Hungry Boys

I suspect this may be a title I go back to over and over – since I have pre-teen boys –THREE of ‘EM- and they are only getting bigger and hungrier!!

So, after breakfast today I posted a plea on facebook :

Okay, mommas of teenage boys : two eggs, two pieces whole wheat toast & almond milk - not filling up my nearly-teen boys!! What is a cheap filling item I can add to breakfast? (Most morning we have a fruit smoothie instead if milk. ) Shower me with ideas please!!!

Now first, let me explain.  I do not mind making breakfast, I normally do every day.  We no longer get boxes of cereal (TOO expensive and they are hungry an hour later).  We have farm fresh eggs (get about 10 a day) at our disposal.  And we eat as a family after chores before school.  So, I do not mind the prep.  But how much food do these people require????  It is no fun when I feed them, and they are still begging for food!!

And, I do not want to be mixing up muffins, toasting granola, frying eggs and whipping up a smoothie each morning. 

So the answer is : let’s start using my freezer!! 

I had many suggestions :

Peanut butter

pancakes

oatmeal

steak

potatoes

more peanut butter, more oatmeal

add veggies to eggs

add eggs

granola

This all got me thinking about things I have done in the past.  I have made a gallon of yogurt.  That lasts about a week and a half.  I made and froze lots of muffins before friends came to stay and pulled different ones out each night.  I need to get ahead of my problem….

I saw a muffin recipe on pinterest that said you can freeze the batter.  Perfect!!  Then, I knew I need to whip up some granola to have on hand too.  And I think I need to start making either yogurt or Kefir every other week.  This is a great item to use to fill up those HUGE stomachs. 

So, Here is my plan and a few links to share with you:

Banana Crumb Muffins (I’m going to cook and freeze)

Potatoes O’Brien

Cinnamon Zucchini Freezer Muffins

Morning Ham and Cheese Muffins (make and freezer before cooking)

* Note with some of these recipes I will modify the sugar.  I do not use white sugar or brown – we use less every time, honey when we can or an organic unrefined sugar if we have to. 

After I get all these items mixed up, cooked up, or fixed and frozen, I feel like I will be able to throw a few more items on our breakfast table.  Or I will have more options for a mid-morning snack.

Some other suggestions from my Facebook Friends were oatmeal, peanut butter, potatoes, more eggs, steak (not going to happen here), and granola.

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Coconut Cranberry Granola with cashews and pecans

So, my granola is cooling right now (nothing like motivation kicking in!), my 12 muffins are cooking, 24 more are freezing, and I am about to whip up those egg muffin things to bake and freeze.

Whew.  I think I will have a bit of help with breakfast for the next week or two….I hope!!

Meanwhile, if anyone knows where I can sign my boys up for sponsorship through the teen years – for feeding purposes only-  please tell me!!

Kids in Kitchen (Success)

So after making a commitment HERE to get my kids into the kitchen more, I have been so much better!!

Monday morning my oldest got the chance.  Sometime after lunch I asked J if he wanted to run dinner.  I had already picked the menu, but prepping it was completely up to him. 

I was inspired by Black Bean & Sweet Potato Flautas on Pinterest and decided to make that!  However, we did tweak it.  We are trying to use the microwave less, and the pressure cooker more!!  So, he soaked the black beans for about an hour.  Then rinsed (again) and put them in the pressure cooker, plus 3 cups of water per cup of dried beans.  Then, he cooked them up in the pressure cooker for about 6 minutes.

Sprouts anyone?

Oh the fun we have had!!  We went to a sustainable gardening club meeting recently and it was so much fun!!  At the meeting we met people who are thinking like us : garden, home raised meat, and even organic!  Not everyone thinking the same, but similar and encouraging!

As part of our meeting a friend taught us all how to sprout.  I have read tons of posts about this on the internet, but never ventured out to do it.  But this time, it was different!  Cheri sent us home with a baggie of seeds, a box to raise them, and the knowledge to do it!!

