Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins and other healthy snacks

This afternoon for snack time, we will have fresh cranberry pumpkin muffins, made with whole wheat flour and honey. I even put them in Halloween muffin cups to make them more festive.


In my "protecting ourselves from the sickies" blog post, I promised some healthy snack ideas and recipes. I have the recipes for these muffins and other wholesome baked goods at the end of this blog. Aside from fresh baked goods, here are some other snacks we like:

* A handful of raw nuts, particularly walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, and brazil nuts.
* Raw veggies. Our favorites are chopped broccoli, cauliflower, carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, and sugar snap peas. We dip them in hummus or dill dip. Some of us even like avocado slices.
* Raw fruits. We love bananas, apples, those sweet little cleminine oranges, grapes, peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, pineapple, berries, melons...I don't think we've met a fruit we didn't like.
We like to stock up on local berries when they are in season and freeze them for use in our oatmeal, muffins, and smoothies during the winter.
* In the summertime or when we are sick, we freeze juice for popcicles.
* Hummus, good for dipping veggies, or spreading on whole wheat toast or pita wedges.
* Polenta sticks with salsa or fresh guacamole
* Homemade granola bars
* Air-popped popcorn, sprayed with olive oil, seasoned with...anything! Be creative! We like chili powder, basil, sage, curry...
* Yogurt or kefir
Use plain yogurt, and flavor it yourself with fruit and raw honey, stevia, maple syrup or molasses (raw honey is not recommended for children under a year old, because of the risk of infant botulism.)
Make smoothies by putting a couple cups of kefir in your blender with bananas, berries, and honey.
* Cheese. Not processed cheese slices, but REAL swiss, cheddar, mozarella, etc.
However, when we are fighting off colds, we try to avoid dairy products. They increase mucus production.

OK, here are a few recipes. The good thing about making muffins yourself is that you can tweak them to the way you like them. We generally don't like ours as sweet; if you do, you can add more honey. Or you can add more/less spices, raisins, nuts, different fruits, whatever. These recipes will make 24 muffins, which don't last very long in a family of seven. If you don't need as many, you can cut the recipe in half, or they freeze well for a quick breakfast when you're on the run.

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
4 eggs
2 cups honey
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup olive or canola oil
1/2 cups water
3 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
dried cranberries (optional)
walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the eggs and add honey, pumpkin, oil, and water. Blend well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and spices. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour all into two greased muffin pans and bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean.

Lentil-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup PUREED lentils
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 cups of quick oats
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
3/4 cups chopped pecans

Mix and bake at 375 F for 12-15 minutes- don't over bake!!!

Polenta Sticks (serve with salsa or fresh guacamole)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup uncooked yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Bring water, salt, and garlic to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Gradually sprinkle in cornmeal, whisking constantly; whisk until mixture is blended and smooth.
Cover saucepan, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until polenta is thick but still pourable, about 6-8 minutes.
Rinse an 8 inch square pan with cold water; do not dry. Pour polenta into pan; spread in a smooth layer with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm (can store in fridge for up to 3 days until ready to use.)
Cut into 24 sticks.
Add 1 1/2 tsp oil to skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add half of polenta sticks in a single layer. Cooke without turning until bottoms are slightly crispy, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook other side until crispy.

Fresh Guacamole
Mash a couple avocados, and add as much or as little as you like of the following:
lemon or lime juice
a clove of garlic
chopped onion
fresh chopped tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
cilantro

Hummus
(This is a good way to get your raw garlic in for the flu/cold season!)
2 cups chickpeas/garbanzos
1 TBSP lemon juice
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 TBSP tahini (we prefer to use peanut butter instead)
1 TBSP parsley
2 tsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Drain liquid from chickpeas, reserve some. Blend ingredients in food processor until smooth, adding more liquid if needed for desired consistency.

I always welcome suggestions for healthy snacks; if you have something that your kids love, please share!

It's not jello, it's cytoplasm.

Yesterday when Sunshine got home from school (she attends public school), she opened the refrigerator and asked "Hey, mom, can I have some of this jello?" I replied, "That's not jello, it's cytoplasm!" She was amused by that.
This week in science, we've been studying cells. We've learned about the basic structure and function of cells and the difference between plant and animal cells.
Gem colored quietly as I explained cells to Mojo, and every once in awhile, I could hear her little voice pipe up, repeating what I had just said. "Cell wall." "Mitochondria." Have you ever heard a two-year-old say "mitochondria"? I asked her to say it again. And again. hehe

Here is a picture of the lovely cell that we made (the other cells remained prokaryotes; Gem and Caveman ate them before the organelles were added.) Maybe not the prettiest cell on the block, but Mojo enjoyed making and eating it anyway.


