Posted on

Back To School

*Sponsored Post*

It’s back to school time, and I’m loving these fun products that help make learning fun! With homeschooling multiple grades it’s super busy at times, but also so much fun to see my kids learning!

I am loving this rug from KC Cubs! I set it out in our school area for my 4yr old and eventually gave up on taking a picture of it with no toys on it. It’s his favorite place to play!

I love how he’ll play with toys and then we’ll discuss a few letters and then he’ll go back to playing. The seasons have been a favorite topic of conversation with his older siblings. They know the seasons, but seeing them laid out by month has been super interesting to them.

This rug is comfortable and doesn’t slide around on my floor. Basically, everyone loves it! It’s the preferred toy and game area in my house suddenly. And I’m loving that we can naturally have conversations about letters, seasons, and days of the week while the kids play.

And, what’s a school day without good snacks? I’m loving these fun cookies from Dick & Jane!

Not only are they tasty, they’re terrific conversation starters! We even had to look a couple presidents up because none of us remembered what they did.

I think we spend more time playing with these than eating them. Which really isn’t all that bad. It’s definitely a fun way to start or finish our school day!

And, last but not least, this super easy cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. Because a school day isn’t successful without a tasty dinner! And I don’t always have time to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Each of these recipes really is only 5 ingredients, which makes them all super easy to make. I’m loving the addition of all these tasty and easy recipes to the end of our school day.

With only 5 ingredients, even my older kids can make us dinner! It’s a win win. Good food, and they’re learning how to cook!

Posted on

Tasty, Healthy, Snacks

*I received these products free for purposes of my review*

Pure Crumb

Pure Crumb sent me 4 different kids of bark. Brownie Bark, Crumb Cake Bark, and 2 kids of Cookie Bark.

These products are all gluten free and dairy free, so will work for a lot of different dietary restrictions!

While I liked all 4 flavors, I do have my favorite! But, before I get to that, more about the products in general.

You can purchase 12 individual packages, you know, for if you’re counting calories. But, seriously, just buy the big bags! With the simple ingredients these products have, it won’t hurt to splurge a little on the calories!

For example, check out the ingredient list on the Brownie Bark:

Ingredients:  Pure Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips*, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Gluten Free Flour Blend*, Eggs, Almond Flour, Coconut Oil, Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon.

*Pure Semi Sweet Chocolate:   sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanillin.

*Gluten Free Flour Blend:  garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, whole grain sweet white sorghum flour, fava bean flour

I mean, I actually know what these things are! How awesome is that?

While there are some “bark” pieces, these honestly are a bit more like “crumbs” so Pure Crumb is a great name for them. I enjoyed these straight from the bag, and as a crumb topping on my yogurt – which is seriously amazing and why you should just get the big bags!

Brownie Bark – My favorite! It’s so chocolaty and you may actually want to get the snack bags for this one, because it’s really hard to not just eat the entire bag.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark – My favorite one for a yogurt topping. I just love the coconut and chocolate cookie crumbles on yogurt. Delicious, a little crunchy, and not too sweet.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark – Also tasty, but it’s hard to compete with coconut, so… you know, I’ll eat it if the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark is gone.

Crumb Cake – Delicious flavor, think cinnamon sugar cookie, but it’s competing against 3 barks with chocolate, so it didn’t stand a chance!

Check out PureCrumb.com for more information and/or to order some for yourself!

Plant Junkie

Check out this line of plant based spreads, dressings, and vinaigrettes. I was intrigued by the variety of flavors available, and just a bit curious. How do you you make a ranch dressing without dairy?

I tried the chai ranch dressing first. And, I’ll be honest. It does not taste like ranch. I’m not saying that it tastes bad. But if you’re expecting traditional ranch dressing, this is not it. I’m actually pretty sure that it’s impossible to make a basic ranch dressing without some sort of dairy product.

Anyways, I would describe the flavor as kind of hummusy (is that a word?), with some coconut and oats making it more mild, and of course chai seeds. I was originally going to sub it for mayonnaise on a sandwich but changed my mind. It’s got a LOT of flavor – way more than mayonnaise. So, I tried it as a veggie dip instead and that was perfect!

The Turmeric and Pepper Ranch dressing was terrific on a salad, just start light because these dressings have a lot of flavor! Which is amazing, because I’m the kind of person who prefers a little dressing with my salad and not the other way around. So, with these, I get lots of flavor without having to drown my lettuce.

And with no eggs, no soy, and no gluten, these are great products for a variety of diets.

I used the Chili Pomegranate Vinaigrette as a steak marinade. It was very flavorful, and quite delicious! I realize these are plant based products, but I do love a good marinaded steak! And since they’re gluten free, and keto friendly that just makes it a lot easier for me to use as a marinade when I have guests!

You can purchase their products on amazon or at plantjunkie.com.

Posted on

Fun and Unique Easter Basket Ideas

*I received many of these items for free, to review*

So, we’re all stuck at home and trying to come up with some fun Easter plans for the kids! I’m working on an indoor scavenger hunt, and rounding up plenty of Easter Basket gifts that aren’t candy. Because kids, inside, with parents working, and lots of candy, just don’t mix!

