With the holidays over and sugar rushing through our veins you may be looking for a few healthier options.
The Blended Blueberry Pancakes were created for this exact reason. With all the ‘Superfood’ ingredients you’ll be amazed at how good they are for you. Even better – my kids beg for them. They taste amazing straight from the skillet or later from the freezer for an easy snack. (my kids actually love them frozen – don’t judge ’til you’ve tried it 😉).
We use a Blendtec Home blender. It gets ingredients very smooth and comes with like a great warranty. In fact at the very end of the warranty the ball bearings began to stick and they shipped out a new container. It’s still going strong, I think we’ve had it 9 years now. Check out their company if you want (not a sponsored post, just an avid fan).
These pancakes are awesome. They taste great and are packed with nutrients, protein and antioxidants. Follow the links below for health benefits.
Wet ingredients to blend, milk, oil, eggs, blueberries, spinach. I forgot to put the flax and chia seeds in the picture. Oops
Blueberries and Spinach
My kids never liked whole blueberries in their pancakes, but blended up it becomes a treat.
The blueberry juice also hides other super foods like spinach – no one will ever know it’s there. The berries and leafy greens turn the pancakes a nice deep blue color which makes it all the more enticing.
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids – that act as an anti-inflammatory and help fight heart disease and cancer.
Fun fact here, by heating spinach it unlocks even more of the superfood nutrients, making it easier for your body to absorb – pancakes are a tasty way to cook spinach and still have it look and taste delicious.
Flax Seeds
I also add flax seed for omega-3 fatty acids and fiber which help with digestion and lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol. These need to be blended up to access the nutrients inside the seed, so adding them to blended pancakes and smoothies is great.
Chia Seeds
Chia Seedsare a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium.A 28 gram serving contains 5.6 grams of protein. It’s a super power food wrapped in a tiny seed. These are best served in some sort of liquid so pancakes fit the bill.
Vitamins
I also add a few chewable vitamins. I bought this huge bottle because it was a great deal on Amazon and then my kids hated them. I just started throwing a few into smoothies and blended pancakes. They still love the pancakes and little do they know – all the vitamins too… 😁
Whole Ground Wheat
Wheat has quite a bit of nutrients, if you grind it yourself you are able to eat it before the flour loses the nutrients. I grind mine about 10 cups at a time and store it in the fridge. I like my Blentec wheat grinder because it easily stores out of the way. I also like hard white wheat because it is lighter and still full of whole wheat fiber.
Some recipes blend all the ingredients together. I like to blend just the wet ingredients and fold into the dry.
There is more fruit and vegetables than flour so it makes a wetter batter. To cook it evenly inside, spread out into thinner cakes. I am ok with thinner cakes because I want more fruit and veggies going in my kids.
If you want fluffy pancakes you can easily add 1/2 cup to 1 cup more flour, till the batter is a thickness you like.
Blueberry Blender Pancakes
Mix in a large bowl
3 cups flour
2 TBS sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Combine in blender
2 eggs
2 cups milk or almond milk
4 TBS oil
1 1/2 cups frozen berries
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach
1 TBS flax seed (optional)
1 TBS chia seed (optional)
Pour wet ingredients from the blender into the bowl with dry ingredients and gently fold in until just combined.
Cook on a medium high skillet until light brown on both sides. I like to make mine small, 3″ in diameter, and use as an after school snack.
Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. The flavors crystallize and taste great as a frozen snack.
Setting children up to succeed rather than requiring constant discipline will have the most impact on improving behavior. Helping a child avoid unpredictable or undesirable behavior in the first place is key.
Today I want to discuss how to build the foundation for good behavior to thrive. There are many effective behavior techniques out there, but the best chance for success depends on if these three areas are in check first.
As a Behavior Coach I regularly see unexpected and difficult behaviors. Kids acting out in ways that don’t make sense, refusing to reason. It can be difficult and frustrating to figure out why kids make the decisions they do.
