no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars

I keep calling these summer months "Arizona Winter." What I mean, is that these are the months we mostly want to stay inside. It's been an adjustment for me, having grown up with 4 distinct seasons, I always looked forward to the warmth of summer. But now the harsh heat and sunny days keep us mostly cooped up inside and we look forward to the relief the winter will bring. To be honest, I still miss the charms of the seasons, but I'm learning to be thankful for these newly defined seasons we're experiencing.

Anyways, being indoors encourages me to fluff my nest and immerse myself in homemaking (is it being indoors, or is it this little one growing inside of me? not sure!). Today I was craving a sweet breakfast treat, but was feeling reluctant to turn on the oven with the rising temps outside. So I decided to try and create a no-bake version of the bar I was imagining. I only had about 30 minutes before I needed to start working for the day, so I quick whipped this together. I had made similar bars in the passed from other recipes, but had to work with the ingredients I had. These little guys are packed with protein and good stuff but get the husband stamp of approval and will even satisfy the sweet tooth of a 24 week pregnant gal ;)

No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

2 C of oatmeal blended to a flour consistency
1/2 C walnuts chopped
1/4 tsp of salt
2 T of cocoa powder
2 T of shredded coconut
1/2 C natural peanut butter
1/4 C honey
1/4 C coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

First mix all your dry ingredients together in a bowl until well blended. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to create a cookie dough consistency. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment or wax paper and press the mixture flat into the pan. Add another square liner on top and press with a spoon or small rolling pin to flatten. Freeze for at least 1-2 hours and keep stored in the freezer until they are gone!

Banana Smoothie for Breakfast

This summer, I've not only been trying to clean up my eating, but I've also been more intentional about what I put into my body. Because what doesn't go in is just as important as what does!

One thing I knew was missing was a steady source of fiber. I've slowly been adding more vegetables and leafy greens to our diet, but while we are transitioning to that I was still needing a boost. So I decided to try adding flaxseeds to some of the foods I was already eating. And I've found that they are good for so much more! In addition to increasing my daily fiber intake, flaxseeds also provide a healthy dose of natural antioxidants (lignans) and omega-3s (alpha-linolenic acid). And I actually really love the texture they add. You can add it to baked goods, sprinkle on oatmeal or in smoothies or on salads. The possibilities are endless. You don't need a lot, and I don't use more than 1-2 tablespoons per day. I was already making breakfast smoothies on a regular basis, and now I just stir in a little bit of flaxseed at the end!

Banana Smoothie with Flaxseed

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup of milk
3/4 cup of plain yogurt
1-2 teaspoons coconut oil
sprinkle of shredded coconut
dash of cinnamon
drizzle of honey
4-5 ice cubes
1-2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal

I blend all the ingredients except for the flaxseed because I've found that it gets stuck in the blade of the blender. After I pour the smoothie into my glass I just stir in the flaxseed and let it sit for a minute. It's really hard to mess this up and actually some of those measurements I estimated because I never really measure! If I have other fruit on hand I'll put some in for variety. My goal with this drink was to not add extra sugar than was already found naturally in my ingredients if possible. I use plain yogurt and just rely on the banana, honey, cinnamon and coconut for the sweetness, and it does the trick! Yum!

Deodorant Free: Day 7

This photo has nothing to do with deodorant except that I wasn't wearing any at the time! This is just me with precious baby Lillian when she was 1 day old. Love that little peanut and her parents too. Can't wait to watch her grow and teach her to not wear deodorant like her crazy Aunt Mariel.

That's right! I cannot believe I've actually gone over a week without putting on deodorant. This was a huge step for me as I really was a deodorant addict. It was kind of like a security blanket for me. I'd carry it around in my purse and any time I'd feel a little nervous I'd do a quick swipe to freshen up. A habit that, I've come to find out, was not so great.

