Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Easy Pancake Muffins – Great for the Freezer!

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Pancake Muffins? Seriously?! Why did I not think of this before?

Easy Pancake Muffins

I think I heard this idea from one of you brilliant minds a few dozen weeks or possibly even years ago. If it was you, thank you. My apologies for taking so long to try it. It’s just that...change is hard, you know? I’m so used to pouring pancake batter on a griddle, so scooping it into a muffin cup was just such a hard, hard adjustment for me.

Not really. I just never got around to trying it. Sheesh.

The thing about the traditional pancake is how long one has to stand at the griddle flipping the cakes. Yum, and all that. But it is time consuming if you must move make mountains of pancakes to fill up your people. With the muffin idea, you can scoop the very same pancake batter into muffin cups, slide them into the oven, and be on your way. And {please hold your applause} you can make extras of these and put them into your freezer, then pull them out and rewarm them without even having to think or stir or dirty up a bowl.

I may never stand at a griddle again. {standing ovation}

I no longer know how to cook in small quantities, as is evidenced by the following large-sized ingredient list. Forgive me, cut the recipe in half, or simply put your leftovers in a freezer bag and then into the freezer for a no-brainer breakfast of the future.

Pancake Muffins Yum

Easy Pancake Muffins - Great for the Freezer!
 
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Author:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground white wheat - hard or soft)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 2½ cups milk
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth-ish.
  2. Scoop into prepared muffin cups (buttered, paper-lined, whatever you choose).
  3. Drop in berries or chocolate chips if you wish.
  4. Bake in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Easy Pancake Muffins - Great for the Freezer

You’d think I would have done this earlier since I’ve been making Sausage Pancake Muffins for so long.

If you want to make these a “to-go” muffin, simply add about 1/4 cup of real maple syrup to the batter before scooping and baking. Then you can skip the necessary “dip them in syrup while holding your chin over the table” step.

Ever tried this idea? Were you the one who told me about it? Love you.

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Gratituesday: My BFF Jen Hatmaker

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Did you know? Jen Hatmaker is my BFF. So what if we’ve never actually met?

gratituesday[2]

This message brought to you by a refreshed and relaxed me who just returned home from…wait for it…a girl weekend.

wof2015

I know. A little get-away like this doesn’t seem like much. But remember who I live with. I love all of my many male people so, so much. But this weekend I got to go to where there were all women, all the time. For 26 hours.

Here’s part my private Facebook thread conversation with friends before leaving Friday:

Tonya: What are you guys wearing tonight/tomorrow?

Emily: Jeans, tennis shoes…

Me: Capris and comfy flip flops. Debating on a bra. #girlweekend

Of course I was serious. So off we went to the Women of Faith conference. (Fully clothed, with all appropriate underthings in place.) The closer we got, the more excited we got.

Now I’ve got to tell you something before going any farther. I am not one to be star struck. Our family has been to Newsboys concerts in which Michael Tate was close enough that we could reach out and stroke his hair (which we did not do). All my guys were like, “Dude, that is Michael Tate!!” and I’m all chill with, “Now which one is he again?” We’ve been to a Toby Mac concert where we were sitting so close that the sweat from his brow could have sprayed our cheeks. We rocked out with Lecrae and loved it. But hey. These are just regular (very famous) people. No need to get all silly about it.

But…Jen Hatmaker

All that went out the window though, because this weekend, here’s what I discovered. Sometimes you just need to get silly. Need I remind you of the lack of male people in the arena this weekend? Not to mention my complete lack of any responsibility or need for thinking, answering questions, or any other such mothering or wifing on my agenda for 26 hours. This brought out my silly. I’m not even ashamed about how totally age 12 I was acting half the time. For real – laughter is so good for the soul, as is quality time with girl people who speak my language.

