Williams-Sonoma Monkey Milk

The last smoothie I made, Lily, my four year old told me it tasted like leaves. HA! Kids have such honest observations, don't they? After that I asked myself, do all my smoothies need to have kale and spinach in them?! Does every smoothie we blend under this roof need to have leaves greens in it? Certainly not! So today we gave the greens a rest and went for something different (for us) and a little more dessert-like, but still healthy in its own way. This is Williams-Sonoma's recipe and I'd like to give whoever came up with the name "monkey milk" a high five because that is pretty gosh darn adorable and clever. I mean, what kid wouldn't be stoked about drinking monkey milk? Enjoy!

Recipe (serves 4):

2 ripe bananas, broke into pieces

1 cup vanilla yogurt (I highly recommend The Greek Gods greek yogurt in the honey or honey-vanilla flavor)

1 cup milk

1 cup ice cubes

Combine bananas, yogurt, milk and ice cubes in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve with a straw!

*the original recipe calls for 2 tbs honey, but I have never added it in because the smoothie is plenty sweet with out it. Don't be afraid to add it in your smoothie if needs be.

image by Briana

Quinn's Blessing Day

Quinn was blessed this past sunday! After the meeting we gathered at Kara and Kimble's home to eat and be together. Here are some pictures:

Juice bar. I made tags for each different flavor of juice.

Britt made these ham and swiss sams. Talk about decadent. RECIPE HERE.

Kara's Banana Cream-cheese Swirl Muffins and classic blueberry.

Our mom put together this rad spread where everyone could make their own yogurt parfaits. It was a hit! Ingredients included: plain yogurt, fresh mixed berries, shaved coconut, chopped pecans, raisins, uncooked irish oats and raw sugar.

I was in charge of putting together the cereal bar. There were three different cereals offered as well as a granola. I placed a bunch of bananas on a cutting board for slicing and had a large pitcher of cold 2% milk at the ready. This cereal bar was a cinch to put together, but had a big impact. The kids loved it.

Mom made apricot bars! Dynamite.

I made this banner the night before the blessing day. I saw the idea on Say Yes To Hoboken and thought it was clever and I'm stoked to be able to use it on other occasions. I used miniature clothespins to attach the chalkboard circles to the string and I like the way it kicked it up a notch. P.S. I found all the stuff to make this at Michael's. 

And one last one of Kara and Quinn, matching noses and all! Aaaaaaaw.

It was a perfect day spent with loved ones. If you have any questions, let's chat in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!

all images by Briana

Lemonade Stand & New URL

Hi, guys! We hope all of you are finding your way over here to our new URL just fine. Long story short, Kara woke up friday morning to find our website had been taken from us! It was a stressful couple of hours on friday morning trying to get everything back up and running and to also take the precautions so this never would happen again. A big smooch and thanks for all of you who emailed and texted asking: what happened to your website?! And a big apology for those of you who bought ingredients for a recipe and then logged on to find the recipe to actually make the food and weren't able to. :( Such a bummer and Kara and I felt so bad when we heard that. You guys are all so supportive and wonderful and we never want to let you down. Also, I noticed today that when you try and search for a recipe that it isn't working. I'm on it!

We hope you are having a good week so far and please pass the word along about the change in our web address. THANK YOU! Okay, let's talk lemonade!

Being a kid is so much fun, especially in the summer months and setting up and running a lemonade stand is one of those rights of passage. Every kid should experience running a lemonade stand. Don't you think? My friend Alison and her three girls did a lemonade stand earlier this summer, so they were all prepared. Alison bought these crates at Michael's and they had a darling homemade poster that read: Fresh Lemonade. All I did was run to the store for lemons and some candy and we were set!

Open for business!

Gum balls, pixie sticks and swedish fish.

Lemonade recipe:

7 lb bag of ice

1 gallon of purified water

12-15 lemons

simple syrup:

2 1/2 cups white sugar

2 1/2 cups water

In a small pot, dissolve sugar into 2 1/2 cups water over medium-low heat. Allow to heat and thicken slightly. This will take about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Rinse lemons, cut in half and squeeze lemon juice into intended serving vessel (the one in the pictures is from Costco and I love it! It's light and easy to clean). Don't discard squeezed lemon halves. Add them in with the lemon juice.

Add gallon of water, simple syrup and bag of ice. Stir thoroughly with a long spoon. Serve.

Side notes:

The pulp from the lemons jammed the spout and made the flow of lemonade really slow, so we ended up ladling the lemonade into the cups. Next time, I may strain the lemon juice or I may not. It didn't bother the girls at all to serve it this way! The girls used a measuring cup as a ladle for better control and had a bowl to rest the measuring cup in between servings.

Stir the lemonade periodically throughout service. The lemonade at the bottom of the vessel was sweeter and more flavorful as opposed to the lemonade at the top, surrounded by all the floating ice.

You can also squeeze in some pure lemon juice from concentrate (taste as you go until you reach desired flavor) if you aren't up for squeezing this many lemons. Remember this lemon squeezer? It is handy dandy.

Cat and Lily rehydrating between customers. Being lemonade girls is hard work.

Homemade poster. The perfect touch!

From top to bottom: Cat, Drew, Ellie, and Lily. We set up a picnic blanket behind the stand so the girls could relax in the shade. This picture says it all...I hope we can do another stand soon!! And thanks to all our Midway friends who stopped by and bought lemonade! I absolutely, positively LOVE our neighborhood!

images by Briana

Momma's Hot Chocolate

This hot chocolate recipe trumps all others in my opinion! It is the cocoa that Bri, myself and the rest of our siblings grew up on! It's such an easy recipe, so put the swiss miss away my friends and try it! I made it on our first real snowfall day and it really hit the spot!:)

1/2 gallon whole milk

2 cans evaporated milk

1/4-1/2 cup dry, unsweetened cocoa(to your tastes)

1/2-1 cup granulated sugar(to your tastes)

First start warming the milk and evaporated milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn. Then add the cocoa powder and stir well to dissolve. Add the sugar last and to your tastes. Heat through until nice and steamy hot!

Whip a pint of heavy cream just until you have stiff peaks. Add 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and whip just until incorporated. Serve hot chocolate with a generous helping of the fresh, lightly sweetened whipped cream!

images by Kara

Vita Coco and O.N.E.

This is the drink of choice at our Fam's house right now! 100% natural, fat free and cholesterol free! It is a super hydrator full of electrolytes and nutrients! It is the drink Mom grabs cold from the fridge after her morning workouts and our bro's choice for filling his water bottles for long rides! Both brands can be found at Whole Foods Markets and some local grocery stores depending on where you live. Go to www.vitacoco.com and/or www.onenaturalexperience.com to learn more about these amazing beverages and to find a store that sells them near you! Go ahead, try them and get to gettin healthy!

image by Kar

Favorite Hot-Dog Topping and Brazilian Limeade

Here is a laid back meal to throw together. Invite people over and have an end-of-summer party.

Hot-dogs are usually boring, so I like to find ways to dress them up a bit and make them more delicious. This topping is easy to make and will actually get you excited about eating a hot-dog.

Here is my recipe:

1 medium sized onion, white or yellow

1 carton of sliced mushrooms, optional

3-4 tablespoons butter (1-2 tbs more if you are adding mushrooms)

3- 4 tablespoons worcestershire sauce (1-2 tbs more if you are adding mushrooms)

Take onion and lop off both ends, peel skin off. Cut in two and slice thinly (so you have C shaped pieces). Set aside. In a medium skillet melt butter over medium-low heat. When butter is melted add onion. With tongs mix and toss onions around to evenly coat with butter. Feel free to turn up heat to medium here. When the sliced onions start to get translucent (about 3-5 minutes), add your mushrooms (this is optional). Stir and toss to evenly distribute. Add worcestershire sauce. You can always add more or less if you prefer. Cook for another few minutes until onions are completely soft and mushrooms have soaked up sauce and reduced in size. Using tongs serve over a hot-dog in a bun. Serve with ketchup, mustard, and mini dill pickles. Recipe should be enough topping for 8 hot-dogs.

I found the recipe for this Brazilian Limeade on a new-to-me blog called Nosh. I've made it a couple times and everyone comes back for more. It's refreshing and not too sweet-- I also like that it's a little out of the ordinary.

Recipe (I have halved it, but feel free to double it like it was originally):

1 bottle Simply Limeade

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

2-3 limes, cut into wedges for serving

crushed ice

In a pitcher pour in about a cup of limeade. Pour in sweetened condensed milk and mix well until combined. Pour in remaining limeade and mix well. Fill desired serving cups with crushed ice, just shy of the brim. Pour Brazilian Limeade over the top until full. Place a lime wedge on rim and serve.

images by Briana

Jas, 160 Miles, and 2 Naturally Energizing and Thirst Squelching Drinks

Our brother Jason is a semi-professional athlete who is constantly looking for healthy and all natural ways to refuel his body after grueling rides and races. And ladies...he's single! Baahahaha! My witty and way funnier sis Bri told me to say that. But seriously he is single!;) He just recently completed the R.A.N.A.T.A.D (ride around Nebo and Timpanogoos in a day) which is a 160 mile organized ride (not race). I'm entitled to bragging rights, so you better believe I'm gonna brag! He was the first one to make it to the ever welcoming finish line, but waited for a fellow rider so they could cross it together! He has been riding for over 14 years and has turned his body into a very precise working machine that needs constant liquid and food fuel! He was physically WORKED arriving home from the R.A.N.A.T.A.D and immediately needed libation and food! He, Mom and Dad whipped up something quick and amazing!

They took chilled seedless watermelon and cantelope chunks, pureed them separately in a blender for about 25 seconds each and poured them into big tumblers with lime. Jason downed both! It helped revitalize his tired muscles and was a super healthy way to squelch out that thirst!

Note: After you chop up your melon, put it in the fridge to get cold. Drink it fresh, right after you've pureed it! It really is so refreshing and tasty!

images by Kar

Refreshing Mid-Summer Slush

I had this slush a couple weeks ago at a baby shower. It was so wonderfully delish and refreshing that I had about 5 servings and couldn't shut-up about how good it was the whole evening. By nights end, I had to have the recipe and lucky for me, the wonderful woman who made it brought copies (she must get asked for the recipe a lot)! I made the slush a few days later for a family bbq and it was smiles all around.

Recipe:

4 cups white sugar

4 cups boiling water

4 cups pineapple juice

2 1/2 cups orange juice

5 cups mashed bananas

12 pack of Sprite or 7-Up

Dissolve 4 cups white sugar into 4 cups boiling water in a large pot. Turn heat off and add 4 cups pineapple juice and 2 1/2 cups orange juice (I use the Simply brand). Add 5 cups mashed banana (It takes about 10-11 bananas to make 5 cups of mashed bananas). Stir the bananas around until evenly distributed. Pour into two 9x13 metal pans, dividing the mixture evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and then tin foil over the plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 4 hours or you could freeze anywhere up to a week (I just pulled some from the freezer that had been in there for well over a week and it looked and tasted just as good as the day I made it).

When ready to serve, take the pan (or both) out of freezer and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes on your counter top (the time could be less depending on the temp. of the room). Break up slush with a fork and then scoop 3 heaping tablespoons (or more) of slush into a cup. Pour chilled sprite or 7-up over the slush. Serve with a spoon.

Image by Briana

Hand model is my mom. GO MOM!

Lime Rickey

Gulped one of these down at the Freedom Festival in Provo, Ut over the Fourth. It had been tooooo long. I just love grape and lime together all at once.

Here is my concoction (recipe will make 4 drinks):

4 drinking glasses

4 cups club soda

16 tablespoons grape syrup (I just bought mine from the kid at the snow-cone shack)

2 limes

Lots of ice

4 straws

Make these one by one. Squeeze half of a lime in drinking glass. Scoop in a decent amount of ice. Pour in 1 cup club soda and 4 tablespoons grape syrup. Rest your squeezed lime halve on top of ice. Don’t forget to drop in the straw. Follow these same steps for filling remaining glasses.

P.S. My husbands bowling name is Lime Rickey. He’s so cool.

Post edit: Sorry if you already saw this over on our tumblr....we've been in the process of transferring over all our posts.