As part of my meal planning, I try to make at least one meal over the weekend or early in the week that will leave us with significant leftovers to eat as breakfasts and lunches throughout the rest of the week. Sometimes it’s a soup (like THIS), sometimes it’s a casserole (like THIS), sometimes it’s a stir fry or curry (like THIS or THIS), and sometimes it’s something else entirely.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Get Rid of Excess Furniture
This may seem like an odd way to simplify. You may look at this post and think, excess furniture, who has excess furniture? But as we’re going through and [very slowly] paring down things in our house, I’ve realized that even in a rather small house, you can have furniture that you don’t use or need.
If you’re not using a piece of furniture, why not pass it along to someone who will use it?… Continue reading
Simple, No-Bake Sesame Snack Bars
My husband works from home, and is frequently looking for a quick, healthy, snack that he can grab and bring back out to his office. He wanted something that tastes great. I wanted something that’s healthy, nourishing, and without too many sugars – natural or otherwise.
These simple bars accomplish both goals. With their light sesame taste, they reminded me of a lightly sweetened, less-intense version of halva.… Continue reading
Homemade Citrus Spice Air Freshener
I love diffusing the scent of Thieves oil mixed with a citrus oil. It’s a combination of spicy fall scents and fresh citrus scents that I find intoxicating.
The other day when I walked into my son’s room, it smelled musty. I decided to whip up a batch of Homemade Spicy Citrus Air Freshener in order to help clean the air a bit.… Continue reading
Braised Greens with Cranberries
Dark leafy greens are so wonderfully healthy that I try hard to incorporate a good amount of greens into our daily diet. I find myself adding them to just about everything: smoothies, eggs, ice pops, fruit leather, stir fries, casseroles, and so on. But sometimes greens deserve the spotlight all on their own, especially when they’re in season and especially delicious.… Continue reading
Thought for the Day: Salzberg
Today, let’s slow down and pay attention.… Continue reading
Gender Stereotyping in Boys Clothing
My boys wear used clothing almost exclusively. I haven’t bought them any new outfits; the only new items I’ve bought are underwear, socks, and shoes. Everything else they wear now or have worn is either used or has been a gift. We’ve been fortunate enough to receive a great many clothes as hand-me-downs from family and friends. My boys have also received, especially when they were babies, gifts of new clothes.… Continue reading
Grain-Free, Fruit-Sweetened Cinnamon Apple Cake
Yesterday my 6-year-old realized that he could read the word “cake.” (Yes, we’re still at the point where he’s very excited whenever he can read a new word.) He asked if we could make a cake to celebrate. How can I say no to that?
So I pulled out a recipe that I enjoyed a while back from Elana’s Pantry, and modified it a bit, including changing the sweetener to dates in place of the agave.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Meal Planning Master List
Meal planning, especially for your main meal of the day, is a great way to simplify your life. Pre-planning what you’re going to make for this main meal – for us it’s dinner – makes it so you can simply prepare the food instead of also having to figure out what to make when it’s time to cook.
This not only helps evenings to flow smoother by not having to decide what to cook at the last minute (or needing to defrost ingredients quickly), it also helps you to ensure that you have all of the items you need to prepare a particular meal on hand because you knew you were going to make it in advance.… Continue reading
No Bake Healthy Carob Fudge (Vegan, Paleo, GAPS)
I was recently looking for a variation on the typical fruit and nut bars we keep around for quick afternoon treats. I remembered making this recipe that I last made years ago, and decided to pull it out again to see how my boys liked it. They both loved it, and it’ll likely make its way into our regular rotation again.… Continue reading