Song for the Asking

Taking The Plunge: GAPS

2012-01-31T15:32:00.000-05:00

Many of you know that we have dealt with food allergies for some time. While my only food allergy is to MSG (so I do not care if it ever gets reversed, because MSG is an excito-neurotoxin that can harm your brain, is addictive, and causes weight gain and I am glad I have a reason to avoid it that is "acceptable" even to non-health conscious people), my husband is allergic to dairy, coconut, and (as we recently discovered) to almonds; as well as being gluten intolerant. Our son is allergic to dairy, soy (hooray, but still), corn, peanuts, eggs, coconut, and oranges; as well as appearing to be gluten intolerant.

When it was just dairy and coconut for Jeff, I was more than content to just cook around them. I mean, 2 allergens does not make for a complicated kitchen routine. We were already making just about everything from scratch, anyway, so it did not really interrupt our routine much.

Gluten intolerance, though, certainly mixed things up a bit. We were making everything from soaked or sprouted whole grains and loving it. While we were fairly low-carb, we did enjoy those carbs coming from whole grain pasta or a nice loaf of homemade whole wheat bread. Gluten-free living was a definite and drastic switch.

Add to it Joshua's allergy to many of the foods we love (eggs, peanuts, oranges,etc) and this was one overwhelmed mama. So here I am trying to make us all one meal and not use too many gross substitute foods and keep everyone satisfied. Overwhelmed.

I had long been hearing of people going through GAPS or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to reverse their food allergies, but I just figured that it would be too restricted for my husband to enjoy and too restricted to feed my toddler well. Until suddenly it was not too restricted for Jeff. He wanted to at least check it out. So we ordered Gut and Psychology Syndrome off of Amazon (Can you believe they did not have it at our local library, or anywhere in the GA Pines library system?), and we got it yesterday.

While we still have a lot to read about the how's and the why's, we looked at the parameters of the diet. Guess what we discovered? It basically included the diet Joshua already eats (meat and veggies); but with the prerequisite that those foods be boiled in the broth. We can handle that. Not to mention that the broth is a good source of calcium, something that we have to work at with his dairy allergy.

So, all though the original plan was that Jeff go on GAPS (and I go through the intro phase with him for moral support), we have decided that the whole family is going on GAPS together, starting in March. The delayed start is to give us the time to prepare, stock up (pun semi-intended) on soup bones from our friends at the farmer's market, join friends for dinner one last time, etc.

Initially I was really intimidated about going on GAPS, but now - while I know it will be a challenge - I am pretty excited about it. We know it is a long term commitment. We are talking about 2 years of a diet that takes some major commitment before we will even know if it worked for our food allergies. But the possibility that we can take these two years and turn it into a lifetime of enjoying a variety of nutritious whole foods, that is pretty incredible. So we are joining the myriad of real-food bloggers who have already taken the plunge, and we are going GAPS.

A Learning Winter

2012-01-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

Earlier this fall I learned that I can, in fact, be consistent in things. And so, I have been striving for more consistency every day (though it has not made its way into blogging, yet, really). I always thought that I could never really keep a house, and so I never have. I always thought that any new venture I began had to fizzle out after only a few tries. And the five month long lapse in blogging might seem to confirm, that, except...

I have been learning to keep my house, really be consistent in menu planning, and get beyond the kick-off in the things I am doing; it just has not left me a lot of time to blog, as of yet. I am learning that, after 29 years of believing myself to be a flibbertygibbit, the only way to kick that habit is in layers.

My sil and I are keeping a rotating schedule w/the kitchen chores (we share a kitchen). One of us empties the dishwasher, and the other sweeps. This has proven really instrumental in keeping a kitchen, and the rest has kind of revolved around that. So for the past several months I have been consistently keeping the kitchen clean. I really think starting with a shared space was the way to go. A few months back I added in the dining room (you know how when you are clutter prone everything seems to land on the dining room table?). On top of my heavily junk-magnetized table, we also have my dear Joshua, who gets a little too enthusiastic at meal times (i.e. some food ends up on the floor). So now I am keeping two rooms, and working on the living room next. I almost had that one down, but Christmas happened. Since there are no room-rearranging holidays between now and next Christmas, I plan to be so solid in my routine that it does not take me a month to recover my living room.

Now, this may not seem like very much to accomplish in several months time, but here is the other side of the story. Food Allergies.

This summer we discovered that Jeff was intolerant to gluten, and rearranging our lives around that was challenging, but not impossible. We also knew that Joshua was allergic to milk and eggs. So Trying to keep a consistent meal plan and eat around everyone's allergies was getting a little trickier. Well, Joshua turned one in November, and with that came an allergy test. It turns out that he is actually allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, corn, oranges, and coconut, and is sensitive to wheat and raw tomatoes. It looks like he is intolerant to gluten in general, as well. While the soy allergy really does not interfere with anything, all of the others do, and so in the last couple months our diet was pushed over the edge from mildly primal (not-as-strict paleo) to almost full-on paleo. We still eat (raw) dairy, we just do not let Joshua. In the midst of all of this, we are looking at going on GAPS to reverse Jeff's food allergies and gluten intolerance. This is going to be a two-year project, though Jeff is going to be the only one who is exclusively GAPS for now (I want to see how it goes with Jeff before trying it with Joshua, also we want to make sure there is a nutritionist/dietician we can include to make sure Joshua is getting everything he needs if we DO put him on GAPS).

It is my desire to chronicle this journey on the blog, and also post as many allergy-friendly recipes as I can to help other parents of children with multiple food allergies. That said, I have learned that some days it is more important to make sure I have everything prepped to make the meal than it is to blog about the meal. I am learning about (and striving for) balance, and such sudden and drastic dietary changes can be overwhelming, so we are taking this one step at a time and just trying to be as content and healthy as we can where we have found ourselves.

A word to other new "allergy moms:"

It is so incredibly easy to stress out about food. Especially when your allergic to everything child wanders into his cousins' room and you find him with a ring of "chocolate animals" around his mouth. The other day Joshua had some "digestive issues" and I was racking my brain, recounting every minute of the few days prior, sure that he did not have exposure to any of the allergens we know about, when it suddenly hit me: Maybe he is just teething, or has a bug, or has been having large helpings of fruits and veggies in those few days (which, he had). If you have found yourself in this position, you have also heard the (seemingly) hollow advice of others (who are not in your shoes) to relax, take a breath, do not stress out. As difficult as it might seem, or as silly as it sounds coming from the mouth of someone who you (I) feel is unqualified to speak into your situation, it must be done. You have to find a way to calm down, take a deep breath, and then take a look at where you are and what the next steps should be. This is going to be a long road, and it will be very challenging at times, but you are not alone.

Fun at the Farmers Market and Menu Plan for the Week!

2011-09-28T23:54:00.000-04:00

We love going to Mulberry Street Market every Wednesday. We love talking with the farmers about the food they are growing for us, learning about veggies we were not previously familiar with (like burgundy okra, and an amazing assortment of heirloom melons), and stocking up on foods we know are full of nutrients and free from toxins. Of course on most weeks, you will also find me there, selling my Bee Beautiful Products via my friends at Beans Farm or Salamander Springs Farm. Next year we are very excited about having our own booth!

We are 100% dedicated to only eating what I would call "clean meats" now (you know, meat from pasture raised and finished animals that are never given hormones, antibiotics, or GMO-laden feed), and the market helps us out with that considerably. While we raise our own chickens (and eggs), we get our beef from Hunter Cattle Company, and our pork from Evergreen East Farm. Evergreen East raises a heritage pig breed called mulefoot pigs, and they provide us with pork chops (among other things) that are just BURSTING with flavor, even downright buttery. We love 'em! Hunter Cattle has a great selection of cuts, and we have absolutely loved getting our chuck roasts, sirloin, neckbone (mmm...pulled beef!), ground beef, and more from them. We have also gotten some delicious raw milk cheeses, as well as organic grassfed butter, from Southern Swiss Dairy.

We get our fruits and vegetables every week from a variety of places. Davis Farm has an astounding array of heirloom melons which Joshua adores for breakfast. We have also gotten sweet potatoes, purple basil, burgundy okra, pea tendrils, and beans from them. We have gotten a veritable cornucopia of eggplant, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and summer squash from Beans Farm, Vesterfield Farm, Salamander Springs Farm, and The Little Farm. We have gotten a few canned goods, too, like jams, jellies, and apple and pear butter from Salamander Springs Farm, salsa from The Little Farm, and pickles from Greenway Farm.

So I have decided that from now on, I will link my readers to the farms we get our food from when we do our menu plan. Sadly, we missed seeing our friends at Evergreen East at the market this week, so our pork chops are from Hunter Cattle, who also raise pigs! Their chops are also quite good! Anyway, every week when I do my menu plan, I'll include the farms from which each meal was sourced so local readers can get their hands on these delectable local foods! As usual, where allergy means that Joshua's meal varies from ours, I list what he has, too!

OK, here is our menu for this week!

Thursday:
Breakfast - Ham, Eggs, fried grits (kind of like polenta, but a slightly different texture) Just Ham and grits for Joshua.
Lunch - leftover spaghetti & meatballs (with quinoa spaghetti). I usually make my own sauce but this week both the sauce AND the meat for the meatballs came from Hunter Cattle
Dinner - NY Strip Steak, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli (Apparently Thursday is Hunter Cattle day).

Friday:
Breakfast - (Butternut) Squash Pancakes (recipe here) (We're using flax seed & water to replace the eggs so Joshua and my nephew Jo can have them, these are already gluten & grain free) ((the squash is actually from Corley Farm, but via Beans Farm's booth @ the market).
Lunch - Steak sandwich (with pea tendrils and bean sprouts)
Dinner - Pork Chops (marinated in olive oil, cinnamon basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a splash of ACV), Baked Sweet Potato, braised greens (w/ham and cooked in rendered bacon fat). (the mustard and turnip greens come from Salamander Springs Farm, which does not have a website but is at Mulberry Street Market every week!)

Saturday:
Breakfast - Smoothies, toast with apple butter (Joshua will have some fresh pear instead of smoothies). The Apple Butter is from Salamander Springs.
Lunch - BLTs, hard boiled egg yolk w/a little olive oil and sea salt for Joshua (pea tendrils instead of lettuce on our sandwiches)
Dinner - Chuck Roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots (Dessert is chocolate cake I'm trying with gluten free flour. Will post results. We are celebrating Jeff's bro and sis in law completing their move. Hooray!)

Sunday:
Breakfast - Eggs, Venison Sausage, Toast and Apple Butter (no eggs for Joshua)
Lunch - Smoothies, fruit, celery & peanut butter (no PB for Joshua yet, he'll have fresh cucumbers, which he loves)
Dinner - Roast Beef Sandwiches (from the leftover roast)

Monday:
Breakfast - Chocomole
Lunch - Roast Beef Sandwiches
Dinner - Tacos (Beef) w/guacamole, salsa, tomatoes, Aztec Cheddar, and lettuce (on gf corn tortillas)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Eggs, Venison Sausage (just sausage and pear for Joshua)
Lunch - L/O tacos
Dinner - BBQ Chicken on the grill, grilled squash, baked sweet potato.

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Smoothies, fresh fruit (just the fruit for Joshua)
Lunch - Leftover buffet
Dinner - Chicken (in the crockpot with carrots, potato, and onion)

And that is the week!

Menu Plan & Our Busy Week(s)

2011-09-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

This week has been busy busy busy, which is why I feel like it is Monday, still, when it is actually Thursday. Time flies when you cram your schedule full, right? The end of this week and all of next week look no different, really. So I am pretty sure that October will be here before I even know what really happened to August (which is, I am afraid, long gone, along with my formerly favorite season. Middle GA has turned me into a spring/fall gal)! Time and I do not really get along as well as I would like.

Next week holds time at the IHOP in Macon on Sunday, lots of work on flooring and painting the other side of the house Mon-Saturday, with a little reprieve on Wednesday for the Mulberry Street Farmer's Market (and a trip to the library before that!). In the meanwhile some fantastic folks and I are working together to put on a worship workshop for area churches by November, so a lot of planning and working for that will be going on in this next week, as well! Never a dull moment! It is at times like these that I really appreciate menu planning and the little bit of steadiness it brings to our lives. How much crazier these days would be if I had to ask myself every afternoon, "Oh, what about dinner? What can I make?"

So I am going to list wherever Joshua's meal will break from our own in my menu planning from now on, because it really helps me to be prepared for what to feed him (instead of leaving his food to the last minute).

Thursday (tonight!):
Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs, (for Joshua bacon, fruit, and gluten free O's)
Lunch: Roast Beef (with a side of mashed sweet potatoes for Joshua)
Dinner: Sirloin Steak (pan-seared), Salad, and Rice

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal/Fruit (For Joshua probably just O's instead of oatmeal)
Lunch: L/O Steak (steak sandwich for me), (L/O spaghetti squash for Joshua)
Dinner: Tacos / Guacamole

Saturday:
Breakfast: Huevos Ranchero (Fruit, and hard boiled egg yolk for Joshua, we are switching up the fruits so he doesn't get too bored)
Lunch: L/O tacos
Dinner: Tilapia with Quinoa and Black Beans

Sunday:
Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs, Smoothie (Just bacon & fruit for Joshua)
Lunch: Yogurt, fruit, toast (L/O Fish & Veggies for Joshua) (Lunch is quick and portable because we are stopping at home only for lunch before heading out to IHOP)
Dinner (on the go): Sandwiches (on gf bread for Jeff) w/nitrate free lunch meat

Monday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit & nuts for me, Smoothie for Jeff, & fruit and O's for Joshua
Lunch: Tuna for us, HB Egg yolk & fruit for Joshua
Dinner: Ham Roast in the Crockpot, Baked & Mashed Sweet Potato, Squash (Sauteed in rendered bacon fat...yum!)

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Eggs & Waffles (egg free & gf waffles) (Joshua will add fruit and nix the eggs, maybe add some bacon)
Lunch: Yogurt, Fruit, Toast w/PB (For me), L/O's from Dinner for Joshua, Tuna for Jeff
Dinner: Italian Shredded Beef Sandwiches (GF rolls for Jeff)

Wednesday:
Breakfast: huevos ranchero (Fruit & O's for Joshua)
Lunch: L/O Beef Sandwiches
Dinner: Ham & Eggs w/Grits (Nix the eggs for Joshua)

And that is our week!

Meal Plan 9/8-9/14

2011-09-09T23:34:00.000-04:00

The week ahead (and the end of this week we are finishing) holds many great things, and I am so excited about them! Tomorrow is my first worship practice since joining our church worship team! So many other things are also on the horizon, and I cannot wait to see them come together!

As I said in my last post, I plan our meals from Thursday - Wednesday now, since we do the bulk of our grocery shopping at the Farmers Market, on Wednesdays, and we do not always know what is going to be there. Our meat order does not change very often, but who has what vegetables and fruits changes routinely. And, of course, how you cook a certain type of meat can change drastically based on what you have to put with it.

Here is some of what we have been finding lately at our farmers market!

Spaghetti Squash - We have recently discovered this gluten-free wonder. Our "experiment" with gluten free is over and this is what we have learned: I do fine with gluten, but have lost almost 20 lbs doing low(er) carb eating. Jeff, however, definitely has a problem tolerating gluten. On the one hand this is great news: we now know how to keep Jeff healthy and have seen from other real food bloggers that it might be possible to reverse this over a lengthy period of time. On the other hand, though, it is a big adjustment. Quinoa pasta is great, but it is expensive, too. Thankfully, a friend of ours at the market has had an abundance of spaghetti squash. The added bonus is that Joshua LOVES it. He eats spaghetti squash with both hands!

Fried Okra - There has definitely been a surplus of this at the market, as well. We have found a good gf flour mix that we like, and we do half gf flour, half organic corn meal, with plenty of seasonings. Fried in pastured lard, this is almost guilt-free (it is not entirely low-carb, of course).

Sweet Potatoes - Of course, we cannot get enough of these, anyway. We are a sweet potato loving family! We will mash them, bake them, fry them, oven-fry them (with Food Renegade's recipe!), and then some.

Eggplant - I never knew I liked eggplant before! Cooked up in a little bit of rendered bacon fat with Italian seasoning, this stuff is pretty incredible!

Squash (summer) - we already like squash, nothing really too new here. We cook it like the eggplant, or we skewer it for grilling with a nice marinade.

Green beans (of varying kinds) - nothing too foreign for either of us, here, either.

Melons - One booth in particular has a vast assortment of melons, and I must confess we do not know the names of everything we have brought home. One thing is sure, though, Joshua LOVES melons of all kinds.

Pears - While we all enjoy pears, Joshua has enjoyed more of these than we have, since I am always looking for foods that he can snack on and we are trying to keep things relatively low-grain for him.

OK, so that is the basic assortment of what we have been eating lately, now onto the meal plan!

Thursday (yesterday) - Fried Okra, organic Grits, and a hamsteak.

Friday - Blackbeans and Rice, Beef (stew beef, technically) sauteed with onions and garlic, organic blue corn chips, homemade guacamole with fresh peppers from the market.

Saturday - Beef Kebabs for lunch with the fam (painting day), Pork Chops, Sweet Potato, and Green/Purple beans for dinner

Sunday - Breakfast for Dinner - bacon, eggs, and homemade gf waffles

Monday - Spaghetti Squash and meatballs (Gluten Free meatballs, using oat flour instead of bread crumbs), Eggplant sauteed with onions and garlic

Tuesday - Leftover Buffet

Wednesday - Chuck Roast in the Crock Pot (with carrots, celery, and onion), and rice.

So that is our week! I am looking forward to it, both for the menu and all the great things we have going on!

The Only Constant Thing (aside from God's unfailing love) is Change

2011-09-09T00:15:00.000-04:00

So, the little blogger app for my phone has not helped me post more frequently, it seems. That tiny keyboard drives me nuts for anything longer than a text message. But I digress.

My son, Joshua, is growing so so quickly! With moving to a new place and trying to get my home settled, I never did try to make my own baby food. We were getting baby food free from WIC, anyway; so while I wanted to do something better for him, I accepted that our needs were being met and an overwhelmed mommy was not going to do him any good. Then I read "Real Food for Mother and Baby," by Nina Planck, and we threw out the baby food altogether (this is just in the last month and a half). Joshua now eats - basically - whatever we eat. He definitely has a dairy allergy, and we have recently discovered an egg white allergy. No fun, but, I am learning so much about sticking to real foods and avoiding his allergies. So his breakfasts differ from ours (because we eat a lot of eggs and a lot of smoothies), and some of his other meals, too. So this another reason for infrequent posts, because I have been spending so much time in the kitchen I have not left myself time for writing about the kitchen.

Joshua basically eats meats, fruits, veggies, and some grains. While I have not seen an outright allergic reaction to wheat, his dad is gluten intolerant so I am being pretty wary of it. Some wheat things he seems to handle fine, and with other wheat foods his eczema has seemed to flair up. Lately, though, the eczema is diminishing greatly, and now he mostly breaks out in hives when he has a reaction.

I have to say, as much as I hated the eczema, I kind of prefer it to anything that could point to possible anaphylactic shock (which hives can be a precursor to in severe allergic reactions). I know it is a long shot but we are dealing with neurotic new mommy here and I have no shame in that. Hives are scarier for me than red scaly skin. I am sure Joshua prefers the hives, though, because they are transient and so he does not itch for nearly as long.

I have not seasoned anything as fully for him as I have for Jeff and myself, which means some extra steps in my cooking and such, but we tend to eat on the heavily seasoned side, and I do not know how he would handle things like peppers, or excessive garlic. I would say we eat garlic in excess.

So breakfast is usually fruit of some kind, and some (organic and soy-free) gluten-free O's if he is extra hungry. Fruit is either pears, bananas, or some kind of melon. He actually seems to prefer the ones that taste almost more like lightly sweetened cucumber than like the sweet melons I am used to. We have a good source of interesting heirloom melons at our local farmers market.

Lunch is often a reprise of the previous night's dinner, but sometimes is a hard-boiled egg yolk with a tiny bit of olive oil (to improve the texture) and some salt, along with cucumber slices. He loves pork chops (and ham, and bacon), chicken is probably next on the list, and then beef last, but he will eat all of them. I have not really tried any fish with him yet. I actually really want to try Nina Planck's suggestion of Salmon Roe, but it is pricey! If we have a little extra room in the grocery budget sometime soon, though, we will certainly give that a try. He likes the bone broth we've given him (so far just beef and chicken).

Sweet potatoes and green beans are probably his favorite cooked vegetables. Though he also really likes squash, carrots, and broccoli. Avocados, while technically a fruit, are probably his favorite raw veggie, but he only really gets those when we are eating Mexican. He likes rice, but I have not tried the quinoa with him, yet, in its whole form. He loves the quinoa pasta we get for Jeff, though. And he loves spaghetti squash and meatballs.

He has never had any kind of "dessert" food yet. He has never had anything with MSG or HFCS (and I hope to keep it that way for as long as I can). He has never had any juice, and never anything with any food dye in it (except in one teething gel when he first started teething. The cranky baby that resulted in has been motivation to keep him dye-free!).

He is seriously loving the self-feeding experience. And, in not pureeing anything, I get to eat my dinner at the same time as him, and family meal times are established. We eat together, we pray before we eat, we (generally) all leave the table at the same time. The biggest downside, as we prepare for weaning, is that the more food he eats (and the less he nurses) the more he gravitates away from me, toward his dad. And that is actually not a downside at ALL, but it does make me really miss those early days when Mommy was the most important one in his universe. Oh, dying to myself, why must you be so painful? Seriously, though, I love watching him watch Jeff. In play, when he works, all of it. He loves to sit and watch the chickens with Jeff, and he loves to watch Jeff's fish tank with him, too (a dream come true for Jeff, to be sure!).

He will be one year old in just shy of eight weeks and I am amazed, appalled, proud, nostalgic, happy, and bittersweet. My little man is growing up!

I do our meal plans Thurs-Wednesday, now, because we do the bulk of our shopping at the Farmers Market, but stay tuned for a meal plan post that should have gone up today! :)

Fun at the Farmer's Market on my Birthday

2011-07-20T23:55:00.001-04:00

I will start by telling you all that I totally forgot to take pictures again! Next week, though, I won't forget (I will put a reminder in my calendar on this nifty phone)!

So today is my real 29th birthday. On July 20, 1982 I entered the world singing and smiling (ok, probably not, but it sounds good, right?). I keep trying to tell everyone that every birthday from here on out can also be my 29th birthday, but so far the only takers are my friends who are also turning 29 this year. Oh, well!

I did get some good news today, though. We went to the Mulberry Street Market in Macon, today, which is going to be a weekly trend for its duration. There was a basket being raffled off, with contributions from many of the local vendors. Though I never, ever seem to win anything, Jeff snagged a ticket for me and -- lo and behold -- I won! This amazing basket contained three different kinds of peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, basil, sage, lavender, tomatoes, a jar of salsa, ground habañero (dried, of course), okra, two kinds of eggplant, a sweet potato, peanuts, and baked goods, including a small round loaf of sourdough bread. Hidden among the produce a coupon for a free drink at Jittery Joes stayed safely tucked away, where I stumbled upon it while unpacking our wares at home. All of the produce was local. All of it organic. Definitely worth the few dollars we paid for 2 tickets. Really. $3.00.

As of next week I will be selling a small sampling of my Bee Beautiful products; namely the bug repellent and deodorant. I am so excited about the fun we have, the friends we have made there, and the really incredible food we have found there!

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I Can Post From My Phone!

2011-07-09T14:24:00.001-04:00

Not that I adore typing lengthy posts from my teeny tiny slideout keyboard...but the main detriment to frequent posts, of late, has been that Tether quit working on my laptop.

Today, after weeks of blogless living, I suddenly realized there MUST be a mobile app that could come to my aid. Smart girl, right?

I will now be much more vigilant about keeping up my blogs!

Today we went to the Wesleyan Farmers Market, and had a lovely time. We met Kim & Kimberly from Beans Farm, and finally made some friends in our area with common interests (not just gardens and chickens...but MUSIC!). We also met Dave from D&A farm, right here in our town!

There was no meat at this market, but I was happy to learn that Greendale Farm vends not just in Athens, but on Wednesdays at a market closer to us.

So, all in all, it was a great day today; despite the fact that I did not want to get out of bed this morning (Who could blame me? Joshua is congested from a teething cold, and I got no sleep last night because of it!). I am signing off and taking a har-earned nap!

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Officially Gluten Free - Menu Plan Monday

2011-06-20T15:05:00.000-04:00

So now we are officially doing the gluten-free thing for a couple of months, in addition to eating low-carb. The search for good high-protein snacks is on. This week's shopping trip is going to include a search for a good beef jerky that contains no soy (because we are also cutting that out) and definitely no MSG or other "hidden" sources of MSG. I have a list of 5 brands I am going to look for, and later on I may post a review of the ones I was able to find.

Monday
Breakfast: kefir, gluten free waffles (also fairly low-carb)
Lunch: Meatballs and Sausage in tomato sauce (leftover from our Father's Day Dinner, but w/o the pasta)
Dinner: Bacon, Eggs, and Grits (Yay, Breakfast for dinner!). We got the bacon at the Athens Farmers Market, from Greendale Farm, and the stone ground organic yellow grits from Mills Farm.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, cooked in delicious organic butter
Lunch: Chicken Salad in Celery Sticks (Chicken Salad made with delicious mayo using eggs from our own chickens!)
Dinner: @ Jeff's Mom's house

Wednesday
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Bacon
Lunch: Chicken Salad in Celery Sticks
Dinner: Grass Fed Burgers (bunless) with Beef Gravy, Salad

Thursday
Breakfast: Kefir, GF Waffles
Lunch: Leftover burgers / Salad
Dinner: Family Birthday Party

Friday
On the Road...

Saturday
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs
Lunch: Tuna/Egg Salad in Celery Sticks
Dinner: Chicken (in the crock pot with carrots, potatoes, and onions)

Sunday
Breakfast: Kefir / GF Waffles
Lunch: Tuna/Egg Salad in Celery Sticks
Dinner: Grass fed "Country Style" Ribs, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli cooked in Organic Butter

And of course we plan to fill in the gaps and stave off hunger with plenty of high protein snacks, including hard boiled eggs, roasted nuts (almonds, pecans, and pistachios), and raw-milk cheese (which we also got from Greendale Farm).

This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday.

Dietary Adjustments & Our Weekly Menu Plan

2011-06-13T17:38:00.000-04:00

So it has been forever since I have posted a menu plan, with everything involved in getting this new house settled being so time consuming. I have still been planning, just not posting. Now the flooring is down, the furniture is mostly into the living room, and we are finally starting to feel settled; so I feel like it is reasonable to spend time blogging again.

Everything involved in moving has really gotten the better of our sleep cycles, though. Couple that with having a baby and too much coffee and you have a serious case of adrenal fatigue. To combat that, we are about to start going low-carb in a serious way. I have wanted to do this before, but I know that in order to keep your energy up, it is important to have a good source of healthy fats (you know, good butter [organic, but not grass fed, as we really do not have a cost effective source for this yet], and meats from grass fed animals with that nice, healthy, omega-3 rich fat, lots of eggs from hens on pasture), and we have not had a good source for any of those that was also economical until recently. NOW, we are making once-a-month trips to the Athens Farmers Market so we can stock up on good grass finished meats, raw cheese, and locally grown fresh organic produce. Our chickens are providing the eggs.

In addition to going low-carb, we are going gluten free, as of next Monday’s meal plan. We have been noticing some health issues that we thought we might try clearing up by living sans-gluten for a while. Since I have read that an allergic reaction to gluten can continue for 90 days after gluten is consumed, we are doing it for three months and then re-introducing gluten slowly to see what happens. While we usually avoid soy anyway, we are completely eliminating all un-fermented soy in any form (which makes gluten-free snacking a little tougher, but I found some nut-based “crackers” which are gluten-free and contain no soy…not an easy combo to find). We are also going to reduce even fermented soy consumption. You will see one Asian meal on the menu this week, for which we will use Tamari (a fermented soy sauce); but that will be the last one for a while.

The hardest thing for us in attempting to reduce carbs in the past has been snacking. So this time around, I am making sure to have veggies already cut up and eggs hard-boiled ahead of time, as well as roasting nuts (almonds, pistachios, pecans) ahead of time for snacking, too (We could just buy roasted nuts, but finding them without MSG can be tricky and costly). We found some great artisanal raw milk cheeses at the farmer’s market, too, so we will have cheese for snacks as well. Next week I am going to start planning breakfasts and lunches too, so that we can stick more easily to the low carb ideal.

As I understand it, low carb is limiting to no more than 60-80g of carbs per day. So, if we happen to have a cereal for breakfast, there probably would not be a grain with lunch or dinner that day; but we are not going completely carb free or completely grain free. Quinoa, rice, and sweet potatoes will certainly grace our menu.

OK, without further ado, here is the plan:

Monday – Chicken (Slow-cooked in the crock pot, this is one of our backyard birds!), with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and of course PLENTY of garlic.

Tuesday – Dinner w/Jeff’s Mom

Wednesday – Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Fries, and salad

Thursday – Chicken Egg Rolls and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

Friday – Chuck Roast (again in the trusty crock-pot), Salad

Saturday – Fish Tacos (with wild-caught Cod)

Sunday – Whole Wheat Tagliatelle (last gluten-containing meal!!) with homemade tomato sauce, plus meatballs and sausage from the farmer’s market). Originally I had this meal planned as “leftovers,” and I like to have one leftovers night per week….but it’s Father’s Day, and Jeff requested this amazing whole wheat/sun dried tomato tagliatelle we found made fresh by a vendor at the farmer’s market. Last time we had it with homemade pesto, but this time he wanted to try a tomato based sauce.

Breakfasts this week are going to be eggs and bacon, or eggs and smoothies. Lunches will mainly be dinner leftovers, with some sandwich-less chicken salad thrown in there. Snacks will be celery and peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, and roasted nuts.

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday. Visit I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great menu ideas!

Still Figuring This Out - Menu Plan March 21

2011-03-21T11:45:00.001-04:00

So, last week was not a total bust, but I probably only did half of my planned meals. It was not a lack of desire, but it was my first week juggling care for our new chicks (we have 81!), care for the full grown chickens, of course taking care of my darling son, and trying to take care of the house and pack. I did, as a matter of fact, get some packing done, though there is certainly more to do! This week, however, I plan to be much more proactive in all of this. I hate last minute scrambling to get a meal made (especially when it means I am eating dinner around 8:00 at night), or eating junk because it is quicker. Ok, ok, the "junk" we have around is a lot healthier than "quick foods" that I used to eat, but it is still not the best I could be giving myself (and by proxy, my Joshua).

I started this last week by making to-do lists, and surprising myself with how much I got done. Now that I can make to-do lists on my phone with an app from Cozi, I am not as prone to lose the lists I make!

This week I am going to kick it up a notch by actually planning what time I need to get those things done, and see if that helps me to make the preparations I need to in order to stick to my menu plan. Any women out there whose husbands have had to be away for a time (military, traveling for work, whatever) who have tips on how to keep motivated and get rest...comment away.

There are some repeats here, carried over from last week because I did not do them, or because I did not do them while Jeff was home. This week I am cooking for both of us today through Wednesday, and myself the rest of the week.

Monday - Grilled Chicken Salad
Tuesday - Barley Burgers / Salad
Wednesday - Pork & Cranberry Stew (didn't do this last week because the weather ended up being much warmer than the forecast indicated, and I didn't feel like eating a stew in such warm weather)
Thursday - Breakfast for Dinner (Waffles, Bacon, Eggs)
Friday - Leftovers (probably burgers, there are always plenty left over)
Saturday - Pizza
Sunday - Leftovers (probably stew)

This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday. For more great posts, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for One (and a half)

2011-03-12T13:33:00.002-05:00

I have to admit, it has been a couple weeks since I have actually laid out a menu plan, and this is largely because I find it very difficult to plan when cooking for one. Jeff has been away during the week for the last couple weeks, as he is around our new house trying to get it ready for us to move into. He is working hard to prepare our home for us, and I am so grateful to have a husband who is willing to get the job done, even if it means being away from us for a little while. (Aside: It also paints a nice picture to remind us to long for Christ, who is preparing a place for us.)

Regardless, I find that life is so much easier when I plan our meals, so I need to make it a point to do so. Between Joshua and I both having the cold that has been going around (twice!) and trying to both clean the house and pack things we will not need for a while, not having a menu plan only added to the chaos -- NOT what I was going for!

So, here's the plan:

Monday - Pasta Alfredo with Chicken and Fresh Salad from our (winter) GARDEN! (homemade Alfredo Sauce)
Tuesday - Pineapple Pork Chop, Brown Rice, Salad (totally winging this recipe. At the moment I think I'm going to get some pineapple canned in its own juice, add garlic and honey to that and marinade the pork in it...I know fresh is better but I'm working with what I've got.)
Wednesday - Quinoa Stirfry (with Chicken, and of course we use Tamari instead of Bragg's or standard soy sauce)
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - California Salad (with Chicken), Whole Grain French Bread
Saturday - Barley and Cranberry Pork Stew (actually doing it in the crock pot, so Jeff has a nice hot meal to come home to after a long week of hard work, and I can enjoy my Saturday not worrying about dinner)
Sunday - Leftovers

And that is the week!

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Find more great menu plans there!

Natural Pain Remedy - Baltic Amber - GIVEAWAY :)

2011-02-21T11:49:00.000-05:00

When I first came across a blog stating that amber necklaces were good for soothing pain (such as teething, headaches, etc), I have to admit I was pretty skeptical. I was thinking, "Is this just one of those weird New Age-y things? How could that even work?"

As it turns out, Baltic Amber is high in a substance called succinic acid (better known as aspirin), and body heat triggers the release of succinic acid into the skin, thus relieving pain.

With my poor little guy teething already, I have been curious to try it, and saw this giveaway on my facebook news feed:

http://www.athenabees.com/2011/02/its-giveaway-time.html

So go ahead and enter for a chance to win a "teething necklace" (or whatever-ails-you-necklace) from Inspired by Finn!

Nutrimill Giveaway @ Kitchen Stewardship

2011-02-19T11:06:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, we do most of our baking from freshly milled wheat. At present, we use a Messerschmidt Grain Mill attachment that is compatible with my Kitchen Aid Mixer. It works pretty well, but its finest setting is not nearly as fine as I would like. Not only that, but it does not have the best capacity for our growing flour needs. It was a great starter mill, and I am glad that we have had it, but at some point in the future we will need one of these:

https://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/index.aspx#Nutrimill

...which is being GIVEN AWAY this week at Kitchen Stewardship. So of course I am using every possible entry for the giveaway, and would like to win. But even if I don't (which is MORE likely, because I never win these things), one of these lovely machines is definitely in our future (just not as quickly as it might have been, haha).

Menu Plan Feb 14-20 (and what the week holds)

2011-02-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

Keeping it short and sweet this week, as it is late and the pillow is calling me. Valentine's Day is coming late for us, we are celebrating on Saturday as all three of us were sick over the weekend, and did not feel much like celebrating anything.

We are going to see some of Jeff's family on Wednesday, and checking out the property our family just bought in a small town a few hours south of here. The property has a decent-sized home, and five acres so we can finally get started on our homesteading dream. The part that is really difficult is leaving our town and community. We love it here, and we know it will be nothing short of a miracle if we can find a local church body where we feel as at home as we do at our current church. More on the homestead later, but suffice it to say it will most likely be at least 2 months before we move.

Last week I totally skimped on the menu plan, and we certainly paid the price for it in prep time and sanity. This week I am getting to it late, but at least getting to it. We do still have a holdover meal from the last blogged plan (fried chicken), and a family birthday party on Sunday means that we will certainly be doing leftovers Sunday night. Wednesday it is dinner with my brother-in-law & sister-in-law, and my adorable niece and nephew.

That's the week, and here's the plan:

Monday - Jeff's amazing Burgers
Tuesday - Fried Chicken and all the trimmings
Wednesday - Dinner with Jon & Rachel
Thursday -Chicken & Mushroom Cannelloni (prepared meal we'll pick up on the road, not ideal, but we used up all our freezer meals after Joshua was born)
Friday - Crockpot chicken pot pie
Saturday - grass finished steaks (we'll pick them up at WF on the way home from down south), Baked Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli
Sunday - Family Bday Party = light dinner (leftovers)

Find more great menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Our Cute Kid

2011-01-31T22:23:00.001-05:00

So, Joshua will be three months old this Thursday! I cannot even believe it. And, with the fact that I have barely had time to post menu plans, I only just realized the other day that I have not even posted any pictures here. So, just a few pictures from the last three months...

This picture is while we were still in the hospital. Though we started out laboring at home, we ended up having to transport to the hospital and having a C-Section, so we were in the hospital for a total of three days. He never stayed swaddled like this for very long, Joshua has very strong arms that thwarted even expert swaddlers, haha. He was born weighing 9 lbs and 3 oz, at 22 inches long.

The adoring Dad :)

Our first day back at home. He seemed so big to me then, and now, he looks so tiny in this picture.

He was smiling from day 1, which was completely unbelievable. These two pictures are actually from between 3-4 weeks old. My little man definitely smiles with his whole face.

This picture was taken at 11 weeks old. Love love LOVE his blue eyes!

So that's my baby boy...Our lives have changed so much with this little addition. There are times when he just looks up at me and smiles and it is so amazing it brings tears to my eyes. I know we still have a lot to learn, but we are so excited about the journey ahead of us :)

Menu Plan for Jan 31-Feb 6

2011-01-31T22:02:00.001-05:00

Last week was a little crazy, but good. A few meals left us with more leftovers than we expected, so we did leftovers in place of a few other meals (which was good, because there were a few days when I totally forgot my prep work until it was too late!). It just goes to show that there is a reason I do menu planning (because organization is NOT my strong suit)!

I already had a meal plan worked out for this week, and we are already making changes. Still, it was very good to at least have a blueprint for this week, it made figuring out what needed to change a simpler process.

Monday - Whole Wheat pasta with homemade tomato sauce, garlic bread (whole wheat)

Tuesday - Dinner out

Wednesday - Taco Night

Thursday - Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Fries, Veggies sauteed in butter (mmmmmm)

Friday - Fried Chicken, Fried Okra, Soaked Rice Going all out southern here...but we only fry in healthy oils (read: NOT vegetable oils or other polyunsaturated oils. We prefer lard but if we cannot get a good saturated frying oil, we will go for monounsaturated oils), and we use whole wheat flour to dredge the chicken and the okra

Saturday - We will be driving all day so it means dinner on the road. (This is actually very exciting...we will get to see the property where we can raise some fantastic pastured meats...So next year both our grocery budget and our diet will see even more improvement!)

Sunday - Baked Fish Nicosia (I was not thinking of the Superbowl when I originally planned this, so it may be subject to change. It is only a 30 minute meal, either way, so it may not).

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday - visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of Jan 24

2011-01-22T21:52:00.001-05:00

We had a great week last week; trying out some new recipes, including the opportunity to add more Chinese food to our repertoire (my allergy to MSG means we cannot eat Chinese out, so we have to make any Chinese food we eat here with very carefully selected ingredients).

The homemade egg roll wrappers turned out really well, although next time I may use my crepe-making skillet, just to keep things easier. The egg rolls tasted great and the wrappers were strong enough to hold the contents well. The halibut with remoulade sauce was really good, too! I am excited about starting to build a good index of fish recipes that I like.

We skipped good ol' spaghetti night to have dinner with some friends. We had a blast, and ate some delicious food!

This week's menu looks pretty fun, and I am quite excited about it!

Monday - Steak kabobs and soaked brown rice. Of course we are using Tamari instead of "regular" soy sauce; and - while it's not perfect - we are using the new Sierra Mist Natural for our "lemon-lime carbonated beverage" in the marinade.

Sunday night - marinate beef. Monday AM - Soak Rice

Tuesday - Roast Chicken (With Onions, Carrots, Celery, and Potatoes). This will be one of our first Chickens in a while that is from our back yard. We went through those other birds pretty quickly, and now we have a few more this time around (We will be ordering the new batch of chicks, shortly).

Wednesday - Roast Pork, Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Veggies. This is some of that great pastured pork we got at Whole Foods. I love Sweet Potatoes better with pork than with any other meat, I think.

Thursday - White Chili - This will be with leftover chicken from Tuesday's Roast.

Thursday AM - start soaking black beans for Friday's dinner

Friday - Tilapia with Quinoa and Black beans

Friday AM - Soak Quinoa / Late Morning - begin to prepare beans.

Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner (Eggs, Bacon, and Stone-ground grits)

Saturday Afternoon - Soak dough for french bread.

Sunday - Bean Soup, Soaked French Bread (Whole Wheat), Salad

This is part of Menu Plan Monday - Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus :)

A Day Late (But No Fewer Dollars to Show For It)

2011-01-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

We did do our menu plan yesterday, but I did not get around to blogging it. Oops! As for last week, the fish tacos were definitely a hit! I am neither a fish fan nor a cabbage fan, most of the time. I have to be in just the right mood and it has to be just the right recipe. Jeff and I both thoroughly enjoyed them, so I'd say this recipe was a hit. We had a great deal of cabbage left over, so this week we are going to have homemade egg rolls and pork fried rice on the menu.

The french onion soup was even easier than I expected it to be, and it turned out quite well. I was going to just shred some mozzarella onto the bread instead of Gruyere, (because Gruyere is stinking expensive!!!), but we took a field trip down to the Atlanta area to visit Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and I found TJs Gruyere for much cheaper. It was delicious, too! We also found some raw milk cheddar, which is great because I cannot find inexpensive raw milk cheeses around here. We can get some cheese from the same dairy we go to for milk, but we cannot always afford it (but we do prefer to give him the business when we can). The trip was very profitable in other ways, too. We found some good beef shank from a local farmer. Not only are his cattle grass fed and finished, but he does the butchering on his own, and is certified as a "humane kill" facility (which apparently means that the flavor of the meat is preserved because hormones that are released when an animal is frightened are not released in this process). We were also able to find some good pastured pork, as well.

Last week, we did not end up eating burgers with the french onion soup (we ate the stew beef left over from our stock-making process, instead), and we did not do the pulled pork (because of our long day trip to WF and TJs). So those make a reappearance this week.

Monday - Jeff's burgers with buns (Whole wheat, of course), & broccoli
Tuesday - Pulled Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Spinach
Wednesday - Halibut with Remoulade Sauce
Thursday - Egg Rolls with Pork Fried Rice & Veggies (homemade whole wheat egg roll wrappers)
Friday - Spaghetti, Whole Wheat (soaked) Garlic Bread, Steamed Veggies
Saturday - Beef Stroganoff and Steamed Broccoli
Sunday - Leftovers

Menu Plan for Jan 10-16 (And review of new recipes from last week).

2011-01-08T16:19:00.002-05:00

As usual, some of last week's meals got switched around from day to day, but overall we stuck to the plan and I think our week was simpler for it. I tried a few new recipes last week, so I wanted to review those here.

Quinoa Veggie Stirfry - We are not vegetarians, so we added some chicken to this for extra protein (even though quinoa is a complete protein by itself.). We also improvised on the veggies some (to use what we had on hand), and used Tamari (naturally fermented soy sauce) instead of the Bragg's Liquid Aminos; since the Tamari is fermented soy and truly is MSG-Free, and the Bragg's is just no-MSG-added. If you are going to eat soy, it should definitely be naturally fermented, because otherwise it really does not digest well, and the good things in it are not as easily absorbed (bio-availability). However, we kept the spices exactly the same. The flavor was great, the meal was very filling, and it was not that difficult. Soaking the Quinoa in water for a fifteen minutes ahead of time both helps it cook up more quickly and makes it easier to rinse. You must rinse the quinoa, because its outer shell is covered with a waxy substance (saponin) that leads to a very bitter taste (and is not good for you). (Because quinoa is technically a nut and not a grain, it does not contain as much phytic acids as grains, but if you are soaking for those reasons it only needs to be soaked for 2-4 hours). Since we were only feeding two with this recipe, we had enough left over for lunches for a few days. Jeff definitely asked that we keep this recipe in the rotation, so I consider it a smashing success (He also decided we should sprout some of what I have on hand, and plant it in a month or so).

Easy Quinoa Veggie Burgers - Again, because we are not vegan, instead of using an egg substitute I used an egg. Also, once again, I used Tamari instead of Bragg's. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. The patties tasted great, and they went well with the pumpkin soup we had them with. The recipe says you can fix them up like a regular burger, and I can see how that might work; however (especially with the chickpeas) they really tasted more like falafel, and since we were eating them without the buns, we just dipped them in the pumpkin soup. Again, Jeff said I could make this again. Two successful new recipes in one week! (If you do not have a food processor, though, you may want to hold off on this one - unless you have an amazing blender - I felt like I nearly killed my blender trying to process the mixture.)

On to this week. A little less budget-limited and a little more determined to -- not only keep our grains whole, as we usually do -- use only soaked grains as often as possible, I think our plan for this week is pretty awesome. We only have one meal where the grains are not soaked, and that is on Monday, because I do not make my own tortillas yet and I am trying to limit my new experiments until we have more of a routine down. To help me out with my planning, I am going back to blogging the preparatory steps I need to remember (they day or days before the meal).

Monday - Fish Tacos. No previous day prep required on this one. Instead of beer batter-ing the cod, we are going with sauteed, instead. And I'm going to use most of the spices in the skillet with the cod, and keep the dip a little more bland. We got red cabbage as well, because when I had them I remember both being used, and I thought it would keep things a little more colorful and appealing.

Prep for Tuesday: Monday AM soak biscuit dough for Tuesday AM. Move Chicken stock to Fridge to thaw. Move Chicken to fridge to thaw.

Tuesday - Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie

Prep for Wednesday: Tuesday AM move venison sausage to fridge to thaw.

Wednesday - Cozy Quinoa Casserole. We use venison sausage instead of the ground turkey (ground turkey often has "natural flavors," which are anything but natural and can mean MSG). Also we use sweet potato instead of the Acorn Squash. Acorn Squash is impossible to cut when raw, and Sweet potato tastes almost identical as far as I am concerned (yup, I am choosing sweet potatoes out of sheer laziness. And because we still have plenty stored from our garden).

Prep for Thursday - Wednesday PM Soak Pizza Crust

Thursday - Pizza (With soaked whole wheat crust) - Spinach and Mushroom :)

Prep for Friday - Thurs PM start pork backbone in the crockpot

Friday - Pulled Pork, Sweet Potatoes, & Steamed Spinach

Prep for Saturday - Friday AM start making beef stock, and soak dough for french bread.

Saturday - Jeff's "Famous" Burgers & French Onion Soup

Sunday - Leftovers

Breakfasts throughout the week will be eggs fried in raw butter (grass-finished), and soaked oatmeal or breakfast quinoa. Snacks will be celery & peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, and/or carrot sticks with the amazing truly-MSG-Free ranch dressing I found.

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday. Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus.

To Exercise, or Not to Exercise, That is a good question...

2011-01-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting a Weight Loss & Wellness Challenge over at her blog. Since I'm nursing (and therefore advised on all fronts not to focus on weight loss), we are focusing more on the wellness end, but exercise definitely still fits into that picture. And even though I am not focusing on weight loss via diet, I do know that getting up and moving around will help the process of fitting in my pre-prego clothes along. Another great reason I have to focus on making sure I get more exercise in, is that it really helps me in dealing with ADD...more focus is never a bad thing!

At her Exercise & Weight Loss Questions post, Kelly is also giving away a gallon of Olive Oil from Chaffin Family Orchards! Also, there is a list of questions you can choose to comment with, so I thought I would answer them here at my blog, too. :)

Does exercise help you lose weight, or is it more about what you’re eating?

I have always found that I needed to focus both on what I am eating and exercise together to achieve any weight loss results. It can be tricky, though, when weight loss is your goal; because increased activity means you are burning more calories, and your body automatically tells you to eat more. I found the easiest way to bypass that is to have plenty of high protein snacks around. Hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks (or just cheese), homemade (for lack of preservatives & MSG) jerky.

What is your favorite way to exercise?

While I had an office gymnasium at my disposal for free, I became addicted to the elliptical machine. I also grew quite fond of the treadmill while I was using a treadmill desk at work. Now I am staying at home and taking care of my adorable, wonderful, amazing son, though; so I am opting for taking walks in the sunshine with my handsome little man, and doing stretching and toning exercises a few times a week.

What is your favorite excuse NOT to exercise and how do you push past it?

It was waking up early to squeeze in a workout before my work day, and for that I had friends meet me at the gym for extra get-out-of-bed incentive. Now, though, it tends to be finding the time. My best way to push past it, though, is remembering how I feel when I do not take the time.

What is your best way to motivate yourself to DO IT?

Again - knowing how I feel when I am not exercising. I had to spent several weeks post C-Section trying not to do very much, and if there is anything I have discovered it is that laying low breeds lethargy and sluggishness. I also remember how amazing I felt post-workout, before even drinking my coffee.

What do you listen to while your exercise? (If anything.)

If I am doing a faster-paced work out (like being on the elliptical) I tend to listen to Skillet, faster Switchfoot songs, and even some of the faster-tempo Nichole Nordeman (I have pretty eclectic taste). Anything with a good rhythm that will help me to keep moving.

What are your 2011 exercise goals? (As I said in a previous post, it’s good to get these into writing!)

I want to take daily walks with Joshua (getting a little more sun with my son, too...great for that Vitamin D synthesis), and spend time doing stretching and toning exercises 2-3 times a week.

Whatever the reason, I hope you will take time to get a little more active this year. Exercise is not only good for losing weight. Studies show that people who sit down for most of their day have more health problems and a shorter lifespan. We were not meant to be so still, so inactive. So get moving! And get on over to Kelly the Kitchen Kop to win some high quality olive oil from a fantastic family farm.

Giveaway at Kelly the Kitchen Kop - Fermented Veggie Sampler from Cultures for Health

2011-01-03T16:49:00.004-05:00

Lacto-fermentation. I have to admit, the word sounds pretty disgusting at first listen. You think to yourself, “Are they fermenting these things with milk?” Even realizing that everyday foods for us like yogurt and sour cream are fermented milk, it does not sound even close to appealing. But, truth be told, lacto-fermentation has nothing to do with milk (brace yourself, this sounds even less appealing), but with lactobacilli – a probiotic bacteria that can help to preserve foods.

Fermented foods are even more nutritious than their raw counterparts. This is because the fermentation process produces digestion-aiding enzymes, and can vastly multiply the vitamin content of food, all while creating a rich flavor.

We have been hoping to include more fermented foods in our diet for some time, now. I acquired a copy of Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz – a book that holds a wealth of information on fermented foods – and scoured the real food blogosphere for tips, tricks, and any recipes I did not already have. I started my experimenting this summer, when I made a batch of lacto-fermented peach salsa. It was absolutely incredible! Not only did it taste great, but it kept very well, and of course was loaded with enzymes and nutrients. Shortly thereafter, though, third trimester exhaustion caught up with me and I was not in the mood for much more experimentation, and of course it is now winter (and I really prefer to work with local, organic produce for these experiments. This spring, however, I plan to let the fermenting fun begin! I even managed to add some additional wide-mouth jars to my collection, so I can do more than a couple different veggies at once.

Between now and then, however, it would be great to get a taste for specific vegetables in their already-fermented state, so I am very excited about Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s latest giveaway: A fermented veggie sampler from Cultures for Health! I have been very pleased with purchases I have made with them; including yogurt cultures, kefir and water kefir grains, and a kombucha SCOBY, as well. Everything has been great quality, and I have gotten some great results with their cultures, so I have no doubt that these veggies will be incredible.

Head on over to Kelly the Kitchen Kop to enter, and sign up for her newsletter, because the winners will only be announced there!

Menu Plan Monday - Getting Out of the Holiday Sweets Frenzy

2011-01-03T12:18:00.002-05:00

I am stunned to find that we are already entering the new year, wondering where the time has flown. Babies, it seems, are a time machine of sorts. If anything speeds up time, it is taking care of a baby. One moment we have just woken up, and the next it is time for bed.

While I love Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years -- and all the great food these holidays bring -- I am eager to get us back on track, food-wise. Especially when we consider how lax we had become with food toward the end of my pregnancy and in the beginning weeks with Joshua. We were making healthier choices, but "easier" healthy choices that were not nearly as great as the choices we were striving to make before. So....New year, new opportunity to get things moving in the right direction again.

We are following along with Kelly the Kitchen Kop's three week health/wellness jumpstart, and our focus is mostly going to be reducing (even healthier homemade) sweets, and emphasizing proteins over carbs (Also, I am going to be taking more walks with the baby, trying to get a bit more active). While we are not going to be able to do completely low-carb all that feasibly, we can at least reduce grains and gluten via my favorite non-grain, quinoa; but primarily we're just making sure that all of our grains are whole grains. Quinoa is not actually a grain, but frequently used as one, quinoa is gluten free, a complete protein in and of itself (something no grain can boast), and very high in other important nutrients like iron. So we have two quinoa based meals in the menu this week, and some higher nutrient grains like barley, and other high nutrient foods. We also still have a bit of Christmas money left, so we worked in an eat-out night, mostly because our friend Gaby still has not gotten to meet Joshua. Gaby's is great, particularly because she seasons her food with actual herbs and spices, not any of the cheaper "spice" mixes that contain MSG, so I can eat there headache free.

Monday - Baked Chicken with Apples and Barley
Tuesday - eat at Gaby's (Caribbean & American Cuisine)
Wednesday - Quinoa and Veggie Stirfry
Thursday - Salsa Chicken & Blackbean soup.
Friday - Hummus & homemade Whole Wheat Naan, Veggies
Saturday - Quinoa Burgers (sans buns) and Pumpkin Soup (from homemade pumpkin)
Sunday - Leftovers

This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday. Go to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus.

Why Did the Chickens Cross the Road?

2010-11-19T10:30:00.001-05:00

For almost 2 years now, my husband and I have been making many steps toward a healthier (and more frugal!) lifestyle. We started simple: switching our sweetener of choice from refined sugar to Sucanat and raw local honey; switching from pasteurized milk for me and soy milk for dh to fresh, local, raw milk (which I prefer to call real milk); and milling our own flour from whole grains.

This year, we added a few things to the mix. Having moved into a house with a gigantic yard (and a landlady who actually asked us to have a garden), we started with four raised garden beds, and then added a long row for corns, beans, squash, and watermelon to all grow in tandem. Then we thought, "good, free range chicken is so expensive, but we really do not want to eat all this soy-filled, antibiotic laden, factory chicken." So, we ordered some chickens from a hatchery and have a few hens for laying, a loud, but gorgeous rooster (appropriately named Chauntecleer), and several large breed birds to put in the freezer. That went relatively well (though we lost quite a few of them to neighborhood dogs), so we recently ordered several more chickens to add to our layers and put quite a few more broilers in the freezer (and share some with friends and family).

We know several people who have chickens in the city limits (city is a misnomer, by the way, our tiny town is comprised of about 10,000 people), who have had no problems with City Code Enforcement. Everything changed for us yesterday. Just as I was trying to get back to sleep for a bit after a long night with our newborn, CCE came knocking on our door loudly (and early!), telling us that we cannot have chickens in the city limits.

Frustrated. Disheartened. Discouraged. Angry. All of these words applied. We have invested a lot of time, energy, and money (which is the hardest of the three to come by, it seems) into these birds, and had no problems with any neighbors or anything in the near year we had been raising them. However, the Code Enforcement Marshall who came by did not serve us an official notice, which put my husband on the research trail.

As it so happens, the state of Georgia has a law that our Marshall apparently does not know about. On top of that, there is another, more precise bill presently awaiting a vote in the legislature.

The law, signed by Governor Sonny Perdue in May of 2009, states that "No county, municipality, consolidated government or other political subdivision of this state shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, regulation or resolution regulating crop management or animal husbandry practices involved in the production of agricultural or farm products on any private property.”

We are hoping this is enough to allow us to keep our hens and the broilers, though we are giving our loud rooster away to our dairy farmer. In case it does not, however, we are encouraging all of our friends in the state of Georgia to contact their representatives in support of this bill, which states:

(b) No county, municipality, consolidated government, or local government authority shall prohibit or require any permit for the growing or raising of food crops or chickens, rabbits, or milk goats in:

(1) Home gardens, coops, or pens on private residential property so long as such food crops or animals or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the occupant of such property and members of his or her household and not for commercial purposes; and

(2) Community or cooperative gardens, coops, or pens on any portion of any private lot made available for such purposes by the occupant thereof so long as the total lot size is not more than 2.75 acres and the food crops or animals or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the growers and raisers and members of their households and not for commercial purposes; provided, however, that the slaughter of goats kept pursuant to this Code section shall be prohibited.

If you live in the state of Georgia, please contact your representative ASAP! The rights of individuals to raise food for themselves that keeps to our preferred health standards should not be compromised! If you live elsewhere, contact your representatives in the state government and tell them that you want similar legislation protecting your right to grow your own food; or better yet, contact your state representatives to encourage them to vote no on S.510!

This post is a part of Save Farm Freedom Friday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Visit her page for more great posts!

Can the Canned Pumpkin (Donald Trump Style?)

2010-10-13T10:13:00.001-04:00

So, I love pumpkin soup. As the calendar creeps towards Thanksgiving and Christmas, I get excited about all things pumpkin: Pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, and definitely pumpkin soup. This year, though, as I have been getting more focused on real foods, I decided I would try and make a pumpkin soup from scratch! How hard could it be, anyway?

