I am DONE Spending Too Much on Birthday Cakes, a Bachelor Made Me Cry, BEST Real Foodie Time Saver, Allergic to Corn? It’s in *Everything*, and More!

Good morning friends, I hope you're summer has been fun so far.  I'm NOT going to whine about how it's flying by, because everyone is already doing that.  I will, however, say YIKES, because I'm not quite ready for fall and still don't even know for sure what we're doing for history or science.  I have to dig into this post again and figure it out:  The Best Writing Course for Kids.  In that post I tell you, obviously, about our favorite language arts course, but also I asked for and received some great advice on other core subjects, too.  Feel free to add your advice to the comments at that post if you have more to share.  🙂

It's weird doing my mix-up post so late, and on a weekend, but hey, better late than never!  Hopefully you'll find some helpful stuff here today…

• Let's talk about the important stuff now, okay?  What tasty food have you been making lately?

I made this peanut butter cake the other day to take to a family reunion/birthday party for our son and our nephew.  I'm DONE paying big bucks for fancy decorated birthday cakes.  These are delicious, moist, super simple and pretty fast to make, and everyone loved it:

Another cake recipe I made a while back for our daughter's birthday party was a big hit too and was actually an ice cream cake — SO much cheaper than ordering through a bakery or even buying at the store.  PLUS, most importantly, this way I know that all the ingredients are real!

Also the other day I was reminded of what a hit these chicken strips are around here — I made 3 times the amount you see here (for 5 of us, plus we had sides!), and there still was only a tiny bit left for our son's lunch at soccer camp the next day; and this is my big favorite pan, too:

Here's another picture of them:

We have them with ancho chili mayo (with or without a bun) OR last night, our daughter made this barbecue sauce, and I added a little sour cream to mine so it tasted like a barbecue ranch — YUM.

Okay, last thing then it's over to YOU.  Our CSA is bursting with all the goodies now that we need to make this fresh salsa that we all love!

Aren't these rainbow colors fun–so many antioxidants and nutrients here!

Your turn!  I want to hear what delicious stuff you've been making for your get-togethers this summer?!

• I finally have another new post up on my other blog, which rarely happens these days (too many other fires to put out daily!), so here it is:  How to Know God's Will in Our Lives.

• So my kids and sisters are always joking about my bad memory issues, so my sister sent this and I thought you might want to laugh, too.  (I thought I shared this before, but can't find it so here it is again…)  “Once upon a time there were three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, and they all lived together.  One night the 96 year old ran a bath. She put one foot in and paused. “Was I getting in the tub or out?” she yelled.  The 94 year old hollered back, “I don't know. I'll come and see.” She started up the stairs and stopped. She shouted, “Was I going up or coming down?”  The 92 year old sitting at the kitchen table having tea, listening to her sister’s shook her head and said, “I sure hope I never get that forgetful,” and knocked on wood for good measure.  Then she yelled, “I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door.”   Yep, that's me!

• This post is still going nuts on Facebook, have you seen it yet?  The 4 Daily Supplements EVERYONE Should Take.

• In these last days of summer, I went through this list of frugal family summer fun ideas to see if any that I thought sounded good were ones that grabbed the kids too.  The little turds laughed at me when I said I wanted to jump rope!  I'll show them…  I also realized we have to get to the beach a few more times before summer is over!  What do you want to do yet this summer?

• I also mentioned this the other day, but so many people signed up, I thought you'd want to know in case you missed this huge time-saver and easy way to stay on track with healthier eating –> sign up for these simple meal plans, from my friends Antony & Emily. I was just chatting with Antony today on the phone and he was filling me in on all the user-friendly features they have built-in now — on their app or their online site:
  • You tell it what you like to eat, how many mouths you feed and instantly it creates a personal meal plan catered just for you. Then if you don’t like something – you just change it with a click.
  • As most of us eat a particular diet, Real Plans allows you to simply exclude whole food groups (like shellfish or nightshades). It also gives you the option to exclude specific ingredients too. And then, magically you are presented with a whole meal plan for your specific diet. (Paleo, traditional, gluten-free, etc.)
  • Along with the meal plan comes a timeline and a shopping list. Both of these automatically change no matter how you switch around your meal plans.
  • The timeline tells you when to defrost/soak ingredients and any other things you need to know about preparing the dish.
  • The shopping list categories everything based on how you typically shop a supermarket. All the produce, spices, bottled goods are all grouped together. You can then check off anything you already have in the kitchen, add anything else you want to add to your list and then take it to the store.
  • Real Plans allows you to print, email or open your shopping list on your smart phone. The mobile app lets you check off ingredients as you walk around the store – so you never miss anything.
  • The plan comes with over 1500 Real Food recipes, all tested and photographed in the Real Plans kitchens and presented to you in a Recipe Box. It saves you time searching online for the right collection of recipes for your family.

  Click here to learn more, or see my original review on Real Plans here.

  See how it works here:

  Learn more or sign up for Real Plans here.

• My friend Lindy was lamenting the other day that since she learned of her corn allergy, she's been struggling because corn is in *everything*, including toothpaste!  So I sent her some of my favorite toothpaste these days, it's not even a paste, it's tooth drops and they make your teeth feel great — there are no weird ingredients!  They're called HealThy Mouth Drops.  (Their toothbrushes are pretty awesome, too, our whole family uses them now.  The bristles are further apart so you can get in between your teeth better.)  Learn more here.

• Maybe you guys want more foodie stuff in these mix-up posts but I can't help it, when I see something as COOL as this, I have to share it, I love crying over happy stuff like this!!!  Wait 'til you see how this bachelor changed two boys' lives…

Here's another one with a little more, in case you can't get enough of the story either:

• It's about time someone noticed something fishy has been going on!  Congressman Wants CDC Investigated for Tampering With MMR Study.  “It's troubling to me that in a recent Senate hearing on childhood vaccinations, it was never mentioned that our government has paid out over $3 billion to a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for children who have been injured by vaccinations. Regardless of the subject matter, parents making decisions about their children's health deserve to have the best information available to them.”  Read more here.

• Side issue:  Did you know the monarch butterfly is becoming extinct?  Read more here and find out what you can do.

• Did you catch all of these recent posts?Heretheyarein case you missed them:
  • One very rude doctor and how we become lifetime patients
  • How I got lazy and the 5 ways I've recommitted to real food and healthy eating
  • What you need to know about tattoo dangers
  • Real foodie paradise part II:  A public thank you note

Have a good rest of your weekend everyone!  

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