Getting Creative

I was telling my brother about my homemade English muffins this weekend, and he suggested putting raisins in it. Why hadn't I thought of that?  So today I thought I'd give it a try.  I just used the original recipe, and then threw in some raisins and cinnamon and I'm so excited to report that they came out really well!  I learned to lower the heat while they're cooking in the pan, though, so the raisins don't burn.

Homemade Wheat Thins

I got this recipe over at Kitchen Stewardship and gave it a try this weekend.  They came out pretty good, but I think next time I'll try to get them rolled out even thinner.  I think they'll be better that way.  The recipe and some great pictures are on her site, so enjoy!  Here's a photo of mine, too.

Homemade English Muffins!

I am not a bread master, but I am thankful to know someone who is.  I've adopted JoAnn over at Homeschool Distractions as my resident bread expert.  :-)  She found a recipe for English muffins that her family loved, so I decided to give them a try, and let me tell you...they. are. GOOD!  We used them for last night's cobb sandwiches, and then this morning for breakfast.  I made them a bit too thick, but I'll fix that next time.  Thanks for sharing this, JoAnn!!

Here's the dough recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

New Recipe: California Chicken Wraps

OH. MY. DEAR. HEAVEN! You have GOT to try these! We had them for dinner tonight and they were SO good! Next time, I think I'll try them with homemade tortillas!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Lately I've been re-evaluating our diet. I've been wading through TONS of information on food, how it is processed, what is added to it, the effects of those additives...and all the OPTIONS and diet choices there are to be made. I feel a heavy burden to protect the health of my family. I've been lost, confused, overwhelmed, motivated, disgusted, disappointed and inspired. I've contemplated organic foods, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), whole foods, raw foods, local farms, vegetarianism...all in a matter of about two weeks! So if you run into me and I have a glazed-over, spacey look, that's why. I'm in a state of health food information overload! I've even been DREAMING in terms of raw milk and making my own butter and yogurt!

My research is not over, but changes are being made. Thankfully, I've found some great sources of information on healthy cooking and eating. People are sharing their knowledge and I am so grateful for their help. There are a couple of blogs, in particular, that I've found very helpful as I begin the transition to eating a truly healthy diet.

Kitchen Stewardship

Heavenly Homemakers

Naturally Knocked Up

Misadventures of a Homeschooling Foodie Family

Passionate Homemaking

I'm sure I'll find more great blogs in connections with these, and I'll post links to them as I stumble upon them. Just thought I'd share what I've found so far.

Exercise

I've decided to get back on the exercise train after the Dr recommended against it. It has been about a month and I'm SO tired of not exercising. I'll take it low-impact, but I'm doing it. How can a body be healthy without exercise? Anyway, we've been playing a lot of instant movies on www.netflix.com and last night, out of curiosity, I did a search to see if they had any exercise videos on instant play...and they DO!!! They have TONS of them! I'm so excited to have so many options! And no waiting for them to come in the mail. I can do a different workout every day. You have no idea how excited I am about this. :-)

Bread

I just got done baking my first ever loaf of regular whole wheat bread! I've done tons of sweet breads before, but never regular bread. I am surprised and happy to announce that it worked!! The recipe said not to cut it until it cooled, but I could not resist. It's actually edible! Yay again! I do feel happy knowing what went into this bread. I have the peace of mind of knowing that it is healthy for us, and doesn't have any preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. Now comes the real test: seeing if my guys will eat it.

Health Website for Kids

I just found this site that has doctor-approved articles, animations, games, and resources to help kids learn more about their bodies and staying healthy. It looks really cool! http://kidshealth.org/kid/ I can't wait to play with it more when we do our All About Me unit in a couple of weeks.