Happy Father’s Day!!! I’m so grateful for my father, my father-in-law, my grandfathers and of course my amazing husband!

Happy Father’s Day!!

This will kind of be a week of celebration for us. We are celebrating Father’s Day today as a family. And over the weekend we get to see almost all of our family for my brother-in-law’s wedding. Rebecca gets to be a flower girl for the first time. She is so excited. We’ll also celebrate Father’s Day with both dads and my niece’s 2nd birthday while we’re there.

Last week we had fun with cheerleading camp, time at the library, playing outside and homemade ice cream treats. This week I have an appointment with my psychologist. We’ll make our weekly trip to the farmer’s market. We’re starting to see strawberries. Soon we’ll stock up (maybe go picking?) so we can get a bunch in the freezer. We have milk pick up and co-op pick up. And we’ll be getting ready for wedding stuff.

Mommy-daughter date – painting our toe nails for the first time.

I need to make more bars for myself, scones for a new breakfast item, maybe more gummies for the kids (if our order of gelatin arrives) and food for the weekend. Our festivities won’t have much gluten free food, so I’ll have to be sure I’ve got easy stuff for Rebecca and me to eat/to bring along.

I’m still plugging along with my healing. I’m trying to take naps most days and get to bed on time. I’m not worrying too much about food, just eating what sounds good and what I know my body tolerates well. I have been learning just how much anxiety impacts my adrenal function. I can tell when I have a cortisol spike. It gives me a burst of energy and it takes over what my body is really feeling. Any pain or upset stomach goes away as the adrenaline kicks in. I want to go, go, go because I’ve got energy. Even though that’s not what I need. The feelings are a short term thing. Then I come crashing down and have to work harder to recover. So I’m working on keeping anxiety to a minimum.

On to the menu. We’re running low on meat in the freezer. So it’s getting tougher to plan meals. I need to do some shopping soon to stock up. Maybe next week. What’s on your menu?
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S (bake amaranth bars, FD, church, prep smoothies) D3
  B – yogurt, granola (J), pancakes (A/R), gm yogurt, amaranth bar (M)
  L – beef stroganoff, corn, applesauce
  D – grilled hot dogs, seasoned french fries, peas

M (bake scones, Dr. V.) D4
  B – smoothie, scones (J/A), squash, scone (M), granola w/ milk (R)
  D – (prep ahead) – cp rice and beans w/ cheese, sour cream, avocado

T (FM, soak flour) D1
  B – yogurt, granola, banana (J/R/A), duck egg, TBD (M)
  D – cheesy chicken, broccoli and rice

W (make rice bars, milk, make gummies, co-op, pack) D2
  B – smoothie, scone (J/A), TBD, rice bar (M), granola w/ milk (R)
  D – ham, scalloped potatoes, beans

Th (pack/prep food) D3
  B – pancakes w/ strawberry topping (J), gm yogurt, bar (M), toast w/ ab (R/A)
  D – (Justin out to eat) – Rebecca’s Restaurant – grilled ham and cheese, peas, milkshakes

F (pack/prep food, prep cake stuff, rehearsal) D4
  B – egg puffs, toast, strawberries (J), squash, scone, yogurt (M) TBD (R/A)
  D – rehearsal

S (wedding) D1
  B – (Justin out to eat) – yogurt, bar (M), muffin, raisins (A), strawberries, granola bar (R)
  L – (Justin out to eat) – hot dogs, olives, grapes (R/A), grilled cheese, squash (M)
  D – wedding

Rah, rah, rah…it’s cheerleading week! Rebecca has cheerleading camp all week. I’m excited for her 🙂  This week will be a bit busier than last week. Father’s Day is almost here…ummm…time to shop. We also have our weekly trip to the farmer’s market, a trip to the grocery store, and I have a MomBreak steering team meeting (first one!).

I have quite a few kitchen projects on the agenda this week. I need to use the rhubarb I bought last week. I’m thinking I’ll probably do a crisp with it. I need to make a batch of soaked rice bars and coconut flour scones. I need to make some breakfast baked good. And I need to bake the cake for my BIL’s wedding. I could also try making veggie broth and coconut milk if time allows.

I tried to take it pretty easy last week. I took a nap almost every day. I was in the sun as much as possible. And I went to bed on time every night. My neighbors must think I’m lazy and just lounge in the sun all day 😛  But I really am doing hard work trying to heal my body. And it seems to be helping. My body temp has been in the 98’s all week!!! Yes, my weight is higher than it’s been in about 9 years (excluding pregnancy). But that’s life. I spent lots of time playing and reading with my kids. And we went to a baseball game last night. I’m doing my best to stay focused on what matters and being healthy.

