Blessed Beyond Measure

What We Really Eat & Why

Just a over a year ago, my mother in-law passed away from cancer at the young age of 58. It was painful for her and difficult for all of us in so many ways as we cared for and watched her go. It was that experience that triggered us to get a lot more serious about taking care of our health. Of course we weren't completely ignorant to the unhealthy affects of processed foods and other junk and we were eating "balanced meals", but J took it upon himself to research this further to help our family be wise as to how we nourished ourselves.

As he read he found the research of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and their findings in the correlation between animal based diets and disease. We watched Forks Over Knives (on Netflix) and decided to make some major changes in the food we prepare for our family. We now eat a plant based diet and organic non GMO whenever possible. We now for the most part (I would say 95%) only buy plant based foods. The exception is special occasions, eating out, or when we at someone else's home. All of which are a very small percentage of our meals. We never want others to feel like they have to cook special for us and will thankfully eat whatever is put in front of us whenever we eat outside of our home. We love food!

After a year of eating plant strong meals, we have faced all the challenges you would expect especially finding recipes that a family of eight would all eat. I've decided to start blogging each day for the next month what we eat for dinner, the recipes, and how everyone rated it.

So to begin, here's tonight's dinner, tacos and beans. Simple, filling, and everyone loved it!

So what do you put in a taco without meat and cheese? Here's what we put in ours:

fresh cooked pinto beans

pure refried beans (canned and 0 fat)

guacamole

TVP with taco seasoning (it gives the texture of ground beef)

lettuce

tomato

red onion

rice

freshly made salsa

What are some of your favorites for vegan tacos?

Chocolate Energy Bites

I love a sweet treat I don't have to feel guilty for eating! I always get a crazy sweet tooth mid afternoon and find myself searching through the pantry and fridge for something chocolate. Ok, so maybe not just in the afternoon, I've been known to crave chocolate around the clock. But, that's besides the point. I tried a few different recipes for healthy cookies and bars, but this is our favorite!

You will need:

6 T. milled flax seeds

1 1/2 c. non-dairy milk

4 c. old fashioned oats

6 T. honey

1 c. chocolate protein powder (I use Life's Basics Plant Protein from Sunflower Market)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together the milk and flax seed. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. You may also add sunflower seeds, pepitas, chopped almonds, or raisins to increase the protein and calories to make this a meal.

It will look dry, but will be moist enough when you add the milk and flax mixture.

I use the ice cream scoop to make them into balls. The kids and I prefer to eat them raw, but you can cook them at 350 for 7 minutes if you prefer.

There you go, not only are these guilt free, but really good for you! Keep some frozen for those times you have to have something sweet so you don't cave and eat junk.

Quinoa Spinach Salad with Mango

Who doesn't love a quinoa salad!? This is one the whole family will enjoy.

In a sauce pan combine 2 1/2 cups quinoa with 5 cups water. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. You'll know when the quinoa is done when the little tails pop out.

While the quinoa is simmering, chop 1 cucumber, 4 green onions, 1 mango, and 4 cups of fresh baby spinach.

In a small bowl whisk 1/2 cup olive or grapeseed oil, 4 T white wine vinegar, and 3 tsp. curry powder.

Toss the quinoa with the chopped veggies and then add the dressing and toss until it is well blended.

Serves 6

Enjoy!

3 Year-Old Ballerina Princess Party

My three-year-old specifically requested a pink ballerina princess party. It was a very simple sweet party with family and a few close friends.

These were the invites wrapped in pink tulle and ribbon. I found the poem written by Anna Johnson and loved it! I also included the party information on the bottom of the picture.

Their "cups" were simply baby food jars with doillies.

I used a mixture of tissue pom-poms and paper lanterns around our light fixture.

The ruffle cake was so much simpler than I thought it would be. I used frosting from a can! This is the video I watched to learn how to make it.

I cut fabric into 4" strips and ran it through my ruffler to make garland. I didn't finish any of the edges and really liked the raw look.

How I Plan My Parties

I've been asked where I begin to plan my kids' parties and where to get ideas. Granted you can get a plethora of ideas, but to keep it within a reasonable budget is where it can get tough. I always try to not only make it special, but very inexpensive. Everything may not be professional and perfect, but the kids know that I do it out of love for them and they always love it.

SHE ministries was kind enough to ask me to do a little video blog as part of their summer series and talk about the steps I take to plan a party.

I am by no means a professional event planner, but a simple mom who enjoys celebrating her kids with fun and inexpensive birthday parties. I warn you, I'm awkward on video (okay, so maybe in person too), but I hope this helps.

(P.S. I talk a lot and they had to break it into two separate videos ;)

How I Coupon

By now everyone has heard what amazing deals you can get with coupons. I have never seen the show Extreme Couponing, but I have heard enough to know that it misrepresents many of us who use coupons. I have no desire to be an organized hoarder. I think it's awesome how women (or people in general) are making the most of what God has given them and using all resources to simply be a good steward and to save enough that they are able to share with others. Simply buying things because you can get a good deal I don't believe is being a good steward at all. I was a guest blogger over at She Laughs blog and shared how I do use coupons and have almost eliminated the cost of toiletries in our home. Go check it our here!

Vintage Inspired Party

My 15 year old daughter is very much into all things vintage as well as reading, blogging, writing, etc. I tried to incorporate all her likes into planning her birthday party.

I made the invites with publisher and after cutting them with those fancy edge scissors, I glued them onto card stock and tied them with twine. Using various fonts and scroll designs gave it an anthro look.

After I have a party, I always realize I didn't get enough pictures of everything! Hate that! Well, here is what I do have....

The party was in the evening out on the back deck.
(I have yet to learn how to properly take pictures at night :/ )

Loved the glow of the mercury glass.

We had an old typewriter that the guests used to type notes to the birthday girl. I think my favorite note was, "Where is the backspace on this thing... this typewriter needs a spell check". ;)

Again, I wish I had gotten a better pic of this, but I had flowers hanging in jars across the deck as well as clear lights strung across.

On the menu: Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken, Garlic Bread, and Salad

Cones made from scrap booking paper filled with popcorn and placed in an old Coca-Cola crate.

Photo Booth Fun

The ombre cake. I made four 8" cakes with white cake mix and added red gel icing coloring in various amounts to get the different shades of pink.

Asian Themed Party

This party was for my daughter's 13th birthday. She asked for a white, fuchsia, and tangerine colored party, but that was about all as far as her preferences. I suggested an Asian theme and we went with it from there.

For the invitations, I made a simple postcard sized invite with the 411 in Chinese with the interpretation in English in parentheses (using google translation). I made simple sleeves out of brocade to dress them up.