Saturday, September 28, 2013

Who Are The Mormons?

Here's an awesome graphic that might help you to understand Mormonism better. Please email questions to mom2my9{at}gmail{dot}com or leave them in the comments section. Thanks for listening. :)

 

Monday, September 9, 2013

The Easiest Bread I've Ever Made (No-Knead Crusty Bread)



This by far the easiest bread I've ever made. And it is delicious, perfect for soup season. You don't knead it, just stir and let it sit overnight, heat a pot in the oven, and pop it in. I'm grateful I came across Simply So Good's blog. There are some amazing recipes. The no-knead crusty bread recipe is HERE. Thanks for listening! :)


Friday, April 5, 2013

Spring Break at Grandma's and at the Hotel

For some reason, I find many children in small spaces endearing....

...like in the bathtub, after inflatable pool time....


This picture doesn't adhere to the theme, but it awed me because, although the 4 boys under 7 didn't fold their clothes, they neatly placed them by the hotel window, without being asked, in preparation for hotel pool time.....

 photo 2DSC_0033_zps014b49c9.jpg 

...water gun time....

 photo 2DSC_0038_zps50c7d7eb.jpg 

...and gratefully, bedtime....

 photo 2DSC_0044_zps994332e9.jpg


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Pizza Time with the kids, featuring my Sister with the Ph.D.

Things are always great when my sister with the Ph.D. comes to town. She spends hours coming up with and implementing activities for the kids to do and has seemingly endless energy. Her project for today was pizza-making for the 13-year-old boy's birthday. They had such a great time. Look....

Baby Hippo was in charge of designing his own pizza. He didn't do too bad...

 photo 2DSC_0090_zpsbd096599.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0110_zpsf7e65d97.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0114_zpse34e48fe.jpg

My sister with the Ph.D. is amazing with her dough. It's a special recipe that needs to sit for 24 to 72 hours. Hopefully I'll be able to share it with you here soon. :)

 photo 2DSC_0122_zps535d3521.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0136_zps9d782e40.jpg

The 6-year-old boy got to design some pizzas as well. He did an awesome job...

 photo 2DSC_0158_zpsaf99bf73.jpg

Baby Hippo knows how to pile on the pepperoni...

 photo DSC_0172_zps2a9d5473.jpg

Patiently waiting....

 photo 2DSC_0176_zps8eb00558.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0201_zps4e245658.jpg

One of my favorite photos of the day....

 photo 2DSC_0215_zpsebbd73f5.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0219_zps699e3c34.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0227_zps14cf0c43.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0236_zpsfe1b5074.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0237_zps22eb8f4e.jpg

The favored pizza... bacon and caramelized onion...

 photo 2DSC_0262_zps3e2cf316.jpg

More patient waiting by Twin B....

 photo 2DSC_0274_zps893c0556.jpg

Just some delicious cilantro in my mom's window sill.....

 photo 2DSC_0281_zpsc225eed0.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0284_zps9df33c49.jpg photo 2DSC_0298_zpsea45d187.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0310_zps04ed2de2.jpg

The vegetarian pizza before we popped it in the oven.... so delicious!

 photo 2DSC_0324_zps974253db.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0348_zps9195afa4.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0357_zps043a62ca.jpg

Some spice racks my sister with the Ph.D., my brother and the 11-year-old girl built for my mom. The 11-year-old girl whittled the crossbars herself. :)

 photo 2DSC_0363_zpsd53dd719.jpg

The 11-year-old girl....

 photo 2DSC_0374_zps444efd77.jpg

A boy who is staying with us during our Spring Break, enjoying the bounty....

 photo 2DSC_0380_zps7d7e0541.jpg

My brother, about to consume his share.....

 photo 2DSC_0388_zps9c63777b.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0391_zpsef93136b.jpg

Me, totally posing for the camera... :)

 photo 2DSC_0401_zpsd35f73c3.jpg

 photo 2DSC_0413_zps15d7208f.jpg

Thanks for listening and have a great day! :)


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Friday, February 1, 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

And Yet More Talk of Pancakes

I never tire of pancakes. There are so many ways one can make them, and some days I like to give the kids a few different choices simply by sprinkling different toppings on my traditonal blender pancakes after I do the first flip.

For a recent breakfast, I made a few plain pancakes, then sprinkled the next batch with cinnamon and sugar, and called them cinnamon toast pancakes, and ended by sprinkling my seed mix on the remaining batch. I call these birdseed pancakes....

1DSC_0942

My mixture is made of equal parts chia, flax and sesame seeds, which I mixed in a jar. For easy sprinkling, I stabbed holes in the lid with a pair of kitchen scissors...

Photobucket

My all-time favorite pancakes, thus far in my existence, are the birdseed blender pancakes. I try to limit myself to 2 pancakes, 2 teaspoons of butter, and 1 tablespoon of syrup, which adds up to about 340 calories. For the complete nutrition data, go HERE.

Photobucket

So have fun with your pancakes! Add struessel, sprinkles, pecans, thinly sliced apples, or anything else that might come to mind. Leave your ideas in the comment section, and as always, thanks for listening! :)


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

10 Ways I Avoid Deliciously Tempting Unhealthy Foods

1DSC_0052

One of the things I love about being the mom of a large family is that our home is always full of visitors and friends. And my kids' friends know there is always going to be something good to eat on the stove or the island. One of my favorite compliments ever, granted by one of my daughter's friends, was, "Mom (what he calls me), your house always smells good.

I admit it. Even though I am trying to subsist on a "clean" diet, I love to bake, and most of the time I try to sneak in things like zucchini, spinach or black beans. But sometimes I love to bake things that don't have one single healthy ingredient in them, except for maybe dark cocoa powder. And this is wherein my weakness lies; in snacking on dough balls, or spoonfulls of brownie batter, in testing my creations when they are hot out of the oven, in taking a little cutting of cake, pie or brownies every time I walk by the island. And since I started diligently counting and logging my daily calorie intake, I've realized that these little endevours, though small, add up, and can actually double my daily caloric allowance if I'm not careful. No wonder I've been at a plateau for so long!

So here are ten things I do to avoid reaching for my delicious baked goods or other unhealthy foods that may have made their way into my home.

1. Exercise: This is the single most important motivational change I have made when it comes to eating healthy. If I get up at 5:10 in the morning, drive in the frigid temperatures to our school gym, then sweat and pant for 45 minutes, I had better be getting something out of it. And I do... I can feel it all start to harden and tone.... underneath this layer of fat. I want my hard work to show! So whenever I think about eating something unhealthy, I think of how unsupportive of my fitness goals it will be.

2. Drink Water: Sometimes the body's hunger and thirst signals can become confused, and thinking you are hungry can really just mean you are thirsty. If I feel the urge to start snacking on those chocolate chip cookies, I first go drink a big glass of water.

3. Put the unhealthy food away: As I mentioned before, my kids' friends know that there is usually going to be something delicious out on the counter, but I've learned that this tempts me beyond that which I can bear. So after everyone has had their fill, I wrap things up in foil or plastic, and put it up high in the pantry or behind something. Since my memory is so far gone, I actually forget it's there, until someone asks for it. Then I tell them that I hid it from myself. They say, "Mom, how can you hide something from yourself?" I tell them when you have a memory problem like I do, it's easy. Even if you do remember where they are, which most of you will, it will be a lot of trouble to get to them, and you'll have time to talk yourself out of it.

4. Make Salads in Jars: I elluded to this in one of my posts last week, and I'll ellaborate a little bit here. I've taken to making 6 salads in jars at a time (the black bean variety shown above), which last me about 3 days. Just put the wettest stuff on the buttom and layer everything else in like manner. This is so handy, because when you feel like taking your brownies out of the hiding place you suddenly remembered, you can tell yourself, "Okay, if I eat this entire jar of salad, I can have one small brownie". But usually, by the time you eat the salad, you feel so full and also filled with pride for eating right, that you don't even wan't the brownie.

5. Reach for something healthy instead: Similar to the previous tip, if I'm really wanting something unhealthy, I often say, again, "Okay, if I eat half a pound of raw vegetables right now, I can have a small amount of the other." Again, by the time I'm done, I am no long in a a physical or emotional position to crave that unhealthy food. However, if I do end up eating it, it's only a small piece.

6. Try essential oils: Taking certain essentials oils can decrease your appetite or leave a taste in your mouth not conducive to snacking. My favorite oil to use, right before I start cooking or baking, to avoid piecing as I go, is DoTerra's "Slim and Sassy". It's a blend which includes citrus oils, peppermint, cinnamon and ginger, which leaves a minty, cinnamonny, refreshing taste in your mouth that doesn't go well with tortilla chips and cheese sauce. If you'd like more info on DoTerra oils, you can go to my consultant site HERE.

7. Keep something in your mouth: Another way I avoid picking and piecing as I'm cooking is to suck on a cough drop or starlight mint type of candy. This also makes snacking, especially on savory foods, unappetizing.

8. Watch a youtube video: Go run and watch a youtube video about how to make a delcious healthy recipe, or learn about clean diets, or watch inspiring weight-loss videos. Today I watched one on how to make chia pudding, and I made it this very evening! I'll post the recipe here soon.

9. Call a friend: Or in my case, a sister. If I'm having a bad day as far as sticking to my diet, a call to my sister always does the trick. She's a genius, you know, and always has an idea to help me solve my problem, whatever it may be. Your friend doesn't have to be a genius, just someone who is supportive of your goals and encourages you to make healthy choices.

10. Pray: Every morning I thank God that He gave me the will to get up at 5:10 and go exercise, and I ask Him to help me make good food choices for the rest of the day. He wants us to be healthy and to feel good, and with His help, we can do hard things, like getting into shape.

Speaking of which, in closing, let me just share a quote I read a few weeks ago that really struck me...

Losing weight is hard.
Being overweight is hard.
Pick your hard.

As an entertaining anecdote, the 12-year-old boy's response? "Just don't gain weight and you're good." Truer words were never spoken. So, best of luck with your fitness goals this week, and thanks for listening! :)