Granola Bar fun

I made granola bars this morning for the kiddos.  There were only 5 kids eating this morning, so, as you can see, I ended up with several leftover.

I could've left them out on the counter and when the girls and Hubby got home in the afternoon, they would've scarfed them up, but that would go against my new rules for daily portion sizes.  Instead I individually wrapped the bars.

I bagged them up in a freezer ziploc bag...

And tossed them in the freezer.

They will be ready for those "gotta leave in a hurry" mornings.

Now, the only one question remains

Is that a 5 o'clock shadow or did I put a few too many chocolate chips in the granola bars?"



Daycare baby loves her granola bars!



I am now making up my own rules!

I've spent altogether tooooooo much time online this week between deodorant and trying to figure out what decent food portions should be.  I think I've solved my deodorant problem, so now it's on to portion control.  It seems that for as many types of diet plans there are out there, each has their own idea of how much of this and that a person should eat.  I read one plan yesterday that was fruit based and for breakfast the meal was 12 peaches, lunch was 7 bananas and then eat a big salad and another piece of fruit for dinner.  It touted weight loss and ease of elimination.  Really?  If I ate that much produce everyday, the only elimination problem I would have is that I would have to eliminate my life because I would have to live on the toilet!  =)  I don't think so!

Anyway, I've decided that if everyone else can make up their own rules for portion control/number of servings, then I can too.  In my opinion, I am using the best of the plans I've seen and adding a little common sense.  Now, this will not completely apply to the daycare kids.  State licensing requires that I serve a certain amount of certain food at each meal.  Given that, I will do this for my family and to the extent I am able without breaking the rules with the daycare kids.  To start with, this is my plan (daycare guidelines in bold).  If I find that it isn't working, I can always change it.

Breakfast:  Protein, whole grain and a piece of fruit (grain, fruit/veggie, milk)

Morning Snack:  veggie and/or protein (not required)

Lunch:  protein, whole grain, 2 veggies, fruit (protein, grain, 2 servings in any combination fruit/veggie, milk)

Afternoon snack: fruit/veggie if we will be eating early or protein if we are eating late (2 food groups-usually something and milk, because they already have a cup)

Dinner:  protein, whole grain, 2 veggies

After dinner snack:  fruit or treat

Snacks are optional.  I will really encourage the kids to only eat if they are hungry and the serving size will vary depending on the meal and time.  For example the protein in the morning snack could be a couple teaspoons of peanut butter to eat with some carrots and the whole grain at breakfast is likely to be a slice of toast or one tortilla to make an breakfast sandwich/burrito.

How does this differ from the food pyramid that we know and love?
For an adult with a 2000 calorie diet (that's the Pyramid guideline).  I'm sure my caloric intake will vary.
Grains:  Pyramid-6 oz.  My plan-4 oz.
Veggies:  Pyramid-2.5 cups  My plan-2.5-3 cups
Fruits:  Pyramid-2 cups  My plan-1.5-2 cups
Milk:  Pyramid-3 cups daily  My plan-1-1.5 cups (we will not be drinking milk-this will be in yogurt, cheese, sour cream, so actually 1.5 cups is really on the high side)
Meat & Beans:  Pyramid-5.5 oz. daily My plan-6-8 oz.  depending on if a protein is part of the snacks or not
Oils: Pyramid-use sparingly My plan-I'll use them as I have been and not go overboard, but not cut back either.

Now, I don't have the time to calculate each meal every time, so my way of knowing that we are following the plan is to really limit the grains and only one of whatever it is.  I would think that Hubby could still have secondsor a larger serving of the protein at our evening meal without wrecking the whole thing.  I just have to keep him away from the soda and candy bars.

I also plan to up our activity level.  In fact, I think that will be next week's challenge.  We only have one more volleyball game, so the other nights we can take a walk or I can take the kids to the "greenway" (our public walking path) and they can ride their scooters.  The oldest really wants to play volleyball for the school come fall, so this summer I really want to work on increasing her upper body strength or she has no prayer of serving over-hand.

Will this work?  I don't know.  But, I figure that if we all start gaining weight, feel sluggish, have digestional problems, or whatever, then I can change it.  The whole plan can't be any more harmful than a diet of processed, HFCS filled, GMO-laden junk which is what I started out with several years ago.

Oh, and I think that as soon as we get the dinner plates fixed, I am going to put away the protein and grain item.  If Hubby and the girls want seconds, they can have veggies.  Hopefully that will increase the amount of leftovers we have, so Hubby will always have something to take the next day and leave out the option of McDonald's.

What do you think?  I am completely open to comments and constructive criticism.  This is definitely a work in progress that I hope others could benefit from too.

