Salted Apple Caramel Hand Pies Easy as 1-2-3 #handpies #apple

We made some apple hand pies recently and they really were easy. We started with frozen dough from Trader Joes which made it a bunch easier.  It was a fun activity to do together with my daughter and I was surprised that it was pretty quick and fun.

I chopped up about 7 apples fairly fine and blended them with cinnamon and sugar. I just kept tasting it and when it seemed sweet enough I stopped adding. I think anyone can do that. I always do a little at a time so you don't overdo the cinnamon.'

Use a clean drinking glass to cut out circles of dough. I placed then on waxed paper in layer and kept them in the refrigerator until we were ready to use them. It makes the dough a lot easier to work with when it is cold. You spoon a teaspoon or two of apples onto a piece of dough, add a small caramel or a half a teaspoon of Trader Joes liquid caramel sauce, a pinch of kosher salt and top it with a second piece of dough. Don't use too much of the apples or it will be hard to close it up. After you put the piece of dough on top use a fork to gently press the tines down all around to seal it.

See how easy it is? Then once all of them are sealed up in their little hand-pie packages brush the tops with a beaten egg and shake a little sugar on top...I like the bigger clear crystals just to give a little sparkle to them.

Cut two vertical lines on each pie to let the steam escape while they cook. Don't forget! Bake them at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they are slightly brown. Enjoy.

Ruta Sleep and Ruta Cleanse Rest, Relax and Calm review and giveaway

Disclosure: I received this product as a Bulu Box affiliate. Interested in trying your own box of healthy monthly motivation? Click here for an exclusive discount

Always check with your physician before starting any supplement product and specifically Ruta Sleep or Ruta Cleanse. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare professional prior to use if you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medication or have a medical condition. Keep out of reach of children.

Why has no one ever thought of this before? Geez, how many times have I had that late afternoon or even worse...the after dinner cup of espresso only to be up all night! Some of my friends find that the afternoon energy drink gives them what they need to keep going until bedtime...then they have the same problem. Here are two great natural solutions for the eternal problem.  
 
RUTA Sleep uses the gentle power of fruit-derived Rutaecarpine to speed up the naturally occurring enzymes in your body that break down caffeine. I never realized that your body can take up to 15 hours to break down caffeine completely. You know that feeling when you are all hopped up, tense and overstimulated. RUTA Sleep blends Rutaecarpine with the natural sleep aid Melatonin in a special time-release formula. RUTA Sleep eases the stress of caffeine use and promotes deep, restful sleep.

• Take two hours before sleep for best results  
  • Only for caffeine consumers.

You know all those coffee shop visits can leave you feeling jittery after a while but you have to get the work done. You can reduce some of the overstimulation from caffeinated beverages or ther products with RUTA Cleanse. It contains 100 mg of Rutaecarpine, found in the Evodia fruit.  RUTA Cleanse calms and relaxes while actually reducing your body’s caffeine levels. RUTA Cleanse was developed by a father and son pharmacist team to speed up the naturally occurring enzymes in your body that break down caffeine.  RUTA Cleanse helps you feel a decrease in tension and stress within two hours! *

RutaCleanse contains 100mg of Rutaecarpine from the Evodia fruit. The Evodia fruit is native to China and Korea and has been used for digestion problems and lack of appetite in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many years. Recently data published in the Archives of Pharmacal Research evaluated the effect of oncaffeine. The results suggest that Rutaecarpine increases the metabolism of caffeine in rats. Several other medical sites suggest that Evodia may reduce the efficacy of caffeine. RutaCleanse is a supplement that may speed up the rate at which caffeine is broken down and removed from the body. 

• 100mg of Rutaecarpine normally found in the Evodia Fruit  
• Calming, Eases tension, Decreases over-stimulation.   
• Packaged under Current Good Manufacturing Practices in the USA 
• May reduce caffeine levels to promote rest and relaxation.  
• Created by Pharmacists

Want to try this out for yourself? Get Ruta Cleanse or Ruta Sleep from the Bulu Box shop. You can find more information about RutaCleanse and RutaSleep on the Bulubox site as well.