So guess what? My favorite author and best friend, Jen Hatmaker, was going to be speaking at the conference. If you do not read every word that she writes, I encourage you to change that immediately. I adore her writing style, but mostly her heart for Jesus and people. I’d never heard her speak before (which is so odd seeing as we are best friends and all.) While I was looking forward to many things about the weekend, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing Jen. (I dropped the last name here because we are on a first name basis, obviously.)

Here’s where I started to get silly. I mean, I already was silly, because #girlweekend. But as my friends and I were talking more and the conference was about to start, our hashtag turned from #girlweekend into #mybestfriendjenhatmaker (because my friends claim her too).

When we first saw her come out to be introduced with the rest of the speakers, I got so excited I actually jumped up and down and pointed (see age 12 behavior admission above). This is when I knew, whoa, I cannot even believe how excited I am that she is here. I now want to turn into a weirdy weirdo about this. I just love her so much.

At this point, since she was so closely in front of me, I decided I’d best try to get a picture. It was either that or holler her name, jump over eight people, and grab her into a big bear hug so we could start catching up on the past 40-whatever years we’ve missed out on together. I totally could have done it (like a weirdy weirdo), but I settled for a picture. (You’re welcome, Jen.)

Allow me to now present to you, the Jen Is About To Be Introduced and I’m Seeing Her For the First Time Scrapbook. What? The only reason I took so many shots was because I hoped to get at least one good one (which I did not). It’s okay though. I don’t need no stinking picture. To be star struck is sooo silly.

Here is #mybestfriendjenhatmaker standing beside another conference speaker when she first came out from back stage and stood eight people in front of me:

mybffjenhatmaker9

Here’s another of her smiling and talking to that same other conference speaker. Told you I didn’t get any good pictures. Being a groupie is not my gift.

mybffjenhatmaker4

Here’s another in which she continues to talk expressively with her hands. Isn’t that so endearing? Yes. It is very endearing.

mybffjenhatmaker1

Jen, pointing to the left.

 mybffjenhatmaker3
Jen linking arms with other speakers while the lights went down.

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Jen sitting in the chair farthest left by the stage where she would later impart wisdom and humor and blessing.

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The evening continued with worship, fun, and speakers. And also #mybestfriendjenhatmaker was there.

By the end of Friday night, I was at a high point of silly and decided to just go with it because it was #girlweekend and I was having so much fun. This is why, as my friends and I were leaving the conference arena and we walked by the very chair where #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting, I was all, “Ooh, there’s her chair, I’m going to touch it!” One thing led to another and well, I have no idea how I ended up sitting there, but would you just look at that?

mybffjenhatmaker8

There’s me. In the very chair #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting on.

Well anyway. I had a super fun weekend. It was a blessing to see #mybestfriendjenhatmaker and hear her heart on stage. If you haven’t already, go right away and read her new book, For the Love.

Now I am back home and no longer acting like I’m 12, nor am I speaking girl language because of all of the obvious male household mothering and wifing reasons. (Spell check does not like the word wifing. I think it is a brilliant word, so you just need to get over it, spell check. What makes you think you are the spelling authority? My brilliant words trump your red squiggles of dismay.)

While I found the Women of Faith conference to be less meaty overall compared to last year, I still feel filled up because I had so much stinkin’ fun. I have not let my guard down and laughed so hard in months.

Also, I really recognized the value of enjoying friendships this weekend. While I’d love to have a sit down with #mybffjenhatmaker sometime because I appreciate her Spirit-filled life and work – lemme just tell you how blessed I am with the women right here in my life, right here on my porch, right here in this very place.

I am loved by many. I have many to love. Life is fun and full and rich.

May we live life entirely. May we see people through the eyes of Jesus. May we love and be loved, bless and be blessed.

And every few months, may we all have the chance to act the part of a silly 12 year old, laughing for hours until we almost pee (because you are – in real life – much older than 12 and your bladder does not agree with your choice to revert to that time of life).

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How I {Easily} Get My Kids to Eat More Greens

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How I easily get my kids to eat more greens. Easily.

