FamilyNatural

Movin' On Up

2010-07-27T22:21:00.000+03:00

FamilyNatural is moving. Taking that big 'ole leap from Blogger to Wordpress. It's been coming for a long time, and as I've been working on the new site, trying to get the most important things in place, I've lost my posting habit. That's one reason I haven't been saying much lately.

Well, the most important things are in place, and though it's not perfect (or how I envision it will be some day), it's good enough. One of my favorite Fly-isms is that "housework done incorrectly still blesses your family" I love that concept, and it can be applied in so many ways!

So, here goes. Come and see the NEW FamilyNatural here. Make sure you leave a comment so I know you've visited!

And, of course, I couldn't end this without a little Jefferson's music...

PS. Some of you have already been visiting the new site (and are reading this there) without realizing that it wasn't officially "open for business" yet. If this is you, well, "welcome" anyway! And leave a comment and let me know what you think. (That includes letting me know about any links that might be broken, etc.) Thanks for taking this journey with me!

The Story of Cosmetics

2010-07-23T16:40:00.003+03:00

Interesting video. I definitely have a lot of progress to make in this area.

This text will be replaced by the player

How about you?

Make Your Own Vanilla Extract

2010-07-20T15:25:00.003+03:00

Confession: We've been using imitation vanilla. As in Fake. As in, filled with chemicals and nothing good. And it doesn't even taste good! Why, you may ask? Well, to save money. Vanilla extract is expensive--and that's in the US, where it's made. Add import expenses and taxes to that, and, .....you can't even find it here without really looking. And when you do, you don't want to buy it because of the exorbitant price.

A while ago, I saw a recipe somewhere for making your own vanilla extract. I thought it sounded interesting, but did nothing about it as I didn't have the brain space and energy needed to hunt down real vanilla beans.

And then, the other day, I happened to find some.

I bought 3 for 20 shekels, which is about $5. Expensive, yes. But only about as expensive as ONE BOTTLE OF EXTRACT. And then I found that with those SAME 3 vanilla beans, I can make enough extract to last for YEARS!

I got mine brewing the other day and sadly need to wait 8 weeks. But then.....vanilla. In pancakes, desserts, drinks.....I love the flavor. Good stuff.

Here's the recipe, found at SimplyRecipes.com

How to Make Vanilla Extract

Commercial vanilla extract usually has simple syrup (sugar water) added to the extract to give it a sweet aftertaste. You can do this if you want, but if you are using the vanilla for baking, there really is no need.

Ingredients

3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka
glass jar with tight fitting lid

Method

1 Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.

2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka.

3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.

Lasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.

Searching on Vanilla for this post, I came across this music video. It'll bring you back. (I was unable to embed it here. Sorry!)

Menu Plan for the Rest Of JULY!

2010-07-13T09:59:00.003+03:00

As I've mentioned, I struggle with menu planning. Even though I KNOW it works, it helps, it's good to do, I just don't like to do it, which is why it's so helpful for me to post it because I know I'll get it done then. As you may (or may not) have noticed, I haven't been posting them the last few weeks. And, that means, I haven't been making them. Which means, I sometimes have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner, even half an hour before said dinner -time.

I have a goal of making menus one month at a time, and doing some amount of prepping ahead and freezing what I can. Right now, the most I've done is make a double batch of some things and freezing the extra, and making some mixes. These are helpful, but not what I have in mind for my freezer cooking goals.

Today is Tuesday. I didn't have my menu planned for the rest of the week yet yesterday (on Monday, my menu planning/posting day). But today I am going grocery shopping, so it had to be done. And then, I did the unthinkable.....I planned the menus for the rest of the month! Using this monthly menu planner from $5 dinners, I filled in the rest. I know it's only 2 1/2 weeks, but for me it's a lot. Unfortunately there's not many things I can prep ahead, but I may be able to figure some out.

So, here's what's planned for the next 3 weeks:

M- Baked Potatoes, grilled onion&mushroom toppings, steamed green beans
T- Eggs & toast, OJ
W-Burgers (Father's Day--we never had it)
Th- Rainbow Salad & (hopefully) Homemade Bread
F- Chicken Pot Pie, Broccoli, Challah, Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies&Almond Milk
S- Granola, Raw Granola, Almond Milk, Pasta Tuna Salad

S-Vegetable Stuffed Eggplant
M- Spinach & Chickpeas with pita
T- Homemade Pizza, Greek Salad
W- Pancake Supper
Th- Homemade Hummus, Couscous Tabouli, pita
F- Crock pot Sweet n Sour Cabbage&Beef soup
S- Couscous Salad

S- Taco Casserole
M- Eggs & Toast, OJ
T- L/O Cabbage Soup
W- Spaghetti, Salad
Th- Cabbage & Potatoes (pan fried)
F- Baked Fish, Macaroni & Cheese, Candied Carrots, Spinach
S-Leftovers????

Summertime Fun: Camp at Home

2010-07-11T14:30:00.006+03:00

With five children at home with me all day, every day, all summer long, .....um, I lost my train of thought. I guess that's because I have FIVE CHILDREN! At HOME! WITH ME! EVERY DAY! And yes, I'm planning to begin homeschooling (more) after this summer, so this is something I need to know how to deal with.

You may be wondering how I'm going to stay sane. You'll be happy to know that I have a PLAN.

A few years ago I heard from Flylady the great idea to make "camp" at home. Just like when kids go to day camp and they have lots of fun activities around a theme, you can create this at home. And so I did a one-week camp that summer. I called it "Camp Creation" and based it around the seven days of creation. Each day had activities based on what was created on that day during the creation week. It was a big hit.

Last summer, I was very pregnant, and just didn't have it in me to do a camp. The boys attended a 3 week day camp at the preschool, and after that I did try to use some good scheduling ideas to manage things, though, and wrote about them in
Summertime Kids-How Scheduling Can Stop The Madness!

Children definitely have more fun and behave better when they have some kind of direction to their time and they're not just on their own with "free" time all day long.

This year, they're all at home. I decided I needed to plan something. I got great ideas for CampWannaLaffaLotta from LifeAsMom.com

The weekly themes she suggested were just right, so I'm keeping most of them the same. Last week was Week 1, and we were Down On The Farm. This week we're Under The Sea. We'll also have a week going on a Jungle Safari, then Camping in the Great Outdoors, and Blasting Into Space.

That's 5 weeks. I'm not sure yet of the rest; I'm figuring this out as I go along. I haven't had much time to post my links and activities, but there's always next year. Right now it's time to have fun!

And I don't have a name for my camp, so if you think of one for me, pass it along!

Visit Flylady's CampGonnaWannaFly page here

What's your summer-fun plan?

There's A Party Going On Round Here...

2010-07-07T14:46:00.009+03:00

A celebration....to last throughout the year.

OK, my eighties brain is coming out. I hope you are singing along with me to those lyrics. The song everyone knows. Kool & The Gang. But I digress.

How can I digress? I haven't said anything yet.

So there you go. This is how my brain works.

What I wanted to say, the reason I started with thinking about celebrating is this: I want to teach you a secret. A concept that my friend Dr. Andrea Hazim taught me. It's a good one that really helps me make better eating decisions.

Are you tempted by your tongue to eat things that you know you shouldn't? (We all are!) Do you argue with yourself about your level of self discipline (or lack of it) and then get angry at yourself for either depriving your inner princess of the yummy stuff or for giving in to that inner princess of yours? I do! Or, I did. Until I learned this concept:

Celebration Days vs. Regular Days

It's just as it sounds. On a celebration day, you are free. You are celebrating. Whether it's an anniversary or a family reunion, a party or a night out, it's not your average day. So, relax your standards and have fun.

And on the flip side, if it's not a celebration day, don't eat cake and ice cream!

You can even decide how many celebration days per month to allow. For me, we allow such things once a week, for a period of 24 hours. Don't get me wrong. This does NOT mean that for 24 hours we eat nothing but sugar and junk! But it does mean that we might indulge some. And I know that our bodies will have at least 6 days free of things hard on our systems.

What happens when things come up that are not on our normal "free" day? Well, we have to adjust for it. Our family attended a pot-luck picnic on the 4th. For dessert there was an array of sugar filled options. I allowed my children to each have 2 items, (their choice). And when it comes time for our end of the week treat, I'll keep that in mind when choosing a dessert to make for everyone. Instead of brownies, I'll make apple crisp. See how it goes?

You can't listen to this without dancing. Go on, try it!

The contempt shown to parents of large families

2010-07-05T12:13:00.000+03:00

I have five children. The oldest is 7; that means that in my 8 years of marriage we've been.....busy.

I always wanted a large family. That's probably because I am an only child, my parents are divorced, my mother is also an only child with divorced parents. With no immediate family to speak of, and a very small extended family on my mother's side, I was lonley, to say the least. I saw my friends with brothers and sisters and wanted that for myself. Although I couldn't have it growing up, I decided to create that large family and give that gift to my children.

I always envisioned a large dining table, full of people for dinner. And they were all part of one family; my family. I love that we already have that now. And although they are still very small and needy, they are growing. The hardest years are behind me ( I think. Or hope.) and they are little by little becoming "real" people.

Kim from Life In A Shoe posted the following article from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, and it was right up my alley. I hope you enjoy it.

"Why are people impressed that Jay Leno owns 20 motorcycles, but disgusted that some religious families choose to have 10 children?

Let's not finesse the response. We all know why. A world that has lost its innocence has trouble appreciating beings who are innocent. A world that has become selfish has soured to the idea of leading a life of selflessness. A world that has become grossly materialistic is turned off to the idea of more dependents who consume resources. And a world that mistakenly believes that freedom means a lack of responsibility is opposed to the idea of needy creatures who "tie you down."

Read the rest of this article here.

How do you feel about large families? Do you think there's something "wrong" with having more than 2 or 3 children? Why do you have the number of children you do? Have you felt pressure from society/family/friends to have fewer children than you really want? Let's talk.

Love, Love, LOVE Watermelon

2010-06-30T17:12:00.005+03:00

Last year at this time, I was quite pregnant. Pregnant and hot. With no air conditioning as is common here, I got desperate. And in my desperation, I discovered my love for watermelon.

I've always liked watermelon, I mean, who doesn't? If you actually know someone who doesn't like watermelon, I want to know who it is.

When I was little we'd always have watermelon seed spitting contests to see who could spit the farthest. Funny thing, though, I can't even find a watermelon with REAL seeds anymore. Only the seedless kind around here. Easier to eat, but no contests!

I thought that my watermelon craving was only due to my pregnancy. Apparently, I was wrong. Here it is, watermelon season again, and I JUST CAN'T STOP EATING WATERMELON!

My friend Diane posted this great idea: slice watermelon, cut out with cookie cutters, and freeze on a popsicle stick. I can't wait to try it!

The good thing is that it's good for me! Live, fresh fruit. I can't go wrong. This article tells all about what's so great nutritionally about it. And if you want to know why it's actually a Pregnancy Superfood, check out my blog post on it from last year.

Good thing that it's inexpensive. Unless you buy one of these square ones, sold in Japan, for $100.

Happy Summer!

What's for Dinner? Day 27 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-27T10:30:00.005+03:00

What's For Dinner?

Do those words fill you with dread? What about when it's 5 o'clock and you still have no idea what the answer is as you're standing in front of the refrigerator just hoping something will assemble itself and jump out at you? Now do you feel stressed out?

At this point, many of us would feel tempted to pick up a phone and order in. Or tell the kids to hop in the car for a "treat". These choices will cost LOTS more money and give you much less nutrition, and much more chemicals and fat. Which you know you don't want to do.

3 Reasons to Make a Menu Plan

Save Your Brain!

I don't know about you, but my brain is......hibernating. It started with my first pregnancy. You know: Pregnancy Brain. And then it was New Mommy Brain. And then it was Living With Little Children Brain, then more Pregnancy Brain, and so on. So while I used to consider myself an intelligent, thinking person, that person has been sliiiiippppiiing away, and I want to conserve whatever intelligence I have left so that I might be able to write coherent blog posts. In other words, the fewer decisions I must make on a daily basis, the better! It's much easier to decide in one sitting what we will be having for dinner each night than to have to do it every day. And in doing so, I can plan to actually have the ingredients when I go to make the meal. Who would've thunk it?

Save Your Money!

We'd all like to save money and use it for more important things. When you eat out, you spend MUCH more money than you do when you eat home. When you buy last minute items at the corner convenience store, you also spend much more money than you would for those same items at the supermarket, if you'd known you would want them. And when you buy random things at the grocery store, things spoil because you don't have a plan to use them. What a waste!

Eat More Healthfully

When you make your own food at home, you are (hopefully) not going to fill it with MSG and other poisonous preservatives. You can be sure that convenience foods are toxic to your bodies, and with a little bit of planning, you can avoid these and know you are helping your family to be healthier. And it's really easy!

So Here's What You Need To Do.

Pick an amount of time you'd like to plan. I usually do 1 or 2 weeks at a time, but if you're new to this and it seems too much, try 3 days.
Write down a dinner meal for each of the days you are planning for. Dinner is the most important meal to plan, so focus on that meal first. Remember to include side dishes.
On your shopping list, write down each of the ingredients you'll need to make your meal. $5dinner.com has some nice printable planning sheets for menus and grocery lists.
Go shopping and save money because you're not buying things you don't need or won't use.

It really is that simple.

And if you really don't want to do all of this, you can go to SavingDinner.com and buy their menus, complete with grocery lists. They're very inexpensive and will still save you lots of time and money.

What's For Dinner is the theme of Day 27 of the Flylady's babysteps. I'm so glad I've made this a habit because it's really helped me. I even aspire to plan a whole month at a time and get into more freezer cooking....but I'm not there yet. One step at a time!

I usually post my weekly menu on Mondays. Doing this has helped me be accountable for getting it done. I love linking up to others' menus; if you post one, let me know!

Do you menu plan? Why or why not? How long? I want to know what works for you.

Swish 'n Swipe. Day 24 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-25T07:01:00.006+03:00

Day 24 of the Flylady's babysteps is when we meet the Swish 'n Swipe, which is a fabulous tool for my bag of tricks in my quest for a peaceful home. Ya want another tool? Check this out.

The "swish" means you take a toilet brush which you keep upright in a container next to your toilet and do a quick once around your toilet bowl. No need to get out the cleaner--just keep some old shampoo or liquid soap in the bottom of the brush holder. It takes about 10 seconds.

The "swipe" means you take a rag of some kind and rub the spots off of the mirror (not "clean the mirror; just the spots!), wipe the counter off (after putting away whatever you've left out there), and wipe out the sink. It takes about 10 seconds.

Because I have little boys, I also take another 10 seconds and use a baby wipe to wipe down the toilet seat, top & rim, and base and floor around the toilet. When needed, I'll spray this area with a bleach spray and wipe with a paper towel.

The whole thing leaves your bathroom nice and fresh (the shampoo makes the whole thing smell good), ready for company, in 30 seconds. It's simple and part of my morning routine. Yes, that means I do it every day, and don't wait until it gets stinky. I do my bathroom when I use it first thing in the morning, the boys' bathroom when I do the laundry (it's also the laundry room), and the downstairs the first time I use it later on.

If you have any tips for easily keeping your bathroom nice, please share!

Eggplant Torte Recipe

2010-06-24T10:01:00.001+03:00

I'm always looking for more recipes that do not include meat and are both easy and inexpensive to make. This is one of them.
Eggplant Torte a la Provencal adapted from The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee

1 large eggplant sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
2 medium potatoes sliced into 3/8 inch rounds
2 medium tomatoes sliced into 3/8 inch rounds
1 medium red onion sliced into 3/8 inch rounds
1 medium zucchini sliced into 3/8 inch rounds

3/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/3 tsp dried thyme

For seasoned oil, combine oil, garlic, and thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
Brush eggplant with oil & broil for 2-3 minutes until brown. Remove from oven.
Toss other vegetables to coat (but keep them in separate sections in your bowl or separate bowls.
Layer vegetables in an oiled baking dish, tucking basil leaves between layers.
Repeat until all have been used up.
Pour any remaining oil over pan
Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350F

Serve hot or at room temperature. This torte can be refrigerated for 1 day. Reheat before serving.

Time to Get MOVING!

2010-06-24T06:54:00.006+03:00

We've heard about the two main things to change in our lifestyle in order to be healthy. We've heard these two things so much for so many years that they roll off of our tongues and we never really stop to think about whether we're actually doing them...or we know we're not doing them and we feel at least a little bit guilty about planning to start "later", when the timing is better....

Diet and Exercise. Those are the two things.

Wanna guess which one I haven't done regularly for YEARS?

Yes, I have good reasons. We all do.

I was not born into a sporty family. My parents did not play any kind of sports or exercise much, and I was not encouraged to do much, other than take up tennis a little. See, I was one of those girls everybody loved to hate--I could eat whatever I wanted and still had a good figure. So I didn't really have the motivation to start something I didn't like. In college I learned to walk and work out at the gym because everyone else was doing it, but I really never liked it. Same with chiropractic school, but I did learn to like it better. When I graduated and moved back to Florida, I lived on my own. I joined a gym and took early morning walks on the beach.

And then I got married, moved across the world to a different culture (without any family or friends), and had babies. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Learning how to and now managing a home for seven people leaves things like exercising by the wayside.

And now that I'm 36 years old and have had five babies, well, my figure isn't exactly what it once was. And my energy is.....lacking. To say the least.

It's time for a change.

I need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk of health. After all, I'm giving tips on how to be healthier, right? I'm sure you'd agree that I should be a person who actually exercises regularly, not only for my own health but so that you can feel good about trusting me to help you on your path to health.

