Host Your Own Recipe Party

Does anyone else out there get tired of making the same old meals?

Yeah, that's me too!

Since starting to make monthly meal plans, I realized that even though I do cook mostly from scratch, I had a tendency to make a lot of the same things.  Sometimes once a month, sometimes twice a month.  Or I'd try a new recipe and think it was just OK and then toss it.

I've tried those email recipe exchanges and they never seem to work.

I've looked through all my cookbooks and keep coming back to the same recipes.  I don't really want to buy new cookbooks right now (OK, actually I do really want to but I'm restraining myself).  I did buy one new one that I'll write about once I make some things from it, of course!

So I decided to take matters into my own hands and have a recipe party.  I'm actually amazed that the idea for this thing came from my brain and was not something I got from someone else.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but once I planned the event, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of the idea sooner.  And everyone who I invited thought it was such a great idea, even if they couldn't come.  Several friends asked me to host another one so they could come the next time.

Here's how it worked.  There are, of course, no hard and fast rules to follow when hosting a party like this one.  You can make changes for whatever works best for you.  This was just how I did it.

I sent an invitation to a lot of people!  I was hoping for a lot of new recipes and selfishly, it was a chance for me to see some friends who no longer live nearby.  I also opened up the invitation to anyone who came to bring a friend as well.  In total, I had 14 women come together for the event.  I was certainly hoping for more but we had a fantastic time together.  I also told anyone who couldn't come that if they sent me five recipes, I'd send all the ones from the party.  No one took advantage of this great offer like I was hoping, but I thought it was worth a shot!

I asked each person who was coming to email me five recipes, mostly main or side dishes, that are family favorites or "go to" meals they like to make.  Each woman was then to bring one of those dishes to the party for all of us to try, sort of like a big potluck.  I thought it would be fun to actually try some of the food first, and truthfully, I just like to eat, so that was an incentive as well.

I compiled the recipes together in one document which took a lot longer than I thought it would.  I didn't have to retype anything, but I wanted everything formatted the same.  I also wanted to keep soups, main dishes, salads, desserts, etc...together so everytime I cut and pasted from the emails everyone sent, I had to readjust a few things.  I think I'd be faster at it next time around but it is something to keep in mind. 

At first, I was going to give all the recipes out that night but it ended up being over 50 pages and that seemed like a waste of paper so I printed out just the recipes that were brought that night and emailed the rest to everyone.  That way, they could print only the ones they wanted to try.  I put the recipes in a small binder inside plastic sleeves and gave one to each person who came.  I also included some blank copies of my recipe planning sheets, to get them started if they were interested.  I had talked to a lot of friends who were hoping to do some better meal planning and recipe organization and thought this might help jumpstart that process.

That's basically it.  Easy right?  We had a great time and the food was really awesome.  It really was a great way to have a girls night with some good food and wine and get inspired to cook some new meals in the process.  I have put a lot of the new recipes I received in my menu plan for April and I'm excited to try them.

The other great part about the night is that a lot of them wanted to host their own party so I of course invited myself to their shindigs, whenever they decide to give it a go.  I'm hoping to collect enough new recipes to have a new cookbook and won't have to buy one! 

It really was a lot of fun and I encourage you to try this one on your own with some friends.  You could make adaptations in a lot of different ways.  One of my friends who came that evening wants to do this sort of thing on a small scale on a monthly basis.  We're looking into doing that together.  I'll let you know if it works out!

So go on!  Do it!  Grab some friends, some wine, some recipes and have at it!

What's For Dinner?

If you follow any foodie-type blogs or people who love writing about food, you will probably come across their meal plan for the week.  I've seen a lot of blogs where each week, they faithfully post what they are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I think it's always interesting to see what other people are eating, to see if we are in any way similar to other people or if we have these strange tastes, or if they do!  On a recent comment, I was asked to show my menu plan.  I don't have a scanner, nor do I know how to post or link to other documents so I can't do that, although I'd be happy to show you what it looks like.  So instead I thought I'd just list our last two weeks of dinners, just to give you a feel for what we eat around here. 

I think of our meals as pretty plain, normally.  I like to cook simple food, without many ingredients, and it's mostly homemade.  Again, I don't develop my own recipes and I love to get ideas from other people (hence, my most recent adventure in hosting a recipe party, which I'll post about soon).  I have found our kids tend to like things pretty plain.  I'm not sure if that's a phase or just how their tastes are in general.  For example, I tried a new recipe last week making chicken curry which I thought was pretty great but they just ate plain rice.  So, as I'm sure many of you know, wanting to cook a variety of meals can be tricky with young eaters.

When looking at what people eat, it can be somewhate misleading as to what eating 'real food' looks like.  For example, when I say we eat "spaghetti and meatballs," I make my own sauce (normally, unless there's not time and then I use a jar of Muir Glen organic instead), and we use mostly Jerusalem articoke spaghetti or spinach spaghetti or a combination of both.  There are many different varieties of pasta, wheat, spelt, etc...and not necessarily are all of them healthy choices.  I make my own meatballs with beef we get from a local farmer.  We order a quarter of a cow every year that we freeze.  The cows are grass-fed (even with 3 feet of snow on the ground recently, they were out in a cleared space) and not treated with any type of inhumane practice of any kind.   When we pick eggs up from the same farmer, we see them out in the field and say hello, knowing they will be butchered to give us nourishment.  I never buy meat from the grocery store, and probably wouldn't eat it if we didn't have a local source. 

We are certainly not perfect eaters, our kids have much more of a sweet-tooth than I would like (hmmm...wonder where they get that from??) and we do have times where we eat things I know we probably shouldn't.  Eating healthy 'real foods' is a balancing act.

I say all of this because I do want to devote this blog to eating healthy foods and by saying what we eat could imply different things to different people.  But I guess if you had questions, you could email me or comment and just ask.  I certainly don't want to make sidenotes about every dish and exactly what's in it.  But we do try to buy as many foods from local sources or organic sources as much as possible. 

Anyway, as I ramble on and on, here's what we ate for the last two weeks!

Roast chicken, peas, mashed potatoes (I usually make a roast once a month and use the leftover chicken to make chicken salad, or other chicken meals during the week)
Chicken curry, rice
Spaghetti, meatballs, green beans
Wild flounder, sweet potatoes, asparagus
turkey burgers, homemade mac and cheese, carrots
Fettuccine alfredo (with a homemade sauce), broccoli
Tacos, guacamole (and yes, we use tortilla chips instead of shells)
Lentil soup
Homemade pizza (a new weekend favorite...we have it at least 2 times a month)
Chicken enchiladas
Fried rice, egg drop soup (a new recipe, not a family favorite which was too bad because it literally took 5 minutes to make)
Shepherd's pie
Grilled chicken, peas, sweet potatoes
Grilled steak, baked potatoes, green beans

So does that sound pretty normal to you??  I guess I look at what we eat like the same things most everyone eats.  I do try to think about the source of the ingredients as much as possible.  I guess I could do some more posts on my thinking behind that.

