Saturday...But Sunday is Coming!

Spring is a wonderful time to go hiking here!  No ticks or mosquitoes, still get to wear jackets...  Taking the less traveled paths also seemed appropriate for this "shelter at home" or "quarantine" time.  These paths through the ravine to the river we wouldn't have found on a summer or fall day.  It was lovely.  

 

Found 2 sets of tracks by the river's edge!

We've been bringing a small nature journal backpack along on our hikes and taking a little break to draw a little.  Ly and I did this time, while Kevin, Kj, and Mn climbed a hillside on a fallen tree.

Kj discovered this really cool looking thing.  We weren't sure what it was, but she found it on a juniper tree.  The following pictures are of it broken open and then pinched between my fingers...maybe not smart, but I didn't think of that until midway through the pinching.  I looked it up this evening and found that it is a gall.  A growth, a disease.  Thankfully, it was really hard to find another one...feeling like we should go back and dispose of others though.

Returned home for lunch and work on our garden beds.  The biggest in the forefront we put together last week.  Today we made the 3-section compost area and the tiny garden bed in the middle of them.  It's been fun over the years in our house to add improvements to the yard and garden.  The boards over the top are basically to keep the straw from blowing away until we get the plants and such in.

The finale of the day was "nice cream" and the 2nd half of Mary Martin as Peter Pan.  Even Kevin was able to have it!  Just didn't add any m&ms to his portion.  This batch was salted caramel nice cream with caramel sauce.  Mmm!  Kj eats "nice cream".  If you know Kj she WILL NOT eat bananas, she tastes them in everything that their put in, but for some reason this works. She won't have seconds, but will eat a full portion!  Win-win here!

But Sunday is Coming!!

The Weekend!

Kj and Mn decide to make a tower that was Mn's size.  At first, I think, it was meant to be able to fit him in it, but they quickly realized that it wouldn't happen that way!

Finished a second double-strength afghan.  A little smaller than the one that I made 2 winters ago, but it was so fun to do it.  Every now and then one of the girls would stitch part of a row, but mostly my work.

Mn has had some grumpy wrists lately.  We had thought that he grew out of such sensitive skin, but it came back recently.  Since we're all at home for the next few weeks without travels planned, we decided to do some experimenting with his diet.  He's going gluten free per our negotiations, and the next day decided that he wasn't going to have cheese either (which is basically the only dairy product that we have in the house).  So, here is my before picture...maybe should have gotten a little closer up...

Saturday afternoon we made some deliveries of Norwex and homeschool books to friends that we've been gathering on our pew.  Then, we spent most of the afternoon we spent at a state park in our area that has an archery course.  It was great!!  It started out with just targets and then the rest of them were shooting across a gully and walking over small footbridges and then up the other side to get to the next target.

Sunday...a morning nap for Anna, church, friends dropping off hay and chatting distantly, lunch, afternoon nap for Kevin then outdoor time.  We're trying one "permaculture" raised garden.  We were able to get the cardboard layer and the first layer of hay.  In the next week, we'll add the compost and more hay layers, as well as, another set of boards to make the sides taller.  The rest of our various garden plots will be the same as usual...we think...we scavenged the whole house and garage for cardboard and brown paper, so, we probably can't do another like this.  Oh, just looked at our "guide"...might need to find somewhere to get manure!!

Eating Salads

Well, starting at the end of our pictures and moving backwards right now.  We've hit the end of a crazy month full of travel, plans, days off, travel, foster daycare and newborn emergency foster care.  Wow!  We're hoping to get a little more rest in the next few weeks and be able to enjoy our family, house, yard, weather, etc. without too much extra or sudden excitement!

In the last year or so my parents have been reading and attempting to find the balance in a new way of eating introduced to them by their doctor.  They were given the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  I was skimming the book a few weeks ago and getting healthy eating ideas from it.  I was almost done when I realized that it was a weight loss book, not exactly what my family needs, particularly my growing children.  I went home considering what to do, then remembered that Dr. J. Fuhrman had another book and it was at our library:  Disease-Proof Your Child - Feeding Kids Right.  The big thing here was being consistent.  Teaching your children why we're eating the way we are, splurging together as a treat, not pushing all the healthy food but modeling a lifestyle that you want them to maintain - for their health.   

We'd already been adding a wider variety of fruits and veggies into our routine thanks to membership-needed-bulk-food stores in the area.  (I'm not sure how we ever thrived on one bag of carrots and 2 peppers a week before we started our memberships!) 

Kevin has been consistently eating salads since my parents started their new eating routine and I gradually got into it, too.  I never expected the kids to eat salads, they just ate all the vegetables separately, dipping some but not all in a bit of dressing.  Well, a couple weeks ago L requested that I buy spinach, and this week Kj wanted to make a salad.  L joined right in.  They both found a little bowl, loaded it with chopped veggies, nuts, (...bacon bits), and L's favorite dressing and they ate a salad today!

Kind of fun...and yes, I'm bragging a bit...forgive me.

