Dinner

Making this for dinner. (LOVE that recipe site, btw.) Cheap, quick, Nick loves dark greens, and I...need to eat more of them. :) Now to watch the kiddos figure them out.

Grocery Shopping and Contentment

My life is very different from this blogger's, and therefore we do not always agree. But, I love her post today. This is how I am trying to approach our grocery shopping now. You can feel the place of peace and trust that she speaks from, even as you read her words.

She touches on something I've been pondering as I slowly read John Bevere's "Drawing Near." Many times when we are unhappy or restless, what we're craving is intimacy with God. But instead of seeking God for our fulfillment, it's easy to become disappointed with God in some way, and sometimes it's hard to believe we will find what we need there, or maybe we just don't want to slow down enough to spend the time. So instead, we fill our spirits with spiritual "junk food," and eat, or shop, or watch tv, or read away the desire. We've filled ourselves up, but it doesn't satisfy.

When Nick and I went away overnight, we had bought tickets to see a movie in a few minutes, but I was starving. We walked several blocks downtown, trying to find something relatively cheap that would be gluten-free. After having no luck, I settled on Taco Bell, because there are a couple of menu items with some protein that I know to be gluten free. I'm not used to eating that kind of food anymore, and as I ate it, I could totally sense that it was filling my stomach, but not nourishing me. I'm so used to nourishing food that I could tell the difference!

Being a mom is hard. Sometimes I'm tempted to do whatever it takes to survive. But I don't want to just survive - I want to thrive! I wonder if life will always be a struggle because I refuse to resign myself to "good enough." But I can't bring myself to believe that good enough, "junk food," is okay for us.

I was challenged by an email I got yesterday from a mom looking to join our mom's group. She said she was, "looking to get connected with other young moms in the area who are walking with the Lord in an intimate way and looking for other women to share life with." A simple statement, and yet it communicates so much. She doesn't just want to be with other women, she wants real deep connection with Godly women who will encourage her in her walk with God. Oh, that we can be that for each other!

What do you ladies think about this?

Encouragement

This has been kind of a tough week for me, for various reasons. Staci sent me this site last week, and it has provided so much encouragement to me this week, both spiritually and in the food area. I have never found any site that had recipes with only things we can all eat! Plus, she uses all natural sweeteners. It's amazing for me to be able to cook straight from a recipe, without tons of substitutions that may or may not work. Plus, her food is SO good.

More Random Stuff

Have you seen Jott yet? Call a toll-free number, leave a message, and it transcribes it and emails it to you or anyone else you have on your contacts. You can even send it to Blogger, Remember the Milk, or a huge list of other stuff.

Yes, I'm a geek. You know you've left yourself voicemails so you don't forget something...

We had a consultation with another potential Maeve client last night. She wants a beautiful white mermaid strapless gown with a long black sash that ties in back. Emily is sketching it for us tonight. Maybe I'll post it tomorrow. We also have a first fitting with Renee on Saturday. We're excited!

My kids just got up. That was NOT a nap.

Got our produce delivery today. We pulled it out of the box and set it all over the table:
This was $38 worth. How much are we willing to bet on us actually eating all of this before it goes bad? I'm pretty determined. Wagers?

Hannah took this one:
We're off to gramma's house...

5 a day?

As Nick and I were talking about something unrelated last night, we stumbled across talking about how we don't tend to eat enough fruits and vegetables around here. Now, that may surprise you, since I'm the resident health nut. But, we focus so much on protein for blood sugar stability and gluten-free grain, that sometimes, too often, the produce becomes an afterthought. Nick reminded me of Door to Door Organics. We did this a while back, but quit in an attempt to cut back on grocery costs. The problem is, we quit buying much fresh produce in the process of saving money. At our house, we work to prioritize money for healthy eating. Sometimes it requires sacrifices in other areas. I talk about this all the time...blah, blah, blah.

Anyway!

Door-to-door is a pretty cool thing. Weekly, they deliver to your door a box of organic, very fresh fruits and vegetables for a pretty competitive price. What I think we like most is the variety. Unless we want to shop at the expensive grocery stores, variety is sorely lacking in Colorado. You can make up to 3 substitutions if you absolutely cannot eat what is in your box for the week, but we love that it encourages us to try new vegetables, and experiment with recipes.

