Things you should stop buying and start making

High fructose corn syrup, modified food starch, caramel color... mmm! Doesn't that sound yummy?! 

Those are just a few of the things in my favorite barbeque sauce. Actually, these things are in tons of things we use all of the time! In order to avoid these artificial flavors and preservatives, I began to start trying to make things from scratch, and guess what? They are quick, easy, and they taste even better than the originals! :) 

Homemade Barbeque Sauce

adapted from Simply Scratch

ingredients:                                      directions:

1 1/4 cups brown sugar                      mix all ingredients until well blended. Add water to acheive texture

1 1/4 cups organic ketchup                 desired. 

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 1/2 tsp ground mustard

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp black pepper

water

I put this batch of sauce in the crock pot with some chicken breasts and cook on low for 4 hours. You can either shred the chicken for pulled chicken or eat them just the way they are. Delicious! 

Marinara Sauce

recipe from Budget Bytes

ingredients:                                      directions:

(2) 26 oz jars crushed tomatoes*        add all ingredients to crockpot and mix. cook on low for 6-8 hours.

6 oz jar tomato paste                          freeze leftovers.                         

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 TBSP minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 TBSP dried basil

1 TBSP dried oregano

1 TBSP brown sugar**

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

*I highly recommend Pomi brand chopped tomatoes for this. They come in a carton, not a can, so no worries of BPA contamination! They are sold in most grocery stores, and only cost a little more than canned. 

**I also recommend Rapadura instead of brown. It is unrefined, so not only does it have a taste similar to brown sugar, but it is full of nutrients!

Taco Seasoning:

ingredients:                                     directions:

1 TBSP chili powder                         mix together all ingredients. use as much/as little as you like and

1/4 tsp garlic powder                        store in an airtight container.

1/4 tsp onion powder 

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp black pepper

These are just a few of the easy ways to save money & eat healthier! It's so nice to know exactly what is in the food you are eating. Will be adding more soon! :)

Healthified Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love cookies?! Our family (including my picky husband) prefers these over original chocolate chip cookies. They can also be made vegan by using vegan butter & dark chocolate chips. Try them and let me know what you think!

Healthified Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

You'll need:

1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar**
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup chocolate chips

**TIP: Rapadura sugar is a great replacement for brown sugar as it is unrefined and has somewhat of a caramel flavor. It also has many more nutrients than regular sugar.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream together butter, sugar, nectar, applesauce, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine flour, wheat germ, and flaxseed.
Mix all together; add in oats and chocolate chips.
Place heaping spoonfuls of dough on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake for 12 minutes or so & enjoy!

most important baby item: DIAPERS (and wipes)!

First of all, I want to share with you my love of Amazon. I will probably mention it many more times because it is just that great! Almost every non-toxic baby product I found was available on Amazon- usually at a lower price and NO TAX! What could get better than that?! I am a Prime member, which is normally $79 a year, but well worth it in my household. If you are a student and have an .edu email address, you can get the first year of Prime free and $39 a year after that! We get free 2-day shipping on any item sold by Amazon and most things are free no-hassle returns. I am also an Amazon Mom member, which I highly recommend. You don't have to be a Prime member to join. If you Subscribe & Save to products, which is basically saying you want them automatically ordered every few months (or whichever amount of time you choose), you will save 20% AND get free shipping! I am so glad I use this as it makes our favorite non-toxic baby diapers and wipes much more affordable.

Speaking of diapers and wipes...

When my daughter was one-month-old, I began a quest to find a natural, disposable alternative to Pampers that was actually absorbent. When I read that a regular disposable diaper sat in a landfill for 500 years before decomposing, I looked into cloth diapering. There were so many options I got a little overwhelmed, and my husband wasn't sold on the idea. (To all the cloth diapering mommas out there- way to go!) I thought maybe I could compromise and find a disposable brand that was better for my baby AND for the environment. Luckily for me, I quickly found my answer: Abena Bambo!

They are certified free of chemicals and allergens, are 99% compostable, and hold the Nordic Swan Ecolabel (meaning they are certified environment & baby safe in the Nordic countries.) They are really soft, have a large weight range (meaning there is less of a chance your baby will grow out of them before you use them all), are really absorbent (we rarely have leaks or blow-outs!), and have the cutest gender-neutral monkey designs on the front. Through Amazon Mom and Subscribe & Save, we pay $53 for a month's supply (168 diapers- may be more or less for your baby). We have been using them for a few months now, and plan to continue until our daughter is potty-trained!

Finding a good wipe was not as easy as the diapers. I tried a few brands, but there was always a problem. Most of the "eco-friendly" wipes were dry and rough, and my daughter kept getting bad rashes after using them. Just have to add this in... Amazon took back all of the wipes that give my daughter a rash- no questions asked. Best customer service I have seen! :) Anyway, I was about to give up and just go back to Huggies when I found Earth's Best wipes!

They are chlorine free, have aloe & vitamin E, are REALLY soft and cloth-like, and most importantly do a great job of cleaning my little one! We have found we use fewer wipes than we did with Huggies because they are larger and wipe so much better. Also through Subscribe & Save, we pay $33 for 850 wipes (a 3 month supply for us).

Hope this helps! :)