Thursday, January 29, 2009

High Fructose Corn Syrup contaminated w/ Mercury

This is important especially to our suseptible children on the spectrum who have trouble excreting toxins from their bodies.


Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds

Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury

http://www.iatp. org
(A list of products and the study can be found here: http://www.healthob servatory. org/library. cfm?refID= 105026)

Minneapolis – Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples
of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new
article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental
Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular
brand- name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or
second highest labeled ingredient—including products by Quaker,
Hershey’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.

HFCS use has skyrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has
replaced sugar in many processed foods. HFCS is found in sweetened
beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts,
soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons
per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can
be up to 80 percent above average levels.

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP’s David Wallinga, M.D.,
and a co-author in both studies. “Given how much high fructose corn
syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional
source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for
immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable
mercury contamination of the food supply.”

In the Environmental Health article, Dufault et al. found detectable
levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. Dufault
was working at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when the tests
were done in 2005. She and co-authors conclude that possible mercury
contamination of food chemicals like HFCS was not common knowledge
within the food industry that frequently uses the sweetener. While the
FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury
four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change
industry practice or conduct additional testing.

For its report “Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn
Syrup,” IATP sent 55 brand-name foods and beverages containing HFCS as
the first or second ingredient to a commercial laboratory to be tested
for total mercury. Nearly one in three products tested contained
detectable mercury. Mercury was most prevalent in HFCS-containing
dairy products, followed by dressings and condiments. Attached is the
summary list of the 55 products and their total mercury content.

In making HFCS, caustic soda is used, among other things, to separate
corn starch from the corn kernel. For decades, HFCS has been made
using mercury-grade caustic soda produced in industrial chlorine
(chlor-alkali) plants. The use of mercury cells to produce caustic
soda can contaminate caustic soda, and ultimately HFCS, with mercury.

“The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack
food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda
contaminated with mercury,” said Dr. Wallinga. “The good news is that
mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good
push to only use those ingredients.”

While most chlorine plants around the world have switched to newer,
cleaner technologies, many still rely on the use of mercury cells. In
2005, 90 percent of chlorine production was mercury-free, but just 40
percent of European production was mercury-free. Four U.S. chlor-
alkali plants still rely on mercury cell technology. In 2007, then-
Senator Barack Obama introduced legislation to force the remaining
chlor-alkali plants to phase out mercury cell technology by 2012.

The Environmental Health article by Dufault et al. can be found at: www.ehjournal. net
..

“Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” by David
Wallinga, M.D., Janelle Sorensen, Pooja Mottl and Brian Yablon, M.D.,
can be found at: www.iatp.org.

IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and
practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. www.iatp.org
..

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday's Window Into My World



Jan. 20th my one and only "baby" girl turned 12. I can't believe this is the last year of her being a kid, next year she will be a TEENAGER!!!!!!! Over the weekend we had a little party for her, here are some pics

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Tackle it Tuesday






Tackle It Tuesday Meme

When we bought our home 2 years ago...everything in this house was an improvment over our last house...except the bathroom. Don't get me wrong the bathroom is fine, but it could be better, and what we had WAS better. It's been hard to get use to. Our last bathroom was large, had a big vanity,w/ 2 doors and 3 big drawers, and a full size closet. This bathroom has a big vanity w/ 4 doors, but NO drawers, and NO closet. It's a good size, w/ double sinks...but having no drawers is a problem, and no closet...also a problem. About 6 months ago I finally organized the bathroom. I bought bins for each person to store everything they use in the morning, and I bought slide out drawers...and life was great again! BUTTTT...in my efforts to allow things not to be so perfect, and to let go and let others help...Tierra has been cleaning the bathroom as her daily chore...which means, instead of things going nicely where they belong everything has been getting thrown under the sinks...so when someone gets ready in the morning it's chaos...in turn, my bathroom, every morning looks like a tornado ripped threw it....so this weeks tackle was the bathroom!!!!

