My little miss loves blueberries. She always has and used to eat them like candy when she was a wee one. I loved it because they are one of nature's super fruits and are so incredibly good for you. It was a win-win for this mom!
In honor of Miss N's favorite fruit, we developed this amazing blueberry smoothie recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Blueberry Bliss Super Smoothie
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 banana
1/2 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp honey
Place all ingredients in your blender and give it a whirl. Add more water if you'd like it to be a little thinner. Pour, add a fun straw, and enjoy!
So, our blender broke a few weeks ago (*sigh*) and I had to go without my morning smoothie for a little bit. UGH! Luckily, last week my hubby picked up a NutriBullet and now we're rockin breakfast smoothies again (thank goodness!). At first, I was a little skeptical about the NutriBullet- it is such a simple design compared to my old faithful blender, but it has proven to be my new favorite kitchen gadget. This thing is AMAZING… LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I think I could go on and on and on about this device - it really has changed my life.
So now that we're making smoothies every morning we play a game called "choose your own smoothie". Similar to the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from when we were kids, this game is a mommy/kid game where we take turns picking out the ingredients for the daily blend. Today's concoction ended up being a really healthy and fresh tasting green smoothie. We’ll see what tomorrow brings… but in the meantime enjoy this refreshing drink. Cheers!
Fresh Green Smoothie
1 green apple, peeled
1 handful of baby greens (spinach, kale and chard)
Not sure how the weather is in your neck of the woods but we're about up to our necks in snow out here. With all of this snow I am running out of ideas to keep the kiddos active and occupied while being cooped up in the house. We've crafted, exercised, practiced using scissors (fun, right?), played indoor tag, had a puppet show and played a lot with the dollhouse. Cabin fever is definitely setting in and I need some new ideas to keep things fresh and exciting around here. What are you doing to keep the kids busy and energized during this crazy winter?
Today we hit the kitchen and baked a special treat for daddy- his favorite cookies, Double Chocolate Oat and Walnut Cookies. Plus, we had to test them out and had a yummy mid-day snack of milk+cookies. Soooo good!!!
Here's the recipe for the Double Chocolate Oat + Walnut Cookies (Note: recipe adapted from Nestle Tollhouse's Original Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)
I've been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days and wanted an easy way to get a good dose of natural vitamins. I've been reading about "green" smoothies all over the place and decided to whip up this little tropical nugget.
Here's what you need to make this yummy and healthy treat:
Throw everything in the blender and let it whirl until smooth.
Serve up in your favorite cup and enjoy! I love how fresh and delicious this smoothie tastes - plus I served it to Miss N and she loved it (which is surprising since it's very green in color!).
Last weekend we hosted a "lil pumpkin" baby shower for some friends and I made some very yummy pumpkin spiced cupcakes. The mommy to be gobbled them up and the guests raved about them. What I love about them is that the flavor of the cake is subtle and when topped with cream cheese frosting, well, it's a match made in heaven. These spiced cupcakes are perfect for your fall entertaining and would be a welcome treat as your dessert after Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
1 box of yellow cake mix and ingredients to make the cake*
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
Make the yellow cake mix according to the directions. Add in the pumpkin pie spice and divide the mix evenly among 12 cupcakes. Bake according to the box directions and let cool.
* You could use a recipe for homemade yellow cake as well. I was running short on time so opted for the box version.
Beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high setting of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the confectioner's sugar, and then the vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined.
Finishing Touches
Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes and top with this adorable pumpkin cupcake toppers. Aren't they super cute?! I found these cute sugar pumpkins at a great little shop on Etsy called SugarArtByJulie. Enjoy!
With our "South of the Border" supper club around the corner, I've used Pinterest to organize my thoughts on the theme, menu and decor. Here's one Pinterest recipe that I am really excited to try... iced mexican coffee. What a perfect way to end a delicious fiesta?
Thanks to one of the moms from my "moms" group, I learned about this amazing little nugget of goodness. The no-bake energy bites are super easy to make, relatively healthy and tastes sooo incredibly good that it's hard to eat just one. I highly suggest trying it out!
I made a new salad tonight and am in love... it was so good and I am looking forward to having it again soon. Not only is it easy to make but the flavors work very well together and is perfect for this time of year! Below is the recipe for my Avocado and Citrus salad so that you can make it too. Bon Appetit!
AVOCADO & CITRUS SALAD serves 2
SALAD INGREDIENTS
1 head romaine, shredded 2 tangerines, peeled and cut into small segments 1/2 avocado, diced salt pepper
Combine the romaine, tangerine and avocado in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and toss to combine. Set bowl aside and make the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil and the grapefruit balsamic. Add the dressing to the salad bowl and toss the salad until evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Enjoy!
For the second time this week I decided to make homemade caramels. The first batch are tasty but a little too hard.. I seriously worry that I'll pull out a tooth biting into them! So tonight I decided to torture myself by standing in front of the stove for an hour stirring my second batch of caramels (thank goodness I had a nice glass of red wine in my other hand!). I used a different recipe this time (thanks BHG.com) and pulled the caramels off the burner when the thermometer reached the "soft ball" stage. They are cooling right now and I seriously hope they turn out okay. If not, then I'll just rely on my sister to make them and hope she ships them out our way!
For some reason the holidays really get me in the spirit to craft and bake. I make my own decorations, cards, cookies / candies, and get inspired by new projects every day. Plus we entertain quite a bit so there's always plenty of fun things to do with that too! Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing a few of my favorite things from the season... enjoy and Happy Holidays!
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