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Cream Cheese Filling For Your Crepes

July 30, 2014 by Laura 13 Comments

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Want a Cream Cheese Crepe Filling that will change your life? I’m not even exaggerating (because I never do that). It doesn’t hurt that my Crepe recipe is super simple and delicious too. Need to eat gluten free? Gotcha covered. The crepes are made without flour and of course the filling is gf too. These are all real food and so, so good!

Quick and Easy Crepes

While Matt and I were cooking out at camp a couple weeks ago, we were blessed to work with a very talented lady who has been cooking for campers for years. One of her specialties? Homemade Crepes with cream cheese filling, topped with berries. You should have heard the kids as they walked by the kitchen and saw we were making crepes. “Is it crepe day tomorrow?!? I’ve been waiting all year for this day!”

Seriously, the campers love them. I believe we cranked out over 300 crepes in preparation for “Crepe Day.” Phew, what a job! But it was worth it. The crepes were amazing! The key to making these so great had to be the filling. Cream cheese filling. Sooooo good!

We used powdered sugar at camp, but when I got home, I played with the idea to make the filling with stevia or maple syrup. Yum, yum, yummy.

Cream Cheese Crepe Filling

Cream Cheese Crepe FillingYum

Cream Cheese Filling For Your Crepes

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Author: Laura

Ingredients

8 ounces softened cream cheese
10 drops liquid stevia or 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Beat ingredients together until smooth.
Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in each crepe.

I whip my cream cheese filling ingredients together in my Blendtec, which takes about thirty seconds.

Here’s my super easy Crepe Recipe. Wholesome, filling, and delicious. And with cream cheese and berries? Heavenly. :)

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Dark Chocolate Almond Granola – Quick! Make this before it gets too hot outside!

May 21, 2014 by Laura 10 Comments

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First, many of you are thinking, “What do you mean before it gets too hot outside? It’s already too hot outside!” And second, do you want to see my awesome new jar??

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I actually got the jar as a Christmas gift and am just now getting around to showing you. Therefore, it’s really not new as I’ve had it for five months. It’s also an antique, which also means it’s not new, but whatever. My dad’s wife found it at an auction and was sweet enough to think of me, snatch it up, wrap it, and put it under the tree. I opened it and gasped with complete delight, while everyone else in the room was like, “oh look it’s an old, used jar…she really gets excited about weird things.”

I washed it up, and have used it to store many treats. The latest? Dark Chocolate Almond Granola. Which leads me back to my original statement: You really should make this before it gets too hot outside.

See, at my house, it’s finallllllly warming up and staying warm (I hope). This is making me so happy!!! It’s also making me think about foods that require an oven and how I will not want to be using the oven much in the near future. These thoughts are what led me to ask my 14 year old to make a double batch of Dark Chocolate Almond Granola earlier this week. How nice to get this made ahead of time! We baked it on a day it wasn’t too hot, and we can eat it on a day that is too hot.

And it looks so pretty in my new, old jar. Don’t you think?

One thing to consider: The pieces of chocolate in the granola will get pretty soft if (when) my kitchen gets too hot. I may need to store it in the fridge. On the other hand, melted chocolate all over granola is not a bad thing.

So, Dark Chocolate Almond Granola. Make some before it gets too hot. Enjoy it on a morning you don’t have time to cook breakfast, it’s too hot to cook breakfast, or you just have a hankering for chocolatey almond goodness.

Find the recipe here. This recipe is also included in our free Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook. Head on over and download it for several more easy, healthy breakfast ideas.

Have you made this recipe before? Is it hot at your house yet? Do you love my new, old jar?

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Poppyseed Bread With Orange Glaze ~ This Week’s Freezer Cooking Challege

April 15, 2014 by Laura 11 Comments

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This quick bread recipe is our family’s favorite, hands down. It is super moist, very flavorful, and well, it kind of tastes like cake. It definitely tastes like a treat, even if you cut down the sugar in the recipe.

