Spring is here! For many people, the new season is the perfect time to renew their homes and clean from top to bottom. However, springtime is also an opportunity to try new and healthy habits. That’s why we gather the best low-carb recipes to cook during spring. Keep reading to learn more.

The first step is cleaning your kitchen!

As a cleaning company, we know how important it is to keep your kitchen clean and ready. A messy kitchen can be demotivating when you are trying to cook. If your daily routine prevents you from keeping your kitchen neat and ready, a cleaning service might be what you need.

6 Best low carbs recipes

1. Smoked salmon, avocado, and rocket salad

For this delicious salad, you only need some rocket leaves (arugula), an avocado, half Lebanese cucumber, 3 oz of smoked salmon slices, and sesame seeds. For the dressing, use lime juice, olive oil, and salt. Preparing this salad won’t take you more than ten minutes, and you will have a nutritious and tasty meal for one person. Here is the full recipe.

2. Vegan collard greens

In roughly half an hour, you can make a savory meal with collard greens and other veggies. Cook garlic and onion in a big heavy-bottomed skillet until they become transparent, then add cherry tomatoes. Add the chopped collard greens with the rest of the ingredients (salt, pepper, paprika, vinegar), stir it up, and then cook for 20 minutes. Check out the full recipe here.

3. Shrimp lettuce wraps with peanut sauce

These shrimp lettuce wraps are another example that low-carb doesn’t mean tasteless. The secret is the easy-to-do peanut sauce that only needs two ingredients! Cook the shrimps in the pan and chop every ingredient (cucumber, avocado, carrot, and cilantro) to fit them in the lettuce cups. Check out the detailed recipe.

These Thai Lettuce Wraps or Larb Gai are similar recipes, but with chicken or pork instead of shrimp.

4. Zucchini noodles with pesto

We know that seeing noodles between low-carb meals might seem weird, but that’s the whole point of zucchini noodles—they are the low-carb alternative to pasta! To make this recipe, you only need zucchini and the right tool to turn it into noodles. This meal takes no longer than fifteen minutes, and you don’t even need to cook! Toss the noodles into pesto (check this basil pesto recipe.) Add a few cherry tomatoes, and your fresh and healthy meal is ready. 

5. Bunless burger

If you fancy a burger, make it low-carb! The trick is taking the buns out of your recipe and stuffing the burger with more vegetables. Burgers are flexible meals, you can fill them up with any vegetables, and you can cook them on the grill or a pan. Here is a tasty steakhouse bunless burger recipe.

6. Chicken and asparagus lemon stir-fry

You will need lean chicken breast, asparagus, fresh lemon, garlic, and ginger to make this low-carb dish. Chop and season the chicken breast and throw the ingredients to stir-fry in a wok or cast-iron pan. It won’t take you more than 30 minutes! Here the full recipe.

Check out this stir-fry vegetable recipe too!

With these healthy spring recipes to cook, eating tasty and low-carb is possible! If you need free time to spend on your healthy habits, let Illinois Valley Clean Team help you with your cleaning chores! Requesting your quote is a couple of clicks away.

After spending too much time at home, many people realize that their places need a little improvement. Whether you need a more functional home office or more comfortable recreational spaces, this blog will provide you with six home projects to improve your home. Some of these ideas will need a substantial budget and maybe professional help, but we assure you that the effort will be worth it. However, we include some easier and straightforward improvements too.

1. Set a home office

Of course, setting a proper home office is the goal of thousands of Americans. The pandemic isn’t over yet, and many prefer the privacy and flexibility of working from home. Why don’t we make it more comfortable and stable? You can turn your guest room (or an area in your basement) into a perfectly functional office space. The fun part comes when choosing what appeals more to you regarding your primary needs, routine, and personal taste. Don’t be afraid to invest in a quality chair and desk! Check more ideas here.

2. Replace your windows

Adding more natural light is crucial if you want to make your home feel more spacious and comfortable. Natural light can also help you spend less on heating and cooling and improve your mental health during long at-home days.