I reorganized it again. Everyones stuff is back in their own storage bin, so when Tierra gets ready in the morning, all she has to do is pull out her bin...and all her stuff is in it...then put it back away! AHHHHHHH I LOVE organization! Let's hope it lasts!!!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Please Read my blogging friends

I noticed a few days ago, my pretty background wasn't working anymore...so for the time being I'm just using a blogger background (until I'm suicide sitting at work and have 8 hours to browse for a background)...but anyway, I guess in switching, for some reason I lost my list of all the blogs I read...guess this is why you should follow people and not just save them in your blog list, I dunno??? So now the quest begins to find all my old blogging friends::::::sigh:::::::: so if you read here, pop me a quick comment so I can find you and re add you again

Menu Plan Monday


Menu Plan Monday

I'm just not in the mood for cooking this week...so it's simple foods, and foods Rob can make for the kids while I'm at work... this week

Monday ~ Chicken Tenders
Tuesday ~ Sloppy Joes
Wednesday ~ Tacos
Thursday ~ Meatloaf
Friday ~ Chile

Sunday, January 25, 2009

I don't have it in me...to raise a special needs kid

I can remember reading all these poems about how strong, parents of special needs children are...how they are hand picked by God because of what great parents they are and because He knows only THEY have what it takes to raise these children...

And here I sit, not having what it takes, not having the strength...I am spent... I am exhausted. I don't want to do it anymore. I'm tired. I'm done. I want a normal life. I want to drive a car that doesn't have over 150,000 miles on it...but I can't because all my money will always go for medical bills. I want one holiday, one get together, one party, with out a melt down. I want my daughter to be able to have her friends over without her brother screaming outside her door the whole time... I want my kids to come home from school and tell me how wonderful their day was, and not have my heart broken every time because once again my child is crushed because he didn't get chosen.

I use to be so strong, I use to be one of those moms that could "do it all" now I don't have the energy to even get in the shower some days. I watched a show on survivors the other day, and what kind of people would live in a disaster, and I saw someone that I USE to be...but that person is gone, and it saddens me...I barely have enough energy to live anymore...much less carry the weight of an entire family on my shoulders too. Part of me wants to call it quits and put him in a home...although I would never do it, sometimes when I'm so exhausted I'm afraid I don't even have enough energy to love him. These are all the horrible things that we don't say out loud, but I've got to get out, and tomorrow I may feel better and may delete this whole thing...but right now I just need to ramble...I'm tired, I don't want to do this anymore. I want a normal life with normal children, I know life isn't easy but it can't be this hard, this is unbearable and inhuman for a mother to live like this.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

FDA pulls DMSA and hope from children with autism and ADHD

I'm upset, sad, and angry to hear this, we aren't chelating yet, but being that this is the area of biomed that has the most postitive results...I was looking forward to this in our future...that this could be what helps Isaiah go from better to good, and dare I hope recovered...I am devistated to hear that the FDA is killing that hope.

January 19, 2009

FDA pulls DMSA and hope from children with autism and ADHD

By Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu

Random acts of violence are usually considered methods of the weak, but a long history of FDA political violence directed against public health safety and our freedom to obtain dietary supplements reveals something more calculated and oppressive. The results of FDA actions are obvious: Our right to choose safe health care alternatives and abstain from questionable medical practices is increasingly met with fierce opposition. The consequences are equally obvious as we helplessly witness a relative epidemic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ravaging our children.

Destitute of any original purpose, the FDA is deeply immersed in its filth of corruption catering to the special interests of the Pharmaceutical Cartel and the AMA. It is specifically called to intimidate, oppress, and eliminate any significant public awareness of and access to specialized dietary supplements, nutritional health information, qualified independent scientific studies, and alternative therapies that could undermine pharmaceutical profits and public confidence in conventional medical treatments. If you think this is an exaggeration consider then even many of the FDA's own scientists are in disgust over their corrupt managers who "coerce FDA experts to modify their scientific views, conclusions, and recommendations in violation of law."

FDA Backhanded "Legal" Action

Operating true to its agenda, our health freedom is under another "legal" attack. Now it's to dismantle the threat of the many health-promoting benefits provided by various chelating therapies. The latest on the FDA hit list is a dietary supplement known as DMSA. The FDA initiated action with a letter of warning to Enrico Liva, the president of Vital Nutrients, directing him to stop selling DMSA or suffer legal consequences. You can read this letter in its entirety on the FDA website. For some interesting insight into FDA pressure tactics you can read FDA Running Extortion Racket.

