For Balanced Meals:

DIY

Gourmet Almond Butter

We love snacking on almonds. They are sweet and crunchy and packed full of nutrients and protein. We usually combine them in some sort of trail mix with dried fruit. I've made almond butter before, but I have always felt like it needed a little something more than just almonds. Even though these recipes definitely are more gourmet than regular almond butter, they each only.... read more

05.07.2013 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, DIY, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment

Homemade Nut Butter: Pure Peanuts

I recently received the Twister Jar from Blendtec and I was super excited to start making baby food recipes. But then I decided that since I still have a few months before a new babe makes his way into our house, I would experiment with some other things. Homemade peanut butter has got to be one of the yummiest things in the world. It is so smooth, rich and creamy. And when.... read more

05.03.2013 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, Dessert, DIY, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 1

Spring Cleaning: Kitchen Organization and Storage

SPRING! It's that time of year when I get the urge to clean and organize our house! We can finally crack open the windows to get fresh air, clean the carpets the get rid of the winter snow salt and mud, and best of all, de-clutter! Having a clean and organized home is important for healthy kids. When you have a clutter free home that is organized: You will save money- How many.... read more

03.28.2013 by Amy

Posted in Blog, DIY | Post Comment | 8

Banana Chips without a Dehydrator

Crispy Banana chips can be quite a treat! We don't have a dehydrator, so I hadn't attempted to make or own dried bananas, until this weekend. Not only was it super simple, they turned out perfectly crispy (rather than the chewy texture I was afraid we'd get). Bananas are a great food to include in your families diet! Bananas are a good source of: Fiber- for regularity .... read more

01.21.2013 by Amy

Posted in Bananas, Blog, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Snacks | Post Comment | 13

Christmas Potpourri

Every year starting in about late October I start racking my brain about what I am going to give for neighbor gifts. Last year I had an overabundance of jalapenos in my garden and so I made a TON of jalapeno jelly. It was great because my gifts were done in September! This year the jalapeno jelly didn't happen in mass quantities. Back to the drawing board. What to giv.... read more

12.21.2012 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, Christmas, DIY, Holiday | Post Comment | 1

Flax Freezer Waffles- Homemade and Toaster Ready

One of the first things kids can learn to do themselves in the kitchen is to use the toaster! I remember my kids being so proud of the morning they "made" waffles, when really, they just toasted some commercial waffles! However, it's probably been at least 8 years since I purchased toaster waffles. There is no need to! Homemade toaster waffles are better than store bought b.... read more

12.03.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Breakfast, DIY, Freezer Friendly, Kids in the Kitchen, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 12

Fresh Pumpkin Puree in 3 Simple Steps

While of course it's easier to get your pumpkin from a can, and generally cheaper, there are a few reasons you may consider pureeing your own pumpkin! You puree will be organic if your pumpkins are! It actually is cheaper if you grow your own pumpkins. It's a skill that is good to learn. It's good to be independent and self reliant. Your kids can get the farm to table connection, and .... read more

10.24.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, DIY, Food Bites, Squash | Post Comment | 17

Fresh and Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

I love preserving the food I grow. In fact, you make call it a hobby of mine. Yes, it may be nerdy. It may be old-person like. But I love it. And even though I love it, at the end of the growing season when I have another huge pile of produce staring at me waiting for me to do something with, I sometimes start to not love it so much. And so it was with my.... read more

10.17.2012 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, Dinner, DIY, Tomatoes | Post Comment | 3

How to Can Your Own Spaghetti Sauce

Wash tomatoes and place in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split. Place in cold water and slip off skins. Remove stems, cores and quarter tomatoes Cut the top of the green peppers and remove core and seeds. In a food processor, cover and process green peppers and onions in batches until finely chopped. Combine the tomatoes, chopped green peppers and onions, t.... read more

09.25.2012 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, DIY, Gardening, Tomatoes | Post Comment | 5

Canning Salsa

We eat a lot of salsa around our house. In fact, it is a good thing that I can my own or a large portion of our grocery budget would be dedicated to salsa. I remember when I first got married and salsa went on sale, I spent almost our entire grocery budget on salsa that month! No one complained. If you are new to canning, or a professional, salsa is a food that i.... read more

09.06.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Canning, DIY, Tomatoes | Post Comment | 8

How to Grow Berries

Of all of the things that I grow in my garden, berries are definitely on the top of the list as a favorite. They are so packed full of flavor when you grow them yourself because you get to pick them when they are perfectly ripe and juicy. Not only are they my favorite thing to grow, but they are my kids favorite thing that I grow! Everyday they head out to the garden to see.... read more

