These days, any product labeled “reusable” has a leg up on the competition, and even more so when it comes to things for kids!

These Cool Ups pops from Jokari are an excellent example. Not only are they meant to be used again and again, but they provide a “valuable service” for moms and kids — they break up the monotony and add a little fun to a summer staple: ice cream!
They work like regular (and disposable) push-ups we all had as kids: Simply scoop your kids’ favorite ice cream into the cylinder and voila, instant fun snack! You push up …read more

Few things scream summer as much as homemade vanilla ice cream. Made simply with cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla, the cold treat is refreshing, satisfying, and very easy to make on your own!

It can be dressed up countless ways with fruits or candies chopped up and sprinkled on top, or even added to the ice cream itself as it’s churning.
The ice cream can also be added to other things, like root beer floats, on top of pie, or squished between some homemade chocolate chip cookies for an ice cream sandwich.
It can be made in a traditional hand-crank ice cream …read more

Do you make your own homemade ice cream? I finally buckled last summer and bought an electric ice cream maker and haven’t been down the ice cream aisle at the grocery store since!
I love making homemade ice cream not only because I know exactly what’s going into it, but because there are so many varieties and flavors you can play with, and so many fun little treats and additions to throw in. The kids also think it’s pretty neat that you can make it right in your own kitchen and get really excited when I bring the ice cream maker …read more

One thing I love about Summer besides family bbq’s, pool, beaches, grilling meat, warm weather, cute shoes, etc, is our family trips to Ice Cream parlors. We alternate between Dairy Queen and Cold Stone. Tonight, my husband treated us all with a trip to Cold Stone. Actually, we can all thank my 2 yr old daughter because she said the words “ice cream” and Daddy was just happy to oblige. Anything for the Little Princess.
My ice cream choice for today was the Cheesecake Fantasy. It has cheesecake ice cream, graham cracker pie crust, blueberries and strawberries. And of course I …read more

My son can’t wait to go to our local ice cream parlor when the weather gets warm. He thinks the main purpose of summer is to eat ice cream! Kids love a summer trip to the ice cream shop, but when I go I always worry about the extra calories we’re consuming, and wondering how that fits into our day.

Gloria Tsang, nutrition expert and founder of Health Castle has five tips to help you keep an eye on how many calories you’re consuming when you make a pit stop at the ice cream shop.

Know Your Cone: A cake cone …read more

Weekends I make my stand when it comes to the television.  I pay the bills, I bought the TV, if I want to watch something that is not SpongeBob or Hannah Montana, then I can.  I’ve been watching the Food Network, as I work, and they were doing a special on different burgers.
Then, they cut to the Neely’s. Gina Neely shares a great milkshake for grown-ups that features Vanilla ice cream, white Chocolate liqueur, Coffee liqueur, and Brandy. Oh, yum!
If this sounds good to you, grab your blender and your computer – you can find the recipe for Gina’s Grown-Up Milkshake …read more

This morning I woke up and remembered my dream, it was so real that I went right out to get the supplies. Oh wait, ya’ll want to know what the dream was about I’m sure. We were making pudding pops and popsicles. Kind of strange?
Seriously the dream was about filling up popsicle trays and making pudding pops. I have no clue what it meant but decided it meant something. To be honest we’ve never made pudding pops but have the popsicles and with school ending this upcoming week I needed something for them to do and wouldn’t mind something cool …read more

Seriously! If you look it up, May 11, 2009 is Eat What You Want Day.
This brings me to what I think is the perfect food. When I was pregnant, all those years ago, I tried to convince my obstetrician that I had the perfect snack for a pregnant woman: A banana split.
Seriously!
Look at it this way. You have your banana. Bananas are high in potassium*, which we need to help regulate blood pressure, replace potassium that was lost due to exercise or sweating (low potassium can cause muscle cramping and heart irregularities), and it helps balance the sodium in your …read more

A Russian ice cream maker has scooped up a bit of trouble with it’s new “Duet” ice cream.
They are using President Barack Obama as the symbol for their new vanilla and chocolate ice cream product. The  ad features a smiling caricature of the president with the line, “It’s on everyboy’s lip – the Dark is in the White!” Apparently, this is a reference to the President’s biracial heritage.
The creative director of the ad agency insists that the intent was to to be “amusing and cheerful.”  The ad agency has recieved negative reports from foreign countries.  There have been no complaints …read more

Not too long ago my family and I were watching something on the Food Network about ice cream. One of the many different varieties they tried was cake ice cream — that is, ice cream that tastes like a cake.
I love playing with my ice cream maker and decided I was going to see if I could give this a shot. I couldn’t find any recipes that appealed to me on their own, so I took a few ideas from the ones I found and made my own:
Cake Ice Cream
1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or 2 eggs)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy …read more