It always aggravates me when I want to pin a recipe, to make at a later time and I can't do it without signing up for some website I don't want to join!  Uuugh! so I copied this recipe from a Facebook post and here it is:  I'm hoping to make these for my kids for a quick breakfast as we are running out the door!

Zucchini Tots By Metabolic Cooking Book http://tiny.cc/Metabolic

Ingredients:
1 cup zucchini, grated
1 large egg
1/4 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup reduced sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to taste
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

Grate zucchini into a clean dish towel. Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Fill each muffin section to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted so they don't fall apart when you take them out of the tin.

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Use a plastic knife or rubber spatula around the edges of each tot to remove them from the muffin tin. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information:
Servings per recipe 3, Serving size is 4 tots, Old Points: 2 pts, Points+: 3 pts, Calories 108 per serving (4 tots) , Fat 4.3 g, Protein 6.8 g, Carb 11.5 g , Sugar 2 g, Sodium 262 mg (if you do not use salt)

No Bake Banana Chocolate Protein Bars

Now you can quickly and easily make your own protein bars at home! This no bake recipe takes high quality protein powder and combines it with wholesome, real food ingredients to create a delicious protein bar to power your day. Store these in your freezer, then simply allow to defrost for a few minutes before enjoying. Serving: 10

Here's what you need...

• 1 cup vanilla protein powder
• /4 cup coconut flour
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water (and more if needed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
• 1 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or higher)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

1. In a medium bowl combine the protein powder and coconut flour.
2. In another medium bowl mash the bananas. Add the coconut milk, water and vanilla, mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. If the batter is dry then add a few more drops of water. Mix in the chocolate chips.
3. Line a freezer-safe plate with wax paper. Form the dough into 10 bars. Place on the wax paper and put in the freezer for 20 minutes.
4. In a double boiler over medium-low heat (make your own by placing a small saucepan directly in a skillet that has few Tablespoons of water) melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil.
5. Remove the bars from the freezer and drizzle or dip in the melted dark chocolate. Return to the freezer for 10 minutes until the chocolate has hardened.

Nutritional Analysis: One bar equals: 183 calories, 6g fat, 11g carbohydrate, 99mg sodium, 5g fiber, and 18g protein

I found this great recipe for homemade coffee creamer on Facebook yesterday!  I couldn't wait to try it out, I have been using only whole milk in my coffee. But it just isn't the same!

So I cut & pasted this recipe from a Facebook post written by: 

Journey To Health With Tonya

Homemade Coffee Creamer – Over 2 Dozen Flavor Varieties!

Ok, so for whatever flavor of creamer you want, you start off with the same basic ‘base’ recipe.

14oz sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 cup milk or cream (whole, lowfat, skim, almond, soy, heavy cream, half & half etc – whatever your preference, however the more fat, the more creaminess)

Mix the ingredients together well. I like to add them to a mason jar and shake it like crazy. You could also opt to use an old (washed) creamer container.

In all these recipes, anything that has a dry or thick ingredient (like cinnamon, honey, etc..) should be heated up with a small amount of your milk/cream from the base recipe so it can dissolve properly. You don’t want grainy creamer! Then, add the rest of the milk/cream along with the sweetened condensed milk.

If you want really creamy creamer, use heavy cream instead of milk in your base recipe.

I stick a piece of tape on my mason jar lid with the expiration date from the milk I used. I use this as a guideline as to when the creamer should be used by.

Please feel free to play around with amounts of extracts and other ingredients used if you like stronger or less intense flavors!! And, let your imagination turn, and make up your own combinations. Use this as inspiration to create your very own perfect homemade flavored creamer!
 

French Vanilla Creamer
2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR vanilla coffee syrup

Vanilla Bean Coffee Creamer
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Chocolate
2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
(1 tsp vanilla extract, optional)

Chocolate Almond
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon almond extract

Strudel
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Vanilla Caramel
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Raspberry
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons raspberry syrup

Irish Cream
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Coconut
2 teaspoons coconut extract

Samoa (like the Girl Scout Cookies)
2 teaspoons coconut extract (or sub coconut milk or cream of coconut, heated & strained, for the milk/cream)
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping

Peppermint Patty
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Cinnamon Vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pumpkin Spice
3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Honey Vanilla
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Almond Joy
1-2 teaspoons coconut extract (or sub coconut milk or cream of coconut if you heat it first, strained, in place of the milk & extract)
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

Sweet Cream
Use 1 3/4 cups of heavy cream instead of the milk in the base recipe
2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR the inside of a vanilla bean, scraped
1 teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate Orange
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1-2 teaspoons orange extract

Hazelnut
2 teaspoons hazelnut extract

Chocolate Hazelnut
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons hazelnut extract

Cinnamon Cake
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Salted Caramel
2-3 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon salt

Eggnog
replace milk in base recipe with equal amount of heavy cream
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons rum extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Toasted Almond
2 teaspoons almond extract


Enjoy!!! For more tips join us! >> Journey To Health With Tonya

 “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Life is getting really crazy in our household!  It seems that once Thanksgiving hits, life accelerates for busy families.  Getting ready for the Holiday's tends to put most households on edge.  The pressures to buy the right gifts, decorate, bake, attend holiday parties, and manage all the rest of our "normal" crazy lives tend to really stress us out!

For our family this time of year has been leading up to my daughter's performance in the Nutcracker!  Our ballerina has been working hard for months rehearsing with the cast to get ready for one weekend of Holiday Magic!  Just watching her first night of dress rehearsals last night got me teary!  It truly has become a holiday tradition for our family.

However, as rehearsals went on until 8:30, and I was driving home with my interior light on, and my daughter in the passenger seat trying to finish her math homework. I was regretting letting her attend our Girl Scout meeting where we worked on Christmas ornaments for the Christmas trees we are donating to needful families in our area.  This is our first year that she has 2 nights of ballet classes each week, and bigger roles in the Nutcracker.  Meaning she has 2 LATE nights of rehearsals this week also!

Needless to say, she is not going to get much sleep this week, which will put our whole family on edge.  Tweenage girls don't do well with lots of added stress, and less sleep than normal!

In my mailbox I came across this wonderful blog post  "Be the Change You Want to See In Your World" by Trent A. Hamm over at The Simple Dollar!  We have all seen the quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi.  Trent does a great job of breaking it down and really hammering it home!

Never more relevant a post for me and my family right now for certain.  After I had dropped my children off at school this morning I was thinking to myself that this week is going to be rough for our family, and it would be up to me to hold it all together.  We all know as Mom's we are the ones who set the dynamics in our family. Read the blog, take it to heart.  Know that I am right there with you struggling to keep my cool during this busy holiday time!

Good Luck!

Cleaning With Vinegar!

I am all about healthier and easy products for taking care of our families.  For a couple of months now I have been using a vinegar water solution to clean everything from windows to my refrigerator.  Vinegar is a great all purpose cleaner and it is made from corn!  I never knew that!  No preservatives, no additives, all natural!  Love It!  Vinegar has been used for 10,000 years. It just might be the world's oldest ingredient!

So very easy to make, fill a re-purposed spray bottle with 50% water - 50% white vinegar.  That's it, and it cleans like a dream!

Another thing I just learned today about Vinegar:  An open dish of white distilled vinegar will help remove paint smells from a room. Bonus!

Due to it's high level of acidity it kills most mold, bacteria, and germs.  I would much rather spray my counter tops with vinegar than a bleach spray to kill bacteria after I have been slicing and dicing raw meats!  There are so many more ways to use vinegar in your cleaning routines, I could never list them all, so I suggest you explore them at 1001 uses for White Vinegar!  There are a ton of great ideas I could have never thought of!

I also wanted to share with you a way to improve upon an already great cleaner.  I came across this great idea to create Scented Vinegars Cleansers that a fellow blogger , Monica created at her site The Yummy Life!  I am so loving these ideas, I plan to pick up some fresh lemons today!

How Great is this?  All natural, non-toxic and you can make it smell any way you like!  And its easy!  Love It!

Healthier Fast Food Choices

Is it possible to go Christmas Shopping and have lunch at the mall for less than 500 calories?  Apparently so!  Here is another great story by iVillage about how we can make healthier food choices even when we have to make quick stops at fast food restaurants for dinner or lunch!  Not all of these restaurants are available in my area, but I have hear of almost all of them!

Cheap, Homemeade Carpet Stain Remover!

I am a very big fan of the blog site One Good Thing By Jillee.  So when I read a post she had made about a Homemeade Carpet Stain Remover I had to try it!  

My daughter had a sleep over a couple of years ago, and unbeknownst (it must be a word, spell check liked it!) to me they had spilled pancake syrup on the carpet in my living room.  I tried everything to get that spot out.  Unfortunately, it had sat for a couple days before I even saw it.  I rarely go into the living room.  There is no time to watch TV, and if we have a busy couple of days, well, it can be a while...  Thankfully I had been able to cover it up by sliding the Loveseat forward a couple inches.

Anyways, I tried to get that spot out but nothing worked.  I even allowed the Kirby Salesman into our home to do a "free carpet cleaning demonstration" in the hopes that he could get it out.  No such luck!  I didn't end up buying the Kirby (nice system) but not in our budget.

Never the less, when I saw this post on Jillee's blog I had to try it!

It worked!  I filled a spray bottle halfway with Ammonia and filled it the rest of the way with hot water.  Got out a white towel to make sure I followed the directions exactly and plugged in my iron.

I gave that syrup spot a good spray, soaking it well.  Placed my towel over top and started ironing it with my hot iron.  I lifted the towel after ironing maybe 45 seconds (+/-) and da da da da!  It was gone!

It really worked!  Next I worked on that spot where someone spilled pop at my son's birthday party.  That disappeared too!  So I kept going.  I know have a spot free carpets in my home!  Yeah!!! 

Just be sure you don't inhale too much of the ammonia fumes!

Although we still needed to shampoo our carpets with a machine.  My husband recently did this.  (something I just physically can't do) Wow, I couldn't believe all the yuck he got out that you couldn't see.  

Hopefully someday soon that money tree will start growing in our backyard, OR we learn to live on a budget and we can put in hardwood floors throughout the house.  

Until then, I know how to get the carpet stains out and with kids, I am sure there will be more!