Here's what I'm planning to write about soon, in case you're interested in coming back to read more.  I hope you are!  I love to hear anyone who is inspired to make small changes!

My recipe party
Local farmers
Meat sources
Soaking grains
What's for breakfast and lunch?
Avocados
Homemade baby food

Menu Planning Update

Last month, I finally dug in my heels and started planning a monthly menu.  This was one of my goals for the year, to have more organized food plans.  Even though we almost always cook from scratch, I was flying by the seat of my pants way too often.  Here is my original post of how I got started.

I was pretty pleased with the first month.  I enjoyed getting most of my staples in a single trip to our health food store.  There were, of course, some forgotten items and a weekly trip to market for milk and produce, but it did feel like we were shopping less.  I wouldn't say we spent any less than we normally do, but I think with time, I'll be able to get better at that.

I did make a few changes to my monthly planning sheet for March.  I kept the same routine for planning dinners.  I made a list of enough dinners for the month, trying to balance out beef, chicken, fish, and vegetarian meals.  Instead of writing down specific breakfast and lunch meals for the month, I just wrote a generic list of the things we normally eat for those meals.  I'll share those ideas with you soon, just in case you're curious what we eat around here for that.

I also decided to make a weekly planning sheet as well.  I found that only having a montly planning sheet required a lot of moving meals around.  I made a chart that has seven blocks, one for each day of the week.  Then I put a line for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is each block.  I then take my generic lists for breakfast and lunch and fill one in for each day.  I use the master list of dinners and fill those in as well.  I like planning for the week this way because I plan easier dinners for the nights my husband works or if we have something going on in the evening.  It was always hard for me to plan weekly until I made the master month list first.  Below the dinner line I put a section for planning ahead.  So if I need to take meat out, grind flour, or soak some grains (another new thing I'm trying-more on this later), or prep something, I won't forget to do it.  Well, as long as I remember to look! This has made everything go so much more smoothly.

The other thing I put on the weekly planning sheet is a small space to the right of the dinner blocks where I can put any ingredients I didn't plan ahead for or things like fruit and vegetables I might need to get at the beginning of the week.  It's kind of like having a weekly grocery list and since it's right next to the menu, again, it's a lot easier.

Has anyone else given this a try?  I encourage you to do so!

I'm having a recipe party next weekend. Can't wait to share the details of how it goes!

A Cloth Diaper Giveaway!

OK, I don't do giveaways but lots of other super amazing bloggers do!  And here's a great one from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking.  Envibum, a very cool cloth diaper company, is giving away a super cute, soft diaper to 3 lucky winners.  You can read her review on this particular brand.  Check it out at the link below if you are interested.  If you want to read my link on our fave diaper, Fuzzi Bunz, to get an idea about cloth diapering, click here.  I entered because they look awesome and her review had me sold.  It's so fun to try new cloth diapers.  Good luck if you enter!

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/02/envibum-giveaway.html

A Snowy Treat

So what else do you do with 3 feet of snow on the ground?

A little bit of this...

A little bit of that...

And a whole lot of...

And when you're all done with that (OK the kids are never done with playing in the snow but their mama is),

you can make some snow ice cream!!

What?  Really?

Oh, yes, I was a bit skeptical.  But it was oh so yummy!

And of course, it was not my recipe or my idea.  Check out Laura from Heavenly Homemakers for all the details (Thanks, Jennifer, for the reminder).  And yes, it really works!  And it is REALLY tasty!

Food, Inc. Just See It!

I'm devoting this blog entry to encourage all of you who have not seen the move, Food Inc., to see it!  I can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it!
If you haven't heard of the movie, here's a description directly from their website. 

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.


Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

I wouldn't be able to do justice to the actual content of the film.  I think it's best to see it for yourself and take it all in.  Here are a few "highlights" to hopefully spur your interest a little.  Nerdy me, of course, took some notes while watching so I could, as directly as possible, quote parts I felt were important to motivate you to watch.

"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because you wouldn't eat it."

They don't want you to know that a small group of multinational corporations control our food supply.  It's a "world deliberately held from us." 

The goal of meat companies to to make a lot of food on a small amount of land and sell cheaply so you buy it.

One hamburger patty you buy might contain over 1,000 different cattle.

We want to pay the cheapest price for food, BUT the price to pay for that is big companies and a cheap labor force.  (By the way, all major corporations where intereviews were requested, declined ).

These large corporations use their POWER against farms, workers, and consumers.  We are deliberately kept in the dark about what we eat and what it does in our bodies.

While much of the information in the movie wasn't new to me, it was eye opening to actually see with my eyes things that I've only read about as far as meat packing plants, large cattle farms, treatment of poultry, etc...

This movie might come as a shock to you, if you are unfamiliar with a lot of the facts presented.  It might depress you, anger you a little, and hopefully above all, inspire change.  If it doesn't make you change the way you look at food and go shopping, I would be surprised.  Every small change you make after seeing the movie is a step in the right direction.  I've heard some people say they wanted to become a vegetarian after seeing the movie.  While I don't ever picture myself a vegetarian, I was certainly even more grateful for the small farms where we are able to purchase our meat. 

I hope that you can see beyond just the meat industry, to how only a few small companies, basically control almost all the foods you would typically buy at the supermarket.  How eating a bowl of cereal and milk or pulling into a drive through seems so innocent, and yet, how unhealthy it is and the sacrifice our nation's farmers have had to take.

Eating well does cost more.  I've said that before.  And while most of us are trying to spend less, food is one area where spending less has larger costs to our bodies and our world. 

If you've seen the movie, or see it in the future, please share your feelings!  And let others know about it.  The more you know, the more power you have to make decisions about what you eat!

Pass Me a Cup of Joe, Part 1

I love a good cup of coffee!  Anyone else out there??  While I don't consider myself a coffee snob, I'm particular about how I drink my coffee, as most coffee lovers are.  No sugar, only cream (has to be half and half, NOT milk).  While half and half is not a health food by any means, I'm fortunate to have a source that only makes pasturized half and half versus ultra-pasturized (the same place where we buy our raw milk).  Coffee is not something I've eliminated from my diet or have any intention to and I have no interest in drinking it black.  Because of this, I try to buy fairly traded organic coffee or coffee roasted as close to home as possible from independent coffee companies.  And yes, while Starbucks calls my name on occasion because we don't have many independent places in my area, I try to not frequent their store very often.

