Delicious and Healthy Party Food

I am about to blast you with some delicious recipes for some nutritious and heart-healthy party food ideas. We recently celebrated my husband's birthday, and with our focus on eating and living well, I wanted to create options that were fresh, healthy and colourful- so we came up with a Mexican themed menu.

I prepared some shredded Mexican chicken breast, some taco seasoned lean ground beef, some Mexican beans and had hard tacos, soft tortilla shells and loads of veggies and 'fixins' for everyone to build their own Mexican Masterpiece.

No Mexican fiesta would be complete without some salsa and guacamole. With parents, and children joining us for the party, I didn't want to make anything too spicy, so here is my homemade version of these 2 'spiced down' favourites.

Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pineapple cut into tidbits
• 1 plum tomato diced
• 1/3 green pepper diced
• 1/3 red pepper diced
• 2 green onions diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp sea salt

Directions

Chop all ingredients and mix in bowl. Juice lime over salsa and add salt. Stir and taste for seasoning. To add a bit of spice you can add some fresh chopped jalapeno. Place in fridge for flavours to marinate. Serve cold with some tortilla chips.  This would also be delicious served over a grilled chicken breast or fish.

Guacamole

Ingredients

• 4 avocados
• 1/2 red pepper diced
• 1/3 cup cilantro finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt to taste

Directions

Scoop flesh out of avocados, mash them to desired 'chunkiness' consistency. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with your Mexican favourites!

We love the Organic Neal Brothers Blue Tortilla chips. It's also delicious on your Mexican tacos, tortillas, nachos, quesadillas or even on your burgers!

BIRTHDAY TREAT TIME!!!!

Ok, ok, so I kept a little treat for the end. It was, after all, my husbands birthday party and when I asked him what special desert I could make for him he said 'trifle'. Different, right?  So I thought of a way to add a bit of 'nutrition' into this and decided to make a Banana Trifle.

Here's the recipe I loosely followed to make his creamy, dreamy whipped banana pudding trifle dreams come true!

Birthday Banana Trifle

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, diced
• 2 packages of banana instant pudding
• 4 cups 1% milk
• 1 container of light cool whip
• 1 Pound cake, diced
• 1/2 pack of Nilla wafers

Directions

Make the banana pudding according to package directions. Cool in refrigerator until ready to assemble. In your trifle bowl, layer half of the ingredients at a time. Start with the pound cake, banana pudding, bananas, crumbled Nilla wafers, place some around the perimeter of the bowl to create a nice pattern, then the cool whip. Repeat step with remaining half and reserve some chunks of cake, cookies or bananas.

Brent loved his Birthday Banana Trifle! It looked so beautiful and was a little different than the usual cake. It's OK to have a little treat on your birthday... especially when you go to the gym the next morning and work it off!

Thanks to all our family who came to celebrate and to my beautiful daughter for hosting some great party games!

A father and the best fro-yo sandwich he's ever had!

This past Father's Day I decided to make a real special desert for a real special father, my husband! An awesomely delicious treat that we all enjoyed!


So after surfing my favourite blogs, I came upon this most amazing desert that I knew he would absolutely love. Homemade Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches.... never attempted before, but hey, he's worth it!

Check him out with his Father's Day loot: FIFA shirt, BBQ toys and omellete maker in hand!

So this is how you start. Get two 8 inch square pans. Cut some parchment paper and layer it so it will hangover on each side, then spray with a pit of Pam.

Make the batter and divide it between 2 pans and spread evenly (a little tricky because of the paper moving and slipping.... but it's worth it!)

Bake using the directions below and let cool completely in the pan.

Make the blueberry compote and let cool as well.

Having prepared the froyo- or ice cream as directed with the lovely lemon zest and juice, get ready to assemble it all together.

Blend the blueberry compote into the lemon froyo and make nice swirls.

Then dollop the froyo onto the bottom cookie.

Spread it all around in an even layer.

Flip the top layer over the froyo and press gently. Wrap it in foil and leave place in freezer for at least 3 hours ( I left mine overnight).

So easy and simple... take this little present out of the freezer, it just comes out so nicely because of the parchment paper.

Cut the edges so it's smooth, try not to eat all the edges!!!!

And there you have it. A fabulous healthy alternative to store bought ice cream sandwiches. Portion controlled, and lower fat with with Frozen yogurt.

See Brent loving it... yummmmm!!!

I served it with a few berries on the side and ate it with a fork... but you can just pull them out of the freezer and enjoy them as a cool and creamy snack!

