Our diet - milk

Like promised in this post, I will start picking out different subjects on our diet and go into more detail with them. Today lets start with milk.
I was never a heavy milk drinker, but of course we started buying lots of milk after Julian turned a year old. Cause after all, that's what pediatricians recommend you. Switching to cow's milk and let your kids have at least a glass a day. So we did.
That was until I read, that the hormones and steroids the cows get treated with, land straight in the milk and that studies suggest, that one reason kids these day enter sooner and sooner puberty is because of all the hormones they consume with their daily glass of milk. Makes sense, doesn't it? So I did some research and found out following facts. In 1993, the milk industry was introducing a new hormone (RbGH), which would unnaturally expand the cow's udder, so they could harvest more milk. While nowadays a lot of dairy factories supposedly stopped using this hormone, there are still some that do. It's totally unethical in my eyes to put some unnatural stuff in an animal, just to make more profit. All that stuff, like said, gets passed into your milk and you, and most importantly your kids, drink it! There is also much debate about blood and pus being in that kind of milk, but the arguments and studies vary so much on that, that I can not come to a conclusion of one party being more right than the other. But the thought sure is gross.
Fact is if you want to buy milk, you really should buy organic. I know, organic milk is easy double the price of regular milk. But here are some facts found out in a studie comparing them two:

1. Organic milk has no pesticide residues.WHICH IS BIG!
2. Organic milk has more vitamins, antioxidants, omega-3s
3. Organic milk protects young children against asthma and eczema

You can read the whole article and benefits here

The link between milk and cancers is sketchier - peer-reviewed studies back both pro- and anti-dairy viewpoints - though a growing body of evidence has shown that animal-based foods are associated with prostate cancer, possibly because of the high intake of calcium and phosphorus. Milk is starting to get a bad reputation and if you think about it, it is kind of weird that we consume milk. I mean we are the only mammal on earth that consumes "breast milk" throughout our lives and on top of that it is not even from our own species. It's all just a fact of being used to it and having grown up with it. I am sure, if someone would offer us a cup with, let's say dog's milk or elephant's milk we surely would be grossed out by it. But yet, cow's milk is no difference. The cow produces the milk for nursing her calf..not humans! It is no coincidence that so many people nowadays are lactose intolerant.
I don't wanna bore you with nothing but facts, maybe just encourage you to do some little research of your own. We have mostly switched from even organic milk to milk alternatives. I test tasted my way through rice, soy, almond and now coconut milk. Our favorite and the most healthiest option is almond milk. Soy, while it does taste good, seems to be anything but good for your body. Rice milk doesn't really have any health risks, but neither benefits. We personally really like the almond milk and I swear, that you do not taste a difference if you substitute it in baking for example. I make my cornbread all the time with milk alternative. Julian, if he eats f.e. granola, will eat it happily with almond milk. Never even noticed a difference, I guess *lol* The perfect case health wise would be just to stop using dairy products all together. I went dairy free for a week before my trip to Sedona and I have to admit it was not easy. Since we eat a lot of meatless meals, I often rely on topping veggie casseroles and such with some cheese or add some heavy cream or butter. BUT I have cut back big time on our dairy consumption and I try to avoid it as much as I can and are comfortable with. Who knows, maybe one day, we will be a completely dairy free family. I don't doubt it would be a great step towards living even healthier and secretly I wish, we soon will be strong enough to do so.



Links of interest:
http://www.notmilk.com/
http://www.godairyfree.org/
http://dairyfreekids.com/

Crafty days

Winter has definitely arrived here. At -20C this morning (yep, you have read right), and the days being so short, we spend a great deal inside our house rightnow. IF my kids let me, I spend my time productively and try to get my list of projects waiting to be finished done. In the past weeks I have successfully knitted 3 hats (of which 2 were X-mas presents), crocheted the xmas present for my nephew, started and finished almost the square for the charity project and another doll. (Jeane, I should be sending that dollie out on Monday!) I also took on a project I wanted to do for months now. Remember that wooden table that I got for 3bucks at Craigslist? Well, a few weeks later I found a little wooden chair at Goodwill for $3.50 to go with that table. Eeee, I was so excited. See, the cheapest wooden table and chair sets I have found and that look descend are starting at around $75. Way too expensive for my taste. I had used the table as a nature table before, but when we put the house on the market, I had to move it to Julian's room and take off all the stuff. Now with Oli's toys taking over the living room, we don't really have the space to set up that table as a nature display. So for right now we are without one. We did move the table into the kitchen as Julian loves to have his own little space to do his drawing and crafting. The table had some scruffs and I could never get rid of the residues of some previous stickers. The chair had a screw and nut broken..and didn't really fit all that well. You could just tell it was 2nd hand. So, I gave it a little transformation.


