No Bake 3 Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Bars!

Update: This peanut butter bar recipe post has received so much attention in the last weeks that I've been getting emails galore from many of you who've taken the time to share your outcome with me.

I just finished reading an email from a lovely reader named Missy saying that she made these as a last minute snack to stash in her husband's lunch box, who works as a driver for Titan because he's often on the road for long periods of time and has been trying to substitute his frequent junk food-snacking with something a bit healthier.

Missy said when he called her for their nightly "good-night call," he was raving about the new snack in his box, saying that he  could eat them all day long, "'specially since they don't make me tired" like the greasy chips and fried foods he's accustomed to.

"I'm so thrilled to have finally found a healthier snack that'll hopefully keep him from this road to diabetes. Hubby is leaving out again in the morning and has already asked when I'll be making more of the bars."

It warmed my heart to read such a positive story about something as simple as these peanut butter bars. "This time, I'll have to save myself a couple, and I'm not even a fan of peanut butter!" Missy said in her email to me. 

 I want to thank all of you (and you, Missy!) for your kind words, for sharing my post and most of all, for sharing your stories with me, like my friend Missy has. 

They really make my day.

 I will be responding to each email individually, but please be patient as I try to get each of you.

 Lately, as my exercise routine has enhanced (and hopefully, so has my muscle mass!), it seems my hunger has skyrocketed. I've been finding myself craving a little something long before dinner time, and some days, even after dinner! I haven't been staying as "full" lately as I used to, and am having sugar cravings galore.

Therefore, I decided to create a "snack" that I could eat throughout the day that's both filling and somewhat healthy.

I'm cheap. I'm easy. And I'm quick.

So I wanted a recipe to match.

I don't like to cook, I don't have much spare time on my hands to cook anything that takes longer than 10-20 minutes. I needed something that ...
1. Required little to no cooking.
2. Could pack quite a filling punch for me and my seemingly bottomless pit gut,
3. Something that required ingredients I already had on hand (what can I say, I was hungry!)
4. Something that wouldn't be too harsh on my health, and optional, but hopefully, something that I could probably make a large batch of and eat on a regular basis, whenever the breakthrough hunger or cravings strike.

I typically crave chocolate and cakes and all things sugary, but desperately want to eat healthy. So, I went in search for the quickest, tastiest, somewhat healthiest recipe I could find that only required a few ingredients, and ingredients I had on hand (which wasn't many!)

I found this very basic recipe: 3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Bars --  found on Spark People, and submitted by user LEXRAP -- and I tweaked the hell out of it until it was just what I needed. 

Let me just say, I absolutely adore these peanut butter bars. They are the perfect filling snack to not only curb my hunger and cravings, but keep me from feeling too run down while working. The omegas and protein-filled ingredients I've added make these bars great for some mid-day pep. I can eat them at all hours of the day and night, and find myself excited to eat them every time I make a new batch. And the best part, these are a total success for keeping my bouts of hunger away, day or night.

Makes 20 bars

- 1 Cup of Peanut Butter
- 3 Cups of Oats I used instant oats because it's what I had on hand.
- 1/2 Cup of Honey. If you don't have honey on hand (I ran out after making these bars 3 times in one week), then you can substitute with 2 tablespoons of milk and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

There's your 3 ingredients to make the no-bake peanut butter bars!

What I start off with: Oats + the peanut butter in measuring cup. Small bowl of Multi-Grain Cheerio's in a side-bowl. The Cheerio's will be crushed and later added to the mix (but you don't have to crush them, or even add them for that matter.)  

 **All the ingredients are mixed together, in no specific order. I simply heat the peanut butter with the honey, or the honey-alternative (brown sugar + milk)**

Here's my healthy additions or "tweaks" as optionals:

From left: Hemp Pro powder, Cheerio's, Peanut butter+brown sugar, milk (in Check Into Cash cup. LOL), Oats & Mila/Chia seeds

And again, so you really get the idea.

Super Close-Up of Mila + Oats

-(Optional) Hemp protein, or hemp fiber or hemp seeds. I've used all. The seeds are delicious, and they give the bars more texture.  

Adding the Hemp powder

 

-(Optional) Chia or Mila Seeds. I use Mila right now since they're small bits so they don't stick in my teeth as badly as chia, and because that's what I had on hand, but Chia seeds are just as well.

-(Optional) Cereal. Crushed up, or whole. I used old Cheerios (the kind with the 3 different flavors, including wholegrain) that just happened to be sitting around for the last month because I wanted to make a snack that was as filling (and healthy) as possible. The Mila/Chia seeds, hemp and cereal make this a more filling snack than it would've otherwise been without them. 


I chose to crush my Cheerios into smaller bits. I just prefer it that way, but you can just toss in the whole bits of cereal if you prefer. I simply place about 1/2  cup of Cheerios in a bag, then use whatever is close by to crush them into smaller bits before tossing them into the mixture and stirring things up. 

Inside the bag -- the freshly crushed Cheerios, which made for the perfect little bitty crunch and added texture!

Melt the peanut butter and honey just until smooth, either in the microwave or stove top. Give the two ingredients a stir, then fold in the oats (and crushed or whole cereal pieces). Mix ingredients together.

So golden, chewy and delicious!

DIY No-Sew Panties into Bandeau!

 From this:        A pair of lace, stretchy panties

To This! A quick Lacy Bandeau to wear under tops

If you're like me, a collection of under garments is your BFF. I also like to have several bandeau style tops on-hand for tops that are too low or for when I don't want to wear a bra or the blouse/dress I'm wearing doesn't allow a bra to be worn without it showing. 