What is particularly disturbing is how the FDA abruptly retracted the long-standing dietary supplement status of DMSA. Their new position is DMSA is a drug but not a dietary supplement, even though it has been sold as a dietary supplement for at least 14 years since the passing of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994. It is true DMSA is also considered a drug, which was approved for protection under the Orphan Drug Act in January 1991. Under the FDA's curious sudden shift of position, Vital Nutrients was no longer permitted to "legally" sell DMSA or provide factually correct information about intended uses on their website since it would apply to"conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners." The FDA also considered Vital Nutrients' website to be in violation of numerous other product descriptions indicating their usefulness for disease treatment and prevention.

Unfortunately, Vital Nutrients may have provided the window of opportunity needed for the FDA to subtly snatch DMSA off the shelf, which was probably the intended target from the onset. Those among the numerous "drug-like" supplements such as Co Q10 and glucosamine sulfate, meaning their indications for use were described as treating and preventing various medical conditions, had only their health claims removed. DMSA, however, was pulled altogether.

What Is DMSA?

DMSA (meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid or succimer) is one of a group of sulfur-containing chelating compounds known as dithiols. Other related dithiols are DMPS (sodium salt of 2,3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonic acid) and BAL (British Anti-Lewisite or dimercaprol). Since the 1950's DMSA has been an effective treatment for lead and mercury poisoning, and was approved in 1991 for pediatric lead poisoning. Of the three dithiols mentioned DMSA has many advantages without the drawbacks of toxicity and redistribution of toxic elements to other organs and tissues.

One of the main advantages of DMSA is its large therapeutic window. This means there is a wide margin between the amount necessary to produce the intended result and the level that could potentially overload the patient. This makes DMSA exceptionally safe under the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner. To this day I am not aware of any adverse event report noting any deaths associated with the use DMSA. DMSA is then even far safer than acetaminophen (Tylenol), which is responsible for 500 deaths per year and pharmacological atrocities such as Vioxx that is believed to have claimed the lives of an estimated 89,000 to 140,000 US citizens.

Another great advantage of DMSA is its specificity for heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, gold, platinum, thallium, barium and strontium. Although DMSA has the ability to chelate (bind to) half of the elements on the Periodic Table, it is this specificity for heavy metals where it truly shines. I know of no other chelating agent that works so effectively for supporting patients with heavy metal induced health disorders than DMSA.

What's more, DMSA is more effective at supporting neurological disorders. Unlike DMPS and BAL, DMSA has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Studies on mice have demonstrated this special application. Although some references will claim it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier in humans, consider the fact that the FDA approved DMSA for removing lead from the brains of children. Lead has a very high affinity for brain tissue, inhibiting enzymes needed for neurotransmitters resulting in hyperactivity and epilepsy, similar in effect to other heavy metals, such as mercury. Other associated brain and psychological conditions induced by lead toxicity include abnormal brain function, anxiety, poor concentration, mental depression, hallucinations hyperkinesis, mental retardation, psychotic behavior, and schizophrenia to mention a few.

What Prompted Sudden FDA Action?

Why is the FDA suddenly withdrawing availability of this dietary supplement from the public and non-medical health care practitioners? Why now after at least 14 years? Had some mistaken identity issue eluded them all this time? Is DMSA now a danger to the public? To shed some light on what may be the real reasons behind this abrupt status change requires some courage to look beyond the FDA legal spin.

One of the most significant, controversial, and emotionally charged health issues at the forefront of public and media attention concerns the epidemic rise of ASD and ADHD in our children. Yes, I've already heard. There really isn't an epidemic ASD and ADHD; it's just due to better diagnoses. Well, whether it is due to an epidemic of "better" medical diagnoses or an epidemic of grossly excessive vaccination schedules, the fact remains that the families of the one out of every 150 children who have some form ASD have child care, emotional, psychological, and financial burdens unrelated to a "new and improved" medical diagnosis.

Parents enraged by FDA dismissal of what can only be categorized as vaccine-induced onset disorders are now boldly stepping forward publicly. They share similar experiences and growing concern over vaccine safety and the undeniable link to vaccine-induced onset of symptoms occurring within hours to days, and even several weeks, after vaccinating. Since nationally recognized celebrity Jenny McCarthy publicly acknowledged her experience with their ASD child with decisive effect, a greater portion of the uninformed public is now beginning to put the pieces together for themselves. You may want to visit McCarthy's very informative website called Generation Rescue. It could help empower you to begin thinking for yourself about what is really transpiring.

All of this is not good news for the FDA, the Pharmaceutical Cartel and the AMA. In spite of public pressure, they have all but dismissed any correlation between ASD and ADHD relative to being vaccine-induced. Instead, every effort is made to intimidate or silence those who have observed similar onsets of symptoms. The CDC is especially vigilant (never speak the "V" word and autism in the same sentence) with their presence noted on programs such as Oprah to make sure the public is steered clear of any "misunderstandings" and "anecdotal" evidence from the numerous medically unqualified and unscientific sources: the parents of these children.

What's the DMSA connection? The connection is to a mercury-containing constituent called thimerosal still used in a number of vaccines as a preservative. Thimerosal has been hot in the limelight as one of the major triggers for the onset of ASD, ADHD, SMA and other vaccine-induced behavioral and autoimmune disorders. As with lead, DMSA has a very high affinity for mercury, which can play an important role for its removal and control over these induced health disorders.

So the familiar pattern of FDA corruption continues with another "random" act of violence. Now they are hastily working under legal pretense to completely pull DMSA accessibility from the public and non-medical health care practitioners. The strategy appears obvious: to prevent parents from gathering overwhelming "anecdotal" evidence that would correctly and consistently implicate mercury in vaccines as a potential health disaster. Dumbing-down public awareness is essential for the proliferation of unnecessary and potentially harmful vaccines such as Hepatitis B, a thimerosal-containing vaccine now routinely administered to infants (VAERS Analysis). An uninformed public is the key to successfully relinquishing parental control over their children's health care.

Keep in mind: even though thimerosal can often act as a trigger to induce these types of disorders, it is only one of many toxic substances capable of inducing the same effects. I have occasionally seen children with neurological/behavioral disorders that never received a vaccine. However, most often there will be toxic metal and/or chemical involvement relating to some type of exposure occurring prior to the development of symptoms. To the FDA's advantage, this demonstrates the ambiguity behind the cause of disorders such as ASD and ADHD. Thus, it enables FDA officials to easily weasel out from underneath incriminating scientific evidence supporting the serious risks vaccines impose and then confuse parents with their ingenious waffling of the facts.

If we are to have any hope of saving the physical minds of our children, we need to begin saving what is left of the thinking minds of the parents. It would benefit many parents and their families to become informed about vaccine safety and aware of the corruption controlling their health care choices. Educate yourselves to important beneficial alternatives. When properly administered by an experienced licensed health care practitioner, DMSA is certainly at the top of the list of those beneficial alternatives.

© Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tackle it tuesday

The only thing I"m trying to tackle today is strep...Yes, it's my turn. I'm so miserable. I came down w/ it on Saturday...and have pretty much been sleeping since. I am just up long enough to send the kids off to school, get dinner going in the crock pot, then it's back to bed until work. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who has been keeping up w/ the house for me, he rocks!

Also today is Tierra's 12th birthday. I have to work tonight, so I celebrated w/ her this morning...got up early made her my famous french toast and bacon (per her request) and gave her her gift from me, a happy bunny sweat shirt, some jewelry and make-up. Rob had all her stuff laid out for her this morning, her towel for her shower, her coat back pack etc...he'll give her his gift to her tonight (a memory card for her phone so that she can download songs and videos and stuff like that)since I'm working tonight and we won't both see her at the same time we had to do it like that.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ Chicken Salad Sandwhiches and cottage cheese and pinapple
Tuesday ~ Is Tierra's birthday she wants breakfast for dinner, her mama's famous extra thick french toast....bacon and eggs
Wed ~ Crock Pot Veg Beef Stew
Thur ~ Beenie Weenies & French Fries
Fri ~ Apricot Glazed Chicken and white rice











Casein Free Cottage Cheese

Mori-Nu Firm Silken Tofu - 1 Box

Mori-Nu Extra-Firm Silken Tofu - 1 Box

Better Than Sour Cream Dairy-Free Sour Cream Substitute - 1 TBSP

Dairy-Free Margarine - 1 TBSP - Melted

Lemon Juice - 2 tsp

Garlic Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Milk Sub - 1 tsp



Open the box of the firm silken tofu and drain the liquid off. Place the block into a large mixing bowl and cut off one third of the block. Cube the third you have removed and place the cubes in a food processor.

