Growing food indoors with Miracle-Gro

*This post is sponsored by Miracle-Gro but all opinions and obsessions are my own. :)

Hey guys! Today I’m going to show you how we have been growing kale inside of our living room for the past month with the Miracle-Gro Twelve Indoor Growing System. You’re going to see how we started with four tiny seedlings (pictured above) and in four weeks how they have EXPLODED with growth! We already use Miracle-Gro soil for our house plants so it was a no brainer to give the indoor growing system a try. Spoiler alert, we are obsessed!

The Miracle-Gro Twelve Indoor Growing System allows you to grow fresh food year round. It’s a hydroponic based system which means the plants actually grow in water allowing them to grow faster than plants grown in soil. Growing our own food is perfect for us since we cook from home several times a week and because Zach is vegan, leafy greens are a big hit in our house. You can grow arugula, kale, swiss chard, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, oregano, dill and sage - yum!

Putting the unit together is super easy and took less than 15 minutes. The box comes with everything you need and includes a book with step by step directions. You can either grow from a seed, a seedling (like we did!) or from a plant that’s already been started for you, like a Bonnie Plant you can pick up from the store. You just add the plant nutrition directly to the water and it’s good to go for four weeks. The most convenient part of all is the app. It allows you to change the light schedule (ours is 6am-8pm), reminds you when it’s time to add more plant food, tells you the water level and the light will gently blink on the unit if you need more water, and it tells you what date you can start harvesting.

Step 1 : Fill with water.

The day we started the system.

Step 2: Add plants. Step 3: Add plant food.

3 weeks later.

Not only are you growing food inside of your house, but the unit also doubles as furniture. Another option would be to purchase the stacking kit which lets you put two growing system on top of one another so you can grow even more! What would you grow in your Miracle-Gro Twelve Indoor Growing system?

PB + BERRY SMOOTHIE

I'm extremely excited to say that this is a sponsored recipe written by me on behalf of PB2. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Enjoy!

A smoothie is the easiest way I can jam pack nutrients into a meal as quickly as possible and sneak in vegetables and nutrients while keeping it simple. Today I give you a PB + Berry (and beet) smoothie. Now, before you click off of this because I mentioned beets, trust me when I say it doesn't taste like beets AT ALL, but it does give this baby an amazing hot pink color. In addition, I've teamed up with PB2 to use their powdered peanut butter to add protein and provide a great peanut butter alternative if you're looking for ways to lower your fat and calorie intake without sacrificing taste. All you need are 5 main ingredients to whip this drink up and an option to top it with whatever you want. I found everything I needed at Kroger which continues to add to the easiness of this recipe - woohoo! 

Tip: Feel free to toss in a handful of spinach (you won't taste it) for extra greens or leave out the bee pollen to make it totally vegan!

PB + BERRY SMOOTHIE

Serving size: 1 smoothie

INGREDIENTS (all available at Kroger) :

- 1 tbsp PB2 (it's non-GMO, gluten-free, and made in Georgia)

- 1/4 of a small cooked beet (I purchased mine pre-cooked at Kroger)

- 1 1/2 bananas

- 1 heaping cup of frozen raspberries (use strawberries if you don't like the tartness of raspberries)

- 3/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

Toppings (optional) :

- bee pollen

- cacao nibs

- shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Blend the PB2, beet, bananas, frozen raspberries, and almond milk until smooth. Pour into a glass. Top with bee pollen, cacao nibs, and shredded coconut. Enjoy immediately.

If you make this smoothie let me know what you think in the comments below! 

Healthy eating on the go

This week is a busy one with many photoshoots lined up (music to a freelancers ears, right? haha) so I don't want to fall into the habit of relying on drive-thru food. Because eating healthy on the go isn't always the easiest thing for me, I teamed up with @postmates to do a paid collaboration and had my lunch delivered to me on set to make sure I was fueled with the right food. Bingo! Lunch break by the pool? Don't mind if I do! The website is streamlined and there are choices besides food - like I could have had clothes delivered to me from American Apparel, so cool! You get to watch the process happen; order submitted, food is being made, driver is on the way, etc. In fact, the driver even called me to let me know he was running a bit late because of traffic. Of course I anticipated that because, well, this is Atlanta we are talking about, but thought it was so courteous of him to update me! Once the food was given to me, I was able to rate my experience and tip my driver through the app. Done and done. 


If you're a new user of @postmates, just download the app and you can get $10 in delivery credit by using the code: maepm8! If you use it, let me know! 

In sponsored collaboration with Postmates.

What I Eat In A Day

Lately I’ve been exploring other forms of fitness and I tried a boxing class for the first time! Because I’m still getting my ride done in the morning, I find that these doubled up days tend to help me eat a bit better since I know I’m fueling up for a few workouts - thumbs up for that! Now I’m not much of a cook, but I have been trying to make better choices lately so here is an example of what I eat (on a good day)!

Breakfast: I make a smoothie or smoothie bowl with spinach/kale, oats, berries, acai juice, almond milk, banana, half an apple, flax seed, chia seed, cinnamon and sometimes protein powder. I pair that with some delicious espresso and a ton of water. 

On The Ride: So on the ride, depending on how long it is, I’ll take a banana and a Clif bar. These are just my choices, of course there are plenty of options out there. Sometimes I eat, both, none or just one. Also, water is a given on the bike.

Lunch: When I get home from my ride it’s time to get to work. I baked some salmon and asparagus and put it over some mixed greens. It’s so easy and flavorful which definitely makes it one of my favorite go-to meals. Again, paired with water.

Afternoon Snack: Because I meet up with a friend for my boxing class, it actually takes me a while to get there. I’m always heading straight from work so I find a fruit pouch is an easy item to grab for in the car. 

Dinner: Coming home in the evenings is always something I look forward to. My boyfriend and I are trying to make an effort to cook together, so I chose to make a pasta bowl. This one is whole wheat pasta with broccoli, avocado, shrimp, cilantro and lemon. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t eat chocolate at some point during the day, so I added in a few pieces of dark raspberry chocolate for dessert. Again, I paired my meal with water. See a trend here? That’s usually all I drink except sometimes I’ll mix it up with a tea or La Croix. Also, if you haven’t treated yourself to a candle lit bath using a bath bomb, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s becoming my favorite way to relax. 

Well that’s it! Here’s to a journey of better eating and mixing up my workout this year!