Summer Sips

Summer is just around the corner and there is nothing better than a nice cold drink on a hot day. Alongside juicing I have been playing around with different smoothie combinations.  Smoothies are nice, in comparison to juicing because you can add ice or yogurt to make it more of a milkshake texture.  I am going to share with you some of the combinations I have been experimenting with as well as different juices to try too!
Cheers to healthy summer sips!
Let's start with juice..

watermelon, spinach, peach, carrot, orange and beet juice

spinach, celery, orange, carrot, lime and apple juice

apple, orange, carrot juice

strawberry juice:)

cantaloupe, rhubarb, carrot, apple, spinach juice

Now a couple of smoothie ideas...

spinach, peach, banana, vanilla yogurt and ice

spinach, banana, strawberries, strawberry yogurt and ice

I have found it very helpful to peel and freeze the banana because it gives the smoothie a thicker consistency

I plan on sharing new combinations throughout the summer!  Let me know if you have a fav drink!

Happy Drinking!

Love, T



Healthy Chocolate Oat Cookies

I found a really healthy and tasty recipe on instagram the other day and I decided to make my own version. They turned out to be pretty good and the best part...no flour or dairy needed!

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups oats
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c natural peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp Agave
1/4 c slivered almonds

Mix all ingredients and bake for 10 min in a 350 degree oven:)

Enjoy!
Happy Baking!
Love, T

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!!  I hope you were able to squeeze in a little time with your mommy today:)  I wasn't sure I would get to see mine but it all worked out and my siblings and myself made it home to see her.  We grilled out and enjoyed coffee and the beautiful day outside, it was quick but it was lovely:)

yulp Tara's coffee mug has her very own picture on it..haha.

I even got to see one of my Grandmas!

I love you Mom:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, T

U-Pick Strawberries

It's Farmer's Market time again and I am extra excited this season.  Since Johnny and I have been juicing  we have been using lots of, I mean lots of fruits and veggies each week and there is no better way to buy produce than local and fresh.  So we took a little journey to a local farmer's market in town to pick our own strawberries:)  It was such a beautiful day to be outside and picking strawberries was a great idea.  We got a few other goodies, like tomatoes and fresh eggs while we were there but we were mostly excited about juicing our fresh strawberries. If you are wanting to find farmer's markets in your area there are great resources now to find these local gems, from facebook to apps on your phone!  Try this app or this website! 

ready to go home and juice!

and there you have it..fresh strawberry juice:)

Happy Picking!

Love, T

Happy Nurses Week!

Well it is nurses week this week and I wanted to wish all of my fellow nurses a HAPPY NURSES WEEK!  Some of my very best friends are nurses as well as my mom and my mother-in -law so nurses are pretty important to me for lots of different reasons.  I have been a nurse now for 5 1/2 years...wow I honestly can't believe I just typed that.  Time really does fly.  Anywho. I started my nursing career in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and absolutely fell in love with the specialty.  I had amazing teachers from day one and I feel they have impacted the nurse I am today immensely.  They taught me the what to dos and more importantly the what NOT to dos and I am thankful for their willingness to teach and their patience.  I'm sure it's hard to teach a brand new nurse.  I was in the NICU for a little over 3 years.  When I moved to Murray, KY the drive became slightly annoying so I decided to branch out and try something closer and a little different..Labor and Delivery.  While these are both baby areas, they are definitely two different worlds as far as nursing goes!  I worked there for about 7 months and when Johnny got a job back in Madisonville, KY I decided to try something COMPLETELY different..Surgery, where I worked for a year.  I enjoyed the OR as well but found myself missing the NICU at times.  After Johnny got laid off and lots of changes happened I ended up back in the NICU where I work today.  I have been back in the NICU for 8 months now and I know in my heart, this is my passion.  Whatever specialty you may be in I am sure you are touching many different lives on a daily basis:)  If you aren't a nurse but know one make sure you wish them a Happy Nurse's Week:)

This is kinda old but this is me with my favorite nurse..my mom:)

Happy Nurses Week!

Love, T

Chipotle Cheddar Sweet Potato Muffins

I was flipping through my Clean Eating Magazine the other day and ran across an interesting recipe I wanted to try since I had a few sweet potatoes that were on their last leg.  I made chipolte cheddar sweet potato muffins. I followed their recipe pretty close and made only minor changes and would like to share it with you! Visit their website here for lots more recipes!

You will need..
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 c skim milk
1 egg
1/2 c shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375

Place sweet potato cubes in a pot of boiling water until softened
Drain, mash and add milk, egg and cheese and combine until smooth

Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl
Combine the two bowls and scoop into greased muffin tin
Bake 15-20 min

Enjoy!
They are the perfect match for tomato soup:)  My personal favorite tomato soup is Amy's ...umm yumm!
If you have sweet potatoes in your cabinet begging to be used, try these healthy little muffins:)

Happy Cooking!

Love,T

Lately...

Hello my friends:)  I thought I would drop in and let you know what I've been up to lately.  Other than workin' this is what I've been doing..

I made quite a few new earrings for the etsy shop, check them out here

still juicing...

and learning what I really like and don't like to juice!

catching up on some mindless reading..

making fun little handmade trades with fellow bloggers like this one from Jamie

enjoying yummy healthy food..

I have been super obsessed with Mad Men lately:))

We have had a couple game nights..

I have learned that I am not so good at Trivial Pursuit:) owell it is still fun

starting to get summer ready!!

and of course bugging Burli:)

If you follow me on Instagram, I apologize if you have seen all of these before:)

If you don't and would like to follow me my name is tia_ann! Find me!

I'm looking forward to summer and have a few DIYs in mind to share with you!

I hope you have a sweet week.

Happy Sunday!

Love, T