I asked my brother, the closest expert on the subject I know, to share a few thoughts on coffee in a short series.  Hopefully, you'll find the topic as interesting as I do!

Coffee....the word that everyone knows, likes, loves, hates, takes with cream and sugar, is a snob about, or knows what their taste buds tell them.


My sister asked me to write a few things about the subject of coffee and share some thoughts. These thoughts come from 2.5 years of being a barista and a year of roasting experience, both for independent businesses whose owners care a great deal about coffee and providing it for their community.


While the subject of coffee can take many different roads, I'll start with the why. Why do you drink coffee? Is it a caffeine addiction? Do you like how it tastes in the morning or after dinner? Is it pleasurable to drink or have you formed a habit and merely kept it up? Do you like the many aromas and tastes you experience in the cup or is thinking about drinking a cup of hot liquid not really of interest to you?


Unless you answered that this subject is of no interest to you, then regardless of just having a caffeine addiction or enjoying the tastes and aromas of coffee, your experience with this well known drink can be more than you thought. Coffee is often compared to wine and chocolate in the sense that while it may seem simple (take a grape, smash it up and make a drink) the complexities of the whole process from start to finish have many factors, all contributing to the quality and experience of drinking it.


Our general enjoyment of coffee is dependent upon the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, which—except for Hawaii—we in the United States do not fall in. Therefore, the process begins far away from our kitchen counter. Because of this, when we buy coffee, our act is based on at least our preference of a certain kind, but it also involves a host of issues such as farmer relations, care of the roaster and why the coffee is sold (just for profit or a care beyond that). But when you think about it, these kinds of questions come or should come to mind no matter what we buy whether it's a new shirt or a pint of strawberries. The point is understanding and discerning how as a consumer you impact and care for what you buy. Don't worry, I'll stop there and just focus on coffee.


Let's take this in a 3-part series. Like part I, part II will be focused on coffee facts that will hopefully help you appreciate your next cup of joe, and in part III, I'll answer any questions you might have.

So if you have specific questions, feel free to comment or send an email.

Moving Ahead with Menu Planning

Do you get overwhelmed by the amount of cooking that has to be done in the week?

I do!

And can I tell you how many times it has been 4:00 (OK, yes, sometimes 5:00) and I'm still unsure of what we're having for dinner? Sadly this has happened as often as I've been off on maternity leave as when I'm working full time.

I really do like cooking in general. I didn't grow up cooking much but I still like it. I can't make up my own recipes most of the time so I rely on cookbooks and other people's blogs and websites to dish out the good recipes. No pun intended.

Even with all of the information out there and all of the possibilities, I still find it hard to come up with things to make. And then I tend to make the same stuff all of the time. That gets pretty boring for my husband for sure.

And then there's the times where I call my husband on his way home from work and ask him to pick up a few things on his way home and we spend 20 dollars just to make a meal because I didn't plan ahead. Or yes, order out for pizza occasionally.

There have been times where I've been OK, and I stress on the low end of OK, at planning meals. I know when I do, we spend much less money on food. It's also a challenge when I get home from work because I want to take as much time to play with the kids as I can, but then the call of dinner lingers around and I have to cook. So I am constantly searching for quick meals that are still healthy and call for few ingredients which means less time in the kitchen overall. As I find more meals like this, I'll be happy to share them with you.

There are a few reasons I wanted to do better with meal planning.

1. I'm going back to work after next week and the thought of going back to the "old way" of meal planning, which was jotting down a few ideas and then saying, "I'll figure it out later" and never did, is not going to fly anymore. I want to be more in control of knowing what we are eating to maximize my time with my family and minimize time in the kitchen. When you make a meal plan, you can also say things like...oohh, that meal takes sour cream and so let me come up with another meal to use the rest of the sour cream. Bet you never thought you'd say something like that before.

2. Taking kids grocery shopping can be a challenge as I'm sure many of you know, so having an exact list will be helpful. While I've done exact lists before, it was never exact enough. And I'd rather get as much stuff as possible in one trip and not have to make 10 trips a month to the grocery store.

3. I want to have a better idea of exactly how much we spend on food and how often we go through things. We've always had a pretty loose food budget because I think spending money on good wholesome food is important. BUT, it was getting a little out of control so we are trying to pull in the reins on how much we spend and stick to whatever amount we decide on. My plan is to record the dates of when I buy something so I know how long it takes us to go through maple syrup for instance, or how long it takes to use up a pack of toilet paper. There are people who really know these things and it helps them plan and budget better. This might not be of interest to you, but I'd like to have this information.

4. My husband will be a stay-at-home daddy for an indefinite period of time and I know it will greatly help him to know what to serve for breakfast and lunch. He's pretty handy in the kitchen but I know this will help him stay organized. I wish I had done this months ago so I was more in control while at home!

I guess those are the main reasons. I have in the past planned out dinners for a week but then I wouldn't take the time to do the following week in time and so it would sort of fall apart. The weekly thing wasn't working for me so I'm doing a monthly plan.

I tried doing a monthly dinner plan recently where I took a calendar and wrote dinners for the entire month. It sort of worked, sort of didn't because I left too many open holes for leftovers where there weren't leftovers. And I repeated too many things.

Breakfast is usually pretty easy to figure out and I don't normally plan for it but in this plan I did, just to see how it would work. Lunches are also usually flexible and I tend to buy the same things to have on hand for lunch but there are still days where I feel like lunch is boring and repetitive so I decided to plan for lunch as well.

I read a few methods from some fellow bloggers and then sort of took their ideas and my own ideas and came up with this system. I'm sure there are lots of ways of doing menu planning and this will be a work in progress but here's where I am at this point. You can use my ideas if you want or read some other menu planning blogger ideas too. It certainly feels awesome to have my first full plan finished!

The form I used I took from Stephanie at Keeper of the Home. You can find it on her website or just use a piece of notebook paper and draw a few columns like I did.

1. I started by writing down things that I know my family likes to eat for dinner(spaghetti, grilled chicken, tacos, etc...) I asked my husband how often he would want to eat these things (weekly, monthly, etc...) He doesn't like to eat the same foods as often as I do so I wanted him to have a say in what he would prefer. The kids will just eat what we make (or be hungry)!

2. I made 3 columns on a piece of paper, one each for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a place for the date on the side. The teacher in my really wanted to grab some chart table and hang it up on the walls, but I restrained myself. Plus, I don't have any chart paper at home.

