grainless granola bars

Granola bars have been a staple in our house, even since before having kids. They are an easy, on the go breakfast or snack, and these days everyone seems to be on the go. There are some decent pre-packaged options out there, but they usually come with a huge price tag. These homemade bars are grain free, but you can also make them with oatmeal for a more kid friendly variety.  It seems like a huge list of ingredients, but you just throw everything into a blender or food processor. Super easy!

This recipe is adapted from 100 Days of Real Food.  Love her blog!

Grainless Granola Bars

2 cups almond flour/meal

1 cup raw slivered almonds

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

6 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Throw the almonds, cashews, coconut, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds into a food processor.  Give it a couple pulses, then throw in the almond meal, spices, and salt.  Give it another couple whirls until everything is good and mixed.  Transfer the mixture to a medium sized bowl.  Melt your coconut oil in a saucepan, then add the honey and vanilla to the oil.  Once these three are nice and warm, pour it over your nut mixture.  Stir until completely incorporated.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour your mixture onto the paper.  Press together with your hands until you form a nice, flat sheet of granola bar goodness, about a 1/2 inch thick.  Bake for an hour.  Let the bars cool completely before cutting.  Store in an air tight container.  Yummy!!!

If you want to add oats you can either eliminate the almond meal completely and add 3 1/2 cups of oats.  I found steel cut oats don't work as well and the texture turns out funny.  Or you can also meet in the middle and do a cup of almond flour and 2 cups of oats.  I've tried many different combinations and you really can't mess these up.  If you don't like a particular nut or seed, just swap it out for something else.  Chocolate chips are a yummy addition, too!  Just throw them into the food processor with the rest of the ingredients.

homemade almond milk

It took me a long time to acquire a taste for almond milk.  I'm talking the unsweetened kind, not the added sugar, flavored kind.  I use almond milk in smoothies, some recipes, and sometimes poured over grainless granola.  The problem is that most of the store-bought almond milks have a bunch of yucky ingredients added in.  Enter homemade almond milk!  I cannot believe it's taken me all this time to realize I could make my own.  It's so easy and WAY more tasty!

Almond Milk

1 cup raw almonds

8 cups water, separated

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Soak almonds in 4 cups of water for 8-10 hours

2. Rinse almonds a couple times and add to a blender

3. Add remaining 4 cups of water and other ingredients to blender

4. Blend until smooth (we have a Vitamix, so it blends in no time, but depending on your blender, this could take some time)

5. Strain milk through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag

6. Store in the fridge in a cute little bottle (thanks, Shatto!)

This makes about a quart and should only be kept about 5 days.  I'm typically a black coffee gal, but sometimes I add this to my morning cup and it's so delish. The hint of sweet and cinnamon is just perfect.  You can also just drink it straight out of the bottle if that's more your style.

PS - Never in my life did I think I'd know what a milk nut bag was for, let alone own one!  I will say this is a very worth while purchase if you want to make your own milk.

toilet bowl cleaner

When I started on this journey to healthier living years ago, a friend introduced me to The Honest Company. I fell in love with their products and it made it so easy for me to switch all of our cleaning products to a more safe, eco-friendly variety. I still use many of their products, however when it comes to cleaning products, it's easier and WAY cheaper just to make them at home. Here is a very simple toilet bowl cleaner that actually works. Trust me, I have only boys, my toilets are disgusting.

Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner

1/2 cup baking soda

1/4 cup liquid castile soap (I love Dr. Bronner's)

10 drops essential oil (optional)

1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup white vinegar

Start by mixing the baking soda and castile soap together. I used a citrus soap because lemon antibacterial. Next add your essential oil, if using. I used rosemary in this batch because it is also antibacterial. And it smells amazing. Then add your hydrogen peroxide, which is a natural whitener. Who doesn't love a shiny, white toilet?! Next, slowly add your hot (but not boiling) water and mix until well dissolved. Now comes the fun part. Add your vinegar and watch that baby fizz. Makes you feel like you're back in middle school science, doesn't it? 

Once it's all mixed and has stopped fizzing, use a funnel to pour into a bottle. I just used an empty toilet bowl cleaner bottle, but any squeeze bottle would work.

Once you squirt it into your toilet, let it sit for about 10 minutes to let it do it's magic. Feel free to stand in your bathroom breath in the wonderful smells because it your bathroom is anything like mine, it won't last long!

easy salad dressing

I haven't really met many salad dressings that I don't like.  I can remember as a kid eating those crunchy chow mein noodles drenched in Dorothy Lynch dressing.  Nothing else.  Just noodles and dressing.  Mmmmmmm, tasty!

Well, trying to live an unprocessed life means no more bottled salad dressings.  I try to eat some greens with either lunch or dinner, so I had to start making my own dressing.  Turns out it's really easy and tastes so much better than the bottled stuff.

Here are my go-to dressings:

Easy Balsamic Dressing
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Don't like balsamic?  Swap it out for apple cider vinegar for a different twist.

Honey Mustard Dressing
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp raw honey
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

I like to mix mine in one of these bottles because you can measure right in the bottle and it has a no mess pour.

Or a good ole fashion mason jar would do.  I sure do love me some mason jars...

Now go on, throw out that Dorothy Lynch and those chow mein noodles, too!

homemade hand soap

I don't know about your house, but we seem to go through hand soap at a rapid pace. I guess this is a good problem because it means my boys are washing their hands. Although I'm pretty sure if we weren't reminding them constantly, they would never wash their hands. Ever. Even after feeding a donkey while simultaneously eating an apple. I mean, how dirty could a donkey's mouth be?

Here is a simple homemade hand soap recipe that can be made to smell (or not smell) anyway you like, depending on which soap you use. I love Dr. Bronner's soap because they all smell delish and are free of any harmful chemicals. They also make an unscented variety if you don't want your soap to smell like anything.

Homemade Hand Soap

1 bar soap

8-10 cups water 

2 tbsp coconut oil

essential oils (optional)

Using a cheese grater, grate your entire bar of soap into a large pot. Then pour 8 cups of water over the soap. Add 2 tbsp of coconut oil and heat over medium heat until everything has dissolved. Once everything is dissolved, remove from heat and let it cool. If you want to add essential oils, add them once it has cooled, but before it starts to set up. After a few hours, the soap will start to thicken up. You may need whisk in more water, depended on the consistency. After about 5 hours, it should be ready to go. Use a funnel to pour into pump bottles, or into mason jars to store for later.

This should make roughly 60 ounces of soap for about the cost of a bar of soap. 

Now, go wash up!