Preparing for Summer!

by Michelle on May 1, 2012

Sorry I’ve gotten a little busy… but here’s what’s going on with me now!

1. Anticipating the opening of our local farmer’s market this week! Yippee!! I realized that I’ve really been slacking on eating my fruits and veggies because they have so little flavor from the grocery store in the winter. I’m excited to have those delicious items available locally again soon!

2. Cleaning out my freezer- I’m doing pretty good! Almost all of my frozen fruit is gone- mostly due to smoothie recipes. I even started helping my husband out with his many blueberries because I ran out of strawberries and raspberries. (My current smoothie recipe is below- I change them all the time!). I’m also figuring out what did and didn’t freeze well- my broccoli was awful, squash was great- and so I’m planning for this summer’s modifications. I’m also filling the freezer up with empty gallons of water- a trick to make it run more efficiently b/c an empty freezer has to run more!

3. Finishing up my canned goods and getting ready to dive in again this summer, trying even more things and modifying some. I’ve got more empty mason jars floating around my house than I’d like (I’m guessing 40+), but my goal is to fill them up this summer! My peaches and chili sauce were out of this world, but I didn’t come close to using up all my tomatoes.

4. Switching my baby to cloth diapers!!! She’s approaching four months and aside from the environmental impact of disposables, I’ve learned that MANY dangerous toxins are in them and can have an effect on babies later in life. Not acceptable! This week is the big switch for me! I will hopefully have an separate post up on this soon.

5. Asking for help! I’m trying to scope out yard work as well as housecleaning help so that I have more time to spend enjoying my baby and husband, as well as other things I enjoy doing- like home improvements and blogging :) So hopefully soon I will be able to update more.

Okay, last but not least, here is my current basic smoothie recipe- 1 banana- fresh or cut into slices and frozen for a couple hours in the fridge (boy, does that make for a creamy smoothie!). Then I add a good 1/2 – 3/4 cup plain organic yogurt (will be making it homemade again soon I hope). Then I toss in about 1/2 cup of whatever fruit I have in the freezer.

My favorite is all frozen raspberry or a combo of frozen strawberries and raspberries. BUT I am out. So now it is frozen blueberries and cherries- which are still really good! I also add in a tsp of local raw honey for a touch of sweetness. Yum!

 

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Post image for Simplify Your Family Life eBook Sale, over 90% off!

I am honored to be included in this year’s Simplify Your Family Life ebook sale put on by Mandi at Life… Your Way and Corey from Simple Marriage. My ebook Clean Start, a guide to natural home cleaning, is included in this set along with 37 other ebooks in a variety of topics regarding family life!

The topics include entrepreneurship & blogging, food & cooking, homemaking, marriage & relationships, minimalism for families, and parenting & kids. It’s a huge resource for tools and information so if you have any goals of perhaps organizing this spring (I know I do!! :) ) or just working to make your home life more simple, check out the specific books below!

Normally, these ebooks are available for purchase at a total price of $375, but until 8 a.m. ET on Friday, April 20th, they are available for only $29! That is over 90% off!

Click Here to purchase your collection today!

 

When you purchase the Simplify Family Life collection, you get instant access to each of the 38 ebooks listed below:

Entrepreneurship & Blogging

Blogger Behave by Laura @ 10 Million Miles ($4.99)

How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($12.00)

Make Money Blogging by Tara @ Feels Like Home ($4.99)

Tap Into Your Unique Creativity and Self Expression Webinar by Lisa @ WellGrounded Life($39.00)

Tell Your Time by Amy @ Blogging with Amy ($4.99)

Your Blogging Business: Tax Talk & Tips from a Bookkeeper Turned Blogger by Nikki @Christian Mommy Blogger ($4.99)

Food & Cooking

Get Lean Recipe for Success by Nisha @ Healthy Mom’s Kitchen ($37.00)

Got Dinner? by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($4.00)

How To Cook For Yourself: A Complete Beginner’s Guide by Rachael @ Kitchen Courses($35.00)

Plan It, Don’t Panic by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home ($4.99)

Real Food Basics by Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama ($6.95)

Real Food, Real Easy by Erin @ The Humbled Homemaker ($9.95)

Smart Sweets by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship ($9.95)

The Everything Beans Book by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship ($9.95)

Homemaking

2012 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($9.00)

Clean Start: Your Guide to Natural Home Cleaning by Michelle @ Open Eye Health ($4.95)

Complete Printables Download Pack by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($7.00)

Food on Your Face for Acne & Oily Skin by Leslie @ Crunchy Betty ($7.99)

From Debtor to Better by Barry @ Debtor to Better ($15.00)

My Buttered Life {Summer + Gift Giving Editions} by Renee @ MadeOn Hard Lotion ($10.00)

Not a DIY Diva by Melissa @ The Inspired Room ($3.99)

One Bite at a Time by Tsh @ Simple Mom ($5.00)

That Works for Me by Kristen @ We Are THAT Family ($8.00)

Marriage & Relationships

A Simple Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage ($4.99)

Buck Naked Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage ($2.99)

Entangled by Amy @ Permission to Peruse ($4.99)

The A to Z Guide: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage by The Dating Divas($9.97)

Minimalism for Families

101 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Laura @ Journey to a Simple Life ($9.95)

321-Stop by Lori @ Loving Simple Living ($9.97)

Inside Out Simplicity by Joshua @ Becoming Minimalist ($11.99)

Simple Ways to Be More with Less by Courtney @ Be More with Less ($9.97)

The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year by Rachel @ The Minimalist Mom ($9.95)

Parenting & Kids

4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions by the Moms @ 4 Moms, 35+ Kids($7.99)

Flourishing Spring by Michele @ Frugal Granola ($5.95)

Mindset for Moms by Jamie @ Steady Mom ($4.99)

Nurturing Creativity by Renee @ FIMBY ($3.00)

Parenting with Positive Guidance by Amanda @ Not Just Cute ($9.00)

Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda @ Impress Your Kids ($6.99)

The Simplify Your Family Life Sale is brought to you in part by Plan to Eat, an online meal planning app that makes eating at home simple. Receive an exclusive coupon code on a one-year membership with your purchase!

