Welcome my Challenge accepting friends!!! 😬
Let's do this!! I've never designed my own challenge , and I'm not much of a "plan ahead-organized-super detailed" type being it's usually fairly busy around here! So,basically ,I'm just going to design this as I go and tailor it as I figure out more specifics on what each of you are looking for. Myself, I'm continuing my usual Clean eating style but kicking it up a notch and increasing my focus and exercise commitment in order to tone up and add muscle. Weight loss is not a concern for me personally,but if that is your personal goal, I am fairly confident that if you follow through on even the simple suggestions I'm giving, it WILL happen!!!
The following  are just some basic ideas of what you should focus on eating for meals, and as we go along I will post some detailed recipes &tricks. By far the most important change to make is
to CUT OUT processed SUGAR & CARBS!!! (Along with sugar filled drinks!)Not ALL carbs, just the highly processed and unnatural carbs. I do not count carbs, calories or fat grams... I just eat REAL foods in regular moderate portions.
So for this week as you make some adjustments here are some basic ideas of what you may want to eat. If you are a planner, use the week to pre-make meals and snacks and store them for the week. Many are so simple they can be made on the spot according to that days taste buds!

BREAKFAST:
-"Healthified" baked goods (look at my previous blog posts to find recipes of my favorite Grain free and low sugar ideas! There is also an entire blog on my "baking essentials" I use when making muffins/cookies/breads etc. do NOT use store bought,premade baked goods!)
- Apple slices topped with Nut or seed butter and perhaps a sprinkle of chia or other seeds, dash of cinnamon...be creative! (be sure to use only NATURAL no Sugar added  Nut/seed butters-Organic is best! Be label conscious!!! Popular brands sell versions now labeled "natural" but are still sweetened and processed.) The ingredients should only read: Peanuts / Almonds/ Sunflower seeds and perhaps salt and/or oil at the very most. Nothing else!
-Banana-Egg PANCAKES (literally just mashed banana and egg. Try 2 eggs, 1banana- mix well and cook same as a pancake. Add in a plant based protein powder if you like and top with nut butter or a small scoop of Plain Greek or homemade yogurt and fresh fruit, cinnamon, unsweetened coconut...)
-Yogurt. (I do try to limit my dairy intake, but do not omit it all together. Stick to PLAIN unsweetened yogurts. Homemade rivals all! I have a simple basic yogurt maker that makes this easy, but plain Greek yogurt is a decent option and higher in protein than regular yogurt. If you are stuck on sweetened flavors, try adding a tap Vanilla with a tsp Pure Maple syrup. Mashed Banana is great too and sweetness it a lot! Mix in some seeds or nuts, fresh fruit etc...
-2 Eggs any which way (cook them up in coconut oil for extra health boost!) and top/pair with sliced avacado, chopped veggies, some Organic chicken bkfst sausage....)
-Toast w/nut butter or Sliced avocado,salt&pepper  (IF you can't do without bread, try to move over to at least a sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel bread, or a healthy GF bread. Note: just because something is GF doesn't mean it's healthy. You want one with whole GF grains and low sugar, no chemicals. Or a Paleo bread)
-Chia pudding (you can find recipe in a previous blog)
-Overnight oats or Fresh cooked GF/Steel cut Oats (oats should be plain, unflavored and unsweetned. Add flavor by adding in chopped banana or apples, nuts, cinnamon, pure maple syrup, dark chocolate-chips....)

