Treat Your Family to Imagine Soups

 

  

 I live with very picky eaters. My oldest doesn't like what the middle boy eats and the baby doesn't like it if its not eggs or chicken. I received the Imagine soups and knew this was going to be something that I ate by myself. I was not upset about that though. I just love soups. They are easy and usually last a day or two. The bad part about soups most of the time though, is the fat, calories and stuff they add that is not healthy or needed in a soup, in my opinion. When I got the Imagine Soups the first thing I noticed immediately was that they say Organic on a few of them. The next thing was I flipped them over and seen on the back of them it states *NON-GMO ingredients, non dairy, no added MSG, no artificial ingredients or preservatives. Some of them are also gluten free so there is a soup for everyone. The first one I tried was the organic vegetable broth. I ended up putting it in vegetable soup and it was so yummy. It is pre-seasoned which was so helpful to me because I usually end up forgetting the seasoning till its done and I eat it. I used the organic chicken broth in chicken and dumplings. I saved some of the broth and used it in mashed potatoes too and it made it so creamy and flavorful.

Sneaky Blends Cookbook

 *This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, you'll be helping to feed the little angels here at Snowbirds to Seashores.

 

  I am all about eating and being healthy. The only problem I really have with that is, the food I do not like is kale, broccoli, spinach which are pretty much what is good for you. I have the Sneaky Chef book which tells you how to sneak healthy ingredients into foods and the kids do not even know they are eating healthy. The kids could not tell that they were eating the healthy foods and they could not taste it so I decided to try it for myself. This book is by the same author so I knew it would be great. I received the Sneaky Blends book by Missy Chase Lapine.

Local Hive Honey and Recipe

 

One thing that my family loves in honey. Since my oldest is a beekeeper we know the importance of taking care of the honeybee population. We also know the benefits of eating raw honey. We use it on almost a daily basis in our home. My family was very excited when they learned I would be receiving some Raw Honey from other states. They wanted to compare it to our honey and see which their favorite would be. 

23 Kitchen Tips & Tricks

 

So I am always finding new little tricks to help me in the kitchen and I wanted to share some with you. I have a list of 23 Kitchen Tips for you below. If you try and any let me know how they work for you or if you have a tip feel free to leave it in a comment.

FRITTER AWAY: (recipe)Got zucchini? Make fritters! The key to making them crispy is to first lightly salt the coarsely grated vegetable and set aside in a colander to drain for 15 minutes. Then wrap it up in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze firmly to expel as much liquid as possible.

KERNEL KEEPER: An easy way to prevent corn from going everywhere when you are cutting it off the cob is to use a Bundt pan. Place the cob in the center, standing it up on the protrusion, and cut downward so the kernels tumble directly into the pan.

JAVA JUICE: For the ultimate iced coffee, brew several cups of your favorite blend and sweeten to taste with condensed milk. Cool, then pour into ice cube trays (silicone are the easiest) and freeze overnight. Use these to chill your iced coffee and they will only enhance, never dilute.

TOMATO TIME: Prolong the life and enhance the flavor of ripe tomatoes by keeping them at room temperature rather than in the fridge. Always store them stem end down. This prevents air from entering - through the cut stem. If possible, eat them within 2 days.

SUMMER, CUBED: (recipe) Preserve fresh herbs, such as thyme, chives, and rosemary, by chopping them finely and packing them into an ice cube tray. Top up with olive oil, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze. The cubes dissolve easily into sauces and provide bright flavor all year long.

Three Bridges Pasta: When Gourmet Meets "Good To Go"

 

Finally early spring has arrived! The time for segueing your New Year's resolutions into swimsuit season resolutions. In both seasons, I always find myself making goals that I always struggle to keep. I tell myself that I will stay in and cook more, dropping the guilty convenience of fast food for healthier homemade meals. I usually end up spending all my time looking up recipes that I think my family will enjoy and then never even make them. Finding meals that please a big family and are quick to make and healthy enough to fit into our lifestyle goals can at times feel impossible.

So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered Three Bridges, delicious pastas and sauces made with simple, wholesome ingredients. All their products are free from artificial colors, sweeteners, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones. It is so nice to look at the nutritional information and feel good about what you are putting on the table for your family. 

Make Your Own Healthy Yummy Gummies!

 

One thing my kids love is gummies! Though I am not a fan of all the added sugar and dyes I usually do some label reading before buying any. I was recently sent this great recipe from kidstir to make my own gummies and can not wait to make some with the kids. I wanted to share the recipe with all of you so you can make your own gummies as well. 

What You Need:

1 cup juice per flavor (carrot/orange and cranberry/raspberry) 

~ you can use any juice you'd like

2 envelops unflavored gelatin (1 pack per flavor of juice)

What You Do:

1. Measure 1 cup of juice. Pour 2/3 of the cup into the cooking pot. Leave 1/3 cup in the measuring cup and sprinkle it with the unflavored gelatin and let it sit.
2. Heat the juice until it starts to boil. Carefully pour the hot juice over the gelatin.
3. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until gelatin dissolves.
4. Pour it into candy molds and or ice cube trays (pour over the sink in case of spills).
5. Refrigerate until the gummies set, about 5 hours. Run the molds under hot water and slip out the shapes. Eat right away or cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes about 4 servings (makes 12 to 60 gummies, depending on the size of your molds or ice cube trays)

Take Your Veggies To A New Level

 *This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, you'll be helping to feed the little angels here at Snowbirds to Seashores.

One thing that I love is eating fresh vegetables especially ones from my in-laws garden. I also love finding new and delicious recipes to use them in as well. I am not sure why but my family had never really grilled our veggies. But now thanks to Cave Tools we are grilling our veggies as well and they are delicious!

Secrets of Skinny Cooking Cookbook (Mexican Slaw Recipe)

 *This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, you'll be helping to feed the little angels here at Snowbirds to Seashores.

One thing that I really enjoy doing is cooking for my family. I absolutely love being in the kitchen and making delicious food for my family. Lately I have been trying to cook healthier for my family and taking my normal recipes and finding ways to make them healthier. I recently got the opportunity to review the book Secrets of Skinny Cooking with my family. This book contains mouthwatering recipes you will not believe are low calorie!

Stay Cool In the Heat with Fruiti Freeze

 

With expecting my fifth child in September I have been looking for ways to stay nice and cool this summer. We do not have A/C in our new home so I know there will be days that I will need a way to cool not only my body off but the kids as well. Now thanks to our new Fruiti Freeze from Viatek we will be able to make delicious homemade frozen soft serve style desserts to stay nice and cool. 

Cookin' Up Thursday: Veggie Pizza

 

Welcome to Cookin' Up Thursdays by Andersons Angels and The More The Merrier. This is a blog hop for and about delicious Recipes! We are hoping that this hop will help all you busy moms with getting yummy dinners on the table for your families without having to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. This week I am sharing with you my recipe for Bubba's Veggie Pizza. We love growing a garden in the summer and creating delicious recipes with our fresh veggies. This is Bubba's Veggie Pizza Recipe with his 4H cooking project last year. He hopes you enjoy as much as we do!