Click here to purchase your collection today!

The sale ends at 8 a.m. ET on April 20th, and there will be no late sales offered, so don’t wait.

For information on reading these on an e-reader or tablet, and other frequently asked questions, click here.

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Spring & Change

by Michelle on March 26, 2012

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So in case you were wondering… yes, I am alive!!! I’ve taken quite a break from blogging due to moving to a new house and more recently enjoying spending every day with my new baby girl, Ellia. She is only 10 weeks old, but has managed to change my life so much for the better (while also making me busier than I’ve ever been before!). I’m still going to try to keep up posting at least once a week from now on and might feel the need to throw up a few extra baby topics now and then, too. :)

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed blogging and the community, and of course, I’m still drawn to all sorts of health topics. I can’t wait for the farmer’s market to open this year, but at the same time I’m working through much of the food I’ve preserved by canning and freezing. I’m all for the peaches, chicken, and chili sauce lately, but I’m not sure why my pile of frozen broccoli is looking so much less enticing than it did before? *Recipe Suggestions Welcome!*

I also want to thank all of you who have supported my blog by checking out my natural cleaning eBook, Clean Start, and I truly hope that you have enjoyed it and found it helpful. I personally can’t wait to tackle some spring cleaning around our new “old” 1919  house- there’s just nothing like that fresh, clean feel with all the windows open and warm spring air circulating.

Spring is also a great time for cleansing and detoxing the body, too, but since I’m nursing my focus has to be on simply eating healthy and exercising. I’ll try to pop up with some simple recipes now and then that I’m enjoying.

So I’m off to an aerobics class soon here and will be back sometime next week with either a recipe or my first dive back into a health topic!

 

Photo by Betty155

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“Smart Sweets”: A Better Option

by Michelle on November 21, 2011

When it comes right down to it, most of us like to have dessert once in a while (or more often than that!). The biggest problem I have is finding recipes that taste delicious, are simple to follow, and even if they don’t have huge nutritional value, they are at least not downright terrible for me (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?).

So coming across Katie over at Kitchen Stewardship’s new eBook, I wanted to share it with you as there are 30 dessert recipes (89 pages total) including recipes for chocolate syrup, brownies, cakes, and fudge bars- all made healthier! She also takes the time to explain about different sweeteners, alternatives to sugar, and where to find them. Some of the goals she incorporates (as a “real foodie”) into the book are:

  • Less sugar
  • Healthier sweeteners
  • Whole grains, soaked/sprouted grains, or no grains
  • Probiotics
  • Some vegetables

Yes, some of the recipes still contain some sugar, but I have to agree with a good point that Katie makes in her post about it: while the health benefits of using other sweeteners than white sugar are undeniable, realistically, sometimes it is just too expensive to use sweeteners other than sugar (for bake sales, etc.). The price of pure maple syrup, local raw honey, sucanat, and even stevia can be just too costly to serve much outside the family.

So if you are interested in giving healthier desserts a try with simple, tested recipes, click here to purchase the book for only $9.95!

Also, one last important note, many of the recipes in Smart Sweets can be adjusted to specific dietary needs. 17 recipes are gluten-free (15 of these are also grain free), 16 are dairy free, 15 have been tested egg-free, and for most recipes any nuts called for are optional!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Kitchen Stewardship’s eBooks, which means I’ll earn a small commission from any sales made through these links. However, I won’t promote anything I don’t personally believe in (plus the brownies are totally delicious!) 

 

 

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Organic Garden First Year Re-cap

November 16, 2011
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Thanks to one of my wonderful readers, I was reminded that I never did a re-cap on my first attempt at organic gardening! Also, despite the loads of fruit and veggies that I brought home with me over the summer (my garden was in a family member’s backyard), I also never took a good picture [...]

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Homemade Baby Food: Butternut Squash

November 7, 2011
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Last night I decided to make my first baby food for the freezer with some wonderful butternut squash from my mom’s garden. It was so bright orange and flavorful, I couldn’t help but eat a few scoops myself after it was cooked! I’m a little over 31 weeks now with our first baby (a girl!), [...]

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Natural Make-Up Coupon Code

October 28, 2011
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I wanted to let you know that my all-time favorite natural makeup, by Erzulie Cosmetics, is currently running a great deal where you can get an extra 10% off at the Etsy store! I have tried a number of Erzulie products which quickly became staples in my make-up bag: foundation, bronzer, concealer, lipstick that also [...]

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Clean Start E-Book Released!!!

October 24, 2011

I am excited to share that my Clean Start e-book is available for purchase as of today! It walks through every room of the home and offers natural solutions to cleaning a variety of surfaces. Whether you are already using some natural cleaning methods in the home or are just starting out, Clean Start offers [...]

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Wrapping Up the Growing Season

October 17, 2011
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Here in Michigan, fall has moved in and my garden has been done for a couple weeks. While I miss having so much free, ripe produce available for the picking I’m at least thankful that I don’t have to really shop at the grocery store- yet. Our local farmers market is open until Christmas, and [...]

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Help Fight Famine in East Africa

September 19, 2011

Guest Blogger: Sarah Lenssen from #Ask5for5 Family photos by Mike Fiechtner Photography Thank you Openeyehealth and nearly 150 other bloggers from around the world for allowing me to share a story with you today, during Social Media Week. A hungry child in East Africa can’t wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we’ll [...]

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