Musings of Home and Hearth

The winter flu season and BROTH!

2009-10-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

The flu season seems to be upon us, as nearly every family I know has been or is currently being hit with some sort of flu. Ours included! Zach and I recently had a mild case of the flu that we were able to get over in a matter of a couple of days, with mild discomfort.

This brings me to the point of this blog entry: Homemade Broth and Stock! Foods made with real broth and stocks have all but disappeared from our homes. Canned and "boxed" imitations, so readily available at the store have taken their place. This is a very unfortunate thing, as real broths and stocks can be one of your best defenses against the myriad of germs and viruses that make the rounds every winter.

Why? Broths and Stocks made from bones, simmered for hours on your stovetop, contain real geletin, which not only heals the lining of the entire digestive tract, but provides an atmoshphere where the digestive tract can funtion as your "primary immune system". When your digestive tract is unhealthy, many foreign organisms (including bacteria, viruses, and pieces of food - which contribute to food allergies) are able to pass through to your bloodstream. These organisms are now in your body, causing you to become sick. With a healthy gut, these organisms are NOT allowed through, and pass out of your system, w/o your knowledge that you were infected at all! Sally Fallon write, in Nourishing Traditions, "Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. The wise food provider, who uses a gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provided continuous protection from many health problems." (NT p. 117)

Stocks also have many more health benefits, some of which include:
*Stocks contain the minerals of bone, marrow, cartilage, and vegetables (if organic vegetables were used to make it) as an electrolyte solution, and are extremely nutritious. Electrolyes are a form of nutrients that the body can assimilate completely and immediately. Rather than buy all those expensive "electrolyte drinks", you can be comforted with a bowl of real chicken soup when you are sick! Furthermore, the minerals (from the bones you used to make it) in the electrolye form and assimilated and used to build your own stong bones!

*Stocks, also, while not a complete protein in and of themselves, are considered to be a "protein sparer". This means that they "allow the body to better utilize the complete proteins that are taken in." (Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions p. 116). So, when you make a soup with real stock and use only a small amount of meat, your body will assimilate more of the protein than you would have had you eaten that same small amount alone. You can use your small amounts of leftover meats in soups, for a highly nutritious, economic meal!

*The Geletin in stocks, that is not present in "canned broth" is also healing to your joints and cartilage. Consuming real broths and stocks will serve as a protection against arthritis and other bone disorders.

So - how do you make real broths and stocks? Simply simmer some chicken or beef bones in a large stock pot of water all day! Throw in a spash of vinegar, and you'll draw out more of the minerals, further fortifying your broth. Add some organic veggies (carrots, celery, onions) and you'll add more minerals that these veggies have from the soil. Put in a piece of peeled ginger (an inch or so) and you'll add an immune-boosting quality to your broth.

I frequently roast a whole chicken. At the end of the meal, I take the leftover "carcass" and put it in a gallon sized freezer bag. When I'l low on stock, I simply take it out, put it in the largest pot I have, add my veggies and sometimes ginger, fill it with water, toss in a splash of vineger, then bring it to a simmer. It simmers on low all day, filling my home with a wonderful aroma. At the end of the day, I remove the bones and veggies with a slotted spoon then fill 1 c, 4 c, and 8 c freezer containers. I then put these containers in the freezer to use in soups, to cook brown rice in, to use in place of store-bought chicken broth in various meals (such as chicken pot pie, or to make the sauce for my homemade chicken enchiladas), and to make gravy - which we consume often!

We consume foods made with real stocks and broths frequently, each week. Especially during the winter, we probably consume some sort of stock atleast every other day.

This brings me back to the point I made at the beginning of the post: Zach and I had a *mild* case of the flu, that we got over very quickly, on our own. I firmly believe that since making the changes to whole foods eating, that we have significantly improved our immune systems, to the point that we rarely need medicines to get over common "bugs" that seem to knock everyone else we know out, along with the secondary infections that come with that. After discussing this at length with our family doctor, he concurs. Because our bodies are not overrun with junk foods, preservatives, msg, chemicals etc, our immune system can be in reserve for when we really do get a bug. Add to that the positive effect of nourishing your body regularly with real food, you have vitamin and mineral reserves to fight off infection when it comes. A healthy gut (which is your first line of defense) further aids this, as it prevents most bugs from "getting through to the bloodstream". I can't prove this of course, but what I can tell you, is that I can count on 1 hand the number of times that our entire family (everyone included) has been to the doctor for a "sick visit" in the last 4 years combined! I believe the frequent use of stock and broths play a vital role in that.

Not to mention - foods made from real stocks and broths don't compare with their "canned counterparts". The taste alone is enough to encourage you to put in the minimal work required!

Shauna

*The information in this post is not intended to be medical advice, but is rather, a summary of what the author understands of the principals presented in the book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon, and should be construed as the author's opinion only.

Well, I really haven't disappeared.....

2009-09-17T21:04:00.001-07:00

I'm going back on hiatus, as I care for my mom, who is now in the care of hospice. It may be a few months before I'm up to posting again.....I will be back. Right now, however, I'm spending the last few weeks of my mom's life with her, and eventually, I'll be up to posting again.

Thanks for understanding.....

Shauna

Well - Hiatus is over!

2009-08-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's mid-August, and I am finally back from my summer as head cook at our church camp. I've been home a few weeks, and am settling back into the "swing of things". It's time for my blogging hiatus to come to an end. ~smile

That brings me to: what to blog..... what to blog..... ?

Since I don't have any profound "musings" at the moment, I thought I'd just share a little of what is going on in my home presently:

Homeschooling is getting ready to start back up. Our big box of curriculum arrived recently, and it's nearly all sorted and organized and ready for the new school year! My oldest, who is in school, will be registering for 8th grade next week. That is a little hard to believe. What's even harder to believe is that the following year will be HIGH SCHOOL!

My French classes (for homeschoolers) will be starting soon, and so I am currently knee-deep in textbooks, syllabi, class lists and the like. I have been listening to a lot of French on itunes, getting myself geared up and refreshed. I always love using my French!

Canning season is on the horizon. I've done my green beans, and that's about it. Refrigerator pickles need to be done, and I've got enough hot peppers out of the garden that I'm ready to do a canner-load. Thankfully, this year, I don't have nearly as much that needs to be done. I still have a good supply of beets, pears, applesauce, jams, salsa verde, and relish from last year. I also still have a lot of carrots put up in the freezer, and will likely only do corn and some brocolli this year.

What I am really focusing on, are a couple of organization projects that I've wanted to do for quite some time. Namely: the linen closet and the coat closet. Do those two things EVER stay neat and tidy? I'm also working on implementing a better routine to my day. I've never had the luxury of having a house-cleaning service, nor have I had "mom's day out" or "regular childcare" at my disposal. As such, I've always had to juggle the demands of mothering and homemaking on my own. Every year, as the kids grow into a different season, I evaluate my routine. The way I can tackle the every-day-demands of managing a household look VERY different today, than they did when I had babies and ever-busy toddlers running a-muck! So, once again, as I am coming into fall, I am figuring out just how early I need to be up each morning, and how much/what should be accomplished before the house stirrs....... and how to fit all the things that I need to do in with the homeschooling, classes, errands and such.

I am also continuing with my running. I wasn't able to keep up my running to the point that I would have liked while being away all summer, so in some ways, I'm really getting back at it. I'm following my own 5 day training schedule, with 2 rest days, similar to what I did when training for the 10K. I plan to run my first half-marathon next spring, and so, I'll need to keep up my running through the winter in order to be prepared to start that training in early February.

Most of all, I am reminded that truly, the bulk of my home life is not filled with the "glamourous", or the "luxurious". Much of my days involve the mundane, the routine, the re-doing of what is constantly un-done. Dishes, laundry, sweeping, wiping down, picking up, straightening, reading to a child, engaging in conversation with my children,......... not a fancy life in the least bit, but when I do it well, and when I do it faithfully, I am reminded that a full life can really be found in the small things.

Shauna

Summer Hiatis

2009-06-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been an eon since I've blogged...... what can I say, life sometimes just gets too busy to keep up with technology!

June and July will be hiatis months for me, as I will be away working at camp this summer. Weekends will be too precious with my family to spend much time on the old 'puter..... so unless inspiration strikes and won't let go, I'm giving myself a hiatus from blogging until August.

Have a great summer, and I'll blog at ya in a couple of months!

Shauna

The Art of Letter Writing

2009-05-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

The other day, I received a strange thing in the mail....... a LETTER! I'm talking about a REAL letter - handwritten on pretty stationary, from a friend out of state that I hadn't heard from in awhile. Now - this friend has email, and a telephone. We've corresponded by email many times, and chatted on the phone for hours in the past.......but this time, she decided to send me an old-fashioned LETTER.

"Old-Fashioned Letter". Just the term seems strange. It wasn't that long ago, when I was a girl, and I had several "pen pals" with whom I regularly exchanged letters. It was always so much fun to open the mailbox and find a letter from one of them. One pen pal, in particular, had this really neat "pencil stationary" that she always used. Another just wrote on notebook paper and always folded it to fit into one of the "smaller" envelopes rather than the "standard letter size". I remember having several stationary pads with corresponding envelopes, and browsing at Hallmark to pick see what was new in the Stationary aisle.

You know - getting an email just doesn't hold the same excitement as receiving a real letter!

Her letter was just a update, along with some new things to share. It was just so much more personal to read her handwriting rather than the sterile type of my email inbox.

Today, I sat down to write her a letter in return. It had been a long time since I'd written a letter. I had to dig a little, but yes, I did manage to find a box of stationary with a pretty flower motif, and some lined matching envelopes. I ended up writing 4 pages - and boy, after the first page, was my hand TIRED! I realized that we really don't WRITE anymore, we type. I had to slow down, and take care to use pretty penmanship. It really didn't take me that long, maybe 15 minutes or so. Both my son and daughter said to me, "Mom, whatcha doing?" "I'm writing a letter"..... "To who?"...... and then "Why would you do that?" Oh boy. I think it's time to ressurect a few "old fashioned letter writing skills" in this household. Sending a card is one thing - writing a real letter is enitirely another.

