Three Ingredient Detox Water

This has been my go-to detox water lately. And honestly, It's really just infused water. Although it works great if you are doing a detox. And a bonus, it tastes great too! 

Sometimes I make a large batch to last me throughout the day, and sometimes I make one glass at a time. It really depends on what I think I will use that day. I don't recommend letting this sit for more than one day. The cucumbers will get weird! :)

 I also recommend getting organic produce, especially if you are leaving the peel/skin on the lemon and cucumber, because the skin is where the pesticides reside the strongest. If you don't have organic, I recommend peeling the cucumber and just squeezing the lemon juice into your water! 

For the mint, I like to remove all the stems and rip it up with my fingers before sprinkling it into the water. You could also "muddle" the mint for even more flavor! If you've never tried mint in water, you will be amazed! It lends a wonderful almost-sweet flavor to it!

 I let it sit about 10-15 minutes, but you really don't have to let it sit very long! You could totally drink it right away! 

So whether you are trying to shed a few pounds this spring, or just looking for a new low-calorie all-natural drink, I hope you enjoy this easy detox water! Let me know if you try it!

Homemade Applesauce from Scratch!

One of my #goals in life is to do more cooking from scratch. I love cooking, and I want to share more recipes here on the blog, and ideally the recipes would be from scratch. Today I want to share some delicious homemade applesauce that I made the other day!

The one ingredient I used that I wouldn't probably use again was the sugar. Just because apples are naturally very sweet and with added sugar it was almost too sweet.

I added molasses because the recipes I saw required brown sugar which (Fun Fact!) is actually just regular sugar with molasses added!

Ingredients:

Apples

Sugar (optional)

Molasses

Pinch of Salt

Cinnamon

Lemon Juice 

I recommend add these ingredients to taste, and tasting as you go!

 I used apples that were old and wrinkly (as you can see) and perfect for applesauce. 

Peel and core the apples, and slice them into chunks.

Place them in a pan with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom. 

Add seasoning and bring to a simmer. 

Lightly cover and stir every 2-3 minutes.

As the apples got soft I used a potato masher to mash them up. 

It took some patience while all the apples got soft enough to mash, but I would estimate it took about 20 minutes tops.

Like I said it turned out a bit too sweet for my taste, but other than that the flavor is amazing! I loved the cinnamon, molasses and lemon.

And honestly the best part was that it made my apartment smell amazing!!!

This one is definitely going down as a favorite Fall recipe!

Influenster: Pumpkin Vox Box

Hi guys! Today I wanted to share the details of this Pumpkin VoxBox that I got from Influenster! Influenster.com is a free website that anyone can join and earn free stuff!

This box was sent to me for free!

All these fun products came in the box!

These chips were absolutely delicious, and I will definitely be repurchasing them. They don't have a huge nutritional value, they aren't whole grain or anything, but they have half the fat of regular potato chips. So I would probably buy these for like a party or a picnic or something like that!!

These soft caramels are also delicious! They are very sticky in the teeth, but really really good. Its impossible for me to eat only one.

I was especially excited to try this bar. It has peanuts, almonds, apples and chocolate! I like it, but the flavor was a little too... something. I'm not sure. I probably wouldn't repurchase this but I would like to try other flavors if they have them! Lila and Mike also tried this, and neither of them cared to finish their square... but I have some picky eaters!!

Fabric softener! I haven't tried this yet... I'm not honestly sure how to use it...

Mr Sketch Scented Marker! Anyone else remember these from their childhood? 

Lila put it to use immediately!

Works of art!!!

Here's a video I did unboxing this box!

Recipe: Easy Apple Crumble

After apple picking we obviously had a lot of apples, not mention some that I had before our trip to the orchard. I needed something to do with them all:

So I found this recipe, I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so I made my own version!
Some people call it a "dump cake" or a "crumb cake" but it isn't really a cake because the cake mix doesn't rise. So I have renamed it apple crumble!

Ingredients:
-Fresh Apples (I used 4 but next time I would use even more... probably more like 8 or 10)
-Packaged cake mix (the original recipe called for yellow cake mix but I only had white and it worked out fine!)
-1 stick of butter
-Brown Sugar
-Cinnamon

 Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a medium bowl, Mix cake mix, 1/2 cup brown sugar (or to taste) and 2 teaspoons cinnamon (or again, to taste)

 - Coat a glass baking pan with butter or non-stick spray.
 - Slice apples very thin and layer evenly over pan.

 -Melt 1 stick butter and pour into dry mix, mixing evenly.

 -Sprinkle mix over apples, making sure slices are covered evenly and mixed.

 -Place in center rack of oven and bake 35-45 minutes, until the top begins to brown and the corners are bubbly!

 - Let sit for 5 minutes then serve and enjoy! This dish is definitely best when eaten right away. And don't be afraid to add some vanilla ice cream or plain cream or half & half to your serving!

Lila and I gave it two thumbs up!
Let me know if you try this, and if you add any variations! Enjoy!

A visit from Cari!

Last month we were lucky enough to get a visit from my cousin, Cari. She is currently living in Boston for PA school but was home for the summer, and we got to have her for a day!

We started the day off with a fantastic brunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Madison.

Besides the awesome coffee and excellent food, the restaurant is very kid friendly!!

 

I got the fungus scramble. It comes with a side of whole grain toast and baby greens! How refreshing is that?

Lila is currently a big fan of bacon. I blame it on the fact that I was vegan for six months of my pregnancy ;)

And I just love how they gave her such a beautiful assortment of fresh fruit!

Can I also mention how sweet Cari is? She took her contacts out and put her glasses on because Lila was throwing a mini fit about wearing her glasses. But Seeing Cari in glasses was enough to convince her that they were cool!

Lila loves Cari! This makes me especially happy because I chose Cari to be Lila's Godmother.

:)

Simple Kid Foods

Lila is such an unusual two year old. Especially when it comes to her eating habits. Her favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and hot dogs.

Oh... that's not unusual? Haha no way.

Anyways... since kids tend to be such picky eaters and prefer only a few foods, sometimes it is easy to get stuck in a rut and give them the same foods all the time. I try to switch it up whenever possible. Here are a few twists on Lila's favorites:

Grilled Cheese Rolls!

Apple + Cheese Quesadilla!

Grilled cream cheese and strawberries + strawberry jam

Grilled Macaroni and Cheese Sandwich!

Spaghetti Boats and other kid friend spaghetti and meatballs recipes!

Rainbow Spaghetti!

Spaghetti Hotdogs!

Spaghetti Tacos!

Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly!

 Animal Crackers on a Log!

Apple + Peanut Butter + Chocolate Chip + Granola Sandwiches!

Peanut Butter Tortilla Treats!

I can attest that grilled peanut and jelly is definitely a hit. And grilled macaroni and cheese? Well I haven't tried it yet but I have a feeling it will change our lives. What are some kid friendly foods that you have discovered? Any twists on old favorites?