Drinks/ Healthy Eating/ RECIPES/ Sponsored

DIY Cold Brew Coffee with Healthy Salted Caramel Whipped Topping

*This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Shopko. The opinions and text are all mine.

DIY Cold Brew Coffee

Are you a cold brew coffee fan but don’t like paying coffee shop prices? Do you love coffee but wish it were less acidic and easier on your tummy? Do you love iced toddy lattes with dreamy creamy toppings but don’t like the added processed sugar?

I don’t know about you but I can say yes to all of those questions. I also found a great solution for ALL of them with the help of the Primula 51 Ounce Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker from Shopko, and an amazing whipped cream recipe to top your cold brew!

I’ve dabbled in making my own cold brew for a few years now, and but never found a process that was streamlined and easy enough to keep doing it on the regular.

Cold Brew Coffee French Press System

My old way of doing it was with a french press but honestly, it was messy and I had to put too much thought into the measurements and the ratio of coffee to water for it to become an easy habit.

If you want to know how to make it in the french press, you simply stir 1/4 cup of coarse coffee grounds into 1 cup of cold water. Let sit out on the counter overnight. The next morning, add another cup of cold water. Then press the grounds and pour over ice. This makes 2 cups of coffee.

Cold Brew Coffee – Jar System

You could make this in a glass jar instead of a French press, but instead of pressing, strain through a coffee filter twice. Again, it is messy and a slow straining process–not my favorite–but if you are desperate for cold brew coffee and have a glass jar and coffee filters on hand, you can use this method.

Place 1/4 cup of coffee grounds in a jar with 1 cup of cold water. Let sit in the refrigerator on the counter overnight. The next morning, add another cup of cold water. Then strain the grounds and pour over ice. This makes 2 cups of coffee.

Primula Cold Brew Coffee Maker

What is my favorite way to make cold brew coffee? With the Primula Cold Brew Coffee Maker from Shopko. It takes all guesswork out of making cold brew coffee and streamlines the process, making it as simple as possible.

Brunch/ RECIPES

Oven Scrambled Eggs

I love finding easy new cooking techniques for staple foods that everyone loves. That is exactly what I found in Oven Scrambled Eggs. These eggs cook up super light and fluffy and are the best-tasting eggs I’ve ever had!

Baking scrambled eggs in the oven makes sense if you have other things to do besides watching eggs cook. I have made them for our Christmas morning brunch the last 2 years and loved having them in the oven along with our Christmas morning traditional cinnamon rolls. I’ve read about others throwing bacon on a baking pan and baking it at the same time as the eggs.

RECIPES

Simple Go-To Crepe Recipe

You are going to love this simple go-to crepe recipe. We sure do. It is easy and so delicious! This is the first year that we have made crepes at home, but if I knew how simple they were to make, I would have started making them a long time ago!

Crepe Beginnings

Our crepe obsession started on a family trip to Breckenridge. This was a few years ago when our girls were young. We discovered the cutest little crepe shop in town and our girls were so enamored by all the choices of fillings and toppings. I remember their messy faces–you could clearly see what filling each one chose by what was left on their face!

They eagerly waited in line and once it was our turn to order, my youngest, Avery, would beg us to lift her up so she could watch the crepe maker swirl the batter. Her favorite part was when they would flip the crepe with a stick. Little did I know that years later she would be great in the kitchen and be flipping crepes of her own.

A Crepe Maker For Christmas

This past Christmas Avery received a crepe maker and she was delighted! I don’t like having too many kitchen gadgets, but I must say, this crepe maker sure has made the process easy and fun, and is worth having one more gadget!

It is the perfect size for crepes, has a lip that holds the crepe batter in while it sets up, and the crepes do not stick to it.

It came with 2 wooden utensils, one used to swirl and spread the batter evenly, which is really quite fun! The other is to lift and flip the crepe. I will include instructions for making crepes without the crepe maker, but I do recommend this crepe maker, especially if kids are helping in the kitchen. It makes for very easy and simple crepe-making.

Crepes For Special Occasions, or Not!

We often make crepes on special occasions or on a slow Saturday morning. Father’s Day was the perfect occasion to make crepes–Todd loved that! Avery woke up with the fun idea of making crepes for her Dad, and I drove straight to the store for fresh berries and whipping cream. The photos on this post are from that day–I love how she set all the toppings out pretty for a special Father’s Day brunch.

We made them a few times during the summer as an afternoon snack, when we wanted a sweet treat but didn’t want to heat up the house by turning on the oven. My oldest daughter was a Nanny this summer and she brought her kids over for some crepe-making. They loved it! Crepes are great for all ages.

