Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

What to Do with Coconut Oil

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I’m always sharing good deals on coconut oil, telling you how nutritious coconut oil is, encouraging you to try coconut oil.

Many have asked what I suggest that you do with your coconut oil once you buy it. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use coconut oil:

~Apply Coconut Oil to your Skin – Sometimes I rub it on my face or hands if I have dry patches. It is especially soothing and healing after a sunburn. If ever we accidentally stay in the sun too long, we slather our skin with coconut oil. It’s incredibly soothing, plus helps keep us from peeling.

~Use Coconut Oil to Make Popcorn – This is probably our favorite use for coconut oil. Sometimes we pop our corn on the stove using melted coconut oil in a pot with the popcorn. But, since we have an Air-Popper, we usually use that. The boys pop the corn in the Air Popper, then we pour melted coconut oil and sea salt over the bowl. SO yummy.

~Make Granola Bars – Coconut oil is fantastic in these Chewy Granola Bars. Because it is a solid oil, once it is stirred into these granola bars and they are allowed to cool, the coconut oil keeps the bars from being too soft and squishy. Plus, the coconut oil gives them a delicious flavor!

~Stir Coconut Oil into Muffins – For just about all of my muffin recipes now, I use coconut oil instead of butter. It works wonderfully and the flavor of the muffins is fantastic.

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~Subtitute Coconut Oil for Butter when Baking Dairy Free – When we’ve needed to bake for someone who has to eat a dairy free diet, coconut oil is our fat of choice. It almost always substitutes for butter when baking. (Check out these Dairy Free Gluten Free Muffins that use coconut oil!)

~Bake Cakes with Coconut Oil – Coconut Oil is great used in just about any cake recipe.

~Fry Foods – Coconut Oil is a very stable oil, which means that it can be heated to very high temperatures and not become rancid or bad for you. This means that you can fry foods in coconut oil and still be healthy!!! I prefer to fry foods in Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil instead of Virgin Coconut Oil, as the expeller pressed coconut oil is flavorless. I love the coconut flavor Virgin Coconut Oil provides in muffins and granola bars, but I don’t really like my Chicken Fried Steak Strips to taste like coconut. Therefore, I use Expeller Pressed coconut oil for frying.

To learn more about where to buy coconut oil, how healthy coconut oil is, the flavors and qualities of coconut oil…read this post:  Coconut Oil:  Why it is Good for You and Where to Buy it.

Please share your favorite ways to use coconut oil!

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Feel Like Making Peanut Butter?

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Recently, one of my readers asked where to buy peanuts in bulk. I’ve shared about how we love Braga Organic Farms and purchase bulk almonds, cashews and pistachios from them, but they don’t have peanuts. :(

I usually get my peanuts from Azure Standard, but looked it up on Amazon for those of you who aren’t on an Azure Standard route. Sure enough, there’s a great source for organic peanuts that are perfect for making delicious peanut butter. This price is about what I pay through Azure Standard, so I know it’s a great deal for organic peanuts!!

I can’t tell you how delicious homemade peanut butter is. It’s incredibly easy to make, takes very little time and tastes incredible when it’s freshly made like this!!! If you spread Homemade Peanut Butter on these Simple Soaked Pancakes with bananas and Real Maple Syrup? Mmm….awesome.

Homemade Peanut Butter

If you love peanuts in trail mix, as a snack, or so that you can make Homemade Peanut Butter, you may want to check out Amazon as a source for Organic Peanuts in bulk. I found that I could get 10 pounds for just over $40, shipped. Great price for organic peanuts!

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Gratituesday: Cooking for Three

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We’re experiencing something this week we haven’t experienced for 12 years – we have only one child in our house.

Yep, Asa’s at church camp, and Justus and Elias are spending a fun-filled week with grandparents. Left at home with the parents:  Malachi.

It’s quiet, there’s not nearly the volume of laundry or dirty dishes and wow – I can’t believe the tiny amount of food we’re eating. Yesterday I got out eggs for our breakfast, automatically getting out an entire dozen. Oops. All of our biggest eaters are away right now. We may actually have leftovers this week!

