A Small Snippet

Smoothies and Granola

2012-02-25T07:37:00.000-05:00

here's a good breakfast for you to try, full of good stuff, without sacrificing taste.

this is our go-to smoothie recipe. we make this just about every morning. its an easy way to knock out a serving of vegetables first thing!

i really don't measure anything. i just add in however much i think i need to make enough servings. if making a smoothie to serve 2 adults and 2 kids, you will probably want your blender to be about 3/4 to almost all the way full of ingredients.

to note...the recipe calls for 2 bananas. both bananas are absolutely key. add in only one, and you'll taste more spinach and kale. we have found that 2 bananas really offset the bitterness of the greens.

also...don't skimp on the greens. you can really add alot without tasting them much!
it doesn't look all that appetizing, but take my word for it. i am neither a raw spinach nor a kale fan (at all!!) and i have no problem downing this smoothie. i don't even have to work at it. its seriously good!
and i've shared a variation of this granola recipe way back here, but i've tweaked it recently to eliminate refined sugars. we use this in everything...as cereal in the morning, as a quick snack, as dessert, sprinkled over fruit or yogurt.

Honey Apple Crisp

2012-02-22T12:17:00.005-05:00

i'm here to share a recipe with you that pretty much helped convince our whole fam that this all natural eating thing was very doable!

this is one of the first all natural dessert recipes i made, and we all love it so much, that even if we weren't eating only real foods, we'd still want it in our very regular rotation! and its one of those desserts that might actually be good for you to eat too!

i've included the recipe cards at the end of the post.
after peelng, core and slice your apples.

toss apples in a 9x13 pan with:

combine with the honey mixture:
cover apples with topping. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

serve warm, topped with homemade honey whipped cream.

i make this whipped cream all the time, and we put it on everything from homemade cookies, to muffins, to strawberries to create a quick dessert. it takes 2 minutes to whip up, and you won't be sorry you tried it! you just might never go back to buying canned whipped cream again!!
let me know if you like it!

Would you like to dance?

2012-02-20T11:33:00.000-05:00

Jake took Bella to a "Father Daughter Dance" at her school this past week. you would've thought she was preparing for her wedding, there was SO much excitement! as i watched her delight in her daddy's love, and looked back over the pictures from the night, i couldn't help but to be reminded of a story:

Once upon a time, there was a Princess, a Daughter:

("I will be a Father to you, and you will be my daughter...says the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 6:18)

who was deeply loved and cherished by her Daddy:

("see how very much our Father has loved us, for He calls us His children." - 1 John 3:1)

and it filled her with joy...and hope...and security...

("The Lord had done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." - Psalm 126:3)

because she knew deep down that she was a fiesty stinker sometimes, and that she didn't deserve His Love, so the very fact that He loved her was something special...

("God showed His great love for us by sending Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners." - Romans 5:8)

because He didn't just simply love her because He had to. He absolutely adored her, thought she was the most precious, beautiful thing, even in the midst of all her feistiness, in all her stinker-ness, He still was overwhelmed with delight for her...

("the Lord your God...will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you...." - Zephaniah 3:17)

and that delight over her made her want to dance, and twirl, and rejoice:

("The young women will dance for joy..." - Jeremiah 31:13)

and full of trust, jump onto the feet of her Daddy, and let Him lead her in the dance:

("Now you've got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I'm on the right way." - Psalm 16:11)

and as He led her in the dance, He stopped to twirl her, and smile down upon her:

("His banner over me is love." - Song of Solomon 2:4)

and because of His love over her, she trusted Him to lead her...because she knew that His delight was the best thing ever, and that her joy is found complete in Him and Him alone!

("we love because He first loved us..." - 1 John 4:19)

and to think...the God of the Universe, our Daddy, is asking each of us too, "Would you like to dance??"

Swiss and Spinach Quiche (and healthy mac n cheese)

2012-02-18T15:05:00.008-05:00

i haven't quite figured out what to call our new way of eating. i keep going back and forth between saying "All Natural," "Read Food," "Whole Food," "Clean Eating," and simply "No Processed Foods." All those options can take on different meanings depending on who you talk to!

but anyway, i'm here today to give you two "All Natural, Real Food, Whole Food, Clean Eating, No Processed Food" recipes. (printable recipe cards at end of post).

the first is so quickly devoured by my fam, that it caused a fairly good argument between the hubs and i when he ate the last piece without giving me a chance to take a photo for you. (if only you knew the things that can cause arguments around here :) so i had to make it again the other night and steal a piece away in order to snap a photo before any of the other crazies living with me got to it first!!

