Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Gratituesday: This and That

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gratituesday[2]

I couldn’t come up with any one thing to write about today, so I decided to share several things I’m thankful for:

~ A week of down time. 

Basketball season ended, spring soccer season hasn’t started yet. I’d go into detail about how lovely it is to have several nights off all in one week, but I’m too busy enjoying the (relatively) empty calendar.

~ Boys who are creative and fun. 

I just went to check on the kids, and they are all working together to create music and put together a new video. I love watching them (not argue while they are) having fun together and using their talents.

~ My Amazon Subscribe and Save order came today. 

We got to unpack big boxes, then I got to stare at my bulk purchases for a while and get them all organized. It was super fun.

~  Our basketball award night is Tuesday night. 

This is always such a wonderfully fun night. We eat together, give awards to the athletes, then play young sibling vs. young sibling, Moms vs. Daughters, and Dads vs. Sons basketball games. I’ve been talking to my muscles, trying to prepare them for doing what they aren’t used to doing. I hope they’re listening.

~ A variety of food

I just love food. I’m so thankful God blessed us with such great variety. I do not take it for granted that we are so privileged to have such bounty.

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

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Keep Your Hair Healthy! {Plus a Lilla Rose Flexi-Clip Giveaway}

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A few weeks ago, I sat down in the chair at my hair dresser. Since she always washes my hair before cutting it, she prefers that I don’t wash it before coming in. I pulled my hair out of its Flexi-Clip, shook it out and said, “Here you go. I haven’t washed it since Sunday.” She couldn’t believe it. My hair still had life and bounce, even though I had not shampooed it in four days.

Sundays and Wednesdays. Those are the days I now wash my hair. It’s amazing really. I used to have to wash my hair every day. Then I was able to cut back to every other day. Now the healthier I become, the healthier my hair is. I’m able to only wash it twice a week and be just fine.

I know everyone is different when it comes to how often their hair needs to be washed, so we certainly don’t need to use my head as a standard. :)  But here’s what I’m learning:  Eating healthy food does so much more than just help us to feel better. Our skin and hair can be healthier too, simply because our bodies are being fed great nourishment. Healthy fats, lots of good fruits and vegetables – it all contributes to healthier hair!

I believe washing it less frequently helps maintain its health too. Less blow-drying and curling, less shampoo (even though I use a healthier variety), fewer products with chemicals – it all helps my hair stay healthier. Which leads me to the subject of my Flexi-Clip…

I love that I can pull my hair back in a Flexi-Clip and know that it will not hurt my hair. Rubber bands often break my hair. I’ve had very little breakage since I switched to wearing Flexi-Clips. Plus, they’re pretty. And easy to use. And durable. I’ve been wearing my favorite one for 4 1/2 years!! Talk about getting my money’s worth! Rubberbands get stretched out and become unusable within just a few uses. Flexi-Clips stay good forever.

Paula, our lovely Lilla Rose consultant, is giving a Flexi-Clip to five winners this week! You’ll be able to choose which size will work best for your hair type, and the style will be chosen for you. I’m so excited that not just one, but five of you are going to be blessed with one of these!

Here’s a great video to help you know which size you would need for your hair type:

To enter this giveaway, visit Paula’s Lilla Rose site, then leave a comment here letting us know which item you like best.

For additional entries, like Paula’s page on Facebook, follow Paula on Pinterest (awesome video hairstyling tutorials!), and/or sign up for her personal monthly newsletter. Leave a separate comment here for each entry.

I’ll chose five random winners on Friday, March 21. Be watching for a post stating the winners as you will be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Menu Plan for the Week

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Today after church, one of my friends rounded up a bunch of ladies and we all went out for lunch together. Matt and the boys fended for themselves. What a treat!

Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes

Have you tried these Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes yet? So delicious!

