Thursday, October 11, 2012

Hell just froze over, and there's cake!

It's working! It's actually working!!! We are teaching our kids better eating habits! Here's how I know it's working.  Last wee it was #1's birthday and we had some left over cake from his party, so I decided that each of the kids could have a piece after dinner. #1 got to pick what he wanted for dinner since it was his birthday so we had Macaroni and cheese (homemade, with whole wheat pasta), hot dogs (pastured beef with no nitrates) and broccoli.  Yes, my son asked fro broccoli on his birthday.  That was the beginning of a very exciting meal for me! He knew that dinner included vegetables so he picked his favorite one, but my kids have always liked broccoli so that alone wasn't particularly shocking.

The next big surprise came when I put dinner on the table.  I had a big tray of raw veggies and I put it on the table with dinner. I told the kids they could have whatever they wanted. The next thing I know they were FIGHTING over carrots! It was wonderful! I have never been so happy to see my kids fight in my life!  And the proverbial "icing on the cake" was when I served dessert.  #1, #3, and #4 didn't even finish their piece. They said they were full and asked to be excused.  That was it. It was amazing! #2 is a hard core sugar addict and gulped his down, plus any icing his siblings left, behind, but I can't fix everything in a day and truly, the child is so skinny, I figured the calories wouldn't kill him this one time!

Unfortunately I am ALSO addicted to cake.  So after they went to bed hubby and I devoured the remaining cake.  The amount we ate was quite disgusting.  I like the cake and hubby likes the icing so I dug little tunnels and ate all the cake while hubs scraped the icing off the top. That was team work at its best! I know, I know, not my best move eating massive amounts of cake but at least it's gone and we can all move on with our lives.  I LOVE cake, can't get enough of it.  Cake and pizza are my weaknesses for sure.

The good news is, the next day we were right back to eating the way we are supposed to.  I think its really important to keep a clear head and realize that there are going to be days when we don't make the best choices and eat things that we know aren't good for us but if we stay focused and continue to eat a whole food diet MOST of the time, it will still have a tremendous positive impact on our lives.

In honor of eating crap once in a while...


Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment below or on my facebook page

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

I am ____


I follow a blog called you know it happens at your house too. Today she gave her followers a challenge and I am passing it on to you.  It is a writing exercise, for 5 minutes you are to write about yourself.  No editing or proof reading. Just write whatever comes to mind.  I will be sharing mine with you know it happens at your house too and I would love it if you shared your free write with me but that is not a necessary part of the exercise. The important part is that you write it down so that you can look at it later. This is meant to help us see the good in ourselves which is something many of us struggle with every day so here I go...

I am Heather.
I am a mother first and foremost.  I spend my days growing four beautiful children who each have unique strengths and weaknesses and present me with four different challenges.
I am a homemaker, which most of the time feels the same as housekeeper, but its so much more.  I make our house a home, not just keep it clean.
I am a wife, I work to be a good wife and meet the needs of our relationship.
I am creative. Although I don't often find the time, I love to make and build things, and when I do find the time, I am good at it.
I am caring, I want to take care of others, especially those in need and I like to feel needed.
I am young, sometimes I forget this about myself because,
I have an old soul.
I am busy. ALWAYS, ALWAYS BUSY.  And thats how I like it. A side effect of being busy is that,
I am: tired, overwhelmed, stressed and cranky.  But as soon as I am not busy it is my instinct to fill any open time.
I have the life that I have always wanted.  I was born the be a wife and mother spend my days trying to do my job to the best of my ability.
I am happy.

Thats it! That was five minutes! well, actually 6 because I forgot to watch the clock! Please share your 5 minutes.  This is definitely an exercise worth doing! It will instantly make your day brighter! You can share your writing below, put a link to your blog or share it on my facebook page

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

my love/hate relationship with birthdays


Yesterday was #1's seventh birthday and I am feeling super sentimental. See, I have this love-hate relationship with birthdays.  On one hand, I love throwing big parties for the kids, baking a beautiful cake, and watching them open their presents.  On the other hand, I live in reality.  It never quite goes the way I thought it would in my mind. Birthdays just sneak up in me, especially #1's birthday.  Every year its like we are having a good old time relaxing and enjoying summer, then things get super crazy with back to school and all of the sudden BAM! Its the end of September and I have to put together a birthday! How does that happen? And there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all of the things I pinned on pinterest!  I can't just buy favors and a cake and call it a day! I have high hopes of making EVERYTHING from scratch even if it is three times as much money and takes me hours to complete.

Family birthday celebration yesterday


This year I thought I was being super smart.  I offered #1 a Nintendo DS instead of a birthday party this year.  For those of you who don’t know, a DS is the latest version of what we used to call the Game Boy and is the most sought after possession of most young boys these days. 

#1 has been asking for a DS for two years, so I thought this was a done deal! But he picked the party.  In fact, not only did he pick the party, but he wanted to have it at Chuck E Cheese for the second year in a row.  At first, I really didn’t want to have the party there again, but the more I thought about it, its not REALLY any more expensive to have the party there than it is to have it at home.  By the time I buy cake, decorations, favors, and of course food, it would be at least as much as having the party somewhere else because god knows I can’t have a birthday party with out putting out a huge spread of food that is pleasing to both parents and children.  And this doesn’t even account for the hours that I would have to spend cleaning, shopping and cooking.  Chuck E Cheese was looking better by the minute because they would do EVERYTHING for me! I would just have to accept the chaos and general yucky feeling I get every time I walk in the place.

Now, last year when we had the party we invited a few family friends and wound up with about 10 kids total, which seemed totally reasonable to me, especially since 3 of them were mine. This year #1 desperately wanted to invite his whole class and I am a sucker.  In the end we wound up with twenty kids total, most of which I have never met before and it turns out that first grade is the age where it becomes acceptable to drop your kids off at birthday parties and leave.  This was news to me! So now we had twenty children, some without parents, most of whom I have never met before and #1 is not at all interested in playing the gracious host, in fact if I asked him today I am pretty sure he could not tell me half of the kids who were at the party.  He wants to go play video games and shoot things.  He didn’t want to have his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese to dance with the big mouse or get a cool medal.  He suffered through the embarrassment so that he had unlimited time and coins to sink submarines with complete strangers. So instead of getting the video game system that he could play any time he wants, he chose to have a party so that he could play a video game for 2 hours in a mad house on a Sunday afternoon.  That makes sense.  Maybe I should rethink letting the 7 year old make decisions?  I think next year we will be having a small family party at home!

Regardless of how silly the whole event is, he did seem to have a good time.  Here he is , being tortured and sung to at chuck e cheese. 


He actually looked like he was having fun there!

I bought "sparkler" candles which turned out to be trick candles. Oops!

And this is where I begin to reminisce, because it seems like such a short time ago that we were here celebrating his 6th birthday and now he is 7.  I am super emotional about #1’s birthday this year because to me, 7 years old is when kids go from little to big.  He is a big kid now and that makes me just a little sad.  I know he’s just one day older than he was yesterday but we are moving in to a new phase.  I think this is especially shocking for me because most parents that have a seven year old have been parenting for at least seven years.  I have had three and a half and I feel like he is just growing up so fast.  On the positive side, his growth this last year has been tremendous.  He has gone from a shy, skittish kindergartener who had trouble staying in his seat in school and argued A LOT, to a much more independent first grader who likes to talk to the girls in his class and gets 100% every week on his spelling tests.  Each of our kids are challenging in their own way and #1 has always tried to push the limits.  He is smart and good with words.  He can pull an adult in to a debate before they even know what hit them, but he is starting to use his verbal skills for good as he is learning to read and write.  He is a great big brother, always looking out for his brothers and sister and loves to help when he can. He loves to chat and these days we have some really great conversations.  He has grown so much and come so far in the three and a half years that I have had the privilege to call him my son.  In honor of #1’s birthday, here are a few pictures from the last couple years.  I love you my big boy and I am looking forward to many more years of growth. I can’t wait to see what comes next. 


Last year at Chuck E Cheese. #1 turned 6, #2 is to the right.


January 2011, #1 was 5.  #2 and #3 are behind him.

Thanks for reading my sappy story today! If you made it all this way please leave me a comment! I love to get feedback! You can comment below or on my facebook page!










Tuesday, September 25, 2012

funny but true...

The sad part is, I did both of these things today!




vegetables are not scary!!

Ok, don't freak out! I know, I know, kale seems like a scary green vegetable...but its pretty awesome! You just have figure out how you like it, and its amazing for you! On top of having almost no fat, just one cup contains all of the following:


Nutrients in
Kale
1.00 cup cooked (130.00 grams)
Nutrient%Daily Value

vitamin K1327.6%

vitamin A354.1%

vitamin C88.8%

manganese27%

fiber10.4%

copper10%

tryptophan9.3%

calcium9.3%

vitamin B69%

potassium8.4%

iron6.5%

magnesium5.8%

vitamin E5.5%

omega-3 fats5.4%

vitamin B25.2%

protein4.9%

vitamin B14.6%

folate4.2%

phosphorus3.6%

vitamin B33.2%

Calories (36)2%


So now you know how good it is for you, but how do you get your family to eat it? And for that matter, how am I going to get you to eat it!? I have some awesome recipes for you! Last week I posted whole food "hamburger helper" and I have a couple other tricks up my sleeve.  If you don't like cooked kale, try it raw!  I know it sounds gross, hubby was a little reluctant at first too, but once you try it with this dressing, you will want to eat it all the time. I would say this is sort of like a vegan version of a ceased salad.

