Sweet Little Leah!

Here is a picture of my adorable God daughter! Maria, Dave
and Ruby welcomed her into the world last Tuesday.

Update: Raw Milk Adventure

As I have said before, health and nutrition have always been a hobby of mine. I am excited to eventually make it my next career choice but for now I just like to spend my extra time (which is next to none) reading about various health/nutrition topics. I think I mentioned that my first real interest was as a teenager but my goal was only for weight loss purposes. Then I went to college and studied nutrition for teaching purposes. I taught Life Management which encompassed nutrition, cooking, parenting, money management, etc. Now, I have reached a point in my life where I study nutrition for the purpose of good health.

Along the journey, certain decisions/choices were no brainers...like taking a whole food multi-vitamin or consulting holistic practitioners for more information. Changing over to raw milk was a choice I thought long and hard about for a few years. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because a) I am not a licensed practitioner/nutritionist and b) because it has to be something YOU have a comfort level with.

I would highly encourage people to do their homework and learn about this fascinating industry. As you may already know, it is very controversial. I am 95% comfortable with my decision but from time to time worry about the food borne illness controversy. However, the longer I do it and the more I learn, I gain a lot more confidence in my decision.

My holisitc MD told me to read "The Untold Story of Milk" by Ron Schmid to help me understand the politics and benefits of drinking raw milk. Reputable raw milk has been known to cure/improve allergies, asthma, eczema, intestinal disorders, autism, obesity, and boost your overall immunity. We have been drinking raw milk and eating raw butter and cheese for 7 months. In the last 7 months, the kids have been really healthy. Interestingly enough, the kids got sick about a month ago with a fever/cold and I wasn't able to get my milk during that time period, which I thought was certainly related. Jake also had a spot (possible eczema) on his face for about a year. I took him to the dermatologist three times and we couldn't seem to get it cleared up. About three months into drinking the milk, I noticed the spot had disappeared. Again, could be a coincidence...but I think NOT! All in all, the kids (and hubby) love the taste and I am absolutely noticing an improvement in our overall health.

I must also mention that I am the type of person who likes my meat cooked well! So you can imagine that this was a BIG step for me. Choosing the right farm is the most important choice you will make if you decide to give raw milk a try. We decided to go with Hicks Dairy Farm because their milk is tested daily and they sell their milk to Horizon, a well known organic milk company. They said in their twenty years of selling milk, they do not have one reported case of illness.

Between the health benefits and supporting a local farm, it really feels like a win/win situation. Not to mention, it taste really good. The butter might be the most delicious thing EVER!

Happy 9th Anniversary to my hubby!

(wow...we did lots of celebrating this month. Three birthdays and one anniversary later! :))

Happy 5th Birthday Jake & Ben!

Happy First Day of School!

This is our second annual first day of school picture. No matter how chaotic and crazy it is, I make the kids stand on the porch with all of their school gear for one picture. The picture did make us five minutes late to school but it was worth it. :)

Homeopathy WORKS!
"Homeopathy does not suppress an illness,
but rather stimulate the body's own healing mechanism."

My friend Laura told me her pediatrician recommended this cough medicine for a chronic cough her kids had for several weeks. Last week, my kids came down with a fever, followed by a sore throat/cough so I decided to give this wonder med a try. One night Jake was coughing continuously for two hours. I gave him the cough syrup and within five minutes he stopped. It also seem to put an end to the cough all together. It had the same effect on the other three kids. Needless to say, I stocked up on Hylands Cold and Cough.

Ready To Go Breakfast Burritos

We always take time to feed our families but we usually grab a coffee and walk out the door with no breakfast. Here is a simple healthy breakfast that will take you two minutes to prepare on those crazy week day mornings.

Last Sunday, Kevin and I spent less than an hour making our Ready To Go Breakfast Burritos and it was well worth it.

Here are the directions: (exact ingredients aren't necessary)

1. Scramble 12-16 eggs depending on how many burritos you want to make.
2. Cook up 1-2 pounds of ground sausage.
3. As the sausage is cooking, in a mini food processor (or by hand) chop of 1/2 onion, 1 garlic clove, fresh basil and thyme. By the way, I use the herbs from my indoor herb garden and it has greatly improved the taste and health benefits of my cooking. Ohh and my pocket book. :) I also secretly added 1 t. of chia seeds the mixture. You can't see or taste them. :)
4. Add the veggies/herbs to the partially cooked meat. Grind the veggies into the meat and mix well.
5. While everything is cooking, cut out several squares of tin foil (about the size of a tortilla) and lay one tortilla on each square. Use either whole wheat or sprouted whole grain tortillas. The sprouted ones do not roll as well. We opt for the whole wheat tortillas.
6. Once all ingredients are done cooking, sprinkle cheese (preferably raw) on each tortilla. Than lay your scrambled eggs and ground pork mixture on top and roll the tortilla. Tightly wrap tortilla with tin foil.
7. Other yummy additions are salsa, peppers, potatoes.
8. Place all of the tortillas in a zip lock plastic bag and freeze. Label with burrito ingredients.

The next morning, take one frozen burrito out of the bag. Place in a paper towel and microwave for 1-2 minutes depending on the ingredients and size. ENJOY! :)

School Time Spaghetti

Directions:
As you rush around to get your kids and hubby off to school/work do the following:

1. Put your favorite spaghetti sauce in a crock pot.
2. Add the following:
1/2 pound of grass-fed ground beef
1/2 pound of grass-fed ground pork
handful of chopped fresh spinach
handful of chopped fresh basil
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
1 t. turmeric
1/2 of finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
3.Cook all day!
4.Walk in the door and boil your noodles and it is ready to go.

