Freezer Cooking and other Foodie Moments

Crystal and Jessica (FishMama) host a freezer cooking day each month. Their efforts have really encouraged me to get busy and fill my freezer too! After watching them work so hard, I finally decided to join in. Even with a few bumps in the road, I managed to add a number of items to my freezer which are sure to make the coming month a little easier.

Here is what I made:

1 Stromboli Packet - yes, one! Baby steps...

Earlier in the week we had Stromboli for dinner (It is one of our favorites.) I doubled the turkey sausage recipe and used half to make that evening's meal while putting the other half in a ziplock bag. I then added 2 cups of cheese and marinara sauce to their own bags and added these to the turkey sausage - making one neat little package. Next time we want Stromboli it will be a breeze to make!

Apple Pie Filling

This was supposed to be for Laura’s mini Apple Pies. I cut up and cooked 8 pounds of apples, only to realize I didn’t have any yogurt for the dough! I’m sure I could substitute, but my brain in not functioning at it’s highest level right now. So I’m freezing some for a big apple pie and leaving the rest in the fridge until I get yogurt for the dough. Hopefully tomorrow!


Green Lemonade

I love Green Lemonade and would happily drink it daily. I just hate washing the juicer! So this is an experiment. I made 2 quarts and divided it into canning jars. The plan is to take a jar out of the freezer the night before then drink in the morning. I’ll report the results.

What is in Green Lemonade, you ask?

Mine usually consists of:

• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 5 or so stalks of kale and/or spinach
• 1 lemon
• 1 or 2 fuji apples

The juice in the above picture contains: 3 lemons, 3 or 4 apples, 2 heads romaine lettuce, half a bag of spinach leaves, 1 bunch kale.

I first read about it on Susan’s wonderful blog. The drink was made famous by Natalia Rose in her book The Raw Food Detox Diet. I find it very refreshing and actually crave it. My husband shudders every time her takes a sip! Each to his own :)

Shredded Chicken

I originally planned to make a big pot of Tinga (recipe to come), which requires 12 chicken breasts or the equivalent. I’m not sure what I bought, but it turned out to be much less than that. So this will probably feature in a future batch of tortilla soup.

Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

While cooking all this up I noticed a few bananas were looking a little ripe. I remembered FishMama’s Chocolate chip banana bread and decided to make that. But then there were no chocolate chips. I was really looking forward to the chocolate part of chocolate chip banana bread. Then I remembered Laura made her own chocolate chips. So I looked it up, and what do you know, they were not difficult to make and we had all the ingredients. So I made those (This is starting to sound like one of Laura Numeroff 's stories..If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)

The chocolate chips melt very easily so the remainder are living in the freezer  Although I doubt they will be there long, or end up in any other baked dish!

So that's my freezer cooking wrap up.  Be sure to visit Money Saving Mom to see what others made.

SugarBean teaches Bible Class

On Fridays I go to Ladies’ Class. My children come with me.

The class is in the church building and we set the table up close to the nursery. Another mother comes with her children and our kids play together in the nursery while we have class (Don’t worry, the nursery door has a big window! We can see them) The Ladies are so good about having the kids there, even when things get rowdy on occasion!

My daughter decided she wanted to make this play time into Bible class time. She is the oldest (8 years) and wanted to be the teacher. Without asking for help or ideas, she began preparing lessons each week. Often we will hear the sound of children singing “Jesus Loves Me” wafting through the door. The older ladies seem to really enjoy this.

As I sit there (or rather stand there swaying - trying to get my baby to sleep), I can hear my little girl reading a bible story...and the kids actually listen to her! Two weeks ago she made coloring books for her three students. She stapled paper together like a book and drew the story of Moses (pictured above) She also brings snacks and plans out what songs they will sing. Not just any songs either, songs from the song book ...grown up songs :)

Here is a picture of the lesson plan she scribbled out:

1. Songs
Some of those songs are: I am a Sheep, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the little children, and No not one.
2. Lesson
3. Snack and Break
(As you can see, she had been cutting hearts out of this paper)

This is pretty much how I teach Bible class too!

I am grateful for her desire to teach, for the initiative she has taken, and for her courage.

It feels like a reward. A little glimpse of the woman she may become. A wonderful benefit received for all the times we have gone to Bible class...even when we didn’t feel like it.   It certainly made her Grandmother proud!

I’m also very grateful for the graciousness of the other women who allow us to attend and make us feel welcome.

Visit Heavenly Homemakers for more Gratituesday.

Here is the rest of the coloring book:

List Plan It giveaway!

Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking is hosting a giveaway for a List Plan It membership. The winner will have access to hundreds of downloadable lists to help with everyday organization and productivity.

I keep hearing about List Plan It and have seen some sample pages...they look great. I'm a list fanatic and would LOVE these!

Hop on over to Passionate Homemaking before March 1st to enter.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

We don't usually eat instant oatmeal, however, I wanted some for our recent trip. I couldn't bring myself to buy the regular stuff at the store...it has way too much sugar, as well as other weird ingredients!

After a google search for homemade instant oatmeal. I settled on a recipe from stretcher.com.

I didn't do a price break down, but I did buy mostly organic ingredients from the bulk bins at the health food store. I felt good about feeding it to my kids and know it would be cheaper than buying organic instant oatmeal.

Here are the basic steps to make Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

You will need:
Makes 8 servings

• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped dried apples
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 8 Tbsp. brown sugar
• salt
  
• 8 ziplock bags.

Blend 1 cup oats in a food processor until powdery (can blend 1/2 cup at a time in the blender).

This helps make the oatmeal thick.

To assemble:
In each ziplock bag put the following:

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

2 Tbsp. powdered oats

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples

1 Tbsp. brown sugar (I thought this was a little sweet. Next time I'll reduce to 1/2 Tbsp.)

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

To serve: Pour contents of packet into a bowl. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup boiling water (depending on how thick you like your oatmeal - more water for thinner oats, less water for thick). Stir and let stand for 2 minutes.

Find more variations here

If you are interested in how much is saved making your own oatmeal packets, the simple dollar has a good visual guide and cost breakdown here

Delicious and Nourishing Brownies

I am really excited to take part in The Nourishing Sweets and Treats Carnival at The Nourishing Gourmet. I was inspired by Kimi's post about Natural sweeteners and decided try and revamp one of our favorite Brownie recipes ( I say one because we have another super good one...I'll share that later).

I remember Laura of Heavenly Homemakers saying that you have not really tasted a brownie if you have not eaten one made with rapadura. So rapadura was my sweetener of choice for this recipe. And she was not wrong...it was DELICIOUS!

Delicious Brownies

3 eggs
1/2 cup butter (organic, unsalted)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Grape seed oil - but believe Palm oil would work well too)
2 cups rapadura
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (we used freshly ground wheat - superb!)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt

Combine eggs, butter, oil, rapadura, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until well blended.
Evenly spread batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 to 30 minutes. Watch carefully after 20 minutes as you don't want these to overbake.
Allow to cool for a few minutes...then taste the chocolatey goodness.
Yum!

I got a little over excited by all this and tried out a number of things I want to share with you here: Apple crumble, cranberry chocolate cookies, and raw fruit and nut cream! Time is running short for me tonight, hopefully I will get those posted in the morning.

Visit The Nourishing Gourmet for more nourishing sweets and treats recipes. Be sure to share yours too.

Originally posted on Dec. 15, 2008 at my old blog

Nourishing Sweets and Treats

Here are some of the other recipes I mentioned wanting to share for the Nourishing Sweets and Treats Carnival. I've had a lot of fun with this and want to say Thank you to Kimi for all the work she puts into sharing good, healthy information with us!

