Food Count- last 24 hrs

I found some old food counts on here.... thought I randomly start some again. The changes will be interesting to compare.

9pm- 3 zucchini brownies (vegan, whole wheat) with PB topping
7pm- 1 coconut bliss ice cream cone (sugar cone)
6pm- banana, 2 PB and J sandwiches, grapes
5pm- (in car) nuts and dried fruit
12pm- big salad with apples, carrots, greens, peas, some walnuts.
8:30 am- bowl of berries and peaches with almond milk and 1/2 C granola on top.

Totals:
Brights Fruits- 3 cups
Leafy Greens- 3 cups
Other veggies- 3 cups
Refined foods- some 1/2 wheat bread, cooked nuts (rather then preferred raw), fake ice cream and cone, touch of refined sugars in brownies.

Greens- yes
Beans- missing
Onions- only a little in salad
Mushroom- none- I should go eat one right now
Berries- yes
Seeds- yes

1 point for each cup of F and V.
1 point for each g-bomb filled.
-1 point for each serving of refined foods.
3 points for serious exercise.

Total today:  11.5

What to eat when you are starving, but have no room for anything

I have read a lot of different opinions on what to eat when you are expecting, only the authors always seem to forget the last few weeks of pregnancy.

An article on that should be entitled "What to eat when you are starving, but have no room for anything."

I feel like that this morning. Baby is sitting in my ribs (but hasn't vacated my abdomen either). She is getting bigger and wanting to lay down the last layers of fat on her before she is born. However, I have been luckily to eat more then 1 peach at a time.

This also means that I can't bend over or take in enough oxygen to completely satisfy my system.

I have been convinced that babies neither know or care what discomforts they make you endure. A parents only satisfaction in that is hoping they become a grandparent someday and their kids learn first hand what troubles they caused just by being a baby.

Of course, I am not saying it's not worth the effort. The greatest joys in life (and the greatest sorrows) come from watching the antics of your little ones as you raise them and see them grow into real men and women. And then you are so proud of them. And when you stop to think about it, you are often proud of yourself, that you somehow managed to let them/ help them survive long enough to make it to adult hood.

I am the mother of 7. The things that made my scream and rant when my first couple were 2 year olds now make me giggle with my 6th being 2. Baby and toddler-hood gets a lot easier with experience. The oldest, braving new worlds of high school- freedom-experience- driving and other things are the ones that still cause stress. It is new territory for us. We have never parented through those phases before.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand... feeding yourself and baby when there is no room to eat. I just opened the fridge, looked at the fruit, veggies, hummus and meats. It all sounds nauseating, even though I am hungry. Maybe I will try some ice cream (vegan).

Vegan Rhubarb Pumpkin Bars

ok- Here is an Idea my pregnant tastebuds wanted that actually turned out really well. 10 minutes out of the oven and it is gone. Not bad considering when I mentioned the idea to my family they all looked at me as if I was crazy. (which I am, but that's another post).

VEGAN RHUBARB PUMPKIN BARS

Mix:
2 cups whole wheat flour (fresh ground is best)
cinnamon (to taste)
nutmeg (to taste)
ginger (to taste)
cloves (to taste)
Baking soda 1 tsp
Baking powder 2 tsp
dash of salt

Then add:
1/2 c ground flax
3/4 cup water
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 cup natural applesauce
2 mushed ripe bananas

Now add:
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1/4 cup maple syrup

Mix and pour into greased pan. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 until done _ about 30 minutes.

Awesome with dairy free cream cheese style frosting.

Smoothy Tutorial

To make a good "blended salad" type smoothy I recommend this basic recipe.

Basic Smoothy 
For 1 person:
1/2 banana
handful of greens (spinach is sweeter, kale requires more sweetness to compensate, other fresh greens are doable too) put in according to your taste
1 cup of frozen fruits
fill to top of fruits with water

blend and blend until very smooth

I often throw in fresh fruits that need to be used then cut down slightly on the frozen fruits. Strawberries, bananas and pineapple are some of the sweetest fruits. If you are not using frozen fruits you will need ice cubes to blend up with it.