Some sanding down, some paint left overs I found in the garage, some new screws and a seat cushion I whipped up on the sewing machine did the trick. I also had 2 natural wooden picture frames laying around, gave them a coat of white paint and sticked some of the ABC cards on it that I had, and e voila....a cute and like new looking kid's corner :o)


Total cost $7.50...which is the table and the chair, as I had everything else on hand somewhere. Sounds much better than $75, don't you think? I still want to add a colorful rug under the table instead of the mat I am using at the moment. Now I just need to be patient and wait til another little chair will find its way to me.

The gift that I made for my nephew is this:



An ultra cool space rocket. I thought it needed a more personal touch and so I got the idea to embroider the name of my nephew as the rocket's name on it. So it's not the U.S.S. Apollo..it's U.S.S. Mannix :o) The template for the rocket is a free share on etsy...click here. It actually includes those things where the flames come out. But I started making one and I just didn't like it on this rocket. Totally didn't go with it for some reason. So I passed on them and I think it still turned out cute.
Last but not least, I had to hold a 2nd drawing for the give away since the winner didn't claim the price. Sandra from One family won..and I have to say, as my top 1 commentator of this year (50 comments, are you kidding me?!!) she so totally deserves to win! I have something very neat in mind for you, Sandra. A little patience please and I will soon get going on your price :o)
So, that's it for today. Tomorrow I am having some of my girls over for some yummi Mexican food and girl talk (cause who knows for how much longer we will be able to do this with all the changes coming up) and I am all giddy today. The 2 week count down has started today. Then Daddy is all ours! :o)

Do you have the slightest idea?

Hello friends. Today's post comes to you, because esp. recently I have witnessed, not only in my imitate circle of friends, but also in the people everywhere and up until last year, in myself....something that concerns me and that I would like to help shed some light onto. Literally...light!
It seems these days one thing occupies the people of this planet more than ever. And that is fear. Installed fear, I may add. Turn on the news, read your paper's headline, listen to so called experts predictions, watch hollywood's end of the world scenario movies and pay attention to all the 2012 talk. 3 words sum all this up: GLOOM & DOOM! I mean everywhere you turn, one gets slammed with "evidence" of just how awful this world, its people, and our situation as a whole is. One can get lost in this cycle of fear and desperation that is portrayed onto us. I mean, no one turns on the news and expects to hear "goodness". Why is that? Why are our minds being deliberately fed with only negatives things? Why aren't the news, the headlines, movies and predictions about all the good that happens each and every day...in your house, down the street, in your neighbor city, across the world? Every day people all over the world do things, big and small, that are nothing but pure goodness and love, that portray such a different picture of who we really are, then what the media will let us believe. I am not saying this planet isn't in trouble...it sure is. And you sure do good on keeping an open mind and educate/prepare yourself. BUT I am saying that people should stop listening to all this gloom and doom. Turn of your tv, don't read those kind of headlines, don't get lost in what different sources on the Internet tell you about what might or might not happen. Just stop. Breathe. Don't give into that. Don't feed the fear. Do not feed the negative energy. Example: someone around you gets all worked up, is upset, angry, maybe shouting. You were perfectly calm up til this point. Happy. Now you feel the energy shift, right? Your chest tightens, your blood starts boiling, your hands make maybe fists..you pick up the negative energy of that other person and sooner or later both of you are in a big argument. No good. Now, if the other person tries his best and stay assertive to this, most likely the other person will start calming down..or at least try to find another victim to feed on that energy. Cause having an argument alone isn't really fun, is it? I am talking here of my own experiences. In the past I would occasionally get pretty worked up, but in my husband...I have found my match. He will remain calm. Period. Oh, in the beginning that really worked me up even more. A person that doesn't wanna fight with me, what the heck? All previous experience had thought me the opposite. It is one of those traits in my husband that I admire deeply. He has been and is my mentor, when it comes to that. I would like to believe, that I don't get as often upset anymore, than maybe a year ago. Because I have come to realize, he is not feeding my fire. He just won't. If you don't have a receiver for that negative energy, guess what happens? Less and less of that appears and more and more positive energy comes in.
It is the same with what I see happening around me. If you are one of the people that lives in fear of the future, stop being fearsome. Stop.
Remember when we talked about the law of attraction here? If you are constantly concerned and scared about what you see and read, you are feeding that energy. You are giving it life. Because of all this 2012 talk everywhere, we now have so many people that are just scared out of their minds! No good. All this negative energy they create, will most likely just attract exactly what they are afraid of. So stop. Be happy...have a light heart. Remember how powerful your thoughts are. Do you have the slightest idea? No? Okay...I will give you proof! I did this little experiment about a year ago. Last month I had my husband do it. Because even though he gets certain of my "spiritual talk", I think he's just that kind of person that needs some more solid evidence for..oh, we create our own experience with our thoughts? Our intentions and focused energy are super duper powerful? Yeah, right. Sounds nice..but where's the proof.



