7 Quick Takes (#24)

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1) Facetime with Granny and Papa!!!

Sometimes when I see pictures of my family, I kind of freak out at how we just keep growing and growing!! These 3 little people didn't exist 5 years ago...and now there are three of them!!!!  It's really kind of cool.

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2) I caught Leo and Roman watching The Avengers together.  Leo made sure Roman had a Superhero action figure to play with during the show.  Then I caught him telling Roman the longest and cutest story involving soldiers, princesses, Oma's house, superheroes, pooping on the potty and, of course, chocolate.   



After this extremely long and involved story, Roman was all tuckered out.  Leo knew exactly what to do.  He sang our "Go to sleep" song (complete with arm movements)

       Go to sleep.  Go to sleep.  Go to SLEEEEEP  little Roman.
       Go to sleep.  Go to sleep.  Go to sleep my little boy!




Within a few minutes of his song, Roman was out :)


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3) I'm back on the "weight-loss" train.  I do this after each child.  The weight never just "falls off" for me!  But after a couple months of "dieting", I lose interest and can't keep up with it.  In an attempt to eat healthier, I have decided to consciously eat more veggies and more protein.  Rather than focus on what I can't eat, I'm adding all sorts of good stuff to my daily diet to fill me up.  (I'm also on myfitnesspal.com as "lelesmama" so come be my friend!)  One super awesome problem with breastfeeding is that you have to eat an additional amount of calories each day, and I tend toward foods that are high in carbohydrates to fill those calories.  So I tried to make a few snacks this week that are low in carbs so I can snack to fill my daily calorie needs.

But before I post the recipes, I think that a few of you might look at my recipes and say "She'll NEVER lose weight with all that fat in her food!!"  But you will never find me eating something that is low-fat ever again!  And I think the proof will be in the pudding when I am successful at losing weight eating full-fat milk, butter, oils, cheese, etc.  (Speaking of pudding - are you addicted to chia seeds yet??)

Here are some resources for why I eat the way I do:

Also, this is a long-term way of eating.  I watch The Biggest Loser and get SOOOO frustrated when they brag about eating low-fat cheese or sour cream, etc.  YUCK!!  These foods are simply not meant to be low-fat!

Fact: Just eat the real stuff and I guarantee you won't leave the table hungry.
Fact: Restaurants don't carry "low-fat" anything.  Parties with friends don't include recipes made with "low-fat" ingredients.  The low-fat diet is completely unsustainable long-term for me.
Fact: The low-fat option of anything tastes like water and leaves you unsatisfied.
Fact: The rest of your family will hate your cooking if you add anything that is "low-fat".
Fact: If it has fat, and you don't want to eat the fat, just don't eat it.  Don't pay the same price for a processed half-product!!!

Lunch: Pastured-eggs, local-grown spinach, local-grown mushroom, full fat feta scrambled in unsalted butter
Fact: The scrambled egg white, low-fat cheese and "spray" oil version of my lunch omelette would NOT taste as good nor would it be as nutritious (are you still eating scrambled egg-whites??)

It's simple math: Calories in = Calories out.  For weight loss: Calories in < Calories out.  Still not convinced you can lose weight while eating full fat foods?  Then stay tuned for my weight loss progress :)

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4) My first fun recipe was just to redeem myself.  Remember the Baked Donut Hole Fail a couple weeks ago?  I decided to buy some real Coconut Flour and try them again.  I made them with Coconut Sap Sugar and they turned out pretty tasty!!  I found the original recipe on Tropical Traditions website.


Ah yes - THAT is what they were supposed to look like coming out of the oven!!

These bad boys are DENSE!!  You can only eat one, maybe 2, before you are at your limit.  But they are a really fun treat if you have a sweet tooth and need something every now and then. And only 75 calories each.  Check out the recipe here.


The kids were so excited they couldn't even sit down properly before they dug in!


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5)  The next high-protein, gluten-free recipe I tried was the Coconut Flour Banana Muffins from Heavenly Homemakers.

Coconut Flour Banana Muffins
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 medium eggs (or 4-5 large eggs)
4 tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
1/4 cup honey
2-3 small ripe, mashed bananas (use 2 if they are larger)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 and put the coconut oil in a dish to melt in there while you prepare the rest.  Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a well-greased or paper lined muffin pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins

140 cals/14 carbs/8 fat/4 protein/3 fiber/104 sodium per serving

When I am making a treat, I make muffins with my fresh-ground whole wheat flour.  But when I am looking for a snack that is higher in protein, I'll keep a few of these in my fridge!  Making gluten-free baked goods is tricky.  I used too much banana and too much egg (my eggs from the farm were extra large this week), so fresh out of the oven they were too gummy.  But straight from the fridge they are delicious!!


