Hot Spot

What on earth is a hot spot? Right now, in AZ, you'd probably name any one of the many wildfires burning, and that would be true answer. But, in your house, a hot spot is any spot where junk piles up. I have four major hot spots: the counter right next to my refrigerator, my stairs, the bench at the top of my stairs, and my entry way. If I take time each day to clear these off, my house is looking pretty good. If I don't, watch out! My day timer/calendar gets so covered it's useless, my stairs - which are visible from the main rooms of my house - make everything look cluttered, and my entry way looks like a shoe store. Really, it doesn't take long IF you clear them every day!!! So get started now! What are the hot spots in your house? Grab the kiddos and clear them out. Then just sit and enjoy how nice it looks. :)

Good Morning Summer! Hello Routines

Good morning Summer!

It's been a while since my last post. I just didn't have time with work and family. Now that summer is here, maybe I will have some more free time. Just a blurb about one of my favorite things: my ipod touch. Now, I try not to get too attached to material possessions, but my ipod touch houses two great things: my Daily Audio Bible podcast and my Home Routines app. Neither of these things I NEED, but I certainly enjoy them, and my hubby really enjoys it when I use my Home Routines app.
This app lets you input your routines and check them off as you go. You can do this at home with a chart and such, but it is so nice not to have to deal with that. I got my ipod touch as a gift, and the Home Routines app was $2.99. Definitely worth it. Each time you check off ann item, you get a star. We joke about how many stars I get in a day. So, this morning with no school we are back to our full routines. Even the kids get into it, helping to get all of our stars. They know they don't get free time until our morning stars are done. :)

Our morning routine:
computer
dressed
breakfast
laundry
dishwasher/dishes
counters/table
calendar/hotspot
sweep floor
dinner
chickens/garden
vacuum
zone
one weekly task

This is all based on the flylady...www.flylady.com I've adapted her philosophy to my life. The Home Routines app is also based on her philosophy. You should be able to click on the title of this post and go to her website. Be careful! It can be overwhelming. Our job is to figure out how it fits into our lives. You don't have to do everything! I like to get up early so I can listen to the DAB podcast while I bust some of these out. More on what some of these things mean, like hotspot, next time. Good luck, and happy summer!

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread in Five Minutes

Here is a recipe worth trying out. It comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. There is an entire website dedicated to making bread in 5 minutes a day: www.artisanbreadinfive.com. It is a fabulous concept! The website and books are worth checking out. I found the Artisan Bread book at my library. Since this first book, the authors (one being a professional baker) have published also a book titled Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day with recipes using more whole wheat.
I have had a hard time getting this bread to rise, but it could be due to my being at 5,000 feet above sea level. So, I decided to post this recipe anyway, for those of you who are at lower elevations. When I figure out the secret for my altitude, I'll post it again.
It is definitely worth a try! Easy and yummy.

A few notes:
I have made this with milk and also with all water.
Yeast is MUCH cheaper when bought in the large container vs. packages.
I use grapeseed oil, which I buy in bulk from Azure Standard.

Ingredients
1 1/2 c lukewarm water
1 1/2 c lukewarm milk
1 1/2 TBSP granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 TBSP sea salt + 1 tsp sea salt
1/2 c honey
5 TBSP neutral flavored oil, plus more for greasing the pan
6 2/3 c whole wheat flour (freshly ground if possible, and NOT whole wheat pastry flour or "graham" flour) I like to use my sprouted flour.

Directions
1. Mix yeast, salt, honey and oil with milk and water.
2. Mix in dry ingredients WITHOUT kneading. This is easily done by hand with a spoon.
3. Cover - not airtight - and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top); approx. 2-3 hours.
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, or I like to throw it into a container (or two) with holes punched in the lids and put into the 'fridge for a while. Usually until the next day. (This dough is pretty sticky.) The dough can be kept in the 'fridge for up to 5 days.

On Baking Day
1. lightly grease your loaf pan. Using wet hands, scoop out a 1 1/2 - 2 lb handful of dough.
2. Quickly shape the dough to fit your pan and drop it right in. It should be filled a little more that half-way.
3. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes for a 1 1/2 lb loaf OR
preheat to 375 for a 2 lb loaf.
5. Bake 1 1/2 lb loaf for 50 minutes and 2 lb loaf for 60 minutes.
6. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely before slicing.

This recipe yields 2 loaves if you use 1.5 lbs of dough, or one 2lb loaf and some rolls. My family isn't sold on it yet, but again, I think it is due to the high altitude factor. When I figure that out, I'll let you know!