(ps: i'm big time struggling with the lighting in my kitchen, and since its pretty much getting dark out by the time most of our meals are finally prepared, i'm limited in terms of how to capture a good shot with natural lighting. any photogs out there have any tips for me on how to create faux natural light without using a flash...in a dark kitchen??? i'd LOVE to hear!)

i used freshly ground whole wheat flour, but you could use store bought too:

(i use non-fat plain greek yogurt)
love love love using fresh spinach from our garden!!
here's a tip about cheese that i'm learning. i've mentioned it before, but i'll mention it again. i noticed with packages of pre-shredded cheese that there are ingredients listed that i don't recognize. so i have been opting to buy blocks of cheese and grating it myself with the grater attachment on my food processor. i cannot tell you the difference in taste!!! its actually kind of scary how much better it tastes! also...i'm learning that any cheese that you buy that is not white has been colored. so we are choosing to buy only white cheeses.

bake that bad boy at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until middle is set.
this is the creamiest, moistest (is that a word??), most flavorful quiche i've ever tasted.

serve with a side of steamed veggies, and you've got yourself a nutritious meal!!
here's the recipe card for you:
and i'll include this one too. we try to keep all these ingredients on hand for a quick, go-to meal. in other words...we end up making this often!! i promise it takes no more time than making a box of Kraft, and you eliminate all the extra stuff you don't need! and it tastes even better! trust me! smallest crazies approved!!
i found this recipe here, but slightly adapted it. we originally tried it with sharp cheddar and with freshly ground whole wheat flour, unsifted, and by golly, we couldn't stomach it. but making a few small changes made it perfect for our tastebuds!! i would recommend using a form of soft wheat berries if grinding yourself, and make sure you sift! (i'm sure the way the original recipe is made is excellent, but since we don't use store bought flour, i don't think it turned out the way it was supposed to. and we usually like sharp cheddar cheese, but for some reason, it just didn't work for us in this particular recipe.)

here's the recipe card with our very slight changes:
let me know if you try them out and what you think!! i've got more coming soon, including such an amazingly tasty dessert, you won't even believe how healthy it is for you!

:: A Love Story ::

2012-02-15T11:42:00.016-05:00

Happy Love Day!

i found this early yesterday morning on my steering wheel:

in case you are wondering, i checked "yes!"

the crazies had some special heart themed meals:

and my Valentine also surprised me and the kids with these:
we have always been pretty big fans of fruity candy around here. we can take or leave chocolate, for the most part. but we have always had some sort of fruity, chewy candy lying around. well, since our food changes, all that candy quickly found their resting spot either in the mouths of the hub's bible study boys or in the trash can. there have been moments where i have craved a lemonhead, or a giant chewy nerd, but i am learning that cravings quickly pass, and i've been able to deal with it without it being a big deal!

but when the hubs brought these home yesterday, i about flipped my lid!!

the thought never even crossed my mind that we could find some candy without refined sugar!! so when he happened upon this ingredients list, full of only fruit, he couldn't resist! he sure knows the way to my ♥!!

he found them at a health food shop a couple beaches over, so he decided to bring me back there to pay them a visit to see what other kinds of treats we might find. and right next door is a special frozen yogurt shop, so after school, we took the crazies on a special trip to get some frozen yogurt.

its not exactly on our list of "all natural foods" but this particular place uses only organic ingredients, including organic cane sugar (which at least eliminates GMO). we let them choose their flavor, and add in whatever fruit they wanted, while staying away from the other toppings. so even though we broke a "rule," we didn't feel one ounce bad about it and enjoyed our special treats! it was a holiday, afterall! it was a good trade too...a much better option to have organic frozen yogurt with fruit than all that Valentine's candy they came home with! they didn't even miss not having the candy. score!

that shop also happens to be in the same exact part of town where jake and i had our first date, and then where he later proposed. as we looked out over that same beach where all that initial "magic" happened, guess what we saw??

i've told you this before, but on that same beach, in that same spot, the night of our first date, there was a rainbow just like this one from yesterday. we saw that as a Promise from Him...a confirmation of His blessing. and then the night of our rehearsal, just a little ways down that beach, God gave us another rainbow over the ocean as we practiced our vows and prepared for our life to begin together. we like to think that He gave us this one yesterday too, as a special Valentine's Day reminder, of His Promised Blessing of Love!!

i like to think that Jake and I have a pretty cool love story. i might tell it to you one day. its unique, to say the least. (think: teacher and student...that's all i'll give you for now :) and with it being Valentine's Day and all, you can't help but to reminisce on your own love story....

but what if i told you a better love story than any you've ever heard? one that is personal, and calls for a massive celebration, far better than chocolates and fancy dinners or all natural fruity candy??

take a look at this book...and keep reading, cause it represents something beyond what you can see in this picture:
say this book represents Jesus' life. everything in it is a detailed description of His life...every word spoken, every thought thought, every action or deed, every feeling...everything!

according to God's Love Letter to us (aka: The Bible), we know that everything written in that book with Jesus' name on it would be perfect. not one single detail would be less than perfection! no sin, no bad word, no judgemental feeling, no angry deed, etc...

now...take a look at this:

say that this book represents my life. everything in it is a detailed description of my life...every word spoken, every thought thought, every action or deed, every feeling...everything!

i won't go into detail, but lets just say...if you read the first paragraph, maybe even the first sentence, you would not be my friend, you would not keep reading this blog, and you would think i'm just down right rotten...to the core.

i'm not joking. you really would. i promise.
its filled with crap. i'm full of it. and i'm not just saying that. ask the hubs...or the crazies. just the other day, bella said to me, "mommy...even when you are the meanest mommy ever, i'll still love you for fifteen hundred years..." she knows the real me...you only see a small snippet. so just trust me for a minute...

the comparison of these two stories, these two lives, couldn't be more different. on the one side, you've got perfection. on the other side, you've got just about everything less than perfect.

in fact, the Bible says that i'm not the only one who falls short of perfection. it says that we all fall short. there is no one who is perfect...not even one. and that even our attempts to be "good" are full of filth...and are not enough (Romans 3:10, 23, Isaiah 64:6)

which puts us in quite a predicament, because we have a God who is in charge who demands perfection. and WE CAN'T DO IT!!!

that might make you feel hopeless. it should. we are a desperate people.

BUT....

that's the very place we need to be to be able to really hear the rest of this Love Story...

2 Corinthians 5:21 (my all time favorite verse ever)

"God made Him, who had no sin, to become sin for us..."

Jesus...who had no sin, who was perfect, becomes sin for us...
takes off his covering...
detaches Himself from His perfect life that He lived...

and replaces my covering with His. in doing so, He takes all the credit for my life...everything written in my book now becomes His...
and He stakes His name to my life. and He takes credit for my junk. and then deals with the consequences for me...

by dying...in my place...with my junk on Him...because of one reason and one reason only...

BECAUSE HE LOVES ME.

i don't deserve it. i didn't do anything to earn it. its simply and only BECAUSE HE LOVES ME. I have a Daddy who knows i'm hopeless...and wants to RESCUE ME.

that's quite a LOVE STORY...but that's only half the story...

this next part is my all-time favorite. its what changed my life.

2 Corinthians 5:21

"...so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God."

after taking credit for my life, and suffering the consequences for it, Jesus keeps going...

He then takes my covering...the one He took off to replace with His...

and puts it on His book....His life...
and gives me credit for it.

see...Jesus didn't just die for me...He lived for me!!! He lived the perfect life that I couldn't, and then gives me credit for it...

so now I am declared perfect, and seen by God as if I had lived Jesus' perfect life. which means that when God looks at me, I have a new covering....and that covering declares me perfect...as if i had never sinned...as if i have NO junk...
That's how God sees me...

"God made Him, who had no sin, to become sin for us, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness (perfection) of God!!"

2 Corinthians 5:21

do you see that?? its true! and the best news is that ITS COMPLETELY FREE! we don't have to do a darn thing to earn it. as soon as we believe its true, all is said and done!! FOREVER! never to be lost...never to mess up.

Jesus Himself said it best...some of His very last words as He was dying were,

"It is FINISHED!"

John 19:30

We lost it all,

He did it all,

We get it all!!!

FOREVER AND EVER!

i don't know a better love story than that!!

source for print

this LOVE STORY is the truest love story you will ever hear, because its a Love Story about you!! its personal. its for you...and me. and it changes lives, and hearts.

so as we reflect on celebrations from yesterday, Valentine's Day, we can also celebrate how very deeply LOVED we really are!

ps: at your request, i'm working on all kinds of posts with yummy recipes, so check back soon!!

Valentine's Boxes

2012-02-08T14:58:00.005-05:00

The Crazies needed to make boxes to bring into school to hold all their Valentine's next week, so we crafted them yesterday. thought you might want to see them in case you have the same project to tackle this week!

love how sweet and girly Bella's turned out:
and we laugh everytime we look at Canaan's:
i found both of these ideas here.

the hubs had the brilliant idea of picking me up some boxes from the Post Office, since we didn't have any spare ones lying around. apparently those new flat rate boxes are free. i'm sure they expect that you are actually going to use them to mail something, and then pay the rate, but who says you can't use them for Valentine's Boxes? they were the perfect shape and size. (but don't go telling your Post Office that i told you so...they might start to get mad if they knew i was sending everyone in tarnation out to the PO to use their "free" boxes!!)

i happened upon a great sale at Hobby Lobby, and picked up multiple pieces of scrapbook paper so the crazies could customize exactly how they wanted their boxes to look. i have a thing for scrapbook paper!! that aisle just sucks me in, and i can't seem to walk away without multiple pieces, especially when there is a sale going on!! there are just way too many uses for it!!

the whole project took me a just a tad longer than i wanted, because we kept changing our minds on what kind of paper to use, and we had to cut out the names multiple times. don't you despise having to cut letters that have an inner part, like "A's"? those inner parts kill me!!

but overall, this was a super simple project! and i had a little more time to spend on it, considering i'm taking the way easy way out this year with our actual Valentine's cards. since we are in new schools this year, with different kiddos, i figured why reinvent the wheel? we loved these Pop Rock Valentine's that we made last year, so we are just going to make them again!!

see here for the original post and the printable!!

Happy Valentine Crafting,

what we're eating...

2012-02-03T12:30:00.010-05:00

since many of you seem to share an interest in all natural eating, i figured i'd pop in really quick to show you a little of what we've been eating lately, in hopes that you'll recognize, like we are beginning to, that this all natural eating thing feels very normal!

this is what i came home with after my last trip to the grocery store:

a few things to note:

* the potato chips are made with potatoes, salt and oil, classifying it as an all natural food. they were on sale, so i bought them as a fun treat. but just because something is classified as all natural does not mean it is necessarily healthy for us. but in moderation, we will enjoy treats like potato chips!!

* i was pumped to find brown rice cakes in the organic section of our grocery store. my kids LOVE rice cakes with peanut butter, but all the rice cakes we have bought in the past are made with enriched rice or have sugar in them. but now we can add rice cakes back into our diet with this brown rice option.

* the Shredded Wheat is one of the few cereals that we buy because it is one of the few that has zero sugar. it amazes me how much sugar you find in cereal!! and i'm not just talking Lucky Charms. when you begin checking labels, you'll see that refined sugar is everywhere! my kids are serious cereal eaters, but haven't complained about the cereal changes. we will often drizzle a little honey over the shredded wheat, and they think its quite a treat!

* i really wish i could buy all of our dairy products organic. but we can't right now. its just too expensive! but i have noticed that pre shredded cheese has things added in that i don't recognize, so i've been buying blocks of cheese and shredding it myself in my food processor. takes me 30 seconds, and the quality of taste is incredible!!! i'm telling you...the taste is hugely different!!

i'll show you a few meals below. i will come back with recipes later!!

here are some lunches i've made for the crazies lately:

(Ezekiel bread with all natural PB, banana and apple slices, and raisins, sugar snap peas, apples)

100% whole wheat pasta with butter and parm cheese, sugar snap peas, strawberries)

(triscuits, hummus, carrots, unsweetened applesauce, and strawberries)

(homemade mac n cheese=seriously SO good, and takes just about the same amount of time to make as that blue box of Kraft, broccoli from our garden, strawberries)

and some snacks:

(popcorn popped on the stove in Olive oil = SO GOOD! sprinkled with a little popcorn salt)

(triscuits, popcorn, cheese, nuts, sugar snap peas)

we also eat alot of muffins and cookies made with whole wheat flour for snacks.

dinners:

(spinach and swiss quiche with homemade whole wheat crust)

(spicy thai noodles, recipe here, with vegetable oil eliminated, and only 1 tsp of red pepper flakes)

(asiago pasta, recipe here, minus the chicken, and fried zucchini chips breaded with whole wheat breadcrumbs)

(spinach and cheese pizza with homemade whole wheat crust)

(homemade crock pot refried beans...)

(added to nachos...)

(served with a side of cilantro lime quinoa)

(refried beans served as leftovers the next day in quesadillas)

Desserts:

along with the Peanut Butter Cups, we've enjoyed:

(berry smoothies with flax and wheat germ, topped with homemade honey vanilla whipped cream)

(and the yummiest, healthy apple crisp, also topped with homemade whipped cream)

i will come back and share these recipes with you when i've got some time. hope this is inspiring in one way or another!

and...i must note...i realize that none of these meals have meat. to clarify...we are not vegetarians. we like meat. we eat meat. i cook meat. but we are trying to only buy organic meat, and its expensive, so we don't cook with it all that often. and on this particular week, i happened to not cook any.

on that note, does anyone know where i can find good organic lunchmeat? any specific brands you know of? we have great grocery stores here, but the deli counters don't have any organic options. my family likes to have ham and turkey sandwiches, but i have been unable to find any lunchmeat without sugar, additives or preservatives, and we'd prefer to only buy organic meat if possible. any tips would be appreciated!!

please excuse the mess...

2012-02-01T15:16:00.005-05:00

the traffic on this little blog has exploded lately, like in a scary way...thanks in most part to Pinterest (love that site!!) i'm sure many other bloggers can attest to the same thing being the case for them too!!

with that said, i am experiencing a few problems with my site, which i am in the process of fixing. i guess its a good thing, exceeding your bandwith and all, although it wouldn't be such a stressful thing if i knew what the heck i was doing!!!

so hang in there with me for a bit as i sort this junk out! :)

and thanks for reading. i'm blown away....seriously...blown away!! (and a little nervous by it all, if i had to be honest!!)

disregard this pic. trying a little tip i found to get my background back up and running! hoping it works, cause i have kiddos running in circles around me, needing my attention, and i have no time to spend on this!!

tis the life of a blogging momma,

Natural Eating (and a recipe)

2012-01-27T16:41:00.003-05:00

we have been making some big changes around here in the way we eat, and i thought some of you might find interest in it, so i'm gonna tell you a little bit about it today! and if you are not interested, that's okay! but there's still a recipe at the bottom of the post that you won't want to miss.

i've been interested in our food choices for a few years now. it really started with our decision a few years ago to use freshly ground whole wheat flour to bake bread products. that was a good change, and has become a very normal part of our routine. (see here for why and how and see here for recipes made with whole wheat flour)

then with the start of our garden back in the fall, we began to become more interested in offering our bodies a better variety of nutritional foods. we began making these green smoothies, and eating more vegetables that we harvest from our garden.
but with the start of this new year, both jake and i decided we wanted to make a few more changes. i am usually the one to springboard these kinds of ideas, but this time jake didn't need convincing. so i jumped at the opportunity of his willingness...

...and we began a new journey of cutting out all processed foods, and only eating what we call "real food", or "natural food."

i won't get into the scientific reasonings or all the nitty gritty nutritional facts because:

1) i am not a dietician or a nutritionist

2) everyone knows that real, natural foods are good for you

3) i think all the details can be a little boring, so i honestly don't know all the nitty gritty nutritional facts

4) you can get all the info you want on the WWW

i will just tell you this:

i am simply a normal, busy mom who cares about what goes into my family's bodies, and realize that i play the most important part in making those decisions.

i'll take a quick moment to say this though:

i think what we put into our bodies makes a huge difference! however, i realize that ultimately i am not the one in control (although i'd like to be, if i had to be honest!) we have a God who is Sovereign, Perfect, and Loving, and what He wills to happen will happen, regardless of what i eat or don't eat.

however, He has given me a role that i take seriously, and that's one of a wife and mom. and for me, i believe that a large part of my role is to take care of the needs of my family, nutrition being one of the large needs!

so as i began doing some research, i came across this book:

i am still in the process of reading it, but its like all this stuff has finally clicked and now makes sense to me.

Eating should be simple. it should be logical. it should be a no-brainer. but we are often misled, so we become confused. we might have the best of intentions, but our own grocery stores become an exhausting hunt to figure out what really is good for us and what isn't. our world is not set up in such a way to help us navigate this issue well.

so i did some research.

and then a friend told me about this blog:

and i was sold when i realized that these changes are totally doable for a busy family with young children.

so as it stands now, we are making the effort to cut out processed foods. which on a very easy basic level (cause that's how i have to operate) means:

1) we are not eating anything enriched, only 100% whole grains

ie: no white flour, no white rice, etc...

2) we are not eating any refined sugar

ie: the only sugars we eat are natural sugars...so for us that means only honey, maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrate. good thing we already buy local honey by the gallon!

(there is some debate over Stevia...i'm not sure where i fall in that debate yet!)

3) we are not eating any foods that have ingredients that are not natural...

ie: ingredients that i do not know how to pronounce, that i simply do not know what it is, or ingredients that do not exist naturally, which includes anything with additives or preservatives.

and we try to limit the amount of ingredients in any one food product that we buy (5 is a good number, but that's not necessarily where we stop, as long as all the ingredients are natural)

4) we DO eat any food that is a product of nature.

ie: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meat, nuts, seeds

(i like to think of this way...would someone have eaten this back in Biblical times, before we had factories and machines to process our food. if so, i believe it is to be considered a natural food)

(and FYI: whenever possible, we eat organic stuff, but that's not always possible or in our budget, so meat, eggs and milk are always organic, as well as anything from our garden!! the rest is as much as we can afford or find.)

5) we do still enjoy treats, but only if i am able to make them myself, with all natural ingredients.

ie: french fries that i make myself, chicken nuggets breaded with whole wheat flour, treats such as the recipe at the bottom of this post, etc...

that might seem like it limits us, but let me tell you...i truly believe that it doesn't!! i do not feel like i am missing out. i do not crave things i can't have...(well...except for maybe Lemonheads...but i'm getting over it :) but i have been more satisfied than ever in my life with the food we are eating. and...i find that we are actually eating less, because we truly are satisfied with less. and i'm definitely buying less items, because there is just simply not as much to buy in the grocery store anymore!

but here's where reality sets in...

i have 2 young children, who go to school, birthday parties, church functions, etc...

so in other words, this is not a fool proof plan!

just yesterday, Canaan had reached an academic goal at school, so he got to have a special lunch with the teachers. i packed his lunch using some of my kids' favorite Real Foods:

(white cheddar cheese, triscuits (which you will be happy to know are made with only 3 ingredients, all of which are natural), sugar snap beans, all natural applesauce with a little cinnamon, and pistachios)

but at the end of lunch, the teachers gave him a surprise of ice cream as a treat, and he ate it. was i upset? NO! that's real life. he's gonna get treats. i'm not gonna expect him to refuse his special treat. i'm not gonna call the school and ask them to not give him any treats. in fact, i just love that he even thought enough about it to tell me. however, next time, I WILL give him options so he has another choice if he wants, like sending in a juice box to pour on his snow cone for his snow cone party next week to avoid the snow cone syrup. its not depriving him of something fun and tasty. its offering another option, a healthier option, so he can make the choice. i'm hopeful that my kids will start to see this as something they are choosing to do, rather than something we are making them do.

like this:

we were at a birthday party, and there was a beautiful spread of sweets, as there should be at a birthday party, and as i can assure you WILL be at my kids upcoming birthday parties. before beginning this journey, i would've given my kids free range to go to town. but this day i tried something new. i told my kids they could choose only one thing from the table....a cupcake, a marshmallow, or a few small pieces of candy. they could make the choice, but they could only have one thing. they each chose a marshmallow, did not complain, and happily enjoyed the party like any normal child would. i felt like that was a huge success!

