Over the last few months I’ve partnered with ThinkBeef.ca. One of the concepts I learned was how important the role of meat plays in the health of the Canadian population along with other foundational foods like fish, grains, legumes, dairy, fruits and vegetables. I was astonished to find on average, over half the women in Canada and boys ages 14 to 18 years, don’t eat the recommended servings of meat and alternative servings daily. I had mentioned on my Instagram, after taking the quiz on Thinkbeef.ca I learned just how nutrient dense beef really is. It contains much more iron, B12 and zinc than chicken at a comparable fat and calorie content. Compared to chicken, you would need to eat 7 servings of chicken (75 g cooked) to get the same amount of B12 as provided by 75 g of lean beef. With that said, beef truly inspired this easy Mason Jar recipe my whole family enjoys.

Serving Size: 4

 Ingredients: 8-10 oz steak (rib eye is my preference), crumbled feta cheese, container of small tomatoes, 1 purple onion, 1 large cucumber, olive oil, 2 lemons, greek seasoning of choice, pepper, and sea salt.

Add salt and pepper liberally to both sides of your steak, grill to desired internal temperature (for this recipe I do medium).

While the steak is cooking half three cups of tomatoes, slice one large cucumber, and dice 1/2 cup of purple onion.

In a small bowl, squeeze both lemons and add approximately 1/3 a cup of olive oil. Stir in 2 tablespoons of greek seasoning (I love souvlaki). Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing into the bottom of 4 small mason jars, layer in crumbed cheese, greens (tomato, cucumber, purple onion) and steak.

Shake before serving.

Eat immediately for best results or store in the fridge to eat within 24 hours

As an alternative, if you are not looking for a KETO friendly recipe adding 1/3 a cup of brown rice as the first layer on top of the dressing is a great option. Also, to be budget friendly pick up a flank steak and slow cook in water, salt, pepper and water for approximately 6 hours to make as tender as a ribeye steak.

Disclaimer: This sponsored was paid by ThinkBeef

If you’ve caught my Instagram stories this week you would have probably guessed I’ve partnered with Edo Japan. By no means am I new to the franchise, I’ve been loving them for over a decade. I’m so excited to share this exciting partnership opportunity with my family while ‘Edo for a week.’ We got to ‘Edo Your Heart Out’ while eating some menu favourites and trying some new finds from the ever evolving Edo Menu.  We made three visits in one week and this is what we found:

Chop Chop Bowls. Perfectly grilled chicken, beef, or crispy tempura shrimp on top of rice, raw veggies, and Savoury Bulgogi sauce. We tried both the shrimp and beef this past week. This has been a go-to of mine since last summer. I love the fresh ingredients and size. I usually share mine with my toddler. He loves it as much as I do!

Iced Coconut Coffee: This one is unreal! It’s like a vacation in a cup. During this heatwave it was the perfect midmorning break for this mama.

Tempura Sweet Potatoe. A twist on the ever so popular tempura shrimp, this appetizer was my children’s fav of the week. They couldn’t get enough!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Edo Japan

You’ve probably guessed from my weekly IG stories, the delivered meals from Hello Fresh have been going well. I’ve gotten so many questions about the service, so I thought I’d come on here and tell you the good, the bad and the delicious.

Here’s my Hello Fresh Meal Delivery Q&A:

Are you paid to talk about Hello Fresh? NO! Hello Fresh does not pay me to promote their service. They have in the past, let me try meals for free BUT I have spent my own money on the service because we loved the meals.

Why a meal delivery service? And do you like the meals? Especially in the winter months, I need help getting healthy ingredients to our house. Sometimes the weather is so bad, I can’t get out with the little guys to do a proper grocery shop. We love Hello Fresh. We, as a family have only disliked 2 meals and we have been getting 3 meals a week since November. The recipes are amazing 95% of the time and you get every single ingredient you need to make it. We order the Family Box, it gives us enough food for dinner and left overs for lunch the next day. It’s really taken the pressure off meal time prep for me.

What don’t you like about Hello Fresh? I did have one box arrive days late, although it was an isolated incident, it was a big inconvenience for us. We had paid for meals for that week but they didn’t arrive to make use of them for our working Tuesday-Friday. And by the time the box arrived the produce wasn’t looking great. It was due to a winter storm, so I had to cut them a little slack on that one. And customer service refunded me a portion to cover the ruined produce.

Would you suggest Hello Fresh to a friend? What do you think of the competitors? I’ve paid for Chef’s Plate twice, both times my box was miss-delivered. When they finally got it to me, the box’s contents were rancid and I did not receive a refund. I was disappointed with the customer service and never actually got to try a successfully delivered meal box. However, my parents get that service and like it… so that was just my experience.

Yes, I would suggest Hello Fresh to a friend or family member! Use my promo code NORTHERNS for 40% off your first box! It’s definitely tasty and it saves you a trip to the grocery store. The recipes are creative, I keep the recipes we love for later use.

Photos by B.Grace Creatives  Continue reading →