cooking from scratch.

eve doesn't quite understand finger painting...  cute girl.

i am trying to eat healthier.

fresh fruits, beans, veggies.

REAL food, not processed food.

(we already do eat healthy-- but i'm frustrated finding things to eat!)

i do not have time for extreme, fancy meals.

i need food that tastes good.

i am sick and tired of spending my time and money to prepare food for my family that is not NOURISHING to them.

honestly.

i can't do it anymore.

do you know they make MACARONI AND CHEESE BABY FOOD??!!

come on people?!!

makes me CRAZY.

we live in a day and age where we can feed our families ANYTHING we want to feed them.

we live in a country where food is wasted and plentiful.

what choices are we making?

i am certain that our angel ancestors are cringing at some of the things we choose to put in our mouths.

i believe that our body is a temple.

i also believe that temples are different from churches.

(at least in my religion.)

a church is designed to welcome ALL.

Brigham Young said if our chapels don't smell like smoke, we aren't doing our job.

a temple is reserved for those who are living the higher laws.

keeping the covenants they have made.

in our church, we have an interview with a bishop where he asks us simple questions.

our answers qualify us for a temple recommend or not.

we should ALL require a temple recommend for things that enter our body.

Will this food nourish?

Will it give me energy and be healthy for my body?

Is it good for me?

for me, it works better to focus on what i AM eating that what i am NOT eating.

FEEDING is better than FORBIDDING.

but-- i ALWAYS get frustrated because i don't know HOW to cook real food and i don't have the time to sort through millions of online recipes.

i found a GREAT, GREAT resource!!

This cookbook.

i feel like i can FINALLY eat healthier and it is NOT overwhelming to me.

SCRATCH, by Tammie Dugger

(no, not 19 and counting Duggers.)

Tammy is my new BFF4EVA.

Here is her website-- Nourishing Families.

Here is link to a show that her and her husband did for the Mormon Channel- Creating and Sustaining Wellness (so good).

And here is a link to purchase the cookbook.  It costs $36.98 with shipping and tax.

it's a great cookbook.

full of simple, healthy recipes that i LOVE.

all the recipes are cooked from SCRATCH.

with real food and simple seasonings.

LOVE IT!

really.  

the first few recipes i cooked out of it made me want to call ten people (yeah, i really did do this) and tell them they had to buy this cookbook.

You'll love it.

i promise.

AND-- you'll learn to cook lentils from scratch.

because, lentils are cool.

really.

Here is a great talk on how your physical body influences your spirit.

it's GREAT!

Susan Tanner- The Sanctity of the Body

this story made me smile!

The restored gospel teaches that there is an intimate link between body, mind, and spirit. In the Word of Wisdom, for example, the spiritual and physical are intertwined. When we follow the Lord’s law of health for our bodies, we are also promised wisdom to our spirits and knowledge to our minds (see D&C 89:19–21). The spiritual and physical truly are linked.

I remember an incident in my home growing up when my mother’s sensitive spirit was affected by a physical indulgence. She had experimented with a new sweet roll recipe. They were big and rich and yummy—and very filling. Even my teenage brothers couldn’t eat more than one. That night at family prayer my father called upon Mom to pray. She buried her head and didn’t respond. He gently prodded her, “Is something wrong?” Finally she said, “I don’t feel very spiritual tonight. I just ate three of those rich sweet rolls.” I suppose that many of us have similarly offended our spirits at times by physical indulgences. Especially substances forbidden in the Word of Wisdom have a harmful effect on our bodies and a numbing influence on our spiritual sensitivities. None of us can ignore this connection of our spirits and bodies.

eat healthier!

don't you love the color of these peppers?
home grown peppers, like MOST Oregon garden vegetables, TASTE deeper and healthier.
i can't describe it-- it is DIFFERENT and GOOD.
(like the difference between white bread and wheat bread.)

 have a great day!