$300 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!!!

Guess what?!!! I have an awesome giveaway for you!!! Me and a few bloggers have joined together to offer a $300 AMAZON GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!!! Seriously how awesome is that? Check out the details here and make sure to come to my new blog home at www.TheCrunchyHomemaker.com so you don't miss out!

Move with Me!!! I'm now at The Crunchy Homemaker!

Hey Y'all!
It's been to long! I'm so excited to tell you that I have officially moved, to a new domain! I hope you will join me! I'm also hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader that signs up for my email newsletter! 4 FREE Samples of Young Living Essential Oils!

Enter your email below, also make sure to hop on over to www.TheCrunchyHomemaker.com and join me in my homemaking journey! You can also find me on Facebook. Pinterest, and Instagram!!

So Please, move with me! Seriously, I think you will love my new site!!! :D

 Enter for your chance to WIN! {Subscribe to our mailing list}
 
   
   

   

What Happened?

The infamous question to the slacker blogger.

Ok. Clearly I'm guilty.

We've all seen the struggles of a consistent blogger. Life happens, get preoccupied and then months go by without any posts. In my case, years.

"What Happened?" You might wonder.

Look, it's a lot of work. Trying to find time to blog and especially be consistent about it. Especially when it feels like I'm rarely consistent about anything in my life. Ok, the dishes and laundry are pretty consistently behind;)

I miss blogging, really I do. I loved being able to share my not-so-mainstream life with the world.

Ok, maybe 170 followers.

 But in the beginning of my blogging days my goal was to shed a little light on a more natural, "crunchy" lifestyle. There are so many things I wish I had known sooner, and I'm so thankful to be able to have this outlet where I feel I'm at least doing something about it. Sharing. Even if one person is able to take something positive, that's what it's all about.

So, you wanna know what happened?

To my already chaotic life we have had another sweet baby. Yes, that's right, we have 5 sweet children now. No, I'm not crazy, and yes my hands are full. We've moved 2 times, which is extra challenging with kids in tow. And through all of this, I just don't have time to blog.

Here is a belly shot from my last pregnancy in case you don't believe me:

 

 

Excuse the fact that I look crazy, I figured it'd at least cheer up your day. And no that's not a basketball under my shirt. I was seriously that huge.

Wait. This is the more serious pose I was going for:

Ok, back on track...

However, anything in life worth doing, is worth making time for. So yes, I will make time.

I'm determined to.

BUT only if you help me! No really I'd love some input. I had intentions to revamp my website, move to a .com address but I seriously am so indecisive and keep going back and forth whether I should change my blog name or keep it Creative Crunchy Mama.

Is it to long? Does it really encompass everything I blog about? Will people remember it?
I could debate with myself all day long.

What do YOU think? Should I keep Creative Crunchy Mama, or do you have some other ideas for a website name that would be fitting for my natural living, attachment parenting, crunchy way of life? Granola Girl? Crunchy Kelly? Or something else entirely? O wait, granolagirl.com is taken so that's a no go!

I'd love to hear your input! Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness.

But really I just need a little kick in the butt, ha!

How to Cook for the Week in ONE Day.

Years ago, before I had kids, I remember my awesome Uncle would cook dinner for the whole week... in one day! Not only is he an amazing cook, but he was definitly on to something. Over the years I've heard of "freezer cooking" and people cooking all their dinners for the week in one day. Most recently Rachel Ray's new show titled, "Week in a Day" resparked this idea for me.

Although I was able to make good quality food for my family most days, there were certainly those times where I just didn't have anything planned, or I honestly just didn't want to cook!

So it only makes sense to cook all at once, to prep all the food at once, and to CLEAN UP all at once!

Here's How to Cook for the Week in ONE Day!

1. Plan your meals. Plan your meals for the whole week. I have this incredible app on my iphone called, "Mealboard". I love this app because once you upload your recipes (the hardest and most time consuming part of it, you can upload straight from allrecipes.com and a few other websites so you don't have to manually type in each recipe, ingredient etc. Then you can click on the day of the week, add the meals you want (I add breakfast, snack, and dinner since for lunch we usually eat whatevers on hand, sandwiches, or leftovers etc.) Then here is the best part... you can SYNC your ingredients into your shopping list with the click of a button!!! 
2. Have your shopping list ready and go shopping for ALL the items you need for your recipes.
3. Get to cooking! As soon as I got back from shopping I started to cook.
4. Store your recipes in appropriate dishes. For example, I made my lasagna in a glass dish so when it was time, I could just pop it right in the oven without transfering the meal and dirtying more dishes.
5. Clean up!It took me 4 hours, and then cleanup (My kitchen was a HOT MESS but now I know it won't get that bad again during the week and it will be SO worth it.)

