Body Beauty, Naturally

As wives, moms, home managers and the million other titles we have, we don't always have the time or budget to treat ourselves or our bodies the way we should. But our mindset and attitude affects our entire household. "When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" Thus, we must take time for ourselves to rest and reboot, even just for a few minutes.

Our theme for 2015-2016 is A Fierce Flourishing and includes Celebrating Lavishly, Embracing Rest and Noticing Goodness. Refresh your body by making a flavored water using strawberries and mint. Turn your bathroom into a mini-spa by lighting a few candles (those special smelly ones you've been saving), put some jazz on low and rest and relax by using one of the scrubs to smooth out some of those rough spots. Or if you are short on time, use the foot spray for a quick pick me and slather on a light lotion. You are worth the time and your family will benefit from a rested and relaxed mama!

All Over Scrub

½ Cup Sugar

¼ Cup Olive Oil (Or sweet almond oil or jojoba oil or coconut oil or grapeseed oil or avocado oil)

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice (You can use lime juice or lemon juice or essential oils if you have them) 

Mix sugar, oil and lime juice together. Let set about 15 minutes and check texture/consistency. Add more oil or more sugar as you desire. (We made something like this at MOPS and used ½ C sugar to ½ Cup oil.) 

In the winter, I use brown sugar, extra virgin olive oil, a bit of honey and vanilla. You can add in a little Vitamin E if you choose. Customize this to what you like!

Put in a clean container with a tight lid and store in a dry, cool spot. I use this all year long and have never had it go bad, but I tend to go through it within a month. So use within 6 weeks.

I use this on my face, neck, elbows, bum, ankles, all over! But it is for external use only.

Best Foot Forward Scrub

(From Ecobeauty by Lauren Cox with Janice Cox, pg 100)

½ Cup rolled oats/old fashioned oats

½ Cup cornmeal

½ Cup coarsesalt/sea salt

½ Cup olive oil

Mix together until you have a grainy mixture. Spoon into clean container with tight lid and store in a cool dry spot. Will keep about 4 weeks. Massage about a tablespoon-1/8 cup into each foot. Leave on for 5-10 minutes, then rinse well with warm water. Dry feet well and add a lotion to help keep your feet soft.

There is a product by Earth Therapeautics that I love called Foot Therapy Tea Tree Oil Foot Spray. I first started using it when I worked on the floor. It was perfect for after I worked 12+ hours to help combat that stinky foot issue. But I can't always find it and I wanted a foot spray for flip flop season that was quick, easy and inexpensive. I think I found it!

Foot Spray

I forgot to put the witch hazel in the picture!

(modified from Ecobeauty by Lauren Cox with Janice Cox, pg 104)

2 oz distilled water

1oz witch hazel

15 drops tea tree oil

5 drops peppermint essential oil

Pour ingredients into a 3 oz spray bottle and shake to mix. Spray on your feet  to help combat stinkiness or just for a quick pick me up. This is a nice size to take to the beach or on vacation. The scent is light and its not too "girly" smelling, maybe even spray a little on the husband or kids as you walk by!

Marriage Counselors, Take 2

Ok, so assuming we aren't canceled again for a snow/ice storm, we'll finally have our marriage speakers! Yay! You've written down confidential questions and topics, and they are prepared to talk about anything and everything. Big and small. Silly and serious.

Here is our original post about it...

http://erinpresbyterianmops.blogspot.com/2015/02/marriage-sos-this-thursday-feb-26th.html

Hope to see you this Thursday, April 23rd at 9:30am! Bring snacks, Pinterest experiments, or a store bought snack to share. And as always, if you think about it, bring some donations for OCC.

Not a single natural thing

As moms, we read labels, peruse organic veggies and listen to the debates about free range chickens versus chickens that grew up in the bad part of town. Personally, I feel I've done better foodwise from the days of grabbing a Pop-Tart, Diet Coke and a clove cigarette and calling it a balanced meal. (Don't judge, it was 1995. I was listening to the Grateful Dead and wearing Birkenstocks. It was mad days, I tell you, mad days.) So much information, so much of it conflicting. Sometimes, a gal just needs a Dorito.

