Vegan

Tackle Winter with the Love Goodly Dec/Jan Box

https://www.chicvegan.com/tackle-winter-with-the-love-goodly-dec-jan-box/

It’s time for another Love Goodly review and I am pretty pumped for this one. Pretty much all the products in this box are EXACTLY what I needed for the winter months. There was even one product I was considering buying and then it just showed up on my doorstep. Talk about some holiday magic right there!

If you’re not familiar with Love Goodly, they are a bi-monthly subscription service. You’ll find a great selection of eco-friendly, non-toxic, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty products to try for a fraction of the cost. Each box also supports a different charity. This month, the entire box was palm oil free in collaboration with the Orangutan Alliance. You get to look beautiful and help the animals, what could be better?

Let’s get to what was in the Love Goodly Dec/Jan Box box:

Sylveco Soothing Eye Cream – I’m going to start with my favorite product in the box. I turned 31 in October and I’m starting to notice a few more fine lines that don’t just disappear with a shower in the morning. I had started to look into eye creams and actually ran across Sylveco. I liked that it was hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. Luckily, I didn’t quite jump the gun because a few weeks later I got my Love Goodly box with this eye cream! It is even better than I thought. The cream isn’t greasy and it absorbs fast. I put it on at night and wake up with younger looking eyes. I know that sounds impossible, but it’s totally true. This is a product I will definitely buy again.

Sylveco Soothing Eye Cream– Put this product in the category of “Didn’t Know I Needed Until I Used It”. This quick fix spray is to help fight breakouts when you can’t wash your face after a workout or other sweaty endeavor. It is made with simple ingredients such as witch hazel, tea tree oil, and lavender essential oil. Usually, after I workout, I have to get right back to work and don’t get to shower right away. I’ve noticed I get a little acne right along my hairline and jaw and didn’t realize it was because I was letting sweat and bacteria sit on my face. Come on, Katie, wise up. Thankfully a few spritzes of this spray and those bumps have started to go away. I’ve even started spraying a little on my face right when I wake up.

ZSkin Pumped Lash Primer – I am lucky enough to have pretty long eyelashes, so I didn’t think this lash primer would do much for me. It is made with ingredients to help your lashes grow longer and stronger, plush thicker. I started using it and didn’t really notice much difference in growth BUT it does help my mascara stay in place longer, which is a definite boost. If you struggle with short or thin lashes, this might be a great product for you. But even if you don’t have that issue, it is a great primer for mascara.

Bee Magical Save the Bees Bracelet – I always love when my Love Goodly Box includes something fun like this bracelet. This piece was made exclusively for Love Goodly and it’s made entirely of recycled materials. Bee Magical is helping raise awareness for bees and trying to secure a safe future for these important creatures.

If you want to get the Love Goodly box, each regular one is $34.95. You can also get the VIP box for $48.95 and receive one more item. This month it is the Bellapierre HD make-up primer. The other great thing about Love Goodly is that if you find a product you truly love, you can buy it from them for a discount with their code. Get ready for winter with this awesome Love Goodly box!

$If you're not familiar with Love Goodly, they are a bi-monthly subscription service. You'll find a great selection of eco-friendly, non-toxic, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty products to try for a fraction of the cost. Each box also supports a different charity. This month, the entire box was palm oil free in collaboration with the Orangutan Alliance. You get to look beautiful and help the animals, what could be better?$

Vegan

Mushroom Parmesan Pasta Bake (1-pan, nut-free, with soy-free and gluten-free options)

Cozy, hearty spinach cheese stuffed Mushroom Parmesan, is a one-pan dinner that your family is going to love! Even the orzo pasta bakes up in the pan with the cheesy mushrooms and marinara sauce! 1 pan, 1 baking Step!

close-up of a fork taking a bite of mushroom parmigiana

I wanted to make a simple mushroom parmesan pasta bake, because I had plenty of mushrooms on hand. And I wanted to reduce the pans and time in the kitchen. Enter this cozy 1 Pan Orzo bake!

The mushrooms are stuffed with this delicious spinach-tofu-cheese mixture that I often use to make stuffed shells, then I top it with a cruncy breadcrumb topping and pair it with a pasta, I use orzo, but other shapes will work too! The pasta and the sauce at the bottom, topped with cheesy stuffed mushrooms, and a crisp breadcrumb topping. Everything cooks in just one pan and one baking step!

close-up of mushroom parmesan in the pan after baking

The prep is very simple. Just make your spinach-tofu-cheese mixture by adding everything to a bowl and mixing it. Prep your mushrooms by removing the stems, and that’s it!

It’s an easy recipe that’s pretty flexible, too. You can add some veggie grounds or vegan ground meat substitute in with the pasta sauce to add extra protein to the meal. The recipe is already nut-free, and it’s easy to make soy-free and gluten-free, too.

You want to use about two- to three-inch mushrooms. Larger mushrooms take longer to cook, and pasta will overcook in that much time, so medium-sized works best here. I also use the mushroom stems in the recipe, so don’t discard them. Just trim away the tough end of the stem and discard that, but save the rest of the stem to chop up into the pasta sauce.

close up of mushroom parmesan on a plate

I paired this mushroom parmesan with orzo pasta, because it cooks up really easily in the baking dish and it works out just amazing. You can add a different pasta of choice, as well, just bake a few minutes longer until the pasta is cooked to preference.