I have made my own easy, quickly-put-together bandeaus for a long time. You might be surprised to learn that the cost of making one far, far less than those you see for $5+ in stores. Seriously. It costs around $1 to make one. However, if you wanted to add a lining to keep your bandeau from being transparent (see-through), then the cost will be slightly more.

The good news is, if you aren't a perfectionist and you already have some scrap material (stretchy lacy undies, fabric that you can use as a lining, etc.) on-hand, then the chances of your new bandeau costing you no money is high! Mine actually costed me nothing to make, especially since the undies were given to me as a gift. 

The lacy underwear I used were stretchy boy-short style, which I found very uncomfortable as underwear, by the way.  A pair of these stretchy, lace boy-shorts are available at Wal-Mart and other stores for really cheap, and they come in all sorts of pretty colors. I have one in turquoise that made a gorgeous bandeau!

So, I'm going to show you how I did this. Take note! I am not a perfectionist, and it shows. If you are, you can make the necessary adjustments as you wish. 

Again, since these boy-shorts were stretchy lace, I didn't need to do any sewing. The method of turning them into a bandeau actually only requires cutting out the crotch! Unless of course you want to add to it by putting in a lining or something.

How I Do It
I laid them out, and cut the crotch straight across, completely off. I didn't bother trying to make it perfect. I kept the black bow that was on the top front of the undies, and wear the bandeau with the little bow in the front. You can easily cut panty-bows off, if you don't want them.

I'm not sure this would've worked so easily if I were not working with a boy-short style because other panties like briefs do not really have the squared shape. Also, these boyshorts (like most) have the crotch somewhat hanging, if that makes sense. Look at my photo of the undies to better understand what I mean -- the crotch comes down lower than the rest of the panties. This makes it easy to just cut the crotch straight across and be left with pretty much a straight edged square.
 

See how the crotch area "hangs" down further than the edges of the panties? Cut straight across, clipping the crotch right off. Then, you'll be left with this:

Crotch is cut out (the crotch fabric is seen on the left) and basically, it's just a rectangle of lace left.

You'll notice it isn't totally a straight-edged square as the crotch area leaves a little fold over area where it was cut out. Since this part of the bandeau will be under my shirts and not show (and really isn't noticeable in the first place), I chose not to add any stitching or anything to make it perfect. Like I said, if you are a perfectionist, a few stitches would fix this part right up.

*Forgive my less than perfect quality photos. The lighting was funny and my camera just wasn't cooperating with me well. I added another photo below (with a bit better lighting) in hopes of it showing the panties after cutting them better. The panties are actually a bold orange-like color, but they look red.

Of course I kept the little crotch strip because small lace left-overs always come in handy for patching up holes in jeans and shirts, too!

Lining -- Optional
I did not add any extra lining to my bandeau. Since it was a quick project just to wear underneath several tops and dresses, I really didn't feel the need to go all out and add a lining under the lace. But keep in mind, it is see-through without lining! You can use a matching or contrasting fabric to really spruce it up, if you plan on showing more of the bandeau off than I do. 

Another trick I've been using successfully for years is those little swimsuit top cups that you find in most swimsuit tops (the thin "pad" cups) -- I place those inside my bandeaus for a little more nipple coverage, so that those suckers don't show right through my shirts so much. 

*Look at the bottom -- you can see imperfection I mentioned from the crotch-cutting. It doesn't bother me since it doesn't show under my shirts. You can sew it up there, though.*

It's really helpul, and in some of my dresses that don't allow a bra, I've sewed the "cups" in! Built-in bra! You can use that method if you want more coverage in a bandeau.

I only took a photo of the back of the bandeau while on. There was just no way to show you guys a photo of the front without risking being too... bare. Sorry! Just can't get that personal with you. ;) I hope this was helpful for someone though. If you are like me and have a pile of boyshorts that are unflattering or uncomfortable, you should have a fun time using them to add another piece of underwear to your wardrobe.

I wear these home-made bandeaus with a lot of different tops, mostly tank tops that are very low cut. Most of us do not wear bras with such showy tops because it just doesn't look that great on some of us (just not flattering when bra pokes out in every direction, and it really takes away from a cute top). The good thing about a thin, lacy bandeau is I don't mind it peeking under the arm-pits of my tank tops, the back and the front area. It adds color, is subtle, looks cute and is still classy.

P.S. if you simply don't want to fork over a $5-$8 and up bandeau bra but you don't have any lace or un-wearable lace boyshorts to make your bandeau, I encourage you to still opt for a DIY version! I've bought a yard of lace for less than $2 at Wal-Mart, so even if you do have to buy your materials to DIY a bandeau, you're going to come out cheaper than if you bought a bandeau. Plus, if you go out and buy a yard of $1-$2 lace, you'll have so much left over that you could make dozens of these bandeaus or even use the remaining lace for another nifty project. 

Which brings me to this: you can never have too much lace. Funny, I have always said that about lingerie too! But it's true. You can never have enough of either. Lace will always, always come in handy and it's always in style. You would truly be amazed at what all items in your wardrobe you can finally begin to wear again just by adding a little lace. Shirt too short? Add a lacy bottom layer. Works for short skirts/ dresses too and spices them up! Holes in your jeans? Patch with lace.  Shirt too tight? Cut it down the middle in the back, add lace. Bam! It's a life-saver.

I hope you guys enjoyed this DIY post. I'm a cheapie and hate tossing clothes because I almost always manage to find a way to make them look nice again. So I like to share these little things with ya'll in hopes of helping other fellow bargainers like myself to get the most of the wardrobe they have. 

