Kiddo in the Kitchen

As a raw foodist, I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. And I love it. Thankfully, so does my son. Since infancy, I have involved him in food prep. Initially of course he was only an audience member, but now he is a full-fledged "chef" with his own apron and table knife. 

Back in the days (er, daze) when we had TV hooked-up to the outside world (via bunny ears to get 1 1/2 channels), my toddler son and I occasionally watched a couple of cooking shows on PBS. Apparently the shows rubbed off on him. As we would stand and work together at the counter, he would start talking. He would say things like this, "Okay people, now we are adding in the peppers. You just toss them on the top." And he would add in little diatribes like this, "Now, if you are wondering about the sauce, it is really easy to make. You just..." The first time I heard one of his narrations I asked him why he was talking aloud as he worked. He told me he was "talking to the people, mamma, just like on the cooking shows." Apparently he thought "the people" watched everyone work in the kitchen! 

Nowadays he is even used to the odd things food bloggers do with their fare, like photograph the food before consumption or photograph the food part way through consumption (because it looked so darned good that we had forgotten to snap an initial image). I try to leave the camera in its case and its drawer when quests are over for a meal. What would they think?!

Anyway, two days ago while my mom was here for a visit, we where schooling her in the fine art (ha!) of raw food prep and consumption. While I showed her our version of nori rolls, my son made his own salad. Then he said, "Take a picture, mamma. The people are really gonna want to see this!" So, I did. Here is the masterpiece my 5-year old made. Of course I did the cutting and chopping, as per his directions, but he dictated, assembled, and then shared it with his ma and grandma!

Kiddo's Salad

cooked quinoa on bottom

shredded cabbage

sliced carrots

chopped red peppers

topped with:

thin-sliced roma tomato

fresh-cracked pepper

smashed avocado

(lots of love & fun)

* If you are here from the Heavenly Homemakers Fruit & Veggie Challenge, 

please click here and here for CSA information, recipes & photos!

* And yes, I just noticed that one of the nori roll links with photos show my son and gasp! He is wearing the same clothes in those photos as in today's. Oh well, we worry more about what's on our plates than we do about being fashion plates!  ;-)

Simple Path

My posting today is actually a re-post. I have another blog (Aspire to Lead a Quiet Life) and this is something I wrote back in December. With Spring knocking on the door and tulips poking through the dirt, we soon will be without Winter and her cold mornings. Although I am excited for greenery to fill my garden and summer sun to warm my face, I will miss the smells of simmering oatmeal on the wood stove...

Soft bubbles rise to the surface. They become more rapid in their ascent. Many more join until I can hear them knocking into the sides of the stainless tea kettle. The wonderful warmth of the wood stove heats the cold water into a frenzy of boiling bubbles. A favorite mug with a minty tea bag waits patiently in my hands. Soon I am sipping hot tea while stretched out legs offer chilly toes to wood stove warmth.

My son pads on out of his room. He wears his heavy morning slumber and rubs fists into eyes as if nudging them to accept morning's light. I hug his hot skinny boy self. My eyes close slowly, beckoning my internal camera shutter. My soul tries to capture this early morning moment and print it on my heart.

I mix rolled oats with their dust into a small pan of water. Thick, sweet, golden honey glops out of the jug and sinks to the bottom. Gently it rests under the oat mixture. I shake on dark brown pumpkin pie spices. The small pot, a lid, and its breakfast fare is set atop the wood stove. Soon I smell its warmth. And honey sweetness fills my nostrils. I add raisins, currants, and blueberries before taking it from the hot black surface. Scooped into a bowl with a wooden spoon and eaten with eager anticipation, my oatmeal concoction disappears.

Simple ways. Simple things. Simple gifts. Simple life.

When distractions of haste and a fast pace are set aside, it is easier for this Simple Country Girl to find God. 

His footsteps appear in the sand. I hear Him. I feel His hand in mine, tugging me along. I follow, trying to match my small steps into His large imprints. 

It is a simple path He walks.

