Life as a Healthy Mom

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a Kid-Friendly Green Power Smoothie

2013-03-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! If you want to keep in the spirit of green food without the addition of using artificial food coloring, you can make a quick, tasty, healthy smoothie for the kids to enjoy.

Now wait..........what makes it green, you ask? SPINACH!

Before you run for the hills, I promise you the taste of spinach is undetectable. Recently, my daughter and her friends wanted a cool treat because the temperature outside happen to reach 80 degrees in March. So, I suggested this green power smoothie. I didn't share the secret ingredient of why it was green, because a lot of kids (including my own) will shun a prepared item if they know what is in it before even tasting it. Upon first taste, the girls LOVED the smoothie, and I heard the slurping of straws hitting the bottom of empty glasses shortly thereafter.

I love the fact that I can serve healthy, nutritious, fresh food that is pleasing to a child's eye and palate.

KID FRIENDLY GREEN POWER SMOOTHIE

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

   Serves 2

   6 oz plain yogurt (you can use homemade yogurt)
   1 cup diced pineapple, frozen
   1 banana, sliced into chunks
   1/2 cup orange juice
   1 heaping handful of spinach
   1 tsp vanilla
   1 Tbsp flax seed (optional)
   1 Tbsp organic, unrefined coconut oil (optional)

   Add all the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend
   until smooth. Serve immediately.

   Happy St. Patrick's Day.  Enjoy!

50 Advent Calendar Ideas

2012-11-26T10:47:00.002-08:00

Yesterday I published a blog about using email as a quick and paper-free way to celebrate the advent calendar. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming", and it's a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Christmas holiday. Upon December 1st, our family begins counting down the days until Christmas by using an advent calendar. I decided to do advent calendars because waiting for Christmas to arrive can feel like ions of time for a child, so having something to look forward to each day doesn't seem to make the time go as slowly.

Here is a list of 50 ideas that I compiled that can work for an advent calendar. I have used some of them in past years and plan to use many of them this year. I try to refrain from buying too many "goodies", even if they are made with natural ingredients, and concentrate more on activities to strengthen our family, faith, and community.

50 ideas for your Advent calendar

Let's sit back after a long day and watch a Christmas movie--popcorn included
Put on your pajamas! It's breakfast for dinner!
Look under your pillow. You earned an extra surprise without having to lose a tooth.
Today, think of one thing for each family member that you are grateful for. Let's share them at dinner.
Gather up some of your unused toys and let's donate them so others can share in the joy of them.
Let's go shopping--for food that is, and donate it to the local food pantry.
Fair trade chocolate coins
All-natural gum, like Glee gum
Music is in the air. You are allowed to download 1 song for your library.
Bring your pillows and sleeping bags....we will be sleeping by the Christmas tree tonight.
Shop for a child in need
Make a seed ornament for our feathered friends.
Get your game on.....it's family game night!
Tonight for dinner, everything will be dipped.......it's fondue night.
Dashing through the snow-----tonight we will go look at Christmas lights!
Send a card to a military soldier
Naturally colored candy cane
Enjoy an evening with a cocoa bar
Borrow Christmas books from the local library and read it together
Make cookies for local community members, such as police or fire department
Grandmas, Grandpas, Uncles, and Aunts. Family is important, so this evening we will be celebrating the holidays with our extended family.
Bookmark
We had two extra place settings tonight. Invite a friend for dinner.
Let's go to the movies. Be sure to bring a can to donate http://www.wehrenberg.com/presenting.aspx?pid=335
What is winter without ice? Let's go ice skating today.
Our furry friends need help during the holidays too. Let's make some dog treats to donate to the local shelter.
Go find a special treat in your stocking.
St. Nick made a visit. Go check your shoes!
Pick your favorite cookie to bake with Mom today.
Let's go hear some beautiful music and support (insert name) at his/her Christmas concert.
Special pencil or pen
Stickers
You get to buy 1 extra treat at lunch today.
Invite one friend for a sleepover tonight
A special puzzle is here. Let's see if we can be put together by Christmas
Try to find as many words using letters in "Merry Christmas". Bring your list to dinner.
Did you find the hidden pickle on the Christmas tree? If not, whoever finds it will receive a special treat.
After school, we will go shopping for Christmas gifts for others (siblings, parents, grandparents). Be sure to bring your money.
Lego Night. What kind of holiday inspired items can you make?
Today we will be decorating gingerbread houses
Write a letter to Santa and tell him 2 gifts you would like to receive.
Make popcorn garland and string outside for the birds
Make an ornament to put on the tree
One extra hour of computer/tv time this week
Make your own pizza night
Go see a local Christmas play
Baby, it's cold outside. Let's enjoy an indoor picnic instead.
Some people will not have items to keep them warm this year. Let's donate some hats, gloves, scarves, and coats to a local charity.
Make a snowman ---weather permitting :-)
Will you earn "coal" in your stocking this year? Let's hope not. (Coal gum from Trader's Joes.)

I hope I have given you some ideas that you can share with your family during this Christmas holiday. Enjoy!

You Have Mail--An Electronic Version of the Advent Calendar

2012-11-25T14:30:00.004-08:00

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner. For the past couple of weeks, I have been busy planning Thanksgiving, so now that it has come and gone, I can now concentrate on the Christmas holiday. Recently, my daughter, Anna, asked me if I was going to make the advent calendars again. As much as I enjoy seeing their excitement each morning to see what the surprise will be, I was dreading coming up with an idea on how to make yet another calendar. One year, I strung goodies bags on the wall above their beds. Last year, I made an envelope for each day and used a clothespin to pin it to ribbon attached to their bedroom doors. It takes alot of time and materials to create these calendars!!

Let's not forget that traditions run deep in our family, so I wanted to continue this tradition for my children. But as all moms know, we are the ones who end doing the work to keep most of the traditions around the holidays going. And it's a lot of work..........the planning, the buying, the strategizing.....all with a smile on our face.

This year, I wasn't ready for the planning of each day. As in years past, I wanted the advent calendar to be something more than the children receiving a gift, so I included activities we could share as a family. But last year, I found myself having to "exchange" days when our schedule didn't allow for the activity to be performed.....like mom not wanting to drive around and look at Christmas lights when it is sleeting outside!!! Sometimes the best laid plans have to be changed.

So I took the pressure off of myself and this year decided to rely a bit on technology! Both of my children are in middle school and have email accounts under our main account, so I thought it would be cool to get a morning email from Mom. I spent a few minutes writing a list of ideas of activities we can do during the holiday and I purchased a couple of treats for them to find, such as chocolate coins from Trader Joes. The suggestions are stashed in my planner, so each morning I can decide what "gift" I would like to share with them based on our schedules and "weather permitting".

Also, I decided to add a "Random Act of Kindness" that I would like for them to do each day. In this day of materialism...............did you see the footage of shoppers on Black Friday?...............and the "all about me" attitude in our youth, I want them to make a conscious effort in doing something that would benefit someone else. This will be a wonderful conversation starter at dinnertime!

Here is an example of our first day of the countdown. In the email, I made the background in a bright red color, and changed the text to white. Unfortunately, you won't get that same effect on this example, but I wanted something that would grab their attention when the email was opened:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first day of the Official Countdown to Christmas

Day 25:

Some coins cannot be used to buy things. Look for some of these "coins" hidden in your room.

We also will be doing something a bit different too. With each email, I will be sending a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) suggestion. A random act of kindness is a "selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people". I challenge you to accept this invitation to spread some Christmas cheer and be kind to one another!

R.A.K Day 25:

Make eye contact with someone and smile :-)

Enjoy your day!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My hope is my children will take a moment to rejoice is the reason for celebrating this holiday and give a bit of themselves, without asking for anything in return.

Tomorrow: I will share a list of Random Acts of Kindness and Advent Calendar ideas.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2012-11-06T09:20:00.001-08:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Halloween is over, and the carved jack o' lanterns have now found a final resting place in our compost bin. One of the wonderful aftermath of carving pumpkins is the pumpkin seeds. I am a traditionalist when it comes to roasted pumpkin seeds...............plain with a sprinkling of sea salt.

But this year, I decided to branch out and make three varieties: sea salt, savory, and a sweet/salty blend. The flavors of the sweet/salty and savory were not overpowering, but gave a subtle change to the traditional ones.

All of them turned out so delicious and making them is a breeze. I didn't even get out a separate bowl to mix the seasonings....I just tossed it on top of the seeds in the baking sheet and mixed it to distribute the seasonings. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. Toss again. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

Traditional Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Sweet and Salty
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Savory
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Enjoy!

Halloween Cookies Using Natural Coloring

2012-10-31T04:58:00.002-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom--A bit blurry, I need a new camera!

