healthy blueberry muffins

I’m not a fan of white cakey blueberry muffins, but I LOVE blueberries and muffins so I went on a search to find a healthier option (we have so many blueberries!). My ingredient requirement included oats, brown sugar, a small amount of butter and whole wheat flour. This Blueberry Oatmeal Muffin recipe met almost all of the requirements and they taste amazing!

Here’s the recipe if you want to give them a try:

You’ll need:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup all purpose flour (I substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat flour; 1/2 cup all purpose white flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk (I didn’t have any so I added 1tbsp lemon juice to one cup of milk; let stand for 5 mins so it has time to curdle)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup blueberries

Then you:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine oats and buttermilk in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl mix together flour, soda, salt, powder and sugar.
4. Add egg and butter to wet oat mixture and mix well.
5. Add oat mixture all at once to dry mixture and combine until you can’t see anymore dry bits.
6. Fold in blueberries.
7. Scoop batter into muffin cups.
8. Bake for 20 mins.

Eat as soon as they come out of the oven! Yum!

that’s hot

As a teenager I was a lifeguard at Professor’s Lake and all we cared about was who could get the darkest tan. I would come home from work burnt to a crisp. Now 15+ years later I wish I hadn’t been so stupid. You wouldn’t catch me lying in the sun without sun block.

Yesterday I headed to Kiehl’s to stock up on our summer sun protection. I love their Vital Sun Protection Lotion. It’s lightweight, not greasy and it doesn’t smell like coconuts and banana so it’s easy to use everyday. For the face I picked up Kiehl’s new Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50 – it’s super light weight (we’re talking watery) and it goes on with a matte finish (no oily skin).

If you do suffer from a burn this week or this summer here are a few tips (courtesy of Best Health Magazine):

• Soak the burn with a cool compress or a green tea compress.
• Take a cool bath with oatmeal – grind up a cup of oatmeal in your food processor and toss it in.
• Rub burned areas with cucumber or potato.
• Try vinegar compresses (it helps ease the pain) and if you’re itching soak in a tub with two cups of vinegar.
• Apply at light coating of aloe all over your skin before bed.

Goodbye sunburns and nasty wrinkles!

here’s the skinny

Wednesday night I went to the launch party for Molson Canadian Sublime 67. I enjoyed a few cold ones and a delicious three course dinner all courtesy of Molson (thank you!).

They passed out cards with calorie counters and I was shocked to learn how many calories are in our fave summer bevvies. If you want your bod to be bikini ready you might want to cut down on the following:

Smirnoff Ice – 250 calories/per bottle

Vodka Cranberry – 214 calories/ 7 oz. glass

Gin & Tonic (my fave) – 180 calories/ 7 oz. glass

Mojito – 169 calories/ 6 oz. glass

Caesar – 157 calories / 5.5 oz. glass

May I suggest a Molson Sublime 67?

quality over quantity

When you become a new mum one of the top things you are on top of is your babe’s diaper. Was there a big pee? What colour is his poo? These are questions I ask myself and the Hubs on the daily. It’s fascinating.

Recently we’ve been having diaper issues, actually explosive diaper issues. L’il E was going through several wardrobe changes a day because his diaper kept exploding up his back. Fortunately I solved the problem! It’s all about finding the right diaper for your baby.

If you’re having the same issue and you’re using disposables too (don’t hate me) I recommend you try Pampers Sensitive Swaddlers over Pampers Baby Dry. They’re a little more expensive but the Swaddlers absorb more and they cover more area (really important if you want to contain the poo and avoid 4:00 am wardrobe changes and laundry sessions).

It’s quality over quantity folks!

ice ice baby

On days like today, when it feels like 40C, all I want is a freezie (a big blue one from 7 Eleven). However, I always regret eating them – all that sugar gives me a belly ache.

Fortunately I discovered these Mott’s Fruitsations Juice Ice Bars on my grocery trip yesterday (on sale!). They’re made with 100% real fruit juice, contain no added sugar and come in three fruity-licious flavours: Summer Strawberry, Berry Delight and Country Apple.

