A healthier version to pumpkin muffins....Stay fit and festive!!

Do not be scared to venture into the realm of a healthy indulgent. It will be okay to munch on these on the go, at work, for an afternoon snack or that late night snack. These are husband and child approved in my house and a all around family favorite!

Ingredients:

2 cups oat flour (See how to make your own in my last blog post)

1 cupsugar (You can subsitute this with your favorite healthy version of a sweetner just remember to check how much sweetner is equivalent to sugar before substituing.. avoid a disaster)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs (beaten)

1 15oz can of pumpkin

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted) 

jar of baby apple sauce 

1 banana

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients into a bowl; oat flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg. 

2. In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, eggs, banana and coconut oil into a mixture. 

3. Mix pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients.

4. Place muffin cups into your muffin pan and fill. 

5. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. Make sure the toothpick comes clean. Let the muffins rest awhile and cool. Then enjoy.

I took an old Better Homes and Gardens recipe I had around the house and modified it to make it healthier and better for my family while still being considered a treat. I plan on finding an alternative to the mass amount of sugar in the recipe possibly next week since pumpkins are so festive! I normally use a blend of sugar and stevia but couldn't find it at the store this week. Sorry!! 

DIY: Oat Flour

Alright, so who is as excited as me to make their own oat flour. Oat flour can be expensive to purchase at a local store or online so why not make it yourself. When I disclose how easy it is to make this healthy substitute to all purpose flour you'll seriously be astonished. I substitute oat flour for regular flour in some of my baking recipes to make it a little bit healthier. 

The process: 

Oats (I use quick) however, you can use whatever you prefer like rolled or old fashion

Food processor

I measured out one cup oats placed it in my mini "chop chop" as my husband and I call it and grind. This is the fun part because kids get so excited over this stuff that my two year old will hold the button down and I can supervise while doing something uber exciting like the dishes. o_0 ..... 

 If you process one cup oats in the food processor you'll yield one cup oat flour afterwards.

Prior to being processed....

And this is oat flour! 

Waaaaa laaaa!!! Haha... It's so easy and it's a great alternative for becoming a healthier being! Enjoy it & experiment with it! 

Active Series from Dr.Scholls

I've been putting a little time into a website called Influenster and I figured I'd take the time to write a little about what Influenster is and how it works in addition to the Active Series gift I received through Influenster through Dr. Scholls. 

I created an account through Influenster awhile ago and like to go through and give my opinion about products ranging from groceries, to household items, beauty related items to my favorite things mommy and toddler items. You achieve badges and the more you achieve on the website means the more qualified you become to receive FREE STUFF! Haha. We all enjoy receiving things for free... well, at least I do. So if you are interested go ahead and sign up at www.influenster.com create an account, take quizzes, submit reviews, answer others questions about products and get your badges!

So onto the next thing. I received a product through Influenster that is the Dr. Scholls Active Series insoles for shoes; this product is designed for those that stay active (I try doesn't always work) and help with the support and comfort from things like jogging or running. I encounter shin splint when I jog or sprint and these are suppose to help alleviate the pain I'd feel after a jog. When you receive them they'll be for a certain range of sizes mine were for women shoe size 5 to 8. I'm an 8 so I didn't have to alter the shape or length of mine to fit. In addition, they recommended you trim them to the size of your current insole, I didn't remove my current insole I just simply placed the product on top of my current insole and it works fine. 

I've inserted them into my Nike Free Runs and at first I'll be honest they seemed a little weird; I felt taller in my shoes and like they were going to slide off even though they were tied extremely tight. Instead of wearing them the first time to jog I simply put them in my shoes, tied my shoes tight onto my feet and did what I do best, shop! After walking/chasing my two year old around good old Walmart for an hour they started to feel normal and less awkward. The extra support arch support was comforting and they made my shoes feel even more like walking on what I imagine a cloud feels like to walk on. 

I've worn these on my daily walk/jogs through our neighborhood and they seem to help. I haven't sprinted yet in them but plan to this week when I'm not pushing a stroller with a 40lb toddler in front of me =D  I'll update then if they really do alleviate the pain of shin splints!  

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Ultimate Carpet Cleaner

Today I was mixing up a batch of my special stain killing carpet refreshing spray when it dawned on me that I should share how much I love this concoction. I know I can't be alone in the category of being a death zone stain scrubbing spaz; maybe I am but who cares. This mixture is easy and works well. Prior to purchasing our home we rented and I wasn't about to lose a deposit over something as simple as keeping the carpets clean! 

I took an old woolite bottle that I had from when I thought that was the holy grail carpet cleaner (It kind of lightened my carpets though...not cool)! I fill it up basically to the neck add 4 tablespoons of baking soda and approximately 3/4 cup Rug Doctor for steam cleaners. 

An example, is my laundry room rug. This green thing is the catch all rug that's placed in front of the door that brings you from our garage. It's apparently super absorbent and I suppose that's a rather good thing because the filth isn't being dragged through the rest of the house.

 As you can see its partial to collecting stains although these pictures don't really show you the true depth of color for these stains. All you need is this mixture and a scrub brush. 

Completely wet down the stained area. I wet down the whole rug (it was looking pretty rough)! I scrubbed until it looked as if it was lifting and gone then allowed for it to dry. 

This picture above is of the carpet wet still after being scrubbed. Below is after I allowed it to dry. 

Try it out if your looking for something new! The ingredients provide for numerous bottles of spray to be made also. I'm sure one could substitute the rug doctor for another carpet cleaning solution too. I've tested and use this on my carpets and love it, however, this isn't a guaranteed stain lifter.

If you have any concoctions you'd like to share please comment I'm always looking for something new! 

Please note: I concocted another batch in an old windex bottle because after a year and a half my old woolite bottle expired it's trust worthiness, most likely from the baking soda building up and the windex bottle had an extremely hard time holding up, maybe I tossed too much baking soda into the mix ... Lol who knows but this concoction requires a durable bottle.