raw kale salad


ingredients

1/2 bunch raw kale, washed, de-stemmed, and dried
1 Tbs tahini
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Tamari (you could use soy sauce)
2 Tbs nutritional yeast *(see note below)
1 tsp minced garlic
sesame seeds to taste

Directions:

Break kale in to bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Puree all ingredients except kale and sesame seeds.  Pour dressing over kale and toss until kale is evenly coated.  Refrigerate for at least one our (you don't have to do this but it makes the kale less potent and tough).  Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving. 

*this is not the yeast you use to make bread! Who knew there was more than one kind! I just discovered nutritional yeast and it is pretty cool! It makes things taste sort of cheesy without using cheese! It is a deactivated yeast that is grown on sugar cane juice and beet molasses in a carefully controlled environment. It is harvested, washed and dried before packaging.    Nutritional Yeast is a good source of B vitamins and some nutritional yeasts are fortified with B12. Containing 18 amino acids, it is also a complete protein. There are an amazing 8 grams of protein in one and a half tablespoons. Nutritional yeast is produced specifically for the nutritional benefits that it provides. It also provides a great taste. Cheesy and nutty, it brings a depth of flavor to raw food recipes. It is not raw as it has to be pasturized to kill the yeast. But it is a healthy, nutritious, supplement

We bough Bragg's nutritional yeast but I am sure there are others out there. Here is a picture because one of the most frustrating problems i have encountered in cooking is not being able to find new ingredients because I don't know what I am looking for! So here you go...



Still not convince that Kale is for you? Here are a couple other suggestions for kale recipes! 

Kale Chips - can't wait to try this one!

braised Kale - even Emril likes kale!!!

Oh and if all else fails, just remember this, my pickiest eater (#2) loves kale and he is only 5! That might be because I told him it would turn him in to hulk...but thats a story for another time! It won't kill you to try a new vegetable! I have to say I was really shocked to find the variety of veggies available right at my own grocery store when I actually looked!  Those of you who know me well will be SHOCKED to hear that I was the type that always bought the same produce when I went to the store.  But it turns out those huge cases full of green foods are more than just decoration! 



Yup! This stuff is edible! And its actually pretty good once you figure out how to prepare it! Remember, you have to try things 15 times before you decide you don't like it! 

recipe - raw kale salad

ingredients

1/2 bunch raw kale, washed, de-stemmed, and dried
1 Tbs tahini
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Tamari
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp minced garlic
sesame seeds to taste

Directions:

Break kale in to bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Puree all ingredients except kale and sesame seeds.  Pour dressing over kale and toss until kale is evenly coated.  refrigerate for at least one our.  sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Recipes for success

In our mission to improve our diet we have started eating A LOT more vegetable than we ever had in the past.  We have started eating vegetables that I had never even heard of before last month, and if you have kids, you know that getting them to try new foods can be REALLY tough.  #1 doesn't like carrots, potatoes (yes potatoes! What kid doesn't like potatoes!?), or tomatoes.  #2 doesn't like tomatoes, celery, peppers, cucumbers and especially onions! #3 doesn't like peppers, onions, carrots, potatoes, cabbage or anything leafy and green.  And #4 doesn't like anything her brothers say they don't like during any given meal. In general they don't like anything spicy or anything that looks like onions or peppers, and this is the short list.

 I've done a bit of research on how to get the kids to eat better. A few weeks ago, while surfing the internet, I found an article that said in order to get a child to like a new food you need to expose them to  eat it 15-20 times and in different dishes.  15-20 TIMES?!?!  Thats a lot of dinners!! How am I ever going to get them to eat Zucchini 15 times?? ...or kale, or mushrooms, onions, turnips, beets, you name the vegetable and one of my kids thinks they don't like it. But today we had success! In fact, it was the second time this week that we had success, so I thought it was only fair that I shared the recipes with you.

Our dinner tonight was awesome! Three out of four children ate it and LIKED IT! They cleared their plates! Believe me, that is a huge success.  Maybe they liked it because I was an hour late putting dinner on the table and they were starving because I got wrapped up in a craft project but I am going to assume that they actually liked the food, especially since I really enjoyed it too! It has kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, and onions! I did #3 pick out the onions but I would still call it a huge success.  I don't really have a name for it but I am going to call it whole food hamburger helper.

