Cool Lemonade

                                                           

Ah! It’s been two weeks again. I think the heat has gotten to me. We have had some very hot days and then it’s been busy with back to work as well. It’s important to be drinking lots of water in such heat but it is also nice to have a cool sweet drink every once in awhile as well. I’ve been loving Gerolsteiner. It’s not a sweet drink but a sparkling mineral water that has lots of magnesium in it for my sore and aching body at the end of the day. Plain, it’s kind of boring and like any bubbly water but if you add it to some juice it’s very refreshing on a hot Summer day. Try some of the combinations that I did and relax with the feet up.

I love lemonade on a hot day but it can be a little too sweet so I like to dilute it with the Gerolsteiner. If I don’t make my own I like the Simply Lemonade. I like to add different things to it. Try lemon, lime, or orange slices, sliced strawberries, and frozen or fresh mixed berries.  

I also love the Simple Raspberry Lemonade and adding Gerolsteiner to that is a delicious combination.

Try out this fresh lemonade recipe if you prefer to make your own. Adjust the sweetness accordingly.

                                                         

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

8-10 cups of water

½ cups of sugar

In a large pot, combine the water and sugar. Stir and heat until the sugar just melts.

Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Mix well and then chill.

You can serve this with lemon, lime, or orange slices as a garnish.

Nice Cream

Happy August! It’s been a hot one so far and what is better on a hot day than ice cream! Today we have a healthier option so you can have more of it! Take a look at Nicole’s nice cream that she made not too long ago on one of our hot Summer days.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream

6 bananas, chopped and frozen
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup peanut butter (I used natural, unsalted)
Salt
1/4 cup Milk of choice (optional, for consistency)

Slice the bananas and freeze at least overnight.

Place all ingredients into a high powered blender or a food processor and blend on high until smooth. In a high power blender like a Vitamix, you may not need the milk, but will probably need it in a food processor.

If you like soft serve, you can eat right away. Otherwise scoop it into a freezer safe container and put in the freezer to harden. Depending on how long you freeze it, you may want to leave it out for a few minutes so it’s easier to scoop.

Add your favourite toppings and enjoy!

Notes:
- Can easily substitute almond butter or any other nut or seed butter.
- You probably shouldn’t use a regular blender as blending the frozen banana can be really hard on the motor. If you don’t have a high power blender, use a food processor.

Five Minute Frozen Yogurt

Oh my gosh, two weeks have passed and I had forgotten to post something. I was convinced to put up the backsplash in the new kitchen and combine that with work, I have been swamped with stuff to do!

The heat has been a huge factor over the past few weeks. It is definitely Summer now and each day has been so warm. To cool off Nicole and I have been making sweet cold treats for our families so today I’m going to share the first of those treats. It’s a very simple and easy recipe for frozen yogurt so take a look and enjoy!

Five Minute Frozen Yogurt (serves one)

2 cups of the frozen fruit of your choice (I like to mix up berries with something tropical like mangoes, peaches, or pineapple)

1 ½ tsp. of honey

¼ cup of Greek plain or vanilla yogurt

¼ cup of fruit yogurt or you can add more of the plain or vanilla Greek

You can also add in 1 banana (try to freeze it beforehand)

Add all of the ingredients into the food processor and process until smooth. A blender will work as well.

Serve immediately. The frozen fruit should make it nice and cold and the yogurt will give it that creamy consistency. You can also add a couple of ice cubes to the processor if it doesn’t seem “frozen” enough.

Salsa

The kitchen is almost done and I am getting back into the swing of things and creating lots in the kitchen. I’ve been making cookies and bread and today I made some fresh chunky salsa. It’s been so warm out and this is the perfect cool snack with some salty tortilla chips. You can also top it on fish, chicken, and steaks or put it in tacos, wraps, and tortillas.

It’s very simple and quick to make.

You will need...

8 firm tomatoes on the vine

1 cup of cilantro, chopped

The juice of 2 limes

2 jalapeno peppers

1 small or 1/2 large red onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop up the tomatoes into small bite sized pieces. You can put some of the juice and seeds in but keep it to a minimum. You can save the juice and seeds to put into a tomato sauce.

Add the finely chopped cilantro.

Next chop the onion into small bites.

Now add in the juice from the limes.

Finally, chop up the jalapeno into tiny pieces add in a bit of salt and pepper and the stir it all up.

It’s best eaten when chilled in the fridge for a bit but you can eat it right away if you choose to.

Birthday Cards

Happy Summer! It’s officially Summer now and the sun is shining bright and people are taking advantage of the outdoors. It’s a nice break from being inside all of the time for so many months.

The kitchen is still being worked on so another week still from being able to do some nice baking. I thought it might be nice to look at some of our favourite birthday cards that we have created. We haven’t been able to craft together for some time now so it will be nice to take a look at some of our favourite creations. I picked birthday cards in honor of my Grandmother who turns 93 today!

Enjoy and be inspired.