No-Bake Energy Bites!

So I'll admit, at first I really thought these were weird looking meat balls but no worries, even though they may look super weird... they're actually really yummy. 

These are basically the healthy version to simple no-bake cookies that pack in a load of protein and fiber while still giving you energy to do things like a workout, an excursion with the kids, or anything else on your agenda.


Recipe taken from Ali's Cooking Blog!
No-Bake Energy Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions: 

Stir in all the ingredients in a medium bowl until mixed. 

Cover the bowl with wrap and let it chill in the fridge

 for about thirty minutes to an hour and a half.

Once they are chilled and pliable without falling apart, roll into balls that are the size that you want them to be. I recommend about the size of a golf ball.. That way you don't get TOO much food in what is just supposed to be a snack, but it's enough to deliver that burst of energy you need!

Put them in an airtight container because if you don't they will dry out and loose their moistness. 
Store them for up to a week.

If you want, you could also add toppings and roll the balls in them. Toppings such as chocolate chips, more coconut flakes, sugar, pre-made graham cracker pie crusts broken into small pieces or even thrown in the food processor for a fine powder. Another great idea for these that someone shared with me was to heat of some dark chocolate, or which ever types of chocolate you prefer, and dip the bites in there (either half way or covered completely) 

If you do melt chocolate and cover the bites, make sure the have wax paper available to put the bites on after and let them rest. Wax paper so that they are easily removed. The chocolate would need time to pit so pop those lil' bits back into the fridge for another hour and ENJOY!

More on substitutions taken from the creator of these perfect bites: (Exact Excerpt) 

Ali’s Tip:

Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.

Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, M&Ms, etc.)
• other grains (different kinds of oatmeal, rice cereal, etc.)

9 Best DIY Gifts for Your Teachers that they will LOVE!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK IS HERE...

 and now it's gone. 

So for Teacher Appreciation Week (Last Week) I though a good thing to know would be how to make great gifts for your teacher all by yourself and cheaply. We all have at least five teachers and to buy each of them expensive and bought gifts can get pretty costly if you're not willing to spend a pretty penny so I discovered some GREAT gift ideas that will make your teacher smile and love you even more than they do already!

Handprint Quilt

This gift is especially good for Elementary School teachers who have a specific class.

Try to get the class together without the teacher knowing (probably the biggest challenge), get a cheap 

quilt and use some paint from the school and walla! A gift your teacher will always cherish and 

it barely costs anything! 

Monogrammed Mugs

These are good if you have more than three or four teachers. All you need is a sharpie, good penmanship, and as many plain white mugs as you have teachers. Write the letter to their first name and 

scribble it in. 

Teacher Goodie Basket

You can buy all these goodies in bulk which saves money and makes it so you can give

you teacher a variety of useful things they can use 

to teach you or your child! 

Homemade Bath Salts 

Good for female teachers, your educators will need this after a day of

hard work at the school. To make you'll need

For the scrubbie:

Small piece of Cotton (enough for back of scrubbie and two pieces for strap)
Piece of towel – cut out 1 piece double the width of the scrubbie back piece
Piece of lace – cut length of strap

For the Bath Salts:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup dry milk
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons green tea with mango leaves
2 teaspoons peach tea leaves
(If you don’t have loose tea, I found 3 tea bags is about 2 teaspoons. Or close enough anyway. :)

Fabric Covered Notebooks

Buy a couple simple notebooks and decorate them! Especially good if you have younger kids

and they can help you. It will be a personalized gift your teacher will

always remember you by.

Smarties and Sharpies

"Fill a jar with smarties and attach a sharpie pen on the top with a note that reads, “Thank you for helping us becomes “sharpies” and “smarties” this year”!  There are also some other fun gift ideas on this post."

Post-It Note Holder

Grap some post it notes from the nearest supplies store and get a couple peices

of hard paper, scissors, ribbon, and a hole puncher! Thats it. 

An Apple with a Gift Card

So if you're so committed to getting your teachers the gift cards you've gotten them

for gosh knows how many years, you can jazz it up by cutting out several green paper 

leaves and string them on to an apple with the gift card stuck to the bottom. HOW CUTE! ;)

Apple Core Spool Card

Use a wooden spool and stock card to create this cute and individual gift you're teacher 

can't help but love!

Pictures and ideas taken from tipjunkie.com

Do It Yourself Acrylic Nails!

Have you ever looked at the girls with beautiful long nails with a multitude of designs and said to yourself... I WANT THOSE! Well here you go!

