Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Pancakes

So as you may have already noticed, pumpkin is everywhere, from pumpkin coffee to pumpkin muffins, so I just had to get in on the craze and make pumpkin pancakes, because I have just tried about every pancake there is to make, from lemon-poppyseed to peach pumpkins.

These came out delicious and are natural, so no artificial coloring to get my pumpkin pancakes orange. I only used 8 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, but if you like pumpkin, I recommend adding a lot more.

All you need to make pumpkin pancakes are:

• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup of milk  (I used non-fat organic milk)
• 8 tablespoons canned organic pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil, I can say I did it both ways and they both tasted exactly the same)
• 1 egg (I used egg white)
• Cup of chocolate chips (or more)

Makes about 8 pancakes. Feed 2-3 people.

No artificial ingredients here, these pumpkin pancakes are all natural. I got this organic pumpkin can at my local market.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg. Fold mixture into dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips.

Grease your skillet and heat over medium heat pour the batter for each pancake. Flip to the other side once you see bubbles form.

Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. Serve with your favorite syrup.

Baked Apple Pie with Leaf Crust Cutouts

I received an abundance of my favorite apples, Macintosh, from my sister. They are so small, yet so sweet. When you have that many apples you either can eat one each day (and keep the doctor away), make apple sauce, maybe some apple juice, or you make apple pie. The decision was easy. I had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer and got to work on an apple pie.

All you need is:

• About 6 cups of peeled and chopped apples (or more depending on the size of apples or what you prefer)
• 1/2 a cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (don't be shy)
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg or allspice
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• Oven at 425 degrees
• Pie crust (You can make your own or a store bought crust)
• Pie dish

Peel and cut about 8 apples (6 cups) and add to a large bowl. Next, add the 1/2 cup of sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/8 of teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix all the ingredients together.

Put the apple mixture in the pie dish (which should have the rolled out pie dough at the bottom).

Roll out the pie dough and place it on some parchment paper, next use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes and place them on top of the pie. 

I overlapped the leaf cutouts and make sure you leave some openings to let the pie vent while baking.

Next put the pie in oven for 45 minutes at 425 degrees. One thing I forgot to do was wrapped the edges with foil so they don't burn. Mine got crispy, but I like a crispy crust.

Wait for the pie to cool down a little bit before serving (25 minutes). If you cut it too soon, it will be one soupy apple mess, but if you wait to cut each slice will hold much better together. 

Once you serve a slice, scoop a ball of vanilla ice cream on top and enjoy!

Weekend Recap - Peaches and Greek Fesitval

Last weekend we celebrated Labor Day weekend by heading to the annual 4-day Greek Festival where we enjoyed so much good food! We look forward to this Greek Festival every year. I seriously have a countdown for this event. Usually it falls right on our anniversary weekend, so we celebrate our anniversary there with yummy Greek food and sweet treats.

We also finally picked peaches from our peach tree. We have had our peach tree for about 10 years now and to be honest we haven't really picked the peaches We ask friends to come by and pick them and usually by the time we want to, they are all gone.

But this year we went out with a few boxes and picked as many as we could. And now we have so many peaches. We started giving them away to people walking by, to neighbors, and I still have so many.

It's time to plan some recipes. This weekend I will be making some peach cobblers, peach smoothies, jams, and any other thing I can think of that can include peaches.

Organic and Natural Rice Krispies Treats

Rice Krispies treats were a favorite of mine growing up, but back then and as child, you never once thought about what you were putting in your mouth to eat.

I ate colorful cereals, jellos, candies, an assortment of colorful treats from the ice cream truck, like ninja turtle heads, and red and blue rocket pops.

Things have changed lots for me since then. For example, it is extremely rare if I eat anything that has color, unless I know it is naturally colored with plant or fruits. All other "colorful" frostings, and candies are most likely artificially dyed with Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6, which makes up 90 percent of the food dyes on the market (NPR). In addition to all the studies that show correlations between these dyes and health issues, I just don't want to eat anything unnatural. I don't think that request and need is too much to ask for. I try as much as possibly to eat organically and naturally. So it made sense that I made one of my favorite treats, Rice Krispies Treats, natural and organic.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1 Package of natural marshmallows - I used Dandies, but there are a few different makers and they are all great. I bought this at my local natural food market.
• 5 cups of Barbaras Organic Brown Rice Crisps

These marshmallows are also vegan, for my vegan friends, and gluten free. I also use these for my natural smores.

