Mango, Coconut, Chia Seeds - from Smoothie into Pudding

I know what you are going to say. To make a smoothie is just a matter of choosing which ingredients to use. Really nothing difficult.

I've growing up having it with lots of different variations. Mixing fruits, and sometimes vegetables, for a contrast of textures, colors, and many times  adding crunchiness by topping them with coarsely chopped nuts.

In Brazil, some people like vitamina, that's how smoothie is called there, mixed with oranges, I prefer the richness of a good cow's milk, or coconut milk. Either way, smoothies are delicious. A great choice for a snack.

This is barely a recipe, and you may be put off when I tell you  I failed at making a smoothie.

How is it possible someone fail at making a smoothie?

They happen to the best of us. I like to believe.

Let me explain. It's not that it turned up in some bizarre-tasting smoothie, but into a deliciously creamy dessert.

So naturally, I started mixing frozen mango, coconut flakes, and chia seeds with coconut milk...

But then something happened.

I felt like experimenting, trying to think outside of the smoothie box. And since I could not decide between adding whipped cream or heavy cream to my smoothie, I added both. And then some condensed milk for sweetness.

And I couldn't be happier I did it. My smoothie turned into a rich creamy texture pudding.

I can not tell you the quantities I used, as I kept adding and varying the quantities and the ingredients, but I can guarantee that blending frozen mango, coconut flakes, coconut milk, heavy cream, whipping cream and chia seeds, is an irresistible choice if you are dreaming about something soft, creamy and delicious.

And if you have a sweet tooth, don't forget to add some condensed milk to this mixture.

DIY Valentine's gift wrap

I don't know about you, but I like to improvise and personalize when it comes to wrapping gifts, specially if I come up with some simple diy, and that's exactly what I did in one of these quiet and cold winter weekends. 

I bought a pretty black & white wrapping paper with a red reindeer picture at Christmas time, and as I ended up not using it to wrap my Christmas gifts I decided to transform it in a Valentine's gift wrapping paper.

I'm a huge fan of paper punches, so in some sort of creative overdrive mode I got on the floor of my craft room with my pretty Christmas wrapping paper, a heart punch, and some scrapping papers.

So simple, fun, and addicting to work with paper punches. It was easy to come up with a cool way to transform my Christmas wrapping paper into a Valentine's one - I punched a few hearts and glued them on the Christmas-like reindeer picture.

So there you are, a simple way to re-create a wrapping paper.

A chocolate obsession - Brigadeiro

Whenever I want a quick and simple sweet treat, I always think of making Brigadeiro. They are gooey, rich and creamy, little nibbles of sweet one-bite delicacies.

The traditional Brigadeiro is brown chocolate covered with brown chocolate sprinkles, like these ones, but when preparing these sweet little treats you can be creative and playfully choose colors and shapes to the occasion, like the Pumpkin-Shaped Brigadeiros I made at Halloween for the delight of the neighborhood children.

A combination of only three ingredients: chocolate, condensed milk and butter,  Brigadeiros are simply amazingly good, light, delicious, quick and easy to make. What can I add to convince you?

They are the perfect sweet food for a buffet at a party.

I'm not much of a pink person, but I had fun making my Valentine's version.

♥ ♥ ♥

White Chocolate Truffles special for Valentine's Day
Makes about 30 candies

♥ 3 tablespoon white chocolate powder
♥ 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
♥ 1 tablespoon of butter
♥ Valentine-style sprinkles

Mix the condensed milk, chocolate powder, an butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly (this is important) until the mixture becomes thick and shiny, and starts to pull away from the bottom and sides of the pan.

Remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture into a plate greased with butter.

The mixture needs to be cooled off completely before being rolled into small balls. I like to place it in the refrigerator to speed up this process.

To make it easy to roll the mixture, you can either lightly rub some softened butter on your palm hands, or wet them with cold water. Using a small spoon scoop out the chocolate mixture and roll it into small balls between your palms.

Roll each ball in the sprinkles and place them in paper candy cups ♥

                                                                    ♥ ♥ ♥

Marcela, a food blogger, is promoting a worldwide contest for Chocolate lovers at her blog Torta Della Figlia. and is generously offering 4 prizes with a Lékué Macaron Kit to the 1st place winner!