It really makes a huge difference just adding a little something to one or two old tops. So, what items do you guys throw together to pull off a look? Do you guys DIY bandeau? Do you know any other nifty uses for old, un-wearable underwear? I would love to hear from you! Leave me your suggestions, tips, thoughts and anything else in the comments section.

DIY Turquoise Pearl Necklace

As I've delved deeper into my experiences with crafting (jewelry, sewing, etc.) some of you expressed an interest in sharing tutorials of the projects I post photos of. Well, I've answered your prayers! I've really been working hard to deliver some brief tutorials on some of my most favored projects, so I hope you guys have as much fun with this new journey as I will. I also hope you'll share any of your tips or projects with me, too. Don't hesitate to message/comment for better detail/instruction. I always answer quickly. So, here I'm going to do a very brief show and tutorial of one of my favorite hand-made necklaces -- my turquoise pearls. This necklace is so easy that you guys probably don't even need directions, but I still have a few really helpful tips for you in the mix.

 Items used to make the Turquoise Pearl necklace:

- Fishing wire. I used probably 10" (just a guesstimate) for a long necklace, which I thought was so fitting for these beads. Use the length you desire.

*I've said this before, but can't say it enough: fishing wire is the cheapest, most reliable way to go if you're someone who beads a lot. It's sturdy, clear (in case the string shows or your beads are clear, there's no weird color sticking out taking the spotlight from your lovely beads). You can get a ton of fishing wire in the fishing dept. at Wal-Mart for like $3 whereas the craft section sells a very small amount of the clear stuff for far higher.

- 28 -ish Turquoise pearl beads. These are obviously not real pearls, but who cares when the color is this beautiful? These were actually my very first ever bead buy! My lovie and I stopped in Hobby Lobby and by chance, they were having a close-out sale, so we racked the F up! I bought these first, went back the next day and got tons of others. Lucky for you, even if your local HL doesn't carry these, you can still find them. Try here.

 If you aren't as madly in love with this color as I am, a strand of regular pearls is just as classy and gorgeous, so feel free to tweak it.

- 2 Crimp beads I've said before, I got a cheap pack of like 30 crimp beads at Joann for around $2.

- One black or color of your choice bead. You may not be able to tell, but the one black, round, but crinkly shaped bead I used on only one side of this necklace has little bits of turquoise in it -- matching the pearls perfectly. I just liked giving the one side this bead because it makes it unique and just fun to me. You can skip it or do as you like. I got this bead in a pack of various shaped, lovely turquoise-colored beads from Joann. It was one of the little clear plastic packs with an assortment of very eye-catching beads. Trying to explain here... Seems like the brand was "Bobbi Brown" or something.

- Clasp is optional if your necklace will be as long as mine. It fits over my head without the clasp, so I never even use the clasp I wasted on this necklace.

                 Instructions (if you need em')

I realize this is a very easy beading project, so most people won't need a tutorial. I'll be brief, just in case you guys want to know how to construct this baby.

1. Cut your fishing wire to desired length. As I said, mine was probably around 10". Long enough to slip over my neck and hang at my chest.

2. Start stringin' on the beads. 

Tip: I use one of those clips... I call them "purse clips" as I don't know the actual name for em', but there found in most any store, especially Staples, if that helps you understand what type of clamp I'm talking about. To hold the end of my strand so I don't have to knot it immediately. I just loop it under the clamp real good.

3. Add crimp beads to each end of string.

4. Add an O-ring to each end of string, allowing a good inch for knotting and tucking into crimp bead. 

5. Knot string around O-rings. Fishing wire doesn't hold knots well, so do a couple of tight ones or use the fisherman's knot. Your crimp bead will secure the knot, so it's no big deal if it isn't perfect.

6. Slide crimp beads up and squeeze em' down over (or right under) the knot. 

7. Open one of the O-rings and attach the other O-ring into it, if this makes sense. Diagram below may be more helpful. It shows one "ring" opened and the other ring being slipped into it. Forgive me. I'm no artist. 

Then using pliers, adjust the opened ring back into place so they're securely held together. This will hold the necklace together.

** If you want to use a clasp, just do that and clasp it rather than attaching the O-rings to each other. If I'm confusing you, let me know & I will clarify.


Well, folks, that's all. If you need extra help, have a suggestion, tip or want to ask me about doing a tutorial on something in particular, do get in touch!

Much love,
Kendra

DIY Jewelry

                 My Hand-Made Jewelry Collection:

 **I try to leave a brief "tutorial" on each piece I make, so if ya'll ever need help or have questions or want to request a specific tutorial, don't hesitate to message me. It'd be my pleasure! Follow me on Pinterest for quicker updates, babes!

             The above necklace was made using:
- Chain I had in my chain slot of my bead stash. Not sure where it's from or anything. I just add all my chains to a slot and use as needed.

- Black ribbon.

-Clasps, although if you make the length long enough to fit over your head, you won't necessarily need a clasp.

- 11-12 leftover hot pink, crackle glass beads from a strand I bought from Wal-Mart. Pretty sure it came with two strands.

-2 Crimp beads. I bought a pack of mine from Joann because that's where I found them cheapest (around $2, I think.)

-2 O-rings. Also got a pack from Joann for very cheap (a bit over $1, I think.)


- Fishing wire. You can find a whole roll (which is enough fishing wire to last you for at least an entire year's long of jewelry makin'!) for around $3! This is my favorite kind of string to work with jewelry-wise because it's so sturdy, clear so if your string will be showing or your beads are clear, the string doesn't stand out. Also because it's much cheaper than if you bought the clear string like this in the craft department, although it looks to be fishing wire, they still price it higher for a far smaller amount in the craft dept. But moving on...