so with that being said, my goal is this (for now):

95% of the time we will eat only real foods

5% of the time, on those special occasions, or when we simply don't have a better choice in the moment, we will enjoy whatever it is we are wanting to enjoy!

and if we happen to have a lot of special occasions, or if we are traveling, that might get bumped up to 90/10%

basically, we are not going to be slaves to food, but we are going to be aware of what we are doing and why. and we are going to make the extra effort it takes to check labels, ask questions, and make choices. and we are going to push through the awkwardness that might arise as people notice we are maybe just a tad more complicated. and we are going to choose restaurants when eating out that offer choices that fall into our Real Foods plan. and we are going to go to friends' houses for dinner, and eat what they serve, because we love them more than we love our "rules." and we are going to celebrate birthdays with cake (and probably lots of it!!)

(Canaan's 1st Birthday)

(Bella's 2nd Birthday)

my take on this whole thing is that things aren't a big deal unless you make them a big deal. my goal is for this to become so natural to us that it is normal. i'm convinced it is the "normal" way to eat anyway....we've just strayed too far from it!

well...there you have it! do i expect you all to be intereseted? not at all! do i think everyone should do this? NO! do i think i'm a better mom than those who don't feed their kids whole foods? HECK NO!! (trust me...i really DON'T)

and if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out about all this right now...hear me...I DID TOO!! AND STILL DO SOMETIMES! but its kinda like when you bring a newborn home from the hospital for the first time and you don't have a clue what you are doing. but the more you learn, the more diapers you change, the more feedings you give, the more natural it becomes. you don't even have to think about it, its just life!

the good thing is as we've started this journey, i have been blown away at the amount of tasty recipes i've found and tried!!! i'm also learning that i can take many great recipes, and most of my tried and true ones, and usually just sub a few ingredients out to make it fit our "rules."so i will probably share with you things i'm learning along the way, because no matter what you do or how you eat, some of these recipes are just too darn good not to pass along!!!

so i'll end with this one, because if you are like me, and if upon first glance of the whole "no refined sugar" makes you want to run screaming in the opposite direction, let me assure you that your sweet tooth will not be disappointed by eating only real foods.

this recipe is adapted from one i found here.

this recipe yields 12 mini cups.
combine coconut oil, cocoa powder, and peanut butter over low heat until melted. remove from heat and stir in vanilla and honey. keep adding honey until sweet enough for your taste.
add in a pinch of salt.

drop by small spoonfuls into mini cupcake liners.
freeze for 10-15 minutes. peel off liner and be prepared to taste a slice of heaven!

i truly had my doubts if these were going to taste all that good. i'm telling you...they taste just like the ones you buy in the store. in fact, i might venture to say they are better. i've discovered that recently...making things homemade do really taste better!
here's a recipe card for you (just click on it and save, then print.)
(you can also use this recipe as you would use any melted chocolate. i just used it today to dip some strawberries for chocolate covered strawberries! it would be excellent as fondue, or over some homemade all natural ice cream.)

however, i must note that it would completely defeat the purpose of all natural eating if we ate these everyday. like all treats, they should be consumed in moderation. but they make for the perfect little dessert to satisfy a sweet craving, without filling our bodies with refined sugars and processed foods.

let me know what you think!

ps: just thought i should let you know that this blog isn't going to turn into a food blog. Lord knows i don't know enough about food or cooking for that to be the case!! but some of this will spill out every now and then, cause its apart of our life. so if this doesn't interest you one bit, don't worry! this blog will still be the hodgepodge of stuff its always been :)

Cheetah/Safari Party (and a surprise)

2012-01-18T16:00:00.001-05:00

a few weekends ago, i organized a birthday party for my friend's daughter. she was turning 7, and her favorite animal is the Cheetah, so it was a Cheetah Party...

with a little Safari thrown in!
my friend found everything she possibly could in cheetah print, so we had plenty of great items to work with!
i began making tissue balls to go on the back of the chairs (like how we did it here for Bella's Tea Party) but i loved the way it looked before fluffing it out, so i just taped the ends together and make a little flower:

the water bottle labels had "O"'s and "7"'s on them, in honor of the birthday girl, Olivia:

the food spread was simple...some fruit skewers, cut up veggies, animal crackers placed in cupcake liners, veggie straws...
and a few flavors of popcorn...
however, the snacks basically went untouched because the candy table very quickly took center stage!!

i wish i could take credit for this amazing cake, but that was the creation of a professional! isn't it adorable?
the kiddos had a blast, riding ponies, taking carriage rides, getting their faces painted to look like any animal they desired, and learning all about the animals that were brought in from the local zoo.
too bad the Bug isn't wanting a Cheetah party this year...most of the work would already be done!! instead, she's been asking for a daytime pajama party...we'll have to see if we can pull that one off!

and guess what we did this past weekend???
if you've been around here for awhile, then you'll know that this was A BIG HONKIN' DEAL!!!
Bella's very first haircut!!
bye bye bleach blond baby ringlets:hello wavy, healthy, 5 inches shorter big girl hair!

we've still got some curl going! :) i'll be interested to see what a humid Florida summer will bring in the way of waves!

have a fun day!

i'm a bit behind...

