Happy New Year's Eve! With the new year upon us and dieting and weight loss being a popular, if not the most popular, New Year's Resolution people make, we decided to serve up some Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Walnuts today, a perfect New Year's Resolution diet/weight loss food and one of The Lucky Wife's favorites:
You will find the recipe over at MarthaStewart.com. We substitute freshly squeezed lime juice for the lemon juice to make it low-allergenic, which does not affect the taste hardly at all.
If you are one of those hoping to shed a few pounds in the new year, you may also enjoy:
We wish you all the best in 2012! Anyone making any unique resolutions this year?
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Can you believe how quickly these 100 days have passed? I want to thank you for joining us, and I hope you have enjoyed the ideas Tricia and I have shared with you from around the blogosphere. We would also like to thank all of the bloggers who have been directly involved in the series, whether it was through a guest post, a feature and allowing us to use your photographs from your blog, sponsoring a giveaway, or by helping us spread the word by putting our event button on your blog or sharing about it through social media.
I have some fun things to share today. First.... look who was at our house last night:
Santa... of course!
(These photos are courtesy of CapturetheMagic.com, discovered via Pinterest, thanks to Tricia. Follow us on Pinterest to stay up to date on all of our latest discoveries there like this one!)
I thought as a series finale post, it would be fun to highlight some of the top features from the series. I will start with my favorite, which is really difficult to decide with so many wonderful ideas, but if I had to choose one it would probably be the Wobbly Present Cookies from Day 94:
Credit: Miya, JellyFish Jelly
Most popular overall and most pinned on Pinterest from the series was the Homemade Limoncello from Day 88, a guest post by Krysta of My Life in Food:
And my favorite feature of Tricia's, our co-host over at Recipe Roundup, was the Holiday Dough from Day 33... because I think it is a perfect gift idea for teenagers and college students:
Coconut is one of a handful of things I really do not care for at all, so I did not try them, but he said they turned out delicious.
It has been fun counting down since September with you to this glorious holiday. Thank you again, each of you. We hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and would love to hear if anything from the series inspired you or what your favorites were!
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If anyone is still looking for great recipes that can be put together last-minute for family gatherings or other Christmas party events, check out this adorable snowman cheese ball:
With just 2 days until Christmas, today's post will stay short and sweet. I'm sure we've all got some last minute preparations to be taken care of! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the final day and Christmas Day for a special finale post.
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With just a few days now left until Christmas, we wanted to bring you something that would be easy to put together quickly and with little planning/preparation time. When I saw these beautiful, edible fresh vegetable and fruit holiday wreaths, I knew they fit the bill:
Photo used with permission; Credit: Lisa, Moore Minutes
Photo used with permission; Credit: Lisa, Moore Minutes
These two were made by Lisa over at Moore Minutes. You can find a step-by-step tutorial over there! She used them for a breakfast holiday brunch. Look how beautiful they were on her table:
Photo used with permission; Credit: Lisa, Moore Minutes
Do you ever wish you had some new ideas to use up leftover food, especially at the holidays? When we traveled overseas to bring our son home, we became much more aware of the amount of waste in America. When you're as blessed a country as we are in America, I think it's natural to lose sight of being good stewards and not letting things go to waste. It's just easier to throw things out when they get old or when you're tired of them, because you know you can get something nicer, bigger, or that you'd like better.
One of the things I've enjoyed about blogging is discovering blogs that show projects people have done with old things they've bought at a thrift store or that someone else was throwing out. It has amazed me the things people have done with these items that made them useful again, sometimes for a completely different purpose.
So today's gift idea would be perfect for the frugal friend or family member:
Disclosure: For
your shopping convenience, we are including a link when
possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know
someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through
which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.
We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event
through our blog to The Spoon Foundation. We are passionate
about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with
malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.
It may be a little late to get it for them for Christmas this year, but
think birthday or even Christmas next year! If you're like me, it's
never too early to begin thinking about next Christmas and to spread the
buying of gifts out a little bit throughout the year. It makes it
easier on the checkbook! :)
*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event. (Find out how you can do the same here). Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:
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Due to some technical glitches, we are posting Day 6 a day late... enjoy!
For those who enjoyed the previous gingerbread features, you're in for another gingerbread treat today. When I came across these Gingerbread Marshmallows, I knew they would be perfect for coffee lovers like myself, perhaps give it a little hint of Christmas flavor:
Now, I have not had a chance yet to try them out with my morning coffee, but it is definitely going on the ever growing to-do list! I don't know about the rest of the coffee lovers out there, but sometimes I'd love something a little different to try with mine. These come to us today from Julia at Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.
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Today's gift idea is another children's book, Gregory the Terrible Eater. It's a really cute story we came across at our local library. Take the food battles so many parents and children experience and read it from the perspective of goat parents! They could not get Gregory to eat a "normal healthy goat diet".
Disclosure: For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase. We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation. We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.
I have found it interesting how many books have been written about the childhood struggles with meals and bedtimes! The Chef and I often finish a children's book and then say, "We're in the wrong business!"
Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas linked up to the Christmas Smorgasbord. Add yours!
*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event. (Find out how you can do the same here). Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:
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Today we have some beautiful Christmas tablescapes to give you some ideas if your Christmas table decor has not yet been planned or decided. On the first day of this series, Kathleen linked up on our Christmas Smorgasbord some of her tablescapes:
The Chef has some friends from college who compete in Barbecue-smoking competitions. After they used some wood chips for one of their competitions, The Chef suggested this as a gift idea. So if you have anyone on your gift list who has a smoker but has never tried wood chips, here are some of what's available if you think they might enjoy trying them:
Disclosure: For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase. We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation. We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.
Stocking stuffers!
Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord. Add yours!
*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event. (Find out how you can do the same here). Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:
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I have stocking stuffers (and now, homemade Christmas treats) on the brain the closer we get to Christmas and the less prepared I feel this year, even with all of these great ideas during this countdown series! So I did what anyone like myself would do... began researching for some ideas. What resulted were the following two newest pins for my Christmas Pinterest board:
If you'd like some ideas for stocking stuffers to purchase, check out Amazon's selection of stocking stuffers. If nothing else, it's entertaining just to see what types of items are categorized as a stocking stuffer!
Disclosure: For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase. We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation. We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.
Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord. Add yours!
*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event. (Find out how you can do the same here). Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:
*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:
Today's gift idea is probably not one you'd give unless it was to someone very close to you and you knew he/she would be interested in this type of book and would appreciate it. Maybe it's a gift you'd like to give yourself. I know that not everyone "buys into" the connection between the foods we eat and how our bodies are affected by disease and not everyone wants to make lifestyle changes, preferring to address health conditions with traditional medical approaches.
When we first began looking into food sensitivities and investigating a potential connection between food and our son's eczema, it had never entered our minds that some of the symptoms we were experience could also be related to what we were eating. It was a profound, life-changing experience for us that, we believe, put us on a path towards better health overall as a family.
When I first came across this book, The Gerson Therapy, my interest was immediately perked because of our experiences with the effects of our daily diet on our health. This type of approach to treating disease sounds as though it requires some major changes, yet, I know there are people, like myself, who would be willing to make these changes if their lives depended on it and who would like to at least know about the information to investigate for themselves.
So while I pondered whether or not to include this book in our gift ideas... because it's sort of an "odd" type of gift, definitely not your normal choice for a gift for someone, I figured there would be some situations where it might make an excellent gift, even if just for yourself. Along with the book, we have included a link to a recipe book for those following the therapy:
Disclosure: For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase. We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation. We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.
I have not read the book, so cannot give even a personal opinion on it, but if I were considering purchasing it, I would definitely check the customer reviews to find out what people who've read it think about it.
Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord. Add yours!
*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event. (Find out how you can do the same here). Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:
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Did you know you have been invited to attend the real “Feast of the Ages,” the Wedding Feast of the Lamb? Revelation 22:17 says, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
This is the 21st course for our Feast of the Ages series. The final course in a 21-course meal should invite the enjoyment and fellowship of others following such an elaborate meal. So grab a cup of your favorite coffee and join us!
If you followed the series, you know that we served the 20th course back in September! Why are we just now serving the 21st course?
Well, we thought it would demonstrate that the celebration of the Church uniting with the Lord for eternity will never end. Some believe that the Wedding Feast of the Lamb may be symbolic, while others believe we may enjoy an actual feast. But no one can argue that once Jesus returns to take home His children, we all will be celebrating together who He is and what He has done for us forever. So it really did not matter when we served the 21st course for our Feast of the Ages series.
And we thought it fitting that we serve the final course, which emphasizes the eternal fellowship we will have with our Savior, during the Christmas season when we celebrate His glorious birth where it all began.
*(You will be able to select from the following versions: English, Chinese-traditional characters, French, Japanese, Spanish, or Children's -- preferred by some adults due to its simple style.)
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. If nothing else, it's entertaining just to see what types of items are categorized as a stocking stuffer!