08.28.2012 by Natalie

Posted in Berries, Blog, DIY, Gardening | Post Comment | 5

How to Can Jalapenos

We love Jalapenos because they add so much flavor to food. Jalapenos can be very spicy, but by canning your own, you can control how spicy they are! Then you can get the good flavor of the pepper without burning your tongue off........ You will need: 2 pound jalapenos 7 cups vinegar 5% (you can use cider vinegar if you want it to be a bit sweeter) 1 3/4 cups water 2 1/2 Tb.... read more

08.23.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Canning, DIY | Post Comment | 9

Garden Zucchini: 3 Different Ways to Use it All

Every year I say to myself 'You must write down to grow LESS zucchini for next year'. And somehow the next spring I always bypass that note to myself and grow the exact same amount: too much! This year I was determined to not let it go to waste. We came up with our 3 favorite ways to use up our zucchini: #1: Shred and Freeze I like this way because it is super fas.... read more

08.21.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Snacks, Zucchini | Post Comment | 6

How to Make Your Own Garden Boxes

There aren't many things that I love more than gardening. When February comes I start getting all excited making big plans for my garden. This year we decided to do garden boxes for the first time. These are the advantages that swayed me over to the garden box world. Helps with weed control Aesthetically pleasing Better soil drainage Better soil composition We pu.... read more

05.10.2012 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, DIY, Gardening | Post Comment | 15

Dried Kiwi, Pineapple and Bananas

The other day a friend came over and wanted to dry some fruit. She brought with her a few kiwis to try. Neither of us had ever tried drying kiwi at home. The verdict: Delicious! Seriously one of the best dried fruits I have ever tried. So I decided, if home-dried kiwi was that good, I bet drying pineapple at home without all of that added sugar would be good too.... read more

03.22.2012 by Amy

Posted in Bananas, Blog, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Fruits and Vegetables, Gluten Free, Kiwi, Pineapple, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 2

Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns Homemade

In full disclosure, TJ, my son who is now 9 years old, used to eat hot dogs daily! Even without a bun. He loved them! Then I started this blog (he was about 4 years old), and decided to "practice what I preach". I stopped buying hot dogs for him cold turkey. I didn't look back, but he did. He would ask me every single day if he could have a hot dog. I would have the same reply, "we don.... read more

03.06.2012 by Amy

Posted in Bread, DIY, Lunch | Post Comment | 4

DIY: Tetherball!

The big weekend project was erecting this portable tether ball pole and game! I really wanted to take more pictures of the kids playing with it, but the cement is still drying (it's been drying forever!!) We have 3 kids and about 50 neighbor kids waiting impatiently, begging every day if they can try it out! Unfortunately, Wade things because of the cool weather, the cement is ta.... read more

02.23.2012 by Amy

Posted in DIY, Kid Fitness | Post Comment | 5

Drying Your Own Fruits and Veggies: How To

When most of us think about drying food, we first think of fruit. But there are actually many veggies (and herbs!) that can be dried and used in lots of different ways! Dried fruits and veggies can be a healthy and tasty snack by themselves, but are also delicious when added to a variety of dishes. Most stores carry dried fruit, but there are many benefits of drying your own fruit.... read more

01.23.2012 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Fruit Recipes, Snacks, Vegetable Recipes | Post Comment | 9

Canning Applesauce with Kids in 4 Easy Steps

After getting a huge box of apples this weekend, I was anxious to preserve them! After doing some investigating, I found out my mom had an attachment for my Kitchen Aid that makes applesauce (The fruit/vegetable Strainer). You do not need this to make applesauce, but it was very helpful! Here is how it worked: Step 1: Steam Apples (with an inch of water at the bottom of a .... read more

10.10.2011 by Amy

Posted in Canning, Fruits and Vegetables, Snacks | Post Comment | 4

Homemade Fruit By The Foot

Recently, I got this email from Shelly: Hi Amy, My son loves fruit snacks, but I'm trying to find a healthy alternative. Do you have any suggestions? Everything I have found is sticky and messy. Thanks, Shelly :)= Kids love their fruit snacks, don't they? The best thing I did with my kids was to replace the fruit snacks with raisins. It wasn't an easy transition, but once they realized .... read more

06.17.2011 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, DIY, Fruits and Vegetables, Gluten Free, Pineapple, Snacks, Strawberries, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 26

