Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

New Free Downloadable Menu Planners for Summertime!

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Pretty menu planners make me happy. They are much nicer to look at than a piece of faded paper ripped out of a notebook and thrown onto my fridge. Any menu planner is better than having no plan at all, but still…isn’t it more fun to be pretty and organized?

I’ve been wanting to work on some new summertime planners to share with you, but since I was having a hard time getting a round tuit, I asked Char of Delight-Design to make some for me. And for you. :)

Ah, she did way better than I could have ever done. Take a look at these! Not only did Char create pretty menu planners…she made pretty grocery lists to go with them! Just click the link below each image to download, print and share as many as you would like!!

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Summer Menu Planner 1

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Summer Grocery List 1

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Summer Menu Planner 2

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Summer Grocery List 2

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Summer Menu Planner 3

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Summer Grocery List 3

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Summer Menu Planner 4

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Summer Grocery List 4

Do feel free to share these, blog about them, tell your friends on facebook, print them and give them as gifts…whatever you would like to do! They’re free!

Enjoy your menu planning!! (Your PRETTY menu planning, that is!)

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Homeschool Hubbub: How Can I Do This (Along with Everything Else I’m Doing)?

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After reading this post entitled, Homeschool Hubbub:  Am I Qualified to Teach? Dani left this comment…

This post was so encouraging. However, I have an almost 5 year old, a three year old, and an almost one year old. Is it really possible for me to home school? I really want to, but I’ve gotta tell you I AM SCARED. There are just so many little kids around here. I feel like I can barely go to the bathroom. Scratch that. I can’t go to the bathroom. How can I do this?

I’m gonna venture to say that as the mom of little ones, you may actually find it easier to home school than finding time to go to the bathroom! Really…it’s true. 

When you already have umpteen things to do during the day and feel ragged and worn out, it’s hard to see how you could possibly add something like home schooling your children to your day. When in the world would you do it? What will you have to give up in order to home school? Will you have to sacrifice even more sleep to add something else in?

My kids were 5, 2 and 6-months when I first began to home school our oldest son. In two years, we added another baby to the mix. Our lives were busy, crazy and yes…it was hard to find time to go to the bathroom.

And yet, I don’t remember that adding home school to the schedule really threw me off very much. I was hanging out with the kids all day as it was. Now…I just turned some of that time into our school time. We were already reading books together…now we read our “school books”. We were already exploring new things together (because little ones can’t help but do that all day long!). Now I recognized it for what it was…education in it’s finest form.

“Formal” sit-down school time with a child in his/her first few years of school can really take up about thirty minutes to an hour each day…and that’s it. And…it doesn’t have to be consecutive time! School work time can take place in five minute snatches of time all day long.

In fact…the longer I do this home school thing, the more I realize that “formal education” is not always where all the education takes place anyway.

Life is learning…learning is life.

Our kids are learning during all of their waking hours. It is just up to us to help focus their time on learning things that they need to know in life (and about the One who gave us Life).

So, if you choose to home school…will every day be easy? No way. Will you accomplish everything you want to accomplish every day? Nope. Will you have days where you don’t even crack open a book all day long? Yep. Will you occasionally forget what day it is, lose the science book, break your favorite pencil, spill milk on the couch and want to run to your closet to hide and get away from it all? Sure.

But will you get to watch the light bulbs go on in your child’s head when he/she first learns to read? Will you get to watch them as they discover a brand new concept? Will you get to be the one who enjoys their silly little antics all day long? Oh yes.

And some days…sometimes…you will even make it to the bathroom.

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Gratituesday: Manly Road Trip

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It was the best birthday present we could have given our son.

Asa turned thirteen last week, and Matt and I wanted to do more than just give him a “thing” for his birthday. We’d been discussing this and giving it a lot of thought over the past few weeks.

Our wish was for Matt to take Asa on a road trip of some sort…something special for just the two of them. Something that would be fun, but something that would also give them a nice chance to talk man-to-man about, well…life. About godly living. About making wise choices.

Matt found tickets to a Kansas City Wizards soccer game, and we knew that was the perfect thing. The trip would take about four hours one way…plenty of time for some good visiting to take place.

003Excuse the quality of this picture…but here’s a jersey Asa used his birthday money to buy,
plus a soccer ball that he CAUGHT and got to keep at the game!

I wish you could have seen Asa when they got back home from their road trip. He was beaming.  And well…he looked taller. More grown up.

