Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Sharing Rambling, Resources and Recipes for Learning in Life

Tag: Health

Health

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!

FaithHealth

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!

Faith

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!

ParentingRecipes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

By Audrea3 Comments

I am trying granola recipes because I have the opportunity to sell some at an upcoming local craft event on Mother’s Day weekend at Granny’s Simple Blessings. And also because while I am not a big cereal fan, my girls and my husband are; and I am always looking for better, homemade options to replace (at least sometimes) their sugary choices!

So, once again I pulled out my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook to give me the basics for my recipe and started experimenting. This is what I came up with:

3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1/3 cup Ground Flax Seeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 cup Honey

1 cup Raisins

I set the oven to 300 degrees. Whisked together the oats and spices. Used the life saving hack of greasing my measuring cup prior to filling it with honey, measured the honey and poured it into the oats and spices. Stirred together with my spatula (that I also greased with less success than my measuring cup). Poured into my 9 x 13 glass baking dish and a 10 x 10 metal baking pan. Spread out and baked for 20 minutes. I stirred the cereal and baked for an additional 10-15 minutes and then took out to cool. Previously when making granola I have always been SO FRUSTRATED with it sticking to the pan once it cools. I find the best thing to do to combat this is to stir it every 3-5 minutes as it cools to lessen (or in this case eliminate!!!!) the sticking. Once it cooled, I stirred in the raisins and then put it into old honey jars (1/2 gallon glass jars) to store! The cook book says a week at room temperature or over a month if you freeze it. You can freeze it right in the jars if you want to! Also, if you do not have old honey jars, you can use any air tight container, even a gallon size zippered plastic bag!

So, the girls and I tried some today for an afternoon snack/early dinner. It’s another crazy t-ball pictures/game and gymnastics night! My four year old deemed it “Really, really, really good!” when I asked for her honest opinion on the way to gymnastics. It was less sweet than I expected. I thought about adding brown sugar, but since I’m trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, I think I may increase the raisins and maybe add some dried dates next time. If you try it, let me know what you think. Be advised we like spice in our granola and baked goods! If you do not like a lot of spice you may want to try just 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and maybe just a 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. I upped the cloves for the spiciness and because I have read about so many benefits from cloves! I was a little worried about it after tasting a little straight from the oven. But, once I added the raisins and we covered it in milk it wasn’t too spicy at all! I used nutmeg to add warmth to the flavor.

Parenting

Magical Unicorn Tea to the Rescue!

By Audrea1 Comment

Every Spring Break my sisters and I try to go out together for the weekend, day or evening. We do this in an effort to maintain, build or even rebuild our friendship with each other as we advance through life and varying responsibilities. This year was harder than others to schedule a time to get together. So, we only managed to set aside a time to go out to dinner together.

After dinner, we stopped by one of our favorite “for fun” stops, Savoy Tea. They always have some different flavors of tea out for sampling. This time one of those flavors was Magical Unicorn Tea! Now, if any of you are Momma’s to little girls you probably know how exciting I knew this would be for my ladies! My girls have been privileged to grow up, like I did, having tea parties with their grandmas and nanas. I don’t like coffee, so there is always tea at our house and my girls often have tea with me. We even have our own “tea parties” at breakfast time on the weekends, replete with a tiny tea pot and tiny tea cups filled with real tea. So, the combination of unicorns and tea is perfect for an “I was thinking about you while I was gone!” treat for my daughters. However, I had to ask the fatal question, “Is there artificial coloring in this?” I had to ask this question because this wonderful find was a brilliant purple hue. I was overjoyed to find that my favorite tea company had come through yet again, when the salesman replied that the color was all natural from the flowers in the tea. He then showed us the magic of the tea by adding a bit of lemon juice and changing the brilliant purple hue to a wonderful deep rosy color!

Needless to say, I bought my girls a tin and took home to them some magical tea and the free unicorn stuffy that came with it! However, the magic of the tea was only just beginning. As I tried, once again, to focus on maintaining and reaching an ideal weight, I found myself craving something sweet. However, I was out of calories and carbs for the day. I remembered the girls’ tea. I tried a cup and found my own magic in that wonderful purple brew! Slightly sweet, warm and comforting, it calmed and fulfilled my craving! It also gave me a caffeine free option for a second cup of warm wonderfulness in the morning after my typical Benner English Breakfast Tea that I buy from Aldi.

So, Savoy Tea Company and a little Unicorn Magic have brought my daughters and I continued warmth, joy and magical moments. In fact, I just finished a cup and my oldest is getting ready to start hers as we read a book together! Magical blissfulness at its best!!

ParentingRecipes

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (sugar-free ish)

By Audrea1 Comment

I have been working to do more food prep on the weekends to simplify making 20 lunches and breakfasts and usually 5 dinners every work week. It gets hard and it gets old!! BUT, I really care that my family, and my girls especially, have healthy food to eat. And, when you’re trying to use whole wheat flour and avoid artificial colors and stay on your budget, homemade is just about the only option there is. I like and even, on occasion, love cooking and baking. However, cooking and baking on top of a full time job away from home, in addition to parenting two energetic ladies and supporting a husband who coaches two sports and teaches English (not his favorite subject) and helping at church every Wednesday evening and keeping up with homework, gymnastics and t-ball it can get a little overwhelming sometimes!!

A couple of months ago, I added homemade breakfasts to my agenda. I did this after deciding that I just couldn’t condone the amount of sugar I was feeding my girls in the form of pop-tarts and granola bars. In addition to that, I decided that as much as possible and tolerable we should have truly whole wheat baked goods.

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a struggle!! I take the time to make something and usually the girls LOVE it when it comes out of the oven and even as they snack on it for the rest of the weekend. However, it seems invariably as we start the week that: “I don’t like that!” or “That’s gross!” or “Not again!” are the comments I hear. And it’s FRUSTRATING!! I’m trying to compete with Daddy’s Pop Tarts and I feel the need to give good, nourishing food that promotes focus and is filling for school! I spend extra effort and time because I believe it’s important and I love my daughters and it is SO easy to want to give up!

And so, drum roll please!!!!!!! Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins to the rescue!! We have successfully and deliciously made it through an entire week that ended with the very last of the bread for a bedtime snack because the girls liked it THAT MUCH!! I had been finding the recipes I was trying with whole wheat flour to be okay, but often dry or lacking flavor or just not as good as the “real” thing with white flour and sugar.

So, I pulled out my beloved Better Homes and Garden Cookbook and used their “Make it Mine Muffins” recipe as my guide. The result was a low fat, moist, light, DELICIOUS muffin with no white flour or sugar (except from the chocolate chips) that my daughters thought was a treat EVERY SINGLE time they ate them, my husband said was good and that I felt actually proud enough of, that we shared with our neighbor! So, here is the recipe:

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (or bread)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease muffin or bead pan. Yields about 29 muffins (I made 18 muffins and four small loaves of bread from my batch)

4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1/2 cup honey

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups mashed bananas (I used thawed frozen bananas)

2 Tbsp ground flax seeds

I whisked together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, flax seeds and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Then I whisked the milk, bananas, honey and eggs together in a smaller bowl. I poured the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mixed by hand until combined. Then I mixed in the chocolate chips by hand. Then I scooped into the greased muffin pans and loaf stone. Then I baked the muffins for 15-20 minutes and the loaves baked for 25-30 minutes.

HealthParenting

Respiratory Relief

By Audrea1 Comment

My youngest daughter has struggled with congestion and snot, literally from the day she was born. When she was tiny, I often wondered if it was because we had her at home and maybe the midwives were not as thorough, as the hospital had been with our first daughter, at sucking out all the gunk from joining our world. I then wondered if it had to do with the rate in which my milk would come down while she nursed. It was so much faster and so much more than I had had with my oldest that maybe that was causing the problem. I mean it certainly caused more spitting up than I had had with my other daughter. Then I thought of dairy and so cut all dairy out of my diet and that seemed to help her some.

Even so, she had ear infections, runny noses and then croupy coughs for almost all of her infancy. I knew they weren’t nearly as chronic as a lot of other kids, but it was so much more than I was used to. My oldest has had one ear infection and that was just this year at 6 years old. Once my youngest could blow her own nose it helped A LOT. The snot didn’t get the chance to sit and grow infected. However, she continued and continues to struggle with allergies. She’s taken prescription Zyrtec, we’ve used Vick’s vapor rub, she’s taken Benadryl for days on end. Then the last time she had a lot of drainage even those medications didn’t seem to help dry it up.

So, I tried essential oils. Many they would help her be able to breathe better and be able to sleep without constant coughing. But, still nothing dried up her drainage. She has outgrown much of her sensitivity to dairy, but continues to be prone to seasonal allergies and irritants like pets and smoke (cigarette and even wood). After reading on their website and finding a large variety of their oils at our local drugstore, Teasley Drug, I tried some of Northridge Oak Oils Respiratory Blend. It not only helps her breathe more easily, but I truly believe it dries up her drainage. I am SO thankful to have something to help her that doesn’t make her sleepy or hyper or have any other unwanted side effects!!