Amy

Taco Seasoning

September 26, 2012 by Amy 2 Comments

When I was first learning to cook, I used to cook tacos all the time. I’d buy those little packages of seasoning mix and supper was figured out. The convenience was awesome. Then, I was just poking around Allrecipes a couple of years ago, and I saw “Taco Seasoning I” on the sidebar. I was totally intrigued, and made it that evening. I already had all of the spices for it, but the big question was did it taste as good as the seasoning packets I was so used to?

It did.

I love the idea that I can make my own taco seasoning, and the spices required for this particular one features fairly common spices. I also love that I know exactly what is in my taco seasoning, not to mention that it’s much cheaper to make this seasoning on your own.

I don’t use this for just taco seasoning. I also tend to use it when I make fajitas, I sprinkle a little bit in the blender before making salsa and use some of it when I’m making a quick salsa slow cooker chicken. It’s such a good seasoning blend for standard tex-mex dishes, in my opinion, and couldn’t be any simpler to throw together.

Taco Seasoning
Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix them together, until the seasoning mix is well blended. Store in an airtight container.

Couch to 5K Graduate!

September 24, 2012 by Amy 9 Comments

It was a hot, humid day in the middle of Louisiana’s summer where this crazy gal thought, “Hey, maybe I should try to run.” My husband probably thought I was nuts, and I’m sure my neighbors had 911 on speed dial, but I did it. I thought that those one minute jogs were the hardest jogs of my life, and I had no idea how in the heck I was going to be able to run for 30 minutes in less than 3 months.

I told myself to take it a day at a time. There were MANY days where the heat index was well over 100 degrees, and it took everything in me to just get out there. I’m not exaggerating, y’all. Couch to 5K was probably one of the hardest things I’ve put my body through. I’m still very overweight, but I was so glad to see that my body was able to adapt to running.

Now, I’m sure there are a few of y’all reading this, thinking that you could never do this. I was sitting on the couch right there with you. If you think you’re too heavy to run, I started Couch to 5K in the 270s. If you think your body isn’t capable, you will be so shocked at how quickly your body adapts. One week you’re running in one minute increments, and the next? You’re running 20 minutes straight. 25 minutes straight. 30 MINUTES STRAIGHT.

DISCLAIMER: Now, of course before you start any type of workout program, it’s best to check with your doctor. I’m not a doctor…just some random blogger. Seriously, check with your doctor before taking on a workout program, especially if you have had injuries or you’re overweight. Running can be hard on your body, so you want to make sure you don’t make anything worse or hurt yourself…period!

Ok, now that that’s out of the way….running. It’s not easy. While it can take a toll on your body, I want to let you know that your mind is your biggest enemy. Your mind will start telling you some crazy things… It will tell you to stop; it will tell you you’ve done enough; it will tell you that your house with an A/C is AMAZING.

But, keep it up. Unless of course, you get injured…stop running if you get injured. If you aren’t injured though, turn up your favorite Pandora station and tell your mind to shut up. I really felt like during most of my runs, the minute I ignored what I was doing (as in, get your mind off the running and think about something else), the time during my run would fly by.

I’m sure if you follow me on Instagram (username is niftyfoodie), you probably recognize these pictures. I really wanted to remember my C25K journey, and it’s really cool to look back on these.

Sometimes, I can’t believe that I’m able to run 30 minutes non-stop. It completely blows my mind. I keep thinking I’m going to try to run, and my body is going to act like my Week 1 body. But it doesn’t….in a couple of short months, I became a runner. There…I said it.

I’M A RUNNER.

Take that, PE teacher.

If you’re wondering what’s next for me, I have another 5K next month, as well as another in January. I’m hoping that for this coming 5K, I will be able to run the whole 3.1, and reach my goal of a 45:00 finish time. 🙂

White Chocolate Brownies & A Giveaway

September 21, 2012 by Amy 40 Comments

I love living in the South. Sure, the heat index is enough to make you want to just sit in an ice bath all day, but the food?! Oh, the food MORE than makes up for it.

Around here….

