Thanks to genetic engineering the wheat products we eat today has 4 times the amount of gluten of grandparents ate. i.e. we are not eating the wheat God intended us to eat.

Most people can benefit considerably from a gluten-free diet, or “reduced-gluten” diet. Gluten and wheat are blamed for a variety of health problems, such as depression, fatigue, weight gain and behavioral problems.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is G Free

Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn’t figure out what was making her so sick. She consulted doctors and nutritionists—no one had any answers.

But while starving in the Australian Outback on the TV show Survivor, her symptoms vanished. She found out she  has celiac disease.  She wrote the book The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide

Here is a clip:

Gluten is the common term for a group of proteins found in wheat,  rye, and barley. Gluten is second only to sugar as the most commonly consumed ingredient in the American diet.

I used to bake wonderful artisan breads daily so this was quite a change for me.

A Typical G-Free Day

I’ve been Gluten Free for almost a month. It’s not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. I’m actually having fun experimenting with recipes. Any my tummy is much, much better.

Breakfast

I make enough Steel Cut Gluten Free Oats to last me all week then heat and eat each morning .Not all oatmeal is gluten free. I need to buy oats marked Gluten Free  made in a separate factory where no cross contamination occurs.

I add various toppings. My favorite being pecans and cranraisins. There are several gf cereals available (even Chex). For more yummy oatmeal toppings see ideas here.

Energy Drink

I drink this fruit smoothie every day. When a person has celiac disease the villi in the intestine lays down and doesn’t absorb the nutrients (this is the reason I’m so anemic I have have regular transfusions and infusions).

I drink this daily to rebuild a healthy intestine. It’s really a treat. Taste like a smoothie. Ingredients; Boku, Limu juice, organic frozen fruit, ice, water, juice.  Sometimes I throw in a banana.

Lunch

This Greek salad a main stay I used to eat once a week and now have several times a week.

The ingredients vary but usually romaine, feta cheese, Garbanzo beans, raisins, pine nuts or sliced almonds, and chopped veggies. See recipe here.

Salad Dressing: I’ve made the same salad dressing for 20 years: Kraft Italian All Natural Salad Dressing Recipe Mix with Regina Red Wine Vinegar and virgin olive oil.

The salad is filling but if I’m really hungry I’ll add a  baked sweet potato or baked potato with cottage cheese.

Afternoon Snack

These vegetable chips and hummus dip are my favorite snack.

I make my own hummus in the Magic Bullet. Drain and rinse a can of  chick peas, add a clove or two of garlic, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes and mix. Yum!

I was introduced to Terra: Exotic Vegetable Mediterranean Chips at the Blissdom 10 conference. They are delightful. Much better than potato chips! Delicious plain and wonderful to scoop humus.

Available at Walmart. Ingredients: A Seasonal Mix of Root Vegetables (Sweet Potato, Parsnip, Batata, Taro, Yuca), Canola Oil and/Or Safflower Oil and/Or Sunflower Oil, Seasoning (Whey Milk), Sea Salt, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Spices, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract.

Dinner

Salmon, stir fried vegetables in olive oil and an avocado. Wild salmon is much better than farmed salmon. read the packages.

Avocados are wonderfully nutritious super food. Read the heal benefits of avocados here.

Here is another sample dinner: Roasted cabbage, turkey Kielbasa, potatoes, and carrots. See recipe here.

Night Time Snack

Tonight I had bruschetta and mozzarella cheese on gluten free crackers.

I’ve been experimenting,  bruschetta is wonderful on gluten free pizza dough (available in health food stores freezer section or in a gluten free pizza dough mix). Today I had it on these crackers.

I’m  trying to lose weight so I’m staying away from sugar but there are some really good gluten free cookies and cake mixes available.

Not as bad as you thought huh?

Gluten Free Links

• Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You
• Celiac Disease
• Celiac.com
• The Gluten File
• Wheat Free Zone
• Gluten Free Girl and the Chef
• G Free Diet

I have a new Twitter handle for Gluten Free stuff. Follow me  at GFheartofwisdom if you are interested.

Are you GF? Thinking about going GF? Share your blog link in the comments.

]]> http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/going-gluten-free/feed/ 7 http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/workbox-inspired-menu-planner/ http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/workbox-inspired-menu-planner/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:26:59 +0000 admin http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/?p=5701 I’ve been doing so much with Homeschool Workbox tags and lamination that it has spilled over into the rest of life.

I tried meal planning charts and  index cards and computer generated Excel worksheets, etc.  I love this idea because I can see all the meals we usually have at a glance.

