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How To Use The Motorola Xoom For Cooking

October 30, 2011 By

Many people have docking stations in their kitchen especially for tablets. Why, you ask? Using the Motorola Xoom for cooking is one of its best uses, especially if you are a foodie. You can find new recipes, count your calories while making meals, plan your grocery list, and even find the perfect wine to go with your home cooked meal. First you will need a Motorola Xoom Standard Dock which is priced around $35. This gadget makes things much easier, so the Xoom is propped up while you are preparing your meals, rather than laying flat and in the dangerous path of spilled ingredients.

Searching for Recipes

I’m always on the lookout for new recipes and often times I have certain ingredients in my pantry or leftovers that I don’t know what to do with. The Big Oven app lets you search up to three ingredients to find a recipe that uses the items you have on hand. So say after this Thanksgiving you have Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, and Cranberries left over and you want to find a recipe for the day after. I type the ingredients into the Big Oven app and it gives me several recipes, but I think the Turkey And Sweet-Potato Croquettes with Cranberry Apple Salsa sounds delicious.

I would also recommend the Epicurious, Food Network Mobile, and Taste of Home recipe apps. The fabulous feature of the Taste of Home app is that it detects what state you are in via GPS in the Xoom and it tells you what ingredients are in season in your area, and you then can search recipes that include those fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Grocery Shopping

Have you seen shoppers in the supermarket with their tablet? It is easy to add your shopping list to apps like Out of Milk, and this would be the time to use the fun Voice-to-text feature of the Xoom.

Wine Pairings

If you are cooking up a beautiful meal for your significant other, that might involve a bottle of wine, but if you are like me and just getting into the vino world, than you don’t know a clue about what wine goes good with what. There’s an app for that. Hello Vino lets you search for wines that go well with the ingredients in your meal.

Now that you have the tools to cook a fabulous meal with your Xoom, you can add some of my favorite recipes to your shopping list! I suggest you try the Apple Braid, Asian Tuna Wonton Cups, or this delish Crockpot Southwestern Turkey Chili. Happy cooking!

I received the Motorola Xoom to test out and keep.

Filed Under: Blog, Idea Room, Promotions, Recent Articles, Shopping 2 Comments

Five Fun Fall Treats

October 12, 2011 By

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. A time where I can bring out the sweaters and boots and warm up next to a nice cup of coffee. When I was growing up there were always certain recipes my mom made once the weather got colder. I’ve turned into that type of mom and now our autumns are filled with apple desserts, pumpkins, and crock pot meals. Here are five fun fall treats that I start making at the first drop of a colored leaf.

Apple Dessert Braid

Oven Roasted Chex Mix

Caramel Apple Grapes

Apple Cider Cups

Mini Bundt Pumpkin Cakes

Filed Under: Blog, Desserts, Family & Adoption, Idea Room, Recent Articles, Recipe Box 9 Comments

Fall Weather Beauty Tips

October 11, 2011 By

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://moms.dailybuzz.com/channel/style.

I am not a total girly-girl where I need to have makeup and high heels on everyday, as a matter of fact, I probably have more days where I’m in sweats and don’t have a touch of makeup on. I still want to look good and I still want to feel good. Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons and mainly because I can wear comfy sweaters, big scarves and tall boots. It also does a number on my skin. Here are a few of my fall weather beauty tips!

Eat Right. What we eat doesn’t just affect our weight. Eating certain foods can help beautify your skin. Eat vitamin-packed fruits and vegetables to give you a glowing, healthy look.

Arricchire, on Tumblr

Moisturize: The cold weather, like most people, brings me dry skin. It’s even more of a nuisance when you have a bit of adult acne like me. I’ve heard the best moisturizer for skin types like mine are not oily and greasy, which probably does more harm than good. If you do have acne and use a harsh cleanser, talk with your dermatologist to find a cleanser that is better for the cold weather when skin tends to dry out faster.

 

 

Treat Yourself: You don’t necessarily need to go to the spa to receive a facial, there are many DIY spa-type treatments, including this at-home fall facial and facial mask.

Protect Your Skin: Don’t let the cold, gloomy weather fool you. Most professionals say that sunscreen should be put on everyday whether rain or shine. The fall weather may not be a perfect time to get that sun-kissed glow, but don’t let the tanning beds tempt you. I was an avid tanner for over six years and I’m now trying to take better care of my skin. Use faux glow products like bronzers and spray tans. There are actually high-quality fake tanners out there now that don’t leave streaks and blotchiness.

Thank you to Walgreens for sponsoring this blog post. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Beauty, Blog, Health, Idea Room, Recent Articles Leave a Comment
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