Making Ramen a (semi) Healthy Meal

No this is not a Martha Stewart four course meal, but it is something cheap and easy that I've come up with to save me time and money when I'm short on both. As a plus, it's pretty delicious too.

What you'll need:
1 package of your favorite Ramen Noodles
1 small can of pre-cooked chicken (I use the store brand)
About 1/2 a cup of frozen vegetables

For all of these ingredients you can use more or less depending on your taste. If you have a hard time finding the chicken I am describing, look next to the canned tuna, it comes in a similar can.

I fill a pan with the recommended amount of water for the Ramen, and throw in everything at once including the seasoning packet, draining the chicken beforehand. Let the water come to a boil, stir and continue cooking for 3 minutes and you're done!

I prefer to drain my noodles of all water or broth before I eat it, this can help to cut down on the amount of sodium you intake. This is a great way to turn Ramen into a satisfying meal that includes protein and vegetables. The total cost of the meal will vary a little, I usually have a large bag of frozen vegetables on hand so they are practically at no cost, 1 package of Ramen is around $0.15 and a small can of pre cooked chicken in water can be found for $0.98, bringing the total meal to under $3!

I hope you try out this recipe and put your own spin on it!

Review: Sun 2x Double Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent

Let me start off by saying, I am not someone who is anti high end laundry detergent. Ive had my love affair with tide, you know that happy bright orange bottle that you can't help but stare at when you're in the laundry isle. It's inevitable, and it does a darn good job at cleaning your clothes but it also will put a little hole in your wallet.

When recently trying to cut back in my budget I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and try a lower end laundry detergent. They couldn't be that bad right? They all have the same purpose. It just so happened that the week I was out of detergent my Walgreen's was running a special on Sun 2x double concentrate laundry detergent. Buy one get one free, being a sucker for that little acronym BOGO it caught my eye. But what caught my eye even more was the fact that it was originally $4.99 for a 75 load bottle! This meant I would be getting 150 loads of laundry for less than half of what I was paying for my beloved happy orange bottle.

I have been using Sun laundry detergent for a little over a month now and I would have to say I give it a 9 out of 10. It is fantastic and tackling everyday dirt and sweat, smells fresh and keeps my clothes looking clean and bright. It is also available in a number of scents for those of you that like a wider variety. The only reason I cannot give it a 10/10 is because I do not know how it handles tougher diet and grime, besides the occasional spill my clothes are never really THAT dirty and nothing a little Oxi-Clean can't fix.

To show a price comparison:
1 bottle of Tide 2x Ultra 64 loads retails $11.97
1 bottle of Sun 2x double concentrated 75 loads retails $4.99

I will most definitely be repurchasing Sun laundry detergent when I run out. Another thing I enjoy about the brand is they often offer a price reduction. Right now at my local Big Lots a 75 load bottle is $3.50 and in my opinion you can't beat that!

Sun Laundry Detergent

A Hair Raising Review- Gillette Venus Pro Skin

Like every other lady out there I am always looking for ways to cut down time on that dreaded but daily task...shaving. It's not that I don't love the feeling of silky smooth hairless skin, it's just that it happens to be a waste of time, that I rarely have.

After years, yes years of contemplating the razors with the built in shave soap or bars I finally decided it would be worth the money if it meant that much less hassle. I browsed the market and decided to try the Gillette Venus Pro Skin.

I chose this particular razor for a few reasons. 1. I have had my original Venus Razor since I started shaving at the age of 12 and have had nothing but good luck with it. And 2. Unlike the Schick Intuition, one of the more popular built in shave bar razors, the Venus version had a pivoting head ; which I am a fan of.

I picked up the razor for something around $10 at my local Walmart. The starter kit included 2 razor heads with the shave bars, the razor handle and a suction cup holder for the wall. I wasn't all that impressed with the holder because my previous Venus razor holder has storage room for refill cartridges, where this one was simply a razor holder, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

The big idea is that all you have to do is run the razor under water and shave away. After trying the razor for a month now I'd have to give it a 6 on a scale from 1-10.

The razor itself worked well, as I had imagined. It was a mirror image of my original Venus razor, 3 blades, which isn't that advanced since most razors today have upwards of 6 blades, but that really isn't a big deal to me. The built in soap bars were a little lack luster though. They did do their job...for about 3 uses and then they started to deteriorate. Quickly. The bottom bar began to run out more quickly than the top, just because of the way the razor is held when shaving so I found myself having to wet the razor, rub what was left of the top shave bar across my legs and then shave since there was nothing left of the bottom bar to coat my legs while shaving. By the time I did that I could have probably used shaving cream and it would have taken the same amount of time and less effort. With my effort to get more uses out of 1 razor head I probably got 10 uses out of it, but most people would have stopped at the 3 and tosses it.

All in all it is a great idea, but it needs a little more refinement if I am going to purchase any more refills. Especially since refills range around $15 for 4 cartridges! It did save me time in the beginning, but in the end the time saved did not outweigh the cost.

Venus Pro Skin