Semi-Healthy Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like dessert. I mean I reallllllyyy love sweets. Terrible, awful, undeniable sweet tooth. I have tried many times to avoid sweets and sugar but it just calls to me, ya know?

After dinner I hear "Jess...you know you need a cookie after eating that healthy meal of quinoa with peas and carrots...you deserve it!"
Of course that was coming from my own head....  But I mean how could I ignore that?? Especially after my daughter ate all of her dinner without complaining or us having to tell her to eat, not even once! 

So I went in search of a new cookie recipe. I wanted something that didn't use a whole lot of butter or white sugar, because even though I gave in to my sweet tooth I still wanted this treat to be a little healthy. I found the PERFECT recipe over at Cheeky Kitchen, it doesn't call for any butter! 

I did adapt it just a little to add a little twist and to make it fit what I had on hand. These yummy cookies use coconut oil instead of butter, which makes them a healthier option. We use coconut oil a lot, my hubby cooks his eggs in it every morning and I cook with it and use it as a mouthwash of sorts ('they' call it oil pulling, but that sounds odd so I just say mouthwash lol). 

Make sure you buy the good stuff when it comes to coconut oil! Don't buy the cheapo stuff, I made that mistake once(turns out there's nothing nutritional about that crap). We get ours at Sam's, TresOMEGA Nutrition. This brand is organic, cold pressed extra virgin oil and costs around $15? for 54oz. It's a bit of a splurge at first, but it lasts a while and has soooo many uses so it's worth it to us.

I thought they looked funny after cooking for a few minutes.

Onto the cookies! They turned out so delicious and they are big! I even made mine smaller than the original recipe...

Chewy Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
Printable Recipe 

1/2 Coconut Oil (We use TresOMEGA)
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/4 of a Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
1 3/4 cup of Flour (I used 1 cup All Purpose and 3/4 cup of Whole Wheat)
1/2 cup chocolate chips ( I use milk chocolate)
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Use an electric mixer to mix the coconut oil, eggs, and brown sugar.
Add in all but the chips, and mix well. 
Next, throw in all your chips and make sure they're distributed evenly throughout the dough.  
Use your hands to roll dough into balls, using around 2 tablespoons of dough. You'll need a few baking sheets for this batch, I was only be able to fit 6 or 7 cookies on one sheet. 
I baked mine for 9 minutes, the edges get crispy and the rest of the cookie stays soft and chewy. If you like your cookies more done, cook for 11 minutes. 

I ended up with around 18 cookies.

Mmmmm, SO yummy and semi-healthy! Enjoy with a glass of almond milk, or whatever you choose. 


*Sorry about the photos, you won't see fancy pics of cookies with string tied around them or brilliantly displayed on an expensive plate.... 
1. Not everyone has a great camera 2. Ain't nobody got for that...
In all seriousness though, between letting my daughter help mix and trying to keep her brother out of stuff I'm just lucky I even got pictures.*

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Compromising at treat time

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Enter our GIVEAWAY!

Hi guys! I have been busy lately putting together an awesome giveaway on my FB page: Buttons and Paintbrushes. I recently reached 100 fans on there so I decided to do something to give back to those who are interested in what I do. 

Originally I was going to post a video showing you guys everything you could win and introducing myself, but I never could get the video to upload and after watching it a few times I felt silly...
So I just had to post photos of everything in this prize pack.

First off, I ordered a sample pack and Bug Repellent from Peace Love and Bath Products. This business makes all natural homemade Bath and Body products. Everything I received smelled delicious and I liked trying everything included in the sample pack. 

Well, I was actually sent two packages! I immediately let the owner know and she was so grateful that I let her know about it that she told me I didn't have to send the extra back. I insisted on paying for the bug repellent, but I don't really need two of them (I think it is going to last for a while).  

Here is what you could win:

So, the first two things you get are from Peace Love and Bath Products. I am including the Bug Repellant Lotion Stick I was talking about and a Grapefruit Lip Balm. Both are brand new, unopened and made with all natural ingredients(which are printed on the label). 

I have included two pair of button earrings. Two different styles and sizes of buttons. Both on surgical steel posts which are lead and nickel free, so they are safe for sensitive skin. 

Winner will also get two hair clips. One butterfly, made with peacock feather ribbon and one paper flower embellished with a button. 

That's not all! You also get a custom button bracelet! Winner chooses their size and colors.

And last but not least: A mini canvas magnet with hand-painted design. 

I hope you like the prize pack and GOOD LUCK! 

You can enter below through Rafflecopter. Just complete the mandatory entries to unlock extra entries! 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

What to read next:

Giveaway for Parkinson's Awareness

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Recycling A Beer Bottle Into Something Girly

So while making our Sam's run my husband found a new beer that was on sale...at a crazy low price... 

I'm not much of a drinker, but every now and then I decide to have one or two at night after the kids are in bed. Just to relax and unwind. 

This new beer had awesome black bottles that I thought were awesome, they looked sleek and too pretty to throw away...lol.

So I decided to peel off the label from mine and re-purpose it.

There's all the supplies I'm using: 

• Scissors
• a lighter
• yellow lace
• Thick blue ribbon
• Sheer yellow ribbon

Super simple, easy quick craft that uses a recycled beer bottle. Love it...and it didn't cost me anything because I already had all these supplies in my stash.

Looking pretty and girly so far!

Added a few embellishments at the end: Peacock feather ribbon and two buttons...because it just wouldn't be my way if there weren't buttons involved!

Ta-da! Took me like...5 minutes to complete. Something manly turned super girly, lol. I just threw some extra flower stems I had into it to use a vase. I may find another purpose for it soon, but for now I'm digging it. 