                       Detailed Instructions
You can probably look at this and tell exactly how to make your own, but just in case I'll brief you:

1. Get desired amount of chain. I measure this out by taking the chain and wrapping it around the back of my neck and cutting it to where it'll meet right under my collar bones. I cut the chain this length, but you can cut as long/short as you wish. I like it this way because only some of the chain shows and the middle area is all pink, medium-sized bauble-y beads!

2. String the beads onto fishing wire (desired length) and at each end of the string, add a crimp bead.

3. Add an O-ring on the end of each chain piece -- right above the black bows. Tie the string on the O-rings (both sides) and do so tightly as possible. Fishing wire ties come loose if you aren't careful. I like to use two pliers -- one in each hand -- to grasp the end of the string and above the knot and pull tightly. This does the trick. Don't fret if your knots aren't as sturdy as you'd like because the crimp beads will provide extra protection.

4. Now, slide your crimp beads to the end, right on top of your fishing wire knots and use pliers to squeeze em' shut!

5. I made my own little bows from black ribbon to add some spunk to this necklace. If you'd like to do so, cut the ribbon to desired length. I probably used nearly 2" per bow. Cut two pieces if you want two bows, like mine. I tied my bows straight to the O-rings, so they don't flop around or turn around.

Make the bows. Use a stitch, super glue or finger nail glue (or something else) to hold the bow together. A good method is using a threaded needle through the middle of the bow, going all the way through to the back and knotting. For this necklace, I used a dab of glue and tipped the bows' ends with clear nail polish so they don't unravel or fray.

P.S. My bows took some work because the last one didn't match the first. Since I'm sloppy and didn't care to make it 100% perfect, once I got them even enough to please me, I was done. However, if you're a perfectionist and get frustrated with the two bows, this tutorial (making bows perfectly using a fork) might help. I don't know that it will as I've never tried this method, but definitely plan to because I'll eventually need to make perfect bows. I even pinned this tutorial on my Pinterest board, which you guys should so come follow! I post all the arts/crafts and stuff there to keep up with my projects and To-do's.



           Blue Statement Bracelet (Quick, Easy Project)

                  This bracelet was made using:

- 6 round, flat-sided glass blue beads. They're kind of a frosty color, if you can tell. I wish I could tell you guys where these exact ones came from, but I've not clue as my lovie surprised me with a pack of them. However, I found some similar ones here, which come in a more beautiful deep blue color. They also look like they come in a frosted clear and green too! Perhaps I'll have to put those on my to-buy list as well. I just love unordinarily shaped beads.

P.S. I had some very similar beads to this in a green color (tutorial and photos if you scroll down) that I used this same technique for a necklace. I got the green ones from a pack of $2 glass beads at Wal-Mart. A great deal. Came with enough beads for a long necklace. 

- About 2" of steal annealed wire, which I bought about 7 months ago on Amazon & it came lookin' like a Slinky. Remember those things? Anyways, I paid around $5 for it, but it has been totally worth it! It's sturdier than the earring wires used to make dangly earrings and items like this bracelet. Plus, I can do all sorts of fun wire-y stuff. Anyways, though. If you don't have wire, one of those earring making "sticks" will work.

- Leftover chain. Not sure what kind or where it came from. I just dump all my chains into a slot in my beading box. Just choose chain that you like and don't worry about the length being too long because you snip it to fit! P.S. I can tell you that if you don't mind the super high-quality stuff, you can buy very long packs of chain (of all colors!) at Joann or Wal-Mart for around $2 each. I bought like a 10 foot long black, matte chain from Joann for $1 and to put my super long owl charm on. The darn owl came on a necklace my lovie bought & surprised me with on our last Panama vacation. Paid $30 for it and the day he bought it, the chain broke! I did a quick fix for it, but it soon began turning to a bronze rather than silver and started smelling badly! Weird. So, that lead me to buying the black chain from Joann, which matched my owl's eyes wonderfully, gave it a "chic" look I guess you'd say and I had tons left over. That could be a pointless story I just told because I did not even use that leftover black chain in this project, but now you know where to buy chain for cheap. Moving on.

-You'll likely need a clasp. I use these cheap ones I bought (like 50 per pack) from Joann for around $2. It's what I use on almost all my projects requiring a clasp. P.S. If you like lobster clasps, Wal-Mart kid's craft section is where it's at, friend. I'm not even joking. They're thick, sturdy and amazing! I'll admit, these clasps from Joann (don't remember the brand, but it was the cheapest one) have had a few in the pack that were broken. So you'll see a pretty awesome sized pack of lobster clasps at Wal-Mart in the kid's craft section in a pink plastic, resealable bag. Don't know for sure the price -- I think less than $4-$5 -- but I tell you, those were some of the best clasps I've ever used. Okay, moving on. Again.

 P.S. If you have no clasps, but do have some wire -- you can create your own easy clasp! They're beautiful too. It may not match your chain though. There's a tutorial on how to make your own clasp here. I love those! What a beautiful job and they'd be a cheap, quick and easy way to do up a bracelet. Plus, those add a nice touch to a plain ol' clasp. There are loads of other DIY clasps, so do a search if you want more choices.

                         Brief instructions:

This bracelet probably speaks for itself in terms of how to construct it, but just in case...

You'll string your beads onto the wire, then cut it leaving about 1/2" inch room for making a loop at each end of the wire, each end of the beads.  

Get your chain ready, add clasps and O-rings as necessary. 

Fit the chain around your wrist and determine where it needs clipped, if any. Use the cutting tool on pliers to snip. You can secure the open links back together using your pliers.

Since bracelets that're roomy tend to slide to the underside of the wrist, you want to be wary of that when making this one since the strand of beads need to face the outer side of your hand. So, I had to cut my chain shorter than I would for a normal bracelet. 

