Gratituesday: A Special Thanks to My Mom

I have 5 kids, 4 of whom are 5 and under.  Two of them are 16 month old twins.  4 of my kids are boys and if you have boys, you understand exactly what I'm talking about.  We live in a postage stamp size house where the kids bounce off the walls and each other.  It's loud and chaotic and fun too.  I sometimes feel frazzled, overwhelmed, and a little crazy.  As people frequently remind me to the point of exasperation, "I have my hands full." 

Enter my mom.  Thank God she lives close by and is not only willing to help me care for the kids, but loves them with all her heart.  She comes over sometimes as much as 3 days a week and often helps me with the laundry too. 

And then there's my Fridays, my precious, wonderful Fridays, where from 10am-5pm, I am kid free.  My mom takes all the children, except my oldest who is in elementary school, over to her house and then brings them back before dinner.  Those Fridays I try to spend recharging my batteries and defragging my mental hard drive (no, I'm not a robot, although, there are days....). 

I enjoy the quiet and reconnect with who I am.  I take off all my hats, like the Mommy Hat and the House Cleaner Hat and the Chef's Hat and I focus on just being Lisa.  I read a book or watch a chick flick or write.  I try not to run errands or do my shopping, but sometimes it can't be helped.  My mental health days would not happen if it weren't for my mom.  What would I do without her?

So on Gratituesday, I have to say how much my mom means to me and how much I appreciate all she does for me and my family.  Yes, I could have saved this for a lovely Mother's Day post, but loving and being thankful for our mother's should not be celebrated one day a year.

Linked to Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers

Guilt Free Hot Chocolate

The weather is turning colder, all the leaves have started to fall off the trees, and it's time to pull out the sweaters.  I am a little cold natured and especially those first few weeks of nippy temperatures, I feel like I can never get warm no matter how many layers I throw on.  Coffee and herbal tea help and I carry a mug around wherever I am in the house.  So when I stumbled upon this recipe for hot chocolate, I was super excited.  Not only is it sugar free, it has about 10 calories!  I can drink a couple of cups without eating up my calories for the day and I get my chocolate fix!

photo acknowledgment

This came from the label on the Kroger brand cocoa powder.

1 cup hot water (I nuke a mug for 1 minute)
1 heaping tsp of cocoa powder (ingredient list should say "cocoa")
2 tsp milk
dash of salt
dash of vanilla
stevia to taste.

Mix together and enjoy.

***make it festive with a few drops of peppermint extract!  OR add a dash of cinnamon, yum!

My kids love this too and it feels great to give them a treat that is healthy. 

Some of the health benefits of cocoa powder:
--contains antioxidants
--lowers blood pressure
--elevates mood

Linked to
Frugal Granola's Festive Beverages

Wah, Wah, Wah.....Trash Worthy Mini Cheesecakes

I got my camera working.  I'm so glad it's not broken!

Culinary disaster struck in my kitchen today.  That's right, folks, I dumped my hard work in the garbage today. 

My idea was to make cute little single serving cheesecakes.  I have a truck load of kefir in my fridge right now and we just can't drink it fast enough.  If you've made kefir before, you know it multiples like crazy and can soon take over your house.  If you don't know what kefir is, it's kind of like a yogurt drink.  Anyway, I decided to make cheese with it and use it for the base of my cheesecakes.  I strained the kefir and had a nice, thick cream cheese consistency.  I added vanilla and honey.  It tasted great.  I looked in my recipe book and saw that cheesecake has eggs in it.  Ok, I added eggs.  So far, so good.

Next came the crust,  I found a recipe for a nut crust from good ol' Betty Crocker.  I thought that was so great that I didn't even have to experiment with a grain free pie crust.  It was all done for me and from Betty Crocker no less. 

I lined a muffin tin with papers and pressed my crust into them just like you would press a graham cracker crust into a pie tin.  I then poured my cheese concoction on top and popped it in the oven.  After about 15 minutes I checked on them.  They looked pretty and had risen nicely.  "Yeah!" I thought and patted myself on the back.  As they cooled I noticed they were slowly deflating.  Huh.  A few minutes later they sank down in the middle.  Uh-oh and double uh-oh.  I went to pull the paper off one and it stuck.  No matter how careful I was the crust broke and the paper refused to come off in places.

Well, it wasn't nice to look at, but maybe it still tasted really delicious.  At least that would be something.  Nope.  They were terrible.  It was slightly sour and super eggy tasting.  What a bummer.  I hate wasting food and I hate wasting time and I hate when my recipe is a complete flop!  I wanted to take pictures so you could see my sad little cakes, but when I went to take them, my camera wouldn't work.

