Thrifty Thursday - Coconut Hair Treatment

Good Morning Everyone!!!

Who else is loving our ode to Mothers this month!?! We hope that you are taking advantage of our thrifty tips on how to keep the special woman in your life pampered!

We have another great one for you this morning!

Who wishes they had the amazing hair that you see in all the hair product commercials that is super shiny and perfect? Ok...you can all put your hands down....we gotcha covered!

NOBODY knows hair woes better than I do. I have naturally curly hair, and let me tell you it has a mind of it's own! I have struggled to tame my mane my whole life. Dry winter months are almost as hard to manage as humid summer days....Most of the time I just look like a lion or a homeless poodle. Either way, not exactly the hair commercial look I am going for. About a month ago, I found a recipe for an oil treatment for hair, and I decided that it couldn't get any worse, why not give it a try!

BOY am I glad that I did!! I found that for several days after I used this oil treatment, my hair was soft, shiny, and would finally succumbed to my will!!! SWEET VICTORY!!!

As if this isn't great enough, there are actually a couple bonuses that come with! It smells amazing, is also great for your skin, and naturally fights dandruff!!! Give it a try, what could you lose!!

What you are gonna need:
Coconut oil (I use tropical traditions)
Honey (THRIVE Honey crystals work amazing!)
***If you use a lot of hair product, add in some baking soda, about a Tablespoon for every cup of coconut oil***

Mix these together until you get a nice cream. I use my kitchen aid with the whip attachement. It makes it nice and fluffy. Massage into your hair and scalp. Now take a deep breath....smells amazing right? pull your hair into a bun, or if you have short hair, use a shower cap. Leave in for atleast 20 minutes. Shower and wash your hair as normal.
You can also enjoy this treatment as a hot oil treatment. just heat both the honey and the coconut oil together. Put into a squeeze bottle and put directly onto your hair. Follow the same porcedure as the regular treatment above.

Enjoy your new shiny locks!!

MM - Baby Days! Snackage.....

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I don't know about all of you, but snacks make the world go 'round in our household. Once Noah could eat solids, snacks were gold, in fact, this is still the case! My little guy is a super eater and loves meal time. Most of the time we are super busy and snacks fill the gaps for us. So today I thought that I would give you some "food for thought"!

Has anyone tried those yogurt bites that they have in the baby isle? Either the gerber brand or the store brand, to me they taste so weird. Now, have you tried the THRIVE yogurt bites? AMAZING!!!! In my humble opinion, the THRIVE yogurt bites melt easier in the little ones mouth, taste WAY better, and kiddos love them!! Not to mention that they are a ton cheaper! Noah's fav is Strawberry!

The thing I love most about THRIVE foods is that they make the perfect snack right out of the can! The fruits and veggies are awesome for when your little one starts to feed themselves! Try the peas, corn, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mangos, and pears! They are great starter foods and they love the crunch! Noah absolutlely loves the fruits and veggies especially while he is teethin!! The applesauce is also amazing!



What about when they get a little older and goldfish are the bomb.com? Well, I was perusing the THRIVE cookbook the other day and I found this little gem! AMAZING!!! We made a batch this weekend and they were devoured!!!

***I have to add a disclaimer. I don't have an actual picture of the ones that we made this weekend. They were gobbled up rather quickly and I forgot to take a picture in the craziness that happened this weekend. Me and Noah got some burns on saturday as i was cooking. Some hot oil splashed on the both of us. Things have been just a little out of whack ever since then. ***


Photo courtesy of THRIVE Cookbook

Here is what you will need:
1 1/4 Cups TRIVE Flour (Whole wheat or white)
1/2 Cup THRIVE Cheese Blend
1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon THRIVE Salt
3 Tablespoons Oil (I use coconut oil)
1/2 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients. Slowly add oil until the mixture is crumbly. SLOWLY add water until you form a tight dough.
Roll out you dough very thin (they will puff up when they bake) about 1/8 of an inch. Cut into squares or your favorite shape. Poke a hole in the top of them and transfer onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely before removing them from the pan.
Happy Snackin!

30 Days of THRIVE - Bread Pudding

Hello Everyone!! Who is ready for another awesome 30 days of THRIVE Dish??? ME TOO!!!

This time I wanted to do something that my family absolutely LOVES!!!

Do you remember that yummy homemade bread that we made just a couple weeks ago? Well this is a great way to make the best of that bread. Especially if you have little ones in your home, the bread bag does not always get closed, am I right? So what do you do with stale bread? MMMM.....one of my very favorite things....make bread pudding! This is so simple, and very flexible. It can be sweet, or savory, or you could make it into a meal by adding some chicken and veggies!

We are going with a sweet version today! Here is what you are gonna need:
***Word of Warning: This recipe is only a ratio based recipe. This will depend on your bread and
             how much you have to use. The good news is that you really can't go wrong!***
Bread (broken up into chunks)
Whole Egg Powder (I start out with about 6 eggs equivalent once prepared)
Instant Milk (I use about 1/2 as much milk as eggs)
Butter Powder (about 1 Tablespoon)
Add in your favorite spices (I use cinnamon and nutmeg)
A splash of vanilla

The key to making this great is to mix all of your wet ingredients, and then slowly add in the bread pieces. You want the bread to be wet, but no dripping. Once you get all the bread mixed in, spray (I use coconut oil) the pan you will be cooking in. I love to make them in muffin tins! The kids love them and it makes them easy for the hubby to take with him to eat on the way to work!
Bake @ 375 degrees for about 20 mins (you want them to still be soft to the touch, but not squishy)

While those are baking, you are gonna want to mix up this yummy syrup to put over the top. Trust me....you will not miss maple syrup after you taste this yummy stuff!!

Buttermilk Syrup  (origional recipe and tutorial can be found here @ Our Best Bites)

3/4 Cup buttermilk (Here is a tutorial on making your own buttermilk from THRIVE)
1 1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup real butter
2 Tbsp Honey (prepared)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, honey, and baking soda in a LARGE pot. (pot needs to be much larger than your ingredients because this will expand!)
Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low (you want to see small bubbles). Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8-9 minutes. (you can cook it for less time and it is more syrup like and less caramel like...up to you!)

Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Let sit for a few mintues so that you do not burn yourself....because I promise you will not be able to contain yourself after the first bite. Give it a good stir! Enjoy!!