After making granola with my 8 year old yesterday, I do not think I will ever buy granola again! It was so easy to make – not to mention it is healthier and less expensive than store-bought granola!
All you need is a few simple ingredients. For our recipe we mixed together 4 cups of rolled oats (not the quick cook kind), 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup slivered almonds, and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds in one bowl. Then in the other bowl we melted together one stick of butter, 1/2 cup honey, a splash of vanilla and some cinnamon (just a touch).
Mix the wet ingredients in to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until well coated.
Preheat the oven to 350 and spread the granola mixture out on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes and then stir. Cook another 5-7 min. until mixture is golden brown.
Let the granola cool a few minutes then break it up onto a cool surface or another pan. When completely cool, transfer the granola to an air-tight container and store for up to two weeks in the fridge.
We served the granola over vanilla yogurt and mixed in some craisins at the last minute, too. YUMM-O!
Here are a few more granola recipes you can try, too:
Posted on August 18th, 2010 by Char
Filed under: Recipes | No Comments »
We are back from the most amazing vacation (more on that to come later) and have one week left before the kids go back to school. That means it is time to start rolling back the bed times, getting into a new routine, and getting back into the menu planning habit! The slow cooker is being joined by its new friend the George Foreman Grill this fall. I actually have had a small George Foreman Grill for a long time, but I can only cook 2-3 burgers or chicken breasts on it at a time and it is a real pain to clean. Today I splurged and bought myself the newer George Foreman that has a digital read out and removable grill plates so that the cleaning will not be as frustrating.
- Monday – Steak, corn on the cob and salad
- Tuesday – Honey mustard marinated chicken, patty pan squash, new potatoes
- Wednesday – Slow cooker pork chops, homemade applesauce, broccoli and salad
- Thursday – Taco salad
- Friday – Baked macaroni and cheese with salad
Need more inspiration? Check out my Menu Plan Monday archives or head over to Laura’s at Organizing Junkie for links to hundreds of menus this week.
Don’t forget to submit your family oriented blog posts to our blog carnival called the “All Things Family” blog carnival - enter your submissions by 5 pm today to be included in this week’s edition.
Posted on August 16th, 2010 by Char
Filed under: Menu Plan Monday | No Comments »
Technology is certainly changing the way we live our lives – from the way we communicate to the tools we use to keep our families safe. One of the Raising a Healthy Family partner’s, SecuraTrac wants to help you get your kids back to school safely and has put together some very timely safety tips. They have also shared an exclusive coupon with us – HEALTHYFAMILY20 is good for 10% off through September 1, 2010.
Every 40 seconds someone’s son or daughter is reported missing, totaling over 800,000 missing children in the United States each year. Whether you are in a crowded shopping mall, amusement park or even a neighborhood park, as a parent, turning around and not seeing your child induces instant panic and a sinking feeling in your stomach.
There are a few steps parents can take to help shorten the time it takes to locate their child should he or she ever go missing. The first step is to remain as calm as possible and other tips that can help include:
- Teach your children to look for other moms or dads to ask for help if they ever get separated from you.
- Practice memorizing last name, address, home phone and cell phone numbers with your children by turning them into a rhyme or pneumonic device so the child can recall it when they are scared.
- Check around your home in places that would be easy to hide or places where young children might get trapped.
- Keep a current photograph on hand.
- Notify local law enforcement and the media and report where they were last seen, what they were wearing and other key pieces of identifying information.
- Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) on their toll-free telephone number: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
- Consider renting or purchasing a GPS locator for your child that can notify you if you child leaves home and allows them to send you an SOS message if they are in danger.
For more information on protecting your children and securing your own peace of mind please visit www.securatrac.com.
Posted on August 10th, 2010 by Char
Filed under: Safety | No Comments »