So this is my plan so far:

I've been doing about 5-10 minutes in the morning on the floor which includes stretching, stomach crunches, push-ups, and back extensions. Not a lot, just a little and I will increase it as I gain strength.
This morning I took an early morning walk after my floor exercises for about 20 minutes. It was wonderfully energizing. I'll try to do that most mornings plus the floor workout from 6 to 6:30 AM.
Hubby bought a home gym machine for weight training. I'm not sure when I'll fit that in, but probably in the afternoon during nap time. I'm always sleepy and it will help wake me up. It's getting delivered at the end of the week. I'm excited that we're in this together.
And a mini-trampoline. It's in the living room. I can certainly put on some fun music and dance for a few minutes each day. I hope we can find some place to keep it when it's not in use...

Just like everything that's good for you, exercising is part of a lifestyle change. And changes need to be approached in a way that is simple and most importantly DO able. That means to take babysteps so that you don't crash and burn.

I think I can realistically commit to 1/2 hr each morning. I don't think it's realistic to commit to an hour. So I won't. I want to be successful in reaching my goal.

I think I can probably commit to about 15 minutes each afternoon, but for this week I'm going to focus on the morning habit. Every little bit counts.

Jonathan Roche coined a term I love. It's the No Excuse Work Out. (NEWO). No excuses, because it can take only 6 minutes. And everyone has 6 minutes! You can listen to his weekly BlogTalkRadio show here.

I can use all the encouragement I can get, and I'd like to cheer you on too. What's your exercise routine or challenge?

My Afternoon Routine

2010-06-23T09:30:00.000+03:00

One of my favorite tools from the Flylady is the concept of routines. A routine is something you do every day, and putting it in a specific order helps you to remember and learn it until you don't have to think about it. And having a little checklist, either on a post it or in your Control Journal can help.

In my recent post about keeping up with the laundry, I shared my morning routine. It looks like this:

Make my bed
Get dressed to shoes
Feed baby
Wake other kids
Start a load of laundry
Prep & drink smoothies (hubby usually does this)
Prep school lunches (hubby usually does this)
Cleanup kitchen/empty dishwasher
Baby to nap
HANG CLOTHES OUT TO DRY/laundry "reboot"

My late morning routine looks like this:

Cleanup kitchen if it's not already done
blog post/computer work/desk work 1/2 hr
declutter 15 minutes
daily mission/detail cleaning/weekly home blessing as needed
outside time or other activity with children
prep lunch

And my afternoon routine (babystep #23), looks like this:

Serve lunch/feed baby/eat lunch myself
Lunch cleanup
prep snacks for school children
put toddler to nap
welcome school kids home/give snacks
story time with 4 year old (and anyone else who wants to join us)
put baby & 4 year old to nap/bigger boys to quiet reading
MY QUIET TIME! computer/reading/nap if I want.

It really is helpful to do it the same way every day; it helps me to not forget anything. Since I've been doing it for a while, it does come automatically so I don't consult my control journal, but if I were new to this or found myself leaving things out, I certainly would.

Flylady gives her routines as examples. Use any of these to give you ideas; just remember that you need to make it work for YOU.

Grocery Store Wars

2010-06-22T15:55:00.000+03:00

It's Tee-hee Tuesday! Enjoy.

Tomato Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

2010-06-22T10:00:00.002+03:00

This salad is simple, elegant, and delicious. It's good for date night and yet my kids can't get enough of it.

Tomato Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

2-3 large tomatoes, sliced
fresh basil
goat cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Arrange tomato slices on a serving dish.
Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cut ribbons of basil & sprinkle on the tomatoes.
Sprinkle goat cheese

Don't tell anyone how easy it was!

"Nutrition 101: What Would You Know If You Didn't Know Anything?"

2010-06-21T15:44:00.003+03:00

If you didn’t have a million research studies, nutrition books, and diet experts to tell you....

If you hadn't had the "4-food groups" chart, health class, and your gym teacher in school to advise you...

If everyone from your mother, to your doctor, to Oprah wasn't instructing you....

How would you know WHAT, WHEN and HOW MUCH to eat?

Join WellWithU on BlogTalkRadio TODAY (Monday) at 2pm EST for "Nutrition 101: What Would You Know If You Didn't Know Anything?"

I'm looking forward to the show. If you miss it, you can also listen to the archives by clicking the above link.

Menu Plan Monday-June 21

2010-06-21T10:06:00.001+03:00

Sunday-Eggplant Torte

Monday- Creamy Celery Soup and Tomato Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

Tuesday-Scrambled Eggs with Veggies and Hash Browned Potatoes

Wednesday- Baked Potatoes with grilled Mushrooms and Onions, steamed vegetable.

Thursday - Lentils of some kind

Friday-Baked Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Apple Sauce, Black Bean Brownies

Saturday- Raw "Granola" with Almond Milk & fresh fruit, Leftover Celery Soup

Sunday- Burgers. (We moved Father's Day to this week.)

Making It Work For YOU

2010-06-20T06:16:00.004+03:00

Today is Father's Day in the US. (Happy Father's Day!)

But we live in Israel. It's not Father's Day here. And although we continue to celebrate most of these American traditions, it's something that we do within our family because we want to, certainly not because of any type of social pressure.

My husband has lots of extra work he wants to accomplish this week, and the idea of taking today off (remember, Sunday is a work day here) was adding stress. So, we decided to MOVE Father's Day. We'll celebrate it next Sunday, in one week. With a family fun day and burgers. Yum.

Moving our Father's Day celebration a week works for us. And this Making It Work For YOU concept is a really good one.

Almost every good idea is just that: an idea. A concept. Whoever made it found that it helped him or her, but that doesn't mean it will work for you exactly as it is; you might need to tweak it just a little. And that's OK!

Figuring out how to take good ideas and make them work for you will make your life much more manageable. It will save your sanity.

So, the next time you hear an idea that sounds interesting or even great but you just don't see how it so could work for you, don't dismiss it easily. Give it a little more thought and you just might come up with a variation that works for your family. After all, there's no one just like you!

Laundry. Day 20 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-20T05:14:00.006+03:00

We now have seven people in our home. SEVEN! Seven people wear a lot of clothes. Especially when one of them is a baby who sucks her hand between spoon-fed bites and then holds her toes and the food goes everywhere in between....and four of them are of the little-boy variety who play hard, in dirty things, every day.

So, we have a lot of laundry. I remember when I was in college & in my single days when I could go a week (or more!) without doing my laundry. Those days are long since done, and the habit I've learned would have been helpful even then.

What is that habit, you may ask? How do you stay on top of the laundry when THERE'S JUST SO MUCH OF IT!? You make laundry part of your routine. Which just so happens to be Flylady's babystep #20.

This means that I do laundry EVERY DAY. Well, 6 days a week. It's just part of my morning routine which looks like this:

Make my bed
Get dressed to shoes
Feed baby
Wake other kids
START A LOAD OF LAUNDRY
Prep & drink smoothies
Prep school lunches
Cleanup kitchen/empty dishwasher
Baby to nap
HANG CLOTHES OUT TO DRY/laundry "reboot"

I do this every day, with slight variations. If I do one FULL load each day, it's almost enough. Add an extra load or two for towels & sheets and we're good to go. In addition to this, we do a load of cloth diapers each night. In the morning they are dried and ready to put away (this job belongs to my four year old).

My biggest challenge with the laundry is not the washing and the drying. Even the folding I've gotten a new system for: since I'm line drying, I realized that I must handle each piece of clothing separately as I take it off of the line. So, I add a few seconds for each one and FOLD IT AS I TAKE IT OFF THE LINE AND PUT IT INTO THE BASKET ALREADY FOLDED! I was excited when I realized I could save time like that.

No, the challenge is putting the clothes away. I do have a time in my schedule that is supposed to be for this, but I've gotten behind most days and needed to skip this step. And, the drawers are so full that there's no place to put things. So everyone lives out of the laundry basket. It's no good.

Today, I'm going to actually use the time that's supposed to be set aside for putting away the laundry to fold and put away the laundry. That will mean that we must eat our lunch on time and stick to the schedule I worked hard to put together. Then I'll be able to see th is.

Which feels good.

What's the Big Deal About MSG?

2010-06-18T15:29:00.000+03:00

You've probably heard that MSG is bad for you. But you might not know why, or realize how prevalent it is. It's in so many packaged and processed foods that you might not even know you're eating it when you are, especially since it comes under many different names.

Here's what you need to know about MSG:

MSG is an excitotoxin, a type of chemical transmitter that allows brain cells to communicate. The problem is that excitotoxins can literally excite your brain cells to death.

Aside from harming your brain, MSG has also been linked to eye damage, headaches, fatigue, disorientation and depression. Source

Children are most at risk from MSG. The blood brain barrier, which keeps toxins in the blood from entering the brain, is not fully developed in children. MSG can also penetrate the placental barrier and affect unborn children as well. Nonetheless, most major brands of infant formula contain some processed free glutamic acid (a form of MSG). Source

Hidden Names for MSG

OK, so now you know why it's bad. But it gets even trickier....MSG is not always called MSG. Here are 2 tables showing all the names under which it can be found. Source

MSG	Gelatin	Calcium Caseinate
Monosodium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)	Textured Protein
Monopotassium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP)	Yeast Extract
Glutamate	Autolyzed Plant Protein	Yeast food or nutrient
Glutamic Acid	Sodium Caseinate	Autolyzed Yeast
Vegetable Protein Extract	Senomyx (wheat extract labeled as artificial flavor)

The following substances contain some factory created free glutamate in varying amounts. Please note that some food labels list several of these items, which can add up to a considerable and dangerous amount in one product:

Malted Barley (flavor)	Natural Flavors, Flavors, Flavoring	Modified food starch
Barley malt	Reaction Flavors	Rice syrup or brown rice syrup
Malt Extract or Flavoring	Natural Chicken, Beef, or Pork, Flavoring "Seasonings" (Most assume this means salt, pepper, or spices and herbs, which sometimes it is.)	Lipolyzed butter fat
Maltodextrin, dextrose, dextrates	Soy Sauce or Extract	"Low" or "No Fat" items
Caramel Flavoring (coloring)	Soy Protein	Corn syrup and corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup
Stock	Soy Protein Isolate or Concentrate	Citric Acid (when processed from corn)
Broth	Cornstarch fructose (made from corn)	Milk Powder
Bouillon	Flowing Agents	Dry Milk Solids
Carrageenan	Wheat, rice, corn, or oat protein	Protein Fortified Milk
Whey Protein or Whey	Anything enriched or vitamin enriched	Annatto
Whey Protein Isolate or Concentrate	Protein fortified "anything"	Spice
Pectin	Enzyme modified proteins	Gums (guar and vegetable)
Protease	Ultra-pasteurized dairy products	Dough Conditioners
Protease enzymes	Fermented proteins	Yeast Nutrients
Lecithin	Gluten and gluten flour	Protein powders: whey, soy, oat, rice (as in protein bars shakes and body building drinks)
Amino acids (as in Bragg's liquid amino acids and chelated to vitamins)	Algae, phytoplankton, sea vegetable, wheat/ barley grass powders

In order to avoid this nasty chemical, you MUST READ LABELS! I was and continue to be amazed at how many things contain it. I learned how to make my own chicken broth the old fashioned way just to avoid using boullion cubes (it's really good; try it!).

Dr. Russel Blaylock is a Neurosurgeon who has many teachings, interviews, etc. on the dangers of MSG. I haven't heard most of these, but I have heard an interview with him in the past; he is extremely knowledgeable (he is a neurosurgeon, after all!) and he speaks with the training of the medical community. Here is a link to a lecture he gave on MSG. I'm sure it's worthwhile.

So, to recap, Here's what you can do:

READ LABELS! Try to recognize any of the above names for MSG
Umm...Avoid those things. Probably means eating fewer or different packaged foods. This is a good thing, trust me!
Feel good that you can make this small change for a BIG step towards health for your family!

Cheetos and MSG – Bringing new meaning to the slogan “Dangerously Cheesy”

More info about the damage of MSG

Links about MSG

It's Bedtime! Day 17of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-17T14:45:00.004+03:00

Day 17 of Flylady's babysteps is to set a bedtime and stick to it. I love this. And I hate it.

I love to sleep. So this is something that I actually want. I want to go to bed at 10 each night and wake at 6 in the morning. Somehow, though, I have trouble getting there on time.

I know that if I can get dinner served on time (6pm), then we can be done by 6:45, I can finish cleaning up by 7:30 (hubby gets kiddos ready for bed). And by 8 when the kids go to bed, I can have some time to myself or to spend with my husband. And then I can get ready for bed no later than 9:30 and to sleep by 10. I know this.

And yet....it doesn't happen. It's the dinner at 6 that is the problem. I have a lot of trouble getting dinner prep started on time (probably because I don't want to stop the nap time and walk away from the computer). But, if I would, many good things would come from it.

I'd get enough sleep AND get time to myself in the evening. It's a good trade off.

So, I'm going to go to bed on time. Which means I'm going to walk AWAY from the computer at 4 when it's time to wake the kiddos from their nap. That's my plan.

And since I make my bed every day, it's nice and inviting.

Here's a post I wrote on sleep a while back with interesting facts, including how much sleep different people need.

Are You Raising Snackers?

2010-06-16T10:29:00.002+03:00

"Parents are raising a generation of snackers — kids who eat almost constantly throughout the day as they graze on cookies, salty snacks and fruit drinks.
A sweeping study of 31,337 children and adolescents released on Tuesday tracked snacking and meal trends from 1977 through 2006 using data from four national surveys. On average, children reach for cookies, chips and other treats about three times a day, consuming nearly 600 daily calories from snacks. That’s an increase of 168 snack calories compared with what children ate in the late 1970s.
While these are averages, the findings showed that half of American children snack about four times a day. And some children appear to be eating almost constantly, consuming either snacks or meals as often as 10 times a day..."

The above is taken from this article by Tara Parker-Pope published in the New York Times on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

This is bad news, folks.

If this sounds like your family, it's time to take control of the situation NOW.

Moms, you have the ability, the responsibility to shape your children's eating habits. I have children who love fruit, enjoy salads, and happily eat most vegetables. They are perfectly happy drinking water and do not expect dessert every night.

You can do it too.

The younger your children, of course the more difficult it will be, but you just start with babysteps. Meaning, just make one change at a time, little by little.

Example: Your children habitually drink juice, soda, or any other drink besides water daily. So, just increase the amount of water they need to drink before they get the other drink. And limit the number of those per day. If you drink soda, limit the number per day or days per week, whatever would be a decrease for you. Then keep the habit up.

When you are drinking the proper amount of water (1/2 your body weight in ounces), a few things will happen. Besides finally being hydrated which helps relieve many symptoms-including things like headaches, asthma, skin problems----you name it, YOUR APPETITE WILL DECREASE.

This is key. Many of us are mistaking thirst for hunger and eat when we are actually thirsty. Drink enough water, and you will not have as much desire for snacking.

Besides drinking enough water, there are 2 main changes to make:

Switch from unhealthy (chips, cookies) snacks to healthy (fruit, veggie sticks) ones
Break the habit of eating when you don't need to. If you eat a nutritious meal, you will not be genuinely hungry an hour later.

You can do this. You can change your (and your children's) snack habits. Take back the control of the health of your family!

Making My Bed. Day 15 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-16T09:03:00.000+03:00

Babystep 15 is to make your bed.

I have had this habit (regularly) for more than a year now. I love the way it makes my room look; even if other things are out, the bed being made sets the tone.

When I bought my first down comforter for the winter here (I'm from Miami; I never had one before), I was introduced to the concept of having a duvet cover for the comforter, and not using a top sheet. Using one of these makes making the bed so much easier. I used to pull the top sheet up under the bedspread, and then fold both over, exposing the top sheet. Yes, it looked very pretty, but it made making the bed take much longer than it should and therefore I didn't do it so much.

Now I use the duvet cover even in the summertime (with a lightweight blanket, or even empty if it's hot enough) and all I have to do is pull it up to the top of the bed before putting the pillows on.

That first duvet cover was white with eyelet. Very pretty and elegant. But, after a while, I realized that I was very bored with the lack of color and was not motivated to keep it nice.

So, I went and bought this pretty happy one. It makes me smile and that's the best motivation to keeping your room neat. If you don't like your bedclothes, go buy new ones! They really do not cost much and are so worth it. I have one set for the spring and fall and a different one for the summer and winter. That way I don't get bored.

If you don't have the habit of making your bed, keep this in mind: you have to do it IMMEDIATELY when you get up. If you wait, it doesn't get done. That was the most important thing to learn.

Enjoy your beautiful bedroom!

Lost In Translation

2010-06-15T10:00:00.000+03:00

However uncommon it may be in the US to eat a little more healthfully, it is much more uncommon here (in Israel). The more recent "back to basics" way of thinking hasn't permeated the lifestyle here, and many folks haven't even heard of things that in the States are commonly accepted. Example: sugar is bad for your body.

My two older boys were invited to a friend's house to play. Before they left, I reviewed the rules with them: remember manners, no TV or computer games, and eat only fruit or vegetables and drink only water. They know the drill, they understand. They'd already had a snack and would be coming home for dinner, so it's not like they were hungry.

But Israelis like to feed people. More specifically, Israelis like to give children sweets.

About 15 minutes after my boys would have arrived (they walked), I received a phone call. In Hebrew (of course). My Hebrew is NOT good. So it sounded something like this, to my understanding: "I want to give the kids an Igloo. OK?" Now, I know they have a sugar filled popsicle here they call "Arctic", so I figured it's probably something like that. So I said, "No, it's not ok." She said it's just water. I said no, it's water and SUGAR. She said it's hot, they're hot, they want something cold. I said, "so give them water with ICE." She said ok, she'll just give them water.

Well, that was what I understood.

After the boys came home, they said she had basically insisted that they take it.

