DIY ORGANIC PROTEIN TREATS ♡

HELLO! Hope your week is going amazing and you are healthy and happy! It's been a very nice Summer here in Wisconsin, loving it! So, I was running out the door one day, and didn't have much to eat for breakfast. I sooo could have used more protein in my day. Ever have those days when your body is running on low and you can't get much done. That was my day!

The treats we will make are loaded with healthy protein, but still have the sweetness of a treat. They have some amazing wholesome ingredients to get your body moving and keep you full for awhile. Oatmeal is amazing, as it absorbs slower than other foods and contains lots of B vitamins to help metabolize energy. The delicious peanut butter and protein powder are very filling themselves. They also rebuild cells and maintain healthy tissues and muscles. I use Shaklee protein in my cakes, brownies, and shakes, (non GMO and low glycemic)! Chia seeds are among the most nutritious foods on the planet! They are a whole grain and loaded with fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. The vanilla and chocolate chips are to sweeten our treats up, while adding some excellent antioxidants and healing benefits. This is not a low-fat snack by any means, but it will help burn energy and keep you going. Fantastic! 

Let's start baking (haha... just kidding, there is NO baking this time). As I ALWAYS say, be sure to use organic when possible! You are what you eat. ♡

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Here's what you need:

1 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup coconut flakes (Whole Foods) 

1/2 cup peanut butter (and little more for extra)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (Whole Foods in bulk area) 

1/3 cup local honey

1 tablespoon chia seeds (Whole Foods) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup protein of your choice, optional  (I use Shaklee protein powder) Side link. ▶︎▶︎

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DIRECTIONS: 

1) Get your ingredients together, and mix them all up in a bowl. 

2) Chill in fridge for about a half hour. In the meantime, place wax paper on a flat surface, pan, etc... 

Let's just take a moment and admire those delicious looking chocolate chips! 

3) Start to form balls with the mixture, (if it seems a little too dry, add a little more peanut butter). You really have to form them with your hands, takes a few tries. You can make them any size you want. 

YUMMY, YUMMY!

4) You are done! Keep them chilled in fridge, and enjoy when you need a boost of energy!

* You can modify these ingredients to your needs as always, and if you need to cut down calories, add less chocolate chips (or none) and delete coconut flakes. 

Hope you loved this recipe. It's wonderful for kids snacks for school, work, or if you are going to work out. 

Take care, ♡

Jennifer 

June Favorites ♡

          

Hello there! Hope your day and week is fabulous! It is now July and in the middle of Summertime. Where has this year gone anyways? Have you adopted any new goals since January? Are you sticking with them? 

In this post, I am just giving you a few of my favorites for the month of June (I'm a little late). As usual, I am always liking something new... it's so fun to try new stuff. Hope you enjoy and maybe you want to pick up any of these items and try them too. There is a little bit of everything. I am so random. That's the fun part!

Enjoy! ♡

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1). You know my love for cactus plants (succulents). We just got a new baby, and she is so cute. We named her Katy. She is the smallest one in the front. Can one really have too many of these darlings? This one is from Whole Foods... but you can pick them up at most stores that carry a variety of things.

2). Ice cream + cones. Organic. Heaven. I am all about that life! Kick off your Summer with some yumminess! Both are from Whole Foods, and they are DELICIOUS! I was a little unsure that "organic" ice cream might be good. BUT... you just have to try it. There are no preservatives or chemicals. Yes, it is a little spendy (very spendy), but worth EVERY single cent. I am not joking. There are a ton of flavors, in case you don't love the one we picked out. I would love to try the Mint Chocolate Chip one too (mouth drooling). The sugar cones are just as amazing... and together- well, you will see when you try them. Ohhhh emmmm geeeee. 

3).  LOVE WITH FOOD BOX.  We have been subscribed to this box for a few months now.  It will run you around $7-10 monthly (they have different family plans too). Each month, you will receive like 7-8 mini vegan/organic/healthy snacks. This is a great way to try them first and purchase later if you wish. You can also accumulate points if you give a review on each product you tried... win-win! These points turn into a product of your choice (with the correct amount of points). Refer your friends and family, and you get $10 to spend. I believe you must mention who sent you, so grab the box and start getting everyone you know healthier! And, the thing I love most about this company is that they donate a box to food banks such as the Feeding American Network and Share Our Strength. Each purchase, you are helping a hungry child. 