…your cooking is judged based on how good your gumbo is
…we embrace stale bread for bread pudding
…we have a love (the drink)/hate (the storm) relationship with hurricanes
…we don’t mind getting our hands dirty to dig out tiny pieces of seafood over newspaper
…a biggie–you know the difference between creole and cajun food

I know a lot of people frown upon Louisiana since there are some stigmas about living here, but I really am blessed to say that this is my home. I just love the little things that make Louisiana home, and even if I don’t live here the rest of my life, I know that Louisiana will always be a part of me. Cheesy, but seriously true.

When I was contacted about reviewing a cookbook called “The Southern Foodie“, I just couldn’t resist. The book, written by food/drink/travel writer Chris Chamberlain, features recipes from favorite restaurants in the South and it’s organized by state. Of course, when I got the cookbook, I frantically flipped through the pages and bookmarked numerous recipes.

I was very happy to see Louisiana well-represented in the book, too. There are some great staples in there, like red beans and rice, pralines and bread pudding, to name a few. Besides the classics, I found that there are some fun, out of the box recipes, like barbequed oysters and sweet potato-andouille soup. This book is great for someone trying to get a feel for Southern food, and even for Southerners, it’s impressive how many different recipes the author has in here that I’ve never heard of.

One of the hardest things for me when I find a good cookbook is to choose a first recipe. I actually have quite a few that I want to try, but I was really in the mood to bake, so I decided to make these white chocolate brownies. I love that brownies bake up so quickly and you don’t have to fork out the mixer to make them. It’s sort of dangerous how easy brownies are to throw together and these were no exception. 🙂 This brownie is a white chocolate brownie base with white and bittersweet chocolate mixed in. Often times, I find white chocolate desserts to be a little too sweet, but I really think the bittersweet chocolate helped to balance things out a good bit. I ended up halving the recipe, since the original recipe makes two 13×9 inch pans worth of brownies (the halved recipe is below). I sent these to work with my husband, and found out that some people enjoyed 2-3 brownies on their own, so this recipe is definitely a winner. Based on this recipe, I can’t wait to give some others a try!

Now, you know I wouldn’t just dangle this cookbook in front of y’all without having a giveaway. 🙂 The publisher sent me extra books to giveaway to two lucky readers!

…

40 lbs.

September 20, 2012 by Amy 8 Comments

Two days ago, I looked at the scale and saw that I’ve lost 40 lbs. since my weight loss journey started. It’s been a wonderful 9 months (ha, that sounds like I’m talking about a pregnancy, doesn’t it?), because so many great things have happened since my last weight loss update (which was at 10%).

Here’s my progress (I had to include a certain photo-bomber for one of these pics). I’m wearing a different gray shirt for these, so I think it’s a little harder to see the progress, but eh…no big deal. 🙂

I’m running 30 minutes non-stop, and have signed up for my 2nd 5K (with a 3rd 5K in mind as well)

My size 24 jeans are crazy loose and my size 20 shorts from my honeymoon are still a little snug, but they fit!

I tried on a size 9 pair of shoes this past Sunday and they fit! I’m usually a size 10. It could be a brand difference, but heck, I’m still happy about it. 🙂

I’m starting to feel a little definition in my legs, especially my thighs.

I’m trying on some tops from 3 years ago (wedding time) and they are almost to the point to where I can wear them in public (without looking too snug).

I can’t believe that I’m 10 lbs. away from losing FIFTY pounds (time for some fun shoes soon!), and 18 lbs. away from my wedding weight. I really truly never thought this would happen, since my starting weight was really out of control, but I’m learning that if you REALLY want to lose weight…you CAN do it!

I have no idea how to thank you guys, but every time I write about weight loss or a work-out, I get so much support from y’all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I have a long way to go, but gosh, with the support/sweet comments/virtual high fives that I’m getting, I don’t see my weight loss journey ending anytime soon! THANK YOU!

If you’re interested, here’s my previous weight loss updates:

20 lbs.

10%

Candy Corn Oreo Truffles

September 13, 2012 by Amy 3 Comments

This past weekend, we experienced a “cold front” in Louisiana. It went from a heat index in the 100s to a much more manageable heat index in the 80s. Not cold by any means, but it was definitely nice to walk outside for 5 minutes and not sweat like crazy!

