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White Chicken Chili

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This White Chicken Chili will quickly become your go-to for lunch or dinner on cold nights. Make it in the slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stove. 

Two bowls of white chicken chili with an avocado and cheese and cilantro

*Originally published October 2015*

Hi Friends!

When I make my first batch of White Chicken Chili, you know that soup season is officially here. I love soup because it’s so low maintenance. You basically can just throw whatever’s in your fridge or pantry in a pot, let it simmer a while and boom – dinner! It’s perfect for food prep because it reheats well and it’s easy to pack for lunch.

This White Chicken Chili is a slight twist on one of my mother-in-law’s recipes and we eat it pretty frequently. Adding salsa verde to flavor the broth is a fun little trick and you can totally control the spicy level by deciding if you want mild or medium salsa and/or adding jalapenos or green chilis. 

 

Another fabulous thing about this soup is that the possibilities for toppings are pretty much endless. I load mine up with avocado, salsa and cheese, but a squirt of lime juice or some sour cream are also great additions!

Here’s how you make it:

Print

White Chicken Chili

Two bowls of white chicken chili with an avocado and cheese and cilantro
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

This Easy White Chicken Chili is the perfect lunch or dinner soup and a nice change from traditional tomato-based chili.

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound chicken breast
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
  • 3/4 cup salsa verde (mild, medium or hot)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt, to taste
  • optional: juice from one lime and a jar of canned green chilis or jalapenos
  • optional toppings: cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream

Instructions

  1. To make in the crockpot, add all ingredients, stir, cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Shred the chicken and serve with toppings
  2. To make in the Instant Pot: Quarter chicken breasts, add all ingredients to instant pot and cook on high for 10 minutes. Check to see if chicken shreds easily. If not, cook a few more minutes. You may want to start with only 2 cups of chicken broth. You can always add more if it’s too thick for your liking.
  3. To make it on the stove, in a large pot or dutch oven, dice chicken and saute onion, garlic and chicken until chicken is cooked through. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer at least 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls, top as desired and serve warm.

Notes

I sometimes start with only 2 cups of broth because I like mine thicker. You can also add more broth after it’s been cooking a while but it’s harder to remove the broth without removing flavor!

If you buy your salsa verde, look for a brand with the fewest ingredients and the lowest sodium content. You can also make your own!

 

This White Chicken Chili will quickly become your go-to for lunch or dinner on cold nights. Make it in the slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stove. 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

The Dinner Spark Launch

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Hi friends!

Today is launch day for my newest product – The Dinner Spark! 

The Dinner SparkFor the past couple of months, I’ve been hard at work creating this resource for you and I’m so excited fo you to be able to get your hands on it today!

I’ve been sharing some of the details on social media and via email but in case you missed it, here’s what is included:

  • 200+ meal ideas by category – A clickable PDF with recipe ideas broken down into categories like beef, chicken, soups, vegetarian etc.
  • 50 Ideas for Component Food Prep – I share my top 10 weekend food prep items like shredded chicken, rice, beans etc and give you 5 ways to use each prepped item.
  • 20+ No Recipe Meal Ideas – A list of all the meals I keep in my back pocket for weeks when I’m too busy to food prep or feel like I don’t have anything left to eat. They’re simple, flexible and delicious.
  • Ideas to put a spin on some of your family’s favorite meals – If your family likes tacos, pizza, spaghetti etc and eats them every week, this will give you some easy ways to put a spin on staple recipes so you don’t get tired of family favorites!
  • 10+ Sauce ideas to jazz up your favorite protein – Sauces are the easiest way to make a boring meal more exciting.

PLUS you’ll get 3 months of weekly emails. Every Wednesday (starting the Wednesday after you purchase, you’ll get an email that will include:

  • Food Prep Remix outline – I share  2-3 ingredients you can prep or buy and 3 recipes you could use them in. 
  • 3 Simple Meal Ideas – Simple recipes with 5-8 ingredients. I give you general directions but also link to an example recipe.
  • 3 Bonus Recipes Ideas – A few more recipe ideas for inspiration. 
  • Plus I share some ideas for swaps and substitutions and a couple of different ways you could combine these recipe ideas into a meal plan for the week.

Ready to grab your copy?

Loading…

 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Easy Recipes Using Chickpeas

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Looking for easy recipes using chickpeas? This list has something for everyone from salad to curry to soup! Add these to your lunch and dinner rotation ASAP.

easy chickpea recipes

Hi friends!

In case you missed it, I’ve declared 2020 the year of helping you guys eat more plants! Recently, I shared this recipe for Peanut Butter White Bean Dip that makes a great after school snack. And I’ve been chatting with my Instagram followers about plant-based meals almost weekly. Yesterday I asked my followers for their favorite ways to eat chickpeas and they came through with a lot of much-loved recipes and I wanted to share them with you.

Remember that if the thought of a completely meatless meal overwhelms you, you don’t have to take an all or nothing approach. The method that has been working well for me is cutting the amount of meat in half. In almost all the meals I’ve been making lately, I’ve been replacing half of the chicken or whatever meat I typically use, with a plant-based protein like chickpeas, lentils, beans or tofu. I believe that stretching one package of chicken into two or three meals is just as valid of an approach as eating one meatless meal and i’ve found it’s a great way to eat less meat without it feeling so overwhelming.

Here are some chickpea recipes to check out:

Easy Recipes Using Chickpeas

Other general ideas:

  • Brownie batter hummus
  • Chickpea Blondies
  • Buffalo Chickpea Wraps
  • Pasta sauce or soup with chickpeas blended in
  • Falafel

And if you haven’t read my post on How To Roast Chickpeas, do it now! They make a great snack! So do my Peanut Butter Chickpea Bars.

Looking for easy recipes using chickpeas? This list has something for everyone from salad to curry to soup! Add these to your lunch and dinner rotation ASAP.

What’s your favorite chickpea recipe?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

How To Roast Chickpeas

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Learn how to roast chickpeas. Crunchy and flavorful, they make a great, healthy snack. This post will teach you how to roast chickpeas perfectly using my foolproof recipe!

Want to know the secret to perfectly roasted chickpeas? Click to find out the recipe!

*Originally published in March 2015*

Hi Friends!

Want to learn how to roast chickpeas? If I’m being totally honest, I’m not crazy about chickpeas just plain. I don’t particularly like them on salads or in a casserole. But grind them up into hummus and you’ve got my attention. Roast them into crunchy little puffs to snack on and it’s likely I could eat a whole can in one sitting.

Roasting chickpeas can be a tricky beast. I’ve had many failed batches. Through trial and error, and a little luck, I’ve figured out a few secrets and I thought I’d share them with you!

How To Roast Chickpeas

Want to know the secret to perfectly roasted chickpeas? Click to find out the recipe for this healthy snack!

Perfectly Roasted Chickpeas

Ready? Three secrets to perfectly roasted chickpeas:

  1. Don’t use too much oil. It will make them soggy and they will never get crispy. I spray mine vs drizzle with oil. If you don’t have a can of spray oil or a Misto, use about 1/2 tsp per can of chickpeas. Just enough to coat so spices can stick!
  2. Don’t crowd the pan. Use a large baking sheet, especially if you’re roasted two cans at once so there’s enough room for air to circulate around them. These are my favorite pans (aff link)
  3. Start them in a cold oven, roast them and then leave them in the oven as it cools back down.

Want to know the secret to perfectly roasted chickpeas? Click to find out the recipe for this healthy snack!

That third one is the one that came about by accident. A few years ago I REALLY wanted roasted chickpeas…but I was running late for a workout. I didn’t have time to let the oven preheat so I threw them in there right when I turned the oven on, let them roast as long as I could and then shut off the oven, left them in there and hoped for the best.

What I got was my best ever batch of roasted chickpeas. 

Roasted Chickpeas Recipe

Here’s how you make them:

 

Print

How To Roast Chickpeas

roasted chickpeas
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Perfectly roasted chickpeas using a super easy, foolproof method.

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Yield: approx 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cans chickpeas (low-sodium or no-salt-added)
  • oil for misting
  • spices (i use paprika and cayenne pepper)

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
  2. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Pour the chickpeas on top and use more paper towels to dry them off as well as possible.
  3. Remove the paper towels.
  4. Mist the chickpeas with oil, sprinkle with spices and shake pan gently until all the chickpeas are well coated.
  5. Place pan in a cold oven.
  6. Set oven to 425 degrees F and let roast for 25-30 minutes, shaking the pan halfway thru. The timer starts as  soon as you put them in a cold oven and turn it on.
  7. When the timer goes off, stir once more, turn the oven off and leave pan in the oven for 3-4 hours.
  8. Remove and let cool completely before transferring to a storage container.

Notes

The exact roasting time will depend on your oven and you might have to test two batches. 30 minutes is perfect for my oven but leads to some burning in other ovens. Try 25 minutes first and add 5 minutes next time if needed!

Keywords: roasted, chickpeas, vegetarian, snack, healthy

So easy and delicious.

Want to know the secret to perfectly roasted chickpeas? Click to find out the recipe for this healthy snack!

Play around to find your favorite spice mix. I usually choose cayenne and paprika but they’re also good with curry powder!

Perfectly roasted chickpeas

It might be a little trial and error with your oven as well depending on how hot it tends to run.

Don’t forget to use a big pan if you do two cans at once! Leave them in the oven for at least 2-3 hours after you turn it up, but really, you can leave them in there until it gets totally cold if you want to.

I like to make a batch right before I go to bed then just shut off the oven and take them out in the morning.

Want to know the secret to perfectly roasted chickpeas? Click to find out the recipe.

Look good?! Don’t forget to share with friends on Pinterest and Facebook!

Healthy snacks like these chickpeas are great to add to your weekly food prep routine so you have them on hand during busy weeks. If you liked this post, you’ll love my ebook – The Ultimate Guide To Food Prep. It dives into even more detail about how to food prep, troubleshoots common problems and provides tons of tips to make it easier! 

 

Looking for more healthy snack ideas? Try these: 25 Quick and Easy After-Work Snacks or these 10 Healthy Toddler Snacks! You can see all my snack recipes here, including many packed with veggies!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from Amazon after clicking on one of them, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets

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These Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets are made with a combination of red lentils and ground chicken. They’re kid-friendly and easy to make for a weeknight dinner. 

Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets with sliced apples and green beans on a white plate

Hi friends!

I’m excited to share these Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets to kick off the new year. Over the past several weeks I’ve been working to reduce my meat intake. I’m not interested in eliminating it completely but I am cutting back. For me, one of the easiest ways to do this is to make my meals with a combination of plant and animal proteins. 

A perfect example is a recipe I recently shared over on Instagram for Chicken and Chickpea Noodle Soup. Instead of making my standard chicken noodle soup, I replaced half the chicken with a can of chickpeas. This gives me the benefit of adding plant protein to my meal! But it’s less overwhelming than a 100% vegetarian meal. 

I used the same approach with these Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets.  Combining red lentils with ground chicken tastes more like a nugget my kids are used to eating. But combining stretches the chicken into more nuggets thanks to the lentils. It’s an easy way to add another plant-based protein source to my kids’ meal.  

Here’s how you make them:

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Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets

Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets made with lentils and ground chicken
Print Recipe

These Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets are made with a combination of red lentils and ground chicken. They’re kid-friendly and easy to make for a weeknight dinner. 

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 25-30 nuggets 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup dry red lentils (about 3/4 cup cooked)
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs for coating (more if needed)

Instructions

  1. Cook red lentils. (I put mine in a pan with water, cover, bring to a boil, crack the lid and reduce to simmer or 5 min and then drain).
  2. Put the lentils in a food processor and pulse several times.
  3. Add chicken, egg and spices and process until combined.
  4. Place panko breadcrumbs on a plate or in a dish.
  5. Take chicken mixture one tablespoon at a time. Roll in breadcrumbs and form into nugget shape. (Depending on size you should get 25-30 nuggets)
  6. Bake at 400 for 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway, or until thermometer inserted into a stack of nuggets registers 165 degrees F.

Using a food processor makes combining the chicken and lentils a breeze. Even though forming the nuggets takes a little time, it’s easy and perfection isn’t required. To cut down on prep time you could cut the recipe in half. This would make fewer nuggets. Use the other half pound of chicken for something else!

If you’re feeling adventurous, you could add some shredded carrots or zucchini or other veggies to the food processor.

Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets

These Red Lentil Chicken Nuggets are made with a combination of red lentils and ground chicken. They're kid-friendly and easy to make for a weeknight dinner. 

Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies

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These Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies are the perfect holiday dessert! They’re gluten-free and sweetened with dates. Add them to a Christmas cookie tray or bring them to a potluck or party.

Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies - topped with white chocolate drizzle and crushed candy canes

Hi friends!

These Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies are likely the only new holiday recipe you’ll get from me this year but man are they delicious. They’re basically just a slight twist on my Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Brownies. I made a couple of small changes and BAM! A perfectly festive recipe that would make a fun addition to a holiday cookie tray and would also be perfect at your Christmas party, office potluck, etc.

These beauties are made in the food processor. Have I mentioned I love my Cuisinart food processor (affiliate link). It’s by far my most used kitchen appliance and my absolute fav for baking because it’s so easy to add all sorts of nutrient boosters to baked goods. 

So, using the food processor allows you to sweeten these with dates, which I love. It also lets you blend in a whole medium sweet potato! You don’t even need flour or oats for these. 

Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies sweetened with dates

My gluten-free sweet potato brownies have been our fav around here for several years…and then every time the holidays roll around, I find myself making my No-Bake Peppermint Chocolate Bites on repeat…because is there really anything more festive than white chocolate and crushed candy canes? I think not.

So this year I decided to do a little mash-up and give my brownies a mint twist. And guys, they turned out so well. I’ve made two batches this week and eaten almost all of them myself.

Here’s the recipe:

Print

Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies

Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies with white chocolate drizzle
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

These Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies are the perfect holiday dessert! They’re gluten-free and sweetened with dates. Add them to a Christmas cookie tray or bring them to a potluck or party.

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 brownies 1x

Ingredients

Scale

3/4 cup chopped medjool dates (pits removed. Soak in hot water for 5 min first if they’re not super soft)
2 eggs
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp peppermint extract (adjust to more or less depending on how strong you like your mint flavor)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
white chocolate and candy canes for decorating

Instructions

  1. Place dates in a food processor and pulse several times to chop.
  2. Add eggs, peanut butter, sweet potato, applesauce, oil, cocoa powder, baking soda and peppermint and process until smooth.
  3. Add chocolate chips and pulse to mix.
  4. Spread into 9×9 baking pan lined with parchment paper. (Batter will be very thick.
  5. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until set.
  6. Let cool completely, then drizzle with melted white chocolate and crushed candy canes.

Notes

To cook my sweet potato I just stab it several times with a knife and microwave for 5 minutes.

Keywords: dessert, brownies, gluten-free, peppermint, mint, holiday

What do you think? Are you worried they’re going to taste like peanut butter or sweet potato? I promise you they don’t! 

These Peppermint Sweet Potato Brownies are the perfect holiday dessert! They're gluten-free and sweetened with dates. Add them to a Christmas cookie tray or bring them to a potluck or party.

I can’t wait for you to try them! Be sure to let me know what you think!!

Let’s chat:

What staple treats go on your cookie trays every year?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

All-Time Favorite Gifts {For Babies, Toddlers & Mom}

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After three kids, here are my all-time favorite gifts for Babies, Toddlers and Moms! These are my most used items for every day life and would make great choices for gifts, baby registries and more.

Hi friends!

I wanted to share my all-time favorite gifts with you guys. This will be my last gift guide for the year. In case you missed any of the others, you can check them out below:

Some of you have asked what my absolute favorites are. I tried to make my previous guides very robust with lots of options at different price points but if I was really going to boil it down to my very favorite things, I could pretty easily pick my top 10 favorites in a few categories. So, I rounded up my favorites for baby’s first year, the toddler years (mostly ages 2-4) and my current mama favs that I use almost daily. So here are my all-time favorite gifts for babies, toddlers and moms.

Some of the links below are affiliate links from Amazon and other places. That means that if you purchase through them, I earn a small amount at no additional cost to you! Thanks for supporting The Lean Green Bean.