Our other success was a carrot dish.  Carrots are one of the few vegetables that #2 has always liked.  Unfortunately, #1, #3 and #4 don't like carrots, and honestly, neither do I. So we turned it in to a dish that could have qualified as dessert.  We will definitely be having this again, probably next week! My four kids ate 2 POUNDS of carrots for dinner! It was amazing.  The few bites that I got were delicious! I highly recommend carrot soufflé!

So I guess if at first you don't succeed, try try again.  I keep thinking about what I read.  Kids have to try something 15-20 times.  Maybe the reality is, it takes parents 15-20 times of making a food to find one that tastes good!

I hope you enjoy the recipes!

I would love your feed back! Please feel free to comment below or on my facebook page.

recipe- carrot souffle

Carrot Souffle

2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 vanilla extract
2 Tbs whole wheat flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 C butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot of boiling water, cook carrots until very tender.  Drain, and transfer to a large bowl, or stand mixer. Beat with honey, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth.  Mix in the flour, eggs, and butter.  Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 1 hour.  Allow to cool for approx. 15 minutes then serve.

This would also be great with nuts.  Enjoy!

recipe- whole food hamburger helper


Whole food hamburger helper

1lb ground beef (I prefer grass fed, hormone free)
2 tbs canola oil
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/4 tsp White pepper
1/2 Paprika
1/4 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Parsley
1 bunch kale, stems removed
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed
2 Tbs worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 C beef or vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans great northern beans
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional cheese on top (the kids had mozzarella, I had Romano)

Heat oil in a large pan, sauté onions, garlin, and ground beef until the beef is brown.  Add ground mustard, white pepper, paprika, parsley and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add in the Kale, worcestershire, vinegar and broth.  Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes until kale is tender.  Add Swiss chard and tomatoes and cook for 4-6 more minutes. Finally add the beans and cook uncovered until heated.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.  Add cheese if desired.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

An exercise in letting go and accepting limitations...this one is tough for me.

The last few weeks have been an experiment in a whole food diet for us.  We haven't been eating any refined sugar, artificial flavors or colors, vegetable oils or trans fats.  We have drastically increased our whole foods including whole grains and massive amounts of fruit and vegetables.  When we do eat meat, it is in much smaller quantities and is organic or free range and hormone free.  These changes mean no more eating out, at least not in our area. They also mean I need to make most of our food from scratch.  I have learned how to make broth and soups, bread, pizza crusts and sauce, guacamole and hummus. I have cooked lots of vegetarian meals that I had never even heard of before and I really have learned a lot.  Who knew making soup and broth were so easy?! I found myself asking hubby (who has much more kitchen experience than I do), "why do people buy soup in cans?" Its really amazing what I can make in my very own kitchen! And Hubby has been cooking again too, which is wonderful! He is such a good cook.

Don't get me wrong, it has been really tough at times.  We basically had to wipe out our whole pantry to get started.  I couldn't believe the items that had sugar and dye in them! (pickles, every condiment, canned goods) And there are days where I feel like the only thing I do is cook and feed children.  Other days it goes really well, like today.  I made cinnamon raisin bread from scratch.  Its in the oven now.  If it turns out well I will share the recipe later.   I feel like the longer we do this the more it just becomes part of the routine.  Stopping at McDonalds on the way home is no longer an option.  Snacks on the go have to be planned out because we can't just grab a bag of chips and some gummy fruit snacks, but we have learned how to make it work.  I pack a bag of snacks and drinks any time we leave the house for more than an hour so we are always prepared, but this weekend I got caught off guard.

We went to the renaissance festival about an hour from our house.  We have gone many times before but never with the kids. We had a great time!

Hubby got to lock up the pirate, #2...


The princess, #4 was clearly in charge of the goings on, she ordered that a crown be made for her and as soon as we got there, she had one...


The whole crew got to watch a joust, but the knight, #3 was NOT happy that we were on the bad guy side, and #1 was very concerned with the bugs we were sitting (mommy was a little worried about the bugs too)...


And like any good parents, we let our three year old throw darts! ...actually all the boys got to throw darts, but I only got one good picture! Don't worry, I didn't let the baby throw darts, I have to draw a line somewhere! 

After all this activity, everyone was hungry but we weren't even close to finished having fun.  Now I had a major dilemma.  I tend to be obsessive about things and if we are not eating something that means NEVER.  I don't do compromise well. I did pack snacks but we were not permitted to bring food in to the festival and even if we were, by now it was time for a real meal.  The food available at the park was less than ideal. We are talking fried food, processed meats and not a single vegetable in sight.  I really struggled with what to do next.  I wanted to take my kids and RUN from the garbage food available, but at the same time, we were all having a great time and was it really fair to drag them home to eat? Even if we did that very moment, home was an hour away and THEN I would have to cook still.  I had to take a minute and accept that I can't control everything.  I feed my kids healthy food every single day but in a situation where there are NO good options I have learn to let go.  In the end, the kids wound up eating a turkey leg (I wish I had taken a picture of #3 holding it) sausage on a stick, macaroni and cheese on a stick and french fries.  I really wasn't happy about it but none of us died from eating one bad meal and then we got to enjoy the rest of our day.  

