Açaí Bowls

While road tripping home from Utah, we stopped for the night in Albuquerque and had our first Açaí bowls for breakfast and I have been obsessed ever since! Luckily they are super easy to make at home! They have become my favorite way to start the day. They are so yummy and so fun and easy to make. I love making each one look like an amazing work of art! They are super versatile, you can add tons of things, or make them really simple, whatever you want to do!

First, you will need Açaí. I buy the frozen paste from Trader Joes. I use half a packet for each bowl. I haven't seen frozen Açaí anywhere else. But most grocery stores sell Açaí juice which will work just as well as the paste.

You can make them in so many different ways, but for a base, this is what I start with;

1/2 packet Açaí (or about 1/3 cup of juice)
1/3 cup Frozen Berries
1 Banana (I use frozen)
1/3 cup Milk or Milk alternative (I use almond milk)

If you are using Açaí juice, I highly recommend using all frozen berries and bananas and possibly adding ice to get the right consistency, you want it really thick.
Sometimes I also add yogurt, protein powder, kale and spinach, whatever you want!

For toppings I always use;

fruit
granola
shaved coconut
chia seeds
honey

Again, whatever you can dream up! I just use whatever fruit I have on hand. I feel like Açaí is a little tart so I love using a little honey drizzle for a sweetener, but my hubby finds just the Açaí to be sweet enough. I'm currently obsessed with this granola from Trader Joes. So yummy!

And obviously you don't have to decorate the top all carefully, but I love doing it!

Have any fun things you add to yours? I want to hear about it!

Enjoy!

Perfect Summer Mint Limeade

Early in the days of dating and young love, Dave and I came across delightful, made on the spot Mint Limeade at the Downtown SLC Farmer Market. Since it was a bit of a drive to the market (and now it's really quite the drive to that market) we've figured out our own recipe for the wonderfully refreshing Mint Limeade. I may have shared this recipe before, but I feel that it still needed some tweaking. Now, I am quite happy with where it's at, so here it is! It's really quite easy and the perfect summer beverage. 

What you will need;

8-10 limes, juiced
1 bunch fresh mint
3/4 sugar
2 quarts water 

What to do;

Fill up your pitcher with water, and sugar. Whisk in sugar until dissolved.

Now the most difficult part of this recipe is juicing the limes. Often times they are beasts to juice by hand. You could throw them in an electric juicer, but, at least with my juicer, I have to peel them first, so no thanks. So my trick is to first slice all the limes in half, and throw them all in the microwave for 15 seconds. Sounds weird, I know, but this will make them a bit softer and easier to juice so you can get more juice out of them. My favorite tool is a hand press juicer which you can usually get from any store for about $10. Worth it! Obviously add the lime juice to your pitcher and stir together.

If you don't have something to help with juicing and don't feel like you got much juice out by hand, just put the halved limes in with the water and all other ingredients and just let it all marinade for 2-4 hours. I often will do this at the start of dinner when I am feeling too lazy to juice the limes and then the limeade is ready once I am all wrapped up with dinner! Easy peasy! 

This part might sound like a lot of work, but really it's not! And most importantly, don't just give up and use the pre-bottled nasty lime juice. I repeat. DO NOT USE NASTY BOTTLED LIME JUICE. That goes for the syrupy frozen stuff too. Just do it fresh my friends! Otherwise we can't be friends! 

Next, tear up the mint leaves, usually just tearing each mint leaf in two, you don't need to chop them up small or anything, and add that to the pitcher and stir a bit. The flavors are usually ready in about an hour. You can leave the mint and limes in the pitcher for up to 4 hours. I usually take out the mint and limes at about the four mark as it starts to get a little too strong, and the limes can start to break down and make it too acidic. 

Some people like it more sweet, some people like it more tart, that's up to you! But I promise, it will be wonderfully refreshing for a slow rock on the porch on a hot summer day! 

Enjoy!

Avocado Enchiladas

My mom introduced me to this recipe that she found via Pinterest. It is so good and so easy! Avocado is probably my number one favorite food, so a dish that is jam packed with avocado? Ya, I'm gonna love it! And this is pretty quick to whip up! So it wins even more points! 

I'm not sure where this recipe originally started since I have seen it on tons of blogs, but here is my version of it;

What you will need;

4 cups shredded chicken 
1 1/2 -2 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
8-10 large flour tortillas
1/2 medium onion
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
2 avocados
1 jalapeno (optional)
1 bunch cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Juice of 1 lime

Directions;

In a blender combine onion, heavy cream, chicken broth, avocados, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin, salt, garlic powder and lime until well combined. Should be a nice creamy sauce.

I boil my chicken and shred it in my stand mixer. Never done that? Ready to have your life changed. Click here for an easy how to! 

Add 1/2 of the avocado cream mixture to your chicken and mix well. 

Spread 1/2 of the remaining avocado cream on the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.

Add 2-3 spoonfuls of chicken to a tortilla and roll up, and place in baking dish, seam side down.

Top with remaining avocado cream,

and cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted to your liking. 

Top as you wish! I like to top it with tomatoes, even more avocado, lots of sour cream, and Cholula! 

Enjoy!

Do you have are recipe you love that is loaded with avocado?? 
Let be know in the comments below!

Wildflower's Fresh Veggie Omelette - Under 300 Calories

I've become slightly obsessed with omelettes as of late. I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner. They are so quick and easy to whip up, flavorful and healthy! Here is one of my favorite omelette's as of late.

