For Thanksgiving, we make homemade spiced cider, prepared by steeping cinnamon sticks and other spices in apple juice. In the fall and winter, look for  in the big, glass bottle with mulling spices in a free packet around the neck of the bottle.

MessyMom uses the tea-bag-like packet (which contains cinnamon, orange peel, cloves and spices) plus 2 whole cinnamon sticks with most of the jar of apple juice. (We set some plain juice aside for the MessyBaker who does not like cider.) MessyDad adds Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum to his cider.

We keep it on the stove all Thanksgiving day, letting the smell permeate the house and sipping whenever we want. For our family, that is the aroma of the holidays!

Smoothies are a great way to eat fruit and still feel like you are having a treat! You can also hide ingredients in a smoothie that the drinker might not get in their diet otherwise. (Flax, quinoa flakes, spinach, etc…)

In this one-and-a-half-minute “Mini Mess”, Wendy tells us what she put in her delicious mixed berry smoothie. (Lucky for her we had a drop of gelato left in the freezer.) She let me hide some quinoa in it. Not only does this add fiber, but also helps to thicken up the smoothie. (Yes, moms, she is a picky eater!!)

If you don’t have a smoothie maker, you could use a hand blender to make the smoothie as well!

Coffee without the pesticides! Start the morning off right…

Fair trade and bird friendly organic coffee from tip top living.