New Year!

Here are the first pictures of 2012...

Riding Jack

 Where's Gabriel?

 We've been making our own flour! Here are some hard red winter wheat berries...

When you can't afford an electric grain mill, it's good to have a 5-year-old with lots of energy around!

 

 After separating wheat germ and bran from the flour...

 Got a chicken killer! This bobcat killed a chicken right in front of Cary!

 

Weight

I am happy to report that after 2 weeks on my new diet, I have lost about 8 pounds. I now weigh 150 lbs (68 kg), which has been my goal weight for years! I always seemed to get stuck around 153, but now I've finally done it. Of course the main reason for losing weight is not just the diet itself, but also having trouble coming up with things I can eat! Which is why I'm getting the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, which was written by the president of the Weston A. Price foundation. I can't wait to start experimenting with new recipes!

We are also planning on joining a raw milk co-op in the area. Which means we take turns with other families getting our raw milk from a local farm. The milk is only $2 .50 a gallon! Right now, we're paying $8 a gallon. So this is great considering that with our new diet, we're going to need 4 gallons a week instead of the 2 we've been getting. I am going to use about 1 gallon of the milk to make yogurt, cream cheese, whey and kefir. For my Dutch readers: 1 gallon is almost 4 liters. We drink a LOT of milk!

We have been getting raw milk cheese and spouted grain bread from our health store the past couple of weeks. I find it interesting that they taste so much like Dutch cheese and bread! It's obvious most Dutch people eat healthier than most Americans (Holland has a 10% obesity rate, in the U.S. it's 30%). I think a lot of that has to do with the Dutch habit of eating simple, homemade meals, lots of dairy products and smaller portions. Also, eating out is very expensive over there, so it's something they only do on special occasions. No fast food on every street corner or pigging out at an all-you-can-eat buffet for under $10! No wonder that one of the first things I always notice when I go back, is how thin the people are!

New Diet

Last week, I got the book 'Cure Tooth Decay (Heal & Prevent Cavities with Nutrition)' by Ramiel Nagel. I have read many good things about this book and the Weston A. Price diet it promotes. Since I've been having teeth problems, I thought this would be a great thing to try - cheaper than a dentist and better for our overall health!

A description of the Weston A. Price diet can be found here. Some of the things we will be doing at our home are:
-take cod liver oil (hoping to try fermented CLO soon)
-eat and drink raw dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter - the latter two I will try making myself)
-eat meat from grass-fed animals and eggs from pastured chickens
-eat healthy vegetables, most of them cooked
-limit our fruit intake to fruits that are naturally low in sugars, like raspberries, kiwis and green apples
-limit sweetened and/or processed products to special occasions only
-baking our own breads from sprouted wheat berries (will have to buy a grain mill soon, for now we're trying Ezekiel Bread)

Some healthy groceries we bought today (we get our meat and raw milk elsewhere):

So this week I've been trying to stay away from sweets (candy, cookies, ice cream, desserts, chocolate, sugar and other sweeteners) and grain products (bread, rice, pasta, cereal). Monday through Wednesday I only had a very small amount of chocolate. Yesterday and today no sweets at all (I did eat some Ezekiel bread today).
Apparently you can go through sugar and carb withdrawals, which means I've been feeling exhausted and somewhat jittery and anxious all week. Today is actually a little better. I did eat small amounts of fruit (yogurt with raspberries and cooked pears with raw cream - both unsweetened). They say your taste buds will adjust and things that don't taste very sweet now, will taste sweeter after a while. Can't wait! I hope I get over these sugar withdrawals soon as well.

As part of this high protein diet, I've also started exercising, which apparently is a good thing to do. For now that means riding my exercise bike. I'm slowly building it up, today I'm doing 3 x 15 minutes.
Anyway, after a week of almost no sugars and carbs, I have lost 4 pounds! And weight loss wasn't even my goal (but I did gain 4 pounds recently, so that's great!). And I think my teeth are feeling less sensitive, which is great too! Hopefully I will start seeing and feeling more good results soon!

Irma's Stuffed Bell Peppers

I came up with a new recipe for stuffed bell peppers yesterday. I was planning on making my usual stuffed bell peppers with ground beef, onions, mushrooms and tomato sauce, but I was all out of mushrooms and tomato sauce! So I had to improvise/experiment a little and the result was really good! Here's a picture, the recipe follows below.

Irma's Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients (for 2 or 3 people):

• 3 medium size bell peppers
• 1 lbs ground beef
• 2 thick strips of bacon
• 4 green onions
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• seasoning salt and/or salt & pepper
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Fill a large pot with about 4 inches of water and bring it to a boil.
• Brown the ground beef in medium size skillet. Add seasoning salt and/or salt & pepper to taste.
  
• In another skillet, cook the bacon strips until brown.
  
• In the mean time, cut the bell peppers in half (lengthwise) and remove the stem and seeds.
• When the water comes to a boil, cook the bell pepper halves for about 5-10 minutes (depending on desired softness).
• Chop the green onions and mix them with the ground beef. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat while stirring occasionally.
• Cut the cream cheese into large pieces and throw them in with the beef. Slowly let the cheese melt and stir it in.
  
• Break the bacon strips into small pieces and stir them into the beef and cream cheese mixture.
• Put the bell pepper halves in a 9x13 inch baking dish and scoop beef and cream cheese mixture into the peppers.
• Top with shredded cheese and bake uncovered in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
• Enjoy!

Can be served on a bed of rice but I didn't because 3 bell pepper halves was definitely enough!

Wonderful Zucchini Bread

Yesterday I made zucchini bread for the first time. It turned out wonderful! Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup applesauce
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 cups grated zucchini
* 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Toddler Diet

I just came across the perfect diet! Copied from this site.

Toddler Diet
Over the years you may have noticed that most 2 year olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of grapefruit juice and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After consultation with pediatricians, x-ray technicians and distraught mothers, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive and offers great variety and sufficient quantity.

Day 1:
Breakfast
One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.

Lunch
Four crayons (any color) a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk-3 sips, then spill the rest.

Dinner
A dry stick, 2 pennies, 4 sips of flat diet pop.

Bedtime snack
Toast piece of bread, butter it and toss it face down on the floor.

Day 2:
Breakfast
pick up stale toast from the floor and eat it. Drink 1/2 bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch
Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and one ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack
Lick an all day sucker until sticky, take it outside and drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until clean again, then bring inside and drop on living room carpet.

Dinner
A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes, eat with spoon.

Day 3:
Breakfast
2 pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub fingers in hair to clean. Glass of milk, drink half, stuff excess pancakes in glass.

After breakfast
Pick up yesterdays sucker from carpet, lick off fuzz until sticky again, then leave on cushion of your best chair.

Lunch
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several well-chewed bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk onto table, then slurp up.

Dinner
Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, 1 sip of cold coffee.

Final Day:
Breakfast
1/4 tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bite of soap, one olive. Pour glass of milk over bowl of Cornflakes, add 1/2 cup of sugar. Wait until cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog wih your spoon.

Lunch
Eat crumbs off the kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner
A plate of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate. Handful of cheese snacks, eat 2 and place the rest in bowling ball holes or any other convenient hiding place.

Isn't this just so true???!!! I'm so glad I still nurse Gabriel, at least he still gets what he needs from me!

A few pictures from yesterday

My lunch yesterday: a sandwich with chicken salad. I know, I don't eat chicken. But this chicken salad is divine and even I could not resist it! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, it's called Holiday Chicken Salad (but of course it tastes awesome all year round!)

Gabriel and I were riding the 4-wheeler in our pasture and stopped to watch the horses. Butterfly, our mare, decided to give us a little entertainment by pretending to be a puppy.

Our puppy Dixie does the exact same thing!

And Gabriel decided to empty a basket of clean laundry and wear my panties...

Great salad!

This is what I'm having for lunch right now:

It's a salad with green leaf lettuce, apple, cheese, cashews and dried cranberries (you can also use raisins). With homemade honey-mustard dressing (just mix low-fat mayonnaise, mustard and honey until it tastes good!). Yummy!

Praline Bundt or Sheet Cake

Today we had another church lunch. I made this Praline Sheet Cake...it's soooo good! I used this recipe for a Praline Bundt Cake. You'll have to reduce the cooking time, I think I baked mine for about 45 minutes. And I doubled the recipe for the icing. Also, you'll only need about 2 cups of sugar pecans, but if you make 4 cups, the leftovers are awesome! Here are some pictures...




And here are a couple of pictures of the Praline Bundt Cake I made last May. It sure looks better this way, but I thought a sheet cake would be easier to bring and serve.

A New Year and a New Blog!

What better time to start a new blog than January 1st? I have our family blog, Cary, Irma & Gabriel in Texas, but this blog here will be about me, and what's on my mind. So who am I?

Well, my name is Irma, I was born on April 29, 1977 in The Netherlands, so that makes me 31, and Dutch. I'm married to Cary, who's a Texan, which is why I moved to Texas almost 4 years ago. He's 42, but don't tell him I told you! We have a wonderful 2-year old son named Gabriel, who was born at home on Sinterklaas 2006. For those of you who are not familiar with Sinterklaas, he's the original Santa Claus. We celebrate Sinterklaas in Holland on December 5th. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked here!

I am a Christian and love the LORD and want to live for Him. I come from a Reformed background (Gereformeerd Vrijgemaakt to be exact - try to pronounce that all you English speaking readers!), but I was recently baptized as an adult and am now a member of a small Baptist church, which I love!
We live in the country in a small house on 12 acres and have 2 horses, 13 calves (our 'savings account' as we call it), 2 monsters disguised as cute puppies and a bunch of chickens (btw, my motto is 'Chickens are pets, not food'. I mean it! They're too cute to be eaten and make wonderful, funny pets.)
If you want to know more about me, just keep reading my blog and you'll get to know me a little bit at a time!

Here's my favorite thing of today: oliebollen & appelflappen! Translation: oil balls and apple fritters. I swear the oil balls taste better than they sound!

They're a Dutch New Year's tradition and we usually eat them for several days, sometimes literally for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner, until we're sick of them! That's what you get for getting too many of them I guess ;-)
Anyway, I didn't make that many, so they're almost gone now. After celebrating New Year's Eve & Day without them for 4 years in a row, I decided to try and make them myself. I'm so glad I did! I have now come to realize that you just can't really celebrate the New Year without them. It just doesn't feel right! So I'll be making these every year from now on.

Finally I want to wish everyone a 'Gelukkig Nieuwjaar' (see if you can guess the meaning of that)!