Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

Stop The Presses!

Be warned. This is another one of my random posts.

Be ready to be amazed. Shocked even! I have found a vegetable recipe that, get this, Mike actually likes. No, it's not April 1st and no I'm not making that up.'Tis true! My friend Sondre from Thirty Minutes Of Wonderful gave me this super easy recipe for Salt and Vinegar Asparagus. It's delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Salt and Vinegar Asparagus

Mix together in a baking dish : Bunch of Asparagus spears,  drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, dash of kosher salt, a small drizzle of vinegar.

Roast at 425 for 20 mins. They should b e crispy and golden when done.

Easy peasy!

Now for a prayer request:

Pat, the music leader of our church, lost her 7 year old nephew on Saturday to a tragic accident. Him, his 11 year old brother and friend were walking back home for the store on the side of the roade when JJ,the 7 yo was hit by a car. He died by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital. They still don't know why/ how he was hit by this car. The driver wasn't drunk. The driver stopped immediately. He, of course, will never be the same. Please pray for Pat and her family as they deal with this horrific loss. The funeral service is tomorrow. Also pray for Jason, the 11 yo old brother. He is suffering terrible guilt for feeling like he should have protected his brother. He told his mom all he say was his brother flying in the air. That's how quickly it happened. Pat was at church on Sunday but unable to play or lead the music. She had chosen all of the songs the Wednesday before the Saturday that the accident happened. One of the songs was "In Christ Alone". That song already really gets to me but when we started to sing it on Sunday it seemed so  perfect for the sad situation that I started to BAWL while playing it. I could barely see the music in front of me! There was a lot of crying on Sunday from everyone so I wasn't alone! Anyway, please keep this family in your prayers. I will be doing the music this coming Sunday too so Pat won't have to worry about it this week.

Now, on a lighter note, I've decided to post something fun I've seen a few people do on their blogs. I'm calling it " Funny/Weird Google Hits". Through  my sitemeter I've been able to see what key words on Google  have landed people on my blog. Some of them are pretty funny!

Here are a few recent ones:

"granny panties!"

Yes!! Someone was actually searching granny panties on Google! And sadly they were sent to my blog. Probably because I used that word in this embarassing post.

"Should Christian moms got to play dates"

SAD that this person has to ask!! What kinds of things have they been taught?

" neena nana nono"

What? Nanny nanny booboo? Eaney Meaney Miney Mo?

"mel the keeper pushed with everything she had"

I certainly did. And darn proud of it.

"my lower back aches awwww"

Awww,indeed! Try a chiropractor

"seet deems"

Sweet dreams in baby language??

And one of my favorites..

"preschool activities for tired moms"

When you find some by all means send them my way!!

And several searches for MckMama have landed people on my blog:

"against MckMama"

"dislike MckMama"

"blogger MckMama hate"

"MckMama fat wants money"

"MckMama affair husband"

There has been some drama/disgruntled-ness  going on with some readers of her blog and there are actually ANTI-MckMama blogs and forums now. Sad. I don't know if the people  searching with these words were looking for the sites just to read them or they wanted some fodder for MckMama bashing.

Those of you with blogs should definitely check your Google referrals to your blog ! It's fun. And please do share!

Recipes I've Been Enjoying and A Food Post.

I must have been hungry when I thought up the content for this post. Since I have some "recipes" I wanted to share with you, I figured I'd make this post all about food!

Recipe 1: Iced Coffee- The Cold Brew Method.

For those of you who enjoy a nice cup of iced coffee in the summer time, this recipe is for you! I love iced coffee and I don't like to spend money every time I want some. I found this recipe online and it involves cold brewing. Apparently Starbucks uses this method for their iced coffee. I've made it a couple of times already and I really enjoy it.

