Ok, let's do one more breakfast recipe before we move on to another meal. Baked Oats. These are made with whole oat groats that you can find in the bulk section at your local health food store. They are so healthy as the entire oat is still intact and all the enzymes are with it. There are 2 ways you can go about this one.
Option #1- soaking (from Nourishing Traditions)-harder
1 c oat groats, place on a baking sheet at 350 degrees until the turn light brown
Process in a food processor or coffee grinder
Soak in a bowl with 2 cups water plus 4 tablespoons yogurt for 7- 24 hours
The next morning-
In a pot, bring additional 1 1/2 cups water to boil, add soaked oatmeal and cook on low for 10 min.
Option #2- crock pot-easier
Before going to bed at night, place 3 parts water to 1 part oat groats, in crock. Turn to low until the morning. Now, if you really dislike the edges getting hard, you can place a heat proof bowl in the crock filled with the oat/ water mixture, add water half way up the sides, heat again on low. No hard edges, but an extra intial step.
These are great with wild blueberries stirred in and topped with real butter and cinnamon. I buy the frozen wild blueberries in a large bag at Wal-Mart for $10 and it lasts a while! I usually add about 1/4c per person to the oats,and it does the job.
So, with step two, three, and six you now have 3 really healthy, easy, and inexpensive options for breakfast. Serve each one twice a week, and that only leaves 1 day for pre-packaged box cereal, or a special day of eggs and toast. I will include other ideas later as we journey further down our road to healthy eating.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Fourth Step
Happy children, happy Mama. Yelling and anger cause stress, and stress is not healthy. Calm parents and obedient children make a welcoming and peaceful home. So, some general "rules"... #1 No unkind behavior from anyone (including parents) and #2 positive behavior= positive results, and negative behavior= negative results.
We take #1 quite seriously around these parts. There is no arguing, bickering, and complaining as with plenty of practice they just make for miserable people. This is a hard one for everyone, but so fufilling when we overcome our negative and "me first" attitudes. This is not a "me first" kinda world. "Me first" people have very few friends and are not well liked. Putting others first is always endearing and makes someone loveable, so why not start while we are young? There is no yelling around here, and this is one that Mama and Papa mess up sometimes. It is amazing to see how much my kids love and respect me after I come to them and admit I acted wrongly and ask for forgiveness. It is not always easy, but if I can't do it why would I expect them to?
#2 is a tricky one because it requires consistency and creativity. First for the negetive- The kids know if they whine, we are all done and we will go home. They know because we have done it several times. Or, the frowny person has to sit in the car with Papa while the other kids come in to the store and have a great old time, and that's no fun! We parents have been soooo hungry before and told Mr.Coo (the current constant offender) that if he didn't stop whining we would leave the resturant, and we did. We had to drive all the way home and cook before we could eat, but the next time we went to that resturant he knew we meant business and there was no whining! Ms.Goo had a dressing problem for a while, but she grew out of that fast. When she would get dressed there was always something that wasn't just the way she wanted it, and she would be miserable all day. So, the next time we got dressed I asked her to stop complaining about her tights or she would have to wear more. She ended up with four pairs of tights on that day, and man was that uncomfortable! She has also worn three sets of pjs to bed, and four sweaters out to run errands, and I think she was finally convinced. I do not allow it to persist long enough to get frustrated and yell, with the first offense it is a, "please stop whining or...." and then with the next whine I do it. I am not mad, it is just consequence. We go out and have a great time, and when she gets over it and stops whining, and truely forgets about it, I tell her to go take off the excess, or I sneak in and take it off at night while she is sleeping. If you are creative you can think of a solution to anything in this way. What are they whining/ throwing a fit about? Give them the opposite (and don't be angry about it!) and it should only take a couple times to convince them. It is most inconvient for you, but it is an investment in a peaceful house and a strife-free relationship with your precious kids. You are not molding there behaviors to suit youself, it is for their good so they can have as many successful relationships and good habits as possible when they are older.
