Thursday, February 24, 2011

Berries!


I'm so happy that good fresh berries are starting to enter the regular grocery stores again! You can get them at Costco year round, but I don't always have the time to go to Costco.

I use berries in plain yogurt and oatmeal in the mornings. The kids and I love them!

Blessings Abound Mommy is hosting a great giveaway for five winner to win a 2 $5.00 coupons for free Driscoll's Berries!

Hurry, the giveaway ends soon!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

CSN | Stores Product Review

I had the pleasure of reviewing a Women's Flirty Apron in Scarlet Blossom from CSN | Stores.
So far I haven't come across anything I don't like about this apron.



Here are the things I like:
  • It has 5 stars reviews from 3 reviewers on CSN | Stores website! 
  • It's marked down from $39.99 to $29.85.
  • I love the color and pattern! The pattern is inspired by magnolia and aster flowers. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska where magnolia's are dwarf ones. When I moved to Savannah, Georgia for two years fell in love with their huge beautiful magnolia trees!
  • The pockets in the front of the apron are great. Especially for when I have little hands trying helping me in the kitchen. ;)

  • It's super easy to put on. 
  • It's one size fits all.
  • It washes up nice! I was worried about the red color bleeding into the white, but this did not happen.
  • The material is 100% soft cotton.
This morning I made banana bread. The recipe is super easy!


It still has the sugar, but a lot less fat!


  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Spray two bread pans. Set aside.
  3. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder together.
  4. Mix in the milk and yogurt.
  5. Mix in olive oil and egg whites.
  6. Mix in mushed banana's. Cooking Tip - If the banana's are not ripe, I peel and microwave them to soften them up. 
  7. Mix in apple sauce. You can replace the apple sauce with fresh grated apple.
  8. Add in chopped nuts.
  9. Pour enough mix to fill the bottom of two well sprayed pans. Lightly sprinkle in chocolate chips, add in the rest of the mix, lightly sprinkle on some more chocolate chips. Cooking Tip - If the chocolate chips are mixed into the batter, the bread sometimes sticks to the pan. 
  10. Cook for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

Monday, February 7, 2011

Tofu Croutons

We eat salad's a lot. I like croutons, but have been experimenting with a healthier alternative.

My first is this one:


  1. All you do cut extra firm tofu into cubes {set aside}. 
  2. On a small plate: Add a thin coat of cornmeal, sprinkle crushed red pepper {set aside}.
  3. In a frying pan: Coat with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and set the burner to a medium temperature.
  4. Coat the tofu in the cornmeal mixture on all sides.
  5. Plop the tofu into the pan to cook all sides. It doesn't take long!
  6. Add to your salad and enjoy!
My second one {a little more cheesy}:


  1. All you do cut extra firm tofu into cubes {set aside}. 
  2. On a small plate: Add a thin coat of Parmesan cheese, sprinkle crushed red pepper and garlic salt {set aside}.
  3. In a frying pan: Coat with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and set the burner to a medium temperature.
  4. Coat the tofu in the Parmesan cheese mixture on all sides.
  5. Plop the tofu into the pan to cook all sides. It doesn't take long! It may stick a little.
  6. Add to your salad and enjoy!
  7. You can add the extra cheese that wasn't used to your salad.

Tropical Traditions Whole Golden Flax Seed Giveaway!

I have a giveaway going on right now on my other site to win a package of Tropical Traditions Whole Golden Flax Seed. Just click here to enter!


There will be low entries because this is the first giveaway I have offered on that site.