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berries

RECIPES

Simple Go-To Crepe Recipe

Folded crepe with strawberries and cream

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.

Simple Crepe Recipe & Toppings

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.

 Banana Berry Crepe

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.

Best Crepe Recipe

{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?

HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ Nutrition/ RECIPES

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup Easy To Go Breakfast

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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.Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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

  1. Brand of Yogurt
  2. “Smoooshing”
  3. Berries
  4. Seeds

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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.

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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!

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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.

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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!

Smushed Berry Yogurt Cup for a healthy and easy to-go breakfast! Super filling full of protein and fiber.

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?

Brunch/ Healthy Eating/ HOME/ RECIPES

Baked Banana Chocolate Oatmeal with Triple Berry Puree


Baked-Banana-Oatmeal-Triple-Berry-Puree-Pinterest

Oh how I love my oats.  I never tire of them, especially when they have chocolate in them and are drizzled with a triple berry puree!

This felt very decadent, like eating dessert for breakfast.  It reminded me of eating chocolate chip oatmeal cookie dough, but doing it in a way that is grown up and sophisticated. The berry puree is the perfect accompaniment, and I just might have guzzled the left-overs!

Using berry puree as a topping in place of syrup, is a great way to get those antioxidants in to my kids, and saves money as they are less expensive than 100% maple syrup.  Making berry puree have saved me many times when making pancakes, waffles and oats that I would usually top with syrup.  Perfect for when you have run out of syrup and have a freezer full of berries.

photo 2

Baked Banana Chocolate Oatmeal

(inspired by this recipe at The Oatmeal Artist)

  • 2 bananas
  • 3/4 cup of milk of choice
  • 1/2 cup water, or more milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Berry Puree
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 8×8 pan or line with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, mash bananas, and then mix in milk, water, and vanilla extract.  Add oats, baking powder, and salt.  Stir.
  3. Add chocolate chips.
  4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
  5. Top with Berry Puree (recipe below)

TRIPLE-BERRY-PUREE

Triple Berry Puree

  • 1 12 oz bag frozen mixed berries (I used Trader Joes Frozen Mixed Berry Blend of Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, & Blueberries), thawed
  • 2 medjool dates (or more depending on sweetness desired), pitted
  1. Pour thawed berried into blender.
  2. Add pitted dates.
  3. Puree until smooth.

photo 1

A Little Bit About Blenders

My Very Favorite by far–Professional Grade High Speed Blender

Some of the best money I have ever spent!
Vitamix Professional Blender and accessories
This is the model I have.  I drooled over it for a couple of years!
It was a splurge, but worth EVERY penny.  I use it 2-3 times a day.
It makes crushed ice in seconds.  It takes almonds to almond butter in seconds.  It makes the best raspberry fruit puree for pancakes and ice cream–obliterates all those little seeds into smooth puree heaven! We are eating 3 times the amount of fruits and veggies since purchasing this amazing blender, which I know is keeping us out of the doctors’ office and away from those expensive co-pays, so in my mind it has paid itself off.
Ninja Mega Kitchen Blender and accessories.

Runner Up

I’ve never used one, but have heard good things about them.  They are not professional grade like the Vitamix, but the price is much easier to swallow and they are powerful.
Oster and New Vitamix blenders in kitchen.
{my old Oster on the left, my New Vitamix on the right}

Economy

I had one of these for years and it does the job.  You can’t beat the price, and for smoothies, it works, although you have to blend much longer. You will still have chia and raspberry seeds in your smoothies, but if you don’t mind the extra texture, this one will do.  If you have had a high-speed blender, you will not be happy with this one.  If you are looking for something to get by until you can get a high-speed blender, and to just get those smoothies in you, this will do just fine.
What about you?  Do you have a high-speed blender?  Do you desire to have one?
4th of July/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes

BERRY CHOCOLATE 4TH OF JULY CUPCAKES 1

Blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate are 3 must-haves in our family for the 4th of July weekend, and these Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes have all 3!

Yesterday our dear friends from Chicago–who we are to this day amazed that they are still here on this earth— stopped in to visit on their way to a family event. It was a brief overnight visit, but boy, did we pack in a whole bunch of beautiful life moments in those 15 hours!

We both have 3 children, around the same age (teens and preteens) so it was a lively and eventful visit.  We started the evening out with pre-dinner cocktails for the adults.  They were delicious Amerretto Sours –I will be posting the recipe soon.  We then got to work visiting & making dinner together.  We had these amazing cupcakes as a dessert, and they were perfect as it was July 2nd..my dear friend Sharon’s birthday!


4TH-OF-JULY-CUPCAKES-2

I was sure I had birthday candles on hand, but as we all gathered to sing, I couldn’t find them. Not even one.  We had to make do with what I could find in the moment, and of course my friend Sharon was a great sport about pretending to blow out a cheesy plastic candle.

SHARONP-BDAY

Isn’t she just full of life? Doesn’t she look great?  Despite our sweet birthday treat, she embraces a healthy lifestyle & is New Nostalgia’s new Health and Wellness Contributor.  I can just hear her laugh while looking at these pics and miss her already.  She is a ball of fun and we have had many, many laughs together.  She is a friend of my heart and we have had many tears together, too.  She is the one who came to take care of me the week after my mastectomy, and was everything I needed during that fragile time & more.  I was so happy to celebrate the woman she is yesterday, even if it was with a plastic candle!

BERRY CUPCAKE 3

We finished up our dessert and headed out to my in- laws pool house for an evening swim.  We stopped at my favorite local coffee shop and Sharon’s husband Porter treated us all to yummy beverages…lattes & toddy’s for the adults, granites for the kids.