On that note, these recipes are completely made with processed foods. Not.A.Single.Natural.Thing. among them. (I promise to redeem myself next time around. Scout's honor)

Chocolate Haystacks
6 oz (1/2 bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz (1/2 bag) butterscotch chips
1 C creamy peanut butter
6 oz (1/2 large bag) chow mein noodles (pretzel sticks would be really good too!)

No pics-my hands were chocolatey. Sorry.

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper or tin foil. Set aside.

Heat chocolate and butterscotch chips in a large bowl for 30 second intervals, until melted. Stir well after each 30 second interval. (It took me one minute of heating time).

Once melted, add the peanut butter to the chocolatey goodness and stir until smooth and completely incorporated. (Consider licking the spoon. Then get a clean spoon for the next bit)

Add chow mein noodles, stirring until totally coated.

Drop the yumminess by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and cool completely in the fridge. This made about 18 good size haystacks. (I found these to get a little melty if left out, so we stored them in the fridge.At Easter, we formed them into little nests and added Cadbury eggs).
Original recipe: http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/04/07/birds-nests/

Easy Cream Cheese Danishes
2 Can Pillsbury Grands Crescent Rolls (USE PILLSBURY-store brand don't work as well)
1 can pie filling (I used cherry)
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C sugar

Place crescent roll cans in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or tin foil. Join your cream cheese, vanilla and sugar together in holy matrimony (or just beat them together, whatever) until smooth.

Open the cans and slice each into 12 pieces (Don't unroll them, just slice them)

Place six slices on a cookie sheet (they spread, so don't crowd them!). Flatten the center to create a little well for the filling.

Fill the indent with half cream cheese mixture and half the pie filling. (I used 3 cherries and a little gel per danish).Bake until edges are golden brown (recipe says 15 minutes, mine took about 12 1/2).

Cool completely. Nosh away! These are wonderful if you make them the day before. They get very danishy and even more yum. I used one can of rolls and saved the rest of the pie filling and cream cheese mixture for another time. This family does not need 24 danishes in the house! In the comment section of the original recipe, there was a comment about making them savory using veggie cream cheese, shredded cheddar and ham-sounds fabulous.

Original recipe: http://bakingbytes.com/2013/10/14/easy-cream-cheese-danishes/

Cornflake treats
1/2 C butter
5 C (10oz bag) mini marshmallows
6 C corn flakes

Butter a 9x13 pan and set aside. Throw cornflakes in a bowl. Heat butter and marshmallows, stir continuously until completely melted.

Pour marshmallow mixture over the cornflakes and stir them up.

Put in the pan and cool completely in the fridge.

(This is the recipe used for Christmas Wreath cookies. At the insistence of J, we added green food dye and cinnamon red hots. Feel free to make them any color you want. Add sprinkles. Sprinkles make everyone happy!)

Original recipe: http://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2014/10/christmas-cornflake-wreaths.html

 If you have recipes for the blog, send them to dawn(dot)contreras at gmail(dot)com. Or bring samples to our next MOPS meeting on Thursday, April 23. We start at 9:30 am, so come a bit early to get your kidlets stored into childcare and your food situated. Hope to see you there!

This is why we NEED MNO....

And this is why we NEED an occasional MNO....

http://www.buzzfeed.com- new-mom-chronicled-her-babys-first-year-in-brutally-honest images 

Let's get out of the house and have a little time to ourselves!  We're having a MNO (Mom's Night Out) this Thursday, April 16th at 7pm at Casa Don Gallo on Northshore in the Rocky Hill area.  

Margaritas will be ordered, chips and salsa will be eaten, and....I will probably spill something on myself and not have a "kids dripped it on me" excuse.

Hope to see you there! (And if you can't make it to this one, we will hopefully be having another one soon on a different day of the week to accommodate different schedules.)

MOPS Thursday, April 9th 9:30am

It was so nice to see everyone and your kiddos at the Egg Hunt! (DK, LS and JY, we missed you!!! And whoa, we had quite a yummy spread- from the peep cupcakes, scrambled eggs + biscuits, and homemade cheddar crackers and bunny fudge.  I'm hungry just remembering it! (And by the way, CF, we'd love that recipe on the blog if you will forward it to dawn: dawn.contreras at gmail.com )

Welcome spring! And with spring, we'll have a spring craft this Thursday.  You know the drill...

MOPS 

Thursday, April 9th at 9:30am

Erin Presbyterian

Bring snacks/treats to share

Lots of laughter, catching up, encouragement and fellowship.

We'll be collecting new socks, toothpaste/brushes, hair accessories, and boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Be thinking and praying about how you'd like to be involved in MOPS next year.  Jannette will be going over leadership roles and the new theme for next year. 

(And on a very random note, did anyone happen to see a burlap bunny banner hanging around the MOPS room? I got home and realized I only have half of it...which I hung up anyway even though it looks a bit lopsided.) 

And since nothing says SPRING like this little kissable chick...

Super Easy Salsa and White Chicken Chili

I love salsa! I put it on everything-rice, beans, tacos, eggs, you get the picture. BUT I hate store bought salsa. Am I salsa snob? Perhaps, but I have not found a store bought one that I like. So you can see my dilemma-buy salsa from a restaurant every time I want a breakfast burrito or make my own. Neither are especially convenient. Until I received this recipe! Its good, easy, cheap and quick-all the necessaries for a favorite recipe. (This recipe was given to me by Lois Ramey, Knoxville, TN)

Super Easy Salsa
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 large yellow onion
1 jalepeno
2 cloves garlic (I used 1 large and 1 small)
cilantro (I used a chunk about the size of my palm)
1 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp Morton's Nature Seasoning.

Dump the tomatoes into the blender (or food processor, if you are fancy). Chop the onion, Cut the jalepeno (put in as few or as many seeds as you/your family can handle). Mince the garlic. Rough chop the cilantro and throw all that stuff  into the blender. Add some lime juice and Morton's Nature Seasoning (to taste). Pulse to the texture that you like.

(Small female child using kitchen appliances. Relax DCS, she had adult supervision. And it wasn't plugged in.)

Eat! This made about 2 cups of salsa and everyone in our family enjoyed its fresh taste. This is one of those recipes that you can not mess up-just tailor it to your taste! And because it seems uncivilized to just eat chips and salsa for supper, here's a recipe for super easy white chicken chili.

White Chicken Chili
4 cans chicken broth
4 15 oz cans of Great Northern beans (drained & rinsed)
2 cups cooked & shredded chicken
2 small cans diced green chiles (or to taste)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper
1 C sour cream
2 C shredded cheese (I used hot pepper jack)

In a large pot, add the first 7 ingredients. Simmer on low/medium heat for 20-30 minutes (until it is heated through).

 Right before serving, stir in sour cream and cheese until it is all blended and melty and yum. I added a dollop of sour cream and some colby jack on top (I was feeling chefy that day).

I halved this recipe (I only had one chicken breast) and it made four nice size servings. The husband took some to work and it reheated well. Here's the link to the original recipe:
white-chicken-chili-soup-recipe

Don't forget the Easter egg hunt is TOMORROW (Friday, April 3) at 10:30 am at Erin Presbyterian Church). Our next MOPS meeting is Thursday, April 9 and we start at 9:30 am. We also meet at Erin Presb. Bring some food to share or just bring yourself. (I suppose you can bring food just for yourself, but there is no promise that it won't get nibbled on-we have pregnant mamas in our midst!).

Enjoy this Holy Week and may the peace of the Lord be with you.