I got to visit with Justus and Elias on the phone this morning and it sounds like they are having a blast. Papa had bought some fireworks, Grandma Tacy had made cinnamon rolls and “a really yummy egg casserole thing”. There had been a potluck after church yesterday and last night they got to eat pizza.

Funny how much of the conversation revolved around food. See? Told ya my biggest eaters were out of town. (I’m sure Asa’s doing a pretty good job of chowing down at camp too!)

So what’s Malachi doing? Well he’s got big plans to invite over some friends this week to play with, he’s getting a little more PBS Kids time than normal – plus we’ve played at least six or thirty rounds of Blink. We’re reading Mr. Popper’s Penquins together and last night, he fell asleep in my arms while we read. Bliss.

As the youngest boy, Malachi hasn’t had much one-on-one with the parents. He’s living it up!

I’m thankful for this time with him, and so grateful that our other boys are being loved on and are making great memories this week.

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!

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Happy Independence Day!

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We just got home from a short , but wonderful family reunion trip – and I’m feeling a bit lazy. ;)  This afternoon, instead of trying to get some work done, I picked up one of Asa’s new readers for the upcoming school year and I can’t put it down. (Pictures of Hollis Woods – oh my – you must read this book.)

I kept trying to make myself put down the book and make a menu plan and do some writing for the blog this week. But shucks, reading a book just sounds like more fun right now, plus it’s a holiday weekend. So I decided to allow myself a short time off from writing. You guys are all having a holiday weekend anyway, right? You don’t really want to read about my bulk purchases or my cultured buttermilk. It’s time for cook-outs and fireworks and celebrations!

And so, I’ll meet you back here on Monday night for Gratituesday and we’ll carry on from there. In the meantime, be sure not to miss our big curriculum sale. Also, in case you’re needing to make something yummy to take to a get-together, you can steal my very chocolatey potluck plan and make these Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. It’s a crowd pleaser.

These turned out a little bit ooey-gooey, but I’m pretty sure nobody will complain.

Here’s Malachi with one of his cousins at the coolest Kiddie Park in
Oklahoma where tickets are only 25¢ each. They had a blast!!

Each year, my aunt makes a big pinata for all the kids at the reunion.
Here’s Elias getting ready to knock the snot out of it. ;)
(I mean candy – not snot. You know what I mean.)

Are you doing anything special for the 4th? Have a wonderful and lovely time!!

 

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Consult your Partner

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~Appreciate Your Spouse~
~Buoyancy in Marriage~

Consult Your Partner

Surprise!!! – Matt’s Thoughts

In Matt’s head about 3pm – Phew, I can’t wait for a little me time tonight. Maybe I could get some guys together to play some games, maybe even soccer! If that doesn’t work out I can always play any multitude of computer games and just relax.

Matt begins making plans with other guys.

In Laura’s head about 3pm – Phew, I can’t wait for Matt to be able to help me with these restless boys so that I can get a few things done around here. I may even see if I can steal away for an hour or two by myself tonight while the boys are with Matt. (I don’t claim to know a whole lot of what is going through her mind so I’ll let her go there.)

Laura has her own agenda in mind.

You can see where this is headed, right?

(Of course, all characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.)

I do have occasional game nights, but I consult my partner first.

In a business partnership before making a decision that would affect the company we would consult with our partners. More importantly, in a life-long committed partnership with our spouse we need to communicate before acting in many instances. Decisions regarding the way we spend our time and money are maybe the most frequent. In healthy marriages spouses consult each other and align themselves on the same wavelength regarding these decisions. Fortunately, Laura and I discovered this early in our marriage. We talk often about how we plan to spend money and time so that we are on the same page and surprises have become rarer. We save surprises for special occasions.

Should I Buy this Watermelon? – Laura’s Thoughts

When to consult…when not to consult? I mean, do I need to consult Matt when I’m at the grocery store to be sure it’s okay with him if I buy the watermelon that’s on sale for $2.50? And I’m thinking that I may want to trim my fingernails tonight after dinner. I wonder if that’s okay with Matt?

(Above examples are as fictitious as the characters in Matt’s story. Except for the watermelon. I did buy a watermelon.)