I've always been of the opinion that gadgets and technology cost us far more than they give in return. Sure, I love my BOSCH, and I appreciate the convenience of my cell phone....... but we have lost the personal touches that real relationships bring. Even in correspondance, reading the letter from my friend, in her hand that I recognized as distinctly hers, brought closeness and relationship to the context.

Besides - am I the only one who dreads the BILLS and JUNKMAIL in the mailbox? Choose someone you care about, and write them a real letter!

Shauna

Reflections As I Countdown To My 1st 10K!

2009-05-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

As of today, I have completed 15 weeks of training, with 1 week to go. My first 10K is one week from TODAY!

As I was climbing my big hill today at the start of my 5 mile run, I reflected on my training, and how far I've come. I actually started running about this time last year! On my first run, I made it less than half a mile, before I started walking. I was sucking air and felt like I wanted to puke. My heart was pounding out of my chest. It took weeks of walk/run combinations before I could run a mile without dying. Then, it took longer to make it two miles. Last summer, I remember reaching a plateau where I didn't think I would ever break through to 3 miles! Even when I did, I could only run 3 miles occasionally. Most days were my "typical 2 mile runs". By the end of summer, I was running 3 miles regularly, with an *occasional* 4 mile run in there. Then - winter hit, and I determined to keep up my running. With new running gear to keep me warm and dry, and the help of yak-tracks that literally made it possible to run in snow and ice, I battled the cold season! I forced myself to get 1-2 two-mile runs in per week. I ran in the snow, the bitter cold wind, and on days where I just plain thought I was CRAZY to be out running! I drew the line at single-digit wind chills though. So long as it was teens or above - I could hack it out. My goal was merely to maintain my fitness. I also added a weight lifting regimine to my weekly running, which helped me to build strength.

January hit, and I decided to set my sights on the 5th/3rd Riverbank Run in May. Nervously, I decided to train for the 10K. I knew I could do the 5K, and I wanted something to stretch myself and challenge myself - something lofty, but not too out of reach, to strive for. I started the training schedule at the first of February. My 2 days week of running immediately changed to 5 days! The schedule increased mileage every 2 weeks, so slowly, I built up more endurance and more speed.

The greatest enjoyment came from menally conquering running. Running is far more mental to me than physical. Yes, physically, running is hard work. I would never down play that fact, nor would I gloss over the hard work I've put into getting ready for this 10K...... but the harder challenge for me, is the mental discipline. When I'm doing my speedwork, or when I'm increasing my distance, or when I have to go out for an "easy run" and the wind is horrific - my *MIND* wants to call it quits..... but my body is really okay. Learning how to focus, how to play the mind game, how to mentally force my body to relax and to just keep going, to break the run and the tasks into small pieces and mentally tackle them one at a time - that's where I've gained the greatest accomplishment!

I liken it to November of 2007, when I realized that I was 30# overweight, and gaining slowly but surely every month. It wasn't until I overcame the mental obstacles, that I was able to tackle the physical task of losing weight permanently. I had to face the things that were causing me to become and to remain overweight. There was no more "denial". Pictures showed me that I didn't look like I thought I did. There was no more "hiding behind clothes". Losing weight is not a difficult physical thing to do - once you have conquered it MENTALLY. For me, once I determined mentally that I was DONE with being overweight, and I was no longer going to give into the eating habits that kept me trapped in this body, the changes were not hard at all. The weight fell off, and hasn't been back since!

I became a runner AFTER I lost all my weight. I think finally being thin again, gave me the drive to be healthy and strong. I used to be very phyically active. I was alway strong as a little girl, and as a teenager. I wasn't a "soft child", but one with strong bones and muscles. I was very active - out climbing the boys when it came to the highest trees, choosing to run and play kickball on recess even if it meant being all sweaty in school rather than standing around with the girls. I ran track in high school, and taught an aerobics class my Freshman year in college. Years of gym memberships followed, where I took step classes 4 days a week and kept up with my weights. Tom and I went to the gym regularly as newly marrieds - but when I became preganant with my first child, all that stopped. Other than 1 summer recently when I did alot of walking, I had a decade of little to no physical activity. 3 pregnancies in which I gained close to 50# a piece, did me in!

So - last year, after I had conquered my weight, I started running again. I feel like I have discovered the "old me" in many ways. I haven't been this strong and lean in decades!

Today, as I was running my 5 miles, at my comfortable pace - realizing that I'm hardly having to work at breathing, my heart isn't pounding out of my chest, my legs are strong and carrying me...... and I was RELAXED and enjoying the run, I recalled my first day - when I wondered if I'd EVER make it past the "I want to puke" stage! Here I am, 1 year later, a week away from running my first 10K! Now, I'm not competitive runner, and I'm sure I'll finish toward the back of the pack...... but that's okay! Running this 10K is a huge accomplishment that means the most to ME. It is symbolic of just how far I have come, and how good I feel, and how healthy I know that I am compared to where I was just a short time ago.

I want to encourage anyone out there, that you CAN set goals for better health. Maybe running isn't your thing, perhaps something else inspires you to set goals and work toward them. The important thing is to just START with something. Eliminate your snacks and second helpings..... get out and walk around the block. Just START. Work on your mental mindset. Conquer those things that emotionally keep you enslaved to turning to food and sedentary lifestyles that ruin our health and set us up for disease and a lifetime of prescription medications. Start small - and just be consistant. You'll be amazed too, where you'll be in a year's time!!

Shauna

My worst day of running EVER!

2009-04-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I discovered today that not only am I NOT a morning runner, but I had better get my training in gear so that I can become one! My 10K is in 3 weeks - and it's in the morning!

I decided to do a 6 mile run first thing this morning, since I'll be racing 6 miles in just a few weeks...... It's a good thing I did! I would have been MISERABLE if I did as poorly on race day as I did today! This was my worst run EVER.

Normally, I run mid-afternoon or early evening, whichever my schedule will allow. I've been putting in some awesome weeks, and had peaked with an 18 mile week, 2 weeks ago. I've felt very strong, and my running has been becoming more "effortless". In addition, the last 6 mile run I did, I ran consistant 8 minute mile splits, and felt good when I was done.

Imagine my surprise, when this morning, my body completly shut down! My first mile, I had a 7.5 minute split. Then, all of the sudden - my muscles were HEAVY, I felt incredibly THIRSTY, and I just simply could not run! On my route there is about a 3/4 mile hill that I run up, before it plateaus out for another 2 miles or so...... well - today, I could NOT make it up the hill. I've run that hill many, many times - and felt good doing it.... but today - I had to WALK. The dreaded WALKING when you're supposed to be running! I'm telling you, I didn't even run/walk my routes when I was first starting my training! Today, after I've had weeks and weeks of solid training, and peaking at my longest distances..... I had to WALK.

As I was walking, and feeling completely defeated...... I started to analyze what was going wrong. A few things occured to me:
1) I'm not used to running first thing in the morning
2) I was probably dehydrated because normally, after my morning coffee, I am extremely good about getting in atleast 32 oz of water or more during the day to prepare for my afternoon run
3) I had not eaten! Oh, sure, I grabbed 1 banana when I got up - because I knew I needed something, but I didn't want to run with food in my stomach NOR had I eaten many carbs the night before. My evening meal was chicken and vegetables. I was beginning to understand the importance of "carbo-loading"

I did manage to complete the 6 miles - but I bet I walked nearly 2 of them total. When I reached the 3 mile mark, and had to turn around to come home, I didn't think I was going to make it. My mile splits were horrible, after that first "good one". They were between 9 and 10 minutes!

I came back - and reminded myself of what I read in my running book...... "Good runners look at their failures as learning experiences". I'm really glad that I learned this of myself, and my running NOW. I've got 3 weeks to do something about it!

I'm going to do some more research of how to plan for my eating and hydration for morning runs (I'm guessing it means that I have to get up EARLIER so that I have time for a light breakfast and to let it digest before going to run!), as well as considering some "carbo-loading" in my evening meals. Come to think of it - I do remember eating the giant plates of spaghetti before track meets! I'm also going to be shifting my running to the mornings. I need one more week of "peak training" before I taper off before the big day.

I sure hope I can get myself adjusted in time! And - I never want to have a day of running like I did this morning...... that was miserable!

Shauna

The "Pitfalls" of the "Comfort Zone"

2009-04-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

Why is it that we go to great lengths for friends, acquaintances and complete strangers....... while we tend to do the bare minimum for the ones that matter most to us: our family!?!

We have a foreign exchange student arriving tomorrow..... a boy from Paris, my oldest son's age. So, what have I been doing the past week or so? Hmmmm let me count the things: major decluttering, major deep cleaning, rearranging furniture, decorating to make things more cozy, some basic home repairs that have been put off, yard work, re-painting of rooms that have needed it for so long....... and the list goes on.

It occured to me, as I was making my home this newly decorated, cozy little haven - that it took a "complete stranger" (not really "complete", as we've been corresponding for months now), coming to our house to motivate me to attend to the little things that I kept putting off! Why don't I do this for my own family?

Yes, I keep a fairly well managed, tidy home - and yes, there is yummy-smelling homemade food routinely being prepared in my kitchen...... but I certainly don't go to the lengths I have gone to recently. I am really convicted! I want to put this much effort, love, and care into the home I make for the ones I love the most!

So - I'm off to finish up sewing those pretty new kitchen curtains, with a renewed zeal not to take for granted my dear family that lives here.

Shauna

Subscribing to my blog.....

2009-04-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, I finally have my subscription widgets up! You can receive new posts either in a reader, or by email. See the nav bar at the left to get set up!

Shauna

Finding my Place at Home

2009-04-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

I recently re-read a quote by Karey Swan, which loosly paraphrased, said, "In order to get beyond the maintenance part of homemaking, I need to spend most of my time at home."

