Coming Soon...

Busy writing and scheduling new posts.  New material returns Sept 15th!!  Stay Tuned!

Maternity Break

Hello fellow bloggers and followers.  As many know, I am about 19 weeks pregnant now and life is pretty busy.  I started this blog with the intention of posting my findings on natural living and my inspirations as God revealed to me how to take better care of myself and my family.  It has been a wonderful journey so far.  I in no way am quitting this blog forever.  However, I feel it has become burdensome to come up with cool new posts on a regular basis.  I never intended this blog to become an obligation.  For this reason, I have decided to take a "Maternity Break."

Please don't leave me forever!  I will return with a fresh mind and new things to try and do as I wade the waters of life as a family of five!  I'm sure I will be looking into all kinds of natural tips on raising a baby.  Please feel free to browse my previous posts in the mean time.  I'll return after baby is born with new material this fall.

Happy reading!  See you soon.

Make Your Own "Bisquick"

Years ago I came across a substitute recipe for using Bisquick when I realized I had run out of it.  I like the recipe so much that I have never bought another box of baking mix since.  

Peppermint Lip Balm

Who doesn't like a good chap stick or lip balm?  Especially here in Colorado where the air is dry all the time and no matter hot or cold, I still get dried out lips.  I came across this recipe when I was making Christmas gifts last year from the same site that I got my hand salve recipe from, renegademothering.com.  This recipe is so close in nature to the previous post on Body Butter and uses a lot of the same ingredients while still proving to be virtually mess free!  Check out the video tutorial on making Body Butter and use the same method.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

You might have seen this handy trick on Pinterest or floating around on Facebook.  I decided to give it a try and make Christmas gifts from it this past year.  What is it?  Vanilla Extract.  That yummy golden liquid that smells so fantastic and makes your cookies, cakes, and ice cream burst with flavor.  

Homemade Mess-Free Body Butter

This past Christmas I had fun making lots of homemade gifts.  We were short on cash but I managed to make several neat gifts that I will continue making and using in our own family.  One of those gifts was hand salve.  I found this great recipe for hand salve at renegademothering.com.  

My Favorite Salad Dressings

So I've been on a writing hiatus for the last few weeks.  It's been made public on my family blog, Facebook, and now here on Sports Bras and Aprons:  I am expecting!  Right now I'm 12 weeks and finally getting past the yucky phase.  I've been pretty unmotivated to do anything but sit on the couch, take a bunch of hot showers, and eat.  And eat.  And eat!  

It seems fitting then that I share a recipe today.  Actually a couple recipes.  They are not my own recipes, however, they are FANTASTIC!  I make them all the time and frequently get compliments and requests to share the recipe.  

Salad Dressings are some of the easiest condiments you can make on your own while avoiding all the extra nasties found in processed foods.  I have not mastered ranch dressing yet but it's on my list of things to try.  Vinegar and oil based dressings are so simple and you most likely have all the ingredients on hand.  

Zesty Italian

I stumbled on this recipe through LittleIndiana.com.  You can find the recipe HERE.  I fell in love with it and made some of my own adjustments just to make it easier.  I use my dehydrator to dry red peppers, onions, and garlic and keep them on hand.  For Christmas I made packets of a mix for this dressing with instructions. It was such a hit, that I have made some for myself too.  Now we can have Zesty Italian Dressing whenever we want.  

To make packets, simply combine all dry ingredients and store in a baggie.  When you are ready to use, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, and lemon juice.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

The second recipe I use all the time is a basic Balsamic Vinaigrette.  This recipe is found out clean4myking.blogspot.com.  This is a great dressing for any spinach salad.  I also love to use it on Greek style salads as well.  It is really quick and easy to throw together.  It also saves well and keeps for a while in the refrigerator.

You can find the recipe HERE.