My family and I love Sunday brunch. We laugh, tell stories, and catch up on the previous week. If it were up to Eben, every single Sunday we would have cinnamon rolls on the brunch menu — they are his absolute favorite. That gave me the idea to put a fun twist on his favorite brunch staple by making cinnamon roll waffles. While I have seen them done before with store bought cinnamon rolls, I could never buy those since they are pre-packaged and full of artificial flavors and colors. Instead, I took my favorite vegan waffle recipe and set out to make a batch of cinnamon roll waffles. The results were as amazing as you would expect — and the best part is, they are piping hot and taste fantastic fresh from the waffle iron. Not to mention, they are a fun new way to serve an old favorite – jump over to Inhabitots to check out my vegan cinnamon roll waffles.
Hello, Friends. How are you? I am finishing up work so Eben and I can spend the afternoon swimming in the pool with friends. OK, the kids will be swimming in the pool – we (the moms!) will be in the hot tub. Ha! Then, I am going to pick up an assortment of organic cheese, crackers and wine and spend the evening reconnecting with the mister. As for the rest of the weekend, I have been so busy for the past several weekends that I am looking forward to staying home and soaking up the goodness that is my family.
While I put on my swimsuit, here are a few green things to take you through the weekend:
Eben has a constantly changing relationship with yogurt. Some weeks he only wants yogurt and granola – other weeks it’s drinkable or squeezable yogurt. When we received a package of YoKids Smoothies in stawbana and very berry, he was excited to give them a try. I was excited because Stonyfeild is packed with fruit, vegetables and probiotics. Win-win.
Here are few more reasons I love Stonyfield YoKids Smoothies:
USDA organic
Better option than many kids snacks
Live active yogurt cultures
Gluten-Free
1/3 recommended daily serving of calcium
We decided to take a few different yogurts along with us on our winter camping trip. The YoKids Smoothies are perfect for camping because they fit perfectly into the small refrigerator in our camper. Also, they are easy to pack for the beach, hiking trips and as snacks in the car.
We also packed our 52 Fun Things to do in the Car cards. Have you picked up this game? It is perfect for any time that your family spends in the car. In fact, I just leave the deck in the glove box, that way we always have it on hand. It helped to make our 3 hour car ride breeze by and kept us engaged and chatting the whole way.
On our trip, we enjoyed our Stonyfield yogurt with cereal and fresh fruit every morning for breakfast. It really gave us the energy that we needed for beach combing, touring St. Augustine and cruising the Farmer’s market during our long weekend.
Now it’s your turn – would you like to try YoKids Smoothies and get your family on the moo-ve? One reader will receive four coupons for FREE six-packs and 52 Fun Things to do in the Car cards.
Disclosure: I received Stonyfield YoKids Smoothies to sample, 52 Fun Things to do in the Car cards and was financial compensated for this review – however, all opinions are my own.
On our way to our camping destination last weekend – we were chatting away when we realized that we forgotten to pack our go-to camping breakfast – cereal. Luckily, we happened to be passing a Target at the time – inside we headed for the natural and organic cereal section. I was immediately drawn to the the packaging of a brand that I had never heard of before, Mom’s Best Cereals.
After checking out the box, I asked the mister – how is it that I have never seen these before, the company has been around for ages? From what I could gather Mom’s Best Cereals makes healthier versions of the cereals from my childhood. You know, those cereals that always ran commercials during Saturday morning cartoons – the ones that are full of artificial colors, flavors and tons of sugar! This is absolutely NOT the case with Mom’s Best cereals. For example, when I picked up the Mallow Oats, I was surprised to find a healthier version (of that cereal with the Leprechaun) – here is what I saw:
free of artificial flavors or preservatives (instead they use blueberry, pumpkin and carrot)
no hydrogenated oils
no high fructose corn syrup
14g of whole grain per serving
made with whole grain oats
So we picked up a box and headed on our merry way. We enjoyed our Mallow Oats with our organic Stonyfield yogurt and organic orange juice the next morning. While Eben has never had this type of cereal before, he definitely approved and saved the marshmallows for last (just like I did as a kid!)
We don’t eat a lot of cereal in our house, however Mom’s Best will be on my radar when we do pick more up. I am looking forward to trying out the Honey Grahams and Blue PomWheat-Fuls. They also carry oatmeal – I definitely have to check that out!
Plus, Mom’s Best Cereals supports renewable energy development by purchasing wind energy credits to offset 100% of the electricity consumed by the production of their products. Their recycling and water reduction efforts help conserve natural resources and even their boxes are printed with vegetable-based inks on recycled paperboard.
The only thing that I would love to see in the future for Mom’s Best Cereals is the use of organic ingredients.
Have you tried Mom’s Best Cereals? Thoughts?
I was not compensated in any way for this post, I just bumped into an amazing new company with products that I enjoyed and thought you might be interested.
I love three day weekends, they are just long enough to get away for a few days but not so long that there is a ton of planning, packing, and traveling involved. Over President’s Day weekend, I really wanted to reconnect with my family through a winter camping trip. So, we packed a bag, hooked up the R.V. and started a road trip to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, Florida. While we expected that the weekend was going to be chilly – a crisp 65°, I knew that it would be the perfect weather for hiking, the farmer’s market and campfires!
Here is a little photo tour of our weekend:
Day 1: Old City Farmer’s Market + St. Augustine Beach We were excited to hear that the St. Augustine Farmer’s Market was a nice, forested walk and just outside of the campground. Luckily, we had checked before to see if we could take Noodles (our Pug) because this was the first thing we saw when we entered the Farmer’s Market:
Isn’t that funny? The mister and Eben couldn’t get over it, because that is the face Noodles gives us whenever we tell her no. She stayed in the camper during the farmer’s market and took a nap – which I don’t think she minded. Ha!
I was super impressed with the amount of local and organic farmers and local artisans at the farmer’s market. I will be sharing my favorites in an upcoming post, so check back. Anytime we hit the farmer’s market Eben has to pick up his favorites, homemade cider donuts and fresh lemonade!
After the farmer’s market, we spent the day walking St. Augustine beach. It was cold – we were bundled up and didn’t see many other people. Anastasia State Park is a protected bird sanctuary consisting of 1,700 acres and five miles of sandy beaches. The wind was blowing sand into the foot prints ahead of us, it looks like spirits floating out to sea. Super cool. We sat on the beach, chatted, ate our lunches, admired the sand dunes and walked some more – it was so peaceful and calm.
We finished up the day as usual with a campfire and smores, it was perfect!
Day 2: Castillo de San Marco + St. Augustine Tour
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States and is located in St. Augustine. We always enjoy touring historical sites when we camp – remember a couple of years ago when we visited Mesa Verde, Colorado? It is a great way for children to get hands-on experience about subjects they have learned in school. It was neat to hear the different tidbits that Eben knew about the history of the fort and St. Augustine and he even showed me the steps involved in using a cannon.
After visiting the fort, we decided to do a little exploring of America’s Oldest City – naturally, our first stop was Bon Ami Confections – the sign alone begged me to enter! (I will share more of this sweet little shop in an upcoming post too.) We had to grab a couple of treats for our walk – we really enjoyed the ancient cemeteries, homes, and the history around every corner.
My only complaint and this is with most old towns that I have visited, this sweet little town has become super commercialized, because of this, we always ask locals where the best places to eat, and the must see places are – and try to avoid any tourist traps.
That is a little peek at our weekend, you can see more photos on my instagram. How did you spend President’s Day weekend?
