Red Quinoa Salad and Spicy Chicken

As today was my day off work, I got to spend some time with my mom! I had a great day. And tonight I thought I should treat the family with a homemade healthy meal. For the longest time, I've really been taking care of my body by eating clean (of course treating myself to sweets occasionally) and doing the best I can to maintain that healthy lifestyle. My mom and I bought quinoa at the grocery store today so I decided to find a new recipe with that ingredient. While surfing the internet, I then found a Red Quinoa Salad and made up the chicken recipe as I went along. I wanted chicken that had a bit of a bite to it so I added some interesting spices! So here it is - the recipe to Spicy Chicken and Red Quinoa Salad.

Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken (the amount of chicken is up to you - I baked 6 pieces)
Olive Oil
Dried Chives
Chipotle Seasoning
Garlic Powder

First baste the chicken on a pan with the olive oil. Spread lightly. It's mainly just to allow the other dry ingredients to stick to the chicken!

Next, season the chicken with each dry ingredient to your taste preference. I prefer mine to be a bit spicier, so I sprinkled a little bit more chipotle seasoning!

Bake in the oven at 375 fahrenheit and bake until fully cooked through - a.k.a ensure it's not pink!

And voilà... chicken is done!

Red Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked red quinoa
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced shallots
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
2 cups diced and seeded tomato
1 cup diced and seeded cucumber
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (or 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried mint leaves)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano)
1 (15 or 19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 4 ounzes cumbled feta (less if you would like)
• First, cook the quinoa as directed. I usually rinse the quinoa in warm water for 3 minutes. In a pot with two cups of water, I then boil the water and put the quinoa in the pot. I let it boil with the quinoa in it for 3 minutes, and then turn down the heat as low as possible. I cover it and let it simmer for 15 minutes while stirring it occasionally.
• 
• It should look something like this afterwards. Make sure it is in a large bowl so you can easily add the other ingredients later!
• 

In the meantime, you can prepare the dressing for the salad! This is everything that you would need. First add the olive oil, then the red wine vinegar. Add the salt and pepper and then finely chop the shallots.

Now it's time to add the rest of the ingredients to your quinoa! First drain your chickpeas. Rinse them well and set them aside.

Next, dice the roma tomatoes and the cucumber as so.

Add the oregano and mint leaves to the mix, as well as the vegetables. Mix well!

Pour your dressing and add the feta. Slice your lemon wedges for the plate...

And there you have it - a delicious meal that is extremely healthy for you!

I hope you enjoyed this healthy-eating blog post! I encourage everyone to try this recipe out! It's delicious! I am definitely looking forward to doing more posts like these and sharing a healthy lifestyle + more with you all. Enjoy!

Much love,

JessicaLynn

Beauty Post - Soap&Glory's Butter Yourself

Well if it isn't my new favourite Soap&Glory product! I just started using Soap&Glory products in the past year or so. One day, while casually doing a routine browse through the beauty section, I decided to see what they had in the Soap&Glory section! I found this body cream, took one whiff and placed it in the checkout immediately. First of all, I love the packaging. It's quite girly, but very kick-ass. It's awesome! The second thing I noticed was the smell. It has such a nice, light scent! Perfect for anytime of the year in any season. It was actually one of the first body butters I have ever used from them. I figured since I already loved the brand, why not try something new!

Once I finally got home and was able to try it, it was heavenly. It is a very thick cream, but it's no trouble to apply. I expected that it would be something that I would have to dedicate a lot of time to apply until I reminded myself of what brand this was. I've never been let down by a Soap&Glory product ever before. This product in particular is extremely moisturizing and smells amazing. Something that works so great can't get any better than this! I also love the large container that it's sold in. It has lasted me for months and that's using is at least every second day! It's definitely worth it's value of about $20.

I can't wait to try some more products from Soap&Glory!
Do you have any Soap&Glory favourites?

Much love,
JessicaLynn

Plans for 2014

As I sit here by my fireplace, I decided to plan a few things for this year. All in all, a lot of it involves travelling. I thoroughly enjoy travelling and living life to the fullest. I stayed in my hometown to go to university for a few reasons. My main reason was so that I could spend money on certain luxury items that I truly enjoy. In this case, I have a few plans to go to a few concerts and possibly travel to Europe at the end of the year if the odds work in my favour. I also want to do a lot of in-the-moment decisions. Whether I say yes to more positive things or just think of something fun to get out of the house, I want to make this year better than any other.

I have high hopes to actually do what I say I'm going to do. Visit family more often, travel more often and everything in between. I don't want to sit around and complain that I'm bored or that I have nothing to do. Whether you live in a big city or small town, there's always something to do. All you have to do is make the effort to think of something and do it.

I feel that I could be a better person if I do these kind of things. Maybe I'll be happier. As of right now, school is starting again tomorrow. It's going to be busy, but I need to ensure that I make an effort to do something extra.

Do you have any fun plans for 2014?

Much love,
JessicaLynn

Happy New Year!

So as you may already notice, my blog has a completely different layout. I thought that because it's the new year of 2014, I should recreate a few things on my blog! I quite enjoy the new layout. Simple, yet physically appealing. It took me quite a while to add certain links and whatnot, but thanks to Google, I was able to make everything more accessible and appealing.

So to take my first step into the new year, I decided to make achievable goals. I decided to avoid calling them resolutions. I don't want to join the hype and then give up, like many others do. For example when everyone goes to the gym for the first few months, and then gives up. I want to be the 8% that succeeds in achieving my goals! I'm completely serious about every goal I make, and although it's only day 2 of this challenge, I am choosing to write down my progress and my thoughts of each and every day in a separate notebook.

In this case, I would like to share a few of my "resolutions". First of all, I would like to read more. I find that it will help me expand my vocabulary, give me some down-time from school work and drift me away from certain realities when necessary. I also want to drink more water. As ridiculous as that sounds, I feel that it will help me become healthier and cleanse my body properly. And the thing that comes hand-in-hand with health would be to eat healthier and exercise. By eating healthier, I'm going to limit myself to one piece of junk food per day. Whether it be chocolate or a cookie, I'll crave the bad foods less and less each day! The way in which I want to exercise is through a website called Blogilates. So basically, I've joined the Blogilates community. A fitness instructor named Cassey releases meal plans, workout videos and everything health based. She is amazing at motivating people and it's well-worth checking her website out! I love her attitude towards life and she is a great role-model for everything. Although I won't be  following meal plans exactly because it's quite difficult as a student, but, I am planning on following along with her exercises. They're great! Lastly, I want to become even more organized with my school work. I've bought a few notebooks to write down to-do lists and keep track of my schoolwork and work. It'll really help me accomplish all of my goals that I all be making this year.

The reason why I refuse to call it a resolution is because I want it to last longer than one year. I think that it'd be great to continue setting more and more goals to avoid stopping. All I have to do is set higher goals when I reach the next goal. I realize it's a lot of work, but in the end, I think of how meaningful all of this will be. My motivation is my past, present and future. I look at my past with motivation to change certain ways of myself, I look at my present to keep going and acknowledging how well I am doing, and I look at my future to aspire to do things and accomplish the goals I make.

I hope this post has guided you in some way to attain your goals! In all honesty, I wish the percentage of those who succeed in their new years resolutions was way higher. If you figure out your own way to accomplish your goals, be proud of yourself! Just know that it is going to be a lot of hard work. I realized that immediately after I wrote down my goals, and figured out how to do what I want to do.

What are some of your goals that you made when writing them down for New Years?

Much love,
JessicaLynn