Creation and Souls

I just read this post on facebook from Randy Alcorn and it got me thinking.

"What message do we send secular people when we dismiss environmental
concerns? What credibility do we have when we say we love the Creator, but
aren’t concerned about creation? We can disagree about global warming &
should never worship creation. But if they see us leading the way in reasonable
care for God's world it ...can build relationships, open doors to the gospel.
“The Lord rejoices in all he has made!” Ps 104:31"

Yet Another Use

Last night I was watching Food Detectives on the Food Network. One of the things they were testing is to see if wood cutting boards harbor more bacteria than plastic ones (even after being washed). They proved that wood cutting boards are actually, slightly, less likely to harbor bacteria. They still had a little bacteria on them, but not as much as the plastic ones. They weren't really sure why that was, but one of the theories was that the wood could pull the bacteria deeper into the cutting board so that it was no longer in contact with the top cutting service.

They stressed the importance of disinfecting your cutting board. The most common way to do this is to use a bleach/water solution. Now, anyone that knows me knows my aversion to bleach. In fact, I don't have any bleach in my house. Bleach is one of the worst chemicals you could actually have in your home!!! But, they did offer another solution. I was delighted when I heard it! This is an item that I use all the time around my house and couldn't wait to disinfect my cutting boards :) What is it? VINEGAR!!! There you go, another use for that great, inexpensive, acidic condiment.

Harvest Time

Keegan and I have been watching our garden grow and blossom. It is fascinating to watch the veggies slowly grow into something that will be edible. We have been keeping an eye on our zucchini and cucumber plants. We have had a few zucchini that were almost ready to pick. I went out to the garden, tonight, and found that those zucchinis had a growth spurt over the last couple of days. I picked 3 good size zucchinis. Keegan and I will be baking with them tomorrow. He is super excited to use the veggies out of our own garden. We also have tomatoes on our plants, but it will be a while before they are big enough to pick (or ripe enough). There's just nothing like produce straight from the garden! :)

Lightbulb Moment

Have you ever had one of those moments where everything just clicked? I had one the other night.

I have talked about my dislike of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and how I have cut it out of my family's diet. I have also talked about how I saw a dramatic weight loss when I did so. I wasn't sure why I lost the weight. I figured it had to do with HFCS being unhealthy and not natural. I was reading "Green Goes with Everything" by Sloan Barnett and found a perfect description of how your body reacts when it consumes HFCS.

And speaking of sweeteners, look out for high fructose corn syrup. It
won't be hard. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in most soft drinks,
many juices, and a vast array of other foods. Why? Because it is
cheaper than cane sugar and has largely replaced it since the 1970s.
But HFCS has a problem. Unlike regular sugar (sucrose), HFCS tricks
your body into thinking it hasn't yet had enough sugar, which means you eat
more. it also becomes fat in your body much faster than regular
sugar. The result? Many nutritionists and scientists believe
it's no coincidence that the skyrocketing national obesity problem parallels
the rapid growth of high fructose corn syrup as manufacturers' sweetener of
choice.

This was my "ah-ha" moment. It all makes sense now. I lost weight because my body wasn't thinking that I still needed to consume more sugar and it wasn't storing all that extra HFCS as fat.

Anyone else interested in taking the challenge of cutting HFCS out of their diet? You might be amazed at the results you see when you cut it out.

White Chili Soup

This is a very yummy soup that our family loves. We serve with grated cheese, sour cream and corn chips. If you are not a fan of spicy food cut back on the jalapenos just a little.

3 15-15.5 ounce cans great northern, pinto or white kidney beans, rinsed & drained.

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped red, green, and/or yellow sweet pepper

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1. In a 3.5 or 4 quart crock pot combine the drained beans, chicken, onion, sweet pepper, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salt and oregano. Stir in the broth.

2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Healthy Snack Ideas

I've had a few people ask me for ideas (especially for snacks) of things we eat that do not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). My kids (especially Keegan) are huge snackers. He would snack all day long if I would let him. I will try to think of as many as I can.

We eat a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. I also buy mainly frozen vegetables instead of canned.
Keegan loves "straw yogurts"
Truitt also loves yogurt (YoBaby)
We buy organic peanut butter crackers (Trader Joe's) Basically, anything organic will not contain HFCS, since it is not a natural ingredient.
Most grocery stores carry organic stuff (condiments, snacks....)
Keegan loves popcorn
Pirate Booty is another favorite around here
Flat Earth crisps are good too (we like the peach mango, wild berry patch and the apple cinnamon). We didn't like the cheddar
Yummy Earth organic fruit lollipops. We found these are Babies R Us
Nabisco Garden Harvest Toasted Chips (we have only tried the Apple Cinnamon)
Earth's Best Snack Bars (like Nutri Grain Bars)
Raisins
applesauce
cheese
Breyers Pure Fruit Bars
I also buy bread that doesn't contain HFCS like Oroweat or Franz. If you look at the ingredient lists on the Oroweat site it show that their products contain HFCS, but I have a loaf on my counter and it does not have it listed. I did find this on their site...it looks like they have changed and no longer have HFCS in their products.
Honest Kids Juice pouches is good too. I buy these at Sam's Club.

These are just a few ideas. Hopefully this will get some of you started down the path of HFCS free life. Feel free to comment with any other ideas you may have.

Dryer Sheets

What's in that dryer sheet that we are so quick to throw in every load of laundry we put in our dryers? Most of us reach for a Bounce dryer sheet (or your brand of choice) without even giving a second thought to what we are putting in with our clothing. Most of us do it because that is what we grew up doing. Why is it that we don't give a second thought about the cleaners we use around our house? Most of these things are chemicals and contain carcinogens. We usually give more thought to the things we put into our body, like food, medications and supplements. So why don't we think about the other things we are using in our homes and around our bodies?

I too was guilty of this for many years, that is until I had kids. All of a sudden I realized I was using so many things that are toxic to my kids. I didn't want to use chemicals to clean the floors they would be crawling on or the toys they put in their mouths. That is when I decided to do a little research. Here is what I found... (I will focus on dryer sheets today)

Dryer sheets are made of fiberglass and contain petroleum. Wow! I was shocked. I would never want to put fiberglass into our clothing. I found this quote on wisegeek.com

There is some concern among certain groups over the use of dryer sheets, as the
chemicals they contain are known carcinogens. The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved their use in dryer sheets based on
the assumption that chemicals passed from clothes to the skin would not and do
not penetrate the skin. Many believe this to be an outmoded notion, pointing to
treatment "patches" such as the nicotine patch, which
relies on chemicals passing through the skin to be effective.

I couldn't believe it. The FDA assumes these chemicals will not pass
through the skin. So, in other words, they don't know for a fact that these
chemicals are safe for use on our clothes. I don't want to be a human guinea pig.

Another problem is that these toxins stay on our clothes long after they come out of the dryer. That means these chemicals are being released into the air we breathe and onto our skin as we wear our clothes.

I decided right then and there that was all the info I needed. I found an organic/natural dryer sheet that is biodegradable, fragrance free and vegetable based. I would rather be safe than sorry. It was such a simple change to make. I love the way these dryer sheets work! I can use them in multiple loads of laundry and when I am done with them I just throw them into my recycle bin. The box seems to last me forever. Remember, I have small children and do a ton of laundry.

Are you wondering what type of dryer sheet I am using or where you can get them? They are made by shaklee. Now, don't get overwhelmed by the price. At first I thought they were a little expensive too, but then I paid close attention to how long they were lasting me. One box lasts me about 5 months. Now that price doesn't seem so bad does it? I feel as though I can't really put a price on the health and safety of my family!!!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Here is one of our favorite recipes for making pizza dough. I was on the quest to find on that was made with whole wheat and came across this one. I have made this dough one time without the food processor and it turned out fine.

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 tablespoon honey

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup cool water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch salt

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the honey and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.

2. Put the flour in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade. Mix the 1 cup cool water with the olive oil and salt. With the motor running, pour the olive oil mixture and the yeast slowly in through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the blade.

3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down the dough and knead it on a lightly floured surface for 1 minute. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll them into tight balls. Place on a tray, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator before use.

4. Roll or stretch each ball of dough into a 7-to-8-inch circle. Place the circles, one at a time, on a wooden peel or on a baking sheet and build the pizza as desired.

Bake at 500 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Exercise

I have decided to exercise. I wouldn't mind if I lose a few pounds in the process, but my main reason for doing it is to tone up some of those muscles that haven't been used much. More than anything I would love to get rid of that c-section flab. If I can tone up my abs, even just a little, I will be very pleased.

I have a number of friends doing the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels, so I decided to join them. Everyday we text one another after we have completed our workout. This is a great accountability group. We are each accumulating stars on a chart for everyday that we workout. After we reach 30 stars we will reward ourselves with something. I'm not sure what that will be yet. Any ideas?

I have done 2 days so far and all I can say is "wow, it is really a workout!" My muscles are so sore. I can tell this program is doing what it promises to do. I am very excited about this and can't wait to update everyone on my progress.

Health Nut?

I know some of my friends and family think I am a crazy health nut. Yes, I have become more aware of the health of my family, especially what we are putting into our bodies. I am trying to be very careful to make the most educated decisions about our food choices, medications and supplements, household cleaners and anything else we might come into contact with. I believe that the most important thing I can do is make my home and the food within my home as healthy as possible.

The biggest change I have made is to try and eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) from our diets. This has proven to be a challenge. HFCS is in everything including soda, yogurt, ketchup, bread, crackers, fruit juices and many other things. There are so many studies out there that link HFCS to the rise in obesity and the rising numbers of people with diabetes. Just this week a new study came out that shows that HFCS contains mercury. Whether all these studies are true or not, I have decided to eliminate it from our diet. I try to purchase as many whole foods and unprocessed foods as possible. I have noticed that since I made this change I have lost about 7 lbs. Don't get me wrong. I am not a food Nazi. We still enjoy many unhealthy things on occasion.

I have also switched to all natural, organic cleaning products. We spend so much time in our home and I don't want my family to be exposed to toxins in our house. I have been using Shaklee for a couple years now and LOVE the products. I can't say enough great things about them. That is why I decided to sell them.

I will try and share a few of the simple healthy recipes that we have found and love. Please feel free to share any you may have.

Bottles

I'm sure you have all heard the recent reports of Bisphenol-A (BPA) and the possible leaching that may take place in plastic products. Acidic drinks and heat increase this leaching. I have decided to replace the bottles that we drink out of. This doesn't just mean I have replaced Truitt's baby bottles (not that he drinks out of a bottle very often), but I have replaced bottles that each of our family members drink out of. All of the bottles that I have recently purchased came with high reviews from friends. Chris and I are now proud owners of Camelbak bottles, Keegan now has a Sigg metal bottle and Truitt has Born Free bottles.

Changes

I am trying to make some changes in our diet. I want to be more aware of what we are eating and try to make some healthier choices. I have decided to cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup (as much as possible) among many other things. While doing so, I have found some great (yummy) alternatives. I will try to share some of them as I find them.

We were at Babies R Us last night and I found these great natural lollipops made by Yummy Earth. I didn't feel so bad giving Keegan a treat and we were really surprised at how good they tasted.