Mason Jar Fruit Parfaits- Perfect for You & The Kids!

These will be a hit in your home! Layer your favorite fruits, add         granola, and add some cacao nibs or semi-sweet chocolate chips         to make it extra special. These are great for a snack or even better       for healthy quick breakfast. Change up your ingredients as the seasons change. Hope they are a favorite in your house as they are   in mine!

 

 

Makes 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Small mason jars
• 1 large container of Organic Greek Yogurt
• 1 small pineapple, cored and chopped
• 1/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ C Mango
• ¼ C sliced oranges
• Pinch of Chia Seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 C Macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. In each Mason jar, place a layer of chopped pineapple.
2. Spoon in 2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt as your next layer.
3. For the next layer add oranges and mango evenly throughout each jar.
4. Layer another 2 Tbsp. yogurt
5. In a small bowl pour in nuts, cinnamon, Chia seeds, and coconut. Mix well.
6. Top your parfait with nut and coconut mixture.
7. Add a dash more of cinnamon if you wish and garnish with a piece of pineapple.
8. Grab a spoon and serve. If you made a larger batch, cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

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A Healthy Snack for the Kids! Root Veggie Chips!!

These are such an easy snack to make and healthy too. Kids will       love helping you prep and watching them bake. You can also do this with kale or any root vegetable. Makes a rainbow of chips and  you can do multiple batches together. Do a pan of zucchini, carrots, beets, turnips, and even kale and then put them all together.Use fresh or dried herbs to change the flavor profile!

 

Root Vegetable Chips

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 Medium size carrots
• 2-3 small turnips
• 2-3 golden beets (you can use red beets too, the juice will just run in with the other vegetables, just cook them separate if you can only find red beets)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt or pinch Old Bay (crab seasoning-optional)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 200 degrees.
2. Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, salt or seasoning. Toss with in a bowl with vegetables. Mix until well covered.
3. Spread the vegetables over a baking sheet and bake for 2-3 hours. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn! Flip occasionally. They should be crispy!
4. Let them cool to crisp even more

 

 

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Fruit Fizzies & Infusers for the Kids & You!

Having a tough time getting your kids to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water? Feel like it’s a constant battle? Here’s a few ideas to get the kiddos sipping some more water and probably asking for more!!! Ditch the juice box and up your little ones water intake. It’s healthier, flushes their system, keeps them from getting sick more often, and keeps them hydrated to be the best they can be in school and on the fields. These are so fun to make and the kids will love getting involved. Add different kinds of veggies and herbs to really change it up! Grab some crazy straws and make it even more exciting. You can interchange these with sparkling or filtered water depending on your mood!

Citrus Fizz:

Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of unflavored sparkling water
• 1 lime- sliced in wheels
• 1 lemon-sliced in wheels
• 1 orange-sliced in wheels
• Mason jars
• Funky straws
• Ice

Directions:

1. In a mason jar add a small handful of ice. Pour sparkling water in to the jar over the ice. Slide in 2 slices of lime, lemon, and orange into each jar. Add a funky straw. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes to chill and infuse some of the juice into the jar. If you want to speed up the process using the straws, jab the fruit for a minute or two get some of the juices flowing a little quicker.

 

Minty Melon:

Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

• ¼ watermelon cut into small pieces
• 2 cups filtered water
• Handful of fresh mint-chopped or leaves can be kept whole
• Ice
• Mason jars
• Funky straws

Directions:

1. In a mason jar add ice and pour water over top. Drop in chunks of water melon. Add springs or chopped mint on top. Add a funky straw and stir well. Allow drink to sit to infuse at least 5 minutes. The longer they sit the more they’ll infuse.

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Celebrate World Food Day!!

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Every year on October 16th millions of people all over the world stand up to fight and eradicate hunger. The world has enough resources to feed every hungry person out there. We all just have to do our part to contribute. There are many ways you can make a difference from food donations, hold a meal packing event or dinner, attend hunger walks, even start a food drive or grow your own food and donate to families or organizations that need your help, even if it’s only in your own community.

Did you know:

1. “Almost 5 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition-related causes every year.”
2. “4 in 10 children in poor countries are malnourished, damaging their brains and bodies.”
3. “60% of the hungry in the world are women.”
4. “If women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million.”
5. “1.3 Billion tons of food grown for human consumption is either lost or wasted each year.”

It’s sad to think that the US is one of the riches countries in the world and able to produce enough food to feed every American in this country but still 14.3% still go hungry. That’s 1 in 7 Americans!!! I hope some of these statistics inspire you to make a difference today and in the future. Together we can end hunger in our lifetime, we all just have to do our parts!

*** All quotes and stats were obtained from the World Food Day website and from “FAO” (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.) If you would like more information, to find events in your area, or even how you can help on personal or communal level please visit their site.**** http://ift.tt/16fHGnu.

 

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Roasted Pumpkin & Acorn Squash Salad with Mixed Greens, Goat Cheese, & Toasted Pepitas

Fall is definitely here! My favorite time of year, especially living in a resort beach town, time slows a bit, the weather cools down, schedules begin to free up, the beaches are perfect, and cooking with the windows open takes away a little of the guilt of staying inside. Cooler temperatures makes for heartier and more filling foods. This is a spin-off Giada’s Italian recipe but a little tweak here and there and I’ve made it more of my own. Hope you love it as much as my family did!

Ingredients:

• 1 small baking pumpkin
• 2 small Acorn Squash
• 2 Tbs Olive oil
• 2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 C Arugula and Spinach Mix
• 1/4 C Cypress Grove Goat Cheese (or a gourmet goat cheese that crumbles well)
• 1/8 C pepitas or pumpkin seeds
• 1/8 C dried cranberries
• 2 tsp “Herbs de Provence” herbs
• Pinch sea salt
• Pinch fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Cut, peel, and seed pumpkin and squash. Cut into thick slices.
2. In a baking dish, drizzle olive oil on bottom of dish, place in pumpkin and squash slices. Top with 1 Tbs of balsamic vinegar, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Bake or Roast in oven for 30-35 minutes until tender.
3. In a dry saute pan on medium heat, toast pepitas. Be sure to stir or flip them often, they will burn fast. they should toast in 2-4 minutes.
4. On a plate, place arugula and spinach mix, top with roasted pumpkin and squash
5. Crumble and sprinkle goat cheese, cranberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
6. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
7. Drizzle last Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.
8. Serve and Enjoy!!!

 

 

 

 

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How to Keep Your Kids Healthy Now that Schools Back!!

School is finally in full swing and fall is here, which means cooler days, more time spent inside soon, and that means our favorite people will be sharing sneezes, runny noses, coughs, and every other microscopic cootie out there! YUCK!

So how do we keep our little ones as healthy as possible…here are a few ideas!

1. Skip all the juices and opt for water more. Flushing their systems and keeping them hydrated will keep them bug-free longer. Save the juice boxes as a treat on the weekends. Get a stainless steel refillable water bottle and send them to school with a fresh bottle of filtered water. Kids not big fans of water. Change it up every day with a slice of lemon, raspberries, or cucumbers. Add some flavor, while adding extra antioxidants and nutrients.
2. Sideline all the sugar. Sugar is hiding everywhere especially in “kid foods.” Peanut butter, jellies or jams, cookies, cakes, candy, fruit snacks, you name it, it’s in there. Sugar depresses the immune system. Try to avoid the processed sugars and opt for more fresh fruits.
3. Up the probiotics. Gut heath is so important. They healthier your gut the healthier you stay. They don’t call the gut, “your second brain” for no reason. It doesn’t function when it’s filled with processed foods, lots of sugar, and lots of junk. Probiotics help to boost immunity and help fight off germs and bacteria. Make sure to buy probiotics with live cultures. They should be in the refrigerator when you buy them and should be stored in the fridge when you get home.
4. Make sure they’re getting enough sleep. It’s the key to staying healthy. A full nights rest let’s the body re-cooperate and heal as you sleep. It also helps with boosting the immune system, mood, and helps with focusing.
5. Wash hands. Kids hate to do it, but make it a necessity. Always wash hands before eating, after bathroom breaks, being outside or playing with other kids. Try to keep kids from putting hands in eyes, nose, and mouth as much as possible. Yeah right! That’s a battle in itself! ;) Letting them know that how they get sick sometimes help with them thinking about washing their hands more often.

Hope these ideas keep your little ones feeling great and as healthy as they can be in school and through the upcoming cold and flu season. Here’s to healthy kids and happy parents! :)

 

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I’m Back…. with Fig Tarts with Cinnamon & Vanilla Creme!!!

Finally, I am back on track!!! After a whirlwind of a summer with a slammed Pilates and Wellness studio. While throwing in a new pregnancy in between the craziness of 2 other small ones and a resort area business, I’m finally catching my breath and getting back on track! Sadly it’s been 4 months since my last post. I can’t believe I am actually saying that! 4 months is way to long!!!! In the three years of hosting this blog I think the longest I ever went without posting was 2 weeks, but I just couldn’t get to it happen, working 70 hours a week, running two little ones to camp all summer, and now baby number 3 is headed our way in only 7.5 more weeks. Can’t believe time has flown by this fast.

But I wanted to get back into writing and sharing with you the things I’m doing in the studio, in the garden, and of course in the kitchen. So with that being said. Here is my newest guilty pleasure creation.(Fig Tarts with Cinnamon and Vanilla Creme!) Hope you enjoy it and only hope that you guys will be super excited to have me back! And I’ll be doing my best to stay on track at least once or twice a week posting even with the new arrival quickly approaching. Hope everyone is well and look forward to hearing from you all! Feel free to leave a comment!

Shells:

• 1 cup almonds (organic preferred) soaked for at least 6 hours to sprout. This is optional.
• 1 cup Mejool dates-pitted
• 1 Tbsp water if needed

Filling:

• 1 cup cashews (organic preferred) soaked until soft, at least an hour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping:

• fresh figs sliced in quarters
• sprinkle of cinnamon for the top

Directions:

1. Combine cashews, honey/syrup, vanilla and cinnamon in a food processor or Vitamix until smooth. Add water if mixture is too thick
2. Refrigerate in a separate bowl
3. Next add almonds and dates in food processor till you get a sticky mixture. Add water again if consistency is too thick.
4. Using a tablespoon, make ball size tarts, by flattening down the tops on a baking sheet or if you have a tart pan. Chill in refrigerator for 20-30 mins.
5. Place filling on top of tarts.
6. Top with figs and dash of cinnamon

 

 

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