Jake and the NeverLand Pirates Jake Saves Bucky

October 12, 2012 By

 

Jake and the Never Land pirates

“Aw, Coconuts!” I hear that a lot around my house, along with “Yo ho, let’s go!” since my boys love Jake and the NeverLand Pirates. When I told them I got Jake and the NeverLand Pirates Jake Saves Bucky they burst into excited chatter all at once. I heard all about Izzy and Cubby, Captain Hook, Sharky and Bones, and especially Jake and Peter Pan. Matthew told me how much he loves this episode but that it is a little scary when Jake and Peter Pan have to get past the fire-breathing dragon to save Bucky from the sneaky Captain Hook.

I love the fact that all three of the boys enjoy Jake and the NeverLand Pirates from Disney Junior. The stories teach about friendship and respect without being scary and without including violence or inappropriate language. Jake and the NeverLand Pirates Jake Saves Bucky is available on DVD and Digital Copy on October 16, 2012 and includes Jake Saves Bucky, Peter’s Musical Pipes/The Never Night Star, Captain Hook’s Hooks/Mr. Smee’s Pet, Race-Around Rock!/Captain Hook is Missing!, and Captain Hook’s Lagoon/Undersea Bucky! In addition there is a bonus feature of Pirate-oke “A Karaoke-like feature that allows viewers to sing along to a collection of the songs featured in the episodes.”

You can buy your own Jake and the NeverLand Pirates Jake Saves Bucky for $19.99 US, $24.99 Canada.

The show runs for approximately 135 minutes, which is great for those long rides in the car. I know we will be bringing our copy along on our next trip.

I was provided with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review of the product.

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Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract

October 11, 2012 By

 

Vanilla Extract

We love vanilla in this house, we just love it! Matthew says his favorite flavor is vanilla and he never, ever picks another ice cream. So I add vanilla to all sorts of things, not only to make him happy, but to ensure a delicious final product. I use vanilla Stevia to flavor my drinks and I use Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract in all my baked goods. We love to add it to our Gluten Free Pancake batter, our crazy Pancake Muffins (recipe coming soon), and I am even using it in our creamy Maple and Vanilla Butternut Squash puree (recipe below).

I personally love the flavor of almond and in addition to the Nielsen-Massey vanilla, I add a little Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract to the same Gluten Free Pancakes to make them extra special. I can even be found adding the almond extract to my black tea because I think it makes for one of the most delicious drinks on a cold fall evening. When I was little we always made our Christmas sugar cookies with a hint of almond as almond has always been associated with extravagance and special occasions.

Since the boys are gluten free and now dairy free again, I foresee meringues being a big holiday hit. All of the Nielsen-Massey extracts will make perfect additions to our meringue recipes. Of course we will use vanilla in all the recipes, but Nico is particularly fond our our peppermint meringues and Nielsen-Massey’s Peppermint extract is highly fragrant and pure flavored. I am very interested in using the Pure Chocolate Extract, because really, who doesn’t love chocolate. In the book A Century of Flavor Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, the chocolate extract is used in the Hearty White Bean Chili, and I’m sure it adds a depth of flavor that couldn’t be achieved without it.

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Maple and Vanilla Butternut Squash Puree
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Pureed Butternut Squash scented with maple and vanilla extract
Ingredients
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • olive oil
  • ⅛ cup maple syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Wash the Butternut squash, cut off top and halve the squash lengthwise.
  3. Remove seeds and fibers from cavity.
  4. Drizzle olive oil on cut halves of squash and place cut side up in a baking dish.
  5. Bake squash for 1 hour or until fork tender.
  6. Scoop flesh from rind of squash, discard rind.
  7. In a large bowl with a hand held blender, or in the bowl of a blender, cream the squash, the maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.
  8. Serve immediately
  9. Recipe inspired by Creamy Vanilla Sweet Potatoes from A Century of Flavors Nielsen-Massey Vanillas.
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Wordless Wednesday – Blog Cabin

October 10, 2012 By

Wordless Wednesday I went to #Brandcation in Tennessee last week. Here is the view from our Blog Cabin.

Brandcation

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My Favorite Stevia Giveaway

October 9, 2012 By

 

Stevia

When we decided to remove all artificial sweeteners from our diet I had a hard time with drinks. I used to drink diet soda all the time, and for some reason I never used to enjoy plain water. I started adding lemons and limes to my water and I tried using sparkling water too in an attempt to make it more palatable. Then someone suggested I try vanilla Stevia. I got some and found that it was a sweet addition. I love using NuNaturals vanilla Stevia in my San Pellegrino and sometimes even add a dash of lime. It reminds me of an old fashioned cream soda without all the calories and it isn’t full of artificial junk.

Recently I started using NuNaturals orange Stevia in my water and that has fast become my favorite. I made the mistake of letting the boys try it once and have officially created NuNatruals Stevia monsters. Matthew loves the peppermint in his water and I suspect as the winter approaches he may really enjoy it in his homemade hot chocolate. Nico adores the orange and lemon, while Lorenzo seems to be hooked on the vanilla. At dinner we often hear little voices asking for vanilla water. We all love the fact that unlike many other Stevia products, NuNatruals Stevia is non-bitter and NuNaturals uses real essential Orange, Lemon and Peppermint.  I plan to use NuNaturals in my peppermint meringues this Christmas.

My mom is a diabetic and I have recently gotten her hooked on NuNaturals. After reading that Dr. Mercola feels Stevia is the near perfect sweetener, I suggested she try it to replace the artificial sweeteners she used in her tea and oatmeal. She loves it and doesn’t miss the other sweeteners one bit.

NuNaturals also has a new product called Tagatose. It is a sweetener safe for diabetics that is naturally occurring in milk, fruits and vegetables. It is lactose and gluten free, low calorie, low glycemic index and low in carbohydrates. One of the really amazing things about Tagatose is that it will “brown” and “carmelize” like sugar and helps retain moisture longer, making baked goods remain softer longer. NuNaturals PreSweet™ Tagatose is also a prebiotic ingredient, which means it feeds probiotics and helps promote good bacteria growth. I recently saw a recipe for a ginger and mint syrup made with Tagatose. I can’t wait to try this as I have previously made ginger syrups with regular sugar and although I love the taste I don’t love the calories that go along with it. Tagatose may be the answer to some nagging sugar problems, as I would love to make some delicious desserts that my mother could also partake of, without risking raising her blood sugar or exposing her to artificial sweeteners and chemicals.

NuNatruals has been generous and offered to give away four (4) sets of Lemon, Orange and Peppermint Stevia Liquids to Matthew’s Puzzle readers.  Simply enter using the RaffleCopter entry form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was provided with free samples of all of the items discussed in this article. All the opinions are mine or my family’s.

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