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I declared April my get healthy month, but I’ve done little to change my diet and (currently non-existent) exercise habits. Shame on me. Once upon a time not long ago I was in great shape, so I know what I’m missing… I’m just having a hard time getting going.

My sister is pretty solid on the healthy eating front. She sent me these recipes and claims that even her kids love them. I plan to give them a try and thought I’d share in case anyone else wants to play along!

Protein Cookies

3 cups oat flour (rolled oats ground into a flour)
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (OR just sub an extra 1/2 cup oat flour)
2 T sugar (optional)
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 cup + 2 T nut butter of choice (i.e. peanut butter, almond butter..)
3/4 cup honey (OR brown rice syrup if vegan)
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
White chocolate chunks (OR chocolate chip of preference)
Dried raspberries and cranberries

Directions:

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
In a large bowl mix together oat flour, protein powder, sugar, and sea salt.
In microwave or on stove, heat the nut butter and honey until melted and stir together.
Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir until fully combined. The mixture should be crumbly. Slowly add almond milk until a very thick dough is formed. Stir in the chocolate pieces, dried raspberries and cranberries until fully incorporated.
Using your hands, form small balls with the dough and press into a cookie shape on the baking tray. You can use a fork to smash in decorative lines. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before eating.

kalechips

Kale Chips

Juice and pulp of one lemon
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T minced garlic
3/4 t sea salt
1 large bunch kale

Directions:

Whisk all of the ingredients except the kale together in a really big bowl. Set this “marinade” aside.
Wash and spin kale dry. Cut the leaves from the stalks and tear into chip sized pieces.
Add the kale pieces to the marinade. Coat the kale in the marinade, kneading it into the leaves.
Lay the kale out in a single layer on food dehydrator sheets. Set dehydrator to 145 degrees for 3-4 hours (OR just use your oven set on 140-150 degrees). Kale chips are done when they are crisp and snap in half when bent.

Enjoy!

xoxo

The official start of spring is just a few weeks away (yay!). And it’s the perfect time to get a jump start on your spring cleaning. I live in a small house and my guy has hoarding tendencies, so decluttering and organizing are recurring themes.

Here’s how I’ve managed to at least organize our spices and free up some much needed kitchen cabinet space. And further below are some decluttering tips and motivational reading from Japanese organizing sensation Marie Kondo. I love her notion that you should only keeps items that spark joy! Then thank the items you decide to part with and then let them go.

declutter1

With an inexpensive auto drip pan from Walmart and some magnetic spice canisters from World Market, I was able to free up several shelves in my kitchen– and I’m actually able to find the spices I’m looking for when I need them! Just screw the metal pan to the wall, fill your spice canisters, and voila! This project could not be simpler.

Below is a list of items if you want to order on-line. Note that auto drip pans come in various sizes, so if you don’t see the size you’d like just have a Google for more options. I simply walked into my local Walmart and bought one they had in-store in the auto section.

Lumax Galvz Drip Pan 47”x25” on sale at Walmart for $25 (was $31)

Lumax Galvz Drip Pan 18”x25” on sale at Walmart for $10 (was $13)

Blitz Oil Drop Pan from Ace for $15

Magnetic spice tins at World Market – set of 5 for $10

De-cluttering and organizing seem overwhelming? Not sure where to start? Marie Kondo is a Japanese organizational consultant who teaches that you should:

Only keep items that spark joy!
Thank the items that you decide to part with.
Organize and tidy what is left.

Her books are best sellers and you can find tons of reviews and information about her philosophy on-online. Good Morning America recently had Marie on to help declutter a couple’s apartment. (View the GMA clip here.) And several articles have been written on her work, like Purge sentimental tat and get rid of every ‘joyless’ item: The top 10 tips for decluttering your home, according to the ‘KonMari craze’ sweeping the world. The top 10 tips list includes things like:

Avoid using stacking storage boxes as they encourage hoarding; and
Don’t keep things ‘just in case’. It’s a false economy (they cause clutter, let them go).

But perhaps most important of all: Don’t tell all your loved ones about your decluttering plans – especially if they have hoarding tendencies themselves. Note to self. 😉

Happy spring cleaning!
xoxo