3. I started by filling in the dinner column since I knew this would be the most time consuming. Using the plan that my husband gave input for, I started filling in some things to eat on each day. If it was something he only wanted once a month, I only used it once. I also had a few new recipes I wanted to try so I put those on as well. I made sure we had one fish meal a week, one soup a week, one vegetarian, and then the rest were a toss-up between chicken and beef or turkey. I made sure every line had a meal. I know we won't need every single meal because there will be leftover nights or a night we go to a friend's house or have someone over. Sometimes, we also like to make homemade pizza. The meals will be flexible from night to night in case something comes up and they have to be switched around. Also, I left some of them a little generic to fill in with a vegetable later depending on what I find on sale or what is in season. For example, if the meal is grilled chicken and veggie, I don't put a specific vegetable down because it might not be the best choice if it's not a good price when I shop for it.

4. I repeated this process for breakfast and lunch which was simpler and I could repeat things more often. For example, my kids love eggs and eat them about 3 times a week. Again, I put things like eggs and fruit. I'll let them choose what kind of eggs they want (egg surprise, scrambled, sunny up, etc...) and the fruit will be again, what's in season or what I found for the best price. This will be much easier in the summer when there is so much good stuff in season. I'm running low on the fruit I froze this summer already!

My plan is to highlight when we eat the meal so I can keep track of how accurate it was. I'll also fill in the specific fruits and vegetables we ate. If the plan changed, like we went to a friend's house, I'll record that and save that meal for another time.

5. Once my beautiful chart was complete, I made a grocery list. First, I made a list of all the staples I would need for the entire month, only writing down what I didn't have in the cupboards already. This was things like grains, pasta, rice, canned goods, dried fruit, oils, etc... These are foods I purchase at our local health food store or find in our main chain grocery store.

6. Then I made a list JUST for this week of what fresh produce I would need, plus things like butter, cheese, milk, eggs and bread that I buy weekly. These things I get from local markets. I'll make a new list every week for the fresh stuff based on what we have left and what the menu says we need. If I plan well enough, I should only have to go to the grocery store once a week to do the main shopping and then the local markets weekly.

Fortunately, I have lots of frozen meat from our beef we purchase yearly and chickens we purchase maybe twice a year so I don't have to worry about meat (unless I'm buying nitrate free bacon and hot dogs).

7. Finally, it was time to go shopping. I bought the staples for the month at our local health food store (with the exception of a few things I couldn't find). I was fortunate this month I already had a lot stocked up. Here's what my staples look like:

For future budgeting purposes, I recorded how much things cost at the health food store so I can price compare and find where the best deals are for specific foods. This will take awhile but it's part of my overall goals for meal planning and budgeting.

I bought some produce at the health food store and some from a local market. Here's our produce for this week. Hopefully it will last!

Hopefully I didn't forget too much and will only have to go to market for fresh stuff. Our local markets also have places to buy fish, nuts, dried fruits and things like that so it helps to avoid the grocery store.

This whole process of planning, not the shopping, probably took a few hours and I did it in bits and pieces when I had time. I didn't like doing it that way so from now on I'll take a chunk of time toward the end of the month and do it all at once. I think that will go more smoothly. Plus, now that I have a month done, I can repeat some of these meals, add new ones, and have a record of what we've eaten and when. Hopefully, it will just keep getting easier and faster as time goes on.

So, was that a lot to take in? It was a lot to write. I tried to be specific in case you were interested in trying it yourself. Hopefully, if you've been thinking about menu planning it will give you some ideas to get started. And if you want to start slowly, maybe just try it for one meal of the day and then move into other meals. I'd love to know what you're going to try or if you have a plan that works for you already. I'll keep you posted on how this works for us!

Back to Basics

Do you have any idea how many blogs there are out there? Millions, probably.

And how many of them are about healthy and natural living? Thousands I'm sure.

If given time, I could get completely lost and absorbed in bloggyland. You know, how you read a comment on someone's blog, click on their link, and suddenly you are reading thoughts from a person you know absolutely nothing about. But there they are.

This is how I came to discover that there are tons of people out there writing about the same kinds of things I do. Only most of them seem to do it more often, know a ton more than I do, and in my opinion, write much better.

I had the thought this week to just refer you to my three favorite blogs on healthy eating and just turn in my resignation.

But then I remembered why I started blogging in the first place.

I've had a lot of negative experiences sharing my beliefs about food and eating well. Some people don't really understand, or they think you're in some way trying to be better than them. But I really do believe in the things I write about, or the things in my head that I want to write about and never seem to get around to it. And I wanted to share these things with others and help take baby steps to making changes in your lives that hopefully, affect your health in a positive way.

I know that most people who actually read this blog are friends of mine and that's where I wanted to start. There might be a few who were referred by my friends. And that's exactly what I hoped would happen. Just sharing my thoughts with people I love and then maybe getting a few more people on board and everyone sharing with each other what they are changing in their lives for the better with how they eat and live. So whenever someone emails me to tell me something they've changed, I celebrate.

I plan to refer you to my favorite blogging gals in some entries in the future and I encourage you to check out their sites because I really think they are all amazing at what they write about and how they write to encourage other people. All three of them are stay-at-home moms, love the Lord and their families, and encourage others in their journeys to organic and natural living.

As long as you still come back and visit me once in a while.

Once of the bloggers I follow is Lindsay from Passionate Homemaking. Lindsay recently had a post titled Can Natural Living Become an Idol? You can read the post yourself if you want. Basically she talks about how putting healthy eating or living above God and others can create a problem, and it can become your idol.

I thought her feelings on the matter were right on and it obviously hit a nerve with a lot of people because there were over 200 comments about this post. I didn't read all of them but after skimming, I got the feeling that a lot of people are doing their best to make small changes in the way they eat or live. They might not be able to eat all organic foods or do everything "perfectly" but they are doing the best they can.

I've been in the place, I'd say a few years ago, where, while I wasn't making eating organic food an idol, it was becoming a pride issue. While I wouldn't say I felt better than anyone else for the changes I was making, it did give me a sense of pride to stock my refrigerator with good food. Maybe I felt like this because I was just excited about what I was learning and maybe not. I did at times, wonder why other people weren't really all about it, why they didn't think making changes in their life was necessary. Where I would look at someone's grocery cart piled with plastic shopping bags and wonder why they didn't just buy some canvas ones. Or wonder if they ever cooked at all based on the contents of their cart. Or when I told all my friends about how great cloth diapers were, why no one really wanted to try them.

