Vacation starts tomorrow

Yeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaa!! Tomorrow marks the start of an extra long weekend for Construction Man, which means we will be heading back to CB to have some vacation time. This year, we passed on heading back to NYC to save some money and opted to just spend some time with family and have a splurge night somewhere nice with just the two of us.

After lots of online research and comparing prices, we are choosing to spend our one night at The Birches at Ben Eoin (https://www.thebirchescountryinn.ca/new/index.php?cid=3&pid=144&lang=e). I could not be more excited!! Since it is only one night and our splurge as I previously mentioned, we picked the biggest and best they have to offer. We will be staying in the Suite, which looks absolutely gorgeous, and we will be enjoying the Romance Package, which will give us a four course dinner in the on-site restaurant. This package also includes a Buffet breakfast in the morning and some wine and truffles that evening. Oh, and did I mention the hot-tub?!

Yes, excited, mostly for sleeping in the next morning and having some one-on-one time with Construction Man. It. Will. Be. Nice. Though I adore Superkid with every ounce of my being, these 9pm summer bedtimes are killing me! I miss my time to just relax and unwind, so hopefully, this one nighter will do the body good. The count-down is on---one more sleep until we hit the road and enjoy some time as a family, and, as a couple xoxo

Photo Credit- Scott McIntyre*

**For more of Scott's photography visit scottmcintyre.ca, he did our wedding photos and he is fabulous!

Greek Yogurt-- an expensive habbit!

About six months ago, my family made the switch from a regular stirred yogurt to Greek Yogurt. Our top reason for switching was taste, followed by the extra protein found in the Greek option (almost double the protein in Greek compared to regular).

Personally, I prefer the thick and rich taste of Greek compared to other yogurts that just seem runny now. The brand we buy is Oikos and the package consists of four small cups for $3.99.  So the price is not great, but they do offer lots of different flavors. Our favorites are honey, raspberry pomegranate and key lime, but they also have strawberry, blueberry and vanilla.

Since there are three of us eating yogurt each day in my house, we go through a lot of individual containers of yogurt. I would say about 5 plus packages a week, or about $80 or so a month! Wow! That is a lot of money to spend on yogurt alone so it pays to do your math and shop according to your budget. For us, we are just not willing to sacrifice the taste and switch back to a cheaper alternative. Maybe buying in bulk could be an option though? I would love to hear from anybody who goes Greek and saves money doing it :)

Fun Food for Toddlers

If you have a fussy eater like I do, you will do anything and everything to make a meal look fun, just so they will look at it. With Superkid, the cooler it looks, the more she will consider eating it, which is a bonus for me considering I spend most days chasing her around in a circle, popping food in her mouth while she plays, no joke.

Since Pinterest has come about, I have started a board for Superkid where I keep lots of cool food ideas, so far I have tried three that I will share with you today but I have lots more so keep checking back. Of the three I chose, two are super easy and one is more of a treat for a special occasion. Here they are:

This little caterpillar friend was the first fun-food I ever made (not this pic exactly). Superkid giggled away as she picked apart her snack which is stuck together by peanut-butter!

Next up is this super cute Teddy Bear! This takes only a minute or so to prepare but it will make for a very happy toddler at breakfast time. Use whole wheat toast and some organic peanut-butter and this is a very healthy teddy :)












Last up is a cute meal for a special occasion, we chose Easter and made lunch an egg hunt. Inside each egg were mini sandwhiches, goldfish cracker, fruit and rasions. Superkid thought this was great and finding the eggs was the best part. You could try this for other occasions too, like a Birthday. Have fun with it, be creative and try your own fun-food creations. Keep a look out later this summer for some more Toddler food fun posts.

A reason to wake up in the morning, or middle of the night for that matter.

One thing I have never tried my hand at was scones, so last week, with the help of Construction Man, I put myself to the test with a recipe for Skinny Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Scones. It was around 10pm and I had just sat down to relax after my aquacise class, when it occured to me I was ready for a snack, but not something I had laying around, something new and chocolaty, naturally.....

Not as hard as I thought they would be to make, I was surprised at how quickly we got them into the oven. I was so excited to taste the final product that I actually sat on the kitchen floor, in front of the oven until they were ready, I kid you not. Let me tell you, they were worth every bit of time I waited, so fluffy, so warm, and so dripping with butter....which is totally a contradiction to the idea that these are meant to be a low cal breakfast or snack, ah well!

