Daiya Cheeze- a great cheese replacement that melts!

Daiya Cheeze makes it in Mozerella or Cheddar forms and we make everything you can make with regular cheese (it comes in shredded form):

• Gluten-free mini pizzas
• Gluten-free Lasagna
• Casseroles with cheese
• Chihuahua Dogs (Tortillas wrapped around turkey hot dogs with cheese and baked)
• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (we use gluten-free bread)
• Nachos (of course we use organic tortilla chips)

And much more. It's a miracle cheese to have for anyone with a dairy-intolerance!
We freeze ours-it lasts longer.

EASY homemade peppermint mocha!

It's easy to make your own, inexpensive peppermint mochas at home (or mint hot chocolate!). I like to make it lower fat or low calorie and here's how I do it: I buy Splenda (Fred Meyer/Kroger stores sells a knock-off Splenda and in a similiar yellow package at a few dollars off and it tastes exactly the same!). I also buy 100% dark cocoa (I get some Dutch kind at Fred Meyer for only a couple bucks). I will buy decaffeinated (or regular, if you choose) coffee, instant or brewed via your coffee pot. You make your coffee (if it's decaf, then you warm up hot water and mix in the coffee), and put a teaspoonful of the cocoa powder in. Put two teaspoons of splenda and mix. You can add a dash of milk or cream of some sort if you like. Throw in a small/mini peppermint candy cane and drink (be careful not to drink the candy cane). It will melt slightly and let off a peppermint taste! The OTHER way to do it is to buy organic peppermint oil from the store...I have also done this and it is STRONG and you only need a drop! Do it this way and you can save $4 trips X however many trips you make to the local coffee shop. Three or four to the coffee shop pay for all these ingredients that will last all winter!

INGREDIENTS:

• COCOA POWDER (if you buy sweetened, then you don't need sugar or splenda, unsweetened needs splenda)
• SPLENDA OR SPLENDA KNOCK-OFF
• PEPPERMINT OIL (REAL, NOT SYNTHETIC) OR MINI CANDY CANES
• COFFEE (DECAF BREWED OR INSTANT, OR CAFFEINATED)
• MILK, RICE MILK, CREAM (WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE IT CREAMY)
• OPTIONAL: WHIPPED CREAM HANDMADE OR FROM A CAN TO TOP IT OFF.
• OPTIONAL: ADD SOME COCOA/SPLENDA MIXTURE SPRINKLED ON TOP OR SHAVE SOME PIECES OFF A CHOCOLATE BAR.

Get a free PHILOSOPHY Body Wash set (Awesome gift) at Drugstore.com

http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=Qw8NwRAyleE&offerid=43440.10000013&type=3&subid=0

They are having an awesome deal for Philosophy fans. Buy $50 worth of stuff, get basically an over $18 giftset of body washes for free. This is how I like to shop for Christmas, I get stuff, and get more stuff free and it really saves on costs! You won't find deals like this in a department store! Try buying the Cookie Exchange (can we say yum!); Lemon Cookie, Oatmeal Cookie, Coconut Macaroon and Chocolate Chip Cookies Body washes in a Cookie Exchange box. You can recieve free shipping on orders over $25 or more. What the heck is not to like about all these deals? The freebie is The Recipe Box (you get 2-6 ounce shower gels in Red Velvet Cake and Sweet Creamy Frosting) The Red Velvet Cake scent is to die for! LINK IS AT TOP! Happy shopping!

Inexpensive Idea for CHRISTMAS!!!

An expensive Christmas gift idea: go to your local Cash & Carry store (restaurant supply store, or find a similar restaurant supply store in your area). You can grab Davinci or Torani Sugar Free or Regular Coffee Syrups in a myriad of different flavors. They make great Christmas baskets and are between $3.20 to $4 per bottle. You can grab a bottle, put in some club soda in the basket and you have just given an "Italian soda gift basket" for an inexpensive price. You can also make a "coffee basket" by grabbing a great-flavored syrup and then adding some decaffeinated or regular coffee in a bag, and then grab an inexpensive mug from say Walgreen's and you have a beautiful, inexpensive coffee basket gift, all for under $12 or so (Example: $3.33 for some Sugar Free Butter Rum Coffee Syrup, grab a bag of Millstone coffee for $5 and a $3 mug from Walgreens = around $12 coffee-lovers Christmas basket). Example No. 2: Grab 2, 1 liter club sodas ($2), and 1 Syrup (say in Sugar-free or regular Black Cherry) and put bows on with a recipe card attached. Recipe for Italian club sodas: In this order (otherwise it coagulates or clumps up or over-fizzes) is to put in the syrup, about 1 ounce or 3-4 Tablespoons worth in a 12-ounce glass and then add club soda (leave some room at the top), mix with a spoon and then add a splash of cream at the top (optional) and stir lightly. Add ice at the end (a few ice cubes).

