Tag Archives: food

The New Potbelly App + Trying The New Turkey Fresco Sandwich

April 5, 2017

*Special thanks to Potbelly for sponsoring today’s post! As always, all opinions are my own*The New Potbelly App
Happy Wednesday! I can’t believe we’re halfway through another week? I swear April is just flying by, which is a-okay in my book since that means there’s only 12 days left until my birthday (hooray!). I can’t wait for my birthday to finally get here since I’ve been craving birthday cake for the past two weeks now. Speaking of cravings, have you ever just woke up one day and randomly starting craving a certain kind of food? I swear it happens to me at least once a week! One minute it’s crepes (I can’t believe that this time last year I was heading to Paris for the first time ever) and then it’s violet lemonade (gosh, I miss the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival so much!). Well, last weekend I woke up with a sudden craving for my favorite one stop sandwich shop: Potbelly Continue reading

Healthy Meals Made Easy Thanks to Snap Kitchen

January 31, 2017

*Special thanks to Snap Kitchen for sponsoring today’s post! As always, all opinions are my own*Snap Kitchen
As some of you may know, especially if you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat (simplysinova), I’ve been SUPER sick for the past week and a half. No seriously, it got so bad that I had to go to the hospital last week. Basically, my doctor said that I’m in the early stages of pneumonia (I blame it on all this constant weather change here in Chicago. One day it’s in the high 50s and then the next day it’s 14 degrees?!). Now I don’t know about you but whenever I’m sick, the last thing I think about is eating right/healthy. As I’ve shared on the blog before, “living a healthier lifestyle” is definitely a huge goal of mine and I didn’t want this wholeness sickness thing to derail all of my progress. Over the past two years, I’ve gone from eating fast food almost daily to eating healthy home cooked meals at least six days a week. This past week I’ve barley had the energy to get out of bed, let alone cook, so instead of stressing about cooking, I dedicated to let Snap Kitchen do all the work for me!  Continue reading

Simple Ways to Incorporate Earth-friendly Practices Into Your Life

December 5, 2016

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyWayToVeg #CollectiveBias
Simple Ways to Incorporate Earth-friendly Practices Into Your Life
Small actions can create BIG changes — especially when it comes to helping the environment! A few years ago, Illinois made an effort to go green by providing all residential homes with recycling bins. It’s not only made recycling easier but it’s also made it super fun! We keep little bins throughout our house for all our recyclables and try to see who can fill their bin the fastest (who doesn’t love a little healthy competition?!) If I’ve learned anything these past few years it that’s being green can be easy as 1, 2, 3! Here are seven simple ways to incorporate more Earth-friendly practices into your everyday life (spoiler alert: you can do most of them from the comfort of home!): Continue reading

Chili’s® at Home Heats Up the Frozen Food Aisle

August 20, 2014

*This post is sponsored by Bellisio Foods, but my love for their tasty, bold, and quick meals is all my own*
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For me, this summer has been about trying new things. From discovering new restaurants downtown to finding hidden gems throughout the city, I’ve made it a mission to myself to try something new at least once a week! These last few weeks have been pretty hectic over at Simply Sinova. With deadlines, new projects and finalizing concert review partnerships, I haven’t had a lot of time to discover new restaurants. Luckily, with the Chili’s®-inspired frozen meals, I can eat restaurant quality food right at home! 

Bellisio Foods, a leading frozen foods manufacturer, partnered with Chili’s® Grill & Bar earlier this year to introduce a new line of licensed Chili’s®-inspired frozen meals — boldly flavored and deliciously prepared to enjoy at home. I’m not a frequent Chilli’s visitor but when I do go, I almost always get a chicken sandwich. In honor of my ‘try something new’ summer mission, I decided to go with the Island Chicken & Rice dish. What I love about these Chili’s® frozen foods is that they are inspired by some of the restaurant’s most popular and innovative dishes. You can literally have Chilli’s for dinner without leaving your house!
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It only took 3-5 minutes to prepare this delicious meal (talk about convenience!) Not only was this meal convenient for my busy schedule but it was also super yummy (trust me, your taste buds will thank you!) Seriously, The Island Chicken & Rice was filled with so much favor (maybe that’s why they put that huge ‘Big Bold Favor’ on the packaging?) This is not your average frozen meal, with Chili’s®-inspired frozen meals you get restaurant quality food within minutes WITHOUT having to compromise taste!
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Chili’s® new line of frozen foods is available at major retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion, H-E-B, Meijer (which is where I picked up my delicious dish!), Giant Eagle, Schnucks and many more!