Barbaras Organic Brown Rice Crisps are 100% natural and organic, made with whole grain brown rice, pear or apple juice (instead of sugar) and sea salt. Unfortunately, my beloved Kellogg's Rice Krispies, include BHT, which they indicate is added to the package for freshness (Kellogg's). BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) is a well known food preservative, and is on a "caution" list due to its link to cancer in animals (Berkeley Wellness).  It is recommended to look for packaged foods that use Vitamin E as a natural preservative, or better yet, no preservatives at all.

To get started: In a large saucepan put coconut oil and melt over low heat. Add marshmallows.

You want to stir until completely melted on low heat, and then remove from heat. I might have not waited long enough until it completely melted...I was craving some treats!!

Add the brown rice crisps and stir until combined.

Press mixture into a pan, usually you should press it into a long 13x9 pan, but I only had my square pan available which I lined with parchment paper. Because I used a smaller pan, I had some thick rice krispie treats, but that was okay in my book. 

Once it cools, cut it into the shapes you desire and enjoy.

These tasted absolutely delicious. Exactly how I remember them tasting. There were no difference at all except that these are natural and organic and didn't taste as sugary as I remember them being. These are best made the day before or the day of and enjoyed fresh. I hope you enjoyed this little natural recipe. I am going to be adding quite a few natural and organic recipes replacing some classic favorites.

14th Anniversary

Today, Yanni and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. I can't believe how many years it has been since we first started dating.

15 years ago my sister introduced me to Yanni. I was a senior in High School and would visit my sister at her University, where she met Yanni and luckily introduced me to. I was smitten as soon as I met him and knew right away that I would be with him. We got to know each other through handwritten notes that we would send each other back and forth.

I am so grateful that I found a partner in my life that I get so along with. He is truly my best friend. He and I are so alike, yet so very different. And I think it's important that you have a partner that is different because you can learn lots from each other and balance each other out. For example, sometimes I can be a little hot head, yet Yanni has the patience of a saint and is so understanding. He always sees the best in people; he's funny and loves talking to people; from the Post Office to the restaurants we go to, he always meets a new person that he strikes a conversation with and makes someone else smile. He's kind and has a big heart. I am much more reserved and it takes me time to get to know people and then open up.

But, our differences makes me better. It makes me want to do things I normally wouldn't do and vice versa. Taekwondo was so important to me, and I wanted to do it, and I had him join too and now it's something we both share. I love to read and he didn't, yet I got him into reading and now he loves it and we share books with each other. I have to admit I didn't like documentaries, and he got me into that genre and now I am hooked. We balance each other out.

There isn't a time we argue, it is very rare, and if we do, we talk about it, and see eye to eye, we respect each other and we move on.  It also helps that he has that saintly patience. He is willing to do everything for me and with me. He goes with me to my craft shops, shoe shopping, and to buy makeup. Never once does he complain, but instead urges me to take my time.

And most importantly, he makes me laugh. Every day and all day. There isn't a day that goes by that my stomach or jaw doesn't hurt from all the laughter.

It's been 14 years and I still smile when I see him. He makes me so happy.

On this day, we celebrate 14 years, and we didn't do anything fancy. We both know each other so well, and we knew we both just wanted to stay in. We picked up food from our favorite local Italian restaurant. I had to get spaghetti and meatballs because it's my absolute favorite. I could live off of spaghetti and meatballs, loads of parmesan cheese, and cheesy garlic bread. Be still my little heart; that dish, so simple, yet so classic.

We picked up our favorite ice cream cake from our favorite local ice cream shop. We watched movies, played some games, I listened to him play the guitar, he watched me make some jewelry, we practiced Taekwondo, and went for a walk. We talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company; these are the little things we do together as partners. These are things I want to do for another 14 years and more with him by my side.

New makeup I am loving

I recently bought and received a few new make-up gifts from Yanni that I have been loving and had to share what I am using right now.

Lorac TANtalizer - This pretty duo comes with a huge mirror and one side is a beautiful matte bronzer and the other half is a warm highlighter. I carry this compact everywhere I go. I use it for light contouring and bronzing.

COOLA ER + Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion -  I consider myself pretty vigilant about sunscreen. I wear it daily, even if it's not sunny and I will be inside all day, I wear it every single day. Most recently, I was outside and though I wore a hat, sunglasses, long sleeves, and had sunscreen on, I spent so much time outdoors and didn't reapply. When I got home I saw that my upper arms were red and burned. I had a sample of COOLA's radical recovery after-sun lotion and put that on one arm and used aloe on the other. Just some experimenting. The next day the arm I put COOLA on was remarkably not red or in pain at all. Right away I got the full size one.