Check it out... LOVE WITH FOOD

4). This little treat was one of the snacks from Junes Love with Food box. It is so good. If you love shortbread, then you probably would like this. This was my favorite item in the whole box. I am all about the sweet snacks. 

5). MUSIC! I am always listening to music, and I adore finding new fresh and funky tunes and old ones that may bring me back. Here are a few I am loving this month (meaning that they are on repeat). 

♡ Air Moon Safari - La Femme d'argent 

♡ Death Cab for Cutie - Summer Skin

♡ Yuna - Mannequin 

♡ Owler - Falling 

♡ Ariana Grande - Leave me Lonely 

6). APPS! There are sooo many apps to choose from, some are just for fun and others really make life easier. These are just some that have become important and moved from my third screen to my first screen on my phone 

♡ MPR Radio - I am always in the mood for some classical music. It soothes a chaotic mind and is great to fall asleep to. (FREE)

♡ Audiobooks - Great for driving on long road trips or cooking. Some audio books I like better than reading. (FREE)

♡ Calm - A nice app for meditation. It gives you different scenes and music to listen to (you can have unguided or guided meditation). (FREE)

♡ Zen Koi - This little game is super low stress... just guide your little fish around the pond. It's so relaxing and fun. (FREE) 

♡ Recolor - Do you like to color? This is the app for you. Pick your picture, and go crazy! There are a few pics that are free to color. You get a 7-day trial on others, then the monthly cost is $7.99 (cheaper than buying and having a load of coloring books all over the house). ($7.99 monthly) 

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That's about all I can think of right now for favorites! Hope you liked the post, please comment any favorites that you are loving right now. I would love to know!

Take care, ♡

Jennifer 

Organic Orange Beeswax Tarts ▷

Hello, hope you are having an amazing and healthy week so far. It's finally summer, and the windows are all open most of the time to get that fresh air in. It's so lovely when you can have this nice air flow going through your home. I think that's what I like most about this time of the year here in Wisconsin... fresh air. 

Since the air inside the home is just as important as the air on the outside, I decided to whip up some "healthy" beeswax tarts. You know, the ones that you just pop into a wax melt burner and enjoy the scent. In doing a little research on "other" wax tarts out there, I found that most do not give the exact ingredients going into the tarts, and you are just breathing it right in. It may smell amazing of fresh cookies or baked pie, but it's kind of sad to think that you may be breathing in some not so great chemicals. Just saying... 

I'll briefly explain ... beeswax actually releases negative ions (in this case, negative means good). Positive ions represent the not so good junk in the air: dust, pollen, or anything that is very unpleasant. When the beeswax is burned, these "good" ions are released and cancel out any "bad" ions that are polluting your air. Everyone can benefit from breathing in healthier air. In fact, it has been said that anyone (including myself) that has a history of lung issues can HIGHLY benefit from burning beeswax tarts. I can testify on this... and that is the reason why I create my own tarts. I also feel so much safer and happier knowing what is exactly being released into the air that I breathe. 

I also added some coconut oil and sweet orange essential oil to the tarts to give an extra sweet scent. You can use any essential oil of your choice (one that is healthy). If you don't want to add coconut or essential oil, you don't have to. Beeswax would be good enough. But, please do make sure your ingredients are organic (you will be breathing this in, so you want as healthy as possible). 

These tarts will give a slightly sweet scent, not overpowering at all. If you would like a strong scent, this may not be the best choice for you. I just love a little scent flowing through the home and is also healthy for everyone! Yay! 

So, here is a simple recipe for you to create your very own beeswax tarts so that your family and pets can enjoy good home air without the unwanted chemicals. If you want to get fancy, you can also add lavender buds or coffee beans. Create! 

You should be able to pick up most ingredients at your Whole Foods... the beeswax can get a tad spendy, but worth every. single. penny. Link below to the beeswax. 

What you need: 

 ♡ .5 oz beeswax (buy here... Organic Beeswax)

 ♡ .25 oz organic coconut oil (optional)

 ♡  5 drops sweet orange essential oil (optional)

 ♡  pyrex GLASS measuring cup (preferred), spoon to stir,  old pan, and silicone mold

** You can double or triple the recipe. I only made a few tarts, as they last a long time. Great for gifts too! 

Directons: 

1). Measure out all ingredients.

2). Pour enough water in pan (about 1/4 full). Let water boil, then lower heat to low to medium. To create a double boiler, use an old canning jar lid and place on bottom of pan (there should be a separation between bottom of pan and the pyrex cup). You don't want beeswax to sit directly on bottom, or it may burn. 

3). Measure out beeswax and coconut oil, and place in pyrex cup. Put pyrex cup on canning lid and let it melt.

4). After beeswax and coconut oil have melted, take off burner and start to add your drops of essential oil (optional).

5). Pour melted mixture into molds (highly recommend silicone... no stick). My go-to silicone mold of choice is the stars version again, I use this for EVERYTHING. So fun!

6). Place into fridge for a few minutes for it to solidify. Take them out and pop into wax tart warmer. 

They are SO cute! 

HOORAY! You just made some very nice and healthy tarts for your family and pets to enjoy. 

I really hope you love the recipe!  Please share if you added anything different to your tarts.

Enjoy your day! ♡

Jennifer 

Healthy Hot Chocolate ♡

Hello, hello lovlies! Hope you are having a cozy and healthy week! It's pretty cold and dark looking here up north, so naturally-- I am thinking about a warm drink. Since we don't have any hot chocolate in the house, I decided that I needed to just whip some up from scratch. We do that here, a lot. 

This hot chocolate uses mostly organic ingredients, just THREE to be exact: powdered sugar, cacao powder, and coconut milk. I purchase these at Whole Foods. I love the benefits of cacao powder-- lots of antioxidants. The powdered sugar is certified organic too, made from cane sugar, and produced without the use of chemicals and herbicides, etc... love this. Plus, the powdered sugar is easier to work with for this recipe. 

So you may have to adapt the recipe to your liking (as always). This particular recipe makes a hot cocoa that is a little on the thicker side (reminds me of how people in Paris would drink their hot chocolate sitting at a cafe, and similar to a healthy chocolate bar, YUM). Side note: I must get there soon. 

Things you will need to make this beautiful drink: (organic when possible, please)

🍫 2 cups coconut milk (or any milk would do) 

🍫 3 tablespoons organic powdered sugar 

🍫 2 tablespoons organic cacao powder

🍫 few spoons, a pan, and a mug 

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Gather all ingredients and place them in a pan. Stir and stir and stir until it appears to have a liquid effect. 

That's it! Grab your favorite mug (mine is an elephant) and pour away! 

* If you want your hot chocolate to be a little less thick, you can add more milk.

* If you want your hot chocolate sweeter, add a little more powdered sugar, or less too. 

* Add a pinch of cinnamon for a Mexican hot chocolate. You could also add marshmallows or organic whipped cream. Yum! 

Hope you enjoy this recipe! Please let me know how you like it, and did you add something different?

Take care, ♡

Jenn 

DIY Lemon Sugar Body Scrub ♡

Hello, hello! Hope you all are having a blessed week! It is pouring rain here, but it smells so refreshing and nice. Since I can't go outside, I thought I share another DIY today, and this one is so lovely. We all are in need of body scrubs in our lives, and why not use one that is organic, beautifully smelling, and has ZERO chemicals or preservatives in it. Plus, you can make this little gem in like five minutes. 

Why exfoliate anyways? Well, it's very essential to exfoliate the skin regularly, as it aids in cell turnover and in retaining more moisture -- which gives you that luxurious and smooth looking skin. When we have healthy, glowing skin, lotions and body oils seem to apply better too. It's a very healthy habit to adopt, and since you shower mostly everyday, make it a point to take this scrub with you a few times during the week, and make your skin very happy! Hooray!

Another reason to exfoliate: the body sheds millions of dead cells daily (not a nice thought), and it gets slower every year that we age. If we ignore exfoliation for a long period of time, these dead skin cells just buildup, forming a thick layer of skin. This buildup can cause early wrinkles and super, dry skin! No one wants that! 

Okay, now that you get the point of exfoliation, let's get to the fun of this gorgeous recipe. 

Here's what you need, and I'm sure most of you have some of this in your cupboards already (remember, you are putting this on your skin, so organic is always best). Always try a sample test on your skin, and please don't use on irritated, super sensitive or acne-proned skin. 

♡ 1/4 cup fine granule sugar (I used organic sugar from Whole Foods)

♡ 1/4 cup epsom salt 

♡  1.5 tablespoons of almond oil (can be found at Whole Foods) 

♡  empty glass container of some sort 

♡  2-4 drops of lemon essential-- you can use another oil too, just make sure it's safe to use on the body (Whole Foods) 

♡  spoon 

Gather all of your yummy ingredients. Now this is the hard part (mix them all together) and that's it!

You are now ready to scoop your mixture into your glass of choice. See how easy this was... and you can double or triple the recipe. This would be a great gift for others too. 

I hope you enjoyed this super easy DIY! It's fun when there is only a few ingredients and it doesn't take much time to do. 

Have a beautiful week! ♡

Jennifer 

DIY Mom's Day Gifts ❤︎

Hello! Hope you all had an excellent week. Mother's Day is just around the corner, and there is still time to create a few nice gifts. Most of these are fairly easy and take hardly any time-- and a few take a little more time and imagination... I have all the faith that you can do it. Plus, your Mom will appreciate that you took the time to create these especially just for her. Your such a good kid. :) P.S. I hope my Mom reads this post AFTER Mother's Day, as I am making a few for her. Hehe. 

These little gifts can be applied to any time of the year, really. Do you have a birthday coming up, housewarming gift, or save this post for Christmas gifts. A few of the DIY's enable you to create with any colors, shapes, and sizes... so no more excuses for not finding the perfect gift for someone. 

Let's get started. ▷▷

1) Succulents are always cool and in style. These little minis are so fun and very easy to take care of. You can find them any time of the year, and they make the cutest gifts. For this particular gift, I just found a few cute tea mugs and placed the little gems right in. Easy right? You can even go to the thrift store and find any unusual and special mugs just for them. You could even purchase a mug with your Mom's name on it. The possibilities are endless. Make sure you pick up a few extras for yourself and place them all over the house... they are so cute! 

2) DIY Inspirational pictures. This is the little office, and I just recently made these. It's so easy, and you can customize with any saying or quote that you would like. I made the words on my MAC under Pages and ta-daaa! Next, go to Goodwill or any thrift store, pick up a few ugly looking frames, and paint them. I went with a neutral theme, but you could paint them a pretty lime or avocado color, mango, pink.. anything she would like. P.S. Don't mind the crooked Audrey Hepburn quote above... it makes everything else seem off.  

3) Notebooks and journals. I'm pretty sure every Mom would love these to organize her life or just to jot down memories and thoughts. These are cute and can be picked up anywhere... TJ MAXX has some great selections with all designs and colors. 

4) Customized gift set. Through my organic shop, you can customize anything that you think your Mom would love. There are foot and bath soaks, lip butters in several scents, facial scrubs and masks, and other little fun pampering goods. I believe that everyone should take the time to pamper themselves once or twice a week. It's not even for pampering purposes, but it's healthy for the mind and soul. These gems are created by yours truly in small batches. All the organic ingredients are taken very seriously and purchased either locally or from a highly reputable organic company. This creates healthy and decadent goodness for the skin. Take a look here...

Dream Nuage Shop  

5) DIY cute banner. This project is SOOO fun and can be used in any or all the rooms of the home. You can use any design of paper, color, size... you pick. I purchase most of my scrapbook paper from Michaels and Hobby Lobby, as they have a huge assortment (I'm in there for hours, I swear). 

Here's what you need: (most of this can be purchased at Michaels or Hobby Lobby) 

- Push pins (any color or size) or heavy tape 

- Tiny clothes pins 

- Scissors

- Scrapbook paper or cute fabric 

- Twine

- Creativity 

❤︎ For this banner, I cut the paper 12x3 inches, but you can make it bigger or smaller depending on what you like. Fold your paper in half as shown above the long way. 

❤︎ Next, place your paper so the open end is facing up. Start cutting triangles, squares, circles, hearts, whatever you want. Cut all the way down until you get to the end of the paper. 

❤︎ Now you should have a bunch of little shapes everywhere... aren't they cute? The next step would be to place your twine (heavier the better) where you want to hang your banner. The little heart push pins or heavy tape will work for this part. When you are pleased with where you want it, go ahead and place your shapes on the twine with the little clothes pins. 

YOU ARE DONE!

That's just a few gifts that you can make for Mom... there are so many ideas out there. I wanted to give you a few this week in case you haven't purchased anything yet, or if you wanted to create something special just for her. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! 

Take care, 

Jennifer ❤︎