Get Nourished...

Just a Few Thursday Things…

2012-01-26T20:05:00.001-08:00

The sun is shining and we’re in flip-flops and shorts…crazy, but loving this January weather! While it was nice to have the warm breeze blowing through the house and the sun shining through the windows, we needed to get out! Sometimes a little break in the day does wonders.

We met up with Grammy and my little nephew along with a couple other friends for a picnic lunch in the park…

and some swing time!

Lovin’ the fresh air….

Flyin’ like “superwoman”!

How could this smile not melt your heart? His sweet giggles going down the slide brought the sunshine to my day!

There’s something about a nice warm day that calls out for a fresh “green” smoothie. In the mix: kiwi, strawberries, mango and spinach…oh yumm!!

Even saved some for my “man of steel”! The hubs was most deserving of this post-workout treat! He’s been working extra hard at incorporating more cardio at the gym so he’s prepared to run alongside me (notice I say “alongside” and not WAY ahead of me!) for our March 5K! He’s also been ~~willing~~ good at incorporating more “greens” into his diet while at the same time lessening the amount of sugar intake.

Although the thought of limiting sugar in our diet sounded a bit intimidating at first, we’ve actually been doing really well at sticking with it! Check out this blog post for some good tips on eliminating sugar along with some sugar substitutes. Two of my favorite “sugar swaps” have been simply using more fruit purees (bananas, applesauce, dates, etc..) and I just picked me up some “Raw Coconut Crystals” that I’m absolutely loving.

(source)

These happen to be one of the “sweet treats” that we’ve been indulging in, minus all the added sugar!

My family LOVES bars…there is just something about grabbing a “bar” for a quick, fun snack. Ever since I started making my own granola bars about a year ago we’ve never gone back to the packaged kind. And the same goes for the hubs and I with our “protein bars”…there’s nothing better than homemade! The princesses still hover over “Z-Bars” (Cliff bars for kids) whenever we’re in Sprouts or Trader Joe’s, but I cringe at the amount of sugar in these so-called healthy bars for kids. The hubs always says, “Well, if you don’t like it then fix it!” So I fixed the problem! I found this recipe on the Peas and Thank You blog that just made my day. Almost like the real deal (and the princesses thought so too)! I did make a few changes from the original recipe: I made sure to use gluten free rolled oats, swapped in almond flour for the oat flour, took the baking powder down to 1 tsp, used 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and didn’t end up putting in any added sweetener. A “sweet” ending to a sunshiny day!

If you love chocolate and you love granola stay tuned for another fun recipe!!

Blessings,

J’lene

Batter up!!

2012-01-24T16:17:00.001-08:00

Softball season is officially upon us and our life is just about to get ten times more hectic!!! But that’s okay!
Ask the princesses if they are excited and you’ll get screams of joy. Ask mom if she’s excited and you’ll just get screams! Am I excited to see the princesses play ball? Yes, without a doubt! Am I excited that there will be practices nearly every day of the week and one on Saturday? No. I’d be lying if I said otherwise! But it’s all good because softball season stretches me…it makes me learn to love cold bleachers on my bum, to be selfless and sacrifice my time, serve other families and love my princesses so much more!
Team Dechape is geared up for a great season of softball and t-ball.
Helmets…check!

Cleats…check!

Gloves…check!

Bat and batting gloves…check!
I vow to be the princesses’ biggest cheerleader, to keep the tears and discouragement at bay when they strike out, to be the mom who brings “healthy” snacks after the game, and to be a certified taxi for the next four months!
With that said, the only batters I know that can bring in a home run nearly every time comes teamed up with mixing bowls, measuring cups, and electric mixers! They make a good team and only on a rare occasion do they strike out. In fact, today’s batter clearly scored a home run for this team!
Blueberry Yogurt Banana Bread
(inspired by Daily Garnish)
Yields 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 “flax” eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water. Let soak for 5-10 minutes)
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, xanthum gum, and salt.
In a medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork until they are liquid-like. Add the sugars, flax eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Whisk until everything is well combined and there are no lumps.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the fresh or frozen blueberries.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth top.
Bake for 1 hour or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

The combination of yogurt and bananas definitely made for a “grand slam” in this bread! You’ll be coming back for more…I guarantee it!

Blessings,

J’lene

Weekend highlights…

2012-01-23T19:53:00.001-08:00

One thing is for sure, I am not technically savvy in any way, shape or form. I’m trying to update my “recipe” page to make it clearer as to what dishes are gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, etc… and I’m afraid it’s going to take awhile! I usually have the motto of “if it works, don’t fix it,” but in order for me to keep up with the “blogging world” some changes must be made. Please be patient with me and I promise you will like what you see!

Until then…

I’m trying to forget that today is Monday…in part because we didn’t get off to a very good start. Can I please have a do-over and wipe away all the complaining and tears? Okay, maybe not. We’ll just say that Saturday and Sunday made up for it and call it a day!

Saturday I loaded the family in the car and ~~drug~~ took them to run some much needed errands. I say “I” because they were errands that mainly “I” wanted to get done and this was the only day I had the hubs to help! I think there was something in it for everyone though…I got the grocery shopping done for the week and some much needed light bulbs so I can actually see what I’m cooking, the princesses made some purchases with their Christmas money, and the hubs got ~~food~~ to go out to dinner because I took too long to shop!

Our home is now stocked with wholesome foods for the week and has somehow turned into a grocery store and hair salon all in one day. My little Cailyn loves to help me with the grocery shopping and is a natural “bag lady” most days, so there was no turning back when she saw a little pink “cash register” with full working scanner and intercom…she proudly paid the lady at the checkout counter! And then my princess Makenna fell in love with a “Barbie Salon Center” complete with a working sink and markers to “color” her hair….she too proudly paid the lady at the checkout counter! Needless to say, I’ve tried to look beyond the grocery bags that line the living room floor and the soapy countertops in the kitchen and enjoy these moments of creative play. I put my blinders on and got to baking in the kitchen…works every time!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake w/ Cinnamon Drizzle

(inspired by Sarah @ Peas and Thank You)

Yields 10-12 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten free rolled oats

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup sunflower butter (can sub in your favorite nut butter)

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup raw coconut crystals

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup gluten free oat flour (grind your gluten free rolled oats in a food processor!)

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

For the icing:

1/2 cup organic powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

splash of water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the oats and boiling water and allow the oats to absorb the liquid.

Using a blender or hand mixer, cream together coconut oil, sunflower butter, applesauce, coconut crystals and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add wet ingredients to dry and combine well. Add cooked oats to mixture.

Allow mixture to cool slightly before folding in the chocolate chips. Scoop batter into prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

For the icing:

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and mix well (add water a little at a time until desired consistency). Drizzle over cooled cake and let sit for about 10 minutes allowing it to set up.

A wonderfully dense cake with the taste of oatmeal and cinnamon…a perfect morning treat!

Still got the itch to run and started off strong this morning on week 4’s training schedule. Here’s what’s in store for me this week…

Week 4
Day 1 - Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Day 2 - Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Day 3 - Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!!!

Blessings,

J’lene

More “Cheez” please!

2012-01-19T19:20:00.001-08:00

Lately I’ve been on a cracker kick. Usually it’s the princesses, but since I rid my pantry of most crackers they haven’t been asking to eat them. I think my cracker cravings have stemmed from the fact that I’ve been experimenting how to make my own and I’m beginning to discover that it’s not that difficult. The thought of making homemade crackers seemed all too tedious and time consuming. Last week I decided to take the plunge and ended up with something that didn’t taste half bad, but didn’t give me the crunch that I like in a cracker.

They’re cute!

Now I was on a mission! I switched up the flours and omitted the baking powder in hopes of not getting the “rise” like I did in the first batch. The result was spot on in my book and from the looks of the jar, the rest of the fam is liking them too!

Ta da! I bring you new meaning to the word “CHEEZ-IT”…a hearty, rich and crunchy cracker without all the added who-knows-what and other stuff! (sorry if you like the kind that come in a box…believe me, I was once there!). These, my friends, are the real deal…nothing more, nothing less!

Cheez Crackers (gluten free)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup millet flour (you can grind your own by putting whole millet in your food processor)

1/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 tsp xanthum gum

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup organic cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp Earth Balance, cold and diced

3 Tbsp cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place the millet flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, xanthum gum, and salt in the bowl of a food processor (a blender works too). Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the cheese to the flour mixture and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Add the butter and cut in using a pastry cutter.

Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, and mix until the dough begins to come together in a ball. Divide the dough in two and shape into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Trim off the jagged edges of the dough and use a serrated knife to make vertical slices 1-inch apart. Then, make horizontal slices 1-inch apart to create squares. (Optional: use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges of the crackers and a toothpick to create a hole in the center). Transfer the cut crackers to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least a 1/2-inch apart.

Gather the remaining scraps of dough, re-roll, and cut additional crackers. If the dough has gotten very warm, re-wrap the scraps and place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to chill. Continue rolling and cutting until all the dough has been used.

Bake the crackers for 10-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool before eating.

These crackers are best on the first day, however they can be stored in an airtight container (glass is best to help keep their crunch) for several days.

Doesn’t it look like they came right from a box? They taste just as good too!

A perfect “cheezy”crunch in every bite!

*Note: I’m going to be working on my “recipe page” to help make it clearer as to what recipes are gluten free, vegan, and/or vegetarian. I hope this will help!

Blessings,

J’lene

From cowgirl hats to togas!

2012-01-19T12:16:00.001-08:00

These last couple of weeks of homeschooling have been a little out of the ordinary for us, but I’m trying to roll with the punches! This week, especially, God is really showing me that His plans are much better than mine. I got a little out of sorts when I had to revamp our literature curriculum, but the new changes have proven to be the best for my Makenna. And to top it off she is learning about something she truly loves…Horses! Who would of thought that we could incorporate all the aspects of literature, some math, science, and art into a subject that she is so eager to learn about. So, today we took a field trip to Grammy’s house (my mom) to watch the Ferrier put some new “shoes” on her horses and we learned about the anatomy of a hoof!

Meet “Marti”…this is the horse my Makenna usually rides. Believe it or not I let her take the camera for a bit and she captured this photo!

Off with the old shoes….

Meet “Virgil”…this is the horse that my Cailyn likes to ride. She calls him “her race horse” and is determined to “ride like the wind” on him someday!

After our morning of “horsing” around, it was back home to hit the history books. We’re learning about Ancient Rome this month, so the princesses dressed the part while we studied. Looking quite fashionable in their “Togas!”

I crowned her with a “Laurel Wreath”!

With such a fun-filled day of learning, starting the day with a hearty breakfast was a must! These little breakfast cakes did the job and kept us full and going strong until lunch. I love that they are packed with so much nutrition and flavor minus any added sugar!!
Apple-Protein Oatmeal Breakfast Cakes
(inspired by The Edible Perspective)
Yields 4 cakes (I used small ramekins)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 3Tbsp gluten free oat flour (you can grind gluten free rolled oats in a food processor)
3Tbsp gluten free rolled oats
2Tbsp chia seeds
2Tbsp ground flax meal
1/2 an apple, diced
5Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
6Tbsp protein powder (*if you don’t have protein powder, reduce the amount of milk to about 6Tbsp)
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 4 small ramekins with cooking spray (for smaller cakes, use a muffin tin, but bake time with differ).
Whisk together the applesauce, milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Add all the other ingredients, except the flour and apples, and stir until well combined.
Stir in the flour until just combined. The batter will be like a thick muffin batter. If it seems to be to thin add 1Tbsp oat flour, or if too dry add 1Tbsp milk.
Stir in the diced apples. Evenly distribute the batter amongst the prepared ramekins and smooth out the top.
Bake for 33-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool slightly and then slide a knife around the edge to help release each cake onto a plate.

