Kristie

Clean Eating Recipes for Kids

March 28, 2017 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Sometimes I wonder if cooking is worth the time. Especially when I work really hard to search for new healthy recipes, find and buy all the ingredients, and spend a lot of time in the kitchen-and then my kids don’t like the food! It can be very frustrating. I was thinking about this and decided to ask my healthy blogger friends for their favorite clean eating recipes for kids.

I wanted tried and true recipes that kids would really like, and I wanted them to be made from healthy real foods. These recipes don’t contain damaging chemicals or trans fats. (And, if you buy high quality proteins, fats, and vegetables, you will be giving your kids optimal nutrition!)

Clean Eating Recipes for Kids

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Beefy Cheesy Pasta–Tinkyada’s Brown Rice Pasta can be used for this recipe-these noodles are gluten free and yummy!

Green Eggs and Ham

Mini Breakfast Frittatas

Honey Roasted Carrot Soup

Easy Weeknight Meatloaf

Easy Meatball Recipe-I love all the variations that are included in this recipe! There is even a framework recipe for switch it up cooks (those who like to customize recipes).

Roasted Carrot Fries

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

Irish Nachos

Not Mac and Cheese-This is made from cauliflower!

Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Bison Meatballs

Carrot Tomato Soup

Baked Broccoli Tater Tots-I love this idea for kids, and think it would have been perfect for when I had a picky toddler!

Baked Mac and Cheese-You could use Einkorn pasta for this recipe. (Einkorn wheat is a pure and ancient form of wheat and has less gluten and is more digestible than modern wheat products.)

Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

No Churn Healthy Strawberry Ice Cream-This looks so good and is naturally sweetened with bananas!

I hope you find some new favorite recipes in this list (and convince your kids that healthy foods can taste great!). You may also want to check out these Real Food Desserts and Snacks for Kids and Picky Eaters.

Easy Homeschool Science Lessons-No Teacher Preparation!

January 31, 2017 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Science can be one of the most fun parts of homeschool! Especially if you have a hands on learner. I have one daughter who loves to “do” things. She always wants to be creating, organizing, or working on a project. She also loves to learn about animals so science is a natural fit for her.

But even if your child isn’t a hands on learner, science can be one of the most fun homeschool subjects. Over the years, I have found some fun ways to do homeschool science lessons that require little to no teacher preparation time!

Easy and Engaging Homeschool Science Lessons

1. Nature Walks

When the weather is nice, we like to go outside and walk together. We talk about the plants or animals that we see along the way. I share all that I know about what we see. This is such an enjoyable way to learn and build relationships!

After our walk, we like to look at our plant and animal books to see if we can learn more. We have used our Peterson Field Guide to look up insects. There are also Peterson Field Guides for birds and other animals.We have even used my gardening books to learn more about different types of plants.

Sometimes we draw pictures of some of the things we see on our walks. Other times we collect things and bring them inside-things like leaves, pine cones, or flowers. We have even made flower arrangements with our treasures.

2. Science Videos and TV

As a new mom, I was wary of too much tv. But, I have found that it can be an awesome educational tool. When my youngest daughter was little she was always telling me a new science fact using the correct scientific terms. When I would ask her about it, she would say she learned it on “Cat in the Hat” (a pbs show). This happened often enough that I realized she really was learning a lot!

We have learned science from a variety of shows (many are on PBS)-

Cat in the Hat
Wild Kratts
SciGirls
Answers in Genesis Videos
Fetch with Ruff Ruffman
Nature Cat

Some of these shows mention “millions of years” and other evolutionary based theories. We talk about what is being presented in the show as fact, and compare it to what the Bible teaches.

3. Field Trips

There are a lot of fun places to go where you can learn science. Some places to consider-

Farms-traditional farms as well as exotic animal farms (farmers raising llamas or other exotic animals) are good places to learn about animals
Nature Preserve
Zoos
Science Museums
Pet stores-another good place to learn about animal care and animal habits.