All-Time Favorite Gifts

all-time favorites for baby's first year

Year 1

  1. Ergo Adapt – Hands down my favorite baby carrier. I have three of them and used with all three kids. I love the adapt bc you don’t need an infant insert.
  2. UpSimples Swaddle Blankets – These are THE softest blankets. Great for swaddling, spit up, lovies, cold weather covering, etc.
  3. Lectrofan Sound Machine – A good sound machine is a must-have. I have this one in several rooms.
  4. Newborn to Toddler Rocker – I used the rock and play with all three, but this is my next most-used chair. It got plenty of use with all three as well.
  5. Boogin’ Head Pacifier Clip & Zutano Booties – If baby takes a pacifier, boogin’ head is a must to keep from loosing them. But only one of mine really took a paci so I’d also recommend the booties. 
  6. Gootensil – The perfect first utensil. Easy to load and great for them to practice with or just chew on when teething.
  7. B’apron Baby – The best bib. It goes over the shoulders and ties in the back so they can’t yank it off their neck.
  8. Summer Infant Popup Playyard – We used this ALL the time when we owned a gym while my oldest was a baby. Even now we use it in our living room to keep the baby away from the big kids when they’re building, doing train tracks etc. They have a newer model with a sun shade which is great for outside.
  9. Laugh and Learn Table – All my kids have loved this. You can put it on the floor without the legs when they’re little and it’s great when they start to stand. Even my big kid still play with it!
  10. Sit to stand walker – Another one that’s been highly used with all three kids when learning to walk!

gift ideas ages 2-4

Years 2-4

  1. Wooden train tracks – My oldest was non-stop trains from ages 1-3. Most of the brands work together so snag them on sale and build your collection.
  2. Open-ended play: trucks/cars +babies/stuffed animals – great for any age. They don’t have to be fancy…the simpler the better so they can use their imaginnation
  3. Play tools and doctor kit – our two most used “pretend” sets
  4. Play kitchen – all my kids have loved this from age 1 and up
  5. Duplos – skip the megablocks big builders and just get Duplos. Big enough for 1 year olds and my 5 year old still uses them even though he’s also starting to get into the smaller sets
  6. Nugget – great pretty much as soon as they start crawling but i’d say 2.5 or so is about the time mine started using on their own without needed parent help to set it up and move it around. Ages 3&5 are loving it right now
  7. Magnatiles and/or wooden blocks – we’ve had blocks from the very beginning. Added magnatiles when my middle just under 2. She played with them at that age making simple boxes and stuff but around age 2.5 is when she started getting good enough to build vertical towers without knocking them over. Get the 100 pack. Just trust me.
  8. Scooter – Tricycles are great but if you only want to buy one, I’d go with a scooter for ages 2+. My daughter mastered it around 2.5 and with practice probably could have been good at it even younger. We have both the y glider xl and the y glider deluxe
  9. Ultimate fort builder – easy to snap together but if you want to build some of the designs they suggest, you have to position the connectors a certain way so ages 3-4 might be a better age to start if no older siblings
  10. Art supplies/playdough/water table/sensory bins – check this post for a list of our most used supplies

 

 

all-time favorite gifts for moms

Mom Favs

  1. Able purse – Hands down my favorite crossbody purse. They don’t have the size of the one I bought last year but I love them all. 
  2. Yeti – To keep your coffee hot and also minimize spills and potential burns from little hands grabbing mugs.
  3. Stitch Fix  or Trunk Club gift card – Since going shopping is hard! I also love my Lululemon Dance Studio Pants.
  4. Slippers – On my feet every day for fall, winter and spring.
  5. Pop Socket- A must-have for your phone.
  6. Kindle Unlimited – When I have the time and energy to read for fun, this comes in handy for access to a lot of books.
  7. Food processor & Instant Pot – My two most used kitchen appliances.
  8. Heating Pad – For all your mom aches and pains and also to make your bed warm and cozy.
  9. Birkenstock Mayari – My go-to shoe all summer long. I asked for All Birds for Xmas for colder months but can’t vouch for them yet.
  10. Dumbbells – You can get a great workout, even in your living room, with a good pair of dumbbells. 

So there you go! I’m sure I forgot something but this should get you started!

After three kids, here are my all-time favorite gifts for Babies, Toddlers and Moms! These are my most used items for every day life and would make great choices for gifts, baby registries and more.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Best Gifts For In-Laws {and Parents}

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Looking for the best gifts for in-laws? Here’s a roundup of fun, yet practical gift ideas that are perfect for in-laws, parents, grandparents etc! 

Looking for the best gifts for in-laws? Here's a roundup of fun, yet practical gift ideas that are perfect for in-laws, parents, grandparents etc! 

Hi friends!

Earlier this week I shared the Best Gifts for Husbands and today I’ve got some of the best gift ideas for in-laws. Behind husbands, this was the second most requested post. People seem to have a tough time coming up with gift ideas for in-laws/parents/grandparents. Once again, you guys came through. I added your ideas to some of mine and I think this is a pretty good list!

**This post is not sponsored but some of the links below are Amazon Affiliate links. When you purchase through them, I earn a small amount at no additional cost to you! Thanks for supporting The Lean Green Bean!**

Here are the best gifts for in-laws and parents: 

1) Photos: In my opinion, you can never go wrong with photos!

  • Book and pay for a family photo session so they can have some current photos of the family, grandkids, etc with them in it!
  • Canvas print – I get all mine from Canvas On Demand. The perfect way to decorate a room.
  • Digital frame – You can get one with wifi or a non-wifi version that you can update every so often with a flash drive.

2) Electronics: Make the gift even better by installing and setting it up for them!

  • Make their house a little more high tech with a Nest thermostat or a Ring doorbell camera 
  • Upgrade their tv with Apple TV or Roku – you could throw in a year subscription for Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ etc!
  • Improve their stereo system with a new sound bar.
  • Introduce them to Alexa with an Echo with Alexa or Google Home, etc
  • If they like to read or listen to books or podcasts, try an Audible or Kindle Unlimited subscription.

3) Kitchen: If they enjoy cooking, you can always add something to their kitchen collection!

  • My number one pick is an Instant pot
  • An Air fryer is also a good option.
  • Or buy them tickets to a cooking class!

4) Airline gift cards: Do they live far away?

  • Put some money towards a flight so they can come visit!
  • Or help them enjoy their retirement and take the trip they’ve been planning for years!

5) Food: Feed them!

  • Try a meat or veggie subscription box like Butcher Box or Imperfect Produce.
  • Make their weeknights easier with a meal subscription service like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, etc!
  • Help them take the planning out of cooking with a meal planning tool like Cooksmarts.

6) Plants – A fun way to add new life to a room!

  • Check out websites like Bloomscape for beautiful indoor plants – they give you info on size, maintenance, light, pet-friendly etc.
  • Or gift them a monthly plant subscription- Check out something like The Sill

7) Interior design- Whether they recently moved or have been living somewhere for a long time, they might enjoy a room refresh!

  • Gift them a Havenly consult – they can consult with an interior decorator online for a very reasonable price!

8) Out on the town-

  • A restaurant gift card to their favorite place or a new place to try
  • Dinner theater tickets
  • A night out with just you and your spouse! Especially if you have kids….they love the grandkids but you guys were their kids first and they would probably love spending some adult-only time with just you guys too!

That’s all I’ve got! For more gift ideas, check out my Small Business Gift Guide, a list of Kid Gift Ideas {Ages 4-7},  Best Toys for Multiple Ages or Toddler Gift Ideas {1-3 years}. If your kiddos like being in the kitchen here are some Kitchen Tools for Kids and if you’ve got a reader, here are some of the Best Toddler Books. I’ve also previously rounded up my favs in this Baby’s First Year Gift Guide!

What’s the best gift you’ve gotten your in-laws or parents lately?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Best Gifts For Husbands

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Hi friends!

What are the best gifts for husbands or in-laws? I’ve got you covered with a couple of gift guides coming your way this week. I took a poll on IG and you guys said you wanted them. By far the most highly requested were husband and in-laws/parents. To make my life easier, I asked YOU GUYS what your best ideas were…and then I put them into a nice little list along with my own ideas to hopefully help you out this holiday season!

So here you go! This list is not sponsored but does contain some affiliate links. Using them results in no extra cost for you but I do earn a small amount! Thanks for supporting The Lean Green Bean!

The best gifts for husbands in 2019

Best Gifts for Husbands

1) Favorites box- An easy one to personalize:

  • My mom always gave my dad a bunch of single bottles of different beers growing up and it was fun to watch him open them. She now does the same thing for my husband.
  • Not into beer? Grab a few of their drink of choice and pair it with their favorite snacks!
  • Or go a different route and grab them some different new or local coffees to try! 

2) Feet- Weird category title but a few good ideas:

  • I got my hubby socks with our cat’s face from Pupsocks on them a couple of years ago and they were a huge hit! Now you can get ones with kids’ faces on them as well! Check out their website or find them on Amazon. 
  • Not into socks? Try shoes! Allbirds were a popular choice.
  • Or Ugg Slippers – don’t laugh! They got tons of recommendations!

3) Car- A safe bet for a lot of guys:

  • I’ve gotten my hubby a gift certificate for a mobile car detailing service that comes to you and makes your car look brand new on the inside. (Hint- this would also be a great gift for most mamas!)
  • A prepaid car wash
  • Weather tech floor liners
  • AAA membership

4) Electronics- I’m always on the hunt for new electronic gadgets:

5) Music- Got a music lover?

  • Subscription to an unlimited music service like Spotify, Napster or Amazon Music Unlimited
  • Wireless headphones like AirPods 
  • Concert tickets were another popular suggestion!

6) Commuting- If your hubby spends a lot of time commuting, here are a few things to consider:

  • Wireless Noise-canceling Headphones (You’ll have to do your own research for the best pick for your pricepoint)
  • NY Times online subscription to keep up on the news
  • Audible or Kindle Unlimited subscription if they like to read or listen to books or podcasts
  • Yeti – to keep their coffee hot!

7) Monthly Subscription Box- they have them for pretty much everything!

  • beer or wine
  • Meat 
  • Man crates
  • Socks
  • T-shirts
  • Coffee

8) Other – A couple of random things that didn’t fit anywhere else

 

And just in case you missed it over on IG – lemme clear a few things up for you:

Teachers

teacher gift suggestions

Teenagers

teenager gift suggestions

Your Boss

boss gifts

What’s on your list of best gifts for husbands?

Looking for more gift guides? Check out my list of Kid Gift Ideas for Ages 4-7, Best Toys for Multiple Ages or Toddler Gift Ideas {1-3 years}. If your kiddos like being in the kitchen here are some Kitchen Tools for Kids and if you’ve got a reader, here are some of the Best Toddler Books. I’ve also previously rounded up my favs in this Baby’s First Year Gift Guide!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs

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These Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs are kid-friendly and perfect for food prep! They’re full of flavor and make a great party appetizer or family dinner.

Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs with green beans and sweet potatoes

Hi friends!

Whenever I find myself in a dinner rut, meatballs are a go-to of mine! Over the years I’ve come up with quite a few flavor combinations that are on repeat around here. These Apple Cheddar Turkey meatballs are on of our current favorites. After we went apple picking this year, I was looking for new ways to use up some of our apples and the idea for these were born. 

My kids love them because they’re full of cheese and the apples add a little sweetness. I love dipping them in bbq sauce! Since meatballs are so easy to double or triple the recipe, these would perfect for a football tailgate!

overhead shot of apple cheddar turkey meatballs

When I polled my audience on Instagram, the majority preferred shredded cheese mixed into the meatballs but you could also make a stuffed version of these Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs by stuffing a cube of cheddar cheese into the middle of them!

I served mine with some roasted veggies so that I could do everything on a couple of baking sheets in the oven for dinner, but you could also serve with pasta, baked sweet potatoes or another favorite side dish of yours!

Here’s how you make them:

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Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs

plate of apple cheddar turkey meatballs
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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

These Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs are kid-friendly and perfect for food prep! They’re full of flavor and make a great party appetizer or family dinner.

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 14-16 meatballs 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound ground turkey (or chicken)
1/2 cup shredded apple (squeeze to remove excess water and roughly chop)
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup sliced green onion
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Form into 14-16 meatballs.
  3. Place on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 min, flipping once.

What do you think? We love them!

These Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatballs are kid-friendly and perfect for food prep! They're full of flavor and make a great party appetizer or family dinner.

Looking for other meatball recipes? Try these:

What’s your favorite meatball flavor combo?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bars

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These Dairy-free Pumpkin Bars are so easy to whip up for a snack or dessert! They require just one bowl and one measuring cup! 

Easy Dairy-free pumpkin bars

Hi friends!

We’re knee-deep in pumpkin season over here…although if you’ve been following for any length of time you know that we are team year-round pumpkin! However, I accept the fact that a lot of people only enjoy it in the Fall…which is why I knew I had to share these easy Dairy-free Pumpkin Bars with you guys as soon as possible. They just might become your new favorite dessert. Who knows! Maybe this will be the recipe that converts you to year-round pumpkin loving!

Dairy-free Pumpkin Bars

Overhead shot of dairy-free pumpkin bars with chocolate chips

I’ve been making these bars for several years now and when I shared them over on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, you guys went wild for them! The recipe is so so easy. All you need is one bowl and guess what? You only need one measuring cup as well! My kids love helping me make these and they’ve been a huge hit at football parties, potlucks etc as well!

Here’s how you make them:

Print

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bars

Easy Pumpkin Bars copy
Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 17 reviews

These Dairy-free Pumpkin Bars are so easy to whip up for a snack or dessert! They require just one bowl and one measuring cup! 

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9x9 pan 1x
  • Category: dessert

Ingredients

Scale

2/3 cup oil (i use avocado oil)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg (or a flax egg)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 & 1/3 cup flour (i use white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips, to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine oil, brown sugar, pumpkin, egg and vanilla in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Add cinnamon, flour, baking soda and chocolate chips.
  3. Stir until just mixed.
  4. Spoon into 9×9 pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 for 20-25 min.

Notes

To make these vegan, use a flax egg.

You can reduce the sugar if desired.

Use dairy-free chocolate chips if needed.

Keywords: pumpkin, dessert, snack, dairy-free, pumpkin bars

See what I mean? You just grab a 1/3 cup measuring cup and you can make the whole recipe! It doesn’t get any easier. 

These Dairy-free Pumpkin Bars are so easy to whip up for a snack or dessert! They require just one bowl and one measuring cup! 

 

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Try these:

What’s your favorite pumpkin dessert?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Best Toys for Multiple Ages

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Looking for the best toys for multiple ages? Here’s a roundup of toys that all of my kids have played with for many years. They’re great for entertaining a wide range of ages and perfect for keeping siblings entertained!

 

Hi friends!

Last week, I did a little Q&A over on my Instagram stories and someone asked me for a list of toys that all of my kids play with. The holidays are approaching and lots of people have gift-giving on the brain. I had a few toys that immediately came to mind, but I also decided to ask my audience for their suggestions. With their help, I came up with a great list of the best toys for multiple ages. 

These are forever toys. The ones you can buy when your first kid is one or two and save until your youngest kid is heading to middle school! Some are expensive, but I think the fact that you can keep them around for many years gives them a lot of bang for their buck! 

So, here are my top 10 recommendations. This post contains affiliate links where noted. That means when you purchase through my link, I receive a small amount of money, at no additional cost to you! Thanks so much for supporting The Lean Green Bean!

10 Best Toys for Multiple Ages

nugget comfort

Nugget Comfort

We got this last Christmas and have used it daily since. I even have a whole Instagram highlight of different ways we’ve used it. It’s great for obstacle courses, forts, watching tv, saving your couch cushions, monster truck ramps, and endless other things!

magnatiles

Magna-Tiles 
*aff link*

I always recommend people splurge on the name brand ones because I feel they work the best…and also splurge on the 100 pack because you’re going to want as many pieces as possible. But if you’re on a budget, Picasso brand works fine too and they do work with Magna-Tiles – we have some of each kind and use them together. I also recommend a magnetic board to build on (aff link). If you’re on a budget you can use an old cookie sheet!

duplos

 

Duplos 
*aff link*

I recommend these for ages 2+. Megabloks (aff link) are great for the first year or two and around age 4, they can move on to the smaller Legos…but duplos are great for those middle years. My 2-year-old can play with these and i think they stick together better than Megabloks, and my almost 5-year-old still plays with them even those he also likes the smaller ones.

