Another Pinterest Winner!

My husband says to me the other night, "We need more granite cleaner." I tell him to put it on the list and I'll pick some up at the grocery store.  The next day I venture down the cleaning aisle and I can't find the granite cleaner I use anywhere!  All they have are wipes...expensive wipes.  So I continue looking for a moment and then remember that I pinned something for homemade granite cleaner.  Problem solved...I'll just make my own.

Here is the pin.  I left out the essential oil (I didn't have any).  I whipped up a bottle of this and I'm happy to tell you that it works great!  All it cost me was like $1 for the big bottle of rubbing alcohol I bought.  Way cheaper than a bottle of granite cleaner.  It only took 3 seconds to put it together too.  Awesome!

Cheaper and Healthier Popsicles

As summer starts to warm up, popsicles inevitably become a snack of choice for the kids.  The ones you buy at the store are great but they can be costly, especially if you want to buy 100% fruit or juice ones.  The cheaper pops are basically sugar water and dye.  While giving my kids these types of popsicles is ok every once in a while, I prefer to try to keep the popsicles as healthy as I can.

To make healthy popsicles I use my blender to blend yogurt and fruit together and pour the blend into ice cube trays.  I then put a toothpick in each cube and put them in the freezer to freeze.  That's it!  Nice and easy!  For my kids who are 1 and 3, these smaller popsicles are perfect because they usually can't finish a traditional popsicle anyway (too cold and too big).  You could easily pour your yogurt and fruit blend into a traditional popsicle maker too.  Either way, its cheaper and healthier.  You save money by not buying the commercialized pops and you know exactly what's in the popsicles because you made them yourself.  It's a win-win.

I'm the Homemade Queen

I have been the "Homemade Queen" lately. I've made everything from bitter apple spray to donut holes to pizza crust to fruit snacks. It's been a regular bake-off/make-off in my house. I love the fact that I don't have to rely on "the infinite marketplace" to make my family something. I know exactly what I put in everything so I know it's not harmful to my family's health. And I'm saving money while I do it! I don't have to go buy mixes or cleaning products etc. I just use products that I already have around the house. Pinterest is a bevy of information when it comes to finding homemade/D-I-Y recipes and ideas. If you are interested in some of the stuff I've found, you can see my pinboards here. Hope you'll give "homemade" a try. Happy making/baking everyone!