The bottles are full-sized and half or less of the price that grocery stores sell them for, plus you get a HUGE selection of sugar free (sweetened with Splenda) or regular flavors from Butter Rum, Almond Roca, Pumpkin Pie, Sugar Free Strawberry, Sugar Free Toasted Marshmallow, Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookie and so on!

101 Uses for HONEY..

Honey has been around since forever. It is wonderful for so many things. When I was a kid, I would get bee stings daily from running through the sprinkler in the summer in bare feet. I would go crying to my mom and she would put a tablespoon or so (maybe a teaspoon) of honey on my sting and the stinger would literally pull up and you could get it out, the pain would stop immediately and the honey would pull the poisons out. It was miraculous!

So here is a list of many uses for honey, beyond just eating it off the spoon:

• Honey is healthy for you in moderation; it has amino acids and enzymes for digestion
• You can use it as a sugar replacer in baking
• Use it instantly on bee stings, I swear nothing else works better, then take a paper towel and tape it over the bee sting and honey
• The best types of honey is raw honey, organic/raw honey, manukua honey, lehua honey, etc. Just try to get as natural as possible because some store-bought ones have added sugar water or syrups to them
• If you get honey from local in your area, it's supposed to help with pollen allergies (not sure if it's true or not, but at least you'd be buying fresh, local honey)
• It's great as a rinse on your hair, it makes it shiny. You put in about 2 tablespoons worth into a quart or pitcher of very warm water. Do not rinse out, and it will not make your hair sticky! Great for redheads or dark brunettes
• Use it in tea for colds/winter season and to warm you up
• It tastes great on a spoon mixed with peanut butter!
• Honey mixed with peanut butter and powdered milk makes for some great peanut butter balls for parties! Tasty!
• I used to use it as a child for coughs. You take a teaspoon or two every couple hours for a cough (it helps)
• You can put it in (google) natural food face masks
• Cut, fresh peaches with some honey drizzled over top with milk make a great treat!

FREE PANTIES from Victoria's Secret

I have used these coupons in the past...here is a VS coupon for free panties until November...You must sign up on their website and then you can print the coupon and use it. I hope they all work for everyone...
https://secure.vspink.com/pink_nation/login.jsp?promo=home_10_off_bra_101309

Substitution Ideas (Gluten, Milk, Shortening, Sugar, Butter, Flour, Etc.)...

I never follow a recipe to a "T". I experiment and I substitute not only to be healthier, but for what I have in my cupboard, and for my food intolerance issues!

For sugar:

• I'll use the same amount of Splenda in substitution for Sugar.
• You can substitute honey or agave nectar for about 1/2 or more of what it says for sugar.
• Other people have suggested applesauce (but I have yet to try this method).
• For brown sugar: I'll use Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

For Shortening:

• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil , personally I like organic but doesn't need to be (this does not go rancid, it is healthy for you, anti-bacterial/microbial/anti-yeast properties in it, works much like shortening, tastes good (with a light taste), it has good oil for you, rather than say vegetable shortening). Coconut oil works GREAT in cookies and pie crusts (like a graham-type crust, but I make it with almond flour).

For soups:

• Try coconut milk. Trader Joe's carries it by the can for a great price. I like 100% pure, sometimes they add guar gum or something to them. Preference for full fat, for the good oil in it. Makes great lemon/thai soups (recipe soon), curry/coconut soups and so on.

Instead of a Graham-Crust Pie Crust: (For gluten-free eaters):

• Make it with Almond Flour (see below under "flour" for a quick recipe).

Instead of Peanut Butter:

• Try Cashew or Almond Butter (or Macadamia Nut Butter). You can get these at Trader Joe's for a good price, or you can put these nuts in a blender with or without some added sea salt and with or without added oil and grind up, it makes peanut butter (stir often in blender).

For Crunch on Salads:

• Try Broken up Tamari Rice Crackers (from Trader Joe's or other grocery store) Or their Flax Seed Rice Crackers.
• Try making your own croutons with brown rice bread (Trader Joe's is the cheapest).
• Sunflower Seeds.
• Pecan Pieces (are awesome on salads!).
• Organic corn chips, crunched up (in a pinch, they are not entirely totally healthy, but a good substitute).
• Macadamia nuts crunched up.
• Walnut pieces.
• Crunchy gluten-free crackers with flax (I forget the name at this time, but they do have lots of these wafer type crackers).

In place of FLOUR:

• Almond flour. This works good in place of Graham crusts (try mixing melted extra virgin coconut oil with splenda, dash of sea salt and almond flour and pack like a crust).

