Superbowl

Every year, our family enjoys celebrating Superbowl Sunday. During the fall, we really don’t watch a lot of football (Dad and Ben do occasionally) but we all enjoy watching the Superbowl together.

In past years, we have made this a night to enjoy junk food that we normally don’t indulge in (think frozen foods such as meatballs, taquitos, pizza bites, pigs in a blanket, mozzarella sticks, potato skins, and chicken wings.) Last year we decided in an effort to be frugal, to make our own treats. But this year, we decided to not only make our own treats, but to make them as healthy as possible. Of course, we had a couple of “treats” because it was a special occasion. J But they were still a big improvement over last year’s treats!



Our delicious—and healthy—spread!



We had delicious homemade hummus served with a very healthy brand of crackers we found at Sam’s Club®.



Ham and Mozzarella Cheese Roll-Ups.



Bacon-Cheese Puffs. These are a family favorite and have returned year after year to our “Superbowl” spread.



Fresh veggies: carrot sticks, celery with peanut butter, yellow bell peppers, and cucumbers.



Apple wedges with Cheddar Cheese.



Homemade Pepperoni Bread

 

Our mock sausage meatballs (made with oatmeal!)



Delicious oven fried potatoes are a favorite around our house!



The toppings for our potatoes: sour cream, fresh salsa, and fresh chives.



We enjoyed lots of fresh fruit for dessert!



Grapes and Cantaloupe.



Our one splurge of the night: from-scratch, football-shaped brownies.

 

As you can probably tell, we enjoyed our evening despite the fact that our beloved Steelers didn’t win the game. L But both teams played hard and were good sports, and we enjoyed watching the game and eating our healthy food!

Holi-Day

“The Sabbath is God’s appointed holiday. The King of the universe gives all his subjects one day off every week to celebrate His creation, to interrupt their daily work and to rest in His, and thereby to be refreshed. One of the sweetest blessings of the Sabbath is refreshment.”

--Bruce A. Ray, “Celebrating the Sabbath”

(posted by Betsy)

The Road from McShock

Immediately following our McShock revelation, the Lord brought a sense of urgency and inspiration to my heart that couldn’t be ignored, about our need to begin changing our eating and health habits now.

I began—as I often do—by making a “To Do” list. In no particular order, I listed dietary changes for our family to pursue—things to eliminate, things to research, things to substitute, things to try, etc. My initial thought was to pick one or two line items at a time, implement those and get comfortable with them, then add one or two more, etc. I reasoned that this way, we wouldn’t be making radical changes that we would be unable to sustain for very long, thus setting ourselves up for failure.

But God’s ways are not our ways, and He had other plans. As I looked over the list, I quickly saw that the changes I felt in my heart we needed to make were going to take us in a whole new direction of eating and living. When all was said and done, it would be a substantially different approach to food and health in general. My dear friend A.L. said it best: “God knows what is best, and He has provided all we need.” We needed to look to His creation as a first line of defense regarding our eating and overall health. In other words, I sensed God urging me toward a more natural way of eating.

My first reaction was, “Oh, my. This is huge.” Being in the homeschooling community, I had rubbed shoulders with many of Those Natural Eaters, and while I admired their fervor and passion for all things organic, I was certain I could never find the time to cook and eat and garden and feed chickens and live the way they did.

But don’t you know I serve a BIG GOD?? "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. (Is. 65:24)…”Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jer. 33:3).The Lord immediately brought a host of resources and mentors and strategies—not to mention many willing hands in our own household—who have inspired such excitement and passion about all this, and taught me so much right away, that I just knew it would be VERY possible to do! What’s more, even though we are implementing many of the changes at the same time—sort of an integrated, unit study approach to eating, rather than an isolated, compartmentalized approach—I haven’t felt overwhelmed. One change has just naturally led to another, and then another, and those have blossomed and sent out shoots in different directions, and so on.

Now for the disclaimers. First, although we are making lots of related changes, we have much fine-tuning to do, before we can claim success. It is very much a process, and one that will take time to fully realize. Just as gardens don’t grow overnight, neither do eating and health habits all change overnight—particularly when we live in a culture which is saturated with chemically altered food.

