Mini Banana Muffins
Jonathan 
Baking makes me happy. Something about mixing the ingredients, the fragrant smells that come out of your kitchen, not to mention the delicious treats you end up with in the end. I am a big fan of baking. And yet… lately, I’ve been barely doing it. Partly it’s because I’m too lazy to drag out my Kitchen Aide (I know… lazzzzyyyyy) and partly because I just haven’t found any recipes I’ve felt I needed to make. However with 3 black bananas on the counter I decided it was time to whip something up. These were perfect. The recipe was super easy and came together in a couple minutes- plus I didn’t need my stand mixer- score! This yields a lot, I got over 30 mini muffins, so I froze over half of them for easy snacking once the baby gets here. I think the absolute best part is you probably have all the ingredients on hand!
Source: Very slightly adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy
Ingredients:
2-3 over ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce (cinnamon, natural, whatever you prefer)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a mini muffin tin with liners or spray with nonstick spray.
2- In a mixing bowl combine the mashed banana, sugar, applesauce, and egg. Stir well.
3- Mix in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Spoon into the muffin tins, bake about 15 minutes.
Essential Oils Uses – Chamomile | Geranium | Ylang Ylang Essential Oil Uses
Essential oils
For believers in aromatherapy, the view is that smell has much to do, the body of the person's ability to heal. Those who practice the art of using aromatherapy essential oils and various herbs is mainly extracted from several inches These are used in the treatment of various conditions, that the human body is suffering. Most essential oils are known to evaporate quickly and are very skin absorbs quickly and without problems in a person. But one factor that is basic information regarding the oils that are known to concentrate, to be fair and contact can cause irritation to a person, if they come into direct skin. Therefore, these concentrated essential oils dilute the mixture with some carrier oils. Only then can be applied to the skin.
There are various essential oils used in various applications. Some are known to help relax the body, while the energy of others in the body of a person are used.
The chamomile, geranium, ylang ylang and essential oil uses
There are some oils that can be an essential oil in the treatment of skin disorders and certain. Scent of Chamomile can be used other than in the treatment of digestive disorders, migraines, respiratory problems, etc. Each essential oil to be really effective first line should be absorbed or is useful in the treatment of depression. It is also used in the treatment of fatigue, headache, nervousness. Sometimes, a chamomile are used to treat skin diseases such as boils and acne or the treatment of digestive disorders and flatulence problems. Geranium essential oil is mainly used to treat hormonal imbalance conditions and all women used before. ylang ylang essential oil, neroli essential oil and are all for the support to relieve stress and anxiety before use. This oil is also used to treat certain intestinal problems and treatment of sexual suffering from a lack of energy. Essential Clary sage oil in the fight against depression and fatigue. It is also used to treat muscle spasms and pain conditions and other respiratory diseases.
Eucalyptus, cedar, tea tree and neroli essential oil uses
Eucalyptus essential oil is used primarily to treat the suffering of headaches, colds, sinusitis, and some other respiratory diseases. It is used to treat rheumatism and muscle aches. Tea tree essential oil is used primarily for inflamed skin or to treat conditions such as dandruff and sunburn. Even helps fight skin infections. Cedar essential oil is good for skin and hair conditions like dandruff and even arthritis.
Spicy Baked Shrimp
If you follow my facebook page you saw me raving about a shrimp recipe I made this week. This here is that recipe. I even went so far on facebook to say it was my favorite shrimp recipe… I think I’ll stand by that. Now, typically I’ll make a recipe and some time will pass before it shows up on the blog, but this was just too good to wait.
First of all, why don’t I typically bake shrimp? It’s so easy! I always cook them in a skillet, but this was a nice alternative. Then, add to it that the sauce was delicious- unbelievable delicious actually. My friend Natalie said it sounds like a New Orleans BBQ sauce- I trust her when it comes to food, but I have no background knowledge on that so it might be quite similar. What I will tell you is we didn’t find this spicy at all, but it was very flavorful. The best part is dipping your bread in the sauce- we killed off a whole loaf (a small loaf… don’t judge…). Make this. We will be having this often.
Source: Slightly adapted from Eat My Charlotte, originally from Bon Appetit
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp cajun OR Creole seasoning
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 pound shrimp
Fresh crusty bread
Directions:
1- Combine the first six ingredients in a square oven safe dish. Stir well. Add the shrimp, toss well.
2- Refrigerate 1 hour.
3- Preheat the oven to 450. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once while cooking.
4- Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Travel Health Tips | Beauty, Fashion And Fitness
Traveling can be a source of immense fun for an individual. Different countries and parts of countries offer unique glimpses of culture, tradition, cuisine and geography. However, traveling is often stressful for individuals, particularly those who do so for work reasons. This is because different parts of the world may pose different health threats along with aesthetic problems to the individual. By following basic travel health tips, and travel beauty tips one can avoid such worries and focus on enjoying and absorbing the new culture.
The most important travel health tips focus on the specific warnings or advisories that apply to the place where an individual is traveling. Some areas of the world are known to pose certain health problems that are specific to climatic and environmental conditions present in such places. Tropical countries, for example, have more cases of water borne diseases and diseases such as malaria. It is important to follow travel health tips that are published by government agencies so that one avoids the most obvious conditions that exist in the destination country or part of one’s own country.
