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- A whole package of Biscoff Cookies, crushed (reserve 6 cookies)
- 3 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, melted
- 8 ounces Tofutti cream cheese, softened
- 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 tubs (12 oz.) So Delicious CocoWhip thawed, divided
- 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips ( like Pascha CHocolate chips)
- Add Biscoff cookies to a food processor and process with blade until they resemble wet sand. Place crumbs in a medium bowl and add melted margarine.
- Add 2-3 Tbsps of cookie crumbs into the bottoms of six 1-cup parfait glasses.
- Reserve the rest for another layer when assembling the rest of the parfaits.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, sugars and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well combined and creamy.
- Fold in half of the whipped topping.
- Combine ingredients until mixed well.
- Spoon a layer of pumpkin cheesecake onto the Biscoff crumbles followed by 2 Tbsps of chocolate chips and about 2 Tbsps of whipped topping.
- Repeat layers with cookie crumble, pumpkin cheesecake, ending with a dollop of whipped topping.
- Decorate with a some chocolate chips and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Store parfaits in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Garnish with a Biscoff cookie.
Boiron: Homeopathic Essentials for Babies and Toddlers
October 30th, 2015
November is almost upon us and our family has already gone through two rounds of colds since the baby has been born. One of the most challenging things for me as a mother is to make sure that my kids stay healthy. When kids are under the age of 5 there really are not any meds you can really give your kids for coughs and colds. There are the over-the-counter meds for fever or pain, but even so, I really don’t relying on those meds all the time. Before having kids, I would try to use natural medicine to cure my ailments before turning to conventional meds. It was only natural for me to turn to homeopathic and natural curing of ailments when I started having kids.
Boiron is not a new company for me in fact, I have used their homeopathic pellets for simple ailments in the past. When I found out their headquarters are located so close to me, I knew I had to get to know their company a lot more! Even though I have used some baby homeopathic meds for my girls, I knew there were more medicines for these toddlers of mine.
Here are a few of my favorite products and new essentials for my little family:
Coldcalm – Children’s Coldcalm -I have used this the past 2 weeks, for the first time in fact. It is perfect for my almost 4 year old toddler since she is the one that is most susceptile to catching colds. Somehow I need to help her immune system to grow stronger. These pellets are ideal for cold relief including anything that comes along with colds like sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion and minor sore throat.
When my oldest daughter catches colds it lingers for a long time but I noticed after taking the Coldcalm along with elderberry wellness syrup, that her cold was cut shorter. No one else caught the cold other than her middle sister but it was not as strong as most colds these girls get. These pellets have specific instructions to catch the onset of a cold where they are administered every 15 minutes for one hour and then lengthened to be given every 2 hours until symptoms get better.
While it is hard for kids to wait for pellets to dissolve, I love the fact that what they are taking will not make them drowsy or interact with anything.
Calcarea phosphorica 30C – Recently my older and middle daughter have been going through leg pain which only seems like growing pains. My oldest has been growing so quickly which only makes her exclaim, “Why are my legs getting longer mommy?” So cute. Luckily, kids ages 2 and older and even adults can take this. I am glad to make this medicine part of my cabinet.
Chestal Cough Honey – Children’s Chestal Cough Honey – Once the cold started on both girls it developed into a shallow cough but nothing that was painful. We went through the whole bottle in 2-3 days with both girls which yet again seemed like their coughs subsided quicker than usual. The combination of ingredients in the bottle help with every aspect of a cold, from the phlegm, dry cough, or cough that keeps kids up at night.
Not only is there a cough syrup but there is another one that is also for a cough and cold. With the cold season approaching, I am hoping that we can ward off anymore colds.
Cocyntal Colic Relief– It has always been the same with all my girls, but colic is something that babies commonly have especially if a mom is nursing. There is nothing like having a baby constantly crying and writhing in pain because of gas pain and irritability. I have already started using this homeopathic remedy when my 3 month old daughter has colic during the afternoon hours. It works like a charm and I totally see the results with my baby’s diapers. While I try to stay away from trigger foods that cause colic in a baby, sometimes it is hard to stay away from the occasional dairy.