I believe we are going to take a detour from the science book and begin talking about viruses next, since the flu is dominating the news right now. While we are talking about viruses, we will also learn to make homemade antiviral remedies and other immunity boosters. I missed harvesting the wild elderberries around here, so I have ordered a pound of dried elderberries, along with some other dried herbs, and I am expecting them in the next day or so. Next year, we will grow our own medicine-making herbs. How's that for some cool science lessons? Of course I'll post pics!

While I am posting, here's what else we are studying this week...
Gem is learning the letter Dd, the number 4/four (and we've learned that there are four Gospels), and the color blue.
Caveman is learning how to count and write his numbers, the different letter sounds, and learning about our world around us (he also listens in on Mojo's lessons).
Mojo is learning about cells, proper grammar, spelling, map scale, place value for large numbers (ten- and hundred-thousands), and she is reading Heidi.

Our saint for this week is St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day was October 4th.
Our virtue is Humility.
Our Scripture is Joshua 1:9 "Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
We are listening to the music of Claude Debussy this week.

Protecting Ourselves From the Sickies

It's upon us now. Not in our family yet, but all around us. This is the time of year when I start making a plan to deal with the winter cold/flu season. So far we've been pretty lucky. Last year, Sunshine and Gem both got sick enough to take to the doctor, and for both of them, it was because Mama's strict immune-building regimen wasn't followed. Sunshine, after disregarding my advice as "hippie junk" last year, remarked to me after her doctor visit, "Mama, next time I'm going to follow your advice."
Even so, having five children, I don't think that's too bad of a track record.
And also for the record, I believe mainstream medicine and doctors have their place. I am greatful that we have antibiotics available to fight things like pneumonia, which I have had to deal with twice in mothering my children; it's scary. I do think that most of the time, we can do better with helping our bodies work properly and letting our bodies heal themselves.

The first thing we do is cut out refined sugars (including high fructose corn syrup) and processed foods, which weaken our immune systems. I get lax over the summer, giving in to pizza, ice cream, and other fun stuff, but now is the time where I become very strict about our diet. It's hard to do most of my cooking from scratch when I am working, but I have to remind myself that avoiding the illnesses or fighting them off quickly is worth it in the long run. We strive to stick with whole foods as much as possible, ie, foods that grow out of the ground or that we make ourselves. If I make it, I know everything that goes in it. Snacks will be fruit and raw veggies, with the occasional homemade muffins (made with ingredients like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and honey instead of sugar.) I think I'll post another blog soon with ideas and recipes for healthy snacks for the kidlets.

I'll begin giving my children vitamin supplements with extra C and zinc.

At the first sign of sniffles or scratchy throats, I'll begin giving elderberry syrup, which is an anti-viral. I usually also add an ecchinacea/astragulus blend for good measure.

Our grandmothers were very wise in using chicken soup to treat colds. I don't mean canned chicken soup, I mean the real homemade stuff. I usually have a big pot of some sort of homemade soup simmering on my stove throughout most of the winter. The chicken broth will help keep us hydrated and has protein which will help our bodies to heal. Throughout the year, anytime I have chicken, I will simmer the bones on the stove for a whole day, strain, and freeze the broth for later use when I am sick and don't feel like cooking. I add lots of onions and garlic to my soups, which not only help it taste good, but offers protection for our immune systems. If we want an even bigger boost, we add a bit of cayenne pepper and/or miso.

Herbal tea is another thing we keep on hand, particularly chamomile or peppermint. Chamomille is soothing and healing. Peppermint soothes upset stomachs. To make full use of the medicinal properties of tea, we steep the herbs for at least 20 minutes. We add honey and lemon to our tea; both have immune-boosting and healing properties.
For coughs and sore throats, ginger tea is easy to make. In fact, while you are looking at the ginger tea recipe on the Learning Herbs page, look at the other links to the right. I use many of these natural remedies mentioned. They work well for us.

We stay healthier and feel better following a natural health regimen than we do eating "convenience foods", getting sick, and treating it with over-the-counter medicines and doctor visits. It may seem to some like I go to great lengths, and it may seem like a lot of trouble, but really, it's just what you get used to. It's worth it to me if it cuts down on us missing out on our work/schoolwork/activities or if it keeps us from going to the doctor.

