This summer has been the perfect time to experiment with cocktail recipe ideas and make some unique versions of my favorite drinks. A gin and tonic is by far one of my most classic, go-to drink recipes on hot summer days, so today I’m sharing with you three ways to enjoy my favorite cocktail.

These three summery versions of the Gin and Tonic include a very unique spicy version (which has turned out to be my favorite one); a virgin version, for those wanting an alcohol free drink; and the classic drink dressed up with orange and thyme. All have been big hits, especially for a gathering I recently had for family and friends.

The key ingredient in all three of these drinks that makes them so delicious and refreshing is Florida’s Natural® Brand Orange Juice, which is made from just one ingredient — Florida oranges. No water, sugar or preservatives are added, making for a straight-from-the-grove taste my family and I love.

Whether you are looking for a special drink to try this summer or are having a few friends over for a gathering, serving up a memorable and unique cocktail will never be more than a few shakes away.

Enjoy!

Gin and tonic 3 ways

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 1 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Gin and tonic 3 ways 

Orange and thyme Gin and Tonic

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4 cup tonic
• 1/4 cup  Florida's Natural orange juice
• 2 Sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional

Spice Cinnamon Orange Gin and Tonic

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4 cup tonic
• 1/4 cup Florida's Natural orange juice
• Fresh ground nutmeg
• Cinnamon sticks

Virgin Orange Cherry Gin and tonic

• 1/3 cup tonic
• 1/3 cup Florida's Natural orange juice
• 4 sweet cherries, stems and pits removed, plus more for garnish

Directions:

Orange and thyme Gin and Tonic:

In a glass, muddle thyme sprigs with 1 oz of gin and maple syrup, if using. Strain the mixture into a glass over ice. Pour in the rest of the gin, along with the tonic and orange juice, and stir. Garnish with a sprig of thyme.

Spice Cinnamon Orange Gin and Tonic:

Pour gin, orange juice and tonic into a glass over plenty of ice and stir. Add a sprinkle of ground nutmeg and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

Virgin Orange Cherry Gin and tonic

Muddle cherries lightly in a glass. Add ice to the glass, then pour in the orange juice and tonic and stir to mix. Garnish with fresh cherries.

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Baking is one of my favorite ways to spend time in the kitchen. Baking helps me decompress and is a form of therapy for me. Breads are a special choice for me to make whenever I feel like I want to spend more time in the kitchen. This time in the kitchen, I chose to make a batch of quick orange sweet rolls that don’t require multiple dough rises.

Coincidentally, tomorrow is National Orange Juice Day! What better day for these orange-flavored treats?

Roll recipes can take quite a long time to prepare given that most recipes call for multiple dough rising times. However, with this recipe you don’t have to waste much time with the rising step.

The only rising time you need is after rolling and placing them in the pan prior to baking. They rise for one hour, then you can start baking. Once you place the rolls in the oven, they will keep rising and you will obtain the desired fluffiness and rise of conventional cinnamon rolls.

I was quite pleased with how these quick orange sweet rolls turned out. My family enjoyed them thoroughly and on top of that, the rolls weren’t too sweet!

It was also my first time using cream cheese for the frosting. It is definitely my favorite way to frost rolls now and going forward, this is what I will be using.

For the perfect orange flavor, I chose Florida’s Natural^® Brand Orange Juice. Whenever possible, I choose top notch, quality ingredients to make sure my recipes turn out when it comes to flavor, and Florida’s Natural delivers.

Florida’s Natural is made from one simple ingredient — Florida oranges. And only Florida oranges. No water, sugar or preservatives are added. The orange juice comes from pure Florida oranges. There are no artificial flavors or ingredients. I choose Florida’s Natural because the oranges are simply squeezed, flash-pasteurized and poured into cartons that ensure a fresh straight-from-the-grove taste.

Finally, I prefer this recipe because the rolls aren’t too sugary or sweet.  If you prefer your rolls on the sweeter side, you can add more frosting. For my family, a teaspoon on each roll is good.

If you have any leftover frosting, you can also freeze it for the next time you make these quick orange sweet rolls. I intend to use it next time I make these rolls…which will be very soon!

If you are looking to bake in the upcoming days, give these quick orange sweet rolls a try. These are one of the best roll recipes I have made to date.

Enjoy!

.    .   

Orange sweet rolls

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup Florida's Natural orange juice
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, any kind will work
• 3 tsp active dried yeast
• 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 cup unrefined sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamon
• 2 egg whites

Cream cheese frosting:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2-3 tps orange juice
• ¾ cup powdered sugar replacement
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a bowl of an electric mixer, add warm milk, yeast, sugar, butter and orange juice. Mix until combined.

Place dough hook-on mixer, add the flour, 1 cup at at time, and knead dough on medium speed for 5-6 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. (The consistency of the dough should be slightly sticky)

Transfer dough over a large flat piece of plastic wrap and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon, cardamon and egg whites. Spread filling over dough leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.

Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9 inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. Cut into 2-3 inch sections with a serrated knife.

Place cinnamon rolls in a greased baking pan. Cover with a clean warm towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove towel and bake orange rolls for 25-30 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges.

While the rolls are baking, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, orange juice, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over orange rolls and serve immediately. (Allow rolls to cool for a 15 minutes before frosting)

NOTE: If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a wooden spatula to mix ingredients and use your hands for kneading the dough. 

The post Quick orange sweet rolls appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I must warn you that this easy gingerbread ice cream is not the healthiest with all of heavy cream and full fat milk, I wanted to make it the creamiest possible but I am sure it can be made a bit healthier. I just wanted to have something to indulge in for new years so I decided to go all the way.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and the unbelievable flavor I got with this ice cream. I think next time I will just go with cardamom ice cream. I got kind of creative and turned the ice cream into ice cream sandwiches. My kids were over the moon so this will be the perfect dessert for the new year’s coming up.

If you make the ice cream sandwiches you can also dip them in melted chocolate if you like and make them even more fancy. This time around I just wanted to keep them simple. This ice cream mixture it is also not to sweet but if you will like to add more maple syrup go ahead.

Moving forward with this recipe I think I am also going to turn the mixture into ice popsicles. They will be perfect for the summer or as a sweet treat.

Well, this will be my last recipe for the year. I hope to bring you even better recipes for the year to come so I wish everyone a happy, healthy successful 2018.

Enjoy!

Easy Gingerbread ice cream

Yield: 6 servinss

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cup full fat milk, you can also use low fat
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 tsps ground ginger
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to your machine's directions. For me the ice cream takes about 20-25 minutes.

Place ice cream mixture into a freezer container and place in the freezer to firm up. About 2-4 hours.

The post Easy Gingerbread ice cream appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Around Christmas I normally make one of my most popular chocolate recipes, Baileys pistachio white chocolate fudge but this year I wanted to change things up and do something else.

These white chocolate gingerbread truffles turned out brilliantly! I think next time I might actually turn it into a truffle pie it was so good. This way I will be able to add more heavy cream and make the mixture not as sweet.

These white chocolate gingerbread truffles go a long way. One or two and you are good to go. They are extremely sweet so they will satisfy your sweet craving for sure.

I have already gotten around gifting homemade treats for Christmas and these are the ones that I have used to start with. I don’t have much gingerbread stuff in the blog so I also wanted to make sure that I get a few more recipes.

I might try to make a healthier version of gingerbread truffles along the road but for now these are the ones I ended up with.

If you are looking for something to make this holiday season or gift to your love ones these white chocolate gingerbread truffles are the perfect treat. I hope you get to make them.