Now, take the strand of beads on the wire. If you haven't made your loops at each end of the wire, do so now using your plier tool. You can open the loops on the ends of the wire to secure them to the end of the chain.

 
These instructions are not extremely in-depth. If you need deeper instructions, shoot me a message & I'll come to the rescue right away. If you don't want to do that, do some online searching to learn how to use jewelry pliers, if that's the part you need help on.

 

The necklace above was made using the following:

- One pack  of the large, shiny but matte pink round and oval-shaped beads (comes with 2 strands) from Wal-mart.

-Steel annealed wire -- I bought a nice amount of this stuff off Amazon for like $5, although the price was listed as a dollar! That aside, I'm so glad I did because this stuff has been a life saver. I've truly been able to expand the designs of my jewelry using this stuff! Totally worth it.

The chain thingy was made by me using cut pieces of the wire and using my plier tools to shape and cut. It looks a bit rough up-close, but I'm happy with it. You can always be more precise with your wire-shaping, though. The beads were all also attached using this wire. No extra stuff was needed besides beads, ribbon and wire. It's so long that it fits over my head without the need of a clasp. The way I see it, if you don't need a clasp, no sense in wasting one!

-The lighter pink colored beads as well as the clear-pink ones came in another $2 pack from Wal-Mart. I actually had these left over and even some left after making this necklace! The pack had a great supply of beads in it.

As for the ribbon, I basically just cut two pieces, folded each in half and tied them around each end of my wire loops (shaped using the tool and the wire.) Very easy project, but the wire twisting took some time and more patience than I had, which is why mine isn't so perfect looking.

Necklace made using:

- Old chain in my chain slot of bead stash. 

- 7 Rounded, interesting shaped green glass beads found at Wal-Mart in the $2 bead station.

- About 1 1/2" -  2" of steel annealed wire. You can use an earring "stick" or other wire. I like this because of the sturdy-ness and ease-of-use, though. 

-And of course a clasp at the back, but if you make this necklace long enough to fit over your head, no clasp is really needed!

As you can see, this is a really easy, quick necklace to make & it looks nice and unique. Kind of a statement necklace. I had planned on using the other shapes in the pack (there were some teardrop shapes and smaller shapes like the ones in the photo.) I wanted to add them each on another stick of wire, one under the other, but once I got them all together, I just thought the simplicity of the one strand looked so much better for some reason. You could still do that though.

The blue glass bead bracelet I made previously is very similar to this. I basically used the same exact technique only a bracelet length instead of necklace.

How to -- Hold Your Book Open Hands-free Without Losing Your Place!

Look! No hands (to hold it open, anyway)

See the clip at the top of the book, on the left side?

And this, folks, is how you hold your paperback book open while you read so that you don't have to use your hands! You can thank me and my lovie for our awesome riggin' abilities! I am used to reading on my Kindle these days, and having to hold my book open with both hands was starting to feel out dated. I like to snuggle up and only peek my hands from under the covers if I have to turn the page, so I had to think up a way to fix that. I wanted to be able to read without having to hold my pages open. Originally, I tried paper clips, but that only lasted for about 10 pages into my book, so then I tried a little clamp like you see in the photo (no idea what they're actually called, so if any of you know, please share!) and soon, the little clamp wasn't enough to hold the pages! So I thought I'd need to find one of the super large clamps like this only mine were gone.

Then along comes my extremely handy lovie. To the rescue! He rigged the book right up for me & this has so far, worked with every single book no matter its size! 

What he did was, took the little clamp (he calls them purse clamps because they look like purses upside down) and clipped it from the front cover to the page I was on. Once the pages fill the clamp, add another and attach it to your last page so it all holds open. Repeat! I hope my explanation here makes sense. If not, let me know and  I will elaborate.

Just Almonds -- Almond Flour and Sugar Cookie Recipe

Just Almonds sell almonds with no preservatives or artificial flavors, they're gluten-free, kosher certified, freshness guaranteed almonds. All of their almond products are 100% natural California almonds, or made from 100% natural California almonds if it's the Almond Meal or Almond Flour.

The bag of almonds shown above are also from Just Almonds, the Almond Flour is shown and discussed below. Their almonds are very delicious. Some people use almonds and blend them to make their own almond flour, so you can do that if you really wanted to do it for the experiment, but you can make it easier and just buy the almond flour from Just Almonds. I love almonds and eat a handful here and there frequently. They're one of my favorite snacks. I took some of the almonds from the bag and put them in the oven (on 350) for a few minutes since they taste delicious that way too. 


What is Almond Meal? 
Almond Meal is ground up almonds (Just Almonds grounds to the finest grain possible). What you see here in my photos is the Almond Flour. 

Photo of the almond flour, straight from the package.

  

What is it used for?
Baking of course. But also for other cooking and even for nut butter! You can use Almond Meal (or the Almond Flour, which I'll explain the differences very shortly) in place of regular corn meal to bake with. Almonds have great nutritious value, so when you are consuming them (in ground up, powdery form or as whole pieces) you're getting the health benefits & nutrition that almonds offer. Some people use it for increased flavor, nutrition benefits, taste and even so they know they're using a safe, non-chemically-infused product to bake with and such (since many of the corn meals and stuff available contain chemicals and other harmful preservatives.)


What's the difference between Almond Meal and Almond Flour?

 Just Almonds has both Almond Meal and Almond Flour. The difference is that Almond Meal is ground with the skin and Almond Flour is ground without the skin, which means it'll be white in color. Personally, the skin does not affect how I look at the quality of a product.  I ain't bothered by a little color in my foods, so it's not important to me, but it may be to you. 