They’re also a great cooling device for L’il E!

antique road show

Andrea Ford 2011

Every so often the Hubs and I wander west along Queen Street and snoop around Queen West Antique Centre. We love mid-century modern furniture and they’ve got lots of cool treasures (desks, couches, tables, chairs) to admire. I’m not sure why we bother; we always leave empty handed. That’s when we need our friend Andrea on speed dial to help us out.

Andrea is an interior stylist and the owner of RE:Style Studio (ever heard of it?) she helps clueless antique-ers bring their treasures to life through DIY workshops (re-upholstery anyone?). Her most recent offering is an antiquing trip to the South Simcoe Region this Thursday June 2. She’ll be taking 10 urbanites to the country (via passenger van) in search of diamonds in the rough at three market stores (some opened just for the trippers on that day). From 9:00 am to 9:00 pm participants will be shopping, lunching, light dining and taking in a play put on by the Arts Council. To register go here and if you go you’ll receive a discount on upcoming re-upholstering classes or studio time at RE:Style Studio (now that’s a deal).

Happy shopping!

wouldn’t it be nice

The Hubs, L’il E and I just got back from a long weekend away at Nana and Poppi’s in Halifax, NS. It was so nice having Daddy with us for three whole days! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have three-day weekends every weekend (in our dreams)?

Well, Michael Posner asked this question in last weekend’s Globe and Mail and I was so delighted to see that it’s not just me who longs for three-day weekends (obviously!). Posner asks – In an age of high-tech efficiency and higher productivity, why isn’t the working world organized to provide us with more leisure time? Well, that’s a good question! We’re constantly plugged in to our work via blackberries, iPhones and VPN set ups with our home computers so why the five day work week? We all know that Fridays in the office are a joke anyway – very little work gets accomplished while people put there time in surfing the web as they count the minutes to 5:00 pm.

Don’t you think we would be more productive if every weekend were a long weekend? More time to spend with our kids, more time to look after ourselves, and more time to get stuff done (am I right?)!

So, let’s start a campaign…if Betty White can host SNL because of a Facebook group then we can get Fridays off indefinitely!

Who’s with me?

the waiting game

Now that L’il E is almost four months old I’m on the hunt for child care options for when I return to work. I’ve still got eight more months to go, but daycare is competitive and I probably should have looked into this while I was still pregnant. I know it’s crazy to say that, but living and working downtown Toronto puts child care at a premium with very limited spaces. So far L’il is on two waiting lists (with very little hope) and the cost is an astronomical – $1600 per month (I know my jaw dropped too).

Fortunately there are mothers out there who are trying to make a change. Mothers for Child Care is a task force on child care that investigates the accessibility, quality and affordability of child care services in Toronto. They recently posted this survey and if you’re in the same boat as me or you have kids in daycare fill it out because the results will be compiled into a public report for media and decision makers.

Hopefully we can bring the cost down!

diy cosmetics bag

Now that I’ve got all kinds of scraps left over from my quilt I have fabric for some small easy projects that I’ve been wanting to get started. So, last night I churned out this super cute zippered pouch (I’m using it as a makeup bag). I love how the little birds fit so nicely in the bottom right corner (that was not intentional).

To make this sweet pouch I followed the zippered pouch tutorial on one of my fave craft blogs make it perfect.

Give it a try!

homemade soup for a rainy day

It was another rainy day and L’il E was a tired baby after a weekend away at Nana and Papa’s so he napped while I was busy in the kitchen. I made a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins and a pot of cream of broccoli soup (yum!). I love having portions of homemade soup in the freezer.

Itching for some homemade soup too?

Here’s what you need:

• 4 cups broccoli florets (2 heads of broccoli)
• 1.5 cups veg stock
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup grated aged cheddar cheese
• 1 cup coconut milk
• salt and pepp to taste

Then you:

1. Cook broccoli until tender in boiling water, drain.
2. Add veg stock to cooked broccoli and puree in a food processor.
3. In a pot on medium heat mix butter, flour, and coconut milk and cheese until bubbling.
4. Add broccoli puree to milk mixture and stir until heated through.

Serve with warm baguette and cheese on a cold rainy day.

Yum!