Don't forget to enter my great Rafflecopter giveaway to win your own Ruta Sleep and Ruta Cleanse.a Rafflecopter giveaway

Brain Fitness Pathwords is mind bending ThinkFun game #thinkfun

We love board games. I know it sounds so old fashioned but I am as high tech as they get. Really, I am. We have our computers, iphones and ipads and enjoy using them but we have always been big fans of games that challenge the mind that are not on the grid. Both my hubby and I always enjoyed them as kids.  We started playing board games when we first got married and it never stopped.  We started playing simple board games with her when she was a tiny tot. It is totally different for your brain when you are sitting with a board game either thinking to yourself or interacting with others. This is the kind of skill that you can't learn on a computer no matter what the game you choose. I truly credit my child's early reading to all the board games and learning games we have played since she was a baby.

I have to give the credit to my mom though for the best find of all. She was the one who discovered the ThinkFun brand a number of years ago.  She picked up a few of the ThinkFun travel sized games and the little one was hooked. We discovered one of her best little friends was also a ThinkFun fan.  Her best friend has two parents that are educators who just really love the ThinkFun brand. They know good fun learning games when they see them. Birthdays and other special occasions became a good reason to buy a new ThinkFun game. Frankly, it made it easy for me because it was pretty much impossible to bomb when I chose a ThinkFun game. I actually have fun shopping for them online or in the store. Many of the ThinkFun games including the Brain Fitness Pathwords are excellent games for adults and kids to play in the car, while waiting for appointments or even to tote with you on the airplane. A better option than endless screen time for anyone young or old.  We have quite a collection and haven't been disappointed yet so I was excited to take a peek at this new fun game called Brain Fitness Pathwords.

The Brain Fitness Pathwords is a challenging game for older kids and adults. Word Search fans will really like this puzzle. I guess that is why we found it fun since we both love word searches. If you have a child 10+ who has a good vocabulary, this is a good mind exercise for them.  The manufacturer recommends 12+. The words are sometimes sophisticated so you know your child or yourself. It is pretty easy to learn though. You can start out at the beginner levels and move on up as you master each puzzle. Then you can really start challenging the mind with the different levels. You begin by selecting a challenge puzzle. Then you place the pieces onto the game grid so that the letters under each piece spell a word either forward or backward. The pieces are all different shapes and colors to make it interesting too. It sounds easier than it looks. Some of the words are really hard. Wait till you get to the more challenging levels, because not only do the grids have letters, but they have symbols that you have to incorporate into your words. This game definitely will give your mind a real workout. You have to think, think think to figure some of them out especially as you move up the levels.  Brain Fitness Pathwords comes with a Spiral-bound Challenge Booklet. It has 80 challenges ranging from Beginner to Expert so you have plenty of time to work your brain. It also comes with 8 puzzle pieces plus the instruction booklet.  Brain Fitness Pathwords is a fun brain trainer game that encourages your mind to expand and think like it never has before.  You will be surprised how much quicker your brain starts to work when you exercise it with fun games like this one.

We really liked the brain exercises combined with the educational element in the Brain Fitness Pathwords. My tween has been playing all week. She needed some encouragement at the beginning (it helps when you start at the beginner instead of moving directly to the expert levels...don't do that!) to start moving through the challenges but once she got going there was no stopping her. I love that you can play it by yourself (or the older kids can play alone).  I would definitely recommend this as a Christmas, birthday present or a special gift for any child or adult.

This is a game that is recommended for ages 12+ to adult and retails for about $19.99.
You can purchase the Brain Fitness Pathwords from ThinkFun directly or you can also pick this great game up from ThinkFun up on Amazon. Who has time anymore to run from store to store?  Not me. I love shopping online it saves me so much time.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Foxbrim's Natural Refresh Toner Review #foxbrim

I really work hard to take good care of my skin. That includes proper cleansing, toning, exfoliating and moisturizing. I was happy to try a new product from Foxbrim that doesn't contain any alcohol. This was gentle to use and really worked well to remove any excess makeup that remained after cleansing.  I love that it contains witch hazel along with aloe, MSM and Vitamin C to replenish and tone my skin. 

I notice each year that I have to work harder to get my skin looking fresh and keeping any kind of glow. Foxbrim's Natural Refresh Toner is a great option that I find has been working well to support my healthy glowing skin. I have just made it a simple part of my daily regimen.  Natural Refresh Toner provides the truly the totally essential step to tone, cleanse and prepare skin. I like that it is 100% Natural and Alcohol Free.

You can pick up this Foxbrim Natural Refresh Toner right on Amazon for the ultimate in convenience all year long.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.