Face it, there are times when we all just need a snack. Whether we are at home or on the road, sometimes we need something in our stomachs to get us to that next meal.  I am good at planning meals, but I am terrible at planning snacks. Mostly, because I can be a food Nazi. My family looks at a box or bag of snacks at the store with more than a couple ingredients in it and chances are it’s not going into my cart. I don’t want a bunch of chemicals going into my family! So, then, what’s a healthy mom to do?

Enter, my favorite snack cookbook from Katie@KitchenStewardship – Healthy Snacks To-Go. It is full of wholesome snack recipes that our family loves. Katie has recently updated this book and added lots more recipes and healthy snack tips.

The granola bars are our favorite, but the powerbar recipe is pretty good, too.  I just got the updated book so I haven’t tried the grain-free pumpkin muffins yet, but they are on my list!

To order Healthy Snacks To-Go, click HERE.  You can see the table of contents and even download free recipes. This is my favorite snack cookbook! You won’t be disappointed!

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*disclosure – I am an affiliate for Healthy Snacks To-Go, meaning if you purchase through a link above, I receive payment from the author for my referral. It helps keep the lights on here at Overcoming Busy. Rest assured, I wouldn’t promote something I don’t love

I wanted to pass on an extraordinary project that Lisa Byrne from WellGrounded Life has put together.

She’s launching (for free) a series of intimate conversations that she’s recorded with 9 exceptional women around the topics of motherhood, ambition, passion and purpose.

It will be like going to an intimate dinner party with  Brene Brown, Jennifer Louden, Renee Trudeau, Dr. Sara Gottfried, Pamela Slim, Jill Savage, Kelly Rae Roberts, Andrea Scher and Tsh Oxenreider.   Do you want to join us?

The M.A.P.P. Gathering is all about coming together as modern mothers and entering a dialogue about what it looks like to navigate mothering in the world while keeping a strong sense of yourself and your passions.  It’s about diving right into the heart of the new paradigm of mothering from a deeply nurtured, generous, fulfilled and purposeful place in the world.

The whole interview series is free and open to everyone, so I wanted to pass it on to every woman I knew.  You can learn more and sign up here:  www.mappgathering.com

Choose to not be busy.

That’s it. Pretty deep, huh? Think about it. We are all grown ups. We make our own choices all day long. We choose to eat healthy, or not. We choose what to wear, what to say, who to call, what to do.

Why not choose to overcome busy? Or choose to do something else worthwhile? Why not make a conscious effort? 

January 1st, people make new year’s resolutions. All throughout the year, people start diets and workout programs. Most people fail at all these. Why? Because they really never made the choice to do it. They just arbitrarily decide something might be a good or popular thing to do, but they never really own it. When you choose it, it is yours.

So, go ahead. The choice is yours. What do you choose to do?

Aren’t they beautiful? They are my sisters. We are a community of women who see the need we all have for belonging and friendship and we want you to join us. We are inviting you to the launch of SistersInBloom.com. Our mission there is to encourage and lift you up, to be there when you are feeling alone, weary or insecure – like a sister.

Join us today as we launch Sisters In Bloom and download our new ebook for free! It is a book written by the Sisters In Bloom collaborators full of God’s promises and how they apply to you.

Looking forward to seeing you at Sisters In Bloom!

One of my favorite meats to freeze is ground beef. I prefer to brown the beef before freezing. Sometimes the thawing process can discolor and spoil uncooked meat, especially if you wait too long to freeze it. I like to freeze the ground beef one pound at a time in freezer bags. That makes it easy to add to recipes.

Easy Ground Beef Meal Ideas

Our family has a few favorite, easy dishes that I can whip up using one pound of frozen ground beef and just a few ingredients. It makes those nights when I don’t have a lot of time or energy a bit easier.

Chili – We make a simple chili like THIS one.

Tacos – I like to use THIS homemade taco seasoning.

Sloppy Joes – Just ground beef, ketchup and BBQ sauce

Unstuffed Peppers – Our family likes to make easy rice skillets like THIS one.

Mexican Orzo Skillet

• 1  pound ground beef
• 1  cup salsa
• 1/2  cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1  cup water
• 1  tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4  teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1  can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Since panic was my first thought, I decided I needed to ask the experts. I asked Overcoming Busy facebook fans what they would do. I thought it was interesting that the ideas where very similar. The common thread was to just take care of the main areas and do it quickly.

“pick up toys, wipe down kitchen, wipe down bathroom (just the main one), if time left, run the sweeper”

“Big huge plastic bag to clean up all the clutter. Hide the full bag. A quick wipe down of bathroom and spot vacuum where company will be.”

“Spray air freshner in living room area, by the front door & bathroom. Then, do a quick touch-up of the bathroom. Sink & Toilet.
And if you have boys, the floor and wall ALL Around the toilet. (Ask me how I know)”

“Vacuum,sweep, mop. I have a steam.mop it takes like ten minutes. Clean the toilet. If your nosey enough to look in the shower you’ll know we actually live here. Plug in the scentsy and call it even.”

“Potties, counter tops and my personal pet peeve: clean out the sink!!! The sink makes or breaks it–IMO!”

This comment had lot of wisdom -

“I try to keep my main living areas where 15-20 min is all I need”

And, this one just cracked me up because we’ve all thought of it at least once -

“Start coughing & pretend I’m sick…..wink”

 Would you do anything different?

I have tried to make sure I keep some staples on hand myself. Here are a few ingredients I don’t want to be without.

Chicken Broth – There is always chicken broth or chicken bouillon in my pantry or freezer. I can add it to rice to make it more flavorful. Throw in some veggies, noodles and left over chicken and you’ve got soup! There are so many options available when  you have broth on hand. My recent pantry favorite is THRIVE chicken bouillon. The container is huge. It keeps forever. The flavor is fantastic and it is cheaper than the bouillon I used to use!

Pasta and Rice – I combined these since they are sometimes interchangeable. Use them to stretch foods you already have. Throw them in chili or soup to make them go a little further. Make a casserole out of meat and veggies you have on hand. Toss pasta with a little butter and parmesean cheese. So easy!

Canned Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce – I use a lot of canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. They are so easy to toss with pasta or rice. Cook your meat with canned tomatoes in a skillet. Make tomato soup.

Frozen Meat – Whenever I have a little leftover meat (cooked or uncooked), I throw it in the freezer. There are so many times when I need to go to the store and I don’t have any fresh meat to make dinner (and my husband requires meat!). I just check the freezer. I am always so surprised to find that little bit is just enough!

What are some of your pantry basics that can keep you feeding your family just a little longer?

In the Stop Pinterest Procrastination post last week, I gave you until today to pause the Pinterest pinning and actually create something! We all do it. We get inspired by a tutorial or photo and think “I can do that!” We add it to our collection of pins and then forget about it. Well, it’s time to put that inspiration into action! I did and I am thrilled with the result!

In our house we love dry erase boards. We have everything from the standard white boards to pretty ceramic decor pieces. What I really wanted was one to put in our dining area to list the dinner menu. I saw this project from www.makesandtakes.com on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect.

It looked easy enough, but you know I just never had enough time to create my own. I needed this challenge to be sure I made time. I stopped at Michaels while my daughter was at figure skating practice and picked up this frame ($4) and this pretty paper (20 cents).

The frame was 10 x10 and the paper was 12×12, so I did a little paper trimming.  Then, I just took the back off the frame. Put the paper up against the glass just like a photo and…

..if you’ll ignore the crappy photography, my lacking penmanship, and my fading dry erase marker…it turned out great! In just 5 minutes, I created my first Pinterest project! Yeah, the one I didn’t have time for. That seems kind of silly now.

In the few days we have used the new menu board, the constant question of what’s for dinner and the moans that usually follow have all but vanished. They enter the kitchen, read the board aloud and go back to what they were doing – unfazed. Who knew that my little decor project would bring peace at dinnertime?! I better get working on some more!

What about you??

Did you take the Stop Pinterest Procrastination challenge?

Well….link it up!!!

Sisters In Bloom Is Coming Soon from Denise Thompson on Vimeo.