For this method you will need:
Two large pitchers(glass preferably but plastic is ok too. You will see why I say two pitchers as you read on. This is my idea not the original recipe's)
A coffee strainer/filter.
Dark roast, ground coffee. (I like French or Colombian.)
To wait patiently 8-12 hours for this to brew

In one pitcher add 4 1/2 cups of water and stir in 1 cup of ground coffee.It will be a thick, dark sludge. Stir gently as well as you can. Let sit on the counter, room temp for 8-12 hours. I covered my pitcher with something just in case.
After brewing time is done poor the coffee sludge mixture through the strainer/filter into the other pitcher.
 (aha! See? The first time I did this I had no other pitcher to pour this into so I had to settle for a large Tupperware container)
You may want to do this twice to make sure you get all the coffee grains out.
Now you can put the pitcher into the fridge.
Pour a glass, add sugar and creamer as you like, and drink up!

* I double this recipe as this one only makes about half a pitcher full and I drink two glasses a day.
** You can also play around with this recipe and add more coffee, less coffee, more water or less water so the flavor comes out to your desired strength.

Recipe 2: Melissa' *BSTCA Wrap.

*Bacon(Turkey) Spinach  Cheese Avocado

Start out with some fried turkey bacon

Mash some avocado on a wrap. (Preferably a whole wheat one but I was all out)

 

Add some nutrient rich baby spinach

 

Some turkey bacon

Some tomatoes and salt.I forgot to photograph the shredded cheddar cheese so we'll pretend that's the next step.

 Then roll it all up in the neatest wrap possible. Mmmmm....delicious!

 

Then you also hope that your wrap doesn't start tearing like mine did!

 

While we're still on the subject of food...have you ever tried the Kettle Brand potato chips? They are HEAVENLY! And I'm totally addicted.  My favorite flavor is the Sea Salt and Vinegar. Once you try this brand you will never want to go back to any other brand's SS&V chips. They pale in comparison. And these chips are natural and better for you than other brands. Well, as healthy as a potato chip can be! If  I'm going to eat potato chips then I might as well eat the best ones for me. Their "Lightly Salted" ones are also amazing.

In other food news, Madelyn has become quite the broccoli and corn on the cob lover. I can't believe my eyes! I can add those two items to my list of veggies my kids will now eat. Katelyn is still fighting it. She still asks at every meal  "Are we having begables? I DON'T LIKE BEGABLES!!" But she'll also eat carrots and broccoli. She says she likes corn on the cob but never really eats it. Madelyn attacks her corn on the cob with gusto!

It seems I have a vegetarian and a meat eater on my hands. Katelyn will usually go for whatever meat I put on her plate and most usually the carb of choice that day. Madelyn, on the other hand, refuses the meat but will usually eat the carb and her fruit. I have started putting raisins and different kinds of nuts on her plate and she eats those really well. Katelyn won't touch nuts but Madelyn seems to love them. So I'm hoping Maddy is getting some iron and protein with her raisins and nuts.

Well, now that I've finished this post I'm even more hungry!

Natural Cold and Flu Prevention

Since I'm almost done editing my Christmas pictures(but not done yet) I thought I would share with you some natural preventative measure I've recently learned for colds and the flu. As you all know, I'm trying to go the more "natural" route with pretty much everything so I've been researching natural and homeopathic remedies. Some of this stuff is common sense and some of it sounds pretty icky but I thought I'd throw it out there. Feel free to comment back with anything that has worked for you.

 

1. Sinus Irrigation Method(And Other Cures For Stuffy Noses)

I actually learned about this when I had my sinus surgery several years ago. I have used it ever since and I can tell you from personal experience it works wonders. It is similar to the Netti pot but I like it better. I also find it more economical.You will need one of those nasal bulb syringes that you use on babies' noses, a gallon of distilled water, baking soda and sea salt or kosher salt. I make a whole gallon of this stuff at one time.  Using the bulb syringe,you will want to gently and slowly squirt half a cup of this solution into each nostril while standing over the sink. Don't insert the bulb in too far and don't squirt too hard. You want to gently rinse out your sinuses and moisturize them. This solutions rinses out any allergens, mucus and other yucky stuff that gets stuck up there. If you are not experiencing any cold and flu symptoms it works great to keep them at bay. Do it once a day. If you do have cold or allergy symptoms to the irrigations once in the morning and one before bed. I'm telling you, this stuff will keep your sinuses clear if you use faithfully.

