Thankful +

(Wed) Thankful for another reason to get together with family!!

(Thurs AM) Thankful that all the food is preparing itself now, and we can all sit and enjoy the day (until, I suppose, the half hour before lunch).

(Fri) Thankful for shepherd's pie tonight, Upwords, Scrabble, gaming family members, voices of loved ones, crafts, ...

(Sun) Thankful for corn and bean salsa (C), the temptation of food in the kitchen (Kevin), full stomachs, water to fend off the cravings...

(Mon) Thankful for the beautiful sunrise that welcomed our family into "real" life this morning...Kevin to work, the girls and I home on our own.

Thankful for girls that are cooperating this morning, with each other! For a while they made MegaBlok cameras and were going to take pictures of things around the house and coming back to the sewing room to show me. Then they both decided it was time to use the potty. Then they decided to head into their bedroom and play "naptime". It got really quiet for a while and then I heard, "Mama," from L and "She'll be here in 5 minutes." from Kj. :) I waited about 5 minutes and then went in to check on them. They demonstrated how they were pretending to have naptime. After that they came out, looked at books for about 10 minutes and then I got the real naptime under way. What a pleasant day!

Along with all the previously mentioned "activities", I was able to bake some bread while they played PlayDoh. I sewed birds while they took pictures.

Also...Thankful I could help 5 people out by selling 2 cars.

New Subtitle?

I feel like my blog should have a new subtitle, as I have been doing so much more with food lately. More than sewing projects. I tried and tried to find a pattern to knit or crochet a simple short sleeved cardigan sweater, but was not successful in that. The next day I went to a clothing exchange with my friends and found 2 such sweaters!! Yeah! No craftiness necessary. Although if you are interested in hosting a clothing exchange, here is the basic idea: Sew Green.

I tried cooking with tofu this weekend. I bought a large (for me, normal for others) box of tofu. I only used about 1/3 for the Creamy Orange Poppyseed Dressing I made, and wasn't sure what to do with the rest. I've never bought tofu before this week. I've never wanted to try tofu before now. I still don't think I want to try it as a little cube or plain, but blended works quite nicely!

So, a new recipe for you all...

Sort of Scalloped Potatoes

2 large russet potatoes, cubed
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 thick slices of ham, cubed
salt
pepper
onion (I used minced...but you can chop some up if you'd like)
garlic
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2/3+ package of tofu...sorry, not sure what size the package was...
water

~Blend tofu and water (approximately: 2 parts tofu, 1 part water)
~Layer food in crock pot: 1/2 veggies/ham, seasonings, 1/2 cheeses, 2/2 veggies/ham, seasonings, 2/2 cheeses...pour blended tofu over all.
~Set to high for 2-4 hours or until veggies are tender, or low for the day (while you are at work)

(I'm adding corn to the leftovers...you could also add: colored peppers chopped, peas, ...)

Well, enjoy!!

Avocado

We bought an avocado at the grocery store last week. I know they are supposed to be very good for you, and so I thought I would try it out. I saw an ad for www.avocado.com, so I went there for a recipe.

Originally I was going to go with the dessert type items (which, I probably should have stuck with that idea), but then found the avocado quesadillas. So we tried them out gluten-free style...with corn tortillas. Ate it with salsa

Ratings:
Kevin: 3 out of 5 "It was good, but it wasn't the most tasty thing, but it was good for you too..."
Anna: Good but nothing special--taste-wise
Kj: wouldn't eat a bite
L: got it in the mouth, but gave back the tortilla and didn't try any more bites

I Feel Healthy Today! (SHH!)

:)

After over a week of having an earache and LOTS of pain in my ear/neck gland area, I feel good! Yeah! This week I was also tested for a couple of things including Gluten-intolerance, and should know about that stuff within a couple weeks.

Also, we are getting ready for a lot of family. We are going to a wedding in a couple of days. Two days ago, the girls and I went and found them "party" dresses. It was a lot of fun and I even let Kj pick out L's (choosing from 3 selected dresses). She was very excited to show them to daddy when he got home.

I made some Nut Butter Balls and dairy free hot cocoa mix for our journey. The hot cocoa mix is also for my mom who has possibly not had it for...I don't know...my guess is 10 years...

Hot Cocoa Mix
1 c. dry powdered rice or soy milk (I used DariFree)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. vanilla sugar (this round I just used sugar...but I got a vanilla bean for the next round)
pinch of sea salt

Then: 1 c. boiling water with 1/4 c. mix will give you the right proportions. I'm waiting to try it with my mom. We'll tell you how it is after that.

Almond Butter Balls (...tried to find a link to the original recipe, but couldn't found some other things of interest though...Nut Butter Cups and Vanilla Almond Butter)

1/2 c. powdered milk (again used DariFree)
1/3 c. honey or agave nectar
3/4 c. almond butter (used Peanut Butter)
(opt) about 1/4 c. chopped dried cranberries (or could use raisins, flaxmeal, chopped seeds or nuts, coconut, chopped oats...)

Mixed together then rounded into balls and rolled in shredded coconut (for gluten free variety). Or can roll in 1/2 c. wheat germ and 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers.