Well, if you don't believe in the power of your thoughts and energy (and also if you do), I dare you to do this experiment. Don't laugh. Be open minded. You don't have anything to lose but a few minutes and a spoon. Ever heard of spoon bending? Ahh, I can see the eye rolling and that grin on your face, but keep reading. Everyone can manipulate matter when you focus your thought and energy. Really. Ever seen and wondered how those people cut with their hands through 10 bricks? Ever watched karate kid? How he does all that weird breathing and closes his eyes before he tries that kind of stuff? It's exactly that...focusing energy and intention..and then you will get proof for what you are capable of doing. I bend that spoon in the picture. And if you think, that's something anyone can just do like that, go ahead. Go to your drawer, and try to bend a spoon in the way I did. Not just down...spiral wise. Try. My husband with all his strength couldn't do it. Neither could I...and that spoon is stainless steel, by the way. BUT, both of us were able to do it, by following the instructions of the video below. And you can too! Maybe you won't be able to do it at your first try if you are a very septic person, but I am sure within 2-3 tries you will. We both did it at the first try..and Horacio is not anywhere near into all this "spiritual stuff" than I am.



Try...and share your experience with me, please. If you want you can even take a picture of your bend spoon and I will publish all of them in a later post, to show that YES, your thoughts are way powerful! If you can do this to a spoon, guess what you can do to your life, this world! And imagine now, what all the power of any big mass of fearful thoughts can do to all of us! I don't know what will happen in the future...I know we are in trouble, but I choose to believe and focus my energy that on, no matter how tough things might get, in the end...all will be good. Cause humanity in its deepest root is GOOD. So stop being scared friends, shine your light and be hopeful and grateful and loving and considerate. Whatever the future brings, you will choose by your thoughts how you will experience it. If you choose to be scared and despair, than that shall be what you will experience. If you choose to believe in the good and that the night is only darkest right before the dawn, you are helping not only yourself but mass consciousness as a whole.
If you interested to find out more on what focused intention has been proven already to do, go check out a book and website called "The Intention Experiment". It will blow your mind!
Can't wait to hear about your tries :o)

Last but not least, take a look at this short clip and see how with reverse thinking you can turn everything into a positive thing. So lets focus on these positive thoughts and make this place a better world.

I heart faces photo challenge

This week's theme is "We ♥ Tooshies"! Isn't that one cute theme?! At first I thought I didn't have a pic to contribute, but after some sorting through my old files, I found this amazing shot. It was taken by me on our trip to Germany last year. We decided to take a hike up to one of the cabins in the Bavarian Alps. I vividly remember this day, not only for the beauty of the landscape, but esp. for how exhausted I was after just 30 minutes and that we constantly had to take rests. I was starting to doubt my own physical fitness....but 2 weeks later it turned out, little Oliver who was just starting to get cozy in my womb, was the sweet reason for my exhaustion ;o)

Make sure to check out other contest entries here

Crafty Idea

Here is a crafty idea, if you still need some quick, -not your bank breaking- gifts, that a personal, handmade and just plain C.U.T.E! I've made myself one and already got quite a few people commenting on it. It's such a neat way to spice up your favorite piece of clothing...maybe even to go on a bag/purse or whatever comes to mind. You can play around with so many different color combinations, gem stones, buttons, flower sizes..your imagination is the limit! I've attached my flower to my recently finished knitted hat (which somehow already miraculous disappeared and now I will have to make a new one...hmpf!) and thought it looked way cute. Right now I do wear it on my coat though and LOVE the way it looks. Such an eye catcher! Especially for babies that you might carry in your arms..they constantly want to attack touch it. Can you tell, by the way, that turkis is my absolute and most favorite color ever?! ;o)


They are super easy to make and you can find the tutorial for it here. I just simply passed on the leaf, since it did seem a little too much for my taste. Now I will still have to whip some more up to give to friends and loved ones. (hand)work never ends in my house!

I also had a number generator pick the winner for my give away. The winner is: ZAIDABEAR! Lucky you...slipped barely into the top 10 and then you win! Yay! Please claim your price til Wednesday, the 2nd by leaving a comment here on the blog. If I don't hear until then from the winner (cause in this case, I am not sure if she still follows this blog), I will hold a 2nd drawing.