We’ll be making this a thirteenth birthday tradition, for sure. Asa’s time with Matt was priceless.

I am incredibly thankful to have a godly husband who desires to instill godly character in his sons. I’m thankful that Matt could take the time to make this trip with our son. And I’m thankful for my young man who looks to his dad for guidance. 

Ah, how I love the men in my life.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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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Between having lots of company and doing lots of traveling this summer…I have decided that my “menu plan” for the next few weeks needs to look a little bit different than it normally does. While I love to be organized, especially when it comes to feeding guests, sometimes a girl needs to be able to fly by the seat of her pants. Whatever that looks like. 

Seriously, who comes up with these phrases? Go ahead…picture me. Flying. By the seat of my pants. In my kitchen. I’ll likely konk my shoulder on the corner of a cabinet door, ram my head into a watermelon and land with my elbow in the butter dish in the process, but whatever.

Instead of outlining my meals day by day…I’ve just made a list of meal and snack ideas to draw from. That way, depending on what each day holds, how many people I’m feeding, or what activity we’re running off to…I can pick and choose what food will work best for each day. 

Breakfast Ideas:

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Lunch and Dinner Ideas:

Snack Ideas:

*I was so excited for the folks at Triscuit Home Farming to send me two boxes of their crackers, plus a $20 gift card to purchase supplies to plant herbs from the Plantable Seed Cards inside each box! Did you know that herb seeds come tucked away in each box of Triscuits!?  I’ve got my supplies and will be planting my herbs this week and will patiently await my fresh basil and fresh dill!!! Thanks Triscuit Home Farming! Mmmm…fresh basil!

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Old Fashioned Homemaking just put out a new FREE Healthy Recipes Ebook! You’ll want to check it out!

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Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

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

Grilling? Question #65

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We have decided that it’s probably time to get a new grill. 

Matt was grilling burgers a couple of days ago and announced afterward that enough was enough. Our cheapo propane grill has seen better days. Actually, since it is such a cheapo, it really never saw any kind of great days. It’s always just been kind of mediocre. After a few years of use, there’s now just about one hot spot on the entire grill…and that’s it. Do you know how long it takes to cook burgers for nine people (we have company) on a grill that has one little hot spot?

Looks like Matt may be getting a new grill for Father’s Day. (Or whenever we find a good deal on one that will work for us.)

Anybody have good recommendations for a grill that is reasonably priced and works well? 

And while we’re on the subject of grilling…what are your favorite things to throw on the grill? Steaks? Chicken? Burgers? Dogs? Kabobs? 

Um, when I said Dogs…I meant the long, skinny hot kind that go on a bun…not your pets. You knew that right?

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Healthy Strawberry Shortcake

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When fresh strawberries are in season, nothing much tastes better than Strawberry Shortcake. This variation of Strawberry Shortcake is lightly sweetened with honey and made with whole wheat flour. We had the entire cake eaten up in just a few minutes!

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Yum

 Strawberry Shortcake

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup oil (I use coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

4-5 cups of fresh, sliced strawberries
Whipped cream (fresh cream whipped to form soft peaks, with a bit of stevia added for sweetness)

Mix together flour and baking powder. Add in eggs, honey, oil, vanilla and milk. Stir well (or mix well with hand mixer). Pour into a well buttered 8×8 inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Allow cake to cool completely. Top with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. (9 servings)

Strawberry Shortcake with Whole Wheat and Honey

If you’d like more ideas for what to do with all the fresh strawberries that are in season right now, you may want to take a look at this fun recipe list!

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The Decision to Eat a Healthy Diet

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When I introduced this series, I suggested that the first step I felt each of us should make as we worked toward eating a healthier diet was to simply begin adding more fruits and vegetables to our diets. As I got ready to publish that post, I asked my husband what he thought was the first step people should make toward healthy eating. I wanted to see if he and I were thinking along the same lines.

Matt thought for a moment and then he said,  “Well, the first thing anyone has to do if they want to start eating healthier is to make the decision to do it. If they’re in it with half a heart, they’re likely to stay in unhealthy eating patterns. But if they decide that eating healthy is what they need to do, then a big part of the journey has already begun.”

And then he said something like, “Laura, you look absolutely beautiful today.”

Okay, he didn’t really say that part. I just made it up. I mean he has said that before…but not usually when we’re talking about vegetables and making healthy food decisions.

Anyway.