Today has been one of those days and I am glad it's over and I get to start fresh tomorrow.  I woke up to a super grumpy 3rd grader who was not ready to go back to school from the long Thanksgiving break and then my three year old was having a bad day and wanted everyone else to join him.  I dropped a bottle of powder on the kitchen floor and it exploded covering my kitchen from top to bottom.  The best part (feel the sarcasm?) was when I rinsed out a glass sitting on the counter, filled it with water, and took a sip.  It tasted very salty and burned my tongue and throat. 

Once I figured out what happened I felt like a complete idiot.   I had a glass with bleach in it sitting on the dryer in the laundry room.  My husband grabbed it up and set it on the counter in the kitchen.  Lee and I share cups a lot and I just assumed it was his water glass.  Never again will I drink from a cup on the counter unless I know for a fact it is mine.  I'm ok, but I still have a burn in my throat and a funny taste in my mouth.  Did I mention I get to start over tomorrow.

Peanut Butter Fudge-Yum!

I love peanut butter... A LOT.  It could be the most perfect food on earth (along with bacon and chocolate).  It taste good in desserts, in Thai food, the good ol' pb& j, straight out of the jar....ahem.  If I am not careful I am going to go into a spiel about peanut butter ala Bubba's shrimp list from Forrest Gump.   

So when I saw this recipe at Grain Free Foodies, I knew I had to make it.  The verdict?  It's good, really, really, good and for me that's too good.  "What?  How can that be?" you say.  Well, I'll tell you.  I could sit down and eat half a batch all by myself.  (I'm being modest.  I could eat the whole thing in one sitting.  I'd be sick, but I could push through the pain).  This is a big problem.  I spent half my calories the other day on peanut butter fudge.  When this happens alarm bells go off alerting me that this is a trigger food.  I can't have any; one bite takes me down a slippery slope to binge eating.  Sad, but true.  C'est la vie, at least for me anyway.

As for the kids, they loved it too, all 5 of them.  Since this has lots of healthy fats and is low in sugar, I don't mind giving it to them.  They think "dessert" and I think "Lauric acid, Vitamin K and E, iron...."

The recipe says it can be kept in the fridge or freezer.  It's a little too soft if left in the fridge and therefore a little messier.  The freezer keeps the fudge hard enough to go from little fingers to little mouths without getting smudges on my walls and furniture. 

Crustless Pumpkin Pie--Dairy Free

All the yummy desserts and Griffin, who is gluten and dairy free, couldn't have a bite.  I gave him chocolate chips thinking there wasn't a whole lot of milk.  He should be ok, right?  Wrong.  I won't go into detail, but I was cleaning up the floor after a few minutes.  I did make him a pumpkin pie that he could eat and it was left in the fridge at home.  Sorry, kiddo!

The babies did not want to try it the first time I offered it to them, but then ate a cup a piece the second time.  The big boys turned their noses up at it right away and wouldn't try it.  I didn't feel like battling so I didn't bother with the one bite rule.  I thought it was really good and didn't miss the crust at all which adds a whole lot of calories anyway.

This recipe was inspired by Debbie Does Dinner.

1 15 oz (or 16 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2/3 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup coconut cream****

1/4 cup full fat coconut milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all ingredients until well combined.  Grease casserole dish (any size, but time in oven will vary according to how shallow and long your dish is).  I used a round 9" casserole dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 25-35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Scoop into bowls and top with Coconut Cream Topping From Frugal Crunchy Christy and sprinkle with cinnamon.

****Put two cans of full fat coconut milk in fridge and let sit for several days.  The milk should seperate into a very thick cream on top and liquid on the bottom.  Scoop out the top layer.  This is the coconut cream you should use.  It is also used  for Coconut Cream Topping From Frugal Crunchy Christy's recipe.

Linked to:  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Delicious Dishes
Hearth and Soul Hop
Tuesday Twister
Tasty Tuesday
Real Food Wednesday
Simple Lives Thursday

Girl Twin (#4)

And here are some pics from Thanksgiving.  We couldn't pin my oldest down to take a picture.  I'm not sure why we didn't get the youngest boy.  I have pictures of all 5 + their cousins, but the pictures turned out blurry.

#3

#2

Happy Thanksgiving! Mini-post

Today I'm thankful for you!  To all my followers, subscribers, and those who stop to take a look around, thank you! 

Photo by Maggie Smith

Creating Family Traditions for Thanksgiving

Good Grief!  It's Thanksgiving Already?

When the holidays roll around I think about my family's lack of Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions.  Both my husband's family and my family live close by, which is absolutely great.  My kids have wonderful relationships with both sets of grandparents (and we get free babysitting).  Because both of them are in town, we we share our holidays with each of them.  In the 13 years that I've been married, I have not once made a Thanksgiving turkey.  We celebrate at someone else's house with someone else's food twice.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my family and I am really thankful I don't have to cook for everyone.  Just getting my kids (and husband) dressed and out the door is a major accomplisment.  The draw back is that I don't feel like we have any traditions of our own. 

