Protein Up with STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen Meals

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone. #PowerfulProtein #CollectiveBias

I enjoy being an active father with my kids doing things such as going on adventurous road trips, helping with their homework, and playing in the backyard.  As a 40-something dad of young children, I've found that I just don't have the energy I used to when I was in my 20s & 30s so making sure I have enough protein in my diet is important to keep my body properly fueled and ready to go.  Did you know that the Recommended Dietary Allowance of Protein for men ages 19 to 70 is 56 grams of protein each day?  Many of us guys aren't getting enough protein in our diets to sustain active lifestyles so I've started paying closer attention to how much is in my meals.

STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals are a great way to Protein Up your diet. Each  STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meal selection has 25 grams or more of protein.  These meals have played a nice part in helping me stick with an overall diet plan that lets me keep up my active dad lifestyle and that has energized my efforts to start working out more regularly.  I'll have to admit my diet often suffers because I just frankly am not a very good cook and don't like to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen. So I really appreciate that STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals are easy to get ready to eat taking less then 10 minutes to prepare.  These frozen microwaveable meals definitely aren't bland and provide generous portions packed with veggies, complex carbs, and proteins that will leave you satisfied.  At a suggested retail price of $3.99 each STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals can also help keep the family budget healthy and I find them to be a great deal for what you get!

My favorite STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meal is the Steak Fajita.  It is tender prime rib steak in smoked red chile sauce with a mix of red and green peppers along with seasoned brown rice.  One serving has 26 grams of important protein and another bonus is that the meal doesn't contain any artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup.  Plus there are no food allergy ingredients or warnings to prohibit us from having it around my children who have severe peanut and tree nut allergies which is always a shopping priority for our family.  Most importantly though it tastes really good!

STOUFFER'S ® Fit Kitchen meals provide me the perfect balance of taste and convenience in their 6 protein packed meal options that also include:

• CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN white meat chicken with a black bean & corn mix, seasoned brown rice and a verde tomatillo sauce;

• ROTISSERIE SEASONED TURKEY with a mix of diced red skin sweet potatoes & green beans;

• MONTEREY CHICKEN with diced red skin & sweet potatoes and lightly buttered green beans with BBQ style sauce;

• BOURBON STEAK with chipotle mashed potatoes, seasoned broccoli and red peppers;

• OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN white meat chicken with diced red skin potatoes, broccoli and a savory wine sauce.

You can find STOUFFER'S® Fit Kitchen meals in the frozen aisle at your local Walmart.

Follow STOUFFER'S®  on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for ideas to help you with your family meal planning.

So how are you going to pump up the protein in your diet? Time to protein up!

OSRAM SYLVANIA Teams Up With Relationship Experts To Shed Light On How To Be A Valentine's Day Superhero

Whether you are newly dating someone or are in a long-term committed relationship, being a Valentine's Day superhero can often seem to be a daunting task.  This year, OSRAM SYLVANIA, a leading company in the lighting industry, has partnered with relationship experts Laurie Davis, Founder of eFlirt and author of Love @ First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating, and Thomas Edwards, Jr., Founder of The Professional Wingman, to offer some mood-setting tips.

OSRAM SYLVANIA's is the perfect side kick for setting the mood for a romantic evening with its LIGHTIFY portfolio of indoor and outdoor lighting products that can be controlled and automated via an app from your mobile device.  From changing lighting color to dimming to simply switching lights on and off, combining LIGHTIFY's features with these tips from Davis and Edwards, who are also a married couple, can make for a super Valentine's Day:

Tips for the Ladies from Laurie Davis

#1 When you change the body language between you and your partner, it creates a different mood and connection.  This Valentine's Day, instead of watching a movie on the couch together, grab cooking utensils and make dinner together!  Top of the night by slow dancing in your living room.

#2 Teenage traditions are still fun even when you're in a committed relationship and well past those teen years.  Thomas and I still ask each other out on proper dates.  Even though I know he will say yes, it helps build anticipation and reminds us to make each other feel young even when we've been together for ages.

#3 Think of your partner first if you are the one planning Valentine's Day.  While they might not be the most romantic fare, hamburgers really make Thomas happy.  I'll pick up greasy burgers and a nice bottle of red wine, and I'm always guaranteed a smile and a light-hearted mood for the rest of the night.

#4 As we all know, color can affect your mood and emotions dramatically.  Use LIGHTIFY smart connected lighting kits and app to set the color of your LED lights in your home to match the mood you want to be in.  On Valentine's Day morning, I'll want blue lighting to help us wake up and be alert, but then I'll switch to red lighting that evening when I want to evoke passion.

Tips for the Gentlemen from Thomas Edwards, Jr.

#1   Enhance the five senses.  Your partner can become fully immersed in the environment when each sense is stimulated, allowing them to feel the emotions that come with each sense and associate those emotions with you.

#2  Hearing music can put your partner in almost any mood, from relaxed to seductive to loving.  For our living room dances, Laurie and I will turn off the lights or change them to a soft red with the LIGHTIFY Flex RGBW and dance to a soundtrack that I carefully curated, highlighting our favorite songs since we've been together.

#3  Scent is very powerful because one whiff can tap into millions of memories.  If you and your partner have specific romantic memories tied to smell, it can really amplify the mood.  One day, Laurie noticed I was wearing cologne I used to wear when we started dating.  It made her reminisce about the early days of our relationship, which brought a smile to her face.

#4  Surprisingly, what you wear can be another way to help set the mood.  When you wear something that looks good on you, you will project confidence, alluring your date even more.  It's the subtle touches on Valentine's Day, those favorite cufflinks or that new necklace, that can take it from any normal night to a truly special one.

"The most important thing to remember this Valentine's Day is to have fun and enjoy your partner's company first and foremost," noted Davis.  "And keep the romance going after Valentine's Day too!" added Edwards.

As these relationship experts both mentioned, LIGHTIFY can help you set the mood with lights on -- flirty, fun, relaxed -- or off.  Check out this fun video to see how LIGHTIFY can set the perfect lightscape and help make you a Valentine's Day Superhero: