In a previous post, I wrote about Goldfish Crackers. We can't get enough. Have you seen their Pinterest page? As a mom blogger, I love the crafts, printables, etc. Check out their Pinterest page. click here. Last post, I made flash cards and used the Goldfish Cheddar Color crackers to do addition with Scotty. This time, I drew a whale and we fed the whale Goldfish Crackers. We would hold up a number and Scotty would put that many Goldfish Crackers in the whale. My heart melted seeing Connor and Scotty having fun with this game. Such sweet siblings. 

Again, can't say it enough, we love Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers. They are always baked with real cheese and have no artificial flavors or preservatives. The colors are sourced from plants, such as annatto extracted from the reddish seeds of the Achiote Tree. This is a snack I feel good about serving my kids.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love and memories,

KQL 

This summer has flown by! The kids have been getting spoiled at my mom's house while I'm at work. When they go back to school, they are going to have a hard time going to bed and waking up early. Connor said the worst part is not getting to play the iPad as much! I try to limit his screen time on the iPad, but my mom for some reason extends his time. He has even gotten his four year old sister to build a house and "join worlds" on Minecraft. I've tried to play that game, but it makes me dizzy and I can't get the hang of it. Although we don't see eye to eye, Lunchables Organic is something we can all agree on!

The kids love Lunchables. I'm glad to have found Lunchables Organic. Their favorite is the pizza with pepperoni! They love it and this mama loves how Lunchables Organic is USDA certified organic and free of artificial preservatives, flavors of colors.*

Lunchables Organic makes the perfect on the go lunch or snack! Scotty and I recently took the Lunchables Organic pizza with pepperoni on a kayaking trip. She wasn't the only one that wanted Lunchables. The ducks tried to grab a bite! Scotty wouldn't share, but enjoyed watching them attempt to eat her food.

Although Connor is not ready for summer to end, or as he says, not ready for his iPad screen time to end - he is excited for Lunchables  Organic to be packed in his lunchbox. It's an easy, very convenient lunch that we can all agree on.

For more information on Lunchables Organic, click here.

Lunchables Instagram
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Thank you for stopping by!

KQL

*See back panel of any Organic Lunchables item for ingredients used to preserve quality 

I’m hooked! These are so good! I recently started counting my macros or macronutrient intake. I track every day how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fats I consume. I like to say I’m a health freak, but that isn’t really true. I can’t stay away from candy and cake. Not healthy. I do love fruits and vegetables, but sometimes I don’t eat enough vegetables. These Blueberry Oat Muffins from Garden Lites are made with fresh zucchini and carrots! The chocolate muffins are 33% vegetables! Crazy to think that it's made up of 1/3 veggies. Garden Lites provide a convenient, more enjoyable and easier way to eat your vegetables. It’s so nice to know I’m getting a good amount of veggies while eating a tasty treat! Since I can’t stay away from sweets, I eat these muffins for dessert. It’s the perfect balance of healthy and sweet – it makes the perfect dessert for me.

 I got my Garden Lites Muffins at HEB! You can find yours in the freezer section of  your nearest Publix, Stop & Shop, Giant, Shop-Rite, HEB, Kroger, or Costco. This is a hot item! The chocolate muffins were sold out at the HEB closest to my house. Luckily, There were a few boxes of the Blueberry Oat Muffins left. 

My kids are in love with the Blueberry Oat Muffins! This is an easy on the go snack/breakfast/side/etc. This single mama loves them because they have fresh zucchini and carrots! My kids have no clue they are getting a good amount of veggies! Made of clean and simple ingredients. Added bonus that they are gluten free and dairy free!

For more information about these yummy Garden Lites Muffins, click below.

I challege you to try these. Ask your child what they think the main ingredient is... veggies!!! 

Thank you for stopping by!

​Kristi Le

Awe, when I think of peanut butter and jelly, it brings me back good childhood memories. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! It was one of my favorite breakfast foods growing up.
Our mornings are crazy here! I'm not a morning person, and big city traffic consumes so much of our morning time, I need a fast breakfast. My kids love granola bars. They can eat that any time of the day. So why not combine Jif Creamy Peanut Butter & Smucker's Fruit Spreads and granola? YES! My kids think I'm a genius ;) and the best cook ever. I'll take it! 

Ever heard of the Cartwheel app? If you love Target, the Cartwheel app is for you! It's an app that offers extra savings/coupons for items at Target! Jif Peanut Butter and Smucker's Fruit Spread are 5% off till January 21, 2017. 

PB & J Granola bars
Prep time: 00:25               Refridgerate time: 02:30
Main Ingredients
1/3 cup Jif Peanut Butter
1/3 cup Smucker's Strawberry Preserves (or any other Smucker's flavors!) 
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
​

Preparation
1 Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line bottom and side of an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking oil and put oats in a even layer. Bake for 5 mins, then stir. Put back for 5 mins or until lightly toasted. Transfer to large bowl.
3 In a saucepan, combine Jif Peanut Butter, Smucker's Strawberry Preserve, honey, butter (cut into pieces), brown sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted and consistency is smooth.
4 Pour PB & J mixture into the bowl with oats. Mix well and let cool for a few minutes.
5 Transfer to lined pan. With damp fingers, press mixture to an even layer. Press hard, so the bars will be together once cooled and cut. 
6 Cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 2.5 hours. 
7 Remove granolas from pan and remove aluminum foil. Cut into twelve bars. Enjoy!


Additional Notes:
For softer bars, store in container at room temperature. For harder bars, store in container in fridge. I put mine in the freezer for a little bit, that seemed to speed up the hardening process.

I'm a dork. I know, I love the boomerang app. It makes videos fun! :) Check out the boomerang videos:

​Learn more about Smucker’s at http://www.smuckers.com/ and Jif at http://jif.com/

​Thanks for stopping by! Love!

I love this time of year! Friends and families come into town. I can feel the holiday spirit. Whether I am hosting a dinner party or going to friends-giving, I know I'll be having Wente Vineyard wine. It's a perfect gift to bring to a dinner party. What is your favorite kind of wine? Riesling is a great starter wine if you're not a wine drinker. 

I love cooking, and making up recipes in the kitchen. Lately, I've been on a healthy kick so I made a ranch salmon. I went to my local grocery store (HEB) and picked up Wente Vineyard wine, riverbank Riesling. It paired perfectly with my ranch salmon. 

Servings: 2               Prep time: 00:10               Cook time: 00:30
Main Ingredients
1 lb salmon
1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed
1 bagof small mixed potatoes - mixed white, yellow, purple, red and sweet potatoes (yukon golds, fingerlings, red potatoes etc.), cut
1 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs olive oil
1 packet of ranch dressing seasoning packet

Preparation
1 Preheat oven to 450F
2 Put asparagus and mixed potatoes on pan, drizzle 2 tbs of olive oil
3 Sprinkle ranch seasoning packet (make sure you have enough for the salmon)
4 Bake for 10 mins
5In the meantime, prepare salmon
6 Coat top of salmon (skin side down) with brown sugar
7 Drizzle olive oil
8 Sprinkle ranch seasoning packet
9 Remove pan from oven and add salmon
10 Bake for 10 mins or until salmon is cooked through
11 After that switch to broiler HIGH for 3-4 minutes to brown up the top of the salmon.
12 Remove from oven and serve

Additional Notes:
Add a sauce! Mix mayonnaise and sriracha to add a kick!

The Wente Vineyard Riesling paired perfectly with the salmon. I like wine better than red. Wente Vineyard has a variety of wines.

Here are some of Wente Vineyards’ wines:

Morning Fog Chardonnay
Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
Sandstone Merlot
Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc
Riva Ranch Pinot Noir
Riva Ranch Chardonnay
Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon

I love how Wente Vineyard was founded 130 years ago and is the country's oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery. Wente Vineyard wines are found all over the US. Click below for more information and a location near you.

Printable version of the recipe: One Pan, 3 ingredient Ranch Salmon 

Thanks for stopping by! 

​KQL

On my travels to Oakland, California, I stopped by Main Squeeze. I got the Acai Bowl - it was AMAZING! I'm in love :)! In the small town I lived in, there is no such thing. Now that I lived in the city, I found one place that sells them! I'll have to check it out ASAP. In the mean time, I searched on pinterest to see how to make them. I found many recipes where I had no clue how to get the ingredients - maca? lucuma? what? So I took a leap of faith and created my own ;) It's easy and taste so good!

Here's a great article and more recipes on Acai Bowls: Everything You Need to Know about Acai Bowls

Ingredients:
4 tbs. of Acai Powder - found it at my local HEB in the healthy isle of supplements. 
​2 cups of frozen strawberries
1 banana (frozen or not)
1 cup soy milk - I read a lot of recipes saying Almond milk, but Scotty is allergic to almonds
​
Toppings: ***Get creative! Try new things! Pick your fav fruit toppings! Add honey!
Granola
Strawberries
Blueberries

My blender is in storage, so I used my mom's food processor. It worked! I just blended all the ingredients together, put it in a colorful bowl, added the toppings, and enjoyed! So good! I can't believe this is breakfast, it's more of a dessert! Try it! Let me know what you think! 

Thank you for stopping by!

KQL