Christmas Cookies

I didn't post my thankfulness last night, because we were doing this:

And I don't have an excuse for the night before... exhaustion, perhaps?!

I'm linking to Fight Back Friday. I haven't done that in a long time... but I'd like to get back into that habit.

Last night, we used the Arrowhead Mills cookie kit to make Christmas cookies. There were sugar cookies and little gingerbread men. I loved this kit!

The ingredients were all natural. They also didn't include any dairy or egg or nut products. I was able to substitute oil for butter and egg replacer for eggs and not worry about my boys having an allergic reaction.

I love to bake with my kids; there are many lessons to be learned throughout the process. However, I really appreciated the convenience of adding a couple ingredients and being able to get to the fun part quickly! The cookie cutters were small enough for my kids to comfortably use and be independent. And small enough that they could eat a few without having to much sugar.

You could purchase or make icing for these cookies. A recipe was included for icing. I chose to add some all natural sprinkles and a little sugar before baking, and the toppings stuck on just fine.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading.

P.S. I wasn't paid for posting about Arrowhead Farms. I just really liked this product, and my kids did too!

Second verse, same as the first

a.k.a. Fight Back Friday
a.k.a. Fresh salad from the garden.

Last night, I dressed it differently than the first night.

Deliciously fresh greens, intense with flavor, from the garden

cilantro, also from the garden

1 shredded carrot

1/2 squeezed lemon

dash of olive oil

1/2 clove of garlic

And I paired it with:

corn bread, brown rice cooked in homemade chicken broth, black beans cooked w/ fresh garlic, onion, cumin and tomatoes. And you know something? This usually flavorful dish PALED in comparison to the salad. Maybe it needed some cilantro too?

Fight Back Friday. Whole Food Cheeze Crackers

When you have little ones underfoot, you tend to get creative. And making a controlled mess in the kitchen is preferred to an uncontrolled mess all over the house. Especially when it's rainy.

A few weeks back, I made a recipe for cheese crackers. I think they taste so much better than the kind you get in a box. And it was fun to make too.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups grated cheese

6 T whole grain wheat flour

1 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

1 T cold water

paprika

Mix the ingredients to a stiff dough. Roll out very very thin and bake for 5 minutes at 450 degrees.

I'd like to try using rice flour to make them gluten free, and I think experimenting with the cheeses would be fun too. You could get really creative with the extra seasoning too...herbs, spices. Yum!

Recipe from Nikki and David Goldbeck's American WholeFoods Cuisine

For more food tips, check out Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

Fight Back Friday. Whole Grain Soft Pretzels.

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. ~ Dr. Suess

Oh. We've had rain. I love the rain. It waters my garden.

But, it makes it difficult to play outside. And I have a 2 year old boy, who loves to play outside.

So, we made pretzels. Awesome recipe there. Honey instead of sugar, whole grain wheat flour. Quick to make, Fun to play. No added junk. I like that in a pretzel.

More food tips at Food Renegade on Fight Back Friday!

Grapefruit Goodness

I am reposting this today to take part in a blog carnival hosted by Food Renegade called Fight Back Friday.

There is something amazing going on inside this fruit, and it's more than the great taste. There are several segments, seperated by heavy membranes. Within each segment, more segments also seperated by membranes, though these are much thinner, all containing delightful droplets of refreshing juice.

But I see more. I see little morsels combined together to do a good work, bringing nourishment to the consumer. Much like individuals in the body of Christ, combined, can do a good work.

I see walls that seperate, holding in, protecting the nourishment. Much like the walls around my heart, protecting my spirit from that which could puncture, hurt, bruise.

And I see children, faces dripping, taking in healthy nourishment, enjoying every bit.