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For Coconut Lovers: Coconut “Muffins”

Published on May 8, 2012 by admin in dessert, paleo, Snacks

For all you coconut lovers out there this a great dessert for you!! These “muffins” have tons of coconut in them!

This is all the ingredients you need:

(however, you could add honey or agave nectar for added sweetness)

You could either make them in a muffin tin using cupcake liners or a small baking dish

(I used a muffin tin because I don’t have a small baking dish)

Ingredients:

-2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut

-3 eggs (the recipe I used called for 2, but I found it wasn’t as gooey as I wanted it, so I’d add another)

-1 bar of dark chocolate – chopped (the higher percentage of cocoa the better) OR 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

-1 tsp of vanilla

-OPTIONAL: ~1/2 to 1 tbsp of honey or agave nectar (or any other natural sweetener)

How-To:

-Preheat the oven to 350

-Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray non-stick on a small baking pan

-Whisk the egg & vanilla in a bowl (and sweetener if using)

-Add in the rest of the ingredients

-Then pour into your cupcake liners or baking pan & flaten out w/spatula or spoon

-Put in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until turning golden brown

-Let cool & then enjoy!!

yum!

Enjoy!

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Homemade Almond Butter

Published on May 2, 2012 by admin in paleo, Snacks

Making your own almond butter is so simple, much cheaper, and really tasty!!

I used 2 cups of almonds, 1/3 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut, and a pinch of salt.

(you can omit the coconut if you’d like)

Put those ingredients into a food processor

Then turn the food processor on high

Let it run for about 10 minutes – but during that time keep checking on it because multiple times you will have to stop it and scrape the sides

Then once it’s really mixing together and not sticking to the sides anymore, let it run for 5 minutes straight to get your almond butter really smooth.

Then you’re done! Put it all in a container and store in the fridge!

I use almond butter in smoothies, pancakes, desserts, and snacks!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of almonds

-1/3 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

-pinch of salt

How-To:

-Put all the ingredients into a food processor

-Let it run on high for 10 minutes – during those 10 minutes, stop the processor and scrape the sides whenever needed

-Then once it starts mixing together without sticking to the sides, let it run continuously for about 5 minutes

-Then put it in a container and store in the fridge and ENJOY!!

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Homemade Almond Milk & Flour Recipe

Published on May 1, 2012 by admin in paleo

Yesterday I posted about the ingredients I consider to be Paleo essentials. Two of those essentials are almond milk and almond flour. Last week I started making my own almond milk and from that you also get almond flour.

I use to buy this almond milk from the store:

But there are some ingredients in this that I’d rather not have in my almond milk…all I want is almond.milk.

So I made my own and let me tell you – it tastes SO much better than store bought!!

Here’s how to make it:

Almond Milk

Soak 1 cup of almonds in water for 4-8 hours

(you can skip this part if you have a really good blender)

Then boil the almonds for about a minute

Strain, let cool for a second, then peel the skins off some or all of the almonds

(this time I only did half, next time I will try peeling off all the skins)

Then take the pit out and chop 1-2 dates

(this is to sweeten the milk, you can skip this if you’d like, but it makes it taste SO good!)

Then put the almonds, dates, 3 cups of water, and a splash of vanilla into a blender

Then blend until mixed and frothy

Then pour the liquid in either a mesh strainer, cheese cloth, or nut milk bag into a container or bowl. I used a mesh strainer, but a nut milk bag or cheese cloth would probably work best.

Let the milk strain through.

If you’re using a mesh strainer, you’ll have to push down the substance with a spatula or spoon to squeeze out milk.

Then put what’s left over in the strainer into a bowl. (we’ll get to what to do with it in a sec) And if so desired, you can pour the milk through the strainer one or two more times.

Then pour the milk into a container and store in the fridge for no longer than a week!! Yummy!

Ingredients:

-1 Cup of almonds

-3 cups of water

-1-2 Dates (optional)

-Splash of vanilla (optional)

How-To:

-Soak the almonds in water for 4-8 hours

-Boil the almonds for about 1 minute

-Strain the almonds into a bowl and let cool for a minute or so.

-Take the skins off some or all of the almonds.

-Then put the almonds, dates, water, and vanilla into a blender.

-Blend until frothy.

-Pour into a mesh strainer, cheese cloth, or nut milk bag. (can strain multiple times if you want)

-Pour the milk in a container and enjoy!

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Almond Flour

(from making almond milk)

Ok, so when you make almond milk your left with almond pulp

So for all that’s leftover, here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and EVENLY spread the almond pulp on the sheet.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes – then check the almonds, if they aren’t turning brown or look like they’re drying out, put it back in until they do. You want the almond pulp to be super dry.

