I just read an interesting article in our local paper : suspended for a hug. A middle school boy has been suspended for hugging a female classmate. It was clearly an innocent hug, no hanky panky. Seems a bit overkill, don't you think? I greet friends, or even some acquaintances with a hug at times. I guess I'm what you call a "hugger" or a "touchy feely" kinda chick. My own children ages 5 & 6 even hug their friends when leaving a playdate. Parenting is hard enough, do we even have to begin questioning an innocent hug?
As parents, we constantly have to ponder whether our punishments were fitting for the crime, or if we were too strict to begin with. (at least that's what I do...over analyzing everything..) I really want to head down to Florida and give these people a hug. I think they need it.
Keep huggin'.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
A long time ago, a girl blogged. It has been over a year- wowzers! Currently, the kids have gotten larger and the Hubby even more handsome. We still battle food allergies and traffic here in good 'ol Jerzee. So here I am, again. I was asked by several friends and comrades to share the Mini Pumpkin Muffin recipe from my jewelry party the other day, so here goes:
MINI PUMPKIN MUFFIN YUMMIES (GLUTEN FREE)
About 32 mini muffins
1 1/4 C gluten free flour blend of your choice
2 tsps baking powder (gluten free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xatham gum
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 C sugar
2 Tb ground flaxseed mixed with 4 1/2 Tb water( let sit for a few minutes before adding ) this is how you make flaxseed "eggs"
1 1/2 C canned pumpkin
2 tsps vanilla (gluten free)
1/3 C oil ( I used canola, but will probably try melted coconut oil next time )
Prepare mini muffin pans by using small muffin liners.
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, xantham gum, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flaxseed "eggs", pumpkin, vanilla, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Spoon into prepared mini muffin liners. Bake until toothpick comes clean and springy to the touch., approx 15-18 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Delicious!!
I am not a professional, but I love to make any food "nonallergenic" and gluten free so that my entire household can enjoy. The trick is always to make it yummy enough the Hubby doesn't know the difference.
As I move forward with my Holistic Health Coach training and meeting so many amazing people, I hope that my little recipes will evolve into a safe place for people to learn about holistic healing, gluten free cooking and so much more.
MINI PUMPKIN MUFFIN YUMMIES (GLUTEN FREE)
About 32 mini muffins
1 1/4 C gluten free flour blend of your choice
2 tsps baking powder (gluten free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xatham gum
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 C sugar
2 Tb ground flaxseed mixed with 4 1/2 Tb water( let sit for a few minutes before adding ) this is how you make flaxseed "eggs"
1 1/2 C canned pumpkin
2 tsps vanilla (gluten free)
1/3 C oil ( I used canola, but will probably try melted coconut oil next time )
Prepare mini muffin pans by using small muffin liners.
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, xantham gum, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flaxseed "eggs", pumpkin, vanilla, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Spoon into prepared mini muffin liners. Bake until toothpick comes clean and springy to the touch., approx 15-18 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Delicious!!
I am not a professional, but I love to make any food "nonallergenic" and gluten free so that my entire household can enjoy. The trick is always to make it yummy enough the Hubby doesn't know the difference.
As I move forward with my Holistic Health Coach training and meeting so many amazing people, I hope that my little recipes will evolve into a safe place for people to learn about holistic healing, gluten free cooking and so much more.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
color me WHAT???
The anxiety is overwhelming. Really, never have I felt so frustrated and afraid to commit.
After 10 years Hubby and I have decided to paint the living room. It is currently white.
So we have smudged a few samples on the wall and I cannot decide what I want. I thought I wanted some color. I ended up with beiges, greys and off whites. But even they are just sitting there on the wall saying "come on G, do it do it...." I can't commit. Not to one damn color. I am afraid. This is our living room here. The room we all hang out in....everyday. I actually have to keep putting down all my painting swatch books and leaving the room because it is so anxiety inducing for me.
But we need this. I certainly do not feel that I have left my mark in this room yet, and I find myself struggling with the fact that maybe, just maybe, I don't know what my mark is yet. So ridiculous, I know, you don't have to tell me. In fact, if Hubby came home tomorrow and said he wanted to have another baby, that would be easy. If I had to go out and buy a new refrigerator, no problem- we could have that picked out in an hour. But paint, hold on, I had no idea that this was so difficult.
uh.
I need to stop talking about it now because I feel an anxiety attack coming on.
uh.