How I Easily Get My Kids to Eat More Greens

This post will obviously be followed by one titled, “How I {Easily} Get My Kids to Eat More Corndogs” since that is also a huge problem most mothers run into. Not to worry. I am here to help.

Man, what is up with kids and veggies? Maybe I’m in the minority, but even with our family putting great choices on the table for almost nine years now, I still see my kids going heavy on the other stuff and skimping on veggies and salads if at all possible. It’s not like they don’t like veggies and greens. I just think for some reason that the main dish is more appealing.

And then there was the night I actually bought corndogs. I know. Sick. But Malachi had earned the privilege of choosing any meal he wanted as a part of our summer reading challenge. He wanted corndogs – the boxed kind. He had read for hours, so I honored his choice and bought some. Beef corndogs, but still. I didn’t read the label because it helps the “food” not be as harmful if you avoid reading the label. Don’t you dare quote me on that because that was sarcastic and we’re really here to talk about eating lots of greens.

I guess the reason I brought up the corndogs was to share that we made the boys eat some peas and raspberries before the freaky corn covered meat on a stick came out of the oven. All of our kids love both peas and raspberries. They ate their obligatory servings – because they had to – then ate their weight in corndogs. I’m glad they enjoyed themselves because that won’t be happening again for quite some time.

Now that you are thoroughly disgusted or perhaps strangely comforted by the fact that I compromised and bought boxed corndogs, let’s get back to talking about the greens. Again, our boys actually like salads, which is why I struggle to understand the following:

When they are making a sandwich for the road, they put like three little pieces of spinach between the thick slices of bread and four pieces of meat and cheese. When they add a salad to their plate at dinnertime, they prefer their pile of greens to be the size of their pinkie toe. Sometimes they spread out the greens just a bit to make the pile look bigger, but I’m onto them. I know a tiny salad when I see one.

How I easily get my kids to eat more greens

Proof that my boys like their greens:

taco salad1
That is a serving bowl, not a cereal bowl. It is chuck full. The contents of said serving bowl were consumed entirely by one person. Our family ate this amount x5 last Friday. I rest my case.

See, when I make a salad as a main dish, adding meats and cheeses, my kids will eat giant bowls full and sometimes go back for more. We go through entire packages of mixed greens in one meal in this way.

The moral of this story is this: I shall be serving salads as meals as often as possible. Bring on the mixed greens and spinach tossed together with taco meat or bacon. This is how everyone wins. We are filled with nourishment, and it is more delicious than a corndog.

Our favorite Main Dish Salads

What are your favorite main dish salads? How does your family do when it comes to eating greens? Last and certainly least, when is the last time you bought a box of corndogs?

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Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit ~ Ready NOW! (Download Your Free Sample Lesson)

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It’s here!! I am so excited to share our brand new early learners curriculum kit with you! It contains 148 pages filled with activities, patterns, printables, instructions, crafts, and games – all with the purpose of teaching your child numbers, counting, Bible stories and teachings, and a heart of service – all at the same time.

 

What will you find in Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit?

Let's Learn!

The Academics

This book will offer your child the chance to develop skills in

  • 0-12 Number Recognition
  • 0-12 Number Writing
  • One-to-One Counting (one to one = a number is assigned to an object during the counting process)
  • Pattern Building
  • Sorting
  • Critical Thinking
  • Additional areas beyond numbers and counting (such as colors, shapes, etc.)

Bible Learning and Application

What Does the Bible Say

Why not use the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish to teach numbers? How about reading the story of the young 8 year-old King Josiah along with learning the number 8? The 7 days of creation while learning about the number 7? Of course! There’s a Bible story/reading suggestion for every number lesson from 0-12.

Count Your Blessings!

Count Your Blessings!

If we’re learning to count, we may as well start with our blessings! This book provides you with this great opportunity to participate in gratitude with not only your little one(s), but with your entire family.

The Service Training: Be a Blessing!

Be a Blessing!

