Family is All I Need

Recently I had a follower email me requesting

a prenatal vitamin recommendation.

New Chapter, baby!

They make the best vitamins.

I've been taking them for three years since I've been 

pregnant then nursing, then pregnant then nursing.

I love them.

Other vitamins made me nauseous. 

These are small and are taken three times a day.

When I first had to get into the habit of taking a vitamin three times a day

I would make checks on my calendar so I could keep track.

I also take their Vitamin B since I don't eat meat!

It is so important to take vitamins since our soil is so depleted.

You can get them inexpensively online from vitacost.com.

Time with My Girls!

My past couple weeks have been terrible! 

I've been so stressed and busy with midterms and events.

Now that they are all over with,

I set yesterday aside to do nothing but spend time with my family.

Of course, for a Mother,

"Nothing" mean doing three loads of laundry,

scrubbing both bathrooms,

and making three means from scratch,

Yummy!

It was such a great relaxing, memorable day. 

A perfect day for me includes 

working in the kitchen with my toddler!

I found this Itsy Bitsy Spider Tutorial

on Natalie's blog and I had to make them with my girls.  

I consider this a great treat because it really isn't bad.

Well chocolate, yes.

I only think about the good qualities of chocolate when I'm eating it though.

Of course I eliminated the shortening,

I used canola oil instead.

We used raisins as eyes instead of sprinkles,

and I didn't use the reese's pieces.

But other than that, come on,

crackers, pretzels, peanut butter...sounds like a perfect snack to me.

Plus singing the itsy bitsy spider is an essential part of our day.

We are major fans of the guy. 

These were so fun to make together.

Thérèse dipping the crackers into the chocolate.

Working very hard to get that chocolate spread on.

Putting on the eyes.

Pretzels dipped in chocolate.

Her art. 

AH! Spiders. Yes I want one! 

As I was eating mine,

I felt like I was four.

After a week of midterms...

yes I want to feel four again. 

Stick them in the fridge so they can hold together.

Yesterday we also loaded the girls into the trailer 

and road our bides to the park.

So fun!

Monique is my energetic one!

I don't know if she'll ever sit still enough to cook with me in the kitchen.

The other day we carved pumpkins.

I was stunned that when we were finished,

they looked like our personality.

On the left, we have my brother-in-law,

who is always making THAT face when he can't believe 

he is eating yet another vegan meal.

HAha. (Btw: He secretly loves being vegan).

The middle is me, I'm the stressed/uptight/annoyed one.

At the right, my husband.

Enough said. 

I think you can understand his personality just by looking at that thing.

Too happy about life. 

No Bake Desserts: Ice Cream Cake

I love Ice Cream Cake.

I've been dreaming this one up for several days now.

It definitely met expectations!

The graham cracker crust was totally crumbly.

The only way I know how to make a solid crust 

is to bake the graham crackers,

and I didn't want to turn on my oven.

So, instead, the graham crackers kind of ended up being a topping. 

Let me tell you, it didn't jeopardize the taste at all.

It added a nice crunch.

Ice Cream Cake

Crust:

22 Graham cracker squares

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

Filling:

4 cups vegan ice cream

1/2 cups chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup vegan milk

I used Rice Dream Neapolitan ice cream.

We really this in our house.

Crust:

Pulse graham cracker crumbs with peanut butter

in a food processor.

Layer crumbs on a 9x9 in baking dish.

I lined mine with parchment paper.

Filling:

Puree ice cream until creamy.

Mix in chocolate chips.

Loved biting into a chocolate chip in this cake.

Layer ice cream on top of graham cracker crust.

Ganache:

In a small sauce pan

mix chocolate chips and vegan milk.

I used almond milk.

Spread that on top of the ice cream.

We are big on chocolate in this house.

Really, we can't get enough.

My toddler started submerging the ganache into the ice cream.

When baking with toddlers,

sometimes beauty goes out the window.

Store in freezer for at least three hours or until ice cream hardens

and then eat up!

Oh my goodness this was good.

I can't wait to come up with more ice cream cakes.

Is it possible to get them wrong?

How I Get Through My Day

Summer Shoes

I finally got a new pair of shoes. 

Daniel is always raving about his Sanuks.

I was pretty sure that the only reason he talked about them so much 

was so he could hear himself say "Sanuk" over and over again.  

I was so wrong!

These shoes are so comfortable!

They are actually sandals covered with cloth.

They mold to your feet, so you forget you're wearing them.

We recently took the family to The Huntington Library in Pasadena.

We did lots of walking and it was a very hot day.

These shoes were breathable and my feet never got tired!

My new favorite shoe.

I picked up my super cute pair at a surf shop.

I'm not super big on the styles online. 

www.sanuk.com

Get Some Art In

Family time in Pasadena was great,

but we were really in need of some grown up time,

and I needed my art fill.

So we went to the MOCA with my brother in LA.

The current exhibit is Street Art. 

It was incredibly cool. 

No, I'm not a dork, 

and I don't understand why you would think that.

There is an artist who left these little guys tiled all over the world.

I really want them for the back wash in our kitchen. 

Daniel isn't down though.

Oh well, space invader, you're going to have to find your home elsewhere. 

Outside the MOCA was a portable farmers market.

The herbs were on the bikes, and the bikes were parked to create this market.

Daniel was intrigued... 

Use Your Noodle

We've been playing lots of Rummikub lately.

I love this game. 

I've been playing it since I was six and it never seizes to captivate me. 

It's all about creating patterns, 

taking them apart to create more patterns. 

I play to win, so when I play, I get to a point when my brain actually hurts.

It's a muscle after all, and when I think so hard my brain flexes. 

No! I'm totally serious! 

I probably play this game just cause I like that feeling.

Yes! My brain is there! I can feel it!

These guys are the "jokers".

They used to totally freak me out.

I mean, come on, how freaky is this face? 

No Bake Desserts

This recipe from Oh She Glows is so cool because it is completely raw.

Her recipe includes raw carob chips as well,

but I cheated and used the chocolate chips we already had.

I threw them into my vegan ice cream for a delicious 

cookies and cream dessert. Yum!

Ingredients:

Cookie dough:

• 1 3/4 cups ground raw cashews
• 3/4 cup ground raw oats
• 1/4 cup Agave Nectar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Dough: Grind up raw cashews and raw oats in a food processor or blender. Place all cookie dough ingredients into a large bowl and mix by hand or with a spoon. OR simply place all ingredients in the processor and blend (why didn’t I do this!? lol). Mix until a dough forms and you can make a large ball. Refrigerate dough while you make the chocolate chips.

Place in fridge (if you have any left that is) to harden for about 30 mins. They get real hard! Make sure to refrigerate them on parchment paper or they will stick to the plate.

Also note, I cut the recipe in half to make a smaller batch. Don’t be too worried about getting exact measurements here. They will still turn out, promise.

The best part is the total prep time (not including freezing and refrigerating) was 10 minutes! So quick and easy. These would be amazing to whip up before guests come over or for a quick birthday gift.

Going to go play some Rummikub with the hubby. 

Seriously people, I'm not a dork. 

No Bake Desserts: Chocolate Covered Bananas

I've been having a strong craving lately

for chocolate covered bananas.

Which is strange,

because I don't think I've ever had one in my life.

Well, now I can say that I have,

and they didn't let me down!

I'm really loving this desert 'cause it really isn't that bad for you.

Who says desert and bad need to be synonyms? 

Bananas, nuts? All good ingredients made by earth itself.

I know there are lots of articles out 

about how chocolate isn't good for you,

but I choose to ignore them completely.

It's not like I eat a ton of it.

And what is life without chocolate? 

I referenced Ellie Krieger's Chocolate Covered Banana Pops.

Here is my version:

Peel bananas and cut in half.

Stick popsicle sticks into each one.

Place on top of parchment paper, 

cover with plastic wrap and stick in freezer.

I only put them in for about an hour.

I have sensitive teeth, so I wanted them chilled, 

not hard and frozen. 

We don't have a double broiler,

so I put chocolate chips in the microwave,

heated them for one minute, stirred them,

and repeated till I got the desired consistency.

Once it's melted you got to work fast 

'cause the chocolate will harden back up pretty quickly.

Chop the toppings of your choice.

For us it was graham crackers and almonds. Yum! 

Roll your banana in that melted chocolate.

Oh, melted chocolate, we love you. 

Roll the chocolate covered banana into toppings.

Here, Daniel is asking if we have sprinkles. 

Sorry, I wished we had them too.

But they were still delicious! 

Daniel took the time in between bites 

to tell me that they were good! 

Quick, inexpensive, sweet treat!

I can't wait to give my toddler one tomorrow

after our day trip we have planned! 

Loving summer with our family of four!

Here are two of the four.

Monique is wearing the 

"I just woke up, why would you stick me in this wagon"

look on her.

And here she is today, 

ready to head over to the pool.

Oh child! Stop melting my heart like 

that microwave melted the chocolate.

Enjoy your weekend you all! 

No Bake Desserts

I live in paradise...from October till April. Once summer hits, I live a little closer to hell. I don't think I'm being extreme in describing my environment. 120℉ is hellish, right?

Well this week it's been a mere 105℉, which for us means lots of swimming and turning on the oven is close to mortal sin. So this summer, I'll be sharing some yummy dessert that don't require ovens.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

These treats are so delicious! They are a staple in our home. I made these all the time when I was transitioning to a vegan diet. Now I make them anytime I'm have a fatty craving. Between the peanut butter, graham cracker and chocolate, they satisfy any other craving I don't want to give into. Since it has no saturated fat and it has peanuts, these are loaded with good fat. But I wouldn't recommend binge eating them. No, no. But you must make them. They taste awesome!

The only vegan ingredient you will need for these is Earth Balance Butter. They call for maple sugar, but you can use any sugar you have. I actually don't put sugar in mine. Since there is sugar in the chocolate chips, sugar in the graham crackers and richness from the peanut butter, adding sugar makes it too much for me. But feel free to do whatever make you dance when you eat them. 

We used Trader Joe's Chocolate Chips, but there are lots of vegan chocolate chips floating around out there.  

Strawberry Cheesecake Truffles

I made these for the first time last night and they rocked the house! If you need to get some cheesecake in you, make these. So good!

You will need to get Toffuti Better Than Cream Cheese for these. Once you get over the terrible name you will realize how amazing this product is. Get out your inner Toffuti people! Or just pretend it's named something else. 

Oreo Truffles

My incredibly cool cousin Cecilia made these for her vegan friend's birthday party. She said they were really good! She was surprised how easy it was to find Toffuti Cream Cheese. They just picked them up at her local Vons. 

Anyone got any favorite No Bake Desserts? Hope you all are staying cool!