Start with a plastic shoe box (or you can use other stuff, but this time we used a plastic 89 cent shoe box from Walmart)

You need a fine strainer, we have a metal one.

Pour some seeds into strainer and rinse.

Then dump into shoe box. (yes they will be wet.

Cover the shoe box with lid and leave over night.

Are you using Coconut Oil Yet?

If not, what are you waiting for?  Maybe some free coconut oil?  Well, stay tuned, shortly I will be offering some Free Coconut Oil to some blessed reader!!

Meanwhile, if you are wondering what you would do with Coconut Oil, well let me help you out!!

I use it in my home in the following ways:

In my Hair

  Almost two years ago I joined the Poo-Free movement.  I stopped using traditional shampoo and conditioner.  If you do not know what is in those products you need to check it out!!  Instead, I started using Baking Soda and water to wash my hair, and vinegar to condition it.  As a styling product I use a little bit of coconut oil.

   These days I am still Poo-Free, but I use the above mentioned products as well as a spray bottle with a mixture of Dr Bonner soap, vinegar, and some coconut oil as a all in one wash once in a while.

As a Lotion

  As for lotion, I hate that there are all sorts of poisons in our lotions, if you do not believe me check it out!  Formaldehyde is in most dove products for goodness sake!!

  So I use coconut oil as a moisturizer.  On my freshly shaven legs it is wonderful and never irritates.  I use it on my hands, arms, anywhere I feel like I need some lotion.

In my Kitchen

  Finally, the fact that I can use the same coconut oil in my kitchen to cook with and eat, is the best part!  I am putting something on my hair and skin that I can eat.  Guess what?  I feel much better about that than all the warnings on every other product on the store shelves that I used to use!!

   I love to bake with coconut oil, replace it as a 1 to 1 for butter, or any other oil in your recipes.  I fry fish in it, I fry lots of things in it.  And yes, some coconut oil has a coconut flavor, but we never seem to mind it.  My new coconut oil, however, does not have that flavor so you would never know you are using a healthier oil!!

   I love to use coconut oil in my granola, cookies, and even our oatmeal in the morning!!

If you want to see more uses check out TipNut.

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So, What are you waiting for? 

Try it out!

Where to find it?

Well, a great place is Tropical Traditions because they sell an amazing product!  If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you!  It’s a win/win!!

You want to get the Virgin Coconut Oil, and look for Cold Pressed, un-refined, and non-hydrogenated.  This will make sure you get the best quality oil!

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A little bit more about where this coconut oil comes from…..

To see some other videos, check out HERE.

Stay tuned, the give-away is right around the corner for this Quart jar of Coconut Oil!!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Homemade Yogurt

I love to make granola.  I cannot make myself buy it hardly ever.  Since I love to make it, I really enjoy having it for breakfast but the side dish with granola is yogurt.  Yogurt is getting more and more expensive!  Not to mention you have to be careful what you buy these days with all the additives they throw in!!

I have read and heard over and over how easy it was to make yogurt, but I never really believed.  Then I saw a pin on Pinterest, and I followed it and was finally convinced.  Here is the post that inspired me.

Here are pics of my second batch of yogurt. 

I have made Greek yogurt both times now, and we are thoroughly enjoying it.  Normally, I buy 2 kinds of yogurt, 1 qt of Greek and 1 qt of regular.  Greek for me and regular for the kids (the price is almost twice for the Greek, hence I only get it!)

Meal Planning

We are still working on eating healthy.  It makes my head spin though – try to cut out sugar, and well there is fruit everywhere, and how can you not eat too much?  Cut back on processed stuff, but then I hear I need to lower one son’ carbs… ugh! 

I am trying to plan more meals out, makes the day smoother, and puts less stress on me.  But now, I need to plan low carbs (for one) and low sugar for all, and we are out of meat (for another week or two) – but have lots of chicken…. see what I mean.  My head is spinning.

