How to Make Your Own Cashew Milk

I love milk. All kinds of milk. Dairy milk (fresh or powdered), soy milk, almond milk.

My son loves milk, too. All kinds of milk I mentioned above, but his most favorite one remains to be breast milk. Hee hee

Enter cashew milk:

Pictured above are three bottles. I was able to make three full bottles of cashew milk; unfortunately, Yuri drank one up before I got the chance to take a photo!

Just to make it clear, we'll still gladly drink any forms of milk available. But ever since I read a blog post about homemade cashew milk way back last year, I've been itching to make one for myself Yuri. Unfortunately, it's hard to look for raw cashews in the city! All I can see are either salted cashews, roasted cashews, flavored cashews. So my project had to be placed on hold.

One day, though, my folks were at Victoria Plaza to buy some baking materials when they stumbled upon packets upon packets of, you guessed it, raw cashews! Yay!

Two Natural Ice Cream Flavors You Can Make this Summer

I seriously cannot recall how it felt during the cold months of January and February.

Even though our weather here in the south is a bit on the "cool" side now because of the storm (Oh God protect us!), the air is still hot and humid.

As it's already officially summer, is there a better thing to do than eat ice cream?

Yes, there is something better. Make one!

This week and last week, I made two different ice cream flavors that you can create at home. Aside from being more affordable than commercial ice cream, these only have two ingredients each. What's not to love?

First one is the classic avocado ice cream. Americans might be surprised to hear that we eat this fruit in sweet desserts. Anyway, I love avocado because it has protein and healthy saturated fats which we all need.

To make the ice cream, you only need two ingredients: avocados and condensed milk.

Yes, I know condensed milk is not the most nutritious stuff on the planet and it raises the cholesterol level of this ice cream, but there's no better replacement for this (unless you can suggest one?). Plain milk makes the mixture too liquid, which is not good in creating ice cream, while honey does not make it creamy enough.

I seriously believe it's still better than commercial ice cream!

How to make it? Just blend the two ingredients together! I don't have measurements because you only need to add the milk from time to time until you achieve the flavor you want.

The second ice cream you can make is a lot healthier than the first: banana-peanut butter! I actually first wrote about it last year. I love bananas because they're rich in potassium while peanut butter is full of protein.

Like the name suggests, you only need bananas and peanut butter.

You can use any kind of peanut butter, but I shy away from using brands with too many ingredients. My current favorite is the local Danes brand as I have yet to see a brand here with just peanuts as the ingredient.

Anyway, just blend the two ingredients together! Again, I don't have a measurement for this. Just gradually add the PB until you achieve the flavor you want.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a photo of the actual ice cream because we quickly ate it all up during a power interruption. Fail!

That's it! Have a great summer!

Tip: You can make any fruit combination that you want. Just remember to use fruits that are fleshy and not those that are juicy (oranges, watermelon). While these fruits are great for juices and smoothies, I don't think you'll be able to make creamy ice cream with them.

PS: This week or maybe next, I might make mango ice cream. Yum!

PPS: What about durian? Ooh interesting, although there are only two people in the house who eat durian: my mother and my kuya. Hihi

PPPS: If you're not fond of ice cream (how come?!), here are two healthy alternatives to battle the summer heat:

Yogurt

Ice-cold chocolate made of 100% chocolate callets from Cacao de Davao

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Fun and Frugal Finds for February

I didn't realize it was March already when I blogged last Saturday! Oh well, I think February is used to this kind of comment. So what are my discoveries for this month (mostly from the grocery) that wouldn't burn holes in your pockets?

Soyfresh Soya Milk

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: Around P65 for 1 Liter

Story: Some of you know that I'm unabashedly giving Yuri fresh milk (we can't all be super parents); however, I immediately stopped it when I found out cow's milk is a mean phlegm former. So I switched.

I was really looking for almond milk because I also heard soy milk contains a lot of hormones. However, when I saw the Blue Diamond brand, Almond Breeze, nanghina ako. Around P120 for only 350 ml (not even half of a liter). Err, hormones it is!

(PS: I'm planning to buy cashews to make my own cashew milk.)

Verdict: Delicious! It's not as rich as cow's milk, but it does create a nice impression of chocolate. Even Nina, Yuri's ka-age friend, liked it!

SansFluo toothpaste

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: P90

Story: Wala lang, kailangan lang ni Yuri ng new toothpaste. I want to try another brand and this is the most affordable option that time.

Verdict: We're still waiting for our Tiny Fangs toothpaste to run out, and we haven't used it yet.

Breakfast Choice Cereals

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: Crispy Rice around P65, Oat Rounds around P80 - both buy 1 take 1!

Story: I'm a sucker for buy 1-take1, and when I saw that the cereal I used to buy was on promo, I didn't hesitate. I also got two other boxes for the price of one!

Verdict: I like both cereals because they're not sweet. Yuri snacks on the Oat Rounds as is (no milk), while I like making homemade rice crispies from the rice cereal.

Good Sense Strawberry Yogurt Pretzels

Bought: Gaisano Mall
Price: P110 - buy 1 take 1!

Story: I was looking for alternative snacks for Yuri because Sky Flakes, despite its yumminess, is simply not healthy. I stumbled upon this first on the regular-priced rack but, luckily, I found some on promo. Thank you, Lord! And did I tell you I'm a sucker for buy 1-take 1?

Verdict: Wow, yummy! The strawberry yogurt coating is not so sweet; it's just the right blend of sweet and tangy. Yuri eats a lot of these in one sitting, but it's okay because they don't have much sugar.

Kablon Farms Pineapple Jam

Bought: SM Lanang Premier grocery
Price: Around P65

Story: I was also looking for homegrown organic products and learned about Kablon Farms. Situated in South Cotabato, they manufacture products straight from the local farms. I love local farms in Mindanao because, more often than not, their products are organic. So next time, before you consider imported products from Healthy Options, support local first!

Verdict: Forget about commercial, sugar-laden jams. This is simply fruit in a bottle. The organic pineapple is crushed and, I think, no artificial syrup has been added so it's basically just pineapple. Yummy and refreshing!

Del Monte Fruit Snack

Easy-Peasy Breakfast Ideas (A Round-Up)

Good morning and happy Thursday! It is Thursday na, right? Oh Mommy Brain is real; I can't keep track of the days anymore, and I'm only 23!

Anyway, to offer you a measly excuse, it is still before 9 in the morning. Mornings are the most hectic part of my days. And when I say "hectic," just believe me that it is. I barely sit from 7-9, and the only times I get to sit are (one) while feeding Yuri (which is a hectic experience by itself) and (two) while working. Okay. Friends with no children: you'll never know what busy is until you have children!

That's not to say that I don't enjoy motherhood. I am! However, when mornings become too hectic, it's not difficult to become super stressed. Lalo na ngayon that we're having a new struggle. You see, I always let Yuri sleep in. It doesn't matter what time he gets up because I believe sleep is crucial to growth. So it's not rare that he sleeps until 7:30 in the morning - and even if I do get a bit stressed (I calculate the time left for me to prepare breakfast, etc.), I let him be.

However, recently, even after getting up and nursing a bit, he refuses to get up. As in he was like me when I was a child. He would go back to lying down and would say, "tuyog," even if he's not the least bit sleepy. So imagine how even more stressed I become!

 Of course, it is hard to stay stressed when I see this face.

The solution, for me, to lessen the hecticness of the hustle-and-bustle of my mornings is to create breakfast the night before. If I get busy in the evening, which is inevitable, I have "backup 5-minute" recipes to make. Here's a round-up of some of the breakfasts I have made for Yuri in the past:

1. Mango Frozen Yogurt

Preparation Time: 2 Minutes
Blending Time: 2 Minutes
Ingredients: 1 whole manggo, 1 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons fresh milk, and 2 tablespoons honey

2. Banana-Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

Prep time: 3 minutes
Blending time: 5 minutes or more (depending on your blender's power)
Ingredients: SEE HERE

3. 5-Minute Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cake

Prep time: 3 minutes
"Baking" time: Around 5 minutes
Ingredients: SEE HERE

4. 5-Minute Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time: 2 minutes
"Baking" time: N/A
Ingredients: SEE HERE

5. "Imbento" Brownies

Finance Friday: Fun and Frugal November Finds!

This post kinda hits two politicians birds with one stone. I haven't done both a Finance Friday and Monthly Finds post since forever! So, apparently, I mixed them into one post since November was all about finding fun but affordable finds. This is fit for a Finance Friday post because I managed to find affordable alternatives to usual finds - which is something we must all strive to do.

Please remind me to practice what I preach. :-P

Anyway, I haven't bought a single thing for myself for so long, but I find that perfectly fine. To be honest, I get bored when I browse websites for women-stuff. Instead, I always, always, find myself navigating to the babies and toddlers websites and sections. I don't follow online shops for women's fashion anymore; I only get interested in baby-and-toddler stuff shops.

So it's not a surprise when everything I bought for this month (and the past months, as well) are for Yuri. Well, you can't blame me, can you? Toddler-stuff are much more fun to buy than women-stuff! Anyway, here are what I got for the month:

1. Milk

Okay, sorry for the boring first entries. I promise the more interesting stuff are below. Anyway, one reason I got addicted to reading mommy and parenting blogs is that I can easily get unsolicited tips on what to use for babies. I read that when the baby turns 1, babies can actually go straight to reading regular milk. Fresh milk is better than powdered milk, so I've been buying fresh milk for Yuri for months now. (We're still breastfeeding.)

Anyway, I have been buying Oishi Oaties milk regularly, but I want to try something else because that brand is kinda sweet. I want to get Yuri used to the taste of regular fresh milk, so I tried Cowhead. It tastes good like regular fresh milk does, and the best part about it is the pull-tab! I'm ensured that the milk is really fresh and not tampered.