Add to the food processor containing the tofu cubes: 1 TBSP of dairy-free sour cream substitute, 1 TBSP of dairy-free melted margarine, and 2 tsp of lemon juice.

Pulse the food processor until the cubes are no longer intact.

Open the lid and scrape down the sides. Re-seal the lid and pulse until smooth.

Remove the lid and check the consistency. It should be creamy and about the consistency of mayonnaise. If it is too thick, add milk sub, 1 teaspoonful at a time, pulsing food processor in between each addition, until desired consistency is reached. If it becomes to thin at any point, you can add a little of your remaining block of firm tofu, but try to avoid using very much of it as you will be needing it for the other portion of the recipe. Once desired consistency has been reached, set aside.

Open box of extra-firm silken tofu and drain off the liquid. Place the block in the same mixing bowl with the remaining 2/3 block of firm silken tofu. Cut both blocks into cubes and then gently mash with a fork to form ‘cheese curds’. The purpose of the two different firmnesses of silken tofu? The extra-firm silken tofu more closely approximates the texture of the cottage cheese curds. The firm silken tofu is easier to cream to make the creamy base for the curds. Combining the two different firmnesses of the tofu in the recipe has yielded the best results for our family.

Gently turn the curds over in the bowl, checking for un-mashed blocks until all the tofu blocks have been broken into curd-size chunks.

Scrape reserved creamed tofu from food processor or food mill into mixing bowl. Add 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.

Gently mix until all ingredients are uniformly incorporated. Adjust salt and garlic powder to taste. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator… or serve up immediately to your cottage-cheese deprived kiddos!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Food Review Friday



Lets talk about PIZZA!!!!!! What kid doesn't love PIZZA???? So when I found these personal sized pizza crusts, I was quite excited! Isaiah LOVES them...we throw a little home made pizza sauce on them, and some pinnaple chuncks and throw it in the microwave, and he has himself a meal!

Pros-Make's a quick yummy easy meal, love the personal pizza size
Cons-maybe a little more crumbly in texture than regular pizza crust, but not bad at all

Rating 4... 1/2 stars!!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I made it home safe and sound

The ride home wasn't near as terrifying as the ride to work! Was actually able to do 30 mph lol. There were 2 fatalities in yesturday's blizzard, and tons of accidents.

On a side note...Had to take Isaiah to the Dr. today, his little botty was red, and I thought he had a yeast infection...but it turns out he has strep...poor kid is a mess!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

wednesday whine

OMG so today has been a HORRIBLE freaking day!!!!!!!!!! FIRST I get in a fight w/ one of my best friends THEN...I decide I'm not going out in this weather so I call off, can't get my supervisor on the phone (not unusual) so I leave a message like always saying I can't come in...on account of the weather. So 3:30 comes and supervisor calls me asking me where I'm at, I said I called off...she's like well no one knew so you need to come in or it's a no call no show...WTF??????? So I call up bawling to talk to my supervisor as I'm TRYING to drive...honestly I was so upset, I THINK I called the wrong supervisor...which the one I think I called is a bitch and this one was really nice so I don't know...I was like I CALLED OFF WHY AM I GETTING NO CALL NO SHOW, I"M TRYING TO COME IN BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN MAKE IT WHICH IS WHY I CALLED OFF!!!!!!! I'm hysterical, she puts me on hold to find out what the hell is going on!!! Gets back on says no it would just be a call off but please try and get here they need you...so I'm bawling and driving and sliding all over the damn place and fishtailing and 180ing it, you name it. I almost turned back around sooooo many times..., one point I called back to tell her I was making it in, and the car coming twords me lost control and there was almost a 3 car accident (including me) So I'm SCREAMING, and freaking. I don't drive in this shit, I save my call off's for this VERY reason!!! I can't believe I finally made it in...but I'm here AND THEN I GET HERE AND THERE'S 2 OTHER CNA''S ON THE FREAKING FLOOR, yeah it was nice to have me but htey didn't NEED me, the new staffing grids go in to effect in a couple days and they won't ever even call for 3 CNA's so anyway, I was freaking PISSEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD...I'm still PISSED!!!!!! Just pray it's a better drive home than it was coming in, although the ambulance drivers are saying it's bad UGH!!!!!