I’m a big fan of the fall. Football season, cooler weather, spiced candles and fun fall foods. One of my favorites is the Halloween Oreos. I realize they’re just plain oreos with orange dye in the cream, but darnit, those seasonal oreos are just more fun to enjoy! I was actually looking forward to buying my first pack of halloween ones, when I noticed Candy Corn Oreos. Yes. CANDY CORN OREOS.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to get them. I had to make sure that I didn’t eat the whole box, though, since I had plans for these: the super popular oreo truffles. I ended up trying one, which was VERY sweet…sweeter than normal oreos, actually. At first, I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor until my husband mentioned it–the filling tastes like buttercream. Not super candy corn like, in my opinion, but I still wanted to make truffles out of these.

After crushing them, the filling was a festive orange color, which would be so cute for fall or halloween parties. I do have to note that the candy corn oreos don’t contain nearly as many oreos as a regular box does, which explains why you don’t need as much condensed milk (as the regular recipe here) to make these.

Candy Corn Oreo Truffles
Source: adapted from the regular oreo recipe

Ingredients:

1 box candy corn oreos

1/2 cup of condensed milk

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/8 tsp. canola or vegetable oil

candy corn candies, for garnish

Directions:

In a food processor, crush the oreos (with cream) until the oreos are fine crumbs. Add the oreos to a medium sized bowl, and stir in the condensed milk, until it is well-mixed.

Using a small tbsp. scoop, scoop out truffles and roll them between your hands into a ball shape. Place them on a small pan, and allow them to freeze for a few minutes (just to set better for easier dipping). While they are freezing, place your chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave the chocolate on high in 30 second increments, stirring well for every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and easy to stir. Prepare a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper for the finished truffles to cool on.

Take the balls out of the freezer, and individually dip each truffle ball in the chocolate and place the truffles on the cookie sheet. Add a candy corn (or any other decoration) before the chocolate starts to dry. Once all truffles are done, let them sit until the chocolate sets (or if you’re in a rush, place the truffles in the freezer for the chocolate to set). Enjoy!

Running Shoes

September 12, 2012 by Amy 17 Comments

For the past few months of my running journey, I’ve been running on these shoes. I purchased them on Rue La La last year, because a few of the running blogs I read mentioned that they loved their Saucony shoes. If you remember, I tried C25K earlier this year, and I just flat out quit. In the meantime, I wore these shoes as my casual tennis shoes, and then when I got back into C25K this past summer, I ran on them again. I know if runners are reading this, they are shaking their heads at me. I still have a lot to learn.

A few weeks ago, I got my shoes fairly muddy and realized that part of the sole was completely worn down on my running shoes. Crud. 🙁 Those shoes didn’t even last a year, so I assumed that Saucony shoes were just crappy. The more forums and articles I read, the more that I realized 1. As an obese gal, shoes won’t last as long & 2. I shouldn’t have worn my running shoes for casual every day wear. So, I went back to Rue La La for a flash sale and bought these, because they looked similar and were pretty.

I broke them in a couple of times before I ran my 5K. They were OK, however, I started to notice this terrible pain in my ankles after every run. Just random pain from walking in them, so I got a bit concerned and realized I probably shouldn’t purchase shoes based on how pretty they are anymore. I needed to get properly fitted.

The big push to go to a running store was when my local Fleet Feet posted on Facebook that they were having a one day sale on all sale shoes. $25 for any pair of sale shoes (for the hour that I could go after work). I even told H about it since we’re both looking for better work-out shoes. I mean, seriously…$25 for shoes? What. a. steal!

However, I was SO nervous to go to a running store. Why? Well, at first sight I don’t look like I belong there. I hate being judged and stared at in public, because of my size, and I knew that going to a running store, I would be a misfit.

When I got to the store, I was hoping I’d be invisible. No one would notice me, right? WRONG. Weekdays at a running store, even for a massive shoe sale = dead. Two ladies greeted me when I walked in, and I just wanted to say “I know I’m fat, I know I’m slow, but I’m on my way…please don’t judge me.” But, the cheap person in me was like “sale shoes?”

They pointed me out to one pair that was left in my size. They were crazy bright and awesome. I tried them on, and I was sold. $25 for Adidas? Heck yes!

Then I thought about it, and asked if these were OK for me. Since the store was otherwise dead, two girls were helping me and they asked if I’ve ever been fitted for shoes before? Are you new to running? How many miles/week do you run? ~~What’s your favorite color?~~ Ok, maybe not favorite color, but they genuinely seemed to want to hear my “running story”. So, I explained to them that I’m on my last week of Couch to 5k, and because of mainly running and diet, I’ve lost about 40 lbs. I run 3x/week, approximately 30 minutes each time, but I’m aiming to run longer with time.

