I can tell what you’re thinking: mason jars? This woman is reviewing mason jars? Seriously? I mean, they’ve been around forever, everyone’s grandmother had some in her house, most people already own some- these are hardly the hot new product.
To which I say: true. But mason jars are so fabulously useful, so versatile, so delightfully free of the chemicals that can leach from plastic storage devices, that I feel it’s worth featuring them, even if they’re not terrifically groundbreaking. Plus, it gives me a nice tie in for the real revelation of this post, which is the recipe below. (Already own mason jars? Skip straight to the recipe.)
I used to be intimidated by mason jars, thinking they were something used only by people who make their own jam and can it in hot water baths. That was too out there and scary, the kind of thing that was likely to result in me inadvertently growing botulism in my pantry.
Not so! I bought sets of mason jars in a few sizes several years ago on a whim, and have been surprised at how useful they have proven to be. I use them to store leftovers, to serve drinks in the summer, and to store matchbooks, buttons, coins, and other household paraphernalia. But perhaps most deliciously, I use mason jars to make my own quick pickles. (I like quick pickles because they are designed to be stored indefinitely in the fridge without the hassle of trying to seal with a hot water bath.) My favorite, incredibly easy quick pickle recipe is below, for your summer enjoyment.
So! Mason jars- buy some! And then use them to make the amazingly delicious recipe below.
Quart size canning jars, $10.99 for a set of 12 at Kmart.com or at your local hardware store.
Quick pickled red onions
2 red onions, sliced into rings
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
Bring several cups of water to boil in a saucepan. Drop onions in and blanch for one minute, then drain in a colander. Return onions to the pan with the cider vinegar and salt, and add just enough cold water to barely cover the onions. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer the onions 1 minute.
Pour the onions and the brine into a glass jar and chill. The onions will turn bright pink, and will taste delicious with pretty much everything. We particularly like them on salads and tacos, but I’ve been known to snack on them straight out of the jar.
I don’t really wear foundation. I don’t because I have crazy dry skin, and every single foundation makes it look ten times worse. And yes, I’ve tried that one. And that one. Believe me when I say I’ve tried them all.
BUT. I’m still a sucker for a gimmick.
L'Oreal True Match Roller Foundation
And I don’t know why I fell for this one. For one, I HATE PAINTING. Like, with A VENGEANCE. Hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. If it came down to having to paint my house or be evicted, I may seriously check into the shelters around town because THAT’S HOW MUCH I HATE PAINTING.
Why did I think it’d be more fun on my face?!
Okay, now, the foundation itself? Meh, at best. It’s heavy, but it covers okay if you’re looking for coverage.
But the application?
So you know WHY I hate painting? It’s because no matter how many times you go in that stupid W formation on the walls, you still get streaks. SURPRISE, that happens on your face too. So the whole concept of it keeping foundation from your fingers is pretty much null and void because you end up having to blend it anyway.
My advice? Skip this one. You’ll save yourself the $14.95 and the frustration of feeling like an inadequate painter.
L’Oreal True Match Roller Foundation, $14.95 at Drugstore.com
Sarah can be found giving us giggles at The Anvil Tree and snarking at MamaPop.
Today the lovely AndreAnna from Diary of a Modern Matriarch and Bodies In Motivation will be sharing her experience with a blackhead removal scrub. Let’s look ten years younger!
The other day I destroyed my face. I found one blackhead on my forehead that was approximately the size of the moon. I squeezed and maneuvered my fingers in all sorts of positions so I could evacuate the asteroid from my face. And then I saw another one, down on my chin. And another on my nose! By the time I was finished I looked like a drunkard who had been left outside in the cold with nary a drop of whiskey. My nose was bright red, my face was splotchy. And worse, as I was doing it, I KNEW I shouldn’t be. I’m putting more dirt in my GIANT pores by using my hands. I’m making this worse, I said to myself. But oh god! They’re huge. You could land a 747 right there in that pore on my nose. How do I have friends? Don’t they get lost in the swirly iridescence on that giant pool of oil in that pore?
I decided I needed something other than the plain old gentle Neutrogena Liquid I’ve used for the last 15 years, which I’ve sworn by (and still do). Almost 30, I am not old by any means but the summer sun plus this new Midwest humidity, plus the general yucky thing of getting a bit older has my face looking…sad and blah. So I went to Target armed with not much else other than I needed something that said “Will Remove Giant Blackhead From Crater Pores.”