A time for gratitude

November, esp. Thanksgiving of course, is the main time for us to go within and be thankful. As you know, I consider gratitude as one of the most important things in life. Cause lets be honest, most of us have TONS to be grateful for, don't we? Yeah, sure we complain on a regular bases about this and that, about things that could be better and things we would like to have and so on. But the truth is, if we hold still for a moment and reflect on our lives, we come to see that, clearly we are so wealthy! I am sure most of us have their basic needs met: shelter, food and health. Which, if you think about it, is AMAZING! Really, take a moment and think about how fortunate you really are in having just these basic 3 things! And now think about how it would be, if only one of these would be taken away from you. Not so happy anymore, huh? The main thing I've been reading and learning on my spiritual path over the years is, that true happiness comes from within. While of course, outside things and people can enrich your inner happiness immensely, they should not be your sole source of happiness. I am lucky, that I've never been overly attached to material things or felt the need to keep up with all the newest gadgets. I didn't own a cellphone until I was 21! When all my friends had cell phones already for years, I never saw the need in it, until I moved out to the country and didn't have a land line. Even today, we only own 2 cheap pay as you go cellphones and we are doing just fine with that. Ready for the next bomb to drop? We don't own any IPhones or Ipods and truth be told, I don't really have any clue what they are and I don't feel the need to know or own them. Seriously, I love it simple. I love basics. These are the things that give me pleasure! Not the pressure of having to have the coolest and newest thing. Nope. We do just fine without that, thank you very much. Not that there is anything wrong with owning or liking these things, it just doesn't serve us. Our lives are so much richer and fuller, I believe, cause we can take great joy in the simple and basic things. And so naturally these are the ones I am most grateful for. I think the time I spent in Mexico and Texas, has been one of my biggest lessons, when it comes to appreciating and being grateful for the seemingly ordinary things in life. Once these are gone, you will find how much they enriched your life. In my case that was, having beautiful outdoors and the change of seasons to enjoy it. I never really, truly knew how lucky I was to walk through a misty forest in the fall just after a rain and inhaling this awesome smell, until I lived in a desert with no more than cactus's and rattlesnakes around. Even sitting in a street cafe, enjoying some real Italian ice cream, while chatting with a good friend, has become very precious, for the lack of real cafes.
So it's no surprise that now, more than ever am I thankful for the simple and small things. I am totally that kind of person, that literally will stop and smell the roses. And why shouldn't I? After all I am here on this planet to enjoy, right? :o)
So besides of course, that we will finally be reunited as a family,I am just simply and from the bottom of my heart, thankful for all the basics and small, yet precious things in my life and on this planet. A look on life in gratitude, rather than on what else one is able to carve out of this life time, makes you feel so good.

I'd also like to show my gratitude to all of you, who have so faithfully followed our story for such long or little time. Because of knowing that there are people that care, we keep on sharing. So thank you! Thank you for stopping by and reading, thank you for letting us be a little part in your life and thank you for your words left in form of comments on this blog. Your comments are what truly keeps me writing. So I've decided to have my very first, but certainly not last, give away. Sometime during this week I will randomly draw one winner under the Top 10 commentators of this year. Hubby and Mother in law will of course not participate, so the 2 readers with the next highest number on comments would be Zaidabear and Baby Connor. I will be announcing the winner in my next post. The winner will receive shortly before Xmas some handmade goodies from me! What, will be a surprise until I'll ship it out. This is my thank you for sharing your thoughts on this blog this last year.

November Recipe Share

Do you like how I bombard you with posts these days? I've been busy and have about 3 more posts up my sleeves ;o)
Now this time I am sharing one of our family favorites with you. It's the ultimate comfort food and we love love love it. Manicotti...yuumm! Just the sound of it has something, don't you think? Saying that word makes all pseudo Italian gens in me swing. I stumbled across this because for a while I'd do a vegetarian version of it, but then decided to try it with beef and ricotta, the traditional way...the Giada the Laurentiis way, that is. Well, I have to admit, since then we have never made the vegetarian version again *lol* But we will soon...both are out of this world. Serve some baguette or garlic bread and a side salad with it and everyone on the table will be kissing your feet! Promise :o)



Ingredients:

* 4 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
* 1 pound ground beef
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti
* 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
* 3 cups shredded mozzarella
* 1 cup grated Parmesan
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (dried works fine too)
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 cups marinara sauce (I always opt for the jared Paul Newman one)
* 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt & pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.
Combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the meat sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese, then the remaining Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Bake the manicotti uncovered for about 30 to 35 minutes. Enjoy!




And because our lunch (which is our main meal) was so delicious, we need to have a sweet little goodie with our afternoon tea, right? Well, I anyways do. So, I have made these babies the first time last week and they were oh so divine! Not too sweet, kinda healthy and just scrumptious! Go ahead and try them. You won't regret it....your scale...don't know about that one ;o)
And now excuse me. I am on the way with my friend to THE event today...the opening of "New Moon". Ahh, girl's night out...I love it when hubby is home and I get to have fun. See ya later, friends!


Ingredients

* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 large egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
* 3/4 cup dried cranberries
* 6 ounces white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl using an electric mixer combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well.
Fold in the oatmeal, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.
Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer cookies to cooling rack.