Nutella Milkshake

There's no doubt that in my family, we all love Nutella! Some time ago my brother asked me to make a Nutella milkshake. Commercial made Nutella milkshakes are becoming very popular at coffee and doughnut shops everywhere lately. I've had a few and they're very tasty but as always I'm sure I can make it better at home, so of course I said yes to the challenge!

There are a million recipes that use Nutella, this definitely isn't gonna be the last one. This recipe is really very simple, but making it perfect for your tastes means adjusting the amounts little by little and tasting as you go along (I'm sure you won't mind though). It all depends on how intense a Nutella flavor you want. I really hope you guys love it as much as we did. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

vanilla ice cream
milk
nutella
ice

Procedure:

Put the ice cream and the Nutella in the blender.

Add the milk and the ice.

Blend away!! Enjoy!!

Oatmeal Drink

When my husband and I started dating he would take me to a little Mexican restaurant near our university. I remember when we first went he ordered an "horchata". What the hell is horchata? Yes that's exactly what I asked him. Horchata is a popular drink in Mexico made with rice flour, milk, sugar and cinnamon. I tasted it that day with him and fell in love with it.

I've since wanted to play with the concept and I came upon this variation which substitutes rice flour with ground oatmeal (which is more widely available in the US and Europe). It's a great alternative and very, very tasty.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons of Ground Oatmeal
2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon


Procedure:

Pour the milk in the blender.

Add the ground oatmeal.

Add the white sugar and salt.

Add the cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Mix well.
(If desired refrigerate as it's very refreshing when chilled.) 

Enjoy!

Super Easy Coleslaw

Picture it: springtime, sunshine and flowers after a long winter. Things are finally warming up so you and your family celebrate with a nice picnic or a barbecue. So what do your serve? Coleslaw of course! It's the classic outdoor side and it works great indoors too. Earlier this year was my son's first Easter celebration with our family. We hid the eggs and set up the grill... and of course I served my very popular coleslaw. It was a great day and a very tasty meal! Not only is it quick and easy to make it tastes great too. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

cabbage
carrot
red onion
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to  taste

Procedure:

Cut the cabbage, the onion and the carrots.

In a bowl mix the mayonnaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, the salt and the ground black pepper. 

Once everything is chopped and mixed, start adding the cabbage mixture to the mayonnaise mix.

Add the red onion.

Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!!

Carrot Baby Food

As promised here's another baby food recipe. Colorful, tasty and healthy, carrots are one of my son's favorites. As usual it's a pretty simple recipe to follow. The first time i made them I let them simmer in water, but I've found out it's better to steam them. Steaming preserves the flavor and color much better. My son seems to think so too.  ;)

Ingredients:

Carrots
Water

Procedure:

Put the carrots into the saucepan at a medium temperature.

As soon as they're soft, take them off the stove.

Blend them with a hand blender, stand blender or food processor.

Add a little bit of the water from the saucepan to make it smoother.

I put the baby food in a pastry bag. (I find it easier to handle.)

Pour into ice trays or breast milk pouches. Then put them in the freezer.

Watermelon Baby Food

It's Summer time and that means it's hot everywhere, especially here in the tropics. So I decided to make watermelon cubes for my baby. Adults love these too, but they're especially great for kids and not just as a frozen treat. My son has been teething these past few months. I'm not comfortable with the trend of using of analgesics for teething that's recently become more and more popular with mom's. I'm sure this rings a bell with a lot mom's out there too, but the fact remains that hearing our baby scream in pain isn't something we want either, so what can we do? Enter chilled watermelon baby food!

Not only does it help our son with the heat, but the cold helps numb the pain instantly and best of all he totally loves it!

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as me and my baby boy!

P.S.

These can also be frozen in an ice tray as a tasty substitute for ice cubes, or even turned into popsicles.

Ingredients:

Seedless watermelon


Procedure:

Cut the watermelon in chunks.

Puree with a hand blender.

Once blended pour them in the ice cube mold.

Freeze them. Once frozen you can cut them and put them into a mesh teether and serve to your teething child for quick, soothing relief. 

Watermelon Water

When we got pregnant, my husband and I decided not to buy anymore soft drinks in the house. The only thing available to drink was water, homemade lemonade, and homemade fruit punch (plus the occasional smoothie). For the most part I drank water but every now and then I got tired of it and decided to make something different. So I decided to make watermelon water. This recipe is super easy to do and it tastes delicious! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as me and my hubby!

Ingredients:

1 large Watermelon (seedless)
Water (to taste)
1 Tablespoon of sugar


Procedure:

Buy a seedless watermelon. 

Cut the seedless watermelon in small pieces.

Put the watermelon in the blender or hand blender.

Add the water and the sugar. Blend well.

Pass through a sifter or sieve to remove any solids.

Shake well and enjoy!

Sweet Peas Baby Food

Remember when I said I was gonna be making more baby food recipes? I have indeed been making loads of baby food, but while I'm preparing them I always forget to take pictures. Luckily, thanks to my amazing husband I remembered to take pictures of this recipe. I haven't had any problems with my son eating whatever I've made, until today! This is the first time he literally closed his mouth and jerked his head away to let me know he didn't like it. So there's a first time for everything. I asked my pediatrician if I could mix the sweet peas with another baby food to coax him into eating them and he gave the ok. So I will let you guys know how it went with Mikhael, my beautiful baby boy. 

I never use frozen or canned produce for my baby food, but in this case I didn't have an option. The only way I found them was frozen. I will add the other recipes soon and upload the pictures as I make them again.

Ingredients:

1 package of sweet peas
3 cups of water


Procedure:

Pour the water in a saucepan and throw in the sweet peas.

Bring to a boil and let it cook for 6 to 8 minutes.

 When the peas soften take them out of the saucepan.

Put them in a food processor or grab a hand blender.

Blend them adding a little bit of the water you cooked them in.

Once you finish blending, put it in ice trays or breast milk pouches. Finally put them in the freezer.

Enjoy!!