Nutritious Chocolate Coconut Drink
One day soon I will write a post about the health benefits of coconut! In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this little recipe. It is one our family’s favorite healthy drinks. Thick like a milkshake, this beverage truly satisfies.
The basic recipe contains coconut milk, bananas, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla. It is sweet, but not too sweet. Creamy, cold and chocolatey, it’s perfect for a summer afternoon.
The ingredient amounts may vary to suit your tastes, and the liquid portion is adaptable to whatever you have on hand.
Originally made with half kefir and half coconut milk, I have also used milk and yogurt, or coconut milk alone (a great non-diary alternative).
When using coconut milk, use whole milk. Not lite! When it comes to coconut, the fat is where it’s at! Whole coconut milk actually contains coconut oil, which is wonderful and healthy. Coconut oil is a good fat. Don’t be scared. Apparently it can help you lose weight by raising body temperature, boosting your metabolism. It also supports thyroid function.
OK Stacy, just share the recipe already!
Alright, alright. Here goes….
(But I really will be posting more about the health benefits of coconut oil soon.)
Nutritious Chocolate Coconut Drink
As I said, this is an easily adaptable recipe. The following is what I prepared for 2 adults and 2 small children. Servings were small (sorry I didn’t measure the exact amount, will do that tomorrow and update)
Ingredients
2 – 3 frozen bananas (can use un-frozen bananas too)
1 1/2 cups whole coconut milk (1 can)
-or 3/4 cup kefir and 3/4 cup coconut milk
-or 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup yogurt
-or 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup coconut milk
-or try using coconut kefir
-or use 1 1/2 cups of kefir or milk3 Tablespoons cocoa powder (can add more for stronger/darker chocolate flavor)
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (adjust to desired sweetness)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Method
Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until thick and creamy and well-combined.
I came across this recipe a few years ago on one of my favorite blogs, High Desert Home. Susan, the author, no longer blogs there, but has graciously left her work for us to read and enjoy. I learned a lot from Susan and highly recommend you visit her blog!
This post is linked to Two for Tuesdays and Tuesday Twister. Visit both for more real food recipes!
Mmm Yum!
A little morning update…
A few weeks ago I set out to maximize my mornings. It has been a bumpy ride, but most new habits encounter some resistance at first. I’m not giving up yet! This post is a little update. (And a true testament to just how un-with-it I can be.)
Before I start, can I just say how much I love the picture my daughter drew for this post? The momma looks so happy!
At this point, it is almost impossible for my mornings to look how I want them to. I felt a little frustrated at first, but have since reminded myself that this time in my life is just a season. By “this time”, I mean having a baby who sleeps in my bedroom and still wakes up at night. Although a quiet morning would be lovely, I certainly wouldn’t trade my baby for one! And this season is truly flying by too fast!
It would be easy to fill two hours with activity before the kids wake up: Bible study, prayer, exercise, planning. As it is, I can only manage about one hour right now. That is still extremely beneficial.
Sometimes I am able to sneak out of the room without waking the baby, but usually I can’t. She is fairly content in the morning (unless she is still very tired) and I am able to do my Bible reading and prayer time with her right next to me. It is sweet.
On twitter, Ashley mentioned drinking two cups of water while she reads the Bible. I have taken this advice and like it. Sometimes I add a little lemon, it is very refreshing and a good cleansing drink for first thing in the morning.
Actually, I really should say, I was drinking water with my Bible reading time…until I fell of the morning wagon last week. I’m getting back on again now.
Exercise has been a struggle recently. Again it’s a matter of my wants! I’m seeing a pattern here…
Kat says to start slowly. I agree. That is the best plan for lasting change to take place. But man, I want to get up and do P90X. Seriously.
Kat hit the nail on the head when she spoke about creating a habit as the key to an effective routine. The post I am referring to made me laugh out loud. Especially when she mentioned wanting to do “The 30 Day Shred EVERY day on the ADVANCED level.” That is so me!
I don’t know why it is so difficult to take baby steps and implement one small change at a time. Whenever I make some sort of adjustment, I see an unending number of other things in myself (and my family) that I’d like to revolutionize. I know many other women deal with this same problem. Why do we want to jump in and go crazy? Why are we unsatisfied with a little bit of improvement? Or is it not we, just me?
My New Exercise Plan
Do 20 to 30 minutes of exercise after Bible reading and prayer. If I can stick to this for a few weeks, then I’ll move up to the X or something else. (My older children are staying in their rooms until I exercise. This works fairly well right now.)
