Happy Halloween

So I have to sadly say that our computer is down. Poor thing has pretty much died. I am at my parents eating warm beef stew. Yum!

Until I am back here are some helpful hints that have been on my mind as of late:

When you carve your pumpkins save the seeds. Roast them in your oven with a little butter and salt on 350 for 20-30 minutes. Pumpkin seeds are so good for you!! Eat them. Feed them to your kids!!

Halloween is tomorrow. Remember Halloween doesn't just mean candy! Make it about costumes and pumpkins and celebrating fall. Let them eat a piece or two of candy and then find a local dentist or charity who buys the candy to send away to the troops. My community does this, so I suggest you looking into it if you are interested.

Remember that disease, virus, bacteria feed on sugar too! You don't want those monsters on the insides of your kiddos!

Happy Healthy Halloween!

warm cozy protein packed breakfast

No picture. sorry.

This mornings breakfast was warm and cozy and packed with complete protein.

Quinoa!

I cooked the quinoa following the package directions (I do drain it in water but it's tricky because it's so small. I just put it in a bowl, run cold water over it, then dump out the cold water as carefully as I can without dumping out the quinoa.)

After the quinoa was cooked in plain old water I added 2 TBS. coconut oil and a dash of cinnamon.

I thought it was good!
Jeff liked it, minus the texture which he is still getting used to.
Emmett (our 1 1/2 year old) liked it.
Braxton was a so, so. He liked the flavor but wanted to have cereal (Chex) instead. I didn't let him and he didn't fuss. I did give him a dash of pure maple syrup and that helped!
Adelle is typically picky and she ate it up (after I added a dash of pure maple syrup!)

We will be having this again. Even if it's not a family favorite it's good for them to learn to eat lots of foods even if they aren't your favorite!

"we're gonna party like it's your birthday..."

These are the cookies I used. I got these for super cheap at The Grocery Outlet. They are all natural and organic. Our friends own the one in town so go there, you're sure to find a bargain!

Kind-of Homemade Ice cream Sandwiches.

Ok, I didn't make the ice cream or the cookies but I sure did take the two and layer them. All by myself in about 5 minutes even.

So here is the thing. I have children. Normal kids who like treats and associate birthdays with treats. Don't we all do this? I don't have a problem with a treat once in a while. Don't deprive yourself, right. However, when treats start to be a daily thing, even weekly thing, than you start to have a problem. These poor little ones get addicted to sugar. Honestly they do and that is unhealthy! Also, treats before bed. Not really happenen around here. My kids go crazy if they eat sugar before bed. Nightmares, talking in their sleep. It's not good for your system when you pour in sugar before bed.

So my son turned 6 yesterday. He wanted a chocolate cake decorated like a karate guy. When it came down to it my day ran out of time. How do you explain to your 6 year old that you didn't have time to make the cake they wanted when you were helping in their classroom and having their friend and his whole family over for dinner. Not to mention creating a special FHE game featuring him and making sure the house was clean (from the birthday party the night before) to welcome the guests....

Well I didn't even have to explain. I pulled out these babies and there was no mention of the absent karate cake. These things are 1 1/2 inches in diameter people. Small. Bite size. They each had one. They each savored the one. That's it. My kids don't even ask for two. They know everyone gets one. period.

Happy Birthday Treat without the huge, garbage filled cupcake with trans-fat frosting!

Just wanted you to know there are alternatives. You always have options. I love my kids too and want them to be spoiled on their birthdays. That's why I've created a very sneaky way to do it!

Today is FOOD DAY!

The First Annual Food Day

I copied and pasted this article from here.

October 24th, 2011 | Author: Sandi

It’s Food Day today. You can officially say that you were around for the very first Food Day. I figured you might have some questions about this new concept so here’s the lowdown.

What might you ask is “Food Day”?

It is a nationwide campaign sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which is a nonprofit group that has led successful campaigns for food labeling, better nutrition, and safer food. Like CSPI, Food Day does not accept funding from government or corporations.

Okay good. But what is the point of Food Day?

I went to www.foodday.org and loved the mission statement that I found there.

Food Day’s goal is nothing less than to transform the American diet—to inspire a broad movement involving people from every corner of our land who want healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. In other words, we want America to eat real. We want to get Americans cooking real food for their families again. We want fewer people at drive-throughs and bigger crowds at farmers markets. We want to celebrate fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy whole grains—and to support the local farms and farmers that produce them. We want all Americans—regardless of their age or income or geographic location—to be able to select healthy diets and avoid obesity, heart disease, and other diet-related conditions.