Last week I got to travel back to Illinois for work. It was an awesome week catching up with beloved coworkers, friends and family. I'm so thankful! The last couple days I was there I got to spend time with Brittany and her family. We had lots of interesting discussions about health, whole foods, natural living and particularly how they all pertain to autism, since that's Britt's area of expertise. One subject that came up was the issue of deodorant. I had heard little bits here and there about how it's maybe harmful but nothing to break my long-time fondness for it. But as we talked about the aluminum in the anti-persperant, and other known carcinogens in deodorant, I became a bit uneasy. Seriously, what actually is this stuff I'm rubbing under my arm everyday? So close to my lymph nodes, breasts and, especially after shaving, exposure to my blood stream. There's so much unknown and many will claim that nothing has been proven. But the more I learn and research, the more convinced I am that in general, simpler is better, as far as what I'm putting in my body. And since I'm in the camp of trying to make effective changes that don't cost us extra money, I decided that forgoing deodorant was some thing I'd at least have to try.

And I've gotta say, I'm actually loving it! Is that weird? Since I work from home I figured that if I really stink, it's not a big deal since I'll only be offending myself. And to be honest, the first two days I was the stinkiest. But I've heard that this can just be a detox time at the beginning when my pores are finally opening up and sweating. Doing what they are made to do – imagine that! Anyways, since then, I haven't noticed much of a smell at all. In fact, I feel like at the end of the day, I used to smell a lot worse when I wore deodorant than now that I'm not. I can hardly believe it!

So to manage the smell, I've tried a couple things so far. I did buy one of those salt stick things you have to wet and rub under your arm. But my favorite solution has been to rub a little but of coconut oil underarm. The lauric acid in coconut oil kills odor-causing bacteria and leaves my skin soft and smooth. I haven't had any trouble with the oil marking my clothes, and best of all, I know exactly what's going on my skin (and of course therefore entering my body). 

I'm so happy with this change and even Paul has tried my coconut oil trick! He teases me because I keep telling everyone about my new habit, but I can't help it because I'm excited to talk about it!

My Makeshift Swiffer

I really can't believe I'm writing a blog post about cleaning the floors. But I am! And it's something I'm excited about! Because I like clean floors, they're so good on bare feet. And I like a good deal, which I think this is :)

So the story goes...

One of the perks of building our house was that we could choose the flooring. Since Paul has really bad allergies and Arizona is SUPER DUPER DUSTY, we opted for hard surface everywhere in the house except two of the bedrooms which have carpet. So on a regular basis, there's a lot of sweeping to get done.

Back when I lived at Brittany's house, we were really into swiffer. We had weekly chores that we rotated, so at least once a week we swiffered (dry and wet) the whole house. I had always grown up with a broom and pan, so this quick sweeping method was a dream to me! I loved how you could practically dance around and pick up all the dust and dirt.

But now, in my married house, we really don't want to spend the big bucks for the swiffer cloths just to throw them out. Plus, I'm cleaning the floors, like, every other day. And there are always dust bunnies. Always. So that would be a lot of swiffer wipes.

So I searched trusty old Pinterest and found the ultimate solution! Do you know those kind of silly but strangely comfortable really fuzzy socks? They are the best best best washable swiffer cloth substitute! Seriously, I think they work even better than the disposable ones. Now I'm putting on my humility hat and showing this picture below, but I'm really embarrassed because it's gross. Still, I want you to see how well this worked in our house! (I had honestly cleaned the floors a few days earlier)

Yuck that's a whole lot of dirt (and a whole lot of long blonde hairs – oops!). But I'm thankful that I can still use one of my favorite floor cleaning solutions with this eco-friendly, super-cheap alternative. And now I'm cleaning my floors all the time and it's just a snap!

Going Natural One Step at a Time

Happy Friday! Can you believe how fast March is flying by!? I can't. Before we know it, Easter will be here! It's been an absolute dream week here with temperatures staying around 80 degrees. I love Springtime in Arizona! I've been spending my lunch hour outside soaking up all the Vitamin D I can get :)

So last Spring, I started to learn about ways to live a more natural lifestyle. Paul and I watched the movie, Food Inc, and our eyes were really opened to the importance of knowing what goes into our bodies and around our home. I started making goals, and I've really stayed true to one of them, which is that I make a lot of our bread/pizza dough.

