Healthilicious: Oatmeal Cookies

I love my Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And when I have them sitting around I do eat them all. the. time.

Today, I was reminded that I cannot NOT eat them when they are in a jar on my counter... even if I try to hide them in the freezer, it doesn't stop me. And, since one batch makes 4 dozen cookies, I figured it wouldn't hurt to tweak a few things to make them a bit healthier.

Oatmeal cookies are, what I consider, one of the healthier cookies you can make anyway- oatmeal=healthy, so why not make them even better for you? {"cookie logic" might be an idea for another post}

By using less sugar, Egg Beaters and substituting applesauce+vegetable oil for butter, you'll never be able to tell that these are a healthier alternative to yummy oatmeal cookies!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. applesauce (I prefer cinnamon applesauce, but plain ol' unsweetened works great too)

1/2 c. vegetable oil

3/4 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs or the equivalent using an egg substitute like Egg Beaters

1 T vanilla

3 c. quick oats (I like to do half quick oats, half regular oats. It makes for a chewier cookie)

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the applesauce, oil, sugar, brown sugar, egg substitute and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, and baking soda and stir with a whisk until mixed thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time until combined. {If you feel so inclined, since you've made such healthy choices thus far, go ahead and add 1 c. chocolate chips and stir well :-)}

I use a medium scoop to place cookies on a stoneware pan {the stoneware keeps them from spreading too much, but they will spread some, so space them a bit apart}.

Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are brown.

Because of the applesauce, the cookies might be a little sticky coming off the pan. I recommend using parchment paper or a stoneware pan for baking. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes to make it easier to remove them with a spatula.

For the same reason, let them cool completely on a wire rack to make sure they don't stick together in the cookie jar.

These also freeze really well after they have completely cooled.

But if they do stick together, eating two is really like eating just one. Right?

Cut the Junk: Food Makeover

Our family has been on a journey to change the way we eat by making gradual, small, changes. We started by eliminating gluten for Speedy (our son) because it helps keep his aggression in check, although the rest of us are not on a strict G-Free diet. Then, we started replacing highly processed foods with "real food" (i.e. We use butter instead of highly processed margarine). We then took out high fructose corn syrup, and recently started to eliminate artificial colors- boy, what a challenge!

What is "real food"? 

real [ree-uhl, reel] adj 1. true and actual; not artificial
food  [food] n 1. something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies

Real food is the food nature gives us. It's food that our great-great grandparents grew in their yards and cooked with in their kitchens. It is unprocessed or minimally processed before we consume it.

Why we started

2 1/2 years ago I started Speedy (my son) on a Gluten-Free diet to try to control and eliminate some of his behaviors due to autism. After about 4 months most of his aggressive and self-destructive behaviors were gone. We did a gluten challenge after about a year to be sure it wasn't just a coincidence, and it wasn't. In that moment I truly realized the power of nutrition and it lead us on the "real food" journey we're on today.

I figured if gluten could have such an effect on Speedy's behavior, other foods and additives were probably doing the same thing behavior wise and health wise. Not only for him, but for the rest of the family as well. 

Being a health promotion student , I learned the ins and outs of reading nutrition labels. How to calculate carbohydrates, fats, calories, etc. How to read ingredient lists (first ingredient is the main ingredient, etc) I didn't learn about the extra "junk" being put into our foods and how it effects our health and behaviors. 

How we do it

We use the 80/20 rule; 80% of what we eat is "real food" and 20% is, what we consider, an indulgence. We aren't perfect and we still want to indulge in things like candy (read: skittles and starburst- oh my!), dinners out, and other snacks and treats we used to enjoy regularly. I'm sure there are days here and there when our 80/20 rule is thrown out the window. It happens; we're human

What's ahead

In the next couple of months, you'll learn how to make healthier choices for yourself and your family. I'll break it down so it won't be complicated. Because let's face it- health and nutrition is complicated. It isn't straight forward like in the days of our great-great-great grandparents. But, I promise you it will be easy to follow and it might even spark a little change for you and your family!

Tip for Tuesday: Bottom of the Bottle Paint Remedy

My kiddos love to paint. I mean love it. Yesterday, we got out the paint and realized the bottles were almost empty. Basically, any paint that was left was dried to the side of the bottle. Since the Easter bunny told me he was bringing new paint, I didn't want to go out and buy a brand new box.

Here's what I did to give new life to the little paint we had left: 

1. Add a small amount of water to the paint bottle. Start with a very small amount- you can add more later if need be.

2. Twist the cap back on and give the bottle a good shake.

3. Mix the paint and water around with a paintbrush. I've found this is the best method because you can get in all the hard to reach places of the paint bottle.


