Granola!

Being a fan of granola and thinking I might actually eat breakfast more often I decided to see if I could save money and make some.

Following the below recipe from this website, I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to make granola.  Also it didn't cost much since I was able to buy the ingredients in the bulk food section.  Since making granola is a no brainer, it is a great recipe to make with kids and I'm excited about future batches and using some creativity.  I've eaten with plain yogurt, added it to the kids cereal and we also took some to the park to munch on overall a winner in this household.

Homemade Granola Recipe:

3 cups (300 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

3/4 cup (75 grams) sliced or slivered almonds

1/2 cup (45 grams) raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup (45 grams) raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 tablespoon (5 grams) wheat germ (optional)

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup (preferably Grade A Dark Amber)

1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, and/or raisins) (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Either butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, ground cinnamon, and salt. 
In a small bowl, stir together the oil (or melted butter), and maple syrup. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 - 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns evenly. (The browner the granola gets (without burning) the crunchier the granola will be.) Place on a wire rack to cool. You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools. Make sure to break up any large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Once the granola has completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks.
Makes about 5 cups.
Note:  Once the granola has cooled completely you can add a variety of dried fruits; cherries, cranberries, raisins, and apricots are popular choices.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/HomemadeGranola.html#ixzz254mA7lxW

Milk shakes, back to the basics

Summer heat, lack of inspiration and kids without much of an appetite led me back to my childhood and a favorite snack, milkshakes!  Easy, cool and a yummy afternoon treat how can you go wrong?

Get your blender ready.....
Toss in a handful of Ice
Milk, it is a milk shake after all, I would say I put up to about 2/3 of the ice with milk
handful of strawberries or other fruit

When I was a kid I liked making banana milk shakes but the bananas always seemed to be green, having no patience I would just throw in a little sugar to off set the bitter, green banana taste.  With all the diets and low calorie recipes out there I'm pretty sure a simple ice, milk, fruit shake keeps the calories low and taste high.

Banana, Nutella Bread

A favored banana bread recipe in our house nutella - swirled banana bread.  It's decadent so not repeated as often as it is craved.  When I was whipping up a batch this afternoon I was inspired to put stripes of the Nutella mixture instead of swirling it, because, well stripes are fun.  No matter striped, swirled, mixed in, this is good bread and a must try if you haven't.  I unfortunately did not get a picture of piece of the bread, the vultures (aka husband & kids) got to it before I had a chance to remember.  

The Gear. On the go with triplets! Part III

After the kids outgrew their snap & go car seats they simultaneously outgrew their Tripledecker stroller.  There are toddler seats that you can purchase to use in the Tripledecker, you can even use the toddler seats that attach to a bicycle.  We opted to not go this route when I found this amazing stroller.  When I say amazing, I mean life saving, awesome, easily lets me go anywhere with my triplets.

Without further ado.......Valco, Twin Tri Mode Ex stroller with Joey attachment. 



Why I love this stroller -
1. lightweight, it is a jogging stroller after all
2. folds easily, unsnap each side and then step on it
3. takes up little room in the car, it does carry 3 kids after all
4. accessibility, if a door is handicap accessible this stroller will fit!

Love, love, love.  The kids are 3 now and I still use my Valco stroller for regularly outings and the occasional stroll through the mall where I need to keep them contained.  If you have triplets and want independence to be out and about with them this is a must!   It seems like an expensive set up but we got the Twin Tri Mode off of Craig's list for $250(!) and then only had to buy the separate Joey seat.