Amazi and Comforting Fall Food {Guest Post}

Sorry! 

This post has been moved HERE, please visit my new site at MintGrapefruit.com for more!

Mimi's Play Dough

I came across a large canister filled with flour, and me being me struggled to just throw it out. Why throw it out you ask? Well, if I had to take a guess the flour in this canister was at least 6 years old and it was just plain ol’ all-purpose white flour which I don’t use anymore anyway, so…throwing it seemed to be the right option.  Well I sat staring at the flour thinking of all the things I could use it for (I even sent texts my friends to see if they could use it for anything), since it was too old to use for food my mind was instantly thinking crafts.  I thought of homemade modge podge, paper mache, salt dough…then I looked over at my son, sitting at the kitchen table sifting through his poor selection of play dough. My mind was made up…PLAY DOUGH! And of course my little helper was eager to help.

Now you can go on Pinterest and find oodles of different play dough recipes, but I am sticking with my mom’s recipe that she used when I was a kid. (I posted something a few years ago, you can see it here.) I am Gluten-Free, my son is not, and so making the dough using regular flour wasn't a concern for me. BUT, if you child is Gluten-Free then I would substitute the flour; use rice or even GF oat flour. I personally haven’t tried it using other flours but I would assume it would work fine.  (Here is a site called Creative with Kids that shares her gluten free play dough recipe.)

Mimi’s Play Dough

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tbsp. oil

2 cups water

Food coloring*

Mix all the ingredients in a large pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the mix pulls away from the sides. Constantly stir! This is an arm workout.  (*If you want to have all one color, add the food coloring to the water and mix in while heating.  If you want multiple colors, once you take the dough out of the pot, divide the dough and knead the food coloring in.)

Once the dough is formed, put on wax paper and knead until smooth.  Store in an airtight container (nothing metal), you could even use old empty play dough containers.

He wanted multiple colors, and we were short on food coloring so the only color he wanted that he wasn't able to get was purple; maybe next time.  We added the food coloring in at the kneading stage, and I let him do the kneading.  You may need to add more coloring as you go if you want a more vibrant color.  

Now go play!

Mom's Meet: Almond Breeze Almondmilk Product Review

Saturday evening was our first Mom's Meet, I think it went pretty well. Like me it wasn't very organized, but we tried some milks and nibbled on food, some people stayed for a cookout after which made for a very nice evening.  

We sampled four different Almond Breeze Milks; Original, Vanilla, Almond Coconut and Almond Coconut Unsweetened.  We tasted and talked about which we liked, which we didn't and why.  Once we were done we filled out a questionnaire that reflected the majority.

Taste was the biggest attribute that we judged by, followed by texture.  It was agreed that the Vanilla had the best taste out of the flavors tried. The Original came in second. We were also in agreement that the Almond Coconut had an unpleasant taste, but it worked really well in the recipes that I made.  So for cooking purposes it was great.  We all agreed that we don't know if we would have a big glass of any of the milks, but then again non of us seemed to drink big glasses of cows milk either (at least those who I asked). So here is a quick break down of the four we tried, in order of best to worse:

1. Vanilla Flavor

2. Original

3. Almond Coconut

4. Unsweetened Almond Coconut

Side note: I didn't pickup the chocolate flavor because they didn't have it our local grocery store, but we all thought the chocolate flavor would probably be really good. I may have to pick up a carton just to try.

As for me, personally, I would and may continue to by the original or vanilla for myself.  It was much cheaper at Trader Joe's then it was at my local grocery store.  Those were I only two stores I priced out, and were almost a dollar different.

The recipes...both were good.  The chicken was really good, even my husband and son enjoyed it. The muffins, I thought could use less almond extract, but were good.

