Good. They’re full of chemicals and sugar! Why not take five minutes or so and make some healthy alternatives?

• Ants on a Log: Old school snacking! Spread peanut butter on a celery stick and top it with raisins
• Banana-sicle: Peel a bunch of bananas and insert a skewer in one end. Line on a baking pan with waxed paper and freeze for one hour. (To make them for Mama just add melted chocolate!)
• Mini Pizzas: Don’t bother buying the store brand boxed kind, just make them yourself. Add marinara sauce to any english muffin, bagel or pita, add cheese and veggies and bake until the cheese is melted.
• Fruit Kabobs: Pineapple, grapes, apples, berries and kiwi are perfect for a nice spring day snack. Cut into one inch chunks and add to a skewer.

The people who grew Victory Gardens, didn’t waste anything. What they couldn’t can, bake, cook, or eat, was given away. Everything from tomatoes to oregano was grown and shared. Food rationing was in effect and people who had loved ones in war felt that they were doing their part with Victory Gardens. It really was one of the most successful government programs ever proposed. I found a very old and informative movie that was made by the USDA on Victory Gardens. Take a look at how Americans came together and did their part with simply growing vegetables.

• 2 c oats
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1 c white flour (I’m sure you could use 2 c of either flour, I was just experimenting a bit)
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Dash salt
• 1 c butter
• 1 – 2 c berries, fruit, jelly, whatever… you have to eyeball it a bit and make sure it covers the entire tray. (PLUS 2 tsp cornstarch if you’re using just fruit

For the fruit part, I used about 1 3/4 c frozen blueberries,frozen strawberries, and raisins. I added the cornstarch when they were thawed and mixed it in to thicken them a bit.

So here’s what you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.

Combine oats, flour(s), brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or use a food processor. It’ll be chunky and crumbly, which is what you want. The cutting in the butter part is a bit of a pain, but not too bad. You can reward yourself by sampling some of the product along the way!

So anyway, take HALF of this mixture and press it into your pan. Bake it for 15ish minutes, until it’s a bit brown and set. Spread your berries/fruit/jelly over top of this and then cover with remaining dough, press down firmly, and bake another 15 minutes!

Voila! It makes a ton of cereal bars, so I took that Glad Press ‘N Seal stuff and laid each bar flat on it and covered with another piece and made individual wrappers to take the bars on the go! I also froze a bunch and they kept well! My uncle says a bit of lemon zest in the fruit part would be a nice touch, too, so try that if you want!

Sleep deprivation causes these feelings that, with time, can grow to be very intense and life altering. Did you know that no matter how it’s done, when you miss out on even a few hours of sleep, your body will eventually make it up. Whether it’s on a Saturday morning, or a too long nap in the middle of the day, lack of sleep catches up with you and can throw off your sleep schedule more.

So how can we avoid problems like this?

• Go to bed the same time every night. I know that nursing mothers will have more of a problem with this, but try. Getting yourself on a regular schedule is the first step to regulating your sleep patterns.
• Wake up early, and the same time every day. Other than maybe one day a week, try not to oversleep. But on the same note, don’t get up unless you’ve had at least six, preferably eight hours of sleep.
• Stop with the caffeine. Research indicates that to get the caffiene out of your system in order to keep sleep patterns, all sugary drinks must be stopped after Noon.
• Exercise. People who regularly exercise have less problems with restlessness, insomnia, and restless leg disorder.

My extended family waits all year to come to my house for my lamb. Everyone goes crazy for it. I need to feed about 22 people so I buy two big lambs about 8 pounds each. I ask the butcher to remove the bone and give me rope so I can stuff it and tie it.

For one lamb …

• Make a mix for the stuffing you will need
• Sliced garlic – four cloves
• Yellow onions – one small one sliced into one inch pieces
• Pine nuts – 1/4 cup
• Parsley – 1/4 cup
• Rosemary – a few sprigs cut up makes about two tablespoons
• Thyme – on teaspoon
• Golden Raisins – 1/4 cup
• Bread crumbs – 1/4 cp
• Prosciutto (Italian ham) cut into 1 inch pieces to one cup full
• Mozzarella slices, four cut into quarters
• Kosher salt – one tablespoon
• Fresh ground pepper on teaspoon

Mix it all up… add two tablespoons of olive oil, mix more. Lay out your lamb, put stuffing on inside and roll up and stuff. In a big pan add two tablespoons of olive oil, place lamb rub with another tablespoon of olive oil, kosher salt and fresh pepper onto the lamb. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes. Check the temperature, 120 degrees is perfect. Lamb should be served rare.

Before we can begin to clean our kitchens we must first rid ourselves of the junk and clutter. Start with emptying out your cupboards onto your kitchen table. Only do the cupboards that hold dishes, glasses, and bowls to start.

Vacuum and wipe down the insides of the cupboards. Before you start putting things back into the cabinets, be sure that this is where you want them to go. Now is the perfect time to reorganize. Place things in cupboards near to where they will be used. For instance glasses should be near the sink, dishwasher or table. Spices, near the stove but not right next to it.

Cooking utensils should be near the stove. Your dishtowels should go near the sink, etc.

Now only put back into the cupboard what you absolutely need. If it’s broken, chipped, or never used, throw it out or find a new place for it.
Continue doing this with all your cabinets and then move onto your drawers. Try and only empty three at a time, so not to overwhelm yourself.
Once you’ve cleaned and organized the cabinets and drawers you can begin to clean.

Here’s a checklist of chores that should be done

Chore Check List

•Refrigerator. Clean the inside, outside, underneath and top of the refrigerator. Don’t forget to vacuum the coils in the back and to remove the plastic grill in the front and scrub with soapy water. If your freezer has odors in it, try placing a loaf of bread in it for a couple of days, it should absorb the entire odor.

•Stove. Clean the stove and oven. Pull it out and clean the sides, the back and underneath. Remove all the knobs and throw them in the dishwasher. You can put your drip pans and burner rings in there also. If you have a self cleaning oven set it and let it get to work. If you don’t, clean the inside of your oven. If you don’t want to use a commercial brand cleaner, try a homemade one. Baking soda and water made into a paste and a little elbow grease should do the trick. If your racks are very dirty, try throwing them into a large garbage bag with a cloth that’s been soaked in ammonia. Set it outside overnight and wash well in the morning with soap and water. They should sparkle. Don’t forget to clean your exhaust fan. The screens can be tossed into the dishwasher too.

• Dishwasher. Scrub the outside well. The inside can be cleaned by simply wiping the inside down with mineral oil and then letting it run a full cycle with dishwasher soap.

• Now is the time to give your small appliances a good cleaning too.

• Toaster. Give it a good scrub. Empty and clean the crumb tray. If your keeping it on your counter, think about placing it on a decorative tray to catch the crumbs.

• Blender. Just add a ½ tsp of white vinegar and fill ½ ways with hot water. Turn it on and let blend clean!

• Coffee maker. Fill the reservoir with white vinegar and run it through a full cycle. Repeat the cycle two more times with plain water.

• Cabinets and drawers. Continue to clean the fronts of your cabinets and drawers. Give the hardware a little shine too.

• Light fixtures. Clean all the light fixtures in the kitchen and replace any needed bulbs.

• Floors and woodwork. Clean the floors and the baseboards.

• Walls. Don’t forget to remove any pictures you may have up. Clean the walls using a bucket of warm water soapy water and a sponge mop. Lay an old shower curtain on the floor where your working to pick up any drips.

• Washables. Wash all your potholders, kitchen rugs, and aprons.

• Countertops. Be sure the counter tops are empty, and scrub and rinse well. Before putting things back onto the counter, scrub them and decide if you want to keep them up there. If you only use it occasionally you will be better off storing it.

• Clean your windows and screens

• Inspect your fire extinguisher