In the kitchen again..sort of

I have been researching and researching and researching... did I mention researching? I KNOW how I am supposed to eat. I KNOW how I am supposed to feed my family. I keep getting off to bumpy starts. I did great eliminating somethings for awhile. My kids were not sick at all this winter. At. All.
Since getting pregnant we have switched to more boxed food and processed stuff. Allergies are flaring up, noses are constantly running, coughing is a continuous chorus in our house. What?
No major illnesses. I attribute that to lots of water, sticking with whole grains, and lot of veggies.
The other stuff I attribute to the fact that cereal and (gasp) hamburger helper actually made it into my kitchen and was being used regularly for a few weeks.
Maybe I'm just weird but I'm going to go with my gut and think, maybe, just maybe, the food is causing some of the illness.
So to my Internet friends I turned.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop has been up on my computer for days now. Reteaching me, re motivating me. I also found Naturally Knocked Up. What a fun website. GNOWFLGINS has been very helpful in the learning process as well. Can't forget Cheeseslave either. One of my first real food blogger reads. The Nourishing Cook has offered inspiration as she takes us through Nourishing Traditions. And of course Kitchen Stewardship. She keeps me on my toes! Love her blog.
I have been reading bits and pieces here and there from their blogs. Really assessing what I am doing. Lord willing I will be nourishing Lily for the next year or so mostly with my body. I have not been the best about her nourishment up til now. It was just easier to follow the advice of the "experts" on what to eat. I KNOW better. I am an intelligent person (well at least a little bit). I have read and reread and researched enough to understand.
My big rule used to be, "Eat it as close to the way God made it as possible". When did that rule change for me? Seriously why do I have a tub of fake butter in my fridge? Why do I have a 1/2 gallon of Splenda sweetened ice cream in the freezer? Because I got lazy (although I prefer the term pregnant) :)
Well, I sat down with my pen and notebook today and wrote down three changes I am making. Simple changes.
1. Back to the coconut oil. Why do I have a jar sitting in my pantry that is still half full from a few months ago? Why? It's a good healthy fat. Something I really need right now. Something my kids need. We use to have some somehow at least once a day!
2. Goodbye sugar free. What do you really have going for you besides not making my blood sugar go crazy? Not to much honestly. I know you are poison to my body and to my baby! Goodbye.
3. Hello real fat. Hello butter and whole milk. I am sorry that I put you aside. It was crazy. Yes, I know better. I have seen the health benefits of both of you. I wish you were real milk. Yes, I do. But I know that Whole is better than 2%. I'm sorry I left you. Real I will get you back soon I promise. Right now we can't afford your $4 a half gallon price.

So for now those are the big changes I am making. Going back to is a better word. I have tried these things before and I have seen the difference in my families health. I don't know what I was thinking. I am a Nourishing Traditions/Weston A Price believer. Though somethings I do compromise on. We will not be eating Liver in this house any time soon. LOL I'm just sayin'. I have looked at different things and this is the one I feel most comfortable with. This is the one I have seen actual results with. Every time I stray I notice more runny noses, more allergies, and more overall wakiness in this house.
Those are just some of my reasons for jumping back in. I have another big one that I will share later.
Be Blessed!

In the Kitchen

I decided recently to take up bulk cooking again. Of course with my large family anytime I cook it's bulk cooking. But I mean making enough to freeze for later.
We have been bombarded with illnesses and deaths around us lately and I wanted to not only have something stored up for my family but for others as well.
Our ladies ministry usually has a cooking day where we make and freeze meals for occasions such as this but we have not been able to do that this year and my freezer (which held all the meals) has run dry. I am looking to store up until our next cooking day.
In the past when I have tried this on my own I have been overwhelmed and quickly all the
great plans I had ran the way of the dinosaur.
This time I decided to try something a little different. For the whole week I will be making 1 or 2 meals to freeze every day. For instance today I made a Macaroni and Beef casserole. We will have one for dinner and I have three more to add to my freezer. Tomorrow I will make Beef Stew. Tomorrow night we will have Beef Stew and I am hoping enough to add three or four bags to my freezer.
Some people might think that I should just do it all together and get it over with or that I should do my beef stuff one day and my chicken stuff one day ect.. but I have tried that. I really think this will work better. By the end of this week if my calculations are right I will have at least 20 meals in my freezer.
I will let you know how it works out. :)

Be Blessed!

Getting Creative

Ok, so because of an unexpected expense we have very, very little money for the next two weeks. Time to turn to the pantry for meal.
Saturday Dinner
I had some cooked lasagna noodles.
I had tomato sauce
I had seasonings to turn the tomato sauce into spaghetti sauce
I had cheddar cheese, but no mozzerella or parmesean.
I'd seen a recipe in a magazine that used cream cheese and sour cream.
I had cream cheese and plain yogurt (which we use in place of sour cream)
I did not have any meat thawed, but I did have some beans.
I cooked the beans and spaghetti sauce together.
I mixed two packages of cream chees with a couple of cups of plain yogurt and mixed in the cheddar.
I made it up like lasagna and my family loved it! It was very rich so everyone was full with one helping.
Sunday breakfast
We usually eat this at church. Our church has Panera rolls every Sunday morning so its a treat for the kids.
Sunday Lunch
We get to bring home leftover Parnera bread, so I grabbed a couple of loaves and we had egg salad sandwhiches.
I had eggs.
I had mayonaise.
I had dijon mustard.
I had seasonings.
The kids loved the sandwhices.
Sunday dinner
Had the leftover lasagna and bread.
Monday breakfast
I always have a good supply of oatmeal.