When it’s ready, take it out of the oven and then put the almonds into a food processor

blend until you have thin, flour-like almonds

Then put it in a container and store in the fridge! This is how much almond flour I got from making my almond milk:

Ingredients:

-Leftover almond pulp from making almond milk

How-To:

-Preheat oven to 300

-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread almond pulp on it evenly

-Heat in oven for 40-60 minutes (until it’s dry and browning)

-Place in a food processor or blender and blend till it is thin & flour-like

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Now, if you want to make almond flour without having to make almond milk first, here’s how:

Almond Flour

Place no more than 2 cups of dry, raw almonds into a blender or food processor

Blend for no more than 10 seconds, about 3 times (if you blend for a longer time than that it will start to make almond butter)

You’ll probably have to scrape the sides

Then place the blended almonds into a mesh strainer and shake into a wide-mouthed container

After a minute of shaking, there will be bigger leftover pieces in the strainer. Put those back into the blender and blend. Blending no longer that 7 seconds at a time. Then put it back in the mesh strainer and shake.

Then put the almond flour into a container and store in the fridge or freezer!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of almonds

How-To:

-Put the almonds in a blender or food processor

-Blend for no longer than 7-10 seconds, about 3 times

-Put the blended almonds into a mesh strainer and shake into a container

-Put the bigger almond pieces that are left in the strainer back into the blender

-Blend again (not for very long) and put the almonds back into the strainer and shake.

-Store almond flour in a container in the fridge or freezer!

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I will be back tomorrow with my homemade recipe for creamy almond butter!

Enjoy!

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Paleo Diet Essentials

Published on April 30, 2012 by admin in paleo

*Updated*

Eating the Paleo diet/lifestyle, I feel like there are a few essential foods that I always like to have on hand. They are:

Eggs
Frozen Veggies
Frozen Chicken
Almond Milk
Almond Butter
Almond Flour
Almonds
Coconut Milk
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
Coconut Oil
Dark Chocolate (this is only b/c I have a major sweet tooth and if I didn’t have any “healthy” sweets on hand, I’d be having a DQ Blizzard every day)

-James and I go through eggs SO fast! We buy 2 1/2 dozen eggs every week. We use them for breakfast with some avocado and salsa. We use them in paleo pancakes, zucchini fritters, and desserts. Eggs are used in a lot of paleo recipes.

-I also try to always have quite a few bags of frozen veggies in the freezer because they are SO EASY. If I don’t have time or don’t feel like preparing and cooking veggies, all I have to do is open a bag of frozen veggies and throw them in the steamer or sauce pan! I also use these for Aiven’s homemade baby food. I just steam them, then steam some chicken, throw it in the blender with some water and that’s it!

-We also like to have a bag a frozen chicken on hand for quick dinners as well. The best part is you don’t have to wait for it to thaw out (which I frequently forget to put out meat to thaw before dinner). I just throw it in the skillet, put the lid on and it’s cooked in 10 minutes or so!

-Since the Paleo diet does not consist of dairy products, we use almond milk as our cow’s milk substitute. I use it in smoothies, some pancake mixes, nut and fruit cereal, and just a glass by itself. However, I use to buy the pre-made almond milk from the store. Yes, it’s in the health foods isle, so it must be super healthy right?!…not always. If you read the label you’ll find that it’s not just almond milk in there, it has plenty of random ingredients too. So, last week I decided to make my own! IT WAS DELICIOUS! SO much better than store bought! I will always be making my own from now on. Not only does it taste better…I also feel better knowing exactly what’s in it (almonds..), AND it leaves you with almond flour as well!! Two in one!! I will post the recipe (for both almond milk and leftover almond flour) tomorrow…

-We also use Almond Butter (A LOT), instead of peanut butter. We use it mostly for snacks, smearing it on sliced apples, celery, and carrots. I also use it in some pancake mixes and in a lot of desserts. I LOVE almond butter. I also decided to start making my own because, you guessed it, the store bought has who-knows-what in it! It is also much cheaper! I will post this recipe on Wednesday!

-If you like to make paleo desserts, pancakes, zucchini fritters, crispy chicken, etc., etc., then you NEED almond flour!! I use it all the time – this ingredient is what makes the paleo diet so versatile and wonderful! (to me anyway) Unfortunately, it is SO expensive!! So…yes, I started making my own!! I will post this recipe tomorrow (along with the almond milk)

-Just plain almonds are a good thing to have in the pantry as well. Not only does it make all of the above almond essentials, it also provides a quick, protein & fat filled snack!

