Mom on the Rise

Fresh Juice Recipe: Super Greens Juice

2010-03-08T05:51:05Z

Another juice recipe for you. If you tried the Beet, Carrot, Apple Ginger Juice, I would love to know what you thought.

Today I tried a Super Greens Juice. If you are confused about what “Greens” are, here’s a tip: veggies and fruit that are green in color. Think kale, celery, spinach, collard greens, beet greens, broccoli, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, wheatgrass sprouts, onion sprouts and so many more. Greens Juice is great for cleansing your body and jump staring any weight loss program. Owning Pink does a great job of explaining the amazingness of Green Juice so go there and read about it.

This Super Greens Juice recipe comes from Goop again but I encourage you all to try different variations. I have adjusted the recipe to make three 12 oz glasses.

2 cups of Kale (use everything)
1 whole Lemon
2 inches of Ginger
8 stalks of Celery
3 whole Pears

Run everything through the juicer. Remember that leafy veggies are a pain so to make sure that they juice completely, I wrapped the kale around the celery sticks. Made life A LOT easier. Also, make sure you stir your juice very well.

Fresh Juice Recipe: Beet, Carrot, Apple and Ginger

2010-03-06T21:19:13Z

In an effort to cleanse my body of toxins (also called “yuckies” by my 3.5 year old daughter), I have been embarked on a detox journey using a menu plan written by Gwyneth Paltrow with her doctor, Dr. Alejandro Junger author of the book “Clean”. I know a lot of people hate Gwyneth Paltrow, but I absolute love her site Goop as it has good tips for health.

At any rate, my husband and I bought a juicer two years ago and we were using it almost every day. Then for some reason, we just stopped. Detoxing has given me the opportunity to bring it out again and include fresh juice into my diet. Here is a tip: if you have a juicer, keep it out on the counter or you will never use it. I know that it’s big, but you know the saying, “out of sight, out of mind,” right? It’s true. So keep it out and then you can incorporate that into your daily menus.

On to the Beet, Carrot, Apple Ginger Juice. It’s a beautiful color, isn’t it? Before I decided to make this juice I looked up the benefits of beets in your diet. Beets have been shown to low blood pressure (not for people with hypertension) and are a powerful blood and system cleanser. It is also believed that beets can increase stamina and provide numerous heart-healthy benefits. It is being called a super juice and while I know that there is no one cure for all that ails, I am willing to add more healthy things into my diet.

The recipe follows but I want to share my thoughts on this juice. It actually tastes good despite the fact that I really don’t like beets. I did notice that my stomach began cramping while drinking my version which leads me to believe that I used too much beet juice in proportion to the other ingredients. Beets are a natural laxative and work rather quickly. Stick as close to the recipe as possible. The recipe below comes directly from the Goop site.

SERVES: 1
TIME: 5 minutes

1 large or 2 medium beets, cut into wedges (My Note: I’m not sure this includes the greens. I did not as I used them for another recipe. Also, I’m not sure if beets are supposed to be peeled or not. I juiced everything but the greens.)

1/2 lemon, zest and pith removed

2 large carrots

1 large apple, cut into wedges

1″ piece of ginger

Juice everything into a glass, give it a stir and enjoy.

Happy Birthday Nicola

2010-02-27T08:40:55Z

In Loving Memory of Nicola Diana Kennedy

You would have been 37 today and for reasons still unknown you were taken from us just 9 days after you turned 36. Life has been so hard since then. I tried to be strong– to keep Jaida and Kayla together to ease the pain that they were feeling. I have endured criticism from many– both to my face and behind my back– for things that were beyond my control and even now I am sure that people are whispering about how I am not doing what I should to make sure that everyone is OK. But, and it has taken most of the year for me to realize this, none of that matters because when it comes right down to it, no one can ever truly understand the bond between sisters.

