Simple & Easy Acai Bowl

So, it's the new year and like many Americans, I am trying to be a new me. I fell way off the bandwagon when it came to exercising and my general well-being toward the end of the year and really need to find some kind of motivation to get back into it. My husband is in our home gym 5 days a week and I can't get my butt in there...in fact I try hard to avoid it. There's a lot of things I want to work on within myself, which includes but is not limited to: eating better and getting to a happy place with my body appearance, fixing my sleep schedule so I can wake up earlier and have the proper energy to care for my children and get shit done, think and be kinder and boost my businesses.

I know this all sounds like a lot to tackle, but I believe that I can and want to do these things. 

When it comes to my body image, I'm not necessarily obsessed with the number. I would much rather look better in the clothing that I have. But my famous words are, "I'm allergic to exercise." It's just because I really do not enjoy exercise even though I know that it makes me feel great afterwards. I also absolutely hate to diet. I truly love food. Just the word "diet" makes me want to break all the rules. And knowing I can't have something just makes me want it that much more.

In the past, I have seen the most change when you take carbs out of your diet. I have done a no carb diet before and it was really tough, BUT it worked. I think I lost 5 lbs in just one week. But I didn't get to enjoy my food much. So, instead, I'm just bringing healthier foods into the house and trying to cook more than eat out (although with 4 kids and a husband who have commitments here and there it's damn near impossible). And instead of go carb free, I've chosen to go low carb.

I know that fruits and some vegetables have carbs, but it's healthier carbs. I live in a place where rice is served with breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I've mostly cut it out. My focus will be on eating fresher produce and meat. I am also looking for simple recipes that don't take a lot of time and effort so I can still stick to my healthier options despite our busy schedule. Here is a really easy recipe for an açaí bowl brunch that I like to eat.

I started with frozen açaí packs that I found at Costco. These are meant to make these delicious bowls. You should typically add a liquid so it is easier to blend. Hopefully you have a better blender than I do, because mine kept getting stuck and air bubbles kept getting trapped inside. Such a pain (insert eye roll here). Anyway, once the frozen açaí was decently blended (it doesn't have to be pureed yet, just chopped up enough that you can add more frozen ingredients to the blender. Next I add an organic mixture of fruits and kale that come prepackaged at Costco as well. With all the berries, you really can't taste the fruit. I like using frozen fruit because it keeps the bowl nice and cold and refreshing and also tends to have a lot of sweetness. You can add any frozen fruits you like. After that, I try to add some protein whether it be peanut butter (I actually prefer almond butter) and chia seeds or protein powder (for my husband). For toppings, I like a little crunch so I'll usually add some type of nut, granola and/or fresh fruits. Today I only had a coconut cluster snack and some peanut butter. Good enough for me and it was delicious. Let me know what kind of sweet fruity goodness you like to make. Let me know if you try this and enjoy it as well.

Here's to a happier healthy me in 2018.

XOXO,
Stephanie

Avo-SPA-do

Whoa! Has it really only been 2 days since my last blog? Haha. Well, since the movers are coming to pack up my entire house in 2 days and I will be without computer, I figured I should post something to hold y'all over until we're all settled in again...or sometime thereafter.

My post on my son's truck birthday seems to be doing pretty well on Pinterest so I figured I would post another birthday-on-a-budget...this time it was my daughter's 6th birthday earlier this year (in April). Well, can you guess the theme (for those who haven't read the previous post anyway)...yep...a spa day. What girl (at any age) doesn't love some pampering? I mean, some gunk and goo on the face, glitter in your hair, and 20 different colors on all 20 nails! I honestly, don't know how much this party cost me, but I can assure you that it wasn't bad at all. In fact, this time I downsized the guest list by only inviting her closer classmates and the nearby relatives.

I think I let Lil Miss invite 6 friends to this little shindig. Most of them showed up, too. I found FREE templates for the invitations which I found on Pinterest. The setup was pretty simple. Paper plates in the girliest of colors (pink and purple), a fancy looking tray from the Dollar Store with nail polishes from my and my daughter's own collections, chargers I already had (and bought at 40% off) to display the snacks and pack of microfiber wash cloths. I also draped multiple robes (in case they didn't bring their own) on the backs of the chairs. I kept everything clean and relaxing. If I had to guess, I would say the decorations came to be give or take $10. It's a huge savings to use things you already have around the house!