2012-01-11T13:17:00.014-05:00

this post is really more for my sake than your's! the thought of these pictures and their accompanying memories just sitting in my IPhoto makes me too sad, so i'm posting them, even though we are well past the Christmas season! i'm just a tad behind, but after this post, i should be officially caught up!

so here was the final days of Christmas in our household!

one of these days we hope to have a mantel to hang our stockings with care, but for now, our game cabinet works just fine!
before church on Christmas Eve:
throwing Reindeer food onto the beach, because we all were sure that Santa would want to land his sleigh on the beach!!
Bella thought she saw Santa's sleigh off in the distance. i think it was just a boat way out on the water, but you never know :)

setting out the treats:
i love to take a picture of the crazies right before bed on Christmas Eve, in their Christmas PJ's, in front of the tree, because it always captures such pure joy and excitement!
this is how we found the kids Christmas morning when we went to get them up. they were already well awake, had made their beds, and were waiting for us with a loud, "Merry Christmas" in unison the moment we walked in. i guess when you share a room, you have time to coordinate surprise plans like that!
upon first site...there was too much excited movement to capture a crisp shot!
Santa unveiled a new wrapping style this year:
wonder if he checks out Pinterest?

exchanging sibling gifts was the very first thing that Canaan wanted to do, because he just couldn't wait one more second to give Bella her much requested Rainbow Unicorn Mini Pillow Pet. needless to say, she was pretty darn happy!!

they loved the Angry Birds Game!

both boys got new surf fishing poles, which have yet to catch a fish, even though attempts have been made :)
this IKEA easel was a HUGE score!!! wooden, foldable, chalkboard on one side, dry erase board on the other, and a place to store their big roll of drawing paper. best part...it was only $15!

we had a blast Christmas Day, spending it with all our family eating lots of fun food!

the rest of our Christmas break was spent soaking up every bit of time we could together, enjoying the slow pace of life, doing fun activities around town.

like taking the kids ice skating for the very first time:

this pic just makes me laugh. not sure what the pout was for...
we spent an afternoon and evening in a historic town not far from us that is completely decked out in lights:
we played at a park:
picnic-ed:

(did you hear that Chick-fil-A is launching a new kids menu option? grilled chicken nuggets with all natural applesauce!! needless to say, i'm thrilled. we live very close to a Chick-fil-A, always have coupons, and love to go there for a quick meal. we are making some new and significant changes in the way we eat around here (i'll tell you more about that at another time) and i was worried that it would eliminate most of our favorite places to eat out. but now with this new option, it'll make it easier to find quick on the go meals that are still fun for the kids and that will still allow us to stick to our new food plan!)

and rolled down hills:

we stopped a few times at the crazies' request, to take some "action shots":

before watching the sunset over the bay:

we had an absolute ball during our break, taking a hiatus (as much as we could) from normal busy life, and just chilling as a family.

well...that feels good to be all caught up now! its been hanging over me! i'll be back with some fun blogging material soon!

the Nutcracker

2012-01-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

i'm going to ask you to forgive me ahead of time.

this post is full of pictures, that most of you could probably care less about. that's okay!

but one purpose of this blog is to document our life. and this is one of those moments that just simply must be documented!

and the real truth is that i just adore this little princess so much, and i pretty much think she's the cutest little girl to ever walk this planet. and a problem arises when you put her in a costume, because it just ups her adorableness by so much i can hardly handle it!!

so there. i'm sorry. but read on if you want to see for yourself! and then watch the video if you'd like, cause it might melt your heart the way it does mine every stinkin' time i see it!! :)

she thinks she's big stuff to get to wear "real" makeup!

Bella's first performance of the night was as a Raggedy Ann Doll:

and then she got to be a little Sugar Plum Fairy:

this was right before heading to the stage:
she was SO excited!!
now...let me just say...the photo capturing situation during the performance is quite the challenge. i mean really...how much can you really do when you are in a dark theater, not allowed to use a flash, without super fancy equipment, and are sitting quite a ways from the stage (even though one was buying tickets at the exact moment they became available!)

good thing i've got some massively talented peeps in my corner!!

the majority of these actions shots were taken by my dad (pictured below with my mom):
he's got the REAL talent, crazies. for real. cause most of mine turned out like this:

thankfully he was able to capture some priceless shots!! thanks dad!!

Raggedy Ann:

not real sure what you call this move...

(photo cred on this one above goes to our sweet friend...thanks tim!)

Sugar Plum Fairy:

if you haven't had your Nutcracker fill just yet, you can watch this video of Bella's perfomances.

