Thank you for entering the giveaways.  I'll be emailing the winners shortly.  You have 48 hours to respond with your mailing address so I can mail you the coupons :)

Riceworks: offsprng_

Duncan Hines:
aubreyf
webeff
sherrytp

Who doesn't love free tofu?  Okay, maybe a meat eater?  But regardless, they are on sale for $2 at Whole Foods through 2/14.  You can use a $1.25 coupon from http://www.wholefoods.com/ and pair it with a Nasoya coupon $1 to get free tofu.  You have to enter your email and take the tofu pledge.  Its not hard...I promise :)

I have been lucky enough to review several Better Batter products and today I am going to tell you about their Pancake and Biscuit Mix!  (PS, I LOVE all their products, but I'll just dish on the Pancake and Biscuit Mix today!)

First, let me tell you a little bit about the company and how I came to find them!  As you may know, my little guy suffers from many food allergies.  I was searching for a "flour" that was gluten free as well as being free of many other allergens.  My friend passed me the website address for Better Batter.  I decided that I would call them to talk to their customer service rep.  Let me tell you that after talking to this wonderful lady, I was SO confident in all their products!  Not only are their products Gluten Free but they are free of many other allergens.  Its my understanding that there are products produced with allergens on the same grounds BUT they are in a totally separate building then all the Better Batter products.  When a person enters the Better Batter building they must change clothes, all the way down to their hair nets to avoid cross contamination!  The rep informed me of their cleaning schedule which includes even cleaning the air system!    They most impressed me on the phone!

Not only did they impress me on the phone, but their products impressed me as well!  Here is the product I'd like to talk about today:

My boys eat pancakes or waffles at least twice a week....if not more!  So first I made pancakes.  Here is a picture of the fluffy, most moist pancakes I have ever had....



I made little cute half dollar size pancakes!  They were SO fluffy and tasted SO good!  I used the recipe on the box which was super simple and included minimal ingredients!  Who knew what I was missing? :)  Seriously these are the best ones I have ever made and the best part is the entire family can eat them because they are allergy free for us!  Yay!!

The next time I am going to throw in a few Vegan Allergen Free Chocolate Chips as a surprise for my boys.  They are going to love it :)

Next, I tried their Magic Muffins recipe that was right on the box.  Here is a picture of my delicious "Magic Muffins."

I loved that this recipe gave you information for add-ins.  I opted to put in some add ins.  I added in some diced fresh apple, as well as vanilla and a touch of cinnamon.  Wow!  This muffin is great alone, but adding in some extras makes it ridiculously good!  Just like the pancakes, this little guys were fluffy!  I can't get over how fluffy this mix makes things!  They were easy and yummy!


Thank you to Better Batter for your hard work in creating such a great product!  I can't express how good it makes me free to have a yummy product that is safe for my entire family to eat!

I highly recommend this product (and all Better Batter products).  You can purchase directly from their site http://www.betterbatter.org/ and I have also purchased them at Whole Foods!

PS...both recipes I made froze wonderfully!  So get some product and make a double batch for freezing cooking! 

I'd like to send a special thanks to my blogging buddy over at "The Art of Cooking Real Food."  She was so kind to nominate me for the Liebster Award!  I really appreciate it! :)  Please click the blog title to fall in love with her site!  She's pretty awesome!



The Liebster Blog Award is German and translates to "dearest" or "favorite". It is meant for up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.
Here are the rules:
- Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog
- Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you
- Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
- Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed
- Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog
 I am awarding the Liebster to:

Extraordinary Ordinary Life
Sweets By Sarah
Housewife Mama
Buckeye Five
Little House in the Big City
Part-Time Me

(yes, I know there is 6 there, I just couldn't not list them all)

Thank you to everyone for reading my blog!  I truly appreciate it! :)

Over at Skinny Mom's Kitchen, she is hosting a 52 Week series to Healthier Weight Loss Habits.  You can see her tips and tricks page by clicking HERE.   I like and appreciate that each tip/suggestion she gives is one that she is capable of doing herself, as a busy mommy!  

My buddy Kim, over at Lucky Me! blog, posted a cute Valentine themed art project!  I really like this project because you can adapt it to the shape or color your child is learning.  Or you can even tailor it to the time of the year!  For example, you could do shamrocks for St. Patricks day, etc!

Click HERE, to see her original post and to show her blog some LOVE!

This was a new recipe for us and was meant as a freezer dish.  The end result is it was good, but definitely tasted like something from the freezer.  My goal is when I make a freezer dish that it doesn't taste"freezer" like.  What I mean by that is, it tasted like I bought it frozen at the store and reheated it from the freezer.  However, this meal was great fresh!  I'd make it again and eat it fresh, I just wouldn't freeze it!

1 cup tamari
3/4 cup honey
1 cup mirin
1/2 cup orange juice
3 T minced fresh ginger
2T canola oil
 2 cups sliced carrots
1 onion, halved
2 cups broccoli, sliced
2 cups cauliflower, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
6-8 cups steamed rice

In medium sauce pan combine tamari, honey, mirin, orange juice and ginger.  Stir and cook until it comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat oil in large wok.  Add carrots, onion, broccoli and cauliflower.  Stir fry until veggies get tender. Add bell pepper and mushrooms and stir fry until peppers are tender and mushrooms have released their liquid.

Add 1 cup of your teriyaki sauce you made earlier and toss to coat veggies.  Serve over rice.  Add more sauce if needed.

This recipe was adapted from "Make Ahead Meals Made Healthy," the book.

My tip for today is very simple....when you spill something clean it up now verses later!  Think about it have you ever left a tomato splat on the counter when cooking or some batter on the stove (see above) when making pancakes?  Its not much fun to clean after its been sitting!  scrub...scrub...scrub...  The trick is to get it before it dries!  Just grab that dish rag and wipe up in a flash!  If you don't, I promise you'll be scrubbing later! 

A friend posted a link to this artible on facebook and I thought it was very powerful!  You can read the full article here:

Article written by Marc at Marcandangel.com

With February being the "love" month, I thought it might be fitting to focus on ourselves a little more.  It seems as moms, ladies, friends, whatever that we focus on others so much!  Which is great, don't get me wrong, but we need to start loving ourselves a little more!
 
Here are the first 10 things to stop doing to yourself:

Stop spending time with the wrong people. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, theyll make room for you. You shouldnt have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, its not the people that stand by your side when youre at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when youre at your worst that are your true friends.


Stop running from your problems. Face them head on. No, it wont be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We arent supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. Thats not how were made. In fact, were made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because thats the whole purpose of living to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

Stop lying to yourself. You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you cant lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.

Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.


Home  

---