A little treat!

I made 'Morning Glory Muffins' to be had for a quick on-the-go breakfast or a little snack, and for something with no regular old sugar, these are amazing!  I opted to add the 2 tablespoons of honey, but I think it would still be good with no honey or even just 1 tablespoon too.  I about cried scooping out 2.5 cups of the almond flour out of my tiny little $10 package of it, but it was worth it. 

Check out here for the recipe - CLICK HERE FOR DELICIOUS GOODNESS.

It's been a lot of hit-or-miss with the new recipes I've been trying lately.  My oldest picky eater would have eaten a whole pan of these this morning if I'd let him!  And I just smiled inside a big sneaky smile knowing he was eating his carrots and not whining about it! 

I also made a chicken pot pie which was LOADS of work.  I wasn't too fond of it because my gluten-free almond-flour crust did not crust up at all, but my little guy practically licked his bowl clean of all that chicken, brocolli, celery, onion, carrots, mushroom, and onion!  Everyone else liked it too.

I admit!

I admit it, I caved - a tiny little bit!  But I went 5 days with absolutely no processed sugar because giving in AND there was a reason for it!  You see, I got a cold.  A really horrible cold..  And my throat was killing me - I mean, swallowing razor blades killing me!  And there was nothing to drink and I felt awful and I was trying to get stuff done (no, the world does not stop for the busy mom when she's sick..  there is STILL housework to do and groceries to buy..) so I got an icy drink from Costco to put out the fire in my throat.

But other than that..  no more coffee (because what's coffee without flavored creamer?!).  Instead, I've swapped it for herbal teas PLAIN!  Just tea and water!!  I've found that some actually have a sweet after taste (am I desperate for sweetness?).

The boys are doing fairly well with this more-veggie-and-less-junk-snacks too.  Since we've cut out all the crappy snacks, my picky one has been eating very good meals!  He even ate up the Annie's Shells'n'Cheese with cheddar cauliflower and tomatoes mixed in.  Bon Appetit!

Our 30-Day Challenge to Better Eating

Husband and I have decided to challenge ourselves and our family to cut the sugar and eat (and learn to enjoy) more vegetable.  We are a family that like our breads and sweets.  And I mean SERIOUS liking..  I'm the type that uses more creamer than coffee, eats chocolate or ice cream almost daily, and some days, it feels like there's more sweet stuff I've consumed than good, healthy things.  When I cleaned out the pantry of the junk food, I took out probably $150 in junky and processed foods!  What a waste of money!  My hubby and I are both trying to go gluten free as well, but I'm still keeping healthy, simple-ingredient bread and grains in the kids foods.  Hubby, though, stomache issues and also wheat allergies.  We've known this for years about the wheat but have ignored it because it's just too hard to cut the wheat!  But we wonder how he'll feel if he gives his body what it needs, and not just what he wants?  This shall be an interesting journey indeed!!

So this shall be snippets of our 30-day adventure of better eating.  Hopefully by the end we won't want to go back to the garbage food.

It's been 3 days so far.  The first day was pretty tough.  I kept thinking of reasons I'd need to go out to run an errand so I could swing by the local Baskin Robbins and indulge myself!  I shoved this little sugar-devil off my shoulder though and made it through the day.  By the second day, I didn't have much of a desire for sweets.  And day 3, here I am drinking my double spice chai tea with absolutely no sweetener at all! 

We've discovered some interesting things too.

   - Red cabbage is pretty good!  Hubby likes it, even though he'd never have touched it before!  Sliced very thinly and tossed with oranges and red grapes with a little olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a dash of chili pepper.  Mmm, mmm, good!  And Dr. Fuhrman says to chew your cabbage slowly and completely, trying to crush every cell in it so you'll release all the good nutrients.

  - Hubby actually likes summer squash and zucchini, even though he'd always claimed to hate it!  He especially likes it a little burnt when I've forgotten about it in the frying pan with a little olive oil because I was too worried about the next thing in this list.