We saw a fire show, which #1 thoroughly enjoyed while #2 stood near by trying to explain to the performer that he should not be doing that.  The kids played in a maze and at the end of the day they each picked a toy to take home.  #1 and #3 got swords, #4 got a pink dagger, and #2 got a magic wand.   

I think I made the right call, but this is an issue I am struggling with.  When is it important to stand my ground and not allow our children to eat the junk food that they were once accustomed to eating all the time and when do I have to accept that it is out of my control and allow them to be "normal" kids.  I have found that food is everywhere, much more than I had realized.  Do I  allow them to eat at other people's birthday parties? Do I make them have healthy food at our parties? What about treats at school? Therapy? Soccer? Junk food is everywhere.  I read a book recently, called "The Cleaner Plate club" and in that book they said that if I only feed them healthy food and everyone else feeds them junk I have changed at least 73% of their diet.  For now thats going to have to be good enough for me.  When I can send food, I do, but I can't spend the next 16 years obsessing over the cupcake that they had at school or the juice box at soccer practice.  I need to allow my kids to be kids and have a birthday cake at their party, even if I haven't quite figured out how to make it healthy yet. And when the kids are starving and we are an hour from home, I have to let them eat, even if its not what I would like them to eat.  

I think I am learning a lot more than just how to cook this week.  #1's birthday party is this weekend and I have decided (with hubby's help) that we will just buy him a cake.  I LOVE to bake and it stings that I am going to buy him a cake instead of make it this year, but hopefully by this time next year I will know how to make one for him.  This blog reminds me of the serenity prayer and that is what I am going to say every time one of these situations this week.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

I would love to hear your thoughts on today's blog! Please feel free to comment below or on my Facebook page.

Monday, September 17, 2012

yup...

This is basically me....

Blogger Idol!!!!



I auditioned for Blogger Idol 2012! Please go like the Official Blogger Idol page and let them know you want ME to make it to the Top 13! 
http://www.facebook.com/bloggeridol

This is a chance for me to get my name out there and spread the word about my blog.  I know I am really new to the blogging world but if you really like what I am writing, vote for me!!! If by some miracle I win this year's Blogger idol, I get the fame, the bragging rights AND and new samsung Galaxy 2 tablet!!!

10 quinoa recipes

I just found this site with lots of healthy recipes and these quinoa recipes look amazing! I hope you enjoy. I will let you know when I have made some of them!

http://www.fitfoodiefinds.com/2012/08/10-healthy-quinoa-recipes.html


THATS what you want to eat?! Animal heads on my dining room table.

Food has always been an issue for child #2.  We knew that changing his diet was not going to be easy. #2 has a lot of sensory aversions, especially smells.  Getting him to eat leafy greens or even try new things was going to be a challenge.  Last weekend when we went grocery shopping we discovered a  whole new way to shop.  One of the many changes we made was allowing the kids to pick out some of our food and he chose whole branzini fish.  Hubby and I were shocked and a little overwhelmed at the idea of cooking a whole fish.


 But we are willing to try anything to get this boy to eat.  The fish monger was super helpful in helping us to prepare said fish and home we went with four head on bronzini. Neither of us had ever prepared a whole fish before and I was completely grossed out, but if the kids are required to keep an open mind and try new foods then I am to. So Sunday night we had bronzini, zucchini and rice. And of course we had to put the whole fish on the table because, lets face it, my three little boys just thought eating a whole fish (including the head and tail!) was COOL!!! The kids even wanted to help prepare the food.  They went outside and watched Daddy at the grill, they were thrilled to watch me pick it apart and make their plates, and when the final test came and they had to eat it... THEY LOVED IT!


 So maybe the trick to getting my kids to eat is letting them really be a part of the whole process.  They got to help pick the food at the store and prepare it at home. Or maybe the trick is putting the heads of animals on our table because they are little boys and that is cool.  Who knows.  During the course of the meal child #3 decided that he liked the crunchy skin and tails best (yuck) and #2 picked an eyeball out of one of the fish (DOUBLE YUCK!!) but they ate their food, and it was one of the most pleasant meals our family has had in a long time.

