So I know turkey is the traditional thanksgiving meat but I don't really want to cook a whole turkey just for the 3 of us, and I've had a hard time finding turkey that all 3 of us tolerate. If we had a wholefoods close by I probably could find some but all the turkey around here has stuff added to it. So, chicken it is! I'm just going to roast a whole chicken with thyme and rosemary, seems appropriate for thanksgiving :)
Next on the list is cranberry jello. I bought some 100% cranberry juice and plan to make jello using the juice, knox gelatin, and honey. Just follow the recipe on the back of the knox box.
Our side is going to be broccoli and cauliflower casserole using the recipe from this blog.
I wanted to make this carrot souffle but we don't have chicken stock and have already exhausted our food budget for the week so it will have to wait.
We are missing stuffing here but making a grain free version would be very labor intensive and the girls are so young I don't think they'll miss it...maybe next year! Instead we're going to have coconut flour biscuits.
For dessert I'm making these cheesecake swirl brownies using this dairy free cream cheese recipe for the swirl.
So, that's how I plan to keep my family happy and healthy this Thanksgiving!
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
My little secret ;-)
Right now, outside my house, it is 66 degrees and cloudy. Inside my house it is 74 degrees and very comfortable, and we have yet to turn our heat on. So here's my little secret...
A while ago I read an article that talked about different ways to save money and energy around your house. I wish I could reference the article but can't seem to find it, all I can say is this was not my original idea :p One of the things they mentioned was heating your house with your dryer while it is drying clothes. At the time I thought this was a great idea but kind of pushed it to the back of my mind. Well, there are two reasons I decided to finally give this a try.
#1, last year our heating bill was out of this world! We couldn't afford it last year and we most certainly can't this year.
#2, our dryer vent goes up through the attic and out the side of the house. Not only is this highly inefficient (it's been taking WAY too long to dry our clothes) but it also can be a fire hazard.
So, you ask, how can I heat my house with my dryer!? It's so simple!
Take your dryer hose where it connects to the wall and unhook it. Take a pantyhose sock (or a pair of pantyhose and cut the foot out of it) and slip it over the end of the dryer hose where it would normally connect to the wall. It should fit snugly over it but if not just use a rubber band to secure it. Place it so that the air points out the door of your laundry room. When you use your dryer the heat will blow into your house and the pantyhose will filter the lint out! Just make sure to clean it out regularly so this won't create a fire hazard as well.
Not only is this efficient and cost saving but you are also heating your house with a more humid heat as opposed to the very dry heat that your heater produces.
One thing I would caution, if you are going to use this method to heat your house I would suggest making sure your laundry supplies (detergent, softener, dryer sheets, etc.) are non toxic. We don't typically think about how toxic these things can be. If you use this method and continue to use these toxic laundry products than those toxins are being heated up and blown into your home. Just something to think about before you try this experiment for yourself :)
A while ago I read an article that talked about different ways to save money and energy around your house. I wish I could reference the article but can't seem to find it, all I can say is this was not my original idea :p One of the things they mentioned was heating your house with your dryer while it is drying clothes. At the time I thought this was a great idea but kind of pushed it to the back of my mind. Well, there are two reasons I decided to finally give this a try.
#1, last year our heating bill was out of this world! We couldn't afford it last year and we most certainly can't this year.
#2, our dryer vent goes up through the attic and out the side of the house. Not only is this highly inefficient (it's been taking WAY too long to dry our clothes) but it also can be a fire hazard.
So, you ask, how can I heat my house with my dryer!? It's so simple!
Take your dryer hose where it connects to the wall and unhook it. Take a pantyhose sock (or a pair of pantyhose and cut the foot out of it) and slip it over the end of the dryer hose where it would normally connect to the wall. It should fit snugly over it but if not just use a rubber band to secure it. Place it so that the air points out the door of your laundry room. When you use your dryer the heat will blow into your house and the pantyhose will filter the lint out! Just make sure to clean it out regularly so this won't create a fire hazard as well.