I was frustrated. It's not that some sugar is that big of a deal. It's that some sugar every day IS that big of a deal. We eat sugar. The processed kind, usually in a yummy dessert I make once a week. The kids eat cake and ice cream at parties. But it's not a daily thing, and I know that if I am not very clear with the mothers at other houses they might visit, it will turn into a daily thing, and I can't let that happen.

A few days later, I saw the other child's mother and (attempted) to talk to her about it. It went something like this:

ME: What happened the other day with the Igloo? I thought I told you that they could NOT have it.

HER: It's OK, I gave them water afterward.

ME: HUH? (I think it's the same in all languages) I don't understand

HER: What's the big deal?

Typing like this is kind of annoying, so I'll just paraphrase.

I said that the big deal was that it had SUGAR. And she said that she's a (dental)hygienist, and so she knows about sugar and that it's ok because she gave them water afterwards.

OH. Now I understood.

I told her that I was not even thinking about their teeth. And she actually asked me, then what was I thinking about? I told her I was thinking about their BODIES!

This is where I really couldn't believe how many people still DON'T KNOW HOW BAD SUGAR IS FOR OUR BODIES! I told her that sugar really hurts the immune system. I told her that in our family we only eat sugar 1-2 times per week, and maybe at a party or something special. But that we don't have it every day and that I can't let my kids go play at houses where they are going to be fed it.

She looked at me like I had six heads. And asked what about when it's hot, can't they have something cold?

I explained that of course, we eat things that are cold. I make popsicles in molds out of real juice. And that the children enjoy it just as much.

And that was about the extent of my Hebrew.

Have you ever had an experience trying to explain to someone what you were doing and they just didn't get it?

Menu Plan Monday-June 13

2010-06-14T14:53:00.004+03:00

Last night we had a Mexican Taco Casserole, and while I was making it I made a second one to give to a friend who is expecting a baby shortly so that they could have some extra meals frozen to eat when they wanted. That's one of those things I love about casseroles.
And here's our simple menu plan for the week.

Monday- Pancake supper with fresh fruit. Make mixes.

Tuesday-Cabbage & Potatoes

Wednesday-Creamy Carrot Soup and Salad. Extra soup to freeze.

Thursday- Cuban Black Beans and Rice. Salad.

Friday- Don't know yet.

Saturday- Leftover Carrot Soup

Sunday-Father's Day. Black Bean or Regular Burgers.

I Can't Catch Up. Day 14 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-14T06:26:00.008+03:00

You Can't Catch Up. It's impossible.

This is a very important concept in life. Things keep moving, and it's almost certain that you won't keep up with everything. But what you do when you realize you're "behind", and more importantly how you feel about it will make all the difference in what you do next.

I'm struggling with these flylady babysteps. I'm falling back into the same habits I had before I began them again: I haven't done the 15 minutes of decluttering every day. In fact, I haven't done 15 minutes since I posted my success with it. That was days ago. Two minute hotspot, yes. Room rescue, yes, sort of(if you count me delegating it, but not if I do one myself). Daily mission, not so much.

I think my very favorite concept of Flylady's is "You are not behind. Don't try to catch up. Just jump in where you are."

I'm never going to catch up. I really need to just do what I can today. It's a new day, a fairly new week (we have Sunday as a work day here, so Monday is the second day for me). I'm going to ditch the guilt I feel and jump in where I am.

I'm also going to prioritize those things I seem to have a very difficult time getting done. I'm going to call my 15 minutes today my frog and eat it as soon as I can. I'd say "first", but with other household things that must happen in the morning, it's not possible. If you aren't familiar with the "eat the frog" concept, enjoy this short (1 minute) video. I wanted to embed the player but it won't let me. Very worthwhile.

I'm glad that today's babystep is to read an essay about calendars and how/why to use them properly. I can handle doing that while still focusing on my frog.

What's your frog today? What are you procrastinating on?

Your Mission For Today: Day 13 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home

2010-06-13T08:00:00.001+03:00

On Day 13 of Flylady's babysteps, we are to choose one of Kelly's missions and do it.

I love the way this is done. Each day, Kelly sends out one "mission" to accomplish. It's something in the current zone, and usually will take less than 15 minutes. By dividing the house up into 5 zones and focusing a little extra time in it each day for the week, our houses can stay reasonably clean without much effort.

I need help with this. Just like regularly doing the 15 minutes of decluttering, I struggle to get it done, even though it really only takes a few minutes.

But they really do work.

This is a link to Kelly's missions; they are posted daily and remain for the week.

This past week we were in the Kitchen zone. My favorite mission from that zone is the deep wipedown of the counter. I have a large countertop and need to spend most of that time putting things away that seem to collect there (beyond regular putting away kind of stuff), so I'll usually do 15 mins + a little. And it might not all get done, but that's ok.

I won't get blown up if I don't get it done!

The Kitchen Hangover

2010-06-13T07:22:00.011+03:00

Sometimes I don't shine my sink. I don't finish all of the cleanup at night. Most days I do, but on Saturday night, after a full day of relaxing and spending time with my family (which causes lots of extra dishes & stuff), my hubby and I like to have a movie night. And when it's already late and we don't want it to get any later, I leave things out.

Oh, I'll pack my dishwasher, and put away any food that's out. And even do an extra 5 minutes on top of that.

This is where I found this funny photo.

I woke up to this today. I call it my Kitchen Hangover.

It's a good thing I know how to use my timer. I'll go as fast as I can for 15 minutes and see what a difference I can make.

15 minutes really does a lot.

Push Delete. Day 12 of Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 8

2010-06-13T06:44:00.003+03:00

On Day 12 of the Flylady's babysteps, we are instructed to delete all of the emails that have been piling up. I really like this.

I've been on the mailing list for a couple of years. The reminders are good. The testimonials really are helpful and inspiring, and it's good to realize that it's ok to not read them all. In fact, lately, I haven't been reading much of them at all. And that's ok, since I've been exposed to this system for a while already. But if you are really just starting out, read a few each day. Then delete the rest.

Just like decluttering, just like taking out the trash, deleting emails and blog posts in my reader I haven't read and don't really need to helps me to get rid of guilt. I have so many things I'd like to do, I want to do, but just don't seem to have time for. I don't want to be reminded of what I am not doing.

So go ahead, push that button. It feels good.

More emails will come along.

Sunshine vs. Sunscreen: Which is Worse?

2010-06-11T08:26:00.000+03:00

I've heard a lot lately about Vitamin D and its almost epidemic rate of deficiency. Apparently most of us are lacking it, and its lack causes or at least contributes to all sorts of problems: cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, hypertension, arthritis, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, PMS, Crohns Disease, MS and other autoimmune diseases.
The Vitamin D Council states that Vitamin D deficiency can also cause stroke, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting and birth defects.

Here is a great page of Vitamin D & Vitamin D Deficiency Links.

Apparently, we have been so taught to fear the sun (for causing premature aging and skin cancer), that we automatically spread on the sunblock, preventing us from getting what we need. So, we lack vitamin D, which as you can see, causes many, many health problems.

We need sunlight. Only 5-10 minutes each day is enough. More for those with darkly pigmented skin.

And about that sunscreen.....well, ironically, most are FULL of toxins that should NOT be put on our skin. Those toxins actually increase our chances of skin cancer, it seems.

According to this article from Enviromom, only 39 of 500 sunscreens are recommended by the EWG, for primarily 2 reasons:
1) Many sunscreens with high SPF claims don't actually offer that much protection, giving consumers a false sense of security and potentially increasing the amount of time they spend in the sun. Sun burns and exposure to UVA radiation increase the risk of skin cancer.

2) Vitamin A is a common sunscreen ingredient and has recently been linked (via government data) to accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions.
This article on the NatualNews explains how "the idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth. It's a myth promoted by a profit-seeking tag-team effort between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to "prevent cancer."
And this article from Dr.Axe shares that "The great thing about the way God designed our bodies is that the very thing that can cause damage to our bodies (ultraviolet rays) also protects us from that very same damage. Dr. John J. Cannell tells us that when you are out in the sunshine, Vitamin D goes directly to your genes and helps prevent any sort of abnormality that could be caused by ultraviolet light.

That is why sunscreen can actually contribute to cancer. Aside from the high amounts of toxicity, sunscreen blocks Vitamin D production in your body and you are left without nature’s built in cancer-fighting protection."

So pause a little before you slather on the sunscreen. Get some rays first, then use a more natural screen if you need to.

And purpose to get some sun on your skin each day. I do this while I'm hanging out my laundry. It's my "replenish my Vitamin D" time.

What do you do for your sun time? Protection?

Inspiring Words:Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 11

2010-06-11T06:45:00.006+03:00

Today's babystep is to add an inspirational page to your control journal. I like this. As you know, I've done many of these things before; I already have a control journal. But I never added this page. I'm not sure why-I guess it seemed sort of silly to me and I didn't want to waste my time.

About 6 months ago, I decided I wanted to try to change my habit of negative thinking. I felt I was heading into a depression of sorts. I'd just had my 5th baby in 7 years and I was struggling. Greatly.

I had come to believe that negative thinking is something that a person can actually become addicted to just as much as an addiction to any other drug/food/chemical. Watch this edited clip from the movie What The Bleep Do We Know. It's fascinating and will show you what I mean.

Watch it to the very end. The most powerful statement is the very last one. "If you can't control your emotional state, you must be addicted to it."

If my negative thoughts are an addiction, then I've got to break the cycle as I would another addiction. So, I started to formulate a plan.

I remembered listening to a Flylady & Friends show on BlogTalkRadio in which Marla was describing how she helped Kelly to quit smoking cigarettes. She told her to write down some mini-missions (2 minutes or less) on little pieces of paper and put them in a jar. When she felt a strong urge for a cigarette, she was to take out an assignment and do it.

What that would accomplish is to divert her mind onto something productive, something good during the time of her desire for the negative thing. If she could get past the 2 minutes, the urge would be lessened.

I figured that something like this should work for my negative thoughts. So I started a Happy Thoughts Box. I went out and got a very cheerfully decorated box, some cutsey happy but small paper, and a girly fun pen (purple with glitter!) and started writing inspirational phrases or mini missions on each paper. I planned to put them in the box, and whenever I felt myself getting into a funk I'd pull one out and do it. I thought it sounded like a good plan.

I still think it sounds like a good plan, and though I never continued on with it (it seems like just starting the project plus a little more alone/bible time was all I needed to get me back on track) I think that I should do it now.

This inspirational page in the Control Journal is the same thing. I'm going to spend 15 minutes today writing down more thoughts for my box and start a page in my notebook. Maybe if I have something positive in there I'll look at it more!

What are some of your inspirational quotes? What do you do to get yourself out of a funk?

You Can Do Anything for 15 Minutes! Babystep Challenge to a Peaceful Home Day 10

2010-06-10T12:02:00.023+03:00

You can do anything for 15 minutes.

Yes, anything. Things you don't want to do. Things you think you can't do. Things you think you shouldn't bother with because you think it won't make a difference.

You can. You should. It WILL make a difference.

How do I know? I learned from Flylady. Over and over I am amazed at what 15 minutes of focused time will do. And then I don't do it (see, it hasn't become a habit), and then when I do it again, I am amazed. Again.

This is my entrance hall. The view from our dining table (lovely for ambiance, isn't it?) and the view as you walk in the front door.

How welcoming.

FOUR minutes it took me to make it like this. FOUR.
Including quickly spraying it down & giving it a wipe. I've been looking at that stuff for DAYS, thinking I didn't have time to do anything about it and wishing someone else would, feeling a little sorry for myself that I have such a messy place and obviously I can't handle this by myself...

A little more welcoming, don't you think?

What am I going to do with 11 more minutes?

This. This is our liquor cabinet & we also keep our keys&sunglasses basket here. As you can see on top, it's also got bottles up there. I hate that. Besides looking messy, it makes it seem like we must drink a LOT. Which we don't. And off in that little nook there is stuff piled on those drawers.

And here's what it looked like afterward. Notice the CLEAR SURFACE!

Still 3:33 on the timer. (yes, I stopped it to take the pictures!) What else?

This is our hall closet. It has a curtain that falls down when my toddler plays with it because it's not really attached. It's been down for days, and I just "haven't had the time" to fix it.

And here it is with the curtain. Much better.

Still 2 minutes on the timer. I guess I can take care of this little hot spot.

You can do anything for 15 minutes. I dare you!

Declutter. Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 9

2010-06-08T15:45:00.006+03:00

This is where the challenge heats up for me. Where it becomes....a challenge. Where I have fallen short in the past.

I've done these things before, but I've not made it a habit to do it every day. And it NEEDS to be done every day.

Flylady's babystep #9 says to declutter a few minutes at a time. I have a few minutes. I'm sure I do. I just don't know where I left them. Have you seen my few minutes? Maybe they're hiding under all this stuff...

A 5 minute room rescue is the assignment. I can do that. I'm going to take 5 minutes before I go to bed and see what I can do with all those clothes that get piled up. You know the pile. It's the not quite dirty but not clean.....unless it's the clean laundry that didn't get put away.

I'm tired. I want to go to bed. But, how can I say I don't have five minutes? I can't. Because I do. And afterward, I'll be glad I did it.

Here's Flylady's explanation on how to declutter.

What have you decluttered today?

No, I have Not Been Kidnapped By Flylady. My One Hundredth Post.

2010-06-08T14:51:00.005+03:00

Those of you who read this blog because I give you nice tips on health & wellness might be wondering what's happened. It seems that every post lately has been about the Flylady and my Babysteps. Enough, already, you say! I want to hear more about Tofu!

Well, I don't think tofu's good for you. But that's not important right now. (Tee hee-Airplane. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you really need to watch this classic movie.)

Yes, I will continue to post about health.

But I also want more peace in my home than I've had. I want less chaos, more order, more SANITY!

And this is where my two worlds, my two paths cross. My world of Health and Wellness, and my world of learning to keeping a peaceful home, raising, training, and teaching children. My reality, my real life.

But at a crossroad, you decide in which direction to go. And if you go in one direction, you cannot go in the other at the same time.

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, " Kipling wrote.

But, these two roads of my life do more than cross. They run parallel to each other.

An orderly home is a peaceful home. It encourages living life, instead of just getting through it. (Which is what I feel I'm doing most of the time.) With systems in place to help my home run smoothly, I can really live my life, enjoying every day. But those systems don't just happen, they are learned. One babystep at a time. Enter: Flylady.

A healthy body and healthy family makes a peaceful family. Its members feel good, have energy, and are able to really enjoy every day life. Do you want to feel good? Do you want your children to get sick less often? Ditch the headache and the foggy brain. Lose that "I just wanna go to sleep" feeling. Be able to eat without feeling blah. No more ear infections, no need to fear the flu. Doesn't it sound nice?

It IS nice. We're each on a journey in our lives. For me, my roads are both about taking babysteps to a peaceful home, and walking out the steps to a healthy life for me and my family. I've been on the path to wellness for many years, and it took me time to get to where I am now. I share with you the way to health, also through babysteps. Babysteps to health.

So, you see, FamilyNatural is about health and wellness. Wellness of peace in your body and at home. I don't know it all; I'm figuring it out too. Thanks for walking along with me. One step at a time.

How fitting that on this, both my ONE HUNDREDTH POST and FamilyNatural's one year anniversary my path is becoming something I can grasp, and share.

This is fun.

PS For my Bloggiversary present, please head over to my Facebook Page and "Like" FamilyNatural! Thanks.

3 Ring Binder-Babystep Challenge To A Peaceful Home Day 8

2010-06-08T14:50:00.006+03:00

And we are on day #8 of the Babystep Challenge to a Peaceful Home, following Flylady's recommendations.

This is easy. Get a 3 ring binder and put paper in it. Of course, we all have office supplies hanging around the house. I love office supplies! I LOVE to go to Office Depot and walk around looking at all the things....weird. But I bet lots of you are the same way.

This is where I write down my morning and evening routines; one on each page. I've already been practicing them all week. Now I have them written down so that I can check them off and make sure I don't forget anything.

I'm still cheating a little because most of these have already been habits of mine, and I already had them written in my Control Journal. But, I look forward to re-doing whatever needs to be fixed as I go through these babysteps again.

Menu Plan Monday-June 8

2010-06-08T10:45:00.005+03:00

Another Monday. With all that's going on around here (potty training, new bikes, forest fires causing us to evacuate--you know, the normal stuff), I didn' t even remember that it's Monday, and Monday means "post your menu plan". And all I can say is that I am SO glad that I actually already had it planned out. In fact, if I'd been more on top of things, I could've already had it scheduled to post. Maybe next time.

Ha ha. I have to laugh. I just looked at my calendar and realized that I actually MISSED Monday, and today is Tuesday! Well, better late than never!

So, on with it.

Monday: Eggs scrambled with veggies. Toast.

Tuesday: Chinese Fried Rice. Pictured above.

Wednesday: Sweet n Sour Cabbage Soup. Dark rye bread.

Thursday: Mediterranean White Beans and Rice

Friday: Crockpot Sausage, Peppers, & Onions over pasta

Saturday: Leftover Cabbage Soup

Sunday: Mexican Taco Casserole

Have you made your menu plan yet for this week? It's already Tuesday. What are you waiting for!

Pick Out Your Clothes For Tomorrow--Babystep #7

2010-06-07T12:00:00.001+03:00

I love this one. But mostly for the children.

In the morning, it's chaotic enough to get everybody ready for the day without all of us still needing to pick out our clothes. Inevitably a child will tell me that he can't find socks, or a shirt. (This is because I really need help getting the stuff folded & put away; but I'm working on that. ) Here's one of the ways I help myself to get the laundry put away.

So, I figured, since it's so helpful for me to pick out my clothes the night before, just think what a help it is for my kids to do it! And it is. It gives me time to find the missing piece while we're not hurrying.