I read that quote years ago, when I checked out her book "Hearth and Home" (the title of which inspired my blog title!). Her book was out of print once, was recently reprinted, and I am not sure as to the current status. It's one of those hard to find gems, full of thought provoking wisdom.

At the time that I read her book, I was pretty busy as a mom. We were doing a lot of running here and there, and I was in the mindset that I needed to have lots of "me activities" and my kids needed lots of "social/sports/education activities". Even though I was an "at home mom", we were running all the time. I realized that the reason I didn't LOVE homemaking was because all I was doing was the "maintenance". There's very little creativity in cleaning toilets, throwing dishes in the dishwasher and shuffling laundry. It seemed that my primary job fit the description of butler, chauffer, maid, and cook.

Reading Karey Swan's book, challenged me to rethink the concept of HOME, and to find my PURPOSE here. I didn't want my home to simply be a way-station for my family. I wanted home to be a place of respite, a place of belonging for each family member, a place where each of us could grow into God's purpose for our lives. As Eric Sloane put it, I wanted "home to be more than an address". Enter: the concept of a "homeMAKER". My purpose became that of using my gifts, talents, abilities, intelligence, and passions to create such a place for the ones who matter most to me. When I was working full time, years ago teaching school - I have to confess, that my students, and my "boss" got my "best" every day. When I came home - my family got my "leftovers" - but as a homemaker - my family gets my best.

I have also often had people comment to me, "I'd go crazy if I stayed home all day" or "I'd go crazy if I homeschooled my children". Those remarks perplex me to some extent. I'm not sure if they understand exactly what they are saying. I think that some view homemakers as "maids, chauffers, and cooks". They don't see that, yes, while I work very hard at many mundane tasks..... I also have the freedom to use my abilities in profoundly creative and satisfying ways. I am far more satisfied in making a home, and pouring my energies into the most important people in my life than I ever was working full time. As far as going crazy homeschooling my children, while I realize that not everyone is a good fit for homeschooling - the time alone that I have had to build relationships with my children is more precious than anything I can think to compare it with. Now that my oldest is in school, and I am daily, acutely aware of the time I no longer have with him, it makes me realize just how thankful I am to have had the years that I will never replace, building lasting and meaningful relationship with him. I cherish the time I have with my other two children, who are still learning at home.

However - I believe I am digressing.....

By choosing to stay home - for lengths of time, rather than run all over the place, shuttling my children here and there, or simply overcommiting myself to outside activities, I am no longer controlled by the "tyranny of the urgent". My home is kept in a relatively smooth working order, and there is TIME for the creativity. I view using my creativity in the kitchen, making a simple but nourishing and satisfying meal for my family every evening as my ministry to them. Crafting homemade curtains to brighten a window, taking the time to put fresh flowers in mason jars, snuggling my daughter in with a blanket that I made, washing dishes with pretty dischothes that I knitted, having time to read and think deeply rather than constantly being in a state of stress and exhaustion, being available for those "life shaping" discussions that always seem to unexpectedly come up with my kids, creating a place of peace and well-being in my home...... these are all just tiny parts to the place I have found here, in my place as a Home-Creator and a Home-Maker.

"If you think organic is expensive, have you priced cancer lately?"

2009-03-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

The quote, that serves as the title to this blog post, is found at the end of the article linked below:

http://localnourishment.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/csa-yeah-ive-heard-of-em-arent-they-expensive/

Local Nourishment has a good article about the affordability of CSA's. Although costs will vary by region, she makes some good points. I will tell you, that in my area, the cost of CSA's (Community Shared Agriculture) are significantly less than what she is paying. Generally speaking though, a CSA option is going to be less than if you bought at a Farmer's Market, as well as being an excellent solution to not having land to garden extensively yourself.

For my own family, I have gone the "Square Foot Gardening" route to feed us weekly, through the summer, and relied on local u-pick farms (although not always organic) as the most cost-effective way to have a good supply of fresh produce. I was going to seriously consider an organic CSA this summer - but my schedule is not going to allow for the weekly pick ups.

I think that the reason that the quote caught my eye is two-fold: one - my mom is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, and the expense is staggering...... 10's of 1000's of dollars monthly! She has "good insurance", so she pays very little, but I am just AMAZED at the COST. Secondly: since we have transitoned to real, whole foods - and completley been liberated from the processed/convenience/packaged stuff (i.e. I rarely go to the "grocery store" anymore), I can say unequivacably, that our family is one of the healthiest I know! We are RARELY sick. This is not an understatement. We simply do not "catch the crud" that goes around - and *if* we do, it's a VERY mild case, that doesn't require a doctor visit. It has been WELL over a year since ANYONE in my family has seen the doctor for a sick visit of any kind. It has been WELL over a year since anyone in my family has had to take an antibiotic of any kind.

My point? Eating real, healthy, whole foods and ditching fast food, processed food, convenience foods, and regular restaurant foods has made a significant difference in the cost of our "health care". Not only does completely cooking from scratch free up $$ to be spent on high quality whole foods, but it also keeps us healthy, so we are not spending money on doctor visits, over the counter meds, and prescriptions. We don't even eat exclusively "organic" - we just eat real food, prepared at home into wholesome, nourshing meals.

Joel Salatin's quote bears repeating: "If you think organic is expensive, have you priced cancer lately?"

*Just a note: I haven't yet figured out how to insert a "link" into my blog posts..... which means you will have to copy and paste the above address into the address bar of your browser to reach the web page.

Shauna

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

2009-03-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to report that I finally figured out how to organize all my blog posts by labels! I just went through and assigned labels to every post that I've done since the beginning!

So - now you can scroll down the left nav bar, until you find the "labels" section - and you can choose a category, and more easily find the posts you're looking for.

It was really a lot of fun going through all that I've written over the past few years...... and it was a wonderful reminder of all that God has taught me, and of His Faithfulness.

I hope this will make finding things on my blog MUCH easier for you!

Shauna

From - Scratch Salad Dressings

2009-03-18T06:02:00.001-07:00

Salad Dressings are very, very easy to make. Not only are they more economical, but they taste better too! This is another area of our "food life" where I have been able to completely eliminate buying at the store. Typically - there is always one of these dressings made up in the fridge, but if I need to whip up one at the last minute, it literally takes me about 3 minutes. Homemade dressings will keep a week or two in your fridge - but we usually have them finished in less time than that.

Homemade Ranch:
1 c Helemann's mayo (real mayo, not light or fat-free is what I use)
1 T dry minced onion
1/2 t garlic powder, or granulated garlic (dry)
1/2 t lemon pepper
2 t dried parsley
1/4 t salt, or more to taste
milk to thin

Combine the mayo and seasonings in bowl (or one of those tupperware dressing shakers). Stir to combine. Thin with milk to desired consistancy. (Start with a little milk, stir with whisk or shake in shaker - add until you get it how you like it. If you get it too thin - just add some more mayo to thicken.) *I don't measure any of these ingredients anymore. I did at first, now I just know by looking how much to throw in. This speeds up the time considerably to make it. Once you make it a few times, it's a no brainer! **Also note: this dressing WILL THICKEN as it sits in the fridge because the dry seasonings will "absorb" the liquid. So - when you get it out the next day for a salad, or to dip veggies in.... you may need to thin it again with a tablespoon or 2 of milk. This is NORMAL.

Creamy Dill:
1 c Helmann's mayo
1 c Daisy Sour Cream
2 t dried dill
1 t granlulated garlic or garlic powder
couple dashes of Worchestshire sauce
salt to taste
milk to thin

Combine mayo and sour cream. Stir in dill, garlic, salt and worchestshire. Mix well, thin with milk to desired consistancy. Taste and add more seasoning if you think it needs more. (This is another that will thicken as it sits in the fridge: you may need to thin with a tablespoon or 2 of milk the subsequent times you use it.)

Thousand Island:
1 c Helmann's mayo
1/2 c organic ketchup (I use organic because only organic doesn't contain High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
2 T (or more to taste) chopped sweet pickles or relish
1 T dry minced onion
1 t granulated garlic or garlic powder
salt to taste
sweet pickle juice to thin

Combine mayo, ketchup, pickles, onion, garlic, salt. Mix well. Stir in small amounts of sweet pickle juice to thin to desired consistancy. (This is the dressing we LOVE on our homemade reubans!)

Honey Mustard:
1 c Helmann's mayo
1/2 c dijon or grainy mustard (more or less, depending on strength of "dijon" flavor you like)
2-3 T honey
salt to taste, if needed (really, it depends on how "salty" your mustard tastes)
apple cidar vinegar, to thin

Combine mayo, mustard, honey. Mix well. Thin with very small amounts of vinegar, to desired consistancy. Taste and add salt if needed. (Sometimes I don't need to add salt - the mustard and mayo are salted enough.... it really just depends) This is approximately how I make mine - you can adjust the honey/mustard amounts with the mayo base if you like yours "more mustardy" or "more sweet", depending on your tastes.

Raspberry Poppy Seed Vinegrette:
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c raspberry vinegar
2 t sugar
1 t poppy seeds
couple shakes of salt

Combine all in a shaker container and shake until blended. Taste and add more sugar if you like it sweeter.

Dijon Vinegrette:
(This is the dressing my French mom made DAILY when I lived in France. It's one of my favorites!)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-3 T dijon mustard
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c vinegar (rice vinegar gives a nice, non-acidic flavor)
salt to taste

Combine garlic and mustard in a bowl. Stir together well. Whisk in oil and vinegar, shake a couple times with salt. I then transfer mine to a shaker container that makes it easy to shake and serve on the table. You can also just thow everything in a shaker and shake to blend. (I have one of those old "Italian Seasonings Cruets" that I got 15 years ago at a grocery store.... I don't know if they still have them or not.)

Enjoy!
Shauna

Welcome Green Party ladies!

2009-03-18T05:57:00.001-07:00

Just in case you're checking in after last night's "Green Party" - here's a big hello and WELCOME!

