mamachallenge | Real Solutions for Real Parents | Dallas Blog

Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

4 Ingredient Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

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Don’t let busy days (and nights) get in the way of keeping your healthy eating on track… Even if you need a little something extra like this 4 Ingredient Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. Fiber One makes your #snaccidents be good to eat and good for you.

Thanks to Acorn Influence for this yummy collaboration! 

Isn’t it funny that moms spend all that time scoping out Pinterest and creating beautiful meals plans for the family – and don’t normally end up eating any of them?

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With all the pick ups, drop offs, appointments, loads of laundry, and dishes, and making dinner for the family, there’s never really a time to sit down for a meal. It’s always on the way out the door, in the car, or after everyone has gone to sleep. Besides, when’s the last time you tried to eat meatloaf and vegetables with one hand while typing on the computer? 

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So I resort to snacks…thankfully none of them are shaped like fish or dinosaurs. And being that I want to try to make healthy decisions, but still want it to taste good, Fiber One Bars to the rescue. Whether I’m in need of some protein, a middle-of-the-day snack, or a sweet treat, there are several options with added fiber to keep my taste buds and digestive system in check. Having these buried in a bag, drawer, or the back of the pantry (away from my kids’ little fingers), has saved me many times from not just going hungry, but making sure I don’t head for something that I’ll regret again and again later. 

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When you bite into one, you never would think that you can get a box of something this good and for only around $3 a box at Walmart!

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Full of fiber and flavor, Fiber One bars make a good choice for any time of the day (especially when you’re trying to get things done!) 

Easy, No Churn 4 Ingredient Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

But with summer in full swing, there’s nothing better than a deliciously sweet bowl of dreamy creamy ice cream. So taking the best of both worlds of strawberry cheesecake and ice cream, here’s an easy recipe for 4 ingredient strawberry cheesecake ice cream that will have you looking forward to #snaccidents again and again. And with only 4 ingredients and almost no work (you don’t even need an ice cream maker.) 

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While you do use whipping cream for this summerific treat, choose a lowfat/nonfat condensed milk. Using strawberry pie filling also helps to make this ice cream next level, fresh or frozen strawberries can be substituted if you want to add more fruit and less sweetness. With just a few hours, in the freezer, your #snaccident can be transformed into a life-changing snack experience. 

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4 Ingredient Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
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Description

An easy recipe for strawberry cheesecake ice cream with four ingredients featuring Fiber One Bars.

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 1 can low fat condensed milk (14 oz)
  • 1 cup strawberry pie filling, 1 half can
  • 1–2 Fiber One Strawberry Cheesecake Bars, crumbled

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Cauliflower Recipes You Must Make

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Move over kale, cauliflower is the new star of produce! This vegetable is so versatile and full of health benefits! Try cauliflower as a great side, entree or even pizza crust with these cauliflower recipes you must make that your kids will love as much as you! *Affiliate links may be included to products used here.

I cannot begin to profess my love of cauliflower. It’s been a long road that we’ve been down together…covered in cheese, butter, or both. However, this cruciferous vegetable also plays the part not just as glutenous goodness, but also as healthy lead in many recipes – as entree, side, or both. So if you’re feeling a little kale or quinoa-ed 0ut, then open your eyes and your mouth for these cauliflower recipes you must make now. 

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A little note: Now before you get started, I highly suggest using steam bags to make your life that much easier. Since many times you’ll be using steamed cauliflower as your base, using steam bags will cut down dramatically on your time (and dishes) when making successful cauliflower recipes! I’ve used several brands, but these cheaper ones work pretty good.

Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes” or Taylor’s Taters

My daughter hates vegetables of any kind – except for potatoes, which in reality we all know aren’t veggies at all. However, I had to find a way to increase the selection of foods in her diet before my pediatrician (and her health) completely hit the wall, so one day my mom made her “Gigi Potatoes,” which she proceeded to eat the entire bowl. What she didn’t know is that my mother had made her cauliflower mashed potatoes or what she now calls “Taylor Taters.” It’s the easiest recipe in the world and around a decade ago most of us were eating due to the South Beach Diet (affiliate link) craze. However, for my little girl they were the most amazing stuff ever and she was eating healthy! 

