No Bake Energy Nut Balls

Well I didn’t intend on posting another recipe today but these are just too good not to share. I make these often and they are the perfect grab and go snack. A friend recommended these about a year ago and since then we have perfected our favorite kind. I love that there are so many flavor combinations that can be used to make these and you can make them as healthy (or unhealthy) as you wish. By substituting ingredients you can also make a nut free version of these. Here is the recipe that I used.

This may look like a ton of ingredients, but there’s nothing in here that I had to run to the store to buy. I almost always already have everything I need on hand.

I am going to double the original site’s recipe which says you will yield about 2 dozen balls. I have never made just one batch but for a double batch I usually get somewhere between 30 and 36 balls. Around here they go quick and I wouldn’t know but I’d bet they’d keep in the fridge for a LONG time so no harm in doubling up from the start.

·         1 C nut butter (almond, peanut, sunflower seed, Nutella,  or soy nut butter)

·         1/3 C honey

·         1/3 C agave nectar (you can find this natural sweetener in the sugar section of most grocery stores,if you don’t have this you can just use 2/3 cup honey; you could also try brown rice syrup, maple syrup or corn syrup)

·         2 C old fashioned rolled oats (The minute version will also work and you can toast these at 350 for 10 minutes to bring out the flavor)

·         1 C shredded coconut (you can use sweetened or unsweetened)

·         1 C of dry, ground ingredients like wheat bran or germ, oat bran, ground flax seed (I don’t think a whole cup of ground flax seed would be the way to go, we usually go for about a ½ cup of flax seed and ½ cup of nuts) or ground nuts

·         2-4 tsp of vanilla (I use 4 generous tsps of vanilla and have used almond extract in a pinch)

·         Pinch of sea salt if the nut butter contains no salt

·         2-4 tsp of spices (we’ve used pumpkin spice, apple pie, nutmeg and ginger but cinnamon is our favorite)

·         1 C miscellaneous ingredients (here’s where you can really get creative using roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruits (raisins, craisins and dates work well), white or dark chocolate chips, small candies like chopped candy bars or mini m+m’s or even sprinkles to make them into a birthday or holiday specific treat)

I just put all of the ingredients in one large bowl and stir with a silicon spatula or large spoon. It’s easiest to stir if the ingredients are at room temperature. Once everything is combined put your bowl in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

Once refrigerated, compact then roll your "batter" into 1 inch balls. Because I use half honey and half agave nectar my “batter” is extra sticky so I usually make about 10 balls at a time and then refrigerate again. If you want a quicker solution try using less agave nectar or add oats, oat flour, or another dry ingredient. I have also sprayed my hands with non stick cooking spray and that worked okay too.

To make birthday or holiday balls you can either mix the sprinkles in with the batter or roll your finished product in them. Store them in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer.

These are great for any type of party or sporting event and they even make great gifts when paired with a pretty platter or container. Another idea: layer the dry ingredients into a mason jar with a pretty bow, add a gift tag and directions to add peanut butter, honey and vanilla and give as a hostess or teacher gift.

Psalm:32 1-2

32:1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
32:2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

I've got the month of May

 

It’s been almost a month since we started this Buy Nothing New Challenge and I wanted to go back to my goals and update everyone once again.

While I have been reading a daily devotional and saying daily prayers with kids, I am still just as confused as ever with many things pertaining to faith, religion, the Bible and what God and Jesus’ intentions for us are. I am still reading Radical by David Platt which is probably why I am so confused.  Coupled with my own bewilderment concerning faith and the Bible, Platt encourages the reader through thought-provoking questions to re-evaluate the ways in which we (American Christians) are worshipping Christ and living the gospel.

My second goal was to stop rushing around so that I had time to really listen to people. Unfortunately with the end of the school year, several trips to the doctors and dentist, trying to attend more workouts and a new puppy I haven’t exactly slowed down any. Somehow though, with all that running around I did manage to use less gas which means I can only attribute that to not driving to Jacksonville for things that I “need.”

In an effort to save money, we thought I could learn to
cut hair. I have been practicing on Patrick. I still have a
lot of learning to do when it comes to blending.

Another goal that I failed to make much headway with this month was our monthly budget. I do believe we spent less and I saved all of our receipts but I didn’t create or stick to a budget. I either have 3 days to get busy or I can wait to tackle this goal in June.

And I didn't do so great on Shannon's bangs either. She
looks so different to us- 2 1/2 and she got her
first haircut. Tim says it accentuates her mullet.

My final goal was to lessen our environmental impact. Besides for using less gas, we shopped for local produce and eggs, recycled A LOT more and bought almost everything we needed used. We got “new-to-us” dish towels, doggie leash and collar, and book.  We also were able to give Mother’s Day and Birthday presents from what we already had. Unfortunately, we also deviated from the challenge a little when we bought a new shovel (to replace the one we broke during clothesline attempt #1) and 2 new 4x4’s for our clothesline project. Both of these purchases are technically within my guidelines because the shovel is to replace one that broke and the 4x4’s are to make something but I know we could have done better. We could easily borrow a shovel (although maybe not anymore now that everyone knows we broke our first one) and there is a pile of 4x4’s at an old abandoned building down the road that I bet we could have if we called about them.

A couple more areas we could still work on are eating pizza out less and lowering our electric bill. We will also be able to lower our water usage once we get our dishwasher fixed. We also really need to give more.  I feel okay about the amount of money and time we have given to the church and charities this month but I know we can do better. Right before Christmas I had read about a lady who cleaned out and gave away 40 bags in 40 days. The gist is to pick a different area of your home each day for 40 days and clean that area out and collect a bag’s worth of stuff to donate. I think I will try a 30 bags in 30 days project for the month of June. Why not 40? Well because when I tried this before I realized I don’t have 40 “places” in my home to de-clutter.

And yup if you missed the 2 not so subtle hints in this post, we “have” a puppy. He was wondering in our neighborhood last week very sick and skinny. After trying to take him to Animal Control to get him some medicine and find him a home last week we will try again today. He is great with the kids and probably the world’s most well behaved puppy and we would love to keep him, we’re just not sure if we can handle taking care of another living being right now. My emotional and practical sides have been in constant conflict since he came to us last Wednesday. I hope things become clear before Animal Control opens today at noon.

And finally, I want to share the areas I will remain focused on as this challenge continues.

Faith-Read Bible, say prayers, give more to the poor, learn more to teach more

Family- Keep up with pictures, cards and spending time not money on family

Friends-Slow down, listen, spend more time, keep in better touch with friends

Finances- Budget, give,save, invest

Fun- Sometimes it’s hard to remember but there are many low stress, inexpensive ways to have fun

Mark 12:41-44
⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Teacher Gifts

So my Mom arrived earlier this week and when I told her about the end of the year picnic for Patrick’s school she was excited she could attend and then she asked me what I was getting for the teacher’s end of year gift. Well honestly I hadn’t thought about it since we did Christmas gifts for the teachers and I give them the gift of my child every day (hehe) but then I realized she was right. I really do appreciate all that his teachers have done for him and the environment they have created for the kids to learn in and all that good stuff, but more importantly I knew all of the other mom’s would have gifts too. Knowing I probably didn’t have time to make something and I don’t know them well enough to shop for them in a thrift store, I decided on baked goods.

My baking repertoire usually consists of chocolate chip cookies, Betty Crocker’s yellow cake mix and the occasional muffin. While all delicious and actually gift worthy, I was hoping for something a little fancier. Now this is not tiramisu or crème brulee but cheesecake is certainly a little fancier than what I’m used to.  Growing up I remember these cheesecake cupcakes with cherry pie filling on top so I went online and found a recipe. Now I almost feel guilty because my “fancy” gift was incredibly easy, I’m talking 5 ingredients and 15 minutes easy. I better write his teachers a really nice card now.





2 year old cracking eggs....

Vanilla Wafers in cupcake wrappers



Taste Testing




































Vanilla wafers (about 18)
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. lemon juice (optional)


Place 1 vanilla wafer in bottom of each cup cake liner. Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool. Put cherry pie filling (blueberries or other fruit) on top. I found this recipe at http://ourrecipegroup.blogspot.com/2009/02/cherry-cheesecake-cupcakes.html- Thank you!



So fancy...right?





