Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Author: Audrea

HealthRecipes

Homemade Toothpaste, Take 2

By Audrea1 Comment

I did finally get around to making toothpaste again. The texture improved this time. I still used this recipe from Weed ’em and Reap minus the essential oils.

1/2 cup Filtered Water

1/4 cup Bentonite Clay

2 TBS Calcium/Magnesium Powder

3 TBS Coconut Oil

1/4 tsp Unprocessed Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

10 drops Trace Minerals

Stevia (optional, I don’t put any in mine)

The recipe on the website also calls for 30 drops of essential oils. I didn’t put any in mine. This time I let it mix a bit longer in my mini food processor and it turned out downright airy! I also increased the water to about 3/4 cup since it was too thick/dry last time. It was truly like a mousse. The interesting thing was that after putting it in my jar and sealing it it continued to expand so I actually had to take more out of my jar and add it to my mom’s (I gave her some to use). Then after leaving it overnight, it deflated quite a bit. However, it was still thinner/creamier this time and more the consistency of actual toothpaste. I do not feel like I have it mastered at all yet. I would like to make it with the oils to improve the flavor and I would still like the texture and consistency to improve. It’s rather salty tasting without the essential oils and Stevia, but not too bad.

EducationFaithHealthRamblings

The Key to this Journey is the Definition!

By Audrea2 Comments

I have not written for a while before today because when my weight went up during my weigh in and a LOT of stressors came into play with work, I just wanted to stop. I continued working on this journey. I prayed for dedication, direction, peace and strength and I continued. That alone is a huge victory even though I couldn’t and still don’t really feel it! Sometimes, simply NOT stopping is a HUGE step forward.

It has been in this time of stress, feeling like a failure and battling discouragement that I have come to realize, through God’s direction no doubt, that I must understand that this is a JOURNEY. And guess what journeys can be fun and light and spectacular! AND they can be hard and dark, uphill and tough. BUT they are never short.

I may not get to my goal weight before I go back to school in the fall! That’s a huge bummer to me. I really wanted to check this off my list before the additional time constraints and stress of the beginning of the year. However, school will always start again. Life will always bring stress and hard and mess. It will also always bring joy and light and refreshment. And, I have to learn to journey through it all. So, whether my path is uphill or down, lighted or dark, I just have to keep walking and praying and choosing the joy and peace of Jesus! This journey will likely always seem long until I get to heaven and realize that it was short compared to eternity. That can be a comfort, but even that cannot be my sole focus. Because God has placed me here and told me to live today and then He will give me an easy yoke and light burden.

HealthRamblings

Why no meals should be skipped on this journey!

By Audrea2 Comments

A few days into this newest journey towards treating my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and gaining health through a healthier relationship with food and getting more exercise, I had a meeting. That meant I just had time to eat a few pieces of celery and some cottage cheese right before I headed out the door. Not the most filling lunch I’d had so far on this journey, but it’d be okay I told myself. After all it would mean fewer calories that day and that would help with the lower weight part of the journey!

Of course I was wrong!! When I got home about 4 hours later, I was super hungry and ended up snacking and tasting as I made dinner. My snacks and tastes more than equalled a meal and I still had a full dinner. My calories may have still been okay. I’m not sure because I didn’t enter my food that day. However, the most important problem with the lack of lunch was that I could tell I wasn’t controlling my snacks and tastes, my hunger and sense of deprivation was.

So, I may NOT skip meals. If something beyond my control happens and I have to go for awhile without eating, I have to plan my next meal accordingly and eat according to the plan. This is not so much in order to control my calories, but to control my control. Anytime I am not in control of my eating, I am out of balance! So, staying well nourished is key on this journey!

FaithHealthRamblings

Should this Journey be Indulgent or Not!?!

By Audrea2 Comments

So in exploring this journey as a healthy walk towards Jesus through the life He’s meant for me to live, I am taking a more laid back and baby steps forward approach. Therefore, NOTHING is off limits. That fact goes back and forth from being freeing to paralyzing to derailing! Today I am discussing the idea of whether or not a journey to having a body that is disciplined and trained to be a temple for the Holy Spirit should include indulgences or not. Now, I am not talking about having some fruit for dessert! I mean true indulgence of ice cream or chocolate or cake or something arguably not even a little bit good for you like Dr. Pepper!!

I think that in view of our ability to enjoy food and gain more from it than nutrients that it is OKAY to have some indulgences. There is a key though that I think can make a difference between indulgences that glorify God and indulgences that derail both our goals and even our relationships with Him. I am not at all saying that our relationships with Him would be permanently derailed, but that the wrong kind or time of indulgence takes it from enjoying a creation of God to elevating food to an idol.

Yesterday was kind of a rough day after my less than successful weigh in on Wednesday. So, I think that it was a dangerous time to indulge! Because I was rather down it made it very easy to allow food to be a comfort and then that comfort could take the place of God where He should be in His role to complete me and order and direct my steps!

So, when you are in a good frame of mind and you have been working hard and following the set of guidelines that you and God have set up for your good health and wellbeing, INDULGE! Do it gently, slowly and focused so that you can enjoy the pleasure God has sent you through your indulgence.

HOWEVER, if you are down, sad, frustrated, defeated or struggling in any other way. It may be wisest to skip the indulgence. Turn to God with any and all of your feelings and emotions! After all, He is the only one who can heal and help!!

I think I could have indulged well yesterday evening given a better frame of mind. As it was, I know that I indulged beyond what my body needed or what was best for my goals. I knew that my body needed a chocolate chip banana muffin as an indulgence instead of ice cream to “keep things going”. So, I made that healthier choice for the added fiber and whole foods. That was good! But, I also had a bite or two or three of ice cream as I made my daughters’ bowls and a spoonful of peanut butter to go with it. So, in reality, I should have had one of those indulgences, not both and neither in addition to the two tablespoons of chocolate chips I had earlier in the evening. Since, I was still disappointed from my weigh in, I had received stressful information from work and I am struggling with how to best support my husband through some stressful situations he is dealing with himself, indulgence in a quick sand! So, in light of all of these stressors, prayer would have been my best and healthiest indulgence! There was nothing wrong with the foods I ate, the problem comes when I’m eating them to feel better!

FaithRamblings

My “Bumpy” Journey to the Temple

By AudreaLeave a comment

Today is that writing that I figured would come, but I thought would come further down the line after more successes had piled up to make the landing more cushioned and easier to take. Yesterday was my weekly (keep me accountable) weigh in and I had GAINED .4 pounds! Yes, that is only .4 pounds, but that is NOT what I expected or wanted after the “successful” week that I had had adding work outs, following the “food rules” that made sense to me and my endeavors to treasure the gift of food and my body at the same time. I mean, I’d been doing everything way more “right” than I did the week before and instead of losing even more weight than I did then, (like I truly expected to) I gained weight! HUGE LET DOWN and definite possible de-railer!

However, I still got up this morning and did both of my work outs anyway. I still made and ate a healthy plant focused breakfast and lunch and only ate until I was satisfied. Lunch was particularly yummy with a bed of romaine lettuce and spinach covered in heated up left over spaghetti sauce with ground beef and mushrooms from dinner last night. That was topped with an Italian blend of shredded cheese and a small side of cottage cheese. All served on a child sized plate to further help with portion control. I have also already drank 80 ounces of water today. It was SUPER hard to get up and keep moving forward after such disappointing results. But, I know that honoring God by treating my body as a temple has VERY LITTLE to do with the number on the scale and VERY MUCH to do with healthy eating, healthy exercise, discipline and obedience.

So, I am currently pressing on. I am relieved that I have still lost 1 pound since I started my weigh ins. And, I am hopeful that the changes I am making and CONTINUING will result in a more favorable weigh in next week. If not ,then I know that I have more adjustments to make and I will look in to that and those then!

