Tag Archives: dessert

Snack Time: Enjoy Life Decadent Bars (Review)

12 Sep
Image from Enjoy Life Foods

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

Yesterday was the first full day of school.  My daughter has lunch at 11:20 in the morning.  A little early for her, especially since school doesn’t get out until 3:05.  In addition to packing a lunch, she needs to pack a snack for the afternoon.  My daughter, has a peanut allergy and it’s hard to find easy snacks that are allergy friendly.  I have been a huge fan of Enjoy Life Products and was excited to learn more about the Decadent Bars.  The bars are the perfect size snack to add as a special treat in your child’s lunch box or for an afternoon snack.  Enjoy Life Decadent bars are gluten-free, free from the top eight allergens, verified by the Non-GMO project and available in four flavors (below).  Each bar is topped with a white or dark drizzle (depending on the flavor)-YUM.

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Cherry Cobbler:

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Chocolate Sunbutter:

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Cinnamon Bun:

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S’Mores:

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Of the four flavors, S’Mores was the hit.  My daughter ate them all before I could snap a picture of the bar itself.  They satisfy her sweet tooth and are filling to hold her over until the end of the day!  She requested more for her school snack! Off to Whole Foods we will go for another box!  Find Enjoy LIfe Decadent Bars near you!

 

To learn more visit Enjoy Life or follow on Facebook and Twitter!

Disclaimer:  I received samples of all flavors for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.  Any information in italics came from Enjoy Life.

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Sweets for the Soul

6 Aug

I have to admit, I am not much of a dessert person.  Every once in a while I like something sweet but usually prefer eating something salty.  That was until recently when I received a sample of brownies and brownie “shots” from Sweets for the Soul, a LA based bakery. The name says it all. The  chocolate deliciousness of every bite keeps you wanting to go back for more. Unfortunately, my chocolate loving daughter couldn’t try because of her nut allergy, but that meant more for me.  I brought a variety to a dinner one night and they were gone in seconds.   I made sure to set two aside, as I knew they would be gone.  I was very upset when my husband snuck the last one.

The presentation, from each individual brownie to the packaging was beautiful.  Receiving them makes you feel good and will satisfy your sweet tooth.   Sweets for the Soul are the perfect gift to let someone know you are thinking about them.  Give as a get-well present, a gift to a new mom, a friend, a co-worker, a teacher or to your significant other.  Serve Sweets for the Soul at a bridal shower, baby shower, dinner party or holiday party.

Sweets for the Soul brownies are hand-made by founder, Lilly LaBonge, with a Valrhona chocolate, farmer’s market eggs, organic flour, organic spices and the purest of other ingredients. They are sold as a dozen, half-dozen or individually. Flavors we tried:

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  • Salted Caramel Brownie Shot: My favorite, made of cocoa base w / fleur de sel laced caramel. The perfect combination of sweet and salty, I could eat an entire box.
  • Hotter Shots: Made of cayenne, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and more.  If you like spicy, you will love this brownie shot.  It was a popular one among our friends.
  • Pure Chocolate Shot: Simple, but DELICIOUS! These shots are made of cocoa and almond flour base.
  • Peanut Butter Shots: Because of my daughters allergy, we snuck these in after bed time.  This brownie is made with organic peanut butter, topped with organic peanut brittle.  AMAZING!
  • The Obama: No matter what your political views are, this heart-shaped brownie is one you will definitely love.  Made with a cocoa base filled with dark and white chocolate chips.  A must!
  • Vegan:  Tastes like a regular brownie.  YUM! Made with organic flour, organic oil, vegan sugar, Valrhona cocoa and Valrhona dark chocolate chips.

Although Sweets for the Soul isn’t recommended for those with nut allergies, they have Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, and Vegan options available.  Click the links to for other items on the menu, shipping information, where to buy, the story behind Sweets for the Soul, and other FAQ’s!  Find Sweets for the Soul on twitter and Facebook!  Fingers crossed there will be a place to buy in NYC soon!  Until then, I will definitely be ordering more! Have a SWEET Day!

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received samples for review.  All opinions expressed our my own.  Information in italics came from Sweets for the Soul.  Images not my own are credited.  Thank you Sweets for the Soul and  Bread & Butter PR for the amazing samples.

