Little Duck Organics

Check out this new completely organic snack for babies:
http://www.littleduckorganics.com

Homeschool Resources - Writing Prompts/Journal Topics

This page has a wonderful list of writing prompts/journal topics:
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html
Homeschool Resources - Writing Prompts/Journal Topics

Will You Get the Swine Flu Vaccination? Vote In My New Poll!

You have until October 1st to vote!

Swiss Chard Omelette

This week I received Swiss Chard from my CSA share! I've never had Swiss Chard before.
It tasted bitter when I ate it raw, but had a delicious bite to it when I ate it in an omelette.

Swiss Chard Omelette

What you need:

• Swiss Chard - about 10-15 leaves
• Olive oil - 3 tablespoons
• Garlic Cloves - 2
• Salt - to taste
• Eggs - four

What to Do:

1. Rinse the Swiss Chard and cut off the very end of the stems
2. Cut the leaves and stems in about 1-inch segments
3. Cut the garlic cloves into small slices
4. Put the olive oil and garlic in a small non-stick skillet
5. Saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes
6. Add the Swiss Chard and salt
7. Cover and heat for about 5 minutes until the Swiss Chard has begun to wilt
8. Add the eggs and stir them into the Swiss Chard
9. Let cook on medium-low heat until the eggs are cooked through (do not stir)
10. Serve while hot!

Update on Josiah's Food Allergies

Josiah went to the doctor on Friday. Mostly, so I could get a referral to a Allergy specialist. Thankfully, I was able to get the referral without a fight! So in a few weeks I'll have a professional opinion on Josiah's crazy rashes when he eats.
Josiah happened to have an ear infection so the doctor put him on Amoxil. Of course, Josiah is reacting to the Amoxil! His face was bright red and burnt from the medicine on Sunday evening. (I did get pictures on my mom's camera that I will try to post) Today, the skin on his bottom was totally red and raw. My normally good-natured baby was screaming from the pain when I changed him before bed. I took him to the doctor this afternoon for thrush and told the doctor about his reaction to the medicine, including excessive spit-up and diaherea, but the doctor didn't seem concerned. If he wakes up in pain, I will be taking him back in.
I added oatmeal to his diet last week, which seems to be going well. It's a little hard to tell with his medicine reaction, though, so I'm going to back off on the oatmeal and mostly do the rice cereal until he his done with his medicine. The doctor advised I stop feeding him the pears for now since they are in the Latex-Fruit family. Poor Josiah, he liked his pears.

Food Allergy Frustrations!

Well today, I didn't have potatoes or onions and Josiah is still breaking out in a rash after I breastfeed him. I'm going to journal what I'm eating and see if I can figure out what's bothering him now. It better not be my ice cream! I was hoping to start him on oat cereal or another veggie, but I guess I'll hold off until his face clears up, again!

Josiah is Eating Three Foods Now!

I was brave and added yellow squash to Josiah's diet. He is 7 months old now! He has been eating the yellow squash for a week now without any reaction! Yay! This means he is now eating:
1. Organic Brown Rice - I grind it into dust in my Magic Bullet then cook 1 cup water to 1/4 cup rice.
2. Organic pears - I bake them in the oven, halfed, in 1/4 inch of water. Then, blend them in the bullet in the water they cooked in.
3. Yellow squash - I bought a frozen bag from GFS. Cooked them in some water and blended them in the Magic Bullet with a bit of the water.

He did react with a bad rash on his face, to something I ate last night. I suspect the onions or the potatoes I ate for dinner. I made a doctor appointment today, but they can't see him until next Friday.

MSG-Free Ice Cream!

Haagen-Dazs ice cream came out with a line named "five"!
All of the ice cream in this line has five ingredients.
The ingredients are milk, cream, sugar, eggs and then either vanilla bean, mint, brown sugar or cocoa depending on the flavor.
Their Brown Sugar ice cream tastes like ginger snap cookies and is wonderful in a cone. The mint is absolutely refreshing! The milk chocolate is irresistable!
Also check out their Strawberry and Honey Bee flavors which are still only six ingredients!
I get mine at Meijers.
Enjoy!

Latex-fruit Syndrome

Until last week, I never knew there was such a thing as Latex-fruit syndrome! I was looking up banana allergy when I came across Latex-fruit syndrome.
My 7 month old son, Josiah, reacts with a bad rash and sometimes even hives to banana, avocado and apples. I have not confirmed whether or not he is for sure alleric to store bought organic brown rice baby cereal and sweet potato. The only foods I've found that he defenitely is not reacting to are home made organic brown rice cereal and organic pears! I'm going to try adding squash to his diet this week and see how that goes. If anyone has more information on this syndrome please let me know! Thanks!


The following information on Latex-fruit syndrome can be found at this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latex_allergy

Latex and Foods
Some people who have latex allergy may also have an allergic response to any of a number of plant products, usually fruits. This is known as the latex-fruit syndrome.[5] Fruits (and seeds) involved in this syndrome include banana, pineapple, avocado, chestnut, kiwi fruit, mango, passionfruit, strawberry, and soy. Some but not all of these fruits contain a form of latex. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimates that nearly 6 percent of the United States population have some type of food allergy and up to 4 percent have an allergy to latex.[6] It can also cause reactions from foods touched by latex products in the most severe cases. There are some known cases of latex allergies being provoked from genetically modified foods such as tomatoes with latex proteins.[citation needed]
Some individuals who are highly allergic to latex have had allergic reactions to foods that were handled or prepared by people wearing latex gloves.[citation needed]

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

My mom and I found a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that is just starting up in our area! They are growing everything organic! As a member of the CSA we get to participate in going to the farm and helping out. We are looking forward to learning all about organic farming! It will be a lot of fun and we'll get a large variety of delicious organic vegetables! We already received two different kinds of lettuce and radishes. I couldn't believe the difference in taste from these and store bought vegetables. The lettuce is so fresh and crisp! Yummy!
Want to learn more about CSA or find a CSA near you check out this website:
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Migraine Alert

Today I reacted with a migraine to Late July Organic Mini Peanut Butter Crackers.I'm not sure what ingredient caused the reaction. My mom also reacted to them :(

Dinner - Chicken Taco Salad

What you need:

• Chicken-I cook up a whole chicken and freeze it into meal portions. Make sure your chicken doesn't have anything added to it! Most chicken has solutions added to it which are full of MSG.
• Lettuce- One bag 12oz Earthbound Farm Organic Romaine Hearts.
• Refried Beans- 1 can Bearitos Traditional Refried Beans Organic and 1 can Bearitos Spicy Refried Beans Organic
• Salsa- One 16 oz jar Meijer Organics Mild Salsa
• Crackers- 1 box Carr's Table Water Crackers Roasted Garlic and Herbs and 1 box Carr's Table Water Crackers Plain
• Black Olives- 1 can
• Mozzarella Cheese- One 8 oz chunk
• Sour Cream-Daisy Sour Cream(most other brands have carrageenan)

What to Do:

1. Heat both cans of refried beans in a medium saucepan on low heat


2. Heat frozen chicken in a small skillet


3. Shred Mozzarella cheese


4. Wash and shred lettuce


5. Put everything else in individuals bowls


6. Enjoy!

My kids love making and arranging their own salad!

Banana Bread and Purple Pancakes

Banana bread is very versatile! It can be used as a breakfast, snack and I even give the children banana bread for lunch with some cheese slices. You can put pecans on top to add protien and beauty :)

My kids love purple pancakes! Just add a bag of thawed frozen mixed fruit to any pancake mix. You may have to add more flour for a good consistency that isn't too runny.

Dinner - Cheesless Beefy Mac and Cheese

What you need:

• 6 cups dry macaroni
• 1 stick butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 5-6 cups rice milk
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 large can beef
• salt
• pepper

What to do:

1. Boil 6 cups dry macaroni noodles in large pot
2. In a medium sized pan melt 1 stick butter
3. Add 6 tablespoons flour
4. Wisk until smooth then add about 5-6 cups of milk (use rice milk if you are sensitive to cooked milk). Cook on medium heat until thickened
5. Add 2 cloves chopped garlic and one onion-sliced, to the milk mixture
6. Add one large can of all natural beef
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper
8. Drain noodles
9. Put milk mixture in the large pot. Use a potato masher to break up the meat. Then add the noodles
   
   
   

Snack - Energy Bars

I found this wonderful recipe called Bird Seed Energy Bars

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=156785&servings=24

I made two batches this evening, one with the chocolate chips and one without.
I cut them and put them in sandwich baggies. I put all the little baggies of bars in a freezer Ziploc bag, then put them in the freezer. These bars are delicious and will be great to have on hand when I need a special treat for the kids.

The only modification I made was using Safflower oil instead of Canola oil. To save on dishes, I also wisked the liquids first then added the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Save the flour and oats for last. If you're using the chocolate chips put them in very last. You can also make these bars thinner by using two pans.

CooL Tip: Measure out your oil first, then use the same measuring cup for your honey. The honey will slide right out!

Dinner - Lentil Bean Soup

One of my children's favorite meals is lentil bean soup!