Your kiddos will have enough paint to be creative for a few more days while you make time for a Target trip!

We would love you to share your favorite tip with us. We might just try it out and feature you and your idea on Tip for Tuesday! 

Monthly Meal Planning Mommy Machine Style

There are a million different ways to plan meals for your family. I have found, through trial and error, a way that works for me.

I have tried the "make a list of things I run out of and go to the store and plan meals while I'm there" method. I would buy things I didn't need, forget things I did need, and we usually ended up going out to eat because I was too lazy tired to go back to the store. This was not the method for us.

I got my stuff together enough to make a weekly meal plan. This worked for us for a while. I went grocery shopping every Saturday, I made a list, I had a plan. Eventually, I started straying from my list. I fell victim to the "Mommy, I want"s. Even when the kids weren't with me, I would still over shop and I was starting to spend a good 25% more every week. Lesson learned: I'm a weak shopper and I should be in the grocery store as little as possible.

Now, I plan our meals for a whole month. I grocery shop every 2 weeks. I leave myself room for error- I still forget things, I change my mind, sometimes I am still too tired to cook and we switch our "eat out" nights. But we spend less because I shop less. This is the method that works for us, so I want to share my process with you.

Around the first of every month (give or take a couple of days), I sit down with my Erin Condren Life Planner. Yes, that's right, Life Planner. I love it! I use the "month view" to plan out our month of meals. First, I write in the days I know we will have other plans (holidays, family events, etc). Then, I start with writing in what I want to eat.

I use Pinterest by creating a new Monthly Meals board each month. I re-pin meals from my Recipes board and write them into my planner.  I also have meals that I make every month like "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) and tacos (yum).

I try to find things that I know I can make enough to have leftovers, I use an arrow to designate this in my planner. I plan 2-3 days to eat out per month.

Once all of the meals are planned, I add the meals to each day of the week in the "weekly planner" section. I also make myself a note for when I will need to set stuff out of the freezer. I freeze all of our ground beef and chicken, so I want to make sure I am prepared!

I mentioned above that I still change my mind. When we end up having something that I didn't plan, I make a note of that by crossing out my plan and writing in what we had instead. This helps me to make sure I don't plan to make something that we just had, or if I changed my mind because KC didn't want some crazy new recipe, I won't repeat that either ;)

This method has worked for us, there is still a lot of flexibility but it saves us time and money- always a good thing! Stay tuned for a second post about my grocery shopping strategy next month!

Tell us, what is your method of meal planning & grocery shopping? Weekly, monthly, whenever you feel like it?

Toys, and Books, and Baskets. Oh My!

My kids have always been good about playing independently.  KC and I play with them often, but if I'm making dinner or on the phone I usually don't have to worry about them being entertained.

Part of the reason for this is that they have so many toys. I think the toys multiply while we are sleeping.

When they were babies, it was so easy to have everything displayed, in cute baskets, and sorted. Those were the good ol' days. Now, any attempt at organizing I had tried to put in place has been thrown out. Literally, thrown out.

They throw their toys out of bins and baskets and make such a mess there isn't any room left to play (did anyone else just hear their mom telling them "you'd have more room to play if you picked up your toys"?). Eventually the toys find their way into the living room, or worse yet, my bedroom, and I begin to develop a tick.

Things get lost, broken, or forgotten about. It drives the type-A in me crazy!

This is the reason I began to do the "15 minute pick up" that you will see in another post, but it also inspired me to take their room organization to a new level.

It's not complicated. Don't worry.

Little Miss has 2 baskets that are the same.  They are from Pottery Barn and I love them! Any time storage is cute and functional it's a win-win!

To contain the clutter, I fill each basket with toys, if there are more toys than what fit into 2 baskets, I donate some and save some for a rainy day. I leave one basket out in her room. The other basket goes in her closet. Every month or so I switch baskets. If she gets new toys (birthday, holiday, etc.) then I add them to the rotation and take out a toy that she has outgrown or no longer shows interest in.

It doesn't eliminate the mess. She still dumps the basket out all over her room. But at least it's only half the amount of toys to pick up! And by rotating the toys in and out it is like she has new toys to play with every month.

The system doesn't work as well for my 4 year-old. He knows how to get into his closet and find the toys I have stashed. But he can also help me clean up better than the 21 month-old. If I figure out the secret for containing his toys, I'll let you know!

Do you have a trick to kid toy organization? Leave a comment below and tell us! We might feature your suggestion in a future post.

