Day2Day Joys » baking

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Kari — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:30:14 +0000

Written by Kari @ Living Strong Health & Wellness, Contributing Writer

Truly, this is the most wonderful time of the year. Well, I actually could say that any day of the year, because I believe if I wake up alive – then it’s the best day EVER! But seriously – this is my most favorite holiday season of the year.

The decorations, the baking, the gift giving, the memories – I enjoy it all! To top it off, I live in Colorado which brings with it the added glory of beautiful snowfall, bright blue skies and plenty of outdoor activities.

When December rolls around, I usually have three things going on in my house at all times: crafts, baking and keeping warm! Today I want to share with you something from each of these areas that you could possibly tackle this December in your own home! They’ll make great gifts, your house will smell amazing and you’ll never want another latte from Starbucks again!

Tackling Christmastime at Home:

#1 ~ Crafting

Christmas Card Wreaths

Trying to find new ways every Christmas to display all the beautiful cards we receive isn’t’t always easy. Long before Pinterest made it’s way to our lives, we had to rely on hard copy magazines to find creative ideas.

I found a fun display idea in a Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago – and it’s how I’ve displayed my Christmas cards ever since. They don’t take up a lot of room, you can actually view the cards that people took time to make and send you and they are easy to store since they don’t take up any room! Check out how to make your own Christmas Card Wreath Display here!

Tiered Serving Platter

Since I enjoy entertaining, I also want to be creative when it comes to displaying food! I like depth and dimension instead of just everything flat on a table. About 3 years ago I made these 3-Tiered Serving Platters out of china and wine glasses (along with some clear epoxy) and gentle hands. These allow you to have more food on the table, adds dimension so food is not looked over and it just looks pretty! The total cost for me to make just one of these was around $3.50 – and that includes the epoxy. Not bad! See how easy it is to make your own here!

Pillow Sleeping Mats

I’m not a big fan of buying toys. Ever. My children get plenty of toys from relatives, so when Christmas rolls around I like to give them gifts you can’t find at the store! This is when you have to be creative because our children in this generation don’t always know what to do with, let’s say, paper dolls, army men, marbles or jacks. They also might not know how to respond to something that doesn’t ‘do anything’.

Am I wrong? Now I’m not talking ALL children, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, but this is how most of our culture operates. Most toys they are given have a specific purpose and it doesn’t allow our kids to use their imaginations, nor do they allow them to work on focus, memory or right brain/left brain activities. Three years ago I made my kids Pillow Sleeping Mats. They like to lay on the floor when they watch movies and we have hard wood floors – so they always looked uncomfortable, so I wanted to fix that. This was such a simple project, didn’t cost much and they use them to this day. All you need is 5 pillow cases, 5 pillows and a sewing machine. They are easy to clean, fold accordion style to store and make family movie nights more enjoyable! Check out the tutorial here!

Decorative Tiles

These are fun gifts to give to just about anyone! If you have kids, it’s even a greater gift, because it displays their artwork. It’s simple and inexpensive: go to your local Home Depot and pick up some tiles (I used white, but you can use whatever your little heart desires), some colored sharpie markers, felt or clear bumpers and some clear gloss spray. Draw or write on the tiles, allow to dry and coat with clear gloss spray (I did it three times, allowing drying time in between each spray). Once they’re dry, put the bumpers on the bottom. Most people have just used them as decorations, but I know some who have used them. To wash, they need to be hand washed in tepid, soapy water.

#2 ~ Baking

Baked goods at Christmas is one of my favorites. I love to bake. I love to share. So, baking goodies for Christmas to give out to my friends and family is wonderful. I usually bake about 10 different types of treats, package them all pretty and bless people with them.

I’ve learned throughout the years, though, that since there are so many desserts and sweet treats floating around the office and homes this time of year, that you don’t have to go overboard! For every person, package 2 of each treat, put them in a fun container that will keep them fresh for a few days and polish it off with unique wrapping, ribbon or jute with a hand written name tag on it. This way they’ll enjoy every bite and won’t have to throw away all the extras they just couldn’t stomach.

Here are a couple of my favorite recipes that I use. The truffles are dairy-free and grain-free and super healthy. The chocolate chip cookies are THE BEST recipe around, but I did tweak it to use healthier options, so for a special treat, these are great.

Intense Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Chip Cookies

#3 ~ Hot Drinks

I tend to be cold a lot. If it ever dips below 70F degrees, I’m chilly. Living in Colorado – you can guess how often that is. So on days like today when I woke up to -8F degrees (with windchill of -23F degrees) – I needed something to warm me up. Typically I’m a tea person, but in this jolly season, I like to sip on my infamous Slow Cooker Cinnamon Lattes or From Scratch Hot Cocoa! Both of these are delicious and such special treats while you’re watching Christmas movies with your family, wrapping presents, or enjoying some chill time with your girlfriends while Michael Buble sings Christmas Carols in the background!

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Lattes

Hot Cocoa

How ever you choose to spend your time this Christmas season, choose to be productive, make memories and remember why it is we are celebrating this month. In all the gift giving, dessert baking and decadent hot drinks – choose to be a blessing to those around you. Smile at a stranger, give your kids extra hugs, take someone to lunch, say Merry Christmas and just pour out love wherever you go!

