Ice Pop Molds

When we started doing more juicing and whole foods I found a brief mention on a web site about a product that allowed one to make their own push up pops at home, with GOOD FOR YOU JUICE, and thus the hunt begun for the product, Silicone Ice Pop Maker Molds.  I located these silicone dynamos on Amazon.  You can see them below.

There was a brand that was more expensive, but I know with the way Bear goes through Popsicles that we would need two or three ready during the day.  Since I had plans to use healthy juice and smoothies in the push ups I wasn't worried about her having a few each day. 

They arrived and we immediately put the product to use with  juice and even yummy smoothies.  They do a great job.  I do find for them to push up easily a little warm water splashed on the outside is needed.  The product has held up well so for.  A few people mentioned a smell and taste from the silicone but after a wash or two it has not been noticeable at all.  I would suggest hand washing, even though they appear to be dishwasher safe. 

The cons: 

Carrot and apple juice with kale

You can't buy this goodness

at a store!

• The lids can be hard to keep track of.
• They can't be filled to the "brim" and have the lids go on nicely.
• They have to be placed in a cup or laid sideways in the freezer.  If you want nice round push ups you need to place them in a holder or cup. 
• We were only sent one strap with our double order.
• Lack of care instructions in packaging.
• You have to have them upright to fill and because of the tapered bottom they must be held while pouring the liquid in.

But the pluses can be summed up like this.....

Berry mix, spinach, flax, yogurt,
apple, carrot, and almond milk
Even Hubs enjoys them!

With summer fast approaching with its warms days, these could be just the hit for your family.   They could hold so much more than frozen products and could be fun for kids for several years.

 

 

 

 

If you click on the amazon link, I do get an affiliate fee.  Thanks!!

 

Cravings are starting.....

Morning smoothie

Saturday did not go at all like I planned.  I should have never started our pledge when we have so much going on!  *SIGH* 

For new readers; we are taking a 10 day pledge to see if we can eat more real food and how its goes for us.  Read about it here.......(eta fixed link--thank you!)

I will soon begin to try to post what we are eating and fun recipes as we go through this along with our thoughts and if we notice any changes in behaviors (all of us), cravings, etc.  Saturday things were very simple for our meals.  Too simple.

Today I am planning green salad topped with chicken tenders (actually sliced chicken breasts that I will marinate and bake) and I think I will try my hand at Quinoa and Black beans with some canned chilies from our pantry. 

Our day started with a smoothie this morning.  I use coconut milk, carrots, spinach, mixed berries, coconut oil and flax meal. Then I added some yummy blackberry honey from Puyallup.  I seen the honey man last week at the Proctor Farmers Market.  I knew we needed some more honey so even though we weren't out, I bought a quart and I am so glad I did!  Its pure nectar!

After church I stopped by the store and bought a few things to create some dishes.  I will attempt homemade "cliff bars" this week and healthier for you peanut butter cups.  I made some peanut butter after church this afternoon.  Bear tried it, we will see how she likes it on a sandwich tomorrow for lunch.  Our bread today is an Indian bread called Naan, pretty easy to make and reminds me of tortillas, well my homemade tortillas anyway.  *grin*. 

Bear and I both are experiencing some cravings.  Well I know I am for sure.  I drink soda pop, more than I care to admit, and I want one!  I am missing things I don't even normally have that often, like candy bars!  Why is this?  In an effort to combat this so we don't fail I am finding recipes for healthier for us "sweets". 

More to come....

19 days and counting

Yep, real food.  We think it exists everywhere, but you would be surprised.  I know I am addicted to carbohydrates and sadly I think Bear is addicted to anything sweet and processed.  Our new smoothie adventures are not being met with open arms in the child department.  The more days we start the day with one, the more she balks.  She had a stubborn streak....  Ok, yes, like her momma..... 

We bought a new to us Vita-Mix.  It works great; of course there is a learning curve....I am learning how to use it and what it can and can't do.  Its exciting!  I can tell you one thing, it can make things really smooth, but blackberry seeds will still be blackberry seeds.... 

I will start posting more about our smoothie adventures, but I make them generally about 7:00 am and I forget to grab cameras and notes that early. 

The big news is a count down really.  March 16, 2013 we will be doing  the Real Food pledge for 10 days.  The 100 Days of Real Food blog was shared with me (I had visited before but just briefly) and its fitting in very well with our need for making some changes, even little ones, in our diet and health.

Get ready to hear about it; what we eat, what we do to prepare, how we survive, and our thoughts before, during, and after the Pledge.  I know it will be an awakening for our family as we let the rubber meet the road in buying things produced  more sustainably, i.e., locally and healthier and less processed for us.  Less processed, its been a dream for a few years and in many ways we do pretty good, but we are still far from a nice happy medium.  The count down begins....  19 days and counting.....

Break week?

A friend asked if we took breaks like "regular school," honestly no we don't.  We break when we need to.  We are just in preschool of course and what we concentrate on wouldn't really fit inside any text book.  We are learning in different ways, just as valid as conventional ways, but different.  It is so interwoven through our day that we don't have on and off switches that tell us when we should be "in school". 

So my question is, do you take a break?  Do you "school" in the summer? 

She's "knitting" with her knitter here.

Sunday we bought a french knitter and off and on, only for a few minutes at a time, Sarah has been "knitting".  She has been begging to learn so when I seen this at a local toy shop when we participated in Tacoma's Cash Mob it was something on our must buy list.  I had seen something similar to what we bought on Imagine Childhood as well if you don't have a local owned toy store in your town and want to see what it is you can look there.  You might also be able to find them on Amazon. 

Such a proud girl!

This knits a chain, so I see many Barbie scarves in our future before we graduate to another method.  Our hope is that it fine tunes some fine motor skills as well as fine tunes some patience. 

The weather has been off an on this week.  Monday we had a impromptu picnic after running some errands.  We went to Wright Park and ended up feeding the birds.  Tuesday brought a return to my classes as well as the rain, yet we did make juice and Popsicles.  I am able to get her to eat apples, pineapples, carrots, kale and more when we juice and make Popsicles out of the juice.  I feel better about her favorite treat and she is getting fruits and vegetables without really seeing it as a plate of green beans or carrots. 

Yesterday, Wednesday, was beautiful.  The morning was a bit foggy but we still ventured out to the park and playground with friends Tana and her daughter Jennalise.  While it may seem like we just played yesterday, I look at all the social skills, observation skills and critical thinking that those girls were doing and can't help but see the rich education that was happening.  A give and take, counting out and digging into their rich imaginations for tales of wonder was something we could have never taught, or at least taught well.  At one point they were playing with another boy close to their age (Jennalise is about a year older than Sarah) and making up stories and pretending to be animals in kingdoms of their own imaginations.  Wonderful wonderous Childhood!

Then today, we woke up sick.... bummer bummer bummer.  We had plans to go to a nature club event tomorrow, but we shall have to see what the night brings. 

Today we are learning about tidal zones and discussing tides and animals and how tides are contorled and a bit about how people in ancient times thoughts tides were controled.  We love the ocean and exploreing todal pools.  It is my greatest wish that we could one day spend a lot of time just exploring, day in and day out, tidal pools and the critters found there.  I bought a couple books, Pacific Intertidal Life: A Guide to Organisms of Rocky Reefs and Tide Pools of the Pacific Coast and The Burgess Seashore Book for Children.  I also broke down and purchased a microscope that is child friendly and fitable in a pocket or bag for our nature explorations, even when those forays just happen to be in the backyard.  I will keep all interested parties informed on how well we like these, but I'm thinking I need to stop buying for a while!  I know I'm not alone in always looking for things that enhance our education/life experiences.

Yesterday we did our first day of the "No Media on Monday" challenge.  It was harder than I thought it would be, to be without internet, but we did it.  I know it will get easier and our lives will get more simple as time goes forward. 

We have accomplished some pretty daunting tasks the past few days, but lot of fun stuff too.  As we continue to simplify almost everything is dauting.  :-)

Sarah helped with juicing some apples and carrots this weekend that needed to be ate.  I threw in some kale as well.  We never had used kale before.  Our champion juicer wasn't a big fan of it and I think I used too much because none of us were fans of juice with a lot of kale.  She washed and counted apples and carrots and then carefully helped me cut them finally she put them through the juicer and I am almost certain she could do it herself now.  *grin*

We also planted some seeds, in the hopes of getting seedlings.  I am trying to be realistic, where as in times past I have planted a lot only to fail somewhat.  I kept it pretty simple this year I may do more tomatoes, I planted ten.  If they all do well that would be wonderful.  Have you been thinking about your garden? 