DIY: Homemade Mayonnaise

There are so many commercially produced products of which you could make at home, healthier and better. That doesn't mean we always should. In the case of mayonnaise, I think it's better to just leave it out of our diet altogether. I do however think it's great to be self-sufficient and try to make things we may have thought we could only buy. Also, sometimes there is that delici.... read more

04.27.2011 by Amy

Posted in Blog, DIY, Gluten Free, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 10

Homemade Jam- Super Easy

We had our super-easy- poor-man's homemade jam, and now we have our real berry, thick, no sugar added homemade jam. This jam isn't exactly cheap to make. I bought a package of pectin that was $3, and I got this jar plus another 1 cup of jam. Plus the cost of the berries, and jam made with high fructose corn syrup somehow becomes the cheaper alternative. When compared with c.... read more

04.06.2011 by Amy

Posted in Berries, Blog, DIY, Lunch | Post Comment | 14

DIY: Homemade Yogurt

This recipe came from my friend Mary, who has raised some amazing, brilliant, and talented children. I take advice from Mary whenever I can get it! Mary had been making homemade yogurt for awhile, but was concerned after the food dye post because she was using flavored gelatin to flavor up her yogurt and the gelatin contained dyes. That's when reader Karen suggested she use fruit juic.... read more

01.20.2011 by Amy

Posted in Breakfast, Crockpot, DIY | Post Comment | 27

No Sugar Apricot Jam

Or should I say, no added sugar, considering the fruit sugar. Either way, this jam was so easy, I don't know why I haven't been doing it for years. This recipe actually came from my mom. She first gave us a box of apricots the other day, that needed to be used ASAP! Then she told me about some new pectin in the stores that do not require adding sugar to your fruit. It sp.... read more

08.09.2010 by Amy

Posted in Apricots, Blog, DIY | Post Comment | 10

Dried Pears

My beautiful and talented Sister in Law Tia sent me this idea a few months ago for dried pears. I was sure you all would agree they sound great. However, I kept putting off writing a post, hoping I would get around to trying them myself, but I still don't have a dehydrator. The plan was, by Christmas I would be so rich (you know from all the plates of course) I would buy a dehydrator, a.... read more

12.05.2009 by Amy

Posted in Blog, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Fruits and Vegetables, Gluten Free, Pears, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 8

Homemade Applesauce

Growing up, we never ate applesauce from the grocery store. Did they even have it back then? All I know is, we'd get boxes of apples every fall, run them through some sort of Oster applesauce maker thingy, and seal the finished applesauce in mason jars. When I left for college and started having store bought, or cafeteria applesauce, I couldn't believe how runny it was! I thought.... read more

09.27.2009 by Natalie

Posted in Apples, Blog, DIY, Fruits and Vegetables, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 10

Apple Chips

I am ready to plug back in! Not only to the computer, but to more mindful eating! It has been a crazy 2 weeks. Full of distractions, parties, feasting, playing, socializing, working, and eating. As fun as it all is, isn't it nice to be back into a routine again. Today's idea is apple chips! For some kids (and parents) with fruit texture issues... this one is for.... read more

07.06.2009 by Amy

Posted in Apples, Drying Fruits and Veggies, Fruits and Vegetables, Snacks | Post Comment | 13

DIY: Microwave Popcorn

The USDA recommends half of the grains you eat be whole grains. And popcorn totally counts! Previously I posted how you can make popcorn in the microwave simply using a brown paper bag. This idea prompted Beth to start making popcorn everyday and she's just about lost all of her baby weight eating this low fat yummy snack. Well, here's another one for you, WITHOUT th.... read more

11.04.2008 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, DIY, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 21

DIY- Refry

I'll have to dub this week, "do it yourself, cause you don't need no grocery store to feed your family! Your a pioneer. You can make it better, healthier, cheaper, and faster!" So what else besides bread crumbs can you stop buying from THE MAN? Refried Beans! The Man will sell it to you for generally $1.00 or more for maybe 12 oz of cooked beans, and the other 3 ounces some oils, salts, and.... read more

10.14.2008 by Amy

Posted in Blog, DIY | Post Comment | 13

Low Sugar Ice Cream - Scout Activity!

We made our own Ice cream without an ice cream maker, and with a lot less sugar. I first saw this idea at Cub Scout Day Camp the other day. Then I tried it with my kids at home last night. We took 1/2 Cup milk 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla Combined them in a quart size sealable bag. Then we used a 1 gallon bag filled with Ice and Rock salt (about 1/2 C).&nbs.... read more

06.12.2008 by Natalie

Posted in Blog, Dessert, DIY, Gluten Free, Vegetarian | Post Comment | 13

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