Chloe turns 7...Lalaloopsy style

Were shall I begin....let me just say this; my little girl is growing up. I feel like she was just a couple of years old and then I blinked. Then I opened my eyes she is 7. I am in awe of the person she is becoming. Sweet, thoughtful, generous (unless it comes to her brother of course) and obsessed with Michael Jackson lately.....hmmm, not sure where that one came from. Anyhow, the birthday party was a success. All the hours spent gluing buttons and cutting out paper dolls was well worth it. Most of the girls that were invited showed up. There were lots of giggles and smiles, and thanks to my husbands ninja like time keeping skills we were able to keep to our party timeline.

Thanks to Pintrest, there was no shortage of ideas to get my creative juices flowing. In fact I had a hard time narrowing down the things I was going to do. Not wanting to spend a fortune on party stuff, I thought I would start in the thrift stores. A couple weeks before the party while her brother was at preschool I would go to all of the local stores and just browse until something caught my eye. Some days were not successful, others I scored.

I got the idea for these little mouses here on Pintrest. If you are not familiar with Lalaloopsy's, each one comes with a pet and the mouse is one of them. I was able to get everything but the felt at goodwill. The stuffing was bran new, the yarn used, and the buttons cost next to nothing since I just happen to be browsing on half off linens day. I spent a little over 10$ for everything to put this craft together. You can get the pattern and instructions here for $5 or you can do what I did and just make a pattern yourself.

I sewed on the eyes, stitched the noses and whiskers and hole punched with a mini puncher around the edges to help guide the girls where to sew. The needles I got at our local craft store, they are upholstery needles and are pretty blunt at the ends preventing any poked fingers. I made the first stitch for them and placed everything in a Ziploc bag with printed instructions attached to the bag. This was one of there goodies to take home.


Another Pintrest idea was a pin the hat on peanut game. I drew peanut on purple card stock, drew the details, and made the little hats out different colors of card stock. I was pretty happy with the finished product beings that I am not the best at drawing and the girls loved it.

The back drop I made by taking a piece of white fabric that cost me $1 at goodwill and covered a painting on canvas by tacking the fabric to the back. Then I went to town decorating it. Here is the finished product. Well part of it anyway.




I made the cupcake toppers by printing out these images on card stock and cut them out and attached to a toothpick with a tiny piece of tape.



The cake topper was a Lalaloopsy Ferris wheel toy that I found at goodwill for....wait for it......$1.29. After thoroughly washing and sanitizing it, it fit perfect on top of her two tier cake I made with Bobs Red Mill gluten free white cake cake mix, which by the way was delicious! A little heavier than regular cake still very tasty.

For the party crafts, I printed out these plain lalaloopsy dolls on card stock, cut them out and had the girls glue them onto some goody bags. Then they got to decorate them, with yarn, little pieces of fabric that I cut out in the shape of shirts, skirts, pants and dresses, markers, and buttons. Later they used the bags to collect the candy from the pinata and to bring their party favors home in.

The second craft were little button barrettes. Chloe's friend is wearing hers in the picture to the right. I found the barrettes at the craft store and had the girls glue buttons onto them using glue dots. My inspiration came from these rings made with buttons. I couldn't find the rings at the craft store, so I opted for barrettes instead.



Now onto the food. There were several things I aspired to do like these adorable button cookies and these colorful popcorn balls on sticks, but even with my amazing mother and father in law who volunteered to take the kids two weekends in a row so that I would have plenty of time to get it all done without going a little nutty, I wasn't able to bring all my ideas to fruition. (Thank you!Thank you! Thank you!) I did however, manage to get to the rainbow fruit kabobs and the milk bottle cups with licorice straws. Using glue dots, I glued some ribbon onto the bottles and placed a button in the middle. The straws were inspired by a memory from when I was a little girl. It was a special treat to drink cold milk with a red licorice straw. After I was done with the milk, I would eat the licorice which was all cold and chewy. Yum. Just snip off the ends of the licorice and you have yourself an edible straw. The girls were very happy about the licorice straws that accompanied their fresh strawberry lemonade. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of these bottles. With all the excitement there were several things I didn't manage to take pictures of. I hope the descriptions give you a good enough idea on the things I missed.

