My friend Bethany introduced me to a wonderful recipe for a ‘perfect for fall’ pumpkin spice latte!  I tried it out today and absolutely loved it!  So of course, I had to share.   It’s quick and easy! Ingredients: 2 cups milk2 tablespoons canned pumpkin2 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice1 cup of strong brewed coffee In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar.  Cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pumpkin spice. Next, whisk the mixture very well until foamy. Transfer mixture into mug, filling only half the cup, and top the rest with coffee.  Top with whipping…

I made my own baby food!   And it was really easy!!  I always thought making your own baby food was this super-intensive process that I could never do…   I made green beans and sweet potato puree for my sweet Selah and a little bit goes a long way!  One sweet potato yielded 30 tablespoons (and about 15 servings) at the exorbitant cost of …  .06 a serving.  Green beans were slightly more expensive – about .10 a serving.  Woohoo!  And sweet Selah LOVED the green beans!!  (She hasn’t tried the sweet potatoes yet…) And they were super simple to make!  I steamed the green beans and cooked the…

I just had to post the chocolate pudding recipe I tried out this weekend.  It’s really good!  The chocolate taste is a little different from Jello but it’s still good!  And it’s natural! =)The arrowroot powder is definitely a different ingredient, but I really like it!  It’s what gives the pudding its viscosity.  It just doesn’t seem like pudding without it to me.  I found my jar at Sprouts. Chocolate Creamy Pudding from Heavenly Homemakers 2 1/2 cups milk3 egg yolks2/3 cup rapadura or 1/2 cup real maple syrup (I used brown sugar)1/4 cup cocoa powder4 T. arrowroot powder (can subsitute 2T cornstarch but the arrowroot powder makes it so…

Bye-bye Hershey’s syrup, Hello chocolate syrup from scratch!  Easy & yummy!!I washed out an empty Hershey’s bottle and used it for mine. ½ cup cocoa powder1 cup water2 cups sugar⅛ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon vanilla Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Be careful not to let it get too hot and boil over! Add the salt and the vanilla. Let cool. Pour into a clean glass jar, and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months, but trust me it will be gone before then. Yields…

Yes, I think it’s time to say farewell to Oreos.  And, really, it’s ok.  I wanted to write an ode in honor but couldn’t quite bring myself to tackle iambic pentameter tonight.  Another time. See, I really did love Oreos.  I would eagerly wait for the first Monday of each month to get my coupon for free Oreos off of Facebook.  I would even print an extra for my dad and mail it to him, because he loves Oreos even more than I do.  did. But since I’ve made my Outrageous Chocolate Chip cookies (see my last post for the recipe), processed, high fructose corn syrup-containing oreos just can’t hold…

On a lighter note from my last post, I made cookies last night.  They turned out so fantastic that I had to share the recipe with you.  Enjoy!Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies from allrecipes.com with a few modifications by meIngredients1/2c white sugar1/3c packed brown sugar1/2c butter (the real stuff)1/2c peanut butter (all natural is best!)1 egg1c whole wheat flour1/2 cup rolled oats1t backing soda1/4t salt1c semisweet chocolate chips Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Bake 10-12 min.  Watch them quickly disappear and wish that you’d made a double batch.

I promised to keep you updated on our eating changes…and I think it’s time for one!  Chris and I were taking stock last night of some things we’ve changed, how we’re feeling, and other things we’d LIKE to change.A few things we have changed: Margarine – No more margarine for us!  We’re using the real thing, baby.  HFCS – I’m working towards eliminating high fructose corn syrup.  except for maybe Oreos.  I was horrified to discover HFCS in my yogurt this morning.  Guess I need another brand. Eggs & milk:  I’m getting cage free, omega 3 eggs now instead of just the cheapest ones.  I’m also buying whole milk for…

We’ve had an adventure-full day!  We began at Lowe’s, studying the soil bags and trying to figure out what we needed to do.  We eventually bought 10 bags of organic Miracle Gro and 2 bags of vermiculite.  We also got some seeds (cucumber, beans, peas, and pumpkins) and some 2×4’s for the sides.  2 strawberry pots that were on clearance also jumped into our cart – I’ll share when and if we figure out how to germinate the seeds.  A quick stop at Marshall Grain Company yielded us a bag of molasses, and we proceeded home to where our muscle men were digging a hole.  We quickly ran into clay.…

I made my first grocery trip in a while last night and came home with more fresh produce than ever before!  (Kind of sad, I know, but hey!).  I also read a lot of labels – did you know that Walmart brand mayo has high fructose corn syrup but the Kraft brand doesn’t?  I know now!  I was happy to use $8 or so worth of coupons and still came in under budget!    I have plans to try a few simple recipes this week and enjoy our fresh produce!   I also picked up some Truvia to try and some whole wheat flour for baking. I’ve been praying about…

I’ve been receiving and forwarding a number of different links this week that I think are really helpful.  I’ll post them here for you to take a look at as you’re interested, and so I can keep them in one place! For garden planning:Fall Direct Seeding Guide – A&M gives a great guide of when to plant!GrowVeg – The White House uses this to plan their gardens and it seems very helpful on our scale!Thanks for the great research Cara! For parenting:Ricky Chelette from Living Hope Ministries taught at Antioch recently on raising gender healthy kids.  He did sessions on boys, girls, and practicals.  Here is the link to the free download.…