Baking Soda

There are tons of ways to use baking soda beyond just the usual recipe in the kitchen. Did you realize it makes a great cleaning agent? Today I used it to remove the build-up of non-stick spray in my non-stick pans. Yes I finally read the care directions for them! I didn't realize until this weekend you should not use non-stick sprays in non-stick pans. Amazing little fact I wish I'd known when I bought the pans 2 years ago lol. I also removed the icky grease that seems to always be on my George Foreman grill no matter how well I clean it. Annnnnd I used it to clean the stains out of my stainless steal sink too! Yep, I was pretty amazed with that one too! Ck it out..

Before. Note the circular stains in the upper left and right corners. They looked much worse in person.

During. Sprinkle area with baking powder. Add just enough water to form a paste and start scrubbing!

Final product. :D Look how shiny it is!

Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

 Today was a beautiful day, sunny and 67 degrees outside! It was quite warm for the Midwest in November! It got my blood going and I was a amazed at how much I got done today. Yep, I just patted myself on the back! :-) One of the items I managed to complete today was whipping up some ooey-gooey toffee cookies. Minus a trip to the grocery (in the middle of the recipe I realized I was outta flour) these were pretty quick to make.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter ( I used reduced fat Skippy)
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 TB. milk
1 TB vanilla extract (*Halal Vanilla is available if needed)
1 egg
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/3 cups (8-oz pkg) Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits, divided.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl until well blended

 Add egg, beat just until blended.


I just love using my KitchenAid mixer! Look at it go! Yep, it's pink people.. isn't that a fabulous color?! :D







Combine flour, baking soda and salt gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Stir in 1 cup toffee bits; reserve the other 1/3 cup for topping.









I did the standard two test cookies today! (I tend to skip this part) A test batch allows you to see how long to bake the cookies according to your oven and type of pans that you are using.
Today I baked my cookies 7 minutes.







Drop by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I used a baking stone.)

Bake 7-8 mins or until set. Be careful not to overbake. They will continue to firm up after you remove them from the oven.
Remove from oven and allow to cool 2 mins while remaining on the pan. Remove from cookie sheet and let completely cool on wire rack.


Remember the 1/3 cup toffee bits we reserved? Use these to top each cookie after it comes from the oven.
*I didn't do this as I only used wax paper oday but I think it would work well to use a wire rack with wax paper underneath to catch the loose toffee bits. There was JUST enough toffee to split the bag into 1 cup and 1/3 cup. The 1/3 cup for topping was barely enough to finish the last few cookies. I would use the toffee on the wax paper for the last cookies.. or you could eat it if you have left overs. :)

Makes appx. 3 dozen cookies.














*Recipe from the back of the Heath toffee bits package. Hershey brand.

Quick Tip: Sugar Lips

 Try it! Skip dessert tonight. Instead, try this delicious homemade lip exfoliant.

1 TB. granulated sugar
1 TB cocoa powder
1 TB honey

Mix ingredients together until they form a paste. Gently exfoliate lips with mixture for 10-30 seconds. Wipe lips clean with a wet washcloth. Feel free to lick the rest off, it's edible! :p You'll be amazed at how smoothly your lip balm glides on afterwards, not to mention how kiss-ably soft your lips will be!

To take or not to take.. Vitamins!

Here is an interesting article on new research regarding multi-vitamins. Seems new studies show they provide little to no benefit. If this is true it certainly makes me feel less guilty about neglecting to take them consistently! Ha!  Check the article out here!

Chocolate Sauce in a Pinch

Have you ever had a craving for sweets but there is no chocolate to be seen anywhere in the house?  OMG.. like major despair right! No worries.. I'm here to rescue the day!  Check out how to make this rich sinful chocolate sauce on the fly. Great for drizzling over ice cream or crepes! Just like this:

Chocolate Sauce
2 TB Cocoa Powder
2 TB sugar
1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until sugar and cocoa is disolved. Microware 1-2 mins. Mixture will bubble. Stir when you remove from the micro and let set for appx 5 mins. The chocolate will become thicker as it sits.
Special note: Use a BIG bowl because it will boil all over your microwave.  I miiiiight be mentioning from experience! ;p

Goo & Protein Bars

Looks gross right? Haven't you learned to not judge a book by it's cover? ;-)  This is a recipe I got last spring at a Figure Building/Body Building contest I attended with my friend Tasha. She did awesome btw! It will satisfy your sweet tooth but isn't empty calories like most sweets.

Beverly Goo
2 scoops protein powder
1/4 cup Peanut Butter (natural or almond butter)
1/4 cup Honey
Handful of candy pieces. (opt)

Mix all of the above ingredients together. I usually have to add water. Just enough to help it mix properly.  I eat it with a spoon right outta the bowl, as I crave something sweet!



I also sampled a similar recipe recently from my friend who is an Arbonne Consultant. This one is a larger quantity but the same basic concept. With the addition of the oatmeal you can ideally cut these into protein bars.

Protein Bars
2 cups or 1 16-oz jar natural peanut butter
1 3/4 cups honey
2 1/4 cups protein powder
3 cups dry uncooked oatmeal

In a microwave safe bowl combine PB and  honey. Heat in micro until it easily stirs.
Add protein powder and oatmeal and mix thoroughly. It will be very thick. Press it into a 9x13" pan. Refridgerate for 1 hour or until solid enough to cut into bars. Wrap each bar in foil or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
For extra fiber use 1/4 cup fiber and 2 cups protein powder.

Makes 24 servings.

Goo recipe originally from Beverly International.
Please visit Renee's Arbonne page if you'd like to order anything!

Shake Creations 101

Hey guys! This is another one of my thrown together shakes. Just sharing the base details in case your mind is in a rut! Don't worry about the brown flecks in the shake, those are just the almond butter goodness! :)

Ingredients: (this will make a large serving, you can half them if needed)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1 heaping teaspoon of almond butter
1/2 frozen banana
8 oz skim milk
2 scoops Energy Booster

Place all in blender and push "blend".

Appx:
*using 1 scoop energy booster for small, 2 scoops for large size.
Large Serving: 380 cals
Half Serving (small): 191 cals