Happy New Year!

Maybe I'm getting old...Maybe I'm maturing :)...cough.  But this New years Eve I wanted to just be at home, surrounded by my family, put the kiddos to bed at a decent hour & if the ball drops while I sleep, then so be it.

This past week has been the most "normal" week since finding out that Andy has cancer, about 4months ago. I'm praying we have many more weeks just like this in the next 4months...

There is something about a new year that brings HOPE, a FRESH START. I'm so ready to leave 2013 behind. I plan to start 2014 pretty slow...making & taking more time for me. Continue living a healthier lifestyle, seeking deeper relationships with my Heavenly Father, my husband & my children.

 

 

 

Yesterday I received these two lovelies in the mail...

Once the kiddos hit the hay, this is what I'll be doing :)

 

The magazines reminded me that I had taken some photos of our Main living room area this past Summer & never did get around to posting them. With the New Year ahead of us, I thought I'd share them now.

Painting almost our entire home white was probably the best design decision I've ever made. I love changing things up & keeping it fresh & new. A few yards of fabric, change out the pillow covers & we're good to go. And the all white palette allows me to do that frequently & have a new look without breaking the bank!

 

 

 

Since taking these photos, I've changed out the orange chevron for Jade & love it!

 

 

 

Plain white lamp shade, purchased on sale at Target...I got my mom to do the lettering in pencil & I traced it with a sharpie, one of my favorite old hymns. The love of God, How rich & pure. How measureless & strong...

 

 

 

An old velvet chair I found beside the road...

 

 

 

An old desk I scored off Bargain Hunter's Unite for 30.00 I believe...one of my favorite purchases of 2013!

 

 

 

Just posting these photos is inspiring me to bring up that box of fabrics & Rubbermaid labeled Decor' and do some more "renovating."

If you have a blank canvas to work with, it doesn't take much to change it up!

Maybe my magazines will inspire me further when I get a chance to pour over their pages later this evening...:)

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Gluten Free Chicken Fusilli

 

Gluten Free Chicken Fusilli (or spiral pasta)

 

1 lb. Organic, gluten free Fusilli pasta

1 lb. grass fed/hormone free, ground chicken

1 14.5oz can organic petite diced tomatoes

1 14.5ozorganic tomato sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1/8 t. black pepper

1 t. Himalayan sea salt

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. parsley

1/4 t. onion powder

Fresh Parmesan cheese (for topping/garnish)

 

 

In a medium sauce pan, pour tomato sauce & petite diced tomatoes into the pan. Add olive oil & seasonings. Simmer while preparing the chicken & pasta. Brown the ground chicken(could also use chunked chicken breasts) & set aside. Cook pasta till slightly chewy still. Drain the pasta & rinse with cold water, then add the chicken & sauce to the pasta & cook till well heated. Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 

Tips;

When using GF pasta, rinse the pasta after draining the cooking liquid off. This extra step prevents the pasta from getting too starchy & keeps the sauce from getting all "cakey"

 

Wal-Mart now carries a line of  canned, organic tomatoes that are almost exactly the same price as the non-organic.

 

I used "Trader Joes" brand GF Fusilli but the Tinkyada brand can be purchased locally at almost any local health food store & tastes exactly the same.

 

My family prefers the brown rice GF pastas over the white rice varieties. The brown rice pastas are very similar in taste to your main stream pastas.



Pizza Hut breadsticks-The healthy version

 

This Sunday morning finds me home with a sick baby. The big kids wanted to stay with mom too & they are playing with sick little man so I have a few moments to catch up on my recipe series. I didn't post a recipe this past week-lots of Christmas festivities going on & I simply didn't have time.

With New Years Eve coming up this week & lots of parties happening, I thought I'd share My version of "Pizza Hut" bread sticks.