So here is my meal plan for the next week or so…

Tuesday : Crock Pot Steel Cut Oats , veggie quesadillas & bean dip, Burritos & leftover Santé Fe chicken

Wednesday : Fried Egg Sandwiches, hummus w/veggies picnic, Baled Potatoes (crock pot) & salad

kids in the kitchen

I am not so great with this…. this kids in the kitchen.  I mean, mine help a lot, and have for years, but letting them go?  Uhh, not so much.

In fact, when it comes to helping, they start helping, but when I need to hurry it along, or stir it “better” they quickly get disinterested and wander away. 

This, my friends is why I love 4H.  I love it for many reasons, it gets my kids speaking in front of groups,  it encourages them to learn all sorts of new things, and it provides an environment to reward success.  But right now, tonight, I am loving that it has gotten me thinking that my kids need to be in the kitchen more without me interfering. 

They, all four, made something to show for 4H this Saturday.  They all made or helped make their dish in the past (aside from AG).  So this time, I sat back and supervised.  PJ made Spanish rice!  (Guess who is not making rice anymore?)  He is the new Spanish rice cooker in our home. 

{no picture snapped of him, I forgot…}

It is over! {imagine me doing the happy dance}

Whew.

I can finally have sugar again.  Can.  And yes, I will.  I am not sure when, how much or how, but I know I will be eating some sugar today and in the days to come.

Boy.   I have learned, that I can live without sugar.  I can.  But, since food is not my idol, nor does what I eat define me, I will not live without sugar. 

From today on, I plan to eat a Sugar-Less diet.  Not diet in the sense short term, but I plan to lessen the amount of sugar we eat as a family.  Robert has been wanting bees since before we arrived here, and I was always fully on board for getting them “later”.  Well, later is now.  I am not sure how soon now will be for us, but I am all for getting them as soon as we can.  If we can start to get our own honey, that would make sugar-less living so much easier!

But as a woman who loves God with all her heart, with all she is, I am a woman who is not defined by my body size, the calories I consume or by what I eat.  However, my body is a temple that God allows me to occupy for a set amount of time.  As I try to keep my house clean, and my kids healthy, I need to try to keep this body in the best shape I can as well.  So eating healthier is part of that.

Almost There!

I am about to wrap up my 2 week fast of no sugar.  I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I had no idea.

For instance, did  you know sugar is in just about every salad dressing? 

And Ketchup?  Crackers? Almost all bread?  Every yogurt I could find? 

When this started, I had severe headaches the first day.  The next few days I thought about sugar ALL day, when I say all day, I mean the thought was in my head every few minutes, if not more.  I could not think of anything but eating something with sugar.

A few days into it, I went to Whole Foods and stocked up – and this made my fast so much easier!!  I bought Stevia to put in coffee, tea, whatever.  I also got some amazing peanut butter that is so super healthy.  Not cheap, but I think may be our new go-to peanut butter.  It is loaded with flax seed, peanuts, agave nectar, and that is about it.  No sugar and instead full of super brain food stuff (flax seed).

At this point, I am ready to have some sugar.  I want a few things that I just plain WANT. 

But this brings me to the BIG question!  Why do we feel like we can have whatever we want to eat?  Let me clarify.  I know R rated movies are bad, the language is horrible, the nudity or partial is unacceptable, and the violence is over the top.  So we stopped watrching R rated movies.  Yes, this stinks when a great movie (looks that way anyway) comes out and we see it is R.  Oh well.  We skip it.  {I did make an exception for the King’s Speech, but the only exception in a LONG time).  Anyway…

We know this stuff is bad, so we avoid it.  We know smoking is bad.  We avoid it.  And yet, I know sugar is bad.  It feed cancer in your body.  It stops the white blood cells from doing their job (i.e. keeping you healthy) and yet – we jump head first into a life of sugar addiction.  This is one of the few area where we do not tell ourselves no.  We seem to think we are doing everything else okay, I deserve to eat what I want.  But what I want is based on what my body has become addicted to.  Check out Healthy Familes for God – read From All Natural to Class A Drug for some crazy mind-blowing info. 

