Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 7 Eggs

Posted by Paulette

I believe that nothing happens by accident. I promised that my next post would be on eggs, and then I got sick...eating eggs.

I get back to that story is just a little bit. Have you ever eaten an egg fresh from the nest? Last July our family bought five Muscovy Duck hens and one drake. My hope was that we would get fresh eggs every day.

 They're all grown up and some of them are even laying eggs. 

On January 3rd we found our first egg. We were so excited. It was like Christmas all over again. I boiled that first egg and cut it into 6 pieces so that everyone (except Daddy, who wasn't home) could have a piece. It was delicious!
Have you ever eaten a fresh egg? They lack that sulfur taste that many grocery store eggs have. The yolk in a duck egg is larger than those found in eggs laid by chickens.

This is a bonus for people, like my daughters, who only want to eat the yolk!
We got a few eggs after that, and then all of a sudden, it seemed to stop. Then one night while rounding up the ducks to pen them up, I noticed one of the hens was missing. I grabbed a lantern and went searching. I found her under a bush. And she did NOT want to move. A pair of pruning shears was produced, so that I could get under the bush to get her, and guess what I found? A baker's dozen eggs! I took all but one. 
Since then, I've learned that ducks are smart. They count their eggs, and when they have enough, they will lay on them to hatch. My little hen wasn't laying eggs long enough to hatch them, but she's going to be a great momma some day. Since then, I have learned to replace eggs that we've taken with fake ones. Otherwise she goes on strike! Even that has to be done with care, because she will sit on those darn fake eggs and starve herself to lay them. I never knew how smart bird could be. 
There are now about 5 nests that we check daily for eggs. 
In December, we added to our flock with 5 chicks, all hens.

 This new addition to our backyard farm was more costly. When we purchased the ducks, we did it a little at a time, spending $20 a duck. building their pen cost only about $7 and their bath tubs were only $6 each. But the chicks needed a heat lamp, and a coop and special feeding apparatus. The chicks themselves cost $50 for 5, at 4 weeks old. They can be cheaper, at younger ages.
But this post is supposed to be about EGGS, not BIRDS. Right? So why, you may be asking yourself, did I spend so much money and time on acquiring my own layers? 
First of all, there was the nutritious factor. Eggs at the grocery store are on average 45 days old before you bring them home. 
Hens in a poultry farm are kept in small boxes, raised on GMO feed, fed antibiotics to keep them from getting ill in such close quarters. They often have their beaks filed down, so that they can't injure the other birds.

 My birds are free range. They eat the scraps from the kitchen as well as wholesome feed. They also eat all of the weeds and are great insect control.
Lastly, I want my children to know and respect where their food comes from. I love to see the joy in their little faces when they find an egg. 
So, for you analytical types, here's the comparison of duck to chicken eggs:

 Now, if you're still reading and not bored to tears by now, I'll share with you how I got sick eating eggs. For a week, every  time I'd eat our homegrown duck eggs, I would react as if I'd been poisoned. At first I thought I'd had the stomach flu. It came on slowly. But when it happened 2 more times after eating the eggs, I realized that it must be the EGGS! 
Now, I may be allergic to duck eggs. This isn't much of a tragedy. I can still eat chicken eggs. But the problem may be the feed. I started the ducks on game bird feed starter, which is medicated. I didn't realize this until my friend pointed it out. Being a novice, I didn't realize that you're supposed to change to a layer feed a month before they lay, which is at about 6 months of age. I've changed their feed, and have located a source for GMO feed. I am so excited!  Of course it costs more, but, not as much as buying free range GMO free eggs.

Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 6: Milk

posted by Paulette

You would think that there wouldn't be much to say about milk. But after doing the research, I was blown away by the information. Two years ago when I'd been allergy tested, my panel said that I was allergic to cow's milk. While my family was still drinking cow's milk from the grocery store, I was trying out alternatives.

There were so many choices in alternative milks. I tried hemp milk. 

 It had a grassy taste to it that I didn't like. Moving on.

Then soy milk got it's chance.