Cauliflower Recipes to Eat Now

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Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes “Taylor’s Taters”

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
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Description

Healthy and so good, you’ll never know it was cauliflower! Perfect for kids who don’t love veggies!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2–4 tablespoons butter, optional
  • 12 cup Manchego cheese, grated
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Steam cauliflower in the microwave until soft, but not mushy (I use steam bags!)
  2. Transfer to bowl.
  3. Add butter and blend with handheld blender or emulsifier until your preferred “mashed potato” consistency.
  4. Mix in Manchego cheese
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Serve!

Notes

  • The nuttiness of the Manchego cheese and cauliflower pair perfectly for this nutritious and delicious side dish that will have them all wanting more!

Roasted Cauliflower

In a fix to get dinner on the table or want to make something else besides potatoes? Then go for the roasted cauliflower. This dish can actually be your main entree when you want to eat light on calories and not on flavor or just prefer a “veggie kind-of-night.” Paired with a Chimichurri sauce (a blend of garlic, parsley, cilantro and spices with an olive oil/vinegar), roasted cauliflower is my go-to must have for hot summer nights! And because it only takes a few steps, throw it in the oven and in minutes, you’ll come back with an impressive recipe that will have you call for triples!

And did I mention that cauliflower is full of Vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, fiber and whole lotta other good stuff? So bottom line: you should be eating this and this recipe is a good way to enjoy it, too!

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Roasted Cauliflower

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 35
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Description

Make it as your entree or your side, eat it once and you’ll want it all the time!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower, sliced vertically like a steak
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut the cauliflower into steaks, vertically (remove the stump.)
  3. Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray.
  4. Lay “steaks” on sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  6. Place in oven and allow to get browned (25 minutes.) In a hurry – broil on low until brown.
  7. Remove from heat and serve.
  8. Optional: add a chimichurri sauce for a nice kick!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2
  • Calories: 316
  • Sugar: 6
  • Sodium: 167
  • Fat: 28
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 23
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 15
  • Protein: 6
  • Cholesterol: 0

Best-Ever Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I was working on this cauliflower pizza crust recipe one day and the finished product was sitting on the table. My son, who had no idea what I was making, so the pizza and asked if he could PLEASE have a bite. “Mama, you know I love pizza!”

The words almost came out my mouth to tell him, “hey baby that’s not what you think it is”…but instead, I let him bite into it and give me his honest opinion.

Of course, kids are the pickiest eaters (especially mine I’m afraid to admit), so I was waiting for that grimace he makes when he tries something new.

Instead he said, “that’s SO good!” he shouted. “Can I have slice? We need to make more of this since I’m gonna eat it all!”

His reaction signaled this recipe was a WINNER and it would become a staple in our menu. With two gluten-free diets and a corn allergy to now add to the list, I needed more recipes to start circulating. And this recipe for Cauliflower Pizza Crust can be made with any of your own toppings. You just have to get the whole “wringing out the cauliflower part” down. It’s not a hugely quick process, but after a few times, you’ll get it even quicker than making traditional crust that still needs time to rise. Instead, you’ll already have yours out of the oven and ready to serve with this no carb, no gluten, and good cauliflower pizza recipe.

Cauliflower Pizza

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Best Ever Cauliflower Pizza

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
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Description

A pizza crust recipe that tastes better than the original – and no gluten, no carbs!

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Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, powdered
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella/pizza cheese, shredded
  • 1 egg
  • red pepper
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

To make crust

  1. Wash and dry the cauliflower.
  2. Cut off the florets, remove the stem.
  3. Using a food processor, pulse cauliflower until it’s the consistency of snow.
  4. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover (I prefer a steam bag.) Cook for 3-4 minutes.
  5. Allow cauliflower to cool slightly.
  6. In a strainer or over another bowl draped with a tea towel, place cooked cauliflower into the towel.
  7. Using the towel (the thinnest is best), and wring the cauliflower until there is no more water and it’s “dry.” (You’ll need to do this several times as there will be lots of water (more than a cup is normal.)
  8. Next place cauliflower into a dry bowl, add cheeses and seasonings and mix.
  9. Now add egg and mix until it resembles dough.
  10. Place dough on an parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray.
  11. Now roll out dough into a thin crust (be careful to not be too thin.)
  12. Once complete, place crust on cooking stone/pan and place into preheated oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes until golden brown and remove from the oven.
  13. Now add your toppings as normal for pizza.
  14. Return pizza to the oven and cook 6-8 minutes until cheese is golden.
  15. Remove from oven, cut, cool, and eat!

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Fruit and Veggie Recipes to Make NOW

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No doubt that it’s always a good time to eat more veggies and fruit, but the summer time is just RIPE for enjoying these 4 Fruit and Veggie Recipes. Mamachallenge is excited to partner with Dole to launch the 2016 Get up and Grow Together! Tour kick-off in Dallas. Compensation for time and product was provided by Dole, but all opinions shared here are those of mamachallenge.com.

No matter what type of diet plan or nutrition program you follow, one thing remains consistent: eating your vegetables and fruit helps create a healthy lifestyle. As parents we’re always trying to find ways to get our kids eating more veggies and fruit (just check out my segment on apples), but it’s just as important for us to get ours, too!

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Did you know bananas are North America’s most popular produce?

That’s just part of the reason for the Dole 2016 Get up and Grow Together! Tour. Started last year as a way to get us all by adopting a diet rich in fruits and veggies, the 42-stop tour launches in Dallas on May 26 on “National Eat More Fruit and Vegetables Day.”

Studies have shown that broccoli helps to decrease the risk of diabetes.

The tour stops at supermarkets and public events throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, offering free produce-filled recipe samples, recipe booklets and other giveaways, an interactive Kid’s Corner, and fruit and veggie-themed photo-sharing opportunities – all to showcase the fun, flavor and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

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Here’s a sneak peek at some of the recipes you’ll be able to sample at the Get up and Grow! Together stops (and now make at home, too!)

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Brussels Sprouts and Grilled Pineapple Salad

Strawberry Toasts

Café Banana Frappé

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Salad Sipper

Brussels sprouts help beat the bloat and have shown to aid in weight loss.

Go to www.dole.com/GetUpAndGrow for a complete schedule.

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Baking Up Family Memories: Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

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Sometimes in life, it’s not about what you’re making, but about the time you spent making it together. We’re excited to be Baking Up Family Memories to make Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars with Big G Cereal’s Honey Nut Cheerios, Walmart and a little help from Que Rica Vida (quericavida.com.)

Food has always been the conversation of my life. Actually, it’s my love language.

Growing up, sitting at the table eating dinner, my family would talk about what we we’re going to make for dinner tomorrow. 

For fun, we’d thumb through magazines and cookbooks looking for new recipes ideas like it was a graphic novel. And the television is always turned on to something food-related whether it’s traveling to a new country to try new cuisines or tips for making beloved dishes better from our favorite chefs. 


So it was no doubt, my kids would follow in my footsteps of food. 

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They have their own aprons, pans, and for fun, they like to create their own cooking shows.

And I love spending time with them cooking, learning and sharing tips and moments that I hope they’ll remember years with their kids, well after I’m gone. 

However, with my 7-year old getting more mature and his little sister wanting so much to be a big girl, it was time to let them try their hand in the kitchen – without mom. Well, mom was there, but I wanted to let them read the instructions, measure the ingredients and feel good about themselves for creating a recipe they had made together. 

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So even though the control-obsessed mama who didn’t want to deal with the aftermath, I let them go with a recipe we found on quericavida.com, a bilingual resource of thousands of recipes for every occasion featuring a world of flavor to delight the whole family.  Since we are now a gluten-free family (due to my hubby and children’s allergies), finding a recipe that’s easy enough for my kids to make AND GF, is like hitting the lottery. Featuring one of our favorite cereals, Honey Nut Cheerios (hooray for being GF) and just four base ingredients to make No-Bake Honey-Nut Cereal Bars, I even had the kids add a few things to make it really seem like they were “cookin’.” 