Step 1: Make a list of main dinner meals and laminated it
Your meals  won’t be the same so mine but maybe able to use some of them. Download the PDF files below.

Step 2: Make a 7- day meal plan mat and laminated it.

I scrapbooked mine. Get creative, create something to match your kitchen decor.

Step 3: Add magnetic strips on the back of the mat and on the back of the meal “tags”

Get a roll of magnetic tape at any dollar store.

Step 4: You now have a handy Meal Planner to put on the refrigerator.

Here’s another scrapbook page  with hanging tags.

I do not plan ahead a month of meals but here is a monthly planner if anyone can use it.

Download Printables

• Meals
• Monthly Meal Planner
• Blank squares to add your meals

More coming soon

See More Free Printables Here

If you’d like more printables let me know in the comments.

I have no dirty dishes in my sink when I go to bed. Most of my clutter is under control. I needed someone life you in my 20s but I felt I have my own system working fairly well.

I assumed your systems were for those buried under months of laundry and days of dirty dishes.

Things have changed. My house is a wreck!  It is a busy holiday season, I’ve been battling bronchitis for a month, my husband has been on crutches for 3 weeks, while I’m trying to squeeze in cooking making, decorating, shopping, extra Church activities have left my house a mess.  I realized I need to sit down a map out a new schedule.

I went right over to Flylady.com to get started and found a treasure of helpful,  non-judgmental,  motivating information.

The Flylady, Marla Cilley,  is known as a positive force in de-cluttering, managing your life, and loving yourself in the process. She is helping over half a million homemakers via emails. She is the author of the bestselling book, Sink Reflections and hosts the Flylady BlogTalkRadio shows.

I’ve been busy designing my new schedule and control book with Flylady zones and plan on  spending an hour of school time with my boys new chore charts to get us all back on track.

Any Homemaker Would Benefit from Flylady

I apologize to Flylady for assuming I was too organized to need her help. Anyone can benefit from her  routines, encouragement, and handy hints. What a blessing this lady is and a sweetheart to boot.

She brings help and hope to those who are overwhelmed with clutter and anyone that just needs a little organization.

Helpful  FlyLadyLinks

1. Flying Lessons - Joining Flylady is easy and it’s free. When you become a member, you receive the e-mail messages (FLYing Lessons) from FlyLady to guide you through your day.
2. Fix for CHAOS – (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) – Do you feel overwhelmed, overextended, and overdrawn?  Hopeless and you don’t know where to start?
3. Getting Started – Flylady understands we need baby steps to get started. Watch the Shining Sink video.
4. Crusing Through the Holidays – Flylady knows the demands during the holidays and offers many  helpful tips.
5. Flylady Forums - Talk to others using Flylady lessons.
6. Follow Marla on Twitter at TheFlyLady.
7. Listen to Flylady on Blogtalk
8. Fly Lady Books on Amazon

Free Printable Chore Charts

Flylady inspired me to make these chore charts- different from most kids chore charts. These you hang in the room for a step by step guide.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Telling a child to clean a room is overwhelming. These check lists are broken down into easy doable one to three minute chores. Assign a child a room or a few steps.

Explain to your children if you complete the list every day each can be done in about 15 minutes!

Click on list to get 8.5 x11 sheet for printing. Laminate list and hang in appropriate room. Use dry erase markers to check off or assign chores. (If you don’t have a laminate consider getting one, we use ours all the time).

Here is a blank list to make your own

n.

A 15 Minute Cleanup time is a great way to stay ahead of clutter. To really keep a home clean you should add weekly to do lists too (clean out fridge, clean under beds, closets, etc).

How about you? Has you housework suffered from this busy holiday season? Could you use a little help? Do you already use Flylady? How has she helped you?

Rosh Hashana or the Feast of Trumpets begins sundown today. It is the Bible New Year celebration.

The Spring Bible holidays tell of Jesus first coming and the fall festivals are prophetic of His second coming.

Rosh Hashana Information for Christians

• Fall Feasts Overview
• Rosh Hashana Overview
• Feast of Trumpets in Biblical Times
• Jewish Customs
• Messiah in the Feast of Trumpets
• Suggestiong for Celebrating

Apple and Honey Cake

Apples and honey are a traditional food for this celebration. We are baking New Year cakes for our neighbors. (I’m on a sugar free yeast free diet so there will be no cake for me.)

Our Jewish neighbors across the street will know this is a Rosh Hashana cake. Our neighbor next door with 3 children will see it as a welcome to the neighborhood cake (one day I’ll explain Rosh Hashana, as the Lord leads)

Semi Homemade Recipe

If you don’t have time for a homemade cake add apples, honey and nuts to a yellow ckae mix and get canned cream cheese frosting.