As I’ve gained experience with my own kids and with those I work with, I’ve begun to see a running trend. Here is the short list to creating a foundation for success in childhood behavior.
Reducing Screen Time to Increase Good Behavior
There are many educational ways to use screen time. Like most tools though, screen time needs boundaries and limits to be most effective.
Dr Nicole Beurkins observes, “Kidscanquickly become overstimulated fromscreen timewithout realizing it, which leads to worse moods, more anxiety, higher levels of irritability, and poorbehavior. … Children using devices for more than 2 hours per day have increased risk of depression, and that risk rises asscreen timeincreases.”
Screen time right before bed, or using screen time to fall asleep also keeps the brain activated, making it hard to fall into deep sleep and to stay asleep. Since children need more sleep than adults, even a half hour of lost sleep can negatively impact behavior.
Too much screen time also diminishes creativity and problem solving, which is increasingly becoming one of the skills employers search for most.
Screen Time Tips
Set a timer so your child knows they have the same amount every time, you’re not just randomly turning it off.
Set up ways for them to earn time on the screen like, cleaning their room, doing homework and feeding the dog.
Establish a no-screen-time-zone to encourage outside play and creative problem solving. Protect free play, this is where children practice what they’ve learned. Free play develops the brain in ways a classroom can’t.
Look for options to give screen time a break. Go exploring in nature, visit the museum. Encourage opportunities for face-to-face interactions with peers and adults.
Good Behavior is Reinforced by Creating Routines
Having a routine, regularly followed actions or pattern, helps reduce stress in children. By having a normal routine in life, your brain has the opportunity to take a break, which it needs. If there is no routine, the brain is constantly having to be “on” and solve the problem.
Routines canhelpchildren understand time and time management.
Routines can helpchildrenget used to having chores.
Routines can establish important habits such as brushing teeth and hair.
Routines canstrengthen relationships by focusing on time together.
Routine Tips
If for example there is no bedtime routine, though the child may insist they are not tired, the brain is constantly wondering when bedtime will come. It creates a constant stress that is always taking up brain power.
With a routine for bedtime, the body has a chance to start preparing for sleep and be ready to fall asleep when the time comes. One way to decide on a good bedtime is to notice when your child begins to show signs of being tired. Such as, yawning, rubbing eyes, getting cranky, fighting or becoming overly silly.
Then begin to get your child ready for bed a half hour before they start to show tired signs. A happy tired kid is easier to get to bed than an over tired, and cranky kid.
Follow a pattern that will begin to give cues to the brain it’s time to sleep as close to the same time and in the dane way as possible. The brain loves routine and will begin releasing the sleeping hormone melatonin in time to be sleepy for bedtime.
A pattern may be, getting on pj’s, brushing teeth, reading a story and being tucked into bed.
For a routine to work well, it needs to be followed. To have a positive effect on children’s behavior it needs to be a routine that fills a need, want or responsibility of the child. Routines around meal time, play time, bed time and chores help reduce stress by giving the brain a break.
A routine can also help take away the stress of chores or other possibly, undesirable activities. If it’s part of the pattern and something that has already been discussed, you’ll find much less arguments. Obstacles such as putting away the dishes or picking up the toys before the TV is turned on stop being a daily argument when it is calmly and regularly expected- it becomes routine.
Improving Quality of Sleep Greatly Impacts Good Behavior
You’ve probably noticed sleep has already been mentioned in both screen time and routine. In this case the best, really has been saved for last.
Aside from mental and physical concerns that can have a large impact on behavior, lack of sleep is often the number one culprit to poor behavior. Which is a major reason why the above two are on this list, they make a significant impact on how well a child sleeps.
After completely, unexpected behaviors, I’ve just started asking kids, what time did you go to bed last night or how did you sleep? About 80% of the time there has been a serious problem with their sleep the night before. Anywhere from coming across a scary movie without parents knowledge, to simply staying up to 3 in the morning playing video games.
Sleep or lack of sleep can greatly impact the behaviors of children.
Dr Dean Beebe, says, “Inadequate sleep – whether too short or poor quality – causes specific changes in mood and thinking.
This makes it difficult to reason, or to be patient and kind. In fact many people don’t even recognize sleep deprivation in children because symptoms for lack of sleep can be very different than in adults.
If your child is experiencing 2-3 from the list below, they need more sleep. Once sleep problems are corrected other behavior improvement strategies are more effective.
The tendency to emotionally ‘explode’ at the slightest provocation.
Over-activity andhyperactive behavior.
Daytime naps.
Grogginesswhen they wake up in the morning.
Reluctance to get out of bed in the morning.
Lack of sleep has been shown to cause poor attention, worse grades, school absences, poor social interactions, irritability and crankiness, depression, increased car crashes, and increased risk taking behaviors. 25 – 30% of children are not getting adequate sleep.
Some kids have a hard time sleeping, even if screen time has been adjusted and there is an established healthy routine. These sleep tips and solutions may be worth giving a try.
Sleep Tips
Use white noise to decrease outside and inside noises. This can be a fan turned to the corner to keep the room from getting too cold.
Try a white noise maker. I’ve tried both of these and they work great. One white noise maker has recorded sound, the other has an actual fan inside that creates constant, natural white noise.
Try a stretch sheet. I knew these were around for a while before I tried it, but they’re kind of pricey. They work well for kids who have a hard time settling down or who toss and turn. I finally, after years, bought one for our teenager.
He has always tossed and turned, but was a happy kid so I thought, it was fine. When he started hitting major growth spurts it wasn’t working anymore. He was constantly tired and showing signs of depression. When I asked how he was, he would say, “tired.” We finally made the plunge and bought the sheet.
He immediately, as in the next morning, said he had slept well. When he came home from school he talked about things going on at school instead of how tired he was. It’s now been several weeks and he continues to have enough sleep. It was worth it.
Other important strategies to improve sleep we have already discussed, but deserve repetition. Screen time, create a routine where something else happens a half hour before bed instead of an electronic device. Read a story, play a calm down game, snuggle in bed.
Remove TV’s from the bedroom. Falling asleep to the TV keeps your brain from shutting down. Though it may seem like an easy way to get a child to sleep, it doesn’t keep them asleep or create restful sleep.
What do you do to increase sleep?
How have you monitored screen time?
What routines keep your children in a good place?
Share below so we can all benefit from your experience and have a marvelous weekend. 😊
There were so many things that happened, these are the projects and posts that made the most impact in our personal comfort.
So here it is the beginning of a new year and while we don’t have to set our goals here, many of us do. It seems like a natural time to decide how we want the new year to go. It’s good, but it doesn’t have to be the only time we think about what we want to do.
I have found that I am most successful when I set goals I know I can accomplish. Adding one (maybe two) that will be hard, but I know should be accomplished.
I don’t plan out the whole year. I make goals as I go and once they’re done, I set more. Things do get done, though I must admit even more than my usual is accomplished when my husband is involved.
Goals of 2018
The Back Yard
Because of Tyler, within the 2018 year, we finished our back yard.
And got a dog, which was something we had put off for years. Here she is on our finished lawn. With the pretty Pavers Edge I did. 😊
Losing Some Weight
Because of my husband I finally lost the 10 pounds I’d been trying to get rid of for four years. He decided enough was enough and lost 60+ pounds this year! To be supportive I adopted the same changes and the pounds I had been fighting with for years melted away. I was shocked and grateful.
Finishing the Basement
We also finished our basement. Well, we still need a few doors and trim… and a bathroom, but we are claiming it!
We do have carpet, but this shot is so nice and crisp. The carpet is just going to have to make its showing later.
Personal DIY
It’s strange looking back on these accomplishments. As of an hour ago, I was most proud of my personal DIY projects, but they pale in comparison to the above goals (that Tyler made happen😂😂). I’m still way happy about the following.
My front porch bench. Made from upcycled, reinvented parts. I’m mostly proud of this piece because I literally saved everything from being sent off to the dump or being burned. Now I have a gorgeous bench and place to sit while I watch my kids play. The time was worth it.
The Stenciled Storage Chest was also fun. Though it wasn’t a built piece like above, I had alot of fun giving it new life. Furniture refurbishing is a rush. I love to see how much I can improve upon the worst case scenario.
Finally! A refinished table. This poor thing sat for years with a scratched top. I finally drug it outside and sanded it down. I also used a heavy duty, outdoors, polyurethane so it would last a little longer this time.
(please excuse our lawn, it got a little too much fertilizer😒)
The Fourth Generation Dresser – this one was special. I had the opportunity to refinish the dresser my grandmother, mother and I had used as children. I then passed it on to my daughter who gets to use it.
In the process of fixing up this piece, I thought of my grandmother’s life and wondered what stories this little dresser would tell if it could speak.
Personal Improvement
I wrote a few personal improvement articles. Which were some of my favorite posts to write and I have a few more in the works. For now, Overcoming Obstacles and The Art of Saying Yes.
Goals for 2019
Being logical, I really just want goals I want to do, with a few things I don’t want to do, but know need to be done.
Build a Loft Bed
My daughter has been waiting years for a loft bed. Since her room is long and narrow that was our plan early on. Several other projects crowded the loft bed out. This is the year. I’m writing it down, so it’s an official goal now.
Refinish the entertainment consol
This piece of furniture was described by my husband as the ugliest piece of furniture in the house. Which isn’t true, the desk is much uglier. My goal this year is to make it look like a $2000 piece of furniture. Tyler knows my plan and though he can’t imagine it, he says he trusts me. 😂
Finish putting up doors
You know how I talked about realistic goals? This is one of them, the unfun, necessary part.
Finish the basement bathroom
This is a Tyler goal, which means he will find a way to make it happen and I’ll be heavily involved – can’t wait for it to be over. 😉 I’m also grateful for an awesome guy who makes things happen.
There are many ways to start out a garland. This version is with inexpensive wire from the dollar store, hot glue and pinecones. It cost about $3 to make two to five good length stands.
Cure your pinecones
If you plan on storing your garland from year to year you will want to cure the pinecones to get rid of the bugs. If you don’t you will have many bugs crawling around your house.
To do this stack your pinecones on a tray and bake @ 300° for 20 minutes. My pinecones began to leave a very unpleasant woodsy smell in my house so I pulled them out and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. It worked great and my house smelled like Christmas.
Prepare wire for the garland
While they are curing prepare your wire. You will want several feet for the garland length, plus more on each end for wiring onto a fence post etc.
I had 5′ length garlands with an extra 3′ feet on both ends to give me plenty of room to attach to my fence post. My total length was 11 feet.
To handle all that wire roll up the first 3′ and secure with a paperclip. Do the same with the last 3′ as well, this will set up your working wire area.
Next prepare the short wires to be hot glued to the top of the pinecones. As you can see in the picture this takes about 6″ of wire. Bend in half and then give a little foot to sit on top of the pinecone or wrap around the stem if there is one.
Once glued on, place the pinecone in an upward position until the glue has hardened. I used the bag holding all my pinecones to hold the glued cones in place. . 😊
Note: some people prefer to just wrap the wire around the end of the pinecone. Depending on the type of pinecone you have this could work quite well and save you time gluing. Since mine were flat on the bottom and not wanting the wire to show, I opted to glue the wire on.
Build the garland shape
To start off my garland I used three pinecones first then the ribbon. I actually left about 3″of space on the wire to tie the ribbon on and glued the ribbon in place so it wouldn’t slide or turn upside down.
To keep the pinecones from slipping I used the pattern below. The yellow line represents my 11′ wire and the blue lines represent the 6″ wire attached to the pinecone. First twist the blue wire around the yellow wire, like a twistie tie. Then wrap the yellow wire around the blue wire once.
This method allowed me to keep the pinecones exactly where I wanted them.
To get the shape on my garland I built it on a flat surface and placed the pinecones where I wanted them before I began. This mostly consisted of using the larger cones flat against the table and smaller cones on top.
In this illustration the blue circled pinecones are the large cones wired in place first. The yellow circled cones were put on last and were smaller.
This pattern gave me the nice shape. Even after I hung it up, the pinecones stayed where I placed them. The wire also helped as I could bend something to keep a cone where I wanted it.
I used 6″ of wire glued to the pinecone for easy handling. This also meant I had wire left poking out once the cone had been twisted into place.
To solve this I used needle nose plyers to curl each wire against the main wire. This kept the wire from being seen, but also added stability to the cones.
When done, unravel your 3′ wire on either end of your garland and string it up on a fence, mantle etc.
Thanks for stopping by. Please share some of your garland making tips or garlands you’ve wanted to try.
Making gingerbread houses is a well loved tradition in many homes. Originating in Germany in the 16th century, Gingerbread Houses eventually made their way into being a Christmas activity.
The original houses were adorned with foil and gold leaf – and probably much more ornate than what we do.
Since our family was looking for Christmas activities for children, we tweaked and streamlined until gingerbread decorating was as fun and stress free as possible.
Graham Cracker Structure
It’s a common practice to use graham crackers for your gingerbread house structure. Did you know the better tasting Honeymaid brand is more brittle, making it harder to build with?
Save those expensive crackers for eating and buy a few boxes of the cheapest brand, we had best luck with the Kroger Store brand. It was a little more forgiving.
When making the roof, attach the two pieces together and let harden off of the house first. Once it’s good and firm place it on top with more frosting to hold it in place
When Preschoolers are involved you may want to build a simple structure ahead of time so they can just glue on candy. It makes the gingerbread house tradition much easier.
This year my daughter built her own, with just a little help from me, she was ecstatic.
I let my kids use as much autonomy as possible to increase creativity and problem solving skills.
The Secret to Acquiring All that Candy
There is so much sugar in our society, too much really. I started using candy from trick-or-treating in gingerbread house making to reduce the amount we are buying and eating. Read here to see how I make it acceptable for our children. 😉😅
Decorate with candy on hand.
Tricks for Cutting Edges
This little trick will make it easier to define the edges of your crackers. Beware, it does not cut straight through a cracker, a serated knife will help with that.
If you just want a smooth edge, or an angle, use scissors to trim Graham crackers for your gingerbread houses.
Using scissors to trim, cuts down on unwanted cracks and breaks.
Building base
I used to stress (a bit 😉) about cutting out carboard, wrapping it in tinfoil… This year I just said, “hey everyone if you want a tinfoil base come make it.” Then I pulled out paper plates for everyone else. 😂😂 So much easier and one less thing for me to do, I love it. ☺️
When you want something quick and easy, use a paper plate, turned upside down and a flat roof.
My son made gingerbread kids having a snowball fight, while being yelled at by the preacher. 😂 He is very committed to his chapel theme.
The Best Glue Frosting
My favorite gingerbread house frosting by far. You know it’s good frosting glue if it can dry quickly and hold pieces together.
There are several different recipes out there with varying levels of egg white, cream of tartar and powdered sugar.
Less is more with this recipe, kind of like super glue, if you put too much on it takes longer to dry.
Gingerbread House Frosting
3 Egg Whites
1 lb Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
Beat the egg whites till frothy. Fold in powered sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar.
Place in a zip lock bags and also rubberband the top closed. Then trim a very small hole off one corner . You can always cut a larger hole later if it’s too small, but start on the small end.
And you’re good to go.
What other Gingerbread House Hacks have you tried? Share below.
Hi, I’m Natalie. I’m a mother of four, an artist, and a DIYer that loves to reuse, recycle, and refurbish. I like power tools and teaching others how to save money while improving their home.
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