Ugh

I didn't get much sleep last night as Peanut woke up in the middle of the night about the same time Jeff got home to use the bathroom. Yes I am very thankful that she got up and went in the potty but then she started yelling, "Daddy can you come wipe me?" He didn't move. So she yelled again. Still nothing so up I went to wipe her little bottom. He worked until 3something am and was dead to the world. I would be too! Then Murphy's law went into affect and the kids woke up before they ever do when it is an actually school day. They didn't get to bed last night until 11pm because of JAM. What is wrong with them? UGH. So I was tired and they got up super early and proceeded to yell and scream and fight with each other until I dragged myself out of bed around 8:30am. Why can I never sleep in? Tomorrow we are going to need to be up and out the door by a certain time and these kids will sleep in and we will be rushing to leave on time. Anyway, I had forgotten that Jeff had to work this morning so it was just me and these hoodlums until about 1pm today. SO thankful it was nice outside and they were able to play outside for a good length of time. I hated the way I was feeling especially towards the kids because really all they were doing was being *ahem* KIDS. Jeff got home and he started putting the kids to work cleaning the house. I decided it was as good a time as any to start our seeds for the garden! Some of the seeds need to be started inside and some can go just into the ground. I am hopeful to get someone out here to till the garden in the next week or so and then I will be able to plant the other seeds. Other than that I really need a new food processor. I have had my eye on a blendtec for quite some time but now I am hearing about the vitamix. I need help which would you buy? The blendtec or the vitamix??? Ok tell me what you think! please :)

Food

Since we have moved into our new house and I had been feeling pretty good for awhile I started to get really lax on the food I bought and made. Well I think it has finally caught up with me because I haven't been feeling good the last few days and I haven't been eating good the last few days. Point in case, Sunday I went to a baby shower and ate bread made with yeast, drank pop, ate some gummy worms, a few brownie bites and had cake. I did try and get some healthy things in there like peppers, salad and a bottle of water but the bad out weighed the good. I also ate coffee cake at church before going. Then Monday I worked in the cafeteria. I had some salad at home waiting for me but things that were completely out of my control interfered with me getting home to eat that food and I ended up eating two pieces of pizza. Then the kids came home with tons of candy. I have lost all will power and ate way more than I should have, causing me not to feel good that night. I also bought Jeff and I each a candy bar of chocolate not smart. I didn't eat the whole thing and I'm going to throw the rest away. Today I determined to eat good. I started out great BUT I took the van to get an oil change and while I waited for my ride I got myself a cup of hot chocolate. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???? The thing that really is upsetting to me is that in my daily reading of the Bible I have been reading about food specially what sticks out in my head is the phrase "made without yeast". Make bread without yeast or eat nothing containing yeast. In the last week all the passages I have read have this concept. I know some people think that this is an old testament law that we don't have to follow but as many times as it is written in the Bible I have to stop and think that maybe there is something to this and I should look a little farther at this particular item, not sure you can really call it a food. So I googled yeast and made the connection that is classified in the FUNGI kingdom. It is in the same classification as mold. So God was telling us not to eat yeast/fungi/mold how ever you want to look at it. When I did a quick search of the phrase "without yeast" on Biblegateway it pulled up 26 verses. Yet people don't think that mold can cause harm to our bodies? I am living proof of the harm it can cause. I know other people who have been effected by it as well. God knew we should not eat it and told us several times to make bread without yeast. Of course, there is free will and so there is yeast to be used in making bread but we don't need it. I feel like such a stiff-necked person. Why do I know this stuff and still continue to struggle with it. I hate the way I feel after eating what I KNOW I shouldn't. I need strength in this battle for I am weak. Lord give me the strength to resist the things I should not partake in. I also want to say that I am not judging anyone for eating bread made with yeast this is something that God has revealed to me in my life and I feel I need to obey. This has been an ongoing battle between God and me for at least a week now as I have read His word.

Crowd Pleaser

Tonight for dinner we had a breakfast dish. It is super easy to make the the whole fam LOVES it. I got the recipe from a friend and then I tweaked it to our family's dietary needs. I will type out the original and put what I used in parenthesis.

6 slices bread (sourdough without yeast)
1 lb sausage (turkey sausage)
6 eggs (organic ones ~ really not a difference but health wise there is!)
2 cups milk (rice milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (whole food cheese with no hormones or antibiotics used)

Brown the sausage. Cut off the crusts of the bread and place in baking dish. Put cooked sausage over bread. Mix eggs, milk and salt. Pour mixture over bread and sausage. Top with cheese. Chill over night. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. It is really yummy. I made bacon to go with it and thinking next time I will have to make some sort of fruit salad as well.

planning

I sat down today and started planning out our Thanksgiving meal which is in 8 days! I am very pleased with the dishes I have planned to make. It isn't necessarily a traditional Thanksgiving spread but it is good all the same! We are going to have Roast Turkey in Rosemary like we did last year because it was SO yummy. It also made a very tasty leftover turkey soup. As I was sitting listing out everything I needed for Thanksgiving I realized I haven't been doing a real grocery list for our meals during the week. Which leads to a lot of the same meals because I grab what seems to be easy to make. Some of our regulars are Texas chili, veg stir fry, and some sort of chicken meal. As I was sitting there and realizing this I also thought about the fact that the kids were going to be home for a whole 9 days and I better plan those meals or we are going to be making lots more trips to the grocery store than I care to make with 4 children under tow. I am going to shop today as I do that Wednesdays and then I will only have to shop again next Tuesday! Kids always seem to be hungrier when they are at home...