You and Caroline are the first friends I ever knew. You were my protectors when life was scary and our bond was so much stronger than the future arguments that would tear us all apart for so many years. We are survivors. Foster parents, orphanages, adoption, daddy’s death.… Hell, we survived Momma Kennedy and her strict parenting! We were always there for eachother even if that meant not being there at all.

No one can ever truly understand that bond and no one can take that away.

I miss you. I miss the times that we shared– our dance routines, hair and makeup lessons, sneaking out to Skate Key and the Fever and your advice on how to deal with our mother. I miss your smile and your willingness to help everyone– even those who did nothing but take advantage of you. I miss your passion to live and your hot temper. I miss the phone calls and our talks about sex and all the things that we were told were naughty. I long so much for the days of Clear Pool Camp, double dutch at Grandma’s, and you braiding my hair so tightly that I would cry just from mom telling you to do my hair.

I wish that I could have protected you from all of the chaos, but you wouldn’t let me. You never let me forget that you were my big sister. I wish that I could tell you that I love you and hear you tell me again. I wish that you and Caroline could have said the things that you both really wanted to say to each other. I wish that we could have all just hugged each other one last time.

Nicola, I miss you so very much. I have let go of all of anger and the hurt. Caroline and I understand now. We will honor our sisterhood because we learned from you just how short life is and how much regret weighs.

I am eternally grateful for the time we shared. I was blessed to have you and to have known the real you. We will forever be the Kennedy Girls and I will love you always. Happy Birthday.

Your baby sister,
Kristina

In Memory of a Little Life

2010-02-26T04:53:44Z

In Loving Memory of Samantha Michelle
Born too Soon at 19.5 weeks
February 22, 2003

Bad Mommy: Yup, That’s Me!

2010-02-22T00:45:49Z

In keeping with my not-so-vocalized plan to take care of myself this year, I have been going to various doctors to ensure that my health is up to par. This includes the dentist. Back in December a tooth broke so I found a dentist who referred me to a Periodontist to make sure that the gum area where the tooth broke was clean enough to have a replacement. Between my dentist appointment and my periodontics appointment, the tooth next to the on that fell out– a tooth that was previously root canaled– also fell out.My years of making fun od the various toothless people in my college town of Oneonta were coming back to haunt me! At any rate, I saw the periodontist on Saturday and had to have both teeth extracted.

If you have never had a tooth extracted, consider yourself lucky. In fact, despite having been in labor for over 30 hours and eventually having to recover from a c-section, I will tell you that the post-operative pain of a tooth extraction is the WORST pain that I have ever felt. It is a combination of back labor mixed with a perineum tear all while having a root canal without anesthesia. One day after the surgery, I found myself breaking down in tears every few minutes as my body received jolts of pain.

Now, I have pain killers. He prescribed, along with an antibiotic, Tylenol with Codine which never really works for me but does allow me to sleep. However, when it comes to drugs, I am a lightweight. One Tylenol PM knocks me out for 12 hours and I have to refrain from taking anything when I am home alone with my daughter. So today, while my husband was at work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, I was forced to go medicine free, take care of my daughter and even walk the dog.

And that’s where the “bad mommy” thing comes into the play. My husband fed her breakfast this morning, and for lunch I fed her fudge cookies and milk. I followed that up with a snack of fudge cookies and a few sips of my soda. For dinner, I begged her dad to bring her Chicken Nuggets and apple slices from McDonald’s. I did not get her dressed today nor were her teeth brushed this morning.

And I feel very guilty. This never happens– even when I am sick she gets balanced meals and a bath. Today, however, I had an Aiming Low moment and I swear all I could do was apologize to my husband. Luckily, the Tylenol with Codine will kick in soon and I suspect that the guilt would be forgotten. I am sharing this simply because I want proof that we all mess up. And that I am human.

Valentine’s Day Purge

2010-02-14T21:38:29Z

Andrew and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Much like her, we choose to only indulge in discounted chocolates the day after. For us love is about the every day not about the forced emotional displays of affection. Social Media, as much as I love it, is much like Valentine’s Day– forced relationship fluff. Lately, I have been feeling suffocated by my online life. So, in keeping with my desire to be fluff-free I have been doing a little purging.