Turns out it is pretty easy, and the taste is far superior. First of all, do not use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin. They are bigger, sure, but they have less meat and, apparently, less flavor (the flavor part I have to take from the lady at the farmer's market. I have no experience with this of my own).
Here is a picture of the pumpkin we used:

This pumpkin, rather than the bright (almost garish) orange, is a nice putty/beige color. And it is heirloom, so you can bet we are keeping the seeds. But when you cut it open, it is twice as bright as the insides of the orange pumpkins. The bright color is a good indication that this pumpkin is pretty high in Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), among other things.

So, to make pumpkin soup from FRESH pumpkin is actually a fairly simple task. Step one, cut the pumpkin in half. Rather than saw off the top and try to scoop out the insides (like you would when carving a pumpkin), cut it vertically in half from top to bottom, and scoop out the seeds. I have heard that the seeds are easier to remove once the pumpkin is cooked, but when your pumpkin is an heirloom variety and you want to save the seeds for your garden, cooking them first is a very bad idea.

Step 2, lay the pumpkin flesh-side down in a baking pan. You can use a cookie sheet, if you do not mind the smell of scorched pumpkin juice as it runs all over your oven. This was the first lesson I learned yesterday. Not unbearable, the scent is akin to burnt marshmallows. Oops.

I guess step 1 should actually have been "preheat your oven to 375," but I am going to pretend I already told you that. Step 3, then, is to place the baking dish in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Step 4: Remove the dish from the oven, and allow the pumpkin halves to cool for approximately twenty minutes. This step is vital if you are at all attached to your fingertips in their current, unblistered state.

Step 5 is much easier than you would think. Grasp the (hopefully) cooled pumpkin rind, and pull upwards. If all goes according to plan, you should now have a surprisingly thin and flimsy pumpkin rind in your hand, and a pile of orange goo in your baking pan (this is the pumpkin "meat").

Now, add to your recipe. Pumpkin is pumpkin, volume-wise (though I have learned that taste-wise, this is NOT the case!), so add the same amount as is called for with canned pumpkin.

Last year I made pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin, and Dh thought it was "okay." This year I made the soup with FRESH pumpkin, and he said, "You better freeze the leftovers so we have some for after the baby!" BIG difference.

This is not my pumpkin soup. We ate it up so quickly (and froze the leftovers so quickly) that I forgot to take a picture. This picture actually comes from here.

If you have a good farmer's market nearby, finding some high quality pie or soup pumpkins should not be too difficult. So can the canned pumpkin this holiday season! You are in for a very pleasant surprise if you do!

This is the pumpkin soup recipe I used. I should warn you, however, that I am not responsible for what happens if you follow the recipe exactly, haha. I realized as I was getting the soup ready that my husband had used the last onion (and not told me!), so I used green peppers (from our garden!) instead. Then, as I was smelling the nearly-finished soup, I decided it needed a dash of nutmeg and cardamom, too. And I added some freshly ground black pepper. I did not really measure...not my style with spices. So, play around, have fun, and enjoy!

This is a part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop! Find more great posts there :)

Menu Plan Monday - Last Official Pre-Baby Menu??

2010-10-11T20:08:00.000-04:00

Nine days till our due date! Not that I am naive enough to think that DS will arrive exactly on time, so we are quite aware he could come early or late. I am not feeling incredibly uncomfortable, so I am kind of hoping for the extra time to prepare; and yet... several of my pregnant friends have recently had their LOs, and I am starting to get a bit jealous! I would love to hold our baby boy, and I am really looking forward to our birth experience, in our home!

We do have several freezer meals made up, and are anticipating meals from our church, and my mom is going to be with us for about a month; so menu plans from here on out may be sporadic. I may get one more in next week, if DS does not come before then.

Up this week:

Tonight (Monday) - Roast Chicken Breast with Rice and Vegetables
Tuesday - Pumpkin soup, Wheat Bread, Sausage (from our pig!)
Wednesday - Chicken & Biscuits (Our chicken and whole wheat biscuits)
Thursday -Roast Ham (in the crockpot), sweet potatoes / veggies
Friday -Breakfast for Dinner (Grits, Bacon, Eggs)
Saturday - Leftovers (Roast)
Sunday - Family birthday / group barbecue - we're providing meat for burgers

That's it for our meal plan. Head on over to OrgJunkie for more great meal plans.

Meal Planning - We Are Still on the Wagon

2010-10-02T15:13:00.001-04:00

Well, as my due date draws closer, time seems to find all kinds of things to be crowded with. We have been taking the time to diligently meal plan; but I have not been taking the time to post our plans. Actually, as I have gone from working in the office to freelance writing from home, it seems I have fallen off the face of the blogosphere all together. I am really wanting to remedy that, though, as I would rather write about these things than how many ways there are to skin a cat in Minnesota (anyone who has done freelance article writing online certainly understands that sentiment, I am sure).

We received a very pleasant surprise today: Dh went to our dairy farmer to get our milk, and checked to see if he had any beef yet (he said closer to October last time we spoke with him). Well, he did not have the new beef yet, but after dh helped him get a cow back into the pasture, he gave us a shopping bag full of steaks and ribs he had in the freezer. Gave. Things are a bit tight these days, so that was a huge blessing. Tonight we are having sirloin! (A side note: If you have never cooked grass finished beef before, or have cooked it with not-so-great results, head over to Kelly the Kitchen Kop to check out this post. Cooking grass finished the same way you cook commercial beef can lead to some tough results!

Regarding the pig we split with a family from our church: We worked our way through the pork chops, tenderloin, and roasts pretty quickly. We have another roast left, but mostly a good bit of sausage and lots (and lots) of ribs. Add that to the beef ribs we just got from our dairy farmer; and we have decided that the next few Sundays are officially "Rib Day."

Taking inspiration from many of the amazing real food bloggers I have been reading, I also decided that we would freeze the remains of one meal a week for freezer meals post-baby. I will have my mother here with me for a month, and friends visiting, so I know it may not be a drastic necessity; but I wanted to have at least a week's worth of back-ups, just in case. So far we have frozen the mixed up (but raw) beef mixture for Barley Burgers, Venison Sausage Chili (Dh's amazing creation), Pork & Cranberry Stew (we had a gluten-free guest that night so it is made with rice instead of barley). We actually have two nights worth of the stew frozen, all thanks to being only two people with one large crock pot ;) .

We were also very blessed with an abundant (and I do mean abundant) harvest of sweet potatoes. For our first garden together, most of our planting yielded sparse results. Good, quality, heirloom and heritage fruits and veggies, but not in the greatest quantities. Sweet potatoes, it seems, were the exception to that rule. We planted 2 sweet potatoes in about 4 pieces (after sprouting them), and they took over our backyard. So, I have plans to freeze enough baked sweet potato for a few sweet potato pies (I need to do that before the baby comes, for sure!) for Thanksgiving and Christmas; but otherwise, we have them stored in the crawlspace under the house and we're just trying to incorporate them where we can. So on this meal plan, you will see several meals with sweet potatoes, and now you know why!

One last little addendum. My last checkup with my midwife had me reading as slightly anemic. Not a huge deal, but being due in 2 1/2 weeks (give or take), I decided that everything with grain is going to be soaked this week, even things I don't normally soak (like crepe batter, or rice for the risotto). Though I am not sure yet exactly where I fall in the phytic acid debate, I figure that this week I need all the help absorbing iron I can get.

Monday - Spinach/Tomato/Mozzarella Fritatta, Whole Wheat Toast (from our homemade soaked WW Bread)

Tuesday - Hamsteak (from our pig!), Sweet Potato Risotto (Yes, I am soaking the rice for this)

Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner - Sausage (from our pig!) & Egg Crepes (with soaked whole wheat crepes)

Thursday - Spaghetti with garlic bread (again with our homemade soaked whole wheat bread), and steamed veggies

Friday - Pan Fried Chicken, Veggies, Rice (soaked, and cooked up with a little bit of chicken stock - hello flu season!)

Saturday - Cozy Quinoa Casserole (We are revising this one to exclude the ground turkey - since it is really not necessary - and to replace the Acorn Squash with....you guessed it! Sweet Potatoes! Plus, we are ignoring all the "low-fat" and "low-sodium" parts of the directions. Only full fat cheese and our homemade chicken stock work for us!)

Sunday - Beef Ribs, Cornbread (soaked), and Baked Sweet Potatoes.

Visit Laura @ I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus!

Menu Plan Monday - Aug 23

2010-08-22T20:21:00.001-04:00

So we are plunging into another week, finding ourselves closer to our due date (just 8 1/2 weeks away!), and finding our schedules absolutely crazy.

This week we have childbirth class on Monday night, a baby shower for a friend on Tuesday, and our usual equipping class / home group for church on Wednesday. Thursday is my late night at work (till 7), so Thursday and Friday evening we have absolutely no plans, and we are not going to make any!

Because of this, there are no food experiments this week, or trying of any crazy new things. We're trying to keep it pretty simple so we do not go crazy (and I do not get too behind on keeping up with the cleaning).

I only have a few more weeks of work left; a prospect which has me very enthused that maybe I do not have to burn myself out entirely just to get our house ready for a baby. As much as there is left to do regarding turning our "this is where everything that does not have a home goes" room into a nursery, I am leaving most of it until I am no longer working. With Third Trimester exhaustion setting in, it just seems to be all I can do to work full time and keep up with dishes. My midwife said I was a bit anemic again, and I have been taking Hema-plex for a few days. I certainly do feel better already, but I am not expecting to feel as great as I did toward the second half of last trimester, so I am not going to push it.

Without further ado, the menu plan:

Monday - Taco Night! Whole wheat tortillas, ground beef, tomatoes from our garden, and the rest of the typical taco fixings. We make our own taco seasoning, and we love it!

Tuesday - Pork Stir-fry with Brown Rice. The pork is from our own "home grown" pig :)

Wednesday - Spinach & Cheese Frittata (with farm fresh, pastured eggs)

Thursday - Crock-pot Chicken Pot Pie. It is not really time for such "winter foods," here in GA, but we were looking for a tasty crock pot dish and this sounds delicious :)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Fried Chicken, steamed veggies.

Sunday - Leftovers

Find more great menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan August 16

2010-08-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

Last week we had a menu plan, but did not keep to it very well. Between dh injuring his back and me being bowled over by the exhaustion that the third trimester suddenly brought back to the fore, I was not prepared for all the changes in our schedule last week. This week I am a little more focused, because weeks where we do not keep to the plan really remind me how much planning helps! I have a plan in place for meal prep, and that is going to make things much easier.

No crazy events this week, it is pretty typical. I have a friend coming over Monday to help me start getting the baby room organized. With 9 1/2 weeks to go I definitely need to get that together ASAP, so I am very grateful for her help. Other than our weekly Bible study on Wednesday, it should be a fairly low key week!

Monday - Barley Burgers, steamed veggies

Tuesday - Roast Chicken (a la Jeff)

Wednesday - California Salad (with Chicken left over from the roast)

Thursday - Spaghetti & Steamed Veggies

Friday - Pizza (with homemade whole wheat crust!)

Saturday - Pork Tenderloin (a la Jeff, again)

Sunday - Breakfast for Dinner

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday! See Org Junkie for more great menus :)

Menu Plan August 2 - High on the Hog

2010-08-02T12:58:00.000-04:00

The menu for this week is a bit pork-heavy, because the pigs my brother has been raising (We split one with another family, and his family split one with another family) have just come back from the butcher. I am a little sad because I was hoping to get some lard out of the deal, but no such luck. They had to butcher the pigs early because a neighbor informed the Marshall that *someone* was keeping pigs closer to their house than 900 feet (a county ordinance my brother was unaware of). They gave us 30 days before mandating the execution, but still there was really only enough lard to make the sausage. Bummer.

Anyway, we have some other interesting happenings this week; namely the fact that tonight is our family birthday celebration for July (yours truly, on the 20th) and August, as well as a welcome home party for my brother in law who just returned from Iraq. The birthday person's family does the cooking...and since dh baketh not, and little unborn Joshua cannot do much in the kitchen yet, it meant I threw together a lasagna (yesterday, to bake today) and an ahhhhhmazing chocolate cake. This is seriously an incredible whole wheat cake recipe. I think the secret lies in using melted bakers' chocolate instead of cocoa, as well as almost all of the leavening ingredients being liquid. You get a cake that is moist and delicious! I doubled the recipe and made layers, and since dh is not as chocolate obsessed as I, I'm throwing a white chocolate ganache between the layers instead of the dark chocolate ganache I'll be using to top it. Just wanted to throw in a little variation to make him happy since the other cake will be an ice cream cake and dh cannot have too much pasteurized dairy without getting sick. We will have 2 Italian lasagnas and one Brazilian Lasagna (courtesy of my sis), so I'm pretty sure my lunches at work this week will consist of leftovers of our own lasagna.

OK, so that is the info on the week; without further ado, our menu plan:

Monday: Lasagna (Other family members are making the freshly milled whole wheat bread, and the salad). Decadent Chocolate Cake.

Tuesday: Quinoa Risotto (using leftovers from the freezer because it is my late night at work) and sauteed squash.

Wednesday: Salad with grilled chicken

Thursday: Pork steak (this is actually from the freezer...needed to use it up before we get to our new pork reserves) w/mashed sweet potatoes and steamed veggies.

Friday: Leftovers (another late night)

Saturday: Pork Roast w/ Potatoes (from our garden!!) & Carrots (organic from the store...ours do not seem to be ready yet)

Sunday: Leftovers (there is always more than enough roast)

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday @ Org Junkie! Visit for more great menus.

Menu Plan Monday - Writing it down

2010-07-26T19:25:00.000-04:00

So, I have been regularly menu planning for the last several weeks, but finding the time to blog about it has been harder than I thought. My time has instead been focused on reclaiming my house from the few months of pregnancy exhaustion. I am not feeling too badly about neglecting the blogging world, though, because I feel like I finally got a great system in place.

I started with the kitchen, and just committed to learning to clean as I go from here on out (I have always been the "dive in and clean up afterward" type). All this time I thought taking the time to clean while I was doing things would take longer, and it turns out that I actually get more done in a shorter amount of time. How taking the time to do an extra step gives me more time, I will never be able to figure out, but I am certainly glad it does. So the idea was to just commit to maintaining the kitchen, and then the next weekend tackle a different room. So during the week I am only really worrying about the rooms I have already overhauled, and then on the weekends I add a new area to the list. I am only a few weeks in, but so far it seems to be working really well, and I have still had the time to relax and enjoy a bit of the evening with dh most days.

That said, I have decided it was time to get back on the menu planning wagon.

Monday - Tonight we had breakfast for dinner. Yummy french toast (made with pastured eggs and raw milk, of course) and venison sausage, with some fresh mango on the side. The syrup was a simple syrup I made w/sucanat (2 c. sucanat to 1 c. water), mixed with some leftover freshly mashed berries from my freezer jam experiment. Very easy fruity syrup.

Tuesday - Fried Chicken (dredged in pastured eggs and freshly milled whole wheat flour), garden-fresh corn on the cob, rice

Wednesday - Black beans & rice w/Chicken (in a homemade enchilada sauce)

Thursday - Beef & Barley Burgers

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Chicken marinated in olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs, pasta alfredo (homemade spinach tomato alfredo sauce), steamed garden fresh green beans

Sunday - Leftovers

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie. Stop by for more great menus :)

Menu Plan Monday June 21

2010-06-20T14:49:00.003-04:00

I was pleasantly surprised, this week, to find out that my mother and my sister will be coming to town this next weekend. As a result, we are only planning for half a week, this week. They will be in town late Thursday night, so we are planning Monday through Thursday. I have two other siblings who live in town, and between the three of us we will certainly each have a hand in providing meals between Friday night and Sunday night, but none of us have really planned all too much what this weekend will look like yet. We will probably end up doing something kind of potluck-ish.

The pork chops on previous menu plans keep getting pushed off and out of the way for other things. Not that we dislike them, but things keep coming up. Today, for example, is Father's Day, and my dear husband (who is already such an incredible father and our little Joshua is still 4 months away from joining the party) really wanted to roast one of our chickens today. He worked very hard this week at getting our meat birds out of the coop and into the freezer, so instead of pork chops we're having a delicious roast chicken, stuffed with a mix of apples, oranges, celery, garlic, honey, and a little white wine. So the pork chops are kicking off this next week, instead.

Monday - Pork Chops, Summer Squash Sautee, Multigrain Rolls

Tuesday - Breakfast for Dinner (whole wheat pancakes, eggs, bacon)

Wednesday - Chicken & Biscuits (with homemade whole wheat biscuits & leftover chicken from Sunday)

Thursday - Hot Dogs (Nitrate & MSG Free) w/whole wheat buns, steamed veggies

And that is our (short) week!

More Iron-Rich Menu Planning

2010-06-13T10:57:00.004-04:00

So last week dh had the dreaded summer sinus bug that has been going around in our community, and he had no clue what he wanted to eat. Add to that the fact that during this pregnancy I have almost never known what I want to eat ahead of time; and you get a complete lack of a menu plan last week. Ah, well. At least I got started the week before, after far too long of an absence.

This week, though, I have some things I need to try. My ever wonderful and completely amazing managed to score some grass-finished liver from our local dairy guy...woohoo! I know that I need to try to get more iron in my diet; and I know that traditional foods like organ meats are ridiculously good for you, now I just needed to find a recipe I thought I might like. At some point I would love to try Kelly the Kitchen Kop's recipe as an appetizer for an event or something; however since my goal is loading up on iron and there is so much cheese in her recipe (read about why you should not combine dairy and iron rich foods during pregnancy), I figured it would be better to leave off on that for now. It looks delicious, though, and I can't wait to try it out sometime!

So, without further ado, this week's menu plan. I am pretty excited about it.

Monday - Calves Liver with Sherry (We're actually using just normal beef liver from grass-finished cattle)

Tuesday - Pecan Breaded Chicken Breast (This is not an iron rich recipe, this is a calcium rich recipe, but my growing baby needs that, too!) NOTE: We are not using the butter/veggie oil combo recommended here, we are using all butter instead.

Wednesday - Serbian Ground Beef Veggie & Potato Bake (I think we're going to be subbing in Sweet Potatoes instead. They are iron-rich, much tastier, and much healthier than plain ol' potatoes)

Thursday - Smoked Sausage Fritatta (We are subbing in some venison sausage in its place. It doesn't get any more "free range & grass finished" than that, right?)

Friday - French Bread Pizzas (my late night at work, so it is a low key dinner. We are going to use homemade, fresh mozzarella from real milk that I'll make on Wednesday.)

Saturday - Huo Guo (This is Chinese for hot-pot. I know it is not really soup season anymore, but I've been learning a bit about Asian cooking because I have learned that I really miss Chinese food, and the only way to really get it MSG free is to make it at home with Tamari instead of regular soy sauce. I'll be using my homemade chicken stock as the soup base.) The recipe for this can vary from time to time, but this time we will be using thinly sliced beef, perhaps some chicken (also thinly sliced so it cooks well in the broth), Chinese broccoli (aka kailaan), carrots, taro, green onions, and whatever other veggies we can think of at the time, as well as rice noodles, and dried shiitake mushrooms.

Sunday - Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Steamed Vegetables (This is a carryover from the other week, dh got sick and wanted soup, so we ditched the pork chops)

And that is that! This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie. Visit her for more great menus!

Menu Plan Monday May 31

2010-05-31T14:35:00.003-04:00

Well, pregnancy exhaustion and food aversions have kept me from menu planning for most of my pregnancy to date, but I am finally back at it. Why? Well my midwife took one look at me the other day and said, "You look really pale. Are you getting enough iron?" A quick peek behind my lower eyelids confirmed her suspicion. "You need more iron."

It is not so hard to get more iron, is it? Well, I learned from my midwife that calcium binds with iron and pulls it out of your body, so that iron-fortified Ovaltine I've been chugging is absolutely useless. Putting calcium-fortified cheese on my burger, again, useless. So realizing that I need to plan more which foods go with which, I decided it was time to put an end to this pregnancy-induced laziness and get back on the meal planning track. Without further ado...

Except for today, I'll include Breakfast & Lunch, I have yogurts and such as snacks throughout the day as well; since I'm needing to keep calories up as well as needing a calcium boost.

Monday - Beef & Barley Burgers

Tuesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/Bananas and Honey
Lunch: Ravioli
Dinner: "Ken's Scallops" & Non-Dairy Quinoa Risotto (The recipe is actually "Vegan," but we're using chicken stock instead of vegetable broth. My interest was not in something meat-free so much as in having iron-rich quinoa with no dairy to steal the iron)

Wednesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/banana and honey
Lunch: Dinner Leftovers
Dinner: Tacos w/grass finished beef, homemade guacamole

Thursday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Raisins and Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Out with friends

Friday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Bananas & Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: (My Late Night @ Work) Nitrate-free and MSG-Free hot dogs, Baked Sweet Potatoes

Saturday -
Breakfast: Pancakes, eggs, bacon
Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Homemade Chinese Dumplings (fried in Lard) We are using a fermented soy sauce called Tamari that is MSG Free.

Sunday -
Breakfast: Banana Muffins
Lunch: Leftovers from Dinner
Dinner: Pork chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Vegetables.

This is part of Menu Plan Monday. Find more great menus at Org Junkie.

Edit (Tues Evening): Because the scallops and the risotto are brand new recipes for me, I wanted to let you all know how incredible it turned out to be. So filling, so delicious; I highly recommend making either or both recipes. The only "problem" is that the risotto recipe has a much higher yield than I realized. We're freezing some, and we still have copious leftovers. If you have a big family, this is a great dish!

Real Food Wednesday - MSG-Free Taco Seasoning

2010-03-09T21:39:00.003-05:00

We make the food decisions we make for various reasons. For some it is health, for some it is cost, and for some it is taste. Although there are many good reasons - from a health point of view - there are myriad reasons to avoid MSG, I have the added incentive of being allergic (as many of you know). Since learning that - even when the name is different - most of the seasoning packets for making just about anything contain MSG, I've been striving to restock my collection of seasonings with good MSG-free options. No one wants life to be flavor less, and I am particularly un-fond of migraines and stomachaches, so something had to be done.

Before I get to this great recipe I stumbled upon, a few MSG-related facts.

Aside from MSG, you may see it listed on an ingredient label as autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, sodium caseinate, or the ever ambiguous, "natural seasoning." The way they made it may vary, but the end result is just the same.

Aside from allergy, some other reasons to avoid MSG are that it is known to assist in weight gain (and, really, who wants help with that?), and has also been shown to exacerbate conditions such as lesions on the brain.

Alright, so that is the real deal about MSG and why it should be avoided at all costs. Now here is the recipe.

What we do differently: We do not add onion powder or garlic powder. Instead, when we cook the ground beef (preferably grass finished), we saute freshly minced garlic and onions along with it. We feel like it is much better flavor, and of course you get the health benefits of onion and garlic that simply are not present in the powdered form.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. Visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!

Real Food Wednesday - Great News (and a Great Giveaway)

2010-03-03T20:45:00.004-05:00

OK, so last week I posted about the whole weight loss endeavor, and I failed to mention (intentionally, actually) that part of the other reason that I am very satisfied with slow weight loss is...

We are pregnant!!!!!

We were waiting until we saw the little one on screen to say anything. And at this point, while I realize I am still only 20% of the way to my weight loss goal, I'm giving up on having any kind of focus on it. Still going to be eating well, still going to be using my treadmill desk, and hopefully anything unnecessary will slip away while I retain what I need for Baby, but no weight loss focus anymore.

Eating right for Baby

DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for brain development in children. Naturally, this speaks to a need for moms-to-be (and those trying to conceive) to get a lot of DHA in their system. How do you do this?

One great source of DHA that is also an amazing source of Vitamins A & D is fermented cod liver oil (fclo). I have used fclo because omega-3s are also great for persons with ADHD, and can attest that it was a huge benefit to my health and to my focus as well, not to mention that Vitamin D helps prevent just about every type of cancer, because it is essential for cell regulation (cancer = growth of abnormal cells, so that makes sense). So, even if you are not pregnant, there are plenty of good reasons to start taking fclo.

Energized by returning home from my trip to the doctor's office, clutching the ultrasound picture of my still minuscule baby, I was thrilled to see that Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting a giveaway on her site for FCLO!! Of course I already take it, but being stocked up throughout my pregnancy is a priority for me, and it an be expensive. Though it seems that, health wise, it could more expensive to go with out it.

If you're at all interested in trying cod liver oil, you should definitely head over to the giveaway and check it out!

Other Ways to Get DHA

Other foods you can eat that are high in omega-3 oils in general - including DHA - are eggs, certain fish, and flax oil supplements (not as high as fclo but still a good source). The eggs should be from pastured hens, because chickens that are able to eat grass and protein-rich insects are the healthiest chickens, and healthy chickens lay healthy eggs. Good omega-3 rich fish include salmon, cod, and tuna. If you are pregnant, you should not eat these fish more than 2-3 times a week (largely because of mercury levels), and there are certain types of fish you should not eat. Talk to your health care practitioner, be it midwife, doctor, or other. If you want to take flax oil, and you prefer to take the liquid to capsules, do not cook the liquid, as heat is likely to make the oil go rancid, and even create free radicals that are very harmful to your system.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave. Check out the other great posts here.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-03-01T21:06:00.003-05:00

Okay, I know everyone is saying this, but is it really March already??? I know February is the shortest month and all, but where on earth did it go? On Saturday I am hosting a friend's baby shower in my home (my friend asked me to help her plan it, along with another friend, and of the three of us I have the largest home - which, sadly, isn't very big - so we're having it here). I am very excited about it, but I cannot believe it is in 5 days! I have so much to do to prepare!!!

I had been asking the guy we get real milk from if he had any cream available, and he's always telling me no. So I have been frustrated because the only options nearby are "ultra pasteurized" cream, and I know that is not optimal. Well, apparently I just needed to send my husband. Jeff went out to pick up the milk this time, drove up in his ginormous truck and talked farm animals for a moment. Asked him if he ever just skimmed cream for anyone and now he'll have 2 gallons for us on Friday. I know that seems like a lot, but I'm hoping to experiment in making cultured butter, and freezing some. As well as keeping some on hand to make sour cream and such. soooo excited about that!!

OK, so on to the menu plan:

Monday - Stroganoff with Venison cubed steak, steamed veggies.

Tuesday - Wild caught cod. We're actually doing our version of fish n chips in our continuing to learn about frying with lard. Instead of normal "chips" we'll be doing Sweet Potato Fries.

Wednesday - Pizza! Great whole wheat crust recipe I got from Passionate Homemaking.

Thursday - Chicken & Biscuits

Friday - Stirfry (a la Jeff), with MSG-free organic Tamari. mmmmm.

Saturday - Beef & Barley Burgers with grass finished beef. A low key meal for a busy day!!

Sunday - Pork Roast (also a la Jeff. He loves his roasts).

For Saturday's shower I am making my classic guacamole, as well as getting a fruit tray with a yogurt dip (I will admit, I cannot get enough of them), making coffee punch (not a health food, but so yummy. Decaf for the mommy-to-be), and I think that's it. I cannot post the recipe for the coffee punch, sadly, but my recipe for my easy and awesome guac is as follows:

5-6 Avocados - very ripe but not overly mushy
1/4 of an average sized onion
1 tomato
3-4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste
fresh chopped cilantro (to taste)
Juice of half a lime
(optional) 3-4 small chili peppers (I generally leave this out because it is a little too spicy for me)

Chop avocados, onion, tomato, garlic in a bowl. Juice lime, add cilantro, salt, pepper, and chili peppers. Blend with a fork until mashed, but avocados are still chunky. This almost ends up more like an avocado salsa than a standard smooth guacamole.

This has been a part of Menu Plan Monday. See more great menu plans at Org Junkie.

Last Minute Edit: Wanted to share a picture of my incredibly delicious pizza! Chicken, spinach, and mushroom.

Losing Weight With Real Food (and regular exercise)

2010-02-23T21:39:00.003-05:00

Through a series of events beginning with when I got married, I gained about 20 lbs over the last year and a half. Definitely nothing to qualify me for The Biggest Loser or anything, but certainly enough to shock yours truly - who formerly belonged to the club entitled, "I can eat anything I want and still lose weight. In fact, when I overeat, I somehow lose weight."

Before getting to weight loss, we should address what caused the gain:

1) I am not in college anymore. By this I mean, instead of a fresh faced 19 years old with a metabolism that resembled a speeding bullet, to being 27 years old, very near to the "big 3-0." Not a huge factor, I don't personally think, since none of my family members seemed to gain weight until they were having children, and I have yet to experience that.

2) Birth control. When dh and I first got married I went on The Patch. I figured it was the best means of birth control that would also be reliable. I was wrong. While on the birth control, I gained about 15 pounds. Then I gained 5 more when I got off the birth control. I learned that this is because women and their fat retention are directly related to estrogen production. An excess in estrogen means your body will "collect" fat. A sudden drop in estrogen such as what happens when you get off birth control causes your body to automatically "cling" to that fat, in case you run out of estrogen. So getting on and then off of birth control caused issues there.