Cones & Chard

An ice cream cone for breakfast? You bet! I blended some frozen bananas and blueberries with a dash of chocolate hemp milk. Viola! Healthy fruit ice cream for breakfast. Of course the cones are organic and don't contain any nasty stuff.

Prettier, healthier and more edible than a bouquet of posies!

Yesterday was the farm share pick-up excursion. As always, I came home with a cooler packed full of produce. En route from errands across the river back to my place in the country, we stopped off at a friend's house. She gave us potatoes from her beautiful garden. And then she loaded us up with kale, gigantic rainbow chard, parsley, basil, cucumbers and love. All in all, we had our large cooler crammed full and three paper bags full of edibles.

Needless to say, I had a huge dilemna last night at about 8:30pm...no room in the fridge! None at all. I had been washing, sorting, and prepping produce since 6pm. After a quick call to a neighbor, my son and I took a full bag of goods up the road. 

I though the rainbow chard and basil were too lovely to stash in the fridge anyway, so I treated them like flowers and put them into vases. Well, in the case of the chard I used an old water filter pitcher as a vase! Look how lovely it looks today. Until someone else comes by to share produce with, my extras will grace the table.

When God blesses you with abundance, delight in it and then share it with others!

Health tip:

What you have in your fridge, 

you will soon have in your stomach!

 

Take the time and effort to fill your fridge, cupboards, and eventually your own self with nutrient-packed foods. You are what you eat. Choose to feed a living body with living foods today!

Cancer dvd

Today I am thinking of a friend of mine who recently lost her battle to cancer. Praise the Lord that she knew Jesus and she is pain-free today while she sits at her Father's feet.

All around us people are sick. People are dying. While Jesus offers true salvation, I can offer some education. I want people to have knowledge and power to make informed decisions about their health. I want people to thrive, not just survive! I want people to know some or all of what I know.

Recently I read this statement by Charles Swindoll:

"Others won't care how much we know until they know how much we care."

People, I care. I really do. The purpose of this blog is about you and me living the life God intended for us to live. It is about being the best and healthiest people we can be.

I could be angry about all the friends and family who are touched by cancer. I could be angry about all the time and life lost due to this disease. I could be angry at the medical profession for not looking to simplicity for the answer and most times even the cure for cancer. And then I could sit here and spew for all the world to see. 

Or I could offer information, education, compassion and empowerment for you to make the best health and medical choices possible. 

So, in honor of my friend, I give you a link to a dvd on a site that I completely trust. Click here and go to the Hallelujah Acres site to preview an enlightening dvd. If you or someone you know is suffering from cancer, please explore all of your options for a complete recovery. 

Switching to a plant-based diet that primarily consists of raw fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds is the track many choose to take for healing this disease. It is simple. The theory takes you back to the Garden. It is the way God intended us to eat.

Simple...

Change what you put into your body 

and you change how your body reacts. 

Simple...

Living foods for a living body!

As you become an informed advocate for your own health and as you take healing into your own hands, know that I care.

"Carry each other's burdens, 

and in this way 

you will fulfill the law of Christ."

~ Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

A Blessed Creation

This past weekend my family attended Family Camp at a Christian camp facility— American Missionary Fellowship. It was truly a blessed time. Being surrounded by other Believers, being immersed in the childhood fun of summer camp, being surrounded by God’s beauty, and being free from the every day to-do lists and worries made for a great summer diversion.

In talking with other Christian women I learned that they are tired, wiped out, drained and exhausted. And I learned that either themselves or someone in their circle of family and friends are suffering from various health ailments. I know that there are many reasons for such feelings, emotions, and ailments, but I also know that there is one major causative factor – and it is one we can modify in order to live a more productive and energetic life. Food!

God really impressed upon my heart that fellow believers are in need of a dietary overhaul. In order to serve God with our whole heart and whole body and whole mind, don’t we need to be at our best? Yes!

I do believe that in order to function at our best and to be able to give the most, we need to treat this body as the vessel God intended it to be…

• We need to take the time to learn, adapt, modify, and change our eating habits.
  
• We deserve to feel better. Oh yes we do! We deserve it. God wants us to be whole and holy.
  
• We owe it to ourselves to be healthy and strong.
  