 

jumbo cardboard blocks

Jumbo Cardboard Blocks
*aff link*

These are a little annoying to put together but you only have to do it once…and then you’ll have a great stash of sturdy cardboard blocks that the kids will love to build with, knock down, crash into, jump over etc!

ultimate fort builder

Ultimate Fort Builder

We have this one from Lakeshore Learning and love it. This Crazy fort on Amazon is similar. (aff link). These are easy to snap together. The only thing to consider is that to make some of the designs in the booklet that comes with it, the red connectors need to be oriented a certain way (there are arrows on them) so I often need to help my kids (almost 3 & 5) set them up. If they just want to build a big square or rectangle, or their own design, they can connect them however they want.

wooden train tracks

Wooden train tracks
*aff link*

Most of the wooden tracks – Brio, Obrium, Melissa and Doug etc are interchangeable so I’d look for whichever brand you can find the best deal on and you can add more later! You can set them up in endless patterns and can easily add to your first set to make longer and more complex tracks. They’re also great for traveling. I always pack a ziploc bag full in my suitcase with a few trains because you can set them up anywhere.

play kitchen

Play kitchen
*aff link*

There are tons of different models out there so you can browse around and find a design you love, one to fit your decor etc. We got ours when my oldest turned 1 and all my kids still play with it daily. I highly recommend adding some food,  this shopping cart and cash register to the mix as well (aff links). And then you can save your food and diaper boxes and set up your own grocery store like I did here. 

hape doll house

Doll House
*aff link*

I found mine on FB marketplace…a great place to look for any of this stuff, but both my older kids use it. I’ve found it’s a common thing to have in preschool classrooms and both of my kids started playing with ours at home more after they were introduced to it at school. Ours was from Plan Toys but this one from Hape is also great.

occupational toys

Occupational toys and dress-up clothes

My kids love their doctor kit and all of their dress up clothes (order slightly big so they can grow into them and use for multiple years). They also love their pretend tools, cleaning supplies and explorer set (binoculars, compass, flashlight, etc). *aff links*

obstacle course

Obstacle course equipment 

In addition to our Nugget, we also use a balance beam and floor dots to make homemade obstacle courses. You could also add rings, cones and bean bags!

I had some other best toys for multiple ages that didn’t make my top ten and I also posed the question to my audience on Instagram and got some great suggestions so here are a few more ideas!

sensory fine motor toys

Sensory/Fine Motor

  • Playdough – use it by itself, give them some scissors or butter knives to cut it with, use a rolling pin and cookie cutters etc
  • Sensory bins – fill them with kinetic sand, water beads, dried beans or noodles, water, scoops, cups, spoons etc and let them go to town
  • Whiteboard and dry erase markers
  • Spray bottles
  • Water/Sand table

*aff links*

arts and crafts

Arts and Crafts:

*aff links*

physical activity

Physical Activity

*aff links*

general multi age toys

General

  • Vehicles – dump trucks, cars, construction vehicles, hot wheels…anything with wheels that you can build roads/garages/houses for
  • Puzzles
  • Balls
  • Wooden blocks
  • Dolls and barbies
  • Little people and toy animals/dinos
  • Marble Run (aff link)
  • Board games

Want to save these ideas? Pin this post for later!

Look for the best toys for multiple ages? Here's a roundup of toys that all of my kids have played with for many years. They're great for entertaining a wide range of ages and perfect for keeping siblings entertained!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Need more ideas? Check out these Toddler Gift Ideas geared at ages 1-3, Kids Gift Ideas {ages 4-7} Or my Small Business Gift Guide.

 

Introducing Peanut Butter to Babies

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Research shows introducing peanut butter to babies at an early age can help prevent allergies. Here are some simple ways to introduce peanut butter to infants.

Research shows introducing peanut butter to babies at an early age can help prevent allergies. Here are some simple ways to introduce peanut butter to infants.

Hi friends-

Introducing peanut butter to babies is one of my favorite parenting adventures. While it’s fun to start your journey with solids, introducing the top 8 allergens is often a bit scary. It’s been a hot topic in parenting for a while now, likely because the current recommendations are MUCH different than they were even just 5 years ago. The previous recommendation was to introduce the top 8 allergens until a child was at least a year old. That meant avoiding peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, milk, soy and eggs for the first year of life. 

However, in early 2015, just as I was getting ready to start feeding my first baby solids, a growing body of research supporting earlier introduction. I started working my way through the top 8 allergens as soon as he started solids at 5.5 months and peanuts were one of the first we introduced. Peanut allergies are on the rise and have definitely gotten the most media attention in recent years. Most schools are peanut-free at this point but the hope is is that people will utilize the new guidelines for introducing peanuts at an earlier age and that the prevalence of peanut allergies will start to decrease.

peanut butter and mashed banana in oatmeal for babies

Current Recommendations

As you get ready to start solids, be aware of the current recommendations for introducing peanut butter to babies:

  • For the highest risk infants, those with severe eczema or egg allergy, peanut allergy testing is recommended. This group should be introduced to peanuts in an infant safe way (under the supervision of a doctor) as early as 4-6 months of age.
  • Babies with mild to moderate eczema, also at increased risk, should be introduced to peanuts around 6 months of age.
  • Infants without eczema or other food allergies, who are not at increased risk, should be introduced to peanuts freely along with all other solid foods around 6 months of age. Ie, no need to do it early, but don’t wait until they’re one. Just start introducing at the same time they start solids, whenever they are developmentally ready.

If an early introduction is needed, before babies are developmentally ready for solids, a small amount of powdered peanut butter can be mixed with formula or breast milk and put it in a bottle. Remember, this would be something you would work closely with your doctor on.

In addition, before introducing any solids to your child, familiarize yourself with the signs of an allergic reaction, watch children closely during and after introduction and seek medical attention if needed. More on food allergies and allergic reactions here.

introducing peanut butter to babies with popsicle

Introducing Peanut Butter to Babies

Here are some simple ideas for introducing peanut butter to babies. Be sure your child is developmentally ready for solids (sitting unassisted, showing interest in food, etc):

  • Make oatmeal or baby cereal and stir in peanut butter or powdered peanut butter.
  • Cut sweet potato into fries and roast until soft. Mix peanut butter with a little bit of water to thin it out and serve as a dip for the fries.
  • Cut a banana into chunks. Warm peanut butter until it’s easy to stir. Dip banana chunks in peanut butter, place on a baking sheet and freeze. Place in a mesh or silicone pouch and let baby suck on it. We like this silicone feeder from Boon (affiliate link)
  • Mix mashed sweet potato, prunes and peanut butter and spoon into small popsicle molds to freeze. We use these Nuby popsicle molds (aff link)
  • Mix applesauce and breast milk or formula with powdered peanut butter and serve with a spoon.
  • Try Bambas or other peanut puffs.
  • Add a little peanut butter to any pureed fruits or veggies.
  • Spread thinly on soft crackers or toast.
  • Mix peanut butter into pancake batter and cut pancakes into strips when serving.
  • Try this recipe for Peanut Butter Teething Biscuits from the National Peanut Board

Since tree nuts are another of the top 8 allergens, you’ll want to expose your babies to a wide variety of nuts. Try these suggestions with almond, walnut or cashew butter too!  You could also use things like pesto, cashew “cheese”, nut-based dipping sauces and African Peanut Stew to introduce peanuts and tree nuts!

As babies continue on their journey with solids, continue to expose them to the top 8 allergens! I love adding peanut butter to my baked goods like muffins and bars for a dose of healthy fats!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Roasted Squash Fall Salad

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This Roasted Squash Fall Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner. Packed with vegetables and protein, it’s full of flavor and easy to customize. A great way to enjoy seasonal produce! Keep it vegetarian or add your favorite meat or fish.

Roasted Squash Fall Salad with hard boiled egg and avocado

Hi friends!

Allow me to present this Roasted Squash Fall Salad to inspired your weekend food prep! I’ve been eating this salad on repeat around here because it’s just so dang good. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of lettuce based salads. More likely I’ll take a little salad and then gimme ALL the toppings! They’re the best part…am I right? 

That being said, you can serve this salad with pretty much any combo of greens you like. Regular leaf lettuce works. Massaged kale would be great. Spinach would also work. Or any combo of the above.

As with most of my salad recipes, you don’t really need exact quantities here. I’m just sharing the ingredients because I think it’s a great combo of flavors. 

Roasted Squash Fall Salad

overhead shot of two Roasted Squash Fall Salads

I’m calling this a Roasted Squash Fall Salad but you can see I use both squash and sweet potatoes. I like the combo but you could use one or the other. And choose your favorite squash here. I love delicata but you could also use butternut squash or any of the other many varieties that are in season right now. 

Similarly, pecans scream fall to me, but if you’re not a fan you could use walnuts or almonds, or toss on some pepitas! I added farro because I like my salads with a grain component. You could skip that if you wanted. And I kept it vegetarian with just hard-boiled eggs but you could easily add some grilled chicken or salmon. Both would be delicious with the honey mustard dressing that I highly suggest you use!

Here’s the rundown of ingredients!

Print

Roasted Squash Fall Salad

Fall Chop Salad 1 2 copy
Print Recipe

This Roasted Squash Fall Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner. Packed with vegetables and protein, it’s full of flavor and easy to customize. A great way to enjoy seasonal produce! Keep it vegetarian or add your favorite meat or fish.

