Pinterest Fun And The Winter Holidays

So, have you jumped onto the Pinterest bandwagon yet? I first wrote about it here and I have pinned over 1,152 pins since then. I love Pinterest.

In case you’re not familiar with Pinterest, (Pin Your Interest), it is an endless source of on-line inspiration and creativity. You will find images, quotes and ideas that will inspire you to cook, take pictures, create DIY home projects and crafts, decorate, travel, stay healthy, spark humor and wisdom in your life and much, much more. Here are some of my recent Discoveries via Pinterest for this holiday season.

 

Food Ideas For Your Holiday Party

 

Chicken strips wrapped in bacon and lightly brushed with a honey mustard marinade.

Grilled zucchini rolls with herbed goat cheese & kalamata olives.

Goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios.

Tomato, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and a tooth pick. Fun and Simple!

Little cherry pies in muffin tins. Cute, small portion sizes!

Tealight candles placed inside apples to illuminate your house.

 

Cleaning And Storing Food For Your Holiday Party

Mattress cleaning for your overnight house guests. Pour about 1 cup of baking soda into a mason jar and drop in 4 drops of lavender essential oil. Put on the lid and shake up the jar. Using a kitchen strainer sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress and let it sit for an hour or more. Using the hose end of your vacuum and an upholstery attachment, thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Bye, bye dust mites and other nasty things. The baking soda helps draw up any moisture and deep dirtiness. It deodorizes and leaves the mattress smelling fresh and clean. There is a faint scent of lavender left by the essential oil.

The “miracle” of baking soda and peroxide. Put 1/4 cup of baking soda in a bowl…..add enough peroxide to make a paste. Rub on with fingers or sponge. Cleans EVERYTHING! Stove, oven, pans, stainless steel appliances, even the white handles of the refrigerator door.

Heat a bowl of water and vinegar for 5 minutes in the microwave, the steam will dissolve stuck on stains. Simply wipe off. Genius!

Scoop ice cream into baking cups before the party and put in the freezer. When cake is served bring out the pre-made scoops. (Great idea instead of all the time consuming scooping in the middle of a party!) And helps reduce portion size.

Store lettuce in glass jars in the refrigerator. Keeps it fresh longer.

Large lemon/lime ice cubes. Perfect for a holiday punch.

 

 

Make The Holiday Party Fun For Kids Too!

 

Gratitude does not have to be limited to Thanksgiving: Each person writes down something they are grateful for before the holiday party. Type them up and roll into the dinner rolls. It is fun to find them all – even more fun to guess who they belonged to. This tradition will be a keeper!

A fun holiday lunch for the kids, without the bread. Apples, raisins, nut butter.

Healthy snacks and hors d’oeuvres for the kids served in muffin tins.

So simple but clever – S’mores Pops. Marshmallows on a stick, dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in crushed graham crackers (I would use gluten-free graham crackers, of course!)

Reindeer sugar cookies. I know sugar isn’t healthy, but realistically we all eat it at some point so why not make it fun and pretty.

Use rubber stamps for different and unique sugar cookie designs.

Chore Magnets – love this idea – each child can pick their chores, with a dollar value incentive to help mom and dad get ready for the party. Genius!

Do you have a house full of restless and bored kids this holiday season? Have them try this!

A Calm Down Jar. Shake the jar and the child has to watch the jar until the glitter settles. This can come in handy during the long winter school break when cabin fever sets in.

And finally, here is a Relaxing Bath Recipe for after the party, holiday.

2 Cups Epsom Salts

2 Cups Baking Soda

2 Cups Sea Salt

5 Tbsp Ground Ginger

1 Cup Vinegar

Combine dry ingredients, storing in a closed container. At bath time add 1 cup off dry ingredient mix and 1 cup vinegar to hot running water. Optional: add several drops of your favorite essential oil. Enjoy!

Benefits:

* Epsom Salts draw toxins from the body relieving aches and pains.

* Baking Soda balances an over acidic system, refreshing, energizing and softening the skin.

* Sea Salt soothes and heals.

* Ground Ginger increases circulation.

* Vinegar soothes and softens skin

 

If you don’t know anyone who is currently on Pinterest and you’d like to join, email me (jolene@healthydiscoveries.com) and I’ll send you an invite.