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Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt Comes to NYC

16 May

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20130516-154233.jpgOrange Leaf Frozen Yogurt’s  mission is to promote community and family by providing a great tasting, frozen dessert made just for you, by you, in an environment that is as visually uplifting as it is welcoming.  There are 253 stores with 130 more to come soon. Last week I attended the grand opening of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt on the Upper East Side , the second location to open in NYC. To celebrate the opening the store gave free frozen yogurt from 3:00 p.m until 6 p.m. The line was down the block to try their 16 kosher flavors (including no-sugar-added, gluten-free, dairy-free alternatives) and add a selection of do-it-yourself toppings.  From 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., all proceeds went to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to raising funds to support research for new and improved therapies for pediatric cancer.  Cookies from the organization were available on the toppings bar to make your frozen yogurt creation extra special.

How Orange Leaf  works (images below from Orange Leaf) :

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Flavors vary by store and change daily.  Click for a complete  list of flavors!

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Click link for a list of toppings.

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20130516-143645.jpgWith the temperature warming up, Orange Leaf would be a great outing to cool off!  The self-serve model is great because you can try as many flavors as you want and fill your bowl with as little or as much as you want, for portion control. At the event, we tried a bit of everything.  My favorite flavors were wedding cake, caramel apple and brownie batter topped with chocolate chip cookies from Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.  My girls loved the fruity flavors, pineapple and raspberry. For toppings they immediately eyed the gummy bears and sprinkles.  They had a blast creating their dessert. To add more fun to the experience, let them come up with a name for their creation, write the ingredients and save it for next time.  Keep your eye out for a location opening in the future on the Upper West Side!  Find a location near you!

If you have a child with food allergies, please see the allergy information before trying.  If you try it, I would recommend bringing your own toppings because there is always the possibility that something could get mixed in, especially if it gets busy.

 

Disclaimer: All information in italics came from Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt.

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Iskream Social

22 Apr

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20130422-210044.jpgWeekends are always so much fun, which is why Mondays are so hard.  We have pizza, watch movies, stay up late and eat ICE CREAM.  I’m not going to lie, we don’t just have ice cream on weekends.  We occasionally stop at the local ice cream truck if it’s a nice day or have friends over to make ice cream sundaes.  My girls request something sweet after almost every meal.  As health conscious family, I often feel guilty  about the trips to the ice cream truck and scooping out ice cream at dinner because I want to go back to the days where dessert was a treat and not something that is expected after every meal.

Checking out the waffle cone, bowl, and "taco" demonstration!

Checking out the waffle cone, bowl, and “taco” demonstration by co-founder Susan Patrick!

The other week I attended an Iskream event to celebrate the new packaging, in which family photos will be used on the containers.  Love the idea.  I had not heard of the naturally sweetened, no added sugar ice cream before the event.  Iskream is the first ice cream available on the market made with Truvia®, a natural sweetener that comes from the leaves of the stevia plant.  I don’t feel so guilty giving my family the outrageously delicious treat that’s full of flavor and free of aspartame, sucralose, artificial colorings, high fructose corn syrup and preservatives (more nutritional information).  Will I give it after every meal, probably not but when it comes time for that treat I won’t feel so guilty giving it to them.

Checking out all the delicious flavors!

Checking out all the delicious flavors!

Iskream flavors:

  • Vanilla
  • Berry Good
  • Chocolate Brownie
  • Banana
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly
  • Chocolate Cherry Chunk
  • Java Chip

At the event, we got to try many flavors in a homemade, all natural sugar, served in either a waffle bowl, cone or “taco”.  My favorite flavors were the Banana and Chocolate Brownie.  My daughter’s favorites were Vanilla and Berry Good. Note: Because of the Peanut Butter and Jelly flavor, the container says that it is made in a facility that processes nuts.  I made sure to ask beforehand and they told me that all the equipment was washed throughly and the flavors my daughter tried (banana, berry good, and vanilla) were made on different days.  She did not have a reaction however  everyone is different.  If you have a child with allergies it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Keep checking back to find out how your family can be on an ISkream Container!

I Scream, You Scream, Screaming for more ISkream!

I Scream, You Scream, Screaming for more ISkream!

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received containers of ice cream for attending the event. All opinions expressed are my own.  Information in italics came from the Iskream Website.  I am not responsible for any reactions that may occur if you choose to try the product with a child with a food allergy.

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National Blueberry Pancake Day!

28 Jan

Today is National Blueberry Pancake Day!  Cooking activities are an excellent way to keep kids busy on cold, rainy or snowy days like today.  Whip up some blueberry pancake (a few recipes below) with your child and eat them for lunch, snack, dinner, dessert or save them for breakfast tomorrow.

Blueberry Pancake Fun!

Blueberry Pancake Fun!

A few recipes:

1. Keep it Simple Blueberry Pancakes:  Perfect for when you are in a rush or need a simple activity for young children.  For 5 pancakes: Use  1 cup Aunt Jemima’s Original Complete Mix, 3/4 cup water, 1/4- 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Mix together in a bowl or we mixed in a measuring cup to make pouring the batter on the pan easier.  While pancakes are cooking, place blueberries in batter. Use as many or as little as your child would like.  My older daughter added chocolate chips for an extra sweet treat!

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2.  Driscoll’s Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes

Image from Driscoll's

Image from Driscoll’s

3. Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes: Add blueberries to this Whole Wheat Pancake recipe from Skinnytaste

Image from Skinnytaste

Image from Skinnytaste

4. Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes by Your Cup of Cake

Image from Your Cup Of Cake

Image from Your Cup Of Cake

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Simple Yet Festive Meals For July 4th!

3 Jul

Instead of signing the girls up for camp this summer, we packed up the car and headed to Virginia for a few weeks to visit family. The girls have spent almost every day at the pool and when they aren’t there, they have played with their cousins. They were having such a great time we decided to extend our stay through the Fourth of July.
We have attended so many family BBQ’s lately and we have one next weekend so decided on something different than burgers and dogs.  Here are some simple, yet festive meals we will have to celebrate Independence Day:

Breakfast: See my post Memorial Day/ July 4th Sailboat breakfast.

Lunch: We plan on packing a lunch and heading to the pool for their Fourth of July celebration.  Star Sandwiches: Make your favorite sandwich and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut it out of the bread. On the side: Cherry tomatoes and Blueberries to keep with the Red, White and Blue theme.  We will also be making a trip to the ice cream truck when he makes a visit.  🙂

Dinner: While my mom was at Costco she came across festive Four Cheese Ravioli by Nuovo. Add a little butter or olive oil and fresh garlic, then serve with your favorite veggies on the side.  You can even use a small bowl or cup of tomato sauce on the side and the kids can dip their ravioli.  The girls are SUPER excited to try them tomorrow.

Drinks:  To get the girls to drink more water during this heat wave, I have frozen blackberries, raspberries and blueberries to put in their water.  They love it and when they start thawing they add a slight hint of flavor to their water.  They call it “special water”.  The frozen fruit gives a festive look and Mommies can add it to a glass of wine or prosecco while watching fireworks!

Dessert: Flag Graham Crackers the kids can make.  In a separate cup add cool whip. Cut strawberries into thin lines and place on plate with blueberries and raspberries for decorating.  Give each child a graham cracker.  Use a spoon to spread the cool whip and then decorate.  We did a practice round today.  I had to help my younger daughter, but my older daughter had a great time making it and eating it.  My older daughter did her own interpretation of the flag.

Ready to decorate!

Ready to eat!

Happy Eating and Drinking This 4th of July!

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Enjoy Life: Crunchy Cookies {Allergy-Friendly}

13 Mar

It is hard to find a store-bought cookie that isn’t processed in a facility containing tree nuts and peanuts.  Enjoy Life’s new line of crunchy cookies are gluten-free, dairy free and peanut/ tree nut free.  I received four boxes of Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies: Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Vanilla Honey Graham, and Sugar Crisp.   They are super crunchy, and full of flavor.  The names of the flavors describe the taste. To get an idea of how crunchy they are, I could hear my husband sneaking them from the other room.  In fact, he snuck them before I could even start my review and ended up eating most of them along with my girls.  I was able to try at least one of each flavor and was surprised at how good they were since they are dairy free and gluten-free.  Right after I had Pela, I went gluten-free and didn’t find many brands that tasted good or even close to what I was used to.  Maddie and I have a sweet spot for chocolate so the Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip were our favorites.  Pela isn’t picky when it comes to dessert, so she LOVED them all.  They are a great alternative to bring to playgroups and school parties, when you are uncertain of whether there are any children with allergies.

