DIY Sweet Stuff

Increasing costs of items each time you make a trip to the grocery can be somewhat frustrating especially for those of us who prefer healthier choices. One product for sure that is used often when transforming your diet is yogurt. It used used in countless breakfast recipes which is usually the power meal that kick starts the day. If you noticed the cost of yogurt recently you would definitely want to try this as it will help you save as well as encourage you to continue your healthy lifestyle.  This particular recipe takes some patience and is recommended to be done on  day that you intend to be at home for most of the day. Important tools required for this is a thermometer and a crock pot, if you ever attempted to make homemade fudge, this recipe is somewhat like that in regards to following each step in detail. No substitutions and every step must be done on point with instructions provided.  For adding the yogurt with live cultures it is recommended using pla...

Blueberry Cream Cheese Swirly Bread Ingredients: 1 Cup Milk 2/3 Cup Sugar 1 1/2 Tbs Active Dry Yeast 1/2 Cup Softened Butter 2 Large Eggs Zest of 1 Lemon (Optional) 1/2 Tsp Salt  4 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour Filling: 10 oz Frozen Blueberries 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar 8 oz Cream Cheese (Room Temperature) 3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar The Glaze: 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar 3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream Instructions: In a small bowl warm milk in the microwave at 30 second intervals until warm to the touch. Pour the milk into the stand mixer, add sugar and yeast. Cover and leave undisturbed for 0 minutes until frothy. Next add butter, eggs and grated lemon zest and salt to milk mixture mix until well incorporated. Then add flour and beat on low - medium speed till a soft dough is formed (3-5 mins). Increase speed and beat until dough is soft and comes away from sides of the bowl. Whilst waiting for dough to raise prepare cream cheese filli...

French Toast with Cream Cheese and Blueberry Jam This particular item is something I can enjoy over and over with my children and is probably one of the few things I prepare for them that I do. Usually their comment would be "mummy why do you make all these nice things but you don't eat"? I know when persons reach a particular age calories and weight goes hand in hand and that many try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With this in mind a few variations of this French Toast will be provided. For this recipe I have used our local kiss sandwich loaf and even the whole wheat for a healthier option, if there is such a thing for French Toast ! Nevertheless I find the whole wheat holds up better when soaked in the liquid mixture.  For the all the health conscious, I have recently experimented using Ezekiel 7 Grain Sprouted Bread and let me tell you that the sky's the limit when you love to cook.  These breads are available in different flavours (cinnamon and rais...

This was done for Easter 2015 as treats for nieces and nephews, using a "Classic Spritz" recipe I discovered on wilton.com. However, any cookie recipe of your choice can be substituted and decorated for the same finish.  Recipe: Makes 7-8 dozens Ingredients: 1 1/2 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract (Dark Extract can be substituted)  3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1 1/2 Cups Butter 1 Cup Granulated Sugar 1 Egg 2 Tablespoons Milk  Instructions:  Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Step 2 In a bowl combine flour and baking powder, set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy.  Add egg, vanilla extract and mix well. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until well combined. Attach desired patterned disk and fill cookie press with dough. Press cookie dough mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet. Step 3 Bake 10-12 minutes or until ed...

Recipes posted have been personally prepared by the author of the blog and pictures of such posted. Suggestions as to how certain ingredients or techniques can be altered in preparing these recipes are also included to make the process much easier.  Cauliflower Pizza Crust Ingredients: 1 small to medium cauliflower head (must yield 3-4 cups after processing) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( I used crumbled) 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (cheddar cheese can be substituted) 1 egg 1 tablespoon of almond meal (processed almonds) Tomato sauce  Parchment Paper (Important) Instructions: Place pizza sheet or pizza stone in preheated oven of 450 degrees. Wash and dry a small head of cauliflower, trimming off mostly the florets and discarding the stems. Place in a food processor and pulse until fine, about 30 seconds, this should give about...

Overnight Oats This recipe provides a healthier breakfast option for those persons who maintain a healthy lifestyle. Personally oats can be very bland on the palette but most times it is incorporated with a variety of other products to make it more edible. This particular recipe is available on the "My fitness Pal" application and it gives a very interesting twist on consuming oats. The following is my version of overnight oats.  Feel free to experiment with your milks, yogurts, fruits and spices, you can also play around with different types of each when preparing it each time to see which mix works best for you.  I usually prepare this using a magic bullet however, whatever you have available such as: mason jars or containers can be used for preparation.  Recipe: Serves 2 Ingredients:  1/2 Cup Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned) 1 Cup Low Fat Yogurt  1 Cup Almond Milk/Low Fat Milk 1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds 1/2 Cup Fresh/Frozen...