Crunchy on the outside with warm, cake-like texture on the inside.

The hubs drizzled his with some pure maple syrup and said it tasted like an oatmeal pancake. I ~~smothered~~ put a dollop of sunbutter on mine and that really hit the spot for me!

The princesses kept theirs plain and simple! Whatever suits your fancy…I just know they’re really good!

Nourishing Thought for Today:

Amidst all the changes that have taken place over the past couple of weeks, I have been reminded that God never makes mistakes…God is good!

Whether or not His choices seem good to us, He is good!

Whether or not we feel it, He is good!

Whether or not is seems true in my life or yours, He is still good!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Blessings,
J’lene

Week three…

2012-01-15T17:32:00.001-08:00

So, I’m heading into week three of training for our 5K in March and I’m feeling great! Here’s a quick look at the schedule for this week, starting on Monday.

Schedule for Week 3
Workout 1: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Workout 2: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Workout 3: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

One thing I’ve been striving hard to keep in check is getting enough protein in my diet as I train. The two challenges I face are being gluten-free and vegetarian. One thing I’ve discovered is that “whole foods”, including grains, seeds, and nuts contain more protein than you think! Here are some of the things I’ve been adding to keep my body going and my energy up to speed!

“Protein 101”

According to About.com, these are the top 10 gluten-free grains ranked highest to lowest for protein content in one scoop of the uncooked grain.

aramanth – 28.1 grams
oats – 26.3 grams
teff – 25.7 grams
quinoa – 24 grams
wild rice – 23.6 grams
buckwheat – 22.5 grams
millet – 22 grams
sorghum – 21.7 grams
brown rice – 14.7 grams
white rice – 13.1 grams

Other gluten-free protein sources include:

cottage cheese
milk or nut milks
nuts and seeds
nut butters
hemp seeds
protein powders
super greens (spirulina)
eggs
yogurt
tofu

Chobani Greek yogurt packs a whopping 14 grams of protein, which is double that of most regular yogurt. Not to mention it has less sugar!! Target had them on sale this week for $1 each, so I picked up a few.

This snack seriously tastes like dessert in a cup! We paired Chobani Greek yogurt with fresh pineapple, cherries, bananas and homemade granola.

I’ve also been using millet, oats, and almond meal in my baking this week!

Pumpkin Muffins with Millet and Chocolate Chips

(inspired by Girlichef)

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

4oz. Earth Balance, melted

3/4 cup organic brown sugar

2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water, let sit for about 5 mintues)

1 cup organic pumpkin puree

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

3/4 cup almond meal flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp ground mace

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup dry millet (I ran the millet for a couple of spins through my food processor)

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray generously with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, flax eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, baking soda, xanthum gum, spices, and millet.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the almond milk and stir everything together until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Be careful not to over-mix!

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Left rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Muffins will last, well wrapped, for up to three days.

The dry millet gave these muffin a surprisingly nice crunch!

I made some “mini muffins” for a fun snack.

Okay, so I’m still working on my “Cheez-it” creations! The first batch turned pretty good as far as taste goes, but I like my crackers “crispy” and these tasted a bit too soft too me. I didn’t figure they would “rise” as much as they did, so next time I’ll roll the dough out thinner. In other words, I’m still tweaking this recipe and will hopefully bring you the recipe this coming week!!

At least they look cute!

Stocked up on groceries today, so I’m off to chop fruit and veggies for this upcoming week! Praying that your week is full of “healthified” and “clean” food choices!!

Blessings,

J’lene

Cleaned up twice baked potatoes

2012-01-12T20:00:00.001-08:00

We’ve had the privilege of taking care of my parents animals while they are away (3 dogs and 2 horses), which means a lot of driving back and forth to the house and a slight change in our own routine. The princesses have owned up to the responsibility, setting their alarms for 6:45 in the morning and pestering the hubs to get up and get moving! After lunch they are pestering me to take them back so the dogs can go for an afternoon walk! Needless to say, we’ve been moving at a fast pace here the last couple of days and I’ve hardly had time to sit down and think, let alone remember to take a decent picture of my kitchen creations and get them posted for you all.

Although the pictures were taken as an after thought…an “oh shoot! I forgot to take a picture” moment…the product turned out oh-so-delicious! I haven’t had a “twice-baked” potato in ages, largely in part because of all the “heavy” ingredients. But after having that “baked veggie potato” at Claim Jumper last week, I’ve been craving potatoes! I think I hit the jackpot on these ones. They were just what I was hoping for…

Stuffed and ready for baking!

Twice-Baked Veggie Potatoes

Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

4 potatoes

8 medium broccoli florets

1/2 a medium zucchini, shredded

1 small carrot, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened Almond)

1/3 cup shredded cheese + a little more for sprinkling on top (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bake the potatoes and allow to cool until they can be handled.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli just until tender, then chop finely.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, being careful to leave a shell of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. In a medium bowl, mash the potato flesh and milk together. Add the broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and cheese and continue mashing. Season the potato mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Mound the mixture into the potato shells and sprinkle with reserved cheese (optional). Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until well heated and slightly browned.

Right out of the oven!

This week we also “cleaned” up our “sweet treat” choices as a part of our New Year’s “swip-swap” challenge! I found this lovely pineapple on sale at Sprouts and, “Voila,” a perfect after dinner treat.

The label says I picked “the perfect pineapple.”

And the taste test says, “I did pretty darn good!”

Back to the kitchen I go…a new “cheez-it” recipe in the works!

Blessings,

J’lene

Just do it already!

2012-01-11T15:34:00.001-08:00

That’s what I was telling myself each morning as I look at the thermometer and just felt like crawling back into my warm bed! It was 52 degrees and windy out the other day and I just didn’t want to get out there and run, but I did. This morning it was 45 degrees and with a beanie and gloves I made it out the door! And I am so glad I did because it was a good run! I’m on week two of this program and I’m feelin so confident that I can accomplish this goal and make it a victory.

The schedule
Week 1
Day 1: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Day 2: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Day 3: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 2
Day 1: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Day 2: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Day 3: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

The other two days are reserved for strength training, which is just as much effort for me as the running! The hubs created the “workout” for me….enough said. For all of you who know him, the gym is his second home and the weights are pretty much his best friend! Let’s just say, “he’s hardcore” when it comes to working out and I’m feelin’ the burn.

I’ve been wanting to run a 5K for quite some time now, but I the excuses were flowing faster than I could put on my running shoes! Just do it already, right?! So I did! The hubs and I will be running in the “8th Annual San Diego Race for Autism” on March 24th and I can hardly wait!

Here’s a little snippet from last year’s race…

(source)

We chose the “San Diego Race for Autism” because of this sweet little girl!

This is our precious niece, Trinity. She’s eight years old and she has autism. Although she doesn’t live here in San Diego, she is very near and dear to our hearts, so this first race is for her and her family! My sister-in-law has kept me up-to-date on Trinity’s progress, as well as her struggles, through the years and I can only praise her and her husband for all the dedication and time they put into caring for their daughter. Did I mention they have 3 other children as well? All I can say is, “Super Mom!”

What I’ve been “fueling” my days with before and after runs…

Lot’s of H2O and lemon! Tried H2O with cucumber the other day and that was so refreshing.

Lot’s of raw veggies (carrots, cucumbers, red pepper, broccoli) and homemade Sun-dried Tomato Hummis for dipping!

Protein or granola bars, crumbled and topped with a nanner and a drizzle of Sun-Butter!

Yummo…and filling!

“Green” protein smoothies! In the mix…spinach and/or kale, some frozen berries (whatever I have on hand), protein powder, kefir, flax, and a little water. Hits the spot every time!

I’m looking forward to keeping you updated on my progress! Happy Wednesday!

Blessings,

J’lene

Sun Butter Banana Protein Bars…

2012-01-07T19:42:00.001-08:00

Softball season is quickly approaching us and we’re gearing up for not just one player this year, but two! We’ve got princess Makenna signed up for another season in the 8U league and our little Cailyn is ready for her first year of t-ball!

It’s been unusually warm this winter, so both girls have been outside practicing their hitting, catching, and pitching with the hubs for the last couple of weeks. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right? Well, we’ve had our first injury of the season and it hasn’t even started yet! Princess Makenna hit a line drive right to the hubs and little miss Cailyn stepped right in it’s path and stopped the ball with her face. She had a nice bloody nose and a bright rosy cheek to show for it, but it was nothing that a warm bubble bath couldn’t cure! Can’t wait to watch this girl out on the field!!

With all this practicing they are surely going to need something to refuel with, so I got to work trying to create a protein bar that is 1) not outrageously priced and 2) tastes really good. After some searching and a little tweaking, I think we have a winner!

A great find at Trader Joe’s and perfect sub for a “peanut butter-less” family! My little Cailyn has a severe peanut allergy and so I’m always looking for fun new alternatives.

Sun Butter Banana Protein Bars

(inspired by The Edible Perspective)

Yields 12 bars

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats

1/2 cup almond meal

1 1/2 cup gluten free brown rice cereal

1/2 cup protein powder (I used vanilla flavor, but plain works too!)

2 medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

3 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sunflower butter

5 Tbsp raw honey

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or line a 9x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray or parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas until there are no lumps left and then whisk in the other wet ingredients (honey, sunflower butter, and vanilla)

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, except for the chocolate chips.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl and drizzle over cooled bars. Cut the bars and place in freezer for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or wrap individually and place in a freezer bag in the freezer for a great grab-and-go snack!

A little drizzle of dark chocolate gives this bar just the right amount of sweetness!

YUMMO!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

Blessings,

J’lene

Learning to love breakfast without cereal….

2012-01-06T19:15:00.001-08:00

Just in case you were all curious, the “lists” seem to be working out fabulous for us! I think the two greatest accomplishments have been with breakfast and snack time. Having most everything prepared ahead of time has saved me and the hubs time in the kitchen first thing in the morning…you know, the “mad rush” to get everything eaten, cleaned up, beds made, dressed, and teeth/hair brushed before the “school bell” rings! Okay, in our house the “school bell” is usually mom yelling “girls it’s time to get started on your work…let’s go, let’s go!!” I’ve even given the hubs a lesson in cooking oatmeal…now that’s progress people!!

The princesses just love the “snack” list! I overheard them talking about what they wanted the other day and my little Cailyn says, “there’s just too many good things to choose from, I don’t know what I want!” Now that makes this mama feel good!