While I think that my “eat more fruits and veggies” idea is a good first step…I agree with Matt. The first, first step toward healthy eating is that you have to make the decision that you’re going to do it.

You have to decide that eating nutritious food is best for you.

You have to decide that eliminating bad food is best for you.

You have to decide that making tough changes are possible for you.

You have to decide that the difficulty of making dietery changes is worth it.

You have to realize that it won’t be as hard as you think.

You have to know that you aren’t alone and that you’ll have help.

You have to decide.

And that’s all there is to it. 

Sometimes it’s hard. You may have a hard time getting your husband or children on board with you. Your friends and family may think you’ve gone bonkers because you used to love poptarts and now you are on a mission to find a local farm source who will provide you with grass fed beef. Your local grocery stores may not supply many of the foods you are now looking for. You might still crave cheetos. You may feel overwhelmed with trying to make all the dietary changes. You might not know what to do with all the boxed, processed food that is in your pantry. There is so much information out there you may feel like you don’t even know where to start.

But you’ve made the decision to eat healthier…and that is the most important first step.

And you’re reading this, which means that you’ve come to the right place. Not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve likely been exactly where you are. I know how it feels. I’ve walked the journey. I’ve felt the frustration and been completely overwhelmed with where to start and where to turn. 

I’m going to help you do this! We’re all going to help! This is a team effort. You are not alone!

Making the decision to eat healthier is hard. Realize that if you’ve made the decision, you’ve taken a huge step into your journey already.

Woohoo…here we go! 

Are you on board?

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Gratituesday: The Teenager

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It finally happened at my house. We have a teenager.

Please feel free to say lots of nice things like, “Wow Laura…you don’t look old enough to have a teenager.”

How is it possible that I can now share snow boots, flip-flops and sweat-shirts with my son? Although probably not for long. The kid is growing faster than he can eat. Almost. 

Did I mention how cool he is? ;)

I will admit to feeling rather clueless as we have delved into this new phase of life. And for sure, we have had some moments where we’ve known without a doubt that our son is growing up and trying to figure himself out.

So many people that hear that Asa is turning 13 this week have been saying things like, “Good luck!” and “Oh wow, brace yourself!” As if having a teenager in your house means that our lives are about to change drastically. Really? Does it change that much? Surely he isn’t going to suddenly turn into a monster that is horrible to live with! Yeah, well what do I know? I’ve been the parent of a teenager for exactly eight hours.

We may be in for some trying years, but may I just take a moment to brag about my son? My teenage son? 

He is delightful. He’s fun to be around. He’s talented. He’s great with little kids. He’s a great big brother. He’s super helpful to Matt and me. He’s smart. He’s responsible. He’s thoughtful. He’s kind. He’s respectful.

He loves the Lord.

Being a teenager is a time of struggle. It’s a time of figuring out who you’re going to be and what you will allow God to do in your life. We’ll take this stuff day by day, praying with Asa as we go. 

Today, I’m thankful for my teenager. I am one blessed mama because of Asa. Here’s to the next few years of teenagerhood!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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

Laura, Are You In the Kitchen ALL the Time?!

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It’s a question I’m asked frequently. Especially from women who:   a) are new at working to feed their families a healthy diet…or b) don’t enjoy cooking at all.

Does eating a healthy diet mean that I am now going to be a slave to my kitchen?!!

It’s a fear that makes complete sense if you’re transitioning toward eating more whole foods. Do I have to make EVERYTHING from scratch? Isn’t there ANYTHING convenient about eating healthy? How am I supposed to find the extra time in my already full schedule to make healthy meals and snacks? And what if I hate cooking?

I addressed this topic quite a while ago in this post entitled Getting it All Done. In that post, I discuss the importance of menu planning, keeping food simple, cleaning the kitchen as you go, making breakfast while you’re making dinner and a few other helpful tips.

Today, I’d like to talk more about freezer cooking as a way to get ahead and save yourself some precious time in the kitchen. And, to answer the original question, nope…I’m not in the kitchen all the time. I do happen to be one of those people who loves to cook…so I may spend more time cooking and baking than the average person. But that’s just my choice. I love to feed my family, and I love to feed extras. I could spend less time in the kitchen and still feed my family a healthy diet…I just choose to tinker with recipes and hang out with my bowls, spoons and grain mill a little more than others. It’s my hobby.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to fill my fridge and freezer with healthy convenience foods. I spent a few extra hours in the kitchen over the course of three days. The result of my efforts? All kinds of healthy, grab and go foods! Hours of time saved! Dirty dish messes out of the way!

