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Gratituesday: From the Boys

February 26, 2008 by Laura 1 Comment

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Last night, as I sat down to write this post…I called out to the boys –

“Hey, guys…what are you thankful for?”

They all started calling things out at once…they didn’t know I was typing as they answered me!:

My family
Jesus Dying on the Cross
Our home
Our fireplace
Jesus
You (whoever said that one is my favorite kid of the night…too bad I’m not sure which one it was..)
Food
*Glasses
God’s grace (wow…this one came from the six year old.)
Electricity
Friends
*Milk
Beds
*Bubbles
Playing in the gym and field house

*These were the ones Malachi (age 3) volunteered…as he was wearing sunglasses while blowing bubbles in his milk…

And then one of them said, “Do you need more?…’Cause we can think of more!”

I’m pretty sure he really meant it…and that it wasn’t just an excuse to have an extended bedtime. :)

Thanks for letting me share my kids’ simple faith and gratefulness with you.

Have a great Gratituesday!

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Praisin’ in the Kitchen

February 26, 2008 by Laura 4 Comments

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If you’re like me, you spend HOURS in the kitchen. Every day. Doing all kinds of things, from planning, to cooking, to eating, to washing dishes, to putting things away…

So how about making the most of all that time and worshiping too?!

After reading a post written by Char a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to write this kitchen tip. She told of how she enjoys listening to praise music while she does dishes (and how it almost makes her look forward to washing the dishes!)

I also have a radio in my kitchen and have found that turning it on to my favorite Christian radio station while I’m working is a wonderful way to add cheer and to help me focus on what is important. I can’t help but sing along and praise God while I work!

Or sometimes, when I feel like all I’ve done the entire day is listen to noise…instead of turning music on in the kitchen, I’ll appreciate working in my quiet kitchen with no extra voices…and just spend time talking to God while I work.

It has become a favorite place, a favorite way to work and a blessed time with my Father.

So then, instead of looking at the mounting pile of dishes and groaning…we can all get excited…because more dirty dishes to wash means more praise time…right?!

You’ll find more kitchen tips at Tammy’s Recipes!

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Healthy Treat For Today: Peanut Butter Raisin Balls

February 25, 2008 by Laura

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I’m curious…which of the “Natural Sugar” treats have you tried?

Nobody’s been complaining around here about the yummy snacks appearing on the table. (Or should I say disappearing from the table?!)

This weekend I made Krista’s Peanut Butter Raisin Balls, and one of my kids just kept coming back, saying, “Can I have another one?”

And I just let him…because there was no reason to limit him! They are so good…and so good for you!

And…just look at how cute they are! (Yes, I’m weird and think that sometimes food it cute.)

Peanut Butter Raisin BallsYum

1 cup natural peanut butter (with salt), smooth or chunky
2 Tbs. to 1/3 cup honey (to taste)
2/3 cup raisins
2 tsp. carob powder or cocoa powder (optional)
big pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1/2 to 2/3 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut (divided) (You can substitute another form of coconut here, but it won’t be the same-this stuff should add a nice texture and crunch)

Mix together peanut butter, honey, cocoa and cinnamon. Fold in 1/3 of the coconut and all of the raisins. Chill thoroughly. Roll the mix into little balls. Roll the balls in the remaining coconut. You may need to roll them twice and press the coconut in a little. Cover them with plastic wrap or put them in a ziplock bag and serve them well chilled.

Krista’s notes:
I like these best frozen and thawed for about five minutes. :) Also, I have never used the carob/cocoa or cinnamon and the taste was still great.

Laura’s notes:

These were SOOO easy to make…I look forward to now saying to Asa or Justus, “Hey would you please go make some Peanut Butter Raisin Balls?”

(And then I’ll go do something else *like blog or somethin’* and they’ll go make them all by themselves!)

Also, I used very little honey…more like the 2 T. she mentioned, and that was plenty…because the raisins are so sweet.

Thanks, Krista for sending in the recipe!! Anyone else have a yummy “natural sugar” treat recipe to share? Email me with it!!

Tomorrow, I think we’ll take a look at some great smoothie recipes…YUM! We love smoothies around here!!

And one more thing…I haven’t asked in a while…

How’s everyone doing on the NO SUGAR Plunge?? Hanging in there? Give us all an update!

(In case you’re wondering how I’m doing…I’ve stuck to my plan: Eat one “natural sugar” treat a day. With one exception…on Friday we had Justus’ birthday party a week late *that’s another blog for later this week*, and I made little chocolate cheesecakes at his request…and I ate one. And I enjoyed it and I didn’t feel bad about it. Other than that splurge, I’ve stayed true to the goal and I’m feeling GREAT!!)

(And it made Justus really happy that I was eating one…cause he was a little sad that I didn’t have any of his original birthday cake. I couldn’t make him sad two chocolate cheesecakes in a row, now could I?)

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In your anger, do not sin…..CLEAN!

February 25, 2008 by Laura 10 Comments

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Recently, I was feeling very angry about a situation that had happened.

As my husband and I stood in the kitchen talking about it, I felt this ugly anger crawl up through my toes and into my gut and threaten to shoot out my ears…

Before I knew what I was doing, I had grabbed my broom and started attacking the cobwebs in all the corners of my kitchen.

I couldn’t help it!

I learned it from my mama.

She always said, “If you’re feeling angry about something…put that energy to good use. Don’t just sit there wasting time and fuming about what you’re mad about. Go clean something!“

Thus the broom.

Those cobwebs didn’t stand a chance.

And I began to feel better, having put that energy toward something productive.

Instead of taking my anger out on my husband (who had nothing to do with the situation) or my kids (who had nothing to do with the situation) or continuing to dwell on the situation (which would have helped NOTHING)…

I got to work.

And I prayed while I whacked the cobwebs, for God to soften my heart and help me to deal with my anger in a way that would honor him.

God always wins when you give it to him.

Because Satan…(and the cobwebs)… are not welcome in our homes as we continually work to make our homes a haven.

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Menu Plan Monday

February 24, 2008 by Laura 5 Comments

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The boys helped me decide what we’re eating this week. They love it when I’m planning our menu and call out…”OK guys, what sounds good to eat this week?”

The answer usually comes out sounding something like, “LASAGNACREPESPIZZAROLLSROAST!”

So, here you go!

I’ll be continuing to post great recipes for “natural sugar” treats this week (treats made without white sugar or white flour). If you’ve missed the beginning of this series, find those recipes here. And come back each day, as I post new recipes using honey, rapadura or real maple syrup for sweeteners!

Downloadable Menu Planners here!

Download this menu.

See what others have planned for the week.

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The Night of the Red Moon

February 24, 2008 by Laura 2 Comments

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Did you get to see the lunar eclipse on Wednesday night (or was that only happening here in Nebraska?)

(I’m KIDDING.)

I don’t remember ever seeing one before…and it was SUPER cool!

Go God!

My favorite part of the night however, was this…

We have a great window to look out of in one of our son’s rooms, so Daddy took all the boys in there to get a better view.

I went up a few minutes later to see it better…and while the lunar eclipse was awesome…the view in the bedroom was priceless.

There was Daddy, sprawled out on the bed looking out the window…with all kinds of little boys piled on top of him…looking out the window.

For many, many minutes.

I’m pretty sure all the boys will have a special memory of watching the eclipse with their Daddy that night.

Me? I’ll have a special memory of my boys watching the special event with the man they love most and most want to be like.

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Healthy Treat for Today: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 23, 2008 by Laura 17 Comments

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Did you try making your very own homemade chocolate chips, er, chiumpks?!

Yes, they’re different than store bought ones…

But we really like them! And, I think I’ll keep playing with them to see about making them with butter…just to see if that works too!

I have really enjoyed munching on the trail mix…I love the combo of all the nuts with the fruit…and of course the CHOCOLATE!!

So now, here’s a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, using unprocessed flour and sugar. These have a different flavor than you’re probably used to with a CC cookie…because all of the good stuff hasn’t been stripped out of the ingredients you’re putting in.

We think they’re just as good, if not better…

And when I’ve fed these to company (minus the homemade chocolate chips…I just tried those this week), they LOVE them. And they don’t even know there’s good stuff in them!

Chocolate Chip CookiesYum

2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 cups rapadura or sucanat
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 – 1 cup homemade chocolate chips (I tend to be a little stingy on the chocolate chips that are homemade…I kind of want the batch to last longer!)

Mix melted butter and rapadura. Add eggs and stir well. Mix in salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir in the flour until all combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop teaspoon sized pieces of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Now, of course I picked out some of the prettier ones to show you…and just so you don’t wonder why some of yours didn’t turn out that pretty…

The homemade chocolate chiumpks in these just melted allllll over the place.

Maybe we could call those Chocolate Swirl Cookies?! (Sounds better than Runny Chocolate Blob Cookies.)

The good thing is…they taste great no matter what!

My kids had NO complaints about eating the ugly less fortunate looking ones.

Stay tuned for our next recipe…Peanut Butter Raisin Balls…sent in by Krista.

