Cranberry Chocolate Energy Bars

May 17, 2018 by Larisha Campbell

These delicious no-bake Cranberry Chocolate Energy Bars will have you feeling satisfied and ready to go when you are on the move this year!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Amazing Grass® Green Superfood® Original at Sam’s Club. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Spring is here and the weather is finally seeming to catch up to that memo. The weather has been gorgeous here this week (even with a few rain showers thrown in). This can only mean one thing: we will be out and about very quickly. Sometimes it feels like as soon as spring weather finally hits, we are out and about often. The girls love being outside. Playing with friends and exploring new places we’ve never been. It also means that I need to be more aware of the food choices we have in our home.

Typically, when we are home often, we eat leftovers for lunch, or things like soup, mac n cheese, etc. However, when we are on the go I need quick meals and snacks that don’t need to be heated up. We love to do salads and sandwiches and for snacks, we love to do fruit and bars. When I was pregnant and then had a new baby, I love our lactation protein bars; however, now, I am loving these Cranberry Chocolate Energy Bars.

Getting more nutrients into your kids

I know with our kids, that if you give them something handheld, made from what appears to be chocolate and tastes even remotely decent, then will devour it. Well, these cranberry chocolate energy bars taste better than decent! They are great! They are packed full of great ingredients like nuts, flaxseed, and Amazing Grass® Green Superfood® Original.

Amazing Grass is a simple way to add greens and get quality nutrients into both your own body and that of your children. With just one scoop, you get to Feel Amazing Everyday™. Amazing Grass is packed with organic greens, fruit, and vegetables. What this does is provide you with natural energy, help your immunity and digestion system, and promote detox to maintain your best health.

You can find Amazing Grass at your local Sam’s Club. And between May 10 – June 4, Sam’s Club is offering a $4.00 savings on every tub of Amazing Grass Green Superfood purchases either in-store or online. There’s also an in-club demo May 19, 2018 at Sam’s Club, so make sure you head out there and taste it for yourself.

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Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1.5 cups rolled oats
1 cup cashew butter (other nut butters would also work)
3/4 cup unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup unsweetened cacao powder
4 scoops Amazing Grass® Green Superfood®

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until very well combined.
Line a 13x9 pan with wax paper.
Spread the mixture across the pan and press down ensuring one even layer.
Freeze for 3 hours or overnight.
Cut into desired size bars (we do 12).
Leave in freezer until ready to eat. When ready, remove one at least 30 minutes before wanting to eat.

PIN THESE CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE ENERGY BARS FOR LATER!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Amazing Grass® Green Superfood® Original.

Strawberry Banana Popsicles

March 23, 2018 by Larisha Campbell

These homemade Strawberry Banana Popsicles are just 3 ingredients! Learn how to make popsicles with this super easy homemade popsicles recipe today!

This post contains affiliate links.
Shop like normal using our links to our favorite products, but we receive a small commission to help run our site.

My kids are obsessed with popsicles. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a sweet treat? I know growing up, I used to beg for ice cream or popsicles, or anything else that my parents would let me have. With the weather warming up (hopefully) right around the corner, I know that I need to keep our freezer stocked with fun frozen treats.

When Serenity was a baby, I got popsicle molds and tried to make popsicles for the first time. I felt so silly for not realizing how easy it was. The possibilities in how many different ways you can make homemade popsicles is endless. We typically just blend together a bunch of overripe fruit that is about to go bad and pour them into our favorite popsicle molds. It’s the perfect way to reduce waste while still having something fun and healthy.

Today, we’re sharing with your our homemade strawberry banana popsicles. These healthy popsicles have just 3 ingredients – strawberries, bananas, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The kids loved our homemade popsicles and I loved that they were dye-free and no added sugar or other ingredients that we can’t pronounce.

How do you make homemade popsicles?

In a high powdered blender or food processor, combine frozen bananas and frozen strawberries with the unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Blend until a smooth texture. Carefully pour mixture into the popsicles molds slightly under filled. Then, put in popsicle sticks and place in freezer for six hours or overnight, until completely frozen.

How long does it take popsicles to make a popsicle?

With these strawberry banana popsicles, it takes 10 minutes to blend and get them into the popsicle molds. After that, it takes a minimum of five to six hours to freeze. Alternatively, you could use a quick freezing popsicle mold that can freeze in as little as 7 minutes depending on which you get.

