Ask and You Shall Receive ...

A slow, slow evening at work the other night gave some co-workers of mine and me a chance to sit around and talk about one of my all-time favorite topics....one that makes my neck get red & splotchy from my excitment...organic food. I love talking food with people...organic produce, recipes, homemade food, budgeting for organic food, growing a garden of food--any & all things food!! I get especially pumped when others get as excited as I do about cleaning out the cupboards and refrigerator and converting to an all-natural lifestyle. Stinkin' love it! It's even better when others understand the rationale for needing organic and natural food in your life. But that's an entire post in itself...and trust me, I will go there soon. Right after I finish the book Food, Inc. Actually, let me rephrase that...I don't believe that we need to eat everything organic...just food without the added hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, preservatives, and chemicals. And you better be able to pronounce every ingredient in that bottle or box of 'food'. There's plenty of food out there that doesn't contain these things and they're not necessarily 'organic'.  To my excitement, a few folks are asking me for recipes and ideas for healthy snacks for their families, and I've got quite a few to share! I thought I'd post the recipes on here for whomever wants them! And because I think food education is necessary these days, I'll try to occassionally post some food facts. Everybody will learn a valuable thing or two about the food in our lives by reading this blog. ;-)


Enjoy the recipes--let me know how they turn out or if you find others! You know I'm crazy about new recipes--especially for convenience foods that I can make at home!


Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread
The best part of this bread is the way it toasts. Wow! The cinnamon sugar crust on the outside gets all sweet & warm...slap some high-quality butter on a slice of this toast and you'll melt along with it.


Homemade Pizza Dough...the best ever.
I've tried a quite a few homemade pizza doughs in my day...this one tops them all. Not. even. kidding. Stromboli...calzone...pepperoni rolls...endless possibilities.
The Most Amazing Hamburger Buns
Who woulda thought? Homemade hamburger buns? Whip this dough together, let it rise once, and then wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for burger night. This brioche is nice and fluffy and slightly sweet. But not too sweet--I have a diabetic husband! Annie also has a honey wheat bun recipe that is currently sitting in my freezer...waiting for burger night. ;)

Homemade Granola Bars
Yield: About 10 bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup salted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped cranberries and the few leftover raisins from cinnamon raisin walnut bread :)

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oatmeal, almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ in a bowl and spread on sheet pan. Bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Lightly toasted is good. Remove from oven and decrease temperature to 300 degrees. Pour oatmeal mixture into a large bowl. Combine honey, brown sugar, and vanilla in small bowl and pour over warm oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle with salt and add dried fruit, stirring to evenly coat all ingredients with the honey mixture. Line sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease paper. Pour granola bar mixture onto sheet pan and distribute evenly. Press the mixture into the pan...firmly...quite a few times...you want these bars to stick together! Using plastic wrap to press on the mixture worked best for me. Place bars into oven (remember 300 degrees!) and bake for 25 minutes. Let bars cool for 2 hours before cutting. I used a heavy duty serrated knife to cut these. Turned out delicious! Sweet, salty, and slightly crunchy.







I know what you're thinking..."Yea, sounds good Liz...but not practical...I don't have time to make all this stuff!" Two questions I hear all the time are, "How do you do it?" and "Why do you do it?" Here's my best answer for "How?": Take one day every couple weeks and have a marathon of baking & making. You can freeze all this dough so you can use it whenever you're ready for it! You'll have the freshest, best-tasting, homemade goodies, and you'll have total control over the ingredients that you're putting into your little-ones bellies...and your own!

