Diet Trend (review)

  Trying out the trend of meal replacement.  I work out somewhat regularly but never add the additional supplements, proteins or vitamins to my daily routine.  However due to a clearance at our local box store I am trying them out.

  I picked up 3 flavors: strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.  Each box is for a 14 day supply.  The strawberry and vanilla drinks provide 16 grams of protein and are 130 calories, chocolate drink is 17 grams of protein and 130 calories.  All of them do have 3 grams of sugar and a fiber content of 3- 4 grams.  All drinks do contain milk.

  Your option is to either blend the mix with milk or water and ice.  For my first drink I choose water to blend with the chocolate.  Might as well try with the basics and fluff it up with milk next!

  Day 1 done.  I choose to drink it in place of dinner.  The directions state to add 8-12 oz of liquid.  After its blended it makes about 4 cups.  The mixture is a thick consistency like a milkshake.  The first cup was pretty hard to chug down.  I didn't like the smell and it doesn't exactly taste good.  It does have a hint of chocolate flavor and of course is the right color but it is not a glass of chocolate milk.

  The second glass seemed to be easier to drink and even tasted good mid way through surprisingly.  I did feel full.  I have had some small releases of gas via burps which I know is from the drink but nothing to uncomfortable or annoying.

  Well day 1 is done I am interested to see what the results will be after a few weeks.  I will continue to work out, eat healthy and just replace one meal.  The had part will be which meal.  I keep thinking ahead of what meal I could lose out on.  Breakfast could mean anything from a bowl of cereal, waffles or muffins.  Lunch and dinner could be anything and then a dessert could be involved in one of those as well as interrupted snacks.  This will be an interesting journey.

Let's Recycle with Pinterest

  Again in case you have never checked out Pinterest I will help you get acquainted with them.  They are a platform above any and all you have ever met.  It is a clearinghouse of everything.  If you want to make a cake, make your own play dough or make a dinosaur out of toilet paper rolls.  You will find several variations and several skill levels all available at your fingertips.

  Since I receive products I have a fair share of boxes, bubble wrap and tissue paper passing through so why not use some of that?  Today's lucky recycle job pertains to bubble wrap.  Did you know if you get enough bubble wrap in a week even kids stop playing with it.

I actually used a small piece of bubble wrap but if you have a larger piece your in charge of how many pieces or the size of your end result.

Shower cap

You also need construction paper

White paint

Glue

 The jellyfish!

  The jellyfish was so fun to see after we were done.  Grab a shower cap that you took from the complimentary bowl at the last hotel you stayed at! I know I'm not the only one to help myself. This makes this craft kind of free.  Cut strips from your bubble wrap.  How many tentacles is your call.  Glue them on around the bottom of the cap.  We hung ours in the door way but, with some fishing line and a few more jellyfish cut at multiple heights dangling down from your ceiling would make a pretty neat scene for an underwater party.

Mary had a little lamb!  My 3 year old made this craft.  I cut out the bubble wrap into the sheep shape and he did the rest.  He painted it white.  He glued the eyes and head on and then added the eyes.  This would be a great craft to accompany a certain nursery song or story pertaining to sheep!  Paint the sheep any color to accommodate your theme. (Baa Baa black sheep)

  There you go two ideas I pulled off Pinterest that I declare a #pinterestwin.   Minimal artistic talent necessary, accessible supplies and easy to make even if your trying to fill a short period of time.

Silk Yogurt (review)

  I recently tried Silk Dairy-free Yogurt Alternative strawberry flavor.   

I picked it up easily at my local grocery store.  Also available that day was peach and mango but there are a variety of other flavors to choose from.

Upon opening the yogurt you can visibly see the chunks of berries blended into the creamy base.  Consistency is definitely the same as traditional yogurt.  Flavor is definitely not.  This is a soy-based yogurt and even if you didn't know you can tell something is different.

I thought the flavor was ok.  I would like to try a different flavor to see if maybe my favorite just wasn't strawberry this time.  However if I was looking for a quick, healthy snack the 5.3 oz portion would be fine.

I tried to have fun with it after initial tasting some of it and choose to add it as a base to a smoothie bowl.

I added a couple tablespoons of the yogurt with some frozen bananas into a blender along with a few splashes of

 Silk Nutchello Chocolate with walnuts and blended it all together.  

I ate this bowl and had a little left to pop in the freezer to see how that would turn out.

My goal is to maybe buy a little more and turn them into popsicles and feed them to the unsuspecting children if the taste tests go well with them.  

They don't have to avoid dairy but 9 grams of protein is a nice bonus to slide in them! 

I was provided a coupon to purchase these Silk products  from Crowdtap for review purposes and all opinions stated are my own.

Mother Can You Not? (Book review)

  Let's get serious for a moment.  We all know that one person that provides unsolicited advice, ideas and comments.  What we do with that information and how we act all depends on who it is giving it to us.  Co-workers, friends or family all get a variety of reactions, agreements or lack of compliance.  What if it was all coming from your ever-so-wise mother.  Do you have to listen to all of it and utilize it? Do you sift through it and grab what pertains to you? Do you ignore it and brush it under the rug.

  This book is filled with hilarity to the brink.  My mother personally didn't provide me with half of the information this momma provides and you know what I may have missed out; or did I?


  This book strolls through the day and life of a mother and daughter duo! They took on the world as a team.  Momma always in the stands cheering, supporting and encouraging her daughter on!