Please don’t freak out that I am serving my princesses chocolate chips first thing in the morning. First, this is not an “everyday” breakfast and two, the amount of chocolate they get in each serving is minimal compared to the nutritional value of the rest of the ingredients in this breakfast bar! In my opinion, I would actually rather serve them up one of these on occasion than give them a bowl of cereal that has little nutritional value and probably a lot more sugar. Okay, now that I’ve given my disclaimer…Double Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars
Yields 12-14 bars
Ingredients:
1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 1/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup brown rice flour blend (**see note below)
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 very ripe banana
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup organic brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup banana chips, chopped
1/3 cup raw, sliced almonds
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
**Note: Brown Rice Flour Blend
Mix together 2 cups Brown Rice Flour, 2/3 cup Potato Starch, and 1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray (* you can use an 8-inch pan, they will just be thicker bars!).
In a small bowl, combine the boiling water and oats. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork and then add the applesauce and brown sugar. Mix well until there are no sugar lumps left.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, xanthum gum, cinnamon, and salt. Mix into wet ingredients and add soaked oats and banana chips. Make sure the mixture has cooled a bit (I stuck mine in the fridge for about 10 minutes), before adding the chocolate chips or they will melt!
Pour batter into prepared pan and pat down evenly. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are just starting to brown. Let cool before cutting into squares.

These breakfast bars are so moist and filling (thanks to the soaked oats), plus they pack an incredible banana flavor!

In other news, our break from school is quickly coming to an end and I’ve been using this last week to frantically pull together some lessons plans for the next couple of months. I think we’re all really excited to get back into the “school groove” and our normal routines. However, I will admit that I’ve gotten quite spoiled having the hubs work from home this last couple of weeks! Last night we tried to take advantage of some of the little time we have left together and went out on a much needed date. Just a quiet dinner and running some errands together made for a perfect night!

Time to unwind… At Claim Jumper

with a perfect Mango Margarita!!

Then the appetizer…

Lemon-pepper zucchini

And the entrees…

The hubs’ Black Tie Pasta

And my Vegetarian Baker

Talk about busting at the seems! That was the biggest potato I have ever seen! It was amazing…filled to the brim with grilled vegetables and fresh salsa on the side. I only made it through maybe a quarter of the thing!!

After I work off all the carbs from that potato, I think I can officially start school on Monday! Yahoo!

Nourishing Thought for Today:

I just started reading, Lies Women Believe And the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and I just thought I’d share a snippet of something that spoke to me this morning.

I was reading how the world’s deceptive way of thinking comes to us through so many avenues (i.e. t.v., music, movies, friends, catalogs, etc..) and how a steady “diet” of these worldly influences will begin to shape our view of what is valuable, what is beautiful, and what is important in life.

Once we simply listen to a lie, we take one step closer to being in bondage to it! Many of us women have areas of our lives that we are in bondage to because we have chosen to listen to, believe in, and act on a lie. The author gives 3 ways to help us break free of that bondage:

1. Identify the area(s) of bondage or sinful behavior. (You can ask God to show you specific areas in your life where you need to be set free!)

2. Identify the lie(s) at the root of that bondage or behavior. (We need the Lord to help us see what we have been believing that is not true!)

3. Replace that lie(s) with the Truth. (The truth of God’s Word is more powerful than Satan’s lies!)

This week I pray that you would have victory over Satan’s lies! Make it a priority to listen to, meditate on, believe, and act on the Truth!!

Blessings,

J’lene

Out with the old and in with the new!

2012-01-04T15:01:00.001-08:00

I know, I know it sounds cliché! But that’s what these first few days of 2012 have been all about for us. We’re changin’ up some of our old ways and makin’ way for some new (and yes, it revolves around food)!

I seem to have no problem coming up with a “dinner menu” and the “breakfast menu” is so..so, but ask me about snacks and lunch and I’m afraid I’ve got nothin’ for you. I need a plan of action folks! I need to take care of our “lunchtime woes!” So, here’s what I did:

After a great run/core workout I got busy cleaning out and organizing the fridge. First things first, right? Feels so good to have a clean refrigerator and actually know what I have in there! I had a boat-load of gluten free flours that needed some serious tending to and now they are all in their rightful places (with labels!).

Then, I created a “SNACK” list…

I know somewhere out there someone has created some nifty little “snack center” for the fridge, but on a Pastor’s budget, you use what you have! An extra tupperware container with no lid works just fine for me. It’s convenient and easy for the little princesses’ hands to grab a bag full of goodness!

A “BREAKFAST” list… (check out this fun flow chart for healthy breakfast ideas!)

And a “LUNCH” list…

And got to work baking up some wholesome treats for the fam!

Best Granola Bars and Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

Looks like a granola bar in cookie form!

Trail Mix Cookies

(inspired by Sarah @ Peas and Thank You)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp flax seed meal

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 cups gluten free rolled oats

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup vanilla protein powder

3 Tbsp raw honey

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

stevia to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cookie sheet by lightly spraying it with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flax meal with almond milk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Add the flax mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined. The mixture will seem to be a bit dry, but will hold together when forming the cookies.

Spoon dough in your hands (or use a small ice cream scoop) and pack cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies are slightly browned. Let them cool completely on the pan before transferring them to an airtight container.

Carrot Breakfast Cookies

Next up…the PANTRY! I’ll need an entire day to tackle this one!

Nourishing Thought for Today:

I didn’t join on the “New Years’ Resolutions” bandwagon this year. Resolutions seem to fade after the first few months, then we get disappointed in ourselves and attempt it all over again the next year. So, for me, 2012 will be about accomplishing personal (and family) “VICTORIES!”

First, and foremost, I am reminded every year that I have Victory in Jesus….my Savior forever!

Certainly a victory I can share all year long…every year!

Today’s victory was spending some quality time with the hubs and making it to the top of Mt. Woodson together in 35 minutes! Whether it be big or whether it be small, a victory is a victory and worth being proud of!

I also started my training this week for my first 5K! Getting up early has been a victory in itself! I’m using this program for my training and look forward to sharing with you my progress over the next couple of months!

What goals will you be setting in 2012? And what victories do you look forward to accomplishing?

Blessings,

J’lene

A little something sweet…a little something salty

2011-12-31T19:16:00.001-08:00

Today is the hubs’ 36th birthday! And we’re spending the day together as a family, just the way he likes it! On the menu tonight is Mexican Layer Pie with homemade salsa, guacamole, and Spanish rice. And for anyone who knows my hubs, knows that any birthday of his wouldn’t be complete without brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream!

And he wishes he could have his dessert first!!

Mexican Layer Pie

Ingredients:

2 cans organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa, divided (I used homemade, but you can use your favorite kind!)

2 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 can organic pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

7 (8-inch) tortillas (I used spinach tortillas for some extra flavor!)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

olives (optional garnish)

*Optional Topping:

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 green salsa (Trader Joe’s is our favorite)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mash black beans. Stir in 3/4 cup salsa and garlic.

In another bowl, mix 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, pinto beans, and tomatoes.

Place one tortilla in prepared pie dish. Spread 3/4 cup black bean mixture (within a 1/2 inch of the edge of tortilla). Top with 1/4 cup cheese. Cover with another tortilla and spread 2/3 cup pinto bean mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering twice. Cover with remaining tortilla, black beans, and cheese.

If using the optional topping: mix together the yogurt and green salsa in a small bowl. Spread the mixture over the top layer of cheese. Top with optional olives.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

*NOTE: To make this a gluten free dish, you can use brown rice or corn tortillas. I’ve also made it in small ramekins without any tortillas and just layering the bean mixtures with the cheese.

This is a very hearty dish that any “meat lover” would enjoy!

We started our morning at the Farmer’s Market, unfortunately it was slim pickins. I did get me some spinach, onion sprouts, green beans, pink lady apples, and some grapes. Not too terribly shabby!

Aren’t those colors amazing?

Found some interesting flowers!

After all the excitement of Christmas sort of died down and the decorations were put away, I was ready to get back to the kitchen. And it’s no surprise that I was craving something sweet! I got to thinking, “wouldn’t it be fabulous to have the best of both worlds…something with a bit of sweet and salty?” BINGO!

Salted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free rolled oats

1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix

1 cup organic brown sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 “flax” eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water)

1 tsp pure vanilla

4 Tbsp Earth Balance, softened

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate dough for about 10 minutes.

Use a tablespoon to portion out dough onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle dough with sea salt.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Allow to cool on pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies definitely hit the spot! They have just the right amount of sweet with a little bit of salty on the outside. Completely satisfied my craving!

I can’t think of any better way to spend my New Years’ Eve than celebrating with the man I love! Happy Birthday my sweet, handsome hubs…I Love You!

And

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Blessings,

J’lene

A Few Highlights From Christmas 2011!

2011-12-29T19:43:00.001-08:00

Sorry to leave y’all hangin’ for so long, but our Christmas festivities just came to an end and now I have a moment to sit down and think a bit! Just wanted to share some of our highlights from this years’ Christmas. We’ve all been blessed with the hubs working from home while the princesses are on a bit of a break from school. This has allowed us to do some things that we normally don’t get to do such as…

Christmas Card Lane

The hubs asked me to take a pic of this….said it motivated him to want to watch the movie! We always watch a Christmas movie together after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve, so this was it this year!

On Christmas Eve morning there were new bikes and scooters to ride….and the hubs joined in the fun with some WAY OLD roller blades!

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Christmas morning we continued our tradition of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

My first attempt at gluten free cinnamon rolls wasn’t totally a complete and utter failure! As you can see by the picture, however, they didn’t rise like I had hoped. They got rave reviews from the rest of the fam, but they weren’t “spot on” in my book! I plan on making another attempt at them before I post the recipe for you all.

Christmas morning at Ignite Church

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We had a very enjoyable time celebrating Christ’s birth with our church family and the hubs even read a little story to the kiddos!

Then it was back home to get comfy and open the rest of our gifts as a family.

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The princesses exchanged gifts this year and it was so precious to watch! They got each other manicures so they could go on a “sister date” together!

I was more than blessed this Christmas with some wonderful gifts (and some lessons learned when requesting gifts!)

A big thanks to my mom for getting me this attachment for my stand mixer! It’s a slicer/shredder attachment, which was fabulous for making the salad for our Christmas dinner at G.G.’s. Just put the vegetable in the shoot and it slices or shreds all by itself! LOVE IT!

Okay, so one of my favorite gifts from the hubs was this “Hot Air Popcorn Popper”. I’ve learned a lot about “microwavable” popcorn over the last few months and let’s just say that we will no longer be partaking in popcorn that cooks in a bag! I’ve had my eye on a couple of air poppers and was so thrilled to find this under the tree.

For the hubs it wasn’t so much about the health benefits of popping our own popcorn as it was about his wife being “hot and fresh!” I made the mistake of saying, “oh, I love my popcorn hot and fresh!” He proceeded to say to me, “oh, I just love my hot wife!” Lesson learned…be careful what you say around the kiddos on Christmas morning!

This was my “be careful what you wish for” gift ! I had mentioned awhile back to the hubs that I might like to try Zumba. I hear a lot of the ladies raving about it, but never got up the nerve to try a class. After the “hot and fresh” gift, I open this!

Note to self: must get up in the early morning while everyone is still sleeping soundly if you want to complete a Zumba class without being laughed at hysterically! I was so not born to move like that! However, it is fun (in the comfort of my own home!) and does pack in a good workout! Enough said!

After Christmas day we had some family arrive from out of town, so we all met up at G.G’s (great-grandmother) for a big family dinner. My job was to bring the salad, so a beautiful salad I made!

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Lots of veggies and a few cranberries for some sweetness

This was pretty much my dinner as there were no gluten free options, so I made sure to add some beans for protein!

