I’ve never done memes like this before
May 31, 2007 | 3 Comments
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Anyhoo, I came across one that I really liked. It’s called Thankful Thursday. I try to make a habit of saying my gratitudes out loud, with my kids, before I go to bed. But our bedtimes have been a teensy bit less structured lately and sometimes I forget. Join me?
- I’m so thankful that I get to work from home and be close to my babies.
- I’m thankful that regular school school is out so that my mommy’s helpers are available for a couple of hours a day!
- I’m thankful for good white, green or black tea. (I’m trying to cut down on coffee. Normally I am thankful for Starbucks. lol!)
- I’m thankful for my new short haircut that makes me look halfway cute with a minimum of fuss. Not that I ever fussed when my hair was longer, lol! It’s just that now I look halfway cute.
Your turn!
Natural Moms Podcast #50
May 31, 2007 | Leave a Comment
This week Elizabeth Yarnell joins us to share her patented one pot cooking method that yields a healthy, delicious hot dinner in 45 minutes, without using a slow cooker or microwave. Elizabeth’s book is called Glorious One-Pot Meals
To download the mp3, click HERE.
Frugal Baby
May 27, 2007 | 4 Comments
How can I be frugal and have everything baby needs?
Good question! I think the key is to identify what babies truly need. The advertisers would have you believe that baby needs fancy expensive “stuff” that will keep you in debt until baby’s in college. Not true. Babies need very little in order to be happy. And those things are, in order of importance:
- A Momma to love them
- Nutritious food
- To be kept warm
- Something to cover their bottoms
Pretty simple eh?
Frugal Food for Baby
“The newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three.” - Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, author of Childbirth Without Fear.
The interesting thing about the first 3 is that they can all be met at the same time with breastfeeding! You can’t get much more frugal than free can you?
Not only does breastfeeding save you money that you would have spent on formula, bottles and such, but you will save money on Doctor bills. Formula feeding carries risks: Increased ear infections, respiratory illness, increased incidence of certain cancers, long term implications for obesity, diabetes, and I could go on.
Frugal Baby Clothes
My best tip for obtaining baby clothes frugally is to make it known that you welcome hand-me-downs. Most Moms hate throwing away perfectly good baby stuff. When babies are young, they almost never wear things out before they are outgrown. If someone gives you things, accept it gratefully and thank them. Even if the stuff isn’t as good as you would like and you end up donating it to charity, you still send a message that you aren’t too proud for used things. And truly, it has nothing to do with charity. Obtaining used things is better for the environment. And you can put the money you save to better use. Why not start a savings account for your little one and add to it when you use creative frugality to save money? Your child will thank you later!
EBay, thrift stores and consignment shops are also good places to find baby clothes frugally.
Experts agree that babies don’t really need shoes when they’re learning to walk because it’s best for their toes to grip the floor. If it’s cold and baby’s tootsies are frozen, use soft leather baby shoes. They’re flexible and the healthiest, safest choice.
Frugal Diapers
The most frugal way of dealing with this issue is to forgo diapers altogether the way women around the world do. It’s called “elimination communication” and basically involves watching for baby’s elimination cues (and they do exist, even in newborns) and holding her over the potty so she can take care of business. However, if you’re not so inclined, the next best thing is cloth diapers.
Ask people to give you cloth diapers at your baby shower instead of those cute but impractical outfits. A lot of the cloth diaper companies that sell online have baby registries. Buy the high quality cloth diapers if you plan on using them for more than one child. They will likely last you for years. I recommend Fuzzi Bunz. You can buy them here: Fuzzi Bunz.
More Frugal Baby Ideas
Frugality is mostly about what you don’t buy than what you do, so I suggest thinking about what you can do without. Do you really need a crib or bassinet? Why not let baby sleep with you? It works for 90% of the population. Do you need a baby swing? Why not wear baby on your body in a sling? It promotes bonding, keeps baby happy, you burn extra calories and get things done too! Everybody wins. 
Does baby really need those educational toys and gadgets? You know, Einstein didn’t have flash cards. All the stimulation your baby needs is you! Talk to baby, read to baby, sing to baby, let baby watch your daily activities from his spot in the baby sling, and breastfeed your baby.
