Natural and Cheap Fruit & Veggie Wash

I'm on a natural kick. I try to find natural, healthy ways to do things instead of using chemicals. I once bought a fruit and veggie spray wash and a small bottle cost me $5-6. It didn't last long because I was using it everyday. It doesn't seem like a lot of money, but it does add up.

I went searching on the internet and found that you can effectively remove 98% of bacteria, pesticides and chemicals from your fruit and veggies from this super easy, cost-effective method.

VINEGAR AND WATER
Soak fruits and veggies in a bowl of:
         3 parts water
         1 part white vinegar
for 10-15 minutes. Then, rinse.

BAKING SODA METHOD
My parents use sprinkle baking soda on fruit and veggies, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then thoroughly wash it off. I've never tried this method, but heard it works well.  

Just one of them days...

Do you know that song? It's just one of them days, that a girl goes through. I won't lie. I struggled to get through today. I pushed myself through every single movement. It was a very BLAH day. I'm all about being happy, but hey, I'm allowed to growl every once in awhile.

My little booger saved the day. He turned my entire day around when I handed him a piece of construction paper and crayons. He ain't no Picasso (yet), but this mama is keeping her son's first drawing.

 

Now, I feel like:

 

 

   

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

When I was young, my grandmother let me take out all the insides of the pumpkin. It felt cold and mushy, but it was fun. While I got to do the fun part, she was left with the painstaking task of separating the pumpkin stringy part and the seeds. I remember running away to play with my brother, John, and the smell of the roasted pumpkin seeds would bring us back to the kitchen. They were ready to be eaten!

After many years of living without a pumpkin, I decided to jump start this tradition with my family. CJ, Christopher and I went pumpkin picking this morning. We let Christopher choose the baby pumpkins. CJ gutted and carved a large pumpkin. It was my turn to enjoy the painstaking task of picking out the seeds.

These roasted pumpkin seeds bring back so many great memories. I look forward to making this a yearly activity. 

PS - I looked up the nutrition facts of pumpkin seeds and they are quite good for you and super tasty!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

Pumpkin seeds
Olive oil
Salt

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
After gutting a pumpkin, separate the pumpkin stringy part and the seeds. Keep the seeds and throw away the stringy stuff. Good luck!
Dry the seeds with papertowel.
In a baking pan, drizzle olive oil.
Pour in the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle salt.
Mix it around a bit so the seeds are coated in olive oil.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

ENJOY!

Life is Too Short

Toothbrush Workout Series- Abs

This toothbrush workout is easy for anyone to do. I do it at random times; while driving, cooking, and even now as I write this blog.

Flex your abs and keep them engaged the entire time you're brushing your teeth.

Easy, right? It's easy to forget and relax though, so keep that in mind.

Music is for the Soul

Motherhood is a blessing and I thank God for providing me with this miracle of a son, Christopher. I am surprised and amazed daily by the things he can do.

Current amazement: dancing! Christopher is about 14 months now and he only recently started dancing. Let me tell you, he can't stop!

Dancing babies has always amazed me. No one teaches a baby how to dance. They just move to music that makes them feel good. Turn on slow music and they move slow. Turn on a fast track, and they're shaking their little booty.

This one song has me and Christopher moving because we're all about that bass ;)

Toothbrush Workout Series - Calf Raises

Here's another toothbrush workout I love -  calf raises.

1) Stand tall with feet shoulder width apart. Slowly stand on your tippy toes, then lower your heel back to starting position. I do about 20-30 of these.

2) Stand on one leg and do the same thing. Alternate. I do these about 10-15 times each leg.

Happy brushing!

Red Lipstick

AMEN!

Toothbrush Workout Series - Squats!

I've really been trying hard the past few weeks to workout on a consistent basis. I've done well, but this week, I'm really struggling. This morning, I did one of my toothbrush workouts. They're really simple to do.

You're supposed to brush your teeth for 2 minutes, right? So for those 2 minutes, instead of just standing there, do squats!

I don't have a picture of me doing this, but I will have CJ take a picture soon, so I can upload one.

Happy brushing (and squatting)!!

Cauliflower Buffalo Bites

I'm learning you can do a whole lot of creative cooking with cauliflower. I'm in the midst of trying several recipes before posting, but this one was delicious and I knew I had to share immediately!

When I think of buffalo wings, I think of football or a sports bar or my hubby, CJ. CJ loves him some buffalo wings. Breaded, naked, spicy, mild. You name it, he'll eat it. I am always down to try a veggie dish, so I can make sure the hubs gets in some veggies. If your husband is anything like mine, he won't voluntarily sit there and munch on vegetables. I have to make it taste good. He enjoyed these bites and said they were really tasty though it was more of a teaser. He wanted the real deal. Maybe tomorrow, babe.

Cauliflower Buffalo Bites

Recipe cred theleancleaneatingmachine.com

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower; chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 brown rice flour

1/2 cup water

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of granulated garlic powder

non-stick spray

Sauce: Frank's Red Hot sauce or your favorite buffalo sauce

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, water, salt and garlic powder. Mix well with a whisk.
• Dip cauliflower into batter until coated evenly. Place on a lightly greased baking pan.
• Bake 10 minutes or until batter hardens. Turn and bake another 5 minutes. 
• In a saucepan, heat up 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot sauce. Turn off heat.
• When cauliflower is done, throw them into the sauce pan and cover cauliflowers in the hot sauce.
• Let it sit in room temperature for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Julia's Notes: I followed the original recipe closely with a few exceptions. I didn't use butter. I didn't have brown rice flour, but I did have barley flour. I also didn't brush on the hot sauce or let the cauliflower bake for the final 10 minutes. I love roasted cauliflower and buffalo hot sauce is yummy, so even though I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I knew this would turn out delicious. And delicious it was!

 

 

Two Ingredient Pancakes

That's right...two ingredient pancakes. I didn't believe it myself until I read the recipe. This is THE EASIEST PANCAKE RECIPE...E-V-E-R. If you can't make this, Lord have mercy on you. It's so delicious and Christopher devours it. Baby bonus!

Without further ado...

Two Ingredient Pancakes

Recipe cred rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth.com

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
2 eggs

Instructions:

In a bowl, mash the banana with a fork. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the mashed bananas. Mix it all together. Heat a pan on medium heat and grease it with coconut oil. Add a silver dollar-sized amount in the pan. It cooks quickly, so keep an eye on it. I wait until the edges are brown, about 30 seconds to a minute, and then I flip. Eat it alone or sprinkle fruit. The bananas make it sweet, so I didn't use syrup. Whatever your fancy, it is delicious!