Monthly Archives: August 2016

Apple Crumble – Gluten Free but sooo Yum!

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It seems these days I have a LOT of friends that have diet restrictions. All for various reasons and all different restrictions. It used to be that I was the one that was difficult to have over for dinner being a vegetarian. Now I’m pretty easy by comparison! Last night we had over one of my long time dear friends and her family for dinner. She is gluten, dairy and soy free (gulp!). We ended up dividing the meal between the two of us to make it easier on both, but I said I would make a dessert. More or less because my mom just gave me a box full of apples that are perfect for baking and I needed to start making a dent in them!

A crumble is pretty easy to get around the no dairy – just use coconut oil for the butter. The flour in theory is pretty easy because it doesn’t call for much and there is gluten free flour, which I thought I had but I didn’t. I love a good food challenge so I set forth on creating a gluten and dairy free apple crumble. I used my base recipe from Skinny Taste (love her!) and went from there. After making a few additions and substitutions, it looked amazing, but did it taste as good? After the meal was chowed, and the table cleared, we dished up the crumble with some dairy free coconut vanilla ice cream and OMG! It was super YUM! So I am sharing it here with you…and let’s be honest. If it turned out terrible, I would be silent as a mouse 😉 This is all that was left after we dished up and by the end of the night there were just a few small bites…and by morning there was none 🙂

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Ingredients

For filling:

  • 4 cups peeled, sliced cooking apples such as Granny Smith
  • 2 cups peeled, sliced slightly sweeter apple – I used Pink Lady
  • Âź cup honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp. corn starch
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

For topping:

  • 1 ½ cup quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 2 Tbsp. almond meal
  • Âź tsp. kosher salt
  • 6 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. xanthum gum

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Lightly spray 9” x 12” baking dish with oil.
  3. For filling: In a large bowl, combine apples, honey, lemon juice, corn starch, cinnamon. Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish.
  4. For topping: In a separate bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, pecans, almond meal, salt, xanthum gum and coconut oil. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake until browned and bubbling, 50-55 minutes.
  5. Serve warm.
    Serves 8.

Apple Watch Review From a Non-Tech Person

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I’ve been living with my Apple Watch since Christmas and so I feel I can now give an honest review. For the record, this is by no means solicited…just me on my own account. And can I start off by apologizing for my veiny hands and oddly tanned arms…we’ve spent a lot of time outside this summer. I actually edited the picture to make my arm look LESS orange 🙁

For a little back story, I wasn’t in the market for one, but my husband is a tech lover to the Nth degree and so several months after they came out, I ended up with one too. I’m not a huge tech person, but will try to stay at least somewhat up to date. But let’s just say I rely heavily on my husband to do all that for me 🙂 I am a huge watch person however, so it wasn’t a struggle to get me to wear a watch, but I was really happy with my not too expensive wide banded gold watch. Looks and function-wise. I turned to look at my wrist and voila! There was the time!

When I got my Apple Watch, I tried wearing it a few times, but it comes with a white sports band and that was just not  “me”. I like my watch to double as a jewelry piece as well as be functional. I thought the Apple gold bands were crazy expensive, but I guess on Amazon, there are tons of compatible bands for far less cost. The one in the picture I think was around $18. Because of the white band, I was hardly wearing it at all until my husband gave the suggestion to buy a band from Amazon. That was a game changer for me having the gold band. For the last few months I have been wearing it pretty much every day. That said, there are some pros and cons for me. Keep in mind, I am not a tech lover and still prefer to write my grocery list on an old fashioned notepad.

So here’s my breakdown list of PROS and CONS:

PROS:
  • With a band that fits your style, it’s a good looking watch
  • Tracks your steps, activity level and bugs you with a little buzz on your wrist to stand if you have sat too long
  • You can quickly glance at a text when you receive one
  • Tracks your walking and/or running
  • I can see when I’ve received an Etsy message
  • Shows weather…and a whole lot of other features. Let’s be honest – I don’t use it to it’s full potential
CONS:
  • Incoming buzz updates on your wrist can almost cause an accident if you are driving in traffic
  • Clock doesn’t always light up when you turn your wrist to look – big annoyance on my part! I like a watch to work when I need it too. And my hands are usually full so I can’t tap the screen with my other hand.
  • You have to charge it nightly so you can’t use it for the sleep monitoring function
  • I can’t use it to play soccer or when I exercise with a kettle bell so the fitness function is a moot point when I do these
  • I also have a fitbit and the steps calculated are more than on my fitbit. Sounds good, but which one is accurate???? I tend to lean towards on the lesser side to be safe.
  • I’m always worried I will scratch or crack the screen
  • Replying back to text messages isn’t practical when driving. Your phone is much easier when you have a moment.

