One of my good friends is having a baby girl in a few months hosted a baby shower brunch this morning.  I hadn’t been to a baby shower in many years and have never been to a brunch shower.  She decided to have the brunch because she wanted her other daughter to be able to come and still be able to have a normal nap time.  It was such a great idea and turned out so cute.

A few weeks ago she asked if I would help her prepare the food because of my “background.”

 Of course I wanted to help in a baby shower brunch, breakfast is one of my favorite meals of day and who doesn’t love it for lunch too?  She wanted to keep it simple and easy so that it wasn’t too hard for her to set up with the help of her mother.  She decided to have a waffle bar, a couple salads, parfaits, and cheesecake pops.

She found the idea for the waffle bar on Pinterest and I thought it was a great idea.  To save time in the morning, I came over the day before and made the waffles and froze them.  In the morning all my friend had to do was heat them in the oven and keep them warm until the guests arrived.  She had quite the assortment of berries and sweet sauces to top the waffles and chocolate chunks to make it even better.

I came over in the morning to help her make the parfaits and cake pops.  It is so easy making a delicious parfait.  You can’t really go wrong with yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.  My friend had the batter mixed already for the cake pops so all we had to do was make them.   She found this wonderful recipe for chocolate caramel pops…they were dangerously delicious.  Her mother threw together some easy salads for a healthy option.



It was a huge success.  A lot of my friends family were able to attend and a couple of her friends.  The food was a huge success and everyone had a great time.  I forgot how much happiness and joy is at a baby shower.

Now I can’t wait to meet her little girl.

Go green and stay keen,

Julie

This week we were in charge of bringing post-game snacks at both Liam and Hannah’s soccer games.  I think that it is great that the families of the players take turns bringing a small snack and drink for the kids at the end of a game.  It is rewarding to them whether they win or lose, they know there’ll be snacks to lift their spirits or keep them going.

Some of the families bring homemade goods and other have brought store bought snacks, either one it is clear that the kids do not mind what it is, they just want it.  For my snack I wasn’t sure if I would have time to make two different snacks but it turned out that the restaurant was pretty calm on Monday and I was able to come up with some great refreshing summer snacks. Here is what I came up with…

Apple Dippers-

Ingredients-
• 6 Apples, cut into wedges
• Toothpicks
• Nut butter
• Peanuts, almonds, or mini chocolate chips


Instructions-

• Stick a toothpick into each wedge and dip in nut butter then into the peanuts, almonds, or chocolate chips.  They were a big hit at the soccer game!

Frozen Fruit Kabobs-

Ingredients-

• Apple
• Wooden skewers
• Grapes
• Watermelon
• Melon
• Melted Chocolate

Instructions-

• Skewer all the fruit and drizzle with the melted chocolate.  Freeze on a baking sheet for about 1-2 hours or until frozen.  Enjoy!  (photo before the drizzle )

Party Pinwheels-

Ingredients-
• 2, 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese
• 1, 1 oz. package of ranch dressing mix
• 2 green onions, minced
• 4, 12 in. tortillas
• ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup celery, diced
• 1, 2 oz. can sliced black olives
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese



Instructions-

• In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and green onions.  Mix thoroughly and spread on tortillas and sprinkle the red pepper, celery, black olives, and cheese on the mixture and roll the tortillas and wrap in tinfoil.
• Chill for at least 2 hours and slice the rolls into slices.

Enjoy!

Both Liam and Hannah’s teams really like the snacks.  The kids kept asking Liam and Hannah if I would bring snacks again before the season was over.  I had to laugh at Liam boasting that he gets to eat delicious food all the time.  It made me proud that he felt like bragging about how great my baking and cooking is.  I am looking forward to the next time I bring snacks for the team, I just hope I have enough time to live up to the standards now.

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

It is so important to keep my kids stomachs from growling, especially while they are at school learning.  Today Liam and Hannah helped me make some granola bars for them to keep in their backpacks and pack in lunches.  Making granola bars is a fun and easy way to make sure there are good nutrients to keep your kids focused all day long.