What will you be busy doing this beautiful December?

The post It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

Organized Meal Planning Made Simple

Kari — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 10:00:25 +0000

Written by Kari, Contributing Writer

Meal planning has never been one of my favorite activities. I remember when I got married almost 13 years ago the dread I faced every time I went to the grocery store. I never had a plan, I never knew what to get and I had no creativity. My husband was a trooper, because I sure didn’t woo him with my amazing skills in the kitchen. As time went on, I moved from the same ole repeated 5 meals to a broader menu, but I still despised the duty of planning meals and grocery shopping. My solution? Continue to skip the planning and complain every time I went shopping. Wrong solution.

Over the years I have developed a whole new perspective on this task and I have found that I can do it joyfully.

First and foremost, in the Bible, we are told to:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”~Colossians 3:23, NIV

This would include feeding and taking care of my family. After all, if I grumble and complain about this task, it won’t be much of a blessing to my husband or kids. They will see that taking care of them is a burden for me and it won’t be enjoyable. Also, what example is that for my kids? Not a good one, that’s for sure.

Back in 2008 I began the process of becoming a Certified Health and Nutrition Consultant, which has been a huge part in changing my perspective in this area. A couple certifications I hold are for Fitness Nutrition and as a Personal Fitness Chef. You bet I look at meal planning and feeding my family differently. It’s no longer a dreaded task nor a burden to me. It’s an honor to be able to take such good care of my family as I sow time into their lives by preparing healthy and nutritious meals.

I’ll have to be honest though – at first, I still struggled with grocery shopping, planning and preparation. I always forgot to take something out of the freezer or I forgot the ingredients to make a side dish and I would find myself getting frustrated and resorting to convenience rather than nutritious. It occurred to me one day that I absolutely had to implement something I had operating in every other area of my life except meal time: ORGANIZATION and a PLAN!

That’s just what I did and in the matter of a week or two, I had a simple, yet extremely effective meal planning binder and system set up that worked for ME. This ONE change has saved me time, money and sanity over the past three years.

It’s not complicated, nor is it unrealistic. It keeps my most frequently used recipes in one place, I have my preparation details for the week right in front of me and I’m able to keep all my menu plans stored here so I can go back and get ideas when I’m feeling uncreative.How to make this SIMPLE and EFFECTIVE meal planning binder:

- I took a 1” binder (can be larger if you want) and put dividers in it.
- I named each section for what was most pertinent for me and my family (Menu, Main Dish, Sides/Appetizers, Dessert, Drinks)
- I made up a weekly menu plan and weekly preparation form to be my go-to on a daily basis.
- I have a month calendar so I can put all the dinners on it and I can see a broader view of what the month’s meals look like.

How to use this binder and allow it to make meal planning PRODUCTIVE.

- Every week I take some time to plan my meals for the following week.
- I’ll fill out the menu sheet, then I’ll fill out my prep/details sheet so I know what I have to do on a daily basis (take beef out of freezer, soak pecans, make crème fraiche). This is a life-saver.
- Then I go through the menu and make my shopping list. This is where I saved so much money! Buying stuff I didn’t need, then having to go back and spend more money to buy what I did need.
- LOOK at this sheet everyday to make sure you don’t forget anything. If you need it “out” so you’ll remember to look at it, hang it on your fridge so it’s in front of your eyes all the time.
- Store your most used recipes in their sections. This way you’re not searching all over for the “last place you saw it”.
- Make notes on your meals and recipes. This way you’ll know how often you should or shouldn’t prepare it. Notes such as: “Excellent!” or “Hubby loved it, kids didn’t”. Also note any alterations you made to the recipe and whether it worked or not!
- Keep your menu plans so you can refer to them later.

It may take a couple weeks to get in the swing of things and remembering you have this wonderful tool, but once you get in the routine of this – your meal planning and shopping will be so much easier.

Now, to wrap this up I’ll share with you one of my go-to autumn recipes that has it’s place in my binder. It is my quick and easy Cinnamon Roll Smash. This is a great, healthy alternative to those store bought cinnamon rolls or ones made with pre-made pastry dough.

Cinnamon Roll Smash:

What You Need:

Almond Flour Crust

- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (you could also use organic cane sugar)
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream (use coconut cream for dairy-free option)
- 1 tablespoon real butter, melted (via stovetop is best, you could also use raw coconut oil)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla – make your own
- 2 teaspoon baking powder – aluminum free
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt

Filling

- 1 cup toasted almonds, toasted pecans or toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup real butter, melted (can use coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons grade B maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla – make your own
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

What to Do:

To get complete instructions on how to make these amazing treats, visit Cinnamon Roll Smash and make them as soon as possible! Your family will thank you for it! Now, enjoy the simplicity of meal planning which will make your routine easier, your wallet fuller and will leave you more time in the kitchen to make amazing snacks like these!

Enjoy! And don’t forget: Everyday make your life A LIFE WORTH LIVING!

*this post may be linked to: Encourage One Another, Titus 2sdays, and WFMW*

How do you simplify meal planning? Do you have a system?

The post Organized Meal Planning Made Simple appeared first on Day2Day Joys.