I find myself even when I watch what I each that a baby can be colicky no matter what. This definitely is something I keep in my cabinet by ordering them ahead of time. Such a life saver! There are other products that require a syringe but these single use doses are easy to use. I gently squirt the contents into her mouth.
Camilia – Teething Relief – Another great single liquid dose for babies 1 month and older is Camilia. If you can detect, most homeopathic remedies contain chamomile, which is a natural ingredient that aids in relieving pain and irritability accompanied with it.
My third baby is teething earlier than my other girls and I simply cannot believe it. Sometimes it is hard for me to detect a baby with colic pain or if the baby has pain having to do with teething. My baby is has been gnawing her little hand like it is a tasty ice cream. I am glad that I have homeopathic medicines to relieve a baby otherwise it would be a lot more challenging to handle. These are free of benzocaine which is a plus!
Hydrastis canadensis 6C – These pellets are for those suffering from post-nasal drip which can be very annoying when trying to get rid of a cold. There is one thing having a runny nose but when the mucus runs down the throat it can irritate the throat. These come in the blue tube and are safe for kids ages 2 and older and also for adults.
I love the fact that a lot of the pellets are safe to treat kids but even so, there are references online to help when dosing your family. Boiron provides Homeopathic Medicine Finder showing different categories for symptoms occuring for the person which ailments. It was super helpful for me as I was looking for solutions for my kids and for the rest of my family.
While I am only sharing my experiences with these homeopathic remedies, I am not a professional but I am a mother interested in using a safer and alternative to convetional medicine. I LOVE that Boiron offers training for consumers that helps anyone interested to familiarize themselves with medicines available through Boiron.
Are you familiar with Boiron? How do you use it with your family?
Disclosure: I did receive product from Boiron, but it is a familiar product I have used in my household. All opinions are my own. All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.
Amazon disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage if you make a purchase using this link
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Vegan Biscoff Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfaits
October 19th, 2015It is hard nowadays to do any baking or dessert creating because I usually am so tired by the evenings, but usually on my weekends when my hubby is home, I take advantage of making something special for the both of us and even extra for the girls the next day. Now that the Cubs are in the playoffs, we are watching a lot more sports so to ease my husband’s stress I decided to surprise him with a seasonal dessert made with pumpkin.
I love cooking seasonally because then I can work with ingredients on hand to create whatever dessert that comes to mind. I have to admit that I have not always been that way, but when I moved to Michigan in 2009 I learned how the local restaurants and farmer’s markets had recipes based on seasonal produce. It sounds like something so easy to really know, but living in Texas, I was not exposed to sustainable food. Farmers markets were not available but now I have been hearing of area markets which excites me.
Anyway, I made some delicious pumpkin parfaits with So Delicious Coco Whip, Tofutti Cream Cheese, and Biscoff cookies and it was a hit. It was also a hit on Instagram with a whopping 120 likes! Follow me on Instagram to see more of my food creations. Sometimes I add recipes there that I do not have on my blog.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Adventures in the Kitchen with Family Favorite Meals + Sweepstakes #FutureofProtein
October 14th, 2015
This is a sponsored post with Markerly and Beyond Meat. All opinions are my own.
I recently was challenged to surprise my family with family favorite dishes using Beyond Meat products. Anyone heard of these products before? Many people might know that I was vegan for almost 2 years and I was always on a search for the best meat substitute when preparing meals. Although I could never convince my husband to go vegan he would go meatless a few days a week. Now it has been almost 4 years and our family leads more of a flexitarian way of eating. We do our best going meatless on Mondays and on another day of the week, but we mostly eat a variety, including fish, turkey, chicken, and beef.
