Healthy Chocolate Snowballs

I shared this treat with one of my neighbors last week, who asked me for the recipe. And then I went to the dentist this week and as I was chatting with the dental hygienists the topic of healthy foods came up and I told them about this delicious "sugar-free" treat. So, I figure it's time to add to this blog despite my nearly 2-year break from blogging to share this delicious treat with the world (that I really can't take credit for).

I tried this recipe for the first time at a "healthy" cooking class taught by a woman named Ruth Holmes. She called this treat "No Bake Cookies (Coconut)." When she shared this recipe, I knew it would be a keeper! The only change I've made to the initial recipe is using coconut oil in place of coconut butter (since coconut butter is no longer sold at my local health food store, but can be found online) and rolling them in finely grated coconut. This has become our family treat we keep in the freezer year around... and the treat of choice to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve, which is when our family started calling these little treats "Chocolate Snowballs."

Chocolate Snowballs

2 cups coconut, finely shredded (unsweetened) - Bag from health food store, can be found in bulk, too.

1 1/2 cup maple syrup - Use real maple syrup, this can be found at Costco.

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup almond flour - Bulk section of health food store, my local Costco just started carrying this, too.

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup coconut oil - I buy mine at Costco.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir together well. The oatmeal needs to have a few minutes to soak up the maple syrup before you test it to see if all amounts of ingredients are balanced. Roll into teaspoon size balls and coat with coconut. Place in freezer on wax paper lined cookie sheet until hardened (about an hour). Place in tightly sealed container in freezer until ready to eat. Enjoy!

Black Bean & Couscous Salad

I bought a bag of  Manitou Trading Co. Mediterranean Couscous Blend at Costco because it looked healthy, but I wasn't exactly sure what to make with it. As I searched for a good recipe, I found this one HERE.

I made this salad for our Labor Day BBQ and it turned out so yummy! Be sure to follow the cooking instructions for couscous from the recipe and not the back of the bag or you will have slimy, sticky couscous. I also doubled some of the ingredients for the sauce, which was recommended in many of the comments.

Black Bean & Couscous Salad

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. LET STAND FOR 5 MINUTES.
2. In large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.
3. Fluff couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Kids Temple Bags for Wedding

I have to blog about one more beautiful wedding this summer. My husband's sister's wedding can be described in one word - CLASSY! From the invitations and flowers to the bridesmaids dresses and food, the only thing that didn't cooperate was the weather (which was a little stressful, but after it stopped pouring rain, we all came out from huddling under the patio and were seated around the pool). Instead of a traditional reception, she chose to have a dinner party. She invited her closest family and friends and had a program with a live band. It was charming! I have to add that my favorite part was my incredibly talented husband singing "She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel.

 

Before we all enjoyed ourselves at this lovely reception, we gathered together at the Timpanogos Temple for the happy couple's sealing (if you don't know much about the LDS Church, look HERE). Young children are not able to go into the temple for this sacred experience. Some temples have a waiting room with activities for young children while they wait for their families and others do not. The Timpanogos Temple does not. Knowing my 2-year old would last for about 5 minutes without something to entertain him, I offered to put together temple bags for the kids who would be in the waiting room.

One quick trip to the dollar store later, this is what I came up with:

 

Each bag contained:

coloring book, picture of temple to color & crayons

granola bar, fruit snacks, animal crackers & bottled water

watch

chap-stick

bag of pipe cleaners (the kids loved this the most)

In the temple we are married for "TIME" and all eternity. 

This is special chap-stick to help you use your quiet voice and say kind things.

Work together and use these to build your own temple.

Each child was so happy to have their VERY OWN bag of goodies to carry around - I like to think it made the day go a little more smoothly. For anyone planning a temple wedding with children involved, I highly recommend temple bags!

Back to School

My husband and I were recently called to teach the middle school age kids at church. My heart goes out to them. Middle school is ROUGH! My husband and I (mostly my husband) are totally against giving away candy and treats since they are just jam packed with evil sugar. I got a little creative with an idea of something to do for them to wish them well at school this year. This is what I came up with:

• Notebook (50 cents at Target)
• Pencil (an entire pack of 'em for about $1)
• Clever note with LOTS of love

 Good luck to all of the great students starting school this week!