Blueberry Smoothy

1 whole banana
lots of greens
blueberries to fill line
water to fill line

blend, blend, blend


Chocolate Smoothy- a real treat- enough for 2 or 3 people

5 oz baby spinach
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1 banana
2-4 dates (pitted)
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 Tbs ground  flax seeds

blend, blend, blend

 Very Green Smoothy

1 bunch kale (rinsed and stripped)
4 stalk celery
1 cucumber
2 granny smith apples (sliced and cored)
1/2 lemon
some ginger root

Zucchini Brownies

Sorry I have no pictures- these never last long enough for that.

They are perfect to make with the large garden zucchinis- often called "Mega-Zukes."

Bake 350, until you consider them done.

Mix:
1/2 cup applesauce (today I used mashed squash) or 2 ripe bananas or oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
fat dash of cinnamon
1/2 c baking cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

then add:
about 3 cups of shredded zucchini (if it has large seeds, I would seed it first. I learned that one the hard way ;P)
2 cups whole wheat flour
and all the chocolate chips and nuts you want

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake.

I usually top it with a Tofu Frosting

Blend until smooth- I mean really smooth. Keep blending:
1 package (12 oz?) silken tofu
1/2 c baking cocoa
dash of cinnamon
dash of vanilla
maple syrup- to your sweetness preference- feel free to taste several times while adjusting quantities
1/2 cup nut butter of your choice (cashew is really decadent)

Food count

It's been a awhile, and I have worked hard to change my diet to be more in line with nutritionists. The basic idea is that fruits and veggies and beans are the best things to eat- followed by fruit and nuts. My goal is about 9 cups of fruits and veggies a day.

Breakfast- 8:30- blended salad (spinach and berries, mostly)- about 2.5 cups

Lunch- 2 pm- 1/2 a pbj on whole wheat (Roo got the rest)
                     - coleslaw (slimed with ground nuts sauce)- about 2 cups
                     - mushroom, tomato, onions and greens on Ezekiel bread- about 1.5 cups of veggies

Dinner- about 6 pm-  coleslaw- about 2 cups
                                - leafy green salad- about 2 cups
                                - refried beans on whole wheat tortillas- 2 of them
                                - almond milk- 1.5 cups


Snack about 8:30- oatmeal and peanut butter mixed with a splash of maple syrup- about 1/4 cup (Roo got the rest)

Totals:
fruits and veggies- 10 cups
beans- 2 cups
whole grains- 5-6 servings
nuts- some

2 desserts- 1 bake time

Blue Berry Pie

is simple.

Make a crust:

Crumble 4 cups of whole wheat flour , 2 tsp salt in with 1/2 cup palm oil. Add cold water and fork it till it sticks. Take out parts that do stick together and add more water and for more...ect until all used up. Roll out with lots of flour- put in pan.

Pour in blueberries ( I used frozen) until slightly mounded. Drizzle with maple syrup and corn starch. Add top crust- pinch together and bake at 450 for 30 minutes, and then 350 for another 30 minutes.

With left over dough- cut circles, put into muffin tin to form little tart-let shells. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool- these shells can hang around for days until you are ready to use them.

Vegan Banana Cream Tart-lets

are also easy.

Blend:
2 bananas
1 12oz package of tofu (drained)
1/2 cup of cashew butter- raw is best
shake of salt (if cashew butter is unsalted)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil


Drop these by spoonfuls into tart-let shells.

Melt :
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 Tbs palm oil

Plop by spoonfuls on top of banana cream and let set a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Raw Carrot Cake

Worth Making, and worth eating- even in hot weather :)

This recipe is stolen from adapted from Forks over Knives. I also highly recommend the movie.
It makes a good desert and a complete meal if served over green or after beans.

Raw Carrot Cake

soak: 2 cups raisins in water until plump (if you are impatient you can soak while you grind the carrots and nuts, then add in the raisins and some raisin water.)
Shred/grind: 4-5 carrots, 4 cups walnuts- and then the raisins.

Add to ground stuff:
1 cup shredded coconut
2 TBS tahini
Splash of Maple Syrup
2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon (to your taste)
nutmeg
allspice or cloves

Mix well then press into a spray oiled pan- wet hands work well to press it. Chill it while you make the frosting.

Frosting:
1 c cashew butter
fat squeeze of lemon juice (1-2 fresh lemon juice if you are a raw purist)
1/4 maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c water- enough to blend to the consistency you like.

