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Kids Activities

How to Tie-Dye – Shirts, Hats, & Headbands

These Tie-Dye Clothing were a fun summer activity to do with the kids and made cool additions to their Independent day outfits!

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

The kids made these tie-dye shirts, hats and headbands for the 4th of July, with a some of the headbands and bows dyed in unicorn colors.

They enjoyed the activity as they each worked toward the final goal – how they desired their shirt to turn out.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Why Tie-Dye?

Tie-Dye-ing is a fun activity kids can do at home. It helps kids to express their creativity and unique style. Kids can choose from a variety of products to tie-dye and preferred colors to match. Things we need.

  • t-shirts
  • headbands
  • hair bows
  • shoes

How We Made These Tie-Dye t-Shirts

What we used:

  • A tie-dye dying kit such as this one
  • T-Shirts – Plain white
  • Or hats, headbands

We followed directions on the tie-dye kit for tie-dyeing the shirts.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

I’m a little disappointed that I accidentally delete some of the original step-by-step photos where the kids were doing tie-dying. It was so fun watching them, the joy on their little faces.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

And then my daughter wanted to write Happy 4th of July on her shirt. She also wrote and drew some stars on her brother’s shirt. They looked cute.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

The shirts were pretty wrinkled after they were rinsed, wrung and dried.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

The kids were happy to wear their shirts for fireworks on the 4th of July.

Tie-Dye to Do With Kids - athomewithzan.com

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 27:31).

Kids Activities

Water Play for Kids – Summer Activities

Bring the fun to your home this summer with some water play for your kids.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Creating Summer Activities for Kids

Ah, it was so much easier to come up with activities for the children when they were much younger. The little things made them so happy – little crafts, the park, sand boxes, sensory bins like rice bins, playing in rain puddles, etc. Now it takes some thought as to what these kid will enjoy.

I had this idea to make colored water with bubbles for the kids to play in on  a Hot Summer’s day. I imagined they would like it but was unsure. It’s being a while since we’ve had any water play at home besides playing in a blow up pool. Even this we haven’t done since last summer. The regular pool has taken over! But sometimes it’s helpful to have “at home” activities the children can do when you’re home.

What Can be Used to Color Water?

Food coloring, dyes, paint and vegetables are some of the main methods I’ve either used purposefully or by accident to color water. Just think about it.

  • Water painting anyone?
  • Or when you’re using craft paint or any paint of sorts and water gets on it, what happens?
  • A painter’s cup or can of water for dipping and rinsing paint brushes? Totally colors the water and turns it into a different shade.
  • How about Dyes like Tie-Dyes? Now we’re taking about coloring water right? All you got to do is add water to Tie-Dye powder and whalla – you have colored water! In fact, the exact color you need will be created with Tie-Dye. But, I’m not sure if it’s a product I’ll add to bath water. I feel safer with something like food coloring.
  • On a more natural scale, if you cut a beet and put it in water, the water will turn pink. Maybe pomegranate? The juice from that comes out from a pomegranate when it’s cut is real.
  • How about spinach leaves when boiled in water? So many options.

But what I chose to use because one: it’s the easiest and two: makes more sense to me is food coloring.

Is it Safe to Put Food Coloring in Water?

I haven’t done research on the safety of putting food coloring in water. However, since food coloring is a pantry-safe food that’s used in cooking and baking, I imagined it would be safe to put in water for playing, lol.

When the kids were younger, I would occasionally color a tub of water with blue & green food coloring to create an ocean scene. I don’t think it affected them negatively. Seriously, it’s food coloring.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

How to Create Colored Water Buckets & Bins with Food Coloring

We used:

  • Food coloring
  • Water
  • Kid’s Bubble Bath Soap

Directions:

  • Add food coloring to buckets
  • Fill buckets with water
  • Pour in 1 cup soap
  • Stir to mix
  • Add more soap, if necessary to get the bubbles. I added about a 1/2 cup more to each bucket.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Add some reusable water balloons, cups, bowls, etc, to the buckets of water. Bring out water guns, water blasters and other water activity toys.

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The kids can play with the water toys.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Our children decided to get into the buckets. However, they couldn’t fit into them.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

When I saw that they wanted to get in the water, I bought out storage bins to pour the water in for them to play.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

They had so much fun sitting in the bins of bubbly water.

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

Pin to Try or Save for Later

Water-Play-Ideas-for-Kids-Summer-Activities-athomewithzan.com

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Home

Tropical Smoothie Blend – Island In-A-Glass

Enjoy the pure taste of the Islands on a hot summer’s day with this Tropical Smoothie Blend (or as I called it, Island-in-a-glass). 

Tropical-Smoothie - athomewithzan.com

Tropical Smoothie Recipe

Recipe:

  • 1 Cup Chopped Frozen Ripe Pineapple
  • 1 Cup Chopped Frozen Mangoes
  • 1 Banana (optional)
  • 1 Can Thai Coconut Milk (Creamy in Red Can)
  • 1 TBSP Honey or Agave (optional)
  • Fresh Mango Slices for Topping (optional)
  • Unsweetened Coconut Flakes for Topping (optional)

Directions:

  • Add pineapple, mangoes and banana to blender.
  • Add in honey or Agave, if desired.
  • Pour in coconut milk. Blend together.
  • Pour into two tall glasses or 3 small glasses.
  • Top with extra Fresh mango slices and unsweetened flakes.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Tropical-Smoothie - athomewithzan.com

Tropical-Smoothie - athomewithzan.com

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eatheth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Cooking With Kids

Homemade Strawberry Ice-Cream Recipe

Make a tasty Homemade Strawberry Ice-Cream that your family would enjoy and would never want to go back to store bought!

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

When I tell you this strawberry ice-cream is good, I mean it. My 13 year and 9 year old approve. One said it was the best Strawberry Ice-Cream they’ve ever had! I kid you not – I could not stop eating the thing! I had to remember that there were little mouths who was patiently waiting for it but was not around when I took it from the fridge and also, that this was full fat milk added to the recipe. Ha!

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

 

How to Make the Best Homemade Strawberry Ice-Cream

 

 

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Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

Freezing the Ice-Cream

I used a baking Corning ware but I’m sure any freezer bowls would work. Just make sure to let the ice-cream freeze well enough before removing it from the freezer.

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

Homemade Strawberry Ice-Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 80z Box Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 80z Box Half and Half
  • 2 Cups White Sugar
  • 1 Cup Chopped Strawberries
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • 1 Cup Pureed Strawberry (see recipe below)

Directions:

  • Add 2 cups strawberries to a Food Processor. Add water.
  • Puree Strawberry until blended.
  • Pour in Sugar and cream.
  • Blend.
  • Pour mixture in a freezer container.
  • Stir in 1 cup chopped strawberries.
  • Freeze about 4 hrs or more, until ready.
  • Remove ice-cream from freezer.
  • Let sit about 5 mins until easy enough to scoop out.
  • Scoop ice-cream into serving bowls. Top with extra strawberries, if desired.

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

Homemade-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-No-Churn-Strawberry-Ice-Cream-athomewithzan.com

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She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:26). 

Cooking With Kids

Magical Princess Toast

Magical Princess Toast will be the next fun food at your little one’s Princess Birthday Party! This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

We’ve had enough Princess birthday parties around our house – from Rapunzel, to Aurora to Princess Tiana! Those parties were so much fun to create when the girls were much younger. I loved co-coordinating the cake, food, and decor to go along with each party. My husband coordinated games for the kids to play. If you have little Princess that always seem to need some kind of a Princess party or have an upcoming Princess, you’ll need all the ideas you can get to make these sweet little parties a success.

Princess Toast Colors

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

I started off with pink, purple and white but thought of the Disney Princess characters and how they wear other colors than just pink and purple.