What you need:

• Chicken broth-use leftover from boiling chicken
• 1 pound bag lentil beans

Optional items:

• Box frozen spinach
• Carrots
• Onion
• Tomato
• Salsa
• Garlic cloves or Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper

What to do:

1. Take leftover chicken broth and put it in the crockpot first then add a bag lentil beans(rinse the beans first).
2. Add any of the following items to your soup:

• I always add a box of frozen spinach (thaw in microwave)
• Raw carrots - I peel them and then cut them into pieces. The kids thought it was fun when I left them large. I cut one large carrot into thirds.
• Onion - frozen already chopped is easy(GFS sells a big bag of frozen onions). I also have sliced a onion into the soup, which made for lots of flavor when you got a whole slice
• Tomato - home canned are the best!
• Jar of salsa - we prefer mild salsa
• Garlic - garlic cloves or garlic powder

3. After you've added everything fill the rest of the crock pot with water. I cook the soup all day in the crock pot. I keep it on high until it has been simmering for awhile, then turn it down to low. Season with a generous amount of salt before serving.

Dinner- Taco Salad

One of our favorite dinners is Taco Salad!

What you need:

• Homemade taco seasoning
• Ground beef
• Organic refried beans
• Mozarella cheese
• Crackers
• Salsa
• Daisy Sour Cream
• Black olives

What to do:

1. Add homemade taco seasoning to ground beef for the meat. Add about 1/4 cup of water to keep your meat from drying out
2. Heat organic refried beans
3. Shred Mozarella cheese at home with a cuisnart shredder/slicer
   hint: pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent
4. Crunch crackers on your salad instead of chips (the corn in the chips has free glutamates)
   My favorite crackers to use are Carr's Water Crackers; the garlic flavored ones are the best!
5. Meijer mild organic salsa and Daisy Sour Cream top it off!
   hint: Daisy sour cream doesn't have carageenan. Don't get the light it does!
6. Enjoy :)

Birthday Dinner

Tonight I cooked a leg of lamb with rosemary, salt and pepper rubbed on it and garlic cloves stuffed into slits.
I made scalloped potatoes using rice milk and herb bread and had a side of cooked veggies.
For the cake I made Old Fashioned White Cake. I didn't frost the cake, but put predone sugar roses and lettering on top. The sugars could be taken off by anyone who couldn't eat them, but made the cake look festive. I served Turkey Hill vanilla ice cream and fresh berries on top! Yummmy!

DInner - Leftove Pizza toppings in Scrambled Eggs

In a large frying pan I beat one dozen eggs in some milk
then I added my leftover pizza ingredients which were:
pizza tomato sauce, shredded cheese, sausage flavored ground beef
and I threw in the rest of my Michigan cottage cheese
then I decided to add the crust from the leftover whole wheat bread
and some chopped onion.
I put the lid on and let it cook on medium until the eggs were cooked.
The kids loved it!

Dinner - tuna cakes and more...

The kids each had a tuna cake, pasta/veggie mix from GFS, organic celery sticks w. organic peanut butter, and a few cheese slices.

The children love to spread their own peanut butter. In fact, Zach wasn't going to have any celery but couldn't resist the peanut butter so ended up eating over two stalks!

We only eat Swiss cheese and mozzarella cheese. Most other kinds have anatto added for color.

Lunch - Spinach!

We just got back from shopping at Meijer and are going to use up some food in the fridge for lunch today.
The kids are having all you can eat Organic baby spinach
dipped in honey-mustard sauce which is exactly that: honey and mustard mixed together.
I put it in a store bought ketchup/mustard type squeeze bottle so it is always ready to use.
They are having organic strawberries and Michigan cottage cheese.
Michigan cottage cheese is one of the only brands that does not contain carrageenan(another name for MSG).
For dessert they are having a cupcake with carmel frosting on it.
hint: make your own powdered sugar- simply grind cane sugar in the Bullet
*store bought powdered sugar has cornstarch in it
I buy most of my fruits and vegetables organic due to the fact that nonorganic ones are sprayed with a chemical which consists of citric acid(another name for MSG)
I ate some baby carrots while in the hospital that were so saturated in citric acid, I had one of my worst migraines ever!

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning my children got a cup of King Vitamin Cereal.
King Vitam Cereal's main ingredients are corn flour, oat flour, coconut oil and brown sugar.
It's one of the few cereals the kids can eat.
I also gave them a cup of Apple Juice. We use Indian Summer apple juice.
Most juices have citric acid. Apple juices are more likely to use ascorbic acid.

I eat Kashi's Organic Strawberry Fields cereal.

Dinner- Tuna Cakes, CousCous, Peas

Tonight we enjoyed Tuna Cakes made by my mom.
hint: be sure to buy Chunk Light Tuna in water. Starkist brand appears to cause a headache.

Sides:
CousCous cooked in leftover beef broth.
Frozen peas