Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Best EVER Crepes



Here's the skinny...If you know I try to eat Paleo(ish) close your eyes.  These are not Paleo.  But they are packed with as many whole grains and you dare... :)

Ok so I still working on my photography skills and I chose a non-round crepe, but who said crepes have to be perfectly round?  I love crepes, but If you have ever looked at a traditional crepe or Swedish pancake recipe they have way way too much flour in my opinion.  I wanted a healthier version, so years ago I set out to make the PERFECT crepe.  I wanted to pack as many eggs into them as possible to up the protein, and I wanted them to be full of fiber.  It took some experimenting but finally found the perfect ratio without tasting too eggy.  This recipe is pretty versatile.  You can make them with any kind of flour your little heart desires and they are still awesome.  I have made them with brown rice flour (when I ate gluten free), and I have made them with all whole wheat flour, but in this version I used a mixture of chia, whole wheat flour, and a Blendfresh Fiber  powder (gluten free) made by BlendTec. 

You can also make these with white flour of course, but I have a problem and can't force myself to do that... don't get me wrong I would eat them that way if someone else made them, but everytime I make something that needs flour I have this overwhelming urge to use whole grains and sneak extra fiber in there.  I have tried, in the last few years, to not be so uptight and I do use white flour on occasion. 

My next project will be to make these paleo and use coconut or almond flour and a milk substitute. I will keep you posted. ....


If you want to use chia seed (I purchased The Earthly Choice brand from Amazon but think I will try this brand next time.  It is chemical and pesticide free and way cheaper) or flax seeds start by grinding some in a coffee grinder (New version).  I usually grind a few cups at a time and 
keep it in my freezer to add to recipes later. 


Melt your butter or coconut oil, (which ever you prefer) in a glass bowl.  Quickly whisk in the milk to prevent your butter or coconut oil from clumping. Mix in your eggs and salt.  

Slowly, while whisking, add the flour you are using. I used 2 TB ground chia seeds, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 TB scoop Blendfresh Fiber, and 1/4 cup brown rice flour. If  you used ground flax, chia or coconut oil they will sometimes cause a few clumps. You can use an immersion blender to make the batter very smooth, 

You could also choose to make the batter in your blender. (Also you also may need to add in a little extra liquid if you use chia or flax.)

Heat your electric griddle to 300°. When hot, pour 1/4 c of batter on one side of your griddle. Pick up your griddle by the sides and tilt it in a circle until your crepe is thin and as close to a circle as possible. Repeat on the other side of the griddle. 

When the crepe starts to get bubbly and begins to brown on the edges gently lift around the edges with a plastic spatula and turn. Sometimes it will stick and not lift cleanly for the first couple of crepes. After that they will lift just fine. You could also grease your griddle if your prefer, but I do not like to. 

For the topping, I made a blueberry sauce by thawing frozen blueberries and adding honey until sweet. 

Then I topped the crepe with a scoop of the blueberries and juice and then sprinkled it with Purple fruit and veggie BlendFresh Powder ,also by BlendTec, to sneak in extra raw fruits and veggies. It tastes great and is 100% raw fruits and veggies.  The best part is that my kids will eat it!   




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Best Crepes Ever
2 TB melted butter
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups flour of your choice 
         Options for flour:
               - any combination of up to 2 TB ground chia seeds, whole wheat flour, brown rice flour, oat bran flour, an up to 2 TB Blendfresh Fiber
               - Gluten free option: brown rice flour,  and up to 2 TB Blendfresh Fiber to increase fiber. 
               -or just use all whole wheat or white flour. 

Melt butter or coconut oil in glass mixing bowl, whisk in milk and eggs quickly, add salt and flours and mix thoroughly.  Optional- blend with immersion blender until smooth.  (You also may need to add in a little extra liquid it you use chia or flax.  Batter should be thin enough to swirl into an 8" circle))

Heat your electric griddle to 300°. When hot, pour 1/4 c of batter on one side of your griddle. Pick up your griddle by the sides and tilt it in a circle until your crepe is thin and as close to a circle as possible. About 8". Repeat on the other side of the griddle. When the crepes  starts to get bubbly and begin to brown on the edges gently lift around it with a plastic spatula and turn. 

Serve with your choice of toppings: syrup, powdered sugar, fresh berries and cream, frozen berries thawed and mixed with honey, and Purple fruit and veggie BlendFresh Powder to sneak in extra raw fruits and veggies. 
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What do you like to top your crepes with?

Friday, April 10, 2015

DAILY HOUSEHOLD BINDER: Kids Daily Job Lists

Back when I was a cRazEd pregnant Lady and I was craving some structure in our home I created this Daily Household Binder.  It sits right on the desk in my kitchen as a big reminder to me daily: "USE ME".  I DO NOT like a lot of clutter on my counter tops but I make an exception for this because I refer to it so often.  It is basically our household bible.  
 


