Kidecals Name Labels

I cannot believe I am getting ready for back to school! I have mixed emotions about this. I love the carefree lifestyle of the summer. Summer allows us to stray from the routine that comes with the school year, kick back and enjoy the kids. I'll miss waking up and lounging around with them, spending days on the beach…just walking to the beat of our own drums.

I do, however, love labeling school stuff!  I label jackets, any clothing that can be removed, lunch items that can be lost, backpacks, folders, notebooks…etc! Kidecals makes this task a lot easier! There are so many labels with great prints to choose from. They are both washer and dishwasher safe! They are highly durable and will surely last the school year. 

The kids were so excited to get their kidecals in the mail. Max's comic book kidecals go with his Spiderman theme. Chloe's multicolor chevron print is so girly and pretty.

Kidecals offers free shipping on all orders! Receive 15% off of your order by signing up for their news letter, liking them on Facebook, or adding them on Google+. 

LeanPops!

Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of the ice pops at the supermarket? Can be scary…and hard to pronounce! Even the so called healthy choices aren't so healthy once you read the label. We've attempted making our own in the past but the pops always seem to get stuck inside the mold. We haven't had much luck until trying LeanPops! They popped right up after letting them sit out of the freezer for a few minutes. The kids loved getting involved mixing in different fruits. We even added carrots to one. They were so quick and easy to make! I love knowing exactly what is going in them, and exactly what isn't! 

LeanPops are made of 100% food grade silicone, BPA free, latex free and non-toxic. The icing on the pop- they're dishwasher safe! Each comes with it's own lid so there are no messy leaks or spills while freezing! You can even re-cover and refreeze unfinished pops! 

We used whatever was in the house to make an assortment of pops. The timing couldn't have been better because Max had a terrible sore throat and wasn't able to eat anything but these! One didn't make the pictures because he ate it first thing in the morning. My kids love Chobani key lime yogurt so we filled one to try. It soothed his throat and he absolutely loved his frozen yogurt treat. We will definitely be making many more frozen yogurt Chobani treats in our LeanPops molds! 

 Wowza Watermelon 

• 1 cup cubed watermelon
• 1/3 cup of water

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 2

Pineapple Express

• 1 cup pineapple
• 1/4 cup mango (3 slices)
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup of shredded carrot

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 3

Blueberry Meet Banana

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1/4 cup of 2% milk (substitute milk of your choice)

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 3

You can order your own by visiting www.LeanPops.com Mine are coming out of the dishwasher and getting refilled right away! Save $2 off of your July order.

Books to Belly: If You Give a Moose a Muffin & Yogurt Apple muffins

In my house, we are big fans of all Laura Numeroff books! IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN is a great children's story about asking for something that leads into many, many other somethings…(moms relate now)! The little boy in the story starts off giving moose a muffin- but the moose wants jam on his muffin. The moose comes inside for some of the mom's homemade jam. He wants more once they are all gone so they head out to the store; however, the moose finds himself chilly and asks for a sweater. The loose button on the sweater reminds him of puppet socks his grandmother used to make so he asks the boy for some old socks. Of course with a puppet show, you'll need scenery! One thing leads to another and moose asks for more and more from the boy. 

IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN is part of the If You Give…Book community , a group of animals and their human friends who laugh and play together, go to exciting places, celebrate holidays, and eat delicious treats. Another favorite of ours from this community is If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Trying new foods and eating healthily is such an important part of raising my children. I have found that being in the kitchen together has opened my kids up to doing just that. They love participating in the preparation of the foods they eat. Sometimes they love new foods, other times- they don't. I'll never know if they'll like something unless I try giving it to them. Our Books to Belly posts inspire picky pallets to try new foods while also promoting a love of reading. I cannot think of a better way to connect to a story - than with food! 

Of course with this story- we had to make muffins! These apple yogurt muffins are healthy and taste like little apple pies! They are absolutely delicious and taste like your eating something bad! 

Apple Yogurt Muffins

What you need

• 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chilled butter, divided
• 3/4 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-in. cubes
• 1 Tbs. flax seed
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray muffin cups with non-stick spray (or line with paper liners). In a bowl, whisk flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

2. Melt 1/4 cup butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, and melted butter. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in apples; set aside. 

3. In a food processor, combine flax seeds, oats, and remaining butter and brown sugar. 

4. Fill muffin cups almost to the top. Sprinkle each with 1 tsp. of seed mixture. 

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.
We hope your children love the muffins as much as they do the story! Enjoy!

Books to Belly: We're Going on a Bear Hunt & Trail Mix

The kids and I love a good trail mix. We make our own, mixing in our favorite healthy snacks. We make a big batch that's easily accessible- a great solution to grabbing a quick, healthy, satisfying snack on the go. You can even pre- bag it. We keep it simple by mixing up a granola, a nut, chocolate chips, and organic freeze dried yogurt bites. While making our latest batch, it reminded me of one of our favorite books, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. It was the perfect pairing with our trail mix.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury is about a family going on a hunt for a bear. On each page the family has to overcome different obstacles they come across in order to continue their hunt. As the family encounters each obstacle, they describe it by using sensory descriptions such as; long, wavy grass, a deep, cold river, thick, oozy mud, a big, dark forest, a swirling, whirling snowstorm, and a narrow, gloomy cave. By using a range of descriptive vocabulary, the reader can imagine themselves on a hunt. 

After reading the story, the kids and I threw on our jackets, grabbed our trail mix and set out for our very own hunt! Of course ours was not for a bear, so we completed the part of the story that is repeated throughout with our own animal we were hunting!

We're going on a squirrel hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
It's a beautiful day!
We're not scared. 

Trail Mix

• 1 11oz bag of KIND or Bear Naked granola (I find the clusters bigger & easier to grab than other granolas-best for little hands)
• 1 bag of Happy Family Happy Yogis (look in the health/organic aisle in your supermarket)
• 1 cup of Hershey's mini milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup of cashews, almonds or nut of your choice

Happy hunting!!

Pure Barre

Pure Barre Experience

I've been a member of a gym since the age of 19. I go hard, then fall off the workout wagon at times! I'm like a yo-yo gym go-er! I was excited when Pure Barre opened in Oceanside to try something different and to mix up my usual spin/ weights and cardio routine.  The studio is absolutely beautiful and private. I like that passerby's cannot look in! It's so clean and the staff is warm and welcoming. I didn't feel intimidated at all. 

There was a good mix of woman in the class I took. There were both big and small, young and old. Using light weights and a small ball, Amanda (who was an AMAZING instructor) led us through exercises consisting of small isometric movements. I liked the use of the ball- I felt it aided in focusing on the area we were working on. We also positioned it behind our lower back during the ab portion of the class and it was just the support I needed. 

There were some parts of the class that I found difficult. Not a can't breathe- I'm going to pass out kind of difficult, more of a burning, shaking difficult! Some of the movements were hard for me to perfect but I believe that will come with time and practice. The instructor corrected my form a few times when I couldn't make my body do what my mind was telling it to! A beginners class is highly recommended. 

I was sore for a few days after the class. My ass hurt in places that haven't in all my years of squatting! This is a GOOD thing ladies! My abs were sore, also a very good thing! The old exercise motto, "no pain, no gain" promises greater value rewards for the price of hard or even painful work…Pure Barre delivers!

If you're looking to tone up for summer, Pure Barre is for you. I believe with consistency and determination, you can transform your body practicing Pure Barre techniques. Give it a try. I took one class and I cannot wait to go back again, sore ass and all! 

Visit Pure Barre of Oceanside at 3563 Long Beach Road/ Sands shopping center (516) 766- 0465 and mention Secrets of a Momaholic for 15% off any purchase by 3/31/14. Use coupon code OceansidePB. 

Chocolate Covered Pretzels - in 10 minutes!

There are so many things you can do with these chocolate covered pretzels- besides eat them! They literally take 10 minutes from start to finish! Max helped line up the pretzels on the cookie tray. I asked him to make a pattern with the vanilla and chocolate. My little sous chef was very proud of himself!

Ingredients

• 1 bag of pretzel tiny twists (I used Rold Gold)
• 1 bag of Wilton candy melts in light cocoa
• 1 bag of Wilton candy melts in vanilla
• Wilton micro heart sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°

Line up pretzels on a cookie sheet (parchment paper optional)

Place chocolate in the center of each pretzel

Put the pretzels in the oven for 2 minutes

Remove from oven and sprinkle on hearts

Let stand for 5 minutes

I wanted to give Valentine's Day gifts with a homemade twist, especially since Max helped make them. I bought mini ramekins and filled them with the pretzels.

I made some extra to use as cupcake toppers for Chloe's Valentine's Day party at school. She was very excited to sample one when she got home yesterday!

For the time these yummy pretzels take, the possibilities are endless. My friend Kelly first introduced them with M&M's in the center of the chocolate! I could not stop eating them! I filled a large mason jar with the extras…I'm sure they will not last very long!

                      Happy Valentine's Day!!

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

These chocolate dipped marshmallows are so simple to make- my 4 year old even helped make them! Unbeknownst to him, his didn't make the editing cut! This made for a fun afternoon with the feel of an edible arts and crafts activity. If you plan on dining in with your family this Valentines Day, this is the perfect interactive dessert you can make with your kids.

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of jumbo marshmallows
• 1 12 ounce bag of Wilton candy melts in light cocoa (I melted 1/2 the bag)
• Wilton micro heart sprinkles
• Pink and white sprinkles
• Paper straws
• Wax paper

Direction:

Melt the chocolate following instructions on the bag. 

Line the counter with wax paper.

Push the straws into the marshmallow- do not push straw through the top.

Using the straw, dip the marshmallow in the chocolate while spinning it. 

Sprinkle desired amount of sprinkles on the melted chocolate of each marshmallow.

Lay on wax paper and let chocolate harden (20-30 minutes).

I purchased all materials except the jumbo marshmallows at Michael's. Find the jumbo marshmallows at your local supermarket.

Makes 12 marshmallows