The snacks were very cutesy. Like usual, I scheduled the party at an off-peak hour so I was not required to provide a full meal. The menu included pretzels, "spa" water, cookies, and marshmallow polishes. The recipe for the cookies can be found here. It was made from scratch and healthy, although it does contain peanut butter and most ingredients I already had on hand. The marshmallows were sprayed with an edible coloring and I used frosting to stick Tootsie Rolls onto the top. I probably spent less than $20 on snacks.

The activities included avocado facials, manicures, and adding glitter tinsel to their hair. I made the avocado facial because I didn't want to use anything artificial on such young faces. I can't seem to find the website I got the recipe from, but I do recall some avocado, almonds, milk, possibly some oats...I'm not quite sure. You can find tons of natural facials online, though! They all laid around on the living room floor with their hair pulled back in an elastic headband I provided with this green gunk on their faces and slices of cucumbers on their eyes. It was awesome! (Let me also say that a benefit of using natural ingredients is that they are edible as well...yes, these chicas took their cucumber slices and "dipped" it into their faces and ate it!) Once they washed that all off, we started manicures. I had the microfiber towels set on the table with the idea of warming them and wrapping their little fingers in them to soften the cuticles...buuuuut...I totally forgot with all the little girls telling hollering about which color or decal they wanted. While some got their nails did, others got tinsel tied into their hair. I found this at CVS and enlisted the help of a cosmetology student friend. They were all dazzling by the end of the party! And let's just go ahead and say I spent like $15 for these supplies.

Last, but not least are the cupcakes and thank you gifts. I made my own cupcakes at home...therefore they are not the prettiest, but I tried with the same pink spray I used on the marshmallows and purple pearl-like candies. The gifts were just $1.50 nail files and travel lotions from Bath & Body Works. Luckily, they were just coming out with some new fragrances of lotions and had mini lotions on sale for only $1 each before the release. Plus, you can often get free mini lotions with minimum purchases or 20% coupons pretty regularly so if you have a plan ahead of time, you can stock up over time. Add another $15 to my budget.

I think the girls had a great time. They were espeically amused with the facials, but they had tons of fun getting prettied up. I want to know how your spa party goes or other girly themes you come up with.

And if you've been keeping track, my grand (estimated) total for the whole party came to....drumroll please........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................$60! That's not bad...not bad at all even if I didn't have a bounce house or rent out a whole venue or hire a clown. :)

All Aboard!

As you know, I put together a train themed birthday party for my son who just turned 2. He had a great time. It was intimate in our home with few family and friends - we had originally requested the neighborhood community center and were pretty upset to find another party going on there...oh overbooking. Anyway, just about everything I put together was handmade. Take a look at the fun, however please excuse the photos themselves. I was a bit distracted by the party that the pictures are really subpar. I was a bit scatter brained and couldn't figure out the lighting for the life of me!!

I ordered the invitations off of Etsy. I also made all of the snacks that were served including Pizza Bites, Apple Chips, Candied Popcorn, and Chips and Salsa for the adults. The snacks were labeled and served aboard a train constructed by the hubby and I from cardboard boxes and wrapping paper. The drinks consisted of bottled water (labeled Steam Water) and chocolate milk (labeled Fuel) - all labels were made by myself and were super easy...just print out the words in your favorite font, cut them out and glue to layers of scrap paper.

 

The décor was really simple as well. It consisted of balloons and railroad tracks (electrical tape) leading to the front door. A "Happy Birthday" sign that we reuse every celebration and more balloons.

Since my son is only 2 (even if most of his guests were over that age), the activities were pretty limited, but still maintained a decent flow throughout the party. I passed out favors at the beginning of the party including a conductor's hat, a wooden train whistle (both ordered off of Amazon) and Chuggington coloring pages with molded crayons I made. They had a great time snacking and blowing their whistles for the first half hour-ish. Luckily we were at home and had the availability of my kids' toys. They started playing with cars, trains, dinosaurs, books and more right here in the living room where parents could keep an eye on their kids. And all of them got along great! They were playing well together and sharing and talking and laughing. It was amazing. Another simple activity I had lined up was a Silly Photo Booth. You can buy prepackaged props from Wal-Mart - the one that I got was in the party section and included a plastic background and face props (mustaches, hats, lips, glasses, etc.) And before a lull could make its way into the party, I brought out a cardboard box my husband had transformed into a train with windows (luckily we had just received our new couch in this very large box) and the kids colored away on it. :)

 

The reoccurring theme of the party is that it was simple, but fun. Nothing too extravagant and beyond my means...we saved a lot of money by making things ourselves (we probably spent on the lower end of somewhere between $100-200). This was all for 6 children and 10 adults.