And the "Why?": Since I got serious about this natural lifestyle revamp...so, about 2 years ago now...my eyes have been opened to the real hidden world of food. I was a bit naive before I got into "fooding" and thought that, of course, the food on the store shelves is safe and "healthy" for consumers. Of course it is, right? Um, no. After much research into the organic food vs conventional food battle, I have learned that you really can't trust that the FDA is allowing only the safest food  onto the market. I'm not a political person...but when it comes to the food made available to us in supermarkets, it really is all politics...not safety...or nutrition. It comes down to money...power...and mass productions. Really...in all seriousness...watch the documentary Food, Inc and then tell me that you're okay with where our nation's food crisis stands. The politics behind the most basic substance of our existence are out-of-this-world-ridiculous. The obesity rate and climb in childhood neurological disorders in this country should tell us all something. Ooooh, but I'll save all this talk for another post! :) I'll just say that what we don't know about our food does hurt us! Whether we are willing to acknowlege it or not! Anyway, another answer to "Why?" is that making your own simple convenience foods will save you tons of money! I have cut back our grocery bill by a lot...and I'm almost a little embarrased to say by how much...I spend about 40% less nowadays (that's ballpark--I should figure it out for real)!! Gah!!! Think about it...a good, healthy loaf of bread at the grocery store will cost you $2.49-$4.99 (just what I've seen). Making it at home...with all natural or organic ingredients...all of which you can pronounce...will cost pennies. Sure getting started with the ingredients costs more...but you can make like 10 loaves (or something crazy like that) from those ingredients. Now, it's all about time management & organization...and really, time is not the real issue...we make time for the things that are important to us. It's just about figuring out if a natural lifestyle is important to you!

Ohmigosh!!!

I just came across the ultimate whole wheat bread recipe and it is so aah-mazing that I had to jump on here and share this awesome recipe!!! Okay, so, a few people have hit me up lately asking for good bread recipes and this one tops any and all that I've ever made. This is the only wheat bread recipe I will ever use again! I have a bread maker and have been trying the wheat bread recipes that came with the machine up until now. They have been okay, but I was searching for something I can use as an everyday bread for sandwiches, toast, etc. The bread maker is good for some types of bread, but not for an everyday bread in my opinion. For one thing, the bread pan is one size and the larger of a loaf you make, the taller the bread gets...which is not so good for an everyday bread...it needs to be longer like the loaves you buy at the store...know what I mean? Plus, I wanted a dough that I could keep on hand at all times and be able to freeze so I can use it anytime I needed it. Well folks, I just found it...light, fluffy, wholesome, moist, slightly nutty (strangely there are not nuts in the recipe), and straight-up dreamy... mmm mmmmm. Try it. You'll fall in love, too.

Look at these golden loaves! Seriously delicious...and we're kind of picky bread people around here. ;)

Slices like a butter with just a serrated knife and holds up to a hearty chicken salad sandwich. Holy wheat bread it's incredible...

Whole-Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye

Yield: two 9-inch loaves

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups warm water (about 100°)

1 ½ tbsp. instant yeast

¼ cup honey

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 ½ tsp. salt

¼ cup rye flour

½ cup toasted wheat germ

3 cups whole-wheat flour

2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey, butter and salt with a rubber spatula. Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup of each of the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours.

2. Add the remaining whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, attach the dough hook and knead at low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead just long enough to make sure that the dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. Heat the oven to 375°. Gently press down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Gently press each piece into a rectangle about 1-inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side of the dough facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing down to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place each cylinder of dough into a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, seam-side down, pressing the dough gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover the shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim reads 205°, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to a wire rack; cool to room temperature.

If you're mixing this dough by hand, like I did (it's so easy, don't freak :), combine the water, yeast, honey, butter, salt, rye flour, and wheat germ. Add 2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour and 2 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour to mixture and reserve the last 1/4 cup of wheat flour for dusting and adding to mixture once ready to knead. Knead the dough on a flat surface sprinkled with flour for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, but no more than the 1/4 cup you reserved of the wheat flour. Continue to step #3.
Source: Brown-Eyed Baker

Crazy Apes!