-I also use coconut milk quite a bit…in pancake mixes, smoothies, and desserts. This is semi-expensive (most of the time it’s about $2.50 for a can). But of course you can make your own! I haven’t done this yet, so when I do, I’ll post the recipe!

-I use Shredded coconut a lot as well, especially in desserts. This may not be someone else’s “essential”, but I LOVE coconut. :-) And it’s super cheap IF you buy just a regular bag at Kroger or Wal-mart of the unsweetened shredded coconut (in the baking isle) (one bag is like a dollar something).

-Coconut Oil is great essential in the paleo diet! It provides great healthy fat and you can use it in SO many recipes. I use it in a lot of desserts and really whenever oil is called for (or I use olive oil).

-Last but not least dark chocolate!! The higher percentage of cocoa, the better, but it’s definitely an acquired taste. I can eat it at about 82% cocoa and that’s about as far as I go, but I prefer 70%. I usually buy a couple bars and unfortunately it’s expensive (about $2.50-$3 a bar) but it’s better than always breaking down and getting a DQ blizzard when my sweet tooth bites!!

**Stay tuned the rest of this week for the recipes for some of these essentials!!

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Pinterest Challenge: Organizing & Chalkboard Labels

Published on April 26, 2012 by admin in DIY, Pinterest, Tidy Up

So I’m wanting to start a Pinterest Challenge for myself and here’s what it is:

I will do at least one thing that I’ve pinned on Pinterest per month…and if I do more, then great!

And if you’re getting discouraged, like I was, about pinning all these great ideas and not actually doing them, then join me in this Challenge and comment about what you did or are doing!!

So my challenge(s) for the month of April were to organize my refrigerator & pantry AND DIY Chalkboard Labeled Jars

So first I went to Dollar Tree and bought baskets and some jars. Then bought some tall jars at Hobby Lobby, but mostly used glass jars I already had (I kind of have a glass jar addiction…).

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First I’ll show you my refrigerator transformation!

So this is what my fridge looked like before:

So first, I took everything out and threw away things that we never use or were expired.

…so, it obviously needed some cleaning…so I cleaned it!

Then I put everything back in a way that made the most sense for us (in terms of accessibility)…I moved some shelf height and put most of the loose stuff that we use on a regular basis in the $1 baskets I bought at Dollar Tree.

And After:

vuala!

Don’t you just love these baskets!

It makes everything so much more organized instead of having bags of who-knows-what piled on top of each other!

Then I moved on to the freezer. Here’s some before shots:

We don’t have an ice maker and we get A LOT of meat from James’ dad, which we LOVE but it’s hard because our freezer is so small. So everything is piled up.

So again, I took everything out, cleaned it, and then used my $1 baskets & ice bin I bought from the Dollar Tree and tried to organize the best I could. It’s not really what I’d like it to be yet, but it’ll do for now. When we move into our new house, we plan to get a deep freeze for the garage to store our meat, so that will help.

After: (for now)

I’d also eventually like to label the baskets (veggies, fruit, baby food, milk, etc.)

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Then I moved on to the pantry. But before I show you an “after” picture, I’ll show you how I did my other Pinterest Challenge, which was to label my jars (that I used to organize the pantry) with chalkboard paint!

All you need is:

~Glass &/or Plastic Jars

~Chalkboard paint (bought mine at Lowes)

~A foam brush(es)

~Painters tape

~Chalk

How To:

~Tape off the area you want labeled with the painters tape

~Make sure the area you want the label to be is clean

~Then open the chalkboard paint & stir well

~Then paint inside the tape with the chalkboard paint, using the foam brush. Do even swipes and go over it as much as needed for there not to be any streaks.

~Then let them dry. This stuff drys quick – I let mine dry for probably 4-5 hours though before I wrote on them with chalk. Also, you might have a few jars with the paint dripping…for those put them flat.

~Then when they’re dry, write on them with chalk!

I love this!! However, the only “problem” with these is that you have to be careful where you touch the jars or you’ll wipe off the label!

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So now back to the organizing part. For some reason I didn’t take a “before” picture of the pantry! But since we eat Paleo our pantry is fairly bare because we don’t have pasta, grains, or bread. We mostly just have nuts, coconut, a few canned things, coffee and a few other things. So before, the pantry was just a bunch of bags piled on top of each other, an ugly coffee can, loose coffee filters, etc.

But then I used the glass jars I had and some I bought at the Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby and here’s what it looked like after:

Pretty AND organized!

I used the tier shelf thing I already had for cans.

and then used a $1 basket I bought from the Dollar Tree for coconut milk, coconut oil, and agave nectar.

Lovely!

