somewhere beyond the sea....

A special little girl who turned three last year requested a Little Mermaid birthday party

 to commemorate this special day!

We were fortunate to have Ariel herself join our party, here are some photos

of Olivia's magical day :)

The dessert table!

Clockwise from top left: seashell sugar cookies filled with

chocolate ganache and topped with a little pearl, a 3 tiered vanilla cake

with vanilla butter cream in an underwater theme, treat cups filled with colored white  

chocolate mermaids and goldfish crackers, a little princess adoring Ariel!

Emma contributed to the decorating and made a sign for

the lemonade.

The calm before the storm.

Clockwise from top left:  Who's the birthday girl? Me!!, I think I was more excited about

present opening than the birthday girl at one point, sharing a song with Ariel!

And finally Olivia hamming it up with Ariel!

Olivia is my little word girl. She comes up with the darnedest

things to say and leaves everyone amazed at how

well she speaks especially considering that in these

photos she's only 3!

Happiest of happy birthdays my sweet little girl, 

here's now a glance of how much she's grown!

Love you baby girl!

cake cutting 101

L: 2x2x4 C: 1.5x2x4 R: 1x2x4
courtesy of MikeRowesHunny on Cakecentral.com

This is a topic that I'm sure all cake makers can discuss until they are blue in the face. Everyone has a different idea of what a serving of cake should be. Wedding cake serving sizes are usually smaller to accommodate guests as well as maximize the entire cake to reduce leftovers. (When you're paying over $500 for a cake, it better all be eaten!) Party cakes can be a pie wedge of a slice and when the recipient refuses because they only wanted a sliver, that's another piece of cake wasted.

The industry standard for party cakes and wedding cake servings is the Wilton Cake Cutting guide. This is what most cake makers (myself included) use to determine how much cake to make for an order. This is my public service announcement for the day: Please take the time to understand how much cake you're getting for your order so that you know what size to order to accommodate your cutting preference for your event!

I'm not sure I can count how many times I've had clients come back disappointed with the size of their cake because they were expecting more. Standards have to be made so that there is a base to calculate pricing from. Please remember that you're ordering from a custom cake maker, that bakes everything from scratch and to your specifications.

Thank you! :)

oh hello new year!

hi everybody!

like the new digs?

i thought the blog needed a bit of a face lift since so much else in my life has changed! although i'll never shy away from a good mama post, i realize that i have so many other facets that i'd love to share on my blog too.

i've added my cake details on a page, so have a look on there if you're interested in placing an order and inquiring about pricing.

as my love for living a healthy life grows, i'll also continue to share recipes and fitness tips and if you're ready, i'll invite you to get healthy with me! check out the 'gettin bzzy with jzzy' page.

for the time being, i've got a loooooot of catching up to do...(i recall a disney road trip that occurred last year, and a couple of kiddies birthdays that i spent so much time organizing that hasn't made it on here!)
so i hope you'll continue to enjoy my posts and comment! (did you know i love comments? i comment often..mostly on things i shouldn't comment on lol)

thanks for following friends!

xo,

jzzy

Banana Protein Pancakes

These pancakes are absolutely delicious complete with that fluffy, airy texture!

Ingredients

1 1/4c brown rice flour

1 c vanilla whey protein powder

1 c vanilla rice milk

4 eggs

4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp coconut sugar 

2-3 bananas, chopped

2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes to activate the baking powder. Once your batter has thickened slightly, spoon 1/3 c onto pan lightly sprayed with coconut oil (or Pan)

Makes 12 pancakes.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

The season of pumpkins is upon us! What better way to enjoy them than in a yummy healthy breakfast.

This recipe will yield 14 pancakes if you use a 1/3 measuring cup to spoon into a non stick pan.

Ingredients:

5 scoops vanilla protein powder

1/2c almond meal

3/4c whole wheat flour

1 can pumpkin purée

2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Water (to reach pancake consistency)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spoon on to a med-low heat non stick pan. Allow to cook for 2-3 mins on each side to fully cook the pancake.

Enjoy!

Protein Power Ups

This is a pretty versatile recipe you can add whatever you like! As long as you have some binders to hold it all together you're in business.

To achieve the nutritional info like mine here is what you need:

1c dried cranberries

1/3c cashews

1/3c almonds

2/3c toasted unsweetened coconut 

2 tsp unsweetened cacao powder

2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder

2 tbsp flax seed (whole or ground)

4 tbsp natural peanut butter (melted)

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil (melted)

In a food processor blend all of the dry ingredients until finely ground. Mix the peanut butter and coconut oil together and slowly add to the mixture using the pulse option to blend. It all might look dry but it should be enough to have it hold together. 

Use 2 tbsp of mixture to form 1 ball. This recipe yielded 12 balls.

Pop into the refrigerator for about 10-15 mins. Keep in a cool dry place.

Enjoy!

Let me know what you thought of it!

Protein Banana Squares

This is definitely a hearty snack or quick breakfast. You can definitely put this recipe in a loaf pan but remember it will yield less protein per serving!

Ingredients:

1c rice flour
1c vanilla protein powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 ripened bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2c butter (or coconut oil)
3/4c brown sugar 
3 heaping tbsp fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a bowl cream butter and sugar then add eggs, vanilla, bananas and sour cream. Add all dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into lightly greased 9x9 pan and bake for 60 mins or until inserted knife comes clean. Cut into 9 equal squares :)

Nutritional info per square:

Calories 341
Carbs 31g
Fat 18g
Protein 11g

Your outsides will get quite dark but don't be alarmed it doesn't taste burnt! 

I enjoyed a slice with a nice dollop of natural peanut butter, heavenly! 

Would love to hear how you liked it, comment below!