Resurrection Rolls (an Easter Tradition)

Last year I discovered Resurrection Rolls per the tip from a friend.  We had made Easter Cookies (which are also a great way to teach about the resurrection of Jesus Christ) but had never heard of Resurrection Rolls.  Guess what… they are even better than the cookies!  And quicker, too.

Before making the rolls you can read John 19 in the Bible to remind everyone what Jesus went through as he was crucified.  However, because most of my kids are still pretty young and unable to sit through a long chapter like that, I just tell them about it and what each ingredient represents. 

You’ll need the following:

• Crescent rolls in a tube (such as Pillsbury) – tomb
• large marshmallows (1 per crescent roll) – Christ himself, purity
• cinnamon/sugar mixture – Spices used to prep his body for burial
• melted butter – embalming oils

Preheat the oven to 350*.  If you have strange phobias like myself, have one of your children open the tube of crescent rolls.  Yes, I’m scared of them….. balloons, too.  Let’s not talk about it. 

Moving on, take marshmallows one at a time and roll them in the melted butter.  Once coated, roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on large end of a crescent roll.  Roll it up and pinch all sides closed tightly.  There should be no holes or gaps if possible.

Place on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 12-15 minutes. – The three days.

While it’s baking, read John 20:1-18 

When they are cool enough to eat (but still warm because they’re best that way) open one up and show the kids that Jesus (the marshmallow) is no longer there!  He is risen! 

And now eat because they’re delicious!

 

And on a side note… these pics did not turn out quite the way I had them envisioned in my mind.  I’m going to get this photography thing down if it KILLS me!  ;)  I’ve decided that FOOD-tography is even tougher than people photography. 

More Birthday Stuff!

After leaving Temple Square, where we gathered for C’s birthday, we headed to Leatherby’s.  I grew up going to Leatherby’s quite often and to this day it’s my favorite place to go for ice cream…. and cheese fries.  Mmm, I could go for a batch right now!  Definitely not clean but absolutely delicious to be sure!

While there, I was able to get a couple of pics.  Unfortunately they’re just cell phone pics because I didn’t want to pull out my camera and risk it getting sticky or something.  That would be a tragedy! 

We had the kids look at the ice cream flavors in the buckets before being seated so they would know ahead of time what they wanted.  It’s always a process, might as well get it done early.  C insisted on the ‘RED’ one.  (He always calls green red for some reason.)

It’s Pistachio Nut.  And it was really good.  

Once he was done, he decided to help the waiters out.  I mean, I’m sure they were in the market for a 4-year-old apprentice, no? 

He was not about to sit still after that.  The determination in that child is relentless and he was bound and determined to get his way.  Anthony took him to the car before they even had a chance to sing to him.  I had actually forgotten that they were going to sing until an entire herd of waiters/waitresses marched over to our table with a tiny scoop of ice cream and a candle.  So, we had them sing to B instead.  His birthday was only a couple weeks ago and we never did sing to him so it worked out.  And B thought he was pretty big stuff!  I was able to snap one pic before switching to video and catching him blow out the candle.  You’ll see the look of pride on his face (in the video).

And just because I know you’re dying to know what we all got… ;)

Anthony and I shared Tracy’s Peanut Butter Cup (it’s to die for!)

K – Cake Batter,  A – Chocolate Peanut Butter,  H – Bubble Gum (a classic!)

And of course the aforementioned cheese fries and chicken fingers.  We were all starving after Temple Square!

C’s Birthday Post

And now he’s 4.  Time flies and I’m getting left in the DUST! 

The only thing my little man wanted to do for his birthday was go to Temple Square.  I really don’t know why because I’m pretty sure that he had no clue what it really was.  I think he thought he’d be able to go inside.  All I know is that he’s been asking to go for months now. 

So, we met up with anyone that could make it.  We invited everyone but only my family showed up (Mom, Dad, Kortney, Parker) and one of Anthony’s sisters, Anne, and her family.  Not sure why everyone else didn’t make it but we had fun anyway. 

We decided to hit the Church History Museum first thinking that C would enjoy that a little better than Temple Square itself.  Turns out, we were wrong. 

He had fun but he just kept asking when we were going to Temple Square. 

So off we went.  But first I had to get a few pics in front of the Museum.  He was in love with this little flower he picked before anyone could stop him.  He carried it around the rest of the day.

Ok, so he badly needs a haircut and I’m not the best at editing my photos yet.  Still working on that. Oh, and the outfit… it was his birthday.  I let him choose even if I did plan on taking pics.  Sigh!  He’s 4.

Once at Temple Square, C was on cloud nine!  He thought he was big stuff when we told him we had entered the grounds.  He started marching his excited march.  You’d have to see it to know what I’m talking about.  I guess you might call it a cross between a march and a strut. 

All in all I think C had a great day!  After leaving Temple Square we headed to Leatherby’s… only the BEST ice cream place in the entire world!!  I only took pics on my phone there because I didn’t want to risk my sixth child new camera getting all sticky and icky. 

When I asked C some questions to document his favorites, this is how he answered:

Favorite Movie:  2 of them (I would say it’s probably Horton Hears a Who… at least right now.)

Favorite TV Show:  How ‘bout Cat in the Hat (he’s only seen it once)

Favorite Food:  Um, I like pasghetti (we had just eaten it for dinner… and he never eats much of it)

Favorite Color:  Orange (it’s the only color he’s got down pat!)

 

Blog Friends

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Cari over at The Osborne’s.  Go visit her, she’s amazing!

We initially ‘met’ when I wrote my very first post for Latter-Day Homeschooling asking for donations to my “50 State Project”…. a postcard from every state (which is still a work in progress **wink, wink**).  Cari and her family just happened to be moving back to Utah from out of state and would be passing through several states along the way.  She was kind enough to collect postcards and send them to my girls who were thrilled with each postcard received. 

Since that time, we’ve emailed back and forth and got to know each other a bit.  She’s seriously the sweetest person ever!  We figured out that she and my husband actually went to school together.  They didn’t really know each other but Anthony recognized her yearbook pic, does that count?

Well, with my tax return this year I decided to buy myself a DSLR.  No, it wasn’t really in the budget but darnitall, I’m determined to someday help my family’s income.  I know what you’re thinking:  Umm, Brooke, I’ve the seen the pictures on your blog and they’re really not that great.  Good luck to ya, you’ll need it!

Point taken but seriously, if you saw my camera you’d understand.  Since having this new camera, my photography has greatly improved.  Especially since Cari was kind enough to meet up with my boys and me to teach me how to use the thing.  No, I’m not saying I’m awesome yet.  It’s a work in progress. 

I admit I was scared of my new camera when it first arrived.  Yes, I’m serious.  I might have freaked out just a little bit when C tried to ‘help’ me take it out of the packaging. 

It was something like, “Don’t touch that!!  I will cry if you break something!”  And then K laughed at me. 

Anyway, I met up with Cari at the park on a windy day (I had my boys and she had two of her three).  Boo to wind!  She taught me a few basics and best of all, I learned how to take it out of auto mode (which is actually scary at first but now I have a lot of fun with it) and how to shoot in ‘raw’. 

Can I just say that even though I understand why I should shoot in raw, it still makes me feel naked.  Yes, naked.  I don’t know why.  Raw, Naked… same thing. 

Well, the park got a little chilly and far too windy so we left and met up at the Chick-Fil-A down the street.  No pictures there but we had a good time.

I came home and immediately started playing with my manual settings.  My subject?  Bananas, of course!  What else?  

I have to say that I really enjoyed meeting Cari and I think I’ve made a good friend.  It’s not easy for me to make friends.  Maybe I’m just a bit socially awkward?  Or maybe I’m just a little bit shy… or both?  Whatever the case, I’m so glad to have made such a great friend. 

And guess what else she did!!!!!  Have you noticed my new design?  Um, yeah!  Totally Cari!  I swear there’s almost nothing that she can’t do.  She says she can’t sing or dance but I don’t know if I believe it. 

Cari totally went the rounds for me on this whole blog design.  Little did she know what she was in for when she asked if I wanted a new design… YES!  Sadly, I know next to nothing about WordPress (yeah, it was really smart of me to switch… :/) and poor Cari doesn’t use WP so she thought she was done at the design alone.  You know, pass the design along and let Brooke put it on there.

She did the whole darn thing!!  After my asking a gazillion questions about how I was to go about making the design work on my blog, she took it upon herself to figure it out for me.  On a happy note, she now knows WP.  Me?  I still know nothing. 

Cari, are we still friends? 

Oh man, I am ever so grateful to her for everything she’s done!  Looking forward to meeting again next week and hopefully making plans for more meetings!

And that’s the end of my post…

What?  You want to see pictures?  Oh, yeah, about that… they’re coming!  I’m still working on them.  Be patient.  Next post will have pics, I promise! ;)

 

To Be {Organic} or Not to Be?

The simple (yet complicated) answer to this question is absolutely, positively, without a doubt…

YES!

When it comes to eating and buying real, whole foods, organic is the best way to go.  I have to admit that I wasn’t always on board with the idea of eating organically.  I thought that organic just meant spending more money.  Since that time, the research that I’ve done has proved otherwise and I am now a big advocate for going organic all the way. 

But I’m a practical girl and I know that many of us (including myself) are not in a position to run out and purchase organic foods to feed our families 100% of the time.  Heck, maybe not even 50% of the time.  I know I can’t.  Not only is organic food expensive much of the time, it can also be hard to find.  If you’ve been on the lookout for less expensive organics or you are just having a hard time finding organics in general, the resources listed here might be of interest to you. 

First, though, let’s talk a little bit about why we should be eating organically as opposed to conventionally. 

Organic food, particularly produce, has much more nutrition than that of conventionally grown produce.  There are no pesticides used or GMO’s** (see next section) in organic foods.  If you are able to buy organic foods from local farmers all the better.  (Note that some farmers still use pesticides when necessary.)  That way you know that the produce is fresh and hasn’t been sitting in a truck and in a back room for weeks before being set out for us to purchase in the supermarket.  Farmer’s Markets are awesome for this!  You can usually get quite a bit of food for very little money at Farmer’s Markets and it was all recently picked.   

Another reason to eat organically is to ensure that the foods you are buying aren’t genetically modified.  Here’s a great article on genetically modified organisms and why you should stay away from them.  It really just gets my blood boiling!

When choosing which produce to buy organically, a good rule of thumb is that if it’s something that you eat the skin of (apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, peaches, lettuce, etc.) buy organic.  If you don’t eat the skin (oranges, bananas, avocados, and the like) then it’s probably ok to buy it conventionally.  Most of the time, the pesticides that are sprayed gather in the skin of the fruit as it grows.  Apples are the worst for holding onto pesticide residue.  I try at all costs to buy apples organically.  It doesn’t always happen but I try.

It took a long time for me to feel like I could justify the cost of organic foods even to a small degree.  Things have always been tight around here and we just don’t have the means to buy apples or grapes at twice the price of their conventional counterparts.  That seems to be the cost difference in regular grocery stores.  And then I discovered Sunflower Market about a year ago.  AWESOME store!  It’s small but they carry far better produce than just about any other grocery store I know of.  And they carry such a wide variety, too.  And you just can’t beat the prices when they put their organic produce on sale. 

Even when they’re not on sale, it’s usually not much more than what you would pay for the conventional.  They’ve got quite a bit of bulk items as well.  Maybe not quite as many as WinCo (which is another great source for inexpensive produce, grains, spices, etc.) but I prefer Sunflower to WinCo.  Both stores carry much more than just produce.  (Whole Foods is another option but I have not been all that impressed with their prices or their produce in general.)  

Keep in mind, not all of the produce I buy is organic. 

One thing that we ALWAYS buy organically is eggs (Costco is the cheapest).  And while it’s not exactly ‘organic’, we try to buy hormone free milk.  Sometimes our budget doesn’t allow for it and we are forced to buy whatever milk is on sale and you know what?  That’s ok.  We’re feeding our kids and ourselves the best we are able.  I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to buy raw milk, however, it is extremely hard to find and when you do find it, it costs an arm and a leg.

One place that might be an option for you if you’re building your supply of whole foods (organic if possible, but not necessary) is Azure Standard.  They have drop points all over the country I believe and they come to each one once a month.  They’ve got FANTASTIC prices on grains, flours, supplements and everything between.  You can go to their website and request a free catalog (I think you have to create an account – also free).  You’ll love the prices and the selection.  They’ve got EVERYTHING!  And if I remember right, shipping is free if you order $50 or more.  Don’t quote me on that one.  But really, it’s very easy to do!

And now for a slight change in subject… MEATS!

Since starting on our clean food/whole food/real food journey, we’ve eaten less and less meat.  I used to be completely at a loss when it came to preparing a meal without meat.  My dinners growing up centered around meat whether it be chicken, a roast, ground beef, steak, turkey, etc.  Now we try to make some kind of vegetable the main course while everything else takes a side dish spot.  Sometimes it includes meat and sometimes not. 

After watching Food, Inc. Anthony and I have a hard time sometimes with the meat that is already in our freezer.  To see the way that the animals were treated before slaughter and the way they bring them up and feed them is all wrong.  It’s sickening, actually. 

Don’t get me wrong, we still eat meat and are far from vegetarian but we are much choosier about how often we eat it and how much of it we eat. 

Speaking of meat.  Ever seen Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution?  I love that show!  He’s all about getting school cafeterias and fast food chains to change their menus to include real, healthy meals with whole foods.  On the show last season he talked about ‘Pink Slime’ in one episode.  It is absolutely stomach turning and to think that the FDA has approved this.  It’s revolting, really!  Here’s the clip…

My aunt told me just yesterday that after watching this clip she went straight to her freezer and threw out all of her ground beef.  She just couldn’t stomach it. 

So, if after watching this clip and possibly seeing Food, Inc. (you can find it on Netflix), you are ready for organic meats, they are out there.  They can be pretty pricey and I have to admit that I’m not that rich yet but when I am, you can bet that I’ll be buying my meat from HERE!  Someday I’ll be rich enough… I’m determined!

Here are some great clean food recipe sites that I love:

The Gracious Pantry

The Naked Kitchen

Natural Moms Recipes

Whole Foods Recipes

Word of Wisdom Living

Perry’s Plate

 

 

I don’t watch a TON of TV, but…

Ok, so I have a few guilty pleasures in the realm of television watching.  I used to watch a lot more than I do now.  As my family has grown I’ve had to cut back and choose only ‘the best’.  Ha!  (You’ll laugh too when you see what ‘the best’ consists of.)

The guiltiest of my guilty pleasures would have to be Dance Moms.  It’s HORRIBLE!!  If you’ve ever watched, you know what I mean.  Abby Lee Miller (the teacher) treats the kids like… well, I don’t know.  I just know it’s awful.  And the moms are pretty much nuts!  But it’s like the guy that bends over to pick something up and his bum is showing.  Someone yells, “OH!  Look, that guy’s got plumber’s crack!”  (No offense to any plumbers ;) We all have our moments of ‘crack’ showing.) 

You don’t really  want to see but the first reaction is, “WHERE?”  And then you look and immediately look away because… EW! 

That’s how Dance Moms is.  You just have to watch!  Or maybe you don’t, but I do.  Though I admit that there are a couple of times I’ve had to skip it (like when they are ‘show girls’ and Abby wants the audience to ‘think they’re naked’.  That’s just wrong.)

These girls are amazing dancers.  I’ve never seen anything like it especially at their young ages.  Here is a clip from when they were on The View.

 

My next guilty pleasure is The Biggest Loser.  If I could only choose one show to watch from now on (which I should probably do) this would be it.  But I’ve gotta say, I really miss Jillian!  Tell me you wouldn’t choose her as your trainer if you could.  I would!  Dolvett would be my second choice.  Bob is just out of the question.  Not a fan.  Who would you choose? 

 

Ok, I lied!  The Biggest Loser would be the show I would watch if I could only choose one game type reality show.  You know, where they are playing for money?  But I think I would choose The Duggars as my all-time favorite.  I love 19 Kids and Counting.  LOVE it!!  Call me crazy but I find them to be very inspirational.  The plan is to someday be as organized as they are and my kids will get along as well as the Duggar kids do.  That’s the plan, it’s a work in progress.  But I figure if they can do it with 19 kids, surely I should be able to handle my five!!  Or not, they’re just amazing. 

 

What TV shows do you just have to watch each week?  

Guess who’s 2!! (B’s birthday post)

Someone turned two over the weekend… I can’t believe my baby is two!  He’s been such a blessing to our family.

 

This kid has shown signs of being a jokester from the time that he started to develop a personality.  It has proven to be true as he’s grown and I love it!  He’s definitely a handful and keeps me on my toes.  He keeps all of us in stitches most of the time.  B loves to laugh and make others laugh along with him.  I can’t wait to watch his personality develop even further. 

I know the picture below is blurry but it was just too cute not to include.  It shows just a tiny smidge of the prankster in him.  And yes, he is surrounded by rags and floor coverings because we are in the process of painting our dining room.

And even though the little stinker has entered into the terrible 2’s, I just have to say that I will take a 2 year old over a 3 year old ANY day!  I think 3 is much tougher than 2. 

We love you B!  Happy Birthday!

(Now just 2 more birthdays in March… all the boys.  Us girls all get our own month [selfish?] but Anthony, C, and B all get to share March.  No party yet.  It’s coming.)

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

This is the bread that K says is better than any other.  She even helps me make it now.  It’s her favorite and let me tell you, it is sooo easy!  I’ve only recently started making yeast breads again because for some reason they’ve never agreed with me before.  Either it wouldn’t rise properly or it just came out dense and brick-like.  I had come to the conclusion that I just didn’t have the right touch for making breads no matter how hard I tried.

Then one day, someone explained to me that the best way to tell if a bread dough has enough flour is that it should feel slightly tacky but not sticky.  It shouldn’t stick to your hands while kneading but it shouldn’t be so stiff and dry that you can’t knead it properly. 

So that’s the problem?!  I’m adding too much flour??

Yup!

Turns out, that theory has proven to be true.  I don’t know how I didn’t know this before.  I’m a little slow sometimes, I admit it. 

There have been no bread mishaps since I’ve resisted the urge to add more flour than is necessary.  I just always thought it needed more.  Also, I never knew what ‘warm’ meant when referring to the water temp.  How warm?  Hot warm?  Cool warm?  Somewhere I learned that it should be about the temp that would feel comfortable on your head in the shower or if you were washing your hair over the sink… warmer than I would have thought.  Seems to work so that’s the ‘warm’ I go with now.

This recipe came from my Worldwide Ward Cookbook (awesome book!).  I only adjusted the temperature and the baking time because the first time I made this it was still doughy in the middle… YUCK!  The temp was way too low and the time was too short. 

Whole Wheat Bread

Combine 4 1/2 tsp. (2 packets) yeast and 3/4 c. warm water in a large mixing bowl.  Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour and stir vigorously.  Now you need to ‘sponge the dough’ by allowing the mixture to sit for about 45 minutes, covered with a towel. 

Add 2 1/2 c. warm water and 2 c. of whole wheat flour.  Mix well.

Add 1/2 c. wheat gluten, 1/3 cup honey, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 2 1/2 tablespoons oil.  Mix well. 