So there you have it! My TWO Pinterest pins I actually DID for the month of April!!

Please share what you’ve been doing or want to do that you’ve pinned on Pinterest!

Loves!

7 Comments

10 months.

Published on April 25, 2012 by admin in Aiven, family, Motherhood

This past Monday Aiven turned 10 months old!!!

How did this happen??!!

He keeps getting bigger, cuter, funnier, and faster! The faster part will explain his 10 month pictures…those are getting harder and harder to take!

First he was mad that I tried to keep him on his back, so…

off he went!

then he tried to pull the 10 month sticker off.

Then sort of posed for one quick shot

and took off again!

Then I tried his back again…with a distraction

and got one good pic!

Then I gave up and just put the sticker on his back

he pulls up on everything now!

then he spent the rest of our photo shoot time playing in the curtains

At 10 months old Aiven:

~is crawling….everywhere!! (and getting faster every second!)

~is still nursing 5 times a day

~pulls up to standing on anything he can

~eats pureed solids about 3-4 times a day

~loves spinach, carrots, broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, & fruit

~weighs 19.2 pounds

~is 27 1/2 inches long

~LOVES to be chased!

~is ALWAYS SO happy when his daddy comes home from work

~likes cuddle time with mommy everyday

~loves to be held

~likes to slap things with his hands

~can do patty cake

~plays peek-a-boo

~loves to shake his head ‘no’

~bumps his head a lot & has bruises on his forehead to prove it

~still loves bath time

~signs “all done”…sometimes

~has 2 teeth coming in!! (on the bottom front)

~sleeps 11 hours a night

~wants to nurse AS SOON as he’s picked up out of the crib in the morning

~LOVES ALL his grandparents!

~likes to crawl over everything

~still makes silly noises with his mouth

~likes to copy things you do

~doesn’t like his jumper too much anymore…he’s rather be crawling around

~usually takes 2 naps a day, sometimes 3, but the 3rd is usually just a cat nap…on mom

~says mama…only when he’s crying

Loves!!

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Cauliflower Rice (w/Chicken Stir Fry)

Published on April 24, 2012 by admin in Dinner, lunch, paleo, sides

It’s been forever since I’ve posted a recipe! I still religiously take pictures of new things I make, I just never post them! Gotta get better at that!

So of course, on Pinterest, I found a recipe for a Paleo “Rice”! It’s really cauliflower, but when you’re done making it, it looks like rice and pretty much tastes like rice as well! So I made stir fry with this “rice”!

Looks yummy right?! (it was)

Cauliflower Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
whatever seasonings you like on your rice

How-To:

Cut the cauliflower into small chunks
Use the shredder blade on your food processor – blend till it’s the size of rice (or use a blender if you don’t have a food processor)
Then put the “rice” into a microwave save dish with a lid (just resting on top) and microwave for 5-6 minutes (do not add any water)
Then you’re done! Eat it how you would normally eat rice – in my case I used it with a chicken & veggie stir fry!

Loves!

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Enjoying

Published on April 9, 2012 by admin in Aiven, family, friends, pets, that's life

This past Easter weekend was so wonderful! It was busy, but good busy…filled with family…and I enjoyed every minute of it!!

James’ dad and step-mom came in town. I’m so glad they did because they haven’t seen Aiven in about 3 months and he LOVED having them here! Not a moment went by that he wasn’t loved on and played with. (Never mind that I will be reaping the consequences of that today…)

Friday morning they got to come to the inspection of the house we’re buying. And since it seems like everything’s a go…I’ll give you a sneak peak of the house

I love this house!

Well, that’s all the sneak peak you’re going to get until we have the keys in our hands, which should be May 18th!

We also enjoyed the wonderful weather and went to the park, took naps, and went to the Good Friday service at our church! Then Saturday morning we walked to 2 garage sales. We had a GOOD time And unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures…Lisa did all the picture taking so I’ll have to get some pictures from her

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We also enjoyed Broden’s first birthday party on Saturday

He enjoyed his cake too

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Then we enjoyed the rest of the weekend with my wonderful cousin Angie, her great husband Trent, and their 4 kids, Travis, Adam, Olivia, and Brooklyn

And Aiven SO enjoyed his cousins…and they loved him

Saturday night we enjoyed a night on the Square listening to the beautiful Guess Works Band. Check out their website here: http://www.guessworksband.com/

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The kids enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt (inside because it was raining)

But Brooklyn did NOT enjoy Uncle Gordon stealing her candy!

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Our Family Easter Pics

Our little cutie won “best dressed” at Sunday school Easter morning!