Speaking of cutting down the sugar – I’ve been really focusing on chopping sugar quantities in most of my recipes. I’ve found that the recipes still tastes great, and my family is definitely benefiting from not eating so much of the sweet stuff. All that to say, a few week’s ago I edited the {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook (where you’ll find the recipe for this bread) to cut the sugar down significantly. If you purchased this book before April, your version likely calls for 1 1/2 cups of sucanat. Yikes. Do that if you must, but I think you’ll find that cutting it in half (or more) still turns out a great product.

poppyseed bread for freezer

For the Freezer Cooking Challenge today, find some time to make a double recipe of Poppy Seed Bread with Orange Glaze (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook). Doubling the recipe will turn out four loaves. Once they have completely cooled, you can set aside a loaf (or two, if you are my family) for tomorrow’s breakfast, then wrap and freeze the others for another day. I typically just place them in freezer bags, push all the air out, and seal. Be sure to label your bags.

When you’re ready to serve your frozen loaves, simply get it out of the freezer the night before you plan to serve it and let it thaw on the countertop. In the morning, you can slice and eat!

This bread is wonderful with scrambled or fried eggs and a fruit such as apples, bananas, applesauce, or berries.

I can’t wait for you to try this bread!

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Easy Breakfast Casseroles ~ This Week’s Freezer Cooking Challege Begins

April 13, 2014 by Laura 5 Comments

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Today for the Freezer Cooking Challenge, we’ll be making Easy Breakfast Casserole (x2). This is, for sure, one of the easiest make-ahead-meals to put together.

I save dirty dishes by cracking eggs directly into my casserole dishes. Then I add remaining ingredients, whisk it up, and it’s done. Super simple! If you have kids old enough to crack eggs, delegate that job to them while making these casseroles.

I made two of these casseroles last week with the help of my 12 year old. Once my casseroles were put together (it took 15 minutes, tops) – I put the lids on, and put one in the fridge to bake the following morning. The other, I labeled and put into the freezer, unbaked.

egg casseroles for freezer

To bake my frozen Breakfast Casserole, I’ll simply put it into the fridge overnight, then bake as directed the next morning. I may need to add a little extra baking time if it hasn’t thawed entirely.

You will love how easy it is to make this casserole ahead of time! This kind of freezer cooking is my favorite. It’s practically effortless, and makes putting healthy food on the table for breakfast a piece of cake. (casserole. whatever.)

Go thou into the kitchen and begin cracking eggs. Breakfast has never been easier.

Check out how easy it is to make these great casseroles!

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Menu Plan For the Week ~ Waking Up To a Ready-Made Breakfast

April 13, 2014 by Laura 1 Comment

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Every day this week, our family will be waking up to a healthy breakfast that has already been prepared. You wanna do the same? Here are all the plans to make this happen. You are going to love this!

Speaking of breakfast, you should know that I made the worst breakfast ever yesterday. I think my hair is still holding on to the smell from the nastiness I put in front of my family to eat. I had grand plans to fill us all full of good protein by making a hearty (but quick) meal of Bacon Cheesy Eggs before soccer games. Therefore, I already had the bacon chopped up and cooked ahead of time. While getting eggs cracked open and whipped, I started rewarming the bacon in the skillet – on high heat. Within just a few seconds, it started smoking and smelling up the kitchen. Oh well, I thought. I’ll just quickly add the eggs, scrambled them up together, and all will be well.

If only.

That bacon was apparently beyond repair, making the bacon/egg/cheese mixture taste like ashes. Not that I’ve ever eaten ashes.

We sort of choked it down, because it is very hard to throw away farm-fresh eggs, even if they do taste like burnt fire wood. And that is how I sent my children off to the soccer fields so that they could run several miles and attempt to do fancy footwork. It was not one of my finer moments. But as Asa (our 16 year old) said with a grin, “Well, the cantaloupe sure is good. At least you didn’t burn that.” Yes, at least. :)

These Raspberry Oatmeal Bars aren’t in our freezer cooking plan for this week,
but they are another example of a great recipe you can make the night before
to serve first thing in the morning. We love these bars!

Here’s what I’ll be trying not to burn this week:

Sunday, April 13
Raspberry oatmeal bars, applesauce
Cheesy beef and pasta casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), tossed salad, green beans
Small Group potluck

Monday, April 14
Easy breakfast casserole, cantaloupe
Chicken patty sandwiches, lettuce and tomatoes, pickles, carrots, fruit smoothies
Cheeseburger macaroni, tossed salad, roasted asparagus

Tuesday, April 15
Poppy seed bread with orange glaze (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), eggs, strawberries
Rice and veggie stir fry with zucchini, carrots, and broccoli
Chicken tacos, fresh pineapple

Wednesday, April 16
Sweet pecan French toast casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), kiwi
Sloppy joes, creamy coleslaw, cucumbers and carrots with ranch, blackberries
Lamb chops, baked potatoes in the crock pot, tossed salad, peas

Thursday, April 17
Poptarts, bananas
Popcorn chicken, potato wedges, steamed carrots and broccoli
Tuna casserole, peas, roasted asparagus

Friday and Saturday – travel days (packing some food for the road, especially fruits and veggies)

Please make plans to join us this week for the Freezer Cooking Breakfast Challenge. You’ll love getting ahead for the morning!

