Blueberry Zucchini Bread

I've got a lot of summer zucchini to use up these days. I finally had to freeze a bunch because I'm about zucchini-ed out. Now I've got a freezer full of ziploc bags with 2 cup portions of grated zucchini so I can make this bread year round. 

This recipe was a hit in my house. We all gobbled it up. The lemon zest adds a delicious compliment to the blueberries and cinnamon. I reduced the sugar from the orginal recipe as the blueberries add their own sweetness and it turned out plenty sweet.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread
adapted from The Complete Kitchen Garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden
Makes 2 loaves

3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups grated zucchini (about 3 medium zucchini)
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Position rack in the center of the oven. Lightly butter and flour two 8x4 loaf pans, shaking out the excess flour.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, beat the sugar and butter on high speed until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and beat in the vanilla and yogurt. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined.
With a wooden spoon, fold in the zucchini, lemon zest and blueberries and stir gently until ingredients are just blended. Pour into the floured pan and tap on the counter to even the batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

You can slice and freeze this bread in a freezer bag too.
Enjoy your zucchini treat!

This recipe is featured on: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Your Green Resource, Tasty Tuesday, Melt In Your Mouth Monday

DIY Homemade Deodorant

I've been very reluctant to make my own deodorant. I found it much easier to give up shampoo and put honey in my hair. Switching to an all natural deodorant has been the last frontier of crunchiness for me. It took a while for the ickyness of traditional deodorant to out weigh my fear of being sweaty.

Well, thankfully my sweatyness level is pretty much the same with my homemade stuff. I'm still sweating a bit but it's similar to how I did with typical deodorant. Making my own deodorant is now a way of life & I'm not going back to the store bought stuff. (And no, I don't stink.)

So my main reason for making deodorant for myself? Traditional deodorant is BAD. The main ingredient in store bought deodorant is aluminum which is linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's. Aluminum mimics estrogen which can mess up your hormone levels. I have a family history of Alzheimer's so I've been aware of the link to aluminum for many years but only as I've gotten older have I started looking for ways to cut down my own aluminum exposure.

I've made a couple of different homemade recipes. This one from the Purposed Heart worked pretty well but had complicated ingredients & irritated one of my pits. The other was fine so I guess I have weird pits.

I've researched a lot of recipes and ingredients and today I'm sharing the most simple & frugal I've found. I use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch as it's much less irritating to my pits. If you don't have it on hand you can go ahead and try the recipe with cornstarch but just be warned.

Simple Deodorant

1/4 c. baking soda

1/4 c. arrowroot powder or cornstarch 

5 Tbsp. coconut oil

Essential oils (optional – I used 2 drops tea tree as it's antibacterial and 3 drops lavender for a nice scent)  *Don't use citrus oils as they can promote hair growth which you probably don't want to encourage in your pits.

Mix it all together in a small container. You may need to warm the coconut oil if it's not soft at room temperature. Pour the mix into a small plastic bowl and place it in the refrigerator to harden. After it hardens it will pop out of the bowl for easy use. I leave it in my fridge all the time since I prefer to keep it cool. I just pop it out to rub on my pits in the morning. The coolness feels refreshingly good during the summer. If you leave it at room temperature it will be soft and you can scoop it onto your fingers and sensually rub it into your pits.
In the winter I may experiment with pouring the deodorant mix into a cleaned out deodorant container. The weather has to remain cooler for the coconut oil to remain solid like a traditional deodorant.

Have you tried to make your own deodorant? Are you willing to try?

This post has been linked to: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Mama Moments Monday, Living Green Tuesdays, Works-for-Me-Wednesday, The Morris Tribe, Homestead Barn Hop, Make Your Own Mondays, Women Living Well, Your Green Resource

Menu Plan 9/10-9/16

I'm loving my fall routine of kids in school and predictable days. The chaos of summer was fun while it lasted but I'm so glad autumn is in the air. I've had time to browse the library cookbooks for meal inspiration and I've looked through some of my new Kindle cookbooks. I'm determined to try at least one new recipe for dinner a week. I'd do more but I don't think the kids would handle that well.

Super Apple Crisp

Weekly Menu Plan 9/10-9/16 
Monday: Pasta with homemade marinara, wheat rolls & tossed salad
Tuesday: Salmon Cakes, brown rice, veggie
Wednesday: Chinese takeout and movie night
Thursday: Crockpot BBQ Chicken (from Slow Cooker Superfood Recipes), baked potatoes, steamed green beans
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday lunch: Leftovers & salad
Sunday dinner: Orange chicken, steamed green beans, quinoa 

Snacks: Super Apple Crisp, Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Skin Clearing Green Smoothies

You can find many more menus at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

What's on your menu plan this week?

Menu Plan 9/3-9/9

I hope everyone had a happy Labor Day! We took the boys to a Cubs game at Wrigley and while they were less than thrilled it was still a fun time and something very different than our usual weekend.

Yesterday we spent our Labor Day morning doing work around the house. Joe finished staining our fence while I organized kids clothes and filled a box of giveaway stuff for charity. After our morning of work we went on a family bike ride and then to the pool and ended the weekend by roasting marshmallows for smores.

I feel like I'm in a menu rut but not willing to spend the time and creative energy to get out. It also usually backfires when I try new and interesting recipes as my little critics are so particular. Joe & I usually like the variety of trying new things but the kids do not.

I'm sticking with some favorites this week in the hope that everyone is happy with dinner.

Weekly Menu Plan 9/3-9/9

Monday: Crockpot chicken, potatoes & carrots

Tuesday:  Cedar plank salmon, brown rice, steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Orange chicken, steamed green beans, quinoa

Thursday: Pasta with homemade marinara, salad, whole wheat bread

Friday: Tacos with 1/2 cup pureed lentils mixed in

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Sunday: Burgers & leftovers

Snacks: English Muffin Bread, Honey Muffins, Honey Walnut Granola

You can find lots more menus at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Is anyone else in a dinnertime rut?