Day 17

Day 17 - It has been one busy day.  I am just now able to set down and take a break.  Our real food days are going good.  Last night I made some homemade pizza with veggies as the toppings.  The children were picking the peppers off, but overall was eating it really good.  Today we made some almond butter.  Then made a second batch with cocca in it.  We should have put more in.  The children were eating it with the homemade bread that I made yesturday.  This evening I made some flaxseed muffins for us to have at church during doughnut time.  They have carrets and apples in them.  We will see how the children like them.  If they do, I will post the recipe.

Day 13

Day 13 -- Making some homemade salsa for my husband.  It is just helping us save some money.  Something I do about this time every year.  We have been moving right along.  Day 10 has come and gone.  Some days it is harder then other, wanting to just throw something into the over like fish sticks.  But we are learning a lot, like how to make things that people just go out and buy.  One thing that I made just the other day was salad dressing or mayo.  I could not believe how easy it was to make it and only 3 things went into it.  If you look at a jar of mayo, how many ingredients is on it?  Do we really need all of that in it?  I still would like a piece of chocolate and can't believe I have gone without for 13 days, about half a month!  Right now my boys are snacking on carrots!  How good to see that.  I have a meeting tonight, lets see if I can stay away from all the good food that they have there.

Day 9!

Day 9 - We are almost 10% done with our real food!  It has been going pretty well.  The children have really been into it.  I was not sure how they would take to the changes.  Today I made some gramcrackers.  I had to stop the children from eating them.  They are really easy to make and it is fun making foods, I know what is in them and know that it is real.  If you would like to try your hand at these, here you go:
        

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cups butter, melted
• ½ cups honey

Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and soda. Separately, mix the butter and honey and then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix well and drop onto a greased baking sheet (jelly roll size). Roll out to the corners with a rolling pin. I usually end up using my hands to press out the mixture as it tends to be pretty sticky! Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cut quickly when they come out of the oven. Your kids will love it when you use different shaped cookie cutters! These are delicious warm out of the oven, but they also keep well.

I also made a batch of chocolate.  Added 1/3 cup cocoa to the recipe (left our the cinnamon) to make chocolate graham crackers.

Cut and ready to serve!



Chocolate graham crackers still in the pan.

 We will also be having homemade pizza for supper.  I need to be getting the toppings on and getting it in!  Any children want to help me?

Day 7 and 8

Day 7 - Made some homemade fruit lather.  The children ate it all up.  Will post picture and recipe later.
      Apple Spice Fruit Leather
Yields one 11”x17” pan of fruit leather
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5-8 hours at 170°F

INGREDIENTS
1 25-ounce jar of applesauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 170°F.
2. Line an 11”x17” jelly-roll pan or lipped cookie sheet with greased parchment paper (wax paper will smoke in the oven) or a silicone baking mat.
3. Spread the puree until it’s about 1/4” thick. Pick up the pan and tilt back and forth until it’s evenly distributed.
4. Bake in the oven for 5-8 hours. Rotate the pan halfway during the baking time to ensure even drying. Timing will vary depending on the fruit used. It’s ready when it’s smooth and non-tacky.

5. Let it cool, then cut in strips with scissors or a pizza cutter. Stack or roll them and store in an airtight container or a zipper storage bag.

• Spice up a can of pumpkin with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves for another twist on fall-inspired fruit leather.
• Puree a can of peaches or other canned fruit in the blender for a quick option that requires no washing and slicing.
• To sweeten fruit leather, add a couple teaspoons, or to taste, of vanilla, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup.
• Try adding herbs like lavender, basil, rosemary, mint, sage or thyme for subtle hints of extra decadent flavor – a perfect adult treat.

Day 8 - Made some crackers this evening.  The batch went like it was going out of style, so I made another.  The children sure are liking new things.  I will try to post this recipe tomorrow.  I think I will be trying to make homemade gramcrackers tomorrow!

•      1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into tablespoon size chunks
• 4 oz. or 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese…the sharper the cheese the cheesier the crackers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all three ingredients in a food processor and blend. The mixture will eventually turn into one big ball chasing itself around the bowl. Be patient because it can take a few minutes.
3. Roll the ball into a log about 1 ½” in diameter. At this point you could refrigerate the dough until later.
4. With a sharp knife slice ¼” thick pieces off the log (pictured) and place each one flat on an ungreased baking sheet. Try to rotate which side you are cutting down on because the top of the log does start to flatten a little. It is like your very own homemade slice and bake!
5. If you want your crackers to look a little fancy (as pictured above) take a fork and gently mash down the top of each one before baking.
6. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until golden brown.

These crackers can be stored in the freezer so double the recipe and save some for later!

Yield: Two dozen



Fruit Leather



Day 3, 4, and 5!

What can I say about Day 3!  It was our baby girl's 1st birthday, so we had to have a cake.  We took all that was left of the cake over to our neighbors.  So, one piece for everyone and no more and we didn't even have any ice cream with it!

Day 4:  I thought I would have some sad children for there are always doughnuts at church to eat before Sunday School.  I made some muffins and we took those and the children didn't mind at all.  One of the older ladies even ask our 5 year old if he wanted a piece gum (which my children can never say no to), but he told her that he couldn't have one.  After she found out why from him, she came over to me and told me that she should try what we are doing for some of the problems that she has.  It was also potluck day (1st Sunday of the month).  Our eldest (7) did a pretty good job picking out her food and the others had some help.  One of the ladies in our church knows about what we are trying to do and she was so sweet and brought a platter with all fresh fruits and veg.  Over all we did pretty good at potluck, but I am sure there was something on all of our plates that should not have been there.  Then we took off on the road for an over night trip.  So supper was in the cooler.

Day 5:  Hotel breakfast - they have a wide variety of food, but not to much for us.  We did our best, with cold cereal and eggs and fruit, and yogurt.  We tried!  Lunch was a little tricky, but stopped at a grocery store to pick somethings up.  Supper was back at home.  Why the overnight trip.  Eric ran in a marathon this morning and came in 20th place with a 3rd place win in his age group.  We didn't stay around for they were having pizza and cookies!  So 5 days down, 95 to go.

Day One

Today was our fisrt day or "real food."  It went pretty well.  We had eggs, toast, and milk for breackfast.  Fruit and Vegs. for lunch.  There is one thing that we are not doing and that is changing our milk.  You are to have raw milk or whole and we just are not into doing that.  Overall day one has been okay, besides Eric wanting gum.

The Battle

So the past week we have been dealing with pink eye!  First one child came down with it.  A week later another, and later that same day another.  We woke up this morning and the second child had it in her other eye!  She is the worst with it and she is the oldest.  We hope that the baby does not come down with it!  They want to do the same thing as everyone else and don't understand how they can pass it to others.  You would think that seeing each other get it, that they would start to understand how easy it can be spread.  I am praying that this battle will soon come to an end!