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Of course, they selected peanut butter chocolate chips:) 

Before they started, I did have them read the recipe to me and pull all the items they would need to make their “Gluden Free Breakfast Bars” (that was the 4-year old’s name for their dish.)

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From there on, it was up to them. I now was just the observer and by request, also the camera man. They had decided they also wanted to make a “Cooking Show.” 

Oh, no! But that’s half the fun, right?!?

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Actually watching them behind the lens gave me a chance to really watch them together. It was adorable how he took on showing his sister how to do things like spray the pan with cooking spray and he watching her study his actions, so she knew what to do and how to do it. 

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#ProudMamaMoment. 

Of course, we did have to enlist dad for just a moment to help microwave our mixture (on cue as you’ll see.) Other than that, they made their first dish without mom and almost no fights!

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While they may have learned a recipe, mom learned that not everything has to be perfect, clean and Pinterest perfect. Sometimes the best dishes are those that are baked up with family memories (and a little bit of Honey Cheerios.) 

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Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

  • Author: Autumn of @mamachallenge.com
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 3
  • Total Time: 78
  • Yield: 16 1x
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups Honey Nut Cheerios™ cereal
  • 1 cup chopped nuts
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Instructions

  1. Line bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper. Spray foil with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix cereal, mixed nuts, and peanut butter chips; set aside.
  2. In large microwavable bowl, microwave brown sugar, honey and butter uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until mixture is boiling. Microwave an additional 1 minute allowing mixture to boil and thicken slightly.
  3. Pour over cereal mixture in bowl; stir until evenly coated. Using buttered back of spoon, press mixture very firmly in pan. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm enough to cut.
  4. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature up to 1 week.

Notes

  • You can add ingredients to this dish like cranberries, raisins and more for the perfect cereal bar – good for breakfast or snack all day long!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 16
  • Calories: 347
  • Sugar: 11
  • Sodium: 41
  • Fat: 27
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 21
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 23
  • Protein: 10
  • Cholesterol: 2

Celebrate family cooking fun and seach for Dia de los Ninos recipes.

 

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Best Recipes Using Applesauce

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Applesauce is like magic; it’s great to eat by itself, but cooking with it, is even better! Here’s some of the Best Recipes Using Applesauce for everything from healthy snacks to hotcakes. 

For the first three years of my daughter’s life, if she consumed anything healthy, it was in a squeezable green pouch. 

She thought it was candy so she thought she was getting away with something. I knew it was Gogo squeeZ and completely natural applesauce, so there was no need to tell her differently (at least at the time.) 

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Now I can at least get a few more fruits and veggies down her, but using applesauce has become one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. As a natural sweetener, it’s ideal to use in baking and adding a little more health value to a dish. 

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Have a big jar of applesauce you need to do something with or just looking to make a healthier breakfast or snack, applesauce is your answer. 

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Healthy Cookie Dough Bites

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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup Gogo squeeZ
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Directions
  2. Line a pan with wax paper.
  3. Whisk together flour and oats in a medium bowl and set aside
  4. Beat together all of the wet ingredients until combined.
  5. Stir in flour mixture until combined.
  6. Then add chocolate chips.
  7. Scoop two tablespoons of dough; roll dough into a ball with hands. Repeat.
  8. Refrigerate until firm. 

Click on the photo for the rest of the recipes!

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Best-Ever-Carrot-Cake

 

ApplePiePancakes Go Go SqueeZ

 

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Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather Rolls

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Tired of buying snacks that you know are full of extra ingredients your family doesn’t need? Then try these Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather rolls using only applesauce, cinnamon and just a little bit of wait time. 

Between afterschool snack, after homework snack, before dinner snack, and whatever in between snack, are you kids always eating a snack? Mine too. 

However, reading the ingredient list doesn’t always make me happy or neither does looking at my grocery receipt. 

So we took matters in to our own hands to figure out what snacks my kids loved could be made a little bit easier and a little bit healthier. 

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This recipes was featured on Fox Good Day in Dallas.