Add another 4-6 cups whole wheat flour (mine always takes 4-5), one at a time and mixing well inbetween, until it is good bread consistency (slightly tacky but not sticky).  You’ll have to mix the last bit in by kneading. 

Knead for 10-15 minutes. 

Shape loaves and place into 2 greased loaf pans.  To shape my loaves I like to roll it out like cinnamon rolls, making sure that it’s at least as wide as the pan is long.  Does that make sense?  It doesn’t have to be pretty or perfectly rectangular.  Roll it up like cinnamon rolls (not too loose or too tight, just firm) and tuck under where needed to fit properly into pan. 

Allow to rise until double in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). 

Bake in preheated 350* oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from pans onto cooling rack.  My whole family LOVES this bread.  We haven’t had to buy a loaf from the store for about a month now.  

 

MyMemories Suite Winner!

Congratulations to Dana who won the MyMemories Suite giveaway!  I will be emailing you (Dana) the info you need to download your own copy of the program. 

Sorry I didn’t post this earlier.  Today was a bit chaotic and I just didn’t get a chance. 

How to incorporate more of the good stuff (Food-Wise)

The other day when I posted my new (but old) eating plan, I was asked by a reader in the comments section how it might be possible to do this without the support of kids and/or spouse.  I must say that without the whole family jumping on board it does make it a lot harder to start, let alone stick to this plan.  We live in a society of convenience and what’s more convenient than a prepackaged, ready to go snack full of additives and preservatives?  We lead busy lives and it’s hard to find the time to make a home cooked meal or plan ahead for snacks. 

Well, hard as it might be, it CAN be done! 

I was lucky to have my whole family excited to start eating real, whole foods.  Anthony and I had talked to the kids about the benefits of eating real food and they were completely on board.  We even went so far as to tell them they would feel better.  We didn’t know that yet but we believed it.  Turns out it was true. 

As I mentioned in the last food post, Anthony suffered headaches at first while his body detoxed but he fought through it because we knew that was one of the symptoms for some people.  After that, he felt better than ever.  And the truth is, after a couple of weeks of eating clean, neither of us had the cravings for sugar that we used to.  In fact, there were a couple of times we decided to treat ourselves to something ‘dirty’ and both of us could actually feel the effects the sugar had on us.  Once it was a Snickers bar and not only did it not taste as good as we remembered, it also made us both feel sick.  Another time we tried a root beer float and almost immediately we both felt shaky and queasy.  Never before had those kinds of treats had that kind of affect on us.  Weird!  And at the same time, it felt good to know that we no longer craved those things!

Our oldest daughter, K, had suffered from headaches ever since we can remember.  She even had a CT scan (or was it an MRI?  I don’t know the difference…) done a few years ago to see if there was something wrong.  Everything came back normal which was great but we couldn’t figure out what was causing her head to ache as often as it did.  We started eating real foods and guess what!  Her headaches were all but gone!  I don’t know if she has an allergy to sugar or something that is in processed foods or what.  All I know is that she can tell when she’s had too much of the yucky stuff.  Her headaches come back and she practically begs for fruits and vegetables.  The other day she even came home after a sleepover with Grandma (my mom) crying because she had only eaten fast food while they were together.  She wanted something good for her.  (Mom, don’t feel bad!  She’s just extremely sensitive… you know that.)

So, if you’ve got reluctant whole food eaters but would like to start eating whole foods yourself, here are some tips that might help. 

• Try incorporating whole grains a little at a time.  If your family normally eats white rice, try buying some brown and mixing in a little at a time so they can get used to the difference slowly.  You’ll have to cook them separately because they cook at different rates but it could be worth a try.  Same with breads.  If you make your own, you can slowly incorporate more whole wheat until your family is used to it.  My little K claims my homemade wheat bread is the best bread she’s ever had. 
• Always have fresh fruits and vegetables on hand.  A great resource for that is Bountiful Baskets.  Check to see if they have a pick-up near you.  Pictured above is one of my hauls from BB.  TONS of produce for only a minimal price.  Definitely worth it.
• Going along with having fresh produce available, also make it accessible.  One thing that I have found helpful is on my shopping day, I come home and cut all my veggies at once so they’re ready to eat.  If I bought carrots and celery, I cut them into sticks and put them either in zip top bags or air tight containers in the fridge.  Same with broccoli and cauliflower (and everything else).  Cut them and I promise your family is MUCH more likely to eat them.  And you too!  No one wants to have to cut their veggies every stinkin’ time they want one.  Too much work, get it all done at once.  Besides, this makes it easier for cooking, too.  They’re recipe ready!
• Try your hardest not to buy the ready made snacks and treats.  Especially soda pop!  We like to say if you want a treat that’s fine (once in a while) but it HAS TO BE homemade.  That way you know exactly what’s in it.  Over time, you might get a little more comfortable with replacing certain ingredients with healthier options. 
• Be an example!  Your family members might be inspired to try eating better just by watching what you do. 
• Don’t give up!  There might be days, especially in the beginning, that you feel like you’ve fallen off the wagon.  Get back on!  Don’t get down on yourself.  We all have bad days. 