My Sunshine Won Grand Champion!

This year, on the spur of the moment, I took the children to enter some of their artwork into the county fair. They had fun and were proud to see the ribbons they won...


Caveman got a first and a second place ribbon for his artwork, a bee drawn with crayon and a flower painted with watercolor:


Mojo got second place ribbons for her crayon drawings, a butterfly and a dolphin:

And Sunshine got a blue ribbon and grand champion!


She draws people as animals, and the grand champion drawing is her self-portrait. The sky is raining candy.


Way to go kids!

Juju Bear is walking!

Last week, while I was at work, I got an IM from Bear. It read "I have not confirmed, but the kids insist that they saw Juju walk." He went on to say that Juju was smiling and clapping as if he seemed awfully proud of himself about something.
I hurried home that morning eager to see for myself if there was something to this rumor. It didn't take long for Juju to show off for me. It was true! Of course I grabbed the camera. It's hard to get a good video, because when he sees I have the camera, well, you know how babies do. And he only takes about 5-6 steps and sits down. But here is one I got today...

Our Homeschool

I am not even going to pretend that I will keep this up throughout the school year, but I do want to share on occasion what we're doing in our homeschool. This week is easy, being our first full week and all. While we have our lesson plans and about half of our books, we are still waiting on the other half of our books to arrive at any time. That's OK, we're not in a rush, and there are plenty of fun things to learn without books!

I always like to see how other homeschool families do things, where they teach their lessons, and how they have their areas and supplies organized, so I'll share some pictures of our school for any other curious folks. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with homeschooling, here is just one example of what it can look like. Each family is different, and there are so many different ways to do things! Some moms/dads are much more organized than I am, and some moms/dads are much more laid-back than I am. It's all good.

We do our work at the dining room table, and we have a bulletin board and dry erase board to help us keep track of lesson plans, activities, library books, etc.


In the corner is a file cabinet with all our supplies and folders of the children's work. We like to recycle and reuse as we are able, and large cans work very well for organizing supplies.


Off the dining room is a little nook, joining the children's bedrooms and bathroom. In this little nook is where we keep our homeschooling booksheves. Each child has a shelf with their books and personal supplies, topped with arts and crafts supplies. On the opposite wall is our "library". The books for the older children are on the top shelves, and the board books are on the bottom where little hands can reach them. (I didn't take a picture of this shelf because it's a mess right now. I'm looking for something a bit more sturdy this week.)


We use Accountable Kids to help our children learn responsibility. We want them to understand what is expected of them and to become self-directed in completing their daily tasks.


Here is what we are working on this week. Mojo is brushing up on what she learned in 2nd grade...how to write fractions, "trading" (what we used to call carrying/borrowing), synonyms/homonyms/antonyms, adjectives and adverbs, being verbs and helping verbs, and states' capitals. She is a strong reader and naturally curious about science, so we mainly follow her interests in these areas. She currently learning about dragonflies, since we saw so many on our picnic the other day.

Caveman is learning how to categorize things, how to listen to and follow intructions, and practicing drawing straight lines and counterclockwise circles in preparation for learning to write his letters and numbers. He loves drawing and coloring, and I think he does remarkably well at staying in the lines. Sometimes I can't tell the difference between his and Mojo's work! Except that Mojo chooses more "realistic" colors for her coloring pages, and Caveman prefers to be more "bright and creative."

For Gem, we will focus on a different letter, number, color or shape, and theme each week, using Letter of the Week. This is the preparatory curriculum, as she is only 2 1/2, and it's mainly intended to keep her busy while we work on our lessons. But the older kids still enjoy coloring along with whatever they are doing. This week our letter is A, our number is 1, our shape is a square, and our theme is cows.

Our saint this week is St. Augustine, whose feast day was on August 28.

Our Scripture memory verse is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (The younger ones will memorize an abbreviated version.)