Every year around this time, our lack of holiday family traditions sticks out to me like a sore thumb (at least to me it does) and every year I'm at a loss as to what we could do.  But this year, while at one of my son's Thanksgiving feast at school, inspiration struck.  I've finally thought of a way to have our own little Thanksgiving tradition that doesn't involve replicating the same turkey dinner and pumpkin pie that we already experience two times in one week.  It does involve buttered toast, pretzels, jelly beans, popcorn, and a made for tv special.  That's right.  Once a year at some point during the week of Thanksgiving we are going to celebrate Charlie Brown style.  On Monday night we had our special meal and then sat down to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".  The food is not healthy in the least, save the popcorn, but it's cute, it's fun and the kids loved it.

Will we still be doing this when my kids realize how uncool it is?  I don't know, but in the mean time, we will be making memories of our own and even if they don't want to participate later on down the road, they can look back at how silly and fun it was.   I will say that, as we all know, teenagers love junk food, so they may tolerate it simply because of the food.

(I wish I had pictures, but our camera was left at my parents.  Maybe next year).


***Griffin had his own special little meal.  I let him have popcorn, which he's not supposed to have right now, and jelly beans and he had some peanut butter on his special toast.  He didn't seem to mind.

Banana 3 Ingredient Pancakes

This recipe comes straight from Grainfree-foodie.  It's 3 ingredients and is amazing how pancake-like they turned out.  I added a little stevia to make it sweeter.  They didn't exactly taste like pancakes, but they were still delicious, not eggy taste at all like I thought they would be.  Keep the temperature low because they cook up fast.  They are GAPS friendly and gluten free.  Simple and fast.  I whipped these up in just a few minutes!

Share at:
Real Food Wednesday

Pecan Garlic Crackers

This originally started as someone else's recipe, but it did not work anything like she said it would.  I had to do so much doctoring to rescue my crackers that it no longer resembles her recipe in the least, except for the fact that they are both crackers and they both have nut flour.  This is great because I have now created an original recipe and it always feels good when I don't have to throw out a bunch of ingredients.  They are quite tasty and remind me a little of Nut Thins, but not so hard. Best of all, Griffin, my GAPS baby, can eat them.  I spread a little dip made with kefir cheese on the crackers and he eats as many as I'll give him.

3 cups pecan flour (I used food processor to make flour)

1 cup coconut flour
4 eggs

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic

2 Tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp baking soda (If on GAPS Diet omit or cheat like we do.)

Combine and section off into 4 parts.  Make into balls and roll out each part between two sheets of parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick (or thinner if you are an expert roller outer--yes, I make up my own words).  Carefully peel off top paper.  Cut into 2X2 squares with a pizza cutter.  Using a spatula gently lift each cracker onto dehydrator tray.  Repeat with rest of dough.  I filled 4 trays in my L'Equip dehydrator.  Dehydrate at 150-200 degrees until the crackers reach desired crispness.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use your oven.  Set it to the lowest temperature and bake checking the crackers frequently.  (I have heard you can leave the oven door open and it yields similar results to a dehydrator.)  When they are almost as crisp as you want them, take them out.  They will continue to crisp out of the oven.  I have not tried this myself and base these directions on similar cracker recipes.

Store in an airtight container.

***GAPS Friendly minus baking powder

Linked to:  Delicious Dishes
Real Food Wednesday

Cinnamon Flourless Cupcakes - Gluten Free

No one ever believes me after having a bite that these yummy cupcakes are flourless.  Made with lima beans, they are moist and light and very much like traditional cupcakes.  I used lima beans for the cupcake pictured below, but I have also used Great northern beans in the past and they worked as well.

When I make something along the lines of "Sneaky Chef", I will reveal the mystery ingredient after the kids have had a few bites.  I know some moms don't like hiding fruits and vegetables in their children's foods, but I think of it as a way of increasing the nutrients in a recipe.  They are still offered fruits and vegetables in their recognizable forms, but it's not going to hurt for them to have some extra servings.  Also, I can then say "See!  You like lima beans!"

Make 12 cupcakes

3 cups lima beans
4 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp stevia
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Put everything in food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour into muffin tins with paper liners.  Fill each to almost level.    Bake for 20 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

I melted some chocolate chips and spread it on top for frosting, but this Cinnamon Icing from Food Renegade would be perfect.