LUNCH/DINNER:
 -I like to keep around some pre-cooked easy make proteins like Organic chicken sausages, Additive free cold cuts and plain roasted chicken strips. Or you can peepare  your own and store them for the week. Boiled eggs, tuna (be careful to find tuna that only contains tuna,water and sea salt- not broth and additives), 100% grass fed beef (label must say 100%), Ground chicken, ground turkey, Fish.
-Vegatables are great to make ahead and when you can grab them so easily, you are more likely to eat them! Roast big batches with just a bit of Olive or coconut oil and some sea salt. Easy to add a scoop to every meal!
-Bake a bunch of sweet potatoes up and leave them in the fridge to be topped/filled with Over easy egg or ground meat, or "taco" toppings, even salad! It's delic!!!
-Tuna/chicken or Egg salad. Flavor it up creatively by adding in chopped/diced celery,apples,grapes,berries,carrot,cucumber,olives,peas,peppers,handful of pecans,walnuts,almonds...sprinkle in raw hemp seeds or Sunflower seeds.I do use an Organic Mayo, but because I try to limit soy, I use it very sparingly and replace some of it with mashed avocado and even a bit of Greek yogurt. I eat it stuffed into hollowed out cucumbers, or lettuce wraps, over a simple salad with oil and vinegar, or scooped up with GF crackers. Try scoops of chicken salad spread on apple slices...delic!!
-Cook up some ground meat however you fancy (usually we do Mexican style seasoning it with cumin,chili powder,etc...)and use it to fill Zuchinni boats (cut Zuchinni long way in half and hollow out the center, bake them like you would a potato) , or fill peppers, or make lettuce wrap tacos!
-Fish makes great tacos either wrapped up in lettuce or if you need that real taco , then a non gmo corn tortilla or shell is fine in moderation in my book,though I do try my best to limit it. (I'm no expert-just being realistic here)
        *For side dishes to pair with your proteins opt for alternate GF grains if you aren't Grain free, like Quinoa, Teff, Wild Rice... I do use Organic Brown rice in moderation.
        *For pasta lovers, try using a Bean Pasta, or a GF NON GMO Quinoa/rice blend OR EVEN BETTER, try making "zoodles" by spiralizing or just making thin pasta like strips of Zuchinni- sautéed in a pan with S&P and top with your fav healthy sauce! Another faux pasta option is Spaghetti squash! Great paired with homemade meatballs. You can even make Lasagna using thin sliced Zuchinni  in place of noodles!!
        *For sauces and toppings to flavor your dishes with try fresh salsa, homemade Gaucomole, Homemade pesto, melt some grass fed butter with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs, Homemade or Organic tomato sauce with no additives.Dress salads with Oil and Vinegar or a healthy homemade dressing.
       As time goes on I will try to share recipes for some easy to make dressings and sauces and more bmy "healthified" baked goods and snack ideas. I like to keep extra dark chocolate in my freezer and break off a piece  to eat along with a clementine or Orange and my nightly tea. I do also keep organic Sweet potato chips, freeze dried fruit, nuts,seeds,Non GMO corn chips and similar items in the snack cabinet. You can find a previous blog on how to make your own LARA bars which are great when made in small snack size paired with tea or coffee! I'll post lots more healthy ideas soon!!! Keep reading and also please let me know what you are looking for, how I can better help etc.... email me at uniquelybusymom@gmail.com LETS DO THIS!! Use this week to prepare your meal ideas, cut out the bad food, cut the sugar!!! And if you are going to cheat or indulge in a dessert or a "drink" try to limit it to the weekend and in moderation.

Grain free-refined sugar free Cinnamon Apple Butter cupcakes with whipped frosting

Sorry for the delay! I was having trouble accessing my blog and still haven't been successful in adding the photos I wanted, but at the very least,for now, here is the recipe. This recipe is honestly THE best grain free dessert I've ever made and/or eaten if I do say so myself! 👌😆 It started as a basic regular Pinterest cupcake recipe I'd saved,and then I went ahead and made my personal changes in flours, sweeteners, and my secret ingredient,or shall i say special ingredient since it's now no longer a secret! 😬 The recipe calls for apple butter and I'm sure that store bought would work just as well, but,I  use my homemade crockpot apple sauce which really more closely resembles a chunky apple butter. Best of all it's 100% natural with no sweeteners added. Just peeled ,diced ,fresh picked apples, hefty amount of cinnamon and a pinch of  cloves& nutmeg , along with some chia seeds for extra health boost.... slow cooked for hours until a wonderful apple sauce/butter is left. I store it in the fridge in mason jars for whenever I need a dessert filling, topping or spread.
      Sooooo.... that's a bonus recipe, now onto the actual requested recipe that I use to make these cupcakes Grain free,refined sugar free and with a  nice consistency& texture. Plus, they're healthy!! Now these are not dairy free,however,feel free to try swapping the butter for a dairy free alternative if you have one. Often mashed Avacado or Coconut oil can replace butter,however I love these so much I haven't dared to stray. I have used Ghee which although Butter, it is clarified and during the process it ends up with nearly  no casein so is often a suitable option for those trying to limit such. So it's your call! The "frosting" is a heavy whipped dairy topping so again you can choose to omit the topping or perhaps try a coconut cream topping instead. But, the recipe as I make it is exactly as follows:

