It appears that many of you are receiving $10 off (instead of the normal $5 off), if you are a new customer who spends at least $30 at iHerb!  That makes a great deal even better, huh?

One reader, Marie, put eight bags of Enjoy Life Soy Free, Dairy Free Chocolate Chips in her cart, entered my referral code (BID487), and received $10 off, making her order just $24.08, or $3.01 per bag of chocolate chips.  Such a great deal for these!  (Shipping is free on all orders over $20.)

If you don’t need or want chocolate chips, you can find many other great, organic products at iHerb that will benefit you and your family (maple syrup, coconut flour, gluten free foods, dried fruit…)

This “$10 off” offer is only good through May 22. Thanks to all who commented or emailed to let me know about this!

It’s been a while since I’ve made these Sloppy Cornbread Muffins.
We all love them, and they are a perfect, easy, make-ahead meal.

Here is what our menu looks like for this week:

Sunday, May 20
Oatmeal, fruit
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad
Graduation parties

Monday, May 21
Whole wheat waffles, blueberry syrup
Sloppy cornbread muffins, fruit salad
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Tuesday, May 22
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, banana muffins, scrambled eggs, fruit
Toasted sub sandwiches, apples, baby carrots
Alfredo sauce with pasta and chicken, tossed salad, steamed broccoli

Wednesday, May 23
Fruit-yogurt smoothies, English muffins
Taco corn fritters, oranges
Bbq brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Thursday, May 24
Pancake sausage muffins, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas
Creamy crock pot chicken and rice, carrots

Friday, May 25
Whole wheat donuts, fruit
Tuna salad on crackers, tomatoes, olives, carrots
Lamb-burgers, ranch potato wedges, green beans

Saturday, May 26
Turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns
Leftovers
One dish meat and potato meal

~  Remember how I told you about Muscovado Sugar?  You can get ten pounds of this great sugar from Amazon for just $1.79/pound!  Use subscribe and save to buy ten, one pound packages for $17.85.

~  Get two 15 ounce tubs of Nutiva Coconut Oil for $15.30 with subscribe and save at Amazon.

~  If you’re wanting to give Coconut Flour a try, you can get four, sixteen ounce packages of Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour for $22.51 at Amazon with subscribe and save.   You can read more of my thoughts on the cost and benefits of coconut flour here.

~  VitaCost has their Tinkyada Brown Rice Spaghetti Noodles marked 45% off, making them just $2.28 for a 16 ounce package.  They offer free shipping for orders over $49, and if you sign up through this referral link, you’ll receive $10 to spend on your first order!

~  Remember that great deal I got on Enjoy Life Soy Free Chocolate Chips from iHerb?  This seems to still be good.  Check out the details here.

Those are questions Jen, from Getting Fit With Jen, hears often.  Here’s what she has to say about it:

There are a variety of studies that “prove” different theories on the subject of what time of day is best for working out.  Most studies will tell you that working out in the morning is better and more effective.  The thought behind this is that early morning exercise will energize you, get your day started right, and boost your metabolism.

Is this true?  Sure, working out in the morning can be beneficial in these ways.  But what if you’re the type of person who is groggy in the morning?  What if getting up extra early for exercise just doesn’t work for you?  What if you simply do not have time to work out first thing in the morning?

Occasionally some find that working out at night before bed makes it hard for them to sleep because of the endorphins that have been released during the workout, pumping them up and giving them extra energy.  Some people find that working out at night doesn’t affect them negatively and that, in fact, they actually sleep better immediately following a good workout.

I say:  Exercise during a time that works best for you.  If morning works for you – great.  If afternoon works for you – great.  If night time works best for you – great.  As long as you are finding time to exercise, no matter what time of day it is, you will reap the rewards!

Read more of Jen’s thoughts on this subject in her post:  Finding Time to Exercise.  If you’re interested in having Jen set up a personalized work-out program for you, read more about the services she provides here.  I have benefited so much from having her as my “personal trainer”. :)

Now, I do have to say that yesterday, I proved to myself how much I love my Flexi-Clips.  Apparently, I have begun to take them for granted.  I am so used to wearing them every day and being completely comfortable, that I forgot how nice they are on my head.