So glad there were leftovers to bring home!

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The Christmas dinner spread at G.G.’s….twice baked potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, warm broccoli dish, turkey breast, and my lovely salad! I also shared my cranberry-mango chutney for those eating the turkey. For dessert…G.G.’s homemade pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies! So sad that I couldn’t try any because they looked oh.so.delicious! Next time I’ll be sure to bring a gluten free dessert, so I can indulge along with the rest of the family!

Now it’s back to reality….planning “real” meals and doing “real” grocery shopping! I actually enjoyed going shopping this week and getting a cart full of fresh veggies, fruit, and stocking up on the usual staples. Coming in a close second to grocery shopping will be planning lessons for the next couple months of school. Looks like I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but do not fear, there are some recipes coming your way!

My first task at hand will be showering the hubs with lots of love and fun for his birthday on New Years’ Eve! Any ideas? His only request is that there will be brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. I think I can manage that one!

Blessings,

J’lene

Our homemade gift giving extravaganza…

2011-12-22T19:34:00.001-08:00

Well, I don’t know that you would call it an extravaganza, but we certainly are up to our heads in homemade gifts this year! It’s been such a fun experience to share with the princesses and it just warms me all over watching them waiting on the doorsteps of our neighbors’ houses eager to hand them gifts for Christmas. I wish we had the money to be able to share a homemade gift with everyone this Christmas, but the one gift we can share (and it doesn’t cost a dime) is that of Jesus Christ!

It’s worth far more than any gift you’ll find under your tree!

It is our family’s desire to share the good news of Jesus this Christmas as we offer our homemade gifts to friends, family and neighbors!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cranberry Surprise Cookies (now that’s a mouthful!)

(inspired by Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga)

Yields 19 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large organic egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp xanthum gum

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

dark chocolate covered cranberries for stuffing!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened Earth Balance and sugars. Beat with a mixer (or by hand) until smooth. Add the vanilla, egg, baking soda, xanthum gum, and cocoa powder. Stir to combine. Then add the flour slowly, and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before scooping onto baking sheet.

After the dough has chilled, scoop dough into about 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Gently nestle one chocolate covered cranberry into each cookie. You can completely cover the cranberry if you would like.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven even if they look a bit underdone as they will firm up as they cool.

Oh so chocolatey with a nice surprise in the middle!

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour (grind your gluten free oats in a food processor)

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp grapeseed oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the oats, applesauce, almond milk, grapeseed oil, and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is completely combined.

Fold in the raisins and chocolate chips.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or just until set. Be careful not to over-bake the cookies. Cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Soft and chewy just the way we like them!

Apple Butter

Chocolate Peppermint Truffles

Cinnamon-Vanilla Granola

Ingredients:

4 cups gluten free rolled oats

1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup dry roasted pecans, chopped

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pure maple sugar, divided

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, divided

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp raw honey, divided

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup organic dried cranberries

3/4 cup organic raisins

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In a small saucepan, combine the oil, 1/4 cup of the maple sugar, and 2 Tbsp applesauce. Warm over low heat until the the sugar has dissolved, then stir un 1/4 cup honey and the vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and mix until the oats and nuts are well coated. Spread evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

While the granola is baking, mix together the remaining 2 Tbsp of maple sugar, applesauce, and honey in a small bowl. Set aside.

After the first 30 minutes, remove the granola from the oven and drizzle the remaining wet ingredients on top. Stir well to evenly distribute.

Bake for 30-35 minutes longer, until the granola is lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Break into bite size pieces and mix in the cranberries and raisins. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

A perfect treat for breakfast, an on the go snack, and sprinkled over your favorite yogurt!

Well, we did it! We delivered the last of our homemade gifts this afternoon and what a wonderful response we received from our neighbors. Two simple, yet meaningful words, Merry Christmas, touched one man to the point of tears. With a beer in hand he shared with me and the girls that the last few days had gotten him really down, but this simple plate of cookies and a “Merry Christmas” blessed him beyond words! It wasn’t about the cookies today, it was about sharing the love of Jesus and bringing joy to a man who was in need.

Blessings and Merry Christmas,

J’lene

Lovin’ Me Some Quinoa!

2011-12-19T15:51:00.001-08:00

So hard to believe it’s the week before Christmas!! The princesses are still plugging away on school work because this mama makes them work hard!! All this hard work means that we need some good eats that will provide us with some extra “staying” power and keep our brains functioning throughout the day. I turned to the trusty ol’ “super grain”, quinoa, for help! You can read more about the benefits of quinoa here.

Quinoa Breakfast Bake (gluten free and vegan)

(inspired by Karina’s Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes

1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

3/4 cup almond meal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp xanthum gum

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water – let sit for about 5-7 minutes)

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup organic brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup organic raw agave

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup organic raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (quinoa flakes, flours, baking soda, salt, xanthum gum, and spices).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat to combine the olive oil, brown sugar, agave, vanilla, orange juice, and flax eggs.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat to combine thoroughly, but making sure not to over mix!

Stir in by hand carrots, almonds, and raisins.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Place the pan into the center of the oven and bake until set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack.

Please be warned that if you try to cut this cake while it is still warm it may fall apart! Enjoy at room temperature and wrap leftovers individually in foil and place in a freezer bag for future breakfast snacks.

I love that this breakfast cake is a bit more dense (thanks quinoa!) than your typical muffin or quick bread, but yet it is still so moist. It’s got just enough “sweetness” to it that it feels like a treat without the “guilt” part of it! And as a bonus, it freezes well for those days when you need a healthy grab-and-go snack!

Back to kitchen I go…these colder days keeping drawing me back to the oven to keep warm! There’s still more cookies to make and deliver to neighbors, not to mention the apple butter and granola! Oh my!

Blessings,

J’lene

Everyday blessings…(and a couple recipes!)

2011-12-15T21:18:00.001-08:00

The hubs and I had a moment to sit down and just chat with one another the other night…a real rarity for us! We were chatting about how this year has been a tough one for us and the family, especially the last couple of months. I’ll tell you this, as I think I’ve said before, planting a church is NOT an easy task!! But amidst all that which seems to be going in the wrong direction, all that is negative, we have begun to lose sight of the very blessings that have been set right in front of us. So, we took some time together to reflect on all that God has blessed us with this year and our hearts began to overflow with joy! We certainly discovered that we have more to be thankful for than not, especially with the celebration of the greatest blessing of all just around the corner….CHRISTmas!!

Today, my princess Makenna and I scoured our Bibles looking for the various names of Jesus and our hearts began to overflow with joy and we just couldn’t stop searching! Here’s just a sampling of what we found….
Mighty One , Majesty, Lord of Lords, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, King, Messiah, I Am, Immanuel, Father, My Rock

It was such a sweet time with my little girl! I got that warm and fuzzy feeling, you know like when sugar cookies are baking in your oven making the house smell heavenly. There were Christmas trees, stars and snowmen….

So warm and golden brown…

Then dipped in luscious chocolate…

Simple Sugar Cookies

(inspired by Sarah @ Peas and Thank You)

Yields 24 to 32 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached organic flour (can be made gluten free w/ an all-purpose gluten free flour + 1/4 tsp xanthum gum)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Earth Balance (or unsalted butter)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat together sugar, milk, vanilla and Earth Balance. Gradually add dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl, mixing until the dough comes together.

Remove the dough from bowl and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours, or until dough is chilled and firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out onto a floured board with a rolling pin until dough is about 3/4 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes and transfer to the cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are starting to turn brown. Do not overbake! Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for about 1 minute before moving them to a cooling rack.

Frost with your favorite frosting when cookies are completely cool!

And dressed all in sprinkles red, white and green!

I was further reminded today when things started getting out of hand and I was about to blow a fuse, I had the blessing of coffee cake cooking silently away in the crockpot! It’s the little things!
Crockpot Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
(inspired by Simply Sugar and Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp orange zest

2/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 large organic eggs

1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup fresh cranberries, sliced

For crumb topping:

1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp Earth Balance (or oil of your choice)

2 Tbsp organic cane sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

Directions:

For the crumb topping:

Put the almonds, Earth Balance, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and pulse several times until the nuts become crumbs. Set aside.

For the cake:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and orange zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the cranberries.

Turn the batter into a greased crockpot. Smooth the top and sprinkle the crumb topping across the top of the cake and press into the batter.

Vent the lid on the crockpot and bake on low for 2-3 hours, until a knife inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs. Serve warm!A simply amazing moist gluten free cake!

I think I’ll try Blueberry-Lemon next.

Our Keepers at Home cookie exchange was a sweet success!

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The girls presented us with their cookies and earned their “Cookie Baking” badge! These little bakers did an awesome job!!

Nourishing Thought for Today:
Just a simple reminder to find joy in the little things and remember not to overlook the small blessings in life! One of life’s biggest blessings came in the form of a small child! May you and your family be blessed this Christmas as we celebrate the King of Kings…Our Lord and Savior!

Blessings,
J’lene

A Priceless Picture Wednesday!

2011-12-14T19:17:00.001-08:00

I had the privilege of teaching three young little ladies how to bake two different types of cookies yesterday and we had so much fun! These three little ladies are working on their “Cookie Baking” badge as part of one of their Keepers at Home projects. Keepers at Home is a wonderful book that shares the importance of teaching our daughters to love the Lord and live godly lives by living for Him and serving Him. My daughters are precious gifts to me and I look forward to not only teaching them, but learning right alongside them as they learn new skills, as well as build character and good habits that are glorifying to the Lord!

There are 6 different types of cookies the girls will be baking in order to earn their badge…cookie bars, drop cookies, sandwich cookie, pressed cookie, refrigerator cookie, and a rolled cookie. Here, they are working on their sandwich cookies and cookie bars. They scooped, measured, mixed, folded, and beat their way to delicious “Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies!”

Sharing ever-so-nicely…

Watching the paddle of the mixer go round and round….such fun for little girls!

Spreading on peppermint icing to make the center of their “sandwich” cookie.

And taste-testing of course!

The finished product….Oh.So.Yummy!

And then another round of scooping, whisking, beating, and folding took place as they created “Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars!”

Soft and chewy with lots of melted chocolate chips! I think I sent them home in a “chocolate-covered coma!”

The girls divided the different types of cookies amongst themselves and we’ll be having our cookie exchange tomorrow evening! At the cookie exchange the girls will be presenting the type of cookie that they baked along with the recipe to share with their friends. And at the end of the evening I will present each girl with their “Cookie Baking” badge that they will undoubtedly wear so proudly! My princess Makenna and I are off to make some delicious “rolled cookies!”

The Christmas tree finally got decorated, now we can all be “cheery” and “bright!” I had been putting it off for awhile and it was driving my family crazy! I couldn’t find my ribbon…and you know you have to put the ribbon on before all the ornaments go on. Let’s just say they celebrated when mom found her darn ribbon! Hallelujah!

Fully stocked with ballerinas, homemade gingerbread men, and grandma’s ornaments that you get every year with the dates engraved on them!!

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care!

And now I think I’m officially done with the decorating…time to move on to the Christmas cards! Yes, we do indeed have Christmas cards this year! However, at the rate I’m moving, you may have them by the New Year!

Look for the cookie recipes tomorrow! And a fun surprise that I tried today….breakfast cake in the crockpot!! I’m praying that it tastes as good as it smells!