Our Favorite Way To Top Crepes

Our favorite way to eat them is with berries and homemade whipped cream. If it was up to my Avery, we would have Nutella on hand at all times to smear on warm crepes then top with berries. She loves chocolate, and when I won’t give in to buying Nutella, she will melt a handful of chocolate chips and add a dollop of peanut butter, stir, then spread on her crepe. At the very least, she will sprinkle chocolate chips on top!

We now have a local cafe that sells crepes. It is fun to get crepe filling ideas from them. They make one that is to-die-for with cookie butter and raspberry jam, then sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. That combo is delicious!

The same cafe also makes savory crepes. I am super inspired by them and eager to experiment with savory fillings. I will let you know when I do.

Crepe Recipe

We tried a couple of crepe recipes but stuck with this one because it is not too thin, not too thick, tastes amazing and turns out every time. It is also a super simple recipe. It is very similar to Martha Stewart’s recipe, but I cut the sugar just a bit. This recipe takes minutes to whip up, but be aware that this crepe batter rests for 15 minutes before cooking. This gives the protein in the batter time to relax and the starch time to expand.

I love that it can be whipped up in a blender (you could use a hand immersion blender). The recipe uses simple ingredients and ends up being a pretty good carb to protein ratio thanks to the high amount of eggs in the recipe. If we keep things simple with berries and a homemade whip made from organic cream, it really is a low sugar breakfast treat.

{for your pinning pleasure}

Simple Go-To Crepe Recipe

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tsp sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1. In a blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter.

2. Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds. Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 day; whisk before using).

3. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium. Lightly coat with butter. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover

the bottom of skillet. Cook until the underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip. Cook 1 minute more. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter. (Coat pan with butter as needed.)

What about YOU?

Do you love crepes? Have you made them homemade? What are your favorite fillings and toppings?

Brunch/ RECIPES

Quinoa for Breakfast | 3 Ways

Why Quinoa for Breakfast?

Eating a quinoa breakfast gives a great nutritional start to your day. It will keep you full for hours thanks to the 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber in just one cup! Quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain, and packs all nine essential amino acids your body needs. It contains iron, vitamin B, and my fav–the calming mineral, magnesium! This is just a few of the nutrients in quinoa, there are much more!

2 Staple Quinoa Breakfast Toppings: Chia & Hemp

If you top your quinoa breakfast bowls with chia and hemp seeds, you add even more health benefits. It ups the protein, fiber, and those good omega’s.

Chia seeds have 5 grams of fiber per tablespoon, which is a big deal, as most people are not getting enough fiber in their diet.

Hemp seeds contain all essential amino acids, just like quinoa, which is unusual for plant protein sources, so they are a great addition for people on a vegetarian or vegan diet. I like to think that the good fats (omega-3 alpha-linolenic acids) in hemp (and chia, and quinoa!) help keep my skin looking as fresh and smooth as possible.

How to make Quinoa

Making quinoa is very similar to making rice, but with the extra step of rinsing the quinoa. Rinsing is no big deal, just measure into a fine mesh strainer, rinse and strain.

I prefer making quinoa in my Instant Pot pressure cooker, but you can make it on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.

Here are instructions for all 3 methods:

Stove Top Instructions

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (any variety–white, golden, red, black or a mixture)

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Tools:

Fine-Mesh Strainer

2-quart saucepan with lid

Spoon

Instructions:

Rinse the quinoa –this is important. Quinoa has a natural coating, called saponin, that can make the cooked grain taste bitter or soapy. Luckily, it’s easy to get rid of this coating just by rinsing the quinoa just before cooking. Boxed quinoa is often pre-rinsed, but it doesn’t hurt to give the seeds an additional rinse at home.

Measure 1 cups of quinoa and place into a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cool water. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.

Add rinsed quinoa to the pan. Add liquid and salt and bring to a rolling boil.

Turn heat down to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered. Don’t peek!

Remove the lid. Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork, and serve. If any liquid remains in the bottom of the pan or if the quinoa is still a bit crunchy, return the pot to low heat and cook, covered for another 5 minutes. until all the water has been absorbed.

Rice Cooker Instructions:

Use 2:1 liquid-to-quinoa ratio and cook according to rice cooker instructions.

Instant Pot Instructions:

1 1/2 c water | 1 c rinsed quinoa| 1/2 t salt | 1 min | HP | NR

Combine one cup rinsed quinoa, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 t. salt in the Instant Pot. Seal and set it to cook on high pressure (HP) for 1 minute. Use natural release (NR).

Quinoa Breakfast–3 ways:

Maple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

1/2 cup cold cooked quinoa

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maple syrup

Splash almond milk

Add quinoa to a jar, bowl or glass. Sprinkle with seed & cinnamon. Drizzle with maple syrup. Add almond milk to your taste.

Strawberries & Cream Breakfast Quinoa

1/2 cup cold cooked quinoa

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maple syrup

3-5 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Splash almond milk

Add quinoa to a jar, bowl or glass. Top with strawberry slices. Sprinkle with seed & cinnamon. Drizzle with maple syrup. Add almond milk to your taste.

Peaches and Cream Breakfast Quinoa

1/2 cup cold cooked quinoa

1 T hemp seeds

1 T chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maple syrup

1/2 peach, cubed

Splash almond milk

Add quinoa to a jar, bowl or glass. Top with peaches. Sprinkle with seed & cinnamon. Drizzle with maple syrup. Add almond milk to your taste.

Tips & Tricks for Easy Breakfast Quinoa

~want to top your breakfast quinoa with crunchy quinoa? Click here for the recipe.

~make a large batch of quinoa at the beginning of the week.

~store in quart mason jars for easy to see and grab from the refrigerator

~keep seeds and toppings together in the cabinet to easily grab for easy morning breakfast prep

~heat quinoa for those chilly mornings

~one cup of dry quinoa yields about 3 cups of cooked quinoa

~to cook one cup of quinoa, you need 2 cups of liquid

I will be sharing some more of my favorite quinoa breakfast bowls and toppings, like Chocolate Cherry Coconut and Pumpkin Spice for fall! Make sure you are subscribed to our email list so you don’t miss a post!

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Healthy Eating/ RECIPES

RX Protein Bars with Nut Butter and Chia for Breakfast or Snack

*not a sponsored post

I’ve been having a little love affair with RXBar’s. I was so happy to finally find a protein bar that had just a few ingredients that were actually real ingredients. I’ve had them for breakfast when I’m in a hurry, but I mostly use them as a snack when I’m craving something sweet but want something that adds to my total daily nutrition.

It has been a goal of mine lately to squeeze as much nutritional value from my snacks as possible. I’m also trying hard to stay away from processed sugars and artificial ingredients. This is why these bars are so appealing!

RX Protein Bars use dates to sweeten, which still adds sugar, but it is sugar from a whole food and is lower on the glycemic scale. When eaten in this bar form, the protein and fiber help keep blood sugars stable. The dates are rich in fiber, potassium, and copper, and are said to promote digestive health, reduce blood pressure and fight inflammation. This is what I mean by getting nutritional value from my snacks! Plain sugar does not have these benefits, and corn syrup certainly does not!

The matte packaging is on point and you must admit, seeing the simple ingredients listed on the front is brilliant. I told my teen girls that B.S. stands for “boring stuff.” They didn’t believe me. Seeing just 4 ingredients in the list is so refreshing. Compare that to a PowerBar protein bar…brace yourself…

Seeing just 4 ingredients in the list is so refreshing. Compare that to a PowerBar protein bar…brace yourself…

POWERBAR Ingredient List:

TRISOURCE PROTEIN BLEND (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CALCIUM CASEINATE, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE), MALTITOL SYRUP, CHOCOLATE FLAVORED COATING (SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, COCOA, WHEY, NONFAT MILK, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR), OLIGOFRUCTOSE (FROM CHICORY ROOT), FRUCTOSE, WATER, CANE INVERT SYRUP, PEANUT BUTTER, PARTIALLY DEFATTED PEANUT FLOUR, SOY CRISPS (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, RICE FLOUR, SALT), PEANUT OIL, AND LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, GROUND ALMONDS, NATURAL FLAVOR, SOY LECITHIN, BUTTER (CREAM).

Whoa. lots of caseinates which can be rough on the stomach, and look at all of those syrups, & GMO Soy! I’m wrinkling my nose as I type.

In RXbars, there is no gluten, no soy, no dairy, no added sugars or GMO’s. They are preservative free and the protein is from eggs instead of dairy, so if you have a dairy sensitivities you need not worry! My digestive system has been reacting negatively when I have dairy, so I like that the protein is from eggs.

My one complaint about RX Protein Bars is that some of them have “natural flavor.” I never love seeing that phrase in the ingredient list, as it can mean several things and often the “natural” is not so natural. The peanut butter RXbar does not have natural flavors, so I tend to lean towards that one.

I like to doctor these bars up a bit. They are delicious on their own, but are even more delicious topped with a dollop of almond butter and a sprinkle of chia, which add even more health benefits. The almond butter acts almost like a frosting and truly satisfies when I want to eat dessert. Plus, look how pretty it is!

The bars contain 12g of protein, but by adding almond butter and chia, you up the protein to 20g! It adds more filling fiber, too!

I try to eat at least 1-2 tablespoons of chia a day. They have all eight essential amino acids and a bunch of trace minerals and micronutrients. Just 2 tablespoons of Chia has 5 times the omega-3 content of a 1/4 cup serving of walnuts, twice the iron and magnesium of a cup of spinach, as much calcium as a half-cup of milk, and more than twice the fiber of a cup of oatmeal! These little seeds are powerhouses!

Almond butter acts like a creamy frosting on these bars, I just love it as a topping! It truly satisfies when I want to eat dessert. Plus, look how pretty it is! Almond butter offers fiber and protein, just one tablespoon= 4 grams of protein!

{above image for your pinning pleasure}

RXbars are on the pricey side, but the cost is worth it to me, especially when I cut a bar in half and eat one half as an afternoon snack, and the other as an evening snack. Two for the price of one, plus I bust my sugar cravings with a nutrition-filled snack!

What about you? What are your favorite high protein and filling snacks?

What is a favorite grab & go breakfast?

Have you incorporated chia into your diet? If so, how do you like to eat it?

Interested in using dates in your cooking? Check out this Date Paste recipe. Caramel-y delicious!

Want another way to incorporate chia into your diet? —> Overnight Chia Oat Breakfast Pudding

HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ Nutrition/ RECIPES

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup Easy To Go Breakfast

If you follow my Instastories, you will know I have been obsessed with Smushed Berry Yogurt Cups!

I am finding myself on the go in the mornings, and have needed a healthy, portable, easy- to- throw- together breakfast that will keep me full well into lunch time. I found the answer in these great yogurt concoctions.

I first experienced these handy Smushed Berry Yogurt Cups when I recently visited my sweet friend, Karen, in California! I love telling the story of how we met. It was through this very blog! She is a fellow cancer survivor and was searching for something cancer-related and found New Nostalgia. We started emailing and sharing our stories. As our hearts knitted online, she decided to come to Nebraska for a visit and we have been going back and forth, visiting each other, for the last 5 years. We talk every day via the Voxer App. She is one of the sweetest gifts given to me through cancer. My beauty- in- ashes friend.

She took me on many adventures during my last visit to California. We were often in her car traveling to our many amazing destinations, and most mornings she packed Smushed Berry Yogurt Cups as an easy and healthy breakfast to eat in the car. She is even responsible for naming these awesome cups. I love hearing her say it…”shmooooshed berry yogurt cups.” Makes me smile.

There are 4 key things to making these cups unique and healthy.

Brand of Yogurt
“Smoooshing”
Berries
Seeds

Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt

I often make my own yogurt and love it, but there are weeks when I want super convenience, and Oikos Triple Zero (this is not a sponsored post fyi) yogurt gives me that! Store bought yogurt is notorious for being full of sugar and artificial colors, and if they don’t have sugar they would be full of artificial sugar and colors.

I stay away from these chemically laden ingredients and searched high and low for a brand that does not contain them. I had found the brand but had not added any fun berries or seeds until my Karen friend showed me how she does it.

Oikos uses the stevia herb to sweeten, uses vegetable juice for color. My one complaint is that it is not organic, which is why I still make my own on weeks that I have time to!

I buy Oikos Triple Zero at Sam’s.

Smoosh Berry Yogurt Cup – Smush and Make Take it To Go

I loved watching my Karen prepare these cups for our travel adventures. She would open it right up, add the berries, sprinkle with the seeds, then top it all with the lid that came with the cups. She then would smush everything right down using the lid.Using a paper towel folded into thirds, she would wrap the cup with the paper towel and stick the cups into a little portable cooler.

Berries For Your Yogurt Cup

I love berries! I usually buy my berries at Sam’s because the price is so right! My favorite berries in these Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup are blueberries and raspberries. I often use strawberries, too, but raspberries are so awesome for smooshing! They fall apart into bitty pieces that mix in so nicely with the yogurt. Berries add a ton of phytonutrients, antioxidants & fiber. I try to eat berries every day, and these cups are my new favorite way!

Seeds For Your Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup

Another thing I try to eat every day for the health benefits is seeds. Seeds are high in fiber, vitamin E, and good fats. They help keep hearts healthy and bodies disease-free. They are a great source of protein, minerals, zinc and all kinds of other nutrients.

My favorite blend of seeds is from Trader Joes called Super Seed and Ancient Grain Blend. It is a blend of seeds like chia, flax, hemp, red quinoa, amaranth and sprouted grains like buckwheat and millet. I love everything about this blend.

The price is right, it is super convenient, and sprouted. Sprouting (germinating) the grains increase the bioavailability of nutrients, so you get more nutritious bang for your buck! I have yet to sprout my own seeds and grains at home. Thank you Trader Joes for doing it for me!

If you don’t live close to a Trader Joes, just sprinkle your yogurt with chia and hemp seeds. Those two are powerhouses!

I have yet to sprout my own seeds and grains at home. Thank you Trader Joes for doing it for me! If you don’t live close to a Trader Joes, just sprinkle your yogurt with chia and hemp seeds. Those two are powerhouses!

Seeds in the Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup are key to keeping you nice and full until lunchtime!

Super Portable Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup

The above 2 photos are from my Instastories, taken on the go to show my new favorite breakfast. I never use a cooler, because I eat them so quickly! I just put on the lid, wrap in a folded paper towel (which doubles as a napkin), and take along a plastic spoon. The cup fits perfectly in my car drink holder. I have found myself eating them in the parking lot of my favorite coffee shops.

My girls are out of school for the summer and I have been escaping early morning to get my writing done at coffee shops. I would rather not buy high sugar muffins that these shops offer that are not good for me. This is why eating my yogurt cup before entering into temptation is key for me! I walk in full and satisfied and save money by only buying a black cup of coffee.

Look at all that goodness all smashed in! My Karen showed me out to take off the lid, and use my spoon to smush the berries right down into the yogurt. The raspberries break up, the seeds get all mixed in. The texture of the yogurt is amazing! Juicy bits of raspberries, the occasional crunch of seeds, the fruitiness of blueberries and a bit of chew from chia that has been sitting and softening in the yogurt. It is so satisfying!

There are days I eat my yogurt at home. If I want to be extra generous with fruit, I will dump all in a bowl like the photo above. The added mango was delicious!

Give Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup a try & let me know what you think.

Let me know your thoughts– does a portable breakfast appeal to you? Do you ever eat your breakfast in the car?

RECIPES

3 Ingredient Protein Pancakes

I’ve been all about super simple recipes, and these 3 ingredient protein pancakes could not be easier! They are my new food crush and are great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack or “brinner” (breakfast for dinner).

These are not fluffy, carb loaded, make-pancakes-for-your-out-of-town company type pancakes. No, these are pancakes you make when you are craving carbs or a sweet but want to eat healthy and stay away from empty calories.

After eating these pancakes, you will not have the typical sugar crash that comes 30 minutes after eating simple carbs. These kill the cravings, are low calorie, and fill you up. I make little dollar size pancakes, eat all 10 of them, and know when I’m done that I just ate 2 protein-filled eggs, a fiber-rich banana, and omega’s from the chia. If you choose to top it off like I do, with smushed berries and cinnamon, you will also have a nice dose of antioxidants! All of this with just minutes of simple prep.

Protein Pancakes Pack A Punch

236 calories, and pack a whipping 12.6 grams of protein and 540 mg of potassium!

Not a bad return for such an easy-to-make recipe. I love making recipes are simple but give a great headway into the daily nutrients our bodies need.

Chia Packs a Punch

3 Ingredient Protein Pancakes are a great way to utilize my favorite little seed…CHIA! I’ve bragged about the punch this little seeds pack when talking about another breakfast favorite —No Cook Overnight Breakfast Chia Oat Pudding. How fun to have 2 breakfast options that include chia.

Why eat chia?

Packed with omega-3, protein, rare antioxidants, and fiber
Excellent source of essential minerals such as phosphorous, manganese, calcium, sodium, and potassium
3 tablespoons contains 6 times more calcium than whole milk, and 30% more antioxidants than blueberries!
Full of omegas.

My favorite brand of chia from amazon (aff. link):

3 Ingredient Protein Pancakes

2 eggs

1 banana

1 or 2 Tablespoons chia seeds

Directions:

Blend above ingredients together. Warm non stick pan to medium heat and add a little coconut oil to the pan. Cook silver dollar size pancakes about 30 seconds on each side. Stack on a plate. Serves 1.

Fast Berry Compote Topping:

I smash up berries with just a touch of organic real maple syrup to sweeten, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon juice. This is so delicious and much healthier than dousing the pancakes with syrup. If I am out of fresh berries, I will just thaw some frozen berries while I’m cooking my pancakes — they work just as well and naturally make more syrup.

{PIN IT}

*Thanks to The Skinny Confidential for both recipe ideas. Click here to see a video of this recipe.

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