Homemade Recipe

From City of Holland

1/2 cups honey
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together honey, shortening and eggs.  Sift salt, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and flour and add to creamed mixture.  Stir in apples and nuts.  Pour into greased 9″ x 13″ x 2″ pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Tablespoon Butter
6 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter, cream cheese, honey and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add nuts. Frost cooled cake.

Apple Honey Cupcakes with Bubble Bee Cup Decorations

We are decorating with bubble bees made from chocolate covered raisins and almonds.

Another idea is to make cupcakes and decorate with bees (found at craft stores).

Or check here for images of several adorable Bee Cupcakes ideas.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Telling a child to clean a room is overwhelming. These check lists are broken down into easy doable one to three minute chores. Assign a child a room or a few steps. Hang the kids core chart in the appropriate room.

Explain to your children if you complete the list every day each can be done in about 15 minutes!

Click on list to get 8.5 x11 sheet for printing. Laminate list. Use dry erase markers to check off or assign chores. (If you don’t have a laminate consider getting one, we use ours all the time).

Here is a blank list to make your own

n.

A 15 Minute Cleanup time is a great way to stay ahead of clutter. To really keep a home clean you should add weekly to do lists too (clean out fridge, clean under beds, closets, etc).

Menu planning is something we intend to do when we get around to it or “when I’m get organized.” But this is backward thinking, menu planning should be your first step to getting organized.

A lack of meal planning means wasted money, extra trips to the store, frustration and cooking boredom. We are all faced with meals three times a day, seven times a week, it should be planned. Don’t put it off any longer.

This is normally an article I would put on my homemaking blog but meal planning saves time and money and homeschoolers need both so I’m posting here. Invest 15 minutes today and all the time and money you save can be spent on something that really matters – your family!

Reasons to Meal Plan

Save Time and Money

• Reduce grocery and gas bills by meal planning. A simple list of meals means an easy grocery list for the grocery store, which cuts down on impulse buys, wasted food, and needless trips to the supermarket.
• If you don’t plan, there will be days you end up harried and hurried with hungry kids and opt for a trip to a fast food restaurant (which can take more time than preparing a meal). The more harried and hurried the more fast food trips.
• Having a shopping list will make it easier for you to clip coupons.
• Stock up on sale items like hamburger, chicken, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc.
• Save the ultimate amount of time and money by using a book like OnceA-Month Cooking or Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month.

Make Healthier Meals

• Eating out may be convenient but fat-laden fast food is not nutritional (it’s a huge part of the reason our nation is experiencing an obesity epidemic).
• When you pre-plan your own meals, you can choose healthy options. You control the flavor and the fat and amount of sugar, you can grill or broil instead of fry. Planning ensures you are cooking a healthy meal every day of the week.

Easier Meal Preparation

• With a meal plan you always know what meat to take out of the freezer to defrost the night before and you’ll have the ingredients because they were listed on your shopping list.
• The easiest meals for me are made using my crockpot in the morning. I love smelling it cooking all day and simply setting the table at dinner time.

Teach Your Children Skills

• Include children in the meal planning process to teach them organizational skills and how to assemble a balanced meal.
• They can help to plan the meals and learn about the different nutrition groups.

Reduces Stress

• How frustrated do you get each night at meal time rummaging through the freezer and pantry? Once you menu plan won’t have to worry about everything that goes into making a meal.

• My dear OCD hubby asks me daily (usually before breakfast) “What’s for dinner?” I used to get irritated and roll my eyes but since I started meal planning I can give him a cheerful answer.

• There is something secure about having dinner organized and on the table at the same time every night. It brings peace to you and your family.
• Our family meal times are jeopardized by rushed schedules, overworked and exhausted parents. Meal planning allows us to have a special family time to share, rekindle, and reconnect.
  

Meal Plan Online!

In the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach I give examples of meal planning in a notebook. But now there are many online options. Here are two free sites:

• Meals Matter -Meals Matter is a really neat free meal planning website featuring recipes and personalized nutrition tips. Users can create family cookbooks, shopping lists and plan out menus. They offer a ton of articles, recipes and ideas for creating healthy and easy meals. They also offer a free Nutrition & Fitness Challenge ( a three-week self-directed program). Each week of the Challenge you will receive an email that guides you through the steps that will help you achieve your goals.

