Here are a couple great ways to make your baking better for you when making breads and muffins.  Most recipes call for all-purpose flour.  You can easily substitute whole-wheat flour.  If you’re not sure if you’ll like the change, first substitute whole-wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour in the recipe.  The next time you make the recipe, substitute a little more than half.  In some recipes I use all whole-wheat flour, completely eliminating all-purpose flour.  Oatmeal cookies are a good example.

You can often cut down on the sugar in a recipe without even noticing the difference.  Try using a little than the recipe calls for.  See if you can taste the difference.  If you like it with the change, next time try using even less. 

Try using unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil in your muffins/bread.  This will cut out a lot of the fat!  Another idea is to use extra virgin olive oil that is made specifically for baking.  Look at the labels next time you’re in the store.  Using EVOO will provide you with the healthy fats. 

Remember to note on your recipe what changes you made and what you thought of them!   That way you’ll know what to do the next time you make that recipe.  Here’s to healthy baking!

equal parts vinegar and water

Sprayed it on my mirrors, wiped with a cloth (she did emphasize to be sure to wipe until completely dry), and voila! clean, streak-free mirrors!  I also tried it on my patio doors, which are always streaky.  Streaky to the point that I sometimes look at them and think, “Hmmm…the dirt, fingerprints, noseprints, and soapy mess from the kids blowing bubbles and making “bubble-handprints” on the glass might actually look better than the streaks that will be there if I clean them!”  So, I cleaned both sides of the glass and was so impressed that the windows were clean and streak-free!  So, I’ve probably spent $20 on various bottles of commercial non-toxic window cleaners, and here was the perfect solution - vinegar and water - sitting in my cabinet.  Cheap and does the job.  Larissa also said she uses this as an all-purpose cleaner - for countertops, the kitchen table, etc. 

You may want to add a few drops of liquid detergent the first few times you use this solution.  It cuts the wax residue from past use of commercial products.

If you’d like more recipes for safe cleaning products, go to the care2 website via this link: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Happy, safe cleaning!

This is the perfect time of year to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!  If it’s windy, take the kids outside to fly a kite.  If it’s rainy, go jump in puddles.  If it’s sunny and gorgeous, pack up a picnic lunch, grab a blanket and go picnic outside.  If you don’t have any parks nearby or don’t want to drive to one, picnic in your own backyard.  It’ll be a glorious change from the daily meals at the kitchen table.  If it’s hot in your hometown, maybe it’s already time to jump in the pool!  Whatever the weather is at your home today, find a way to enjoy it with the kids!

An easy, yummy meal that my kids loved!  For the sailboat, the “boat” is a piece of red pepper.  Yellow pepper would be tasty, too.  For the tuna, use whatever recipe your family loves.  We added some chopped cucumber this time - gave it a nice fresh taste!  The sail is a triangle cut from a pita pocket that we toasted in the toaster oven.  The kids thought these were great!  They ate their sails, then picked up the boat to eat the rest. 

The salad is: lettuce, berries (we had strawberries and blueberries, but you can use any berries), mandarin oranges, Goldfish crackers and a simple homemade dressing: orange juice, a little olive oil, honey mustard, a tiny bit of sugar and a pinch of salt.   Yum!

A healthy, tasty dinner that the kids gobbled up - that’s the best kind!

Tomato soup & grilled cheese
Breakfast for dinner (i.e., eggs and waffles; french toast and fruit)
BLTs
Easy chicken parmesan (breaded chicken patty, topped w/ prepared spaghetti sauce and
shredded mozzarella cheese)
Tuna melt
Egg in a hole (Butter both sides of a piece of bread. Use a small cup to make a hole in the center of the bread. Let your child eat his/her “hole” - quite possibly my kids’ favorite part! Put the bread in a hot frying pan. Crack an egg into the hole. Pierce the yoke. Let start to set up. Flip. Done! Mine like it served with ketchup, even though they’d never otherwise eat ketchup on eggs!)

Having this list helps me to easily come up with something quick to make that I might have otherwise forgotten about. Happy dinners to all!