Easy Homemade Lip Balm Recipe

This lip balm is the best. I've tried all sorts of expensive natural chapstick and been disappointed every time. When I started using my homemade stuff, I was able to go from constant, all day application to once in the morning and once at bedtime!

 

Ingredients:

2 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp beeswax

1 vitamin E capsule

5-10 drops of sweet almond oil 

*optional 5-10 drops essential oil such as sweet orange, peppermint, vanilla or cinnamon

Melt it all in a pan (be clever and use one that pours well) on low heat. If using essential oils, add after removing from the heat. Pour into containers.

Tips:
 *I bought a big brick of beeswax from a honey supplier. I use a sharp, heavy knife to shave off the wax and then pack it into the teaspoon. You can also buy beeswax in pellet form (much easier to deal with) or if you don't want to buy a lot of wax, a chopped beeswax tea light will do.
*Lip balm containers can be found at some health food stores or on Etsy
*I quadruple the recipe to fill approx 12-0.15oz containers (standard twist up size)

Cutest Soccer Snacks

Cucumbers and cheese biscuits aren't usually the most exciting snack, but packed up this cute they sure are! I used cellophane bags, blank business cards and stamps to package the biscuits and press-n-seal wrap to pack up the cucumbers. Our U6 team definitely seemed to enjoy.

Easy Wholesome Dinner for a Busy Day!

Time to share my go-to simple, healthy dinner with you. I make it on a hot day or when I'm super tired. Brie, crackers, fruit and nuts. Wholesome, pretty and delish!

 I slice my Brie in half and fill it with jam/jelly or pesto, then heat it in the toaster oven or microwave until it's warm and melty. Before Daniel liked Brie, I would add in whatever other cheese we had in fridge so he'd have some protein.

Yummy cracker assortment with dried fruit (raisins this time) and nuts in shot glasses. And mixed berries to round it out. Once in a while I'll scrap the dried fruit and nuts and make berries with yogurt and granola instead.

Enjoy a night off from cooking while your family scarfs nutritious food!

Pinto Beans, Sweet Potato and Quinoa in Tomato Broth: Better and Faster than it Sounds!

This is my favorite soup recipe. I found it in Mothering Magazine, and then adapted it to our taste. It's so nutritionally dense, it's hard to believe that it tastes as good as it does! I'm making it tonight and thought I'd share.

Pinto Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and Quinoa in Tomato Broth

1 1/2 cups canned pinto beans

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

7 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp minced fresh oregano or 1/2 t dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, finely diced, with juice

1 orange sweet potato, peeled, diced small

Rinse pinto beans and set aside.

Place quinoa in small pot and cover with 1 1/2 cups stock. Bring to boil, immediately turn down to simmer, cover, and cook until quinoa has absorbed all liquid (about 15 minutes). Keep warm.

Heat olive oil in 4-quart pot over medium heat. When hot, add onion and cook until soft around the edges (4-5 minutes). Add garlic and chipotle chile and cook 1 minute more. Add cumin, oregano, bay leaf and a little salt and pepper. Cover with remaining stock and diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes to allow stock to become well-flavored. Add sweet potato and simmer 10-15 minutes more, until sweet potatoes are tender.

Add pinto beans to broth and bring back to a simmer. Divide warm quinoa among deep bowls. Ladle hot broth into bowls. 

Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt, avocado and green onion. If Daniel's not into it,  I'll add crushed tortilla chips to his soup as well.

The Mothering Recipe calls for a roasted chipotle pepper in the soup and suggests topping with lime, cabbage, feta or radishes as a garnish.

Homemade Honey Toffee Un-Recipe

I was trying to come up with something, other than gum, for my little guy to chew on the plane. Enter my clever Mother-in-Law! She mentioned the she always made "Grampa's Toffee" for airplane trips when her kids were little. Genius! I prefer for Daniel to have honey or maple as sweeteners-especially when I know he's going to down 8 or 9 per flight so I decided to make my own recipe.

I thought of all the honey treats my mom made for me when I was little. I had the mom who shopped at the health food store, bought organic and started every morning with a vitamin buffet, before it was cool. I remember her making honey lollipops for me and I figured I could make toffee out of honey as well. I'm sure this will turn out differently at different altitudes etc, but if it's too soft, cook it to the hard crack stage (300 degrees) and add a little more butter. You can also store it in the fridge to keep it from melting.

So here is my delicious, honey toffee "un-recipe":

Ingredients:
About 4 Tbsp butter
About 3/4 cup creamed honey (liquid works, but they're a bit melty-er)
Sprinkle of Salt
Dash of Vanilla

Melt butter and honey in the pan on medium heat to the soft crack stage (or about 290 degrees).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.

Pour into a well greased glass or ceramic dish and place in the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Remove cold toffee from the pan, cut into pieces and wrap in wax paper squares.

 It's really that simple, and SO yummy. Honey is known for it's energy boosting and healing properties and as helpful for your immune system, so eat up!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Flax and Maple

I made some great oatmeal for breakfast this morning and thought it was about time that I posted a recipe on the blog! I added flax, a ton of cinnamon and just a little natural sweetener to make this a perfect start to your day!

Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 Cup Oatmeal (I use plain quick oats)
1/8 Cup Ground Flax
Handful of dried apple rings, diced (or substitute fresh apple if it's on hand)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
2 Cups Boiling Hot Water
Real maple syrup to taste

Combine all the dry ingredients and stir. Add hot water and stir. Let sit 1 minute, or until water is absorbed. You can also tweak the consistency by adding water/oats. Top with a drizzle of real maple syrup, or honey.