When I'm worried, and I can't sleep.....

Do you know the rest of the words to this song?

Can you remember what lovely, old movie you will hear this song in?

As parents of a rather large family (though I think that's really all about your perspective),

my husband and I have found ourselves fretting lately.

Fretting about.....you know.....money.

The fact that there never seems to be enough of it.

No matter how much we cut back.

No matter how close we trim the fat.

No matter how many hours we both work (he outside of our home to bring the money in....

and me inside of the home to keep the money from bleeding out.)

And not for fluff.

Simply for the necessities.

For shoes.

Diabetic medications.

School books.

Groceries.

Gasoline.

We don't take family vacations.

I only shop at THREE stores once a week to limit the impulse spending

 from those extra trips throughout the week.

We don't eat pizza or steak every day, much less eat out....hardly ever.

We don't shop for clothes.....ever.

My husband drives the same car to work that we had when we first married......14 years ago.

We don't have car payments or voluntary debt.

But we still worry.

Doesn't everybody at times?

Isn't that a plight common to ALL adults?

"When my bankroll is gettin’ small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep, counting my blessings"

But then things like this happen:

A neighbor is moving to a new house and wonders if we could use this......

(A piece of organization that I've been wishing for for a long time!!)

The very same afternoon, another neighbor is cleaning out his backyard and wonders if we would like this for our children:

(Something I've read over and over is so very beneficial for ADHD children because of the energy it burns!)

Last weekend my MIL brought us a large box STUFFED full of this from some lovely ladies at our former church who love our children:

(A year's worth of supplies for homeschooling!!)


Wednesday I received a call from some lovely, thoughtful, generous friends from our church family.
They have been cleaning out their daughters closets and wondered if we could use a some things:

Things for the big girls........

.....as well as the little girl.

It's when these kinds of things happen when our anxiety is at it's height that I'm reminded of these scriptures:

"......do not be anxious for your life, 

as to what you shall eat,

or what you shall drink;

nor for your body,

as to what you shall put on.

Is not life more than food, 

and the body than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air,

that they do not sow, neither do they reap,

nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth much more than they?

.......And why are you anxious about clothing?

Observe how the lilies of the field grow;

they do not toil nor do they spin.

.....Do not be anxious then, saying,

"What shall we eat? or

What shall we drink? or

With what shall we clothe ourselves?

.....for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."

Matthew 6: 25-26, 31-32 NASB

"So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings."

It's hard to fly like an eagle, when you're surrounded by a bunch of turkeys!

In all my reading about foods most beneficial for the ADHD brain, I consistently found that starting the day with a high protein breakfast was essential.

Okay, so having that information is terrific. How to implement it is another story.

Neither of my ADHD children would I classify as "morning people," and neither do either of them wake up

and immediately want to eat.  If I tell them "they eat now or wait until lunch," then they just pick and are starving by 11 am which only triggers behavioral issues.  So, in the past we would resort to a bowl of cheerios with milk.

Not horrible, but too much carbohydrate, and not a ton of protein.

As you've seen in my post from yesterday, we do have pancakes once a week or so, and even some muffins now and then.  But I'm trying to think of ways to add more protein to the menu without scrambling eggs everyday and shooting their cholesterol levels through the roof.

So I stumble upon this recipe while reading through this website.  

PERFECT!!

My children enjoy sausage now and then, but I've been hesitant to purchase it because of it's high fat content and  all the chemicals in it.  Plus, it's rather expensive.

But this recipe for turkey sausage hits the SPOT.  It's super easy to put together and tastes dynamite!!

My children like it (expect for a couple, but they all are slowly warming up to it) and my husband LOVES it!!

Homemade Turkey Sausage

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

Mix all the ingredients and chill for an hour or so.  (I mixed mine up the night before.)

Chilling the mix enhances and blends the flavors as well as helps when forming the patties.

Make into patties and fry in a skillet or on the griddle.

Cool and then freeze or enjoy right away.

If you don't have all the spices you can make it without using them all, except the sage.

The sage gives it that great sausage flavor!!

** I double the recipe for our family and use garlic powder instead of onion powder,

and onion salt instead of regular salt.

I also skipped the cayenne pepper so my children would actually eat it!!

Oh, do you know the muffin man?

Besides reading labels more fanatically, 

putting things back on the store shelves that contain items from our "no-no" list, 

and experimenting with homemade alternatives, 

I'm also modifying some favorite homebaked delights to reflect this "cleaner" eating

 that I'm pursuing for my family.

We LOVE pancakes.

Here is my recipe for our version.

I was inspired by this recipe,

and have since ceased using all-purpose white flour

and instead use whole wheat pasty flour instead.

I use organic cane sugar crystals or honey for sweetening, and

I also add about 1/2 cup of cold-milled ground flax to my pancake batter to increase the

Omega-3's, which are said to be very beneficial to those with ADHD.

You can try adding in fresh blueberries or bananas, but my children turn and run from my kitchen

when they see ANYTHING in their pancakes.  Big chickens!!

Another favorite on our breakfast menu is MUFFINS!!

I love them any flavor.....blueberry, apple, cinnamon struesal (my spell-checker is not helping me here!).

But our all-time favorite is chocolate chip!!!

Here is my quickie, mix-up in-a-snap recipe before tweaking:

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients.  In a small bowl, beat egg, milk and oil.

Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Yield:  1 dozen

Here's my tweaked version:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup honey or organic sugar cane crystals

Several scoops of cold-milled ground flax

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup canola (or olive) oil

3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips 

1 egg

**Sometimes I mash up some old bananas and mix them in too.

But my children notice that.  They are DETECTIVES when it comes to mom slipping in fruit on them.

I double my recipe and bake them in mini- muffin pans.  

Yield:  5 dozen delicious mini-muffins!!!

Since I use mini-chocolate chips, they aren't as chocolatey sweet as you would think.

I do not make cookies or dessert anymore on a daily basis in an effort to serve less sugar laden foods,

so these are a nice sweet treat on Sunday mornings that my children will gobble up on our way out the door to church!! 

Enjoy!!!

Homemade cream soup

When I began really reading ALL the labels on EVERY food in my pantry, I was mortified to find MSG in the ingredients of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. I thought that was the ONE ingredient that I had done a good job of keeping out of my house.   That is on the "no-no" list of foods for ADHD children.  Something about it being a preservative and sensitivity to it, and contributing to hyperactivity in ADHD children.  Anyway, I'm avoiding it now.

So I needed to find a recipe for making my own cream soups since I wasn't about to trash this recipe OR this one.

I am not including pictures of this recipe for several reasons:

1.  I am cream soup/gravy challenged.  I've never been able to get it thick enough

before it scorches on the bottom and ends up tasting burned.

2.  I'm still experimenting with the recipe and instructions to get it just right.

But I'm excited to announce that the batch I made this morning was delightful and I'm sure there will be pictures coming at another time.

But for now, here is the recipe:

Cream Soup (Substitute for Campbell's Soups)

6 T. butter (This morning I used 3 T. margarine and 3 T. canola oil and it was much better!)

1 T.  instant chicken seasoning

1/4 t. pepper

6 T. whole grain flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 t. salt

4 cups milk (I use skim)

In skillet, melt butter.  Combine powder ingredients and blend with melted butter.  Heat until bubbly.  Remove from heat and slowly blend in part of the milk. 

(Here is where I start having problems.  This morning I only added one cup at this point.)

Return to medium heat and continue stirring in the rest of the milk as it thickens.

(Another problem point for me:  here I added a cup at a time and ended up only using 3 1/2 cups of milk total)

Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

(Final problem area for me:  It never gets to a full hard boil for me without scorching on the bottom.  So when it was just starting to bubble around the edges, I set the timer for 1 minute).

Store in refrigerator up to 1 week, or freeze in 2-cup containers up to 1 month.

Makes 4 cups.

