Happy Easter!

It's been a few weeks since I've made time for blogging.  Lots of things going on these past few weeks and I haven't even made it back to the craft room to create anything fun for Easter!  :(  Between nursing little 1 1/2lb babies back to health, squeezing in yard work as the weather changes, and cooking whole foods every day, I've completely run out of energy for crafting!  I'm hoping to get back into it soon...until then, here's a sneak peek of my latest project.  :)

I've made a tradition out of making a scrapbook documenting each of my nieces' and nephews' first years of life.  They're so much fun for me to do!  I better get busy as Cooper will be a year old in just a few months!  :)

I mentioned that I've been cooking whole foods lately...I didn't want to just do a "diet" for a few weeks.  Instead, I wanted to make a life change that would last and would benefit me for years to come.  Thus began an adventure!  I cleaned out all the cupboards in the kitchen and either stored or donated all the processed foods that I had and then made a trip to Earth Fare.  I stocked the cupboards with dried fruit, nuts, whole grain foods and the refrigerator with fruits, veggies, and organic dairy items.  I used this website as my resource for changing over my diet:  100 Days of Real Food.  There are TONS of recipes available and lots of tips for eating "whole foods."  She gives all kinds of ideas including how to get kids to eat whole foods and easy things to pack in lunches for work or school.  It's been a huge help to me as we've made the switch!  After eating this way for 3 weeks, I can say that I honestly LOVE it!  It's been SO much easier than I thought it would be.  I'm always full after meals because I'm eating good food...not junk that's full of fillers.  And honestly, I haven't had sugar cravings like I thought I would.  (Yes, I gave up refined sugars...the only "sugars" I eat now are natural ones like honey and pure maple syrup.)  Only a few nights have I truly craved chocolate and those cravings were easily curbed by eating a piece of fruit.  If you've been thinking about making a change in your diet, I'd HIGHLY recommend checking out the 100 Days of Real Food website and see for yourself.  To inspire and perhaps entice you to start eating real food, I'll leave you with a delicious recipe for banana bread from 100 Days of Real Food.  I've made this once and it's so yummy!  Normal banana bread calls for sugar...not so in this recipe!  It's so sweet all on it's own that I guarantee you won't even realize that you didn't put any sugar in it!  :)

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

• 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup plain organic yogurt
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil (You can use coconut oil or olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes out clean with a toothpick.