Double Chocolate Crunchy Cookies and Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookies

About each of the flavors (information from Enjoy Life):

Each box contains 14 cookies.

Chocolate Chip: Loaded with our Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips, these chocolate chip cookies will satisfy anyone’s cookie craving.

Ingredients: Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non- Dairy Cocoa Butter), Palm Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vanilla, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Double Chocolate: All the rich chocolate of our chocolate chip cookie times two!

Ingredients: Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Process Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Salt, Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Vanilla Honey Graham (left) and Sugar Crisp (right)

Sugar Crisp: Rich, buttery flavor with that added touch of sugar on top!

Ingredients:Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Millet Flour, Buckwheat Flour), Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vanilla, Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Vanilla Honey Graham: Satisfy that craving for a graham cracker with this cookie!

Ingredients:
Flour Mix (Brown & White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Honey, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Rosemary Extract

Allergen Information for all flavors: NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE

To find out more about ingredients check out Enjoy Life’s Ingredient Glossary.

How we ate our Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies:

  • As an on the go snack
  • Perfect for dunking in milk (soy or rice milk too depending on your allergy needs)
  • Maddie got creative and made a strawberry marshmallow treat with the Double Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookie.

A special treat Maddie made for daddy!

  • Make an ice cream sandwich for dessert.  We used the recipe from Downtown Bookworks : The Do It MySelf Kids’ Cookbook.
I am a big fan of Enjoy Life products.  See some of my past reviews/ posts: Enjoy Life: Eat Freely, Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and Allergy-Free Cooking at Kids Food Festival NYC
Enjoy Life on Twitter (@ELFCeo), Facebook, and their Website.
Keep checking back for a Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookie Giveaway!

Disclaimer:  I received 4 boxes of Enjoy Life’s Crunchy Cookies for the purpose of this review.  The boxes did not impact my opinions.  All opinions expressed are my own!

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Banana Double Chocolate Crunch Granola Bar “Cake” Recipe {Allergy- Friendly}

29 Feb

Last week I posted about Enjoy Life Allergy-Friendly Double Chocolate Crunch Granola (see post) and promised to share the recipe this week.  I don’t like having too many sweet things lying around because I tend to eat it all myself so I made a smaller portion using our new oogaa bowl.  The following recipe serves about 4-6 depending on how much you would like.  It was so delicious, I definitely will make it again.  It would be a perfect dessert or snack for a small play group.  It is best to eat that day because the bananas will go bad.  Try adding dried fruit too to the granola/ marshmallow mixture.

*Used Kellogg’s Rice Krispe Treat Recipe as a base for this recipe.

** Keep checking back for an oogaa mealtime set GIVEAWAY!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups or 1 oogaa bowl of Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chip Granola
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows (we used Elyon Natural Vanilla Mini Marshmallows: fat-free, gluten-free, and kosher)
  • 1 1/2 TBSP butter
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks
  • Milk* as needed (*can sub with soy milk or rice milk depending on needs)

Directions:

  1.  In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. (Step from Kellogg’s)
  2. Mix in Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chip Granola until coated well.
  3. Put mixture in one oogaa bowl.  Cool in refrigerator  for about 10 20 minutes or until ready to serve.
  4. Once cool, press granola treat out of oogaa bowl and on to a plate to serve.  The bowl is flexible, so pushing it out is easy to do.
  5. Slice bananas on top of granola “cake”
  6. A few minutes before serving add Mega Chunks to a microwave safe dish, or you can use your microwave safe oogaa bowl. Keep adding milk as needed until you get a semi-thick sauce to drizzle (with spoon) over “cake”.
  7. Cut and serve.

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received the Enjoy Life Products for the purpose of my review.  I also received oogaa mealtime sets for the girls for posting about their product. I came up with this recipe because the girls would not eat granola on its own and  I thought why not make something like a rice krispie treat. Always check labels when using ingredients because I cannot say for certain which allergens this recipe is completely free of.

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