Field trips can definitely get kids excited about science! And, it means no lesson planning for mom. 🙂

4. Find Books that are in Line with Your Child’s Interests

My youngest is interested in animals and dinosaurs. (Most children love these subjects!) So, I try to have books around that they are about those subjects. Both of my kids have very much enjoyed The Encyclopedia of North American Animals, and the Living World Encyclopedia.

We have enjoyed Dinosaurs by Design for learning about dinosaurs. Of course, we also go to the library and check out books that interest my kids and that also teach science.

I simply read these books to my girls for an easy science lesson. Sometimes they get interested in the books, and start reading them on their own.

We also sometimes use a traditional science curriculum, but often we opt for a science lesson that doesn’t require any teacher preparation. And my girls really like Science!

What about you? Do you use non traditional methods to teach science? Comment below! 🙂

You may also be interested in Homeschool Math-What Your Child Needs to Know.

Healthy French Fry Recipes for Kids!

January 21, 2017 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Are you convinced that you and your kids need to eat healthier, yet you wonder how you are going to get your kids to eat the healthy stuff? It is really hard on mom if the kids don’t want to eat what she cooks!

I have found that kids are more likely to like new recipes if they recognize the food, and it is something they already like. I was thinking about this and all the kids I know recognize and love french fries! Actually, I think all adults like them too. 🙂 (Keep reading for some healthy homemade french fry recipes!)

French fries have three things going for them:

They are high in vitamin B6, potassium and vitamin C.
They are full of healthy fats (when the right oil is used-more on that below).
They are still cheap even if you buy organic potatoes.* This means that your child will get all the benefit of the potatoes without any drawbacks. The more healthy produce your child eats the more they are able to detox the poisons that they come into contact with. In today’s world this can be extremely important.

When making french fries it is important to use a fat that can hold up to the high heat that frying requires. The fats that can hold up to the highest heats are animal fats. Some healthy animal fats include grass fed tallow and pastured lard. Palm shortening can also hold up to high heats.

If you make baked fries and keep the oven temperature to around 350 then you can use Coconut oil or Olive oil. Coconut oil can also be used for pan frying, but wouldn’t be good for deep fat frying.

If you have read my blog for a while you know that I am a big believer in the right kind of fats. They are very important for overall health and immune health. I know the right fats have helped me be so much healthier-they are a part of the reason that I am healthy now.

Below I have some delicious french fry recipes for you!

Healthy Homemade French Fry Recipes for Kids

The Best Homemade French Fries

Lazy French Fries Cooked in Beef Tallow

Amazing French Fries

Red Potato French Fries

Delicious Homemade Baked French Fries

Other Kid Friendly Potato Recipes

Here are a few other very kid friendly potato recipes for kids who like tater tots and hashbrowns. 🙂

Gluten Free Homemade Tater Tots

Crispy Hashbrowns

Homemade Frozen Hashbrowns

I know your kids are going to love these recipes! You may also be interested in Healthy Chicken Nugget Recipes for Kids.

*I don’t buy everything organic, but I do buy organic potatoes because potatoes usually have a high pesticide load. The Environmental Working Group tests produce samples every year for pesticide residues and they had this to say about potatoes: The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce!

Homeschool Math-What Your Child Needs to Know

January 12, 2017 by Kristie 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Homeschool Math

I know math can be intimidating for many homeschoolers. I wanted to take some of the mystery out of math and give you some thoughts on what your child really needs to learn. If your child is going to major in math in college, they may be highly self motivated and learn more than I am going to recommend in this post.

But for most parents this post will help you to have an overview of what is truly important to cover in your homeschool math program. And even college bound students will need this solid foundation. They will just probably cover the material a little earlier.

$Homeschool Math$

This post will help you if you want:

Your child to have a very good grasp of basic math
Your child to be able to use math to figure prices and balance a checkbook
Your child to have enough math background to run a business
Your child to have a good foundation for learning higher math

First, I want to give you a few foundational principles when teaching math. Then I will share which concepts are foundational for all math, as well as give some help with choosing curriculum.

Foundational Principles for Teaching Math

1. Use Real Objects when Introducing New Math Subjects

In the beginning grades, math needs to be concrete. Teach counting by counting actual objects. Later on you can add and subtract using objects.