Okay well I'm actually really happy with how these turned out. They are yummy, very easy and I think with the pretty presentation and nice card they really made a nice gift. And in all seriousness I am kind of sad about the end of Patrick's first school year. His teachers are really wonderful and because of them he will continue to look forward to school for a long time. Even though we debated having him go elsewhere next year for a different schedule I am very excited for him to go back next year. Almost all of his classmates will be returning and he'll have the same teachers. In a military lifestyle we won't always be afforded that continuity and so we are looking forward to taking advantage of it next year. 

Ice Cream Sundae Celebration

End of Year Preschool Program

Run for the Warriors

For the last 7 years Hope for the Warriors, a national non-profit organization that supports the families of our fallen service members and wounded service men and women and their families, has held Run for the Warriors in Jacksonville NC. I ran for the first time 2 years ago. I was just 3 months postpartum and had never run more than 3 miles, but decided to run the 6 mile race so I could run with friends. I grew up an athlete but as an overweight soccer goalie and first baseman in softball, running was hardly my thing. Run for the Warriors was my first ever race and I made it to the finish line propelled only by the man next to me, a wounded warrior with a prosthetic foot running next to his own family.

I ran again last year, this time 22 weeks pregnant. Again, I made it to the finish happy to be among my friends from Stroller Warriors and honored to run alongside so many wounded warriors.  At some point while they were announcing overall and age group winners, they also announced the oldest and youngest participants. Patrick was immediately impressed by the 4 year old who ran it and at that point he decided that he would also run the 5k when he was four. He also challenged my mom to run it with him!

So over the past year, Patrick and Nana have been training for the 5k and finally got a chance to run it this past weekend. Even though Patrick fell and skinned his knee in the first quarter mile, they pushed on and finally crossed the finish line. I am so proud of them both. I am proud that they kept going even after Patrick was hurt but I am especially proud that they decided to do it in the first place. It was a first for both of them and definitely out of their comfort zones. And I am also happy to announce they have already started to plan for next year’s race.

If you are in Jacksonville, NC or desire to come to this fine town, then I suggest you sign up for this race next year. If you check out the Hope for Warriors site you may also find one close to you. Registration and fundraising goes to a wonderful cause, which is near and dear to so many of my friends and it is also a great family event.

 Here’s the link to Hope for the Warriors- Hope for the Warriors

And here’s the link to the Jacksonville run information- Run for the Warriors

Turn around Tuesday 

Patrick's Artwork

Next week Patrick will complete his first year of preschool. With the end of the year fast approaching we are both experiencing mixed feelings. While he will certainly miss his friends and teachers I think he’s looking forward to time at the beach and local playgrounds. I too am looking forward to a little more freedom in our schedule, but among other things, I am going to miss the excitement of opening his backpack each afternoon and pulling out his artwork.  Over the last 9 months we have pulled out cars, trains, bugs, candy canes, snakes, feathers, sail boats, dinosaurs, teddy bears and at least 100 or so other drawings, paintings and random treasures. While I haven’t kept them all, I do have a small collection of my favorites.

15 years ago I would have rolled my eyes at my own mother, “Mom, why do you still have this watercolor painting I did 2 years ago?” And now her words are coming back to me, “One day you’ll understand.” She was right. Even though Patrick may no longer be excited about any particular piece of artwork, at one point he reached deep down into his camouflage backpack, eyes wide open, about to burst with excitement, pulled out his masterpiece and rushed through an explanation of why he carefully chose each color, how he put those colors together and the way he felt when one of his teachers told him they liked what he had made. Remembering those moments and how proud he was makes me cherish each piece even more.



So now that school is out, my summer project is to find frames for my favorite pieces and hang them throughout the house….just in time to start putting aside my favorites from next years collection. What do you do with the artwork your kids bring home?
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I guess since this post is all about Patrick's artwork
it's only fitting all the pictures are of the girls.

James 1:19-25
¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.


²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

BNN Updates...

Now that it has been two weeks since the BNN Challenge began, it’s time for an update. We haven’t bought anything new but we do have a few “new” things. I made my first EBAY purchase, I have made quite a few gifts, given a few birthday and Mother’s Day gifts and received many gifts.  I also have updates on some of the other changes we’ve made.

In addition to the earrings I made for Mother’s Day, the kids and I also made a handful of picture frames to give to some of the ladies at church on Sunday.   Then we made this vase- I just spray painted it silver. At first I tried a decorative touch but when that didn’t work I just painted it back silver. I love that it looks so much like mercury glass. I will attempt more decorative ideas later but for now….



