Uncategorized - Parenting Healthy

I have partnered with Spice Islands for this feature. Recipe is my own

Spices are a cooks best friend. Right? Can you imagine a kitchen that had no spices or salts? I can’t and because grinding and sourcing what is needed to create spices in nearly impossible inside the average home we rely on brands like Spice Islands to bottle it up for us.

Spice Islands buys many spices whole and then mills them in their facility to release the rich flavors so we can enjoy them right from the bottle. For 75 years, Spice Islands offers many spices sourced from around the world. With Valentine’s approaching, homemade dinners are romantic and can make for a great night full of sentimental memories.

We are eating a low carb diet so we have eliminated most pastas, rices and breads. I have been trying many healthier food options like these in my recipes. Our nearest health store and even common grocers offer veggie pastas which add that extra dose of nutrients to its pasta and many are less carbs than standard enriched pasta. Here is an easy favorite in our home using Spice Island’s Poultry Seasoning.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:15]

Do you know what some of the most widely used and popular spices are from around the world? Some of them are dill weed, bay leaves, cumin, garlic powder, saigon cinnamon and tumeric.

Enjoy many recipes at Spice Islands website like these Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes they have featured!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Yield: 18 mini cheesecakes

18 paper baking cups (2 1/2 inch diameter)

18 gingersnap cookies

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Spice Islands Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup light corn syrup

Heat oven to 325 F. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups. Place 1 cookie in each cup.

With electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, corn starch and pumpkin pie spice. Add eggs and mix well. Add pumpkin and corn syrup; beat 1 minute.

Pour filling into liners, dividing evenly. Bake 30-35 minutes until just set.

Chill 1 hour.

For more recipes, visit SpiceIslands.com

Healthy Living, Parenting, Reviews, Uncategorized

Keeping Kids Healthy with GIANTmicrobes – Review

January 2, 2018February 12, 2019 Erin Sluka

I have partnered with GIANTmicrobes for feature. All opinions are my own

Vitamins come in many forms from tablets and capsules to yummy gummies. Most kids get their vitamins in gummies or flavored, candy-like tablets. Now they can play with their vitamins! With actual, enlarged molecules of Vitamins A, B6, C and D they will learn all about these compounds that are essential for growth and nutrition. See these fun Vitamin GIANTmicrobes.

Vitamin A plays an important role in bone growth and vision. It also is great for the skin and teeth as well as cell and tissue growth. What foods are a good source of Vitamin A?

Vitamin A is found in yellow and orange foods like carrots and squash. Ask your child to name a few they can think of?

Vitamin B6 is one of those B-Vitamins that converts food into energy. In particular, B6 is important for the cardiovascular and nervous system as well as immunity and digestion.

Vitamin B6 is found in meat, fish, nuts, bananas and potatoes! Ask your child what Disney Minion they think gets the most Vitamin B6?

Vitamin C fights the cold and flu bugs and helps heals wounds. You can’t stay away from germs, they are all around us but Vitamin C helps our body not get sick from those germs.

Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage and kiwi to name a few. Ask your child what Vitamin C food they want as a side for lunch or dinner today?

Vitamin D is for the bones! Vitamin D also gives us a mineral that helps our body take in Calcium. Calcium (milk) and Vitamin D are best friends.

Vitamin D can be found in grains, green leafy vegetables, egg yolks and some cereals. Ask your child what they like to put on their green salad?

Now that you and your child have learned about their vitamins, how about some plush molecules to play with. They will use these to learn and memorize. If vitamins don’t excite them, there are so many cells, diseases and critters to learn and have fun with at GIANTmicrobes.

Food/Beverage, Recipes, Uncategorized

Low Carb Chicken Pea Penne Recipe

December 6, 2017September 18, 2020 Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Explore Cuisine. Recipe is my own

Being on a low carb diet makes it hard to get creative. We have cut rices, most pasta and breads. Only poultry and lean pork and lots of fresh veggies and fruits. I can stare at a chicken breast a thousand hours some nights and am just flat out of creativity. Then one day you realize you have some peas, chicken and Explore Cuisine in the kitchen and crave pasta, but because we aren’t eating the sauces you just get creative anyway. Here is my Low Carb Chicken Pea Penne and it was a hit!

The only pasta we keep in our cupboard is Explore Cuisine because it is made with real veggies and lentils like edamame chickpea and green lentils. These are loaded with plant-based protein, are USDA Organic and Gluten free. They taste incredible. The closest store to me that carries Explore Cuisine is an Albertsons 30 minutes away and I will head there to stock up. I have approved this pasta for a once a week meal on our diet.

Everything is cooked separately then it all comes together with some herbs, parmesan and olive oil in the end.

Low Carb Chicken Pea Penne

Just an easy low card pasta dish for a quick meal

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

2 large Chicken Breast-cooked and cubed
1 cup peas cooked
1 package Lentil Penne Pasta I used Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Penne
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 small onion chopped
1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan
4 tbsp Butter melted I browned my butter
1/2 tsp Basil

Method

Cook chicken breast in Olive Oil with salt and pepper
Cook the pasta according to directions
Melt or brown the butter. If you brown the butter make sure to strain out the burnt bits
Cook the peas
In the end add all to the pan with desired amount of your butter
Add basil and S&P to taste
Heat through
Top with parmesan

Notes

The best part of this recipe is that everything is cooked separately then comes all together in the end

Father's Day, Reviews by Anthony, Uncategorized

Bind Schoolwork, Artwork and Stories with 4everBound

May 18, 2017February 16, 2018 Erin Sluka

Thank you 4everBound for partnering for this feature

How many bags, boxes or totes do you have flooded with artwork, scribbles and stories fro your child? I had a Star Wars canvas bag, small tote and a shelf all overflowing with artwork from my youngest. Now I just have one book. I am so grateful to 4everBound for allowing me to send in all of those papers and bind them so I can free up storage space and keep Anthony’s work.

As I gathered up his work, awards, report cards, photos and stories I just needed to keep 2 things in mind. I needed to consider paper size and order. I had a few pieces that went a tad over in size but got an email asking for permission for them to cut to size and I am not sure what pieces were altered because it all looks great.

The book will be bound in the order you send in the papers. Once you sign up and pick your book size you are given the shipping address to send papers. It cost me about $6 to ship all but I did a 2-day shipping method that cost a tad more. The cost of binding and shipping my papers (they pay for return shipping) is a fantastic value and I feel so much better my memories are in one book and not all over the place. Just double and triple check your order so it comes back the way you need it. I did my son’s by age. The photo above is the earliest one saved from a daycare as a toddler.

You can get as creative as you want in sending in pieces. Mine is a collection of all pieces I have saved of my son from Pre-K to now his 3rd grade year. You can do a sports theme for an older child which would be fun-send in all of their team photos, paper awards, clippings if in town paper and make a fun sports history for them That would be a fantastic graduation gift!

Another idea can be a memoir. If you follow 4everbound on Facebook you would have seen the recent video of a man who wrote a memoir for his family from his time in the military. It is such a sweet memoir and video. Visit 4everbound to get started!

Category: Uncategorized

Veggie Pasta and Sausage Recipe for Dinner