As for me....yes, it's a good habit. But, honestly, I don't have a huge wardrobe. I usually rotate between the 3 or 4 things that are my favorite for the time of the year. Since I stay home most days, nobody sees me. So, I don't really mind that my clothes are repeated frequently. I don't change my jewelry, so this is a simple one.

It takes me about 1 minute to grab a comfortable dress, my underclothes, socks, & lace up shoes. If I worked outside the home or wore more complicated outfits, I'm sure this habit would make even more of a difference!

And in the morning, it's one less thing I need to do. I like that.

How about you?

Hotspots--Babystep Challenge Day #6

2010-06-06T14:29:00.009+03:00

Time for Flylady's Babystep #6: spend 2 minutes putting out a HotSpot. What is a Hot Spot, you ask? Well, it's a cluttered area that tends to attract more clutter. It's your dumping ground. It's the first thing you see when you walk into a room that makes the room look messy and makes you feel...YUCK. Here's where Flylady explains what a Hot Spot is on her website.

This is my biggest and most frequent Hot Spot: our dining table. Here is a picture of what it looked like before 2 minutes of clearing it.

You can see that my "desk" area is so cluttered that I'd have to clear a spot just to be able to work. And even if I did that, it would hardly be peaceful enough to promote productivity.

But, after just TWO MINUTES, now look. Pretty, peaceful. And I even changed my location to have a better view, lit a scented candle, have the flowers in sight, and a cup of herbal tea. MUCH better.
And it only took 2 minutes.

Well, 2 minutes plus the time to move & light the candle & make my tea. Still. ;)

In our homes, hotspots can take over. But deal with it regularly, when it is small, and it changes everything.

It's a good babystep for me; I need to do it regularly.

"Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."

How are your babysteps coming?

Wanna join in? C'mon, it's fun!

In case you missed it, here's why I'm doing this.
And my posts on Babysteps #1, #2, #3, #4.

If you've posted your hotspot babystep, Leave a link with your comment so that we can all share in each other's progress.

Babystep Challenge Day 4- Write These Things Down

2010-06-04T16:00:00.000+03:00

Day 4- Write These Things Down.

Writing down what we need to do reminds us. I definitely need this, but I think I don't. This is the danger. I keep it all in my head, and most of it I remember. But some of it I just don't fit in, and I let it just go....

I have a decent Control Journal. It sits on my counter, buried under papers that I never get to.

I don't use it much.

I'll start it again.

Do you put post its up around the house? What works for you to remember what you need to do next?

Do What We Have Already Done-Flylady's Babystep #3

2010-06-03T15:59:00.003+03:00

Today, Day 3 of Flylady's Babysteps is to do what we have already done. Which is:

Keeping your sink shining (my step 1 post here)
Getting up and getting dressed to lace up shoes. (my step #2 post here)

Why am I starting again with Flylady's Baby Steps? Read here to find out.

Today has been a very busy day with grocery shopping and trying to get back on schedule after that. So, I'm glad there is not a new action for today. I'm content to just "do what we have already done"

And, I LOVE the enthusiasm so many are showing. I love the accountability I'm getting by posting publicly, and I'm having fun. So, today I'm just enjoying knowing where these Babysteps will take me.....

Imagine the peaceful home that is awaiting.

You can do it too! Join in, even if you haven't started. Start now.

My Lace Up Shoes-Flylady Babystep #2

2010-06-03T07:00:00.001+03:00

Yesterday I practiced Babystep #2: Get Dressed To Lace Up Shoes.

This means getting completely dressed, right away, including hair and face. You act differently, more professionally, when you have clothes and shoes on. When I do this I am ready for anything that might come up (or anyone who might come to the door).

To read Flylady's complete explanation of why to do this, go here.

This is a good habit and is not one I struggle with. Well, now that my baby is almost 10 months and I'm not up at all hours nursing her. With a tiny baby, I'm lucky if I am able to get dressed at all. Or shower. Or have time to use the bathroom.

Wait a minute, I still don't get a moment of peace in there!

But I digress.

As I was saying, I have already made this a habit of mine and so I won't pretend it's new to me. But, I will say that it's a good one. I get all the way dressed before I wake the children. My shoes tell my brain that it's time to go to work.

And, off to work I go!

Did you get dressed to shoes today?

If you want to know more about this series, read this post to know why I'm doing this.

I've noticed that some others are blogging their Babystep Challenge Experience. Let's get together on it! If you have a relevant post, add it below in the Mister Linky! After doing that, please link back to this post so we can all share. Thanks!

It's Shiny, All Right!

2010-06-02T15:17:00.005+03:00

Here it is: my shiny sink. I was so excited to have a stainless steel sink when we moved into this house 2 years ago, since my last one was ceramic that looked dingy unless I bleached it at least once a week. So, I never bothered with that step with this one since I always thought it didn't need it.

Now it's cleaner than it was before. Looks great.

How's yours coming?

I even emptied the dishdrain before I went to bed. I never do that. And it sure did smile at me this morning!

For more about this, read my first post in this series, or visit Flylady.net.

Flylady's Beginner's Baby Steps-Works For Me Wednesday

2010-06-02T14:24:00.005+03:00

I was brought up well. I was taught manners and grooming, responsibility and morals. I graduated as an honor student, went to college and got a Bachelor's degree. And then I went to graduate school and got a Doctorate in Chiropractic. I studied hard, worked hard, learned a lot. I'm no brain surgeon, but I consider myself a fairly intelligent, hard working person.

So, when it came to cooking and cleaning my home, staying on top of things, I figured I could handle it.

HA.

I repeat. HA HA.

After a few years of floundering around, feeling like a failure because I couldn't manage my home, I found Flylady.net.

Flylady is an online coach/fairy godmother who lovingly nudges you with very specific instructions that are easy to follow. And if you follow them, you can have a peaceful home with everything in order. No more CHAOS (Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrome).

Now, I'm not new to the Flylady system. I've been "using" it for a few years now. I put "using" in quotes, because although I've learned a ton and made many changes, there are a few things I just haven't made habits yet. Things that really are preventing me from having the peace I want in my home.

A few of my friends on twitter have decided to begin again with Flylady. And I'm joining in. It begins with the Beginner's Babysteps.

Step 1 is to Go Shine Your Kitchen Sink. If you want to know why, you're better off checking out the source.

I'm glad that I can start again, at any point. Taking babysteps is something that I know Works For Me.

If you want to jump in and join us, let me know! Leave a comment!

I'll be posting the daily baby step assignment as well as my progress. Stay tuned for pictures of my shiny sink!

For more WFMW, go to WeAreThatFamily.com

Kids Swallow DNA of Lethal Pig Virus In Vaccine

2010-06-01T21:11:00.003+03:00

Look into it.

To hear an entire interview of Barbara Loe Fisher, head of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) by Dr. Joseph Mercola, click here.

What's FamilyNatural All About, Anyway?

2010-06-01T14:48:00.006+03:00

How Deep Is Your Deep End? Or, How Deep Is Mine?

My Dear Husband, who knows all about marketing but has graciously allowed me to do my own thing regarding this blog without sticking more than two cents in (unless I ask, of course-which I haven't because I want to do this ALL BY MYSELF) asked me a question the other day about my blog. OK, it was a few questions. Simply complicated questions. They went something like this:

"Um...your tag line I really don't think represents your blog. (I've changed my tag line since then) What is FamilyNatural? Who is it for? I mean, you post recipes including sugar, right? Are those things what you really want to promote? What about the BPA in the linings of the canned tomatoes that we use--you promote those in your recipe for tomato sauce, right?..."

Oohh, I started getting defensive. But then I realized that I really don't have a post or an explanation about exactly what this blog is (and is not) for. So that is what I am going to share right now.

There are many great blogs and sites out there about health. The advice they give and experiences they share range anywhere from "Drinking water is better for you than drinking soda" (Shallow End) to "Don't use soap when you shower because the toxins from the soap go into your body" (Deep End). Then there's Off The Deep End. I can't think of an example for that, but let's just call it "Off The Deep End Crunchy" Crunchy, of course, meaning someone who lives a "natural" life. I know of a blog called SortaCrunchy. It's a good blog, you can visit it. I'd say that name fits me pretty well, but as you can see, it's taken.

Why mention the Deep End? Because I told my husband that Family Natural was for folks who want to raise a healthier family, more easily without going totally off the deep end "crunchy". (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

That's who I am. I'm in the middle, in my opinion. To some, I'm already in the deep end. It's all about perspective. I won't falsely portray myself as being completely and totally natural; we eat sugar (sometimes). We eat white bread (sometimes). Sometimes we drink soda&coffee. We love cheese, and chocolate....fahgetaboutit. (say this with an Italian accent for full effect)

I still use an anti-perspirant deoderant, though I know it's quite toxic. These are examples of things that we could change, and probably will change eventually. The point is that what we do do for our health is more than most people out there, and I want to encourage others to make changes, positive changes.

Here are some positive facts about what we do (not in any particular order):

I give birth at home
I breastfeed my babies
We don't vaccinate our children
We homeschool
We limit our sugar/dessert intake to 1 or 2 days each week
Same with dairy
Same with meat
We drink fresh whole fruit smoothies for breakfast almost every day
We buy whole grain/whole wheat bread instead of white
I grind wheat & make fresh bread as much as I can. Hopefully more in the future.
We don't have or watch television. Only purposefully selected DVD's
Same with computer games. Only educational games with time limits for the kids.
We rarely use any OTC drugs of any kind.
We don't use antibiotics
We get regular chiropractic adjustments
We use cloth diapers instead of disposables

Now, that's the "Natural" list. As far as the "Family" is concerned, I also like encouraging other Moms to join me as I figure out:

Meal planning and preparing
Keeping the Home
Raising happy, responsible, obedient children who love to learn
How to live Frugally
Other "Family" topics I'm not thinking of right now

.....All with an attitude of joy

So, that's who I am. What FamilyNatural is. I hope you'll join me and we can encourage each other.

And no, I didn't mean for this last sentence to be in italics. I just struggle with Blogger! Grr.

Middle-Eastern Rice and Lentils

2010-05-31T14:45:00.002+03:00

Middle-Eastern Rice and Lentils Recipe

Another great recipe from my The Occasional Vegetarian book.

1 cup lentils
1 cup canned tomatoes, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or stock of your choice (I use my chicken broth)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole grain rice
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced

Bring the lentils, tomatoes, bay leaf, cumin, stock, & pepper to a simmer over a high heat in a medium sized pot. Stir, cover, and turn the heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are cooked through and have absorbed the liquid, 45 mins to 1 hour. Add 1 tsp of the salt during the last 5 mins of cooking. Remove bay leaf
Cook the rice in another pot during this time.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes (I like to make extra onion. It's yummy)
Place the rice on a plate, put the lentils on top of the rice and the onion on top of the lentils. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe is very simple and easy to make. It's filling and tasty. I double it for my family. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday-May 30

2010-05-30T15:03:00.009+03:00

Here's what's on our menu this week:

Monday-Spaghetti w/ Simply Delicious Spaghetti Sauce, salad, garlic bread (I learned this great easy make-ahead garlic bread trick)

Tuesday-Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils

Wednesday- Potato Leek Soup and salad

Thursday- Pita Pizzas, veggie sticks with guacamole for dipping

Friday- broiled sole, steamed green beans, whole wheat couscous, Apple crisp

Saturday- leftover Potato Leek soup

Sunday- frozen pre-made veggie & tuna noodle casserole

Give a Home Haircut - Frugal Friday

2010-05-28T14:40:00.005+03:00

Before you say "NO WAY", just hear me out.

It's not THAT hard.

OK, it's a little hard, but not really. If you've never done it before, learn a few tips, and then you learn by practicing. And here's where little kids come in handy. They don't really care if it's not quite right.

I have given all of my boys all of their haircuts since they were babies. I started learning on the first one, and got better with time. Now, I have four whose hair I cut every 2 months or so.

Here's what I do:

Sit child wearing bib or apron on top of table, at corner (so I can stand on the side)
Play video in front of child. This helps him sit still and not try to watch what you are doing.
Spray hair with warm water. Using a fine tooth comb, hold a section of hair up between your second & third fingers. Cut desired length.
Repeat, cutting section adjacent to already cut section. This is how you make sure it's the same length.
On the top of the head, make sure you go front to back, and on the sides and back of the head go up to down. Otherwise you end up with stripes. (ask me how I know).

I'm sure there are some video tutorials on YouTube; at the time of this post I didn't have time to look for one. But I will add one later on if I find a good one.

I had NO previous experience. Really. And I make a few mistakes now and then, but not too bad. Honestly, it's not that hard. I think the hardest part is to be willing to do it, to believe that you can, and to not be afraid.

It grows back. :)

For more FrugalFriday ideas, visit LifeAsMom.com

Slowing Down A Little

2010-05-27T16:02:00.002+03:00

I haven't posted in a couple of days. Unusual for me since I began really spending more effort on the blog. But sometimes, you just need to slow down. Know what I mean?

This is one of my favorite photos. My oldest (now 7), when he was just a little one.

Today, take a deep breath. Take a relaxing walk, a nice bath, or sit with a book and a cat in your lap. Relax.

I'll be back soon.

Bill Cosby's "Brain Damage"--Tee-Hee Tuesday

2010-05-25T17:54:00.004+03:00

I got this great idea for a Tuesday Theme from my friend Diane.

I don't have time for a longer post, and this is one of the funniest things I've seen. If you have children (especially of the little variety), you will understand.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday-May 24

2010-05-24T17:50:00.004+03:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a family beach day yesterday. It was our first time to the beach with FIVE children; the baby doesn't sit well yet and needed to be held most of the time. But it was fun.

I can't believe it's time to post a menu plan. As I've said before, I'm glad for this accountability. I haven't made my menu plan yet. I don't want to. I'm making it right now, literally as I type. Sometimes I'm more organized than this; this week is not one of those times. So...

Monday-Burgers, fresh coleslaw, potato wedges
Tuesday-Gnocchi/pasta & salad
Wednesday-Minestrone soup & salad
Thursday-Scrambled Eggs & veggies, toast
Friday- Some kind of fish, steamed vegetable, apple crisp
Saturday- leftover Minestrone soup
Sunday- leftover buffet

Totally Delicious But Not At All Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2010-05-21T14:45:00.004+03:00

I am not going to try to pass this off as a recipe that will help you improve your health in any way. But if you are a chocolate chip cookie snob like I am, you know how hard it is to find one that's made just right. This is one of those cookies, and I just can't keep the recipe to myself since some of you out there just might want to make an unhealthy cookie once in a while, and since there's just no other place to get recipes (ha ha)....well, I'm sharing this one.

It started from FannieFarmer's chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I altered it slightly to suit me.

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar (sucanat would work fine)
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour (I usually use whole wheat, since that's what I have)
1/2 cup oats ( I use quick oats; regular rolled would work for a more textured cookie)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

200 g (2 bars here) of semi-sweet chocolate, cut into chunks*

*Note: the original recipe calls for 1 cup semi sweet chips. I LOVE chocolate, and was amazed to find this to be enough (I usually add more than whatever the recipe calls for). I only switched to the bars for the size of the chunks. If this is not important to you, the chips would work fine.

**And, if you're not into a chunky cookie, you can omit the oatmeal and add 1/8 c flour. A regular chocolate chip cookie with this recipe is delicious.

Oven 375F

Mix the butter & sugars together, add egg & vanilla
Mix the flour, oats, baking soda & salt together & add to the first mixture
Add in the chocolate chunks or chips
Chill till firm, then roll into 1 inch balls, placed 2 inches apart on cookie sheet

bake 11 mins or whatever works for you depending on how crispy you like them.

And yes, that's a glass of (gasp) cow's milk in the picture. Which I recommend for taste, not for health. And that's also the only reason to make these cookies.

Enjoy! But only once in a while.

The "Musical Fruit"-Frugal Fridays

2010-05-21T07:26:00.006+03:00

"Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you....."

I always found this little rhyme at least moderately amusing. It makes me giggle even now. I haven't shared it yet with my guys because I just know they will probably not stop saying it & then collapse in hysterics. But, they are boys, after all, It might be time to teach them about armpit "honks". Crass, yes. But some things are just funny.

But I digress.

Beans are extremely nutritious. See bean nutrition facts here. Beans, when combined with rice, provide a complete protein. Many Latin American countries rely on this combination for most of their dietary needs.

But why do I mention it here, on Frugal Friday? Because beans are CHEAP! Really, really inexpensive. Buy the dried beans in a bag, soak them overnight, and then follow any of thousands of recipes. I have some recipes for beans here on my blog;

Chickpeas and Spinach
Lentil and Potato Stew with Spiced Oil
Mexican Taco Casserole
Cuban Black Beans
Amazing Black Bean Burgers
Easy Hummus

Have a good weekend!

Good Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium

2010-05-20T16:00:00.001+03:00

There are many ways to get calcium from foods other than dairy products. In fact, you might already be aware that we are UNABLE to absorb the calcium in cow's milk; in contrast, our bodies actually PULL CALCIUM OUT OF OUR BONES in order to buffer the acidity of our blood when we drink the stuff. See my post on milk for more info.

Green leafy vegetables contain calcium. Examples are bok choy, kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, artichokes and broccoli. Out of these options turnip greens have the highest calcium source with 200mg per cup. Fresh broccoli is our favorite. Unfortunately, I have not developed a taste for it raw, but I'm trying. Lightly steamed is better than not at all. Basically, the darker the green, the better the nutrients. Use Romaine lettuce in your salad instead of Iceberg, please!

Many beans are also fair sources of calcium.

Some fruits offering good calcium levels are figs, papaya and raisins

Sesame seeds in particular are very high in calcium and are so easy to add to a diet. They can be sprinkled over salads, added to casseroles, cereals and more. Tahini, which is a paste made from sesame seeds is very high in calcium with 2 tablespoons offering 130mg of calcium. Tahini is delicious spread on a pita, as an addition to a sandwich or added to falafel or humus. Humus which is made from garbanzo beans (chickpeas) offers 60mg per half cup and makes a wonderful dip.

Almonds are good calcium alternatives. 1 oz. of almonds provides 80mg of calcium. You can make almond milk from almonds to add to cereal or use in baking.

Daily Recommendations:

The daily recommended intake of calcium varies according to age, but will average between 500mg and 1000mg.(Dietary Reference Intakes, National Academy of Science, 1997)

source: Alternative Calcium Sources:Obtaining Calcium From Non Dairy Foods

Rewards Help Me Get It Done! -WFMW

2010-05-19T14:10:00.005+03:00

You may have noticed a dramatic increase in my number of posts lately. If you haven't, that's okay. I know some people who have noticed, but not because they read this blog. I am, of course, referring to mi familia.

And the way they have noticed is this: every evening when the kiddos are told to lay out their clothes for the next morning (something I learned from Flylady; very helpful), I inevitably hear something that sounds like this:

"I can't find a shirt" or "I have no socks" or, well, you get the picture. And although I do believe we must house an entire tribe of sock hiding gremlins, at least one or two pair would be found for use, that is, if I had actually folded and put the laundry away.

I get it washed; doing one full load (sometimes 2) a day keeps me on top of it. And it gets line dried in the sun. I even figured out that I can fold as I take it off the line and stack it by owner as I put it in the basket. But still.....I just haven't been putting it away. Some, but not all.

So, I made a new rule for myself, starting today: No Publishing A Post Until ALL Laundry is FOLDED and PUT AWAY.

As you can see, I did it!

Little rewards help me get things done. It works for me. What works for you?

See what works for lots of other moms at wearethatfamily.com

How (&Why) To Make Chicken Broth

2010-05-18T15:24:00.005+03:00

Other than eating a yummy bowl of chicken soup (especially with matzah-balls) once in a while, I used to think that there was no real reason I would spend my time making it. I mean, soup is for eating, right? Wrong.

I found out that chicken broth is for cooking with. From soups and stews to seasoned rice and sauces, chicken broth (or any good vegetable broth) is an absolute must-have for cooking. And although you can buy canned or boxed broth, it costs MUCH LESS to make it yourself. And it really is easy.

Oh, and you don't need to use any MSG to make it delicious! I actually used to use chicken boullion in my chicken soup and didn't know I could get it to be flavorful without it. I mean, our grandmothers must have been absolutely primitive to not have such a convenience item, right?

Freeze your broth in a muffin tin, then pop out the frozen servings for easy use.

Take:

A BIG pot
Bones or carcasses you've been saving from previously roasted chicken dinners. OR necks or carcasses you get on sale at the market. OR 2 whole chickens (this will be a little more work, but will give you meals out of it as well)
Add 2 onions (halved), 4 carrots, a bunch of celery leaves/1-2 stalks
Add a bunch of parsley and a bunch of dill (thanks to my cousin Wendy for teaching me!)
Cover with water and simmer away.

If you are using the 2 whole chickens, take the meat off of one chicken after 1 hr, returning the bones to the pot. Simmer away. Save that chicken meat for another yummy meal.

After a couple of hours, strain and remove remaining meat. That meat will be tough but works fine for chicken salad, etc. Remove all solids, strain soup, cool, and freeze.

Enjoy!

Myths & Facts About Diapers

2010-05-18T07:41:00.007+03:00

The folks at Pampers evidently feel the need to clear up some "confusion" regarding diapers. Specifically, regarding the debate between those backwards non progressing tree hugging natural crunchy cloth diaper users and normal modern people. They actually have this myths and facts page on their site.

Here's one of the (humorous? Unbelievable?) highlights for me.

"Myth: Disposable diapers are harmful to the environment.
Fact: All of the component materials in Pampers diapers are gentle to consumers and safe for the environment. Pampers diapers are made of materials that are also frequently used in a wide range of other consumer products."

The italics is mine. I did it to expose an incredibly flawed logic that I believe is extremely dangerous. (Not that my mommy brain is the queen of logic, mind you)

They are saying that you should accept the toxic stuff in their diapers as being safe for the environment (and also for you) because it's "frequently used in a wide range of other...products."

Um...hello? Many, MANY products are FILLED with toxic stuff. That's the problem. It's all around us. It's...ubiquitous! (How's that for an SAT word from this mommy's brain!? If you want to rid your body of the toxins it's accumulated, you must do a purposeful detox. More on that here and here.

SODIUM POLYACRYLATE is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powdered form becomes wet, it turns into a gel.

It can:
Can absorb up to 100X its weight in water.
Can stick to baby's genitals, causing allergic reactions.
Reported to cause severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies.
When injected into rats it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
Banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Has killed children after ingesting as little as 5 grams of it.
Causes female organ problems, slows healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss to the employees in factories that manufacture it.

above info taken from an article on The Diaper Hyena; entire article here

According to the Clean Air Council, parents throw away 570 diapers PER SECOND! And one diaper takes 300 YEARS to break down.

Watch a 2 min news report on why a mother of triplets has chosen to switch to cloth diapers.

I wrote a 2 part post on cloth diapers and why I use them. You can read them here and here.

Simply Delicious Spaghetti Sauce

2010-05-17T12:41:00.004+03:00

I always thought that to make your own spaghetti sauce (and have it be good), you needed to know some deep cooking secret. I was thrilled to find out how simple it is. Here's what I do:

1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tin tomato paste
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 large cloves garlic, chopped
splash of white wine
about 1 tsp each of basil, oregano, and thyme
1 tbsp honey/brown sugar/sucanat/stevia to taste
2 tbsp butter

Saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic in olive oil a nice long 15 mins at least--till soft & sweet.
Add everything except the butter and sweetener, if you are using them. Simmer at least 1 hour. Longer if you want. (you can use a crockpot if you want to walk away from it all day)
Add sweetener and butter (the butter cuts the tanginess of the tomatoes), simmer another 15 mins or so. Taste & adjust seasonings.
Serve over whole wheat pasta, top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (if you use it), and serve it up with a nice big green salad. Enjoy!

Chickpeas and Spinach

2010-05-17T12:04:00.003+03:00

from The Occasional Vegetarian

1 pound fresh spinach, washed & stems removed. (I use a bag of frozen chopped)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped scallions, white & green parts (I've used onion or leek instead)
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp lemon juice

Steam the spinach until the leaves are wilted, 1-2 minutes. Drain.
In a heavy-bottom saucepan, saute' the garlic lightly in the oil, about 2 mins. Add the scallions and saute' for 1 minute.
Add the drained spinach, chickpeas, cumin, salt, and pepper, Stir, cover, and cook over low heat until the spinach and chickpeas are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, stir again. Add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve hot.

I like to mix this in with some whole grained rice (about 1 1/2 cups) and some labana cheese (plain yogurt would work fine). I serve this with some good fresh bread and more labana and olive oil for dipping. I've added sauteed mushrooms in a few times and it was delicious.

Menu Plan Monday- May 17

2010-05-17T07:02:00.012+03:00

I can't believe it's Monday again. Time flies, as you well know. I'm glad I've made this commitment to post my menu plan, because otherwise I might not make one. And that would be bad. Here goes:

Monday-Spinach and chickpeas, rice, labana cheese & pita.

Tuesday-Spaghetti with chunky tomato sauce (make double sauce to freeze for future use), Breadsticks, salad.

Wednesday-Creamy Carrot Soup (extra to freeze), salad

Thursday-Veggie & Tuna noodle casserole (make an extra to freeze), steamed veggie.

Friday- not sure. Probably fish of some kind, steamed veg, challah, Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk cookies.

Saturday- Leftover carrot soup

Sunday-Burgers & Fries, coleslaw

To see lots of other menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com

The Combo Platter: Eating Harmoniously (Proper Food Combining)

2010-05-16T21:02:00.004+03:00

Is this your idea of good food combining?

If it is.....you'd better keep reading! ;)

Did you know that it's not just what you eat, but what you eat together? Even really healthy food, when combined improperly with other really healthy food, can cause indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, cramps, general malaise, fatigue, and more. Alternatively, proper food combining causes you to digest and assimilate the most nutrition out of what you eat.

Who Should Worry About Food Combining?

* Anyone who is sick or in recovery
* Anyone trying to detox their bodies
* Anyone with signs of indigestion
* Anyone in need of an immediate energy boost

Food combining is eating the proper combinations and quantities of foods at a meal as to contribute to easy and proper digestion of all the nutrients in the food you have eaten. Remember, digestion doesn't just mean that you put it in your mouth and swallowed it. Digestion means also that it must be assimilated--converted into living tissue.

Proper food combining helps avoid all the symptoms of not doing so, which most would be classified under the heading: "INDIGESTION."

There are 3 basic categories of macronutrients. They are

* Carbohydrate (fruits, potatoes/squash, and grains/breads/pasta/beans)
* Protein (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts/seeds)
* Fat (nuts/oils, butter, avocados, coconut)

Non-starchy vegetables (like green leafy type) don't fall under any of these categories. They have few calories and are eaten for their mineral & vitamin content.

The easiest digestion comes when you eat foods that contain most of their calories from one macronutrient source (carbs, protein, or fat).

Combine any of these three with a nice green salad, and you are good to go. HOWEVER, if you combine 2 or more of these 3 together, you are asking for trouble!

Example: Baked Potato (carbohydrate) and salad, GOOD.
Baked Potato (carbohydrate) and Steak (protein), BAD.

That's right. Meat plus potatoes is NOT a good food combination.
The same can be said for meat plus grains (that Big Mac)

The reason these things need to be divided into categories is:

The chemistry of your body, because you have one stomach, does not let you digest efficiently when you create a contrasting environment in that one stomach. Protein digests in an acid environment, and carbs digest in an alkaline environment. Remember chemistry? If you mix an acid and a base together, you get salt and water. You cannot digest food anything in salt and water! The food will pass through the body undigested, never broken down, not assimilated. It becomes food for bacteria which have a good ole' time. Of course those produce gas, etc.

The quantity of the food matters, too. If you eat a baked potato and feel good, that does not mean that you can eat 3 baked potatoes and still feel fine. That is because your body only has a certain amount of digestive enzymes available at any given time. You eat too much of one thing, even if it's a good thing (and properly combined), and you will get indigestion.

So it's best to not mix multiple sources of the same macronutrient you are eating at a single meal. Example: Don't eat bread AND potato AND dessert in one meal.

Practical Plan to Institute Good Food Combining In Your Diet

* Stop eating proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal.
* Do eat concentrated protein meals and concentrated carbohydrate meals with a big veggie salad.
* Stop eating 2 or more types of carbohydrates or protein in the same meal
* eat grains and foods derived from grains no more than 3 times per week (unless gluten intolerant)
* Eat animal proteins no more than 3 times per week (if at all).
* Eat fruits alone
* Stop drinking with meals. Do drink 8 oz of water 30 mins prior to meals.

WellWithU Radio had a show on this same topic last week. Click here to listen to it.

Food Combining and Stewed Crockpot Chicken with Vegetables

2010-05-14T14:56:00.006+03:00

I love using my crock pot. I don't do it very often, because it seems to work best for stewed type meat, and we only eat meat for dinner about once a week. ( I do also use it for soups and beans). But when Friday comes and I have SO much to do before our special family dinner that night, it really takes a load off my mind to make a one-dish-meal that I can start in the morning and forget about until dinner time.

It's simple. And it simplifies. Something that I REALLY like.

I recently listened to this WellWithU radio show about proper food combining and why it's important. I was reminded that meat & potatoes or grains is not a good combo. This I already knew; we don't do it much and seem to tolerate it all right once in a while. But the important thing that I was reminded of was that couscous AND potatoes AND bread all in one meal would be TOO MUCH of the same type of thing in our bodies (even if it were properly combined). So, I made a change in the dinner I was preparing. I usually add potatoes to the stew, but realized that it would be much better to leave those out and fill up with more veggies instead.

Crock Pot Stewed Chicken

About 2 lbs chicken parts*. I've done it with wings, legs, thighs, whole bird cut up. Whatever.
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
Any other veggie that you have laying around and want to use up. I usually add cabbage or zucchini. This time I added 1/2 a bag of frozen green beans.
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tin tomato paste
About 1/3 c white wine
A big pinch (approx 1 tsp) each of Basil, Oregano, Thyme
1 Bay leaf

Put everything in, turn it on, walk away, come back 8 hrs later to dinner. Serve over rice/couscous/quinoa (whole grain, of course)

*I recommend that you only consume animal meat that is certified organic and free to roam, with no antibiotics or hormones injected. And even then, do so sparingly. Accompanied by lots of veggies.

Barefoot and Fancy Free

2010-05-13T14:44:00.004+03:00

I've been thinking about feet lately. Strange, I know. Here's why.

I've always had problems with my feet. I had orthotic inserts as a child for fallen arches. I seemed to grow out of that problem as I got older, but my feet still would get achy and tired much quicker than anyone I knew. I found that foot massages would help and made it through my twenties able to wear cutsey shoes. And then, I grew up. I mean, I got old(er). I mean, my body did this thing at age thirty which told me suddenly that I was not in my twenties any more. And my feet were a part of this mutiny.

I found my feet unable to tolerate anything but good quality sneakers. Now, at age 36, I wear them every day. They are my "lace up shoes" and I wear them to work at my job, in the home.

Learning from the Flylady how important it is to wear shoes in the house only confirmed to me that barefoot was not a good thing. But now, I am reconsidering.

The other day we went for a walk to the park. We took off our shoes to walk barefoot in the grass. My two year old cried and thought the grass was hurting his feet. And it didn't feel too good to me, either. I realized I'd caused a problem.

By saying "no" to bare feet, I think our feet are getting to be too sensitive. I am now wondering if perhaps my sore foot problem is actually a lack of strength, caused by wearing shoes all the time.

Have you seen these funky shoes? They are like gloves, to be worn on your feet, so that you can still feel the ground.
Here's an interesting article about running barefoot.
And another article.

And a whole site for "Healthy and Natural Barefoot Activities"

Welcome, Spring. I think it's time to kick of my shoes for a little while.

Do you like being barefoot? Do you let your children go barefoot? Let's talk.

Lentil and Potato Stew with Spiced Oil

2010-05-12T17:53:00.005+03:00

This is one of our favorites. Lentils are about as nutritious and inexpensive as you can get, so those are two big pluses in my book. Make a double batch and stick half in the freezer for a ready made meal.

From The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee

6 cups water
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
2 med potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cubed
2 unpeeled carrots, cut into 1/3 inch rounds
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

SPICED OIL
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin

1. Combine the water, lentils, bellpepper, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, soy sauce, pepper, and bay leaf in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 45 mins.

2. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a small saucepan over low heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the ginger, turmeric and cumin. Stir and set aside.

3. When the stew is cooked, add the spiced oil. Season with salt and additional pepper, if needed. Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot.

I like to remove a little and puree it, then return it for a thickened stew.

This stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. I recommend doubling it and freezing half. Simple!

Assigned Dinner Helper-Works For Me Wednesday

2010-05-12T09:08:00.004+03:00

I don't know about you, but the hours between 4:30 and 6:30 are really tough for me. Really tough. Naptime is over, snacks are dealt, and The Dinner Preparation Begins.

I'm feeling a grroannn just thinking about it.

That's because, in my family with 5 littles, it's not that simple. One or more will need a diaper. One will get hurt. Two or more will argue or fight. And they all want to help. In the kitchen. With me. Laugh.

Hey....wait a minute. If someone could actually be of help, well, that would be helpful, right? Right.

I recently discovered that my older children are actually capable of real help. I've been training them since the beginning to do chores. Of course, with little ones, the work they do is usually not helpful at all, to say the least. Now that the oldest are 7, and 6, I'm finding that they and even the 4 year old are able to provide actual help with what they can do. (Yes, that's my 4 year old cutting with (gasp) a real knife. Preparing a salad) It's wonderful! Yes, they are slow. Yes, their work is not high quality. But with good scheduling and lowered expectations, they get good practice at things they need to know how to do, and I get help.

Enter: the Assigned Dinner Helper plan. It's just as it sounds: I have an assigned helper for each day of the week. The older 2 get 2 days each, and the 4 year old gets 1. Twice a week I have no helper; I just don't want one on those days.

The boys are always very excited to help and look forward to their day. They get to wear an apron, ring the dinner bell to call everyone to the table, and be proud of their contribution. And you would be amazed how a child will devour a salad that he has made himself.

Having Assigned Dinner Helpers works for me.

What works for you?

See what works for lots of other moms at WeAreThatFamily.com

Serious Germ Paranoia

2010-05-11T15:11:00.000+03:00

"So it's come to this. Kleenex Disposable Hand Towels: the ultimate in germ paranoia. Our dear friends at Kleenex want you to think that you NEED protection from nasty cloth towels that, heck!, everyone in your family uses. Shudder. Think about it: you've all dried your CLEAN HANDS on the SAME TOWEL. What are you, savages?"

I didn't write this. But I really liked the post. You can read the rest here at Enviromom.com.

Proper Food Combining: Radio Show

2010-05-10T14:52:00.008+03:00

Did you know that it's not just what you eat, but what you eat together? Even really healthy food, when combined improperly with other really healthy food can cause indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, cramps, general malaise, fatigue, and more. Alternatively, proper food combining causes you to digest and assimilate the most nutrition out of what you eat.

My friends over at WellWithU.com host a BlogTalkRadio show every Monday at 2pm EST.

Click here to listen to The Combo Platter show.

