A Healthier Apple Crisp

Yum! Yum! I made this with apples from the orchard across from our church.

Ingredients:
6 c. apples, peeled and diced (about 6 medium apples)
1/4 c. frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. oats
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (I left this out)
Reduced-fat vanilla ice cream, if desired (left this out too)

To Make:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray 8x8 baking dish. In medium bowl, mix apples, apple juice concentrate, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Spread in baking dish.
2. In same bowl, mix remaining ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. (serve with ice cream, if desired)

Braden's Apple Fest Run

The Apple Fest is over and done but here are a few photos of Braden competing in the 1-mile run.

Tastes Great, Looks Gross

I bought this Green Plant juice at Trader Joe's several months ago. (yes, I know I'm way behind in my blogging! Stacie keeps reminding me..... even though she hasn't blogged on her page in almost a year!) I had bought a small bottle of green juice before that I liked. Liked. Not loved. But that is because I don't like most juices. This is strong in the apple and banana flavors. I'm an orange juice girl.
So anyway, it is mostly fruit juices but the "green" comes from the green veggies added. Honestly you cannot taste the veggies! I promise! BUT..... you can see the color they turn the juice. And this is where I got stuck. The first time I bought the juice, it was a single serving bottle so I drank right from the container. This was a 64oz. bottle. No drinking from the container! I poured some into a clear blue bottle and headed to work. While it tasted good, I couldn't forget how it looked being poured into the bottle!
So, Braden ended up drinking the rest of it! He loves juice. He just never watched me pour it into the bottle. When he ran out, he would ask me to refill it for him!

And being from Trader Joe's, you know it is a great, all natural choice!

Strange Squirrel

I was walking into the kitchen last week when something outside caught my eye. This squirrel was just laying there, all sprawled out. Not sure why, but I grabbed my camera real quick before he got scared away. The first picture seems to be focused on the dirty window. The second is after he army-crawled to the edge of the concrete. Right after I took the picture, he ran up the tree. (Sorry. I have nothing else going on that I can post about!)

The Latest Braden Quote

"If there was a prize for being the best looking, I would get it!"

Humble, I know. We were talking about the Renaissance Program at school that does fun things throughout the year to reward students for good grades/behavior.
I think that his brain fires erratically in the mornings! But oh how I love that kid!

No Photos

Because I have not taken any pictures lately, I thought I would post about the shame I felt earlier this week.... I needed to put some gas in the car. (The light came on just as I pulled into the garage and I didn't want to deal with it in the morning when I was trying to get Braden to school.) I also had some bills to take to the post office. I didn't want to go alone, but Braden wouldn't go along to run those errands. Which meant I would have to bribe him or go solo! Then I remembered that he had a coupon for a free ice cream cone with purchase from McDonald's.

But you have to understand how much I HATE McDonald's! I view them as the center of all fast food evil! And I will not allow my family to eat there. (Although I recently found out one member was! Grrr!)

Just so we're all up to speed: I HATE McDONALD'S!!!

But it was just a small cone. And though its not decaf, they have sweet tea, which would be the "with purchase" that would not cause us to eat any of the evil. So Braden came with me and since it was about 5pm and the drive-thru was packed, I parked and made Braden run in.
Insert shame and embarrassment here. It seemed like he was in there forever. And as I sat in the car I found myself looking around nervously, hoping no one I knew saw me parked there. And the longer it took him, the more anxious I became! It was awful!! Awful! Awful!
And now you know!

Braden's Quote of the Day

This morning, Braden told me that I needed to get ready to leave. I was ready! I just had to slip on my flip-flops, which were by the door, and grab my purse, which was on the way to the door. I told him that he was the one that needed to finished getting ready and that he could probably do that faster if he put down the MP3 player. Braden's reply: he needed the MP3 to get "in the groove for school."

Who can argue with that logic? Rock on, Bray! Rock on!