Asian Inspired Salmon over a warm Bok Choy Salad

I freely admit that I have an obsession with a vegetable. I don't often see it in the supermarket or even the farmer's markets, but when I do you'd think that I just found the Queen's diamonds. I'll tip toe over to it, look around to make sure no one's watching and then snatch it up, clutching it to my chest! I know that if everyone else knew what I know, then people would be taking it from my hands. It's best to be sneaky.

So what am I talking about? Bok choy, of course!

Now don't get all hopeful and think it tastes like chocolate dipped in gold. Bok choy is Chinese cabbage, but it's so much more amazing than any cabbage I've ever had. It can be a little bitter if eaten raw, but steamed or sautéed and it's perfection! The leaves are similar to spinach, but it has a more nutty flavor and the stems will keep a little bit of crunch after they've been cooked. Ahhh… so good!

And bok choy is really good for you-- it has a mega dose of vitamin A and a decent amount of vitamin C, calcium and iron. And the best part: it's only 20 calories for cup of shredded bok choy! Yay!

Have I convinced you yet to try it? I hope so because it's delicious!

I've been making Salmon over Bok Choy Salad for years and I absolutely love it. I've converted it to a gluten free version from my original recipe, but I'll let you know what you can substitute if you wanted to do the regular version. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Chicken with Chorizo Sausage and Sweet Potatoes

Hello my foodie friends! I hope you're ready for the holidays because I'm not! It's been a bit crazy with finals and shopping... and shopping. :)

But through all the stress something fun did happen! While procrastinating writing a school paper, I met a new blogger friend (Dirk, the sarcastic German) who happens to cook. Yay! He gave me his recipe for this yummy meal that I'm going to share with you today. Definitely check out the link-- he has other yummy looking recipes and I'm dying to try some of his German meals!

However, I did make a few adjustments to his original recipe because that's what I do. Surprise surprise!

Orange Chicken with Chorizo Sausage and Sweet Potatoes

100% Pure Natural Makeup

Since I start my blog just a little over a year ago, I've had a lot of questions about makeup. To be honest, I haven't worn much since going hardcore hippy because it's usually full of crap-tastic ingredients. But then something awesome happened and I stumbled across a brand that blew my mind!

100% Pure (that's the name of the company!) Remember that name!!

It's pretty crazy because they use fruit pigments to create the colors in their make up. They promise that their products are 100% natural and 100% vegan so you never have to worry about animal cruelty or weird chemicals. Everything is plant based (a lot of it's organic) or they use natural oils or moisturizers (like shea butter and grape seed oil). 

They have a full line of beauty products like foundation, mascara, eye shadow, lip gloss, lip stick, eyeliners, and a lot more. 

Since they are all natural they don't have a lot of exciting color palates to choose from like neon green or teal. They stick mostly to the pinks, reds, browns, purples and tans-- colors that you would find in nature. But that's fine with me-- I may have been born in the 80's, but that big blue eye shadow trend-- well, that was all my sister! I've always leaned more towards classic looks.

Most days I still go without make-up, but I wanted to share with you my basic "must have" list for a nice natural look. If you guys like this post, I can make another with a fancier date night color scheme. Woohoo!

Graze Subscription Box Review

Have I mentioned that I LOVE subscription boxes?! I especially love subscription boxes that give me delicious, yummy food. Yum!

I've been getting the Graze subscription box for a couple of months and it's definitely become one of my favorites because it's customizable, cheap, yummy, and so fun!

Once you decide to subscribe, you can go online to see their selection of food items and you're able to rate each individual item based on how much you think you'll enjoy it. You can choose between love, like, try or trash and that tells the company how often you want to receive the selected food item which is so awesome! Who wants to pay money and get something you know you won't like!

Graze also has options to even choose gluten, vegan, or dairy options!!

The snacks are always delicious, but they are also healthy-- lots of dried fruits, nuts, grains and sometimes they even send chocolate. Yes, chocolate! And remember it is totally healthy because it has magnesium and calcium and… other stuff.

There are always four snack size options in each box. You can sign up for a delivery once a month or the standard option of every two weeks and it's currently only $6 a box and shipping is free!

If you sign up with my Invitational Code: MARTHASNACKS and you can get your 1st box FREE!! Yay! Free stuff is always so awesome.

This week I got Raspberry and Coconut "Muffins" (dried raspberry cranberries, coconut, amaretti drops, and almond slices), Sour Cream and Onion Cashews, Rock the Casbah (pumpkin seeds, walnuts and dates), and Fruit and Seed Flapjacks (oats with mixed seeds and dried fruits).

So far I've been a member of the Graze community for a few months and I have only had one item which I didn't really like. But if you ever receive something you don't enjoy, then you have an option to dislike the item on the website and Graze won't ever send you another one.

Problem solved!

If you LOVE something, then you can mark it as a favorite and then you'll receive that snack option more often. It's pretty amazing. :)

The best part is that they taste great and they're healthy! The calories per container are very reasonable. They come with a nutritional facts sheet and these particular selections ranged from 130 calories to 225 calories and are full of iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. Yay!

Visit Graze.com if you'd like more information and don't forget your invitational code to get your first box free: MARTHASNACKS. 

Clean that Indoor AC Vent the Natural Way!

This is embarrassing. I haven't cleaned my indoor air conditioner vents in.... well, a long time. Yes, I am refusing to tell you exactly how long it's been and that's my right as a woman. It's like how a woman never tells her weight or her age-- you can guess, but she'll never confess. ;)

The thing is that the vents are always so hard to clean. ::moan, whine, being really dramatic:::

I've tried to use an old toothbrush, but it just spreads the grim around. And then there is always the old standby of using a rag and pushing it around with my fingers, but unless you have freakishly small circus hands or, in fact, have children to do your manual labor- it will hurt. Adult size fingers just don't go in those little slots!

But do you know what does fit in there?

• A flat ruler, butter knife, paint stirrer, thin spatula or any other similarly shaped object (knock yourself out world!)
• Q-tips

I use a two step method... but don't worry. It's so easy!

Step One:

• Put an old rag over one end of the long flat, thin object of your choosing (popsicle stick, ruler, spatula...) 
• Spray it with your homemade all purpose cleaner or store bought all purpose green cleaner. 
• Side note: I'll caution against using a traditional heavy duty all purpose cleaners because the AC is going to be sucking up any cleaning residue and circulating it around your house. I don't know if you want alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride traveling through your air supply-- just saying! But it's all good. I don't judge if you do. ;)

• Use the damp washcloth (wrapped around your thinly shaped long object) to clean in between the vent... thingies. 
• I don't know what they are technically called and I think "thingies" is perfectly logical. 
• Don't focus so much on the edges because dirt will collect there-- that's what step 2 is for. But you will probably have to move the rag around a bit on your object because if it gets too dirty it'll start to smear the dirt around instead of clean it. 
• Repeat this process until all the vents are clean (except the edges where dirt collects)