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.

Works For Me Wednesday: Yogurt & Eczema

I just wanted to pass along this article from Stonyfield about the positive effects yogurt can have on eczema.

Two out of my three kids have suffered with this skin condition as babies and into their toddler years, and Stonyfield yogurt has been a part of their daily diets for quite some time. I also use Dannon Naturals yogurt. Now at ages 6 and 3, my two are eczema free and have been for a while.

While I have used many other natural remedies over the years, which is another post in and of itself, maybe their daily dose of Yo Baby/Yo Kids yogurt has been a tremendous help! I have been very fortunate to be able to keep allopathic treatments far, far away.

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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!!

Works For Me Wednesday: Soaking Your Oats

I think I have heard a saying about "sowing your oats" or something like that, but that is not what I am talking about today. :)


Oats, like other gluten-containing grains are not easily digested by us humans because they contain phytic acid. This acid is located in the outer layer of the bran, which binds minerals and can block their absorption. This is possibly why so many people have an allergy to whole wheat since it is the highest in phytic acid. (Good grief, aren't they telling us to eat more whole wheat for our health's sake?)

Soaking oatmeal, and all other grains for that matter, will make them easier to digest because one, it neutralizes the phytic acid, especially if the water is acidic,and two, lactobacilli break down the gluten and other proteins that are difficult to digest. These 2 components combined make the nutrients in the oatmeal available to us. The acidic water also encourages the production of many beneficial enzymes, which enhances the vitamin content, especially the B vitamins.


**So here's a very simple thing you can do to up the nutritional value of your oatmeal:

Mix 2 cups rolled oats and 2 cups warm water and let it soak overnight. (adding 4T. plain yogurt, sour milk, or buttermilk helps.)

The next morning you will need to add your soaked oats to boiling water (recipe says 2 cups but I use less), reduce heat and simmer until hot.

I love to eat mine with chopped nuts, chopped banana, brown sugar and milk!



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*Sorry no WFMW label or other photos--Hubby took the laptop to work.

Bella Lucce

I recently got in touch with an old, elementary school chum. In fact she (Lela) was my very first friend when I moved to Tennessee in 4th grade. She was the only peer that was truly nice to me, and the only classmate to attend my birthday party that spring.

A few years ago I was hoping to see her at my 10 year high school reunion, but she was unable to come. Since then I have been meaning to get in touch with her, but you know how things go, I just wasn't getting around to it. Finally, through another friend, I tracked down her info. in order to drop her a line. I knew she had started her own skin care business, but had NO IDEA how successful this gal had become!! After sending her an email, I decided to browse her site, Bellalucce.com and was simply amazed.

Her products are all natural which is right up my alley, and not only that they are made with the most exotic and delicious sounding ingredients imaginable! The Chocolate Spa collection sounds absolutely heavenly, and the Pumpkin Glow Body Scrub would be great for this pumpkin lover!! (Hubby, feel free to take notes. :)) And that is just scratching the surface of her amazing line of beauty products.

Her business was voted 2007 Indie Beauty Business of the Year! Wow, I was and am so impressed. She has an inspiring "rags to riches" story, and I am truly happy for her!!! You can go to her home page now and register to win a Bella Lucce gift box.

It has been fun chatting with my old friend and reminiscing a bit. :) I would love to know what you think of her products!

Healthy, Homemade Salad Dressing

It's about time I did another one of these!

I recently discovered how to make my own yummy tasting salad dressing that doesn't contain awful stuff like hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup etc. I must give credit to my slightly obsessed friend, Staci, who loves to research and post about healthy living.



Healthy, Homemade Salad Dressing

1/2 cup oil (olive or grape seed work well)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup agave*

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. poppy seeds

2 T. sesame seeds

1 1/2 T. dried, minced onion

*Agave nectar can be found next to the honey in the health food section of your grocery store.

This dressing does not require refrigeration. I just mixed and stored mine in a clean coconut oil jar.

I personally find this dressing to be very tasty. It has a sweet and tangy taste, and went very well with my salad of red and green leaf lettuce, pecans, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, feta cheese, and chopped red onion!!

For more awesome tips visit Rocksinmydryer.

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. :)

Green is Good!

Why is it always so difficult to get kids to eat green stuff??

Mullin has been the least picky of all our dear children. Goodness, Lincoln and Shiloh have been so picky about what goes into their bellies. I used to stir vegetable powder into Lincoln's yogurt when he was a toddler. Recently I "hid" smashed avocado in Shiloh's turkey and cheese sandwich, and she ate it!! I know technically avocadoes aren't vegetables, but at least they are GREEN!

Speaking of avocadoes, here is a delicious recipe for some dip.

