Homemade Fall Apple Crisp

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Today I thought I’d share with you the first recipe I baked when I found out I was diagnosed with Celiac. It’s been about 3 months now since having to change my lifestyle and while I haven’t completely changed everything, I’m getting there! I absolutely love baked goods! Cupcakes, cake, pies, crisps, I could take them all any day! So when I found out I had Celiac Disease, this was the first thing that came to my mind. After some research, I found that I can still enjoy my old “go to” recipes with just a few minor changes!


This recipe is not only gluten friendly, but easy to make and will be a hit at your table for years to come!


Enjoy!


 

Ingredients: 

10 McIntosh apples (Peeled and thinly sliced)
1 cup sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose gluten free flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup water
1 cup gluten free quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
¼ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter (melted)


Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°


Place your peeled apples in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
 

Mix up the sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and the cinnamon together.
 

Pour over the apples and mix together. Once mixed, pour the ½ cup water over the apples.
 

Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, melted butter, and the baking soda and powder together.
 

Crumble over the apple mixture.
 

Bake for about 45 minutes or until browned.
 

**NOTE** While I made this recipe gluten free, this recipe can also be made normally. Just substitute regular all purpose flour and regular quick cooking oats.

For more recipes like this and great discussions please like my Facebook page!

~Nikki

Halloween Safety Tips

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Happy Monday everyone! I thought my first official article back should focus on our kids. Halloween is slowly creeping up on us and I thought I’d go over a few tips to stay safe this Halloween. Sometimes a few helpful reminders never hurt right?



- Be sure your kids know how to properly cross a street. All kids should know how to use a cross walk if there is one in your neighborhood and they should definitely know when it is safe to cross. I know in my neighborhood there aren’t any cross walks and I can’t even begin to count how many times driving home on Halloween all the kids just darting out into the street to get to the next house. Very scary!

- Teach your kids about “Stranger Danger”. Try to simply explain to them that some adults are bad and want to hurt children and that they should never go into a house that they don't know, get into a car, or go anywhere with a stranger. I always tell my son if a stranger approaches him and tries to get him to go in his car or house to scream as loud as he can to try to attract attention from someone around him and run to a place that is safe. Unfortunately, you never know these days.

- Eat dinner before going out to Trick or Treat. Filling those little bellies before going out to trick or treat will stop the temptation of the kids eating the candy before you get home to check it.

- Make sure your child is carrying some kind flashlight, reflective tape, or glow stick when walking around. With all the dark colored costumes out there, it’s always safe to carry a flashlight or anything that glows so people can see the little ones while driving.

- Plan a safe route. If your child goes out trick or treating with their friends, it’s best to make sure you sit down with your child and plan a safe route so you’ll know where your child is at all times. It’s also a good idea to set a time when they should be home. If they are going out alone, have them carry a cell phone for emergencies.

- Check your child’s candy before eating! Checking what comes home with your child is a great habit to get into for a number of reasons. First, I’m sure you’ve heard all the sick scary stories of what some disturbed people do to the candy on Halloween. Second, if you’re child has an allergy (peanuts, chocolate, etc.) you’ll want to be sure that you get rid of anything that could pose a problem.


So that’s it! Hopefully these little reminders will make your Halloween planning a little easier! For more great tips and helpful advice make sure you follow me on Facebook! I hope everyone has a great time on Wednesday!

Talk to you all soon!

Nikki

Why Yes! I'm Still Alive!

Hi everyone…..Sorry about the lack of posts around here.  Life has taken some major twists and turns and blogging had to hit the back burner for a while.  I’ve sure missed the time I spend blogging so I’m here to say I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere!  With that being said, I’m looking for some ideas from you, my readers on what you’d like to see on the blog.  I have my thoughts, but I’d like to hear yours as well! 

When I first started blogging, I could honestly say I didn’t know what my focus would be.  I had just left my job, started working for Shaklee, just had a baby, there were just so many new things happening.  Now that I’m “in the groove” a little here at home I can finally say I think I know where I want to focus. 

The title of my blog “Mommy & the Monsters” is just that.  I’m just a regular ole Mommy trying to get through the day with my monsters.  I’m not a fancy shamancy kind of girl I’m just “me”.  My ideas are very basic, but that’s what works for me.  I love to cook so I think you’ll be seeing a ton more recipes on here.  Recipes that are easy, quick, healthy, and kid friendly.  I also am working to improve my health.  I was just recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and the whole “gluten free lifestyle” has been a bit of a challenge for me.  I’m hoping to use blogging as a sounding board to maybe get me through the tough days.  The last thing I’m hoping to focus more on is my Shaklee business.  Shaklee has been a lifesaver in my home.  I’ve seen some major improvements already in the health of myself and my family and I want to share that with you!  You are truly missing out!

With all that being said, I’m going to make it a POINT to reach out at least 3-4 times a week.  That is my commitment to you! 

Stay tuned!  Have a great day everyone! 

Thank you for your continued support!  J

|Nikki

Cha Cha Cha Changes…..

Wow, I’m so full of emotion lately.  So many things have been happening I don’t even know where to start!  I wasn’t sure if I was going to talk about this on the blog, but I’m hoping I can get support from you, my readers. 

First, my son is starting 1^st grade.  I don’t know why, but the thought of him gone all day has me in tears!  I hate watching him grow so fast.  It’s harder than I EVER thought it would be.  I remember when he was born everyone saying it will go by fast and boy were they right!  I remember wanting him to talk, walk, etc., and now I just want to go back. 

Then most recently I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I haven’t been feeling good for quite a while.  After pleading with the doctor to figure this out, Celiac was the answer.  I’m quite emotional about this.  Everything I know now is different.  If you aren’t familiar with Celiac, in a nutshell I have an intolerance to gluten.  It affects everything.  I get headaches, stomach aches, I’m exhausted, and it’s just plain awful.  Since cutting out gluten I’ve actually been feeling a lot better.  I’m just having a hard time accepting that this is something I’m going to have to worry about for the rest of my life. 

 

With these changes come some new goals for me though!  First, since I’m going to have a little more time on my hands with my son in school all day, I’ll be expanding my team of awesome Shaklee distributors.  Shaklee has completely changed my life.  I’m so grateful that I took the chance and became a distributor.  I’ll be writing about why I’ve decided to work from home and more about the company in the next week or so.  If you want some information I’m always available to talk!  Second, I’m going to start the Cinch plan!  Not only is Cinch gluten free (which makes my life easier), it is also a weight loss plan I have seen work on many of my friends right before my eyes!  I’m considering starting an accountability group next month or so for 5 people looking to change their life with me!  I could use all the support I can get, plus, losing weight is so much easier if you have some help and guidance along with way! 

Have a great day everyone! 

Follow me on Facebook for up to the minute discussions and advice!

|Nikki

Crockpot Overnight Oatmeal

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Sorry I haven’t posted much, life has been absolutely crazy!  Today, I thought I’d share with you a recipe that is very quick, easy, and healthy.  Perfect for a quick weekday breakfast! 

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats

4 cups water

½ cup milk

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions

The trick to this recipe is to cook the oatmeal in a separate bowl in the Crockpot in a water bath.  So the first thing you’ll need to do is find a bowl that will hold at least 4 cups of liquid and that will fit inside the Crockpot. 

Measure out 1 cup of steel cut oats and add to the bowl.  Add the water, milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well. 

Set the bowl in the Crockpot and fill the Crockpot with water all around the bowl.  Try to match it so that the water reaches about the top of where the oats are sitting in the inner bowl. 

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until you wake up!  Enjoy!

Tip

Add some fresh blueberries or raspberries for some extra vitamins!  Also, if you’d like you can add some dried apples, raisins, apricots, or cranberries before cooking. 

Have a great week!

|Nikki

Simple and Easy Ways to Spend More Quality Time with your Children

I haven’t always been a stay at home Mom.  In fact, since my son has been born, I have spent countless evenings, weekends, and holidays working.  At one point, I left my job to go work for a family member who promised more time with my kids.  That turned into more hours than the job I left.  I have many many regrets about the first few years of my son’s life.  I know I can’t go back, but I’m making the best of the time I have now staying home with my kids. 

My son and I sat down and brainstormed together what we like to do.  Here, we’ll list our top 5 favorite week night fun. 

1.      Themed Dinner Night - We love this.  Our favorite theme is taco night.  This opens a few doors.  First, it gets your kids in the kitchen with you.  Ethan loves to help set up all the taco fixings on the table.  Second, it’s fun.  I know for Ethan the more fun it is; the more likely he’ll eat.  Third, it’s a good excuse to have a family dinner together.  With many parents working later and later hours now or kids having after school or evening activities, it’s getting harder for families to sit down together during the week.  If this is the only time you can get the family together, do it! 

2.       Engage the kids in household tasks. – If my husband has something that needs fixing, he will get Ethan to assist him.  My husband will teach him about what tools he’ll be using, he’ll have him pass him the tools, and even will have Ethan help bang a nail or two.  (With supervision)  Ethan loves this and this is a way to spend some time with him while getting something done on my always long “honey-do” list!

3.       Go for a walk or play outside.  I try my hardest to do this every day.  It gives me a few minutes to get some fresh air and spend some time talking to the kids where there aren’t any distractions.  It’s very easy after dinner is over to take a quick 20 minute walk around the block or play outside.  Plus a little exercise never hurt anyone right?

4.      Have a family game night.  This is something we try to fit into our Friday nights.  Whether it is a board game or a video game, we take an hour and have a little healthy competition.  If it’s during the week, play a quick game of go fish.   

5.      Have a movie night.  We love to turn off all the lights, pop some popcorn, and curl up in the blankets watching movies.  If it’s a week night, we’ll keep it to a 30 minute cartoon.  It’s a nice way to wind down after the day is done and gives the kids a little quiet time before bed.

Don’t forget to join my Facebook community!

~Nikki

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Happy Sunday!

Hi Everyone!  Hope you are having a great weekend!  We’ve had quite a busy weekend so far.  We went to the orchard yesterday and picked a TON of blueberries, peaches, and nectarines.  Stay tuned for some yummy recipes!  Today we are just laying low enjoying the beautiful weather we are having. 

I thought I’d take a quick second to invite you over to my friend Jaima’s blog Ring Around the Rosies and check out my guest post.  I talked about 8 Mommy approved ways to relax.  I hope that you take some of the advice in the post and take some time for yourselves!  As Mom’s we work very hard and we deserve some R&R too! 

Talk to you all this week! 

Have a great rest of the weekend!

~Nikki