Sequins and Granola

I arrived at New Life Church in Conway this morning wearing my red Arkansas Dream Center tee shirt, ready to serve- after all the shirt says SERVE on the back in huge white writing, right?!  I was fully anticipating meeting broken people- people who were angry, hurt, & in desperate need. I was prepared to roll my sleeves up & get dirty. To serve. *Boy was I wrong!* - So I reported to some friendly faces in the foyer of the church and said "Put me to work! What can I do?" It was almost 10:30ish and they were getting ready to bring lunch to all the volunteers helping to clean up the tornado wrecked towns of Vilonia & Mayflower, AR. So I was quickly introduced to the lady in charge of getting the meals distributed to the proper areas. I then was paired with another woman, handed a sheet of paper with directions, my car was packed with sack lunches & water & we were off to save the World. Me and a woman I only met moments before. As we drove up to Beryl Road i

This is a definite go to at my house. It's so quick & easy & packed with nutrients for the wee ones. Getting them to eat their veggies & drink their milk has never been so easy! I first saw the Pioneer Woman make her broccoli cheese soup on her tv show & decided I'd tweek it a little to fit my healthy eating style!  Ingredients: - 1/2 an onion, chopped - 1 to 2 carrots, peeled & grated - 2 Tbsp butter  - 2 Tbsp flour - 6 cups  2% milk - 1 sweet potato, cooked, peeled & mashed until completely smooth - salt & pepper to taste - pinch of nutmeg - dash of garlic powder  - 1 lb frozen broccoli - 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese Directions: - in a large pot sautée onions & carrots in butter. When onions are translucent add flour & cook for a minute or so- stirring continuously. - slowly add the milk to the veggies, stirring continuously.  - add seasonings & cook on medium until it thickens up. (It's milk, u gotta stay close & stir) -

I love sneaking healthy foods into yummy treats! Today I experimented with white chocolate macadamia nut cookies- because they're so tasty- duh! So after making these & tasting them I renamed them cookays- bc I felt sassy after that first bite! So here's the run down... Ingredients:  - 1 can chickpeas (rinsed & drained) - 3/4 cup apple sauce  - 1/2- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar depending on your taste buds (1/2 is enough for me) - 1 tsp vanilla extract - 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour - 3/4 tsp baking powder - 1/4 tsp salt -  1 egg - 8 oz white chocolate chips - 1/2 cup macadamia nut pieces Directions:  I use a ninja food processor for the whole shabang! First put in your chick peas & apple sauce. Blend until completely smooth.  Then add all other ingredients except egg. Blend until mostly combined.  Now add the egg & pulse until blended. At this point I remove the center blades & use a spoon to stir in the nuts & white chocolate chips.  Spoon onto a cookie