This is where we bring it all together. Each lesson will offer a variety of suggestions, patterns, printables, recipes, or other fun ways to use number knowledge to serve others. For example, when reading about the 5 loaves of bread Jesus served the people – make 5 mini-loaves of your favorite quick bread to deliver to 5 people. What fun, and what a wonderful opportunity for your family to look at ways to serve others!

This is available in download form only.

There are lessons in the book from numbers 0 through 12 – thirteen complete lessons in all. Do one per week, do one per month, do whatever works best for your child(ren) and family! There’s no right or wrong way. There’s no specific Bible translation used. This is all created with flexibility for your family.

Want to peek inside learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve?

Download Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Sample Lesson – for free!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

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We encourage using Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve alongside Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve.

Pair this curriculum kit!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

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And this one too!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=47]

Want the entire Learn and Serve 3-Pack?

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

Get a major discount when you buy all three books together!

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We hope these curriculum kits are a blessing to your family!

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When People Let You Down

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When people let you down. When they hurt you. Say the wrong thing. Disappoint you. Disagree with you. Don’t meet your needs. Don’t meet your wants. Don’t hear you out. Don’t understand. Don’t see things your way. Frustrate you. Confuse you. Drive you crazy. Make you cry. Make you mad. Take your breath away.

When decisions are made that you don’t agree with. When you are discouraged. When you just don’t get it.

What do you do?

When People Let You Down

When People Let you Down

First, maybe we could stop being shocked that this is all about the when, and not the if. People are going to let us down. People are going to hurt us. People are going to fail. This is a part of life. People are human.

How’s that for a redundant, yet powerful statement? People are…human. Even the God-fearing ones. Sometimes right and wrong is involved and sometimes its just a matter of perspective or opinion or preference. But no matter what it is, there will be times we feel the ache of discouragement over a person’s words or actions.

Hello, human person. I am also a human person. Thank you for coexisting with me in a fallen world in which God is still supreme and you and I are striving yet still awkward human people with weaknesses. Is this why you sometimes let me down? Is this why I sometimes let you down too? I’m sorry for this. Sometimes it’s hard to be a human person with you.

So this. What do we do when someone lets us down?

Wallow in a corner? Feel sorry for ourselves and complain to others about how unfair life is and how stupid people are? Replay conversations over and over in our heads, attempting to imagine a better outcome? I mean, those are certainly options, and wonderful ways to remain in a state of non-productivity for the Kingdom. So go ahead, if it helps you feel better. Which it won’t.

This is what I know is true. People are going to let me down. I can cry (and I do), I can feel the sting (because it does), I can acknowledge that I am hurt (because I am).

And then I can turn to Jesus.

As in, literally, I find some quiet and I turn to the red letter pages of the Gospels. All other words can feel jumbled to me when I am upset or confused or hurting. But the red letters are solid. They are the words Jesus spoke to all the human people. They are words of promise, words of hope, words with roots, words of Life.

It is here, in the red letters, I find fulfillment and focus. It is here that I find perspective. It is here that I find grace.

Grace to hold and grace to give – the perfect gift from Jesus for all the human people.

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Bacon Tomato Dip With Baked Tortilla Chips

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Bacon Tomato Dip. It is so yum.

Bacon Tomato Dip

When I first came upon a recipe like this one, it was called BLT Dip. This sounds delicious, but with one problem. The recipe included no L. There was only B and T.

(Translation: There was only bacon and tomato – no lettuce.)

I considered adding lettuce to the recipe to make it a true BLT dip, but I am quite sure the L would have gotten soggy. Nobody likes soggy L, am I right? Of course I’m right. There are books written about this. People know to run far, far away from soggy L and even limp L will raise eyebrows. So far be it for me to stir crispy L into this recipe and turn out a recipe with soggy or limp L. I love you all too much to put you through that. {wipes tear from eye}

So I played with the recipe and landed on a perfect BT Dip, but decided that BT Dip was a ridiculous name. Come everyone! Try this BT Dip! You will love it! “What a weirdo,” the people will say, “She forgets her vowels.” Then people will try to figure out which vowels and then if they didn’t want to already, they will really not want to try the dip.

