*Perfect Fluffy Pancakes * Juice without a Juicer * Home Remedy for Sore Throat * DIY Lower Sugar Dried Cranberries * Easy Kitchen Organization*
Happy New Year friends!
We hope your holiday was filled with a bit of relaxation. I unplugged for a few days and it was refreshing. What did I do with all that extra time? Organized! And that felt pretty refreshing too.
So in in the spirit of refreshing your kitchen, your cold-remedy-routine, and your pantry staples with a new DIY fave…here are the first #HealthyKitchenHacks of 2016:
1) The Fluffiest Pancakes
via Danielle @Food Confidence
OK, I admit it. I want to eat pancakes for breakfast and dinner all January. It’s the carbs I crave with less sunlight. And they’re easy – as I’m a bit burnt out after all that holiday cooking.
They can be healthy too; I just put out bowls of colorful fruit for my kids to pile on. And to make them fluffiest pancakes? ==>Check out Danielle’s nifty tip – HINT: It’s all in how you blend the batter!
2) DIY Dried Cranberries
via Tiffany @Don’t Waste the Crumbs
My family loves dried cranberries – but they’re pretty high in added sugar – especially compared to raisins, prunes or dates which are 100% natural sugar. So I was excited to try out Tiffany’s DIY dried cranberries method – for which I could control the sugar amount. I found I was able to use only:
- 2-3 teaspoons per 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup fresh cranberries = 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Tiffany uses the a food dehydrator for 9 hours. Instead, I placed the berries on wire racks (yes, a few fall through) on parchment-paper-lined-baking-sheets in the oven at 170-degrees on convection bake for 5 hours. (A few were still not-quite-dried – but I just ate those instead of storing them!)
3) 30 Kitchen Organization Tips
via Dawn @Seed Time
It’s organizing season! My mother-in-law said she filled four bags with ‘unneeded kitchen stuff.’ The car line at the Good Will drop off was so long yesterday, I had to come back later! So Dawn’s list of kitchen organizing ideas from 30 bloggers is inspirational. Thanks to her list, my chest freezer now has an inventory sheet. And my cupcake liners – yup – they are organized too.
4) Home Remedy for Sore Throat
via my mom!
I use this one-ingredient scratchy-throat remedy almost weekly throughout the winter. It’s honey! Just a small spoonful calms a dry, hacking cough.
Sometimes the kids aren’t really sick, just stuffy and can’t sleep because of a cough. Honey has natural humectant (moisturizing) properties that help coat the throat. It really works, just ask my mom. (She used it for me when I was little – and now on her grandchildren.) She also adds lemon juice – which thins the honey – which lowers the sugar a bit if your kids think they need several spoonfuls!How to Juice Without a Juicer + 4 more #HealthyKitchenHacks via @TspCurry Click To Tweet
5) Juice without a Juicer
via @Cooking Light
If Santa didn’t bring you that fancy juicer you wanted, this trick for using a food processor works great to produce the same volume and texture of juice from a juicer. It involves several steps but it’s been perfected by the brilliant test kitchens at Cooking Light magazine.
I tried celery, apple, and parsley juice. I wasn’t a big green juice fan to begin with. And now, thanks to this tip, I can confidently take juicer off my Amazon Wish List. Plus that’s one less appliance to organize a space for!
Got any organizing tips? How are you refreshing your kitchen in 2016? Please share – we’re always looking for ideas!
Meal Makeover Mom Janice
Wednesday 6th of January 2016
I hope I don't need the cough medicine any time soon, but nice to have. I may also try the dried cranberries since I froze a bunch I got from my CSA!
Serena Ball
Thursday 7th of January 2016
The dried cranberries were really surprising. They taste so 'cranberry-y'! Like fresh, only dried ==>Freshly dried!
EA-The Spicy RD
Wednesday 6th of January 2016
I've ever thought to dry my own cranberries, but what a great idea to cut back on the added sugars! Oh, and that honey trick-I need that in my life right now since Mr. Spicy and I are BOTH fighting post holiday colds. Happy New Year to you and your families!
Serena Ball
Thursday 7th of January 2016
Happy New Year EA! I'm telling you the honey trick works extra well...because, well, sweet natural honey just makes you feel better, plus soothes your throat.
Amber @ Homemade Nutrition
Wednesday 6th of January 2016
These tips are great!! I cant' wait to make my own dried cranberries, I've always wanted to try that!
Serena Ball
Thursday 7th of January 2016
Thanks Amber - yup, dried cranberries are perfect for your motto==> Homemade nutrition! Plus they're really easy - despite Tiffany's detailed instructions (which are helpful!) But it's really just a 2-step process!
Dietitian Jess
Wednesday 6th of January 2016
Love the family cough syrup recipe- so cool that is passed down from generation to generation! I NEED to organize my freezer, badly. I try to make sure stuff is eaten within 6 months and sometimes I tend to forget about things- inventory sheet is a great idea!
Serena Ball
Thursday 7th of January 2016
Thanks Jess...It was my daughter who actually got my mom to write the 'recipe' down. And I'm so glad she did - it's fun to have the history in her handwriting!