Apr. 21, 2008 - Penguin Snacks

These the children love to make and to gooble up... As you can see they had some fun with penguins around a campfire. LOL We found the recipe on the back of Aldi's brand Crispy Oats.

Slice dates open vertically and stuff with cream cheese. Use a sliver of carrot for a beak and feet. And little pieces of dates for the eyes. They are adorable.

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Apr. 21, 2008 - Meatless Meatballs

These are very good. You don't miss the meat at all. They are time consuming. I am going to play with trying to back them next time...I got the recipe from an online friend Liz.

Very tasty and when served w/ spaghetti & sauce there are 19g of protein per serving. this recipe is for 6 servings. Even good plain as shown above.

2 C cooked rice (white or brown)
1/2 C uncooked quick oats
1/4 C plain breadcrumbs (seasoned would be fine too)
1/4 C milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
1 med. onion chopped (approx. 1/2 C)
1 tsp. garlic salt (could use fresh garlic if you have it handy)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 C. bread crumbs or wheat germ for dredging
oil for cooking.

whisk together egg and milk in a bowl. add other ingredients (thru cayenne pepper) and mix well with hands. gently shape into balls and dredge in bread crumbs or wheat germ. cook in a lightly oiled pan 4-5 minutes, shaking or turning frequently so they brown evenly.

this recipe makes approx. 12 large meatballs (2 in. diameter) or 16-20 smaller ones (1 1/2 in. or so in diameter).

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Apr. 21, 2008 - Lentil Chili

This is very very tasty and cheap to make. My children devour it. It's rare we have much leftovers... Of course it's always rare with 7 dc. LOL And it's always good with a salad.


Lentil Chili
(We triple this recipe!)

• 1-1/4 cups dry lentils (half a pound)
• 4 cups tap water
• 2 tablespoons oil or bacon grease
• 1 to 2 tablespoons dry onions
• 3 beef bouillon cubes
• 15 oz can tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Dash hot pepper flakes or Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Apr. 11, 2008 - My 14 yr. old Son has Started Selling some of his Fretwork...

Check it out! He does beautiful scroll saw work. He now has items for sale. Here is an example.

Fretwork Studio

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Mar. 4, 2008 - Grain Cooking Guide

art from allposters.com

Article from Eating Well.com

Easy cooking instructions for seven healthy whole grains.

Trying to eat more whole grains? Keep trying! Grains provide a healthy boost of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients. Grains are also rich in carbohydrates—the body’s main fuel supply—so we need a fair amount daily (despite what low-carb/no-carb gurus say).

The key is to keep portions moderate and skew strongly to whole-grain versions as often as you can. While the government guidelines urge you to “make half of your grains whole,” we say aim for making most, if not all, of your grains whole. You’ll feel fuller longer, since whole grains and fiber take longer to digest.

Use this guide to cook tasty whole grains and keep in mind that directions are for 1 cup of uncooked grain; serving size is 1/2 cup cooked.

Directions are for 1 cup of uncooked grain.

Barley, Quick cooking

Bring 1 3/4 cups water or broth to a boil; add 1 cup barley. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 10-12 minutes.

Yield: 2 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 86 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 3 g fiber; 2 mg sodium.

Barley, Pearl

Bring 1 cup barley and 2 1/2 cups water or broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 35-50 minutes.

Yield: 3-3 1/2 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 117 calories; 0 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 5 g fiber; 6 mg sodium.

Bulgur

Bring 1 cup bulgur and 1 1/2 cups water or broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 10-15 minutes.

Yield 2 1/2-3 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 96 calories; 0 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 21 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 5 g fiber; 7 mg sodium.

Couscous, Whole-wheat

Bring 1 3/4 cups water or broth to a boil. Stir in 1 cup couscous, Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Yield: 3-3 1 /2 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 140 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 5 g fiber; 1 mg sodium.

Quinoa

Rinse in several changes of cold water. Bring 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water or broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Yield: 3 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 106 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 8 mg sodium.

Rice, Brown

Bring 1 cup rice and 2 1 /2 cups water or broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 40-50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Yield: 3 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 98 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 3 mg sodium.

Rice, Wild

Cook 1 cup rice in a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water— at least 4 cups — until tender, 45-55 minutes. Drain.

Yield: 2- 2 1 /2 cups

Per 1/2-cup serving: 82 calories; 0 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 17 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 1 g fiber; 4 mg sodium.

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Mar. 3, 2008 - This was so good...

Found this at Martha Stewart

SERVES 1
Serve these with a spoon to scoop out the filling.


1 ripe avocado

1 small ripe tomato, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese (or cheese of choice)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon snipped fresh chives

2 teaspoons raw pumpkin seeds

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Halve avocado lengthwise, and remove the pit. Top each half with tomato and feta. Drizzle with lemon juice, and garnish with chives and pumpkin seeds. Season with salt and pepper, and serve. I drizzled with a little EVOO on top. If your avacado is less than perfect you can cut out the good stuff and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

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Mar. 3, 2008 - Peanut Butter Fudge (Healthy Version!!!)

I got this recipe many years ago from a good friend Jenni.  It is taken from Simple foods for the pack by Vikki Kinmont and Claudia Axcell


1 cup crunchy peanut butter (Natural is better) I personally use creamy
1/2 cup soy milk powder or regular milk powder
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/8 cup wheat germ
1/8 to 1/4 cup honey

Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly blended.  Carry in lidded plastic container and break off pieced as you wish.

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Mar. 3, 2008 - March is Nutrition Month

Tip for the Week
This month is nutrition Month. So for 1 month why don't we bump it up a notch. Eat more fresh veggies and fruits, more whole grains, etc... But eat less refined sugars and grains and such. Drink more waters, teas and juices. And less pop and other such man made drinks.  It's just one month and I bet we will ALL feel better if we do it.  Plus we can add in some fitness when we can.  Who want's to take the challenge with me???

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Feb. 29, 2008 -

You can eat everything you want on every February 29th

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Feb. 13, 2008 - Learn Herbal Health

I discovered another great site. You can learn herbal medicine. And for free.


Learning Herbs Site

You can take this ecourse for free and they offer a wonderful enewsletter.

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Feb. 13, 2008 - Warning on Lemon water in restraunts...

My dh sent me this video. While I highly recommend drinking lemon water for your health. See article... Article Drink that Lemon Water You will want to think twice about doing it in a restraunt again. Please watch this video...

Health Inspections report on Lemons in your water

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Feb. 12, 2008 - White sugar vs. raw sugar

Do you know the difference? Here is an excellent article on how different kinds of sugar are made...

White sugar vs raw sugar

By Green Living Tips | Published  01/20/2007 | food

Sugar and the environment

What's the difference between white and raw sugar in terms of environmental impact? What about raw and brown sugar - are these the same product?

Let's take a brief look at how each of these cane sugar variations are created.

How raw sugar is made

Sugar cane is initially pressed and the juice is then mixed with lime to achieve the desired ph balance and to help settle out impurities. The resulting liquid is reduced through evaporation, then a centrifuge used to separate sugar crystals. It is then dried further to produce granules. The brown color of raw sugar is due to presence of molasses.

How white sugar is made

"White" sugar is created in a couple of ways.

Mill white sugar is the result of sulphur dioxide being introduced to the cane juice before evaporation. It effectively bleaches the mixture.

In the production of refined white sugar, which is the most common product in the Western world, the raw sugar syrup is mixed with a heavy syrup and run through a centrifuge again to take away the outer coating of the raw sugar crystals.

Phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide are then added to the juice which then combine and absorb or trap impurities. Alternatively, carbon dioxide is used to achieve the same effect.

The resulting syrup is then filtered through a bed of activated carbon to remove molasses and then crystallized a number of times under vacuum. It is then further dried to produce white refined sugar like we buy in the store.

Brown sugar

Brown sugar is refined white sugar with a molasses syrup mixed in, then dried again.

Sugar use in other countries

While the sugar cane plant is a somewhat thirsty plant, it's one of nature's best photosynthesizers. In many countries, simple crushed sugar cane is the way you get your sugar fix, or other treats that require little further processing of the sugar cane.

Sugar cane and the environment

Environmentally speaking, the less processing required means the less energy used, less waste products and fewer chemicals.

While whole or crushed sugar cane can be difficult to source in the city, out of the options remaining, raw sugar is the more earth friendly option and brown sugar oddly enough is the worst choice.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of food processing sequences that take something out of a food, only to add it back in later on, such is the case with brown sugar. Another example of this is breadmaking flour that has most of vitamins destroyed in the milling/bleaching process only to have vitamins needed to be added back in.

The bad news about sugar and the environment doesn't end with how the syrup is processed into a final product.

Effluent and waste from sugar mills creates major problems for local environments. Pesticides and herbicides applied during cultivation contaminate the ground and water supplies. Added to these problems is the firing of sugar cane prior to harvesting which pumps millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other chemicals into the atmosphere each year. Natural habitats in sensitive areas are often cleared in order to grow sugar cane to meet increasing demand.

Do we need added sugar?

Our collective sweet tooth causes far more damage than just cavities. Our sugar choices should go beyond the type of sugar we buy or the type that's present in products we purchase; it's also a question of consumption levels. The simple fact of the matter is that most of us have no need for the amount of added sugar we consume. Sugars can be made by our own bodies through the conversion of carbohydrates present in many foods, or through various forms of sugar other than glucose present in fruit and vegetables.

Michael Bloch

And just so you know the portions when baking and cooking are cup for cup raw for white sugar.

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Feb. 12, 2008 - Aspartame WHAT are we drinking???

Blaine Staat from http://blainestaat.blogspot.com/. Had a wonderful article about what is really in our foods called...

Well Below the Limits of Safety?

Here is the information about Aspartame...
Methanol
There is a lot of controversy about aspartame and what it may or may not be doing to your body. The aspartame industry insists that it is safe and has hundreds of scientific studies to back up their claim. Good thing too, seeing as how it is now used in over 6,000 products and is a proven moneymaker. One thing that even the pro-aspartame community admits, however, is that when ingested, 10% of it breaks down into methanol.

