Monday, March 5, 2012

Gooey Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I received a recipe from a friend and fellow mom for peanut butter cookies that my whole family was addicted to.  Partly because they were so delicious, and also because they were the simplest cookie I have ever heard of.

It was:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
 mix, form 1 inch balls, press with sugar coated fork and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350

Crazy right?  And they come out so gooey.  It got to the point we were making them at least once a week, so then I thought, "How can I make these healthier?" And so I played around and came out with this recipe:


1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup of semi sweet mini chocolate chips
1 whole banana, diced
mix and form 1 inch balls, bake for 10-12 minutes at 350


Now not only do they have half the sugar, but they are now gluten free and vegan!

These are fantastic to make with kids. Especially because there are no worries about salmonella.

Enjoy! :)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Homemade Sugar Scrub

This is my number one beauty tip... The sugar scrub!  With cool weather coming, I know a lot of us face dry skin.  I have extremely dry skin, especially in the fall/winter months.  I find store bought sugar scrubs expensive, not to mention loaded with chemicals. This recipe I concocted when I was pregnant with my first daughter.  It's great on pregnant bellies and stretch marks too. I use it at the end of my shower, just take a handful and slather it all over, rub in a little, and rinse. It also helps you get a super close shave if you shave right after you rinse.  I even use a tiny bit on my face once a week, and I have pretty sensitive skin prone to breakouts.

I like to use olive oil, which may sound expensive, but it's something I always have at home.   I've heard some people use grape seed or coconut oil instead.  You can recycle an old body butter or sugar scrub container ( which I've done) or you can buy paint containers at your local craft store that look just like this:





I use one cup of regular sugar



And pour in about a 1/4 cup of olive oil on top. I never really measure, just go more by consistency/texture...








I like using a butter knife to stir, I don't know if it's the size of the container or what, but it makes it easier...





It should end up looking like this:





Then I add about 15 drops of essential oil.  I used bergamont which I bought a craft store, but you can also find them at health stores too.





And there you have it.  It literally takes five minutes to have glowing smooth soft skin!  Let me know how it turns out and what scents you ended up using! :)