To participate click on this link to learn about the rules. Have fun and good luck!

Heart to heart

It can be tricky to come up with new and clever diy ideas all the time, there are quite a few talented people doing it, and I catch myself wondering what to do next...

The simplicity and beauty of this heart collage caught my eyes when I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago, and I knew, at that moment, one day I would end up making my own.

This is such an incredibly easy and quick diy, in about half an hour you'll have a new wall decor.

Supplies:

• heart punch
• old book (mine is from a thrift store)
• scrapbook papers
• paper glue 
• paint brush to spread the glue on the back of the hearts.
• frame and mat 

I hope you will feel inspired by this diy.

I enjoy every minute while making it.

I have a green thumb...

Specially with adorable succulents. I love their shapes, their leaf forms and textures. Their color nuances are so unique.

It amazes me how easily they propagate from their leaves, from their stumps, nothing goes to waste, and it's marvellous to see their little roots sprouting from the end of the leaves and teeny tiny baby plants beginning to grow.

I have a friend who has a green thumb as well, specially for orchids but not for succulents, so I've been nurturing some succulents I propagated from cuttings and leaves to give to her at her birthday at the beginning of spring.

Yesterday, when I woke up to one more gray sky I felt like making some diy to juice up my creativity instead of falling to winter blues.

I like simple things and like to personalized my gifts, do you remember these diy flower holders? So with the help of some stickers I embellished small containers to hold the succulents pots.

I think my friend will much appreciate getting the succulents dressed up in these personalized cachepots, don't you agree?

Story on a plate

After eating too much, and cooking all sorts of sweets over the holidays, I am ready to start eating healthier again. I avoid processed foods, and buy organic as much as I can.

My mother did not have to bother to look for organic foods, they all were, in essence, organic foods. They would come from the farms in the outskirt of the town, and synthetic chemicals being added to our food was not a way to grow them yet.

I see all these trend diets that pop up once and again, making people hungry, deprived, eating things they don't like just because they say we should, and in the end they make you feel less energy and more cravings then when you started.

The villain now is gluten. It is true it can be harmful to those who suffer from celiac disease, or who have gluten intolerance, and I am thankful that's not my case.

A while back we were told to completely eliminate eggs from our diet, right? Now the story has changed, again. 

I believe we must have knowledge about food, we must listen to our bodies, and have common sense. There is a far difference between eating eggs with whole wheat bread and eggs with sausages, home fries, and so on.

So, when yesterday, I craved protein-loaded food, to have tuna and boiled eggs for lunch was a natural choice.

This salad was inspired by the classic Salade Niçoise, a nutritious one-in-all salad. 

Light, colorful, flavorful, and nourishing.

Salade Niçoise (my way)

♥ hard-boiled eggs, sliced
♥ tuna cans packed in water, drained
♥ tomatoes, sliced
♥ green beans, cooked until bright green & crisp-tender
♥ black olives, sliced
♥ yellow onions, sliced
♥ for the dressing: pink salt, olive oil, lime, freshly ground pepper, fresh basil

While growing up, my mother's salad dressings consisted in salt, olive oil, and lime - in Brazil, lime is more commonly used to boost food flavors than lemon.

To this day that's how I like to eat salads, specially when the ingredients are naturally flavorful as these ones.


I wish you all a blessed & healthy New Year!

Glitter it up!

New Year's Eve is right around the corner, and if you are celebrating it at home I have two easy and festive diy for you to get in the spirit.

Glittery Star Party Picks - these toppers bring a little extra festive sparkle to your party table.

Supplies: toothpicks, glitter scrapbooking papers, star punch, and glue.

Cut out as many stars as you are going to need with the paper punch; use two stars for each party pick; glue a toothpick between two stars so it looks pretty from both sides. Pronto! Now you have festive looking party picks.

Dressing up tea lights with glitter tapes. Not a new idea, I know, but good ideas are to be shared, plus they are so much fun to make, and a quick & festive addition to your party table.