Happy Weekend, my dears! Today, I’ve got a special treat for you. I’ve got an adorable guest blogger who has graciously allowed me to share two of her favorite recipes with you.

My daughter, Rebecca, is homeschooling for her 8th grade year. Since we didn’t really have a choice as to whether or not the kids would be staying home this school year, we decided to electively homeschool through a charter.

So we had a little more freedom with our curriculum.

I want my kids to really love learning- to be passionate about something. And Rebecca is passionate about food. (Where does she get that, I wonder?)

So in lieu of a boring writing curriculum, she decided to start a food blog. Each week, she researches a region or ingredient and learns about it. She writes an essay with her research, and ties in one of her favorite recipes. Then, she cooks through that recipe and shares it with the family. Her brother Chase is the happy recipient of one of these açaì bowls on the daily. This is why I had four children, people. #sharetheload.

You can follow Rebecca’s kitchen adventures here if you want: Fresh + Fit Kitchen. We hope you like the recipes! Post and tag us if you make them 🙂

Açaí Bowls

by rebecca sky

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Prep time: 5-8 minutes Blend time: 1½ minutes Total time: 7-9½ minutes Feeds: 1-2 people (depending on how much you want in your bowl)

Todays recipe is surely the best recipe yet. I promise you, the moment you put this delicious, completely homemade recipe into your mouth your mouth just gets a burst of cold, fruity flavor. My mouth is already watering while writing this, I mean look at that! There are many many different recipes to açaí bowls but this one is my favorite. I included two different pictures of açaí bowls to show you that you can make them multiple different ways. I have a homemade granola recipe I just posted so make sure you go check that out as well! This beauty of a bowl is a blended fruit base of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The fun part is all the stuff you can put on top of the bowl, you can literally go crazy with the condiments and it will only make the bowl better. But, always remember less is more! I make açaí bowls all the time for me. Then one time I made them for my brothers and they ask for it literally every single day haha. I got a bit tired of making them for my little brother Chase all the time so he asked if I would teach him how to make it. So I did but now he can just print this recipe and make it in the kitchen. I hope you all enjoy this amazing, perfect for summer recipe! Enjoy!

This açaì bowl is a little different than others. For more flavor and protein I add vanilla protein powder and for more thickness instead of the açaì packets I add less milk and more frozen fruit. You want the base of the açaì bowl to be thick and scoopable, not watery. Basically, you want to make sure to blend your base until it’s smooth with as little liquid as possible. Start with ⅓ cup and add a tiny bit as you need it. If you add too much, you can add a bit more frozen fruit and it will thicken up again.

The very first coconut was found by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, found growing on Tropical islands throughout the Indian Ocean (coco, 1). The Portuguese explorers actually named it “coquo” (coco) which means “small animal” because, the eyes and the mouth on the brown outer shell reminded them of a grinning face of a monkey (coco, 1). Coconut trees have been discovered as growing near coastal waters all over the world. About 85% of the worlds coconut production originates in the Philippines and Indonesia, while India and Sri Lanka provides the remaining 15% (coco, 2). Coconut trees can surprisingly grow up to 100 feet tall! These trees can also provide thousands of coconuts that can last up to 70-100 years!! (coco, 2)

This fruit is also very healthy for you. God created them being high in manganese, which is essential for bone health and the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and cholesterols. Coconuts also are rich in copper and iron which helps form red blood cells, as well as selenium, which protects your cells from illness (healthline, 1). Over all, coconuts are extremely healthy for you. Once again God made yet another super fascinating and delicious fruit.

God has blessed us graciously with yummy fruits that are good for us, so make sure to give thanks to Him!

Enjoy this weeks recipe everyone!

“So whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God!”1 Corinthians 10:3

Utensils You Will Need For This Recipe:
  1. Blender (preferably Ninja)
  2. Bowl
  3. Spoon
  4. Knife
Ingredients For Bowl:

︎ 1½ cups of frozen mixed fruit berries

︎ ½ banana

︎ 1 small scoop vanilla protein powder

︎ ⅓ cup of vanilla almond milk (or regular, but vanilla gives more flavor)

︎ 1 frozen açaì berry bowl packet (you can get them at a local grocery store. I get mine at Trader Joe’s)

Condiments On Top:

You can put any of these on top nuts, berries, seeds, protein, these are just suggestions but I use most of these!

