Northern Michigan Vacation

I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and went to college in lower Michigan, but 15 years ago I moved away from my home state. Somewhere in the back on my mind, I think I assumed I’d end up back there someday. Here I am, though, settled in Ohio with little likelihood of ever living there again.

I go back to visit family usually a few times a year, but this was the first time actually taking a vacation in Michigan. It was weird and wonderful at the same time. We really had the most amazing time and I’m excited to share some pictures with you. I had a difficult time narrowing down which to show you, so I apologize for the overload. This is only 1/4 of the pictures we took!

I think I took for granted the beauty of Michigan when I lived there. Northern Michigan is stunning!

We started with a weekend in my hometown, getting in our family visits and celebrating the life of my grandmother with a memorial service and party on the lake where I spent a lot of time during the summers of my youth.  It was a cloudy day, but that didn’t keep all of the cousins from spending the day in the water. Time with family was a great way to start our trip.

After the weekend, we extended our stay in Michigan and made it a vacation.  Our first stop was Mackinac Island, which is where Tim and I got married. It was our first time going back in 11 years, and it was really special to share the Mackinac Island experience with our kids. This is on the ferry ride to the island, with the Mackinac Bridge in the background. The Mackinac Bridge is the bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. Fun fact: it’s 5 miles long and currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. Mackinac Island is a magical place. There are no cars allowed on the island, so you either have to walk, bike, or take a horse and carriage to get around.

We rented bikes to explore the island.

We stopped at the church where Tim and I were married.

We also stopped to hike up to see Arch Rock.

After we returned the bikes, this kid was exhausted! Daddy got some extra exercise by carrying him on our walk to our hotel.

We stayed at Mission Point Resort, which was the venue for our wedding reception.

They have an 18-hole executive putting course, which was fun. 

Meghan got a hole in one! Notice the scores. Yep, my 8 year old beat me. My 5 year old wasn’t close behind. I need to step up my golf game!

We had dinner on the same patio where part of our reception was held. So many memories!

Mackinac Island also has a fabulous Butterfly House that is a must-visit if you have kids.

Luke loved identifying the different kinds of butterflies and Meghan waited patiently for a butterfly to land on her bow. (One did for about 1/2 a second!)

No trip to Mackinac Island would be complete without a stop at the historic Grand Hotel.

This is the view from the porch, which is the largest porch in the world!We relaxed and enjoyed the views for a while.

We only spent one night on Mackinac Island, but I think we could have stayed longer. Maybe because it’s so sentimental for us, but this was my favorite part of the trip.

After Mackinac Island, we headed to Traverse City for the rest of our time.

The highlight of our trip to Traverse City was time spent at Sleepy Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Such amazing views!

Lake Michigan looks like an ocean! We stayed at the Grand Traverse Resort. It worked out well because it rained one day and we were able to take advantage of their indoor pool and tennis courts. 

Traverse City has an ice cream shop, MOOmers, that was voted Best Scoop in America by Good Morning America. Clearly, we had to check it out!

The shop is located on a farm and the ice cream is homemade on site. It was neat to see the cows grazing on grass!

The line was out the door and wrapped around! 

We gave the ice cream two thumbs up. So good!

If you love food, Traverse City is a must-visit. I don’t have any food pictures to share (I did share some on Instagram stories–make sure you’re following me over there for that kind of stuff!)  but the food was amazing. We loved every restaurant we tried.

One of the kids’ favorite parts from the trip was our stop at an adventure park.

We did zip lining. My first time! It wasn’t huge, but I still loved it.

There was also a ropes course that pretty much scared me to death!

This picture doesn’t adequately show the height. Luke was also really scared, but I was so proud of him for doing it anyway! One of the guides had to help him through a lot of it, but he was such a trooper.

As you can see, we had an amazing time on our Northern Michigan vacation. If you’re looking for a family vacation spot, I highly recommend it!

 

 

 

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Low Calorie Chocolate Lovers’ Chocolate Milkshake

This Low Calorie Chocolate Lovers’ Milkshake has only 310 calories and is so rich and chocolatey! You won’t believe it’s lite!When I was pregnant with Meghan (Omgosh! Almost 10 years ago now!) we had an ice cream shop within walking distance of our house. It became our Sunday ritual to walk to the ice cream shop and get a chocolate milkshake.

Every. Single. Sunday.

Somehow I managed to do that and still stay within the recommended amount of weight to gain during pregnancy. Barely. Just barely.

You don’t know what you don’t know and what I didn’t know at that time was that I was downing more than a meal’s worth of empty calories and 100 (!!) grams of sugar in one sitting.

I’ve learned a few things since then. My journey to learn about health and nutrition has been full of twists and turns, and while I don’t eat milkshakes once a week these days, I’m so grateful to have landed in a place with a balanced perspective.

First, pregnant or not, cravings are okay. We all have ’em. I don’t want to live in a world that totally bans chocolate milkshakes.

Second, there are healthier, lower calorie ways to honor a craving. No need to drink a day’s worth of calories and 5 times the amount of sugar you should in one milkshake.

Let me introduce you to Low Cow!

I’m soooo excited to have found a lite ice cream that gives me a healthier way to indulge. You guys, this ice cream is rich and creeeaammy, yet lite! Sorry for all the extra vowels, but I need to make sure you understand the level of excitement here. It doesn’t have the taste or feel of a lite ice cream at all!

It’s got 80% less fat and 60% less calories than regular ice cream. It’s also high in protein–24 grams per pint! It’s sweetened with erythritol, which is a natural sweetener (a sugar alcohol) that doesn’t create crazy spikes in blood sugar levels.

Low Cow is made by Kroger’s Simple Truth brand, which you know I love. It’s non-GMO and free from these 101 sketchy ingredients. I love that I know that automatically when I see the Simple Truth label! Sure makes my life easier.

Low Cow comes in six flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Sea Salt Caramel, Lemon Cake, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Birthday Cake. I’m not above eating it straight out of the carton. 

Did I mention it only has 240 calories in the entire pint?!

For this Low Calorie Chocolate Lovers’ Chocolate Milkshake, I used the Chocolate Low Cow. 

I paired the Chocolate Low Cow with a homemade chocolate syrup. Don’t worry, it’s super easy (5 minutes!) and I used a natural, low calorie sweetener  (blend of xylitol and erythritol) to keep the calories and sugar amounts low.

This entire large milkshake has only 310 calories. No need to live with deprivation. If you crave ice cream, Low Cow might be just what you’ve been looking for! My whole family loved this special treat and I think yours will, too! 

Print

Low Calorie Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Milkshake

You’ll never guess this Low Calorie Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Milkshake is so low in calories and sugar and high in protein!

• Author: Happy Healthy Mama
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 large milkshakes

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Syrup

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 plus 2 tablespoons cup xylitol/erythritol blend
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt

For the Low Calorie Chocolate’ Lovers’ Chocolate Milkshake

• 2 pints Low Cow Chocolate Ice Cream
• 1/2 cup chocolate syrup
• 3/4 cup milk*

Instructions

1. To make the chocolate syrup, whisk together the cocoa powder, sweetener, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 3-4 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the chocolate sauce to a container and bring it to room temperature.
3. To make the milkshake, put the ice cream, 1/2 cup chocolate syrup (you will have a little leftover to drizzle on top), and milk in a blender and blend on low until smooth and creamy.
4. Drizzle some of the remaining chocolate syrup in two tall glasses and then divide the milkshake into the two glasses (or 4 smaller glasses). Drizzle the remaining chocolate syrup on top of the milkshakes. Enjoy!

Notes

*I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk because that’s what I usually have on hand and it’s low calorie. Any milk will work here, but you will have to adjust the calories accordingly.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 large milkshake
• Calories: 310
• Sugar: 12
• Fat: 15
• Carbohydrates: 59
• Fiber: 13
• Protein: 29

Low Cow is priced better than other ice creams and is only available at Kroger, so make sure you head to your local Kroger store to check it out!

If you make this Low Calorie Chocolate Lovers’ Chocolate Milkshake, I would LOVE to see it! Please snap a pic and share it on the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page or Instagram and tag me @happyhealthymama.com

Would you like to save this recipe for later? Here’s an image to save to your Pinterest recipe board!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

 

The post Low Calorie Chocolate Lovers’ Chocolate Milkshake appeared first on Happy Healthy Mama.

source http://happyhealthymama.com/low-calorie-chocolate-lovers-chocolate-milkshake.html