So I stood in the aisle, overwhelmed by all the brands and all the pore scrubs. Apricot! Tea Tree! Brillo! And I knew I loved the Olay body washes and I knew that my best friend back East (I’m from Joisey, yo) was a dermatologist PA and she had good things to say about Olay. So I stood in that section and ultimately left with this:
Olay Regeneriste Detoxifying Pore Scrub
I started using it at night before bed, and continued using my liquid Neutrogena in the morning’s shower. First impression: smells AWESOME. Easy little scrubbers, nothing abrasive like a lot of the blackhead scrubs out there made with tree bark and asbestos shards. After only three or four days, I saw a difference. I noticed it when I put my liquid foundation make-up on, something I don’t use every day. When I put it on, my skin looked kind of, sort of, what is that? Glowy! Like the makeup sat on my skin like it was supposed to rather than pool into the large pores on my nose and forehead.
People actually asked me that day in the store what I use on my face because it was so clear and again with this word – glowy!
Two weeks into using it and I can honestly say that at night, after my face-washing teeth-brushing stare-at-my-face-counting-wrinkles routine, I can see the pores getting smaller and have noticed less blackheads. My skin – which has always been clear of most blemishes – is now clearer of those wily blackheads. And the pores seem visibly smaller.
At under $9 in Target, you can get a pretty decent sized bottle. I only need a nickle-sized amount each night and after two weeks, the bottle still feels as heavy as it did the day I bought it. So I surmise it will last at least 2-3 months.
My goal is to own all of the Olay Regenerist products because if they perform half as well as the pore scrub, I plan on looking 21 again by Christmas.
Olay Regeneriste Detoxifying Pore Scrub: $7.99 can be found at Target and drugstore.com
(If you don’t live anywhere near a Whole Foods, I apologize in advance, because you won’t be able to take advantage of the product I’m featuring here. Normally I wouldn’t do that- feature something that’s only available at one store and not online- but I’m so excited about this I’m making an exception.)
This is Three Sisters Cereal. Three Sisters is a cereal company that makes takeoffs of some of your favorite cereals and reformulates them with whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors, and no artificial colors. They have six flavors that I’ve seen at my local Whole Foods:
- Cinnamon Sweets (like Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
- Graham Crackerz (like Golden Grahams)
- Honey Oaties (like Honey Nut Cheerios)
- Honey Puffs (like Honey Smacks)
- Sweet Wheat (like Frosted Mini Wheats)
- Marshmallow Oaties (like Lucky Charms, complete with mini marshmallows OMG)
The most genius thing about Three Sisters is the way they’ve totally reimagined cereal packaging. The cereal comes in thin poly bags instead of boxes, to produce less waste, and the company makes the bags at a facility that is powered by renewable energy sources. Cool, right? Plus, saving that money on packaging means a bag of Three Sisters doesn’t cost any more (and sometimes costs less) than a box of the big-brand stuff at your local supermarket. Bonus!
Look, this is not health food. But if you’re like me and you really like sweet cereals (I eat them for dessert, not breakfast,) it’s such a nice surprise to find your favorites – I’m partial to Graham Crackerz myself – in a format that’s slightly better for you and better for the environment.
Three Sisters Cereal, $3.29 for a 12.5 ounce bag, at Whole Foods
Last week, I co-hosted a baby shower for a very good friend. It was the second shower I’ve hosted in the past few months, and I learned some things from these experiences. I learned that even if they moan and groan, people like it if you have a few games or activities at the ready. I learned that the nicest thing you can do for the honoree is volunteer to write down the gifts as they open them to help them when they’re writing thank you notes later. I learned you can never have too many garnishes for a bloody mary.
But mostly I learned that I am a big, fat sucker for pretty packaging and lovely arrangements. I got so much pleasure out of deciding which recipes to bake and figuring out how to set everything out so it looks charming and pretty.
So when I started planning this shower, I knew I wanted to order some things that would help make the presentation look a little more festive and polished. I settled on cupcake liners. And by searching for pretty cupcake liners, I hit the jackpot: BakeItPretty.com.