In place of milk for cooking or baking (or drinking/over cereal):

• Vanilla Rice Milk (also rice milk), fortified, sometimes there are organic versions. Works well in cooking say macaroni and stuff (the regular, not vanilla). Good over cereal and in oatmeal. Keep on hand at all times.
• Almond milk, or vanilla almond milk. Great for cornbread muffins or cornbread. Great for baking, period.
• There is also hazelnut milk, I prefer almond, though. I keep on hand at all times.
• Hemp milk: has great omegas in them, tastes good and has amino acids, protein, good fats and carbs! Great to drink, but not sure about cooking/baking.
• Skip the soy milk (too allergenic, and too many hormone disruptors in it), plus it doesn't cook/bake as well. Skip oatmeal milk, too, it's not very good. They also have cashew milk (?) and dairy-free replacer milks which all that is is cashew, mixed with almond milk.
• Coconut milk is good to keep on hand...for some thai-type meals or asian-inspired. Or pineapple/type meals/drinks.

Eggs:

• To skip all the cholesterol and fat, try 100% pure egg white beaters without fillers.

Flours:

• Almond flour (ground) you can do yourself in blender (be careful not to overblend or you get almond butter). Or Trader Joe's sells this for a very nice price! You can make cookies with it, and lots of goodies (just google almond flour recipes!).
• Gluten-free flour blend (without soy flour in it). Great for baking, breads and so on.
• Gluten-free bread making blends (for bread machines, or by hand).
• Gluten-free pizza dough blends (or find recipe that works for you).
• Brown rice flour
• Masa Flour (I've made handmade corndogs out of this) it is a form of corn flour. Think tamales!
• Pancake gluten-free flour mix. Great to have on hand to make pancakes, biscuits and/or waffles.
• Cornbread muffin (gluten-free) mix.
• I like to have gluten-free brownie and cookie mixes on hand, and/or cake mixes (and frosting mixes). But you can find all these ingredients from scratch, too.

Sour Cream or Cream Cheese:

• Greek yogurt or greek yogurt cheese at Trader Joe's (or there are recipes to make your own on the 'net). Thicker one: Greek yogurt Cheese for Cream Cheese.
• Try making waldorf apple/pear/cranberry salad with greek yogurt and walnuts. You can use ranch dip to mix in with greek yogurt for veggies (very good by the way), I mix in Organic Taco Mix with Greek yogurt, for topping on tacos and taco salads. Try with crepes (use splenda to sweeten).

For salt:

• Sea Salt
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Himalayan or Himalayan Pink Salt
• Blue Kalamath Salt/Ancient Sea Salt
• Pink Salt or Crystal Salt
• But SKIP the regular table salt!!!

For Broth:

• Skip broth because of many reasons: msg, salt, yeast (which made from soy really disrupts hormones), so a good substitute is some vegetable broth (organic) without the added yeast. Mushroom broth makes awesome soups if you love mushrooms! Vegetable broth is VERY tasty. And if you must, if you make some sort of meat or chicken (boil) then save the broth with garlic, sea salt and pepper in a container in the freezer for later use. Sometimes I will use an organic over the counter type of broth (msg-free), but it still isn't as healthy as homemade. Bone marrow from the chicken and beef (that makes broth) is excellent for health.

For Butter:

• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (great for shortening replacer).
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I use this ALL the time for baking, and it is good. Makes gooey gluten-free brownies and moist cornbread).
• Soft butter blend (canola oil mixed with butter, or olive oil mixed with butter).
• 100% whipped butter, no additives. Adds fluff, but less calories, and less weird ingredients.

For Chocolate:

• 100% dark cocoa powder mixed with Splenda

I still haven't figured out a substitute for cream for "Clam Chowder" or "Creamy Tomato Bisque" or other soups like Cream of mushroom/broccoli. And I have more ideas, I can't think of them all at this time, I'll add them later : )

Candy Corn for Halloween Parties! (Ideas for gifts and games)

It's that time of year...you know Halloween! Here's a great idea for a Candy Corn Game and Giveaway Prize for your Halloween or Fall party! I grab a candy-corn container from Walgreens (or any Halloween or Fall-themed plastic container with lid). They sell these medium-sized containers at 2 for $3 (so $1.50 to $2). Then I'll grab a bag of Brach's Candy Corn (again, they sell these at this time of year in 1-pound bags at 2 for $3). I will fill the container 3/4 to full. Then I count the container 3 or 4 times and have someone else (not playing the game) also count them and write it somewhere, so you can remember the amount...but hide it!

When people show up to your party you can do two things, tell them and have a sign pointing to the container and tell them to write their name and the # they think is in there on the piece of paper and with a pen you provide (use one paper with lines, drawn on and numbered up to 25 or however many people are guessing). Or you can pass the container and paper to write on around while they guess on the spot. Later in the party "reveal" the amount, have some laughs about how close people were and the person THE CLOSEST (over or under) wins the container full of candy corn (all for under $3!). Great prize and fun, too!

Other things to do with candy corn:

• 
  
  Decorate cupcakes and cakes with them.
  