These scones are great to eat fresh out of the oven, but even after they sit, I just pop them in the microwave for a quick zap and they are as good as new. They also freeze very well if you plan on not eating the whole batch in one sitting, your choice.

Like all good recipes, this beauty comes from Skinnytaste and is just under the 200 calorie mark for each scone (without the abundance of melted butter I spoke of), not bad at all! Have a look at my pics and then get in the kitchen to whip up a batch for yourself, they are divine!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/01/skinny-chocolate-chip-buttermilk-scones.html

Quinoa- have you tried it?

Sometimes I wonder if I live under a rock because I always feel like I am the last to know about new products/foods. I'm fairly certain that Quinoa has been around for ages, but yet, I am just learning now about what a great source of protein it is, among other things.

If you want to read some quick facts about Quinoa, check out this article http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/quinoa-nutrition-facts . What I love best about it, is that you can use it in lots of different ways, as a side or main dish. So far, I have tried two recipes, one which was on the back of the box I bought (I buy PC Oragnic Quinoa). The recipe is basically Quinoa with cumin and mixed veggies (I used red pepper, carrot and fresh chives) and it was great as a side dish! But, for me, I think the second recipe I tried was my favorite.

As a main dish I checked out a Quinoa Mac N Cheese Recipe and the whole family loved it. It makes a big 9x13 pan, so we had lots of leftovers for the week. This recipe can be found on my Healthy Living Pinterest Page or through this link http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.ca/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html. For veggies I added some onion and broccoli and I topped it with some Franks hot sauce just as I was plating it. Oh, and don't skip on the Panko Italian Bread Crumbs before putting it in the oven, this gave it a really nice crunch and flavor. I'm sure if you compare nutrition facts between your regular mac n cheese and this healthy alternative, you will be surprised at how much better the Quinoa option is for you.

Quinoa Mac N Cheese

Summer Sunshine= Blog Neglect

Since July hit and summer showed its face around here, my posts have been on a steady decline. When we are lucky enough to have steady sunshine in the forecast like we do this week, you will find me outside with Superkid, watering the garden, general water play of all kinds, long walks and play-dates will consume our time, lucky me right?!

However, just because summer is here does not mean I am not still spending lots of time in the kitchen! I am forever trying new recipes and have lots of yummy dinners and desert pics and recipes to share with you guys :) Just today I made the BEST chocolate chip cookies that a great friend of mine, Kelly, recommended. Before today, I never really had a go-to chocolate chip recipe but now, I certainly do.

Tell me these don't like heavenly? And to boot, they are giant cookies, there is no other way, is there?

Please excuse my camera phone pics, they really are terrible quality, but you get the idea. This chewy chocolate recipe can be found here on the All Recipes web page http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Cresent Poppers

Over the long weekend we thought it would be nice to invite some friends of ours over for dinner. This is not something we have time to do very often, so with a long weekend on our calendar, the timing was perfect. I planned on making dinner and picking up something for dessert since I would just be arriving back from vacation the day before. Lucky for me, my lovely friend also offered to bring an appitizer......which was amazing!

These delsih little pinwheels are called Japapeno Cream Cheese Cresent Poppers and they were spicy and fresh out of the oven yum! From what I can see from the recipe, they are super easy and you only need a few ingredients, so they will be a keeper in my recipe box for sure. I love things that are quick to whip up but have flavor that make people think you worked all day on them :P

Head over to Tasty Kitchen http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/the-gangs-all-here-jalapeno-cream-cheese-crescent-poppers/ for the recipe and bring these to the next function your invited too.

Happy Canada Day!

Usually my family and I don't do too much to celebrate Canada Day, but now that Superkid is at a good age to enjoy some of the festivities we plan on partaking in some fun! Construction Man will take her to a free Pancake Breakfast for part of "Bedford Days," while I enjoy my Sunday morning sleep in (my favorite morning of the week). Later in the afternoon, we will all head down to watch the big parade. Luckily for us, its just a hop, skip and jump away, so we don't even need to get in our car, which is a bonus since it is a million degrees here today and we don't have AC :(

I hope you and yours have a great day celebrating if you are Canadian! I feel truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country. Happy Birthday Canada!