A new breakfast favorite

We are big breakfast eaters. I mean, my 2 small boys sure eat a lot for breakfast!!   As a result, I'm always looking for new and healthy ideas.  I found a new recipe last week and it was a BIG hit! We've eaten it 3 times already and it just gets better each time!

Here's the link: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/creamy-crockpot-apple-oatmeal.html

It's for Crock-pot Apple Oatmeal.  It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, and then 1.5 hours on high in the crock pot. Easy enough to turn it on in the morning, go work out, take a shower, get dressed, and then it's time for breakfast. (But mind you, with my boys, we also eat eggs and fruit on the side! I told you they were big eaters).

I also have to admit that I have NEVER been an oatmeal fan. Maybe in cookies or some other sweets, but not for breakfast. My hubby is the same way.  Well, this recipe totally changed our thoughts on that!!!  I have never liked any other oatmeal recipe, but this one I do! It really is worth trying!!




Let me know if you try it out!  I followed the recipe with just a few changes--1 1/2 cups oats, 3 cups milk and I peeled the apple.

Another Quiet Book

Cover/ Pick apples

Ball and glove/ Traffic Light

 The other day I posted the pictures of Jacob's quiet book, the one I just recently finished. About a month ago I finished Samuel's. I haven't got around to posting the pictures yet, and so here they are.

By the way, I gave Jacob his book during a church service this past weekend. He loved it! But, he's still a little too young to play w/ it by himself. Therefore, he was quiet during the service, but he did need some attention from us still. It seemed to do the trick though!! :)

Pencil and paper/ Mail box (I think this is his FAVORITE page!)

Fishing/ Noah's ark (with finger puppets)

Closet with clothes/ man

Tic Tac Toe

Dump truck-change tires

Recent Project

Cover

 My recent project has been a few months in the making.  It started back in Dec. before we started traveling. I wanted to make a Quiet book for the boys.

While in the states, I bought the quilted Thomas material for the cover and a little bit of felt.

I needed more felt and had a HARD time finding it here. Then I finally found some in Lima in Feb, along with the other materials that I needed to get started on the books (by this time I had decided that I should make 2 books-1 for each boy).

Shapes with pocket

Crayons and note pad holder

Piggy bank with money/ barn with animal finger puppets

Car and road/ Puzzle

 So, I spent about a month working on Samuel's and he LOVED it! I felt bad that I couldn't get Jacob's done sooner, but I FINISHED IT TODAY!! Yea!! I'm excited and I'm ready to give it to him after his nap! :)

Thomas the train page!

Numbers with pocket

Pretty Flowers

You probably wouldn’t even believe how incredibly cheap flowers are here!!  This morning we all loaded up in the truck to head out to do some errands. On the way, we went by the cemetery, where they have a selection of many kinds of flowers, and all very affordable!  I picked all of these for …..

a whopping $2.50!

Resurrection Tree--day 9

Here’s what our “tree” looks like on day 9.  We’ve had 9 days of opening an egg a day, reading the verse and looking at the object inside. The verses and objects are then hung on the tree.

The boys have looked forward to this every morning, and they are actually learning something too!

Resurrection Eggs

A friend on Facebook posted a website with a great idea on making your own Resurrection Eggs. I thought it was a great idea and went to work on it!  The boys helped me fill the 12 eggs with different items and verses that relate to the story of Jesus.  We started opening one egg a day on Wednesday, and then we hang the items on our "easter branch".

The picture is from our first day.

Here's the website with all the info on how to make your own!

http://blog.wantingwhatyouhave.com/2009/03/make-your-own-resurrection-eggs.html

Chocolate Cake

Living in the Andes Mountains of Peru, you can’t always find the conveniences that are available in the US.  (McDonald’s is hours away!)  Boxed foods and cans, if available, are rather expensive. It’s cheap and easy to find fresh fruits, veggies, and meats.  The only thing is that you have to make most things from scratch!

Good thing that I have always enjoyed cooking. Baking is usually my favorite, but I’ve been trying to eat healthier lately, which means no more baking, right?

Well, I just found a new recipe. I love new recipes, don’t you! It’s always fun to try something new! The picture looked so good, but I have to admit, the ingredients sounded a little different. I’m talking about Grain-free-brownies. Well, it’s actually more like Chocolate cake, and so that is what I’ll call it—Grain free Chocolate Cake. 

Ok, so what are they made out of then?  I don’t think you’ll ever guess!

Black beans!! Yes, that’s right! They look yummy and taste yummy too! And to be honest, most brownie recipes don’t come out very well living at high altitude. We used to live at 13,000 feet above sea level. Now, we live at what feels much lower to us, a mere 10,100 feet above sea level.  I’ve tried MANY brownie recipes, and usually they just boil. They never set. I’ve been so desperate to eat brownies and chocolate that I would just eat the fudgy goo while John just sat by laughing and telling me how gross it was.

 

Well, I tried this new recipe recently and had success!! Grain free Chocolate Cake (gluten-free).  I shared it with several friends and it seemed to be a hit!

Here's the recipe: http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/healthy-grain-free-brownies/

In the picture you'll see that it was a hit with Jacob!

Introduction

So, I decided to start a new blog as an outlet of all of my new and recent interests.  Maybe someone else will actually be interested in all this info as well! :)

I have always loved to read. I en joy scrapbooking and cooking, and I have recently started sewing (using my grandmother’s old sewing machine-thanks Baba!).  Recently, I’ve begun looking into healthy living-eating more healthy and avoiding processed foods. There are many reasons for this—just to be more healthy, it’s easy to find fresh fruits and veggies here in Peru, and because I recently found out I have high cholesterol. As a family, we already ate pretty healthy, and I already work out.  I’m on a quest to eat even healthier to help my cholesterol and to help my family over all.  

This blog will be a compilation of all of my interests—cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, reading, and homeschooling our children (well, I only homeschool 1 right now, but the other one will start next year). 

For now, I’ll just mention a couple of my favorite websites that I frequent often. I’m sure I’ll share more info about them in the future! They both have great recipes and lots of ideas about healthy living!

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

Looking forward to the next chance to share my random thoughts!