For my son's 2 year portraits, check out my photography blog at Happy Child Images. :)

If I don't get a chance to post before Thursday, Happy Turkey Day to you!!!

Gnawing Away

As I was browsing Pinterest (yet again) I came across a recipe for teething biscuits. I thought, "Really? Hmm..." So I clicked on the link to check it out. Sounded like a great way to use up jarred baby food and rice cereal...since my picky little baby doesn't want either...at 8 months old, he wants the good stuff...the stuff that his brother and sister are eating. So, I thought it was a perfect fit. The very same night, I got in the kitchen and starting mixing up the ingredients. Half an hour later, it was cooling off in time to subdue the little dude once he started fussing later in the night.

The recipe was pinned from here. If you try it, I just want to note that I used apple sauce in place of the oil and sweet potatoes from a baby food jar in place of bananas. The dough is supposed to be uber sticky and hard to roll out...even with a layer of flour. Next time I might try some wax paper, but I think it might even stick to that. :p And once baked, the biscuit itself is supposed to be chewy as it is a teething biscuit. And that way it's a bit harder for a baby to bite off pieces and choke on them. They should be able to take their time with it. My little guy can handle little bits at a time. (Next time I will be making them smaller). And through reading the comments on the recipe post, I noticed that the author had introduced her child to it as early as 6 months.

You'll notice since it is almost Halloween, I decided to shape the biscuits like skull heads. But next time I'll just be making small bars. ;)

Short and Sweet. :)

The Family Raves

I reaaaally love my slow cooker! I just found a recipe for lasagna in my slow cooker on Pinterest. My hubby started off hating that I was constantly on Pinterest, but now he doesn't care much...in fact, just the other night, he said, "Thank you, Pinterest." He's getting the perks of having a wife who can cook a wider variety of recipes than I once did. What I love the most is that I realized I can find really hearty, yummy, and healthy meals that are super easy to make.  This past week I made 2 new recipes I found on Pinterest, both of which turned out rather delicious. The first was a recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken. My child who hates chicken decided this was her favorite dish. I already had everything I needed for it in my kitchen so this is the perfect go to meal when I don't have a clue what to make and I don't want to run out to the grocery store to pick up random ingredients. Here it is:

Pinned from here

And my version via Instagram:

The other recipe was for the Crock Pot Lasagna. It was really yummy and faster and easier to make then typical lasagna as you don't have to precook the noodles and it's done in 4 hours on low heat. I put it in right after lunch and Ta-Daaaa, it was ready for dinner. The only thing I would change up is to use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese. Not everyone is a fan, but I kind of like it. The only problem I encountered is when I realized that I probably need to go back to Kindergarten to relearn what a pattern is. I definitely put the wrong layers in at the wrong time. There was no genuine pattern that went into the slow cooker on my part. Hahahaha. I also didn't think that the 2 repititions of layers would be enough for my family of 5...well, only 4 of us can actually eat yet...but it would have been. I definitely didn't need to add in the extra layers that I did. Here is the original:

Pinned from here.

And my finished product (beware it's not very pretty, but it doesn't have to be pretty to taste good):

Now what to make tomorrow seeing as it's Labor Day today and who doesn't do a bbq today??? :D

Summer Sweetness

So, as I was browsing on Pinterest (yet again), I came across a recipe for Fruit Salsa w/ Baked Cinnamon Chips. It looked super delicious, but familiar as well. I realized, this was one of the recipes that we had used at a Pampered Chef party I hosted last year. It was yummy. I decided to make it again tonight and it was still equally as yummy!!! My hubby stood near the kitchen counter where my chips were cooling and the bowl of salsa laid open and he just kept on munching. :) First off, I had to ward him off from eating the fruits before I got the chance to start chopping them off.

I just thought I'd share and let you enjoy in this summer deliciousness as well. It's made with all of the fruits that are currently in season - strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, golden delicious apples.

(My glasses isn't actually shaped that way, it was just some funky photo editing app I have.)

FYI, all the freezer meals that I got off of Pinterest and wrote about under Easy Recipes Even For Me previously all turned out pretty good. I'm all about simplicity and deliciousness in the same sentence. The Teriyaki Chicken was pretty savory, but the Savory Chicken was just good...still something I would make again, though. My daughter loved the mini Pizza cups. I mentioned that I would let you all know how everything turned out once I made them...so there ya go!

The first day of summer here in New England is ridiculously hot and humid. I hope you're keeping cool wherever you are and staying fabulous while doing so!!!