And so I sort of stopped sharing with people because I felt like no one really cared or no one was really listening. I was so excited to tell people but I felt like they didn't get what I was trying to do. I basically was making it more about me, and not about them and certainly not about my Creator, who was teaching me how to look at life and food differently. So maybe it was an idol, even if I didn't see it that way back then.

I think when I finally realized this, I changed my attitude.

It has still been a struggle at times to share my feelings on the pursuit of healthy living. Maybe continued fear of rejection? And that hope that people don't think I'm trying to be better than them? I do really want to just share things I'm learning and hope you'll learn along with me. And my hope is that you'll share with someone else something you've done and then they'll share with someone else what they've done and on and on. Sort of like, paying health forward.

And just a reminder, I'm on the journey right along with you. I'm still working to make changes in what I eat and how I live for the better. I have in no means "arrived" or do I do things perfectly. I'd say this past year, reflected in how often I've written, I've really struggled with eating well starting with how sick I was during pregnancy and how I had a hard time desiring to cook and eat well. While I do my best to feed my family a lot of organic and local food, we're not perfect. There are some changes I've made and will not go back on (in a future post I'll share that) and there are more things I hope to do better.

Which leads me back to the reason for this post. Whew...about time, right?

Remembering that the pursuit for healthy living starts with small changes, and I know many of you have made small changes, I started making a list of things I'd like to do better with and I'll be posting those things in the near future. I hope it encourages you to know we are all in the journey together. And the things I do are not things you have to do, but I'd love to hear about what you are doing.

So, all that being said, here is a sneak peek at a few things on my list. I'll be writing about these and some other areas in the future.

-Getting a better handle on the food budget
-making monthly meal plans
-composting
-less leftover waste
-making homemade snacks
-paying attention to how long things last (laundry detergent, etc..)
-finding more simple and healthy recipes

Knowing me, it will take me awhile!

And what about you? Any goals you have?

Chocolate Earth Balls

I am forever searching for healthier alternatives to satisfy my seemingly endless sweet tooth. I'm not sure if it's eating more sweets than normal after Christmas or my post-delivery cravings, or a combination, but my sweet tooth has been in high mode for a few months now. And I, admittedly, have given in and eaten a lot of foods I wouldn't normally eat, but I haven't been super committed to limiting my sugar intake as of late. Both my husband and I are committing to eating less sugar, particularly refined sugar. There was a time I had almost completely cut it out of my diet, but as too often happens, the more you slip away from the good habits, the more the bad habits seem to take over. I used to be able to eat dates or coconut rolled dates and feel satisfied. While I still enjoy that treat, it's not my first choice these days. And the fact that pregnancy weight is coming off much more slowly than it did with my other children is adding to my determination to get a handle on my sweet cravings.

So while looking through my Whole Foods Market Cookbook for something for dinner, I poked around in the back section called Cooking With Kids, that I had previously ignored and found a great recipe for Chocolate Earth Balls. I happened to have everything on hand they called for (amazingly enough, that almost never happens when I find something I want to make) and made half a batch, to see what the kids would think. Well, we ate them all in less than 2 days so I made another batch today. They are chewy and smooth with a little bit of crunch and plenty of sweetness to be very satisfying. And the kids had fun helping me roll them together! They sort of give you a sense of eating a candy bar.

As always, you should try to use as many organic ingredients as possible.

Chocolate Earth Balls

1 cup peanut butter
Side note: you should really try to eat natural peanut butter that has all of the natural oils and not the added hydrogenated fats that most traditional brands use. Even better, try organic peanut butter because peanuts are not the healthiest nut and have more pesticides than other nuts). You could also use another nut butter such as almond butter or combine the 2 like I did in my batch today. You could even substitute a little bit of tahini.
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons carob powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut, divided
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used organic grain-sweetened)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans (I actually eliminated this because I didn't have nuts I wanted to use on hand and they were still fine)


Make sure peanut butter is stirred well. Mix honey, peanut butter and cocoa or carob powder until well combined. Stir in raisins, 1/8 cup coconut and chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Place remaining coconut, sesame seeds and nuts in 3 separate bowls. Roll mixture into balls and then roll into coconut, seeds and nuts. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to set.

This recipe made just over 2 dozen generously sized balls. I might do them a little smaller next time. They really are tasty so I encourage you to try them when you want something sweet AND healthy!

Hip, Hip Hooray for Handmade Gifts

I wish I were a more creative person. Some people tell me I am, but the older I get, the more I realize, I am not. This became more evident over the month of December when all my daughter wanted to do was make Christmas crafts. The best I could come up with were putting glitter stickers and foam stickers on glass ball ornaments and making snowmen out of mini-marshmallows. Oh, and those foam craft kits were quite handy as well.

Despite my lack of craftiness, there is creativity that runs in my family. One of my brothers is quite creative and witty with his writing. My other brother just made us a compost bin with wood from a futon that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. My older sister is very creative when it comes to food. While I enjoy eating and writing about food, she is great at experimenting with food and making food look really yummy (oh, and of course it tastes great too). At my nephew's recent birthday party there was a gorgeous camouflage cake and some super yummy and beautiful appetizers...things like mini-skewers of Italian meats,roasted peppers, and mozzarella balls. When she makes and presents food, it's just beautiful.

My younger sister amazed us all at Christmas. She lives on the opposite coast that we do and flew in bearing a least a suitcase full of handmade amazingness. I am still in awe at all of the things she managed to make in just a few short months. I would be lucky to have made one thing in that time. She even admitted to "messing a few things up," but yet, re-making them! While she has no formal sewing training, she has the patience and creative spirit to make magic happen! The things she brought for us could have been sold in those cute little shops that carry people's homemade things. Since I have no sewing talent whatsoever (OK, I MIGHT be able to sew a button), I love to support people who can make things on their own when possible. These items tend to be a bit more expensive than those made in factories across the world, but their uniqueness is priceless. But now that I know how talented my sister really is, I can just ask her to make them (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

So here are a few things that she made...

Onesies for the baby...note the matching slippers for the middle two.

On the left are plastic sandwich bag replacements. They velcro shut and you can wash and reuse them and save a few bags. On the top right is a cute little wallet. On the bottom right is a little wristband thing (not sure the formal name) made with my late grandmother's handkerchiefs. They also doubled well for Christmas dinner as napkin rings.

These are reusable produce bags!

Some pillows...as my husband would like our son to be into sports someday. Right now he's really into musical instruments, hence the next pillow she made him. Cute, right?

A super cute doll (sorry, couldn't figure out how to turn the picture.)

And finally, matching aprons and chef hats. Oh, and the aprons are reversible!

Amazing, right!? And the pictures don't really do justice to the quality of what she made.

