Friday, April 12, 2013

All Natural Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

           (Don't forget to enter the Spring Giveaway for food labels- (click here)! Hope you win!)

All Natural Strawberry Banana Ice Cream, Homemade, Spring, Ice Cream, Kids

So, this is all natural and SUPER yum!
Why is making your own more awesome than buying from the store? 
I have 10 reasons why to make your own ice cream (click the link for the full article) including health reasons, simplicity, and knowing what is in your food!

Just look at these strawberries- I may just head to the kitchen to make more, even as I write this!
I love me my strawberries!

Even as a teenager, I would eating them by the basketful- got myself in big trouble for doing so too. I crawled underneath the kitchen table with two pounds of strawberries that never had a chance to make it to the counter and into the fridge! 

All Natural Strawberry Banana Ice Cream, Homemade, Spring, Ice Cream, Kids

On a hot summer spring day, like record breaking heat day, those empty bowls below are just begging to be filled with natural ice cream goodness!

I met the challenge.

We had been out to see the National Cherry Blossom Festival and after we got back, I had my kids begging for homemade ice cream. I know something is right when they beg for homemade. Yay me, goal achieved. 
This was super easy, super yum, and it filled me up!
Hope you enjoy as much as we did.


Ingredients:
1 Cup Frozen Bananas
2 Cups Frozen Strawberries
Dash of milk or soy milk or water


Directions:
1. You can freeze the bananas whole or slice and freeze, best over night
2. Slice the frozen strawberries, if not already so, and the same with the bananas
2. In a blender, combine ingredients, blend and serve!

Even my toddler, who is picky about everything he eats loves this. I guess I will be making this everyday in this hot summer!



Why Make Your Own Ice Cream? 10 Reasons!



                             (Don't forget to enter the Spring Giveaway! (Click Here). )

I am writing this to list the reasons why it is SO much better to make your own ice cream.

For actually making it, follow my recipe here for "All Natural Strawberry Banana Ice Cream", and you can substitute the fruit with any other fruit or vegetable that you want to.

No, I do not use those Ice Cream Balls that you shake over and over again that you pay extra money for and their only purpose is ice cream.

I don't even do the old fashioned crank or the newer ice cream maker that cost a lot of money to buy.
Nope, not I.

Instead, I use something that is versatile for many things: The Magic Bullet. Nope I did not buy it from the television. I bought from Costco because their warranties on the products that they serve are great. And I am glad I did. It was cheaper than most any other blender and had same if not more capability. I do not write this for them, or am not paid to do so, I am just stoked to have this product in my house. I make my ice cream with this.

My reasons for making it from home:
1) Faster than going to buy ice cream- seriously! Walking to the nearest store, buying it and walking back at best is 45 minutes sometimes. Driving, maybe 30 minutes. I can make this in 5 minutes or so.
2) Creamier- honestly it is. So it is between ice cream and frozen yoghurt.
3) More nutrients- think about it. HFCS holds very little, if any, nutrients. The things you choose to use are more worth it to get what you need than buying something that is mass produced.
4) No added sugar- no really! If you use fruits and veges, you need no extra sugar because the natural sugars are already there. 
5) Makes you fuller faster- It is true, at least I find. Because the nutrients my body wants are satisfied as well as the coolness it wants. The added ingredients in store bought make me go back so much that I could eat most a container of ice cream. Not good. LOL.
6) Less Calories- as stated above, not only does it make me fill fuller quicker, it really is less calories because the ingredients overall are less.
7) Less Ingredients- Think about all that goes into ice cream. It is alot. You only have 3-5 ingredients home making it. The fruit and the consistency factor (milk or water). Yay!
8) You Control What Your Ice Cream Has In It- Now, you want honey one day and not the next- that is fine! You at least know what is in it. And it is natural.
9) It's the Same Cost or Sometimes Cheaper- Believe it or not, it can be cheaper. Say you buy 5-6 bananas for $1-$2, a pound of frozen strawberries at Costco cost me $2.50, and a splash of milk or water is close to nothing. That is $3.50-$5 to make enough ice cream for 1/2 cup serving 8-12 times over. That is about the same, if you buy your ice cream on a sale. If not, it's cheaper to do it this way.
10) SO easy- put it all together and press a button- viola!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Grape Butterfly Snack



I l.o.v.e. this idea!

With permission to share and inspiration to me, my friend, Jessica Hillskotter, from High School, made these with her daughter for her soccer team. Healthy for the kids and fun and easy to make.

How c.u.t.e. is it?

What you need:
googly eyes
clothespin
red paint (if not already red)
pipe cleaner
snack ziplock bag
grapes, of course!