One Foot Out of the Box

There are a whole bunch of curious and colorful trends out there these days - 80's neon, printed nail art, and colorful hair. I'm more on the conservative end of the spectrum when it comes to style, but I still love fashion! So, I saw an ad in InStyle Magazine for Sultra hair extensions sold at Sephora for $18. These are just small chunks of vibrant-colored hair. They come in red, pink, purple, blue and various cheetah patterns as well. Against my hubby's disapproval, I decided to pick up a box and try the purple since I have very dark hair and thought it would blend the best. I kind of like it and am thinking of picking up a couple more boxes just to spread it out more throughout my hair. I'm very lazy when it comes to doing my hair in the mornings...mostly because I am NOT a morning person. But this pop of color gives it some of the attitude that I want without much effort. It's a snap...literally!

Even after seeing it in my hair, my husband is not the least bit convinced. In fact, the first time I wore it (I didn't tell him I had purchased it) I asked him if he had noticed anything different. He said that he saw it, but didn't want to acknowledge it. Oh geez...haha. Whatever. I love his admiration, but I don't need his approval for everything I do to myself. It is something fun that I wanted to try out. At least it's removable and not permanently colored ROYAL PURPLE! I don't have the guts to actually dye my hair anyhow. :P

Yesterday we spent the morning at the beach. Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind between rain or shine, so once it started coming down, we packed it up and headed back home. It was kind a family day...just being together snuggling or playing. I had the slow cooker on since about midnight with a pork roast in it seasoned with coarse sea salt and liquid smoke. This made a fabulous Kalua Pork meal. It tasted almost like home. Kalua Pork is a great family meal they make by cooking a pig in an underground oven (an imu) and is often served at luaus. My husband was quite excited for it and had 2 large servings while my son tried to take over my plate after his own dinner. 

Hope you had a great weekend, too, whether it was rainy or shiny. I'm going to enjoy the peacefulness of the rest of the morning while my boys nap doing odds and ends around the house. And after I pick my daughter up from school, it's all up in the air. We'll see what kind of mood my rat pack is in. :) Have a fabulous day!

Side Notes Galore

Phew! All 3 children and the dog are asleep...did I mention I had a dog, too? Yes...I do. He's a part Airedale, part Pit Bull mix...if you don't know dog breeds (which I don't and had to learn the hard way), these are 2 of the biggest terrier dogs and terriers are synonymous with high energy! So it's like I have 4 children (unless you want to count my hubby on occassion, too). Nonetheless, he is great with the kids even if he is absolutely not a very good watch dog.

Anyway, I am on my own tonight as my husband is on a 24 hour work day today and therefore, I had the honors of entertaining the kids all day. Getting ready for bed was a little more challenging, though. I decided, against better judgement, to bathe all 3 at the same time in the same tub. Luckily, my eldest has recently started bathing herself. (Speaking of which, when do you think is a good time to let your children become a bit more independent and letting them bathe/shower on their own?) But my 18 month old could not keep his hands off the baby even though I tried separating the two with their big sis. At one point, my middle child turned the shower on and next minute he was trying to press his brother's "button" (South of his belly button). There is never a dull moment in my household.

So in my last post (yesterday) I said I would be back next time to discuss Father's Day gifts. My children only have one grandpa and one great-grandpa. In addition to their Daddy, that makes only 3 gifts that I need to come up with. But for some reason, it is impossible to think of anything to get these men. For Mother's Day (so much easier!) my children have 2 grandmas, 4 great-grandmas and yours truly. This year I bought my own Mother's Day gift :) and my daughter made gifts for 3 of the other wonderful women in their lives leaving me to think of 3 others. Luckily, I am a Mary Kay consultant and sent them some lovely cosmetics I thought they would like. The homemade gifts consisted of 2 ceramic plates that my daughter had painted and pressed hand- and footprints on from all 3 kids as well as potholders that were made from a piece of artwork she had created in school. I added a few odds and ends to each of the Mother's Day gifts, but this was it in general. Everyone seemed to love their gifts. I'm thinking of going the handmade route again for Father's Day. I took a picture of my 3 kids each holding a piece of paper spelling out G-P-A (that's a nickname he got from my daughter's preschool teacher...Grandma is also known as G-ma).

We are supposed to be going to the beach tomorrow, weather permitting, and I was hoping we could find some seashells by the seashore to glue to a simple frame and send that to my dad for his office. He is so very proud of his grandchildren and is always passing photos around his workplace. But that still leaves me 2 more gifts. I can't decide. A search online doesn't produce anything of real substance. There are all kinds of crazy technological products out there and none of the men in our lives are your typical tie-wearing dudes. So I don't know what to do. Any ideas out there?!