I used a hand blender to mix this together.

Put frosting on the cake and be light handed while serving or cake will happily fall apart (but it's still yummy).

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

3 c flours (fresh ground whole wheat preferred)
3/4 c cocoa
2/3 c oil
2 c real maple syrup
1.5 c  almond milk (or any other milk or even water)
2 avocados peeled and pitted
2 tsp vanilla

I put the flour in the bowl, dig a little well, pour in the cocoa and oil (and always add a dash of cinnamon) mix the oil and cocoa- add in the vanilla and maple syrup- then the milk and avocado. Then I take my hand blender and blend until is is all smooth and creamy.

I pour it into a pan or lined muffin tins and bake at 350 until done (about 20 min).

Peanut Butter Frosting

mix well:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 c milk
up to 1/2 c maple syrup (I use what ever is left in the bottle)
touch of vanilla

and then blend it until smooth- adjusting milk until I get the consistency I want.

wow- engery

It has been about a year since I started my allergy diet. Relief from all those digestive issues - many that have bothered me most of my life) is awesome- but this January I saw a Ted Talk about Feeding your Mitochondria- and we implemented that diet into our lives- and it is awesome!!

It has now been 4 months of 100% fruit (heavy on the berries) smoothies for breakfast, lots of lunches of green salad and dinners of stir fry veggies or veggies bakes or even more varieties of salads. Every day I try to take in about 9 cups of fruits and veggies a day and I have so much more energy then I used to. I can run all day and not be weary and walk all day and not feel faint.

Besides eating lots and lots of fruits and veggies, we also have whole grains, beans, nuts, sea weeds (like sushi wraps) and some grass fed meats (usually just once a week). Nothing that is real food and that you are not allergic to is off limits as long as you have the 9 cups of the fruits and veggies. 3 cups of these should be bright and colorful like berries and carrots and oranges. 3 cups of these should be leafy greens (think a dinner plate full) like lettuces and kale and chard (I measure before cooking). And 3 cups should be sulfur veggies- things like mushrooms, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and the like. I have learned I don't have to be too picky how much of what veggies I get as long as I eat enough overall and have a decent variety.

So- back to energy.... today I got up at 10- went grocery shopping, did recycling, made sushi for lunch, home-schooled my kids, watered the plants in my green house, lots of laundry, walked with my kids to grandmas and back, scrubbed the fridge, planned our educational field trip to the cities next month, swept the floor, picked up my kid from golf, made an awesome dinner, cleaned up, bought household supplies, built a raised garden tower for strawberries, .... I have been running for about 12 hours and am still looking for good and interesting things to do.

This kind of energy has been going on for a few weeks and I love it- I have seen it build and look forward to one awesome summer!

Yum- Stuffed Mushrooms- Yum

For dinner tonight we had stuffed mushrooms- Vegan or Vegetarian (depending on if you add cheese)

We took the left over brown rice, lentil and onions and added kale stir fried in toasted sesame seed oil then stuffed the bottoms of some big portabella mushrooms. These we put in a pan in which we oiled, salted and peppered the bottom. On top of the mushrooms I either drizzled some more toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds or put a slice of swiss or provolone cheese. Then I baked them for about 45 min at 350.

We served this with a strawberry walnut salad (toasted walnuts). And when I got near the end of my plate with the salad and stuffing all mixed together- that was good too.

9 cups o' veggies cake

It's March and that means it is time for carrot cake. Only this year it's vegan.

mix:
4 cups of freshly ground whole wheat flour
2 fat TBS cinnamon
dash of cloves, nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup ground flax seeds

add:
1.5 cups water
2 cups pumpkin
3 Tbs oil
2 Tbs vinager

Add:
4-5 cups of shredded carrots
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 can drained pineapple chunks or tidbbits

put into greased pan- bake 350 for 1 hour.

Frosting:

whip 1 cup almond milk with 3 Tbs white flour- heat and stir until thick as brownie batter. Cool Completely. When cool add 1 Tbs vanilla.

Whip (like 5 minutes in the blender on high) 1 cup vegan butter and 1 cup white sugar.

Combine the cool flour mix with the whipped sugar and whip for another 10 minutes or so.

Frost cooled cake (or if you are like us and can't wait: spoon frosting on the warm cake pieces individually as you are serving). Frosting will melt and loose it's amazing fluffyness. So eat your cake quickly before that happens :)

Simple Vegan Coffee Cake

4 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 c ground flax seeds
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs baking soda
1/2 c water
2 cups almond milk
2/3 cup oil

1/2 c sugar
2/3 cup toasted pecans
4 Tbs cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients together (in first group), then add in wet ingredients. Pout into sprayed cake pan. Mix the second group together. Pour on top of batter- marble in.

Bake 350 for 25-30 min.

Birthday Cake Time

Roo's allergic to chocolate, I have allergies to eggs and milk, Clay can't do apples..... what kind of cake to make?

Buttery Coconut Pecan Cake (vegan)

mix:
3 cups whole wheat flour1
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup of ground flax seeds
1 heaping teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
cinnamon to taste

add:
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup palm oil (organic shortening)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon vanilla

mix until fluffy and creamy.
Then add:
2 cups flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Cool before frosting.

Frosting:
1/3 cup palm oil
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tablespoons vanilla
Cinnamon and cloves to taste (also adds color)
whip until creamy.
Then add:
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 cup flaked coconut


Worked so awesome no ice cream needed.

yesterday

Yesterday was a beautiful day!

All week we have lived in a steam oven. ... yesterday was technically the hottest, but the humidity was down at only 50% (vs the 98% we've had for a week). And the sky was blue and clear the the lake water so warm and there was a wonderful breeze, so we cooked hotdogs over a campfire for dinner, and the mix of baked beans, saurkraut and onions was so tasty, I had to make it 3 times. And the marshmallows where so golden brown and complete goo all the way through. It was awesome.!

And I slept hard last night, it was so nice and cool, and then slept hard all morning.

New allergies, new fun

I seem to have developed some food allergies recently. Most noticeably to dairy- any and all traces of dairy. So much as a kid who had eaten buttered popcorn to touch my arm will cause a burning rash, and butter powder on chips will cause my lips to burn all day.

Fun..... since dairy parts and proteins are hidden across a wide swath of food products.

I am currently on an elimination diet- to eliminate many potential allergens.... which means I can eat some fruits, veggies and a few weirdish grains. After looking high and low for foods I can eat... home seems to be about the only place they are served. Since I am currently off of wheat, soy, corn, potatoes, tomato, citrus and peanuts, pork, beef, shell fish, mushrooms, peppers and refined sugars of all sorts. Plus dairy.

This diet is to continue for about 2 weeks until my body behaves all happy like- then I can try 1 potential allergen at a time- for about 3 days. If I have no reactions then I can include it in my diet. I have been debating what I want to try first- wheat, corn or soy? Those are definitely the first to try to include again to gain any sort of normal eating patterns.

Why am I doing this?

Well- for about the last month I have endured constant gas- bloating, farting, burping - up to 60 times per hour (or more). And a rash started developing on my upper arms. After doing research on gas and rashes I realized that symptoms I have been having, including constant runs, heartburn and other stuff all seemed to point to hidden food allergies. So I am now teasing out what those are... after I keep a record of everything I eat and how I react... I plan to get allergy tested and see of the 2 correlate at all- but digestive allergies don't always show accurately on typical allergy tests. There are often false negatives and false positives.

Food Count 2

The last 24 hours I've eaten: (reverse order)

11 am 1/2cup bbq potato chips
7am 1 banana, 2 oz chicken
11 pm 1 cup yogurt
1/2 c corn chips, 1/2 c milk
7pm 2 slices garlic bread
2 ww buns
6 oz chicken
carrot sticks
grapes
6pm 6 sugar waffers
2pm 1 cup icecream
4 pm 2 scrambled eggs with cheese, ww bagel with jelly, apple
12pm baked potato with chili and saurkraut and cheese

Total Servings:
Fruits and Veggies: 7
Protein: 5
Calcium: 4
Whole Grains: 5 (yes the corn chips are wholegrain)
fats: 7
Refined Sugars: 2

food count

I am just curious what I am eating in a day. So I will track the last 24 hours.

yesterday 7:30 pm - 6oz steak, 1/2cup green beans, 1/2 baked potato, 2 cups salad, 1 roll.
8pm- oatmeal cookie
10pm - more green beans, potaotes
12 am- 1 cup yogurt
3 am- oatmeal cookies with peanut butter on it
7am- banana, cookie, yogurt
12pm- sandwich, ham and cheese on whole wheat, grapefruit, salad
2pm- ham and cheese with out bread, 1/2 cup walnuts
4pm- 1/2 potato, few bites of steak
5:30 pm- 1 cup Brussels sprouts, 1 cup brown rice, 2 cups stir fry
6:30 pm- 1 cup yogurt.

so how many serving of what?
protiens: 7-8 servings
calcium: 4 servings
fruits and veggies: 10-11
grains: 8-9
high fats: 4

So what does it mean when I am too wiped to play the stupid computer game that I usually play when I am too tired to do anything else?

It means the kids are out of school for the summer. If one would dare to call this weather in any way summery.

I had 5 boys here today. The promise of a cousin to play with gave Galen motivation to go to school these last few days (thanks for letting us borrow him).

Well Galen come home hungry, we were expected this. He wanted to make an omelet, so I told him he could use up to 6 eggs. This is did, and there were extra eggs made up so I cooked those for his brothers.

After I cleaned up the kitchen and wiped everything down, Ian got it into his head that he was going to cook an egg. He left his egg completely unattended while he watched Ethan and Ewan play chess. My omlet pan is now black.

By the time Mike smelled smoke, I was cleaning the bathroom, not even imagining anybody would be doing their thing in the kitchen......

And my garden isn't making it in this weather, which kinda bums me, because I told my baby she can't come until after the garden is all in.

Sunday

Sunday is a day set aside from the world. So I try not to do worldly things on Sunday. I try not to spend money and not to work on business.

I try to spend my time connecting myself with God and Family instead. Sometimes, I just end up using it as a day of rest.

often I take time to make good meals on Sunday. I can cook without much thought, it just takes time.... and good food has a tendency to gather family together. Good food is meant to be shared. I usually do not plan on inviting people to dinner. It is always something that happens at the last minute. I place the calls, when I know something good is underway. (And no matter how much I plan, I can never garentee if I will have enough energy or presence of mind to care to cook until I do).

So today, I placed a call, when some wonderful chicken enchiladas were in the oven. And some chocolate cake to follow. And I happened to reach some people who felt in need of a good homemade meal after a weekend of travel and parties. So even though my house was ankle deep (better then yesterday, it was at least knee deep then). I offered to share my food and the love that went into such dishes. In return my guest started cleaning my desk. She said she would have folded the mountain of laundry, but we needed the table for the cake.

And to tell you the truth, I really like it when people clean with me. Moms are good at that. What shocks me though is how much like her mother she has become in the cleaning field in the last 10 years. The ideas of getting rid of the dust and dirt I don't think ever occurred to her until after all her children moved out of the house.

I think she was always too busy doing things to even see the dust. She ran girl scout troops, camps, ran a business, was always there for school events, and mostly was a great mom. I now have empathy for what it must have been like for her, having her kids do chores, instead of doing them all her self. Most children need many years of practice in chores before they finish them well enough for anything to even look like anybody tried to clean it.

Yup, that pretty well classifies my kitchen, laundry room, the kids' bedrooms and their bathroom upstairs. oh well, someday they will be grandparents and learn to see the dirt under the piles of stuff. Meanwhile...., I would settle for less poop on the bathroom walls, and a clear walk way. "Who dropped these clothes in my walkway?" I must ask 10 times per day..... and then I highly recommend to the children that they put their dirty clothes in the laundry. I am also trying to require them to keep their bed sheeted (only clean ones count) every day. This of course, is easier on those who don't wet the bed.

Meanwhile, Mike and I just had a good laugh. Ewan suggested we pay him $500,000,000 for cleaning the bathroom. Man kid, if I only had $500,000,000 for every bathroom I've cleaned......

A good bathroom scrub job is only worth $5 (if a kid does it). They can also earn that much by cleaning out the car. We told them that they have to start earning money if they want any more bionicles. And with that comes learning all about money and spending and savings and fun stuff like that. Man, teaching those things makes me wonder if that is all part of stealing an innocent child's childhood. Oh well, we all have to grow up sometimes.- hopefully just bit by bit, so when you move out of your parents house, it all doesn't come as a big shock.

Have a good night!