What you do:
1. If you have not already have a red clothespin, paint it red, let it dry.
2. add he googly eyes (if they are not stickered you need to glue them).
3. Curl the pipe cleaner.
4. Add the grapes to the ziplock bag. 
5. With your hand, create a hold in the middle, and clip with the clothespin and clip the pipe cleaner in as well.
6. Ta Da! Impress!

What a fun idea with spring sports coming up in full gear! 
Thanks for the idea Jess! I love it!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Spring Giveaway- Food Labels (2 winners)!

Yay for Spring! And spring time, we make jokes about mating like rabbits, so we are going to "mate" our giveaway- and there are 2 instead of 1!

 This prize is easy to use. Why? (To enter, just scroll down)

 * Everyone can use these! My aunt for example, can not have anything with dairy in it, so the dairy labels would be helpful for her. And the same with the vegeterian labels.

* Perfect for those with allergies or food preferences.

* You can microwave these, use them on pots, pans, tupperware, freezable, dishwasher safe, oven safe. You can't beat that!

 * They are also labeled in English and Spanish (all of them).

How to navigate the giveaway!
(Especially if it is your first time it can be confusing, but it is easy).

1. If you already follow via facebook, google, pinterest, or twitter you don't have to do it again, just click it and register that you follow this blog via social media outlets.
2. You can enter daily by sharing the page, pinning the giveaway, pinning a recipe from this blog,  tweeting it.
                                                    


 a Rafflecopter giveaway


*** These will be mailed to you (so you will have to give your address to me upon winning)! *** 

Friday, April 5, 2013

Grapefruit Honey Jam


 First, I am giving myself kudos on this one.
Happy spring with the sweet and tart made from the heart!

I will be honest-- I am not an expert jam maker and this was a great outcome.
I am also not a canner.
So you can do it!

This was great, just put it in clean jars, as I made it to last for a month or so.
 Not the formal canning process that makes it last longer. If you like to can for long term use, you can do that too.

We like this because it is sweet and tart. As my husband put it, many things you can buy in the store just are too sweet. Which I agree sometimes. And that says a lot, because jams and jellies by nature have a lot of sugar in it.

Why grapefruit?
Tart and sour is something that frequently is missed in our diet.
Used by ancient people and even many cultures today, it is an important part of our diet.
Think yin and yang.
If you have sweet, you must have sour.
Here is a thought- maybe our overabundant intake of sugar really is our way to overcome lack of sour in our diets.
I want to be balanced and I want my kids to be as well.
So I am making them try it.
Taste is something to acquire and I want them to be balanced in diet as well.
It makes for a healthier us and and healthier you!

I knew it was pretty much fruit and sugar, trying new things, and this turned out great. I added honey to sweeten the tartness of the grapefruit.

By the time I was done making this, as soon as my husband walked in the door, I jumped like a little kid in a candy store and rushed him to try it. Just to see his face was awesome!

I super duper can't wait to use this! On toast, pancakes, bread- bring it on!


Ingredients:


6-8 grapefruits
1 cup honey
4 1/2- 5 cups sugar
 * Less sugar if you want a smoothier constancy.
*As is, makes a very hearty thick jam

Directions:

1. Cut the top and bottom off the grapefruit and then slice in half. Slice in half again and cut the rind off.


2. When you do that, take the seeds out and put the rinds to the side (you can use the rinds for other recipes, such as making homemade tea). 


 3. This bowl only held about 4 grapefruit at a time, so that is how I did it. I prepped the first set of grapefruits first and then double made sure no seeds were present and also, important, that I had the juices from the grapefruit with it. 

4. Put them in the Magic Bullet or a blender of choice. With the Magic Bullet, it was done in literally 2 seconds flat. You want to mix it, not quite puree as you want some grapefruit pieces left.


5. Put the mix in the bowl and repeat the steps 1-4 for the next 2-4 grapefruits and then add the total mixture. Then take it to stove on high.


6.  Add in your sugar slowly. 2 cups at first than 1/2 cup all throughout the cooking process. You want to keep the heat on high.


7. Add in the honey 1/3 cup at a time, in the beginning, in the middle, and towards the end.


8. While cooking it on high, stir of it very often and take it off to test and then put it back on. You will know it is done when you take a spoonful and it does not run off of it all runnny but more goopy. You can take a spoon and take a bit out and leave out for a few minutes and see if it solidifies more. I put the time on 3-5 minutes and stirred it until it solidified.


10. Pour into jars and you are done!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Passover Supper (Seder)


This week is Passover. We did ours on Friday night.

Our Passover Dinner:
(read below for recipe, information on Passover & our evening)
Rice
Steamed Broccoli
Fish Sticks (for the kids that we had over)
 
 
I dedicate this Passover to my grandmother-in-law, who I sadly, did not get to know well but I do know she has so much love for her family and was simply put, amazing!