We liked the taste. The vanilla was like eating melted ice cream. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized that there were several reasons why we shouldn't be drinking this milk. The first one, was because it's made of soy, which has phytoestrogens. It's a plant based estrogen. It's not a good idea to mess with mother nature. Excess estrogen in women can cause perimenopause symptoms, and in men it feeds prostate cancer. I don't even want to think of what it was doing to my boys while in adolescence, while their bodies are changing! The other reason to avoid it was because much of the soy grown in the US is GMO. Silk specifies on their products that they are non GMO, but they are also one of the companies that fully support Monsanto, the company that engineers GMO seeds. I'm not sure I can trust their non GMO claims.

Then we tried coconut milk.

One of the reasons this one appeals to me, is that there are so many brands. You can buy it refrigerated, or in shelf stable cartons. It's delicious! And you can get it flavored with vanilla and sugar, or plain. Using milk in cartons reduces exposure to BPA which can leach from cans into the milk. This milk is also very high in calories, so it's a treat, not an every day, or even twice a day thing for us. We may have some in some herbal tea, or maybe even a glass when we are eating spicy foods to calm down the heat in our mouths.

Rice milk is also a yummy alternative to cow's milk.

It tastes yummy, but as far as the nutritive value, I found it lacking. It can also be bought in a shelf stable packaging.











Almond milk is delicious, can be bought refrigerated and in shelf stable packaging and has good nutritive value. At one time I thought I might be allergic to tree nuts, and so avoided this milk. But time soon showed me that there was nothing to fear, and we began drinking it again. It's the best substitute to use when baking because it has a flavor that's closest to cow's milk, and when unflavored, can even be used for gravies and sauces.

And now we come to my favorite, goat's milk.

 
I was first introduced to goat's milk when I began my search for milks. I'd tried powdered in my baking, and I'd found that the canned milk was excellent for soups and macaroni and cheese. And the Goat's milk yogurt was awesome! I had to hide it from David, my husband. To drink, though, I found that it had a slightly tangy taste. And then my friend gave me a sample of the milk from her goats, and it was creamy and delicious! I was sold! Later I found out that there were many benefits from drinking raw goat's milk. Too many for me to detail here. But there's a few articles floating about the net, if you care to read them. 
http://www.mtcapra.com/benefits-of-goat-milk-vs-cow-milk/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/goats-why-raw-goat-milk.aspx

It's more expensive that the above alternatives. I pay $4 a quart. We get 5 quarts a week for our family of 7. It's usually gone within the first two days. When I bring it home everyone gets excited to have their first taste. It's by far, the best alternative. 

We no longer drink cow's milk. I've since discovered that the dairy industry does some pretty dastardly things. The cattle are fed corn, which is GMO, and they are given antibiotics on a regular basis. Recently most dairies stopped giving their cattle BGH (bovine growth hormone) to up the milk production. It was causing male children to grow breasts! It is common for milk to have a certain amount of puss in it. It's allowed. Nasty! And the reason for pasteurization is to kill the bad bacteria present in the milk, which also kills the beneficial bacteria, leaving it a blank slate to grown bad bacteria again. Anytime I hear the slogan from the 90's "Milk, it does the body good." I think YUCK!
Since there are so many alternatives, we don't miss it. We do still eat cheese. It's a whole different product, changed by bacteria and enzymes.
 

I am not a healthcare professional. Any information expressed in this blog are the opinions of it's author, and are not a cure for disease.

Next time: Eggs

Cleaning up Our Diet: Chapter 5. Sweet!

posted by Paulette

This is a sticky subject to talk about. Pun intended. My Mom would be so proud of me. Hee hee!
 Sugars are one of those things that suppresses the immune system.
It leads to insulin resistance.
It promotes inflammation in the body.
It can lead to weight gain when ingested.
It contributes to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In fact, our livers process fructose very similarly to the way they process ethanol. Lustig calls fructose “alcohol without the buzz.”
It appears to act like fertilizer for cancer cells.
High fructose diets decrease HDL levels, while reducing the diameter and increasing the density of LDL particles.
Glucose and especially fructose can bond to – glycate – proteins and lipids without proper enzymatic control.

