Sweet T and a Honey B
Food, Fitness, and the Adventures That Make Life Sweet

‘Rad’ Christmas Gift Tags

For the last couple of years I have been really in to making my own gift tags for all of my Christmas packages. It’s a cute way to personalize gifts and while it takes a little longer than the sticky kind (don’t get me wrong, I still use those too!), I find that I actually save money and you can easily put something together that looks amazing while using minimal materials.

I used a little help from a company/brand called ‘Rad & Happy‘ for my gift tags this year. A good friend introduced me to this brand created by Tara, an incredibly talented and creative artist and blogger who designs just about the most adorable stationary, gift cards, coloring pages, apparel, and holiday items I’ve ever seen. She even offers a subscription service called ‘Rad Mail’ which allows you to get some of these goodies delivered to your door monthly! This year, Tara created a font called ‘Rad Tidings’ (I know.. I know.. I’m even in love with the name). Ordering,downloading, and installing this font was as easy as 1,2,3. From there all I had to do for my gift tags was type the names of all of my friends and family in a word document. I a PDF of all of the names over to my local OfficeMax to print on white cardstock (less than $1) and within an hour I was able to pick up the sheets!

From there, I carefully cut out all of the names and backed them on Kraft cardstock (A little known fact about me, I LOVE kraft paper/cardstock and use it for just about everything…including last’ year’s tags 😉 ). For gift bags and small cookie boxes, I used a hole punch and some gold or candy striped twine (found for 60% off at Michael’s this time of year) and for large wrapped presents, I found a cute roll of Christmas washi tape (also 60% off at Michael’s) to help me stick the tags on my gifts.  

It’s so simple to make a big statement when giving your loved ones Christmas (or birthday, annivesary, etc.) packages. Taking a few extra minutes to personalize when it comes to the wrapping puts a little extra love in your gift!

5 days left until Christmas y’all! I hope this last week is a merry one and that you enjoy this time with your family and friends!

A Very Special Christmas Tradition

Every year since I was about 15, my mom and I make it a point to take one full day out of the busy and fast-paced weeks leading up to Christmas for our annual ‘Christmas in the City Day’. We take the train downtown, eat lunch at Pizano’s (our favorite pizza in Chicago), finish up some Christmas shopping, and take in all of the lights at the Christkindl Market at Daley Plaza. Our evening ends wrapping presents, cooking a warm dinner, and watching the Bells of St. Mary’s on our old VHS tape that was recorded just shortly after I was born. This is arguably my favorite day every year, especially the last few years after I’ve moved out of the house and gotten married. Now we call it our annual ‘sleepover’. 

This tradition was extra special this year. Almost six months ago to the day, I had more than a few moments where I was unsure Mom was even going to be here, let alone shoveling pizza and dodging hundreds of Christmas shoppers. Back in June, I wrote about mom having a benign brain tumor removed and a couple complications she had afterwards. At that time I wrote about that, little did I know the complications were only beginning. After an infection that left her in a debilitating amount of pain, a stroke on the night of the 4th of July, and two very dangerous allergic reactions to medication, the summer thankfully ended and mom came home for good. I didn’t share a lot of this at the time because our family experienced so many ups and downs-and the downs were very scary. Watching my best friend experience so much pain and depression due to her temporary loss of independence was difficult to say the least. June, July, and August are a complete blur and that time period is still one I get emotional thinking about. A lot of my emotion comes from the pride I have for her and how hard she worked every day to get better. There were many days where even standing up to the use the restroom was a huge feat yet here we are six months and a world of difference later. 

This weekend, we made the decision to change this year’s ‘Christmas in the City’ to ‘Christmas in the Burbs’ as Mom is still finding her balance in large crowds, but I can truthfully say this was the most fun we’ve had to date. I picked her up just before lunch time and we still managed to make a stop at Lou Malnati’s for some deep dish pepperoni pizza. In the last few years, there has been a Christkindl Market location in the suburbs and this year we took full advantage. We did a couple laps while sipping on Hot Cocoa with fresh Bavarian cream and munching on cinnamon roasted pecans (this day never lacks in the snack department). After a little while, we made our way to the outlet mall for a bit of shopping. In full disclosure, we bought more presents for ourselves than others this weekend 😉  

After being out in the cold all day, it was time to head home to wrap some presents and watch our movie. Mom made us some toasted ham sandwiches and coffee while we transformed her living room in to Santa’s workshop for the night. I made it a point to stand back and take in how wonderful the entire day had turned out to be. I ended up being the one that had a hard time keeping up with her and fell asleep on the couch by the tree. 

Our day was nothing less than perfect and watching my mom participate in our normal traditions while enjoying herself fully made my entire Christmas season. I continue to be in awe of how hard she pushes herself to get a little better each day and I hope this tradition is something we carry on for many years-complete with a pepperoni pizza. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Protein Bowl

Hey, remember me? It’s unbelievable how fast time can slip away from you and before you know it, the holidays you thought were ‘not for a couple of months’ are fast approaching. If that wasn’t evident by my Christmas tree standing tall in my living room, it’s certainly evident by the amount of 30/40/50% off, Free Shipping, and holiday shopping reminder e-mail subjects I have clogging my inbox. Just a constant reminder that no matter how far ahead I think I am in my shopping, I’m not. 

So, long story short, it’s been a crazy couple of months. Let’s get back to some healthy foods, shall we? 

