Candy Cane Pie with Stonyfield Yogurt (Recipe) This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt. All recipes and opinions are my own. We're right at one week away from Christmas and the spirit is flowing in our home. Cookies have been made (and mostly already eaten) and the candy canes are taunting us to create something yummy. What better way to use candy canes than in a festive candy cane pie! This is a very simple recipe and one that doesn't require too much planning or prep time. The only ingredients are Stonyfield Organic Greek yogurt (vanilla bean of course), cream cheese, whipped cream, and a pie crust! Oh, and don't forget the candy canes!! For a smooth consistency I used my electric mixer (referral link to Amazon for the mixer I use) to mix the whipped cream, cream cheese and yogurt. I added a few drops of peppermint extract to make the peppermint flavor more noticeable. Once the mixture is creamy and blended then you can stir in the crushed candy canes. Then you ... [ Read More ]
Celebrate the Whole You with Stonyfield & prAna
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and prAna as part of the Stonyfield Yogetters Bloggers Network. Mother's Day is tomorrow and our house is in chaos; but what's new! We just started demolition on our kitchen for a very overdue remodel. Our kitchen is the original kitchen from 1985 and the cheap laminate cabinets have been painted over (poorly) several times. As of Friday afternoon the remnants of our old kitchen are now gone and we're left with dust and dreams. Day 2 demo progress! Now we break for the weekend. Cabinets installed on Monday! #kitchenrenovation A post shared by Calley Pate (@backtocalley) on May 12, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT Needless to say I'm learning to live in chaos. We saved out the essential items needed to live day to day and packed up our plates, glasses, and pantry. Most of our kitchen is now packed in boxes and bags in our garage; while the essentials are sitting on our dining room table in the living room. Even the refrigerator and ... [ Read More ]
Thank You Stonyfield Yogurt from an Unknown Family at Publix
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt. Dear Stonyfield Yogurt, Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to teach my teenager how to Pay it Forward. I have been blessed to be a Stonyfield YoGetter Blogger for several years and you've given me so much more than delicious organic yogurt. This month you gave me a $50 Visa Gift Card to use any way that I like to "Pay it Forward." There were no rules and no restrictions on how or when we used the gift card. Tonight my son and I made a quick trip to the local Publix store to pick up dinner for the night. On the way to the store I asked him if he knew what it meant to Pay it Forward. He hadn't really ever heard the term before but loved my plan and was excited to help me out. We walked into Publix and purchased a $50 Gift Certificate. I was hoping the store would be busier than it was, but it was a very quiet night in the store. We didn't need much for dinner so we had time to walk through the store. I was ... [ Read More ]
Raising Dirty Kids
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and Toms of Maine. My kids love to be dirty, and I'm OK with that. I have to remind them to brush their teeth. I have to remind them to take showers. I have to remind them to put on clean clothes in the morning. I'm not sure that my teenage son knows how to use deodorant properly. I have to remind them to eat a healthy breakfast. I've come to realize that this is just my life, I'm the one destined to remind my children to give a shit about the way the look when they leave the house. I'm actually really glad I don't have kids that take hours to get ready before they leave the house. I'm not a high maintenance girl, but it can take me 30-45 minutes to get ready to go anywhere. Even if we're just going to Walmart, I feel the need to look "put together." This has relaxed a lot over the past few years and I'll actually leave the house without makeup and with my hair in a ponytail, but only if I know I won't see anyone that I know. If ... [ 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 ]
Summer Cravings with prAna and Stonyfield
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and prAna. Enter to win a pair of prAna Kara Jeans at the bottom of this post! Yesterday was the last day of school for the kids and it's officially summer break! We celebrated the end of the school year with a pool party for my kids and their friends; and the adults sat around and reflected on how fast they are growing up. Today we have relaxed around the house and haven't done much. I've had to work all day so the kids have been really bored, but I did stop for an afternoon swim and to make some yummy treats with them. Since it's hot outside and it's summer I decided we'd make some frozen yogurt bites for when they are done with their afternoon swim. I almost always have Stonyfield yogurt in the refrigerator. Stonyfield Frozen Granola & Yogurt Bites #SummerCravings Supplies needed: Stonyfield Whole Milk Greek Yogurt - Vanilla Bean Fruit Juice (your choice of flavors) Granola Muffin tin or mini-muffin ... [ Read More ]
Acai Mixed Berry Smoothie Bowl Recipe
We just got back from a week in Hawaii and I've fallen in love with acai bowls and I had to try and recreate one when we got home. It's kind of like eating a smoothie in a bowl with a few ingredients not blended in the smoothie. If you'd blend it in a smoothie, you can use it in a smoothie bowl. I've used a few of the new samples I've received from R.W. Knudsen and Stonyfield through their blogger ambassador programs as the key ingredients. The key to the smoothie bowl is to make it really thick so that the toppings will sit on the top and not sink into the smoothie. I learned this the hard way with my first batch and everything just sank to the bottom of the bowl. Next time I made it I will probably add a banana to make it even thicker. Acai Mixed Berry Smoothie Bowl Serving Size 1 Large Bowl Ingredients: 1 container of Stonyfield's new Organic Whole Milk Greek Yogurt (Honey) 1 cup of fresh fruit (Strawberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries) 2 TBS R.W. Knudsen ... [ Read More ]
Shopping Organic at Walmart
I don't do a lot of food shopping at Walmart, but there are times when I'm already there for household items and find myself picking up a few essentials before heading home. On a recent trip to Walmart I noticed that they are now selling Stonyfield yogurts in the dairy section. I'm very excited to see my favorite yogurt now available in more stores. In the past I could only get them at our local Publix or Whole Foods, so this is a huge step for Stonyfield!! Each time I shop I'm seeing more and more organic foods at our local Walmart. It's refreshing to have affordable and easily accessible options available to more families who may not have found them at other stores. Some of the other organic brands that I've found at our local Walmart include: Heinz organic ketchup Honest Kits juices RW Knudsen juices Earth's Best Wild Oats organic canned soup Muir Glen organic salsa Plum Organics baby and toddler foods Ella's Kitchen organic baby and toddler ... [ Read More ]
Breakfast Granola Cookies & Stonyfield Yogurt
Less than one week until Christmas and I'm finally starting to get in the holiday spirit. There's something about being in the kitchen that brings it out in me. I'm able to recharge and relax offline and use my creative energy in other ways. The kids are out of school for 2 weeks and a little time in the kitchen with mom will entertain them for a few minutes at least...and keep them offline as well. Today we decided to make some breakfast cookies for the coming week. This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt & Nature's Path Organics. I absolutely love oatmeal cookies and peanut butter cookies, so I decided to see how I could tweak some of my favorite recipes into something a little more healthy for breakfast. Breakfast + cookies = easy mom trick to get your kids to eat something good! The ingredients are pretty simple; 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, 1 cup Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, 1 egg, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter. I almost always have ... [ Read More ]