Shared at:  Seasonal Sunday

Chicken "Noodle" Soup

This recipe comes straight from Elana's Pantry.  The whole family loved this, especially the twins.  Chicken "Noodle" Soup has "Noodle" in quotation marks because they are not noodles at all, but thin strips of zucchini cut to look like noodles.  Make this with homemade chicken stock and it is a super healthy meal! 

Note:  I did not have a julienne slicer, so I made the noodles by hand.  Remember to cut off all the skin to make it look like authentic noodles; the green stuff sort of gives it away.  I also added salt and pepper because without it, the soup was rather bland.  Cook it much longer than the recipe calls for for a more noodly texture.

This recipe is gluten free and GAPS diet friendly.

Countdown to 2011-Soups

Simply Sweet Home: Quick Post

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home is featuring my Pumpkin Pecan Bars along with a few other bloggers' recipes on her blog party Sweet Thursday. 

She also has some really neat jewelry at Simply Sweet Creations.  Please check it out.  Christmas is coming up and some unique earrings or a bracelet would make a great gift!

Sugar Cookies-Completely Unhealthy and Totally Yum!

As I've said before I'm not going to be a stickler when it comes to what we eat.  Occasionally, we will have regular ol' sugar or the terrible high fructose corn syrup.  Popsicle anyone?  So, when J.D.'s preschool asked me to bring sugar cookies to his Thanksgiving Feast at school, I set out on a search to find truly yummy sugar cookies.  If they are going to eat unhealthy, I'm going to make it worth it.  By the way, I went to the Thanksgiving Feast and left the cookies at home.  I didn't think a thing about it until I got home and saw the box sitting on the counter.  I always pull the "5 Kids Card" when I have a brainless moment and so I'm not going to give it too much thought.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

I can't claim this recipe in the slightest.  I did halve the recipe because I didn't want to take 60 cookies.  My cookie cutters were big so it only made 2 dozen.  My frosting was simply powdered sugar, food coloring, and milk.  I put about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and added 1 tsp of milk at a time to get the right consistency and added a couple of drops of food coloring.  Hint: if you add too much milk the frosting will be runny and then you have to add tons of powdered sugar to get the mixture to a nice consistency again.  I know from experience and ended up with a humongous bowl of frosting.  (Not this time, but in the past.  We learn from our mistakes and I will pass that one on to you). 

These were really good, much better than store bought.  Were they the best sugar cookies?  I don't know.  I'm not a huge fan of sugar cookies, but the kids (being my kids, not J.D.'s classmates) liked them and I'm thinking about sticking them in the freezer so they aren't gobbling up 24 not-so-good-for-you cookies.

Gratituesday: My Family's Health



This is not one of the twins.  This is child #3
when he was sick awhile back.



My husband and I were talking the other day, well, I was complaining about the twins month long ear infections.  There has been much fussiness and crying and clinging not only from them, but from their older brothers too.  I only have so much energy and I'm afraid they have not gotten the attention that they need.

Anyway, as I moaned, I remembered my days as a parapro working with mentally challenged children.  We often went on field trips and had parties with other classes of mentally and physically challenged kids, some of whom were in wheel chairs and/or attached to all sorts of equipment.  One little boy who broke my heart was predicted to live just a couple more years.

Quickly this memory put my attitude in check.  I am lucky that my kids do not have debilitating illnesses or disabilities.  I can only imagine how hard, stressful, and painful life must be for parents who have a child that is physically or mentally handicapped. They spend endless hours at the doctors' and hospitals wracking up medical bills.  Their finances and life in general center around the child's disabilities.  I've seen parents' faces who have to helplessly watch their children grow up unable to participate in things that should be a part of a typical childhood.  I've met those kids who stumble with their reading or who will never read at all, children who will never run because they are bound to their wheelchair and I know the children who live life knowing they only have a short time on this earth. 

I'm blessed to have a healthy family and am grateful, even when I unjustifiably grumble about co-pays and sleepless nights, that, God willing, they will have a normal childhood and adult life.

Linked to: Gratituesday

Coconut Cookies

This recipe is adapted from cavemanstrong.com's Coconut Cookies.  I changed the recipe a little to suit our tastes.  These are great to keep on hand when I don't feel like fixing a snack or to tide the babies over while I make dinner.  The original recipe calls for chocolate chips.  I omitted these because chocolate chip cookies equal messy faces and little hands which in turn touch anything and everything in the house.  Next time I make these I may add raisins and nuts.

1 cup of coconut flour
3/4 cup of coconut oil
1 cup of honey
6 eggs
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 1/2 cup of shredded coconut


Pre-heat oven to 300 . Combine oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla.  Add shredded coconut and coconut flour.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Make golf ball size balls and then flatten with hands.  I wet my hands before forming the cookies to keep the batter from sticking.  The batter will not spread out so however flat you make them is how they will turn out.  Bake for 20-30 mins or until lightly browned.