Book Theme Wedding

Because this has been the summer of weddings, I feel I need to share the details of these blissful events! My sister decided to have a book theme wedding since she and her new husband are both book lovers (a.k.a. really smart). It turned out so charming and had a really quaint, vintage, book-ish feel to it. For those of you out there wanting to plan a vintage book theme wedding of your own, here are a few ideas to get you started.

First of all, she chose blue, green and orange as her colors. I was a little skeptical at first, but it actually turned out really pretty! One of the most beautiful things to set the mood were gorgeous flowers!

She had several bookcases around the room decorated with bird cages, flowers, globes and books. She also stacked the cakes and food on top of old books.

 

My sister let me help her with a few projects! I decorated a couple hundred cupcakes (orange and blueberry to go along with the color scheme, and chocolate because let's face it, that's what everyone loves!) and about 150 chocolate cake pops - which were gone in about an hour. I'm pretty sure my little boy ate about half of them!

     Orange: lemon flavored cupcake, orange flavored frosting, white nonpareils sprinkles & a sugared candy orange wedge on top.
     Blueberry: white vanilla flavored cupcake baked with fresh blueberries, vanilla flavored frosting, white sugar crystal sprinkles & rinsed/dried fresh blueberries on top.
     Chocolate: triple chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, chocolate jimmy sprinkles and an Andes mint candy on top.
(to see in a more detail how I make cupcakes & frosting, look HERE).

 

 

At my sister's request, I hand-bound an original sign-in book from an old Webster's Biographical Dictionary (a dictionary for names of noteworthy persons with pronunciations and concise biographies - she's clever, right?). I had never bound a book before, but I loosely followed THIS TUTORIAL and it actually wasn't too difficult!

 

I also made bookmark favors for all of the guests - to continue the book theme of the evening. I used a letterpress from Lifestyle Crafts to cut out the bookmark holders, printed a quote (as well as the name of the bride and groom and their wedding date) on each of the bookmarks, added a small flower fastened with a decorative brad and tied a ribbon at the top.

What a wonderful evening!

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs.

Bridal Shower

First of all, moving with a labeling system worked like a charm. If you have the time to label things before you move, I would highly recommend it! We are happily moved into our new home and I am happily brainstorming new ways to decorate and accessorize our home. Check out the label moving idea HERE if you are looking to move in the near future.  

This summer has been filled with weddings, weddings and MORE WEDDINGS! My youngest sister (the last in the family to get married), as well as my husband's sister (his only sister) have had their weddings this summer. So it has been wedding bells and bliss all - summer - long!

I had the most fun helping with my sister's wedding. I planned a kitchen shower for her at a local bakery, The Chocolate, which was a big hit! We used the Blue Room for the much anticipated event. (word to the wise, the West Jordan location is not nearly as pretty on the outside as the Orem location - a little yard work is in order... or maybe a LOT of yard work. Thankfully the inside is tidy and charming!)

I tried to be creative with the favors and decor. Here is what I came up with:

• I framed several pictures of scrapbook paper and phrases. This one was at the front of the room where people walked in. It says "Please Share Your 'Recipe' for a Happy Marriage." There were blank cards sitting out on the table with pens and an empty recipe holder to insert the cards once someone had written their recipe.

 

•  I sat out another frame with a "Recipe for a Happy Marriage." There are a lot of variations of this online. I used the recipe from HERE.

 

• As people left I had a frame with the phrase "Thanks for 'ROLLING' by to Celebrate With Us!" next to a rolling pin and a mason jar filled with small bags of Tootsie "Rolls" - clever, right?! 

 

• Another great touch were these water bottles I covered with matching paper that I'd used in a few of the picture frames.  

Right behind the delicious brownies and cookies from the bakery most people commented and loved the pinwheels. I've made these for showers before. They are super easy to make and are always a hit. (see how to make them HERE).

The atmosphere was charming and pleasant. There was certainly no shortage of food... or gifts! What a fun opportunity to visit and share in this special time with bride-to-be!

Moving Day!

My little family has been staying in my in-laws beautiful house for the last few years while they have been out of the country serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They get home soon, which means we need to be out of their house soon! This weekend is the BIG moving day. In hopes of helping the process go more smoothly, I decided to use bright labels on our boxes so everyone helping will know exactly which room to put things.

 

For now there are piles like this all over the house:

 

 

I'll let you know how it goes.

(p.s. new house + new space = new organizing and decorating ideas. . . stay tuned!)