Healthier Easter Baskets
Easter is coming up, and for those of you who celebrate and are also trying to watch your weight, this means another holiday of dealing with candy and sweets. The positive side is that there is no rule that says you have to fill your Easter basket with pounds of chocolate eggs and jellybeans. Fill your basket with these healthier alternatives instead:
• Fresh fruit
• Homemade cookies or muffins made with healthy ingredients like oats, raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate covered cranberries, raisins, or peanuts
• Trail mix
• Fitness DVDs
• Fruit jams with a fancy jam spreader
• Granola bars
• Makeup
• Nail Polish
• A potted plant
• Small picture frames
• Health and fitness magazines
• Herbal teas and a mug
• A CD of relaxing music
For the Kids
• coloring books
• colored pencils
• puzzles
• small toys
• stuffed bunnies
• stickers
• magnets
• disposable camera
• packet of seeds and gardening tools
• plastic eggs filled with coins or beads
• Silly Putty
• pastel- colored socks
• jewelry
• toy cars
Do you still get an Easter Basket?
What do you love getting in your Easter basket?
What do you like filling kids Easter baskets with?
Baseball Fever
It\’s that time of the year again… baseball season. Are you a fan? I absolutely love baseball, being from Michigan I am definitely a Detroit Tigers fan! While in Victoria Secret I noticed that their Major League Baseball Pink collection has expanded, and gotten cuter. Pink Big League Love.
Who is your favorite Baseball Team?
xo
ps, random fact: today is 4\’11 and that\’s how tall I am.
Skinny Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
7 chicken tenderloins
7 Tbsp. shredded coconut
1/4 c. panko
3 Tbsp. crushed Cornflakes
3 egg whites
Directions
Combine coconut, panko and cornflakes in a dish.
Whisk egg whites with a dash of water in another dish.
Dip the chicken the egg, then into the coconut mixture.
Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes turning halfway through, or until chicken is cooked.
Island Escape
Electric Pineapple is a yellow and lime green creme. This color is heavier on the yellow and I am absolutely loving it. This is definitely a color that will scream summer, and give your nails some serious attention. I am thinking this would be a perfect pedi color!
Papaya Punch is a bright tangerine orange. You want summer now this color will definitely make you feel like you are sipping a fancy drink poolside. This is a bright and fun color and one of my favorites in the collection.
Cha Cha Cha is a shimmer bright green… heavy on the yellow shimmer. The color reminds me of the green on a pineapple or a sour apple drink.
108 Degrees is a fuchsia pink with pink glitter. This color is gorgeous and screams summer. I really wish it didn\’t have the glitter in it though. I feel like the glitter completely ruined this color. However I am sure you\’ll see it on my nails often this summer.
Senorita Bonita is a pretty plumy purple with pink and blue glitter. The purple is absolutely stunning. Perfect for a summer mani or pedi or this would have been the perfect spring break hue. Again I wish it didn\’t contain glitter, because I am definitely not a glitter fan at all.
Blue Iguana is a bright blue with blue glitter and it has a pretty glow to it. I haven\’t seen a color like this before so I am really loving it. Again I am not getting the whole glitter thing.
What do you think of this collection?
I wish that it didn\’t contain any glitters, but aside from that I am loving it.
Homemade Samoas Cookies
Homemade Samoas Cookies
Toasted Coconut
1 bag sweetened coconut, toasted
• place coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 325degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the coconut half way through.
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups flour
• Place butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat until it is light and creamy. Add vanilla and beat until well combined. Add flour and beat until combined. Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or overnight.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Using a round cookie cutter stamp out your cookies. You can even stamp out the centers if you wish. Place your cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
Great Grandma\’s Homemade Caramel
4 tablespoons salted butter, more for greasing your pan
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 cups sugar
1/2 cups corn syrup
pinch of salt
1.5 teaspoonsvanilla extract
• Grease a 9 inch square glass baking pan with butter.
• Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a LARGE saucepan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.
• Continue to mix until the candy thermometer reads 235 degrees.
• When it reaches 235 degrees stir in the vanilla and pour into prepared pan.
Assembly
• Spread some caramel on the tops of each of your cookies. This helps the caramel coconut mixture adhere quickly to the cookie.
• Mix the rest of your caramel as well as your coconut together. Spread this onto each of your cookies.
• Let cool for 30 minutes, before you dip the bottoms in chocolate (I didn\’t do this because I do not like chocolate) and strip the top.
Shortcuts
•Instead of making your own shortbread cookies, buy your favorite shortbread cookies such a Lorna Doones.
• Instead of making your own caramel buy caramel apple dip.
Fashion meets Food 