Category Archives: health

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

From the time my daughter was a baby she has been a very picky eater. She is usually willing to try new things but rarely ever requests anything other than peanut butter sandwiches or tuna for lunch. I recently shared quick tips for a beach day and showed you some of our favorite food items to bring along, including Bumble Bee Tuna Salad with Cracker s. In addition to the prepackaged meals when we are on the go, we eat a lot of other Bumble Bee food products in our home. They recently sent me a few of their products to sample and I had some fun using them to make a creative lunch for my daughter. She loved her garden snail lunch!

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

I usually use Bumble Bee canned tuna in casserole dishes and the tuna pouches to pack in lunches when we are away from home. I was excited to receive a package of both cans and pouches.

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

Bumble Bee tuna products are heart healthy and dolphin safe!

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

To make the easy garden snail lunch you need:

(1) flour tortilla
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
tuna (can or pouch)
celery
carrots
raisins
grapes (not pictured)

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

Begin by spreading a layer of tuna and cheese on top of the tortilla. Microwave for 30 seconds if you prefer melted cheese.

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

Roll up tortilla and roll into snail shape.

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

Add slices of carrots for the snail’s antennas and smile. Use the raisin(s) for eyes. Use half of a piece of celery and grapes to make a tree. Slice the other half of the celery piece to make grass.

Garden Snail Lunch {Bumble Bee Tuna and cheddar tortilla roll up}

Don’t feel silly if you make a garden snail lunch plate for yourself too! My daughter and I both enjoyed our fun lunches together.

Bumble Bee believes in enriching each day with quality food and experiences. Their BeeWell for Life® philosophy is all about living the best life possible. They have put together their first installment of the BeeWell Living Guide to help you reach your goals. You can download the free guide here.

You can connect with Bumble Bee on their Facebook page and YouTube Channel.

Do you want to try some of the best Bumble Bee products to use in your own recipes? They are giving one of you a great sample pack of products. The winner will receive an assortment of tuna and salmon products including their new sensation bowls.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received complimentary products but all opinions are my own.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices with Walgreens Balance Rewards

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My husband had open heart surgery as a child and it’s been almost seven years since I had heart surgery. It’s not something I’ve ever talked about here but that doesn’t mean it makes me uncomfortable. As you can imagine, since we were both born with heart conditions, making healthy lifestyle choices is very important in our home. Luckily our daughter has a completely normal and healthy heart but we are doing our best as parents to be good role models for her to make healthy choices too.

My entire childhood and early adulthood I suffered from severe migraines and occasionally passed out. My local small town doctor told my parents I probably passed out because I locked my knees while standing. Unfortunately it seemed every time this happened I was in fact standing and therefore, I always received a stern, “don’t lock your knees,” after my parents made sure I didn’t seriously injure myself after falling down. Eventually I moved away from home for college and pursued different treatments for my migraines. I was absolutely terrified by the idea of passing out at school. Aside from the potential for real injuries, I was mortified by the humiliation of having to be “that girl” in college. Then my fear turned into reality. I passed out while standing as a bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding. I’m pretty sure almost everyone I had known my entire life was present, including my husband (we were engaged at the time) and my parents.

me and my childhood BFF at her wedding, 2005

This happened just before the ring exchange. My husband came running up the middle aisle and literally caught me before I hit my head on a pew in the church. The other girls in the wedding party formed a line in front of me and the wedding continued as if nothing had happened. I woke up sitting behind the other bridesmaids with my husband next to me. I asked, “what are you doing up here?” Then I realized why he was there. OH NO, DID I REALLY JUST PASS OUT DURING THE RING EXCHANGE AT MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING? Yes. I wasn’t hurt and luckily it’s something we can all laugh about now.

Following that experience I went to see a cardiologist at my husband’s request. I was determined to figure out why this was happening to me. At my very first cardiology appointment I was diagnosed with an Atrial Septal Defect, a hole in my heart that should have been diagnosed at birth. I had a relatively easy procedure to fix it and I haven’t had a migraine or passed out since.