In the gallon of distilled water mix in 8 teaspoons of sea or kosher salt and 8 teaspoons of baking soda. Shake well. I use a small one cup cup with with a handle. I fill it with the solution and microwave it for 20 seconds. You want the solution to be room temperature to lukewarm. I also shake the gallon container every time before I use it. Just in case anything has settled to the bottom.

If you try this I would love to hear your thoughts!

As usual a humidifier works great. I also like to add Vick's Vaporub to their chests although I'm not too sure if this is classified as "natural" or not. I'm guessing any kind of essential oils with eucalyptus, peppermint or lavender scents would probably work just as well to clear the nasal passage ways.

And also very importantly, drink lots of fluids!!  

2. Immunity Boosters

I've recently read about the wonders of garlic. I personally take garlic pills  by Nature's Bounty that digest fine and don't leave a garlic-y taste in my mouth or cause any digestive discomfort. Garlic is supposed to be great for immunity and preventing sickness. I've read that taking it straight from the source is actually the most potent form of getting the immunity boost. You take a clove or two of fresh garlic and crush it. Put it in a spoon and cover it with honey. Then, swallow it. Apparently you should do this several times a day to get the benefits. That doesn't sound appetizing at all to me so I stick with the garlic pills.

I also take Echinacea and Goldenseal which promotes a healthy immunity system. I've been carrying around a natural sanitizing hand spray by Burt's Bees that I also make sure to spray on our hands when we're out. There's nothing better for keeping sickness at bay than frequent hand washing. And although I love my children and love to share things with them I try not to share spoons, straws or cups with them during this time of year. We are just perpetuating any kind of sickness by doing this.

I've recently heard that Emergen-C is a wonderful, natural and tasty way to boost you immunity. I'm going to be buying some of that for our family. It's loaded with Vitamin C and other good for you things. It's great to prevent colds and also helps you get over them faster

3. Sore Throats

I've  discovered that honey is the best natural remedy for sore throats. I have given a tablespoon of it to Katelyn before bed time and several times a day and it seems to work great for her. I myself have also started taking it at the first tickle in my throat and it's worked. It doesn't seem like it would but it does!

You can also mix some lemon juice and honey since lemon juice works as a natural detoxifier.

4. Ear Aches/Infections

I'll admit to only have read about these remedies and never having tried them myself or on my children. I have had terrible ear problems in the past and am phobic about putting any kind of liquid in my ear.

Olive oil, tea tree oil and garlic oil are all supposed to be wonderful remedies for curing ear infections. I've read that if you warm a little olive oil and then rub it just below the back, outside part of the ear it relieves pain. I've also read that if you put  a few drops of tea tree oil, olive oil and garlic oil in the ears it cures the infection. Supposedly you can put a whole clove just inside the ear like a hearing aid and let it sit there for awhile and it draws out the infection.

I was always super quick to run to my pediatrician over any sign of ear infection and ask for antibiotics and pain medication instructions. I read in the book " How To Raise A Healthy Child In Spite Of Your Doctor"  by Dr. Robert Medelsohn that ear infections are natural, although painful, occurrences, and will go away on there own with out any kind of treatment. They will not do any permanent damage and if we interfere with our bodies natural infection fighting ability by giving our children antibiotics it could actually take longer for the ear infections to go away. Now since I'm an ear infection-phobe I'm  not quite sure what to do with this information yet. Again, my natural reaction to seeing my child in pain is to ply them with pain meds and antibiotics because I want to ease their discomfort. One of the good things about sinus irrigations above is that you can use a few drops in your child's nose to keep their sinuses flushed out. This in turn keeps mucus etc from building up and causing ear infections. I may give these remedies a shot the next time I think one of my girls has an infection. But I have to be honest, if it doesn't seem to get better I may be plying them with Tylenol and begging for antibiotics!!

