New food ideas/products

4/27/11

So the other month I posted some stuff I found at the store and some of you seemed to enjoy seeing new things...so here are some more that will hopefully help your cupboards without hurting your grocery budget! Since I try to live out what I preach with FFL, continuing to take little steps is what I am doing. Those steps include getting my house as Organic as possible and eating mainly fresh, whole foods.

I found a couple items at Super Target and one at an Organic store in town. Since I have a child, I need to find things that are convenient and not toxic. This can be a challenge with all those processed snacks and crackers out there. My goal is to feed these minimally to her. Here's a juice drink I found that is similar to something like Capri Sun but all Organic. It's called Honest Kids. It was with Capri Sun. It was $2.99 for a box of them.

The next is similar to Goldfish. It is 70% Organic. I got it on sale at Target for about $2.50 a box...not bad!

The ZBar is made from Clif. They have several bars and I found this one at the Garden Patch Organic store in Mishawaka. I got the blueberry kind, yum! It's soft/chewy bar. Loved it. It was about $2.50 or $3.00 a box.

I also decided that buying bread is silly. It's either processed, that sits for a while on a shelf, or it's expensive healthier bread that doesn't taste good. So why not make your own bread?! My mother is an awesome baker, I mean awesome, and she has been gracious enough to make me homemade Organic bread each week. She loves baking. I love cooking more than baking. Someday I will make my own for my family but right now I don't mind her being so gracious :) I also bought Coconut flour and will attempt my own bread soon with that (which is gluten free and is loaded with fiber).

Last but not least, I have also decided to make my own salad dressings. They can be pretty pricey anyways, so this is good for the budget. I already make an Italian dressing, thanks to my mother-in-law, I have a poppyseed dressing to make, and I would love additional recipes some of you make! I have some research to do to find more.

So these are some of the things I'm doing in my house, hope this gives you ideas. I would love some ideas from you and what you're doing for your family!

Joy

4/15/11

Happy half-birthday (6 months) to my girl, officially! Even though it's her half-birthday, her grandma and I got some stuff for her 1st birthday party last weekend. haha. So excited to pull it out. She also got a whole tea set so she can have tea parties with us and mainly her grandpa (Stauffer)...because he loves tea and England :) It's pretty darn cute!

I can't believe how much she continues to change each day. You can tell her personality is really coming out these days. I love it because her personality and attitude is all fun. She just gets excited about everything...she squeals and laughs a lot. And it's SO cute :)

I love this picture. She really likes stuffed animals now, especially this giraffe she got from her Aunt Jen at birth. She also loves to snuggle with a blanket when she's tired. I wish I could freeze time!!!

I went to Shipshewana today and got some amazing deals at the scrap-booking store. Everything but 2 items were $1 each. Oh yeah! I am so excited to get started on her big scrapbook...I finally know EXACTLY what I want to do! I just have to take back the scrapbook I got and exchange it for a bigger one of the same kind. WOO! It's going to be awesome. I could have spent several hours in that store today...something about scrap-booking! I can't wait to post pics of her scrapbook. It will be a while though!

6 months

4/12/11

My little girl will be 6 months in 3 days...really? Wow! Right now she is playing on her play-gym picking toys up and rolling all around. She is moving so much. Everytime she sees herself in the mirror she giggles. So cute. She also is grabbing things a lot more. Interests have developed in pretty much everything she sees. I think she's going to be ready for finger foods very soon. She has grabbed her vegetables 2 times and spilled them all over. Just crazy! She still doesn't like being on her tummy but I let her fuss and she rolls across the room so I maker her "suffer".

We went to Atlanta for a long weekend and got back Sunday night. It was a lot of driving but so worth it. It was warm and we saw 2 sets of close friends. We saw our good friends, Richard, Ashley, and their little guy Elliott. Staying at their house was fun! Elliott is one of the cutest little guys ever! We also went to a wedding of close friend since I was a baby. My family lived in GA for a few years when I was young. We became friends with the Simons and they are closer than most of our relatives. The dad, David Simons, died a few years ago and that was the first time I saw someone close die. I still get teary every time I think of him....

I didn't want to leave Atlanta. I cried a little because of how much fun we were having and how I wanted to stay (and possibly never leave). But I was happy to see that the weather wasn't much colder at home when we came back!

While we were there, we decided to take Abigail's 6 months pictures. She is just so precious (that's what all the southern ladies kept saying). Her smiles light up my day. Wanting to cuddle with mommy all the time makes me happy too. Here's a couple pictures...

At the Bridal Tea Party! So fun!

Parmesan Pizza Crust

3/31/11

Parmesan Crust Pizza

So the recipe turned out good! It calls for wheat flour, which is what I used, but wheat can be too overwhelming so we didn't really taste the parmesan in the crust. Next time I will just use All-purpose flour. This recipe is taken from a blog I found a while ago How Sweet it is. So here it is....

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 – 1 cup lukewarm water

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, yeast and parmesan cheese. Mix with a spoon and create a well in the middle. Add in 3/4 cups water, honey and olive oil. Stir with a spoon until dough comes together. Continue to form into a ball with your hands. If more water is needed, add it by the tablespoon.

