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No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake

No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake is my new favorite summer treat. Each year I make a mulberry dessert with the berries I’ve harvested. It all started with my childhood summer nights. My sister and I would ride our bikes along the cornfield to this area of trees that lined the road. The gravel road was speckled in purple polka-dots from the fallen berries. We would stand there and eat handfuls at a time, leaving our hands and faces stained purple. Once full, we’d head out to the field to chase fireflies. It was the best.

Each summer I relive those childhood summer memories once I see the mulberries turning dark. Now that I have a child of my own, I want to share those memories with her and begin new memories. She helped me pick (but mostly eat) the mulberries I used for this quick no bake mulberry cheesecake.

No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake

No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust: store bought graham cracker crust or you can make it homemade using this recipe from Crazy for Crust.

Cheesecake Filling: 

  • 16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature (but not warm)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer (or stand mixer), mix the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth and light, 2-3 minutes. Add the sour cream and whipping cream and mix until very thick and creamy, 4-5 minutes.
  2. Spread the filling evenly into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
  3.  Serve with blueberries or mulberries on top. I didn’t pick enough mulberries so I had to mix in some blueberries.
    TIP: You can also mix the berries into the cheesecake. I also like throwing all the berries in a container with 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar overnight to let them macerate turning them into a fruity syrup you can then drizzle on top.

For more awesome summer dessert recipes, follow my Desserts + Drinks board on Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/shellybergman/desserts-%2B-drinks/

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No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake

What Real Moms Want for Mother’s Day

Being a Mom is AWESOME. However, sometimes we have a hard time not letting it define us. Personally, I catch myself worrying about being the ‘best’ mom ever. It doesn’t matter if I am the ‘best’ Mom but rather a caring, attentive, adventurous, and patient Mom for our daughter. Lately I’ve been working on being more patient and resilient when it comes to arguments and tantrums with her. There are always good days and not so good days, which is why I’m looking forward to a day where I am the Queen Bee.

Mother's Day Flowers

Here is how my dream Mother’s Day would look.

8:00- Wake up: Breakfast in bed paired with big hugs.
9:00-12:00- Alone time: A mani/pedi, trip to Target or the house to myself (lunch included).
12:00-1:00- Nap: Snuggling my little girl.
1:00-2:00- Presents: Something homemade is always best for this DIY mama.
2:00-5:00- Help: Planting new flowers in my window box or help with a tough chore like window washing (yes, I would choose to work on my special day).
5:00-7:00- Dinner: Preferably out somewhere we haven’t been that has outdoor seating.
7:00-Bed- The following are based on how I’m feeling, either way, I want it to be relaxing. Either a bath and an early bed time or a martini and a movie of my choice.

If there were more hours I’d add in doing some kind of craft project but I’ll leave that for another day. If you’re looking to do a DIY project for a Mom you know, here are some of my favorites:

6 Easy DIY Mother’s Day Gifts

DIY Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Ceramic Ring Holder by The Style Files
Macrame Plant Hanger by heyLilahey
Embroidered Picnic Blanket by Lovely Indeed
No Sew Rope Basket by Alice and Lois
Dip Dyed Napkins by Sugar Bee Crafts
Incense Holder by Curbly

To me, Mother’s Day should be the perfect mix of alone time and family time. A little time pampering and a little time working. What would your perfect Mother’s Day look like?

3 Tips to Simplifying Meals

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PremiumPrep #CollectiveBias

Meal planning is key for our family. Neither my husband nor I like cooking so I get all the prep work done on Sundays to make the week less stressful. Having good food storage to keep our food safe until the end of the week is crucial and Rubbermaid® has the best! I’ll show how I do meal planning, grocery shopping and Sunday food prep in a short amount of time leaving more time for dance class and playing games with our family on school nights. Here are 3 tips to simplifying meals in your life.

3 Tips to Simplifying Meals

Cheesy Shrimp Ravoili

1. Meal plan.

Saturday morning is the best time to meal plan for our family. Once I eat breakfast I am able to meal plan based on healthy choices rather than cravings. I often have several staple meals we rotate through the weeks. Making one new recipe is always on my agenda so I’ll hop on Pinterest and choose one of the 1000 I’ve saved. I send an email to myself and my husband with our dinner menu for each day and write it on the calendar hanging in the kitchen. Having the meal plan makes the dreaded ‘what do you want for dinner’ conversation non-existent. The meal plan also helps us stay in budget. If we choose to have a more expensive cut of meat one night, we’ll know we need to have a lentil type meal another night.

