Fun Halloween Treats for Kids

21 Sep By Leave a Comment

Halloween is right around the corner. If you have kids, or even if you don’t, this is the time of year people look forward to most. Dressing up, going to parties, trick or treating, and making fun Halloween themed snacks are all things you love doing. Or, maybe you don’t, and that’s OK! You do it for your kids. I get it! These halloween treats for kids are fun and super easy to make!

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halloween treats for kids

My kids are 14 and 11…on one hand, I am a bit sad that we are approaching the end of the whole Halloween dressing up and trick or treating thing. However, and I bet I can speak for everyone that lives in Michigan that when those trick or treating days end, it’s kind of nice NOT freezing your butt off as you walk the neighborhood with the kids! Despite being at the age where they won’t want to dress up anymore, they still love all of these Halloween treats!

Halloween Treats for Kids

halloween treats

Image via Really Are You Serious by Krystyn

Everyone loves a pudding dirt cup dessert! This Halloween variation is fun for kids to make and eat! Kids love Peeps candy and these Halloween Peepshalloween treats are perfect for this recipe! For those of you with kids in elementary school, this would be a great Halloween class party treat for the kids to put together themselves!

halloween treats

Image via Mommy Musings by Stefanie

If you are looking for a treat that will get your kids laughing (and it’s SUPER easy for you to put together), then this Easy Dracula donut is calling your name! I know those Dracula teeth were super popular with my kids when they were younger. Shoot…they would love it if I put this together for them now! Surprise your kids one weekend morning with donuts…but don’t forget the dracula teethhalloween treats.

halloween treats

Image via Finding Zest by Emilie

These are my favorite! They are perfect for a Halloween party! Super easy to make and little ones can help by placing the eyes on. The best part is, the crazier the eye placement, the better! This variety pack of candy eyeballshalloween treats on Amazon are perfect! Have fun making these monster marshmallows!

halloween treats

Image via Kara in the Kitchen by Kara

This mummy snack mix is so good! I make something similar at Easter time. It’s a definitely crowd pleaser. While I would personally love it with candy corn, I know that some people don’t like candy corn. You can really customize a recipe like this with whatever Halloween themed candy you would like!

halloween treats

This next Halloween treat is one my daughter had fun putting together. This treat is perfect for the classroom. It seems like every class party each year in elementary school, the kids decorate a sugar cookie as their “treat” for the party. Why not pick up a bunch of pudding cups and some marshmallows and let the kids make this?!? Check out the other variations we did.

 

Wilton Halloween Candy Eyeball Sprinkles Set, 3-PieceWilton Halloween Candy Eyeball Sprinkles Set, 3-PieceWilton Halloween Candy Eyeball Sprinkles Set, 3-PieceWilton White 6-Inch Lollipop Sticks, 100-CountWilton White 6-Inch Lollipop Sticks, 100-CountWilton White 6-Inch Lollipop Sticks, 100-CountHalloween Peeps Variety Pack with Monsters, Ghosts, Pumpkins, and Spooky Cats, 3.375 oz, Pack of 4Halloween Peeps Variety Pack with Monsters, Ghosts, Pumpkins, and Spooky Cats, 3.375 oz, Pack of 4Halloween Peeps Variety Pack with Monsters, Ghosts, Pumpkins, and Spooky Cats, 3.375 oz, Pack of 4

halloween treats

Image via Honey and Lime by Deanna

How cute is this?!? One of my favorite things in the WORLD (before I found out I was allergic to gluten) were the white chocolate covered Oreos. This Oreo Pop recipe makes a cute Halloween treat for kids, but it’s also something that I think you couple put plastic wrap around and have your child give their teacher as a cute little Halloween gift!

halloween treats

Image via This Mama Loves by Brett

Surprise your kids one morning with these adorable cinnamon roll mummies! My kids love cinnamon rolls. I’ll let you in on a little secrete…they think I make them cinnamon rolls when, in reality, I just go to Ikea, but their cinnamon rolls and put them on a plate. Shhh! You can do the same and still make these super cute mummies!

halloween treats

Image via Mom Foodie

This candy bark looks fun for kids and sounds delicious! I want to make it, just to have the gummy frogs! Seriously though…what a cute Halloween dessert for kids. It’s perfect for little ones to help out too! Spread out the melted chocolate and let the kids randomly press the different candies wherever they want! My daughter and I will be making this for Halloween this year!

What are your favorite Halloween treats and snacks?


How to Break the Diet Coke Habit

19 Sep By Leave a Comment

If you’ve been following along, you will know that, over the course of the last three years, I have really been making improvements in my life. I was able to successfully get rid of my sugar addiction. It wasn’t easy, but what was easy was physically feeling how much better I felt without the sugar. The one vice I still had was my Diet Coke habit. I’m finally at the point in my life that I want to break that habit.

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diet coke habit

As you know, my husband and I embarked on a new lifestyle a few years ago. The Keto diet helped us lose a combined 215 lbs. We felt better, looked better, it has been amazing. Recently, we decided to change things up a bit and give Weight Watchers a try. I had been stuck in a place of not losing so I wanted to jumpstart my body and give a new lifestyle a change for a bit, while hanging on to a lot of the principles that I learned from doing the Keto diet for so long.

While I felt like I mastered the ability to not want or care about sugar any longer, I was still not great about drinking enough water. I am amazing at drinking Diet Coke. I could drink that stuff all day long, like it was water. That’s one of the main reasons I don’t buy a case of pop at Sam’s Club to have at home. I would drink way too much per day. It was time to break that Diet Coke habit.

Breaking the Diet Coke Habit

As addicted to sugar as I was, I am probably more addicted to Diet Coke. I don’t drink coffee, so my only source of caffeine comes from pop. Believe me, I wish I liked coffee. For many reasons. The caffeine being one of them, but also so I can drink out of fun coffee mugs like this mugdiet coke habit. But more than needing caffeine to get through each day, or wanting to drink out of fun coffee mugs, I need to up my water intake.

Bob Ross Heat Changing Mug - Add Coffee or Tea and a Happy Little Scene Appears - Comes in a Fun Gift BoxBob Ross Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and a Happy Little Scene Appears – Comes in a Fun Gift BoxBob Ross Heat Changing Mug - Add Coffee or Tea and a Happy Little Scene Appears - Comes in a Fun Gift BoxFunny Mug - Yet, despite the look on my face, you're still talking - 11 OZ Coffee Mugs - Inspirational gifts and sarcasmFunny Mug – Yet, despite the look on my face, you’re still talking – 11 OZ Coffee Mugs – Inspirational gifts and sarcasmFunny Mug - Yet, despite the look on my face, you're still talking - 11 OZ Coffee Mugs - Inspirational gifts and sarcasmMuggies Coffee. Because Adulting Is Hard Novelty Coffee Tea Mug. 11oz Cup. Unique Funny Christmas, Xmas, Birthday Gifts For Men & Women, Husband, WifeMuggies Coffee. Because Adulting Is Hard Novelty Coffee Tea Mug. 11oz Cup. Unique Funny Christmas, Xmas, Birthday Gifts For Men & Women, Husband, WifeMuggies Coffee. Because Adulting Is Hard Novelty Coffee Tea Mug. 11oz Cup. Unique Funny Christmas, Xmas, Birthday Gifts For Men & Women, Husband, Wife

Back before I started the Keto diet, I was really into Young Living essential oils. I still use the oils for things, but not like I did. That changes now! One of the ways I got my water in then, was putting my favorite Young Living essential oils in my water. Not only did the flavor help, but the oils are good for you!

Why Essential Oils?

Grapefruit essential oil (my favorite) is very high in D-Limonene. If you are not sure what D-Limonene is or what it is good for, check this out. While all of those benefits are great, I like that it makes my water taste good, as well as benefit my health at the same time. As a side note though, not all essential oils are created equally. I would only add Young Living oils to my water (and only those approved for ingesting). Other Young Living essential oils that I like to add to my water are lemon, orange, and lime.

Contigo Purity Glass Water Bottle with Petal Sleeve, 20oz, ScubaContigo Purity Glass Water Bottle with Petal Sleeve, 20oz, ScubaContigo Purity Glass Water Bottle with Petal Sleeve, 20oz, Scuba

So What’s My Plan?

Am I giving up my Diet Coke habit for good? No, probably not. I want to break the habit of feeling like I “need” a Diet Coke to get through my day. Which, let me tell you, I’ve been up since 5 am and I’ve yet to have any caffeine and I’m still wide awake! However, with that said, I see the Diet Coke habit the same as I used to see my sugar addiction. I want to get to the point that I don’t care about whether or not I have it. Once I get to that point, then I know I can have a pop and it won’t trigger me to have more, just like I can have a piece of candy and not eat another for days, weeks or months. To me, that would be breaking the Diet Coke habit.

