Lookie what just made its way into the Amazon Kindle store:
I’m excited to share this with you as I know many of you prefer to read eBooks on your Kindle. Prefer the regular eBook? You can get it here.
Hooray, Amazon Kindle!
Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting
by Laura 4 Comments
Lookie what just made its way into the Amazon Kindle store:
I’m excited to share this with you as I know many of you prefer to read eBooks on your Kindle. Prefer the regular eBook? You can get it here.
Hooray, Amazon Kindle!
by Laura 16 Comments
Can food be pre-packaged, convenient, tasty, and healthy – all at the same time? Why yes, as a matter of fact it can. Is it possible to fill your shopping cart with foods that are nourishing, delicious, and guilt free? Why yes, as a matter of fact it is. And finally, does anyone know where I might have put my favorite pen? Eh, that’s okay. I figured it was worth a shot to ask.
There are many healthy foods that take little to no time to prepare. Today as I was putting lunch on the table and asking the boys to pull out strawberries, carrots, peppers, and pickles from the fridge to go with our meal, I was once again struck by how easy it is to put healthy foods on the table.
Stop believing the myth that eating healthy food is difficult and time consuming! And seriously, if you come across my missing pen, would you please let me know?
There are dozens of foods you can buy that are full of nutrition, just because they were born that way. You might need to take the time to peel it, wash it, or slice it – but have you ever timed yourself opening a box of cookies, then working like mad to get the plastic pouch inside to tear open? In the meantime, you really should have just sliced a cucumber.
Here are 10 great ideas for real food pre-packaged convenience:
1. Mini Sweet Peppers
Oh my goodness, have you tried these? They are deliciously sweet, perfectly crunchy, and wonderful all by themselves or in a salad. We take these on the road trips, munch on them for snacks, add them to our lunch plates, and argue about which color tastes the sweetest. I can’t get enough of these.
2. Fresh Berries
Without a doubt, you can not compete with fresh berries picked and eaten right out of the garden. But during the times those are not available, we look for the best deals on strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries at the store. Wash ’em and eat ’em. It doesn’t get any easier than pulling out berries for a snack or a side dish with a meal.
3. Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
Again, these are best fresh out of the garden. But since ours won’t be ready for another month or two, buying these pre-packaged works great for us.
4. Baby Carrots
There is some controversy over buying packaged baby carrots because of the information many have heard about baby carrots being soaked in chlorine before being packaged. Read this info and do with it what you wish. As for me, sometimes buying a package of baby carrots is a huge help in my effort to provide my family with extra veggies during a meal.
5. Mixed Greens
Think making salad is too time consuming? Oh for Pete’s sake. Just buy a container of mixed greens and throw it on the table. It’s pre-washed and ready to eat. We go through a couple packs of these each week.
6. Pickles
Open a jar, put it on the table, your work here is done.
7. Cheese Sticks
These can be a little pricey compared to buying a hunk of cheese and slicing it yourself. But when we’re talking about pre-packaged convenience foods, this one is a winner. Cheese is great for an on-the-go protein snack. Yay cheese.
8. Larabars
Yes, you can made these homemade. I’ve done it myself many times. But sometimes my family needs something to stuff in a pocket to eat in between soccer games. I watch for great sales and coupons through Amazon or Vitacost, and buy these by the case. They contain fruit and nuts only – a great healthy snack.
9. Fruit Leather
Again, I make this homemade sometimes too. But for a fun treat, I like getting pre-packaged fruit leather when I find it on sale.
10. Raisins
Buy them by the bag or in individual serving sized boxes. This pre-packaged convenience food is awesome for snacking. And really, aren’t those tiny little boxes just the cutest?
What else? Oh, I could list tons. Peanuts, cashews, almonds, bananas, apples, grapes, oranges – think of all the pre-packaged real foods there are to pick from! Never again can we ever claim that healthy eating is difficult. And never again should anyone carry my favorite pen out of my office, put it down, and forget about it.
Leave a comment and tell us your current favorite healthy convenience foods. It’s great to share so we can all get new ideas!
by Laura 5 Comments
Now that spring is here, you’ve likely got outings at the park, school parties, trips to the zoo, feel like you live in the zoo. It’s a fun time of year. These printables can be downloaded (for free!), and used however you like.
Attach a toothpick and poke them down into a muffin or cupcake for a fun snack decoration. Attach a popsicle stick and let your kids use them as puppets. If your kids are old enough, let them do a little research on each animal, or on an animal of their choice. Use these as gift tags. What else can you think of to use these for?
Have fun with these, spread the word, and check out more free printables here. :)
Want some yummy muffin recipes to go with your printables? I added them up and found that I have no less than 23 muffin recipes here at Heavenly Homemakers. I love how versatile just a few ingredients can be!
All of these recipes are kid friendly, and they are made with wholesome ingredients.