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Strawberry Banana Popsicles

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

6 hrs

Total Time

6 hrs 5 mins

These homemade Strawberry Banana Popsicles are just 3 ingredients! Learn how to make popsicles with this super easy homemade popsicles recipe today!

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 15 popsicles

Calories: 31 kcal

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

3 frozen bananas
20 medium strawberries
2.5 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Instructions

In a food processor or blender, add the ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into popsicle molds
Place popsicle molds in freeze for 6 hours or overnight, until completely frozen.

Recipe Notes

For a fun crunchy treat: dip the top of the frozen popsicle in vanilla greek yogurt, then dip that in granola (we used our Chocolate Cranberry Granola).

Nutrition Facts

Strawberry Banana Popsicles

Amount Per Serving (1 popsicle)

Calories 31

% Daily Value*

Sodium 28mg 1%

Potassium 135mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 3g

Vitamin A 1%

Vitamin C 13.9%

Calcium 3.4%

Iron 0.8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Looking for even more popsicle recipes ? Check out these delicious homemade popsicles ideas!

We hope you enjoy these delicious strawberry banana popsicles and and inspired to start making your own!

Pin for later!

Easiest Homemade Applesauce

January 2, 2018 by Larisha Campbell

This is the Easiest Homemade Applesauce you’ll ever make!

Affiliates links contained in this post help us to earn a small commission.

I’m here to let you in on a little secret. The easiest homemade applesauce can be made in under an hour and only has one ingredient. Shocked? I know I was when I learned how to make it last year with my friend Stephanie from Happily Homegrown.

We have an apple orchard around that sells seconds on apples later in the season. Nothing is wrong with these apple except maybe a bruise here or there. Sometimes it’s just an odd shape. Apparently, grocery stores won’t take odd shaped apples and instead insist on uniform perfection due to Americans high expectations of food. Luckily, in this case, I win. You can get two huge baskets of apples (I’m talking like 50+ lbs) for about $20.

When I first learned about the sale, I went to my friend and asked how easy it was to make homemade applesauce. She said it’s one of the easiest homemade recipes to make from scratch and once I made it, I’d likely never buy store bought applesauce again. She was right.

All you need are apples, literally.

The steps are fairly simple if you have the right tools. You’ll need a food mill, a large bowl and sauce pot. Of course, some containers to put the applesauce in once it’s finished.

Cut up your apples. No need to peel or remove seeds if you have a food mill. It’s worth the investment for so many other things, it’s definitely up there on my list of must have kitchen gadgets.

Put the apples in boiling water. Just enough water that they are covered. And continue to boil until they are soft. Watching to make sure that they are all covered.

Drain your water. Place your food mill on top of a large bowl. Put some of your apples inside and mill. The sauce will form in the bowl while the seeds and peels are left behind at the top.

That’s it. That’s literally all you need to do to make the easiest homemade applesauce.

There’s no need for preservatives or anything else. If you love cinnamon applesauce, then you can add 1/2 a teaspoon and then add more until the taste you desire is acquired. We, personally, do not add in cinnamon. The key is to using a variety of apples – some sweet, some tart. The variety will give you a rich taste like nothing store bought has ever tasted like.

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Easiest Homemade Applesauce

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

12 apples try for a variety of tart (like Ginger Gold and sweet (like Fuji or Gala) apples)
Optional: 1/2 tsp Cinnamon plus more to taste

Instructions

Bring a large sauce pot, half filled with water to a soft boil.
Cut your apples into large chucks (either quarter or use an apple corer to do this - discard cores if using a corer)
Put apples into water and add additional water as needed just to cover the apples.
Let soft boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and drain water.
In batches, add apples to a food mill and turn until all sauce has been pressed out.
Add cinnamon if desired.
Serve immediately or store in a air tight container for 14 days.
Tip: If you do not have a food mill, you can peel and deseed the apples before cooking. Cook as described above. Then when finished cooking, use a potato masher until desired consistency is reached.

These products may help you with this recipe:

We hope you enjoy the easiest homemade applesauce recipe you could ever make! Hop into the kitchen with your littles and enjoy making this recipe with them!

Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Popable Bites

July 7, 2017 by Larisha Campbell

This Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Popable Bites are the perfect kid’s summer treat!

Watch the girls make these Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Popable Bites!