Finished product with flowers from our garden

Then I took this old mirror that we had gotten and that had been cracked during our move and I revamped it with more spray paint and some chalkboard paint. Tim asked me what I was going to use it for. Hmmm, yes it looks better but I guess it isn’t exactly all that useful. Maybe the kids can practice letters on it….

first try: latte color



I like the blue much better

For Mother’s Day I got a beautiful frame from Patrick that is being displayed on our bookshelf and a few handmade cards that I will cherish forever! I also had 2 different friends show up with gifts on different days. I was so surprised and their gifts were so thoughtful! For Mother’s Day I wanted our clothesline to be put up so we gave it a whirl but we made a few mistakes and so that gift will be enjoyed a little later. I will make sure to blog about our trials and errors with the clothesline so that no one else makes the mistakes we did and to hopefully show off the final product.

Now for my EBAY purchase! For someone as competitive as I am, EBAY is very exciting and maybe a little addicting so I think I am going to have to be careful turning there when I “need” something. When we began the BNN challenge we identified a few areas where we are really wasteful and our over use of paper towels immediately came to mind. We use paper towels as napkins for dinner, to clean every surface of the house, to wipe up spills and even as tissues. Needless to say, between 5 of us, we use a waste  use a lot of paper towels. A friend recommended finding vintage fabric to make towels or to use as towels and while I love the idea, lots of fruitless searching at thrift stores had me turning to EBAY where I scored 4 vintage towels.

Since we started the BNN 2 weeks ago we have made some other changes as well. I have started to save every receipt so that I can really see where all our money goes. I also started washing dishes by hand. Because our dishwasher isn’t draining this is something I really have to do but I must say I can’t wait to get our dishwasher fixed so I can hang up those pretty gloves and look at them instead of actually using them. Although I haven’t officially compared Tide and our new homemade laundry detergent, I must say I think the homemade stuff works just as well. It doesn’t have a strong perfume smell but leaves the clothes smelling fresh enough.

To help me resist temptation throughout the challenge and beyond it too, I spent the last week unsubscribing to dozens (literally) of catalogues, coupons and advertisements that we get on a daily basis, be it from the postal service or email. I don’t know about you but I find it difficult to resist emails that read “Today Only: 75% off the most fabulous shoes ever, plus free shipping” or “All kid’s clothes an additional 25% off, Starting at 3.99.”  At the very least I open the email and look at the pictures, but usually I end up browsing the site and maybe even purchasing something, "since it's on-sale" or "to treat myself." In addition to emails, we also get a ton of catologues sent to our house. I almost always flip through them, but not this week. Since I know I can’t buy anything it was great to just throw them right into the recycling bin before I even went inside. I saved time and money. The next day I called and had them remove me from their mailing list and I spent an entire 3 hour naptime unsubscribing from all the automatic sales updates I receive to email. It’s embarrassing but from what I can remember I unsubscribed to at least 19 companies mailing list. Yikes!

Another day at naptime Patrick
tried to undress himself and ended up
with his shirt around his waist. He
then walked around like this for hours.

I have also started to read "Radical" by David Platt and I've been really thinking about what I want out of this challenge spiritually. If I’m going to honest, this is the part of the challenge where I have the least amount of confidence and it’s a challenge for me just to write about it. I’m young and have sooo much to learn about God, the Bible and pretty much everything religious so I am often wary of speaking out loud about such things. I don’t want to be wrong, sound stupid or drive people away so I usually just avoid the topic altogether with everyone except a few of my very closest, non-judgmental friends. 50 pages into Radical, it has been interesting to get a “different” perspective of the American church and the American dream. I am excited to read-on.

Getting ready to run. I in no way reccomend
doing this!

 

Package from Afghani-Danny

And yet another change that we will be making is that starting on June 1^st, I will be a Sunday School teacher.  I don’t have much other to say about this except that I am a little bit excited but mostly incredibly nervous because I’m not so sure the kids will listen to me and, once again, I feel like I have no business teaching kids something I still know so little about. Thankfully the ladies at church have agreed to help me whenever I need it and I have my own Mom’s example to follow as well.

James 1:19-27

19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.