! I loved it and honestly, I still do. Seeing my girls pick out school supplies is surreal...are they really doing this?!

We received a back to school kit from Staples and Mom Central. Let me tell you...they did not have all this cool stuff when I was little! Pens and accessories full of bling, calculators with sparkles and cool looking folders and notebooks. Plus a eco-friendly planner to keep track of everything!

I think this stuff is all super cute! The girls loved it and the things they could not take to school, they are fighting over who gets to play with it! It is definitely not the school supplies we grew up on and I am so happy my girls get excited over school supplies as much as I did!

Staples knows what kids like and carries it all! My only regret is not taking a picture of everything we got before it went into backpacks. But I was rushing out the door to go to my class when the package arrived. But trust me, this stuff is up anybody's alley that wants more than just the normal supplies!

Would you like to win a $25 Staples Gift Card to help with your shopping? Just leave me a comment here. Have you already done your shopping? Still enter because I am sure you will have to re-stock your child's things at some point in the year. For up to five additional ways to enter, click here. A winner will be chosen on Friday, September 17. Please leave your email address so I can contact you should you be chosen as the winner.

Good luck!

Three Ladies and a Dad Reviews Disclosure: This review is possible through Mom Central and Staples. Mom Central and/or Staples sponsored this post by providing me with a product pack and one $25 Staples gift card to give away so that I may share this information with you. My post is an expression of my own honest opinion based on my experience and is not reviewed or edited by Mom Central and/or Staples. Mom Central and/or Staples does not compensate me in any other way for this post.

Ten Ways to Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier #SmartOnes

I am always looking for ways to make our foods better for myself and my family. You can see my menus here and aside from a weekly 'splurge' meal, I am pretty satisfied with our menu for now.

As I get busier and busier with school, fast and easy food is becoming more a a norm for us now. I like quick meals, but at the same time, I want them to be somewhat good for us! Here are some things that I have been trying to do to help make that happen:

1. Subsitute, substitute, substitute. You can see on my menu that I made a Cajun Chicken Pasta from The Pioneer Woman. The first time I made it, it was delicious! I made it with what was called for. The last time I made it, I did not have a few things. Instead of the whole milk that it called for, I substituted some skim milk with a little flour. And even though you could taste a small difference, it was worth the calories that was saved!

2. Think outside of the box. Just today for much, I wanted pasta. I love macaroni and cheese and can eat it all the time! But today, I wanted to make it healthier and while it is still pasta, this worked: Instead of the normal butter, milk and cheese, I used pasta with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil topped with some freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. It was yummy and had a lot less cheese!

3. For that sweet tooth, instead of adding all the oil and eggs to the boxed cake mix, just add 12 oz. of diet soda instead. It will bake just the same (I promise!) and you will not miss out!

4. A go to meal in our house is the classic hamburger. But I can I can count how many times I have fried them on the stove on two fingers. Besides not having the greasy mess to clean up, the burger is better with the grill marks!

5. Tacos is another one our family loves. (Remember quick and easy?!) Call me crazy but I do not salt and pepper or add any seasoning to my ground beef before it is done. Why? I drain and rinse the cooked ground beef under hot water. This helps drain extra grease from the beef. Then I return to the pan and season like normal.

6. When our family is craving carbs, I try to eat lighter throughout the day. I love carbs but they leaving me feeling full. Eating something smaller earlier in the day helps reduce that feeling.

7. You know how love spinach! I try to add his to just about everything in our house. It decreases the guilt by some of the spurge meals since I am getting some extra nurtrietns I would not otherwise get! All you do is throw freshly chopped baby spinach in whatever you are cooking, whether it be a filling or a hamburger. You cannot taste it!

8. There are certain meals I know Jeremy and I love. The girls can eat however much they want but I try to limit how many leftovers will be in the house for Jeremy and I. These splurge meals are usually something like pizza and we both can eat that all day long! Just portioning out how much you are going to cook helps prevent it being more than just a night's dinner.

9. Do you love burritos! When we do burritos, we try to use shredded chicken instead of the beef. Just get creative with the fillings!

10. Another thing I try to remember to do is drink a tall glass of ice water before my meal. This helps your stomach to feel fuller quicker and limit how much of the food you will eat. It really does work, I just have to remember to do it!

I truly think people should eat what they want, in moderation. I try to incorporate this lists into my routine to help be feel a little less guilty about those splurge meals!

Do you have any tips you would like to share? I would love to hear them!

Three Ladies and a Dad Reviews Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and WeightWatchers SmartOnes blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.