Growing up, the summers meant lots of fun! One of the best things was the almost endless amount of ice pops and other frozen treats that we were allowed to consume. I remember whenever we went to my grandparent’s house, we got these ginormous ice pops that took forever to eat.

Naturally, my girls love frozen treats too. What I love is how easy it is to make homemade frozen treats. Kids literally don’t care what you put inside a frozen treat either. It’s the perfect opportunity to stuff in a ton of fruits or vegetables and get in their daily allotment of nutrients. One of the girls favorite ice pops are a combination of avocado and banana. Seriously!

What I don’t like as a parent though, is that any variation of ice pops have a tendency to get a little messy, especially if it’s hot outside. They start dripping. Things get sticky. And often, the kids don’t even want to finish the entire ice pop which is frustrating as we try to limit the waste we have.

Insert: Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Popable Bites

Kids are still getting a delicious frozen treat that’s healthy for them, but they can just pop them in their mouth and eat them within seconds, minimizing the mess and the waste. It’s a win, win for everyone. Plus they are super easy to make. Our girls loved making them almost entirely by themselves.

Here’s the recipe:

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Frozen Fruit & Yogurt Popable Bites

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

Instructions

Let frozen berries, slightly unthaw.
Chop with a knife into tiny pieces.
Combine chopped mixed berries and chopped strawberries together in a bowl.
Inside silicone mold, layer berry mixture, then yogurt.
If any berry mixture is left over, top yogurt with remaining mixture.
Place in freezer for 4 hours or until frozen solid.
Serve immediately or pop out and store in air tighter container in freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Tip: Empower your kids by letting them cut things on their own. These amazing kid’s knives are what we are using in the video. They are sharp enough to cut the food, but they can’t cut your child. The girls love asking for their knives to take control themselves in the kitchen!

These products may be beneficial for this recipe:

Apple Cookies Four Ways

April 28, 2017 by Larisha Campbell

Looking for a quick and simple snack for warm weather days? You’ll want to make these apple cookies!

The girls are constantly go, go, go. With the weather warming up, we are already finding ourselves outside more. They are running around, playing frisbee, and seeing who can go faster down the slide. Storm loves to swing, while Serenity is constantly pushing herself to learn the monkey bars. While they are running around and playing, they stop and notice the yellow dandelions in the yard. I use this as a learning experience to teach them the life cycle of a dandelion. Explaining to them how it goes from vibrant yellow to a white puffy flower and every time that they blow on that flower they create a new yellow flower. Serenity’s mind was blown. When we came inside and I found some cool time-lapse videos online of the process. It was amazing!

It was also time for a snack.

In the summertime, I love letting them explore with food. We take toppings outside to the table and let them go to town on creating their own unique flavor combinations. It’s really crazy to see the unique flavors the come up with on their own. Ones that you wouldn’t think necessarily go together, yet they do.

One of their new favorite things to make are these apple cookies.

YES! APPLE COOKIES!

Watch us make them!

It’s such a simple and quick snack to make and they get to be the creators of their own imagination. Plus, telling your kids it’s a “cookie” if guaranteed to at least get them to try it. It almost feels funny calling this a recipe because there isn’t much too it, but that makes it even better for you!

First, core and slice your favorite apples (granny smith works great for these!). Then, spread a “butter” and add toppings. We’ve spread peanut butter, cookie butter, chocolate hazelnut butter, almond butter, caramel, and more. Toppings we’ve done include all types of nuts and dried fruits, chia seeds, pretzels, chocolate chips, and more. The possibilities are really endless. Here’s four of our favorite combinations-

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Apple Cookies Four Ways

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 apple per person
Spreadable option - peanut butter hazelnut spread, almond butter, cookie butter, caramel, etc
Toppings - nuts dried fruit, pretzels, chocolate chips, chia seeds

Instructions

Core and slice apples.
Spread desired "butter" on top of each apple slice.
Add toppings. (Great creative!)
Eat & enjoy!

Crunchy Kale Chips

April 24, 2017 by Andrew

Kale chips. You really have to try this recipe. Now, I am not saying this is going to replace your favorite bag of chips! I’m not even saying these are going to be an option to eat after you have your favorite bag of chips sitting on the counter staring you in the face.

All I am saying is…to be chewing on crunchy leafs, deez chips is good! Yea I said it. Is good. You read that right! IS GOOD!!! So good your grammar teacher will hold off on correcting you after they munch on these leaves right herre!

