Our lives can change at any given moment, and that has never been more apparent to me than it is today. Working from home everyday with a full family in the house, slowly getting used to social distancing and making sure we have the right amount of food and basic necessities to last a few weeks were never things I thought I'd have to deal with. I always try to to feed my family a well balanced diet but most healthy foods are perishable. Trying to choose healthy, storable snacks can be very tricky since most packaged goods contain less than favorable ingredients.

Last week, when I went out do that big grocery haul, I was so relieved to see my order from Paleovalley sitting at my doorstep. I few months ago, I decided to sign up for a subscription of their Grass Fed Beef Sticksafter seeing them online. I thought these snacks would be perfect for my busy family who's always on the go, it didn't even cross my mind that these would be perfect for staying in as well. Here are the 3 main reasons why I originally signed up:

100% Grass Fed Beef, Free of Chemicals and Pesticides

These are not your average gas station jerky - Paleovalley sources its beef from cattle farmers that take pride in the rearing of their animals. Their beef comes from 100% grass fed cows raised only on natural grass pastures in the United States. This ensures a humane and happy environment for the animals. They are continuously moved to various grazing pastures and are never exposed to harmful herbicides, pesticides, or hormones. They also practice rotational grazing which has added environmental benefits, as the soil is naturally rejuvenated by the animals' activity, eliminating the need for chemicals.

Great Source Of Essential Vitamins, Naturally Fermented

Paleovalley Beef Sticks are far more nutritionally dense than their store-bought counterparts since they come from grass fed beef. They contain vitamins like B12, B6, zinc, and phosphorus. Plus, they're a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. They're flavored using only organic spices, and the unique fermentation process ensures that they stay shelf-stable, without the use of any harmful chemicals. This precaution also means that the sticks contain probiotics, which aid digestion.

High Source Of Protein & Perfect On-The-Go Snack

Healthy and convenient are not traits that usually describe the same product, but Paleovalley Beef Sticks are a delicious way to keep you going between meals. Packed with 6g of protein per serving and come in 5 delicious flavors: Original, Summer Sausage, Jalapeno, Teriyaki and Garlic Summer Sausage. All are free from GMO's, gluten, soy, and dairy. They're the perfect snack to keep in your bag if you're on the keto or paleo diets, or if you just want to be more mindful of what you're putting in your body.

My family is signed up for a monthly subscription to a 4 pack of these (10 sticks per pack) which we have found to be the perfect amount for us. Knowing that we can always have a quick, reliable snack on hand has made committing to a healthy lifestyle much easier. Whether you're trying to stock up, are on a particular diet, or just mindful about your food comes from, Paleovalley Grass Fed Beef Sticks make it easy to stay healthy on the go or staying in. All of the flavor, all of the benefits- none of the guilt!

Update: The folks at Paleovalley are extending a special offer to our readers!Follow this link to receive 10% off your order of 100% Grass Fed Beef Sticks!

Recently, I've heard about all these dinner-delivery kits that show up on your doorstep with pre-planned dinners and groceries, neatly organized and ready to cook. I thought maybe they could save me some much needed time and energy to make my life easier. Over the past few years, making dinner has become a chore. I used to like to cook, but recently, I've been too tired to decide what to make for dinner, and my husband and I revert to the same boring meals every day. I tried a few dinner delivery services first, but HelloFresh, which came recommended by a friend (greatly appreciated), totally changed my lifestyle.

HelloFresh recipes take only 30 minutes, and the dinners are fresh and delicious. My husband, is a simple steak-and-potatoes guy, and I like my salmon and veggies, so we needed something simple and versatile. Some of the other meal-kits had me chopping vegetables for 20 minutes and spending more time cooking than I'd planned for. But HelloFresh allowed me to cook my dinner stress-free and with very little setup and cleanup.

Every HelloFresh meal comes in mini boxes perfectly packed with everything I need for each recipe. Each box fits neatly in my fridge, and it's ready to go when I'm ready to cook. It helps me break the cycle of just grabbing a bag of chips and plopping on the couch.

We like the Classic Plan, which provides 3 nights of dinner for two people each week. I am picky when it comes to veggies; I like them colorful and crispy, but off-season grocery store specials can make this challenging. The HelloFresh veggies were just the way I like them—beautiful orange carrots, green broccoli, and red tomatoes.

My favorite recipe was the Shrimp Burgers with Sriracha Mayo and Carrot Fries. I followed the instructions and found the burgers, including the sriracha mayo, to be surprisingly delicious. The recipe called for a brioche bun that we warmed in the oven for 5 minutes before. It was heaven: just like when you get to the bakery first thing in the morning. The carrot fries were something I never would have thought up on my own. We sliced the carrots so they looked like orange french fries, drizzled them with olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and baked them for 15 minutes— that was it. Easy peasy. Altogether it was a wonderful meal, and even the cooking part was fun.

I tried HelloFresh with hopes it would save me time, but it's actually helped me get back into cooking. I don't have time to be a gourmet chef or the energy to come up with creative meals, but I want to eat healthy, and live a more balanced lifestyle, something HelloFresh helped me to accomplish with ease. The quality of produce was just as fresh as my farmer's market, and they have really good meats. Plus, their website offers a variety of plans and dietary options, and they allow you to turn on and off delivery each week or pause your account. And you can cancel at anytime.

Update: The folks at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers.Follow this link to get $80 OFF including FREE shipping on the first box!

Whoever you are or wherever you live, I can bet you that you've heard of meal kits. You may not know much about them, but I'm fairly sure you've heard of them. Instagram, Facebook, or even through your mailbox, you've heard of them somewhere.

For those of you living under a rock, meal kit companies like HelloFresh send you recipes and the exact ingredients to make 3 meals for two people (frequency and servings are flexible), in a box right to your door. So instead of measuring out 2.7 tablespoons of curry powder, you bung it all together, and voilà, you have yourself a delicious, home-cooked meal.

While I, like you, have been aware of their existence for quite a while, I had never considered it for myself. I can make six recipes well, and I don't see why I would need a service like this. Then I was over at my mate's place, who is a famously lousy cook, burning both toast and baked beans when we lived together at university, and he presented this divine looking steak with a chimichurri dressing and a potato and spinach salad.

He swore it hadn't just come from the local takeaway, but I wasn't convinced, that was until he showed me the HelloFreshrecipe card. I realized that a meal kit wasn't for the lazy or the privileged bloke, but for anyone who liked food and needed the inspiration to spice up their weekly dinner routine.

I ordered a box on the way home to surprise my girlfriend Olivia, and a week later we gave it a go. It was so straightforward to order, and I even got to choose which meals we were going to have in the box, even though that was quite difficult as they all looked so tasty. It was new, it was fresh, and it was also a bit of a laugh too.

I value convenience very highly because when I get home from work, all Olivia and I want to do is quickly whip up something to eat and argue over what to watch on the telly, not do a shop then spend 2 hours cooking. With HelloFresh, we can not only make these tasty new dinners with just 30 minutes in the kitchen, but we also get to try new flavors and cuisines that we never thought we'd cook up ourselves. We've even started becoming more adventurous with the food we eat.

The first thing Olivia said to me when we sat down to the first meal was, "this is bloody good." I was stoked. I guess we associate convenience with something bad for you, boring or not tasty, but that is certainly not the case with HelloFresh.

It has really re-inspired our dinner time, as we are no longer eating the same thing week in, week out. We've continued it ever since for 3 meals a week, giving us the chance to still eat out when we want to. With the meals starting at $9 each, it's hard to see how we could get better variety in such a convenient way and at such a good price versus the supermarket.

Writing this, I can already tell you're a tad skeptical about the whole thing and fair enough, I was too.

I can honestly say though it's changed our week, coming home knackered and not having to go down the shop or think of what to have, the excitement and simplicity of HelloFresh makes dinner a breeze.

Update: The folks at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get $80 off HelloFresh!