Inside I have 8 different tabs: 1- Schedule, 2- School Info, 3-Job Lists, 4-Fitness, 5-Phone Lists, 6-Family Outing Ideas, 7-Take-Out Menus, and 8-Cleaning Recipes


Ok so I don't use all these tabs really.... if I was super cool I probably would.  Like I really want to make all my cleaning supplies, but right now in that tab are about 12 sheets of paper: All Blank!!
AHHHH someday when I am supermom....

In the SCHEDULE Tab I have our daily family schedule, which I have since changed and keep posted on my wall, but that is another post.

In the SCHOOL INFO section I keep all the school info that must be kept all year. 
-Right on the divider I have taped the School schedules: school start, stop times and bus pick up and drop off times. My kids have early outs on Fridays and they are at 2 different schools so it is way way way way way too many times and numbers for this brain to handle without a cheat sheet.  I also have taped to the divider the Middle school class schedule with the start and stop times of their 8 classes and lunch breaks.  Then I can quickly refer to it if I need to know when my 2 older kids are between classes and need to check them out or sneak in to write love notes in their lockers.  Ok so I just made that last part up, but wouldn't it be cool if I actually did that!!  I would show you a picture of all that, but then anyone could stalk my kids.....and we can't have that!!  I also keep this info in the notes section in my I-phone (along with their locker combinations).  That is soooo handy.

On the back of the divider is a pocket that I slip my preschoolers monthly calendars in after I write all the important info on our Posted Family Calendar.  Then within the tab I keep the School lunch menus and each child has a sheet protector with info I need to keep for them all year long... Like the middle schooler's year long list of classes they will be taking, class and teacher info, etc.

Next is my favorite The Job List Tab. Which is the whole reason for this post.  I end up changing our job tracking system every so often because the kids loose steam or it just isn't working right, but this has been working for a while and I really like it.  I just plop this baby on the counter in the morning and the kids are supposed to mark off their jobs.  (In all reality I forget a lot, or they slide under the radar, so I am in the process of revamping to help them be even more accountable.)  I pay them each day if they got EVERYTHING done.  Inside it looks like this:


(I only have jobs in here for my oldest three because Miss Lulu is only 4 and she needs something more fun!!)  There are 6 pages... each time you turn a page is a new day.  So in the picture above the first column is for Tae, the second column is for Mr. J, on the other side is Miss P's column and next to that is my zone job list.  The zone job list is actually in a sheet protector I cut in half lengthwise and taped on the side to seal it back up.  I then have it taped at the top of my last weekday page so it can lift up and be put over the page you are open to.  You will see why in a minute. 


Here are examples I have blown up for you to get a better view... I put a different day of the week for each kid so you can get a better idea of how it works. 

Ok so the Zone list:  Each week each of the older 3 are assigned a zone, and then we rotate zones on a weekly basis.  So at the top where is says 1, 2, 3 in a triangle I write in the child's initial by the zone number, so we remember who is on which zone. We use a wet erase marker for the zone sheet and a dry erase marker on the daily job lists (comes right off over the sheet protectors).  In the binder I actually have M,T,W,Th,or F written in the box next to the job so they know what days I want them to do what.  The Main zone job, they are in charge of 3 days and the other days they have different jobs.  
 
You may have noticed that I have times next to certain things on their To Do lists.... this is more of a guideline than a rule :)  Honestly I am good at making lists and not so good at following through with these lists...  Plus a lot of the time there just isn't time in the day to do EVERYTHING, but that is ok.  I really think that if you have the bones of the structure in place then at least once in a while things can run smoothly...... Once in a GREAT while!!!  Its a work in progress, and I will keep you updated as I tweek the system to encourage personal accountability. 
 
(P.S. if you are looking for an electronic way to keep track of your kids daily jobs, check out Chore Pad for your I-pad, I-pod, I-phones.  We used that for a long time and it worked really well.  Lulu still uses it but the older 3 got sick of it.)
 
Back when I was a member of the local Gym, before my daughter went to middle school an hour earlier then the other kids and totally turned my world upside down, I kept the Group Fitness schedule under The Fitness Tab........... oh Zumba, how I miss you....!  So anyway its pretty dusty in there!
 
The Phone Lists section has emergency numbers, as well as Dr's and Family and Friend contact info.
 
The Family Outing Ideas section has a list of localish places we could take the kids if we were fun parents.  Right now I have 3 items written in there.  Yep, I am totally fun!
 
The Take-Out Menu section has, well, Take-out menus.
 
And I think I have already told you about the final, totally used, Cleaning Recipe section.
 
Now you may be wondering why I have shown you this Binder that is only half useful to me right now; well it's because these are things I hope to do someday.  Plus "Its not a goal until you write it down" or in this case make an elaborate binder for it :)
 
What do you have to keep your family life on task and organized? 
 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Barstool Switcharoo

Ever since Baby Z has been getting older, things have been mysteriously falling apart.....

