A Healthier Lifestyle

5 days ago Peter and I started something new. We decided to cut out most yeast- foods and desserts, and just extra sugar in general, out of our diet for a week and see how we felt. Yesterday, hump day, was the hardest. I wanted cookies and milk so badly. I almost caved. Almost. But I didn't.

Some things I have observed in the past few days:

I haven't gotten any headaches. 

I have more energy, which I used to clean out and vacuum the car and weed in the front yard! 

I miss sweets, but have realized how much we over-sugar things - like oatmeal.  

I haven't been as stressed mid-day. 

It is just as easy to turn to healthy foods for snacks, as long as you shop for and prepare them. 

Eating healthy doesn't have to be bland. 

I can be more creative than I am when it comes to food. 

I have a serious sweet tooth, and I know I can't live sugar or yeast-free permanently. But I can cut down significantly and replace sugary snacks with healthful ones. 

It's a lot easier to change food habits with your spouse on board. Thank you, Peter, for supporting me! 

It's also a lot easier when you have a specific goal in mind. 

And when you notice improvements in health immediately. 

But life is still funner with sweets.

In a future post I'll try to explain why I am gradually changing my diet. I'll also post about what healthy meals and snacks I've come up with to replace the sugar. Stay tuned... dun, dun, dun! 

Hurrah for Quinoa!

I have discovered Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). I first tried it, not knowing what it was, at a LLL gathering almost 2 years ago. I thought, "I've never had this type of rice before. Yum." DH first tried it, and actually ate it regularly for breakfast, in Peru while on his mission. Makes sense, quinoa originates from South America.   

But it's not rice; it's a SEED! And whenever I think of seeds (I only think of them because I almost never eat them), I think of the Word of Wisdom and how we are encouraged to "eat seeds of every kind". I always thought that was interesting. 

So apparently The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as "The International Year of the Quinoa." 

Here are a few reasons why: 

-It's a complete protein source! Rice is not. You can use quinoa practically any place you'd normally use rice. 

-It has healthy fats (like omega-3s), anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, and antioxidants!

-It is a good source of folate, fiber AND magnesium. (Lately, I've been especially interested in magnesium, which I'll post about later. I'm developing a theory on how it relates to my morning sickness.) 

This is curried quinoa from allrecipes.com with some added vegetables. Results: It exceeded my expectations. It was so nummy! And we couldn't feed it to Oscar fast enough. We've also done a chicken and quinoa stir-fry as well as quinoa pudding (just add milk, cinnamon and sugar). 

What ways have you found you like to make quinoa? I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Happy Birthday, Omi!

Omi, you are beautiful and we love you! Happy 91st Birthday, Elisabeth Sobott!!!

One of the things I love most about you is that 

you always smile at, sing to and laugh with my boys.

They love you so much.

P.S. I created this before Omi's birthday and was going to post in ON her birthday, and all of the sudden I'm 4 days late. I'm sorry! 

The Start of Something New

My new mom friends walk 3 miles every morning, and they've invited me to join them! 

                                                                                  All set!

View from my Bathroom

                                             I'm pretty fortunate to have such a lovely view.

The Fence

The fence is up! Peter has spent almost every free hour he's had for the past 5 weekends working on the fence. He's had a lot of help from his family and mine - and even from me. We're a little over half done staining it. It looks beautiful and it should last 25-30 years. And hopefully it won't ever blow over. 

Digging a hole for a post

That's the hole

Loading the posts onto the wheel barrow

Mixing the cement

                                                                     Oscar supervising

                                            Peter's dad and brothers, Spencer and Nathan

Peter's brother, Tom, washing our car - after he'd all ready changed the oil and replaced the spar plugs. What a stud!

                                                         Peter's Dad putting up a rail

                                                           Theo helping Daddo drill

Securing the pickets to the rails

It's all done!

A Visit From Aunt Keeta and Uncle Jake

So two days after our big, mini family reunion with our cousins from Germany, my brother, Jake, and his sweet wife, Keeta, decided to pay us a visit during their break between terms. They played with Oscar and Theo a ton!!! And they helped us stain our fence and paint our front door red. Boy, was that an experience. Keeta and I had fun doing it, but we (I) did an awful job! I have learned that painting a door is not as easy as it may seem. Jake fixed most of my mistakes. Anyway, I want to say thank you to Aunt Keeta and Uncle Jake for visiting. It's so wonderful for my boys to have aunts and uncles who love (play with) them so much. THANK YOU!