HealthRecipes

A New Breakfast

By Audrea2 Comments

In an effort to “Eat food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants” as suggested in Michael Pollan’s books, Food Rules and In Defense of Food, I stumbled upon a new “recipe”. I put recipe in quotations because really it’s just a mix of some veggies and eggs and Flat Out Bread that I had on hand. BUT it SURE is tasty!!!

1 Flat Out Fold It!

1 jalapeño pepper seeded and diced

1/2-1 small yellow summer squash diced

2 eggs

1/2-1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/4 cup baby spinach

1-2 tablespoons salsa

So I sautéed the jalapeño and the small yellow summer squash in a skillet for 3-5 minutes until they begin to soften. Then I cracked two eggs into the pan and scrambled it all together. Then I spread mayonnaise on the Flat Out bread and topped that with 2-3 tablespoons of the eggy yumminess. I next added baby spinach on top of the eggs and topped it all with a tablespoon or so of salsa! Absolute veggie filled creamy magnificence!! So delicious! If you don’t like the heat of jalapeños I am sure it would be delicious with bell peppers as well! What are you favorite veggies to add to scrambled eggs, I’d love to hear!

FaithHealthRamblings

My Journey to the Temple; Small Victories Pave the Way to Success!!

By Audrea2 Comments

So far on this current journey toward the temple I have experienced several small victories. I am thankful and blessed by each one. I am attempting to relish them so that I can remain thankful and forward focused when I experience small or even large set backs.

The first set of victories may not at first even appear victorious. The first was asking a friend of mine to walk this journey with me with weekly visits and weigh ins. She has lost over 100 pounds through eating well and exercising!! She is currently working on maintenance, embracing the fact that this is a life long journey and taking a break from her scale because their relationship wasn’t healthy anymore! She agreed to meet with me! That knowledge alone helped me lose 1.6 pounds during the last week of school amidst baccalaureate, graduation, graduation parties, end of the year responsibilities and end of the year teacher gift preparation for the girls’ teachers! That was ahuge victory to me and I am SO grateful to her and God for helping me accomplish that loss during a time when fitting in exercise was not an option!!

Since we’ve been done with school, I’ve exercised every day (except Sunday). My plan was to take the weekends off, but I had time and motivation to get a workout in on Saturday and I did. Another small victory that felt HUGE!

We were all done with school on Thursday, May 23rd. The girls had been asking to go to the local library ever since the school libraries stopped loaning books in order to get ready for their annual inventories. So Friday, I took the girls to the library for them and I to get some books. One of the books I checked out was Michael Pollan’s, Food Rules. In it he talks about the “rules” which he says are more like guidelines of eating. One of them is the idea of eating to satisfaction rather than fullness and that has been working well for me the last couple of days! Another victory for this girl who hates feeling deprived or hungry!

So, with each small victory I gain a little more confidence that MAYBE I am truly on a life-long, forward-moving journey and road to the temple within my body and outside in heaven, my ultimate destination. Perhaps even my eating and weight and body composition can be sanctified!! After all, ANYTHING is possible with MY GOD!

FaithHealthParentingRamblings

My Journey to the Temple

By Audrea1 Comment

I am currently focusing again on health, well being and of course weight. However, in light of wanting a “forever fix” and having two adorable young ladies watching me, whose body image I want to cultivate instead of warp, I am trying to take a different approach than I ever have.

So, since one of the biggest motivations behind continuing to try to navigate this road and balance of life, motherhood, work, busyness, tiredness, weight and exercise is to truly treat my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, hence this title. I don’t want to just look a certain way or weigh a certain amount for myself. And it can NOT be in order to achieve some one else’s standard, because then, I will never succeed. I am on this journey wholeheartedly again, because I am not okay with where I currently am. However, I could convince myself that where I am is not that bad and that it is just the unavoidable consequence of birthing babies, getting older and having no time to myself! Yet, God has given me a higher calling than that that says just okay isn’t good enough. That calling is in the form of the command to treat my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19-20). It also comes in the form of being the momma of two little girls. It is the second form of this calling that compels me to find a different way than cutting out food groups or counting every calorie. My girls will watch everything I do and learn things, whether I am trying to teach them lessons or not. And following a specific, limiting diet and losing and gaining the same 20 pounds endlessly are not the lessons I want them to learn.

