Love, peace, joy, kindness, eternity

Eternity sign

My husband's last blog post has left my mind swirling and this little song I've been hearing all season just kept coming back, it seems to sum it up so perfectly for me.

(push play to the right if it's not playing) I think in a nutshell it's just kind of black and white all the traditional and pretty stuff and fun stuff is great and fun but it's just that, I just can't take it to serious when I compare it to what it would mean to give someone a true "gift". Just imagine if we all could give each other something like this, the gifts of eternity. Reminds me of a note sent to my brother when he worked and did everything he could to finally take his beautiful wife and baby to the temple. Dear brother, thank you for reuniting our family forever, thank you for sealing the link back up, thank you for what you did today for your posterity and mine. That is a gift I will never forget.

So yes I will have fun getting the beautiful wrapping and fun gifts but above lies my true wish list that I pray for and wish for all year not just at this time, if I was to receive from it, therein would be my try joy. Wishing you love, peace, and everything your heart desires at this time of year.

Why do I like change so much?

Empowerment

Crying, Sweating, Running, Hurting and Accomplishing. "Do or do not, there is no try." Jedi Master Yoda
There are times in our lives when we learn new and better things and become just a little more then we were before. Most of us believe that we can't do most things that are available for us to accomplish in this life. I am most certainly included in that group. However this fall I have encountered a new perspective. I accomplished something that in my mind was impossible, completely and utterly impossible for someone like me to do. I never even thought of trying before. This has opened my eyes to a whole new way of living. What have I missed in life by just throwing by the wayside and saying "someone like me can't do that." Why not? I've proved to my own self that if you want it hard enough you can have it. It's all about the work, you have to step up and say I will do the work it takes to accomplish that or have that. But don't we all know that the only things worth having in life take work and are hard. I'm going to do more of these things, I mean what's life about if not to do your best and improve yourself more every day, it's called progression. My new empowerment is never ending. I'm going to accomplish what I want no matter how bad I think I am at it, how silly it makes me (can't get much sillier then this picture) or how hard. It also has opened my mind just a little bit more to what I can become if I trust God and have faith in what he wants me to be. There are no limits. Take life and do want you want don't let life do what it wants with you. It's your turn now, accomplish the impossible. Why wait.

12 years and never a dull moment! Happy Anniversary.

Happy Summer.

Needless to say I didn't get the food for our full two weeks on here but we did manage to do it.  It has been interesting too to notice how those foods made us feels after we hadn't eaten them.  Jeff especially can actually notice that it hurts his stomach if he eats wheat now.  So what are we going to do you ask?  I don't know other then be very moderate.  I haven't decided what the next step after that is.  Mostly other grains, not much dairy.  Lots of fruits and vegetables.  Funny thing is that there are plenty of grains out there and some of them are better for you then wheat so it's not such a bad thing to have to expound ourselves is it?  Did you know if you have a wheat grinder you can grind just about anything else and make it into flour?  Beans, oats, lentils, rice, whatever.  Here's a recipe we tried last week that turned out pretty good.

              Range-top Rice pudding with fresh fruit

4 cups milk (whichever kind you like: cow, soy, rice, almond)

1 cup brown or white rice (obviously the brown will be healthier)

3 tbsp sugar or honey

1/4 tsp salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 small bananas

lemon juice

1 large kiwifruit

1/2 cup seedless graps

or whatever fruit you want

1.  In 10 inch skillet over high heat, heat milk, rice, sugar, and salt just to boiling.  Reduce heat to low;  cover and simmer 20 minutes (for white rice).  If using 1/2 or all brown rice, simmer 20 minutes in water in a 1 quart sauce pan, then add to milk mixture to finish cooking, then simmer another 20-25 minutes.

2.  Remove from heat:  stir in vanilla, cinnamon and allspice.  Serve rice pudding warm or refrigerate to serve cold later.  Pudding will thicken as it cools.

3.  Just before serving hull strawberries, cut into thick slices.  Slice bananas: sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning.  Peel and thinly slice kiwifruit.  Cut each grape lengthwise in half. 