***GAPS friendly

Linked to:  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesday
Hearth and Soul
Real Food Wednesday
Pennywise Platter Thursday

Don't forget to enter my Gluten Free Cookie Giveaway!  Enter before 12/13/10.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I was supposed to go to the grocery store yesterday and instead opted to work on my book......but I didn't really do that either. 

I'm not sure where my time went or what I did.  It was one of those black hole experiences where a timeless vortex sucks my day away.   You know those days where you look back and you were busy the entire time, but accomplished nothing.

No excuses, I didn't go to the grocery store and here lies the problem.  I had absolutely nothing to serve the twins for breakfast in the morning.  The babies are on a grain free/dairy free diet and we had no fruit, no leftovers, no eggs, no peanut butter, etc.  So now what?

I was seriously considering making a midnight grocery run (yuck!) when I spotted two ripe avocados lying on the counter.  Avocados are not on the naughty list so I sat down and brainstormed.  What goes with just about everything?  That's right!  Chocolate!   Cocoa powder and avocado went into the food processor with a little vanilla and honey.  I blended it up and, ta-da, pudding!

The children loved it, especially the babies.  My husband and I  sampled it and thought it was yummy too.  Am I saying I served dessert to my kids at breakfast?  Yep.  We have breakfast for dinner, so why not dessert for breakfast!  We're breaking all the rules now.  Watch out!  I might get crazy and have lunch for dessert (ok, that one's not going to happen).

2 avocados
1/4-1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put everything in food processor and blend until smooth.  Add some whipped topping or chopped nuts to make a pretty presentation.  I had neither.  Go figure.

****Since this post, my youngest, one of the twins, has had a reaction to chocolate.  It pains me to say that chocolate has been added to the naughty list. 

Shared at:  Delicious Dishes
Seasonal Sunday

Progress Report 11/14/10 and The Destruction of Our Property

We've had some set backs that have been really frustrating.  The babies have had ear infections since the end of October and have been prescribed several different antibiotics.  Not only have I had to deal with crying, cranky babies, I feel like we are taking steps back in our efforts to heal their little tummies by balancing their gut flora.  Antibiotics kill off all the bacteria in your body, bad and good.  It's that good bacteria we need to have strong immune systems and healthy guts.  We have switched to a high powered probiotic to try and help replenish the good bacteria, but I think it can only do so much with such prolonged use of antibiotics.  Griffin's eczema has flared up just as we were seeing an improvement.  One side effect that I think we have dodged with the use of probiotics is diarrhea.  I know, TMI!  It's true though.  They've had absolutely no upset stomachs!  Yeah!

As far as my picky eaters, we have had lots of sucesses with new recipes I've tried.  Pancake Bread, "Lara" Bars, Spinach Meatballs, Cinammon Cookies***, Coconut Cookies***, Carrot Mousse Pie***, Chicken Noodle Soup Without Noodles***, Peanut Butter Fudge***, ShiitakeMushroom Pizza***, and "Halloween" (pumpkin) Smoothies have been hits with just about everyone.  I can't reiterate enough that we can't please everyone and in a house of 7, the odds are that someone is not going to like what I make.

Some of the recipes that failed (and even I didn't like them) were Almond Flour Bread, Coconut Flour Bread, and Coconut Crusted Chicken Nuggets.  Pancake Bread is the way to go for our family if I am baking flourless bread.  The rest of the bread recipes have been absolutely "yucky!"

Because being healthy involves more than just nutrition, my next goal is to eliminate some of the electronic goings on in the house, meaning tv, computer, and Wii.  I think a little bit each day is fine, but sometimes we let those devices become "the blackbox babysitter."  It's so easy to just let them go at it rather than having them play.   The weather is so nice right now there is no excuse not to get out and run around.  Excercise, fresh air, and sunshine are so important to our health and my goals are all about healthy living, after all.

I'm excited about my progress in my workouts.  When I lift weights I am adding a little bit more weight each time which is so encouraging!  My biceps are looking phenomenal, if I do say so myself.  I confess I pose like a body builder in our full length mirror. 

I've gained a little weight which I hope is mostly muscle, but I know is a little fat.  Testing all my baking and cooking has been a downfall.  I now have what I call my "yuck bucket," which is my sink.  I take a bite, chew it up so I know what it taste like and spit it out.  I get a general idea of what my family is eating without the additional calories.  Am I insane?  Most definitely!  :D  By the way, I got the term "yuck bucket" from my dear friend, Kara.  She is in the movie industry and told me that when actors film commericials where they have to act like they are eating, they will take a bite and chew it up.  When the director yells, "Cut!", they spit it in a bucket.  Could you imagine if they didn't?   

So, there you have it, a couple of weeks in review.  Chugging along in our journey!

***Recipes coming soon.


Just an aside.  I'd like to present you with pictures of the destruction that insues in our house.  It seems like we break something every day, whether it be a window, a plate, my good china tea cups, a glass lid....(Yes, this all transpired in the last two weeks!)  The list goes on and on.  Our latest was a contribution from the twins.  Yes, my 16 month olds conspired and destroyed a kitchen cabinet.  No, they didn't color on it or pull it off it's hinges a little.  They broke the cabinet door!  Here is the result.  Go ahead and laugh at my expense.

Generally getting in the way of the camera as kids often do when

they discover the joys of having their picture made

OR posing with her handiwork?  You decide.

"Tweet This!" By Jessica Miller-Merrell: A Book Review

Through blogger2business.com I am getting involved in reviewing various things. My first review is a book.  I really had no idea what to expect, and wasn’t sure if it would be relevant to me.  As a small-time blogger trying to build a solid following, I found out quickly I had a valuable resource in my hands.

“Tweet This! Twitter for Business,” by Jessica Miller-Merrell, goes from introductory Twitter to advanced business marketing by strategically using a variety of social networking sites.  Miller-Merrell is a human resources professional and president of Xceptional HR, a social media recruitment strategy and human resources firm.

She explains multiple applications and gives great tips and resources.  I learned when to tweet, what to tweet, who to follow, and how to grow my following organically.  The book also has worksheets to help businesses develop a brand plan. 

I was so pumped up after reading “Tweet This!” I hopped on my computer and created an account on Twitter for my blog, and started to work on some of the strategies she discusses. 
I am glad I was chosen to read this book.  It is outside of my usual sphere of reading; I’m hoping to market and grow my blog to greater heights.  I highly recommend Jessica Miller-Merrell’s “Tweet This! Twitter for Business” to any small business or blogger, even if you think you know how to use Twitter, Facebook, Linkedln, and others, this book is worth the read.  You may just find out there is more you could be doing to get your products and services out there.

Visit Jessica Miller-Merrell at http://www.jessicamillermerrell/ or http://www.blogging4jobs.com/ to learn more about this author and her business.

Dehydrator Giveaway!!!!!

Nourishing Days is having a giveaway for a L'Equip 524 Dehydrator.  This is on my wishlist so I am definitely entering!

Any time I submit an entry for a blog giveaway, I am so tempted to comment "OOOOHHHH!  Pick me!  Pick me!"  Ok, so that would be really uncool.  No, honest, I have not done this, but I do think it.  I've entered tons of giveaways and have yet to win, even when the contest is for 20+ entries.  Oh well.  It doesn't hurt to enter!

Nourishing Days has lots of great real food recipes and articles on healthy living.  Head on over and check it out!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffin--GAPS Friendly****

I adapted Elana's Pantry's gluten free Chocolate Cupcakes with buttercream frosting to make it GAPS diet friendly, and I substituted honey for agave nectar.  I added 1 Tbsp of water because the batter was a little too thick.  I put 1 tsp of peanut butter in the middle, well, just because I could!  I'm calling them muffins because I did not frost them and they were not sweet enough to be called cupcakes.

This recipe makes 6 muffins

¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup of honey
2 Tbsp peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt coconut oil in a small pan.  Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Combine liquid ingredients in a large bowl.  Put cupcake liners into cupcake tin.  Drop 2 Tbsp of batter into tin and then 1 tsp of peanut butter.  Add 2 more Tbsp of batter on top.  Bake for15 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

The kids approved of these partly because they got to eat chocolate for breakfast! 

***Some people can tolerate cocoa on GAPS and some can't.  See FAQ's at gapsdiet.com for more details.

Gratituesday: Moments of Peace

Throughout the day, a lull in the noise and chaos of a house full of kids occurs. 
In little lapses or spaces, the clamor ceases.  Breathe.  Inhale the silent peace.
Someone claps sound proof headphones on my ears, if just for a second,
and quickly removes them,

and the clanging
and whirring
and shouting
and laughing
and stomping
and questioning
and crying
and fighting
and wanting continues.

Breaks leading to appreciation,
When the house is abruptly still and my ears get a respite,
And then they're gone as fast as they came.
I stop what I'm doing and really take in the moment, savoring a bit of peace.

Linked to:
Heavenly Homaker's Gratituesday

Pancake Bread-GAPS Diet Friendly

Yummy a grain-free bread recipe has been a challenge for me to find.  I've found several different recipes, but they were dry or crumbly.  The kids' lunch is often grilled cheese with tomato soup or pb&j's with fruit so finding a bread that Griffin, who is on a grain-free/dairy free diet, is important!