So can you tell me what the driving principles are?

Food Day 2011 has five key priorities:

1. Promote healthier foods so fewer people get diet related diseases
2. Support sustainable farms and stop subsidizing agribusiness
3. Expand access to food so people aren’t hungry
4. Reform factory farms to protect animals and the environment
5. Curb junk-food marketing to kids

AppleSquash

Yep, just like Applesauce but I used apples and butternut squash. Pealed the squash, peeled the apples. Cut them all up into chunks. Put them in a pot with about 2 inches of water. Brought the water to a boil. Boiled the chunks until they were tender. Mash, mash, mash until all the water has evaporated or soaked in. Add a dash of cinnamon. Yum.

My friend Tori is a doll. She brought me some butternut squash from her parents garden today. Then she told me that apples were on sale and that she was going to make applesauce for baby food. A lightbulb went on in my healthy mindset and I said, "hey, you should add the squash to the applesauce!!!!!"

My kids are at the table right now eating this fresh after school snack that I just concocted. They are loving it. No added sweeteners. The apple is enough sweet. Try this out. Even if you don't like squash you will totally love this!

And fyi Costco has butternut squash right now in their produce, already cut into chunks!

This seriously took me about 15 minutes start to finish to make. Easy, fast, cheap, healthy. That's what I'm talking about!

So we all know apples are good for you but what about squash?

Squash is super good for you?? Like a total Power Food!

Health Benefits I found here:
Low in fat, butternut squash delivers an ample dose of dietary fiber, making it an exceptionally heart-friendly choice. It provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems. The folate content adds yet another boost to its heart-healthy reputation and helps guard against brain and spinal-cord-related birth defects such as spina bifida.

Squash's tangerine hue, however, indicates butternut's most noteworthy health perk. The color signals an abundance of powerhouse nutrients known as carotenoids, shown to protect against heart disease. In particular, the gourd boasts very high levels of beta-carotene (which your body automatically converts to vitamin A), identified as a deterrent against breast cancer and age-related macular degeneration, as well as a supporter of healthy lung development in fetuses and newborns. What's more, with only a 1-cup serving, you get nearly half the recommended daily dose of antioxidant-rich vitamin C.

As if this weren't enough, butternut squash may have anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content. Incorporating more of this hearty winter staple into your diet could help reduce risk of inflammation-related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

October 21 is National Mammography Day

With October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month today is

National Mammography Day.

There are plenty of debates out there as to whether or not mammograms are effective but I am not going to pick a side on that one. My perspective is limited and my knowledge on this topic is slim.

However there are some truths that I strongly believe in. One of them was stated well in an article I just read on Breast Cancer;

"Drugs do not cure disease anymore than bullets cure war."-Sayer Ji

That's a strong statement and you probably think I am a picketing hippie but I'm really not. I just want people to know that there are options other than taking a pill. Sometimes you have to do both, take the pill for a while until you can get your body built back up.

If you are dealing with something, anything really. Stress, depression, breast cancer, fatigue, PMS... I would strongly encourage you to take a look at what you are eating and make some changes. Less sugar. More veggies. Less trans-fats. More protein. Seriously put it to the test.

Quinoa

Ok so it's been a busy week! This whole keeping up two blogs things is for crazy people. Good thing I'm crazy and good thing I have some junk in my trunk to pull out on days like these when ya'll are waiting for a new post.

Quinoa is so yummy and so healthy and hearty. It's become a staple around here and one of Emmett's favorites.

Here are 2 other quinoa recipes that we eat a lot of. Check them out.

Tonight however is my recent favorite. I adapted this recipe from my good friend Sarah who is basically gourmet!

Cook quinoa is organic chicken stock. I also use bouillon sometimes if I don't have chicken stock. Just follow the directions on the package. It's simple and fast. Boil water, add quinoa, put on lid and simmer for like 15 minutes.

While that is doing it's thing roast veggies in the oven.
Chopped up whatever (you can use any or all of these depending on what your family likes, and what you have).
asparagus
garlic
onions
peppers
carrots
cabbage
zucchini
broccoli
snap peas
mushrooms

After the quinoa is done and the chopped veggies are roasted mix them together. Add some marinated artichoke hearts (which I buy at Costco) and you are set with a complete meal. My family likes this served warm but I prefer it cold the next day. Yum! Oh, and sometimes I add sun dried tomatoes too.

And just a bit on quinoa...seriously this stuff is good for you!! Eat it, feed it to your kids!

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice
"Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas."