Breakfast in a Jar

Several months ago, we downsized our 15 passenger van to a minivan. It cut our gas bill tremendously.  But, it also gave us a car payment.  We brainstormed ways to cut our expenditures elsewhere in the budget to help make up for the new payment.  One of the biggest expenditures we cut was breakfast and lunch for my hubby.  He had been eating out a lot for those meals.  So, we decided he would take breakfast and lunch each day.

One of the most common breakfasts I have been making for my wonderful, hard working man, is breakfast in a jar.  http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal These are so delicious.  I often whip up a batch on Sunday afternoon, and he has breakfast ready for the whole week.  Yes, I make them that far in advance, using raw milk. He likes to grab breakfast, pack his prepared lunch and head out the door.  He eats breakfast on the way to work.

This week, I got a little lazy and made a quick breakfast parfait with yogurt and frozen fruit.  I know he likes granola with his yogurt, but we were out last night.  So, I made some this afternoon.  When I make granola, I make a big batch.  Three large cookie sheets full. (Sorry, the picture is a little blurry.)

Then I whipped up this jar of breakfast parfait.  Honey Greek yogurt, frozen berries and granola.  Maybe he'll like this even better than this morning's version.

And, now the kids can eat granola for breakfast, too.  Cereal is a treat around here.  It disappeared quickly with the budget cuts. 

Now, I need to come up with some more interesting lunch ideas.

And, here is my granola recipe.  I cook it at low heat to keep it healthier.  One of my sons doesn't like it that way.  He says it's not crispy enough.  But, I think the health benefits are worth it.

                  

                                 Granola

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------  ------------  --------------------------------

  10              cups  rolled oats or combination of grain flakes

  1                cup  wheat germ

  2               cups  shredded coconut

  2               cups  slivered almonds

  2               cups  sunflower seeds

  1                cup  sesame seeds

     3/4           cup  honey

     3/4           cup  maple syrup

     1/2           cup  coconut oil

  1                cup  sugar, rapadura or brown

  2          teaspoons  vanilla

  2          teaspoons  cinnamon

  1           teaspoon  salt

Combine all grains and seeds.

Mix remaining ingredients in a small saucepan.  Warm gently on stove until coconut oil is melted.

Pour over mixed grains and seeds. Mix well.

Spread on 3 large cookie sheets. 

Cook at 145* for 3 hours.

Bread, Bread, Bread!

One of the things we've done to decrease our food budget is to make homemade bread instead of buying it at the store.  It is significantly cheaper and significantly more nutritious since I make it with freshly ground wheat and usually some other grains.  And, the kids love it! Actually, that's the problem :)  They eat bread for breakfast, lunch, with dinner and for snacks.  Last Friday I made 8 loaves of rosemary bread.  The loaves were smaller than usual, but still, there were 8 of them. By Saturday, they were gone.  Sunday, I made 6 dozen rolls.  By Monday, they were gone. (Of course, we had 12 people in the house all weekend, but still!) Monday, I made 4 loaves of bread. By Tuesday, they were gone.  Guess what I'm doing today :)

Time for More Weight Loss

So, I’m off to a good start.  Yesterday was a total day off because Sabbath always is.  But, starting today I’m transitioning back into strictly healthy eating. I had my green drink – with oranges from my tree and chard from my garden (thanks, Mom – those chard plants are the best ever!)  and I did a 1 hour elliptical workout.   Yay!  Tomorrow I start a 3 day juice cleanse.   Jim is going to do it with me, too. 

Then after that it’s a strict Eat to Live diet for a while.  I lost 40 pounds last year and kept them off.  This year I’d like to lose 50 and keep them off.  I’m thinking if I lose 50, I might be at a good place.  But, we’ll see how I feel when I get there.  

I know when I did this last year I felt really good.  Not just the weight loss, but health in general.  It’s amazing to me how hard it is to eat healthy when there is junk around.  Even though I know I’ll feel better if I don’t eat it, I eat it anyway.  So, I’ll try to document this time how I’m feeling when I’m eating better. 

The nice thing is that doing ETL last year really changed my eating habits.  When I’m not eating strict ETL, I still eat totally different than I did in 2009.  Lots and lots of veggies, plus fruits, grains, nuts and seeds.  When I’ve gone a couple of days without many veggies (due to busy-ness or junk food availability) I start to really crave some seriously healthy food.   So, I’m back at it...

Eat to Live

Well, I'm up to seven weeks pregnant now. I know that's not a major feat usually, but each day that passes uneventfully makes me thankful. The thought of miscarriage is always in the back of my mind. Not just because of my two previous miscarriages, but also because of my age. I don't really worry about it, but the thought is still there.

But things are going really well. I feel great. I actually feel better than I did the last couple of pregnancies. I don't remember the pregnancies before that - too long ago I guess. LOL! I take the same supplements, so I don't think that's the reason I feel so good.

I'm thinking it's either the exercise or the Eat to Live diet, or both. I always exercised during pregnancies, but I am exercising more now than I did before.

And the Eat to Live diet had me feeling great before pregnancy. I didn't follow it stricly before I was pregnant, but I did follow it several days a week. I lost 40 pounds and I was just feeling all around good.

I don't follow it strictly right now as I don't think a vegan diet is a good idea period, but especially not when pregnnat. But I do base the beginning of my eating each day on one pound of cooked greens, one pound of raw greens, 4 servings of fruit and 1 cup of beans as a beginning. I don't limit any of the things the diet says to limit - nuts, avocadoes, etc. But I do strive to eat the minimums and then I allow myself to eat whatever suits my fancy. I don't often crave junk food, so that's not a problem. But I often eat cheese, eggs, grass fed beef and raw milk. Those are all no-nos on the ETL. I never considered them no-nos, but I don't limit them now, whereas I did limit them them before.

I feel great. I have lots of energy. I hardly ever even need a nap, which is amazing for me when I'm pregnant. I haven't gained any weight yet. I usually gain 5 pounds before I know I'm pregnant and then continue on from there. Anyway, whatever I'm doing seems to be working. I guess I better keep it up!