Sewing and Cooking Again - Yeah!

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted on a Friday. That's because last Friday I was busy getting ready for my husband's 50th birthday party the next day. We kept it simple, but even simple requires planning and preparation. The party went so wonderfully. My husband said it was the best birthday he had ever had.

 

This week has been so nice to get back to a normal routine. Healthy family and no parties to plan for. I've been able to do extra work in the kitchen and some sewing.

 

My middle daughter had a birthday as well recently. She wanted a cape. I found a pattern online. I went to the dollar store and bought a fleece blanket for $3. I had flannel left over from another sewing project for lining the hood. I used this pattern and it went very smoothly. My daughter was thrilled with her cape.

 

 

 

In the kitchen I made roasted chick peas for a diet snack. It's nice to have something savory and crunchy. As well, I made up some instant oatmeal. You know the packets you get at the store? Well, I followed these instructions and made up some homemade instant oatmeal. Now if we need a quick breakfast for someone or snack (I love oatmeal so much I would eat it as a snack), we have it. We can add fruit to it as desired or not. I didn't not package it individually. I put it in a big glass jar with the instructions for how to make a serving written on the lid with a sharpie. Finally I made some apple oat cakes that are also diet and tasted so good.

 

Last week I made a birthday gift for a little boy in our church. Ever since I saw the pattern for a pillow shaped like a shield I knew I had to make it for someone. Isaiah is the fourth of five boys. I'm sure he can use something for defense. ☺

 







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Today I finally figured out how to make a cloth cover for a small box that we use for toys in our living room. I want to cover it in fabric that matches our curtains just to dress it up a little since it's in our living room. For weeks I've puzzled over how to do this so I could remove it to wash it if necessary. In the middle of reading a book to my children I had a brainstorm about how to do this. It's funny how your brain can handle two things at once...reading to the children and thinking again, "How can I cover that box?". I hope to do it soon and make a tutorial.

 

How did your week go? Do you ever think of ever things while reading a book to your children?

On Being a Trim Healthy Mama

Finally we all seem to be well again. Last week was spent preparing for my husband's 50th birthday. We had a great party for him Saturday night. Now my life can hopefully resume it's normal craziness instead of the crazy craziness.

 

I've been getting quite a few questions lately about the Trim Healthy Mama diet so I thought I would take a post to explain how it works. I was so done with diets before I bought the book. I was so afraid this would be another diet I would follow for a while and then hate. However, I soon found it has got to be the simplest, most delicious diet I have ever followed. I've stayed with it more or less for almost a year now which is a record for me.

 

It's based on two simple principles. First, have some form of protein with every snack or meal you eat. That can be as simple as a teaspoon of peanut butter spread on half of an apple. Or it can be as big as having steak and salad for supper. This was easy for me to grasp because I love meat. A diet that doesn't include meat just isn't going to work for me. I also loves eggs for breakfast so I didn't have to make a huge change in my breakfast - big bonus.

 

Secondly, our bodies run on two types of fuel - fats and carbohydrates. Never mix the two. This does not mean you can't have butter and pancakes. It does mean you have to change the ingredients in your pancakes. There are many recipes for pancakes made with almond flour and/or coconut flour. Almonds and coconuts are high in fat so obviously the flour made from them is as well. So you could have a breakfast of almond flour pancakes, eggs and bacon. Skip the maple syrup and top your pancakes with berries and whip cream or yogurt or cottage cheese. You won't feel deprived, trust me.

 

For supper you could have lean chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces and rolled in oat flour (you can make this in a coffee grinder with regular oatmeal) and garlic salt and baked in the oven. Add a salad with low-fat dressing and a sweet potato topped with laughing cow cheese and you'll be laughing. You've just had a delicious high carbohydrate meal.

 

At first it takes a little effort to think through your menu and figure out how to tweak it so that you are not mixing fats and carbohydrates but before long it will be second nature. Allow three meals between fuel types. So if your breakfast was high fat you can change to carbs for lunch if it's been three hours.

 

Sometimes I can't go between meals without snacking - the joys of being a nursing mom. Then I have a snack that's low in fat and carbohydrates so that it doesn't matter what I've just finished or what I'm going to have next. For me  that's usually a protein shake made with almond milk.

 

The book lists several "special" foods, but many are easy to obtain and some of the more "exotic" ones you can get along without if you don't want to get them. My shopping list has changed very little. I do highly recommend that you get the book. It includes the science behind why this diet works, scriptural reasons for using this diet, food lists and menu ideas, hundreds of recipes and extra information on balancing hormones and exercise.

 

I have lost twenty-five pounds on this diet and beyond that I have seen my headaches, depression, sugar/carb cravings all leave. I have more energy, and when I'm faithful to the diet my body feels "clean" for lack of a better word. Every night I have a piece of my fudge - guilt free - before I go to bed.

 

Lots of men are using this diet as well to lose weight.  For years my husband's weight had been steadily climbing. Just by eating this way part-time we have seen the upward climb stop. He's struggling to lose weight but I know that's because he doesn't follow the diet much. I'm just happy he's stopped putting on weight.

 

This diet in its variations is safe for pregnant and nursing moms as well. For most of my baby's life I've been eating this way, and he's gone from ten pounds at birth to nearly thirty pounds thirteen months later. I have never felt deprived on this diet. I wake up hungry, of course, after nursing all night long, but then I have a huge, plan-approved breakfast starting the day off right.

 

My teenage daughter has joined me off and on and enjoyed the diet as well. She's learned new ways of cooking/baking and new ways of thinking about food and food groups. Unfortunately, she loves the fudge as much as I do. It's hard to share.

 

Check out their Facebook page. There are also group pages on  Facebook where you can get support. The book in all of its various forms can be purchased here. I originally bought the PDF, but eventually  knew I needed the paper copy. There's just something about being able to read a book whether or not your computer is on - just saying.

 

If you have any further questions,  please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

Fudge Glorious Fudge

 

I'm starting to feel better although still not quite up to full strength, but at least I can cook and bake again for my family. Their appetites are starting to return too so the timing is good. This also means that I'm ready to get back 100% to my Trim Healthy Mama diet. One of the things that makes this diet so enjoyable is the chocolate I can make for myself. It is absolutely delicious, glorious, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth fudge.

I'm going to share the recipe for you today with my tweaks. First of all the ingredients : cream cheese, coconut oil, butter, peanut butter, xylitol, stevia, vanilla and cocoa.

I dump everything into the pot which I have set to low.



 

Then here's what I've learned that has made this recipe go from okay to awesome. I use a stick blender to mix it. I used to mix it with a spoon and try to smash the cream cheese up and make it blend in, but I always ended up with little pockets of cream cheese in my fudge. I put up with it for the sake of having chocolate. Then one day I decided to see what my stick blender would do - instant 100% improvement. I now have thick, creamy fudge...so delicious and feel good in your mouth.

It also took me a lot of trial and error to come up with a mold for the chocolate. I tried mini-muffin cups but they just weren't right. This was the solution I came up with that has worked for many countless batches now...a plastic lid lined with wax paper. (Note: I no longer use the wax paper and the fudge comes out of the mold just fine.)

 



And here we have the finished product. I keep it in the freezer. My husband likes it hard. I like it a little softer so I like to take it out and set it on a plate. Okay, let's not kid ourselves...I eat most of mine straight from the freezer. But if I can exercise the self-control it only takes about ten to fifteen minutes for it to soften up.

 



Waiting to be eaten...need I say more?

Glorious Fudge

1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 rounded tbsp. stevia
7 packets (tsp) xylitol
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. cocoa

Put it in a pot on low and mix. Once blended move to a shallow container so it can set. The freezer is best but it can go in the fridge. Allow to harden, eat and enjoy.