One of the standard travel health tips is related to one’s diet. Local cuisines can be extremely tempting and delicious. There is no harm in exploring local cuisine options. However, one should do so at restaurants where there is an obvious sense of hygiene present. If one finds a place with plenty of turnover, chances are the food will be fresh and, therefore, less risky. Eating healthy food will also work as one of the effective travel beauty tips as your diet plays a major role when defining the overall health of your body.
When it comes to travel fashion tips, one should ensure that one’s clothing conforms to any norms that are present in the destination country. Certain places in the world do not react kindly to skimpy clothing. One must therefore be appropriately dressed based on information available for the destination country. Apart from this, there are some travel fitness tips and travel exercise tips that should be followed. Certain parts of the world demand that an individual be fit. If one is visiting a particularly warm country, one should ensure that basic fitness exists. One should also make sure that one’s fluid intake is sufficient in such an environment. Altitude is another threat to the health of an individual. When traveling to a high altitude location, one must follow travel health tips associated with such locations. It may be necessary to break one’s journey so that the process of acclimatization takes place without posing a threat to the health of an individual.
Crockpot Chicken Dinner
Is there anything more comforting than a roasted chicken dinner? I have such fond memories from childhood of roasted chickens and all the sides that went along with it (although, honestly, my favorite was Kraft mac and cheese… just sayin’). Well, I can think of one thing more comforting actually- throwing all the ingredients together in the crockpot and letting the meal cook all day. The house smells amazing, the meat comes out moist, and in the end you have a delicious dinner with minimal effort. Now that I am back at work and in my third trimester of pregnancy I see many more crockpot meals in my future. I really don’t want to eat take out nightly but coming home exhausted doesn’t lend itself to creativity in the kitchen… so the crockpot will be a much needed friend of mine!
This dinner came out great. The seasonings were delicious and they really absorbed into the vegetables. You can use any vegetables you want, I stuck with what I had on hand, but I’d definitely use potatoes regardless of what else you choose to use- they’re a must here. It’s easy to adjust to the number of people you need to serve (add more chicken/veggies, take some away, etc.) and you’re sure to have happy eaters on hand.
Source: Adapted from About.com- Southern Food
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast halves (bone in or out)
1 pound potatoes, diced in pieces
1.5 cups baby carrots
1/2 red onion, cut in chunks
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 tbsp melted butter, divided
1 tbsp smoked paprika
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp honey
Directions:
1- Lay the potatoes, carrots, and onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Toss in 2 tbsp melted butter, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
2- Lay the chicken on top of the veggies. In a bowl mix the remaining 2 tbsp butter with paprika, lemon, Worcestershire, and honey. Rub the mixture over the chicken.
3- Cook on low 7-9 hours or on high 3.5-4.5 hours.
Roasted Vegetable Stromboli
My favorite way to prepare veggies is to roast them. I feel like it brings out the flavors without compromising the consistency. Sometimes steamed veggies can get… mushy? I guess that’s the best way to put it! Roasting them just lends itself to the perfect consistency and flavor.
A few weeks ago I roasted a big pan of vegetables and threw them all in a bowl to use for meals throughout the week. I’m so glad I did this because it made dinner so easy! I just had to grab my roasted veggie bowl and spoon out the desired amount for each recipe. I’ll be sharing the other recipe with you soon so you can see a practical use for your pan of vegetables (that is, if you don’t want to just eat them as-is!)
This stromboli was amazing. John told me it needs to be repeated frequently. It’s kind of fun, I can see it being a hit with kids, and it’s a little different from what I typically serve for dinner. I coasted the crust with an oil and seasoning mix that really took this to the next level. I loved the crisp top and the soft vegetables… ugh… now I want this again soon!
Source: Stephanie Cooks Original
Ingredients:
2 cups roasted vegetables* (see below for details)
1 batch pizza dough
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Tomato sauce
Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone in the oven (if you don’t have one just cook it on a baking sheet).
2- Roll out your pizza dough into a long rectangular/oval shape.
3- Using a pizza cutter, start on the right side of the dough and slice 1/3 of the way in, making 1 inch slits down the side. Keep going until the whole side is covered in 1 inch slits. Repeat on the left hand side, also 1/3 of the way in.
4- Spoon the vegetable onto the 1/3 of the dough in the center. Top with the cheese.
5- Start at the top, take one slit from the right and fold it over the center. Repeat with the dough slit directly opposite. Keep repeating until the dough is “braided” and covering the filling.
6- In a small bowl combine the oil, salt, and garlic powder. Brush over the dough.
7- Transfer to the stone. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.
8- Slice and serve with hot marinara sauce.
* Roasting veggies- I used 2 zucchini, 1/2 a head of broccoli, a handful of baby carrots, 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, and a green pepper. I diced them, drizzled with olive oil, and cooked about 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through, at 375. For this recipe I smashed the tomatoes so they were flat, but that step isn’t necessary. Use any veggies you want. This yielded a lot of veggies, enough for two meals.