Bat Dip, Bit Dip, But Dip (have mercy), Bot Dip… The people would be so busy trying to figure out what the name of the dip is really supposed to be that they would never actually look at the recipe and try the dip. This would be tragic (because this dip is terribly delicious).

I hope this gives you just a glimpse into how hard my life is. This situation has been crippling. Landing on a title kept me up night after painfully long night – so much so that I again considered adding soggy L to the dip just so I could move on with my life and effectively parent my children.

Then I just decided to turn the B and the T back into words. B=Bacon. T=Tomato. Bacon Tomato Dip. How clever.

There is nothing more to say except that you really must make this dip. And also the chips as detailed below because those make the dip many percentages better.

Bacon Tomato Dip (adapted from this recipe) Yum

5.0 from 1 reviews
Bacon Tomato Dip With Baked Tortilla Chips
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Hain Safflower Mayo)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Cut bacon into bit-sized pieces, cook, and drain.
  2. Stir cooked bacon into mayo and sour cream.
  3. Stir in chopped tomatoes just before serving.

Serve with corn chips or homemade tortilla chips (details below).

Bacon Tomato Dip with Baked Tortilla Chips

Now let’s talk about making Baked Tortilla Chips. I did not even consider calling these BT Chips because I’d already been through so much trauma. But as you can see, B and T would have also worked for these chips. (B=Baked. T=Tortilla) Try to keep up.

How to Make Baked Tortilla Chips

1. Cut your favorite tortillas into strips or triangles or shapeless objects of any sort. Do not name the objects. It makes for sleepless nights. (I usually make homemade tortillas, but Bountiful Baskets offered a nice variety pack and I grabbed it. This worked very well as it is very sad for me to go to the trouble of making tortillas only to cut them after I’ve rolled them. Naming recipes is hard enough. Do not make me also destroy my hand-rolled creations.)

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Lay the cut tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place them in a 350° oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the tortillas have become crispy.

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Notice that they puff up a bit as they get crispy. Delicious perfection.

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Throw them all on a platter and serve them with Bacon Tomato Dip. You will love how delicious this combination is.

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I can’t wait to hear how much you love this dip with your homemade chips!

Aren’t you proud of me for actually coming up with a dip that did not involve ground beef or cheese? And also for coming up with such a brilliant name for this new dip? May we all stand (neh, just sit) in amazement.

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(No Flour) Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – The Heathier Way

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Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – come and get ’em!

Real Food Monster Cookie Bars

When I saw the original recipe for these bars here, what really jumped out at me was the “no flour” thing. Avoiding flour is always a nice option in recipes. I also noticed the “mini m&m” thing but decided that while those are fun and tasty, they are on the naughty list and not required to make these cookie bars good. Then I wondered if I could cut back on the 2 cups of sugar and the amount of chocolate chips.

Do I know how to ruin a good recipe, or what? 

Hey. I didn’t ruin a thing. I simply cut back on the sugar and cut out the corn syrup and 10 different food dyes. The cookie bars are still delicious, so says my family and several other people I have served these to who didn’t even know I’d healthified this recipe. It probably helps that these bars still have plenty of sugar in them.

The oats and lack of flour create a really fun, chewy bar. I say, make these then wrap them individually and freeze them to grab out for lunch boxes or on-the-go snacks. This makes 24 good sized bars.

(No Flour) Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie BarsYum

(No Flour) Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars - The Heathier Way
 
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Author:
Serves: 24-36
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 1½ cups creamy natural peanut butter (here's how to make it yourself)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ cups quick oats
  • 2½ cups rolled oats
  • ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Cream sugar, butter, and peanut butter together until smooth.
  2. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda and mix well.
  3. Stir in oats until well combined.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips.
  5. Spread mixture into a cookie sheet lined by parchment paper.
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
  7. Makes 24-36 cookie bars, depending on how large you cut them.