Here’s what our menu looks like this week:

Sunday, March 16
Easy breakfast casserole, fruit plate
Out for lunch with friends
Small Group:  Italian pasta bake, sides brought by others

Monday, March 17
Whole Wheat Waffles with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream
Baked potatoes in a crock pot, green machine milkshakes, sliced cucumbers
Baked three cheese chicken pasta, tossed salad, steamed broccoli

Tuesday, March 18
Pancake and sausage muffins, applesauce
Calzones, pineapple mango smoothies, carrot sticks, sweet peppers
Homeschool basketball team award night dinner

Wednesday, March 19
Scrambled eggs with cheese, snickerdoodle muffins, clementines
Calico beans, honey whole wheat bread and butter, fresh pineapple
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad, green beans

Thursday, March 20
Dark chocolate almond granola, apples
Bean and cheese burritos, strawberry peach slushies, sweet peppers, olives
Alfredo sauce with pasta, tossed salad, roasted asparagus

Friday, March 21
Flaky cream cheese pastry, kiwi
Black bean chicken nachos, oranges, carrot sticks
Chili, cheesy cauliflower cakes, cucumbers with homemade ranch

Saturday, March 22
Whole wheat donuts, strawberries
Leftovers
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas, tossed salad

What are you eating this week?

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Don’t forget! Today only, you will get a bonus gift certificate if you purchase Oh, For Real! cookbook. Get the details…

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Oh, For Real! With Gift Certificate Bonus This Weekend

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ForRealBookCover6

Did you know that it’s been exactly one year since I launched my cookbook:  Oh, For Real! Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy? I’m so thankful for all the encouraging feedback I’ve heard from so many of you about how the book has been such a help to you in your real food kitchen. Yay! I hope it continues to be a blessing to you all!

In celebration of our one-year book birthday, we’re offering a gift certificate bonus if you purchase Oh, For Real! Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy this weekend. Through Sunday, if you buy Oh, For Real! Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy, you’ll also receive a coupon code worth $5.00 to use on any downloadable item or eCourse in our Heavenly Homemakers Shop.

Once you purchase, your book will be sent in the mail within just a few days. You’ll also receive an email with a $5 off certificate code that you can use right away in our shop!

Gift Certificate Preview

Why buy our Oh, For Real! printed book? Because it answers all the questions I receive frequently about how I’m able to feed my family a healthy (and fun!) diet regularly. Plus it includes over 115 of our favorite, easy recipes. Having this book in your kitchen, ready to grab and use right away will save you time and offer you real food guidance any time you need it. Even I benefit from having this book in my kitchen. It saves me from running back and forth to my computer all the time to look at my recipes!

Not only is the book full of family friendly recipes, it will help you learn to get ahead, be efficient, and take baby steps toward eating more real foods. It’s full of “Quick Tips” and “Freezer Friendly” options. You can read all the details about the book here.  Can’t wait for you to have this resource in your kitchen!

Oh, For Real: Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy  $25.95

Add to Cart

Cost for a book shipped to Canada is $34.05. If you are from Canada or another country outside the U.S., please email me before purchasing. Thanks!

Gift Certificate bonus offer ends midnight Sunday, March 16. Hurry to take advantage of this offer!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Green Machine Milkshakes

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Need something fun and green to feed your family on St. Patrick’s Day – but hoping to avoid green food coloring? I’d encourage a tossed salad with spinach and other fresh greens, cucumbers, and zucchini – but I’m guessing your family might not think any of those foods are cute or festive.

Instead, I’m recommending an avocado. Am I the life of the party, or what?

Green Machine Milkshakes

Yum

These milkshakes are smooth, rich, and creamy. So what makes these green? Maybe you weren’t listening. I told you already. It’s avocados. Welcome to my way cool party. (We’ll end the evening by shelling some peas and shredding cabbage for slaw.)  Rock on.

I personally love these green milkshakes. My family can’t decide if they agree with me or not. Is it because they know these have avocado in them, so psychologically, they think they taste weird? I’m not sure. I really can’t tell these milkshakes are made with avocados. To me, they just taste like a smooth and creamy, lightly sweetened milkshake. What my kids don’t drink, I will, so it’s all good. They can just stick with Asa’s awesome guac for their avocado intake.

Green Machine Milkshakes

3 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
3 cups whole milk
4-5 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve right away. Makes 5-6 cups.

If this recipe isn’t exciting enough for you, might I suggest roasting some asparagus and steaming an artichoke? I believe it goes without saying that this is going to be the most fun and memorable St. Patty’s Day ever.