 

This recipe is an "S" according to Trim Healthy Mama plan. I try to limit myself to approximately a 3" square for a serving. It is so good I could probably eat half a batch without giving it a thought. It's also a good way to get more coconut oil into your diet...just saying. I have absolutely no guilt eating this and that's another wonderful feeling.

 

What is your treat to yourself when you're watching your weight?

 

A Productive Afternoon

I like to read about other people's lives. I enjoy posts that give me a peek into what someone else has been doing. I'm guessing at least some of my readers are the same so I thought I'd give you a peek into my afternoon yesterday.

 

I had a lot of baking but I wasn't feeling that great so I had a nap first. I didn't get going until after 3:30. First I had to make a list - I love lists remember - of what I needed to do. Here's my list... 

• bread
• sourdough bread
• meat for supper
• chicken broth
• grape nuts cereal
• dessert? (not sure if I was going to do this)

3:36 - finished my list...time to start

 

3:37 - children decide to go play in the snow so I stop what I'm doing to dress my toddler (I was actually glad they wanted to go out because the house was quiet and they were burning off excess energy in a non-irritating way ☺)...then the phone rang...take a pencil case and its contents away from the baby

 

activating my yeast with warm water and honey

3:45 - try again...start the wheat mill going with six cups of spelt...take a picture of the baby watching his siblings outside...start my sourdough...start proofing the yeast for my yeast bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3:57 - the phone is ringing again and I search frantically because I never put it down in the same place twice

 

3:59 - decide I better have a tea to get me through this

 

4:06 - finish mixing up my sourdough bread...I won't need to do anything else with it until tomorrow

 

4:07 - start mixing my bread...As an aside, why am I making two kinds of bread? I need bread tonight and the sourdough won't be ready until tomorrow. Also, the sourdough only makes two loaves which will be gone in a blink and my regular recipe makes four loaves which will last a tch longer.

 

4:10 - more pictures of the fun outside

 

He's wearing the leg warmers I made.

4:16 - finished kneading my bread and set it aside

 

4:19 - time out to change the baby's diaper and nurse him. I enjoy my tea while he's nursing and may or may not have played a couple of rounds of Candy Crush also. ☺

 

4:42 - the phone again

 

4:49 - finish my tea and start mixing the grape nuts cereal. My husband loves plain cold cereal that he can share with the baby. This fits the bill, but it could be jazzed up with fruit or coconut or nuts (or chocolate chips - just saying)...the phone again - my dad this time.

 

5:00 - the cereal is ready to be baked...punch down and flip my bread dough over

 

5:02 - finally decide that yes I will make dessert...brownies...a double batch with walnuts and chocolate chips added

 

much later- the finished product

 5:05 - my teenage son agrees to chop up the stewing beef so we can use it in spaghetti sauce...we use the food processor for this

 

5:12 - the meat is ready

 

5:21 - the brownies are ready...phone rings...another nursing break...call my teenage daughter from her bedroom because she offered to make supper

 

5:38 - nursing the baby again...it's just that time of day when he wants to nurse a lot...the bread needs to go in the pans now for the final rise

 

5:43 - bread is in the pans...wash some more dishes

 

 

5:48 - put the chicken broth I made two days ago into Ziploc bags prior to putting them in the freezer

 

my method for holding the Ziploc bag so I can fill it

 5:57 - call my second son to take the chicken broth to our freezer in the basement

 

 

 

6:01 - supper is ready

 

So I now have six loaves of bread (in various stages of readiness), cold cereal, supper, brownies, and enough chicken broth for six meals. Not bad for a couple of hours of work. It feels good to get a bunch of stuff done all at once.

 

Do you ever do a bunch of stuff all at once in your kitchen?

 

 

Celebrating Family

This has been a busy week, but I don't have a lot to show for it. First of all, my husband has his 50th birthday coming up next month, and I've started plans for a big party.

 

Secondly, I installed a new digital scrapbooking program on my computer, and I've been busy setting it up and getting all of my digital pictures organized. I have/had the Creative Memories StoryBook program. However, when my old laptop was replaced I couldn't transfer the StoryBook program to my new laptop. I did a lot of research of what program to go with for making photobooks and decided to get one from the company who designed the Creative Memories program. I'm glad I did. The screens look exactly like the CM StoryBook program. As an added bonus I was able to transfer all my digital kits from CM into Panstoria's Artisan and use them.

 

I love, love, love digital scrapbooking and was so glad to find a simple solution for what I need. I use my digital scrapbooking to make a book everywhere that has all of our birthday and other celebrations in it. I also make a book about our family vacation every year. Last year I made one for my brother-in-law about his time in basic training. Recently I made a book for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday celebrating her life. I also make gifts and Facebook cover photos using this program. I enjoy scrapbooking with paper, but I enjoy the digital scrapbooking because there is no mess. I see value in the paper and digital which is why I do both.

My children love reading books that star themselves and their siblings.

Random bits - We had our first normal week of school since the New Year started. Everyone is finally feeling better. Routine feels so good. My baby turned thirteen months this week - I can hardly believe it. My sister just found out she's expecting baby #6 after six years of no babies. We're all excited to say the least. I read a really great post this week about freezer cooking that made it seem doable. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but couldn't wrap my head around the organization needed. Now I think I can.

 

So how was your week - busy and feeling productive or busy but not feeling like there was much to show for it?

The Benefits of Training Our Children

Recently I had a day that demonstrated to me how important it is to teach our children how to help around the house.

It started with a headache when I first woke up. I had planned to get up early and have some quiet time to myself to think and organize my thoughts for the week/day. The best I could hope for was to have breakfast more or less on time. Thankfully my children have known for quite a while how to put together a hot breakfast - eggs and oatmeal. They all take turns doing this. My older boys know how to make a pot of coffee - everything's good. So I meandered downstairs and started printing up papers we would need for school while behind me breakfast preparations went on smoothly.

I forgot we needed bread and remembered too late to start some for lunch. Thankfully we have a recipe for a fast yeast bread. I started it, but later in the morning my nine-year-old daughter finished it.

After breakfast I still wasn't feeling great (in spite of two tylenols, I might add), but thankfully I fill in an assignment book every Sunday night for my children's schoolwork for the week. So the children all got on with it and started getting their schoolwork done. Now I'm not saying it was perfectly quiet and all sweetness. There was talking; there was even the occasional squabble, but by and large we were going forward.

However, by the time I started my school day I was running behind in marking papers and kind of stayed behind all morning. So when my oldest daughter asked me what was for lunch, I could hardly face it. I wanted to do diet, but I didn't have it in me to make anything. Thankfully my oldest daughter took over. She picked a menu, made the meal and served me, as well as feeding her siblings.

I tried to nap when the baby did, but couldn't fall asleep. Talk about frustrating. So after my "nap" my oldest son walked to the mall with the baby and I to pick up something I need for a giveaway here on the blog that I'll be announcing soon (I'm really excited about this.). When we came home the house smelled so good because my nine-year-old daughter was making cookies. Yeah for teaching her how to bake.

So I kind of took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. When it came time for supper I read out the menu to my children while they did the work. My headache was gone by then. I started to feel bad about not accomplishing much, but then I realized how much I had to be thankful for. My children had made life so much easier for me today because for the past weeks/months/years I've been training my children how to work in the kitchen. It can be hard sometimes to be patient enough to do this, but today was the payoff. So if you're wondering should I have the children help me in the kitchen today I would say a hearty "YES".

first bread making lesson over a year ago

And, oh, the baby. He was his usual adorable self. So many people at the mall commented on how cute he was. And I have to agree. Then before he went to bed tonight he and I had some fun playing a game of chase. You know how babies are. You offer to chase them and they come right towards you. Lots of giggles and kisses.

adorable without a doubt

Today could have gone so much worse. I'm glad I got up and I'm glad I taught my children their way around the kitchen.

What have you taught your children to make them more self-reliant?