Here are three easy granola bars that we made today.  I promise, they are kid friendly!

Chocolate Brownie Granola Bars

Ingredients-
•    1 ½ cup rolled outs
•    1 cup chopped nuts
•    1 cup walnuts- food processed into small pieces
•    2 cups pitted dates
•    ¾ cup cocoa powder
•    ¼ cup natural peanut butter
•    ¼ cup agave nectar

Instructions-
•    Use a food processor and process walnuts until they are in small pieces, add the cocoa powder and process to combine together.  Remove and set aside.
•    Process dates until they are small chucks and have a dough like consistency then add the walnut and cocoa mixture and process.
•    In a large mixing bowl, empty the mixture and add the oats and nuts and stir to combine thoroughly.
•    In a small skillet warm the agave nectar and peanut butter on medium heat until it is pourable and pour over the mixture.  Mix thoroughly, I like to use my hands.
•    Spread in a lined small pan to your desired thickness and press down to compact.  Freeze for about 15-20 minutes then chop into bars. 
•    Store in the freezer or fridge.  Enjoy your brownie granola bars!

Easy Peanut Butter Pretzel and M&M Granola Bars

Ingredients-
•    2 cups old fashioned oats
•    1 cup rice krispies
•    ½ cup pretzels, chopped
•    ¼ cup mini M&M’s
•    4 tbsp. butter
•    ¼ cup honey
•    ¼ cup peanut butter
•    ¼ cup brown sugar
•    1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions-
•    Mix the oats, rice krispies, pretzels, and mini M&M’s in a large bowl.
•    In a medium saucepan melt the butter, honey, peanut butter and brown sugar and bring to a boil then simmer on medium for about 2-3 minutes constantly stirring.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  Pour the mixture over the oat mixture and stir together until everything is well combined.
•    Pour the mixture in an 8x8 inch lined pan and press and pack everything down.  Sprinkle extra M&M’s if desired and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, remove and cut.
•    Store in the fridge.  Enjoy!

Easy 30 Minute Granola Bars

Ingredients-
•    2 cups old fashioned oats
•    1 cup brown sugar
•    1 cup whole wheat flour
•    ½ tsp. baking soda
•    ½ tsp. baking powder
•    1 tsp. cinnamon
•    1 tsp. salt
•    1 tsp. vanilla
•    ½ cup honey
•    Any dried fruit or chocolate chips you might have on hand

Instructions-
•    Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
•    Mix all the ingredients and press into a greased 11X13 pan.  It will be crumbly but press down really hard until a little resemblance of dough forms.  Bake for about 20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned.
•    Let cool and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

These are my “growling” fixes.  What are your favorite granola bars?

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

Happy Super Bowl Sunday all you football fans out there!  :) Although I am not a football fan, my husband is quite the enthusiast and wanted to have “the guys” over for a Super Bowl party this evening.  Of course I am always up for cooking and having a little get together at our house.  My husband asked me to secretly make only vegetarian snacks for the guys then at the end of the night tell them.  I had to laugh a little bit, he wants to see if they notice and then surprise them.  Of course I am not going to say no to making yummy vegetarian “game day man snacks.”

Little do our unsuspecting victims know, the day associated with eating copious amounts of stereotypical “meaty” and “manly” food is going to be very different at our house.
At first you might think creating meatless Super Bowl Sunday snack menu would be difficult, but don’t fear, I have cracked the code.  Why not try surprising your guests and have vegetarian snacks?  Here is what we have made-

Oven-Roasted Spicy Potato Wedges

Ingredients-
•    6 russet potatoes, cut into wedges
•    ½ cup olive oil
•    1 tsp. paprika
•    ½ tsp. garlic powder
•    ¼ - ½ tsp. cayenne pepper, depending on your spicy taste
•    Salt and ground pepper
Instructions-
•    Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 
•    On a foil lined baking sheet toss the potatoes with the oil, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.  Spread evenly on the sheet and roast for about 25-30 minutes turning once until they are golden brown.  Enjoy!

