Swap a Recipe Saturday! Peanut Butter Pancakes

Who doesn't love peanut butter? I haven't had a chance to try this recipe that I found on familyfun.com yet, but am looking forward to it!

Peanut butter packs these breakfast flapjacks with protein and just the right amount of nutty flavor. Freeze any extras between layers of waxed paper, then simply heat them in the microwave for 35 seconds, flipping halfway through, for a busy-morning breakfast.

Ingredients
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
Banana slices (optional)
Honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
Maple syrup

Instructions
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, sugar, and oil until smooth. Beat in the egg, then the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until blended.

Next, lightly coat a griddle or skillet with oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Drop the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures. Cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surfaces of the cakes, then flip them and cook a few minutes more. Serve topped with banana slices and chopped peanuts, and drizzled with maple syrup. Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes.

FYI Friday...How to Pack a Picnic

Who doesn't love a picnic on a warm summer day?! It is one of the best, close to free things you can do for entertainment! Eating with your fingers, running around with the kids, picking any gorgeous spot as your backdrop :) I found this little article in Healthy Cooking magazine that can tell you the correct way to pack a picnic.

How to Pack a Picnic

Pack it in: "Picnic baskets are beautiful but not very practical. Pack each person's meal into an individual container in a cooler and bring several large, heavy blankets in a canvas bag."

Start Right: "Begin by putting out long French radishes with a small tub of sweet butter or sea salt. And everyone loves a crusty baguette and cheese--a sharp cheddar or fontina, nothing too messy."

Go With a Standby: "Potato salad is a picnic classic for a reason. Boil Yukon gold potatoes, dress them with vinaigrette while they're still warm, and toss with scallions and parsley."

Bulk Up: "Salads made from grains or beans hold up well. Try Israeli couscous with feta and asparagus tips. Salad with grilled chicken breast, sesame vinaigrette, and dried cranberries is delicious, and you gotta love panzanella, a tomato salad made with big chunks of toasted bread."

Simplify: "Save your energy for the food, and served bottled drinks. Also keep dessert basic: cookies or brownies and fruit."

TIP! How to Choose Summer Wine: "You want a wine that isn't too heavy but is fruity enough to stake your thirst--probably a white." says Andrew Harwood of New York City Wine Class. "If you like a dry mineral-y Sancerre, try the Assyrtiko grape from Santorini, Greece. It has a touch of citrus. If you seek more depth, try Kung Fu Girl from Washington State. It's perfect for food with a little spice. And if you like Pinot Grigio, try Pinot Gris from Alsace. It's the same grape, but with its weight more developed and with a dose of apricot and quince."

Things to Do with Science Thursday! Fog in a Bottle

I always try to find some kind of neat thing or idea that you can easily do with your kids on Thursdays. I found this ideas on www.bizarrelabs.com. What their faces light up when they discover the amazing trick you have done :)

Fog in a bottle

Creating fog in a bottle, as in the photo at the top of this page, is a simpler matter. A large jar or wide mouthed bottle is filled with hot water. All of the hot water is poured out except for an inch (25mm) or so at the bottom. A strainer is set over the mouth of the jar, and ice cubes are placed in the strainer. Before too long the cold air from the ice cubes will cause the water to condense from the warm, moist air in the bottle, forming fog.

Wellness Wednesday! Get Moving!

Being a former office worker, I know how easy it is to become stiff while sitting at a boring computer. I came across this article in Healthy Cooking magazine, Feb/Mar 2010 issue that may help quite a bit!

Get Moving!

Sooner or later those hours spent scrunched in front of a computer screen can leave you complaining about a "back-breaking" workload that's becoming a literal pain in the neck. Get quick relief with these easy stretches that loosen up tense neck, shoulder, hip, back and wrist muscles. Try them two or three times a day, breathing evenly throughout. They take minutes and can boost your productivity and comfort until the end of the day.

Head Roll: Tilt head to the left until you feel a slight stretch. Roll slowly forward, touching chin to chest, then roll to the right. Hold each stage for five counts. Reverse. Repeat the cycle three times.

Shoulder Shrug: With your arms hanging, inhale deeply and lift both shoulders up to your ears. Hold for five counts. Exhale and let shoulders drop. Repeat three times.

Hip Stretch: Sitting tall, cross your right ankle over left knee. Lean forward with back straight and feel a stretch in the right hip. Hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Spine Twists: With right hand on left knee, hook your left arm over back of chair. With back straight, twist torso left as far as you can without straining. Hold for five counts. Repeat on both sides three time.

Forearm Stretch: Stretch your left arm straight out, wrist bent. Fingers pointing up. Use your right hand to gently pull your fingers back. Repeat on the other side.

