5 Refreshing Ramadan Drinks

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The month of Ramadan is officially here and I am so excited to share something that I’ve been working on with my friend Amanda from Amanda’s Plate. We both know all too well how tough it can be to fast during the heat of the summer months so we got together to shoot some of our favorite drinks for an often overlooked aspect of fasting: staying hydrated. The importance of getting in plenty of fluids cannot be overstated but let’s face it, sometimes that’s hard to do. Chugging water can feel like a chore and store-bought drinks filled with artificial flavors, colors and excessive sugars are just not a health-conscious option. To make it fun and easy to stay hydrated, we’ve created five refreshingly delicious and simple to make Ramadan mocktails (obviously non-alcoholic) that are sure to impress your iftar guests and quench your thirst as the days get hotter. Behold, our Rocktails (Ramadan+Mocktails)!

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The wonderful thing about these drinks is that you can customize them to your taste (substitute your favorite fruit and herbs) and dietary preferences (even less sugar). The best part, however, is getting creative with the presentation.

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Watermelon Basil Bliss

  • Difficulty: Easy
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Watermelon Basil Bliss
Serves 6

  • 8 cups cubed seedless watermelon
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup fresh lime juice
  • ¼ cup sugar, optional

Using your blender, combine watermelon, basil, lime and sugar (if using). Blend until smooth. You may wish to strain the drink but that is optional. Garnish with fresh basil and lime wedge. Enjoy!

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Recipe via Amanda’s Plate

Sparkling Lavender Lemonade

  • Difficulty: Easy
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Sparkling Lavender Lemonade
Serves 6

  • 1 tablespoon culinary grade dried lavender
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice
  • 3 cups cold sparkling water

In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar with one cup of water and lavender. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Stir until sugar has completely dissolved about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain out the lavender and pour the simple syrup into a pitcher. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and sparkling water. Garnish with lavender sprig and lemon wedge. Enjoy!

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Recipe via Amanda’s Plate

Blackberry Honey Lime Spritzer

  • Difficulty: Easy
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Blackberry Honey Lime Spritzer
Serves 1

  • ¼ cup fresh blackberries
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 12oz sparkling lime water

At the bottom of a glass, mash the blackberries and honey with a fork. Layer with ice cubes and pour over the sparkling lime water. Garnish with lime wedges, blackberries, and mint. Enjoy!

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Guava Pina Colada

  • Difficulty: Easy
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Guava Piña Colada
Serves 1

  • ½ cup of frozen pineapple chunks
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup guava nectar

Blend pineapple, coconut milk, and guava nectar until smooth and frosty. Garnish with edible flowers and pineapple wedges. Enjoy!

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Tangy Tamarind Mojito

  • Difficulty: Easy
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Tangy Tamarind Mojito
Serves 1

  • 1-2 tablespoons tamarind simple syrup
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed sweet lemon
  • ½ cup sparkling water or plain water

Tamarind Simple syrup

  • ½ cup wet seedless tamarind paste (approximately ½ a block)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 cups water


In a small pot, bring the water, sugar, and tamarind paste to a boil. Mash the mixture with a fork and let simmer until well dissolved (about 10 minutes) then let cool and strain the syrup into a mason jar for storage. To make one serving, combine 1-2 tablespoons of tamarind simple syrup (more if you like it sweeter), sweet lemon, and sparkling water in a sugar-rimmed glass. Serve over ice. Enjoy!

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Let’s see what fun and refreshing concoctions you come up with! If you make any of these drinks or create your own, use the hashtag #ramadanmocktails and tag us @Amandasplate and @Thecozyhomechronicles. We will also be sharing more healthy and nourishing food and drink ideas on our page so be sure to follow along!

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Our DIY Home Journey + The Upskill Project

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This probably should have been the first post on our blog but I figured it’s never too late to share our rather interesting DIY home backstory. You see, the idea of renovating our home ourselves never even crossed our mind. I mean don’t get me wrong, we are pretty handy and creative (heck, we DIYed our wedding) but we just assumed that home repairs were way out of our league. So like every clueless new homeowner, we called contractors to help us with the very basics and then some. Things went pretty smoothly until one day the contractor working on our basement announced that he had a family emergency overseas that he needed to attend to. I think he saw the panic in our eyes because he calmly responded, “Look, I first learned this trade by watching others in a very short amount of time. You don’t have to be a genius to do this line of work, anyone can do this.” He then spent the next few days before his departure demonstrating and explaining how to put up studs, mud drywall, and lay tile. He even left us with his tools! Those simple words of encouragement and instruction were enough to spark something within us. Although, it took us some time to finish our basement, the internal transformation happened immediately.

That’s how we got a taste for home DIYing. Every year since, we have tackled a major home project and we even started this blog as a way to share our home journey because we are passionate about DIYing and home life. When we experienced the joy of confidently working together on our home, we wanted to share that with YOU because we truly believe that ANYONE can do these things. We are living proof. Just take a look at the pictures of our home from our first showing compared to what it is today. Doesn’t it make your DIY senses tingle?

That’s why we are super excited to share that we are partnering with Lowe’s for The Upskill Project contest running in Detroit from May 7th-21st. So if you have a home project that you’ve been wanting to undertake but are reluctant because of the costs or because your skills leave much to be desired, then this contest is for you! Lowe’s is offering up to five lucky people the chance to win a $2,000 Lowe’s gift card for their project along with expert help to guide and teach the skills needed to complete your project. We know from experience just how crucial a little bit of guidance is and that is why this movement resonates with us so much. It’s all about empowering homeowners and giving them the skills, confidence, and inspiration they need to tackle any home project.

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To enter, all you need to do is submit a video answering the following questions:

  1. What is your project?
  2. What skills do you need to complete your project?
  3. What would having those skills mean to you?

Simple enough, right?! We’ll be there to help and document one winner’s project progress along the way.  And if you’re not a lucky winner, you’ll still have the opportunity to learn the skills you need at a free workshop hosted at a local Lowe’s on August 25th. This workshop is an invaluable opportunity to learn important homeowner skills such as painting, tiling, plumbing, and general tool use. Did I mention we will also be there too? So mark your calendars and get ready for a date with your new DIY BFFs.

IMG_6067If you’re not in the Detroit area and want to enter the contest, don’t fret because The UpSkill Project is coming to a number of cities across the country throughout the year. You can click here and scroll down for a full list.

All right, what are you waiting for?! Want to enter this contest? Start brainstorming and share this contest with your friends! We want to see what cool projects you have envisioned for your home! Maybe you want to build a rain garden? Or renovate your peach 1950’s bathroom? Whatever it is, may the odds be ever in your favor.

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Disclaimer: NO PURCH NECESSARY.  Homeowners and renters (with property owner’s permission) in eligible ZIPs only.  Rules/Entry details here: http://bit.ly/2Gvud8k. Ends 5/21/18. 

This post is sponsored by Lowes. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

 

Our DIY Ramadan: Ramadan Banner & Tablescape Inspiration

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Hello lovely readers! If you are coming here from Mint Candy Designs, hello and welcome to our blog. It’s always wonderful to have new faces around here 🙂 With Ramadan just around the corner, we are excited to share with you some simple ways to decorate your home and make the spirit of Ramadan manifest in your heart and home. Last year, we shared different ways to add festive and colorful touches to the dining table, where you gather to break bread after a long day of fasting. This year, we teamed up with some talented home bloggers to bring you creative DIYs that you can do to welcome this beautiful month into your home.

“There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.”-Rumi

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The feature of this post is a minimalist Ramadan banner and backdrop that I created near the front entrance of our home. I think it’s a beautiful welcoming statement for family and iftar guests and it makes the perfect backdrop for any family photos. It’s also super easy to make!

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For the Ramadan banner, here’s what you’ll need:
galvanized letters
natural cord
scissors
measuring tape

You can actually use any type of materials for the letters. I chose galvanized tin because they were on clearance at Jo-Anns and I wanted something more sustainable and long-lasting. I was tempted to spray paint the letters gold but in the end decided I liked the rustic, industrial look. To make the sign, all you need to do is arrange your letters spelling RAMADAN MUBARAK. Measure equal spaces between each letter (I did 5 inches) and secure each letter to the cord with a double knot. When you’re finished, create a loop at each end of the cord so you can hang the banner easily on a hook.

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To complete the backdrop simply cut out stars from glittered card stock and stick them to the wall using washi tape. You can also tie ribbon or yarn to cover up the command hooks and add a touch of green with any stems of your choice (eucalyptus, myrtle, grevillea, huckleberry).

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I also spruced up the dining area by hanging up garland and faux greenery. On our open shelving I created a simple display with a lantern and a gold foil Ramadan Mubarak print.

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I hung up our Ramadan advent calendar from Handmade Beginnings  where I’ll put something fun for the kiddos throughout the month. For the table I pulled out the turquoise glasses and purple linens I purchased from IKEA on clearance last year. Unfortunately they no longer offer those specific products (or if they do the colors are different) so I’ll link what alternatives they have below. For the napkins, my source link takes you to a conscious minimalist cotton napkin from H&M.

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 The only new things I purchased for this look were the gold placemats, the craft paper for the table-runner, and the glitter card stock to make the stars for the embellishments. I got the idea for the craft paper table runner from a Pinterest tablescape for Thanksgiving. I think it’s a nice screen-free way to keep children occupied with coloring and you can even write down your own reflections throughout the month. For an extra pop of color, never underestimate the power of fresh flowers. If you’re blessed with a beautiful flower garden then make it a family tradition and go flower picking right before iftar. If not, a local market or a Trader Joe’s would be a good option for gorgeous and reasonably-priced florals.

 

 

 

Sources:

Gold Placemat $1.99 | Craft Roll  $4.79 |Glitter Cardstock  $1.99| Ramadan Print $5.00 | Kitchen Towel $8.00 | Cotton Napkins $3.99 | Turquoise Glass $0.99 | Lantern $3.99

You can also find my sources of inspiration for these looks here on our Pinterest boards:

What did you think of the final result? Would you make this Ramadan banner? If you’re looking for more Ramadan decor inspiration then you’ll definitely want to head on over to my friend at Nimistyle and see her DIY Doily Table Runner and Gratitude Wall. Also don’t forget to check out the rest of the lovely DIYs in the Blog Hop linked below!

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Nimi Style | Amna B Interiors | Simply in Control | Mint Candy Designs | Zair Zabr Play

Last but not least, my friend Amanda and I put together our first Ramadan Ebook. It’s an idea that we’ve been sitting on for a while but this year we took a leap and tried to make it a reality. It’s nothing fancy but it’s a helpful resource filled with meal ideas and recipe links, decor tips, a checklist to help get you organized and even a few simple, mindful challenges for you to try. The best part is it’s available for free download right here:

Ramadan Ready Ebook

Amanda's Plate & The Cozy Home Chronicles

As always if you loved this post, please follow us and share. And for those who celebrate,  Ramadan Mubarak!

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