I will let you know what we had for lunch and dinner later. Im still not 100% sure what that will be.
I woke up feeling achy and with a sore throat. Im going to take some garlic and vitamin C and see how that works out. I will probably also drink some Thera Flu just to get me through today. Fortunatly, hubby is home today and will probably help out.
As for the other drama in my life some people from church got a lead on what hotel the girl is staying at, so they are there now staking it out.

Have a blessed Labor Day.

Beans will never be the same

So for awhile now I have been trying to learn how to cook dried beans. They never came out right. It was frustrating. I could pick up packs of dried beans for less than 50 cents but could not make them come out right. Well friends I have tasted success and it is YUMMY. I got my new crockpot out the other day and decided to try the bean thing. I rinsed off the dry beans and sorted through them, then I threw them in the crockpot, filled the pot with water and cooked on low for 8 hours. PERFECT. We mixed about half of them with chicken, diced tomatoes, corn and taco seasoning and had black bean and chicken tacos the other night. MMMM. I dont think I will ever cook my beans a different way again. It was so easy and it came out great. I have a ziplock bag full of cooked black beans in the fridge which I will mix with turkey sausage, rice, cheese and tomato sauce tonight for a differnt meal. I will let you know how it comes out.

I will try to post some of my favorite recipes involving beans next week. They are so cheap and so incredibly good for you.

Be Blessed.

Sometimes you just have to!

So today I spent all morning getting some lab work done. Fun, Fun! I had not eaten since dinner the evening before and I had to be at the office at 7am. I left there at 10:30... I was hungry! I picked the kids up from moms and when we left there it was almost 11:30. I needed food and I needed it now! So I swung into McDonalds. I fed myself and all 5 of my kids for 13.00. Want to know how?

A twenty pack of nuggets split four ways is more than enough nuggets.

2 $1.00 double cheeseburgers for Karly and I

2 large fries to be split among the six of us. It was enough fries to satisfy withou over indulging.

We are drinking water at home.

Its not the best meal, but at least I could make the best of it. I know as they get older this will probably not be as easy to do, but in this season we can afford the occasional trips to McGreasers. We eat there so rarely now a days that I forgot how greasy the hamburgers were. Yuck! LOL.

Be Blessed!

Smooth Smooth Smoothies

MMMMMMMMMM we love our smoothies. We start with vanilla or strawberry yogurt, add some frozen fruit, whatever we have on hand, then some milk, and either honey or stevia. Its so good. I dont measure just throw, throw, throw. Its delish.


Be Blessed.

The Incredible Edible Egg

We love eggs. Unfortunatly it takes almost a whole 18 pack for breakfast around here. Its a not oft had treat for the littles. Hubby and I try to have them often though. I like to scramble two up in some coconut oil. I heat the pan with coconut oil though you have to be careful because coconut oil has a low heat point. Too hot and it will start smoking. I dump two eggs in a measuring cup with a little bit of milk and some seasoning, our favorite is parsley, and then dump then in the pan and cook for just a couple of minutes. Then I plate the eggs in a heap and they finish cooking. We usually have whole grain toast with coconut oil and honey and then an apple or a pear. Its a very filling breakfast. We finish off with a glass of good creamy raw milk. YUM.

Be Blessed.

Breakfast Day 2

Ok so todays breakfast idea is not the healthiest, but it is what we do on Tuesdays.
On Tuesday mornings my mom and I and two of our friends meet for breakfast at a small restaurant before we go to Bible Study. It is so much fun.
You can eat better at the restaurant though.
My kids either have eggs and whole wheat toast or oatmeal. I always get eggs. The restaurant has real butter and honey so we always request that for our toast or oatmeal. We also use real butter on our grits and eggs. Yes, I live in the south I always have to have grits. LOL


Be Blessed.

Lets Talk About Breakfast

Ahh.. one of the most important meals of the day, breakfast. This week I will be sharing some of our tried and true tips for breakfasts. As we move towards eating healthier I have noticed that breakfast is a very important part of our day.
Oatmeal. We use the old fashioned rolled oats. Its more filling and just as easy to prepare. I fill a pan with some water and dump the oats in. I dont measure, because if I make too much we can always have it another morning. Then I add sea salt and a sweetener. Usually either honey or organic cane juice crystals. When its cooked for a few minutes I add some milk and turn it down. Then I go get the baby up and dressed. By the time thats done so is the oatmeal. If Im feeling like a generous mommy I will add fruit and cinnamon. If the morning is already hectic I just dump it in bowls and let them eat it. I add a TBLSP of coconut oil to my bowl so I can get this into my diet.
Thats our morning oatmeal routine.
I will use this week to talk about healthy easy breakfasts you can fix for your crew.