I am not advocating a life of no sugar, but I want to know what I am eating and the consequences it will have on my body.  If we ignorant of what is going on we have no way of doing something about it – and this is not good.  Ignorance is not bliss!!

We start the day with it (unless you are an eggs and bacon eater, but watch out for what you put on toast…..) we include it is our drinks (juice, sweet tea, soda, etc) we eat it at lunch (think : peanut butter and jelly) and then if not in our dinner (but again, condiments are loaded) we end the day indulging in some ice cream, cake, or generally something sweet.

Now, stay with me.  I will repeat, I am certainly not advocating a life without sugar.  While this 2 week fast has been okay, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to get there.  I want to be able to have some things that, unfortunately, contain sugar.  But, I think I want to stay off the Sugar-Addiction bandwagon.  I want to be aware of what I am letting my kids consume.  Because if I know it is bad for me, think what it is doing to their little bodies!  They need much more in t he category of nutrition that we do, and that sugar is replacing some much needed nutrients.  I do not want to raise 4 kids to grow up to be the sugar addict that I was.

Will this cost more?  Take more time?  Be hard? Yes, yes and yes.  It will.  Let’s be honest, healthy snacks take prep time, they do not come in a fun box you open ad serve.  It is more to buy things like healthy peanut butter and sugar free jelly.  But think about all those DR. bills.  If I avoid a co-pay I am saving $25 and that can buy a lot of even healthy peanut butter!

So for me this is my plan for 2012 & food:

1. No Candy in the house – if any, just the best and very little – otherwise NONE.

2. Peanut Butter – mostly, if not all, the good stuff

3.  Have more hummus, veggies and other good stuff for sandwiches

4.  Drink more smoothies with real (unsweetened) fruit

5.  Make granola every other week (enough to last); cut up veggies for snacks each week

6.  Make jelly lower in sugar (find a recipe to do this) – only eat homemade jelly

7.  Make cookies that are healthier (see Healthy Families for God)

8.  Make sweet tea with honey instead of sugar – drink less often; drink more water

9.  Be aware of the sugar we do eat (knowing is half the battle)

10.  Have dessert on celebrate days only – and other snacks other nights (nuts, popcorn, fruit, etc)

I know this is not what will work in every home, and I am not saying it should.  But we need to be advocates for our children and not just allowing them the candy they want because it is easier to say yes than no.  We can all attest that the more candy and junk they eat the more cavities and hyper-activity.  All is bad.  If we cut out candy almost all together, they would still be great, happy, healthy kids.  They would learn to deal with it.  It is possible.

There are so many options out there today, and this is a blessing.  It is possible to be healthier, it just takes work.

Sugar-less Eating

Well, we are a week (plus a few days) into the sugar free living.  So far, this week has been much better than last.  I still would love to have some sugar, but I am no longer craving it.

So a few successes we have had, for dessert tonight I made a frozen treat that we all enjoyed.  I used frozen bananas, almond milk, ice, natural (sugar free) peanut butter, and some stevia chocolate flavoring.  It was really yummy!

On Saturday night I whipped up Blender waffles from Passionate Homemaking.  I was really not sure what expect with these, but it was worth a try for me.  I also and not the one who makes waffles, so the recipe was new and the use of the waffle iron was new.  The kids loved them, and everyone requested seconds.  We had maple syrup on them, so we still avoided all processed sugar.

What’s cookin?

It seems my stove or oven are always on.

As I am not eating sugar right now, I guess I am coping with comfort food.  Today I roasted 2 chickens (we hatched, raised, butchered & plucked – wow!! I am still shocked), cooked Beef bones for soup (see recipe below), and made beef & barley stew.

I have some more beef in the fridge that will be goulash tomorrow – which I cannot wait for!

But let me tell you, if you are into making your own stuff, you NEED to trust me and try making beef broth with soup bones.  I received these last winter when we bought and “processed” a cow.  I had no idea what to do, so I turned to the wonderful world wide web!  I found out that with some time you can make the most amazing broth!!

