Why we will never go camping again...

At least until the children are 10.  We packed up, prepared with warm sleeping bags, air mattress and pad, food, and we even bought a new hatchet.  Everything we would need for a mountain sleep over.  Our last experience taking the kids camping was 2 years ago when Liam was still a baby and it ended up with me sleeping in the car with Liam in his car seat.  We drove up the canyon, and because we are paying off debt, we went to the free campsites that aren't maintained by the Parks department, which also means no bathrooms.  James packed toilet paper and a shovel so we were prepared even for that. (Which Ava-Kate successfully managed like a pro)  We arrived at the campsite around two o'clock and set up camp.  After the tent was up we went on a family hike.  Which included Ava-Kate constantly worrying about bugs and me constantly worrying that I was going to step in a patch of poison ivy or poison oak.  After the hike we went back to the campsite where there was no shade and a bright hot summer sun.  So while I got dinner started, James took the hatchet and chopped down some branches large enough to hold up the tent rain tarp up to create some shade for us.  What a handy fix-it husband I have.  Dinner turned out delicious.  We cooked salmon in the dutch oven and baked sweet potatoes right on the coals.  However it took about an hour longer than expected and when the bag of charcoal says, "no lighter fluid required", bring lighter fluid.  After some playing in the dirt and s'mores, we tried to put the kids to bed which ended up them playing in the tent for another hour and a half until James and I came in to go to bed as well.  I thought the queen size air mattress would be large enough to fit James, Ava-Kate, and Liam, and I would sleep on the extra bed roll we brought.  But....that was not the case. So the children took the mattress and James and I shared the bed roll which was tight quarters and we each really only slept half on the roll and half on the ground.  Our sleeping bags were toasty and so no pajamas were required, just some underwear.  Well, we all fell asleep for a few hours and then Liam started periodically falling off the air mattress and crying. Then at around 1:45 am, he decided he had had enough.  No more sleeping bag, no more mattress, and no more sleeping.  However to do no sleeping bag surely meant death in my mind due to the plummeting temperatures of Utah's mountain nights. In a frantic effort to not disturb the campers around us I tried to sleep with Liam, but  Liam wanted to be held, not cuddled laying down- held.  In the middle of the tent, in my underwear, I desperately tried to carry and rock my baby back to sleep. By this time Ava-Kate and James were awake as well and Ava-Kate started crying that her face was cold, but refused to put it in the sleeping bag.  Liam was still whining and James hadn't slept all night.  After about an hour James said, "I think we should pack up and go home." To which I replied, "Best idea ever!" So at 2:30 am we threw everything in the car, set the world record for taking down a tent, and drove back to the valley.  3:00 am James said, "I'm hungry".  I said, "I'm starving." And we ate the best Del Taco I've ever had in my life. Tucked the kids into bed and slept until 10:00 Father's Day morning.  New plan. Day trips to hike, cook dinner, and s'more it up in the canyon, then drive home and sleep in our own beds. Never sleeping over in the woods again. And I like camping.

2014: Small and Simple Things

Rather than have a list of New Year Resolutions with a million things I want to work on to change about my life, the last few years I've had themes I would like to work on.  Past themes have been 2012: Love Others, 2013: Trust in the Lord.  This year, 2014: Small and Simple Things.  This morning I had a bit of a break down because I was feeling defeated by all of the things I wanted to do better in my life that seemed to be impossible to obtain.  As I was discussing (a.k.a bawling and yelling in frustration) with James about my qualms with life, he said one thing that I quickly disregarded, but after pondering a bit, really resonated with me.  He said, "Tara, I think we just bit off more than we could chew and so it's overwhelming.  We need to set smaller goals."  Sounds basic doesn't it? I'm pretty sure that's 101 in goal setting, but the way my mind works,  if I don't see immediate, life-changing, instant results than I won't do anything.  For example, if it's not possible for my entire house to be organized and perfectly clean in one day, I won't even take out the trash.  Ok, that's an exaggeration, but seriously that's basically how I think.  Therefore my goal is to focus on small and simple things. Starting with the 1 minute rule. I wish I could take credit for it, but I read it in a book once upon a time, though the book evades my memory at this moment.

