Yogurt Bar & Science Experiments

Our mornings during the week are sometimes rushed and I am always looking for quick, easy and nutritious ideas for the kids and I during the week! My kids love it when I put out a "yogurt bar" and they can make their own creations. As a vegan, I either use So Delicious Coconut Yogurt or delicious, homemade Coconut Cream (think Vegan whipped cream- yum!) My kids usually like the either the Fage Greek yogurt or the Maple Hill Creamery, which is grass-fed , sweetened with cane sugar and contains natural fruits.

For the "yogurt bar," I usually put out bowls of fresh and dried fruits and the kids also love to pile up granola, cereal and  trail mix on top!

My son piled the Cherry Chocolate Granola that I made a few days ago on top of his.

My kids also love to put the Bear Naked Trail Mix on top.

Caroline also loves to pile hers with Envirokidz Leapin Lemurs, which is gluten-free and sweetened with brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice.

Here is what Caroline's yogurt bowl looked like!

Doing a yogurt bar is great for breakfasts and also kids adore doing this for after school snacks and treats.

While the kids love "experimenting" with their different concoctions in the kitchen, another set of concoctions took place in our house yesterday!

Science Fair + 10 year old boys + 10 pounds of dry ice = FUN!

Makes me feel like I am 10 again!



 Boiling & Teeming Mason Jar









Blowing Up a Balloon



Making a Gargantuan Bubble

Busy, but fun week. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend with the family!



Protein-Packed Waffle Sandwiches and Green Smoothies

I am baaack. We have been up to all our healthy ways but for whatever reason I just felt that we all (and I!) needed a break from chronicling every meal. Don't you ever need to just take a break from what you are doing and gain some perspective? I find that it is a very healthy and essential part of being a busy, working mother!

So, what is on the agenda today? Power waffles! My son has a lacrosse practice and then tennis with the hubbie today and I owed Brian from Digital Running, an online magazine for runners, a picture for a Veggie Protein Powder article that I am writing for him. So, decided that this would be a great way to send Oliver off this morning! Unfortunately, I just realized that we had to throw out the regular waffle maker (thus, the circus shaped waffles) but the shapes did make them more fun for the kids!

Power Waffle Sandwiches

Arrowhead Mills Multi-Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix (I used Cherrybrook Kitchen because my boy is gluten-free)

2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 scoops Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder

2 tbsp coconut butter

1 banana Raw honey (I didn't use it because Cherrybrook is pre-sweetened)

Optional: unsweetened chocolate chips

To top: almond butter, sliced banana, honey to drizzle

In a bowl, combine the waffle mix, almond milk and coconut butter as indicated on the package. Stir in the protein powder. For a more "decadent waffle," add chocolate chips. Take two waffles and put almond butter in the middle. We also love to add sliced banana and raw honey for sweetness as well as to aid in digestion and boost immunity.

These "sandwiches" are a nutritious, protein-packed breakfast for kids and adults alike and are also perfect for a pre-or post-workout snack! Sun Warrior adds a wopping 32 grams of protein per two scoops and is a grat way to add nutrition to smoothies, puddings and really, well, anything!

The picture of the "waffle sandwich" is above but here is a pic of the waffles open-faced: Mid-morning my daughter got hungry and, as she is going off to lacrosse as well, wanted to give her something high-protein, and nutrition-packed as well. She loooooves green smoothies so we made a Chocolate and Coconut Green Smoothie- Yum! First we started with the unsweetened almond milk, then added the Sun Warrior protein powder, some Pure Synergy greens powder... And, my secret ingredient... frozen coconut meat, which I buy from High Vibe!

As you can see by her smile, she LOOOOOOVED IT!

Chocolate & Coconut Greens Smoothie
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup frozen coconut meat
2 scoops Sun Warrior chocolate powder
2 tsp Pure Synergy greens powder

Few ice cubes

Blend and enjoy. You can see Caroline did!!!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie Anyone?

Along with the homemade muffins this morning, I made my decadent chocolate banana smoothie. Packed with protein, calcium, potassium, omega 3's and antioxidants, it is a wonderful way to start the day! Yum- delicious!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie
2 small bananas (or 1 large one)
1 frozen banana
2-3 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder
Agave nectar to sweeten (if needed)
2 tbsp hemp seed powder (optional- to add protein & omega 3s)
Dash of flax seed oil (to add omega 3's)
2-3 cups vanilla almond milk (or soy milk or hemp milk)

Blend in blender and enjoy!

Homemade Healthy Blueberry Muffins that Your Family Will Devour!

It is a lazy Sunday morning here in New York City and after a late birthday celebration last night for my son's 10th birthday, everyone woke up just wanting to putter about in their pj's. I looked in my pantry for some inspiration and came upon the Purely Elizabeth gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free muffin mix that had been given to me in a care package by Integrative Nutrition (thank you so, so much IIN!)

The instructions say to add water, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla and frozen or fresh blueberries but I put my own little spin on it and added almond milk that I had just made the night before, some hemp seed powder for extra protein, and some flax seed oil for extra omega 3's. Instead of the olive oil, I used coconut butter. And, I used my new secret ingredient- the best alcohol-free vanilla from Sun Organic Farms .

I served the muffins with a side of raw almond butter and the crew completely scarfed them down!!! And, the best part yet was it only took me 5 minutes to whip up and just 20 mins in the oven!

