Hi lovelies,

I spent the past week unwinding on the beach while on a lovely holiday in Mexico to watch one of my best friends from college marry the love of his life. The vacation was exactly what I needed: sun, sand, and good laughs with close friends.

But since getting back to reality, its been an adjustment to get into the swing of things after unplugging from the usual hustle-and-bustle of my daily life. My usual routine entails running from meetings, errands, photoshoots, coffee dates, events, and hitting the gym, all while finding the time to squeeze in actual work with blogging, taking photos and videos, and juggling my on-camera hosting duties.

However, due to my busy and active lifestyle, one of my top priorities is making sure that I enjoy every moment of my life by finding ways to incorporate fun and easy ways to stay grounded, healthy, and connected to my friends and loved ones 'in real life' and even when I'm not on vacation in Mexico!

I know that feeling grounded and healthy starts from the inside out, and that's why I turn to Stouffer's. Their prepared meals help me keep my eating habits both balanced and nutritious without sacrificing a ton of time.

I especially love the Stouffer’s Family Size Macaroni & Cheese, not only because of its authentic and fresh taste, but also because it's the perfect way to accommodate my busy lifestyle while providing meal options that are actually good for me.

With Stouffer’s Family Size Macaroni & Cheese as my busy lifestyle meal partner-in-crime, I don't have to sacrifice the quality of my food just to save time. My nourish meals on a schedule secret is to prep my meals for the week and since Stouffer's provides family size options, I always have enough leftover for a few days worth of meals, so I can just heat it up, enjoy, while on-the-go.

Plus, when I have my friends and family over, it's any way to create a meal without starting from scratch. That way, I can focus on unplugging and connecting with my friends and not on spending a ton of time in the kitchen, since Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese recipe includes real, simple ingredients, like freshly made pasta, cheddar cheese, milk and butter.

My favorite way to balance my meals are by incorporating prepared foods as my entree and then I pair it with an easy-to-make side dish made of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy. So if you're busy like me, but want to maintain balance in both your life and eating habits, then check out my recipe below for my favorite “Taste The Rainbow” side that I pair with my go-to Stouffer’s Family Size Macaroni & Cheese.

It's called “Taste the Rainbow” because of the vibrant colors from the fresh veggies and ingredients from the green spinach, red tomatoes, purple onions, to the yellow and orange sweet peppers.

If you need more info, check out Balance Your Plate, which is an educational program designed to help you put together delicious and nutritious meals that incorporate both frozen and fresh foods. Additionally, research has proven that Americans are only meeting MyPlate recommendations for vegetables, fruit, proteins, dairy and grains seven days out of 365, so beat the odds and try out a nutritious side dish with a freshly made Stouffer's prepared meal.

Taste the Rainbow:

1 cup of fresh spinach
½ chopped tomato
2 chopped sweet peppers
1 cup chopped onion
small handful of goat cheese
2 tablespoons of Omega 3 Oil

Directions: Combine all ingredients, except the goat cheese, into a stick-free pan and sautee until crisp or around 5 minutes on a medium fire. Once sauteed add to plate and sprinkle on goat cheese and enjoy!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.