No Flour Monster Chocolate Chip Cookies (the real food version)

Make these gluten free by using GF oats. Learn to make your own Quick Oats here.

Enjoy this very easy treat!

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How to Make Quick Oats and Oat Flour

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There’s nothing magical about these instructions and many of you probably know how to do this already. I’m not even entirely convinced that this will save much money, as there isn’t much price difference in whole oats, quick oats, and oat flour.

However, here’s why I find these tips to be beneficial:

They save my brain. And also storage space in my pantry, but my brain is obviously a much bigger issue now. Anything that saves my brain makes me so, so happy. (Hello, 40’s. I love you truly. But why do you make it harder to think straight? I think it must be because my children are coming and going more than they used to and also, I have more profound, wise thoughts floating through so I have less space for silly little unimportant things like remembering where I put my phone.)

So see? If I order Whole Rolled Oats, then I can make my own Quick Oats and Oat Flour as needed. My brain is thus saved from ordering three different items and making sure I have them on hand. It takes turning 42 to come up with stuff like this. Be amazed.

How to Make Quick Oats and Oat Flour

Why do I need Quick Oats? Well, I rarely do, except for when I make Homemade Instant Oatmeal – which is da bomb. And Oat Flour? Well, that’s just nice to add to muffins or pancakes sometimes when I want to include a variety of grains. I guess that’s another nice reason to not buy each of them individually. I mostly use whole rolled oats. The rare occasion I need quick oats or oat flour, I can just make it quickly with my whole oats.

So, how to make these delightful oat products? It’s as easy as putting Whole Oats into your blender and turning it on. Whirl for a few seconds until quick oats are formed. Whirl for a few more seconds until oat flour appears. It’s almost the easiest thing in the world.

How to Make Quick Oats

Making Quick Oats and Oat Flour

Below you will see, from left to right: Whole Rolled Oats, Quick Oats, Oat Flour. Beautiful, right?

oats 3

With that, I will tell you that if you’ve never needed this information before today, you will need it tomorrow because I have a Monster Cookie Bar recipe to share that includes no flour but it does include both whole oats and quick oats. Get out your oats and your blender. You’re going to want to make these bars.

monster bars1

What do you prefer to use at your house? Whole oats or quick oats? Do you use oat flour much?

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The Post Where I Tell You How Much I Spend On Groceries Every Month

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Ever curious how much I spend on groceries?

I don’t usually like to share the specifics of numbers any more when it comes to budgets, especially with groceries. Why? Because grocery prices are not apples to apples (see what I did there?) from one part of the nation to another. Plus I have international readers. Plus I have readers with young children, readers with many children, readers with no children, readers with adult children…just all sorts of readers. We all live in different places with different food sources and different situations.

So talking about grocery budgets and comparing numbers is not always beneficial.

Still, people are often very curious about how much I spend on groceries to feed my growing family full of teenage boys. I don’t blame them. Whether it makes sense or not, it is kind of fun to talk about grocery spending and compare notes about what works for people. Especially if any of us can gain insights on more ways to save money on healthy food purchases.

So here’s the big fat truth about my real food grocery budget as I feed a houseful of growing teenage boys. There is a comma in this monthly line item. I used to feed the six of us for less than $500/month. Then our boys doubled in size and so did the amount of money it takes to keep them fed.

The truth about how much I spend on groceries

Our current monthly grocery spending ranges from $900-$1,200.

Ouch. But not.

I mean, that’s a lot of money every month on food. But it’s food. The really good kind. My family is eating it heartily and staying relatively healthy. Because we homeschool and work from home, we typically eat all three meals at home each day, every day of the week. When I average it out, I see that we are spending between $5-$8 per person per day to eat very well.

