It snowed last night...and all yesterday...and again today

This is what it looks like here. We got about 17 inches of snow.

Its in everything! arrrgggghhhh.....

Yep, that's me, checking everything...

I learned something recently. I learned WHY trans fat are bad for you. I had HEARD they were bad for you, but didn't know why. Now I do.

Trans fats don't exist naturally, they are oil infused with hydrogen, and were first invented in the 1950's, and your body has a hard time processing them. Once consumed, trans fats cause all sorts of trouble. Among other things, they raise the number of LDL (bad) cholesterol particles in you bloodstream and lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. They raise blood levels of lipoproteins (the more you have, the greater your risk of heart disease).

Now, I thought "No problem, I'm we're getting any in our diet" because I read the labels, and they all say "0 grams trans fat". BUT, this just means per serving, there wasn't enough to equal 1 gram. So, you have to look at the list of ingredients. If it lists hydrogenated oil (vegetable, corn, or any other kind), it has trans fats. They are in everything. Even the "good for me" stuff, like whole wheat crackers and healthy muffins. I read about this in this great book, The Abs Diet for Women, http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Abs-Diet-for-Women/David-Zinczenko/e/9781594866241/?itm=7 which is more about living healthy than it is going on a diet.

So, I may not be able to completly leave behind trans fats, but I can take more control over what I'm eating, and letting my children eat! (after all, I don't want my kiddos looking like these boys).

a taste of heaven...

You just HAVE to try this recipe! It is wonderful. And good for you. Wow, you can't beat that!

Whole Wheat Maple Quick Bread

1/3 cup milk

1 cup yogurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 lemon, juiced

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (about 5x9). Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Bake 50 minutes in preheated oven, or till knife inserted near center comes out clean. You may want to cover with foil the last half of baking time to keep from overbrowning on top.

Now, for a real treat, put a little bit of neufchatel cheese on top. Take some berries (mine were frozen and defrosted), mash them up and put those on top. Eat with a fork. Mmmmmmmm.....

Oh, I'd like to point out: I have no idea what pastry flour is! I used King Arthur Flour whole wheat flour. It is the ONLY whole wheat flour I've found that tastes good.

Ok, I'd better go to bed before I'm too tempted to dive into seconds!!!

Tortillias

I never dreamed I would make my own tortillias, when they are so easy to buy! But I found out the tortillias I was buying have trans fats in them, and so I made my own. I'm so proud of myself, and decided to brag about it to all of you lovely readers! I even made the tortillias with almost all whole wheat flour! I have been doing some reading about different foods, what is healthy and why, and what is not, and why it isn't. I'm learing so much! I'll post about that later. In the meantime, you can see Timothy is enjoying the dinner. I made quesadillas with the tortillias, baked turkey, cheese, mango, and bit of bbq sauce. Yummy!

April Showers

Timothy
Freeman
Dallas

They say April Showers bring May flowers...

I'd say April Showers bring Snowmen!!

It started snowing here on Saturday, and it has again snowed all morning. Its a good thing I didn't pack up our snowgear, like I was contemplating doing!

Wonderfully made!

I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it full well!!!!

This week

Ok, here is an update on some of what went on in our house this week: The children all got colds, starting last Sat. The younger two recovered quickly, the older 2 still have coughs. I sat down and wrote a simple schedule for Dallas's schoolwork for this month. She gets to put a star on the chart each day she comletes everything for the day. With only two subjects each day, that shouldn't be too hard!





Baby Josiah needed a new dipee cover, so I threw this blue one together for him, using a pattern I bought when Freeman was a baby. It turned out pretty darn cute, if you ask me!!! I drafted my own pattern for a cover, and made the white one, above. It still needs some tweeking, but not bad for a first draft! Let me know what you think.













We had Dave and Ryan over over on Tuesday for dinner. Its always nice to hear their stories! Neither Dave or Ryan knew how to play pitch. So, of course, I, coming from the Northcutt family, took it upon myself to teach them the very fun-- though somewhat confusing--game of 10 point pitch. What fun! I think by the end, they were getting the hang of it!








Do you remember the "Where's Waldo?" books? They are a lot of fun to look through, and the children find them very funny! Here, they are having fun searching for Waldo, in one of those rare times when they all doing something toghether without fighting.

So, like any good Mother would do, I took a picture.