The mail man just brought us another bag of goodies from Schoola yesterday! I’m loving the high quality clothes I can get for the kids (and myself) for such low prices. And it gives me warm fuzzies that I’m helping schools at the same time!
Today only,when you spend $11 or more you’ll receive $11 to spend on Schoola. Credit codes are sent on 12/1 and limited 1 per person. For a limited time we have free shipping with no minimum site wide and $20 referral credit rewards for you and anyone you refer!
Here is Birdie is a dress that I got from Schoola!
I had a can of pumpkin open the other day and I decided to make cookies. Part of the show that hubs is in has a scene where all the characters eat cookies on stage. They had been eating Madeline’s, which are super tasty, but high in calories.
So I opted to bake something a little lower in calories. I also made the cookies quite small (1 tablespoon, instead of two), to cut down on calories. I added pumpkin instead of the eggs and some of the fat to lower the calories and add fiber and fruit.
In keeping with the spirit of using up what we have in the house, I also used only brown sugar, as we were out of white sugar.Lil’ Man was a big helper- He added the chocolate chips and helped scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets. He’s going to be a Master Chef yet!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (or use vegan margarine if vegan), room temp
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c flour (I used AP, but feel free to use wheat or even 1 for 1 gluten free)
3/4 c. almond meal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash salt
2 c. chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream the first 4 ingredients until smooth using a hand mixer on medium.
Add remaining 4 ingredients until a soft dough forms, using hand mixer on low, or by hand with large wooden spoon.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-13 minutes.
Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.
Variations: This recipe is east to make as vegan, just sub out butter for the solid fat of your choice. To make GF, sub in GF flour of your choice. To make it nut free, omit the almond meal and increase the amount of flour to 2 cups.
Hubs got one of these awesome Obol bowls a few years ago for Xmas, and they are super awesome! I can’t wait to get one and let Lil’ Man try it out!
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I’m on a new recipe kick right now. I don’t often get inspiration from Pinterest recipes because they are either things we don’t eat, or are overly complicated or cutesy. Instead I draw ideas from cookbooks, magazines, stuff I see at the grocery store while I cruise the aisles, and Buzzfeed’s Tasty Videos that are all over Facebook. I was jonseing for Olive Gardens now defunct Spinach Artichoke dip the other day, so imagine my surprise when I stepped foot into my local 99 Cents Only…
I found a jar of this Bruschetta at 99 Cents Only the other day and small jar of Artichoke dip. I knew I had to take them home and concoct something delicious!
I set to work in the kitchen to find some other ingredients that would pair well to I could whip up something fabu for a meatless meal. I pulled out a bag of frozen spinach and cheese to compliment the flavors of the dips.
We had a spaghetti Squash on the counter, so in order to keep the dish healthier and full of veggies and fiber, I opted to bake up the squash and use it instead of the traditional noddles or pasta in a casserole. If you’ve never cooked with spaghetti squash, I posted a tutorial here.
After rummaging through the freezer and fridge, I assembled the ingredients and got working! There is no photo of the finished product because it got eaten up quickly.
Clean and bake the spaghetti squash. For info on how that’s done, check out the tutorial here.
While the squash is baking, mix together the two dips in a large mixing bowl.
Add the spinach and half of each cheese. Stir until completely mixed.
Prepare a 9×9 glass pan with spray release.
Place all of the spaghetti squash shreds/”noodles” in the bottom of the baking dish, and smooth down to create an even layer.
Pour the dip mixture over the top and smooth to evenly cover the squash.
Top with the remaining cheeses.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese has started to brown and bubble.
This dish is gluten free and vegetarian. To make it vegan, use dairy-free cheese! If you HAVE to have meat, this would be great with grilled chicken, or Italian sausages mixed in or served along side.
This recipe serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.
Today is National Sandwich Day, so that means a few BOGO Offers! Before heading down to your location location, call ahead to make sure that your preferred location is participating!
Togo’s is offering a FREE 6″ Regular Sandwich with purchase of any 6″ regular or large sandwich, chips & 20 oz. fountain drink. This deal may be limited to those in the Togo Tribe (Their Loyalty club). I received this offer via email.
Have the McDonald’s App on your phone? Open it up to to find a BOGO Chef Crafted Sandwich coupon. There may be other coupons available to you too.
Subway is offering a free sandwich with the purchase of any sandwich and a 30 ounce drink. (Source Twitter)
If you know of any other free or BOGO Sandwich deals, please leave a comment!
It’s finally here! Coupons.com is offering printing from your Smartphones! It’s easy!
You can print directly from your Android and iOS devices to a WiFi connected printer. Coupons.com will automatically detect a user on their mobile device and guide you through printing. Users will be texted an authentication code before they can print and must be connected to a wireless network with an AirPrint or Wireless enabled printer. Click here to get started!
A few weeks ago I went to the Moms Meet Wow Summit and learned a lot of ways that any family can start their journey to going green. And it is a journey. It’s not something that you wake up one morning and think, “Today we go green!”. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Think about how much stuff you’d throw away: Cleaning supplies, food, household goods. That woud make a lot of trash all at once, and that’s definitely not the direction you’d want to go in.
Here are 5 steps to start your going green journey (all of these we’ve implemented at our house):
Reduce: In order to reduce our carbon footprint, we re-use as much as we can. For me the first step was to reduce the number of cleaners we had in the house, since a lot of them aren’t too environmentally friendly.
Re-using packages helps the environment!
