Pallet Bookshelf DIY

This is by FAR one of the easiest, and coolest projects I have done to date. It was something I thought about just having my husband do, but decided that I would spearhead the project. I even got to use power tools! I will admit my husband did cut the top of the shelves, and hang them, but that was it!

First, you start off with a pallet. You cut across the pallet, but where you would like your shelf to end. You will need to pull a board off of the pallet, to nail to the bottom. This will hold the books, and keep them in place.

From there I sanded the pallet, and got it smooth enough to stain. Since this pallet was very rough, I did what I could to make it workable.

Although my sanding efforts helped, they were not perfect. The staining process took forever. With the wood being so rough, the staining did not go on very smooth. This was by far the most tedious part of the project.

After the staining, I nailed the extra board to the bottom. Once it was nailed in, we put it up on the wall.

This shelf is in our oldest son Isaac's room. He got books for one of his baby showers. We have tons and tons of books that needed a home. They now and a perfect place to stay.

We are making a little reading corner. We are still in the process of looking for small chairs, but plan to have that be a focal point in his room.

I would highly recommend this project to anyone with leftover pallets!!

Enjoy!

Henry Turns 1

For both of my kiddos 1st birthday parties we kept it simple. Nothing fancy, just a friends and family gathering with a delicious cake!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by kind and generous people. Henry was showered with gifts, and loved all of the attention.

We continue to go to an organic bakery in Appleton called Happy Bellies. We got Henry a banana cake with chocolate frosting. As Henry was eating, his Daddy was anxiously waiting behind him to 'help' him eat his cake. This party we added some cupcakes to the mix, and they were delicious!!

Yes, I could have gone all out with decorations, party favors, and what not, but it wasn't worth it this time around. We will save that for when they have lots of friends from school over. :-)

How do you keep it simple for your parties?

Cauli Rice - 21 Day Fix Approved

This is one of the easiest way to re-do a veggie in place of a carb. This is one of the easiest ways to replace rice, without giving up the consistency.

Not sure how to increase your veggie intake? Time to get creative!!

This goes well with anything that you would normally eat rice with. This was made when my husband was out of town. Jason is really not a cauliflower fan, so I need to try things without him around before I serve it to the family. Isaac was a fan, and ate the bowl! I think that is a start..

It is a simple as cooking, and mashing.

Here it is!!

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower

You will wash and break up the cauliflower. Separate it from the leaves and stems. Use a steamer and put it in a pan. Fill the pan with water, to just below where your steamer bowl sits. Boil the water, and put the cauliflower into the steamer.
Once your califlower is cooked, but not mushy, take the steamer out of your pot. Pour out the water, and dump the cauliflower back into the pot. Take a potato masher, and mash up your cauliflower, and serve.

You are welcome to add whatever you would like to the rice. I added Balsamic Brown Sugar Chicken to it.

Enjoy!

Spinach Crust Pizza - 21 Day Fix Approved!

You will notice that I only have two pictures for this recipe.... I have to be honest with you, when I made this I did not expect it to be so good. I was not planning to put up the recipe. I judged this book by it's green cover, and wrote it off before we even tasted it.

It is CSA time, and we got a TON of greens in our box for the week. We needed a NEW way to eat our greens, as we were feeling rabbits... We had enough salads, and it was time for Pizza!!

Have you tried the cauliflower crust? We have too. My husband despises cauliflower, and he cannot even stand the thought of eating it, no matter what form it is in... So there was this one amazing site called Pinterest, and I took advantage of it!

My husband and oldest son were asking for more.. I didn't double the batch as I figured they were going to choke it down with a smile. When they asked for more I panicked!

Needless to say we have had pizza 4 nights in a row. We really just used toppings that we had in the fridge. We just used what we had to save ourselves a trip to the grocery store.

I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe! It is easy, fast, and delicious!!

Crust Ingredients:
2 cups raw spinach leaves
1 egg
1 cup cheese blend of your choice
Spices - I used some garlic scapes, as we got TONS of them in our CSA basket

Crust Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Blend all ingredients in a Magic Bullet or Food Processor. I used our Magic Bullet. It was a lot less clean up, and went very quickly.
Put parchment paper on a pizza pan. This will save you!
Once you have all of the ingredients blended well, pour on to parchment paper. Spread evenly.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.

Add all toppings, put back into oven on broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Let cool for 3-5 minutes, cut and serve.

Enjoy!!

Isaac Turns 2!

Isaac's Second Birthday Party!! 

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time passes. My first born is already a terrible two year old! I mean, a wonderful two year old! He is a handful, but he an explorer. Not only is he my first born, but he will always be my baby. I went through all of the firsts with him, and I was totally thatttt Mom.. Nervous, worried what everyone thought, a stickler, and stressed about every cough! He is my little miracle man, and he was brought into this world surrounded by angels. 

We had a blast! Here are a couple of ideas if you plan to do a Under the Sea, Sailor, or anything water related. We kept it low budget, simple, and fun! We used resources that we had around the house, and things that wouldn't be the end of the world if they got ruined. 

USS Issac was a Diaper Box!! All I did was use the inside, and taped it together. From there, I just painted paper plates, and taped them on. The gorilla glue didn't work. :-( 

The background is cray paper. I simply twisted it and taped it up. It created our underwater scene! 

This is my youngest son and my sister enjoying the picture section. 

We kept the spread very low maintenance. We had a build your own nacho/burrito/taco bar. Above we have veggies and a variety of hummus. 

We bought Isaac's cake from a local organic bakery called Happy Bellies. It was a banana cake with a chocolate frosting. It was perfect!!

When planning a party keep it simple!! The more you have to do, the more stressed you will be. I knew if I overdid it, I would be upset when the kids destroyed the decorations.

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me at my Beachbody website. 

Clean Eating Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies

  

Do you have a major sweet tooth like I do?! Yup... It have found ways to fill my belly with delicious sweets, while not killing my clean eating lifestyle. Not to mention blowing my calories out of the water for the day. These little guys are simply delicious. I have brought them to work a couple of times, and they disappear before my eyes!
These are a quick, and painless to make!! 

What you will need: 

1 cups of instant oats

3/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

1 large room temp egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup organic sugar

1 cup finely diced apple

1. Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the apple. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Instructions: 

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. 

Add in the four mixture, and whisk until incorporated. Fold in the apples. Once combined, chill for 30 minutes. 

After your batter has chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Like a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form 15 small balls, and place on to the cooking sheet. Slightly flaten each cookie before baking.
When your oven is set to go, place cookies in the oven for 13-15 minutes.
Once cooked, let cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tray. 

When they have had their time to cool, dig in!! 

Enjoy! 

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!

80/20 Clean Eating Rule

What is the 80/20 Rule?! It is a rule that helps me stick with my clean eating lifestyle!! 

The 80/20 rule is sticking with your lifestyle 80% of the time, and letting yourself have 20% flexibility. Even though I always have the 20%, I generally still keep that 20% within the clean eating guidelines. For example, I will make cookies that have all clean ingredients, but may have things that are not apart of my 'program guidelines' (extra amounts of organic sugar, coconut oil, or a glass of wine). 

With that 20% I let myself have Starbucks every now and then. In order to stay sane, and truly keep in check with my clean eating habits I need to be able to be naughty every now and then. 

I have researched and looked into local establishments that I can go to that won't kill my diet. My general requirements are local foods, organic, and locally owned. It truly makes a difference when you spend your money within your community. 

Stick with the 80/20!! 

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!