This is the Day...

pray for me. I need "will power the power to will away temptation". Anyone know what song that quote is from? Anyways, today is the day of the THREE parties. Fortunately, I am only attending two of them. However the two I am going to are going to have pizza and pasta.
Side bar: Dear Gluten, You are so yummy but my body doesn't like you. Love, Me
Moving along...I am planning on bring salad to the first party as it is a kids party and I'm pretty sure there isn't going to be any there! The second party is for my friend's 30th birthday and it is at a restaurant so I think there will be something I can eat that won't kill my tummy later. Just pray that I can say NO to the cake and sweets with great conviction. Thanks in advance :)

Amazed

I know I have been saying this a lot but I am truly amazed at what my kids have been eating. Though I guess they really don't have a choice because I don't buy processed food. Tonight for dinner we had the brussel sprouts and Peanut had 3 helpings! I think one of the other kids asked for more as well but I can't remember which one. This was the first time any of us have eaten brussel sprouts and it was a good experience. J actually said he would definitely eat that again! Though he always adds, "this would be really good with chicken" to all of my vegetarian meals. But I am doing the only vegetable meals to save on spending so much on meat! The quinoa was a great side dish. The recipe was simple too. I know I promised to give you the Chicken and Sour Cream recipe but that will have to wait for now. Here is what we had tonight!

2 lbs brussel sprouts (halved if they are big or whole if they are small)
1 lb tomatoes chopped, take the seeds out
one onion
one clove of garlic
butter
one pint of heavy whipping cream
1 tsp basil dried if you use fresh do 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in butter until browned. Add the brussel sprouts and tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add heavy whipping cream and seasonings, cook until the brussel sprouts are tender. I made quinoa separately and mixed it in. The cream sauce was really tasty!

Other than that the kids and I had a great day at the Botanic Garden. It was 83 today. We packed a picnic lunch and got us some sun and fresh air. My favorite part of the day was sitting by the water watching the biggest carp I have ever seen. GG had a stick she was holding up to the water and one of them jumped for it. She shrieked so loud. It was too funny. Then we came home and played outside the rest of the day until it was time to make dinner!!! Today was perfection in my opinion ;)

Give this one a try!

Two things! First the house closed on Thursday so we are officially HOUSELESS!!! That is such a weird feeling. Anyways, I just wanted to get on here real quick and let you know that the Butternut Squash with Dill Soup was a HUGE hit with everyone except Red who said it was too spicy. I will use less cayenne pepper next time :) For anyone interested this is *MY* version of the recipe from Eating Your Way to Good Health Cookbook.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, sliced and halved
5 cups Vegetable broth (I only used 4 and next time I’m going to try Chicken broth)
1 cup hot water (I used 2)
1 butternut squash
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp dill (dried)
cayenne pepper to taste (I think I used a little too much!)
sea salt and pepper to taste
I added 2 bags of boil in bag brown rice to the ingredients.

Saute onions in olive oil for about 5 minutes (unless they start to brown). Add broth and water. Cover and bring to boil cooking 10 minutes on med-low heat.

Make the brown rice like the box says but a little less time.

I quartered the squash, removed the seeds and steamed them for 10 minutes without the skin on. The recipe said to halve them then microwave them for 10 minutes, we don’t have a microwave here. Add the squash, allspice, and dill. Cook over low heat for about 8-10 minutes until the squash is tender. Add the other seasonings and brown rice. It was yummy.

Peanut the one who has the hardest time with new recipes asked for seconds!!! I was so excited and I knew then this was a winner and could be added to the menu :) My goal is to find at least 25 good recipes that we all like so that our meals stay fresh and don’t get mundane. I think I have about 10 or so. I should go through and see what I do have.

This is a SIN!

I think I am having WAY too much fun trying new recipes and cooking the new ones we like. It almost feels wrong to be having so much fun with all of this. I just CAN NOT saying it enough at how well the kids are doing in our new "temporary" home. I love it. They are happy and healthy. I also have so much more energy too. I am looking forward to the summer and traveling with the kids. This year we are going to be taking a road trip! We are all super excited about it. The goal is to drive a few hours and then stop and camp for a night or two and then get on the road again. I am thinking this will be a two week trip. We are heading towards my bil and sil to see their new baby and their whole family. It we drove straight through it would be a 16 hour drive and I think this way is going to be much more enjoyable! The two older kids are going to be doing a co-ed away camp for a week and we are all going to go up there during that time. J and I are going to work at the camp while we are there, so excited. There is also another camp we might be going to with another family from church so that would be a lot of fun too. I know it is just January but still it is fun to plan and look to the future. Speaking of January my oldest is going to be 9 years old on Sunday. Each year seems to go faster than the year before. I am going to be making her a new cake recipe. I can't wait to make it because it sounds so yummy! Here is the recipe if you are interested :)

APPLE FILLING
10-12 apples
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
water to cover apples
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
CAKE BATTER
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons soft butter
2/3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
2. Peel and slice apples, place in sauce pan, add water till it cover apples a quater of the way.
3. Cook over medium high heat untill apples are very soft and mushy.
4. With a laddle or a large spoon drain excess liquid into a bowl and set aside to use in cake batter.
5. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, honey and butter; stir and simmer while preparing cake mixture
6. In a bowl take a cup of the nut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda; blend with your hands until all lumps are gone add butter, honey and the reserved juice from the apples stir.
7. Batter should be smooth and pourable if it seems to thin add the extra qaurter cup of almond flour.
8. Pour the apple mixture in a greased baking dish, stir cake mixture into the apples.
9. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 45min. to an hour.
10. A knife or toothpick should come out cean yet this is not a firm cake. Cake will be soft and juicy.

See doesn't that sound yummy? I can't wait to make it too much fun I am having I tell ya, it really should be a sin ;)

Oh yeah P.S. today is Delurking Day so if you read this please comment :)

Busy Bee

that is what I have been. I am sitting at church right now while the two oldest are in children's choir and the two little ones are hanging out in the coffee house. Having no Internet has been somewhat of a blessing especially because we don't have a dish washer in our new place! I never realized how many dishes 6 people can use in one day!

Yesterday Red was home from school because he had a low grade fever on Monday night and he had a cough as well. He woke up without the fever but still had a pretty bad cough. It was nice in the sense that I was able to clean the house, get laundry done, get all the dishes cleaned and got dinner ready. Then I had to leave for a chiropractor appointment and get the kids from school. Then it was the 30 minute drive home and then homework, dinner, baths and bed. Then I had to make the lunches for today and finish the dishes from dinner. Simply put I'M TIRED!

Funny story about our new meals. I made a spicy chicken soup. It has chicken (obviously), onion, tomato, zucchini, and a few spices. The kids kept calling the zucchinis cucumbers. I was not about to correct them because they think they don't like zucchini. They all ate the soup. Though I did bribe them with dessert.

Today I worked in the garage going through more stuff and I got a lot done. While I was at the house our neighbor Jack came out. He has been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes for about a month and I haven't seen him in so long. I know I mentioned this before but he has been diagnosed with 3 different kinds of cancer. Since we are putting the house on the market I wanted to tell him in person instead of seeing a sign hanging on our lawn. It was one of the hardest things I have had to tell someone. We love Jack and Marilyn like grandparents. He told me he was sad to hear that and that he hopes we never sell it. I felt so sad. That is all of my update for now as it is Mom's night at girls Truth and Training and I need to get the kids to the locations they need to be at. Thanks for all your kind comments and encouraging words. There is a learning curve to this eating healthy business.

Internet

I thought we had it but then it went away. We are hit and miss right now with our access to the internet. Just wanted to get on here and kind of document some of the things going on or planned.

I had an appointment with an infectious disease doctor, they are the ones who handle mold illnesses. I came in there with all my information and knowledge and she just kind of looked at me like, "wow you know way more about this subject then I do at this current point" I left feeling pretty good about the appointment but also left with nothing in my hand like I was hoping for, I wanted an anti-fungal medicine. She is going to do some research on the subject and talk to some colleagues who handle these illnesses on a more consistent basis and give me a call next week.

As for the new house things are going pretty good. Peanut's acne is clearing up, GG isn't getting headaches as often (was 4 times a week or more) and the boys aren't having as many tummy issues which is great. We are trying to figure out our diet to make everyone happy. The kids are getting a new doctor come Nov 1st and they have appointments scheduled so hopefully we can get them tested so we know what we are dealing with for them!

Our house is being packed and purged by my wonderful hubby. He is going into the house and pulling everything we want to try and keep and bringing it to the garage and wiping it down and then packing. We have been talking to a Realtor so that is moving along. We are hoping to get into the house a couple days here soon without kids to really get things moving along. She wants the house on the market by Oct 18th we are thinking Nov 1st might be a better time frame. We'll see.

Lastly, is our food issues. I am on a super strict diet and am trying to get the kids and my hubby to eat better too. I am trying to figure out the best place for the best price. I have been grocery shopping 4 times this week trying to restock our fresh fruits and veggies. I have learned that there are some things I will have to go to Whole Foods to get but my friend said that she does a co-op through them for cheaper so that could work. Then Trader Joe's has a lot of stuff we could eat for cheaper than WF but they don't have everything. Then there are things like eggs and most diary that I can get at Aldi's for the cheapest. It is all a learning process and I have many wonderful women in the church that have a lot of restrictive diets that are coming along side me and helping. One of the ladies had been making me almond bread. I need to get the recipe and start making it myself but she has been wonderful. Another lady walked me through TJ today and showed me around and answered any questions I had. I am hoping to get it all squared away and that our food budget will come down from this week which was almost triple what I normally spent before.