Raspberry Granola Bars (vegan)

A few years ago one of my old coworkers made these delicious Raspberry Granola Bars.  They were so good, I just had to have the recipe.  Lucky for me, she was willing to shares.  Now years later, I am sharing the recipe with you.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup - whole wheat pastry flour
3 cups - quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp - salt
2/3 cup - oil (I use coconut)
1/2 cup - maple syrup
2 tsps - vanilla extract
1/2 cup - raspberry jam (or any flavor you prefer)

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Shift flour and salt together add to the quick cooking oats
• Add oil to dry ingredients and mix
• Add maple syrup and vanilla, mix well
• Lightly oil 9x9 baking pan.
• Press half of the mixture into the pan.
• Spread jam evenly over bottom mixture to cover
• Cover with remaining mixture, press gently
• Bake 30-35 minutes
• Let cool then cut into bars
• Enjoy!

FYI...these bars are not as healthy as the ingredients may suggest.  If you are counting calories, I would suggest only one bar a day. 

J'Adore VoxBox

When I received an invitation from Influenster to complete a survey to qualify for a voxbox I was super stoked.  I never hesitate to complete one of their surveys because I know if I qualify, I am in store for something good!

The box that I received was the J'Adore VoxBox.  In the box, I received the following items complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster:

 

Boots Botanics Ionic Clay Mask with Willowbark -  I have been focusing a lot on skin care lately and looking for natural ways to help improve my skin inside and out.  Lately, I've been using another clay mask on Sundays but when I received my voxbox on a Thursday I couldn't wait to try this mask.  I really liked the way it may my skin feel.  It is a great alternative to the other clay mask.  I've only used it once so far but I think I will rotate between the two.  

The boots botanics ionic clay mask retails for $9.39.

Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray - As you all know I am a kinky chick :-) The first time I straighten my hair in over a year was last November.  I haven't had the desire to straighten since then.  So I wasn't able to try out this spray.  However, I may flat iron my hair for my sister-in-law's wedding.  If I do I will update you all on how this spray worked.  I did read some of the reviews online about this product and they were all pretty good. 

Hersey's Kisses Milk Chocolate - As soon as I saw this big family bag of kisses, I knew I had to take a few out for myself before my family devoured it.  Everyone is familiar with the Hersey brand so there really is no reason to review this.  Just go out and get you some KISSES!

Vaseline Men's Fast Absorbing Spray Moisturizer - I told my husband there was something in the box for him too but my son got to it first.  Now my son hates putting on lotion but he loves this spray.  He couldn't wait to go take a shower so he could spray on his lotion.  I don't think my husband even had a chance to use any of it.  The scent of the spray can be a little overbearing if you use to much but over all it works great.

On the card it says this spray retails for $7.99 but you can get it at Target for $5.99.

Red Rose Simply Indulgent Teas - I received 4 individual tea bags, one was lemon chiffon and the other three were creme caramel.  I am not a big fan of favored teas unless it's mint or ginger so I was a little hesitant to give these a try.  I have to admit, I still have not try the creme caramel favor yet but the lemon chiffon flavor is really good.  I would definitely purchase it in the future.

Kiss Looks So Natural Eye Lashes - I'm not a huge lashes fan but these really do look natural.  I haven't had an occasion to wear these yet but I can't wait to give them a try.  The lashes come in different styles, I received the Shy style.

I was in the mall recently and saw this young lady with a pair of fake lashes on, they were so full it looked like a fan.  I wanted to stop her and recommend this brand to her but in this day and age I didn't know how she would respond so I just kept it moving.  

Thank you again to Influenster for selecting me to review these items for free.  If you are interested in reviewing and sharing your opinion on various products from beauty to health sign up on Influenster's website, it's free to join.

Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap

This is hands down my favorite all purpose soap.  I started using Dr. Bronner's a year or two ago and it has helped out with my eczema.  This soap does not leave that residue feeling like some soaps do. 

I purchase my Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Pure Castile soap from MOMs Organic Market.  They sell the 32 oz for $9.99.  

Check out their website for more information.

Peter Pilotto for Target

On Sunday Target will launch their new collection with Peter Pilotto.  I actually like this collection better than any of the previous collections. The pieces from this collection will also be sold on Net-a-Porter, this is the first time that a Target collection will also be sold on an outside retailer site.

The pieces from the Peter Pilotto collection for Target will range in price from $14.99 - 79.99.  There are definitely a few pieces from this new collection that I want.


You can preview the full collection on Target's website.

Solange for Puma

My girl Solange Knowles was named Art Director and Creative Consultant for Puma last year.  Yesterday, she posted pictures of her collection titled Girls of Blaze which is inspired by Brazil.  I actually like the sneakers she debut.  They are really colorful and girly.  You can tell she was actually involved in the design and not just by name as the sneakers really fit her persona.

Check out Puma's Girls of Blaze Disc Collection for a better view of the new line.

Pictures Solange posted on IG:

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

First, I would like to start off with saying how mad I am that I am just now finding out about this product.  The Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay is the business!  It is 100% natural calcium bentonite clay. 

I've used it three times as a face mask and once on my hair in place of shampoo.  This clay has helped to bring all of the white heads and black heads to the surface getting the impurities out of my face. When I used it in place of shampoo, my hair felt really soft.  Some people on YouTube have said that their hair felt dry and they had to deep condition afterwards.  I didn't feel like I needed a deep condition but I did anyway.

Another bonus of the clay is that it is cheap!  I purchased my container from MOM Organic Market for $6.49.  You can also order it online with prices ranging from $4-$7.

For my facial, I mix 1 tsp of the bentonite clay with 1 tsp of Bragg's ACV and a few drops of tea tree oil.  I apply the mixture to my face and let it sit for about 20 minutes.  I will warn you, your face will get extremely tight and after you rinse, you may experience reddening of the skin.

For my hair: I mixed the bentonite clay with Bragg's ACV, olive oil, honey, 4 drops of tea tree, lavender, and rosemary oil and 6 drops of lemongrass.  After I cowashed my hair, I applied the mixture to my hair and scalp and let it sit for 20 minutes.  Then I rinsed it out with warm water and followed with a deep conditioner.

Oil Pulling

I heard about oil pulling sometime in 2012 but I never really researched it. It wasn't until last month when Fran from HeyFranHey posted a vlog on the benefits of oil pulling that I decided to really look into it and give it a try.

Brief description of oil pulling: "Oil pulling is Ayurveda technique of swishing oil in your mouth for 10-20 minutes daily to kill bacteria and prevent plaque"

I started oil pulling with coconut oil last month and immediately saw an improvement on my gums. I have also stopped getting tooth aches UNTIL I ran out of coconut oil. I went a week without coconut oil and then the gum area by my back left wisdom tooth started to bother me. My dentist called in a antibody to help decrease the inflammation and I got some more coconut oil. I noticed in the morning I would wake up with a tingle but as soon as I finished oil pulling it stopped. Hopefully, with the antibodies and the oil pulling the swelling will go down soon.

I wish I would have learned about oil pulling yearssss ago then maybe I would not have had to go through so many dental issues. If you are not oil pulling, I highly suggest you look it up and give it a try.

My routine:

• on an empty stomach, oil pull with coconut oil for 20 minutes
• rinse mouth with warm salt water
• rinse with warm water brush teeth (Due to my new dental health issue, I have also started oil pulling before going to bed)

Here are some sites reviewing oil pulling:

Wellness Mama

Clutch Magazine

Trina Holden

Also check out this video from Fran: