Works For Me Wednesday--Muffin Mania

I have been trying to make use of all my zucchini's from my garden and also all the apples from my mom's trees.

Muffins it is. And they are healthy!

I have made a few batches to replace the processed Cascadian Farms granola bars that I buy on a regular basis. Even though I am sure they are healthier than other brands, they are still processed and contain a few ingredients I would rather leave out of my diet.

My kids and even my hubby love 'em!


Nutty Apple Muffins

1 1/4 cup honey (I use raw--taste is so worth it!)
1/2 cup oil (I use cold pressed olive, safflower or coconut oil)
2 eggs
3 cups grated apples
7 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup water
2 TBS plus 2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 TBS cinnamon
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cup raisins ( I omitted these)

Mix oil, eggs, honey,and apples in a large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir to moisten. Add in nuts and raisins. Do not over mix. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake about 20 min. at 400 degrees. Makes 3 dozen large muffins.


Zucchini Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of each: baking soda, salt, nutmeg
1/4 tsp tsp baking powder
1/2 cup honey (raw)
1 1/4 cup grated, unpeeled zucchini
1 egg
1/2 cup water
2 TBS softened butter
1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients well. Make a hole in center of flour mixture in the bowl and add wet ingredients. Stir with wooden spoon just until all mixed together. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 degree for 15 min. or until a toothpick stuck in center of muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.


Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup butter milk or sour milk (If you don't have raw milk just use vinegar or lemon juice to "sour" your milk)
1 egg
1/3 cup honey (raw)
3 TBS oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup walnuts

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Bake in greased muffin tins for 15-20 min. at 375 degrees.


**For a little something extra I made some cream cheese frosting for the apple muffins. I used cream cheese, whole apple juice, and a little powdered sugar. Delicious!!!!

**All recipes come from Hopkins' Healthy Home Cooking


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I Sprouted!!

I am just so proud of myself!

I sprouted my long-grain brown rice for the very first time. I couldn't stop there. I sprouted some green split peas and red lentils.

I am a bit new to the sprouting thing but am always broadening my "natural and healthy foods" horizon. Sprouting has several health benefits. It just makes sense. Live foods are healthier than dead foods, and if it can sprout, you know it is "alive".

My mom is reading a book that says, "If it doesn't rot or sprout, you can do without."

Yeah, yeah, I know--M&Ms don't sprout.

If you are wrinkling your nose and furrowing your brow thinking, "what is she up to now?" you can go here to find some sprouting links.

Thirty-Something Metabolism

I always thought my metabolism would be as high as the sky. Folks said it would slow down someday, but someday seemed a million miles away!

Someday is now.

This is the first time in my life that I am going to have to carefully watch how much I eat. That's just no fun. I do have an overall healthy diet, but I like to graze!

The days of being able to scarf down 6 pieces of cheesy, pineapple pizza or snack on a 2 lb. bag of M&Ms are history and have been for a few years. Metabolism has finally started slowing down, and I suffer major consequences for being a pig. Those sneaky, little consequences come in the form of inches and pounds. And thanks to my genes, all of those inches and pounds like to huddle around my middle. I am sure having 3 huge babies didn't help my middle matters either!

Gazing in the mirror a while back, I noticed something. Muffin tops belong on muffins and spare tires belong in trunks.

In reality, I really only need to lose about 5-7lbs, and that is easier than the inches, in my opinion. If only I could suck out the inches in my waist and wrap them around my knees or calves. I am looking pretty flabulous right now.

Well, I don't want to let things go any further and get out of hand, so I am doing what I do best. I am taking charge and saying no to too much food!!! Guess I will have to run up and down the stairs a few more times during the day and force myself to do a few sit-ups. Lack of funds ought to help with the "too much food" issue, too!

I have done a good job this week, so I am giving myself a pat on the back!!

My Little Pinkalicious

Shiloh recently received this book for her 3rd birthday from her great grandparents. I think we have read it everyday for the past couple of weeks!

It truly is a lovely tale about a cute little girl who obviously loves all things pink! But she soon discovers that being herself is even better than being pink.

A few days ago Shiloh asked me if we could make pink cupcakes, and I thought it was a grand idea. We had some wonderful momma/daughter time together.


Here are a few photos of our recreation of Pinkalicious cupcakes.

Shiloh is just beaming and so excited about starting our pink project!

What a big helper stirring the pink batter. Maybe a few licks, too!

Momma takes a turn to beat the batter till it's nice and fluffy!

She tried her little heart out at frosting the pink cupcakes. I think she just resorted to what was easier--licking the knife.

Mmmm, yummy! They're pinkerific!

I wish I would have had a cupcake tower to display these candylicious looking treats. Oh well.

I actually had some pink frosting left over from her birthday cake, so I was able to make the swirly design. I had such a fun time making these with my Sweet Sue!

Big Daddy

I was watering my garden the other day and came upon this giant.

I'm thinkin', "How in the world did I miss this one?"

My garden isn't very big, and I water it everyday. Guess he was hiding under some leaves.

I decided to put him to good use and made healthy, whole wheat zucchini muffins and zucchini pancakes. Delicious.

Since planting my first garden, I have been amazed at how just one plant can produce so much fruit. It's crazy!

Oodles of Apples

Making memories at Grandma's house. The kids look forward to this every June!!!

Apple picking...




Apple washing...

Apple juicing...

Apple drinking...

Apple peeling and coring...

Apple dehydrating...

Apple trail mix making...

Good times! Oh, and the taste of freshly juiced apples is delicious! Fresh dehydrated apples are a tasty treat as well. Mom, thanks for the many bags of apples and all of the apple fun!

Bean Makin' Baby

Helping Mama make refried beans the old fashioned way! You know, sorting, soaking, simmering, and here she is stirring. We added salt, paprika and garlic powder, too. But no lard and other yucky stuff. After one taste, I couldn't keep her from eating them off the spoon!

Spreading mixture on tortillas. No, they are not homemade. That is the next food project on my list since it is so hard to find truly healthy tortillas in stores. Can somebody please make some without hydrogenated oils!!!

Next she sprinkled cheese, and then I popped them in the oven for a few minutes.

It is so nice to just be "mom" for two months and not teacher,too. Gives me time to spend doing fun stuff like this with the kiddos. It was great mother/daughter time. The boys were outside with the neighbor kids. Gotta love summer!!

My Very First Harvest

I can't even begin to express how delighted I was to pick my very first yellow squash! I know it sounds silly, but there is just something so amazing about watching food grow. This is my very first garden, and I am absolutely loving it! Thanks to hubs for building it for me. :)
These are my squash and zucchini plants. I have a few carrots and 2 pumpkin plants, too. My cilantro and onion seeds just wouldn't sprout even after planting them twice. Oh well, not too bad for a beginner.


I have been so tickled over the excitement the kids have shown. They helped plant the seeds--even Shiloh helped. Everyday they would watch for sprouts and boy, you can imaging the shouting when the first one emerged!!



Here they are, my first two squash. (Should that be squashes?) Lincoln was so excited about them, and he doesn't even like squash. That is until Sunday when we cooked them.



He helped me saute` them in butter, onion, spices, and cheese. And......he like it!!! But, he says he will only eat squash from the garden not the store. Silly boy.

Taste Buds

Taste buds--aren't they weird?

I was thinking about this just the other day when I was scarfing down some Oreo cookies. Growing up, I didn't like these cream-filled treats. As I pondered this silly subject even more, I realized that there are many foods that I like now that I didn't when I was younger. I think there are even a few things that I don't like now that I used to like at one time. What happened to my taste buds???

Things I like now but didn't then:

Oreo cookies

Pumpkin pie

Mashed potatoes

Dark Chocolate ( I can eat it sparingly now. That change has happened since I have had kids.)


Things I don't like now but did then:

Lima beans (My mom swears that I used to love these--I will take her word for it.)



Well, my mind is going blank at the moment. I think it is filled with thoughts of all of the tasks I need to complete. I better get to them then.



Is there any type of food that you all love to eat now that you absolutely couldn't stand when you were growing up?? Just for fun, I'd like to know!

My Very First Real Coconut

My boys and I thought it would be a fun experience to buy a "real"coconut. I did a little research yesterday on how in the world to cut one. I hope my efforts pay off...
It felt wierd using a screwdriver on a piece of fruit, but it proved to work quite well in poking its "eyes" out.
Mullin is draining the coconut milk into a bowl. Not sure what we are going to use it for. Guess I need to research that now.
Sorry Lincoln, but Mama is going to be the one to hit the coconut and hopefully split it!

I hope this works, and I really hope no one is passing by my garage right now. I am sure I will look very silly!
What do you know-- 2 hits and whammo! I know I am wierd, but I felt so elated after this experience. Trying new things is fun, and since I have no desire to do something really fascinating like, deep sea diving or wrestling alligators, cutting open a coconut was adventurous enough for me.
The meat inside was so smooth and pretty. I wish my teeth were this white!

After all that work I ate a healthy snack of banana, coconut, raw almonds, and local honey. Yum.
My boys weren't so impressed with the taste, but they had a fun time with it.



I must add that I never thought anything could be more difficult and time consuming than cutting open a pomegranate! Acorn squash can be a bit tricky, too, but nothing compares to the coconut! As I was trying my darndest to cut and scrape away at the pearly white meat, I had a lot of time to just think.

As I was scraping away, I thought about how easy it was to get to the milk. Getting to the "meat" on the other hand was taking time, dedication, hard work, and patience. Then, in the quietness of my mind, the Holy Spirit began drawing a mental picture for me, relating the milk and meat of the coconut to the milk and meat of God's holy Word.

As baby Christians, drinking the milk of the Word that is so easily accessible is vital, but we were never meant to be sustained on milk alone. It is just as important to move on to the meat of the Word growing up in the wisdom and knowledge of God and becoming cross bearing servants in His Body, the Church. So many are content to just sit back and sip on milk without ever moving on to the meat. It requires time, dedication, hard work, and patience. It requires sacrificing one's own desires, and that never seems fun at the time.

I am glad I bought a coconut today! Blessings to you and yours--it is time for me to wake my sleeping beauty.

**I know with this many words and my spell check not working, there are bound to be some misspelled words, but I just don't have enough time to proofread. Gotta wake my girl or she won't want to go to bed tonight!

Isn't It Ironic?

So, I am driving all around town yesterday with 3 kids in tow to run various errands.

First stop, Target. Had to return a quilt.

Second stop, Wal-mart.

Third stop, Dollar Store. We have a "house point" system in our home, and after earning 100 points they can spend $1.00 at this store.

Next door is Sprouts, the health food store. Going to this store and the next store is really why I wanted to get out in the first place. Unfortunately it isn't very conveniently located. Takes about 40-45 min. to drive there from our house. But, they have the most yummy, healthy bread there! Plus, I had a few other items that I needed. Glad I went because they had the most beautiful cherries on sale!!!

On my way back to the car, I realize that it is almost 11:30. My kids eat every day at 11am. Every day. I still have one more stop to make before going home, and it is to a place that I have never been. I am thinking, "Oh great, it'll be 1:00 before I can get home, they will be starving and it will be nap time!"

What is a mother to do who needs to feed her hungry kids while out and about on a very tight budget?? Exactly. McDonald's. As we pull into a parking space, I gently warn my children, who by the way have behaved wonderfully the entire morning, that we don't have enough $ to buy happy meals, or enough time to play on the really cool playground. Once we sat down with our food, I told them to eat fast so we could get to our next stop before 1:00 since that was this particular place's closing time. My kids were absolute angels!

Okay now for our last errand. A farm. A farm that sells raw cow's milk. This was my very first time ever to buy raw milk. For years I have bought organic cow's milk, goat's milk, and soy milk, but I am ready to move on to something that may even be a healthier choice. My kids thought is was neat going to this farm to buy milk, and they even got to see a few sweet, little, baby cows. I will let you know how the milk tastes after I open it.

Isn't it ironic that I am out driving all over town to buy healthy food for my family, then swing by McDonald's to quickly and cheaply fill my kids' bellies?!! I am still questioning why b/c every time I eat there, my body immediately recognizes that what I just put into my mouth is not food.(Obviously I didn't order a salad.) Thankfully my body is working properly and can quickly purge the poison from my intestines. Yum. Hopefully my kids won't be scarred for life from eating there every once in a while. There were lots of customers at McDonald's that looked like they ate there quite a bit, and they were still kickin'. Brad or Catie, this would be a great time for you to comment and tell your Happy Meal story. I would tell it myself, but it has been a while since I have heard it and I don't want to botch the details.

Happy eating, especially if you're going to McDonald's. :)

Home school: Just an Excuse to Make Tasty Treats

Mullin just finished reading Homer Price, and chapter three's book report project was making homemade doughnuts. I made up the dough, Daddy cooked 'em in hot oil and the kids decorated. They got the fun part. They actually turned out pretty good--more of a cakey type doughnut. Of course I made them as healthy as possible by using white whole wheat flour and coconut oil, but I guess when it's all said and done, a doughnut is a doughnut.
Lincoln got to help decorate, too. But oh goodness, Shiloh was not a happy camper as you can see in photo #1. The rule in our house is: to get dessert, you gotta eat your dinner. I kept pressing her to eat her dinner so she could eat a doughnut, but she just wouldn't. So, yes I made her suffer the consequences. It kills me to see my little Sue cry, but we just can't have a spoiled brat on our hands, now can we? Don't worry the story has a happy ending--she got one the next day.
Shiloh eventually got over her fit and enjoyed watching the boys, and I did even let her decorate one. She just didn't get to eat it. Until the next day.

7--The Perfect Number?

Well, for me it's the perfect number to LOSE!!

I was pleasantly surprised with a few gift cards to a couple of clothing stores this Christmas!! My closet desperately needs an update, but unfortunately I have gone over my weight limit. :( I know by the world's standards, I would not fall in the overweight category or anything, but I don't feel good. I wish I could tell the extra fat cells to please visit my calves and bony knees or even my feet for goodness' sake! But they have a mind of their own,and for some reason they all like to settle in my middle. Yes, it is the ugly frog thing!!

So anyway, I have told myself that I cannot spend my gift cards until I have lost the 7 pounds. Yikes. What an incentive!! It is oatmeal for breakfast, fruit and nuts for lunch, and a portion-controlled dinner. So far I have done a very good job. I didn't get whip on my Venti Green Tea Frappucino yesterday, and I bought the Tear N Share M&M bag instead of the FAMILY size! Yea me! Well, ya gotta start somewhere.

Oh, my how am I going to resist all of those pretty Valentine candies already beginning to line the store shelves??

I will try and post Christmas pics soon. Been busy putting away all of the decorations. Only thing left is the Memory Tree for hubs to shove in the box. Oh, and the outside lights.

Baking With Mom

Last Saturday my mom and I slaved in the kitchen from 7:30-4:30 to bring forth many, yummy, Christmas goodies! Here I am making our traditional Prize Sugar Cookies, and I am holding up 2 very sentimental cookie cutters--they used to be my grandma's. And the apron I am wearing was given to me by my mom after my grandma passed away over 2 years ago. This apron is also very special to me because my mom made it for her mother when she was about 14.
















Thanks, Mom for taking the time to bake with me. We really missed not having my sister or my sister-in-law there this year!
















While filling the kitchen with sweet smells, we listened to Christmas music and talked about everything, of course. It was a cloudy, rainy, yet very, refreshingly cool day!















Just a photo of some of the fruits of our labor. I actually sent this plate to work with my husband. The only treat not pictured was the amazing toffee my mom made--I wasn't about to share any of that!! In fact, I ate the last piece today! YUM, YUM!

Just a little reminder--vote for my Holiday Cheer picture tomorrow!!! (Only if you think it is the best one, of course.) I could really use the prize $!

Tickled Tastebuds

While grocery shopping this past weekend, I was confronted with a huge bin full of beautiful, red pomegranates. I couldn't resist buying one--they were just too pretty! I had never eaten one before, so I picked up one of the handy dandy pomegranate pamphlets displayed next to the bin. I have only drunk pomegranate juice, so I wasn't really sure how to go about eating one.

I decided to try it today, and oh my stars, my taste buds were pleasantly surprised!! I just ate the fresh arils by the spoonful! Even the boys liked them. If you have never eaten one, then please let me encourage you to do so!!!

I can't wait to buy more on my next trip to the market! I was getting so bored of eating the same old fruits day after day, but now I have a new fruit to add to my favorites! I hope to be able to try some of the recipes featured here sometime.

To all of you who have already discovered these tasty, crimson treats, how do you eat them and what kinds of recipes have you made?

Oh, The Tastes and Smells of Autumn

Every Fall our family looks forward to all of the delicious pumpkin recipes we make. We started it off bright and early this morning with Pumpkin Pancakes!! Oh, so good!






Pumpkin Pancakes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 TBS wheat germ
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 TBS vegetable oil ( I use safflower)

*Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine liquid ingredients, then stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. (It is supposed to be a thick batter, but sometimes I add a tad more milk) Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased griddle and cook until done. We choose to garnish with butter, syrup and whipped cream!!









Lincoln and Shiloh are thoroughly enjoying this autumn treat!















Oh, goodness! Mullin has already cleaned his plate!

Leftover Heavy Cream

Want to know what to do with leftover Heavy Cream???

Use it instead of milk to make french toast!!

I have never known what to do with the leftover heavy cream sitting in my fridge--I usually end up throwing it away....Until the little light bulb thing appeared over my head.

Let me warn you though, it is rich and very yummy. I couldn't button my shorts this morning!

This would qualify as one of those "Works for me Wednesday" posts, but it isn't Wednesday, and I haven't uploaded the picture thing yet to really be able to label my tips with it. Another day...