Yesterday, I pulled my hair up into a regular ol’ hair rubberband, just to get it out of my face, because all of my Flexi-Clips were in another room, and I was much to lazy to take the extra steps to go get one.  I figured I’d swap it out once I went downstairs – but nope.  I forgot.  I then left to go out of town for the day, and was then far, far away from my Flexi-Clips.

I kid you not…all day long I was wishing I had a Flexi-Clip.  My hair kept slipping out of the band, plus the band kept pulling my hair.  Ouch!  My Flexi-Clips never pull my hair.  And they always stay in place.

Never again will I be too lazy to take the extra steps to go get my Flexi-Clip.  I knew I loved them, but yesterday proved this to me once again!

Paula, from Lilla Rose, is offering to give away three Flexi-Clips (or any other item worth $15 or less).  Leave a comment here for a chance to win one.  Join Paula’s Facebook page for an additional entry, leaving a second comment here letting me know that you did.  I’ll draw three random winners on Monday, May 21.  Please watch for a post stating the winners as you will be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen.

On my way out the door this morning, I suggested that maybe they open up the Deliciously Organic cookbook and create one of the salads featured.  After all, we have a lot of of beautiful spinach coming up in our garden, and I knew that Deliciously Organic would have great ideas for how to use it.

Well, not only did they find a great recipe to make, they took some beautiful pictures to show me when I got home.  (They also saved a few bites of the salad for me to eat when I got home - it was awesome!)

Let us all pause a moment to reflect on the fact that my family understands and appreciates the need to take pictures of food before practically every meal, whether Mom is home or not. Have they been living with a blogger for several years or what?  Love my fam!

Check out this lovely “before salad” shot:

Matt was excited to find a recipe that uses such simple ingredients – ones we typically have on hand.  And, for such simple ingredients to create such a flavor-packed salad…we were very impressed!

Next, we have pictured the final product:

Then, as if they were on a roll…they placed some of my Mother’s Day flowers by the salad to add even more color.  How sweet are these men in my life?

You may also be interested to see that I also came home to pictures of lego projects that Malachi has been working on:

It appears that we have a Lego Blogger in the making. :)

I couldn’t be more pleased with the Deliciously Organic cookbook.  Thursday, May 17 is the final day to purchase this cookbook and Carrie Vitt’s menu plans at a big discounted price.  Be sure to check out the details here and don’t miss out on this fantastic deal!

When I make a lasagna, I must cook some meat, add some sauce and spices, layer the noodles with the meat sauce and cheese, then wash a few dishes.

When I make two lasagnas, I must cook some meat, add some sauce and spices, layer the noodles with the meat sauce and cheese, then wash a few dishes.

When I made three lasagnas, I must cook some meat, add some sauce and spices, layer the noodles with the meat sauce and cheese, then wash a few dishes.

I’ve even made up to eight lasagnas at one time.  Even then, my job was to (all together now…) cook some meat, add some sauce and spices, layer the noodles with the meat sauce and cheese, then wash a few dishes.

Whether I’m making one lasagna or eight, I dirty the same number of dishes while preparing the food.  I take barely any extra time to make extra lasagnas, so for me, it’s a no-brainer.  Why would I just make one lasagna when I can make three (or eight)?

(And by the way, I typically only make eight lasagnas at once when I’m feeding a big soccer team.  While my boy-filled family does eat a lot, we are not up to eating 1.333 lasagnas each…yet.)

The same “Cook Once, Eat Twice (or More)” concept applies to almost everything I make - Cheesy Beef and Rice, Corndog Muffins, even these Whole Wheat Waffles.  Scroll through all of my Make Ahead Meal posts to get some ideas and recipes that will help fill your freezer with healthy convenience foods.

You do realize what will happen though, if you start participating in this “Cook Once, Eat Twice (or More)” system?  You will then have a nice supply of healthy, homemade meals to quickly pull out of your freezer and heat up for your family – with little to no effort.  Putting a hearty, healthy, delicious meal on the table will become extremely easy.  You will no longer be able to use the “I don’t have time to eat or cook healthy food…” excuse.

