Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Tag: Health

HealthParentingRecipes

Homemade Larabars or Bites

By Audrea1 Comment

I have done a couple of Whole30’s. In doing those I have only tried a few Whole30 approved snacks. This is because, in case you haven’t noticed in some of my other posts, I don’t like to spend extra money on things. This is partly to be responsible with the money God has given us to steward and partly because my husband is most assuredly NOT a fan of Whole30 or many of the other “healthy” things I try. He was raised on white bread, Little Debbie snacks and margarine and he loves them! He is also a healthy weight and gets better numbers at his check ups than I do! He is also super frugal and doesn’t want to “waste” money that we don’t have or have to!!

Larabars were one of the Whole30 snacks that I did indulge in. On busy mornings, with getting all of us to school for the day, they were a lifesaver. They are a fairly expensive lifesaver when you are used to buying Little Debbie snacks or Sunbelt granola bars from the discount store in their hometown of Gentry, AR. One other drawback to Larabars for me was that most of them are made with walnuts and at the time I was reacting to walnuts. My mouth would get sore and then it progressed to the back of my throat itching and sometimes swelling a little. Because I had heard from my husband’s aunt who is a nurse that nut allergies can progress, I thought it would be in my best interest to steer clear of walnuts for a while.

So, I looked up homemade Larabar recipes to save myself money and the possibility of anaphylactic shock. The one I keep going back to is by Chocolate Covered Katie. I use this recipe as the base for all the versions of my homemade larabars, which I normally make into bites now. I started doing this because it is just easier to scoop them with my small cookie scoop instead of trying to press them into something and cut them up. I am hopeful that since one of my husband’s other aunts sells Pampered Chef that I may be able to score their Snack Bar Maker Set for Christmas! Then I might make them into bars again. You can click here for that original recipe. Below you can see how I use the main ingredients from her recipe as the base for my recipe(s).

Here is my base recipe:

1 cup nuts

1 1/3 cups dates

That’s it. From there the options are rather endless. I’ll include two versions that I have made below to give you some ideas.

Chocolate:

Add 3-4 tsp. cocoa powder

Yesterday, since I had dates left over after my chocolate one ones I also made Cinnamon Raisin.

Cinnamon Raisin:

Reduce dates to 1 cup and add 1/3 cup raisins (or use all 1 1/3 cup raisins, these are sweeter)

Add 1-3 tsp ground cinnamon

Add a generous sprinkle of ground cloves

Add about 1/4 tsp nutmeg

I also added 3 tsp of peanut butter to make them richer

Directions for all variations:

Place all ingredients in a food processor, various recipes I’ve looked at say you can use a high powered blender, but I’ve only used a food processor. Mix until it is a smooth and slightly clumpy mixture. Scoop the mixture out with a cookie scoop (round more with hands if you prefer) into a ziplock bag or airtight container. Store in the refrigerator. I have also pressed these into cupcake papers in cupcake tins to make a slightly larger serving size and cuter presentation. You could also stir in additional chocolate chips or chunks to the chocolate version and raisins to the cinnamon raisin version if you want to. This last time with the chocolate version, I added a few pieces of my paleo chocolate before I ran the food processor just to make them richer.

I really enjoy these as a healthy fruit based indulgence for myself. I also REALLY love that my girls feel like they’re getting candy and they’re eating fruits and nuts. I was SO thrilled that since I have not been reacting to walnuts lately and my mom has given us several bags of them lately that I was able to make these with walnuts instead of almonds this yesterday. They are so smooth and decadent!! Also, we are all getting a boost in Omega 3 fatty acids which are supposed to be helpful for children with ADHD symptoms. My oldest has no diagnosis, but focus and controlling impulses can be difficult tasks for her. Therefore we value any diet additions we can make that will help her strengthen her focusing and impulse control. We are currently focusing on adding magnesium through Concentrace Essential Mineral Drops and Omega 3’s through diet.

If you try either of these or your own variation, I’d love to hear about it!

HealthRecipes

Chocolate Chip Cookies (White Bean Version!!!)