I don’t know why, but I still felt nervous about what they were going to say. Were they going to laugh at me? Were they going to tell me I have super messed up feet? They asked me to walk barefoot around the store to observe my stride. Luckily, the only issue they noticed was that my right foot needed extra stability, and one of them asked if I had an injury in my right leg.

They were spot on with that.

You see in high school, I broke my right ankle and ever since, my ankle has a tendency to roll. Luckily, I never rolled my ankle running, but it happens fairly often when I’m just walking around. And also, remember when I mentioned my ankle pain? Well, yeah…those new Saucony shoes didn’t offer the additional stability I needed.

So, I asked if I could try on some shoes, and she said the best shoes for me would be for mild pronation. She brought out three pairs of shoes: New Balance, Brooks and Asics. I was easily able to narrow out one of them, which were the Asics. They were SO comfy, but I didn’t feel the same support like the New Balance and Brooks shoes had. Then I had a dilemma…I had a New Balance on one foot and a Brooks on the other. They pretty much felt the same to me, but in the end after a little bit of walking/jogging in the store, I went with the Brooks. They are the Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes, if you were wondering the exact shoe. 🙂

I tried to keep my cheapness to myself, because I knew I was doing the right thing. I did look over the counter to see the price of these, though. $100. That’s the most I’ve EVER spent on a pair of shoes, y’all. ::gulp:: I also ended up getting the $25 Adidas, because she said they would work fine for regular workouts and plus, they’re such a fun, bright color. 🙂

When I got home, I couldn’t wait to try these babies out. I ran last night in my new shoes, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome. It could have been in my head, but I felt like I could put more effort into my run (maybe the good weather helped with that too), and I also didn’t have the ankle soreness OR the terrible tight feeling in my legs afterwards.

In case you were curious about my current Saucony shoes, I did a little research and apparently they are a generic shoe that isn’t even offered in running stores. 🙁 I guess they’ll end up as a good casual shoe then, since I don’t want them to go to waste. 😛 Lesson learned: No more running shoes from a flash sale site.

When did you get your first fitting for running shoes? Did you find it to be worth it too?

Garlic Fridge Pickles

September 11, 2012 by Amy Leave a Comment

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that my parents’ green thumbs never passed down to me. My mom is a horticulturist, and even teaches courses at a local college. My dad is a pro veggie gardener (learned from growing vegetables for years), and can grow a mean crop of tomatoes. My parents make gardening look easy, but for me? I’m the plant killer.

My mom will bring me plants and seeds from time to time, and even the plants that are supposed to be kill-proof, die. I give ’em water and plenty of sun, but they just fizzle. I like to think of gardening like cooking. When I started cooking, I could barely scramble eggs. However, with a few years of cooking and baking under my belt, I’m proud to say that I definitely can follow recipes, and I’m starting to experiment with writing my own! I’m in my 4th year of having a veggie garden, and while the bugs took over the tomatoes (AGAIN), I was SO excited to see these monstrous cucumbers growing in my garden. MY GARDEN..growing cucumbers…crazy y’all. I’m hoping this is a sign that I’m starting to catch on to this whole gardening thing. 😛

I really wanted to make my own pickles out of these cucumbers, and since the cucumbers were just ridiculous, it only took 1 to fill up 3 pint sized mason jars. I especially love the idea of making fridge pickles, because I could leave the canning supplies in the pantry and basically throw these together very quickly.

These pickles are just so flavorful, and the wonderful thing about fridge pickles is that they are just unbelievably crisp. They lend an awesome crunchy texture to an otherwise average sandwich, and are also a pretty awesome snack on their own.

Garlic Fridge Pickles
Source: Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 whole cucumbers (make sure to use cucumbers with no waxy texture on the peel)

2 cloves garlic

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1/3 cups sugar

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp. dried dill

pinch of red pepper flakes

pinch of coriander

6 whole peppercorns

Directions:

Slice the cucumbers in 1/4 in.-1/8 in. thick slices and add them to mason jars or a large bowl. Cut the garlic cloves into quarters and using a knife, gently smash them. Evenly add the garlic pieces to the jars or bowl.