Blessings,

J’lene

Better late than never….

2011-12-12T17:04:00.001-08:00

Uggh! It’s Monday already and once again I find myself scrambling to get things done! Ever have one of those weeks? I usually have them every week! But here I am, better late than never, giving you mediocre pictures and mediocre recipes. My creative juices definitely weren’t flowing this week, but my family pulled through without much suffering! We did try one thing new this last week, just a bit of a spin on our favorite “Mini Frittatas.” With having gone “gluten free” for a little over a year now, I’ve sort of missed my “breads.” I could make my own gluten free bread, and do from time to time, but it’s a lot of work in my book. And not to be picky or anything, but, I’ve had a heck of a time finding a “gluten free” bread that tastes halfway decent and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. That to be said, I splurged this week and bought some Udi’s gluten free bagels which I have thoroughly enjoyed (especially the cinnamon raisin). I had a coupon, so I picked up some of their plain bagels to make a “Broccoli-Cheese Breakfast Casserole.”

Lots of broccoli!!

Plus lots of bagels (I actually put a little too much in)!

Equals lots of yummy goodness! This is one of those recipes that is so versatile and gives you a lot of room to be creative (more so than me!).

Broccoli-Cheddar Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 package (about 8 oz.) Udi’s gluten free whole grain bagels (or your favorite gluten free bread), cut into 1-inch cubes

8 large organic eggs

8 large organic egg whites

2 cups milk

3 cups broccoli, chopped

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until translucent and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the bread cubes in the dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, and milk until incorporated. Add the onions, broccoli, cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and stir to combine well.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and bake until the top forms a light brown crust, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve hot!

This week’s family projects included making “Hershey Kiss” Christmas Tree gifts, making “Chocolate-Peppermint Truffles”, and going to see the “Traditions of Christmas” musical. It was a crazy-fun week that involved way too much chocolate and laughing till our bellies hurt!

“Hershey Kiss” Christmas Trees…My little Cailyn left hers a bit bare! It was too tedious for her to finish, so she simply said, “That’s just the way I like it!”

These pictures don’t do them justice, but these little guys are so very rich and delicious! They’re one of those desserts that become addicting and you want “just one more,” so I only make them once a year at Christmas because they also make great gifts!

Chocolate-Peppermint Truffles

Yields about 40 truffles

Ingredients:

1 18oz. package chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies, finely crushed and divided (I used Trader Joe’s “Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s”) – if you don’t want these to be peppermint you can use regular chocolate sandwich cookies.

8 oz. organic cream cheese, softened

2 8oz. packages semisweet baking chocolate, melted

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well blended. Shape into one-inch balls.

Dip balls into melted chocolate and place on the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Simply delicious!

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Before the musical, we enjoyed dinner at Panera Bread. I promise you, my little princesses normally don’t play with their food! You’d think they had died and gone to heaven when they saw “Mac ‘n Cheese” on the menu! Needless to say, they ate ALL of their dinner! And I thoroughly enjoyed my cup of vegetable soup with pesto and garden salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The hubs was more than pleased with his “Steak Panini”! With warm and full bellies we were off to see “Traditions of Christmas.” Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures during the performance, so I snapped a few during intermission where our entertainment clearly continued!!

She absolutely loved all the dancers on stage and decided to give us a little show of her own!

Watch out world, this princess is an up-and-coming star!!

Makenna wanted to be behind the camera and snapped this one of the hubs and I!

It was a fabulous ending to our week! The girls loved it so much that they asked if we could go back this week….I told them I’d put it on the calendar for next December!

Blessings,

J’lene

Keeping it warm and bright…

2011-12-06T16:10:00.001-08:00

Bring on the cold, winter nights….well, as cold as we can get here in San Diego! For me, anything below 75 degrees is cold! I’ll gladly fire up the oven and bake a batch of cookies just to get the house warm. And that’s just what I’ve been up to today…

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (gluten free)

Yields 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Earth Balance

3 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 cup organic brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/4 cup non-dairy milk ( I used unsweetened Almond milk)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 3/4 cups Pamela’s Gluten-free baking mix (can sub in all-purpose gluten free flour, but you’ll need to add 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp xanthum gum)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate mint candies, chopped (I used Hershey’s)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.

In a glass measuring cup, measure your milk and add lemon juice, mix together and let sit.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate; stir until smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together sugars and egg; add milk mixture and peppermint extract. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the Pamela’s baking mix and salt. (Or, if using an all-purpose flour…mix together with baking soda, baking powder, xanthum gum and salt). Gradually add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Fold in the chopped chocolate mint candies.

Place the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, or until the dough gets firmer.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool for a couple of minutes before removing from the baking sheet onto a wire rack.

These tasty morsels are melt-in-your-mouth good! They have a slight crunch on the outside and are oh-so-soft on the inside with just the right amount of peppermint flavor. So hard not to eat the entire batch in one day!!! I hide them in the freezer, so it’s harder for me to sneak them from the cookie jar!

As you can tell, there’s no doubt that a plate full of cookies will brighten my family’s day and I look forward to bringing some joy (in the form of cookies) to those that surround us this Christmas season! Anyone want some cookies?

And now that the night’s are getting colder, it is surely time to bring on the soup! Tonight we tried something new and it will certainly be coming around again. It had a little somethin’, somethin’ for everyone….pasta for the picky ones and lots of veggies for mama! A family-friendly, good-for-you meal that you can cook in less time than it takes to order a pizza! Spinach-Tortellini Soup

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 ribs celery, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 14-oz can low-sodium diced tomatoes, with juice

6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

3 0z. baby spinach, sliced into ribbons (about 3 cups)

1 package fresh store-bought tortellini (I used cheese, but you could use whatever flavor you like)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat the oil in a 4 or 6 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent and the garlic is softened, another 3 minutes.

Add the carrot, celery, oregano, thyme, and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices along with the broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the spinach and tortellini and cook until the tortellini are cooked through, about 6-8 minutes.

This soup will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

This soup was easy to pull together and really hit the spot on such a cold evening!

May the warmth of season fill your home this Christmas!

Blessings,

J’lene

Everything Homemade…

2011-12-04T19:30:00.001-08:00

We accomplished two big tasks this weekend…..putting up the church’s Christmas tree and getting our family picture taken! It’s been awhile since we’ve had a picture taken of the entire family. My little Cailyn is usually escaping the picture or facing the wrong direction, but today I couldn’t have been more pleased with how well she behaved and I can’t wait to see the final product. Maybe I’ll actually send out Christmas cards this year…just maybe!!

I snapped this quick pic just before we walked out the door! My precious babies!

It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas at church!

Speaking of feeling like Christmas, I think I may have found a new replacement for dear ol’ pumpkin. Well, at least for December anyway, I’ve fallen in love with “peppermint and chocolate.” They are equally delicious in my book, but get them together and you have something more than delicious. My pantry is now well stocked with peppermint extract and dark chocolate infused with peppermint oil. Oh the fun I’m going to have in the kitchen!

First up…

Chocolate Peppermint “Luna” Bars

(Inspired by Katie @ Chocolate Covered Katie)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Erewhon brown rice cereal

1 1/2 cups Erewhon cocoa brown rice cereal

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup + 2Tbsp almond butter

1/2 cup agave

2 Tbsp protein powder

melted chocolate (I used a dark chocolate-peppermint bar – you can use regular chocolate chips)

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cereals and protein powder.

In a medium saucepan, mix the almond butter, extract, and salt. Melt over low heat, then pour over the cereal and powder. Stir very well, making sure to coat all of the cereal.

Line an 8x8 inch pan with wax paper and spread the cereal mixture evenly into the pan. Place another sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture, then press down firmly.

Spread the melted chocolate on top and freeze for at least a half an hour before slicing.

Oh.My.Goodness. These are out of this world good!

As part of our “countdown to Christmas” we’ve been working on a family project each week. Since the nights have been getting chilly lately, we decided this week’s project should include making and delivering hot cocoa mix to our neighbors. Each jar was well received and it was a great opportunity to teach our little princesses about the importance of giving and loving our neighbors!

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Yields 2 cups (about 8 servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups organic cane sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla powder

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup powdered milk

pinch of salt

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and vanilla powder. Transfer 1/2 cup of the vanilla sugar to a large bowl (save the remaining sugar for another use or to make another batch of cocoa). Add powdered milk, cocoa and salt to the bowl with the sugar and mix well.

You can store the cocoa mixture in an airtight container or put in small mason jars for gift giving.

Making the hot cocoa:

Put 1/4 cup of the mix and 1 cup of boiling water into a mug and stir well.

**For a burst of flavor, try steeping a bag of peppermint or almond tea in the mug along with the hot cocoa.

I apologize for the bad photos, but I forgot to take pictures after we finished making the jars and ended up taking them in the evening. Night photos don’t work well for food pics!

Stay tuned for more “chocolate-peppermint” recipes! Here’s a sneak peak…

May you have a blessed week!

Blessings,

J’lene

A few Thursday things….

2011-12-01T14:51:00.001-08:00

It’s so crazy to me that today is already December 1st! I keep trying to tell myself that the pumpkin has got to go, but it just makes me so sad! I think I could manage to find a way to eat it all year long…yeah, it’s that good! With visions of “sweet goodness” dancing in my head, I managed to make up a batch of

Pumpkin Spiced Granola and

Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

And as I promised, here’s the recipe for…

Pumpkin Dump Cake
Ingredients:
1 29-oz. can pure pumpkin
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp sea salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 box gluten-free yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker – you can sub in regular if you don’t need gluten-free)
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the first 6 ingredients until well blended. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
Sprinkle cake mix on top of the batter, and then cover with pecans. Drizzle melted Earth Balance over the top. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the top begins to brown and the center is set.

Easy-peasy….just a whole lot of dumpin’! Oh my! That doesn’t sound so good, but trust me, it tastes good! This is definitely an “indulgent” dessert that only comes around once a year in our home! However, I’m thinking the hubs would love to “indulge” in it more often.

There’s no doubt that I’m not tired of the pumpkin and pumpkin flavored goodies, but I’m ready to scale back on the sugar and enjoy the “sweet goodness” of some healthier treats. Who wouldn’t love a “cookie” that was good enough to eat for breakfast? All hands raised here! And did I mention the fact that they are gluten-free, no sugar added, and non- dairy? Here ya go my friends…new month equals new creations in the kitchen!

Soft Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
(inspired by Amy @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free)
Yields 2 dozen small cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw, sliced almonds
1 1/4 cup Pamela’s Gluten free baking mix
1 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup apple juice (100 % juice)
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Cover the raisins and cranberries with the water in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes. Drain the raisins and reserve the soaking water.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Add the raisins and cranberries.
In a 2-cup wet measuring cup, pour in the apple juice, the reserved water, vanilla, and oil. Mix together. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Using a cookie scoop or a small ice-cream scoop, evenly portion the batter onto the prepared cookie sheet. Use moist fingertips to flatten the cookies to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, then individually wrap and freeze the leftovers.

Soaking the raisins and cranberries helps them to plump up and not get crispy while baking.

I think I’ve definitely got the baking itch…after all, ‘tis the season right? I just wish I had more of an “itch” to get the Christmas decorations up. Slowly, but surely, they are a comin’!

I love Holly Berries at Christmas

And lots of sparkles!

It’s kind of hard to see, but this is my princess Cailyn’s tree…decorated by none other than herself!

And my princess Makenna’s tree….just like her mama, ornaments evenly spaced!

I’ve been pre-occupied reading the mound of Christmas stories that we requested from the library along with some of our all-time favorites.
We’re having too much fun digging into the true meaning of CHRISTmas and enjoying these moments together as a family!

Nourishing Thought for Today:
Our family is excitedly getting ready for Christmas and though there may not be many gifts under the tree, we’re preparing our hearts to celebrate the greatest gift of all….God’s son, JESUS! Each night we’ll be taking the time to read scripture and pray together. We will be making sure that we are keeping God in all of our Christmas preparations and thus, be ready to celebrate Jesus’ birthday on Christmas day!

Let the countdown begin!

Blessings,
J’lene

Playing and Celebrating!

2011-11-29T18:17:00.001-08:00

Oh my goodness, it has taken me far too long to bring you a whole lot of “not much!” Things have been a bit hectic around here trying to get back into the swing of things with school and such, but I think we’re on our way. The house looks quite bare with all the Fall decorations packed away and the Christmas decorations still sitting all comfy like in the garage! I’ll get to it one of these days….maybe after the carpets get cleaned next week! Until then….

We spent the last day of our Thanksgiving vacation visiting some more family, eating leftovers, playing in the park, and playing in the last leaves of Fall!

And today we celebrated a VERY special birthday…my grandmother turned 90!!

Here she is telling little princess Cailyn the story of“The Night Before Christmas”….absolutely priceless!

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My Makenna helped her G.G. decorate the front of her house with her favorite “Santa” ornaments. We had a good time reminiscing as we sifted through all her prized ornaments….absolutely priceless!

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Some beautiful flowers she received from the family. They are just as beautiful as our G.G. is and we couldn’t have been more blessed to spend the afternoon with a woman who has brought our family so much love and joy over the years! Happy Birthday G.G.! We look forward to celebrating many more!

I promise I’ll get back on track tomorrow and bring some more yummy recipes your way! I have visions of “sweetness” dancing in my head!

Blessings,

J’lene

Thanksgiving Re-cap….

2011-11-25T19:01:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in the dessert this year…..sand, cacti, tumbleweeds, and all! Though the dessert may be dry and bland our year has been far from that. We have so much to be thankful for and we’ve been so incredibly blessed by our friends and family. I can tell you one thing…the hubs was SO THANKFUL to have some meat on his plate!

Some of the treats I shared ‘round the table this year….

Cranberry-Mango Spread

Heavenly Pumpkin Butter that I could eat straight from the jar…yep, it’s that good!

Buttery Pecan Biscuits (I just subbed in an all-purpose gluten-free flour so I could indulge on these lovely morsels) These were delicious covered (yes, covered) in Cranberry-Mango Spread and Pumpkin Butter

Zucchini Au Gratin…3 zucchinis cut into rounds and layered (like you would a lasagna) with onions and red peppers, then topped with gluten-free bread crumbs (mixed with some herbs and parmesan cheese) and some shredded mozzarella cheese! Bake @ 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

And for dessert….Pumpkin Dump Cake! Exactly how it sounds, you just “dump” everything in and put it in the oven (recipe to come!).

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Cookies for the princesses!

Apple Streusel Cake in a jar (gluten-free and vegan!)

There was no shortage of space for the princesses to run around….and pose for the camera!

She was covered from head to toe in dessert sand by the time we left!

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Dessert sculptures seemed to be the highlight of their day. Looked pretty darn scary if you ask me!

When all was said and done, I was thankful for our day spent together as a family and thankful that it still felt like a Thanksgiving meal even though there wasn’t a lick of turkey or potatoes on my plate! We spent the rest of the evening watching movies together, looking at all the “Black Friday” ads in the paper, eating cereal for a post-Thanksgiving meal, and sipping on warm Candy Cane green tea. Simply Fabulous!!

Today marks the beginnings of Christmas in our home….the hubs was up at the crack of dawn to go shopping and I spent the day getting the house cleaned and ready for new decorations to go up! Have a fabulous weekend!!

Blessings,

J’lene

I tackled the scary “yeast”…..

2011-11-21T19:23:00.001-08:00

I’ve always been fearful of making yeast breads because something always seems to go wrong. The yeast has to be comfortable in it’s home and I usually seem to make it uncomfortable…too hot or too cold! So, I’ve decided to start conquering my horrible fear of yeast today, giving myself ample time to come up with another plan if it fails. Prayerfully the result will be something everyone will want to eat at our Thanksgiving meal.

I decided to jump in head first and tackle “Gluten-free French Bread” and mind you, I don’t have a French bread pan! No worries, I made one myself!

It went a little something like this….
Roll up 3 portions of foil the length of your baking pan, with the center one being the thickest. Then lay a sheet (mine took 2) of foil over the entire baking pan and press down around the three folded portions.

Here’s my rendition. I’m sure yours will look a whole lot prettier….or you’ll save yourself the time and go buy a French bread pan!

With the pan ready to go, it was time to proof my yeast. I think I was so excited hearing the timer buzz after five minutes only to find a fabulous layer of foam on top of the “lukewarm” water, that I forgot to take a picture of the “proof!” So bummed! But so thrilled that I seemed to have gotten it right on the first try. Into the dry ingredients it went, along with a few egg whites and grapeseed oil and mixed ever-so-gently.

I divided the dough between my make-shift pans, gave it a light brush of oil and covered it in a dishtowel for about 40 minutes to do it’s thing…it just looked so cozy in there, so I made sure to leave it alone!

It doubled in volume beautifully, so off to the oven it went. I had to resist the urge to peek because that is so detrimental to gluten free baked goods, especially bread!

Here’s my “Crunchy French Bread”….beautifully golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Crunchy French Bread (gluten-free)
Yields 2 loaves
Ingredients:
2 cups white rice flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp xanthum gum
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp organic cane sugar
1 Tbsp active yeast
3 whole egg whites, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp additional oil for brushing (optional)
Directions:
Combine the first four ingredients thoroughly.
Proof your yeast in the water and sugar mixture for 5 minutes. It should get foamy.
Slowly add the water, egg whites, and oil to the dry ingredients and beat with a mixer on medium for 2-3 minutes. It should be fairly thin batter for a bread dough (just slightly thicker than pancake batter).
Divide the dough in half and spread into each side of your “make-shift” French bread pan, lined with parchment paper. Brush the loaves with the reserved oil, if desired. You can add additional diagonal slices across the top of the bread dough, every few inches.
Allow dough to rise for about 35-40 minutes, until it is doubled in bulk (make sure it is not higher than the sides of the pan).
Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Raise the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove pan from oven. The bread should be light, crusty, and make a hollow sound when you knock on the crust. Remove loaves from pan and let cool.

I think this one is a winner and will be making it’s appearance, along with the cranberry-mango spread, at our Thanksgiving table!

Happy baking my friends! I look forward to hearing what you will be feasting on at your table!

Blessings,
J’lene

Cranberry-licious with a side of pumpkin…

2011-11-18T20:13:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Day is upon us and I’m excited to say that I’ll be contributing more than just a delicious “dessert” this year! Although, in our family, I have to say that dessert is ~~one of~~ the most important part of the meal. Needless to say, I’ve been ~~slaving~~ experimenting away in the kitchen for the last couple of days and I’m delighted to share some of the dishes that will be accompanying our Thanksgiving meal!

First up, cranberry sauce…or something like it, just a little better! Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan (nor the rest of my family) of the ever-so-popular sauce in a can that slides it’s gel-like self out onto the serving dish. But I love cranberries and it was inevitable that they be a part of our Thanksgiving meal.

Aren’t they beautiful?

And then they just became a little more beautiful as they simmered and mingled with some cinnamon, ginger, mangoes, and some orange.

And then a whole lot of cranberry-licious magic happened on the stove and we have the most amazing (according to me, myself, and I) Cranberry-Mango Spread (or sauce or chutney…whatever your little heart desires to call it!).

Oh how sweet it is!

So sweet that it didn’t take us long to polish off an entire jar in one day! Yeah, it’s that good…just sayin’!

Cranberry-Mango Spread

(inspired by Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga)

Yields 4 small canning jars

Ingredients:

1 12oz. bag of fresh cranberries

1/2 of a peeled orange, diced

1 tsp orange zest

3/4 cup mango, diced (frozen is fine)

1 1/4 cup water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup organic brown sugar, packed

1 tsp ground ginger (more or less to taste)

1 tsp cinnamon (more or less to taste)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer until desired thickness is reached. I let mine simmer for about 30-35 minutes to achieve a bit thicker of a sauce.

I kind of want to lick it right off the computer screen! I’ll refrain and just grab a spoon and a jar from the fridge.

It’s been awhile since I’ve made a loaf of bread and I had some bananas that were just begging to be used along with some leftover pumpkin sitting in the fridge looking all lonely-like. So, I got to work and ended up making what I think I can honestly say to be one of my favorite quick-breads! The bananas didn’t overpower the pumpkin in any way, the bread was moist, and I love the subtle nutty flavor from the almond meal. Ta-Da!

Pumpkin-Banana Bread

(inspired by Sarah @ Peas and Thank You)

Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup almond meal

1 chia egg (1 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp warm water, stir and let soak for about 5 minutes)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

1/2 cup organic brown sugar

1/4 cup Earth Balance

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

sliced almonds to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare loaf pan by spraying with a light coat of cooking spray. Set aside

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, Earth Balance, and pumpkin. Add the mashed bananas and chia egg. Add vanilla and milk and stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined.

Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan and scatter sliced almonds on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

Have a blessed weekend my friends!

Anything sweet cookin’ in your kitchen this weekend?

Blessings,

J’lene

Pizza Overload!

2011-11-15T19:22:00.001-08:00

What pizza is to my princesses, pumpkin is to me…it’s simply a necessity! And one can never have too much!

These last couple of weeks I have found myself scurrying around like a little mouse gathering supplies for her winter home. Amidst all my scurrying I have found myself “cheating” in the kitchen and have had my hand in some pretty '”throw-it-together” meals! You caught me…I’m guilty!

The other night was case in point. I needed an “easy peezy” meal that the family would love and I think I nailed it! Who doesn’t love themselves a little slice of pizza? We’re not talking the “frozen” kind, but we’re also not talking the “homemade fresh from the oven” kind either. We’re talking “semi-homemade” here! I do have some recipes for homemade pizza dough lurking in the back of my recipe box that I have yet to try, but there is something about bread dough that scares me. I’ll tackle it one of these days! But for now….

I used Immaculate Baking’s buttermilk biscuits as my pizza dough, grated some fresh mozzarella cheese, and added some homemade tomato sauce to make some pretty delicious “mini” pizzas.

The princesses helped me roll out the “dough” and pile on their favorite toppings.

Straight out of the oven…cheese was bubbly and golden and the biscuits provided a crispy, flaky crust.

Delish…or so I heard! Unfortunately, Immaculate Baking buttermilk biscuits are not gluten free and I was not able to indulge this time.

No worries, I had my fair share of indulging on this new dish…Pizza Soup! All the flavors of your favorite pizza wrapped up in a warm soup.