After swimming we headed back home and made a fire to make apple s’mores.  We sat out by the fire and our friends shared pictures of their recent family mission trip to Uganda.  It was amazing to see what they did as a family there!  We then went inside and watched a few old movies of our 15 year old girl meeting their 15 year old boy when they were just 6 months old.  Needless to say, we laughed A LOT!

We got the kids settled down, the hubbies started dozing on the couches and Sharon and I girl talked.  The hubs eventually went to bed but not us girls!  Oh no, we stayed up gabbing until 2:45 am!

We woke up and I set up a ‘make your own waffle’ bar. It was a hit and I will write about it soon. The teens went for a run together while we packed up the car.  They were on the road by 9:30 am.  A quick but super fun and meaningful trip.

Back to the cupcakes, they were really delicious.  I cannot take credit for them, as my little baker girl, Avery, made them.  We found a simple chocolate cupcake & white frosting recipe online, and she whipped them up, frosted them, cut up all the fruit and decorated them.  She amazes me–she is quite talented for 11 years old!

These cupcakes were moist and are made from ingredients most can find in their cupboards.

The frosting was a perfect pairing, and the touch of fruit added color and a great fruity & festive finish.  I will be keeping this recipe as a simple go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and pulling it out on all types of occasions, not just the 4th of July!

Enjoy!

Berry Chocolate 4th of July Cupcakes

{recipe source}

10 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)

White Frosting (recipe below)

Chopped strawberries & fresh blueberries

 

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer for 1 minute.

Stir in eggs and vanilla and beat.

Slowly add in cocoa powder and baking powder and mix until just combined.

While still mixing, alternate adding milk and flour into bowl until blended.

Evenly distribute batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with white frosting (recipe below) and fresh berries.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

 

White Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter with a mixer at medium-high speed until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar until smooth.  Beat in vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk if necessary for desired consistency.

Brunch/ RECIPES

Berry Pancake Bites

Berry Pancake Bites
 

I saw a pin on Pinterest that showed muffins made from pancake mix.  It suggested using your favorite box mix, adding whatever toppings you desire, and baking them in muffin tins in the oven.  I was drawn to the idea, because my kids love pancakes, but I don’t always love standing in the kitchen at the griddle flipping pancakes.
Multigrain Baking and Pancake mix from Trader Joes

I used my favorite Mutigrain Baking and Pancake Mix from Trader Joes.  If you do not have a Trader Joes nearby, another favorite pancake mix of mine is this one from Bob Mill.

Eggs, oil, milk, and pancake mix in a bowl

Mix according to your pancake mix directions.  The mix I used called for eggs, oil & milk.

Pancake bites mix

Takes just seconds to mix up.  My kind of recipe!

Berry Pancake Bites

I decided to sprinkle mine with frozen raspberries and blueberries.  The original source for this idea topped some of hers with bacon, some with chocolate chips, some with fruit…you can get creative with these if you want to.

Berry Pancake Bites

My girls devoured these.  They loved them!  Honestly, they really did not need much maple syrup.  We dipped them a bit the the berries gave them so much flavor that they really did not need much else.

Raspberry Pancake Bites

This really is a no recipe, recipe.  Just follow the directions on your mix, then bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  I used a muffin pan that is only half the depth of most muffin pans which were the perfect size, so I bakes mine for abut 8 minutes.
I plan on making a triple batch and freezing them.  They would make great after school snacks.  I love a health food that can double as breakfast and a snack!  

Brunch/ RECIPES

Beautiful Bowl Of Blueberries

At least a couple times a week my family eat blueberries for dessert.

I am usually too cheap to buy the fresh ones, plus they seem to get soft and moldy on me so quickly, so we buy them frozen.

While I am cooking dinner, I will fill a bowl with frozen blueberries and let it sit. By the time we are finished eating, they are half thawed and perfect for munching on. I bring them to the table with the rest of our meal. The first few times I did it, I made a big deal about it… like “look everyone, blueberries for dessert tonight! or “make sure you eat your food so you can have blueberries (or clementines, or frozen grapes) when you are done.” I have tried to make fruit a special thing around here by talking about it in very positive (sometimes over the top:)) ways. It works for my girls. They see fruit as a treat and a sweet ending to many of our meals. I keep frozen blueberries, strawberries and a mixed fruit bag in my freezer most of the time. When my girls ask for a snack, many times they choose to get a bowl of frozen fruit to munch on. Gotta love it! The key for us was to get all the “Little Debbie Snacks” and “Fruit Snacks and “Oreas” completely OUT of the house. When the kids see that fruit is one of the sweetest things in the house, they choose it.

Back to blueberries
Blueberries are literally bursting with nutrients and flavor, yet very low in calories. Recently, researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals. (Antioxidants and Free Radical post coming up) Click here for additional information on the health benefits of blueberries.
Here are some ways we eat blueberries:
  • Sprinkle some on top of yogurt.
  • Make homemade blueberry syrup for pancakes or ice cream. Heat them up with a bit of sugar (or rapudura or honey or maple syrup) in a pan on low-med heat. As they turn liquid-y smush them with a potato masher to break them up. Some people strain this, we don’t.
  • Add them to pancake batter for blueberry pancakes
  • Throw them in smoothies.
  • Make muffins/breads/coffecake
  • Toss them in oatmeal.
  • Use fresh blueberries on cereal.
  • Bake ’em in a pie.
  • Dip in chocolate and refrigerate until hardened. (have not tried this one but I want to-yum!
**This post is linked to Moms’ 30-Minute Blog Challenge
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