Chocolate Almond Butter Granola Bars Made With Paradise 100% Natural Coconut Oil

    I love to bake and I am always trying new recipes and ingredients. Many of my friends are always talking about coconut oil and how wonderful it is for baking. I have to admit that up until now, I have never baked with coconut oil.When I received an opportunity to review coconut oil I got excited as I have never used it in baking. I was sent a container of Paradise Organic Coconut Oil to review on my blog and of course I knew I had to bake something. I decided to bake some granola bars with the coconut oil and the results are amazing. Lets just say I have to hide these granola bars deep in the fridge or I will eat too many of them. These granola bars are full of healthy items and can be great for breakfast or snacks.

  Paradise Organic Coconut oil is a 100% natural coconut oil that can be used for hair, skin, eating, cooking and smoothies! Coconut oil is known as a healthy oil that is great for healthy cholesterol levels among many other things like increased energy. This oil is USDA certified organic and gluten free. I love that it is cold pressed, Non-GMO, and unrefined. The coconut oil is great for low carb diets too!

I love how clear this coconut oil is. This oil has a nice mild taste to it also.

To order this wonderful  Paradise 100% Natural Coconut Oil, click on the below link.

http://www.amazon.com/smoothies-unrefined-straight-thera-vita/dp/b00gdfu5cy

                         
                                              Chocolate Almond Butter Granola Bars

                                              1 cup almond butter or any other nut butter
                                               1/2 cup honey
                                               1/2 cup Paradise coconut oil
                                               2 1/2 cups rolled oatmeal
                                                1 cup sunflower seeds
                                                1/2 cup flax meal
                                                 1/4 cup chocolate chips
                                         
                        1. In a medium pot over medium heat, melt the almond butter, honey, and coconut oil until                                  smooth.

                         2. Combine the oatmeal, sunflower seeds and flax meal in a large bowl and stir in the                                         almond butter mixture until well combined.

                         3. Press the mixture on a cookie sheet that has parchment or wax paper on it. If you don't                                have parchment or wax paper, you can oil the cookie sheet with a spray or butter.
                       
                         4. Place more parchment  paper on the granola bar mixture and press down with another                                   cookie sheet. Use a greased spatula if you don't have parchment paper.

                          5. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and press down again.

                          6. Place the cookie sheet with the granola bar mixture on it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.                                  Then slice the granola bars into bars.

                           7. Keep the granola bars in a seal container in the refrigerator, separating the layers with                                    parchment paper or wax paper.

#theravita

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Blonde Brownies Made The Low Fat Way

    My 14 year old son loves to bake. He wanted to make brownies the other day and started searching online for recipes. He found a recipe for blonde brownies at www.verybestbaking.com. While the fat grams were only 7 grams in the recipe, I knew that he could cut out some of the butter and chocolate chips and still make it taste good but be lower in fat. The recipe called for 3/4 cups butter and 2 cups of chocolate chips. My son only put 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips in the brownie recipe and the result was delicious. The brownies were full of flavor and were chewy just like regular brownies but lower in fat. I love when I can make a favorite treat for my family with less fat.

Blonde Brownies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cups  Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch  pan.

COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spread into prepared pan.

BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. 

I love experimenting with recipes and I find that with most recipes you can cut out a 1/3 of the butter and it still tastes great. Here is another recipe for low fat chocolate chip cookies that I love to make.

http://momknowsbest15.blogspot.com/2013/05/low-fat-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Do you have any favorite recipes that are low fat?

MACY’S BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY

Macy's is giving away $5,000 worth of gift cards! 100 winners will receive a $50 gift card to Macy’s!

Giveaway Details:

Tuesday, August 18th at 9:00 AM ET to Thursday, August 21st at 9:00 PM ET.

One hundred (100) winners will receive a $50.00 Macy’s gift card.

Users can enter the giveaway by heading to the Macy’s deal page on Savings.com and submitting their email address on the form at the top of the page.

The winners will be chosen via a lottery drawing and notified on Monday (8/25) via the email address they used to enter.