We are having my friend and my son's friend over, to share this holiday with. 
We are celebrating what is part of our culture, not necessarily religion. There is a difference. 
I just found out part of who I am, which is Jewish. My husband's family is culturally Jewish.
From what we understand, our great and great great grandparents were devote in their faith.
So for us, our kids knowing who part of who they are and incorporating our past with our present (and future) is super important for us.


Traditional Passover Plate:
(The Passover Plate is the ceremonial plate, not the dinner)
Symbols of the foods eaten at Passover:
Matzah- (represents Jews having to leave egypt and not having time to let the dough rise, therefore creating Matzah)
From the box at the store

Roasted Egg (Symbolises life continuing)
We boiled it and then 'roasted' it under a flame. 

The Shank Bone (Symbolises scrafice)
We baked it at 350 degrees until cooked enough and a little more.

Bitter Herbs (Symbolises Slavery and Harship)
We honestly used cilantro, which is an herb, but we needed something and that is what we had.

The Vegetable (Symbolises Hope and redemption)
We steamed broccoli as the vegetable (per our guest's pick) and used that as the vegetable.

Salt Water (Symbolises tear shed)
Water and kosher salt mixed.

Charoset (Symbolises Jews as slaves building)
This one takes a little more.
Here is the recipe that I got asked for! This is my own- so proud.
Charoset
Ingredients:
1 Cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1-2 Plums

Directions:
1. Take the almonds and smash them with the fork.
2. Put in the bottom of the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, mix, and your are done!


 The Matzah Hunt! 
Of course, the tradition is as goes, to hide the matzah and have the kids find it. Whomever that finds it is the winner. Woot! The funny thing is, that the tore apart the entire couch even though it was in a cloth under the blue blanket the entire time. We ended up having to play "you're getting hotter, now you are getting colder" game to get them to find it. Steven, who is 10, ended up finding it first. And boy was he happy to find it. Ate it like a rabbit with glee even though he did not want to try matzah in the first place. (Guess hiding it helped?)














Matzo Ball Soup


As part of our Passover Dinner, we had traditional matzo ball soup. Although the only tradition about it was that it was Matzo ball soup- I bought the mix as it was the easiest thing to do. We love making this and my kids love it.


Ingredients:
1 package matzo ball soup mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 onions
3-4 carrots
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp vegetable seasoning


Directions
1. Get your water boiling for the soup, I would say at least 8 cups water and add the vegetable seasoning for broth.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 eggs and oil and the mix. Let sit at least 15 minutes.
3. Shave your carrots and then dice them.
4. Cut your onions.
5. Put into the water, does not having to be boiling.
6. With wet hand, make small matzo balls and drop in them into the boiling water. Remember they at least double in size. 
7. Cook for 30 minutes.
8. Serve.

Grapefruit Cilantro Flounder


This just sounded too good to pass up- fish, grapefruit, and cilantro. Not spicy but with a refreshing kick.  It is spring time- way to kick it off!
While flounder sounds expensive, we got it on sale for less than you buy most pre-made meat dishes, even cheaper than cheese from Costco. So don't be afraid to try to new things!
We made it with broccoli and rice.
We made this with our Passover Seder.


Ingredients:
2 Grapefruits
1 Bunch Cilantro
2 pounds Flouder



Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Pre oil the bottom of a pan
3. Cut the grapefruits in half
4. Clean of cilantro and cut all the cilantro including the stems
5. Using frozen or thawed flounder filets, you put those in the bottom of the baking dish and squeeze the grapefruit over the top.
6. Put the cilantro on top
7. Put the grapefruit on.
8. Bake about 30 minutes (or until nice and clear/brown on both sides in colour). While you are baking you may need to drain juices and put back in after 20 minutes.
9. Serve and enjoy! (You can remove the grapefruit).

As you see below, we combined the grapefruit cilantro flounder with our passover dinner!




Plum Charoset


Tis the time for Passover.
This time, we decided to host a Passover dinner.


Charoset/Haroset/Charoses (Symbolises Jews as slaves creating brick and mortar)
Here is the recipe that I got asked for! We all loved this recipe. 
It takes only a matter of minutes to make!
It goes on the passover plate as well as eaten as part of the dinner.
My kids and I would even eat this as a desert- it is very good.
 

Ingredients:
1 Cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1-2 Plums
Directions:
1. Take the almonds and smash them with the fork.
2. Cut up plums, how many you want is up to you.
3. Put in the bottom of the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, mix, and your are done!
4. Eat on its own or on top of Matzah or by itself. During Passover or not.



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