By Audrea2 Comments

I am currently doing the 30 Day MakeFatCry Challenge by Betty Rocker. It is a challenge that gives you a 15 minute workout each day, including active rest day workouts so your body gets a break while you still move each day. During the challenge you get the workout emailed to you each day. Some days include some “extras” in the form of extra workouts or recipes. She also offers a Challenge Meal Plan that is whole food based to nourish your body with all of the macro and micro nutrients it needs to look and feel its best! Since the meal plan is not free, I haven’t tried it. I did try one of the recipes she sent as one of the “extras” today though.

Today I made Chocolate Chip cookies that are flourless. Now, most of the time that I see “flourless” cookies or desserts it means almond meal or coconut flour. I think both of those are likely wonderful ingredients and very healthy. Unfortunately, they are also very expensive and I am not yet ready to invest that much money into experimenting. So, I was excited that flourless in this recipe truly meant flourless.

Here is her original recipe:

1 can of white beans (drained and slightly patted dry)

1/3 honey or maple syrup

1/3 walnut or almond butter

1/4-1/3 cup ground chia seeds (optional)

1-3 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (she uses dairy free from Enjoy Life or similar)

Heres the directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment
  3. Put everything except the chocolate chips in a food processor and blend until smooth
  4. Stir in chocolate chips
  5. Scoop out with a cookie scoop onto the parchment
  6. Cook for 12-16 minutes

I didn’t have everything in the ingredient list so here’s the recipe I actually made:

1 can of white beans (drained and slightly patted dry)

1/3 honey

1/3 walnut butter-ish (I processed walnuts in my small food processor until that were a paste)

1/4-1/3 cup ground flax seeds (I didn’t have any chia seeds left)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (I used my paleo chocolate chopped into pieces and a small handful of Nestle Chocolate chips when I could tell near the end of scooping that I was out of chocolate in the dough)

Here’s the steps I followed:

I had a little bit of extra work because I didn’t just have everything on hand. I had flax seeds, but not ground. So, while the beans drained in the colander, I used my seed grinder to grind the flax seeds. Then I got out my walnuts from the freezer because I didn’t want to use peanut butter, but I have been given a lot of walnuts lately. The walnuts went into my small food processor and started grinding while I put the beans, honey (always be sure to spray your measuring cup with oil before measuring honey to make pouring it out easier and wasting less of it), baking powder and baking soda into my large food processor. Somewhere in here is when I remembered to turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Then I scooped out enough of the walnut “paste” for the recipe and left the rest in the small food processor. Later, I added raisins, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and made oatmeal raisin bites (similar to Larabars) for my daughters. Then I ran the large food processor until everything was smooth. While that was going, I chopped some of my paleo chocolate that I had in the fridge to equal 1/2 a cup. Once it was smooth (it went really fast), I scooped that out into a bowl and stirred in the chocolate chunks. Then I put foil on two cookie sheets (I didn’t have parchment paper) and used a small cookie scoop to scoop the cookies out onto the cookie sheets. As I got close to the end of the dough I could see that there was no chocolate so I threw in a small handful of Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chips. Once I finished scooping. I put the cookie sheets into the oven on two different racks and set the timer for 6 minutes. A trick that I’ve learned from my dad, the baker, is to rotate your cookie sheets on their shelves halfway through cooking. After six minutes, I switched the cookie sheets and cooked them for 7 more minutes. After I took them out, I let them cool on the cookie sheets. Okay, I did eat one as soon as they came out of the oven. Then I scooped them off the foil with my small dessert spatula from Pampered Chef and put them in my cookie jar.

Here’s what I think of them:

They are good and I think they get better as they sit in the cookie jar. The coconut oil in the paleo chocolate adds a crispiness to the edges of some of the cookies. They are NOT Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies (my absolute favorite dessert, IF my dad makes them). I had been having a chocolate chip cookie each morning with my tea during my quiet time, but that didn’t seem like such a healthy choice. I think this is a lovely alternative. It seems like these would be high in fiber with the ground flax seed and beans and that is something I am focusing on currently in this journey of remembering that and treating my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. There are some nutrition facts on Betty Rocker’s page, but they didn’t include the fiber content. The comments did say they are in My Fitness Pal though, so that would likely give that content. If you try these, I’d love to hear how they turn out for you. There are tweaks and versions mentioned in the comments on Betty Rocker’s page, if you’re interested in them.

Farming

We’ve (well I’ve) Picked the Date!!

By Audrea2 Comments

I am SO excited that we get to have a garden again this year! We have not had one for the last 3 years because of my husband’s coaching schedule and then because of moving to our new house. This year, I told my husband that I want a garden NO MATTER WHAT! And luckily, he agreed!

We have talked about what we are going to plant and even the perennials we would like to start. We are planting corn, tomatoes, okra, green peppers, cucumbers and radishes in the garden. We are planning to start strawberries, asparagus and possibly garlic as perennials. Maybe I’ll be able to talk him into blue or blackberry bushes also! We have decided to plant all seedlings instead of any seeds with the exception of radishes. We usually do better with plants.

I always get super excited about gardening and want to start before it is time. I am setting a date for us to use as our deadline though. I am giving us until March 29th to have the garden tilled and prepared. If my husband still says it’s too early to plant, that’s fine, but the garden MUST be ready by then!!

EducationHealth

Whole30 Journey

By AudreaLeave a comment

I’ve done a Whole24 before and had REALLY good results from it! It increased my energy and regularity and it helped TREMENDOUSLY with my sugar cravings and even sugar toleration. Even now, almost two years later, I drink unsweet tea or unsweet tea with flavoring at Sonic which is still sometimes almost too sweet. I have managed to work up a toleration for Dr. Pepper again, but that took awhile!

So, in trying to finish up the weight loss portion of this temple journey, I’ve toyed with the idea of doing another Whole24 and making it the Whole30 this time!! I’ve only toyed with the idea because deprivation is HARD and usually unsustainable. After all, this journey is supposed to be about sustainable, holy, Christ following changes! The last time my sister and I lugged our munchkins to the Library and the Savoy Tea Company I stumbled across Dallas and Melissa Hartwig’s book, It All Starts With Food. And, I’ve read most of it. There is SO much MORE information in this book about their perspective and the whys and the lifestyle philosophies behind the Whole30 than I found reading on the internet prior to my first Whole24. It turns out that the Whole30 is supposed to springboard you to a sustainable, healthy-eating lifestyle that generally propels you toward greater health with a few thoughtful indulgences along the way just for fun! Hmmmm…. sound like any goals you’ve read on here or found in your own journey toward honoring Christ with the health of your temple!?!

Since it turns out that the philosophy of this way of eating lines up with my heart’s desire to honor Christ, I am going to take the plunge again! It also happens to line up quite nicely with my September 6 goal while still allowing me to start after we take the girls out for a last hurrah tomorrow before I go back to work on Wednesday. The more difficult part will be that it also lines up quite nicely with going back to work (aka increased stress). I also means provided lunch during in services and NO END of sweets and temptations during Meet the Teacher Nights and the the first week or two back at school! Although, health-wise this will be great and help me stay on track during a VERY derailing time, it will also likely lead to some struggles! However, I think, although I truly don’t want to be sacrilegious, “if God is for me who can be against me” can apply even here. I know that these last 4 pounds do not matter to eternity! I also know that they are important to me. And I know that God cares about me and therefore cares about what I care about. I think this will turn out to be a lovely chance to honor Him, and allow Him to continue to shape and sanctify my perspective to focus on Him in all things, through all things and NO MATTER what things!

DIYRecipes

My Favorite DIY Scrub

By Audrea1 Comment
A perfect relaxation combination!

Just this morning I was mixing up a batch of this scrub and I realized that I’d never shared this magical find with you! It is so simple and so CHEAP!! And my skin is incredibly smooth and baby soft when I make the time to use it regularly. I can simply use it in the shower or if I have extra pamper time I actually use it on my whole body and rub it in for a few minutes and then shower off. Some people recommend using a screen of some kind to collect it so that it doesn’t go down the drain, but I’ve never bothered to do that. I haven’t had any more than my usual drain cloggage either. We always had some trouble at our old house with the drains because of my or the girls’ hair. This never seemed to increase the trouble though.