Twitter Purge

I have multiple Twitter accounts but @momontherise is my main account for this blogging. Unfortunately, it is also one of the reasons that I haven’t really been into Twitter lately. I was following so may people that I really felt there was not personal involvement. When Google introduced Buzz I was immediately drawn to it because of the personal nature of the network. You connect to people right away in part because you can follow conversations and such. As I talked about this with a few online friends, one mentioned how she had unfollowed every one in her Twitter stream and started adding only those who she wanted to connect with. She pointed me to http://www.unfolloweveryone.com and I immediately decided that this was the greatest thing since WiFi. I followed suit and went from follow over 5,0o0 people to none to 150. I am only adding those who I actually talk to– those who are more interested in selling me their business or services without connecting on a personal level will have to go. I find it very difficult to function in the noise.

Facebook Purge

Since refocusing on building my businesses (kristinabrooke.org and Moms/We of Hue), I decided to extend my purging to facebook too. I started by removing myself from all the games that I played on the site (Cafe World and Mafia Wars are addicting), blocking the applications that were too distracting, and then I removed over 100 “friends’ from high school, college, and previous jobs. The fact of the matter is there is no point being connected to people who you never really liked or connected with in real life anyway. I hated HS and really have bad memories of a lot of my so called friends from those years. Having them on my FB page made me second guess what I was posting and it was just too stifling. So, I broke up with them. The games were eating away at my productivity and I had to remove them too.

Next Steps

Prior to writing this post I opened up my Gmail account and decided to unsubscribe from all the mailing lists, newsletters, and other groups that I get email from but never read. I am tired of opening my Inbox and finding over 1000 messages most of which I delete without reading anyway. If I don’t care, I am not going to subscribe.

I am also going to clean out my Bloglines account and remove the blogs that don’t update or the ones that I really don’t read. I just don’t have the energy to deal with the overcrowding.

I’ll be writing about my In-Real-Life friends Purge soon too.

Are you purging? How?

Economic Pinch Blog Design Special

2010-02-19T20:05:42Z

I design web sites like this one, and this one, and this one, and even this one. I am currently running a design special to help those who are feeling the stress of the economy get makeovers for their sites.

What’s the Deal? Well, I would love to tell you here but Mrs. Cooper does it so much better. So check out her post to learn more!

Sinful Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal with Cinnamon Toast

2010-02-11T05:03:12Z

I have to apologize for not having a picture of this. It’s been a while since I have made this for my family. I will make it soon and add a pictures.

For the Oatmeal

Crockpot (I recommend the Rival 5-Quart Smart-Pot Slow Cooker)
3 cups of Steel Cup Oats (DO NOT USE QUICK OATS OR REGULAR OATMEAL. YOU WILL HAVE MUSH IF YOU DO)
8 cups of water
2 cups of fat-free Evaporated Milk
2 cups of Skim Milk
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
1.5 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 stick of butter
1 large apple and 1 large pear (optional)

(Makes 8 servings)

To ensure that the oatmeal does not stick to the crockpot, spray it with cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot starting with the liquids first. I find that it cooks better if the liquids although I can’t really explain why. Place the butter in last. Cook on low for at least 6 hours. I cook it overnight. When you awake in the morning add slice the apples and pears and add it to the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

For the Toast

Lightly toast 8 slices of bread in the toaster
Place them on a cookie sheet
Put 2 slabs of butter on each piece of bread
Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar

Place cookie sheet with bread in the oven at 375 degrees until toast is hardened Takes about 5–7 minutes.

Serve oatmeal with a slice of cinnamon toast.

A Happy Birthday Wish to My Hubby

2010-02-10T06:43:01Z

It’s your birthday, a day of joy
and I’m happy to celebrate
But if you think I’m walking the dog
you over-estimate!
I love you!

