Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips

Fall is in the air! This has to be my favorite season, hands down. Granted it is October and Southern Louisiana is still a little warm, I have been able to enjoy warm pumpkin lattes and bought a super cute pair of boots that have found a home close to the front door in hopes of being worn someday soon.

Something about snuggling in a warm jacket, sipping pipping hot apple cider, enjoying the spoils of the hours roaming and picking apples is the quintessential fall activity that I so desperately miss after leaving the East Coast. The apples at Fresh Market will have to suffice for now.

In the spirit of Fall, I decided to find some new ways to eat apples. I love them, my kids love them....who doesn't love them. We do have a slight separation in the house on which apples are better...green apples of course! No matter what color or what size, when cooked they not only make the house smell amazing but taste wonderful.

Never will you buy dried apple slices again. These are so simple and you can basically customize them however you want. So go grab your apples and your favorite spices and lets get baking.

Grab a few of your favorite apples.

Cut off the stems and then cut off one of the sides to give you a flat surface to cut your slices.

I used a mandolin to help get even slices but you are more than welcome to use a knife.

I used cinnamon and brown sugar. There is no right or wrong amount to use. I just put in equal amounts of each.

Take those apple slices and press them into your sugar mixture. Make sure to coat both sides.

Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 200 degree F for an hour. Then take out the sheet, turn the apples over and let them cook for another hour for soft dried apples or 2 hours for more crispy apple chips.

Take them out and put them in an airtight container. They last for about a week but I am sure they won't see the light of the 2nd day!

Edible Pumpkin Pie Lip Scrub + Lip Balm

Chapped lips have to be one of the worst things that come with the winter season. It is finally nice and cold down South and the cool crisp air can be unfriendly to your lips. Just like any other part of your body, your lips deserve to be pampered too! So here is another recipe to help keep those lips kissable. By the way, who doesn't love pumpkin spice. I do miss the warm, creamy pumpkin spice lattes from the local coffee shop, they get rid of those way too early. Don't worry if you catch your self sampling the pumpkin-y goodness that you are about to put on your lips....it is all edible.


EDIBLE LIP SCRUB

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon  of honey
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

It is pretty simple from here. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. Transfer the scrub to a little container or jar with a lid. Apply the scrub with your fingers and gently rub it back and forth on your lips. Make sure once you rinse off your scrub to follow up with a balm....preferably your pumpkin pie lip balm that you made.

PUMPKIN PIE LIP BALM

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons sweet almond oil
• 1 teaspoon beeswax
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• lip balm container

In a double boiler, combine the almond oil and beeswax and mix until they are melted together. Remove from the heat and add in the honey and pumpkin pie spice. Once everything is all mixed up, slowly pour it into a container and let it cool and harden.

Now that you have made your own pumpkin pie scrub and balm, you can keep your favorite winter treat around a lot longer!

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Make your own Chia drinks

I don't know if you have heard about the new "it" drink in the health food stores. First it was Kombucha, which I am not a huge fan of, and now its Chia Seeds. 

Chia seeds themselves have many excellent properties in them. It is marketed as an endurance enhancing super-food  which is popular with a lot of athletes. Chia seeds also have more omega-3's than salmon, more potassium than bananas, more calcium than milk and are loaded with antioxidants. 

The only bad thing about these yummy drink...they run about $4 a bottle at the local health food store. I don't know about you, but $4 could get me a gallon of gas!

So why not make your own. If you haven't tried them, I would recommend for you to buy one and try it. It has a very interesting texture because when the seeds are added to water they become gelatinous. I believe a lot of people have a texture issue with the drinks. I did at first and now I love them

All you will need is:

1 cup of your choice of juice

I choose lemonade for this demonstration because I am trying to find something that my children will like

1 cup of water

3 Tbsp of Chia seeds

Warm your water up, put it in a cup and add your chia seeds. Stir well until the chia seeds are evenly dispersed and start to swell. Cover the cup and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, grab the cup out of the fridge. The seeds should be plump and the water gelatinous.

Mix 1 cup of your chia seed gel with 1 cup of the juice and mix well!

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

I know, I know...when a lot of people see the word vegan they tend to shun away from a recipe. I personally like to try out vegan recipes because 1) most of them are healthier and 2) I run out of milk and eggs A LOT! Those are staples in my children's diet and we go through them crazy fast.

For teacher appreciation day I wanted to send something in for my oldest sons teachers for breakfast. Now a days you never know what people are allergic too, wont or cant eat or if they are just picky eaters. I chose a simple recipe that I knew couldn't go wrong, blueberry muffins.

My son and I made a big batch of them, placed them in a cute little box with a ribbon and off to school he went. They loved them and said it was a nice break from the normal breakfast of coffee and more coffee. If I was a first grade teacher with 24 kids...I would have a pot plugged in sitting on my desk.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cups of brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp backing powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp of coconut oil

2/3 cup of milk, I used almond milk

1 tbsp of lemon juice

and of course blueberries, whoever many you like

Preheat our over to 375.

In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients.

In smaller bowl, mix the milk and vinegar. Let it set for about 5 minutes.

Add the milk/vinegar mixture and the oil to the dry ingredients.

Mix lightly until everything comes together.

Add your blueberries. 

My muffins turned a little blue from the juice of the berries!

Scoop into your muffin tin

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Nutella Cake in a Mug

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Who doesn't love Nutella. To me its one of those wholly grail food items. We eat it on toast  apples, cookies...you name it I am sure we have tried it.

Recently I did a whole food in-a-mug series and I recently stumbled upon this gem. It takes about 5 minutes from start to finish. Who said you can't have a little dessert tonight!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons self-rising flour

4 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons Nutella

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whipped Cream Topping (if desired)

½ cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1½– 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave; mine took 1½ minutes.)

Add heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed until almost stiff. Add sugar and beat until heavy cream forms stiff peaks. Top Mug Cakes with whipped cream and a little chocolate sauce, if desired.

Coconut Honey DIY Lip Scrub

Even though we are leaving behind the cold winter months, I still like to give my lips a little TLC during the warmer months.

 Lip balm and chapstick will not be able to do there job if they don't have a good foundation to work with. With the summer time rapidly approaching and the countless hours we are going to be spending soaking up the sun, make sure to love on your lips at least once a week just like you would do for your body.

Here is a simple and easy DIY. Once it is made make sure to remember it only has a shelf life of about 2 weeks. So if you make a big batch, give it out to your girlfriends!

Coconut Honey Lip Scrub

1 tbs honey

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs coconut oil

Mix all ingredients to combine. Apply a pea size portion to your lips and rub gently with your index finger. Rinse with warm water and apply your favorite moisturizing chapstick.

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Strawberry and Blueberry Compote

I am so excited that it is finally the time of year where all of our local produce stands are opening up. I love the sweet taste of the freshly harvested berries and melons and the crisp crunch of the veggies. This is one of my favorite places to visit, The Veggie Wagon. Its along the beach and you can always find something for a little midday snack as you are lounging in the sand. 

One of my favorite berry recipes to make are compotes. You can make them with so many varieties of berries but strawberries and blueberries have to be my favorite combination. 

Serve them warm over some vanilla ice cream or whip up some homemade whipped cream and dollop it on top of the cooled compote. Whatever you choose, you wont be sorry that you tried it. 

In a small pan place 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 2 tbsp of honey, 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of chopped strawberries. Let it come to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes. Use a nonstick pan so the compote does not stick to the pan. 

That is it. Eat it hot or eat it cold, it is your choice!

DIY Natural Room Scent

I am one of those people who absolutely love to have my house smelling amazing. Whether it is the lingering scent of something baking, my overused Scentsy warmer or a new obsession of mine DIY Natural Room Scents. 

I don't use them as much as I would like to because it usually requires you to keep your stove on and with two smaller children I just don't seen comfortable with that. But I did find a solution. I bought a small crock-pot. Now I don't have to worry about the stove being on and the crock-pot can be put out of reach from the kids.

One of my favorites scents is anise. I know its so cliche, but there is something about that sweet yet spicy aroma that I just love. 

I stumbled across a new room scent that included anise and as soon as it started to warm in the crock-pot I knew I had found my new favorite scent! These are super easy to make and can be customized to your preferences. Play around with some of your favorite scents to come up with new fragrances. 

What you will need---Oranges, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and anise. One reason it is my favorite scent is for it's staying power. This scent carries into multiple rooms better, and it can be reheated to scent your rooms for several days. 

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How to heat it using a mini slow cooker. Mine only has one low heat setting. The mixture never actually bubbles and visibly steams. I leave it uncovered on my kitchen counter to slowly release scent throughout the day. It's subtle, but creates a pleasant smell in my kitchen and a hint of scent in surrounding rooms. When I'm home, I keep my mini slow cooker going. It's easy and uses very little electricity. When I fill mine in the morning, it won't dry out for an entire day. If you're concerned about accidentally letting it run dry, you can put a lamp timer on it so that it automatically shuts off at the desired time. 

DIY Lemon and Sugar Scrub

Here is another scrub for you, a Sugar and Lemon scrub! Sugar is a gentle exfoliant where the lemon has properties to hep reduce oiliness and acne.

Most of the ingredients that you need you probably already have in your kitchen. The best part, it is super simple to make! This DIY Lemon and Sugar scrub can be used on your face or your body. It is ideal for all of those little rough spots that you might get, especially during this cold winter weather. You can use it on your face all the way down to your toes!

Here is what you will need:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp of honey
1/2 of a lemon
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
a Tupperware bowl or something with a tight fitting lid 

Are you ready? Here is the hard part. Mix the oil, lemon juice and honey together until they incorporate with each other. Add the sugar, mix. Voila, you have a wonderful smelling body and face scrub.