When Beyond Meat sent me a few products to try out and to incoporate in our daily meal plan I was excited. At first, I thought my husband would find me out,but then I was able to keep the products hidden in the freezer. I am always on the lookout for making more meatless meals during the week, not only for our health but also for our budget. I know that when I go to the grocery store to buy for 2 weeks worth of groceries, I cringe looking at how much meat and chicken cost.
I received Beyond Chicken Grilled Strips and Beyond Meat Feisty Crumbles and Beefy Crumble. Since I know that my husband likes Mexican food, I decided I would make a few favorites of ours like enchiladas and empanadas. Sometimes I can’t get by hiding what I make because most of my bulk cooking happens in the evenings when he is home, so this time, I tried preparing my meals on Sunday evening.
I started by making my Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce. Instead of using shredded chicken, I sliced the Beyond Chicken Grilled Strips a lot thinner and cooked them with garlic, sliced onions, and some seasonings. I then placed the strips into corn tortillas, rolled them up and placed them in a 9×13 dish. Next, I made the tomatillo sauce and poured it on top of the tortilla roll-ups. I added cheese and baked in the oven and they looked super delicious.
Guess what?
My husband came home and he was so excited to have them for dinner the next day. He was happy I had made them since I had not prepared that dish in a while. I anticipated that he would be sorely disappointed because I just KNOW my husband but I had added a lot of the original ingredients to my dish that I felt that perhaps he would be convinced to like the chicken substitute.
Want to know what he thought? Check out the video below:
I am a more adventurous eater and I look forward trying the rest of products. I made some vegan nachos one evening with Daiya cheese and Beyond Meat Feisty Crumbles.
I enjoyed it and was really surprised. I never used to be a texture person when eating foods but after several pregnancies I am really sensitive to textures and unfortunately, I was not a fan of the Beyond Chicken Strips BUT I am looking forward seeing how the Homestyle Tenders taste.
While the products might not have been a hit for my husband or kids, I am also thinking as I stated in my video that I might have chosen the wrong type of meal for the strips. Beyond Meat is widely popular among many elite athletes because it does have a high source of protein and is considered the future of protein. Beyond products are made with either both non-GMO pea and soy protein or just non-GMO pea protein.
Beyond Meat has partnered with April Ross, considered one of the elite athletes, to effectively communicate–by example–the benefits to other families and their children.
What does the Future of Protein look like? The meat case will become the protein case. Plant protein will appear on the menus of largest restaurant chains and in schools nationwide. Want to try these products? Need inspirations for recipes? Check out the sweepstakes below.
The FUTURE OF PROTEIN CHALLENGE Sweepstakes
5 lucky fans of our bloggers can win prizes ranging from Le Crueset cookware, 3 months of Chef’d meal delivery, a $500 Visa Gift Card, and a chance to watch our athletes in action!
We created The Future of Protein Challenge Sweepstakes as an easy and fun way to encourage your fans to do the Future of Protein challenge with their own families.
• You can buy discounted Beyond Meat products with this coupon .
• Secretly substitute a Beyond Meat product in a family-favorite meal. Click here to download Beyond Meat product info and some suggested recipes.
• After everyone has enjoyed the meal, reveal to them that the meat they just ate was made from 100% plants! Capture their thoughts, comments, and of course, empty plates and happy faces.
• Post your photos and a recap of the dinner to Instagram or Twitter by 11:00PM PST on 10/31, tagging “@ BeyondMeat” and “#FutureOfProtein.”—this will automatically enter you in the sweepstakes.
• Repeat whenever your family wants to enjoy protein-packed meals without the downsides of animal meat.
PRIZES: Le Crueset cookware, 3 months of Chef’d meal delivery, a $500 Visa Gift Card, and a chance to watch our athletes in action!
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Chicco Products for Baby | Close To You Carrier & NaturalFit Bottles
October 13th, 2015My baby is almost three months and I cannot believe how quickly time flies but my third baby girl is almost 16 pounds and growing so much! There are so many things I look forward when having babies. One of them is having them close and nursing them. The connection with the baby is essential the first year especially since the baby has spent almost 10 months inside a mother.