So there is my unbiased review! I hope my husband isn’t disappointed with all my cons, but for someone like him, he loves it. He optimizes his to it’s full potential and is a tech guy through and through. I’m on the fence about it and if you are someone like me, but aren’t sure about getting one. I’d wait until the next generation comes out.

 

Triple Berry Ice Cream

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My seven year old has been in the kitchen lately and she is doing a fantastic job. I’m not sure if she has a knack for picking recipes or if it’s her cookbook The Silver Spoon for Children, but so far she has made some really yummy dishes. The recipes are super simple, yet with sophisticated ingredients that are familiar and liked by most people. Particularly children! And the illustrations are fun to look at too! I highly recommend this for your kiddos.

This triple berry ice cream is…how do I say this?…A.MAZING!  I can usually skip ice cream to save a few valued calories, but this is worth it. So worth it. Here’s the recipe in case you don’t go out to get the book. But really, the cookbook is worth it even if you are not a kid.

 

Triple Berry Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 3.5 Cups of frozen berries such as blackberries, raspberry’s, redcurrants or blackcurrants (I used Trader Joes mixed berries)
  • Half a Lemon
  • 1 Cup Super Fine Sugar

Directions

This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people.
1. Pour the cream into a big bowl and using a hand whisk or electric whisk, whisk until it holds in soft peaks-when you lift the whisk out it should look like snowy mountains (if you whisk the cream to long it becomes firm & stiff).
2. Put the frozen berries into the food processor. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, add the sugar and whiz until mashed up.
3. Spoon the mashed berries into the whipped cream and carefully fold everything together. Spoon into a freeze proof container (I used a bread load pan)), cover and freeze for 3 hours or until frozen.

 

Free Printable Lunch Notes!

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I can’t believe I am talking about back to school already! We still have some serious summering to do, but back to school is nearing and I need to start thinking school supplies, clothes, backpacks, etc.

Last year I put a lunch note in my girls’ lunches nearly every day. There were some days I missed and I have to confess, the majority of them were more clustered at the end of the year. Partly because they were getting tired of the same old rotation of notes, and partly because I was burnt out on making lunches!!! Most days I wondered if they even cared I put a note in their lunch and if it had any impact. But when I would forget, I would hear about it when they got home. So if it helps them feel a little love to get them through the day, I’m willing to go the extra step. After all, the days when want a note from mom in their lunch and aren’t embarrassed by me are numbered. So I will take this time while I have it.

My littlest is starting Kindergarten this year (when did that happen?!) and so I want to make her first big year just as special as her big sister’s. To help myself not slacking on adding notes to their lunches, I created another lunch note set and I plan on printing a TON before school starts so I’ll always have a supply. Click here for the free printable download and check out my Frella Design Etsy shop for some more lunch note sets.

Wedding Outfit Inspiration

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We had a wedding this last weekend, as I am sure most people are on the wedding circuit during these summer months. We don’t have as many the last few years since most of our friends are married and even finished having all of their kids. So a wedding here or there is kind of fun and not a burden 🙂

I have to say, I had some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time getting dressed up. It’s a rare occasion for me these days, with fewer weddings to go to, being a stay at home mom, and just plain ol’ busy with the kids. The week before I did a last minute shopping spree on Amazon (Amen to Prime!) for a fun skirt. I was surprised that there were so many cute tea length full skirts for a steal! There was still the question of quality, but I could always return them. So I took a gamble and ordered a green one and the yellow one you see in the picture. I’m returning a few others I tried, but the green and yellow ones are amazing for $20!! I’m keeping both 🙂 Then with a little inspiration from what I had in my closet, I settled on the stripe blouse from Target, black studded shoes from Aldo (years ago), and jewelry from Madewell and Loft. A pretty inexpensive outfit that was fun, easy (skirt has pockets – bonus!) and comfortable…minus the hot weather!! That part I wasn’t a fan of and could have used cool air zipping up my skirt. But we can’t have it all, right?!

And the best part about getting dressed up this weekend? My girls were away with grandma and grandpa so I actually had time to think about what I wanted to wear without little ones crowding around me in my closet and asking a million questions or needing something every 10 seconds…so maybe it wasn’t the actual outfit, but simply that I had TIME 😉

Enjoy the wedding season!