I’m back, preaching yet another vegan edible for all you carnivores out there! I truly never thought I’d ever be this guy. But, Hey, girl, Hey!

I should title this series…..

Andrew’s Vegan Chronicles Or Andrew takes Carnivores to Vegan Church (And it ain’t even a Sunday!) Naw, but seriously, you need to make these kale chips right now.

Let me rewind a bit. Literally, this snack happened by mistake. It started with Larisha sending me to the grocery store! WHICH IS A MISTAKE! She knows I haven’t a clue where anything is at the store. She does all the shopping! So, I went for her, because I love her and what not and I try to do my best to make her happy. I brought home what I thought was spinach…. why the hell would Aldi put the damn kale bags so close to the spinach bags?! Don’t they know, I’m new to this healthy eating stuff!?

I KNOW WHY!

So some poor sole brings home the wrong thing, this way his woman can stare at him in disgust like “I can’t send this man no where”! (I still love you Aldi, and hopefully she still loves me).

But guess what????

When life gives you spinach (that is actually kale?!), YOU MAKE KALE CHIPS!

BOOM! Umma bad mama jama.

Here’s the recipe!

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Crunchy Kale Chips

Author: Andrew

Ingredients

3 cups chopped kale we buy pre-cut kale
1 tbsp olive oil.
Freshly cracked black pepper and pink salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Wash and dry kale.
Remove any stems that may remain.
Mix together the oil and kale until well coated.
Sprinkle on cracked black pepper and pink salt.
Spread kale out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes, turn the pan around, and bake for another 12 mins.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. (DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!)
ENJOY!
Store leftovers in an air tight container.

Here’s some products you may need:

100+ Protein Packed Postpartum Snacks

March 21, 2017 by Larisha Campbell

Congratulations!!!!

You just had a baby. You are now going to be hungry non-stop. Think you were hungry when you were pregnant!?

Wrong.

via GIPHY

There is nothing like newly postpartum mom hunger. I understand why some mother mammals eat their young. THEY’RE FREAKING HUNGRY. Give them a bit more to eat, I bet the rate of mammalism (mammal cannibalism, no?) goes down.

Anywho. Back to reality. You’re still hungry.

You also don’t feel like cooking anything, so you need quick, simple, healthy, delicious.

We’ve rounded up 100+ Protein Packed Postpartum Snacks that amazing and just what you need as you transition into this new time in your life. Whether this is baby #1 or #6, you still have to eat.

So sit back, relax, and tell someone else to make you whichever 1 (or 5) sounds the most delicious.

Side note: whether you are breastfeeding or not, these are all great snacks for postpartum mothers. Your body needs fuel to recover and heal and you need to make sure you are getting proper nutrition so you have the energy to keep going.

Most of these recipes are easy to make or no bake, but there are a few that requires baking. Make sure you have someone else make those ones for you!

An InLinkz Link-up

Best of luck on this amazing journey of motherhood!

Some things that may help you through the transition:

Other Posts You Might Be Interested In

Coconut Peanut Butter Banana Bites

March 10, 2017 by Larisha Campbell

Both of my kids beg for bananas. Great, right? I used to think so too. There’s so many great nutrients in a banana. One large banana yields 20% of the daily Vitamin C and 25% of the daily Vitamin B6, a great source of fiber, helps with digestion, and a great source of potassium and magnesium. Who doesn’t want their kid eating bananas? But lately, they both take like three bites of the banana and then bring it to me and say they are done? Umm, nope. What’s that saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Except, they’ve fooled me about fifty-eleven times now. Up until recently, when I was like nope, no more bananas.

Of course, they keep asking. I needed to figure out a way that we could all be happy. I didn’t want to waste food (or feel like I needed to eat the leftovers–come on we all know moms eat the leftovers because we feel bad about wasting food).

Insert these Coconut Peanut Butter Banana Bites. It’s a way for me to not only split one banana between both of the girls, but I can also freeze whatever they don’t eat for later, thus always having a fun snack on hand all the time. It’s a win/win for everyone.