In this post I will share recipes for Cranberry Chocolate Cookies, Apple Crumble and Vanilla Crème Sauce.

Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal cookies



This recipe started as one from Sue Gregg’s Dessert book , so it was nourishing to begin with. Her recipe uses Kamut instead of wheat flour. I really wanted to try Kamut but could not find it anywhere. I made a few small changes to suit us. Here is my version:

½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup (1 stick) organic butter
1 egg
1 cup Sucanat (evaporated whole sugar cane juice) Read more about Sucanat here
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup wheat flour (freshly ground if possible) This is where you could use kamut.
11/2 cups rolled oats, ground to make 1 cup.
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oats (old-fashioned, not quick cooking)
½ cup chocolate chips or bar broken into pieces
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Step 1:
Put cranberries in a bowl and cover with water. This will soften them.
Grind oats into a fine powder. I use a coffee grinder, a blender also works.
Set aside.

Step 2:



Place butter, egg, sucanat, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk to blend.
(As you stir these you will be amazed at how good it smells! It is the sucanat).

Step 3:



Mix together flour, ground oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Pour into wet ingredients and stir.

Step 4:



Drain cranberries and add to batter. Also add oats, chocolate chips, and nuts. Stir to combine.


Step 5:
Drop tablespoons full onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Allow room for spreading.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately and allow to cool.


My kids gobbled these up. They are tasty, but not too sweet. And..shock of all shocks, my husband, who generally does not care for cookies, and is not thrilled with whole wheat, said they were good!


You could try all kinds of additions to this recipe: raisins, other nuts, other dried fruit, more chocolate....



Apple Crumble

A simple, slightly sweet, apple dish. Serves 4.

I am very happy with how this one turned out. I started out with a recipe from the The Liver Cleansing Diet, but I changed the crumble topping so much that I feel I can now call it my own. I don't think butter is on the Liver cleansing diet! (The book does have some yummy recipes).

Here is the recipe:

6 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
(Since I used organic apples, I left the skins on. I would peel apples that are not organic).
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons water
1/4 cup oats
2 Tablespoons shredded coconut
2 Tablespoons ground nuts (I used a mixture of sunflower seeds, almonds, and flaxseeds. Grind them in a coffee grinder)
2 tablespoons wholewheat flour
1 ½ Tablespoons maple sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter



Place sliced apples, allspice, honey and water in a pot, cover and simmer until apples are soft (just soft - not mushy). When cooked, pour mixture into an oven proof dish.

To make crumble: Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle this crumble mixture evenly over apples.





Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes (until crumble is golden brown).

Lovely served warm. Delicious served with Vanilla Creme sauce (recipe below)





Vanilla Crème Sauce

This recipe takes a little pre-planning. It keeps for 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. So make ahead if possible.

1 cup Cashews
1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Soak Cashews in water for 2 hours. Drain.
Place soaked cashews in blender and add the rest of the ingredients.
Blend until creamy.

Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Delicious on pies, crumbles and fruit.

This recipe comes from Jennifer Cornbleet’s book Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People . I love her book and DVD (Raw Food Made Easy). They really help simplify raw food preparation. Preview the book, including this recipe (and other dessert recipes) on google books (Click here).

The Nourishing Sweets and Treats Carnival is hosted at The Nourishing Gourmet. Hop over there and check out all the delicious recipes.

Morning Routine

In our quest to return to some sense of normality we decided to work on a morning routine. There are still boxes that need to be unpacked and rooms that need to be organized, but things were really starting to feel out of control, so we sat down and made little morning routine charts. Both kids decorated their own chart with drawings of each step of the routine. My 5 year old stuck his on the wall right by his bed, so it is visable when he first wakes up.

Having a morning routine has really helped. We still need to work on the rest of the day though. But we are doing pretty well up to lunch time :) Even getting some school work done.