5. Fevers

According to Dr. Mendelsohn there is no need to be worried or see a doctor unless your or your child's fever reaches 106 degrees or higher and is accompanied by other symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea etc.  Hydration and humidifiers are key to recovery. He suggests letting it run it's course and getting lots of rest and, again, fluids. Interfering by medicating just makes things worse and is only masking the real problem. Again, I must admit I have a hard time with this. Fevers are bad aren't they? We're supposed to get them down with Tylenol right away, right?

I hope you found some of this information helpful or at the very least, interesting.

Thoughts? Do you have any homeopathic remedies that work for you?

No Crying Over Tossed Turkey Stir Fry

So, I'm taking some time to vent here today. There's no cute pictures or funny stories of the girls in this post. Just pure frustration. And possibly a little humor. Possibly.

Last night was the last class for Mike's "40 Day Makeover" class he has taken for about 6 weeks now. They end the class with a banquet made from food from the recipe book that is passed out to the class a few weeks before. The recipe book is neat and has healthy recipes based on the book "Body By God" by Dr. Ben Lerner. Each person gets a recipe and has to bring whatever dish was selected for him/her. Each attendee is also encouraged to bring a guest to the banquet and final class. Because Mike doesn't cook I was the one who had to make the food for the banquet. The dish that Mike selected was called Turkey Breast/Vegetable Stir Fry. I am going to post the recipe here so you can see what goes in it, how much I had to buy to make it and double the recipe and just in case anyone likes stir fry and would like to try it at home.

"Recipe's By God" Turkey Breast/Vegetable Stir Fry

*1 Tbsp. cornstarch

tbsp. honey

*3/4 tsp. green ginger(I could not find green ginger so I used regular,sliced ginger)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup soy sauce

*1 LB turkey breast, cut into three strips(I cut these into several smaller strips)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

*2 cups cauliflower

2 cups broccoli

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup sliced carrots

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the first eight ingredients until smooth, then set aside. In a skillet, stir-fry turkey breast in olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add broccoli,cauliflower, onion, carrots and soy sauce mixture. Cover and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

If you'll notice, I put asterisks next to some of the ingredients. Those are the ingredients I had to buy because I usually don't have those in the house. So, the rule was that if you were coming by yourself you were to make enough for yourself and 6 people and if you were bringing a guest you were supposed to bring enough for them and 6 people. I thought that was going a little overboard but figured I should follow the rules. Since I didn't know exactly how much the recipe made I just doubled it and called it a day. Since I had already purchased two packages of turkey breast cutlets I made a trip to the grocery store yesterday to purchase a couple more, you know, just in case.I also needed a few more of the ingredients for the dish. I had to look long and hard for the two remaining packages of turkey breast and I scoured the store for green ginger to no avail. I found every other kind of ginger but not one green one. Since I was going to be cooking for people I didn't know I was all nervous and wanted to put  my best culinary foot forward. I began cooking at 5:00 and the dish wasn't done until almost 7:00,which was the time the banquet started. Thankfully, the Chiropractic office is just down the road from us. So I slaved away for over an hour measuring, chopping, cutting, peeling and stirring. Since I doubled the recipe my skillet was overflowing so I figured that would be sufficient. I cooked away amidst two crying and fussing girls and the beginnings of a migraine. I was going to make the best darn turkey stir fry those people had ever tasted!! The dish was finally done and I filled a huge, ceramic bowl with the stir fry goodness. Mind you, neither Mike nor I are huge stir fry eaters and we really don't like cauliflower all that much which was in abundance in this dish. But it smelled good and looked colorful. We get to the banquet and lo and behold I was not the only one assigned to make the turkey stir-fry. There were at least four other people who had been assigned the same dish.  I was not in on this vital piece of information.Needless to say there was a ton of vegetable turkey stir fry at this banquet.For about 50 people. And, only about 5 of whom chose to eat out of my particular bowl of the stuff. I know this for a fact. I was watching. And counting. That included me. And Mike. And the instructor who ate a little of everyone's dish. I think I actually got nauseous. And my headache returned. We were going to have to take back home an almost full, LARGE bowl of stir-fry,enough for at least 12 people, to a house where no one would eat the stuff.It tasted pretty good, but again, we weren't crazy about it. I know Katelyn and Madelyn would have refused it. I ended up throwing all of it away last night. Mike kept telling me not to let it bother me. Not to be upset. If was for a fun event and a good cause. We just did what we were told. " I wouldn't have made all that had I known other people were bringing the same dish! I thought everyone was bringing something different!!" I said. " Let it go" he said. I tried not to let my brain calculate the amount of money and time that was completely wasted on that food. I tried not to cry and get sick as I dumped it into the trash. I'm still bummed out about it today. So, I needed to vent and write about it. And let it go. You know the old saying " No crying over spilled milk tossed vegetable turkey stir-fry!"

