So far so good...

Change is a good thing-

Can someone please tell my family this?

As I stated in my previous post, my family and I are working on reducing the amount of processed foods we consume in our daily lives. Since my last post I have done tons of research, tested new recipes, and found many new avenues to purchase foods.

First things first-

One of the first things I did after writing my blog (aside from going to sleep) was I reexamined some of the "rules" I had decided on. Staring at our cupboards and pantry filled with the expensive/tasty processed foods I recently purchased, I decided I wasn't ready to just throw it all out or donate it to the local food pantry (we're talking several hundreds of dollars worth of food here!). Rather, I decided we would use what we have and replace it with better/healthier items. No sense throwing away all that money.

Happy shopping-

Amped up and ready to get healthy, I made my darling husband take me to Whole Foods so I could start cleansing my cupboard/pantry from the impurities of processed foods (so dramatic- I know). Two hours later I ended up with almost two hundred dollars worth of food and a million ideas of what Iwanted to do with it all.

In addition to the delicious deals I found at Whole Foods, I also purchased two books that have become my whole foods bibles. I gotta admit, I was a little upset in the miniscule amount of books on whole foods that Barnes and Nobles had (perhaps the saleperson wasn't all that helpful) but I was able to find  The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook and  The Homemade Pantry. Tons of great recipes helpful hints, and ideas in these books.

Kitchen time-

Since last week I have been a busy busy bee cooking in my kitchen. I plan to post some of these recipes this weekend so make sure to stop back to check them out! What  I've made: butter (twice), yogurt, granola (five times), whole wheat bread (twice), buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk whole wheat blueberry pancakes, buttermilk whole wheat waffles, and pure vanilla extract. Whew! I've been busy. Believe it or not, my family actually has LOVED everything I have made so far. I am so excited! I can't wait to see what else they might enjoy- trust me I have a bunch more foods to try  on them!

Tidbits of info-

After looking around on the internet and talking to some friends of mine I've opened my eyes to Community Supported Agricultures (CSAs for short). For those of you who might not know what a CSA is let me catch you up to speed. CSA make it easy for the individuals (AKA nonfarmers) to purchase local, fresh, seasonal produce directly from a farmer. Basically, individuals purchase "shares" of crops from their local farmers prior to the harvest season (around April). These "shares" entitle the individual to a share of the farmers crops each week. These goods are usually delivered weekly to a preset location and can be paid for in monthly installments or a lump sum payment.  Local Harvest  is a website that offers links to the CSAs in your area, great website!!  My husband and I debting upon which one we should join and if we should join one at all. I'd love to hear from anyone who has had experience with a CSA, so please comment if you've used one!!

Simplistic toys... I love it. :)

Changing it up!

My family and I are embarking on a new adventure- one focused on food and getting healthy/healthier. Walking through the aisles of your local grocery store it's amazing to me the mass amounts of processed foods that exist. I am not sure who to credit with saying this (perhaps it's been said so many times now it doesn't matter) but it's true what they say- stay on the outer rim of the store and your body will thank you! I used to appreciate it when a new grocery store was built near me, especially when it was bigger than the ones around it. More food! Now I realize that although there is more food within the brick and mortar, there's also a whole lot more processed foods in there. Just what Americans need, right?!

Here are the changes my family and I want to make:

 Cutting out processed foods
I would love to say that we were going to cut 100% of the processed foods out of lives, but in reality we aren't ready to make that kind of commitment yet. My hopes are to keep our diets around 75% or more whole foods and 25% or less processed foods. Don't get me wrong, my overall goal is to be 100% processed food free, I just don't think my whole family isn't able or willing to make that jump just yet. I am working on it though! :)

Eating more Vegetables and Fruits
This shouldn't be too hard for my husband and me, but it might take some ol' fashion trickery to get my kids on this bandwagon.

86 the fried foods
This isn't a big deal for me, but my husband is going to struggle with this one. As the saying goes there's more than one way to skin a cat, I too hope to find alternative methods for cooking that doesn't include frying.

No Fast-food Pretty simply stated. I am not a big fast food eater so this should be fine with me; the hubby and kids might have some issues with this one as well.

100% Whole Wheat and Whole Grain I plan to experiment with a variety of grains to find which ones we like best~!

Natural Sweeteners My hopes are to cut out refined sugar and stick to sweeteners like Agave Nectar and whole sugar!

Reducing "sugary" pops, juices, and drinks Instead we will drink lots of Water, Milk, 100% Juice, Tea, and wine (for me!).

So here is a website I used to help formulate my changes list- http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-defined-a-k-a-the-rules/

I am back!

Hey everyone and welcome back to Bloggin' Mommy! As you can see it has been quite some time since the last time I wrote a post. Life got pretty hectic this past year and I wasn't able to devote the time or energy I desired to my blog. Things have finally settled down and I feel now is s great time for me to dive back into my blogging. If this is the first time you have visited my blog, welcome! I am so thrilled to have you here and I hope to get to know each of you. I have decided to reformat/customize my blog. So, what can you expect with my new blog? This blog will be more focused on my family and my daily life. It will include occasional recipes, crafts/DIY projects I have completed, my family's (as well as my own) trials and tribulations, and hopefully some humor! My goal is to post at least weekly and I would love to initiate conversations on some of today's hot topics. Again, I look forward to this new journey and all it entails! God bless~ Megan

He's my boyfriend

My little 3 year old, Brooklyn is just fabulous at making me laugh! Sadly, her brother doesn't always find her funny. Her latest joke is that she goes around calling her brother her boyfriend...

Brookie: "Rylee your my boyfriend"

Rylee: "No I am not!"

Brookie: "Yes you are. Rylee is my boyfriend"

Rylee: "Mom, Brooklyn keeps saying I am her boyfriend"

Me: Starting to laugh uncontrollably.

Rylee: "Mom, its not funny! I am not her boyfriend!!"

I am not really sure where she came up with this, but I have to admit it keeps me laughing. I love my kids!

Great loaves

This week I got together with my mother and made some amazing bread!!

The first loaf we did was another recipe from King Arthur Flour. It was their English Muffin Toasting Bread.

*Image from www.kingarthurflour.com

This loaf had a nice crust on top and a soft inside. Can't wait to toast it up and spread some strawberry jam on it!

The second loaf we made was a sweet coconut bread. This was alot of fun to make and very yummy to eat! This recipe came from www.thekneadforbread.com.

My mouth is just watering talking about this amazing bread! Toasting it up with a little bit of butter and I am in heaven. You definitely have to try this one!!

Bread Basics

One of my newest obsessions in the kitchen is bread making. YUMMY! Tonight I made a simple classic white sandwich bread. The recipe is from King Arthur Flour and is also a recipe I found on another blog (www.breadexperience.com). It's a great bread recipe to start with and build on.
The following is the 12-step process to delicious bread.

Step 1.
Gathering Your Supplies

Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and laid out prior to starting. This is not only to keep you organized, but will also increase your chances of having a successful loaf of bread. I love using the little Pyrex glass ramekins. They work great!

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons, to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1 heaping tablespoon honey (I prefer clover honey)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour**
1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules

*Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.

**You may or may not need all of this four and you also might need more water to achieve desired consistency.

Step 2
Combining Ingredients

For this step I choose to use my Kitchen Aid mixer and the dough hook.
Combine all the ingredients as listed above.
**Tip: When you add the flour add small amounts at a time. If the dough gets too dry add a little bit more lukewarm water.
Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, place dough on the counter, sprinkle with flour, and knead the dough.

The dough should be bouncy and elastic in your hands. It should not be stiff.

Step 3
Primary Fermentation

This step is the key to having a great loaf!

Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl. I used cooking spray to grease my bowl. Next cover bowl with plastic wrap or a towel.

If possible place the bowl in a warm area and allow the dough to ferment for 60-90 minutes.
**Tip: I pre-heat my oven to 100 degrees F. Then I turn off the oven and place my bowl inside with the oven door cracked.

After 60-90 minutes, the dough should be puffy and almost doubled in size.

Step 4
Punching Down

During this step we will remove the bread from the bowl and place it on the counter. This step is also called degassing.


Steps 5 and 6
Dividing and Rounding

Dividing the dough into individual pieces is the next stage, followed by rounding (a preliminary shaping) and benching (a rest period).

Since we're only making one loaf, we do not need to divide our loaf and we also do not need to round the dough either since we are making it into a loaf.

Step 7
Benching

During this step the bread is typically left alone to allow the gluten to relax and make the bread easier to work with. The dough is already easy to work with, so we do not need to do this step with this bread. Flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 10-9 inches by 6 inches.

Step 8
Shaping and Panning the Loaves

Simply roll the dough up jelly roll style. Starting from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough into a log shape one section at a time. Lightly press the seam close and roll the loaf back and forth to smooth it out. Place loaf into a bread pan seam-side down. The ends of the loaf should touch both ends so that the loaf will rise evenly.

Step 9
Proofing the Loaf

Cover the loaf and let it rest for 60-90 minutes.

Again, I placed mine back into the oven to speed up the proofing.

The dough should crown 1"-1.5" over the rim of the pan.

Step 10
Baking

Now it's time to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees place the pan in the oven to bake. Bake the bread for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes tent the loaf with aluminum foil and place bake into the oven. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes till its golden brown on the outside. The internal temperature should be between 195°F to 200°F.

Step 11
Cooling the Bread

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

It's important to use as cooling rack so that the bottom of the loaf does not get soggy.

Step 12
Storing and Eating Bread

After the bread completely cools, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. You can freeze the loaf or keep it in a cool, dark place.

And the rain came down, down, down...

Growing up I often would relate crying to the rain. I am not sure if it's because of the obvious similar characteristics rain and tears posses, or because of the metaphoric relationship I created in my mind. Tears and rain, both are cleansing agents. Think about it, the strongest and most powerful eroder that exist is water and that's what comprises most of our tears and the rain.

To me tears are our internal cleansing agents while the rain is our external source. Tears erode away all the bad, dark, and heavy thoughts/feelings/emotions we have weighing us down. Have you ever noticed how much lighter your chest is, or how much easier it is to breath (of course that is after you blow you're nose) one you have really had a great cry? Have you ever noticed the salty residue left on your cheek from a tear? A tear that cleansed your soul?

The rain acts like a cleaner in many ways. It can wash away mud that once covered a sidewalk or car. It can help clear away the last bit of snow so that the spring flowers can burst through the ground. The rain, through temperature changes, can wash one season into the next. Yes, it does make mud and mud does create a big mess. But perhaps rather than thinking of it as a muddy mess, we should think of it as a way to cleanse the ground, rid it of any impurities.


Life throws us an abundance of stressors in all shapes and forms, and when we feel as though we are about to burst with internal overload, it's time to cry. It's time to release those things that are holding us back from being our pure, true selves. There's a true reason why God linked our emotions to our tears. So cry, cry in joy, pain, or sorrow. Just cry. Release the emotions you didn't even know existed.

What have your tears helped you cleanse away in your life? Or what do you need to cleanse away in your life?
If crying doesn't help you cleanse your soul what works for you?