The best baby toys are things you have around the house. (Ever noticed how babies and toddlers would rather play with your keys than any expensive toy?) Babies would rather bang on pots and pans with wooden spoons than just about anything else. Save empty plastic food containers that would have been thrown away, and toss them into an empty cabinet down low in your kitchen. This will provide hours of frugal fun for baby!
One frugal baby need exception:
Baby car seats are best obtained new…don’t risk taking a chance on a used car seat that “looks” fine but that may have been involved in a fender bender.
Baby’s needs are truly few, and the best things you can give your baby are free.
Redecorating? Bring Out The Tea - Bags, That Is
May 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
If you’re doing any painting, gluing or redecorating and might be stirring up some chemicals that will outgas, scatter black tea bags around the room. They can absorb chemicals in the air and help the air become fresher sooner.
A 2002 study by the Tokyo Metropolitan Consumer Center found that scattering tea bags through a newly remodeled room reduced the toxic levels by up to 90 percent.
If you’re painting, especially in a child’s room, try a no VOC paint like Milk Paint.
Barb Thinks I’m Interesting
May 24, 2007 | 6 Comments
Barb over at NaturallyWahms must think I’m interesting enough that she wants to know 8 things about me. I’m afraid she might be terribly disappointed. LOL! Oh well, here goes.
1) I don’t enjoy bathing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do bathe and I don’t smell bad! I just don’t enjoy the process. Showering makes me tired. All that hot water and standing. LOL! Baths are a little better, but mostly it feels like a waste of time. I also wish I could forego eating, except for pleasure, like once a day should be enough. All the work and cleanup. Bleh. Making money and playing with the kids is so much more fun. 
2) I am a retired La Leche League leader.
3) I don’t believe in teaching children how to read. I think they are better off figuring it out on their own because they’ll do it for their own reasons instead of being “taught”. But reading to my kids is one of my favorite things in the world to do. And reading is one of my favorite things to do. But as far as sitting down with phonics and flash cards… yuck.
4) I’m currently separated from my husband. Enough about that…
5) I have really bad varicose veins in my left leg that start all the way up to my groin (I know, thanks for sharing right?!) They run in my family (thanks Dad!) and I’m very self conscious about them. I don’t wear shorts. I really want to get something done to them. I don’t like having the legs of an 80 year old woman, and it makes me mad that I’m thin and exercise and still have them. The stretch marks and extra belly skin that come with 4 babies doesn’t bother me in the least.
6) I don’t have the guts to tell my offline homeschooling friends that I’m mostly unschooling and almost none of my offline friends know my children are unvaccinated. (Guts again!) I’m very private about my home life.
7) I have a little celebrity crush: Chris Martin of Coldplay. When I’m stressed, I listen to my Coldplay cds. His singing in my ear is like Prozac sandwich. It’s not his look - in fact, I don’t find him attractive really. It’s the voice.
I don’t particularly want my children to go to college. I would like to send them to a trade school and/or teach them everything I know about internet marketing. I think college is mostly a waste of time.
9) I don’t plan on letting my teenagers drive until they’re 18. The stats on teenage drivers are scary. They’re not in their right minds yet! I also won’t be buying them a car. They can do that themselves. I did - and I think it made me a much safer driver.
That’s it! Now it’s your turn.
Snack more, weigh less
May 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment
An Oxford University study in 2002 showed that people who eat 5 or 6 times a day have 5 percent lower cholesterol than those who eat only 3 times a day. They were also 45% more likely to be at their ideal weight.
It’s interesting that babies, toddlers and kids eat like this but somehow we think we’re supposed to have our “3 squares” a day. It’s not hard to accomplish the 5 or 6 though, and it doesn’t mean spending all day in the kitchen. Snacking on fruit or organic cheese with whole grain crackers, a handful of nuts, or some dried fruit and nut trail mix inbetween meals can do it. (Avoid the varieties with sulfites, they’re a food additive that many people are sensitive to.) Plain yogurt with granola and a sprinkle of berries is also good.
Here are a few healthy snack recipes to get you started.