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4

Ingredients

Scale

8 cups leafy greens of choice (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc)
2 delicata squash, cut into rings and roasted (or 1 squash, 1 sweet potato)
1 medium avocado, sliced
6 hard boiled eggs, halved
2 medium apples, chopped
2 cups cooked farro
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup sliced red onion
honey mustard dressing

Instructions

  1. Place 2 cups of greens in each bowl.
  2. Divide remaining toppings evenly among bowls.
  3. Top with honey mustard dressing and serve

Notes

  • Quantities are not exact. Make your salads as big or small as you want!
  • Sub your favorite kind of squash or use all sweet potato if desired
  • Add chicken or other meat if desired
  • Use a different dressing if you prefer
  • I roast my squash by slicing, spraying with oil, adding spices if desired and roasting at 400 for 25 minutes or so, flipping halfway through

Keywords: squash, salad, fall

Salads are my favorite way to highlight seasonal produce while still serving something that’s totally customizable to personal size and ingredient preferences!

This Roasted Squash Fall Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner. Packed with vegetables and protein, it's full of flavor and easy to customize. A great way to enjoy seasonal produce! Keep it vegetarian or add your favorite meat or fish.

Need more salad inspiration? Try these:

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins

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These Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins are perfect for Fall. They’re lightly sweetened and full of fiber, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Plus they’re kid-friendly and nut-free, making them perfect for breakfast, snack or school lunch!

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins

Hi friends!

I’m so excited to share these Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins with you guys today. They’re my current fall favorite and I just know you guys are gonna love them! ESPECIALLY if you’ve already made and love my Lentil Banana Muffins. As you guys know, I make those weekly for my kids. They’re Squish’s favorite and Lyssie likes them as well. They’re perfect for lunch boxes and snacks and I promise that you can’t taste the lentils at all. 

These Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins are very similar, just with a fall twist. We went apple picking last weekend and came home with a gigantic basket of apples so I’m currently on a mission to find ways to use them up. I’ve been craving a batch of pumpkin muffins so that was my starting point. My favorite are my Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins but the kids don’t like those. I use shredded apples in my Zucchini Apple Carrot Muffins so I thought this might be an easy way to use some up in a healthy pumpkin recipe. I actually prefer shredded apples to chopped apples in most baked goods because you can squeeze out the excess moisture before baking! If you prefer pumpkin bread, try my Easy Pumpkin Bread or this  Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bean Bread.

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins with chocolate chips

So, I took out the banana and added pumpkin and apple to this recipe. I also swapped sugar for maple syrup. These are very lightly sweetened muffins. They’re not overly sweet and that’s just the way I like it. I prefer to sweeten them lightly and then add chocolate chips. If you leave the chocolate chips out and want a sweeter muffin, you’ll need to increase the maple syrup. If you want to make a no sugar added version, you could swap the maple syrup for a mashed banana or you could use dates to sweeten them like I do in my Zucchini Oat Bars.

Like most things I’ve baked recently, I made them in my food processor (aff link). It just makes baking so easy and I can simply throw stuff in, turn it on and everything gets nice and smooth and blended together and you’d never know all the good stuff that was mixed in there! My kids love helping me make muffins and they especially love helping me add everything to the food processor and then watching it “disappear” when they turn it on!

Here’s how you make them:

Print

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins

Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins 3 copy
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

These Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins are perfect for Fall. They’re lightly sweetened and full of fiber, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Plus they’re kid-friendly and nut-free, making them perfect for breakfast, snack or school lunch!

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup cooked green lentils (approx 1/3 cup dry)
1 cup shredded apple (approx 2 medium, squeeze to remove excess moisture)
1/4 cup oil (i use avocado oil)
1 egg
2/3 cup pumpkin (I usually increase to 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup maple syrup (increase up to 1/3 or 1/2 cup for sweeter muffin)
1 tsp cinnamon (you can also add 1/2 – 1 tsp ground ginger if you like that flavor)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, combine cooked lentils, apples, oil and egg and process for 1 min.
  2. Add pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon and process an additional minute.
  3. Add baking soda, oats and flour and process to combine.
  4. Add chocolate chips and pulse a few times.
  5. Spoon into 12 lined or greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for 18 minutes.
  6. Store in the fridge.

Easy right?! Let me know if you try these Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins or the banana version!

These Pumpkin Apple Lentil Muffins are perfect for Fall. They're lightly sweetened and full of fiber, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Plus they're kid-friendly and nut-free, making them perfect for breakfast, snack or school lunch!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Dear Nolan: Months 8-10

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baby 7 months

Dear Nolan,

Here we are, another 3 months since my last letter. Not a whole lot changed in your 7th month. You continued to do well with the formula supplementing and we continued to try to get you to eat solids. The only thing I really found that you liked this month was a Zucchini Peach Smoothie. You continued to sleep in our bed, take naps whenever and wherever I could fit them in and be a generally happy baby. 

baby 8 months

At the beginning of August, you turned 8 months and got your first two teeth (on the bottom) fairly close together. You continued to crawl regularly, especially towards the dog’s water bowl. Aside from eating dog food, which you love, you also started eating strawberries and puffs. But that’s about it. You mostly ate formula and nursed regularly, including multiple times per night. 

IMG 4085

You also liked standing at your music table or holding onto people’s hands. You love your brother and sister and have definitely started interfering with some of their activities with their crawling.

IMG 4409

At the beginning of September, you had your 9-month appointment. This was the month where a lot of things changed for you. At your appointment, you weighed 20 pounds, putting you in the 53rd percentile for weight, up from the third percentile at your 6-month appt. As with the previous months since we started adding formula, you ate 4 or 5 (3oz) bottles per day and the rest from nursing. You were still not interested in solids and I even talked to a feeding therapist briefly to determine if I needed to take any action before you turned one. She reminded me that you really weren’t all that abnormal, I was probably just comparing you to your brother and sister who were super into solid foods. She encouraged me to make it a goal to put you in your high chair with food 3x a day, vary the temps and textures, encourage you to get messy and also get a nuby brush to help stimulate your gums.

IMG 6180

Pretty much the next week, you started to turn the corner with food a little bit. You started actually consuming some solids, including Bamba peanut puffs, vanilla yogurt, Go Go Squeeze fruit and veggie pouches and some Serenity Kids veggie pouches (Aff link) (i always put them in a bowl so you can practice with your spoon. Plus you would occasionally eat some baby cereal with fruit, pancake, and avocado. Right near the end of the month you finally ate what I would consider a full meal once or twice. Feeding you has been a lot of work and we’re certainly still not over the hump, but we’re making progress and you’re certainly more interested in solid food now than you were a few months ago so we’re just going to keep trucking along! In the past week, you’ve definitely hit a growth spurt and I’ve started giving you a bit more formula and nursing you more.

IMG 7205

You continue to be a fairly happy baby, as long as mama is around. You love standing and pull yourself up on anything you can. You’ve also started taking some steps to move sideways along couches and even a few steps with your little walker toy. You can also climb the stairs, although mommy tries to keep you off of them for the most part so we don’t have to deal with that yet. I think you’ll be walking in no time! You also have your top two front teeth SO CLOSE to coming in…but they’ve been SO CLOSE for over a month now and we’re still waiting.

You’re still wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 9 month clothes. Some 12 month and a few 6-12 month pants fit. 

IMG 7449

Your other big change this month was your sleeping arrangement. You’ve been sleeping in our bed since you were born and this month I moved you to the pack and play in our room. You were definitely ready and although you still don’t sleep through the night, you started putting yourself to sleep in the pack and play, waking up several times to nurse but then going right back to sleep in the pack and play. 

And then yesterday, we moved you into your own room! We took your sister out of the crib and gave her a big girl bed and moved the crib into what was once the guest room and is now your room! I already miss you, but I think it’ll be good for you to have your own space. You did great your first night in the crib. Cried for an hour, fell asleep sitting up for a little bit and then slept well, waking up twice to nurse and then going back down easily before getting up for the day at 5:45. Then you took two naps in the crib- it’s nice to have a dark spot (thanks to the blackout curtains daddy hung) with a loud sound machine to put you for naps. 

My hope is that moving you away from me, now that we were both ready, will help you start to sleep longer stretches and as such, naturally start the night weaning process. We’ll see how it goes over the next month or so!

Hard to believe you’ll be 10 months on Saturday. 

Mama loves you, sweet boy!

Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies are naturally sweetened with dates and made with just a few simple ingredients! They’re perfect for dessert or an afternoon snack!

Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi friends!

I’ve been testing this recipe for date sweetened chocolate chip cookies for you guys for a couple of weeks now. After 5 test batches before I perfected them but I must say they’re pretty darn good. Let’s talk about a few things when it comes to these cookies. 