Anyway, the point of this post, other than getting to show off my sister's cool things, is to support people who make and sell handmade things. I cannot imagine the hours she spent making these, plus lots of other stuff for the rest of my family members. I'm sure even if she sold them, the cost of her time and talent would go unrewarded.

I'm sure you've all been in little shops where they sell handmade loveliness. If not, you can always check out etsy.com, a great place to check out all things handmade. Not only can you support others who often make a living or have a small side business doing what they do, you can get something original for yourself or someone else.

Three cheers for that!

The Beauty of New Life

I was recently reading a blog of a friend who lists her friends down the side of her blog and it tells when they last posted. So when I caught a glimpse of mine that said something like 5 months ago, I was a bit surprised, but then again, not really. I seem to start every entry with an apology, as if anyone actually checks to see if I've written anything new. So I've decided, I'm not apologizing anymore, I'll just write when I feel led. It's not that I don't want to blog my thoughts and learning about food anymore, it's just that, with a new baby and time off from work at home with my other 2 gorgeous kids, well, it just hasn't been a priority for me. I've been enjoying being at home. I guess I've been a little self-centered in that priority, but for now, it's where I stand.
After our third child was born in October, I was in complete awe of her. I guess I was in awe after the other two as well, but it felt different this time. I kept thinking, "the beauty of new life." I would just stare at her, marveling at her beauty, innocence, perfect contentment at being held, trusting in me to care for her, all those thoughts that I'm sure all parents feel about their kids, those thoughts that make you marvel how much God loves us, how he adores and loves each of us. Maybe because this could be our last child were the thoughts stronger, maybe because God's timing is greater than our timing, I'm not sure. I'm amazed every day by my children, the things they do and say, what they're learning that you don't realize. There's just something about a newborn, though. The entry into the world, the newness, the hope, the beauty...so I'm still taking it all in and enjoying each day at home with my kids. I go back to work in 5 weeks, sigh...but I'm not thinking about that just yet. Maybe I'll write more when the time comes.
So while this has nothing to do with the main subject of my blog, it's where my heart has been. I have an ongoing list in my head of things I'd like to write about, but I'm not making a resolution to write more often. I'm not much for resolutions, but I do feel strongly about eating well and passing along some healthy tidbits here and there. So one of these days, I'll actually do that!

A Few Basil Ideas

Does anyone else love basil?

I love summer produce for so many reasons and fresh herbs are on that list! I love the smell of fresh basil when it's just sitting on the counter. While I haven't been too successful at growing my own this year (I truly have a blue thumb, I think), we've gotten a bunch in our CSA pick-up. While I look for new ways to use it, here are 2 of my favorite recipes that I come back to all the time! Both are simple and easy to make. And with all recipes I'll ever post, they are not my original ideas. Both of these came from the cookbook I've mentioned before, Simply in Season.

Pesto

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves and stems
1-3 cloves garlic (go for 3)
1/3 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or hazelnuts (toasted), although I usually skip the toasting step
3-6 TBSP. Parmesan cheese (go for fresh always!)
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
2 sprigs fresh parsley (optional, but good)

Finely chop in a food processor. While the processor is running, add 1/3-1/2 olive oil until you make a thick paste. Serve over hot pasta, and remember you only need a little! Pesto is great because you don't need to measure exactly.

You can then use this recipe (or just a jar if you're not up to making your own, to make the following).

Creamy Pesto Pasta

3 TBSP. butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add flour and cook 3 minutes. Add milk and bring to a boil. Cook gently 5 minutes. (And seriously, pay attention when cooking milk and don't let your kids distract you like I did tonight and ended up with lots of burnt milk on my stovetop when it boiled over!)

1 cup Pesto (the recipe I listed is about 1 cup)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Stir into milk mixture and remove from heat. Add 1 pound cooked pasta of choice. Serve with extra parmesan cheese grated on top. YUMMY!

And here's one more simple and great tasting basil dish (with pasta of course!)

Fresh Tomato and Garlic Pasta

4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped and seeded and drained (another great summer special!)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Combine and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

Cook 1 pound of your choice of pasta. Add sauce and serve immediately. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. I've also used fresh mozzarella. It's great either way!

Enjoy!

Anyone else enjoy basil a different way?

Sunscreen Tips

It seems as though every post I have to begin with an apology and excuse for my absence from blogging. It just seems as though other priorities get in the way and I tend to forget to keep up with it. It's not that I don't want to, I have just been choosing to do other things with the little bit of free time that comes my way. However, after a few requests for some new information, I'm back (at least for tonight!) And thanks to those who have asked questions. I love to know that people actually read and learn and try something new! That makes my day!

A friend asked me about sunscreen and wondering about slathering it all over her kids if it is full of chemicals. A great question! And quite appropriate for our current summer weather! So here's my take on sunscreen.

Anything you put on your body, or on your children's body, is full of tons of different ingredients and, depending on the product you choose, tons of chemicals. This applies to sunscreen, lotion, bath soap, shampoo, perfume, toothpaste, deodorant, bath bubbles, etc...Knowing what is in the products you choose can help you make decisions that you feel are best. Obviously, anytime you choose a product without chemicals, the cost is going to go way up so you have to decide whether the cost is worth it to you. And just because it says natural or organic doesn't' mean it's the best choice. I've seen a few organic products that are still high in chemicals and use both organic products AND chemically laden products.


I think I posted the link that I love to use to determine what chemicals are in the products I'm choosing. Here it is again. You can look up just about any skin care product, find the ingredients, chemicals, and what diseases the chemicals have been linked to. You will also get a rating for how toxic the product is, from 0-10, 0 being the safest. I use this website frequently and we have gradually switched all of our personal care products to more safe products. I personally try to not buy anything rated higher than a 3. While a bit pricey, I'm fond of Aubrey Organics (for shampoo, lotion, sunscreen, makeup, etc...) Desert Essence for toothpaste, Crystal Stone for deodorant, and California Baby for sunscreen and a few other things. It's really interesting looking up the products you use and seeing the rating for them.


So, about the original question of sunscreen. All of us as humans, need sunlight. Most of us stay indoors cooped up way too much, especially our kids that need to be running around getting exercise in the sun (even when we are too hot and lazy to go outside...or is that just me?) I've read some interesting articles about sunlight being the only real source of Vitamin D (not the stuff added to your milk). Vitamin D can help protect against certain kinds of cancer, especially of the digestive system. When you absorb sunlight into your skin, it attracts immune cells to your skin's surface which can help control skin disease. Kids growing bodies need lots of Vitamin D and higher levels of vitamin D in kids could reduce neurological and autoimmune diseases (so I have read). Kids can actually get a good daily dose of Vitamin D with just 20 minutes in the sun (which would not necessarily need sunblock). But obviously, long bouts in the sun, especially between 10am and 2pm are necessary. Use SPF of at least 15. I know most people say use these super-high levels of SPF and I usually use around a 30. However, just for information sake, I've read that when you use above SPF 15, vitamin D can't be synthesized. Again, that's a personal choice.