Not so Pigs in a Blanket

Ingredients-
•    Cheddar Cheese
•    Vegetarian “hot dogs,” your preference, I chose Field Roast
•    Crescent rolls, your preference again
Instructions-
•    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil
•    Roll out the crescents and begin wrapping your pigs in the blankets.  I sliced the hot dogs into quarters, topped with the cheese and rolled them in triangle crescents.
•    Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and enjoy!

Mini Nacho Pizzas

Ingredients-
•    4 English muffins, halved
•    ½ cup pepper jack cheese, or cheddar
•    ½ cup roasted tomato salsa
•    ½ cup refried beans
•    2 small jalapenos, thinly sliced
•    ½ cup onion, thinly sliced
•    4 tbsp. tomato, diced
•    Additional toppings if desired, I used olives
Instructions-
•    Preheat oven to about 350 degrees F.
•    Top the English muffin halves with salsa, then refried beans, and cheese.  Add the rest of the toppings and sprinkle some extra cheese on top.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool and add extra toppings if desired and enjoy!

What Super Bowl party would be complete without Taco Dip?

Ingredients-
•    1, 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese
•    1, 16 oz. container of nonfat sour cream
•    1 package taco seasoning mix
•    ¼ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
•    1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•    3 chopped tomatoes
•    1 green bell pepper, chopped
•    1 small can of black olives drained
Instructions-
•    Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning in a medium sized mixing bowl.  When thoroughly mixed and smooth, spread on about a 9-inch serving dish.  Top with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pepper and olives.  Enjoy!

Jalapeño Poppers

Ingredients-
•    12 jalapeño peppers
•    8 oz. softened cream cheese
•    ½ tsp. kosher salt
•    Pepper to taste
Instructions-
•    Heat oven to broil and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
•    Slice the jalapeños in a “T” shaped and open the flaps and scrape the inside to remove the seeds and ribs.
•    In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and salt, add pepper to taste and mix until smooth and combined.  Spoon the mixture into the jalapeño’s.  Place them on the baking sheet and broil for about 5 minutes, rotate the pan and broil until they begin to char.  Remove and let cool.  Enjoy!

I can’t wait for the guys to be shocked that we have delicious snacks for the game but it is all vegetarian!
Have a happy Super Bowl,

Julie

Occasionally I suffer from migraines when I’m stressed or don’t get enough sleep; today has been one of those unfortunate days.  I am not one to immediately turn to pills to cure something that might have a more natural from.  I was searching the internet and found several people talking about how magnesium can help with migraines.  Although it is not a definite cure, I was up for it.

I read the many people who suffer from migraines have low levels of magnesium which is an essential nutrient for many of our body’s functions.  By no means am I a nutritionist or doctor, but I read with a specific ratio of magnesium and calcium there is a way to reduce the frequency of migraines.  Instead of trying to concoct a formula I turned to foods that are naturally high in magnesium like:  almonds, cashews, dates, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, dark chocolate…and the list goes on.

Although that list of foods high in magnesium sounds great, I thought I could one up just eating the nuts or seeds plain.  I modified one of my recipes to incorporate magnesium rich ingredients into yummy no-bake bites.  Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients-
• 1 cup of seeds, nuts, or bran…what have you prefer or have at home
• ¼ cup of dates
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder

Instructions-
• Put the 1 cup of preferred seed, nut and/or bran into a food processor and process until it is the texture of sand.  Put the processed mixture into a bowl and set aside.
• Place the dates into the processor and pulse until chopped.  Add tahini, molasses, and seed or nut mixture and process until well mixed.  (It should have a consistency to make a ball out of the blend, if not add more molasses or tahini)
• Make little bite sized balls with your hands and roll in cocoa powder.  Enjoy your magnesium packed power bite sized ball.

I think they actually taste really good and have migraine fighting foods that hopefully will help my migraines from coming again.

Do you have a natural remedy to fight migraines? I would love to find out!

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie