Mom! No Pictures! #WW
Author: cvegnad
May 15, 2013
May 14, 2013
Banana Cinnamon Raisin Bites
I was so excited to be able to participate in the Sun-Maid Canadian Family recipe contest this year!
My husband loves his raisin bread but we tend to eat it plain and just toasted. So we were all really excited to be able to shake things up a bit and make something unique for our family.
We began to brainstorm ideas and some important criteria for us were: quick, simple, fruits and fun! My boys love their bananas and strawberries so we definitely wanted to include them in our recipe. In the end we ended up with two different versions of the same recipe. One is simpler and perfect for after school and the second takes an extra ten minutes in the oven but still easy to make.
The ingredients for both are exactly the same. You will need:
– three bananas
– 1/4 cup of Maple syrup
– 1/2 cup of strawberries
– 6 slices of Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Directions:
1. Cut the bananas into thin slices.
2. Cover the bananas with Maple Syrup and mix until evenly covered (this is my favourite part and tastes so yummy!).
3. At this point, you can either go one of two ways. The first way is to lightly toast the Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl bread. Cover with banana and syrup mix. Top with strawberries. We cut our strawberries in half and put the bananas in the middle and covered the whole thing with more syrup.
4. The other way we completed the recipe was by arranging the bread in cupcake pans (this was quite tricky and required some patience!). Then we poured the banana and syrup mix on top. We then baked them at 350F for just under ten minutes (oven times may vary – you only want to lightly toast the bread otherwise the bananas will soak through and stick to the pan). Remove the bread from the pan and place into individual bowls (we used our ice cream bowls!). They had such a unique shape to them – our son said they looked like little flowers! Add some extra syrup and bananas on top, sprinkle with strawberries – enjoy!
I wish we had almond slivers to sprinkle on top of the strawberries as well but they tasted delicious as is. The total prep time for this was under five minutes and total cook time between 5-15 minutes depending on which version you use.
What is your favourite way to enjoy raisin bread?
May 13, 2013
Happy Mother’s Day!
Wishing all you Mothers and Mothers-To-Be a fantastic Mother’s Day!
How did you spend today?
May 13, 2013
Banana and Pear Smoothie
I have been loving starting my day with a smoothie! It keeps me full, so simple to make and to take with me on my way to work. You can pretty much put anything in to a smoothie and it tastes great! Well almost anything!
Ingredients:
-1 pear (sliced – your choice skin on or off)
-1 banana
-1 cup of Almond Fresh Vanilla milk
– 2 tsp of ground Flaxseed
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
The perfect drink on the go!
May 9, 2013
Beads N’ Birds #Giveaway
I love handcrafted products! The attention to detail, the unique designs and the love that has been put into each product shines through making each item so special.
I was recently introduced to a company called, Beads N’ Birds that produces unique handcrafted sun catchers, jewellery (and so much more!) all centered around their love of birds. The company is run by Kay and Pam – who design and create the wire birds, sun catchers and jewellery themselves. They use a variety of mediums which include: wire, beads, glass beads and stones. My favourite designs include the red and turquoise beads! The colours are vibrant and just pop right out at you.
Here are a few examples of their work:
I completely fell in love with their story of how their company was founded. Beads N’ Birds was founded when Pam’s budgie (Uncles Les) flew to Kay while she was leaving the house. The door had opened and he flew out and off – he never returned! Which is heart breaking for anyone who is a pet owner. She has a new budgie now and they are building their own bond. Budgies are intelligent birds and were the only type of pets my parents allowed us to have as children. Their home was in our living room and it was always fun to listen to their singing.
You can truly see how much love they have for birds and their work is proof of their passion in their products. You can find more examples of their work on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. To purchase an item visit them on their page.
Beads N’ Birds are giving away one of their Sun Catchers! You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
Giveaway is open to residents of Canada, 18 years of age and older.
The images above are from Beads N’ Bird and have been used with their permission.