Here's and excerpt taken from squidoo.com on Acrylic Nails,


Do you want beautiful acrylic nails without the expensive cost?

Many years ago, I wanted to save money by doing my own acrylic nails. At that time,acrylic nail kits were scarce and you practically needed a beauty license to buy the products individually. Well, I did find and buy a nail kit, and it even came with a VHS tutorial video! Talk about back-in-the-day.. I got pretty good at doing my own nails and saved some money. I eventually started going back to the salon because I was a new mommy and didn't have as much time or the inclination to do my own nails.

Fast forward to now and I'm looking for ways to cut costs again. I recently went to a local beauty supply shop and was excited to find a lot of choices in products for doing your ownacrylic nails. I decided to create this do-it-yourself step-by-step guide with easy to understand steps to explain how to get that salon look without the salon price. Just like when you learned to paint your own nails - with a little practice it will get easier and easier.

Items You Will Need

- Cotton Balls
- Non-acetone Nail Polish Remover
- Paper Towels
- Nail Scrub Brush
- Nail File
- Acrylic Nail Clipper/Cutter
- Artificial Nail Tips (Optional)
- Nail Glue (If applying tips)
- Dappen Dish
- Acrylic Liquid
- Acrylic Powder
- Acrylic Brush (Sable recommended)
- Filing Block (4-sided, fine grit)
- Cuticle Oil

SO Step one:

Remove all of the nail polish already on your nails and 

make sure to use a non-acetone nail polish remover because acetone will take the fake nail off.

Step two:

Prepare your nails by giving them a really neat manicure to remove all the dead skin and to smooth out rough edges. Trim nails back short almost to the skin, not too far though. The reason for cutting your nail back short is that if the tip of your acrylic nail breaks, it won't take half of your natural nail off with it.

So after you've given your nails a BEAUTIFUL makeover, lets continue to step three

Step three:

Push your cuticles back, GENTLY, make sure you don't push

too hard because you could harm your nails :)

Step four:

Apply fake nail tips if you want extended length, you have to

use glue so if you don't want glue on your nails, I wouldn't recommend acrylics.

Step five:

Clip the tips to your desired length, if you don't 

want them to be long, you can cut them short but if you want them to 

have a cool design on them I would recommend you cut them a bit longer

Step six:

Apply primer to the natural nail only

Step seven:

Pour some acrylic liquid into your dappen dish.

The liquid may have a strong smell so work in a ventilated area. Dip your brush in the nail liquid and wipe the brush against the inside of the dish as you would with nail polish to remove excess liquid. Then wipe both sides of the brush on a paper towel and flatten the brush to shape it and remove any remaining excess liquid.

Step eight:

Dip the tip of the brush into the powder, or draw a line through the powder with the tip of the brush, to collect a small moist ball.

It should be damp, but not too wet. Apply this ball on the edge of the acrylic tip where it meets your natural nail. Starting in the center of the nail at the smile line, flatten the bead and brush to the tip. Flatten each side and brush to the tip. Quickly spread it out and smooth it in, but be careful not to flatten it too much as you will want it to have a natural curve towards the middle. Wipe your brush to remove excess product

Then repeat with the acrylic liquid and powder to build and copy the natural curve of your nail, apply a coat to the tip as well, just not as thick. However be careful NOT to apply any acrylic onto the cuticle area! This could cause lifting and you could develop a mold or fungus under the nail if it lifts.







Step nine:
Repeat step eight on all you nails and let them dry
(ps... it should take about 10 minutes so don't do something crazy 
with your hands before then and ruin all your hard work!)
Step ten:
Apply cuticle oil on your nails so that they won't dry out :)




Last Step:
Paint you nails and design them however you please! Whatever length you have them you can still apply whatever color you want and maybe even some designs like flowers or stripes! 
Acrylic nails grow out about every two, so you need to 'fill' them every two weeks 
BUT you know thats a tutorial for another time... for now, just acrylic AWAY :)  

Fortune Cookies! (Made Easy)

This recipe is really cool! I never knew making fortune cookies could be so simple and quick! If you have ever had chinese food or take out you probably have eaten a fortune cookie before. Who doesn't love getting these oddly shaped cookies with little notes inside them that just always make you feel better about yourself. These cookies are perfect to make for a customized party, wedding, baby shower... ect! Although they look super complicated, they're actually really easy to make! Surprisingly so actually. Did you know fortune cookies were actually made America by Chinese or Japanese immigrants in the 1900's 

Also.. according to ehow.com "Although the fortune cookie was created in the United States, the idea may have been based on Chinese history. It is a Chinese custom to put messages in cakes and sweets. According to legend, in the late 1300s, moon cakes were used to pass messages. The messages contained plans for a Chinese rebellion against the Mongol warlords who had conquered northern China."

All you need is:

• 2 eggs (only the whites)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 teaspoons water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

First:
The first thing you need to do is actually make the fortunes. Put whatever you want as the message.. you could even be flirty and put your phone number and drop it off at a potential dates table if you want! ;)
The papers should be 3 inches long and about 1/2 and inch wide.
You can type them out or make them more personalized by writing them.

Second:
Get 2 medium bowls and a small bowl.
In the small bowl, put the two egg whites, to divide them crack the egg open and divide the egg yolk with the egg white
In a medium bowl, pour the two egg whites and give them a quick whisk, until the mixture gets a bit foamy.

Third:

In the empty medium bowl, add the sugar, cornstarch, flour, water, and salt. Make sure to preheat your oven to 350 F. Stir all the ingredients with an electric mixer.

Fourth:
While mixing with the electric mixer, pour the egg whites into the bowl and incorporate them into the mixture.

Fifth:
Grease a baking sheet with some butter and measure out a teaspoon of batter and pour it onto the sheet. Leave about two inches between each circle. Place the sheet in the oven for about 11 minutes or until they look pretty gold.. not burnt though!

Sixth:
Once they are a healthy golden brown, place one of your fortunes on the center of the cookie.

Seventh:
Then fold the cookie like you would a taco!

Eighth:
Bend the flat side of the cookie over the edge of a coffee mug until the edges are sooth. Hold it there for about 10 seconds.

Ninth:
Place each cookie in a muffin pan. See the picture if you get confused.

Be sure to use a cold pan each time so that they will harden and keep their shape!

And Walla! You have a perfect customized fortune cookie! What a treat :)

Recipe adapted and taken from visualrecipes.com 

Drumroll Please.... White Chocolate Mud Cake!

So Summer is right around the corner and why not celebrate it with some white chocolate?

Anything with chocolate in it and I'm game.

I do not own this recipe, the ingredients and instructions are based off of www.exclusivelyfood.com

So here's the ingredient list: (:

The white chocolate ganache contains sour cream to cut some of the sweetness of the white chocolate.

Serves about 16.

Cake Recipe

Use a 20ml tablespoon and 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

300g white chocolate (we use Cadbury Dream white chocolate)

200g butter (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt with the butter)

250ml (1 cup) milk

165g (3/4 cup) caster sugar

2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)

100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour

150g (1 cup) plain flour

Sour Cream and White Chocolate Ganache

200g white chocolate

88g sour cream

Step One:

Heat the oven to 320F and grease a 20cm square inch cake pan, 

if you can line the sides with baking paper, 

it'll make it easier to get out.

Step Two:

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, milk, and chocolate. 

Once everything is all melted into deliciousness, turn off the heat and stir it all till its completely smooth.

 Let it cool for at least 15 minutes 

(I recommend that you should probably let it cool for more like an hour) 

Step Three:

Once it's completely cooled down, add the eggs and vanilla(if you want to use it) 

Step Four:

In a large bowl, combine the flours. 

Add about one cup of the chocolate mixture into the flour and stir until smooth

Step Five: 

Now add another cup of the chocolate mixture and mix until it's all smooth and creamy. 

Step Six:

Now... gradually, add the rest of the chocolate mixture. By adding the wet ingredients into the dry 

ingredients very gradually, lumps and bubbles are prevented. 

Just making it yummier!

Step Seven:

Once everything is mixed in, pour it into your greased pan.

Now this cake is going to be pretty short because I've found that

when you make a really tall cake, the outside is crispy

while only the inside is baked to perfection.

If you want a tall cake, you can make two of these and put the 

filling on the inside instead of the top

Step Eight:

Now bake the cake for about 70-80 minutes. When it seems done, stick a toothpick

in the center and if it comes out with no batter, your all good to go!

Step Nine:

Now the Ganache can get a little tricky so exclusivelyfood.com said this (I think it'll help):

Melt white chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently. When chocolate has completely melted, remove from heat and quickly stir in sour cream. Use immediately, or if your ganache is quite runny, set it aside at room temperature to thicken slightly before using.

Step Ten: 

Ice the cake after it has COMPLETELY cooled and wala! Enjoy! Happy Summer 

By the way, this could also be an excellent base cake recipe for 

design cakes. Here are so great examples