I hope this helps someone out there.  Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you might have.  I love comments (who doesn’t? ;)) and I’d love to hear from you. 

A Special Day

A while back Anthony was called in for a Stake interview with a counselor in our Stake Presidency.  Little did he know what he was in for.  Since then, he’s learned so much and I’ve watched his testimony of the gospel grow along with his devotion and loyalty to just about everything.  He’s my hero!  I love that man and can’t imagine going through this crazy life with anyone else.  I aspire to be more like him in so many ways.

The day that Anthony was made a High Priest was a pretty special day for him.  Only one thing could have made it better.  You see, Anthony’s dad had not been called to the office of High Priest.  Therefore, he was unable to ordain Anthony to that higher priesthood.  Instead, Anthony asked one his good friends in the ward to do it. 

As we sat there in the room and Anthony was being ordained, Mark (Anthony’s dad) was overwhelmed with emotion.  I personally have only seen him that emotional one other time.  (When Anthony’s sister passed away.)  The tears were flowing and we all just knew that he was so happy for Anthony, yet at the same time he wished so badly that he had been able to perform the sacred ordinance himself. 

Well, a couple weeks ago Anthony got a phone call from his dad informing him that he had better make plans to go to church with him that coming Sunday.  He played it down for a minute and then finally announced that he had been called to the office of High Priest!  I think Anthony was just as excited about it as his dad was.  And the neatest part for them both was that Anthony was able to ordain Mark! 

It became quite the ordeal as all of Anthony’s sisters who could make it were there.  One even drove up from Arizona for the occasion.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the ordination being that my kids had already gone to church in our own ward and I knew attempting a second Sacrament Meeting with the boys would turn into a major nightmare!  We waited at my in-laws house for everyone to come back and then we partied the best way we know how… lots of Mark’s favorite foods! 

It was a day of celebration, indeed!  Mark was on cloud nine and everyone else had no choice but to be right there with him.  You just have to know the guy.  He puts a smile on your face without even trying when he’s in a good mood.  So what if he’s a lot little stubborn and likes to argue about which foods are healthy and which ones are not…. it’s only extremely slightly frustrating!

I totally won that argument, by the way.  He just doesn’t realize it.  ;)

Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos

So there I was watching The Biggest Loser (so sad that Chism went home… Go Emily!); a show that should have motivated my palate to eat something healthy.  You know, something like carrot sticks, egg whites, or maybe Cheerios (because apparently they are a sponsor). 

This week each contestant had to go home for 18 days and lose 5% of their body weight in order to claim immunity when they came back to the ranch and weighed in.  They all had their struggles but for the most part they did pretty well.  And even I was doing well until Cassandra decided to make these scrumptious looking peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle.  For the record, she only had one!  Go Cassandra!  Self control is tough to master. 

Well, after that, I felt any ounce of self control I had left drain from me and all I could think about was a chocolate and peanut butter combo in any form.  I just needed chocolate and I needed peanut butter.  So the next day I was on a quest to scratch that chocolate/peanut butter itch that I had. 

I decided to concoct my own version of Peanut Butter Oreos.  They are WAY better than the ones you buy.  My family loved them and Anthony has asked me to make them for the people at work on Monday.  Hopefully they like them as much as we do!

I’ve made homemade Oreos before and they are great but I decided to try a different recipe for the cookie part and I think I liked it better! 

Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos

1 chocolate cake mix (I like Devil’s Food, Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Fudge)

1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*.  Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon or stand mixer.  This makes a thick dough.  Roll into small 1 inch balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 or 9 minutes.  Do not overbake!  If you make bigger cookies, you may need up to 10 minutes. 

Recipe Source:  One Good Thing

Peanut Butter Filling:

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. creamy peanut butter

5 T. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)

1/3 c. whole milk

Mix all ingredients except milk together well.  Add milk and mix until creamy. 

Recipe slightly adapted from:  Ina Garten

Once cookies have cooled, spread frosting on the bottom of half the cookies and top with the other half of the cookies.

These are really good!  Betcha can’t eat just one ;)

 

My Food Plan

This is for my niece, Whitney (and myself because I need a swift kick in the booty), and anyone else who might be interested.

I’ve mentioned before that about a year ago I realized how unhealthy I was.  Mind you, I wasn’t overweight (though heavier than I wanted to be) and most people would have probably looked at me and thought I was perfectly healthy.  Anthony was tipping the scale at his heaviest weight and wanted a change.  We relied heavily on processed crap to feed our family.  All of which was chock full of sugars, sodium, preservatives, MSG, and a whole bunch of other crap that I couldn’t pronounce.  

Together we decided to take on an eating plan that was completely foreign to us… CLEAN EATING! 

No processed foods (or as minimally processed as possible), no refined sugar (except maybe for a cheat meal once a week), no white flour… basically, if God gave it to us, we could eat it.  If it was made in a lab, it’s a no go.  Also, if my third or fourth grader can’t read it, I probably shouldn’t be eating it.

It was hard!  But eating that way along with later doing P90X helped us to really get in shape, lose the excess weight, and we both felt AMAZING!!  Anthony had a hard time in the beginning for about two weeks while his body was detoxing.  He had a lot of headaches during that time while he got used to being off of sugar.

We started the eating plan about a week before starting the P90X and during that week we both lost weight!  But neither of us ever felt hungry.  In fact, I felt like I was eating more than ever.  The difference was that I was eating the right things.  Since then, I’ve been majorly naughty and haven’t been eating (or exercising) the way that I should.  The processed foods (which are unfortunately so darn convenient ;)), the sugar, the sodium… they’ve all found their way back into my diet and I need to kick it to the curb.  Again!  The process has started.  We’ve already started P90X again but guess what, I haven’t lost a single ounce!  Why?  DIET!  I’m telling you, it is KEY!  Time to make some major changes…

I am going to list the changes we made to our diets that really helped.  Hopefully someone (myself) will find them helpful.

• Replace your beverages!  The only thing you should be drinking is water!  Make sure to drink half your body weight in ounces each day.  (i.e. if you weigh 150 lbs you should be drinking 75 oz. of water) Drink first thing in the morning and all throughout the day and WITH your meals.  You’ll be in the bathroom a lot.  It’s a good thing, I promise.  Drinking water helps you lose the excess water weight that your body might be holding onto.  Weird!  Water releases water.
• Eat Breakfast, and make it a good one!  Sounds so simple, right?  You’ve always heard that it’s the most important meal of the day… BELIEVE IT!  What you feed your body first thing in the morning is what your brain has to feed on, too.  Anthony was never a breakfast eater until last year.  Now, he swears that it is one of the major reasons he has been able to lose the weight and keep it off.  Our bodies are in fasting mode all night while we sleep.  When we break that fast, it reminds our bodies that doesn’t need to go into starvation mode.  It knows that it will be fed and so it will let go of whatever it is you feed it that it doesn’t need.  When we skip breakfast, we’re telling our bodies to hold on to everything we give it when we finally do eat because it doesn’t know when it will be fed again. 
• Replace your snacks!  Don’t reach for that bag of chips or that Twinkie sitting in the cupboard.  In fact, throw those out!  They are too tempting.  Instead, reach for a fruit or a vegetable.  Try and pair it with some kind of protein but remember, a snack is a snack.  Don’t eat a full meal here.  Ideally you would eat more vegetables than fruits but either one is better than those Ding Dongs…
• Eat the right amount!  I honestly don’t believe in calorie counting but I do believe in portion sizes.  Make sure you are eating only a cup of oatmeal instead of a cup and half.  Measure your food, yes I’m serious!  My kids laugh at me because I literally measure my cereal if I decide to have it for a cheat meal or something.  I was surprised to learn that I was eating more than twice the recommended serving size before.  And cottage cheese… I can’t even eat a whole serving in one sitting.  Paired with something else and half a serving is just fine for me.  After a while, you’ll know what a cup or 3/4 of a cup looks like in your bowl and you won’t have to measure anymore. 
• Eat five or six meals per day!  Do you think I’m crazy?  You really do need to eat this many meals in a day.  Otherwise, your body goes into that starvation mode I talked about before.  Trust me on this.  Every meal should include a carb (fruits and veggies count!) and a protein… oh, and water.  Eat until you’re satisfied, not full.  If you are full, you’ve eaten too much!  Your body will naturally be hungry again 2 or 3 hours after eating a meal.  That’s your body talking to you… listen to it!  It knows what it needs and when.  Here’s what a day’s meal plan might look like:

• Breakfast (shortly after waking up)
• Snack
• Lunch
• Snack
• Dinner
• Snack (only if hungry and not too soon before bed)

