Wednesday, June 15, 2011

3 Events That Have Kept Me Busy

Hi!  Hope I’ve still got some readers left!  LOL  Life has been keeping me quite the busy bee, but in a super good way this time, unlike the stress I felt back in April.  On one hand I feel sad that I haven’t been blogging as much as I’d like, but on the other hand it’s not like I’ve been a lazy bird and just not posting; I’ve been out enjoying my kids, the weather, my gardens, etc!  And I must admit that I’ve spent very little time focusing on food.  Most night’s we eat out on the deck and it’s usually BBQ something or other and lots of fresh fruit!  Kinda boring to post about to be sure.  I do have 3 exciting events to tell you about today, though!  I’ll do my best to surround each occasion with the food I ate.
Trillium Cup Ball Hockey Tournament – May 27-29
So yes, as well as ice hockey and soccer Noah plays ball hockey from April to June.  We keep this sport low key as the other 2 are high level travel teams and we like to keep one sport for “fun”.  Jason is actually the coach for the BH team (The King Snakes….sounds fierce, right?  LOL) and enjoys this (volunteer) position immensely.IMG_0654    The skill level of the boys ranges from never picking up a hockey stick to high level ice hockey players and he does a fantastic job of balancing the lines to keep it fair.  Best of all, the team finished in first place of their division and are heading into the championship weekend which will also see the end of the season.IMG_0694   Back I at the end of May teams from my city as well as 4 others participated in what’s known as the Trillium Cup Championship.  Noah’s team from last year (which Jason assistant coached) won the title.  Well, this year they won it again!IMG_0711   After 5 games in 2 days and a championship game that went into over time, the Kingsnakes TOOK IT HOME!  And the absolute best part of it all is that the boy who scored the winning goal has never played hockey before this in his life.  Extra sweet with a cherry on top!  IMG_0747 IMG_0749 IMG_0750 IMG_0752 We decided on Indian for a celebratory meal.  Some appetizers were shared;IMG_5645 And for my main I rolled with the Coriander Chicken, Naan and a side salad.IMG_5646  The team went out to Kelsey’s for a meal the Saturday night and as boys will, they figured out that the cutlery was magnetized so they all tried very diligently to eat the meals with their forks hanging off their knifes.IMG_5769 
Yeah…..fun times!!  HAHA!!
Sarah’s Dance Recital-June 6-10
Last week my baby girl was busy with dance rehearsals and recitals.IMG_5791   She dances at a closed studio so I LOVE this time of year because I finally get to see what they’ve been up to for 9 months.  She dances hip hop and jazz…
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…..and has a blast at both.  Monday and Tuesday were the only 2 days I could get in the theatre with a camera so I did my best to take a zillion pictures!  She was actually getting all cranky pants on me even though I warned her that I’d be in her face.  HAHA!  Thursday Jason, Noah, my sister, Mom and I went to the opening night show.025  
A little over 2 hours of pure entertainment.  There’s definitely some mad talent at this studio! 035 Both of Sarah’s dances were group dances and she shone like a bright star.  The stage is truly her element!  026 She danced Friday as well, but we stayed back that night.  I like to let her have a bit of freedom at the second dance to teach her responsibility (there’s plenty of supervision) and to let her hang with her dance mates instead of family.    015 033 034 036
The following are some meals we ate the “week of dance”: IMG_0454 IMG_0456
Pasta with a jumbo shrimp/marinara sauce….IMG_5636 Pulled pork with a runny egg on top….IMG_5755 Grocery store sushi….IMG_5779 Toasted Silver Hills bread with roasted veggies and goat cheese.  All easy, quick meals for on the go nights.  YUM!
Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament June 10-11
And last, but not least there was a soccer tourney last weekend.  IMG_0887
The boys played 2 games on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday.  They made it to the finals and lost in a heartbreaker.  2-1 in double over time on a penalty shot.  Ugh!!!  It was a great time, though and the boys learned A LOT.  Here are a few fun photos:IMG_0942 IMG_0974 IMG_0998 IMG_1027 IMG_1031 IMG_1034 IMG_0878 IMG_0905 IMG_0919 IMG_1187 IMG_1059 IMG_1091 IMG_1130 IMG_1185 They had various vendors set up and rides for the kids.  There were food tents galore, as you can imagine!  I zoomed in on a cupcake truck, typical for me!  HAHA!IMG_5792
I went with a red velvet.  Pricy for a small cupcake, but very, very good!IMG_5793 Jason caught me red handed, too!IMG_0948
I’m surprised I didn’t turn into a sandwich over the weekend because that’s pretty much all I ate!  Lots of fruit, too.  We were sure to have lots on hand for the boys.
So, my friends, that sums up what has been keeping me from this blog.  Thanks for sticking through this post to the end; I realize that it’s quite family heavy/food thin, but that’s just how my life is right now.  I’m doing good in reading all your blogs, but haven’t had a chance to comment much.  BUT…I am keeping track of all your shenanigans! 
Bye for now!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Enjoy Life Foods Double Chocolate Crunch Granola & Semi Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks-Review

A few weeks ago I was lucky to receive a box of goodies from Enjoy Life Foods.  Inside there was a bag of Double Chocolate Crunch Granola and a bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks:IMG_0449
First, a bit about the company.  Enjoy Life Foods was founded early in 2001 and has 32 products on the USA market and 23 on the Canadian market.  Their products range from granola to trail mix to baking chocolate to cookies and bars.  All items are gluten free and allergy friendly.  They’re free of the top 8 allergens;
  1. wheat
  2. dairy
  3. peanuts
  4. tree nuts
  5. egg
  6. soy
  7. fish
  8. shellfish
Most are also free of:
  • potatoes
  • sesame
  • sulfites
  • casein
I must admit that the double chocolate crunch granola is divine and I’ve simply been eating it out of hand.IMG_0452  
Sarah loves it stirred into strawberry yogurt.  And Noah adds it to his morning bowl of cereal for some extra crunch  Some facts on the granola:
Ingredients: Brown Rice Flakes,Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Rice Syrup, Water, Rice Bran, Rice Crisps (Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Honey, Salt), Natural Process Cocoa Powder, Insulin (Chicory Root Fiber), Ground Flaxseed, Natural Chocolate Flavor, Honey,Vanilla, Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil), Salt, Rosemary Extract
NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE
Vitamins and minerals: Vitamins and Minerals: Magnesium, Iron,
Niacin (Vitamin B3), Zinc, Thiamin (Vitamin
B1), Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5), Folate,
Vitamin B6
  • Great for breakfast or snacking
  • Loaded with semi sweet mini chocolate chips
  • re-sealable, stay fresh package  (MAJOR POINTS HERE!!)
double_chocolate_granola
The mega chunks were super fun to bake with and made a nice sweet treat out of hand.  I baked a big batch of almond butter chocolate chunk cookies (for which I unfortunately lost the link to so please let me know if these are your so I can link back!!) IMG_0494 IMG_0492 The chunks held their shape yet proved to be melted morsels of love straight out of the oven; just like their dairy counter part.  The kids and I also topped many a pancake with  whipped cream cheese and chocolaty morsels!IMG_0487_1 YUMMY!  I also baked them into a batch of my dark chocolate chip avocado muffins.  Here’s some more info for you:
Ingredients: Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Chocolate Liquor (non-Alcoholic), Non-dairy Cocoa Butter
NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE
mega_chunks
These are 2 Enjoy Life Food products that I will definitely be purchasing again and again.  Especially the Chocolate Mega Chunks. 
Have you tried either of these products?  Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section.  After all, the more information out there the better, right??
You can read my other Enjoy Life product reviews here and here….
Bye for now!!