Can’t have baseball without hot dogs…so we brought our own organic grass-fed dogs on gluten free buns…shhh, don’t tell 😉

Here is the weekly menu. I had a hard time coming up with meals this week. I think it’s time to do some browsing and find new recipes to try. I’m getting bored with our usual meals.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17 – 18
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S (church, make rhubarb pie or crisp, prep smoothies) D4
  B – yogurt, granola (J/R/A), yogurt, amaranth bar, squash (M)
  L – cp sweet and sour meatballs over rice, beans
  D – grill burgers, chips, broccoli

M (bake muffins, CC, soak flour, FD shopping) D1
  B – smoothie, muffins (J/R/A), fried duck egg over beets (M)
  D – cp roast chicken, potatoes, carrots

T (make rice bars, CC, FM) D2
  B – yogurt, granola (J/R/A), blueberries, cheese, rice bar (M)
  D – cp pork chops, rice, peas

W (CC, Meijer) D3
  B – smoothie, muffins (J/R/A), gm yogurt, amaranth bar, pumpkin (M)
  D – fried perch or baked white fish, chips, broccoli

Th (make scones, CC, ST) D4
  B – egg puff, toast (J), yogurt, squash, scone (M), toast w/ pb (R/A)
  D – (early/easy clean up) – tuna noodle casserole, corn

F (make ice cream treats, CC, clean) D1
  B – granola w/ milk, strawberries (J), fried duck egg, mushrooms (M), gf golden grahams w/ milk (R/A)
  D – gf pancakes, roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower, applesauce

S (bake cake) D2
  B – pancakes (J/R/A), snap peas, cheese, rice bar (M)
  D – grilled steak, carrots, baked potatoes

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.”

Another new week. Another chance to see God’s work. Last week we had our final night of Kindermusik, and Rebecca had her last day of preschool. So not too much going on this week. We’ll likely go to our little local parade tomorrow. We might go to a baseball game, depending on the weather. The kids and I might go to the zoo, park and/or library. And it’s our week for milk pick up. This seems like a good way to end my “Mother’s May”…a low key week.

As usual I still have plenty of ideas of projects to keep me busy in the kitchen. There is also plenty of cleaning I could do in the house. It seems like every room is starting to get overly cluttered again. It looks like we could have a bunch of rain again, so maybe we’ll get to do both baking and cleaning this week. I’m sure the kids won’t mind.

No big updates on me. I’m just trying to listen to my body, give it what it needs and not worry about it. MUCH easier said than done. But I’m trying. And I will praise God for what he is doing in me and through me.

I enlisted Justin and Rebecca to help with meal planning this week. I ended up with a random assortment of ideas. I fit in the ones I could. I’ll have to add some of Rebecca’s ideas to next week’s plans too. When I ask her what she’d like to eat she doesn’t request her favorite food…she tries to come up with a new recipe. Now where did she learn that? 😛

So, here’s the menu. What are you eating this week? What are your go-to meals? Is your menu changing as the weather gets warmer?
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S (prep lunch, church, prep smoothies, soak flour) D3
  B – yogurt, granola, banana (J/R/A), gm yogurt, garbanzo flour scone, snap peas (M)
  L – cp pork chops, potatoes and carrots (J/R/A), leftover salmon cakes, pumpkin (M)
  D – baked white fish or grilled cheese, broccoli, chips

M (bake muffins, soak flour, parade, park?) D4
  B – smoothie, muffins (J/R/A), coconut flour scone, yogurt, sautéed mushrooms (M)
  L – hot dogs, s’mores over fire, TBD
  D – tuna melts, broccoli, French fries, baked beans

T (bake oatmeal, make rice bars)
  B – baked oatmeal (J/R/A), sautéed peas, rice bar, cheese (M)
  D – chicken alfredo over gf noodles w/ broccoli

W (clean, milk pick up, soak flour) D1
  B – smoothie, muffins (J/R/A), fried duck egg, beets, coconut flour scone (M)
  D – hot taco rice, roasted asparagus and cauliflower

Th (soak flour, skim cream, make cereal, make ic treats, library?) D2
  B – baked oatmeal w/ yogurt (J/R/A), blueberries, cheese, rice bar (M)
  D – soaked gf waffles, bacon, peas, pears

F (make amaranth bars, Meijer) D3
  B – cereal w/ milk (J/R/A), gm yogurt, amaranth bar, pumpkin (M)
  D – chili, gf cornbread

S (perp dinner) D4
  B – TBD
  D – pizza or casserole

Sunday already? Somehow last week went by very quickly. I guess that happens when you stay busy. This week should be fairly low key. Just the way I like it 🙂

backyard water park

Only two more days of preschool and then it’s summer break. It’s time to do some brainstorming for summer activities.

This week we have another speech therapy appointment. It’s been a couple months since we’ve been there. And Rebecca is doing quite a bit better with her eating/chewing lately. So maybe we won’t be going so much anymore. This is also the last week for Kindermusik. Abram has his family night this week where the whole family is invited to sing and dance and have snacks. No other big outings. But we might head to the library, the park or the zoo if we’re bored.

picnic at home after a field trip to the zoo

I was busy in the kitchen last week and will likely be busy again this week. I have so many experiments I’d like to try. Since I made marshmallows last week I might try using them to make rocky road ice cream or s’mores ice cream. I might also make some kind of s’mores cookies. I’m about out of my safe snacks. So I’ll probably be making some of those – graham crackers, scones, bars, etc. I didn’t have time last week to try making gluten free bread. So maybe I’ll get to it this week. I might also try making gluten free noodles. And we are just about out of our homemade gummies. Time to try some new flavors 🙂

A trip to the farm to see my grandparents

Last week was pretty good for me overall. But yesterday was a rough one. And still is this morning. I really hate it when things get painful. It’s hard to pinpoint one cause. I’m sure it’s a combination of things. A few tastes of this or that. And I tried some fermented cod liver oil again…nope, just can’t do it. My body does not tolerate fermented foods. Hopefully some extra magnesium and some soft/safe foods will help calm everything. And plenty of rest too.

