Chocolate Zucchini Bread

So I promised that I would bake up something yummy this weekend and I only got around to making a couple loaves of Chocolate Zucchini Bread. My experiment for today will hopefully be whipping up some apple chips :)

A great way to monitor what's going in your children's food, is to just make it from scratch. You can use organic ingredients, modify recipes to make them vegan or gluten free, there are no limits. 

I love baking and wish I could do it more often. This recipe has very simple ingredients and it doesn't have a stick of butter in it either ;) The zucchini makes it moist and delicious!

My husband totally looked at me cross-eyed when I told him what I was making...but he absolutely devoured it! The kids are huge fans too.

I have no idea what happens to the zucchini in this crazy delicious, moist, chocolate-y bread. But it's in there :)

This is a really moist and dense bread so it works awesome with cookie cutters. Lenny loves these in his lunchbox.

And a little side note...if you bake a lot, you should have this stuff in your arsenal.

I haven't used a cupcake liner in a few years now, all I use is this stuff and everything pops out so nicely :)


Get the recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread here

Natural Food Faves

I think I could say that my kids eat pretty healthy. But recently, I have been trying to switch to a diet that is mostly organic and free of artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives.

I don't like to get on a soapbox about these kinds of things, but there is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest that children are very susceptible to the pesticides and artificial "junk" in food because their systems are not fully developed and they tend to eat the same things, therefore are exposed to more of the bad stuff.

Ok, so let's face it, your kids still want the yummy stuff. And sometimes all-natural, organic treats are not so yummy. Now the best way to limit exposure to harmful things is to make everything...but that's not always possible. Here are some faves we have picked up along the way. 

 Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (these last longer for us than Goldfish)

Pirates Booty Aged White Cheddar Puffs (I think I just like hearing my son ask for "pirate booties". It's hilarious.

Stonyfield Yo-Kids Squeezers

Country Choice Organics Sandwich Cookies (AWESOME!)

Cascadian Farm Fruitful O's (my kids LOVE these)

Tree of Life Grape Fruit Spread - pricey, but it tastes incredible and a little goes a LONG way. If you have a PB&J addict, it's worth it.

We also like Van's Natural Foods frozen breakfast products like their waffles. They are only $2.99 so a great deal.

I mentioned these particular items because most of them have coupons readily available. Mambo Sprouts is a great place to get organic coupons. Whole Foods also has lots of coupons too.  You can request coupons from many organic food companies as well.

Organic IS more expensive. BUT the upside is that I find that I am doing LESS impulse buying of snack foods and focusing more on spending those extra dollars on a few quality treats and organic produce.

It can be a hard adjustment, because I am SOOOO cheap, and we can't go organic with everything, but every little bit helps.

I am looking forward to posting on Monday because I am going to try my hand at some all natural baked goods this weekend :)

Making it Home-y

I LOVE this time of year.

I live in Florida, so it isn't feeling quite "fall-ish", but that doesn't mean we can't try!

Right now the house really bland. I haven't hung anything up, none of the decor is out so I headed to the kitchen to whip up some homeyness in the form of these little bits of heaven.

 These are AMAZING! Snag the recipe HERE. There is a frosting that goes with it, but I saved that for the grownups ;)

Nothing like pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg in the oven to fill the house with warm fuzziness :)

 I lit my apple cinnamon candle too, for more fall-feeling-awesomeness.

Now to pawn these cookies off on my pumpkin loving friends so I won't eat all of these!

Have a blessed Wednesday!

We're in Here...

Ok the move is over and we are in our new place. I could not have fathomed how hard it would be moving with two toddlers...but they really did a good job considering. It was still really hard!

If you are gearing up for a move, I recommend heading over to Flylady.net  and checking out her moving tips .  There are lots of awesome tips on making your move smoother. I know they helped me quite a bit.

Things are still a bit everywhere though.

 This is my craft area...need I say more...This will hopefully be remedied by end of day...maybe. That terrible plaid curtain HAS TO GO!