Here's the recipe:

LEMON BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Adapted from http://www.shutterbean.com/2013/lemon-blueberry-ice-cream-sandwiches/ who adapted it from Gourmet Magazine 

For lemon ice cream:

2 pint premium vanilla ice cream ( I used frozen yogurt for half the calories and all the taste!)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For blueberry compote:

1 cup blueberries

1/8 cup sugar

2 (3-by 2 1/2-inch) strips lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

For sandwich layers:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make lemon ice cream:

Let ice cream sit out for 10-15 minutes at room temperature, until it reaches the consistency of soft serve. Transfer ice cream to a large bowl and stir in lemon zest and juice. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers.

Make blueberry compote:

Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stirring, 1 minute (mixture will thicken).

Transfer blueberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest.

Make sandwich layers while compote chills:

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans and line with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each side, then butter foil ( I used parchment paper and cooking spray).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined.

Divide batter between baking pans and spread into thin, even layers with offset spatula. Bake until golden-brown but still tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely in pans, about 30 minutes.

Assemble sandwiches:

Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream, then swirl it gently through ice cream with a spoon. Spoon all of ice cream over 1 sandwich layer (in pan) and spread evenly using clean offset spatula. Invert second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich. Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.

Transfer sandwich to a cutting board using overhang. Trim edges if desired, then cut into 12 pieces. 

Check out this live testimonial!

The Queen of all Mothers... and Light Lemon Cheesecakes

Look at this gorgeous mother of mine. The Queen of all Mothers. So full of love and life with the kindest, most generous soul...

 ...not to mention a gorgeous new outfit (matching her youngest grand-daughter) straight back from her trip to Myrtle Beach (hence, the tan)!

 I made the boys take this photo of all the girls... Grand-mamans, moms and future moms. I LOVE IT!

 Meanwhile, some boys supporting their fav' hockey team/colours were hanging out.

 Mums for my Mom!

 Silly Snackers...

 Just love this little guys' Osh Kosh!

 ...and he and his sister just love their daddy so much!

 ...oh, and don't forget a gorgeous smile for the celebrated one! Nice!

 Julie always makes the best salads, this one is super enhanced by the candied pecans from South Carolina!

 Delicious steak dinner for the grown ups...

 ...while this little guy was real busy...

 ...and so was this guy... and Julie, loves her ketchup, I think she might still put some on her steak?

The wonderful evening, hosted by my sister and her family, was of course topped off with a light and delicious Lemon Cheesecake with a raspberry coulis... (recipe to follow).
So much love, so much laughter, like when Stephanie led us in songs and giggles, and most of all, so much family togetherness and craziness it all filled our hearts (and bellies)! Merci for all the love you give us Maman!

A Grillin' Mothers Day Celebration!

I'm having so much fun... I'm needing to catch up on my posts. Here's a little glimpse into my wonderful Mother's Day celebration. A day filled with love, treats, excursions and BBQ goodness!

It all started with a wonderful breakfast in bed. Brent and Melanie made me homemade French toast, bacon (treat!!!!) strawberries and coffee. Gave me a wonderful card and a pretty flower! Nice Bed Head eh?

 I received a wonderful apron, some more flowers, candles and a purse (of course)!!!! Spoiled, I know!

I wanted to go for a walk downtown Oakville, and of course browse through my favourite store- Anthropologie, wait... let me take a selfie!

 Brent made us a wonderful dinner on the BBQ. Some delicious grilled corn. He found a recipe on the web and it turned out great! All you need to do is shuck the corn and soak it in water for 30 minutes. Dry the corn and brush lightly with olive oil and grill on the top rack for about 15 minutes and then bring it down to the bottom rack for a little bit at the end to get those nice char marks.

 Of course, a family favourite- CHICKEN!

... all plated nicely with a little salad too! And for desert... what do you think? A special treat- Red Velvet Cupcake! What a wonderful day it was, and what a wonderful family I have. Thank you so much for making me feel like a Queen! Love you so much.

Easter Bunnies Everywhere!

Let me share with you a little glimpse into a special Easter Day full of love, bunnies, flowers and delicious food.

 It all starts with a gorgeous pink tulip arrangement. My favourites!

 Oh, look, I spotted a bunny. Yes, my little girl still goes for an egg hunt- dressed as a bunny- check out her little basket of goodies!

 Oh look, another bunny... Little Cooper bunny with his mommy.

 ... and another, Stephanie bunny, with her cousin and Grand-maman!

 Easter treats and so much fun... reading cards!

 Look at these gorgeous blue-eyed boys!

 And now, enough of the bunnies, it's time for the Easter Dinner. A gorgeous ham...

 ... a perfectly set table...

 ... delicious broccoli/cauliflower panko cheese bake... so good!

 Even Easter crackers.... my mother really loves to party!

 Stephanie's first jambon... a true half French-Canadian girl.

 The gorgeous bunch of Easter Chicks and Roosters!

... and the Grand Finale! A tower of Bird Nest Cupcakes. Thank you to all my family for the beautiful party, food, celebration and most of all... the LOVE!