For those who know me, I am the baker of the family. I am usually responsible for bringing the dessert to the family function, and there is always a standing order for my decorated Christmas cookies at the annual family Christmas function. Five years ago, I had a home business called "The Cookie Menagerie", and decorated all sorts of cookies. But there is a difference in the cookies I make now, to the ones I made back then.

If you look at the drawer below, you will see what I called my decorating drawer. Look at all those colored dyes and sugars!!!!!! That was then...................

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

It held all the colors needed to make a rainbow of hues to fit the design of the cookies. Believe me, everyone oooh'ed and aaah'ed over them, and some people commented that they did not want to eat something so pretty. I was really flattered. But then something happened....I started having some health problems. I had a continuous pain in my lower left abdomen that would not go away. I went to the doctor, and she could not find anything wrong, so she sent me to my "female" doctor.  He found nothing. I was so frustrated that I took it upon myself to find an answer, because I was NOT imagining this pain.............and boy did I open up a can of worms!!!! (And by the way, I do not have the pain anymore.)

I began to realize the diet of processed foods I was feeding my family and selling to customers was not good, not good at all. I surrounded myself with books on natural health, took notes, and read everything I could get my hands on. I then realized that I could not serve customers cookies that I knew, good and well, contained dangerous ingredients.

Yea.....yea, you are probably thinking, "cookies aren't healthy anyway". I get that. Having a cookie is a treat.........but adding the artificial colors into the icing can cause all sorts of problems. They have been linked to hyperactivity in some children and some of them, Citrus Red 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3, have all been identified as being, or being contaminated with potential cancer-causing chemicals. Did you notice that many of the colors I listed are common dyes listed on food labels? And the kicker................artificial colors are derived from coal tar, a.k.a PETROLEUM DERIVATIVES! Yes, petroleum! How this is allowed in our food system is beyond my understanding. And to add insult to injury, they contain a preservative called sodium benzoate which I found out is a chemical my daughter is sensitive to.

After I closed the business, I became a walking, talking infomercial for healthy living........I know I was driving my family crazy!  Shortly after this new found information, I did make some cookies, but could not allow myself to enjoy decorating cookies with possible cancer causing chemicals; ultimately I stopped making sugar cookies because I didn't enjoy it anymore. And with that, I put my cookie baking days behind me, because I felt I could not make a beautiful cookie without those artificial colors.

But not anymore! I found colors made by India Tree that uses natural colors for the food coloring. The colors are more muted, but I just adjusted the cookies I made that would be complemented by the cookies. So this Halloween, I made ghosts, pumpkins, and candy corn.

With this new option available to me, do I bake all the time now? No. Recently, I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, so wheat flour is no longer a staple in my pantry, and using gluten free flours can become quite expensive! Also, I still believe having a cookie, even a homemade one, is a treat.and should be "treated" as such.  So whenever I make cookies, I usually allow my children to have a couple, and then share the rest with friends, family, or my husband's co-workers.

And with that, I say........... HAPPY BAKING!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

4 cups All-Purpose GF Flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder ( I use Rumford because it is GMO-free)
1 c. butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
In a large bowl, add flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll dough to a 1/4 in -- 1/2 in thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on cookie sheet at bake for 15-18 minutes, depending on thickness of cookie.

Cool on rack, and decorate.

Royal Icing (from Alton Brown, Food Network)

Ingredients

3ounces pasteurize egg whites (about 2-3 depending on size of egg)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and vanilla. Beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired.

Healthy Lunch Ideas for Your Little Ghouls

2012-10-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a little over a week away, and I am strategizing on how I can amp up the kid's lunches for the Halloween week. With both of them being in middle school, I have to add thematic items for the season without it being too, shall I say............embarrassing and uncool! And honestly, I don't even know if I will be able to get away with it, but if I add a bit of the "gross" factor, it might just work.

All parents want to make sure their children get the needed nutrients into their diets (myself included), so sometimes adding a bit of "fun" into the healthy food mix helps. During this season, kids are inundated with artificial colors, flavors, and chemicals because of all the candy handed out during October 31st. Add to that the Halloween parties serving neon-colored cupcakes and punch, and you have a recipe for major overload of junk into their little bodies. So let's help minimize this overload by offering them a nutrient dense, healthy lunch to get them through their school day.

So for all the moms (and dads) who will pack the lunches of their little ghouls during the Halloween week, I have compiled healthy, fun ideas that can make any child "scream" with delight upon opening it at lunchtime. Many of these ideas can also be used to substitute junk food during holiday parties at school.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

I use a laptop lunch system, but you can find BPA-free, sectioned lunch containers by Ziploc. When the kids opened their lunches they could see all of it at once. Add a Halloween cloth napkin, a stainless steel drink bottle, the "menu", and a joke for them to use on Halloween night, and you have a fun, waste-free lunch!

Main Dish Ideas:

Mini Cheese slices with Bug Encrusted Crackers

You can use mini cookie cutters to cut the organic or vegan cheese into pumpkin shapes.
Use any cracker with black flecks in it. I use Back to Nature's Organic Stoneground Wheat Crackers with Flaxseed. For a gluten free alternative, you can us Snyder's of Hanover's Natural Whole Grain Tortilla Chips.

Bone Roll-ups

Spread natural peanut butter and fruit preserves onto an organic tortilla, and roll it up. Cut into pieces. Place roll ups rolled-side up.

Pumpkin Face

Cut a sandwich into a pumpkin shape

Coffin Sandwich

Cut sandwich in a coffin shape

Mummy Dogs

Wrap nitrate-free hot dogs (such as Applegate Farms, Trader Joes, or Wellshire Farms) biscuit dough made from non-hydrogenated oils/artificial ingredients
Serve with "blood", aka organic ketchup (we use Trader Joes' brand)

Monster Smoothie

Blend organic yogurt, pineapple, spinach leaves, almond milk, and a touch of vanilla and stevia. The smoothie is GREEN, and I promise............you cannot taste the spinach!
Advise your child to "shake up the monster" before drinking.

Zombie Sludge

Smash an avocado and add a touch of salt, lemon juice, and a bit of salsa. Serve with "bat wings", aka blue corn chips

Vampire Mouth

Cut an apple in half and cut out the core thereby making the "mouth". Line the edge of the apple with "jagged teeth", aka slivered almonds.

Mummy Pizzas

Spread pizza sauce onto a bagel. Shred mozzarella cheese in wide strips and place over sauce to create the "wrapping" of the mummy. Add sliced olives for eyes, and place into toaster oven until cheese is melted.

Here are Halloween-Inspired Names for Healthy Foods:

Bat Teeth
Monster Toenails
Claw Clippings
Vampire Teeth
Scabs
Witch Skin
Cyclops’s Eye
Dracula Vitamins
Bat Wings
Jack O Lantern
Frankenstein Skin
Ear Wax
Eyeballs
Spider Eggs
Ghost Juice
Lil' Punkins
Brains

Raw Sunflower Seeds
Raw Pecans
Raw Cashews
Slivered Almonds
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apple Rings or Pieces
Sliced Kiwi
Pomegranate Seeds
Organic Blue Corn Chips
Orange with Jack O Lantern Face Cut Out
Roasted Seaweed
Monterey Jack./Cheddar Cheese Blend Rolled into Balls
Green Grapes
Hard Boiled Eggs
Organic, Hormone Free Milk or Non-Dairy Milk
Draw a Pumpkin Face onto the Skin of a Mandarin Orange
Cauliflower Florets with Organic Ranch Dressing

Now, if you want to add a "treat" to the lunch, here are some ideas that are fun. I have added links to some the recipes:

Meringue Bones
Gelatin Worms --I would choose and all-natural gelatin dessert that doesn't use artificial colors.
Vampire Bites
White Chocolate Skulls--I went to a candy making store and found skull molds.

So there you have it...........do you have some Halloween-inspired food ideas?

Happy Halloween!

Apple Butter

2012-10-21T13:05:00.002-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Colorful apples of red, green, and yellow signify my favorite season,...autumn. As the leaves begin to change color, and the crisp, morning air requiring a jacket to keep me warm, I always begin thinking of ways to include apples into some form of recipe. There are times I feel like Bubba reciting ways to cook shrimp in the movie, Forrest Gump.....only mine is in apple form. Applesauce, apple pie, apple rings, apple cider, apple sauce muffins, apple cake, apple butter.....need I continue?

Today I am talking about apple butter. I rarely eat a piece of toast anymore (especially since being gluten free), so the only time I do have one, it has apple butter on it. My husband recently brought home a bag of apples from a co-worker's apple tree! I love it when friends and family share the bounty.

As long as you are patient, apple butter is very easy to make, and you can make it in the crock pot, too. That is how I do it.

