Best of the Month August 2015

A recap of my most popular blog posts from last month (August 2015)

Best of August 2013:

Special Dark Mocha Chip Cake

A moist dark chocolate cake with a creamy mocha frosting topped with chopped chocolate chips.  Now has 477 views and 22 +1s.

BoMAugust2015 | Special Dark Mocha Chip Cake: 2013 #bestofAugust via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Best of August 2014:

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

A dip made with sour cream, green onions, cheese, and bacon bits.  It's like a loaded baked potato on a chip.  This dip has been very popular and I made some just last week for gameday.  It now has 1997 views and 121 +1s.

BoMAugust2015 | Loaded Baked Potato Dip: 2014 #BestofAugust via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Now for this years best of August:

Fish Sticks Tacos

A quick dinner fix of fish tacos made with fish sticks and slaw on corn tortillas.  508 views and 36 +1s.

Fish Sticks Tacos | #BestoftheMonth August 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Ginger Lime Chia Water

Water sweetened with ginger simple syrup, brightened with a touch of lime juice, and extra nutrition added with chia seeds.  490 views and 30 +1s.

Ginger Lime Chia Water | #BestoftheMonth August 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Smoked Salmon Mini Flatbread Sandwiches

Smoked salmon atop a warm feta spread with lettuce and red onions on miniature naan bread.  448 views and 37 +1s.

Smoked Salmon Mini Flatbread Sandwiches | #BestoftheMonth August 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Healthier Garlic Aioli

A creamy dipping sauce with plenty of garlic flavor and a little spice made with high protein, plain, non-fat Chobani Greek yogurt instead of oil or mayonnaise.  444 views and 37 +1s.

Healthier Garlic Aioli | #BestoftheMonth August 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Great Ideas for My Birthday Cake

A round-up of 10 of my favorite cakes, shared on Great Idea Thursdays link party, that I would love to have as my birthday cake. 350 views and 19 +1s.

Great Ideas for Birthday Cake | #BestoftheMonth August 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Check out the bests of August from previous years:

Best of the Month August 2013

Best of the Month August 2015

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Ginger Lime Chia Water

Water sweetened with ginger simple syrup, brightened with a touch of lime juice, and extra nutrition added with chia seeds.

Chia seeds have been a popular health food fad for a while now.  It's no wonder why.  They are a great source of fiber, protein, omega-3s, and other nutrients and antioxidants while being low in calories.  These seeds are tiny and a great way to add health benefits to many recipes.  This is one of my favorite ways to add some extra fiber to my diet.

Chia seeds are a great source of fiber, protein, and omega-3s.  [Tweet this]

Usually, I add a scoop of chia to about 6-8 ounces of water or coconut water and quickly chug it down after a workout.  Other than that, I mostly just drink plain water and try to get my 8 glasses a day (64 ounces or about 2 liters) but, occasionally, I like to have something different.  Flavored simple syrups are a great way to flavor water and they are also great in cocktails. You can control the sweetness and the strength of flavor.  If I'm going to add sugar to my water, I might as well add some nutrients from chia seeds too. It's so much better than buying and drinking sodas (I don't like carbonation but if you do add flavored simple syrup to soda water).

I try to get my 8 glasses (of water) a day.  [Tweet this]

I often have fresh ginger laying around.  It's easy and inexpensive to buy here and I often use if for cooking.  I had some leftover so I decided to use it for Ginger Simple Syrup.  I had about 1/2 a cup of peeled ginger slices that I added to 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar.  Then heated the mixture until the sugar dissolved, covered it and let the ginger steep in the water until it cooled.  This made a very sweet simple syrup with the spicy bite of ginger.  Just a little bit of this simple syrup will go a long way.  If you want even more ginger flavor with less sweetness use a 1:1 sugar to water ratio (with the same amount of ginger--then you can use more syrup imparting more flavor).

A little bit of Ginger Simple Syrup goes a long way.  [Tweet this]

Ginger Lime Chia Water

Ingredients:

12 oz water
*Ginger Simple Syrup to taste
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Lime wedge

Fill a glass with about 12 ounces of cold water.  Stir in some ginger simple syrup to your taste.  Then pour in up to 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and stir thoroughly.  Refrigerate or just let set for about 5-15 minutes to allow the chia seeds to soften.  Squeeze in some fresh lime juice before drinking or serving.  Stir as you drink to keep the chia seeds afloat.  You can add ice if you like I just prefer the temperature of beverages right out of the fridge.

