Sugar Hand Scrub

Are you ready for a super easy and cheap Mother's Day gift? Make it for yourself (please do!) and the other mama's in your life. I don't know about you but my hands get so dry and scaly. I am constantly washing my hands and no amount of moisturizing hand soap or hand lotion keeps my knuckles from cracking (ouch!). I love this sugar scrub though, because it sloughs off dead skin cells while leaving your hands nice and silky.

You Will Need:
Sugar
Dawn Dish Soap WITH Olay
A container

It's important that you get the Dawn with Olay. The most common is the pink version which smells like pomegranates. I did see a few others though, a white, and a blue or purple I believe. The dish soap costs right around 3 bucks. I did also see a Great Value version, but I stuck with the original. For my container I used a half pint mason jar, which cost about 50 cents each. And if you have a bunch of empties laying around then all the better!

Directions:

Fill your jar/container 3/4 of the way with sugar. Add the dish soap to the bottom of the rim. Mix together. Keep adding sugar and mixing until you've reached your desired consistency. You don't want it to be super runny, you only need enough soap to wash with. The main ingredient is the sugar. Some people like a lot of sugar so it's really just up to you. It should resemble a thick paste. Feel free to test it out to make sure you've reached the right consistency.

To use:
Just scoop out a small amount and scrub into hands and rinse with warm water. It feels so good (and smells good too!)

Wasn't that a cheap and easy gift? Less than $5 and 5 minutes to make. Now just make a cute label to slap on the jar and add a bow and your good to go.

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!!