Gingerbread Oreos

We have really, truly been staying away from processed foods in an effort to be a tad bit more healthy - but I couldn't resist these cookies. Damn you Oreo!! Of course, my strong love for anything Gingerbread didn't help my cause...

I will just look at these as Nabisco's little Christmas gift to me and will accept them graciously (even though we paid for them). If you like Gingerbread treats and love to indulge on Oreos - I would definitely have to recommend these yummy treats. 

We may be leaving some Gingerbread Oreos out for Santa this year, alongside a glass of homemade egg nog. Delish!

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Happy 100th Birthday Oreo!!

Carrot & Zucchini Muffins

These muffins rock. It's not MY recipe, but one I found on Taste of Home's website and completely worth sharing.

I was browsing around the world wide web for muffins that used vegetables as ingredients. It was pretty much a plotted scheme against my kids - they love muffins but hate to eat vegetables. Turns out my plan work and my kids were gobbling these veggie-packed muffins up like they were cupcakes.

No one really lost here though - I got my kids to eat veggies and they enjoyed eating them, even in the morning. Veggies in the morning? I never thought that possible in a hundred years.

Sidenote: If you don't like carrots or zucchini, try these with caution. The veggie flavor is present but accompanied by the flavors of apples, coconut, cinnamon and almonds.

Enjoy!

Carrot & Zucchini Muffins - PRINTABLE RECIPE
adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients
2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped peeled apple
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Combine together carrot, zucchini, apple, coconut, almonds and
orange zest.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and
salt.
4. Slightly beat together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix into dry ingredients just
until moistened (batter will be thick).
5. Fold in carrot mixture. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups
2/3 full.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Helping Out Kids with a Book Donation #NickCFK

Last week I wrote about taking part in Champions for Kids SSP (Simple Service Project) for September. Nickelodeon and Chmapions for Kids teamed up and thought of the awesome idea to give books to the less fortunate kids in our local area. As soon as I heard what the SSP was, I knew I was going to participate! Reading is something I hold very close to my heart and knew I could do my part to help out.

If you have never heard about Champions for Kids or want to know more information about their cause - please, please, please visit their website. CFK has so many creative and easy ways to help out kids - they truly make it simple to help out in your local area!

I knew that I was going to collect some books to give to a local children's home - what I didn't know was the statistics for literacy in the Sacramento region. After doing a little research, I was heartbroken. Only 37% of 3rd graders read at their grade level! This is hard to chew folks. Out of the 73% that are not reading proficiently, 54% of them will never catch up. Which leads me to the numbers for literacy of the unemployed in the Sacramento region... 75% of the unemployed adults in Sacramento have reading and writing difficulties. 

Coming from a family that was always reading and that always had books on the bookshelf - this is heartbreaking. When I told my oldest son, who will be 4 in December, that there are kids without books - his expression was heartbreaking. He has been read to since he was in the womb, so a life without books was not even a thought he ever had. 

Bubba was my #1 helper with this project - if it was up to him, we would have gotten all the books at Walmart to give to our local charity. It makes me so happy to see him want to help others. :)

First we went to Walmart (check out our shopping trip on Google+) to get some Nickelodeon books, it only seemed right since they teamed up with Champions for Kids to bring us this month's SSP.

Then we went home and dug through our collection of kids books. At first I didn't expect to pull out that many - as the thought of getting rid of any book was just crazy to me. But then I started noticing some duplicate books - so those went into the donation basket. Then there were some that both our boys have read and read, but no longer pick out - so they went in the basket too. By the time I was done we had a total of 25 books to donate!! I am still smiling about it. :)

Bubba was proud of himself too, which he should be!

 Even after donating 25 books, the kids book collection is still impressive. How did I ever think that there wouldn't be any books to donate from their collection?? Seems so silly now!

Our donation went to Sacramento Children's Home, which actually has children's books on their wishlist. Their focus is to end the generational cycle of child abuse and neglect and has been active in the Sacramento region for 150 years. They are truly an amazing organization and I couldn't think of a better place to have donated the books to.

Do you have any extra kids books at your house? Maybe you do and don't even know it. I never would have thought we had a whole basketful - but we did! It wouldn't hurt to take a look and help out some kids in your local area. It's so easy to help out in little ways - even one book can make a difference to a child who has none.

Thank you so much for reading! To check out more about Champions for Kids or Nickelodeon, here are a few links:

Champions for Kids on Facebook or Twitter

Nickelodeon on Facebook or Twitter

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids. #NickCFK #CBias

Donating Books to Help Kids #NickCFK

Having my Mom read to me is one of my favorite childhood memories. I specifically remember one book in particular - I don't remember the name of the book, but I do remember it was a Christmas story. She must have read that book to me more than a thousand times, per my request I must add. :) Even in the middle of summer, it was my book of choice because I was slowly learning to read it and there was nothing I wanted more than to learn how to read.

Now that I am the Momma to 2 (soon to be 4!) young children, it's my turn to pass the love of reading to them. My husband and I started reading to them when they were still in the womb. I would check out books from the library to read to my unborn children - that is how much I love reading and want to pass my love of it onto them! Having story-time has not stopped since then and both our boys LOVE being read to or just flipping through books on their own.

I couldn't imagine my childhood or my children's lives without books - it honestly makes me sad to even try and imagine it. So much joy and learning would be gone from our lives. When I heard that Champions for Kids' September SSP (Simple Service Project) was to help get books to children who need them - I was game. Reading is something I hold very close to my heart and knew I needed to help somehow.

Did you know that 61% of low income families have no books for children in their homes? And more than 80% of the preschool and after-school programs serving at-risk children have no books at all? The numbers are very upsetting, as I think 1 child with no books is already 1 too many.

So, Champions for Kids teamed up Nickelodeon this month and came up with the Nickelodeon Big Help Book Drive. The ways we can help are so easy! Whether it's starting up your own book drive amongst friends and collecting children's books to donate or putting together a donation of gently used books you have on hand already - every little bit helps. Even 1 book is going to help that 1 kid who doesn't have a book of his/her own.

We decided to buy a few new books to start off our donation, and since it is Nickelodeon who teamed up with Champions for Kids this month - we headed to Walmart (check out our shopping trip on Google+) where I knew some Nickelodeon books would be! I had heard that there was a new Dora the Explorer book out, Dora the Gymnast, but was unable to find it. Lucky for us, there were other Nickelodeon books on hand!

I even had a helper to find books with me. :)

Not to mention was able to check out some extremely cute Halloween items!

I am very happy with the start of our donation. This week we will be searching for more books to add - some from around our house, our friends/family or perhaps even second-hand stores. I can't wait to see how many books we come up with!

The books we collect will be donated to Sacramento Children's Home. I was looking for local organizations that not only help children, but also NEEDS books. Sacramento Children's Home has a wishlist on their site and books is one of the items listed!!

Make sure to check back next week and see how our donation turned out, I am very excited. :)

Follow Champions for Kids on Facebook or Twitter

Follow Nickelodeon on Facebook or Twitter

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids. #NickCFK #CBias