 I have to say the grilled Bronzini was delicious! Now that we have cooked whole fish I would totally do it again.  It really wasn't as gross as I thought it would be (except for the eyeball incident, that was disgusting!) and it was pretty simple to do.  The fish monger gutted the fish at the store and all we had to do is put a few slits in each side at the thickest parts so that all of the meat cooks evenly.  Put salt pepper and lemon slices inside the fish and grill! We served it with marinated, grilled zucchini, provided by a very good friend of mine who was generous enough to share some of her garden with us since ours was a total flop this year, and brown rice with lemon pepper seasoning.  We will definitely be having this again!  Those family meals where we can all sit down and enjoy each other's company are so few and far between.  I really cherish these moments!

Please leave me some feedback, I can't wait to see your comments! If you are a google member you can comment below or feel free to leave a comment on my facebook page

Thursday, September 13, 2012

note to self


clean house


appropriate for today's post


Time management is not my strong suit

All of my posts this week have been about food so far so I am going to switch things up a little bit and talk about how we spend our time. I want this blog to be about a more holistic and natural lifestyle, not just what we eat. Although right now a great deal of my time and energy is invested in food because that is my newest endeavor. Today I want to talk about the balance between work and play.

Where does the time go?

Time management has always been a struggle for me and having four children, two dogs and a husband to take care of has not made it any easier. I start each day with a list of things I would like to accomplish and MOST days I believe it is a reasonable list. But at the end of the night when I am tired and want to go to bed this is what my list usual looks like, scribbles and all.



Child #4 loves to make "circles."



 Yes those are Stars next to the items that I thought were priorities, NO those items did not get done yesterday. How does this happen? And what is the solution?










Today is a perfect example of what happens.  I had a long list of things to do and I decided to start with my living room.  I was going to just pickup the floor but decided I needed to mop, and while I was at it I was going to rearrange, so a half hour later 1/2 of my living room floor was clean


And then I heard that little "ping" on my phone that meant I had a text. 

An hour later, I was doing this...


instead of dealing with this....



Time just got away from me, and it happens all the time.  

Today it really was something silly and I should have stayed focused but many days I am interrupted by things out of my control, dirty diapers, hungry children, or a little girl who wants some one on one time with mommy because her big brothers are all at school.  This is where I really struggle.  There are things that need to be done, I have to make dinner and make sure everyone has clean clothes.  I have to make sure we are on time for school drop off and pick up every day.  We need groceries in the house.  Every parent knows what I am talking about, but often I feel like we get so caught up in what needs to be done that we don't leave time to enjoy what we are working so hard for. Getting my to do list done might mean missing out on some really great time with my family or some time to myself that I really need.  I think many of us need to really look at our lists and rethink what is really important.  So what if I didn't get to all four loads of laundry that I thought i needed to wash today.  There are clean clothes for tomorrow and I got to spend some great quality time with my baby girl this morning when she asked me to come play with her. 
















I was discussing this with a friend of mine this morning and she gave me some great advice.  She suggested that instead of obsessing over what we didn't finish yesterday or worrying about how we are going to finish everything tomorrow, maybe we need to just live in the moment.  When we are trying to get something accomplished we need to give it our full attention and not go off on tangents, but when its time to play we need to find a way to let go of all our worries and be present.  Before I know it, in a couple years, #4 will be in school too and we will be busier than ever, so today I am going to refocus my priorities and make sure my family gets a place on my list.

And for those of you that are worried...I did finish the living room before the kids got home, but the laundry is another story!
















I would love to hear your comments on today's post.  How do you create a balance? How do you manage your time? If you have a google account you can comment below, or feel free to comment on my facebook page www.facebook.com/heatherswholenewlife

Real food for thought

Real food

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

apple pie for breakfast?

I have been on a mission this week.  I am attempting to find healthy alternatives to the sweets and baked goods that my family is used to eating. I love to bake, and I think I am pretty good at it, but now that we are eating more whole foods I refuse to use most of the ingredients that are in the baked goods that my family has come to know and love. Some of the many items on that list are vegetable oil, shortening, all purpose flour, and refined sugar.  When I look that list I see the ingredients for my family apple pie recipe which has become my signature dish.  That was a problem for me and I needed a solution.


From left to right: pumpkin praline pie, Nana's apple crumb pie.
           
So yesterday I decided it was time find a replacement apple pie. I scoured the internet for a healthy alternative and really didn't find much.  Even the recipes that said "healthy" still had refined sugar.  There were lots of recipes out there for vegetarians, vegans, gluten free, low fat, but almost nothing that was "whole food."  I came to the realization that for the first time in my life, I am ahead of the trend.  Hopefully this is more of a movement than a trend, but either way, I am going to have to figure out some of this healthy, whole food cooking stuff on my own.  After many google searches, I did find a recipe that came close to what I was looking for.  Here it is, its called No-Bake Apple Walnut Tart and other than the apple juice, all of the ingredients are ones that I approve of.  We don't have juice in the house any more unless its fresh and I didn't have time to make apple juice.

Side note: when the juice is removed from a fruit or vegetable, it loses all of the fiber and many nutrients that were in the actual plant.  The longer it sits, the less nutrients it has.  So essentially, by the time a juice is processed, packaged, sold and consumed you are left with sugar water.

I decided to give this recipe a try and instead of apple juice, I used water and an extra tablespoon of honey.  I LOVE walnuts so I was really excited about the crust.  Here is what the crust looked like, and I apologize for the poor photo quality, I am a much better baker than photographer so my pictures aren't that great.


I soaked the apples as directed, but it didn't really look like enough so I added an extra apple.  Next time I will put one or two more in. I like my pies to be really tall. 




Then I sautéed the apples as directed. It says no bake, but there is some cooking involved. Here is the final product! Again, sorry for the bad photography, I will work on it! 


I think it turned out pretty well but there were a couple things I would change.  Next time I would add more apples and maybe a little more water so that we got more syrupy sauce at the end.  Also, it slipped my mind that Hubby has some weird allergy to walnuts where his mouth gets all itchy and sore every time he eats them. Oops. So next time I would make it with pecans instead.  

I sampled the apple tart on children #2 and #3 last night and it went pretty well.  #3 ate some of it but #2 LOVED it and he was extra excited when he was allowed to have pie again for breakfast this morning! I can't begin to describe how exciting it is to know that the "treats" that my children enjoy now are a completely acceptable meal.  This dish is nuts and fruit with a touch of honey.  Breakfast doesn't get much healthier than that. Take THAT lucky charms!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A new way to shop

I mentioned in my previous post how did I get here? that our most recent attempt at providing a better life for our family was a major dietary change.  We have eliminated refined sugar, refined flour, hydrogenated oils, and artificial flavors and colors and greatly limited our consumption of animal protein. Its a HUGE change! we went from eating McDonalds, Hamburger Helper, Hot Dogs, Pizza, and the list goes on, to eating Thai Curry Tofu (which the kids loved! I added mangos and greenbeans to mine).  All of these changes in eating also required a change in the way we grocery shopped, which brings me to my topic for today.

 This weekend, all six of us went shopping and it was amazing....thats right, I just said grocery shopping with 4 small children on a Saturday afternoon was amazing.  Believe me this wasn't always the case! Here is what grocery shopping used to look like for us...

Taking 4 kids to the grocery store was aweful! Thats why we almost always went to the local store that had a child care center :-) but they only take children who are over three and potty trained, so at a minimum, that meant I was shopping with two children instead of four.  Sure I was paying about 20-50% more to only shop with 2 kids instead of 4 but it was totally worth it! Even with two kids though, shopping was stressful.  Have you ever tried to steer one of these around a display in the middle of the isle?




Its like Trying to steer a tractor trailer AND the cart is smaller so I can't get as many groceries.  My trip consisted of children screaming for cheese at the lunchmeat counter, begging for cookies, gummies, cereal, popcicles, candy bars, and any other sugary item with bright colorful packaging that caught their eyes.  In the not so fun isles, the kids would start removing unwanted items from the cart.  Most notable was the day that my 3 year old dropped the dozen eggs that I had just placed in the cart all over the floor.  And the grand finale of each shopping trip was the inevitable melt down in the checkout line.  IT WASN'T PRETTY!

But this week was different.

We started our whole food approach about three weeks ago.  When I told the kids we were going grocery shopping AGAIN I was expecting a fight but they just went along for the ride knowing that if they were good they would get to play video games when we got home.  When we got to the store #1 and #2 immediately started complaining that it was taking too long so I decided I needed a different approach to shopping, I was going to have them help rather that drag them along for the ride. We hit the produce section first and I asked #1 and #2 to get some bags for produce.  On the way to the bags #2 found carrots and HAD to have them, so we did.  Every time I found something I wanted to buy I asked the kids to get them.  We even talked about how to tell if the watermelon is ripe and why we wanted to buy some fruits like strawberries at the specialty store (because they are organic and strawberries are on the dirty dozen list) and others things like bananas and mangos at the regular grocery store (these are on the clean foods list and are much less expensive).  It was so amazing to see them actually get excited about buying produce.