A Refreshing Pineapple, Mango & Banana Power Smoothie

My son had Sports Day today and I knew it was going to be a scorcher. So, this is what I made my crew this morning for breakfast before we all headed out! Packed with nutrients, live enzymes as well as protein, this is a great way to start a hot, action-packed day!

Pineapple, Mango & Banana Power Smoothie
3 slices of pineapple (sliced about 1/4-1/2 in thick)
1 mango
1 sliced banana (frozen)
1-2 cups almond milk
2-4 tbsp hemp protein powder

Blend all until smooth and enjoy. Truly this is so delicious and incredibly refreshing!

My New Favorite Morning Smoothie!

My new favorite is my Celery Banana Smoothie! Not only is it packed with selenium, electrolytes such as potassium and sodium, fiber and iron, but I feel light and energized after drinking it! A perfect way to start an action-packed day!

Celery Banana Smoothie

4-6 stalks celery

1 medium frozen banana

1-2 cups vanilla almond milk

Handful of parsley (or spinach)

Optional: maca, chia seeds, gogi berries or hemp seeds/powder

Blend in your blender and enjoy! This smoothie is so clean and refreshing!

Something More than a Smoothie!

I love the quiet of the morning after the children have been dropped off at school and the house is absolutely quiet! This is the time I usually chose to have my breakfast when I can actually concentrate and enjoy what I am eating without getting up from the table a million times to clean a spill or for more orange juice or almond butter or whatever!

Most mornings I have my favorite green smoothie to start the day but this morning I woke up starving! Last night I had a larger than usual dinner delivered courtesy of Candle Cafe
so was a bit surprised I was so hungry. Sometimes, though, I find that we eat more or later than usual, we actually wake up hungrier!

Anyway, I am going on a 7 mile run today so decided to fuel up with my absolute favorite Macadamia Nut cereal from Laughing Giraffe topped with a handful of organic blueberries and my homemade almond milk. Laughing Giraffe only sources the highest quality ingredients and uses clear, real raw agave nectar for sweetness.

Here is a picture of my breakfast! Delicious and I feel clean and powered up to run! Will do the smoothie for lunch!

Smoothies- Power Breakfast of Champions!!!

It is Saturday morning and this morning as usual we were juggling a million things trying to get Caroline out for her lacrosse game, Oliver out for his and me out to drive the carpool to the games! All without me wanting to pull my hair out.

On the weekends and during the week sometimes mornings can be hectic so I always send everyone off with something that is nutritious yet easy to make and portable! I send my son, Oliver, off to school with a green smoothie (colored by berries) every morning- and he loves it!

This morning, I made myself a Banana Celery Smoothie and my son and husband a Green Smoothie with mixed berries- yum! I put them in these wonderful clear plastic travel cups we got at Starbuck's and off we went!

Not only are smoothies very easy to make only requiring a blender but they are also very easy to drink, portable, delicious and are bursting with calcium, fiber, protein, magnesium, iron and and live-enzymes, which help aid in digestion and also make our bodies more alkaline! Also, you will get approximately half of your protein requirements for your day (depending on if you are a man or woman), in a green smoothie!

And, not only are these green smoothies nutritious, but they are also delicious! A few months ago I got back from a glorious weekend with my childhood girlfriends and although they were skeptical of my green smoothies at first, by the end of the weekend I had them hooked!

My children and I have green smoothies every morning before we started our busy days filled with work, school, homework, afterschool activities and just life! I tease my children that they have had a salad even before they get to school and I notice much more even keeled behavior. My husband and I also notice that we have such increased natural energy!

Eating a healthy breakfast is paramount to living a healthy lifestyle! Try starting your day with a green smoothie and see how much better you will look and feel! We have purchase the cool clear plastic cups that you can get at Starbucks and a lot of times take ours to go!


Here are some of our favorite family recipes:

Power Me Up Green Smoothie Recipe
3/4 of a blender filled with organic spinach (or locinate kale)
1 1/2 cups of vanilla almond milk 1/2-1 frozen banana
Frozen berries (I add these to my son's to take away the "green-ness")

Optional:
1 tbsp coconut butter
1 tbsp chia seeds (omega 3's)
1 tsp Udo's Oil (omega 3-6-9)
1 tsp maca (for added energy- we all need some more of that!)

Put all of this in the Vitamix and blend! This is my favorite, favorite, favorite morning smoothie! I make a huge batch of green smoothie for myself, husband and daughter then I will add berries to a small portion for my son who is not a fan of green. With or without the berries, though, these green smoothies are delicious!


Celery Banana Smoothie (This is my new current addiction!)
4-6 stalks celery
1 medium frozen banana
1-2 cups vanilla almond milk
Handful of parsley (or spinach)

Blend in your blender and enjoy! This smoothie is so clean and refreshing!


Strawberry Chocolate Delight Smoothie
Box of fresh strawberries (cut up and pre-freeze)
Coconut meat from 1 Thai coconut (save the water to drink after a run or intense workout) Almond or Brazil nut milk
Chocolate nibs (unsweetened)
Optional: 1 tbsp maca, hemp or flax seed oil



Place the strawberries and coconut meat in your blender and pour in approximately 2-3 cups of almond or Brazil nut milk. Blend until smooth. Put the chocolate nibs into the blender and blend for just a second to chop them up a bit but not entirely so that they stay like little chocolate chips. This smoothie is pure delight!


Chocolate Mint Sundae Smoothie
2-3 cups vanilla almond milk
2 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder (or chocolate greens powder)
1-1 1/2 frozen bananas
Heaping handful of fresh mint



Blend and enjoy!