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Start the Day With a Healthy (Quick & Easy) Breakfast {31 Days of Real Food Reality ~ Day 13}

January 12, 2014 by Laura 20 Comments

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I’m almost as passionate about eating a healthy breakfast as I am about eating lots of butter. They’re both super important. Therefore…feel free to spread butter all over your breakfast. Oh yeah.

breakfast_casserole

But wait. You don’t have time to cook a healthy breakfast every morning? Me neither. I mean, if I felt like losing an hour of sleep, skipping my much needed Bible time, foregoing my morning work-out, or beginning my day by being glued to a griddle while flipping countless pancakes – I could make the time to cook a healthy, hearty breakfast every morning. But well…I don’t.

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That’s what scares us away from making a healthy breakfast isn’t it? Time. Effort. School. Work. Schedules. I get it. I’m with ya. I have plenty of other things to do in the morning and I like sleeping. I don’t like the stress of trying to get everyone going in the morning while trying to keep breakfast from burning on the stove. So does that mean we take the easy way out and buy boxed, convenience foods for breakfast? Sure, if you want to feel like junk all day and start your kids’ school day off with a big, blurry bang that ends in a sugar crash by morning recess. But what if there is a way to have a nourishing breakfast without the morning stress?

breakfast_2

Oh yes. There is definitely a way. I am loving this real food reality which includes a hearty, healthy, no brainer breakfast each morning.

I do everything possible to make healthy breakfast foods ahead of time so that all I have to do in the morning to get a nourishing breakfast on the table is open a container. Or boil water. Or maybe, just maybe, I’ll “go to the trouble” of scrambling or frying eggs, which takes about five minutes. (Or better yet, I assign that task to one of my boys. Hurray for kids who are old enough to use a stove!)

tourney food1

How do I put a healthy breakfast on the table without much effort each morning?

I make breakfast the night before. Or…
I make breakfast foods for the freezer. Or…
I set out the Homemade Instant Oatmeal and let the kids make a bowl when they get up.

Seriously, making a healthy breakfast is not hard. We do not have to resort to boxed food. It’s just a matter of planning ahead and focusing on food that is real and nourishing. Real food – it is amazing.

Here are some of my favorite healthy, make-ahead breakfast ideas:

Prepare an Easy Breakfast Casserole and simply take it out of the fridge and bake it in the morning.
Make Simple Whole Wheat Pancakes or Whole Wheat Waffles, allow them to cool, freeze them, then toast them to warm them up for a convenient breakfast just like an Eggo Waffle…except cheaper and healthier.
Mix up and roll out biscuits, freezing them for a quick breakfast.
Cook bacon or Turkey Sausage, then simply reheat in the morning or cook it up with some eggs.
Throw yogurt and frozen fruit into the blender for a smoothie.
Make muffin batter and put it in the freezer for fast, fresh muffins in the morning (one of my favorite freezer cooking tips!).
Bake breakfast bars in the evening before closing up the kitchen.
Make a batch of Easy Granola, Dark Chocolate Almond Granola, or Grape Nuts Cereal to grab and eat in the morning.

And always, always serve fruit with breakfast. That’s the healthiest convenience food there is. :)

As soon as we start making some healthy foods ahead of time, and stop assuming that eating healthy food is difficult, we’ll be well on our way to saving money and keeping our lives so much simpler in the kitchen! Plus, when we begin our day with a nourishing breakfast, we get our body off to a great start – setting the pace for a great day ahead.

And there’s more!

Need some easy, healthy breakfast inspiration? We have a freebie for you!

To help us all along in this effort, I created a downloadable chart with 31 Days of Real Food Breakfast Ideas. It is internet linked, so all you have to do is click to find the recipe referred to on the chart.

Eggs and smoothies. Smoothies and eggs. Cereal. Cereal. Cereal. Snore. Need a change of pace? Want some fresh ideas? We’ve got a free printable for you that includes 31 Days of Real Food Breakfast Ideas!

All 31 ideas are recipe linked. Every recipe is made from real food: Whole grain, healthy fats, wholesome sweeteners. It’s all simple, it’s all delicious, and it will inspire you with fresh ideas for ways to feed your family each morning.

Unless you enjoy eating breakfast at night for dinner. (For some reason, waffles taste better at night. We don’t understand it. We just go with it!)

Mix it up. Substitute your favorite fruits – whatever is in season! Be sure to add protein to each meal if needed. There’s no right or wrong way to use this free printable full of ideas. We just hope you use it!

—> Want some simple real food dinner ideas too? Check out this huge list! <—-

By the way, want to eat cookies for breakfast? With bacon? Strawberries and cream? Life is good, and so is your health. Real food for the win! (Seriously. Stop being afraid of bacon and cream. It’s real food, our bodies can utilize it for nourishment, and when we eat real food in balance, we can be healthy!)

We’re happy to share this 31 Days of Real Food Breakfast Ideas printable with you to use in whatever way works best for your family. Adapt it, pick and choose what works for you, and enjoy!

BONUS: Using these recipes will save you big bucks! How? Well, have you seen the price of a box of cereal? Making a homemade breakfast is quite a money saver. We love it!

Get your free printable 31 Days of Real Food Breakfast Ideas. Signing up to receive this will connect you to our Savings Club, providing you with relevant money-saving tips, recipes, ideas, and inspiration!

There you go – 31 healthy, make-ahead, family friendly, money-saving, real food breakfast ideas!

What are your favorite ways to get a healthy breakfast on the table quickly in the morning?

It’s here! Check out our amazing Simple Meals program!

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Snickerdoodle Muffins ~ Having Breakfast With the Muppets

December 4, 2013 by Laura 21 Comments

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As I stated on Facebook yesterday:

I feel a tiny bit silly (but not silly enough to keep it to myself, apparently). Growing up, my mom and I always listened to the Muppets Christmas cassette, which featured John Denver. I loved it SO much. So I just bought the album for myself. I couldn’t hold back. I mean, if you haven’t heard Miss Piggy singing the 12 days of Christmas, you’ve really missed out. (Ah, the memories…)

I have played the songs over and over within the last 24 hours. All I can think about while I listen to this is hanging out with my mom while we wrapped presents and made Christmas crafts together during the month of December.

I had all but forgotten the album existed until my sister-in-law texted something about it yesterday. Memories flooded back. Now I can’t stop listening to it. And I can’t stop smiling. You would think that after over 9 years of being without her, I would realize that calling to talk to my mom isn’t an option. But as I listen to this music, I have had to stop myself several times from picking up the phone to dial her number. “Mom!” I want to shout, “Remember our winter nights together? Remember Miss Piggy singing ‘ba-dum-pum-pum’ in the 12 Days of Christmas? Remember how much fun we had? I just got the John Denver Muppets album on CD and I’m listening to it now with the boys, and they love it as much as we did!”

So since I can’t tell her, I’m sharing this with you. Of all my Christmas memories, I have to say listening to this music while preparing for Christmas with my mom might be my favorite memory of all. I really can’t stop smiling. And crying. And laughing (“mee-mee-mee-mee-mee-mee” – you have to know Miss Piggy to get that one).

Here’s a little blast from the past for ya that I found on youtube:

This morning, I turned on the Christmas lights, cranked up the Muppets, and tried a new recipe. These muffins are simple, full of cinnamon, delicious, and perfect for Christmas time. My family and I had breakfast with Miss Piggy, Kermit, and John Denver.

Snickerdoodle MuffinsYum

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Snickerdoodle Topping:

2 Tablespoons sucanat or brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together flour, sucanat, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add egg, butter, sour cream, and milk – stirring until mixture is well combined. Scoop batter into 10-12 paper lined muffin tins. Stir together the sucanat/cinnamon topping. Sprinkle about a 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture onto each muffin. Bake in a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown. Snickerdoodle Muffins 8

Here’s to tasty Christmas goodies, relishing wonderful Christmas memories, and creating new memories with our own families now.

Please tell me if you remember this Muppet Christmas album with John Denver so that we can talk about Piggy Pudding together! What are your favorite Christmas music memories?