Before I go, I wanted to let you all know that I had made the Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans I posted about yesterday, too. It wasn't bad. In fact, my husband went so far as to say it was good. It was perfectly fine for every day dinners and I do recommend it, however, it probably wasn't something that's going to stick out in my mind weeks or months from now. My family was also treated to Mochi (a Japanese food) for dessert.

Recipe for Butter Mochi from T's All Kine Ono Grinds on Facebook.

Ingredients: 1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, melted; 1 1/2 c. sugar; 1 box mochiko flour; 1 can evaporated milk + 1/2 c. water; 1 can coconut milk; 4 large eggs; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter in microwave for 30 seconds. Add sugar until incorporated well. Add vanilla extract, then eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add mochiko and baking powder and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and water. Add to mochiko mixture in two parts, mixing well between parts. Next, add coconut milk and whisk until blended. Pour into 9" x 13" pan and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Promptly remove from oven and let cool. To serve, cut into bars.

We had leftovers tonight (I was not about to cook for myself and 2 kids that would be perfectly fine eating frozen chicken nuggets or cereal for dinner). But tomorrow we will be having Kalua Pork, a dish from Hawai'i. I will be putting that in the slow cooker tonight so it will be nice and tender for dinner tomorrow. I may also decide to make Potstickers.

Since I didn't cook dinner tonight, I prepared another frozen recipe for Mini Pizza Cups that I baked and threw into the freezer for my daughter's school lunches. I made them heart shaped because I only have holiday cookie cutters...no simple round ones. : P They were super easy and looked pretty good...even the daughter who hates homemade meals said it looked yummy.

Hope you have a great rest of the night and I will be back again very soon!

Social Media = Yum!

So, how many of you are social media freaks like me? Well, I guess I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a freak, but definitely an addict. I keep getting introduced to new sites despite my efforts to steer clear. For me it all started with MySpace a good 6 or 7 years ago...I was a late bloomer there. That became old news as soon as Facebook went live. My mother-in-law introduced me to the famed blue logo. I was satisfied with sharing a profile page with my hubby, but before I knew it, the chatterbox in me decided to start a blog chronicling the progress and development of my first child for family members. Again, I decided that was good enough for me. Two more facebook pages, two websites, two more blogs, and a Pinterest membership later and here I am today. My husband often complains that I'm on the internet way too much, but then again I think he's on his Xbox way too much. Not that he should be complaining, though. These various forms of media have helped me to introduce my business to more people as well as help me evolve into a slightly more domesticated wife and mother. :)


Yada yada yada...I've gotten slightly off track.


The point of this particular post was in regards to one particular social media website...Pinterest. Are you addicted like I am? I was only recently introduced because I attempted to put my foot down, but once I was I could not wait for my request for an invitation had been accepted!! Here, I have found numerous helpful tips to save money, upkeep the house, style ideas for functionally fashionable clothes that scream cuuuuute yet still appropriate for mommyhood, and recipes for delicious and easy meals.


I often find myself having a nightly brain fart and asking the same question of my hubby, "What do you want to do for dinner?" He always has the same answer, "I don't know." And there is absolutely no point in asking my daughter because she never fails to surprise me...she would much rather go out to eat at a restaurant than eat what Mommy prepares...even if it is just McDonald's. And don't even get me started on recipes that call for ingredients that will crystallize, harden or mold before I can use it again. I'm huge on saving money and time, but do not want to sacrifice a good meal so I was happy to find so many posts on prep-and-freeze meals that have similar ingredients, but taste completely different and that I could prepare in one kitchen mess rather than a nightly one. 


I'm a foreigner to freezing foods so I've started off with only a couple of meals for now. I've packed and stored all of the ingredients I need for Teriyaki Chicken and Savory Chicken that was pinned by Jaima of Ring Around the Rosies. I will also soon be trying her Mini Pizza Cups for my daughter's lunches she takes to school. Is it just me or do these sound awesome, mostly because they were super easy to prepare and I can just throw them in the crockpot on whatever day I feel like eating it?!?!


Last week I made Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Chicken Salad Sandwiches. It was like Panera Bread express in my home. They were pretty good. :) The hubby and kids were pleased. I wasn't much of a chef when I first got married so I frequently need the hubby's endorsement. 


Tonight I will be making Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans. I look forward to seeing how that will come out! I will share my reviews on all the items listed above once I've made them. For my next post, we can discuss some Father's Day gift ideas. My dad lives all the way across country in lovely Hawaii so I need to get on that if I want it to arrive by June 17th. If you have any ideas, please share them with me!!!