I received an email yesterday from the Circle of Moms website that said I had been nominated for the 2012 Top 25 Vegan and Vegetarian Blogs!  How exciting!!  I am super excited that I even made the nominations but now I want to secure a spot in the top 25 so I need your help!!

You can vote EVERY 24 hours until February 14, 2012 – All you have to do is click HERE, scroll to find Color Wheel Meals then click “VOTE.” No filling out forms, no giving your name, just a click of a button and your vote counts!!  Have your spouse vote too!!  :)

I appreciate all of the support that I get from my readers-THANK YOU!!!!

So please take a moment and vote now!!

 VOTE HERE!!

Look for this LOGO

Thank you!!!  Thank you!!! Thank you!!!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Have you seen or heard about these Hail Merry snacks?  They are raw, vegan, gluten free, and contain no refined sugar.  I was lucky enough to receive 2 bags to try!

Macaroons-Blonde-Ingredients: Hand made with organic shredded coconut, organic expeller pressed coconut oil, pure maple syrup, organic Mexican vanilla and sea salt.

Macaroons-Choco-Hand made with organic shredded coconut, dark cocoa, organic expeller pressed coconut oil, pure maple syrup, organic Mexican vanilla and sea salt.

I have tried many healthy “treats” and I have never tasted one as delicious as the Choco Macaroons!!!  I am in HEAVEN!!!

It was shortly after dinner and I wanted something sweet so I opened up the blonde macaroons to taste them…..they were yummy….then I wanted to try the choco ones……and  I couldn’t believe how amazing these were!!  I felt as though I was eating a fudgy brownie or that I was cheating on my “no white sugar/flour”  phase I am going through!  I had to refrain from eating the whole bag!!!

You will NOT be disappointed if you try these snacks -they come highly recommended by ME!!!!!  :)

Have you heard of Hail Merry Snacks?

Would you prefer the blonde or choco flavor?

Want some more great recipes?  Check out my ebooks here!!

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Actually, we went for a family vacation to Florida and spent 1 day at Magic Kingdom. We also visited Cocoa beach and Siesta Keys beach and spent lots of time relaxing and swimming in our resorts pools!!  It was very strange being in a warm climate during Christmas time, seeing palm trees decorated with lights, and hearing Christmas carols….I have spent every Christmas in cold Michigan so it didn’t feel like Christmas time!

Here are some highlights of the vacation!!  ENJOY!!!

Kids first plane ride ever!!

Chillaxing….is that a real word????  :)

These little guys were everywhere!!

Beautiful landscaping everywhere!

Our rooms view!!!  It had an enclosed balcony that overlooked one of the pools!!

Downtown Disney fun!!

Mall of Millenia and Cheesecake Factory for dinner!!!

Cocoa Beach!!!  We couldn’t swim though because……

these and………

these were everywhere!

So we just walked the shoreline and found seashells and

COCONUTS!!!!!

This truck was filled with freshly picked oranges!!!  I wanted some so bad!!!!

It was a 2 hour drive to Siesta Keys Beach but it was so worth it!!!

We found lots of sea shells and sand dollars….

a crab and

colorful seaweeds!!

We played all day…..

and waited for the sun to set……

Stunning!!!

We had a blast at Magic Kingdom!!

The castle at night was amazing with all of its changing colors!!!

It changed at least 20 times!!!

We spent lots of time in the pools…..

during the day…..

and at night…..

We had an amazing time and unfortunately it had to come to an end…….

but our memories will last forever!

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I am so sorry that I have neglected to write or update lately!  It has been so busy around here and I have placed my blog on the backburner for awhile.  I also apologize for not keeping up with all of my friends blogs!  I haven’t had the chance to visit and read all of the great blog posts so I will have to try to catch up as soon as I can!

Here are some highlights of what I have been doing lately!

Home depot workshops!  Have you ever taken your kids?  These are really fun!

Homeschooling!  This is a model of a plant and animal cell that we made out of jell-o and some dried fruit to represent the inside parts of the cells.  The kids loved making this!

I don’t ever remember learning the parts of a cell in 3rd grade or in kindergarten but my kids had a blast naming each part after it was made!

Here we are at Disney On Ice – we won 4 free tickets from a local giveaway!!  The kids were super excited and the show was amazing!!

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to post pics of the show itself…..plus most of them came out blurry -but it was fabulous!

We woke up early on Thanksgiving morning and went to the Thanksgiving parade -it was cold but lots of fun!

Then we headed to my sister in law’s for dinner!

We also had a special announcement to tell our kids…..so we sat them down one day and spilled the news….

Can you guess what it is??  I will give you one more hint-

figure it out yet????
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The kiddos were put to work scraping out all of the seeds so we could bake them for snacks!!  They were pretty grossed out by the sliminess of this job…..

We soaked them, dried them and then baked them with a little oil and sea salt…….they turned out fabulous!!!

Next, I baked the pumpkin by slicing it into 4 parts and placing it in a baking dish with water and some cinnamon.

I baked these at 350* for about 45 minutes and then I scraped out the soft insides and pureed it in my blender!