• Eat LOTS and LOTS of fruits and vegetables!  A great way to make sure you’re getting enough fruits and veggies is to make green smoothies.  They’re very filling and obviously chock full of tons of good stuff!  Plus, they just taste good.  I like to use them as my lunch.  To make one, there is no real ‘recipe’.  Just throw a little bit of milk in the blender along with a little bit of yogurt (optional).  Throw in a handful or two of spinach (or other leafy green, but please don’t use iceberg lettuce… there’s no nutritional value to it at all!), a banana, and some frozen fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mangos, etc) and blend it all up!  I promise you won’t even know the greens are there except for the fact that the smoothie itself is green.  You can even throw in some protein powder (whey), flax seed, or chia seeds to up the fiber content.  Make as much or as little as you need.  I always make BIG batches because my kids LOVE green smoothies!  Also, eat whole grains (pasta, bread, cereal, etc)… none of this white flour crap! 
• Implement a cheat meal or the 80/20 rule!  Everyone needs to feel like they can treat themselves to something delicious tasting but not so good for you, right?  Well, give yourself permission to eat one cheat meal per week.  It can be whatever you want from wherever you want and you should just enjoy it!  Just remember that once that meal is done, it’s done.  No more cheats for another week!  Either that or use the 80/20 rule.  This is the one that works best for me.  I try and eat ‘clean’ 80% of the time and 20% of the time can be whatever but with this rule I find that you have to still watch the portion sizes.  You don’t get an all-out ‘cheat’ like with the cheat meal.
• Replace your sugars!  Refined white sugar and brown sugar are terrible, folks!  In a perfect world we would eliminate sugars altogether but who are we kidding?  We’re all a bunch of sweet tooths and that’s just not going to happen.  Instead, you need to replace the sugar you might put in your oats or whatever else with natural sugars.  Honey, real maple syrup (so much better than the fake stuff!), and agave nectar (buy raw) are our favorites.  Please, please, please don’t use manmade sugars.  No matter what they claim, they are NOT better for you than sugar, the end.
• Know the good oils from the bad ones!  I’m not going to list an extensive list of oils here.  I’ll just tell you briefly what I know.  Vegetable oil is nasty!  Shortening is AWFUL!  Canola oil is questionable so we don’t use it.  Olive oil is AWESOME but not for cooking.  Use it for salad dressings and stuff like that where you don’t have to cook it.  It turns into a trans fat when heated too high… at least that’s the argument.  I tend to err on the side of caution on this one.  For cooking we like grapeseed oil and coconut oil.  And actually, heart healthy oils like the ones I’ve listed should be eaten daily.  One serving per day.  There are many other great oils out there.  These are the ones we use.

I hope this list helps someone.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.  I’m no expert, that’s for sure, but I’ve done a lot of research and I feel that I know quite a bit.  It’s worked for us and we felt better than we ever have before using this plan.  In an upcoming post, I’ll show what a menu might look like for me.  

And, in true Brooke fashion, in the coming days (as in tomorrow) I plan to post a whole bunch of sugary, delicious treat recipes!  Hypocrite?  Nah, just utilizing my 20% to it’s full potential.  That’s all :)

Oh wait!  One more thing, don’t forget to enter to win MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software! 

My Memories Suite Giveaway

Alright, so I know I’m like way behind the times and I’m probably the only scrapbooker in history that hadn’t taken the digital software plunge.  But seriously, you’re talking about, Brooke… the same Brooke that finally sent her first text like last week.  Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but it really wasn’t more than just a couple of months ago.  I’m awesome!

And really I don’t know that you could really call me a scrapbooker given that I have never completed one.  I’ve started them many times and have SOME pages finished but the reality is, most of my pages are half done.  Most don’t even have any pictures on them.  Sad, I know.  They’re just completed pages and I’ve been too lazy to actually put pics on them. 

Sigh… what can I say?

Well, imagine my excitement when Liz from My Memories Suite contacted me to do a review and giveaway of their digital scrapbooking software.  HECK YEAH!  I’ll do it!  Now maybe all of my children will feel loved…. K is the only one that has even somewhat of a scrapbook right now.  And she’s only made it to barely a year old in it.  I’m only ten years behind or so.  No big deal… YIKES!

Now please remember that I am completely new at this and had absolutely no clue what I would in for.  Surprisingly, the software is pretty easy to use and you can really do so much with it.  Being a beginner, I’m very basic and boring…. this page does not do justice whatsoever to the possibilities of this program! 



I thought it turned out alright for my first attempt!  Actually that was more like my fifth or sixth but who’s counting?  You don’t get to see the very first ones because I’m trying to improve them… maybe you’ll see them later.

I haven’t had a chance to really play with the program as much as I would like but I have already fallen in love with this whole idea of digital scrapbook software!  And you can really do so much with it!  I’ve seen people make subway art with it, calendars, blog banners, gift tags, and much more.  And one nice thing is that you can upload (or is it download?) digital scrapbooking kits from just about anywhere on the web.  Not to mention, My Memories has a whole gallery of kits for purchase and many of them for FREE to add to your collection.  How cool is that?  Papers, embellishments, borders, etc. 

Now, who wants to scrapbook digital style?  Would you like to be the one to win this fabulous software?  I can promise you, it is so fun and so worth it!  And your pages will be far more beautiful than my basic boring one.  It would probably help if I were computer savvy but I’m not.  Someday…

You have a few ways to enter.  Visiting MyMemories site and choosing a favorite kit is mandatory, everything else is optional.  You can ‘like’ MyMemories on Facebook, and/or tweet, facebook or blog about this giveaway. 

And hey, if you don’t win or just can’t wait to get your hands on this software, here’s a code you can use to receive $10 off AND $10 credit to use in the MyMemories store.  Just copy and paste to avoid errors when ordering.

The code is:  STMMMS62057

And now let’s get on with the giveaway… good luck!  Giveaway will be open for one week.  Winner will be announced March 10th!  (And please forgive me if I don't know what I'm doing with this rafflecopter giveaway widget.  Never used it before.)

 


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