I don’t need to consult Matt about every watermelon purchase I make or about every detail of my schedule. Know why? Because we’ve already consulted about our overall grocery budget and food preferences, as well as the roles we play. In this case, I am the chief watermelon picker-outer and purchaser. It’s important to be clear about the big stuff so that the little stuff isn’t quite so complicated.

“As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  This verse from Romans is one our family works to live by. Respecting our partner enough to consult him/her about purchases or time commitments is one of the best ways to live at peace. Not only that, do I really want the pressure of making major decisions for our family without consulting Matt? I pretty much don’t.

Unless, of course, we’re talking about a watermelon.

P.S. We believe that connecting with your spouse is super high on the list for a healthy marriage, and hopefully that theme will be evident as it is woven throughout the A to Z tips.

Ladies, we know you’re reading here more often than the guys. ;)  We’d love husbands to read this article as well. If you feel so inclined please send the link to your husbands, or if it’s easier, we’ve created a downloadable article for you to quickly print off and share. Healthy Marriage Tips A to Z – Consult

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Teaching Your Kids to Cook: Turkey Ranch Pinwheels

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As I mentioned a few days ago, we’re working hard at our house on a new curriculum/ebook called Teaching Your Kids to Cook. Just like Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve, this has become a family project. I’m the one writing it, but all the kids get to be a part of putting this all together (and posing for pictures), which makes this task so much more fun!

Malachi (age 6) was eager to help me try a new “recipe” idea – one that requires no cooking – just a little bit of spreading, rolling and sprinkling. In the middle of summer, any recipe that requires “no cooking” is a winner, so we decided we’d give you a sneak peek into this recipe before the book is completed!

Turkey Ranch PinwheelsYum

4 Soft Whole Wheat Tortillas
3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing (we make our own ranch dressing)
½ cup Turkey, cut into tiny pieces
½ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Spread Ranch Dressing on each tortilla.

Sprinkle bits of cheese and turkey over the ranch covered tortilla.

See what a nice job Malachi did!

Roll the filled tortilla up as tightly as you can.

Let a grown up help cut the rolled tortilla into pinwheels:

Malachi was so excited that he “made dinner for our family” and he declared this to be the “awesomest dinner ever!” It’s true – these Turkey Ranch Pinwheels were super easy to put together, didn’t require a stove or an oven and Malachi (age 6) was able to do most of the work all by himself (okay, not really, but sort of). We devoured this entire plate – and we had made a triple batch!

Since we had been taking pictures of the entire process Malachi wondered, “Don’t you need a picture of me eating them, Mom?” Well sure. Just in case you aren’t sure what to do once you finish putting your Pinwheels together, here’s Malachi to show you:

Do your kids enjoy helping you in the kitchen? I know it’s usually easier (and less messy) to do the work yourself…how often do you pull the kids into the kitchen to help?

Update! The book is finished – find Teaching Your Kids to Cook and Learn to Cook books here!

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Gratituesday: Board Gaming

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There are a few weeks during our year that offer a little more down time that other times of the year. Recently, since the garden isn’t producing a huge amount yet, soccer is not in season and we haven’t been traveling…we’ve been blessed to have a bit more time at home. We’re taking advantage of this “down time” to scrape and paint our house, invite people over that we’ve been wanting to get together with, and several nights recently, we’ve taken the time for family game time. 

Slowly but surely, we’re getting to the point where all six of us together can play games (that don’t involve Chutes, Ladders or a Candy Cane Forest). I’m loving it. I tend to be so task oriented, focusing on projects that need to be done, dishes that need to be washed, phone calls that need to be made. It’s hard for me to loosen up and really participate in any down time we might have. There’s always so much work to be done. 

The work will always be there. 

But I’m always so grateful for the times I’ve put aside my “to-do list” and just played with my family. We get silly. We laugh. And every once in a while, I actually win a game. ;)

It’s an honor that my kids want to spend time with me. It’s a privilege that my husband is home in the evenings to hang out with. Quiet evenings at home are rare. In just a few weeks, we’ll have produce taking over our kitchen, soccer season will start, schooling will begin and all thoughts of down time will be buried under muddy soccer cleats and buckets of tomatoes. 

