Make That Homemade Magic Shell

Remember the other day, on Cup of Jo, she featured that Homemade Magic Shell created by Hither & Thither?

With a recent investment in a jar of cake batter coconut oil, making the magic shell instantly came to mind. 

Nothing wrong with enjoying a little ice cream once in awhile, right? 

Add chopped nuts and seeds to the rim of those 3 oz Ben & Jerry cups of Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Fudge Brownie -- makes the sinfully goodness, even better. 

Win. Win. 

We used more of a 1:4 ratio with this recipe, meaning, we used 1 tablespoon of cake batter coconut oil paired with 4 tablespoons of the chocolate chips. Otherwise, we needed a baseball bat to break through that shell. I think because the cake batter oil has more stuff in it (salt, coconut, cake bits..?) compared to regular coconut oil, that's my guess. 

Here's what to do, in a clean bowl:

*Put about 4 tablespoons chocolate or vanilla chips in bowl.

*Microwave chips for 30 seconds.

*Stir well, making sure chips are well melted. You want that silky, melted chocolate (or vanilla) like Hither & Thither mentions. 

*Now add 1 tablespoon cake batter coconut oil and stir well. 

*Let sit for about 15 minutes, then add to the top of your favorite ice cream. 

*Perform extra exercise as needed, to compensate. *note to self

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Easy Lunch Idea For Kids At Home During The Summer

Or...

What To Do With That Last Lonely Sweet Potato

Whichever.

Why, Farro Soup?

5 GOOD Reasons.

1. It's summer for me too = I'm more into watching DVR'ed episodes of House Hunters International and Mad Men. What are you DVRing?

2. It's easy. I topped with kale & sans-ed the yogurt.

3. It's healthy. Our household is working on consuming less meat. And when I say "our household", I mean me.  Yours too?

4. It makes enough to eat, for a couple of days. 

This should have been #1. 

5. I've been wanting to eat more lentils anyway.

Keep It Simple, Tips:

*I buy fresh kale, wash it, break in to bits, place in freezer bag. Then I can easily break off what I need at the time, and put the rest of the kale back into the freezer. 

*Diced frozen onions. Makes cooking easier when I don't have time to slice and dice the fresh ones in a hurry. 

Badda Boom. Badda BING. 

Done.

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Wanderlust Wednesday | ITALY

What are your travel plans this summer? We're going to California but that's still a couple of months away. So I've decided to totally go to Italy, in my head. 

Pasta. Tomato sauce. Cheese. Lots of cheese. Oh, and plenty of vegetables. 

Until then, here are some virtual escapes I ran across this week...

*I've craned my neck more than once trying to figure out what people are reading.

*Unplug. Engage. Some parents are BAD at this, aren't they??

*Brew yourself the perfect cup, wherever you are.

*Carry-on's . It's the only way we pack now.  

*Ok, now I am totally in Bologna. And you will be too! You're welcome :)

Have a really nice, rest of the week. 

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Do You Take Vitamins?

In this past weekend's New York Times opinion column, there was an interesting read regarding vitamins. So so glad they are bringing this topic to national attention. 

I sometimes chat with healthy people, who take scads of vitamins. When I ask them why, their response is usually, "I want to be the healthiest I can be, and more is better, right?"

What do you think? Do you view vitamins as kind of an insurance plan? Or do you get the recommended 4-5 cups of fruits & vegetables most days?

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Tea Time / Make Mistakes

Are you hard on yourself? Do you compare yourself to other people's successes?

Maybe there's someone on Instagram who gets over a 100 favorites, just by posting a picture of a heater. A heater. Yeah. I've seen that.  
Or, that guy...that guy you just know is your boss's favorite, because he totally sucks up? 
This can suck, for sure. 

We all need a little nudge, a little push, to put self-doubt behind us, and just keep moving forward to achieving our own dreams. 

Here's some virtual assistance that sometimes nudges me along. 
Pick Yourself. 
Clear The Clutter. Find Your LIFE. 
10 Ways to Love Yourself today. 
Carry that hatitude. 
What success really looks like. 
If not now, then when?
Coaxing the muse. 
Oh, and can't forget these words to live by - 

Hopefully this inspires you to keep pushing forward. It's alllll part of the process. 

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Edible Diary | June

I took this picture with my phone at Whole Foods last week. 

June always makes me think of salmon season. And watermelon. 

Looks like I'll be searching for some new delicious recipes :)

*Messing around with the A Beautiful Mess photo app*

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5 Food Favorites for 40-Something's

Say that, five times fast.

This is it.

If we don't take care of ourselves in our 20's and 30's, the 40's is where it starts to show up. 

YIKes and EEEee gads.

Here are 5 foods that I consistently see healthy and adventurous people in their 40's eating.  

Put 'em on your grocery list and get creative!

1. Roasted Bell Peppers is the way to go if you don't like your vegetables raw. The heat sweetens them a bit. Slice in half, and broil for 4 to 5 minutes. Toss on salad.

2. 2 cups of watermelon has 1/3 (did you read me? a thirrrrd) of the vitamin's A & C we need for a day. An easy-to-prepare after dinner summer time sweet? Uhh...yeah. 

3. How about 1/4 cup raspberries + 4 large strawberries in a smoothie?  

Then add tablespoon of Greek yogurt, honey + 1 cup of vanilla almond milk and you've got yourself a berry good smoothie. Not super sweet either. 

4. 

Veggie packed. 

Broth based. 

Fiber rich soups.

So get your bowl on, and bottoms up.

5. Apples. 

One fabulous flavonoid BOONDOGGLE. 

Just can't. do. fresh apples? 

Most dried apple rings (1 cup worth) have about 3 grams of fiber. Not bad. 

What do you do to get in your 2 1/2 cups vegetables 

and 2 cups of fruits minimum, every day?

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