Gluten/Lactose Free Progress

Day -1:

• ate an ice cream parfait on the way to Nana and Bumpa's to pick up the girls from a fun weekend
• drank a medium sized glass of milk
• felt YUCKY!
• talked to Aunt C. about recent lactose problems...she mentioned a friend with a newly found gluten intolerance...
• researched gluten intolerance
  

Day 0:

• researched gluten intolerance
  
• decided that tomorrow was Day 1 of the Gluten and Lactose free me.
  
• put together a supper recipe for tomorrow with lots of yummy things including gluten and lactose...tested it...YUMM!!

Day 1:

• random rice, applesauce, hard-boiled egg breakfast.
• music with the girls.
• grocery store run to get "bread" aka corn tortillas, "milk" aka coconut milk, and snacks...
• Lunch
• naptime
• Aunt A comes and plays with the girls
  
• run to the grocery store to get my own version of the above mentioned yummy supper
• ruin my version of supper by putting corn tortillas and it is so much spicier that I get bad heartburn (I have never cared for corn tortillas...that will have to be an acquired taste for me)
  
• made brownies with brown rice flour! Great dessert!
• went out to get some wedding registry items for our family and Aunt R.
  
• checked the grocery section of that store too
• reminded by Aunt R. that there are lots of cereals (some of which are sitting on our fridge) that are gluten free!
  

Results of Day 1: Still nauseous but no distension of the stomach. Also, started getting an earache and possibly sore throat...that would be sickness #4 in 4 weeks.

Day 2:

• light-headed the past few mornings...need more food! I've been losing weight recently, well, I guess for the past year according to my recent physical
  
• Kix, coconut milk, banana breakfast! This seems normal! (Disclaimer...Kix is not marketed as Gluten-Free...so if you should read the label...I think it is, but there might have been a couple questionable ingredients...so double-check)
  
• found that french dressing is GF
• had a conversation with my doctor's nurse and the receptionist...can't make an appointment until November...but I don't feel good NOW! What to do??
  
• made GF chili (very mild though as I am realizing that currently spicy/peppery things give me heartburn...if I even know what heartburn is)

Results of Day 2: Still nauseous, but maybe getting better. (middle of the night pain in my throat!! trying not to go to the doctor this week!!)

Day 3:

• Corn Chex are GF although the generic brands are not...at least the generic that I looked at...
• feeling like I am eating "normal" meals and really healthy at the same time. More vegetables for sure!
• called a friend to ask who her doctor was, had a good talk with her
• hung up the phone and the phone rang, thought it was her calling back, it was my doctor's office...my doctor is making a "special" appointment time for me on Monday next week!!!!
• YEAH! God answered that quandary!! And I didn't even have to call them again!
• took a nap this afternoon and woke up feeling awful...had a snack...felt better after a bit
  
• have I said yet, no nausea today!!
  

Results of Day 3: No nausea!!! Upon further reflection about the after nap awful...that happens no matter what...naps, especially the longer ones are not always good to wake up from! Pain in my throat is turned into a right earache. Glad that I will be able to see my doctor on Monday. Craved a really good hamburger (w/ bun of course)!! I don't feel too saddened by what I have given up...except the extra money at the grocery store. Hahaha...

I will leave you with a yummy GF recipe!

Banana Bread

1 3/4 c. brown rice flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. canola oil
2-3 bananas

Mix, place in well-greased loaf pan, bake 350 degrees for about an hour.
or 12 muffins: 20-25 min.
Double recipe and bake in bundt pan!

(Can't believe bundt is not in my "dictionary"...I just added it)

Experiment

My body has been feeling pretty crumby lately and I have decided to do a test on it. Today is Day 1 of a gluten-free/lactose-free diet for me. So far I can feel improvement! My abdominal area feels great, but the nausea remains. Just needed to make that announcement...I'm sure there will be more to come, but now is naptime and I am going to make brownies with some brown rice flour!!

Adventure

Kj is looking forward to a new adventure today. Nana's friend, Miss Mary is going to pick up the girls after a meeting in town and take them to see their Nana for the weekend. All morning Kj has been telling me that she is ready! "I'm ready now." Need to pack. "I'm ready now." But Miss Mary isn't here and we don't have the car and Nana is working... "I'm ready now." Nana sent a picture so Kj could be reminded of who was coming. She is now supplied with questions to ask Miss Mary...she knows that she was her aunt's piano teacher and that she is a nurse like Nana. She might ask for a story about her aunt, or ask if her aunt was a good piano student... Beware Aunty A.!

Another story...

Last night Kj called out for me just after Kevin and I had gone to bed. I couldn't figure out what she was worried about but finally got her calmed down by praying with her and singing Jesus Loves Me to her. Then I told her that I was going back to my bed after a bit longer. She said, "Mama, I'm sad." Why? "I'm sad because you are going to leave me." Oh, but daddy will miss me if I don't come back...just like you would miss teddy if I took him with me, daddy would miss me if I stayed in here with you. "Oh, ok." We kissed and snuggled and I headed back to bed and she was fine. I'm glad that reasoning worked. She's a good thinker. I'm so thankful that she could tell me that she was sad and why!