For today and maybe even again tomorrow, I will say yes to a rowdy game of Apples to Apples or a lazy game of Traverse. I have yet to regret one moment of board game playing with my family.

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!

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Buying In Bulk – Gallons of Maple Syrup and Honey

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I’m working through a series in buying whole foods in bulk!
If you haven’t read them yet, you may be interested in : 
Why I Buy in Bulk and Buying in Bulk:  Do You Have the Space?

It’s almost Maple Syrup Day!! That’s not a national holiday (that I know of) – just the one Thursday every July that I buy three gallons of maple syrup. Why? Because that’s when the “maple syrup people” come to our Farmer’s Market for their once a year stop in my town. I buy what I hope will last me the year (although this year it didn’t, and I had to grab some from Amazon to get us by).

People have looked at me a little funny as I walk away with so much maple syrup, wondering why I would possibly want so much. Well, because we’re a family of six, because we have a lot of company, because we use it on our pancakes and waffles and french toast and in our milk shakes and soothers and in several other recipes. The maple syrup they bring to the Farmer’s Market is pure – I trust this family. Maple syrup is one of my top sweeteners of choice, and buying three gallons at a time saves me quite a bit of money and time. If I buy my year’s supply of maple syrup in July at the Farmer’s Market, I don’t have to think about maple syrup again until well…this year, it lasted us until May. 

I do the same thing with our hard white wheat berries, buying our entire year’s supply in February when my friend organizes a big truck delivery of the wonderful golden kernels. If you haven’t read my exclusive interview with myself after I purchased 500 pounds of wheat at one time, you may find it helpful – or at least amusing.

Do I buy everything in 365 day quantities? No. But with things like wheat and maple syrup, it just sort of makes sense for me to do it this way.  When I know it’s something we use continually, when I find a great price, when I know I may have a harder time getting my hands on a certain product – I stock up.

Take honey for example (because I thought you might need yet another sweet and sticky example after reading about maple syrup). Our “honey man” harvests a very limited quantity of raw, pure honey each fall. If I don’t buy all the honey I’ll need for the year in September, he’ll likely not have any more for me later. It makes sense for me to buy a year’s supply at once. 

I also do this with produce during the summer and fall. I know we’ll be needing 52 weeks worth of corn, green beans, tomato sauce, tomato soup, applesauce, peaches and pears…so I plant my garden and make my local farm produce purchases accordingly. (I also keep my nose the the ground – or is that my ear? I forget – and snatch all kinds of free produce people are happy to part with when they are feeling overloaded.)  During the months of July, August and September, we are crazy busy with preserving – either canning or freezing – our year’s supply of corn, green beans – all the foods I just mentioned. It just makes sense for our family.

I’m sure some of you are wondering:  How do we afford to buy such large quantities of maple syrup, wheat, honey, etc. at one time?  Here are two posts that might help answer that question:  How I Grocery Shop and Our 2011 Grocery Budget. I’ll be a little more specific about this topic next week! (to be continued…)

I’m curious if you buy a year’s supply of anything, or if you prefer buying smaller quantities?

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Menu Plan for the Week

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bananamuffins2sm

Here’s our menu for the week!

Sunday, June 26
Banana muffins, applesauce
Italian roast, potatoes, gravy, carrots
Cheese, crackers, watermelon

Monday, June 27
Crepes with jelly, bananas
Sloppy joes, carrots with ranch dressing, strawberry-peach slushies
Tacos with homemade tortillas, fruit salad, homemade ice cream with hot fudge sauce (company coming for dinner!)

Tuesday, June 28
Fruit-kefir smoothies, toast
Grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches, green beans
Teriyaki chicken and veggies with rice

Wednesday, June 29
Apricot breakfast bars, applesauce
Chicken veggie quesadillas, strawberry-orange smoothies
Lamb chops, tossed salad, asparagus

Thursday, June 30
Coconut flour muffins, pears
Cheeseburger zucchini boats, carrot sticks
Black bean salsa with chips, watermelon

Friday, July 1
Giant breakfast cookies, oranges
Hoagie sandwiches, fruit, carrots
Pasta dinner with family

Saturday, July 2
Big brunch with family
Leftovers

What’s on your menu this week?

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