At our house we used Baby Bear Counters. We would have 5 bears playing and 1 would go home. Then I would ask how many bears were left. When my daughter would say 4, I would praise her and say “That’s right, because 5 minus 1 equals 4”. Even though she didn’t know exactly what that meant, I knew that if I kept repeating math terms it would eventually start to make sense.

Later on, when we were playing with the counting bears again, I would do the same thing but I would also write 5-4=1. Of course I would say the problem out loud as I was writing it.

I always continue to use real objects until I can tell that my child really “gets it”. Then we move on to using just pencil and paper to practice the math concept.

Currently we are using fraction pieces, and my daughter loves them. Because we did school with them and “played” with them, she is getting a firm grasp on fractions.

Hands-On Math Fraction Pieces, 51 Pieces

2. Teach for Mastery

I was talking to my sister on the phone about teaching math. She says she wishes she would have stayed on one concept for a longer period of time. When she was teaching her oldest, she feels that the curriculum she was using moved on too quickly and kept changing to new concepts.

I feel the same way-that I should have taught for more mastery when I was teaching my oldest. We have both learned now! We both work on making sure that the concept is grasped and that the child has had enough practice problems before we move on.

Of course we don’t continue to assign the same types of problems if we can tell that the child can do the problems and get most of them right. That is one of the advantages of homeschooling-We can move on if we need to or do more of the same if we need to.

Major Concepts to cover in Math

I want to give you a list of foundational math concepts so that you will know what you need to cover in your math program. So that if you find yourself running out of time, or your child is struggling, then you have an idea of what are the most important math concepts to cover.

The Major Concepts that you will want to cover in the first 6-9 years of math are:

How to Read and Write Numbers (Each year your child will understand larger and larger numbers)
Place Value (For example, in the number 834 the 8 has a value of 800)
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Fractions
Decimals
Percents

In many math texts, other concepts will be introduced like some very basic geometry, measurement, temperature, time, and graphs. These things are also important, but not foundational to understanding math. Those things could be learned at other times, or after the basic math concepts have been learned.

Another good way to gauge what is fundamental for your child to learn each year is to take a look at placement tests. You will notice that many times, the same concepts are being taught year after year. But, the concept will be taken one step further.

One year multiplication will be taught. But only 1 digit x 1 digit like 4 x 7=__. The next year, your child will do a problem with a 2 digit number 21 x 3=__. You will also notice on many placement tests there are no questions on time, temperature, or graphs.

Choosing a Homeschool Math Curriculum

There are many things to consider when choosing a math curriculum. But I am going to share what I think are the two most important things you can do when choosing a curriculum.

Prayer-God cares about your child’s future. He knows what is important for you to spend time on this school year. He can help you find the curriculum that is the perfect fit for you!
Look at the curriculum or at sample lessons. Christian Book has many Math Curriculums to choose from, and if you choose one, you can often see inside the books and view sample lessons. (Simply click on more images under the product image.) Whenever you are able to see actual lessons, it really helps you to decide if the curriculum is a good fit for you and your child.

I have enjoyed teaching math from a variety of curriculums. The one I have used the most is Singapore Math. I like it for a lot of reasons. It isn’t too expensive. It teaches most concepts in multiple ways. This really helps my students to truly understand numbers and how they work. This also gives my child more than one way to understand a concept (if she doesn’t get it one way, she will often understand the concept taught a different way).

Singapore also has pictures that really help a visual learner like me so that I am better able to explain the concepts to my children.

Singapore Math: Primary Math Workbook 4A US Edition

Singapore Math is also advanced. Many times homeschoolers use the books with the number below the grade that they are actually in. (For example 5th graders will often use the books marked 4a and 4b.)

Other Recommended Resources

An Easy Start In Arithmetic-This book gives specific teaching techniques for teaching math in the early years. Even though this is a very small booklet, there are many math lessons that could come from this book! Whenever I read Ruth Beechick, I feel like I have a mentor holding my hand teaching me how and what to teach! There is also a listing of what math concepts to cover in the early years up through to the third grade.

You CAN Teach Your Child Successfully, Hardcover

You CAN Teach Your Child Successfully, Paperback-This is another book by Ruth Beechick. She gives a breakdown of what is important to learn for grades 4-8. This book covers many subjects including language arts and mathematics. She gives grade level guidelines for math concepts to help you know what is normally covered in each grade.

Homeschool math can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Sticking to the foundational concepts and having a great curriculum and resources can help you to be successful!

$Homeschool math pin$

Need a Butter Substitute? Help for Those with Dairy Allergies

December 30, 2016 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

When I went dairy free, I knew I would be giving up many things. But one of the hardest for me to give up was butter! Butter is just so good, and so many recipes call for butter. I needed a dairy free butter substitute!

I have learned quite a bit since those early days of going dairy free. I will share with you some of my best tips for replacing butter.

Tips for Choosing a Dairy Free Butter Substitute

Coconut Oil

When I first went dairy free, I replaced butter in my cooking with coconut oil. Coconut oil is delicious in main dishes (like this one). Most everyone that has tried my cooking likes the taste of coconut oil.

Coconut oil does have a slight coconut flavor, but it is mild. My family liked it right away-we didn’t have to develop a taste for it.

Coconut oil can also replace butter in baking. It will change the taste some (especially if the recipe is based on the butter flavor). But, baked goods with coconut oil can be delicious!

There are many high quality coconut oils available. Tropical Traditions and Carrington Farms are both very good brands. Vitacost also has a great coconut oil. (If you are new to Vitacost, you can get a $10 coupon).

Palm Shortening

Palm Shortening is also a high quality fat. It is awesome in baked goods, and doesn’t really have a flavor-which can be a good thing if you don’t want a coconut flavor.

I use palm shortening when making things like baked french fries or baked butternut squash fries. If an item already has a natural sweetness, like butternut squash or carrots, then I will often use palm shortening instead of coconut oil.

palm_shortening

I order my palm shortening from Tropical Traditions.

Ghee

A third option for replacing butter is ghee. Ghee is butter that has all the milk proteins removed. Many people who have a milk allergy or intolerance can eat ghee. It is used on many healing diets even when all other dairy products are excluded.

There is still a small percentage of people who would need to avoid even ghee. For me personally, I have been eating ghee even though I was diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy. I didn’t add it back into my diet, however, until I had worked on my health and digestion for a number of years. (I decided to start eating it when I needed to work on dental health-grass fed butter and ghee are able to reverse dental decay).

The brand I have been eating is Purity Farms Ghee. It is lactose and casein free. Another good brand is Pure Indian Foods ghee. (It is actually lab tested to be free of lactose and casein.)

Another option is to make homemade ghee. I have made homemade ghee from Kerrygold’s grassfed butter. It was absolutely delicious!! This would be the best option in my opinion if you need a strong buttery taste (like on toast). Here is a video on making homemade ghee.

If you have any more questions, I would love to answer them! You can comment below.

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Real Food Desserts and Snacks for Kids and Picky Eaters

December 17, 2016 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Since it is getting close to the holidays, I have gathered up some real food snack and dessert recipes for kids and picky eaters. These are recipes with clean healthy ingredients so your kids can have their cake and eat it too. 🙂

Many of these recipes are full of healthy fats, and the carbs are from much better ingredients than white flour or sugar.

These are kid friendly recipes like granola bars, pancakes, applesauce, and cookies.

Real Food Desserts and Snacks

Clean Eating Granola Bars

Paleo Apple Cinnamon Doughnuts with Honey Nectar

Homemade Vegan Protein Bars-the protein in these comes from almond flour, and flax seeds!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies-Stove Top Recipe

Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes

Apple Butter-in the Crockpot

Dark Chocolate Cookies-These are made from bittersweet chocolate chips-Equal Exchange Organic Chocolate Chips are a brand with clean ingredients.

Homemade Granola Bars-These look so good! Make them even healthier by using sprouted oats.

Peppermint Cocoa Bites

Instant Pot Applesauce

Sausage and Cheese Scones-These look really good! If you want to to make these even healthier you could use sprouted flour.

Loaded Oatmeal Bowl Cookies-You could use sprouted oats for these if you wanted to make them even healthier.

Paleo Coconut Flour Cupcakes

Lemon Coconut Bars

3 Ingredient Paleo Crackers

Blueberry Pistachio Apple Sandwiches

Protein Pancakes

That was a lot of delicious looking food! 🙂

You may also be interested in Healthy Chicken Nugget Recipes for Kids.

A Printable Planner for Moms-Organize to Save Time and Money!

December 10, 2016 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

I used to waste a lot of time, and my mind was cluttered. My house was often messy. Often, I felt guilty when I did things I enjoyed or I just didn’t get to do the things I enjoyed.

Now, I generally use my time wisely, I don’t have so many random thoughts crowding my mind, and I get to do things I love to do. Why, you ask? I use a planner!

Over the years, I have purchased many different planners. (Some were better than others!) I have spent a good amount of money and tried many different types of planners.

But, this year I decided to do something different. I bought a customizeable printable planner that I will never have to pay for again. I bought a lifetime membership to Mom’s Household Planner! The membership site is updated often with current calendars so I can just print out a new one each year!

The Mom’s Household Planner has MANY different options for the printable planner. I was able to look through the different planning pages and calendars and chose the ones that I knew would help me the most. Some of my favorite are the:

Monthly Calendar Pages
At a Glance Weekly Planner Pages.
Routine Pages
List Pages

The Calendar Pages Help Me to Keep a Sane Schedule

I use the Calendar Pages to help me see the overview for the month-I record appointments, birthdays and get together’s on the monthly calendar. That helps me to know what is already planned for the month at a glance so I can be careful not to plan too many things too close together.

The At-a-Glance Weekly Planner Pages Help Me to Get Everything Done!

I use the At a Glance Weekly Planner Pages for my day to day planning. I love the way the categories are set up! I only found a few things I wanted to customize (the pages are editable!)

The Weekly Planner Pages are the place to list all the things that need to be done for each day. It helps me so much to have a place to record my priorities for each day. It helps me to focus and not feel like I am pulled in a thousand directions.

It also gives me a place to record various things as soon as they come to my mind, so I worry a lot less about forgetting something important.

There is a space at the top that says “AT A GLANCE”. This space is to record the focus for the day. This helps me so much to not feel overwhelmed! I can know what the focus is and not try to do more than I need to.

There is a menu and meal prep space so that I can be more intentional about what we are going to eat each day. I like that I can think about it ahead of time, and not have to stress right before mealtime!

There is a homeschooling space for me to record my must do’s for homeschooling for the day. This helps me to stay on track with the priorities for that day.

Each day can be different for us. Some days the girls do lots of independent work. Some days, I do lots of teaching. Some days I work on recordkeeping etc.

There is a must do list for the things that must be done on that specific day. On the bottom of the page is a perpetual to do list for things that can be done whenever I find the time.

I love that these are separated. That way I can plan on doing the must do’s, but if I happen to get something done on the perpetual to do list as well I feel very gratified. 🙂

I edited the planning page to say “This Week” right after the ‘Must Do List”. I use this space to record things that I really want to do that week, but haven’t assigned to a certain day.

The Routine Pages Help Me to Not Feel Guilty

I love the routine pages! I have to have goals for what time to do things. If I don’t then I end up spending too much time on one thing and neglect what I need to do. Or I just end up feeling rushed.

I don’t hit all my target times perfectly, but having it written down helps me to stay accountable.

I definitely want to make sure that my priorities are in order, and routine pages help so much. It also means I can schedule in the stuff that I want to do and not feel guilty about it.

If I know that I get from 8:00 to 9:00 to work on photography, than I don’t stress and worry that I really should be washing dishes. 🙂

The Lists Save Me So Much Time and Money!

There are many lists available including shopping lists, gift lists, and kids clothing lists. Whenever I think of something that we need I record it right away.

I often add household items to my list as soon as I notice we are running low. That way, I don’t have to make a run to the store for only an item or two. This saves me time and gas money.

I also keep a running list of things that I order on the internet, and I wait to order until I have enough to get free shipping. Because of this I rarely ever pay for shipping!

Putting the Planner Together

Here are the steps I took to put my planner together:

I purchased my membership to Mom’s Household Planner.
I chose all the pages that I wanted in my planner. There are many to choose from!
I printed out the pages that I needed.
I arranged the pages the way I wanted them. I put the monthly page first and then 4-5 weeks of weekly pages afterward. I repeated this for all the months. I printed the pages on the front and back and arranged them where there would be a full 2 page layout for each week.

Here you can see a Monthly Page, then the Weekly Pages (they are printed on both sides), and then the next Monthly Page.

After the Monthly and Weekly Pages were together, I added other pages that I wanted.

A Sample of Some of the Pages in My Planner

After I had my planner the way I wanted it, I took it to Staples to get it spiral bound. (It costs around $4 to get it spiral bound with a clear front cover and a plastic black back cover.) You can also put your planner in a binder (You can see some examples of this here).

How Much Did it Cost?

Here are the approximate costs for my planner. This is a really close number, but not perfect because I didn’t count each and every page. 🙂

Paper $2.00 (24 lb weight)
Ink $5.00 (I buy discount ink cartridges)
Binding $4.00
Tabs $2.00

Total $13.00

I also bought my membership to the Mom’s Household Planner. They are having a sale right now for $10 off (the sale ends December 16th). So, I payed $14.95 for my membership. But it is lifetime member ship, so I never have to pay for that again! And the site is updated with new printables for each year.

Altogether I payed about $28.00 for the planner. But every year after this I will only have to pay for my supplies and my planner will only cost me around $13.00! When I was at Staples I checked out the planners. Many of them were $35.00 or more and they were much more basic than mine.

And planning itself saves me money, time, and frustation all year!

A planner can also help you find time and money for the things you want to do. You can learn more about Mom’s Household Planner or sign up for membership on the Mom’s Tool Belt website.

How to Stay Healthy During the Holidays

November 29, 2016 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

How to Stay Healthy During the Holidays

I want you to stay healthy during the holidays. I know that might seem like an odd thing to say, but it is true. One of the reasons I started this blog was to help others stay healthy. I know what it is like not to feel good and I know what it is like to feel good. I want to help others enjoy life to the fullest!

Here are some easy tips to help safeguard your health and boost your immunity during the holidays.

Take some immune boosting supplements

Cod liver oil-very helpful for keeping vitamin a and d levels optimal.
Colostrum-helps build good bacteria in the gut and boosts immunity.
Garlic-very good at building immunity and killing viruses and bacteria.

Eat extra veggies

Add in vegetables for breakfast. We often eat raw carrots, cucumbers, or lettuce with our breakfast. Sometimes we heat up leftover vegetables. This is an easy way to add in more vegetables to your diet.
If you are cooking something for a holiday get together cook your best vegetable side dish. That way if some of the other food is not as good for you at least you have a delicious vegetable to add to your plate!

Carry Your Own Dessert to Parties

Healthy desserts can be absolutely delicious! The best desserts contain large amounts of healthy fats and are sweetened with a healthy sweetener (or less sweetener.) Healthy desserts rely on healthier starches like almond flour, coconut flour or fruits and vegetables (bananas, pumpkin etc.).

If you need some ideas, I have lots of recipes on my Healthy Desserts board on Pinterest. Of course, to keep your immune system strong, I would eat a medium serving and not 3 servings. 🙂

Add Extra Herbs and Spices to Your Food

Thyme, oregano, cayenne, garlic, and onions are especially good for keeping your immunity high. We like to add spices to our eggs in the morning. We also like to add spices to our basic chicken and rice meal. Thyme and cayenne taste good together as do garlic and onions.

Treat Illnesses Immediately

Some of our favorite things for fighting off illnesses-herbal tea, thyme, garlic pills, cayenne, and Echinacea Goldenseal Plus

If you feel a tickle in your throat or some other symptom, begin taking some supplements right away. If you find out you might have been exposed to a sickness, make sure to start taking some supplements as soon as you can! Some of my favorite supplements to ward off illness are:

Zinc-this is excellent for fighting off illness.
Echinacea Goldenseal Plus-Strong formula for helping to kill bacteria and viruses.
Kids Echinacea-This is alcohol free so kids will like the taste better. You could consider mixing a half dose of this with a half dose of the Echinacea Goldenseal Plus.

Keep taking these remedies for at least 3-4 days after all symptoms are gone.

I hope these suggestions help you to stay feeling good all winter!

You may also be interested in my cold kicker chicken soup.

How to Teach Creative Writing the Fun Way! (Free Printable Included)

November 19, 2016 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

How to Teach Creative Writing

What’s the best way to teach kids to write? Get them excited about writing! My youngest daughter loves to write stories because she doesn’t think of it as work. She thinks of it as fun! I keep it fun for her so that she will be inspired to write and keep on writing her whole life.

Here are a couple of things I do that help to keep writing enjoyable-

1. I Find A Pretty or Thought Provoking Picture

I look for something to stimulate her imagination like the picture book Carl”s Christmas and I let her make up a story to go with the pictures. I write her story down as she dictates it to me. Since I do the handwriting, she is able to be very creative and concentrate on the story she wants to tell.

I write as fast as I can and encourage her by being very interested in the story she is writing. (Yes, I wrote the final story on the actual book!) 🙂

2. I am Careful of “Correcting”

I also keep writing fun by not “correcting” her writing, but instead I will ask her a question to get her to clarify something. For example, if she dictates something to me that is not a complete sentence then I will say “Do you want it to say”-and then state her thought in a complete sentence instead of how she originally stated it.

That way she is still in charge of her own story and she doesn’t feel that there is something “wrong” with her writing.

A Free Creative Writing Printable for You

Want to try this with your own child? Here is a free creative writing printable I made for you!

Click here to download and print the Creative Writing Printable.

Here are a few questions to go with the printable if your child needs some help getting their imagination going.

What is the little girl in the picture doing?
What is her name?
What is she thinking about?
What do you think she will do next?
Is she happy?

I would love to hear your experiences with using this printable! Please comment below with any suggestions or questions.

You may also like my Early American History Unit Study.

Healthy Chicken Nugget Recipes for Kids!

November 12, 2016 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

healthy-chicken-nugget-recipes

I know it can be tough to get kids to eat healthy food. I have worked hard before on a new healthy recipe and then my kids didn’t really like it. That was disheartening!

I thought of a solution to this problem-make chicken nuggets! I don’t know a kid who doesn’t like chicken nuggets. And most adults usually love them too. 🙂 Chicken nuggets usually have a good amount of fat, but that is a great thing. You can read my thoughts on healthy fats in this post-I even include my lab results from my doctor!

Healthy Chicken Nugget Recipes

I have rounded up some chicken nugget recipes that are either paleo, gluten free, or just real food.

Some of these recipes are for “chicken strips”. You can either make them as is (most kids like chicken strips as well :)) or cut them smaller and make them nuggets.

Also, most of these are very easy!! I absolutely love recipes that are kid friendly and easy.

Paleo Chicken Nuggets/Strips Recipes

Paleo Italian Chicken Fingers-these use almond flour and look delicious!

Coconut Chicken with Sweet Ginger Sauce

Baked Grain Free Chicken Strips

Crispy Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Spicy “Fried” Chicken Strips with Spicy Avocado Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Gluten Free Chicken Nugget Recipes

Gluten Free Dairy Free Chicken and Veggie Nuggets

Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Gluten Free Option

Healthy Chicken Nuggets (GF Option)

Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Real Food Chicken Nugget Recipes

Note: All of these recipes can be made with Einkorn flour. Einkorn is wheat flour, but is an ancient grain that is lower in gluten than other wheat flours. This makes it healthier and is digested much easier for those who struggle with digestion problems or allergies.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

High Five Recipe: Popcorn Chicken

Coconut Crunch Chicken Strips

Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets (can be grain free)

Homemade Baked Chicken Nugget Dippers

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Nourishing Homemade Chick-fil-A Strips and Nuggets

There you have it-over 10 ways to get your kids to eat healthy food! 🙂 I would love to hear of your results when making these recipes for your kids!

You may also be interested in my Super Easy Real Food Meal, or my Cold Kicker Chicken Soup.

chicken-nugget-recipes

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