Lactation Cookies

Many of my friends know from when we had our first baby that I had issues with milk supply when trying to breast-feed our little girl.  We ended up having to use mostly formula, and I would breast-feed whatever my body could supply.  Though not the way I'd hoped things would go for us, it was the way things went; and I learned to live with it and be grateful for the blessing of being able to feed my child, even if it wasn't the way I'd always imagined it being.

Fast-forward a couple years and we have just had our baby boy!  Knowing it was highly likely I still wouldn't produce enough milk to sustain my baby's life without supplementing with formula, we were more prepared this time.  But still, I have decided to try a variety of things to increase my milk supply.  A friend of mine told me about lactation cookies, so I went and looked them up!  And then I made some -- with the help of THRIVE!

These cookies are actually not too bad, but the brewer's yeast certainly has a taste that cannot be completely masked.  I'm not sure if they are officially working, but I have been eating them anyway :).  And since I used my THRIVE ingredients to make them, I thought I'd share them here!  This is where I got the original recipe, but below is the recipe as I made it.

LACTATION COOKIES

2 Tbsp. flaxseed
4 Tbsp. water
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 THRIVE eggs (2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Eggs + 4 tablespoons water)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. Brewer’s Yeast
3 cups THRIVE quick oats
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

 

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add flaxseed and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, Brewer's Yeast, and oats.  Add to the butter mixture 1/2 cup at a time.

Once the dough is mixed together well, add chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes (mine took 8). sdfasd

Throw & Go Vegetable Beef Soup

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  one of my favorite things about THRIVE Life is how it helps me save time -- or have a good, healthy meal easily when I don't have any time.  Or when I have very little motivation to make dinner :).  (And I accept that as the way it is when I could deliver a baby any day!)

Well, Tuesday was one of those days.  I'd had a doctor's appointment, hit up Costco, the bank and Target, washed some laundry, took care of a toddler, took the toddler to the library to get new books...  And by dinner-time, I didn't have any meat thawed, and I really didn't feel like doing anything much.  It was quite tempting to go through a drive-thru while out at the library!

But I knew that wasn't the best option for us.  And so I convinced myself to come home and figure out something fast and easy with all my delicious THRIVE!

And I came up with this "Throw & Go Vegetable Beef Soup!"  And I liked it!  The THRIVE Ground Beef may be my new favorite item!!!

Seriously, I just threw a bunch of stuff in a pot, brought it to a boil, reduced to simmer and let it simmer 15 minutes.  I thawed out some french bread I'd made and frozen earlier.  And dinner was done!  Here's how I did it (but just realize you can adapt to your likes and preferences with THRIVE Life!)

THROW AND GO VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons THRIVE Celery
3 tablespoons THRIVE Carrot Dices
1/4 cup THRIVE Green Peas
1/4 cup THRIVE Mushrooms
1/4 cup THRIVE Asparagus
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce*
1 14-ounce can chicken broth*
2 cups water
1/2 cup THRIVE Ground Beef

Heat oil in a saucepan/pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute 30 seconds.  Pour in tomato sauce, broth, water.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook 15 minutes. 

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I enjoyed the flavor in this soup and I could really taste the beef flavor, even after only 15 minutes!  I thought this was awesome for a no-plan meal :).  And I loved that I got all my veggies in and in such variety!  The only thing I'll do differently in the future is add either some macaroni or potato chunks.  But that'll be just as simple with THRIVE Life :)!

I love my home store!

Product Highlight: THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices

Happy June y'all!  It's a new month!  Which means there's a new Q-Pon item -- and a lot of other great new specials out this month!  And I'm super-excited about several of them, including the new THRIVE Summer Limeade and the return of the THRIVE Summer Lemonade!  Those two drink mixes do not have added sweeteners, meaning you can add the sweetener of your choice in the amount of your choice!  How fabulous is that!?!

But today I wanted to focus on the THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices, because I think they are a phenomenal item -- and I want to share why!

1.  I love, love, love when I can avoid handling raw chicken.  Especially when I'm pregnant, as it is highly recommended that pregnant women don't handle raw meats without gloves.  And let's be serious... how annoying is it to have to stop what I'm doing to don a pair of gloves so I can handle raw chicken!?!  Talk about adding time to my meal prep!  Ugh!  THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices are pre-cooked and freeze-dried, so they are ready for me to use quickly and without having to handle raw meat!

2.  Because they come pre-cooked and ready to use, and because they are a high-quality product, they already have the fat trimmed off!  I am obsessive about cutting the fat off my chicken (which is why it takes me extra time to use raw chicken), so this is a huge bonus for me!

3.  As mentioned a bit in both previous points, this saves me time!  The chicken is already cooked!  It needs to be re-hydrated, but that can be done while I'm prepping other ingredients and requires almost no hands-on time from me!

And you don't just have to take my word for the awesomeness of this product!  Here's what one of my customers had to say about how THRIVE Chicken Slices came through for her!

"I forgot to thaw chicken for the recipe I was planning to make for dinner tonight...  But then I remembered my THRIVE Chicken Slices and dinner was saved!" -- Julie S.

Those are good moments -- when I see how THRIVE Life has helped others the way it helps me!

Here's some information on the THRIVE Chicken Slices:

The Chicken Slices are seasoned, so they do have additional ingredients to chicken.  The ingredients include:  chicken, sodium phosphate, salt and carrageenan.   

Unopened, a can of THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices will store for 1 year and maintain its nutrients!

Once opened, it is recommended you use the THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices within one year (at 6 to 9 months is optimal for freshness).

Here are a few posts with recipes in which I used the Seasoned Chicken Slices to offer you ideas for using yours!
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Chicken Asparagus Pasta
Chicken, Broccoli, Macaroni, and Cheese Skillet Meal
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

It occurs to me that all of those recipes are pasta recipes!  Too funny!  But our family likes pasta a lot, so that's not really surprising to me.  However, I have also used these chicken strips in a crock pot white chicken chili (unfortunately I was not on top of taking pictures and documenting it that day...) and some BBQ Sliders -- which I totally documented and will be posting later this month! 

With the THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices as the June 2015 Q-Pon item, it's a great time to stock up!  The #10 can has a retail value of $58.99, but during June, you can get them for $44.29!  If you are a Q Club member, you can simply add your THRIVE Chicken Slices to your Q for June!  If you aren't a Q Club member, you can contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll help you place your order!  You really don't want to miss out on this great price!

Happy THRIVEing!