Second, even though we’ve attacked more than one or two things on our list, I will share just a few of them on today’s post, and the rest in future posts. By so doing, I will avoid making this post too long to keep your attention. (Memo to self—stop writing novellas on the blog.)

* Strategy One: Eliminate the worst offenders, and replace them with healthier alternatives. For us, this meant: no more fast food. No more pop-tarts. No more pop. No more boxed cake mixes. Instead, we eat more healthy meals at home; we bake our own muffins and breakfast breads using good, healthy ingredients; we drink more water; and we bake cakes and other treats from scratch. Besides saving money and calories, we have the added blessing of knowing exactly what goes into our food. And we can pronounce all the ingredients.

In a natural branch-out, we were soon replacing white refined sugar with honey or agave nectar or pure maple syrup; using more whole wheat flour rather than white; replacing unhealthy store bought cookies with healthier, organic ones (see this post) and drastically reducing chocolate chips in our recipes, replacing them with malt-sweetened carob chips instead.

Which led to our next move:

* Strategy Two: Investigate healthier food sources and shop there. We learned of a food coop operated by a fellow homeschooler in town, which purchases items in bulk from Country Life Natural Foods. We placed a small order to check it out.



Picking up our order from the food coop



Some of the delightful things we bought. We’ll tell you more about them in future posts.



Instead of fast-food French fries, we have been enjoying homemade Oven Spears. I’ll end this post with the recipe—they are easy, fast, healthy, and so delicious!



Our Oven Spears (on the right) along with cornbread and veggies for our Veggie Night.



Baked Oven Spears

One potato per person, and a few extra (try red, golden, or other potatoes)

Olive oil

Garlic powder, salt, black pepper, or chili powder (as desired)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (for easier clean-up).

Wash potatoes well. Do not peel. Cut each potato into quarters lengthwise. Pour olive oil onto your (clean) hands, and rub each spear generously. Lay in single layer on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper or chili powder. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown and fork tender. Enjoy!

(Posted by Betsy)

Flood Update: Part 12

~Wednesday (February 16)~

Around 8:30 a.m., we leave for breakfast in the lobby. We check our blogs and then head back to our room. Mom gives us about 15 minutes to finish up our devotions and then we leave to run some errands.

First we head toward the house. Near the entrance to our neighborhood, we see what looks like a German Short Haired Pointer running down the main road. It looks lost. L We try to call it to the car, but it takes off in the other direction. We follow for a ways until it turns down a country road. We’re hoping that someone will find it and call an owner (it was wearing a collar.) I don’t understand why it won’t come to us. Maybe it’s afraid of cars.

Back at the house, we check the floors. They feel MUCH BETTER. That’s a relief! We leave a few bags and the boys grab a board game and we take off. Then it’s on to the bank, the library to drop off some books, the post office, and finally the church, to change the sign out front.

Back at the hotel, we eat lunch, and then do some light school work.



Josiah learned how to read at the hotel! He finished putting together his phonics notebook and started reading “Dick and Jane.” He is doing very well and practicing a lot!



At 3:00 p.m., we suit up and go for a swim in the hotel pool. I would have loved to get some exercise in the big pool, but I was just feeling too poorly to enjoy myself. I think because my sinuses and ears are bothering me, swimming just isn’t pleasant. So I just stayed in the hot tub the whole time.J

After swimming, we came back to the room and took early showers. I worked on some more school work and helped Mom prepare dinner for our Vegetable Night. Afterward we left for Bright Lights. (“Bright Lights” is a ministry started by the Mally family. It stands for “Being Radiant In Godliness, Holiness, and Testimony.” It is a discipleship group for young ladies. To learn more, you can check out their website.)



Rubia and I washing dishes in the kitchen at the hotel.



We arrive back at the hotel at 9:30 p.m. and go to bed for the last time here! Tomorrow we get to go home to stay!

~Thursday (February 17)~

Around 8:30 a.m., we leave for our last “Breakfast and Blogs” routine downstairs. L I’m actually going to miss some things about our stay here. I’ve gotten to know quite a lot of people here that I will miss!