2. One Day Stop.

We’re lucky to have most local grocers have online ordering. I add all the ingredients to the shopping cart right after I make the meal plan. Scheduling the grocery pick up first thing on Sunday morning gives me an excuse to get outside early and have plenty of time for food prep. Shopping online also makes the dreaded ‘don’t push the cart into that lady’ conversation with your toddler non-existent.

3. Sunday Food Prep.

This is the step that has made all the difference in our family. We’ve done meal planning and online shopping for a year but would still say ‘eh, I don’t want X tonight, let’s just order pizza.’ On Sundays, before putting the groceries away, I leave out everything that can be chopped or cooked quickly. All fruits and veggies are chopped and placed front and center of our fridge to make sure those are the foods we’re reaching for when hungry. We always put eggs on to hard boil while I cook breakfast sausages for the week. I’ll soak dried beans or cook noodles knowing that they re-heat well. To make sure our prepped food is still fresh by Friday I use Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Storage. On nights we have dance class or a fun night out, I’ll use pre-boiled noodles, cookie kielbasa sausage and throw on some Bertolli® Tomato Basil red sauce. One of my favorite things with the Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Storage is that it doesn’t stain with red sauce!

Food_prep_simplifying_meals

I’d mentioned using several recipes that rotate through the weeks. Recipes that I know my family will eat and not cost a fortune. Some of our favorites are Quinoa Enchilada Bake, Taco Night and Salmon with Steamed Broccoli. Our newest favorite is our ‘cheat’ meal for the week because it is not healthy. It is fast and easy to make and re-heats well in my Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Storage.

Cheesy Shrimp Ravioli

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen cheese ravioli
1 lb fresh raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 T blackened seasoning
1 T fresh thyme leaves
3 T olive oil
1 jar Bertolli® Alfredo Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped green onions for garnish (optional)

Instructions:
Boil frozen cheese ravioli according to package directions and drain. Season shrimp on both sides with blackened seasoning and fresh thyme. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and sear the shrimp on each side for 3 minutes, making sure to fully cook. Remove the shrimp from the pan and add the alfredo sauce to deglaze the pan. Stir the sauce while heating and once the seasonings have been incorporated into the sauce, add the ravioli and gently stir to coat them. Place the ravioli on a plate and top with seared shrimp. Garnish with green onions and serve with slices of french bread.

Bread_prep_bertoli

Cheesy_Shrimp_Alfredo_Ravioli

Before you make this recipe, you can use this code from the Ibotta App for $0.75 off any selection of Bertolli® sauce to make your own Cheesy Shrimp Ravioli. That code is also good for $5 off Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ leak proof 10-piece set or $2.00 off a single Rubbermaid Brilliance container at Walmart. Check the Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ hub for more features on how food storage is at a new level. What do you do to make meal planning easier for your busy family? I’d love to know your favorite staples for dinner that are quick and easy!

Bertoli Rubbermaid in Store

 

Cheesy Shrimp Ravioli Recipe

 

3 tips

HEALTH + MINIMAL Update

Last month I talked about not making any New Years resolutions in the traditional sense but to rather work on two areas of my life. Only two. It has been a month and a LOT has happened in America since then that I have been pulled in several directions on how I want to prioritize my time. I thought I would give you a HEALTH + MINIMAL update from last month.

2017 resolution

HEALTH

One might think ‘being healthy is obviously the most important thing in your life and should always be numero uno.’ ‘You can’t fully take care of others until you have taken care of yourself.’ In my case, I can not continue growing my family until I have lost weight to make sure I have a healthy pregnancy. Health = #1. Until I end up crying multiple times per day because 5 year old kids are being detained from their families at the airports. Or I cry because there’s a good chance that any rape victim will not be able to obtain a safe abortion resulting in an unwanted pregnancy or fatality from a self abortion. It’s possible the fact that I’m cringing when I’m telling my daughter she can be anything she wants when, if things continue, she won’t, and definitely at the same pay.

These things used to make me enraged. It would fuel my workouts. There are TVs in front of the treadmills and I would be redfaced with tears streaming down my cheeks but running that much faster to release my fear and frustration. Now I’m to the point of action. Supporting marches, going to ACLU meetings and signing up to volunteer at the Immigration Welcome Center. I proudly wear my ‘I Love You’ pin every day showing that I am a safe person to talk to, no matter who you are.

