In my never-ending attempt at making our house greener and greener, I’ve found a new line of laundry products I’d love to share.
Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Products

I have been using the Laundry Nuggets and the Oxygen Brightener for a few weeks now and LOVE them!

You know how you’ve probably read that people (and yes, I include myself in this statement) tend to use way too much laundry soap in their washing machines just because, it’s easy to and somehow it can feel “necessary”. Well, the laundry nuggets take the guess work out of measuring powder for your laundry load. Just pick up a nugget, toss it in your load and walk away – but, yes, you might want to shut the lid on the washer before walking away.

Nellie’s laundry soap is made of all-natural ingredients that are biodegradable, non-toxic and hypoallergenic – if you have allergies or sensitive skin, you should be good to go with these.

The cute container with the precious puppy on the front even turns into a “Nugget Bank” when you’re finished – just adding to the fun. You can always recycle the packaging if having a super cute bank is just not for you.

Nellie’s All-Natural Oxygen Brightener is color safe, chlorine free, hypoallergenic, biodegradable, septic safe and environmentally friendly.

Does it get better than this??

Yes, because this product also helps remove stains and odors from your laundry too!

Don’t worry, Nellie hasn’t forgot that you have to dry your clothing after washing them. Personally, I think line drying is the way to go, but there are just those times where hanging your clothing out is not practical. Instead of tossing in those one-time use dryer sheets, toss in a Nellie’s Dryerball.

These balls help soften your fabric naturally – reducing drying time, reducing lint and wrinkles and are non-toxic containing no chemicals. (oh, they’re PVC free too). They also come with a 2-year replacement warranty.

Another fun feature, you can buy these all-natural fragrance sticks to place inside the dryer balls giving your clothing, sheets, towels, etc. a nice light scent.

Where can you buy all these laundry goodies? Well, right here at Nellie’s shop of course. You’ll also find laundry soda and all-natural dish washing products here too.

More questions? Check out the Nellie’s FAQ page for answers.

Another way to purchase Nellie’s All-Natural Products – through AMAZON.
Nellie’s All-Natural

Wow, I feel like I should give something away now – kinda what happens when I get excited!!

So, here’s the giveaway:

• 1 package Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Nuggets
• 1 package (2-pack) Nellie’s All-Natural PVC Free Dryerballs
• 1 package Nellie’s Fragrance Sticks – Lavender Scent

I’m going to keep entering this one simple too – going old-school. Leave a comment below letting me know which laundry soap product you use now. Do you make your own, buy in bulk, or buy the most cost-effective? Or are you super cool (and I’m not there yet) and realize that you can even use NO laundry soap (like my friend Jessica) with today’s washers?

Whatever makes your life work, just let me know.

For extra entries:

“LIKE” Lita’s World on Facebook – then leave a comment below letting me know you did this.

“Follow” Lita’s World on Twitter – then leave a comment below letting me know you did this.

“Add” Lita’s World to your Google+ Circles – then leave a comment below letting me know you did this.

“Follow” Lita’s World Board(s) on Pinterest – then leave a comment below letting me know you did this.

You can use the handy links above and below this post to do the following 2 extra entries:

“Share” this giveaway on Twitter – then leave me your Tweet link below

“Share” this giveaway on Facebook – then leave me your share link below

How’s that for simple?

Contest ends Saturday, May 26th at midnight Pacific Time.

P.S. I have not been compensated in any way for writing this review – nor have I been given these products to give away. I’m just sharing what I love – because it’s what I like to do :)

Best part of visiting Hakone Gardens in Saratoga…visiting with Mom!

Happy Wednesday,

The incredible women over at Live and Love Out Loud, Bumbles&Light  and Project Alicia have been putting on a weekly photo challenge this Spring called “Leap Into Spring”. If you’ve missed any of it, pop on over to their sites to see all the amazing photos that have been submitted.

I haven’t been prepared enough to participate weekly, but I’ve definitely been following along and enjoying all the photos submitted. WOW there are just so many talented people out there!!  Just taking the time to view the entries has been so inspiring.

Not only have they set this challenge up for others to share their images, but they’ve also thrown in some excellent photo taking tutorials along the way:

• Shooting During the Golden Hour – Project Alicia
• Composition – Live and Love Out Loud
• Perspective and Perception – Bumbles & Light
• Capturing Movement – Bumbles & Light
• White Balance – Live and Love Out loud

I feel like throughout all this fun, I’ve also learned so much.

So, just for the “fun” of it all, here are some of the photos I’ve been snapping this Spring:

So, how about you? Have you been snapping away this Spring? or do you need a bit of inspiration? All I know is I’ve never regretted any of the photos I’ve taken. Even if they’re blurry or badly lit. They’re all memories of a moment – a moment we’ll never get back.

So, get your camera out, dust it off, get out there and snap away. AND be sure to share too!!

Get ready for the next photo challenge this summer!!

Make sure to follow these lovely women so you can be inspired and hopefully participate in their next challenge. It’s fun, I promise and, we all could use some inspiration, right?!

Happy Snapping,

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!!

I made this couscous salad for a bar-b-que we had with the kids yesterday on Mother’s Day. Our first BBQ of the season!

This salad was super easy to make – and easy to improvise with if you’re running short of time and have to use what you have on hand (as pretty much ALWAYS happens to me).

Ingredients:

The essentials:

• 1 box – approximately 1 1/3 cups Israeli pearl couscous, uncooked
• 1-3/4 cups vegetable broth
• 1- 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil (3 Tablespoons if using regular couscous)
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice – I had only 1 tablespoon of lime juice left, so I picked a Meyer lemon from my tree and squeezed half of it in too
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• approximately 1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped – adjust to taste and add more if you LOVE cilantro

I used the Israeli pearl couscous from Trader Joe’s:

But, you can also use “regular” couscous if that’s what you have on hand. If this is the case use, adjust the couscous and broth above as follows:

• 1 cup regular couscous, uncooked
• 1-1/4 cups vegetable broth

The “throw-ins” and options:

what I used:

• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1/4 shallot diced (use more if you like)
• dash of chili powder

other options:

• 1 green or red bell pepper, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• anything that sounds yummy to you – be creative!

Directions:

1. Prepare Couscous:

For Israeli couscous – prepare according to box – heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a pot on medium high heat. Saute the couscous until browning – approximately 5 minutes. Add boiling vegetable broth to pot and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer approximately 12 minutes.

For regular couscous – Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add couscous, stir and cover. Turn off heat and leave for 5 minutes.

2. Fluff couscous with a fork very well.

3. Prepare the dressing in a large bowl by whisking together remaining olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the black beans, corn, and other throw-ins: tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions, cucumber, etc. to the couscous and toss together. (I kept my cucumber on the side as my son-in-law Robert has an allergy to them – in case you’re wondering why you don’t see them in the photo below)

5. Top with the dressing and toss again -adjust seasonings if necessary adding more salt and pepper if desired.

6. Add the cilantro at the end and sprinkle with a dash of chili powder (if desired).

7. Toss again and refrigerate to let the flavors blend.

Enjoy!!

Enjoy your day and feel the love around you!

And much love to my incredible mom who I’m so happy to have you here with me today!

Aaahhh the skin! If you’ve never had skin issues of any sort, well then I am so very envious of you!

I’ve never had major skin issues, though I definitely have noticed more acne – yes, acne in my 40s than I have at any other time in my life. Could this be hormones? Who knows, but along with those little lines that seem to be appearing around my eyes and on my forehead, I’ve become more than ready for trying new products.

Being a vegan, I do have some product requirements. Of course, the products have to NOT be tested on animals and also NOT contain any animal products.

So, when my friend’s sister, Nikki, approached me about trying products from the Rodan+Fields line, I was more than open to hearing what she had to say. (She assured me my requirements were met.)

A little company background – Rodan+Fields was started in 2002 by Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields. These women are both practicing dermatologist – successful, I might add, as they are the creators of Proactive Solution (and I’m sure you’ve heard of this very popular skin care line). The Rodan+Fields line is sold through a network marketing business model – meaning you can also sign up to be a seller of their products if you like the them. The company is based in California and has been given membership in the Direct Selling Association (DSA) which grants membership to only the most industry compliant companies – meaning the company has a solid base. Not a bad base either for women who want to work at home or start their own business.

The company has 4 product sets available. They include:

• Anti-Age – a regiment for wrinkles, pores and loss of firmness

• Reverse – a regimen for brown spots, dullness and sun damage

• Soothe – a regimen for sensitive, irritated skin and facial redness

• Unblemish – a regiment for acne and post-acne marks

There are also 2 other sets  – one called Enhancements used to optimize the results of your regimen and also Essentials including everyday body necessities such as sunscreen, moisturizer and lip shield.

I was given 2 products sets to try for myself and for my hubby – Anti-Age and Unblemish.

Since I don’t have really “bad” acne, I was told to try the Unblemish for a couple of weeks and then switch to the Anti-Age.

First, my thoughts on Unblemish which includes an acne treatment sulfur wash, spot fading (or clarifying) toner, dual intensive acne treatment (serum&cream) and oil control lotion.

OMG! Wow – if you think you have anything…and I mean anything hidden deep in your skin…way down in those pores, well, this system WILL bring it out. I’m so glad that Nikki warned me to not be alarmed because it was a bit shocking. Shocking in a good way – if that’s possible. Be prepared – I’m glad I was and I’m glad I used the Unblemish. I feel like my skin is deep-down clean now and the products left me with much more even skin tone – I tend to get a bit “red” at times. If you have serious acne, I would think this line would seriously help you clear up your pores.

I started my hubby, Jimi, right away on the Anti-Age system which consists of a daily cleansing mask, pore minimizing toner, daytime moisturizer with SPF 30, overnight restorative cream, night renewing serum AND a Roller Tool.

I need to tell you more about this roller – it’s a roller that you roll, yes roll, along your face in a pattern. The roller tool has surgical grade stainless steel acupuncture-type needles protruding from it. These needles make mini punctures in the top layer of your skin which makes it more receptive to absorbing the ingredients in the serum and overnight cream.

Using the roller might seem a little daunting at first, but, as a person who has friends who have taken much more extreme actions when it comes to keeping their skin young looking, the roller really isn’t bad at all.

My hubby Jimi also gets to be the “star” of the before and after photos.

Can you see the difference, especially in his forehead – the skin tone is more even also?

One profound difference that you can’t tell from these photographs is how his skin feels. It’s silky soft now and I LOVE it. Jimi has spent a lot of his life out in the elements doing triathlons, surfing, motorcycle racing, etc. and has gotten a lot of sun on his face. His skin feels new now – so very soft and smooth too.

There is actually one product in the Anti-Age system that I didn’t receive, but that I have gone online to purchase – the Anti-Age Eye Cloths. I LOVE these cloths for removing makeup especially at the gym!  Not only do they wipe the make-up away, they also deposit anti-aging peptides on your skin to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles and decrease puffiness.

I’ll be honest, the products are pricey. But, in all honesty, again, I have friends that spend a heck of a lot more on their faces in a year than it would cost to use these products.

I have not signed up to sell the Rodan+Fields line, but I have signed up to be a Preferred Customer under Nikki. This gives me a savings of 10%  on the products I buy and also I receive free shipping.

Now, for the good part, here’s a special link set up by Nikki where she is giving away a FREE customized skincare Routine just for trying the Rodan+Fields Solutions Tool. If you try the Solutions Tool, you will also be entered in a raffle to win a Micro-Dermabrasion Paste.

The Solutions Tool is a questionnaire that helps you determine which product system will work best for you.

Nikki is also offering some free bonus products for signing up as a preferred customer and, doing so, also gets you entered into another raffle!

Don’t be afraid! If you do sign up and purchase some products and find out they’re not right for you, you can return any products within 60 days – even if the bottles are empty – for a full refund.

Have more questions? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact Nikki directly at (408) 480-3715.

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve tried or are going to try the Rodan+Fields line of products.

Truly, lately I’ve had cauliflower on the brain. This has created somewhat of an obsession with this little-used-in-my-house veggie. Let me tell you how it all started…

A couple of weeks ago I came across a recipe for a curried-cashew cauliflower dish. The obsession begins…

I haven’t made this recipe yet because I keep forgetting to buy cashews and/or cashew butter – typical, right?! But this recipe sits atop my desk reminding me of how delicious it looks and how much I want to make it.

Then I bought a head of cauliflower -see, I remembered that ingredient.

Now, this part might not sound strange – buying the cauliflower – but I truly don’t think about cauliflower on a regular basis. It’s not a typical item on my shopping list. In fact, I think I’ve probably only bought it in the past to put on veggie dip platters.

Last weekend, after I realized I had forgotten the cashew butter and cashews, I decided to dice half the head of cauliflower and add it to my bean recipe. I really liked the addition of the diced cauliflower to the dish. Though not a requirement, it gave the beans a little tasty extra.

This weekend, again realizing I didn’t have the cashew butter or cashews, and looking through my vegetable drawer to see what needed to be used, I saw the other half of the cauliflower head, 1 red pepper and 3 zucchinis.

Ahhh, what do do, what to do?

Whenever this question comes up with veggies I need to use before they spoil, my go-to is roasting them.

On top of the curried-cashew cauliflower recipe that I still need to make, I had also seen a roasted vegetable recipe that utilized mustard. Not sure where I saw it, but the concept stuck in my brain.

Being the adventurous type, I decided to try using mustard in a mixture to coat the cauliflower before roasting. For the pepper and zucchini I just drizzled olive oil on giving them a dash of salt and pepper too. I didn’t want to coat them too in case the mustard mix didn’t really work out.

Here’s the recipe I used to coat the cauliflower:

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower – though I only have 1/2 a head, I think there would be more than enough made in this recipe to coat a full head
• juice from one lemon – or I used about 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard – this is the mustard type I had, though I think any even yellow would work
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoons nutritional yeast – added for just that fun extra, but if you don’t have any I think it would be fine to leave out

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the cauliflower into approx. bite size pieces.

3. Whisk all other ingredients together.

4. Toss in the cauliflower and mix to coat.

5. Spread the cauliflower out on a baking sheet.

as you can see, my other veggies are on the sheet too

6. Bake for approximately 40 minutes – checking and turning the veggies 1/2 way through.

The verdict: I could’ve eaten all the cauliflower myself they were that yummy. I would have, but that might not have gone over so well with Pops.

The cauliflower had just the right bit of “tang” to it – it was rather addicting actually.

This will now be a regularly made recipe in our house! And one I’ll be using at our summertime dinner parties. I regularly cook the veggies on the bar-b-que and now, I’m going to give it a go cooking the cauliflower with this coating there too – I’ll keep you posted on that.

So, now a vegetable that was once not much thought about except as a dipping veggie or one that appeared in Indian curry dishes has become my new obsession.

I guess there are worse things to be obsessed about, right?!

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!

See the beautiful bride above?

That’s my Aunt Ellen (she’s also my Godmother).

This past weekend, her daughter Amanda (my cousin) got married in a gorgeous ceremony in North Carolina. I wasn’t able to attend the wedding, but was so grateful for Facebook and the ability to follow the day’s events through photographs posted there.

My Aunt also sent me some photos of the day. It was truly a beautiful ceremony and reception and got me reminiscing about being the flower girl (above) at my Aunt’s big day. I remember that day and how excited I was to be the flower girl.

Yep, that little girl above who slept the whole night before with big pink rollers in her hair so it would have some fullness is me. I tend to have very flat, heavy, and super straight hair.

I know I’ve seen photos of this day before, but I truly don’t have any of my own – so I was so excited to get these. Above I’m with my little brother (so cute!!) and my cousin Joey who was the ring-bearer. Joey and I were born only a few days apart in December – just another little fact to share.

This one has to be my favorite of the photos my Aunt emailed me:

That “hot” woman standing behind me and my brother is my mom – didn’t she look gorgeous?! My dad is to the left of her in the burgundy jacket, his brother Joe is all the way to the left of the photo with my Uncle Mike and Uncle Ronny to his other side.

I’ll cherish this next photo as it has me and my Grandmother in it. I don’t really have any photographs of her, but I definitely have plenty of memories.

What a wonderful trip down memory lane! I’m so grateful she sent these and I’m sure that she will have photos from my cousin’s beautiful day to cherish for years to come too.

Now, moving from the 70′s to today…..

Congratulations Mandy and Adam!!

I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness together!

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

As I looked through the recipes I’ve posted throughout the life of this blog, I am amazed how many of them contain BEANS!

Therefore, it goes without saying I LOVE BEANS!

Thank goodness for that because I think it would be truly hard for me to be a healthy vegan without them!

Beans are like the perfect food to me – especially when combined with say brown rice or some corn or maybe even wheat tortillas which, when combined, gives you a more complete protein.