-1cup Flour (I use about 3/4cup combo of almond and cashew flour and the remaining 1/4 Tapioca            flour.  The  tapioca will give it a moist spongy cake consistency so i def recommend sticking with that!)
-1/4cup Butter softened (I use grass fed or Ghee)
-1/2 cup Coconut Sugar (if you prefer less sweet try 1/3cup- if doubling the recipe i lessen it to 3/4 cup)
-1 egg
-1/2tsp vanilla
-1/2tsp Cinnamon (I don't even measure and using more is fine!)
-1/2tsp baking powder
-1/2tsp baking Soda
-1/4tsp salt
-1/2cup Cinnamon Apple Butter (or in my case my special ingredient to which I attribute the flavor and sweetness- my crock pot chunky Cinnamon apple sauce/butter)
  *Mix well until it's super smooth and well whipped. Pour into lined cupcake tray and bake at 350 until knife comes out clean from center. This recipe makes about 6 large cupcakes. I often dbl it because they go incredibly fast!
Now,these make great muffins if eaten this way without any topping at all. But if it's a sweeter dessert type thing you are after then my easy peasy  frosting is as follows:

1pgk Cream chz (I usually try to find Organic Neufchâtel, but any regular cream cheese works!)
1pint Organic Heavy or Whipping Cream
*toss both right into stand mixer and beat together until it starts to thicken.... then add in your sweetener  (typically I use 1packet of Organic Stevia OR a couple pinches of Organic Powdered sugar. Just make it "to-taste" as you prefer or omit all together)
And whip it a bit more till thick enough to be spreadable. (It will firm up even more when refrigerated.

Once your cupcakes have fully cooled (very important as the frosting melts easily!) slither on some whipped cream chz frosting and enjoy!!! 👌😛

HOMEMADE HEALTHIFIED FRAPPUCINO

Ok...so sorry for the delay in getting this up here,but here we go, homemade healthified frappucinos are within your reach.😁 Its way easier than one might think. Im sure there are multiple ways to create them, but here is what I did.
    It started with me freezing some coffee into cubes using an ice tray. This is actually a trick to making Iced coffee that isnt watered down...you use coffee ice cubes. So, I had a bag of coffee cubes in my freezer already and had been craving a Mocha Frapp all day but was trying be good and cut back on sugar and also the budget.😉 So....it occured to me that Frozen coffee was the main ingredient and I went from there. I tossed about 4-5 coffee cubes into blender, and then a mix of plain unsweetened cashew milk and just a very small amout of chocolate almond milk. The chocolate Almond milk is sweetened so therefore I put very little. It was just enough to add some "mocha" flavor! I loooove the Frapps that have things crumbled in them like brownies or coconut or chocolate chip....but being GF and low sugar now I dont indulge much anymore. Well, I just tossed one of my GFCFSF brownies (see my previous instagram post abt these)
 I had stored in my freezer into the blender with the coffee cubes and milk and blended all togther! In less than 5min I had myself a gluten free,dairy free,very low sugar yet deeeeeeeelicious Mocha brownie crumble frappucino!!!!
   Im addicted now. I just finished my Frapp creation of today....this time no brownie, instead I tossed in unsweetened coconut and a few organic dark choco-chips. Get creative according to your taste buds and feel better about drinking it knowing that you control exactly what goes into it! No chemicals, artificial flavors, refined sugars or processed junk.  ENJOY!!!

Lemon Chia Scones

I came across a recipe for clean eating scones on pinterest and then simply adapted/changed it up a bit to make it gluten/grain free and refined sugar free. The recipe as I use it as follows:

1TBS. Fresh Lemon zest

3TBS. Coconut nectar (I also threw in just a small spoonful of coconut palm sugar.) Feel free to use whatever sweetner or sugar you prefer

2TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice

4tsp Chia seeds (although I added in more!)

