Baby Laughs

Baby's have the most infections laugh, I could listen to it for hours. As I listen to my eight month old laugh to tears at her sister bouncing a ball (I know what you are thinking bouncing a ball how hysterical), but I had a thought if you could bottle baby laugh no one could ever be mad!!! Seriously thank god for beautiful babies. Blessing Laur

Farmers Market

We will be back at the Brookwood Farmers Market tomorrow!!! 4-8pm and we are so excited and tired =( But so worth it. I have created a "website", I use that term loosely because it is really just a blog with our info. Check it out http://freshlymilled.blogspot.com/

Blessings Laur

Strawberry honey

So if you are like me you grew up on Aunt Jemima aka liquid sugar, actually.... INGREDIENTS: CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.
I switched us to pure maple syrup at like 4 times the cost (ahhhh) and it turns out that the heating process to make maple syrup actually destroys much of the nutritional value. Ok so now what? Strawberry Honey!!!! Woo Hoo

Place 1 cup frozen organic strawberries in a microwave safe bowl
Pour 1/4 cup raw honey over top (we use Sage honey)
Place in microwave for 1 min and then stir to squish strawberries
Place back in the microwave for 1 more minute and stir, your done.

So yummy use this on pancakes or waffles. We even use this with PB to make PB and Jelly!

Blessings Laur

Farmers Market

We are so excited (a little terrified) to announce that we will be at the Brookwood farmers market. God has given us a wonderful opportunity to sell our breads as a guest vendor. We will be there for the next two Fridays, so come visit!!!!

http://www.brookwoodfarmersmarket.com

2lb Loaf

Woo hoo isn't she a beauty. Yes these are the things you get excited about when you are a stay at home mommy. This is my first 2 lb bread loaf I did by hand!! Super exciting for me and I know you are just dancing around the room right now!!! Blessings Laur

Basics list for bread baking

I love baking real bread and love sharing this love with everyone. I have been asked to put together a basics list of what you need. So below is a list of the basis you will need to make all your breads, rolls, muffins, pizza crust, pancakes, waffles and the list goes on.... If you have no idea what I am talking about feel free to contact me or visit www.breadbeckers.com. Happy baking!!! Blessing Laur

Equipment needed:

Bread Machine (I got mine at walmart or you can check craigslist for a used one)
Grain Mill (I have the wondermill and I got it at breadbeckers)
Bread Beckers Cookbook- has every recipe you could ever need

Ingredients needed:
For basic dough recipe (makes all variations of breads, rolls, and pizza crust) Can also use the following ingredients for bagels, pita bread, english muffins and so on....

BB is Bread Beckers
Wheat (Can use hard red or hard white wheat) I would start with a small bucket of each to see what your family likes (sold at BB)
Flax seed (buy whole seed and grind in a blender) buy at any health food store or at BB
Instant yeast (Most stores carry or they have at BB)
Gluten (BB)
Lecithin (BB)
Honey (BB is the best price I can find because you use a lot of honey) l gallon of wildflower is about $27
Olive oil
Salt (I use sea salt)
Eggs

For muffins/pancakes just grab these extra ingredients...

Baking soda
Baking powder
Buttermilk (can also make at home 1 cup of milk and Tbs of vinegar)
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Then depending on the flavor you want (bananas, walnuts, blueberries, mixed berries, what ever you want)

Let me know if anyone needs anything!!! Once you get started it is super easy trust me =)

Raisins

This is a weird one but I never knew this and I think the average person wouldn't know this either. Did you know you are supposed to store rasins in the refridgerator? Shocking I know =) Let me read you the back of my rasins... "Rasins are best kept in the refridgerator in a sealed container or plastic bag. Stored this way, they can retain their full flavor, color and nutritional value for up to two years." Ok so now I am thinking about all the bad rasins I must have eaten over the years or shall I say nutritionless rasins =) Blessings Laur

I was wrong

Yes I admit it I was wrong and you better mark this date on your calendar because this doesn't happen very much. I am mortified to tell you that Altoids gum does in fact have aspartame in it. AHHHH I am not sure how we missed it but there it is 12th ingredient down. I am sorry to anyone that has purchased it because of my earlier blog and it looks like I am back to the drawing board when it comes to healthy gums. So far the only two I have found that are truly aspartame free and all natural are...

Spry Gum-
Soothing spearmint flavored sugar-free chewing gum sweetened with 100% xylitol. Great-tasting Spry Chewing Gum is the gum of choice for fresh breath and healthier teeth and gums! Studies have shown that when combined with normal dental hygiene, regular use of xylitol gums may reduce the risk of dental caries
Ingredients:
Xylitol, gum base, natural flavors (green tea), vegetable glycerin, gum Arabic, soy lecithin, beeswax
http://www.xlear.com/spry.aspx#1

Glee Gum-
All natural chewing gum made with sustainably harvested rainforest chicle. It comes in SIX great flavors: cinnamon, peppermint, tangerine, bubblegum, spearmint, and triple berry. Glee Gum is the #1 healthy alternative to synthetic chewing gum and bubble gum! With no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners (no aspartame), or preservatives, it's easy to chew Glee-fully!(Just found out you can buy Glee in bulk 360 pieces for $10)
http://www.gleegum.com/order_now.htm

Let me know if you have found any others and if they are any good!!!
Blessings, Laur

Sunscreen

Ok so I achieved the impossible, well at least to the normal person it is. I got sunburned at the lake this weekend wearing 50 spf oh yes water babies 50 spf which I also reapplied at one point. What is it with red heads were we just born with the inability to be in the sun? I need to create a 250 spf sunscreen and market it made by red heads for red heads. Every red head would understand =) Interesting fact I learned our bodies were not created to get sunburn. Crazy? I think not Adam and Eve did not have sunscreen and they were naked!!!! God created foods that when consumed would protect our bodies from they sun (i.e. tomatoes), the problem now is our standard American diet, in short SAD does not contain the foods we need to protect us. So eat right and you will protect your skin and save on sunscreen! Just one more reason to eat healthy. Blessings Laur

Packing

Oh packing almost makes the trip not worth it. Add kids in to the mix and you have got a nightmare. As I pack for our trip to the lake which is less than 30 minutes away I began to think about this. In order for me to take a weekend trip with the fam it takes a couple days of preparing. Seriously with my two page list in hand, this is full 8 1/2 by 10 paper now. I began to pack, my list has mommy, daddy, kids, dogs, fish (Can't forget the away feeder),Car (i.e. travel potty, CDs, DVD Player, snacks), Food Bag (for in the hotel room), Pool Bag, Misc this includes all the must have that don't have a category (i.e. camera, stroller, cell chargers and the list goes on). Plus I have a to do list of things that need to be done before we go, dishes, garbage and so on. Oh and we have a list for all the triathlon stuff too!!! I have a headache just thinking about it , I think I better put some coffee on because it is going to be a long night. The worst part is the hubs makes fun of me because I have to sit down to make my list but you know what happens every trip. Someone needs something and says "oh man I wish I had..." and guess what I packed it!!!!

Blessings Laur