 

 

"Pizza Hut" Bread sticks

 

2 cup warm water

2 T. yeast

4 T. olive oil

4 T. raw local honey

1 T. Himalayan sea salt

2 cup organic sprouted spelt flour

2-2 1/2 cup organic sprouted prairie gold wheat

 

Topping:

1/2 cup organic butter, melted

3 T. olive oil

1 t. garlic salt

1 T. parsley flakes

2-3 T. Italian seasoning

approx. 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

Dissolve yeast in 2 cups water. Add olive oil, honey & sea salt. Add 2 cup sprouted spelt & enough of the sprouted prairie gold that it doesn't stick to the side of the mixing bowl. Knead well, let rise for 20min. on a jelly roll cookie sheet. After 20min. roll dough out onto the cookie sheet & cut the dough into desired length/width.

 

 

Brush dough generously with butter mixture then top with Parmesan cheese & Let rise for 20min. more.

 

 

 

Bake at 350' for 18-22 minutes.

 

 

 

Serve fresh out of the oven with your favorite dipping sauce.

 

Enjoy!

Wishing you a Blessed Sunday!

 









Andy's Cancer Journey December 28, 2013 update

Last week Andy had some repeat testing done with our

 ND & his numbers continue to improve. We are hopeful & continue to praise God for each & every improvement to Andy's health!

The numbers for his liver have improved by 3.5 points, kidney by 1point, glandular levels have improved by 9 points, overall health has improved by 8 points & the numbers for Hodgkin's lymphoma have improved by 4.5 points!! And for anyone who is fighting cancer it is very important to have high PH levels in order to kill off the cancer cells & Andy's is at a +10 which is as high as it can go on the testing that our ND does!! We are very excited about this! :)

His ND has started oxygen therapy this past week, which is something new & we've read some really good things about this type of therapy. This is in addition to the therapy that he has been doing the last 4months.

We are very encouraged by the changes that are taking place! Please continue to keep us in your prayers, this is not an easy journey that we are on but it is all worth it as we continue to see good changes in Andy's health!!

 

http://youtu.be/zlA5IDnpGhc

 

I leave you with a song...It's been in my heart & on my lips all morning! "Our God is healer, Awesome in power..."

Thank you for praying...please don't stop now...

Have a blessed Saturday!

 



sometimes...

Sometimes it's easy to forget that the man I love is sick.I look at him & he's the picture of health. He works every day that there's work to be had. He is more physically fit than he has been in years. He has energy that surpasses mine x10 on a daily basis....

....But then sometimes reality hits so hard that it takes my breath away. It hits me like a ton of bricks at the oddest moments.

Tonight, again, there were friends outside our home, singing songs of Christ's birth, songs of joy...& all I wanted to do was bury my face in a pillow & cry till there was nothing left of my tears.

Again, when I wrapped gifts for the children that weren't provided by us.

Sometimes my Faith is weak.

Sometimes, my mind wanders & I wonder how I would make it through the day to day if I had to do it alone.

Sometimes the journey looks too hard & I hardly have the energy to get up & take care of daily tasks.

Sometimes I look into the faces of our dear children & wonder how they would ever survive without the daddy they love so dearly....

....In the hardest of those moments, I remember. I remember the ones who have taken my hands & looked straight into my eyes & said they believe, with me, that I will have the man I love by my side for a very long time. I remember promises that Jesus gave us, at very specific times of doubt, throughout this journey. I remember words, spoken by dear friends, words of truth & hope, words of life. I remember prayers, said on our behalf...

You may think a simple prayer isn't much-it's everything. You may look into our faces & not have the words-a hug is worth a thousand words.

We have been truly humbled by the out-pouring of love & generosity that has been shown to us from our families, friends, church families & community.

Praying someday we will be given the opportunity to pay it forward.

Wishing you all a Blessed Christmas,

Andy, Ruth & kiddos

Layered Pumpkin Cake

Today marks the beginning of my recipe series. I'm hoping to have a new, wholesome, real, nutrient packed recipe for you every Tuesday. It will not always be gluten free & if it isn't, it will still be a low glycemic recipe where it won't spike insulin levels.

the first recipe I'm sharing got rave reviews over Thanksgiving, I made it for Andy's family & my own.

 

 

Pumpkin Layered Cake

 

4 eggs, well beaten

1 cup organic butter, melted

1 cup cooked pumpkin, pureed

2 cups raw cane sugar

1/2tsp. Himalayan sea salt

2tsp. cinnamon

1tsp. aluminum free baking powder

2 cups sprouted einkorn flour (or sprouted spelt)

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Beat 4 eggs & slowly add melted butter, add remaining wet ingredients & mix well. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients & sift. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

For a double layered cake, use the recipe as is & divide into to 8in. round pans. If you want a four layered cake & the 'wow factor,' double the recipe & divide into 4 -8in. round pans.

 

I doubled the recipe for the cake above, used 3 layers & let the kiddos dig into the fourth :)

 

 

Cream Cheese Icing

 

8oz. organic cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick organic butter, room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 cup raw cane sugar, ground finely

just enough raw organic milk to make it spreadable

 

Blend cream cheese & butter well. Add the ground, raw cane sugar & vanilla. Add just enough raw organic milk till spreadable consistency. Spread Icing between each layer & cover the cake then sprinkle the chopped pecans on top & around the sides.

 

 

I refrigerated the cake due to the cream cheese. Just make sure to allow enough time for the cake to come to room temperature before serving. It is super moist & delicious!!! Enjoy!

 



 



Tonight as I looked through recipe books I realized that most of the cookbooks I own have mostly semi-homemade recipes in them, calling for cake mixes, mix packets & canned cream soups...all things that my family (& most families) if we're being honest, shouldn't be eating. It got me to thinking of the food journey, this road to getting healthy has taken us on.

Most diets are nothing but fads & most health issues stem from the simple fact that we are ingesting more chemicals than we are nutrients.

Gluten free is one of the diets I am beginning to question...hear me out :) If you are making your own GF foods, you're probably ok, but start looking at pre-packaged GF food labels. Most of them have corn starches in them. If they are not also organic, it is very likely that you're eating a GMO food in a fancy, expensive package. Same goes with low-fat/no-fat diets, your body NEEDS the good fats. If they are taking the fat out of the foods, you better believe they are filling it with other things that are much less good for you. I could go on & on...

After doing some research I also discovered that a lot of gluten intolerances come from the highly toxic chemicals farmers use to spray their wheat crops with  & not the grain itself. Now I'm sure that's not the case for everyone that is gluten intolerant, but I believe it is for the majority.

 I guess what I'm getting at is...I'm thinking of doing a mini series of posts...recipes, using real, organic ingredients & I'm wanting your feedback. I'm not an expert & don't claim to be. And a lot of what I've learned is largely due to a dear friend of mine that has literally, at times, taken my hand & helped me through all the food challenges we've had these past couple months that have felt like years. If I can somehow pay it forward & help make it a little easier for someone else, I'd love to do that...let me know what you think & I'll share some of our favorites that we've tried since starting this journey! 

 



Bittersweet.

This weekend several friends gifted us with something that was essential to our sanity at such a time as this...A night away, just Husband & I, at a local Inn. Time for just us. Dinner & shopping for stockings & stocking stuffers for the kiddos. Sleeping late. Lazy breakfast & lots of window shopping & coffee :)...3 of our church youth girls came to stay with the children, Thank you girls!, the children are still talking about how much fun they had!

This was the first time Andy & I had left the children with sitters overnight, but I think it was good for all of us! everyone stayed safe & sound & we are all home together again tonight(life can go on without mamma).

While we were gone we got a text from one of the girls asking if our house is always this cold?

after checking everything that could be wrong, it was time to call in the experts. One of the main electrical panels were shot & needed to be replaced...this past week we needed to replace a refrigerator & the week prior, our juicer gave out that Andy uses to juice his veggies. At some point I just want to throw my hands in the air & say, what next Lord?

And in that same moment He quietly reminded me...For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you & not to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE & a future. Jeremiah 29:11

So I lifted my hands & gave it all to Him. Here Lord, you take it, I'm not going to stress about it, You've got this!

With that out of the way, it was time to plan a fun evening with the children...snowman making, popcorn eating, hot cocoa drinking, while movie watching :)...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

little man can hardly wait...

 

 

 

 

 

 

even the smallest of the littles got to have his cocoa...

 

 

 

 

when we give the stresses & the worries to God & let Him deal with them...everything else falls into place & turns out ok after all...He has taken care of us in so many ways & will continue to provide our every need.

 

Happy weekend Y'all...