  • Rapunzel is purple
  • Cinderella is blue
  • Belle is yellow
  • Tiana is green
  • The other princess are a mix somewhere in between

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

 

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Making Princess Toast

I’ve always wanted to try making Princess toast. Growing up, parties such as wedding incorporated sandwiches with pink filling. I believe the white cheese was grated not shredded and food coloring was added to give it color. To me, that was so much fun to eat! These magical Princess toast is not a copy of these Sandwiches I had growing up, but they sure remind me of the idea.

Making Princess Toast is very easy. The kids can help make them. My girls helped me decorate these and had a blast doing so – something about the colors and the sprinkles and the glitter… added to the fun of making them, because these ingredients make everything look beautiful.

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

 

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

I just love the colors!

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Picture tutorial of these beauties

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

 

 

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

 

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

How to Make Princess Toast

You’ll need:

  • Slices of White Bread (or wheat bread)
  • Whipped Cream (in the tub)
  • Food Coloring
  • Sprinkles (we used pink & purple mix)
  • Optional – Food Glitter (our new favorite items)
  • Small bowls and spoons for each bowl

Directions:

  • Divide whipped cream into bowls according to colors of Toast you are making
  • Add food coloring
  • Mix together
  • Paste colorful Whipped cream over bread slices
  • Add sprinkles or food glitter

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

Princess-Toast-Recipe - athomewithzan.com

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Birthdays & Parties

5th Grade Graduation 2024

Congratulations to the 5th Grade class of 2024.

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

My second daughter graduated 5th Grade. Our first daughter was homeschooled during her 5th Grade year and since this is our first child, we’d never had a 5th Grade graduation prior to this current one. In fact, I never knew there was such a thing as a 5th Grade graduation ceremony, until last year. Her current school only goes up to 5th Grade. I understand why a graduation may be necessary since the 6th Grade campus is in a different location.

Congratulations to Our Daughter

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

Photos from Graduation

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

Excelling in Character and Grades

Since she was a baby we knew she was business-minded. She just looked so studious. Sure enough, she has turned out to be a very bright young girl. When she was younger, apart from playing with her siblings, she would spend independent time playing alone, being creative and imaginative. And by golly was she the most patient kid you ever did see!! Fast forward to school years both from homeschooling and schooling out of the home.

I remember when we started homeschooling in the lower Elementary years, beginning the second semester in Kindergarten and then in 1st Grade through 3rd grades, she did so well. She’d learn phonics and her phonetical sounds were beyond what I could ever imagine. She read to me at the table where she sat to do school (tears are flowing for me) and I would be so proud listening to her read. The memory of listening to her little voice reading meant something special to me. This is a photo of one of those reading moments:)

In the higher Elementary years, she has continued to excel in character and has kept an A-Honor Roll all throughout her school years. Every quarter (9 weeks) beginning in Grade 4 when she went out to school, she has kept a steady A and has gotten outstanding character awards for Generosity, Terrific Kid, Class Citizenship, etc. The Citizenship award is given to a child who shows excellent character in helping others, kindness, and displaying good classman-ship (I just made up that word) attitudes. That is such a blessing! I shared a couple of her other award ceremonies here, and here.

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

Moving on to Grade 6

Moving to 6th Grade is a big deal and a whole other level of going to school, especially when the school is different than the current one. The kids will now be in middle school, new building, new faces, new teachers, new principal and admin, new way of learning, basically…..new everything. We just have to trust that they will adjust to the new setting and do well.

Congratulations to Our Daughter and to the 5th Grade Classes

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

5th Grade Graduation - Class of 2024 - athomewithzan.com

 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: ‘;and the fruit of the womb is his reward (Psalm 127:3).

Home

How to Make Edible Condensed Milk Paint

This Edible Condensed Milk Paint is a sweet substitute to regular paint for little kids. Look past the stickiness, and know that your little ones can paint safely.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

What do you use to make Edible paint?

You can make Edible paint with ingredients from your pantry. You can use ingredients like All-Purpose Flour and Condensed Milk, etc. Homemade Condensed Milk paint is a fun and edible type of paint you can make for your little ones. Grab some ingredients from your pantry and let’s get right to it.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How do you use Condensed Milk in paint?

Using condensed milk in paint is easy. All you need is Condensed Milk and Food Coloring. You don’t need to mix it with water, oil, or any other food products.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

Can you Color Condensed Milk?

Yes, you can color Condensed Milk. You just need a means of food coloring to do so.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

 

How do you color Condensed Milk?

To color Condensed Milk, add drops of food coloring until you get the desired shade of color. Start with one drop, then move on to two, and so forth.

Kool Aid and Jell-O are two other foods you can add to color Condensed Milk. The Powder form of the Kool Aid and Jell-O will get into the paint if not mixed with a tiny bit of water to help them dissolve a little.

I have not tried this one but I’m guessing natural vegetable juice such as the raw juice from beets will add color to Condensed milk too. Be careful not to add to much liquid because you still want the milk to be thick enough to be able to paint. If you want the texture of the Condensed milk to be as close to paint as possible, then add food coloring.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

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How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

To make edible Condensed Milk Paint

What you need: 

  • 1 Can Condensed Milk
  • Food Coloring
  • Small Bowls

What to do:

  • Pour 1 to two Tablespoons Milk in a small bowl.
  • Add a drop of food coloring to the milk, stir.
  • Add more food coloring as needed.
  • Note: To make more “paint”, add more milk and more food coloring as necessary. The first time I made these, the instructions was to empty (divide) one can nestle milk into 4 little bowls. But as I remade this, I realized that one can of milk is too much. I don’t even think I used that much the first time around.

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

The kids can paint with the milk now. Be careful though, because the milk is sweet and quite sticky. It should be thrown out when the kids are done. Otherwise, you may have some hungry little ants building their homes in your home.

 

How-to-Make-Condensed-Milk-Paint-How-to-Color-Milk-athomewithzan.com

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She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Cooking & Menu Planning

Summer Lunch Ideas for Kids

Make Summer Lunches easy by creating a lunch menu you can use all summer long. 

Do you struggle to get lunches on the table during the summer time? Do you find yourself feeding your kids the same two meals every other summer’s day because you just don’t have a plan? Let’s create a plan to help you fix these situations.

Creating a Summer Menu Plan

A summer lunch meal plan will help you narrow down meals you can make without feeling like lunch is failing everyday. You’ll know exactly what you’re going to have on the table daily for lunch. Of course, you could move things around but at least you’ll have some kind of plan. Also, you’ll avoid eating junk too or randomly spending money to buy things to eat.

I was inspired by a fellow Instagram-er who had a Summer Lunch Matrix for her kids (can’t remember who she is) but it was such a great idea. Now, I’ve always had lunch menus plans for our children that I’ve pretty much followed, but I guess calling it something fancy and sticking to the same one plan all summer long was not something I thought of. However, I can’t do the one week plan, I find that I’ll need more variations like I’ve done. But I think it’s awesome to have a base plan for the summer that will help with lunches.

How to Create a Summer Lunch Plan

  • Decide whether your plan will be weekly or bi-weekly (you could even make a month’s plan)
  • Decide whether your plan will be a rotating plan (same meal every week, or ever two weeks, or a month’s plan rotation)
  • Choose foods your kids enjoy
  • Choose Healthy
  • Add in 1-2 optional ideas for when you just want a switch, or for some reason run out of an ingredient and cannot get to the store at the moment
  • Don’t make it complicated

My Summer Lunch Plan

This is the menu plan I created for us. It’s a two week rotation plan. I like that better than a 1 week plan so we don’t feel like we’re eating the same things over and over.

Summer Lunch Ideas for Kids

Monday

  • Bread Pretzels/Fruits – (We have frequently made our own but Frozen Bread pretzels come in a box we also heat up in the oven).
  • Burgers/Fries/Fruit/Veggies – (Usually, I make cook the burgers patties and will make extra for the freezer)

Tuesday

  • Pizza –  (Yes, I know…but again, the kids and I enjoy making pizza together; but they also enjoy frozen pizza we bake ourselves)
  • Tacos – (This does not have to be a full out taco extravaganza – it could be as simple as Chips, salsa, ground beef or chicken and some cheese)

Wednesday

  • Grilled Chicken Strips/Corn – (Natural Chicken that’s fully cooked and heated up about 7 mins).
  • Crunchy Chicken/Fries/Fruit & Veggies – (Crunch Chicken also comes fully cooked but needs to be baked about 20 mins)

Thursday

  • Baked Sweet Potatoes – for two kids (pasta for other kid)
  • Easy Pasta

Friday

  • Picnic Tray
  • Nibble Tray

Extras:

  • Sandwich for Girls – Peanut Butter for one, Nutella for the other/Nuggets, fruit, veggies (only my boy eats nuggets)
  • Cup Noodles
  • Occasional Take-Out – (Listen, some days you just want something different or want to take the kids out for a lil treat)

You could also move days around depending on what you have available and what you made for dinner that previous evening or what you plan for dinner that day. So if you plan to make Tacos for dinner that night (with all the fixings), I probably would not serve it for lunch that same day. That way no says, “Didn’t we already have Tacos for lunch?” Y’all know how that goes. It might make more sense to serve it as leftovers for lunch the following day.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Birthdays & Parties

Happy Birthday to My Husband

Happy Birthday to my husband! We celebrated this 80’s baby earlier this May! Here are a few photos from his birthday:)

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40th-Birthday-My-Husbands-40th-Birthday-athomewithzan.com

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Breakfast

Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix – Make Breakfast & Snack Time Cleaner & Healthier

This post on Kids Daily Essentials Shake Mix is sponsored by Naked Nutrition. However all opinions are my own. 

Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

Being a connoisseur of Whole & Clean Foods and always looking for ways to include them in my family’s diet, I could not pass up on the opportunity to test out this Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix from Naked Nutrition.

Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

Journey to Eating Clean

It was about 8 years ago when I decided to dive into what it meant to eat clean. I did some research, wrote down the meaning of Clean Eating, and complied a list of clean food ideas. Through my research, I realized that my family’s diet was not far off at all. I was already on a clean cooking spree and we were already eating clean (for the most part).

When we grocery shopped, there were no 10 pack-high sodium quick frozen meals to take up room in our refrigerator. All our groceries were fresh vegetables, fruits, and other necessary ingredients for meals, cooking, and snacks.

In fact, our cart used to be so packed with fresh fruits and veggies that we often got stares and the all-time question: “Are you Vegan?” I kid you not. We are not Vegans because we do eat pretty clean and natural because I’m one who believes good clean foods can still be enjoyed without going strictly Vegan (actually, I just thought of that now, haha). And to top things off, I made most meals from scratch.

Growing Up Eating Clean

I truly credit this type of eating to my mom who cooked whole and healthy for us as kids. All vegetables and fruit we ate were home grown mostly by ourselves and others by relatives, neighbors or friends. Some of our meat and poultry were grass-fed, farm raised. In fact, we had chickens and my dad reared cattle. My family even made their own Coconut Oil and grew some of their own spices. My taste buds naturally gravitates toward foods that are whole, clean and tasty as a result of my upbringing and I want the same for my darling family, that’s why foods that are made with natural, clean ingredients always appeals to me.

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Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix

Kids Daily Essentials is essentially a Protein mix for kids. According to Naked Nutrition, the shake mix contains the “highest-quality ingredients to provide the needed nourishment and is perfect for starting the day or as in-between meal snack or treat. Other great qualities to note is that it’s made with: “Protein from Organic Milk, Organic Vegetables Powders, and no Artificial Sweeteners, Flavors, Colors, but it still taste delicious!

Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

We got the Chocolate Shake Mix; it was shipped and delivered pretty fast within a few days. As soon as it was delivered, I decided to put it to the test. I made a shake for the kids by blending 1 Scoop of Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix and 1 Cup Milk. Some were willing to try it out while others were skeptical. They’ve never had it before and as it is with kids, I’m aware that not all kids will try new foods right away when it is presented to them. (Naked)

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Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

Ways to Include Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix in Meals

If your kids would not try this Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix by simply mixing it with milk, there are other ways you can ensure they get the nutrients they need from it. Add it to foods like pancakes, waffles, muffins, fruit smoothies, Oatmeal, ect. On days like busy school mornings, summer days, or just anytime, you can make your kids something delicious that’s healthy for their bodies.

Protein Fruit Smoothie Idea

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Here is an easy Fruit Smoothie recipe using this Protein shake mix:

  • 1 Ripe Banana
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1 scoop Naked Nutrition Kids Daily Essentials
  • 1/2 Cup Ice

Blend everything together. Serve in a cute cup – It takes like Chocolate-Banana Smoothie. It taste like chocolate shootie without the added sugars!

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Power Pancakes

You can make these delicious pancakes filled with protein to help your little ones start their day off right. They’ll hardly be able to tell the difference between a pancake without Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix.

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Protein Pancake Mix:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a separate slightly bigger bowl. Pour dry ingredients into wet. Combine by mixing. Heat your pancake griddle or skillet and make pancakes as you would. Enjoy. Your kids will hardly notice that something different was added to their food.

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Naked-Nutrition-Kids-Daily-Essentials-Protein Mix - athomewithzan.com

Kids Daily Essentials Protein Shake Mix

Ready to test out this Naked Nutrition Kids Daily Protein Essentials for your kids? Click this link or head over to them out Website for all that they have to offer for you and your entire family. You won’t believe how affordable they are. You will even find their products on Amazon, if it’s more convenient for you. But go check them out, you’ll not be disappointed!

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She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).

Clean Home

Taking Control of the Laundry – My Laundry Routine

Help take control of your laundry with these simple tips.

For me, the laundry is one of the most difficult task to keep up with in the house. Not that it’s a hard task in itself, if you’ve got a washer and dryer. Um, let’s not return to the years of doing laundry by hand, mk?! Oh, you have no idea about that? I do…. I have had my fair experience of doing laundry by hand – fun not so fun, especially when the laundry soap irritated my young fingers like crazy!

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The Laundry Struggles

I’m sure we’ve all had our struggles with the laundry at one point or another. If you’ve figured out a system that works put it out there in the hemisphere for all to know.

  • write it on the walls,
  • post it on a blog,
  • share a video of it on Tiktok, Instagram or Youtube
  • I don’t know – just share it wherever, as long as it’s out there.

Because there are plenty of us out here who have just about given up on this whole laundry figuring out situation.

With that said, I’m here to discuss a few ways you and I can take control of that laundry. To be honest, I don’t know if there’s any perfect laundry system, but one can try and hope for the best, right?

 

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A Load of Laundry a Day? Heck No!

Not I! Some people do a load a day to help keep the piles and clutter away. If a load of laundry a day works perfect for your family, that is awesome! Keep that system! Personally it’s not my favorite system. I just can’t imagine having to deal with doing laundry everyday. Although, some weeks it feels like a load-a-day is my current system. The biggest problem with a-load-a-day for me? The laundry was not being put away daily, so my clean loads piled up. What ended up happening is piles and piles of clean laundry being in our laundry room, hallway and my bedroom. Sometimes the baskets are overflowing with clothes just thrown on top because we don’t have the time to stand there and fold them from the dryer to a basket. Furthermore, when the clean baskets loads gets too much in the laundry room, I remove them to add baskets of what needs laundering. These clean baskets end up in my room since it’s so close to the laundry room or sometimes, in the hallway. I just can’t! That adds a lot of clutter and mental stress for me plus it’s difficult to find anything anyone needs in the piles, especially on busy days when you need to be somewhere already – 1/2 an hour ago.

I would much rather a system where I know there’s wiggle room to put away what is already washed than having the loads sit there while other loads gets washed and added. So in efforts to create something that works, here area few of my laundry hacks and tips (that absolutely may or may not be working).

Which Day of the Week to Do Laundry?

Here is my 2-cents take on this one. Which day of the week to do laundry will depend on the time you have. If you are a busy working mom or dad, I’d say choose a day when you think you can handle laundry. You can throw in a load in before work and dry it after work. But the thing is making sure you can put it away.

If your laundry is in a place where sleeping babies wouldn’t hear it at night, I’d say you can start your laundry the night before. So if Thursdays work for you, put in a late load Wednesday night. Let it run, then put it in the dryer in the morning. Put a new load in the washer, change it out when you come back. That way you will already have 2 loads done when you come from work. Then launder your other loads that evening.

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What is A Good Laundry Routine?

I have tried various ways to come up with a good laundry system – much to my surprise, it’s still a fail. Haha

I’ve recently had a new system of no laundry on Sundays because even that became a situation once I started working. But guess what happened that first Sunday? Dad did laundry! Doesn’t that always seem to happen? You create a system and someone decides to do that thing they haven’t done before on the day your system begins?! Say whattttt!

Create a schedule and try to keep it. I understand that it may be difficult to keep a laundry schedule because there are days you will inevitably have to wash something extra but having a schedule will somewhat help with keeping your sanity. Just keep trying. There are many ways you can create a laundry schedule but here are two ideas.

2 Laundry Schedules Ideas

Idea 1:

  • Saturday – Any clothing, Bedding, Towels (bath towels, kitchen towels, cleaning rags), & miscellaneous. Bedding could be laundered on a weekly or bi-weekly rotation
  • Monday – Things worn over the weekend thrown in one load & any miscellaneous (this should be small). Mondays should only be one or two loads
  • Wednesday – Kids & Mom’s Clothing (1 load each – shouldn’t be much for the past two days). You can do a small things load also like underwear
  • Thursday – Dad’s (Bulky so may seem like a lot), 2-3 loads depending on what dad wears during the week

Break days – Tuesday, Friday and Sunday

Idea 2:

  • Monday – Towels, sheets and bedding (weekly or bi-weekly)
  • Tuesday – Kids clothing
  • Thursday – Parents clothing
  • Saturday – Miscellaneous, Cleaning Rags

Break days – Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Note: Do you have smaller children? Don’t sweat it, all the little clothing can be washed in one load. When my kids were between the ages of 4-6, all their clothes was just one tiny basket I did on Tuesdays and then again on Fridays or Saturdays. They are currently still at the age where their load fits in one standard laundry basket but I now separate the whites from the coloreds and also, the underclothing and socks. No, not four loads of the kids only. I do a load of white socks with everybody’s white socks. And their undies along with mines.

Rugs and Mats – These can be done as needed.

  • Rugs can be shampooed and vacuumed or washed if they are washable
  • Bath Mats – My go-to is usually a month between laundering
  • Other Mats – Nah,  I don’t go through the process of keeping a schedule with these. But if I find that they are getting to a point beyond recognition, then I’ll wash them.

 

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When to Fold the Laundry

I would advice fold and put away the same day as washing so your laundry don’t pile up like mine. However, some may find it helpful to wash now and fold later. Be sure if you are going to go that direction, put clean laundry in a way that makes sense to you in the baskets.

I’ve know some who fold laundry in their living room while watching a TV show or movie. I know a blogger who did that on Fridays. She used to talk about her laundry folding times either on her blog or Instagram. I don’t remember where.

I did this with morning shows when everyone was gone to work and school and also evening times when everyone was home. Not because I’d necessarily dedicated that times to put away laundry, it was just the times available to fold and the TV show happened to be on that same time. Judge Judy anyone? Our laundry room is currently upstairs, it’s just easier to dump the clothes on my bed, then fold away.

Basically, choose a time that works but don’t wait too long for loads to pile upon loads. It just gets cluttered, clothes a wrinkled mess, and no one can find their stuff when needed.

Either way, whether you choose to fold now or later, keep all your clean laundry in one spot until you’re able to fold them or put them in baskets in their individual rooms (this help will illuminate clutter) in one spot.

