Frozen Yogurt Blueberries

Here's another Pinterest attempt: Frozen Yogurt Blueberries, which is just dipping blueberries in yogurt, freezing them and then eating them as a healthy snack.

Supplies:

Mixed them together:

Doug (husband) & I tried them out and decided to stop and eat a bowl of them without freezing.  Delicious!

I went back to the other bowl and separated them in containers for freezing:

Froze them overnight and got them out in the morning to try them:

They were tasty, but honestly, they are SO much better fresh.  They are unbelievably delicious fresh and frozen they are just okay.  I suggest eating them fresh unless you can't eat them right away. 

My bulbs are sprouting!

I'm SO excited that my bulbs are blooming.

Last year, my husband & I moved into our townhouse when I was about 4 months pregnant.  I had been keeping a container garden for years in whatever apartment patio I had at the time.  But this was the first time, I was able to plant flowers and plants in the ground.  I was really excited, however, I had no idea how hard it would be.  The ground was really hard mostly due to the fact that it filled with rocks and weeds and sticks and a couple of inches down there was a layer of black plastic.  It was the most horrible thing to try and plant in.  I actually ended up digging up several railroad ties that someone buried under the layer of rocks.  It was unbelievable.  After I dug everything out and laid down some mulch, it actually turned out really nicely.

Anyway, due to the time frame we moved I wasn't able to plant bulbs last year, but I did plant a few other plants that turned out beautifully:

I can't wait to see how the flowers turn out this year!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Granola Bars

Recently, my husband & I were hanging out with some friends, and everyone was supposed to make some kind of food.  I was so busy thinking about what to take for my four month old son, that I completely spaced bringing a dish.  My friend, Jess, remembered to bring these.  Everyone LOVED them, so I asked her for the recipe and decided to make them myself.

I gathered all the supplies (recipe below):

I melted coconut oil, PB and honey together, then mixed it with the dry ingredients. 

(Note:  I made this again and substituted the honey for agave nectar and it was just as delicious.  In other attempts, I made it with less agave nectar and less coconut oil and they were still pretty good.  I would be careful about how much you lower the ingredients because they will start to fall apart.)

I smoothed it into a pyrex dish on wax paper and tossed it into the frig overnight.  (You don't have to do that.  You can just put it in there for a half hour or so.)

My son thought the whole process was really boring:

The cat was riveted:

So was the other cat:

 I cut them up and tried them out on my husband who loved them just like he did at the party the other night:

They are healthy and delicious!  Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Peanut Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup local honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons wheat germ
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup peanuts
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Melt peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil together in a small sauce pan over low/medium heat, stirring constantly.  It only takes a minute or two to melt.
2. In mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except for chocolate chips, and stir well.
3. Pour liquid mixture over dry mixture and stir til well combined.
4. Let cool in bowl for several minutes.
5. Place mixture into foil lined 8×8 pan and press down firmly.
6. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top and press down firmly with hands.
7. Place in fridge or freezer to set.
8. Flip the foil out onto cutting board and cut into desired bar sizes.  I like to cut a dozen rectangle shaped bars.
9. Store in fridge for best results.

Lite Strawberry Cupcakes

Lately, I've been cruising Pinterest on a regular basis when I'm feeding my almost four month old baby son.  It's a fun way to get ideas and I have a ton.  Some of them I will likely never complete, but a lot of them I definitely will. 

One of the ideas I found on Pinterest was Lite Strawberry Cupcakes.  It's very easy. (I was starting out the cooking new things goal very small. Hee.)

The recipe is:

Less than 100 calories each. Replace all ingredients on package with 12oz Diet 7-up and bake as directed.
 

I made two batches.  One I used real icing because YUM, but that defeated the whole point of healthy and it made them almost too sweet.  The second batch I used fat free cool whip as the topping and it was pretty good.  Not that sweet and a real light treat. The picture below is the batch with the icing.



My husband, Doug, loved them. People at work had next to no interest in so-called healthy cupcakes.

Secret Hallow Book

Being a new mother, I decided that I would make a concerted effort this year to do a few things, including wearing more jewelry (of which I have a ton and often run out of the house in the morning without wearing), cooking and making crafts.  Of course, I cook all the time.  My husband and I take turns making dinner, but the goal is to make new recipes rather than things I make all the time.

My first craft was a secret hallow book. First, I got my supplies together.

 

Then I glued the pages together with a mixture of Elmer's glue and water. After a couple of coats, I put something in between the glued pages and the non-glued pages to keep them separate and then put something heavy on it to weigh it down while it dried.

My son & cat helped with the project:

Then I cut out all the pages a few at a time. This took a long time and I made a huge mess:

 

And finally, I was done!

I have no idea what to do with it. LOL.If you want to make one of your own, there are directions here.