Wellness
Oat and Quinoa Granola Bar
During this time of “sheltering at home” you may find yourself with your stash of favorite granola bar disappearing quickly. Here is a DELICIOUS and fun to make granola bar that will have your kids asking for more. The awesome thing about this recipe is you can make it with all kinds of variations and it will always taste YUMMY.
Ingredients
1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
¾ cup quinoa
¾ cup raisins, dried cranberries or dried apricots coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped nuts
⅓ cup unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons chia seed or flaxseed
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
⅓ cup honey
½ cup creamy almond butter or natural peanut butter
¼ cup mini chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate
Spread oats and quinoa on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly brown. In a medium sized bowl mix baked oat/quinoa mixture and dried fruit, nuts, coconut, chia seed and chocolate. Place coconut oil, nut butter, honey and salt in a 2 cup microwave proof bowl or measuring cup and heat on high for 1 minute, stirring at 30 seconds. Pour nut butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined. Press into a 9 inch square or 10×7 inch pyrex coated with coconut or canola cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool and cut into 16 bars. Store in an airtight container and they last for 1 week. This is a great tasting, crunchy and full of fiber and protein. Have fun experimenting with different combinations of dried fruit and nuts. I made one batch with dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts and raisins and one batch with no nuts and mini chocolate chips.
Brussels Sprouts Harvest Salad-try a new recipe on my Bucket List
One of the things I continually keep on my bucket list is trying new recipes. This one caught my eye because we love cruciferous vegetable like brussels sprouts and cauliflower. This recipe has both. I will serve this next time we have friends over. Picky Ricky gave this a 5 star rating! It is a keeper…..
Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken deboned, skinned and shredded
2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 head cauliflower cut into small florets
1 pound brussels sprouts trimmed and shredded
½ cup toasted pecans
¼ cups dried cherries, raisins or cranberries
¼ cup olive oil
1-2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Dressing
6 Tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons grainy mustard
½ teaspoon each seas salt and ground pepper
½ teaspoon sriracha or your choice of hot sauce
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cut up sweet potatoes and cauliflower with !/8 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss and place on parchment lined baking sheet with sides. Mix shredded brussels sprouts with remaining ⅛ cup olive oil and salt and pepper. Place brussels sprouts on a separate baking sheet lined with parchment. Place vegetables in oven. Roast brussels sprouts for about 15 minutes until just barely cooked (still crunchy) and the roast the pan of sweet potatoes and cauliflower for 25-30 minutes. While vegetables roast debone and skin rotisserie chicken and cut into chunks of shred. Make dressing by mixing all ingredients together at the bottom of a large bowl. Put all shredded chicken into bowl and toss around. Place all roasted vegetables on top stir all together. Serve hot or cold. You can serve over rice or quinoa. We loved the flavors and the textures of the different vegetables. …
Read MoreReading
✨Reading ✨
I have always loved to read but in the last few years it has definitely been put on the back burner.
This month, I am making it a priority to READ- for fun and for some (lots of) new parenting tips…because two and three year olds are hard 😬
I had found a lot of these books a while ago and was dragging my feet to start them. Sometimes, starting new books or opening yourself up to new ideas and methods can be overwhelming…but I decided the time is NOW!
I’ve been rereading the Traveling Pants series for fun, light reading.
