by Mandi | recipes
Ok – well, maybe I do have a crush on a boy. If you have read any of my posts on here you have heard me talk about The Mister. I do have a crush on that man. I have been talking about a diet that we have been doing the past three months – I talk a little about it here and here.
Yesterday was our challenge weigh-in. I was so proud of what we were both able to accomplish during these past three months!
With that said, it was time to treat ourselves! I was thinking a beer or maybe one of the girl scout cookies that have been staring at us from the table for the past 2 months… but The Mister had something else in mind. While I was away for the weekend to run the Cooper River Bridge Run, that sweet man went to Asheville and brought me back my all time favorite chocolates from French Broad. I about cried… it was such a thoughtful surprise and we enjoyed every last bite!
Now… on to my other crush.
I have fallen hard for a new drink combo. This drink makes me smile and want to leave the house a little early in the morning to be able to stop in the drive through… It is my take on a Non-Dairy Vanilla Iced Coffee from McDonalds… I’m loving it! 🙂
I go to McDonalds, order a Medium Vanilla Iced Coffee and ask for it with no cream. I take along my SoDelicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer and add it in separately.
I tell you – this drink is refreshing, non-dairy, low in calories and ADDICTIVE!
Do yourself a favor and try it today!
PS.. McDonalds and So Delicious do not know me – I just love their stuff!
If you prefer the home-made version, I would suggest Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Iced Coffee – you can always change out the creamer!
by jenn_davis | recipes
I am always looking for new recipes that I can cook for my son during this picky toddler phase. All the mothers out there know how challenging this can be! Breakfast has been particularly hard because we have so little time in the morning and 9 times out of 10 I end up giving him something with WAY too much sugar, i.e. Nutra Grain bar or Poptart. I was so excited to discover a few new recipes when I recently joined Once A Month Mom, one of which was for homemade poptarts! This recipe was SO easy and I had fresh poptarts in less than 15 minutes!
Homemade pop tarts in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients:
- 1 Box of refrigerated pie crusts. (For the ambitious mother, you can always make your own pie crust from scratch. For the busy/”I need a break” mom like myself, pre-made will have to do for now.)
- Jam or Jelly (I used preserves. Since strawberry season is just around the corner I plan on picking my own strawberries and making my own preserves, but for now the organic raspberry will have to do.)
Directions:
Unroll your pie crust. Using a pizza cutter trim the edges so that you have a square/rectangle to work with. Using the pizza cutter divide each rectangle into 4 squares. Place and spread 1-2 Tablespoons of jam/jelly on each square in the middle. Fold over the dough and seal edges with a fork. (With extra cut off dough, roll out and make 2 additional squares). Place on cookie sheet for baking. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. After baking remove for cooling.
Once cool, flash freeze. When partially frozen place in gallon freezer bag for storage. To serve: Thaw or heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes or heat in oven.
Optional glaze: (I did not add the glaze in order to reduce sugar intake)
- 1.25 cup powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoons milk
- optional sprinkles
After baking remove for cooling and prepare glaze by mixing in milk until desired consistency. Spread on top of pop tarts and allow to cool. If adding glaze DO NOT put in toaster.
ENJOY!
by Mandi | recipes
Over the past few months, The Mister and I have been doing a weightloss challenge. The weigh-in is 5 – count em – 5 days – April 8. We have both lost some weight and it has been a wonderful experience!
After discussing options with my sister, we chose to do the Paleo diet…. basically no grains and no dairy. One of our favorite things has been finding new recipes and coming up with some of our own. Some of the past recipes I wrote about are the Ahh-mazing Paleo Granola (this you have to try), bacon and pork medallions, and artichokes – the ultimate conversation food!
I don’t like to brag, but I do believe I have come up with one of the best side dishes known, or soon to be known, to man! I like to call them, You Won’t Be Single Long Sweet Potato Fries. I could eat these every day. They are awesome even if you aren’t doing paleo, even if you don’t care about eating healthy – they are the ultimate side dish.
Five ingredients: sweet potatoes, olive oil, garlic salt, pepper and rosemary. I told my mom about these and she was like “eww, garlic salt on sweet potatoes??” She trusted me, she tried it and now her and dad are fans! It will happen to you too!
Here are the details!
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (enough to barely coat)
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 390. I use my toaster oven to cut down on time.
- Peal and cut sweet potatoes into fry size pieces
- Add fries to bowl. Add oil and spices to coat fries. The less oil you use the crunchier the fries will be.
- Add the mixture to a non-stick pan.
- Bake at 390 for 30 minutes. I keep start checking mine every 5 minutes after 25 minutes and pull them out just as they start to brown.
- We eat ours with yellow mustard and sriracha.