With our heart histories we do our best to make healthy choices. One of the easy things I can do is avoid salt in the kitchen. I never use salt. Literally, never. It’s always left out of recipes when I’m cooking at home and it’s never added to our table setting. Our four year old daughter wouldn’t recognize salt if she saw it. We also keep heart healthy snacks on hand. This week I was very excited to see the Walgreens Buy one get one free sale on almonds.

With six servings per can this was a great deal!

Did you know you can be rewarded for purchasing items that contribute to your healthy lifestyle at Walgreens? Additionally, you can use their new Steps with Balance Rewards to track your personal goals. Earning points is easy and you start from the minute you sign up.

I registered online and the program benefits were automatically linked to my Balance Rewards account.

While you’re on the site, you can also enter the Steps to Win Sweepstake s! You have a chance to win daily instant win prizes and a grand prize. The daily prizes are super! Sadly I haven’t won yet but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying. Every day you play you get entered to win a trip to the Biggest Loser resort of your choice. The sweepstakes run until May 31st.

Getting started on your journey to a healthy lifestyle and saving money using Steps with Balance Rewards is easy. You can also connect with Walgreens on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to see more photos of my shopping experience, take a look at my Healthy Lifestyle Choices with Walgreens Balance Rewards #BalanceRewards #cbias #socialfabric Google+ album.

If you’re looking for more fun, stop by the Aisle Share FUN page.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walgreens but all opinions and ideas are my own. #BalanceRewards #cbias #SocialFabric

“Joy was not my only emotion as a new mom” from Heather {a courageous mother, wife, and survivor of Mesothelioma}

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Looking at Heather’s family photo, you would never know what they experienced when their daughter Lily was just over three months old. I cannot imagine being diagnosed with Mesothelioma just a few months after the birth of my only child.

Like many others; I have experienced a time when I needed my loved ones to help me through a difficult situation. At the time, I was only 36 years old, and my daughter Lily was born on August 4, 2005. It was such a great time in my life, but things quickly took a turn for the worse.

After giving birth to Lily, I went back to work; however, I felt extremely tired and was losing a lot of weight. I figured these were things that came with childbirth, but eventually I knew it was more than that, so I went to my doctor and underwent a myriad of test. That is when our worlds came to a screeching halt.

On November 21, 2005, I found out that I had malignant pleural mesothelioma. This was a cancer caused by asbestos exposure; unfortunately, I was not aware that I was exposed to asbestos as a little girl. However, like in most cases, my symptoms did not arrive until decades after my exposure. Around 30 years to be exact.

When I received the diagnosis, I immediately thought about Lily, as any new mother would. If I did not treat this disease, I would only have about 15 months to live. As I looked at Lily and my husband, I knew that I could not leave them alone; I had to do whatever was necessary to save my life.

“Whatever was necessary” ended up being pretty drastic. My husband and I flew to Boston to meet with one of the best mesothelioma doctors, Dr. David Sugarbaker, and have a treatment called an extrapleural pneumonectomy. This surgery involved the removal of my left lung and all of the surrounding tissue.

During my time in Boston, Lily stayed with my parents in their home, where I grew up in South Dakota. My parents were now not only grandparents to Lily, but they were actually raising her. Fortunately, they had tons of friends helping them along the way. I will never be able to repay or thank these people enough for their selflessness during this awful time in our lives. I also made friends in Boston, and these friends were experiencing the same thing I was experiencing. In order to get from one day to the next, I had to have the support of the people around us.

While Lily was in South Dakota, she continued to grow up quickly; unfortunately, I could only see her growth through black and white pictures that my mom would email and my husband would print at a community printer. I tried not to cry as I looked at photos of her, but I knew she was the reason I was fighting for my life. I was glad she was with my parents during this time.

My family now understands how uncertain life can be. For me, I encourage everyone to accept everything that comes with this life. Even with the bad situations, a lot of good can eventually be seen.

I’m amazed by Heather’s beautiful outlook and positive attitude. She is enjoying motherhood while raising awareness about Mesothelioma. You can read more about Heather’s story on her blog and connect with her on Facebook.