After 10 years Hubby and I have decided to paint the living room. It is currently white.
So we have smudged a few samples on the wall and I cannot decide what I want. I thought I wanted some color. I ended up with beiges, greys and off whites. But even they are just sitting there on the wall saying "come on G, do it do it...." I can't commit. Not to one damn color. I am afraid. This is our living room here. The room we all hang out in....everyday. I actually have to keep putting down all my painting swatch books and leaving the room because it is so anxiety inducing for me.
But we need this. I certainly do not feel that I have left my mark in this room yet, and I find myself struggling with the fact that maybe, just maybe, I don't know what my mark is yet. So ridiculous, I know, you don't have to tell me. In fact, if Hubby came home tomorrow and said he wanted to have another baby, that would be easy. If I had to go out and buy a new refrigerator, no problem- we could have that picked out in an hour. But paint, hold on, I had no idea that this was so difficult.
uh.
I need to stop talking about it now because I feel an anxiety attack coming on.
uh.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Gluten Free Pancake Recipe
ah, another a few days have passed and I realized that I never posted that pancake recipe!!
Gluten-Free Pancakes
1 1/2 Cups Gluten-Free Arrowhead Mills All Purpose Baking Mix
1 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 mashed banana ( or 2 TB oil )
1 Tb vinegar PLUS enought milk to make 1 Cup (or use buttermilk)
4 egg whites
Combine everything except the egg whites.
Whisk or beat the egg whites to fluff them up (is that a cooking term??)LOL
Fold egg whites into batter mixture, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. (this seemed to be a prevalent step in most of the gluten free pancake recipes I came across)
Grease heated griddle (I used coconut oil as I had just bought it and have been trying it in many different recipes - it gave the pancakes a great taste!)
After I made 1/2 of the batch I really wanted some blueberry pancakes, so I folded in some berries- however when I did this, the batter seemed to lose some of it airiness. Next time I will fold the berries in with the egg whites (had to use those fresh Jersey blueberries!)
Enjoy!
Gluten-Free Pancakes
1 1/2 Cups Gluten-Free Arrowhead Mills All Purpose Baking Mix
1 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 mashed banana ( or 2 TB oil )
1 Tb vinegar PLUS enought milk to make 1 Cup (or use buttermilk)
4 egg whites
Combine everything except the egg whites.
Whisk or beat the egg whites to fluff them up (is that a cooking term??)LOL
Fold egg whites into batter mixture, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. (this seemed to be a prevalent step in most of the gluten free pancake recipes I came across)
Grease heated griddle (I used coconut oil as I had just bought it and have been trying it in many different recipes - it gave the pancakes a great taste!)
After I made 1/2 of the batch I really wanted some blueberry pancakes, so I folded in some berries- however when I did this, the batter seemed to lose some of it airiness. Next time I will fold the berries in with the egg whites (had to use those fresh Jersey blueberries!)
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
something new is always brewing...
It has been a stretch between posts. I know- so for my sweet grandmothers and my uncle who actually read this blog, I apologize. Life takes hold, projects go on hiatus, and it's all a momma can do to keep the household afloat. Struggles? nah. We muddle through the best we can, learning as we go- and boy have I learned alot! Life throws curveballs and we can still knock it out of the park! Projects get left behind, only to be finished better than ever after a fresh prospective and more knowledge on the subject at hand. THIS is life, and life is good!
Most recently for me, after putting it off for several years, 2 babies and being sick of feeling sick all the time, I went to the doctor and didn't take no for an answer. I knew something was not right, tired, headaches, stomaches- all the time! I knew it was something I was eating, but what? I eat pretty clean, eat all my fruit and veggies, what could it be? I suspected gluten. I was partly correct. It seems my testing has led me to see that I am allergic to soy and eggs. Hello? I eat eggs every day and soy is in, well, it's in everything!! Corn showed up on the testing too, but I am taking baby steps here.
Gluten free is pretty easy for me. The eggs part is pretty difficult, and the thing with food allergies/intolerances is that many symptoms do not show up immediately so it is very difficult to figure out for most people. So I will still use eggs in baking, just not eat egg based dishes for now. I learned that you have to be persistent when it comes to your health ( and that of your family as well ). When Sarah was a baby I knew something was not right and figured out she was allergic to milk ON MY OWN. The doctors were surprised when they finally tested her because her symptoms were not what they considered normal. huh. interesting to me......