Well, baby carrying is something I truly enjoy and love. I simply love having a baby close to my heart and I have proven that when a baby is fussy, wearing a baby calms and soothes them. It is also perfect for when a baby is colicky as well. It is very magical too! I wear my carriers even more now since I have two toddlers under the age of 5 to chase around. It makes it ideal for outings like at church, the park, and pretty much everywhere especially the grocery store.
Chicco has come out with a new carrier called Close To You Infant Carrier. It is a multi-use baby carrier with three positions to accommodate baby’s growth: facing in, facing out, or on mom or dad’s back. I tried it on while my daughter was a month old but it has proven a little more comfortable as she has been older now that her hips and legs can straddle over the seat of the carrier. There are feet rests for newborns but it just was not the best fit for me. The two-piece vest/carrier design allows the parent vest to be fitted and adjusted separately before attaching the baby carrier. Once the carrier is attached, it opens out fully from the vest to help get baby in and out more easily.
Since the carrier is made of polyester I did not enjoy wearing the carrier during the end of the summer. It made me feel hot and created more heat within the carrier. Truth be told, there were just too many instructions for using this carrier and made me feel like I was wearing a breastplate. Since I am busy with two younger toddlers, trying to manage this carrier, that takes at least 5 minutes if not more of adjusting on the body, was not ideal for my life. I hope to give it a lot more chances as the baby gets older and as I get used to the steps it takes to insert the baby in the carrier.
Now that I have three kiddos the demands are different. Since I juggle many things throughout the day that nursing the baby becomes a challenge. Let’s just say that I have had to alter a few things to make my day more manageable, like pumping and feeding the baby from a bottle. If there has been anything like multitasking, I know all about it. Now that I have my oldest in preschool, sometimes it is hard to get the baby fed because breakfast is getting made, lunches packed and well, the baby is just a great sleeper, I just let her sleep until we need to leave.
Since she sleeps in, then I use a pump to have a bottle ready for the baby to consume on our way to errands. Sound a little stressful? Well, it works and I guess we have to do the best that works which does not mean it will not change later it just means that for now, bottle feeding has been working for the busier times of day.
How has the baby taken to the bottle at 3 months? Transitioning to a bottle was a little challenging with my older two girls but this baby girl took on the Chicco bottles on the first try. I recently wrote about the bottles HERE but I have been using them a little more and I have loved them! There are bottles for babies in different stages. Stage One are designed for newborn babies. There are two different size bottles coming in a 5-ounce and 8-ounce bottle and are either available with a slow-flow or medium-flow nipple.
There are two other stages of bottles that Chicco also has available that comes in the amazing sterilizer that is available for first time moms or just for moms that need a replacement bottle system. The whole set is called All You Need Starter Set and it comes with the stage one bottles, an 11-ounce bottle with a fast flow nipple, a teether, a bottle brush, pacifiers and a microwavable sterilizer. It really is enough to start with in the beginning months and I have especially enjoyed it.
I feel blessed to have a great baby who easily transitioned to a bottle. We tried the soft silicone teethers for her and while she tried them out for a bit she ended up spitting them out. I only gather that they are little too big for her mouth but I look forward having her try them as she gets older.
Disclosure: Thanks to Chicco for letting me review these products. All opinions and photos are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, which means I receive a percentage if you make a purchase using this link.
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Moms still Party with a Moms Night In
October 8th, 2015
As my life changes with the addition of a third baby in our family, different responsibilities are added and my lifestyle changes. Since I started this blog, I originally intended it as a place to record my recipe creations and little by little it has become more than just a blog about recipes but a place where I record everything we do as a family including the recipes I create at home. While my passion is still what I cook and create for my family it is now about creating a balance between everything I enjoy doing and creating. I felt like I needed to explain why there were more posts about life than recipes.