• We owe it to our ministries to have energy, strength, and vitality.
  
• We owe it to God to be the vibrant and shining light of Truth He created.

When discussing the role of diet for surviving or thriving, I heard these sorts of protests to healthy eating:

“But I can’t give up ______”

“I don’t want to give up eating my ______”

“Can’t” and “Don’t” are strong words. They are also selfish words. Yes, friends, they are selfish. These words dictate how your own self feels.

We turn to God, and sometimes even throw ourselves at His feet. We see Salvation, guidance, strength, comfort, and direction in almost all areas of our lives. My question is this, why do you think you are going to be able to change your diet and lifestyle on your own? Why do you think you even need to try to do it on your own? And why do you think it is about you and your needs only? 

Friends, isn’t it all about God and living the life He wants us to live? Yes, indeed! As you start or continue on this path to health and vitality, hold tightly to His hand. I will do my very best at giving you guidance, encouragement, ideas, and support, but God will give you all the rest that you need to become the person He intends for you to be!

It is up to you to weigh your personal areas of “can’t” and “don’t” against God’s infinite strength and power.

My passion and knowledge are not going to be enough for you though. You need to want to change for you. YOU need to want to be the best YOU that God created. It is up to YOU to take the first step. 

So, for those of you are new to this blog, welcome! And to you old-timers, let’s all get on board together. It is time to be the best that you can be, don’t you agree? My heart chases after God, my passion for teaching health & vitality chases after you, my friends! 

Simply put, YOU deserve it because God made you…YOU are a blessed creation!

 

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, 

for in due season 

we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

~ Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, 

but of power and of love 

and of a sound mind.”

~ 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

 

“being confident of this very thing, 

that He who has begun a good work in you 

will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

~ Philippians 1:6

More Strawberries

Good morning! 

Here are some photos of

 the delectable 

summer strawberries 

I wrote about yesterday...

...in a sink of water

...rinsed, stemmed and in a bowl

...oh yummy in my tummy!

Enjoy the simple raw health-y 

culinary pleasures of summer!

Green Smoothie Recipe:

- 2 handfuls of spinach

- 1 cup of water

- 1 handful of frozen strawberries

- 1/2 to 1 frozen banana broke into pieces

Blend the first two. Add the frozen fruits and blend until smooth! Summer in a glass.

Strawberries

Strawberries. 

Oh the wondrous summertime fruits 

right out of the field make 

my mouth water, 

my heart content, 

and my chickens happy. 

Uhh, what kind of statement is that?

My mouth waters at the anticipation. 

And when my husband walks through the door over and over again toting in all those flats of local-grown strawberries, my mouth indeed waters. Oh, lovely plump morsels of red summer sweetness, come right over here and meet my mouth. 

Yum.

My heart is content. 

To process the berries means I fill a sink with cold water, dump in a 1/2-flat (6 pints), swish berries, 

pluck off the greenery, fill one bowl with berries and one bowl with tops, then fill two large freezer bags single-layer style with sweet red fruits, and then stack neatly in the freezer. Contentment that tomorrow night the same process will be repeated. My freezer will be set for the dreariness of winter so that 

when summer tugs at the soul all I have to do is take a red frosted bag of summer. 

My chickens are happy. 

Remember all those stems I plucked off? My feathered roosting friends will be in chicken delirium this morning when I take the large container of strawberry tops out and scatter them about their pecking penthouse. The ladies will no doubt be in some state of a fouled frenzy while they gobble the berry greens. I know their brains are only the size of a marble, but they have to take notice of their bodaciously bountiful berry brunch

--how can they not?

"the small, red fleshy fruit of a vinelike plant of the rose family" -- Oh, Mister Webster, you tried to define this wondrous summertime fruit. Words cannot impart the sweetness, the redness, the juiciness, nor the unadulterated taste of a sunshine warmed scrumptious strawberry.

Thank you Lord for this gift of summer!

Simple Raw Food

 

[I will have to post photos tomorrow as I was in a state of sticky-fingered, berry-bliss 

therefore I neglected taking photos of the fruits]