Could I cut back on our grocery spending? Yes, but not by much. I’m not just throwing food into my cart at random. I’m carefully price-matching each week, strategically buying in bulk, cooking from scratch – doing everything I can to spend wisely and frugally. We just eat…a lot. Plus, we love to have people into our home for meals. Our grocery money is money well spent, and I’m thankful.

groceries819Last week’s grocery run cost $78. Most of this food was price-matched. Not bad, eh?
Yeah well, the week before that I spent about $500 between Bountiful Baskets, Azure Standard, and Amazon.
Cha-ching.

Now let’s not even talk about car insurance for teenage boy drivers. That is a whole ‘nother conversation and it isn’t pretty, nor is it fun like strawberries and beef roasts. Boo, hiss, car insurance. I curl up into a ball at this subject. Please, let’s go back to talking about happy things like green beans.

So speaking of green beans, and gardens, and other ways of saving money on groceries – which we were so obviously talking about…

The verdict is still out on whether or not our budget will see a big difference with our oldest son moving out and eating most of his meals in the college cafeteria. So far there’s not been much change – but I do predict that our spending average will go down a little bit. I mean, just last week I only had to double our pancake recipe instead of triple it, so that right there was a $1 saved. I think I’ll start saving for a cruise. Or just apply that dollar to his college tuition.

Below is a list I posted about a year and a half ago about ways I save on real food groceries. I can’t imagine what our budget would be if I didn’t continually work to save money in these ways. There would definitely be a 2 in front of the comma. Have mercy.

Ways I Save on Real Food Groceries

I’m working on some posts which highlight some of our lower cost, real food meals. But while my goal is to save money where I can and to be wise with my spending- my bigger goal is to nourish my family with good food. So bring on the wholesome goodness! In large quantities. Frequently. (said the mother of many teenage boys)

Want to share your grocery budget numbers? Have you seen your grocery spending increase as your kids got older? For those of you on the other end, have you found it difficult to adjust to buying less once your kid leave home? I will not even know how to cook in small quantities a few years from now. An 8×8 inch dish? Yes, I think I have one of those in the back of my cupboard.

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2016 update!

I still spend a significant amount on groceries every month because of all the very starving teenage boys at our house. But to my surprise, I’ve noticed significant grocery savings while following our Simple Meals plans. I love this so much. I mean, I knew it would save money, but this much?

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No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites

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Cookie bites? Eh. We like ’em okay. ;)

Because we all like healthy snacks and we absolutely love easy recipes – let us take a moment to review the previous no-bake cookie bite recipes shared here:

One idea turned into another, and now we have No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites to add to the list!

No-Bake Cookie Bites - Easy Recipes!

With a few ingredient tweaks, a Peanut Butter Cookie Bite came about. Of course, a peanut butter cookie bite must be gently pressed with a fork like the real deal, don’t you think? These taste so much like Peanut Butter Cookies, we couldn’t believe it. But instead of being an actual cookie full of sugar – they are a high protein, high fiber, low sugar snack. But hey, call it a cookie since it still tastes like one. Healthy treats are so exciting!

Peanut Butter Cookie Bites - No Bake!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites Yum

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut flour
Instructions
  1. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
  2. Roll the mixture into teaspoon-sized (or whatever sized) balls.
  3. Press down gently, criss-cross, with a fork.
  4. Refrigerate before serving.

It really is that easy.

(Here are my homemade peanut butter instructions.)

 No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites

Where to get Coconut Flour:

Many have asked about Coconut Flour. I order it from Tropical Traditions or Amazon. A little bit goes a long way, so don’t let the price-tag scare you. Coconut flour is naturally gluten free, high in fiber, and high in protein. I love it for its nutritional value!

Ways to enjoy these No-Bake Cookie Bites:

  • Packed in a lunch
  • As a snack/pick-me-up
  • Before or after a work-out
  • On the road during a trip
  • In a box, on a train, with a fox, in a tree (thank you, Sam I Am) – Do you really need any more reasons to love these? Eat them any where for any reason!

Lovin’ these No-Bake Cookie Bites!

Give me more cookie flavor ideas to play with!! What would you like to see here?

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