So here is what I do….

Homemade Beef Broth

thaw your bones (if you need to)

 

put them in a roasting pan for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

After 45 min put some onion, celery, carrots – whatever – in with it and roast another 45 min.

Then dump everything in a pot and cover with water, I usually cover about 2-3 inches above bones. 

Simmer for about 2 hours – with lid off a bit to steam.

Next, strain the stuff out from the broth.  Then if you can, let sit overnight in your fridge.  (If you let it sit overnight the flavors develop more and then you can skim the fat off in the morning.)

This will result in super healthy homemade, low sodium beef broth.  And the Beef and Barley stew it goes into will knock your socks off!!  As will whatever you make.

I do think you can get soup bones from the grocery store – if you cannot find them ask the butcher – I suspect they are cheap.  They are worth every minute you spend doing this!  But know that it takes hours to get great broth – do not rush it.  Just plan to be in the house and doing other stuff!

Enjoy!

Sugar Free & Balance ???

I had no idea.  I mean, I knew it was not so good for us.  I knew I should cut back, but oh my!!

I have been feeling a little desire to cut out some sugar, so when a friend posted that she was going 2 weeks no sugar starting Jan 2, I thought I would join her.  Little did I know.

I knew I would hate it – but did not expect headaches on day 1.  And cravings, like I never {thought I }  felt before.  Ugh.

Then another friend sends a link to a blog about going sugar-free, and I can honestly tell you I think I am scared of sugar and what it is doing to us.  I encouraged (to put it mildly) my husband to join me on this 2 week (hopefully 4 week) endeavor.  But after reading some of this stuff, I think I am bringing the kids along too.  Crazy stuff out there about sugar.

Stretching $$ & being healthy

If you are like me, and you are probably not like me – you are probably still considered normal by your friends.  I am not.  I am far from normal – and I promise not to tell you all the ways.  You would probably cringe.

But if you are like me a little – a wee bit, well then I may be able to help you out.

First, with 4 growing kids in our house – 2 almost teenage boys, okay maybe not in age – but in eating ability for sure – we have changed how we eat – COMPLETELY.

Robert and I ate “normal” for years.  We based a meal around the meat we were serving and added a veggie or starch, or probably both.  We bought our meat in the store, with our veggies and processed foods.

Pear Day / Take II

I love when I wake up and walk through the house smelling something wonderful!

I cooked up 3 big pots of pears yesterday and turned those into Pear Sauce.  I made tons of this year and we are still eating it, so I decided not to can any pear sauce this year.  So, all my pear sauce is going to turn into Pear Butter!  We love pear butter, and it is Robert’s favorite!

So I poured about 16 cups of pear sauce into the crock pot, added 3 cups of sugar, some cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.  Stirred it all up, turned on the crock pot to High and let it cook for about 24 hours.  The results are a deep brown gooey goodness!!

So this afternoon I canned a dozen jars of yummy pear sauce, and cooked up 2 more pots of pears.  I will have another dozen jars of pears sauce whipped up again, tomorrow!  I love pear season.  I think I may get all these little pears canned this year, last year I let many go to waste.

Meanwhile, Clarabell is loving the pear peelings, an occasional core and the chickens are in pear heaven with tons of cores being dropped off every couple of hours. 

All is well on the farm!

It’s all about the food

That is how it seems these days in our home!

We have tomatoes coming out of our ears!  This prompted me to attempt salsa last week with tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos all from out garden!  This week I am making more to can since we cannot eat enough to keep up!  Homemade salsa is wonderful!

We also have pumpkins turning orange just about daily, so after cooking 6 of them in the last few days, I am about to make some pumpkin butter.  Unfortunately you are not supposed to can pumpkin butter, something about the USDA thinking it is not safe, so into the freezer my pumpkin butter will go.  So many options though once it is in there!  I am going to follow this recipe – and her suggestions are to use your pumpkin butter like you would pumpkin in bread, smoothies, pie and instead of adding the suggested sugar for each recipe you skip it since the pumpkin butter will already have it.  I am most looking forward to some pumpkin smoothies in the next few weeks.  Yum!!