Be sure to check out Chili’s® at Home frozen foods and grab your free coupon today!

Factor 75: Nutrition for the Modern Lifestyle

July 25, 2014

Factor 75 Review, Factor 75, Factor 75 Blue Apron, home delivery meal service,  home delivery meal service Factor 75, Factor 75 home delivery meal service, Chicago food delivery service, Chicago Factor 75, meal delivery serviceI was recently invited to give Factor 75—a Chicago based prepared-meal delivery service that ships deliciously healthy prepared meals to your front door— a try. I was super excited because I’ve been trying to add more nutritious (and delicious) meals to my diet. These days it seems like I’m always on the go. Whether I’m on location for a work related assignment or at home writing for the various sites I freelance for, I often forget about eating a balanced meal. Enter Factor 75! Factor 75 was created by Nick Wernimont to offer affordable, optimally nutritious and delicious prepared meals to enhance mind and body performance. With that being said, Factor 75 IS NOT a diet. 

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Factor 75 meals come in temperature-controlled packaging (which are super easy to store in the fridge) and can last 4-6 days. Meals come in two sizes, medium (which I got) and large, and costs $10.95 and $12.95, which is a great value! Last weekend I had the incredible opportunity to enjoy four delicious meals from Factor 75. 
1. Porto Pizza Tower [Calorie Count: 590]
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 The Porto Pizza Tower is gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly! Talk about a healthy spin on a guilty pleasure (who doesn’t love pizza?) This yummy dish consists of a layered portabella mushroom cap with sautéed organic spinach, house-made turkey sausage, oven roasted tomato, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. To top that off, it’s served on a bed of quinoa and drizzled with olive oil. This isn’t your average slice of pizza but it’s equally as delicious! 

2. Meatloaf [Calorie Count: 460]
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Like the Porto Pizza Tower, the Meatloaf is also gluten free and paleo friendly. I know what you’re thinking, healthy meatloaf? Is that even possible? Well with Factor 75 it is! Served with whipped sweet potatoes (so yummy), fresh baby spinach and a side of traditional marinara sauce, this satisfying meal makes the perfect dinner!
3. Bacon-basted Bison Burger [Calorie Count: 380]
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Grass-fed ground bison is mixed with Dijon mustard and egg, and then grilled while being basted with bacon fat to make this incredibly delicious dish. Unlike traditions burgers, there’s no need to add bread or buns. Not only is this meal super yummy, it’s also an excellent source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron. 
4. Butternut Squash Lasagna [Calorie Count: 420]
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My favorite meal of the four (although all were excellent), the butternut squash lasagna is a flavorful mixture of homemade sausage and butternut squash thats layered and baked with marinara sauce. I’m a huge lasagna lover and I have to admit this might be the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted.

My favorite thing about Factor 75 is that they deliver meals that don’t force you to choose between taste and health! You can decrease your planning and cooking time and increase the number of healthy meals in your life by signing up for Factor 75!
*Illinois Readers! Simply Sinova has teamed up with Factor 75 for a special GIVEAWAY! One lucky Simply Sinova reader will one a week of FREE meals from Factor 75.
Rules & Info:
– Must be 13 years or older to enter
Must live in Illinois area 
– You must use the Rafflecopter form below, so don’t leave personal information like your e-mail address in the comments!
– This giveaway is open from 7/25 and ends 8/8. 
– The winner has 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen! 
Good Luck everyone!