So here is the recipe:

1/4 cup* used coffee grounds

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

*I use a 1/4 cup of coffee when I make it for my husband, I am a tea drinker myself. So, I don’t have an exact measurement for what the grounds come too after they’ve been used.

I just pour the grounds off of the filter into a mason jar, add in the oil and sugar. Stir it up and put on the lid. That’s it!

You will want to use it up within a week or two to prevent it from molding. Since these are all natural food ingredients that is a possibility. I just rub it into my legs and feet while I’m in the shower, right before I shave. Or, if I have time, I will do my whole body in the shower before I turn the shower on and then just shower as usual. It does a phenomenal job smoothing my rough knees and feet! I just love how smooth and soft my skin is when I’m done. The best results I’ve had were when I used it every day for a week during a Spring Break! It was amazing!!

FaithHealth

Still Going…. Strong!?!

By Audrea1 Comment

I am still going on this journey of weight loss and health and MOST importantly Jesus worship!! Although, I admit that I am constantly having to readjust my focus to the latter and am more often out of focus than in. My self-imposed timeline of September 6th gets me quite off track in the Jesus focus, but also keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I think I will have to work more at keeping focused ALONG WITH staying on track between now and my next post. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I have lost 11 pounds as of this morning and 12.75 inches so far. I have 5 pounds and 5.5 inches left to lose. I have also completed the Alpha Phase of the T25 workouts from Beachbody. I think that is what I can attribute most of my lost inches to. I continue to track my calories on the My Fitness Pal app and have recently adjusted them back up to 1280 a day instead of 1200 at the suggestion of my accountability friend. I was feeling hungry all the time and dizzy sometimes. With that information and her suggestion that people never go below 1200 calories a day I felt it was best to up my calorie setting. I have trouble using up every single allowable calorie. I feel like I have to have a green number on the side of my totals at the end of the day. This way I can leave 20-40 calories on there and still get enough in my body for what I’m doing.

Like I said earlier, my focus isn’t always what it should be, but I’m working to get there. step by step. I am too grumpy about “deprivation” too often. However, it is up to me if I view it as deprivation or working toward a goal. I was just reading an email from Stephanie at Six Figures Under and although it was a budgeting tip from a budgeting blog, it fits for this journey too. She was talking about decisions we can and need to make today that our future selves will be able to thank us for later. And just like starting a new business or blog or setting up a budget or an IRA fund will give our future selves something monetary to thank us for, we can make health decisions that we can thank ourselves for later. We can budget our calories just like our dollars, we can start a fitness commitment just like a business, we can invest in groceries that truly nourish our bodies and sometimes even our souls just like we invest in an IRA. And then our leaner, healthier, happier and (maybe one of these days when I get my focus right) more peaceful future-selves will thank us for that, too!

EducationHealth

Halfway There (kind of)!

By Audrea2 Comments

I have reached the half way point of my weight loss!  I have lost 8 pounds and have 8 more to go!  I will hit the halfway mark in my 5 week exercise plan tomorrow.  This morning as I was contemplating the difficulties of this journey and hoping against hope that these last 8 pounds will come off faster than the first 8.  I realize this is a rather unrealistic hope as the closer you get to your ideal weight it is typically harder to lose weight.  However, the hunger I’ve been dealing with and the tiredness after my workouts has been wearying.  So, I am hoping to get to the end of the weight loss part of this journey sooner than later.

I remembered this morning, as I was thinking through all of these halfway points I’ve hit or am coming upon, that this is the part of the “race” that I always struggled with in the half-marathons I’ve run.  I’d try to tell myself that I’d already finished half and I had less left than I’d already accomplished.  It never worked though, and I always felt like I could not run a step further and had to take a walk break.  And, once I took the first walking break, I had to take more and would alternate between walking and running for the whole second half of the race.  I do NOT want to do that in this race.  I am trying to accelerate during the second half this time.  I DO NOT want to prolong this part of the journey!

