We all want to live healthier, more intentional lives, but sometimes it seems overwhelming and daunting to take even small steps toward our ideals because there are so many steps before us.
Simple Swaps was created by Hyacynth out of a desire and passion to encourage other women on journeys toward living healthier, more inspired, intentional lifestyles through implementing one simple swap per month.
Each swap will:
1. Take 30 minutes or less to accomplish
2. Be inexpensive to implement or boast overall, long-haul {health} savings
3. Focus on improving health/eco-friendliness, being good stewards of our resources and/or fostering a creative and intentional life.
Some weeks, all three will be accomplished in 30 minutes or less!
Make sure to head over to Hy's place to see her Simple Swap this week. She always has awesome ideas and final results, and this week will be no exception!
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Recently, Hyacynth posted about a yummy apple pie oatmeal crock pot recipe that I just had to try. It had a lot of alternative ingredients in it, like coconut oil instead of butter, almond meal instead of white flour, etc. I had none of these ingredients in stock, because you know, I typically make instant oatmeal. But something in me has changed lately, and I've been more interested in putting healthy ingredients into my family's bellies (especially my 4 year old picky eater). So I went out to our local health food store and stocked up on everything I needed.
The oatmeal turned out great, so I wanted to see what else I could make with the alternative ingredients. My first swap: COCONUT OIL. Did you know wherever you use butter, you can use virgin coconut oil? It's healthier (<---find out why here), and adds a great mild coconut flavor. I decided to bake cookies, with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
Let's be honest, in addition to the unsalted butter I would have used, I had to include margarine
in this pic, because that's usually what I have on hand.
Whole Foods had plenty of these to pick from (different brands, different cooking temperatures, etc).
Please read to the end of this post for our coconut oil giveaway courtesy of Nutiva.
I was pleasantly surprised at how similar the entire recipe was, except the swapped-out butter.
I had everything else in the cupboard.
The batter was the same...oh, and yummy. Although, don't tell my husband I tasted it,
he gets mad when I eat raw eggs.
My cookies never rise, like EVER, So, don't let this picture fool you...the cookies were delicious! They had a hint of coconut flavor to them (of course), which almost made them taste like I made them on a tropical island. My family gobbled them up, and they were none the wiser that I made the swap. They also didn't know I swapped out some of the flour for almond meal, and threw in some flax seed.
HA, I'm tricky.
So are you ready to join our monthly swap and try coconut oil in a really simple way? Grab your camera, take some pictures of your swap, write about your experience and then link up.
This week's giveaway is sponsored by Nutiva, who offers hemp, coconut and chia superfoods.
Their foods are offered at more than 4,000 stores throughout North America and the UK
Someone who links up will win a free jar of Nutiva coconut oil. How awesome is that?!?!
{No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to all U.S. residents who are 18 years and older.
The winner will be selected randomly December 1, 2011 from the link up pool.}
