No cook summer eating

No one wants to cook when it's almost hot outside! Meals that don't take time or heat when it's hot outside is my favorite. Here are two of my favorite things require very little ingredients or effort and the best part, NO COOKING!

The first is a recipe for a snack the whole family loves and best part, it's super healthy

Power Balls:
1 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. ground flax seed
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. honey
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

combine all the above in a bowl. Let it chill in the fridge for 30 mins then form into 1 inch balls.
My kids love these as much as we do, they really love helping me make them. I can eat 2 of these (with some restraint since I can probably eat the whole batch by myself in one sitting) for a snack and my hunger subsides and I feel energized. Enjoy!

The next recipe is for an easy ready to take breakfast:

Overnight fridge oatmeal:
1/4 c. uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 c. milk
1/4 c. vanilla yogurt
1 and 1/2 tsp chia seeds (I add extra since I love chia)
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 c. blueberries

Mix ingredients in a small jar, secure the lid and shake until well mixed. Place in the fridge overnight and your yummy breakfast is ready for you to grab and go first thing in the morning.

Clean that garage

Is your garage over taken by junk? It is so easy to throw stuff in the garage that you don't know what to do with.  Sometimes boxes full of stuff that never got unpacked from a move, or sentimental childhood things sit in boxes gathering dust. Workbenches over stacked with tools and extra materials, car parts, yard tools, you name it and it ends up in the garage. The garage can become an area of the house that gets over looked because the clean up and clean out seems overwhelming.

As with any home project start with a plan. Decide what type of stuff you want to keep and what to toss. I like to enlist the help of an unbiased friend. They can help you toss stuff that you've been keeping around that serves no purpose but a space waster. Get some bins and shelves to help organize the stuff you are keeping. A clean well organized garage is definitely worth it!

Give us a call if you need a bin to haul off your junk.

S'more please!

Who doesn't love roasting marshmallows on a cool summer night? Adding a fire pit to your backyard can add a fun and beautiful place for the whole family to gather around. Whether its to roast marshmallows for s'mores, a place to cook your next dutch oven master piece, or just a cozy place to gather around and share some laughs. A fire pit doesn't have to break the bank or even be huge under taking. There are tons of great ideas online to build the perfect fire pit that will fit your budget and your needs.

A good place to start to find the right place, I like to put it somewhere that my kids don't play often so there isn't a risk of them getting hurt. Also, if I can find the right place that wont require moving sprinklers or rearranging that's ideal. The two main styles of fire pits is above ground and and below ground. Each have their own pros and cons, its up to you to decide which fits your needs. If a permanent structure isn't something you are ready to commit to there are some really cool portable designs that are both super cheap and very easy to make. I hope you enjoy making your next backyard project!

Make yard cleanup less stressful

This is the time of year we get outside and start cleaning up our yards from the winter. Spring is also the best time to prune bushes, plants, and trees. Starting a new project can leave you with a lot of yard waste like dirt and rock. Yard waste can be really heavy and most trucks cannot safely haul heavy loads. The bins are designed with front opening doors to make it easy to load.  Give us a call and we can help you decide which bin is best for your wallet and project.

Time To Get Planning Your Yard Projects!

Time to get planning your yard projects!

I love when it starts to warm up and I get my yard ready for the summer months ahead. Winter snows and spring wind and ran storms usually leave my yard with some cleanup to be done. That seems to be the first thing on my yard to do list. Next, I like to plan for new plants and gardens. This year we are putting in a veggie garden for us and one for our kids to oversee. One thing I always do before starting any project is to come up with a list of things I need to do.

Before I start putting plants in the ground I do a few things so I don’t run into any issues. I like to sketch out my yard, so I can figure out how much sun and water each area gets naturally. This will help me get the right plants that will thrive in the area I put them. Some areas are better different plants so make sure you know what type of soil you have, how much water they get from your current watering system or if I need to add a sprinkler or drip system.

Once I have a good idea of the best area for my garden I can go plant shopping. Make sure you read every label for the plants, so you know they are right for your yard and needs. I always look to see what type of light they need, how much water each plant requires and how much space they need to grow. Before I started planning my garden out I would just go and buy whatever looked pretty and what I wanted. This usually ended up with a bunch of dead plants. Having a good plan will ensure you have a success and beautiful garden. If you need help removing your ward waste, please give us a call and we will be happy to help you find a bin that fits your needs.

Snack ideas to keep the whole family happy!

Snack ideas to keep the whole family happy!

My family are snackers, instead of big meals we like to pick throughout the day. I realized our snacking wasn’t very healthy, we were reaching for things like chips, popsicles and sweets. In an effort to change this I replaced those items with whole grain breads with no sugar added, protein rich cheese, and fresh fruit and veggies.

I was met with reluctance and sad faces, but I wanted my family to get all the best nutrition and be healthy, so I decided to get creative. A few fun cookie cutters, cute plates and some kabob sticks I went to work to see what would work. The cookie cutters make fun shapes in the bread like unicorns and dinosaurs which both my kids ate up! (Save the scraps for croutons or recipes) String cheese strands and veggies on a cute plate became fun faces that is just as much fun to make as they are to eat.

But the snack we all love the most is fruit kebabs and dip. The fruit dip recipe is below, and although it may have more sugar than I’d like we limit the portion size and use it as a treat rather than daily snack. All things in moderation, right?!

For the fruit kebab just slice up any fruit your family loves and skewer them or arrange them on fun plates or trays. My kids love eating snacks from ice cube trays, anything that presents food in a fun and unique way is great to get even the pickiest eaters excited about different foods.

We love strawberries, grapes, apples, pineapples and cutie oranges. But any fruit will work great with this dip.

French Cream:

·         One 8-ounce package cream cheese

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         1 cup whipping cream

·         1/4 cup granulated sugar

·         1 lemon, zested and juiced

·         Pineapple juice

Enjoy this yummy and easy recipe. Check out the other blogs for more great spring time recipes.

Fun Family Event

Kick off the summer with a fun event for the whole family.

April 27^th -28^th The Ultimate Home and Outdoor Expo will be visiting Farmington UT, make sure to check it. There will be tons of great demonstrations and booths for home ideas and outdoor activities. Make time to go to the Dutch oven cooking class to get tips from experts on Dutch oven cooking. If you don’t have a Dutch oven pit or fire pit this may be the next project on your list. My family loves cooking Dutch oven and playing outside all day, and the food is always amazing!

Check out the website for more info

http://www.theultimateoutdoorexpo.com/

Once your list of projects is done make sure to give us a call so we can help plan for which bin will be perfect for your job.