Don't Know What to Do With That Bag of Kale You Just Bought? Try These 5 Kale Recipes from Around the Web.

I have a confession to make. I bought a big bag of organic kale because it was discounted by 50%. Once I got home with it, I was at a loss as to what to do with it. Usually, I stick to baby kale and mix it in with salads. But we are talking a big bag here. There are just two of us.

What was I thinking?

Since I've already put in all the research, I thought I would share it with  you so if you ever found yourself in the same predicament, staring at a bag of kale you have no idea what to do with, you have all the resources you need so you can use up that kale before it becomes a bag of slime in your refrigerator.

Photo Credit: Serious Eats/Jennifer Segal

Kale, Apple, and Pancetta Salad

This salad will be on our plates for dinner tonight. With the combination of kale, apples, and pecans, it makes a perfect fall salad. Serve it as a main dish or a side. It would also make a beautiful and healthy Thanksgiving side dish.

Photo Credit: Heidi Swanson/101 Cookbooks

Ribollita

101 Cookbooks is one of my favorite food blogs. Blogger Heidi Swanson describes this dish as a thick Tuscan stew thickened with day old bread. This vegetarian stew requires a whole pound of kale, so if you bought the big bag this is the recipe for you. Another great fall recipe, especially when we get into the cooler days, which will be around December down here in Texas.

Photo Credit: Brian Woodcock

Sausage and Kale Pesto Pizza

You could easily swap out the pork sausage for a plant based sausage to make this vegetarian. This savory pie is full of bold flavor and is shaped and baked in a cast iron skillet.

Photo Credit: Cookie and Kate

Southwest Kale Power Salad

What's not to like about this vegetarian (and gluten free) salad? It's chock full of nutrition and southwest flavor. Sweet potatoes, yes! Avocado, I'm in heaven. The best part of all is that it's a complete meal in a bowl. No need to serve anything else with it.

Photo Credit: Dana at Minimalist Baker

Hide Your Kale Smoothie

Finally, no list would be complete without a smoothie recipe, and this one's not green! Not only that, but the kale taste is hidden as well. The best part of this is that you don't have to use fresh kale, so if you have leftovers in that giant bag and you are still at a loss as to what to do with it, throw it in the freezer and use it to make a kale smoothie for a great breakfast on the run.

Healthy Black Bean and Corn Salad

I'm not sure why I haven't shared this recipe with you guys yet. It's a summer staple around here. The best part of all is it requires no cooking, thus no heating up your kitchen on an already hot day. Just chop some veggies, toss in some beans, pour on the dressing and you are ready to go! I usually serve with a side of tortilla chips.

A cold bottle of Topo Chico sparkling mineral water tops it all off. Easy to find here in San Antonio, apparently it's gotten the attention from foodies all around the country. It's bottled in Monterrey, Mexico, so it's no surprise that we've known  about it here in south Texas for quite some time. After all, the drive to the border of Mexico is shorter than the drive to Dallas. But, I've strayed off topic. Back to the Black Bean and Corn Salad recipe.

If you want your dressing slightly sweetened, add a little honey to taste, or agave to keep it vegan. You don't have to use fresh corn. I use frozen sweet corn straight out of the bag. I don't even worry about thawing it out.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

• 3 cups sweet corn (cool, if cooking fresh)
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed
• 2 green onions, chopped

dressing

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 2 limes
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt, to taste

Place corn, tomatoes, avocado, black beans, and green onions in a large bowl. In a separate container, mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Whisk until well combined and pour over the salad. Stir gently to avoid mashing the avocado. Serve immediately. 

Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe

I've been on an obsession with grain bowls (watch for an upcoming blog post). If you aren't familiar with them, they usually start with a grain, most often rice, and are topped off with a wide array of vegetables. They are quite versatile and can be created in endless flavor combinations. I decided to create a Southwest grain bowl using barley. I topped it with roasted sweet potatoes, corn, avocado slices, and black beans. To make it even more flavorful, I whipped up a batch of Cilantro Lime Dressing to drizzle over the vegetables. My picky eater devoured it.

No doubt this dressing would be great on refreshing summer salads, too. Mix it up in a wide mouth jar so you can easily refrigerate left overs.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 TBSP mayonnaise
• 3-6 TBSP milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 TBSP fresh lime juice

Add all ingredients to a wide mouth jar. Mix until smooth. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time if mixture is too thick. Cover and refrigerate before using. 