But to be honest, the more I learned, the more I felt overwhelmed (and the more Paul started to see $$$ adding up). Because really, when you're talking about eating clean, cleaning green and living naturally, it's a huge can of worms! Finally I just basically stopped. I pretended to not know anything and just carried on as I had before. I almost wished I didn't know so that things could be more "simple" again. That's just the honest truth!

Still, this subject has been in the back of my mind and I can't deny that I really do see the benefits of these types of changes. I believe in it and I really want to offer my family and people who come into our home the best and most healthy situation that I can. Over the past year I've struggled with wanting this, but not being consumed with it. And finally, I'm beginning to feel more free in this area. Free to make one natural choice at a time. Free from the pressure and the lies that if I don't change absolutely everything, I might as well change nothing. That's so not true!

So when we ran out of laundry detergent this week, I decided this would be a great area where I could gradually transition into a more natural product. I did lots of research and there are a few great options out there. But I chose Nellie's Laundry Soda after reading lots of reviews and comparing brands. I'm super excited to put this new find to the test! And Paul's happy that the price beats many of our grocery store options. Win-win! I'll let you all know how it goes and give you my very own review as well :)

Hope you have a great weekend ahead, friends! Our weekend plans include having friends over for pizza tonight, picking up a chair I bought at our secondhand store this week, cheering on the Duke basketball team, making plans and dreams for our backyard landscaping, church on Sunday, and maybe a corn-beef + cabbage sandwich or two :)

Wish List: A Kitchenaid

So as you know, I'm totally into baking now ;) Which gets me thinking about helpful baking tools. And of course the iconic kitchenaid mixer comes straight to mind. I've always eyed them from afar, but we never had one in my house growing up, and my mom never seemed to miss it. So I know I don't need one. But as I was stirring my heavy, sticky bread dough yesterday, I couldn't help but wonder how simpler it would be to have a mixer with a dough hook. And if I'm really going to be doing this on a regular basis (eh hem, did I mention the first loaf of bread is completely gone by now? We ate it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner...) then maybe I will need a little help from a cheerful little kitchen appliance?! I know, I know, it's a stretch. But still. It's becoming a strong want. I'm still conflicted inside.

But maybe as I save my pennies and maybe if hubby gives the green light and we decide it would be a fun and helpful tool, the next decision would be a color! Oh my. They are all so lovely!  I especially like those three featured above, but this darling little watercolor (are you picking up on my watercolor weakness?) is pushing me over the edge for the yellow.

They are all lovely to look at, aren't they? And someday if I find myself owning one of my very own, maybe I'll even get Paul to let me leave it out on the counter...that's a big maybe :)

What's your favorite kitchen tool? Paul's top 3 are the Ove'glove, pizza stone, and pizza cutter. He tells me about every time we're in the kitchen. He's pretty cute.

(Shirley at Paper and Thread)

My First Loaves

We're hooked. Hooked, I tell you!

A couple days ago I posted about some changes I hope to make in the kitchen, and one of my 3 first steps is to make our own bread. I've been doing some hunting and reading (picked up Nourishing Traditions at the library) to find a good recipe to start with. I finally landed on Summer Harms' French Bread recipe. I was sold when she promised "this bread will empower you." 

However, I had been reading a lot about the benefits of soaking (here's a good resource), and I really wanted to give that a try too. So, I followed her recipe, but I substituted for 1 cup of wheat flour, and soaked that in 1 cup of the warm water and a tablespoon of vinegar for about 17 hours before starting the recipe. And you know what? It was super simple! Huzzah!

And oh wow. As soon as these loaves came out of the oven, Paul and I were at the kitchen table with our knife and butter ready in hand. Paul kept saying things like "oh mmmm this is so good!" And I mean, what better satisfaction is there than your honey thoroughly enjoying the fruits of your labor?! 

Not only does the bread taste amazingly fresh and good, but we know exactly what's in it, and I really like that. It's good for us and has no unnecessary additives or preservatives. I decided we probably wouldn't eat both loaves fast enough before they start to go stale and mold, so I double wrapped one and stuck it in the freezer to thaw later. The other is already almost half eaten since we enjoyed a sneak fresh out of the oven and again with our chili last night. Mmmmmm. Still, I'm hoping at the end we have some going-stale bread to make some yummy french toast. 

I can't wait to make try more breads! My next goal is a sourdough with my cast iron pot, a recipe found here. (Mom, can I have that back? I promise to make you delicious amazing bread!)

Food, Inc

(source)

Paul and I recently sat down and watched this film, Food, Inc. I have to admit, I was nervous to watch it because in a strange way, I don't want to change my food habits. I like what I eat for the most part, and I was scared that if I learned the real facts, I wouldn't, couldn't carry on like I have been. But Paul encouraged me to watch it, and I found it to be super interesting and informative. It didn't freak me out or make me scared to even go near anything in my refrigerator, but instead I think it challenged Paul and I to be making thoughtful choices about what food we choose to buy.

It can be overwhelming to think about this at first, because there are so many issues with so many different foods. But I am making it my mission to take small steps and make little changes one step at a time.  A few ways I hope to do this in the immediate or near future are:

1. Start growing some of our own vegetables and herbs. Because we live in an apartment building right now, our space for gardening is limited. But we do have a good size porch and it doesn't get too much direct harsh sunlight, so I think it will be a good location for a few potted plants. I am going to start with a tomato plant, and perhaps green pepper, and evaluate from there.

2. Start making our bread. I really like good bread. And I'm learning that I can make home baked bread much cheaper and without the preservatives of store bought bread. Cheaper and healthier? Sounds good to me (how about you, Babe?)!

3. I really want to start purchasing grass-fed beef. In the movie they talked a lot about how most cows are now fed corn because it's cheaper and easier to feed to a barn stuffed full of cows. But this is not the diet God intended for cows, and the corn actually cultivates e-coli in the cows stomach. In fact, they gave a statistic something like 90% of all e-coli in beef would be eliminated if all cows went back to a grass diet. I may have messed that up, you should just watch the movie. All that to say, I've got my eye on this local farm, JH Grass Fed. And you can look up local farmers in your area here. I need to work on our budget, because this meat is a little pricier, but I truly believe it will be a wise choice for our family. I found this post from Keeper of the Home to be really encouraging on how to shop healthy foods on a realistic budget.

So that's my plan!  Just three little life changes over the next days weeks and months that I hope will be a blessing to our bodies and our future family to come!  I'll keep you all updated on how this food journey goes :)

Made By Bees

Around our house, we're totally into honey. I got Paul a little pot of local honey as a stocking stuffer for Christmas, and he is now a self-proclaimed honey snob.

I originally got him the honey because I heard that eating local honey can reduce your allergy symptoms, but since reading about it, I've learned that raw honey provides so many more benefits as well! Vitamins, minerals, energy, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammotory properties, are just the short list of all the benefits of raw honey. You can read more here.

You have to be careful though, because there is a difference between "Pure" honey and "Raw" honey. Raw is the good stuff. And if you want it to address your allergy symptoms, it has to be local to where you live.

We especially love to eat it in our oatmeal or peanut butter & honey sandwich, but I think it's a great option for a sugar substitute so I'm hoping to integrate it even more into my diet. We purchased the above jar at our local farmers market, and had a good time tasting all the different types. The Desert Wildflower was our favorite :)

As Paul and I have been building our life together these past (almost!) 6 months, I've been thinking more and more about how I want us to live – and a lot of that has to do with what we eat! I really believe that habits we establish now, can carry on for years to come and directly affect our future family. And I really want us to be a healthy family! I have a lot to learn, I know. But I'm really wanting to put forth an effort to educate myself and my husband so that we can make the best decisions about what we put into our bodies. Because I think that it glorifies God when we take care of these bodies He created for us, and it prepares us to do the good works He has set before us. And I'm praying that He'll continue to convict my heart of this truth, and give me the wisdom, resources and ability to make good nutritious choices for me and my family!

I have found some blogs with great healthy tips, (like Summer Harms and Keeper of the Home) but I'm wondering if anyone else out there has any other great resources they love to reference for healthy living?