Making Your Own Deodorant-harder than it seems?

Researching is going to be the death of me!  I had my homemade deodorant recipe all planned out.  I had seen it on a number of different sites, so it must be good, right?  Well, maybe not.  Last night, the more I read on my recipe, the more I wasn't sure I would like it.  The recipe is: 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 baking soda and 5 Tbsp. coconut oil.  Many people said that they had skin irritation, from small, red bumps to open sores.  Others complained of a long (and stinky) detox period.  Hmmm.  These negatives are serving as a speed bump in my road.  Although, I don't consider myself to be a baby, I don't feel like having sores in my armpits or having all the kids tell me I stink (and you know they would).

I went looking again this morning and found another recipe that I think might be the ticket.  First published by Angry Chicken, this deodorant recipe has both shea butter and cocoa butter in it with the cornstarch and baking soda (both in smaller amounts).  My hope is that the moisturizing and healing properties of the butters will combat the drying action of the cornstarch and the abrasive nature of the baking soda.  Geez!  I've spent too much time thinking this through!  LOL

Anyway, here is the deodorant recipe I will be making.

3 Tablespoons shea butter
3 Tablespoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps, optional
Essential Oil, optional (I will probably use TTO and lavendar.)

Nuke the butters, baking soda and cornstarch in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir until smooth.  Add in the vitamin E oil (squeezed from the gel cap) and Essential Oil if using those.  Pour into a small jar.  Place in refrigerator to harden.  Makes about 1/4 cup.

The downside of my new plan is that I don't have cocoa butter or shea butter.  I took care of that with one quick Amazon order and now I'll be making my own deodorant in 5-8 days! =)

Meatball Subs

One would think that four months into this project that I wouldn't forget to take pictures of the final product.  Well, think again.  I served meatball subs for both lunch and dinner and didn't take a single picture of the actual sandwich.  I guess I'm lucky that I at least took pictures of the bread and meatballs.  Please use your imagination from there!

First, the recipe for the sub rolls.  Although I thought I did really well getting the wheat flour to liquid ratio correct, I was disappointed with the outcome.  The rolls seemed too flat.  Once I started thinking about it though, the recipe was supposed to make 8 sub rolls.  I made 7 rolls and 8 mini-rolls for the daycare kids.  They probably would've been thicker/larger if I had only made 8 rolls.  But, after eating the sandwich, Hubby and I decided that we liked them flatter.  They have a great flavor, hold together even with the juiciness of the meatballs, and weren't too big to get your mouth around.  I think I'm going to start making them for sandwiches instead of wheat bread (way fewer crumbs).  I liken them to the sandwich deli flatbreads or bagel thins that are popular right now.


6 sandwich rolls and 2 mini rolls



1 1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. yeast

2 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 - 3 cups whole white wheat flour*

*You want just enough flour that the dough is not sticky to the touch.  When you pull it apart, it should be a little sticky, but a dusting of flour takes care of it.  I started with 2 cups and added a little bit at a time until the dough would pull away from the bread hook fairly easily.  I used about 2 2/3 cups.

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl (or stand mixer).  Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.  Add oil, and salt and about half of the flour.  Mix by hand or with mixer.  Continue to add flour until you have a workable dough.  Shape dough into 8 sub shaped rolls.  I made mine flatter so it would be more sandwich like (and not so much like a hot dog bun).  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Use a bread knife to make diagonal slits across the top (2-4 depending on how big the rolls are).  Cover and let rest 45 minutes.  After resting, remove cover and mist the tops of the rolls with water.  I used a spray bottle that Hubby puts grill fires out with.  Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Slice through the center and stuff with your choice of sandwich ingredients.

Meatballs (I made enough for 2 meals)

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup parmesan

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

*If you want to go dairy-free on this one, they are just as good without the paremsan and you can use tomato juice in place of the milk-especially if you are going to serve them with a marinara sauce anyway.  A milk alternative could also be used.  And make sure that your milk isn't flavored... yeah, vanilla flavored cream of mushroom soup is NOT tasty!

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Use your hands to make the meatball the size you want them.. I made mine about an inch (for daycare) or an inch-and-a-half (for family).  For the daycare batch, I put the meatballs in a greased, mini muffin pan.  With the sides going up around them, they browed quickly and cooked in about 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven (baking rolls at the same time).  The bigger ones wouldn't fit well in the muffin wells, so I just placed them on a stoneware jelly roll pan and baked them in about 20 minutes.  They didn't get as brown, but with the sauce on them, who could tell anyway?

For the sauce, I used a store-brand, organic jarred marinara.  Since getting rid of canned goods, I was trying out jarred sauce to see how it would be.  It was good.  This summer, I hope to make my own, but at $2.50 a jar, it will work just fine for now.

So, there you have it, made from scratch meatball subs.  Enjoy!

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

This salad is a staple at family gatherings on my side of the family.  My Mom is allergic to dairy and many salads are out for her.  Since this is one she enjoys (and can have without her throat swelling shut, which is always a plus), we always indulge her!  LOL (I'm sure that if she read my blog she would appreciate that. )

Recipe:
1 head of cauliflower, cut in bite-sized pieces
2-3 broccoli florettes, cut in bite-sized pieces (we tend to go for more broccoli, but that's a personal preference)
8 oz. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (I used Hormel Natural preservative free bacon.  While I'm not a big fan of Hormel's business practices, they're nitrite free bacon is the best I've tried so far.)
1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped onion (really depends on how strong the onion is and how much you like it as to how much you want to add)
2/3 cup mayo
1/3 cup sugar
1-2 Tbsp. white distilled vinegar

In a large bowl, put the first 4 ingredients in and toss together.  In a small bowl combine the mayo, sugar and vinegar.  Stir to make a dressing.  Pour over the veggies and stir to coat the broccoli and cauliflower. 

In my opinion, this is best served the same day that it is made.  I think that the longer it sits, the bacon gets chewy.  The crispness and saltiness of the bacon against the sweet-n-sour of the dressing work well togther.  Once you have soggy bacon, it's just not the same.

Week 18: Portion Control and Deodorant (not at the same time)!

I'm getting to the point in this journey where I've taken care of the biggest things and now I'm have one of two problems.  One, I can't come up with anything feasible to change (which I know isn't true, it's a mindset thing) or two, I have soooooo  many things I want to change that I have trouble deciding.  This week would be the week of too many things.  I've decided to tackle two very different things:  portion control and deodorant.  Yes, I know.  They are radically different.  LOL

Portion control has bothered me for quite some time.  I have been using smaller salad plates instead of dinner plates and have been dividing our food with one quarter of the plate being protein, another quarter, grains and half the plate for fruits and veggies.  I'm not sure why I started doing this, but I read it somewhere and it makes sense to stack the plate in favor of fruits and veggies-gotta get the 5-9 servings, ya know!  The problem is that the girls and Hubby clean their plates and go back for seconds (generous helpings) on the grains and protein.  Would they overall eat less if I just gave everyone a little more of what they want the first time around?  Since I've tossed about 85% of what the USDA says is a healthy diet (GMO-laden, artificial junk), do I need to keep this aspect?  I will be doing some reading and reporting about what I find on this subject.

Deodorant has some nasty chemicals in it.  I use Degree anti-perspirant.  As listed on the Environmental Working Group website, Skin Deep, the ingredients are: Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly (17.8% W/W) (anti-perspirant)Inactive Ingredients: CyclopentaSiloxane, PPG 14 Butyl Ether, Stearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Talc, Fragrance (parfum), BHT, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch.  I only know what a few of these ingredients even are, so the question is, "Do I want to put this on my body on a daily basis?  Hmmmm, probably not.   I've wanted to change what I use for quite some time, but always seem to find a reason not to switch:  natural brands don't work, I still have another stick in the cabinet,  I don't have the right stuff to make my own, etc.  Well, I got my 1 gallon container of coconut oil last week, and I found the organic cornstarch that I purchased months ago (for this very reason), so this week I WILL make my own deodorant.  I will keep everyone updated as to how it's working.

I still have several recipes that I want to get posted.  The Curried Chicken Salad never happened because my family, who doesn't understand portion control, ate all of the chicken.  I did make a Fruit Salad and then used the leftovers to make a wonderful smoothie.  I also made a cauliflower and broccoli salad.  I was so frazzled on Sunday that I forgot to get pictures of any of the food, so I don't even have pics to share. :(

I did make meatball sub sandwiches for the kids for lunch today and got pictures of those, so the recipes for grinder rolls and meatballs should be forthcoming.

First Communion

Well folks, the big day came and went and my baby girl had her First Communion this afternoon!  The party went off without a hitch.  The food was great, the family was great, and baby girl would say that the gifts were great!  LOL

We did have a couple issues.  She decided right before we left the house that she didn't want to wear her veil.  Too bad sister-that's part of the ensemble.  And, the dress was scratchy.  So moments before we walked out the door, I threw on a tank top under her dress, which needed constant adjusting to keep from showing, but oh well.  In the course of my life, if these are the only glitches in an otherwise great day, I'll take them.

I'll post some recipes tomorrow, but for now I'm tired.  But, I had to share my baby with you!