In a small pot, heat the remaining ingredients until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Pour the liquid over the cucumbers and garlic and cover the containers. Refrigerate the pickles for at least 2 hours before eating.

Levain Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 6, 2012 by Amy Leave a Comment

This time last week, our living room was completely full. While I enjoy having family over to visit, it wasn’t because of a celebration. Rather, we were sitting in our living room, praying for our power to stay on, and stressing about how terrible the wind/rain would be. Hurricane Isaac ~~visited~~ slammed southeast Louisiana, almost making landfall on the exact day that Hurricane Katrina hit. All of these feelings of anxiety just rushed back, and I hoped and prayed that our levee system would hold for my family’s sake.

When the storm was at its peak, I noticed that my family and I were definitely stress eating. I know stress eating isn’t healthy but sometimes, something like a freshly baked cookie just hits the spot and helps a little to make things more comforting. Of course, sitting through a hurricane where the winds are howling past your windows, rain is pouring horizontally, and the dogs are freaking out just can’t ever be comfortable, but something about snacks…I can’t explain it, but it just helped to get our minds off of things. These cookies were thick, chewy and just darn delicious.

Now, as for me and my (immediate) family, we were very lucky. My parents’ fence fell down, and that was the worst of it for them. However, my heart is heavy for those whose homes were flooded or otherwise destroyed from this storm. When I go to Facebook lately, quite a few of the statuses from my friends aren’t about football or politics. They’re about finding a place to do laundry, because they have no power; finding a place to take a shower after spending their whole day hauling damaged items out of their home; hoping they can find water and food for their families; hoping that FEMA can assist them in some way; scared about what the rest of the hurricane season has in store for us.

I’m tearing up as I write this post, because I’m sitting on my couch, with an intact roof over my head, knowing that all of my family members are safe and sound. I’m thankful, and I realize how truly blessed we are. We are truly blessed. If you have some prayers or good thoughts to spare, there are thousands of people out here who could use them as they rebuild. I don’t know of many local charities right now who are accepting donations for disaster relief (feel free to leave a comment if I’m wrong, though), but I do know that the Red Cross is out here. (Just to note, I’m not writing this post to ask for money, but if you wanted to donate, here’s the link for Red Cross.)

Levain Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients:

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter (very cold, shredded with your food processor or cut into small cubes)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. sea salt

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the cold butter and sugars until just combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.

In another bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add this to the wet mixture and mix until everything is just barely mixed together. Add the chocolate chips and hand mix in until the chocolate chips are well mixed into the dough.

Divide the dough into 12 balls, about 4 oz. each. (Size-wise, a little larger than a golf ball. You can use a jumbo cookie scoop to get a slightly rounded scoop as well.) Place the balls of dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes to chill.

Once chilled, place 6 balls per ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 18-22 minutes, until browned along the edges and set in the center.

Allow the cookies to fully cool on the pans before transferring to an airtight container.

Zoo Zoom 5K

August 30, 2012 by Amy 15 Comments

Last Saturday was my first 5K. Well, I used to do 5Ks with friends in college, but most of the time, I walked the course. I was never a runner, and I didn’t really care about my place in the race. I cared more about the free jambalaya and drinks afterward. Typical college student, right? MUST.FIND.FOOD. 😛

I have been doing the Couch to 5K training program for weeks now, so I figured it would be cool to test myself and see how I could do. I didn’t have high expectations, because my current pace is very slow, but I was really hoping for a 45 minute time.

Spoiler alert: 45 minutes didn’t happen.

The day before the race, it stormed, which isn’t really a big deal unless you live in a place like this. The day after a nasty storm, it’s usually crazy humid outside. I thought that maybe 8:15am starting time wouldn’t be SO bad, since it was still kind of early, so I woke up, ate most of a Luna bar, some fresh raspberries and chugged down a glass of water. Then, as I was getting ready to leave, I got SO nervous. I kept thinking to myself…what am I doing? Am I really going to do this? Thank God I had my friend doing this with me, because I probably would have chickened out and crawled back into bed.

Then, I thought…hey, it’s just a 5K. In the middle of the summer. How crowded could it be?

So, my friend and I arrived at the zoo, and the parking lot was PACKED. It was a HUGE turnout, and there were so many runners out there who looked like they meant business.

I kept telling my friend “We got this…we’re gonna rock this”, but in the back of my head I kept saying “Don’t pass out…don’t fall…don’t come in last”.

Before I knew it, the race started. I put on my Pandora station, and started my jog. I was feeling pretty good, and noticed that I saw a 13:29 pace on my app. To me, that was CRAZY fast. So, I slowed down to avoid the burn-out. My usual pace is a VERY slow 16:30ish, so I tried to stick to 15:00/mile pace as long as I could.

For the first mile, time flew. I wasn’t staring at my phone to check my stats much, and realized that I was doing a pretty good job with my pace after I saw the Mile 1 sign. 🙂 Then, around 1.5 miles, the usual zoo canopy of trees were gone, replaced with a side part of the track where we had to run through some sort of back parking lot. OH MY GAH. No shade…humid as all get out….and HOT. I was so sad to do this, but I had to walk. I walked for about half a mile until I got back under the trees, and got right back to running.

The second run was just SO difficult to get back into. I was hot, sweaty and felt like I was truly the slowest person there. I never turned around to see if anyone was behind me, but I felt truly alone at that point. There was one point around this time where I was running on the right side of the track, since I knew there would be mile 3 runners running on the same part of the track (yeah, the loops in this race were VERY confusing), and a volunteer shouted at me to move for the REAL runners (despite already being on the right side of the track). 🙁

That guy was the only volunteer who was like that. I have to admit, the other volunteers were truly wonderful. Even though I was one of the slowest ones there, they kept telling me “great job”, “keep it up”, “you’re awesome”…things like that. I really appreciated that, and every time, I’d try to muster out a “thank you” since they really did inspire me to keep pushing. 🙂

When I saw the mile 3 sign, I told myself to SPRINT. I can sprint 0.1 miles, and I figured it was just around the curve that I was running. I got super excited, but the curve kept going on and on and on…seriously. But then, I heard my friend. She was screaming “GO AMY!”, so I kept my sprint going to that finish. I saw my time as I crossed the finish line…51:06.

I was SO discouraged….like very bummed, but then I gave my friend a huge hug, and she said “You DID IT! You FINISHED a 5K!” My first reaction was WATER. SNACK. CHAIR., so we walked over to the pavilion where the rest of the runners were and I grabbed what I needed. 🙂

After guzzling down the water and slowly eating some animal crackers, I was so relieved to finally catch my breath. 🙂

My friend and I took a picture, and until then, I didn’t really realize how much I was SWEATING!

By the way, do you recognize this shirt?

After a few minutes, I decided to check the results to see how I did. I was 6th to last place. (yikes) However, on my Runkeeper app, I noticed that my overall pace was completely AWESOME. Way better than any long run I’ve ever done, and this race was almost twice as much as my longest C25K workout! 😀 So, that was awesome. And, my results can only get better from here!

My friend and I are already looking for a 5K to do this Fall, in fact! 🙂

Blackberry Basil Popsicles

August 24, 2012 by Amy 6 Comments

A few weeks ago, our basil was absolutely booming. I ended up making a huge batch of pesto, but I also wanted to try something sweet with the basil. I know that strawberry basil is a popular combination, so I figured why not try something with blackberries?

When I was a kid, I remember going to my grandma’s house, and picking a bowl full of these near the ditch by her house. They grew like crazy out there, and as kids, it was the coolest thing to pick your own food and bring it back for everyone to enjoy for dessert. Every time I eat blackberries, I’m always reminded of grandma’s house. 🙂

These popsicles are simple to throw together, and they are insanely good. You only need your blender or a food processor, and you’re good to go. I made these in those tiny bathroom cups (I think they’re 3 oz) and stuck a paper straw in there, since I couldn’t find popsicle sticks at the store. I think it makes them look more fun anyway. 🙂

Blackberry Basil Popsicles
Source: an original

Ingredients:

1.5 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed

one heaping handful of fresh basil, rinsed

1/4 cup honey

juice of one lemon

Directions:

Add the berries, basil, honey and lemon to your food processor or blender and puree the ingredients until well combined. (Optional: strain out the seeds, if you’d like.)

Add the mixture to popsicle molds or 3 oz. cups. If you’re using cups, allow the popsicles to freeze for about 30 minutes before putting the popsicle sticks in, so they stay put.

Freeze for about 8 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Amy

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