We have kept things simple. I want a few chores done, but not a huge list. I've found that when I try to have the kids do a grand list of chores before school I lose a lot of their best concentrating time. We are working on having another time for chores later in the day. Basically they are just getting ready for the day, making their beds and cleaning up after breakfast. I get the laundry going and work in the kitchen too. Then we get straight into schoolwork. So far it is working very well. I'd love to add a few things to my routine, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Moving and having a baby have certainly put me on a learning curve!

New stuff...

After a new baby and a move to a new state, I find myself in the midst of a little chaos! I am eager to get organized and start some new routines. Things are moving pretty slowly at our house. I feel behind and don't really know how to catch up. I don't think I can actually. We are just starting fresh I suppose. Starting fresh is good.

For a little motivation I listened to Kendra, from Preschoolers and Peace, talk about organization. She had some great ideas. I am also reading her book about Circle Time. I hope to do this is some form very soon. I think the kids will love it.

I'd like to write about what we are doing here on my poor negelected blog. We will see. It might happen!

I want this!

Cheeseslave is hosting a giveaway for this awesome Norwex Microfiber Mop!

I have never had a good mop! This one looks wonderful. It can be used without chemical cleaners. I am especially excited about the fact that essential oils can be used with it. Lovely!

The giveaway ends tonight. So hop over to Cheeseslave and enter. While you are there, take a look around. Cheesesalve is one of my favorite REAL FOOD bloggers!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct. 12

It has been a very long time since I posted a menu plan. I've missed it. This menu may be a little ambitious for me, being 37 weeks pregnant and all. I was feeling quite motivated when I planned it. We'll see how things go.

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal
Scrambled Eggs
Toast and smoothies
Puff

Lunches:
Leftovers
Egg salad sandwiches
Quesadillas
Chef's Salad

Dinners:

Monday
Curried Chicken and Rice Soup

Tuesday
Baked 3 cheese macaroni served with carrot sticks

Wednesday
Vegetable Streudel
(This link is not the exact recipe we are using, but very similar. I'm looking forward to this one!)

Thursday
Tender Texas Style Steaks (crockpot) with corn pudding and veggies

Friday
Ham, Peas and Potatoes

Saturday
Quick Roasted Tomato Soup and Cheese Quesadillas (or grilled cheese).

Photos in need of Taste the Rainbow Actions

I have been playing with my new camera a lot, hoping to learn how to take some good quality pictures! Here are a few that could use the magic touch of Taste the Rainbow Actions by Amy-Rose King!





To learn more about Amy-Rose King photography, visit her website: Photography by Amy-Rose King

Amy-Rose Photography....beautiful!

Toni mentioned Amy-Rose Photography and I went to check her out...WOW! Her work is absolutely beautiful.

I love the way she captures relationships between people in such natural settings. The personality of her subject really shines through. Everyone looks at-ease and comfortable. Each shot is extremely unique and artistic.

I just got a new camera and have been trying to figure out how to take good pictures! It's not always easy. Amy is giving away a Taste the Rainbow action set, which she created herself. It looks amazing! I really want to win it! Oh to enhance my pictures with skin softening, eye enhancing, and make some romance blur. A dream!

If you want some photography inspiration or need a photographer, be sure to visit Amy-Rose at Photography by Amy-Rose King.

Free Autumn e-book for K-4th grade

The Old Schoolhouse and Amanda Bennet have teamed up to create a fun and easy to use, week-long unit study for K-4th grade. I thought it was excellent and am really looking forward to using it with my kids next week. Right now it is available for free! Just click on the picture above.

This is what I had to say about the study:

The Autumn Treasures Download N Go e-book contains a wonderful plan which enables families to experience a fun-filled week of learning together. The lessons are laid out clearly and include a multitude of links to all the information needed. Practically everything is right there: videos, poetry, bible verses, and lapbook templates. A quick trip to the library for books and a check of the homeschool cabinet for lapbook supplies (glue, paper, and file folders) is all that is left to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed the variety included in this week long study and feel this would give children a well rounded understanding of all things Autumn. I also appreciated the encouragement to take nature walks each day; a perfect way to tie things together. Autumn Treasures is not only fun and educational, but also an excellent tool for building special memories.

I should add that is unit is not just for homeschoolers. All families could enjoy and benefit from this fun study.

Here is what is included:
(Information is from the Old Schoolhouse website)

Each day, your student will explore and investigate, creating and adding more learning components to his Autumn Treasures lapbook—building a wonderful reminder of all that he is learning. Even though these studies have a great list of books that you can use to enrich your study, they are not a requirement.

There are science discoveries, such as learning about the cause of seasons and how animals in the wild use autumn to prepare for winter. Your student will learn history as he studies about the pumpkin in America, and how Johnny Appleseed helped pioneers spread across this great land.

There’s much more than this, but here’s the week at a glance highlighting a few of the fun learning and lapbook activities to explore with your children:

Monday, Day 1: What is Autumn?

• Take a fascinating look at the earth, the sun, and the seasons.
• How do the trees change? When is sunrise and sunset in your town?
• Begin work on a vocabulary lapbook activity, adding to it each day.
• Your kids will be fascinated with video links such as: “What Causes Seasons?”, “Earth Seasons with Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
• Make a “Changing Seasons” wheel and “Seasons” flap book.

Tuesday, Day 2: Science Secrets of Autumn

• How are nuts and acorns spread in autumn? What is a harvest moon?
• Find answers to “Why do leaves change color?” with lots of video clips.
• Do the “pigments of autumn leaves” lapbook activity and make a leaf rubbing book.
• Explore leaf identification Internet sites and compare to your collection.

Wednesday, Day 3: People and Places of Autumn

• Answer questions for the Johnny Appleseed petal book.
• There’s a lot to learn about apples—good for cooking, crafts and more! Make apple recipe cards that fit in a special pocket for your lapbook.
• What is a harvest, and what is being harvested near you?
• Take virtual visits around the country to see what autumn looks like in other places. Enjoy coloring and activity pages!
• Watch “The Seasons” powerhouse animation.

Thursday, Day 4: Time for Tips and Treasures of Autumn

• Create animal hibernation and migration matchbooks.
• Develop a time chart of the earth’s position during the seasons.
• Investigate migrating Monarch butterflies and make a Monarch butterflies book.
• Learn about the life cycle of pumpkins, and who taught the pilgrims how to grow them!
• Watch a video of a black bear and cubs in hibernation.

Friday, Day 5: Goodies and Gadgets of Autumn (Fridays are fun days!)

• Where does popcorn come from, and how does it pop? Fashion a book about the process of making popcorn.
• Study the history and manufacturing process of candy corn—that fun autumn candy. Watch the video!
• How do they make apple cider?
• Make a beautiful fall foliage bouquet and decorate with fruit and vegetable prints.
• Creative writing lapbook project: Why do you love autumn?

Plus there are additional fun family ideas: projects, crafts, and recipes.

Amanda Bennett (www.unitstudy.com), author of this series, is well known for her groundbreaking unit studies which remain popular with homeschool families around the world. She is also a sought-after speaker at homeschool conferences and women’s retreats. With two students who have graduated from college and one teenager at home, she and her husband stay busy on their tree farm in Tennessee. Amanda takes great joy in sharing her faith, homeschool experiences, and contagious love of learning.

Welcome the opportunity to use Autumn Treasures in your homeschool.
It’s a $7.95 value—yours for FREE! Download it now.

Baking Day!

Today was a big baking day at our house: bread, tortillas, cinnamon rolls and Cheesecake Brownies!

The Cheesecake Brownies are from smittenkitchen.com. You should really go and check it out. I've made a bunch of her recipes and loved every one.

Crystal and Stephanie wrote about stocking the freezer to get ready for baby’s arrival and this really inspired me to get cooking. It will be very helpful to have some easy meals on hand.