Planning to Plan
This week we are adding a planning routine to our mornings. This includes creating a Master Calendar, making a Master To-Do List, selecting 3-5 recipes to make each week, and filling out a Daily Overview each day. Here is what I’m doing:
Master Calendar
I already have a master calendar on my fridge. With it being right in front of my face, I usually look at it. I am trying to be more consistent with actually checking it in the morning.
In fact, I rest better when I check the calendar at night before bed and also when I make a to-do list in the evening. But I still need to be in the habit of looking at both of these first thing in the morning!
Master To-Do List
I am already a crazy list maker. However, being the highly distractible person that I am, lists are often misplaced. A quick fix would be typing my lists onto the computer. But I really don’t like looking at the computer! So far I have found that writing my lists in a notebook works much better than having them on paper. The problem is I move the notebook sometimes, and forget where I put it! Perhaps I should tape it to my desk.
I am going to make a master to-do list of everything I want/need to do and will keep in my pending binder (I’ll post about that soon). I’m not sure how well this will work, since I am notorious for creating lovely binders and rarely opening them!
Dinner and Dinner Recipes
I already have a recipe cheat sheet, but think I will create an extra one with dinner recipes only. I’d also like to be in the habit of having the ingredients on hand to make three or four specific meals at all times. But see what is happening now…I’m starting to want to implement a hundred and one changes!
Daily Overview
I’m going to print out the Daily Overview chart and post it on the fridge (a.k.a command central) and see how this works.
That’s it for me. I’ll update with how everything is going in a week or so.
Thank you to all the Hello Morning Girls for your encouragement and transparency throughout this challenge! Thanks Kat for the great e-book. Thanks Michelle for hosting this challenge and motivating us to keep on keeping on.
How are your mornings?
Rainbow Rice Salad
Yesterday I mentioned that Almond Brown Rice would be lovely as a base for rice salad. Well, today I tested out that theory and am pleased to report that it was proved true. The following is the recipe I used to make the salad in the above picture. It could easily be adapted to your taste: include other vegetables, increase or decrease some of the ingredients, and so on.
Rainbow Rice Salad
This recipe is adapted slightly from the Rainbow Rice Salad in Nourishing Traditions, page 473.
4 cups cold Almond Brown Rice
1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 green pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 bunch green onions, or ½ white onion
½ cup raisins
1 cup fresh or canned pineapple, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon raw, red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
Mix rice, peppers, onions, raisins and pineapple in a large bowl and toss to combine.
Place mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and flaxseed oil in a jar, cover tightly with lid and shake to emulsify. This is your dressing.
(Alternately, the dressing could be made by first mixing the vinegar and mustard in a bowl then adding the olive oil in a steady stream while stirring briskly. Once dressing has emulsified, add flaxseed oil and stir again.)
Pour dressing over prepared salad, and gently stir to distribute evenly.
That’s it! Easy and fresh.
I think roasted peppers would be a nice variation. Also, toasted almonds sprinkled over would add crunch and flavor.
This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday.
Almond Brown Rice
Almond Brown Rice is a simple, yet surprising variation for brown rice . It can be used in most recipes calling for plain rice. Lovely as an accompaniment to chicken and vegetables, it is also great in casseroles and excellent as a base for rice salad. The addition of wheat berries or wild rice makes this very unique.
Almond Brown Rice
Adapted from Sue Gregg’s Main Dishes Cookbook (page. 206). Yields 4 cups.
1 cup brown rice
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup wheat berries (grain) or wild rice
1/4 cup almonds, sliced, slivered, or chopped
½ to 1 tsp. Salt, to taste
Optional soaking step for added nutrition: Combine rice, wheat berries and almonds with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar. Soak for at least 7 hours (or overnight). Add an extra cup of water and cook as directed below. Check to see if rice is tender after about 25 minutes (it may take a little longer, but should be less than 40 minutes)
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Gently boil for 5 minutes, then turn to low and cover tightly.
Simmer for 40-60 minutes, until soft. (To avoid sticky rice, keep covered for the first 40 minutes.)
Optional:
For extra flavor and crunchiness: Saute almonds in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add to rice when cooked.
For added color: Saute chopped green onions along with the almonds.
This recipe is linked to Two for Tuesdays.
How to Peel a Peach
With canning season upon us, it seemed like a good time to share this little tutorial. I was so happy to learn this new skill a few years ago. It is much easier than trying to cut the skin off a fresh peach, and saves a lot of time!
Step One
Put a large pot of water on to boil.
Once boiling, immerse the peaches in the water for about 30 seconds (this is blanching). Make sure each peach is mostly covered by the water.
Step Two
Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs (Not your hand! I was working so fast on so many things that I actually stuck my fingers in the boiling water!)