  • ︎ Peanut Butter
  • ︎ Honey
  • ︎ Granola
  • ︎ Coconut Flakes
  • ︎ The other half of your banana sliced thinly
  • ︎ Chia Seeds
  • ︎ Fresh unfrozen fruit like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, dragon fruit, mangos, kiwi and more (sliced thinly or chopped)
Instructions For Bowl:
  1. Set up your blender
  2. Put in the frozen fruit, banana, protein powder, almond milk, and the açaì packet
  3. Blend on medium or frozen drink depending on what blender you have
  4. It will take a little to blend but remember You want the base of the açaì bowl to be thick and scoopable, not watery. Basically, you want to make sure to blend your base until it’s smooth with as little liquid as possible. Start with ⅓ cup and add a tiny bit as you need it. If you add too much, you can add a bit more frozen fruit and it will thicken up again.
Lastly:
  1. Pour Açaì substance into bowl. I ordered cute coconut bowls with spoons off of amazon!
  2. Smooth out with spoon and add on your toppings
  3. Cut the rest of your banana thinly, then lay over top of bowl
  4. Put on your granola, peanut butter, chia seeds, coconut flakes, strawberries and tjen lastly drizzle your honey over the entire bowl and enjoy!

Stay healthy and remember to give thanks to the Lord for all He does for us! Have an amazing weekend!

Healthy Granola

by rebecca sky

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20-25 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Yield: 8 cups

This weeks additional recipe is healthy granola! Super easy and a delicious access for breakfast, smoothie bowls, yogurt bowls, and more. For granola you have to have your base and grain. Oats are your base. If you are looking for an alternative for your oats you can use quinoa flakes cooked quinoa or coconut Flakes. You will also need a dried fruit (optional) dried apricots, dried cherries, dried dates, dried bananas, banana chips, dried mangos, dried apples, raisins or dried cranberries. Next is nuts and seeds. You can chop them up or use them whole! You can se a mixture of nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, or macadamia nuts. Then you will need a natural sweetener. Maple syrup and Honey are both great sweeteners! Next we got oil options. Oil is what binds the granola together. You can use Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Grape seed Oil, Avocado Oil, macadamia nut oil, and or walnut oil. Lastly to flavor up your granola add in spices! Ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom sea salt, cinnamon, and or cocoa powder! Optionally in the granola you can also add a protein. I am going to add in peanut butter!Almonds were originated in China and Central Asia by unknown people or person. Explorers ate al

monds while traveling the “Silk Road” between Asia and the Mediterranean. Before long, almond trees flourished in the Mediterranean, especially in Spain and Italy (almondhist, 1). In the mid 1700 Spain brought the almond trees to California on the Coast, directly next to the waters. The moist and cool air did not provide proper growing treatments to the almonds. It wasn’t until the following century that trees were planted inland successfully (almondhist, 1).

Almonds help your heart stay healthy. They lower bad cholesterol and are loaded with Vitamin E, Magnesium, and potassium (Glassman, 2). This nut is helpful to the heart because it brings you lots of vitamins to help the oxygen in your body flow more freely. Almonds are also known as “Bone building food.” One ounce of almonds is as much as as much Calcium as 1/4 cup of milk (Glassman, 3). Over all Almonds are very healthy towards the body, but remember a little goes a long way!

I chose this recipe because about every granola is super sugary and unhealthy. Also because its another fun thing you can do in the kitchen while stuck in this pandemic! You can store this granola in a mason jar or a different air type container in your pantry for up to 3 weeks. My little brother, Chase, loves granola so I am happy I can make one thats healthy for him and tasty. There are many ways you can make granola, many different flavors like vanilla granola, peanut butter granola, cinnamon granola, honey granola and more! I hope you all enjoy this weeks recipe. Enjoy!

Utensils For Recipe:

  1. Baking Sheet
  2. Parchment Paper
  3. Cooking Spray
  4. Large Bowl
  5. Spatula
  6. Oven
  • Ingredients For Recipe:︎ 2 cups rolled oats︎ 1 cup melted peanut butter ︎ ½ cup whole/raw almonds ︎ ⅓ cup of Pumpkin, pepitas, flax, or chia seeds ︎ 1 teaspoon of cinnamon ︎ 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey︎ 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)︎ (optional) ½ cup dried fruit i’m going to use raisins ︎ 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt ︎ Optional mix ins chocolate chips or coconut flakes!
  • Instructions For Granola:
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
  3. In a large bowl combine the oats, nuts and seeds, salt, then cinnamon. Stir to blend
  4. Pour in the oil, syrup and or honey and peanut butter. Mix well until every nut or oat is coated evenly.
  5. Pour the granola onto your baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula over your baking sheet
  6. Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
  7. Let the granola cool for about 30 minutes
  8. Then top with the dried fruit you are using and optionally the chocolate chips and or coconut flakes
  9. Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.
  10. Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Stay healthy and remember to give thanks to the Lord for all He does for us! Have an amazing weekend!