I am planing a tea party for us friday afternoon.  We will be using this time to work on table manners and serving others.  We have a special tea set just for this and will make some speical treats. 

This week we are also working on collages that and that has been fun as well, nothing like cutting out shapes from catalogs and going to town with glue and paper.  It's only tuesday!  :-) 

I wanted to add directions to a yummy desert we made here for Valentines Day:

Softhearted Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (1/2 pound)

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or 1-1/3 cups semisweet chocolate pieces

4 eggs

4 egg yolks

1/2  cup sugar

1/2  cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Whipped cream (optional)

Raspberry Sauce  and/or fresh raspberries

Directions:

1. Lightly butter eight 8-ounce ramekins or 1-cup souffle dishes (I had neither of these dishes, what I did have was a texas muffin tin so I used it instead  and I think it worked very well); line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Place the prepared ramekins on a shallow baking pan or on a large cookie sheet. Set aside.

2. In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool slightly. (Or, in a mixing bowl, combine the butter and chocolate. Place mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water and melt butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from the simmering water pot; set aside to cool slightly.)

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Mix a large dollop of the beaten eggs into the butter-chocolate mixture. Gently fold until combined. Add butter-chocolate mixture to remaining beaten egg mixture and fold. After a few folds, sprinkle in sugar, flour, vanilla, and salt. Continue to fold until the mixture is combined.

4. Quickly divide the batter evenly among prepared ramekins. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until cakes feel firm to the touch on top edges, but still soft in the center when pressed with a fingertip. Remove from oven; set ramekins on a wire rack. Let cakes cool completely in ramekins.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When cakes are cool, use a small metal spatula to loosen edge of cakes from side of ramekin and unmold onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. The centers of the cakes are supposed to be soft. (If not using immediately, wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.)

6. When ready to serve, place cakes on a microwaveable serving plate. Heat in a microwave oven on 100 percent power for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until warm. (Center of cake will slightly pop up.) Serve with whipped cream and garnish with a splash of Raspberry Sauce and/or fresh raspberries, if you like. Makes 8 servings.

Raspberry Sauce

Yield: 2/3 cup

Ingredients

10 ounce package frozen and thawed red raspberries in syrup (I used frozen raspberries from a garden, they were not in a syrup)

Directions

In a blender container or food processor bowl, cover and blend or process one 10-ounce package frozen and thawed red raspberries in syrup until pureed. Use a fine sieve to sieve berry mixture. Cover and refrigerate the sauce till ready to use. Makes 2/3 cup.

I want to find a way to make a really good syrup for the next time I do this. But it was very rich, while time consuming it was very easy, just several steps.  I will make it again.  Thank you Pinterest!  :-)

Since we made so much juice from the apples we had, I decided they would make good frozen treats for Bear.  I froze the juice in little dixie cups and then when Sarah wishes for a treat, I can pull one out for her and it can be a slushy (I had no sticks, if I had sticks on hand I would have made popsicles). 

Big Hit

Awesome past few days. Today the weather was almost perfect and we spent a few hours of it outside in the back yard working on the new raspberry bed. We plan to transplant most of the raspberries (leaving a few behind in the old bed for moving next year) to a bigger area near the garden plot.

Here are a few pictures.

Last night I used the juicer for the first time. We all loved the juice! Sarah helped and drank almost 2 glasses as did Bob. I drank 1, it was a little too sweet for me. But notheless it was yummy and I was happy to get the fresh vegs and fruits into my family's tummy. I can see a busy summer and fall ahead of us as we move forward with canning and preserving. FUN!!! I always think it's beautiful to see home canned jars on a shelf.

And then tonight, I found out while Sarah and I were outside in the back we got a fed ex delivery.... OUR GRAIN MILL CAME!

Outside my window... A weather change is upon us.... bye bye sunshine!

I am thinking... we have so much to do! My craft/sewing area, painting Sarah's room......

I am thankful for... sunshine and understanding

I am wearing... pants and shirt

I am remembering... I need to make my co-op order from Azure Standard tonight!

I am going... to try to catch up on things around the house

I am currently reading... square foot gardening

I am hoping... for peace in family situations

On my mind... dinner

Noticing that... God gives us so much beauty and so often we neglect to recognize the fact.

Pondering these words... "love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe"

From the kitchen... Chili and soon cornbread

Around the house... Sarah's humming

One of my favorite things… Listening to said humming. :-)

Blessed Tendings!