And the books in my parenting stack include 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan, Parenting Scripts: When What You’re Saying Isn’t Working, Say Something New by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake, Triggers: Exchanging Parents’ Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake, You Can’t Make Me But I Can Be Persuaded: Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong Willed Child by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias and Grace-based Discipline by Karis Kimmel Murray
*I found some of these on thriftbooks.com for great prices!*
I found the rest on Amazon and at Focus on the Family
…
High Protein, High Fiber Oat Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies
When you are a nursing mom and your baby starts to wiggle and grow, sleep through the night and seems to want/need more breast milk…..this delicious cookie may just do the trick.They are easy to make and can be stored in the freezer for a quick nutritious treat. Remember to use Brewer’s yeast and NOT nutritional yeast. This delicious lactation cookie recipe is similar to the other one we tried but uses whole wheat flour for more fiber and has extra protein with the addition of more peanut butter to the dough. You can add an extra bit of fiber by adding raisins. Watch out because your husband and other family members will be sneaking these when you are not looking -they are that delicious. For more information on herbs and nutritional supplements that can improve your milk supply if you are a nursing mama click here. Here are two other recipes that we have tried-one a bar and one a cookie and we also added brewer’s yeast to our favorite bran muffin recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons of flax seed meal
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups of whole oats (not instant or quick oats)
1 ½ cups chocolate chip
½-1 cup raisins optional
4 Tablespoons Brewer’s Yeast (NOT nutritional yeast)
½ cup peanut butter (we used Trader Joe’s natural)
Stir the flax seed meal and water together in a small bowl. Blend butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and add vanilla and blend until fluffy. Measure flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl and pour into mixer. Blend on medium speed until mixed …
Read MoreConnecting Through Motherhood – MOPS
This year, I decided to join a MOPS group. MOPS stands for “Mothers of Preschoolers” but it is really for moms of preschool age children and under. MOPS has been such a blessing for me not only to give me a two hour window every other week to remember what it is like to have a conversation without being interrupted by my little ones but also to be encouraged in motherhood with a group of amazing women! By stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new, I was able to meet new friends, talk through motherhood struggles and get ideas for how to get through different stages of child rearing, and hear some amazing teachings from many Christian women.
Here is some of the encouragement I was given from these great teachers…
Maria Goff gave us a CHARGE for our lives in motherhood from Ephesians 4:1
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
reminding us that we must live each day with NO COMPARISON.
She taught us that HOSPITALITY is not about how you set your table but how people feel about sitting around your table. It is more about the condition of our HEARTS, not the condition of our HOME.
Melanie Dale taught us about what
Mo Isom taught us how to SUFFER WELL, that our worth as a Mom is not in our ability to make life look picture perfect.
She encouraged us to HAVE COURAGE because God has already overcome the world.
“Adversity (in motherhood) is inevitable but is is also used in …
Read MoreHigh Protein Chewy Nut Butter Granola Bar
We love to eat healthy in our family and we are always looking for ways to sneak healthy ingredients into our snacks. We also sometimes need to have some easy on-the-go ideas to grab and go that everyone loves…but healthy ready to go snacks can be pricey. And like our family you might also be tired of paying high prices for protein bars that your kids won’t eat. So for those of you who are looking for options we have a recipe for you to try! This is easy and healthy and delicious!!!!!
Ingredients
2 cups oats
½ cup coconut
½ cup natural peanut butter (almond butter, cashew butter or sesame seed butter)
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon Cacao Bliss (or any brand organic Cacao powder)
2 Tablespoons whey protein powder
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
You can use quick oats or whole rolled oats. If you want to use the whole rolled oats you might want to blend just a bit in the vitamix or blender. Combine oats with remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are blended together evenly. If your mixture seems a bit too gooey you can add a bit more oats. Press into a lightly greased 9 inch square pan and refrigerate for an hour. Cut into bars or squares and serve. If you have any leftover….you can individually wrap them and refrigerate until ready to eat.
Our Picky Ricky Review on this recipe is missing because Picky Ricky claims to be allergic to peanut butter….HAHAHAHA! Next time I will make these granola bars with ALMOND BUTTER and I will get him to try them and will update this recipe with his review. POOR Picky Ricky!!!!
Lemon Blueberry Superfoods Shake
You know our family LOVES our superfoods shakes, and this recipe will take meal or snack time to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!!
We start with our protein and nutrient packed dairy free shake powder and harness the power of citrus and berries to bump up the flavor and health benefits.
Combining the immune health powers of lemon ESSENCE essential oil with the heart boosting properties of blueberries for a seriously delicious meal.
Ingredients
6-8 oz Water
1-2 drops Lemon ESSENCE essential oil
1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries
1/2-1 tsp Cinnamon
Ice as needed
1 packet Dairy Free IsaLean Vanilla Chai protein powder.