4. arrange fruit on top of custard.

Wednesday:

lunch:  Bananas, chili, green peppers, grapes,  cod (leftovers)

dinner:  Brown rice, corn and grilled vegetables, this was supposed to be a taco of sorts but I don't think it turned out like the recipe was supposed to be.

Thursday:

Breakfast:  oatmeal, apples, peanut butter on rye crackers

Lunch:  tuna fish on rye crackers, oranges, cliff bar, spinach, strawberry and almond salad, cashews

dinner:  gluten free scones.  (I made these with the wonderful bob's red mill bread mix, they're actually pretty good)

lentil soup

brussel sprouts

Friday:  Breakfast: Quinoa with honey and blackberries

lunch:  lentil soup, chopped up vegetables

Dinner:  Bean and salsa taco, fried eggs, mandarin orange and chicken salad (didn't have a lot of time tonight kind of a weird mix) popcorn for a snack

Saturday:  Breakfast: Oatmeal, bananas, cashews

Lunch:  Chili, strawberry tofu shake (frozen strawberries, half a carton of soft silken organic tofu, juice concentrate, some type of milk, I used rice I think, you can add bananas too)

Dinner: gluten free pumpkin bread:

Gluten free Pumpkin Bread
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 15oz. can Libby's pure pumpkin
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup oil
4 cups gluten-free flour mix (I couldn't decide so I used 1/2 featherlite and 1/2 Carol's sorghum mix)
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground flax, opt.
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. each: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
1 cup water or milk (I use water)
about 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a very large mixing bowl, beat eggs (I use a hand mixer). Beat in sugar, pumpkin, applesauce and oil.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients and beat in 1/2 at a time. ( I just dump it in after measuring and beat in 1/2 the flour last)
Slowly beat in water until mixed and there are no flour lumps. You can add chips now or later.
Pour batter into 6 greased and floured small loaf pans (5 3/4"x3"x2 1/2 ").
Gently stir in without scraping the edges, 1/4 cup chocolate chips into some of the pans(incase your peeps can't have/don't like chocolate like my peeps )
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (I use a convection oven) My breads rose great and were light and fluffy and sooo tastey.
Cut a loaf in 1/2 and take a big muffin to work.
You can make muffins, just reduce the baking time and you only need to spray the pans. Or bake in cake pans too. I would advise only trying a big bread pan with one loaf b/c the batter is heavy and the bread may not get done in the middle.

Turned out pretty good actually.  I used coconut four mixed with rice flour and a bob's red mill flour mix which has several flours in it.  I didn't put the chocolate chips because we're doing no sugar but I think they wouldv'e been pretty yummy.

spanish rice

Mexican chicken (chicken, black beans, salsa, cumin, chili powder, tomato sauce.)

black bean and tomato Quinoa salad:

 ingredients

 2 teaspoons grated lime zest

 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 1 teaspoon sugar

 1 cup quinoa

 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

 2 medium tomatoes, diced

 4 scallions, chopped

 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

 preparation Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time. Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don't worry if lid doesn't fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

I thought this was pretty good.  One more week to go.