Watch them make it, then keep reading & grab the recipe below:

On top of all of that, it’s something that our 4 year old can make completely on her own. She knows how to peel a banana, use can cut it using our nylon kid safe knives, spoon the peanut butter, and top with coconut. Voila! Done! The 1 1/2 year old has a little bit of work to do before she’s ready to make these on her own. When she was done (as you can kind of see in the video below) it just looks like it’s supposed to be a topping of some sort. Either way she was happy with her progress.

Enjoy!

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Coconut Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 banana
peanut butter or alternative butter
shredded coconut

Instructions

Cut banana into desired size chunks
Spoon peanut butter on top of the bananas.
Top with shredded coconut.
Freeze for 15-20 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Store any leftovers in an air-tight freezer container in the freezer.

This things may help your littles make this recipe!

Teaching Knife Skills + Banana Santa Snacks

December 2, 2016 by Larisha Campbell

The Seasoned Kids

Lesson 9: Teaching Knife Skills

Knife skills. It’s the part of teaching kids cooking skills that make parents cringe. They always seem to go for the sharpest, biggest knife around. I’m hear to tell you that you can put all those sharp knives away because we have the perfect solution for you. Regardless of how you feel about your kid using a knife, it’s an integral part of teaching independence in the kitchen. Put your fears aside, read our tips, and get them chopping up everything.

How to Start

To start, put the sharp knives away. Butter knives are the way to start by cutting small things. Kids can cut their sandwiches, cut bananas, or soft (warm not hot) potatoes. Unfortunately for your sanity, they will quickly want to move away from using a butter knife and they will want to use those sharp knives. But wait! There are kid friendly options in between using a butter knife and those sharp knives (see tips below). When moving on from butter knives, keep cutting to single slices before you move onto chopping skills. Once you get more comfortable, there’s nothing you can’t let them do! Just continuously remind them of safety.

Tips for teaching your kids knife skills

Use a learning tower to get them stable at the counter
- Standing on a stool or sitting on the counter, doesn’t stabilize kids as much as a tower will
Ergonomically designed nylon knives, cutting gloves, and finger guards are options for in between the butter knife and sharp knife stages.
Teach them how to hold the knife with one hand, hold object with other hand, and slowly move the holding hand as you as cutting
You are more than likely to cut fingers with a dull knife rather than a sharp one so avoid giving them a dull knife
If you want to start teaching knife skills but this makes you nervous, use the nylon knives to cut clay or play-doh before working with food!

Recipe Time!

These Banana Santa Snacks are perfect for after school snacks or snacks for holiday playdates. Watch the video, then grab the full recipe below!

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Teaching Knife Skills + Banana Santa Snacks

Servings: 2 banana santa snacks

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 banana
1 large marshmallow
2 mini marshmallows
2 fresh cranberries
2 fresh strawberries
4 chocolate chips
4 chocolate sprinkles
coconut flakes
optional: 2 pretzel sticks

Instructions

Peel banana.
Cut it in half.
Push cranberry into center of each banana piece.
Add two chocolate chips for eyes and two sprinkles for eyebrows above the cranberry on each banana.
Tear big marshmallow in half. Using a skewer or toothpick, push one half onto the top of the banana.
Cut top of strawberries and add one strawberry, skinny side up, to the top of the marshmallow.
Top with a mini marshmallow.
Push on a small handful of coconut flakes for the beard.
If desired, push a pretzel stick into the bottom of the bottom for a stick.
Enjoy!

This post is a part of our “The Seasoned Kids”, kid’s cooking series. Learn more about The Seasoned Kids here.

Previous Lessons!

Week 1: Teaching Importance of Washing Fruits and Vegetables + Berry Parfait Recipe
Week 2: Learning to Stir + Cranberry Coconut Energy Bites
Week 3: 3 Ways to Mash + Overnight Oats Recipe 3 Ways
Week 4: Spreading + Peanut Butter and Jelly Spider Sandwiches
Week 5: Tearing + Bugs on a Log
Week 6: Pouring + Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt Popsicles
Week 7: Measuring & Weighing + Holiday Pudding Cups
Week 8: Sifting + Snowball Bites

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Sifting + Snowball Bites

November 25, 2016 by Larisha Campbell

The Seasoned Kids

Lesson 8: Sifting

I have to admit, growing up one of my favorite things to do was to sift, sieve, or strain anything that I was allowed too. It’s such a fun activity as a child to watch. As our girl is getting older, we have been letting her do these things as well and she has the same excitement as I did. Watching things separate when straining is a great lesson for science activities with kids too!