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6) And even though this one isn't so low in carbs, this one is my new absolute favorite!  Initially, I tried to cut out the sugar from my diet.  But I don't actually eat that much sugar.  My coffee is black, my oatmeal is plain, my yogurt is unsweetened, etc.  But I am a mess if I have a sugar craving and I do believe that most foods in moderation are okay.  But I would usually opt for an insane amount of chocolate or cookies.  So this is my best substitute.

Homemade Kettle Corn made with Coconut Sap Sugar!!!! 

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup Organic Popcorn
- 2-3 tablespoons Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil (high smoke point)
- 1/3 cup Coconut Sap Sugar (why not just use granulated sugar??)

Heat coconut oil on med-high heat with 3 popcorn kernels.  When the kernels pop, take the pot off the heat.  Add the sugar and stir it to mix.  Then add the rest of the popcorn kernels and let it sit covered for 30 seconds to allow the kernels to heat up.  Then return it to the heat, crack the cover to let some steam out and all the kernels will begin popping.  But please be careful!!!  The sugar burns bad if it hits you!!  When there are 2-3 seconds between pops, pour the popcorn into a bowl and enjoy!  Even Jason thought this was an excellent treat despite it being a healthier version :)

7) I made these bad boys last night and I am their new number 1 fan!  Even Jason (who stated they probably wouldn't be something he could get into) was digging on them all night.

Photo Credit: thekitchn.com
I calculated the nutrition facts and here is the breakdown: 4 servings of about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 235 cal/35 carb/8 fat/11 protein/12 fiber/126 sodium

The math looks pretty high when you are trying to stay within a certain calorie limit each day.  However, I had one serving last night and was FULL!  Jason said they tasted like little mini potatoes.  They satisfy the potato chip craving, the salty craving, and even a french fry craving (for me anyway).  It was easy to stop after just one serving.  I can never stop after one serving with potato chips!


MAN it feels good to talk about food again!!!  Pregnancy kills any desire for cooking or eating healthy for me.  I am usually too tired and sick in the beginning to think about food.  And I'm too uncomfortable to stand in my kitchen in the end.  But I'm glad to see that my love affair with food has returned :)


Bonus) Check out this new Etsy shop!!  A 12 and 17 year old learned how to sew and opened their own Etsy shop where they will custom-make any Saint doll for you!!   We are past birthday and holiday season, but I have my sights set on a doll for Elena!  St. Helena is going to be beautiful :)  Aside from being really cute dolls, the fact that young girls make them is so rockin!  (And the faces are actually pretty, not creepy!!)

Mother Theresa and St. Therese of Lisieux

This ain't your mom's Chia...


Credit

I have built a sort of online friend group.  We only communicate in blogs and comments.  This limited interaction means I have to stay on top of things in order to keep my membership.  We bloggers rule the internet and it is important to keep a position of power.

Which is why when I saw Grace touting the benefits of Chia Seeds, I happily read her blogposts and moved on with my life.  But then when Cari got in on the action too, I started to feel a little left out.  Then Grace's friend Emily started in on it and I immediately grabbed my purse and headed out to the store for some dang seeds.  (I'm the 5th of 6 children - I have a real Jan complex about not being included in things.)


I started my journey to healthier eating about a year ago and now I have compiled all kinds of foods that I don't know how to use.  As "luck" would have it, I looked up a recipe for coconut sap sugar the other day and found this Chia Pudding recipe that I thought I could whip up.

Doesn't it look appetizing??


Well - We all know I'm no photographer, but even if I were, it would be hard to make this look appetizing...



So, this morning, I woke up, poured my gelatinous gloup into a bowl with a sliced banana and...did my best.  I consumed as much of the Aztec Superfood as humanly possible.  While I tried my best to swallow what could best be described as flavored egg white goo, I pictured clean kitchens, folded laundry, happy smiley children, and a 30 lb weight loss (have YOU ever seen a fat Aztec???).  (Photo credit)
I was eating so slowly.  The kids saw a brown substance in the bowl.  They're no dummies.  Brown=Chocolate in this house.  They quickly converged on me like flies to a light.

Neither of them had any problem swallowing the brown jelly.

And my thoughts were, "Great, now I can test the Power of the Chia by measuring the change in energy in my children."

(Half of the members of this video are under the Chia Spell...)



Uhhhh.......it worked......




I saw it working on the children almost instantly.  I was still skeptical though.  Note that the angle of the photos and video taken are from the comfort of my couch where I washed down the Chia turding with my daily cup of coffee.  I doubted it was really the Chia and blamed it on just high energy kids.  But now I was really testing fate by combining coffee and Chia.