Despite those uses for Almond Flour and Almond Meal, there are people (ahem me!) who take an interest in using the product for health reasons! Here I go. You know when I get on a health talkin' kick I don't shut up, so bear with me while  I try and briefly get to the point. I'll list some of the health reasons for using Almond Meal and/or Almond Flour (this part excites me):

- Many people use Almond Meal/Almond Flour for their wheat allergies, Celiac disease, Crohn's disease, IBS (that's me!), and other gluten-free diets. 

See! I told you I'd be brief.

Not so fast though.


Besides being great for those like me with conditions that tend to flare up with certain foods (which I definitely have gained some serious healing in this area since I started making such huge changes), almonds also contain essential fatty acids, which are more important than you might think! I just recently learned how important myself.

Almond Flour has a consistency similar to corn meal rather than wheat flour. 
Almond Flour is great for people who are watching their glycemic index as well as other health-conscious, almond-lovin' folks! 

-Low in carbs and sugars.
-High in protein.

Uses of almond flour and almond meal

Almond flour is good in "quick-bread" type recipes, like muffins, nut breads, and pancakes.  It's not good for foods such as bread that require a real dough (you can't knead it). Usually, more eggs are required when baking with almond meal to provide more structure.

P.S. Just Almonds does recommend keeping the Almond Flour/Meal refrigerated. 

And now I'm going to show you what I made with the almond flour! I'll also list the recipe and give exact instructions of how I went about this. 

Sugar Cookies from Almond Flour! (Otherwise known as some of the best tasting sugar cookies ever!)

Since I'm a very new cook and know very little, and because I had very little ingredients, I figured a simple sugar cookie would be my best bet to start off with rather than trying to make something more complicated. I did have to improvise mostly because after getting all my ingredients ready, I spent 30 minutes tearing the kitchen apart looking for the non-existant mixer. Lovely. It seems someone has stolen our mixer! So thankfully, I had my lovie on hand who was happy to put his mixing skills to use. He's good with his hands and is used to mixing paint almost daily, so he can almost double as a mixer. Moving on...

Ingredients I used:
1 teaspoon baking soda.
1 teaspoon flour. (I'd figured the almond flour would be a replacement for flour, but upon looking through different recipes for sugar cookies, it seemed I either needed to add a bit of flour to help it rise or find baking powder. That was where I got confused. I didn't know there was a difference between baking soda and baking powder and all the recipes I found called for both! So I was told I could add a teaspoon of all purpose flour to compensate.)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Half a cup of butter (softened.)
1 cup white sugar.
1 egg.
1 teaspoon of salt.

*You'll also need a mixer. Like I said, I went looking for mine only to realize it was gone (ahem, stolen), so Brozon done the mixing by hand. This will cause the cookies to be kind of crunchy -- sort of like when you drink coffee or something with sugar and it isn't fully dissolved so you have the crunchy sugar granules. This wasn't a problem for us as we don't mind some crunchy. Plus, the cookies still turned out delicious.

*Of course nuts or other things are optional. We stuck with simple sugar cookies, no extras. While mixing everything up though, I realized you could even add a tablespoon or so of peanut butter for peanut butter cookies! 



Instructions I went by:

1. Stir flour, baking soda and baking powder in one bowl. Set aside. Remember, I didn't have baking powder, only baking soda, so I used a teaspoon of flour (all-purpose) to compensate.

2. "Cream" together butter and sugar until smooth. "Cream" apparently means use a mixer. Again, mine was missing, so Brozon did it by hand.

3.   Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Gradually blend the ingredients.

4. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, place on cookie sheet and into the oven. 

5. Bake on 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Ingredients mixed

Here's where ended up needing to improvise, once again. You can't use your hands like you normally would to roll balls of dough, so you dip them out by the spoon. I did that and put it in a pan, then in the oven. After a few minutes, I checked them and they'd turned into one big cake! No big deal since we weren't going for looks or anything.

After a couple more minutes though, it was turning into a very thin layer of my ingredients in the pan. I didn't like that, and worried since the top of the "cake" was turning brown quickly and the inner part was still very runny/liquidy,  so about 6 minutes into baking, I turned down the heat to 315 and began scraping the dough all to one side. That worked out much nicer for me because after 8 minutes, they were turning out better -- not liquidy on the middle and brown on top. I was worried the top would burn too.

After 9 minutes of baking, I started dipping out the mixture onto tin foil and rolling into balls -- well, close to balls. They're a little mishaped, but again, looks aren't a big deal since it's my first time.

Then we actually had cookies instead of a cake! The top layer that had been browning was a bit crunchy and the middle was left slightly chewy, which is my favorite. However, you can always stick em' back in the oven for a minute if you didn't want them to be chewy at all.

Here are the photos of how they turned out:

You can tell I really haven't worried about cooking pretty, by the looks of both the cookies and the pan! But who cares about beauty when something tastes so delicious? I'm sure you more experienced bakers could do much nicer work, but this is how it came out for me, and I wanted to share that. I know, I got picture-happy, but I couldn't resist!



 I definitely recommend trying sugar cookies made with almond flour! They're some of the most delicious cookies I've ever tasted. The almond flour sort of gives them a nutty taste, which is unique compared to your typical sugar cookie.

As you might have guessed, Just Almonds does sell other almond products like... Almonds! Aha! Did you guess that? I happen to have some of Just Almonds' almonds too (that's tough to say out loud!) 

If you look at my earlier, top photo of the Almond Flour, you'll see the package it comes in -- a sealed (re-sealable) bag. The almonds themselves come in the same type of bag and each have a nutrition label on the back, as well as package date and expiry date (both my flour and almonds say packaged Feb. 2013 and Expires: Feb. 2013.)