Crock pot Apple Butter

3-4 pounds of apples, cut into cubes

1 c brown sugar*

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp clove

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup water

Juice of ½ lemon

1.) Add all ingredients into crock pot. Turn crock pot on low.

2.) After three hours, stir apple mixture. Turn crock pot to high.

3.) After 3 hours, check apples. The apples should be very soft. Use an emulsifier to blend
apple mixture until smooth.
4.) Turn crock pot to low and cook for another 30 minutes to an 1 hour to thicken.
5.) Let cool and store in glass container.

This recipe makes about 2 1/2 pints of apple butter.

Note: I didn't have brown sugar on hand, so I mixed sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses)

Enjoy!

Could It Be Celiac Disease?

2012-10-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

October is Celiac Awareness Month which brings awareness to people who are battling celiac disease, or sometimes called celiac spue. Celiac disease is a hereditary, auto immune disorder, and it’s estimated at 1%, or 3 million in the US (1 in 100), of the human population has it. The only way to treat this disease is to remove gluten entirely from your diet.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. If you eat a balanced diet of unprocessed foods, keeping gluten out of the diet can be rather simple. But unfortunately, many products found on the grocery store shelves contain gluten. And there are other grains such as semolina, spelt, and tricale that contain gluten, so you would need to avoid those as well. Oats are well-known to be contaminated with gluten; therefore it should be avoided as well. One speck or 1/8 tsp. a day of gluten will keep a person in a diseased state.

There are many symptoms for a gluten allergy such as:

· Fatigue

· Cramping

· Bloating

· Abdominal pain

· Irritable bowel syndrome

· Nutritional deficiencies

· Mouth ulcers

· Depression

· Anxiety

· Migraines

· MS

· Headaches

· Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

· Autism

· ADHD

· Inability to Concentrate

· Failure to Thrive in Children

· Developmental Delay

· Clumsiness

· Loss of Coordination in Upper
and Lower Limbs

Gluten can cause a person to experience all kinds of neurological symptoms, yet never experience any gastrointestinal symptoms. That is because gluten can penetrate the gut lining and go into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, it can travel to the brain where it can disrupt cells or cause inflammation.

I watched a program on television called, “Your Health with Dr. Richard and Cindy Baker,” that talked in length about celiac disease. When you think you have a disease, many times there are symptoms to prompt you there is something wrong. With celiac disease, it has been found that 97% of people who suffer with this disease do not even know they have it because many times it is misdiagnosed or the person is asymptomatic, meaning he does not experience any symptoms as all. And the 3%, who have been diagnosed with celiac, usually get a diagnosis 8-9 years after the symptoms began.

Celiac is genetic, and it is considered an auto-immune disease.

Many people can carry the gene that causes celiac disease, but never get the disease. Only about 4% with genetic susceptibility actually get celiac, and the onset of the disease can be at any age. If you are diagnosed with celiac, your immediate family (brother, sister, mother, father, child) has a 1 in 4 chance of also having the disease. Just because you have the gene for it doesn’t mean you will get it. Something in the environment triggers it—stress, diet, viral or bacterial infections, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Now do you see why celiac disease is so hard to diagnose?

Many people, such as myself, are gluten intolerant; meaning our body does not experience an allergic reaction, per se, to the gluten, and our intestinal wall is not permanently damaged, but we show symptoms similar to celiac.

The show provided a very through point-system questionnaire to complete that may provide you with some clarity about symptoms you may been experiencing:

Give yourself 1 point for you or ½ point if it is a relative

As a child, did you:

__ Direct relative has Celiac Disease

__ Stunted Growth, Always Small

__ Delayed Puberty

__ Multiple Cavities

__Poor Coordination/Epilepsy

__Allergic Dermatitis Give yourself 4 pts.

Do you currently:

__ Auto-Immune Condition

__Dermatitis Herpetiformis

__Lupus

__ MS

11% of MS patients actually have gluten sensitive anthropopathy. Both conditions

cause little white spots on the brains, and when brain is looked at with the MRI, they

look exactly the same.

__ Psoriasis

__ Rheumatoid Arthritis
__ Sjorgens Disease
__ Thyroid Disease
__ Type 1 Diabetes
__Vitiligo
__ Chronic Diarrhea
__Cirrhosis/High Liver Enzymes
__ Food Allergies
__ Irritable Bowel
__ Lactose Intolerant
__ Anemia
__Vitamin Deficiencies (Vit. A, B, E, K, and Folate)
__ Peripheral Neuropathy
__ Restless Leg Syndrome
__ Venous Thrombosis
__ Dental Enamel Defects
__ Recurrent Aphthous Ulcers (Canker Sores)
__Autism
__ADHD
__ Schizophrenia
__ Unusual Neurological Conditions
__ Osteoporosis
__ Unexplained Fertility Issues
__ Cataracts
__ Atrial Fibrillation
__Abnormal Hair Loss
__ Had Lymphoma

Count up your score. If you have 4 or more points, you may have celiac or have a genetic susceptibility for celiac.

__________ Score

So you scored 4 or more points on the survey, now what do you do?

You can call you doctor to schedule a blood test. Testing is fairly simple and involves screening the patient’s blood for antigliadin (AGA) and endomysiumantibodies (EmA), and/or doing a biopsy on the areas of the intestines mentioned above, which is still the standard for a formal diagnosis. The biopsy is the gold standard to confirm the villi in the intestine are blunted. (www.celiac.com)

Unfortunately, for those of us (like myself), who decided to remove gluten from their diets prior to being tested for celiac, typically received a negative result on the blood test. Currently, I am diagnosed with gluten intolerance. The thought of me having to introduce gluten back into my diet for 6 weeks in order to be tested again and possibly get a positive result is not on my agenda. I know how I feel on a gluten free diet therefore, it confirms it for me. But some people choose to investigate further to determine whether or not an individual carries the gene responsible for the development of celiac disease via another blood test. You will just need to discuss it with your doctor.

Now, if you have confirmed a diagnosis of celiac or just decide to remove gluten from your diet to see if you feel a difference, you need to know that a response to being gluten free can take months depending on the damage done to the body. After a week or so off of gluten, I feel much better. I am not as lethargic, bloated, or foggy headed anymore; and the chronic pain in my upper abdominal and joint point is non-existent. I find that I have more energy, less cravings for gluten foods, such as breads and cookies, as I had prior to removing gluten from my diet.

I feel 100% better.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-10-01T11:54:00.002-07:00

Photo by Life as a aHealthy Mom

I have been making homemade laundry detergent for almost a year now. I used to buy a liquid detergent made without harmful chemicals from Trader Joes, but it ended up costly me about $8 a month. The cost to make an equivalent of 2 MONTHS worth (average of 7 loads a week) comes to....drum roll please.................about $5! That is about a 1/3 of the money I used to spend over a two month period.

I purchased all items (except the essential oil, which I had on hand) at my local Walmart. The price for a box of Borax was $3.38 (4 pound 12 oz), a box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda was $3.24 (55 oz), Arm and Hammer Baking Soda for $2.12 (4 pounds), and Kirk's Castile Soap is $3.11/3 bars).

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Here is the recipe:

2 cups Borax
2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
2 cups Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
3 bars Kirk's Castile Soap, grated
20 drop of essential oil of your choice (I typically use lavender)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Place in a container. Use 1 tablespoon for each load.

Chocolate Pudding Dessert

2012-09-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Today is my husband's birthday..the big 40.  I turned that age myself about three weeks ago. Our running joke is that he is allowed to call me his "old lady" from 22 days each year (although he never puts the rule into force)....I believe he knows better! So, for his birthday I asked him what kind of dessert he would like. He mentioned my famous pudding dessert; and I say famous because I have been making this dessert for as many years as we have been married...and we will be celebrating 19 years of marriage next week. Whenever my grandmother's birthday rolls around each year (she is 86!), she always asks for the lemon version of this recipe as her birthday dessert. It's pretty much a given that I make it a few times a year.

Honestly, I have no clue who gave the recipe to me, if it was some one's original recipe, or it came out of a cookbook. It has always been in my handwritten recipe collection for as long as I can remember. But the original recipe called for items, such as pudding and whipped topping (aka Cool Whip).  Have you looked at the ingredients lately of these two items? The pudding list contains items such as artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, such as BHA. The whipped topping contains hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors. NO THANK YOU!

Many years ago, I used to follow the recipe to a T....including buying everything in boxes, and of course having it prepared in minutes because isn't that what buying processed food is all about....the convenience? But I have changed my ways by refusing to buy items that I can make at home with real ingredients.