3) Depression eating. When we had been off the patch 4 months, we started trying to start a family. We got pregnant pretty much right away, and because that whole time I had been exercising and trying to eat in ways that were better for fertility, I actually lost 6 of those 20 lbs in 6 weeks on my treadmill desk. Losing the baby a month later, though, I gained all 6 of those lbs plus 4 back because I could not stop eating. I have struggled for a long time with overeating in the past (of course, it really never affected my weight. Somehow back then I ate with supposed impunity).

OK, so now on to what I've done to lose weight, and what it has to do with Real Food:

First of all, I cannot neglect the important factor of exercise. As I briefly mentioned above, I work on a treadmill desk. I walk at a slow pace (1-2 miles an hour) for the majority of my work day, Monday-Friday. This averages about 8-10 miles a day. This has definitely played a part in my weight loss, but it is important to note that I was on this same treadmill desk while I was stuffing my face over depression in the winter, so the treadmill desk alone is not enough.

When the new year began, I new I needed to take drastic action. I wanted to get down to a reasonable weight before we got pregnant again. I had just watched the documentary Fat Head with my husband, and we decided we needed a lot more protein in our lives. Particularly because I had been hypoglycemic in the past (though our use of sucanat instead of sugar, as well as our switching to real milk, both seem to have played a role in balancing my sugar), I thought it was important to try and implement some of these things.

Protein Based Snacks.

Usually I bring granola (complex carbs and some protein) to work with me as a snack. I did an experiment for a few weeks (which I have sense tempered as I will describe). I only brought hard boiled eggs and mozzarella cheese with me for my snacks. Lunches were salads with chicken. I felt so full during those days, and had ridiculous amounts of energies, but I had to work hard to get up to 1600 calories. Amazing. Who knew low calorie could be so satisfying, and so easy??

I tempered it a little bit for the sake of avoiding monotony. I do also bring my homemade granola for one of the snack items. We have started eating eggs and /or bacon many mornings for breakfast. Recently I switched even that up to full-fat yogurt, a hard boiled egg, and granola with real milk.

I am eating full fat of real fats, fewer carbs (but not eliminating them entirely). When I do eat any grains or other carbs, I try to combine so that I am eating them with high protein foods. We have switched to frying our fried foods in pork lard.

These are all things that the mainstream food media tells us will make us fat, and what are the results?

I have lost 4 lbs in six weeks. It does not sound like much, I know, but it has been consistently down. On the treadmill desk before, I lost an average of a pound a week, which is exactly what the average is for work-walkers. based on my weighing in, it took me about 3 weeks to lose the first pound. That is, I think, partly because while I was implementing the new eating habits, I wasn't exactly doing away with the junk food I had grown so accustomed to while I was depression-eating post-miscarriage. Took me a few weeks to wean myself off of the chocolate. Regular weighing showed, though, that I was at least not gaining any more. Then, when the weight started to come off, it came off consistently at about 1 lb per week, just like before.

I will certainly keep periodic updates on the progress, but I am thrilled that I have already lost almost half of what I gained in the winter, and exactly 20% of what I gained overall. And I am not feeling deprived. I am not craving anything because I am feeling satisfied. This is a "diet" I can live with and not yo-yo on. And - in addition to slowly but surely losing the weight I gained - I feel amazing. More protein has meant more energy for me, and who couldn't use more of that?

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!

Menu Plan Monday - Enjoying an Easy Week

2010-02-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!!

My family has been in town since late Thursday night. My parents traveled down from the Adirondacks to see my sibs and I, and their many many grandchildren. Friday night of last week through this Tuesday, dinners have been at my brother's house because it has the most room for everyone. We've all taken turns providing meals, but it has mostly been my sister and my sister in law, which has been a total blessing, because I've been pretty sick this week. The nasty head cold that was going around moved in, and then switched up it's game and became a chest cold. YUCK! Anyway, this week's meals do not actually start until Wednesday for us.

Wednesday - Chicken Soup (from homemade Stock) to try and chase away the last of this cold.
To Do - change out kombucha

Thursday - Homemade Hummus, Naan, and Tabouleh

Friday - (My Late Night @ Work) Dinner out

Saturday - Chicken Breast sauteed in garlic and onions, steamed veggies, Rice

Sunday - Pan Broiled Venison Steaks, Sweet Potato fries (fried in Lard), steamed veggies

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday. See other great posts at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday - New Real Food Baby Steps!

2010-02-14T16:35:00.006-05:00

Before the menu plan, Valentine's Day weekend:

For the weekend, dh and I took our usual Valentine's Day trip to Greenville for the Winter Jam concert (because we like to pretend we're still in college sometimes, haha). It was a great concert, with Third Day headlining. I have loved their music for eons, but I have never actually seen them live (which, I believe, is shameful). I am not saying that any of the other artists were insincere, but I have got to say that the sincerity and genuine heart that the guys in Third Day have for the Lord and for ministry is so apparent in what they do and how they interact with the people while on stage. The other bands that were there included a new kid to the scene - Robert Pierre - who is only about 17. I will simply say he could learn a lot from Third Day, but he is quite young yet so there is plenty of time for that. Also joining the line up was an Aussie band called Revive, who I had never heard before but really enjoyed, and Sidewalk Prophets who I had also never heard, but quite enjoyed. Everyone else I was quite familiar with: Fireflight, Tenth Avenue North, Newsong, and Newsboys. Having grown up listening to the Newsboys, it was very strange to see them with only one Aussie member (Duncan) and fronted by Michael Tait (formerly of dc Talk), but it looked like they were having a lot of fun together, and the music was fantastic. That is part of my V-day present from dh every year since we started dating (we are on year 3 of Winter Jam).

The other exiting thing about going to Greenville is Whole Foods. Now, I understand that not everything for sale at WF is actually healthy, and I am disheartened to hear from Kelly the Kitchen Kop that they are adopting a new marketing strategy and implementing new literature that is going to promote a vegetarian-focused, low fat, "heart healthy" diet that veers away from the real food focus they had previously seemed to espouse. However, here in our tiny town we have no source for good, inexpensive, grass finished beef and free range poultry products, like we can get at Whole Foods in Greenville. Sadly, nearly all the chicken farms in our area are owned by Field dale or Tyson, and they are the deplorable - low, long, and dark- chicken houses you might have seen in Food Inc. So, even though I had just heard of the sad news on Whole Foods, I was more than happy to go and stock up on the meats I needed. And I got a pleasant surprise I had never seen there before - Lard! Pork lard in the refrigerated section from local pits. Lard that did not have to be "shelf stabilized" with tons of hydrogenated oils. A small pail was less than $5, and so I figured it would be a great way to begin cooking/frying with lard, and see how we like it. I could hardly contain my excitement, because even though we have begun using butter more, we had not had the opportunity to try lard or tallow yet for our favorite sweet potato fries or for onion rings. So....this week will include beer battered onion rings with grass-finished bone-in beef shank! Cannot wait to try it.

I do have to say, though, we did get some funny looks from people who heard we wanted to buy red meat and fry things with lard. Their new agenda is obviously setting in already.

On to the menu plan:
Monday - Chicken Soup with Barley
To Do: Sunday night, make stock. Monday morning, soak Barley

Tuesday - Chicken and biscuits (made with fresh chicken stock and meat leftover yummy free range chicken)

Wednesday - Beer Battered Onion Rings (ala the Kitchen Kop's recipe), Grass-finished Bone-in Beef Shank, Steamed Vegetables

Thursday - Taco night with Grass-Finished ground beef.

Friday - Family in Town - Dinner TBA

Saturday - Family in Town - Dinner TBA

Sunday - Family Birthday Party - Lasagna

Also, a question for anyone who might have an answer. I've never cooked with organ meats before, and these chickens we got from WF still have the gizzards and hearts, and I am curious what some good recipes/methods of cooking are. I've gotten a few ideas here already, but I'm wondering what other options there are. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

This is a part of Menu Plan Monday with Org Junkie. Fine more great meal plans there :)

2 Great Giveaways!!

2010-02-12T20:18:00.003-05:00

There are two amazing giveaways at Nourishing Days. Each does deserve their own paragraph:

The real way to clean up a dirty mouth is not Orbit, it is Miessence Organic Toothpaste. Fluoride free is just the beginning: Miessence is also alcohol, glycerin, and detergent free. The disinfecting agent is actually none other than.....Aloe Vera! Who knew?? Flavored (functionally) with antimicrobial peppermint, clove, and spearmint oils; your mouth will not taste medicinal after brushing anymore.

The next giveaway is a treasure for sure - free enrollment in a Traditional Foods e-course by Real Food Blogger Wardeh Harmon. The course costs $27 a month for 5 months, and covers subjects such as soaking and sprouting grains and beans, naturally pickling foods, making dairy kefir and water kefir, and more! The course is already a great value, but getting enrolled for free is even better!!

Check them out, it is definitely worth your while!

Real Food And Theology? Accept No Substitutes

2010-02-10T20:54:00.002-05:00

Also posted at Ezekiel's Valley.

I was pondering aloud with dh the other day; wondering why it is that The Food Police seem to think that they need to convince the world that the food God gave us will kill us. Then, just phrasing it like that, I had an epiphany.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden because they believed they might be like God, and all the time since then we have been trying to prove that we are autonomous beings, not created, but accidental: We decide that God did not create us, we evolved - as though it is some great feat we should pat ourselves on the back for. "Hey, look at us! We single-handedly turned ourselves from a single celled organism into a walking talking human being!" We don't need to worship our creator, we can create gods for ourselves and worship them. It began with food (eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil), why would it not continue with food?

After all, we were created in God's image. God is a creator, and we long to create. You can see that in the fact that we love to build, to create art, to have children. The problem is not with our desire to create. God put that desire in us. The problem is that sin in us distorts that desire. Our desire to create mutates into a desire to create better than God does. It evolves into a desire to be solely independent of our Creator, left to only create and control.

So we see the food that God gave to us in nature, and we try to do one better. God said, "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. " We take corn and turn it into hydrogenated corn oil and high fructose corn syrup. We inject cows, chickens, and pigs full of chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones so that they grow faster, bigger, and "better." We spray poisonous chemicals to protect fruit from bugs, and so poison the honey that is a healthier, natural sweetener with natural healing and soothing properties. We take what is natural, what God gave us; and we twist it like sin nature twists us. And we have inexplicably rising rates of cancer, heart disease, genetic mutations (not the cool comic book kind, but the real and painful kind); just like the persistence of sin in humanity leads to social cancers like envy, theft, murder, and adultery.

We did not start eating real food for theological reasons. We learned through research and the pursuit of healthy living that meat, butter, cheese, whole grains, and vegetables were better than rancid oils, sugar, refined flour, and MSG. And when we found out how much better, we could not figure out why people keep pushing the fake junk down our throats. "Meet the Buttertons" commercials tell you that margarine is better than butter, without telling you that indigenous tribal peoples all over the world who have high amounts of butterfat in their diet have straight teeth, healthy skin, and practically no incidence of heart disease. I do not know about anyone else, but I have dealt with the pain of braces, and my kids are going to have straight teeth if I can help it.

It boils down to trust. There are foods that God told us were good for us. Do we trust Him? Would God tell you to include something in your diet that was going to give you heart disease or cancer? The thing is, in our humanity, we take what God gives and we try to go further. We think that saturated fats being healthier than polyunsaturated fats means that we should mainline them. Honey was almost always known as a healing agent. Sweet and soothing, honey has antimicrobial properties that can help fight infection, settle the tummy, and soothe the throat. So what does wisdom (a.k.a. common sense) tell us about honey? "If you find honey, eatjust enough-- too much of it, and you will vomit ." Honey is one of the things God said the Israelites would find in the Promised Land. Honey is not a bad thing. Overindulgence, though, makes you sick.

We may have started eating real food for different reasons, but we keep eating real foods because we trust that what God has for us is the very best we can get. We do not want the world's imitation food, just like we do not want their imitation love, their imitation success, imitation pleasure, and imitation life. Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I want life. I want a full life. I want to trust God's best for me.

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying that NOT eating real food is heretical, NOR am I saying that eating real food makes anyone more righteous than anyone else. This is SIMPLY an interesting look into the reasons why it may be so hard for scientists to accept that real food is better. Aside from pharmaceutical company payoffs.

This is a part of Real Food Wednesday!

Valentines Week Menu Plan

2010-02-08T20:09:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!!

Last week had some switches: Jeff was sick on Santa Fe Soup night, so we did breakfast for dinner instead (nothing like scrambled eggs and toast when you're not feeling well!). Also, tax refund = night out, we went to our favorite little Haitian restaurant here in town. I had the Oxtail with Fried Plantains....mmmmmm! We're "take two"ing the Santa Fe soup into Santa Fe Chicken (also a la Jeff as before).

Monday - Tilapia Sauteed in Butter w/Lemon & Lime Juice, brown rice and steamed green beans.

My recipe was pretty easy: Melt (copious amounts of) butter in a frying pan, add garlic, salt, and pepper to your preference (we like a lot of garlic in our house). Place thawed Tilapia fillets in the butter, squeeze the juice of one lime quarter and one lemon quarter over fillets. Turn fillets carefully (they get more fragile as they cook), and squeeze 1/4 lemon and lime over other side. I used a small skillet and so only cooked two at a time, so I would use half a lemon and lime (all together) for every 2 fillets being cooked.

Tuesday - Spaghetti, whole grain garlic bread

Wednesday - Breakfast for Dinner: Sweet Potato Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon

Thursday - Stirfry

Friday - Santa Fe Chicken

Saturday - In Greenville for Valentine's Day (Dinner out)

Sunday - Venison Steaks, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Veggies

For more great menu plans, visit Org Junkie!

Sorry I have not been posting here as much. I have started writing more devotional-themed blogs at Ezekiel's Valley (my other blog). Check those out!!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-02-01T22:58:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!

Date with dh tonight meant that my meal plan is up late...which is odd since I have had it planned since Saturday, but here it is:

Monday - "Beef" stroganoff w/ venison cubed steak & whole grain pasta

Tuesday - "Santa Fe Soup," This was Jeff's idea and so he's finding the recipe. I'm thinking it'll be something like black beans, chicken, corn, etc. I'll post a basic recipe after he makes it!

Wednesday - Home Group night (busy busy) so leftover stroganoff

Thursday - White Chili in the crock pot.

Friday - Chicken, Rice & Pinto Beans

Saturday - Homemade hummus & Naan, Tabouleh

Sunday - Leftovers Parade (hopefully some leftover hummus will be featured!)

For more great menu plans, visit Org Junkie!

Back to "Normal" Life

2010-01-30T20:07:00.002-05:00

Shortly after my New Year's Res / Menu Planning Post, things went kind of crazy here. DH had to return our rental car down 4 hours south of us where his mother lives, and then was gone for several days helping friends of ours paint their new house and get it ready for their move. Our friends have just moved to Kentucky, so when he helped with the painting he was out of state. I ate meals with other people (who likes cooking for one?) and spent time with friends I don't usually get time for; so there was no menu plan for that week.

The very next week we were out of town on business. I do not like to eat out all the time, and our suite did have a full kitchen, so we ate two or three meals at home, but I felt it was hardly enough to lay out a menu plan. And then this week as we returned from that trip we were so jet lagged and exhausted that we threw together simple meals or ate out.

Finally, we are back home, and getting settled in here, and I have laid out already the menu plan for this week (which I will post tomorrow).

As for the rest of my New Year's Resolutions:
1) I have already lost 3 lbs since the beginning of the new year (about a pound a week). I may post a bit more about how I have been doing that for Real Food Wednesday.
2) I have spent time getting things reorganized in the time Jeff was gone two weeks ago. However, things got a bit disorganized in our packing for / returning from my business trip. I'm hitting things all over again starting tomorrow.

3) and the most important one...

I have been thoroughly enjoying my time in the word, making time for Scripture reading in my daily life. I am currently reading through the One Year Bible, but I am finding that - when I have completed the chapters for the day - I want to read more. That kind of hunger for the Word (instead of internal pressure to do "what I should") is an amazing blessing. God has been teaching me a lot as I have been learning to give Him my time.

The reading, paired with a desire to exercise in the giftings God has given me, led to my creating another blog linked to this one. Ezekiel's Valley is where I am writing about whatever things God lays on my heart, whether from Scripture reading from that day or hearing a sermon, or anything else along those lines. Check in, I will be writing frequently.

Menu Planning in the New Year!

2010-01-04T20:59:00.002-05:00

It's Menu Plan Monday, and of course this is rather late in going up, but hey...at least it is still Monday :) As noted in previous posts, the closeout of our year was hectic, emotional, crazy busy, frenzied, and bittersweet. But even though all of this newly learned "organization" went out the window, there were definitely good things, too.

Somehow, every single Advent devotional we did tied in directly with what is going on in our hearts and minds as we grapple with grief, feelings, and faith post-miscarriage, post-layoff, and - even more recently - post car accident. That was amazing. To think that devotionals about prophets, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, angels, and the like would all hit some important nerve (and I do mean all) is just astounding. Christians today often talk about how to make the Gospel more accessible, more relevant to people's every day lives, how to tie it all in. Well I can tell you that grieving from the loss of our first child and reeling from an unexpected layoff, something in the Christmas story met me right where I was. Our devotional was not, "Advent Devotions for Recently Bereaved Families," and the writer did not try to manipulate the prayers included to fit our circumstances. But the Word of the Lord did not return void, and even though I cannot tell you what in the story spoke to me, I can tell you that I cried nearly every evening as the Word laid bare the broken pieces of my heart and poured out His grace on it.

I am truly grateful that - even though I could have done so much more to dive into His presence in this time - God took the time to use a familiar (and because of that often discounted) story to minister His grace and mercy to us.

I do have some "resolutions" as I move into the New Year. We'll go from most shallow to least shallow:
1) Lose about 20 lbs (unless, of course, we find ourselves pregnant again, which we hope to)
2) Be more consistent in getting to the gym in the mornings (which of course ties into the first)
3) Be more consistent in meal planning
4) Be more consistent (are we sensing a theme, here?) in housework
5) Be more consistent in daily time with the Lord.

Not so much a resolution, but definitely a goal: With the garden we'll be planting this spring, and opportunities to join in with others for certain other farmed food , I hope that we'll find ourselves GMO free well before 2011

Onto the meal plan:

Monday - Dinner with friends

Tuesday - Rice & Beans, Salad

Wednesday - Lime & Cilantro Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, Guacamole
Dessert: Epiphany cake! I'm going to just have a simple cake. All that makes it an Epiphany cake is a nut or a bean hidden in a piece for the "King for the Day" to find.

Thursday - Crockpot day - Venison Stew

Friday - Night out with my home-group ladies, potluck savory apps and desserts

Saturday - @ Jeff's mom's to pick up our new (to us) car!

Sunday - Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Crepes

I have family coming to town this week, so any of these meals are really subject to change if we all head over to my brothers, or all go out, or anything like that. But here is the bare bones plan. I am finding I need that to be able to stick with this more consistently.

Find other great Menu Plans at Org Junkie!

Closure and Moving Forward

2010-01-01T18:31:00.006-05:00

I have a confession to make: I let it all slip these last two months. All the careful menu planning I had so diligently been training myself to do, making our bread, keeping the house clean (which I'd finally managed to get into a routine about right when we lost the baby), and caring too much about all of the above.

Between the joy of being pregnant and the grief over the loss of our baby, dh losing his job, and then our car accident 2 weeks ago, I began to feel very battered, emotionally and spiritually speaking. I thought I was processing my grief, frustration, and fear; I thought I was striving to truly TRUST God to provide in the midst of all of this. I thought I was doing okay. But in reality, we were cruising along on autopilot. One look at the way I was keeping (or not keeping) our house, the way I was stuffing my face, and the way I was diving head-first into every diversion that presented itself to me would make pretty evident that what was actually going on was full scale running from our pain and circumstances. I knew that God was in the situation with us. I knew that He wanted to redeem our circumstances for our good, and - more importantly - for His glory. But I could not bring myself to let Him have it. I could feel the grace of God all around us, and I was grateful for that, but I have not been seeking to lean in closer, to rely solely upon that grace. I feel it is almost like I just hoped that grace would apply itself to my life while I ran like crazy from what we were feeling.

Our accident, though, was the straw that broke the camel's back. That, and several sermons on joy that were as infuriating as they were convicting and inspiring. So the accident...

I should start this by saying that I was praying for a new car for Christmas, and God answers prayer. The weekend before Christmas we were down visiting Jeff's mother to do Christmas with the family. We had brought our dog down, as well. We got to the house, unloaded the dog and said hello to everyone. Then we ran out for a last minute trip to Lowe's to pick up a gift card for Jeff's brother. On our way back, a vehicle in front of us played a rousing game of "Let's all stop at the green light," and my husband - excellent driver that he is - stopped and left plenty of room between us and the care in front of us. The 60 year old man driving the huge SUV behind us, though, was looking away from the road trying to dial his cell phone. He did not see us slow down, did not slow down himself, and rammed into the back of our little Sentra full speed. We sustained minimal muscular injuries (and spent our Christmas weekend with Jeff's family on muscle relaxants...a little bit dazed, to be sure).

We knew that we were in no way at fault in the accident, and that knowledge was a blessing, we knew that at some point the other driver's insurance would take care of everything. But, for me, the question was "when?" I was worried about the rental car. We had to head back to our place on Monday since Monday was the only day off I had scheduled and I did not want to use any more of my vacation time, and the cop said we would not be able to get a copy of the accident report until Tuesday. We really didn't have any extra money, and so I was worried about that. My parents and their church back home, though, were specifically praying that we could get the accident report early. Monday morning Jeff was able to obtain a copy, and we went off to secure the rental car knowing that we would not have to pay for it. It was at this point that my parents told me that someone from their church had given them some money, and they had added to it, so they were sending us a check for $150. At that point I felt a little guilty, because it didn't seem like we needed the extra...but we went to the rental place and found that - because we had liability and not collision - the extra insurance on the rental car was our responsibility, and it amounted to about $15/day. So the check from my parents covered 10 days of insurance on the rental car. All I could think about was the fact that God knows our needs before we ask Him, and He had sent that money before we even knew we needed it!

You would think I would have learned to trust God right then and there, but when that 10 days was up and we did not see any other sources of money coming to us, I got frantic and nearly had a meltdown over "How are we going to pay for this? Our budget is pretty much down to the last penny every single week!" I did, however, collect myself. And I called my mom and asked her to pray that God would help me trust Him. Jeff and I prayed, as well. The next day we received - three weeks earlier than expected - a check from Jeff's former employer for all of his stored up vacation pay. Praise the Lord, again. As if that was not good enough, the very next day Jeff got a call from State Farm (the other guy's insurance), and they gave us the settlement figure for my car. We still have to get a few things taken care of and sign over the title to get the check, but it was enough for us to authorize work on the car we will have (Jeff's brother said that if we could replace the clutch on a car he has been working on, he would give us the car), and get plans in place to go down and pick it up. God's timing is better than ours, every single time. Not at all during this time have we gone without something we needed. Not at all have we suffered anything more than sore muscles and the loss of my first car. God did not put circumstances before us that He would not walk us through.

Jeff and I spent a day together in Athens, GA; visiting their urban-esque downtown area. It was nice to walk around and spend the day together in a place that has actual coffee shops and boutiques, hippie stores and restaurants, and where the intended mode of transportation is actually your feet. Some of the things I miss about Boston I was able to find there, so that was really nice. More significant than that, though, was the time I had with Jeff at the Espresso Royale Cafe, where God made some things very clear to me...

As I was walking around and reminiscing about "old times," memories flooded to me about prophetic words spoken over me, the calling I know God has placed on my life, and why some of that had not yet come to be. I began to realize that I keep flipping back and forth in one significant way. I feel leading from the Holy Spirit, and my first move is to try and run ahead and figure out what God is doing. Then, catching myself in that, I retreat into full-scale "I refuse to move until God does the moving for me." Neither of those is really the patient obedience, the soft heart that quickens to the voice of its Master, listening well to discern His voice from the worlds. It is anxious running, or fearful "resting." I was either running ahead to try and figure it out and do it myself, or I was so terrified of that prospect that I refused to do anything until I was more than 1000% sure that it was absolutely God; not out of a realization that He is Sovereign, but out of fear that I would screw it up.

Micah 6:8 says "He has shown thee, o man, what is good and what the Lord requires of thee: but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." In these "still" periods where my heart is really so restless, I talk a lot about waiting until I hear from the Lord, but I do almost nothing to hear from Him, preferring instead that he knock me upside the head with whatever-it-is so there is no mistaking it. But where there is no quieting of the heart, no humble submission, there will be no revelation, and thus there will be no obedience.

I honestly cannot tell you what in our conversation prompted my heart to that revelation. That did hit me like a bolt out of the blue. But between my realization of that truth and my realization that I was not really pressing into God the way I need to be during this difficult season in our lives, I realized that something had to be done immediately.

I need to be spending time daily in the Word, instead of just reflecting on things I know to be true about God. Meditating on God's goodness and on truths about Him is good, but without daily intake of spiritual food (i.e. Scripture) and drink (prayer), those "ideas" are easily shelved when something difficult comes along. I need to be relying on God for the grace to keep my house clean, in the same way that I need to rely on His grace to deal with my grief over losing our baby. I need to hope in Him for the next child, and not just take my Vitex and "hope" with my fingers crossed. I need to make sure I get enough rest every night, so I can wake early to be in the Word. I need to be writing as often as I can, out of whatever I'm drawing from Scripture and whatever else God lays on my heart. Gifts that do not get used will atrophy. I cannot just sit here and hope that God writes a sermon, a blog, or a book with my name on it. I need to be willing to be used and to be in the position to be used.

And so, New Year's Day was spent beginning the long process of getting my house back in order. Just realizing that it was the biggest symptom of how "not okay" I have been, the decision to put my physical house back in order came with a wave of tears. Tears at realizing just what a very difficult two months we had just finished. Tears at realizing that I do still hurt over the loss of our baby, and that I was bewildered at the loss of Jeff's job, and that I was frightened over our accident and the loss of our car. I cannot plunge into this "reformation" of sorts in my own strength. I know anything I try apart from Christ will ultimately fail. And so I refuse to continue playing the part of Icarus, but I will soar in the heights on the wind of God's grace. For they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31).

Menu Plan Monday - Busy Busy Week

2009-12-14T20:27:00.003-05:00

We are starting a new plan in our household: Monday and Thursdays (some of our busiest days) will be crock pot days. This week, however, we are just doing Tuesday, because of other plans that make things interesting.

This evening I was supposed to do a gift exchange with a few coworkers, and have dinner with them at the new Caribbean restaurant in town (which I love....and which is completely MSG free!). One person had a death in the family, and another was with his wife all day at the hospital because it seemed their baby might come early. Because of this, we ended up canceling the dinner and planning to exchange gifts later. I did not find that out until I got to work today, so Jeff and I decided that since I took a couple of extra hours that needed covering (and so was working until 7 PM instead of 5) that we would just get dinner from Gaby's anyway.

Tomorrow night my family is getting together to some some of the Aunts and Uncles who are going out of town can give the kids their presents, but we are just meeting up for dessert. Wednesday night is home group as usual, so Thursday and Friday are our first free nights of the week, and also our last. Saturday we head downstate to a wedding, and then to Jeff's mom's house, to do Christmas with his family there. So the plan is to do leftovers Thurs and Friday so there is nothing too perishable in the fridge when we leave for downstate. So this is a crazy busy week...I'm not even entirely sure where the time for making new Bee Beautiful orders is going to come from. So we ate out tonight, we have two days of cooking meals, and two days of leftovers, and two days of travel.

Monday - Ate out at Gaby's Caribbean Cuisine (I so love their food!)
To Do: Start Water Kefir & Dairy Kefir
(Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Lunch: Venison Burgers)

Tuesday - Venison stew in the crock pot / multigrain rolls (just basic meat/potatoes/carrots kind of thing)
To Do: Change Dairy Kefir
(Breakfast: granola & banana, Lunch: Company Christmas Luncheon)

Wednesday - Wild Rice & Chicken Soup, multigrain rolls
To Do: change Dairy Kefir & Water Kefir
(Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie & Soaked Oatmeal)

Thursday - Leftover Stew
To Do: Change Dairy Kefir
(Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie & soaked Oatmeal)

Friday - Leftover Soup
To Do: Change Dairy Kefir & Water Kefir
(Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie & soaked oatmeal)

Saturday Morning Breakfast - Bacon, Eggs, Sweet Potato Pancakes
Lunch & Dinner on the road

Sunday - Meals with Jeff's family

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday! Find more great menu plans @ OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan Monday - Back into the swing of things

2009-11-29T22:26:00.004-05:00

This week brings us into my favorite time of the year - Advent. As I mentioned a while back, I found a free Advent devotional here, and the picture above is the Advent wreath I made last year. We began our devotionals together this evening, and especially in the middle of our recent loss, the encouragement to trust in God's promises was incredibly timely and poignant. I am looking forward to what our celebration of Advent speaks into our lives this Christmas Season.