By 10:00 a.m., Mom and the twins leave on the first trip home with a carload of suitcases and bags. I watch the boys play chess after packing up our remaining bags onto the luggage cart.

Mom and the twins finally arrive back at the hotel around 10:45 a.m. Apparently, Mr. A and Mr. L arrived at the same time they did, and they needed some information about the work they will be doing today. We also find out that they need to redo a small section of the floor. Surprise! Some areas looked like they had dull footprints on them. But thankfully, it is a small section that can be blocked off so we can still go home.

We left the hotel after loading the car again and finally arrived home! Mr. A was gone, but Mr. L was prepping the dining room to begin painting ,and taping off the sections of floor that needed redoing.



Our dining room being prepped for painting.



Mr. A arrives shortly after we do. He starts off by putting more polyurethane on the floor. He then works on putting molding around the base of our kitchen cabinets. Meanwhile, Mr. L strips caulking in the dining room, puts primer on the walls, and paints the ceiling.



Mr. A puts polyurethane on the floor.



I tried to do some school work, but it was a little too hard to concentrate. I’m easily distracted by other people. J And I’ve had a rather light week due to feeling sick. I’ll get “back in the groove” next week.



I was able to concentrate a little bit by secluding myself amidst the furniture. My sister walked by and laughed and took a picture of me buried beneath our furniture. J



Around 4:00 p.m. Mr. A goes downstairs to work on putting in the new ceiling tiles. Mr. L starts painting the dining room. I wasn’t paying attention, and a couple of minutes later I hear Mom say, “Uh-oh. There’s been a mistake.” There was some miscommunication and the green paint was being painted on the top of the wall instead of the bottom! Thankfully, we caught it before he got very far and he was able to wipe it off.



Mr. L painting the bottom of the dining room green. J



At 5:00 p.m. Mr. L finally takes his lunch break. Mr. A and Mr. L work without ceasing! He asked me if “it would bother anyone if [he] went downstairs to eat.” I said, “The kids are watching a movie, but if that doesn’t bother you, that’s fine.” Later I found out that he went down and asked the twins, “What are you watching?” They said, “A Princess movie.” He said, “Oh. Can I watch?” J You can tell that he is raising little girls if he’s willing to sit through princess movies! I worked on organizing the unfinished part of our basement while they watched the movie. We were just getting everything up off of the floor and organized in that room before the flood happened. Then it quickly filled up again with other things from the rest of the basement that needed “temporary housing.” It’s finally getting back to the way that it was.

Around 7:00 p.m. Mr. A and Mr. L move the oven, island, and kitchen table back into the kitchen. We replace all of the felt pads on the bottom of the table, chairs, and stools before we put them back. They use a really neat air lifter system to move the island. The island “floats” above the floor! It certainly makes the job easier. Mr. A says that’s what you have to do when you get older. You have to rely on all these special gadgets! I asked him what he used to move the dining room table. He said, “I used J!” (Another worker.) Mr. A has a good sense of humor!



Mr. A and Mr. L moving our island.



We sit down to eat dinner at a real table! We haven’t been able to do that in quite awhile! The dining room is looking awesome! I love the “Mesa Verde” green on the bottom and the “Navajo White” (a cream color) on the top half! It looks so fresh in there! I can’t wait until we can put the chair rail up and be finished!



Our new dining room walls!



Mr. L and Mr. A hard at work in the dining room.



At 8:45 p.m., I go up to shower expecting Mr. A and Mr. L to be gone by the time I come back. I was rather mistaken. J I forgot that they had to move all of the furniture back! They put the hutch/china cabinet back and Mr. A was trying to figure out how we had everything arranged on it. I asked, “Do you need help with that?” He said, “What? You don’t like the way I’m arranging it? It was time for a change!” J Thankfully, I had taken some pictures before we moved everything, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have remembered either!

There was much debate about where to put the dining room furniture since we still have to put the chair rail up. We also debated about how the rug fit in there. The only way it fits is if we cover the heat vent (which we did.) Finally, they put most of the furniture back in the general area it goes, but left space so that we could get to the walls. We may try to put the chair rail up this weekend.