Wednesday's Window Into My World








This weekend we took the kids sledding, it was so much fun! Cold but fun!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tackle it tuesday

Tackle It Tuesday Meme

I hate to clean...I love a clean house but I hate the cleaning. Routine cleaning, the vacuuming, the dusting, the picking up of everything all the time, I hate it because it doesn't stay done, and it seems almost pointless, and I think well what the heck did I just do it for when my family can undo it faster than I can do it??? I do it because it has to get done, I can't have a dirty house and I can't afford a maid therefore I must clean it. I hate every minute of it knowing I'm wasting my time doing something that won't stay done.

However, organizing and the spring cleaning type of cleaning I love...I think because when you get done it stays done at least for a little while anyway. It's not undone by the end of the day at least! It also makes life better! When I organize a closet my life is better for it. Things are organized and neat, it feels good, it looks good and makes getting dressed easier, the mornings go by faster... life is easier...the same can not be said for dusting the bookshelf!

So Tackle it Tuesday is going to be so much fun for me!!! I have an excuse to skip cleaning the toilets today, and do some cleaning I love and that will make a difference in my life for more than a day!!!

Today's tackle wasn't the most exciting or original tackle...but it was still a tackle and I enjoyed every minute of it!!! What did I tackle??? My fridge! LOL...It's been needing a good tackle since Thanksgiving really, I just haven't had the time. When I was a stay at home mom I wouldn't put away the new groceries unless I had cleaned out the fridge first...now that I work I grocery shop at night after I get off work, and don't have the energy to tackle cleaning the fridge at 1:30in the morning! So tackling the fridge, doesn't get done nearly as often as it should anymore. But I tackled it today, and I'm very happy to have it done and enjoyed every minute of it!


Here's Before of the fridge and freezer:

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Yikes that's embarrassing and humbling to share lol

And now the after of the fridge and freezer


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Monday, January 12, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


Monday- Chicken tenders with peas
Tuesday-Chicken noodle soup (home made in the crock pot)
Wed-BBQ Chicken breasts
Thur- Pot Roast (Cooked in the crock pot)
Friday-Crock Pot BBQ Ribs

I didn't buy any side dishes at the store this week, (I had to use some of our grocery $ to buy Isaiah a new pair of gym shoes)...so I will be winging it w/ pantry and freezer items this week


Recipe for Chicken Tenders

This was REALLY good, and is now a staple dinner that will repeat at least every month in our house

It was really easy and quick to prepare which is what is required in my busy house!!!

I thawed some chicken tenders (about 11 is good for my family)
I dipped them in a bowl of milk
Then dipped them in a bowl of scrambled raw eggs
Then dipped them in a bowl of Bobs Red Mill GF All purpose flour

Then fried them in olive oil until crispy and golden (normally I'd use corn oil since it's cheaper but I was all out)

At first my plan was to only make one batch GF, and the other w/ reg flour, but I made a test one, and realized it was so good there was no reason for the rest of us not to have GF chicken tenders too. It was a huge hit w/ everyone!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Food Review Friday


The brand Road's End makes lots of GF/CF cheese products, to date I've tried 2. One is a boxed mac and cheese, and the other is just the cheese (use your own noodles). To put it simply these products are NOT GOOD! I was so excited to try it, as Mac and Cheese use to be a staple lunchtime food in our house...I won't make anything for Tierra and Xander, if I don't have a GF/CF sub for Isaiah...so I was REALLY hoping that this would be it. Everything I make for Isaiah I try myself, and this was inedible to me! Besides the fact that it comes out GREEN, it doesn't even remotely taste like mac and cheese! I added some butter flavor crisco and extra milk sub to try and salvage this. I couldn't eat it, but served it anyway in hopes he might like it, as he is less picky than I am. He ate about 4 bites, and that was it...he didn't care for it either. I recommend you don't waste your $4.00 on this box of Mac and Cheese unless you have the most unpicky kid in the world!