Rebecca’s fun Saturday breakfast – frog on a log with grass juice

My other plan for this week is to get caught up on some writing. I’ve got some longer posts I want to get to. But I have to have the right focus and enough time. Hopefully that will happen this week. I’ve got one particular post that I need to get out of my head 😛

On to the menu. Nothing extravagant this week. Keeping it simple and healthy. What are you eating this week?
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S (make cream cheese, prep lunch, church, make fruit dip, prep smoothies, make gummies?) D3
  B – muffin bread pudding, orange (J), pumpkin with pesto and chicken, rice scone (M), yogurt (R/A)
  L – cp potato carrot soup, crackers w/ cheese (family), salmon, pumpkin w/ pesto (M)
  D – grilled kielbasa, corn pudding, apples w/ fruit dip (family), salmon, sautéed zucchini and mushrooms (M)

M (bake cookies, SP, PS) D4
  B – smoothie, TBD (J/R/A), yogurt, squash (M)
  D – hamburger corn bake, broccoli, applesauce

T (bake cookies, Meijer, KM) D1
  B – apple w/ dip, yogurt (J/R/A), sautéed broccoli, TBD (M)
  D – KM family night at dinner time…snacks there…plus pb sandwiches at home?

W (make gummies, PS, co-op) D2
  B – smoothie, donut (J/R/A), rice scone, peas, cheese (M)
  D – croque-madame (sans egg for the kids, duck egg for me), peas, fruit

Th (chop veggies, skim cream, make ice cream) D3
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), pumpkin, salmon amaranth bar (M), toast w/ almond butter, gummies (R/A)
  D – sweet and sour stir fry over rice

F (make scones, soak flour, make ice cream?) D4
  B – yogurt w/ granola (J/R/A), squash, coconut flour scones (M)
  D – scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, broccoli, fruit

S (make graham crackers, make gf bread) D1
  B – TBD
  D – fried perch or white fish, baked beans, chips, fruit

Happy Mother’s Day!!  Yes, I’m still here. I just haven’t had much time to write posts this week. And there’s that little detail about trying to take it easy this month…so sometimes I just say I don’t feel like it right now and give my mind a break 🙂  I have quite a few posts coming, though. Be on the lookout.

And for all you moms of little ones, soon-to-be moms or future moms don’t forget to check out the Natural Fertility Bundle.  The sale ends tomorrow!!!

I also wanted to mention the book The Nourished Metabolism by Elizabeth Walling. I am re-reading it right now. It is seriously the best health/healing book I’ve ever read. It puts all of my years of reading and research and trial and errors into one neat package. I wish I had had this book many years ago. It is 35% off right now (for a limited time). So be sure to grab a copy today!

 Last week we had fun celebrating my little guy’s 2nd birthday. We also got to see some of my family at Tulip Time. It was a chilly day…cold enough to get the winter coats and hats back out. But of course in a week the forecast is for 97 degrees. Gotta love Michigan weather 😛

This week will be somewhat busy. I need to make a trip to the health food store. The kids have their last Kindermusic class of the semester. Abram has his 2 year check up. I might take the kids to visit my grandparents. Rebecca has a school field trip to the zoo. Abram and I will be going with her. Justin and I might be going out on Saturday.

As usual I have a list of things I’d like to bake this week. I got a head start and made a big batch of homemade fruit snacks yesterday. The kids LOVED them. They kept begging for more. I offered birthday cake and ice cream…no thanks, more gummies please 🙂  I guess I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to get my kids to consume some gelatin. I even got an early Mother’s Day present while I was making them…candy molds 🙂  So now we have homemade gummies in the shape of hearts, stars, circles and squares.

My potential projects for this week are gluten free goldfish crackers, gluten free noodles, gluten free buns and some kind of breakfast baked good. I also need to make smoothies, pesto and kefir. I might also do some baking for our mom’s group. This is our last meeting of the year, but I can’t go because of the field trip. But I might drop off some food anyway on our way to the zoo. I could also make a meal to bring to my grandparents. We’ll see what the week brings. If the weather is nice we’ll be outside instead of inside baking.

No real update on me. Just plugging along. Still some daily struggles, but I’m getting there. I did have a pretty big breakthrough on some issues last week. When I have time to write I’ll be doing a long post about it. It may take a while since I have a  lot to say. And I have other writing I have to get done first. Right now I’m focusing on rest and balance and letting God work out the details. And allowing Him to work through me to give Him glory.

So, my plan for this week is to get caught up on some writing and get some summer/fall plans made for the kids’ activities. I want to do a few baking projects. I want to spend lots of time in the sun with the kids…when it decides to come back again. And try to keep Rebecca away from mosquitos. We found out last week that she is allergic. One bite and the whole top of her arm was puffed up, itchy and painful.

Here’s what’s on the menu. I’m trying to keep the meals simple so there is plenty of time for other stuff.
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S (prep lunch, church, prep smoothies, make chocolate suckers) D4
  B – banana yogurt, granola (J), squash, beef, coconut flour scone (M), gf pancakes (R/A)
  L – cp meatloaf, baked potatoes, carrots
  D – bacon and grilled cheese sandwiches, chips w/ salsa, broccoli, milkshakes

M (bake muffins, HH, PS, make noodles?) D1
  B – smoothie, orange cranberry muffins (J/R/A), fried duck egg, beets, coconut milk ice cream (M)
  D – chicken noodle soup, crackers w/ cheese

T (make gf goldfish, KM, make pesto) D2
  B – TBD baked good (J), beets, cheese, rice bar (M), yogurt (R/A)
  D – pork chops and apples over rice, peas

W (make marshmallows, Dr. S., PS, grind millet) D3
  B – smoothie, orange cranberry muffins (J/R/A), gm yogurt w/ blueberries, amaranth bar (M)
  D – turkey pesto pasta, garlic toast, applesauce

Th (prep breakfast, make gf crackers, visit grandparents) D4
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), squash, yogurt (M), gf crackers, hard boiled egg (R/A)
  D – sloppy joes, broccoli, home canned peaches, chips

F (pack picnic, clean, zoo) D1
  B – muffins, yogurt (J), fried duck egg, sautéed broccoli and cauliflower (M), yogurt (R/A)
  L – picnic – sandwiches, yogurt, peaches, carrots, olives, ice cream
  D – chicken tacos or meatballs

S (make rice scones, make lemonade gummies, dinner out) D2
  B – TBD
  D – hot dogs, tator tots, peas

Feliz Cinco De Mayo! Happy Sunday. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful week in Michigan. That means lots of time in the sun 🙂  Unfortunately we do have a busy week. But hopefully we can still get out quite a bit.

Our big event this week is Abram’s 2nd birthday! How did my baby get so big? He is so independent. And yesterday we found out that he can pedal on his own. He sat on the tricycle…and off he went!

We did manage to make it to the zoo yesterday. And Rebecca and I went shopping. I got new tennis shoes (haven’t had a new pair in 5 years…and I use them a lot) and a dress for my BIL’s wedding. It’s exciting to have one cute new dress 🙂  We also got to make soft serve ice cream. I’ve had a soft serve maker sitting in the basement for over 5 years! My daughter found out and begged to try it. I’m glad we did. Delicious homemade mint soft serve! Unfortunately we also had to make another trip to the pediatrician last week. Abram had some kind of virus causing fevers, aches and pains. No infection at least. And he seems to be doing a lot better now.

This week we have to grocery shop, pick up milk, celebrate Abram’s birthday and hopefully make it to Tulip Time. We’ll see if we feel like going to the zoo again or the library or the park.

Since I didn’t do too much in the kitchen last week I have a lot I’d like to get done this week. But I’m still trying to do it without getting up too early or stressing myself out. So we’ll see what gets done. I have to make Abram’s cake. And I might make more ice cream. Aside from that I’m hoping to make soaked rice bars, almond butter, gluten free gold fish, soaked gluten free breakfast cookies, soaked amaranth bars and maybe gluten free bread.

No big updates on me. I’ve been doing quite well with diet and managing stress. I made it to a hula hoop class on Friday. That was a lot of fun. I got a real treat last week and found duck eggs at the store! I had one last week…and seemed to do ok. I had another one for breakfast today. So good!!! I was tempted to have another, but I’m trying to be smart and go slowly. I waited 5 days after the first one to try another. So far so good. And what a treat!! I also got some gelatin yesterday. So I put a little in my hot cocoa this morning. We’ll see how that goes. I may have to add gummy candy to my to-do list this week now that I have the gelatin to experiment with.

Here’s what’s on the menu for the week. Thursday we’ll be going out for Abram’s birthday…to Rebecca’s Restaurant 🙂  Best place in town…and they serve real food!  What are you having?
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S (prep lunch, soak flour, cook beans, church?, prep smoothies, make pesto) D1
  B – applesauce bread, lemon yogurt (J), garbanzo flour pancakes, fried duck egg (M), yogurt (R/A)
  L – cp chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, carrots
  D – (cinco de mayo) – rice and beans w/ beef fajita meat, chips w/ salsa cheese dip

M (make breakfast cookies, make rice bars, soak flour, Meijer, PS, make decorations) D2
  B – smoothie, gf breakfast cookies (J/R/A), blueberries, cheese, rice bar (M)
  D – cp pork steak, pesto rice, peas

T (make amaranth bars, KM, vote, make almond butter, make decorations) D3
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit (J/R/A), pumpkin, amaranth bar (M)
  D – salmon cakes, buttered noodles, corn

W (bake cake, milk, PS) D4
  B – smoothie, gf breakfast cookies (J/R/A), squash, coconut milk ice cream (M)
  D – gf sloppy corn muffins, sauteed broccoli and zucchini, applesauce

