The Way Home

Traveling through life documenting what matters most to our home.

Categories: Family, Life, Wellness

Misfits Market

Are you looking to keep fresh, organic produce on hand while you are home with limited access to the grocery store? There has never been a better time to look into home delivery boxes. For several months now our family has enjoyed the benefits of having fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to our doorstep every 2 weeks from Misfits Market.

If you use my referral code: COOKWME-RA9UPK you can save 50% off your first “Madness” box until 3/18/20. Make sure you choose the larger box. You can change the size box and frequency at any time.

We have our Misfits Market box set to arrive every other Thursday. You can pick the day of the week you want it delivered and choose between every week or every other week. My girls love getting to unpack the cold-packed box and see what colorful goodies we received each week.

I love the flexibility of this produce program, because you can change the size and frequency of when you want your box delivered. You can choose to skip a shipment if you will be traveling or don’t need it one week. Also after your first shipment you are given the option to customize and choose which items you would like from the available seasonal options.

We love the opportunity to try new vegetables and experiment with different recipes for using fruits and vegetables. Some of our favorite ways to use the produce have been:

• Cabbage burgers – Slice cabbage into rounds, sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in oven.

• Cut up roasted vegetables.

• Juices and smoothies – Great way to use celery and kale!

• Apple Pie – We had a surplus of apples that needed to be used before going bad.

• Carrot top pesto

Let me know in the comments. Are you already a member of Misfits Market? Do you subscribe to another food box program that you love?

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Categories: Life, Photography, Printables, Recipes

Galentine’s Party

My girls love hosting parties for their friends, so this year we hosted our first Galentine’s Party! As I mentioned in my previous Share the Love post, I love all things decorating and crafting for Valentine’s Day. This time of year is usually pretty calm on most people’s calendars, so it makes for good timing to get a group together. For several weeks my girls and I have been scouting out Pinterest ideas and brainstorming the perfect food and crafts to have at their Galentine’s Party.

We were inspired with the beautiful Charcuterie Board food craze! It is amazing how simple food can look so pretty when laid out playfully on a board. We went with a variety of kid friendly foods like heart-shaped ham, turkey, cheese, crackers, carrots, strawberries, and heart shaped cookies.

I was walking through Trader Joe’s one day and saw a box of waffle cones and thought it would be cute to make a fruit arrangement. Of course I wasn’t the first to think of this idea as I found plenty of visual inspiration on Pinterest.

After lunch we passed around the tray of what I am calling Girls Affirming Paper Cookies. Each cookie had a life-giving bible verse that each of the girls read out loud to announce their personal affirmation for the day. We were inspired by these paper fortune cookies.

Choose coordinating printed pattern paper. Use a glass cup to trace a 3 inch circle on the back of the paper. Cut out circles. Print the page of affirming bible verses and cut into strips. Fold circle in half with the verse strip inside. Pinch in middle and attach a glue dot or adhesive. Fan the two edges out to look like a fortune cookie.
Download the page of bible verse strips to make your own cookies.
Girls-Affirming-Paper-Cookie-VersesDownload

After lunch the girls broke into their groups with their friends to bake cookies and complete a craft. We made heart-shaped shortbread sandwich cookies. They turned out, oh, so cute, and the girls had blast mixing up the ingredients and cutting out the shapes. Each girl took a baggie of decorated cookies home to their family to enjoy.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cold butter, cubed
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp cold water
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a mixer.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  • Roll out dough on a flour covered surface.
  • Cut with desired shape.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

While one group was baking their batch of cookies, the other group was constructing soothing rice bags. My mother, Vanessa, taught us to make these in various forms over the years. Instead of hunting down fabric for this project, I had another idea that would be easier for my girls to do the sewing to help their friends put together a soothing rice bag. We pop these soothing rice bags in the microwave for 2 minutes and warm them up and lay them across our next back to soothe tired muscles and relax before bed.

We bought a giant bag of rice from the grocery store and added about 10 drops of Young Living Lavender Essential Oil to a bowl of rice and stirred it up well before scooping into the arm tube.

Moms, as you are cleaning out closets and drawers for consignment sales or donation drop-offs, save long sleeve cotton shirts. They make a great tube shape to fill with rice with an easy stitch on both ends.

Outgrown children’s size long sleeve shirts or toddler size pants are the perfect size for upcycling for this project.

Leave my girls a note in the comments and let them know which of their ideas you would like to try at your next gathering.

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Categories: Essential Oils, Recipes, Wellness

Homemade – Carrot Cake Treats

My friend Danielle Gaynor over at Raising Kale recently shared this yummy recipe with me and I wanted to share it with ya’ll!

The winter months are a great time to load up on extra nutrients with protein found in raw nuts. Carrots are a particularly good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants.

These raw, organic, packed full of energy treats would make a great afternoon snack, healthy Valentine Day treat, or a surprise in your child’s school lunch.

If you use Young Living Vitality essential oils, you can spice the recipe up a bit by adding Cinnamon Bark Vitality, Nutmeg Vitality, and Copaiba Vitality.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups of dates (pitted, organic if possible)

• 1 cup shredded carrots (organic if possible and press out any excess moisture)

• ½ cup chopped walnuts

• 1 cup chopped pecans (toasting them a bit first really makes it amazing!)

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• ⅔ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (organic, if possible)

• 2 pinches of salt

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 drops Copaiba Vitality

• 2 drops Cinnamon Bark Vitality or 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 drop Nutmeg Vitality or ½ tsp nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Add oils or spices, pulse once or twice. Should be thick dough-type consistency.

Roll into small balls or press into silicone molds and refrigerate.

You can roll the balls into more coconut or chia seeds or some finely ground nuts.

Delicious! Store in the fridge for later, and for those mid-day pick-me-ups and cravings. 

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you try this snack in your home or make any yummy modifications! 

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Categories: Recipes, Wellness

Homemade – Apple Chips

With each of the major holidays it seems like we are bombarded with opportunities to indulge in unhealthy food options. I struggle with controlling the sugar intake that my girls get and we often talk about making good choices when they are at parties and celebrations. I like to be proactive in providing them with healthy choices now while their lifelong habits are forming.

This Valentine’s Day try making heart shaped apple chips for your children to enjoy in their lunches, for an afternoon snack, or make a large batch to send for a class party.

If you are a member of Young Living, you may have received a free bottle of my absolute favorite vitality essential oil, Cinnamon Bark Vitality during January 2020. Vitality essential oils are simply oils that are great for cooking, flavoring, and using internally. No worries if you don’t have the essential oil, you can use powder cinnamon for the spice.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Choose 3 large, wide apples. (I made the mistake of using smaller apples that weren’t wide enough for my heart shape and the sides of the apple cut through.) Also the apples will shrink while baking.

Use a sharp knife to slice thin horizontal slices.

Use a heart cutter to cut a heart shape out of the center of each slice and place on a baking pan.

Add 3 drops of Cinnamon Bark Vitality essential oil to 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil and pour over the tops of your apples. Sprinkle with powdered ground cinnamon.

Bake for 1 hour. Flip the apples, sprinkle more cinnamon, and bake for another hour.

After 2 hours if the slices still feel mushy, bake longer.

Allow to cool before eating.

If you don’t have a set of nesting, multi-size heart cookie cutter you totally need to get yourself a set! You will use them for so many things!

Here are 2 sets that I love.

Plastic Heart Cutters

Metal Heart Cutters

Now I hear you saying, “What if I don’t have 2 hours to wait to dry apple slices?” Well here is a super simple snack that anyone is sure to love.

Take an apple and slice it into rounds. Cut a heart shape out of the center and fill it with your favorite peanut butter, almond butter, or other nut butter of choice.

Or you can kick it up a notch by drizzling honey and sprinkling hemp hearts for a little crunch. You can call this the adult version, because I know you would appreciate healthy snacks also.

A simple heart makes an ordinary snack look so much more appealing to young eyes.

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you try this snack in your home! I can’t wait to here what modifications you make and the reaction of your children.

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