With all of that to think about, why would anyone who was looking to better their health still want to eat the stuff? 
Is it reality to think that you can omit it from your diet all together?
People already think that we're strange for all of the changes that have been made in my family. AND, I have children.
I once knew a family who prohibited their children from having chocolate. Do you know what the children did? Every time there was an opportunity to eat chocolate outside the supervision of their parents, they ate as much as they could.
 Realistically, I want my children to have a normal life. But I want to offer them better choices than what most Americans eat.
Sooo. I will be sharing some of the alternatives I have found to granulated sugar and high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup.
There are so many varieties of sweeteners available.
 But, first, we need to unveil the fakers.
Stevia has become a popular no calorie sweetener of choice. Do not be fooled by the labels. Just because something says it's an extract or that it's pure, doesn't mean that it is. Some kind friend recently dropped off a bag of Pure Via at my house. The first ingredient was maltodextrin, not stevia. Truvia pretends to be stevia. It's so processed it's not anymore. Any of the Stevia products that claim that you can use it spoon for spoon like sugar, is not pure stevia.

My first experience with stevia was when as friend of mine brought over a cheesecake made with it. It had a slightly bitter aftertaste. That is true stevia. It's not granulated like sugar is. It's powdery. It is derived from an herb, and was sold as a dietary supplement before it came to the market as a sweetener. And watch out! If you use too much, it's NASTY! It will ruin whatever you put it into. My kids once thought it was powdered sugar, and tried to add it to peanut butter to make a candy. Boy! Were they surprised!
 Speaking about powdered sugar. I don't buy it. It's granulated sugar with cornstarch added. I know it's a main ingredient for making frosting, right? I make my own. Put the organic cane sugar in the blender and grind it to a powder and add either arrowroot or tapioca starch in equal amounts and you have powdered sugar. Just a little precaution to avoid GMO corn.

**EDIT**
Please read the following article about the process to get the product they call stevia. Looks like even the white powder and liquid are derived using toxic chemicals.
http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/fact-or-myth-is-stevia-bad-for-you#axzz2samSU8Hj

How about Maple syrup? I'm not talking about Aunt Jemima's or Log Cabin. Those are corn syrup with maple flavoring and caramel coloring (which is a carcinogen, by the way). I'm talking about the stuff that's expensive. Like $6-$8 for less than a pint.

True maple syrup isn't as sweet as sugar. It's derived from the sap of the Maple tree. It has been concentrated into grades. Grade A is what is used for pancakes. Grade B, less common, would be used for glazing a ham. It has a stronger flavor.
Since this sweetener has a distinctive flavor, we use it only when we can let it shine. We love it on sweet potato casserole, and in oatmeal.

Molasses is another syrup with a distinctive flavor. It comes from sugarcane, and actually has the benefits of providing minerals, iron, calcium and potassium, as well as being sweet. I use this for barbeque sauces, and in baking products when I want that molasses taste. By itself, it's not very sweet. I usually use it with another sweetener, like brown sugar.

 I briefly mentioned raw honey in my last post. This is another sweetener that you'll need to vet out. I get my raw honey from a local source. Therefore it has pollens from my area, which help to inoculate me from allergies. Raw honey also has naturally occurring enzymes, which aid in digestion. However, if your honey is not organic, your bees may be dining on high fructose corn syrup, which is nasty for a variety of reasons. First of all it's so processed that it's a concentrated form of sugar that the body doesn't digest well. And then, there's that awful GMO thing, you know I hate.

Back to the good sugars!

Organic evaporated cane juice is the closest to the granulated sugar that everyone is used to. Why use this instead? Because there are no insecticides, herbicides, and it's not bleached. Basically it's the kind of sugar that was used hundreds of years ago, when it was so expensive that people has safes to keep it in. Yes. It's that good.

Organic brown sugar is similar to the above, but has more molasses content, making it a bit moister, and has a bit of that distinctive flavor.  also called turbanado sugar, or sucanat. All have varying degrees of molasses left in them.

This next one is my new favorite sweetener. It's Organic coconut sugar. My kids tease me that my favorite food is the coconut. Our pantries are full of coconut derived products.

Coconut sugar is not very sweet. It has a smokey earthy flavor that is perfect for curries and cooking meats. Think barbeque sauce. 




Since using alternative sugars, I've noticed that our appetite for it has decreased.  We've become very sensitive to sweet stuff. In this case less is more, isn't it?


I am not a healthcare professional. Everything shared in this post is the experience of myself and my family, and is not intended to cure disease. (Take it like you want it.)

Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 4. Probiotics

Posted by Paulette

This post may not be for everyone. I believe that probiotics are essential for good health. They boost the immune system by allowing the body to get the nutrients needed from the foods we eat. GMO (genetically modified organisms) containing glyphosate kill off the natural bacteria in the gut! Replacing those bacteria is so important.
 An easy way to incorporate probiotics into the diet is to eat yogurt. My children love it! I like to buy Greek yogurt because the protein levels are higher, since it's been strained. I don't have to strain mine, because when I make it, I add more milk powder. 

 This is one of those things that's pretty hard to mess up. I make it in mason jars in a cooler overnight. My kids prefer the store bought stuff, but when money is tight, I pull out some food storage milk powder, and mix some of it up. They'll eat it with vanilla and raw honey, or with jelly. When I do buy yogurt, I am careful to read labels. Many of them contain thickening agents, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or colors. The ones that don't can be rather pricey. So I have my sources at Winco and Trader Joe's for the best quality and taste. And they're 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the trendy brands.

A few years ago, my mother turned me on to a concoction of apple cider vinegar and honey in water. You should use the vinegar with the "mother" still in it. This the the bacteria that changed the juice into vinegar. There's a short slide show, touting the benefits of apple cider vinegar. http://www.rd.com/slideshows/8-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar/
Adding raw honey to it makes it more palatable, but also ups it's immune boosting abilities. 
"Raw honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It promotes body and digestive health, is a powerful antioxidant, strengthens the immune system, eliminates allergies, and is an excellent remedy for skin wounds and all types of infections. Raw honey's benefits don't stop there. Raw honey can also stabilize blood pressure, balance sugar levels, relieve pain, calm nerves, and it has been used to treat ulcers. Raw honey is also an expectorant and anti-inflammatory and has been known to effectively treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and asthma."
 
Kombucha is a fermented probiotic drink made from tea (black, green, or white) and sugar. The scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is what does the magic. In about a week or two, your sugary tea turns into a vinegar that is full of goodness. It can be flavored in the second fermentation. 

 This is also something that can be bought ready made at most health food stores. It can get expensive, though, since it's $3.50  a bottle. 
Making your own is the most cost effective way of getting it, and you can control the ingredients, using organic teas and sugars.
Each new batch makes a baby scoby, so there's plenty to share.
I've had some issues making my own at home. It's very susceptible to growing mold. I've recently had some success with water kefir in my bedroom closet, and so I may try a batch there.


Which brings us to my favorite probiotic of all, water kefir.

 When done right, flavored water kefir tastes like soda pop. Even unflavored, it has a taste that's similar to a sparkling cider. It's simply made with water, sugar, a little baking soda, sugar and kefir grains. I don't know of anywhere that sells water kefir, and that's really too bad, because as I've said, It really is the best of the probiotics. 

Unlike the scoby, you can eat the grains that grow from making water kefir. They taste slightly yeasty. Happy grains like minerals found in molasses, or an egg shell. There are plenty of sites that teach how to brew water kefir, and sell grains. The best way to get them is free, from a friend who brews their own.

Then there's always probiotics in a capsule. DoTerra has a really good one. They call it PB Assist. 
 

See that little green pill? The outside is actually clear with another capsule inside it. That's where the probiotic is located. The outside layer contains a prebiotic.
It contains 6 live strains of bacteria.

So, if you're the kind of person who doesn't like smelly things, this may be the way to go for you. I like to cover all my bases, and so I consume at least two servings of these brews, pills or concoctions a day.

I am not a health care professional. I am merely sharing my experiences and those of my family.

Next time: Sweet!

Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 3. The Miracle of Essential Oils

Posted by Paulette

 