Ava & I visited the Columbus Zoo this morning with my friend Christy. We love, love, loooove the Zoo...Christy & I that is! Especially the Columbus Zoo...it's seriously one of the best zoos ever...in Ohio at least! And just 10 minutes down the road from our house! Ava will soon learn to love the zoo too, I'm sure! Today, she was kind of like...hmmm, what's all the hype about guys...I can't even see half the animals you're pointing out...and to me they all look like big "Orsha's"! We packed some food for a picnic lunch and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for our zoo trip...65-72 degrees and sunny. Christy & I both bought zoo passes today...so there will be many more trips this year. Can't wait for Zoombezi Bay to open!

Sweet Pea--all ready to go in Big Red!

I took like 4 million pictures, so I tried to narrow them down on here. ;o)

The Zoo's newest baby elephant! Shoot...can't remember his name though.

Ava, that's a mighty big rhino behind you!!

Checking out the flying foxes with Christy...I was waiting for her to say 'Batman!' because that's our babysitter's son's favorite super hero and she hears alllll about him! She actually said "batman" last week...sheesh, and here I thought she'd say princess first or something. ;o)

This lion(ess?) was roaring so loud it actually made my chest vibrate! She (or he? but I thought the females were mane-less like this one...but anywhoo.) was fiesty today! You can't tell by the picture...but believe me...

Christy & Ava

Checking out the fishies...she had more fun climbing up and tapping the glass than actually looking at the fish, I think. I know...bad mommy...don't let your child tap on the glass...

A baby gibbon! This lil guy was so cute! The zoo is filled with babies in spring!

Ah-hem...not your best side my buddy gorilla....this is kinda gross, but she's actually eating her vomit out of her hand. I know, I know, "Whhyyyy Liz, are you sharing that!?" Sorry...but I thought it was interesting...kinda.

Now, this guy is buff!!!! And he was fiesty as well!! He sat really close to the glass and stared at us for awhile and then took off past us and swatted the glass right where we were standing. Freaky!!! And No, my daughter was not tapping on the glass...but she might've been giving him googly eyes. I actually think he had the hots for Christy. ;)

You look a little bored big lady...and I mean "big lady" with all due respect. :o)

What a life...lounging in her hammock. I love gorillas, apes, monkeys--all of 'em!! But especially gorillas...they are absolutely fascinating...so human-like...even their facial expressions...and the way they reach down and scratch their knee....or pick their nose and eat their boogers....it's just unreal!! I would die to be the next Jane Goodall. What a lucky woman... study apes all day? I'd do it in a heart beat! :) Christy and I decided that one day we should come to the zoo and park our booties on a bench right in front of the gorilla cage. It would be so entertaining...

That's the World's Stinkiest Flower sculpture that Ava's sitting upon. She enjoyed it...even if she did smell like a cross between dirty socks and a stinky skunk when she got off of it.

If you haven't been to the zoo this year I highly recommend putting it on your to-do list!!! The place is fantastic! The new polar bear exhibit opens May 6th, and it looks like it's going to be awesome! And call me up when you go...cause we would looove to join you!

18 Months of Pure Bliss!!

Ava-cakes is 18 months old already! She has never been more fun than she is right now. Gosh, I wish time would just stand still so I can soak up every last bit of her! She's talking, running, jumping, following directions, pretending, and changing before our very own eyes everyday.

Ava's word bank is huge! She says about 30+ words (of course we've counted!) including...daddy, mommy, kitty, bye, hi, hot, cup, dink (drink), cheese (her favorite!), cacka (cracker), orsh (portia), bobble (bottle), gah (gone), boo-boo, shoes, and many, many more that I can't recall at this very moment. She shakes her head "no" when she doesn't want something and is catching onto nodding her head "yes" when she does want something. Too cute...

