October 31, 2012: Identity in Christ and garbanzo peanut butter cookies

During this season, Christians may have a difficult time deciding what to do with Halloween. Do we celebrate it? What do we think it means to us? Would God want our children to go trick-or-treat-ing?  I think that there are different convictions for different families and that we should all respect each others' decisions. For us, our daughter is still under two and either way, we believe she's still too young to go toting around in the cold for candy we don't want her eating.

We must remember that regardless of how we choose to engage in the festivities, we are children of God. We've been adopted into His family as sons or daughters. We have been chosen before the foundation of the world. We are co-heirs with Christ. We have been declared justified in His eyes and that when He sees us, He sees the imputed righteousness of Christ. There is no more condemnation; we have been promised eternal life because of His Son Jesus. We can relax, fully knowing that because He saved us, because He loved us, we will complete the work in us until the end. There is perseverance for His saints. He does not save us and leave us to do all of the work ourselves. That would be contrary to what His Word teaches.

So, whatever you decide to do with your children, remind yourself of His wonderful deeds, rejoice in His everlasting covenants and hope in His expectant return.


On the other hand, you can make your little monsters a delicious and healthy treat to enjoy. This recipe is a combination of many recipes I have found. Big thanks to my sister-in-law for giving me recipes for tasty treats that involve beans! Below is a recipe I made today that is gluten-free, can be vegan depending on the chocolate you use, and made with garbanzo (chickpeas) beans.

TT's Peanut Butter Balls (chocolate chips are optional, but oh so good!)

1 1/4 c garbanzo beans ( I use the reduced sodium or no salt added.  Whole Foods has these options)
1/4 c honey
1/2 peanut butter (I used Smuckers natural creamy. It does have added salt so I didn't add salt to the recipe)
1 t baking powder
2 t natural vanilla extract.

I added all the ingredients into my food processor and let 'er rip. I did not add any chocolate chips while this was 'processing'.

I refrigerated my dough overnight, as I had yet to get my chocolate chips.
If you're vegan you can use non-dairy chocolate or leave them out altogether and use agave instead of honey. *Vegans debate on whether honey is considered vegan.

I made twelve 'balls' of cookies on a cookie sheet. I used parchment paper. I baked them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Keep checking on them. They will get a little brown on top and will remain really mushy until they cool. You could try making smaller balls than I did, and then bake them for less time. If you do that, let me know how they turn out. I plan on making these in the future, so I will keep you up to date.

October 29, 2012: Easy fried potatoes

The other week I had made a bunch of pierogis. I had bought a bunch of potatoes and had two of them left. I decided to make some fried potatoes and they turned out delicious.

Potatoes have got a bad rad with the whole 'low-carb' fad diets and no 'white foods'. The problem with these diets is that they eliminate plant based foods. A plant-based diet done with careful research is extremely beneficial. One can get almost entirely all the nutrients they need from a plant-based diet.

Fried potatoes...EASY!!!

Two potatoes diced into cubes

About a t of rosemary

A few sprinkles of nutritional yeast (a good source of B12)

Enjoy!

October 27, 2012: Artichoke garbanzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes

Tomorrow is our church fellowship meal.

A few of the members are sensitive to gluten. I felt that there was more to gluten-free food than wheat substitutes and quinoa.

Today I made artichoke garbanzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes.

Recipe:
1 can of artichokes
about a can of chickpeas
1/2 t of rosemary or oregano
about 7 chopped sun dried tomatoes ( I did not use the ones with oil)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon

I sauteed the artichokes until they were brown with a little oil. I added the lemon while they were cooking. Take the artichokes and add to the beans. Set aside.

Sautee the onion and garlic in a little oil until brown. Add to the bean and artichokes. Add everything else and enjoy!

Yummy and good for you too!

October 26, 2012: Memorizing verses

Have you ever thought about memorizing scripture?

Memorizing scripture is very beneficial for you as a Christian. It can remind you of God's promises, who He is, and can encourage you in times of sadness, trouble, despair, etc.

Memorizing scripture can sound daunting, but it's actually an easy task.

If you have ever had to memorizing anything in your life, you may know that memorizing a large chunk of material can best be done by breaking it down into smaller parts.

For example, if you plan on memorizing an entire book of the bible, commit yourself to one verse a week depending on how well you can memorize. I started memorizing Ephesians and started out memorizing just one verse a week. Every day, I would write the verse on a new post-it note and memorize the first few words on Monday and Tuesday, the middle chunk of the verse on Wednesday and Thursday, and the rest of the verse Friday through Sunday.  However, I also recited the entire verses before that verse as well.

Sometimes, the language is awkward, making it more difficult to retain. Try finding a way to remember certain words. I do this by memorizing the sequence of letters in the sentence if there is a list of things, such as in Ephesians 1:21.

I encourage you to start with a book of the new testament, like Phillipians, or Ephesians. Maybe you want to memorize a psalm as well.

If things start getting difficult, don't be too hard on yourself. Take it day by day. If it takes you two weeks to memorize one verse, that's ok too! Remember that God's Word is powerful and that knowing even one verse by heart will make a difference in your spiritual life!

God bless!

October 24, 2012: Taking breaks

My husband and I recently returned from Scottsdale for vacation. Arizona is one of my true loves. I revel at the majesty of the desert and hope to call it home someday. I haven't really had a real vacation since we first got married and haven't flown for over five years. This was truly needed.

However, I think the vacation planning, executing and return were a little stressful. Getting home to unpack is like a reminder of why you left in the first place!!!

I am a person of precision, organization, exact-ness, cleanliness, and management. I run my home like a well oiled machine and I always know when someone 'messes' with it...aka my husband!:) So when we got home, I found myself anxious and ready to put things back in their place. My motto is 'everything has a place'. My parents taught me this mentality and I am very thankful for this. Although my personality type can get the best of me and I tend to stress out easily, I have found that keeping your home running smoothly is the best route to avoid even more stress. Bottom line-stress no matter what!

I don't like to be idle, as Proverbs teaches. I have to constantly be moving and my to-do list is always being crossed off, with more to add on. With that being said, I have found it difficult to relax.

Breaks are needed. We are commanded to rest on the Sabbath. However, I do believe that taking more frequent breaks, however much you need are necessary for sanity.

I have decided to set apart certain weeks throughout the year, about one week every three months to take off of exercise. This is huge for me, considering I exercise very religiously and get stressed out when I don't. By taking scheduled breaks, you can anticipate them and be prepared to enjoy them.

Ask yourself if you need to implement more breaks in your life. Is it daily breaks? Or are they weekly ones? Quarterly ones? You know yourself. God knows you, Pray and ask how to go about this and truly enjoy and rest in Him.

October 17, 2012: Tips for saving $$ and TT's pockets recipe

One of the things I taught my husband when we got married, was checking the price/oz on the tags where items are priced at a store. He was completely unaware that this was available to consumers and started checking it before making a decision on what size to purchase. Most of the time, buying in larger sizes will save you money. However, this is not always the case so ALWAYS do the math!;)

One way to save money is to buy yogurt in the tubs. If you go through yogurt a lot, this is a great way to save costs not only on money, but saving waste as well.

I shop at a grocery store that offers three packs of soy milk. It's much cheaper to buy it this way AND it has a longer shelf life than dairy milk.

Another point to keep in mind is to use everything that you buy so that you truly are not wasting. You don't save money if you buy in bulk and never use what you have. Use it before it goes old!

Now, on to the recipe for the day. I was debating on what to share with you. I had made black beans and rice for lunch, but that is boring. I am sure most of you have made this before and it's so easy. I decided to put a recipe up that would save even you single men out there some time and money with a delicious, easy holiday appetizer.

In the spirit of not only Christmas, but Thanksgiving coming up, I will post this recipe for TT's pockets.
What you need is about two small tins of crescent rolls. I buy the generic kind. EXACTLY the same. Just cheaper.  I buy about two 8 oz. cubes of cream cheese-sometimes you have too much. To make it healthier, get the neufchatel, the light cream cheese.

And...whatever else you want to go inside. I like artichokes, tomatoes, basil, onions, etc.

Roll out a square piece of dough, about 5 x 5 inches at most. Stuff with a brick of cream cheese. I sometimes use the food processor and add everything together and then spread it on to the crescent roll. Take another piece of crescent roll dough and cover the top and pinch sides together. I bake at about 350-400 and watch until the top is golden brown. You can also brush the top with an egg white.

October 16, 2012: Natural scents for your home and pierogis!

One of the nice things you can do for your home that is relatively affordable is invest in some essential oils. Around the time my daughter was born, I was a heavy coupon-er. Well, our printer broke and I started experimenting with more natural living, and I found it harder to find products that I approved of for my family's health.  One of the things that goes on sale with coupons is air fresheners.  I started thinking about how toxic that could be, especially since we not only had a newborn, but a small animal living with us (our kitty Katherine- Lizzy).

I decided to experiment with natural smells. I tried boiling lemon peel in water. I used to make lemon poppyseed muffins every morning (hence the lemon peel idea) from scratch for the family, but that got old as it became time consuming.

The lemon peels did not do much for the family, so I bought some essential oils. I used rose oil, and dropped about 30 drops into a small pump bottle. I added a few tablespoons of water and use that to spritz around my house.

Try doing this as you can feel more comfortable that you are not breathing in toxic fumes and benzene derivatives. Now, I do have a degree in biology with a lot of background chemistry. I worked in industry for a little bit for a very well known drug company. I also got my certification to teach science. On the other hand, I am not an expert to say the least so please do your own research on essentials oils and which ones are best for you and your family.
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I made pierogis for my family this Sunday and they were a hit with the baby, my husband and myself.

Pierogi recipe
2 cup flour (I used King Arthur's unbleached)
1/2 t salt
1/2 c Greek yogurt (I used Chobani plain non-fat)
1/4 c butter (I haven't bought butter in a long time, but it's worth it:) )
1 egg

Mix flour, salt and egg together. I beat my egg before putting it in the mixture. Add yogurt and butter. Soften the butter and add in small chunks.

I make small 3-4 inch circles with my pierogis and filled them with mashed potatoes and sauteed onions. I wish I would have tried cabbage or sauerkraut but I didn't have time.

I boil them until they float to the top.

I then fry them until golden brown in grapeseed oil. I topped mine with cheese and more yogurt.

Photos to come!