Me and my MBTs
May 22, 2007 | 2 Comments
Several months ago I came across these Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes. Believe it or not, the Masai peoples in Africa have NO cellulite. (They also thrive on a diet of raw milk, meat, and blood… but that’s another post entirely!)
These MBT shoes were the brainchild of a Swiss engineer (I guess he noticed the lack of African cellulite and wanted to replicate the phenomenon for folks back home) and they mimic the sandy, unsteady terrain of the African soil. Like walking on the beach - you know how that feels.
MBTs force you to use more muscles in your legs, especially ones that are typically used less (hello? inner thigh jello you have met your match!) MBTs improve your posture naturally, making you walk taller and ease stress on your lower back, and simultaneously increase circulation in your legs (good for us leg vein challenged individuals) while decreasing pressure on the joints.
They’re called the “gym in a shoe”.
Being a busy mom who rarely has time to get to the gym, I just had to have a pair.
I got mine on eBay but you can pick them up on Amazon.com, with free shipping and sometimes some nifty free gifts.
When I first started wearing them, I didn’t SEE a huge difference, but I immediately felt the difference in the muscles in my legs. The MBT people recommend that you only wear them for about a half hour a day but I was all rebellious and wore mine for a few hours. I didn’t have any soreness, but my inner thigh and butt muscles did let me know something different was going on.
Then after a couple of months of daily wear, I noticed this muscle in the inside and top of my thigh that I had never seen before. Hmm… I think they really do work. And even if they don’t help you build more muscle without really trying, they DO improve the circulation in your feet and legs, which again is good for us mommy types who have strained our veins with pregnancy. They’re mighty comfortable too. I have some issues with my feet- I pronate funny and hence have a really bad callous that forms in the middle of my foot that hurts. The MBTs are the most comfortable shoes I own.
My MBTs are a tad hot in these here Georgia summers, but Masai also has sandals if you’re a footloose and fancy free kinda gal.
There are other ways to address cellulite, but I think MBTs are probably the most effective because they work from the inside out. They’re pricey, that’s the only drawback. They’re available at Amazon.com for around $160 new, with free shipping. It’s cheaper and easier than a gym membership though.
Check out MBT Masai Barefoot Technology shoes on Amazon
UPDATE 2/08: Still wearing my MBTs. Still love ‘em. They’re going strong and when I clean them up they look new. They’re the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. Plus, when I’m standing in line at IKEA, I can rock back and forth and have a little fun. Like Heelies, except for grownups. And without the wheels.
Overwhelmed with Green Living? How about just a bite
May 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
If you’re trying to make changes in your life to be more “green”, you know how overwhelmed you can feel. Well, here’s a neat answer for you. Ideal Bite publishes ONE daily tip, delivered straight to your email inbox, to help you along. From their website:
“We know that you would just love to “do the right thing” for yourself and the planet if it were convenient, fun, inexpensive, and made you feel good. But until now you have lacked a good source of advice for real people leading busy lives.”
Sound good? Give Ideal Bite a try.
Quick and Healthy One Pot Meals
May 19, 2007 | 3 Comments
What’s for Dinner? Quick & Healthy One-Pot Meals
Stephanie, a vice president for a venture capital firm in Denver, makes it a priority to get home in time to have a family meal with her husband and 1-year old son.
“I put a lot of energy into my job and then I get into my car at 5pm and realize that I have no idea what I’m going to feed three people for dinner in an hour,” she says. “That’s when a one-pot meal is just perfect.”
One-pot meals can be the solution to quick and easy cooking when no one really has the time to cook. While one-pot meals come in various forms, they all have the common concept of putting a variety of ingredients into a single vessel and cooking them all together. There’s no fretting about getting the timing right so that your broccoli is perfectly steamed at the same time as the pot roast comes out of the oven medium-rare and the rice is ready to fluff, which is a boon for all those who aren’t wizards at culinary planning. And, perhaps best of all, rather than a sink full of dirty pots and pans to scrub after dinner, there is only one pot to clean.
One-pot meals include everything from light stir-fries to hearty skillet meals to heavy casseroles made with cans condensed cream-of soup. Typically each forkful contains a little of each ingredient in the meal, whether it’s in a slab form or bite-sized pieces. Crock-pot cooking, where all the ingredients are placed in a crock-pot along with some liquid and then simmered at a very low heat for 6-8 hours until everything has disintegrated into a stew, is another popular method of creating of one-pot meals.