She knows every part of her body and points to it when you ask her too--even her teeth! She follows directions really well...ahem--so far. :) I'll say, "take this to daddy please" or "throw that away please" and sure enough, she does it! She's started to associate things with us as well, such as daddy's clothes, mommy's purse, etc. I was folding clothes today and I was hanging one of Eric's shirts up and Ava pointed at the shirt and said, "dats daddys." So cool to see her thinking and putting concepts together. When we get ready to leave the house, she grabs her little purse, puts it on her shoulder, and says "bye keety, bye keety" and waves bye-bye to the kitty. Her and that sweet little voice of hers makes me just wanna gobble her up!! She had her 18 month checkup this week and our little heifer weighs 27 lbs and is 33 inches tall. Dr. Brown seemed pretty pleased with her development and told us to take in all that we can of her at this stage because it goes by so fast..not that we haven't noticed that already! He said she would probably catch onto potty training really quickly, so we could start trying that out if we wanted. Our baby is nearly a full fledged toddler...it won't be long before she's talking in sentences and telling us what she wants! Hmmm...makes me almost ready to fill this house with another tiny one! I said, almost ready... ;o)

She loves berries and cheese (like, with every square inch of her heart!), having lunch outside, wearing mommy & daddy's shoes around the house, just being outside--rain or shine!, playing with other kids, going on walks with "orsh", trying to dress herself (and undress herself!), running around the house half nakie, dancing! (usually half nakie!), looking for airplanes, and rough-housing with her daddy--matter of fact, she likes anything that revolves around her daddy. She's in love with him. Head. Over. Heels. It's a very interesting phenomenon. They dance together, romp around together, eat kettle-style popcorn together, tinker in the garage together, and she steals piggy-back rides from him at every opportunity...it's unbelievable. They have become best buddies. We can't walk through the garage to the car without Ava pointing to daddy's 4 wheeler and saying, "daddys," and when I load the dishwasher and she sees his favorite cup that he always drinks out of, again she says, "daddys." And when he comes home from work--oooooohhhh, it's all over...mama's immediately chopped liver! Haha! I love seeing those two together...I hope they always stay so sweetly close.

Really...you just gotta love her... in all her ornery glory.

Yummo! Tuna salad sandwich dipped in yogurt! Eww. She dips everything in yogurt!

Ava and "Orsh"

On airplane watch! She looooves looking for airplanes!

There it is!!

She loves getting under our covers on our bed...and brushing her teeth in our bed. :)

Gotta try out the foot of the bed, too!

2 Years and Counting!!

Eric & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last Monday. It's been an eventful 2 years filled with some of the best memories of my entire life!! I spent the entire day just thinking about that day 2 years ago when we anxiously, yet peacefully, exchanged our vows and started a new chapter--well, more like a new series in our life together. I really can't even put in words how much I appreciate Eric & I's relationship and am proud of our dedication to our marriage. We learn new relationship skills everyday it seems. Times get a little tricky now and then, especially while trying to juggle parenting, working, and our social lives, but God knows I love this journey we're on. Bring on 50 more years!!! :~)

Let's take a little trip down memory lane....Ahhh, I loved that April 12th day in 2008!

Now, for our anniversary, a couple of real sweet Baldner's insisted on--no wait--they down-right demanded that they watch our daughter for a few hours while we went to dinner. I would say that we hesitated a moment at their offer, but we more or less pummeled it--like a lion on its prey--the offer went up in the air and we jumped on it at lightning speed!! You must be thinking, "Wow Liz. That eager to give up your daughter for an evening, huh?" And my quick response is, "You betcha!" Sometimes, I'd do anything for a babyless dinner date with my husband...just a nice glass of Pinot...relaxing...the dim lighting and savory aromas coming from the kitchen just put me in a warm & fuzzy state of mind. A state of mind where I'm not worried about picking up utensils off the floor that my daughter has thrown there, or dodging mashed potatoes as she flings them through the air, or hushing her as she belts out a shrill, hair-raising squeal. Just peace and quiet with my husband and the relaxing effects of wine...a big glass...or two. :)

We started the evening with some good ol Red Stripe...in honor of Jamaica, where we went on our honeymoon. And although I wasn't able to thoroughly enjoy Red Stripe while we were in Jamaica...since I happened to be growing this little thing called a fetus in my belly...I decided we should have some on our anniversary...you know, for honor's sake. :)

We went to one of our favorite restaurants ever...Columbus Fish Market. The best Cedar Plank Salmon my taste buds have ever met.