OK, so, this week's menu plan:

Monday - Leftover Turkey Roll-Ups (brought back with us from Jeff's Mom :-D)

Tuesday - Venison Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Veggies
To Do: Soak Crust for Wednesday night Pizza

Wednesday - Pizza

Thursday - Chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, spinach (steamed)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Venison Burgers (With the Beef & Barley Burgers recipe)

Sunday - Breakfast for dinner (with Sweet Potato Pancakes!)

This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday! Find more great posts at Org Junkie!

News on the Bee Beautiful Front

2009-11-27T22:59:00.003-05:00

The Christmas season has begun, and already I have begun adding gift sets to Bee Beautiful. Small lavender gift sets are available now on Etsy and on ArtFire. I can already make the same sets in Eucalyptus Mint, but they have not been made and added to the site yet. Larger gift baskets will be added over the course of the next week.

Shipping options are automatically USPS Priority shipping, which is a 2 day lead time, so there is still plenty of time to order before Christmas!

Small Gift Baskets: These are $15 ea. and contain: 5 oz. Bath Snow,3-4 oz bar of soap (depends on shape) in a Christmas-themed shape, Soft & Sweet lip balm. These are available in Lavender or Eucalyptus Mint, contact me for custom orders.

Medium Gift Baskets: These are $25 ea. and contain: 7 oz. Bath Snow, 3-4 oz bar of soap in a Christmas themed shape, Soft & Sweet Lip Balm, and a 4 oz bottle of Touch of Silk Body Lotion. These are available in Lavender or Eucalyptus Mint, contact me for custom orders.

Large Gift Baskets: These are $40 ea. and contain 7 oz. Bath Snow, 3-4 oz bar of soap in a Christmas themed shape, Soft & Sweet Lip Balm, 4 oz bottle of Touch of Silk Body Lotion, and a 4 oz bottle of Lavender Bliss (Deodorant/Room Deodorizer/Linen Spray), and a scented Beeswax candle. These are available in Lavender or Eucalyptus Mint, contact me for custom orders.

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Lots of Turkey - Menu Plan for Thanksgiving Week

2009-11-22T00:46:00.005-05:00

I am so excited about this Thanksgiving! Partly because I know that Advent ensues immediately thereafter, and this year we have everything we need for Advent ahead of time, and our plan in order to walk through the rest of the liturgical year. The other part is that even though we have experienced sorrow in the last week, I am all too happy to be reminded of all that we have to be thankful for. Jeff and I walk together into this week, knowing that God is in control, that He loves us and has a plan for us, and that He is eager to redeem our heartbreaks to bring about His good and perfect will in our lives. We walk into this week knowing that those who sow in tears will reap in joy, and knowing that we have so much to be grateful for.

Lots of plans this week. The married students ministry at the college is having a dinner Monday evening. Jeff graduated last winter, but alum are welcome, too, and so we are planning on attending. Thursday is Thanksgiving Dinner with my brother and his family. It is always a crowded and wonderful event. I say crowded and wonderful because thanksgiving at my house was always busy. My mom made sure that anyone we knew who could not be with their family for the big day was with ours, and I have always loved it that way. My brother and sister in law, and her family (who is also down here) have done things the same way, so Thanksgiving with them reminds me of Thanksgiving back home in New York. Plus: Deep Fried Turkey. Yup, you heard me. Which will seem to contradict with the other reason I love Thanksgiving with them: Wheat. Most of my family down here are all freshly-milled wheat advocates. Actually, as I have mentioned before, it was living with Aaron and Jen that got me turned on to freshly milled wheat. Plus, some of our family has started using things like sucanat, so I worry less about eating with the family than I do about eating anywhere else that is not my home. Friday we head several hours south for Thanksgiving with Jeff's mom and brother. This year they are asking us to bring down several raw dairy products along with, so that we can make some of the favorite dairy dishes so Jeff can eat them, too.

Monday - Married Student Thanksgiving. Cranberry Sauce, Turkey
(We were just going to bring cranberry sauce and maybe a dessert, but our landlady gave us a turkey as a thank you for being good tenants. Since I also get a turkey at work, we figured we should just prepare this one for the MS Dinner)

Tuesday - Sauteed Chicken Breast, steamed veggies, honey wheat rolls

Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner (French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon)

Thursday - Thanksgiving Day - Bringing a turkey (for the fryer @ my brother's), maybe some cranberry relish, too.

Friday - @ Mom B's. We're all making turkey roll ups w/leftover turkey. We are bringing cheese (homemade mozz), and homemade sour cream.

Saturday - @ Mom B's, (to be determined)

Sunday - Coming back from downstate, dinner to be determined.

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday. Find more great posts at Org Junkie.

As Free Range As It Gets - Real Food Wednesday

2009-11-15T14:50:00.004-05:00

We eat a lot of chicken and occasionally eat some pork, due to the fact that dh seems very sensitive to commercial red meat and organic free range beef is hard to come by around here. We are saving up the money for a steer-share next year, and Jeff is hoping to get a couple deer this winter, but at the moment I was wondering how we could break up the monotony of chicken and pork in the next few weeks.

Enter a recent ladies' fellowship I attended. A woman whose husband has already gotten one deer, and is planning more hunting trips, came up to me saying, "Do you eat venison?" She told me that they had way more than they could handle and wanted me to take whatever we needed. Hoping that Jeff can get a deer in the next month, we picked up about 3 lbs of ground venison and 3 packages of steaks.

It does not get anymore free range than that. No hormones, no antibiotics, and of course not grain fed; this is exactly what we need. Anyone who has good recipes for ground venison or even favorite ways to cook up the steaks, feel free to comment with them. Personally, I am excited to see how our Beef and Barley Burgers turn out with venison instead!

I feel like the allergies and sensitivities are almost a blessing, sometimes. Because dh cannot drink pasteurized milk, we discovered raw milk. Since discovering raw milk, we've been able to keep dairy in our diet, and we have felt healthier and better nourished on the whole. Since he cannot have commercial red meat, either, we have discovered just how incredible free range, grass finished beef tastes! Because I am allergic to MSG, we are extra careful about what we consume and as a result, have more incentive to spend the extra time in the kitchen, and eat better foods, too! It is so much easier to make the healthier (though sometimes less convenient) choice when the options are so much clearer. Either we can be sick all the time, or we can eat the foods we do, and feel well. Not just "not sick," but actually nourished. And of course, once we started making some healthier choices, and started feeling so much better, the other areas of health and nutrition that we have not yet addressed start to feel much less intimidating!

Once again: Calling all commenters, tell me how you like your venison!! This is new territory for me (that I am pretty excited about).

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday. See more great Real Food Posts at Cheeseslave!

Grace in the Middle of Loss

2009-11-13T21:56:00.002-05:00

This will be brief because I really cannot say a lot right now.

Jeff and I lost our baby this morning. I woke up sick to my stomach and in a lot of pain with of course other symptoms that indicated what was happening. We went to the clinic, saw a nurse midwife there, had an uncomfortable ultrasound, and received devastating news from people who deal with this kind of thing every day. That was incredibly horrible. Difficult beyond words.

I called my mother and sobbed my eyes out with her on the phone. She recommended that I not spend the day alone, and so I called and spent the day with my friend Rachel and her children, including her 4 month old baby. Holding him was actually soooo soothing to me, I was grateful that she didn't turn me down for fear that seeing him would cause me pain. We went for a walk in the sunshine, and it felt good to have some "normal," moments in my day, interspersed with moments that I could cry. And Rachel made sure that I knew I could cry as much as I needed. Jeff had to work all day after that awful appointment, and I could not even imagine having to do so.

We are going to take time to grieve, rather than try again right away. We are surrounded by a loving church community. Every moment today I felt so grateful that Jeff and I did make the decision that we would share news of our pregnancy right away, because if it did end in miscarriage, it would allow our church to be the church in our lives, and be an instrument of grace that we cannot even comprehend (but we can feel.) I cannot imagine going through this right now if no one had known we were pregnant in the first place.

We are hurting, but we are aware of God's grace, mercy, and compassion in this very dark hour.

Menu Plan Monday - This Time Its For Real

2009-11-08T22:07:00.006-05:00

Last week was not a good week for sticking to the menu plan. Between not having certain ingredients for the Salsa Chicken soup (pregnancy brain?), home group being canceled, and just being really really tired, we barely did anything according to the plan. This week should be a lot different. I have everything I need for the week, and help from dh, too :) Also, I've geared it to still be healthful and good, but lower key. I definitely overestimated how much I can do when decent amounts of good sleep are still not enough.

Lunches this week will mostly be chicken salad, although tomorrow it will be leftover stroganoff that I made tonight. Monday night I'll be making Apple Butter, as well as putting the finishing touches on a custom order for Bee Beautiful (a friend's bridal party gifts). Soooooo excited about the Apple Butter, and about the custom order. Dinner Monday night, then, is the most low key of all. Tuesday Jeff is using the slow cooker (the most time-saving way to use your slow cooker is to let your husband do it, haha :-D )

Monday - Black Bean & Vegetable Soup (This one's actually not "homemade," but it is from Amy's Organics. I read the ingredients and was soooo pleased to find nothing even the slightest bit fake or junky in it, so I kept in on hand for a busy evening). We are adding chicken, as well.

Tuesday - Pork Roast in the slow cooker (dh's specialty)

Wednesday - Pizza! (With Lindsay's Pizza Crust recipe, my homemade full-fat mozzarella, and homemade sauce). Additional toppings to be determined later.

Thursday - Spinach, Bacon, & Feta muffins* at Book Club (once a month). My friend Cindy is making her incredible Wild Rice & Chicken Soup, and I'm providing the muffins! Jeff is having leftover "Low Country Boil" that he froze post-men's retreat (he and his group had a great time putting it together, and he got the leftovers).

Friday - Leftover Roast

Saturday - Baked Chicken with Apples and Barley**
To Do: AM - Soak Barley

Sunday - Chicken & Wild Rice Soup / Whole Grain Rolls

* Recipe Variances: For the muffins, I use freshly milled soft white wheat, and I soak the batter. Also, I use sucanat instead of sugar, and I use fresh spinach instead of frozen.
** Recipe Variance: I use hulled barley instead of pearl, because it is less processed.

This has been part of Menu Plan Monday. Find more great posts at org junkie!

Menu Plan Indecision

2009-11-02T20:17:00.002-05:00

I have been doing this on Sunday nights to post on Monday, but yesterday had some funny turns. Dh and I were going to take a short nap and then head out to run some errands. The nap ran long, and the errands ran long, so by the time we got home (much later in the night than anticipated), all I wanted was sleep. Anyway...I'm posting it tonight. But first...

My husband is a genius. We made that Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup last week, and then the next night he didn't end up going to the church dinner, so there were leftovers waiting when he got home from work, and he had an epiphany: Blender. Boiling off a little more of the broth and pouring the soup in the blender yielded the most incredible chip dip. Pure Genius! I ended up with quite the catch, didn't I?? Well, this Tuesday we're doing it again. We're having our once-a-month app/dessert fest at home group, and I couldn't think of anything to bring. Suddenly the idea hit me: I need to bring that dip!! So we're having the salsa chicken and black bean soup again on Tuesday, in order to bring the dip to home group on Wednesday. Dh loved it so much that I'm not worried about the close repeat.

Monday - Breakfast for dinner (Hurray!) (Jeff had Chinese leftovers, so I didn't have to worry about overdoing bfast for dinner, which I believe you never ever can do)

Tuesday - Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Wednesday - Appetizer fest at home group :)

Thursday - Pizza (out...charity Spelling Bee that my work place is participating in. I'm a word-nerd and I love spelling)

Friday - Chicken, Steamed Veggies, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Saturday - Chicken n Dumplings

Sunday - Spaghetti w/ Whole Grain noodles

This has been a part of Menu Plan Monday with Org Junkie. See more great menu plans here!

Giveaways Galore

2009-10-31T17:27:00.002-04:00

I love this week! 2 Giveaways in two days! There will soon be another post about yet another giveaway.

Keeper of the Home, a fantastic blog by a great budget-minded earthy crunchy christian woman, is hosting a giveaway that blows my mind.

The Excalibur Dehydrator.

A dehydrator with slide out trays, so you can even use it to rise (raise?) your bread dough. 9 trays, to be exact, so drying grain that I've sprouted for milling into flour is noooooo problem. You can do so many other things worth it, and it is quite an expensive find.

You can join in on the giveaway fun here (but don't spoil my chances, haha).

G-G-Giveaway @ Kitchen Kop

2009-10-30T19:31:00.003-04:00

Alright, it did not take much convincing for me to believe that saturated fat is better for you than unsaturated fat. All it took was some simple chemistry, and a little biology, too.

First the chemistry. Saturated fats have the strongest molecular bonds. Next on the list are monounsaturated fats, and then last (with the weakest bonds) are polyunsaturated fats.

When polyunsaturated fats like soy oil and corn oil are exposed to oxygen and heat, they are oxidized (amazing!), and many free radicals are created. Free radicals, rather than supporting health of the body, cause damage to cells. This is why vitamin and health care companies get excited about antioxidants (antioxidants repair and prevent damage caused by free radicals). Now, you may think, "OK, well I'll keep them in a dark cupboard and not heat them up beyond a certain temperature." Well, nice try.

Just to extract the oils, they have already been submitted to substantial amounts of heat and oxidative stress. When they become rancid (which is what this process inevitably results in), they are deodorized, and the American consumer is none the wiser.

Monounsaturated fats like olive oil are a better, but they cannot be used at extremely high temperatures and cannot be used for things like frying.

Saturated fats do not break down and become unstable with heat. Instead, their stronger molecular bonds keep them intact. That makes saturated fats like Beef Tallow, Lard, and Coconut Oil much healthier for cooking with than polyunsaturated oils.

OK, now onto the biology. There is a certain something at work here that I like to refer to as the "starvation principle." Women's health has a perfect example in the direct relationship between estrogen and body fat. Balanced hormones and balanced body fat go hand in hand, an imbalance of estrogen on the upside (too much), and your body starts collecting fat like bicentennial quarters. At the same time...too little estrogen and your body clings to fat. This is the instinct, in case of "starvation." The same thing happens with consuming fats. We, like other living creatures, have saturated fats in our bodies. Our bodies need saturated fats to survive. If we stop eating fat, our body works harder to hang on to fat, making fat harder to get rid of on the way to whole body health.

The best answer is to eat fats in moderation. Not to eat fats all day long, and not to cut them out. But where our foods have fat, they need to contain healthful fats.

Due to dh's coconut allergy, we pretty much use butter for cooking, and olive oil where we cannot use butter. I have been wanting to try beef tallow or pork lard, but ordering online is really expensive, and I do not have enough connections in local farming yet. There are not a lot of earthy crunchy Georgians on the world wide web, it seems. Some, for sure, but not a lot.

This is where one of my fav bloggers comes in. Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting a giveaway! A 5-gallon bucket of beef tallow is up for grabs, and I would love to win it. I love homemade doughnuts, sweet potatoe fries, fried bananas...and no one can convince me that the oils currently readily available for frying them in are better for me than tallow or lard.

So, rethink fats and oils this week. What are you putting into your body? What is good for you?

This post is a part of Fight Back Friday. Find more great posts at Food Renegade.

Further Reading:

Fats Cholesterols, Lipids

Weston A. Price Foundation

Stocking up for Winter

2009-10-28T16:20:00.004-04:00

So, it seems everyone is posting their chicken stock recipes this time of year, and I thought I would add my own to the mix, since it happens to be Real Food Wednesday, and I am making a pot of stock right now.

Either dh or I make stock every 1-2 months to have on hand for cooking. Well, the truth is that we had it on hand in case either one of us got sick. Shortly after we got married I learned that he did not have the greatest immune system. Jeff got sick at least once a month with colds, stomach bugs, whatever. Of course I would usually only get sick in the winter, but having asthma meant that my head cold - which always evolved into a chest cold - always turned into bronchitis, which I got approximately 2x a winter.

But, with Jeff sick more often, I was sick more often, too. We did make stock to cook with, but we were having to make it more frequently then (once a month), because if we used it for cooking with and to make chicken soup at the frequency with which we needed it, we ran out quickly.

Now, ever since switching to real milk we almost never get sick, but we still have use for chicken stock in our cooking, so we make a batch every 2 months or so now. Here is how we do it:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (minus the guts - I know, eloquent, right?)
half a bulb of garlic (probably 6-7 cloves) minced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large carrots
2 large stalks of celery
2 T apple cider vinegar (ACV)
Freshly chopped parsley
sea salt
ground black pepper

OK, first things first. Put the chicken in the pot. Make sure that it is a pot that can hold at least one gallon, though in my one gallon pot we could barely fit all the vegetables and the water, so we had to watch it closely and keep adding water to finally yield approximately one gallon of stock. So, a 2-3 gallon stock pot probably would work best. Add chopped vegetables, salt and pepper, and the ACV to the pot, and add plenty of water (cover the chicken to a depth of several inches).

Bring the pot to a boil, and turn the heat to low or med-low. allow to lightly boil for 12-18 hours (sometimes we've gone a whole 24, but more than that is overkill). In the last ten to twenty minutes, add a good amount of freshly chopped parsley.

Remove the chicken from the stock into a bowl, where you can remove the bones and the skin to the garbage (or whatever means of disposal you prefer). Some of the meat we use right away for soup, the rest I freeze to use later (as chicken salad, chicken and biscuits, and what not). Pour the stock (through a colander) into another pot, discard the (now well overcooked) vegetables.

I pour the broth into jars to freeze, except what I'm using to make that batch of soup. When a recipe calls for "broth," I use this stock in a 1:1 ratio. If it calls for concentrated broth or stock, I use it straight.

Why is Chicken Stock good for "what ails you?"

Alright, so at this point in our adult lives, many of us have chalked "Chicken soup will heal you" up with the other "old wives' tales." Well, some of those tales are true! (Actually, did you know the phrase "old wives' tale" came about when hospitals were trying to discredit midwives and convince women to labor in hospitals, instead? So, a lot of these natural remedies are held and taught by midwives, but that does not make them false. Alright, tangent over, back to the rest of the post!)

Chicken stock has many healing attributes, though some of them we add to it. Garlic, for instance, is an antimicrobial. This is why plenty of garlic goes into my stock. I have some friends who had a class project in biology. They took some buckets and grew "sludge" in them (basically a bacterial free-for-all. Using droppers, they put a certain amount of their sludge on two microscope slides. One one slide they also put a tiny drop of penicillin, and on the other they put a very tiny piece of garlic. The garlic killed the bacteria as quickly as the penicillin!

Another benefit of stock made with vinegar is that the vinegar draws the marrow, calcium, and minerals out from within the bones. This makes a richer stock that can be almost amber in color, and it tastes wonderful. More than that, though, it is incredibly nutritious; full of vitamins and minerals that help to boost the immune system and the body as a whole.

I thought that I got this broth originally from a book called Broth is Beautiful, but it turns out that is the name of a Weston A Price Foundation article. You can read much, MUCH more about the benefits of broth there. I'll have to find out the name of that book, though... (attribute it to pregnancy brain?)

This has been a part of Real Food Wednesday - See more great posts at Kelly the Kitchen Kop!

Stolen Menu Plans

2009-10-26T13:31:00.002-04:00

So, over the weekend I came down with this horrible cold - then I started reading up on how pregnancy automatically lowers your immune resistance, so your immune system does not attack the baby. Kinda wish I'd known that before...ever since the switch to raw milk in January, I haven't even gotten the tiniest cold, and now since being pregnant I've already gotten one stomach bug (no it was definitely not morning sickness...morning sickness has actually been pretty mild - some days nonexistent - please don't hate me), and one cold. So, 3-6 drops of elderberry in a glass of water 3-4 times a day, Breathe Easy tea, OJ, a lot of water, and lots of Chicken stock are all on the menu this week. Limited taste and smell, though (thanks to the cold), makes it hard to even try and contemplate what to eat this week, so, I marched over to Org Junkie before posting my menu plan, and scoured the links for things that looked easy, yummy, and nourishing. The crock pot is my friend this week...

Monday - Well, this one is easy. Tonight's dinner is a big pot of Chicken Soup with Rice. Made from my homemade stock, and then augmented with even MORE garlic, chicken, onions, and rice. I need Chicken soup!!

Tuesday - Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup - In the crock pot

Wednesday - Community dinner at church (Not sure if I'm going yet - due to this cold, but Jeff definitely will)

Thursday - White Chili (another crock pot recipe), Cornbread (gotta call my mom to get her recipe!)

Friday - Probably leftover Chili for me, Jeff will be eating out w/his consumers

Saturday- Lentil Soup, whole wheat rolls

Sunday - Pizza

Find more great meal plans at Org Junkie!

Adult ADHD Treatment (Without Medication!)

2009-10-25T12:08:00.005-04:00

In reading around lately, I have realized that I am not the only woman in my peer group dealing with Adult ADD. More specifically, I have ADHD/I; which means that yes, sometimes I am hyperactive (better described as high energy, high strung, and trying to move in a million directions at once), but sometimes I "space out," having no energy and being very prone to being lost in thought (the "I" stands for inattentive).

Sometimes I like to describe ADD has having a brain that is hardwired to word association. You say the word "tree," and suddenly there is a song stuck in my head that has the word tree in it, or a scene from a movie, or a line from a book. But obviously there is more to it, like the need for motion when I am needing to focus on something. When I was working in retail ADD almost seemed like an advantage; the natural charisma draws people in, and of course standing all day means that it is not difficult to move when you feel like you cannot sit still. Working in an office, however, I have realized just how much I need help focusing during the day. Sitting in a chair all day - not so much. It has been a real struggle for me.

7 years ago, when I was in college, I was seeing a therapist in the counseling center (largely for anxiety, though it turned out that much of what I had attributed to anxiety had been exacerbated by ADD. The two conditions can certainly overlap in places). It was that counselor who diagnosed me with ADD. She actually had me take an IQ test, first, to confirm her suspicions. Apparently most types of genuine ADD (particularly ADHD/I) is found in people who have higher intelligence - especially people who are gifted creatively such as musicians. I told her that I had seen my friends on ADD meds, and that they practically turned into zombies, and I did not want that. She told me that I could manage my ADD without medications fairly simply, but it would take commitment. A diet high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, regular exercise, and caffeine when I need to focus would help bring things together for me.

While I was in school, I employed the Omega 3 part (through flax seed oil capsules), and the caffeine part, and occasionally attempted "regular exercise," but of course ADD plays against you a little bit there, because it is hard to stick with new things long enough to develop a strong habit.

Out of school, though, and working in retail, I fell out of the whole pattern (except employing my love for caffeine, which easily turned into overuse). But working in an office, as I said above, reminded me that I do need to make efforts to reign things in again. Fortunately, my job is in an office where I have free use of a complete gym facility.

I learned, through some research, that Cod Liver Oil (particularly fermented CLO) taken regularly was an even better source of Omega 3s than flax oil. It is quite high in DHA - an Omega 3 Fatty Acid that is very helpful in dopamine production, which is key for managing ADD). A little more research indicated that a missing piece of the puzzle was Vitamin B-12. B-12 is also very helpful in the production, release, and absorption of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter for focus.

So, I adjusted my routine, I worked out every morning during the week, took FCLO non-gelatin capsules every morning, plus a sublingual Vitamin B-12 tablet. When I felt my focus start to wane, I would have one cup of coffee. More than 300 mgs of caffeine can be adversely affecting focus, and I found that just the 100-150 mgs of caffeine in one cup of french press coffee was fine for at least a few hours, and taken at the right point in the day, it was the only cup of coffee I needed.

These all worked really well for me. I was able to reap the benefits of some of the aspects of ADD, but also able to manage the hindrances like poor short term memory and the inability to sit still. If you read that first line and are thinking, "Benefits? What on earth is she talking about?" let me explain a bit. You see, there is an abstract thinking ability and creativity that come hand in hand with the seemingly random nature of ADD. This is why I did not want anything to do with conventional medicines. It seemed that my friends on conventional medicines lost the pros along with the cons, and I had no desire to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

What worked even better for me, though, was my switch to a treadmill desk. Walking at a slow pace of 1-2 miles an hour while I worked, I had more focus than I even knew was possible. Beyond that, I had more energy and focus at the end of the day when I came home from work. A long day of focus-requiring work, even with all my other tools, left me really drained an unable to focus when I came home from work, and the treadmill desk did away with all of that. Currently I am not able to use my treadmill desk, but I hope to be back on it soon when we hire a new customer service representative (someone left the company, which pushed me up to the front desk, where there is not room for the treadmill set up). If you have a job or perform any tasks where you're sitting or standing for long periods of time, I highly recommend getting a treadmill desk!

If you want to employ these tips, but do not like coffee, drink caffeinated Tea. Tea only has 45 mg caffeine per serving, generally, so you may need two cups of tea instead. Do not drink soda. Soda has caffeine, it is true, but it also has loads of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. These will give you a momentary rush, but then you crash, feeling exhausted. Sugar ends up being really detrimental to your energy and focus levels. On top of that, sugar leaches B-12 from your system. Since, as stated above, B-12 is essential for focus due to its role in dopamine production, foods that steal your B-12 should be avoided when focus is needed.

So this is my ADD story. I know many have seen promising results with the GAPS diet, but this has been so successful for me that the idea of so completely changing the way we do things has just seemed like unnecessary extra work. The hardest part of this method, for me, was initially finding the time to exercise, but once I pushed myself to make the time, I found sticking to it was very easy. So in short, I exercise regularly, take fermented cod liver oil supplements, sublingual B12 supplements, and small amounts of caffeine when I need extra focus. I have my days that are a little bit harder than others, but overall I have found this plan extremely helpful. I can honestly say that there is no way I could do all the things we are doing to stay healthy if I did not have help with my ADD.

For further reading on the importance of B12 and FCLO:
Weston Price Foundation - B12
Weston Price Foundation - FCLO
Kelly The Kitchen Kop - FCLO

Menu Planning in Early Pregnancy

2009-10-18T18:38:00.003-04:00

As some of you may have already read, Jeff and I are expecting, due in June. We found out last Monday morning, and a sudden attack of a 24-hour bug (wednesday) and recovery from that in the middle of morning sickness, some meals got skipped last week (We improvised and had a big batch of chicken soup, then pretty much ate that for a few days).

Then, we had a GOOD menu plan change. We received a gift card for dining out this week, so our Sunday meal plan was changed, too. As far as pregnancy / morning sickness / potential changes in appetite, I am not sure how well we'll stick to meal plans in the midst of all this, but I am thinking that it is wise just to do them, anyway. Any moms out there with tips, comment away!

Monday: Lunch - Sunday dining out Leftovers
Dinner - Pizza
To Do: Soak Pizza Dough, Make Sauce (both night before)

Tuesday: Lunch - Leftover Pizza
Dinner - Rosemary Orange Chicken
To Do: Thaw Chicken (night before). Marinade (morning of).

Wednesday: Lunch - Leftover Chicken
Chicken Spinach and Mushroom Crepes
To Do: Soak Crepe Batter (night before)

Thursday: Lunch - Leftover Crepes
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff (w/the last of our tasty beef from Hearst Ranch)

Friday: Lunch - Egg Salad Sandwich (Using Food Renegade's Enzyme-Rich Mayonnaise)
Dinner - Leftover Stroganoff (on my own, Jeff eating w/his clients)

Saturday: Lunch - Rice and Beans, fresh veggies
Dinner - Porkchops (Very very simple, see recipe below) w/Mashed Sweet Potatoes
& Steamed Veggies

Sunday: Lunch - Out with friends
Dinner - Leftovers Parade

Citrus Apple Pork Chops

This is a recipe I improvised with a friend a few years ago. I never really liked pork chops until we cooked them like this.

4 pork chops
3 oranges
1 Apple, sliced
1 Tbsp Sucanat
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Juice 2.5 oranges and blend with sucanat in a saucepan over medium heat. Add apple slices and cinnamon. Add the other half of the orange, sectioned. When juice is warmed, add pork chops and cover (checking periodically to see when they should be flipped).

Serve with Sweet Potatoes sweetened with Sucanat and Cinnamon.

This has been a part of Menu Plan Monday - See Org Junkie for more great menu plans!

Speaking English Kills

2009-10-14T13:51:00.003-04:00

First I thought I would post a picture of our delicious real-food dinner from last night, I listed it in my menu plan for the week. We enjoyed this incredible Tilapia with Quinoa and Black Beans recipe. Now, I have to tell you that I know fish have a lot of health benefits to offer, but I am not a fish eater. The first time I ever cooked fish was on our honeymoon. We went deep sea fishing (I love fishing, and am not a big fan of eating fish. Does anyone else find that funny?), and managed to catch for ourselves some Kingfish and also a barely-legal sized seabass. This was before Real Food, for us, but still, I knew exactly how I wanted to cook it. At our little time share we had a small electric wok and I threw some butter in there, then garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and lime juice. It was incredible, but still...most fish tastes too "fishy" for me.