Amazing Avocado Dip
*1 avocado
*2 tsp. fresh lime juice
*1/2 c. fresh, chopped cilantro
*1/4 c. chopped, red onion
*2 tsp. minced garlic cloves
*1/4 tsp. salt

I use Garden of Eatin' Black Bean chips and Garden of Eatin' Blue Corn chips to go with this sensational dip.
This stuff is so yummy, and healthy, too!!

**For a plentiful amount, you will probably want to triple or even quadruple this recipe.

Thanks to Staci for sharing this recipe with me!

Veggie Muffin Meatloaves

**kid friendly recipe!!

*2 lbs. Hamburger or ground turkey (hamburger is better in this particular recipe)
*4 cups oatmeal
*2 eggs
*2 TBS. dried parsley
*1 small onion
*1 clove garlic
*1 zucchini
*6 mushrooms ( I have made with and without)
*1 carrot
*1 green bell pepper
*Salt and pepper
*Tomato sauce 8oz. can
*Ketchup

**Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Process veggies in a food processor until finely chopped. (I use a hand powered food chopper) Add to bowl with oatmeal, meat, salt and pepper. Mix well with hands. Fill muffin cups to top with mixture. Open tomato sauce can just enough to pour from it. Top each muffin with tomato sauce. Squirt on a swirl of ketchup on top to make it sweet and shiny. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 min. or until cooked through. (30 min. is always plenty of time for me.)

**Makes 24 "muffins". I just freeze what's left and heat in microwave as needed.

Carrot Casserole

*Dedicated to my sister

* Ground turkey (approx. 1 lb.)
* Salt and pepper
* Garlic salt
* Potatoes (approx. 3 med.-large)
* Carrots (I use packaged matchstick carrots usually found near salad bags)
* 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 small onion

Pat ground meat into bottom of large glass casserole dish. Sprinkle meat with seasonings. Top with carrots, sliced onion, and potatoes cut into 1/2 in. thick matchsticks. (I steam the vegetables until a bit tender before putting them into the dish to cut down on cooking time in the oven.) Mix tomato sauce with cream and pour over the vegetables in the dish. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

*This recipe doesn't sound like it would be very tasty, but it is and my husband even likes it. :)

Health Nut

I claim to be a health nut, not a health freak. I never want to be labeled a hypocrite in this area so I will admit right off the bat that I have an insatiable sweet tooth! I absolutely LOVE chocolate, most desserts, anything with carbs, a good juicy fast food hamburger every once in a while(although I might have a harder time enjoying this treat after viewing Superkraut's cow photos), Papa John's pineapple pizza, M&Ms( it is nothing for me to eat a huge bag in one day), and well the list goes on and on. Now that I have a clear conscience, I can move forward with what I really wanted to write about.
Alot has changed since I was a little girl, and there is still lots of changing to do. My grocery shopping fantasy is to one day be able to do ALL of my grocery shopping at Wild Oats! (Ecxept when I need that bag of M&M's) I grew up on Hamburger Helper, canned veggies, Little Debbie's, Kool-Aid, antibiotics, and nuked food out the whazoo, but ever since I started seeing a Chiropractor at the age of 14, I have been hooked on anything and everything that has to do with a natural, alternative healthy lifestyle. What is really funny, though, is that I am married to someone who cares as much about this topic as I care about camping. Any reputable matchmaking company would have never put us together based upon our eating habits. Come to think of it, we are pretty much opposites about everything, but since it was The Matchmaker who put us together, I can confidently say we are just right for one another. I would HATE to be married to someone just like me!! (I am kinda hard to live with!)
For over a decade I have spent many hours researching herbology, aromatherapy, homeopathy, healthy eating, etc... and have been trying my best to put all of the knowledge I have acquired into practice. There is still SO much more I want to learn, and half the stuff I have already learned I have forgotten. While I am by no means an expert, I hope to use my blog as an outlet to share some of the things that I have learned. If you have any tips, please share. I'm on the edge of my seat when it comes to health!
My pictures wouldn't load, and I am tired of trying. So I will go ahead and post pictureless=(

Ahhh! The Smell of Bleach

In today's modern world of chemical chaos we (or at least I did) tend to think of the word CLEAN when inhaling the noxious, overpowering scents of Bleach, Pine-Sol, Endust, Ajax, and the list goes on and on. Now, that I have been using more natural products, I can barely go down the cleaning isle in the store without holding my breath!



I have been experimenting with more natural cleaning alternatives for quite some time now, but still haven't mastered the art of getting rid of mold that way. Unfortunately, I still have to resort to the other stuff=(. When I don't have time to prepare my own concoctions from scratch, which has been alot lately, I use Seventh Generation. So far I like it. Go there now to print coupons!!