B Nutty Peanut Butter

I have to admit, I opened these early and made snacks – check out these easy and fast snacks out here – because they’re so good! The little jars are perfect for kid’s baskets and the larger jars are for adults. Or just for me. I made the mistake of just grabbing a spoon and the Totally Toffee the other day, and I ate way too much! At least Peanut Butter is good for me, right?

This gourmet peanut butter is delicious and they have so many varieties, it’s easy to find one that will be perfect for your gift basket!

My kids love the Cinnamon Sugar Cookie peanut butter. They’re pretty sure that a little bit of this on a ritz cracker qualifies as dessert.

You can purchase directly from B Nutty’s website. And you can join their newsletter for 15% off a purchase.

Woodridge Snacks

I’m not sure that my kids will like these, but my husband and I are definitely enjoying them! The Sriracha Sticky Rice Chips are his favorite. He ate them all in one day and has requested more. So, guess what he’s getting in his Easter Basket!

The Mochi Rice Nuggets look suspicious, but they taste WAY better than they look. Just get a bag and try them. I opened them and was like “I guess I’ll take one for the team here” since I had agreed to test them (btw this was the first bag I tried, lol). They’re surprisingly good, and I love how crunchy and airy they are!

The Tempura Seaweed Chips have a decent crunch to them as well, but you can definitely taste the seaweed. If you love seaweed, you’ll love these, but as much as I try to like seaweed, it still always tastes really strong to me. Probably not my first choice, because the two rices are awesome! But they’re still pretty good, and if you just love seaweed snacks, you’ll definitely love these!

The Ginger chews are basically what I expected. They pack a lot of flavor, and probably not a snack that I’m going to sit down and just eat the entire bag, but one or two of these is perfect to finish off some snacking with. And with all the snacking I’m doing these days working at home, I need some snacks that are good for me.

Get 20% off your first order with code: WR20APRIL (expires April 30, 2020)Head on over to the Woodridge Snacks Website and order some tasty and order some unique and tasty snacks for those Easter Baskets you’re working on!

Choc Zero

First things first. This chocolate is sweetened with monk fruit extract instead of sugar. Meaning, that for chocolate, it’s quite low carb. So, if you’re gifting to someone doing a keto diet, you’re in luck!

I’m always skeptical of sugar free candies but I generally like monk fruit so I was willing to give this a try. It’s Delicious!

My favorite chocolate is milk chocolate and these milk chocolate squares are packed with real chocolate and perfectly sweetened without sugar.

I don’t always like dark chocolate but this dark chocolate almond bark is amazing! With all the stress of working from home, homeschooling, etc. lately, it’s nice to be able to stress eat some chocolate without feeling bad about it.

The white chocolate chips are amazing! As I expected, after trying the other 2 chocolates. I’ll be posting a recipe with them later. I’m way behind on recipe posting with all this craziness these days.

And, of course, the syrup. We’re eating so many pancakes with everyone home every single morning. This was such a fun treat for the kids. I’m thinking that they each need their own bottle of syrup for Easter this year.

Choc Zero can be purchased from their website, or from Amazon.

Unstable Unicorns

The first non-food item in my list, because I seem to have this thing for food in Easter baskets! I just couldn’t resist this game for my unicorn loving tween. This card game is a tad complicated, so definitely ideal for older kids. But once you figure it out, it’s so much fun!

We’ve spent hours this past week playing this game. It takes time to play, which is perfect for keeping the kids busy while we’re social distancing. If you have a kid who’s as in to unicorns as mine is, she’ll love this game! And with the hours upon hours of play time this card game offers, you’ll be glad you bought it.

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

If you have slightly younger kids who really want a card game too, but can’t handle the strategy required for Unstable Unicorns, you’ll love this game. Even my 2yr old tries to get in on it by slapping the pile randomly.

It’s super easy to play and fast paced enough that it keeps the kid’s attention easily. Between this game and the Unicorn game I’ve had my kids busy with card games for days! Definitely another great addition to your Easter Basket that will help entertain the kids.

Posted on

Superbowl Party

I’m a casual football fan, I enjoy sitting on the couch Sunday afternoon and watching football but I honestly don’t care which team wins. I’ll cheer for whatever team my husband picks.

For me, the best part of football is the opportunity to get people together and spend some time with friends and family. Even if that time is spend yelling at the TV!

That said, I always look forward to the superbowl. It’s late enough the baby goes to bed right after it starts and I can enjoy the game with everyone. And enjoy tasty football snacks!

My favorite snacks:

1. Chili Cheese dip – 1 can of beanless chili and half a container of velveeta cheese, melted and mixed together
2. Pizza rolls – canned pizza dough, with pepperoni, Parmesan cheese, spices, and mozzarella, rolled into a log then baked and cut into rounds.
3. Chicken wings – frozen from a bag
4. Veggie tray – just to balance out all this unhealthy food.