For the record: Pottery Barn has no clue who we are, they, in no way, shape, or form had anything to do with this post.

Healthilicious: PW's Restaurant Style Salsa

First and foremost, Lynns and I kind of have an obsession with Pioneer Woman (PW, P-Dub). Now that we have our own blog we are totally on our way to PW status. All we need is a ranch and the patience to homeschool our kids.

Anyway, salsa is a staple in our house- we use it all. the. time. Which means on almost every grocery trip I buy a couple jars of Aunt Mabel's salsa. I never thought about making my own until I saw PW's recipe in her latest cookbook . The recipe is so simple and I can make it the way I like it... pureeing the heck out of it until it looks like soup. Err... salsa. I have an issue with chunky salsa; we're definitely not BFF's.

Salsa from a jar is not the worst thing out there that you can buy, but anything in a jar obviously has added ingredients to keep it shelf stable. I keep it in my pantry and if I get a chance to make it fresh, I do! Then I use the heck out of it and proclaim "salsa week" at our house. 

Restaurant-Style Salsa (from page 92 of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier)

• One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice
• Two 10-ounce cans Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/2 cup cilantro (more to taste!)

Into a food processor or blender, add the tomatoes with their juice, the rotel (or fresh diced chilies and tomatoes) and the onion. Quarter the jalapeno lengthwise, then slice it thinly. Add jalapeno and garlic to the mix. Next, add the sugar, salt, and cumin, lime juice, and cilantro. Pulse several times until it reaches the consistency you like. Serve with chips, enchiladas, tacos, or use in a dip! 

*Want to cut the junk? Use fresh tomatoes (whole and diced), and green chilies. It will cut down on sodium content and eliminate any preservatives found in the canned versions! 

Clean & Lean: Spring Cleaning Special

It is no secret I like to clean. By this point you guys know that :)

I have my regular cleaning routine, things like vacuuming, windows, dishes, dusting, bathrooms- these are "the usual".

Twice a year I add a few additional chores to my "to do" list.  I try to knock out one extra chore during the week and (with KC's help) 2 on the weekend.  So you can see it takes me a few weeks to get through everything but thats ok.

To help me stay on track, I add the projects to my Life Planner, the same one I use for meal planning, errands, and appointments. When Erin Condren says "life planner"- she means it!

Sometimes I will get really excited and get ahead of myself. Saturday, we had an amazingly gorgeous day so I opened the windows. In doing so I realized just how dusty the shutters were! Oh my. I can't ignore that. While I may not have planned on dusting the shutters for a week or two, it got done Saturday. Check.

Here is my list of "above and beyond" cleaning.  Spring Cleaning Checklist, if you will.  Bonus: I've added in some suggestions for leaning as you clean!

Spring Clean & Lean To Do List
Clean	Lean
Clean out the fridge and freezer. {throw away outdated food, wipe the shelves and drawers down}	Try to do some squats while you're cleaning out the fridge and if your freezer is on top, work in some calf raises!
Clean out the pantry and/or spice cabinet. {throw away outdated food and dust off shelves}	Squats or lunges for lower shelves and calf raises for the upper shelves!
Wipe down the backsplash.	Keep your arm muscles tight and you will be surprised by the amount of muscle you'll use; how's that for "elbow grease"!
Clean the oven and microwave.	Squats and lunges!
Empty drawers- all of them! {throw away trash, donate unused items}	Keep your tummy tight and twist your torso while keeping your hips facing the front- ab workout!
Wipe down the fronts of cabinets and doors, go ahead and run a microfiber cloth along your walls too.	Think “Karate Kid”- wax on, wax off. Great for your arms, keep your tummy tight for core benefits too!
Move appliances and clean the floors and walls behind them. Don’t forget to get behind the washer and dryer!	Focus on not using your back while moving things- no injuries please! You will work your legs if you are using proper form.
While vacuuming, move all furniture and vacuum or mop underneath.	Again, proper form please! You know how I feel about vacuum lunges!
Dust the blinds and/or shutters. {wash or dry clean curtains}	While doing this, keep your elbows up. Don’t put your arms down to your side and you will FEEL it!
Fireplace {if you have a wood burning one}	Do some side lunges while you scoop out ashes.
Closets and dressers {put up winter clothes, take out spring/summer wardrobe- donate unworn clothes while you’re at it}	Stand with you feet shoulder width apart and alternate legs kicking back to your boo-tay.
Dust fan blades.	Keep your tummy tight and reach up, crunch your abs as you dust the fan blade. (standing crunches, get it?)
Clean the windows- inside and out!	Standing side crunches.
Sweep out garage and porches.	More ab work. Keep those abs tight and focus on working them, you’ll feel it!
Put Drano I all drains.	How about doing 30 seconds of plank pose for each drain- I dare you!
Vacuum couches, cushions, and mattresses.	Keep proper form (tummy tight, don’t hurt your back) and this work out will take care of itself.
Dust baseboards and moldings.	Squats with a twist for baseboards and try some jumping jacks as you reach for the moldings. You can do it!

Kiddos Spring Wardrobe Checklist

Spring is right around the corner! Here in northeast Oklahoma, it feels like it's here already! I love Spring, {hate Spring allergies}, I love the freshness, I love the colors, I love the wardrobe!!

Spring means new clothes for my kids. Since having Little Miss, I have found that clothes shopping is more difficult. It's super cute- don't get me wrong- but it is so hard to find outfits that coordinate! Last year I found different pieces at different places and I still ended up with less than the necessary number of outfits... so, in the Fall I started a "system". It worked really well for Fall/Winter! Not everyone may need this, I realize that. But it works for me so I thought I'd share.

Reasons Why I Keep a Checklist 

1. I like lists. They make my world go 'round.
2. My kiddos are still at the age where they need new clothes every Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. They grow FAST! I have never been able to pull out "last year's" Spring wardrobe for them... You're welcome Old Navy.
3. I shop online, which means that I can save all of my selections in my shopping cart until I get an awesome coupon in my email!
4. Shopping online also makes it easier to review my purchases so I can have an organized inventory.
5. By knowing what I need {and checking it off my list when it goes in my shopping cart}, I can make sure I don't over shop.
6. Laundry is one area where I do not like to over do it. The less I have to fold the better. Thus, my shopping "system".

A couple of things to note:

• I do my kids laundry every 5 days meaning I try to have 6-8 outfits with the ability to mix and match.
• It might be unconventional, but I find that it is way easier to buy my kids clothes at the same place- one stop shopping, plus all the colors match {I could write a whole post about pinks that don't match- it drives me crazy}.
• I don't recommend this method for kiddos younger than 18 months, they go through more clothes than this in 5 days. My kids are almost 2 and 4 and a half so it works for us.
• You don't have to stock up all at once! I make all my purchases at once, but if you spread it out, aim to have your closets stocked by Spring Break.
• Make sure you take inventory of what you have and fill in where you need to.
• Girls are more complicated than boys to shop for :-)

Here's what I stock up on for Spring/Summer:

Boys

5- T-Shirts
2- Polos
6- Shorts (4 athletic and 2 nicer)
2- Pants (1 pair that is "nice" and 1 pair that rolls up into shorts)
5- Pairs of Socks
5- Jammies
1- Jacket
1- Swim Suit
2- Flip Flops/Sandals
1- Tennis Shoes

Girls

3- T-Shirts
2- Tank Tops
3- Shorts
2- Capris
3- Dresses
5- Pairs of Socks
5- Jammies
1- Cardigan
1- Jacket
2- Swim Suits
2- Flip Flops/Sandals
1- Tennis Shoes

Create: Spring Wreath Time!

I'm kind of obsessed with wreaths. A wreath for every season is a must in my house; although I must admit, I tend to use the same wreath every year because, well, I get lazy life gets crazy.

But, when I get the itch to do some crafting... I get 'er done. I mean, I get it done. Ya know, sometimes I just can't hide my Minnesota accent... even in writing. But I digress...

This wreath is simple to make, so grab a Starbucks, put the kids down for a nap, crank up your favorite music, and get your craft on!

What you need:

1 grapevine wreath

Artificial flowers

Wood numbers

Craft paint
Scissors 

Hot glue gun

I had two sets of flowers; the same type, just different colors. They came in a big bunch, so I needed to separate them into smaller bunches by clipping them. 

Then, I positioned them by weaving them through the grapevine. There were a few places where I used my hot glue gun, but for the most part, the flowers should stay without glue.

Of course, my perfectionism kicked in at this point.

This step took much longer than I intended.

On day 2... kidding. Maybe.

I painted the numbers white. 

Use a little hot glue to get the numbers secure. I suggest hanging the wreath right away, or you'll find all the tiny flaws and it might take you 3 more days to perfect it. I mean, not saying that happened to me or anything... 

Spring is just a few days away and I am super excited to get this wreath up! 

What do you do to prepare for spring?

Linking up at Daisy Cottage Designs today. :)