Okay so what's on my mind right now.  Food allergies.  Are they real?  Why do so many people have them especially if I can't tell anything bothering them?  My husband (bless his heart) has had sleeping problems ever since I've known him and recently he went to a doctor to try again to figure out what to do.  She gave him some supplements to help his adrenils get balanced and said I think you have food allergies and sent him to get a blood test.  Yes of course he is allergic to everything that Gabriel is which is basically everything on the planet it seems.  Wheat, dairy, eggs, peanuts.  You get the picture.  So we say what are these foods doing to your bodies and what will you feel like if you're not eating them.  The theory is that they for some reason have a negative reaction to their bodies and the body actually builds up antibodies against them when they eat them.  Which in turn is obviously hard on all the organs and doesn't give you any nutrients if you can't properly digest them.  Okay so I say why wheat?  I'm done my research on dairy and I know or feel that it's just not that good for anybodies body but wheat?  It's supposed to be good for us right.  I pull out my omnivores dilemma and read about the gross changes that have happened to our grains over the years, who know maybe their not even grains any more maybe they're just like chemical mutations that are somehow programed to grow.  Yet we still eat it, now I don't know where it all comes from , which kinds of wheat have been grown with seeds that have been preserved etc.  so who know what you're getting but I've come to realize that even if we are eating the purest kind of wheat we're still having to much.  Why do we only eat wheat?  There are tons of different grains out there, some that are better for you then wheat.   I'm assuming that it just became an American way or it was cheaper or that is just what the farmers grew, kind of like corn.  So the point in fact is where do we eat wheat?  Bread, noodles, crackers, pancakes, tortillas, cookies, cake, pies etc. etc.   So you could go a whole day and possibly just eat wheat or what used to be wheat and has been so modified that you're just eating some kind of starch or maybe just nothing (i.e. white flour).  I have to think after decades of this happening to your body your body has to revolt.  Kind of like the baby that starts throwing pureed green beans at you after you've tried to stuff them in his mouth enough times, who really likes those anyway?  My course in action.  Find different grains.  Give our bodies a rest a detox of sorts.  My husband has started his 2 week no dairy, wheat or sugar to just clear out his body and I'm jumping on his band wagon.  Maybe we just need to change it up sometimes, I mean it makes sense right?  So new foods these 2 weeks, watch for what we're eating.

Monday:

Breakfast: gluten free banana bread (made by Gabriel)

oatmeal

apples with sunbutter or peanut butter

Lunch:

Vegetable soup with quinoa

brwon rice noodle with spaghetti sauce

India palace buffet (yum) we all ate seperately obviously

fruit

dinner:

Cod bakes with olive oil or smart balance butter spread, lemon and pepper

brown rice pilaf:

brown rice, green peppers and onions sauteed in butter spread then cooked with chicken broth

asparagus.

Tuesday:

breakfast: organic breakfast os with rice milk or soy milk (not the best choice if you're being ultra detox because it's processed but I'm doing my best here)

lunch:  chili and corn chips

green salad

dinner:  birthday party so there was a slight break in the schedule ( so is life right?  I think if we all ate well and only had slight breaks in our healthy habits we'd be doing great)

Wednesday:

Breakfast:

gluten free pancake mix with real maple syrup

grapes

I hope I can keep this up, stay tuned my vegetarian cooking classes start thursday night, I'm hoping to have all kinds of ideas then.  

Thought....

Thursday, another busy kid day. Cameron came at 2:30, had to get the pinewood derby snacks ready, never really did my hair. Cathy calls, have you talked to Lindsay? I can't tell if she's really in labor or it's just braxton hicks, Ginger says she can see her. I will go over there right now. I knock on the door Lindsay's in her pajamas, she's calm and I can feel her trying to be brave. I ask her how it feels. Are they getting harder, how long have they been coming? I know she wont ask for anything but we need to go, I tell her I'm going to get my van. I shove all of the 5 kids I have at the moment into my van, I go get Lindsay and Lucas, I drop off my big kids. We drive to Ginger's, Lindsay says I don't know maybe it's stopping, maybe it's not a big deal, I say we can check, it doesn't hurt to check, trust the mother instinct. Your mom really needs to know. I drop off Lindsay, we drive to the park. Lindsay calls so we turn around and pick her up. She's definately on her way but how much longer? I ask her should we go get the tub? Andrey's getting it. I take her back home, I feel the birth aura, that thin line between this life and another, it's around us. Lindsay is going to her place I can see her, she's being brave, it's different this time, this baby is going to come a different way then his brother. I see what needs to be done, do you need food, what about your bed, do you want me to put together the crib? I put Elias River on the floor and quickly make the bed, this sheet first then that, yes I remember. Clean towels, garbage bags, yes. Food, hmmm. I'll be back. We take the kids to the park, how fast is it going to be? When will Cathy get here? We take the kids to my house and I go to the store, good for you food, recharge, snacks, ibprofen, nursing pads, tucks, what else? I come back, Ginger's car is here. Is it really happening? I take the stuff over and open the door just a little bit. I put the bags in and run back home, I tell Amy It's real! It's real! Go get Cathy now! She goes and we gather up all the kids and go to the pine wood derby. We wait, the phone rings, he's here before Gabriel's car even goes down the track, he's here. I'm in shock, I call Karen and say baby boy out right now can you believe!! She says yes I can believe. I take Lucas back to see his brother, I'm having an adrenalin rush I walk in and Ginger hugs me, there is a real baby, I feel so proud of Lindsay she has grown so much, she is trusting herself, she is becoming something more, I feel her spirit taking a little bit more control of her being, I tell her I'm so proud of her, I cry, she say thank you for helping her, she cries, I hug her. I hold the baby boy, he's peaceful, such a good birth for him. He proves that there is so much more, we must keep trying, for them. Lindsay is changed, she has climbed her mountain, she will be able to do more and more now, she is calm and willing now to do her mother work, I admire her so much.

