Fun Fruit Flower!

My kids love it when I take pictures for the recipes that I post on Healthy Isn't Boring. They help me arrange the food just so and vote yes or no on the resulting pictures. 

Yesterday, I set out some fruit for a mid-afternoon snack, and we decided to cut and arrange them into different shapes. Annie came up with the flower you see above. We loved it so much, I asked her if she would like to be a "guest blogger" on my blog and she was very excited about the idea. The boys, not wanting to be outdone by their sister, wanted to make a flower for the blog, too. Well, they started building their flower, then wanted to see how tall they could make it. I made an executive decision when I saw their creation nearing the tipping point, and that's when we took a picture of it. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:

The Fun Fruit Flower Tower

We had such a wonderful time making fruit art and then eating our designs. Although my children love fruit and veggies, I know that there are many out there who don't. One way to get your children to choose healthful treats over processed non-foods full of sugar and salt, is to let them have fun making their own meals and snacks.

You don't need to get any fancy equipment. Just spend some time with your kids, cutting out shapes and putting together creative combinations. Eventually, they will start to associate feelings of love, comfort and closeness with nutritious food. 

Nicholas, Annie and Jayden loved putting together this post for you! Please share your ideas for fruit and veggie edible art in the comments section!

From our family to yours,

Tamera, Nicholas, Annie and Jayden

Summer Cucumber Soup (Vegan and non-Vegan options)

Summer hasn't officially started, but, boy, the heat sure has! In weather like this, we like to eat a lot of salads and raw foods. Not only because they help cool down our bodies, but also because they save me from having to stand in front of a hot stove.

To add variety to our summer meals, I like to make cold, no-cook soups. Here's one that serves as a great appetizer, as well as a wonderful main dish for hot summer evenings. I use fresh mint that I grow in my garden. If you don't grow your own mint, I'm telling you, you should. It's just about the easiest herb to grow, and you can use it fresh or dry it. If you don't have room for a garden, you can grow mint on your balcony or even on a sunny window ledge. Just get a starter plant, either from a nursery or pull out a rooted stem from a friend's garden, put it in a pot with some soil, give it water on a regular basis, and watch it grow. Seriously, it's that easy.

You can make this soup vegan by using almond milk yogurt, or, if you like cow's milk yogurt, use the good Greek kind, with active bacteria (don't worry, it's the beneficial kind of bacteria that keeps your digestive system healthy).

Summer Cucumber Soup

(serves 4 as an appetizer)

40 Pieces of Advice Challenge - Day 11

I must confess, I changed this one a bit. The original advised to drink a glass of wine each day, and I substituted that with a green smoothie. Hey, it's my blog, and if I think that a green smoothie beats a glass of wine, then that's what I'm a-gonna say!

Now, about those berries...