As you can tell, this series of healthy treat recipes is not going to end any time soon! I still have to talk about smoothies and coconut macaroons and…

There are SOOO many great things to make. Please send me any ideas you would like to share!

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Healthy Treat for Today: Trail Mix With HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS

February 22, 2008 by Laura 29 Comments

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Who knew?

You can make your very own chocolate chips!!

Okay, well, I’m actually not clever enough to make them into the shape of chocolate chips…so maybe we’d better call them chocolate chunks.

Chip…Chunk…whatever. How cool are WE to know how to make our very own Chocolate Chiunpks?

I’ve had this recipe for a while, but hadn’t really thought about making it. Then I saw it on another post and was reminded! I’m SO glad for the reminder!

The recipe comes from my FAVORITE nutrition book: Nourishing Traditions.

I adapted it just a bit because it had a pretty bitter chocolate taste…and you may need to adapt it more, depending on how bitter you like your chocolate.

Also, depending on the quality of coconut oil you use, you may or may not have a
coconut-y taste in your chips. I LIKE it with the coconut taste.

Okay…so are you ready?!?!

Homemade Chocolate ChipsYum

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup rapadura or sucanat
1 cup coconut oil
1 T. vanilla

Mix ingredients in a glass container and set in simmering water until melted. Mix together well.

(Anybody wanna know what I was doing at exactly 2:04 yesterday?)
(uh, see…you can see my clock there, behind the melting chocolate chip mixture.)

Spread mixture on a piece of buttered parchment paper and allow to cool in the refrigerater.

When hardened, remove parchment paper and break into chunks. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Aren’t they beautiful? Mmmmm-mmmm. (See a more thorough chocolate chip making tutorial here!)

Now…for the Trail Mix part…

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
1/3 cup homemade chocolate chips

Mix it all together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator…if it makes it that far!

Come back tomorrow for a recipe for whole wheat, rapadura Chocolate Chiumpk Cookies!

(And let me know if you can figure out how to pronounce that.) :)

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El Cheapo Birthday Present

February 22, 2008 by Laura 3 Comments

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Last Friday, our second son Justus turned eight.

When asked what he wanted for his birthday he had two requests:

Wool Socks and a SwitchFoot CD that is all his own.

Okay first – wool socks? Are we raising this kid to be practical or what? (How cute is HE?)

And second…we already have a SwitchFoot CD…and we just didn’t like the idea of spending $15 for him to have his very own.

SO, I bought a pack of five blank CDs…for $5! and wrapped them up.

When he opened them, we told him that not only could Daddy make him a Switchfoot CD by using our computer to burn it onto one of these blank discs…he could choose four more of his favorite CDs for Daddy to burn. Then he’d have FIVE of his very own CD’s (for way less than the price of one NEW CD).

Justus has had SO much fun with his birthday gift…and Daddy is even teaching him how to “rip” and “burn” the CDs. (Of course, everyone here thinks it’s so cool that these procedures have such awesome names…who wouldn’t want permission to rip and burn things!?)

While I (the lone female of the house) didn’t get into the ripping and burning…I got to do the fun cutesy part of printing out labels for the CDs and covers for the cases. Justus LOVES them!

Ah, I love working together with my family to make inexpensive and SUPER fun gifts!

And I love that my kids are so thrilled with these gifts!

And I LOVE that we created 5 CDs for $5!!

(P.S. You know it’s only legal to copy CDs if you bought and own them…right? Hey, we’ve got pirates around here aplenty….but we never pirate anything! Okay, just wanted to clear that up.)

Be sure to go to Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday ideas!

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Thirteen Healthy Treat Ideas

February 20, 2008 by Laura 9 Comments

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Below you will find 13 wonderful treat ideas for your family.

NONE of them use white sugar or white flour. ALL of them are made with wholesome ingredients!

1. Pizza with whole wheat crust

2. Homemade Soft Pretzels

3. Chicken Nuggets and French Fries (Imagine…a chicken nugget with real chicken in it?!)

4. Strawberry Milkshakes

5. Fresh Pineapple

6. Breakfast Pizza

7. Homemade Whole Wheat Crackers

8. Breakfast Cookies

9. Strawberry Fruit Salad

10. Lasagna Casserole

11. Peanut Butter Honey Bars

12. Creamy Pudding

13. Today’s Recipe:

Orange Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
The juice of one freshly squeezed orange
1/2 t. grated orange rind
1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Make a “well” in the center. Add honey, egg, melted butter, orange juice, orange rind and milk. Stir until just combined. Bake in muffin paper lined muffin tins for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

!!!!!!Be sure to come back tomorrow for another great recipe for a nutritious treat…Trail Mix…with GET THIS…HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!

More Thursday Thirteen here.

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