Buy One, Get One Free @ Starbucks

I know I should be the person who always makes her coffee at home and who always uses homemade, organic creamer

Vanilla Coffee Creamer with a hint of Coconut.

But I’m not. I like Starbucks, in spite of the money sucking and the calorie adding! I’m usually too cheap to get more than straight coffee when I’ve run out of time in the morning at home to make some. But there are times when I want a latte or hot cocoa.

This is one of those days, and thankfully today is when I found this coupon! You can print it here: http://f.e.starbucks.com/i/52/163466415/ValentineBOGO_print.HTML or you can show it on your phone.

Happy Starbucks drinking!!!

Green Smoothie kind of morning

I don’t know what it is about smoothie that make me (and every other blogger) so happy but I just love them! Especially green smoothies. I see the color and immediately know there are healthy greens in there.

And I think they make me feel like a kid again, like I’m inside Green Eggs and Ham!

This is the simplest smoothie, but so delicious and healthy. It tastes like a banana shake!

– INGREDIENTS –
1 banana
2-3 cups raw spinach (I don’t measure…I just threw in 2 handfuls, but if you are measuring, I think it’s about 3 cups)
1 cup vanilla coconut milk

– PROCESS –
Throw it all in a blender and blend away! If you want it really cold, add some ice.

I hope you got off to a healthy start and that you have a wonderful day!

Try Something New Tuesday – Cooked Spinich as a healthy snack

I’m not into cooked spinich. It’s just a fact of life.

Raw spinich I can eat for days. Salad? Yes. In smoothies? Claro que si!!

But cooked? Ehhhh….it’s ok in lasagna or on pizza, but if I have to really feel the texture I’m not into it.

Until today!!

I was really craving something different as an afternoon snack, but I had very limited time.

I ended up throwing 2 handfuls of fresh spinich on a plate with 1/8 cup of shredded colby jack cheese. I microwaved it for 30 seconds, put some homemade pico de gallo on top and magic happened!

I cannot even tell you how good this is. And it’s super healthy!

What new thing have you tried??

Coquito Frappuccino

One of my goals when travelling to PR was to try Coquito. It’s basically their version of eggnog, with coconut cream and rum! Delicious!

I never got to try real Coquito. But our first day there, while out and about in Fajardo, we were told that the nearby fancy pants Waldorf Astoria hotel had a Starbucks. Of course we had to investigate and look what I found!

A Coquito Frappccino!

It was very tasty, but of course had no rum. I did, however, obtain a recipe for Coquito that I am eager to try. If it turns out I will share it here! 🙂

Have you tried Coquito?

First day in Puerto Rico

We arrived in Puerto Rico after a long red eye flight at about 10am. We hit the ground running!

Luggage…check!
Rental car…check!
No clue how to get anywhere we need to go…check!

Driving in Puerto Rico was an adventure to say the least, but we eventually found our way out of San Juan and onto Fajardo, a beach city where some friends were staying.

We took a moment and showered at their hotel and then the four of us hit the beach. So peaceful and the water was beautiful! It was the perfect way to begin a tropical vacation 🙂

Try Something New Tuesday – Mallorca Breakfast Sandwich

I know it’s Wednesday technically…but I wrote this post yesterday and my blog just didn’t cooperate. Oh well!

While in Puerto Rico, my husband and I had the opportunity to try many different traditional dishes. Our favorite by far was the Mofongo, mashed plantain with onions and spices, often stuffed with some kind of meat. Heaven!

Mofongo photographs terribly though, so there are no pictures 😦

My other favorite was this dish! Mallorca con jamon y queso. Mallorca is a sweet bread topped with powdered sugar, and in this dish it is served with ham and cheese.

To be honest, I ordered it because I thought it would be funny and fully expected it would taste less than amazing. I was wrong. The sweet & savory mixture that I love so much didn’t fail in this breakfast sandwich, and I loved it!

Of course it’s not a good everyday food with all the sugar, but boy was it a treat!

What new thing did you try recently?

Have you ever ordered food thinking it would taste gross and ended up loving it?

Puerto Rico

Good afternoon readers!

I apologize for being absent for so long on my blog. No excuses really, except that I was out of the country! My trip to Puerto Rico happened!

The boy and I had an amazing time! I’m going to take some time spreading out my pictures from the trip over the next few days here and on Instagram (@cakeinacrockpot).

For now, I promise to get back to regular posting and some real food posts 🙂

Sage Pork with Apples & Try Something New Tuesday – Puerto Rico

How is everyone’s week so far?

I hope it is going fabulously! Mine has been good…working a lot but that’s not a bad thing!

I have some news: the boy and I are going to Puerto Rico in just over a week!! Next Thursday we will be leaving on a jet plane to finally get a vacation!

We try to do small day or weekend trips fairly often to maintain our sanity in the middle of all the craziness that is everyday life. But this is a real, live trip! We are going to attend a friend’s wedding, and then staying an extra day for some “us” time.

We’ve never been to Puerto Rico, and I can’t wait! I have a list of things I want to eat when I’m there (is that weird?) and some places to visit. But honestly I’ll be fine if all we do is attend the wedding and then lay on the beach.

We both travelled a lot before getting married, and while it is nice to show someone a place you’ve already been, there is something wonderful about experiencing a new place together. I’m looking forward to that with PR.

On to today’s recipe! I tried a pork and apple combination recently that didn’t come out too well and it took me a while to figure out why. I finally decided that it needed some extra herbs, and since I love sage paired with apple, I tried that first. And it was delightful!

– INGREDIENTS –

2 pounds pork serloin roast
1 yellow onion, sliced very thin
3-4 apples, roughly sliced (i used Pink Lady apples)
2 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
10-12 sage leaves
Salt & pepper to taste

– PROCESS –

Place your roast in the bottom of your crockpot. Then start layering the rest of the ingredients. (I’m sure you could just throw everything on top in any order you want and the results would be just as tasty…but we know how I need the extra control and order haha)

I started with a light sprinkle of salt & pepper. That was enough for me, but my husband added a little more salt once I served it to him. So if you like things salty, you can add more on top of everything else.

Then I layered one tablespoon of brown sugar, a few sage leaves that I had chopped, some onions, and some apples. Then I layered them again and again until I was out of ingredients. My CrockPot looked so organized 😉

Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Serve with some fresh sage to give it a burst of color!

What new thing are you trying?

Have you ever been to Puerto Rico? Any ideas for us to do when we’re there?

My first Sprig Box has arrived!!!

I got the best text from my mother last night…

“A box came for you”.

Yippee!!!! It could only be one thing! I was so excited to go over there today and pick up my goodies 🙂

(Yes, I have things shipped to my parents’ house. The hubby and I live in a granny flat, and it’s just easier to have things mailed & shipped to a permanent address…plus it gives my mom excuses to see me haha)

I am so excited to do a full review of the contents soon! Thus far I have only tried the Himalania Crunch Gogi Berries and they are delicious! I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag before my hubby gets to try them.

What is exciting for you today?

Try Something New Tuesday

NuttZo is a local company that produces amazing nut butters!

The founder has a pretty touching story of how she got in to making this product. 1% of sales go to Project Left Behind.

My boss purchased this nut butter and I tried it today with a sliced up banana. I have to say that it far surpassed my expectations! It is raw, unsweetened, and amazingly delcious! You taste the different textures of the seeds and nuts and it is very filling!

I believe they now have a new customer!

What have you tried this week?