Oh, my. If you have a food decor problem like I do, this site is DANGEROUS. Retro candy-striped paper straws! Cute cupcake toppers! Dozens and dozens of cupcake liners in adorable patterns and colors!
My friend is expecting a baby boy, so I ordered these blue mini muffin cups weeks ago. I have been wanting to write about them since their twee blueness first arrived in my mailbox, but I waited. I waited, because I care.
See, it’s one thing to look pretty when you’re sitting in a cellophane wrapper, unused. It’s quite another to still look pretty after someone has filled you with batter and baked you at 350 degrees.
I am happy to report that these performed beautifully. They stayed nice and pretty and blue, and they didn’t bleed into the cupcake batter or onto the serving trays (I’ve had both problems with other cupcake liners.) Everyone thought they were adorable.
So if you’re looking to add a little something to your next birthday party cupcakes, might I suggest BakeItPretty? Cheap, easy, and makes you look like a baking superhero.
Mini cupcake liners (also available in other patterns, and in full-size liners,) $2.95 for 50 at BakeItPretty.com
I’m a huge fan of Burt’s Bees products and use them whenever I am able. I’ve already sung the praises of their cuticle cream, and you’d have to pry their baby line from my cold dead fingers. So when I saw an opportunity to receive a free trial tube of their new toothpaste off their site, I leapt at the chance. Because hey, free toothpaste with the hope of using something containing 99.2% natural ingredients? Nothing funky getting swished around in my food hole? Aces.
Let me just say that I’m not a fan of tooth brushing or anything that goes along with it. I’m just not. The sounds and smells are all just too much. And I’m not even pregnant! I do it, yes, but it’s not something I’m enthusiastic about. Those people frighten me actually so if you fall in that category please, keep it to yourself. All this is to say that I do what I need to do to get the job done–I’m not a toothpaste connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination.
So I busted out the tube and brushed-brushed-brushed away. It felt a wee bit grainy but hey, it’s au naturale so I just figured I was brushing like the pioneers minus a bark toothbrush. I carried on. All was fine and good in the morning but then throughout the day my mouth felt gross. Like I hadn’t even taken the time and mental willpower to actually BRUSH my teeth. Seriously, by 3:00 I felt exactly like I do when I wake up in the morning and it was annoying. I wanted to scrape my teeth with a paper towel or something they felt so fuzzy.
I wanted to give it a try for a week so I continued to use it. About three days in I developed a painful sensitivity in one of my teeth. Cold water made me jump three feet out of my chair, and I won’t even go into detail about what happened when I had ice cream. This was totally unlike me and I wondered if I suddenly had a cavity, even though I visit the dentist regularly. The only thing new in my routine was the toothpaste so I switched back to my old brand and a few days later the sensitivity was gone.
I can’t say what could have caused it based on the ingredients and perhaps this is an isolated incident. But it’s not something I’m willing to continue to use when everything I had been doing before was working well. I am incredibly disappointed as I was excited to add more eco friendly products into my home, and hope Burt’s Bees will tweak whatever it’s got going on in there to knock this one out of the park.
Sadly, my mouth and I give it two thumbs down. If you try it though please, let me know what you think!
Burt’s Bees Natural Multicare Toothpaste, $5.00 for a 4 oz tube. Can be found at your local drugstores.
You have doubtless heard that we should all be eating more seafood. It’s a lean source of protein, it has all the good fatty acids, it promotes heart health, etc etc. But you have probably also heard about some of the really unfortunate results of overfishing- threats to biodiversity, the damage to other species (like dolphins) caught in the huge dragnets used to catch huge numbers of fish, and the threat of destruction of entire fisheries and species, like this cod fishery off Newfoundland.
It’s all a little confusing, isn’t it?
I actually have a friend who is a fisheries policy lawyer. (How’s THAT for a specialty, right? I haven’t seen him in several years- in case he ever finds this, Hi Josh!) It was he who first introduced me, many years before it was fashionable, to the concepts of overfishing and sustainable seafood. He carried a card in his wallet, produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, that told him which fish were the most sustainably harvested (and thus okay to eat) and which ones were overfished, at risk of extinction, or fished in environmentally problematic ways (and thus to be avoided).