1/2tsp. Salt

1tsp. Pure Vanilla extract

1 1/2 Cups flour (for me this was Cashew flour to make them completely grain free. If you are only going for gluten free you can swap it for your GF flour or combo of flours of choice. Rice, Millet, Quinoa,etc...)

2TBS. grass fed butter (I havent tried yet, but butter alternatives would probably work such as non dairy butter, coconut oil, or mashed avacado)

1/2cup Plain unsweetened Greek yogurt. (Again I havent tried, but other dairy free yogurts should work, or goats milk yogurt)

*set aside 2tsp Milk (I used cashew milk) to brush the tops of scones before baking .

-of your batter is thick/dry enough to split into scone shapes ahead of time go ahead and place onto baking dish atop parchment paper. If it seems to wet/gooey, simply place batter on parchment lined baking dish in one big pile and then cut them afterwards.)

Bake at 425° until tops are browned and the centers seem done. Cool and enjoy.

Camping Weekend was a huge success! The weather was like Hot,Sunny Summer everyday...just perfect for lake swimming, stream splashing and drip drying in the sun. Hot sunny days mean the cooler nightime temps are just right for sleeping with just one layer of PJ'S and a cozy blanket,and it means you wont freeze during the dreaded middle of the night port-o-potty trip. If youve never been camping, especially with a family,I can tell you,it is a LOT of work for a weekend,but,I can also tell you that it is well worth the work and makes memories the kids will have for years and years to come. This trip we had both family and a large group of friends with children tag along. It made for bunches of super duper happy,busy kids who were entertained so simply right up until bedtime the entire weekend! The majorty of the work involved in Camping is in the preperation,packing and then set up.

After youve successfully set yourself up a nice organized "camp home" it then becomes a very simplified,laid back life for the weekend that follows. I was on a mission to ensure our comfort and maximize our space with some organizational tricks Ive learned over the years from experience as well as pinterest. Our tent seperates into 3 small "rooms" by attaching the included curtain dividers and makes it just right for a Main center area to house our clothes and micellaneous items and have room for changing. The center is full height so its ideal as the changing/living area, whereas either of the side rooms are lower in height and just enough space to comfortably fit a large air mattress. We place all 3 kids on one mattress in their "room", while my husband and I have our room on the other side. We use a folding platform made specifically for air mattresses which lifts it up off the ground much like a bed at home. I actually prefer to bring along actual comforters and blankets and sheets versus individual sleeping bags. It feels more like home, and I was never a fan of being zipped inside a small bag anyhow! 😄

When it comes to keeping thing organized and fairly clean....within reason,this is camping afterall,there is no CLEAN as you know it, but there is a level of "camp clean" as we say! 😂 Ive learned through our years of camping that while suitcases are great for travel,they arent ideal for tent use. They sit on the floor,close to moisture, clothes never ever stay in them the way they arrived which means clothing gets stepped on, mixed up,wet and lost. I LOVE our plastic rolling drawers!!(Pictured above) They are basically portable dressers! They take up extra car space,but are so worth the extra cramming. They keep clothes off the ground,dry,easily accessible and well organized just like at home. Theyre found easily and affordably at Target in various sizes and shapes. I also always make sure to bring along a couple of mesh laundry sacks (easily found at Dollar tree) and attach them to the curtain divider tabs using shower curtain rings, one in each bedroom area. This keeps all the dirty laundry seperated from the clean,contained in one spot,off the ground and when we go home its easy to transport right inside to the washing machine without ever mixing in with the clean stuff.  I also used my shower curtain clips to hang a small cheap organizer similar to a shoe organizer you would hang on the back of a door,and used it to hold micellaneous items such as extra batteries,tissues, hand sanitizers,bug spray,sun lotion, wet wipes,flash Lights,etc. All of these micellaneous items were packed and transported inside a giant plastic tub with a lid along with our affordable camp game supplies like glow sticks,sparklers, head-strap lights,and art supplies. I purchased pretty much everything from our local Dollar tree! I even found the cutest little items to help jazz up our humble camp abode a bit. I found these great little Solar powered lights that stick right into the ground. They're made for lighting walkways or gardens,and made for a great way to light the way to the front of our tent and mark were the stakes were to avoid tripping. For $1 a piece you cant go wrong! I even added some adorable decorative string lights wrapped around each side Of our front door. Theyre battery powered by just AA batteries so they're easy to switch on in the evening and just add a cute little "homey" feel as well as clearly marking our way to the front door in the dark. Another simple but very helpful trick is to bring along some sort of basket/laundry bin type thing to place right outside your camp door to house dirty shoes upon exiting and that way they're right there as you exit. In the past we would always wind up with dirty shoes scattered inside the tent or if they did get removed they would end up scattered and seperated outdoors or even stuck under the tent. Placing our little laundry basket on top of a little entry mat in front of the door is an easy way to remind the kids to slip off their shoes before entering and keeps them safely in a pair where they can slip them back on before hitting the dirt again! 