ONE MINUTE RULE:

If something can be done in one minute or less- do it!

Today it was taking out the trash :) so even though my bathroom looked like this: 

My trash can looks like this:

(later I picked up the bathroom, I mean really? It only took maybe 5 minutes, but this morning it seemed overwhelming)

Happy New Year everybody. 

How goes your New Year resolutions?

A little cold weather won't get us down!

Rather than accept defeat, I'm trying to look for solutions to possible problems. One being the cold weather settling in and making a home here. Last week, however, instead of hiding inside and feeling sorry that cabin fever has begun, we bundled up and went for a walk to find leaves for a turkey art project. Even a half an hour of outside time can do wonders to uplift my spirit. I am grateful for gloves and my beautiful children- oh, and turkey art projects. 

Date Night

at the top

At the base

 We enjoyed a small break from all these April showers and a glimmer of sunshine poked through the clouds for a brief moment, and Mr. and I took full advantage.  We also had a small break from Little Miss and Little Mr. at the same time.  For our date night, we decided to go on a hike.  I almost talked myself out of it a million times, thinking, it’ll take too long, it’ll be too cold, it’ll get dark too soon, etc.  I’m quite sure I had more excuses not to go, but the excuses to go (it’s free) won out.  I’m so glad they did, because we enjoyed the experience tremendously.  The trail is classified as a 1.75 mi easy/intermediate hike.  So I thought, ok, I can run 3 miles while pushing a double jogging stroller, how difficult can it be….  Wow! I really should work out more, especially on the stair master!  I struggled a lot more than I thought I would, but I also did a lot better than I thought I would after we started.  The view at the top was magnificent and beautiful.  The peace of nature and looking down on the hustle and bustle of a college town on a Friday night helped put life into perspective for us.  I am so grateful for the health that I am blessed with.  I know what lying in a bed, not being able to even sit in a chair feels like, though I know that is nothing to what some have gone through health-wise.  Anyway, I saw how far I’ve come, but also how far I still have to go.  I’ve lost weight by changing my food habits, now I have to start an exercise regimen.  On the hike someone had motivational quotes posted at each turn and one of them said, “Be proud, but never satisfied”, perfectly summing up my experience this weekend.

*p.s. all the excuses I had NOT to go, were all false! We didn't run into any of those "potential" problems.

Time out! We need a substitution.

In honor of the March Madness tournament winding down I thought I would make a cheesy reference to basketball in this post.  I don't know that many people can play an entire game of basketball.  Therefore they allow substitutions.  Somebody to take their place when their energy is winding down and they need a break.  I know this analogy doesn't fit perfectly, but sometimes when our energy is winding down and we start to notice the weight creeping on, we need to make some food substitutions. Yes, the food may not taste quite the same with the substitution, but a lot of the time it can taste quite close.  My friend and I talk a lot about health, food, and exercising together.  She has had her own "get healthy" journey and she is fabulous.  Anyway, she brought me some chocolate chip cookies that had white beans substituted for shortening.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that ½ cup of cooked dry beans provides up to 13 grams fiber and up to 22 grams protein. You can make fat-free or low-fat baked goods by substituting pureed white beans for all or part of the shortening or oil called for in the recipe. The result with be a lower-calorie baked good with added nutrition.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/264702-how-to-replace-fat-in-recipes-with-white-bean-puree/#ixzz2Q4svdPFN

THEY WERE SO GOOD!  I only had one (being good), but they were soft and delicious.  Mr. and Little Miss had no idea there was anything "sneaky" about them, until I told him what she had done.  She also tried them on both sets of extended family (hers and in-laws) and said they gobbled them up.

Some of my other favorite substitutions include greek yogurt for sour cream.  I love sour cream, but I don't love the nutritional facts very much.  Even the low-fat still has quite a bit of calories when compared to greek yogurt's low far option.  Take a look.

