God has a funny way of getting my attention

God has a funny way of getting my attention sometimes. Lately, it seems I have been hearing God chuckle at the lessons He has been teaching me through my little broken toe. Yes, that’s right – lessons from God in a little broken toe. It really didn’t start out as being a funny affair, but the longer I struggle through with taped toes, ugly shoes and a definite limp – I find myself chuckling with God. No one spends much time thinking about little toes, until they stick out a little too far and get caught on a bed post or a corner. Then, that seems to be all you can think about. It is amazing how many simple, daily activities are affected by a broken toe. Until it happens to you, it’s hard to imagine. I am amazed that a little toe is so useful while lifting small children, taking dinner out of the oven, shopping for groceries, taking the family on a long awaited camping trip when the bathroom is almost a half a mile away and sleeping with heavy covers on. That little toe has a way of making itself known and limiting my activities. Every day I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 12 where the apostle Paul describes how important all of us are to the body of Christ. In 1 Cor 12, verses 21-22 Paul states “The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…” So it is with little toes, and all of us who belong to the body of Christ. All of us are indispensable. We may feel like little toes, ugly little things without much purpose. But without us, the body of Christ will not function properly. We all have a purpose and when we are unable or unwilling to fulfill that purpose, the whole body suffers. We all can’t be the head, nor would we want to be. But it can be really hard to be a little toe most days of the week. It is hard to imagine that ministering to our family through cooking, cleaning and kissing small boo-boos is very important – but it is. We may not be teaching a class, evangelizing on a street corner, or traveling to the far corners of the world to reach the lost, but we are all where God has placed us. All of our daily lives are important and without us being faithful and diligent in all areas, the whole body suffers. So, the next time I feel ignored, unimportant and weak, I will remember my broken toe and thank God for being part of the bigger body of Christ.

"Crabbie" Patties

I've tried this recipe for "crab" patties now a couple times and can't believe how much my kids love them. I intentionally made extra tonight with leftovers in mind. Unfortunately, no leftovers! They're so simple, yet they really "anchor" your plate nicely. See the recipe here.

Oh the Joys of Soymilk Making?

Have you ever considered making your own soy milk and/or almond milk? Almost 9 years ago when I was pregnant with my second child, my husband had the grand idea of buying a soy milk maker and making it at home. The cost savings were just too great to pass up. Homemade soymilk costs pennies for a half gallon versus over $3 in the store. However, I was so sick during my second pregnancy that I couldn’t stand the smell of almost anything, and certainly not a soy milk maker. I banished my husband and the machine to the garage where he was more than happy to make all that we could use or drink. Once Andy was born and I was faced with 2 children under the age of 2. The smell of homemade soymilk no longer made me wretch, but the thought of taking on one more task was more than I could bear. The soymilk maker sat and gathered dust in the garage, and one day in a cleaning fit, I threw it away. I thought I would never again tackle homemade soy milk. That was, until the price of food began spiraling upwards over the last year. Besides the cost, I was tired of having to make a special trip to the store simply because I ran out of soymilk and I was tired of storing an extra half gallon or two in the refrigerator. After a quick search on ebay, we decided to purchase another soymilk maker. It has been wonderful! With the push of a button and a wait of about 15 minutes, I have freshly made soymilk ready to go. I add about ½ tspn of salt, 2 T of sugar or equivalent sweetener and for pennies I have the liquid I need for soups, muffins, cereals and all of my cooking needs. This week I am going to attempt almond milk in it and I can’t wait for the results. Now I know that when I add soymilk to something, exactly what ingredients I am adding.

Click here to search eBay for soy milk makers.

Don't Join the Army of the Overweight!

Reading the following story has me shaking my head and feeling terribly sad at the same time. A town in West Virginia has the dubious honor of being named "the fattest city in America". The problem is that apparently most people living there don't care. According to the article, they're too concerned with the local economy to worry about treating or preventing diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It so clearly reminds me of the old Fram oil filter commercial of "You can pay me now or you can pay me later". If you choose later, I can guarantee the cost is not only going to exponentially higher but the resulting poor health will be far worse than most can imagine. And here's the kicker: it isn't that hard!!! It's not hard at all. It is simply a case of making a decision, then backing up the decision with action. That means doing whatever it takes - researching, reading, being willing to try new (healthier) things, failing and being willing to try again. When you read the article, see how your attitudes compare to those in the story. Then decide which side of the fence you're going to land on. I hope it's on the side of improving your health on a daily basis for the rest of your life

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_he_me/med_unhealthiest_city_2

White Sugar Now Coming From Genetically-Modified Sugar Beets

One of the things that I try very hard to buy is non-genetically modified foods. A lot of foods are being altered for a variety of reasons, none of which has anything to do with being healthier for consumers. Big chemical companies push the "benefits" of plants that are resistant (read poisonous) to bugs and weeds. Sounds great for the farmers - less work tending their crops - but who knows what the long term health consequences may be. And now they go after sugar...