I also added (kind of) to my title because I am working hard to keep in mind that this journey is forever. Once I reach my weight loss goal, I may or may not have reached my inches or clothing goals. Then once I’ve reached all of those goals I have to maintain them and that is the part of the journey that, for me, is uncharted! I’ve successfully lost all of this weight before! Some might even say I maintained it for a little bit. However, I don’t think I actually, truly maintained it. I was nursing my youngest when I reached my goal weight the first time and only maintained the loss as long as I nursed. Once I stopped nursing, I started gaining. That was because I wasn’t actually maintaining my health or well being and therefore wasn’t able to maintain my weight loss either.

So, now I am staying aware of my tendency to take breaks in the second half of journeys so that I do not take a break this time. And I am working to prepare myself mentally and praying for strength spiritually to maintain or even accelerate my progress in the second half of this part of the journey, and BEYOND!!

EducationHealth

This Journey… Oh This Journey

By Audrea1 Comment

So, I started this journey at 144.4 pounds.  My goal weight is 128 pounds.  My non scale goal is more muscle than fat and some definition.  I have been doing my best to be faithful to the process while still living life.  I am trying to make changes that I could do forever since I am coming to accept that this is a life long journey.  There have already been some pretty great super-highs and some pretty rough super-lows.  I have done my best to stick with the process and the point through them all.  It’s hard, it’s draining and it can be rewarding!

I have managed in the last 6 weeks to lose just under 6 pounds and 8 inches. I know that this is great and sustainable progress. And that is what I tell myself when the going gets rough! It is also feeling SOOOOO slow! My original goal was to reach my goal weight by the time I went back to school for in-service on August 7th. That doesn’t seem likely given my other and more important goal of doing this without being on a “diet”. It is WAY more important that I model healthy, balanced eating for my girls. So, we have charts for ourselves counting how many fruits and vegetables and cups of water we have each day to give them ownership of their health and good things to add to what they eat. I have one too so that I can continue to focus on what actually matters most: treating my body like a temple, not getting this temple to look like this or fit into that (those are just nice side effects, I’m hoping for!!)

So, I’ve had to extend my date goal to my 40th birthday on September 6th. I continue to tweak things like lowering my daily calorie intake a couple of times in the My Fitness Pal app that I use. I am currently at the lowest calorie amount I will allow myself since these changes need to be sustainable. And I only lowered the calories after I felt that my body had adjusted to where the previous count. When I started tracking calories this time I was starving for 3-4 days. Then things seemed manageable and my weight wasn’t going down like I wanted it to. So, my accountability friend and I decided it would be best for me to stop entering my exercise into the app. That lowered my allowable calories by 100-200 calories. I felt like I was starving for another few days. I think that was due in part to being at training for most of those hungry days. Since I am choosing to “live life” through this process I ate the food that was provided. This meant that sometimes the food had more calories than fullness in it. Then, once I felt like I got good at managing that level of allowable calories, I increased the amount of weight I wanted to lose each week within the app. That brought me to my current allowable 1200 calories a day. This seems doable most days. Life still makes it harder some days than others! Such as when we take the girls out for donuts for breakfast. However, I also want to reach my goal weight!! I hope and pray that THEN maybe I can have a meal or even a day or two when I don’t enter everything I eat and I am still where I need to be health and weight wise.

Like I said earlier, I am coming to accept the truth that I know. There is no finish line and this is a forever journey (at least until my “new” body in heaven!!). Still, I do think it is a legitimate expectation that when I am maintaining there will be more wiggle room. However, for right now I try to keep everything pretty tied down. I do know I cannot handle going lower with my calories. So, if I plateau than I will have to pay closer attention to my macro counts to try to keep moving forward. I may add exercise if I find myself truly stuck, but that I also have to monitor that closely because I can only handle so much time commitment with my family’s schedules. Because I only have so few things left that I can change or moderate AND more importantly and wisely because slow weight loss is the longest lasting weight loss, I will continue to work to be content with my slow progress. I will also remind myself to thank God and rejoice because it is progress! I just read today from Kelsey at Hiitburn that we should focus on “progress not perfection”. I think that mentality matches up very well with this journey toward Jesus in this temple of His that He’s loaned me!

Thanks for reading! It helps me to type about it!!

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.