Just so you know.  ;)

Have you tried the “Cook Once, Eat Twice (or More)” kitchen efficiency method?  What are some of your favorite healthy foods you like to make for your freezer?

Yesterday’s new recipe try-out from the Deliciously Organic cookbook was Raspberry Almond Muffins.

How did my family like them?  Well, the recipe made 18 muffins.  I pulled them out of the oven, left to go take a walk, got back, and there were only 5 left.  I guess we now know how my family liked them.  ;)  At least they left some for me to try.  (I loved them too, by the way!)

Be sure to read more about Deliciously Organic here and take advantage of the great deal Carrie Vitt is offering us here for just a few more days.

Ever since I lost my mom to ALS in July of 2004, Mother’s Day has been difficult for me.  I miss her every day, but Mother’s Day is always harder.

Matt has always been so considerate each Mother’s Day – spoiling me and making the day special, yet acknowledging and understanding that it is a day that I tend to feel sad.  I love his strength and compassion.

We don’t tend to give each other gifts on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.  We’ve never felt much need, and instead, fixing special food has always been our fun tradition.  That is why I was so surprised to be presented with this on our way to church Sunday morning:

Receiving a gift at all was surprise enough.  Seeing that he picked out a Bible with a cover described as “Pink and Chocolate” – well, does that tell you how well he knows me or what?  And did you see what he had engraved on my new Bible?

Isn’t he the sweetest?

My husband shows me great honor in how he continually treats me like his queen.  He had all of our boys sign the inside of the Bible, letting it be a gift from all of them.

I feel empowered to rise to the occasion and be the kind of Heavenly Homemaker they deserve and desire.  I am honored to be the one God has chosen to make our family’s home more heavenly.

Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!  Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

By the way, if you would have told me a year ago that this year I would suggest that we play a family game of soccer in honor of Mother’s Day, I would have laughed.  But indeed, now that I’m getting fit and learning to enjoy playing with my kids, I just can’t get enough.  Soccer on Mother’s Day just seemed like the perfect idea.  And it was.

So back to the dessert you’ve been waiting to hear about.

Oh, but another reason I couldn’t update you on this mystery earlier is because after we played soccer, we had a nacho and movie night – with popcorn.  Yes, didn’t you know that it’s always good to have nachos and popcorn together?  Eh, it worked and it made everyone happy.

We are pretty good popcorn makers around here, always using coconut oil to make delicious popcorn.  But this time, we used a fun new recipe from the Deliciously Organic cookbook.  It was fantastic.  However, we did have a wild ride in the kitchen while I was making it because I didn’t use a big enough pot.  You know what happens when you don’t use a big enough pot when you’re making popcorn on the stovetop?  The popcorn just keeps popping, and the lid comes off the pan, and popcorn goes absolutely everywhere.  Jen was over hanging out with us, and Matt was in the kitchen too – both of them being very supportive while I was standing at the stove feeling rather helpless while popcorn started overflowing and flying.  Matt offered some suggestions.  Jen handed me a bowl for the flying popcorn, but with it, I only managed to make a bigger mess.  Oh, you should have been there to witness the madness.  ;)

This is the popcorn that managed to make it into the bowl.

But really, back to the dessert you’ve been waiting to hear about.

If you can believe it, the dessert recipe they picked wasn’t chocolate.  I know, shocking.  But wow, was it good.

They picked a “Hot Milk Sponge Cake” recipe from my old, worn out Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  Then, like good children, they figured out how to adapt the recipe to use healthier sugars, fats, and flours.  Is that not impressive?  More on that in another post.

So apparently that’s what all the beating was about.  Sponge cakes take a lot of beating.  Thus, the beaters were running for minutes on end.  :)

Then, if you can believe it, they made a “Broiled Coconut Topping” to go on top.  I’m telling you, they outdid themselves.  Talk about tasty!

This cake was delicious.  My family is the greatest.  And without a doubt, I will look up the recipe, ask them about their adaptations, and post it for you so that your family can make it for you sometime.  Or so that you can make it for them.  Or whatever.  ;)