Skinny Sorbet - for real!

I've been looking for healthy ways to eat yummy food. A year ago, we found out my husband has an autoimmune disorder. One of the odd side effects is a bout with Type II Diabetes. I also have a history of stroke and heart issues in my family, and decided it's time to really take my health seriously.

We've tried many different non-sugar-sweeteners, and our absolute favorite so far is Truvia (a brand of Stevia). I know there is a lot of controversy about sweeteners, but I am comfortable with both Stevia and Splenda products. To each his own :)

In my quest to add variety to our treat-eating, I came up with a really simple, yummy smoothie/sorbet. I'm in heaven! Here's what it looks like:

This is right out of the blender, so it's a little runny, more like a very thick smoothie. If you put it in the freezer for an hour or two, it's more sorbet-ish. I use a Magic Bullet. It really makes it creamy. The only downside is I can only make one or two servings at a time. I'm holding out for a Blend-tec at some point down the road, but for now, my Magic Bullet is the bomb!


Caryl's Skinny Strawberry Sorbet

*3/4 cup unsweetened frozen strawberries

*1/8 to 1/4 cup cold water

*1 tsp Truvia

*1/8 cup Cytomax® Protein Pure Performance Drink, Tropical Fruit (see note)

Combine & blend until smooth. Try not to get a brain freeze. One serving is roughly 44 calories and 4 net carbs. Seriously cool!

NOTE: The Cytomax is optional, but adds a wonderful, sugar free topical flavor, along with some protein. I usually buy it at a local weight-loss clinic, but I've also found it at Amazon.com. It is listed as "ready to drink" but it's really concentrated. We use it as a drink concentrate, and mix 1/8 to 1/4 bottle with 16 ounces of water for a great fruity protein drink. Love this stuff!

UN-Tangled

So...I'm on a dejunking-sorting-organizing kick. I also LOVE Pinterest. Between the two, I see potential organizational possibilities in lots of stuff. For instance...this container. It used to be full of cheese puffs that we bought from Sam's Club for the family snack table at my daughter's wedding. Normally, I would NEVER buy a container of cheese puffs this big!

Once it was empty, I washed it, pulled the labels off, and turned it into this:

Instead of tangled yarn in a bag, now it's organized! The container holds 7 skeins of yarn, so I used a hole punch to put 7 holes in the lid to pull the yarn through. I cut out some cute letters, and used my Xyron adhesive to put them on. It was awkward to pick up & carry, so I made a handle out of some other supplies I had on hand. I cut a piece of plastic tubing and threaded some ribbon through it. I punched holes in the sides of the jug, threaded the ends of the ribbon through and tied knots inside. Voila! A handle! (Thanks Carrie, for teaching me how to use plastic tubing as a handle!) The skeins in this new container belong to a half-finished afghan that I started last winter. With any luck, I can post a photo of the finished afghan by Christmas 2012 (LOL!)

Still in an organize-my-yarn mood, I took an empty cleaning wipe container and made a mini version of the same thing. I rinsed it (it should be VERY clean, right?), pulled the label off, and covered it with cute scrapbook paper that matched the orange lid. It only holds one skein, but keeps it from getting all tangled. The lid closes easily over the one strand hanging out, so I can see what color it is. I'm definitely making more of these! I'm a little germophobic, and my husband's immune system is NOT good, so I buy cleaning wipes by the three-pack at Sam's or Costco. Hence, getting the containers isn't an issue :D I'm so excited to get more of my craft stuff organized!

iPad Doh

One of my cute nephews (I have many) just celebrated his 15th birthday! Whenever you ask him what he wants as a gift, he ALWAYS says "money." Not because he's greedy. Because he's always saving for something really cool, like his iPod Touch, or his laptop. This year, he was saving up to buy the new iPad 3. My very creative sister (his mom) came up with such a fun way to give him money. She gave him "iPad Doh."

I have to admit...it took us all a minute to figure out this was no ordinary "Play-Doh." The overlays she made that said "iPad-Doh" were so realistic! It looked awesome.

Somehow, she even got all the tubs of dough out, replaced their labels, and put them back in the original package so he had to open it like it was new.

He finally figured there must be something inside the tubs, so he opened them one-by-one.

 
Inside each tub of Play-Doh was a tightly-rolled $20 bill wrapped in colored plastic wrap. So...(drum roll)...it really WAS iPad doh! Seriously cute. I'm thinking this would work for lots of money gifting occasions. "Prom-Doh" "Camp-Doh" "Disney-Doh"...you get the idea. Thanks for letting me share your amazing idea Carrie!