And wouldn't you know, they gave me a rose at the end of dinner because we were celebrating our anniversary. See--I knew I loved that place. :)

And where else would we finish off our evening!?!? Lowe's! We were babyless people! Of course we were gonna hit up Lowe's and take our time browsing around thinking up ideas for the house. We even came home with a "Do-It-Yourself" book. :)

And just as a reminder hunny--There's no turning back now!!! heeeehehehe!

Click Here for a Smile !!

She's the best thing ever...

Quad Madness!!

Eric took a trip to Kentucky this weekend on a 4-wheeling trip with the fellas. Aaaand he only took 4 pictures...what's with that!? Such a boy. :) Actually, I was quite worried about our lil red camera and the journey it faced...first of all--Eric was the handler (yikes!), second of all--Eric was riding a dirty, muddy, 4 wheeler on bumpy trails (ahhh!). I was just happy that everyone and everything came home in the same condition that they left in!! He had a lot of fun....there were 16 guys total with their quads....need I say more? Their weekend was filled with loads of dirt, mud, dusty trails, beer, very little sleep, and other stuff that guys find to be fun...like watching wrestling. Speaking of very little sleep, Eric's in bed as I type...out cold. Bless his heart...

Umm...yes...that is a lady mannequin...don't ask me?

A Newly Discovered Favorite...

I've had the urge lately to try my hand at homemade yogurt making. It sounded so easy, economical, and homemade is always better, right!? Well, yogurt is no exception...homemade yogurt is the bomb!! My family goes through what seems like gallons of yogurt each week. While Eric isn't a huge yogurt fan, I love, love, love Stonyfield Farms yogurt in every variety, and Ava is hooked on Stonyfield Farms YoBaby or YoKids. The stuff is amazing...and Yoplait offers absolutely no comparison...even my once favorite thick-n-creamy custard style Yoplait doesn't even come close to the smooth, pure-tasting, creamy, organic bliss that Stonyfield offers. When I took a look at the ingredients list on the back of my Stonyfield yogurt container, all that was listed was organic low fat milk, pectin, and vitamin D. That's it. How simple...I like simple. So, I thought--hey, let me just do a little research and see how complicated of a process this might be, and to my giddy astonishment...it's so stinkin' easy. Even easier than making my own babyfood! :) I am hooked. The best part here is the money I'll save by making my own yogurt....check this out:

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt--Usually $0.99 per container which is 6 ounces--so I'll just say $1/container. I buy at least 6 containers (36 ounces) of these every week. My favorite math teacher Mr. Shaffer taught me that this would equal $6/ week (about $25/month)

Stonyfield Farms YoBaby--About $3.79/ 6-pack (4 ounce containers). At least one 6-pack (24 ounces) of these a week...usually more though. So, about $15-$20/ week.

Add them up and we consume about 240 ounces of yogurt/ month and I'm spending about $40-$45/ month on organic yogurt!!

Making my own:
Organic Whole Milk: $2.79/ quart (that's 32 ounces)
Organic Powdered Milk: $6.49 (the lifetime of this bag of powdered milk will vary depending on whether or not I use it each time for my yogurt--it's kind of an optional item, so this bag should last me a really long time.)
One container of Stonyfield Farm yogurt--$0.99 (this was a one time purchase to use as a starter for my homemade yogurt, but now I have my own yogurt to use as a starter for my next batch)
Organic wildflower honey--$3.99.

So, the math tells us that 240 ounces divided by 32 ....oh, never mind, I'll just cut to the chase....making my own yogurt will cost me roughly $20-$25/ month!  An all around win... 50% savings...all-organic...economical...delicious...and all the flavor combos I can create. I saw a goji berry mix at Whole Foods today that would be so yummy pureed & thrown in this homemade yogurt.

Now, onto the meat & potatoes of this post....

Homemade Yogurt How-To

1 Quart (4 Cups) Fresh, Organic Whole Milk
2/3 Cup Powdered Milk
1/2 Cup Fresh Organic Yogurt with active cultures (most yogurts have active cultures)

A couple notes:
*You can use 2%, 1%, or skim milk if you wanted to. I used whole milk because I want thick & creamy yogurt and until I am an 'professional' yogurt maker, I figured full fat milk would yield best results--which it has! I'll try a low-fat milk next time and see how it goes.
*The powdered milk isn't necessarily needed--you can make yogurt without it--but if you're using a lower-fat milk the yogurt tends to be runnier and the powered milk helps thicken it up a bit.
*The organic yogurt is just a one time purchase--you need the yogurt to use as a starter to get the bacteria in the milk which develops the yogurt. After you make a batch then you'll have your own yogurt to use as a starter for subsequent batches.

3 Simple Ingredients.

First, heat the milk and powdered milk in a 2 qt saucepan, until it reaches 180*, stirring frequently to avoid scorching--you definitely want to avoid scorching and boiling. This picture clearly is not showing what I described above, but rather Step 2, which is to place the saucepan in a sink of cold water to bring the temperature down to about 110*. You don't have to put it in cold water, you could just let the milk sit at room temperature and wait for the temperature to fall to 110*...but that method is for patient folks. :)

Once the milk is cooled to 110*, pour the milk into a glass quart jar--I have plenty of them around from canning. You want to make sure the jar is sterilized to assure the bacteria in the jar won't interfere with the bacteria that will be producing the enzymes that turn the milk into yogurt--thankfully my dishwasher took care of that step for me. Then wrap some towels around your quart jar--this will provide insulation and help keep your milk at 110* for the next 6-8 hours. Place your wrapped up quart jar in the oven with the light turned on. The oven doesn't need to be turned on, just have the oven light on and that will provide enough warmth to help keep the milk at 110* for the incubation period. Really, 6 hours in my oven and my yogurt was perfect--if you like really tart plain yogurt then let it incubate longer. I stayed close to the 6 hour mark because I don't like my yogurt too tart.

And here she is...in all her delicious, smooth, creamy glory...Homemade Yogurt!!! Sooo good! Just stick this puppy in the back of the fridge so it's nice & cold in the morning. Wake up...scoop out...sprinkle berries...gobble up. Easy as that.

Now, these two paired together = one seriously yummy concoction! I also have TONS of strawberry freezer jam left in my freezer from last summer that I plan on stirring into my yogurt. It will add a sweetness better than any plain sugar can offer. Now THAT will be good--I can hardly wait til morning. :)

I highly recommend giving homemade yogurt making a try! It's so easy, seriously, there are a million different ways to make yogurt and there's so much experimenting you can do to get exactly what you're looking for. Do some browsing of the web, like I did, and I'm sure you'll get sucked into the ease of making yogurt. It's as easy as warming milk and letting it sit for 6 hours, really. Plus, you cut down on environmental waste by using your own glass jars. Love it. 

Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake...Made Organic!!

Ok...first of all...for all the organic haters (ah-hem...my husband ;)...substituting with organic products does not = tasteless. I repeat...organic does not equal tasteless! Too many people think that if you're buying organic products then they probably taste like cardboard--which is simply untrue! First off...a fat is a fat is a fat! It still gives your mid-section some jiggle if you eat too much of it, and it still comes from the same part of a plant or animal that organic fat comes from. Whether it's an 'organic' fat or not, it is still a fat. Same goes for carbohydrates...sugar is sugar (only better tasting when it's organic!). You will find that there are no hydrogenated oils/fats in organic foods, though, because these fats are totally different...not natural (more on this later). What I'm saying is, just because something is labeled 'organic' doesn't mean that the fats and carbohydrates have been eliminated and it has no flavor. Quite the contrary, my friends. Portion control is still necessary with organic foods though, don't think that because it says 'organic' that you can eat as much as you want of the product because it's 'healthy'.

