After many Facebook convos back and forth regarding whether it was right to go trick or treating, we decided it was a go. I had been hyping up Halloween for Alex for almost a month and I knew that he deserved to have fun and get some candy in the process. But before we set out to get sugar high, we ate a good breakfast – Blender Pumpkin Oat Pancakes. Pancakes are a breakfast that we love, so I always try to starts off exciting days with pancakes. Check out last year’s Halloween pancakes.

I had originally wanted to make Banana Oatmeal Pancakes that I saw in Fitness magazines, but after blending together my milk and oats I realized that we were out of bananas and pumpkin came to the rescue.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes

 

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Ingredients

• 1½-C Skim Milk
• 1 C Rolled Oats
• ¾ C Pumpkin Puree
• ½-C Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 T + 1 t Baking Powder

Instructions

1. In a blender, puree milk and oats until smooth.
2. Add pumpkin puree, flour, and baking powder and puree a few seconds more.
3. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.
4. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Mist with nonstick cooking spray, then scoop batter into pan in ¼-Cup increments.
5. Reduce heat to medium low and cook pancakes until air bubbles appear and underside is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
6. Flip and cook about 5 minutes more.

3.1.07

And at the end of the evening Buzz Lightyear was so tired that he couldn’t fly home…he had to be carried.

Do you have any special holiday breakfasts?

The post Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I started reading up on the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar after Jenn posted her ACV Mocktails, and I figured aside from the smell, adding some ACV into my life can’t hurt. Every morning I mix a teaspoon of vinegar with a mixture of half apple juice and half water. The first few days, I had to plug my nose to get it down, but so far so good.

Other than drinking ACV, I’ve started using it directly on my skin as a toner. I’ve also decided to give up on soap and all other commercial facial cleansers. Instead, I am using honey, oatmeal, baking soda and coconut oil as my skin cleansing routine. I make a face wash of honey and ground oats (which I grind in the blender) to wash my face every night and moisturize with coconut oil. A couple times a week I use baking soda in place of the oats to make a more abrasive scrub.

If you don’t want to give up your skin care routine, but want to incorporate some of these natural ingredients, you can also try different combos to make face masks. Mix honey, oats and some water into a thick consistency and slather onto a freshly cleaned face. Keep on for around 20 minutes.You can also make a baking soda mask, which is very effective for acne, by mixing baking soda and water in a 2:1 ratio. There are tons of variations on natural face masks, some even use yogurt, so you can put that Cho to good use!

Now you might be wondering, why these things?

Apple Cider Vinegar is plain and simply good for you. Aside from giving you cleaner, healthier skin, ACV supports a healthy immune system, promotes digestion and ph balance and can even help with muscle soreness and sore throats.

Honey is a natural antiseptic which prevents bacteria from growing on you face. It also aids in the healing of wounds and is a natural moisturizer.

Baking soda is a physical exfoliant, which makes it highly effective at removing the dead skin cells without causing excessive irritation. It is also a neutralizer, which can neutralized acids and bases which your skin comes in contact with.

Oatmeal treats three of the conditions that contribute to acne – excessively oily skin, harmful bacteria on the surface of the skin and an excess of dead skin cells. Oats absorb and remove excess oil, remove bacteria and exfoliate dead skin cells.

Coconut oil l is a source of two of the most powerful anti microbial agents found in food –  Capric Acid and Lauric Acid, the same acids found in breast milk to protect babies from infection. It is also full of Vitamin E ,which ensures proper functioning of sebum glands and clears blockages, treating the cause of acne.

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I’ve only been using these ingredients for about a week, and haven’t gotten any new breakouts. So far, so good. Hopefully these things will prove to be effective so I can do a before and after post. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

12/31/12 UPDATE: I’ve been following this skin care regimen for a little over three months now and I think it’s time for an update. I am happy to report that my skin has improved. I love how soothing the coconut oil is on my skin and I haven’t experienced my usual wintertime flakiness thanks to it. I also haven’t had any breakouts other than a hormonal pimple here and there, during that time of the month. I’ve seen a decrease in blackhead and in the sensitivity of my skin. Overall, I am happy I started following a more natural path for my skin, and I don’t see myself returning to overpriced store-bought products anytime soon. Good luck!

The post Clear Skin From Your Kitchen appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Lunch came in the form of a salad. I threw together spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, avocado, corn, cheddar cheese and some deli ham before running out the door in the morning. I topped it off with some light Ceasar dressing and it totally hit the spot for lunch.

I couldn’t finish my lunch without a little bit of sweet so I dug into a a Cliff Z Chocolate chip bar. These things really taste like cookies. So good!

Dinner was something really special. As soon as I got to Tommy’s place, I was greeted with a glass of vino. Cabernet Sauvignon to be exact.

Tommy made me a surprise dinner of bacon wrapped scallops, steak, quinoa, zucchini and mushrooms. It was a-mazing. Better than any meal we could’ve gotten in a restaurant, fo sho!

If dinner wasn’t enough, there was dessert! Tommy made chocolate covered strawberries all by himself! And there was bubbly of course!

To top it all off, I still got gifts! Am I a lucky gal or what?! I got the usual Valentine’s day goodies – flowers, purple tulips!, and candy – Ferrero Rocher and Peep hearts!

Aaaaaaand… I also got a Snuggie! I’ve wanted a Snuggie since the infomercials started on TV years ago and now I finally have one! It might look a little goofy, but it is so warm and snuggly.

I can honestly say I had the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had and Tommy is going to have some major planning to do to top this one because I absolutely loved everything!

Have a great Wednesday!

How did you spend Valentine’s Day? What’s the best thing you ate yesterday?

The post WIAW Valentine’s Day Edition appeared first on Frolic Through Life.