Quinoa, Three Way Tie And A "Recipe"

*UPDATE ON THE WINNER* It's Kelley! Congrats Kelley! You were my first respondent so you win the set of 5 cards. They really are beautiful. I hope you enjoy them. You'll be receiving them in the mail shortly (o:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Everybody guessed 3 out of the 4 ingredients correctly but nobody guessed what  the "off-white"  stuff was or what Mike left out, correctly. First off, THANK YOU to everyone who guessed. You all had some good guesses. I appreciate your participation.

1) The ingredients in my dish were Quinoa(keen-wah), corn, raisins and almonds

2) Mike chose to not have corn or raisins mixed into his Quinoa

Quinoa is actually in the grain family. It is high in fiber and protein and has a light, fluffy consistency. It has a very mild, nutty, pleasant taste. It cooks like rice. From what I've read, it's very good for you. Mike and I have found that we really love the flavor. You can mix in all sorts of things in it,hence the dish from this contest.

The recipe for Melissa's Quinoa Concoction

1 Cup Quinoa cooked according to package directions.(You can find it in the Health/Organic/Natural section of most supermarkets and healthfood stores.)

Throw in some chopped almonds, raisins, corn and salt

Enjoy! Wasn't that easy??

 

Now to the hard part- I don't know who actually won since several of you guessed close to the right answer but no one got the correct answer all the way through. Kristi,Sondreand Kelley all had great guesses. Mom, you had good guesses too but forgot to answer the second part of the contest! So, unfortunately you can't be one of the winners. So, here's what we're going to do. The FIRST one of my final contestants to reply to this post will be the one to win the prize. What's the prize, you ask?

A set of 5 of these beautiful, handmade-by-a-friend, Christmas cards. I personally love them and have a bunch more made by her. They are blank inside and just in time for the holidays. I love stationary and paper products so this kind of thing excites me. I hope you like it!

 

Kristi, Sondre and Kelley, give me a shout out!

 

Healthy Recipes For The Picky and Finicky- Bran Muffins

Time for another favorite recipe for the picky and finicky! These Bran Muffins happen to be what Mike eats every morning on his way to work. He eats them in the car, with a spoon, in a cup with milk poured over them. Sounds pretty gross to me but you and I  don't have to eat them like that. I like to eat them warm with butter. This is the only healthy muffin Mike will eat. This is a recipe I got from his mom who got it from the back of an All-Bran cereal box. I tweaked them a little by using half white flour and half whole wheat. I also add some flax seeds for an healthy boost. I'm also looking for a different type of "bran buds" type cereal that does not have HFCS, which All-Bran does unfortunately.

Whole Wheat Bran Muffins

3/4 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Cup of sugar

11/4 cup All Bran cereal

1 1/4 Cup of milk

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil.(I have actually been using canola or grapeseed oil and they both work fine)

1-2Tbsp. milled flax seeds.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1) In a small bowl add All -Bran and milk. Let set and soften while mixing other ingredients.

2) Mix flour, baking powder and sugar in a larger, seperate bowl.

3) Add egg and oil to All-Bran and milk.

4) Add All-Bran mixture to flour mixture and stir well but don't overmix.

Pour into muffin pan and bake for 25 minutes or less. Makes about 12 medium sized muffins.

