May

16

Maple Almonds

you know….somehow i post more often when i’m not even in town!!  how does that happen?  i should just sit down and schedule out all my posts like i do before i head out of town, cause that’s when i seem to be most organized!!  
but anyway…this is a quick post to share with you a super yummy recipe that i made to bring to Haiti with us. 
all you need are almonds and maple syrup!  (and see that fabric in the background?  that was a major score, and will be used in a project just as soon as i get home!)
here’s the recipe card for you with the how-to:

i’m a bit worried about how we are going to stay on our Clean Eating food plan while we are in Haiti, so i packed these almonds, some granola, and a few other things that are healthy and filling so we always have options to make good choices!
so for those of you who are like me and like to see what other people are eating, here’s a pic of some of our snacks:

i’m slightly…more than slightly…obsessed with that Camelback water bottle.  its insulated, so it keeps my water ice cold all day long, and doesn’t sweat, which is SO fabulous, considering that thing goes everywhere i go!!

and if you are wondering if i really packed a whole bag of Fuji apples, the answer is YES!  i always pack apples when we go to Haiti.  creature of habit…apple obsession…call it what you will, but a crisp juicy apple never disappoints, and is well worth the couple extra LBS it adds to my bag!

enjoy your almonds!

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May

13

Healthy Fried Rice

i thought y’all might enjoy a new Clean Eating recipe while i’m away!
we LOVE this recipe, and have been making it for a number of years now.  we have adapted it over the years to be just the way we like it!  its loaded with veggies, and super tasty!  and since we use brown rice, it falls into our Clean Eating Plan!
ingredients (see recipe card at end of post for specifics)
note about the Liquid Aminos:  its just a healthier substitute for Soy Sauce.  i’m beginning to become deathly afraid of GMOs and try to avoid soy anything unless its organic.  this tastes just like soy sauce, but is made with essential amino acids and is non-GMO.  
so so good just on its own…or…

paired with this baked sweet and sour chicken recipe that a friend of mine found.  i substituted coconut oil for the canola oil, honey for the sugar, and Liquid Aminos for the soy sauce.  i would also suggest using apple cider vinegar for the vinegar.  it was DIVINE!!!  this will definitely be a staple in our house from here on out!!  and next time i’ll double the recipe, because my kids were begging for more!

just to note…i found that baking it for an hour was TOO long!   just keep checking and stirring it around until it seems like its done.

 here’s the recipe card for the Fried Rice:

let me know what you think!

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May

10

from Sheet to Maxi Skirt

as you read this, i am probably sewing away with the precious women of 3Cords, while sporting these new maxi skirts that i sewed before i left.  so i thought i’d schedule this post for you while i’m away, because i think some of you may want to add this to your summer wardrobe too! 
i found this tutorial here, (see my update at the end of this post regarding the tutorial) and pinned it a few months ago, labeling it “my next project.”  i was instantly in love! so when i found a grey jersey sheet at Good Will a few weeks ago for $2.99,  i knew it was time to whip out the ol’ Brother sewing machine!
i pretty much followed her directions, except i made my ruffles a little wider than her’s, and they weren’t quite double the length, so they don’t ruffle quite as much.  i also made the waistband smaller, because i wanted to make sure it was snug so that it wouldn’t slip down.  

it is the most comfortable skirt, and my friends are gonna get sick of seeing me wearing it, cause i pretty much want to wear it everyday.

 so i figured…one wasn’t enough…

 so i made another when i found this pink jersey knit on sale at Hobby Lobby.

 i changed this one up a bit, lengthening the ruffle for more “scrunch” and sewed the ruffle to the outside of the skirt this time around.  i felt like that defined the ruffles a bit more.  when i make another (cause i plan to!) i’ll do it this way again.

seriously…they are so comfy!!  so head on out to your local thrift shop and pick up a jersey sheet!  from sheet to skirt for only $2.99…can’t pass that up!!

UPDATE:  
10/11/12
it has been called to my attention that the original tutorial for this skirt that i linked above has been removed because the blogger is beginning to sell this item.  i’m sorry!  and i do not feel comfortable sharing the specifics since it did not originate with me.  however, this link is to post i did recently with a tutorial i created that can be used to make this skirt!  just use jersey knit (or a jersey sheet) and add ruffles at the bottom!

you could also choose to eliminate the elastic waistband and do a yoga style waistband instead.

i will tell you about the ruffles, since i changed them up a bit.  for the ruffles:  the length of my ruffles on this original skirt was 148 inches each. the bottom one was 9 inches wide, and the top one was 6 inches wide. i pieced together 2 74 inch strips of fabric (to make long strips that were 148 inches long), for each ruffle (so 2 long strips that are both 148 inches in length), then ran a long stitch on the top of each strip. i pulled the underside of the thread (the bobbin thread) to ruffle the fabric. i scrunched the fabric along the other thread, until it had it ruffled to 74 inches….to fit all the way around the skirt bottom. i placed the shorter ruffle on top of the long ruffle, lining up the tops, and then i pinned them at the same time onto the skirt, and sewed on the OUTSIDE, so that it created a little ruffle on the top where it was attached.  

depending on the width of your skirt bottom, you will need to adjust these measurements.  (if using the tutorial i linked you to, based on my measurements, i would’ve had 2 strips that were 110 inches long, since my skirt width was 55.  i would suggest making it a little wider than that, as the tutorial explains)  you just want to be sure that the ruffles are twice the length of your skirt bottom.  let me know if you have questions!  

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