This new recipe I have now adapted using homemade whipped cream and chocolate pudding, and I make the crust from my gluten free flour mix. I also use organic dairy products so I know there are no added chemicals in the food such as antibiotics or hormones. It takes a little more time, because this dessert has four different layers--crust layer, sweetened cream cheese layer, chocolate pudding layer, and whipped cream top layer.  It is SO WORTH IT....it is DELICIOUS!  Even though it may be high in calories, you will only be able to eat one piece because the chocolate has such a rich taste to it.

Here is a recipe with real ingredients.

Make the first layer:

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour (or you can use all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1. Cut above ingredients together with a pastry blender. Pat mixture into a 9 x 13 pan (the layer will not be thick)

2. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. The crust will not be brown. Cool.

Make the whipped cream:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat on medium until soft peaks return, about 3 minutes.

Save one cup of the whipped cream for the 2nd layer. Put the rest in the refrigerator to use as the final layer.

Make 2nd layer of dessert:

1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup homemade whipped cream

Blend these ingredients in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread over cooled first layer (crust). Place the 9 x13 pan into the refrigerator.

Make 3rd layer of dessert:
(adapted from "Better Homes and Garden: New Cook Book" copyright 1989) :

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tbsp. cornstarch
3 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into beaten eggs.

Return all of the egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook until nearly bubbly, but do not boil. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl. Cover the surface with clear plastic wrap. Chill.

Now it is time to assemble the dessert layers:

After the pudding has cooled, it is time to assemble the rest of the dessert. Remember, you have already assembled the first two layers, the crust and the sweetened cream cheese. Now it is time for the third layer....the chocolate pudding. Spread the chilled chocolate pudding over the sweetened cream cheese.

The fourth and final layer is the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the chocolate pudding, being careful not to disturb the pudding.

And there you have it. The total time it takes to make all the separate layers is about a 1/2 an hour. The final assembly takes minutes.

Enjoy!

Labeling Canisters

2012-09-09T07:20:00.002-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Yesterday I spent some time refilling my canisters that sit on the kitchen counter. The canisters span across the counter in two separate areas and not only provide a quick access to a snack or an ingredient to a recipe, but they also add a bit of decor to the kitchen. I love how these natural ingredients add to the warm colors I use to enhance my home......the brown and cream colors just bring their own element to the space.

My dilemma is that many of these ingredients look the same. Of course, the kids and the hubby can tell the difference between pecans, oatmeal, walnuts, and cashews. But I also have my gluten free flour, organic sugar, cornmeal, quinoa, and steel cut oats in the mix as well. I didn't want to go the route of etching each canister with the name of the food that resides in it. I am a bit obsessive about symmetry, so I like the look of sameness of the canisters, and I think adding etching changes the overall look that I am striving for. I also like to change what I want in the canisters, so etching them would not allow me to do that.

But, I wanted to label them, so if my husband wanted to make dinner one night, he wouldn't have to question what was in the canister. The only reason why I mention my husband is because, bless his heart, many years ago he attempted to make cookies with my then-toddler aged son. He picked the canister in the pantry that housed my powdered sugar and not the one that housed the flour. Needless to say during the baking process, the cookies became soup-like and ran all over the cookie sheet. It was quite a mess.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

So, here is an easy way to identify what is the canister..................a simple label inside the lid. I retrieved my handy-dandy label maker out and started labeling the ones that were not quite easy to identify. See....very easy! And whenever I want to change the food in the canister to something different, I put the label off.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Muffins

2012-09-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

So I have ventured into gluten free territory for about a month now and am feeling pretty good. I decided to go gluten free after having repeated bouts of radiating joint pain, upper abdominal pain, and major bloating. And don't get me started on the brain fog. Currently, I am waiting for the results of having a test for celiac disease to confirm if it is an allergy or just a gluten intolerance. Either way, I cannot see myself shoving a wheat-laden muffin or cookie in my mouth again after how great I am feeling.

With that being said, gluten free for me means excluding all grains........most of the time at least. I really didn't want to deal with buying a bunch of gluten free flours just to make baked goods that tastes just like their wheat counterpart.

And, it can get expensive buying all the different flours!!!

Now, my family is another story. They love their bread, cookies, pies....basically anything made with flour. But they are starting to come around knowing I can whip up some of their favorite desserts that tastes the same (or even better in my opinion) as the ones used with wheat flour. But, you must use kid gloves in transitioning one into a change....especially with food. I don't want a full-blown mutiny on my hands, so I am easing them into it by baking them the treats they currently like to eat.

So last night, my son had a friend sleepover and he asked if I could go get them donuts. First of all, he knows I do this only on very RARE occasions...............and today was NOT one of them. But I thought today would be a great day to try a gluten free muffin recipe.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

This recipe is adapted from Food.com

Gluten Free Cinnamon Muffins--
Makes 12

1 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
Extra Cinnamon/Sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, xanthan gum, sugar, salt, cinnamon, brown

sugar, and baking powder.

2. Combine egg, oil, and milk. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just

enough to moisten.

3. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full or use a medium-sized ice cream
scoop.

4. Mix 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 c sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle
over tops of muffins.

5. Sprinkle tops of muffins with a cinnamon/sugar mixture.

6. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Well, of course, the boys came running down the stairs to the scent of cinnamon wafting through the air. They immediately started eating them.....it didn't matter that they were just out of the oven and very hot.......teenagers!

His friend was first to make a comment by saying, "these are really good. " I looked at my son and asked him, "so, are they good?" He nodded because his mouth was full with his second muffin. I then said, "do you know they are gluten free?" He stopped chewing (uh-oh)....gave me a smile and nodded again. What!?! He could taste the difference? Although.......he is my dessert connoisseur.

So I asked him, "how do you know.....do they taste that different?"

His reply? "No, they are really good, but I only knew it when I saw you eat one."

That's my boy!

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

2012-09-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

I am new to this whole experience of being gluten-free, so prepping my kitchen to be a fully gluten-free zone has been quite the experience. I am a baker.....I always have been, and I always will be; so the thought of converting from wheat flour to flours with names such as tapioca flour, sweet sorghum flour, brown rice flour kind of overwhelmed me at first.

But alas, I found out there are many blogs on the web and books at the library with recipes using different mixtures of flours you combine to make an all-purpose mix. The one recipe I have found success with in baking items such as cakes, muffins, pies, and cookies was found in the book, "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G Roberts. So far, I have made chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon muffins with great success. She also has recipes for bread making, but I haven't tackled that area yet.

In her book, Annalise has measurements depending on how much flour you need. I make a large batch of it, so I don't have to mix all the flours together each time I have the urge to bake.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Here is Annalise's recipe:

6 cups brown rice flour (finely ground)
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

Mix all the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container. Shake well before each use.

Enjoy!

Tips for Container Gardening Newbies

2012-07-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am not a master gardener.............and I don't claim to be one. I am a stay at home mom, who lives in suburbia, wants to begin growing her own food, and wants to teach her children that real food does not come from a grocery store shelf. These suggestions are experiences that I have learned about gardening in containers over the past couple of years.

Life as a Healthy Mom

This year, the plants in my containers have provided our family with quite the harvest, as you can see from this picture; and it's only the beginning of July! I have been container gardening for a few years now....if you call the first year gardening. I do, but expert gardeners may think otherwise; but I will get to the details later.

Container gardener is all the rage now because people are looking to grow their own food but not wanting to dedicate space (or have space) for a full garden....and it couldn't be easier than popping a couple of plants in soil and watching them grow, right? WRONG! Expert gardeners make it look so easy. I learned the hard way, and I want to share with you my struggles in starting my gardening adventures, so you won't have all the trials and tribulations I had.

Life as a Healthy Mom

I container garden because our backyard pretty much sits on a rock shelf, and over the years the dirt has eroded away to expose the rock underneath. Let me tell you, it is NOT a pretty sight. How weeds grow where grass and other plants don't is beyond my understanding! And yes, I am one of those people who can and HAVE killed a cactus..........just sayin!

Now, I have containers dispersed throughout my backyard yielding delicious, nutritious, organic food. Years ago, my husband built a deck over the sewer inlet to prevent our then toddlers from exploring and falling down that said sewer. After years of the deck being used for playhouses and such, it lay barren; so I bought 9 of the same, square containers (did I also say that I bit OCD with organization?), and deck has now become my container garden oasis.

Tip # 1: Start Small

Depending on how many containers you have and how much you want to spend on buying other containers is totally up to you. If you are new to gardening, I would suggest start small. Pick a few of your favorites and easy to grow.....strawberries, lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, green peppers, or zucchini are all easy to grow.

Life as a Healthy Mom

Tip #2: Fill the Container with Good Soil

I learned this tip shortly after starting my container garden. I spent so much on the containers themselves, that I didn't want to spend too much money on the soil....and I bought a cheap top soil. That was definitely a blonde moment!
I learned later that top soil for a garden in the ground is fine, but soil in containers need to be well aerated, well drained, and be able to retain enough moisture for the plant to thrive. My plants did not do well that first year. Think about it..............if you eat the vegetables and fruits from your garden that came from bad soil with no nutrients, what are you getting when you eat that produce.....less that stellar nutrient dense food.

Today, at the beginning of the growing season, I take all the soil out of the containers, add more soil and compost to amend the soil. I began composting during the same year that I began my container garden, so now I have access to rich, organic matter to help benefit my plants as they grow. You can also purchase compost from local garden centers. Again, when I began the container garden, I was too cheap to even buy the compost in a bag. Lesson learned.

Tip #3: Be Sure to Give Your Plants Enough Water

I water my plants everyday, mostly in the morning. Plants in containers tend to dry out faster because once the summer heat hits the containers, the water evaporates. Be consistent with your watering. During my first year, I did not dedicate every day to watering. BIG MISTAKE!

Our tomatoes began showing black spots on the bottom. I found out they had blossom end rot. If the tomato plants loses it's ability to absorb enough calcium for proper development, blossom rot occurs.  There are several factors that can cause blossom end rot, and one of them is fluctuations in soil moisture.  I am sure the depletion of nutrients in my topsoil didn't help either! Needless to say, we did not get to enjoy the taste of a vine riped tomato from our garden that year.

A couple of years of ago, we went on vacation mid summer, and I handed the reins, or in my case the hose, to a neighborhood girl for a summer job. It didn't help that during the week we were gone, the heat index was in the triple digits.  Add me not explaining fully how much water the containers truly needed and that is a recipe for disaster. We came back from vacation to find all the plants in dire straits, and our growing season was cut short.

Now, I water each container with a gallon of water daily. They are doing well, even with the record-breaking temperatures we have experienced in the Midwest.

Tip #4: Don't Let Your Plants Drown

Plants need water, but they also need good drainage.  If the root system of the plants get waterlogged, they start to rot and then literally drown, which is what happened in my case. I was so excited to bring my new containers home to begin planting my seeds that I filled them with the soil and forgot to poke a hole in the bottom of it for drainage.  Well, the first good, spring rain reminded me of my mistake....I had 9 mini container ponds on the deck!

After the downpour, my containers were overflowing with water, and my seedlings were drowning. My husband drained as much water off the containers that he could by tipping the containers over as much as to not empty the soil that now looked like sludge.  Once most of the water was removed, he drilled holes in the bottom of each container. I replanted the seeds after allowing the containers to drain and the soil to dry out for a few days.

I still have the same containers, so I haven't experienced any waterlogged plants. Another tip: before you put your soil in, be sure to put a screen in the bottom to prevent your soil from falling through the drainage holes. I have heard than some people put coffee filters in the bottom on the containers.

Tip # 5: Plant in Season

Certain plants need to be planted during certain times of the year. Have you ever heard of "eating in season"? That means you are choosing to eat food during the time they are grown. For example, tomatoes and peppers in summer, asparagus and greens in spring, root vegetables in fall.

Gardenate has a great website to tell you what to plant in your garden based on your climate zone. The site also allows you to click on each month to see what plants. You can also check with your local cooperative extension office website for other information, such as the hardiness zone your area is in.

Tip #6: Know your Enemies

Plants have friends....and enemies in the bug world. Again, we learned of these little culprits during our second year of gardening. I came out to check on the cherry tomato plants on the patio to find small, black poop that resembled mini hand grenades all over the leaves of the plants. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

I ran to my computer to look up what this could be. I literally googled, "poop that looks like hand grenades on plants" and information about tomato hornworms popped up. Isn't the Internet wonderful? I found out the Tomato Hornworm is the larval stage of hawk or sphinx moth, and they are voracious eaters...munching entire leaves, small stems, and even parts of immature fruit. Upon further inspection of the plants, we found a quarter of the plant's leaves were eaten, and many of the tomatoes that had formed on the plant. I was not happy!

Life as a Healthy Mom

The next step was to look for the hornworm on the plant. Ewwww! They camouflage themselves VERY well on the underside of the leaves of the plant, so it took my husband and I some time to find it. When we found it, we were shocked at how big it was. The hornworm in the above picture is attached to the stem on the underside of the leaf that my husband is holding. If the excrement gave any indication of the worm, we were not dealing with a mini caterpillar...it was 4 inches long and fat, probably from eating all my leaves and tomatoes! All in all, we found a couple more hornworms throughout our growing season and removed them promptly by squishing them. My husband did the squishing, not me. I read that you can also dispose of them by putting them in a bowl of soapy water or throw them near the bird feeder as a treat to the birds. We also learned if you see a hornworm covered with white egg sacs, leave it be. The egg sacs are those of a parasitic wasp called the Braconid wasp. Let the eggs hatch, and you'll have an army of wasps ready to defend your garden against all types of pests. Nature is so cool!

Our next insect infestation was squash bugs on our zucchini plants, during the same summer as the war of the hornworms. Again, I thought nature would take it's course and all the plants would be protected by beneficial bugs overtaking the bad bugs....then I took my rose colored glasses off! One morning, I was doing my daily rounds on the garden deck to find the leaves of the zucchini plants were turning brown....and there were ugly bugs all over it. I went to the Internet again to find out these flat, brown bugs were aptly named, squash bugs. These vampires of the bug world suck the juices out of the vines causing them to wilt and die....and wilt and die they did.

Since I am a bit squeamish about bugs, as you can tell from the hornworm incident, my wonderful husband began picking them off the plants and putting them in a bowl of soapy water. But we didn't get to them fast enough. Within a couple of days, our zucchini plants died.

Squash Bugs-- 1 Humans--0.

This year I was ready for them. Each morning, I checked the underside of each leaf to look for little yellow eggs, and I SQUASHED them (with gloves on). No eggs, no squash bugs. I learned that if you kills the eggs, the plant will be strong enough to combat these bugs later in summer if some squash bugs find it. This year has been a good year for our zucchinis, and we have already harvested 4 zucchini and more are beginning to grow.

Tip #7 Plants have Friends too!

Have you heard of companion planting? I didn't either until I began my container gardening. Apparently, certain plants help each other to prevent pests or diseases. Just as a person what to be around friends, plants want the same. Since I choose not to use chemical warfare on my plants and choose to go the organic route, I elected to companion plant. Seeds of Change has a wonderful chart to show which plants show be planted together and the effects the plants have by doing this.

I have marigolds surrounding the cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers near the other tomatoes, lettuce near the strawberries, and so on and so forth.

And Finally..............Sometimes Mother Nature Provides You With a Surprise!

Life as a Healthy Mom

Since we have been composting, we put all of our veggie food scraps into the compost. Once day my husband comments that something was GROWING in the compost. Upon further investigation, we found this 6 pound cantaloupe growing.

This plant must has sprouted from the seeds and pulp I threw into the compost while cleaning out a cantaloupe that I bought at the market. We couldn't wait to slice into this wonderful find. My husband cut it off the vine and we brought it into the house, only to cut it open and find it had not ripened. We found out later that if you have to cut the fruit from the vine, it isn't ripe; if ripe, the fruit will fall off the vine. Again, lesson learned. Even though we didn't get to eat the cantaloupe, we are amazed as what nature can do and the surprises it provides.

So there you have it.......................Hopefully, this information has help you so you don't have many bad experiences as we have in starting our gardening adventures. Although we are planning on redoing some of our landscaping to help with the rock issue, hopefully adding some raised garden beds, I will continue to container garden. Happy Gardening!

Homemade Hummus

2012-06-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

I used to buy hummus in the grocery store.....used to. I would throw the tub into my cart with no thought as to what ingredients were in it. So to look at an ingredient list of processed hummus now, it makes me glad I have changed my ways--items such as natural flavor (MSG anyone?), potassium sorbate, soybean oil (I am sure it is not GMO free), and seasonings are the ingredients. Add chickpeas and tahini to the mix, and that was what is in the popular brand I bought.

Now I realize how easy it is to make it at home, and delicious! If you have a food processor or blender, you are good to go. Hummus has become a staple in our household....it's an easy snack for the kids to dip carrot sticks, cucumbers, or red pepper stick in. Whenever my daughter eats it, she always says, "hummus, hummus, hummus.....hummus is goooood!"

You can make this with either canned or home cooked chickpeas. If you’re using canned, I recommend using organic beans.

Homemade Hummus

2 cups chickpeas
6-7 garlic cloves, roasted
1 tbsp tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin
5 Tbsp water

Add all the ingredients into the food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Coping with My Child's Anxiety

2012-06-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

I am a pretty organized person when it comes to being prepared, but this time I admit.............I failed. We were leaving to attend a wedding in Tennessee in one day, and I had a child on my hands who was experiencing great anxiety about the trip.

Frankly, my daughter likes to sleep in her own bed. Not a bed in a hotel....not a bed at Grandma and Grandpa's house.....her bed. Period. She is even a bit apprehensive spending the night at friend's houses now even though they tend to stay up all night. It has been the past couple years that we have been experiencing this type of anxiety. We used to go on many trips to the lake, with no problems whatsoever. Now, we hardly go on trips because we know there will be alot of crying and sadness in her heart. We had an instance when she was supposed to spend the night at my husband's parents house, only to have her grandma return with her, suitcase in hand, by the end of the evening......because my daughter began crying and wanted to go home.  And bless her heart, Grandma tried everything to convince her to stay!

Truthfully, my husband nor I understand why she would be feeling this way, but I compare it to a child being afraid of thunderstorms, or dogs, or anything else for that matter. I reminded him that he was deathly afraid of thunderstorms when he was a child; to the point of his father having to come pick him up from school because he was so upset. There is no explanation for the feeling of fear, and it only rears it's ugly head when the situation is there. If it was a feeling that effected my child's functioning on a day to day basis, I would be consulting our pediatrician for guidance.

So, here I was thinking (one day BEFORE the trip mind you) that we had to do something to help her. I called my friend, Lori, who uses alot of alternative remedies for her children. She said she uses Native Remedies Triple Complex Calm Tonic for herself, but wasn't sure if it was safe for children.  So she suggested Bach's Rescue Remedy.  And ironically, Dr. Oz mentioned the Bach's Rescue Remedy on his show this week for anxiety because his family uses it. I normally order all my health products online, but I didn't have that kind of time, so I called our local health food store to check to see if they had it in stock.......and they did.

I decided to purchase the kid's formula because it did not contain alcohol (thank you Lori for mentioning to me to look for this). When I got home from the store, I explained to my daughter that we were taking this with us on our trip, and if she felt that feeling she gets that makes her start to cry and want to go home, to let me know.  I was a bit afraid that she would ask for it when she really didn't need it, but upon the first dose, she said it tasted a bit like cough medicine so I knew she wouldn't just say she was feeling sad just to get the medicine.

Within the first few hours of the road trip, we stopped for a bite to eat, and we were faced with her first crying spell. She felt nauseous, wouldn't eat, and said she wanted to go home. I suggested she take the drops, and she said okay. I then suggested she get something in her tummy, and she did. Within about an hour, she said "I feel so much better. I think those drops are working." Not sure if it was a placebo effect, but I'll take it. The trip to the hotel after that was uneventful. We ended up using the drops a few times on our two day trip when her sadness was becoming to much for her to handle, and it seemed to do the trick in curbing her anxiety.

I admit...our family's lifestyle has changed to a healthier lifestyle in terms of the food we eat and the cleaners we use;  I have even dabbled in natural remedies with positive results and began seeing a holistic doctor, but we hadn't jumped in feet first in terms of exclusively using homeopathic remedies to treat all common ailments. My children hardly get sick, have no allergies that warrant OTC medication for relief, so they rarely are given any medication anyway; this kind of change has been on the backburner for some time.  We have been using Montana Arnica as a pain reliever for my daughter's braces after my daughter experienced a horrendous side effect from Children's Tylenol (that is another story in itself).  After these two episodes in a year span, I have truly become serious in preparing a homeopathic first aid kit so I am prepared with what lies ahead.

And, we are planning a lake trip in a few weeks, so you better believe this little bottle will be packed in the suitcase........just in case.

2012-06-13T19:22:00.002-07:00

Meet Lisa

Hello. My name is Lisa and I live in Missouri with my husband of 18 years. We have two children, ages 11 and 13. I became interested in living a more mindful life after I began my research on trying to improve my health. I say "mindful" because I feel I was on auto-pilot and wasn't aware that the choices I was making for myself and my family could be harming us and the environment. So I changed my ways...and changed them in a big way!

By taking baby steps, I was able to introduce a healthier way of living, and it now has become part of everyday living. I started this blog because many of my friends were asking me about different things regarding their health and about how to live a healthier life. They didn't want to abandoning their current lifestyle, but they knew some of the choices they made were not friendly to the health or the environment.

I hope you enjoy reading Life as a Healthy Mom and hope you find the resources you need to make the change.

It's All About the Compost

2012-06-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's All About the Compost!

I grew up as a suburbanite: living in a subdivision where house upon house was connected by the chain link fences lining the backyards. As an adult, I am still living life as a suburbanite, but now I live in a subdivision where the houses are spaced a bit wider apart, and trees separate the backyards; so every time you walk outside you are not coming face to face with your neighbor. And tucked right behind our fence, is my beloved composter. Actually I have two; one is a bin that my husband, Todd, lovingly built me for Mother's day one year, and the other is a turnable one that he bought me for this Mother's Day. Most women would not think a composter as a Mother's Day gift is considered a gesture of love; but I did, and I was ecstatic!!!

I didn't have my first contact with compost until I was a teenager, and began dating my husband. One day during the summer, we went to visit his grandparents. They had property up on a hill that had a huge garden. Although they are both gone now, I can still remember the blue overalls Grandpa would wear. When we arrived that day, we made our way up to the garden to where Grandpa was standing. He began talking about how the sheep manure was done (whatever that meant) and ready for the garden! And then he did the unthinkable......he grabbed a handful of this brown soil-like stuff from the pile, shoved it under my nose, and said, "smell it, it doesn't smell like anything!" Well, being a girl that thought gardens were only on farms, having a handful of sheep manure shoved under my nose is not what I called fun. Why would anyone want to smell decomposed animal droppings was beyond me!!! But respecting my elders and saying a little prayer, I took a little sniff. And you know, he was right. It didn't smell. My husband still talks about the look on my face the moment composted manure was put under my nose!

Not only did Grandpa use sheep manure to feed his gardens, he also had a worm bin that he dumped his morning coffee grounds in each morning. I am sure somewhere near the garden was a pile of scraps that was decomposing nicely under the summer sun. Fast forwarding to today, I began to really think about how many pounds of fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, egg shells, and anything else I was throwing away in a day could be composted. I decided to make my own science experiment. For an entire month, I weighed the scraps to see how much I would accumulate over a month. When the month was over, I added my daily totals, and to my surprise and excitement, the total came to 50 pounds! Yes, 50 pounds of scraps a month was the total just our family threw away that could be composted. Then I did the math; if just our subdivision composted their scraps, it averaged over 5,000 pounds in a month! If even a quarter of the American households composted, just think how many pounds of wastes we could prevent from going into a landfill while at the same time using this wonderful material to enrich our soils.

Composting is basically nature's process of recycling organic material, and the resulting rich brown soil can be used to add nutrients back into the earth. There are many ways you can compost. Some people just have a pile in the corner of their garden or backyard. If your interested in a slightly neater appearance, you can purchase a compost bin or make one yourself. Many people use worm bins to compost. Now once you decide what type of compost method you will use, you will need to make sure there is an equal amount of nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen comes from the "green" material: grass clippings, coffee grounds, fruit and veggie peelings, tea bags, crushed egg shells, and such. Carbon comes from "brown" sources: dried leaves, straw, dried grasses, or wood ash from untreated wood (but not too much). Things you need to avoid at all cost in putting in your compost are weeds that have gone to seed, dog or cat feces (which can carry parasite diseases), pesticides, fats, oils, grease, and any bones or meat scraps coming from an animal.

So start saving those scraps from the kitchen, and begin enriching our Earth. You can check with your local Department of Natural Resources for more information to get you started on having your own nature's recycling plant right in your own backyard.

Almond Meal

2012-06-13T15:44:00.002-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Each time I make almond milk, I make almond meal. It is the final step of "milking the almonds" as my husband says. How is almond meal and almond flour different? Almond meal tends to have the skins of the almond intact and has a coarser grind than almond flour does.

I freeze the almond meal after I make it, so it doesn't go rancid, and there are many uses for it.

You can:

add it as a filler in meatloaf
use it as a coating to baked chicken
substitute it for flour in muffins and other baked goods, such as cookies
add it into my morning smoothie for a touch of nutty flavor
add it to my morning oatmeal
add it to soups and stews to thicken it
sprinkle it over yogurt and fresh cut fruit

See my post about how to make almond milk. You will be making the almond meal from the almond mush left over.

1. Scoop the almond mush out of the strainer and spread it onto
the fruit roll up tray of the dehydrator.

2. Set the dehydrator setting to the nut setting.

3. Dehydrate overnight or 10-12 hours.

4. After the almonds are dried, process it in a food processor until
fine.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can spread the almond mush on a baking sheet and dehydrate it in the oven at the lowest setting (with the oven door ajar) until the almonds are dry.