After cake and ice cream, we all went outside to take a whack at the pinata. To transform it into a Lalaloopsy pinata I bought a flower pinata and added some circles to the middle to make it look like a giant button. However in the picture I managed to get the side without the circles. (Note to self...photograph everything before the party starts) Only two whacks in and one of Chloe's besties, probably the smallest of the bunch, broke it open on her third hit. What an arm! I love the craziness of the kids scrambling to get as much candy as possible in there bags before everyone else scoops it up. Good times.

I sent each girl home with a Lalaloopsy coloring book which I found at the dollar store, some crayons, which I added a Lalaloopsy sticker to, a sucker and their little mouse sewing crafts all wrapped up with the yarn and torn fabric strips in a nice bow.


When I asked Chloe what her favorite part of her birthday party was, I was kind of expecting her to say something about a toy, or the pinata, but her response was "having my friends together with me at my house and in my room".



Mission accomplished:)

Egg breakfast muffins on the go

I know, It's been some time since I've written. What can I say, with school out and the kids home all day over the summer, I've been distracted. Now that school is back in service and I once again have some "me" time, I can tell you that you will be seeing more posts. In fact, I have several things I have been meaning to share, so stay tuned. 

Today, a friend asked me for an egg muffin recipe that I make my husband for his on the go breakfasts. It will keep hunger at bay and give you a good kick start in the morning. It's really easy to make a big batch of them and then freeze until ready to eat. It is also a great way to avoid that ever so tempting sugary laden muffin at your favorite drive through espresso stand. It can be tweaked very easily depending on your likes and dislikes. This is the way my husband likes them.

Ingredients: 

12 eggs
6 chicken or turkey breakfast sausages cooked and chopped
Small bell pepper chopped small
Feta cheese
Cumin 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste

Preparation:
Spray 12 cup Silicone muffin pan with oil

Beat eggs with salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes. Set aside

Layer muffins accordingly; sausage, bell pepper, egg mixture and top with feta cheese.

Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set

Optional additions:
Cilantro (my favorite)

Onion
Green onion
Shredded carrots
Cheese of your choice
Veggies or spices of your choosing.

Omit the sausage and replace with cooked bacon or go meatless if you like.
These can be easily made with egg substitute instead, just make sure you use the equivalent of 12 eggs.

These freeze great. I individually wrap each on in saran wrap and then put them in a plastic freezer Ziploc bag. Take how ever many you need out the night before or thaw in microwave. Don't forget to remove the plastic wrap if thawing in the microwave. Spicy foods are great for speeding up metabolism so for some added benefits we sprinkle on some franks red hot, Tabasco or salsa. You don't need anything extra though, they are delicious on there own.

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. It went by too fast as it always does and though I will miss the sunshine I am looking forward to the crisp fall air and all the pretty colors that the trees bestow us with. Oh and most importantly all the recipes I will be trying beings that the weather will force me indoors much more. Until next time:)

Chocolate hemp protein shake...Kid approved!

My new favorite food product is Hemp protein powder. I love making smoothies and experimenting to find new combinations that are not only tasty but good for you as well. In the past I have used soy protein powders, which taste better to me than whey but cannot use anymore because soy interferes with healthy thyroid function and I have a hypothyroid problem. So I switched to whey, which is hard to find without any soy in it, and the couple brands I have found, have a particular taste that I just don't like and is really hard to mask. Not to mention the long list of additives it contains. 

This lead me to try Hemp protein powder.  I must say, I LOVE it! It contains 14 grams of fiber per serving, 18 amino acids, a perfect ratio of omega 3 to omega 6, and is a complete protein, unlike whey and soy. It is also much easier to digest because it is a plant based protein. So those with dairy allergy's, soy allergy's etc.. will have no problems with it. It doesn't have any aftertaste and also is very planet friendly. The only thing that some people may not like it that is has a slight gritty texture, which doesn't bother me one bit. Plus it only has one ingredient; ground hemp.  I could go on and on about why I love it but I'll stop here and let you do your own research if you want to learn more.