After produce was the fish counter.  The #2 was immediately drawn to the whole fish.  Hubby and looked at each other as if to say "are we really going to buy a whole fish?" and we decided if it meant less fights at the dinner table and the grocery store and at the dinner table we were willing to give it a try! More to come on our first attempt to cook whole fish soon. As we got in to the middle of the store where all the processed foods were, things got a little stickier. I had to explain MANY times why each cereal that the kids picked up was not a good choice, but when I took the time to show the kids that there were sugar and chemicals in the items they were requesting they were much willing to accept "no" as the answer.  We even discussed which cheeses were better for us a why.  I showed #1, who is just starting to read, how some of the cheese said that it did not have hormones or antibiotics and why that is important. He really seemed to like searching for the right labels.

And the greatest part of my trip was when we got to the bakery.  I was simply picking up a few loaves of bread when I turned around and saw all four of my children oogling the cakes cookies and danishes. They were looking and tapping on the glass and saying "Mommy look at these!" but they never asked for any of it.  As they were eying up a particularly large cheese danish, one of the bakers stopped by and this is the conversation that I overheard...

#2: That looks so yummy.
Baker: Yeah, you should get one.
#2: No, we don't need that, it has sugar.  We have Hulk muffins at home.

I was one proud mama.

It occurred to me later that with all the changes I have made to their diet, I never included them in the process.  Just that little bit of time to explain made the whole shopping experience so much more enjoyable.  Our shopping experience went from one of misery and punishment to quality time and family growth.  It was amazing and reassured me that we are doing the right thing in providing a healthier diet for our family.

What does grocery shopping look like for your family? I can't wait to hear what has and hasn't worked for you.  Here is the recipe for "Hulk muffins." They are whole wheat, No added sugar or artificial sweetener, and dairy free, oh and they are called hulk muffins because they have green in them and i have three little boys who are obsessed with super heros!I hope you enjoy!


Recipe- Hulk Muffins (zucchini raisin muffins)



Ingredients:

3/4c whole wheat flour
3/4c white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2c honey (I prefer raw honey)
3/4c apple sauce
2 Tbs oil (I use coconut or olive oil)
1c firmly packed, shredded zucchini
1/2c raisins (or any dried fruit of your choice, the ones pictured have raisins and cherries)
1/4c chopped walnuts (we really like nuts so I add more)

Combine first 6 dry ingredients. Pour in applesauce and oil, stir together until smooth.  Stir in zucchini, raisins and walnuts.
Divide batter in to 12 muffin tins (I use cupcake liners for easier clean up) and bake for 20 minutes.

Cool on wire rack and wrap in plastic for storage.

Makes about 12 muffins

These also freeze well!

Enjoy!

Monday, September 10, 2012

How did I get here?

Five years ago, I was fresh out of college, newly married and my husband and I were attempting to conceive our first child.  We had a plan.  You know what they say about plans...



After a year of trying to conceive with no success we consulted a Reprductive Specialist. They confirmed that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and we started down the path of fertility treatments but at the same time I felt that there was another way.  I felt a strong calling to become a foster parent and so we did.  Shortly after we made our decision, I had not one but TWO children.  My boys were 3yrs and 22 months, but at the time they weren't mine.  Number 3 arrived about 4 months later.  It turns out number one and two had a little brother.  So six months in to my journey as a mother, I found myself with three children ages 3 1/2, 2, and 2 months old.  Because going from zero to three children was so shocking, we decided to put fertility treatments on the back burner for a while.  Fostering was an emotional roller coaster.  One day they were staying and the next they were leaving and at times it seemed the only people interested in the needs of our children was us and we had no rights as foster parents.


In December 2009, we were informed that the boys that we had been raising for almost a year now, would be returning to their biological parents, probably within the month. After much discussion my husband and I decided to restart fertility treatments.  On January 12th, 2010 we found out I was pregnant and on January 15th we discovered that we were going to be able to adopt our boys!  In October 2010, within 20 days our baby girl was born, our boys were adopted, and I quit my job as a high school math teacher to be a stay at home mom. This is where our journey really begins!



Just like any other parent, I want the best for my family. I believe that the more natural and holistic our life, the better and healthier my children will be. I have implemented many plans over the last four years.  Some have been successful, like giving my kids a routine in the morning so that everyone brushes their teeth and eats breakfast before school.  Many have failed, like me getting up every morning at 6:00am to go run before my kids get up.  Most recently I have made some major dietary changes to our household.  We are taking a whole food approach.  I am making most of our food from scratch.  I am not buying anything that has refined sugar, refined flour, vegetable oil, artificial flavor or color. It is a whole new approach for us as opposed to the happy meals and hamburger helper we were eating just last month.  Its tough, but I know it will be worth it.

These last few years and this life I lead is crazy and amazing and stressful and EXHAUSTING! I am looking forward to sharing all of our plans and adventures, whether they fail or succeed with you and I can't wait to hear yours as well. Thanks for following me.

~Heather