  
  
• 
  
  For another game, you get a bucket or container of some sort and place it across the room, put a piece of tape or something on the floor as a "line". Give people 10 pieces of candy corn each. Have them toss into container and see who gets the most.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Place in containers around the house for guests to snack on.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Decorate with them (i.e. put them in a hurricane with pillar candle, fill up about 2" with candy corn for an awesome decoration or centerpiece).
  
  
  

The WORLD'S BEST Nail Polishes (and non-toxic too!).

They also won't break your budget at $7 a bottle (they were 6$, but inflation drove them up another dollar) and trust me they are well worth it. I have listed MANY of my reviews on Epinions.com where I am a reviewer with just under 60,000 visits so far. I'd like to say I promote this site, but I just do it because I am ecstatic over finding the best non-toxic nail polishes ever invented, for gals who like sassy nails! Above pic is of Trixie and Kotori on my own hand.

Here is one review: http://www.epinions.com/review/Zoya_Yummy_Polish/content_488162430596 and here is another: http://www.epinions.com/review/Zoya_Roxy_263/content_456045203076. I have reviewed about 6 polishes by Zoya and I own 11 (so far). I have also reviewed their website (which is awesome to buy from and after a certain amount you spend, you can qualify for free shipping).

I don't know about you, but I'm a nail polish freak. I don't go to salons, in fact I never have. So I rely on great colors that last long. Zoya is NON-TOXIC, has beautiful colors, they are so easy to find on their website and shipped right away. They last a week before I have to put another coat on top. I like to buy the most intense ones so I only have to do one coat at a time and they dry withint 10 to 20 minutes. Non-toxic means no toluene, no formaldehyde or anything that could be cancer-causing. I wear polish daily, so this is important to me. Pink color to right is "Hayden" and it is an irridescent pink. You need at least 2 coats (on my own hand). It is VERY similiar to Kiki (my favorite color I end up using). On their site, the colors do not look alike, but in person, they are very much alike.

You buy at http://www.zoya.com/ which is also the same site as http://www.artofbeauty.com/. Pic to the left is a slightly darker than Robin's Egg Blue called "Yummy". It's a creamy light blue, covers in one coat.

So far out of my 11 colors, I LOVE my color KIKI, I always seem to be grabbing that (it goes with my blonde hair well). It is a bubbly irridescent gum color (and I always get compliments on it). I also get compliments on a medium/dark blue called KOTORI and the MUST-HAVE silver is (looks like silver frost/foil) is TRIXIE. ROXY is a great reddish/purplish sparkle color for the holidays. I will be trying more! If you have pics or try any, please post or email to me to post! Below, the color is Roxy. It has slight sparkles to it, you can't see (on my hand).

Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South....DVD (2004)- This is a MUST-WATCH mini-series!

Yes, there was the North and South miniseries back in the 1985 with Patrick Swayze (R.I.P.), and that one is also VERY VERY good, but if you haven't seen the miniseries that came out in 2004 with Richard Armitage (who oozes sexiness) and the Mrs. Hale, who holds his affection, it is something you must watch!

I watched it on Youtube, but you can get it on DVD (4 disc set), try renting it or Netflix. I just couldn't STOP watching it, so keep a lot of hours open, or you may be up all night! It's like a good book, it's hard to put it down (stop watching it). Overall, it's a very good, historical piece. I think this was made by our Canadian neighbors, and it is really really good. Did I mention it was good? They did a good job mimicking that period of time in America and you will not be bored for a minute. I didn't even know this miniseries existed, so I was very pleased to have run across it on Youtube.

YUMMY TURKEY PATTIES! (Recipe)

It's hard to get a turkey patty just right. If you've ever tried Jennie O or any other brand at the store, you'll fine that they are loaded with salt water to puff them up and when you cook them, they end up a size of a cookie and about that flat, too! They are really not appetizing. Even my mom says "ew, turkey patties", I guess she's had a run-in with one of the BAD ones and refuses to try any other ones these days. Well- no more icky turkey patties!

I like to buy Foster Farms (my preferred choice) turkey. It is around $3.99 per pound. The turkey breast is that price and the turkey meat (dark mixed with white) is about .50 cheaper. I prefer the ground turkey vs. the turkey breast (although they both are really good) only because the darker meat has a bit more oil in it, so it cooks up a little better. Both are healthy options. Fred Meyer is a good place to get it.

So I take the thawed turkey meat, about 1.5 pounds and throw it into a bowl. Get ready to get your hands gooey! I will put in 3 egg whites, and a splash (and I mean like 1/2 a teaspoon or a teaspoon) of apple cider vinegar (this wets it and gives it a kick like worchestershire sauce does). I put in 3 pieces of crumbled gluten-free (brown rice bread). I get mine from Trader Joe's for around $3, a very good deal. I only put it in the freezer in a container with a lid because gluten-free bread goes bad fast. In the freezer, it lasts weeks. I will sprinkle in pepper, a few shakes of garlic powder, a couple shakes of sea salt, a teaspoon of dried parsley, a sprinkle of rosemary, a pinch of dried basil, a dash or two of oregano and any other seasonings you want to add (tarragon or whatever). You can skip all this by buying "Italian seasoning" at the store and using that (to taste). Squish it all together with your hands and mix. Form into patties and throw onto a grill or pan with some extra virgin olive oil. I LOVE to use an ELECTRIC pan by CuisinArt only because it doesn't get too hot and I can pop the lid on, turn on the dial and walk away until it's time to turn them.