Pizza Soup
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 can organic diced tomatoes, juices included
1 8oz. jar of pizza sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
pinch of paprika or cayenne (I used paprika)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, pepper, and mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until softened (about 5 minutes).
Add garlic and cook another minute. Add the broth, tomatoes (and their juices), pizza sauce, water, seasonings, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender (about 15 minutes).
Enjoy warm with a little grated parmesan or shredded mozzarella on top!

Nourishing Thought for Today:
No matter what we do, we are not to complain or grumble (even when we don’t have the perfectly portioned plate of whole grains, fruits, and veggies)!

Sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to exercise or even eat right, but changing our attitudes and mindsets is an essential part in finding our inspiration. How about focusing on the benefits of exercising and eating well, set yourself some goals, look for improvements, do something (or cook something) you like, or spend time with God on a walk, run, or bike ride?

Do you treasure your body as a gift? God has gifted us with a “fearfully and wonderfully made” temple designed perfectly to glorify Him!

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” -Psalm 139:14

There is a holy call to worship our Creator by offering our bodies as a living sacrifice in gratitude for the price He paid for us!

Blessings,

J’lene

Tea for two…or five!

2011-11-13T16:38:00.001-08:00

Today we had a tea party fit for a princess…my princess Makenna, that is! She’d been dreaming up the idea of having a “tea party” for quite some time now, so I did what any mom would do for her little girl…I delivered the best tea party that I could! And I think the pictures speak for themselves!

She was honored to serve her guests on the finest china…her Great-Grandmother’s!

Thank you G.G. for making it such a special occasion!

“Tea Hats” of course!

You’re lookin’ at the “life of the party” right here! She brings me much joy…along with some gray hair too!

Priceless!

Makes my heart break seeing her turn another year older!

On our “Tea Menu”: fresh fruit (each girl had a small mason jar full of fresh fruit at the table), raspberry cream cheese tea sandwiches, and the choice of turkey and cheese or a pb&j sandwich.

Warm “Cream Scones” right out of the oven….

Melt in your mouth, especially with a little dab of lemon curd and Devonshire cream!

Rounding out the menu were these scrumptious tea cookies…a big hit with the little ladies!

There was plenty of eating, giggling, and sipping of tea going on at the table!

A smile that melts my heart!

Instead of gift bags each of the girls decorated purses to take home.

Happy Birthday my sweet Makenna!

When the Lord brought us you, He brought a little “sweetness” into our life and I thank Him for that everyday! You are a blessing, our shining star, our “undeserved gift,” a light in the darkness, a precious jewel, and so much more! We love you and wish you the Happiest Birthday and a year that you will never forget!

Cream Scones
Yields 12 scones
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1 cup organic heavy cream + 1/4 cup for brushing
Directions:
Preheat oven 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter (0r two knives), cut butter into the mixture until it is the size of large peas. Add the cream and stir just until the dough comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, gather it into a ball and knead until uniform. Pat the dough into a round about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out rounds (or you can use a cookie cutter). Turn the cutouts upside down and arrange on the baking sheet, about two inches apart. Gather the scraps, pat together, and cut out additional scones. Brush tops with cream.
Bake 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until golden. Let cool slightly. Serve warm.
Enjoy with some lemon curd, your favorite jam, and Devonshire cream!!

Blessings,
J’lene

Check your “control freak” at the kitchen door!

2011-11-10T15:27:00.001-08:00

Picky Eater Alert!! Yes, I have a picky eater on my hands and there has been days when I’m so ready to just throw in the towel and be done. I’ve listened to the doctors and nutritionists who say, “Just keep trying….keep introducing the same food about 10 times and eventually they will like it.”

We make family trips to the Farmer’s Markets with all of us picking out the fruits and vegetables that will be a part of our meals. The carrots and pears she so loved the week before won’t be touched with a ten foot pole this week!

I know she won’t go hungry, she will eventually come around and nibble something off her plate. I, however, am having a hard time being patient and waiting for her to “come around.” That is, until this weekend when I cracked open a new cookbook (Family Meals:Creating Traditions in the Kitchen) to browse through on our weekend getaway. I usually skip through all the front pages and get to the good stuff…the recipes! But the pictures in the front of this book caught my eye and curiosity got the best of me. The pictures were of two young girls with flour on their noses, aprons tied around their wastes, mixing spoons in hand, and well, you get the picture! So I read on, all the while thinking that I could never put into practice what this mother had so cleverly done. She had her girls preparing almost every meal in the kitchen right along with her (by age 7 one of her daughters was rolling out corn tortillas for the whole family!). This mother had her two girls, at very young ages, take “ownership” of the family meals.

I’ve often entertained the thought of having the princesses cook with me (they like to bake cookies or granola bars with me at times), but I really do like my space in the kitchen. I like things organized (surprise! surprise!) and I like to clean as I go. Let’s just say that I have a system goin’ on in the kitchen and bringing the princesses in would probably throw it completely off whack. Can you say “Control Freak?!” Control freak or not, I’m ready to take the plunge, show my princesses their way around the kitchen, and remind myself that there is nothing that can’t be mopped up or wiped down!

So, I checked my “control freak” at the kitchen door, asked the Lord to take over, rolled up my sleeves, tied up our aprons, and away we went. I am SO BUMMED that I didn’t get any pictures of this historical event that took place in our home, but my hands were a bit occupied trying to manage a four-year old cutting squash and zucchini with a butter knife and catching potato and carrot peels that my seven-year old just couldn’t manage to get in the trashcan! It was a three-ring circus in my kitchen, but I remained calm and all appendages remained in tact. The princesses learned how to cut and peel veggies, how to saute an onion, use a can-opener, and my 7 year-old did a mighty fine job of reading the recipe!

We laid the foundation for a new tradition in our kitchen and together we made:

Three Bean Soup with Vegetables
Yields 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 can diced tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 cup brown rice pasta, uncooked
1/2 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Directions:
In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth, water, tomatoes with the juice, cabbage, potato, zucchini, squash, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add remaining ingredients (pasta and beans) and return to a boil.
Reduce heat slightly and cook, uncovered, until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Enjoy with a warm slice of French bread!!

As the soup simmered away on the stove, the princesses kept a close watch over their creation. And me, I was praying that the Lord would prepare my heart for whatever the reaction was to be, from the ever-so-picky one, before we sat down to the dinner table. There was a chance that my picky princess would not enjoy this meal she labored so hard at making and I didn’t want my frustrations to get the best of me.

We sat down at the table, said our prayers and began sharing with one another about our day. Much to my surprise, my little Cailyn didn’t have a whole lot to say because she was filling her mouth with spoonful after spoonful of soup! Before I even had a chance to ask she was eagerly shouting across the table, “Look Mommy, I ate all my soup that I made!”
So, last night was a success and I praise the Lord that there is hope for all those picky eaters out there (I know I was once one of them)! I’m not quite ready to make this an everyday event, but we’ve definitely made it a new weekly family tradition!

Nourishing Thought for Today:
Do you cook with your family? And does it make a difference with how your kids eat?

Blessings,
J’lene

A Weekend to Remember….

2011-11-08T10:29:00.001-08:00

The hubs and I just returned from a relaxing weekend getaway. We had the privilege to attend the Family Life Weekend to Remember Conference in Carlsbad, Ca. We used this weekend as a time of refreshment, a time to put all distractions aside and focus on our relationship with the most important person on earth! Sappy, I know! It gets better, check this out…

You see, typically I make the hotel reservations (it takes me a month to read up on all the reviews before I settle on the one I like and the one we can afford!) and I like to make time to look up restaurants in the area, so we’re not driving around in circles for hours trying to decide where we should eat. I know it sounds crazy, but I struggle with being spontaneous. This time we made the hotel reservations together, but because I had my mind focused on making sure that all the school work was completed, getting the princesses packed, getting ourselves packed, getting my hair trimmed (very important task!), and making sure all the bills were paid and in the mail before we left, the hubs took it upon himself to make the “eating arrangements.” Not only did he google “healthy restaurants in Carlsbad,” but he also printed out directions how to get from our hotel to the restaurant and back to the conference! That in itself made it a “Weekend to Remember” for me! When all was said and done, I had a variety of restaurants to choose from that offered a variety of gluten free and vegetarian meals, which meant that I didn’t have to eat a salad at every meal! Here’s some of the places we enjoyed…

TinLeaf Fresh Kitchen

I ordered the “build your own salad” meal….fresh mixed greens, avocado, roasted almonds, cucumbers, carrots, and chickpeas topped with a basil balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

The hubs’ mouth was drooling over the backyard bbq sandwich, which had a hefty portion of tri-tip, caramelized onions, natural cheddar cheese, and bbq sauce served on an artisan roll with a side of Belgian-style fries (I swiped some of the fries and they were delish!)

With bellies full we headed up to the evening session of the conference where we learned that simply understanding the things that threaten our marriage can help us achieve oneness instead of drifting toward isolation. Some of the things that make us “drift toward isolation” in our marriages are following our culture’s pattern for marriage, failing to make necessary adjustments to move toward oneness, failure to grasp God’s perspective on difficulties and problems, escaping extramarital affairs (this is an escape from reality or a search for fulfillment outside of marriage, including activities, materialism, careers, family, and fantasies), and when husbands and wives are selfish. At this point my eyelids were beginning to droop, so off to the hotel we went (thanks to the hubs wonderful directions we didn’t get lost in the dark!). I was very happy with our accommodations….

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Reading materials for the weekend!

For Pastor Appreciation week we were blessed with an array of gift certificates and we put a few to good use. Saturday morning we visited this lovely coffee shop.

Peet’s Coffee and Tea

We visited Peet’s twice during our trip…the first time I ordered a small Marsala Chai Tea Latte and the hubs tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte

It was love at first sip! But even better was the second time around when we both enjoyed a Peppermint Hot Cocoa on the drive home!

After the morning session on Saturday we had a bit of a break and decided to head back to the hotel and get a little workout in before lunch. The hubs and I haven’t worked out together in a VERY LONG time and so we thoroughly enjoyed each others’ company! I don’t know how much working out we got accomplished, but we had fun!

My side of the workout room.

I really did run and I really did realize that I miss having a treadmill at home.

The hubs’ side of the workout room. Although he was bummed the weights only went up to 50 lbs!

My “muscle-man!”

The evening session of the conference ended late afternoon on Saturday and we were given the rest of the day to spend as a “Date Night”. The hubs treated me to dinner at Las Olas for a fresh Mexican meal and shopping at the Carlsbad Outlet Mall (purchased a couple of Christmas gifts for the princesses and a sweater for myself!). Can you say “brownie points?” It was a fabulous evening!

The hubs had the “Taco and Enchilada” combo meal…and yes, it was full of meat!

I ordered the “Charbroiled Fish Taco” plate with black beans and rice. It was delish, but I only made it through one of the tacos!

I had to save room for some “froyo” at Xtreme Yogurt later. I had no problem (sweets are definitely my weakness!) devouring my dessert, so quickly that I forgot to take a picture. Just in case you really wanted to know, there was chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla topped with roasted almonds and snickers! It was a great way to end a great day!

Thanks to the time change we enjoyed sleeping in a bit on Sunday morning. We enjoyed a light breakfast at the hotel before heading back over to the conference for the last two sessions. The hubs went to the “Man to Man” session, while I went to the “Woman to Woman” session where I learned some of the tools to help me become the kind of wife and mother God has designed me to be. One of the principles that really stood out for me in this session was this…”biblical priorities are at the heart of becoming the wife and mother God intends us to be.” My relationship with God comes first, followed by my support of my husband and the care of my children.