COOLA Lip Balm SPF 30 - This lip balm has a blend of fruits, raspberry and avocado. To top it all off it is water resistant which is perfect for swimming and sweating in the hot summer.

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Medium - It's no secret I have dark circles around my eyes so trying to find the perfect concealer has always been an on-going personal mission for me. I finally found one that I don't think I will ever replace it. It's creamy and is a little thick, but I never have a hard time applying it. I apply it with my fingers. I know in the beauty world that is a no no, but it works for me. Everyone who knows something about makeup applies it with a brush, but I think the warmth of the finger lets me apply this concealer easily. And with this concealer a very little goes a long way. I use just a little tiny drop for both eyes and to cover any tiny little spots I want to conceal.

One thing I will note is that though it says it is creaseless, that is entirely up to you. I didn't blend well one morning, and it was a crease-fest. Make sure to blend, blend and blend, and tap it in and then I recommend brushing some translucent powder over it to seal it.

Kat Von D's Lock-it Tattoo Foundation in Light 48 - This is one of the best foundations I have ever used. It's lightweight and long-lasting. I usually don't like wearing foundation. I typically just moisturize and then apply concealer to my under eyes, but this foundation is just like a light weight concealer but provides you the coverage you need. I don't put it all over my face, but I apply it to the areas I normally put concealer. And remember, I do TaeKwonDo, I run, and play basketball, this stays on and I love that its matte and not cakey. It's a perfect base. When I put it on its like a really fresh and clean canvas. And just like the concealer, make to sure blend.

Urban Decay's Naked Basics - This palette looks pretty simple, but it packs a lot of punch. It is a small compact palette that has 6 neutral shades. I use the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette daily and my favorite shadow color is Nooner from Naked 3, but when I am not wearing that I am using this Basic palette. This palette has 6 matte shadows and they are all so versatile and each shadow can be used solo or combined for variety of looks. Perfect to leave in the office drawer or when your traveling too.

What are your favorites right now? Any new products that you recommend that I should try?

Nutribullet Smoothies

My mom recently gifted me a Nutribullet. I had no idea what it was and what it was capable of doing, but I love making smoothies, so I gave it a whirl and I have been addicted to it ever since. I make a smoothie every morning.

I have tried multiple blenders and different juicers and the Nutribullet is the easiest one to use and the easiest to clean up. I've been making two types of smoothies recently: Chocolate Strawberry and Blueberry Coconut  and  Blueberry and Banana with Spinach.And I add protein to all my smoothies.

A friend recently had me try this chocolate flavored powdered protein and I have been adding it to almost everything. I add it to smoothies, when I am baking cookies, waffle and pancake batter...and the list goes on.

I realized that I was not eating enough protein and this is an easy and yummy way to add protein. Protein has so many positive benefits, such as muscle repair and growth, build and repair tissue, helps you maintain a healthy weight, promotes weight loss, builds muscle (if you are active and exercising) and provides an overall well rounded diet for me. I was tracking my diet using an app and found that I was not getting enough protein. So these smoothies are not only delicious, but they give me the necessary protein boost I need. I especially enjoy drinking one after I run a few miles and Taekwondo.

Today I am going to show you how to easily make the Chocolate Strawberry and Bluberry with Coconut smoothie. All you need is: strawberries, blueberries (I used frozen), chocolate milk, shredded coconut, and I also put a tablespoon of protein (chocolate flavored). The frozen fruit give it a little thickness too.

Add a scoop of protein.

Add some shredded coconut (optional).

And, you can add water, which I usually do, but if want a creamier smoothie, I add non-fat milk or chocolate milk. For this smoothie had some low-fat chocolate milk. With the Nutribullet, there is a convenient link that marks the max to fill with fruit and liquid.

The NutriBullet comes with two blenders, one for fruits and veggies and another one that chops up seeds and nuts. I mostly use the double bladed one for fruits and veggies to make my smoothies.

Flip it.

And press it down on the unit and turn and it will start quickly blending everything together. About 8-10 seconds. Once it is finished simply twist and remove.

Twist off the top piece, and you can enjoy the smoothie right from the cup you blend it in. This unit also came with two other cups that look like mugs, so you can blend and then enjoy it right then.

Not only does this make great smoothies, but my absolute favorite thing about it is how easy it is to clean. With all other blenders I have used it has been such a mess to clean up because the blades are all the  way at the bottom of the unit. However, on the Nutribullet the blades are the cover, so you just rinse and your done.