Cook until done all the way through and if you like them crispy on the outside, then good. They will taste FABULOUS. Eat as-is with some brown rice and green beans on the side, or put between some gluten-free bread with some condiments.

What makes the turkey patties so tasty is the bread in it, I get compliments every time! (I'll post a pic later).

For those who can't eat WHEAT or GLUTEN: I have a discovery

I figured out all on my own that I couldn't have wheat. It was giving me digestive and other issues such as flu-like symptoms whenever I ate it (and immediately). Milk and milk products (like sour cream) take a day for me to notice and they are less severe. I can have cheese and icecream just fine.

So I thought "WHEAT-FREE FOR ME!" and this is what I've been doing. But sometimes when I ate wheat-free things I was getting REALLY BAD acid reflux. I like to buy these one cookies from time to time as a treat called Nana's Wheat-free Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are super delicious and pretty healthy. BUT, I will say that I have discovered that MOST people (like me) who have a wheat intolerance (like me) also need to avoid barley. Barley can cause discomfort (as I have come to find out). Barley flour is in those cookies, and a lot of times in other wheat-free items (they will add malted barley) and so on.

So my new thing is to avoid Barley and most the "wheat-free" items, since they could be tained with barley, which gives me digestive issues. This is something for ANYONE with a wheat intolerance to look into. Now, I am sticking to a gluten-free diet and unless the noodles or whatever pre-packaged foods I buy say "gluten-free" on them (and I will STILL read ingredients), then I won't buy it. I've been doing this lately and my digestive system is thanking me. I have finally figured out why I had heart burn so much when I eat healthy.

Barley is a new thing on my food avoidance list. Just keep this in mind if you still don't feel so well (listen to your body) and you've cut out wheat. So much for my FAVORITE cookies in the world, I'll have to make and bake my own.

The BEST (Taste-Tested) Gluten-Free Noodles Are.......

By Tinkayada!!! The Brown Rice Pasta Spinach Spaghetti. They are GREEN (and you can tell your toddlers that it's "monster" green, that seems to get mine to eat more green food) because spinach powder is added. You can't really taste the spinach powder, but it adds some nutrients/vitamins and is way healthier than regular egg noodles/flour noodles out there.

I have tried SEVERAL different kinds of gluten-free from DeBoles (which is probably the second best brand out there, but definitely not as good as Tinkyada). I've tried Trader Joe's (not that great), and the other brands out there (which are just too much on the mushy/sticky side). Tinkyada is outdoes any noodle out there, even if you DON'T eat gluten-free!

I will add that I have one husband, one teenage girl and a toddler boy (going on 4) and this is their FAVORITE of all favorite pasta noodles. Back when we were getting "healthier" we had made the switch from regular noodles to whole wheat, that is until I developed a wheat intolerance. I refuse to make my family two different meals, so I cook wheat and gluten-free for myself and my family and my family ends up loving it! Gluten-free isn't gritty and tasteless anymore!

TO SAVE you money....you can go to http://www.vitacost.com/ and get the 3-packs and it's basically buy 2 get one free with the prices (at the store, a package can be as high as $4 or $5), so $8 for 3 is an excellent value! This is where I get mine. Sometimes nutrition stores (like Co-ops, Whole Foods Markets-type stores) will carry it. If you cannot find the spinach kind, then Tinkyada's regular Brown Rice Spaghetti Noodles is second best.

A TIP: is to take the Tinkyada and cook it about 2 minutes less than the package says. I will try even 3 or 4 minutes and then taste a noodle to see if it's done. Cooking with gluten-free noodles is tough, because if you go 20 seconds over, they become mushy and overdone (and there is no saving them). So I undercook, test, cook, test until I get that perfect consistency. It always ends up about 2 minutes before the package says to boil it for. It may take you 2 or 3 tries to get your noodles "perfect" and you figure it out, but this is a good rule of thumb. Trust me when I say you do not want mushy noodles!

What we use our Tinkyada noodles for; homemade chicken-noodle soup, turkey meat spaghetti, alfredo, casseroles and so on.

We all love to save money- here is a list of some great Birthday Freebies

Here is a list of freebies for those frugal families out there. This is what I do and what I can think; I will add more if anymore come to mind : )

If you sign your children up for Taco Del Mar, they will send each of your kids a free kid's meal card the month of their birthday.