This recipe comes from grain-freefoodie.blogspot.com.  She has lots of great recipe that are grain free, as well as GAPS friendly and kid friendly!  I can't recommend this site enough.

The kids enjoyed these and they made perfect grilled cheese sandwiches!  They came out fluffy, but flat enough for sandwiches or hamburger buns.  Ok, they do look like pancakes, which may make your family look at you funny.  Of course, you can use them for pancakes by adding 1 Tbsp of honey. 

I didn't have nut pulp, which is what the recipe calls, for so I made almond meal with my food processor.  It worked just fine.

Definitely adding these to my recipe file and will be making them often.


Linked to:
Twisted Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Blog Hop--Frugality and Crunchiness
Real Food Wednesdays
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Tasty Tuesday

Coconut Egg Crust Pizza

Every Friday night in our house is pizza night.  It has been a family tradition for several years now and the kids know that when Dad comes home from work on Friday, he'll have a couple of pizzas in hand. 

photo credit

We recently discovered that one of my toddlers has multiple food allergies including dairy and gluten.  Pizza Night doesn't exactly jibe with his new dietary restrictions.  I didn't want the family to have to give up our little tradition, but I also didn't want my son to have to watch everyone else eat a special treat he couldn't have.  I needed to come up with something that he would really like and would kind of look similar to what the other kids had.  I don't think he's exactly fooled into thinking he's eating what they're eating, but he doesn't seem to  mind.  He has something yummy too.

1 egg
3Tbsp shredded coconut
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp ground beef or sausage, browned
1/4 cup spaghetti sauce


Preheat oven to 300.  Beat egg and mix in salt, pepper, and coconut.  Grease small round pan.  You could use a square pan and have a square pizza or you could split the mixture into a couple of ramekins.  I have a round Corningware dish that is about 4" that works perfectly. 

Bake in oven until golden brown.  Times will vary depending on what type of dish you use.  After 10 minutes start checking on it.

Combine spaghetti sauce and meat in a small sauce pan and cook until heated through.  Pour sauce over egg crust.  If you don't have a problem with dairy, add some mozzarella or a slice of provolone.  I sprinkle nutritional yeast on top of my toddler's pizza.  It looks a little like a yellow version of powdered Parmesan cheese.

The first time I made this pizza I knew it was a hit because my little guy ate the whole pan!

My Problem with Weight Watchers

So one of the many diets I tried was Weight Watchers.  I know a lot of you will defend this program til your dying day, but I have several problems with it.  Their are some people who lose lots of weight on this, and may even achieve their ideal weight, but for a lot of women, it just doesn't work.

1) You don't get enough food.  The point allotment is going to give you a certain amount of calories, give or take a few depending on fiber.  This calorie intake was not enough for me so my body lost weight for a little while and then my metabolism shut down from starvation.  Yes, you can eat all the vegetables that you want, but it is not going to significantly affect your calorie intake.

2) If you try to get in some healthy fat, forget it.  Your points will be used up in a flash.  Again, they promote a small amount of healthy fats (not enough), but then you are sent the message "fats are bad"; the point system assigns more points for fat gms.  If you experiment with your macros, you may discover that lots and lots of fat, revs up your metabolism allowing you to shed all those unwanted pounds.  You are going to be starving on Weight Watchers!

3) Though they promote lean proteins, complex carbs, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats, all of their flyers and advertisements are FULL of junk "diet" food.  Whether you want to hear or not, processed food does your waist line no good, no matter how many calories it has in that little pack.  Not only that, it is plain unhealthy for you to injest what boils down to chemicals, not real food.

Bottom line:  Weight Watchers is not a program I would recommend.  I think it is unhealthy and the majority of women will end up frustrated and not see the results that they want.

Lara Bar Recipe: Oh, the Possibilities!

These used to be a favorite of mine and somehow they dropped off the menu.  I am happy to rediscover them and my kids are too!  Homemade Lara Bars are not hard to make and it's fun to experiment with different flavors.  The option are limitless! 

The basic recipe is a ratio of 2:2 of finely chopped nuts and dates.  (For example 2 cups dates and 2 cups nuts).

To make, process your dates in food processor until it makes a paste and set aside.  Process the nuts separately.  If you leave the nuts to process too long you'll end up with nut butter instead of chopped nuts, so be careful.  You can use any nut you want or try sunflower seeds.  If you don't want to use dates, although this is what is used in Lara Bars, you could substitute raisins with similar results.  Mix the dates and nuts together.  (I use my hands 'cause it's fun to squish it between my fingers.) 

Your options for presentation:  press into pan, chill, and cut into bars OR form individual bars by hand, OR roll them into balls like I did.  My kids love miniature everything so bite-size balls are perfect for us.