I give it one star...the noodles themself are fine, but the cheese sub is disgusting, never mind the fact that it doesn't taste like mac and cheese, it is just plain GROSS

Recap:

Pros, quick and easy to fix
Cons, Tastes bad

Rating 1 star

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Wednesday's Window Into My World

a window to the world Pictures, Images and Photos

I don't have a whole lot of hobbies anymore... I use to write stories, children's books and novels. I use to write poetry, I use to draw, and I use to scrapbook. Unfortunately I don't have time for hobbies that require me to sit down for more than an hour at a time...the only hobbies I can have are the ones I can stop and start on a dime. So the past few years the only hobby I've been able to enjoy is decorating my home. I LOVE to decorate my home! I love watching home and garden shows for inspirations, and searching magazines, sales papers and the Internet.

It started w/ my very first house, we bought it about 8 years ago, it was a small little fixer upper. I designed that house from top to bottom. I turned an ugly run down house into a beautiful home. As soon as it was done, we sold it lol. I think it runs in the family. My grandparents did the very same thing my whole life. They would buy a home, and make drastic changes to the house turning into this beautiful elaborate home and when they ran out of projects they'd sell it and move on to the next!

I'm not sure if I'm taking after them or not, but I may be! At any rate I love decorating my home. I have everything decided in my head and then the search is on to find everything. This can be a very difficult task as there is nothing to say these items I have dreamed up in my head have actually been made! But I won't settle for anything else...but when I DO find that item I've been searching for it's quite exciting! I'm sure it's the same as any hobby, no matter if you're collecting stamps, or coins, or pieces of a home!

So the next little piece I'm looking to collect is a window seat, or settee, or bench whatever you'd like to call it. I need a little more seating in my living room. Right now we have a sofa, and a chair w/ an ottoman...but we need something over by our bay window. I don't want to block the window with a love seat, not to mention the room is too small for a full sized love seat w/ the furniture pieces we have in there. So a backless upholstered bench seams like an ideal piece of furniture to put in front of the window. I've found several very nice benches but they've all had dark wood legs and I think light wood compliment my other pieces much better.

So that's a little peak into my world, and my hobby and what I'm on the search for right now!

Here's SORTA like what I want, but not the one I want

Photobucket

Tackle it tuesday

So, I'm not keeping up w/ my blogging resolutions so well yet lol...I've been REALLY tired this week, not just a little tired, but fall on your face sleep threw an earthquake tired. So I didn't tackle anything except a nap yesterday...I woke up hoping there would be a call from my boss telling me not to come in lol...no such luck, I worked and worked a hard floor too!!! ::::::::sigh:::::::: Hopefully next week!
Off to get ready for work, I don't know why I'm dragging so bad, I don't feel sick but I feel so run down it's unbelievable

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Monday~ Chicken and noodle soup in the crock pot (which I never got to last week) and corn muffins
Tuesday~ Shrimp scampi & Fettuccine Alfredo
Wednesday~ Meat Loaf, w/ mac and cheese
Thursday~Spaghetti & Salad
Friday~Chicken nuggets and french fries



Fettuccine "Alfredo"

1/2 C corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1 1/2 C soy or rice milk
2 T tahini (optional)
1 T onion granules
1 t salt
1 15 1 2-oz can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained well
1 lb fettuccine
1 stalk broccoli
cracked black pepper
If using frozen corn, thaw and drain it well. Place corn, milk, tahini, and seasonings in a blender and process until completely smooth. (This may take several minutes to completely pulverize the corn.) Pour the blended mixture into a medium saucepan and stir in the beans. Warm over medium-low until the beans are heated through, stirring often.