If you sign up for Red Robin (online), you can add EVERY family member's birthday. That month they will e-mail you a free birthday burger meal. You print it out and take it into your local Red Robin.

You can go to Denny's the week of your birthday (any day) and get a free meal (I think it's up to $10) and free drink with it (like coffee, soda, etc.). No purchase necessary.

Look up your local Denny's and find out their free kid's days. Nearby me, they have free kid's meals with adult meal purchase on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Check your local coupons or Valpak.com for Denny's coupons and the WHOLE FAMILY can go out to eat for an incredible price!

If you sign up for Sephora's rewards (online or in the store), which is free. You go there on your birthday and you get a free gift (for instance, on my birthday they gave me three, pretty small lipglosses).

The month of your birthday (if you sign up) at The Body Shop you get 10% off all purchases and a freebie (I think).

Sign up the kids at http://www.buildabear.com/ and you get a freebie the month of their birthday. This year it's $5 free to buy anything in their store. If you purchase anything their birthday month, you get double points (points add up to more freebies).

Casinos always have birthday and anniversary freebies. You can go in the MONTH of your birthday and get free coupons, $5, free meals (or sign up online) and so on. Just check your local ones (my mom knows more about this than I do!). And did you know you can take kids to eat in the casino buffets? A GREAT casino for families in this order 1. Swinomish in Anacortes 2. Tulalip in Marysville 3. The Skagit outside of Bellingham. Also the Silver Reef outside of Bellingham is good.

If you sign up for The Melting Pot, they give you a free chocolate fondue at the end of a paid meal (or some other sort of coupon).

Sign up for Dairy Queen (online) and they will send you coupons or buy one get one free Blizzards on your birthday month.

Jamba Juice will send you a free smoothie (or it may be a buy one get one free).

Sign up for Baskin and Robbins (the whole family) will get a free cone on your birthday to use within a week or two.

Sign up for The Ram and they will send you a free burger meal for your bday to use within a two-week period.

Some Gluten-free and Milk-free Staples in the Cupboard

Quinoa...this is used for many things like stuffing peppers, tomatoes and/or mushrooms. You can add tumeric and things like cranberries and chicken. Or try it in a peanut butter cookie recipe. It works

Gluten-free baking flour. It's great when you want to make something from cupcakes, cakes, cookies, tarts, breads and so on.

Sweeteners: Splenda, raw honey, agave nectar.

Almond Milk (they also now have Hazelnut Milk, Creamy Coconut Milk in a carton and a milk/cream replacement that is soy-free as well...it basically has cashew/almond milk mixture). Almond milk is great as a milk replacement because of its high protein content (Vanilla Almond Milk works nicely for baked goods). I use Vanilla Almond Milk for gluten-free cornbread muffins or cornbread. I'm going to give it a try for pumpkin pie.

Coconut Milk (I'm going to try whipped coconut milk as a whipping cream replacement mixed with Splenda or Agave Nectar and I'll get back to you on how it works). Coconut milk is great to mix with pineapple/banana juice and make juice popscicles. It's great to throw in curry dishes, or to make coconut/lemon thai soups.

Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil. This works great in place of butter and/or shortening in baking. I have made pie crusts from this with almond flour.

Almond Flour. For baking, pie crusts and you name it!

Cashew Butter. This is great for curry and/or thai chicken meals. Great for baking things like cookies.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I actually use this as a butter replacement in baking and cooking recipes. Olive oil goes great in Gluten-free brownies and makes them nice and gooey.

Cocoa Powder. Great for baking, or coffees.

Cranberries, dried and/or raisins. Great to throw in with Quinoa

Almond slivers. Great to fry up in olive oil real quick and throw on green beans. Great to throw in brown rice and/or quinoa dishes or top chicken off with. They have anti-inflammatory properties, good oils for you and protein.

Gluten-free Noodles. Great to make spaghettis, macaronis, casseroles and I even found some Gluten-free Lasagna noodles. I have not tried to make my own GF pasta (yet)...but keep tuned for when I get the attachments for my KitchenAid Mixer.

Brown Rice. You can't go wrong. You can whip up anything. Quick Spanish Rice. Soups with rice. Chicken with rice, you name it.

Brown Rice Flour. It's required in a lot of baking.

Gluten-free Pizza Dough. Either make your own and freeze it or buy and freeze store-bought versions.

Chicken Broth. You can either make your own (boil chicken or chicken pieces, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, garlic, pepper to taste) and freeze or buy an organic hormone-free, msg-free brand from the store. I even prefer vegetable or mushroom broths (therefore, won't have the yeast that stores put into them, which can mess with hormones).

Gluten-free and organic sauces, mixes. I keep mushroom sauce, taco seasoning, ranch dip, etc. all organic/gluten-free on hand. I mix my ranch dip for taco salads with greek yogurt.

Greek Yogurt. Can be used for a number of things: Tzatziki sauce, ranch dips, smoothies and so on (and people with milk intolerances usually can tolerate it). Trader Joe's carries it but don't buy it all, so I can have some ; )

Canned Diced Tomatoes. I also like to keep Canned Italian Stewed tomatoes on hand. For a number of dishes. Tomato Paste as well and marinara. Salsa, is good to keep on hand as well for taco dishes.

Corn tortillas (you can freeze these).

Frozen, chopped spinach. I use these in everything from homemade soups such as turkey sausage soup, to vegetable soups, quiches, I can throw spinach in just about everything. I will heat up for a minute and throw in the meal.

Eggs and Egg Beaters for baking/cooking quiches. I make my quiches usually crust-free. Mini muffin pans work well for mini breakfast quiches.

Garlic Powder. For seasonings. Or toasted/chopped garlic in fridge.

Gluten-free pancake mix.

Gluten-free breading mix.

Gluten-free cereals and oatmeals (if you can tolerate this). Quinoa cereal and Buckwheat cereals are great. Buckwheat is NOT wheat.

Tzatziki Cucumber Dip Recipe- Where Sour Lemon Meets Garlic

Ingredients

• 2 cups Greek yogurt (or Yogurt Cheese)...p.s. a great place to get this is Trader Joe's.
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice from a small lemon)
• 1/2 to 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large cucumber (slice it in half and then in half moons). It's up to you if you want to peel them or not, personally I like the peel still on the cucumber.
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill or use dill (seasonining/spice, dried)
• sea salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

 Wash and cut up the cucumbers as described. Mix all of the ingredients. Add more salt, garlic, and/or pepper (to taste) and if needed. Set in fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend before using.

A great way to enjoy your food without the chemicals, allergens and added crazy ingredients that companies will do! P.s. I have to admit that I DON'T like cucumbers, but I will eat them as Tzatziki Dip/Sauce because it is so tasty!

USE:

With pita bread, gluten-free bread, crackers and/or gluten-free crackers (great as a dip).

On a salad such as a Greek-type salad (with Kalamata olives, feta, artichokes, tomatoes, and so on).

As a side with Quinoa or brown rice and salad and/or curry chicken.

Dip other veggies into it!

Use next to grilled lamb, chicken skewers and other meats.

On a falafel (falafels are made with chick peas).

On an anti-pasta plate.

Use your imagination!

These Rewards Charts REALLY DO Work!

How do I know? Well we tested one out. We used the "Getting Dressed" Reward Chart. We printed it out and told my son what it was for. If you get dressed everyday for two weeks by yourself and each day we will put a star on the day you got dressed. By the end of the chart, we can take it into a local Chuck E. Cheese restaurant and get 10 free coins (tokens) with pizza purchase. Yes, you do have to buy a slice of pizza, but it sounds like a cheap kid outing to me, plus getting your child to accomplish a goal is a very awesome thing. My son is 3 going on 4 and Chuck E. Cheese rewards charts are BIG incentives for him! He had to pick out his own shirt, underwear and pants daily (and socks, if needed), take off his pj's and put them into the hamper and get completely dressed (and he did so without help). I did have to coach him on what the weather was (some days he was picking out shorts and tank tops), but other than that he did great. I am so proud of him. He has completely filled his out and is ready to go redeem his reward soon!

They offer these rewards charts :

Sports Awards, Tooth Fairy Award, Getting Dressed, Reading Rewards, Active Kid, Homework Helper Potty Training, Sleep All Night, Magical Manners, Doctor/Dentist Good Patient Award, Stop Thumb Sucking, Clean Your Room, and Teeth Brushing. Link: http://www.chuckecheese.com/promotions/rewards-calendars.php

Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte- Without the 1. Calories & 2. High Price

You can enjoy your favorite holiday drink at home. All you do is brew up your regular or decaffeinated coffee. To make iced, you put the coffee in the fridge to cool and use over ice, or use hot. You can also use instant coffee if you like. Add milk, a splash of cream (or half and half) or keep it black (whatever your preference is). Use PUMPKIN PIE SPICE that you have in your cupboard (usually it is used in pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread), and just use a couple dashes. Add a spoonful of Splenda and WALA...you have pumpkin pie coffee!

A Sbux Tall Pumpkin Pie Latte is around what $2.50 (I could be wrong on the exact price) X 5 days a week = TOO MUCH $! Plus at 80-100 calories per ounce of syrup...although I DO enjoy my Starbucks drinks from time to time.

One $4 jar of pumpkin pie spice lasts all season and through several pumpkin pies, pumpkin breads and coffees! I would skip the Trader Joe's brand, they add lemon and it's a bit too "lemon-y" for me.

If you do not own Pumpkin Pie Spice. you can sprinkle some Splenda, Cinnamon, Cloves (optional) and Nutmeg.

The WORLD'S BEST shoes

No, I don't promote Zappos in anyway (but I do own their credit card, so when I spend and make payments, I earn money toward new shoes!)...but that's BESIDES the point.