The only downside to each of these methods is that they are usually not a complete and balanced meal in and of themselves. Since the definition of a complete, healthy meal includes protein, carbohydrates and vegetables, stir-fries are typically served with rice, skillet meals with pasta, casseroles with a salad, and crock-pot stews with bread.
Infuse it
To have a truly complete and balanced one-pot meal consider “infusion” cooking. Infused one-pot meals are made by layering whole foods into a closed container– either a foil or parchment pouch or a cast iron Dutch oven—and then baking the container in the oven at a very high heat for under an hour. These dinners can contain everything needed for a full and balanced one-pot meal without having to prepare rice or a salad separately.
Low in fat and high in nutrition, almost any ingredients can be added to an infused one-pot meal to meet personal dietary preferences. Infused one-pot meals prepared in a Dutch oven can even accept frozen elements without any change in cooking time or flavor.
“I love that I can make my infused one-pot meal up in advance,” enthuses Stephanie. “I put it all together in the morning, keep it in the fridge, and then pop it directly into the pre-heated oven when I get home from work. Instead of fussing over a hot stove, I get to play with my kid while our dinner cooks. And they’re so healthy and tasty that my husband loves them too!”
For the answer to the age-old question of “What’s for dinner?” consider an infused one-pot meal for a healthy, quick and easy way to feed your busy family. Here is a great recipe to get you started!
California Chicken
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1/2 cup cous cous, dry
2-3 pieces chicken
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1 avocado, firm-ripe
2 tomatoes, cored, wedges
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, cut in wedges
1/2 cup olives, small, ripe, pitted, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp. celery salt
1/4 tsp. basil, dried
1/4 tsp. marjoram, dried
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 2-quart cast iron Dutch oven and the lid with olive oil.
Pour dry couscous into pot. Add 1/2 cup water and evenly distribute grains across bottom. Arrange the chicken atop the couscous. Season lightly with salt and lemon pepper.
Add layers of green peppers, tomatoes and olives. Again, season lightly with salt and lemon pepper.
Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Then, layer it in slices or cubes on top of everything. In a small bowl, combine the onion, celery salt, basil, marjoram, sherry, and lemon juice and pour into pot over everything.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Tips
Be certain that your oven temperature is accurate and your oven is fully pre-heated before putting the pot inside it. An oven thermometer can help ensure your oven is on target.
For light and fluffy couscous, fluff it with a fork when serving and let sit for a few minutes before eating.
Per serving:
Cal 566
Pro 36g
Carb 54g
Fat 24g
Chol 75 mg
Sod 1465 mg*
Fiber 11g
*More than half of the sodium in this recipe comes from the celery salt. To reduce the sodium, omit the celery salt and add one sliced rib of celery at the same time as the green pepper. This will bring the sodium down to 683 mg.
About the author: Elizabeth Yarnell is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and the author of Glorious One-Pot Meals: A new quick & healthy approach to Dutch oven cooking, a guide to a guide to preparing quick, healthy and balanced one-pot meals. Visit Elizabeth online at www.GloriousOnePotMeals.com to subscribe to her free newsletter. The Glorious One-Pot Meal cooking method is unique and holds US patent 6,846,504.
An Apple “Donut” a Day
May 17, 2007 | 1 Comment
No, I’m not going to recommend you take the kids to Dunkin’ Donuts every day. But I made a neat little snack today that went over well with the kids and thought I would share. I was going to name them “apple rings” or “apple almond O’s” or something, but as I prepared them, my 4 year old daughter asked: “Is that a donut?”
They do kind of look like donuts.
I sliced an apple so that it made rings, instead of sections. (My daughter liked the little star formation in the middle.) Then I spread almond butter on mine and peanut butter on top of hers. (Ilana said: “I want icing on top!”) Then I sprinkled a bit of unsweetened coconut on top. (Sugar sprinkles, lol!)
She was quite happy with her little apple “donuts”. I think they would be good with raisins or other dried fruit on top.