One of my most favorite pinterest finds was our nightlight. You take a gallon jug of water and one head-strap light, strap the headlight aroud the jug with the light aiming into the water,turn it on and it creates the perfect amount of glowing light within the tent to keep the kids from being scared and allow you move about without tripping while not shining brightly in your eyes or keeping anyone awake. I set ours up dead center of our tent on a short little folding side table,but on the ground works just as well. 

Probably equal in love is my tidy personal potty stall I set up for the kiddos! Its one thing for me to hold my breath and quickly brave the portolet,but its a whole other thing to attempt to cover the seat in rolls of paper and then hold a child on the seat while squatting in front of them at a very unfavorable level😝😝while crammed in a tiny hot claustrophobic space and remind them not to touch anything over and over! 😲 Sooooo....I designed the perfect solution. I came across a pop up changing station meant to be used for changing at the Beach. It comes folded into a small carry tote and instantly pops up into an adult height stall that can be pinned to the ground and has a large zippering door. I simply set up our travel potty inside which also unfolds and uses regular old plastic grocery sized bags. I place wipes, tissue and hand cleaner right next to it and Voila! Instant portolet that is about as clean as they come! 😊

So thats the basics of our Camp home set up. Once thats all set its onto the fun! 

For the most part the fun is made with nothing  but nature amd imagination,no supplies required! But, we did bring along a few simple favorites. Camp art is always fun, and is made by bringing along some cheap paints and brushes. Our canvases are found by collecting rocks. My daughter loves doing this and then bringing the painted rocks home to place in our garden.

 

Another Fun activity required nothing other than some rolls of cute designer tape found again at Dollar tree and some good ol'sticks. The kids used the tape to decorate their own personal walking sticks to hike the camogrounds with.

A really fun group activity that we saved for the very last day because it kept them busy during the packing up process is a simple nature hunt! I had brought along simple brown paper bags and written a checklist of items on them. I handed them out and Sent them off to find natures hidden treasures!

Theres also a fun game of balloon Badminton using some plastic fly swatters and a balloon....so simple and yet so fun! 

A few other fun and simple things we always do are glow sticks,sparklers,smore making,but,this year I expanded on those basics a bit as well. Glow sticks can become a really fun game of Night time ring toss or bowling by wrapping a glow stick around a stick in the ground and then tossing circular glow sticks at it, or fill your empty water bottles with glow sticks and use them as bowling pins. For Smores this time we used ice cream cones stuffed with mini marshmallows,chocolates of choice (be creative and think reeses,mints,etc) and even dried fruit,wrapped them in foil and let them slowly melt for a bit. I suggest turning them often however to avoid a burnt side on your cone. 

Foil Packet cooking was my thing this year and I even did bbq ribs inside a foil packet!!! They turned out delicious! I simply placed 2ribs per packet,covered in sauce,wrapped them up and placed right next to the flaming fire in the hot coals. 

 

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the adorable gang of kiddos all creating their own fun together,racing across the sand into the lake swimming area, splashing around in the stream area that feeds the lake, collecting bugs and spending countless hours just hanging out on the floating wooden docks scooping up frogs and fish with a cheap little net. They were soaked,mud covered, and happy as could be!

And THAT is what camping is all about! 😁

Healthy dinner X 5, on a budget!