One of the things I have enjoyed doing lately is hanging out with moms after the kids go to bed. Other than the activities I have during a weekly basis and church on Sundays, it is hard for a mom to actually HANG out with other moms. Our lives are so focused on our families, but in fact, I need friends, and in particular, moms who know the amount of stuff we deal on a daily basis. As I work on my fourth year living in Pennsylvania as a mom of three girls, I think it is safe to say that it is TIME to start hanging out with other moms over some wine. Am I right?
Thanks to my friend Leah F. she wrote the post below about our recent Moms Night IN where it only required moms to come to her house to hang, drink, and chat. It was the most amazing FOUR hours of my life as a mom. I loved hanging out and being real.
When you finish reading, tell me what you miss most as a mom.
Wine and Cheese Mom’s Night
What do you do for a Mom’s night out, a movie, the local restaurant, or bar? How often do you enjoy a Mom’s night IN? I recently had a Mom’s night in party at my home, but I wanted to make it a little more special than just hanging out in our comfy clothes, so I had a Wine and Cheese night. I invited three girlfriends and asked them to bring their favorite bottle of wine and I would provide the rest. I had so much fun planning and decorating the table, and since I was having this party in September I thought I would make it a fall theme. I have a small front yard with decorative lights hanging from our pretty tree, and I thought it would be nice to enjoy the cool fall evening outside, so with that in mind I went to HomeGoods to see what fun things I could get to decorate my table. I wanted to keep it simple, but pretty. I purchased a large glass votive with a white candle, I made sure the candle had no scent so as to not mix the cheese and wine flavors with a strong candle. I also purchased cloth napkins, a beautiful gold color and a patterned napkin with fall colors. I think it’s fun to mix and match cloth napkins with a similar color scheme. The napkins and the candle were all I needed to get started, I had everything else I needed at home.
The day before the party, I went to Wegmans to pick out the cheese and additional food items. When serving cheese, I like to get three different kinds, I think that is a good variety and enough to serve four ladies. You can really choose any type of cheese you want, but I went with some basic flavors, triple creme blue cheese, a cheddar type cheese, and Chimay cheese. After you choose your cheeses, you are ready to add different accompanying items. I chose a big bunch of red grapes, a couple beautiful red pears and some dried apricots. Again, you can add to your table with anything from honey to jam to crusty bread. After I picked out the cheese and the fruit, I headed over to the cracker aisle. I found these bread sticks called “wine sticks”, how perfect is that?! I grabbed two boxes and a large box of assorted water crackers. I like to use plain crackers because the cheese is so flavorful you don’t want to ruin it with a strong flavored, really salty cracker. That’s it, that’s all you need to get your party started!
The evening of the party I began to get set up outside, I used a small square table, it helped provide a cozy place where we could all sit around the table and talk and easily reach all the food. I used a white table-cloth, since I had the colored cloth napkins. I put the votive and the candle in the center of the table, and laid the cloth napkins out neatly fanned out in the upper left corner with the silverware and small appetizer plates near by. To the right I used a wicker pumpkin as my set up area for the wine glasses and wine opener. I also set out a water pitcher with small glasses, it’s always nice to have water available for those who might not be able to drink or who just need to quench a thirst. I used plain white appetizer plates and serving dishes, I think it looks elegant when you use plain white dishes, it helps to enhance the colors of the food and wine. I left the cheese whole and placed it on the plate with the crackers and grapes and thinly sliced pear. I put those wine sticks in a stemless wine glass, it was something different rather than just laying them out on a plate. I lit the candle and just like that our wine and cheese night was ready to go!
It really was very simple to put together and it was so fun decorating a pretty table for the ladies to enjoy! My girlfriends arrived with their wine and we opened the bottles and served ourselves some cheese and started talking and laughing the night away! One of my friends brought a delicious chocolate wine cake with whipped cream, which was a delightful way to end the evening! Enjoying a Mom’s night out is always a much-needed reprieve to our busy lives, but a Mom’s night IN can be just as fun and elegant!
