Spending Some Me Time With Cooking Light

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I have always loved magazines. I love to sit down and flip trough them to get ideas and just to relax. It is a great way to get a little bit of relaxing “me time.”

My latest me time inspirations came from CookingLight, which I picked up at my local Jewel-Osco store when I was out doing the grocery shopping. You might think that this magazine is just about cooking, but it is much more than that. It really is also about living a healthy lifestyle, and it inspires me to do so.

On of my ongoing goals is to increase my running speed for races and to generally stay fit. CookingLight has articles on fitness and also provides inspiration for meals that fit well with my training and nutrition plans. So, I normally browse through an issue and pick out specific items that I want to cook and then I put them on the menu.

In fact, menu planning is also one of my absolutely favorite me time experiences. I get out the planner and sit down with the magazine and start penciling things in while adding stickers and bright colors for fun. I have gotten rather addicted to planning this way. Making up the pages is really fun, and it motivates me to stick with the plan. CookingLight makes that easy as well since their recipes have consistently been very tasty every time that I make them and they fit very well with my eating habits. The magazine is full of great photos of the recipes too, so you know what you will be getting.

Another one of the things I am focusing on this summer is planting fresh herbs and vegetables to use in my cooking. Eating healthy is great when you can step out the door and grab some fresh tomatoes or basil for your recipe! The planters also add interest to the patio, which is exactly where I like to lounge and read my magazines.

Using the garden even came to fruition through my latest issue of CookingLight. I made a mojo grilled chicken recipe from the magazine that used both fresh cilantro and fresh basil from my herb garden. It was easy to make, turned out great, and will almost certainly end up on the rotation for the regular menu this summer.

When I have cherry tomatoes ready, I’m going to try making the cover recipe as well!

Then, planting the vegetables and herbs further inspired me to make a Fairy Garden, which I am just totally in love with. It isn’t related to cooking, but all those thoughts about cooking and growing things for the recipes got me on a roll! The fairy garden makes my magazine reading area even more special.

Try a little “me time” for yourself! Go grab a magazine and see what it inspires you to do! You can visit these local participating stores and get $1 off  PEOPLE®, InStyle®, Real Simple®, CookingLight®, or Sunset® magazines through Just for U or MyMixx.  Click below for your coupon!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PEOPLE®, Real Simple®, InStyle®, CookingLight® and Sunset®. The opinions and text are all mine.

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