A few more tips: I use a mini food processor to chop my onions and garlic. It is much faster than using a knife. You also can use frozen meat. If you are home during the day and you use frozen meat, occasionally mix and chop up the meat. I also like to double the recipe and freeze half for another meal. I love this recipe because it has so many healthy ingredients and kids LOVE spaghetti!!! :)

Happy Second Birthday Little Lana!

http://www.eighteen25.blogspot.com/

Check out this adorable blog for fun back-to-school lunch box ideas!

You are what you digest, not what you eat!

"The Type of Food that Will Slow Nearly
EVERY Inflammatory Disease..."

Just with in the last year I have been taking a digestive enzyme and when I first started taking one, I could not believe the difference I felt in my overall health. The link below is an excellent article on digestive enzymes:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/21/enzymes-special-report.aspx?e_cid=20110821_SNL_Art_1

After I noticed a huge difference in my own health, I recently put Jake on a digestive enzyme after he complained about reoccurring stomach aches. Digestive enzymes can prove to be very helpful for gas, bloating, stomach aches, etc. He seems to be feeling much better. I also wanted to add this section below from the article that talks about how to boost your enzyme production through food. The article also said "Chewing gum" tricks your body into thinking you are going to digest something therefore you waste those precious enzymes on nothing. The first video in the link above does a great job of explaining the process.

"The very best way to get enzymes into your body is by consuming at least 75 percent of your foods raw. For many of you, you'll have to work toward this goal gradually.

While all raw foods contain enzymes, the most powerful enzyme-rich foods are those that are sprouted (seeds and legumes). Sprouting increases the enzyme content in these foods tremendously. Besides sprouts, other enzyme-rich foods include:

• Papaya, pineapple, mango, kiwi, and grapes
• Avocado
• Raw honey (the enzymes actually come from the bee’s saliva)
• Bee pollen
• Extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil
• Raw meat and dairy"

TEA WITH RUBY!

Maria and I decided to do an annual tea party play date. It was my first real "girly" play date and I LOVED IT!!! We got dressed up, drank tea (actually water!) ate heart shaped sandwiches, played games, did crafts and enjoyed some yummy cup cakes. I couldn't ask for a better morning. THANK YOU MARIA & RUBY!

Working on Fine Motor Skills!

Deviled eggs are my new favorite snack to make. The kids worked on peeling the eggs for a good 20 minutes. I actually got a basket of laundry folded while they were consumed with their yummy snack. They took such pride in peeling the eggs and preparing the filling. This is such a good/easy recipe for kids. Here is our deviled egg recipe below:

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup grape seed mayonnaise
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon organic mustard

Directions

1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. To cool more quickly, rinse eggs under cold running water.
2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown or bake in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Crumble and set aside.
3. Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, crumbled bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving.

Indoor Herb Garden

Here is my recent summer project! We actually got fruit from our garden this year and I have loved cooking with fresh herbs & vegetables this summer. I started to get sad thinking about the winter and my endless supply of basil and cilantro coming to an end. Every winter I spend so much money on organic fresh herbs that are in the worst condition. Usually they are wilted and brown by the time I actually cook with them. I decided to create my own indoor organic herb garden. I think it looks pretty too. Its been fun teaching the kids about the herbs and having them retrieve them for me while the mid-afternoon cooking madness is occurring.

A really simple recipe I have been doing is taking a handful of herbs, olive oil, onion, a garlic clove and salt and throwing all of it in a mini food processor. It has made wonderful marinades/rubs for chicken, fish, pasta, potatoes, etc.

Here are some good combos used with the ingredients above. I also like to squeeze fresh lemon or lime depending on the food. You really can't go wrong with these yummy ingredients.:

Fish: Dill
Chicken: Rosemary & Parsley
Pasta, Pizza and Sandwiches: Basil
Dipping sauce for bread: Mint and Basil
Soups: Parsley & Thyme


"Herbs and spices have more disease-fighting antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables. Here's how to rack up the benefits."

Here are a few examples:

Rosemary

Health Boost: Stops gene mutations that could lead to cancer and may help prevent damage to the blood vessels that raise heart attack risk.

Get Cooking: For a delicious chicken rub, combine 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves with 2 teaspoons seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves.

Oregano

Health Boost: A USDA study found that, gram for gram, oregano has the highest antioxidant activity of 27 fresh culinary herbs.

Get Cooking: To spice up tomato soup, add 3/4 teaspoon oregano to 1 can; add 1/2 teaspoon to 2 cups pasta or pizza sauce. Substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano for 2 teaspoons fresh.

A Hiking/Bug Catching Adventure!

One of my teacher friends organized a weekly summer play date program. Each mom/teacher had to organize one play date for the entire group. Our dates have included bowling, swimming, bouncy houses, the farm, etc. Today's play date was a mini hike at a park and each kid got a bug catching kit to hunt for little critters. We didn't capture a lot of bugs but we had fun trying! :)

A Tent Party: CHECK!

One of our items on our summer-to-do list was an outdoor tent party in the backyard. We were all set to go until we got hit with some mid-day storms. We decided to move our tent party to the basement. We set up a huge 8 man tent and all slept downstairs last night. Even Aunty Nicole and Uncle Josh slept in the basement as well. It actually was pretty fun. Putting aside crabby kids today and a sore back, I really enjoyed snuggling with my little ones last night.