Anyway, Dansko Professional Clogs are by far my favorite for any one with arch, heel or foot problems. I do not buy cheap shoes and these (shhhh!) are orthopedic and backed by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

My husband bought me the Patent Petrol Oil (new!) ones, since my old black ones gave out and I wanted something with style. I was worried they were too "showy" or geeky, but NOOO....they are gorgeous and go with everything like jeans. They fit right out of the box (no break-in time for me). $120 is steep, but if you sign up with BigCrumbs (link in the right columun under my links), which I do and you get 10% of your purchase money back (so it's like using a coupon). Just a tidbit, you don't have to do it that way since The Walking Company, and Onlineshoes.com also carries this (Nordstrom does, too). I've worn them a few times and EVERY TIME I get someone complimenting them. Perfect for Seattle rainy weather and mom errands.

The money is worth it for NOT having to go to The Foot Doctor and getting pricey inserts.

P.S. with these ALWAYS size up 1 whole size. I'm a size 10 and take a 41.


http://www.zappos.com/dansko-professional-patent-navy-patent?zlfid=111

The Duchess- A Simple Book, Soundtrack, and Movie Review

Right now I'm reading the book "The Duchess", previously titled as "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire".
I have to say that unless you like reading history books, to go ahead and skip it. I like reading about the history aspect, but when it starts getting into the politics that she delved into, I get bored and find myself skipping over it. I want to hear about her affairs, scandals, friendships, relationship with her mom and husband and so on. I give it about a 5 out of 10. I paid around $15 for it at the bookstore, but it's really not worth buying. It is not written story-style but more history-book style and skips around a lot. Some chapters are interesting, others are a snore.

So...I TOTALLY recommend the movie (The Duchess) with Keira Knightley (and I've never been a huge fan of hers, but wow, she did great in this movie). It's a surprisingly AWESOME movie and so good that I rented it twice! I also bought the SOUNDTRACK if you can believe it (since I love classical music). I may even buy the movie it was so good. I loved the costumes and the pettiness of their day. She was a popular and famous woman of her day, yet also lonely. Her husband was an interesting character and I think that Ralph Fiennes did a fine job of portraying her husband. I won't give any details, because I want you to watch it and let me know how you liked it! If you like historical movies, you will love this.

The Duchess Soundtrack is wonderful and also makes or breaks a movie in my opinion. So I like to listen to the soundtrack from time to time. It's available at Overstock. Hint: my suggestion is go to my BigCrumbs link to the right and sign up. If you decide to say buy from Overstock, you get 6% back through BigCrumbs...just a little hint in how to get money back when you buy stuff online (like I do!). Of course you can go to your local music store and buy it as well (but you don't save as much money). I'll have to upload a tidbit of the music to show you how good it is.

P.S. I ADDED A YOUTUBE LINK TO THE MUSIC ABOVE or here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR_tUJ_ykHA  These are not my YouTube links, but ones I found. Here's ANOTHER EXCELLENT one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnYUSIPe7QQ

My Eaaaaassssy recipe for PUMPKIN SEEDS!

I don't know about you, but pumpkin seeds are one of my favorite things to munch on. They are EXCELLENT for you since they are full of Omega Oils (Pumpkin Seed Oil) and so on (basically oils that are good for you).

Throughout the month of October and November, we will carve a lot of pumpkins. I don't waste the seeds! I cook 'em!

I just take out the seeds when I'm carving and set in a bowl. I seperate the pumpkin goo from the seeds. I set the oven for 350 degrees. I will then wash the seeds a little with water in a bowl (just to get more of the goo off), and use my hands to strain the water out. I will then spread the seeds on a baking sheet (it's okay if they are still wet). I will sprinkle sea salt on top to my liking (not too much, not too little!). Then I put in the oven for 30 minutes. Less if you like them more white and more if you like them crunchy like I do.

Put in some Ziploc bags and chew on them for weeks! Yum!

(PICS TO COME!)

Inexpensive, fun Halloween decoration or gift idea!

My son and I decided to get some pumpkins at Trader Joe's (Grocery Store). Their smaller ones are $1.99 and the medium-sized ones are $3.50. What a deal!

We got them and took our pumpkin carving knife we have and cut a circle off the top (and threw out the stem). We bought $1.99 small plants at a fruit and vegetable stand in our area (any small plant you like will do). You can even try out flower pots and flower arrangements.

You carve it into a pumpkin vase and set the flower pot inside (after you have scooped out all the goo). We (my son and I) decided to take glitter glue and design them and write "I love you, daddy" on one of them and deliver them to my husband's work as an office decoration. It will last about a week, then you can take the plant out and put it in some other pot. Save the seeds to make baked pumpkin seeds! Makes a great "family" project, quick, inexpensive and easy!

P.S. these are not the photos of OURS, but I will update the pictures of ours pumpkins!