If you are new to my blog, you may notice a few things: namely - that I don't have my blog posts organized by "topic" (yet!), so unfortunately for now, you just have to scroll through the list, and the archives to find my recipes tucked in here and there. For those of you who know me - I am "gadget/technologically challenged" ~smile...... and I have yet to figure out how to organize my blog better. But - I am working on it!

If you scroll down and find a post you want to print - just click on the "title" of the blog entry. This will load the post on the screen by itself, and you can then print the individual blog entry, rather than the whole long string of entries.

My homemade salad dressings came up last night - so I'm going to post them in a separate entry.

Glad you stopped by!

Shauna

Running Blog

2009-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Okay - so I'm sure most of you aren't interested in this, but I've got to have a place to a) blog about my running and b) keep myself accountable! And since I don't have any other blogs, this will be the place! :)

I started my 10K training this week - 2 weeks earlier than the official start. While I have kept up my winter running very modestly (I don't have a treadmill or a gym membership - so it was YakTracks and taking on the snow and ice for me!)..... I knew that jumping into a 5 day a week training in 2 weeks might prove to be too much. Hence, I decided to start this week and next and build up. I trained 3 days this week, will train 4 next week, which will work me up to my 5 day official start to training. The race is in May, so I think I have 12 weeks (14 from now).

I am SO excited! BUT, it will be in the beginning that I also feel the temptation to think "it's too much" maybe I should just go for an easier 5K. I've been talking with a fellow runner and 1st time marathoner last year friend in my Sunday School class, and he has been VERY encouraging. He started running 5 years ago, and completed his first marathon last year. I'm not sure that I can do that, but I have to say - the goal is tempting! Could I *REALLY* do that in 5 years? If I train for 10K's for this year and next - then I'd be ready for a half-marathon the year after...... aii yiii yiii I'm getting ahead of myself.

Saturdays are my "long run" days. It's the day that I run the longest distance of the week. Today, that meant 3 miles. This week, I put in a mere 7 miles! ~Sigh..... at the end of last summer, I was putting in nearly 15 mile weeks. BUT, it was winter. I'm just proud of myself that I stuck with my running in the snow, and often when temps were below 20! My goal for winter was to just MAINTAIN my fitness so that I wouldn't have to start over in the spring.

So - here I am - STARTING my training, and I am once again reminded of how MENTAL running is. It was a BEAUTIFUL day today - near 50, and SUNNY. I was running on DRY pavement for the first time since last fall, AND I didn't require my Yak Tracks! A PERFECT day to run...... yet, once again, just into my first mile, I had the "Am I CRAZY?" thought. I had to force my mind to FOCUS, and to keep going. Sure enough, into mile 2, I was just FINE. Running is not physically hard for me - it's mentally hard. I think this is why I like it so much. It gives me the opportunity to work on self-discipline, and to accomplish something HARD. I never regret a run. EVER. Even the runs that I took in the frigid weather, while snow was driving in my face....... Every time I finish, I am glad. Every time I have a day where I feel "sluggish", I put on my running shoes, make myself go for a run, and instantly - I have a completly outlook on the day.

My long run days will stay at 3 miles for about 4 weeks - then they will start increasing gradually until I'm up to an 8 mile long run day. At that point, I will taper off to a 5 mile long run just before race day. I don't have any delusions about running a certain "time" - my goal is to just run well and FINISH. Reaching this goal will bring me to the goal I set for myself last summer for THIS summer: to be running 17-20 mile weeks! Working on this training will have me at that point by mid-May.

I will likely come on here once and awhile an blog about my progress.... I need the accountability to myself, and just being able to blog through the hard days will help. I'm thinking ahead to hill training and speed workouts..... I haven't done those since high school track! Phew!

Shauna

REAL FOOD WEDNESDAYS (I'm Late on the Draw, but here's my contribution!)

2009-02-07T13:45:00.001-08:00

Last week, Kelly the Kitchen Kop hosted Real Food Wednesday's: Rookie Tips from YOU!, and my life was CRAZY...... so I'm finally getting around to my contribution.

Kelly wanted us to share our Rookie Tips, or the things we would share with someone who is beginning their path to Real Food. I'm not sure that I can really "rank" mine in "order"...... so, instead, I'm going to post a succinct (hopefully!) list of ways to get started, mostly stemming from my own experience of getting off of processed, convenience and fast foods.

Rookie Tip #1:
Check out Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon from the Library, or buy it, and just START reading the introduction. Don't go through the recipes, or you'll feel OVERWHELMED. Rather, just read the introduction (80 pages in itself!), begin to digest the info, then skim through the book - read the individual introductions to each of the chapters, skim through the side bars, and don't forget my favorite feature of the book, the "Know Your Product" mini-quiz's. You'll find them scattered throughout the book in the sidebars, with an "ingredient label" and you have to guess the product! The answers are in the appendix. DON'T read the recipes yet - just reading what I outlined above will give you an amazing education on what is really healthy, what is REALLY good for us and how our bodies REALLY need and use real food.

Rookie Tip #2:
Start learning ***how*** to cook from scratch. I don't care if you're still buying all your groceries at the mega-grocery chain... just start buying real, whole food ingredients and learn how to make meals from those ingredients from scratch. Some helpful books you can find at nearly every library are: The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Whole Foods for the Whole Family, anything by Julia Child, etc. If you go to the library and just peruse the cookbook aisle, you'll be amazed at how many good cookbooks you can find. This is probably the biggest learning curve for most people: knowing what to do with the whole food ingredients they bring home! This takes time, and you need to start small. Don't be dismayed - once you start working on the learning curve, you'll pick things up with increasing momentum.

Rookie Tip #3:
Once you are FAMILIAR with whole foods (meats, whole milk real dairy - no processed cheese please!, produce, real whole grains like brown rice, real oatmeal, real whole wheat), then start branching out to find local, naturally produced sources of food. Honestly - if you try to tackle both learning how to cook from scratch AND searching out local sources of food, you'll be extremely overwhelmed.

Rookie Tip #4:
With regards to transitioning to a Nourishing Traditions style of eating, I will tell you the steps that we took. A) Change the fats to real and natural fats. Get rid of margarine, liquid oils, spreads, etc. We switched to butter, coconut oil, lard, some extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, and we ate the naturally occuring fats in our meats. B) Make stocks regularly and incorporate them into as many dishes as you can. We eat homemade soups very regularly, and I use stocks when making rice, or cooking lentils. C) Research and search out a source for raw milk. Read Nourishing Traditions and www.realmilk.com for information to get you started. D) Search out local sources of grass-fed sources of beef, pastured poultry, eggs from pastured poultry, and pork from pastured hogs. We no longer buy *any* of our meats from a store, they all come directly from one of 3 local farms that we give our business to. E) From here, you can determine where you want to go, and how much of the Nourishing Traditions philosophy you want to incorporate. By this time, you have probably ventured deep into the Nourishing Traditions book, and are comfortable with many of the recipes. It's only a matter of time now!

Rookie Tip #5:
Don't be discouraged or feel guilty. We are all in different parts of the nation, and have different food sources available. Arm yourself with sound information, then just do the best you can with what you have. Even a few small changes will make a big difference in your health!

Lastly, I'd like to give yet another unsolicited testimonial. When I first started reading Nourishing Traditions, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash. Seriously - I was *supposed* to eat BUTTER?????? I was a huge skeptic. However, I hung in there, and did a ton of research on my own. I read study after study after study, journal article after journal article - and I became CONVINCED to try this. We made steps A-D that I outlined above, and the results have been astounding: No cavities in any of the children or adults in over 4 years; a total of 2 rounds of antibiotics that needed to be prescribed over the last 4 years - all 5 of us included (!); my children's digestive issues (mainly frequent stomach aches) have DISAPPEARED; our skin has cleared up remarkably; we are all extremely healthy, and ***rarely*** go to the doctor; my Seasonal Affective Disorder has been a non-issue the last 2 winters; my hairdresser tells me that I have the healthiest hair of any of her clients; none of us are on any medications whatsoever; we are simply strong, healthy and happy! (And - when I got serious with my own NT diet - I lost 30 pounds!) If you go to the Weston Price website, you will find testimonial after testimonial after testimonial. You'll find a link to their site in the sidebar of my blog. It really is a great way to live!

Meal Ideas for Losing Weight

2009-02-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

By request, I am posting some actual "meal ideas" for losing weight. These are the things that I actually ate "regularly" while I was losing weight. I hesitate to call my way of eating "low carb", because I'm sure that I'm getting lots of carbs from vegetables, legumes, squash, some grains, etc. However - I was not eating ANY refined carbs, and now, I eat refined carbs RARELY.

First - I did take 2 weeks to break some of my refined foods/sugar cravings. I elimated ALL sugar, fruit, flour, grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes. This was for only two weeks. So in that period, here is what I typically ate:

Breakfast: EGGS (fried, scrambled, omelets, etc) with lots of butter, cheese, sea salt, pepper, salsa etc. Bacon, Canadian Bacon, Sausage. Sometimes I chopped up canadian bacon and scrambled it in the eggs, along with onion, pepper, cheese - then ate with salsa as a condiment. I often had 2 eggs and several slices of breakfast meat.

Mid-Morning snack: string cheese, raw milk cheese, pistachios, cashews, almonds (not all of these at once - I would usually choose a hunk of cheese and a handful of nuts)

Lunch: SALADS! I most often enjoyed chef salad with meats, cheeses, bacon, cooked eggs, sliced avacado, tons of veggies and homemade ranch or homemade creamy dill dressing. I also made tuna salad and served it on a bed of lettuce rather than in a sandwich. Taco salad was another favorite. I started with the lettuce as my "base" then topped it with taco meat, all the fixings, lots of sour cream and salsa and omitted the chips. (Later I would just crumble a COUPLE of chips over the top of the salad, almost as a "crouton" for some crunch.) I also liked to take Boston Lettuce and use that as a "wrap". I'd make ham and swiss or turkey and pepperjack "wraps" and then dip them in dijon/mayo blend that I'd whip up. With the wraps, I'd often have whole milk cottage cheese on the side, and in the summer I had a sliced tomato from my garden nearly every day!

Mid-Afternoon snack: same as above, or I'd also go for celery/pb or celery/cream cheese (I liked to doctor up my cream cheese with garlic salt and dill, dry minced onion - blend well, then spread inside the celery sticks). I also had dill dip made up (I make my own) and lots of veggies handy for veggies/dip.

Dinners: I quit making so many "casserole" type meals, and instead would roast chicken, or make up a beef roast, and then just serve lots of veggies with it. I also would usually put out some salad. (For my dinner salads, I liked to do a balsamic vinegraitte dressing or a dijon vinegraitte since I usually had the creamy dressings at lunch.) This way, I could make some rice or corn for my family, and I could just opt for the meat, vegetables and salads. I love vegetables, and I usually serve several at a meal. Some of my favorites: sauteed greens w/onions and garlic (green chard or spinach are the favorites), roasted brussle sprouts (sometimes with bacon!), steamed veggies of all kinds: brocolli, cauliflower, sugar peas, carrots etc, roasted asparagus (!!!), green beans (home canned, and just heated up, or I get the french beans at Sam's and make Garlic Green Beans). The key with vegetables is to make sure you put plenty of real butter on them and season with sea salt or good garlic salt. Another note on dinners: I kept frozen wild caught Salmon filets and Tilapia on hand so that if I was making a "casserole" or serving something like Spaghetti, I could just easily throw a salmon filet in the oven for myself. Sometimes I'd make a cream sauce for it, but often it was just melted butter and fresh lemon juice drizzled over, with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. This way, I could have my meat entree and just eat the other veggies/salad that I planned on with the meal. Some other things I did were to make things like chicken alfredo by baking the whole chicken breasts IN the alfredo sauce (rather than making a sauce that went over pasta). Then I could serve the pasta on the side for the rest of the family. (They could place their piece of chicken ON top of the pasta, then serve extra sauce over it. I could just forgo the pasta.) I did this with parmesean chicken too.

After the two weeks were over, I had initially lost about 10 pounds. At this point, I started adding in SMALL portions of "carbs" into my diet. I made sure they were all REAL foods. At first, I limited myself to 1 serving of a "carb" food each day. Then, as I saw that my weight loss wasn't slowing to much, and I wasn't dealing with sugar cravings, I moved to 2 servings. The things I added in were: real oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), low-carb tortillas (for wraps at lunch).

With the above additions, I'll give you some examples of how I worked them in: If I had oatmeal for breakfast, I was sure to eat a salad for lunch. If I had eggs for lunch, I'd go ahead and make a wrap in a low-carb tortilla for lunch (or put the crumbled tortilla chips on my taco salad, etc.) For dinner, I would add 1 "carb" food to my meat/veggies/salad meal. I would either have half a baked sweet potato or some baked winter squash (or roasted rutebega/parsnips), or a small portion of brown rice. With any of the "carb" additions - I made sure to load them with good quality fats, which slows the insulin response, and insures good absorbtion of all the fat-soluable vitamins. I put atleast a tablespoon of coconut oil on my oatmeal, along with cream, berries, and a little bit of raw honey. My squashes and sweet potatoes and brown rice had plenty of butter and sea salt.

I also made homemade soups very frequently! I did not worry about the barley in my "Vegetable Beef" soup, nor the brown rice spaghetti in my "Minestrone", nor the noodles in my "Chicken Noodle" soup. I usually make grilled cheese for my family to go with soups (on my homemade whole wheat bread), but for a long time, I just had a salad with mine. I got to the point where I'd add a HALF grilled cheese to my meal. Now, I can easily eat a whole grilled cheese with my soups with no problem.

In my experience, I lost weight quite quickly in the first 2 weeks, then my weight loss tapered to a slower pace. In the end, I started just after Thanksgiving, and by my birthday in April, I was down 30 pounds. That's a tad more than 4 months, so lets say 16 weeks to just take an average: that comes out to 2-3 pounds per week, on average. I did hit one stretch were I felt like I "plateaued" a bit, but I don't remember it lasting long. The only time that my weight loss stalled out was when life was "off" and I had consumed some refined foods. Once in awhile, I would have to take 2-3 days to go back to the "strict" phase to jump start the weight loss again.

Now that I am maintaining, I don't have to be nearly so picky. I still generally have eggs or oatmeal for breakfast, but once in awhile, I'll have some whole grain pancakes or waffles that I make for my kids. (Our family goes through 4 dozen eggs a week, mainly because we do not eat breakfast cereals of any kinds.) I also like to use sprouted corn tortillas and make breakfast burritos! I still eat chef salads several days a week. I eat a sandwich maybe once a week. The other days are often re-heated leftovers from dinner. My dinners haven't changed much. I still watch my "carb" foods at dinner. I won't have rice AND corn, for example. I make cornbread with homemade chili, and I like to have it with butter and raw honey, but I only have one serving. I have found that, so long as I stay with REAL foods, and WHOLE foods, I can maintain my weight with very little "effort".

I do not count calories, or "fat grams" - and never have. I just stay away from refined foods, and processed foods, and eat a reasonable portion, stopping when I am satistifed, not necessarily "full". I don't always snack - in fact, I rarely do. However, if I do feel actually "hungry", I will grab a handful of nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios), or a hunk of cheese.

For "dessert", in the evenings, I found several caffene free teas that I liked to have. Decaf chai with milk (no sugar), or Stash Decaf Creme Caramel, or a few herbal blends were my favorites. I still enjoy winding down with a cup of tea!

I should note beverages: I drink large amounts of raw milk, and lots of water. I also am a big coffee drinker. I make a pot of coffee every morning, and enjoy it with real cream (no sugar, no "flavored creamers", no "powdered creamers"...... read the lables on those things - they are nothing buy hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and chemicals!). I generally enjoy my coffee in the morning (whatever I want), and then I drink water and milk all the rest of the day. Sometimes I'll make a pot of tea (I love a strong assam or earl grey!) instead of coffee. I completely got off all soda pop, and I don't drink Diet. I also stay away from all artificial sweetners (including splenda!). Aspertame is a topic for a whole different blog post, but I will say, related to weight loss: if you are taking in splenda or aspertame and you aren't losing weight, or not as quickly as you'd like - it could be the artificial sweetner. Many people respond to the artificial sweetners as they do real sugar. It may be elevating your insulin levels more than you know, and so, inhibiting your weight loss.

Well - this was very long - but I hope helpful!

Shauna

Real Food Wednesdays: Healthy Fast Food!

2009-01-21T08:18:00.001-08:00

I'm participating in Real Food Wednesdays, hosted this week by Kelly over at "Kelly the Kitchen Kop" (you can hop over to her website by clicking on the link over on the left!). The topic this week is "Healthy Fast Food". What do you do when it's 5:00 and you've had a busy day, didn't plan ahead to start dinner, or are simply too exhausted to make a big homemade meal from scratch?

I'll start with some of those ideas, then I'd like to add an "addendum" of my own: my best "plan ahead meals".

First, my "Crap it's 5:00" ideas (to quote Kelly! ~smile)

Croque-Monsieur: A French grilled ham and swiss sandwich. We have used turkey or ham, whichever we had, and we prefer the swiss cheese. We have these with salad (90% of the time I have salad fixings), or cut up veggies w/a quick homemade dill dip, and/or we open up jars of my home canned peaches, pears or applesauce.

Taco Salad: My ground beef comes in nice vacuum packed 1# packages. It's always frozen - but if I fill my sink with hot water, and put the packet in there, it's usually thawed by the time I've got most of my taco salad fixings ready. It only takes 10 minutes to brown a couple pounds of beef and mix in the taco seasoning. We always have taco chips, and usually tortillas.... so I generally save taco salad as one of my "last minute meals". I also soak and can my own pinto and black beans.... so it's easy to open up a jar and either fix them into refried beans (literally, this takes 5 minutes!) or rinse and drain them to go on the taco salad.

Spaghetti: I always have my homemade/home canned spaghetti sauce in the pantry (I make 30 quarts at a time!), and the same goes for the meat as I wrote above. HOWEVER - if I am really tired, I don't like to make spaghetti, because it's one of those easy meals that uses up a ton of pots and pans, by the time I get a vegetable going with it...... so while this is easy to throw together at the last minute, I don't always use it.

Sloppy Joes: These are extremely fast and easy to put together. I use the same method for thawing the beef at the last minute, and I have an easy homemade seasoning use that doesn't require using ANY ketchup. I don't usually have buns, but we will just have it on regular bread, open face (which reduces the amount of bread!), and cut it with a fork and knife. Sometimes I like to make up a quick pan of fried potatoes and onions to go with it, and a salad.

Now for a few plan ahead tips:

Generally speaking, I don't run into the "5:00" dilemma very often because I have worked on a few plan-ahead habits along the way.

1) Whenever I make homemade soup - I make a gigantic stock pot full. I freeze half the soup for an "emergency" night. I like to freeze soup in the half-gallon freezer containers (square shaped) because these work well in my freezer. I can then take a FROZEN container of soup out at the last minute, leaving the lid on, rut it under warm water in the sink to "loosen" the sides, then remove the lid and dump the frozen block out into the stock pot. If you then put the lid ON and turn the heat to medium-high and RESIST the urge to stir it as it thaws, it will be thawed, and ready to go in about 20 minutes. If I am running in the house at the last minute, I start this FIRST, the unload everything from the car, get settled, etc.... and then I can put some easy grilled cheese sandwiches or cut up veggies together to go with it. When the soup is halfway thawed, I usually turn the heat down to medium, but I've found it's best not to stir it until it's completely, or atleast nearly completely thawed. (Otherwise, you'll mash up the beans, shred the half-frozen vegetables, etc.)

2) Crock-Pot: I have just a handful of EASY crock pot "pantry meals" that I can put together in 5 minutes, using frozen meat, that requires minimal preperation.

Here are 4:
a) BBQ chicken: Frozen chicken leg quarters, our favorite bottled bbq sauce (we buy it in Kansas City by the case and bring it home to Michigan. See www.jackstackbbq.com if you're interested.

b) Italian Chicken: Frozen chicken leg quarters, 1 quart home canned tomatoes, 1 onion sliced into rings, italian seasoning, granulated garlic, salt, pepper to taste over all.

c) Beef Stew: 2 # beef stew meat, 1 quart bag frozen whole carrots (I buy these from a farmer, then wash, blanch and freeze them WHOLE for roasts and stews all winter.), 2-3 red potatoes, cut into quarters, 1 quart bag frozen corn (home grown, and blanched and frozen), dried rosemary, salt and pepper to taste over all. *Just before serving, I mix a little flour and water and stir in to thicken the gravy a bit.

d) Mexican Chicken: Layer in the bottom of the crock pot 1 quart bag frozen corn, 1 quart pinto or black beans drained and rinsed, 1 pint home canned salsa. Set frozen chicken leg quarters on top, salt and pepper the chicken. To serve, remove the chicken leg quarters and set on a platter. Stir the remaining veggies and beans (that now also have the beneficial gelatin from the bones in it!), stir in a little cream cheese if you'd like, and serve this mixture as a "corn/bean/salsa" side dish. If you have leftover chicken, debone it, and mix the meat into the leftover corn mixture..... this will make an EXCELLENT filling for quesidillas when you have another emergency night! (I freeze the quesidilla filling).

All 3 of these cook on high all day, since the meat is going in frozen.

And, last but not least....... the ace up my sleeve when it's "one of those nights", is to go to Papa Murphey's! (Shhhhh.... don't tell!) Dh and I love the D'Light pizzas (low carb) and the kids love an occasional pepperoni pizza from "the pizza place".

Shauna

Better Health/Weight Loss

2008-12-30T06:18:00.000-08:00

I actually wrote this last year - around New Year's. I had started losing weight right after Thanksgiving, and lost 11 pounds "through the holiday season" which was a miracle to me! (I actually lost most of that in the first few weeks, and then maintained my weight loss through Christmas and New Year's, picking back up in January with losses).

You know - they say the true test of weight loss is TIME. Well, I am happy to report that it has been over one year since I started this - and I am still consistantly 25-30 pounds lighter! I have had moments where I"ve been a full 30 pounds lighter, but I tend to stay right around the 131-132 lb mark "easily" now. (Keeping in mind that #'s are relative to bone mass, height, etc) I will grant - that I do run regularly now, and am curently training for some races in the spring......but I did not start running until AFTER I reached my goal weight. In fact, I did not use exercise at all. I just focused on my nutrition, and permantly changing my eating habits (breaking my sugar cravings, etc). I do think that my running has drastically improved my overall health (my body is mainly lean body mass, muscle - rather than soft and flabby; my blood pressure is optimal; my immune system is strong; I sleep very well now; I no longer require naps nor do I feel sluggish during the day, etc). I firmly believe nutrition and an active lifestyle go hand in hand, but I did not exercise "to lose" my weight.

I'm posting my plan for anyone interested. At the time I wrote this, I was at an 11lb loss. Today, I am firmly 27 lbs lighter, and have not yo-yo'd whatsoever. I reached this weight near the beginning of April 07, so I have maintained for a full 9 months now, with very little "effort".

Here's what I wrote January '07:

I have not really had a weight problem up until when I started having children. However, my mother always struggled with her weight, sluggish metabolism, hypothyroid etc. (My dad on the other hand, if he didn't eat 3 meals a day minimum, he would LOSE weight! So not fair.... my baby sis got HIS genes.... good for her, not so for me. ) Once I started having children, my metabolism became that like my mom's. I put on an enormous amount of weight with each pregnancy, and for me, nursing did NOT take it off. When I weaned my kids a year later or so, I was facing needing to lost quite a bit of weight. With the first 2, I was able to get it off, but I had to work at it. One year, I went "vegetarian" for a full year..... I lost weight, but I was eating a lot of highly processed soy (in the form of "fake meats"), and while I still enjoy some meatless dishes, can't/won't ever go back to that again. I also did WW in 2 different bouts, and like Margaret, while it "worked", I was always thinking/planning for food. If I was hungry, I had to do a math problem to figure out what I could eat, and make sure it didn't mess up my "points" for dinner. I have never been able to do WW w/o being hungry very often and most of my energy is to simply distract myself from my hunger. I have also done Atkins, after ds2. While I lost a ton of weight, and looked great - it was simply TOO restrictive. What did me in, was the weekend when I was at a scrapbooking deal, and had been at my goal weight so long...that I thought it would be "safe" to eat "any" food.... well, I had a Strawberry Yoplait yogurt (the regular full sugar kind!) and it tasted like a rich cheesecake to me! I still remember the emotional high of eating that yogurt! Then I ate a croissant.... then it was over. I gained 20 lbs back in no time flat!

We moved to Michigan, and I had done really well, until I got pregnant for dd. History repeated itself, and I gained well over 40lbs. However, this time, being my 3rd, and being older, I have had a very hard time letting the weight go. One summer, I was VERY fit, but it was the summer dh was unemployed, so he was home, and I was WALKING (read: speed walking to relieve the stress, with my mp3 player blasting praise music so I could keep trusting the Lord!) 4-6 miles A DAY. Once I quit walking, the weight crept back up.

I have been trying to eliminate junk food, processed food, sugar, etc and do "all things in moderation" but I seem to have "settled" at a weight about 25lbs above what I really should be..... and the number kept creeping up. Every couple months, it would be a pound or so MORE. I had a closet full of jeans that I could no longer wear. I was going to thrift stores to buy sizes one and two up from what I had hanging in my closet!

Earlier, in the fall, we had put in the cd's that were taken of our camping trip with our friends at Cran-Hill, and as I looked at the photos here and there of ME, I was dismayed! The "picture" of what I looked like "in my head" was way thinner than what I saw. I saw my mom, and I knew that if I didn't get this under control, in another decade, I would be right where she is at.... sooner or later, a good 80+ pounds overweight, and with all sorts of health issues.

So, for whatever reason, driving home from Thanksgiving this year from Missouri (14 hours in the car!), I determined to finally deal with this. Looking back, I knew that I had the best "success" (albeit temporary) with Atkins, but I didn't want to do anything that drastic. Besides - Atkins only deals with what NOT to eat (no carbs), they don't deal with nutrition and HOW to eat. I've learned a ton about nutrition since then. When I was doing atkins, I wasn't eating "carbs" but I was eating a bunch of junk -hightly processed "low carb" convenience foods that were not nourishing my body (i.e. those little meal replacement bars with all sorts of manufactured ingredients rather than whole foods in their natural state.)

I also subscribe to the "Nourishing Traditions" way of eating, so I took the South Beach Diet book, and "Nourishing Traditionalized" it..... and it really didn't resemble much the SBD anymore, but that's okay - it was my "own plan".

I also am a big reader on the Mercola.com website. While Dr. Mercola has some "evolutional foundations", his science is good, I believe. I have a friend at chuch who is a medical doctor, who said the same thing..... you have to wade through some of his "rational", but his science is spot-on for permanent good health. So, I checked out his book from the library "The Total Health Makeover" by Dr. Joseph Mercola (www.mercola.com) and realized that what I had "devised" was EXACTLY what he prescribed.

In a nutshell, here's how I'm eating now:

Eliminate sugar, and sugar substitutes - ALL of it. The stuff I know about sugar, I would say it's nearly singly-handledly responsible for all of our degenerative disease, and weight gain. The average american consumes 63 GALLONS of high fructose corn syrup per year - AVERAGE!!!! (However, once I'm at my goal weight, I will use real maple syrup and raw honey in very low moderation).

Drastically reduce grains - all of them. All grains you purchase at the stores are processed and highly refined, I don't care what the package says. All refined grains will cause disease and weight gain. When I get to my goal weight, I will use real WHOLE grains in very low moderation (I am a "mixed type" according to mercola, which means I can tolerate about 10% of my calories from real WHOLE grains if I choose, which sounds about right by how my body has responded from this new way of eating.)

Consume all dairy in raw form, or atleast whole fat yogurt with no sugar (or subs) added.

Consume grass-fed beef (beef is a common source of CORN because most beef is corn-fed in this country... fortunately, the farm I go to I can get organic 100% grass fed beef, even finished on grass), and organic, pastured poultry and eggs

Eat lots of deep sea fish (salmon, tilapia, paddock, etc ideally that has been tested for mercury etc. farm raised fish is full of contaminants from run off water. I just go for the "wild caught")

50% of my calories come from vegetables - lots of vegetables, and a very wide variety. Organic when I can, but vegetables none the less.

Cook with butter and coconut oil only, extra virgin - cold pressed olive oil is fine as well, since olive oil is an omega-9 and won't disrupt the balance of omega 6:omega3 ratio I'm striving for (a 1:1, whereas the average american consuming soy and vegetable oils is a 50:1 ration - very damaging to your health, according to mercola and nourishing traditions)

Any "sweets" are consumed as fruits, mainy berries, and some of the lower sugar fruits.

Nuts and seeds are fine, in small amounts here and there, just have to be careful to keep my omega 6 and omega 3 ratio in check.

Cod liver oil, vitamin K are my only supplements. I don't take probiotics because I routinely consume raw whole milk yogurt and keifer when I can.

Here's how that translates in a typical day for me:

Bfast: soft set eggs, canadian bacon or regular bacon, or ham, coffee with raw real cream

snack: baby bel gouda, string cheese, or raw milk cheeses and handful of nuts

Lunch: turkey/swiss roll ups in boston lettuce, garlic-cilantro mayo as condiment (my FAVE!) with handful of grape tomatoes, sugar peas and half an avacado sliced up on the side

snack: celery and natural pb

Dinner: Chicken baked in homeade alfredo sauce, baked acorn squash with butter and little bit of maple syrup drizzled on it, roasted asperagus or broiled rosemary zucchini.

snack/dessert: decaf Stash vanilla-nut-creme black tea (with just milk, no sugar)

My diet is far more varied that it ever has been, and I feel CLEAN, full of energy, and I've lost 11 pounds in a month. I am losing about 2-3 a week now. When I do eat something with white flour or white sugar in it, I feel "sick". Sweets taste "sickenly sweet" to me, as this plan has completely eliminated my sugar cravings. Now, I eat something like a piece of fruit, and it tastes like heaven! I hadn't realized how all that sugar consumption was altering my natural tastes for REAL, WHOLE foods. (I was even "watching" my sugar - but I didn't realize how MUCH I really WAS eating!)

The other thing, is that I am basically only eliminating sugar and refined grains - it's not "low carb", as my diet is probably 50% carb calories - but they're mainly from VEGETABLES, rather than sugar and grains. So, it's not nearly as restrictive as Atkins, and it's a way that I CAN eat for life (especially feeling as good as I do, I hope I never go back to my old ways!), it has just helped me to FINALLY cut that umbilical cord to refined grains and sugars FOR GOOD.

Shauna

True Confessions of a Woman Devoted to her Home

2008-12-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

I found this article (titled "Confessions of a Real Home-Loving Mom", which I wrote nearly 3 years ago, for a message board I help to moderate. I decided that I wanted to repost it here, on my personal blog. It was a good reminder to me, to just rest securely in my role as a wife, mother and homemaker, and to not worry about living up to anyone else's "ideals". I hope it will bless you as well.

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(article reprinted from HOMEschool Fellowship, by the author)

Do you know what the problem with internet access and a good search engine is? I have access to many wonderful websites full of the wisdom of many godly women whose hearts are fully turned toward home. Why is that a problem you ask? Well, if you're like me, you tend to read all the wonderful, encouraging stuff out there.... and then, you feel..... well, very inadequate.

Don't you ever wish that someone would give you a real slice-of-their life, instead of a "pie in the sky" overview of what a home-centered lifestyle is? Well, I'm here to confess...... and give you such a slice!

How I love my husband, my children, and having them home with me. The Lord has truly blessed us, giving us more than we could have come up with ourselves. I can't imagine being anywhere except right here, doing just what I'm doing. However, I have a few confessions to make......

Once in awhile, I'd like to do the laundry without my precious 2yo on her stool "helping" by throwing anything she can reach into the washer (including the clean clothes that I just removed from the dryer!!!).

I daydream about staying in my robe until noon, drinking a whole pot of coffee, uninterrupted......

I have to admit, when the boys are out playing and little one is down for a nap, I stop and relish the momentary silence of my house.

My least favorite thing to do on any given day is to have to pack the diaper bag, close up the house, and load the crew into the van to do errands!!!!

There is atleast one moment of every single day that I feel that what is expected of me as a wife and mother far exceeds what I am capable of!

I am extremely content on the rare occasion that I am in my home ALONE.

If I had a nickel for every instance of bickering that I dealt with, I'd be RICH!

Sometimes, I just want to listen to MY favorite music in the car.... very LOUD.

When I finish putting all the children into bed at night, I come down the stairs and breath out a sigh of relief.

At the end of really tough days, I collapse into bed and wonder how I will ever get out in the morning.

It would be really nice if all my meals could be planned, prepared, and cleaned up after for ME. Sometimes, I just don't even want to think about WHAT to fix for supper, and wish that we didn't "need" to eat.

I really do better when my house is very clean..... something that just isn't realistic when a family is living under this roof 24/7.

I daydream about the day when the kids are all old enough to stay home by themselves while I go grocery shopping.

Unlike the stereotype of most women, I DON'T multitask well, and can only think clearly when it's QUIET. (Hence, it is often heard in my house, "Quiet a minute.... mom needs to think!" )

But at the same time......

I pray and ask the Lord to daily remind me of the preciousness of this season of life with small children. I'm convinced that it's the busiest season of a woman's life, and one of the most taxing mentally and physically. At the same time, the blessings of being a wife and mother are profound. The Lord has created the family as his primary means for raising up generations that love, honor and serve Him. As wives and mothers, we have a position of honor in our families. Our honor comes not from ourselves, but because of the One who has placed us in this position. He is worthy of our dying to ourselves, losing our "own" lives, in order to pick up the life He has ordained for us to live in Christ. It is by His power that we overcome our flesh and selflessly love and serve our families. To Him be all glory!

So, let us encourage one another, and remember that outside appearances and first impressions rarely are accurate to the private struggles of the will. It is so valuable to see how other women are living out their lives honoring the Lord, but let us also not forget that on any given day, the "slice of life" reality can be very different than what we are striving for.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, might, mind and strength, knowing that He is worthy of a life submitted to His reign and rule as Father and Lord. He remembers that we are dust, and is fully able to complete that which He has begun in us, until the day of Christ Jesus! (Matt 22:37; Malachi 1:6; Psalm 103:14; Phil 1:6)

My Baby is 5 Tomorrow!

2008-12-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the big day..... my baby will turn 5! Seems like I've been a parent forever in some ways. It's really only been a little over a decade. I honestly can't really remember a life without my children, and the full life that mothering brings. However, as I was tucking my little sweetheart into bed tonight, I told her to "sleep well, this is her last night to sleep as a 4 year old!". For whatever reason, it just HIT me, that I no longer have babies, toddlers OR preschoolers in my home! When in the world did that happen?

I now have a home with 3 children who are pretty much self-sufficient. There are no longer diapers, pull ups, or baby toys around my home. My children all brush their own teeth, get themselves dressed, load themselves in the van (mostly!), keep themselves occupied, play on their own. They don't need me to pick them up to wash their hands, or wash their faces, or tie their shoes. (dd can't tie shoes yet - but she doesn't wear many shoes with ties...... so I'm sure I'll go through another shoe-tying phase again when it's tennis shoe weather!)

Little Miss Wonderful is an enormous blessing to me. She brings me such joy. At the same time, she astounds me with her confidence, how "settled" she is in her own skin. She truly knows who she is, and she's not afraid to be herself! I see such strong character qualities in her, and my challenge is to keep them growing in the right direction. Any of you who have been around her know that this is a *true challenge*. Tonight, as I said to her, wistfuly "Tomorrow you're going to be 5!", she asked "Why is that sad mom?" I said "I don't know sweetheart, it just means that I'm done with babies." To that, she matter-of-factly-replied, "Well, you know mom..... it's just God's plan. Mom's have babies, and they grow up! It's not sad!" Wise beyond her years.

While I will miss the baby days (which I never thought I'd say when I was in the thick of sleep deprivation and sheer physical exhaustion!), I am also going to bed tonight looking forward to the new season of mothering that I am officially entering: Being a mother of all school-aged children!

It's a strangely liberating feeling.

Yet, at the same time - everything I was told is true: As a parent, you go from being physically exhausted, to being mentally exhausted. My oldest will be 13 in about a month....... and TRUST ME - it's HARDER to parent older children than when they're babies. It only parenting could be as simple as it was when they were babies! The stakes are higher when they're older. Things aren't as black and white. Everything you think you "know" and have "gained in experience" as a parent in the first decade of the child's life is thrown out the window when they hit the preteen years. With my older boys, I navigate a lot of unknown waters....... some that feel awfully treacherous! Parenting preteens is not for the faint of heart........ you've got to be prepared to throw away every preconceived notion you've ever had with regards to what your child will "be like", and instead, be willing to embrace who they ARE, cultivate that, and have enough grace (and courage!) to grow into the individuals they are meant to become.

No, mothering isn't for the faint of heart. Yet, I can't imagine giving my life in any other way. Being my husband's wife, and my children's mother has been more deeply satisfying and more deeply meaningful than I could have ever imagined. I feel sorry for the feminists..... they're really missing out on the good stuff of life!

Happy Birthday My Precious Daughter!

Shauna

So, We're all Victims Now?

2008-12-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

I listen to the radio quite a bit. We don't have cable or satellite anymore, nor do we have a tv in the main living areas of the house. Instead, I listen to am talk radio, or to music, as I am carrying on with my day-to-day routines. Lately, I've been hearing how the tone of all the commercials has been changing. It seems that every commercial has to point out our "victimization" by the economy, and of course, the advertised service's/product's ability to alleviate our suffering. It is just plain annoying! I don't know any other word for it. I'm really growing tired of hearing how Americans are "victims" of these hard times. It's called LIFE people. (not speaking to my dear readers, of course - but rather to the knuckle-heads out there who just don't get it.)

I really don't understand where or how Americans have reached a point where they act entitled to an easy life, with no strife, worry, or financial constraints. We're entitled to drive a gas guzzling car AND have gas prices low. We're entitled to the top of the line health care, and it better not cost us one DIME. We deserve to buy whatever we want, whenever we want. If grocery prices go up, we whine. If there's a new gadget or tech toy, we MUST have it. They're not wants, they're needs....... necessary, after all, because we can't imagine how we ever got by in the past without them!

(Backing down now.....)

Whatever happened to just managing our resources and living within our means? Whatever happened to "make due", or "make the best of what you have". What I see happening, is that an entire generation is being robbed of the joy of ingenuity and perseverance through difficult times. Very few are willing to slow down their lifestyle to work on the skills they need to improve their family's quality of life. Talking about things like gardening, real cooking, learning how to do repairs yourself, building things you need, basic sewing either fall on deaf ears ( the "I deserve my candy and I want it now" mentality) or are received as a "pipe dream" ("I don't have time to cook!"). So, we have the ads, endeavoring to appeal to these victims of our modern hard times.

I do feel like I'm quite qualified to write on this subject, as we have taken our fair share of hits ourselves. We're currently living on less than HALF the salary we had just 4 years ago. We lost a very good paying job, only to have my husband take a string of "band-aid" jobs to just put SOMETHING on the table. We're currently striving to become self-employed in a state that the "doom-and-gloom experts" would say is impossible....... yet we're doing it! Still, my husband easily works twice the number of hours per week to provide merely HALF the income we used to comfortably live on. Yet, I would say that in many ways, our quality of life is far greater than it was when we could "afford everything". We learned to garden, not because it was a hobby - but because we HAD to feed our family, and reduce our dependancy on a grocery store. I have learned to cook from scratch, easily cutting our grocery bill in HALF (I spend in one month what many families spend in a week and a half!). My boys have learned alongside my husband how to do basic car repairs, as we can't afford the mechanic. I've learned how to do basic sewing and keep my kids outfitted in pajamas, and I've discovered the blessing of thrift stores and garage sales! My gas budget is $25 a week. This means that there have been weeks I could afford just under a half tank of gas per week - so I stayed home alot, and my kids learned the meaning of "no". (No, I can't take you across town to see your friend right now..... but I will be out in a few days, perhaps we can meet his mom some place and I can pick him up then.) They've also learned that "this is what we're having for supper tonight, eat it with thanksgiving - rather than complaining because it isn't your favorite, or you aren't keen on all the ingredients!"

The other thing that I want to point out is this: I have had several people ask me why I have continued to stay at home, and homeschool, through the times that my husband has been unemployed/underemployed. The answer is simple: I can do more at home to save money (a net "gain" to our household) and better manage what money DOES come into our home, than if I went outside the home to work a job and pay for the expenses associated with all of that. This only works if you're willing to let go of "the lifestyle". Unless you are saddled with consumer debt - I am firmly convinced that a woman can do more to advance the financial prosperity of her family by STAYING home, than by working outside the home. Homemaking beyond maintenance requires TIME.

You know, I look at my Grandparents, of whom I have tremendous respect. I think of how they talk of persevering through the depression, and of the character they gained. I fear that we are now a nation of the "I want my candy" mentality rather than the "I'm going to figure out how to make this work on less, AND choose joy" mentality. I suppose time will tell.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Shauna

Coq au Vin

2008-12-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

I made this tonight and wanted to share the recipe. This is one of my favorite winter comfort foods. It sounds very complicated and "fancy", but Coq au Vin is really a very common "one pot French meal". It's probably as common on the French evening meal table as Meat Loaf might be to Americans! It is extremely easy, and is one of those "put it together and let it simmer a couple hours" meals.

Coq au Vin

3-4 lbs chicken, cut up (I used 4lbs of chicken leg quarters, you can also use a whole chicken, cut up. Don't use boneless breasts though!!!!)
unbleached flour, salt and pepper
olive oil (to coat stock pot)
3-4 slices bacon, cut into pieces with kitchen shears
pearl onions (or just get a cooking onion, peel it and quarter it)
fresh mushrooms (button preferred)
6 cloves garlic, peeled, halved
1 bottle red wine (I used a petit sirah by Crane Lake - inexpensive, and I use it for this)
sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary and sage (I've used dried, but fresh makes a far better gravy!)

Heat oil in your stock pot, put bacon pieces in and fry over medium heat until softened (don't burn! watch the heat!). Add onions, mushrooms, saute until softened. Remove from the pot to a temporary container. Dredge chicken in flour/salt/pepper mixture, then brown on both sides. Do this in batches if you need to (I did mine in 2 batches, and just had a casserole setting aside to hold the chicken that was done.) You're just browning - not "frying". Return the chicken to the pot, the vegetables and sprinkle the garlic cloves over. Pour the red wine over the whole thing (yes I used the whole bottle - I had a lot of chicken - about 7 large leg quarters. The original recipe called for 3 c, but you are wanting to add enough to barely cover the meat.) Add the sprigs to the pot, stir gently to just get everything combined. Cover, and bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Simmer on medium/low for 2-3 hours (mine was ready after 2, but I turned the heat down and let it stay warm until dh got home, another 45 minutes or so. The wine will cook down (all the alcohol cooks out, especially with a 3 hours simmer!), combine with the meat juices, and is infused with the garlic and fresh herbs to make a most unbelievable gravy! (If you've had this dish, you won't taste "wine" at all...... it just makes a very rich gravy that is absolutley to die for!). Just before serving, remove the chicken to a platter, remove the sprigs, and bring the heat up to a low boil. Use a whisk, and if you need to, you can sprinkle in another T of flour to thicken, but this sauce will already be so thick and rich you may not need too. Taste, and season with salt if necessary.

Serve a piece of chicken with a nice ladle of rich gravy over it! We also had baked sweet potatoes and roasted brussle sprouts.

(If you are opposed to using regular wine, you can find "cooking wine" in the vinegar aisle of the grocery store. Cooking wine is simply a lower quality wine that would not be suitable for drinking. It can be expensive though, and the petit sirah I like to use for this dish actually gives a better flavor, and is cheaper! I don't know a lot about wine though, so those of you who are more of a "wine connoseur" may think my choice is too cheap - but it works well for this dish. I have heard of people using grape juice, but honestly - I think it would ruin this dish. Grape juice is just too SWEET and would give a sugary flavor, imo. I've never tried it though. Cooking with wine isn't an issue for me though.)

Shauna

It's Winter.... and it's LOVELY!

2008-12-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right - LOVELY! I have decided to make the choice to love winter this year. I love so many things about living in the Great Lakes region, but 6 months of winter gets to be a bit much..... okay - so I exaggerate a bit!

Today was one of those days..... we are getting hit hard with Lake Effect Snow. We got a good 8 inches on top of the 4 inches or so of what was already on the ground, and we've got 100% chance of more Lake Effect Snow "producing significant accumulations" tomorrow, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....... oh for the entire week!

How did I spend my snowy day? Well, this morning, the kids and I crawled over to a friend's house where we spent the day making peppernuts ( a Christmas tradition that she was sharing with me) and then Queso Fresco and Homemade Fresh Mozerella cheese (something I was sharing with her!). The kids played in the snow, and our middle boys (who seem to be 2 peas in a pod) hauled wood out in the snowy woods to set about building their "fort". (Oh, how I love that homeschooling allows my boys to be BOYS! Rather than being trapped in a desk in a classroom with no windows, they are out being BOYS building a fort in the middle of a snowstorm!). Then, when we came home, I put a fire in the fireplace; put on a pot of chili; got my strength training in (I wasn't about to go for a run, even though I really wanted to..... I was CLOSE to going anyway, but when I realized the snow was mid-calf deep, and the plows hadn't been out yet, I decided on plan B!); then after dinner sat in front of my fire to work on my knitting, it was a lovely thing!

On a semi-related note, I've been having a little pity party for myself for stupid, frivolous reasons the past several weeks. Life has just thrown us some unexpected curve balls, and things haven't "gone according to the dream" we embarked on when we were married........ in some respects, the "dream" really derailed 4 years ago when my husband first lost his job. I've been just down in the dumps, mourning the loss of my fairy tale. Well - today, it stuck me profoundly, that I need to re-define "my fairy tale" because I have one, and I'm living it! Oh sure, money is so tight that we pinch pennies until they bleed, and every little thing is a huge money issue...... but I have a marriage to die for, a husband that loves me profoundly and passionately, children that really are a delight (honestly - most of the time!), a warm home full of life, homeschooling - which allows me to live a full life WITH my children IN our home, our HEALTH, happiness and joy, and most of all - the LORD. I'm tired of allowing my pity-parties to steal my joy. Enough I say! Enough!

So - on that note, I'm choosing this year to find beauty in Winter, and to choose to revel in it's lovliness. I am committing to not complaining about winter, even come April, and it's still snowing! :) I am usually a big grump about winter in Michigan, but this year, I will choose joy.

It really IS lovely out there in that winter wonderland!

The Value of Skills

2008-10-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged..... life just grabbed this massive momentum and wouldn't let up!

Recently, my children and I attended a family reunion in Missouri, which was held at the homestead of my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandparents! The homestead is still in the family, and the original log home and barns, as well as the hand-dug well are still there, and restored! It was an amazing time of history as we learned so much of our relatives, who were one of the founding families in Missouri, just as it had newly acquired Statehood!

While there, in talking with one of my cousins, he recounted hearing our Great-Grandmother talk of how times had "changed". She spoke of a time before, when a person's lifestyle was only as good as their skills could make it. A person's clothing was only a nice as they had skills to sew. A family's food was only a good and nurtritious as they had skills to grow and cook. A home was only as nice as the qualty of a man's craftsmanship. Pursuing excellence in living skills used to be of the utmost importance, and one of the chief aims of childhood. However, in her lifetime, she watched that change. What is of utmost importance now, is to "go to school" so that you can "get a job" so that you can "draw a paycheck" so that you can "buy stuff". A person's lifestyle is as good as they can afford. The cultural mentality has shifted from a nation of self-sufficient, mainly entrepreneurial-minded families, to a nation of people who depend on others for EVERYTHING.

Oh, how I have thought about this so much since we've returned! It makes me realize just how RADICAL we are as a family! My husband is pursuing, and succeeding in self-employment (although he's still working a full time job and his business..... we are getting close enough that it's only a matter of time!); I have become so interested in the "lost arts" of living, and with homeschooling, we are raising our children to HAVE SKILLS to be self-sufficient if they need be. They are learning skills at home, and they are learning skills in entrepreneurship while they walk alongside their dad to be mentored in business.

I think that a time is coming, sooner than we think, that we, as a culture, are going to have to face exactly what we have LOST by becoming so dependant upon an employer, a paycheck, and the government to "provide us with our entitlement lifestyles". We're a culture that wants to "have their fun" and "work as little as possible". We want "fast-everything" and "convenience at any cost".

I certainly don't mean to simply go on a tirade...... but my Great-Grandmother articulated something profound, that has stuck with me ever since! She was an amazing woman, with strength, dignity, a sharp mind, and a work ethic that no one of my generation has ever known. I want to honor her legacy with what I do in my home, and with how I develop my skills, and in what I pass on to my children.

Shauna