Healthy Recipes For The Picky and Finicky- Penne, Chicken and Broccoli

I am going to start a new series of blogs titled " Healthy Recipes for the Picky and Finicky" . I will post recipes that I  have/already use or find that work well for my family of "picky and finicky" eaters. If you would like to find a recipe that was posted a while back  just click on the "picky and finicky recipe favorites" tag and it should take you to all the recipes with that label. If you would like to share one with me feel free to e-mail me the recipe and I will post it and give you the credit for it. The only criteria is that it has to be healthy, and have mostly natural ingredients in it. I say "mostly" because as you will see as this blog goes on and if you read this post, I'm not a 100% organic and natural cook. I'm just doing the best I can with what is available to me at this point in our life. Now, as many of you with children know, "healthy eating" and "toddlers"(or even older children for that matter) is usually an oxymoron. Children usually don't like or want to eat anything with a lot of bright colors in it, unless they are  eating M&M's . I am working on helping my children not only tolerate or "take just one bite" but truly love healthy, natural foods. And trust me, young children are watching everything you eat. You may get away with thinking they won't notice that you opted out of the green beans but are forcing them to take "two bites" before they leave table.(Are you listening my dear hubby??) For whatever reason, it seems like once my children hit one year they are suddenly allergic to anything that's good for them. Maddy used to eat anything I put in front of her and devoured peas and ice cream alike. Now, the veggies get tossed on the floor before they barely hit her highchair tray. Katelyn can spot a vegetable in her food no matter how small and then works hard at picking it out. She even tries to pick the larger "grains" out of the 12 Grain Bread I've been buying. So, getting both of them to enjoy, like, tolerate good-for-you food is an ongoing battle. To top it off, I've got a husband who has the eating habits of a spoiled toddler. So, we are " food training" him as well. He will force down broccoli, corn on the cob and whole green beans and that is it when it comes to vegetables. He doesn't eat fruit and will hardly touch any kind of dish that has several ingredients in one, a la casserole style. He doesn't like beans,lentils or rice and no sauces of any kind unless it's pasta sauce. So, as you can see, I have my work cut out for me. If you have finicky eaters in your home join the club. I'll do my best to pass on some tasty, healthy recipes that work for the whole family. I'll let you know how my family likes it. Oh,and I will be posting recipes that Mike may not have liked at times.  Not everyone is as picky as he is. LOL

Here is my very first recipe in this series. This is a "to taste" type of recipe since I don't have any real measurements for it. This is my own variation on a couple of this type of dish that I've had and loved. My family, especially Mike, loves this dish.

                                                   Penne, Chicken and Broccoli.

Box of Penne, Rigatoni or any kind of pasta you like.( I like whole wheat penne).

Bunch of fresh Broccoli( frozen works too,but fresh just tastes better)

Italian Dressing

One pound or so of chicken breasts (depends on how much chicken you want in this dish)

Parsley,  roughly chopped, to taste

Olive Oil to taste

Salt to taste

Butter to taste

Parmesan Cheese to taste(freshly grated is delicious!!)

Optional- minced, sauted garlic or garlic salt

1. Marinate chicken breasts in Italian Dressing for at least an hour, more is better.

2.Saute, or grill the chicken breasts until done.

3. While chicken is grilling/sauteing, boil the amount of pasta that would be good for your family. I usually do almost a whole box and we eat the rest of the dish the next day as leftovers.

3. Chop the broccoli into spears and steam until soft but not soggy. They still need to have light crunch to them.

4. When chicken is done cooking, cut it into cubes.

5. Combine pasta, chicken and broccoli in a large pot. Add Olive Oil to taste and about a Tbsp. of butter. Mix well until all ingredients are well coated but not drowning in Olive Oil.

6. Add parsley and garlic or garlic salt(if desired). Stir until well mixed..

7. Add grated Parmesan cheese to taste and leave some left over in a bowl so individuals can add it as they like.

8. Add salt to taste, if so desired.

*The picture above is not of this dish. It was the best one I could find-LOL. I will hopefully be posting some of my own pictures of the recipes I make.*