2 cups of this is about equal to 1 can cream of mushroom soup.

Variations:

Mushroom Soup - Add 4 oz. can finely chopped mushrooms

Celery Soup - Add 1 cup finely diced celery, cooked

Chicken Soup - Add 1/2 cup finely chopped leftover chicken

**Use rice milk if allergic to cow's milk.

Out with the old......In with the new!!!

As I was in the midst of trying to figure out how I was going to swap out these particular ingredients in the foods we normally consumed, I happened upon this cookbook:

When I say "happened,"

I mean I was trying to kill some time in the grocery store waiting for a prescription to be filled

in their pharmacy.

So I started browsing the books, and this cookbook practically JUMPED into my hands.

I immediately loved what they had to say and on impulse bought it.

Hands down.......one of the best impulse buys EVER.

I knew the recipes would be good because the authors are from my homestate of Ohio,

and they are Mennonite!!!

If you've never had Mennonite cooking, my friend, you have truly missed out on one of life's greatest pleasures!!

Anyway, on page 167 of this cookbook is a fabulous recipe for making your own taco seasoning.

I use taco seasoning in several dishes including THIS one which I have shared with you in the past.

I now use my own taco seasoning and we like it even better than that nasty 'ol store bought stuff.

Have you seen the sodium levels on a packet of that stuff??

Taco Seasoning

Place in one pint jar:

1/2 cup onion flakes

3 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

3 Tbsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Cover tightly and shake well to mix.  To season, use 2-3 tablespoons of the mix and 1/2 cup water

for each pound of meat or beans.

** I tripled the recipe and don't use the cayenne pepper.

It's really THAT easy and a snap to put together.

Better ingredients, less salt.....WIN!!!

Experimenting

Several months ago, I talked about researching 

how our diets affect the ADHD in my children.

I won't rehash all that, but you can review that information if you would like right

  here and here.

So during this summer, I have been very slowly modifying some of our "staple" meals to be more "ADHD friendly", as well as experimenting with some new recipes.

I thought this week I would share some of these recipes.

Making these dietary changes hasn't been nearly as traumatic as I was envisioning it would be,

and in fact, my family is loving some of the new things that have come to the dinner table!!

I have learned that in making diet changes it works great to just pick one or two things you want to eliminate and find alternatives.  

Don't try to knock out the entire list of things all at once.

It takes time for you and your family members to learn to like new flavors and textures,

especially if they are addicted to sugars and chemical flavor enhancers.

So one of the first things I started purging from my pantry was the

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

Can I just say that I was embarrassed at how much of that one ingredient permeated our diet??

I had no idea.

And since it is largely a thing of the past.....the difference in the calmness of my children has been palpable!!

One of our favorite family recipes is Homemade Chicken Fingers.

I thought I was doing great making these at home and baking instead of frying.

PFFFTT!!  

NOT!

Store bought bread crumbs have high fructose corn syrup in them.

Bummer.

So I found a recipe to make my own chicken coating mix!

You have to make it with bread that has no HFCS in it though, so be careful.

"Nature's Own" and some "Oroweat" bread is free of HFCS,

and I can get that inexpensively at the bread store outlet near me.

The homemade coating mix is wonderful and no one in my family noticed a difference!!

Coating Mix for Oven-Fried Chicken 

2 cups dry bread crumbs

1 1/2 tsp. salt (I leave this out if I have the onion and celery salt, or it's too salty for us)

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. onion salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. poultry seasoning 

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I actually like to use a little less or it's too oily)

To make the bread crumbs:  Save the heels of bread or rolls or toast in the freezer until you've accumulated enough for a batch of bread crumbs.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line your cooking sheet with the stale bread and dry it thoroughly in the oven.  Put cool toasted bread in your blender and whirl until very fine.

Blend the bread crumbs and remaining ingredients with a fork until well mixed.

Keeps unrefrigerated in tightly covered container.

Makes 2 1/3 cups of mix.

Use as you would the shake and bake!!

Very tasty!

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