Not only is this efficient and cost saving but you are also heating your house with a more humid heat as opposed to the very dry heat that your heater produces.
One thing I would caution, if you are going to use this method to heat your house I would suggest making sure your laundry supplies (detergent, softener, dryer sheets, etc.) are non toxic. We don't typically think about how toxic these things can be. If you use this method and continue to use these toxic laundry products than those toxins are being heated up and blown into your home. Just something to think about before you try this experiment for yourself :)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
My Journey...5 months, 30lbs lighter.
So, In the last 5 months I have lost 30lbs. Since my youngest daughter was born I have lost 81lbs. I still have a little weight I would like to lose but overall I feel amazing!
Pregnancy was hard on my body and by the time I was ready to give birth to our youngest daughter I was about 90lbs heavier than when I got married. When Ava was about 2 months she started reacting to foods that I was eating. In order to figure out what foods she was reacting to I went on a strict elimination diet. By the time Ava was 6 months old I had already lost about 70lbs. Not only was I losing weight but I felt wonderful, I had more energy than I ever remembered having. I realized that the foods I had taken out of my diet for Ava were most likely foods that I had problems with as well.
When Chloe was about 2 1/2 we realized that she was sensitive to gluten. In order to have her tested for Celiac disease we put her through a 3 month gluten challenge which involved adding gluten containing products back into her diet. Ava ended up on a gluten challenge as well since it was so hard to keep her away from the foods that Chloe was eating. Since they were both eating gluten containing products I started to introduce them back into my diet as well. I immediatly began feeling bad. I littlerally felt nauseous when I first started eating gluten foods again. I started to feel bloated and gassy, and my digestive system was just not functioning like it should. My mental clarity was gone and I was tired all the time. I ate like this for 3 months and within that 3 months I gained 20lbs.
After the 3 months was over and all the testing was done we were immediately back on our gluten free diet. The difference was immediate but it has taken a while to get back to what we were before. It has been a journey.
We started by removing gluten from our diet and eventually we removed all grains from our diet. It has been an ongoing progression. Every day I learn something new. Every day I am amazed at how good I feel.
What has started out of necessity has become a way of life that I would chose again in a heartbeat even if the circumstances were different. Healthy eating has become a way of life for me and I am so thankful for that. It is not just about losing weight but about being healthy and having the energy to enjoying life!
Pregnancy was hard on my body and by the time I was ready to give birth to our youngest daughter I was about 90lbs heavier than when I got married. When Ava was about 2 months she started reacting to foods that I was eating. In order to figure out what foods she was reacting to I went on a strict elimination diet. By the time Ava was 6 months old I had already lost about 70lbs. Not only was I losing weight but I felt wonderful, I had more energy than I ever remembered having. I realized that the foods I had taken out of my diet for Ava were most likely foods that I had problems with as well.
When Chloe was about 2 1/2 we realized that she was sensitive to gluten. In order to have her tested for Celiac disease we put her through a 3 month gluten challenge which involved adding gluten containing products back into her diet. Ava ended up on a gluten challenge as well since it was so hard to keep her away from the foods that Chloe was eating. Since they were both eating gluten containing products I started to introduce them back into my diet as well. I immediatly began feeling bad. I littlerally felt nauseous when I first started eating gluten foods again. I started to feel bloated and gassy, and my digestive system was just not functioning like it should. My mental clarity was gone and I was tired all the time. I ate like this for 3 months and within that 3 months I gained 20lbs.
After the 3 months was over and all the testing was done we were immediately back on our gluten free diet. The difference was immediate but it has taken a while to get back to what we were before. It has been a journey.
We started by removing gluten from our diet and eventually we removed all grains from our diet. It has been an ongoing progression. Every day I learn something new. Every day I am amazed at how good I feel.
What has started out of necessity has become a way of life that I would chose again in a heartbeat even if the circumstances were different. Healthy eating has become a way of life for me and I am so thankful for that. It is not just about losing weight but about being healthy and having the energy to enjoying life!
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| June 13, 2011 |
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| November 11, 2011 |
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