Th (frost/decorate cake, skim cream, roast beets, make egg puff, park or pool, make ice cream, Abram’s birthday) D1
  B – egg puff, toast (J), fried duck egg, tbd (M), yogurt (A/R)
  D – Rebecca’s Restaurant – mac ‘n’ cheese, roasted veggies OR broccoli

F (make gummies?, make goldfish?, playdate) D2
  B – peanut butter cocoa puffs or granola w/ milk (J/R/A), peas, cheese, rice bar (M)
  D – pancakes, bacon, fruit, peas (family), salad w/ bacon, pesto and peas (M)

S (misc. baking/cleaning/breakfast prep, TT?) D3
  B – leftover pancakes (J/R/A), gm yogurt w/ blueberries, amaranth bar (M)
  D – turkey pesto pasta, broccoli, garlic toast, applesauce

Well, this is going to have to be short and sweet. My son is up and screaming at 6:30 am…and I don’t think Daddy is cutting it 🙁  I love that Abram loves his veggies…but maybe grabbing the serving bowl of roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower and finishing it off last night did not agree with his tummy.

Spring has finally arrived in Michigan!! And we’re happy to be outside. This week isn’t too busy. I see my naturopath to talk about my recent blood work. I might try to take the kids to the zoo while we have a few days of nice weather. I am probably also going to do a hula hoop workshop at the studio where I take yoga. I can FINALLY use the hoop I got for Christmas! I also need to make a trip to the health food store for a few items.

For extras this week I’d like to make a new batch of granola. I also have a soft serve ice cream maker that Rebecca has been begging me to take out. So I have to find the manual and see what the recipes are like. I haven’t used it in years. I might do some baking with coconut flour and garbanzo bean flour for myself.

Not too many other updates. My body is kind of inflamed right now. I made peanut butter cocoa puffs last week…and had to take a few too many tastes 😛  Peanuts and peanut butter are some of my worst offenders. So I’m trying hard now to get things to calm down. My legs are painful (swelling/fluid retention), my weight is up and digestion is slowed. I feel like living in sweats and t-shirts right now 😛  Hopefully some extra rest and safe foods will get things back on track quickly.

On the plus side I feel like I’m starting to make sense of all of my research and test results. And I feel like I have some direction. More to come on that soon.

On to the menu. I think I got it mostly filled in. We’re firing up the grill for the first time of the season today! And I’m starting to think more spring/summer foods. A nice change 🙂  Now I suppose I should get the flannel sheets off our beds since May is only a few days away.
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S (marinate meat, church, make smoothies) D2
  B – breakfast cookies, pineapple yogurt (J), blueberries, string cheese, soaked rice/teff bar (M)
  L – grilled pork chops, peas, seasoned rice
  D – leftover taco rice, strawberry milkshakes (family), snap peas, tbd (M)

M (make gf graham crackers, HH, PS, Dr. A.) D3
  B – smoothie, breakfast cookie (J/R/A), pumpkin, soaked amaranth scone (M)
  D – (prep ahead) – cp corn chowder, crackers w/ cheese (family), leftover fish sticks, pumpkin (M)

T (make granola, make scones, soak flour, KM) D4
  B – granola w/ milk (R/A), squash, coconut flour scone (M)
  D – steak, baked potatoes, carrots

W (make pancakes, chop veggies, PS) D1
  B – yogurt w/ granola and strawberries (J), garbanzo flour pancakes, broccoli (M/R), yogurt (A)
  D – chicken meat balls or chicken nuggets, french fries, broccoli

Th (boil eggs, skim cream, make ice cream) D2
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), blueberries, string cheese, soaked rice/teff bar (M)
  D – baked or fried perch, rice, peas

F (MB, PS, Hula hoop) D3
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), pumpkin, soaked amaranth scone OR gm yogurt (M)
  D – prep ahead/separate – gf pizza (from freezer)

S () D4
  B – TBD (J/R/A), squash, scone (M)
  D – grilled burgers, chips, peas, fruit

A new week starting with some calm. Birthday celebrations are over (for a few weeks…Abram’s birthday is less than 3 weeks away!). The water around us is starting to recede. Although our main river has not yet crested. I am thankful that most roads around us are now open and things are drying a little.

Yesterday’s party with extended family was a big success! Rebecca loved her arts and crafts party. I achieved my goal of making it a totally gluten free and food dye free party. No junk food in sight 🙂  There was not a single thing on the table that she could not eat. And there was not one single complaint or negative comment about any of it (though there were many compliments :). I don’t even think most of them knew the pizza and cake were gluten free. We loved spending time with family and enjoying good food.

But I think the absolute best part for me was how much Rebecca was able to enjoy her special day. And by enjoy I mean she was able to be present. She didn’t act crazy. She wasn’t out of control. She didn’t have meltdowns. She was smiling from ear to ear. She was taking in every moment of it. She was in control of her body and her mind. She was able to sit and eat her food in the midst of the chaos of cousins and presents. She was fully focused when she was working on her crafts. She took her time opening each gift, admiring it and showing gratitude. She was excited and a little extra energetic like any normal child would be at their party. But she was herself and the sparkle was there in her eyes. I told her how proud I was of her for how she handled such an eventful day. She gave me the biggest hug and lots of kisses. She gets it. She knows how good it feels to be able to think clearly and be in control. I get teary eyed even now thinking about it. It brings me such joy to see my little girl enjoying life. And it makes me more confident that we are on the right path.

Menu: gluten free pizza (4 varieites + individuals for the kids…they topped their own), trail mix (crispy nuts, dried fruit, df gf chocolate chunks), kettle corn, tortilla chips w/ salsa and avocado bean dip, raw veggies (carrots, peppers, cucumbers) w/ dip, roasted veggies (mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, asparagus, brussels sprouts), mixed fresh fruit (pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, oranges), juice, gluten free cake, homemade ice cream.

This week is hopefully a whole week of calm 🙂  That’s what we all need. No big agenda. I want to get some extra rest. And I want to spend lots of time with my kids. Last week was so crazy trying to get the house clean and get all of the food prepped for the party. The kids had to be a bit more independent with their play.

I do have an appt. with my psychologist. And Rebecca has her 5 year check up. If time allows I’d like to take the kids to the library. Rebecca and I already read through the book I bought her for her birthday. We started it on Thursday and finished it Saturday…over 150 pages…a book suggested for 3rd graders…she’s in preschool…and has been reading these with me since before she even turned 4. It’s time to stock up on more books. And I’m sure we’ll be doing lots of crafts with her new gifts and the leftovers from the party.

Gluten free  has been going well with Rebecca. I might try a couple dairy free days this week just to see what happens. I’m also looking into vitamin B and symptoms of deficiency. I’m wondering if Rebecca could use more.

I’m not sure how much I’ll do in the kitchen this week since I want to take it easy and let my body recover after a stressful week. But here are some potentials: gf crackers, gf cocoa puffs, rainbow or soft serve ice cream, gf bread, restock freezer for Justin’s breakfasts, granola, rice bars, amaranth bars, coconut flour baked good, kefir, smoothies.

I didn’t have a lot of time for blogging, etc. last week. I was busy and the kids were up early most days. So I didn’t fill in all of the breakfasts and lunches for our week yet. Hopefully I’ll fill them in soon. At least I got the dinners planned. That’s the important part. My in-laws are still here this morning. By this afternoon the house should be totally back to normal and we can relax. And I don’t have to cook today 🙂  The benefit of working hard last week and making lots of party food. We have plenty of leftovers.
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S (prep breakfast, church, make boat, make gf crackers, prep smoothies, make kefir) D3
  B – banana bread, mixed fruit, yogurt, granola (family), gm yogurt w/ fruit and amaranth bar, leftover mixed roasted veggies (M)
  L – leftover pea soup, grilled ham and cheese
  D – leftover pizza/party food

M (Meijer, PS, Dr. V., strain kefir) D4
  B – smoothie, banana bread (J/R/A), squash, coconut milk ice cream (M)
  L – tuna, sour cream, veggies
  D – gf spaghetti, corn, garlic toast (family), ground beef, squash (M)

T (KM, Dr. S., make stock, make broth, soak flour) D1
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit (J/R/A), leftover roasted veggies, coconut milk ice cream (M)
  L – leftover spaghetti and/or pizza (kids),  leftover roasted veggies, gf crackers (M)
  D – roast chicken, roasted potatoes and veggies

W (strain/freeze broth, make soaked rice bars, PS, co-op, soak flour) D2
  B – yogurt, banana bread, fruit (J/R/A), pea soup, rice bar (M)
  L – pea soup, rice bar
  D – pasta bake, peas (family), peas, tbd (M)

Th (make egg puffs, make amaranth bars, bake/freeze squash, library, make gf pb puffs) D3
  B – egg puffs, toast (J), pumpkin, amaranth scone (M) 
  L – pumpkin, gm yogurt w/ amaranth scone
  D – baked salmon, broccoli, baked sweet potato

F (make yogurt, make coconut flour baked good, clean, PS, BS) D4
  B – pb puffs w/ milk, banana (J), squash w/ chicken, vanilla ice cream (M)
  L –
  D – hot taco rice

S (sleep in?, make granola, park) D1
  B –
  L –
  D – gf fish sticks (cod), french fries, peas

Good morning. It’s amazing what a difference a week can make. The whole family is fully over the flu. My inflammation is going down. Life is mostly back to normal. Feels good.

Now it’s on to party week. My “baby” girl will be 5 this week! How is that possible? We will celebrate as a family on her birthday. And we will have a party with extended family on Saturday. So this week is all about party prep. I’ve made it my mission to make it a gluten free, food dye free party. I am making one exception…there will be some colored fondant cake decorations…that can easily be removed before eating 🙂  Of course Rebecca chose pizza for the party food. Something real easy to prep ahead and make gluten free…not 😛  But I’ll do my best. I’ve been working on the pizza dough recipe. The kids devoured their experiment pizza last night 🙂  So it can’t be too bad. I’ve already made 2 out of 3 layers of her birthday cake. So far so good. Just chocolate left to make (she’s having a vanilla, strawberry, chocolate cake). And a couple batches of ice cream left to make as well. Then it’s on to frosting and decorations. Plus the rest of the party food.

Not too much else out of the ordinary this week. We have our first milk pick up for 3 families. Not really looking forward to that. But at least I only have to do it once every 3 weeks now. We have MomBreak on Friday. It’s been a little while since we’ve had a meeting. And I think Katie from Kitchen Stewardship is speaking!!! I’m beyond excited. Katie is a wonderful woman and blogger that I’ve had the privilege to meet already. I’m still excited to hear her speak. I love hearing anyone spread the word about real food.

My in-laws will also be here for the weekend. So I’ve got food and house prep to do for that on top of the party. My goal is to do as much as I can ahead of time without getting too stressed or too tired. I don’t want to have a bunch of super early mornings to get things done and get run down again. So I’m trying to plan well.

My body is doing ok. I’ve been trying to get back on track this week and be really good about avoiding my food sensitivities. When things are inflamed even tiny bites of the wrong food can perpetuate the problem. Right now the inflammation is finally going down. The cysts on my face are fading (hallelujah! :P). My belly is deflating. There is still more healing to be done, but I’m getting there. I got my thyroid levels rechecked and met with my naturopath. Thyroid looks good! And we discussed some other issues. So yesterday I did more bloodwork to recheck vitamin D and some other hormones. I’m anxious to hear the results. I’m also starting to take Natural Calm as a magnesium supplement. So far magnesium seems to be what helps me the most. I just need  high doses and have struggled to find the right one to take. So I’m crossing my fingers that this will help. I’m also going to try GABA for anxiety.

We are sticking with gluten free for now with Rebecca. I am also wondering about dairy. I think after all the party stuff is over I will do a dairy free trial just for a couple days and see what happens. At the end of the month I might try adding gluten again and see if I notice a change. Yesterday I bought some gf pasta and some decent gf bread. So that will give us more gf options.

On to the menu. There are still a few holes to fill in. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep on track with my to-dos this week. And I hope the kids are ready to have some fun in the kitchen 🙂  And help clean.
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S (make scones, chop veggies, soak gbf for pancakes, church, bake chocolate cake, make chocolate ice cream, make frosting, prep smoothies, soak flour for muffins) D4
  B – granola bar, lemon yogurt (J), squash, beets, scone (M), (R/A)
  L – gf beefy mac ‘n’ cheese w/ squash, broccoli, applesauce
  D – sausage, gf waffles w/ blueberry topping, strawberry milkshakes (family), squash, scone (M)

M (bake/freeze gf muffins, make coconut milk ice cream, make pancakes, Meijer, PS) D1
  B – smoothie, muffin (J/R/A), gf pancake, broccoli (M)
  L – tuna salad on gf pancake
  D – roast chicken legs, sweet potato fries, roasted cauliflower

T (cake deco, KM, chop veggies) D2
  B – yogurt w/ granola (J), salmon w/ pesto, rice bar (M), (R/A)
  L – salmon w/ pesto, snap peas (M), pb/honey sandwich (R/A)
  D – pork chops in gravy, hashbrowns, peas (family), pork or salmon, peas (M)

W (soak beans, cake deco, make pizza crust, milk, PS, Rebecca’s birthday) D3
  B – smoothie, granola bar (J), pumpkin, tuna, soaked amaranth bar (M), yogurt, cupcake (R/A)
  L – gm yogurt, pumpkin
  D – out to eat

Th (cook beans, thaw cake, make pizza crust, clean) D4
  B – toast w/ pb, pear (J), squash, scone (M), pear slices, yogurt (R/A)
  L – squash, beans, scone
  D – (Justin out for dinner) – hot dogs, sweet potato fries, broccoli

F (fill/shape/crumb coat cake, shred cheese, chop veggies, MB, PS, family, make trail mix, thaw cupcakes, clean, prep soup for Sat.) D1 (FLOODING – can’t do much)
  B – yogurt w/ granola (J), navy beans, ice cream, amaranth bar (M), (R/A)
  L –
  D – baked chicken, sweet potatoes and mixed veggies
  dessert – gf chocolate chip cookies

S (frost/decorate cake and cupcakes, boil eggs, prep pizza toppings, make avocado dip, make veggie dip, prep fruits and veggies, roast veggies, clean/set up, party) D2
  B – hb eggs, toast, fruit, yogurt (family), snap peas, soaked amaranth bar (M)
  L – cp split pea soup, gf muffins, carrot sticks w/ dip
  D – gf pizza (1 ham/pineapple, 1 supreme, 1 pepperoni, 1 ham and veggies for adults; kids top their own – ham, pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, olives), roasted vegetables (potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, asparagus, zucchini), fresh fruit (strawberries, grapes, pineapple, blackberries, apples, oranges, bananas), tortilla chips w/ salsa and avocado bean dip, kettle corn, carrots, cucubmers and peppers w/ dip, trail mix (dried fruit, crispy nuts, df/gf chocolate chunks), gf strawberry/chocolate/vanilla cake, dairy ice cream (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla), gf df strawberry cupcakes, chocolate coconut milk ice cream

Thank you Lord for the start of a new day and a new week. Last week was quite a doozy. We went to church Easter morning. Then left for vacation for a few days. So that took a lot of work and it was a long drive there (have I ever mentioned that my kids do not ride well? 😛  And neither do I?). We had fun on vacation…but Tuesday afternoon Abram came down with the flu. Thankfully he bounces back quickly and was doing ok by Wed. so our drive home was fairly uneventful. Then Wed. evening both Justin and Rebecca got sick. I followed along Thurs. evening. After I thought we were all getting back on track Friday I had a relapse on Saturday. And I’m still not back to normal at all. So spring break here was kind of crazy – travel + flu. Needless to say I didn’t get as much done around the house as I had hoped.

In the midst of all that we did celebrate Justin’s birthday. Abram helped me make a delicious gluten free chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. He is becoming quite the little helper in the kitchen lately. He wants to do every single thing I’m doing in the kitchen. If I have to get a pan out to cook a vegetable, he has to get it out of the cupboard, set it on the stove, pour in the vegetables, etc. He would like to turn on the burners, but I do draw the line there with a one-year old 😛  Abram helped with just about every step in making the cake and homemade frosting. He’s not a good taste tester like Rebecca (he has never been a sweet eater), but he loves to help.

So Justin and Abram are back to normal. Rebecca and I are still not 100%. Just shows who has a healthy body/gut and who needs extra healing.

Hopefully the nausea will subside soon and it will all be behind us. I have too much to do this week to still be sick 😛  This week it’s back to our usual activities plus starting to get some things ready for Rebecca’s birthday party.

I would like to start baking her cake, making ice cream and finalizing the games, decorations, etc. And see if there is any other food that I can prep ahead. The goal is to do a totally gluten free, food dye free party so she can have fun and not have to avoid anything there. The one exception will be a few fondant decorations on her cake that can be removed before eating. I was hoping to experiment with gluten free pizza crust last week, but that went out the window with sickness. So hopefully this week.

After a week of travel and being out of commission I am running very low on my safe foods too. So we’ll see how much baking I can squeeze in.

As much as I can I want to focus on healing foods this week and try get plenty of rest. That was the one nice thing last week…I got quite a bit of sleep.

My body is in a major inflammatory state right now. Having the flu gets everything totally out of balance. I think I’m about the only person that actually gains weight when they have the flu and are barely eating :\  I just puff up like a balloon. It looks bad and feels even worse. My belly looks like I swallowed a beach ball even though I’ve hardly eaten anything for the last 3 days. Hopefully some mild foods, lots of sea salt and some probiotics will help. I don’t really want to leave the house like this…I look about 6 months pregnant 😛

I will also be focusing a lot on Rebecca’s health. Having the flu really wipes her out too. I can tell in her appearance, her appetite, her ability to focus and in her mood. Lots of regression last week.

Hopefully by the end of the week we’ll all be a little more back to normal and can have energy to get outside now that the weather is starting to get better.

Here’s what’s on the menu for now. I’ll modify as needed depending on appetites and health.
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S (prep lunch, church, make gf pizza dough, prep smoothies) D1
  B – gf banana muffins (J), squash w/ rice, gm yogurt (M), yogurt, muffin (A)
  L – gf bbq chicken pizza, olives, corn, tortilla chips (family), salad w/ chicken (M)
  D – beef, pork and broccoli stir fry over rice 

M (soak flour for crust, SP, PS, Dr. S.) D2
  B – smoothie, crunchy granol bar (J/R/A), snap peas, white rice scone (M)
  L – pureed peas and squash, cheese slices, pears
  D – gf bacon cheddar scones, sauteed peas w/ bacon, pears

T (make soaked amaranth bars, prep breakfast, KM, bake cupcakes?) D3
  B – bagel w/ cream cheese (J), amaranth pumpkin pot pie (M), yogurt w/ blueberries (R/A)
  L – pumpkin pie gm yogurt, amaranth bar
  D – cheesy rice and chicken bake, broccoli, applesauce (J/R/A), pureed zucchini and pumpkin soup, soaked gf graham crackers (M)

W (Meijer, PS, WT) D4
  B – TBD (J), squash w/ butter and sour cream (M), yogurt, rice bar (R/A)
  L – squash soup, crackers w/ cheese
  D – porcupine meatballs, carrots, twice baked potatoes (J/R/A), squash, plain meatballs (M)

Th (soak flour for porridge, skim cream, prep dinner, Dr. L. ) D1
  B – yogurt w/ granola, fruit (J), leftover chicken and rice bake, broccoli (M), tbd (R/A)
  L – tbd
  D – (prep ahead) – seven layer dinner (J/R/A), sauteed veggies (M)

F (soak flour for pie crust, make ic, PS, Justin – hockey game) D2
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J), teff porridge (M), ice cream (R), yogurt, fruit (A)
  L – snap peas w/ pesto, cheese slices
  D – baked white fish, peas, rice (M/R/A)

S (bake cake, make gf pizza dough, prep pie crust, make powdered sugar, make pizza sauce) D3
  B – waffles (J/A), gf waffles (R), pumpkin soup, gf crackers (M)
  L – gf pizza (experiment)
  D – turkey pot pie w/ amaranth tapioca crust, warm cinnamon applesauce