Celebrating on a Budget — A FIN-tastic Dory Party
By now, you know that we all LOVE to CELEBRATE!
This week, we celebrated Sophie, my firstborn, turning THREE! I can’t believe it! She decided that she wanted a Dory party a couple months ago and has been anxiously waiting for it since! Once she had made up her mind, I got right to the idea board. I knew I needed to find fun ideas that would not break the bank for her party! So, I started with my party go-to’s…
Pinterest is where I always go to get my creative juices flowing. I look at what other people have done and either create my own ideas from that or try to recreate what has been done before. It is also just a great way to get ideas organized in one place and to start honing in on a theme.
Party Purchases…
Party City is a great place to look for specific themes and colors. They had a few fun Dory favor and decor items. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a variety of plastic serve ware in all different shapes and sizes that worked great for this party – and they were great prices too! I was also able to find a 20% coupon to use in store which was an added bonus!
Walmart has the best prices for paper products and simple decor like streamers. They have some themed items, as well.
Oriental Trading has so many options for party items- fun favors, treat bags, decor and more! They often have discounts on their websites, too!
I even used Ebay for this party to find some unique favors!
JOANN Fabrics is the place to go for theme fabric. We used fabric for a party dress for Sophie, table cloth, and the fishing game drape. For previous parties, …
Read MoreApplesauce Yogurt Cake
Once again, I am baking away for something to serve at a bible study luncheon or a gathering at our home for fellowship and prayer time. This applesauce cake recipe is an adaptation of a good old standard family go-to cake that has been updated with more nutrition and more spices and a better overall consistency.
1 ½ cups white or whole wheat flour
¾ cups coconut flour
½ cup almond flour
1 ½ cups sugar (white, brown or coconut)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 3/4 cups applesauce
1 1/4 cups yogurt (see notes regarding fat percentage)
1 egg
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool 30-45 minutes or longer before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Before turning it out, you might want to run a paring knife around the center circle to loosen it a bit.
What is your favorite easy to make snack cake recipe?
- 1 ½ cups white or whole wheat
High Protein Chewy Nut Butter Granola Bar
We love to eat healthy in our family and we are always looking for ways to sneak healthy ingredients into our snacks. We also sometimes need to have some easy on-the-go ideas to grab and go that everyone loves…but healthy ready to go snacks can be pricey. And like our family you might also be tired of paying high prices for protein bars that your kids won’t eat. So for those of you who are looking for options we have a recipe for you to try! This is easy and healthy and delicious!!!!!
Ingredients
2 cups oats
½ cup coconut
½ cup natural peanut butter (almond butter, cashew butter or sesame seed butter)
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon Cacao Bliss (or any brand organic Cacao powder)
2 Tablespoons whey protein powder
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
You can use quick oats or whole rolled oats. If you want to use the whole rolled oats you might want to blend just a bit in the vitamix or blender. Combine oats with remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are blended together evenly. If your mixture seems a bit too gooey you can add a bit more oats. Press into a lightly greased 9 inch square pan and refrigerate for an hour. Cut into bars or squares and serve. If you have any leftover….you can individually wrap them and refrigerate until ready to eat.
Our Picky Ricky Review on this recipe is missing because Picky Ricky claims to be allergic to peanut butter….HAHAHAHA! Next time I will make these granola bars with ALMOND BUTTER and I will get him to try them and will update this recipe with his review. POOR Picky Ricky!!!!
Celebrations-How we Celebrate our Grandkids 6th Birthdays!!!
In our family, we love to celebrate! Our family is spread out all over the state of California so we have had to get creative with HOW we celebrate as a family. Webster’s definition of the word celebrate is “to observe or commemorate an event or an accomplishment with festivities and ceremonies”. Celebrations are a way of establishing family traditions as you honor a person or event. We fully embrace the truth that children spell LOVE…T..I..M..E!!!! Spending time together builds up the person being celebrated and allows everyone attending the celebration to acknowledge their feelings of love and commitment. We also see value in establishing traditions because belonging (to a family) is a way to build security and confidence as children grow and mature and affirms our love for our daughters and son-in-laws.
One of our favorite family traditions is that when our grandkids turn 6 years old they get a whole day at Disneyland with Gammie and Poppa ALL BY THEMSELVES!
This weekend we celebrated Hanna and Calvin and they each had a full day of fun at Disneyland with Gammie and Poppa!! Each of them structured their day in a way unique to their personality. They get to choose all the activities for the day. Hanna wanted to pick out her gift-a pair of Minnie ears and then go on “all the rides” we could fit into the day! Calvin wanted to get a lay of the land by riding the Disney train around the park a few times before he was ready to tackle the rides.
Both children have a passion for food so we tasted many yummy delights-especially wonderful ice cream treats! Hanna had endless energy and wanted to play tag every moment we were not surrounded with crowds of people. She literally talked the entire …
High Protein Apple Muffins with a SURPRISE
So before I give you a new family favorite muffin recipe…….I have a surprise……..Since Poppa Rick has been thinking about some new ideas for how he is going to ease into retirement…he came up with one job that he DEFINITELY wants to pursue!!!! So with the full endorsement of all the Growing Weisser gals, I have officially hired him as our official Growing Weisser food critic. His “Food Critic Corner” review with a one to five star rating system will officially be called; “Picky Ricky’s Recipe Review”. So stay tuned for his star review and other tidbits of info coming your way from “Picky Ricky”!!! His first review will be included at the end of this blog post.
Now that you are privy to the surprise…here is a fun recipe to pack a protein powerful punch early in the day. Our adult kids and grandkids LOVE muffins so we are always looking for ways to pack our homemade muffins with more protein, more fiber and less processed sugar. In this recipe we tried using more natural sugar and a high protein flour mixture to make a delicious and more nutritious apple muffin. Kodiak Cakes mix is made with 100% whole grain wheat flour and 100% whole grain oat flour and has a protein blend added that boasts 14 grams of protein in a single serving of pancakes, waffles or muffins.
Each muffin has about 135 calories and 6 grams of protein. The only thing that would make these muffins better is if you sprinkled some homemade granola on top before baking.
You can use another brand of high protein pancake or waffle mix if you prefer. You can also substitute (homemade) apple butter for the unsweetened apple sauce and then just skip the maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. …
Read MoreThe Stories of Us
Since February is the month of LOVE, we thought it would be fun to share the stories of the Growing Weisser spouses. It is our hope that you will learn something you didn’t know about our great love stories!!
Our Love Story (Kerry and Rick) and how the Weisser legacy began…
Kerry says:
“It all started with our first date with a group of 25 Jr High kids that we mentored from the church youth group where we worked. With the kids in tow we went to San Francisco to see Star Wars and eat lunch at a deli!
Proposal was epic-for the 1970’s. One day after Rick arrived home from his first year of medical school he invited me on a date. A surprise evening began with red roses then off to San Francisco to our favorite restaurant Lehr’s Greenhouse, tickets to the Nutcracker, and finally ice cream at the original Bud’s ice cream parlor!
When we arrived back at my house he had one more surprise-he played his guitar and sang me the song “Beautiful” and proposed with a cigar band!! After I said YES, he went home that night and we went ring shopping the next day!!”
The story of us (Rachel and Aaron)…
These two have been perfecting selfies and power poses since before it was a thing…even before Rachel knew Aaron was “Aaron.” That’s right! Aaron’s friends enjoyed giving him all sorts of nicknames, the longest standing being his high school nickname “Ernie,” and Rachel didn’t find out til almost a year after being friends that his real name was Aaron!!
Luckily, the truth was told, and soon after these two friends fell in love. Aaron (Ernie) proposed at Rachel’s favorite place…you guessed it – DISNEYLAND – she said YES, and the rest is …
Read MoreSending Love One Card at a Time
“Sending Love One Card at a Time” quoted from a wonderful friend’s website who has inspired this post. Upon receiving a letter from her last week it opened up a little piece of my heart. When was the last time you received a letter just because? Do you know that feeling of fishing through all that junk mail and finding a real envelope addressed to you and opening an actual real note? There is something so real and authentic about it that feels different than an email. It is like reading a real book. Real, tangible, meaningful, you can feel it and touch it. It connects to your heart and can connect to your soul. Or how about getting all those family Christmas cards during the holiday season? I absolutely love getting Christmas cards and sending Christmas cards. It is like this piece of my heart opens up and feels connected to all those people. Snail mail gets some similar feeling from me. It feels pure and deep. Real and vulnerable.
So I have been thinking about the past week of Valentine’s Day and love and relationships. And I think it is time to send a little love to some important people in my life. Tell them that are valuable to me. Show them in a different way I care. Even if the mail doesn’t mean the same thing to them, I love getting the opportunity to send it. Sometimes the things we think we are doing for others actually ends up opening a different piece of our heart and touching us in a different way.
I have a friend that sends letters on birthdays and anniversary. She is amazing and so intentional. And it means so much to me that I get a little blessing from such and incredible …
Read MoreMeet the Growing Weisser Men-Ashkon (Bekah’s husband)
Husband to Bekah and dad to his 2 incredible kiddos.
Ashkon is in his third (and final!) year as a Pediatric resident at UCSF Fresno. We are so proud of all his hard work, and everything he’s accomplished thus far!
His love language is food. He loves to try anything new but he’s still always up for a slice 🍕and a cone🍦
His other passions are soccer, the SF Giants and being a daddy!
He loves a good dad joke and is always trying to keep everyone around him laughing!
Ashkon and family are excited for what is next in his medical career- stay tuned for the news of his future job!
This family is full of the JOY of the Lord!!!
All photographs courtesy of Olia Luis photography.…
Read MoreMeet the Growing Weisser Men-Mike (Bethany’s husband)
Husband to Bethany, and the last (and best) addition to our family!!
Mike loves being around people and engaged in community. He gets the blessing of living out his strengths through various teaching and serving positions.
Mike teaches at a local high school, is involved in ministry clubs at the school, leads a small group at his church, and is very involved with his family.
When he isn’t entertaining his kids with his funny antics and great dance moves, you can find him going on runs, finding new ways to cook meat, going on hunting trips, or finding ways to compete in anything or everything.
Mike finds ways to make the most out of life and makes people around him feel loved and comfortable while always having a good time.
Such a wonderful Daddy.
Fun times!
True love!
What a beautiful family!
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.Photographs by Olia Luis
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📷@olialuisphotography…
Meet the Growing Weisser Men-JT (Jessica’s husband)
Today we highlight JT! The first man to join the family as husband and partner to Jess.
They have been living life to the fullest ever since they met, and over the year added 4 amazing kids to their bunch.
JT is a high school teacher, elder, mentor and successful track coach. He has been coaching Track and Field and teaching for 11 years. He is currently the Executive Director of a widely read leadership blog CoachAyers.com. JT also leads at his church as a pastor. JT is an incredible husband and fun and loving daddy.
He loves coaching his own kids in the way of the Lord and in all things sports. They know how to make the most of each day by loving, serving, and living big!
He has led the way and set a high standard for the other SILs. Love this wonderful Godly guy.
So much love and laughter with this bunch!
Such a joy filled family!
Photos by Olia Luis Photography…