Cosmic Cookies

YUM... these are an adaptation that my friend Carrie made - DELICIOUS and NUTRITIOUS from a recipe she got from Planet Organic!

• 2 1/4 cups oats


• 2 cups flour


• 1 cup sunflower seeds


• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds


• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened


• 1 tablespoon cinnamon


• 1 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips or carob chips


• 1 1/4 cups  dried apricots (cut into small pieces)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/4 cup molasses


• 1/2 cup honey


• 1/4 cup oil (I use olive or coconut)


• 1 cup milk (use whatever kind you like... skim, soy, almond, etc)

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix wet into dry and stir until mixed - don't over mix.

Drop from a spoon and lightly form into small cookies. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes or until lightly browned.

These are VERY yummy and very filling. Enjoy(-:  Yield:  5 dozen (60) small cookies

They freeze beautifully!

(adapted from Planet Organic)

Recipe for Baby Wipes

My friend Stacy shared this recipe with me. It is so easy and economical plus not full of a lot of junk like commercial wipes.

1 roll of paper towel cut in half * I used the roll single use sheets as they're smaller so I use less
2 cups water
2 Tbsp baby soap (we use Dr. Bronner's unscented castile soap)

After you've cut the paper towel roll in half set 1/2 aside and use 1/2 for now.
Place the 1/2 roll in a ziplock bag.
Mix the water and liquid soap in a bowl and pour over the towels.
Let it soak in and remove the cardboard tube.
Seal (make sure to get the extra air out).
USE!

Disinfecting Cleaner

To make a kid safe and economical disinfecting cleaner, combine...

3 cups distilled* water
1/4 cup food grade* hydrogen peroxide
essential oils of your choice

*Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide can be purchased at your local health food store
* Distilled Water must be used otherwise the reaction of the chlorine in the water with the peroxide will make your bottle leak!
* We use a few drops of peppermint and lemon essential oils

Tortellini Bake

1 package of cheese tortellini (cooked as per directions)
1-2 large jars of tomatoe sauce (your fav)
cut up veggie (zucchini, red pepper, green pepper I usually use)...
optional others can be baby corn, mushrooms, etc(-:
mozzarella cheese
Optional: cut up chicken breasts or tofu for a veggie option

Directions
1). Cook tortellini as per directions. Rinse with cold water and drain.
Divide between 2 large casserole dishes.
2). Cook chicken breasts and cut into bite sized pieces or cut tofu into small cubes. Divide between the casserole dishes.
3). Cut veggies into bite sized pieces. Divided between casserole dishes.
4). Pour tomato sauce over the pasta, veggies & chicken and stir well to
combine. If you use 'regular' tom sauce you'll want to add some spices.
5). Sprinkle mozza cheese on top.
6). Bake at 350 or 375 for 30-45 minutes (until heated through and cheese
is melted).
ENJOY - this is a family fav(-:

Curried Carrot Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 rib celery
4 Tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
3 cloves garlic
4 tsp curry pwdr or curry paste
1 tsp garam masala
6 cups vegetable stock
6 large carrots (cut into chunks)
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 lemon (juiced)
salt & cilantro

Add onion, celery, garlic & grated ginger to a soup pot with heated olive oil. Cook on medium heat until the onions are softened. Add the curry & garam masala and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the stock and carrots and cook until carrots are soft. Bring to a boil, add coconut milk. Heat through and remove from heat. Add lemon juice & salt.
Blend soup well until smooth. Serve and enjoy!!! It freezes well too(-:

Even my carnivorous man loves this for lunch.

Cloth Diapers

Some of you are well past the diaper stage with your kids and / or grandkids but for those of you who are in the midst of it I need to tell you about our amazing experience with cloth diapers.
My husband was initially apprehensive about trying them but now he can't imagine not doing cloth diapers. We started with a service in town which was AMAZING (you put out your dirty diapers each Monday and they pick them up and drop off a sanitized new bag for the week) - amazing! We've now just switched over to buying our own cloth and doing our own washing and I must say it is FAR easier than we ever thought. For those of you who are trying to save money this seems a 'no brainer' to me. Plus being that we are quite environmentally conscious we feel this is the best way to go. Anyhow, for anyone interested in either the service and / or buying your own supplies I HIGHLY recommend Kelly at http://www.tidytushees.ca/store/catalog/ She delivers within the Kelowna area and for those outside of Kelowna she ships and ONLY charges the actual shipping cost. She's a work at home mom (WAHM) so I love to support her! I can't rave enough about her.

Splish Splash... Safe Baby Bath Toys

Our little girl just turned one and absolutely loves her bath so I thought it would be fun to add some toys to the tub. Unfortunately SO many of the tub toys out there (duckies, etc) contain PVC and / or Phthalates and / or BPA so... I did a little research and was thrilled to find that there are many products that are deemed 'safe' by the greenies (-: and don't cost a fortune.

http://www.squidoo.com/saferbathtoys

I just went to our local Toys R Us and found the Sassy Count 'N Spell letter & numbers as well as the Double Duckies and they were not expensive. There are plenty more out there and this site has lists for safe teething toys and others too.

Enjoy!