Homemade Organic Apple Butter, School Lunches, and a Healthy and Fun Breakfast Idea!!

Good Morning!!

Oh, how I've missed you, and I hope you've missed me, too.  :)

I am finally feeling settled enough in the new house and our new lives to get back to blogging!  I will blog whenever I have the time or feel the urge, so it may be random depending on how crazy my schedule is.  The most important thing though, is that I'm back!  

So, without further ado, here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

Homemade Potato, Kale & Lentil soup (served warm in a Thermos), organic greens w/my homemade dressing (local cucumbers), and 2 local plums.  

Here is a lunch from one day last week...

Homemade Whole Wheat Mac 'n Cheese, peaches and grapes (both local), & edamame.

During my hiatus I was posting my children's lunches here, on the blog's Facebook page.  Check it out to see some more lunch ideas.  :)

My mother-in-law showed up the other day with a BIG bag full of apples from her organic apple tree.  As soon as she left, I had those babies ready to go!  They are a bit too tart and tough to eat on their own, but they were perfect for Crock Pot Apple Butter!  

Step 1...Core 'em, and toss them in a Crock Pot.  Yes, It's just that simple.  Honest.  I didn't add anything to them.  

Just keep an eye on them...it only took mine a couple of hours on high to cook all the way.

Step 2...Give them a zap in the food processor.  

You can add spices like cinnamon and cloves, but I like it just as it is.

Mine is still in the fridge, but I am planning on freezing some in glass jars.  Just leave a little room on top for the apple butter to expand.  

I've had it on toast the last couple of days, and it's delicious!!!!!

I'm always looking for fun and healthy food ideas for the kids, and I saw this one in a magazine.  I love thinking out of the box (or waffle iron), and this was one I knew my kids would be impressed with.  

This morning, I made the kids Waffle Iron Eggs!

My scrambled eggs are just organic eggs, a bit of local grass-fed milk, and a dash of salt and pepper. 

I heated up the waffle iron and greased it well with some NonGMO sunflower oil, then just spooned the eggs in. 

I let it cook until mostly solid, then gave it a flip (my waffle iron is one of those flippy-do ones).

I guess I should have used larger plates, but I was thinking eggs, not waffles. I wasn't thinking waffle-sized eggs.  Yes, I know that's exactly what I was making, but it was still very early...

Aren't those fun?  My kids loved them!  And, look at that good looking piece of Alvardo St. Sprouted Sourdough w/my homemade apple butter on it...YUM! 

I will leave you with this today, since I've missed you all so very much...

Have a great day! 

Broccoli, Mushroom & Onion Pizza on Pizza Night, Black Bean & Corn Salad, & School Lunches

Good evening! 

Here I am, blogging from my phone. 

It's the end of the school year, and we've been busy!  We have picnics & field trips, field days & cookouts, and it seems like everything is happening all at once. It's keeping me busy! 

With summer approaching, and my babies being out of school, I'll only be updating the blog a couple of times a week. After all, they won't be babies for long, so I'm going to enjoy this time while I can. We will be spending lazy days building sand castles, frolicking in the waves, and having beachfront fires on the shores of Lake Erie. We will be grilling veggies, exploring nature, and visiting the park. I'm guessing you'll be on the computer less, too!  So, hang in there through summer, and once my babies (not really babies!) are back in school, I will post with more frequency. For now though, you can expect a couple of updates a week.  I will still have much to share with all of you, so I will be posting small updates on Water Lemon Kale's Facebook page, including pics, so like us to stay in the loop! 

That being said, here are some recent lunches...

Sandwich on organic multi grain bread (cheese, organic spinach, homemade organic hummus, & a baggie of organic grape tomatoes to put on it), plain organic yogurt w/ a drizzle of raw honey & a baggie of homemade organic granola to mix in, & 1/2 an organic orange. 

Organic banana, 1/2 an organic orange, cheese skewers, & pb n j cracker sandwiches (Ak Mak crackers, organic pb, & organic jelly).

Field trip! Bottle of water ( I hate doing this, but no glass bottles are allowed), a Stretch Island fruit strip, a Lara Bar, an organic apple, & 1/2 a veggie sandwich (organic multi grain bread, organic green leaf lettuce, local cucumber, cheese, & homemade organic hummus).

Sandwich (same as above), a sliced organic Roma tomato, & organic Black Bean and Corn salad w/ organic tortilla

chips (I use this dish as more of a salsa type dish. I got this from 100 Days of Real Food. It is super simple, so I will give you a quick run down...black beans & corn (I use organic dried beans & frozen organic corn. I also shred organic carrot in, at times.). Tomatoes (any will do), onion, and a dressing of oil, cilantro, garlic, & vinegar (very similar to my homemade dressing!). Mix it all up & enjoy! It is perfect for those hot summer days, and is delicious on tortilla chips, or just eaten with a spoon! 

*I apologize for not posting a link or the actual recipe...when I tried that earlier, the draft didn't save and I lost it all.*

We also made these recently...Veggie Pancakes (from 100 Days of Real Food)

I'm not a big fan of fried food, but sometimes, well, you just want what you want. You know? So, I made these babies. The kids loved them, and so did I! These are from 100 Days of Real Food. Apologies again for not posting the link. I will try to come back and edit these posts to include the recipe links. Lisa does have a great recipe index, though, if you haven't already checked it out...these guys are in there! 

Finally, it's Friday, so that means Pizza Night! I tried something a bit different tonight...

Broccoli, mushroom, & onion, w/ a roasted garlic sauce! Yum! This has both provolone & sharp cheddar, on a Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat crust. The garlic sauce is made by roasting the garlic, and simply blending with some oil. 

I lightly sautéed the onion, broccoli, & mushrooms, before topping the crust with them. 

                   Like I said...YUM! 

               Have a great weekend! 

                                :)

Eat Whatever Food Experiment & Today's School Lunches

Good evening! I hope everyone had a great long weekend. 

Sorry for the late, oddly formatted post, but today was a busy day, & I'm blogging from my phone. :) 

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

Funny story, this...my brother-in-law got a Groupon deal for NO-OODLES...zero guilt, zero fat, etc. The only "zero" that I care about is zero chemicals, and these were that, so we took some home (water, yam flour, & lime juice). Did I mention that he bought 2 cases...120 bags?!? 

So, what you see here are those noodles, cooked until no longer a squid-like consistency, with kale and the left over black bean salad that I had made for our Memorial Day cookout. They also had fruit salad (apples, pineapple & grapes), cheese cubes, and organic grape tomatoes (1st gr)/organic carrot sticks w/organic pb (K). 

It was a wet & chilly Memorial Day here, but we still enjoyed our time together. It was a time full of grocery shopping, outlet shopping, & family. 

At one point this weekend we took a day to go clothes shopping. The weight I've lost from our whole food lifestyle left me with a closet full of clothes were too big, so I sold nearly everything in the yard sale we had last week. I needed a few things! This was the first time, in a long time, that I didn't bring food with us. We are what was there, and then some. It was an experiment of sorts...would the kids crave real food after this? Would they think this "desirable" food tasted better than the diet we've been eating? 

We had Pizza Villa for lunch, w/ salads. It was the lesser of the evils. We also had Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co. White Chocolate Bark, & a small donut. We drank water. 

I learned a few things...

1. I can't eat sweets like that without being grossed out. They are just WAY too sweet! My oldest agreed. My husband asked me if I thought that it was good...I told him what I thought. So, I only had a teeny piece of bark. 

2. The kids were excited to have these treats, but that's to be expected. They were satisfied with the small amounts that they had, and didn't ask for more (except for my 1st grader who cries about everything, it seems). Honestly, they would have been just as excited over a fruit cup! 

3. They prefer our homemade pizza, to any other. 

4. These chemicals really do effect you. We were all tired, had headaches, and just felt crummy. My husband regretted it, and said we won't be doing that again anytime soon! I didn't eat as much as everyone else, so didn't feel quite as awful.  ;)

5. They couldn't wait for a home cooked meal! They were craving fresh foods...real foods. By the time we got home, they couldn't wait to eat organic pasta w/organic zucchini, and fresh salad w/ my homemade dressing. They also had green drink with dinner.  

Here are our salads...

         Yep, even the baby likes salad! 

Yum! Smell that freshness!!  It's so good! 

I'm pretty confident that with the food lifestyle that we've chosen, our children may not always choose the healthiest option all of the time, but they will choose it much more often. 

See, this one chose a green coconut! Haha! 

Ok, have a great evening everyone!

:)

This isn't "My Way or the Highway" & School Lunches

Good Morning!

It's been a couple of days since I've been on, since I was feeling just a bit under the weather.  My body just needed lots of rest after the insanity of last week...I'm feeling much better now!

So, here is what my kiddos have taken for lunch the last few days...

 

Organic pasta w/ organic marinara, 1/2 an organic orange, & salad w/ my homemade dressing (organic green leaf lettuce & organic spinach, organic Roma tomato, fresh shredded cheese)

"Egg salad" (Not your traditional egg salad, huh?  I've not found a whole food alternative to mayo, so I've just cut it out all together.  This is just a fried organic egg, organic spinach, & organic tomato.), cheese skewer, stir fry veggies, & 1/2 an organic orange.

Taco salad (homemade organic black beans w/ shredded organic carrot, organic tomato, organic spinach, and fresh shredded cheese), organic tortilla strips, frozen edamame (will be thawed by lunch), & steamed brown rice.

Don't these make you hungry?  

I've heard from so many people how great the kid's lunches look!  It's not that difficult, really.  Once I had completely changed my thinking with regards to what makes something "lunch", it was so easy!  I realized that lunch doesn't have to be microwave meals, or sandwiches, fruit snacks, granola bars and packaged chips.  "Lunch", is whatever you eat at lunch time! Sure, you can find acceptable options for all of those things, but it's those convenience foods that make your grocery bill jump. I use mainly leftovers for their lunches, and they love it.  And, it feels good knowing that they are eating the very best that they can.

I've been reading and hearing a lot lately about people having the feeling of being judged by some who follow the whole food lifestyle.  I don't adhere to a "my way or the highway" approach.  I will meet you wherever you're at in your journey.  I do this to inform and inspire, not judge.  :) I truly believe in baby steps, and then once you see the effects, I'm certain that you will continue to take new baby steps.  

I encourage you to do your homework, do your research, and figure out what matters the most to you.  Where is it that you need to start?  Maybe this decision is motivated by wanting see if you can help your children with behavior issues, so you choose to start with artificial colors and flavors.  Perhaps it is cutting out diet beverages/foods to cut out aspartame.  Maybe it is motivated by your other health risks and issues.  Or, maybe you just start with the thing that is the easiest for you to understand...for me, that was anything labeled artificial.  

When you are cutting out, start adding in.  Replace the bad with the good.  Add in the fruits and veggies.  To my mind, conventional is better than none.  As you cut out the processed foods, and the expense of them, you may find that those dollars can be spent on organics.   You don't need to start where I did, or where anyone else has.  This is your journey, no one else's.  You need to figure out what works for you, and the baby steps that you should take to meet your goal, whatever that is.  

For my family, my goal was a chemical free, whole food diet.  In that process, my husband and I chose to go vegetarian for health reasons, but the children still eat meat.  I don't make it at home, but do buy it for cook outs for them, and only grass-fed, antibiotic/hormone free.  During this process we also wanted to cut out GMOs, and are now virtually GMO free.  I don't purchase anything that's been genetically modified for here at home, but it is difficult when we are out.  Same goes for organics...here at home, virtually everything is organic, but that isn't always the case when not at home.  I just do the very best that I can, with what I've got.  I'm often very frustrated by my available options, but I try not to get upset with myself over it.  Our food lifestyle is amazing, and a bit here and there isn't going to negate all of that.  In fact, we indulge in a treat once a week, no questions asked.  I want my children making the very best choices, but not beating themselves up over it.  We have a healthy balance going on.  I'm so proud of them! 

Have a great weekend!  See you on Tuesday!!  

:)

What's For Dinner? & Today's School Lunches

I want to begin by saying that my prayers go out to Moore, Oklahoma.  In my heart and in my mind, I can all too well imagine the panic and terror of having my children trapped in their school, or anywhere away from me, at a time like that.  I empathize with those parents who are still standing there, never leaving, waiting for their child's name to be called.  My heart is breaking for all of you.  I am so sorry for those of you who have lost loved ones.  I am so sorry for those whose loved ones have not yet been found.  I am praying for you as you wait, as you search, as you hope, and as you reunite.  

It was bittersweet as I walked my babies to school this morning. It was hard to let them go when all I wanted to do was hold them tight, but let them go I did, and here is what they took for lunch...

This is a pizza "lunchable"...Homemade whole wheat flat bread cut into wedges, 2 frozen organic pizza sauce cubes which will be thawed by lunch (I freeze these in a mini muffin tin), fresh shredded mozzarella, & 1/2 an organic pear.

What's For Dinner?

I'm not sure how others do this, but I've settled into a pretty comfortable pattern around here.  I pick from a small pool of meals, making many of them every week. To be honest, it is a wonder to me that my family doesn't complain of having the same meals over and over, but I guess it's enough variety for them...for now.  Every once in a while I do throw a new meal in, mixing things up a bit.  

These are the meals that I choose from, and what I need on hand to make each one...

-Black Bean Tacos (dried organic black beans, homemade tortillas, lettuce, tomato, plain organic yogurt, bell peppers, & fresh cheese) I usually pair this with a simple organic cilantro lime brown rice.

-Falafel (falafel patties, tzatziki or toum, & homemade flatbreads, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, onion)  I typically pair this with a veggie, or a veggie & baked potato. 

-Pasta...we have this twice a week, usually.  Wednesday is pasta w/marinara (organic pasta, organic marinara, fresh loaf of bread from Great Harvest, & salad) & Saturday is pasta w/ a drizzle of oil, fresh zucchini, and freshly grated aged cheese.

-Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup (bag of soup mix, fresh organic tomatoes, organic garlic) & fresh organic sourdough from Whole Foods.

-Spanish Tortilla (potatoes, spinach, herbs, eggs, cheese)  I serve this with a salad & fresh bread.  

-Pizza...lately the kids have been loving Mushroom Kale Pizza, but here is another pizza link. I buy 2 GH whole wheat pizza doughs every week, and the toppings.  For Mushroom Kale, I need mushrooms, kale, garlic, cheese, and nonGMO canola.  I may also use spinach, onion, & sauce.  I serve this with a fresh salad.  

-Fried eggs, always served on a bed of fresh organic spinach, and either on organic or GH toast or with a baked potato.

Keeping the necessary ingredients on hand to be able to make the above meals, means that I have a pretty versatile number of meals on hand.

I also throw in meals like Beans & Cornbread, Potato Soup (no dairy), Vegetable Soup, Grilled Portabellas, & Kale Ratatouille.  I will also 
top a baked potato with leftover 13 bean soup, and serve it with a salad and veggies.  

I always stock organic dried beans, all varieties, and organic rice and quinoa. 

I replace these things as needed, usually buying a little in bulk every week, so that I don't run out.  I do the same for organic steel cut oats, raw honey, and granola ingredients. 

It makes my grocery planning pretty simple.  Of course, there are so many other things that I always stock, as this isn't a complete list, but just meant to give an idea.  This works really well for us, and the kids usually say "Yay!  I love this meal!" to whatever it is I'm making.  They've not once complained that it was "THIS AGAIN", and they usually pig out.  :)

In case you're wondering, tonight is Black Bean Tacos.   

Have a great day! 

  

Maple Mocha, The Green Goblin, & School Lunches

Good Morning! 

It's good to be back, but boy am I tired.  Yard sales are too much work, and this one kicked all of our butts!  I was so tired, in fact, that after the sale was over I laid down on the couch to take a nap.  I couldn't rest too long though, because we still had to do our grocery shopping...an hour there, hour back, and it was already evening.  

So, I got up and began making myself a Maple Mocha (recipe to follow). I was going through the motions, and then I heard the Keurig brewing, but something sounded not quite right.  I looked over, and...no cup.   That's right, I was brewing my coffee into nothing!  Awesome, huh?  That's a first for me, and a fine example of how tired I was!  

MAPLE MOCHA

This drink is inspired by Lisa's, over at 100 Days of Real Food. 

A Maple Mocha is coffee, dark chocolate, milk, & maple syrup. To make mine, I brew a strong cup of Newman's Own organic coffee in the Keurig.  I heat about 3/4 cup of Hartzler's whole milk on the stove top, add 1/2 of a dark chocolate baking square (SQUARE, not bar!), a couple TBSP of pure maple syrup, and the organic coffee that I brewed.  I have a small whip that I got from Pampered Chef, and I just love it...so, whip constantly until heated through.  I then pour all of this deliciousness into my Tervis mug, that I also love!  :)  This is a treat for me, and I only have one a week.  Give it try!  

**I tried using the cocoa powder like Lisa does, but it always gave it a powdery taste that I didn't care for.  The baking chocolate is perfect, though.  It comes out nice and smooth every time! 

Lunches...oh, lunches.  I'm so glad that the school year is nearly over!  The kids are slowly destroying their lunch supplies, but I'm not buying more when school is nearly out, so we are dealing with it.  

Now for those lunch pics I promised...

A thermos of Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup, organic Seven Stars Farms Maple yogurt w/ a drizzle of honey & homemade organic granola to mix in, organic tortilla strips, and organic orange slices.  

**All of these baggies don't sit very well with my zero waste efforts, but with the loss of a few lunch containers, it's the best I can do right now.  I do wash these, dry them completely, and reuse them.**

A thermos of organic ziti w/organic sauce, a slice of Great Harvest Cheddar Garlic bread, and an organic apple.  

**It may not look like much, but the thermos holds 15.5 ozs.**

A thermos of 13 bean soup, cheese cubes, a packet of organic carrot sticks & organic peanut butter, & lightly steamed organic broccoli.

We are clearing out everything around here, so we have found a lot of junk.  I have this awful habit of hanging onto things that I would like to use "some day", but then I put them somewhere (never to be thought of again), and don't use them.  Well, last night I found packets of powdered dye from a tie dye kit.  I wasn't the only one that found them, though!

I'm calling him the Green Goblin. :) It's actually much darker than the picture is!  It is all down his chest, and both hands are dyed green.  Thankfully, his teeth are white, again!  Oh, the joys of motherhood...and I really do mean that.  :)  After our initial shock, we all got a good laugh out of this one! 

Have a great day!

:)

I'm Still Here (Just Super Busy) & Today's School Lunches

Good Evening! 

I didn't fall off the face of the Earth, I promise.  This post is just a quickie to prove that.  ;)

Lawn Sale is coming up this Saturday, and it is keeping me VERY busy.  Too busy to blog, as a matter of fact.  The Library Lawn Sale is an annual event in our community...it's sort of like our festival, but with no rides.  There are fundraisers, yard sales, vendors, etc, and people come out in droves.  It is the perfect day to have a yard sale of our own, since we are so close to the center of town, where this all happens.  As anyone knows who has had a yard sale, it is exhausting work!  Oh, the stuff we accumulate! So, my oldest daughter and I have been busily going through everything in the house.  There is another reason for all of this, but I'm not ready to reveal that one.  ;)  Shhh...

So, it will be like this all week.  On Monday, I will post the rest of the lunches that my kiddos had for the week.  Here is what they had yesterday & today...

Organic Kale Ratatouille over organic quinoa, a slice of Mediterra Farm Loaf, organic carrot sticks & homemade dressing to dip them in, & an organic apple.

Veggie wrap (Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Handmade tortilla, organic spinach, organic tomato, organic cucumber, & smoked fresh mozzarella), plain organic yogurt w/ homemade berry sauce & a drizzle of honey, & homemade organic granola to swirl in. They also got an organic banana.

Have a great week everyone!  I'll see you all on Monday!  

I do hope you'll forgive my absence...

What's In Your Panini? & Today's School Lunches

Good Morning!

What a morning so far...I walked the kids to school (a brisk mile pushing a 2 year old in a stroller), got my van fixed, and have to take my kindergartner her tennis shoes, because she forgot it was gym day.  Oh, and I have to have the van packed up with my reusable grocery bags, bulk bags, jars, etc, because we are doing our grocery shopping a day early.  Oh yeah, the dog ran away, too.  I got her back...eventually.  Guess what that bad dog is doing?  Uh huh...napping.  It seems so unfair.

I've only been awake for 4 1/2 hours, and I'm exhausted.  I don't get to nap.

Well, here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

This is my 1st grader's lunch.  He has a field trip today, so everything has to be disposable.  :(  I'm not a fan.  I need to figure out something that fits my zero waste journey.  It is a journey, though, and I'm just getting started.  I'm learning more all the time, and I'm making new changes every week...baby steps. :)

He has an all natural PB packet & organic carrot sticks, a banana, an organic fruit wrap, & a sandwich [organic multiseed bread, organic spinach, tomato slices, & fried organic egg (over hard, no runny yolk at all)].  He also got a small bottle of water.

I thought of this sandwich idea yesterday.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and I had a lot of eggs in the fridge.  So, I made us these paninis for yesterday's at home lunch.

This picture makes me so hungry!  This is a panini w/ fried organic egg (over hard), fresh organic spinach, and just a bit of WF sharp cheddar, all on GH Asiago Pesto loaf.  I paired it with fresh veggie sticks (organic cucumber & carrot).  It was delicious!

I love making paninis, and will make them out of most anything.  I like paninis with organic squash, onion, organic spinach, & cheese.  I like them with spinach, onion, & mushroom.  I like "pizza margherita" paninis...fresh tomato, spinach, & mozzarella, with Italian seasoning sprinkled on top.  YUM!  My oldest makes "panini-butter & jelly", using my homemade berry sauce.  She sometimes adds apple or banana slices.  :)

This is a pizza panini...

Organic pizza sauce, red onion, mozzarella, and fresh organic spinach. 

I use it as a grill at times, too, like when I make Capellini w/ organic zucchini & grated aged cheese.

What's your favorite panini?  

:)

Have a great day! 

Not Exactly A Gardener, What's For Dessert?, & Today's School Lunches

Good Morning!

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

A thermos of pasta (organic noodles/organic sauce), 1/2 an end of organic Early Bird bread & butter, & 1/2 an organic pear.  The thermos holds about 12 ozs.  

It's Right to Read Week, so the school has activities planned all week for the students.  Today, the PTO will be providing every student with a bag of popcorn, and they will be finding a comfy spot to read a book with a friend.  Preferring that they not eat that popcorn, I popped some organic for the kids and put it in brown paper bags (bulk bags from Whole Foods that I'm reusing...oh yeah baby!).  I wish that the school were able to let us know in advance every time they were planning on providing a treat, but I understand that isn't likely to happen.  But hey, I'll take what I can get, so I'm happy to have known about this one.  :)

After my crazy day yesterday, I decided to come home and take care of something that I have been putting off.  Let me start by saying that I am no gardener.  No, sir.  I don't kill everything, but I'm not versed in how to care for this, or how to grow that.  I don't know much about nutrients in the soil, growing zones, or anything, really.  I do know this though...a vegetarian with no garden seems silly.  Doesn't it?  So, awhile ago I started some seeds in the house.  Some would say I started too late, some not, but winter seemed to last forever this year, so I tried to find a happy medium.  I was going to have to put them in my greenhouse window, which can be pretty cold in the winter, so I waited for it to warm up some.  They are all organic seeds, planted in an organic mix, and have grown nicely, though some are slower than I anticipated.  Like I said, I know nothing about this. 

I hope that once they are in the ground they will really take off.  Fingers crossed.  We also might have a late harvest, but that's ok, too.  :)

Now for the part that I had been dreading...thinning them out.  It just seems so wrong; these are like my babies!  I grew them with my own hands, and a good dose of love! 

Their growth had slowed down, and I knew that too many plants in each cell was bad news.  I knew the small amount of nutrients couldn't sustain more than one plant.  So, I did it.  I steeled my resolve, but on my big girl pants, and murdered my plants.  

It was sad, but I get some comfort knowing that they will go into the compost bin, and provide nourishment for those that survived "the cut".  

I'm hoping to see improvement in the others, and then hoping to get most of them in the ground in the next 2 weeks.  Here's to hoping!  

I've said many times that my children eat fruit for dessert, and it's quite true.  They haven't had anything else for dessert for more months than I can remember.  I try to make it interesting, but most of the time they get an assortment of plain old frozen fruit, and they love it.  Right now, I have frozen grapes, mangoes, pineapple, bananas, & strawberries.  I flash freeze them...a single layer on a baking sheet, pop in the freezer until completely frozen, then transfer to a freezer bag or other container.   This works really well, preventing them from sticking together in a clump.  It allows me to pull out a bit at a time.  

When I have more time, I make them things like this...

These fruits were dipped in plain organic yogurt, flash frozen, and blended in the food processor into the frozen yogurt pictured above.  I added some honey for sweetness.

These fresh fruits have a dollop of plain organic Greek yogurt on top, and a drizzle of wildflower honey.

  

These are smoothie bites!  They are made of primarily organic spinach, but also have banana, Greek yogurt, a couple tablespoons of applesauce, and a bit of honey.  These are so good!  I freeze them in these fun silicone molds.  :)

 This strawberry banana ice cream is honey, frozen strawberries, & frozen bananas.  You can add a bit of milk, if you like.  I like to use coconut or Hartzler's.

And this is a pineapple Dole Whip type dessert.  This is a bit of honey, frozen pineapple, and a bit of coconut milk.  

You can toss nearly any type of frozen fruit into the food processor for a sorbet (just frozen fruit), an ice cream (with a bit of milk), or a frozen yogurt (with a bit of yogurt).  The kids have not asked for any other type of dessert since we made the switch! 

Fresh or frozen fruit is the norm, and then every now and again I "whip" up something special for us.  :)

What do you have dessert?  Have you found a way to cut out unnecessary sugars?  

I'd love to hear about it!  

:)

Have a great day!