 This box of essential oils is my new medicine cabinet. One day a friend of mine called me and asked if I would like to learn more about essential oils. I thought, "sure. Why not?" The next week I found myself sitting in a small class of about 5 people, while a man  in the front of the room told us miraculous stories about people who had used essential oils. Things like, a friend of his who was having over 300 epileptic seizures a year started using frankincense on  the crown of his head every day, and how has less than 3 seizures a year. That was life changing! He was able to hold his baby and work at his job and support his family! Another story was about a boy in Chile who went to the park to play soccer against his mother's wishes and had an asthma attack, which was then stopped by using a blend of oils called, Breathe. Emotionally and spiritually, I was overwhelmed with this information. I just knew that incorporating these oils into our lives would be a game changer.
I started small. We signed up with the company, spending about $150 on a set of oils. As I began to use them, I realized that I couldn't be without them!
 I've heard so many more stories about what the oils can do, and have experiences of my own to add. I've become a consultant for the company.
Just a few things that have changed:
Before:                                                       After:
Albuterol, Vicks, Sudafed                          Breathe
Zyrtec, Benadryl, (antihistamines)                  Lemon, Lavender,
                                                                                                     Peppermint
Antacids, antidiarreal, anti nausea             Digestzen
Sports creams, Ibuprofen, Tylenol (for pain)     Deep Blue, Peppermint
Zit creams, Antibacterial cream                 Lavender, Melaleuca
Dandruff shampoo                                     Lavender
ADD and ADHD Rx                                  Vetiver, Balance, InTune
 
And then there are some oils which there are no substitutes for on the market.

OnGuard: a protective blend which kills viruses, molds, and
   bacteria, inside and outside the body.
Frankincense: A healing and calming oil.
Balance: A grounding blend for anxiety and depression.
Serenity: A blend of oils for relaxation. It works for everything  
   from  insomnia, to depression, to anxiety, and hyperactivity.
Purify: A blend of oils for cleansing. I love to add it to my homemade cleaning solutions, to a towel in the dryer for musty laundry, and it can be used topically to cleanse wounds. 

This is in no way an exhaustive list of oils. It's just the ones I use most often by a company called DoTerra. The best part of using the oils is that there's no side effects. The worst thing I've experienced is accidentally getting an oil too close to my eyes or in a sensitive spot. I use another oil, like coconut oil to pull it off, and I'm fine. No long term damage from pharmaceuticals to worry about. I was  taking 3 antihistamines a day to try and get some relief from my hives. They would put me to sleep for 12 hours, even if I  took only half the dose! 

I am not a healthcare professional. The above information is based on personal experience.

Next post: Probiotics, Good Bacteria
 
If you find this information useful, please comment on my blog or my Facebook page.
 

Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 2. Our Daily Bread

Posted by Paulette

So what if I told you that what you had been eating all your life had been altered in some way, and that it was now poisonous? Would you stop eating it? Of course you would. 

 In 2007, I was pregnant with my 4th child and was experiencing symptoms like asthma and urticaria. Urticaria is a lovely word for chronic hives. No fun! These weren't the kind of hives that you get once and they resemble mosquito bites and they go away after a few hours. These are the kind of hives that cover 80% of your body are huge and leave bruises when they finally do go away. As a result of this, I decided to go on a gluten free diet. My hives and my asthmatic symptoms went away. I began taking a digestive enzyme and while I wasn't pregnant, I could eat wheat again. 
 Now for those of you who think that going wheat free is torture, I'm going to tell you it really isn't.
Don't these muffins look delicious?

 They are! I even learned to make sandwich bread. Still, the taste of wheat bread can't be matched, and I occasionally will have some with unhappy consequences.

 One of the mistakes I made when going gluten free was to start eating a lot of corn. At the time I didn't realize that I was poisoning myself and everyone else I was feeding it to. Modern corn has been engineered with glyphosate in their DNA. Glyphosate is an herbicide. When it is consumed it kills off the natural beneficial bacteria in the digestive system, thereby making the digestion of food incomplete. Leaky gut is one name for the consequences of undigested food. It enters your blood stream and the body thinks it's a foreign object and has an inflammatory response. This was what was causing my asthma and hives. 
 There has been research done about how gluten affects the brain, especially in children with autism. 
 In my children, I didn't notice any symptoms of disease. It wasn't until after implementing several changes in our diet that I began to see miracles. 
Now we are about 80% gluten free. The kids still take sandwiches to school, but I provide them with gluten free alternatives for snacks and breakfast. I've even added some corn back into our diet. I buy corn chips and popcorn from Trader Joes. I was told that any product with their branding on it is GMO free. And so far, I've had no reactions to their foods. 
There are so many GF alternatives available now. 

If you decide to go gluten free, you'll have to discover for yourself which brands are to your liking. I've found that I don't like boxed cookies. They have a gritty texture. And I've been disappointed by mixes. But, I've always been a bake from scratch kind of girl.

