The recipes in this post are brought to you through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Markets. About a week ago a huge box of goodies arrived from Sprouts Farmers Market full of pantry staples from their private label. My box arrived on a day when we were running all over town and it sat in the trunk of our Jeep until about 10pm. We had errands to run after school, then we had our Girl Scout meeting, ran by son up to a youth group meeting, grabbed a quick dinner with some friends, back to get my son and finally home to get both kids ready for bed. It was such an exhausting day, but my kids really wanted to help me open the box. This was the box that never ended, the goodies were packed deep in the box. It was a fun box to open. Lots of spice, some sweet heaven in a jar (i.e. Cookie Butter), and a few essentials that will stock our pantry for a while. We (almost) immediately opened the jar of Cookie Butter for a quick snack before heading off to bed! If you missed my ... [ Read More ]
Sprouts Farmers Market coming to Carrollwood
This post is written through a partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. It doesn't take long for the news to spread when something new is headed to your neighborhood. Several months ago some friends circulated a post on Facebook about a new farmers market grocery store that was going in down the street from us. The building has been under construction for months and there are no signs out front yet. Fast forward to December of last year when one of their communication specialists reached out to me about working on an upcoming campaign to announce the store to the Tampa Bay area. I was very curious to know if this was the same store I had heard about earlier in the year. Is Sprouts Farmers Market coming to Tampa Bay?? Is there really going to be a new place for me to shop locally for natural and organic foods...without having to drive 20+ minutes to "the other guys?" Yes!!!! Sprouts Farmers Market is opening several stores in the Florida area in 2017; including Tampa! The ... [ Read More ]
Tips for Simplifying Your Holiday
This post is sponsored by Good Food Made Simple #SimplifyTheHolidays Is holiday stress getting to you? Too much family drama? Too many things to mark off your list? Too many gifts to buy and ship? If there is one thing that my parents taught me, it's that the holiday's shouldn't be about "things" and shouldn't stress you out. Here are some tips that help our family enjoy the holidays and reduces our stress level. Give the Gift of Experiences. Christmas presents don't always have to be "things," they could be special experiences like a day at the park with mommy, or a special weekend getaway to see some holiday lights, or a full day unplugged from distractions. Your kids will love their special time doing things with you and making memories. Limit the Gift Count. Don't feel like you have to indulge your children with every gift on their wish list. If they are like my kids, that wish list will keep growing and growing and growing. We stick with 1-2 big gifts and a few ... [ Read More ]
How to Incorporate Vegetable Juice into Your Recipes
I was sent a sampling of R.W. Knudsen vegetable juices this month as part of their blog ambassador program and was scared that I'd never end up using them. I've never been a fan of vegetable juices by themselves, so I decided to try to use them in other recipes to hide some vegetables from my kids. I was really surprised at how well they worked with some of our favorite recipes. We received Tomato Red Bell Pepper juice, Tomato Sriracha and Carrot juice. All of the juices are organic and only have 2-3 ingredients. Did I mention that these juices were a little intimidating to me? These are not things that I would normally add to my grocery cart. Since my Instant Pot (IP) has become my new best friend, it's only natural that my favorite recipes were ones cooked in the IP. The key with most IP recipes is that you need a liquid to create steam and pressure used in cooking the meal. Instead of using water, vegetable juices can be use and will add a more savory flavor to your ... [ Read More ]
Have a Wild Breakfast with Barbara’s Bakery New Wild Rewards
Mornings are always a bit WILD around our house as we try to get dressed and out the door for school. Our current struggle? My kids don't want to eat breakfast anymore. I'm always reminding them to sit down for a few minutes and eat something - anything - before they leave. I just received a new box of goodies from Barbara's as one of their Mom-Tourage Blog Ambassadors that will help me with this daily battle. Barbara's Bakery makes an entire line of Non-GMO, wholesome cereals that my kids actually like. My daughter loves the wild animals on the boxes, her current favorite is the little fox on the Chocolate Chip Snackimals. Now my kids can make interact with these animals online with Barbara's Wild Rewards program. To watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n7Bh1N3LXXw Their new interactive wildlife education platform, Barbara's Wild Rewards, is designed to make it fun and entertaining for kids and families to learn about endangered and imperiled species while ... [ Read More ]