3. Build an outdoor entertainment space

You can do many yard projects with less money than you think, like building a small deck or a pergola. These kinds of home improvements are trendy nowadays because people want a more spacious and comfortable home after the lengthy 2020 lockdown. Think about what will work better for you and start upgrading your patio. Perhaps you only need to enclose your porch. Check more ideas here.

4. Update your kitchen

According to Remodeling Magazine, kitchen upgrades are trending now, as people use this area for multitasking purposes. Larger island hubs and bigger tables are an expected improvement as they allow homeowners to cook and maneuver around the kitchen with more freedom. If you don’t have a big budget, try enhancing your storage with a sliding rack beside the fridge and wall built-ins.

5. Use easy-care materials and fixtures

Not everything has to be bigger and more equipped. If you want to improve your home by having less to clean, consider replacing your fixtures and furniture. Families with children or pets will understand! Search for easy-to-clean materials so you can finish your home sanitation and daily chores faster. Non-porous materials like metal, glass, or quartz will do the trick, and also washable rugs and minimalist fixtures.

6. Choose colors with a comfortable feel

Trending colors for 2021 lend toward warmer tones like orange, red, coffee, beige, and all their variants. Also, soothing tones like blush pinks and pale blues are getting very popular because everyone wants to feel relaxed in their place.

We hope these large projects and organizing tips for home are useful for you. There’s nothing like living in your dream house, and investing time and effort is the way to achieve it. However, if you need a hand with your daily cleaning chores, contact Illinois Valley Clean Team. Book your service on our website.  

Winter is a beautiful season because of the holidays and the snowfalls, but it comes with some issues too. Whether it’s the thermostat that goes on and off during prolonged periods, obstructed gutters that damage the roof, or simply you want to work in your garden, but the weather isn’t kind enough, winter is the perfect time to make some changes around the house.

Keep reading this blog to learn some home essentials 101 this January 2021, including budget-friendly hacks to keep the house warm, free from humidity and mold, and even some yard maintenance.

1. Check your drainage and gutters

Nobody likes to clean the gutters and drains, period, but doing this will help you save money in the long run. After all, you don’t have to replace well-maintained gutters! You will also prevent damage to the roof or humidity accumulation (that frequently leads to mold) and other nasty home problems. Do it before the next big storm and keep your roof in good condition.

2. Install or maintain window wells

Speaking of mold, an excellent way to keep humidity out of your basement is to install window wells. Ventilation and natural light are essential to keep that part of your house fresh and stainless, and well-installed window wells are the best budget-friendly option for doing this. However, you need a professional to do it because any mistake in the measure or materials can lead to flooding. If you already have window wells, inspect the liner and remove any debris and dirt periodically.

3. Seal your doors and windows

Open and close your doors and windows. Do you notice a gap between the wall? Generally, old windows and worn-out doors have this problem. Shut them properly and stop drafts from cooling your home and raising your HVAC bill. Enter here if you want to know the best methods to seal those leaky windows and doors.

4. Stop rapid cycling on your heating system

Rapid cycling is when your thermostat goes on and off to maintain the right temperature in your home. Most heating systems are programmed to sense a 1-degree or 1.5-degree drop and immediately act. This can occur every three minutes, and it certainly wastes a lot of money. Adjust your programmable thermostat and make sure the cycle does not repeat so often.

5. Move the furniture, change your drapes

Perhaps the most inexpensive and effortless action you can take to keep your home warmer during winter is to arrange your furniture and open your curtains when necessary. Get to know your home’s natural process: at which hours does the living room feel colder? If you let the afternoon sunlight get in, will your rooms get warm enough? You will be surprised that taking these small actions will produce considerable changes in your indoor temperature, and maybe you will be using your thermostat a little less.

6. Do a little maintenance for your yard

What better moment to do some yard keeping than in the winter downtime? Without those thick shrubs and branches that flourish in spring and summer, you can do your maintenance tasks without too much effort and no concern about damaging your precious plants. You can prune your trees, feed the wildlife, and even plant some bare-root plants.

We hope these six hacks to keep the house warm and free from mold were useful to you. Remember to enjoy your free time, get plenty of rest, and take care of your health during the winter. If you need any help with your cleaning chores, contact Illinois Valley Clean Team.