Udi's breads can be found in the freezer section of health food stores. And I've found them to be pretty decent. Sometimes I'll grab a loaf of bread and have a sandwich made at the deli at Sprouts. 

A good gf baking cookbook is essential. The best I've found is Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone. I substitute tapioca starch for the corn starch in her recipes.
Want some good gluten free recipes? I have all of mine and some others pinned to my Gluten free Pinterest board.

Again, I am no expert on health or nutrition. These are the experiences of myself and my family. 

Next time, The Miracle of Essential Oils

Cleaning Up Our Diet: Chapter 1. Iodine, Flouride and Hypothyroidism

Posted by Paulette

There have been some pretty big changes in my family in the last year. No new baby. No new house, or car. So what has changed? Our diet.
 Just over a year ago, we were struggling with sleeplessness, being overweight, behavioral problems, lack of focus and inflammation!
A few people have pointed me in the right direction. A fact that I attribute to God, who gives only good gifts. There were many changes that I will discuss in following blog posts, but the first one I want to tell you about is water.

 It's the basis of all life, right? My family was drinking tap water. I thought that maybe it tasted a little bad, but it was safe for drinking.
I was wrong. My aunt was doing some research on her own health issues, when she came across a book by Dr David Brownstein called, Iodine:Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It. 

I read the book and was surprised to see how many of the symptoms of iodine deficiency my family and I had. I began buying bottled water and putting iodine with potassium iodide in our water. Within a week, I could already see improvement in my son Jonathan. He had dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles were gone. Since  then, the shininess has returned to his hair, he has slimmed down, and is sleeping properly.
 So why was the water so bad for us? Because it contains fluoride and other chemicals. The US government thinks Fluoride is essential for strengthening the enamel on your teeth.  
According to a 2006 report by the National Research Council of the National Academies , fluoride is "an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function."
This altered function can involve your thyroid, parathyroid, and pineal glands, as well as your adrenals, pancreas, and pituitary.
In Dr Brownstein's book, I learned that the iodide receptors will absorb the fluoride and then won't absorb the iodine found naturally in foods. Thyroid controls so many of the basic functions of the body. So if it's not happy, the rest of your body won't function properly. 
To read more about the effects of fluoride on your body, read this article: 
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/13/fluoride-and-thyroid-dysfunction.aspx

I am not an expert of the thyroid or a physician. I am only sharing what has worked for my family. 

In the next post I will discuss our daily bread.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Cashew Muffins with Salted Caramel

Posted by Paulette

Well, I guess I am in the process of writing a gluten free recipe book. have you noticed there's been a lot of gluten free muffins lately. Not all of the things I try turn out so well. But a good indication of success is the disappearance factor. Add to that the fighting factor, and we've got our self a winner. This muffin had both.
 And I was accused of colluding with Satan in the invention of this muffin. 
I have to admit, it was pretty darn good.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Cashew Muffins with Salted Caramel

2cups brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cashew bits
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups almond milk

Caramel sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt (for sprinkling over the top)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• prepare muffin tins with papers or nonstick spray
• In a large bowl, mix together the first 8 ingredients.
• In a small bowl mix together the vanilla, oil, eggs and milk.
• Add to the larger bowl and mix until well incorporated.
• Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• While the muffins are baking, in a medium size pot, melt the butter.
• Add the brown sugar to it and let simmer on medium high heat, until it comes to soft ball stage,. you can test by dropping small amounts of the candy into ice water. If it forms a ball, and doesn't melt back into the water, it's ready. If you let it get past this point, you will have a harder candy shell.
• Spoon over the warm muffins, and sprinkle the salt lightly over the top.

The Beginning of the End

Posted by Paulette

Somewhere around September 1st, I pull out the sewing machine and it doesn't get put away until after Christmas. It's either on my desk or on the floor somewhere near it. My bedroom is covered in fabrics. Either from my latest and last sewing projects or laundry, or both. Usually both. Scraps of paper litter the desk and the floor with measurements, drawings and patterns. The Halloween season has already started. It was kicked off with a dance last night for our church's youth.