  1. These cookies contain no added sugar aside from the chocolate chips. (You can find sugar-free chocolate chips if you want them). 
  2. That does not automatically make them healthy. They still contain sugar. Yes, the sugar is naturally occurring in the dates, but it’s still sugar. 

My youngest was actually the inspiration for these cookies. I wanted to develop a no added sugar cookie recipe for him that I could use as a base recipe and these are perfect. Out of all three kids, the youngest actually likes these the best, which works out well for me. I’ll be tweaking the recipe slightly and serving these to him often. 

Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

no added sugar, date sweetened chocolate chip cookies

For him, I’ll likely add some ground flax and hemp seeds. I’ll also probably try replacing some of the flour with baby cereal! And I may replace the chocolate chips with finely chopped raisins or chopped dried blueberries. You could also add peanut butter to these for some extra healthy fats!

Here’s how you make them:

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Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

date sweetened chocolate chip cookies no added sugar
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★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews

These Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies are naturally sweetened with dates and made with just a few simple ingredients! They’re perfect for dessert or an afternoon snack!

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 10 min
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale

3/4 cup chopped medjool dates (if yours aren’t super soft, soak them in hot water for 5–10 min, then drain)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil (i use avocado oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup chocolate chips (or dried fruit of choice)

Instructions

  1. Place chopped dates in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
  2. Add eggs oil and vanilla and process for 1 min.
  3. Add oats, cinnamon and baking soda and process until oats are chopped.
  4. Add flour and pulse a few times.
  5. Add chocolate chips and pulse a few more times.
  6. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
  7. Makes 12-14 small cookies.

So easy right?! I can’t wait to hear what you guys think of these!

These Date Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies are naturally sweetened with dates and made with just a few simple ingredients! They're perfect for dessert or an afternoon snack!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

School Lunch Packing Tips

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Looking for some school lunch packing tips? Here are 10 tips and tricks from a Registered Dietitian mama of 3 to help make it a little easier to quickly pack your kids a lunch they’ll love!

Packed lunch with horizon organic shelf stable milk, turkey rollup, apple, barbaras puffins, hard boiled eggs

Thanks to Horizon Organic for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

We’ve already been back in school for a couple of weeks here in Ohio, but I know some of you out there are just getting ready to head back so I wanted to pop in today to share a few school lunch packing tips. As you guys know, we have one more year until we start kindergarten over here so I’m not doing daily lunch packing yet, but I did get my fair share of practice this summer running my son around to various camps and activities all day long.

So, I’ve teamed up with my friends over at Horizon Organic and compiled a list of some of my best tips and tricks to help make your lunch-packing life a little easier. Horizon believes “real” is what matters and they’re all about powering up kids with the goodness of protein, vitamins and calcium without artificial colors or flavors. They help make packing protein-packed lunches so easy with their cheese sticks and milk boxes (Psst….both are also great for no-mess car snacks on the way to daycare, soccer practice, etc)

Before we start- a quick reminder about the #HorizonConfiDANCE campaign that’s running until the end of this month. Use the tips below to pack a quick, easy lunch without stressing and then celebrate that little life win with a quick dance. Post it on social media with the hashtag #HorizonConfiDANCE by September 30th and Horizon Organic will donate $5 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (up to $200,000). 

The lunchboxes we’re currently using are these Bentgo Boxes (affiliate link) And now here we go! 10 school lunch packing tips:

1) Think beyond sandwiches! Yes, they’re easy to make but kids will get sick of them quickly if you pack one every day. Change things up by occasionally offering things like quesadillas, tacos, deli meat roll-ups, kabobs, snack plate style lunches, or even their favorite breakfast foods like pancakes or waffles.

2 year old making sandwich for school lunch

2) Teach your kids the formula early! When I pack a lunch, I always try to include a carbohydrate, a protein, a fruit, a veggie and a snack/choice item. Bonus points for working a healthy fat into the equation! I always try to pack lunches when my kids are around. When they were younger, they just watched, but now (at ages almost 5 and almost 3) I’m pretty darn proud of their lunch packing abilities. The other day I asked my 2-year-old what she wanted for lunch and she rattled off hard-boiled eggs, blueberries, soft (roasted) carrots, crackers with hummus and skittles. Boom!  Ask for their input early and often. Make lists of foods in each category (use pictures for younger kids) so they can easily follow your formula and choose what they want. And let them help assemble the lunches as well!

bin of healthy packaged snack foods for school lunch packing

3) Make a snack food station- As much as I like to think my kids think seeing carrots in their lunch is fun, I know that’s not always the case. So, I always like to include something they’re genuinely excited about seeing – a granola bar, jerky, cookies, crackers, etc. Keep all of these items in a specific spot in the pantry so kids can easily go to that basket or bin and pick what they want. If the snacks come in bigger boxes, portion out a few servings into reusable bags at the beginning of the week. In case you didn’t know, Horizon Organic milk boxes are shelf-stable, so you can stock up your pantry for easy grab and go, too. They’re made with special packaging that locks in the great taste and nutrition of real organic milk, without artificial ingredients or preservatives.

boy holding cucumber cut outs over eyes like glasses while doing school lunch packing

4) Add some fun but don’t stress daily – We’ve all seen the Pinterest-worthy lunchboxes on social media. As much as I want to be that fun mom that cuts vegetables into flowers and sandwiches into fun shapes every day, I recognize that I likely won’t always have the time or energy. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do it occasionally! Buy a couple of cookie cutters and little food picks. If it’s fun for you, use them daily.  If it stresses you out, aim to use them once a week on a night when you have a little extra time! Those adorable food picks in the picture are by Nutridashe.

5) If packing lunches is a struggle, plan ahead. Some people (like me) don’t stress about throwing lunch together on the fly. I just do it without really thinking too hard. But if it stresses you out, plan out what you’ll pack in lunches every day just like you might plan out dinners for the week. Sit down with your kids and do it together so you can get their input and ideas.

school lunch packing tips - lunch in fridge night before

6) Pack at night- No matter how tired you are, just do it before you go to bed. It’s one less thing to worry about in the morning when things are crazy and you’re rushing out the door. I try to pack mine as I’m cleaning up the kitchen from dinner since things are already a mess anyways! Then all you have to do in the morning is add an ice pack and go.

7) Make a lunch packing area- Choose a drawer, cupboard, bin, cart, etc. to keep all lunch boxes, packing supplies, utensils, reusable bags, and more together. You’ll always have a place to put clean stuff when it comes out of the dishwasher and you’ll always know exactly where to look to grab stuff when you go to pack lunch.

toddler reaching into pretzel jar

8) Take photos. Even if you don’t share them with anyone, snap a photo of each lunch you pack. Then, when you get stuck in a rut in a few months, let the kids revisit the pictures and tell you what they liked!

9) The less packaging the better. Kids don’t get a ton of time to eat so by pre-peeling what you can and partially opening packages, etc, they can spend more time eating and less time fumbling around and getting frustrated. Sometimes I’ll unwrap Horizon cheese sticks – available in Mozzarella and Colby – and cut them into pieces. They’re an easy snack packed with 7g of protein.

10) Add a note! It’s such a simple thing and it literally takes 10 seconds to write a sweet word, a joke or quote, but your kids will love it and look forward to it (even if they would never admit it to you!)

Looking for some school lunch packing tips? Here are 10 tips and tricks from a Registered Dietitian mama of 3 to help make it a little easier to quickly pack your kids a lunch they'll love!

What are your best lunch-packing tips?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

#HorizonConfiDANCE for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

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Thanks to Horizon Organic for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

Popping in today to share a super-easy way you can make a difference in the lives of some amazing kids! One of the best decisions I made when I was in college was becoming a mentor in our local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In case you’re not familiar, BBBS has been providing children facing adversity with mentoring relationships that change lives for the better since 1904. There are currently over 150,000 Big and Little matches nationwide.

big brothers big sisters

I was matched with my Little for 2 years in college and loved every minute. This organization has such a special place in my heart and I truly believe that something as simple as taking some time out of your day once a month to hang out with a kiddo going through a rough time can make SUCH a difference. My Little and I had all sorts of fun when we were partnered up. We played mini golf, did art projects, ate pizza, went shopping and more. It was fun for me and so important for her!