   Feeding a hungry family of 5, while following the dietary restrictions of 2, as well as pleasing the picky palate of 2 others, while keeping it simple yet healthy AND affordable can seem difficult. I dont have time to be cooking seperate meals for individual diet needs and tastes,nor the budget to be purchasing all specialty store healthfood ingredients all the time. When I say we are a hungry family of 5, I am not exaggerating....we go through food like....well....just ridiculously fast...I cant think of a fitting analogy at the moment! 😂😂My kids can out eat a grown adult easily....and then you add in the two of us who ARE grown adults and there goes the food.😫  On top of that I need to make sure mine is gluten free while my oldest daughters is gluten,dairy and sugar free...and as free of additives as possible....and then also get my younger two to actually eat it.  It sounds more difficult than it actually is these days though,as Ive pretty much gotten the hang of it! As always,I do my best to keep it healthy while also realizing I need to be balanced and just do the best I can for our personal circumstances.
    So...the above photo is a perfect example of what this looks like for us. I started with a package of premade-fully cooked,frozen GF chicken patties that happened to be on sale for a very good price at our local Shop Rite that week!! Major score! Obviously it isnt the ultimate health food, but at the very least they were GF,Non GMO and preservative/hormone free. So, theres the "balance" I feel OK with. Next,I always have a bag of salad mix or greens along with a bag of eiher broccoli slaw mix or chopped rainbow salad mix on hand. Theyre inexpensove and I can get a couple of meal sized salads out of them.Obviously to be even cheaper you can chop your own head of lettuce and keep it in a ziploc. I often do this during the .99 lettuce sale! While the chicken patties were in the oven I quickly dumped a bunch of my salad mixes into a lage bowl,and grabbed whatever additional salad toppings I had. This time that was some cherry tomatoes& avacado which I typically buy fresh each week on grocery day, and I added in some green peas as well which were frozen. I always,always have a back up stash of frozen veggies since theyre readily on sale (.99a bag) and still a healthier option than junk food! After the chicken was done, I sliced up a few of the patties atop the salad. Now, my husband and I ate ours exactly as pictured,salad with the works topped with a drizzle of balsamic dressing. However, the other 3 had other plans...but no problem, I can work with them within reason without creating extra work for myself. I used the chicken as the base for all of us and went from there. That was the "No-Negotiating" item! For my oldest who still uses her hands to eat (utensil use is still a work in progress),and with her dietary restrictions, I just simply chopped her chicken patty up along with some of the avacado,tomato and peas from the salad. My middle daughter just wasnt in the "salad mood" appearantly and so her chicken patty,tomato,lettuce and avacado went onto some toast along with a slice of cheese...still the same protein and some veggies,but with compromise. 😉 Then onto my son,the youngest and pickiest of the crew.He NEVER eats salad...ever! But, he loves chicken and surprisingly he also loves peas!!  So, the compromise for him was to serve his chicken patty atop a bowl of brown rice (again,I went with the frozen,easy heat kind this time.) as an extra and affordable "filler upper" 😉 and his favorite veggie of choice,peas! Thats that..... One main dish that fit everyones needs and tastes with just a few slight alterations for each. Happy kids who cleaned their plates and happy well fed parents with them. 😊 Its all about the balance and compromise and a bit of convenience thrown in too! 😉
   In general I stick to this same idea for most meals. I always make some sort of main food that suits all and then allow them to work out which vegetable and/side theyll eat it with...within reason. If Ive made something new or something they arent a big fan of, my rule is they have to have a small bit of it,but can pair it with something they do like such as pasta,rice, or ketchup! Never underestimate the power of Ketchup!! I buy Organic with basic ingredients (until I attempt homemade).
To keep to our budget...which if you are curious is Under $200 a week total for 5 of us. By UNDER, I mean as far under as possible! $150 makes my day.😁 Even lower and Im doing a happy dance! I admit I would be a health food fanatic if the  budget had the room,and would probably spend hours daily inside specialty health food markets reading labels and going crazy analyzing every ingredient and only buying fresh and cooking from scratch if I had the time.But, that is NOT my reality and I have better things to do with my time and energy....specifically 3 better things that I save it for specifically! 😊😊😊
    I go with my health "tier" method and work my way down to whichever tier is doable at that time. Example-Produce: -Organic is best -Fresh is still better -Frozen is better than canned- Organic in a can is still better than a twinkie or some Spam!😜
 AND pretty much the same for other foods as well....work my way down. For meats,I will either sacrifice my prreferred cuts in order to buy organic such as thighs and drumsticks instead of breast, or Ill forgo Organic and opt for at least an antibiotic and hormone free version....or 100%grass fed ground beef when on sale and so on.  I keep a stock of frozen veggies for quick sides in a pinch, Organic canned beans, anything similar when on sale. Bags of potatoes,onions and sweet potatoes stay long,can be bought cheap. Pasta is another easy and filling food to have on hand. For us, I need the GF type so I stock up when on sale or from Trader Joes. Pasta can easily be healthfied by adding in chopped veggies,meat and a sprinkle of Hemp seeds. If your kds wont eat the veggies in the pasta you can try chopping them up or even pureeing them and putting them right into meatballs, as well as some hemp or flax seeds. Sauce can hide a lot! The same goes for brown rice, its easy to keep around and filling!Using sides like potatoes,pasta and rice allow me to use better quality proteins and toppings for optimal nutrition and still keep them full. If you arent a big starch fan you can always try some "faux" veggie based versions like Cauliflower rice, Zuchinni noodles,spaghetti squash etc. They require a bit more work,but are still fairly inexpensive and very delicious! And if Picky kids are an issue,just work with them within reason, and find easy ways to use the same base meal and and alter it to keep them all healthy...think salad to sandwich, over rice or pasta, or bring out the ketchup! If I were to choose one healthifying ingredient to always have it would be a toss between my chia seeds or my hemp seeds....they can be spinkled over everything and give a great health boost to any dish with little flavor change so the kids stay happy.
    Hope some of that was helpful...thats how we roll around here. We work with what we got and healthify it as much as we can! Keep it Simple, Keep it healthy...Keep it fun!