Domestic School Day

Ahh, what a day we had together.  Right now as 2 are in bed and Kevin and Kj are still out at a Bible study, I am smelling the final product of a days long work.  Mmm, the sourdough bread is in it's last stage--the oven!

The kids and I had a very domestic school day today.  The girls had been gone for the weekend, the second in a row without parents and without a lot of free time at home.  So, we took a day to read, play, craft and cook.  Last week, I began a fresh sourdough starter.  This one is water and flour alone, no yeast, no sugar.  Today, was the day that I could finally bake some bread.  It is far more work than my last bread machine version of sourdough.  I fed the starter this morning and removed a bit for the bread sponge.  I then added water and flour, let rise, added more flour, let rise, divided it in 2, let rise, and put it in the oven.  It was an all day affair!

In between all of that, we:  read books, made twice baked potatoes and meatloaf, ate a leftover lunch, ran an errand, filled friendship bags (to hand out the night of October 31st--haven't settled on a name yet), played, read books, packaged individual portions of the food items for Grandma's birthday gift, vacuumed, biked to a friends house to make a delivery, read books, played...  I'd say that was a successful school day for all of us! 

P.S. Hope you don't mind, but I refrained from taking pictures of the girls working with the raw hamburger for meatloaf.

Bits and Pieces...

~  Kevin's birthday cake...I want to remember was based off of this recipe.  Yumm!!  Rich.  Lasted many weeks in the freezer, only taking bits out at a time.

~  Hobo Tin Foil Meals:  Onion soup mix is a great way to season them.  I made a homemade no MSG, no gluten version from here.  I substituted vegetable broth bullion for beef in the recipe to suit vegetarians in the family!  Great!

~  I was gone for a week from my regular laundry duties.  The first load I did when I came back...no soap.  Oops...didn't realize this until I had already started the dryer.  Yes, I used the dryer on a beautiful summer day.  I didn't know if I could handle hanging things out.

~  Oh, big news.  Baby on the way.  Haha.  I have all-day morning sickness this round.  I've never experienced this before.  It's awful!  But I did have some great help last week as I stayed at my parents house with the three kids.  Kevin had to go home to work, and missed us, but had fun anyways, I think.  Baby G missed Kevin too, I think.  He's been waking up in the night every night since Kevin's been around.  Otherwise, he's been sleeping through the night for at least a month.  We might have to go camping again if this keeps up.  Just to get him back to the all night sleeping.

~  So tired.  Better get to bed.

Silly Supper

It had been a long day/weekend/etc. when we made this silly supper.  I decided to do it with some flair.  Crinkle cutting carrots (or anything) is sure to make them disappear faster.  And elephant cut bread, might as well!

Better Than Chocolates

Can you guess what the girls call "better than chocolates"?  Red peppers!  Kevin suggested it and they agreed.  But not only were peppers better than chocolates but also "all begtables".  Yes, they have tasted chocolate. 

Strange Mango

So, two weeks from now, Kevin and I are going to try to get a good night's sleep to prepare us for a day-long journey to a beautifully green location.  Ecuador!  I am looking forward to really good fresh fruits and veggies.  Nothing like this mango that I picked, kept on the counter too long, finally put in the fridge for a few more days and then peeled...  What is that?!  Kj thought I should have cut it open to see if there were ants inside.  I didn't.  Those were roots...why didn't I investigate to see what was rooted in this mango.  Maybe I could have planted it.  Obviously, I won't be going to get groceries in 2 weeks, I'll leave that for the experts!

My Birthday Cake

I was looking through my Cake Mix Doctor book trying to find a desirable cake for Kevin to make with the girls.  Well, I ended up with a somewhat complicated, expensive cake.  Therefore, Kevin allowed me to help make it.  It was a chocolate toffee cheesecake.  You are to use a cake mix for the crust, and so to make it gluten free I used a double batch of a mix I had tried before.  Oh was it good!  It also called for chocolate sweetened condensed milk, which I couldn't find, so here is a recipe.

Here is the clean-up crew:

And the watchers...we made the cake right before bedtime, so they had to go to bed while it was still in the oven.  We promised them a tester bite in the morning.

They're in bed and now I'm watching...

Yeah!!  She was glad that we didn't have to wait all week for my birthday to come so we could taste that cake.  We ended up eating it all week long, just little bits at a time.  In fact, there is still one more small piece for each of us in the fridge for later this week!

Cold or Raw Pack Pears

Last weekend at Nana's house, she helped me with some cold packing.  It was very simple.  Since she had a dishwasher we sterilized and kept warm the jars in there.  I cut and cored but did not peel the pears.  Then, set some 100% apple juice on the stove to boil.  Once the lids were sterilized and the canning water was hot, we packed the pears in the jars, filled with boiling apple juice, got some bubbles out, covered and placed in the canning water.  The tip I learned was that you wait until the canner is blowing out steam before you set your timer for the processing time (25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts).  Ta-da!  Last night I bought another lug, so I am hoping the end of the week will be a good time to can those too, and make some more pear jam!

