This is my eighth installment of my project, “30 Things My Kids Should Know About Me.” As far as my biggest passion, family takes the cake. But, I’m increasingly becoming more passionate about blogging. This has been sort of a diary for me. I hope your enjoy this project so far. Please feel free to chime in. I look forward to your comments.
What are some of your passions?
Since the beginning of my pregnancy, I’ve been craving a lot of fruits. Pineapples, bananas, apples, you name it. But in the last few weeks, I haven’t been yearning for that fruity fix. As a result, my sweet stash has been going bad.
That’s when it hit me! Why let it go to waste?
I’ve been known to jazz up a chicken or shrimp dish with a few pieces of pineapple. But, I wanted to do something a little different. I dug up an old recipe for banana bread that I got from a friend a few years back. In true Weather Anchor Mama fashion, I had to put my own spin on it. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a health nut. But, I like to go easy on the gluten. Transforming recipes to healthier options leaves room for indulgence.
Here is the recipe in case you wanna give it a shot!
Ingredients:
2 cups of brown rice flour
3/4 light brown organic sugar
1 cup of mashed bananas
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
3 eggs (or 1 cup applesauce)
3/4 walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease pan.
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and sour cream in a separate bowl. Add bananas and vanilla, then combine your flour mixture and mix well. If you’re feeling nutty, fold in 3/4 of chopped walnuts.
If you decide to bake in a loaf pan, it should take about 45 minutes to an hour (depending on size). However, I like to use an 8 inch baking pan or make cup cakes, which normally take about 15-30 minutes to bake. When in doubt, test with a tooth pick. If you stick it in and it comes out clean, your good to go.
Now that spring is here, it’s time to brighten things up a bit. Thanks to Mother Nature, we finally have relief from the cold temperatures. One of the things I love about this season is, of course, the milder weather. But, I also love spring fashion. I also enjoy dressing Princess up in cute little outfits, and accessorizing. She started out with no hair, and never left the house without a hat during the cold months and a headband or bow, once the warm temps rolled around. So, accessorizing has always been an important part of her wardrobe.
This spring I’ve been seeing some cute flower hair clips. Flowers From Fatima has a nice range to choose from, and it’s not limited to just kids. In fact, they have some pretty cool items for weddings.
When I dressed Princess earlier this week, I wanted to add some spice to this plain outfit. This yellow sunflower brought the va-va-voom to this ensemble.
It can be worn alone, or in this case, we paired it with a simple satin headband we already had. Adding the flower clip spruced it up!
In honor of spring, Flowers From Fatima will be giving away a hair accessory worth 15 bucks. You can enter via the rafflecopter below. Plus, customers always receive a free gift with 35 dollar purchases So, everyone wins!
We’re always asking Princess about her day. She loves telling stories. Here’s her latest recap.
When I was a kid, I never really understood Easter in America. Being from Jamaica, my siblings and I would start the day with a traditional Jamaican breakfast, ackee and sal (cod) fish with fried dumplings. We did our usual walk to church on Sunday, and heard about the death and re-birth of Jesus all over again.
The holiday has always been celebrated differently all over the world. But in our house, we never got to rock a brand new Easter outfit on Sunday, and we knew nothing about decorating or hunting for eggs. This was all foreign to me when I moved here from Jamaica. For us, Easter was a holiday spent at church and with family. My mom prepared a big feast, and we got to enjoy Jamaican bun and cheese.
To this day, I’m not sure I’m with the whole American Easter tradition. But let’s face it, Princess is multi-cultural. It’s only right for me take one for the team.
Since I never got to don a new dress on Easter, I wanted to make sure my baby had a brand new one. We started the day with a healthy breakfast. I made some ackee and sal fish with breadfruit, Jamaica’s national dish. Unfortunately, Princess and her dad weren’t into it, so I had to make them eggs.
We attended church.
She kept saying, “Shhh, we have to be quiet in church.”
Despite three bathroom breaks, Princess did make through the entire service. I was pleasantly surprised that she lasted that long. I wondered if it’s because knew she had a bunch of surprises waiting for her. My hubby and I told her if she behaved, she’d be rewarded. We started with a Easter egg hunt with a twist.
I knew that Grandma had another hunt along with goodies, so we wanted to do something different.
After returning from Grandma’s, we had dinner. My mom later stopped by with bun and cheese. Princess had more eggs to hunt for inside, and Grandma got a kick out of watching her look for them.
I still don’t really understand why American’s make such a big deal about bunny’s, eggs, and jelly beans on Easter. But, I did enjoy the day.
Although Princess had fun decorating and hunting, I still want her to know about the significance of this day.
We actually went to the library the other day and picked up this book which highlights the significance behind different traditions. I was such a proud mama watching my little girl enjoy herself. But, Easter is more than gifts. It’s important to know the true meaning behind it. I’m so glad we got to spend it as a family, and even happier that we began our own tradition.
I deliver the weather week nights in New York City. However, my most important role is being a wife and mom. It's a tough balancing act, but I love it.