Easy Peasy healthified Marshmallows!

Homemade Marshmallows done simple and healthy!!!!

I am always looking for easy ways to to make our own healthified versions of common well loved sweet treats. Marshmallows topped my list! Ive come across many recipes for making your own,but in case you didnt know this about me.....I am a very busy Mama....you may even say Im a Uniquely Busy Mom!! 😂😂

This means that when I see a recipe calling for a candy thermometer I am instantly scared off! Im sure plenty of busy Moms enjoy all that measuring and watching and checking and doing things just right.......Im not that Mom! 😝

So, when I found this recipe I knew it was the one for me!!! ONLY 4 INGREDIENTS!!! I cannot take credit for its genius, I simply discovered it on Pinterest! A Moms best friend for sharing and finding ideas! 😉 

Here is what you need:

-1cup pure Maple Syrup

-2 Egg Whites

-2 Tbs Gelatin (Organic grass fed is best of course,but Im not gonna lie...I used cheap plain Knox gelatin 😜)

-2tsp Pure Vanilla extract

-1/2 Water (Ok so technically this is a 5th ingredient....but who counts water!?)

The process is every bit as simple. Just toss in your Maple syrup,egg whites and vanilla into your stand mixer and let it begin mixing. While its busy mixing put your water and gelatin into small saucepan on stove and heat it just till the gelatin is dissolved.It doesnt take long at all. Once its dissolved,take it over to your mixer which is still going,and gently pour it in. Let the mixer continue for  10 minutes. Thats plenty of time to grab your baking dish and grease it up with some coconut oil and dusting of whatever flour you have. At the 10min mark you turn off the mixer and it will be filled with what looks like Marshmallow Fluff! Just scrape it out and spread into your greased pan,pop into the refridgerator and chill. Its best to do so overnight,but at very least a few hours. Once theyre set,you can go ahead and cut them into squares and enjoy! I store ours in mason jars in the fridge. Taste wise, they will have a subtle maple flavor,which personally we enjoy! You can also get creative and flavor your marshmallows with Cinnamon, or replace the vanilla extract with other flavors like almond, or fruit extract.Im thinking about trying chocolate marshmallows with cocoa powder next! Let me know what you think!!! 😁

PS- We can also confirm that you can indeed use these to make healthified krispie treats with!!