I just got the email about our box for the week, which I think will come on Thursday. Here's what's in it:

Pinata Apple
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Red Leaf Lettuce
Local Spinach
Leeks
Green Chard
Carrots
Beets with Tops
Tangelos
Strawberries
Bananas
Avocado
Broccoli

Sounds pretty yummy, doesn't it?

Recipe File

In my never-ending attempt to save money while eating healthy, I'm currently trying a 60-day trial of AccuChef. Before you laugh, let me tell you what this thing does. You can put all of your recipes in it, organize them by type, add them to a grocery list, price out your meals, do meal planning, and probably other things I have yet to figure out. You can even import recipes from recipe websites, and print out recipe books to give to friends or as gifts. I think it's pretty cool. And it's shareware, so after 60 uses, the registration is only $20. Pretty good deal, I think.

Traveling

Nick grew up in a town of 30,000 people called Kearney, in Nebraska. Life is simple there. Nebraska has a funny culture - people talk about leaving the state as if they're going to some alien planet. Honestly? They kinda are... :) People live quiet lives. They farm, they attend their church, they do their job...

There is, as you might expect, a shortage of health food stores. And restaurants with gluten free menus. There is a tiny health food store in Kearney called "The Health Barn." It's literally a red barn in the middle of town. There's only two other health food stores in the state, as of the last research I did.

Last time we went, I literally planned every meal for Hannah for the whole time we were there. Breakfast was cooked-at-home sausage warmed in the microwave. Lunch was turkey sandwiches. Dinner was...I can't even remember.

One thing they do have in Kearney, is fast-food. Everywhere. Everything you can think of. So, last night I started looking up gluten-free fast food. Several thoughts here...first, gross. Second, relief. Did you know that McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Sonic, Hardee's, Chick-fil-a, and Burger King all have gluten free information online?

Now, I do not intend to feed my kids fast food for every meal while we're there. But once or twice would be okay, seeing as how they've never had it before in their lives. And, I'm dealing with a new challenge because after seeing Dr P last weekend, I am now eating gluten free, egg free, dairy free, soy free and yeast free. Amazingly? I can get pretty close even with fast food. Most fast-food places even have gluten-free fries, because they only cook fries in them, not other fried foods.

So, I can plan a couple of meals a day, and we can still eat out with Nick's family (because they like to). Now I just have to stomach the fact that I actually know what's in all that "food."

Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner was a smashing success, I must say. I should have followed my instinct and turned the heat up on the sweet potatoes so they were a little softer, and it was difficult to have everything more than just lukewarm by the time it was on the table, but it was....delicious. And completely gluten-free!

Turkey, gluten-free bread stuffing with dried cranberries and water chestnuts, fresh cranberry sauce, green beans with sauteed almonds, maple-orange mashed sweet potatoes, and gravy with thyme and thickened with rice flour. Not pictured here was another dish - maple thyme acorn squash.

The most amazing thing about all of this is, Nick and I keep saying how we can eat a ridiculously full plate and we don't feel sick! Thanksgiving is a day to be sick, right? I mean, what's Thanksgiving without feeling bloated and gross and almost achy afterward? You can make delicious food that is good for you!

Anyway, if there are certain recipes you're interested in, let me know. I almost always find things online and then adapt them.

Hope you all had a great dinner, and great time together as a family!

Happy Thanksgiving

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.

I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore if, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

Abraham Lincoln, 1863

Thanksgiving

A lot of people hate it. It's one of my favorites.

I think I like it so much because it's simple. Eat food, be together with people you love, be thankful. No presents, no deep spiritual meaning that you feel like you somehow miss in the trappings of the celebration, just be thankful.

