Make it Monday - Oatmeal Spelt Muffin Recipe

Oatmeal Spelt Muffins

It's Make it Monday recipe time with Oatmeal Spelt Muffins!  Okay, granted I am getting this posted on Tuesday but I made them on Monday.

We've decided to try gluten-free again for one our kids and I went in search of my old recipes I had left.  Fortunately, Ethan, our one-year old had found them while emptying a drawer in the kitchen for me.

My kids LOVE these muffins!  I found a somewhat similar Oatmeal muffin recipe years ago online and adapted it to our liking.  You can make them with any kind of add-in: blueberries, raspberries, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.  I chose chocolate chips this week because I have two picky eaters and knew chocolate would definitely win them over.  The Oatmeal muffins are also made with Spelt, which some gluten-free eaters can tolerate and some cannot.

These muffins are super easy to make and only take a few minutes.  We make them ahead of time for school day breakfasts.  They are more dense them a regular muffin but we like them that way.  I gave Hubby a mini-muffin last night and had him try it.  I got raised eyebrows and "Wow, these are really good.  Especially for being gluten-free!".  So if you have a picky gluten-free eater, these muffins are a good addition to your recipe collection.

Oatmeal Spelt Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 C. Oatmeal
1 C. Spelt flour
2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg (optional)
1 C. Soy, Almond or Regular Milk
2 eggs
blueberries, nuts, chocolate chips, etc., for add-ins

Mix all ingredients in bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.  Spray muffin pan or liners.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  15 minutes for mini-muffins.

Spelt flours can be bought online but we prefer Amazon.com because they are so easy to work with and trusted. If you don't have many people in your family, you might prefer Bob's Red Mill 24 oz. 4-pack. For larger families, we recommend the Great River Organic 25 lb. package. Vitaspelt also offers a 5 pound 6 pack for those that like smaller packages and don't want to deal with a large bag.

Glad Mini Round Storage Containers

As mentioned previously in the post Your Body Better, I started a new diet and exercise program recently.  This also facilitated my cooking and preparing food ahead of meals.  Anna, the fitness coach, suggested preparing food in single serve containers.  So, I cooked up a batch of chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables.  Now I just needed something to put them in.

I ran down to Walmart to see what I could find.  I found the Glad Mini Rounds storage containers that looked like they would be a good size.  I bought a  package, along with a number of other storage items, and brought them home.

Glad Ware Mini Round Containers & Lids

Turns out I bought the PERFECT size and I love the Glad Mini Round food storage containers.  After accurately measuring all my food servings, I discovered the containers are just the right size for one serving.  Also, my morning oatmeal is 1/2 cup, the exact same size as the Glad Mini Rounds.  I didn't know that was the size I would need for that as I hadn't read the menu all of the way yet.  Premeasured protein shakes, veggies, rice, etc.  Tge containers were literally the perfect fit for them all!

I also love how snug the kids are.  Even when my kids accidentally drop one, the kids don't pop off.  The Glad Mini Round lids are also easy to take on and off thanks to the extended lid lip.  A definite benefit for children.  

Also, making cold lunches is easier, too, as the kids can just look in the fridge and pick out what they want and they don't have to take big containers.  I also enjoy how quick snacks and lunch are now for the same reason.  i just grab the containers and go.

Thanks, Glad, for making our meals a little easier around here!

Case Lot Sales

Everyone likes to save money at the grocery store. This week is the perfect opportunity to do just that.  Both Albertson's and Smith's grocery stores are offering case lot sales this week.  These are a great way to stock up on food at a discount price.  Add a coupon or two, or more, on top of that and you got a great deal!

One of the perks of case lot sales is how fast checking out is.  At Smith's Food and Drug, they have a preprogrammed list for each case item.  All you need to do is tell them which cases you have and they type it in.  Much faster than buying individual items that must be rang up separately.

Each store, at least where we are, also usually has plenty of products on hand.  Do plan on lots of available trunk space when you go!  Sales are good through Tuesday, April 8th.  Check the Albertsons Grocery and Smirh's Food and Drug websites for your areas weekly ad as they differ from region to region.

Fisher Price Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza

RECOMMENDATION:  Very high

My one year old LOVES balls.  He is all boy.  And he is also the fifth kid - as in "what can we possibly this kid for a gift?" at Christmas and birthdays kind of kid.  With four older siblings, we already had necessary baby gear, clothes and plenty of toys.  He really doesn't NEED anything.

Fortunately he also came preprogrammed with his own personality which zeroes in directly to balls and trucks.  All on his own.  Trust me.  His older sisters have thrown enough girl toys and Barbie movies in his path that I'm amazed he isn't converted at all.  Although, he does love to dance with the girls.

