New Cookie Recipe

I realized that I haven't posted in awhile and my apologies, but life has been quite busy here. I find that I am spending most of my time in the kitchen! Let me out... let me out! Just kidding, I do like it. I will try to be more faithful in my posting. Today I am going to share a recipe that I tried last evening. I must admit ... it was delish! As a matter of fact, my kids loved them ... oh, hubby too! I was noticing that the less sugar the kids have, the more willing they are to try something new and actually enjoy it. My advice is that I would double this recipe the next time that I make it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)

1 cup flour (I use Teff Flour)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup sucanaut

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl; set aside. With mixer on low speed, beat the butter, sucanaut, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by level tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! Makes 20 cookies.

Sugar and Spice

In moving our family towards more wholesome eating, I have recently discovered the variety of sugars/sweetners available to us. It comes in liquid, powders, crystals, and syrups. Choosing the right kind is important in restoring our family's health. The worst forms of sugar are the refined sugars/sweetners. They include table sugar, brown sugar, fructose, corn syrup, and artificial sweetners such as Aspartame, Saccharin, etc. The best kind of sugar is natural. It can be found in fruits. Some less refined sweetners include honey, maple syrup, grain syrups, and natural sugars. Our family has choosed to use Stevia and Xlyitol to replace refined sugar. Stevia is a natural herb sweetner and Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is helpful in managing blood sugar levels. Since we have a history of diabetes in our family, some of us need to be even more careful with our sugar intake. We also use Sucanaut which is evaporated cane juice and blackstrap molasses with no processing. We use the Sucanaut to replace brown sugar in baking. The less processed, the better.

We also try to reduce the amount of sugar that a recipe calls for. Since we don't consume as much sugar as we used to, our taste buds have adjusted accordingly. While we used to use more sugar, I find that now we are using less sugar and we tend to experiment more with spices in our recipes. We tend to use more spices even in our baking which sparks our taste buds to enjoy the meals more.

On another note, my seed catalogs have arrived and I am getting quite anxious to get my seeds and do some outside planting. Of course, first, we have to make our raised beds. Today, we put our new compost bin together! So, tonight at dinner, I made sure all vegetable scraps were saved to be readied for the new composter. I feel like a kid in a candy shoppe. The one thing that I am NOT looking forward to this season is the stink bugs! I heard they are supposed to be even worse this year. Ugh.

Recipe Share

Today I am sharing two recipes with you. Hope you try them out and enjoy them as much as we do! Please remember, if I put flour, that means that you can use whatever flour your family uses. When we bake, we use Teff flour and sometimes I mix it with Unbleached Organic Flour. Also, I used dairy, nut, gluten, & soy free Chocolate Chips from Giant. I can't tell any difference in taste. The brand is Enjoy Life. Did I mention that the kids LOVE these? Me too. They are even better right after they come out of the oven!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Sucanut

1 Stick Butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups flour

6 Tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; blend well.

2. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Do not overbake. Cook 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet. Makes 24 good size cookies.

Turkey Chili

2 pounds ground turkey

onion diced

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

22 ounce can of tomato sauce

3 tablespoons flour

1 can of kidney beans

1. In large kettle, brown turkey with onion until the turkey is brown and the onions are tender; drain.

2. Stir in spices, tomato sauce, and kidney beans. Simmer, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour. Simmer another 15 minutes or until thickened. Enjoy! Makes 10 servings.

Going Green

I've decided that we are Going Green this year. Now, Going Green can mean different things. To me, at this point in my life, Going Green means growing an organic garden. Yep, that is my plan for this year. Now of course, they say the best way to do it is to start small. However, as most of you who know me by now, know that I never start small. So, please pray for me ... as I am going to try to not overdo myself on this one.

The method that we are trying is the Square Foot Gardening method. I am currently reading the "All New Square Foot Gardening" book by Mel Bartholomew. I never really realized the importance of nutrients in soil before. So our first goal is to get us some nutrient rich soil for our raised beds that we are using this year. I have read and have been told that it will make gardening much easier. My gardening ways are from the old school. Boy do I have a lot of educating ahead of me this year. Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend, Patty, who is a wealth of information since she has her Master Gardening license/certificate.

I continue to be amazed at the greatness of the food that God has given to us. It is unfortunate what man has done to strip it and enrich/fortify it. I would like to share a quote from a nutritionist, Robert Crayhon, with you. "If someone took $30,000 from you and then gave you $4,000, would you feel enriched?" I would have to say, this is how I feel when I, as well as my family, are not eating properly. Therefore, I strive everyday to read and educate myself on how we can eat/feel better. This is a continuous journey that I try to follow each day.

I am currently reading "Refined to Real Food" by Allison Anneser. I must say, this is a great book for those of you who are trying to make changes --- a little at a time. While reading today, it was mentioned that we should have at least one green, leafy vegetable a week. I realized that I considered broccoli as a green leafy vegetable. I was thinking green, but I should have realized that it is not leafy. There are many charts in this book and it is helping me to realize all the good nutrients in many fruits and vegetables. A definite book that I will be referring back to from time to time.

Kids in the Kitchen

I spent the evening cooking in the kitchen with my 16 year old son. What did we make? So glad that you asked. Tonight's menu consisted of Sesame Chicken Nuggetts, Cheddar Potato Strips, and Brocoli. I thought I would share the recipe with you below. I must say, we had a good time! Move over McDonald's, there is a new cook in town! Enjoy!

Sesame Chicken Nuggetts

2 tablespoons sesame seed

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1" chunks

1 tablespoon oil

1. In large nonstick skillet over medium heat, toast sesame seed until golden brown, stirring frequently. I usually take the sesame seeds out of the skillet and put them into a bowl. Add your cut-up chicken to the bowl and toss the chicken and sesame seeds.

2. Toss contents of the bowl into the skillet and heat over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Yummy!

Here are some health benefits of sesame seeds. Sesame seeds help in digestion and stimulate blood circulation. They are a great source of calcium and protect our body from free radicals. Phytic acid present in these seeds inhibits colon cancer. These are just some of the benefits.

Restoring Our Family Health Introduction

Welcome to Restoring Our Family's Health with God's Guidance! I know it sounds like a long blog title, but I think it encompasses all that I want it to ... restoring our family health with God's guidance. We are in the middle of God's journey for our family in restoring our health. My husband and I have been blessed with three children who are all three in their teenage years right now! All in all, having three teenagers at once, isn't as bad as they say. Our biggest battle with them is the food that they were and sometimes still do eat. Making the switch for us has been quite a challenge with them, at times, kicking and screaming!

Each day, I try to set goals, stay motivated, and educate myself in this journey. In my quest to do so, I enjoy finding other like-minded people. I ask myself ... what do they eat, how do they feed their families, and always welcome recipes and tips. So, with that said, I am planning on sharing many of these things with you, but hope that you will also share with me what part of the journey you are in and any ideas and suggestions that you have. I think they call it ... feeding on each other! So, make sure that you sign up as a follower and enjoy the ride as we are all in this together!