El Paso Positivo Block Party

mom blogger los angeles toma leche

mom blogger los angeles

 

This is the summer of getting fit and what better way to get fit than to dance? My boys are always asking me when we’re going to have a party so thanks to Latina Mom Bloggers and the California Milk Advisory Board, we started the first day of summer with a dance party. An “El Paso Positivo” dance party that is.

As the video explains, we started out with made-to-order milk shakes. We had vanilla, chocolate, and coffee ice cream and Real California Milk. We added chocolate syrup, fresh strawberries, and mango.

milk shake mom blogger los angeles

They were delightful and gave us a lot of energy to dance. This was the dance they had tried to learn, or should I say the girls tried to learn.

Teaching 4 to 6-year-olds a dance is not the easiest thing in the world. The girls were troopers and tried to follow the dance moves as the boys slam danced around them. There was a lot of jumping up and down so I think they definitely got a workout. In the end, it turned into El Paso Positivo freeze dance.

Every child went home with this adorable tshirt and El Paso Positivo song stuck in their head, which you can download and listen to while you exercise (I do!).

mom blogger los angeles toma leche

If you’re looking for a little Positivismo, stay connected with El Maestro del Vaso Medio Lleno on Facebook and Twitter.

This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

 

Wordless Wednesday; The View From My Run

santa barbara camping mom blogger los angeles

santa barbara camping mom blogger los angeles

It’s become a habit of mine to stop and take pictures when I go running. It’s partly because there are so many beautiful things to see when you’re on a trail or in a Southern California neighborhood. And it’s partly because I like to have an excuse to stop and take a break.

I took this picture in Santa Barbara recently while camping with the family at El Capitan State Beach.

Mango Flan Video on MomPulse

flan mom blogger los angeles

flan mom blogger los angeles

MomsLA is now part of the MomPulse Community on Youtube and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Every week MomPulse asks a question of the week and last week it was “What is your favorite recipe.”

My favorite dessert to serve to guests is flan. It’s impressive, it’s easy, and it’s delicious. It’s also naturally gluten-free. Here is my how-to video on making Mango Flan.

Instagram

mom blogger los angeles virgin guadalupe

There are certain things I try to avoid because I know I will love them so much they will become a distraction. This is why I have avoided Instragram, the photo sharing app for iPhone. I love taking pictures and looking at pictures, but I don’t have time to edit and upload dozens of pictures at a time. That’s what I thought, but two weekends ago we visited my sister in Berkeley and I fell in love. Instragram is my new obsession. Here are my pics from the weekend.

flowers mom blogger los angeles

cala lillies mom blogger los angelesmom blogger los angeles cherries

 

old fashioned outdoor chairs mom blogger los angeles

instagram mom blogger los angeles

 

 

mom blogger los angeles


Two Gluten-Free Chili Recipes

gluten free chili squash spinach black bean mom blogger los angeles

I’ve decided to give up pasta and bread, which has made me start craving my chili. I make butternut squash chili and turkey chili a lot in the winter, but it’s such a good, filling gluten-free dinner I may start making it in the spring, too.

This is the butternut squash recipe, but if you can’t get butternut squash you can use 2 to 3 chopped zuchinni.

Easy Butternut Squash Chili

½ large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 can Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chile (or 1 4-ounce can of diced green chile and one can roasted tomatoes)

24 ounces butternut squash in cubes

12 ounces spinach

3 cans black beans

Saute the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the onions are soft add the tomatoes (or the tomatoes and green chile) and butternut squash. Cook until butternut squash is slightly soft. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add beans and cook together for at least an hour. I usually transfer to a slow cooker for at least 4 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like more spice, add ½ teaspoon chili powder. Serve on its own or with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

1 pound ground turkey

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 a large onion, finely chopped

1 can roasted tomatoes

3 cans of black beans

1 teaspoon to a tablespoon of brown sugar

salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the onions are soft add the tomatoes. Remove from the pan. Add ground turkey to the pan and cook until browned. Transfer the turkey to a slow cooker and add the garlic, onion, and tomato mixture and 3 cans of black beans. Add chili powder and brown sugar to taste and let cook for 4 to 6 hours. Once it’s done add salt and pepper to taste. If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook monitored on the stove top on low. You can add shredded sharp cheddar or jack cheese or diced onions.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Downtown LA's Union Station

la's union station train station los angeles

When I told my husband that I went to Union Station in Downtown LA for the first time yesterday, he couldn’t believe I’d never been there. He took our boys one Sunday when I was out of town and it was one of the best outings they’ve ever had, he said. He told them it was just like the train station in Harry Potter, which made it magical for them. They toured the station, had lunch, and rode the train out to see the grandparents.

Here are my iPhone pictures from my own mini-tour of the station. The walk through the station was followed up by lunch at Homegirl Cafe.

union station downtown la

union station downtown los angeles
sees candy union station
union station los angeles
homegirl cafe spinach smoothie

Sprinkles Cupcakes 24-Hour ATM

sprinkles cupcakes atm beverly hills

I had only 10 minutes yesterday and I wanted to get a little something for a friend’s birthday. I went to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills and of course there was a very long line. Then I saw it. The thing I’ve been talking about for weeks. One of the best ideas I’ve heard of in so many years; the Sprinkles Cupcakes 24-hour ATM.

It’s fantastic. You select your cupcake on the menu screen. You swipe your credit card.

sprinkles cupcakes atm beverly hills

 

Then a minute or so later, it appears.

sprinkles cupcake atm beverly hills

 

Happy Birthday, Friend!

sprinkles cupcake from the atm

Latest Wikets Rec: Rockreation Rock Climbing Gym in West Los Angeles

wikets rockreation rock climbing

I posted recently about my latest obsession, the Wikets app for iPad and iPhone. It’s not just because I’m working with Wikets, but it’s because I can tell the world about what products, places, and apps that I’m currently loving.

For example, my latest Wikets recommendation, or “rec,” was for Rockreation rock climbing gym in West LA. Rockreation has adult free climbing, adult classes plus it offers kids classes, camps, and birthday parties. We had my son’s 8th birthday party there on Saturday and it was fantastic. It was $25 per child and the price included the equipment and one instructor per 5 kids. The kids loved it and they got quite a workout. The instructors had them climb walls with varying degrees of difficulty. If the kids didn’t want to climb with ropes, there were walls they could climb side to side.

About halfway through the party the kids took a break and had Fresh Brothers Pizza, another of my Wikets recs. I’m a huge fan of Fresh Brothers because they have excellent spinach and mushroom pizza and the best gluten-free pizza around (my husband has celiac).

Fresh brothers pizza
Fresh Brothers' Momma's Pizza

After pizza we had birthday cake. I can’t rec this cake, but I would if I could. I made it myself and I was extremely proud. I’ll post the recipe next week.

Homemade Rockclimbing Cake

The party was a great success and I was happy to have Wikets to tell people about the great time we had at Rockreation. Wikets is perfect for that because you have the ability to follow people that you know you can trust.

If you’d like to join Wikets, you can sign up here. If you use the promo code YvonneinLA, you’ll get double points. You use the points to buy products.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post and for working with Wikets. My opinions are all my own. (Just FYI – I was not compensated by Fresh Brothers or Rockreation.)

KPCC, Discover the Arts LA, and Ozomatli

ozomatli

While I haven’t been very good about posting on my blog, I have been writing for other places. I wrote on MomsLA.com about how outraged I am with the way the Los Angeles Unified School District is handling the abuse charges at Miramonte Elementary School.

That post led to an interview with Adolpho Guzman Lopez on KPCC for the report “Union Responds to Transfer of Entire Miramonte Staff.” I listen to public radio all day long so I was thrilled to talk to him.

Last week, I was able to attend the kick-off event for Discover the Arts LA, which is three months of discounts at museums and theatres throughout Los Angeles. It was in front of the Walt Disney Concert Hall on a beautiful day, and one of my favorite bands, Ozomatli, played a mini-concert. I did a video interview with Bassist Wil-Dog Abers after the show for MomsLA.

Starbucks New Blonde Roast Coffee

Coffee. I love it. I drink a lot of it and I’m very particular about it. This week I went to a tasting of a new brew at Starbucks in Westwood Village. It’s a “Blonde Roast” and the beans are roasted for a shorter amount of time for a lighter-bodied coffee.

Now, I drink very strong coffee every morning and sometime sall day long. At home I drink Starbucks Café Verona, which is a dark roast. But I also buy Pike Place, which is a medium bodied coffee.

At the tasting we got to try all 3 side by side. The one I liked best was surprisingly the Pike Place, which isn’t what I drink every day.It tasted different brewed in the store from the way I make it at home. Fresher beans? Finer grind? I’m not sure. But it was really good. Not bitter, but strong and full of flavor.

That morning, the Blonde Roast, which is called the Veranda and packed in a pretty yellow highlighted bag, seemed a little too light for my taste.

Then this afternoon, as I envisioned a long night looming in front of me, I decided to try the sample bag I got at the tasting. It was perfect for that time of day. It was lighter, but still had flavor.

Starting this week, customers can order the Veranda in Starbucks stores and buy the beans in grocery stores around the US. It’s worth trying out. You may find, like me, that it’s your new afternoon coffee.