To go along with our saint and Scripture, we will be practicing the virtue of Knowledge, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I found some good information on the virtues here.
"The gift of knowledge perfects the virtue of faith. It enables those who have it to judge the whole spectrum of creatures and objects from a supernatural viewpoint. Through infused knowledge the faithful can see God’s providence in whatever enters their lives and put creatures to the right use.
The gift of knowledge is often called 'the science of the saints' because it enables those who have it to swiftly discern between the impulses of temptation and the inspirations of grace."
We will practice this virtue by learning new things and memorizing our Scripture verse. In addition, Mojo will begin to work on memorizing the books of the Bible in order. To give the children a visual, and to keep the virtues we will be learning in the children's minds, I made a poster! Yes, I know I am a nerd, patting myself on the back for my awesome creativity. :-P


We are also incorporating our music education into our letter of the week. This week, we will be learning about Aaron Copland and listening to some of his music. I am adding another ipod to the right of my page with the music we will be listening to as part of our music education, if anyone else would like to listen. I plan to give Moriah piano lessons this year, but I will also encourage the younger children to be able to find and tap out the beat, hum the melody, and identify instruments as we listen to our music.


And we are continuing our unit study of the American flag. We will be learning the words to some of our American hymns and coloring pictures of our flag to hang on our wall for Labor Day. Mojo will write a letter to a soldier who is serving our country somewhere overseas, and we will address it properly and prepare to send it off. In the evening, we will take our flag down and learn to fold it properly, recalling what each of the folds mean.

So there ya go. This is what homeschooling looks like in our family.

Our First Day of School

What? Didn't school already start weeks ago?
Not for us, it didn't! I have this hang-up about starting school in August. It's too hot. August is still summer. I'm just never ready then.
Last year, since we had a new baby on August 18, we didn't start school until October. No harm done. This year, I circled September 1st on my calendar as the day we would begin. The weather has been cooler, with a little chill in the evenings. Yesterday was a beautiful bright, sunny, warm (not hot!) day...perfect for the first day of school. We decided to kick off our school year with a picnic.


Mojo is in 3rd grade, and Caveman is in kindergarten this year. I would not even bother starting "sit down lessons" with Caveman if he weren't showing such an interest. I think little boys are often not ready to start sitting still with a pencil in their hands at the time we impose it upon them. But Caveman shows interest in what his sister is doing when she reads and writes, spends a lot of time at the table drawing, attempts to write letters, and he really wants to learn to read. I'll provide him with instruction in the areas he shows interest. But I feel no need to push him at this age.
He is excited to be starting kindergarten. This morning when I told the children to get started on their chore cards because we would be starting our lessons soon, Mojo groaned. Caveman said "But Mojo, homeschool is FUN!" I got all the children some new supplies, including cool pencil bags, new lunchboxes, rulers, and fresh new crayons and glue sticks. Everyone also got a new pair of shoes.

We will be using Kolbe Academy this year. At this time, I appreciate the lesson plans and having everything all laid out for me. Between teaching a 3rd grader, teaching a kindergartner to read and write, keeping a 2 1/2-year-old entertained, and keeping a 1-year-old from getting into everything...I need things as streamlined as possible at this point. I will also once again be doing Preschool Letter of the Week with Gem, as she enjoys doing "school" as her attention span allows.

In addition to our core curriculum, each week we will learn about a Saint (following our Catholic calendar of feast days), practice a virtue, memorize a Scripture verse, and learn about a composer and listen to music from that composer for the week.

As all of our books are not in at this time, we've been reviewing what we learned last year with Mojo and practicing how to hold a pencil/crayon and letter strokes (like slanted lines or drawing circles counter-clockwise) with Caveman.
We are also doing a small unit study on the American flag. We are learning the history behind our flag, how it has evolved over the years, the meaning behind the symbols, the pledge of allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner (and what the words mean), flag etiquette and care, and the meaning behind why the flag is folded the way it is. Did you know that each fold means something? I didn't until now. Just one of the many reasons I love teaching my children at home!

Juju Bear is one year old!

To celebrate our baby boy turning a year old, we decided to have a cookout and invite a few friends and family. Uncle John dropped by for awhile, and some of our homeschooling friends joined us.


Sunshine made a crown for her brother, and we dubbed him "King Juju of the Jungle."


Juju would not take his nap today. Everytime I got him to sleep, he woke right back up. By the time we got around to the cake, he wanted no part of it.


We got him an ice cream cake, and his Daddy had to get him started on it.


Then he figured out, "Hey, this is GOOD!"


Then he decided to dig in for himself.


Mama couldn't resist getting him retro toys for his birthday. Do y'all remember those phones? I loved playing with those! Juju's siblings enjoy his toys, too, and I have remind them not to hog them. ;-)


Grandma and Grandpa also came down the next day to visit with the birthday boy.