Jonathan and Hyrum took it easy on me this year for their Halloween costumes. Jonny wore his clothes and I just had to do his hair and makeup. Hyrum found a black graduation robe from last year, and I used the bottom of a t-shirt that the gym gave to us, that was never worn, to make a hood, which I then sewed to the black robe. Make-up and a branch painted black, finished his look. 

 Hyrum's makeup is just the white creamy stuff you can get at Halloween, with black eye shadow around his eye sockets and on his lips. Black t-shirt and pants under the robe. The red eyes are happy accident with my photography skills. He doesn't have red contacts.

Jonny's costume is Jack Frost from the Rise of the Guardians.

Kakai pants with a hoodie. His hair was sprayed with white hairspray, and then dusted with tapioca starch. Makeup is my foundation mixed with the white cream makeup. Then light blue eye shadow around the eyes, with indigo liner, then dusted with a glittery pink eye shadow,  rosy cheeks and then the same liner was used around his lips and then a nude lipstick over the top, softened it and made him look cold. More of the glittery pink shadow over his whole face to make it look frosted. 

Then I sprayed his hoodie with a strong hairspray and dusted it with epsom salts to look like snow. Repeated until the "snow" stuck really well.  

 What I didn't do in sewing for these two, was more than made up for with the other kids, including two of my friend's children. I'll get pics of those later.

Back to the sewing machine with me. Oh, and of course some baking needs to be done. There's a bake sale at the Fall Festival at the kid's school tomorrow. I'll have to bake up some gluten free magic. I have a request for the pumpkin surprise muffins.

Gluten Free taco Muffins

Posted by Paulette
Getting 5 kids ready for school, sometimes means, we grab our breakfast and head out the door to the car. Sometimes you want a meal to go. And sometimes you want something that's savory. I think these muffins fit the bill. 

Gluten Free Taco Muffins
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup organic corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder 
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons granulated garlic 
2 eggs
1 cup salsa
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, for sprinkling on top

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare muffin tins with paper liners or non stick spray.
• In a large bowl, mix first 8 ingredients.
• Add in the eggs, salsa, black beans, and water and mix.
• Spoon batter into muffin cups filling to 3/4 full.\
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let's Talk Dirt

Posted by Paulette Burton

A few posts back, I showed my new compost system. It consists of fencing stakes and palettes. Nothing fancy, but it's getting the job done. 
Today, I took some pictures to show how our compost system is put together. It's not a permanent structure. The palettes can be lifted off and carted away, and the stakes can be removed, by watering the dirt and then wiggling them back and forth, before being yanked out.

Pay no attention to the man behind the screen

We tried for 10 years to compost using old trash barrels with holes drilled in them and the bottoms cut off. They stank, and grew flies. We got turned into the vector inspector and had to throw out all of the "compost" and get rid of the trash can method. This new method doesn't stink. It smells sweet. And it doesn't draw flies!

palette slid over the top of fencing stakes

In order to have healthy compost, you need water, air and the stuff you're composting.
We buried a bucket of kitchen scraps a week ago, and then left it. When we returned, I turned over the compost pile. Do you know what I found? Dirt, and egg shells and onion skins. No rotting vegetables! In three months, my compost will be ready to use in the garden. 
You can also fast track it. By adding a combination of Coke, beer, and ammonia, the compost will break down faster. The beneficial microbes that protect your plants from pests and illness will be killed off with this process. So add them back in by watering the compost with yogurt, buttermilk, sour dough starter or kombucha. 

The microbiology was explained to me this way:
You have good microbes and bad microbes. They can't live together.
Good microbes love oxygen. 
Bad microbes don't. 
You need good microbes to turn the garbage into dirt. The reason why our old composting system didn't work, was because it didn't get enough oxygen! It was close to impossible to turn it.   

There's also a layering method that works best. 
You need a layer of dirt, then garbage, or green waste, as it's called. This can include grass clippings, vegetation from the kitchen (never any animal products except egg shells or yogurt to increase good microbe growth.), and brown waste. This is the dried out stuff like leaves, straw, dried grass clippings, or even mulched wood. 

