Frozen Basil, Garlic & EVOO make cooking a breeze!

If you have never tried Clean Eating or even have heard of it.. here’s the scoop.  Clean Eating is simply eating foods that are as minimally processed if not completely UNprocessed.  So no high-fructose corn syrup, heavy salt, fats, no ingredients that you need a dictionary to figure out.  Just plain and simple: Food.

Everyone today thinks that gardening is the trendy thing to do and that it’s ok to eat out every night of the week and have a date night where you stay in.  Hey to each their own, but for me, I was taught from a young age to cook and that you eat at home so that date nights can be around someone else’s table.  Having said this, you would think that Clean Eating would be super easy for me since I already cook all the time.  Well, it can be easier.  Honestly there are so many processed foods these days, Clean Eating is more of a lifestyle you must learn.

One of the biggest culprits for those who struggle with Clean Eating is lack of preparation.  Well, with this new mama, everything is about pre-prep these days.  I found this great pin on Pinterest about freezing herbs and it’s worked great!

I bought two of the BEST Basil plants I’ve ever had at the St. Cloud Area Farmer’s Market this past spring.  I cannot believe how they have flourished, even in our 100 degree plus weather!  But, alas, summer weather is headin’ out and Fall weather’s a-comin. This means, I need to get the most of my plants now.

So first things first…

I cut myself a bunch of Basil from my plants, which was great since with Timothy’s arrival, I’ve been neglecting them a bit and they were getting a bit overgrown :/  I took all the leaves from the stems and put them in a food processor.

Then I whirred em up in the processor. As the processor was doing it’s magic I drizzled in the EVOO.  Now remember, these will be frozen so I can just toss them into a pan for a great starter or even added to pasta sauce, so there’s a pretty good amount of EVOO that goes in.

I could have left it at that, but opted to add minced garlic as well.

These are the Martha Stewart ones. I found them at Macy’s

Now, I spooned the mixture evenly into a silicon ice cube tray, placed it on a place, which I then put in a ziplock to keep the strong odors out of my freezer, and laid them flatt in the freezer!

Once Frozen, I popped each cube out and stored it in a ziplock :) Tada!  However..one note..the center cube didn’t freeze as well..so i may leave that one empty in the future.

Happy Clean Eating!

Product Review: MilkMakers Lactaction Cookies :)

MilkMakers is a Lactation cookie with the sole purpose of helping boost your breastmilk supply.  Ok. Let’s be honest.  You know what you’re thinking is “yeah ok..but I bet they taste like a plate of pharmaceuticals…let alone how fresh can they be coming in the mail!?”  Well, take it from this mom to be… They taste like grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and if that doesn’t do it for ya..try the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip :)

When I got the bags of cookies in the mail, I was really impressed with the packaging alone.  MilkMakers clearly informs us of EVERYTHING in those cookies, so if you’re a household dealing with allergies or you are like me and try to eat as clean as possible, this is a great feature!  Plus, you’ll notice ALL the ingredients are ORGANIC!  The cookies might not be 100% clean eating, but they are delicious and so much better for you than most of the bakery items you’ll find in stores.

I’ll also admit that since I’m not due quite yet, I’m not lactating..however, these made the BEST Midnight Snacks EVER for those sleepless nights of multiple bathroom breaks that wind up leaving you with empty stomach syndrome! lol

AND…they can be frozen so no worries about them going stale! they arrive SUPER FRESH and tasty and you can prolong that state with your freezer :)

If you’re wondering, just like I was, what makes these cookies the superheroes of breastfeeding, here are the details from www.MilkMakers.com

Lactation cookies are an easy, delicious, and nutritious way to boost milk supply.

Baked into each milkmakers lactation cookie are oats, brewer’s yeast, and flax seed – traditional remedies used to help increase breastmilk production. Semi-sweet chocolate or raisins add the perfect touch of sweetness to every bite.

One to two nutritious cookies a day will help breastfeeding moms reap the full benefits of milkmakers cookies. Store your cookies in the freezer and take them out as needed.

Key ingredients in milkmakers cookies include oats, brewer’s yeast and flax seed.

Oats are eaten by nursing moms worldwide to boost breastmilk supply, and are a nutritional powerhouse providing plenty of whole grains, fiber, iron, and an abundance of healthy vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Brewer’s yeast is a traditional herbal remedy used to stimulate and increase the production of breastmilk and is a rich source of the B-vitamins and amino acids essential for nursing moms and their babies.

Flax seed provides an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, necessary for brain development, which can be passed from mother to baby through breastmilk. These ingredients work together to make milkmakers a wholesome, beneficial treat for breastfeeding moms.

We pride ourselves on using only premium, all-natural ingredients to provide the best for you and your baby. milkmakers can help moms with their milk production. But if you aren’t nursing, you can still enjoy milkmakers. Don’t worry dads, you won’t be helping out with the nursing anytime soon!

Every cookie is made using all natural ingredients with no preservatives. milkmakers are baked fresh and delivered straight to your door!

At milkmakers, we are committed to helping moms meet their breastfeeding goals…one cookie at a time…enjoy!

So go ahead..have your cake..er cookie and eat it too with pride! You’re giving yourself a sweet treat AND helping to nourish that beautiful babe of yours! <3

Project Nursery: The Barnwood Mirror

So we are currently 6 days from our due date and of course there are still plenty of things to do to prepare for our first, but the one project I’ve been looking forward to is my Barn Wood Mirror…

One of the biggest challenges for our Nursery came when we decided to let the gender of our first born remain a surprise.  So I opted for a nursery of blues, yellows, greens and taupes.  Most everything I have chosen is traditional and not very “cartoony or childish”, so when our boy or girl decides later that they “love princesses” or “love trucks”, we can repurpose alot of the nursery into other parts of the house. I have always been a lover of Potterybarn..but an afforder of only the Free Catalog!  haha! So thanks to Pinterest and a generous friend, I was able to make my Barnwood Mirror for the nursery a reality!

Granted, my OCD husband about had an episode creating this, but honestly, it wasn’t that much work and I love that it’s not perfect. It’s made with actual barn wood siding that our friends Amber and Russ gladly parted with and a cheap 5 dollar door mirror from Target.  Add in a few bits of hardware and we’ve got ourselves a barnwood mirror for less than $25 :)

I got the original idea from here this Pin on Pinterest.

We started out with a simple door mirror and just like the instruction from the pin, I tore off the paper backing and carefully we cut through the glue around the edges of the mirror.

Thank God for Husbands and Power Tools..

Once we had that done, we measured the mirror and Charlie started on cutting the 45 degree angles for the corners.  This was a little tough since we used a true barn wood rather than lumber from the store and staining/aging it.  The wood was worn, warped, weathered..and well..I loved it.  But it did pose an issue for my “has to be perfect’ husband lol.

These were the original Brackets we bought…you just hammer them into the wood at the seams…not a good choice for us…

Next came putting it all together.  We originally picked up these Bracket things that you’ll find in the decking dept of Home Dept and etc…They didn’t work so well with our weathered wood…we ended up going back and getting metal plates with screw holes in them (same dept) with #6  1/2inch sheetmetal screws.  We just predrilled and they worked amazing!

Then we added the Hanging Hardware and TADA!  it was finished! I love that it looks so completely rustic…

The only thing I would change is the quality of the mirror…a heavier quality mirror would give a better reflection, but also require a different bit of construction to maintain it’s weight.