05/20/2013 3:14 pm
Just wanted to share this with you. A recipe for a healthy family lifestyle from Linda Hunter of Pretend City. Love it!
A RECIPE FOR A HEALTHY FAMILY LIFESTYLE
Linda Hunter, Senior Director of Education for Pretend City Simple Ideas on Keeping Your Family Healthy and Active
Yes, we have all heard it time and time again…we need to be healthy. Our family needs to get moving, but there is never any time and there is so much information out in the media that it can be daunting. At the end of the day it is simpler then we all think.
Getting your family on track with a healthy lifestyle is as easy as 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
FIVE. Parents and children alike should consume at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day so bring on the berries, bananas, carrot sticks, and broccoli. You can even puree them and make a nice cold smoothie in the summertime!
FOUR. Get rid of the sugary beverages and quench you and your kids’ thirst with something a bit healthier, like four glasses water each day. Staying hydrated will keep not only your child safe and healthy it will promote healthy eating habits. Cut up pieces of fruit, cucumber or mint to liven up a glass of water.
THREE, two, one – blastoff! Kids love launching something in the air. Provide kids with an active toy – like a ball – instead of something likely to keep them seated. Try flying a kite (if you can figure it out). There’s something wondrous for children of launching something in the air. Or, a simple game of tag takes no props and can be done anywhere! Stay healthy together with fun playtimes at least three times a week
TWO. Limit your little one’s time in front of the television or computer screen. Experts recommend less than two hours per day of television watching or computer/video-game playing. For children under two, there should ideally be no television or media time. These are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. But as every parent understands, sometimes you need a little help from a “screen” to get things done around the house – so, just remember to use it in very small doses!
ONE. Physical activity is key! Get your kids moving for at least one hour every single day! That doesn’t mean you have to play sports – take a walk as a family after dinner, hike with your family (we LOVE hiking, it not only gets you out in nature, it’s almost always free and also a great
This is a simple recipe that will guarantee a healthy and happy family! And the added plus is that you are setting the stage for your children to establish a lifetime of healthy living patterns that will last for generations to come.
05/15/2013 4:28 pm
Every summer my little family and I plant multiple zucchini plants. We end up with tons and tons of zucchini, and then I ask myself why I planted so much. But, the zucchini are put to good use…I love to grill the zucchini, saute, stuff them, its great in salads, steamed, eat it raw, give it away to friends.. whatever! But of course one of my most favorite things to do with it is BAKE!
This is such a great recipe for chocolate chip zucchini bread (and if you have picky little one’s at home, they’ll never know that there are veggies in the bread, promise!)
Here’s what you need:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about 1 medium)
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Cooking spray
Here’s what you do:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until moist. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
It’s good!
05/10/2013 3:41 pm
This is a very random post for me. Just wanted to share with you a few… just a few things I love.
I’ll start with owls and the color lime green
How cute is this little guy? If you know me, you know that I heart owls. I’ve loved them before owls became popular. I have owls all over my house. They just make me happy. I seriously would love to have one as a pet. Ha!
I also love the color green. Especially this bright shade of green.
I love buntings and I love making them. This is my latest one “Amore”. Again, if you know me and have been to my house, you’ll see these in pretty much every room!
Scentsy. I have a warmer in every room of my home, even my kids rooms! No flame, no worries! I turn my warmers on in the morning and turn them off at night. I love the way they make my home smell. Yummy!
I love my new colorful chair I found at an art fair last weekend. There’s that color green again! I’m in love!
Chevron print. Need I say more?
Essie nail polish. I’ve tried many nail polish brands. This one lasts the longest, and the colors are so shiny and beautiful.
I love this gardeners hand therapy lotion by Crabtree and Evelyn. It smells AMAZING, and is SO moisturizing. I found this little treasure at a cute little boutique shop in Rancho Santa Margarita “Willow Manor”. But they also carry a lot of the Crabtree and Evelyn line at one of my favorite shops- The Daisy Shop in the Mission Viejo mall. I could get into real trouble at that place!
“Justified”. My new favorite show. My hubby and I bought the first three seasons not too long ago, and only have two episodes left to watch on the third season. This show is so good, so addicting, and look at the main character “Raylan Givens” played by Timothy Olyphant. Wow!
WINE! I LOVE red wine! And this is one of my favorites. You’ll find this box, yes box! at Trader Joes. This is equivalent to 4 bottles of wine, and it sells for $9.99, what a deal! It stays fresh in the box, and is so yummy!
I’m also loving chalkboard signs. Oh did I mention how much I love wine? haha
My puppy! Meet Cinnamon. She is my 11 month old Shiba Inu puppy. She is such a good girl. I love this breed.
Last, but not at all least- my family!
There ya go, some of my favorite things. I’d love to know if you share the same love for any of these things. Have a wonderful weekend friends!
05/06/2013 11:29 am
Just wanted to share a recipe for a balsamic dressing I have fallen in love with. My good friend, Krista shared this recipe with me, and it’s just too good and too easy to not share with you!
So you need balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and dijon mustard.
Equal parts oil and vinegar (about 1/4 cup each), about 1 tbsp. honey (sweeten more to taste if you’d like) and 1 tbsp. mustard. MIX.
That’s it!
I placed my dressing in a cute little mason jar (everything looks great in a mason jar, no?)
The dressing will last a few days in the fridge, but honestly you’ll probably use it up quickly. It’s just that good!
I had to post a photo of my new set of Fiestaware that my wonderful hubby surprised me with for an early Mother’s Day gift! I just LOVE the bright, happy colors, don’t you?
Have a great week, friends and God bless!
04/30/2013 4:03 pm
I threw my sister Julie a bridal shower this past weekend. It was SO much fun!
She’s getting married in July to an awesome guy, Calvin. The shower turned out beautiful, and to be honest it was pretty low cost. I made all the decorations and desserts (surprised?)
We had tons of food!
Can you tell I’m obsessed with buntings (aka: signs, flags, banners). I made a TON for the shower. I also have these all over my house! I love the above photo bunting. It is so easy to make, and so sweet and personal.
Here’s a few of my desserts-
Wedding cake flavored cupcakes adorned with sweet little edible pearls
Wedding sugar cookies in the shape of a wedding dress, wedding cake and hearts
lavender white chocolate scones
I love using cake plates as a display for desserts. It looks so beautiful!
pretty little cake pops displayed in mason jars (another obsession of mine! I put candles in them, drink out of them, and now display cake pops in them.)
flower shaped chocolate chip cookies
pineapple upside down cupcakes. How cute are the little brides on top!!??!!
wafer cookies
Did you happen to notice all of my little signs, labeling each dessert? I think it makes such a nice touch to the dessert display. Again, super super easy to make and just adds so much.
We played a few games, and for the prizes I wrapped them up in clear cellophane. Isn’t that pretty?
Here are the shower favors that I made. The shower was “kitchen” themed, so I wrapped up wooden spoons, white chocolate dipped pretzels and attached Julie and Calvin’s favorite recipe for cinnamon rolls. I also asked each shower guest to bring a copy of their favorite recipe, and put together a book for my sister with all her friends/family favorite recipes.
I want to share with you a punch recipe that my sister had found and wanted to be included at her shower. I made this punch, along with pink lemonade, sparkling water and red and white wine.
Pretty Pink Punch:
1 bottle of dry champagne
4 cups of white cranberry strawberry juice
1 can of frozen raspberry lemonade mix (defrosted)
Mix all the ingredients together, and place in a pretty beverage dispenser or punch bowl.
What a fun day. A day I will always remember. Can’t wait for your wedding Julie and Calvin! Almost there!
04/23/2013 3:21 pm
My soon to be brother-in-law gave me this recipe. It’s really yummy and extremely easy to make!
Here’s what you will need to make this Snickers Dip:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip
6 Snickers candy bars, chopped into small chunks
*soften cream cheese.
*cream the cream cheese until fluffy.
*add brown sugar and cream until well blended.
*carefully stir in the cool whip and snickers until combined.
I served my dip with vanilla wafers. Pretzels, fruit and graham crackers would be great as well.
Hope you enjoy!
04/10/2013 11:05 am
My little family and I took a Spring break camping trip down to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
It was a great trip, despite the 100 mile an hour winds little wind gusts, and 90 degree weather, oh and did I mention scorpions? Yes, SCORPIONS!
I almost stepped on this little guy, thank goodness for flashlights!
My fam and I hiked to a palm oasis-
How cool is that? A palm Oasis, so lush and beautiful right in the middle of this hot, dry desert. I was just in AWE of this. It reminded me of a song I love that we sing at my church “All My Fountains” by Chris Tomlin..
“This dry and desert land
I tell myself, “Keep walking on”
Hear something up ahead
Water falling like a song
An everlasting stream
Your river carries me home
Let it flow, let if flow”
If you haven’t heard this song, go search for it. LOVE it!
ABSOLUTELY stunning!
It amazes me that animals can survive in the desert. Seeing all these creatures, including the lizard above, beautiful birds, jackrabbits and coyotes (didn’t see these, but definitely heard them) reminded me of the verse: Matthew 6:25-27-
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
These animals are taken care of, surely we are too!
We also hiked to the Native American pictographs-
And we saw very random, yet very beautiful metal art sculptures in the middle of the desert-
AND, our pastor allowed us to borrow this-
This made our camping trip much nicer, then tent camping, especially with those strong wind storms. Thanks Steve and Cathi!
There were beautiful desert blooms-
Here is a fun campfire recipe for peanut butter s’mores burritos, a twist on the classic s’more:
This is all you need- marshmallows, peanut butter, chocolate and tortillas
*start with a tortilla, spread some peanut butter on it:
*add some chocolate (chocolate chips work too!):
*add marshmallows:
*wrap it up in foil and cook it by the campfire until its all melted (approx 10-15 minutes)
So get out there friends! Get in nature, get camping, get hiking and most importantly spend some quality time with your family. The kids just loved it!
03/27/2013 2:50 pm
I make this cake every Easter. The kids LOVE it, it’s pretty easy to make, and so cute!
Here’s the recipe I use from “Better Homes and Gardens”
What you need:
- 3/4
cup butter, softened
- 3
eggs
- 2 1/2
cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2
teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2
teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4
cups sugar
- 1 1/2
teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/4
cups milk
What you do:
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour two 9 x 1-1/2-inch round cake pans set pan(s) aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at time, beating on medium speed until well combined and scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into the prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in a 375 degree F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool layer cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove layer cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks.
Once your cakes are cooled you are going to CUT the cakes like this (to form a bunny shape):
Leave 1 of the cakes round
Now assemble, like this:
Now it’s time to frost the cake
Here’s the frosting recipe I use:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- up to 4 tablespoons milk
- Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed, until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.
I used these to decorate the cake:
I LOVE these mini Cadbury chocolate eggs, and M & M’s has come out with new white chocolate
M & M’s. Might just be my new favorite! YUM
I think the coconut tastes absolutely amazing with this cake and frosting. It looks cute as the bunny’s “fur”, but it can easily be left out for people who are not big coconut fans.
Happy Easter from my family to yours, and let us remember what this day is truly about. HE is risen!
1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..
John 11:25-26 Jesus said , “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Happy Easter Friends
03/27/2013 12:58 pm
Just wanted to share with you, this super cute cake I made last Easter.
It’s pretty easy. Just use your favorite cake mix and bake 2- 9 in. round cakes, ice with your favorite icing and decorate like this:
CUTE
CUTE
Seriously isn’t that cute??!!??
Stay tuned for my Easter Bunny cake!
03/20/2013 7:00 am
I LOVE the show “Duck Dynasty”.
This recipe for banana pudding comes from Ms. Kay
Those of you who watch this show know exactly who I’m talking about!
Here’s the recipe. It’s fun, super yummy and just different!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 sticks of butter
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
- ¾ cup of milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 bag vanilla wafers
- 4 bananas, sliced
DIRECTIONS
- In a large double boiler melt the butter and then add the sugar, salt, flour, evaporated milk and regular milk. Stir with a whisk.
- Add the egg yolks to the mixture, constantly stirring until thick. Add the vanilla extract.
- Place the vanilla wafers and bananas into a 9″ x 13″ dish. Then pour in mixture.
(Here are the vanilla wafers I used. You can purchase them at Fresh and Easy. I prefer them to the original “nilla” wafers, but use whichever you prefer)
- Chill before serving.
YUMMMY!