After many recipes, modifications and more mess ups, I found out one of my kids favorite snacks,  fruit leather, was nothing but two ingredients and a lot of time in the oven. But when they were done, I could actually package them up so they could package them up to be easy pack and go with a little wax paper. 

All you need to make is a little time at the house so you can make sure to be around after 8-10 hours in the oven. 

I know – crazy right? If you have food dehydrator you can make this recipe there or the good ole fashioned way, in the oven. 

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Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather Rolls

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Ingredients

  • 24 ounces organic applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Set the oven to 150-170 degrees (mine only went to 170F.)
  2. Lay a silicone baking mat or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
  3. Measure 1 cup of applesauce and mix with cinnamon in a bowl, set aside.
  4. Pour the rest of the applesauce onto the set pan and spread thinly across pan. (Use a rubber spatula to help spread.)
  5. Next, use your cinnamon mixture, thinly layer lines of cinnamon applesauce onto the pan. (Looks a little like a tiger design now.)
  6. Next tap the pan gently on the counter to make everything is even.
  7. Play tray in oven and cook for 8-9 hours or until the applesauce is dried completely and the color has lost any sheen to it.)
  8. Remove from oven and let cool.
  9. Using a knife to cut into strips and roll up.
  10. Store fruit leathers in an airtight container.

 

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Healthy Junk Food Recipes

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Junk food is good…but it’s not good for you. But with these healthy junk food recipes, you can enjoy your favorites without all the fuss. 

Doughnuts. Ding Dongs. Doritos.

They taste good, but face it, they don’t do anything for your waistline or your kid’s either. They are full of sugars, processed foods, and a whole lotta stuff that you can’t pronounce, much less know what it is. 

And while every once in a while a dive into a big bag of chips does seem like it’s going to make you feel better; rest assured it won’t. But we know when you have an itch for something, sometimes you have to scratch it. And when the kids want it, it’s hard to always say no. However, with these tricks and tips we shared on EyeOpener TV, we’re taking the junk out of your junk food for healthy recipes you can enjoy anytime you want  – and you don’t have to feel bad when you eat it either. 


Healthy Donuts

These donuts may not be the healthiest, they are just better for you than what you’ll find at the bakery.  And with only TWO ingredients, this recipe also makes it easy to make too.  All you need is to combine a box of spice cake mix (you can use others, but this is my favorite) and a large can of pumpkin puree; then pour it into a greased donut pan (affiliate) this is the one I used for the TV segment). Cook ’em up and then if you want, add a little glazed icing or powdered sugar. If you need a step-by-step, here’s one with a breakdown…but it’s not rocket science. But it is good. 

Healthy Cheese Crackers

My daughter has probably eaten 100 lbs of those gold-colored cheese crackers – and that was just last week. So when we found out she was allergic to gluten, we had to stop her habit in her tracks. So off to the races we went to uncover the perfect cheese cracker recipe. The best one we found is this recipe using only five ingredients  and replacing the flour for a gluten-free flour alternative. The hardest thing about this is finding a goldfish-shaped cookie cutter (affiliate.)

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Healthy Gummies

I can take down a bag of gummy bears like no-one’s business. I knew there had to be a way to make a healthier version, but unfortunately, I’m still trying to find the perfect way. While we continue to make the perfect gummy, we did uncover a version that can do in a pinch. The only problem is that they have to be refrigerated, so there’s no putting these in your pocket Ferris Bueller style to share with your bestie on the bus. But we’re still working on that. Until then, you have this recipe to do the job from meatified. (And it only has 4 ingredients!)

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Healthy Chocolate Truffles 

When we share this recipe we love to describe the chocolately moment you experience when you bite into these healthy chocolate truffles the first time. THEN we tell them we use avocado to make these rich tasting as well as full of those avocado-riffic nutrients, vitamins and of course, Omega 3s. While people love avocado and people love chocolate, but the idea of them together isn’t always loved. But one bite of these, you’ll change your mind. Too bad you won’t just eat one bite. 