Because my head has been in 500 places at once, it has not been focused on eating healthy, food prep and making sure I’m keeping on schedule work my work outs. I had a rough couple weeks healing from an injury from said ‘anger running’. I am now healed and have a new plan for keeping my workouts consistent. I have rearranged my schedule to where I can go to the gym between work and picking up my daughter three days per week, giving me absolutely no excuse to not work out.

My nutrition coach, Michael with Thrive Culture, gave me the best Birthday present ever. He worked out with me! He showed me a workout routine and watched my form, adjusting if needed. I now have a plan of 30 min cardio intervals plus 30 min weights that I will do three times per week. I am mixing this plan with simple habits to follow regarding nutrition, like: palm sized protein at every meal, 4 fruits/veggies each day and choosing healthier carbs that are less (or not at all) processed (steel cut oats with fruit for breakfast instead of cereal). I’m feeling excited and confident in my new journey of health rather than the usual feeling of having to quit eating good food and being intimidated by the men at the gym.

MINIMAL

I’m slacking on minimizing. I’m constantly listening to The Minimalists podcasts and they inspire me to have a smaller footprint on this world. I’ve been great at making sure nothing new is coming in without something old leaving.  I am only on Day 10 of the #minsgame and my goal was to pair that game with the 30day cleaning challenge. I am still excited about the idea of ‘less is more’. Physical stuff is a reflection of our mental self and personally, right now, there is too much of both. I’ve just got to pick up the pace on this goal!

Let me know if you’re interested in learning more about my health plan or looking for recipes. If you’ve done the #minsgame or are going to see The Minimalists in Boston, you’ve got to message me so we can talk minimalism. If you have an organization dear to your heart that you want to share with me, I am always looking at ways to learn more about people and how to help.

Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day Ideas

Valentine’s Day is a tricky holiday for me. I love what Valentine’s Day stands for. LOVE! Sharing your love with those you care about should be celebrated everyday! Pinterest is great for ideas of how to celebrate holidays but it can sometimes feel overwhelming. The pressure to have the most clever or coolest Valentine can get the best of us sometimes. I wanted to do a simple round up of Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day  ideas showing a range of Valentine crafts, snacks and cards. There are simple print out Valentine’s Day cards or crafts as well as crafts that will help your child learn simple sewing techniques.

Sweet Kids Valentine’s Day Ideas

Crafts

Valentine's Day craft heart mobile
Felt Heart Mobile by sew yes!

Martha Stewart wax heart mobile
Crayon Hearts made by Martha Stewart

Valentine's Day envelopes
Valentine’s Day Envelope by Craft-O-Maniac

valentine's day heart garland
Valentine’s Day Heart Garland by DIY Mama


Rainbow Heart Suncatchers by Fireflies & Mudpies

ASL i love you hand valentines day card
ASL I Love You Card by Busy Mommy Media

Treats

teddy bear graham valentines treats
Teddy Graham Valentine’s Day Treats- hello, Wonderful

tic tac toe valentine treats
Tic-Tac-Toe Valentine’s Day Snacks by Sippy Cup Mom

heart rice krispy treats
Heart Rice Krispies Treats from Babies, Paper and Song

valentines chocolate pretzel bark
Valentine’s Chocolate Pretzel Bark from A Night Owl

valentines popcorn
Valentine’s Day Popcorn by Gimme Some Oven

Valentine’s Day Cards

crayons valentine cards
Color My World Crayon Valentine’s by Crazy Little Projects

valentine bookmark
Valentine Bookmark by Positively Splendid

magnifying glass valentine
Magnifying Glass Valentine from Dandee

valentine bracelet
Valentine Bracelet by Dandee Designs

animal valentines
Tiny Animal Valentines by Sweet C’s Designs

straw valentine printable
ExSTRAWdinary Valentine Printable by i Heart naptime

How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day with those you love? Do you give gifts or make a nice breakfast? I always hang my heart garland and have a little card and treat for my daughter and husband. Sophie and I usually create a Valentine’s Day craft together as well. I think we’ll try the Wax Crayon Hearts this year!

Check out my V-day board on Pinterest for more crafts, treats and Valentine ideas!

kid valentine ideas

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