This one is goooood. I mean, really gooood. It was one of those ‘I have XYZ ingredients in the house so let’s do something with them’ meals. Once it dropped even a hair below 50 degrees last month, I was ready to cook up some of those feel-good meals and hibernate under a blanket. See ya in March. 

This sweet potato bowl is really filling and easy to customize based on various proteins and vegetables you like. What makes it extra yummy is the avocado cream I drizzled on top. This cooks in very little time and like all of my other recipes, it’s easy to make a bunch and keep for the week. You can even add the sweet potatoes, beans, and ground beef on top of a bed of lettuce and pack it for lunch using the avo-cream as a dressing. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Protein Bowl

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
  • 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 16 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbs EVOO or avocado oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 medium-sized avocado
  • 1/2 cup light sour cream
  • fresh lime juice
  • cooking spray
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dice sweet potatoes into approx 1-inch cubes. In a large bowl, mix oil, sea salt, garlic powder, and paprika, with the sweet potato cubes until fully coated. 
  2. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay sweet potatoes in a single layer on the sheet. Set timer for 20 minutes. Turn potatoes over halfway through.  
  3. While sweet potatoes are cooking, fully cook ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking up as it browns.
  4. Using a blender or food processor, blend avocado, sour cream, and lime juice. Add the lime juice gradually until you get desired consistency/taste. Note, if you are using on a salad, you may need a little more lime juice to make a dressing-like consistency. 
  5. Add 1/4 of the ground beef, 1/4 of the sweet potatoes, and 1/4 of the black beans to a bowl and top with 2 tbs of the avocado cream. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper. 

 

Have a Happy Hump Day!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza

I am a certified pizza addict and I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s no exaggeration when I say I have made every healthy pizza alternative there is.-quinoa pizza bites, pizza roll ups, cauliflower pizza, pizza salads, you name it. While a pizza inspired dish satisfies the craving, there’s nothing quite like, well, actual pizza. 

Since I had tried every other Simple Mills product (and loved it), I picked up a couple boxes of the pizza crust. It’s all natural, gluten free, and made with almond flour. The mix requires very few ingredients (Apple cider vinegar-which kills bacteria, supports gut health, lowers blood pressure, and contains probiotics-coconut oil or avocado oil, and water), takes minutes to make, and turns out with the perfect amount of crispiness. 

I topped our pizzas with a little of the pesto, some soft goat cheese, and my favorite veggies, and I had an actual pizza. One that tasted good and was good for me. This is a quick weeknight meal that satisfies the strongest of pizza cravings without all the extra grease.

(I bought two boxes of mix so that we had leftovers for the next night. The below recipe for sun dried tomato pesto is enough for 4 8-inch pizzas which uses the two boxes)

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

  • 1 jar (250 ML) of sun dried tomatoes in oil (do not drain!)
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

Gluten Free Pizza (Serves 2)

  • 1 box of Simple Mills Gluten Free Almond Flour Pizza Crust, made as directed (2 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 tbs oil, 6 tbs water)
  • 4 oz soft goat cheese
  • 1 cup arugula
  • 1 small roma tomato
  • 1/2 small onion
  • sea salt
  • Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 cup of the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (save the other half in an air tight container)

 

  1. The Simple Mills mix makes two 8-inch round pizzas. After baking the crusts for 5 minutes at 350 degrees, take them out of the oven to add your toppings.
  2. Spread 1/4 cup of the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto evenly on each crust.
  3. Add roma tomato slices, arugula, and onion on top.
  4. Place 2 oz. of goat cheese on top of each pizza.
  5. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and Italian seasoning.
  6. Bake 15 more minutes at 350 or until ends of crust turn golden brown. 
  7. Cut each pizza in to four slices and enjoy!

Breakfast Quinoa Oatmeal

The gloomy mornings have had me craving a warm feel-good breakfast and that usually means some sort of Oatmeal with some fruit thrown on top. I’ve recently been a regular at a local breakfast spot, Egg Harbor Cafe, and it might solely be because of their breakfast quinoa bowl. It’s warm, creamy, and filled with various fruit and nuts. It’s served with a small cup of greek yogurt and honey and the combination of the warm breakfast bowl with cold yogurt is good enough to make you never want another oatmeal ever again. I figured I had been there enough times that I wanted to make it at home to have whenever I wanted!

Even better than the taste of this breakfast bowl, is the amount of time you have to spend making it. It takes minutes to throw all of this in the crockpot, turn it on low, and let it cook until your nose wakes you up in the morning and leads you to the kitchen. 

Note: If you have a Crockpot with a timer, set it to low just before going to bed and set the timer to turn to warm after 6 hours. Mine does not have a timer, so I simply turned it on warm when I woke up (about 7 hours). 

 

 

Breakfast Quinoa Oatmeal 

Serves 6

  • 1 and 1/2 Cups Steel Cut Oats
  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
  • 4.5 cups  unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tbs coconut sugar
  • 2 tbs maple syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • non-stick cooking spray
  • chopped green apples, vanilla greek yogurt, honey, blueberries, pistachios, or dried cranberries for topping!

 

  1. Spray Crockpot generously with non-stick cooking spray (or you will have oatmeal caked to the sides in the morning!).
  2. Rinse quinoa and add all ingredients to the Crockpot.
  3. Stir well and set to ‘low’ just before bed. Oatmeal is best on low 6-6.5 hours but mine cooked for 7 because I don’t have a timer. I just added a little extra almond milk in the morning to make it a bit creamier. 
  4. Top warm quinoa oatmeal bowl with desired toppings and enjoy!