Step Three
Submerge peach in a bowl of ice cold water for about 20 seconds.
This stops the cooking and makes the peach cool enough to peel. 20 seconds is not a magic number. You can, and probably will, leave them in the water longer than that.
By all means, do more than one at a time!
If you are working on a lot of peaches the water will gradually get warmer and will need to be replaced with cool. You can also continue to add ice cubes as needed.
Step Four
Remove peach with slotted spoon or tongs and peel the skin off with your fingers or a small knife.
The skin should slip off easily. If not, repeat the process.
You should now have a nicely peeled peach. Beautiful, isn’t it?
The same technique can be used to peel the skins from tomatoes. Occasionally the blanching time will need to be increased to 45 seconds or a minute for tough skinned tomatoes.
What would you do with a load of freshly peeled peaches? Cobbler? Can? Freeze? All of the above?
This post is linked to Raising Homemakers, Homemaking Link-Up and Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.
Parenting: Part Love, Part Guerrilla Warfare!
The picture above is of my parenting and marriage books. It shows how much help I have needed along this journey called “motherhood” (and wifehood)! I think most of them were purchased on bad days when I felt completely overwhelmed and at a loss of what to do. Judging by the amount of books I own, there have been quite a few of those days!
Parenting is hard work. Kids don’t come with an instruction manual. Parenting books can be very helpful, but reading too many gets confusing! Sometimes it is better to let them go and ponder on what God has said.
My oldest child is nine years old. For this reason I really don’t feel qualified to hand out parenting advice. If they become well-adjusted, God-fearing adults, then I’ll feel more confident in sharing tips. Right now I’m doing my best, and praying for God to make good people out of my failures.
All children are born needing a guiding hand. Some children need more than others. I wish every mother with a difficult child knew that. By “difficult”, I don’t mean a child who misbehaves because they have never been trained. I also don’t mean that a child is “bad.” I’m referring to a child who is born with a strong-will (or more aptly put: a weak-will). A child who doesn’t seem to “catch on” (even with constant training). Good children, who have trouble understanding, or interacting, or simply wearing socks 
Does it ever feel to you that parenting is one part love, one part guerrilla warfare? That you are using surprise tactics, ambushes and raids one minute, then love, hugs and cheerleading the next? I do.
Moms, we are in the pit, doing the work, fighting the battles. The rewards are coming if we will just hang on and don’t give up.
Some days I seriously wonder if I am cut out for the task of raising these little ones. But then I think of God. He does not make mistakes.
He knows me.
He knows my children.
He gave those children to me. Thus, I am the right mother for them.
I recently came across this quote on Making Home and thought it was excellent:
“It is not an easy thing for a parent of today to bear always in mind that every child of his is as truly an individual as he was when he was a child.”
~Henry Clay Trumbull
Our children are individuals, and so are we. God paired us together, so we must be a perfect match.
Rest in the fact that He knows and sees.
Please don’t think no one cares that you fought (and won) a battle to get your kid to wear a hat on a sunny day—God does. (And so will your kids…someday.)
Kiss Vicks Goodbye – DIY Chest Rub
When we are sick, many of us reach for the Vicks Vapo Rub. I often have, hoping it would ease my congestion. Over the past few years I have grown more wary of using any petroleum-based products, and have sought more natural means of dealing with colds and congestion.
I was going to save this post for the winter months, but my daughter just came down with a summer cold and I thought some of you might too. (But hopefully not!)
With the surge in skin-based medicines such as the birth-control patch and the nicotine patch, it has become increasingly obvious how much the skin actually absorbs. What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies!
There are many natural products available at the health food store, but they can be expensive. Making your own chest rub could not be easier. All you need is a little olive or almond oil and some essential oils.
Here is the very un-complicated process:
Pour 2 ounces of almond or olive oil into a small bowl or cup.
Add 20 drops of essential oil – choose eucalyptus, hyssop, thyme, peppermint, basil, or rosemary.
This recipe comes from An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants, by Mary Bove, N.D. page 286.
I have personally only used eucalyptus so far and often make just half the recipe (1 ounce oil, 10 drops eucalyptus).
Chest rubs are useful because they help to relax the chest muscles by increasing circulation. The aroma is also soothing and aids the opening of respiratory passages.
Bove mentions that the recommended essential oils (mentioned above)“are very volatile and therefore penetrate the skin easily, stimulate blood flow, relax the muscles, and deliver medication to the local area. They can be especially effective with spastic, tight coughs.” (page 99, An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants )
With younger children you may wish to start with less than 10 drops per ounce of oil and see how they do. Do not apply essential oils directly to the skin, and never ingest.