There was no doubt that we enjoyed our getaway in Carlsbad, we savored our time together, and we walked away with tools to help us become better spouses and parents. But I think the most memorable moment of our weekend was when we re-committed our vows to one another, reminding us of our marriage covenant the day we said “I do!”

Saying “good-bye” to Carlsbad…

And heading back home.

The hubs and I left with a sense of encouragement and hope, along with some practical tools that will help build our marriage and strengthen our legacy. It was surely a Weekend to Remember in more ways than one!

Oh! And the hubs also left hungry, so our last stop was here at Elevation Burger.

The hubs indulged in a grass-fed, organic beef cheeseburger. He said it reminded him of the ever popular “In-N-Out” burger, but fresher!

I enjoyed a veggie burger with pickles and elevation sauce (creamy, sweet sauce), all wrapped up in lettuce. Oh YUM!!

The princesses greeted us with open arms and lots of hugs and kisses! Oh, it was good to be home!

Nourishing Thought for Today:

A wise woman depends on God.
A strong woman demonstrates love for her husband by respecting and supporting him.
An effective mother lovingly teaches and trains her children.

Here’s a sneak peak at some of our new reading materials!

God’s power is always available for you to accomplish God’s plan for your life!

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.” -Psalm 54:4

Blessings,

J’lene

Cuttin’ and a pickin’…

2011-11-02T20:19:00.001-07:00

Oh my, the wind was a blowin’ in our neck of the woods today! And although it didn’t stop us from going out and about, it did stop me from getting up early and heading out for my morning run. I’m a total wimp when it comes to cold weather. Throw in the wind and I’m done for!

So, I opted to stay inside and make it a “Wii” run day. I ran for 30 minutes and added in some boxing to complete my workout. Then I pulled out my kettle bells to do a core workout. I definitely got my sweat on…in my jammies, none-the-less! Rounded out my workout with a smoothie and I was good to go!

It was haircuttin’ day for the princesses. My princess Makenna has been growing out her bangs and was ready to make the plunge and go short!

Going…

Gone!

My beautiful baby…growing up WAY too fast. It’s hard for me to believe she’ll be turning 8 in a week!

My princess Cailyn informed me that she would only be getting her bangs cut because she was letting her hair grow long like Rapunzel’s!

I told her she needed to sit still while her sister got her haircut, so she wiggled to the music while sitting on the chair! This is progress for her!

The hair stylist just asked her if she had “ants in her pants” because she was having a hard time sitting still!

I am convinced that the word “still” is not in her vocabulary, so I asked her to sing us a song to momentarily distract her wiggles! It worked…for about two seconds!

All done and proud that her hair is much longer than her sister’s!

Now that all our hair’s were cut, it was time for some serious veggie pickin’. Remember that monstrous zucchini I was blessed with awhile back? Today the princesses and I were blessed to be able to go to the garden where it was grown. We were in for a real treat because heaven knows the only thing I’m good at growing are weeds!

There were brilliantly colored banana peppers…

Lemon cucumbers…which I didn’t even know existed!

Green and red bell peppers…

And yes, more zucchini! And a spaghetti squash to round out our garden treasures! Thank you Miss Trish for blessing our family with such a fabulous bounty of veggies!

Dinner was, you guessed it, full of fresh veggies! I fixed these mini frittatas with red peppers, broccoli, zucchini, and a little cheese. These are always a hit with our family (even my picky eater) and are easy to prepare…pick your favorite veggies, add a few eggs, and you’re good to go!

I like to make them in a muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray. This makes it fun for the princesses to create their own….perfect size for little hands!

Oh Yumm!

I think spaghetti squash is on the menu for tomorrow night, but for now I’m thinking something sweet is calling my name. How about a Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip cookie…or two?!

I’ll be dreaming up some more zucchini recipes as my head hits the pillow tonight! What’s your favorite zucchini recipe?

Blessings,

J’lene

Cuttin’ and a pickin’…

2011-11-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

So, I opted to stay inside and make it a “Wii” run day. I ran for 30 minutes and added in some boxing to complete my workout. Then I pulled out my kettle bells to do a core workout. I definitely got my sweat on…in my jammies, none-the-less! Rounded out my workout with a smoothie and I was good to go!

It was haircuttin’ day for the princesses. My princess Makenna has been growing out her bangs and was ready to make the plunge and go short!

Going…

Gone!

My beautiful baby…growing up WAY too fast. It’s hard for me to believe she’ll be turning 8 in a week!

My princess Cailyn informed me that she would only be getting her bangs cut because she was letting her hair grow long like Rapunzel’s!

I told her she needed to sit still while her sister got her haircut, so she wiggled to the music while sitting on the chair! This is progress for her!

The hair stylist just asked her if she had “ants in her pants” because she was having a hard time sitting still!

I am convinced that the word “still” is not in her vocabulary, so I asked her to sing us a song to momentarily distract her wiggles! It worked…for about two seconds!

All done and proud that her hair is much longer than her sister’s!

Now that all our hair’s were cut, it was time for some serious veggie pickin’. Remember that monstrous zucchini I was blessed with? Today the princesses and I were blessed to be able to go to the garden where it was grown. We were in for a real treat because heaven knows the only thing I’m good at growing are weeds!

There were brilliantly colored banana peppers…

Lemon cucumbers…which I didn’t even know existed!

Green and red bell peppers…

And yes, more zucchini! And a spaghetti squash to round out our garden treasures! Thank you Miss Trish for blessing our family with such a fabulous bounty of veggies!

I like to make them in a muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray. This makes it fun for the princesses to create their own….perfect size for little hands!

Oh Yumm!

I think spaghetti squash is on the menu for tomorrow night, but for now I’m thinking something sweet is calling my name. How about a Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip cookie…or two?!

I’ll be dreaming up some more zucchini recipes as my head hits the pillow tonight! What’s your favorite zucchini recipe?

Blessings,

J’lene

Bye! Bye! Sugar….

2011-11-01T20:40:00.001-07:00

October came and went faster than I could say, “Boo!” We’ve all come out of our sugar-coma from last night…well, almost all of us! I think I’m still in my coma or at least I’m pretending because of the overwhelming amount of tasks I have to accomplish this week.

Today we rid our home of all the sugary ~~garbage~~ treats that haunts me this time of year! The hubs and I decided that we would put the candy to good use and participate in a “candy buy back” in order to help raise money for a little boy in our town who desperately needs a kidney. For every pound of candy collected $2.00 will get donated to baby Liam. You can see more details about the cause here. The princesses couldn’t have been more excited to gather monstrous amounts of candy for baby Liam and I couldn’t have been more excited that they wouldn’t be consuming the massive amounts of candy that overflowed from their buckets.

Our day of Halloween fun looked something like this (with some school work thrown in the midst of it all…because homeschooling is portable you know!)…

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(Harvest Festival)

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(Paddle boats, picnicking, and bike riding at Santee Lakes)

Here’s how “Sleeping Beauty” and “Princess Tiana” did on their mission for candy!

And now it’s time to say “Good Bye”….I know, it’s a bittersweet ending!

I know it’s after the fact (just couldn’t get my act together last week), but we did carve pumpkins this year and we sure did make a mess of it. Despite all the pumpkin “goo” all over my kitchen, we ended up with some pretty yummy roasted pumpkin seeds!

(My hand at carving!) (The hubs’ hand at carving…Arrgh!!!)(Olive-oil and sea salt on the left and cinnamon-sugar on the right)

Speaking of pumpkin, I was SO VERY disappointed when Costco told me they had sold out of pumpkin puree! Oh the nerve of them!!

Thankfully I had just enough left in my pantry to whip up some Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Cookies (with some added white chocolate chips this time!), Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars, and some Pumpkin Coffee Cake for breakfast. There’s no shortage of “sweet” treats in our home, but at least I know what they’re made out of!

(making my own oat flour!)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
(inspired by Sarah @ Peas and Thank You)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (can sub in whole wheat)
1 cup gluten free oat flour (finely ground rolled oats in your food processor or blender)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
Crumb Topping:
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp organic cane sugar
3 Tbsp brown rice flour (can sub whole wheat)
2 1/2 Tbsp Earth Balance
1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 inch baking dish by lightly coating with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and sugar and mix well.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and combine well, without over-mixing.
In a small bowl, combine the crumb topping ingredients and mix with a fork until the butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.
Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with the crumb topping mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(You will not be disappointed with this moist and flavorful breakfast, or anytime, cake!)

I hope and pray that everyone is enjoying their first day of November! And now I’m off and running…literally, or I’ll be late getting my princess Makenna to her guitar lessons!

Blessings,
J’lene

Warm and spicy…

2011-10-26T20:11:00.001-07:00

I’m liking that the days are feeling a bit more Fall-like…crisp and cool. It’s making me want to be in the kitchen more, making meals and goodies that warm the insides! So, I tied on my apron and got to work…in the midst of the school work, going to the grocery story, and making a library run.

There were still more apples begging to be sliced, chopped, and peeled. Here’s what I had in store for them….

(A warm buttery crunch on the outside, with a warm apple-cinnamon center…Oh Yumm!)

Apple Streusel Bars
(inspired by Angela @ Oh She Glows)
Yields 16 bars
Ingredients:
For Base:
1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup organic brown sugar, lightly packed
1 chia egg (1 Tbsp chia seeds + 4 Tbsp warm water, let soak for about 5 minutes)
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp almond milk, unsweetened
For Apple Center:
3-4 apples, peeled, thinly sliced, and chopped
2 Tbsp Earth Balance
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp organic brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of sea salt
Streusel Topping:
2 Tbsp organic brown sugar
1 Tbsp Earth Balance
2 Tbsp brown rice flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper and spray the sides of the pan.
In a medium sized sauce pan, add the “Apple Center” ingredients (chopped apples, butter, maple syrup, and spices). Heat over low, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, until the apples soften and the mixture thickens a bit.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the “Base” ingredients together (oats, flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt).
In a small mixing bowl, mix the melted Earth Balance, maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, and chia egg. Stir until well combined.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix well. Set aside 1/2 cup of the “Base” mixture. Pour the remaining mixture onto the prepared pan and press down with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Pour on the cooked apple mixture and smooth out evenly.
Prepare the “Streusel Topping” by mixing all the ingredients together with a fork or your fingers. Sprinkle on the reserved “Base” mixture and the streusel topping over the apple mixture.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Allow to fully cool in the pan (30-40 minutes) before removing to cut into bars.

These bars make a wonderful addition to breakfast or wrap up individually and freeze for later use as dessert or an afternoon snack with a cup of tea!!

Don’t mind if I do…

(My new favorite tea…found it on our family outing to Julian)

(Just as much as I loved the comfort of the warm streusel bar this afternoon, I savored those words printed on the front of my tea cup! God knew the words I needed to see today and He placed them right in front of me!)

Okay, it has literally taken me all day to finish up this post, so I’m ready to relax on the couch, watch Survivor with the hubs, and ~~inhale~~ have another streusel bar (I think I’ve earned it!) There is Apple Bread in the works, but the first loaf turned out a little dry for my liking. There’s always tomorrow!

Blessings,

J’lene