So far I have a few batches of muffins and bread. Next will be spaghetti sauce, and then our favorite turkey sausage* which we use for Stromboli* and pasta dishes. I think some meat and veggies cooked up for Shephard’s Pie and Burritos are also in order.

It has been a little strange thinking about stocking the freezer when we are moving so soon. I feel that we should be emptying the freezer! But I remember how hard it can be to get meals ready with a newborn. Moving, coupled with new baby, means easy meals are a must!

*Just some info in case you click on the link for turkey sausage or Stromboli - I have not made the turkey sausage in patties as shown...just cook it all up in the pan to add to pasta sauce or use in the Cheesy Turkey Stromboli. I'm sure the patties are good too. We just haven't tried them yet. One more tip, the Stromboli is super yummy with a marinara dipping sauce. I made this one last time and it was very good.

Smiling Day!

For some reason my children like to make up holidays and add them to the calendar. It really is very entertaining!

Last week we had "Smiling Day." There was even a song to go with it. Basically we were just supposed to smile a lot.

Here is a picture my son drew to commemorate the day (or announce it, I'm not sure):


I love the sparkles coming off the teeth!

We have had Pajama Day - which I think is coming up again soon. This Wednesday, September 30, is Goofy Day...just so you know :)

Sue Gregg Review - Main Dishes

Last week we tried three main dish meals from Sue Gregg. I liked all of them. The rest of the family only liked two.

Taco Chip O’le

This recipe is included in the Taste and Tell Booklet * and is from the Main Dishes Cookbook. Step by step photographs are included on Sue Gregg’s website (click here to view)

Ground turkey is seasoned with some surprising spices (nutmeg, thyme, garlic powder, sage). Tomato sauce and other spices are then added; resulting in an extremely flavorful sauce.

We ate this on baked tortilla chips with sour cream, olives, spinach leaves, shredded cheese and salsa. We also tried it with rice; which was good too.

You could easily prepare the seasoned turkey ahead of time to make this super quick.

Everyone in the family enjoyed it; including my husband, who likes his beef.

Definitely one I would recommend.


Baked Parmesan Chicken

Also included in th Taste and Tell Booklet* and from the Main Dishes Cookbook.

I didn’t get a picture of this one, but it was yummy. Click here to see step by step instructions on Sue Gregg’s website.

Baked Parmesan Chicken is a very simple meal which involves dipping chicken breasts in butter or milk and rolling them in a mixture of bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and spices. Pop it in the oven to bake and your done!

Again, the entire family loved this one. I was especially surprised because I used whole wheat bread to make the bread crumbs. Whole wheat bread is not a favorite of some members of this family ( not mentioning any names).

Another option is to cut the chicken into smaller pieces and make “nuggets”.

Healthy and Delicious.


Country Creole Peas ‘n Corn

So here is the one that was liked by me alone. My husband is not a fan of beans so I wasn’t expecting much.

The kids ate it - but didn’t really enjoy it. The next day I mixed a little of the leftovers with some rice and a little more tomato sauce and it went down fairly easily.

This recipe is also included in the Taste and Tell Booklet* and is from the Meals In Minutes Cookbook. It is a high fiber dish and is said to freeze well. Click here for step by step instructions.

The basis for this meal is blackeyed peas. They need to be soaked for 12 to 24 hours. This was no problem since I put them in a pot the night before. I then cooked them up for lunch. It took about 2 hours to cook.

This would not be a last minute dish, unless you had some ready in the freezer (which I think is the whole idea). It’s just a matter of planning.

If you like blackeyed peas, you’ll probably like this. It definitely tastes “beany”. So if you don’t like beans you might want to skip it (although you may want to consider learning to live with beans since they are so healthy and inexpensive).

Here ends today’s review.