Now for the positive- Notice and praise them, especially if it is an area they have been struggling in. If self-control is an issue, make sure you notice every instance of self- control and tell them what a great job they did. Tell your spouse when they come home, tell your friends when you see them. After all, they certainly are acting older and being such a help to you. The most frequent thing we use in our house is, "we are going in here, and I want you guys to have your store behavior, or inside behavior, whatever it is. When we leave we are going to have so much fun at home playing at the park, etc., so let's make sure we don't have to go home afterward instead." The most sucessful reward to date has been coupons. Whenever they go above and beyond, like cleaning before I ask them to or helping a sibling, they get a cooupon. Their favorite coupons are the stay up late with Mama and Papa coupons. Ms.Voo took care of all the laundry when I was sick one day, and she got a coupon to go on a special walk just her and I while Papa watches the other kids. Tonight she used her coupon to make an entire meal all by herself and we enjoyed pizza and fruit salad. We gear it toward their interests and I love to come up with really great rewards for putting others first. Let me know some of your great parenting ideas, and how you keep everyone happy and things running smoothly, I'd love to hear.
We take #1 quite seriously around these parts. There is no arguing, bickering, and complaining as with plenty of practice they just make for miserable people. This is a hard one for everyone, but so fufilling when we overcome our negative and "me first" attitudes. This is not a "me first" kinda world. "Me first" people have very few friends and are not well liked. Putting others first is always endearing and makes someone loveable, so why not start while we are young? There is no yelling around here, and this is one that Mama and Papa mess up sometimes. It is amazing to see how much my kids love and respect me after I come to them and admit I acted wrongly and ask for forgiveness. It is not always easy, but if I can't do it why would I expect them to?
#2 is a tricky one because it requires consistency and creativity. First for the negetive- The kids know if they whine, we are all done and we will go home. They know because we have done it several times. Or, the frowny person has to sit in the car with Papa while the other kids come in to the store and have a great old time, and that's no fun! We parents have been soooo hungry before and told Mr.Coo (the current constant offender) that if he didn't stop whining we would leave the resturant, and we did. We had to drive all the way home and cook before we could eat, but the next time we went to that resturant he knew we meant business and there was no whining! Ms.Goo had a dressing problem for a while, but she grew out of that fast. When she would get dressed there was always something that wasn't just the way she wanted it, and she would be miserable all day. So, the next time we got dressed I asked her to stop complaining about her tights or she would have to wear more. She ended up with four pairs of tights on that day, and man was that uncomfortable! She has also worn three sets of pjs to bed, and four sweaters out to run errands, and I think she was finally convinced. I do not allow it to persist long enough to get frustrated and yell, with the first offense it is a, "please stop whining or...." and then with the next whine I do it. I am not mad, it is just consequence. We go out and have a great time, and when she gets over it and stops whining, and truely forgets about it, I tell her to go take off the excess, or I sneak in and take it off at night while she is sleeping. If you are creative you can think of a solution to anything in this way. What are they whining/ throwing a fit about? Give them the opposite (and don't be angry about it!) and it should only take a couple times to convince them. It is most inconvient for you, but it is an investment in a peaceful house and a strife-free relationship with your precious kids. You are not molding there behaviors to suit youself, it is for their good so they can have as many successful relationships and good habits as possible when they are older.
Now for the positive- Notice and praise them, especially if it is an area they have been struggling in. If self-control is an issue, make sure you notice every instance of self- control and tell them what a great job they did. Tell your spouse when they come home, tell your friends when you see them. After all, they certainly are acting older and being such a help to you. The most frequent thing we use in our house is, "we are going in here, and I want you guys to have your store behavior, or inside behavior, whatever it is. When we leave we are going to have so much fun at home playing at the park, etc., so let's make sure we don't have to go home afterward instead." The most sucessful reward to date has been coupons. Whenever they go above and beyond, like cleaning before I ask them to or helping a sibling, they get a cooupon. Their favorite coupons are the stay up late with Mama and Papa coupons. Ms.Voo took care of all the laundry when I was sick one day, and she got a coupon to go on a special walk just her and I while Papa watches the other kids. Tonight she used her coupon to make an entire meal all by herself and we enjoyed pizza and fruit salad. We gear it toward their interests and I love to come up with really great rewards for putting others first. Let me know some of your great parenting ideas, and how you keep everyone happy and things running smoothly, I'd love to hear.
Third Step
Not to be stereotypical and crunchy, but a great step further down our healthy eating road is granola! It is so good for you, with no added preservatives, made from scratch with lovely ingrediants. It is more expensive to make a batch than to buy a box of cereal, but it lasts much longer and it is much more filling. There are many great recipes out there, but here is my favorite.
Store it in an air tight container for breakfast in a hurry!
Store it in an air tight container for breakfast in a hurry!
Second Step
Alright, now let's have some fun! Let's make healthy raw ice cream good enough to eat for breakfast! This is my kid's favorite and I sure enjoy asking them how many people they think are eating ice cream for breakfast like they are. It is also great for night time, day time, friend time, and date time. This recipe was initally borrowed from Serene Allison, in her Rejuvinate Your Life, but I changed it a bit. As you move further down your healthy eating road, this is the perfect place to sneak healthy extras like spiralina and coconut oil. In a blender or food processor place-
2-3 very ripe, frozen bananas (peeled before freezing)
Handful of frozen fruit per person
dash of honey or maple syrup
splash of vanilla
Milk filled half-way over fruit
Blend blend blend. Dance dance dance. We serve this for breakfast with toast.
Variations: try adding coconut and chopped nuts on top, for vanilla ice cream, just add extra bananas and no other fruit, and if you are reaaly wild and crazy add frozen (canned) pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and sub coconut milk for regular milk. We LOVE to add cocoa powder occasionally for chocolate ice cream after dinner.
2-3 very ripe, frozen bananas (peeled before freezing)
Handful of frozen fruit per person
dash of honey or maple syrup
splash of vanilla
Milk filled half-way over fruit
Blend blend blend. Dance dance dance. We serve this for breakfast with toast.
Variations: try adding coconut and chopped nuts on top, for vanilla ice cream, just add extra bananas and no other fruit, and if you are reaaly wild and crazy add frozen (canned) pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and sub coconut milk for regular milk. We LOVE to add cocoa powder occasionally for chocolate ice cream after dinner.
The first BIG step
Now, the purpose of this weblog is to encourage easy and inexpensive healthy eating, so it is quite strange that the first thing I think you should do is one of the most expensive, but it makes a world of difference. The very first thing I recommend doing is getting a water filter. You can make everything in your house from scratch with freshly ground everything, but if you use tap water, it will be filled with chemicals. It is the foundation on which to build all of your other healthy food endeavors. For years we bought bottled water, and that is a great way to take a first baby step. If it is not feasible for you to buy a filter, purchasing water is a great option. The main idea is that if you cook your rice, pasta, tea, bread, etc. in chemical free water, it has nothing but benefits. A water filter has the added bonus of not lugging around heavy bottles, you will never run out, and you will use it freely for everything. The best water filter I have found to date is the Berkey water filter.
http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Berkey-Light
"The Berkey Light is the most advanced passive water filter available. It removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts, chemicals including herbicides, pesticides, foul tastes and odors, and reduces heavy metals without removing the healthful and nutritional minerals your body needs!"
It is $200, but it is quite cost effective as you only have to change the filters every 2 years. Just fill it up and go. It is light weight and portable if needed, but I keep it on my counter and use it for all of my water for cooking and drinking. I heart my berkey filter. I promise the road to healthy eating is not paved in spending money, this is a sacrifice that will endure.
http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Berkey-Light
"The Berkey Light is the most advanced passive water filter available. It removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts, chemicals including herbicides, pesticides, foul tastes and odors, and reduces heavy metals without removing the healthful and nutritional minerals your body needs!"
It is $200, but it is quite cost effective as you only have to change the filters every 2 years. Just fill it up and go. It is light weight and portable if needed, but I keep it on my counter and use it for all of my water for cooking and drinking. I heart my berkey filter. I promise the road to healthy eating is not paved in spending money, this is a sacrifice that will endure.
Begin at the beginning
Inspired by my recent health woes, I have been doing a great deal of thinking. Although the entire story is long, the short version is I am hard on myself. I have read so much and have access to so much great information that I have made each new set of facts as my standard. I realized I have been feeling like a failure at best, and a hypocrit at worst for the occasional drive-thrus and ice cream. The best thing about laying in bed in pain is I have never realized that about myself and this latest occurance caused me to. In the middle of, "well, I deserve this pain, I did it to myself. I never should have eaten that chocolate," my husband's reason sounded clear through the silliness. I would never judge someone else for these same things, why couldn't I give myself that same break? Well, now I am! So, in my new found freedom, and in celebration of loosing my chains of perfectionism and strife I thought I would post some very simple steps to encourage families on the easy road to healthy living. I hope I can encourage you that healthy eating is not a list of rules with guilt attached, but it is information and freedom- freedom to feel better and live longer, and freedom when you enjoy the not so healthy treats. If we insulate our bodies with healthy living foods, it can take an occasional Standard American Diet meal and bounce back unharmed. I am a busy lady, as I am sure are you, so it is my goal to take the easy road. If this is to become a way of life, it should not be an uphill battle, but fun and easy! Give me easy and give me tasty and you've sold me!
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