Friday Favorites and No Bake Cookies
I thought it would be fun to share our favorites from each week. I normally cook something new that I want to share or maybe it is a recipe we have on repeat. I also see a lot when I am shopping online for clients or have companies reach out to me with great products that I think you would be interested in. So here is what has caught our eye this past week-
Watermelon Cake for National Watermelon Day
Did you know that today, August 3rd is National Watermelon Day? I have had THIS Watermelon Cake Recipe pined for a long time on Pinterest. I have thought about making it so many times, specifically for one of my daughters birthday, but they requested a real cake rather than watermelon (weird!). I have a calendar that I got free in the mail and it has all of the made-up Holidays listed. Like national doughnut day, sibling day, root beer float day (which is actually this Friday 8-5). I noticed that August 3rd was national watermelon day. What a perfect excuse to try this cake! So here is our version of it…through pictures! Because it was that easy.
Favorite Healthy Dinner
We all have that go-to dinner that we make once a week or several times a month. It is just easy and we know everyone likes it so we make it over and over and over. Our favorite healthy dinner involves salmon, some veggies and fruit. I just cooked our salmon a new way and it is a game changer for us!
Healthy Book Club Party with Lettuce Wraps and Cupcakes
My oldest daughter, Ella is eight years old and has been on a kick of wanting to cook things “all on her own.” She has been even more inspired while we have been reading our new favorite book series Disney Star Darlings. She has conquered French Toast, a smoothie and can make a mean peanut butter sandwich for her lunch, so naturally dinner was next. Both of her Aunts were in town this past week so we decided to make a fun “Night of Celebration” like they do in the Star Darlings books. Complete with Tye-Dyed Cupcake Jars and Colorful Healthy Lettuce Wraps, such a easy and great dinner recipe.
Homemade Bread and my Mom
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad an sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46. My mom has been on a mission to accomplish that exact scripture. She found a homemade bread recipe that she loved and made a goal to bake one loaf of bread a day and give it to someone. She says “nothing is better than getting a loaf of warm homemade bread.” I couldn’t agree with her more. This is her favorite recipe and you won’t believe how much it cost to make.
The Best Healthy Brownies and why I eat Paleo
I have been eating Paleo for close to three years now. I started with a 6 week challenge at my Crossfit. I thought it would be fun to try something new and push myself. Little did I know how much I would love eating this way. I never feel stuffed or bloated. I was also amazed at how my performance in my workouts improved and my general outlook on my body image improved. These brownies save me and everyone loves them and believe it or not they are only four ingredients and no baking! I also share our two favorite healthy dinner meals.
Party Slush and Party Favor
This slush recipe has been in our family for four generations. I had asked my mom for family recipes when I was in middle school for a school assignment, this slush was one of the recipes along with caramel popcorn and apple cobbler. It was my great grandma Smart’s recipe, so that is why I call it Smart Slush. I like to make this slush for Holiday parties, Showers or Book clubs really any and every party. Perfect for Easter this coming weekend.
Best Rocky Mountain Cookies
It was my hubbies birthday this past week. He loves cookies more than anyone I have ever met. When he travels for work he makes sure to go and get cookies from the store and some milk to have at night. He has really high metabolism, so I basically we all should hate that he can eat cookies nightly and still stay so lean. So when deciding what to make him for his Birthday dessert cookies were a given. They had to be regular full fat cookies, not paleo or anything healthy. These are the cookies that I made…
Easy Overnight French Toast
We have had family staying with us for the past 5 days. We absolutely love visitors. This time we had 6 guests staying with us. I like to always make a nice breakfast for everyone. Then we end up eating lunch and dinner out when we are sightseeing. This is one of my favorite breakfasts to make for a lot of people. You can make it the night before then pop it in the oven right when you wake up to let bake for an hour. There is nothing better than the smell of cinnamon bread to wake up to!
Favorite Birthday Traditions and Crepes
Our oldest daughter just turned 8! The day before her birthday she kept asking “what time is it?” I would ask why are you so worried about the time? She said “because I want it to be time for bed so I can wake up and be 8!” She hardly said two words about what gift she wanted, she just wanted to be 8. It was so cute. I wanted to make the day extra special since she was so excited. My husband was out of town for work, and we had already went to her school and took her lunch, read a couple of books to her class and they also did an extra recess instead of allowing treats, I LOVE this idea. So for her birthday she requested crepes for breakfast and brownies and ice-cream instead of cake. I always ask them what they want for their meals and dessert.