How to Cook Steel Cut Oats in an Instant Pot
You may have noticed my love of my Instant Pot lately? I've found a new way to use it to make breakfast even more fun and stress-free. I was sent some Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats for this months Stonyfield Yogurt campaign. Before this month I had never before cooked steel cut oats and really wasn't sure how they were different from regular "quick oats." They are essential the same oat, but processed a little differently. Quick oats have been steamed and pressed to make them "quick" to cook. Steel cut oats are relatively unprocessed, but can take a lot longer to cook. With an Instant Pot you can prepare a single serving or a family-sized batch in only 10 minutes (20-30 including prep time and for natural release), as compared to 7-8 hours in a slow cooker. You won't have to watch the pot or stir anything once you have it started. If you want to learn more about Instant Pots you may want to read, What is an Instant Pot and Why Do I Need One. Directions for cooking steel ... [ Read More ]
Breakfast for Dinner – Apple Ginger Oatmeal
There are some nights when I just don't feel like preparing a full family meal. Tonight was one of those nights so I decided we were going to do breakfast for dinner. A nice hearty bowl of oatmeal was just what we needed to fill us up on a lazy Friday family night. Even though it's still in the 90's here in Florida, it's starting to feel like Fall in other regions. Most people crave all that pumpkin spice everything, but Fall for me means I crave apple everything. I received a bottle of Apple Ginger juice from R.W. Knudsen as part of their blog ambassador program so I decided to use it when making my oatmeal. I have to say that it was a GREAT decision. The kids both asked for a second bowl. I used steel cut oats for the first time and they are a much sturdier oat than regular quick oats. You can cook them on the stove, slow cooker, or my favorite, in an Instant Pot. Cooking times will vary depending on which cooking method you choose. Ingredients: 1 cup steel cut ... [ Read More ]
What is an Instant Pot and Why do I Need One?
I've jumped on the Instant Pot (IP) bandwagon and so should you! Several months ago some friends were raving about this thing called an Instant Pot and I had never heard about it. I later learned that it's a modern day pressure cooker. The only time I've ever seen a pressure cooker in use is at my Grandma's, she always makes the best pot roast with potatoes and veggies. The meat would just melt in your mouth and the veggies were cooked to perfection. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are my own and I truly love these products or I wouldn't share them with you. An Instant Pot is a pressure cooker is similar to a slow cooker (or crock pot), but cooks much quicker and under pressure. There were a few features that my friends explained to me that sold me on this thing instantly (pun intended). Here are just a few.... Frozen chicken breasts or things can cook in less than 30 minutes! It makes hard boiled eggs super easy and quick, less than 5 min. ... [ Read More ]
Back to School Lunch Inspiration
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield as part of their YoGetters Blog Ambassador program. Affiliate links present in this post. It's that time again, school started back this last week and my daughter wants to pack her lunch this year. Our lunchbox station is overflowing so I'm kind of glad these supplies will get some use again this year. Last year I think both of the kids bought lunch 90% of the time. Now, to find fast easy lunch ideas that are healthy(ish) that won't come back home (or get traded). Our friends over at Stonyfield, Justin's and PackIt sent us a few goodies to get started, the rest were found at our local WalMart and Publix stores. My daughter is pretty easy with the main course, she really likes ham and/or turkey sandwiches. The only tricky part is that her school is a nut-free school, so the Justin's will have to stay at home for our afternoon snack. Here are a few ideas to help kick start your school lunches and bring a little variety. Main Course: ... [ Read More ]
Stonyfield Bloggers on the Farm
If you follow me on social media, you may have seen some of my recent pictures from the Stonyfield Farm Tour (#StonyfieldFarmTour) in Vermont last week. The Stonyfield company selected 13 of their blog ambassadors to tour 3 farms in Vermont. This is the second year that they held their Farm Tour and I'm so thankful that they invited me (and paid my expenses....in case you were wondering), this is a trip that I won't soon forget. The Stonyfield blog ambassadors are made up of the Yo-Getters and the Clean Plate Club. Most of the bloggers have never met and live across the US. We all blog about different topics; some of us are lifestyle bloggers, some are food bloggers, some are eco-friendly bloggers, and I'm sure there are a few more niches that we belong to. We all share one thing, we love Stonyfield and their mission to bring healthy and organic food into our homes. This year's Farm Tour bloggers..... Welcome to the 2016 Stonyfield Blogger Farm Tour Team! Follow our ... [ Read More ]