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Healthy Muffins 

There are plenty of muffin recipes out there that are super healthy; using alternative flours, vegetables, etc. Well, most the time we don’t have time for all that. We’re glad when there’s 15 minutes in the morning to even put breakfast together – much less a healthy one that your kids will eat. But for our healthy muffin recipe, just combine a bag of muffin mix (affiliate) along with one pouch of Gogo squeeZ (or approximately 1/2 cup of applesauce) along with 1/4 cup of milk. Cook as directed and serve. It’s that easy to add a 2/3 serving of fruit to the muffin without negotiating with your kids AND they’re super moist! 

Healthy Kool-Aid

Growing up I LOVED Kool-Aid. Heck, I still do. But now I know when you put a cup of sugar in anything it’s gonna be good, but all that sugar isn’t doing me any favors. And it’s really not doing your kids any favors either! So to make your own Kool-Aid with none of the “stuff” that’s not so good for kids. Using the magic formula of 4: steep 4 bags of herbal tea like this one in 4 cups of hot water.  After 15 minutes of steeping the bags, remove them and 4 cups of cold water. Last add 4 drops of Stevia  for just the sweet taste you need to remind you of your own fruit punch days. 

 

 

Don’t miss these comfort foods with a healthy (AND GLUTEN FREE) twist! 

Gluten-Free-Oven-Fried-Chicken

 

Gluten-Free-Mac-N-Cheese

 

Relax with a Ginger Mandarin Orange Sparkletini

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Did a kid vomit on you today? Did someone dent in the side of your car at the gym? Did the grocery store run out of your favorite coffee creamer? Did someone at work get the promotion you know you should have gotten?

Those are the kinds of things that happen that can make your day go from awesome to awful in about 2.5 seconds.


While a spa day is a great way to relax and take your own time out from the stress of everything, it’s not always in the schedule or the budget. However, there are some days that a little “bubbly water” and a little time to yourself to take a relaxing bubble bath is just the way to let go. Just so happens, I like my bubbles to drink with a little kick.

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For me, I’d love if I could runaway for a few days, but sometimes, an hour to myself does just enough good. For me, free time is not even possible at night time. Between dinner, homework, chores, showers, teeth brushing and all the fun “surprises” that come with it, there’s no time for me to just enjoy a little quiet moment away with me, a bubble bath and a little cocktail. So I often have to make do with a 1 pm date with the bathtub.

Yep, you gotta make do with what you have, right? I may not have much time, but I can create a “lunch” date with my Kohler. I turn off the phone, make my cocktail, run a bubble bath, throw in some bath fizzies and smelly-good bubbles, and step in to the steam. Ahh…..

That’s all it takes to just relax. This way you don’t have to ask your spouse to watch the kids or sneak away.

So after long days taking care of the kids, running around like a chicken with its head cut off and general stress of dealing with people, a SPArkletini can make it all go away. At least for the time being. And best of all, this recipe is super easy and refreshing!

1. Head to Walmart and pick up Canada Dry Sparkling Seltzer Water Mandarin Orange and Lemon Lime flavors. Right now you can even save 50¢ on ONE (1) 12-pack cans of any flavor* Canada Dry® Sparkling Seltzer Water with this coupon.

Canada-Dry-Walmart

2. You’ll also need just a few other ingredients, including ginger syrup (found at most beverage stores or a great recipe can be found here), vodka, and an orange. Yep, that’s it! (No need to make it difficult after the day you had!)

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3. You’ll need to half an orange and then slice a few slices to use for garnish. (You’ll be using some of the juice and the slice is to make it pretty.)

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4. To a shaker,  you’ll need to add 1 ounce of ginger syrup and 2 ounces of vodka. 

hands

5. Then squeeze the orange for juice into the shaker (as much as you can, but you should get at least an ounce.) Next add 1/4 cup of ice.  

Orange

6. Add the top and shake it up. (Cue the Cars, song here.)

Shaker

7. Pour in the glass. Now top it off with the good staff, the Canada Dry Mandarin Orange and you can even add the Lemon-Lime for flavor. (The more seltzer water, the more bubbles to make you happy!)

8. Top with an orange and enjoy. Orange you glad you did? 

Sparkletini

What’s your favorite way to enjoy Canada Dry Sparking Seltzer Water? Get more inspiration here.

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