 So there ya go! Reduce, reuse, recycle. Keepin' it green folks, with little effort.

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Turning Art Time With Toddlers Into More

We had a wonderful day last week. I wanted to let the kids do something fun, so I gathered up a bunch of paint, brushes, and two pieces of canvas paper. We got on our "make a mess" clothes and went outside and laid down an old sheet. I put a bunch of different paint colors into a small pallette and handed them different things to work with.


I started out by showing them what happens when you mix different colors. I showed them different tools to paint with, brushes, a sponge, tissue paper, a pouncer and of course their own little fingers. They had lots of fun seeing what each tool did. 

We are going to be homeschooling starting next year, and I was very skeptical of my ability to do it but after  this little activity I feel a little more confident in my abilities. I am actually excited to begin this new journey and see where we go. This wasn't an official lesson, since we haven't begun homeschooling but it was a nice little practice that was fun for them and me. 

This is a great sensory exercise too because they get to feel how the paint moves fluidly and see what each tool creates. 

My 2 year old really like the pouncer, because it made circles and he just learned all of his shapes.

And here's why it is important to have non-toxic paint.....

Yeh, he licked his paint covered finger....yuck! 

Also, as you can see, once their paper was covered they decided to paint on themselves and mommy's leg. 

They always want to get involved when I'm painting so I figured they would have a lot of fun creating their own art.  They loved their paintings and decided to give them to their Nana and Grandma for Mother's Day. 

So there you have it, a sensory activity, home-school lesson, handmade gift, and just fun art time all in one! 

We also had a little visitor....

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Compromising At Treat Time

After a lunch of homemade oatmeal with peanut butter, honey and banana, my children wanted a treat.

 Only problem is that yesterday they ate a whole lot of junk food. We were at the hospital waiting on their baby cousin to come into the world, and they snacked on fruit snacks, cookies, and chips the whole time....Yikes...please don't judge. I was not prepared.


Since they had been good all morning I decided to let them have their treat, but I had to get creative and make it a healthy one. We had half a banana left from lunch, so I looked in the fridge and pantry to see what I could come up with. 

We chose banana, blueberries, strawberry yogurt, and a spoonful of Nutella(well, the walmart brand because I'm cheap). The princess was finished with her lunch so I asked for her help. She likes being included. 

Zaine showed up just to lick the hazelnut spread off the spoon...Such a booger! 

All done and I don't what to call it because it looks like soup..haha.

Zaine didn't care for it, but Zoe thought it was good. She loves fruit, bub is more of peanut butter and jelly/chicken/junk food child... I was the same way all the up to my teenage years haha. I promise I eat my veggies now... most of the time ;)

to 

Blessings and love from us to you! 

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Life gets in the way of creativity

Hello, hello friends! Forgive me for not writing anything the past few weeks. It has been kind of hectic around here. Life just gets in the way, lol. I always feel much better when I get a chance to just do something creative, when I'm held back from that I feel smothered and unable to cope with most things. If I don't have time to myself at some point in the day I tend to get cranky or easily frustrated.

It is tough getting back into the swing of things after a break, especially with two toddlers. They get so used to routine and then it gets thrown out of whack and it is so hard to settle back in, but I dived right into getting things done. I had a goal to finish the shoes I had started for my daughter in this post today. So after a bit of a frustrating morning of two cranky children who woke up to early, I decided to gather up my supplies(and children) and head outside. 

I love days like today where the weather is perfect for sitting in the sun. Of course it is difficult to work on something when your children are too worried about what you're up to instead of playing like they should be.... haha..Anyways...  I found this awesome rotating carrier at a yard sale that my paint fits in perfectly!

My little ones finally decided to go play, so I was able to get started. I love the colors of these paints, they are so vibrant and they dry very quickly. These shoes are for my little girl so I had the freedom to experiment with different techniques. I used brushes, a circle sponge, and the end of a paintbrush(for the small dots).

It has kind of become a signature of mine to add a bit of splatter to every piece I do. I really just love to see what happens and where the paint decides to land. Usually most of it winds up on me, lol, but I'm okay with that. 

I got a bit on the soles but I should be able to remove it, not a big deal. These are some very colorful shoes! I hope that they hold up pretty well, when she grows out of them I would like to save them to show her when she grows up. 

She loves them and has already tried putting them on, drying time is a little longer than she has the patience for. Hopefully soon I can invest in the rest of the colors of Angelus paints. Be on the lookout for more shoes, I am having so much fun doing them!! 

Art, or just any crafting has become therapy to my soul. It allows me to just go with the flow, and express things I can't verbalize. I also realized that usually when I am painting I am listening to music. Since music heavily influences my mood, I figured I should probably share with you guys what I am listening to with each thing I create. 

Today's music was: Cartel: Collider and Francesca Battistelli: If We're Honest.  

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Giveaway for Parkinson's Awareness

I have been hosting an auction on my Facebook page for Parkinson's Awareness. Half of the proceeds from this auction will be donated to Parkinson's Disease Foundation and National Parkinson Foundation. This cause is dear to me, because my daddy has Parkinsons. I want to donate something, even if it's not much, to this cause. If there is something that can be done to help people with Parkinson's, I want to be a part of it.



I hope you will check out the auction, it is for a great cause and I have great handmade items priced way below retail. I decided to give something away to one lucky person, you just have to be a fan of my fb page! Enter the giveaway below to be entered to win two free button bracelets of your choice. Winner chooses their colors of buttons for two hemp cord button bracelets.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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