This year saw the first commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets in the United States, with that sugar to hit the food supply soon after. Farmers across the country will soon be planting Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beet, genetically engineered for resistance to Monsanto's herbicide glyphosate (marketed as Roundup). John Schorr, agriculture manager for Amalgamated Sugar, estimates that 95 percent of the sugar beet crop in Idaho will be of the new GM variety in 2008, or a total of 150,000 out of 167,000 acres. Finish the article here >

A little exercise goes a long way for severely obese

I found an interesting article on exercise - every little bit helps. Even if you're not used to doing any exercise, there's no time like the present to get started!

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to exercise and physical activity, people who are severely obese often feel defeated and think -- why bother. But a new study shows why they should bother, according to the study team.

Even a little bit of exercise - as little as 1 hour a week - can boost their quality of life and ability to complete everyday tasks like getting dressed, tying shoes and simply moving around, the study found. "This study speaks to the importance of people who are overweight, even severely overweight, paying attention to the fact that increasing their activity even a little bit can make their day to day life better," Dr. Martin Binks told Reuters Health. Read the rest of the article >

Overboard with greens

I came home from the coop Thursday with a mess of greens. The swiss chard and kale looked so wonderful that I just couldn’t resist. The only trouble was, it’s pretty hard to fit 5 bunches of chard and 4 bunches of kale in a refrigerator – loaded with a weeks worth of produce. So Thursday night, I prepared 2 of the chard for dinner that night, then set out chopping and bagging the remaining greens. For dinner, I simply sautéed a small diced onion until it was tender, then added two diced tomatoes. Next came a dollop of apple cider vinegar, a pinch or two of sugar, a twist of salt and two bunched of chopped chard. I didn’t even bother to remove the stems of the chard. Some cooks will tell you to do that – but the stems aren’t that tough, and I don’t mind a little crunch with my greens. Besides, I am just too lazy and time crunched to remove the stems if I don’t need to. I served the greens along side some leftover eggplant parmesan and everyone truly enjoyed the meal. For storing the remaining greens, I simply chopped the chard – stems and all – and stored them in a large plastic bag. The kale required a little more work because I really don’t like kale stems. The stems are incredibly tough and it seems they just won’t soften in the amount of time it takes to wilt the greens. Removing kale stems isn’t tough, just hold the kale leaves in your left hand, grab the stem in you right hand, and rip up. The stem should easily tear away from the greens and leave you with a handful of kale. It didn’t take long to destem 4 bunches of kale and chop the leaves. Again, I stored the kale in a large plastic bag. I did not wash the greens prior to storing since I didn’t want the added moisture in the plastic bags. In a matter of about 20 minutes, I was able to take all of my greens and fit them nicely in the refrigerator. Greens are so high in nutrients, low in calories, easy to prepare and so wonderful tasting that it’s hard for me to understand why more people don’t try them.

Zucchinni and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Tonight I took dinner over to Nana’s house so that my wonderful husband could watch an NBA play-off game on TV. (We have the most basic cable channels you can get. They are a “package deal” with the high speed internet service we have.) Nana doesn’t cook very often since most nights she is eating at our house so I had to use my imagination to create a meal which required very few pans and/or spices. I decided tacos, refried beans and some stir fried zucchini would fit the bill – especially since I already had made guacamole and salsa. The trick was to figure out an appealing way to prepare the zucchini without any interesting spices. (Since Nana doesn’t cook, her selection of spices is not only VERY limited, it’s also VERY old – and probably not very tasty.) So, I quickly grabbed a yellow pepper, an onion, the zucchini and some sun-dried tomatoes that had been looking at me very accusingly for quite a while. I love sun dried tomatoes – just right out of the bag – and had bought some quite a few weeks ago at our old produce market. I had eaten a few and then forgot about them – until today. So, once at Nana’s I sliced the pepper and onion, water sautéed them until tender. Next, I added the zucchini and some salt and pepper. I occasionally stirred the zucchini until it just started to turn tender, and then I added the chopped sun dried tomatoes. Boy, not only was it delicious but it was also very colorful. Sometimes a little creative ingenuity is all that is needed to make a new dish that every one loves.