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Instant Oatmeal in a Jar

October 8, 2013 by Laura 19 Comments

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Remember the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets recipe I shared a few weeks ago?

Instant Oatmeal in a Jar

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I wanted to suggest that in an effort to cut down on waste (that’s a lot of little plastic bags) and effort (it takes extra time to scoop each serving into bags) – you may want to simply store your Instant Oatmeal Mix in an airtight container.

I made a double batch recently, which filled almost three half-gallon jars. On the lids, I wrote,

“Shake well. Scoop 1/2 cup of mix into a bowl. Add 1/2-3/4 cup boiling water.” My boys can take it from there.

instant_oatmeal_jars
This is super easy – and I can’t tell you how nice it is to have this instant oatmeal on hand for busy mornings and for mid-afternoon snacks. The kids stir in any dried fruit or other add-ins they want with their oatmeal.

Here is the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Recipe. And you’ll find more great and fast breakfast recipes in this FREE Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook.

And a quick note to reinforce that you shake the jar before scooping out your 1/2 cup serving. One of our boys made a bowl without shaking first. All of the sucanat had sunk to the bottom, so his scoop tasted rather bland. Always shake the jar to make sure you get a more tasty bowl of oatmeal!

Have you tried making this Homemade Instant Oatmeal Recipe? I highly encourage it. What a time and money saver!

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Dark Chocolate Almond Granola Recipe {Real Food Dollar Menu}

September 17, 2013 by Laura 48 Comments

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Ever paid over $6 for a tiny box of cereal, and then witnessed that the contents in the tiny box only fed three people one small serving? As delicious and convenient as the box of Dark Chocolate Almond Granola was from Cascadian Farm – that is one pricey breakfast.

I actually got a box of this cereal with some Vitacost credit I had – just to try it. It was a huge hit in our family. That’s what made me decide that surely I could figure out a similar recipe and make my own. Besides, I like the idea of eating chocolate for breakfast. What a way to start the day. :)

The result of my experimenting turned out delicious! I did a little rough math to determine how much money I saved. These aren’t the cheapest of ingredients, but they are hearty and can stick to the ribs. I found that I cut the cost from over $2 per serving to around 75¢ per serving – even using mostly organic ingredients.

What I love best is that this is a recipe that can be made ahead of time for a quick meal or snack. (It’s a perfect recipe to work into your Getting Ahead in the Kitchen routine.)

Dark Chocolate Almond GranolaYum

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola Recipe {Real Food Dollar Menu}

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Author: Laura

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
¾ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
¾ cup honey
¾ cup coconut oil
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey together.
Stir oats, shredded coconut, and slivered almonds together in a large bowl.
Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well.
Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or two 9x13 inch dishes).
Bake at 300° for 35-45 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes.
Allow mixture to cool.
Stir in dark chocolate chunks.
Store granola in an air-tight container.
Makes 12-14 servings.

You may have noticed that this recipe is in the Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook. Haven’t downloaded that yet? Get it here for free!

Just a couple of days left in our Getting Ahead for Breakfast Challenge. How’s it going for you? Have you made some breakfast foods ahead to save you the effort in the morning?

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

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FREE eBook: Healthy Breakfast Made Simple {Free Printable From Heavenly Homemakers}

September 15, 2013 by Laura 18 Comments

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It’s an entire eBook, filled with ten healthy, easy breakfast recipes – and it’s FREE for Heavenly Homemakers Subscribers! To encourage us all as we work to get ahead in our kitchens, here is Healthy Breakfast Made Simple:

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I’ve decided that we can never have too many quick and healthy breakfast recipes. I love recipes that can be made ahead of time (or thrown together quickly), and my family really appreciates a variety. I shared the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets recipe a few days ago, which is the recipe that inspired the idea for this eBook several weeks ago. I thought it would be nice to have the instant oatmeal recipe in a handy printable, then as I began putting it together, an entire eBook evolved. It’s not a fancy eBook, but who needs fancy? We just need simple, right? A Healthy Breakfast Made Simple. :)

This eBook, Healthy Breakfast Made Simple, has ten healthy breakfast recipes for you, many of which can be prepared ahead of time. Here’s what you’ll find in this eBook:

healthy_breakfast_contents

Get this freebie by subscribing to our free daily newsletter here.

OR get this freebie by subscribing to our free once-a-week newsletter here.

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