Coconut Cherry Muffins

(from Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Blend Recipe Collection)

1 cup Almond Breeze Vanilla Almondmilk Coconutmilk

½ cup cherry preserves

3 tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. almond extract (Next time I would use half of this, it was a little too strong for my tastes)

1 egg

2 cups prepared GF baking mix (I used Gluten Free Bisquick)

2/3 cup shredded coconut

½ cup sugar

½ cup dried cherries

Chopped Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 400*F and spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper wrappers. Whisk together Almond Breeze, preserves, butter, extract and egg in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into prepared muffin cups (they will be very full) and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Coconut Curry Chicken

(from Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Blend Recipe Collection)

1 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almondmilk Coconutmilk

1/2 cup minced onion

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp. sesame oil

1-1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

4 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (I may use more next time)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 lbs. thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Cilantro leaves and sesame seeds for garnish, optional

Place Almond Breeze, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, curry, red pepper and garlic in a gallon-size zip top bag; squeeze gently to mix. Add chicken and seal well. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Grill or broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until nicely charred and cooked through. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds, if desired.

You can find more recipes on the Almond Breeze website, here.

Moms Meet - Sampling for a healthier family

A few months ago, while sitting in the doctor’s office, I picked up Kiwi Magazine. If you are a mom (or dad) and haven’t ever seen this magazine, I would highly recommend it. It is all about parenting while being green. While reading it, there was an ad for Moms Meet and how you could apply to be a Mom Ambassador. I decided to go online to http://www.greenmomsmeet.com/ and check it out. Here is a little blurb from the website about what they are:
Well long story short, I applied and was accepted to be a Mom Ambassador for my area (you may have noticed the badge on the side of blog.) So I rounded up some of my mom friends and asked if they would be willing to be part of my Moms Meet Group, all were for it! As the weeks went on, I didn’t really hear anything but then I started getting emails to try things. You aren’t guaranteed to get accepted to sample everything you apply for, I am not 100% sure how one is chosen but I think it mostly on a first come first serve basis. So far I have applied for 4 group samplings and one that was just for Mom Ambassadors.

My group and I were chosen to sample Almond Breeze Almond Milk; some of the moms (including myself) have tried Almond Milk before some have not. Currently my group consistsof about 6 moms all with children ranging from 1-10. In my package, I received two vouchers for a carton of shelf stable milk (any flavor), two cartons of their new milk that is a blend of almond and coconut milks, a recipe booklet, a smoothie recipe booklet, coupons, and a beach towel.

The first thing I did was start going through the recipes; I picked out a couple recipes to try during our meeting. Both that would be family friendly, except maybe adults only smoothie!

Our first meeting will be on July 28th, so look for more information regarding our reviews and recipes then!

Also, if you are reading this and are interested in joining our group let me know, the more the merrier!

Moms Meet is an online resource that empowers moms to come together in an informal setting and talk about the latest on raising healthy families and living green. We provide easy-to-read articles and discussion prompts on different eco-conscious parenting topics; think of it as an eco-themed reading club for your playgroup. Some subjects we’ve covered in the past have included:

• Going green on a budget
• Slow family living
• How to feed your family
• Sleep training methods
• Overparenting

In addition to creating a space for moms to talk parenting and eco-conscious living, Moms Meet offers exciting opportunities for Mom Ambassadors and their groups to sample the latest healthy, green products. Past sampling opportunities have included EO all-natural hand sanitizer, Wallaby Organic yogurt, and To Go Brands Trim Energy

Going Green: My Re-Pac Review

Just like a lot of other people out there I have been trying to be a little more green.  My most recent dilemma has been realizing how may plastic bags I go through a week with lunches.  I started trying to save some of the bags to reuse, but that didn't work very well.  So...when a Living Social deal came up for Re-Pac bags, I jumped at the deal.  I was able to get 4 reusable bags for the price of two.

They are great! They are lined with a water resistant fabric, and are able to be washed in the washer, dishwasher or you can just wipe clean by hand.  I wouldn't put really wet items in the bags because depending on how long it sits juices may start to seep through the fabric. But so far I really like them.  I did put them though the wash today and they held up great, I did not put them in the dryer.

I bought two sandwich size and two snack size bags. (Yes, my lunch bag says Cat Food, and the day I took this picture I didn't make a sandwich because I was meeting with my mom.)  I also make a lot of wraps, and those I still wrap up in either foil or plastic wrap, although I try to use the foil because I am more likely to use that again.

But anyway...I would give these 4.5 stars out of 5 and would highly recommend!