I’ve recently come around to breakfast puddings for several reasons, not the least of which is that they can be prepared the day before. Though I don’t mind cooking breakfast, there is really something so easy about having it ready the second I come downstairs! One of my favorite flavors of pudding is the chocolate avocado chia pudding. It takes just a few ingredients: grassfed milk, avocado, raw cocoa, and chia seeds, vanilla, and honey, and you are all set.
Last month a super fun book arrived in the mail for me to peruse, Stirring up Fun with Food: Over 115 Simple, Delicious Ways to Be Creative in the Kitchen. Initially I figured it was just another celebrity cookbook, but upon further inspection I realized that it is not just a just-for-kicks publishing project. This book is, in fact, amazingly cool and features terrific recipes for families. Sarah Michelle’s whole premise is making food fun for kids. But the key is that it is regular food – not “kiddie” food that a parent would never want to try. Here she and Gia have taken delicious recipes and made them a little more fun for children, but kept them perfectly appealing for the whole family.
Luckily, I got to have a little e-chat with Sarah Michelle about her work and here are a few fun things she shared! :
Sometimes I buy bananas and they last for a week on the counter and the kids eat them all time. Other times they turn brown within 24 hours of coming home from the store! It’s so frustrating, but that just gives me another excuse to bake. In an attempt to break away from our favorite banana bread recipe I made this easy banana crumb muffins with our latest round of brown bananas.
When I get into a cooking rut the first thing I do is turn to recipes and books I love. Sometimes I just spend a week or so revisiting old recipes. Other times I decide to crack open favorite books and challenge myself to try something new. It can be anything from a full dinner recipe, to a quick baked treat, to a cocktail. There is no limit to what I’ll try and having someone else already have written the recipe for me a huge help. Not to mention, reading the recipes of others is a terrific learning opportunity. Hardly a recipe goes by when I don’t learn a new technique or flavor pairing.
It’s that season again…time for new books! I’ve been loving all the new covers I’ve seen popping up on my screen lately. It’s been wild to see all the good stuff that is coming out this spring. I can’t wait! Here are five books I’ve pre-ordered or ordered so far this season:
Provence to Pondicherry: Recipes from France and Faraway by Tessa Kiros. I am a longtime fan of Tessa’s and this book is one of her best. It is equal parts history book, travel companion, and cookbook. Fascinating and lovely, a joy to read. (released March 7th)
I have to stop in today to share some cool stuff I just got from TripAdvisor. I’ve recently started working with them and I am so excited to dive into their brand. I’ve always loved using TripAdvisor for advice on where to eat and sleep when I travel. The site is without a doubt the most comprehensive travel site on the web and it is my first stop whenever I need information. People always write in with the best advice and I love reading their comments. Recently TripAdvisor teamed up with eBags on a new luggage collection and I was lucky enough to preview it.
We celebrate many holidays in our house and one of them, which we are celebrating today, is National Cereal Day. I know, I know, it’s definitely not the most important holiday on the calendar, but it certainly is a fun one. Today we celebrated it with a bunch of goodies my friends at General Mills Cereal sent me last week. There were boxes of our favorite cereals, a pretty personalized spoon, pretty paper fans, and more.
I have to stop in today to share some cool stuff I just got from 