So when Jeff grabbed this bag of Tilapia I thought, "Well, I guess I could try it..." I did make changes. I replaced the olive oil with butter. We did not have any paprika so I just left it out. And the recipe did not call for garlic, so I added it (dh does not believe in garlic free meals, haha). Delicious! I loved it, and I actually cannot wait for the leftovers :)

Second, every time I read a real-food post or hear about the false "lipid hypothesis," my mind goes back to an email I received long ago...Six or seven years ago when I was in college I received an email that was an uncredited forward. It read:

In Japan, they eat very little fat, and have a low incidence of heart disease. In France, they have a diet high in fats, and have a low incidence of heart disease. In India, they drink very little red wine and have a low incidence of heart disease. In Italy, they drink a lot of red wine, and have a very low incidence of heart disease. In Germany, they drink heavy beers and eat all kinds of sausages, and have a low incidence of heart disease. So, eat and drink whatever you want. Apparently it is speaking English that kills you.

I was amused, of course, and half-jokingly used it to justify my love of junk food (even though that is ridiculous), but I barely thought about it again until getting into raw foods.

Now, everywhere I turn on the internet, I am reading about the "health" of America and how it is rapidly deteriorating, especially in comparison to other countries. Other countries do not have the rates of cancer that we have, the rates of heart disease that we have, or even the rates of Autism and ADHD that we have.

The difference, while it is obviously not speaking English, definitely exists. So what makes us different from so many other nations? We have processed foods in our supermarkets and in our pantries, and they simply do not eat like this in other countries. I know many people who have no idea how to cook, because they were served only instant foods at home, except for big traditional family holidays. We are so used to foods having chemical ingredients we cannot pronounce that we have simply stopped reading ingredient labels. We "don't have time" to eat healthy, so we come up with more ultra-processed, ultra-preserved "health foods" that are instant, and wonder why our health continues to decline.

So, now I read all of this and I think of that email, and I wonder why more people have not caught on to this idea. Seriously, if we claim saturated fats will be the death of us we ignore the fact that the French are much healthier (and much more slender) than we are. To go even farther, what about the Inuit people, who have lived largely on whale meat and blubber, and are ridiculously healthier than we are? If we claim that it is too many carbohydrates, then we're ignoring the fact that Italians are much healthier than we are. The only difference is that they are eating food. And we are eating junk that is based on food.

The other day I was trying to find jarred applesauce that did not have High Fructose Corn Syrup in it, and I found it nearly impossible! Strawberry Jam? Forget it. I found a very expensive fairly small bottle of organic strawberry jam that had no HFCS.

Since working to incorporate real foods into our diet (and get rid of the preservative-rich, overly processed junk - though we're not completely there yet) our health has improved so much. Specifically, since switching to Raw Milk in January, the bug that Jeff and I came down with this morning is the first time that I have gotten sick at all. On the whole, I have so much more energy and feel really nourished, as opposed to just feeling full.

So, if you're on the fence about real food, about the legitimacy of the idea that saturated fats are good for you, or about a switch to Real (Raw) Milk; ask yourself what you think the difference is between the Standard American Diet and the way the rest of the world eats.

But why do we eat this way? The biggest reason is time! We do not seem to think we have the time to eat right. But how much time are we saving if we spend so much of it unable to be with loved ones because we're sick, or unable to work because we get sick? That is the biggest comment I hear from other people if they hear about the way Jeff and I are eating. "How do you have time to do that?" It is not easy. We both work full time and are involved in our church, so it takes careful planning and a lot of time to eat the way we want to. But we both are at-risk for enough health conditions that it almost makes us feel as though there is no other way to do it. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol all run in my family. And I am realizing that they are ALL in a lot of people's family history. Not only that, but I used to get sick all the time. Big case of bronchitis every fall and every winter, little head colds ever couple of months or so. Jeff got sick practically twice a month! As I said before, now we don't
If we invested more time in our diets, we would be so much healthier, and then have more time to spend with our friends and loved ones. If we invest the time to eat real foods, we would not carry so much sickness around to other people in our work places or our churches. Just think about it.

This has been a part of Real Food Wednesday. Visit Kelly the Kitchen Cop for more great posts!

Easier Said Than Done

2009-10-14T10:34:00.005-04:00

Disclaimer: This may prove to be TMI, but I feel the need to share it.

So, Monday morning early Jeff and I found out that we are going to have a baby. While we know that many desire to keep that news quiet until the end of the first trimester, we made a decision that since we live in community (the Body of Christ), we do not want to walk through anything alone which we do not need to walk through alone. In other words, we want to share our joy with people, and if our joy is followed by heartbreak (whether in miscarriage, or in any other situation), we want to give the church the opportunity to be the church in our lives. Additionally, there is just so much joy in a couple discovering their first pregnancy, it is hard to keep it in and contain it.

This morning I woke up to discover some spotting, and while I know that at only 5 weeks along it is perfectly normal (not that it happens in all pregnancies, but it is not necessarily something to flip out over). However, it was also followed by the quick realization that Jeff and I both seem to have come down with a pretty intense intestinal bug. I was worried and I called my midwife and she encouraged me to drink some kefir and/or maybe a little (like 2 oz) of wine to help kill the bug, to take it easy, and to try to take my mind off of any thoughts of miscarriage. She advised me to ask Jeff to lay hands on me and pray (which he had already been doing all morning), and to stay at home and rest. She reminded me that, this early on there really is not something we can do either way except for pray. A well established pregnancy is a well established pregnancy, as she said.

So I am praying. Any of you are also welcome to pray. And I am knowing that being as sick as I am right now does not necessarily mean it will compromise this pregnancy. But I wanted to share, because this is the decision that Jeff and I made together; to let the church be the church in our lives, and to trust God with our joys and our sorrows. I had no idea I would have to face the fear of that so soon, but my mother reminded me that I am facing just that: the fear. Right now that is all that is definitely threatening us.

Thanks for love and for prayers.

Edit: Just thought anyone reading might like to know that, except for being exhausted, my symptoms seem to have subsided, including the spotting. A huge answer to prayer.

Monday Monday - Menu Plan

2009-10-11T18:35:00.007-04:00

Another Monday rolls around and it is time for a menu plan. Grocery shopping with dh the other day we saw some tilapia on sale, and I was thinking it was exactly what we needed to spice things up a little bit. I found this great recipe, and I plan on trying it out Tuesday night: Tilapia with Quinoa and Black Beans. Sooooo excited to try this one! I even got a swagbuck for searching it! So, here's the menu plan for this week!

Monday: Hamburgers with (really yummy grass finished organic beef I got for practically nothing because of a (no longer running) special on hearstranch.com)
Tuesday: Tilapia with Quinoa and Black Beans
To Do - Tuesday Mid-day Soak Quinoa
Wednesday: Pizza! It has been wayyyyy too long since we've had pizza!
To Do - Night before: soak pizza dough
Wednesday afternoon - make cheese.

Thursday: Rosemary and Orange Glazed Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Friday: Cozy Quinoa Casserole (Also ended up switching last minute the other week...)

Saturday: Leftovers (Jeff will be at the men's retreat for our church, so I'll be on my own).

Sunday: Spinach, chicken, and mushroom crepes (didn't end up doing these last Sunday)
To Do - Sunday night, soak crepe batter

This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday! Find more great posts @ Orgjunkie!

We spent Friday and Saturday getting things more settled in here at the house, and taking time to rest, as well. Rest is one of those things that is harder for me, at least in the terms of spending time relaxing or unwinding. For me, it is easier to just stay in motion all the time, because when I rest I either pass out or zone out. As Christians, though, God calls us to rest in Him, so I have been working on and praying about how I can take time to rest both spiritually and physically. We had slow mornings and good breakfasts, and set about work allowing time for small breaks between tasks. It was really good for me to feel like I was getting so much accomplished and also not feeling hurried. Today I felt more rested than I have in a long time! We still have a lot to get done, but it feels good to get so much out of the way!

We were supposed to be traveling this weekend, but due to our present financial situation we decided it was particularly unwise. I was glad for the extra day to work on the house, but sad that we missed out on the time with family. The holidays are not far away, though. We will have lots of opportunity to see them then, too.

Speaking of the holidays, I am already eagerly looking forward to the season of Advent. We have everything we need for our wreath already. I have mine set up to be a centerpiece on our dining room table. We have an 8-inch square mirror (with no frame), and an 8-inch round wreath that goes on top of it. In the corners of the mirror that the wreath does not touch, four candle holders hold the three purple candles and the one pink candle. In the center of the wreath goes the Christ candle. When I have it set up on Nov. 29th I will post pictures! And I just downloaded a great devotional here. I just swag searched free advent devotionals and - voila! I do not know all of the hymns, so we may look for some that fit in with that particular week in advent that we already know. Jeff and I are thinking about having a few friends over on Sunday nights to light the wreath with us on those nights (though we plan to do the devotionals / candle lighting nightly).

Mmmmonday Again!

2009-10-05T21:58:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had an incredible Pumpkin Soup for dinner. I would post the ingredients, but it was a "little of this, little of that, smell and add a little more of this" kind of recipe I got from my mom. I used canned pumpkin because, well, it was cheaper and we had a really really tight grocery budget this week. Basically I sauteed onions in butter (Mom also uses green peppers but I did not have any), added minced garlic, salt, pepper, and added a 15 oz. can of pumpkin when the onions were transparent. I added some chicken stock, and also some water. I also seasoned with nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and added a few teaspoons of sucanat. Lastly I added in some rosemary. I let it heat through and start to boil. Then I added some of our tasty whole real milk, and heated it through again. This time I did not let it get to boiling, because the milk can curdle. Doesn't change the flavor, really, but it does change how it looks!

So that was Monday.

Tuesday: Chicken, Quinoa & Blackbeans

Wednesday: Potluck at home group (I'll be making guacamole)

Thursday: Sweet Potato Burritos

Friday: Leftovers (mmm...more burritos)

Saturday: Dinner in Warner Robins (Mom B's Birthday)

Sunday: Dinner out on the way back from Warner Robins, I imagine.

All in all, it is a pretty light cooking week for us this time around. I'm not sure what I'll do with my extra time!

Read more great menu plans at Org Junkie.

Variety is the Spice of Life - Menu Plan Monday

2009-09-27T17:26:00.005-04:00

Well our drenched drive to Chattanooga to pick up our new dog was a wonderful end to the week. This week looks busy, but not unmanageable. I am ready, strange as it seems, for September to be done and to be into October, because it seems that October is when things finally start to get more exciting. At the same time, I'm glad for the last few days of this month, to help me get prepared for the month to come. I am very sad to see Summer go, since it is by far my favorite season, but now that we're into fall I am already looking forward to Thanksgiving, and to the Advent season. I actually got the last few components for our Advent Wreath a few months ago (I saw tapered candles in all the right colors, and I knew that the next time I thought of it they would be long gone).

I am also looking forward to some time to get Bee Beautiful back up and running. The crazy summer brought my as-of-yet unstructured business to a halt, and I am looking to getting my site back up and running in time for holiday gift shoppers.

I have heard some great recipes from friends and have been reading a few around in the blogosphere (it is cheesy, but I so love that non-word), so I'm throwing a few of them into this week's line up.

OK, so this week's menu:

Monday - Wild Rice and Chicken Soup, Spinach-Bacon-Feta Muffins with Whole Wheat
The soup a friend of mine made last Monday, and she let me taste some, it is AMAZING. She uses about half the butter and cream called for, I'm going to use all of it, but do milk instead of cream (raw cream is harder for me to come by, and dh just doesn't do well with pasteurized dairy). I may throw in some extra butter to make up for the cream difference.
To Do: (Night Before) Soak muffin batter, thaw frozen chicken stock

Tuesday - Cozy Quinoa Casserole (w/my homemade whole milk mozz, instead of the cheddar)
To Do: Soak Quinoa (Tues Morning...may have Jeff do it at 11 so it isn't soaking too long)

Wednesday - Sweet Potato Risotto , leftover dinner muffins- I saw this on EDIT: Christine's blog, though at this moment I cannot remember whose, sorry! It looked so yummy, though! We're going to be doing it with brown rice, so I may need to find a way to make it a little creamier. We LOVE sweet potatoes!

Thursday - Spaghetti, Multi Grain Garlic Bread w/a touch of BASIL!

Friday - Leftover night (Spaghetti! On my own for dinner)

Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner (Whole Wheat Pancakes, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs)
To Do: (Night Before or Morning Of) soak Pancake batter

Sunday - Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom crepes. This is an old favorite of mine that I haven't done in a while...dh doesn't mind it, either! We may be having company so I thought I'd pull out one of the fancier ones, haha.
To Do: (Night Before) Soak crepe batter.

This is a part of Menu Planning Monday at Org Junkie. Visit Org Junkie for more great posts.

An Addition to the Family

2009-09-26T21:42:00.003-04:00

Jeff and I traveled about 3.5 hours to Chattanooga today to pick up Lulu, an American bulldog we're adopting from a breeder out that way. Lulu is an incredibly affectionate dog. If you are petting her, and you stop, her nose will find your hand and nudge it until you start again. She is a little intimidated by my big fuzzy slippers, and tries to attack them. So, I think I'll be giving those a rest for a while.

She has a beautiful brindle coat, with white "socks," and a mostly white chest and face. She is absolutely gorgeous. She handled the ride home in the truck very well - even including not-so-clever drivers who break when they hydroplane. Yes, long rides in the rain are less-than-awesome, sometimes. Thank the Lord my dh has such great reflexes, and a level head.

She bonded with us very quickly, the very first time Jeff left the truck at a rest stop, she got very antsy until he came back and was the same when I left, too. We had a lot of fun bringing her into PetCo (it was pouring out, but since the drive was so long we wanted her to get some walking in). She did alright on the floors (linoleum) for the most part, but it was actually very handy for when she tried to go in a different direction from us, because between the linoleum and the leash, she lost all traction on the floor and very quickly opted to follow us, instead. She was absolutely adorable.

We brought her into the house, and she headed into the kitchen and jumped up on the counter straightaway. All I said was, "Lulu, DOWN." and she was down. That does not mean she's not still tempted, but I try to say know when she only looks like she is going to jump. The same with our bed, and the same with our couch. Well...

She tried to get up on the couch when I was there, and I told her no and she got back down. She listens to Jeff very quickly, normally, but she also seems to be closer to him, already. She followed him onto the couch, and he bade her get down, and it took a little bit of time. I think she just really wanted to be close to him. I think she gets the idea of where she is not supposed to be, already, but it is going to take a while to build the discipline, of course. The fact that she will be an outdoor and indoor dog, I think, is going to make it a little harder, because the boundaries won't be completely consistent.

Okay, without further ado, here are the pictures:

Cultures For Health Giveaway

2009-09-24T21:14:00.002-04:00

My favorite giveaway is gracing another great blog!

Kitchen Stewardship is hosting a giveaway, but there are only a couple hours left! Hurry up and get over there. I trust that you'll find some great resources there, even if you don't win the giveaway.

I'm looking at a new yogurt starter, or maybe finally getting some water kefir grains. The possibilities...well they're not endless, but there are quite a few :)

My Battle with Kashi - Real Food Wednesday

2009-09-23T21:38:00.004-04:00

So, last week on Fight Back Friday I posted about my discovery of Autolyzed Yeast Extract in some Kashi products. I emailed them about it, asking that they either label the ingredient as " (contains glutamate) " or remove it all together.

Well, I considered my action to be complete, until I received this email back from Kashi (bold type is my emphasis):

Hello Melody,

Thank you for contacting Kashi concerning our Heart to Heart® Cereals and TLC® Crackers. We appreciate your interest in our company and products. Our goal is to provide wholesome, all-natural foods that meet the high nutritional and taste standards of the Kashi consumer.

At Kashi, we do not add any MSG to our products, as evidenced by the ingredient statements on our packages that follow FDA labeling regulations.

Natural ingredients used to enhance the flavor of our products, including autolyzed yeast extract, are used in Kashi foods. Autolyzed yeast extract, which has been used safely as a flavor enhancer for nearly a century, contains naturally occurring free glutamate, an amino acid that is present in virtually all protein-containing foods including meat, vegetables, poultry and milk. Free glutamate is different than monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is glutamate bound to sodium.

We do not list glutamate in the ingredients as it is an amino acid present in most proteins, and makes up a part of the whole ingredient.

We appreciate your inquiry and hope this information will be useful to you when you make product selections for you and your family. We have forwarded your comments over to the appropriate department. Thank you again!

The only problem I have with the above statement is that it is a lie. Autolyzed Yeast Extract is Free Glutamate, and glutamate as it naturally occurs in protein foods is rarely free. It is nearly always a bound molecule. Here is my email response back to them, containing some very helpful and informative links:

While "glutamate" is found in many protein containing foods, it is not free glutamic acid. The glutamates in most of the foods that we consume are bound, which changes the way that our bodies process them. The testing done with free glutamates such as Monosodium Glutamate and Monopotassium glutamate have shown that MSG and other free glutamates consistently cause weight gain in mammals (original tests done on rats), are addictive, and can cause or exacerbate neurological symptoms. For people like myself, who have Asthma, it can also exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. Here are some links which point to studies linking free glutamates like Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, and MSG to these issues.

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/III.What%20is%20MSG.html

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/412771 (I know this link is to a forum but it contains links to some studies).

http://www.ehow.com/about_5162033_autolyzed-yeast-extract-gluten.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast_extract

http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm

http://www.msgtruth.org/

The only people saying anything like "AYE is safe for people who are allergic to MSG" are people in the processed food industry, and as someone who is sensitive to it, I am frankly very tired of doing research to see what I can and cannot eat, eating something that is presumably "safe," having a bad reaction, and then finding out that there is yet another form of free glutamate under another hidden name. I appreciate Kashi for many of your healthy and wholesome products. As I've said before, I make a lot of my own foods for meals and for snacking. When I am on the run, it is important to me to be able to quickly find something that is going to be wholly good for me. You can say whatever you like about Autolyzed Yeast Extract and its use in Kashi foods, but the studies I have seen (which are above and beyond the handful I've enumerated here) indicate that it is NOT the same as the bound glutamates found in naturally ocurring meat and vegetable proteins.

Hydrogen peroxide, when exposed to light, breaks down into water. That does not, by any means, indicate that it is safe to drink a bottle of it. True, H2O2 and H2O have the same components, but that tiny little difference in molecule structure makes a world of difference in toxicity.

I am a little bit angry right now. This person who emailed me may have just been sold the "company line," and not aware that they were peddling a blatant lie; but a company that is supposedly dedicated to our health shouldn't have this line. I do not understand why people saw a market for healthy foods, took advantage of that market, and now want to subtly infiltrate that market with the same additives most of us are striving to avoid.

Please email Kashi and tell them your thoughts about AYE and other Free Glutamates that we do not want in our food!

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Cheeseslave
Re-Posting for Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade

Please feel free to post excerpts from this post, as long as you link back to me. I want to encourage everyone possible to write to Kashi, as well as other companies, to let them know we're not fooled by AYE and other deceptive names for free glutamate.

Gratituesday - So Thankful for the Sun!

2009-09-22T18:06:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous posts, we've been having a great deal of rain here. Sunday alone we got 9.3 inches of rain, which caused some major flooding in some areas. The forecast yesterday indicated the rain and clouds would continue for the rest of the week, straight through this next Sunday.

Today, though, God had a surprise in store. Today began very dark and gloomy, like every other day in the last week, but suddenly, late in the morning, the SUN came out! I had to head out on my lunch break to fill up my car, and I drove with the windows down, enjoying sunshine and warmth, so very grateful for a break in the rain. Even checking the forecast later to see that they still predicted rain until Sunday didn't dampen my spirits.

It just made me think of the way that God prepares and strengthens us for what is to come, by meeting us where we are with His grace and goodness. God does not always take the obstacles away in our spiritual lives, or in the "reality" of the day to day, but He does always equip us with exactly what we need. The sun came out today and dried off the roads, warmed us up, and brightened our spirits. I know it seems corny, it may even seem trivial, but if there is anything you can glean from being soaked for a week straight and not having running water, it is what little things we take for granted.

The ability to just turn on a faucet when I get something sticky on my hands while cooking, the privilege of taking a shower, the blessing of being able to wash dirty dishes so they are not attracting bugs, the joy of being able to wash your clothes; all of these things are things I take for granted. The last two are things that I often consider to be "chores." But when you turn on your faucet and nothing comes out, your perspective changes.

So I am very grateful for sunshine, and for the reminder of all the things it is easy to take for granted.

See more Gratituesday posts at Heavenly Homemaker.

Menu Planning in a Flood (With No Running Water)

2009-09-21T20:29:00.003-04:00

So yesterday, shortly after my post here, our water got shut off. See, it has been raining for a week straight, but Saturday night that turned intona torrential downpour. The water treatment plant / pumping station across the street (and down hill, thank the Lord) was completely flooded, the main main there (no pun intended) burst, as did several others throughout the town. So, no water.

They are beginning to turn the water on in most of the town, but our street is the closest to the largest main break, they say it may take the rest of the week. So...I had this menu plan made Saturday, and we'll see how the week to come (and the inability to do dishes) changes things! I'm just going to list dinners this week.

Monday - leftover lasagna from Sunday's family party

Tuesday - Chicken w/Red Potatoes & Vegetables (slow cooker)

Wednesday - French Toast and Scrambled Eggs (Mmmm...breakfast for dinner!)
To-Do - make the rest of the cheese-designated milk gallons

Thursday - Blueberry Barbecue Chicken, veggies, rice.
To Do - Soak Rice in the AM

Friday - Leftover Chicken (from Tues) Jeff-less since he's working :(

Saturday - Stirfry a la Jeff (didn't actually happen last week)

Sunday - Porkchops and sweet potatoes

See More great Menu Plans here:

Organizing Junkie

So, hopefully at some point in the next week our water will be back on. We have plenty of bottled water for drinking, and even some to spare for dishes (dishwashing will need to be very strategic, I'm thinking).

My very clever husband (I'm so grateful for him), instantly put all of our empty buckets up under the eaves to collect rainwater (yup, it's still pouring, supposed to rain straight through Saturday), and has poured full buckets into the bathtub, so we have plenty of water for flushing toilets. I went to a friends' today to do laundry and take a shower (she has well water). We have a gym with showers at work, but until this evening I was not sure that the water there was all that clean. I have been assured that it is, so I will probably be going into work early to shower there. I washed just enough laundry today to get me through the week.

Hopefully by the end of the week when the rain is dying off we'll have our water running and it will be potable. Boil warnings make me nervous, because you can kill the bacteria, sure, but what about dirt and sediment? so do you boil it, cool it down, and then filter it? I've never been in a situation like this before so I'm just not sure. I guess we'll figure it out!

Getting Settled

2009-09-20T09:09:00.000-04:00

This has been a busy week, and it has gone by so quickly. The week ahead will probably do the same. I am okay with that, I want the weeks to fly by until the sun comes back out.

It has been raining here since Tuesday, which limits us to the indoors during a time I was hoping to be able to enjoy what is left of the waning summer. I realize that, living in Georgia, there will be days and even whole weeks of summer-like weather during the day right on up through October, interspersed with weeks that are so autumnal you wonder how it could have been 80 degrees yesterday. Still, the real summer ends Tuesday, as autumn begins, and it will still be raining then.

The rain also brought with it a tiny band of ants that thought they should invade my newly filled pantry. I was horrified. I've never even had a pantry of my own, and only a few weeks in I am confronted with a band of marauders seeking shelter from the wet weather and my food. I was not horrified for long, though. I remembered reading at Passionate Homemaking that Lindsay had a great ant trap recipe. I set to work, and I must say it was almost frightening how I gleefully watched the ants march to their demise. But they got into my Nutella, and I had to throw it out. It was war.

The rain has been good, though, too. First of all, the state has been in a drought for years. We obviously need the rain, and now there is plenty of rain to go around. Secondly, It has given me ample opportunity to do nothing but take care of the inside of our house. My kitchen is finally completely unpacked, organized, and accessible.

To celebrate, I had the most productive day of my life, yesterday. Our family down here is having a family birthday party this month (any month when there are birthdays, there is a get together one day that month for all the celebrators of nascence (a.k.a. the birthday boys and girls). This month dh is part of that celebration, as his birthday was on the sixth. This last week had my niece Cora and my Nephew Tobin, both my brother and sis-in-law's kids, so Jen and I are providing main course and birthday cake. The menu is lasagna, and I'm making mine with homemade mozzarella cheese (the ricotta is not homemade, because it just seemed like too much work for yesterday, and even homemade ricotta is not a raw process, so it is pasteurized either way. As long as there is a little raw-milk-product present, Jeff handles the pasteurized dairy fairly well). We are of course having 2 lasagnas, because there will be a great deal of people, and also because not everyone in my family is so into the raw milk thing. Probably about half of us are.

So yesterday I made scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast for breakfast, made mozzarella cheese, made a black forest cake, made a batch of chicken salad for lunch, fought an epic battle with that ancient nemesis of mankind - the ant - and seem to have won, made us baked chicken with apples and barley (meal got switched up earlier in the week because dh was sick and just wanted scrambled eggs), and made the sauce for my lasagna. AND, for the first time ever in my life, I cleaned up after every single project. There are no dirty dishes hanging about, and not a crumb on a single countertop. I'll admit, the ants had a good bit to deal with that. Still, first time ever accomplishments should be celebrated. And I have never dirtied, cleaned, redirtied, cleaned, redirtied, and cleaned again. Usually that last "cleaned" gets left off. I slept sooooooooooooo well last night, having gotten so much done (and being pretty worn out). I can say that my house now smells more like baking foods and pasta sauce, and less like paint, and I am entirely enthused about that prospect.

The rainy weather also gave us an opportunity to sleep in - maybe a little too much, but still I'm grateful - and enjoy a slow-paced morning together. During that time we got online and found out about a dog being given away. A beautiful female American Bull Dog, 4 years old, all with records and up-to-date. We called the gentleman who is giving her away, and he seemed adamant that she go to a good home where people would take good care of her. So this looks much "safer" than our last experience (about a month and a half ago we got a dog, and the next day she died from heartworms.), but still just because of that last experience I am a little afraid of getting our hopes up. From the ad and from the pictures it looks like she is a great dog. Greate with people in general and especially children, and very protective of her home. So, this Saturday we are driving all the way out to Chattanooga to meet her and this gentleman, and hopefully bring her home with us!

We still have a couple rooms to get unpacked and set up (namely the office and Jeff's fish room), and presently the entire unscathed inventory of our pantry is on the diningroom table, but otherwise, this is really beginning to feel like home.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies - Fight Back Friday

2009-09-18T21:29:00.001-04:00

I have always loved Kashi's products. They make great products using at least seven whole grains in everything. While I have been learning that I enjoy making my own snack foods, I often eat Kashi if I'm on the go and don't have time.

The other day in the cracker aisle, I was looking for a healthy something to snack on at work. I grabbed the Kashi Heart to Heart crackers in Roasted Garlic. Because I have an MSG allergy, I read the ingredients on everything. This being Kashi, though, I almost didn't. I am so glad that I did, because right there in the ingredients was "autolyzed yeast extract."

Autolyzed yeast extract is a food additive used to enhance flavor. While it is not technically MSG, it is basically the same thing arrived at through a different process. It still contains Free Glutamic Acid, which triggers the allergic reaction in many to MSG (including my own allergic reaction). So, for all intents and purposes, it may as well be MSG.

I was infuriated that they had it listed as AYE instead of MSG, the only real reason to do that is to prevent people from saying, "Oh, this has MSG, I'm not getting it." And Kashi is a company that promotes physical health and well being, being conscious of what you're putting in your body.

More than that, these crackers have additives that are good for your heart. Glutamate/MSG, however, can contribute to weight gain, which puts you at risk for high blood pressure / high cholesterol / general heart issues.

Why would a company that is this health-conscious choose to put this unnecessary and unhealthy additive in their food?? Better yet, why would they be so dishonest about it; encouraging people outwardly to make healthy choices but also subtly contributing to health issues.

Now, I don't want to simply bash Kashi in general, because if not for them I would lack many of the on-the-go foods that enable me to stick to my food standards. But regarding this and a few other flavors of their crackers, I am extremely disappointed.

If you feel the same way, go tell Kashi about it!

This post has been a part of Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade. Find more great posts there!

Menu Plan Monday September 14

2009-09-14T22:15:00.000-04:00

We are all moved into our new house, but not quite all settled yet. While our kitchen was half packed up menu planning was definitely a difficult task. Now that I have a kitchen - not just a kitchen, but a kitchen with ROOM to spare (!!) - we are getting fully back into the swing of things.

I am so excited, and feeling so much less tired, now that we are making more of our own food again. And, what is more than that, I am discovering the joy of cooking and cleaning when there is actually room to move around. It has been much easier for me to keep up on housework since we've moved into a roomier place!

We've only just gotten settled in and there is already a lot on the horizon. This Sunday is our family birthday party for this month, at my brother and sister in law's house. Jeff's birthday was on the 6th, and then this week my niece Cora and my nephew Tobin each have a birthday as well. Jen (my awesome sister in law) and I are each making a lasagna (mine with raw cheese so Jeff can eat it) and a cake, everyone else is bringing salads, breads, and drinks. It will prove to be a ton of fun, as always, and soooooooooooooo delicious :) Of course, never having done this cake with wheat before (I'm making an incredible Black Forest Cake), I'll have to do a trial run. How sad to have extra cake around!

Once we get fully unpacked and settled, you can definitely expect pictures of our new abode, complete with the incredible paint-job my very handy husband did (with the help of some good friends, too!). Until then....here is this weeks menu plan:

Monday
Breakfast: Kefir / granola
Lunch: Leftover Barley Burgers (from the dinner we had w/some friends Sunday Night)
Dinner: Sweet Orange Grilled Chicken Salad* (see "recipe" below)

To Do: Make Black Forest Cake (Trial run for party later this week, haven't made this cake w/the freshly milled soft white wheat before), also make egg salad for Tuesday lunches.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Kefir/Granola
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Chicken (a la Jeff) in the slowcooker :)

Start boiling chicken for stock (and lots of chicken Salad)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Kefir / Granola
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Stroganoff

Thursday
Breakfast: Kefir / Granola
Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Baked Chicken with Apples and Barley

To Do: Soak Barley in the AM

Friday
Breakfast: Granola / Kefir
Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Leftover Stroganoff

To Do: Soak Waffle Batter

Saturday
Breakfast: Eggs, Sausage, Whole Grain Waffles
Lunch: Eating Out (wahoo for dates :) )
Dinner: Stirfry (once again a la Jeff...I love my husband)

Make cheese for lasagna, make Black Forest Cake.

Sunday
Breakfast: Granola / Kefir
Lunch: Lasagna w/whole real milk mozzarella (homemade)
Dinner: Leftover Stir Fry

To Do: Make Lasagna in the AM

This has been Menu Plan Monday. Find more great Menu Planning ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Sweet Orange Grilled Chicken Salad

Place desired amount of Chicken Breast in a marinade bag (a freezer bag will do) with the juice of 2 medium sized oranges and 2 T honey. Marinate for several hours. Sautee on medium heat in the oil of your choice (due to an allergy, we can't use coconut oil, so we generally use olive oil).

In a bowl, toss together salad greens (we used baby spinach and red baby butter lettuce), sliced almonds, and mandarin oranges.

In a jar, combine 4 T Olive Oil with 1-2 T apple cider vinegar. Add about 1 tsp. sucanat, as well as a pinch of garlic powder, ginger, cinnamon, Italian Seasoning, and the juice of half an orange. Put a lid on the jar and shake vigorously. Pour desired amount onto waiting salad greens, oranges, and almonds. Toss again and place into bowls. Slice grilled chicken and top salads.

National Women's Equality Day

2009-08-26T21:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was exclaiming my discovery (thanks to a GoogleDoodle made of telescopes) that it was the 400th birthday of Galileo's telescope. A coworker of mine responded, "Tomorrow is National Women's Equality Day!"

I was so excited to hear that. I mean, I grew up with a mom who was a housewife. Any jobs she held were out of absolute necessity and were scheduled during hours that we were at school or sleeping. She gave everything to her family, and I consider that no demeaning thing. I think of my own mother with the highest regard, and believe there is much more work to caring for a family and a home than your average modern feminists would acknowledge.

However, I also greatly admire women who take on other roles. Countless women have given themselves to the mission field, to the medical field, to education, to music, to art, to the corporate arena, and beyond.

I have to tell you that when I walk into an exam room to find that my doctor (or NPC, or PA) is a woman, I am greatly relieved. No matter how calm and gentle a male doctor may manage to be, there is still a much higher level of comfort for me when I am being attended to by a woman. And I have never ever felt that because my attending physician was a woman, she was less intelligent or less well equipped to take care of me. In fact, scientifically speaking, the biggest differences between male and female brains tend to be (since even these traits are not gender specific) approaches to problem solving (big picture vs. minor details, etc.), and styles of learning (tactile, visual, audio, kinesthetic, etc.). But regardless, women who work outside the home are also a huge help to society.

Imagine walking into a bank today, and seeing only male tellers behind the counter. Wouldn't that look bizarre? We are so used to being waited on by women in professions such as these, so why do female tellers get paid (on average) $1 less per hour than their male counterparts? Female employees in most industries make less than their male counterparts. Why is that ok? Why is that acceptable?

Days like this are necessary to raise the public awareness of the issue. The problem is, why does no one else seem to know it is National Women's Equality Day? There was a GoogleDoodle for Galileo's telescope yesterday, but nothing for NWE Day today. It is a national holiday, but it is not on any calendars that I have seen.

You don't have to be a card-carrying feminist to know and understand that women are vital to our society. Not just from a physiological standpoint of procreation, but we need the compassion, the dedication, the drive, the intelligence, and the insight of women as a driving force in our society today. More than just empowering women who work outside the home, mothers who are at home caring for their children and home are often treated as "less than" the men in the world with their lofty professions. If you believe that staying home to be a housewife and mother is a noble calling (as I do), than National Women's Equality Day should be important to you, too.

The same Bible that says "Wives submit to your husbands," also says "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25). That is not a knock against biblical wifely submission at all, but just pointing out that the headship of a marriage relationship does not indicate that men and women are not equal in God's sight, intellectually, and insofar as capabilities. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3;28)

Menu Plan Monday

2009-08-24T20:24:00.001-04:00

With so much going on lately regarding trying to get moved into the house, I kind of temporarily gave up on meal planning, just until the chaos calmed a little. I have realized that not knowing what is for dinner only adds to the chaos. But, for this week, to smooth out the transition back into a menu-planned-life, I'm only listing the dinners.

Monday - Beef Stroganoff

Tuesday - Barley Burgers
To Do: Soak Barley in the morning

Wednesday - Church Spaghetti Dinner

Thursday - Sauteed Chicken (with blueberry barbecue sauce), Veggies, multi-grain rolls
To Do: Pull chicken out of freezer to defrost.

Friday - Leftover Stroganoff

Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner: Whole grain waffles, scrambled eggs (w/Provolone cheese for me)
To Do: Soak Waffle Batter

Sunday - Dinner out - Goodbye party for friends who are moving.

This is part of Menu Plan Monday with Org Junkie. Find other menu plans there!

So that's the week. This week there is so much to do, painting, packing, moving, unpacking. Pray for us: for sanity, for motivation, for sanity, for strength, for sanity, and for good sleep every night.

New Cultures For Health Giveaway!!

2009-08-17T20:26:00.000-04:00

Kelly the Kitchen Kop is giving away 3 starter cultures from Cultures for Health.

I have ordered from their site, and am hoping for an opportunity to try their water kefir grains and kombucha starter. Jeff has apparently tried kombucha before and really liked it, and since it is also so good for you, to boot, I'm really looking forward to trying it.

You can enter the giveaway here.

Recently I got to experience the benefits of something else I read on Kelly's blog, and then I followed her over to Cheeseslave, where I read more of the same. Basically, I read that consistently taking Cod Liver Oil can prevent sunburn. My guess is that it would take a full skin cell renewal cycle (4 weeks) for it to be completely effective at completely preventing sunburn, but here's my little story:

Saturday when Jeff and I took a trip downstate, we had hours of driving logged in a single day. Jeff was driving, so of course I had only one arm ever in the sunlight. And I wasn't paying any attention to just how long it was out the window, until my skin felt hot and tight and itchy, and I looked to see that my arm was bright red. I didn't blister, but I was appalled at just how red my arm was. Typically that is something that takes 3 days for me until it fades to a tan. However...

Sunday morning I awoke to find my arm lightly tanned. WHAT?? That's right. The only thing I've changed is that I've been taking fermented cod liver oil non-gelatin capsules for about a week and a half. My burn mysteriously faded overnight. I'll keep it up for lots of reasons, not just the internal sunscreen. For one, it is high in Vitamins A & D - having as much as 90% of your DRV of vitamin D. It also has important fatty acids that are hard to get, and is a great natural source of DHA (as opposed to taking vitamins or eating foods that have DHA added to them). But in any case, I was very excited to witness the vanishing burn fade into obscurity.

an ee cummings kind of day

2009-08-14T21:33:00.000-04:00

dying is fine) but Death
ee cummings

dying is fine)but Death

?o
baby
i

wouldn't like

Death if Death
were
good:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but

Death

is strictly
scientific
& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank thee
god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

When I learned about this poem in a lit analysis class, I learned something that made me love it. ee cummings cheated death by leaving off the closing parentheses. The poem is about how everyone and everything is "dying," but death (in its finality) is cold.

Today has been a day that has been strangely about death. First of all, last night we found out with some finality that we are definitely not pregnant. We only recently were trying, so it's not like I truly expected to be pregnant right off the bat, but my body played some cruel games with me in the beginning that made me think I might be pregnant. The ensuing roller coaster ride ended last night right before I went to sleep, and I woke up just feeling sad and kind of bleak. Not being pregnant was way more disappointing than I even thought it could be, and we're only at the beginning! I felt like I was grieving something I'd lost without ever having.

I had a pretty horrid migraine all day, which made it even harder. I called my mom today to talk to her about it, and learned that Travis - a guy that I had gone to high school with; an all around great guy who loved his wife and his kids and was known for just having a heart to serve people - passed away yesterday. He was on his motorcycle, and was hit by a car that turned without paying attention to where he was. He was hit while on the way to a funeral. My favorite bus driver from high school, one of my dad's friends from growing up, passed away with Lou Gherig's disease this last weekend. Doug was an incredibly talented musician. He put together a Christmas cd with my Jazz Choir in high school. I still have it. To think of Travis dying on the way to go commemorate Doug's life is just horrid. I did not even know him that well, my mom knew him better than I did, because when she went back to college (same time I did), she had classes with him and spend a good bit of time with him. But when someone you know vaguely dies, it is somehow stranger and harder to comprehend than when someone you're close to dies.

All day I felt like there was this weight on me that could not be lifted. I just felt physically exhausted, and emotionally lethargic, too. I was listening to my brother's CD (From the Depths of the Earth), and that was good, but every time I started to feel uplifted I just felt slammed all over again. Then, I came home for lunch, and I didn't really even do anything proactive in fighting off the strange feelings of the day, but on my way back to work, finally found myself smiling out of nowhere. In my head (and coming out of my mouth, as all things stuck in my head eventually do) were the lyric's to the song "Anymore (Rachel's Song)," off of From the Depths of the Earth.

Anymore (Rachel's Song)

I think it's funny how life don't quite work out like you'd hope
And it's never quite as easy as you think
And it's never quite as hard as it seems
But it's always sweeter than the dream

Peace flows like a river
I will sing for the joy of the Lord has come
Mercy flows over my soul
And I just can't maintain control anymore

A hedge about me and a shield all around me
I will take what You bring, the cup that You have for me
For You call me unto holiness
For You call me unto holiness

Peace flows like a river
I will sing for the joy of the Lord has come
Mercy flows over my soul
And I just can't maintain control anymore

Hallelujah, I will fear not, for the righteous they will not be shaken!

© Aaron Santor 2009

ee cummings did not seem to know that even in death, 2 Corinthians 1:3 will always ring true. Life has hard aspects to it, and hard moments, and some moments much harder than others. But in the midst of all of that God really longs to wrap His peace around us, pour it out over us. God is the comforter to the lonely, the father to the fatherless, and the lifter of our heads. I'm so grateful that God took my day from "dying is fine) but death," all the way to "mercy flows over my soul, and I just can't maintain control anymore."

Fight Back Friday - FED UP WITH MSG!!

2009-08-07T21:04:00.000-04:00

This post is a part of Fight Back Fridays, hosted by Food Renegade.

I, like about 25% of Americans, am allergic to MSG. Not fatally so, but I do get awful migraines and upset stomach when I eat foods containing MSG.

"No big deal," you would think to yourself, "just eliminate foods containing MSG from your diet." Sounds easy enough, but is it?

I have spent a lot of time trying to make sure I know what foods do and do not contain MSG (or the fully spelled out monosodium glutamate) in the ingredients. Sure I had succeeded, I was largely eating homemade snacks for some time. Recently, though, I went away on a business trip that took up all of my weekend, too. Without my usual food prep time, I resorted to pre-packaged snacks. I got some peanut butter crackers, read the ingredients, and was satisfied that the ingredients did not contain MSG. 20 minutes or so after eating them, I had a splitting headache; complete with nausea and a migraine aura. That day I had good timing on my side, on my lunch break I read an article about MSG that came straight to my email inbox. I was appalled to learn that MSG actually goes by other names!

Maltodextrin, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Autolyzed yeast extract, "natural flavoring;" all of these are FDA approved names for MSG, and there are actually as many of 40 others! How can any allergy sufferers be expected to keep a list this long and all of the places they usually show up memorized?? But there have been no laws requiring that MSG be clearly marked as an allergen.

That prompts me to ask, "why?" Why is it that when otherwise innocuous substances like milk, nuts, soy, and wheat are clearly marked as allergens for the occasional allergy sufferer; a substance that 25% of Americans are allergic to is allowed to go by nicknames and assumed identities? What kind of logic is that, and who is making sure it stays that way?

Not only is MSG is an allergen, it has also been linked to obesity, diabetes, autism, ADHD, and a host of other conditions. So why is it everywhere?

We need to act NOW! We need to write our congressmen and women to give their full support to legislation promoting the marking of MSG as an allergen in whatever form it appears.

PLEASE WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN AND WOMEN. PLEASE REPOST THIS WHEREVER YOU SEE FIT.

Aren't you also sick and tired of having to do research just to be able to eat a package of peanut butter crackers? Tired of the fact that government FOR the people is not doing its part to protect our personal health? Tired of the fact that addictive and toxic additives can be added to our food with no warning? PLEASE WRITE!

This is the letter I'm writing:

Congressman Broun,

I am writing you today on an issue that is very important not to my own health, but to the health of many: The listing of monosodium glutamate as an allergen in food products.

I have been exhibiting allergic reactions to MSG for the last eight years or so. I thought I had finally rid my pantry of all things containing MSG, but I was still experiencing the same migraine headaches and nausea. Further research on my part revealed that monosodium glutamate does not need to be named where it is part of another food additive. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast extract, malotdextrin, and “natural flavor” are all indicators that MSG may or may not be present. Upon further review of the processed foods we keep around the house, I’ve learned that one or more of these names were present in almost all of the ingredient lists.

My husband and I do a lot to preserve our physical health. We make a lot of our foods from scratch with healthy, natural ingredients, we eat fresh vegetables, and when we do snack, we try to eat healthy alternatives to the average available snack food. We are not the type to leave our health up to chance, yet in the case of my allergy to MSG, I am being forced to.

It is incredibly frustrating to me that even in the midst of all of our efforts to take care of our bodies, I cannot get away from a substance that is making me sick. Migraines, nausea, general upset stomach; whenever these are present I can find some ingredient in some food that contained MSG. Church potlucks, eating over at friends’ houses, eating out at restaurants; it seems like nothing is safe, because MSG in some form is present in nearly all processed foods.

Common and (except in the case of allergies) non-toxic foods are listed as allergens on products every day. Milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts; all of these are allowed allergen status and clearly labeled on foods. I do not understand why only people who suffer from allergies to MSG have to play the food lottery wherever they go. Milk being labeled as an allergen does not make milk-lovers desire not to drink milk. People who love peanut butter are not discouraged from purchasing it because some people are allergic. I do not think it would be harmful to the food additive manufacturers to admit that some people are severely allergic. I know of others in my community whose reactions are much worse than mine. We have to keep running lists of what snack foods are msg free (very few, for the record), what restaurants we can and cannot go to, and the list keeps changing. It is not fair that health-conscious people should be wary of allergic reactions at every turn, and we are not even getting any help from the FDA like other allergy sufferers do.

We need legislation. People who are allergic to MSG need help from those who are serving our country to make our voices heard. Please help and do what you can to promote food labeling legislation that would mark MSG clearly as an allergen in all foods where it is present.

Thank you for your time.

Great Day :)

2009-08-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

Today was a very satisfying day. I had a great workout with my friend KT this morning, and she asked how things were coming on the new house (which has needed some major cleaning before we officially move in), and then offered to come with me after work today to get some cleaning done. While trying to figure out the details (seeing if I could get Jeff to make dinner and when we would eat it) she said, "You know what, I'm putting a shepherds pie in the oven tonight, anyway, you guys should join us for dinner!"

I was so completely grateful. Not only did she help me scrub the fairly grungy walls (thanks to the former tenants), sweep and mop the floors, and such; but she also gave us the gift of hospitality, having us over and feeding us a delicious dinner!

I don't except help very readily. Partly because of the way my mind works when I approach a problem or task (something about my method makes it very hard for me to clue others in on what I'm doing and what help I need), and partly because I don't like feeling like a burden. But it was very refreshing to allow some help and get some work done. There's still a lot to be done, but I plan on getting it done Saturday. Then we'll get some of the major things moved in: Washer & Dryer, among other things.

We have a new addition coming to our family. We are adopting Joy, an American Bulldog from a kennel in central GA. I am so excited. My family has always kept large dogs, and I want our kids - when we have them - to have the opportunity to grow up with the love of a pet. Also, she's a beautiful dog! I can't wait to share pics when we pick her up!

Real Food Wednesday: Cozy Quinoa Casserole

2009-08-05T19:03:00.001-04:00

I was surfing the web for quinoa recipes, and I found this great one at the Men's Health website. I had no idea they had recipes there! Anyway...it called for Acorn Squash, which I have actually never cooked with before (I know, I know...how is that even possible?). So, I gave it a try. The only thing I wish I had known beforehand was how hard Acorn Squash is to cut. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing.

If you are unfamiliar with Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), it is a great addition to your pantry. Quinoa is a South American grain (sort of, it is not a grass plant like other names, so it is not a true grain) that is very unique in that it is a complete protein all by itself. Most grains need to be paired with some legume in order to be a complete protein. Another great advantage is that it is very low in phytic acid compared to other grains, so if you decide to soak it, it only needs to be soaked for 2-4 hours (if at all). It cooks up pretty quickly without soaking. Quinoa was grown and harvested by the Incas, who named it Quinoa because it means "mother grain." Though they may not have had the means to break down its nutritive components, they knew that eating it kept people healthy. Now we know that quinoa is very high in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber.

Quinoa can seem expensive, but just a little bit cooks up to be quite a lot. This casserole calls for a cup, and a black bean and corn meal I do with Quinoa only uses 1/2 a cup and we have sooooo much food left over! So, while I would not necessarily say it ends up being just as cheap as other grains, it does seem a little more reasonable than it did in my first moment of sticker shock. Actually, the link posted above for the phrase "mother grain" is the least expensive place I could find it online (if anyone knows of a better price, go ahead and let me know, I'm always looking).

Without further ado, here is the recipe (as seen on this page in Men's Health):

* 1 large onion, peeled and diced
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 6 cremini (or white) mushrooms, thinly sliced
* 1/2 C acorn squash, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
* 1 lb ground dark turkey meat
* 1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (or dried sage)
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 C low sodium chicken stock
* 1 C quinoa, rinsed
* 1/4 C parsley, minced
* 6 oz reduced fat monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a skillet, saute onion in olive oil on medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until translucent.
3. Add mushrooms, squash, and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add turkey, breaking it into small pieces as it browns, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, stock, and quinoa and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Transfer ingredients from pan into a 9 by 9 inch casserole dish or baking pan.
7. Mix in parsley and 3 ounces cheese.
8. Sprinkle remaining 3 ounces cheese on top of casserole.
9. Bake in oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

They also have nutritional information for the recipe on the site.

Substitutions:

We use homemade mozz instead of the cheddar they recommend, mostly because Mozzarella is a raw cheese, which means Jeff can have it, and I don't know how to make cheddar. Otherwise I made no other substitutions.

I did notice that the color washes out of everything, so you may want to sprinkle with fresh herbs on individual servings to give it a little bit of color.

Check out more Real Food Wednesday Posts here, at Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

Exciting News!!

2009-08-01T21:00:00.001-04:00

Early this morning at 8 AM, Jeff and I signed the lease on a house! We are finally going to be able to have people over, have the room we need to keep up with everything I want to be doing in the kitchen, making our own laundry soap, etc.

An added bonus is that the back yard is ginormous, and we have landlady approval do have a good sized garden! So what I need now is lots of Georgia winter gardening tips, because of course the garden won't be getting started until probably September.

We have this whole month to move, which I am really grateful for, because it will give us time to organize things as we move them without getting overwhelmed. I've never had so much time to move before...the focus is always getting everything out of the one residence and into another, and then when it is all in there, there is hardly any room to get a real organizational structure in place. This way I'll be able to organize things as they get moved in, so we won't have a room full of things that have no home, and no hope of future organization. I am really excited about an opportunity to move at a steady pace, with no mad rush to the finish line!

Now I'm off to Swag Search winter gardening in GA. If you've tried to join Swag Bucks with the widget at the bottom of the page, I think it's broken. However, you can join under me at this referral link. I know it is going to take a LONG time, but I'm trying to earn airline miles so that visiting my parents back home in NY is more financially feasible! Your joining helps me out! Thanks :)

Menu Plan Monday - July 27

2009-07-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Last week there was no menu planning for us. Monday was my birthday and Saturday was our anniversary, not to mention getting back from a week-long business trip; so last week was about slowly getting back into our routine.

We came back to find that some friends of ours had just welcomed their 4th child into the world (Congratulations, Rachel & Josh :-D), and of course the ladies from our church are helping to prepare meals, so that got me excited. Jeff and I tried a new recipe out this spring that quickly became a favorite, and when we shared some leftovers with Josh & Rachel they were fast fans, too. So I did not even have to think to hard about what I was going to be making. So, with Wednesday figured out (that is when we cook for them), I decided to leap into the rest of the week.

Monday:
Breakfast: Kefir Smoothie and Scrambled eggs
Lunch: salad
Dinner: spaghetti a la Jeff (I had dinner planned, but I came home and Jeff said, "Can I make dinner?" I almost never say no to that)

To Do: Mill flour for bread / soak for Tuesday, Take Black Beans out of Freezer for burritos Tuesday. Buy Avocados for Wednesday (it's hard to find ripe avocados around here that aren't already too mushy, so I buy them green a few days ahead). Hardboil Eggs.

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Kefir Smoothie / Soaked Oatmeal Breakfast
Lunch: Hard boiled eggs / fresh veggies
Dinner: Sweet Potato Burritos

To Do: Bake bread, slice cucumbers into vinegar, salt, and pepper & let it sit overnight.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Hardboiled Eggs / Kefir Smoothie
Lunch: Cucumber Sandwhiches (improvised version: also with tomatoes and lettuce on homemade whole wheat bread)
Dinner: Barley Burgers! I use hulled barley instead of pearl (more nutrients), and I soak it prior, turns out great :)

To Do: Soak Barley wednesday morning, for lunch wednesday mix butter with dill for cucumber sandwiches

Thursday:
Breakfast: Kefir Smoothie & Hardboiled eggs
Lunch: Chicken Salad sandwiches
Dinner: Date Night (Ruen Thai - one of my favs! No MSG, too :))

To Do: Make Granola

Friday -
Breakfast: Kefir Smoothie /granola / milk
Lunch: Hardboiled eggs, salad
Dinner - Leftovers (on my own cuz Jeff's working)

To Do: Soak pancake batter for morning, soak flour for Saturday bagel making

Saturday:
Breakfast: Eggs/Pancakes
Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Honey Garlic Chicken, mixed veggies, multigrain dinner rolls

Sunday:
Breakfast: Kefir Smoothies / granola
Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Quiche, (spinach bacon mushroom?)

And that's that. Find more menu planning ideas at Org Junkie.

Our Nutrition Journey (Part 2 - From Georgia Onward)

2009-07-24T20:57:00.000-04:00

This is continuing from my previous post, Our Nutrition Journey (My History With Food), as a part of Fight Back Fridays.

When I moved down to GA in the summer of 2007, I moved in with my brother and sister-in-law. They baked all of their baked goods with flour freshly milled in their kitchen from whole wheat. I was a little hesitant to swing so drastically into the "health food" camp (which is really laughable, if you know me now), but I decided to at least try it. What I learned is that wheat bread made from freshly milled flour has a very surprising nutty flavor to it, not at all like the cardboard taste of store bought wheat. Whether Jen is making cookies, breads, or cakes; she does that with freshly milled whole wheat flour. The more I ate with them, the less I liked white bread. In fact, most things made with white bread just tasted empty. I decided that when I was no longer living with them, I was definitely investing in a grain mill of my own. Other than that, I did not have too much planned along the lines of healthy living. As far as I was concerned, all the wonderful benefits of freshly milled flour (and there are indeed many) would be the cure-all for my health.

Meanwhile, my husband Jeff (then my friend) had a few appointments with his doctor regarding blood work less than positive results. When the implications of his current eating patterns (lots of soda and other refined sugars) became clear, his diet changed almost overnight! Cholesterol and blood sugar both were high, and the doctor was quite concerned, so all of the sudden, soda was entirely removed from Jeff's diet. The rest of this is basically just what he had recounted to me while all of this was going on. Jeff felt like he had more energy with all the sugar gone, so instead of just cutting out the sweets he switched to xylitol for a few things. That was great for uncooked foods, and it is supposed to cook up just the same as sugar, but somehow everything ended up fluffier when he used it.

When we were getting ready to get married, I was afraid I was going to have to try and convince Jeff that we should do the wheat. Little did I know that his mom had frequently made bread from scratch when he was growing up, and he preferred a heartier bread. He said to me once when we were talking about budgeting, groceries, and the like; "So, we're going to do the wheat, right?" So I ordered wheat right away when we got married, and just went around using other people's mills until we could afford our own. I knew several people who had mills, and all of them were people I enjoy spending time with, so that made it even better. It was not just a way for me to mill flour until we had our own mill, it was an opportunity snippets of quality time with people I like to be with.

We were largely drinking soy milk, because Jeff is allergic to (pasteurized) dairy. Sometimes (in order to not make a big deal of things in public and such) he would just eat/drink dairy anyway, but every time he got really sick...so I pretty much just stayed away from cheese and only cooked with soy milk. I was asking a friend for tips on milk substitutes that maybe were a little creamier, and she said, "He's even allergic to raw milk?" I totally did not understand the question. How could pasteurization affect an allergy? She explained to me that pasteurization kills an enzyme that makes casein and other proteins more digestible. I was partly excited about the concept, and partly in stunned disbelief. There was no way this sounded logical or truthful (but I really hoped it was). I stuck the idea on the back burner, not wanting to make an investment of any kind in something that might not work. Then, while we were hanging out with some family down here (aside: it's really complicated to say how exactly "family" is related. My sister in law's fun-loving family continuously grows by association, and we are included in that group. So I could say that it was my sister-in-law's sister Angie who offered us the milk, but that just sounds clumsy and way too dificult. It is easier and more accurate to just say my sister or my sister in law, that said, I'm just going to use sil for short), my sil Angie said, "I have some raw milk, do you want to try it?" I was excited, Jeff not so much. UNTIL...he tried it. Then he was astonished at how it tastes good, while pasteurized milk tastes not-so-good. Better yet, he did not get sick! So we switched.

In a fit of experimentation (those happen to me often, sometimes it works, sometimes it is not so pretty) I decided I wanted to try to make butter. My wonderful husband googled like crazy and found this incredible blog post, complete with step by step instructions and clear pictures. The butter making is not something we do all the time. We really do not enjoy the taste of our milk skimmed (and one of the benefits of raw milk is that there is no need to, health and fats wise), so we only make it when I can get cream from our farmer, too (as opposed to just milk). The experiment went well, though, and I decided to check out Lindsay's blog (see link a few lines back) to see what else she had in store.

Well, to my amazement she had all kinds of health tips, recipes, and more importantly, links to other blogs on the same topics. I began to learn about soaking grains and legumes. At first glance all I could think was, "That just seems like a lot of extra work!" But the more I thought about it, if we were going as far as to freshly mill our own flour immediately before baking to get more benefit from the flour, we were silly not to soak, when that would increase the nutritional benefit by so much! So, I started learning how to soak, but found that my off-the-cuff M.O. didn't really jive with something you needed to do 8-24 hours in advance. Then one day I accidentally stumbled onto a post on meal planning. After the meals were the steps needed to get ready for the next days meals, and I thought, "This is IT! This is how I can keep on top of things (more...not entirely, but more)."

Meal planning made things even easier, because it broke my cook time down into shorter segments. One for milling and soaking, and one for adding the final ingredients and baking. So I found it was much easer to soak grains and to plan ahead than it was for me to bake at all without soaking. This may not be the case for everyone else, but it was certainly the case for me. Once again when I thought Jeff would be weirded out by some new thing, he said, "I'm pretty sure my mom soaked her bread dough." So another smooth transition took place (Praise the Lord!).