Flapjacked Carrot Spice Protein Pancake Mix Review

I usually make my pancakes from scratch.  My boys favorite are my Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Sauce. We eat a lot of pancakes in this house, so I was thrilled to be picked as a winner of a protein pancake mix in a Facebook contest held by Flapjacked. I've tried their protein smoothie mix and found them to be delicious. I was excited to try another product.

I'm picky about the food I buy. I won't buy it if I find the ingredients list is full of artificial junk. There is nothing but good stuff on the ingredient list for Flapjacked Carrot Spice Protein Pancakes; whole oat flour, whey protein, pea protein, carrots, coconut flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, and monk fruit.

You can mix the pancakes a couple different ways, according to your taste and dietary requirements. Just adding water, the protein content is 20%. Substitute the water with milk and gain another 5% protein. Or, like I did, use milk and add an egg to the mix for a whopping 34% protein.

The consistency of this mix is perfect. I've tried another protein pancake brand and their mix is always a bit runny by the package directions. These pancakes fry up nice and fluffy. We topped them with cinnamon honey pecan cream cheese and a little real maple syrup. The flavors complimented each other nicely. Everyone in our household gobbled them up. It was almost like eating carrot cake for breakfast.

While I have yet to see Flapjacked pancake mix sold locally, you can get them on Amazon or directly from their website Flapjacked. In addition to their protein pancakes sold in different flavors and their smoothie mixes, they also sell cookie mix and mighty muffins.

With the ease of use, protein content, and quality of ingredients, I will be purchasing their products again. But on slow Sunday mornings, I'll still be making up a batch of my homemade pancakes.

Healthy Eating on a Road Trip

I recently drove from south Texas to Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and back home to San Antonio in a trip that lasted over two weeks. We had to skip out of the school year a little early after ok'ing it with the kid's school so we could get to his older brother's graduation, so our major summer road trip is already over. But it took some major planning because we were not only attending a graduation, but visiting my parents, planning a backpacking trip and a trip to Virginia Beach, alongside visiting my daughter in Virginia. I was packing for several different scenarios. Plus, I was determined that we not eat out or grab junk to snack on at the gas station while driving from destination to destination. It turns out that the weather sidelined our backpacking and beach plans much to our disappointment. I also didn't plan for enough food on the return trip, especially with my oldest son joining us in Kentucky. But we made it from Texas to Ohio and on to Virginia without eating unhealthy. On our home trip we stopped twice for fast food, but only because my planning fell short when prepping food for one extra person.

Proud Momma moment. 

Summer is here, and many people will be heading out on the road to visit family or head to vacation destinations. It's so easy to rely on the drive through for a quick bite on the run, especially if you are in a hurry to get to your destination, but with a little planning it is possible to eat healthy on the road.

I ordered a set of meal prep containers from Groupon and used them to prepackage meals for lunch and dinner. Our breakfast menu consisted of boiled eggs, peeled ahead of time, bagels with cream cheese, and fresh fruit. Dinner number one was lemon chicken over brown rice and spinach salad. Dinner number two was a Mediterranean salad with chicken, feta cheese, black olives, garbanzo beans, and fresh red pepper slices with whole grain pita bread. I also prepared fruit on the bottom yogurt cups in jelly jars for an easy snack. Lunch our first day was peanut butter banana tortilla wraps using low carb tortillas. I made sure to have a healthy assortment of snacks handy like dried fruit, protein bars, hard cheeses, fresh berries, and nut mixes. I have two coolers, a large one I put our main meals in and a smaller one I kept within reach so we could have easy access to the coconut water, mineral water, and protein drinks I packed. We also had water bottles well within reach.

Breakfast

Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt

Breakfasts were eaten in the hotel, while dinners were either eaten at a roadside rest area or at the hotel. (By the way, Texas has some awesome rest areas with mini history museums, modern playgrounds, and clean restrooms.)

One of the best things I purchased for this trip was a Bodum travel coffee press. I packed premeasured coffee grounds so all I had to do was add hot water and press. I don't use sugar or creamer in my coffee, but I do like to dilute it with a little milk, so I brought a little container of milk, too. If you are a coffee aficionado I highly recommend you pick one up instead of relying on hotel or truck stop coffee.

Are you heading out on the road alone or with friends or family this summer? I challenge you to healthy eating on the road. No fast food and no Starbucks. It only takes a little planning. If you are already meal prepping for your work week, it will be easy peasy.

Ready, set....go!

Clean Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

First of all, wow, it is so nice NOT to be blogging from an Ipad mini. It's not good on the eyes, or at least my eyes. I've never had great eye sight. I've worn glasses since second grade. I'm not such a young chick anymore though. I finally gave in and got progressive bifocals last year. So, yeah, the eyes aren't what they used to be.

I'm going to state something obvious here. The great thing about hanging out with like minded people is, well, they are like minded. Usually, I go to a party or some gathering and I'm overwhelmed with food that leaves me feeling heavy and lethargic. Especially since I have cut refined sugars out of my diet and mainly eat a clean diet. Celebrations full of greasy pizza, coolers loaded with sugary sodas, heavily processed meats, meager vegetable trays, and the overly sweet cake loaded with frosting. I can't eat these things anymore. So I may have been overly excited last month when I attended my Crossfit box's potluck to celebrate the end of the 2017 Opens. These are my people. The food was delicious, and whoever brought the paleo chocolate cupcakes is an angel. They were heaven, and I didn't feel like I was going to crash and burn after eating one.

I just wish I had gotten the recipe. Because I became fixated on chocolate cupcakes. But after some searching I came across a chocolate cupcake recipe worth trying.

I couldn't head to the gym last night because the kid was running a fever, so I baked up a batch of these cupcakes instead. They use coconut flour, which can be tricky to work with since it soaks up liquids, but this recipe creates a moist cake worthy of any celebration. I used Wholesome organic chocolate frosting on mine simply because I had some on hand, but the next time I bake up a batch of cupcakes I'm going to experiment with a couple cleaner, healthier frosting recipes. Adding a raspberry to the top gives them a festive look and adds a whole other yummy taste experience. Strawberry slices would also be delicious.

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder (or 1/4 tsp of baking soda)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine all dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Let batter sit for a couple minutes then pour into cupcake liners, filling about half way. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and frost with desired frosting. Store in tightly sealed container. 

Makes 8-10 cupcakes

The Hippy Home One Simple Change Challenge

Whether it's your first time or you are jumping aboard for a second round, come check out the One Simple Change Challenge  on Facebook and improve your health along the way. I will be presenting five weeks of challenges that encourage you to make simple changes for a healthier lifestyle. We begin this week making sure you are drinking enough water daily.  Check into the group as often as you can for support, healthy information, and sharing. Don't forget to post your progress.

The first challenge was a big success, with participants losing weight and feeling healthier by the end of the five weeks. It was so successful, they asked me to do it again! Click on the link below and join us today. We would love to have you.

One Simple Change Challenge

Clean Eating: Healthy Apple Crisp

While everyone has started going crazy for pumpkin everything, I am over here waving my arms and shouting, heh, what about the humble apple? To me, apples are as much a part of fall as pumpkins. Apple cider, apple pies, warm applesauce, and, yes, apple crisp. Make mine a la mode, please.

 If you have ever been in an apple orchard in the autumn you will never forget the smell. It's a wonderful, earthy smell you can't experience in a grocery store. Unfortunately, because I live in south Texas, apple orchards don't thrive like they do in the north, so I currently have to rely on grocery store apples. I do make a point of buying organic apples because the conventional ones typically are covered in a lot of pesticides.

 This apple crisp recipe is healthy enough to eat with breakfast, and that's just what the boy and I did this past Tuesday morning. It was adapted from the cookbook, Clean Food, by Terry Walters, and can be made totally gluten free if you use gluten free oats and brown rice flour.

Apple Crisp 

Filling:

12 apples peeled, cored, and sliced

1/4 cup maple syrup 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/2 cup raisins 

1 Tbsp pastry flour or brown rice flour 

Topping 

2 cups rolled oats 

1 cup whole wheat flour or brown rice flour 

1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon 

1/2 cup melted butter 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place apples in baking dish and fold in syrup, cinnamon, and raisins. Sprinkle on flour and gently fold until well combined. Spread evenly in dish.

In a small bowl, mix oats, flour, nuts, and cinnamon. Whisk syrup and butter together, add to dry ingredients and mix until crumbly. Spread evenly over apple mixture, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Serve warm. 

Serves 8-10

Join The One Simple Change Challenge

The best way to improve our health and wellbeing is through making small changes and sticking with them. Over five weeks, beginning September 11, I will post a weekly challenge to the Facebook challenge group to help you make those changes. The challenges will be easy changes you can make to improve your health. And, yes, they will be cumulative, meaning you will continue with the previous challenge when you begin the next one. The idea is to incorporate them into your daily activities so they become life long habits. I will also share some of my favorite tips for healthy living.

Accountability and support are the two biggest contributors toward success, so check in daily and let everyone know how you are doing, ask questions, have fun, and support your fellow challengers. Oh, and invite friends!

How can you join? Click here: One Simple Change Challenge

Here is to life long health!

Healthy School Lunches: Part Three: What to Pack

The kid and I already have two weeks of the school year completed. While I am still teaching at the Montessori school, he has made the switch to public school. Even though he is in the minority, he brings his lunch to school. It helps that he has a cool lunch box to carry. He's currently into Minecraft. We found an awesome, if not overpriced, Minecraft themed  backpack, but couldn't find a matching lunch box, so we made one. I bought a plain green lunch box on Amazon and, using a sharpie marker, stenciled a creeper face onto it. Thank goodness creeper faces are simple.

I could save time and maybe even money by purchasing school lunches, but most of the menu choices are foods he wouldn't eat and I want some control over the nutritional value of the food he consumes. Fresh fruit is always included in his lunch. His favorite sandwich is a simple egg salad made with Just Mayo, a little whole grain mustard, and a dash of salt served on organic whole grain bread with romaine lettuce. Often, both of our lunches will revolve around what ever leftovers we have from dinner, but since he doesn't have a way to heat up his food anymore, it needs to be good to eat cold.

 By week two, you can already feel like you have run out of creative ideas for healthy lunches, but there are some great resources to turn to, and as promised, I am sharing some of my favorites below. I'm always on the lookout for healthy and interesting lunch ideas, so if you have your own you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them.

Kids Activities Blog  has a week's worth of vegetarian lunches easy enough for your child to pack on his own.

What Lisa Cooks is an amazing resource for lunch ideas. She has enough choices to get you through the entire school year. Seriously, she's got you covered.

The Kitchn has upped the ante with adorable sandwich art, so if you want to add some fun to your child's lunch, go check it out.

Back to Her Roots  is geared more towards grownup lunches, but they could easily be down sized for kids. Besides, we need to eat healthy and inspiring lunches, too!

Bonus: An extensive list of printable Lunchbox Jokes and Notes from Kids Activities Blog.

Healthy School Lunches: Part Two: Nutrition Matters

Today I want to share a couple of great videos on nutrition and helping our children make good decisions regarding what they eat. Watch them with your children. My son was especially interested in the first video describing in kid terms the amount of sugar contained in sugary drinks like soda and sports drinks. He was also shocked to learn that his daily cup of apple juice should be cut in half. 

Come back for Part Three of this series, where I will share my sources for healthy school lunch inspiration. Click Here to read Part One.

Contact me for more information about Juice Plus

or visit my website Juice Plus

Healthy School Lunches : Part One: A Good Start

Where did summer go? I mean, seriously! Last I checked we still had a couple weeks left. But, here we are, at the start of a new school year. With so many things to think about and prepare for that big first day, planning school lunches can seem a bit overwhelming. If you decide to buy lunch for your child, you might enjoy the convenience, but what about the quality? With a little planning, you can pack your child a healthy lunch and have some control over the quality of the food your child eats. I say some because, let's get real, some days your child is going to come home with only a half eaten lunch and complain he/she didn't like something you packed them even though it's something that he/she has eaten before. Unless you won the jackpot and have a kid who always eats what is in front of him/her.

In this three part series, I want to open up a discussion on making sure our kids are eating healthy lunches at school, what that means for them, and point you towards resources like recipes and nutrition blogs to help you plan lunches your child will enjoy.

The following photo has been going around social media. This mom put a lot of time and effort into starting the school year out on a great note. She's organized and ready to go. Her intentions are good. She is happy because she has a month's worth of lunches, minus the sandwich, organized and ready to go for about $30. I think it's awesome. I would like to tell her that.

However, it upsets me that the corporations managing our food system think it's ok to convince mom's that chips and soda are fine to feed our children, let alone the adults. You may say that moms have a choice, and they do, but until we know better, how are we as a society supposed to do better?  For many Americans, health education is a chapter in a textbook in high school health class. As adults we have to educate ourselves in order to sort out the half truths on television commercials.

I don't know this mom's current financial situation, but it's obvious she thinks about keeping her grocery budget to a minimum as well. For many Americans, the bottom line isn't nutritional value, but simply trying to spend as little as possible on food in order to get by. When you are time strapped and struggling to get by, off brand soda and chips seem like an easy answer.

But we need to do better for our children. How are we to expect them to do their best when they are not fueled on highly nutritious food? They need to start their day with a nutritionally balanced breakfast, refuel with a healthy lunch, and end the day with a good dinner. A soda for lunch is going to create a sugar crash in the afternoon, and the child is going to be tired and unable to focus. The long term effects of eating like this regularly can include diabetes and obesity.

I'm by no means a food Nazi. I recognize that I can't always control what my son eats, especially when he is at a friend's house or spending the day with his dad. An occasional treat is ok. But the majority of the food I feed him I purchase based on nutritional value, not cost. I want my bang for the buck to be not how many ounces I can get for a dollar, but that I am spending my money on something of high nutritional value. When you are struggling to cut corners financially it can be tempting to load your cart up with cheap, low nutrient food. But, I promise you that when you change your focus to how much nutritional value you are getting for your dollar you are going to find it is possible to eat healthy without spending lots.

We all want to give our children the best we can, and the truth is we need to do better as a nation with the quality of food we provide them on a daily basis. It starts with educating ourselves first. Then we need to serve as good role models and educate our children so that they are able to make better choices.

Next: What Happens To You (and your child) When You Drink Soda

Chocolate Banana Protein Pudding for One

Crossfit has had the positive effect of really focusing me on my diet and healthy eating. It's a lifestyle change that was easy for me to make, since organic and healthy were already at the top of my list of priorities, but I did need to fine tune things a bit. Like increasing my protein intake and decreasing added sugar, which is a big deal with my sweet tooth. But I was dismayed that while crossfit encourages clean eating, most of the protein powders on the market were anything but clean. The first protein powder I tried had a significant amount of added vitamins and a warning on the side that it wasn't intended for children. Well, if it was bad for a child, was it really all that healthy for me? I know that the added vitamins were at a higher dose than what a child should take, but did I really want to be adding synthetic vitamins to my body? Plus, it left a vitamin aftertaste in my mouth that I really didn't enjoy.

I found a pea based protein powder that was close to what I was looking for, but it had carrageenan in it, which can cause gastrointestinal distress and has become a very controversial ingredient. I also tried hemp powder, which is too gritty for my taste in smoothies. I will still use it as an additive to baked goods and pancakes, but I'm not sold on it for regular use. I finally settled on Juice Plus Complete after a friend gave me samples and enthusiastically shared her love of the product with me. In fact, so sold was I on Juice Plus Complete, I jumped on board as a distributor. If you would like to learn more about Juice Plus and the products they offer, click here. If you would like to become a part of our team, contact me and I'd be glad to give you more information. If you are serious about health, it is a great company to be a part of.

While I mainly use Juice Plus Complete in protein shakes, pre and post workout, sometimes I want something a little different. I came up with this yummy single serving sized pudding as an option to my usual shake. It also satisfies my craving for something sweet. It is easy and quick to make ahead for a grab and go snack. It is also healthy to share with your kid, making it harder to say no when they catch you eating something yummy and ask you for a bite. You may have to go into hiding when eating it, or make up a double batch to share.

Chocolate Banana Protein Pudding for One

• One ripe banana
• 1 TBSP chocolate nut butter
• 1 scoop Dutch Chocolate Complete Protein Powder
• cacao nibs, unsweetened shredded coconut, walnut or pecan pieces

Mash banana with a fork until smooth. Stir in nut butter. Slowly add in protein powder until mixed thoroughly. May also use a food processor to mix ingredients together until smooth. Spoon into serving dish and top with cacao nibs, shredded coconut, and/or nuts. Refrigerate until cold or eat at room temperature, depending on your preference and patience level. 

Variation: use almond butter and vanilla complete instead, for a banana protein pudding.

Overnight Oats Workshop and Two New (Dairy Free) Recipes

One of my goals here at The Hippy Home is to share with people how to eat healthy no matter what your budget. Yesterday, I held an overnight oats workshop at my home. It was small and cozy, with four of us sharing ingredients and good conversation while we made the easiest grab and go healthy breakfast ever. After getting to spend the evening with these wonderful ladies, the next best thing was not having to cook breakfast this morning, even though I wasn't in any particular hurry to go anywhere. What have I learned here? In addition to being a great grab and go breakfast on a busy morning, they also make a great breakfast for a lazy summer morning as well. They are perfect little hand held breakfasts on any day. Or lunch, or afternoon snack. Did I mention they are also easy to make and healthy? And kid friendly. My seven year old likes the strawberry one, minus the chia seeds.

We made four different recipes last night. The Strawberry Vanilla and Blueberry Cinnamon can be found at this link. They both contain Greek yogurt, though if you are vegan or dairy intolerant you could probably use a dairy free yogurt. The two new flavors I am going to share with you are Banana Nut Bread and German Chocolate Cake. Both of these overnight oats are dairy free and vegan. The chocolate flavor is really subtle in the German Chocolate Cake overnight oats, so if you are like me and craving a stronger chocolate flavor, you can use a chocolate flavored nut milk and slightly increase the cocoa powder amount. Adding a good, high quality chocolate protein powder like Juice Plus Complete, would also be a great way to increase the chocolate flavor and the protein. Vanilla protein powder would be a yummy addition to the strawberry and blueberry oats. I think the banana oats would be tasty with either flavor. I have some experimenting to do!

German Chocolate Cake Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk 
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp pecans
• 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, give it a good stir and eat. It will keep in the refrigerator up to five days. 

Banana Nut Bread Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk, or other favorite nut milk
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp chopped nuts
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp nut butter
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, stir and eat. Top with banana slices right before eating for more banana flavor.

Is the Ibotta App worth your time?

I have been looking at different ways to cut costs and boost our household income. Especially during the summer months, when I need to bridge that income gap until school starts again. Financially, I have gotten us to a much more secure place, but I'm on a ten month contract and I have to make up the difference for those remaining months. This year I was able to save up enough for month eleven, and with enough creativity, the twelfth month will be covered too, but it's a stretch. 

I've been using the Ibotta app for about three months now. It's not a big money maker, but it is worth my time. I've been averaging about $20 a month in rebates. That's $240 extra in my pocket after a year. I spend on average about $80 per week. That refund equals three weeks worth of groceries. 

Here's the catch. It can be tempting to make purchases you wouldn't normally buy, so you have to be disciplined and stick to your normal buying habits. Now, I have purchased a different brand than I normally would because it was cheaper in the long run, but it was a product I normally buy anyway. For example, recently they had a Zico coconut water rebate. I buy coconut water regularly, but usually another brand. HEB, my local grocery store, had a buy two, get one free coupon for the Zico coconut water at the same time. It was a no brainer to temporarily switch brands to get the better deal.

One thing I like about the Ibotta app is the balance of healthy products they include. Now, not all of the rebates are on healthy foods or environmentally friendly products, but there are enough of them to keep me using the app, unlike most newspaper coupon inserts, which I generally find a waste of my time. Ibotta usually includes rebates on fresh fruits and vegetables. Since I have been using the app, I've also seen almond milk and dairy products. 

I use the app for it's grocery rebates, but they also offer rebates at select stores, such as Jo-Ann Fabric and Best Buy, and restaurants. I find the restaurant rebates sadly lacking, but since I rarely eat out it doesn't really apply to me anyway.

Another thing they offer is fun little bonuses. You can have team members to help you earn the bonuses quicker, but I rarely make the bonuses, so again, it's nothing I really focus on.

The rebate money you earn can be directly deposited into a Paypal account or used to earn various gift cards. I use the Paypal option. Once you request a payment, it is usually deposited fairly quickly.

If you are interested in trying the Ibotta app out for yourself, follow this link to register: Ibotta

**Disclaimer** This is an unsolicited review. I am just sharing my experiences with the app, though the link is a referral link. We will both get a bonus to our Ibotta account once you register :-)

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Energy Bites

I had been looking for an energy bite recipe that didn't call for protein powder. After doing some research and tweaking some recipes I found online I came up with these yummy gems. They are great to grab and pop in your mouth on the way to the gym for a quick energy pick up or pack along for a hike instead of bringing store bought granola bars.

I made my second batch today. Most of the first batch were gobbled up by the boys and I on a day hike to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. If you have never been to this magical spot in Texas hill country, I recommend you go when you get a chance. It is a granite monolith that formed from magma under the earth's surface over a billion years ago. Erosion has a lot to do with how it looks today. According to the Texas state park website, it is a 425 foot climb to the top. In the summer it is nearly unbearable with the heat, but we experienced perfect spring weather. We also arrived at the peak of wildflower season, with bluebonnets and indian paintbrush lining the roads and many other wildflower varieties blooming from cracks in the rock.

Pretty, huh?

I've also been active with cross training the last couple of months. In order to maintain my endurance during the workout of the day, I need a snack about a half hour before hand. Grabbing one or two of these energy bites gets me through my workout until I can get home and cook dinner. They are also fairly quick to make ahead for the week.

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Energy Bites

1 cup quick oats

1/4 cup dark chocolate nut butter

1/4 cup nutty peanut butter (or any nut butter you prefer)

1 Tbsp chia seeds

2 Tbsp flax seed meal

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1 Tbsp melted coconut oil

2-3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips 

1/4 tsp cinnamon

unsweetened coconut flakes for rolling

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Measure out tablespoon sized portions and form into balls using your hands. Coat with coconut flakes.

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. 

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

I am by no means perfect when it comes to healthy eating. Sweets are my downfall, especially chocolate and ice cream. But I have never sacrificed healthy eating due to budget shortfalls. As with anything else, it is all about prioritizing. Where are you not willing to budge and what is most important to you? I do not clip coupons, though I will use them when I see a good deal, but as a single parent I don't have time to be the coupon queen and most of the items I buy never seem to have coupon deals anyway.

Here are some of the things I do to cut grocery costs and still eat healthy:

• Prioritize the foods I am not going to compromise on. Example, I prefer buying organic, but it's not always in my budget. However, I do stick to buying organic foods listed on the EWG's dirty dozen list. I figure at least that way I am reducing the amount of pesticide and herbicide exposure in my family.
• Shop mainly from the perimeter. I forget where I read about this tip from, but most groceries are set up with the unprocessed food on the perimeter; dairy, meat, produce, etc. You will automatically be eating healthier with this tip alone.
• Put a permanent ban on, or at least limit, items with little or no nutritional value. I don't buy soda or candy. You won't see Little Debbies in my cart. Much to my youngest son's dismay, I won't buy sugary cereals. I rarely buy cereal at all anymore. Like I said, I do give in to ice cream every now and then and I have convinced myself that the three pack of dark chocolate bars at Trader Joe's is a healthy treat. But if I am going to make the most of my grocery budget, then things that don't actually nourish us need to go.
• Grow my own. Right now I have a little salad garden providing greens, tomatoes, and broccoli. Most of these can be grown in containers on a patio if you are tight on space. I am also fortunate enough to live in an area that I can have my two chickens, who provide plenty of eggs for me and the boy.
• Don't buy things I normally wouldn't buy because they are on sale. On the other hand, if I see something I use regularly on sale or clearance, I stock up. The important thing here is to not play into the retail marketing game. You understand your needs more than a sale advertisement flyer. 
• Plan, make a list, and stick to it. When I do this, I am more likely to stay within my budget. Of course, sometimes I will step outside of this when I see something that will reduce next week's budget because of an unexpected clearance sale. Again, it has to be something I truly need and will use up.
• Reduced my meat consumption. We eat mostly vegetarian, some fish and chicken. Regardless of your political standings regarding the consumption of meat, a good quality steak is expensive. Plus, it really isn't healthy to make it the main focus of your diet. 

Recently, I am trying two new ways to cut cost, but since I have just started using both I have no idea on their long term benefit. The first is Amazon's subscribe and save for items like toothpaste, toilet paper, dog food, and other nonperishables. I got my first delivery at the beginning of this month and now I have six months worth (or a butt load, ha ha!) of toilet paper, among other things I regularly use. You can pick how often you want them to send an item and there is a bigger discount if you order several items in a month. 

I also just downloaded the Ibotta app to my phone and will be trying it out this week. This app refunds you for certain purchases simply by submitting photos of your grocery receipts using your smart phone. There are other similar apps out there as well. I am excited to give it a try. For military families, many of the rebates are good on purchases at the commissary so you might want to give it a try. If you already use Ibotta or a similar app, I'd love to hear your feedback. 

Here is to healthy eating!