My Life as a Mom

If you're anything like me, dinnertime can cause a lot of stress. Everything from knowing what to make, being sure you have the groceries, juggling schedules, time it takes to cook, chopping vegetables, doing dishes...UGH!  The whole thing can be so overwhelming. It's what often leads me to either ordering pizza, stopping at McDonalds for kids meals, or using a go-to meal. Not that any of these are a problem occasionally, but when it becomes 3-4 times a week, it gets boring. Not to mention pizza and McDonalds are certainly not the healthiest option, and if your go-tos are like mine, they're not the healthiest either. That's why I LOVE Simple Plates from Thrive. With a bunch of different options to choose from and most of them ready in 20 minutes or less, these solve the majority of my dinner dilemmas. The chopping, measuring and prep work is all done. All I have to do is follow a few simple instructions, add water and butter, and voila! Delicious dinner

I adore soups during the winter! There is nothing better than enjoying a delicious warm soup when it's chilly outside. So I am always on the lookout for new soups. There seem to be lots of soups that are loaded with veggies, but those soups are also often loaded with carbs, so I've been working on soups that are low in carbs or free of carbs. The great side effect of that, is that it makes them great for those eating a keto diet. The recipe I came up with today, was SO SO good! And lucky for you, I wrote it down! So, what do you need for my Creamy Veggie & Sausage Soup? A bunch of veggies, obviously! So, the annoying thing about making veggie soup is all of the chopping. Want an easier way? That's when you need Thrive. Not only are thrive's veggies already chopped for you, but they are delicious and good for you. With no additives, or GMOs, they are the best veggies available! Combined with the fact that they cook quickly due to the nature of freeze drying, t

Today we are talking about Strawberry Yogurt Bites! They are such a great snack for toddlers, children and adults! One of my favourite things about yogurt bites is that they are low in sugar, they do have added sugar, but not as much as most other sweet snacks. They are creamy and delicious  and highly addictive! Today I will share with you three of my favourite ways to eat strawberry yogurt bites. I will even include recipes so you can make them at home. :) The first way that I use strawberry yogurt bites and probably the way I eat them most often is in a smoothie. I love yogurt bites in my smoothies because they make them creamier and add some sweetness. I drink at least one smoothie almost every day, and I use different combinations all the time, but this one is one of my favourites! Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie ( all ingredients are freeze dried products from Thrive Life foods) 1/4 cup kale 3/4 tsp lemonade powder 1/2 cup pineapple 1/2  cup strawberries 1/4 cu

You know how everyone has their go-to meal? You know, the one that you make when you just don't want to think about what to cook. Maybe you've had a long day, or have some extra kids in the house, or you just haven't had a chance to meal prep...  You don't want to eat out (or can't afford to!) and you need something that everyone will eat without complaining. What do you cook? That's your go-to meal. Here's mine.  The best part about this meal is that my 10-year-old now makes it and does a great job. So this go-to just got even better in my house!  I don't know about you, but I was raised on pasta. It's quick, easy and filling. And while I eat healthier for the most part, I do still love pasta-so add a salad or some chopped veggies, and this is a great meal! We use whatever pasta we have on hand, tonight it was penne noodles. I don't typically measure when I'm making this meal, I just add however much looks right, but for your be

Kale Sausage Soup I absolutely love soup, especially as it starts to get cold out. There's just something comforting about sitting down to a hot bowl of soup in the evening. It's even better with fresh buns, which I did not have tonight, but it's still great without. Tonight's soup was a hit even with my picky boys, they both ate up and asked for more! Mom win! This is by far the best soup that I have ever made without following a recipe! Lucky for you, I kept track of what I put in so that I can share the recipe! I've decided that I need to reduce my carbs again, not going full keto, just low carbs, so I made this recipe basically keto friendly. I did add vermicelli noodles to mine, but it's easy to leave them out and make it totally keto friendly.  Having freeze dried ingredients always on hand make soup so much easier! Tonight we had back to back hockey practices which put us at home late for dinner with two starving boys. I made this while one was

Yogurt Bites It's no secret that yogurt bites are one of the best snacks ever! My family eats them constantly,  we snack on them, put them in smoothies, make trail mixes and more. The options are endless! Recently we even made chocolate bark with them, and it was AMAZING! (I'll post on that later) Yogurt bites are a great food for infants and toddlers because they melt in the mouth and don't pose a chocking hazard!  Perfect for when toddlers are just learning to pick up things and feed themselves. Did you know that having toddlers pick up tiny things is important for the development of fine motor skills?  Open family can of pomegranate yogurt bites Yogurt bites come in three sizes, snackies bags (available in pomegranate and vanilla), pantry cans (available in pomegranate, strawberry, vanilla, blueberry, passionfruit, cherry and greek) or family cans (same flavours as pantry cans). My favourite way to buy them is in a six pack of pantry cans that comes with

Hey there! Today I want to talk about something I've become passionate about: Freeze Dried Food I know it sounds crazy and sounds like it's "moon food", but let me tell you, my family LOVES it! We use freeze dried food every day for snacks, meals and baking. But with freeze drying becoming one of the latest buzz words in the food industry, the question I get asked the most, is what IS freeze dried food? Freeze Drying is a process where food is flash frozen and then the moisture is removed through sublimation (sounds all sciencey doesn't it? Bet you never thought those junior high science classes would be handy!) For those of use that don't remember junior high science, sublimation is the process where (in our case water) is moved directly from a solid to a gas without passing through the liquid phase.  Kinda cool. OK, so what?? Why does that matter??  Think of your ice cube tray, have you ever left in in the freezer and just forgot about it? What happe