 

How to create a laundry schedule - athomewithzan.com

How to create a laundry schedule - athomewithzan.com

Laundry Supplies to Make Sure You Have on Hand

  • Laundry baskets
  • Laundry detergent
  • Other laundry supplies

Extra tips:

Keep your laundry room clean and organized. This will help you wash without the extra clutter and not finding the supplies when needed.

That’s all I got my friends. I hope you can find a hack or tip or two from here to help make your laundry experience better than mine. Haha. But seriously, if you struggle with the laundry, I sure hope this post have given you ideas to help make things much better.

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She looketh well to her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 16:3).

Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day Gift Idea – What to Gift Mom on Mother’s Day

A Mother’s day Gift Basket with a few favorites is a beautiful way to celebrate mom on Mother’s Day.

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Wondering what to gift mom for mother’s day? You’ve come to the correct place. Make mom’s day special by showering her with all the love and gifting her some of the things she loves.

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What Should I Gift My Mom for Mother’s Day?

Mother’s day gifting can come in various ways. While some gifts may be popular, I think it is best to give mom a gift you know she will enjoy whether it’s popular to everyone else or not. Here are some questions to consider when thinking about giving your mom a gift for mother’s day.

  • What kinds of things does mom enjoy?
  • What does she like to use?
  • What does mom need help with around the house?
  • What physical or mental help could she use?
  • What does mom like to do for fun?
  • What place would she like to visit, locally or abroad?

Please Note: While giving a physical gift is all the rage for Mother’s day, know that there are other ways to show mom your love without a physical gift, especially if you just can’t afford something worth it right now. However, if you can give a physical gift, combining some of her favorite things into a gift basket is a great idea for Mother’s day.

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What Can I Add to a Mother’s Day Gift Basket?

Below is what I added to the gift basket that I’m sharing in this post. I chose pink:

  • A bottle of Pink Sparkling Rose
  • A Champagne Glass (it also says “mom”)
  • A necklace that says, “Mom”
  • A photo frame (you can also print out and add a favorite photo of mom and her kids – your favorite or mom’s favorite photo from a phone or somewhere digital)
  • A faux plant (a real plant will be great if mom loves plants and gardening)
  • A Beautiful Card

I sure had fun creating this beautiful gift basket for Mother’s day. I added gift wrapping and tied a cute ribbon around the handle for extra prettiness. Presentation is key!

Mothers-Day-Gift-Idea-Popular Mother's Day Gifts - athomewithzan.com

Additional ways to create a Mother’s day gift basket

  • Make the basket coordinate – Like a theme or one color (I did pink in these images). Ideas:
  • A Spa basket with all things spa
    • Body Wash (be sure mom already loves that scent and can use it)
    • Skin Moisturizer (same for the scent and use)
    • Bath Towels
    • Robe
    • A gift card to a Spa
  • A make-up basket if mom likes make-up
    • Purchase items from her favorite line of make-up
    • A gift card to Ulta, Sepora, or other online make-up store
  • A food basket with one of her favorite meal’s cooking ingredients or baking ingredients – Example for a Rice Casserole
    • Rice, spices, can’s of Cream of whatever they put in casseroles, a veggie cutter and (or) a casserole dish to make it in
    • For baking – Add the dry baking ingredients and maybe a bowl and a mixing tool
    • You can also just do a large kitchen equipment mom’s been wanting (Last year, one of my kids gifted me a Drew Barrymore Stand Mixer). I’ve been wanting a stand mixer:)
  • You can also make a basket of random favorites of moms or things you think she would enjoy and add in her favorite candy or treat.
  • Flowers and a favorite cologne or jewelry, oh my!

There are so many ways to go about it. If mom is not too particular about gifts or HAS EVERYTHING (like we say) or has been everywhere, do a chore or help her out with something around the house that she has had on her list of long-time To-DOs.

I hope these ideas were of help to you as you think about ways to gift mom something for Mother’s day!

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She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27).