After a few smoothies and taste tests from the husband and kiddos I have come up with a really yummy recipe. The kids like it cause it tastes like chocolate. I feel good cause I know they are getting a lot of good nutrition. You can't taste the greens even a little bit. I will have this for my breakfast and sometimes for lunch too. It really is filling and the protein keeps you from getting hungry till lunch time. Did I mention how quick and easy it is too? 

What you will need for 1 smoothy:

1 Banana

1 big handful of spinach or mixed green

1 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder

2 Tbsp Hemp Protein powder

2 Tbsp Almond Butter

1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed (Optional)

6 drops liquid stevia (I use alcohol free) Or 1 tbsp honey

6 ice cubes or more depending on how thick you want it.

1 cup unsweetened plain Almond Milk (or milk or milk substitute of your choice)

Preparation:

Combine everything in blender in order listed above and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Variations:

If you don't want to use almond butter Just replace it with two additional tablespoons of hemp powder for a total of 4 tbsp hemp powder. That will ensure you get enough protein to keep you satiated until your next meal. If your diet doesn't contain much fiber on a regular basis though, you may want to start with just the 2 Tbsp of hemp powder and work your way up to the 4. The reason being is that one serving, which is 4 Tbsp, contains 14 grams of fiber, and if you are not use to much fiber, you may experience some stomach bloating. 

 

Green Kid Crafts Review & Givaway...Tell your friends!

When I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing an earth friendly, kid friendly, craft kit by Green Kid Crafts, I jumped on it. Any opportunity that combines a green approach to creativity, learning and fun for my children is always welcome.

Founded in 2010, Green Kid Crafts is the original craft subscription company. With Green Kid Crafts, parents and kids can enjoy planet-friendly, monthly projects that spark creativity and cultivate respect and love for the environment. Suitable for ages 3-8, three of their craft projects are delivered to kids every month for a cost of $19.95 per month. All materials are included in the package making it one stop shopping for child engagement.

My first impression of Green Kid Crafts was a good one. The box it ships in is also the box the crafts come in. I liked that there was no extra box that I would have to break down and put into recycle. Everything was nicely wrapped in some lime green tissue paper. The inner top of the box came with a picture of each craft that was inside. Included in the box were three crafts; a wind chime, pirate loot, and scrapbook. Each craft contains everything you need except for some essential things like glue, markers, scissors, tape, and paint, which most of us have laying around the house someplace. Each craft comes in a sealed clear bag with materials and step by step instructions inside. My kids loved taking everything out and divvying it up amongst themselves. Each craft is fairly simple yet involved enough to keep them interested. Each one took us anywhere from 20-45 minutes to put together from start to finish.

The first craft we did was the wind chime. Since there was one wind chime and two kids, my 6 year old took the liberty of drawing a line halfway down the middle of the wood so that she and her brother each had their own side. This is very important when sharing your craft space with a 3 year old apparently :) We chose to use paints to color the wood. I learned that my daughter is a realist and my son is more of an abstract artist. Once the paint dried, they glued on all of the cute little decorations it came with and our first work of art was complete.

The next craft we did was the pirate loot. It came with everything to make a paper pirate hat, an eye patch and even some silver treasure coins. My son is still learning how to use scissors so my daughter did all of the cutting and he did a lot of the decorating. He did get to cut some scrap paper I gave him, so he felt like a big boy. This was one of my favorite crafts because not only do they get to be creative, but afterwards they took turns wearing the eye patch and hat and played pirates. It's the craft that keeps on giving.

 

We saved the scrapbook for last. Fathers day is coming up and we wanted to make it for daddy. I love the scrapbook it came with. It is a fold out cardboard like paper accordion style scrap book that ties. Each side has 4 pages. We had a lot of fun going through our pictures and picking out which pictures we thought daddy would like best. It came with some decorative paper, scraps of fabric, stickers and embellishments to liven up the pages. Plus we added some things of our own to personalize it even more.

All in all, I think Green Kid Crafts is a wonderful service. Normally when we do crafts, it’s usually the same kind of things; painting, coloring, making cards and books. With the monthly subscription you get three different creative crafts to spice things up that really are more involved than what we normally do and of great quality. They are crafts that you can keep and play with that won’t find their way into the garbage. Another bonus is it is a wonderful way to connect with your child and keep craft time interesting. I find the cost to be very reasonable. By the time you were to go out and buy all the little embellishment, decorative paper, stickers, and all the other things that you get with these kits you would end up spending much more than $19.95. Not to mention, trying to figure out what to do with the leftover materials, the gas money spent, and impulse buys you are sure to pick up as well, or is that just me? If you want to find out more for yourself, go check out Green Kid Crafts!

I would like to say thank you to my sister in law, Melissa, of  melissawhitman.com who asked me if I would be interested in reviewing Green Kid Crafts. We had so much fun with it. I would also like thank Penny at Green Kid Crafts for the opportunity to share your wonderful crafts with my children, and give others the opportunity to check out Green Kid Crafts through this giveaway.

If you would like to win a Craft Box of your very own, just follow the entry instruction below. Remember when you are done putting in all of your entries to come back to my Blog and leave a comment letting me know what you did.

Mandatory entry:

1. Go check out Green Kid Crafts, then come back and leave a comment about what craft you would like to see in a future box.

For extra entries:

1. Like Green Kid Crafts on Facebook.

2. Like melissawhitman.com on Facebook.

3 Like Happy.Healthy.Simply on Facebook

4. Sign up for the Green Kid Crafts newsletter.

The giveaway will close next Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 10am PST.

A little bit about me:)

Hello:) I am a 32 year old mother, wife and a semi recent health nut. I have always been interested in health and food but I never really thought to much about what I was eating until I started having some health issues a couple of years back. Although it wasn’t the most fun of times, I am thankful in that it made me take a hard look at the foods I was feeding myself and my family. It made me understand how the food choices I made effected my physical health, mental health and overall well being.

In the past my husband and I have tried many different diets. The Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Zone Diet, Low glycemic index diet, Dr OZ. diet, Dr Gundries Diet evolution, and have finally settled on more of a plant based diet, with the exception of occasional seafood, lean meat and cheese. Although we lost weight on all of these diets, and felt better, they were always hard to stick with long term. Through each diet though I found a healthy, simple, balanced way to eat that not only tastes wonderful but makes us feel wonderful as well. The number one most important thing I have learned is NO PROCESSED FOODS! If there is more than 5 ingredients on a label, especially if you can't pronounce them or know what they are, put in down. If the words, enriched, partially hydrogenated, sugar, high fructose corn syrup are one of those 5 ingredients, put it down. I believe that a large portion of the illnesses we suffer from can be tied to our diet. I believe it all starts with what we are putting into our bodies and that we can reverse or at least greatly improve the things that may ail us.

Besides my love of food and health, I also am a mother of two beautiful children, six and three. They teach me something new every day and motivate me to continue making health one of my number one priorities. I am blessed to have my family, health, and a husband who inspires many of my culinary adventures. I wanted to start this blog to share with others some of the things that have made my life easier and healthier as a person, a mother and homemaker. I also hope to learn a few things from you along the way too. Welcome to my Blog!

Taco Salad with a Twist

This recipe was inspired by my best friend. She made something similar for me on my birthday and in trying to recreate it, I have come up with something close in flavor but with my own twist. Thank you Carrie:)  It has become a family favorite and has made its way into the frequent dinners club at our house. Of course my kids don't like anything with the word salad in it, unless of course the word "fruit" is in front of it. To remedy this, I give them a deconstructed taco salad. They eat a lot of their dinners this way since we eat a lot of salads. They love it and usually clean their plate.

This recipe is gluten Free, and can easily be made dairy free by omitting the cheese, vegetarian by omitting the ground turkey and vegan by omitting the meat and cheese. It is refreshing and delicious which ever way you choose. I prefer to use organic vegetables because they taste so much better, contain more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals and I don't need to worry about GMO or pesticides. Of course you don't have to use organic, it is merely my personal preference.


What you will need:
2 Romaine hearts, thinly sliced
2 big tomatoes, chopped small
2 handfuls of cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, chopped small
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1/3 cup feta cheese
1 lb lean ground turkey (season with chili powder, cumin, garlic salt and pepper to taste, or you can use a taco seasoning)
3 or 4 big handfuls of corn chips ( I use the red organic corn chips made by Que Pasa. They use beet juice to give them their color. It also gives them just a hint of sweetness)

For the dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp lime juice or juice from one fresh lime
A few shakes of  red Tabasco (or more depending on how spicy you like it)
pinch of salt

Preparation:
* Over medium heat cook turkey, stirring occasionally. Drain any fat off if there is any once it's done cooking.
* Meanwhile, Mix all dressing ingredients in bowl, set aside.
* Rinse, dry and chop veggies and add to big bowl as you go.
* Combine remaining ingredients into bowl.
* Toss with dressing and serve
* For added spice, throw on top a shake or two of Tabasco.

Note: If you are making this a bit ahead of time, sprinkle some lime juice on top of avocado to keep from going brown or just wait to cut the avocado till your ready to serve. Also wait to put the chips in till ready to serve to keep them from getting stale. Serve immediately once dressing's applied.

This salad can be easily changed and still taste great. I think the cilantro and dressing are key though. I have used a baby greens mix instead of romaine, aged cheddar instead of feta, and have made it with onions as well. So go on, what are you favorite veggies? Throw them in and give it your own twist.

The Mason Jar Salad

Everyone has at least one mason jar in there home. Be it left over from a jar of homemade jam you got from Grandma on Christmas, or maybe you’re into canning yourself. Either way this is a great way to put it to use.

A while back my husband came across an article online that had the brilliant idea of making a salad in a jar and brought it to my attention. I have done a bit of tweaking to to and this is how I make ours. It is quite simple, really. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a jar and you have yourself a healthy, portable, quick lunch in a reusable glass container to boot.

The mason jar is really a multipurpose piece of glassware. You can use it as intended, for canning, and then when you are done with whatever you had in it, it can become a storage container for nuts and other refrigerated items, a container to hold your lunch salad, a glass so thick you can drink coffee out of it, a portable ice tea container, you can use it as a planter for some herbs, a drinking glass for the little kids who tend to drop things a lot (its hard to break, trust me) and I’m sure there’s some other ideas out there as well. My husband loves these for work and they are so much cheaper and healthier than driving through some fast food restaurant for a quick bite. If you don’t have a few of the large quart jars lying around, I suggest you buy a 12 pack at the grocery store. They cost a little over $12 but can be reused an infinite amount of times. We usually make 2 or 3 at a time. They stay good for about 4 days in the fridge.

What you will need:
-Quart canning jar with lid
-Dressing of choice
-Radishes or Cherry or Grape tomatoes (enough to cover the bottom of the jar)
-Thinly sliced cabbage or zucchini, cut into 3 inch long by 1 inch wide pieces
-Mixed greens of your choice (fill till jar is about ¾ full)
-Top with your choice of nut and seeds of choice ( Chopped walnuts are yummy. For the seeds we alternate between raw pumpkin seeds, sesame seed, and throw in flax seeds too sometimes)
-If you eat cheese throw some on top (we like feta)
-For added protein throw some kidney beans on top

Directions:
1.Add dressing to jar ( I fill till about ½ inch sits on the bottom)
2.Layer bottom of Jar with enough radishes or cherry tomatoes to cover the bottom. This keeps any of the lettuce from getting into the dressing and getting “weird” before your ready to eat it.
3.Add a thin layer of cabbage or zucchini sticks, just enough to make sure there’s enough space to make sure the lettuce can’t slip into the dressing.
4. Add greens until the jar is about ¾ of the way full
5. Add Nuts, seeds, cheeses, and beans if you use them to the top and place the lid on the jar.
6. Shake till mixed and enjoy!

Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can get creative with this. Add whatever ingredients you like. The only critical part is making sure you put radishes or cherry or grape tomatoes on the bottom to keep the lettuce from touching it. If you add radishes they will start to pickle in the fridge, they taste wonderful if you like picked things. If you don’t, stick with the cherry tomatoes.

To Make Vegan: Leave out cheese and use a homemade vinaigrette.

Do you have any other ideas on ways to use a mason jar? Feel free to share :)