Back on track

I need to get things back in order.  I think it is the spring bug!  I want to organize everything, I want to get back into a set routine, and I want order.  Ahhh, order – the thought already calms me!

Meal planning has been lacking unless we have company coming, and the family would love some real meals instead of what is on hand – sometimes resorting to ramen noodles (with peas to justify it).  I am ready for some new & yummy meals too!  So I am going to stalk THIS blog (thanks to Jenna) this week and get some recipes to try out with our family.  Healthy, yummy and cheap (relatively on all the above I think).

I need to get my room back to looking like a Master Bedroom and not a laundry room/mud room/man’s workshop like it does right now.  I am taking our bathroom back – I need to fix a spot or two on our walls (sand off the spackle and re-prime the underneath, and then re-spackle) but I can do all that while we are using the room!! So no more showers in the kids bathroom at some point this week!!!  That is the plan anyway!

pieces of an incomplete puzzle

 

I love to see the picture beginning to take shape.  The picture is the big picture of our life out here in Malakoff.  We moved out here with numerous expectations, while so many cautioned our excitement and joy.  Not a few people clearly expressed that we were moving too fast, or that we did not know what we were embarking on.  They think we are a little crazy right now.   Boy, are/were they wrong!

 

 Robert & his radishes

(he may have a future in radish farming)

 

This life agrees with us. 

It agrees tremendously with me (i.e. no more anxiety issues, or sleepless nights, or panic attacks), my children are eating it up as fast as they can, and my husband is just plain happy.  This country life, the Saturday mornings of planting flowers, clearing flower beds, cutting acres of grass, it is just what we were looking for. 

N.C Wyeth – Old Kentucky

 

So as we watch different pieces falling into place, my heart is just  about exploding!  We have added a couple dogs to our family and they are just about perfect!  They are the best 2 little puppies, and I have no complaints at all.  I love that we have 2 sisters to entertain each other when we are off to school, or out on a field trip.  I love that they love to romp and play with each other as much as running and playing with the kids!

And we are not done adding animals!!  Stay tuned for the next addition…..

Yesterday, I was able to get away from the family for a couple hours (okay – most of the day) and recharge my batteries at a CM conference.  CM is Charlotte Mason, she is the “designer'” of the style of education we use in our home.  We follow the guide offered by Ambleside but it is thoroughly based on CM and her philosophies about raising children with Living Books.  This was such a great time away, the conference was small with about 15 ladies in attendance.  Sonya Shafer is the woman teaching us (she is from Simply Charlotte  Mason) and she was just wonderful in offering tons of practical ideas and methods.  She offers many amazing resources too, but I did show some restraint in that I only bought a book on Habit Training and a DVD of the conference from today since I was not able to go.

I have been pouring through her website pulling her Book Of Centuries and her Scripture Memory notes too.  I have printed out some maps we will use Monday for our first Map Drill session, and I can hardly wait to “restructure” our days of school basing them more on some of her suggestions than on what I thought I understood before.  I am almost say tomorrow is Sunday and we cannot do school tomorrow (not really though!).

So I am just excited to see how God is continuing to work the details of this new life out here – and teaching me how it should look versus how I want it to look.  I am enjoying seeing it unfold and how my children are responding so well to it all.

I also think I have found a new pick-up location for our favorite organic veggie co-op!!  We loved this vegetable co-op so much in Mansfield and Irving, and I have been missing it terribly these past few weeks!!  I noticed a friend is the pick-up of the same co-op in a town outside of Tyler (an hour away) and thought maybe there would actually be one closer and low, and behold!  There is!!  Just about 10 miles away!! I cannot wait to get back in the habit of getting my ORGANIC veggies from Monica and her amazing co-op!!  God is so good –and let me assure you – HE IS IN THE DETAILS!!!

Note: here is a great post on Map Drills from fellow Ambleside user Amy.