 While nonfat Greek yogurt has just 130 calories per cup, no fat, 9 g carbohydrates, 9 g sugar and 23 g protein, 1 cup of the full-fat type has 300 calories, 23 g fat, 7 g carbohydrates, 7 g sugar and only 15 g protein. A cup of sour cream is still far richer, however, with 445 calories and 45 g of fat but just 5 g protein, 6.5 g carbohydrates and 8 g sugar. Reduced-fat sour cream has a slightly more positive nutritional profile, with 325 calories, 7 g protein, 29 g fat, 10 g carbohydrates and 0.5 g sugar per cup; and a cup of fat-free sour cream has 175 calories, 7 g protein, no fat, 36 g carbohydrates and 1 g sugar. While full-fat sour cream has 120 mg cholesterol per cup, Greek yogurt has none.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/526634-nutritional-values-of-greek-yogurt-vs-sour-cream/#ixzz2Q4uQkD1l.

I've already mentioned my substitution of cauliflower for rice and even a pizza dough. Also, my substitution of squash and zucchini for lasagna noodles, I've replaced spaghetti with spaghetti squash, potato fries with butternut squash, dairy milk with almond milk,bread with lettuce.  The endless possibilities provide fun and creativity to aid in a healthier lifestyle.  What are some of your favorite substitutions? 

How to make your produce last

Yesterday it rained and rained and rained.  Stuck inside all day, Little Miss and I painted up our own little storm.  I painted a portrait of some of my favorite foods.  We have these foods on hand almost any given day of the week.  I thought it represented what I wanted to post about today perfectly.  I've received a few questions and concerns regarding Bountiful Baskets that I would like to address, and they both pretty much have the same answer. 

1. I think my produce would go bad before I could get around to using it.

2. Is the produce from Bountiful Baskets good?

Yes, the produce from Bountiful Baskets is good.  However, sometimes it takes some TLC and reviving what you receive back to life.  Here are tips for reviving and making your produce last for as long as possible.

• Give all your produce a vinegar bath when you come home.  The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria.  This is especially important on berries. I clean my sink first, then add 1 part white distilled vinegar to 3-10 parts water (I don't really measure it out) allow to soak for at least 2 minutes before rinsing with cold water. *They will NOT taste like vinegar
• For veggies such as lettuce and celery that are looking limp and dead soak, them in water to revive the crunchiness.  Through osmosis, water will travel into the veggies and bring them back to life.
• Store delicate herbs such as parsley and cilantro like flowers.  Put them in water and cover with a plastic bag, then place in the fridge.  Do this with asparagus as well.
• Wrap broccoli and celery in aluminum foil and store in the fridge
• To chill or not to chill? Think about where it's found at the grocery store. Zucchini, chill. Tomatoes, not to chill.
• Keep mushrooms in a paper bag
• Freeze anything you won't get to and save it for later.

sources: vinegar wash found here

 27 tips for making produce last longer found  here  

also some came from Bountiful Baskets Facebook page.

Looking through the eyes of my three year old

Little Miss discovered that she could operate the camera feature on my phone.  She steals my phone at any opportunity and clicks away.  Mostly she shoots pictures of Little Mister, her finger covering up the lens, or her making silly faces. 

 Occasionally though, I’m able to get a little glimpse of life as she sees it.  Here are a few of her better pictures.

Her Legos

The Grocery Cart

Mr. and me cleaning out the fridge and putting away our 

Bountiful Baskets bounty.

I’m so happy to see that she sees us doing things to make our lives healthier.  We participate in the Bountiful Baskets food co-op every week.  I love the Christmas-like surprise every Saturday.  There are so many perks to bountiful baskets.

1.     Financial- usually cheaper than buying produce at the store

2.     Time-aside from volunteering every now and then, you don’t spend time at the grocery store with potential temptations screaming at you.

3.     Meal planning-  I have an easier time thinking of meals to use what I have, rather than thinking of a meal and then buying what I don’t have.  To help with recipes you can like their Facebook page or follow their Pinterest board.

4.     Health- fruits and veggies, you know everything you get fuels your body with nutritionally dense foods.

5.     Fun- I get mystery produce and I have to get creative and try new foods that sometimes appear in my basket, again, thank goodness for the Facebook page, or I wouldn’t have known what to do with kale, purple carrots, gray squash, acorn squash, etc.

So give it a try, even if it’s just for one week. You can find all the information you need on their website www.bountifulbaskets.org but hurry and sign up because they only have a certain amount of spots at each site, and sign up only opens on Mondays and Tuesdays usually.