So, when I came across the Fisher Price Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza, I knew we had found a perfect match.  Balls and music.  PERFECT.  And I am happy to say that we were not disappointed.  Being only 17 months and on the tiny side, Ethan was too short to reach the top ball drop on the Ballapalooza for a month or so.  Fortunately he could start the ball anywhere he wanted until he got to where he can reach the top.

While I knew our toddler would love it, I grossly underestimated how much his older siblings would!  He had no shortage of people volunteering to start a ball for him, or crawl through the arch, or push the music buttons.  You get the idea.  Fisher Price definitely knew what they were doing when they designed the Ballapalooza.

Initially we had to get on the big kids cases to let Ethan play with it.  Envision telling your 14-year old son, "Hey, it's THE BABY'S toy. Let HIM play with it!".  We've now had it three months and we still have big kids playing with it.  It's like a magnet.  When Ethan plays with the Zballapalooza and the music starts, without fail a sibling comes running over.  The Ballapalooza is probably the MOST well loved toy in our house!

The fun things we love about the Fisher Price Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza:

1.  Multiple starting points.  One down low for babies, mid-range for toddlers and top drop slot for 18+ months.

2.  Two arches.  One is short for babies to crawl through.  The other is taller for walking toddlers.  And in our case, five and ten year olds to crawl through.

3.  Three spinners.  Two down low for babies and one in the middle.

4.  Music.  We love the energetic music chosen.  I've had to listen to it a lot and have yet to have it drive me crazy.  Music does keep playing for a bit after a ball is inserted.  Also has two volume levels.

5.  Six lights.  Coordinated to the music and great for entertainment.  Three lights on center pole on two opposite sides for a total of six.  Low, middle and high for different vision levels.

6.  Set of 8 balls.  There are enough balls that even if a few get wandered off with, baby still has plenty left.

7.  Hanging inflatable ball with rattle and swinging gate.  Just a little extra fun for baby to swat at.

8.  Very stable and we don't have to worry about the Ballapalooza tipping over.

What we didn't expect:

1.  The Ballapalooza is a lot bigger than we thought and takes up about a 4 foot diameter space including play room.

As you can see, the pros greatly outweigh the con.  We highly recommend the Fisher Price Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza toy for babies and toddlers.  There is definitely lots of fun to be had with it!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge - Letter A

While perusing twitter, I ran across the fun looking Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  Since I am trying to grow my blog I thought, "Why not?".  So, I'm joining the ranks of lots of other bloggers out there and getting ready for a fun month blogging all the letters of the alphabet during April.

The premise is simple.  There are 26 days in the month, not including Sundays.  Each day bloggers write a post centered around the letter of the day.  April 1st is A, April 2nd is B, so on and so forth.  You choose the theme and whatever you want to write about.  Let the creativity flow!

There is still time to sign up so head on over to the A to Z Challenge website and get started.  Today is day 1 and letter A.  Have an "A"mazing time blogging this month!  It's "a"bsolutely fun, "a"wesomely inspiring and great to meet other "a"uthors like yourself!

Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge Calendar

Why I am Moving Towards Minimalism

Littlest and I are having fun playing on the floor today.  Or should I say he enjoys climbing on me and playing with his toys.  This is a picture of pretty much all the toys in his room.  There aren't a ton. Just enough for him to play and have fun.  And, not lots for mom to clean up. He can easily help clean up his own room.  Which leaves us more time for the fun things in life – like play. 

This journey actually started last August.  The kids and I have been wanting to move for awhile so that we could have neighbors and not as much yard work.  I got some free moving boxes from a lady off a Facebook group.  I then spent a month going through the house and boxed anything I didn't think we'd use in the next three months, hoping to make the house less cluttered for showing.

What really ended up happening, was we never found a house we liked and never moved.  I did discover, though, that the house was easier to keep clean.  I had boxed up 47 boxes of miscellaneous items.

Then came the introduction to 40 Bags in 40 Days Declutter Challenge.  We decided we liked having less stuff to have to pick up and take care of. So, I joined the challenge to get rid of more.  As of halfway through the challenge, we have gotten rid of 30 boxes of things we don't need.  Ten of those boxes were items from the 47 boxes that we hadn't touch since last August. 

The journey is ongoing and I still have more to go through.  We haven't even touched  the garage or the barn yet.  My kids clothes are being gone through again today.  The office just scares me but desperately needs done.

What's my goal in all of this you might ask?  To spend more time with my kids doing fun things while they're still here at home with us instead of cleaning and organizing everything on our vacation days.  My goal this summer is to have fun and not spend all day trying to get the kids to do chores and pick up things they got out.  We are on our way to a minimalist lifestyle and doing the things we love with the people we love.  Our possessions no longer own us.

10 boxes of items I will never have to wash or pick up again!