While they were moving furniture we took the opportunity to vacuum the rug in the dining room and under the furniture in the living room. These areas don’t get vacuumed often, and since we’ve been gone so much this month, they REALLY needed it!



Yes! We knew our living room was in there somewhere! (Sorry for the dust spots in the photograph. As I said, it’s hard to clean when you can’t physically get to any furniture!)



At 10:00 p.m. they finally get to go home! I have never seen two people work so hard—and long—in one day. At least Mr. L gets a day off tomorrow. I almost feel guilty having them work so long knowing their families have to be without them so often. I know it’s not very fun to have Daddy away! But at least they have time off!

At 11:00 p.m., I finally go to bed. Sleeping in my own bed has never felt so good!

. . . To be continued. . .

Conquering a Refined Sugar Addiction

Back in October, a dear friend of mine told me she was on a sugar fast. She gave up all refined sugar for one month and only used honey to sweeten foods, because she was lacking natural energy. She said that she would fall asleep doing homework and always felt tired. After giving up sugar, she felt more energized, felt better, and (I believe) lost weight.

I had struggled with my weight for awhile. Nothing major, mind you, but I knew I was pushing my ideal weight and I also felt that I wasn’t making right eating choices. Whenever I ate, I often chose highly refined products (convenience foods), and foods with lots of carbohydrates, and I was not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I thought that perhaps I would try a sugar fast for a week, but I forgot about it with all of the sumptuous treats of the holidays.

The wake-up “moment” for me came after our pastor preached a sermon about our health. He discussed the fact that neglecting our health is a subtle sin, that God wants us to be healthy (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and that being healthy is more important than losing weight. After church I announced to my Mom that I was going to go on a sugar fast for a whole month. I didn’t think that much about it, which was probably good! I couldn’t chicken out on such short notice!

So on January 3, 2011, I began my sugar fast. My purposes in going through this fast were: 1) to show that God was more important to me than refined sugar, 2) to learn to eat more whole, natural, and healthy foods, and 3) to lose weight as a bonus.

I learned so much about so many things during my sugar fast! I learned that I always have to read food labels, because I would have never imagined that refined sugar would have been added to things such as beef bouillon cubes, and garlic salt; I learned that I don’t like the taste of honey in hot teas; that I actually like avocado (Did you hear that, Bia? I actually like it!); and that store bought bread cannot even begin to compare to homemade whole wheat bread. It is so much more filling and tasty! I learned that homemade pizza is also waaay better than frozen, store-bought pizza; that Truvia is bitter, but agave nectar is even sweeter than sugar and has a lower glycemic index; and that I feel better when I am not filled up with artificial sweeteners and highly refined sugar.



Our family started having vegetable nights once a week. Some family members were skeptical, but we all enjoy it now!



Here are a few examples of my daily menu during my sugar fast (I wrote down everything I ate to help me see whether I was eating a balanced diet.)

January 5, 2011

Breakfast:

1 fried egg

1 pumpkin muffin (homemade)

1 orange

1 cup of milk

Lunch:

2 slices of homemade whole wheat bread with butter

1 apple

Snack:

3 carrots

1 serving of homemade hummus

Dinner:

1 serving of pasta

1 serving of crock-pot chicken and tomatoes

1 serving of salad

1 serving of Italian vinaigrette (homemade)

1 cup of milk

1 bottle of water



I love a good omelet any time of the day!



January 12, 2011

Breakfast:

1 shredded wheat biscuit

1 serving of sugar-free cereal

1 serving of honey (to sweeten the cereal a bit)

1 cup of milk

1 pumpkin muffin

½ banana

Lunch:

2 slices of whole wheat bread with butter

(Can you tell I’m not much of a lunch person?)

Snack:

1 apple

1 slice of cheddar cheese

Dinner:

1 seasoned chicken breast

1 serving of salad

1 serving of rice

1 serving of fresh pineapple

1 cup of milk

1 bottle water



Another favorite meal for any time of day: a homemade muffin, cheese, and apples!