Because whatever you rub into your child's (or your own) skin will soak in and spread to the bloodstream, I think the less chemicals the better. Here are a few ratings from the above listed website to give you an idea. You can follow the link to go directly to the page.

Banana Boat -there were a ton listed for this brand and most were ranked between 7 and 10 which is the highest rating for chemicals. This would not be the best choice.
Aveeno-ranked between 4 and 7 which is average. Not great, but better than some.
Coppertone-most were high hazard

If you want more information on sunscreen, read this article from the Environmental Working Group concerning their studies done on nearly 1000 sunscreens. "In a new investigation of 898 name-brand sunscreens, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that 4 out of 5 sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients with significant safety concerns. Leading brands were the worst offenders: None of market leader Coppertone's 33 sunscreen products met EWG's criteria for safety and effectiveness, and only 1 of 85 products from Banana Boat and Neutrogena, the second- and third-largest manufacturers, are recommended by EWG." This article will also give you their top recommended brands and chemical ratings. Have fun exploring!

Oh, and truthfully, chemicals are everywhere. Part of the food we might choose to eat, the water we drink, the products we clean with, the mattresses we sleep on, the air we breath...it can be overwhelming to think about. I don't think it's possible to eliminate everything, but whatever small things we can do, can help take the stress off our our bodies just a little bit. So anything small you do is better than nothing! If you find some new favorites, let me know.

Hummus

Mmmm...I love a good hummus, don't you?

Truthfully, I've never really tasted a good hummus until recently and now I'm hooked! Most hummus brands I've tried in stores don't really have much taste. A friend recently shared this recipe and my husband and I ate the entire batch in two days. That's a lot of garlic, my friends, let me tell you. It was seeping from our pores. This recipe is full of flavor!

Nothing to not love about this recipe and oh so good for you!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. As soon as the parsley grows in our recently planted herbs in our backyard, we'll be making some more!

Hummus

2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste-you can find with peanut butter)
1/4 cup lemon juice (she says lime works too but I didn't try that version)
4-5 cloves garlic (less if you're not fond of garlic)
1/4 cup packed parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2-1 cup water (start with 1/2 and add more if too thick)
salt and pepper to taste, or other seasonings like Spike (natural all purpose seasoning)

Blend with the appliance of your choosing.

Serve with raw veggies, crackers or tortilla chips. Garlic crackers add an extra pizazz!

Confession

I know I've been absent for some time. A few people have noticed and mentioned something to me. Actually, the only people who have mentioned anything are probably the only people who actually pay attention to this blog. Anyway, I thought I owed an explanation as to my whereabouts along with a small confession.

The main reason I haven't been blogging is that, well, I haven't been eating very healthy for the last, oh, 7 or so weeks. So it's been hard to motivate myself to actually write and tell other people what they should or should not be eating when I am not doing so well with that.

The main reason is that I've been pretty nauseous for the last, oh, 7 or so weeks, since I found out I was pregnant again. Plus, the added extra fatigue that comes with being pregnant has added to the fatigue already in existence from working full-time outside the home and taking care of two little ones. Honestly, the last 2 months have sort of just been survival, getting up and doing what has to be done and ignoring pretty much everything else.

I had nausea with my other 2 pregnancies but this time seemed to be much worse. Evenings were REALLY, really tough and sometimes I just went to bed because it was the only thing that helped. And when I felt sick, I just sort of ate whatever sounded good, whether it helped the nausea or not. And if it did help, it lasted about 5 minutes. Things that helped for a few minutes: usually potato chips and lemonade. I've had lots of those. And, here's the big confession, fast food a few times. I NEVER (seriously) eat fast food and I've had it probably 4 times since getting pregnant. And felt pretty miserable after, but you know, it sounded good at the time. Plus, I got a stomach bug a few weeks ago and spent a week where my body was pretty mixed up and I didn't eat much of anything other than soda and crackers. Yeah, tasty. Tasty and healthy.

I think the nausea has finally subsided so I'm hoping to start craving some good ole' tomatoes and lettuce soon. And if you're one of those people who never gets sick during pregnancy, please keep those comments to yourself.

So, now that I'm feeling somewhat better, I'm hoping to be a little more motivated to talk about (and eat) healthy food. With spring and summer veggies around the corner, I hope to post some good info on reasons to eat them! So stay tuned and don't give up making good, healthy lifestyle choices. They are worth it in the long run!

Global Food Crisis

Whether or not you are aware of it, there is a true global food crisis in our world. Much of it stems from rising fuel costs, deep global economic problems, natural disasters, and rising food demands. For many that can grow their own food, they can't afford to buy it!

I think it saddens me so deeply to think about it, that sometimes I prefer not to think about it.

This taken directly from Compassion International's website (why put it into my own words?)

"The global food crisis threatens the lives of millions and has been called a "silent tsunami," unleashing turmoil against the most vulnerable children. The Secretary-General of the UN calls it a "moral outrage" and estimates that as much as $40 billion a year is required for the next three to five years.
Compassion International exists as an advocate for children in poverty and works in some of the areas hardest hit by this crisis. We are providing solutions through local churches with nutritional provision and long-term strategies, such as agricultural education, training and tools, so that those consumed by this crisis have the opportunity to grow and prepare their own food."

To read some startling statistics about children in povery around the world, go to http://www.compassion.com/poverty-map/.

Sometimes it seems that the problem is so huge, nothing will help!

But, every little bit of giving helps! And you can do something to help! As Christians, we are commanded to help those in need.

Compassion International, an organization I highly believe in, is sponsoring a Global Food Crisis day. Yes, it is today, and yes, I'm way behind as usual. But you can give anytime, not just in the next few hours. Compassion supports releasing children from poverty in the name of Christ and you can support children with a monthly donation to provide food, shelter, schooling, medicine, and many other things as well as a Christian education.

But even if you don't support a child, you can help with the food crisis. For just 13 dollars, you can feed a child for a month! I know I can't feed my children for that little a month. Knowing that the money donated goes directly to feeding hungry children is so encouraging to me!

I know that sometimes problems seem so insurmountable and that even a little doesn't really do much. But in giving a little, God can do so much more! He can use any gift, in any amount.

Please consider! Give from your heart!