  - Baking your own whole chicken is actually surprisingly easy!  Rinsed, dried with a paper towel, and rain some sea salt down over it - toss it all in a pyrex baking dish and let it go at 450 degrees for about an hour or so.  Nice, crispy skin with moist chicken!  The worrisome part, and a bit unappetizing (stop here if you have a weak stomach!) is that my chicken had a little bit of hair on it.  I desparately tried googling to see if this was normal, but apparently, it's either so normal that no one talks about it or it's so not normal that no one's ever had this but my chicken!  I tried to scorch it off after baking by moving the oven shelf up high and turning it on Broil - but nada!  Still there!  I ended up removing all the skin before cutting and eating.

  - And last (for today anyways), my oldest and most pickiest child WILL eat spinach!  He has surprised me for 2 nights in a row with how well he's eaten the food I've placed in front of him.  The hardest thing for my littlest one though is breaking his love affair with Juice..  It shall come though.  In time..  After all, it's not going to hurt him one little bit to not drink juice!  A little water will actually be good for him!

Bright and shiny GROUT, indeed!

I am so thrilled with my latest cleaning adventure that I must share my news!

Baking Soda + Vinegar = Amazing grout cleaner!!!

I have white tiles and white grout in my kitchen and dining area.  I sealed it when we installed it about a year ago, but since then, it's gotten all grimy, dirty, and gray.  But not anymore!  I tried an $8 bottle of grout cleaner from Lowe's that actually got pretty great reviews online.  It worked so-so, but it also said to leave it on for 15 minutes before scrubbing and to be careful of fumes.  Seriously?!  So I tried the Baking Soda + Vinegar trick and it made it bright white again!  Even in the dirtest and blackest of areas!  And I only left it on for a few minutes before scrubbing.  It's perfectly safe and it's kind of fun watching it foam up when you mix it together.  If you try this, you will probably want to reseal it again afterwards to keep it nice and clean.

Call me odd, but now I'm tempted to find out the original grout color in the kitchen and lunch room at work now too..

Trying something new.

I read something yesterday and it's inspired me to try something new today. 

Life is so busy and there are so many things on our 'To Do' list.  We are juggling all these tasks and things and organizing our days by them.  There is just a never ending list of chores and things that must be done!  But really, all of these things are blessings.  We're organizing and juggling blessings.  Many, many blessings!

Today, it is a blessing to do laundry.  I'm blessed to have a washer and dryer in my home with water and soap to operate them.

I'm blessed with all these piles of dirty laundry.  It means I've been blessed with an active and healthy family to wear and dirty these clothes every day.

I'm blessed with sticky floors.  It means I have been blessed with foot in my fridge and my pantry.

I'm blessed with a laundry basket on my head.  It means that I have children with a sense of humor and I've finished one pile of laundry to make it empty!

I'm blessed with sometimes bossy children.  It means I have an opportunity to teach them and lead them in having good manners.

I am blessed.  So very blessed!

Pssst.. It's a secret!

For crying out loud!  Spill the beans, already!!!

Okay, so I am certain that there must be a secret, some kind of trick, to remembering Scripture every day and all the time.  Will someone puleeease let me in on this and tell me what this is??!  How do I remember all these Scripture passages that tell us how to live?  In Biblical history (and even now), when people live as if there is no king and they themselves are the king, everything goes to crap!  (Excuse my language....!)  If I can just remember the King all day every day, all will be grand!

When I'm about to talk to someone, how do I remember Colossions 4:6?

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone,” Colossians 4:6

When someone wants, wants, wants or when I'm quite seriously irritated with my neighbors, how do I remember Matthew 5:42-45?

"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"  Matthew 5:42-45

And prayer! How do I remember Ephesians 6:18 to pray often even when I feel so 'busy' with everyday tasks?

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."  Ephesians 6:18

What in the world is the secret to remembering God every day and ALL day?!  Should I tie a string around my finger?  Maybe get some bangles and choose a specific meaning for each one?  Or how about a tattoo - on my wrist, where I will see it?  Maybe a pager? 

What's your trick??

Knights from Outer Space

My first born is almost 5!  Wow!  His request is a Knight party with an Alien cake.  I have all sorts of ideas to transform my house into Camelot, but I have to think up some indoor 'Knight-y' games. 

If there's anyone out there reading this...  Got any ideas??