5 Fascinating Ways Temperature Affects Us

17 Sep By Leave a Comment

Besides making us feel too hot or too cold, the temperature has several other unusual impacts on our bodies. If you’ve ever wondered how extreme heat and cold can affect us, read on to learn more about some fascinating things that can happen to our minds and bodies.

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temperature affects

Image via Pexels by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi

Heat Pulls Water From Our Bloodstream

When the sun peaks and the temperature begins to sizzle, our bodies go to work trying to cool us down. When our internal temperatures start to get too high, our heart rates increase and vessels expand to bring extra blood to the outer layer of the skin to release heat. If that doesn’t work, our body’s sweat glads then go to work. Our sweat glands actually draw water directly from our bloodstream to make sweat. The sweat then comes out of our pores to release heat and evaporate to cool us down.

temperature affects

Image via Flickr by U.S. Army Garrison, Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia 22427

Temperatures Affect Our Mood

If you’ve ever thought people seem angrier when the temperatures go up, it’s not in your head. Researchers have discovered a link between higher temperatures and human aggression. In on study, intergroup conflicts increased by 14 percent when the temperatures went up. Interestingly, researchers also found that when it rained more than expected, people seemed to get more aggressive. Another study found that women reported decreased life satisfaction on days with higher temperatures and more rain.

Low Temperatures Help the Body Sleep

Not only can temperatures affect us when we’re awake, they also play a role in how well we sleep. When we get ready to go to sleep, our brains automatically decrease our body temperatures. We can help our bodies initiate sleep by keeping our bedroom temperature between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower temperatures can help us fall asleep faster and get better sleep.

Humidity Also Plays a Key Role

While temperatures obviously affect us in several ways, humidity levels also play a key role in everything from our comfort to our health. When humidity levels are too high, our bodies have to work even harder to cool us down. However, our bodies don’t like it when humidity levels are too low either. Low humidity can severely impact our skin and respiratory systems, causing chapped lips, dry nasal passages, a sore throat, and dry and itchy skin. While you have no control over humidity levels outside, a ventilator in your home’s HVAC system can help moderate indoor humidity levels.

Extreme Heat Causes Hallucinations

It turns out the idea that desert travelers might hallucinate an oasis isn’t that far-fetched after all. In 2014, tennis professional Frank Dancevic was playing in the Australian Open in Melbourne during record heat. He says during the first set he got dizzy and started seeing Snoopy on the court before passing out. Losing too much body fluid from sweating can cause a temperature drop in blood flow to the brain. This can lead to confusion, dizziness, and loss of consciousness.

From changing our mood to impacting our comfort, temperature and humidity play a big role in how our minds and our bodies function.

Gluten Free Apple Spice Pumpkin Muffins

17 Sep By Leave a Comment

My kids love muffins. They normally will leave several bananas to get super ripe so I will make them banana muffins with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I really can’t blame them. They are really good! Since my husband and I are both doing Weight Watchers, I wanted to make muffins that he would be able to enjoy too. These gluten free apple spice pumpkin muffins are not only delicious, but they are Weight Watchers friendly too!

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apple spice pumpkin muffins

apple spice pumpkin muffins
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Apple Spice Pumpkin Muffins

Delicious recipe, perfect for the fall! This apple spice pumpkin muffin recipe is 2 pts per muffin on Weight Watchers!

Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword apple spice, muffins, pumpkin
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings 14 People

Ingredients

  • 15 oz Canned Pumpkin
  • 1 3/4 Cup Splenda
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 1 Cup Dice Apples
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 1/4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

  2. Place the canned pumpkin, Splenda, unsweetened applesauce and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend well. 

  3. Add all of your dry ingredients, one by one, mixing each one before adding the next. While you are mixing this, you will want to add the half cup of water. Your mix will be very sticky. 

  4. Dice your apples and fold into the mixture.

  5. Because your mix is sticky, you will not want to use paper liners. Spray your muffin tins well and add the apple spice pumpkin muffin mix to each muffin well. 

  6. Place in the oven and bake for about 21-22 minutes. 

Recipe Notes

If you would like to make this with regular flour, use the same amount of your flour as this recipe calls for!

I am not a fan of cinnamon, but I took one for the team and tried one of these muffins to make sure that they turned out well (minus the cinnamon part). And guess what, they did! They are more the consistency of a bread as opposed to traditional muffins. But all in all, minus the cinnamon, these gluten free apple spice pumpkin muffins are very good!

apple spice pumpkin muffins

A Few Tips for these Apple Spice Pumpkin Muffins

I’ve tried several different types of gluten free flour. This Namaste Foods Gluten Freeapple spice pumpkin muffins is my absolute favorite. You don’t need to add anything else to it. Just sub it in place of regular flour. Likewise, if you are looking at this recipe and you are thinking, “but I just have regular flour”…that’s OK! Use it!

Wilton 2103-1112 Scoop-It Batter Spoons, Set of 3Wilton 2103-1112 Scoop-It Batter Spoons, Set of 3Wilton 2103-1112 Scoop-It Batter Spoons, Set of 3

These batter scoops by Wilton is my favorite thing in my kitchen. It makes perfect sized muffins and cupcakes every single time. If my Silicone Muffin and Cupcake panapple spice pumpkin muffins was clean, I would have totally used that. It was probably the best thing I ever purchased. So far, nothing has ever stuck to it!

If you are following Weight Watchers and you are planning on making these muffins, please create the recipe in your app with the specific ingredients you use. While it came out to 2 points per muffin for me, I would hate for you to use slightly different ingredients and have your numbers come out differently. Also, please note that I used Splenda because that is what I had on hand. If you make it with white sugar, your points will come out differently. You could always make it into mini muffins!

apple spice pumpkin muffins

Turkey Cabbage Soup

15 Sep By Leave a Comment

Fall is here and I love nothing more than the cool weather outside and a warm bowl of soup inside! I’ve told you before about my favorite soup, Chorizo Chicken soup. If you haven’t made it yet, do it! It’s so good! Being that I am on Weight Watchers, I wanted to make a soup I can enjoy, but that was not very many points. I threw a bunch of veggies together with extra lean ground turkey and made the most delicious turkey cabbage soup.

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turkey cabbage soup

Weber Ssnng N Orleans CajunWeber Ssnng N Orleans CajunWeber Ssnng N Orleans Cajun

turkey cabbage soup
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Turkey Cabbage Soup

Delicious recipe for turkey cabbage soup. 0 SmartPoints on Weight Watchers!

Course Main Course, Soup
Keyword cabbage soup, smartpoints, weight watchers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8 People

Ingredients

  • 16 oz Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast brown
  • 10 oz Rotel Tomatoes, with Habaneros
  • 29 oz Diced Tomatoes
  • 1 med Orange Bell Pepper cut into chunks
  • 4 med ribs Celery chopped
  • 1 small Onion cut into chunks
  • 1 med Yellow Summer Squash cut into chunks
  • 1 small Head of Cabbage cut into chunks
  • 6 cups Fat Free Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1 tsp N'Orleans Cajun Seasoning
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place your extra virgin olive oil in your frying pan and brown the extra lean ground turkey breast.

  2. Place the browned turkey in an 8 qt stock pot. Add your cans of tomatoes. 

  3. Cut up all of your vegetables and place those in the stock pot.

  4. Add your seasonings and pour the chicken broth over top of all of the ingredients. Next add your 2 cups of water. If the vegetables are not completely covered, it's OK!

  5. Cook on medium high and bring your soup to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 2.5 hours, or until the cabbage and celery are nice and tender. 

This turkey cabbage soup is absolutely delicious! I’ve made cabbage soup before, but this is the first time I thought to add the cajun seasoning. It was a great decision. The cajun seasoning will forever be added to my cabbage soup! The nice thing about cabbage soup is that you can change up the vegetables to your liking. The only reason I added the yellow zucchini squash is because I felt the soup needed another color! Things like green beans, green pepper, etc would also be good to add to your soup! You really cannot go wrong! If you prefer beef broth over chicken broth…use it!

turkey cabbage soup

The fact that this turkey cabbage soup is zero points on Weight Watchers is the icing on the cake! I read once that our body burns more calories digesting cabbage than there are in cabbage. How great is that? It’s like you’re working out while you eat your soup! If you are interested in learning more about Weight Watchers, check out how my first week went! Signing up is easy. If you use my link, you (and I) will receive a FREE month! Who doesn’t like free things?!?


Try this 0 points Weight Watchers Turkey Cabbage soup today!