For flavors, if your using 2 cup dates to 2 cups nuts:

Carrot/Coconut:  add 1/4 cup shredded carrot, 1/4 cup shredded coconut (unsulphured)

Chocolate/Chocolate Chip:  add 1/4 cup finely chopped chocolate chips, 1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Cranberry/Walnut:  add 1/4 cup chopped craisins, and use walnuts for your chopped nuts (as I write this I am wondering what it would taste like to sub dried cranberries for dates......hmmmmm....)

Chocolate Mint:  add 1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp peppermint extract

Apricot/Almond:  add 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots, and use almonds for your chopped nuts

Apple/Pecan:  add 1/4 cup shredded apple (or finely chopped), and use pecans for your chopped nuts

You can go crazy and add cinnamon or vanilla or use dried blueberries or figs.


Do you see what I mean?  Have fun creating and eating your original recipe.  .

If your "batter" becomes to wet as you experiment, add more ground nuts, and if it becomes too dry, add a little more dates.  Not sweet enough?  Try adding a little bit of honey at a time til it suits you.

For balls, roll them in coconut shreds, sesame seeds, or finely chopped nuts.  This is great for messy eaters and Mommy's who have messy eaters.  :)




******Update:  I made these the other day with prunes and the kids couldn't tell the difference.  I also added a layer of melted chocolate chips.  Yum!

Click Here!

GAPS Update 11/3/10

So we've been doing the GAPS diet for a week or so.  I decided to skip the intro because it was just going to be too much for me to deal with.  We are all on probiotics and cod liver oil.  The babies are strictly no grains which include all potatoes and beans (even though I could do lima beans and white beans).

Griffin's eczema is already looking better.  It's gone from scaly and angry to bumpy and pink.  His skin in general is not as dry and I've forgotten to put cream on him at night a couple of times.

The boys are not on a strict grain free diet and have had some grains.  I don't want to be too restrictive with them.  They also spend time at their grandparents at least twice a week and I don't feel like I should expect them to adhere to the diet.  Unfortunately, this means that they may have yucky McDonalds.  We are also continuing our Little Caesars Friday tradition.  I could make pizza but it there might be a mutiny.  I'd hate to have to walk the plank!  I can only push them so far.  Of course, the babies and I do not eat pizza.

I think Holden went through detox.  He was super grumpy this past week and now seems to be doing a lot better.  I went through detox a month or so ago so (accidentally, whilte trying out large amounts of coconut oil).  I haven't gone through detox with the diet nor do I expect to.

Speaking of me, the high fat, no grains is NOT working out for me.  I guess I could stick it out but I have already gained a few pounds.  I started the no grains diet earlier than they did and I still feel like dog doo.  I need more carbohydrates.  Everyone's bodies are different and I recognize that.  I will do what's best for my body not what someone says is "ideal."  I am so glad to have my oats again!  I've missed them so much.  The small amount of gluten does not bother me at all.  I am wondering if it is wheat that my body is sensitive to and not really gluten.

I am happy with the results for the babies and going back to my old diet which was still all natural makes me feel so much better.  The boys seem to be ok with most of the new grain free foods I've been serving.  Doing a less austere GAPS diet seems to be the way to go (for now) for my family and I am always willing to adjust it, if something else works better.

Gratituesday: Dishwasher Haiku

My dishwasher runs sometimes twice a day.  I don't know what I'd do without it (Yes, I do.  I'd be washing 5 sink's worth of dishes by hand everyday instead of my usual 2).  I feel grateful to have one, almost spoiled; many women in this country and around the world go without. 

Maybe it's a silly thing to feel blessed by, but I try to thank God for all my blessings.  When life seems to take a wrong turn and I just can't get a handle on my day, I look at my life through a magnifying glass to see what all I have to be thankful for.


A Dishwasher Haiku:

Faithful dishwasher
Always ready to assist
Never a complaint

Honey BBQ Sauce

Today I finished up a beef stock that had been simmering on the stove for 24+ hours.  After skimming off the fat and draining off the vegetables, I went through separating bone from meat and more fat.  What I had left was a great broth for yummy soups and sauces and a ton of beef!  Now my question was "What do I do with all this meat?"  How about bbq?  Yes, I talk to myself, ask questions, answer said questions, etc.  You should see me at the grocery store.   :)

I had to make a bbq sauce on the fly and with only 15 minutes til dinnertime (this is what happens when I don't make a menu), I grabbed some items from the fridge and pantry and set to work.  What I came up with was surprisingly good and it got a compliment from my husband! 

1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2-1 tsp sea salt

Use a whisk to mix thoroughly and simmer on the stove until heated through. 

So easy and so much better for you than the stuff that you get at the store and no weird ingredients.