Vita-Mix

A few years ago, when I was just starting my health journey, I was over at a friend's house soaking up as much of her wisdom as possible. She whips out this blender, fills it up with all kinds of healthy stuff, turns it on and walks away! What is this?! A blender that doesn't get all clogged up? A blender you don't have to babysit, and make sure it doesn't fall off the stand? This blender, a Vita-Mix, instantly made my wish list. I knew it was costly, but really how much could a blender be? Uff da. Quite a bit more than my hubby was willing to part with! So, I learned to be content with my garage sale blenders. The old seventies blenders sell for about $5, and last longer than those I purchased new. I like my smoothies thick!
Fast forward to Fall 2010. I figure out that if I want to feed my family according to Nourishing Traditions, I need to be making things from scratch. It's much cheaper (more on that in a later post)and healthier. So I begin to research grain mills and stumble upon one little sentence on www.thenourishinggourmet.com which basically said a Vita-Mix works great for grinding grain. Hooray! Here's my in! Long story short: everything worked out and I got a Vita-Mix for Christmas!
Smoothies have never been better! They sell a wet container and a dry container. The blades are different. I can grind 4 cups of flour in 1 minute. This machine really is incredible. I debated between trying to grind the wheat in the wet container, but really felt at peace when I got the dry container. It works great, and costs less when you purchase them together. Another bonus: clean-up is a breeze.
Final thoughts: the Vita-Mix rocks. If you can save your money to purchase one, I highly suggest it! If you can get it as a combined gift from everyone you know, even better. :) Go for it! It really makes life a little easier and healthier. :)

Weekly Plan/Template

I think I have finally figured out what I want to do each week, and how long each thing takes. So, today I wrote out a generic template. Hope it works out! I figured out how long each thing takes, and the best time to do it according to my schedule. I plan on posting this on my 'fridge for easy reference. That way, when I get home from school, I can just have a look to see what I should be doing. No thinking involved...I like it. :) Automatic pilot is my friend!

Coming soon: No Knead whole wheat bread. YUM and easy!


Food Strategy

Saturday: PM Soak / Sprout beans

Sunday: PM soak oats

Monday: AM Cook beans
PM Wheat berries into jars/water
Hummus/honey almonds/granola

Tuesday: AM rinse wheat berries
PM rinse wheat berries

Wednesday: AM dehydrate grain

Thursday:PM Soak nuts
Bake; snacks; etc.

Friday: AM/Lunch dehydrate nuts

Free Exercise - Living Room

Here's a quick idea my 9 year old came up with. When folding the laundry, take it out to the living room. Sit in a straddle position and place a pile of laundry at each foot. Reach to a pile and grab something to fold. After it's folded, stretch out in front of you and place it on the floor. You will be stretching and folding at the same time. I think it feels great. Today, I kept my legs in front of me and placed a pile at my toes. I am happy to say I can still touch my toes. :) If you can't reach your feet, then place the laundry where you can reach it. Baby steps, right? :) Although, it should be a little tough in the beginning because your muscles will limber up shortly. Again, I love it when I get two things done at the same time!

High Altitude Brownies

Today is the first day of Spring Break! We are at the beginning of what I hope will be a glorious two weeks. The first week is promising, full of temps in the 70s. I love it!
Here is a recipe I adapted from www.allrecipes.com. I use the Lance Armstrong My Plate www.livestrong.com/myplate/ to configure my recipes so each serving has only 10 g/sugar or lower. These brownies have about 10 g of sugar if you cut at least 24. I cook them in a round crockery dish from Pampered Chef, because I like it. :) It is 12" in diameter. The recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, but that was just too little for me. I prefer to have slightly larger, thinner brownies. Then, at 10 g of sugar each, I can scarf them down throughout the day, during my "chocolate days", like I did this week! :)
A note on the high altitude... We are at 5000 feet, so when I saw this recipe, I grabbed it. If it doesn't work for you, you can at least look at my version vs. the original (High Altitude Deep Dish Brownies) at allrecipes and see how I changed it. Then you can find one for you and do the same!

High Altitude Brownies

Ingredients
7/8 c sprouted whole wheat flour (1 c - 2 TBSP)
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 c butter, melted
1 c Rapadura sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (we try to use free range or organic)
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
1/2 c peacans (optional)To see how to soak nuts to make them more digestable and make the nutrients more available to your body check out The Nourishing Gourmet.  Check out the tabs at the top of her site, and click on Nourishing Foundations.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350. Grease your pan.

Cut up butter, and melt over low heat on the stove.
Meanwhile, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and set aside.
Now, combine melted butter, rapadura and vanilla.
Mix in eggs.
Gradually stir in dry ingredients just until blended. Don't worry if the cocoa powder isn't totally blended.
Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
Spread the batter evenly in your pan.
Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes depending on how gooey you like them. :)

We cut these into at least 24 pieces. Then we put 15 aside in snack baggies for lunches. We save the rest for whenever we want them. Hope you enjoy!