Then it happens that I go over my goals for the year to see how I am doing. My goal was to obtain my personal trainer cert. I find my focus for a while has been the nutrition part though. I am struggling with not doing what I set out to do. Time to refocus. I glance around my dining room...tons of cookbooks. I mean tons (if you have been to my house you KNOW what I am talking about!) I cannot seem to leave the supermarket without grabbing a magazine full of recipes. I even recently became a consultant for Tastefully Simple. I have always loved to tweak recipes to make them healthier, a little wheat germ here (although no more for me), a little ground flaxseed there. Just started playing around with coconut oil when I made gluten free pancakes this morning and I must say they were out of this world! Even Hubby would not have noticed the difference!
So today I think I learned that the things that make our life more difficult can actually help us see the place we want to go in the long run. Do I really need to maintain a gluten-free diet? no, I don't. That is if I want to feel sick all the time. Did I enjoy playing around with recipes this morning to make these amazing pancakes? yes, I do. Is is ok to not accomplish a goal you set our to do if you find your passions elsewhere? absolutely!
Most recently for me, after putting it off for several years, 2 babies and being sick of feeling sick all the time, I went to the doctor and didn't take no for an answer. I knew something was not right, tired, headaches, stomaches- all the time! I knew it was something I was eating, but what? I eat pretty clean, eat all my fruit and veggies, what could it be? I suspected gluten. I was partly correct. It seems my testing has led me to see that I am allergic to soy and eggs. Hello? I eat eggs every day and soy is in, well, it's in everything!! Corn showed up on the testing too, but I am taking baby steps here.
Gluten free is pretty easy for me. The eggs part is pretty difficult, and the thing with food allergies/intolerances is that many symptoms do not show up immediately so it is very difficult to figure out for most people. So I will still use eggs in baking, just not eat egg based dishes for now. I learned that you have to be persistent when it comes to your health ( and that of your family as well ). When Sarah was a baby I knew something was not right and figured out she was allergic to milk ON MY OWN. The doctors were surprised when they finally tested her because her symptoms were not what they considered normal. huh. interesting to me......
Then it happens that I go over my goals for the year to see how I am doing. My goal was to obtain my personal trainer cert. I find my focus for a while has been the nutrition part though. I am struggling with not doing what I set out to do. Time to refocus. I glance around my dining room...tons of cookbooks. I mean tons (if you have been to my house you KNOW what I am talking about!) I cannot seem to leave the supermarket without grabbing a magazine full of recipes. I even recently became a consultant for Tastefully Simple. I have always loved to tweak recipes to make them healthier, a little wheat germ here (although no more for me), a little ground flaxseed there. Just started playing around with coconut oil when I made gluten free pancakes this morning and I must say they were out of this world! Even Hubby would not have noticed the difference!
So today I think I learned that the things that make our life more difficult can actually help us see the place we want to go in the long run. Do I really need to maintain a gluten-free diet? no, I don't. That is if I want to feel sick all the time. Did I enjoy playing around with recipes this morning to make these amazing pancakes? yes, I do. Is is ok to not accomplish a goal you set our to do if you find your passions elsewhere? absolutely!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
First things first- I cannot believe that it has been almost a month without any posts! I'm really not that interesting or busy, so I have no excuse except for laziness. Let's see- got a new camera- Nikon - so excited to play around with that- now I just need a tripod. (Yes, Hubby- MORE $$$!! ) Keeping busy with the kids, who at the moment- Sarah is sick, fever gone, but throat still swollen, will probably bring her to the dr today to have it checked out. JR- watching Sesame Street at the moment, so I have a few moments before I need to "entertain". Have been a bit under the weather myself with allergies, being in Jersey in the spring and all- I miss the gym!!! Need a good spinning workout VERY SOON!!!
Easter this weekend, so dinner with the family in the afternoon and I will attempt to bring Sarah to church for the first time.... she has been going to Sunday school- which is held at our church during mass time, which is so smart and so great! We shall see how that goes!
I could blab on, but I hear the closing credits music on the television and need to get the kids up and about...
Easter this weekend, so dinner with the family in the afternoon and I will attempt to bring Sarah to church for the first time.... she has been going to Sunday school- which is held at our church during mass time, which is so smart and so great! We shall see how that goes!
I could blab on, but I hear the closing credits music on the television and need to get the kids up and about...
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