I set some aside for my 10 month old niece……….

and the rest of my puree I used in the following recipes!!!  If you don’t want to go through the whole process of baking a pumpkin you could buy some organic canned pumpkin as well!!

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM!!!!

This was an amazing little treat and yes, we crumbled up some organic graham crackers on top!!!  All I did was use some pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, and some non dairy ice cream and blended it all together.  Once it was blended I put it into my ice cream maker!

After about 20 minutes we had pumpkin ice cream!  This could also be made using bananas, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla…all blended together!!!

We also made a pumpkin smoothie which was fabulous!!!!

To make this recipe I used these ingredients:

Pumpkin Smoothie:

1 cup almond milk

1 banana

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

1 tbsp. almond butter or Sunbutter

1 tbsp. maple syrup or agave

Dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla

Blend together with some ice and ENJOY!!!!

What is your favorite way to eat pumpkin???

Want some more great recipes?  Check out my ebooks here!!

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Despite all of this he is such a happy little boy!

I usually stay positive and proactive so that we can keep allergic reactions to a minimum and he can still enjoy food and life to the fullest!

BUT,

sometimes………

I do get that nagging little voice that maybe I am not doing enough for him…..

sometimes…….

I feel like he has to be kept from so many things in life and that he is being ripped off…….

sometimes……

I feel scared when I am up all night with him because his breathing is so labored……

sometimes……

I feel like other people think I am being an obsessive mother because they do not understand the severity of his allergies……

BUT…..

I only feel like this SOMETIMES….

and I thank God everyday that he is a healthy little boy otherwise and that I was entrusted with such a special person to protect, take care of and raise.

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Who doesn’t love a gooey, delicious caramel apple?

It’s one of those fall favorites that show up in grocery stores everywhere this time of year.

We have to avoid those little packaged treats…the caramel contains dairy not to mention some other not so wonderful ingredients…but they are also covered in nuts…something that would be a potential disaster in my house.

What is a mom to do??  Make my own caramel apples!  I solved the cider mill donut problem and now I am solving the caramel apple dilemma!

These turned out super yummy and very close in taste to a true caramel apple!!!

First start by soaking 1 cup of dates in water for about an hour.  Make sure to remove the pits!!  Also, soak 1/4 cups of raisins in some water.  Once the dates and raisins have soaked, drain the water and place them into a blender or food processor.

Add in 1 tbsp. of almond or coconut milk, 2 tbsp. Sunbutter or almond butter, a splash of vanilla, and a tiny pinch of sea salt.  Blend and blend and blend….this will take a few minutes…don’t expect it to get smooth right away.  You may even have to add a bit more coconut or almond milk.  Every few minutes turn off the blender and scrap down the sides.  Also, make sure your caramel isn’t too runny-it needs to be thick enough to spread onto the apples!

While you are waiting for the caramel mixture to turn creamy, place some popsicle sticks into your apples….perfect!

When the caramel is ready spread onto your apples!

Enjoy just like this or roll your caramel apple in some yummy toppings!!

Ground flax, dried coconut flakes, mini chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, or whatever toppings you can dream up!

I decided on salty sunflower seeds and dairy free mini chocolate chips!

What’s funny is that both of my kids refuse to eat raisins and dates…but they had no idea that is what the caramel was made out of!!!  They LOVED this treat!!!

DEEE-LICIOUS!!!!

P.S. This recipe was hubby approved as well!!!  I have picture proof but let’s just say I am keeping it for a future bribe……

What would you roll your caramel apples in??

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The picture is an illustration of myself and my 2 children preparing a smoothie…..we don’t really look like the illustrations but our hair color and eye colors are the same!!  I am planning on taking a real picture of us set up like the illustration….I am still in the process of trying to find a striped shirt though!!!  LOL  I think it will be fun to do!!

The design was made by Mommy Doodles and in honor of her 4th blogging anniversary she is having 2 giveaways on her website!  One is for a free header AND the other is for a website makeover!

So, if you have a blog and would like for it to look more professional and draw in more attention enter the giveaway!!  It’s super easy!!

The giveaway ends on November 1st-so do it today to make sure your entry counts!

What do you think about my new header??

Would you like to see a real life photo just like the illustration?

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With Halloween approaching I have come across some wonderful and cute ideas that I wanted to share with all of you!!

Hopefully, you have read my Healthy Halloween Ideas post- if not go check it out!!!  There are some cute ideas there!!  Like Halloween Ice Cream!

Now, check out these other super cute ideas!!!
Halloween Stuffed Peppers by Happy Healthy Mama

Pumpkin shaped muffins from Healthy In CandyLand

Charlotte’s Cupcake Web from Rawdorable

Halloween Soup from Your Vegan Mom

Halloween Cupcakes from Pure2Raw

Orange Jack O Lanterns from Novel Eats

These are just a few cute ideas that I have found……have you run across any cute and healthy Halloween ideas on any blogs?  Please share them!!

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Hi! I'm Samantha-author of this website! Thanks for stopping by! Don't wanna miss a post? Sign up to receive my latest ramblings in your email!!