In reading posts on soaking, I came across making your own kefir often. Now, for those of you who have no idea what it is, kefir (pronounced "kuhFEER"), it is a probiotic food. It is a lot like yogurt, except that is consistency is thinner (more like a smoothie), and it has more probiotic cultures. I was already familiar with kefir from my time in Boston. I had a housemate from Russia who taught me how to say it, and recommended it when I could not eat very much (I was dealing with stress, and have tended to take my stress out on my stomach. When I would get very anxious, I would be hungry, but would be creating so much extra acid that I was also nauseated. Kefir was the only thing I could drink when that happened, and I'd basically drink kefir and eat bread for two days until my stomach was okay again). Anyway, I had already started making yogurt, but I had no idea that you could make kefir! I was very excited about a) having it on hand again, and b) only spending just over $1 a quart, instead of $3 a quart.

The dictionary definition above lacks in one way, it only references 2 cultures. Yogurt generally has 2, but kefir usually has several. Lifeway Kefir (which I highly recommend if you can't / don't want to make your own or can't get raw milk anyway) has ten probiotic cultures in it. Homemade kefir from raw milk, I recently learned, can have as many as 28 probiotic cultures in it. The acid-culture environment of both kefir and yogurt makes the calcium in milk more absorbable (as well as a host of B Vitamins!), so I began to make kefir smoothies a part of my daily regimen (well, not much I do is planned, so it pretty much was my daily regimen). Every morning for breakfast I would make a kefir smoothie (and most mornings I would eat granola or a hard-boiled egg, too). Jeff eats the yogurt, but even sweetened, the kefir is a little too sharp-tasting for him. Sweetened with some sucanat and vanilla, I love to add it to a banana and a handful of strawberries. I have also started making our own cheeses and such. Mostly just Mozzarella and Riccotta. And straining some batches of yogurt to make "yogurt cheese" or basically, cream cheese.

We also, after much reading, switched over entirely from processed white and brown sugars to sucanat, in order to help out with Jeff's blood sugar, but also because mine had gotten a little weird. I had always tended toward being hypoglycemic, and recently had noticed that if I ate anything with too much processed sugar, I was suddenly quite lacking in energy, almost to the point of falling asleep. Knowing that reactive hypoglycemia such as that can be a precursor to diabetes (which I have a family history of), we decided to turn our little baby step of using xylitol sometimes into a leap of faith in using sucanat all the time.

I have read so many more wonderful ideas on so many blogs (such as the ones I've been linking to for Fight Back Fridays, Menu Planning Mondays, Real Food Wednesdays, and Gratituesdays - yes, they're not in order, because they didn't come to mind in order), and we've wanted to implement many more of them, but at the moment I've had to learn to be stop for a while and be content where we are. We have a small kitchen (a small apartment in general), with no room for a garden, so at this point we have had to say, "we will do this later." But I am very excited to say that with just those changes in place (raw milk, freshly milled flour, sucanat, and soaking) Jeff's recent labs were almost miraculously better, and my blood sugar is normal! Not only that, but we (who had previously been getting sick with head/chest colds 1-2 times a month) have not been sick in like six months!

Typing it up, it really sounds like a lot of changes; but adding them one step at a time was crucial! These changes, though have really affected us for the better. I was just getting to a point of getting bored with some of it (yes, it happens!), when Jeff came home and said his cholesterol had gone down 100 points in the last year (yes, if you're wondering, that is incredible to achieve with no medications), and that he was no longer borderline diabetic. Talk about news that motivates you. I regained my wind, so to speak, and haven't looked back. Our health is so much better than where it was, and REAL FOOD is largely at the root of it!

For more Fight Back Friday Posts, visit Food Renegade!

Real Food Wednesday - Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-07-22T14:03:00.000-04:00

First, my part II on our nutrition journey is going to have to wait until this Friday, since my business trip last week took me to a place where (unexpectedly) our hotel did not have free wi-fi! Jeff and I enjoyed our trip to the desert, where we got to catch up with some family I haven't seen in a while, and enjoyed a cute (predominantly shark-themed) aquarium at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The tradeshow for work (the reason for our trip) went very well, as well. Vegas is not really a city I would recommend for a vacation, though, unless you're wanting to spend most/all of your time outside the city at sites like th Grand Canyon and Lake Mead, especially if you have kids - largely due to the large quantity of nearly nude billboards and such the like.

Anyway...onto today's topic.

In the spirit of Real Food Wednesday, and in honor of my mom's birthday I wanted to share a little bit about why Real Food is worth the time and effort (at least to me).

My mother has never been one of those women who was always looking for something faster when it came to time in the kitchen. As a teen it sometimes frustrated me, because there were not a lot of ready-made snacking materials in our kitchen. Our kitchen was full of ingredients, not (what I now consider disgusting) processed food products. But come meal time, I was certainly not disappointed. My mom made the most incredible foods from scratch - something many of my friends were a bit jealous of.

And of course, the best part about all of that was the opportunity I had to grow up on a chair that was pulled up to the counter. I can entirely attribute my love of cooking to the quality time I spent watching my mom invest her time and her talents into our family. Fast food is, well, fast; but it can never make you feel more loved. Looking at all the time and energy my mom poured into making balanced, creative, and home-cooked meals for us - it is impossible to feel anything but loved!

I'm going to admit something here to make a point - I watched an infomercial the other day (it doesn't happen often, I swear). It was for the Bullet Express, and they were touting that all these meals could be made in minutes, instead of the long amount of time it usually takes. I was immediately grateful that my mom did not opt for such quick fixes. I learned so much from her. I learned that feeding your family is worth time and effort, especially since you get so much more than just a well-fed family. You get a family who knows they are worth your time, knows that they are loved. You give little girls a chance to feel grown up, and to learn how to invest time into the families they will have one day. You get a family who knows that really good things are worth the wait.

Now we both share tips for healthier, more whole foods. Anytime I learn anything knew in the kitchen, she's the first person I call, and she's always telling me new things she's picked up. I'm so grateful for my relationship with my mom, and definitely for all the bonding time I got with her while I was growing up, standing on that chair in the kitchen.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Visit for more great links :)

Big Answer

2009-07-13T20:37:00.000-04:00

Nicole (and everyone else reading along),

My response on the whole soaking thing was getting a little lengthy for a comment, and I also wanted to give credit where credit is due, so I decided to make a post of it.

Soaking the oatmeal does a couple things, it breaks down something called phytic acid, present in many grains and legumes, that keeps you from absorbing the full amount of nutrients in the grains, and it softens the oatmeal and makes it MUCH faster to cook. I get my soaked oatmeal recipe from this blog (She actually has a TON of great resources, and it is through her blog that I stumbled upon some of these others on my left margin). What I love about the soaked method is that I have about 2 minutes of prep the morning before (usually I rinse out the jar I soaked the previous batch in, toss in more oats, the water, 1 T ground almonds, 2 T ground wheat, and 1 T whey, and let it sit in the cupboard till the next morning), and then maybe 10 minutes of cook time that morning. It's a very fast breakfast!

She has basic soaking methods for several types of grains and beans here. At first read it looks like a lot of extra work, but to be entirely honest, I have found that it makes things much faster the day I actually do the baking. It also forces me to plan ahead. I'm not generally great with juggling all the planning, so both the meal plans on Mondays and the soaking have really been tools I have used to help keep things organized.

Anyway, that's pretty much a nutshell view of soaking, and of the meal planning motivation :) Hope that answered your question!

Our Nutrition Journey (Part 1 - My history with Food)

2009-07-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

Off and on in my past, I have gone back and forth on nutrition. My Sophomore year of college, I was diagnosed with gall stones. They run in my family, so even though I was neither fat nor forty (they talk about risk factors for gall stones being "The Three F's: Forty, Fat, and Female." No offense meant here, just referring to the three F's), it was not a complete surprise. Also, I was a complete junk food / fast food / "easy" food addict.

I did not want to have my gall bladder out, and I was pretty adamant about that. I had learned throughout the diagnosing process that the job of the gall bladder is to secrete bile into the stomach, to aid in the digestion of meat-based fats and proteins. I figured that if my gall bladder was taken out, either my diet would have to change drastically, or I would be ill all the time. A friend of mine had suggested that I do a liver cleanse...but I read the packet of information he gave me and could not stomach the idea of drinking all that oil and salt, or the enemas that went along with it.

So, what could I do? More than the tiniest bit of fat or meat in my diet and I was in a lot of pain, not to mention that if I did enough damage and had a severe enough attack, gall stones could actually be lethal! So, I decided to go vegetarian. I was not entirely sure that I was prepared to do that for the rest of my life, but at least until I could decide between the liver cleanse and surgery.

I should also mention that I had major issues keeping weight on. For all of high school and thus far into college, I was about 15 lbs underweight. I ate a tremendous amount of food, I just never gained any weight. It was certainly not my parents' fault; my mom cooked wonderful, scratch-made, nutritious meals at home. But I had an obsession with sugar. Recently I learned that refined sugar has to leach minerals from your system in order to be properly digested, so my current theory is that I was undernourished - not because of a lack in nutrients - but because of an over abundance of sugar!

As a vegetarian, I actually gained weight. Not in a frightening or unhealthy weight, but for the first time in quite some time, my weight was actually within the range for my height and age. I was pretty excited about that, so even though barely 2 months into vegetarianism I was healed of my gall stones (went forward for prayer after church, had a scan of my abdomen done later on a hospital visit and the scan found NO gall stones), I continued as a vegetarian for almost a year. On top of that, I started working very hard to cut refined sugars out of my diet and drink at least 8 cups of water every day. I felt so much better than I had during my first year of college. I was much less tired, got sick less often, and had more focus just from changing those two things! My "health kick" only lasted until the spring, though. Easter candy on sale is a horrible thing! Just a little indulgence and it was back into the downward spiral of sugar addiction. (Apparently, I'm a slow learner).

I bounced back and forth between healthy periods and much less healthy for the next 5 years. Exercised sometimes, most of the time I did not, though. Through the rest of college to a few years of living on my own I rode a food roller coaster. What made it most difficult to stick with healthy choices was that, somewhere along the way, I developed a major issue with compulsive overeating. It did not present in obvious weight gain (I stayed roughly the same weight from my junior year of college until I was about 3 years out from college, and that was within my healthy bmi/weight range). But, as I was dealing with some personal issues - largely centered around anxiety - food became an easy outlet. Not just any food, but the sweetest, most disgusting junk food I could get my hands on. I'll not go into too much detail on compulsive overeating here, but suffice it to say that it definitely invaded every endeavor of mine to clean up my diet. And nothing I tried to get a handle on my eating worked, until...

Discussing the concept of Christian stewardship with some friends, we dwelled on the fact that our body is one of many resources God has given us. If we are to be a good steward of our resources, we need to be good stewards of our bodies. That realization saved my neck! Somehow, in that, came the grace to break off the bondage of overeating. I think that part of it was that, instead of trying "not to" overeat, I was making a positive effort, aimed at obeying Christ. It was not, "How should I not eat?" but instead, "What can I eat to take good care of myself?"

That was not an easy period of transition, but it was the beginning of a change in perspective. It completely changed the way I look at food, and my reasons for eating. Ocassionally I still struggle there, but God always gives the grace to remember why we eat the way we eat, what I really want to put in my body (and how much), and how to be a good steward of my body for the Lord's glory.

More on where my journey went from here (and how it merged with Jeff's when we met) next Friday! This post is a part of Fight Back Fridays, hosted by Food Renegade.

Typing this up so late, I'm watching the 700 club, which I almost NEVER watch (nothing against it or anything, just not really up my alley), because it just happened to be on. They just had a whole segment on a family that is "going green to save money." They talked about the great things this family does to save money that are also earth friendly (and mentioned that as being a good steward of the planet), and that got me totally psyched. I know many Christians who are into healthy and earth friendly living, but in Christian media I hear so very little about it! Not only that, this family made their own detergents (like we do!), and ate a diet that focused on rooting out processed foods and eating things that were raw and natural. How cool is that??

Real Food Wednesday - Baked Chicken with Apples and Barley

2009-07-08T14:03:00.000-04:00

Recently I learned a good bit about the health benefits of barley, and I thought, "Well, this is great, but I have no idea what to cook barley in or with, I need to get some ideas!" Thankfully, I stumbled onto this website (linked to just a sentence back), and it had a host of ideas (most of which I still have yet to try. An instant favorite, this recipe has a hint of Indian flavor (aka curry), and plays to my love of fruited chicken!

I did soak my barley, first, which isn't mentioned in the recipe. From what I've read, barley does not require a long soak time, just 6-8 hours (which is perfect for me because I can set it to soak in the morning and whip up dinner when I get home from work!). I soak the barley in a 1:2 (barley:water) ratio and added 2 T of whey. I then drained and rinsed the barley, and it was ready to go. It calls for pearl barley, but I used just plain ole' hulled barley and it came out just fine (amazing, actually). We make our own chicken stock on a fairly regular basis so I did not use any store-bought broth or reconstitute bouillon cubes (soooo hard to find w/o MSG, anyway), I simply diluted our stock 1:1 (stock/water), since it is much darker/stronger than soup broth.

OK, without further ado, here is the recipe for Baked Chicken with Apples and Barley. It came to us at just the right time, when we were trying to add variety to our recipe repertoire! I think it has to go into the rotation for the week after our Vegas trip...I will be wanting a nice home cooked meal when I get back!! Ooh! I just realized I want this for my BIRTHDAY dinner! That's our first whole day back! :)

Find more Real Food Wednesday posts here at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Gratituesday - Joy No Matter What

2009-07-07T19:25:00.000-04:00

Today was your average Tuesday. Work was good (though strangely enough the day seemed a little longer today than yesterday), and I came home to find that my husband had put his day off to good use, helping with some of the housework that I can't get done while I'm at work (OK, he helped with quite a bit). But between work and home was...the prayer room.

While I was in the prayer room tonight God was pressing on my heart the importance of joy, even when things do not seem all that conducive to joy. There were several people on my heart in various tough places, and as I prayed about their circumstances, I heard the Lord say, "Pray for their joy."

Scripture tells us to be joyful in all things, worry for nothing, be gentle toward all, and pray with gratitude in our hearts (Philippians 4), and again to be joyful always, and to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances, not putting out the Spirit's fire (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Not just for my friends and my family, but I so need to hear that, too! Not just to be passively resigned to whatever God has for me at this point in my life, but to relish every single second of the life He's given, rejoicing in ALL things.

As I started meditating on that, this song by Nichole Nordeman came to mind, and I thought I'd share it. When I first heard this song I was somewhat confused by it, because it almost seemed like, "I'll pray for these things, but..." But upon my second listen (ooooh so long ago, we're up way past millionth now) I realized it was more like, "God, I know that only You can change my circumstances, but I'll still praise You, even if they stay the same." Or, as Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him (Job 13:15)."

Gratitude
(Nichole Nordeman)

Send some rain, would You send some rain
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would you send a cloud, thunder long and loud
Let the sky grow dark and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid

But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case

We give thanks to You, with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
And how to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never grant us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups and fill them up again tonight
And would You wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roof
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time

But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...

We give thanks to You, with gratitude
For lessons learned to hunger after You
And that a starry sky offers a better view
If not roof is overhead
And if we never taste our bread

Oh the differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight

But maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case

We give thanks to You, with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace
But, Jesus, would You, please

For more Gratituesday posts, check out Heavenly Homemakers.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-07-06T21:47:00.000-04:00

So, a few of last weeks meals get to be recycled, because - true to form - a lot of last week got switched up. Don't get me wrong, it got switched up in very good way. We went out for a potluck type dinner with several friends for the evening of the 4th, went to the fireworks on Thursday and needed a quicker dinner, etc.

Today was pretty amazing. Work was good (and also really flew by. I got a lot of work done, and I felt very good about what I accomplished.

Headed to the prayer room for some alone time with God this evening after work, and that was a pretty fantastic time. I have struggled often with knowing exactly how to draw near to God in that place of intimacy that sometimes comes so easily. But today it was like God just (lovingly) wopped me upside the head, and I realized that many of those other times, God had given me some sort of song. Something that particularly spoke to what was going on in that moment in my walk with God. And so tonight in the prayer room, I prayed of course, but I did much of it in song. I just sang to Him anything that came to mind that reflected the state of my heart (or where I wanted my heart to be), and spent time between songs listening. It was really beautiful. And it was some of the most incredible time I've had in the prayer room in the last year.

OK, without further adue, here is the menu plan for this week.

Monday (happened already)
Breakfast - Kefir smoothie
Lunch - Grits and eggs
Dinner - Chicken sauteed with garlic, mashed sweet potatoes (mmmm), and steamed spinach.

Tuesday
Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie / Soaked whole wheat banana muffins (just soaked my usual banana bread recipe, and added the egg, baking powder/soda, and banana this evening before popping them in the oven)
Lunch - Salads / sandwiches
Dinner - Breakfast for dinner (my favorite!!) soaked whole wheat and banana pancakes (again, just put everything except leavening ingredients together w/ 1 T kefir last night, added all the leavening today & refrigerated), bacon

To Do: soak pancake batter (done), bake bread for sandwiches(in the oven now)

Wednesday
Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie / Soaked whole wheat banana muffins
Lunch - sandwiches, salad
Dinner - barley burgers

To Do: Soak Barley (wednesday morning)

Thursday
Breakfast - (you guessed it) Kefir smoothies (breakfast of champions) if there are still muffins left over, we'll have those too.
Lunch - leftover Barley Burgers
Dinner - spaghetti -just for my husband (special request :-P), whole wheat garlic bread (mmmm)

To Do: Make Spaghetti Sauce (Wenesday night - I like it better when it sits for a day in the fridge)

Friday
Breakfast - We love our kefir! Granola, too
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - I'm on my own...probably leftover barley burgers. The recipe makes like 8 and there are only 2 of us!

Saturday
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs & Bacon, whole wheat toast
Lunch - Carrots & Celery, Grilled PB & Banana, Kefir
Dinner - Leftover spaghetti & more whole wheat garlic bread

Sunday - Warner Robbins for the day
Meals with Mom Buller
EARLY Breakfast of kefir smoothie (definitely the only thing I can eat before 6 in the morning)

Next week's meal planning is nuts. There is Monday, and that is all. Tuesday morning early we leave for Vegas for my business trip. I'm really excited about going. I'll get to see some family I haven't seen in ages, spend some quality time with the husby, and of course meet and greet customers I have thus far only known by phone while I'm on the tradeshow floor. It'll be a good trip, and we'll be gone until Sunday night. All our meals will be at the Imperial Palace buffet, so I'm not sure what kind of good healthy options they'll have. I am, however, going to pack 2 big bags of homemade granola in my suitcase, and buy kefir while I'm there. I'd love to just buy raw milk and make kefir in my room, but I'm going to have to settle for pasteurized. I tried to make contact with a dairy out there, but didn't get any feedback. At least I'll have my probiotics, though! (I'm really trying to think positively on the digestive front.)

I really want to go see Food, Inc., but it is not in our area for very long, and Atlanta is a long drive for a week night (couldn't make it over the weekend.) It'll be in Asheville, NC on the 17 of July, which is the closest it gets to us once it leaves ATL, but we'll be in Vegas.

Then I come back to my BIRTHDAY WEEK! My Birthday is Monday, July 20th. Sooooo exciting! I'm turning 27, and I'm actually starting to feel like an adult these days, so I'm kind of excited about that.

Check out more Menu Plan Monday posts here at Organizing Junkie!

Fun in the Kitchen!

2009-07-03T18:46:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

First of all, there is a new post over at Bee Beautiful, which is long overdue! Head over that way for your Fabulous Friday skin care tip. I have to say it felt a little strange typing up a "Fabulous Friday" post, since I have the day off and ultimately it feels like a Saturday. Already today I've had an incredible workout (longer than usual because I was not pressed for time), a casual morning, gotten some laundry done, gotten to watch a movie with Jeff while he was home on a break (put in extra hours last night bringing his consumers to the fireworks), washed a few loads of dishes, and started making ricotta cheese.

The cheese is largely because I had some whey to use up after making mozzarella the other day. Now, I use Ricki Carroll's 30 minute mozzarella from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co., so technically I shouldn't be able to make ricotta from that. HOWEVER, let me tell you a trick that can be used to easily convert this mozzarella whey into ricotta cheese.

The 30-min recipe cannot be reused to make ricotta because the whey is not cultured. So, I have added 1/2 a cup to 1 c of whey from my yogurt straining process. Here is how. First, after making the cheese, I strain all the whey into my GINORMOUS stock pot after making mozz. The whey I have leftover is still somewhat milky, even after yielding a pound of cheese. Not only that, but I also almost always have just a little shy of a gallon of whey leftover anyway. OK, so then I funnel all of that whey back into a newly cleaned gallon jug, and add the yogurt whey. Then I screw on the cap and let it sit on the counter, until the gallon starts to bulge a bit (you can tell the culture is definitely in the process that way, kind of like when air gets in the bag for Amish Friendship Bread (which I am also currently making "brewing"). This may take several hours (4-6?). When I did this the other day, some of our plans changed and I didn't have time to make ricotta then. Rather than waste all that whey, I just stuck it in the fridge. 2 days later I'm still able to make ricotta from it! [note: This is from raw milk. The mozzarella process is entirely raw, never getting above 110 degrees. For that reason, I do not know if it will work to add the yogurt whey to the mozz whey if you are using pasteurized milk. I've never done it and I'm not prepared to say it wouldn't help you grow harmful bacteria instead.]

So now, I just follow the ricotta making instructions you can find here, at Heavenly Homemakers. The only reasons that I don't use her mozzarella instructions are time and a lack of space in our kitchen. I would love to make a cultured mozzarella instead, so hopefully when we finally have a house with a bigger kitchen (and perhaps we have more time on our hands) that will be one of my first projects. The only thing I do differently from her ricotta recipe is generally to let the heated whey sit for half an hour (or so, if it seems more time will be needed, see below).

Now, sadly, making the ricotta this way (from the whey that has culture added, that is) is only about 66% fool-proof. Every third batch or so, the curd that separates from the why is too fine and goes through the cloth I use (I use a pillowcase, haha). If this happens to you, don't be discouraged. Try heating it all the way up to 185, and letting it sit for longer. Sometimes that works quite well. If you still have no success....maybe you should make the cultured mozzarella first (instead of the quick way), or just make your ricotta from milk! To make it from milk it is basically the same, except that in the beginning you'll be adding a teaspoon and a half of citric acid, vinegar, or lemon juice to the milk before heating it up. You can find good ricotta recipes all over the web. I have used this one, again from Ricki Carroll's collection, this one I have not used but it looked really good.

That's all for today, folks!

Menu Planning Monday

2009-06-29T20:43:00.000-04:00

Today was such a Monday...Overslept for my workout with KT, plans changing up at the last minute and all. Just felt like my brain was on another planet most of the day. Tomorrow will be better. Work out & a kefir smoothie to start the day off right, then sweet potato burritos when I get home from work (I was going to make them, but my wonderful husband who is most certainly cuisinarily gifted said, "well, I have the day off. I'll make them." - yes, I did make up that word. And yes, I do love my husband).

Meal planning is always strange for us, with both of us working. I work until 7 on Thursdays and Fridays. Jeff works into the evening on the days he works, and some of those nights are nights that he and his consumers do dinner together. When I'm in the rotation for worship team, practice is the Thursday before the first and the third Sundays of the month (as well as on Sunday mornings), and that is at 7PM, right when I get off of of work. So on some nights of the week, priorities are what we can cook quickly or what is already prepared, and other nights (when it's just me for dinner) the priority is cooking something light and simple.

KEFIR SMOOTHIES - I am almost always doing kefir smoothies for breakfast. I feel so much more nourished, it is great fuel for my workouts in the morning. I'm not sure what the difference is, really. I mean a cup of kefir (give or take), one banana, and a handful of strawberries is not a lot of food, especially not by calories; but one smoothie in the morning and I snack so very much less during the work day. I try to get hard boiled eggs in when I can, too, because of the Omega 3s. Having ADD, they really help me as a part of my daily regimen to keep my focus on track (regular exercise, diet loaded w/omega 3s, caffeine when I need large amounts of focus, and sublingual B12).

OK, so the meal plan for this week.

Monday (already done, really, but this is what we had)
Breakfast: granola
Lunch: Chicken w/blueberry barbecue sauce
Dinner: Date night :) Dinner out at Gregory's at the Bus Stop

Tuesday -
Breakfast - Kefir smoothie & Hardboiled eggs
Lunch - Leftovers from Gregory's
Dinner - Sweet Potato Burritos

Wednesday -
Breakfast - Kefir Smoothies & Granola
Lunch - Chicken Salad Sandwiches on homemade bread (mmmm)
Dinner - Breakfast for Dinner (my fav) This time it's a quiche. Instead of the crescent rolls, I'll be making a whole wheat pie crust. And instead of the cheddar, I'll be using homemade mozzarella.

Thursday -
Breakfast - Granola and/or kefir smoothies and hardboiled eggs
Lunch - Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Dinner - Pizza (homemade mozz!)

Friday -
Breakfast - Kefir Smoothie / hardboiled egg
Lunch - Chicken Salad sandwiches
Dinner - Leftover sweet potato burritos

Saturday -
Breakfast - waffles & eggs
Lunch - Kefir smoothie Grilled Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
Dinner - @ Woodlands for the 4th of July :) Not sure what I can bring yet...

Sunday -
Breakfast - granola & Kefir smoothies
Lunch - Picnic out! (Portable version of California salad)
Dinner - Beef & Barley Burgers (we sub in ground turkey)

So, that's the week! I'm looking forward to it. I'm so looking forward to Friday off for Independence day. It will be good to have some time to relax, and some time to get more things done. Even though we now won't be moving for a little while, I'm hoping to try and get more things ready-to-move to make it easier when we do. Then an afternoon and evening out at a gorgeous old plantation house in Clarkesville with some friends, and a date with Jeff Sunday afternoon. To get some sun and some swim time somewhere close by. I just don't feel like it is summer without an occasional trip to the beach. Most of the "beaches" around here are sandy areas on a river that people declared to be a beach (like Rabun beach), but still...it marks it as summer for me.

You can see more MPM ideas at Organizing Junkie.

Yum (with Pictures)

2009-06-28T22:03:00.001-04:00

OK, yesterday I mentioned the Bailey's Irish Coffee Cheesecake. Here are some pictures of the goodness that it was :)

It tasted even better than it looks. We used the recipe from Not Just Cheesecake, and just replaced the whiskey with Baileys (because it tastes so much better that way, in my humble opinion). I described the sauce in the post below but basically I took confectioner's sugar (haven't found a good replacement for that, but I used sucanat in the cheesecake. I just let it sit in the mixture for a while to help it dissolve before mixing everything up), dark chocolate cocoa, espresso, real milk (I can't fathom calling milk raw anymore, as though it is something that is supposed to be cooked), and Baileys. I started by heating the milk, Baileys, and espresso so that the cocoa dissolved in it more easily. Once the cocoa was thoroughly dissolved and the milk mixture was hot, I turned off the heat, because I didn't want to add the sugar under increasing heat, which would make the sauce harder to thicken.

As a general rule when I'm going off the cuff, I didn't really measure anything, so you're welcome to try the ingredients and see what you come up with. The only problem with doing it that way is that I now have way more chocolate sauce than I will need even for the whole cheesecake, as I was adding a little of this and a little of that as I went for taste and consistency, so that means a whole lot of, "well, I guess I need more cocoa now, since I had to add so much confectioner's sugar to thicken it." Anyway, in the end you end up with a LOT of chocolate sauce. I guess I can always freeze it for the next cheesecake.

I had some leftover milk before this week's milk run, that was too plentiful for me to even think about making yogurt with, so I decided to make ricotta. Thanks to some help from several other blogs I've read (you can find them to the right), this is the ricotta straining method I've adopted:

Basically, I have two pillowcases set aside for only cheese and yogurt straining purposes. I line a colander (over my large stock pot so as not to lose all the whey) with a pillowcase and let the better part of the whey drain off. When the amount is more manageable, I tie up the pillowcase with several rubber bands (I do not delight in the idea of coming home to find ricotta all over my stove and counter) and attach those to the hinge on the cupboard above my stove. I let that drain for 1-several hourse (depending on the batch size. This was a sizeable batch so it has been draining for several hours). Then store the whey in a leftover (and thoroughly washed out and sanitized) milk jug marked with the date, and store the ricotta in an airtight container. Jeff thinks the whole process is gross, but he loves the lasagna and cheesecake that come from the ricotta and yogurt cheese strained by this method.

The first time I strained yogurt to get yogurt cheese, I set the whole thing up and went to hang out with a friend. While I was with my friend, I received a call from Jeff saying, "Um...there is a bag hanging from the cabinet....with yucky green juice [whey] dripping from it!" The process can look rather unappealing, but the results are more than palatable! This ricotta (made from whole milk) makes a very creamy lasagna filling!