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Have You Written Your Sponsored Child(ren) Lately?

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This is one of those tasks that falls into the same category as “shake your vanilla extract,” “dust your ceiling fans,” and “sort the piles of paper on your desk.” We know we need to get around to it, but other pressing to-dos – like “make sure everyone has clean underwear” – keep pushing those down on the list.

Here’s a friendly reminder and challenge for us all this weekend:  Write a letter to your sponsored child.

It will only take a few minutes. It is always enjoyable. Your kids can be involved. And you know, without a doubt, that your letter will bless the child who receives it.

Here’s our little girl, Gladis, holding a package from us last summer. How excited she must have been to know that everything in that envelope was hers!

gladis with package

We’re so thankful to know that One Child Matters is taking such good care of these kids. Our monthly donation plays a big part in that. But simply throwing money at someone isn’t enough. We want to communicate with our sponsored child how much we love and pray for them. A few simple words on paper, along with a colored picture or photo of our family means the world to these kids. Write your sponsored child this weekend! (Next week, I’ll share some ideas for little gifts to include with your letter.)

If you’re not yet sponsoring a child, please join our ministry here at Heavenly Homemakers! You’ll be amazed at what your monthly donation of $39 can do to meet the needs of a child. And your prayers specifically for them are huge. Let’s all be a part of this rich ministry together.

Now, to all of us who already sponsor a child, go start writing your letter – before you forget or become distracted. Then, after you finish, dust your ceiling fans and shake your vanilla. We’ll all feel so accomplished. ;)

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Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

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Have you tried making the Liquid Hand Soap recipe I have here on my site? It will save you a lot of money, and it’s very easy to make! Your kids can help. Who wouldn’t love grating a bar of soap? :)

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

Homemade Non-Toxic Liquid Hand Soap

4 ounce bar of natural soap (I used a bar of coconut oil soap from Tropical Traditions. Any natural bar of soap would work.)
1 gallon of water

Heat the water in a pot, just long enough to steam. Grate the bar of soap with a cheese grater. Take the steaming water off the heat. Immediately pour the grated soap into the water. Stir the mixture, then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Use a hand mixer to blend the soap and water mixture well. Let it sit overnight. The next morning, use the hand mixer again to blend well. Pour mixture into a soap dispenser for use. Save remaining hand soap in a gallon jug.

You can check out the entire picture tutorial here.  You’re well on your way to saving lots of money on non-toxic hand soap!

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Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes

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If it looks like a cheesy hashbrown and tastes like a cheesy hashbrown, it must be a cheesy hashbrown, right? Right. Unless it’s actually cheesy cauliflower cakes.

cauliflower cakes 2

Hey, I wasn’t trying to trick my family. Really, I wasn’t. I was planning to be completely up front and honest about the platter of cauliflower on the table. Is it my fault they just assumed I’d fried up some hashbrowns? And would you believe, when I told them that in fact, there were no potatoes in these – only cauliflower – some of my boys didn’t even believe me? Then my pickiest boy helped himself to seconds. Who am I to argue?

I’ll admit that as hard as I’ve tried, cauliflower is still not at the top of my favorite vegetables list. We all eat it steamed or roasted, but our reactions are usually something like “eh” when it comes to eating cauliflower fixed in those ways. When I found this cauliflower cake recipe and decided to play with it, I was hoping it would at least be just a little better than “eh.” To my surprise, I found myself unable to stop nibbling as I was cooking these for our dinner. These are way, way better than “eh.” I mean, my pickiest boy ate seconds. That is worth stating twice.

I believe these will be a part of our normal veggie rotation. Not only are they tasty, they’re quite easy to put together.

Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes (adapted from this recipe)Yum

Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Palm shortening or expeller pressed coconut oil for frying
Instructions
  1. Cut cauliflower into florets.
  2. Boil for about 10 minutes or until tender.
  3. Drain.
  4. Mash with a potato masher. (I found that this created what looked like shredded potatoes.)
  5. Stir in eggs, shredded cheese, minced onions, and salt until well combined.
  6. Melt 1-2 Tablespoons of palm shortening or coconut oil in a skillet.
  7. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of mixture into the melted oil, pressing down into a cake.
  8. Fry over medium heat until brown and crispy - about 2 minutes on each side.
  9. Serve right away.
  10. Makes 12-15 cakes.
  11. (To save time, you can skip forming these into cakes and simply fry them up in a skillet in a big batch like you would do with hashbrowns. )

Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes

Even if you don’t like cauliflower, you’ve got to try these. Pretend they’re hashbrowns if it helps. It worked for us!

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101 Pre-School Projects – Free Download!

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It’s warm, it’s cold, it’s windy, it’s raining, it’s cloudy…yes indeed:  It’s March.

I’ve had fun this week pulling out some project ideas that have been buried throughout my website. Did you make some Homemade Bubble Bath? That’s a super simple idea your kids can have fun making with you.

In an effort to shed some sunshine upon all of us struggling with a touch of spring fever, I opened up a freebie I had put together a few years ago, tweaked a few things, and redesigned the cover to make it available to you again. If you and your kids are going stir-crazy, I believe you’ll find an activity or twelve to do together in this free eBook.

Yep, there are over 100 ideas, recipes, games, and activities for you to read through and pick from. Kids older than pre-school age are sure to have fun with these ideas too. These ideas came from moms and grandmothers – all Heavenly Homemaker Readers. All of you are so creative, which is what makes this eBook so much fun!

You’ll be able to use this eBook year round, as it has fun ideas for outdoors too. Help yourself to this fun, free eBook. Spread the word to your friends so that they can come get their free eBook too! Together, we will survive this crazy weather!

101 Preschool Projects Free Download

Grab this FREE 101 Pre-School Projects book here!

I’m excited to share that signing up for these freebies will connect you to our new Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone. It’s free, of course. You can unsubscribe at any time, your info will never be shared or sold, and being on this list means that you’ll be the first to know of the other fun (yes, FUN!) educational tools we’re putting together!

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Easy Fruits and Veggies On the Go

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Last weekend, we headed out of state to a weekend-long basketball tournament for our boys. It was two and a half days full of hotel continental breakfasts, fast food, and other treats. Weekends like that can be a lot of fun. At the same time, we knew our stomachs would start to rebel after a meal or two of white flour, white sugar, and grease. In an effort to give us some good nutrition in the midst of ice cream cones and burgers, I packed as many colorful fruits and vegetables as I could.

While I was getting it prepared the morning we were to leave, it occurred to me how pretty it all was. Out came the camera.  After all, I had plenty of time for food photography in the midst of laundry, packing, and making last minute preparations, right?

Fruits and Veggies On the Go 2

I made good use of my Pyrex dishes with lids. These travel well, and keep fruits and vegetables from getting squished. They all stack nicely together in a cooler, and keep the food fresh. I simply stuck a few ice packs in and around the food containers, and it all stayed chilled and nice all weekend long.

My encouragement to you with this post is to think outside the box a little bit as you pack fruits and veggies for travel. Before just a year or two ago, I didn’t really think beyond packing apples and carrots. Those got old after a while. Then I started noticing what other families had packed to eat during games. Oh, there are so many great options!

For this round of travel, beyond apples and clementines, we washed, prepared, and packed 2 pounds of strawberries to munch on, grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and ranch dip, and sweet peppers. We also had a few applesauce and peach cups packed with spoons.

Fruits and Veggies On the Go

While we enjoyed our fair share of restaurant food, we were able to counter it with nutrient-filled food too. This was especially important, we felt, for our boys who were playing hard and sweating all weekend long. They needed energy and nourishment!

Here’s a list I created so you can get some fruits-and-veggies-on-the-go ideas at a quick glance:

  • Apples
  • Oranges or Clementines
  • Pears
  • Grapes
  • Cherries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Cucumber Slices
  • Applesauce Cups
  • Peaches, Pears, Mixed Fruit Cups in 100% Juice
  • Fruit Leather

I would add bananas to the list, but have found that they get squishy quickly while being carried in bags from car to gym. What fruits and vegetables would you add to this list?

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