What are your favorite muffin recipes? I know the end of the school year is quite hectic for many. How’s yours going so far?
by Laura 33 Comments
I got the wonderful idea for this recipe when I was at a friend’s house recently for a baby shower. It’s so simple, yet turns popcorn into an extra special treat.
White Chocolate Peppermint PopcornYum
16 cups popped popcorn (about 1 cup kernels)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
sea salt
1 cup white chocolate (this works great)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Stir melted coconut oil into the popped popcorn and sprinkle with salt according to your taste. Pour prepared popcorn onto two cookie sheets or two 9×13 inch pans. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt white chocolate and butter together until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in peppermint extract.
Drizzle melted chocolate over the popcorn and stir immediately to coat. Allow chocolate to harden on the popcorn for 30 minutes to an hour. Or just start eating it right away because it’s too hard to wait.
You might think I’m on a bit of a peppermint kick since I’m posting this recipe right after the Peppermint Cream Cocoa recipe. What can I say? I think of peppermint when I think of Christmas.
If peppermint isn’t your thing, you can definitely skip the peppermint extract in this recipe and just enjoy yourself some White Chocolate Popcorn.
What do you think? With peppermint or without?
Be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of five $10 gift certificates to the Heavenly Homemakers Shop, good on anything of our eBooks or eCourses!
by Laura 8 Comments
It’s official. Our 16 year old is taller than his dad. That means Asa is measuring at 6’3″ as of yesterday. His legs are longer than his bed. His feet are bigger than his shoes. The bottoms of his jeans only reach his ankles for two weeks. His eyes are as big as his stomach. And it’s a good thing I love to cook.
Should I mention that our 13 year old is almost looking me directly in the eyes, our 11 year old isn’t far behind, and our 8-almost-9 year old must be going through a growth spurt? I promise that he ate six bowls of Easy Noodle Stir Fry in one sitting last week.
So let’s see. Did I need this Getting Ahead Snack Challenge? Why yes, I did. Somehow, I’ve got to stay ahead of these appetites. Have I actually gotten ahead during the past few weeks? Eh, only a little bit. We mostly eat snacks as quickly as I make them. But at least I’ve discovered some great, new, healthy snack recipes to fall back on. We are having so much fun with these new ideas!
I decided to compile all of the new Healthy Snack Recipe ideas here for us as we conclude this Getting Ahead {Snacks} Challenge. All of these recipes can be made ahead of time. They are delicious, low in sugar, hearty, and easy to make.
~ Easy Homemade Nacho Cheese Pretzel Dip
~ Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Or, if you want to change it up, follow that recipe but make Mix and Match Bars!
~ Easy Peanut Butter Snack Bars
~ Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
Did you try any of these recipes? Which are your favorites? Do you have any other fun, healthy Make-Ahead Snack Recipes to share?
by Laura 20 Comments
Here’s another super easy snack recipe to help us along in the Getting Ahead {Snacks} Challenge. These were a huge hit at our house – and so easy that I can definitely make these frequently!
To freeze: Allow bars to cool completely. Wrap them individually to keep the bars moist. Place wrapped bars in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw for at least one hour before serving.
These make for great grab-and-go snacks!
by Laura 76 Comments
Raspberry Oatmeal Bars are pretty much amazing.
I’m on a mission to create new healthy snack recipes so that my boys will have some great options on hand. But here’s what happened after I made these Raspberry Oatmeal Bars: I dug into them while I was in the kitchen by myself and loved them so much that I forgot to call in the kids. Then when I realized I was like, “Eh, the kids can have a piece of cheese.” And then I kept eating the bars. Great mom moment, huh? :)
This may be one of the best snack recipes ever, hands down. The kids thought so too, once I remembered to share.
You can definitely change these up by using a different variety of jelly or jam. I think apricot would be awesome in these, or strawberry, or peach…
If they last long enough, you can freeze them: Allow them to cool completely, then wrap individually for a quick grab and go snack. Place individually wrapped bars in a large freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to two months.
Here are some pictures to show more specifically how to put these bars together. They are really so easy!
First, mix together the dry ingredients. Then pour in the melted butter.
Stir until the mixture resembles buttery crumbs.
Press half of the crumbs into an 8×8 inch baking dish.
Spread the jam over the first layer of oat mixture. Spoon the remaining oat mixture over the jam and press down to cover.
Bake in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes. Cut them while they are warm, or allow them to cool first.
Try to remember to share them with others.
Not only will I be making these frequently for snacks in the future, I think they will be wonderful for breakfast. And I’ll even try to remember to serve them to my children. ;)
by Laura 13 Comments
It’s been a few weeks since I threw out a challenge for all of us. With the holiday season coming soon, I thought we could all use a little practice getting ahead in the kitchen. And not that it’s all about me, but I am feeling a little short in the snacks department at my house. So for this challenge, I decided that we would focus on getting ahead with nourishing snacks.
