Alternative Lifestyle

Did you know that Brandless and also Thrive Causemetics are two companies that give back in some way, every time you make a purchase?

Let’s talk about Brandless first, I have ordered a box from them before as you know from this post.

Through their partnership with Feeding America, every order placed with Brandless provides a meal for people in need. That’s awesome!

Brandless has products that provide wellness, clean your house, products for your baby, pet supplies, and lots of other unexpected values and items. You pay less because there is no brand name, yet the products are high quality.

Every order also includes a free gift! When you share with others, you receive a discount as well!

They even started offering CBD products! I have not tried them yet, but I am curious. All the products were winners that came in my box, except for the maple glazed almonds…way too sweet for me.

It just makes me feel good to order from a company that gives something back, how about you? You also get free shipping on orders over $48 or more.

Next on my list is Thrive Causemetics. The name says it all. For every order you place with them, they donate a portion to several different causes like homelessness, domestic abuse victims, and women veterans.

All of their products are 100% vegan, cruelty-free, with no parabens, sulfates, phthalates, or fragrance.

Their cause was started by founder and CEO Karissa Bodnar who wants to make a big impact through the giving of the company’s products and earnings.

For her birthday the company made the biggest donation yet, $30,000,000 of products to charities benefitting women in need.

Their partners in giving include Ronald McDonald House Charities, Hope House, Jovenes, Lydia Place, 2Lives2Cure and more.

They have been featured in many magazines including People, Forbes, Refinery29, Fashionista, Insider Beauty, Marie Claire and more.

When you make a purchase, they give the same product or a monetary donation to women fighting cancer, women surviving domestic abuse, emerging from homelessness, and women veterans during and after military service.

My purchase of semi-permanent eye liner and Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara proved to me the quality of the products, I love them! The cool thing is knowing that my purchase not only helped me, but someone else in need!

The final company I want to mention is I Heart Dogs. Every purchase made through their site benefits dogs in shelters through an assortment of give-back programs. They feed shelter dogs, donate toys to shelters, pair companion dogs with veterans and so much more.

Check out their site, make a donation, or buy one of their awesome products and you will be helping not only dogs, but veterans and the shelters that care for so many dogs around the nation.

They offer products for pups as well as pup lovers! Toys, treats, supplements and more. T-shirts, jewelry, garden décor, home goods, and drinkware too!

They have been featured in Buzzfeed, Reader’s Digest, and HGTV! They are also partnered with GreaterGood.Org.

I sincerely hope you give these companies a try, let me know what you think, or if you’ve ever tried them before, leave a review! PS: I am not getting any kind of compensation for this post, just sharing the information.

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! Maybe you can help me solve a mystery today. What’s the problem with these biscuits I made last night??

I was craving some bread after my hubby made this fabulous dinner of beef stroganoff and they were eating what I could not…cheesy garlic bread.

So, I scoured Pinterest for a low carb version and came up with these delicious sounding Cheddar Biscuits like Red Lobster makes-using almond flour of course!

I followed the given recipe, yet frowned when it called for 1 Tablespoon of baking powder. Maybe I should have trusted my instincts, they turned out beautiful-but bitter!

I was so disappointed!! You don’t know how badly I wanted that bread and how so looking forward to something delicious I had been. I almost cried. Now I have to pitch the whole lot.

That’s a waste of expensive ingredients, I know us cooks have failed experiments and that’s just part of the process but…ouch! Whether you grind your own or buy a bag, almond flour is pricey!

Now, I guess it’s possible that the almond flour was bad, yet it had been in the refrigerator, not even opened yet. It was an off brand that I got from Aldi, but fresh.

Normally I buy the brand in the link above, yet this time I replaced what I’d used once before with the same thing. I don’t think it was the culprit though.

I’ve included pictures of the recipe and my final product. You tell me…what went wrong?? They were so pretty too. 🙁

All the ingredients I used were new and fresh except the baking powder. Not sure if it’s old, or if the quantity was just too much, just want to understand why they were bitter!

I know I have been away for a while, I’m considering scrapping my whole site since I have not had the time lately to post. The internet is saturated with keto blogs now anyway.

I’m about to be unemployed again (even though I was only working part-time, I still need the money), so I need to get serious about my goals and really try to earn a living through my writing.

Should I keep it? Change it again? Write about something entirely new? I’m open to suggestions here, I know, I do this every year don’t I? What can I say, New Year, new aspirations.

I got a new journal for Christmas, a prayer journal, and my hubby is remodeling the office and buying me a new desk for my Christmas present!

I had him paint it cream and lavender-it’s going to be lovely when he is done and hopefully, inspiring!!

Well, I hope you can help me solve the mystery! I also want to wish you all a Happy New Year whatever your plans, stay alive, don’t drink and drive PLEASE!!!

Love you all, goodbye 2019 and good riddance! JK, I guess it wasn’t ALL bad.

I have found an easy Autumn Keto dessert that would be perfect any time of day. I even eat it for breakfast some mornings!

It only has 2.8g of carbs, boasts 11g of fat, tastes creamy, delicious, and satisfies that pumpkin craving you surely have at this time of the year.

What is it? It’s called Mini Keto Pumpkin Cheesecakes and I adapted it from a recipe on Pinterest by Kasey Trenum’s blog.

It’s a very easy recipe made with cream cheese, canned pumpkin, egg, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and Swerve sweetener.

I love that my silicone muffin liners make these so easy to pop right out after refrigeration, then I just top them with sugar-free whipped cream!

I halved the recipe which makes 6 tiny cheesecakes, plenty for sharing or hogging all to myself, lol.

If you don’t have whipped cream or don’t want to take the time to make any, Vanilla Bean Halo Top works pretty well too!

The fat content keeps you satisfied all morning or evening, whenever you decide to partake! This would also be a great filling for an almond flour crust.

The first time I tried this recipe, I hand mixed the ingredients. It was still delicious but not as creamy as the 2nd time when I whipped them. Y’all!!

16 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Swerve sweetener

2eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1T pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp vanilla

Now remember, I halved this recipe. The next step is to whip all the ingredients and pour into silicone lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Refrigerate after cooling. Pop one out and top with your choice of low-carb topping and enjoy! 😋

https://medium.com/@kimsmyth/autumn-is-the-perfect-time-for-soup-e154d7377b21

Click on the above link for a tasty version of a keto fat bomb soup-originally published on Medium