Join Dr. Jeff and Chaim to find out what a healthy "combo platter" looks like.
Topics to be covered: * Who should worry about food combining?
* What is food combining?
*Why is proper food combining essential for many people?
* Common symptoms of not combining well.
* Combining foods properly.
* A practical plan to institute good food combining in your diet.
*** Plus the last 15 mins of the program is reserved for listener questions. *** (Dr. Jeff broadcasts from Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chaim from Jerusalem, Israel.)

You can listen to the player here (after the show, of course), or click this link to the archive.

This is an important topic: I haven't gotten to it yet as a post, but realized I can just send you over to the good information there. Enjoy! I know I will.

update: I created a newer post from the info in this same radio show. If you prefer to read than listen, you can go here for it.

Menu Plan Monday-May 10

2010-05-10T08:21:00.010+03:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. Hubby made me a special breakfast, after which we all spent the day at the zoo together. The together-ness was wonderful, but after all of that I really enjoyed a quiet bath, book, & bed. It was a special treat.

Now, back to reality :) Here's what's coming up:

Monday-Shakshuka, Hash Browns, OJ (I didn't make it last night as I'd planned)

Tuesday-Homemade Hummus, Couscous Tabouli, Roasted Eggplant & pita

Wednesday- Lentil and Potato Stew with Spiced Oil and salad

Thursday - Homemade Foccacia & salad (like pizza without cheese-see recipe)

Friday - not sure yet

Saturday - leftover Lentil and Potato Stew with Spiced Oil

Sunday - Whole Wheat Pancakes with fresh fruit, apple juice

Visit orgjunkie.com for lots more meal plans.

Let The Sun Shine In--Frugal Fridays

2010-05-07T06:53:00.007+03:00

When I was little, I'd see movies or commercials that showed little girls running through the sheets that were hanging out to dry. It looked like so much fun & I asked my mom why we didn't do our drying like that. She basically said that only "poor" people dry their clothes that way and that it didn't look nice to see laundry hanging. And I saw that she was right; in our neighborhood nobody would do such a thing, but driving into other sections of town we could see their laundry hanging. I just accepted it as the way it was and went about my business.

Until I moved to Israel. Here, hanging laundry is the socially accepted norm. For years I couldn't fathom hanging it every day like my neighbors and didn't like the way it looks. Then one summer my dryer broke. And I hung all summer long, until the rainy season began (winter here), and we prioritized the dryer repair.

But I've been thinking about it again, and a few weeks ago I decided to start utilizing this (free) power we all have-the sun, to save on electricity (translate: $$$). Good for the environment, good for the pocket, I'm happy.

It does take more time to hang the clothes and bring them in than it does to load and empty the dryer, and that has been my main objection. However, I have decided to enjoy those few minutes outside by myself as a little break. All moms need that!

And as for the way it looks, I hang it out on my roof deck where it doesn't show-not to the neighbors; it's out of my view as well. But twice a day I have a reason to stand and look at my gorgeous view of the Judean hills. (That's my laundry and my view) Nice!

I do one large load every day (keeps Mt. Washmore away), plus a load of cloth diapers. My drying rack holds only the one load; for now I'm still using the dryer for the diapers or if I need to do more than one load. Another drying rack or a line would solve that problem. I'll get there. Babysteps.

For more Frugal Friday ideas visit LifeAsMom.

For more about saving electricity, visit this site.

Mexican Taco Casserole & Salsa Recipe

2010-05-06T20:25:00.006+03:00

As a busy mom of five little ones, I'll take any help I can get; anything that makes life a teeny bit simpler. Enter: The Casserole.

Casseroles can be assembled when convenient and baked later. They freeze well. We lived on soups and casseroles for a while I'd prepped ahead when baby#5 arrived.

And Mexican food....Love it. But once the little guy became 2 guys and then 3 guys (now 4) who all needed help assembling tacos, we knew something had to be done.

Time to combine the two. How to do it? Simple. Take all your ingredients, layer them in a casserole dish, and bake. It's as easy as that.

Ex: salsa first (helps to prevent sticking), rice, salsa, beans or meat, cheese if you're using it, another rice or beans layer, chopped onions & black olives, cracked corn chips w/cheese to brown on top. Serve with lettuce and tomato, guacamole, salsa & sour cream. Yum.

You can sneak veggies in there too. This time I sauteed onion&garlic with eggplant, carrots, and cabbage. Usually I add zucchini but I didn't have any. You just make them taste "Mexican-y" with salsa, garlic, and lots of onions.

Make your own salsa cheap & easy w/canned crushed tomato, lemon juice, chopped fresh cilantro & chopped onion.

Aspartame's New Name

2010-05-06T15:04:00.004+03:00

Too many folks know that aspartame is bad for you. So what's a manufacturing company to do? Why, change the product's name and re-market it, of course!

"Ajinomoto believes that the time is right to remind the industry that aspartame tastes just like sugar, and that it’s made from amino acids – the building blocks of protein that are abundant in our diet.

The name AminoSweet is appealing and memorable. It reflects that AminoSweet comes from the same amino acids that are abundant in the food we eat every day." -quote from this article.

Do NOT be deceived. Aspartame is POISON! To read more about what's in it, go here.

The following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2) Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.

And that's BEFORE it breaks down into formaldehyde as it does when sodas are stored at room or warmer temperatures! (think-outside at the gas station....) See this article for more about aspartame converting to formaldehyde. Remember: formaldehyde is the stuff that preserves the dead animals (specimens) to be dissected in anatomy class! You do NOT want to drink it!

Of course, everyone loves a good commercial ;)

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2010-05-05T14:26:00.005+03:00

This is one of my favorite soups. It's very rich, so I don't make it very often. But the flavors of these ingredients combined are amazing. I first found the recipe here and it was an instant hit. I've made a few changes/substitutions, and as always, with soup, am not too specific with measurements. I'm attempting to measure so that I can write it down for you here.

1 large piece pumpkin (5 cups chopped)
2 large onions
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans coconut milk (of course, fresh would be the best)
8 Tbsp molasses or 1 cup black rum (I've tried both; I prefer the molasses)
1 stick butter (you could substitute oil, I'm sure. I haven't tried.)
Zest and juice of 2 large lemons (limes would be better)
1 Tbsp (approx) of curry powder
Kosher salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1/3-1/2 white wine
*brown sugar -- you can substitute a little extra molasses and honey. About 1/2 c or to taste.

You will need 2 pots.

1.Pot 1: Boil pumpkin chunks with stock, rum/molasses, and water if needed to cover until very soft.
2. Pot 2: Saute sliced onions in butter or oil until soft. Add coconut milk, lemon juice & zest, curry, honey, bay leaves. Simmer about 1/2 hr.
4. Combine all and blend or puree
5. Taste and adjust seasonings and thickness (you can add more water or stock or wine or...)

Soup is a very forgiving dish. You can really play around with ingredients and amounts; feel free to experiment! I don't have any white wine today and am making it without it. Never think you can't make something unless you have all of the exact ingredients.

Serve it up with some freshly baked french bread, a salad, and enjoy!

Breadsticks/Baguette/Pizza Dough Recipe

2010-05-03T14:41:00.005+03:00

This is my most versatile bread recipe. It came from my BreadBeckers cookbook. I use it for Pizza, Breadsticks, or French bread. Here it is:

1 1/4 c hot water
1/2 c milk (I use fresh almond milk) -makes lukewarm temp. when combined
2 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. instant yeast
4-5 cups freshly milled flour
2 tsp salt

Combine water, milk, yeast, oil, and honey. Add flour and salt. Stir until well mixed. Knead to make a smooth ball (about 5-10 mins by hand). Let rise until double. Turn dough onto a generously floured surface working with just enough flour to make the dough workable.

For Pizza Dough: Divide in half. Use rolling pin to roll to desired thickness; place on oiled pans for about 20 mins to rise. Bake 15 mins in preheated 400 F oven. Cool, add toppings at convinience, then bake again about 20-30 mins till done. (We use lots of toppings; it takes longer to dry out than it would with few toppings. Nobody likes soggy pizza!)

For French Baguette: Divide for 2 small, or leave together for 1 big loaf. I usually do one. Roll into a rectangle and then roll each side in tightly, tucking under the ends. Placed on greased pan. Let rise until double. Bake at 400F for about 30 mins. May glaze with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds the last 5 mins of baking.

For Breadsticks: Roll out onto oiled pans, and use a pizza cutter to cut into strips. Let rise about 20 mins, then bake at 400F about 15 mins. I like to sprinkle with oregano before final rise, and baste with butter as soon as they come out. I also add 1 tsp garlic powder to the dough if I want them garlicky. Yum.

Menu Plan Monday-May 3

2010-05-03T07:36:00.019+03:00

I'm really glad I've made a commitment to planning my meals again. Even having a general idea ahead of time is more helpful than none at all.

We usually have fruit & nut smoothies for breakfast, leftovers or sandwiches for lunch, so I'll just focus on the dinners for now.

Monday-Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Sage Butter, Salad, Fresh Garlic Breadsticks

Tuesday-Chinese Fried Rice

Wednesday- Curried Pumpkin Soup, fresh French Bread, and salad

Thursday-Mexican Taco Casserole

Friday-Fish of some kind. Not really planned.Couscous, steamed green beans, Challah. Chocolate mousse

Saturday-Leftover Pumpkin soup and bread

Sunday-Shakshuka and Hash Browns

I'll be adding recipes as I can; check back to see.

Have a great week!

For other menu plans visit OrgJunkie.

Whole Wheat Pancake Recipe

2010-04-29T17:01:00.004+03:00

From my BreadBeckers cookbook.

3 cups freshly milled flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c oil
4 eggs
3-4 cups buttermilk*

Mix together dry ingredients (or empty your homemade mix into a bowl). Add liquids. Stir just until mixed. Fry on hot oiled griddle or nonstick pan. Serve with fresh chopped fruit and real maple syrup or raw honey.

Sometimes we have some leftover breakfast oatmeal from another day; this can easily be mixed in to the pancake batter. Tastes good and eliminates waste!

*Anyplace I see buttermilk in a recipe, I substitute 1 cup milk (any kind; I use nut milk) + 1 tbsp vinegar. I know some like to avoid vinegar; I am not sure if lemon juice would work instead, but it might.

Homemade Pancake Mix-Works For Me Wednesday

2010-04-28T14:46:00.010+03:00

singing...."Nothing could be finer than the taste of Aunt Jemima in the mo-ho-ho-rning.."

Do you remember that? I actually paused here to look on YouTube to find that commercial, but couldn't...I'll look later.

Back to Aunt Jemima. Or Bisquick. Or any mix. (um...Pillsbury brownies, anyone? I'm not saying I like them or anything. Ahem.)

Here are the ingredients of original pancake mix as listed on Aunt Jemima's website: INGREDIENTS: ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, LEAVENING (SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE (A SOURCE OF CALCIUM).

I made bold the bleach, the bleach, the sugar. By the way, that's bleached WHITE flour, in case you weren't sure. And the other stuff....basically other than the salt and the baking soda, none of it should be added to your food.

Flour should be whole wheat, (or other whole grain), and freshly ground. I began a post series on the benefits of freshly ground flour;I didn't finish it, but hope to soon. But read here for the first part.

A box of pre made mix costs about $2. Your ingredients cost less than that. But to make it all from scratch takes too long, you say. So...why not make your own mix? A mix is just the dry ingredients pre-combined with instructions of what to add. I can do that!

I made a pancake supper last night, and while preparing my batter, I grabbed 2 ziplocks and made 2 mix bags. Easy as pie. Or should I say pancakes. :)

By the way, you can do the same thing for all kinds of mixes. Makes it easier to "whip something up."

Homemade mixes are definitely something that work for me.

This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.

Menu Plan Monday-April 26th

2010-04-27T14:55:00.004+03:00

I've been away (from posting, not really away) for too long. It's going to change. Starting by just keeping it "real", not only informative about health stuff. That stuff is important, and I love researching and teaching it, but the truth is, I don't have much time. Go figure.

But I miss posting, and I have aspirations of a blog that actually reflects my life on a regular basis. So, I'm going to start adding more, but very regular day to day kind of stuff. And as I have time, I'll share my "natural" version or take on the topic, as well as add others specifically in that vein.

I long ago discovered the many pluses of creating a menu plan for the week. No need to think about what to make at the late hour of 5:00. That's stress I don't enjoy. But, for whatever reason, I haven't been doing it. That needs to stop.

So, yesterday, I sat down and made a plan. A menu plan, that is, for this week. I'm a day late posting it, but here it is:

Monday- Vegetable&tuna noodle casserole (it was good!)

Tuesday- Pancake supper (whole-grain, of course) with fresh fruit toppings

Wednesday- Baked potatoes with grilled mushroom&onions topping, and steamed peas & lima beans

Thursday- Minestrone soup & salad

Friday (Shabbat dinner) - Roasted Chicken, steamed broccoli or green beans, coucous or mixed grains, fresh challah bread, chocolate chip banana bread

Saturday- (breakfast) Homemade granola, fresh almond milk. Dinner: leftover minestrone soup & challah.

Sunday- Cuban Black Beans and rice

There are plenty of food & recipe blogs out there. I will add recipes slowly. Please ask me if there's something specific you want me to post or explain.

I'm going to try to post our menu plan each week on Monday. I have no idea if any of you out there give a hoot what we eat, but posting it each week will help keep me accountable for actually making a plan. I'd love your feedback. Share what you're making!

I'm going to link up to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie. See more menus there.

Everything You Need To Know About Fast Food

2010-04-12T14:52:00.009+03:00

14 states sue to block health care law

2010-03-24T21:03:00.002+02:00

On AOL, this was a leading story.

..."Thirteen of the states, led by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum (pictured), filed a joint federal lawsuit Monday in Pensacola, where they called the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act an "unprecedented encroachment on the sovereignty of states," CNN reports. McCollum and 12 other attorneys general involved are Republicans; Buddy Caldwell of Louisiana is the lone Democrat.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution, the state legal officers assert, is there a mandate requiring citizens to have health coverage. The new law, which offers subsidies to help low-income people buy insurance, imposes financial penalties on those who do not comply by 2014.

Lawsuits challenging federal authority often rely on the "commerce clause" of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "powers not delegated" to the federal government by the Constitution are "reserved to the states respectively." But efforts by states to circumvent federal laws are often trumped by the Constitution's "supremacy clause": laws passed by the Congress "shall be the supreme law of the land."

This is what I'm talking about.

The original CNN article is here.

Constitutional Problems with Obama’s Health Care Plan

2010-03-22T15:17:00.005+02:00

I'm not into politics. Like, Not.At.All. But, I do believe that the powers that be are purposing to strip us of our inalienable rights. And I am against that. So, once in a while, I do a little to share what I think is truth about certain injustices or deceptions I don't even try to follow or keep up on them all.

On Facebook this morning, I noticed some friends commenting on Obama's Health Care bill being passed. I don't really know that much about it, but did look into it a little. And this is some of what I found. Taken from a blog post I found here.

This is an essay from an attorney and teacher of constitutional law who actually went to the trouble of reading the entire bill.Finally, someone did read the entire House Bill 3200:

The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009
From: Michael Connelly - Retired attorney, Constitutional Law Instructor,Carrollton, Texas

Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far WORSE than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law DOES provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medicalprofession.

The Bill will ALSO eventually FORCE private insurance companies out of business [Goodbye Aetna / Goodbye Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc.] and PUT everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will NOT be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.

However, as SCARY as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has NO intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive ‘transfer of power’ to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been DESTROYED!

The first thing to GO will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration of all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed “acceptable” to the “Health Choices Administrator” appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a “tax” instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn’t work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the “due process of law.”
So, there are THREE of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It DOESN’T stop there though.

*The 9th Amendment that provides: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;”

*The 10th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United Statesby the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea.. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation” to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html
And another to the Bill of Rights: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.

Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas

A Not So Sweet Surprise

2010-03-17T15:02:00.006+02:00

I keep coming across articles & conversations about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and its dangers. I know it's bad stuff, but didn't really know that it's MUCH worse than sugar. I skim most but took the time to read this one.

As usual, I feel like I don't have time to write a thorough post. But I'm going to try to get back to posting more frequently, and keeping it short, just doing what I can. Better to "hit a lick at a snake", as Flylady would say.

Most of the following info. is from this article; click to read the whole thing. Bold is mine to emphasize main points.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) came around in the early 1970s. It's now the main sweetener in soft drinks and is increasingly replacing sugar in baked goods, bread, cereals, canned fruits, jams and jellies, dairy desserts and flavored yoghurts. Sweeter and less expensive than sugar, HFCS represents the major change in the American diet over the last forty years.

Although the food industry made this change very quietly, consumers are beginning to ask a lot of loud questions about the new sweetener as research accumulates to indicate that it is much worse for us than we thought. Growing consumer resistance to HFCS is the likely explanation for a recent industry campaign to put the new sweetener in a favorable light. Ads run on television and in popular magazines portray HFCS as benign and its critics as bossy, overbearing, unqualified and misinformed.

Since refined carbohydrates, sugar and HFCS included, tend to be addictive, it is basically impossible to follow the advice to consume them "in moderation." In fact, the entire food industry has succeeded very well over the past thirty years in getting Americans to consume far more than moderate amounts of refined sweeteners, particularly high fructose corn syrup. Between 1970 and 2000, the per capita consumption of HFCS in the U.S. increased from less than one pound per person to over sixty pounds yearly. There can be no debate about the fact that both sugar and HFCS, with their empty, depleting, addictive calories, are bad for you. But the real question is whether HFCS is actually worse for you—more depleting and more damaging— than ordinary sugar. The research indicates that it is.

Calorie for calorie, HFCS is more likely to cause weight gain than sugar.
The industry would have the public believe that the fructose in fruit and in HFCS are chemically identical. The fructose in HFCS is not recognized in the human Krebs cycle for conversion to blood glucose in any significant quantity, and cannot be used for energy utilization. Instead, these refined fructose sweeteners are primarily converted into triglycerides and adipose tissue (body fat). In fact, a new study found that obese people who drank a fructose-sweetened beverage with a meal had triglyceride levels almost 200 percent higher than obese people who drank a glucose-sweetened beverage with a meal.

Chronic high triglycerides translate into increased insulin resistance, inflammation and heart disease. HFCS is a recipe for obesity, lack of energy and metabolic syndrome—sounds like the modern American addicted to a diet of HFCS-sweetened sodas.

Out of My System & Out of Their System

2010-03-15T15:11:00.007+02:00

I am very excited to share with you a new source for natural health care information.

WellWithU.com

Helping people regain their health, naturally, is a passion I have. And, for those who are Bible-Believers, most of the existing resources are a little too....out there, in a new-age-y kind of way, if you know what I mean.

The name and mission are based on Deuteronomy 4:40, which states that when you follow the instructions of the Almighty, “…it will go WELL WITH YOU, and your children after you, and your days will be prolonged…”

Join WellWithU for their official launch, at a FREE WEBINAR TONIGHT. (the large link above works; this one doesn't and won't change for some reason. sorry. Use the one above!)

Click on the large link above for more information and to register.

The group of presenters are fantastic; I can't wait to hear what they have to say.

After you register, pass on the link!

www.WellWithU.com/launch

Fluoride Poisons Children in Jharkhand, India

2010-03-05T11:28:00.002+02:00

So.....less fluoride must be ok for us, right?

Poison is Poison, whether it's a little or a lot. It's just that low-level poisoining is not as quick to show up, and may not be obvious as to the source. But the damage it does in your body STILL HAPPENS.

5 Things To Consider About Fluoride

2010-01-21T14:52:00.007+02:00

I began doing some research in preparation for this blog post on fluoride, and there's just SO MUCH info out there. I just don't have the time to learn most of it, and I don't like super long posts. So, here are my 5 main points. The longer, original post with more info and links is below:

1. Fluoride is a man-made TOXIC BYPRODUCT. Meaning, it's chemical waste that would cost billions of dollars to dispose of properly.

2. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. It has been proven to be deadly, and harmful even in small doses.

3. Your body is not capable of metabolizing fluoride. Whatever goes in, stays in. It gets stored in your fat, where most toxins are kept. The only way to rid your body of it is through a purposeful detoxification.

4. Fluoride in small doses added topically to your teeth MAY help reduce cavities. There seem to be more studies showing that it causes tooth decay. (And whatever is happening to your teeth is also happening to your bones--you just don't see it) The problem is, we get MUCH more than just a little, and if we're drinking it, it's not just topical.

5. Adding fluoride to your water without your consent is, in my opinion, horribly unjust. If you have fluoridated water, everything you drink and cook, and even bathing adds fluoride to your body. Call your water company to find out if you have fluoridated water.

Scroll down to the end of the post to see what we can do.

I found many informative videos on YouTube. This is the best overall short one. 5 minutes, see what a dentist has to say about fluoride.

Here's my full(er) post:

Fluoride is added to the water supply of most American cities for the ostensible purpose of dental hygiene. You will be amazed to find out that such a thing is not only unlikely, but actually the opposite of reality.

What would you do if you suddenly found out that fluoride was not safe at all, but was actually a carcinogenic industrial waste? What would you think if you suddenly found out that fluoride doesn‘t stop tooth decay at all, but actually causes teeth to rot and crumble, and by the same mechanism also causes osteoporosis?

Below is the trailer for a longer (about 45 min) production called "The Fluoride Deception". Click here to see Part 1 part 2 part 3 It's available on YouTube. I've watched 3 of the 4 parts and have found it very interesting. It tells the story of fluoride, from the political aspects.

Most of the following information came from articles I found at Mercola.com.

What Is Fluoride?
Fluorine is an element. It is a gas, never occurring in its free state. In microscopic amounts complexed with other minerals, it is often listed as a trace mineral, a nutrient for human nutrition.

This has nothing to do with fluoride or fluoridation. The fluoride added to 90% of drinking water is hydrofluoric acid which is a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. Such fluoride is manmade. In this form, fluoride has no nutrient value whatsoever. It is one of the most caustic of industrial chemicals. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. Hydrofluoric acid is used to refine high octane gasoline, to make fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons for freezers and air conditioners, and to manufacture computer screens, fluorescent light bulbs, semiconductors, plastics, herbicides, -- and toothpaste.
It also has the ability to burn flesh to the bone, destroy eyes, and sear lungs so that victims drown in their own body fluid.

Yeah. I want to drink that.

Once in the body, fluoride is a destroyer of human enzymes. It does this by changing their shapes. In human biochemistry, thousands of enzymes are necessary for various essential cell reactions that take place every second we‘re alive. Without enzymes, we‘d die instantaneously.

Here‘s the short version: fluoride is a toxic byproduct in the manufacture of nuclear arms, aluminum, cement, steel, and phosphates.
Millions of tons of this poison are produced every year. Imagine the cost of containing and disposing of those mountains of waste every year. It‘s in the billions.

But what if lobbyists from these industries could present "scientific studies" paid for by the industries, and provide for a continual stream of media presentations about the health benefits of fluoride, and create unimaginably lucrative positions for "research" and "education" within the American Dental Association and the AMA, and do all these things in a consistent and unending way, year after year?
What are the economic advantages of that? Simple: instead of paying money to dispose of toxic waste, money could now be made by selling fluoride to the water companies of the nation.
They‘ll use the public water supply as a sewer for industrial wastes. And now with these new billions added instead of subtracted, there‘s plenty to go around, for everyone involved. Out of the Red, into the Black.

Fluoridation In Other Countries
If fluoridation is as safe and effective as the American Dental Association says it is, why don't other countries do it?
The U.S. is nowhere near the top of any health list which compares other countries of the world. So what are the healthy countries doing?
If fluoride is so great, why have the following countries either never fluoridated or else stopped when they found out how bad it was:
West Germany
The Netherlands
France
Belgium
Finland
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
Japan
Italy
Scotland
Only about 2% of the population of Europe is subjected to fluoridated water.

So, what can we do?
First, find out if you have fluoridated water. Not everyone does. I don't know if we do here in Israel; I assume yes, but need to find out. If you don't, you are in good shape to be able to easily control your intake.

If you want to remove the fluoride from your water, you can distill it or use reverse osmosis. This also removes all minerals from the water, and some folks think that's no good for you. I'd rather go without the fluoride, personally. There are also some high end filters that do remove it, but you need to check carefully.

Complain to your water company; they are not under law (yet) to poison your water; they are doing it because they think you want them to! If enough people voice their differing opinion, they may remove it.

Consider a fluoride free toothpaste for yourself, and I would DEFINITELY NOT give fluoride toothpaste to children. Remember the warning label on the tube about swallowing?

DETOX your body. This is the most important thing you can do. You have this stuff in you, and you must get it out; even if you don't put any more in (which is nearly impossible). Go to DetoxOrDie and find out how to do this.

Sick And Tired of Feeling Sick And Tired

2010-01-13T08:21:00.005+02:00

No, I don't get as much sleep as my body wants (although I am SO thankful that my baby sleeps through the night after some training her to do it). No, I don't get much "real" exercise (unless you count chasing after little ones, carrying them and going up and down and up and down stairs all day). I wish I had the time to do better with those things. I'm sure I'd feel better if I did.

The one major impact on my health (and the health of my family, of course) that I can really influence without trying to find more time in the day is DIET.

Why is it so hard to eat right? Well, for many, it's due to lack of knowledge. We are poorly educated about what we should eat. All we know is from how we were raised. I grew up eating meat of some kind for dinner almost every night. Once I was grown, I continued that habit; the meal just didn't seem complete without it.

It was only in Chiropractic School that I learned to think much more logically about the body and how it works. To respect it as the marvelous machine that it is, and to trust its ability to heal and function properly, given the right conditions. I've continued to learn more since then.

One of the main things I've learned is that most, if not all, illness or sickness results from a toxic environment inside the body. Translation: there's garbage in there. How it got in there is a topic for another day. Just trust me. The garbage needs to come out. And your body knows how to get it out, all on its own. Your body knows how to heal its sick cells, all on its own. It only needs you to not interfere.

One of the biggest way that we interfere with our body's ability to heal is by taking the energy that it wants to use on that healing and forcing it to use it for something else. Like handling whatever we decide to put in (translation: food). Did you know that ONE THIRD of your body's energy is used for digestion? Can you imagine if you were able to use that energy to heal instead?

The best way to enable your body to heal or detox thoroughly is by fasting. Dr. Jeff Hazim, a good friend of mine, has an excellent teaching on this. It is a free 1 hour video available at DetoxOrDie.com I highly recommend it.

But, fasting isn't always practical.

There is something else you can do, not as good, but still excellent. Eat Live Foods (raw).

Imagine your body like a furnace, needing to burn something for fuel. You put the food in, light it, it burns, you go. But it needs to be dry. It needs to be chopped up. It needs kindling, it needs to be lit, maybe lighter fluid, fanned....you get the picture. If you put in a piece of meat or even cooked whole grains, your body needs to supply the necessary help to light it.

BUT....if you put in a LIVE piece of fruit, vegetable, nut, seed, etc, it's like an all in one package. Those live enzymes contained in the live food have all you need-the starter fluid, the kindling, the lit match, everything. Your body gains without needing to spend.

Some people opt for an all raw food lifestyle. I believe this is the most healthful, but I am just not there yet. However, when I or any of my family members are not feeling well, we do eat only raw for a day or 2 or as long as we need to. It really does wonders.

Our 3 year old has been exhibiting symptoms indicating something going on in his body. We have decided that he needs to detox and are going to feed him an all raw diet for at least a few weeks. Today is day 3.

I've been looking around for raw food recipes. I came across this for granola. I am looking forward to trying this, since I always make granola for Saturday morning breakfast, and I didn't know what I was going to make this week. I'm also going to start soaking my almonds before making the milk. They are much more nutritious after they've begun the sprouting process.

I'll let you know how it goes. New challenges, new challenges. I must say I'm a little glad that I'm doing this for our little guy, because it's forcing us to all eat more live foods. Something I've known that we've needed for a while, but just haven't been finding the "extra" time needed to make that salad. So we're all benefitting.

What's something you can do this week to increase your live food consumption?

What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Coke

2010-01-07T07:22:00.008+02:00

Did you ever see the movie Innerspace with Martin Short and Dennis Quaid? It's a great classic movie. These guys get shrunk down and enter a person's body, their ship flowing along with the red blood cells. You get to see some of what goes on in there; as someone who loves learning about the human body I found it fascinating. It's also just a great flick.

Most of us don't think about what's going on in there as we go about our day to day life. But the things we do really do impact us, right away, for better or for worse.

I came across this description of what happens in your body after drinking a soda. Consider it a journey of sorts. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as humorous as the movie.

What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Coke, According to the Nutrition Research Center

In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down. (By the way, phosphoric acid steals calcium from your bones. Hello, osteoporosis)

20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

>60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

>60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Of course, now your sluggishness and irritability causes you to consider.....having another one. Sound like fun?

Then again, after watching this classic commercial from 1971, those warm fuzzy feelings you will have are very convincing. It even makes me want to have one. Who wouldn't want to join those happy folks? This is my earliest Coke memory.

And here's how far they've come...

I'm not perfect. I'm not going to pretend that I never drink soda. But not every day, or even every week. If you drink this stuff on a regular basis....well, think about it.

By the way, this is what happens with a regular, sugar-filled soda. With a sugar-free "diet" soda, there's a whole other bunch of bodily reactions to that poison. By the way, artificial sweeteners besides being poisonous, actually will cause you to eat more, usually causing you to gain weight, which defeats the probable reason you chose to drink a "diet" soda to begin with. But that's a subject for another post :0

For more great info about soda you can go here.

Should I Get The Flu Shot?

2009-12-13T11:47:00.006+02:00

The Flu Shot.

Everybody's talking about it. Should I get it? Should I give it to my children?

Vaccinations have always been a controversial topic. But this specific flu shot raises even more concerns.

Have you noticed the hype? The urgency with which you are being encouraged to get "The Shot"? Even kids are being encouraged to do so. Here's a public service announcement directed at children. Jim Henson was on board to create this fun looking ad:

A good friend of mine, Dr. Jeff Hazim, is hosting a web seminar to help you decide whether or not to get the flu shot. I always learn a great deal from him; check it out! Info is below; follow the link to register.

Should I Get the Swine Flu Shot?

Join WellWithU.com for a Webinar on December 14

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759595776

The relentless PR campaigns from the US government, the medical/ pharmaceutical industry, and the mainstream media, claim Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza virus) is an epidemic, and advocate vaccine shots as an almost mandatory social responsibility.But what you choose to inject into your body and the bodies of your children is a highly personal decision, and should be determined through significant education and forethought, and not because of news hype and psychological pressure.Like pretty much everything in life, there is more than one-side to the story, and (believe it or not) the general public is not being told everything we genuinely need to know.

Join Dr. Jeff Hazim and vaccination expert April Renée for a live 60+ minute online seminar as they separate health fact from media fiction.

This not-to-miss health information event will be webcast worldwide on Monday, December 14th, begining at 8pm ET (7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT).

Space is limited and pre-registration is mandatory.

At this webinar you will learn:

1. What is “flu” (influenza virus) and how do you get infected?

2. What is the history of Swine Flu (H1N1), and how is it different from “normal” winter colds and viruses?

3. Is Swine Flu a modern-day pandemic and how is the Center for Disease Control (CDC) getting its statistical data?

4. Are children, pregnant women, and the elderly especially at risk?

5. What are vaccines and how do they work in your body?

6. What’s in the Swine Flu vaccine that makes it different?

7. Are there any potential health risks to getting the Swine Flu vaccine?

Plus…straightforward answers to YOUR questions!

The seminar itself will last approximately one hour, followed by Q&A from the webinar audience.
Space is limited and pre-registration is mandatory.

Please sign up immediately to reserve your spot, and then forward this email to everyone you care about!

Title: “Should I Get the Swine Flu Shot?”

Date: Monday, December 14, 2009

Time: 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Cuban Black Beans

2009-11-01T08:30:00.006+02:00

I grew up in Miami, eating Cuban food. Fried plantains, guava pastries, cafe' con leche....not the healthiest things, to say the least. But mmm.

Good black beans and rice, though, is a good thing. Arroz Con Frijoles Negros, Cuban style. Healthful, a complete protein (with whole rice only, of course), and inexpensive, you can feel good about preparing this for your family.

And when you make extra beans, you can make my favorite black bean burgers with them later in the week.

This recipe comes from Three Guys From Miami. Here it is:

2 1/2 cups dried black beans
9 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled, and mashed with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
Olive oil for sautéing
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons vinegar
3/4 cup dry Spanish wine (I use Emerald Reisling. Any white wine will do.)
2 teaspoons sugar
Olive oil

Cover dry beans with water and let stand covered overnight. Drain and discard water.
Place the cleaned black beans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add water and olive oil—this will prevent the beans from foaming. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
Do not add salt to the beans when they are cooking. Salt at this stage of the game will make your beans very tough.
You may also cook the beans in a pressure cooker. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for exact times, but our pressure cooker takes about 20 to 25 minutes to cook the beans completely.
Whichever method you use, do not drain the water from the cooked beans.
Meanwhile, chop onion and green pepper. Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle.
Sauté the onions and green pepper in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté another minute or so.
Add the cooked beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.
Some cooks—including us—like to thicken the beans by taking about 1 cup of beans and mashing them to make a thick paste. Mix the mashed beans back into the pot.
Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the sugar; then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately cover the pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Serve the by now fantastically prepared black beans over white rice.
You may garnish the beans with cilantro and chopped white onions. Not only do they look good presented this way, they taste even better than they look.

Buen Provecho!

Swine Flu Cases Overestimated?

2009-10-28T05:36:00.009+02:00

I have read many people's testimonies stating that, in their area, their doctors have been told to assume that any flu-like sickness is in fact H1N1(known as "Swine Flu"). That H1N1 testing has been suspended due to high cost, and that with the cost being high, it would be a waste to do such testing since it's probably H1N1 anyway.

Something's not right about that.

Below is a clip from CBS. It's an investigative report on the number of cases being reported.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

According to the CBS News study, when you come down with chills, fever, cough, runny nose, malaise and all those other "flu-like" symptoms, the illness is likely caused by influenza at most 17 percent of the time and as little as 3 percent! The other 83 to 97 percent of the time it's caused by other viruses or bacteria.

(Image from CBS News)

Where is the CDC Getting Their Data?

Why Is the CDC Purposely Misinforming the Public?

More information on this here.

Getting Vaccines?

2009-10-06T16:42:00.001+02:00

I Come From A long Line Of Tired People

2009-09-27T04:23:00.005+02:00

That's what my Nana used to say. And it must be true; my afternoon nap has ALWAYS been sacred to me. I mean, when I was in college, I used to put a sign on my dorm room or sorority house door that said "Please Don't Knock! Kimmy needs her Beauty Sleep!" it didn't really work, the sign. People would knock anyway. Grrr.

With a new baby who doesn't yet sleep through the night and other little ones to care for, preventing me from "sleeping when the baby sleeps", I'm tired. And that's an understatement.

How much sleep do we really need? And what are the effects of chronic sleep deprivation?

I just finished reading a chapter in the book Nurture Shock called "The Missing Hour". It showed how children getting an hour less sleep a night than what they need contributes not only to crankiness in younger kids, but that the rebelliousness & moodiness in teenagers accepted by most as normal behavior is actually caused by lack of sleep. I was surprised to learn that child obesity was also found to correlate with lack of sleep, as well as lower school grades and test scores.

