Edible Arrangements for Birthdays, Holidays, Any Days!

November 5, 2014 by 7 Comments

Birthdays can be great fun for everyone involved especially the birthday boy or girl, but what to do if a birthday falls during a vacation? November is a big birthday month, and often times vacations are also scheduled in November with all the holidays. There are a few tips and tricks for special birthday fun while on vacation, to make your next vacation memorable but also your holiday or birthday as well.

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  • Make the celebration fit the destination. Theme the birthday party to the locale. This can be done with a special meal or dinner or just a fun packed special day chosen by your little one. Going camping? Have a camping party. With cupcakes and neighboring tents joining in for singing. Visiting the desert? Why not have a Western Cowboy themed party along with horseback riding? In regard to planning a day, your best bet is to give your little one a few options for the day like, paintballing or a day at the beach. Sleeping in or watching the sun come up over the mountains? With a little creativity and planning a wonderful birthday is a few steps away.

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Krusteaz Flat Bread Mixes

October 20, 2014 by 1 Comment

Sometimes homemade is nearly impossible in the average home. With school, work, friends, after school activities, and of course extended family, life often gets in the way of nice homemade baked goods. There is a way to get around this, and that is with Krusteaz baking mixes. With just a few additional ingredients you can be a hop, skip, and a mixing bowl away from some delicious baked goods ranging from desserts to dinners to breads. Today we are looking at their new flat bread line, which brings diverse, fun flat bread to the dinner table. Also there is a mini-recipe for flat bread pizza which turned out awesome.

pic4Recipe:
1 box Krusteaz flat bread mix. Made as directed right up until just shy of being browned to perfection. (make it a little bit underdone, but not doughy)
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Nut Free Halloween Classroom Treats (for the not-so-crafty)

October 14, 2014 by 3 Comments

Read the full article on Kitchology.com

We all know “that mom” who always has the perfect, handmade, beautiful treat in hand for every occasion.  She is usually perfectly put together, in this season’s latest, not a hair of of place.  I am not that mom.  I am not crafty, and I don’t have 4 hours to spend hand-dipping things into other things that I spent 4 hours “whipping up from scratch” – nor do I have the desire.  Sorry, not sorry.  So what’s a not-so-crafty mom to do?  Do we fail our kids, are we horrible moms?  Nope, we have our skills in other places.  And it’s all good, ladies- here’s some really cute, really easy Halloween treats to make that won’t break the bank OR make you late for your meeting, your deadline, or car line.  (Hey, we all have a boss in one form or another.)

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It’s a Boo-tiful Thing

And it is!  Because it’s easy to make and not only nut free, but easy to make gluten free as well.  Boom.

Totally simple- ready?  Go to the store, and buy a mess of the tiny marshmallows- most are nut free, and many are gluten free as well. (Check the labels to make sure).  Hint- the average bag makes 3 ghosts in a sandwich sized bag, so buy accordingly (either smaller bag or as many marshmallows as you will need for your class). Get bags to the size you desire- we used sandwich bags, not ziplock- the kind that fold over so there were no other “colors” involved.  Last- get some festive fall ribbon.  We spent less then $10 on all of this.
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Cooking with Arla Dofino Cheeses

September 29, 2014 by 6 Comments

Disclosure- “I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Arla Dofino. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

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There are many snack options on the market for kids after school, some of which are quite un-healthy and some of which are quite the opposite. One such option is cheese. In moderation cheese is a delightful change of pace and makes for a quick easy snack for kids and parents alike. Today we will be looking at a few of the cheeses available from Arla Dofino.
Arla Dofino has been making cheese for over 100 years in the heart land of the USA and one of the cheese making capitals of the country- Wisconsin. By using all natural ingredients and hormone free, the environmentally friendly way to make cheese. There are several varieties of cheeses available by Arla Dofino which include Havarti, Gouda, Fontina, Edam and Muenster in a variety of flavors ranging from Creamy, Light, Dill, Caraway, Jalapeno, Smoked, Chipotle, Pesto, Chili Lime, and Cracked Peppercorn there is destined to be a favorite for those with distinguished palettes or just those picky eaters among us.

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We had the pleasure of trying a few of the cheeses available and tried the Havarti line, since that what our local stores carried. For those of you like us who aren’t very familiar with Havarti, it is creamy and buttery in flavor and is perfect for crackers and sandwiches as well as cubed as a light snack. We tried the Dill flavor and the regular flavor of the cheeses the Dill was a favorite of the adults and the plain was a favorite of the little guy. He enjoyed the dill but loved the regular. He enjoyed it so much not only was it an after school snack but also a requested addition to the next day’s lunch box which is always a rare event. Below is a quick recipe for a light nutritious lunch addition for kid or adults:
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Skinnygirl Nutrition Bar

September 25, 2014 by 5 Comments

PackagingDisclosure- The Skinnygirl Tasty Nutrition Bar samples, Target gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Skinnygirl. All opinions are my own.