So, I start/continue this journey, trying to stay heavenly minded and find a healthy, long-lasting relationship with this fuel, gift, pleasure and temptation that we call food.

One of the things I am striving for is balance. I need balance in the ability to exercise around caring for the girls. I need balance in being able to eat all things. I need balance in this peculiar idea shared in Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules, of “all things in moderation, even moderation”.

So far in this newly started summer break things are going well. I’ve been able to work out every day except Sunday which is what I wanted to accomplish. I’ve been able to embrace the idea of being done eating when I’m satisfied versus full (again from Pollan’s book). And I am even enjoying the accountability that I have set up with a friend who has successfully navigated a HUGE journey to the Temple herself.

It has been VERY tempting NOT to share anything about this journey publicly! I mean, based on past experience, I’m going to fail. BUT, accountability is supposed to help and sometimes just knowing we’re not alone helps us move forward. So, I’ll share and hopefully propel myself forward and maybe help someone who reads this and maybe hear from you when you read it and that WILL help me!

ParentingRamblings

Just a Day

By Audrea1 Comment

So often I think that I cannot write unless I have some big epiphany or a new recipe or something specific to share. Instead this time, I am just sharing where I am. We have FINALLY started summer break from school!! This school year truly felt like a school year that would not end for SO MANY reasons.

Our summer has no major plans this year. Since we are just starting out in our new house (we moved in in November for those who haven’t read about that part of this journey), and we still need to finish our detached garage, fencing and build a barn. All of this on top of trying to financially recover from closing costs and whatnot from finishing the house. We did get the slab poured and finished for our garage and we are currently working on getting bids for drying it in. My husband is more than capable of framing it himself. However, God has continued to call him to coach football for the 7th grade, junior high and senior high football teams at our local school and that means practice all summer. He is also the one responsible for our fencing. Due to the lack of time all of that creates for him, we will be looking for someone else to do it for us!

Therefore, our summer break has started soft and slow the last 4 days after the whirlwind of end of year activities. The girls and I have been to the local library and all four of us have been to the park. We joined the girls and the rest of my family for Sunday dinner yesterday, after they spent the afternoon with Grammie, Papi and their visiting Great Grandpa and Adam and I spent the afternoon setting posts for the rest of our fencing. Then all four of us set the last 6 posts this morning before again joining my family at my mom and dad’s house to celebrate Memorial Day, complete with the annual trip that my mom makes to the local cemetery with the grandchildren. So it has been a wonderful time during this long weekend (Adam’s practices don’t start until tomorrow) just enjoying time off and together!

HealthParentingRecipes

Weggles

By Audrea4 Comments

I am trying to plan out my meals for the week. I feel the best when I eat a diet as full of whole foods as possible. I have recently been reading about the idea of doing hash browns in a waffle maker. So, today when the girls went to visit and craft at the neighbors, I decided to try a new concoction for my breakfasts this week and maybe the girls would like it for some of their mornings as well. I have christened this concoction Weggles for the base of eggs and the use of the waffle maker.

Here is the recipe for my invention:

6 eggs

5-6 medium potatoes shredded

1 Tbsp powdered Garlic

1-2 cups spinach

1/2 cup mushrooms (I used canned mushroom pieces from Aldi)

2-3 Tbsp bacon grease (I would think you could substitute coconut oil)

1 tsp sea salt

I mixed it all together and then scooped about 1/3 cup of the mixture onto a hot and greased waffle iron. I smooshed/smoothed it out and then let it cook. It took longer than typical waffles and the longer you leave it the crispier the outcome. I really like the flavor and combination of potato and egg. My oldest really likes it (in fact she keeps getting in trouble for sneaking bites, right now), my youngest gave them a passing grade, but not a very enthusiastic pass.