I made up some of the Dr. Bronner’s All Purpose cleaner (¼ c. soap in a quart of water in a spray bottle. Add ¼ tsp. tea tree essential oil if desired.) using a sample of the Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Liquid Soap, and I put it into a bottle that used to hold another cleaner. I washed the bottle thoroughly before mixing up the new cleaner. It REALLY gets the kitchen clean and because it’s an all purpose cleaner, I use it in the bathroom too! I really like that Dr. Bronner’s products are biodegradable, organic and are safe enough that you can brush your teeth with (but, yes, it does taste like soap!!).
Sturdy Thirty-One bag and the Banana Box!
Re-Use: I re-use as much as I can around the house. We’ve got re-usable lunch bags for Little Man (and that classy banana box too- keeps the bananas from getting beat up in transit), and one for the car (it’s replaced our car snack box). I cut up old beat up bath towels and use them to clean up around the house. I re-use containers as well. I cleaned out an empty formula canister and put Nesquik powder in it instead. I even re-used the formula scoop (since it’s smaller than the usual portion size, we use less each time!).
Recycle: We have a recycling bin with a lid on the patio and we put our recycling in it. Once it’s full we take it to our local Re-Planet Recycling center. We earn a little money and help the planet- nothing better! It’s a great teaching tool for Lil’ Man!
Walk: We are fortunate to live within walking distance of a grocery store (which is closing soon, but will re-open as a Smart and Final soon), as well as a park, and a few other places that we like to go. When it’s possible (aka not 100 degrees), I put Birdy in the Stroller, and we walk as a family to pick up whatever we need or to go have an adventure. There is a second bonus: When we are shopping, I am limited to what we can carry in the undercarriage/storage area of the stroller. It really helps me stick to my shopping list! Not only are we getting exercise, but we’re leaving our car at home and that cuts down on the pollutants that are in car exhaust.
Replace non-green stuff with a green counterpart as we can: When we finish up with a non-green product, I replace it with a green version. Like the cleaner above, once I used up the last of the Windex, I replaced it with the Bronner’s recipe for cleaner. We ran out of paper towels a few weeks back, and in it’s place, I’ve been using lint free cloths instead. I just wash them with the other towels when I do the laundry each week. I picked up AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth – 24 Pack for only $14.99. A few towels added to a load of laundry doesn’t cost anything extra either.
I love Monthly subscription boxes. It’s a great way to try out new products at a discount, all without leaving your home.
If you are trying to eat a little more healthy, here is a sweet deal for you! The perfect partner in the pursuit of a healthier you, Bulu Box is like having a personal trainer and a nutritionist as a best friend.
Each month, a box of healthy discoveries is shipped right to your door for just $10. You learn about that month’s 4-5 premium samples, try each one and see what fits into your individual healthy lifestyle.
For sharing your opinions on each month’s samples through a quick survey, we will give you 50 Rewards Points (that’s $5!) to use in our shop to get more of your favorites.
My readers get a special deal, thanks to our friends at Bulu Box and Us Family Guide! Get a 3 Month Subscription for just $15 (regularly $30)! at Bulu Box – Use code WOWZA at checkout!
I’ll post photos of my next Bulu Box when it arrives!
Over the weekend I took part in the Moms Meet Wow Summit here in San Diego. I got to meet and network with tons of awesome moms and brands. I got to learn about how we can live more naturally with just a few small (and easy) tweaks! I met Lisa Bronner of Dr. Bronner’s Soap fame and learned a lot of how to start my own journey to green (which I’ll be sharing with you later in the week).
Part of the event was meeting brand ambassadors and sampling their products. That means tons of swag. I came home with an assortment of goodies, and I am sharing my bounty with you! I pulled together a box of goodies! In addition to all of these awesome goodies, I’ll also include a few coupons for free products.
Entering is easy… To get started leave a comment with your easy go green tip! It could be something like turning off the water when you brush your teeth or carrying reusable shopping bags in your car at all times! There are additional entries too. Just check out the Raffle copter widget here or on the giveaway tab of our FB page (it’s NOT mobile friendly- FYI).
You’ve probably heard or read about bartering to save money, but you aren’t sure where to start, or how it works. I’m here to demystify it for you!
I barter all the time! Thankfully, a lot of my friends have large vegetable and fruit gardens, fruit trees, or chickens produce eggs. I trade my time and services that I can provide for these things. I love to trade my ability and skill with sewing for farm fresh eggs. The price of eggs in California is insane! A dozen eggs can be almost $6.00, depending on where you shop.
Here are a few tips that I recommend you try in order to stretch your budget with the use of bartering:
Step One: Make a list of the skills you have. Can you sew? Can you babysit? Do you have a lawnmower and some free time to mow lawns? There are lots of things that you can do the people need help with. Maybe you have a great eye for organization and you could help a friend or a neighbor organize their pantry or their garage. Maybe you Love to clean? You can use that skill to either earn money or to barter for goods and services that you need. Maybe you have an overflowing garden or hen house!
Step Two: Make a list of stuff that you need. Do you need help sewing, cleaning house, or do you need to stretch your grocery budget a little bit further with the help of homegrown fruits and vegetables, farm fresh eggs?
Step Three: Ask! Ask your friends or if you’re feeling shy post on your Facebook page or whatever social media that you use. If you’d like to get a broader reach you can even post on websites like craigslist or fiverr.com. You’d be surprised at what kind of offers you get!
I’d love to hear about the types of things you barter for!
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for only $14.99. A few towels added to a load of laundry doesn’t cost anything extra either.
(so good on salads, in smoothies or just out of the bag!)
(I’ve already eaten 10 of these bars- they are insanely delicious)
Hewes Family Fun 