I have much to be thankful this year, as always.
A husband who loves me and who I love
Two beautiful, healthy little girls
A cat named Moses
A house to live in
Two (at least somewhat) working cars
A church that has weathered the storm and come out worshiping God more than ever
Good relationships with extended family

Lately, I've even begun to appreciate getting older as a gift. I love that I'm learning to be comfortable in my own skin. I have spent much of my life apologizing for the person that I am, and just this year I am beginning to see the person God made me to be. Obviously, there are many more years for God to develop that, but I can see the beginnings, now that I'm 27 years old. I can finally actually call myself a grownup. This is okay with me.

Anyway, I plan to thoroughly enjoy cooking and baking the next few days. No stress, just enjoying making a fun, delicious, thankful experience for my family.

I find this absolutely fascinating

A type of bacteria in your gut may cause or be the result of chocolate cravings.

Food and faith

Head over to Ancora Imparo for one of the most balanced posts I've read, on how nutrition relates to God's calling on our lives.

Pea Souuuppp!

Two random comments before I really start this blog:

1. You've never lived until you've Google image searched "pea soup." As my 16 year old sister likes to say, "I think I just threw up a little in my mouth."

2. Did you ever see "The Rescuers Down Under"? There's these ants running around a restaurant, and somebody drops a pea from a table, and the ants run around carrying the pea, sayng, "Pea Souuupp!"

OK! Now that I have that out of my system...

I made split pea soup for dinner last night. I put it in the crockpot at 9am. It had split peas, ham, carrots, celery, onion, and spices. Oh, and tomato. It was going to be good. I started it on low, but at about 1:00 I turned it to high because it didn't seem to be going as quickly as it needed to. At 10:30pm, I finally unplugged it and gave up. The peas were still crunchy. 13 1/2 hours total, and 9 hours on high. It should have been mush. Apparently, my grocery store doesn't rotate it's stock as often as I might like... The peas must have been old. That's the only thing I can come up with.

It's still sitting in the crockpot on the counter. What, exactly, do I do with a FULL crockpot of soup? Gross. I'm not sure whether to cry or laugh?

Restaurant Survey

I've been tagged!

Here's the rules:
1. Name and link to the person who tagged you.
2. Name the state and country where you reside.
3. Name your five favorite local restaurants.
4. Tag others.

Kyla,
I get SO bored with the places we eat out! We have to have gluten-free choices, of course, and it has to be at least relatively cheap, plus, we are lazy here and don't like to drive more than a few minutes to go eat. On top of this, I find the thing I like and order the same thing every time we go somewhere. You locals, please, rescue me from restaurant boredom!

1. Cracker Barrel. This is comfort food. I get grilled chicken tenderloins and carrots, green beans and sweet potato casserole (that last one they only have on Thursdays). They have a wood-burning fireplace in the restaurant, and it is a nice place to go when it's 20 degrees and snowy outside. They also have this chocolate Coke cake in the winter that is to die for.

2. Qdoba. Not as spicy as Chipotle or Baja Fresh, but same idea. I usually get a naked (no tortilla) chicken burrito with mango salsa, guacamole, and lettuce. Hannah loves to eat a bowl of chicken, black beans, and rice. Easy!

3. Whole Foods Market. Yes, it's a grocery store, but ours has a hot food area. It's nice because Nick can eat pizza if he wants (good pizza, too) and we can get Hannah rotisserie chicken and brown rice, and I can have chicken salad or BBQ beef, or whatever looks good that day. They have a nice heated outdoor patio area where nobody cares if our kids yell a little.

4. P.F. Chang's. Yay for Asian with brown rice and no MSG. My mom and sister and I had lunch there last week and sat outside on their patio in the sunshine. It was wonderful. I get lemon chicken. Banana Spring Rolls for dessert. Yummy.

5.Ted's Montana Grill. A little old-timey, with wood floors and dark booths. Fun date place because it's quiet and private. They serve bison as well as beef, and it's really good. Especially their pot roast. I get pot roast sometimes (it's on the expensive side) or usually grilled chicken with avocado and a fried egg on top, and a sweet potato.

I wish there were more locally owned restaurants on this end of town. There probably will be in the next few years.

I tag (I say doing this in a comment is fair):
Saraw
TC
Flo
Liz T
Anybody else who wants to, chime in!