Do-it-yourself pedicure

Like most girls, I love a good pedicure! Can you believe that I never had a pedicure until I was in my 30's? When I was pregnant with my fourth child, the ladies at church presented me with a gift certificate good for a mani/pedi, hairstyle, and massage. After that, I was hooked.
Of course, at $25-30 a pop, and finding time where I can get away for an hour, it's something that happens infrequently. I have always wondered what sort of chemicals are they putting on my feet? I've also always wondered if I could do this myself at home. This summer, after looking at my poor dry feet and not having the money or time to get away, I decided to give it a shot. I googled "do it yourself pedicure" and got lots of good tips, then I put together an "all natural" version for myself. It's easier than you'd think. It's cheaper than going to the salon. I can involve the kids when I do it at home, it's fun for us all, and I don't have to try to set an appointment and find someone to watch them while I go. It makes a nice, relaxing weekend activity.

First thing to do is get rid of the old nail polish. I like to use Honeybee Gardens Odorless Polish Remover. It is non-acetone and enriched with botanicals, but I do have to scrub a bit harder to remove the darker or sparkly colors. If your nails are yellow, you can rub a drop of lemon or lavender oil and rub a nail buffer back and forth over the nail.

Next, cut and file your nails. Cut straight across to avoid ingrown nails, and file the nails to soften the corners. File in one direction and use an emory board rather than a metal nail file.

Then, soak your feet. I like to use epsom salts with about 1/4 cup of milk, but if I don't have epsom salt, sea salt works fine. The lactic acid in the milk is supposed to help loosen the dead skin. If you want to get fancy, add your favorite essential oils or herbs to the soak. I like peppermint, lemon, and lavender. Soak for about 10 minutes, or even longer if your feet are rough.

Now that you've gotten your feet softened up, push back your cuticles. I rub my cuticles with Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream or a little almond oil, leave on for a minute, and push back with a wooden nail stick. Use a circular motion to push back where the skin meets the nail. Trim any dead loose skin with a cuticle clipper, but be careful to not cut the good skin!

After that, scrub your feet with a foot file or pumice stone and some foot scrub. I've tried a few fancy shmancy foot scrubs, but my favorite is still a mixture of sea salt, olive oil, and peppermint essential oil. (If you are pregnant, avoid peppermint eo and go for something like lavender instead.) Scrub all the rough areas, but smooth rather than remove. If your skin becomes bright red, stop scrubbing.

When you've gotten all scrubbed up, it's time to moisturize. My favorite moisturizer for my tough feet (remember, I'm always going barefoot and I condition my feet for karate) is the whipped body butters made by my friend at Ink and Essence Candles. Her products are natural, luxurious, and reasonably priced...and I always prefer to support work-at-home moms instead of corporations whenever possible!

Now you are ready to polish. If I'm using polish, I like to use Honeybee Gardens nail polish-- it has less toxins in it than some other brands. Paint a thin base coat, two layers of your favorite color, and finish with a clear top coat. Use three strokes when painting--one down the middle and one on each side. Brush the polish over the nail edge to prevent chipping. I touch up any errors I make with a q-tip dipped in polish remover. Let your nails dry completely, and enjoy!
If you do go the natural route with your nail polish, there are more tips and tricks at the Honeybee Gardens site that I linked to.

Here is a picture of the kids and my feet after a pedicure. Yeah, we used the non-natural kind of nail polish here--"fairy dust" was the only kind of natural polish I had at the time, and nobody really wanted sparkly pink. Sunshine chose orange, Mojo chose blue, Caveman chose blue and orange, Gem chose pink, and Mama chose a deep burgundy.

That Boy of Mine

My 5-year-old Caveman. He's a sweet little boy, very cuddly and loving. His daddy is a little disturbed that he will happily play with Barbies and dress-up with his sisters, but I think it's just because he's such a social creature. His bossy big sister will not tolerate Superman, the Hulk, dinosaurs, or cowboys for very long, if at all. So he'd rather play her games than play by himself. Unfortunately, he just can't stand being alone. And it's also unfortunate for all of us that he'd rather have negative attention (as in screaming) from his sisters than no attention at all. I wish I had a nickel for everytime I heard someone scream "Stop it, Caveman!" or "Mama, make him get OUT of my room!" (That's usually after a dinosaur has decided to crash Barbie's party and start attacking.)
Yesterday, he informed me "Mama, I'm going to teach Juju to be a brat. It's good that there are two of us, because I can pester Gem, and he can pester Mojo."
I wonder how long he's been thinking about that and planning it out?