Copycat Starbucks Iced Green Tea

A new obsession of mine has been Starbucks' Iced Green Tea! But a venti is $3 and that is not something I can buy everyday and then I suck it all down within seconds! So, after doing some research and looking at some other copycat recipes, I made my own and OMG it takes exactly the same! So good!

Ingredients:

Tazo Zen Green Tea (found at any grocery store)
1 gallon jug

Directions:

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to a bowl. Use 5 tea bags and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Pour tea into the gallon jug and fill the rest of the way with cold water.
3. Fill a cup with ice, cover with green tea and sweeten if you so desire.
4. Refrigerate the leftovers. 

I'm not kidding, it tastes exactly the same and you get about 4 gallons for the same price as one venti from Starbucks!

Printable Version

Sweet Potato Scramble

Ingredients:
1 serving of baked sweet potato squares

4 egg whites

1 whole egg

1/3 cup fiesta blend cheese (great value brand)

Garlic salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Crack 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg into a mixing bowl and scramble.
2. Cook eggs and season with salt and pepper.
3. Layer eggs on top of baked sweet potato squares
4. Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and enjoy!


Nutritional Information:
Calories: 381
Protein: 31.48g
Carbs: 18.8g
Fat: 21.4g


Printable Version

Baked Sweet Potato Squares

I have recently found a love for sweet potatoes! Healthy and yummy, can't really beat that! I have been experimenting with different ways to prepare them and baked is my current favorite!

Recipe

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
1/2 tbs olive oil
Choice of seasoning

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel your sweet potato.

Step 2:
Cut the potato into squares. Beware, sweet potatoes are tough when they aren't cooked, so make sure you have a good knife. 

Step 3:
Mix olive oil, sweet potato squares and your choice of seasoning in a mixing bowl. 

Step 4:
Cover a baking sheet with foil and pour a single layer of sweet potatoes on the sheet. Make sure they aren't on top of each other or they won't cook evenly. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Printable Version

Nutritional Information: (based on a 3oz sweet potato)
Calories: 133.1
Protein: 1.36g
Carbs: 17g
Fat: 7g

Happy 4th of July

This year for the fourth we did our normal thing. We went to my aunts for the annual parade and brunch and then we just hung out for a while.

Peyton, of course, got Bobby and Victoria to play with her for most of the morning. Soccer, horse shoes and checkers were her games of choice. 

After we left my aunts we went over to visit with Bobby's family for a while. They decided to have a redneck 4th of July and bought a tarp that they put out in their front yard, which is more like a pasture, and they made a soapy slip in slide thing. CJ definitely love it! Unfortunately (insert wink here), Bobby and I didn't participate as we didn't come prepared. 

After a little while of that, we decided to head back home early and just kind of chill for the rest of the day. 

These are some pictures that I took of Peyton, Bobby and Victoria playing. 

#SheReadsTruth

The past few months (well, if I'm being honest with my self, really since the end of March-ish) I just haven't been feeling very in-tune with God. I've been slacking on pretty much everything that comes with growing in Christ: reading my bible, praying regularly, etc. When I got my job at my church, which I do love, is when I started to notice it.

I am the Digital Media Producer, which requires me to produce our Sunday morning services. It is my job to make sure, sound, lighting
and lyrics go off without a hitch, which means I am concentrating on every little detail and not getting to worship or really listen to the sermon. I have definitely felt the distance from not being able to do those things. I love worshiping through music, so that really is the part I miss the most.

Anyways, I went searching for something to restart my quiet time with and man, I had some issues. There was just nothing that really stood out or spoke to me. There really isn't a lot that I found for my age and time of life. I may have been looking in the totally wrong spot, so if someone has a great resource for that let me know!

I finally found #SheReadsTruth, this website has been awesome. It is led by a group of Christian women, (pastors review all their devotionals so they are doctrinally sound) and the short devotionals are exactly what I was looking for. Each day they post their devotional for their current series, and they also have an email sign up so it can go straight to your email. It is perfect for me, because I always check my email within an hour or so of waking up and then I can't forget about it. They provide study packs for purchase if you want, but you don't have to have them to do the devotional. I don't use them, but some people love them.

There are writing assignments for each series that you can link up and you get to fellowship with all these other Godly women from all over the world through writing your thought and feelings. It is pretty awesome!

I just finished the study of Ruth through them and I love it. I have a quiet time note book, that I write notes in as I read the passage and then their devotional, and then I like to write my prayers down as well.

I can't say enough good things about this ministry, but God truly provided in my time of need!