Warning: not the best camera skills.  I am still trying to figure out how to use my camera on manual! 


We have had these Barstools since we moved into our home 5 1/2 years ago and they have held up pretty well.  The finish was a little rubbed off on the edge of the foot rest, but everything else seemed to be in tip top shape.  That is until recently.  In the past few months (that oddly enough correspond with the increased mobility of baby Z) we have begun to get a few slits and holes in the tops. I glued all of the cracks with vinyl glue, which did the trick of stopping the hole, but really wasn't all that pretty because you can see the glue when it dries.  In the last 2 weeks each one of them have cropped up with more slits that have turned into rips and holes.  I did catch Baby Z with his little cute fingers in the cracks ripping away.  So I looked everywhere in the cyber world (since I am allergic to actual shopping) and found these babies at a whole bunch of stores ranging from inexpensive to outrageous in price. 





I do actually LOVE the Restoration Hardware ones.  Polished Chrome is so PRETTY!  But... whith my 5 monkeys running around keeping them looking clean would be a nightmare.  (And I am Cheap Frugal.)  I ultimately decided to go with the ones that I found on Walmart.com because they seemed to have great reviews and were the color I wanted without paying for the very high end actual stainless grade stool.  $216 vs. $744... no brainer for a budget conscious gal like me!


And Here they are in my Kitchen after the switcheroo...  What do you think?
(Isn't he a cute little photo bomber)

Bonus: because they are metal they can not get any holes!!!  Plus I have really been wanting something not dark brown.  There was a point in our lives that it seemed every piece of furniture we owned was espresso wood or dark leather, and now I have this strong urge to replace or paint EVERYTHING white or light grey!    Speaking of, I really have been meaning to spray paint my orange pot white... Should I?

Saturday, April 4, 2015

What is pERfeCTIoN?

On birthdays ROUND here there are a few things that I AWLAYS do.  I always hang Happy Birthday streamers going into the stairway from the basement.  Then the kids have to walk through them on their way upstairs. (okay so sometimes I am scrambling to do this in the morning because I have forgotten the night before...)  And I always put up the same simple Happy Birthday Sign that I made and laminated with my Laminator (couldn't live without that baby).  I also have a name sign for each one of the kids and the Hubbs that I hang below the HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign on the mantel in our Family Room.  Yes it is simple and clearly not worthy of pintrest, but its mine and I love it. 
 
A few days ago it was my birthday.  Lulu woke up and came into my room.  Doug said "Today is Mommy's birthday".  She was so excited.  She gave me a huge birthday hug and showed me again the Barbie she had given me earlier that week.  (She wanted me to have my own so I could play Barbies with her, plus she said she didn't like that one..hehe)  Then she ran into the Family Room to see my Birthday sign.  She came back and said "Mommy why isn't the birthday sign up if its your birthday"  I explained that since I am the one who does the birthday sign that I don't put it up for me, and there isn't a sign with my name.  She quickly went to work to make me one.  Getting out the Laminator and asking me what my favorite colors were....
 
 

 
Isn't it beautiful!!
 
Today Doug and I were sitting on the couch watching General Conference and admiring the sign.  I said "do you know how hard it is for me to allow someone to make a sign that isn't perfect and then let them laminate it?" Doug's response, "It IS perfect!"
He was so right!!
 
I was thinking (and tooting my own horn) that I had come so far as to let imperfection slide in order to build self-esteem in my child.  Yes you are probably thinking, shouldn't she have thought it was perfect in the first place... but that is hard for me.
.
What is Perfection?
 
In my mind the perfect day has always been one where everything on my daily schedule gets done at the proper time.  I have worked out, gotten ready, made the kids look cute, the house was perfectly clean.  The children also got everything done on their To Do lists and were happy about it of course.  We ate dinner at 5:00 and then we had so much time left in the day that we were able to spend some quality time with each other... going on a walk, 4-wheeling, doing some totally awesome fun thing.  Then of course at 7:30 pm we all cleaned up, (but there wasn't much to do because it was the perfect day) and read our scriptures, had family prayer, and were ready for bed by 8:00 pm.  Then because we are totally awesome super parents we read to the children, tucked them in, and lights were out and they were all sound asleep by 8:30 (ideally 8:15)
 
Yes I AM CRAZY. 
 
I have had to realize that, that is not Perfection.  Perfection is enjoying the imperfections of life; because there are always imperfections. I am learning.  Hopefully someday my first instinct will be to think "It is PERFECT" like my amazing husband.  To do my best and enjoy the rest.
 
I have wanted to make this blog for a really long time, but have been held back worried that I could not make it perfect.  It will not be perfect.  I probably already broke 28 grammatical rules!! But I am telling myself it is OK.  I want to share the things I love; organization, design, faith, health, fun, family, LIFE.
 
I am going to try to show you the imperfections, the REAL us.  What really happens ROUND here.  What we are trying to accomplish.
And Hopefully it will help me to learn what perfect REALLY means.