Enjoy!

white chocolate gingerbread truffles

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 20 truffles

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 oz white chocolate chips, I used Ghirardelli brand
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz ginger snaps, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

 

In a medium sauce pan heat the heavy cream over medium to low heat.  Don't boil just heat it to the point before boiling. Whisk until chocolate is melted. (If you find that the chocolate doesn't melt place bowl over a double boiler until it does or microwave it for 1 minute to 30 seconds)

Stir in the finely chopped ginger snaps and spices and combine. Store it in the fridge until harden enough to roll. About 1 hour.

With a spoon take small pieces of the chocolate mixture and roll them to form a ball. Deep the truffles in some additional pulverized ginger snaps and store in the fridge until time to serve.

Before serving let the truffles sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

The post white chocolate gingerbread truffles appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Oatmeal is one of my kids favorite snacks. They tend to have it either for breakfast of after school so that means I like to increase the protein content even more by sometimes adding chopped nuts as well as some protein powder.

Apples are very indicative of the fall season so I love using them when ever possible. I always get them organic and for this recipe, I didn’t even peel the apples. I like doing that to make sure I keep all the fiber, vitamins and minerals that comes in the skin. Plus my kids really don’t mind.

Fall season is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only because the weather is just perfect but because of Halloween.

I am still debating what recipes to come up with for Halloween. I would like to keep desserts sort of on the healthier side so lets see how creative I can get.

For this caramelized apple oatmeal I used Silk Unsweetened Soy Milk. I always use unsweetened varieties so that I can control the sweetness plus I really don’t like tasting any sweetness when having a plane glass of it.

You can also sign up to receive the Silk newsletters for coupons. If you use their products you should take advantage of the many coupons they offer. They have a wide variety of new products so I am sure you will put them to good use.

Anyways, I hope you like this super easy caramelized apple oatmeal recipe. Add any nuts or other fruit of your choice. Peaches and pears would also work very well.

Enjoy!

Caramelized apple oatmeal

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 12-16 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free
• 8 cups soy milk
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp unrefined sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3-4 medium apples, chopped
• 4 tbsp flax seed meal, optional
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 scoop vanilla protein powder, optional

Directions:

Place oatmeal, soy milk, vanilla extract and maple syrup in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring frequently until it boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the oats have softened. Set aside.

On a skillet place apples, sugar, cinnamon and coconut oil. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until apples have soften up a bit, it takes about 6-7 minutes.

Add apples, nuts, flax, and protein powder to the oatmeal.  Combine. You may need a bit more milk to serve as well.

Store in a glass container covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Caramelized apple oatmeal appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Have you started making your own oatmeal already? Let me tell you, those pre-packed store bought varieties don’t do your homemade oatmeal justice. Those pre-packed version only have tons of sugar and oats. Their flavors come from the sugar and that is about it.

The spices I used for this pecan chai oatmeal are the classic spices used to make chai tea. I could have used chai tea bags but going straight to the spices themselves I thought it would give the oatmeal a more authentic stronger flavor.

I also used Silk unsweetened almond milk, which is the milk that we mostly drink. I love the fact that Silk is enrolled in and verified by the Non-GMO Project. A little piece of mind for the family.

This pecan chai oatmeal not only is dairy-free, but cholesterol free as well as diabetic friendly. The sweetness comes from the maple syrup so if you want to adapt the recipe and use less go ahead. I thought my version wasn’t too sweet at all so adding just 1/4 cup was OK.

I love making oatmeal for the family. My kids eat it rather good, it is a healthy alternative to the boxed cereal and I love the fact that you can make endless variations. Since it is pecan season, why not incorporate it to my oatmeal?

Enjoy!

Pecan chai oatmeal

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Total Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Silk almond milk
• 3 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Chai mixture

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/4 tsp cardamon powder
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 2 whole star anise, optional
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

 

Directions:

In a pot, over medium to low heat, add the milk and the chai spices. Cook until the the mixture starts to boil. Add the rolled oats and maple syrup and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the rolled oats are soft. Turn heat off and let it cool.

Add the chopped pecans and combine with the rolled oats. Eat with any toppings of your choice. Refrigerate leftovers.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

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