There you have it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy (as my son would say).

Kale Chips

2012-06-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Kale.....it seems this leafy vegetable is the new kid on the block. In my quest to find a kale recipe that my family would like, I started to look.......where else? Pinterest. If you have been on Pinterest, you can find dozens of kale chip recipes. The majority of them advise you to drizzle olive oil on the leaves and sprinkle them with sea salt. I tried that way, and my family wouldn't eat them. The crunch was good, but the bitter aftertaste was not.

Recently, a neighbor dropped off a bag of kale and a bag of lettuce harvested from a biodynamic, organic farm in our state. Her sister belongs to a CSA that provided the lettuce and gave it to my neighbor. My neighbor was preparing to go on vacation, so she gave it to me because she knew we would eat it. I love my neighbors! I am determined to include this vegetable into our daily eating because this cruciferous vegetable packs a nutrition powerhouse. What better way to introduce it to the family than using local, organic produce?

One cup of kale provides:
5 grams of fiber
15% RDA of calcium and vitamin B6
40% RDA of magnesium
200% RDA of vitamin C
180% RDA of vitamin A
and a whopping 1020% of vitamin K.

So off to the kitchen I went. My family loves spices and seasonings, so the sea salt wasn't going to cut it for our family. So I decided to pump up the seasonings, and see what would happen. Once the kale chips were out of the oven, I popped one in my mouth, and it like heaven.

The taste reminded me of some fried escarole that I had tried at a local Italian restaurant my husband and I went to on New Year's Eve. Needless to say, after trying the escarole, I almost ordered it as a main course because it was so good. I'm telling you, these kale chips could compete with the fried escarole in my book.

Enjoy!

Garlic Parmesan Kale Chips

1 pound kale, rinsed and dried
2 tbsp organic, virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix last four ingredients in a large bowl. Add kale. Toss to coat. Spread kale evenly on a baking sheet (you may need 2) so that the leaves do not overlap. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn leaves over. Bake another 5 or until the leaves begin to brown and are crunchy.

Caramel Popcorn

2012-06-01T15:47:00.001-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

I usually try to keep our snacking on the healthy side......but every once in a while, we all need something sweet to eat. In preparing for having a few of my son's friends over for a sleepover, I decided to make a batch of caramel popcorn for them to munch as they camp out in the backyard.

I have had this recipe for many years, and I have made it many times..................it's foolproof and so delicious. It's a great thing to make for gift giving during the holidays too. While I was making this batch, I found little, kid vultures circling the kitchen waiting for the popcorn to come out of the oven!!

It's called "poppycock" but I there are times that I decide to add pecans and almonds in it, and other times I just want the crunchy, sweetness of the popcorn.

Caramel Popcorn

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c honey OR 1 1/4 c. organic sugar + 1/4 c. water
1 tsp. salt
5 quarts of popcorn, popped
1 tsp. vanilla

If you want to turn it into Poppycock, add to the popped corn:

6 oz slivered almonds
10 oz chopped pecans

Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once it comes to a rolling boil, stop stirring and let it boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda (be careful when adding this, because it will boil up and the mixture is VERY hot!)

Immediately (and carefully) drizzle the caramel over the popcorn. Toss with a wooden spoon until the popcorn is well coated.

Pour into 2 large baking pans. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until dry, stirring every 15 minutes.

Enjoy! Now..............I'm hoping it makes it until tomorrow!

**Keep in mind that I still try to use organic ingredients even when I make treats like this.

2012-05-30T11:46:00.001-07:00

On my last blog post, I talked about planning summer activities for my children when they were younger. And now that they are older, I need to back off on planning every minute of their summer. With that being said, they will continue to do their chores as they are expected to do during the school year, and then some. I already explained to them that I am not their maid, I am their Mom (sometimes they get that confused), and I want to enjoy my summer as much as they do and not be in the house cleaning all the time.

So we sat down and discussed how they wanted to do the chores. In years past, I had a list of daily chores they needed to do, but I found that many of the chores needed to be done immediately, like emptying out the dishwasher, and they were at school or not home. They also informed me they did not like doing the same chores every day. I could understand that. That could be a bit boring, so I changed my strategy. We now have a plate that is on a plate stand that I write down what I need done each day. It sits on a table in the foyer, so when they come downstairs in the morning, there is no missing the list!

Photo by Life as A Healthy Mom

We decided that since they will be expected to do more chores, they will get an increase in allowance. I feel it helps them budget money, understand the value of a dollar, and not have to ask Mom or Dad for a handout for every little thing. They already know that if we are at a store and they want something frivolous, such as an iTunes™ card, they need to have their money with them. I want my children to grow up not relying on their parents to pay for everything. My husband and I were blessed with parents that expected each of us to get a job, pay for our own car, car insurance, car repairs (my dad showed me how to change my brake pads on my car), gas, and anything else we “wanted” once we had that job. They paid for our needs, not our wants. Because of learning how to save and being responsible with money, my husband and I were able to buy a nice starter home at the age of 20 years old right before we married. In a few years our children will be of driving age, and it isn’t too late to teach money responsibility. Recently, my son received a cell phone for his 13^th birthday…..he only has been begging for one for a couple of years because “all the other kids have them”, We bought him a phone, as a gift, with the indication that once the minutes that we placed on the phone were used, he was responsible for buying more minutes. He is very careful about not wasting his minutes!! My daughter has been saving up for a Kindle Fire for the past 6 months. With a boost of her savings from her birthday money, she was able to purchase it, and $25 in an Amazon™ card, on her own. But I digress……back to the chores!!

Here is a list of chores that I have assigned them:

Daily:

Walk the Dogs
Make Bed
Feed Dogs/Wash Pet Bowls
Spend 5-10 Minutes Picking up Room
Take Vitamin (I know it isn't a chore, but I want to remind them to do it

As Needed (I choose 2-3 daily)

Dust Bedroom
Dust Dining Room
Vacuum/Dust Sunroom
Put Laundry Away
Wipe Down Vanity, Toilet, Mirror in Kids Bathroom
Wipe Down Vanity, Toilet, Mirror in Master Bathroom
Wipe Down Window Sills in Sunroom
Empty Kichen Trash Cans
Vacuum/Dust Family Room
Clean Patio Door
Vacuum Upstairs
Bring in Trash Cans After Trash Pickup
Empty Small Trashcans Throughout the House

Once a Week, my son mows the grass and my daughter picks up “yard bombs” as we call them.

Ideally they should be done in 10-15 minutes, and I explained that I expect them done by 10 am. If they are done at 9 a.m., that is even better! By 10 a.m., they are free to spend the rest of the day enjoying the summer. My friend, Jennifer, made a wonderful suggestion about what she does with her girls (who are of the same age as my two children). When the girls make the choice to not complete their chores…….she docks their pay!!! Yep, if they don’t do as they are told, they do not get paid for that day. And, if the other sibling wants to do the chore for them, she gets paid the money. Isn’t that a great idea? So I implemented that idea into the chores requirements.

Now onto me…..I have chores too! But I organized my chores in a way that not only keeps the house in tip-top shape; it will keep me in tip-top shape too. Here is my schedule/chores:

6:00 - 7:00          Check Computer/Read/Meditate

7:00 - 8:00           Exercise

Monday/Wednesday/Friday-Stair Step /Weight Training

Tuesday/Thursday--Step Aerobics

8:00 - 10:00       Make Breakfast/Shower

                              Do Chores:

                               Dishes                            Sweep Floor                Wipe Down Counters
                               Clean Appliances          Empty Compost         Water Plants Outside
                               Wipe Appliances           Make Bed                    Wipe Down Guest Bathroom

Once a week I pick a chore based on what needs done: laundry, iron, thoroughly clean kids bathroom, thoroughly clean master bathroom, mop kitchen floor (that is more 2-3 times a week).

We just started this schedule, and it is working out quite nicely, so far!

Summertime is Here!

2012-05-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation is almost here! The kids have 4 more days until school is out, and I have been internally stressing about how I can keep the household organized and running smoothly while they are home. During the school year, it's easy. I have lots of time to get everything done. When they are on summer vacation, it can easily become a madhouse at a drop of a hat..or dirty glasses and plates left on the table....or a soaked beach towel lying on the kitchen floor....or the proverbial "mom, can we have a snack" as my daughter marches in 5 of her friend through the front door. You understand where I am going with this, right? I am a bit of a type A personality, so waking up and deciding to go downtown to the zoo or the science center on the spur of the moment never worked for me. I gotta have a plan!