Top Ten Tuesday! Oscars you Ought to Win

Though I create my own top ten lists all of the time, I still love to borrow Parenting magazines on occasion. This is one of the lists I found in Parenting magazine, March 2010 issue.

Parenting Top Ten Oscars you ought to win

1. Music (original score): for teaching your kids to sing the real version of "Jingle Bells," not the one where Batman smells and Robin lays an egg.

2. Best Director: for organizing a month long PTA fund-raiser that actually raised funds--slacker parents and the recession be damned.

3. Makeup: for applying enough under-eye concealer to avoid looking like the Crypt Keeper after a sleepless night tending a croupy kid.

4. Art Direction: for getting the kids to make a "Welcome Grandma" banner without a single fight breaking out over using the red crayon.

5. Best Supporting Actress: for sitting on the bleachers every Saturday, just to cheer like crazy for the seven minutes your son makes it onto the soccer field.

6. Sound Mixing: for talking loudly enough that your tween actually heard you over his iPod--and, in fact, listened to what you had to say.

7. Sound Editing: for stealthily removing the Care Bear's batteries, then telling your son that Tenderheart lost his voice and needs to rest for a day.

8. Costume Design: for the Hannah Montana getup you made your daughter from a mop head and cheap jewelry minutes before the Halloween parade.

9. Cinematography: for capturing five full minutes of your family on video during which no child sticks a finger up his nose or crosses his eyes.

10. Picture of the Year: for the one you snapped of your husband and kids--the one that reminds you why, craziness aside, this is the happiest time of your life.

Money Saving Monday! Find Savings in the Bathroom

I decided to write a little more from the article "Find savings around the house" Before I wrote of the bedroom and now I am moving onto the bathroom.

Save money...in the bathroom.

Don't let supplies eat up your household budget!

-Make a toilet brush holder-Cut the top off of a big (empty) plastic beverage container.

-Create an affordable body scrub-Put 1 cup sugar in an airtight container, pour in enough olive oil to cover. Add a few drops lemon or orange extract and stir.

-Multitask with shampoo-Buy a large, inexpensive bottle and use it as body wash and bubble bath, too. Fill a pump container with half water and half shampoo and use as hand soap.

-Show off plush, pretty towels-A colorful new set perks up the room. Find options at closeout stores, like TJ Maxx and Big Lots, or at overstock Web sites where you can get name-brand items for a fraction of the retail price.

Something you may not know Sunday! The Perfect Portion

I have always wondered how you can be totally correct on a portion size without actually breaking out the mini kitchen scale to figure it out. I found an article entitled "eye it up for size!" in the Feb/Mar 10 issue of Healthy Cooking magazine. It may help you like it did me :)

This is probably not a shock, but most of us eat too much. Here's the surprising part--we underestimate portions by at least 25%, meaning we could be eating hundreds of extra calories every day and not know it. The easiest fix? Right-size those portions and learn how to eat less. Below, we give you two comparisons--with everyday objects and parts of your hand--for a take-along system you can't beat.

Perfect Portion: 1 tsp butter or margarine
Everyday object it looks like: a postage stamp
Part of your hand it looks like: the tip of your thumb

Perfect Portion: 1 small bagel
Everyday object it looks like: diameter of a hockey puck
Part of your hand it looks like: your palm

Perfect Portion: 1 cup beans
Everyday object it looks like: a tennis ball
Part of your hand it looks like: a cupped handful

Perfect Portion: 2 Tbsp nuts or dried fruit
Everyday object it looks like: a golf ball
Part of your hand it looks like: a small cupped handful

Perfect Portion: 1 small muffin
Everyday object it looks like: the round part of a light bulb
Part of your hand it looks like: half of your fist

Perfect Portion: 3 oz meat
Everyday object it looks like: a purse pack of tissues
Part of your hand it looks like: your outstretched palm

Perfect Portion: 1-1/2 oz cheese
Everyday object it looks like: three dice
Part of your hand it looks like: your thumb

Perfect Portion: 2 Tbsp peanut butter
Everyday object it looks like: a golf ball
Part of your hand it looks like: your thumb

Perfect Portion: 1 oz roll
Everyday object it looks like: a bar of soap
Part of your hand it looks like: half of your palm

Perfect Portion: 1 pancake or waffle
Everyday object it looks like: diameter of a CD
Part of your hand it looks like: your palm plus 1/2 to 1 inch

Perfect Portion: 3 by 3 inch piece of cake
Everyday object it looks like: a pack of Post-It notes
Part of your hand it looks like: about 3/4 of your palm

Perfect Portion: 1 Tbsp oil or dressing
Everyday object it looks like: a silver dollar
Part of your hand it looks like: the center of your cupped hand

Perfect Portion: 1 cup pretzels or chips
Everyday object it looks like: a tennis ball
Part of your hand it looks like: a cupped handful