Stir, drink, and enjoy.

For more drinks check out:

How to Make Cold Brewed Tea

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Dillinger Cocktail with St. Germain

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Great Ideas for Summer Drinks

A Great Idea Thursdays roundup of great summer beverages.  Just in time for your 4th of July celebration (at least for those of us in the U.S.A.).

Summer is here and it's hot.  I've always been a summer girl and loved the heat but having MS makes me heat sensitive.  That means if I get too hot my disabilities get worse.  It's no big deal, I'm used to it now I just have to take advantage of the shade and keep a cold beverage on hand.  So instead of doing a patriotic roundup for the 4th I thought it would be better to share refreshing summer beverages.

All of these drinks have been shared on Great Idea Thursdays link party (starting Wednesdays @ 6:00pm EST and ending Sunday @ 11:59pm EST).  If you would like to join us just link up anything you've made yourself...family friendly please.  Everything gets pinned and I share my favorites on social media and do the occasional roundup.  Follow our Pinterest board for more great ideas.


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Now for those refreshing summer drinks.  I separated them into alcoholic and non-alcoholic...just remember alcohol dehydrates so it's always good to sip on water too. If you want to pin any of these images please pin directly from the source

Alcoholic:

Sea Breeze Punch from Keep it Simple Sweetie

Easy Frozen Strawberry Margaritas from Yesterfood

Gator-itas from Florassippi Girl

Perfect Summertime Sangria from Keep it Simple Sweetie

Jalapeno & Citrus Margarita from Keep it Simple Sweetie

Cherry Limeade Cocktails from This Silly Girl's Life

Blackberry Apricot Sangria from This Silly Girl's Life

Cherry Mom-osas from Keep it Simple Sweetie

Red Wine Cooler from Keep it Simple Sweetie

Non-Alcoholic:

Berry Lemonade from A Mom's Take

Coconut Lavender Lemonade from Confectionalism

Kids Cranberry Mocktail from Madame Deals, Inc.

Homemade Cola from Little House Living

Dragonfruit Mock Mojito from Frugal Mon Eh!

Raspberry Mint Lemonade from A Dash of Sanity

Watermelon Lemonade from Almost Supermom

Blue Raspberry Lemonade Jello Slush from This Silly Girls Life

Dollar Tree Fruit Cube Cocktail from Robyn's View

Pink Lemonade from Little House Living

Enjoy and try to keep cool this summer.

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Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

A simple bloody mary mix made from tomato paste.

Bloody Marys make a great drink for 6 AM kickoff on gameday Saturdays.  However, the bottled mixes can be slightly expensive and you still have to tweak it to suit your tastes.  I decided to make my own.  I don't keep plain tomato juice in the house, but I always have tomato paste, so why not dilute it?  I absolutely love tomato paste.  It is so versatile, you can make tomato sauce with it, add it to soups and stews, and now I have found out you can make tomato juice with it.  I love that I can now, easily, make my own bloody mary mix using my favorite spices and hot sauce.

#Tomatopaste rocks | #Homemade #BloodyMary Mix  [Tweet this]

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Ingredients:

1 6oz can tomato paste
3 1/2-4 cups water
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions or 1-2 Tbsp onion powder
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Big Daddy's Ass Burn Sauce, use your favorite)
1 tsp celery salt
few shakes celery seed
1/2 cup cilantro (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Use less water if you like a thicker bloody mary, use as much hot sauce as you like or leave it out altogether.  I used green onions and cilantro just because I had some that needed to be used.

Pour the blended mixture into a large saucepan and heat to a boil (if you are worried about chunks pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer to catch any larger chunks).  It doesn't need to boil long, just let it reach a boil then remove from heat.  This just helps take off the raw flavor from the garlic, onions, and cilantro.  If you use only dried spices you could probably skip this step.

Refrigerate at least over night to allow the flavors to meld.  Pour over vodka and garnish how ever you like.  You can rim the glass with celery salt, add a stick of celery, pickles or olives. I used a stick of bacon.

Drink, watch football, and enjoy.

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