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Snacking is a make or break part of dieting. It will happen, we all get hungry-  and if the healthy snacks are not available it is very easy to fall back to unhealthy habits like candy bars and salty treats. But there are some ways to defeat these cravings, and it isn’t by starving yourself. It is by planning and preparation.  With vegetables and fruit, or even a simple nutrition bar in your bag for the day your snacking could go from heavy and bloating to light and crave smashing with a simple snack swap. One such bar to help with this is by SkinnyGirl and is called Skinnygirl Tasty Nutrition Bars.

P1010794These bars come in a few flavors which include: Chocolate Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Pretzel and Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate. I have only tried the banana oatmeal, but that was good. Each bar contains less than 200 calories, is an excellent source of protein and good source of fiber, gluten free, Kosher, and contains no artificial sweeteners or flavors. Each bar is delicious and hits that craving for sweet chocolaty snacks perfectly.
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Uniquely Greek Dips and Spreads

August 30, 2014 by 2 Comments

There are lots of options out there for snacking. Each with their own unique qualities to them. One of the most recent trends in snacking has been Greek foods. These foods show up in dips, as ingredients in snack bars, even on sandwiches in the form of Greek yogurts and Feta cheeses.

pic3Dips are particularly interesting because they can be used in a plethora of recipes. One such dip we will be looking at his particular favorite of mine, Uniquely Greek. Throughout their products the commonality is Feta. Each of their spreads revolves around the theme of a delicious easy to use spread with simple natural ingredients. As of now there are 4 varieties, Fire Roasted Red Pepper which has cream cheeses, feta garlic and fire roasted red peppers, this is not spicy in the slightest and adds a great flavor to recipes. Up next is the Simply Spinach, which is one of the original flavors developed by Uniquely Greek’s creator Jessica Gill owner of Grecian Delights in Boothwyn, PA. Next is the spicy one Spicy Buffalo which packs a Buffalo wing punch and is full of wonderful flavor. And last but not least is the Imported Kalamata Olive flavor which is a wonderful combination of olive cream cheese and feta to make a delightful spread that goes perfectly on crackers and other crunchy delights. Each of the dips is unique in its own regard but can all be used as dips, sandwich spreads, slathered on a grilled meat. There are tons of uses for them. Below is a recipe a delicious back to school meal.

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Filed Under: food, recipes

Grilled Bleu Cheese Burger on Multi-Grain Flatbread

August 13, 2014 by 3 Comments

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Grilled Bleu Cheese Burger on Multi-Grain Flatbread

Kontos Multi-Grain Flatbread
1 lb. chopped meat for four burgers (80-85% lean)
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion
Salt & pepper
6-8 slices of Bleu cheese (or other favorite cheese)
Chilled lettuce or tomato for topping

  1. Using a cast-iron grill-safe skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in olive oil on hot grill.
  2. Grill ¼ lb. chopped meat, per person, to taste.
  3. As burgers are getting close to ready, place a few slices of Bleu cheese – or another favorite cheese – on your burgers to melt.
  4. At the same time, preheat 1 slice Kontos Multi-Grain Flatbread (or other favored Kontos flatbread or pita) for 15-20 seconds on each side. Cut bread into two halves.

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Mott’s New Juice Line

August 1, 2014 by 3 Comments

This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Mott’s blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

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Juice has long been seen as a healthy way to get some liquids in your kids. Kids love juice because it’s sweet, and parents like it because it comes from fruit. Both of these assumptions are true most times, but sometimes the fruit in juice drinks isn’t really there and there is more sugar than anything else. Keep an eye on your juice and juice drinks in order to differentiate between the haves and the have nots.

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A few new juice drinks by Mott’s are good options to pick for your kids beverages. They are Mott’s Fruit Punch Rush and Mott’s Wild Grape Surge. There are many reasons some of which are: These juice drinks contain 40% less sugar* than fruit juices, contain no artificial sweeteners, are made from real fruit juices, and contain 100% daily value for vitamin C. Flavorwise Wild Grape Surge and Fruit Punch Rush are perfect, sweet and fruity without being too sweet either. This doesn’t mean the sweetness is toned down and diminished because of the reduction in sugar; the juice drink is just as sweet as other juice drinks and feels twice as good giving to your little ones. My personal favorite is Fruit Punch Rush, there are three different juices blended together to make a wonderful flavor that satisfies and quenches your thirst.

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