January 27, 2011

Breakfast:

1 ½ hard-boiled eggs

1 light wheat roll

1 serving of unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon

1 cup of milk

Lunch:

2 whole wheat pancakes with honey (I used powdered milk in this recipe)

1 serving of natural peanut butter

1 apple

Snack:

1 serving of carrots

1 serving of hummus

Dinner:

½ filet of fish with homemade mayonnaise sauce

1 serving of whole wheat pasta

1 serving of vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, and corn)

¼ of an avocado

1 serving of tapioca pudding

1 serving of homemade granola

1 bottle of water



Whole Wheat pancakes with natural peanut butter and agave nectar.



As you can probably tell, my diet isn’t absolutely perfect, but it is a work in progress! And I saw results: I lost 5 pounds and felt SO much better. I had more energy, I didn’t get as many headaches, and I paid more attention to what I was putting into my mouth.

Now, to share some of my delicious recipes! Probably my staple for the fast was whole wheat bread. I have grown to love homemade bread so much that I have only eaten store bought bread once since my fast ended. It truly doesn’t taste good anymore. I have a very dear friend who sells homemade whole wheat bread that is sweetened with honey, but I sometimes made my own using this recipe:

Whole Wheat Bread

¾ cups of warm water (110°F)

1 teaspoon of rapid rise yeast

1 egg

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, or natural sweetener of choice

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of flour*

1 cup of whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Knead for 8 minutes. Let rise for 50 minutes. Knead again for 8 minutes. Let rise for 30 minutes. Shape into loaves. Let rise under a wet towel for 20 minutes. Bake in preheated 375°F for 20 minutes. Enjoy fresh out of the oven if possible! There is nothing better in this world than fresh, warm bread! (Makes 1 loaf)

*This can be all purpose flour, or whole wheat flour depending on your taste.*

Another favorite in our family is homemade pizza. We had never made our own pizza regularly, until we found this simple recipe from a friend. The only difference is we used a bit more yeast and substituted honey for the sugar and I omitted the garlic salt when I was on my fast (see my previous mention of garlic salt.) We also made her sauce recipe, and they are both very tasty! We will now be using this recipe every other week for our Friday pizza night.



No, we don’t usually eat this much pizza on a Friday night! Two of the pizzas were for the family, one of the smaller pizzas was for me, and the other small one was to bring to our friend’s house for my Mom’s birthday (since I couldn’t eat the pizza they were eating.)



I love to have a good muffin for breakfast, but I don’t have time to make fresh muffins every morning. My solution: make a large batch, stick them in the freezer, and thaw them as I wanted them! I have experimented with many muffin recipes; some have flopped and others made it into our recipe binder! Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Muffins

3 ½ cups of white whole wheat flour(I use half wheat/half white)

1 teaspoon of salt

2 ½ tablespoons of baking powder

1 cup of peanut butter (use natural peanut butter for sugar-free muffins.)

½ cup of honey (or agave nectar, maple syrup, or sucanat)

2 tablespoons of flax seed, ground (I used 2 eggs instead.)

3 cups of water

½ cup of mini chocolate chips (carob chips or nuts makes a good substitute)

Mix dry ingredients. Blend in peanut butter until the mixture is grainy in texture. Mix honey and water and add. Mix to blend. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased muffin cups. Bake 22-30 minutes at 400°F. Enjoy! (Makes~6 large muffins)

One of my favorite snacks is a slice of homemade bread with hummus! Hummus is also good with crackers or carrots. Here is our family’s hummus recipe:

Hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (Optional: reserve liquid)

½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of garlic salt (with parsley flakes)

½ teaspoon of oregano

Paprika

Blend well in food processor. If you like your hummus thinner, add the reserved liquid from the can of chickpeas. Blend until it reaches desired consistency. Or just make it without the excess liquid! Put into bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Keep refrigerated. Use in 5-7 days.

Since I ended my sugar fast, I have continued to avoid certain foods that are high in refined sugar and continue to make wise food choices. I plan to go on another sugar fast very soon—and this time, I’ll be joined by other family members! (look for posts about that in the future!) And look for more favorite family recipes on our blog soon!