        Click on the below link to enter. Good luck!

              http://www.savings.com/m-Macys-coupons.html#i-5471695

#BTSSavings

Soothie Suckers Are An All-Natural Herbal Supplement Ice Pop That My Boys Love

  I want to tell you about a wonderful product that tastes so good and gives your child an all- natural herbal supplement at the same time. Your kids will enjoy them so much they wont even know it is good for them. I received these ice pops the other day and my boys were excited to try them. My boys are 6 and 7 years old and they can read so they knew these ice pops were healthy but the cute designs on the box made my boys want to try them. My boys wanted to taste the ice pops right away but I told them we had to freeze them first. They froze in about an hour and I gave them to my boys to try. My boys  took one bite and said " these taste really good " and I had to try them also after hearing them say that. I taste the ice pops and found them to be sweet like regular ice pops. I love that they have only 4 grams of sugar in them along with healthy herbs. There is no artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup in these ice pops. They are sweeten with organic agave syrup. They can be enjoyed frozen or as a juice.

Soothie Suckers come in two varieties: Immune support and Nasal support. The Immune support tastes like an orange ice pop and the Nasal support tastes like a grape ice pop. These Soothie Suckers has a 500 mg Herbal Extract blend in them that contains Echinacea along with other herbs that are discussed Here on their webpage. These ice pops are a great way to support your child's immune system so their bodies can fight off those germs that they come into to contact with. This is treat that I will be saying yes to as school has started and I want my boys to stay healthy this year.

To obtain more information on these Soothie Suckers and to purchase, click on the below link.

http://www.soothiesuckers.com/

"These opinions are my own and I was sent the above mention product in exchange for a review on my blog."

Australian Tea Tree Oil Has Many Uses From Skin Care To Household Cleaners

I was sent a bottle of Australian Tea Tree Oil to try out and review on my blog. I know very little about Tea Tree Oil, only that I had read it was good for acne. So I was intrigued about what Tea Tree Oil and its many uses that range from skin care to household uses. How can an oil from a leaf of the Melaleuca Alternifolia, a tree native to Australia, do so much?

This oil has many uses from aromatherapy, antimicrobial, household cleaning, skin care, and hair care. Inhaling the oil helps lower stress and the Australian Aborigines have been using the Tea Tree Oil to treat the common cold for centuries. I was surprised that the oil fights acne, toenail fungus, lice, warts, and many more skin conditions. The oil also is great for making your own cleaners as it has disinfecting agents in it. The Tea Tree Oil comes with a guide that shows you the many uses of the oil. The guide also has 50 easy to make recipes to make your own natural products.

The guide that come with the Tea Tree Oil is 100 pages and has a lot of information in it, like the origin and uses of the oil, along with great recipes. The recipes are for cleaners, skin care products, cold care, and even things like natural toothpaste and mouth wash.  My favorite part of the guide was the recipes to make spa products like face masks and skin cleansers.

The first thing I noticed about the Tea Tree Oil, when I received it in the mail, was the scent. It was strong at first but then soothing. I was suffering from allergies and the oil cleared my nasal passages. I then applied the oil on a cut that I had and it did not sting but made it feel better. I am hoping the zits on my face will clear up too, as I applied the oil to them. I also found a recipe, in the included guide,  for a all purpose cleaner that uses the oil and I love how it cleans my counters.

To get more information Australian Tea Tree Oil and its many uses, click on the below link. You can also purchase this wonderful oil at this link.

http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Potency-Aromatherapy-Household-Cleaning/dp/B00GF1NZLY/

#teatreeoil

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Dr. Song Vitamin C Serum Giveaway

I love using Vitamin C serum on my face as it makes my skin feel so soft and smooth. Vitamin C is a wonderful vitamin that not only is great for our body but also is great when used on the skin. I have been using Vitamin C serums for a couple of months and I have noticed that my skin is softer. I also don't need to use a lot of moisturizer on my face either as my skin is no longer dry. I just rub the vitamin C serum on my face every morning and follow with my favorite lotion. My skin stays moist through out the day and no longer itches from dryness.

Dr. Song Vitamin C Serum is a great topical skin product that makes skin soft and smooth. This product is light and non-greasy and absorbs quickly into your skin. Their product contains 20% vitamin C, vitamin E, Hyaluric acid, and aloe vera. The serum is thicker than most other vitamin C serums, which leaves a smooth velvet finish on your skin. The Dr. Song formula has been tested by many doctors and professionals within the cosmetic industry. It also comes with a 365 day money back guarantee.

To purchase Dr. Son Vitamin C Serum and get smoother skin,  just click on the below link.

http://www.amazon.com/launch-song-vitamin-serum-hyaluronic/dp/b00eln94gs/ref=sr_1_1?ie=utf8&qid=1406011141&sr=8-1&keywords=vitamin+c+serum+dr+song

I am giving away a full size bottle of Dr. Song Vitamin C Serum to one of my readers so you too can have smoother skin. Just enter on the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.