November Scripture

1 Corinthians 3: 16 &17
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwellth in you?...for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

I love this comparison of our bodies to temples of God.
I want this to be at the fore front of my mind.
Especially with the holiday season approaching. I want to remember that my body is sacred and holy. It doesn't need to indulge in and eat an OVER abundance of food. Every time i make that choice i no longer feel the spirit. I feel sluggish, slow, and a lot of guilt.
I have been interested in learning about better eating. I am following two blogs about healthy eating.
100 Days of Real Food
Weed 'em and Reap
Both emphasize cutting out processed foods and focusing on the REAL stuff.
Like: fruits vegetables dairy cheese and quality meat
They share recipes, their research, and the why's of eating this way.
Ultimately, it just makes sense.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I live the Word of Wisdom. It has a list of things not to ingest, which are, alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, and anything harmful to our bodies like drugs. It has been an easy thing for me to live. But i am ready to step it up a notch and focus on the list of do's, which are, fruit and vegetables in their season, grains, meat sparingly.
I want to make eating this way my new normal.
I have been slowly making changes in what i buy at the store.
I am already feeling changes in the way i feel.
The more i eat better, the more i don't care about that other stuff i thought was so great.
I also feel more satisfaction in making meals.
I made Charlie's birthday cake from scratch. And this morning for breakfast i made these great muffins. (Its a vegan recipe, i am not vegan, i didn't follow this recipe exactly, i put in my own substitutes and it still turned out great! Don't be confused by the link, Homemade by Blaire. It's a different Blaire. She shares great stuff though.)
As a mother and wife i feel a big responsibility to feed my family food that will be a strength to their bodies.
So this is my newest journey and so far it's awesome! 

Can you say cracker?

My brain is a little fried right now. I don't know why i do it. I know that whenever i do, i feel like i don't know how to be a mom. Yes, i have been reading another parenting book. Its not all bad, i got a few things from it that i want to implement. I just don't like how these books make you feel like, "its my way or the highway". If you don't do it there way, your child is going to have no self-control and run crazy!

 So I read the book wanting a few suggestions or tips that would be helpful but now i am a bit overwhelmed with everything it says to do, which by the way,  i will not be doing! I will do what i like and leave the rest. Anyway, that's not what i wanted to post about. I just needed to vent. 

On a much happier note: Charlie is growing up! He has started eating crackers. Its my new favorite thing. I break the graham crackers up into little pieces set them on his high chair table and watch him go for it. I just love observing him. He is figuring life out one little piece at a time. Its pretty sweet to witness.

I am trying to brainstorm what new thing i should try next. 

Spoonfuls of Squash

I have been trying to start Charlie on solids with many failed attempts. I gave him squash yesterday and he went to town. I thought "alright he's ready to eat!" Then today I added rice cereal to the squash. He didn't want anything to do with it. For dinner I gave him plain squash again... That's what he likes. Plain squash. I have now learned that he doesn't like rice cereal.

I plan to make my own baby food. I made a few batches. I have some pears, bananas, and green beans in the freezer. Charlie totally rejected the green beans. I haven't tried any fruit yet. I was told to introduce veggies before fruit.

I bought a few jars of baby food. Since i did and had success its tempting me now to just buy. But I know I would save $$ if I make it myself. Maybe I will do both.

Bountiful Basket

Every Saturday morning Andy and/or I go pick up our Bountiful Basket that is if i remembered to order it the previous Monday. The basket's go fast. I once forgot to order Monday and tried Tuesday but they were gone. A Bountiful Basket costs $16.50 (includes tax). You get 2 baskets full of fruits and veggies! You of coarse have to bring your own basket to fill and leave their baskets at the pick up. I will tell you the many reason's why i love being a part of Bountiful Baskets.

1. i save $$

2. i get fruits and veggies i would otherwise probably not purchase

3. i eat much healthier

4. it helps me to make new recipes like: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

5. i have more energy 

6. i now can start pureeing the fruits and veggies for Charlie

7. We have plenty of produce for a week

8. i have less to get at the grocery store

9. Fresh fruit is so yummy

10. i am learning to eat more veggies

This is an example of a yummy lunch i had the other day. A tomato sandwich, leftovers from previous dinners, yams, and Brussels sprouts. 

Apple and Leaf Lift Off

This morning after getting up we were in a juice mood. Especially because we now had fresh fruits in our house. In my juice book, we got the recipe for Apple and Leaf lift off. We didn't have limes or watercress but i knew it would still turn out good. We used green apples, green grapes, and cilantro (which was my favorite part). The book said that this mix was good for your skin, kidney, and liver (good thing because lately i have developed a nasty rash). We had so much fun juicing together and drinking some down. I feel great! It was a good start to our Saturday.

Don't forget the mess in the end!

We can't believe how much pulp is left behind.
We want to find a good use for all the pulp.
Andy is very creative and so far has thought we
could make candles, put in in pancakes, bread, etc.
I'm not so sure but hopefully we can figure something
out so we don't get too wasteful. 

                                              

Juice is Good

      

Ever since my throat thing i have had the desire to drink more juice. Natural juice. Real fruit and veggies you buy from the grocery store that you can turn into juice.


 We received a very generous gift from a friend for our wedding. She said "if you don't need it go get something thats more useful for you." So we did.
We exchanged the gift for some fancy juicer. Earlier i had bought a juice book that has everything you need to know about juicing. I love it! Tonight was our trial period to see how the juicer did. It went perfect. We juiced 6 apples 8 carrots and a little bit of ginger. Mixed it all together and WOW it was so delicious! Eating my fruits and vegetables will be no problem now. We plan to go through all sorts of different juices so we will keep this updated with the newest and greatest juices.



I don't know how often people drink real juice but it is so different from the stuff you buy in the stores. I couldn't get enough of the juice we made tonight. I could feel it run through my whole body, i have never felt so nourished. I want to say tonight...i am grateful for juice. I am grateful for cool machines that can take an apple and turn it into a glass of juice. I am grateful for trees and plants and the ground where all these wonderful things can grow! Go Juice