While the lower grades thing was not a surprise, the degree to which it is a factor was. Sleepy 6th graders performed two full grades lower. Like fourth graders. And obesity? Apparently not only from lack of exercise and poor diet.

I definitely believe that most of the crankiness and belligerence in young children comes from tiredness. Many parents stop insisting that their children nap simply because the child doesn't want to and seems to be able to stay awake all day without it. I think this is a big mistake. All of my children still take naps (even the 5 1/2 year old) except for the 6 1/2 year old, who rests on the couch with a book. And at times, we do insist that he naps when we can tell that he really needs it, if we know we'll be staying up later, like on the weekend.

As a parent, I'm interested in this stuff. I know both my 6 1/2 year old and my 3 1/2 year old are not getting enough sleep. I want them to have it, but getting that schedule exactly right is tough, especially when children share a bedroom.

If you want help figuring out whether your kid's getting enough sleep, the following might be helpful.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Sleep provides some helpful guidelines regarding just how much sleep children need at different stages in their development. Keep in mind that these numbers reflect total sleep hours in a 24-hour period. So if your son still naps, you'll need to take that into account when you add up his typical sleep hours.

Between Birth-Six Months, children need 16-20 hours

Between Six-Twelve Months, children need 14-15 hours

Between Ages 1-3, children need 10-13 hours

Between Ages 3-10, children need 10-12 hours

Between Ages 11-12, children need about 10 hours

Teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep per night

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SLEEP:

The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.
It's impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.
Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you're sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you're still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.
No one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.
Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.
Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%. (by the way, 24 minus 17=7...this means that you are walking around drunk if you get 7 or less hours of sleep.)
Diaries from the pre-electric-light Victorian era show adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets.
Approximately one-third of your life is spent sleeping, and the length and quality of your sleep directly affects your daily performance, your mood, and your entire waking life.

I apologize for the formatting problem above. I've tried to correct it but am unable and cannot spend more time on it.

I never outgrew my nap. I have a good excuse for needing one now, but I think that when the kids are grown, I'll still be enjoying an afternoon siesta. Maybe I'll enjoy it even a little bit more.

Doctor Won't Give Flu Vaccine To His Kids

2009-09-26T20:09:00.003+03:00

In the same vein of my last post-posting what I can instead of waiting till I can do more, I share this video with you. I want to do more on vaccines, more on swine flu, more, more. But, I can't right now, and I'm okay with that (yeah, right!)

Anyway, I thought this was interesting. Look for more like these to come, too.

My Hidden Talent

2009-09-24T22:44:00.006+03:00

I'm here. Typing with one hand while I feed the baby. Which is why I haven't posted anything sooner.

But the baby's still going to be one for a while, and if I wait until I have the time to type with two hands like a human, well, it's going to be a looong time.

So, this is what I can do. I've been learning to not be a perfectionist (thanks to Flylady) and to just do what I can, and not wait until things are different...

That's all for now. Expect more posts like this one.

By the way, when I was little, I used to lay on my back, on the floor with my head under the piano and reach up and over and play Mary Had A Little Lamb. My mom thought that was amazing and would ask me to show that talent off when we had company. Kids do weird things. Mine like to play with broken rubber bands. But I digress.

What can you do today that you haven't done because you've been waiting until the "right time"?

Amazing Black Bean Burgers

2009-09-17T18:15:00.004+03:00

I found this recipe the other day when browsing for something new to make out of beans, and it looked really good. I made it last night, and WOW. It was so delicious, we were amazed. And we are burger people (I mean the kind with meat), so we know of what we speak.

I changed it slightly to suit us, omitting chili paste and adding more oats to thicken them so they would hold their shape better.

We added cilantro mayonnaise, (also delicious), as recommended, as well as the standard lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a slice of melted cheese.

There was one left over, and I snatched it up for lunch today and took this picture. YUM.

Amazing Black Bean Burgers
4 burgers, serves 4

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 cups black beans, cooked (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons veg. oil

Directions
1)Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium heat.
2)Add the red onion and garlic to the pan and saute until softened, about 8 minutes and then set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3)Combine beans, egg, oats, onion, mixture, chili paste, salt, pepper and cilantro and thoroughly mix and mash until pretty homogeneous, leaving a few whole beans.
4)Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape into patties.
5)Refrigerate patties for half an hour. (This step is not completely necessary but I find it helps hold the burgers together while cooking.).
6)Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
7)Place burgers carefully into the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan.
8)After 5-6 minutes, flip and cook another 5 minutes. They should feel firm to the touch when finished.

Note: To freeze for later use, after shaping flash freeze and then wrap in plastic wrap. Place wrapped burgers into freezer bag and squeeze out excess air. To cook from frozen, simply heat frozen burgers over medium-high heat on the stove-top, cooking until done.

Cilantro Mayonnaise
Ingredients
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaf
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used lemon)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 garlic clove

Directions
1)Put all ingredients in a blender.
2)Blend until smooth.
3)Store in the refrigerator

Is Wonderbread Making You Sterile? Part 2

2009-09-11T06:31:00.009+03:00

ENRICHMENT OF FLOUR
In the 1940s, a flour enrichment program was instituted to compensate for wartime shortages of other foods. However, in the 'enriched' flour only the B vitamins - thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin - and the mineral, iron, were added. Flour 'Enrichment' implies a loss of nutrients and should not be equated with wholesomeness. For approximately 20 nutrients, there is an average loss of 70-80% in refined and enriched flour. When you eat this, you are placing your body at a disadvantage, casting a burden on the rest of the diet.

Prosser, WA. An old grain mill downtown near Twin City Foods

ADULTERATION OF FLOUR
Flour manufacturers want to make as much money as possible. For example, removing the germ not only prevents flour spoilage, it generates profits when sold to millfeed producers and pharmaceutical companies.
For centuries, bakers have known that 'good quality' baked goods could not be made with freshly milled flour, because the dough lacks strength and resilience to trap gas. Until the 20th century it was common practice of storing flour for months to allow oxygen to condition it.

However, as well as storage costs, spoilage and insects caused losses. Chemical oxidizing agents or bleaches were developed to produce the same aging effects in 24-48 hours. They cause one of two effects: oxidation of the gluten to help with rising, and bleaching of the yellowish carotene pigments which could have been sources of vitamin A.

Bleaching agents did not come into use without opposition. Harvey W. Wiley, Chief of the FDA early this century, won a Supreme Court decision outlawing bleaches, but he was forced out of the FDA, and the Supreme Court order was bypassed. The approval of chlorine dioxide as a bleaching agent was also protested by U.S. Army nutrition experts.

Today, in both Canada and the US, the addition of numerous chemicals to white, whole wheat, and rye flours is permitted. These include chlorine, chlorine dioxide, benzoyl peroxide, potassium bromate, ammonium persulfate, ammonium chloride, acetone peroxide, azodicarbonamide, ascorbic acid, l-cysteine, mono-calcium phosphate. Regulations also specify the acceptable levels. In many European countries the use of additives is almost completely prohibited. In Germany, for instance, chemical oxidizing agents were banned in 1958.

Nitrogen bichloride was one of the earliest bleaching agents. After 40 years of use, it was finally found to cause canine hysteria, and was outlawed. The currently most common bleaching agent is benzoyl peroxide. It must be neutralized by adding such substances as: calcium carbonate (chalk!), calcium sulphate, dicalcium phosphate, magnesium carbonate, potassium aluminum sulphate, sodium aluminum sulphate, starch, and tricalcium phosphate.

The most common maturing agent in use is potasssium bromate, and it is added with carriers such as calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, or magnesium carbonate.

In addition to the chemicals permitted to be added to flour, many more are permitted to be added to bread before baking. Chemicals likely to be found in breads include: lecithin, mono- and di- glycerides, carragheenan, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, dicalcium sulfate, ammonium chloride, potassium bromate, calcium bromate, potassium iodate, calcium peroxide, azodicarbonamide, tricalcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium propionate, sodium propionate, sodium diacetate, lactic acid, calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate, lactylic stearate, sodium stearyl fumarate, succinylated monoglycerides, ethoxylated mono- and all-glycerides.

In Germany, propionic acid, sodium propionate, calcium propionate, and potassium propionate have been banned as preservatives since March 1988. This was in response to earlier experiments which found that rats fed these substances developed tumors.

In addition to all of this, grains may be irradiated to help prevent spoilage and bugs. This also affects the nutrients, and not in a good way.

Have you read enough? I know I'm tired from typing (or even copying and pasting) all those chemical names. They certainly should have no place in our diets!

So, you say, you don't eat white bread, so you don't need to worry about hurting your body by eating all those chemicals? Well....

Stay tuned for part 3, where I tell you what can happen even from "whole wheat" bread and flour.

Most of the information presented in these posts came from Nutritional Characteristics of Organic, Freshly Stone-Ground, Sourdough & Conventional Breads by Judy Campbell, B.Sc., Mechtild Hauser, and Stuart Hill, B.Sc., Ph.D., P.Ag.

Is Wonderbread Making You Sterile? Part 1

2009-09-10T11:49:00.013+03:00

I LOVE bread with butter; I think I could eat it all day long. When I became more health conscious, I switched to whole wheat, like most of you probably have. But most people don't really think about the potential nutritional value of bread which makes up a major part of their diet.

How much bread do you eat? I bet more than you think. We have 5 children. All but the new baby eat sandwiches for lunch almost every day. Add one for me most days, and that's TEN SLICES OF BREAD each week per person, and that's just for lunches. On Shabbat we enjoy a sweet Challah loaf (or two), and we eat bread with a dinner meal at least 2 or 3 times a week. That's a LOT of bread.

Are all whole wheat breads the same? Is the whole wheat flour you buy at the store really better for you than the white flour? Why would anyone be crazy enough to spend the time and effort to grind his own flour? I'm going to answer questions like these and more, and you will likely be very surprised at what you learn. I know I was. (Hint: see the title)

A Little About Wheat
The kernel of wheat is composed of the outer bran layer, the germ, and the endosperm. It is rich in nutrients, many of which are concentrated in the bran and germ. It contains the entire B complex, except for vitamin B12.

Wheat germ has a very high content of vitamin E. Vitamin E increases the good HDL cholesterol. Animal studies have also shown that vitamin E protects against free radicals released by the body when it is exposed to toxic chemicals.

During the milling process, steel rollers crush the grain, and the flour separated by sifters. The bran and germ are totally removed in this process. They are used in the production of animal feeds and by pharmaceutical laboratories for making diet supplements.

Whole wheat flour is produced by recombining ground bran with endosperm flour, but the germ is usually left out, because it would go rancid.

In the next post I'll describe what gets done to the flour, after all the nutritious parts are removed, before you either buy it at the store to bring home, or it gets baked into bread that you buy. Stay tuned!

Most of the information presented in these posts came from Nutritional Characteristics of Organic, Freshly Stone-Ground, Sourdough & Conventional Breads by Judy Campbell, B.Sc., Mechtild Hauser, and Stuart Hill, B.Sc., Ph.D., P.Ag.

"No Shots, No School!" - Not True! (On Vaccine Exemptions)

2009-09-01T19:59:00.006+03:00

Have you ever been told that your children will not be allowed to attend school without being up to date on their vaccinations? If not, where have you been? That scare tactic has been used for so many years, it's amazing that it's survived for one simple fact: IT'S NOT TRUE.

Megan at SortaCrunchy posted this a couple of days ago, and the information is exactly what I'd like to share with you, so please
click here to read her post: http://bit.ly/2lSNl

Then come on back here to leave your comments; this can be an interesting discussion!

The First Day...

2009-09-01T12:28:00.004+03:00

Yesterday I lost it. More than once.

The newborn wouldn't wake up and really eat when she was supposed to, so then she dragged on and fussed/wanted to keep eating when I needed to cook to have dinner on time so that we could have bedtime on time the night before the first day of school. Then she fell asleep and never really finished eating, so my boob felt like it was going to explode. But I couldn't stop and go pump because I had dinner cooking on the stove and a toddler who needed a new diaper very badly. The 5 and 3 year olds who were supposed to be clearing and setting the table were running around chasing each other as the dogs were barking and my husband was recording a video and needed QUIET in the house.

Oh, and this was only ONE of the times I lost it.

But the good news is: Today is the First Day of the Rest Of My Life.

I am a homeschooler at heart, and hope to homeschool in the future, probably starting next year. But for now, for various reasons, we have decided to send the boys to school. And boy, am I glad!

I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm still exhausted, I still have more to do than I know how to fit in. But, its so nice and quiet here! I can think! There's a calm in the house that I haven't noticed in a looong time.

Aaahh.

The Poop on Cloth Diapers (part 2)

2009-08-31T16:58:00.002+03:00

The Poop on Cloth Diapers (part 2)

I used to think that disposable diapers were the only way to go….

In my previous post, I started giving the reasons why we switched to cloth diapers a few years ago. In this post I’ll cover the environmental and money-saving benefits of cloth diapers over disposables, as well as discuss basic cloth diaper care.

Except for very limited uses, we’ll never go back to disposables!

Cost To The Environment
(from an article by the Sustainability Institute; entire article here: http://bit.ly/KIuk2)

..."18 BILLION disposable diapers are used in th US each year. Each one has an outer layer of waterproof polypropylene and an inner layer of fluff made from wood pulp plus super-slurper sodium polyacrylate that can hold a hundred times its weight in water.

Those 18 billion diapers add up to 82,000 tons of plastic a year and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp -- 250,000 trees. After a few hours of active service these materials are trucked away, primarily to landfills, where they sit, neatly wrapped packages of excrement, entombed undegraded for several hundred years. "...

Cost To Our Pockets

“Disposable diapers” was absolutely the highest on-going expense we had with our first two babies. Consider this:

Your baby will use about 6500 to 7000 diapers from birth to 30 months.

Most parents seem to spend an average cost of $50-$80/month for Huggies® or Pampers® OUCH!!! That would come to $1500-$2400 over a 30 month period, more if you diaper longer -- and there are reports that show cloth diaper babies often potty-train up to a year earlier than those who wear disposables.

Now….I've been using Mother-Ease One Size diapers since March of 2006, and (full disclosue) we will soon be offering them for sale here on my blog. The same diapers fit my newborn all the way to my toddler. It only takes 4-6 months to completely recoup our family's initial costs. After that, we're essentially diapering for FREE. The laundering costs are minimal in both time and money.

By choosing cloth diapers over disposables, you will save thousands of dollars on each child!

Especially in these difficult economic times, who doesn't want that? Let’s face it, who doesn’t NEED that?!

Caring for Cloth Diapers
Caring for the diapers is quite simple: just rinse poop into toilet (NOTE: we have a sprayer attached to our toilet that makes this easy; in the US where it's not as simple to connect this, I think most folks dunk&flush) & place diapers in a covered pail with water and some vinegar (neutralizes odors). When ready to wash, empty the soak water into toilet, do a prewash or rinse cycle, and then a full cycle in hot water with detergent. Dry. That's it! We wash diapers every night before we go to bed. Our older children (even the toddler who still wears one at nighttime) know how to fold them and put them away. It's as simple as that!

I love knowing that my babies are touching comfy soft cloth and not toxic chemical-filled plasticky-feeling stuff. I love knowing I'm doing our part to keep disposable diapers out of landfills, and I LOVE the amount of money we have and continue to save!

(There’s a lot more to say regarding using cloth diapers vs disposables -- including the benefits of natural fibers, tips for making the care of cloth diapers even easier, and the scientific links of disposable diapers to asthma and male infertility. I will cover these issues in future posts.)

The Poop on Cloth Diapers (part 1)

2009-08-27T16:51:00.012+03:00

The Poop on Cloth Diapers (part 1)

With a new baby in the house, of course we are changing a lot more diapers -- and even with five children under the age of seven, with two in diapers full-time, I’ve been reminded why I love using cloth instead of disposables.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my environmentally-conscious husband approached me to consider using cloth diapers. I didn't know anyone who used them, and didn't know that "modern" cloth diapers had been designed. I was too overwhelmed with all that would come with being a first time mom and never looked into it. When my second son was born only 11 months after my first, I was once again too overwhelmed. Not until my third did I dare to enter what I was sure would be a complicated world...only to find that it wasn't! I wish I'd started using them sooner.

The cloth diapers I use really are simple (ours have built in snaps to accommodate all sizes, so there is no pinning) and don't take much time at all to rinse and wash. I love that I never need to worry about running out of diapers, like I used to with disposables.

The way I see it, there are 3 main reasons to choose to cloth diapers over disposables:

1. To avoid the toxins (and their negative effects on health) in disposable diapers

2. To reduce environmental waste

3. To save a bunch of money

In doing research for this post, I discovered that the many costs of disposable diapers were more than I realized:

Costs To Our Childrens’ Health
from an article on The Diaper Hyena; entire article here

SODIUM POLYACRYLATE - This is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powdered form becomes wet, it turns into a gel.

Can absorb up to 100X its weight in water.
Can stick to baby's genitals, causing allergic reactions.
Reported to cause severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies.
When injected into rats it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
Banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Has killed children after ingesting as little as 5 grams of it.
Causes female organ problems, slows healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss to the employees in factories that manufacture it.

DIOXIN - This is the chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of diapers.

Carcinogenic (cancer-causing chemical)
The EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer-linked chemicals.
In small quantities it causes birth defects, skin/liver disease, immune system suppression & genetic damage in lab animals.
Banned in most countries, but not the United States.

If we really care about our babies’ health, isn’t this information alone enough to make natural-fiber cloth diapers the right choice?

(In my next post, I’ll cover the environmental and money-saving benefits of cloth diapers over disposables, as well as discuss basic cloth diaper care.)