So, I made this cheesecake the other night...using all organic or all natural products (yep, even the 'cool whip' was organic!) and started a discussion with my husband about why I feel so strongly about feeding my family the most natural and organic foods possible. He was like, "you're making cheesecake...with organic ingredients...aren't you totally contradicting your reasoning for using organic ingredients by putting them in a cheesecake? It's like an oxymoron. 'Organic' Cheesecake." Oooooooh, he must be under the impression that I use organic to cut down on my calorie intake or something...ooooh, honey, have I got some 'splaining to do for you! Although, at one time, I was sure that he was clear on my reasoning for removing most over-processed, conventional foods from our diet...but apparently not. As he picked up the tub of  TruWhip (aka, 'cool whip'), he read "no hydrogenated oils" across the top. "See, I mean, what does all this mean anyway...'no hydrogenated oils' (and bless his heart for trying so hard to pronounce the word hydrogenated), that means nothing to me." I gasped, "What!? Means nothing to you!? Oh my...." Okay, time to teach my diabetic husband a thing or two about nutrition (by the way, nutrition classes should be required for all diabetics. It's nearly impossible to change your carb-loving eating habits if you don't understand why you have to change them...but I digress :) So, I take this golden opportunity to explain how partially hydrogenated oils are equal to trans fats...these are man-engineered poisons, they do not exist in nature...and they are nasty, disgusting, processed fats that stick to the walls of your arteries like wax and cause build-up, which over a period of time leads to high blood pressure, clogged arteries, heart disease, strokes, which ultimately could lead to medical interventions like heart stent placement, coronary bypass surgery, being placed on more medications, and so on and so forth. And then he asked the question that made my heart flutter and my eyes twinkle-- "Oh....well....if this stuff is so bad for you, then why isn't it illegal to put this stuff in food?" TAA-DAAA! Bingo, my man!!!! This just reinforced to me why not everyone feels the same way I do about natural & organic...because they just don't understand it yet. So, why IS it legal to drowned our daily nourishment in disgusting poisons that are killing us!?!? Because it's cheap...because someone discovered how to do it and thought he was a genius...and because our society has developed an addiction to this type of taste. So, I'm here on my soapbox, urging everyone to pay close attention to the hydrogenated fats that you're including in your diet. You really will feel aaaamazing when you eliminate these toxins from your life! If you're craving some fat in your diet, at least aim for the natural kind!


Since we're on the topic of fats, I'll pass along this natural fat recipe for some cheesecake I made the other night. By no means are these fats 'good for you', so remember moderation. This cheesecake is so amazing...and yes...absolutely 100% filled with fat!! I am such a sucker for cheesecake!! BUT, I guarantee there are NO trans fats in my cheesecake!

Give this one a try--

40 Vanilla Wafers (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
4 pkg (8 oz ea) organic cream cheese, softened, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla, divided
3 eggs
1 tub TruWhip (organic cool whip), thawed

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
Beat 3 pkg cream cheese, 3/4 cups sugar, and 1 Tbsp vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool completely in pan.
Beat remaining cream cheese, sugar and vailla with mixer in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in TruWhip; spread over sheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Remove rim of pan before serving cheesecake. Serve with fresh berries or alone--either way it's delicious!!



I took the exerpt below from a website I was browsing that I can't remember the name of, but I believe it's reliable information on hydrogenated oils/fats. I know many people who don't care about the chemicals they put into their bodies, with the mentality of "Hey, I feel just fine eating the foods I eat." Just think of how much better you could feel if you didn't ingest these toxins! We all complain about being tired all the time...or can't sleep well at night....or just don't have any energy...or our memory is terrible...the list goes on and on. Our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation. I am determined it's diet related. Enjoy the read!