Thank you Mrs. Obama!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11lady.html?_r=1&em

As you all can probably tell (all 2 of you that read my blog) I am not good at keeping up my blog.  To that I have to say I have come to peace with the fact that I am using my time elsewhere, I do  needless to say constantly have something I want to tell people.  My endless obsession with health and nutrition persists.  So I will slowly, when I have a free second throw something out there that is one my mind that day.  I think this will probably from now on take up the entirety of my blog since it is what I have to say to the world.  It is my passion and hopefully I can make it my talent.  If you are someone who actually wants to see what my family is doing,  well I can invite you to my daily kids learning log blog (lots of pictures there) which consequently is the foremost reason that this blog is so lame, I'm good with that.  I love it.  Anyway here's what's in my mind right now:

http://www.schreiberandsons.com
Community Supported Agriculture, CSA, is a concept that has become increasingly popular throughout the United States. CSAs are established to provide members with fresh, high-quality, local food all through the growing season, while guaranteeing local farmers a secure market. This partnership allows growers and members to share the rewards and challenges of farming.

The CSA is starting up soon and it's time to sign up. It feels so great to support the guy right down the street and eat way better produce and what's in season. It also saves time, energy and money by not having to transport the food. Check it out.

Also the last couple of weeks we've had this for breakfasts, I love this recipe:
Melinda's Homemade Granola

2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup peanuts or toasted almons
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup coconut (unsweetened or sweetened is fine)
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, quinoa flakes or flax seed meal.
1/2 cup raisins or cranberries
1/2 dried fruit (dried apricots, craisins, dried apples or blueberries)
scant 1/4 cup cooking oil (not olive)
1/2 cup honey

Mix the oats, nuts and grains in a large bowl. Measure oil into the measuring cup and swirl it around before pouring into the bowl.
Then measure out the honey in the same unwashed cup. The oil will help the honey exit the cup.
Toss everything together until evenly coated and then pour out into a baking pan. Put on 2 large cookie sheets with a lip. grease the pans first. Spread it out evenly. Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes turning it with a spatula every ten minutes or so. You want everything to be an even golden brown. When it is finished cooking, return the baked granola to the mixing bowl, add the raisins and fruit and stir to combine. Stir gently several times as it cooks, so that it doesn't clump together too much. I usually double this recipe for a large family that likes to eat.

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings,  walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their naval and marrow to their bones;

And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.   And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.   Amen.

D&C 89:18-21

The lord keeps his promises.  

http://titancast.titantv.com/p/kvew/s/CBC-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day/15BO0Y5Q.aspx

Life just seems to be passing me by, whizzing, running on like I coudn't even catch up if I was running.  I only hope I can squeeze in enough time spent with my kids to be satisfied with it when I'm old and their gone.  I'm so glad I have them around so much.  I feel like I am slowly morphing into something more, I know why God wants us to have kids.  Giving up the good for the best.  Ahhh...  but it takes so much effort to not be selfish.  I will be so glad in those grandma years when I am trying to remember all those things I used to think I wanted to do.:)