Look out dust pans, watch out bristles, brooms, and mops, you’d better be scared. There is a new Swiffer in town and it is coming after your jobs. UrbanMommies tried the new Swiffer BISSELL SteamBoost and you’d think we’d done a full fall clean. A-hem. It’s a deeply penetrating steam mop that powers through dog footprints, coffee spills and mystery spots whose origins you no longer recall. It even cleans all the stuff your old mop leaves behind (and has left behind since the last time you were washing the floor on your hands and knees). For me that was when I was trying to induce labour contractions a while back….
Veggie sloppy Joes are like childhood on a plate. Growing up in the ’70s, you just couldn’t escape this meaty dish. Since it’s such a comfort food, Ceri and I decided to go retro and bring back the sloppy. We’ve updated it, of course, for a more health-conscious family, substituting all that ground beef with a flavor-rich black bean sauce. This recipe was excerpted from the great new cookbook entitled How to Feed a Family: The Sweet Potatoes Chronicles Cookbook, by Ceri Marsh and Laura Keogh. As two urban, working moms, Ceri and Laura learned quickly how challenging healthy meal-times can be. So they joined forces to create the Sweet Potato Chronicles a website written for, and by, non-judgmental moms, packed full of nutritious recipes for families.
We think these little cakes have everything going for them, from their portable size to their delicious Parmesan flavour. This hearty risotto also gets a dose of my favourite superfood, kale. Two-bite wonders, they’re a great lunch packed up with some fruit and cut vegetables. You can also serve these little bundles alongside eggs at breakfast or as a side with dinner.
This recipe was excerpted from the great new cookbook entitled How to Feed a Family: The Sweet Potatoes Chronicles Cookbook, by Ceri Marsh and Laura Keogh. As two urban, working moms, Ceri and Laura learned quickly how challenging healthy meal-times can be. So they joined forces to create the Sweet Potato Chronicles (www.sweetpotatochronicles.com), a website written for, and by, non-judgmental moms, packed full of nutritious recipes for families. The phenomenal cookbook is available across Canada at Chapters Indigo.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: about 8
5 cup (125 ml) arborio rice
1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter
4 cup (60 ml) chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (250 ml) chopped kale, fresh or frozen
1 cup (250 ml) chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
5 cup (125 ml) grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Using a nonstick spray, grease a muffin tin.
Cook the arborio rice according to the package directions. If you’re using fresh greens, wash and remove any tough stems then chop. If your greens are frozen, thaw them for a few minutes and squeeze out any liquid.
Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the kale and spinach and sauté for about 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Transfer to a medium-size bowl and add the rice and cheese. Beat the eggs and then add to the rice. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) space at the top. Place in the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the egg is set and the edges are golden brown.
Allow to cool for a few minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the cakes onto a plate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
What makes CHOOZE shoes different? Could it be their subtle or bold variations or their unique and beautiful look? The answer is yes. Being unique is something to be proud of and CHOOZE is dedicated to its mission of elevating and empowering individuality. CHOOZE shoes are matched but never the same. What is that? The shoes don’t match? People rarely wear matching socks anymore, so why not move on to two different shoes? By encouraging people to wear two different shoes, CHOOZE builds confidence and creativity in individuals, creating an open mind and allowing them to be open to thinking differently and being open to new ideas.
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July marked my tenth wedding anniversary this year. All of our family members wanted to send a gift. Do you know what we picked? RESP contributions to our sons’ education funds. Saving is hard. Especially with groceries costing a fortune, kids wanting to enroll in activities and the odd shoe sale that gets our heart racing and credit card exercised. While we all earn different incomes, have varying levels of expenses and manage finances differently, UrbanMommies has a few money-saving tips that will help you save sheckles (my Grandmother called them that) for the RESPs.
Talk about standing on your own feet. Check out Efeet, Dylan Kendall’s new line of footed home accessories. In today’s world, being normal is over-rated. We all want people to notice how nice our home is or how great cool our dishes are. The Efeet Collection is the perfect conversation starter and takes a stand against the run-of-the-mill boring dishware. Turning the world of traditional dish ware on its head, this collection proves to add that little touch of whimsy everyone longs for. From footed mugs, bowls, mugs and even bathroom sets, these dishes will be a huge hit at any event or gathering.
Better yet – like charity and animals? By purchasing a new footed bowl for your pet through www.indiegogo.com you will help animals in need. $1 of each dog bowl pre-sold through the Indiegogo campaign will go to Hope For Paws — a remarkable dog rescue doing critical work in South Central Los Angeles (where I have family) and $1 of each cat bowl pre-sold through the Indiegogo campaign will go to Stray Cat Alliance whose work rescuing homeless cats and advocating for a No Kill Los Angeles is vital to raising awareness and making a difference to the lives of cats on the streets.
In my house we call it go-geet. We also call muffins cupcakes. Do you see a pattern? (besides teaching the kids horrific spelling?) Yes, I try to convince the kids that the healthy desserts are actually sinful. We recently sampled the new iögo 0% yogurt with stevia extract, a100% natural origin calorie-free sweetener. They loved it. They took it for school lunches, ate it after dinner and I popped it into smoothies.
Thankfully, according to the FDA and Health Canada, you can’t overdose on stevia extract. Stevia extract is a 100% natural origin calorie-free sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant. It’s manufacturing process is the same as for natural flavours. Known first as the “sweet herb”, stevia is a native plant of Paraguay, South America and is 200 to 300 times sweeter than white sugar. When used in very small quantities, stevia extract can replace a portion of the sugar generally used in food products. As of November 2012, Health Canada approved the use of stevia extract in Canada. This agency established the safety of stevia extract as a food additive.
iögo 0% with stevia extract is free of fat, gelatin, colours and artificial flavours. It comes in the flavours of raspberry, blueberry, vanilla and mango-passion fruit. So have your cupcakes with go-geet. We won’t tell.
Agggh. I had a dinner party for two couples I didn’t know. And as they came into my kitchen (why do people arrive early?!) I was loading the dishwasher and I was mortified. Embarrassed about my dishwasher situation. It didn’t look clean, it didn’t smell clean, and I am not a big advocate of rinsing. So you can fill in the blanks… I am still hoping the smell of the French dinner overpowered the negative stench from the dishwasher.
We know you’ve done it: spilled flour/milk/grape jelly on your iPad while trying to follow a recipe. This Thanksgiving, spend more time on the table decor and less on futzing around with recipe books by getting technical. There are a few things you’ll need, but we guarantee you’ll become hooked. Not only will you want to spend all your time trying new things in the kitchen, but your prowess will win over the hearts and health of the family. We’ve got 6 iPad recipe apps and accessories that will make your Thanksgiving dinner easy-peasy. Ready?
It’s our new favourite thing now that the tech timeout has finished….. Who doesn’t love Disney Interactive? Engaging and interactive entertainment mixed with our favourite characters that are portable on mobile. So fun. And now Disney Interactive is bringing DuckTales to your phone in the new free-to-play game “DuckTales: Scrooge’s Loot”. Players join Uncle Scrooge and Launchpad to retrieve Scrooge McDuck’s fortune from the villainous Beagle Boys. You can play in two different modes –multiplayer battle mode where players can team up with Facebook or find new allies and the single player campaign where they go on adventures.