Also known as “wood alcohol”, methanol is so deadly you don’t even have to get drunk and wreck your car to kill yourself with this stuff. It just kills you flat out. But the industry says that methanol is also produced from the breakdown of many fruits & vegetables, and that the amount of methanol produced by the body’s breakdown of aspartame is 6 times less than the amount you’d get from a glass of tomato juice.

That’s certainly encouraging news if I was trying to rationalize eating aspartame and was looking for a good excuse to do it, but I’m not. Personally, the “whopping” 15 calories that I’ll get from a teaspoon of real sugar doesn’t bother me that much, and despite their best assurances, I’ll take my chances with the tomato.

If you want to read the whole article that includes Mercury, Lead, Benzene, Chlorine, Fluoride, Methanol go to the above link. Thanks Blaine and Cat for letting me post it.  Sugar is sounding better everyday. (the healthy raw kind that is!)

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Nov. 8, 2007 - Created something New to EAT...

Not sure what to call it. LOL but it was good.


Here's the recipe.
1 zuchinni
1/2 onion
Olive oil (evoo)
3 corn tortillas
1 avacado
1 fresh tomato
1 fresh lemon
Seasoning of your choice, I used this...

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Nov. 8, 2007 - Going Dairy Free

Because of Prairie Baby I have gone Dairy Free. He gets really grumpy when I have the dairy. I thought I would share some things that help me survive. While  the rest of the family is eating tons of dairy.

Some meals I can use a small casserole dish  and make the same dish minus the dairy. But you have to watch because things I used to use end up having dairy. Like cream of _____ soups in casseroles and such. They of course have cream.

Good things to have on hand are hard cooked eggs stored in the fridge and bacon all cooked and in the freezer.  They help in a pinch. BLT's, deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches can be made quick in a rush. And a pbj works in a pinch.

I have discovered a brand at walmart that carries dairy free meals in the freezer section. It's called Amy's Kitchen. Here's a link...
Almost all ingredient's are organic. They use no preservatives. If you can't pronounce it it's not in there!
I tried this one yesterday and it was very good... They have several that are Dairy free.

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Oct. 22, 2007 - Found a Great Site...

Healthiest Life Website
They only show 100% natural safe products for your family. But they have a added bonus. Tons of giveaways. And you can win prizes by refering people... So be sure to say Andrea Prairie Lady sent you... Hope you all win a prize!!!

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Oct. 11, 2007 - Goat Cheese and Avocado Quesadilla

I have been Dairy (cow) free for over a month now. My baby gets very fussy when I eat dairy. I have found he is fine with goat milk/cheese. PTL.
Well I was tired of the usual lunch. So I created something different.

Take goat cheese. I buy 100% french style goat cheese at walmart.

It is crumbly like feta straight out of the fridge. But I have found if you heat it for a few minutes in the broiler it then spreads like cream cheese.

Take 2 flour tortillas
Put 1 on cookie sheet, sprinkle on about 1 oz. goat cheese.
soften cheese in broiler
Put on 1/2 a avocado cut in small pieces.
Place another tortilla on top.
Then drizzle small amount of EVOO on top. And put all over the top.
Put back in broiler until golden.
Use a pizza cutter and cut into wedges. And use a fresh tomato in the middle.
YUMMO!

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Oct. 2, 2007 - Yummo!!! Roasted Broccoli

Oven-Roasted Broccoli
Serves 4
Tags: sides vegetables roast Yum-o! Family Friendly
Rachael Ray


This is an easy to make dish that will make a broccoli lover out of anyone!

Ingredients

* 1 head broccoli, cut into pieces all the way through the stem
* 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 3 tablespoons (eyeball it) extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
* Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Liberally drizzle EVOO over broccoli, add garlic, salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

Transfer to oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, until broccoli is nice and crispy on the ends and a little brown.

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Sep. 19, 2007 - A Challenge for you...

I am going through the bible study A woman after God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. And thought you ladies would enjoy this part...

Spiritual Growth:Stewardship of your Body
You may have been hoping this subject wouldn't come up, but we're told in the Bible that how we manage our body affects our ministry and the quality of our life. The apostle Paul put it this way: "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." 1 Cor. 9:27

The goal in the physical realm is discipline, the self-control which is a gift of God's grace (Galatians 5:23). His Spirit in us gives us strength to resist temptation, to control our appetite rather than allowing it to control us, and to buffet our body into obedience.

Every time I ask woman who is enjoying an energetic life and ministry how she does it, I cringe a bit as she says the two predictable words- diet and exercise. If the goal is a quality of life filled with quality days of serving the Lord, attention to the body is key!

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Sep. 19, 2007 - Scriptures to Ponder...

Spiritual Growth includes stewardship of your body-
Look at 1 Cor. 9:27 in your Bible.

I really liked this verse and 26 also in other versions.

Living Bible
1 Cor. 9:26 and 27
So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I'm not just shadow-boxing or playing around.
Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside

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