Coming up:

Blender Batter Waffles

Oatmeal Surprise

Spinach Orange Salad

Cornbread

If you have any experience with Sue Gregg’s cookbooks or the two stage process feel free to share your thoughts with us.

If you missed my first post in this series click here.

* The Taste and Tell booklet is a sampling of Sue Gregg’s recipes. You can get a free copy by filling out a short survey on Sue Gregg’s website. Click here to go directly to the form.

Introduction to Sue Gregg Cookbooks

I have had my eye on Sue Gregg’s cookbooks for sometime now; probably about 2 years. I decided it was time to really check out the recipes to be sure they would work for our family. So, last week we did. This week I plan to share our experience.

If you are not familiar with Sue Gregg I encourage you to visit her website at SueGregg.com

What first impressed me about Sue Gregg was her balanced approach to nutrition. She not only strives to make food healthy but taste good too.

After a family health crisis followed by many months of a healthy yet tasteless diet, Sue Gregg began to experiment with her family’s favorite recipes; seeing where she could make them more nutritious, yet still delicious.

If you would like to read more about Sue Gregg, please click here. Find out more about how she developed the cookbooks here

Sue Gregg's cookbooks emphasize the benefits of preparing food using the two stage process. If you are familiar with Sue Gregg or Nourishing Traditions, you have likely heard of this method.

The two stage process is said to maximize the nutritional value of whole grains. Soaking or fermenting the grains is necessary when using this preparation method. (For a thorough explanation click here)

Soaking grains takes a few hours, so one must plan ahead. I first thought this would be inconvenient and time consuming. However, it actually breaks down preparation time into smaller increments, making the job quite simple. For example, when making pancakes, one would soak the grains in buttermilk overnight. In the morning the only additions needed are an egg, baking soda, baking powder and salt. This is not time consuming in the least and makes for an easy morning.

Sue Gregg’s order page states:

“We highly recommend that you test the recipes on this website in your kitchen before purchasing cookbooks. Some preparation methods in our cookbooks are radically different from what many people are accustomed.

Assure yourself that you'll become a satisfied cookbook owner by testing and tasting our recipes before you purchase cookbooks.

None of our cookbooks has ever prepared a recipe.
That is your job.

We want you to experience the "joy of cooking" not buyer's regret!”

I really appreciate this and feel it is very wise advice! The preparation methods are indeed quite different to anything I have ever tried.

There are nine online recipes with step by step photo demonstrations. Click here to get started.

You can also request a free recipe sampler booklet by filling out a short lifestyle inventory. (Click here to go directly to the form). This booklet includes 23 wholefood recipes for your family to enjoy.

I will be back with my first review ASAP. Time to go and do some phonics with my first grader.

In the meantime visit SueGregg.com

Sue Gregg Cookbooks

There are a few posts on my old blog that I wanted to move over here. The first batch will be my reviews of Sue Gregg's Cookbooks. They are very helpful to those who wish to transition to a healthier, more wholesome way of eating.

Here they come....

Proud Mother Moment

Last night our little homeschool group held a recital. My daughter played Mary had a little lamb on the piano (and sang it too).

If you knew how hard this was for her, you would be proud too. She was absolutely shaking! While we were sitting waiting for her turn she said, “Can we pray for me to be brave?” And we did. And she was.

SugarBean began to learn the piano a few months ago. We only have a keyboard to practice on and she doesn’t actually have lessons...we just follow the book. A good friend of mine, who knows her piano stuff, checks her progress every now and then.

Two years ago, our group held their very first recital. My daughter was only 5 then and she recited The Purple Cow, by Gelett Burgess (a very cute 4 line poem). I remember watching the nerves grow as she waited for her turn. It got to the point that she burst out with, “Why did you sign me up for this? You shouldn’t have signed me up for this!!” But the fact is, I was hesitant to sign her up, she wanted to do it. Or so she thought. I guess seeing the crowd and the little stage is daunting. Anyway, scared and all, she went through with it. I think she only made it half way up the stairs to the stage and said the poem right there, with her head leaning on the railing. But she did it!

Fast forward to last night, she stood on the stage and told everyone what she would be playing and that she would be playing two verses! She even made a small mistake at the beginning and just started over. She sang too!

As you can tell, I am very happy. I think everyone there, who knows her personality, was happy too.

She did practically bolt off the stage at the end. I forgot to practice waking slowly! It was cute though.

I tried to capture the whole thing on camera, but I pressed the wrong button. I got nothing! A friend taped it, and they are going to make a copy. I wanted to send it to the grand parents.

Overcoming fears is so hard, even for us grown ups. I’m very pleased that this 7 year old was able to do it. Yay for her!

Trip to Australia

It was a treat to be able to go to Australia this past February. I was even there for my birthday. I haven't celebrated my birthday in Australia for at least 10 years!

We stayed for two weeks, which is a lot shorter than I had planned my next trip to be. I figured if it took me four years to get there, I would stay at least a month. But things didn't work out that way this time, which turned out to be okay. I was worried that we would waste the first week overcoming jet lag...but amazingly enough, we didn't. We all got right into the night and day routine - including the kids! I couldn't believe it. Another common occurrence is that we get sick after that long plane ride. This didn't happen either! I couldn't have been happier.

There are a few highlights I'd like to share, probably too many for one post. I'll just share a few at a time....

The two highlights for today are from a couple of day trips we took.

The first is the Blue Mountains.

My sister and I decided we must to go to the Blue Mountains. We decided this before I even arrived in Australia. Since the trip was only two weeks, we had our calenders out and planned things over the phone and email.

The Blue Mountains are absolutely beautiful! See...


It is a place we remember going to a number of times as kids. Our parents would take us and we would spend most of the day walking down the giant staircase, all the way to the bottom. Once we got there, we would often ride the scenic railway back up the mountain. Back then the scenic railway was a rickety old, open air car, that went up the steep mountain backwards! It was like a ride at a theme park...at least to a kid it was.

I was excited to share this experience with my own children.

After we arrived and gasped and cooed at how gorgeous it was, we found the giant staircase......oh dear..... it was quite a bit steeper than we remembered. And each step was huge! My four year olds' little legs really had to stretch to get up and down those. We decided to start and see what happened. It was obvious we would not be making it to the bottom! It didn't matter though, the view was spectacular, and just being there was half the fun anyway.


We went a good distance, moving aside to let others by, and resting every now and again. Then we turned around and went back up. I had to lift my son up a few steps. But me made it! Most passers by commented on the kids...it was fun.

Once we got back to the top, we had a nice picnic. The sun was shining and I was happy.

The ride home was a sleepy one for me. We had the windows open in the van and I couldn't hear anything over the blowing wind, except the distant chatter of my daughter talking to her Nana. They were sitting closer to the front of the van and I was all by myself. My son wanted to sit by his Aunty and my husband was in the very front keeping my Dad company. My brother-in-law was in back seat. All was peaceful, at least for me, my Mum said my 7 year old pinched her! Not good!

I would wake up on and off and check my pocket calender again. Counting up some important days....

Once we got home I couldn't stand the suspense anymore and asked my sister to take me to the store. There I got a pregnancy test and found out the happy news that we are expecting a baby.

A nice, and surprising, end to the day!

I said I would share two day trips, but this is so long, I'll save the other one for later.

If you want to know more about the Blue Mountains click here

You can also see the scenic railway here. Apparently it is the steepest inclined railway in the world.

The three tall rocks you see in the picture are called the Three Sisters. I really enjoyed seeing those, since I remembering being intrigued by them as a child. My seven year old was too. She really want to go to "a sister". And we did get to walk over a little bridge and sit right under one.

If you ever make it to Australia, I highly recommend a day trip to the Blue Mountains. It's beautiful country.

Image from flickr by Tr1xx