At the time, I teased him mercilessly for it- I had a food budget of about $10 a week, so it wasn’t like I was buying a lot of seafood anyway. But now that I cook regularly, and trying to eat both healthily and sustainably, I find it can be kind of hard to keep track of which fish are okay to eat and which ones aren’t.
So I looked up the Monterey Bay Aquarium and found, to my delight, that they still make the seafood cards. In fact, they’ve improved them, with lists organized by region of the country. There’s even a separate list for sushi!
The lists are helpfully divided into green (good) yellow (acceptable) and red (avoid). They have also identified a list of “super-green” seafood- fish that are sustainable, low in contaminants, and high in omega-3s. (That list includes wild caught salmon from Alaska, farmed mussels and oysters, and Rainbow trout. Full list is here.)
Now, I don’t know that I’m going to cut these cards out and keep them in my wallet at all times, but I do have one printed out and taped to my fridge, and it helps when I’m evaluating recipes to look at the list and see which fish are on the good list for my region.
So as you try to include more seafood in your diet, I encourage you to print out the list for your region and use it to guide your seafood choices. The earth and the fish will thank you!
Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Regional Seafood Guides, FREE! at Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website.
I have a fairly basic make-up routine and very rarely branch out beyond my traditional five items while getting ready in the morning. And since I rely so heavily on my beauty basics, I’m pretty picky when it comes to making sure I’m using stuff that I like and makes me feel good. My routine includes: foundation, mascara, eyeliner, blush and powder. Toss on a little gloss and BAM! I’m out the door. Ever since I started using powder I have gone the way of translucent as opposed to a “bronze” or a “honey” simply because I am not good at blending. Like, at ALL. And if the rest of my body is not classified as a color found in a travel brochure, then my face will be sporting a powder used for smoothing and not color enhancement. Trust me, it’s better this way.
I have been very fond of pressed powder and have only branched out in the loose powder territory because my mom bought me some for my birthday. I was, well how do I put this? I was SCARED okay? What about the mess? What if I sneeze and it all poofs away? What if I get too much on the brush? WILL MY FACE THEN DISAPPEAR INTO A TRANSLUCENT VORTEX? So many questions!
I hate messes and I hate waste so I was really questioning how I’d feel about this product. Yes, some will get on your hand or on the sink but if you’re diligent you can minimize the spills. Just don’t go on a weekend drinking binge and go to put your make-up on the next morning with a bad case of The Shakes and you’ll be good.
Here is a little snipped from Maybelline’s website:
Mineral Power Translucent Loose Powder with micro-minerals provides the finishing touch that perfects and sets makeup for flawless, healthy-looking skin.
- Natural, luminous finish
- Won’t clog pores
- Contains 0% oil, 0% talc, 0% preservatives and 0% fragrance
For Best Results
Use the 100% natural kabuki brush included with the Translucent Loose Powder.
Dip it: Dip brush into cap
Tap it: Tap brush to remove excess
Apply it: Apply to face using circular motion
It’s KEY to tap the brush on the side of the container–this knocks off any excess and helps the powder go on evenly while also reducing plumes of make-up wafting through your bathroom. The first time I tried this application it took forever because I was so overly cautious about not wasting any. My husband kept hearing “clack-clack-clack. . .clack-clack-clack. . .clack-clack-clack” like I was some sort of mini bathroom orchestra conductor. But since then I’ve done it a few more times and have found my groove.
I love the brush. It’s soft and firm without being too whisker-y. It’s all natural and the application is flawless with the circular motion application–you just can’t get the same results with a puff and pressed powder. I was also pleased to note that my face didn’t get nearly as shiney throughout the day as with my other make-up. The difference is night and day. I had smooth coverage which is what I wanted. WIN! Also, since I’m not a huge fan of break-outs I love that my skin can breathe as this is a natural mineral-based powder free of gunk. DOUBLE WIN!
The downsides, which wouldn’t deter me from purchasing this again, are the loose powder mess potential and the fact that the brush is not attached to the container. This makes me worry about throwing it in my make-up bag and the brush getting dirty. So I think I’d just use this at home in the morning, and apply touch-ups (though not many are needed, seriously) with the pressed powder throughout the day.
