The Little Things and More | a lifestyle blog

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Pasta Salad with Kale & Sweet Potatoes

How is summer almost over already? Even though I don't go back to school until the end of September, I'm still feeling a little sad because I know there are a lot of people who are returning to school this month. That summer vibe is slowly going away and next thing you know, it'll be fall time! Seriously, where has the time gone??
As summer comes to an end, I bring you a simple and colorful pasta salad that I like to put together for those nights when I don't want to bother with using the stove. Being the health fanatic that I sometimes am, I just want to mention that there's no added sugar or highly processed ingredients in this recipe. I think this is also great way to get all types of nutrients in one plate as experts suggest to include a wide variety of different colored foods in our diets.

Here's a very casual recipe - feel free to adjust it to your liking :)

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup Penne pasta

Handful of kale

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes/yams

1/2 cup cherry Tomatoes

Vinegar or black pepper

Instructions:

I started with the sweet potatoes because they take the longest to cook.
After preheating the oven to 400 degrees F., I washed the sweet potatoes under cold water, then stabbed them a couple of times with a fork and wrapped them loosely in foil. They were in the oven for about 50 minutes when the insides turned soft when poked with a knife.
For the kale, I bought washed, packaged ones from the store. In a pan set on high heat, I waited for the olive oil to warm up until I tossed in the kale. I cooked it for 10 minutes when the leaves shriveled up.
After cutting the sweet potatoes in cubes, I tossed it with the cooked pasta and kale. I sprinkled some black pepper or you could use vinegar to add more flavor. I let it cool and stored it in an airtight container in the fridge. They can be served right out of the fridge!

Let me know if you're going to give it a try!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Body Shop Review | A hit...and a miss

If you've been reading my review posts lately, you've probably noticed that a majority of the stuff are from The Body Shop. Maybe it's because I'm still a newbie when it comes to beauty things, but I always find myself going back to The Body Shop to look for products to try. I think it's their endless sales and promotions that keep reeling me in. Here are two of their "best-seller" products, Nutriganics Drops of Youth and Vitamin C Skin Boost that I'm going to review. One's a hit and one's a miss.

Nutriganics Drops of Youth

It didn't take me 'till now to realize that Nutriganics Drops of Youth is actually an anti-aging serum that targets the first signs of aging. I think this just goes to show how clueless I am when it comes to beauty-related things, ah bare with me please haha. I do love to experiment and play around with new products however!

I was very impressed by this serum when I first used it that I bought another one after finishing the first (note: this item no longer ships to California, can be purchased in stores only). It does exactly what it claims as it enhances surface skin condition, smoothes, and instantly moisturizes. For such a small bottle with a pretty big price tag, I mostly use it at night time after washing my face and it leaves my skin super soft, dewy, and fresh looking. On occasion, I would use it during the day to give my skin a fresher and healthier look. The serum has a light scent and unlike FAB's liquid serum (review here), it has a slightly thicker and goo-y consistency, making it easy to apply and massage onto my face. In terms of its anti-aging claims, I haven't noticed any major differences, but it has made my face look a lot brighter and smoother than it used to.

This serum is an essential part of my daily skincare routine. It's gentle and non-drying while leaving my skin looking smooth and fresh. I would highly recommend this serum to those of you who have a dull/rough complexion.

(P.S. You can usually get the product at a cheaper price than it originally retails with the sales & promotions that they always have going on!)

Vitamin C Skin Boost

Now onto the one that was a miss...

I was really excited to try this because I was looking for something to help brighten my skin tone. After the first use however, my thought was that this small bottle was not worth the price. It claims to create instant smoothing radiance with a silky smooth finish and enhance your glow. But in actuality, this product did not work for me at all. Since it's slightly oily, I would use it in the mornings before I put on my moisturizer. It dispenses a tiny amount in one pump and it's more than enough to smooth over my entire face. Although it was an easy application as the formula glided on my skin and had a nice citrus scent, it really didn't do any more than that. The "glow" that it supposedly gives is from the light-reflecting specks in the formula, but I honestly did not see any brightening effects.

In short, the Vitamin C Skin Boost left my skin smooth and soft, but only temporary. At $27 a bottle, I would not be buying this again because I didn't see any long-term results. I think this would make a good base for makeup, but that's not really what I was looking for.

I hope you found this review helpful and thank you for reading :)

Monday, August 4, 2014

Sunday Eats #1

Now that I've been living on my own for over a month now, i've realized that food is the number one thing that i'm always thinking about. When i'm not eating, i'm thinking about what to eat for the next meal or next day, and when i am eating, i'm usually thinking about what to pack for lunch for work/school tomorrow. When i'm showering or just doing some things online, my mind would randomly drift to thinking about food and if there is anything to eat in the apartment.

Being the indecisive person that i am, going grocery shopping takes me way longer than it should be. Trust me, you do not want to go food shopping with me because i will just stand in front of the yogurt or cereal aisle and think long and hard about what to get. There are just so many choices and i want to try everything! I've given up on making grocery lists because they never work for me. I always make last minute decisions once i'm at the store. Do you know anyone who's like that?

If I want to cook a meal that is satisfying and going to give me plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week, i have to always plan ahead to prepare the ingredients. The first time i made chicken curry, it wasn't until the last minute that i found out i had to defrost the chicken breasts overnight in the fridge. That was a slight setback all right. Like i said, planning ahead is extremely important when it comes to making a home cooked meal. Oh gosh, look at me just rambling on. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to start doing some life in a day, in this case, Sunday posts that are going to be all about the food that i ate on that day. Just wanted to share the healthy, not-so-healthy, and at-times-random meals that i eat on ~~lazy~~ Sundays!

- Breakfast -

I had oatmeal with banana, blueberries, raisins, with cinnamon and chia seeds sprinkled on top. I also made myself a cup of mocha with 1 tablespoon instant coffee + 2 tablespoons dark hot chocolate + almond milk.

- Lunch -

I was at Trader Joe's the other day and grabbed these because i thought i would give it a try. The Mandarin Orange Chicken looked especially good when i was in the freezer aisle. I think i had a craving for meat that day.

First off, the quinoa was really annoying to wash because the tiny grains easily slipped through my fingers when i was pouring out the dirty water. And for the price, it was not worth it. I won't be getting it again. On the other hand, the orange chicken was tender and very tasty! I think it was mostly the sauce that made me want to have more haha. It came with two mandarin orange ginger sauce packs that you can heat up in the microwave.