Molasses Oatmeal

    I like to research random foods or ingredients  already in my pantry and Saturday morning it was Molasses. My interest with this started  when I recently bought a new bottle of molasses for a recipe. My granny and I had a conversation about it. She told me it was her dad's (my great grandfather) favorite  thing to add to any food to make it sweet and they always had it in the house. So suddenly, I became interested in molasses and if there were any benefits to eating it over some other sweeteners. Her father ate it for pure taste and was not concerned about the health benefits but I was…

     First, let me inform you molasses contains a lot of sugar! I am a sugar revolving girl. I am trying to decrease my sugar intake because I eat way too much but it was saturday and I wanted to treat myself with a semi-sweet breakfast. I did learn through research online a few things about molasses:
1. What is it? It is the by-product when sugarcane is refined.
2. It contains a pretty good source of iron, magnesium, copper, and potassium. Copy and paste the link below if you are curious about the health benefits. http://www.livestrong.com/article/262769-molasses-nutrition-information/
3. Molasses is not some super food but it is a great alternative to add to oatmeal for a "sweet treat" breakfast. This is not a normal daily breakfast but its better than a doughnut on a saturday.

I was looking up breakfast ideas on Real Simple's website and came across some ideas for oatmeals and that is where I saw the idea for Molasses oatmeal along with many other great ideas for oatmeal. Here is the link to copy and paste if you are interested in creative types of oatmeal:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/oatmeal-recipe-00100000099427/index.html

Ingredients you will need:

 I added a little cinnamon for flavor. 

 Cook oatmeal according to its directions without the bananas and molasses. 

 Add chopped banana and molasses. 

 I spent my morning bird watching with my dad in our sunroom while eating my oatmeal.
Pure happiness! 

I changed the recipe slightly from the Real Simple idea or my molasses oatmeal. I used the instructions on the back of the oat box to make the oatmeal. I make my oatmeal with just water because I steer clear of dairy when I can because of my mildly lactose intolerant stomach...
So all you need is (for 1 serving):
-1/2 cup of oats
-1 cup of water (milk if you choose)
-dash of cinnamon (optional)
-Little less than a tablespoon of molasses
-Chopped banana

*I did not add any other sugar or anything. The molasses is very rich and provides plenty of flavor. You could add some type of walnuts or pecans if you desire.

Cute little card.

I have a bit of an obsession with yarn and tissue paper so I made this simplistic card for my mom. I used card stock, yarn, tissue paper and my favorite yellow string. 

Birthday Celebration.

Saturday night my family and I had a birthday celebration for my mom. I decorated a little bit for this party and did some floral arrangements which are my new favorite thing to do. I have gained a lot of respect for florist because floral arrangements are NOT easy- I have a lot to learn and mine are not anything close to the pros'. We got Chipotle catering and a cake from Delish- a wonderful bakery in Charleston. Please enjoy and maybe get a few simple ideas from this party:

I used the kitchen table as a buffet table: 

I highly recommend the Chiptole Catering- very reasonable priced and they give you it ready to serve:

 This cake was to die for. I had been without sugar for a while and waiting for this was worth it. The icing was the best . (It slid a bit in the car).

 Meet my latest pride and joy. I got the flowers from Trader Joe's and had the mason jar. 

The little branches are Curly Willow I also had. Looks simple but this took me way too long. 

We had 17 people (yes, my immediate family is huge) so there is not much room for decorations on my mom's dining room table so I did this arrangement with Quince I cut from the yard along with the flowers from Trader Joe's.  

Also made these fun tissue paper balls. They are my favorite party decoration. I will have to post a tutorial on how to make them because they are super easy to make. The purple mesh can be found at Michaels and it comes on rolls and in a lot of colors. 

Here are a few of my favorite little details:

I found this dragon fly wrapping paper at TJ Maxx and I'm obsessed. 

This red is fabulous.  

 There plates are actually Dixie brand paper plates but I thought they were super fun.

 If you know me you know I love yellow so I had to add in these cute plates and napkins that are Spritz from Target. 

I usually like to make my own signs with the cricut but when I found this sign at Target a few months ago I knew I needed it and would use it often and I do. 

Party, party!

And of course, Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother. She has inspired my creativity and love for decorating and crafting. 

Love you, Mom! 

Guayusa Tea

I have a new favorite tea. It's Guayusa tea. I'm a sucker for a Whole Foods sample table and that is where I tasted this Runa tea. It's suppose to have the same amount of caffeine as coffee but with some other great benefits. Here is the link to the website that gives you all the info: 

http://runa.org/our-guayusa/antioxidants/

Yes, I still drink my daily coffee and do not see plans of this replacing it but I do enjoy this as a late morning drink. It can be found at your local health food stores. It also comes cold in a bottle and in other flavors some with sweetener and some without. I tried the unsweetened guava flavor that comes in the bottle and I would highly recommend it. Here are some pictures of it so you can find it more easily:

Bathing Suit Top Find

I always feel extra accomplished when I find something really cute at Walmart. Yes, Walmart the store that normally gives us all nightmares. This morning I found this adorable flowy bathing suit top for 12$. Go get you one too!  

Disclaimer: there were matching bottoms but I didn't buy them considering I am very picky about bathing suit bottoms and end up wearing my favorite black  bathing suit bottoms with colorful tops. 

Happy Sunday.

Life is sweet. Yellow yellow and more yellow. Thank you Real Simple and Anthro for always making my days a little brighter. 

Shrimp Sesame Seed Salad

This salad is so delicious. It was originally suppose to be a recipe from the Omni Diet book by Tana Amen, but I ended up changing it completely except for the dressing is similar to her "Sesame Kale salad with Chicken" dressing. So here is the delicious result. This recipe was made for 2-3 people so to make this for 5 or so people I would double the recipe. 

What you'll need:

-1package of baby kale

-2 tablespoons of toasted seasame seeds

-1/2 pound of shrimp (raw and deveined with tails) 

-1 medium sized naval orange 

-3 tablespoons of raisins (I used three of the little boxes) 

-coconut oil

-Nature's Season seasoning 

-Old Bay seasoning 

Dressing:

-1 and a 1/2 teaspoons of honey (I added a little extra honey) 

-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

-1/2 of salt 

-1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper 

1. Toast the sesame seeds in the oven with olive oil on 150 degrees for 5-10 min until golden brown. 

2.Combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together until combined. Add to the kale along with the sliced orange, raisins, and toasted sesame seeds. Refrigerate while cooking the shrimp.

3. Cook shrimp with the coconut oil in a skillet on medium temp. until pink. Add the your desired amount of seasonings while cooking the shrimp. 

4. Let shrimp cool of the stove for 5 minutes then add to the top of the lettuce mixture. Enjoy!
 

Here are images of ingredients:

34$ Anthropologie Dress find.

Found this cute little Anthro sundress at a consignment shop. Only 34$!! 

Coming soon!!

Hello followers! I'm about to start a new journey on my blog. I'm taking  on the Omni Diet. Until the beginning of May it will be an extra challenge as I try to eat following this diet while on a college meal plan and budget (yuck!) But, come May I will be back home in a kitchen and the true journey will begin!! I will be posting recipes and new favorite foods I find. Please pin recipes you like/have tried/want to try on Pinterest.