To donate or find out more, click here.

Making Yogurt

There are many things that I would like to be able to make from scratch that I never get around to trying. Sometimes it's fear that I'll mess it up and then waste a bunch of stuff, sometimes it's the time factor. I make most of our meals from scratch but rely on some bought items to make them that I COULD make on my own, but choose not to.


One of those things is yogurt. I really love yogurt, the full-fat kind, not the low fat stuff that I think tastes like nothing. My favorite store-bought brand is Brown Cow because it comes with the cream on the top that you mix in. I normally buy flavored kinds but my kids actually love plain yogurt. That grosses me out somewhat, but it's better since it's not sweetened. They like vanilla too but will go for just plain.


So, since we eat a lot of yogurt, I was calculating how much I spend on yogurt a week. It's anywhere from 10-15 dollars, depending how much we buy. That probably sounds like a lot to you, but organic yogurt is more expensive, we eat a lot of it, and we often use it for smoothies in the morning.


So then I calculated how much it would cost to make my own. If I make it from the raw milk we buy, and I use a half gallon of milk, it would cost me less than 4 dollars. That's a big difference!! So I decided to give it a try!


I have to admit, I was a little nervous but I've heard from a lot of people that it is so easy. I sat down and read a few different ways that you can make it and combined them and picked the way that sounded easiest for me. Here's what to do!


1. Heat 4 cups of milk (or 8) if you want more in a large pot on the stove to 180 degrees. This is just before the boiling point when little bubbles form around the edges. If you have a thermometer, it's best to stick it in the milk to check the temperature.


2. Remove from heat and cool milk down to 110 degrees. Mix 1/4-1/3 store-bought plain yogurt with a cup of warm milk OR mix one pack yogurt starter with a little warm milk (for 8 cups, double the starter or yogurt). Add the mixed yogurt to the entire batch and stir together.


3. Pour into a GLASS container and loosely put the lid on. I used an old jar that used to be filled with coconut oil.


4. Fill a cooler part-way with warm water, but not over the top of the jar.


5. Close the lid of the cooler and let it sit for 4-7 hours. Check on it occasionally to see if the yogurt has formed and to make sure the water is warm.


THAT'S IT!! Amazingly simple. The prep part took 10-15 minutes. For me, it was about 7 hours until the yogurt formed. The result is slightly more runny than store bought yogurt and even though it's plain, it's just a touch sweeter than store bought plain. And maybe that was just the milk I used. Sweeten with honey or maple syrup, fruit, or granola. Delicious! And really, it was very easy!


Anybody up for it?

Does Your Spouse Rock?

I don't know about you, but my husband rocks!

He really does.

Yes, I wish that he could go to the grocery store and get everything on the list exactly right. And yes, sometimes the clothing on the bedroom floor becomes a small mountain.

But those are such small things. My husband loves the Lord, and our family and does all kinds of amazing things for us. He's such a blessing to us and I'm thankful for him in my life.

If you feel the same about your spouse, let him/her know it. AND, tell the rest of the world!

Check out frommetees.com for all kinds of stylish tees that promote marriage. In this world, anything that promotes marriage in a good light is a fantastic thing. We both have one and get some interesting comments and looks when we wear them (not at the same time, of course. That would be way too cheesy).

So celebrate your spouse in style! Maybe even in time to show them how much you love them this weekend!

For the Love of Chocolate

Who doesn't love chocolate, right?

I certainly do and don't usually deny myself when I'm really wanting some. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing like chocolate when you want something sweet or are trying to beat the blues.

While we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day in a big way around here, it does make me start thinking about chocolate. Mmmmmm... And I'm a believer in "the right kind of chocolate is A-OK in moderation!"

Chocolate gets a bad rap most of the time. And yes, most chocolate is very processed, full of added sugar and other bad stuff so that most of the chocolate you buy is not very close to the original form. Dark chocolate, my absolute fave, is full of antioxidants, that help fight disease and aging. Chocolate can calm stress (ah...thank goodness) and help with blood flow. If you buy organic chocolate bars, which you could probably find in the organic section of your grocery store, get ready for a treat. Ooohhh, it's so good! And would probably have you saying good-bye to Hershey kisses.

When I buy actual chocolate bars, which is pretty rare, I'm rather fond of fair trade chocolate. Fair trade (on any product) means the farmer receives a fair share of wages which in turn, helps his community and helps to decrease poverty. I won't go on and on (at least in this post) about how poor farmers wages are, particulary in other nations, but buying fair trade can help at least a little. Here's a link if you'd like to learn more about fair trade.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few chocolate recipes, in case you're thinking of trying something new for someone special. The first is one I just tried tonight! It's not the healthiest recipe, mostly due to the sugar and I didn't try a substitute, but it's a good breakfast treat for a special day!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Mix the following in a large bowl:
1-1/2 cups flour (I use freshly ground whole wheat)
1 cup organic sugar
¼ cup baking cocoa (I use a fair trade organic cocoa)
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder

In a small bowl, combine:
1-1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (2-3 medium)
1/3 cup oil (I use coconut)
1 egg
Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

Fold in 1 cup (6 oz.) chocolate chips (I use grain-sweetened)

Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Next would be a triple chocolate bonus for breakfast, if you make the muffins too...homemade hot cocoa! I've tried a few different ones but this is my favorite. My picky hot-chocolate drinking husband actually likes this much better than the powdered stuff...shocking!

Hot Cocoa

In a medium saucepan, boil 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup rapadura (evaporated cane juice, but you could use the regular white stuff if you're not into healthy sugars yet) and a dash of salt on med/high heat. Boil a few minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn on low and add 5 cups milk (raw is best if you can) and then add 1 tsp. vanilla

We love to make homemade whipped cream to add to the top. Mmmm...maybe I'll go make some right now!

And finally, chocolate cake!! Who doesn't love chocolate cake! And this one is pretty healthy with an added secret ingredient! Don't worry, you don't have to tell.

Secret Chocolate Cake

2 cups beets (cooked, peeled and chopped)
1/2 cup applesauce

Puree in blender until smooth. Set aside.

1 1/2 cups organic sugar (OK, not so healthy, but c'mon, it has beets too!)
1/2 cup oil (try coconut oil)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 eggs

Combine in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

1/2 cup cocoa, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add along with pureed beets. Beat another 90 seconds.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (I've made it with all whole wheat and with wheat and unbleached white to cut down on denseness. Either way is good)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional, but I think it adds a little something)

Gradually sift into the batter, mixing it in with a spoon but stirring only until blended.

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Stir in. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

Pour yourself a tall glass of milk!!

What's your favorite chocolate indulgence?