Firing up the new adobe oven

My husband and kids have been working on this oven and they are sooo excited about it. It has to dry for a few weeks but they could NOT wait that long to build the first fire.

The heat that rolled out of there was really impressive.
They had to redo the door after this first testing to close the gaps a bit better. Now it will be ready for the real thing. It's gonna be awesome.

They researched for a few days how to build this using you tube videos. They dug the clay out of our back yard, and used sand from the pile I've been using in the garden. It has dried rock hard. I was impressed with how hard it is and how sturdy. Our God has given us great tools to make life easier. I am thankful.

The Garden in May

We are eating lettuce and radishes out of the garden. We've been looking at the peas longingly and willing them to grow faster but it will be several weeks yet, I'm afraid. Next year the beds will be already in place and waiting for me to plant as early as I think is safe.

This week I have planted more turnips, lettuce, beets, potatoes, asparagus, sunflower seeds and squashes. The watermelons, cantaloupe, squash, tomatoes and peppers are still sitting in the greenhouse waiting for their debut. I have to level the tires and fill them with my blend of 50% sand and 50% peat moss before I can plant them. I still have more work to do but I love every second of it!


First radishes! I pulled several of these, brought them in, set them in the sink, and came back later to find they had already been devoured by my herd of boys! Good thing I have plenty! :)

Working on the Binder System

I have put 6 more hours in on my Whole Foods Binder system today.  I'll probably get some more time in later after I go make dinner and do some gardening. Making the system for others has given the project a different kind of feel. Now I have to wonder if the directions I am writing will be understood by others, and if other people's palate's are similar or not. I won't know unless I try.

Daily Eatin'

My juice today was cucumber, kale and carrots.
Today I have also had an orange and 2 bananas. My body has gotten to a point that it is full of vitamins and minerals and does not cry out for food constantly. I am full on very little as long as it is living food.
Tonight I will be making 4 ingredient tortilla pizzas and I will choose one of the salads I have ingredients for.

My kids and husband have had fruit followed by oatmeal with stevia for breakfast, homemade tortillas with sauteed onions and peppers for lunch, and they will eat what I make for dinner.

On the counter is a pile of carrots and a bowl of almonds that the kids have been snacking on.

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Back To The Basics Of Life

It is worth mentioning that my husband resigned from his job about a week and a half ago. It was the right thing to do and now we are learning so much!

We have decided to build a home business or two, so we have been working on that. www.briansbowbarn.com   www.cartsbybrian.com  www.inthegardenofeatin.com

 The main thing we have been trying to do is learn how to live on less than half of what we were used to. These are some of the things we are doing.

Making our bread or pitas from scratch.
Using way more rice and beans.
Biking everywhere. We bike to church and for errands and groceries.
Hanging the laundry outside to dry.
Keeping the lights off when they aren't being used.
Wearing clothes more than just one day to keep the laundry down.
Oatmeal between meals instead of fruit.
Buying NO extras. We use what we have or do without.
Turned the heat off and are wearing more layers to keep warm.
Keeping showers short.
Planting a garden to keep grocery bill low.
Invested in tools to enable an income.
Riding to the library instead of buying books.
Changing to a more frugal garbage service.
Canceling cable t.v. and landline phone service.
Saying no to every group or club that we can't ride bikes to.
Using up dentist and vision benefits while we still have insurance.
Letting the chickens free range so we don't have to pay to feed them.
Made an adobe oven outside to cook in with our free wood.

I am sure there are other things. These were the ones in the front of my mind. It has been a great experience and we feel so lucky to be together living this wholesome family life. My stress has gone down a great deal having my husband home to help with the 5 boys. He is so good at discipline. We'll see how this goes long term and if it is in God's plans for us to continue this way. For now, I'll take it.

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Whole Foods Binder System

I have been putting long hours into my new Whole Foods Binder System. I am good at systems. I thrive on them. When I had put days and days through the last months into this for just my family, it occurred to me that it would help others too!

So, now it is all consuming trying to get it done in a timely manner after I have told people about it who now want it. I want to make it worth their money, and I want it to help them have a whole foods lifestyle.

The system will teach food combining through a color coded system I came up with. It will also teach a recipe/shopping system that I have used for a long time. There will be whole foods tips on each page, and over 60 recipes. It is going to be fantastic!

Gotta get back to it.

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Beef Salad

This is a salad that my husband likes! I don't make it very often, but when I do he is happy.

Natalia Rose book and what I ate yesterday

I just read a book called Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. I highly recommend her book. It teaches about food combination and goes into many facets about detoxification like fasting, colonics, and quick exit foods.

I like that she helps people transition into whole foods through easy steps. She has a scale from 1 to 5 that says where you are and where you want to be. The number 5 is basically the standard American diet, and 1 is someone who only eats raw. I am a number 2, which means I eat raw most of the day with some cooked foods with my dinner.

So, being a number 2, here is what I ate yesterday. Oh, and it is this style of eating that has me within 9 pounds of where I was when I was a fit 17 year old!

Water until noon.

Noon- Green Lemonade

2:00 pm    big bowl of watermelon
(I would have had more fruit but my day got busy at this time)

4 pm   I had a cookie and a yogurt ice cream on my date with my 10 year old boy.

7pm   Guacamole salad   and a cooked bok choy with cashews side dish      

I lost almost a pound today after that day of eating. I love it and I don't feel deprived or hungry!

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Kids 'Eat Any Time' LIst

I like to have my ingredients handy when I make dinner. Sometimes a kid will eat something, not tell me, then when I make dinner I am missing a key ingredient! Argh! 

I am a big fan of lists, so of course I have a list that solves this problem. At the top of this list is a header that reads, "Eat Any Time". That is just what it is. If a kid, or whoever, is hungry between meals then they can have something from the list. I do not snack, but I let the kids choose that for themselves. I love giving the kids choices that aren't huge but make them feel like they have some control over themselves.

First I make sure that breakfast, lunch, and dinner are packed full of fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. Then I don't have to feel bad about what they might have between meals. Everything on my list is not high end nutrition but moderation in all things is one of my motto's.

So, here it is.

Eat Any Time 

Lettuce

Potatoes (I keep baked ones in the fridge, individually wrapped in tin foil)

Carrots

Celery

Frozen Burritos

Canned Chili

Oatmeal 

Leftovers

1/4 cup nuts a day

Bread (My 14 year old son bakes this)

Bananas

1/4 cup raisins a day 

1 smoothie a day

Garden veggies

Apples

Canned Beans

Frozen Peas

Smoothie Ingredients available any time:

Strawberries

Frozen Mixed Fruit

Tablespoon flax

Almond milk (kid has to make it)

Tablespoon a day of honey

Apples

Protein Powder

Greens

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Sometimes I will have a tray of veggies on the counter with hummus to dip them in. Usually that is the first thing they go for when they get hungry. I like to have mushrooms, celery, green beans, snow peas, carrots, sliced peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, radishes, avocados, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. 

Happy Healthy,

Elisa

7 layer dip

This is a family favorite. I have healthified it over the years and I am proud to chalk this one down as a healthy hit!  It is fast, easy, and yummy.

7 Layer Dip

2 large cans non-fat re-fried beans
16 oz. jar low sodium salsa
10 oz. bag spinach
quinoa cooked in broth or other low sodium, low fat flavoring
10 chopped roma tomatoes
3 chopped bell peppers
6 chopped green onions
3-4 cubed avocados

Chop the spinach very fine and stir into the re-fried beans.
Layer everything into 2 9x13 pans.
Eat on tortillas, with chips, or dip sliced green peppers.
I eat mine with a fork and no chips or tortillas but whatever floats your boat!