Here are some tips I have:

• Cook as much as you can handle at one time, this way you can get done much quicker. For example, while my granola was cooking in the oven, my rice was cooking on the stovetop and my water was boiling for the potatos I was peeling.
• Also, prep all your items at the same time. For example, I needed potatos for mashed potatos and some roasted veggies I was going to make, so instead of skinning, and chopping these at two seperate times, I did all the potatos I needed for both of these recipes.
• Get the kids involved! My little ones love helping in the kitchen, and can measure, stir, and even slice with their kid knives. All though they might not help the whole time, embrace them, they love being by your side and learning!
• Take a break mid-way if you need to. I was in the kitchen for 4 hours, and stopped midway to just relax for 15 minutes and drink a nice tall glass of water to recharge;)
• You may not be able to make EVERYTHING for the week, (like scrambled eggs are probably better fresh, and same with toast and sliced cucumbers for your salad)

Here's my meal plan for the week, and the items with stars next to them are the things I made today (from scratch):

Monday:
Breakfast: Muffins and Fruit* Try this carrot muffin recipe

Snack: sliced up veggies
Dinner: Artisan Bread *
           Chicken Parm.*
~I will prep the salad that night while the other items are heating up

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit
Snack: Ants on a log
Dinner: Calzones*
            Salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Granola*
Snack: Apples with Nut Butter
Dinner: Red Beans and Rice* I put all the ingredients for the red beans together so the day I need them I just dump it in the crockpot, and heat up the rice

Thursday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Snack: Fresh fruit
Dinner: Meatballs*
            Mashed Potatos*
            Green Beans (will boil these while other items heat up)

Friday:
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Pancakes*

Snack: yogurt with frozen blueberries* Try this EASY yogurt Recipe
Dinnner: Lasagna*
              Artisan Bread*
              Salad

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Leftovers

Have you ever made your meals for the week in one day? Have any tips? Or good recipes that work best? Please share!

Great Snack! Dried Apples

Looking for a new snack to add to your weekly menu? Try Dried Apple slices! I LOVE this simple snack and so do the kids.

All you need is some fresh apples...

...a sharp knife, and a dehydrator. Don't have a dehydrator? I have some suggestions toward the bottom of this post.

How to make dried apples:

1. Wash & Dry apples
2. Slice thinly. The thinner they are sliced the quicker they will dry. If they are cut thicker it will take a bit longer.
3. Line the apple slices on your dehydrator trays, and dehydrate until' desired tenderness.

4. Store in airtight container, although around here they vanish pretty quickly so I could probably just leave them in a bowl on the table and they'd dissappear!

You can also dehydrate any other fruits you can think of! I've tried plantains and had success, and strawberries and pears are especially scrumptious!

Don't have a dehydrator? There are some fairly inexpensive ones out there new for around $30. I've also heard of some people having success at local thrift stores, craigslist and even yard sales.

If you don't want to go out and make a new purchase, you can also try your oven. Although it's not the most energy effecient, I've read the you can turn your oven on the lowest setting and put your apple slices on a cookie sheet with the oven door cracked open and cook until' the consistency you prefer. PLEASE be very cautious if you have little ones in your home. This might be best during nap time:)

Enjoy this yummy snack!



Book Review: "Nighttime Parenting" by Dr. Sears

Over 7 years ago when my first child was born I was trying to be the best mom I could possibly be. My sweet baby girl was so tiny and new and I was exhausted. I needed to sleep but society was telling me to let my little one sleep on her own, and cry it out so she could learn to comfort herself and I could get some sleep.

The few minutes I let my sweet baby "cry it out" were the longest few minutes.of.my.life. How could something that is so "normal" feel so incredibly wrong? This was certainly not a relaxing atmosphere to get some rest, instead i became more tense and couldn't take it anymore, I ran into her room and scooped her up and consoled her.

Having her near felt "right". Not only did it comfort her, but it comforted me. We were so close for so long (the nine months while she was in my womb) it didn't feel natural to let her face the world by herself, she wanted to be by me and I wanted to be by her. So I held her close and nursed her to sleep in my bed; and shortly after I fell asleep too. After some great rest we were both refreshed and happy. It felt, natural, and "right".

Who ever said that babies should sleep through the night? They aren't built that way. It is something that should be an easy transision, and until then, be there for your baby to comfort them when they do wake at night. It can be hard to find support out there that encourages you to follow your natural instincts, and was so relieved when I came across , 'Nighttime Parenting: How to get your baby and child to sleep’ by William Sears (La Leche League International book)

I loved this book.  In a society that is bombarded with "independence" and early separation, it was so reassuring to know that it's ok to co-sleep. "Nighttime Parenting" by Dr. Sears is such an awesome resource for moms with newborns. Co sleeping with your baby isn't going to spoil them or create bad sleep habit, if anything it helps you sleep better and helps you create a stronger bond. Treasure these sweet moments while you can because they won't be babies forever. And for the record, my 7 year old sleeps peacefully and happily in her own bed now:)

So if you are a new mom, mom to be, or just supportive of natural parenting, give this book a read.

*Please note, I only recommend safely co-sleeping, which is easlily acheivable for mom's who breastfeed.

Homemade Laundry Detergent RECIPE!

With 4 rambunctious kids you can imagine I have Mt.Laundry that I have to tackle everyday. Homemade laundry detergent isn't just cost effective but it's also free of a bunch of gross chemicals. I prefer my recipe for powdered laundry detergent because it's quick and simple to make plus it's less messy, since it doesn't drip everywhere.

Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe:
2 bars of ivory soap (zote or fels naphtha work too)
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda

Put soap in food processor until it becomes cottage cheese like texture. Add borax and washing soda and blend until consistent powdery texture. Store in air tight container in a cool dry place. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load of laundry

TIP: add detergent while washer is filling with water to help it dissolve THEN add clothes to washer.
Check out my how-to video!