They’re kinda like the healthy vegan/vegetarian person’s meat – though being much better for you than meat is gives them a bonus. Eating beans can help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and can even help reduce your risk at getting some cancers. They’re high in fiber which can help keep everything running smoothly – if you know what I mean. With so many types of beans, I’d be surprised to find someone who doesn’t like some variety of them.

Whether they’re in a soup or in a chili or just cooked along with a few spices, I love having a big pot of them in the fridge ready to add to almost any meal.

You can keep it simple and be what I like to call a “lazy” vegan and just heat up a can of beans at mealtime. I am this way quite often, but this week, I decided to soak a 16 ounce bag of pinto beans and make myself s simple pot of them tossing in some veggies I had sitting in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces of beans (I used pinto) – rinse and discard any misfits
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 14 ounces of chopped tomatoes – I used canned for this recipe
• 3 carrots diced
• 1/2 head of cauliflower diced
• 3 sticks celery diced
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon fresh basil chopped

Instructions:

1. Soak beans in 6 cups of water for 6-8 hours – until they double in size and seem wrinkle free (oh, if only it was that easy to be wrinkle free I’d live in the tub!).

2. Drain and rinse the beans.

3. Put the beans in a large pot and cover the beans with just enough water.

4. Bring the beans to a boil and boil for 10 minutes – skimming and discarding the foam that appears on top.

5. While the beans are boiling, heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion cooking over medium-high heat until translucent.

6. Add the chopped vegetables, (using whatever you have around – as above I used carrots, celery and cauliflower) and sauté. I sautéed them until the 10 minutes of boiling-the-beans above was complete.

7. Add this mixture to the beans, also adding the spices and chopped tomatoes.

8. Make sure there is enough water to just cover the beans and then cover the pot and simmer for 1-2 hours.

Occasionally stir the pot and test the bean tenderness being sure to cook them until they are as tender as you would like them to be. Remember, you want them to create a “sauce” around the beans (unless you feel like more soupy beans) so add water only if you feel it is necessary. I’ve found if I air on the side of not overcooking the beans, they hold up much better all week when I re-heat them to add to my meals.

This week I had these beans as a the side for most meals, but I also heated them in tortillas to make burritos, put them atop salads as a bonus, sauteed them with some vegan sausage for breakfast and munched them as a dip with tortilla chips….and there were plenty from this 1 pot for both myself and Pops to enjoy!

Next bean experiment…finding the ultimate vegan baked bean recipe for summer bar-b-ques! I’ll keep you posted!

Happy Meatless Monday,

Just as I was getting ready to write about this DELICIOUS Chia/Vie drink I tried, I noticed that one of my favorite bloggers, Leslie over at Crunchy Betty has a post up about using Chia on your FACE!

You know I’ve already written about how much I LOVE Chia – not to mention all the health benefits it has when ingested…now, it looks like it’s also amazing to put on your face! Check out her post on making a face scrub with these cute little seeds and then toss some in your smoothies or on your salads or in any/every thing you eat (like I do!)

Now, onto this delicious drink I found and tried…Chia/Vie!

These tasty Chia filled smoothies are 100% vegan and gluten-free and provide the perfect “pick-me-up” when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to make your favorite smoothie – or if you’re out and about and aren’t near your blender!

The drinks come in 3 delish flavors (though I only have 2 pictured above):

• Acerola-Pina Smoothie
• Mango-J Smoothie
• Banapple-Berry Smoothie

There are 2000 mg of Omega-3, 600 mg Omega-6 and 88 mg Omega-9 in every bottle! Read more about the benefits of the Omega-3′s in these drinks here.

Another bonus, because of their well-designed aluminum bottle, you don’t need to keep Chia/Vie refrigerated! Meaning you can take it on the go…wherever you go with no worries! It also means the bottles are environmentally friendly and green! Read more about their cool bottle here!

The basic point of this post is to share another way to bring something healthy into your life. I love trying new healthy/vegan products that I can share and hopefully, by sharing, I can help motivate others to live a healthier life.

If you’ve tried any healthy products lately and/or if you have any feedback for me, please leave a comment below.

The people at Chia/Vie and Bare Nutrition do not know me at all and have definitely not offered me any compensation in any form for this post. I’m just sharing a product I found and love…because….well, that’s what I love to do.

Here’s to wishing you a Happy and Healthy day!