Knead dough for 1-2 minutes before placing it in a lightly oiled bowl and covering. Let rise for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Here is the bread in the oven rising. I let it rise only about an hour and it was fine.

Then I spread it out on the pan. I spray a light coating of Olive Oil cooking spray so the dough doesn't stick to the pan.

Yummy grated cheese :)

I used Colby Jack and Mozzarella. For extra flavor put about 1/4 a tub of Philadelphia Italian herb and cheese cooking creme. Delish. It doesn't have to add extra fat if you don't put as much grated cheese on it!

I make my own sauces for everything. I just threw this and that in. I used some tomato paste and some petite diced tomatoes along with tomato sauce (I use all-natural sauce and no salt added). I usually throw in some Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, garlic powder, etc.

Yummy...I forgot to take a pic when it came out of the oven. Oops. We liked it though!

My girl and I have been having so much fun during the day while her daddy works hard :)

Lots of playing and laughing. We went on a bike ride for a little bit today and roamed around. Abigail just sat in her trail-behind, bundled in her coat, and didn't make a peep (which is rare now) to watch everything. It was fun. She also LOVES our cat Jules. Abby gets really excited when I take her to the cat to pet her. She is also sitting up by herself but can't stay too long without toppling over yet. I'm sure she'll be a pro in a few days.

So I had to throw in life at the Johnson's. How could I not?!

Playtime with Abigail

3/21/11

This photo characterizes Abigail's new phase...wanting to touch things! I am actually excited about this phase and not upset because I know that it means she is learning like crazy! We are doing a new activity that she's ready for and I see the wheels turning.

I agree and use most of the Montessori teaching style. They have activities to do with your child starting from birth. This one involves a box. Instead of buying the one they offer for $50, I made one from scrap cardboard and paper I had for FREE. Here's the box I made.

You use a ping pong ball and put it in the hole.

They it comes out the hole.

The goal is for her to do it herself. She is doing well with holding the ball and she's put it in the hole 2 times on her own. It's so good for the pincer grip (thumb and forefinger) and for her to learn how things work. I love my girl and we're having fun!!!!

Oh Life...

3/13/11

My princess :)

So it's been a while......a long while. This is not on purpose. Life has been sooo busy. Can I tell you a little bit about it?

Well, my daughter always keeps me busy, but Fit For Life is close behind because of our bootcamp. It is time-consuming to prepare the workouts and then go to do them 2 times a week (but it's so fun!). Also, we have been putting things together for evening classes which start next month. Plus, I exercise on my own almost each day. I have been neglecting my Exercise Therapy Certification, which is a whole other realm....geesh.

With all this, my daughter has been out of my sight a little more and sometimes it's nice but it is hard...for both of us. I can tell it's affecting her cause she seems more clingy. Granted, we're talking a mere few hours a week...and most of that time she is in the same building as me. You can tell we spend 24/7 together. I just love her though.

Ok, personal life now. We're selling our truck and buying bikes to ride more places. Praying the guy who's interested pulls through. Also, read a couple hundred page book the other day....I was really into it! I've started teaching Abigail new stuff so that's a whole program in itself.

On top of all these things there's still all the spring parties I've been invited to, girl's nights, small group, church, spending personal time with the Lord and my hubby, cleaning house, laundry, and taking care of my wonderful husband, I'm one busy lady!

I can see why women get overwhelmed and I don't see how moms work full-time jobs! I'm so thankful that I have the Lord who can help me manage my day and that I can give it to Him. I need His help to balance these things and learn to say no when needed.

oh yeah.

We aren't getting good sleep because we need a new bed really bad. It's old and our bodies hurt when we wake up...this is not fun with how busy things are. The Lord provides though!!

Abigail...4 months

2/23/11

My little girl is 4 months!!

Can you tell she's more active? She crinkled the paper up!

Better late than never to post this! My little girl turned 4 months last Wednesday. Oh my goodness she is growing and changing. She is doing really well with her solid food. She LOVES sweet potatoes. She tried blueberries tonight and liked them at first but then decided all the sudden that she didn't like them. So Kyle gave her some of my leftover vanilla yogurt and she loved that a lot. It's so fun.

Abigail is playing more. She rediscovered her play gym because I didn't put her on it for almost a week but I did yesterday. She played for over an hour by herself on it by hitting the toys, grabbing them, talking, and rolling over. So cute!

Night time is actually really fun now, which was not so at first. After she eats 'dinner', we play in her room and I read her books. I read some scripture and pray for her and she conveniently gets tired at the end. We give kisses and I put her in the crib. Lights off. She doesn't make a sound and goes to sleep :)

Last night we had her babysat by someone other than my parents, Tiree and Jimmy, and it apparently didn't go the greatest. Tiree was so gracious and made it through Abigail's screaming for her mommy. I felt so bad. It was only a couple hours or so but she is a momma's girl! I realized something about myself. I realized that I am more attached to my girl than I knew. All night last night I wanted to cuddle with her cause I missed her but she was sleeping. This morning I had MOPS and told them to get me if she got upset cause I was concerned. I missed her! Can you tell I am with my girl 24/7 and she doesn't get babysat??? haha. Bottom line, I am so blessed and grateful for my girl. I fall in love with her more everyday just like the Father and my husband. I thank God for her and my wonderful husband each day.