Tag: recipes

Five Quick and Easy Snack Hacks for Busy Families

Five Quick and Easy Snack Hacks for Busy Families that are Peanut Butter HappyMy crazy crew is often on the move, so whenever we get ready to leave the house I have to grab a few snacks to keep everyone happy. When my toddler gets hangry (hungry/angry) I need a snack at the ready. Today I’m sharing five quick and easy snack hacks that are perfect for busy families, as well as a great giveaway from Jif. Read on to find healthy snacks for your people (little or big) and share your own ideas in the comments section.

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Making Mini Popcorn Lollipops and Pillow Forts for Pop Secret Family Fun

This post is sponsored by Pop Secret. All opinions are my own.

Easy Popcorn Lollipops

One of our favorite afternoon rituals when the weather is yucky is to pop a bag of popcorn and curl up to read or watch a movie together after the kids wake up from their nap. Often this sweet time includes a little pillow fort building. This week we decided to take our snacking to the next level by creating the cutest little popcorn lollipops. The recipe is super easy and a fun way to get your kids involved in the kitchen. Be sure to jump over here to grab a $1 off coupon from Pop Secret.

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Meal Plan: Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cheesy Garlic Whipped Potatoes and Lemon Roasted Broccoli

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Smithfield®, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PutPorkontheMenu http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

meal plan ideas with pork tenderloin and garlic whipped potatoes and roasted broccoliPreparing a meal plan each week saves my sanity as well as time and money. One of our favorite meals is pan seared pork tenderloin with cheesy garlic whipped potatoes and lemon roasted broccoli. Today I’m sharing our simple meal idea with you using a pre-marinated peppercorn and garlic pork tenderloin from Smithfield to make life even easier.

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A Fresh Seafood Meal Plan for Your Family Beach Vacation #BareFeetontheBeach

freshseafoodmealplan

After 30+ years of beach trips, our family knows what we love and we stick to it. We try maybe one new recipe each trip, but we love to make our favorites year after year. I’ve put together our traditional beach meal plan for you to use to gather ideas for your own family beach vacation. One of the best ways to save money while traveling is to cook rather than dine out. This meal plan will help you save money without missing out on the fresh seafood flavors that make beach trips so amazing. Be sure to pin this post so you can find it later for your family beach vacation.

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Meal Plan: Kid Friendly Meals with Tyson Panko Chicken Nuggets and Addictive Orange Dipping Sauce Recipe

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. The only way we can stick to our grocery and dining out budgets is by planning out our meals. We are always on the look out for quick, easy meals that the kids will actually eat, and we love to try to recreate our favorite restaurant meals at home. We all love the new Tyson Panko chicken nuggets from Sam’s, and they make a perfect kids’ dinner when paired with healthy fruits and vegetables. The Bear is big on dipping, so we experiment with new dipping sauces for our kid friendly meals. Jed whipped up this fabulous zesty addictive orange sauce to pair with our nuggets. It is quick and easy to make at home and tastes very similar to that of our favorite chicken restaurant. I will warn you – it really is crazy addictive.

#ad#summersauce#tysonpankochickennuggets#shop#cbias

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Itty Bitty Bunny Cupcakes {Perfect for Easter}

bunnycupcakes

I made these darling little bunny cupcakes for the Pearl Girl’s first birthday party, and thought they would be perfect for Easter. Her party had an Easter theme because, well, I’d already decorated for it and didn’t feel like taking the Easter stuff down to put birthday stuff up. You can find some of my other Easter posts here. I’ll share more about our little party soon, but had to show you these little cuties because they were so easy and I really loved how they turned out. I am obsessed with my mini muffin tin lately, so I used it to create 24 itty bitty bunny cupcakes – bite sized for adults and perfectly sized for toddlers.

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FROZEN Play Time: Make Melted Olaf Dip and Build Elsa’s Ice Castles

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#FROZENFun-#shop-#cbias-melted-olaf-dip-disney

Is your family singing “Let It Go” nonstop these days? You’re not the only ones. I created a FROZEN play date for my kids and their cousins recently and it was a huge hit. The big kids were singing as they built Elsa’s Ice Castles and everyone got a kick out of my Melted Olaf Dip perfect for Eggo Frozen Waffles and fresh fruit. I picked up a few choice Walmart toys to share among the kids and set up snacking and building stations and we had a blast. Best of all, my recipes are healthy and activities are super easy to recreate. We are so pumped for the release of the FROZEN DVD on March 18th, and the discount price drop from $16.96 to $14.96 at Walmart. Grab a $5 off offer on special marked packages of Eggo Waffles and get an even better deal on the FROZEN DVD. Now for the #FROZENFun …

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Sneaky Veggie Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Muffins

Parenting a toddler comes with a special set of challenges, one of which is trying to get them to eat things outside of their favorite food groups.  Similar to Will Ferrell’s Elf character, most toddler consider the main food groups to be candy, candy corns, cake, cupcakes, cereal, milk, and juice.  We fight toddler meal battles on a daily basis around here, and utilize a variety of techniques to get our growing boy the nutrients he needs without losing our sanity.  I make sneaky veggie smoothies every week, and have started baking sneaky veggie muffins quite often.  I’ve tried a few veggie muffin recipes, and have come up with the one I’m sharing today through trial and error.  This recipe maximizes the good stuff without compromising on taste.  We all love them, and I hope you will as well.
Sneaky Veggie Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Muffins
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs or substitute 3 tbsp flax seed mixed with water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
Beat the eggs or flax seed mix.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well.  I use a stand mixer.
Add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing and scraping the sides as you go.
After the other ingredients are well mixed, add the chocolate chips if desired.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter in to your muffin tin, filling each spot 2/3 of the way full.
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.
Enjoy.  These bad boys are not just for picky toddlers.  They are popular with all members of Casa de Eby.
I wish the Bear would eat his vegetables, and I continue to offer them at lunch and dinner every day.  Someday he will choose to eat them.  For now, I’m getting his nutritional needs met in the form of baked goods.
How do you get your kids to eat vegetables?