Moon Cake
Does your child learn through movement and tactile activities? My youngest so does.
Cooking with your kids is such an easy and fun way to learn. Plus this is a fun Friday activity.
Moon Cake 🌕
Bake a round cake to show the “full moon”. 🌕When you are ready to eat, cut it in half for the “half moon”. 🌗Later cut so a “crescent moon” remains. 🌘Finally, eat it all to represent the “new moon.” 🌑
Grease a 9” round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350. Mix “moon sand” right in the pan:
1 1/2 cup organic flour
1/2 cup organic cane white sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1 tsp salt I like this one... https://amzn.to/34293c3
Form 3 craters in the moon- one large, one medium and one small.
Add 5 Tbsp. oil (I use Thrive avocado...link in comments) to the large crater.
Add 1 tsp baking soda to the medium crater.
Add 1 tsp vanilla to the small crater.
Pour 1 Tbsp. vinegar into the medium crater and watch it bubble like a volcano. When the volcano stops, add 1 cup of milk. Mix everything together to form the moon’s surface.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips (moon rocks) into the batter.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. When cool, sprinkle with powered sugar (moon dust).
Cooking with your kids is such an easy and fun way to learn. Plus this is a fun Friday activity.
Moon Cake 🌕
Bake a round cake to show the “full moon”. 🌕When you are ready to eat, cut it in half for the “half moon”. 🌗Later cut so a “crescent moon” remains. 🌘Finally, eat it all to represent the “new moon.” 🌑
Grease a 9” round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350. Mix “moon sand” right in the pan:
1 1/2 cup organic flour
1/2 cup organic cane white sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1 tsp salt I like this one... https://amzn.to/34293c3
Form 3 craters in the moon- one large, one medium and one small.
Add 5 Tbsp. oil (I use Thrive avocado...link in comments) to the large crater.
Add 1 tsp baking soda to the medium crater.
Add 1 tsp vanilla to the small crater.
Pour 1 Tbsp. vinegar into the medium crater and watch it bubble like a volcano. When the volcano stops, add 1 cup of milk. Mix everything together to form the moon’s surface.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips (moon rocks) into the batter.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. When cool, sprinkle with powered sugar (moon dust).
Do you cook with your kids? 🧑🍳👩🍳For more recipes and homeschool info join other women making this parenting thing work here.
By the way you can grab my free guide for a month of dinner ideas here.
This recipe was adapted from My Father’s World curriculum.
Are you ready to take your Mondays back?
I used to dread Mondays. Like I literally would get all down and out on Sunday night waiting for Monday to roll around. Then I decided to take my Mondays back. Read to the bottom for some recipes that have helped me with Monday motivation and to get good sleep on Sunday night. Here's what I started doing...
Start by Resting on Sundays for Mondays to be Great Again.
I'm serious! This may sound counterproductive but I found that when our family started resting, playing and taking Sundays as a true Sabbath, Mondays didn't seem so bad anymore. We read, play games, take walks to a local coffee shop, hang outside, spend time with the Lord and just do what we love to do. I often do yoga or bake in the morning. Every Sunday looks different except for our time with the Lord. That stays consistent and a top priority.
Set Yourself up Sunday night for Monday Morning Success.
I fill up all the diffusers with motivational blends to turn right on in the morning.
I make the coffee and set it up to start automatically.
I look through my planner for the week ahead.
Put my oils on to get the best sleep possible.
I try to read something at bedtime that inspires me for the week ahead. It's usually about faith, being a leader or home schooling.
Wake up to Motivational Mindfulness.
When I wake up I go straight to my devotions. Right now I'm using the YouVersion Bible app.
I say a prayer to start the day and rejoice with the Lord in the day He has made.
Make Mondays Great Again by Taking it Slow.
I know, sounds totally undo-able and it might be for you right now. I'm not sure what season you are in. When I started staying home with my kids and began to see the idea of time freedom from working from home, I decided to take Mondays slow. This means we do not have a lot on the schedule. I do not run errands. I don't try to do all the things in one day. I look at the week ahead and make sure I have a good handle on what's going down.
You might say I changed a Sunday well spent brings a weeks content to a Monday well spent!
Oh and by the way here are some of my favorite morning blends to put in the diffuser to get going:
Power Hour
4 drops Motivation
2 drops Peppermint
Rise and Shine
3 drops Lemon
3 drops Valor
2 drops Lime
Here are my favorite sleepy oils:
Rutavala Roll On
Lavender
Stress Away
Valor
Ylang Ylang
Ready to start using oils, grab them here. It matters what you use. The quality will make a difference on how it works.
We only get one chance to live in peace and joy. I wasted many years not doing that. So I'm here for it now. I will do what it takes to manifest that and give that to my children.
Comment below what you think about Mondays.
Want to come hang with some other women trying to take Mondays back and bring back peace into their homes, join here! We want you there!
By the way, want some more tips on how to live a healthy lifestyle without all the overwhelm, go here!
Meals Made Simple so You Can Save Time
How are feeling about being in the kitchen right now? Do you dread it or is it a place you find comfort? Either way I'm going to show you how to simplify it so that you are in there for less time but still getting healthy meals on the table. I have been meal planning for the last few years and have found a way to cut down my time spent on planning, shopping, and cooking. I was tired of not knowing what I was going to cook and found myself making excuses not to feed my family healthy meals. Now I have more time and my priority of feeding my family nourishing food happens. We feel better and are the most well we have ever been. It's given us a better quality of life. It only gets easier as I go because of the rhythm I have created doing it.
So here are my tips for meals made simple:
Meal planning:
- Once a week take about 30 minutes to an hour to plan out your meals for the week, especially dinners. If you are just starting out, you may want to fill in breakfast and dinner. At this point, we have a certain rotation of items for these two meals to keep it easy. Write down all your meals somewhere; for me that's a paper planner. Then make your grocery list for what you will need for the entire week ahead. I love to use these: Knock Knock All Out Of Pad Grocery List
Here's a few tips on meal planning:
- Don't forget to take inventory while you are doing this. You may have something you need already in your fridge or pantry or you may be able to work with something you need to use to create a few of your meals.
- Look for quick recipes...30 minutes or less. I use Pinterest and actual cookbooks. Here is my Pinterest Boards for you to take a peek: Pinterest. I have a lot of recipes on there.
- When possible double a recipe or make enough food for at least one night of leftovers and some lunch for the week.
- Keep staples that you use often stocked. Don't overbuy what you don't need. A cluttered pantry makes it hard to cook in my opinion. I have been using Thrive Market to keep stocked and have healthy ingredients delivered straight to our door.
Grocery shopping tips:
- Now it's time to grocery shop! I have found the grocery to be less crowded toward the end of the week, especially Thursday. I prefer to go in the morning. If this isn't possible for you, try to find a time when the grocery will be less crowded. When you go in with your list stick to it, this saves me time and money. I can usually get through the grocery with a week's worth of groceries to feed a family of 5 in about an hour. I also just started giving Thrive Market a try for staples and snacks to save time too.
Time Saving Tips:
- When chopping veggies for one meal chop enough for any other meals you have that week.
- Prewash any fruits and veggies you can to be ready to pull out.
- Prep what you need before you begin cooking. Get all your ingredients out.
- If possible, cook dinner in the late afternoon to heat up later. I love doing this! It gives me extra time to sit before dinner and relax a bit.
I hope you found these tips helpful. This is what is currently working for me during this season of my life. What tips do you have? Comment below. I would love to hear from you. I'm sure you have something I can add in that will help me making it even more simple.
Also check out my YouTube channel for recipes. Grab your free meals made simple month of dinner ideas here.
