EmpowerMoms

This past weekend we had a family birthday party so I decided to make a gluten-free, dairy-free dessert to bring.

I found an awesome Apple Crisp recipe online from minimalistbaker.com wesbite (posted link at the bottom of this post) and decided to tweak it a little bit for my personal use.

Here’s the recipe and pictures:

I buy my Gluten Free mixes from Kroger and Big Lots. 

Love this spread!

Ready to bake!! 

I baked it for 45 mins let it sit for awhile until after dinner. 

It smelled SO GOOD!! It was eaten pretty fast too with no complaints. 

Of course putting vanilla ice cream on top doesn’t make it dairy free any more. 😉 

I will definitely be using this Apple Crisp recipe again.
However, I felt like it was too sweet so I’m going to cut back or eliminate all together the white sugar for the apple coating and see how it turns out. I’ll post here after I try that and let you know how it turns out.  

I’m on week 4 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution and LOVING IT!!

Body Revolution is my first Jillian Michaels program/dvd that I’ve done. I’ve watched The Biggest Loser so of course I knew what kind of trainer she was, so frankly I was scared to even start the workout. It has been challenging but doable and the weeks have gone by really fast. I hate when I do workout programs and the weeks drag on like the program lasts forever. I’m excited that I’m seeing personal progress-not much-but it’s still progress.

I found some FREE Full length Jillian Michaels workouts on youtube from the BEFIT channel that I wanted to share with my readers. I haven’t done any of these yet, but I plan on trying them after Body Revolution. I’m sure there are more free videos on youtube, but I don’t like to share videos unless they are from a person I know or a company.

Have you tried any of these Jillian Michaels videos before?

ENJOY!
Let me know what you think!!

It’s time for our third check in for The Daniel Plan 40 day program.

Day 30 is today Tuesday July 29th so it’s time to evaluate how we’ve done and what can be done better.

Have you been able to finish reading the whole The Daniel Plan book?
What did you like about it and how did it help you?

My goal is to go back thru it again this week and pick out some things to focus on in my every day life.

I have been TRYING to use The Daniel Plan journal every day because when I use it, it helps me be more mindful of what I’m eating and what I’m thankful for. Unfortunately I have gotten behind, so last week I decided to go back to logging my food and calories with MYFITNESSPAL app. I still look at the journal, but to be honest its hard to remember to use it, and post my food calories online, and keep track of things on my blog.

One of the five essentials to the program is Food! 

Have you been following The Daniel Plan nutrition guide or another food guide? I would encourage you to make one change-it doesn’t have to be a big change-to your nutrition this week. I have been trying to be dairy and gluten free as well as little to no sugar. So far it’s going great and overall I feel alot better!   

Remember to eat lots of veggies and fruits!! 

Another essential to the program is FITNESS. 

I used the hashtag #thedanielplan and #danielstrong on my fitness Instagram pictures, if you want to check out what I’ve been doing. I’m on week 4 of Jillian Michaels which I have been loving!! 

What workouts do you enjoy??

One of the things I like about my journal is that it asks me every day what I’m thankful for! 

Another element to The Daniel Plan is Friends. 

I hope my blog check in has been helpful to those of you following this plan and wanting support and motivation! 

I hope you have had an awesome time living The Daniel Plan Lifestyle these past 30 days.
Our FINAL check in will be on day 40 so check back here for a chance to win the grand prize!

Welcome to the launch campaign for debut novelist Kristy Cambron‘s The Butterfly and the Violin. Romantic Times had this to say: “Alternating points of view skillfully blend contemporary and historical fiction in this debut novel that is almost impossible to put down. Well-researched yet heartbreaking. . . .”

Kristy is celebrating the release of the first book in her series, A Hidden Masterpiece, with a fun Kindle Fire giveaway and meeting her readers during an August 7th Facebook author chat party.

 One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 7th. Winner will be announced at The Butterfly and the Violin Author Chat Party. Kristy will be connecting with readers and answering questions, sharing some of the fascinating research behind the book, hosting a fun book chat, and giving away some GREAT prizes. She will also be giving an exclusive look at the next book in the series, A Sparrow in Terezin!

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 7th!

I’m a blog book reviewer for LitFuse Publicity so I was given this book complimentary in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

 

 For a limited time, you can listen to a new episode of Adventures in Odyssey for FREE! Album 58, The Ties that Bind, will be available this fall for digital download and CD purchase, but if you join the Odyssey Adventures Club, you can listen to the full album now! Guess what? The $5 special held last month was extended through the end of July, too, so you can join in the fun for only $5! Here’s what part one is about (which you can listen to for free HERE):

It’s a time of surprises as Wooton becomes the celebrity guest at Comic-Connellsville and Whit finds himself in conflict over the upcoming “Let’s Get Together Festival” in Odyssey. Plus, hear an interview with writer-director Paul McCusker about the entire 14-part series.

Album 58 was inspired by Focus on the Family’s The Family Project, a 12-session small group experience that explores the theological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings of the traditional family, and combines that information with inspiring stories and practical tools to help 21st-century families thrive. One way families can carry out God’s design for families is by serving their community—right where God has planted them, being His hands and feet together. Want to serve your community with your family, maybe make a day of out it? Here are some fantastic ideas from some Adventures in Odyssey bloggers and club members:

• Make scarves through the year and deliver them to your local homeless shelter at the start of winter, or regularly donate food to your local food bank. —Shirley 
• Our family likes to help with Meals on Wheels. We also do reenactments of the Civil War and WWII to help educate people on history. I like to show my kids that we should be servers and givers by taking meals to people who need them (i.e. baby just born, someone died, someone had surgery, etc.). —Erin 
• We have been visiting a nursing home with friends once a month. The kids just sing and then we fellowship, but the ladies love it! —Lisa 
• We make lap blankets for nursing home residents and take the time to visit with them. We also collect food for the local food pantry. —Donna 
• We make blessing bags to give to the homeless when we encounter them. We also donate clothes and food to a local shelter. —Amy 
• Our MOPs (Mothers of Prechoolers) group supports our local Pregnancy Support Services with donations, gifts, and notes. We also supports the Durham Rescue Mission, which helps people break free from addictions and restore families. —Melissa 
• We live in a very rural area. Our church serves two of the poorest zip codes in the state, and about a decade ago, they started operating a food pantry out of a closet. It has expanded since then, so we now use the closet for storage, but the pantry is basically a classroom. The kids and I serve over there a lot. My 17-year-old and I go to Care & Share (50 miles away) to get food to bring back to the pantry. All of us help unload and stock shelves. On pantry days, everyone can get involved with helping people go through the line, playing with the kids, carrying boxes out to cars, etc. There are so many hungry folks, especially in the summer when school breakfasts and lunches aren’t available, and helping a bit to put food on some tables is such a blessing for us all. —Debra 
• We pack food bags each month for the homeless and needy through a thrift store that offers an outreach to the community. We also help clean our church and our Sunday school. —Michele 
• We work through our AHG troop to do several service activities a year. My girls just recently made bracelets they are selling, which 100% of the profits goes to Hope House in Africa to help young girls. —Sarah 
• Our church works with a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta. We cook food ahead of time, and when our schedules allow we ride down with the group to serve the food. My son always reminds me when we haven’t been for awhile, so it’s something he looks forward to. —Maria 
• We do lots of random acts of kindnesses within our community: pay for others’ meals, leave change at a vending machine, hand out Gatorade/granola bars to people on the side of the road asking for food. We also love to support Mobile Loaves and Fishes. —Kathryn

Did that provide some ideas to give your family service activity the kick-start it needs? What other ideas do you have for serving your community? Share in the comments!