To make, fill your blender with 6-8 ounces of water depending on how thick you like your shake. I LOVE the consistency of our dairy free shakes, but you do have to be careful with the amounts of water and ice. Just play around to find what you like. Next, add 1 or 2 drops of the lemon essential oil using a dropper or carefully pouring. Add the protein powder followed by the cinnamon and blueberries. Start to blend. Add ice until you get your desired consistency. Enjoy with a straw or try what I did today: make it a little thicker, pour in a bowl, and top with your favorite grain-free granola!!
Enjoy!…
Read MoreBack to School Health Tips
School is back in session for our family which means less kids at home (YEAH!!), but more germs and yuck too (BOO!).
Here are my top 5 Back to School Health Tips:
- Snack Smarter
- Have easy grab and go snacks prepared. Try a few of our favorites!!
- Cinnamon Vanilla Protein Bites Dairy Free and delicious
- WOW your kids with our Sweet and Spicy Chex Mix
2. Use Essential Oils
We love Essential Oils and we are thrilled to share that the health + wellness company we’ve chosen to partner with has launched their own oils as the ideal compliment to our superfood nutrition!! With a vision to impact world health, expanding the product line just make sense. They’ve kept it simple with 6 single oils and 4 blends to support the nutritional rebalancing system and food our families eat EVERY DAY.
Oils are a great “tool” to keep in your healthy living toolkit because it is such a simple way to enhance the solutions we already get from our incredible food!! We’ve already been learning new simple ways to add oils to our routine. I’ve posted a few recipes below and keep a look out for more to come!
3. Boost Immunity
As a mom, I worry about protecting my kids’ immune health when they are back at school. Luckily, our nutrition makes it easy to give our immune system a boost and empowers me by making me feel like I am having a positive impact on their health. Every day, the girls get a scoop of immune boost in their shake, I spray their mouths with Isamune with zinc spray, and I diffuse lemon essential oil (with peppermint).
4. Get good sleep
We know getting a good night’s sleep is important and I do feel like school is …
Read MoreIt’s OK to Be Uncomfortable
IT’S OK TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE!
We are so focused on being “comfortable” we forget that change requires CHANGE! Growth requires change.
So yes, it might be uncomfortable in the beginning. But when you are WILLING to make a change, when you believe in the work you are doing, you might just find those “uncomfortable” things are just small tiny parts of BIG CHANGE on your journey.
No matter what you are working on or building towards, remember that many things in life start hard. Heck, even seem impossible. Keep trying. Keep doing. Even when it is uncomfortable.
Sometimes the hardest things, the most uncomfortable changes, are the best things.
What is something you working on right now?
…
Books for Growth, our favorites.
I love to read, but as a mom of littles and in a home that seems to always have something to be done or to clean up, reading has not been fitting into my life like it once could.
Reading can be such a source for growth, whether it is for personal growth, spiritual growth, or even growth for your mind to be at peace, to get lost in a different world, or to be engaged in a stage of life you are currently in.
Here are a list of some of our favorite books that have brought each of us growth in different times of our lives…
KERRY
Desiring God by John Piper
Growth was learning that God desires my delighting in Him, not doing things for Him, just being with Him and finding joy in relationships
Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen
I loved the reminder that we do not have to strive to please God or prove ourself to earn His favor
Erasing Hell by Francis Chan
a Biblical based response to the current culture’s desire to believe there is no evil and no hell
RACHEL
Greater by Steven Furtick
Learn how to dream bigger and ignite God’s greater vision for your life
High Performance Habits by Brendan Bouchard
Developing six habits for success
Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
Living a life of meaning and connection instead of perfection
JESSICA
Love Unending by Becky Thompson
On marriage in the midst of motherhood
Life Giving Table by Sally Clarkson
Using the table in your home as a place of discipleship
BETHANY
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
A book on changing your perspective on thankfulness
Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning
Stretching our view on trust and what God has for us in trusting Him
Love Does by …
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