Homemade Strawberry "Icecream"

I have a feeling I am going to love my ninja even more this summer.

The other day the cousins were over and everyone was hot and hungry for a snack.

I whipped up this little bit of deliciousness:

1 banana

2 cups of ice

1 cup of plain vanilla kefir

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 a lemon (just peeled, not juiced... that pulp is good stuff for ya!)

Wa la!

Best Cornbread Ever!

Do you love cornbread?
Like really like it, a lot.
I do. And so does my husband and so do our kids.
However, the regular Marie Calendar's Cornbread mix totally makes my tummy turn. I don't know what it is but I eat it (or, I used to eat it) and it tasted delicious and then after dinner I would feel awful. I don't know, maybe it was just me but I needed an alternative.
One day while grocery shopping at Fred Meyer I saw Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Corn Meal. I picked it up and was looking at it only to find a homemade cornbread RECIPE on the back. Yes! There were a lot of ingredients that I didn't have so since I was at the store I bought all the ingredients I needed.

My husband LOVES cornbread and he says this recipe is the best he has ever tasted. It's so yummy and it doesn't hurt my tummy.

Here is the recipe.

Here are my personal alterations:

I don't use milk, I use Kefir. Plain Kefir.

I don't use canola oil. I use butter. Same amount of melted butter as it calls for oil.

I don't use Sorghum Flour ( I must have missed this at the store because I don't have any and have never tried it) I use almond meal. Same amount as it calls for Sorghum Flour.

That's it.

Try it!

And yes, the ingredients are odd and they are a bit expensive, BUT, you only use a small amount each time. I have made this cornbread 2 times already since buying all the ingredients and there is still plenty left to make at least 2 more batches.

these are two of my current favorite things

This cereal is awesome!! I eat it with hemp milk in the morning lately. I am usually a "no cereal" kind of lady. Generally cereal is packed with sugar and simple carbohydrates and I am a huge advocate for a more protein based breakfast but for some reason during this pregnancy, and actually all of them, I want cold cereal and milk. So, this is what I give myself. And it's good. It hits the spot, it is low in sugar and a good source of protein. The hemp milk, which is not new, I always use hemp milk, is a good source of Omega 3, so I feel satisfied with this breakfast option for now.
It's not an everyday thing, but in rotation with poached eggs on toast and coconut quinoa (just quinoa that I cook in part water, part coconut milk, with a bit of cinnamon.

The salad dressing is amazing!! This is what I have been putting on my massaged kale and it's oh so good! Jeff likes it too. I massage my kale, then I add grape tomatoes, cucumber, some bell pepper, and this dressing. Let it sit for a while at room temperature and eat. Yum. Oh, and sunflower seeds too.
This dressing is created by nutritionists and the first ingredient is apple cider vinegar. There are so many health benefits to this stuff and I have been basically drinking it up.

My hormones are doing crazy/amazing things to my body but I am trying to continue to eat healthy in the ways that I can stand. It's not easy, which is probably why I devoured the old fashioned doughnut my husband brought home for me today. Thanks sweetheart.

Do you massage your kale?

You should!!!

I made this Massaged Kale Salad this morning and I already took a taste. Delicious!! Actually, I didn't really follow the recipe.... but I did massage the kale in the lemon juice and I did use the olive oil and honey.... I guess I followed it except I didn't use mango. I don't have any. So instead I used a bunch of orange and yellow bell pepper, some grape tomatoes, and sunflower seeds. Can't wait to eat this fresh lunch later!

The whole Kale thing is love/hate for me. I love that it is so nutrient packed but I still can't really get myself to say I like the taste of it..... that is until now. Massaging it in lemon juice makes all the difference. It takes out the bitter and adds a little zing and it's seriously delicious!

Lot's of stuff going on around here. Can that be my excuse for not blogging much??? Here is my table as of now to prove it! Waffles for the sleepy head who wakes up when she has to because her brother goes in to get dressed for school. She is lucky we saved her some breakfast. Homemade cards and treats for Teacher Appreciation Week. Braxton is a champ and likes to do it all himself. We love his teachers!! The rest is pretty self explanatory. I am going to go clean up now.

Happy Sunny Wednesday!

Pregnancy Cocktail

So this is what I have been drinking, pretty regularly for the past 17 weeks. I can handle water better now but at first the thought of drinking water really was unappetizing. So I settled for this. A glass with crushed ice, filled with sparkling water, and then topped off with just like 1/4 cup unsweetened cranberry juice. This may just be my most favorite, "healthy" drink, ever. Try it!

"i yike dis mom!!"

We have snack time every day after we pick up Braxton from school. It's a special time of day for us.

I don't give my kids a snack whenever they ask. I don't think it's good for their systems to constantly be digesting food. So we have designated times, and it works for us. If they ask for a snack during a not snack time it usually just means they are bored. I don't starve my kids, promise.

Sometimes we have homemade pie for after school snack. This is a special treat and the whole time they eat it I hear them saying how good it is and M repeats, "i yike dis, mom!"
Pie is one of my weaknesses. I love pie!! This is probably why I make it and let my kids eat it for snack. It was either share with them or eat the whole thing myself, so I shared!

If you are wondering if I think pie is healthy the answer is yes, in moderation. I make it myself using good ingredients. There are not any preservatives or additives. Just good old pie. Nothing wrong with that once in a while in my book. Obviously I don't think white flour and sugar are good for you, but once in a while if that's the worst thing you eat I think you are in good shape. It's all the artificial coloring's and preservatives that I have issues with.

Another snack that we've had this week as the sun has shown is smoothies. Yum! These are a favorite too and super fast, easy to make. Here is what I had, so here is what they got, all blended together to perfection....
1 banana
1 Tbs. orange juice concentrate
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup spinach
1 cup plain kefir
touch of water

This was super refreshing and after I poured their's I was stoked that there was plenty left for the momma. Now I will go sip with my lil sippers.

Happy Friday!

Yum Yum Lunch

I know, I'm a lousy blogger lately. I have some excuses but I will get into those later... or maybe I won't but either way.

Here is a quickie lunch recipe that I came up with.
Organic corn tortilla
Spread with hummus
topped with veggies (I used peppers, tomatoes, and cabbage this time!)
Roll up.
Eat it!