  Suggestions weren't even settle or mild for the author as a young girl.  Momma saw her daughters goals and was willing to walk a narrow line to get things done.

  This book is a mix of pre-adolescent, young adult and adult situations.  A variety of conversations via direct communication as well as text messages.  Each chapter brings a smile and a chuckle I guarantee.

  Pick up this book as it is a quick read and worth keeping on your coffee table or other focal point in your house for a great conversation starter piece.

  I was provided this book for review purposes and although it looked like I really enjoyed it (I did) all opinions are my own.

Bucketlist Idea for Kids

  One unconventional idea I had for my daughter (only because she was a little older) was to get her in the kitchen and more familiar with the surroundings.  I wanted her to help prepare 3 meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Along with desserts: cookies, cake and pudding.

  We won't make more than one item a day and even after the items are made I ask her what she used to make it.  My hope is after a few times, we will make a binder of recipes for her reference and eventually she'll be able to make items independently with supervision.

  First meal was dinner!  Spaghetti to be exact.  A full meal with many deviations but easy to make.

Getting the noodles out was the easy part! Breaking them in half was more of a challenge.  Is it really necessary? Probably not but I break them out of habit.

Ground turkey was our meat of choice.  Open the container easiest with a utensil then the disaster I could foresee coming with just a 2 hour finger poke fight with that plastic.

  I opened the jar for her.  She is still practicing how to open her milk from McDonald's.  Young chef we add a little water to the jar to get all the sauce!

  She did great.  She knew all ingredients and I actually cooked the meat for her. Otherwise I would probably put her in a full body chemical suit to cook up sizzling meat in a frying pan.

  Sadly I didn't snap a picture of the finished product but rest assured it looked like all other spaghetti dishes.  Sadder news was that for the record I have proven over and over again even when you let your children cook with you doesn't mean they are going to eat it.

  She ate her garlic bread and slurped up some noodles but the majority of her meal was not consumed.  I can't wait for the day to come where she eats.  Maybe that's another reason I'm getting her in the kitchen more often.

Summer Bucketlist

  Summer is in full swing.  We are trying to take advantage of it and enjoy it around the extreme heat and rain.  I don't usually make a list; but instead just go explore and have fun however this year I decided to make one.  I made a list of places and activities I would like to do this summer for both myself and my kids.

  I made a list for both because their are somethings on mine that are not for children and just things I would like to do.  Now I may not get to all the items on either list but I sure hope so and will try.

  I initially made the list but asked for other choices when I was done but the kids will tend to say things they have already done throughout the year.  I think Chuck E. Cheese and us can take a break for a bit.  So on my lit are places and activities that I know they would like but are not fully aware of to even suggest.  I know that after they experience some of them they will be happy to have done it.

  Planned activities for my kids are: water balloon fight, badminton game, boat ride, fishing, nighttime fun like cooking s'mores and collecting lightening bugs.  Some planned places include camping, museums,  water park and even McDonald's so they can play in the play area.

  We have a pony swim that I would like the kids to see and maybe get them to a cavern!  My list includes a trip to Biltmore Estates  and  train ride.  I personally am considering a white water raft trip, indoor skydiving and a trip to a flower field!

  Of course this is a portion of my summer bucket list.  It's nice to have it organized and to cross an item off when we have done it.  We will still do the summer fun things like going to the beach, swimming at the pool, visiting a park or playground and take advantage of the kids free and budget deals like attending the movies, bowling and summer library programs.

  Follow us as we visit new places and experience new things this summer.  Hopefully it will inspire you with your family to try something new as well.

Beans in the Brownies (pinterest challenge day 13)

  First off if your following me on Instagram you should have already seen my video if not jump over there for a short interrogation by my child.  She knew we were going to have brownies today but was not too sure about the use of beans.  I tried to tell her we had them before and all was well but she didn't remember probably because I didn't tell her about them.

  My challenge today was bean brownies!  Why not!  Do you think the more I actually let them know what's in their food the more likely they are to actually try it outside of what I cook it in?  Hmm, your probably right, probably not.  So until then I will randomly feed them goodies with veggies.  I look forward to the day one of them wakes up and says hey mom I'm feeling really healthy today what happened.

  There are so many options you can choose on Pinterest.  You can search just brownies but I selected bean brownies.  That was the easy part after that you have to scroll through dozens of option until your content with one.  Sometimes this is easy based on ingredients I have on hand, 3 ingredient recipes, no bake, or quick preps.  So many choices.  Lucky for you, you can always add them to a board or just like it so that it's saved for another day.

  Todays recipe was brownies with beans.
 

I added the batter to the pan and let the kids smell it before I put it in the oven.  I asked what it smelled like.  They could identify chocolate as they searched to see the beans.  Everything was run through the food processor so there was very little proof of them in the batter.

Brownies done and cooling.  They spent 18 minutes cooking and making the air smell delicious so when they were done, you couldn't help but want one.

Brownies are served better with a glass of milk

Supper easy recipe.  Everything goes in the food processor then poured in the pan.  The texture was the same as a traditional brownie.  The flavor was high in chocolate and no bean flavor at all.  The kids saw the whole process and still couldn't be stopped or slowed down with the beans. Chocolate trumps beans.  10 minutes of resting and I served up a piece to everyone.  The chocolate was still gooey and melted on your fingers.  2 kids loved these brownies and wanted more so you know what that means? #Pinterestwin!

  All my pinterest challenges can be found on my pinterest challenge board.