Why not consume partially hydrogenated fats or oils? Because by the definition of "poison," partially hydrogenated fats and oils are poisons. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines "poison" as "any substance which, when relatively small amounts are ingested ... has chemical action that may cause damage to structure or disturbance of function, producing symptomatology, illness, or death." (1) Partially hydrogenated oils do not exist in nature. Partially hydrogenated fats and oils are processed versions of naturally occurring fats and oils. In nature, most dietary fats and oils exist in a structural form which is called the "cis" form. When these natural cis form fats are processed by bubbling hydrogen gas through them at high temperatures, they become partially hydrogenated which changes their structure to the "trans" form. The natural cis fat has a bend and the processed trans fat is a straight molecule. See figure 1. This difference in cis and trans shapes is of major significance. When eaten, fats and oils are incorporated into cell membranes altering the composition of these delicate structures. When they interact with normal fat metabolism, they disturb function in a most deleterious manner. Hence, these substances meet the definition of a poison." Trans fats interfere with important, normal functions by inhibiting enzymes which are necessary for the body's normal metabolism of fats and they keep doing it for a long time.

When you eat normal cis fats, the body metabolizes half of them in 18 days. When you eat trans fats the body requires 51 days to metabolize half of them. This means that half of the trans fats you eat today will still be inhibiting essential enzyme systems in your body 51 days from now.

My Favorite Part of Spring!

My favorite part of spring is landscaping & yard work!! I think it's fun! I love getting our water garden cleaned out and prepped for warmer weather...saying hello to Bobby & Chloe and seeing their happy little sun-loving bodies swim around in the pond, excitedly awaiting all the new water plants, duck weed, and snails that we bring them (hmmm...yea, I don't really think they're that sophisticated, but it's cute to imagine :). The fact that they survive through the winter with the freezing over of the pond is incredible (oh, in case you didn't know...Bobby & Chloe are our koi & goldfish--our little outside pets). How in the world do they live through it!? Actually, my absolute favorite uber-intelligent high school biology teacher taught me how that phenomenon works, but it still shocks me every year. This year is going to be even more exciting though because I'm making it an absolute must...an immediate priority...to do something fantastic with our dispicable landscaping as soon as the weather perks up long enough to do so (like hopefully real soon!)

Ok, the area between these two pine trees has been bare since we moved here...and every year I have been "determined" to throw some shade perennials in there to sauce it up a little bit...and every year I have fallen short !! There is an actual bed of soil between those trees that we manage to mulch every year, for some strange reason, but have never thrown anything as simple as a couple hostas, some ferns,  or bleeding hearts in that quaint boring space. Well, I won't fall short this year--and you're all going to hold me accountable, right!? A simple, "hey liz, how's the shady perennial garden coming?" should keep my motor rolling. ;o)

And what the heck is going on here???!!! A big, ugly, empty, blaaah side of a house is what's going on here! This side of the house is our biggest problem child--and again, we've said for, oooh 3 years now, that we are going to spruce this barren, blah, lifeless 'area' (for lack of a better word) up with some fancy landscaping somehow....seriously, it's gonna happen this spring! :)

And last but not least...this area right here. It's a lovely area, I think. With a little oomph and tender loving care it will look marvelous. The only flowers that bloom under this cute apple tree (at least I think it's a crab apple tree?) are tulips in the spring...and they bloom and die off with a blink of the eye. So, I've got some exciting plans for this area too! By the way, isn't that hosta a beauty right there? :) She's our "old faithful"...comes back every year & looks stupendous with hardly any work on our part--that's my kind of flowers!!! :) Oh & look--there's a boo-bear sitting outside enjoying the sunshine! hehe.

So, let me tell you where I plan on getting some great perennials & annuals--a place called Springhill Nursery. It's Ohio based...in Tipp City, southwest-ish Ohio, I think...which doesn't really matter because the best part is you can order online and they deliver to you!! Perfect!! I like this place for many reasons...one, their prices are great (always a bonus--landscaping can get pricey!)....two, you can order online (that's always nice!)...three, they do most of the work for you by selling pre-planned gardens (ah! how perfect is that!? dummy-proof! love it!)...and four, my mom has bought from them and says the quality of the flowers & such are great! Sooo....check out their website and see what you think--I might've just given you the landscaping bug! :)

Now...if I can just get my lawn & garden savvy mom to squeeze in a day trip to my house to help me... ;~)