Visiting Canmore and Gluten Free Wild Garden Snack Packs

I remember when vacation was all about me; what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to eat, me, me, me. Now that I'm a mom, that's such a distant memory, I'm starting to wonder if I imagined the entire thing.

Seriously, this place is gorgeous! The kid is cute too ;) #canmore

A photo posted by Amber Smith (@mommastuffblog) on Aug 23, 2015 at 11:26am PDT

We're currently on  a family vacation in Canmore Alberta and although it is an absolutely stunning place to be, keeping two boys aged 4 and 6 occupied, entertained and quiet is a challenge and a half. Fortunately, we are staying in a small condo, which is by far preferable to a basic hotel room, however when you're used to a three floor home, its not a lot of space.

And then there's the food. When your family requires both gluten-free and peanut-free options, simply grabbing a bite to eat is generally not an option. I emailed a bunch of local restaurants before we arrived and was pleasantly surprised to hear how aware and accommodating they all were. That being said, tonight is our fifth night here and we finally ordered pizza, every other meal we have cooked for ourselves.

When it comes to outings, I put a lot of effort into healthy snacks for the kids but for myself, I'm perpetually just grabbing something from the cupboard on the way out the door and otherwise noshing on the gluten-free portions of the kids' snacks.

I'm super excited about Wild Gardens NEW Gluten Free Hummus Snack Packs; these little packs are convenient, shelf stable and delicious. Each box comes with a pack of hummus (that tears open easily and even I managed to eat without making a mess) and one of three types of crackers. And one of my good friends was ecstatic to hear that two of the three varieties (veggie chips and and quinoa chips) are also soy free.

Wild Garden Gluten Free Snack Packs are tasty little snacks packed with just enough protein to fuel me to my next meal without wanting to nibble on every little snack in my beach bag. They're quick, convenient and gluten free; if that's something you're looking for, I highly recommend you try them out.

Disclosure: I received samples of Wild Garden Gluten Free Snack Packs for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.

Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry Overnight Oats | A make ahead breakfast recipe

HAPPY NEW YEAR, I know I'm a little late to the party, but sometimes I find myself rebelling against expect expectations.

Expectations that I should write a gift guide or a special holiday post, that I should write a year in review post or share with the world some reasonably attainable new years resolution. I actually enjoy reading those posts, but one of the things I've realized in the past year, is that I want to be able to write about what I want, when I want without the societal pressure to perform as a blogger.

When I try and conform to whatever it is that my mind thinks a blogger should be, writing becomes work and although many people consider their blog a job, and for a while I thought I might too, for now,I want my blog to be a place for solace and peace and relaxation.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know, I have been very slowly under taking the #100happydays challenge and it was pointed out to me very early on, that FOOD and my children have been the primary focal point. Combined with many requests to share my recipes, today, I'm going to do just that.

I LOVE breakfast; I get up early every day so that before I leave for work at 6:30am I have time to eat a nutritious and filling breakfast and feed my family the same. I am a huge fan of eggs, either on toast or in a tortilla and I regularly eat them multiple days a week.

But sometimes, its nice to change things up and when I posted the photo above of some chocolate coconut and raspberry overnight oats I had made, I discovered I wasn't the only one who wanted a creamy, delicious and quick breakfast on hand.  I've refined the recipe a little bit since I first made it and actually prefer to use the smaller 250ml jars rather than the large 500ml ones seen in the photo above and the recipe below makes five 250ml jars which means if you don't share you will have enough for your entire work week. 

Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry Overnight Oats

(gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free)

yield: five 250ml jars

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup + 5 Tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup (raw) cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp chia seeds
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1-1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup frozen raspberries

Directions:

• Mix together everything except the oats, frozen raspberries and 5 Tbsp of coconut. 
• Once well blended, add in the oats and still until combined. The mix will seem a little loose and runny.
• Spoon yogurt mix into jars until they are approximately 1/3 full.
• Divide frozen berries among the jars, sprinkling 1 tbsp of coconut on top of the berries in each jar.
• Spoon remaining yogurt mix over the berries and coconut, dividing evenly among jars.
• Refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours.
• Enjoy the deliciousness!

Note: Feel free to mix up the ingredients and add-ins to suit your tastes and of course what you have on hand.