Omaha 6th Anniversary Outing

Restaurant Review:  Stokes in Omaha.  YUMM!  I am sorry that I did not take pictures of the full plates, but this will have to do as I cannot go back for seconds for some time.  (Above: Sharon's (Almost) World Famous Enchiladas...made with corn tortillas, Below: Fish Tacos made with fresh salmon)  Excellent and flavorful, and fabulous especially spicy are the words that came to mind when eating these!  I contacted the Stokes people to try to get a "button" to add here, but we'll see how that goes...a link might have to be sufficient.

We wandered through The Old Market, going into a few shops but then migrating to the parks and pathways. 

The Visit Omaha site features a picture of a really neat looking bridge.  I asked a friend who lives there where it was.  She informed me that it was a walking bridge and that made it to the "must experience" list.  There were a few other things such as carriage rides, that sounded fun, but weren't priority.  Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge

The above picture was taken for the girls.  In the Bernstein Bear's The A Book, there is an Avenue A that all the character's cross to follow the ants.  So, when we saw that Council Bluffs, IA had an Avenue A, we had to slow for a picture.  The guy coming out of that apartment looked at us kind of funny, but we didn't stay long so...  he'll just have to wonder!

These last two pictures were also taken with our girls in mind.  One was in an archway in the children's garden at Lauritzen Gardens.  We were sheltered by gourd plants.  The day we toured was the first day of school in Omaha and a few different classes were wondering around in groups with "tour guides".  We were able to ask a few questions of one of the guides as she was in between groups.  The picture below is a Pitcher plant.  It is carnivorous.  We had read about it in a book and thought it neat to have been able to see it in person!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes (+Italian Seasoning)

Mmm...don't have a picture, but might make them again tomorrow, so we'll see...

1 sweet potato, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
about 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
garlic...as much as you desire

Mix last 3 ingredients, then drissle over and mix with sweet potatoes.  Place on foil or cookie sheet and bake in (toaster) oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. 


Italian Seasoning Recipe

2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried savory (thyme is a substitute)
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

D's Food Questions #1

Before I start, I was once told if an email is longer than a paragraph, you should blog it.  Well, some are too personal for that, and others maybe should be blogged, if others may benefit from that as well...right?!

I got a reference from a friend that I was good at finding food alternatives and figuring out food things...so, a friend emailed with her question:

Summary:  She is having difficulty with hard boiled eggs, oats, milk (allergy confirmed), some fresh fruits/veggies, peanut butter (migraines)...keeps cutting more things out of her diet, but needs to add to be able to continue breastfeeding

Some thoughts and questions:

Do you keep a food journal?  I was told to write down what I ate and also how I felt before, after, and in-between times.  This way when/if you do see an allergist or someone they can look at all that information too.  I read a book called the Body Ecology Diet and it shares a lot about how to combine foods to balance out your insides (pretty much).  It is very interesting and it is at the library.  Also, here is an article about beneficial bacteria.  It might have something to do with your stomach troubles.  You could try a probiotic, or kefir.

Eggs...is it all eggs, can you have them in things?  Have you tried other kinds/ways, such as yoke only, white only, scrambled, in baked goods, mayo...

Veggies...do cooked veggies give you troubles?  Can you eat salads?

Fruits...I have read that fruits are best eaten alone as they digest very quickly and can get blocked in your system by other foods causing discomfort, etc.  Meaning eat a snack of solely fruits...I sometimes do this...but not always...(from:  Body Ecology Diet book)...do they bother you in a smoothie?  A smoothie may be easier to digest as all the foods are pureed.

Milk...is it a milk allergy or lactose intolerance?  Have you tried Silk coconut milk (yum)?  It contains more calcium than 2% milk, less calories, but...  So, no butter then?

Nut Butter Alternatives...  Great Harvest Bread Store has various other nut butters and they will give you a sample if you would like.  The pepita seed nut butter is delicious.  You could ask for a sample and then head out for a bit to see if you have a reaction, if not, go and buy some!  :)  Also, hummus is good with crackers/bread/sandwiches.  Here are two recipes:  zippy/garlicy and sweet.  Homemade hummus is cheaper and you can even buy the dried beans, but... 

If you are wanting to add more protein, you can go to this previous post.

P.S.  Keep in mind:  I do not have any medical training in allergies/intolerances, I've just done a lot of reading.  If you think my information is incorrect, please comment on this post and I will make changes!

Protein

A friend of mine found that I was experimenting with my food intake (diet often implies losing weight so I am going to try not to use that term).  She said that if I ever came across how to increase protein intake, to let her know.  Her daughter eats very little meat and so needed some alternatives.

I asked another mom at church who has food allergies in her family.  She got me started with hemp seeds and greens.  So, here you go:


hemp seeds (11 grams of protein per 1 ounce serving)-add to a smoothie, I was told it added a slightly nutty flavor. 
quinoa (8.1 grams per 1 cup cooked)
broccoli (cooked: 6.7/raw: 2.6/stalks: 3.4 grams per serving)
kale (2.2 grams per 1 cup)
coconut (1.9 grams per 1 ounce unsweetened/dried)
spinach (.9 grams per 1 cup)


black beans + corn = protein

A good summary of complete proteins.