Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Quick Apple Dessert

I've been loving this snack the past couple days and thought I would pass it along. Perfect for a sweet tooth and actually a healthy dessert!



Fried Apples
1 apple
1 tblsp coconut oil
Cinnamon
Stevia
Maple syrup or honey (optional)

Heat the oil in the skillet. Core the apple and cut into thin slices. Fry in the coconut oil and sprinkle the cinnamon and stevia generously on both sides.

How long you fry it is up to you. I like my soft...almost to an applesauce. Or you could do it for just a couple minutes on each side so they are still crunchy. Then serve up on a plate and lightly drizzle honey or maple syrup over them.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Vinegar


I bet just about everyone has this item in their house. And if you were like me, you don't realize ALL the things you can use it for. I buy this by the gallons now and always seem to be needing to pick up more! It is a cheap, non toxic cleaner for deodorizing, degreasing, and general cleaning. If you don't like the smell (like Zach doesn't), just add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil. Here's a short list to the endless possibilities of uses for vinegar.

-An easy way to make an all purpose cleaner is to pour equal parts of vinegar and water into a water bottle. That's all I use to clean our counters, furniture, and bathrooms.

-Pour it down your drains, like the garbage disposable, to kill odors. It also has been working great to pour down bathtubs drains to keep bugs from crawling up!

-Use as a fruit wash to kill germs and pesticides.

-Wipe away mildew with pouring a little bit of straight vinegar on a cleaning cloth. Or if the mildew is on your shower curtain, just pour the vinegar right onto it.

-Erases ballpoint pin marks or crayons.

-Great for disinfecting cutting boards (especially if you have wood ones like mine).

-Removing carpet stains (great for pet accidents).

-I've been putting 1/2 cup in every load in the dishwasher. Look at the difference in one wash! I haven't tried it yet, but you could also put 1/2 cup in your washer to clean it out instead of bleach.


-Removes mineral deposits from shower heads.

-Whitens grout on your tile.

-Softens cuticles and callouses. Soak your hands or feet in vinegar.

-Spraying along the doorway keeps ants out.

-Use as a fabric softener. Pour it in your Downy ball, or whatever fabric softener you're currently using, and wash normally.

-For a microwave with really tough stains, microwave a bowl with vinegar for a minute. Everything wipes off so easy after that.

-And I hear it's good for applying on painful sunburns...that it takes the pain away instantly. I haven't had a sunburn yet to try that one. ;)

I know there are soooo many more uses, but these are the ones I personally have used it for and know it works fantastic!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Finger Painting

Today we decided to do something fun and different. Searching my Pintrest boards, I found a non toxic homemade recipe and was so excited to give it a try.

It's just 2 tblsp of sugar, 1/3 cup of flour, and 2 cups of water. Heat it slowly in a saucepan until it's thick and add food coloring!

I taped newspaper to the table and excitedly called Elliott in the room to come finger paint. I didn't think about the fact that he hates food on his hands or face, hates being muddy and hates even the tiniest bit of dirt in his shoes. So what did he think about finger painting?




When I told him we were all done, he finally gave me one good picture.



Oh well, it was fun getting to make the finger paint and hopefully I'll have a kid somewhere down the road that will actually like getting messy. ;)