The Let’s Do This! eCourse has an entire lesson devoted to getting ahead with snacks. Why? Because snacks are a must for many of us, and having healthy options on hand and ready to grab means that we are making better choices for ourselves and for our families. Otherwise, when we get hungry in the middle of an afternoon, we may be likely to cave in and grab a handful of chocolate chips. Not that you or I have ever done that in a moment of weakness. Mmmmhmmm.
Soooo, healthy snacks. I’m really hoping you’ll share some fresh new ideas with me! Here is a list of options I regularly give my kids, but they would definitely welcome something new. I’ve been experimenting, looking all over the internet for new recipes, and am counting on you to give me some ideas and inspiration. No pressure. I’ll just be waiting by my computer with my apron on and my mixing bowls in my lap…
My goal by the end of next week is to have several fun and healthy snack options prepared for my family – and to have a great new list of healthy (make-ahead) snack ideas compiled to share with you. In the meantime, there will be new healthy snack recipes coming your way – so be on the look-out. Join the Getting Ahead {Snack} Challenge!
by Laura 28 Comments
This is a topic that has come up at several Meet&Greets. It would seem as though meeting our family on the road makes people curious about what we’re eating along the way! I don’t blame you for asking. Hopefully you haven’t been terribly shocked or disappointed when I’ve shared that we enjoy treating ourselves to some Chick-fil-A here and there on our trips. :)
As much as possible, I do try to pack healthy food for the road. The difficulty comes when we’re traveling for several days in a row. Homemade food can only last so long, and a person can only eat so many sandwiches.
We don’t feel worry over eating out occasionally. Although I will say that we certainly don’t love spending money on it and our guts don’t always feel great afterward. But since our family eats very, very well MOST of the time, eating at a restaurant is a special treat that my family enjoys without guilt. We usually try to make it count, as in, we don’t settle for icky tasting (in our opinion) restaurants and usually opt for one we all really like. I mean, if we’re going to eat french fries, we want to enjoy them, right?
So, now that I’ve explained that part, I’d also like to share some ideas for foods I try to pack for the first leg of our trips to at least get us off to a good start. In addition, I’ve made note of ideas others have shared with me.
As much as possible (while doing laundry, packing, and finishing up four hundred last minute details) before leaving for a trip – I try to prep the food so that all we have to do is warm it up, grab it, and go. Phew! It’s a lot of work. But it’s worth it for the money it saves and the gut issues it helps us avoid. :)
Please share your ideas for healthy foods you pack to take on the road while you’re traveling. Also, have you found some good foods to make in a hotel room? Please share!
by Laura 24 Comments
I know it’s not entirely true, but I feel like I have been away from home for the entire month of March.
Asa had a basketball tournament the first weekend of the month. We were home for a few days, then we went to Branson and were gone for six days. The end of this week we are going to Kansas City for LTC. Phew! It’s hard to get ahead when you can’t even catch up. And it’s hard to catch up when you’re not even home. And it’s hard to be home when…well, when you are traveling. (Profound.)
Anyway, Saturday I was home. Yay for me! I had big kitchen plans. I decided that I wasn’t going to go anywhere all day, that I certainly wasn’t going to change out of my sweat pants, and that I would get caught up on some work, and spend several hours cooking. I’m so glad I did! I got my email inbox down to 82 (It had made its way up to well over 200 last week) and spent four hours cooking and baking. I now have some healthy convenience foods in the freezer, as well as several snack items that might just last two whole days around here.
First, I mixed up a double batch of Whole Wheat Butterhorns. While the dough was rising, I got my food processor whirling as I made three batches of Homemade Peanut Butter.
I put two jars of peanut butter into the fridge to have ready for later. Then I used one batch to make Healthier Rice Crispy Treats and Mudballs (thinking of my awesome cousin Jayme the whole time, since she’s the one who gave me that recipe).
I should also mention that the day before, I had made 80 Chicken Fried Steak Strips.
I had the boys help me take them off the cookie sheets and put them into freezer bags for
easy meals in the future. I love getting that mess out of the way in big batches!
I then made two dozen eggs worth of Easy Breakfast Casserole. I put the 9×13 dish in the freezer to thaw and bake another day. I baked the two round dishes for our lunch.
While they were baking, I began shaping 64 Butterhorns. I baked several to go with our egg casseroles for lunch – yum! – then shaped and froze the remaining butterhorns. I love having these in the freezer to pull out, thaw, and bake when I need them for company!
I froze the shaped rolls on cookie sheets,
then popped them off the next day and put them into freezer bags.
Last, I made a double batch of Homemade Poptarts. We ate some of them for breakfast on Sunday morning, and the rest went into the freezer. These are so good when warmed in the toaster oven, served with fruit and a glass of milk!
I should also mention that I roasted two chickens and made broth for the freezer. It’s always great to have homemade chicken broth on hand!
As you can imagine, my wheat grinder, oven, and dishwasher got quite a workout that day! And I slept really well that night. :)
What’s your favorite food to have on hand for snacks or easy meals?