What powder do you stand by and recommend whenever you get the chance? Are you a pressed powder or a loose kind of girl? (OH STOP!)
Maybelline Mineral Power Finishing Veil Translucent Loose Powder, around $12.00 at local drugstores.
A couple of years ago, my husband invited one of his supervisors and his wife over for dinner at our house without consulting me first. After entertaining panicked thoughts of a 60s-esque awkwardfest with the bossman and his wife, I came to my senses and realized these were nice fun people, close to our age, and I needn’t be afraid. I just needed to develop a really kick-butt dinner menu.
I was going through a very serious Ina Garten phase at the time, so when I read in her cookbook that Lauren Baccall loved her Indonesian Ginger Chicken recipe, I knew that’s what I would make.
Here’s the thing, though: that recipe calls for HALF A CUP of fresh minced grated ginger root. HALF. A. CUP. I bought an entire huge ginger root at the grocery store and spent, no joke, more than half an hour running it back and forth over my little ceramic ginger grater, trying to eke out enough for the marinade. By the time I had enough for the recipe, I was near weeping with exhaustion.
(And after all that, bossman and his wife showed up having already eaten dinner. My husband had failed to communicate when we invited them for dinner that there would actually be, you know, dinner. I believe he said “Katie makes really good desserts!” so they thought they were coming for dessert, and ate out at a restaurant immediately before coming over. That was not awkward AT ALL. And I would NEVER lord that mistake over my husband’s head for years, no siree Bob.)
ANYWAY, this is a (very) long way of saying: I sure as hell wish I’d known about this product back then. The Ginger People make this fabulous minced ginger in a jar, ready to be measured out a teaspoon at a time (or, in the case of Indonesian Ginger Chicken, a jar at a time.) Most recipes only call for a little ginger- one jar of this lasts me weeks or months in the fridge.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give if you’re looking to cook more healthy food at home is this: start with a well-stocked pantry. Have vinegar and honey and onions and garlic and ginger on hand. With products like this, that’s even easier. Minced ginger is great in asian dishes, stir fries, and even vinaigrettes. I do not love the taste of minced ginger if it’s in too-big pieces- but this is so finely minced that it’s more of a thin paste, and it dissolves beautifully in food.
You may have to look around a little to find it in the grocery store- I’ve seen it by the herbs in the produce section, in the Asian foods aisle, and by the spices. For the price, and the amount of time it can save you, it’s worth looking for.
Ginger People Minced Ginger, $3 a jar, at grocery stores and on the Ginger People website.
I just got back from a trip to a very sunny place (wistful sigh…) Because I am very fair-skinned, I take sunscreen very seriously, and I brought all sorts of options with us- waterproof, sport formulas, sensitive skin, all with an SPF of 50+.
But my secret weapon is this: Coppertone Waterbabies Sunscreen Stick. I bet right now some of you are thinking: my mom used that thing on me when I was a kid! And mine did too! That’s how I know about it! This recommendation comes on the strength of more than 25 years experience with the product. That’s pretty high praise, yeah?
Basically, it’s sunscreen in a solid formula, so it spreads on places where you really don’t want to get burned, like your face and your ears, and then stays put. If you sweat, it doesn’t leak into your eyes. If you go swimming, it doesn’t wash off. Because it’s a solid format, you don’t have to include it in your ziploc bag of 3oz size liquids (a plus for those of us who try to travel without checking luggage.) It’s great for use on the back of the neck and back of the ears during a run.
Now, if you have super-duper sensitive skin, I can’t guarantee that it will love the thickness of the solid formula. But it’s made for babies, so it’s dye free, scent free, and generally formulated for sensitive skin. I slathered it all over my face and neck last week with nary a pimple as a result. So for my sensitive-but-not-impossible skin, it works great.
If you have kids, this is way better than wrangling with them as they try to prevent you from spreading sunscreen liquid on their precious cheeks. But even if you don’t have kids- don’t make the mistake of thinking this is just for them. It’s small, compact, and cheap, and it protects your skin against dangerous rays. What’s not to love?
Coppertone Waterbabies Sunscreen Stick SPF 55, $4.99 at drugstore.com (also available as an SPF 30, so be sure you’re getting the high SPF for maximum protection- and fyi, I got mine for more like $3 at Target.)