A note from Just Almonds' website:

"All of our products are shipped from the current crop and ship directly from the farm without repackaging the product or mixing it with other types of nuts (peanuts for example)."

And ...
"Our ranch is located in the heart of the Central Valley of California, and our almonds ship straight from our ranch. We take great pride in offering the highest quality California almonds and the friendliest customer service."

Recipes! 
You can find tons of wonderful recipes for using Almond Flour/Meal on Just Almonds website. P.S. I definitely recommend looking at the Almond Butter recipe! If you want to look at their recipes, here's the link. The Almond Butter is super easy to make, requires very little to nothing extra (besides almonds of course! And blender or food processor.) My partner and I have been really interested in making and trying the Almond Butter, so we had to try that one first. That is what I did since I'm not creative where baking is concerned & I decided to make...

How to preserve receipts and prevent fading

A tip for you guys:

Do you save receipts? Well, today when I needed my Chi flat iron receipt so that I could file a complaint with the BBB, I realized most of my receipt was beginning to fade! This can be disasterous. So I was able to see enough to get my information to the BBB, but I thought what will I do if I need this again and it's already faded almost completely? This happens with receipts. I even found one receipt that was important and had faded completely! So I came up with a quick plan for preventing your receipts from fading .. . . 

Tape them son of a bitches! Yes. I am serious. It works. I've got a whole receipt book filled with taped receipts now. All you need to do is place a strip of tape over the imporant parts of you receipts, and if you need them in the future (to return something, for future references, etc.) you can be sure they won't be faded! This was so genius I think I need a reward. Kidding. NO, I'm really not kidding. I actually think this, but don't hold that against me. I don't have genuis ideas very often.

Anyways, what I done was use my handy ass Scotch Pop Up tape dispenser and the small strips were the perfect size to cover the important parts of my receipts -- the date, the products purchases and total. 

So, get out your tape and receipt book! This will come in handy. One day. I know it will. 

Sugru

Sugru = the fix for basically everything under the sun!

What is Sugru really?

Sugru is a self-setting rubber. It is used much like your typical clay stuff used to hang items on a wall, only Sugru is far stronger and has far more capabilities, which I will get to. 

The self-adhesive Sugru bonds to  aluminum, steel, ceramics, glass, wood, some fabrics and plastics. It's also removable from most non-porous surfaces. 

Sugru cures at room temperature to a tough, flexible silicone rubber overnight. Waterproof and dishwasher proof when cured! Loves a bit of heat or cold. Sugru is termperature resistant from -50C (-58F) to +180C (356F). Sugru is UV resistant and electrically insulating.

Cures 3mm deep in 24 hours. Deeper/thicker pieces may take longer. 

How to use:

Use at 21 degrees C if possible. Cold will slow down cure time. Ensure surfaces are clean, dry and free of dust & grease. After use, clean hands with a dry tissue then wash with warm, soapy water. May leave a mark on surfaces or stain fabrics. 

Form with hands and apply where ya wish!

Do not use Sugru to:
Hang heavy objects. Keep out of reach of children. Sugru can be cut off when cured. 

"Sugru contains Methyltris (methylethylketoxime) silane; Gamma-Aminopropyl Triethoxysilane. May produce an allergic reaction. Those with sensitive skin should avoid contact with the uncured product. "

Despite the above statement located on the Sugru packets, nobody in my household has had any kind of reaction to handling Sugru, and we've all handled and played with Sugru a very good bit, so I'm guessing this isn't likely for most, but of course needs to be noted.

Sugru comes in a little paper + plastic packaging and inside is several packets of Sugru in various colors (blue, yellow and red). The individually packaged Sugru foils contain .17OZ of Sugru, which has been plenty for every use I've needed so far, and boy are there tons of uses! So many in fact, that it's exciting.

Sugru seems like it will last forever when applied to whatever you've applied it to, but do keep in mind there's a use-by date, which is 6 months. Mine says use by May 17, 2013. However, Sugru recommends keeping the stuff in the refrigerator because it will last much, much longer.

The packet recommends storing in a cool, dry place below 21 C/70 F. 



What have I used Sugru on so far? 

Let me just tell you guys how freaking handy this Sugru was! I hadn't never heard of it before until recently. Whattaya know? Just a week or a bit longer after Sugru arrived to me, I noticed a disaster. A big one. A crisis, in fact. My brand new Chi flat iron (hair straightener, a really freaking expensive, over priced hair straightener if you ask me, but when you have this kind of hair, you do what you gotta do, right?) had a spot in the cord -- exposed wires! What?! How? I suspect my dog, Pookie accidentally chewed my cord since it lays on the ground by my bed, and he sleeps under the bed and had been chewing on this stupid chew toy for days -- my neighbor gives him treats when he goes over there beggin' like this moma don't feed him. Lol 

So here I was ironing my hair and I seen it. The exposed bit! I was going into panic-mode because guess what? We JUST bought this blasted iron. You know why? Because my last Chi iron had totally and suddenly stopped working on me. You know why? Because Chi's are made with horribly crappy cords. You know why? Probably because people like me with unmanageable hair will pay the high price for a new one a day after their original one tears up, and Chi knows this. They prey on crappy haired people like me! 

I'd had my brand new original Chi for less than 3 months when the cord just tore up on me, so when we bought this new pink chrome one a few months ago, I've treated it like a newborn. Not letting a single thing happen to it. Then old Pookie comes along and apparently, he was so wildly into his chewing on that treat that he accidentally chewed my cord!

I wanted to cry when I seen that exposed bit in my cord. I mean we JUST bought this thing. It costed $98 or a little over $100 bucks with tax! That's incredibly ridiculous, you know? So what was I to do? Can't take it back when it's been chewed!

Then, after immediately going online and again, desperately searching for at-home fixes for yet another Chi cord, it came to me: Sugru! Would it really work? Is this the answer to all my problems? 

So I started thinking, perhaps Chi doesn't know who their messing with. Perhaps I can glob some Sugru onto that exposed cord and forget all about it. But before jumping in, I wanted to be sure it was safe and wouldn't like cause a reaction and my entire body blow up when trying to use it.

Good news. I think this really was the answer to all my life problems. I went on Sugru's website and...drum roll... Sugru is safe to use on exposed wires! It's true. All my prayers really have been answered. 

So I grabbed my packet of Sugru and tore in.  Since Sugru is as pliable as that clay stuff you hang things with, this was simple and took seconds to do.

I simple tore off a little Sugru, and molded it to the cord, making sure to use a good bit more than the needed amount to cover the little exposed spot, just to be safe. And once molded on there nicely, I let it sit overnight to "cure."

From what I understand, after opening a packet of Sugru, you have about 30 minutes to get it where you want it, and then it will begin curing. However, I still had over half a packet left after using what I needed on my flat iron, so I put the remaining amount in a zip-loc bag and pushed the air out. It seemed to help and allow me to re-use the remaining piece a couple days later.

That simple! Imagine how much money it would cost to... I won't even go there. It's too scary. But really, having to buy an entire new iron, or at the very least, pay to have a new cord put on is ridiculous. Again though, I know why they do this. They're making crap tons of money by using horrible cords on a $100 iron. Don't believe me? Just do a search online with the cords "Chi cord problems." It will blow your mind to learn exactly what problems people have had. There are even tutorials with numerous men who've fixed/attempted to take apart and fix their wife's Chi. Just like my partner did with my first. 

Anyways, I just wanted to share that big news. I thought it was like a dream come true! Now, these days, I'm looking for things to fix with Sugru! It is so weird! I see a tiny little thing that may need fixing and I'm thinking "hmmm... Wonder if I could put my Sugru to use on that too!"


I was able to find a use for my remaining packet of Sugru. You know those door-length mirrors? Well, I have several. One on my bathroom door and a newer pink one that hangs and removes from my bedroom door. However, the trim glued on both was coming apart and the bathroom mirror's white trim was falling right off. Sugru to the rescue! It fixed em' right up. And in the process, I began thinking that I could even take off that plain old white trim on my cheap bathroom door mirror and re-Sugru a prettier trim! Haven't gotten around to that project though.

Another thing I considered, but didn't get far with: using Sugru to form/mold litle hangies on my wall to hang my necklaces! For a while now,  I've had a  wrapped a piece of cardboard in pretty decorative paper, tacked it on my wall by my vanity and used tacks all over to hang my jewelry from, but I'm thinking you could create a better idea with Sugru. I tried one little hangy thing with it and ended up not being good enough, so this is an idea for others, if you're interested. 

Also, an important thing to note is that while shaping Sugru say to a wall, if you don't spend a whole 30 minutes shaping, you can remove Sugru over and over if needed until you get it right. It won't automatically stick and hold to a surface, which is what I love so much. You have time to do what you need.

Other uses for Sugru include:
Forming Sugur in the heel of your too-long heels! Now that will be handy for my too large Zombie Stompers! It also adds cushion there so that the heel of your shoes don't rub blisters!

Oh, and here's a fabulous use for Sugru that had me kicking myself for ever throwing away my favorite pair of flip flops back in August:

You know how the thong part is held onto the shoe by going through a hole in the flip flop and then having a round bit that keeps the "thong" there? Sorry, I'm bad with explanations. Well, while in Florida in August, my favorite pair of flip flops broke! That dang "thong" part broke from the round part that held the flip flop together. I told my lovie I'd keep the shoes because one day, I may be able to fix them. And that one day came and guess where the flip flops are? The trash can back in Panama city! Argh! You can fix an old broken pair of flip flops with a tiny dot of Sugru.

On the Sugru package, it had tons of awesome uses. One was to line the bottom of pots and pans with Sugru so they don't clank to the table. Nice one, huh?

Another was rubberizing a grippy handle on basically anything from your vaccuum handle to your sink handle! Makes it more comfortable. Simply stick it on, and use your fingers to make ridges for a better grip!

And let me share one more use that I loved: using Sugru on objects that screw on/off, to allow a grip for twisting! Oh how Dr. Pepper bottles should all come with Sugru coated lids. Lol. Really though. Last week I literally had to cut the bottle of Dr. Pepper open because the lid was IMPOSSIBLE to twist off. And I tried too. Hard and for a long time. 

For more fun ways to use Sugru, visit their webpage. Seriously, Sugru is a must. It's a God-send. A huge money saver for certain things that would not be cheaply repaired, or repaired at all without the life-saving Sugru. Seriously, I think every household should have this stuff. I look back on all the crap I could've fixed and I'm still really angry with myself for not having Sugru!

Things that would otherwise be permanently broken are totally repaired with Sugru! Sugru, where the heck have you been all my life?!

So far, those are the ways I've gotten to use Sugru. My brain is constantly looking for new ways, so don't fear! I will update if I find other handy uses. I know one that may be obvious, but important to note: areas like where the door scrapes the wall could be fixed by adding a sort of bumper by using Sugru. 


















*I recieve no monetary payment for my reviews. Each review is my honest opinion. My reviews are in compliance with FTC's guidelines. See my disclosure page and honesty pledge for more info on sponsored reviews!*