So to recap:
Brown Waste top
Green Waste middle
Dirt bottom

Repeat. When you have a good pile of the stuff, let it sit for a week, watering  every day, and then turn it once a week or two. 
In the layering step, you are introducing the microbes to the party. They get to know each other and kinda figure out where they are, and then the start EATING! And the waste they leave behind is dirt. Wonderful, nutrient rich, dirt.  
If you were to reach you hand into the pile, you would feel heat. They're moving around. If the pile gets cold, give them more oxygen, by turning the pile. 
Now you know how compost happens.  

Instead of having a 3 pile system like mine, you may prefer to garden in your compost. Some people make a compost pile where they intend to garden, moving all around the yard, making new piles as needed. Three months from the time you stop adding to your pile, and let it rest, still watering and turning, you'll have a bed ready to plant in.

There are also systems that involve a rotating barrel. Check out my Yard Stuff Board on Pinterest for lots of great ideas.

Until next time, may your knees be dirty, you have grime under your fingernails, your plants grow healthy, and your compost not stink!
 
  

Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Posted by Paulette

I love Fall. The weather gets cooler, the kids go back to school and i start preparing for the Holidays.
On our trip to Utah, the kids got to pick pumpkins from their Aunt Amy's pumpkin patch. One of those pumpkins was cut open that night and half of it was made into a delicious pumpkin soup. The other half came home in our ice chest.

This week, I put it into the microwave and cooked it until it was nice and soft. Usually I roast pumpkin in the oven, and it gets the additional caramelization which add so much more flavor to a dish. I didn't do it this time because we had early dinner appointment and I just had to get it done!

Today I pulled out the remaining pumpkin puree and made some pumpkin spice muffins.

Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins

2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cup almond milk

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with paper liners or nonstick spray.

• In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients and mix.
• In a small bowl combine the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup and almond milk. Whisk.
• Add to the larger bowl of dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
• Fill muffin tins to 3/4 full.

• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Fall in Utah

Posted by Paulette

We're pretty lucky in Arizona. Our kids get a one week break from school in the fall. Maybe this is because we've been so miserable all summer long in the 100+ degree temps and we are given the opportunity to go somewhere else and experience fall. It does get cooler here. It's now in the 80s during the day. Not cold enough for the leaves to turn, but a welcome change, for sure!

This year we decided to go to Utah and visit some of Dave's family. luckily, I also have a few friends who live there too. It was such a whirlwind visit.

Here are some highlights of our vacation.

 The route to Page UT was closed and so we had a beautiful scenic detour through the Grand Canyon. This picture was taken South of Lee's Ferry. There's a foot bridge across the Grand Canyon that's about 1/4 of a mile long. 

Looking down over the side of the bridge, David spotted this Condor.

That's the best picture I could get with my phone. It was so far away that it looked more like a buzzard.

 

Our first three days were spent at a Hotel in Orem. The kids enjoyed the pool and the computer room. I tool a little time off to paint the girl's faces with my eye shadows. Sometimes it's good to have lots of colors!

 Aunt Amy, David's sister, just younger than him, had a beautiful pumpkin patch, which she invited us over to enjoy harvesting her bounty. 
This wasn't even the largest of the pumpkins. There was one that took  men to move to the porch.

 Christopher turned out to be the best pumpkin picker.

 That night I made pumpkin soup for dinner, and then I roasted the seeds and made a caramel sauce for ice cream topping. I've never cut open a pumpkin this fresh. The seeds popped and attacked me!

 This is the view from my mother in law's kitchen window. each day I watched the mist on the mountain burn off as the sun rose into the sky. On this morning we had some look outs.

 Pretty fat quail keeping watch.

 While the rest of the family stuffs themselves with fallen sunflower seeds from the bird feeders above.

 

Kanab is the last city in Utah before we cross over into Arizona. We have a tradition of stopping at the 3 Bears Creamery for ice cream before continuing on. The kids all had Superman ice cream in a sugar cone. They had a gluten free bread pudding, which I ordered with vanilla ice cream. I don't even know what Dave got. Mine was soooo good. Sophia was enchanted with all of the wood carved bears. Especially this one, who is catching a fish!

As soon as we crossed over the Grand Canyon the kids started noticing snow and begged for us to pull over so that they could play in it. As soon as we were able, we did so. It's not often that Valley of the Sun residents get to play in snow. They each brought home a snowball which we kept on ice in the cooler.

Our rear ends were sore, and our tempers short by the time we pulled into Mesa. We sure are glad to be home!