Wednesday Dinner: Onion Mushroom Burgers with Mashed Potatoes

2010-02-04T04:11:47Z

I love coming up with new recipes and new ways to try some old-time favorites with a new twist. If you have been following my weight loss journey you know that I have a serious problem getting enough protein in my diet. So, I decided to add a little ground beef to my menu. The problem is that I really don’t like the taste of meat. It makes me gag to think that I have to eat beef.

So tonight I tried to create a burger that was more like a Salisbury steak and paired with some of my favorite veggies: mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.

Burger Recipe

Mushroom Sauce:

1 pint Baby Bella Mushrooms
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper

Saute this mixture starting with the onions and then adding the green peppers and then the mushrooms. Cook on medium until the green peppers and mushrooms have released all of their liquids. ( I learned this techniques from the Iron Chef competitions). Remove from pan.

Burger Seasonings (I cook by smell so the measurements are all palm –sized)

Black pepper
Ground Thyme
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Red Pepper
Cumin

In a bowl combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. Mix half of the dry mixture into the ground beef. Form your burgers (4) and “flour” each burger patty with the remaining dry seasoning mix. Cook burgers in pan (8 minutes on each side if you like yours well done).

For Sauce

Mushroom, Onion, Pepper mixture
1 cups of hot water with a beef bouillon cube dissolved
.5 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

Remove the burgers from the pan and add vinegar and water/broth. With fire on medium scrap bottom of pan and mix well. Add MOP mixture and bring to a slight boil. Add burgers back to pan and cover. Turn fire to low and cook until the middles of the burgers are as pink as you want (I like them well-done so it took about 13 minutes to cook thoroughly. This will differ based on the thickness of your burger)

Serve with mashed potatoes (I used instant mashed potatoes and made them with Soy Milk) and a side salad (my salad had baby carrots, 2 kinds of lettuce, peppers, mushrooms, and onions). Cover mashed potatoes and burgers with sauce/MOP mixture.

The burger is about 215 calories alone.

Mom on the Rise

Fresh Juice Recipe: Super Greens Juice

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Fresh Juice Recipe: Beet, Carrot, Apple and Ginger

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Happy Birthday Nicola

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In Memory of a Little Life

In Loving Memory of Samantha Michelle
Born too Soon at 19.5 weeks
February 22, 2003

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Bad Mommy: Yup, That’s Me!

You May Also Like:

Valentine’s Day Purge

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Economic Pinch Blog Design Special

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Sinful Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal with Cinnamon Toast

For the Oatmeal

For the Toast

Similar Posts

A Happy Birthday Wish to My Hubby

It’s your birthday, a day of joy
and I’m happy to celebrate
But if you think I’m walking the dog
you over-estimate!
I love you!

You May Also Like:

Wednesday Dinner: Onion Mushroom Burgers with Mashed Potatoes

*The picture features a very large burger that I cut in thirds.

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Mom on the Rise

Fresh Juice Recipe: Super Greens Juice

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Fresh Juice Recipe: Beet, Carrot, Apple and Ginger

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Happy Birthday Nicola

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In Memory of a Little Life

In Loving Memory of Samantha Michelle Born too Soon at 19.5 weeks February 22, 2003

Similar Posts

Bad Mommy: Yup, That’s Me!

You May Also Like:

Valentine’s Day Purge

You May Also Like:

Economic Pinch Blog Design Special

Similar Posts

Sinful Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal with Cinnamon Toast

For the Oatmeal

For the Toast

Similar Posts

A Happy Birthday Wish to My Hubby

It’s your birthday, a day of joy and I’m happy to celebrate But if you think I’m walking the dog you over-estimate! I love you!

You May Also Like:

Wednesday Dinner: Onion Mushroom Burgers with Mashed Potatoes

*The picture features a very large burger that I cut in thirds.

Similar Posts

In Loving Memory of Samantha Michelle
Born too Soon at 19.5 weeks
February 22, 2003

It’s your birthday, a day of joy
and I’m happy to celebrate
But if you think I’m walking the dog
you over-estimate!
I love you!