Luster Premium White (teeth whitening system)

 

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows I like to have white teeth. I have tried almost every over the counter whitening product on the market ranging from strips to toothpaste. Since I am an avid coffee, tea and dark soda dinker; keeping my teeth white can be a challenge especially the older I get. Therefore, I was ecstatic when I was given the opportunity to try Luster Premium White for being a Bzz Agent.

 

My Bzz Agent kit contained the complete one hour white system which included:

                    Step 1: Mouth Rinse

                    Step 2: Super Whitener Gel

                    Step 3: Whitening Light

                    Instruction Manual

                    Tooth Shade Card

I also received the Luster Power White Fluoride Toothpaste.

 

 

 

After about two days, I found time to read through the instructions and plan out my whitening schedule. This system is great because it has a flexible whitening schedule. Which is good for me because with two little ones and a busy life it can be hard to find a good time to take care of myself. The instructions gave four whitening schedules:

 1. Complete 10-20 treatments in the course of 1 hour

 2. Complete 5 treatments in the morning and evening over 2 days

 3. Complete 3-4 treatments per day for 5 days

 4. Complete 2-3 treatments a day for a week

 

I chose schedule 3 because it fit into my life the best. The treatments only take 3 minutes to complete. I started to see good results after the completion of the tenth treatment. I started at a 6 on the shade card and ended at a 2! I am very happy with the results. I am more happy with the fact that I don't have to do this again for 3 months to maintain my results. Also, the light is reusable which is good for the environment and my wallet. The only issue I had was that the whitening gel irritated my gums. It didn't cause me pain, it was just bothersome. As soon as I rinsed my mouth the irritation subsided.

 

I will continue to use this product in the future and I will finish off the toothpaste to help maintain my whiter smile!

 

 

 

Note: As a Bzz Agent, I was given these products to review for free on this blog. All opinions are my own and no compensation was given.

 

 

 



Homemade Cheese Crackers

Picture came from In the Kitchen with Kath
Linked from a Pinterest Pin



My baby is 15 months old and it is time for me to get my family back on track with our eating healthy, unprocessed foods. The other day I was scanning through my boards on Pinterest, and found this pin on how to make homemade cheese crackers (aka Cheese its). Before looking at the recipe, I thought this is probably going to be time consuming and difficult. To my surprise the recipe has all of six ingredient! All the ingredients are pantry staples, so I didn't have to make a store run to try this recipe.

Misses and I got started on making the crackers. I must add that a food processor makes the job super easy. Thanks to my good friend, Kelly, I have one!

Here is the recipe taken from http://kathdedon.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/melt-in-your-mouth-homemade-cheese-crackers/  (My recipe modifications are in maroon)

Sorry I don't have any pictures, my camera is MIA!


Makes about 70 1-inch square crackers

~

1½ cups (6 oz) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
¾ cup (90 g) flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon milk

1. Preheat oven to 350˚.
2. Put everything except the milk in a food processor. Pulse the processor, 5 seconds at a time, for about 5 or 6 times, until the dough is in coarse crumbs.
3. Add the milk and process until the dough gathers together in a ball.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has been floured until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
5. Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You can put a bit of flour on the blade of the knife to keep it from sticking.Use the flat end of a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the center of each cracker.
6. Place the crackers at least ¼ inch apart on parchment paper on a baking sheet. I didn't use parchment paper, and the crackers turned out great.
7. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.
8. Put the baking sheet on a rack and let the crackers cool completely
9. Eat! Or store in a covered container to eat within a day or two. Another site said they'll last for a week in an airtight container.