Currently, one of my favorite companies, Horizon Organic, is supporting BBBS with a fun little campaign called the #HorizonConfiDANCE. They recognize that every child has unlimited potential and want to help inspire them to grow, dream big and be confident. You can help by sharing your own #HorizonConfiDANCE! For every dance shared on Instagram or Facebook by September 30th, Horizon Organic will give $5 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, up to $200k. Just use #HorizonConfiDANCE

Here’s our dance to give you some inspiration!

If your family is anything like mine, I’ll bet you and the kiddos have crazy little dance party at LEAST once a week, if not on the daily…like we do around here. This is such a simple way you can make a difference. Just snap a quick video of your next dance party and share it with the hashtag! Then refuel with a snack like we do!

child eating string cheese in the car

Need some fuel to power your next dance party? String cheese is one of our go-to snacks! You’ll find 7 grams of protein in both the mozzarella and Colby cheese sticks from Horizon Organic. Plus, they’re super portable!

picnic

I toss them in our lunchbox for a picnic at the park or grab a couple for a quick snack after a swimming lesson or tae kwon do class. Or pair one with an apple to add some carbs and peanut butter healthy fats for a perfectly balanced snack!

If your kiddos like milk, Horizon Organic also offers single-serve, shelf-stable milk boxes. Stock your pantry and grab them when you need a quick snack that offers 8 grams of protein along with calcium, Vitamins D and B2. They’re also great for adding to lunch boxes!

horizon organic milk

We love Horizon Organic because it’s USDA certified organic, which means no added hormones and no antibiotics. Their products help power kids with a source of protein, vitamins and calcium without artificial colors or flavors because they believe “real” is what matters.

I would LOVE to see you and your kiddos do a little dance to benefit others. Be sure to tag me when you share!!

Enjoy!

–Lindsay–

 

Acts of Kindness for Kids

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Looking for some Acts of Kindness for Kids? Here are 75 simple ideas that can be done by kids young and old to help make the world just a little bit happier!

toddler giving bag to person in need

Hi friends!

Wanted to pop in to talk about random acts of kindness for kids. A couple of weeks ago, I shared the photo above on Instagram with the following caption:

Lately after swimming lessons we’ve been passing a lady on the corner with a cardboard sign. A few weeks ago Squish asked what it said so I told him, “Homeless. 2 kids. Need help”

We talked about how sometimes bad things happen and people need a little extra help. And about how lucky we are to have all that we do because there are a lot of people out there with less.

One of the biggest lessons I want to teach my kids is to always help when they’re able ❤️ whether it’s with their time, money or resources.

He seemed to understand but quickly moved on to another topic. This week we saw her again and totally unprompted, he said “Mom, we should get a snack for her and her kids.” And I couldn’t resist.

I recognize that there are people out there who hold signs like that as a scam. But in my heart I want to believe she’s a good person who just needs a little extra help right now.

So I turned around and we went into the store. He picked out some of his favorite crackers and I added granola bars and water and he marched across the parking lot and handed her the bag.

Talk to your kids. Have the hard conversations. Teach them to BE THE CHANGE. They’re listening.

In a world full of so much hate 💔 raise them to know the importance of being kind and helping others.

So here’s to hoping there’s a couple kids in my house learning this important lesson and a couple kids out there who are a little less hungry for the next few days.

family celebrating walking and biking 100 miles over the summer
 
Today Squish heads back to school and thus our #100milesummer challenge comes to an end. We hit our goal 12 days early. That means we did 100 miles in 72 days. Squish walked, biked or scootered every single one all on his own. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Little Miss mastered her scooter and did several miles completely on her own as well. I’m so proud of them.
 
Now that school is starting, we were looking for a new challenge. I realized that from the first day of school until Squish’s birthday is 75 days. After our random act of kindness after swimming lessons, I thought it might be fun to put together a list of 75 random acts of kindness so we could tackle one each day from no until his birthday.
 

Here’s the list I came up with-

75 Acts of Kindness for Kids

1) Pick up trash (this could be at a park, on the side of the road, in a store)
2) Send someone a card
3) Donate some old clothes or toys
4) Leave drinks for the garbage men (especially if it’s hot out!)
5) Leave cards for your neighbors on a walk
6) Pay for the person behind you in line
7) Leave a dollar in vending machine
8) Tell someone’s manager what a good job they are doing (maybe you had a great server at a restaurant or cashier at the grocery store)
9) Send a postcard to a friend (even if you’re not traveling, grab one for your fav local spot!)
10) Make meal or snack for mom or dad
11) Leave nice chalk messages on a walk (ie Have a great day! or Thanks for being a great neighbor!)
12) Make blessing bags for the homeless (fill a bag with a reuseable water bottle, socks, underwear, gloves, tooth brush and other hygiene items they might need)
13) Give a stranger a compliment
14) Invite someone to play with you (at school, at the park, for a playdate)
15) Leave crayons/ coloring book somewhere (the auto repair shop, the pharmacy, a cart at the grocery store)
16) Drop off food for firefighters or police officers
17) Make a fabric scrap blanket to donate (get a few scraps of fabric, make cuts along the edges and tie them together)
18) Make cards for sick kids at the hospital
19) Decorate a jar to save spare change to donate to charity
20) Bring your neighbor’s trash bins up driveway after trash day
21) Leave positive, empowering notes on the mirror in public bathrooms (You’ve got a great smile or you look fabulous in that color, etc)
22) Decorate a bookmark to leave in a library book before you return it
23) Bring allergy-friendly treats to a holiday gathering
24) Teach someone something new
25) Collect pop tabs for Ronald McDonald
26) Leave sand toys at park
27) Decorate hand sanitizer for nurses or teachers
28) Leave a note and flower on a windshield telling someone to have a great day
29) Bake cookies for someone
30) Hold the door for someone
31) Write a thank you note for a coach or teacher
32) Color pictures for nursing home residents
33) Hide a note in daddy’s wallet or mommy’s purse
34) Offer to take a pic of a mom and her kids
35) Record an “I love you video” for grandparents
36) Make playdough for friends
37) Bake muffins for your parent’s coworkers
38) Hide a new Hot Wheels car on the playground for a kid to find
39) Put away carts in the parking lot
40) Make birthday boxes for a food panty- include things like cake mix, frosting, balloons, candles
41) Support a local farmer (shop for some fruits and veggies at the farmers market)
42) Plant wildflower seeds by the side of the road, in a parking lot etc
43) Leave a jar of bubbles at the park for others to play with
44) Make sandwiches for the homeless
45) Leave pennies for Sandy or a quarter in the cart at Aldi
46) Let a parent sleep in
47) Take out the trash
48) Do something nice for your siblings
49) Paint “I love you” rocks or tokens
50) Hide a joke for someone to find
51) Tell someone what you love most about them
52) Donate old towels to an animal shelter
53) Donate old books
54) Leave snacks for the package delivery people
55) Spread holiday cheer for an upcoming holiday (mini pumpkins with happy faces on them, heart stickers, christmas ornaments)
56) Adopt a family for Xmas (Salvation Army, Angel tree etc)
57) Leave an envelope of coupons in a shopping cart
58) Make a homemade birthday present for someone
59) Turn a jar or can from recycling into vase and fill with flowers for someone
60) Buy someone a cactus or succulent
61) Make a card for the bus driver
62) Help do the laundry
63) Bake treats for a new neighbor
64) Make a busy box to leave at a restaurant (Get a lunchbox and fill with crayons, stickers, small toys and other things to entertain kids while waiting)
65) Mail a hug (Stretch your arms out wide and trace your hands, arms and head. Cut it out and fold it up to mail)
66) Park far away to leave closer spots for someone who needs them
67) Send a good luck card for back to school
68) Help rake leaves
69) Buy something locally made
70) Leave tennis balls at a dog park
71) Wash the car
72) Pick up toys without being asked
73) Ask someone how you can help them today
74) Draw a picture for a teacher
75) Read your sibling a book

I tried to keep these acts of kindness for kids pretty general but some of these are tailored slightly to our family, the time of year etc so feel free to adjust as needed. You could pick and choose from this list to make a smaller challenge if you wanted!

75 random acts of kindness pdfI wanted to turn our list into a book so we can bring us with it over the next couple of months and refer to it when we’re deciding which act of kindness to do. I also wanted to make it somewhat visual since my kids can’t read yet, so I found images that depict the acts to make it easier for Squish to identify the one he’s looking for or make a decision.

75 acts of kindness for kids

 

If you’re interested in that version, you can grab your free PDF copy below. To save paper, you can print 2 or 4 pages per page when you print it out and then just cut out all the pages and staple them into a book of 75 acts of kindness for kids! (Obnoxious amount of star stickers not included) Just enter your email below!


Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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