ENJOY!!

thanks for indulging me!!

be back soon,

so long Eli

2011-12-31T16:59:00.006-05:00

have y'all been as "busy" as we have? its a good kind of busy though...lots of family time, lazy mornings of sleeping in and breakfasts of leftover cinnamons rolls and hot peppermint tea, outings to see the city all lit up with lights, the ice skating rink (yes...even in 80 degree Florida!), the mall, birthday celebrations. i'm getting very sad that its all coming to an end!

this is the first i've sat down to sort through photos...and boy...do i have a lot!

i'm just gonna cap off our time with Eli today, and then i'll come back with the full Christmas rundown!

we enjoyed our last week with our little friend, and soaked in his last attempts to surprise us with his antics:

we woke up Christmas Eve to him studying some Scripture. he had out all kinds of translations of the Bible:and had highlighted the same verse in every one. he sweetly gave a us a great reminder of what exactly we were celebrating!:
later that night, the crazies said goodbye to Eli, knowing that Santa was coming to pick him up, and gave him one last "grace" talk:
and woke up the next morning to this:
Elf Donuts:
from the best i can tell, i think he covered cheerios with powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar, and then dipped the tops of a few in chocolate and covered them in sprinkles.
that funny little fellow!

Thank goodness for Pinterest, is all i can say!! it made our time with Eli very lively!!

hoping that he visits us again next Christmas. we shall wait and see!

happy New Year, crazies! hope y'all have very fun plans for the night. we are ringing it in with some dear friends, lots of food, and perhaps some impromptu break dancing and lyrical routines to Auld Lang Syne!!

be back next year :)

The Thrill of Hope...

2011-12-24T10:51:00.005-05:00

"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

The thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!"

hoping you have a very Merry Christmas, as we celebrate the greatest gift we've ever been given!

Disney...and a last minute gift

2011-12-23T16:55:00.010-05:00

i won't bore you with too many Disney pics. truth is...i didn't take all that many anyway. i think the thought of adding to my backlog of photos to edit deterred me just a tad. i haven't even touched the Nutcracker ones yet, but those are sure to come...after Christmas! when i get a chance to figure out the video, i'll share that with you too.

but for today...a little Disney...and a last minute gift idea for kiddos!!

we were graciously gifted with 4 Parkhopper tickets to the Disney Parks that had to be used by the end of the year. not ones to ever pass up an offer like that, we happily (and very very gratefully) accepted, and not even a week later were on our way!!

we woke the crazies up really early on the day of their surprise, and in their confused state of sleepy-ness, the Bug asked if it was Christmas, and the boy just somewhat angrily asked what the heck we were doing. after telling them we were waking them up to take them somewhere special, the boy was convinced it was ice skating. they were beyond thrilled to learn that the surprise was even better than ice skating!!

i {heart} that Canaan still isn't yet too old (or too cool) to get hugs from Mickey:

Canaan was finally tall enough for Space Mountain...
and after being given two Fast Passes from a random person, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to jump on. he wasn't quite sure what to expect, but didn't have much time to think about it! this pic was taken just as they were exiting the ride. to quote Canaan, "i was just barely enough brave...but it was FUN!"

waiting on the parade (which was fabulous, and Christmasy, and just plain good old fashioned entertainment!!!):

we had such a great day, and trucked through those parks for as long as we could, before deciding that we were just simply too tired to keep going.

after coming home the next day, we've finished all our Christmas baking. we made everything from the last post, with the exception of the Peppermint Cookies. they are fabulous, but this momma's the only one in the fam who likes peppermint, and her waistline sure doesn't need a full batch of those for herself this year!

some of our lovely creations:
we've been putting all the finishing touches on our presents for each other:and speaking of presents...if you need a last minute idea, this can be made while you sit in front of the TV watching your fave Christmas movie...

Homemade Angry Birds Game:
my crazies are slightly obsessed with Angry Birds. i think they are funny little creatures, and truth be told, i can't get the hang of the game. i've tried playing, but can't seem to knock off those little green piggies for the life of me. the kids, however, have quite the knack for doing so. so...i thought they might enjoy a real life version:
i saw this idea here a few months back, and just knew i wanted to attempt it as a special Christmas present. i like making something handmade for the crazies each year, if i've got the time. (last year it never happened!) a few years back it was this felt playhouse. that was a labor of love, let me tell you! this project was far easier, so i'm thinking i'll stick with things in this easy category from now on!!

Target sells a version of an Angry Birds board game. i checked it out, but at $25.00, i thought it was a little pricey for our budget. this, however, took just a few bucks and i'm hoping will be just as fun!

hoping to stop by tomorrow for a quick Merry Christmas. till then...

Christmas Baking

2011-12-20T00:38:00.007-05:00

i haven't yet done a lick of Christmas baking this season, but its all in the plans for later this week. might be because we've been in Nutcracker zone the last few weeks. now that its come and gone, i hope to jump into all our Christmasy plans. however, it couldn't have been sweeter, and as soon as i get a sec to sit and sort through the pics, i'll tell you more about it.

but in the meantime, here are a few posts from last season with some of our go-to Christmas treats, just in case you are baking this week too! click the links for the full recipe.

Salted Caramel Pecan Bars: