Just getting started with healthy eating?

The girls forming individual loaves of bread

Are you looking into trying to eat more healthy foods? Are you a bit overwhelmed by all of the information out there on the topic? Organic…natural…GMO-free…cage-free vs. vegetarian-fed…grassfed…?

I recently came across a wonderful resource for you!

The author of the blog, Passionate Homemaking, has put together a compilation of articles, books, other blogs, and resources to help you get started on the sometimes overwhelming task of trying to overhaul your food system.

This is an awesome resource! It contains all of the information that I would give you if you asked me about how we try to eat in our family, but she has done a much better job of putting it all together than I would have.

She starts with the premise that you don’t know anything about healthy eating and goes from there, so it’s not overwhelming at all.

So, hop on over and check it out!

Natural Living 101

The course’s author, Lindsay, has also written a thought-provoking article that I think everyone who has decided to pursue an healthy eating lifestyle should read:

Can Natural Living Become an Idol?

I hope that these resources will be helpful to you!

P.S. Her Natural Living 101 page isn’t only for people just starting out. It is a wealth of information for anyone interested in eating healthy, real food.

Mommy fear

I’m sure that you’ve heard the term “mommy guilt” before – the feeling that occasionally (or frequently) haunts mothers, usually at the end of the day when we feel as though we haven’t quite accomplished all we should have with our children. Or when we don’t make the same {seemingly better} choices as other moms that we know. Or when we let our kids eat milk and cookies for breakfast. And lunch.

While I have my share of “mommy guilt” like any other other mom, recently I’ve been having what you might call “mommy fear”.

Are my children going to turn out OK?

Am I giving my children a sufficient education? 

Will I look back on my child-bearing years with regret about the things I failed to do?

How will I navigate the tricky teenage years?

Is my example one that will draw my children to Christ or will a hypocritical attitude drive them away?

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“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.

It empties today of its strength.”

- Corrie Ten Boom

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I cannot possibly foresee what the coming days and years will bring for my children. But how many opportunities do I miss today when I focus on that unclear future?  (I’m not advocating living a life free of intentional goals, by the way.)

When that “mommy fear” creeps in, I’ve found that I can quickly dispel it by pulling myself back into the blessings of today and being thankful for them.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

The moments when things are going right, the small opportunities I have to build relationships with my children and the joy that they bring to life are all things that I can be encouraged by and thankful for.

“…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” – Philippians 4:8

This is not merely a nicety – a little exercise in “the power of positive thinking” – this is what God knows will work.

Many days in my home bring their own mountains of troubles, but there is also a treasure trove of blessings waiting to be mined underneath the surface. Some days I just have to dig a bit deeper for them. And those treasures are what encourage me to stay in the present, to keep striving toward the goals I have for my children and not to be beset by “mommy fear”.

I cannot be perfect. My children will never be perfect. The future won’t be perfect.

Despite my fears, my cup runs over with blessings. I’m adding these to my thankful list today:

#514. Iliana’s servant’s heart for her others – something I never imagined when she was younger

#515. Blossoming interests and talents

#516. Joy and laughter flying along

#517. Deepest blues

#518. My husband’s analytic mind showing through in Jonathan

#519. The “turtle neck” pose

#520. The ever-expanding thirst for knowledge that I see growing in my children

#521. The spirit of adventure that my children have

#522. Overheard 4-year old boy’s phone conversation with Grandpa “I’m trying to do things for people without them asking — to surprise them.”

#523. One-on-one conversations with my children in the front seat of the car

#524. Fresh perspectives on scripture from my little ones’ minds

#525. Jonathan reading his first book

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To read more of my thankful list, click HERE.

Yonanas!

The children received an unexpected package from their great-aunt Shirley a few weeks ago and were surprised to pull out this strange looking machine.

We read in the manual that the machine is called a Yonanas Ice Cream Treat Maker and it’s supposed to make a soft-serve frozen treat that has the consistency of ice cream. The base of every Yonana treat consists of bananas and you can make your own infinite combinations by adding different kinds of fruits, vegetables (like pumpkin) or even chocolate! (Yum)

I had never heard of this little appliance because I think it is an “As Seen on TV” product, but I can definitely see us using it quite a bit, especially in the summer!

To make Yonanas, you freeze your over-ripe bananas for 24 hours.
Then you take them out to thaw for a few minutes…

Then you push the bananas and other stuff through the machine…

And out comes the dessert!

The kids love it and I have to admit, it does have a great consistency!

Thanks, Aunt Shirley!

Pumpkin cookies

These cookies are perfect for enjoying with a warm cup of tea on a cool autumn day. Sometimes we have them without the frosting because they are soft and sweet just as they are – just like little cakes. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do each fall!

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup honey

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

Cream the butter and honey together mixing well.  Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.  Add the remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cool completely and frost.

Frosting

3 TBS. butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup milk

1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar

To Make Frosting:

In a saucepan on medium heat combine butter and brown sugar. Let it cook until it is smooth and bubbly, be very careful not to let this burn and stir constantly.  After it starts to bubble let it cook for one minute.  Remove from heat and mix in milk.  Add powdered sugar until it is a spreadable frosting consistency.  Frost cookies.  This frosting will harden rather quickly, so work fast or have a helper to get them all frosted. 

This recipe was adapted slightly from the recipe on Crystal Miller’s Family Homestead Kitchen page.

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Mystery plant

I found this plant growing in a flower bed around back of the house and I’m not sure what it is. My guesses are a Chinese lantern plant or some kind of a ground cherry. Can anyone help me to identify it and more importantly, tell me if it’s safe to eat?

Apple Days, Part 3

Cider only lasts so long – in fact, it doesn’t last for very long at all around here – so we preserve most of our apples by canning them into apple sauce.

Abigail, Iliana, Jonathan and I worked for several hours during Grace’s nap one day this week to prepare our first batch of applesauce for canning. The children turned out to be an enormous help to me this year. With our team, we were able to have one person washing the apples, one person quartering the apples (me), one person pushing the apples through the strainer and one person cranking the strainer. I did not do ANY pushing or cranking until right at the end when the kids were too tired. I only cranked for about 4 or 5 minutes and it wore me out! Those kids worked so hard! The key was for them to switch among the 3 jobs often so they wouldn’t tire out doing one job for too long. Can you believe that they actually look forward to canning with me? This is not forced labor!

I’m so thankful for their efforts. We will enjoy them long into the cold winter months.

We pumped out 15 quarts of applesauce in 3 hours from a crate full of apples to a clean kitchen at the end.

Here are some photos from the day. I keep worrying that the nice camera that I was finally able to acquire is going to get dropped into a pot or the strap get burned with all the “action shots” I try to get, but oh well – those are the pictures I love to take!

They keep asking me when we are going to can the next batch. I tell them that when I’ve recovered from the first batch, we’ll try again.

Our task for the afternoon - convert this crate of apples to jars of sauce!

Apples washed and ready to go

Apples in the stockpot to simmer

Iliana takes a turn pushing the soft apples through

Jonathan cranks the applesauce out

Seasoning the applesauce before filling the jars

Enjoying the "fruits" of our labor

One batch down - who knows how many more to go???

Apple Days, Part 2

Time to make apple cider!

This is Dan and the children’s job and I get to just enjoy the delicious benefits!

Here’s what they do:

Cut up the bruised, fallen or otherwise ugly apples.

We try and pick as many varieties of apples as we can find, so that the cider has a good mixture of flavors. We do not own a fruit crusher (yet), so Dan has to crush the apples slightly in smaller batches using a food processor. The mashed apples then go directly into the cider press.

Arrange the wood blocks that will press down and crush the apple pulp into cider

Crank the wood blocks down

8 eager hands grip the bowl, waiting for the first drop of precious cider

The first drop descends

Here it comes! Because this press did not come with a nylon sack, there are a few bits of pulp that we strain out.

Our first small batch of cider sitting out to let the flavors meld.

If you’ve never had freshly pressed raw cider, you have no idea what you are missing! I have no idea why chilled, raw apple cider tastes so good, but it is my favorite drink. It’s especially good with a fresh slice of spicy zucchini bread. Yum!

This might be a good time of year for you to stop by for a visit!

To market, to market: Zucchini

Have well-meaning neighbors and relatives been passing along sacks of zucchini to you lately? That seems to happen quite often around here near the end of summer. Even if you don’t have a garden of you own, you may find yourself with more zucchini than you know what to do with!

On several occasions in the past, I’ve shared recipes on my blog for ways to use zucchini, but a few more zucchini recipes could never hurt anyone, right?

Tips for selecting and storing zucchini:

Remember, it’s best to pick or buy zucchini when it’s still only about 6-8 inches long to get the minimal amount of seeds inside. However, if someone gifts you with a 14-inch long zucchini, don’t toss it! You can still use it!

For a very large zucchini, just cut it in half longways, then cut each half in half again. This way you can stand each piece on end and slice off the seeds inside. You can use the remainder of the zucchini just like you would a smaller one.

Freezing is a great way to get that pile of zucchini off of your counter top. You can find detailed illustrated instructions HERE on how to do that. I like to freeze grated zucchini in quart freezer bags to make yummy zucchini bread in the middle of the winter. You can also freeze the zucchini in slices to saute up in the colder months. Yum!

Favorite recipes for zucchini:

Have you ever tried seeded and cubed or sliced zucchini on a fresh salad? It adds a tasty crunch, kind of like a cucumber. We have been eating more raw zucchini this way and it is delicious.

Summer Squash Saute

From The Green Thumb Cookbook. This is a delicious side dish with flavors of rosemary and cardamom. We love it with our own lamb chops, which is how I served it this weekend. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

3 TBS. butter or olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

6 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/4 dried cardamom

4-5 cups yellow squash or zucchini, thinly sliced on a slant

2 TBS plain yogurt or sour cream

1/8 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, gently simmer garlic in butter until yellow. Add onion and mushrooms; cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

2. Add rosemary, cardamom and squash to skillet; stir and cook another 5 minutes, then cover and cook gently for 8 minutes.

3. Add yogurt or sour cream, pepper and salt to taste. Cover, turn off heat, and let stand 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings. 

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Zucchini Chocolate Cake

A favorite our family that we look forward to having all year! If the idea of spices in your chocolate cake grosses you out, I urge you to at least give it a try. Delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. oil (I use coconut oil)

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. sour cream

2 c. shredded zucchini

2 1/2 c. flour

4 TBS. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

1. Mix butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, sour cream and zucchini. Mix well.

2. Add dry ingredients and mix.

3. Pour into greased 9″x13″ cake pan

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

5. After removing from the oven, while the cake is still hot, frost with the following:

Frosting Recipe:

2 TBS. butter

6 TBS. milk

1 TBS. cocoa

1 box powdered sugar

1 c. nuts, chopped

Boil the first three ingredients. Remove from heat and add the others. Pour onto hot cake.

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Zucchini Bruschetta

This is a recipe from a good friend of mine, Mary Ledy, who makes the most delicious recipes ever! This is a wonderful fresh bruschetta that is best served cool with wedges of crisp pita bread or crusty garlic bread.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini, minced

1 medium yellow squash, minced

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

4 green onions, sliced

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBS. fresh basil, sliced

2 TBS. olive oil

2 TBS. lemon juice

1/2 c. feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and chill for several hours to allow flavors to blend.

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Other zucchini recipes I’ve blogged about in the past that we love:

Summer Cobbler

Zucchini Cheese Chowder

Zucchini Bread

Vegetables Italiano

Zucchini Pie (dessert)

Zucchini Pie (main dish)

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

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For past “To Market, To Market” posts, click HERE.