Natural Chow

Spring Cleaning (+ 12 Homemade All-Natural Cleaners)

February 28, 2014 by Margaret Anne 4 Comments

As winter begins to come to end, my family has a hard time getting into the spring cleaning mood. But me? I’m the one in the family that can’t wait to pull out the homemade cleaners, dusters, and whip out the fanny packs. The reason? I l-o-v-e organizing. With a passion. So when it’s time to get the house cleaned out, I like to lead the pack, motivate people, and downright get some work done.

I understand that isn’t exactly spring in some parts of the world quite yet, but in the southeast, usually by February and March, the temperatures get into the 60’s. So, it seems appropriate to start planning for spring cleaning right about now. If you want to simplify the task of spring cleaning in your house, read on.

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Slow Cooker Shrimp Creole

February 26, 2014 by Margaret Anne 2 Comments

Most nights, for things to go smoothly, dinner needs to be served and eaten by 5:30 pm. But lately, mostly because of the sickness going through my house, dinner is being served at 6:45, an hour and fifteen minutes later than it should be. When the cooks lose track of time because they’re doing things like tended to the sick and washing dishes, dinner just seems like another thing added to the plate (ha!). And when you’re helping 5 kids with their studies every day (they’re homeschooled), it’s seems like I never have a free moment to myself. To relax, have a sip of tea, kick my feet up. So a slow cooker kind of meal is exactly what I need to keep my days on track and my dinners tasty.

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Easy Kale Blueberry and Banana Smoothie

February 25, 2014 by Margaret Anne 3 Comments

Nine times out of ten, I don’t want to just have oatmeal for breakfast.

I know there’s about a thousand ways to make oatmeal more interesting, but that doesn’t mean that everyone in my family will consume and enjoy each and every way I attempt to prepare it. So I usually end up making something like muffins or pancakes (the norm around these parts).

Still, I get complaints like “I’m still hungry” or “feed me, woman” and even “I’m starving, give me more NOW!”. I don’t know about you, but when it’s 7:30 in the morning, my first instinct is the urge to smack someone upside the head. My conscience usually restrains me from making that decision though.

Anyways, I don’t think it’s a good idea for growing children to fill up on bread-y foods. It seems the only logical option would be to include a side dish to things like muffins or pancakes. Revolutionary, I know.

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Pura Stainless Steel Water Bottle Review

February 22, 2014 by Margaret Anne 1 Comment

Recently, I was lucky enough to win a giveaway. Out of the 400 and something giveaways I’ve entered in my life, I finally won something. You wanna know how I felt when I received the e-mail that said that I was the winner? I felt like a million bucks. Not only did I win a giveaway, but I got quite an amazing prize, if I do say so myself. There just so happens to be a toddler living in my house who needed a new sippy cup.

As usual, I found this particular giveaway on Pinterest. It seemed like something cool to win, so of course I clicked on the pin. The giveaway was hosted by Growing Up Naturally In Home Child Care, which is an awesome blog for anyone who wishes to live green, natural & organic lifestyles. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to win. Out of the 2587 entries, one of mine was chosen. Eep!

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Menu Plan // March 2014

February 18, 2014 by Margaret Anne Leave a Comment

Lately, I haven’t been sticking to a menu plan. The result? I wasted a lot of money. Or rather I didn’t save any money. Without a meal plan I feel overwhelmed and frustrated, something I don’t like to feel very often.

It’s one of those “so not fun” kind of situations where everything seems haphazard and I feel like crying. I’m sure not everyone is as serious as I am about organization, but it still helps to have a menu plan to refer to during the week.

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