And Aiven got a nice Easter basket from his Nana

He liked it

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Here’s some other things I’m enjoying:

Aiven trying to stand up

Aivey’s sleepy face rub (and my handsome hubby!)

Aiven’s shoe fetish (…until he puts it in his mouth)

giving my baby kisses!

And Hudson’s 2nd birthday on Easter day!!

He used to look like this:

Can’t believe how much he’s grown!

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter weekend! Thank God He sent his Son to die on our behalf and that He lives!!!!!!

Loves!

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Table Reveal

Published on April 5, 2012 by admin in DIY, Furniture

I don’t know if you remember my post from about a month ago on taking a break from the internet, but I had a sneak peak picture of our dining room table I started to re-do. Well, a month later, it’s finally done!! I was going to wait to do a post on it till the chairs were done, but the chairs are taking longer than expected and I couldn’t wait!!

First I’ll show you the before and after pictures, then I’ll share the process of it all.

So here’s what the table looked like BEFORE:

For some reason I didn’t take a normal before picture, but you get the idea

And here is the table AFTER:

I love it! Of course, it doesn’t look the best in our kitchen right now…but I did the table this way so it will look good in our NEW kitchen in our NEW home!!

Yes, we are buying our first home!! We are under contract right now, but still in the option period. But if all goes well with the inspection and appraisal we will be closing on the house on May 18th!!

So anyways, back to the table:

>>First, my mom sanded only the top & underneath outer edge with her Black & Decker hand sander

>>Then we stained the underneath outer edge of the table

(Side note: stir this well because it’s clumpy and DON’T shake it b/c that will cause bubbles)

>>Then we primed the legs

>>Then we painted the legs an awesome turquoise!

Sometimes accidents happen So we just used the paint I spilled and the table has some “unseen character”

>>Then I checked the legs for any spots I missed…which I did

So I fixed it by using a Q-tip!

And vuala! like it was never there!

>>Then we stained the top of the table

(for some reason I don’t have a picture of this..)

But we did 2 coats. At first, we were putting it on and then wiping it off…but then I decided I liked it dark, so for our second coat we didn’t wipe anything off (I would advise not wiping stain off because it can cause a lot of mess ups that are hard to fix)

>>Then I glazed the legs

When you buy glaze you need to tell them what color you want it tinted and they’ll do it for you. I had mine tinted black

Glaze is usually used to give an antique look

Then, you wipe off the glaze with a damp (almost dry) rag, leaving the glaze in the cracks – but you can pretty much decide how much glaze you want left on

And since this glaze is water based and takes a long time to really dry, the next day I decided to go back over the legs with a damp cloth to take a little bit more glaze off

>>Then I sanded some of the edges to give it an antique-ish look (still debating whether I like it or not, but it will do just fine for now!)

>>Then to finish off the table we put polycrylic on the top to seal it. (This will keep the table from having rings from glasses, etc)

First we sanded the top VERY lightly, then put a thin, even coat of poly over the top, let dry, and did 3 coats.

And then the table was DONE!!

Cat approved and all

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Spring Break.

Published on March 27, 2012 by admin in Aiven, family, that's life

Spring break isn’t really the same as it use to be now that I’m not in school anymore. But this year I had something to look forward to that made it feel like a real spring break! My wonderful parents (my mom & step-dad) booked a condo in Colorado on our favorite ski resort: Durango (Purgatory) Mountain Resort! All we had to pay for was gas, ski & board rentals, lift tickets, and a hotel on the way home!

It was a great trip – but unfortunately baby Aivey was sick the whole time. We left Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday morning he woke up with a nasty-sounding wet cough. So I took him to the pediatrician before we left but there was no sign of infection. But the rest of the trip his cough got worse and he was barely sleeping at all…which means that mommy and daddy barely slept too :-/ Finally, the day before we left for home we took him to the resort clinic and there was still no sign of infection but we got a nebulizer and that helped ALOT and he slept all night long that night! Other than at night he was a great baby during the day and I think everyone enjoyed him a lot.

This was James’ first time to really ski and he did great! He really got the hang of skiing, but for the last day he wanted to snowboard and did great at that too! I boarded the first day and then skied the rest. The skiing conditions weren’t that great because it was like 60 degrees during the day!! I skied with no jacket and no gloves on it was so hot! But at night it would freeze, so the snow was pretty icey. But of course the last day there it snowed like 9 inches and would’ve been great skiing the next day! oh well.

Driving there and back was great! Aiven is seriously the BEST baby and the views on our trip were pretty good. I was so thankful that all of us got to go! I enjoyed doing our usual family ski trip but as a married mom! Love my family!

So here’s our trip in pictures:

The beautiful view going up the mountain to the resort