Seriously though - the stuff is amazing!!!!

My floor was picked up, I liked my kids all day, my kitchen stayed neatish, and I even played Susie Homemaker and whipped this up for lunch:


Carrot Raisin Spelt Berry Salad

I am now a Chia believer.  This was the first day in a while that I didn't just breastfeed and unwither my flax crops in Castleville.  But I might have to come up with some different ways to enjoy the stuff.  I think Grace is getting paid by the Aztecs to sell dime bags of Chia so they can take this stuff off the shelf soon.  You better get some before she goes all Marlo on us...

I'm kind of looking forward to a big heaping bowl of brown goo tomorrow morning.

Getting back to normal

Every now and then, Jason and I will look at Roman and be instantly transported back in time.  
Leo

Roman
The two of them resemble each other most when they are sleeping.  Roman has an entirely different look than Leo, but there are enough similarities that we both get a little freaked out!

Over the last week, I finished the Hunger Games (oooooohhhhhhh so good!!!!), we played outside almost every day, my energy started to return, we had a playdate, hosted mom's group, and we walked with neighbors to the local ice cream stop a couple times.  This is the benefit of a February baby.  You start feeling better just as spring starts to emerge.  

The kids are still as in love with their little brother as the day we brought him home.  The little guy is smothered in so much love and kisses all day that I don't know why people think having more children is unfair to the kids.  Everyone is getting their fill of love and attention all day around here!!!


Elena has been adorably creative lately.  She likes to put things together and see how they work.


And Leo has quickly figured out that if he does clean up, he can earn a turn with his Pacman Remote (this thing plugs into your TV and has 8 of the classics!)

Yup.  Life around here has returned to normal and we are loving it!





Piggybacking so Mommy can cook!

But the best part of the last week has been the smiles and talking from Roman!!!


And what is so funny to the little guy?




I love them :)



Going to "Shot some deer"

Elena recently found her old (and too small) winter snowsuit hiding in her closet and begged us to put it on her so she could go to the deck and "Shot some deer"


Huh??......just a minute...

Ooops...

 

Sorry, but no little man - not even that huge gun pointed in my face makes me scared of you in that get-up...
 


7 Quick Takes (#23)

7 quick takes sm1 Your 7 Quick Takes Toolkit!


1) Two weeks ago, Jason and I took the kids to the bounce house!  



 

Leo and Elena rocked out.  This is about all the excitement Roman could handle.  The bouncing motion of the huge slide rocked him right to sleep!

 




2) We decided to make a day of it, and braved our first outing as a family of five to a restaurant!  This was where we got a big surprise from Leo.  The restaurant was the type where you can draw on the table.  Jason wrote Leo's name...

Leo copied him (the "l7O" is Leo's version of his name).  


Then Leo studied the letters and had another go at it:


And he knocked it out of the park!!!

(I tried to get a close-up of the "E".  He added about 20 extra legs to his letter E!!)

And while Roman made me look like Supermom of the Century, Elena and I pigged out!!  It was a very ambitious outing for the 5 of us but I was going stir-crazy and needed to get out :)  And bribing me with fattening Italian food took my mind off the craziness of our family long enough to enjoy entirely too much food.


3) I finally finished knitting Roman's blanket!!!  I had to do green since I didn't know his gender when I started it.

 I messed it up 6 ways to Sunday but when he is laying on it, I get too distracted by him to notice all the mess-ups.  And it has character!


It is called a Baby Chalice Blanket and I got the pattern from Ravelry.com.  You can see the chalice pattern really well in these two shots.  I'll definitely make some more stuff with this pattern!


4) It is no coincidence that a newborn starts to smile about the same time they start to wake up mom a lot more at night!!


 I never catch the full smile on camera since I'm so busy these days, but I have caught a few small "smirks".

I LOVE HIM!!!!

5) Leo is full of surprises lately.  He spontaneously breaks into prayer at random points during the day.


The prayer is short and sweet and goes a little something like this,

"I bless myself.  I go to Oma's house to play." *repeat* 

6) The first days of...Spring??? are upon us?!?!  We'll take it!!




The kids find all sorts of treasures outside to share with their chairbound little brother.  And we squeezed in two "pancake" lunches!






7) After hearing about it 24/7 for the last couple weeks, I finally drank the Kool-aid and bought the Hunger Games Trilogy for my Ereader.  So far, I am completely engrossed!  I made sure to start reading on the beginning of Jason's weekend so I can ignore all my duties and just read :)  So, you might see my children running around outside looking a lot like this for the next couple days...Sorry 'bout the fuzz...I'm too busy reading to steady the camera...


Enjoy the rest of the 7 Quick Takes at Conversiondiary.com!
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