Considering my son turned 13 (gulp!) and my daughter is turning 11 on Wednesday, I no longer plan a daily outing to keep them busy. I have quickly learned the complaining that ensues when I mention going on an outing has become too much for me.

When they were little, I planned out the entire summer on a calendar, so the kids knew what what to expect each day. So if your children are still elementary school age, this is a simple plan to follow. I planned it in such a way that I only spent $20 week total for the outings.......not including gas. Many of the attractions in our area have free admission, so I made sure I utilized that in my planning. Our local movie theatres also had a summer series of movies at a reduced price. And.............we have the privilege of having an amusement park within a 5 minute drive from our house. We purchased season passes, so we could do for a couple of hours on a weekly basis. The kids learned quickly NOT to ask for any souvenirs or food. We would eat a snack in the parking lot, spend a couple of hours riding rides, and head back home for lunch. It was a beautiful thing!

So here is a quick rundown on how I planned summers years ago:

Mondays--Park Day. We visited a local park with a playground. Some of them even had water features.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Tuesdays--Movie/Amusement Park. We flip flopped each week by either going the amusement park or to the movies. The amusement park also has a water park attached to it, so if it was too hot we would spend a couple hours there instead of riding rides. The movies were part of a summer series, therefore the admittance fee was $1-$2.

Photo by Life as A Healthy Mom

Wednesdays--Field Trip!! We would have a big outing. If we went to the movies and spent money that week, we would go to a free admission attraction, such as a museum or zoo.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Thursdays--Friend Day. The kids each chose a friend to call beforehand, and we planned fun activities to do at home. Then Momma would get all the chores, such as laundry, completed in between sprinkler time, snacks, and other fun stuff. When they got bored, I packed up our stuff, and we walked down to the subdivision pool for a few hours.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Fridays--Errands Anyone? A momma has got to get her errands done sometime, and I wasn't about to do my grocery shopping on a Saturday...weekend were set aside for family time.

So, there you have it. This is how I USED to plan out summers when they were little.

NOW...............At the ages they are now, their time spent with friends becomes priority (sigh). So I have chucked the field trip day, friend day, and pretty much every planned day when they were little. I asked them what they wanted to do, and it was a rather simple list such as going to the pool. I realized we are in a different chapter of life called adolescence...and I have learned to roll with it and not plan almost every day of their summer like I used to.

I know myself well enough that if I let "the flow of summer happen", nothing is going to happen. We will become lazy, sit in front of the television watching who knows what, and wonder where the summer went as we are preparing to return to school mid-August.

So, here is what I have planned this summer......a morning schedule to get things done. That's it.  If they think they are going into summer chore free and allowing the maid, I mean Mom, to do everything they got another thing coming. By 10 am, chores are done and they are free to hang out with friends.  They will receive a raise in allowance during the summer months because they are expected to do more chores than usual.  If the kids budget accordingly, when a friend invites one of them to go somewhere, my son and daughter have the money to go.

So as the school year winds down, our summer will be winding up and I am ready now that I have this simple plan in place.  Happy Summer!

P.S--If you are wondering what chores I have in mind for the kids, I am planning on posting our schedule and list for the summer in my next blog entry.

2012-05-10T05:33:00.003-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

A couple of years ago, my father gave me a foyer table that was in his childhood home. I cherish items that tell a story, and I wanted to implement the table into our decor. Unfortunately, it really didn't fit into our decor.

I tried to place the table in the corner of our sun room and place plants on it. It looked okay, I guess, but every time I walked past it the placement just didn't seem right. So I put the table in the garage.

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

During the holidays, I moved it to a corner of our dining room, and used it for a place to do our Christmas puzzle. After the holidays, it just sat in the corner, like a child being punished. So then, I put it back in the garage.

Shortly after I realized it didn't fit in our home (or at least I thought), I asked my siblings if they wanted it because I wanted it to stay in the family. My one brother said he would take it; I think he was being nice because he didn't want me to get rid of it either, but he really didn't have room for it. So the table went in the garage for storage; and there it sat for months.

Until...................I began my spring cleaning and took everything out of the sun room to scrub the windows and tile floor. Believe me, dragging it all out is much easier than maneuvering around the furniture to clean all the windows. When I began placing the furniture back in, I got this epiphany. I measured the back of our couch, and went into the garage to measure the table. It was the perfect height for a behind the couch!!! I was so excited. I dragged the table back into the house and placed it behind the couch.

It fit perfectly in the corner, and the ornate design shows beautifully from the outside. While shopping for Mother's Day gifts, I came across the green plant on clearance for $2.44. I used terracotta pots from my collection, and treated myself to the aloe plant that I always wanted.........for $5.

Everything else on the table was pulled from other rooms. The aqua bowl was made by my husband as a child and was given to me by my husband's mom. The tall metal dog sculpture is to honor the passing our our Dalmatian, Tessa; and the small sculpture commemorates acquiring our dog, Toby. Can you tell I am a sap for memories?

Now, ever time I walk into my sun room............I smile. I have always loved my sun room, but now my smile is much wider. Finally, my grandmother's table has found it's permanent spot in my home, and it's perfect!

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Homemade Yogurt

2012-04-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Can I get preface this post by saying "I love Pinterest!" As much as I do in terms of making things from scratch and gaining new information about health, it takes alot of time researching, reading, and implementing. What I love about Pinterest is that it has allowed me to look up stuff, such as recipes, from like-minded people rather than googling it only to have alot of websites show up that may or may not fit my needs.

Oh..........and it has opened my world in knowing there are ALOT of things that I can make at home without having to buy it at the grocery store. And save money...I'm all about that, as long as it keeps with my healthy bottom line.

Take for example--- YOGURT! Seriously? I can make my own yogurt in a crockpot? I had read many years ago that it could be done, but I had to buy this electric contraption in order to make it; at it was only for yogurt. I refused to buy the $50 appliance just for the principle of it. So I continued to buy my Oikos Organic Plain Greek Yogurt for my parfaits, and Stonyfield Organic Plain Yogurt for the smoothies, ranch dressing, and dip for the kid's veggies, and recycled the plastic container. Well......not anymore (insert in the mad scientist laugh)!

I found this recipe on Pinterest for crockpot yogurt from a blog named Over at Julies, by Julie Backus. I followed her instructions on making it to the T (including setting the timer). The only thing I changed was that I used kefir, which is a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains, instead of yogurt. The yogurt I had in the fridge had pectin in it. Kefir has a little bit of a tangier taste, but it has so many more probiotic properties than regular yogurt. Next time, I will use regular yogurt or a yogurt starter to compare the difference in taste.

I also strained 1/2 of the yogurt in cheesecloth to make a thicker greek yogurt, and left the other 1/2 in it's regular state for pourable yogurt.

Here is Julie's recipe for Crockpot Yogurt:

This recipe uses a 3 quart crock pot.

Makes 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS

2 quarts whole milk

fresh or frozen variety of fruit

honey or maple syrup for sweetening yogurt and fruit

DIRECTIONS

Pour 2 quarts of milk carefully into your crock pot bowl.
Turn heat to low. Cover and heat milk for 2 hrs and 45 minutes. Be sure and use a timer!
When timer goes off, turn off crock pot, keep lid on, and set timer for an additional 3 hour “cool down” time.
After 3 hours, ladle 1 cup of the very warm, crock pot milk into a small bowl.
To the very warm milk add ½ cup of natural, live culture, no pectin added, "plain" yogurt, like Chobani Greek Yogurt. That's your starter to produce a batch of new, live culture, yogurt. Whisk together well. Pour milk mixed with yogurt back into crock pot bowl and whisk gently to incorporate.
Unplug crock pot. Cover with two bath towels and leave it to “culture” overnight for at least 8-12 hrs.
In the morning, place tea towel in colander and pour yogurt into towel-lined colander placed over a large bowl. Drain off 1 to 2 cups of whey. Whey is very healthy and can be used in place of water to make homemade breads.
Save out 1/2 cup of yogurt to use as starter for your next batch of Easy Crock Pot Yogurt. Starter should be used within a week. You may use homemade yogurt as starter 3 times before buying more natural, no pectin added, plain yogurt, like Chobani as your starter.
Yogurt may be stored in a large jar and dished out for individual use. With small, covered, individual containers: place chopped fruit in the bottom of each container, sweetened with 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey; add yogurt and finish off with a little drizzle of syrup or honey and snap on cover.
Store in the refrigerator for a week. Yogurt will thicken as it cools, but you must try it before you cool it because the yogurt has such a delicate texture before it is cooled.
Whey will last 6 months in the refrigerator.

It turned out perfect! And I felt so empowered to know I can do this stuff at home and not have to rely on yet another container of processed food! Enjoy!