I thought about going back through my past 6 1/2 years of blog posts to count how many times I brought up the fact that I was trying to lose weight, or struggling with my weight, etc. But then I knew that it would just be “a lot” and decided to go with that. It’s been no secret that I’ve had a constant struggle with the scale since having kids. With each baby, I’d gain weight and would always hold on to 5-10 pounds afterwards. Well, with 4 kids, that 5-10 pounds has definitely added up!

I was thrilled when the folks at the Blueberry Council asked if I wanted to chat with Alison Sweeney,  host of one of my favorite reality shows, The Biggest Loser. I have followed Alison since her early years on Days of Our Lives and have watched her have some of the same weight struggles I have. It’s been so neat to see her turn her life around and come full circle into a healthy lifestyle. …

Read More

The post Boost It with Blueberries {Recipe: Secret Ingredient Oatmeal} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Jill from Find Us Faithful whose comment number was chosen via random.org. Thanks to all who participated!

We are in the second full week of summer and have already marked several things off of our 2012 Summer Bucket List. It has been a great one so far!

Today we had the opportunity to head out to Happy Valley Farm in DeSoto, Kansas to do some blueberry picking. We were slightly too early in the season to get a whole gob of blueberries, but we can’t wait to go back! If you live near DeSoto and are looking for a small, family owned, chemical free farm to experience picking all different kinds of berries, you’ll be treated great and will love the personal experience you get at Happy Valley Farm.

I was bound and determined that this summer, I was going to make jam. We didn’t get enough berries picking today to make a batch of jam, so I stopped at the store on my way home and bought some blueberries. I came home, expecting jam to be a huge long process, only to discover that with this new Ball Automatic Jam Maker appliance I received from Kmart, it’s a quick, 30 minutes at the most, kind of deal. I gave a few jars of the jam out to neighbors and hope they think I slaved all day over a pot of berries to make their jam. I love them enough to do that, but in reality, this jam making project was quick and easy!…

Read More

The post Berry Picking and Jam Making {Giveaway: Ball Canning Discovery Kit from Kmart} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I’ve discovered that with four kids, there is a lot of comprising that goes on during the day. It’d be too easy if all four of them would agree on something. Instead, it is always three wanting one thing while one wants something else. Even if it is just to annoy the others, there is always one kid who makes the decision of what they want just to be different.

The other day I was going to make muffins and asked my kids, “Banana or blueberry?” As I anticipated, the girls wanted blueberry and Jacob wanted banana. Instead of having to choose who I liked best and basing my decision on that, I decided we would compromise. I would make a banana blueberry muffins.

These banana blueberry muffins were the perfect combination of both fruit flavors, and made everyone happy. It’s never fun when I have to base my decisions on who I love best 😉

Speaking of compromises… the folks at Coffee-Mate realized how much I seem to be enjoying my coffee lately – both hot and iced coffee. They were kind enough to send me some coupons for their Natural Bliss Coffee Creamer. Now, as a blogger, I get coupons and products to try all the time, and when I find something I really enjoy, I want to make sure to share it with you.

Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Coffee Creamer is made from all natural ingredients and comes in three flavors – Sweet Cream, Vanilla and Caramel. I especially enjoyed adding the sweet cream flavor to my favorite Iced Coffee. It made for an indulgent, mid-afternoon, treat. I felt good knowing that I didn’t have to compromise on flavor to enjoy something made from all natural ingredients. If you give it a try, you’ll have to report back and let me know which flavor is your favorite!

Now, on to the Banana Blueberry Muffins recipe!

Print

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Banana Muffins are the perfect combination of flavors. You don't have to compromise and make just one flavor of muffin. Have them both!

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 1 dozen

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas mashed
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/3 cup melted butter cooled
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

• Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a mixing bowl
• Add dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
• Fold in fresh blueberries.
• Pour into 12 muffin cups, sprayed with Pam cooking spray.
• Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clear.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Coffee-mate and received coupons and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

The post Compromises {Recipe: Banana Blueberry Muffins} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I am always warning my kids not to spill things… “Don’t spill that… chocolate stains”. So, many times I’ll get the question asked of me by my kiddos, “Mommy, does this stain?”. I’m not sure if they are asking because they want permission to spill something, or if they are going to gauge my response in advance before they tell me that they spilled something.

So, yesterday when I was making breakfast and had the blueberries out on the table for them to help themselves to, I heard my 4 year old say under her breath, “Uh ohhhhhh”. Then, I heard the words, “Ummmmm, mommy? Do blueberries stain?” It was at that point that I turned around to see my two year old (who you know has been a challenge lately) covered from head to toe in a blueberry stain of a mess. I am not exactly sure what she did with those blueberries… I’m assuming she used them as body paint… but she sure had fun doing it.

Luckily, I had enough remaining blueberries left from her experiment to make this tasty Blueberry Coffee Cake from the May 2008 issue of Cooking Light. This cake is moist and flavorful… and the turbinado sugar on the top really makes this recipe complete.

Worth any stains you might endure (and the extra baths and loads of laundry), this cake is a delightful breakfast treat.

Blueberry Coffee Cake is my entry in Cook Sister’s Event – Waiter, there’s something in my… berries, featuring fresh berries of the season.

The post Blueberry Coffee Cake appeared first on Dine and Dish.