so, we didn't make it to church...

AGAIN! Our poor bishop is going to think that we are completely inactive! And I guess that we sort of are, however unintentional that may be. When that alarm rang at 7:30 this morning, there was no way in the world I was getting out of my bed. I couldn't have even if I wanted to. My entire body aches from head to toe. I didn't get to sleep until about 4:30, Ainsley woke up at 5:30 to eat. I tried to sit on the couch and feed her, but I couldn't. She kept kicking me, trying to get get onto her right side. She sleeps on her right side. So, I made the terrible mistake of just laying her in bed with us. That meant that she nursed the rest of the "night" and I didn't get good sleep, which I desperately need. Hannah slept in until 10. She still has a nasty nose and cough, so it is probably a good thing she didn't go spread it around Primary. But at least she has a voice again. Ainsley's cough sounds a bit different today. I haven't figured out if it is good different or bad different. We may be taking another trip to the pediatrician's office tomorrow. I seriously hope not, though. I can't afford this! At least we have health insurance now.

So, what is it about being sick and craving hamburgers??? Yep, we had hamburgers again for lunch today. We justified it by saying that we HAD to use the last of the wheat buns, and we didn't want chicken. And I wanted to try the sweet potato fries that Kathryn mentioned in my healthy eating post. Delicious!!!!

Sweet Potato Fries (courtesy of Kathryn)
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges.
Sprinkle with oil & salt.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip, bake 15 minutes more or until your wedges are crunchy.
I also sprinkled with pepper & a bit of garlic powder, because that is how I like my baked sweet potatoes.

Thomas even willingly took one bite! He didn't necessarily like it, but he's still alive! Hannah is protesting eating her sweet potato fries. She wants pretzels instead. I'm not caving! She just has to eat one bite. But I managed to eat about 2/3 of 2 potatoes... can you eat too many sweet potatoes? :)

and they are even good cold! I just went back and ate a few more fries!

there is a fine line between love and hate...

Well, folks, it is 3am on Sunday. I have church in six hours. Why, then, am I still awake? Because about three and a half hours ago, I took some Sudafed for my cold. My heart is racing and I can't sleep. I'm exhausted from not sleeping for the last few days, but I am just not sleepy. This can't be good for me. I hate Sudafed! BUT the good news is that I CAN breathe again and my head doesn't feel like it is going to explode anymore. I love Sudafed. I just wish it would let me sleep...

So, for dinner tonight, I ended up making soup & homemade bread. The soup was just 1/2 a chicken breast (diced), 4 or 5 large potatoes, a large carrot, a small clove of garlic, 1 carton of chicken broth and a small beef bouillon cube. I threw it in the crockpot and let it simmer while the bread was mixing and baking. I seasoned it with onion powder, a tiny bit of season salt, black pepper and a dash of cumin. The cumin added a little spicy touch without being overpowering. I was hoping to use curry powder, but I couldn't find my bottle. Thomas has been complaining for days that he can't taste anything with this cold, so I thought I would spice up dinner a bit for him. And the reason I used half a chicken breast is because the last time I bought chicken, I cut up a couple of the chicken breasts into strips and portioned them into Ziploc bags for things like stirfry & fajitas & soups. If there are enough potatoes and breads, you don't really need the extra meat. I know, most people are going off carbs and eating more meat, but I can't. I am already allergic to eggs so I have to watch how much poultry I eat. AND meat is so dang expensive these days. I'd rather buy a bag of potatoes anyday!

healthy eating

Okay, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! We have been to the doctor's office more times than I care to count. We have a pharmacy of over the counter and prescription medication, and we are still sick! What is wrong with this picture? Thomas and I have both been losing weight, and we have attributed that to the fact that we rarely eat out anymore. I used to think that my family ate pretty well. But the last week or so I have started paying more attention to food labels. Do you know what kind of garbage is in your food? I have food allergies, so if I try a new food, I read the labels. Even if it is something that I just haven't eaten in a while, I check to make sure that there are no new ingredients, or any ingredients that I have developed an allergy to since I last ate it. I tell you this because I thought last week that I might have a kidney infection. I didn't want to go to the doctor, mainly because I don't have a doctor here yet. So, I figured I could go get some cranberry juice and that might help until I could find a good doctor. I read the labels on over 15 different varieties of cranberry "juice". The ones that were actually made of juice were mostly apple juice, grape juice and pear juice with a smidge of cranberry thrown in. I couldn't believe how much sugar is in this "juice". I can't believe I give this stuff to my kids thinking it's healthy. It's one thing for me to let Hannah have some Kool-Aid. I know it's straight sugar. But so is the dang juice! And then I sat back and looked at the meals that Hannah has eaten lately. Every morning she eats a Pop-Tart for breakfast. And don't even think about trying to swap it out for anything else. She is a creature of habit and will screw up her entire day. Trust me! Then lunch is either chicken nuggets or a turkey sandwich or a hotdog with fruit. Not terrible on non-hotdog days. The nuggets are all white breast meat and are baked not fried. But dinner sure doesn't vary much. She usually ends up with more nuggets, pizza, another turkey sandwich, or hotdog. I make her eat more fruit and some vegetables. But it's like pulling teeth. I know that kids are picky eaters. I always make her try whatever we are having for dinner. But our meals are not much healthier. They are real food, not processed or pre-packaged meals, but we eat way too much meat and not enough fresh vegetables and grains.

So, to connect the dots... I think the reason we are sick all the time is a lack of healthy eating. Well, that is one of the many reasons. I think we are getting ready to try a radically different style of eating in our home. We are going to ease into it; I don't want to shock our digestive systems! But I am going to start baking more our of breads and tortillas. Eventually I want to get my own wheat grinder and grind my own flour, but we'll start off slow at first! :) I have already started planning my vegetable garden for the summer. My goal is to get my family eating and enjoying more vegetables than just canned green beans and frozen corn. I did manage to disguise sweet potatoes enough for Thomas to like it. I substituted sweet potatoes for pumpkin in pumpkin bread. It was really good. Not terribly healthy, but he ate sweet potatoes and he is still alive! Okay, so if anyone has any good recipes for healthy ways to disguise veggies or good recipes for whole grain breads, let me know! Feel free to post them in the comments section. And if anyone else wants any recipes, I'll post reviews on the ones that I try. *Note* Due to food allergies I won't be able to try all of them! :) If you find one here and try it, post a comment with a review or send it to me in an email!