Did it take a few extra hours of time during those three days? Sure. I was in the kitchen a lot during those days. But now all I have to do is go snag something out of the freezer and re-warm it for a quick meal. I LOVE it!

Here are the results from my last “cooking ahead” days and the time it took me to prepare each item…

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I baked up several pounds of potatoes one night (10 minutes of scrubbing), then chopped them and froze them overnight for future fried potatoes (following this Frozen Hashbrown method). The next day, I mixed up a double batch of cornbread and made Corn Dog Muffins and Sloppy Corn Muffins (20 mintues). Both went into ziplock freezer bags. Somewhere in there, I also mixed up and baked some Chocolate Chip Cookies (15 minutes, not including bake time). It seems like we always have events that I need to take cookies along. Having some already made in my freezer is so helpful!

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The next day, I made a big double batch of  Whole Wheat Tortillas so that I could grab them out for an easy lunch of quesadillas or tostadas. I also baked a double batch of Orange Muffins and a bunch of Porcupine Meatballs (the recipe for which I will share as soon as I perfect it). It just took me a little over an hour to do all of this (not including baking time)…and look at all the time it saved me for later!

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The next day I made about four pounds of Venison Sausage – using this Turkey Sausage recipe (15 minutes, not including cook time). Because it takes so many different spices to make the Turkey Sausage, I love making it ahead like this. I froze it in about six small baggies to pull out for a fast breakfast casserole, or for biscuits and gravy. This pre-cooked Sausage is a great combo with the pre-made Frozen Hashbrowns, by the way!

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I also mixed up a quick batch of Mudballs. Although, since one of my boys can’t have peanut butter…I used sunbutter to make these this time. (about 15 minutes)

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Later that afternoon, I decided to make some Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns to freeze and have on hand. (about 30 minutes of work time)  Those will last us for about two meals worth of Hamburgers or Sloppy Joes.

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Last but not least, I made some homemade peanut butter (3 minutes)…

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And used it to make a pan of Chewy Granola Bars to have in the fridge. (10 minutes)

It was fun. It was productive. I was exhausted.  :)  But the few extra hours I put in preparing the extra food has saved me more than a few hours of work during the past few weeks. 

What are some of your favorite foods to prepare ahead of time? 

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Menu Plan for the Week

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I suppose it goes without saying that we’ll be eating a lot of strawberries and salad this week. I’m experimenting with a healthy strawberry shortcake recipe today that I can hopefully share soon in the Healthy Celebrations series!

And speaking of healthy…um…or not so healthy…take note of what we’re having for lunch Tuesday. It’s Asa’s birthday, which means he gets to choose everything we eat that day. He hesitantly asked if we could please have ramen noodles.  Blech.  Okay, since it’s your birthday. Can’t be worse than hot dogs. I find it funny that he thinks of ramen noodles as a treat! And um…$0.18/pack? WHAT is this stuff made of? Never mind.  I don’t want to know. 

In other news, we have an extra little boy “moving in with us” for a few weeks off and on all summer. Remember the red head? We love having him here! Plus, some friends from out of town arrived last night to stay for the week. We’re in for some busy, fun days!!

Here’s what we’ll be eating:

Sunday, June 6
Strawberry bread, bananas
Pizza casserole, tossed salad, strawberry shortcake
Grilled cheese sandwiches, strawberries and cream, carrot sticks

Monday, June 7
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, creamy orange cooler
Taco salad, fresh pineapple
Grilled hamburgers on whole wheat buns, potato salad, peas

Tuesday, June 8 (Asa’s birthday choices)
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit
Chicken strips, ramen noodles, pineapple, strawberries
Southside Grille, lemon pound cake, ice cream

Wednesday, June 9
Strawberry crepes with whipped cream
Picnic lunch at the park – sandwiches, fruit, chips
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans

Thursday, June 10
Chocolate chip pancakes, applesauce
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed broccoli
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Friday, June 11
Strawberry peach slushie, peanut butter honey toast
Tuna salad on crispy cheese crackers, cantaloupe
Tacos on homemade tortillas, watermelon

Saturday, June 12
Whole wheat donuts, fruit
Chicken quesadillas, apple slices
Rice and veggie stir fry with chicken, zucchini, carrots and broccoli

Snacks to have on hand or to make for our guests:

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration.

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