While sauce is heating, cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain well and return to pot. Add the hot sauce and toss until noodles are evenly coated. Serve immediately, topping portions with a generous amount of cracked pepper


GF/CF Chicken Nuggets


Family size pkg. boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut in about 1" cubes)

bowl # 1 1 cup corn flour (rice/tapioca mix works too)
1 tsp each - salt & garlic powder
1/2 tsp each - pepper & chili powder
(you can play around with the seasonings)

bowl # 2 2 eggs beaten with a little water

bowl # 3 2 cups gf cornflakes buzzed in the food processor

coat the chicken in bowl 1 then 2 then 3. place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 min or until cooked through and crispy. Once cooled you can divide into baggies and freeze for future quick lunches.


Cornmeal Muffins

3/4 c cornmeal
1 1/4 c cf milk sub (I use Dari-free)

combine in a bowl and set aside to absorb the moisture.

1 cup all GF/CF purpose flour(this is what I sub for all purpose flour)
1/3 c sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 c oil (I use canola)

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Kids are funny!!!

Xander was digging threw his closet and came across an old pair of overalls in the very back of the closet, and decided he had to wear these. I don't think he's worn overalls ever in his life...I use to dress Isaiah in them, but just never did w/ Xander, at any rate he's found them and is wearing them now, and thinks they are great. What's so great about them, well all the pockets of course, he can't believe all the pockets. It has LOTS of pockets he tells me, then proceeds to name the pockets... there's the chest pocket, the peepee pockets, and the booty pockets...He's so funny!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Food Review Friday (GF/CF)


Glitter Words
[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]


Since we went GF/CF there are a few foods Isaiah has really missed. Donuts are way up on that list! Now I have found several recipes for to make these from scratch, which is great...but I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands. Between my full time job, running the kids between school and sports, and taking care of the house...I hardly have time to make one home made meal a day, much less to try and throw in all the extras. This week, when I took Isaiah to his DAN! appt, I stopped by a health food store not far from the office. This store was great, and has a much larger selection of GF/CF foods than the health food store in my town. One thing I found was DONUTS!!! Kinnikinnick's ready made donuts!!!! YAY!!! Isaiah and I were both very excited. I only bought 2 boxes because I wasn't sure if they'd be good. One was maple glazed and the other was cinnamon sugar. These were in the frozen section. We took it out and warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds. It was REALLY good! My biggest complaint w/ GF/CF bread products are that they are so crumbly textured and often fall apart as you're handling them. But these donuts are REALLY good and kept their shape ! Next time I go back I plan to buy them out of all their donuts lol. So Kinnikinnicks donuts get rave reviews from me, and my GF/CF son!!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Rob's New Years Resolution

I really like what Rob came up for his New Years resolution and we are mandating the children to do it too...Rob's resolution is to do one thing a day for everyone in the family...it can be something small, like laying out the kids shoes for me the night before...or something big, like letting me sleep in on his day off. Then writing it down and sharing it at the end of the week. We are making the kids do this too, they have to tell us what they did for someone, and we'll write it down for them, it can be anything from playing a game the other wants to play or doing the other persons chores, anything... the point is to get them thinking about the other person and doing something nice for them. I guess like pay it forward. Then at the end of the week, we'll go threw and read what everyone did for each other. They are not too thrilled w/ the idea, but hopefully once we start doing it, they'll get into it. I think that's such a great idea, and will be such a positive experience for our family.

Happy New Year!!!!!




I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year!!! Ours was pretty good...although the past weekend Isaiah got a little off his diet, and missed a couple of pills here and there...and we are paying for it now, he's so crazy and wild. He kept hurting me on accident stepping on me or running into me or whatever...he kept saying sorry, I started getting frustrated and said "I KNOW YOU"RE SORRY YOU KEEP SAYING YOU"RE SORRY BUT I WANT YOU TO STOP", and that point he collapsed on the couch and said "I HATE MYSELF" which made me feel horrible. I realize he does not like when he acts like that anymore than we do, and what a horrible feeling to be trapped inside a body you can't control! I hope someday that's a thing of the past for him. But other than that, we had a nice New Year, we played WII for hours. At midnight, we put on our funny hats,toasted w/ bubbling white grape juice, blew our horns, and popped poppers and threw streamers all over the house, what a fun little mess we made!!!