What you will need; 

1 large mushroom washed and chopped
Handful of fresh spinach
2 tablespoons pico de gallo
3 tablespoons cheese of your choice
3 egg whites 
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop mushroom and place with spinach in a small pan. Drizzle with olive oil.

Saute on medium heat till spinach is wilted

Turn off the heat and remove veggies from pan and set aside. 

Next, add the egg whites to the pan and cook on low heat. I buy the egg whites in the carton which is pretty cheap and lasts a while so I don't have to waste any yolks. Follow the directions on the carton to know how much to use. I use about 3 tablespoons. 

The pan should still have enough oil left over from sauteing the veggies, but add more if it doesn't look oiled to prevent any sticking.

Most people recommend flipping the egg to ensure both sides are fully cooked. I hate dealing with flipping it, so I put a lid on it and this cooks both sides nicely. Easy!  

After about 1 and 1/2 minutes add the cheese, salt and pepper, and cover again, cooking for another 1 and 1/2 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Add veggies,

Fold and serve!

Enjoy!

Cowboy Caviar

I got this recipe from my sweet Aunt. She made it for me once and I think I ate half the bowl all by myself. This stuff is amazing! Colorful, flavorful and fresh, and easy to whip up in a big batch to share! Perfect for summer BBQ's and picnics! 

Here's what you need

1 can black-eyed peas (drain and rinse)
1 can black beans (drain and rinse)
1 can corn (drain only and rinse)
1 cans Rotel tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4-5 chopped green onions
1 chopped fresh tomato
1 chopped green bell pepper
1, 16 oz bottle Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (you will only need half the bottle, about 1 cup)
Garlic powder to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and stir in dressing. Allow to sit 4-24 hours before serving. It's better if you make it ahead and let it sit and absorb all the flavors overnight for maximum flavor. Serve by it's self or with tortilla chips.

*Wildflower's recommendation; make sure to buy all low sodium canned goods!

Enjoy!

Clean Eating Challange

So Dave has made all these internet friends over the past month who have been giving him health and fitness tips. After our trip to North Carolina (post on that coming soon!) we felt so UGH after all the yummy but unhealthy eating.

One friend Dave has met started a 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge that we joined in on. I have decided not to post about it here but will be talking about it on Instagram but mostly on Tumblr, so feel free to follow along there! We are on Day 1 and it's going great so far! Loving it!

Happy Monday!!

Spring Spring Spring Cleaning

Over the past few weekends I have been slowly doing my spring cleaning and this past weekend I finally felt like finally, I was done (mostly). I got pretty much neat and organized with everything and the little things cleaned and dusted and my art and pictures happily hanged. I have a few more things I want to hang up, once I buy frames....

Here are a few shots of our bedroom with our new bedding that I am in love with! Who knew simply getting new bedding could make a girl so happy! (even better yet, bedding I didn't have to pay for... Thanks daddy!)

I will be doing a collage of black and white wedding pictures to go over the bed, just haven't had the time, or really the money to do it. Hahaha.

And here is the other half of our bedroom: My office. I seriously should have taken pictures of the mess before! It really wasn't that bad... We just had this ever growing stack of junk mail and papers to go through that is now organized and filed away! Yay!

And a little decor I have hanging above the desk:

The Brownie was a Christmas gift from mom and dad.

The pine cone was from a hike Dave went on about a month ago that he brought back for me.

And I have new found love for Owls! This little guy came in a four pack of owl Christmas ornaments. I will replace him with a larger owl once I find one...

Waking up and coming home to my spotless and organized place is so so refreshing and relaxing!

I am super OCD about things being clean, folded, straight and in their proper place. I know I drive Dave nuts. One of the first things I said to my dad when he came to visit last week was

"Please take off your shoes, I just mopped."

I am pretty dedicated to keeping the place clean. I found this little 30 day cleaning schedule a while ago and I love it. I feel like I save all my cleaning for the weekend, my days off. Boo. But this little schedule really helps in keeping my weekends not cleaning jam packed.

I found this off of Apartment Therapy (that site is awesome!) and I printed it out and we go off of it for our cleaning. The schedule we have hung up I adjusted it a little for us but this is the exact one off the website which you can find here.

1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)

2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)

3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)

4. Surface clean "extra" rooms (basement, office, play room)

5. Surface clean living room and kitchen

6. Clean bathrooms

7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)

8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don't forget stairs)

9. Surface clean bedrooms

10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)

11. Clean bathrooms

12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)

13. Surface clean "extra" rooms

14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)

15. Surface clean living room and kitchen

16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)

17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.

18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry

19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they're often our home away from home)

20. Surface clean living room and kitchen

21. Surface clean bathrooms

22. Surface clean bedrooms

23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable

25. Surface clean living room and kitchen

26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)

27. Surface clean bathrooms

28. Surfaces clean bedrooms

29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)

30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

To this list you can also add chores that are to be done monthly or quarterly. It's easier to plan for larger tasks like steam cleaning a sofa or heavy traffic hallway, then it feels like part of the routine instead of that thing you keep putting off and dreading.

Habits are formed by doing and one of the best ways to change a bad habit is to replace it with another action. So if the time spent right when you come home from work is usually filled with email reading and a small nap, try switching it out with your cleaning instead. Making the 20 minute time slot routine will build good habits and help you stay on top of the game without feeling like it's a real chore.

I love having a step my step to keep track of every thing to do so I don't miss anything. So helpful! Thought I would share!

Do you like how I edited the pictures in this post? I did them really different from how I normally do but I am really liking them!

Happy Wednesday!