This post is being shared at Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Watermelon and Feta Salad has intrigued me for some time. Even though I thoroughly enjoy both watermelon and feta separately, combining them was not something I could imagine.
Finally deciding to give it a try, I was pleasantly surprised. It is fresh, sweet, and salty.
My five year old son also enjoyed it. However, I can’t say the same for my daughter and husband. I guess it is an acquired taste.
If you are daring enough to give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Watermelon Feta salad
This recipe is a hybrid of Deborah Madison’s recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (page 167) and one found in the August issue of Family Fun magazine (page 54).
1 pound watermelon
1 tablespoon chopped basil, or mint
¼ cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper
Cut melon into bite-sized pieces. Crumble feta over and carefully stir to combine.
Mix oil and lime juice together, then add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and gently toss to distribute dressing throughout.
Garnish with basil or mint.
Alternately:
Create individual servings by arranging watermelon on plates, sprinkle with feta. Pour on a little dressing and lightly stir. Garnish with a few pieces of basil or mint.
This post is included in Two for Tuesdays and GNOWFGLINS, Tuesday Twister. Two great real food events!
I’m also linking it up to Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist – a new Real Food roundup.
For A Season
The early years of raising children can be extremely challenging. Sweat and tears flow as we strive to teach our little ones. Nights go unslept as we cradle a sick babe in our arms. Physical and mental exhaustion creep in as we go without rest and recuperation.
As a new mother I remember feeling weary and confused. My daughter didn’t sleep for more than half an hour at a stretch and screamed all day! It was a difficult time for me.
I wanted to be a mother so desperately, but when my turn came, I felt so ill-equipped. Some days I gritted my teeth and wondered how long I could go on, other days I dreamed of my life before children, of the success I had hoped to accomplish. I felt useless, and often times incapable.
But life rolled along. I now have three children and am thoroughly content at home. That’s not to say being home is always easy. I still long for quiet moments, I seek the luxury of actually completing a thought from time to time, and have a great desire to pursue many interests. However, there are some things I cannot do right now. Or perhaps I should say, choose not to do right now.
As a mother, especially to the younger crowd, some of my desires and interests have been put on the back-burner. Even though many are good and worthy, pursing them at this time would ultimately hurt my family. I know some of you will be thinking this sounds harsh. And I sincerely don’t mean it to. I believe there is a time for Mom to do her own thing. There is a time for Mom to share her passions with her children. It is a good thing for Mom to have interests, to continue learning, to be creative. These are important and benefit her family, as long as they don’t take over.
It is possible for us to go after good things, while letting what is better slip through our fingers.
I’m reminded of a phone call I heard on the Dr. Laura show many years ago. The caller, a mother, desired to go on a six-month, medical mission trip.
Sounds good.
The catch: she would be leaving her 2 year old son at home for the duration of this trip.
Dr. Laura immediately said, “No way.” The mother replied, “But it has always been my dream.”
Dream or no dream, the timing was just not right. That 2 year old needed his Mommy. Many people could go on this mission trip, but no one could stand in her place as Mom. She could take this trip later. She could even take her son along when he was older.
This is a perfect example of letting the good get in the way of that which is better.
Moms, you are irreplaceable!
I know some days you feel as though you are accomplishing nothing. But moment by moment you are shaping hearts for eternity.
Our children are in our care for such a short while. Before long we will be waving good-bye as they drive away to their own families. Then we will wish for these days over again.
We go through this life only once. Treasure the blessing you have. Keep an eternal focus.
Remember, this is just a season. There will be other seasons.
This knowledge helps me lay aside that which can wait for later and focus wholeheartedly on those right at my feet.
When the days are hard, know you couldn’t be doing anything more important than training your children to know the Lord.
When the days are good, soak up the love and tenderness that is there for you. Rejoice in the privilege you are given to care for these precious souls. Store it in your heart.
Your sacrifices and investment are worth it all.
Surf and Turf e-course
Cheeseslave has an excellent blog which is filled with informative posts regarding real food. Her e-course, Surf and Turf, will be starting soon and it looks wonderful! I am seriously excited because this course provides in-depth lessons on preparing and cooking seafood and grass fed beef! Two things I struggle with. Ye-haw!
Another blog I very much enjoy, BethStedman.com, is hosting a giveaway for this awesome course. How fun. I’ve entered. You should too (although, I’d rather you didn’t, because I want to win)! You don’t even have to be a U.S. Resident to do so. Since it’s an e-course, you can take the class any where in the world!
Here is a sneak peak at Surf and Turf:
Doesn’t it look good?!
Click on over and enter. I promise I won’t hold it against you But hurry, contest closes at 3pm PST, Monday August 9th.
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