Rating: Hit
Price: Around P70 or P80 

2. Juice

I have also been regularly buying fresh juices for Yuri since he was around 15 months old. I always try different kinds of juices, but I always see to it that they are all-natural and sugar-free.

I saw this Del Monte juice brand in SM a couple of weeks ago and was astounded that it was so cheap. I took one, of course. The problem is that I forgot to check its ingredients. At home, I saw that it was not sugar-free. Boohoo. Yuri still drank it, but I have to mix it with more water than the usual. Also, admittedly, it tastes better than the sugar-free juices. Duh? :-P

Rating: Miss
Price: P62

3. Itch Cream

Since Yuri got attacked by insects at home (will be talking about this in a future post) and got so bothered by his itchy bites (poor boy), I was on the active lookout for a balm that would ease and even cure his insect bites. After research, I decided that the best option would still be GIGA (our insect repellant is GIGA) since a GIGA stall was conveniently situated in SM Lanang.

I was pleased to know that it smells mild and does not sting at all. In fact, it reminds me of lana (Bisaya readers will know this). More importantly, Yuri liked it when I apply the balm on his itches, some of which had cuts on them na. After a day of using it, I was able to see immediate effects! I will review this in a separate post soon.

Rating: Hit!
Price: P150

4. Detergent

Since we ran out of our usual laundry detergent for Yuri, I began scouring the web (again!) for a better replacement. We've been using Breeze Gold, and while it's okay, I find that Yuri's clothes become too stiff. Of course, a natural option would be better.

I have already ordered from Human ❤ Nature before, but I've never tried their detergent yet, so I gave it a try. This didn't have a scent, as expected, but Yuri's clothes feel a lot softer now!

Rating: Hit!
Price: P199

5. Dish Cleaner

I actually first tried this during my first Human ❤ Nature loot, and since I was pleased with it, I ordered a bigger bottle together with the detergent. To read a more complete review, just head over to this link.

Rating: Hit
Price: P169.75

6. Disposable Bibs

I didn't really need disposable bibs because we have real bibs, but when I saw this pack on sale at SM Lanang (again), I got really curious. I wanted to open a pack so that I will know the material used for the bibs, but the pack wasn't resealable so it couldn't be opened at the store. I bought one anyway.

At home, I opened the pack and saw that the bibs were made of light and flimsy material. In hindsight, I should have known! Haha! Anyway, clueless me was expecting waterproof bibs and these obviously aren't. Still, they could be handy in case I forget to bring a bib.

Rating: Miss
Price: P60+ for a pack of 6

7. Board Books!

Ah, my current Yuri-related obsession: books! I bought these two after our most recent appointment with our pedia (see post here). I have bought two more books before, and I just had to add two more to our growing collection. As always, I have no complaint with these Cupcake books. The stories are engaging, the illustrations are beautiful, and the material is sturdy!

Rating: Hit (of course!)
Price: P70 (regular price), but one of them, the "Dazzle Duckling" book, was only P45!

8. Suspenders

Toddler-Approved: Peanut-Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

I have two jars of peanut butter, a bag of oats, and, of course, milk. We always have fresh milk. I was getting tired of preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so I scoured Google for easy-to-do (as usual!) recipes that use peanut butter, oatmeal, and milk. I was able to find several recipes, but they required more ingredients than what I like to use. Finally, I saw this 3-minute recipe from Averie Cooks.

Her recipe's primary ingredients are peanut butter, chocolate chips, oats, and milk. Perfect! The optional ingredients include vanilla extract, sweetener, and dry add-ons (i.e. raisins and coconut flakes). I originally planned to add vanilla extract and raisins, but I decided against it so that I know how the recipe tastes like plain. To cut the long story short, here are the ingredients I used:

Place the chocolate chips, milk, and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and melt them together in the microwave. If you don't like using the microwave, you can melt these in a saucepan. 

We only have very few chocolate chips left in the fridge, so the mixture isn't as chocolatey. I did provide more peanut-butter. Actually, I didn't follow the recipe for the amount of ingredients. I guess it's up to you on how much you want to use.

After melting milk, peanut butter, and chocolate together, it would form a paste like this.

Mix the oats and your optional dry ingredients into the paste. Like what is said in Averie Cooks, the mixture should be fairly dry, so you need to add more oats as necessary.

Averie's recipe called for old-fashioned or rolled oats, but I didn't have any, so I just used ordinary instant oats.

Press the mixture in a container and place it inside the fridge. 

After the mixture has hardened, slice them any way you want. You can also eat the entire piece by yourself! :-) 

Sayang, I didn't get to take a photo of Yuri eating the bars. That's because by the time I remembered to fetch the camera, malapit ng maubos ang bars! Also, my dad who isn't fond of eating sweets found the bars yummy. Yes, it's delicious! Delicious + easy + nutritious = toddler and mommy approved!

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