• Pepperclip – Pepperclip offers a free place for you to organize your personal recipes, share with friends, and make your trips to the grocery store easier by writing your lists for you. Your list is made from either recipes you typed in or from recipes other pepperclip users have added to the website. Once you type a recipe, it is saved in the system forever and you can use it again for shopping lists in the future.
• Organized Home – If you prefer organizing on paper this site offers printable menu planners.

Blog Your Meals Plan

Organizing Junkie created a Menu Plan Monday meme. I plan my meals once a week and go to the grocery store once a week. I now put my menus on my homemaking blog. Most of the recipes I use are already on my homemaking blog so I can also link my Meal Plan to the recipes. Here is an example of this week’s plan:

• Monday: Shepherd’s pie
• Tuesday: Crockpot Pot Roast (Tuesday Night Bible Study)
• Wednesday: Pizza at church
• Thursday: Cabbage and Kielbasa
• Frida: Orange Roughy, fried rice, kale, Challa Bread
• Saturday: Killer Tacos
• Sunday: Chicken Fajitas (video)

Your Turn

Do you meal plan? Why or why not? What’s your favorite method? We need your feedback to supply what you want to see on this blog. Lurkers come out. Please add your comments below.

If you like this article, please give it a thumb up in Stumbleupon or a bookmark at Del.icio.us. Thanks a lot!

I originally posted this on my Heart at Home Homemaking Blog but the free 86 page ebook is so encouraging I had to post here, too, so no one misses it.

Amy Verlennich from Dandelion Seeds created a series of lessons to help homemakers with cleaning their homes and devotionals to help the women clean their hearts, as well.

• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” Motivational Devotional for the Disorganized
• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” Journal Pages
• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” Scripture Verse Posters
• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” 2008 MONTHLY CALENDAR
• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” 2008 MONTHLY CALENDAR WITH LINES FOR NOTE
• “CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART!” 2008-2009 YEARLY CALENDAR
• Join the “online reflections”!

Be sure to pop over to Amy’s blog to thank her for the great freebies!

Don’t miss this post: Are You Prepared for Self Control? (Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?)

Home Organization Resources

Related Posts from Heart at Home:

• Organizing with Zip Lock Baggies
• A Quick and Easy Way to Organize Your Books
• Organize Household Chores Online
• Get Deliciously Organized

]]> http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/devotional-for-the-disorganized/feed/ 4 http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/thanksgiving-recipes/ http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/thanksgiving-recipes/#comments Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:00:49 +0000 admin http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/homemaking/recipes/thanksgiving-recipes/

These cookies have been our family tradition for almost 20 years now. Making them is a special time the children look forward to every Thanksgiving. Giving them to neighbors and friends is just as fun.

No Bake Turkey Cookies

Ingredients:
Fudge Striped Cookies
Chocolate bonbons (Christmas candy aisle at Walmart)
Semi-sweet chocolates
Candy corn
Directions:

Melt some of the semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave on low setting to use as glue. Cut one fourth of the cookie off to make the tail. Coat the flat part of the bonbon with melted chocolate to “glue” to the center of the cookie (covering the hole). Cover one side of the candy corn with melted chocolate and press on the bonbon to make the face. Use a toothpick and melted chocolate to make two eyes. Use two UNmelted pieces of semi-sweet chocolate to make the feet. Place each finished turkey on a plate (or wax paper) and refrigerate until firm. ENJOY!

Quick & Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes

Fix these cupcakes in a jiffy using spice cake mix, canned pumpkin and a prepared cream cheese frosting. Kids will love this sweet and spicy finger-food and clean-up will be a breeze.
Yields – 24 cupcakes (2 dozen)

Ingredients:
1 package (18.25 oz.) spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 container (16 oz.) prepared cream cheese or vanilla frosting

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Paper-line or grease 24 muffin cups.
BLEND cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in large mixer bowl until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.
BAKE for 18 to 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Spread cupcakes with frosting. Decorate with assorted sprinkles, if desired.

Pumpkin Bread

My mother started this tradition about 40 years ago by cooking the bread in coffee cans to make round loaves. I no longer buy the right size coffee cans so I bake it in regular bread pans. I miss the round loaves.

INGREDIENTS

* 3 cups canned pumpkin
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
* 4 cups white sugar
* 6 eggs
* 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
* 1 cup raisins
* 1 cup walnuts or pecans

(you can replace of the 3 spices you can use 4 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9×5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Add raisins,and nuts (if desired)
3. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

Share a Family Tradition or Recipe

Add your favorite family tradition or recipe for Thanksgiving below in the comments. Lurkers, come out, come out, share your family tradition with everyone.

I’ll be discussing this topic much more in upcoming posts. For now this video from Teacher Tube may get you thinking about the possibilities.