 Furniture is sort of in place, but we are getting some new pieces so I'm not committing to placement yet. And we have TONS of BARE walls!

 The kitchen is the only room that is pretty much in order. Happy to still have lots of cabinets! I am liking the layout of this kitchen.

The view from where I'm sitting...I can still see my little ones watching Thomas so all is well :)

I will make one note. MAKE SURE TO BRING THE COFFEE POT!!! 

Day 1 - Forgot the coffee pot at old house

Day 2 - Hubby forgot it again

Day 3 - Got the pot...no coffee filters (I don't use paper products so not even a paper towel!)

Day 4 - FINALLY having a cup of coffee in my new house. Now if only it would quite raining so I can enjoy my coffee on my little deck out back!

I'm so happy to be back and blogging and I am going to be posting MUCH more often, so please subscribe or follow me on Twitter to stay in the loop!

Happy Tuesday!

Moving

So this week there won't be any blog posts because we are moving! 

 

Not far, actually to the neighborhood we lived in before we got here. So basically a few minutes away.

A new place, means a great excuse to bust out some of the DIYs I've been eyeing on Pinterest :)

So hopefully, there will be lots of fun new things to blog about once we get all settled.

My kids are enjoying the moving process.

I can't say that they are very helpful...but gosh it's cute! Right now they are hiding in the suitcases and giggling. It's hilarious.

The Etsy shop will be open and I'll be keeping up with orders during the move (my sewing machine will be the last thing taken out and the first thing set up!)

Everyone have a wonderful week! And pray that I can finish packing my house, despite my crazy children!

Inspiration Workship - Favorite DIY

Don't you just love Thursdays?

I am really enjoying the Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop. It's getting me all kinds of inspired!

This week is Favorite DIY 

I don't quite know if it is possible to identify my favorite DIY, my Pinterest and bookmarks folder is FILLED with adorable projects I have completed, and a lot I haven't gotten around to.

So for my favorite ALL TIME DIY

The Prudent Baby Pretty Makeup Bag

This was probably my first project with my sewing machine almost a year ago and I CONSTANTLY refer to this tute for guidance on sewing zippers, lining zippered bags, making gussets in bags...it's sooo versatile!

I mean you cannot resist making something to put something in right?

Okay, now for some DIY eye candy and inspiraition

Source: prudentbaby.com via Cricket on Pinterest

All things DIY and Missoni fabulous!

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Emily on Pinterest

This is one I keep saying, "I'm totally doing that!" But seriously. I'm totally doing it before my move :)

Source: thecsiproject.com via Erin on Pinterest

This is GORG and all the storage you will ever need is right in it. Tell the hubs to get on this ASAP. Lord knows I don't need to be handling power tools...


There is so much amazing DIY inspiration out there. I could easily spend my entire day on Pinterest looking at DIY projects.


There is nothing more fulfilling than making something totally awesome all by yourself :)

Keepin it Crafty

It has been a little bit crazy busy lately as I told you all in a previous post.

I do feel like my blog has been suffering a bit and blogging is what got me into all this so I want to keep it up.

My Bow Tie deal is going to be on Very Jane till tomorrow (or until the quantity limit is reached), so if you haven't checked it out, do that! There are a couple other adorable deals, like hand stamped family key chains and cute fabric flower bobby pins on there too right now.

Yesterday, I found an unopened bag of jelly beans from Easter.

 The sugar rush inspired a flurry of crafting. I got some "non-etsy-related" crafting done and it felt amazing (actually it was probably just all the sugar). I actually made a fall wreath and a fabric covered headband with a little ruffle poof. 

 Im REALLY in love with my wreath. We are moving in a couple weeks and I have been having fun dreaming up decor schemes :) This mustard-y wool-y felt called to me at Joann...and yeah it's pretty awesome. Here's the tute for the wreath :)


So it's most likely going to continue to be crazy, but I am hoping to get on here and at least post about the crazy :) Have a great day!