Sugar and sweet things

I have a sweet tooth (Jonathan has a savoury tooth). But this year I have slowly come to a (current) point where I have pretty much removed refined sugar from our (well, mostly mine and the girls) general diet. Not completely, but significantly. Here's a very condensed overview of some of what I've learned about refined sugar:

For anyone wanting to lose weight, it's sugar (not healthy fats) that you want to cut way back on.  Fat (we're talking healthy fats - nuts, avocado, cold pressed oils, not fatty fried foods etc) is used by the body for energy, whereas sugar is generally stored away - as FAT! (Be wary of low-fat or fat free foods - the fat is usually replaced with lots of sugar). Interestingly, diabetes arose after sugar became part of the modern diet, as did many heart diseases; as did the incidence of mental illness (schizophrenia and depression notably). It makes sense when one reads the effects of sugar on our bodies at the chemical level.  I recently read Sugar Blues, a book that covers the rise of sugar, looking at its negative effects on health as it became part of our everyday diets (nowadays we consume gross amounts of the stuff); it interestingly follows the money making industries related to sugar too. Sugar, while originally a plant (cane or beet) is reduced to a chemical very similar to cocaine (you wouldn't eat cocaine) - all the nutrients and fibre have been removed. In fact, sugar is classified as an antinutrient because the digestion of it actually depletes our bodies nutrient stores - particularly calcium from our bones.

Fascinating stuff! I would strongly recommend you become aware of how much sugar you're eating and try to cut it back, even a little. My husband would mention moderation here :) "Everything in moderation". So Abigail's upcoming birthday cake will have sugar in it (I was planning to make a raw cheesecake, but hubby's philosophy prevailed :)). And I thoroughly enjoyed the goodies Grandma had baked for me on our recent visit, so don't think I've turned my back completely on the stuff! But cutting back and eating healthier alternatives is certainly a good thing for me, and my family.

I now mostly use palm sugar and honey as my sweeteners - and because they cost 3 times the price as (raw) sugar, it is good incentive to cut back (Coles cheapest honey is actually 6 times the price, but one only needs half the amount to sugar when using, so that brings the figure down to 3)! Here's some of my current favourite sweet treats (Abigail happily eats them; Jonathan tends to ask me if it's healthy and then usually assumes it'll be yuck :)):



Black bean fudge: http://mplsswappers.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/recipe-swap-kims-famous-dairy-free-black-bean-fudge/ (I don't have stevia so I double the honey).




'Cookie dough': http://www.mightyvegan.com/2011/07/18/chickpea-cookie-dough/ This stuff does remind me of uncooked biscuit mixture - but it's full of nutrition! (calcium, fibre, iron, protein...) I make half a mix and it's gone in a couple of days!




'Chocolate cakes': http://mamainthekitchen.com/2011/04/30/mama-wont-mind-if-you-have-another-of-that-chocolate-cake/ These are very sweet. I haven't made them with the frosting yet, so that might help mellow them a little. I used ground rolled oats.




http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/13/recipe-conection-one-bowl-pumpkin-breadmuffins/ These are incredibly moist. I make mine gluten free, and I use the second recipe provided. (Jonathan liked these).



Everything in moderation.
Eat wisely, but enjoy what you eat.

Our road trip north

Hello :) Thought I'd start this post with a picture of yours truly in case people were starting to think that I was under two! (I'm the one looking at the camera!)  :) Now for the pics of the kiddos...

On the Ekka holiday we drove up to Bundaberg to stay with my Grandma a few nights. This is Abigail copying mum by wearing her sunglasses in the car (I don't wear mine upside down though!). That baby doll goes almost everywhere (sometimes 3 of them are brought along, and occasionally a teddy bear to boot!).

After a couple of hours in the car, we stopped in Gympie for all to stretch their legs. We used to stop at the Matilda truck stop, but with two littlies the park was a much more attractive option - playgrounds, ponds and birdlife!

 (The next photo would show Abigail hiding behind my legs as the duck came closer :))

Thankfully, Sarah and Abigail both slept the remainder of the journey (the poor nursery rhyme CD needed the break!). (On the way home they slept the first half of the journey too).

Visits at Grandma's are always relaxing for me - no housework or dishes (thanks Grandma and Jonathan!). And I love being able to sit and talk with Grandma. She has always been a close friend. I even got to work on a new cross stitch (a rather large cross stitch - I have many hours ahead of me with this one!). 

Jonathan thoroughly enjoyed himself by helping Grandma set up her new iPad :) He intended to get some ukulele practice in too (we picked up an eBay buy on our way through Gympie) but broke one of the strings when restringing it. A replacement has since been bought and the fun sound of the (baritone) ukulele is heard in our house each day :) Ukulele was one of the first instruments Jonathan learned to play when he was younger.


I shall end with a link to a music video of our favourite ukulele piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k
Enjoy!

Daisy Hill Koala Sanctuary!

On Saturday we decided that instead of working on jobs around the house (they never end!) that we would take the girls out and do something fun together as a family. So we finally went to check out the koala sanctuary not far from us, and loved it!

Abigail loved it. She's familiar with koalas from her dinner set from her Uncle Mark (1st birthday present) and seeing them in real life was exciting! :) They looked like teddy bears fast asleep - I had to look closely to see them breathing to be convinced they were indeed real!

There's bush walks to explore and a large picnic area. I think it will become a family picnic spot - we all loved it!

Bye!

My desk!

Yes, that is my desk. Last weekend it was finally tidied up. By my wonderful husband! :)  We went out shopping on the Friday night for a solution to all the papers that always built up, and voila! it was cleared. Now I can sit down and finish off craft projects that haven't been finished and even start some new ones. I might even tackle the mending and sewing projects I've had in mind!

 Hubby's desk got cleaned up too, see! (The papers solution can be seen - a small hanging file system)

 
And yes, to all those observant eyes, my kitchen table has been cluttered again. We've been trying to decide where all the odds and ends that don't really belong anywhere but have to go somewhere go. We have decided, but now have to rearrange to make it happen. It never ends!

I have been neglecting my blog of late.....oops :) We have had another bout of winter colds pass through our household, and now, 10 days later, there are still runny noses! Suffice to say, sleep has been broken and days have been full. For this reason, instead of writing, I am going to share some photos from the past month :)

 Sarah is growing! She isn't yet crawling, but she is mobile. She manages to get herself in all sorts of places by going backwards and sideways! And she is loving her solids - particularly oranges. Yum!

Abigail loves jumping. LOVES JUMPING! She jumps all over the house! And of course, the trampoline :)

Her vocabulary is emerging and expanding now. 'Daddy', 'bye', 'no', 'baby' are standard, and she likes us to name objects and try to repeat them after us. She has such a cute little talking voice! Greatly anticipating more conversation with her - it's like a whole new world!

The girls love books being read to them. Story time with daddy is much enjoyed.

Jonathan now regularly rides his bike home from work, and ENJOYS it! (I was informed of this fact this morning; he can listen to 10 minutes of uninterrupted music through his headphones while he rides :)).

I have planted spring onions (just cut the bottoms off ones you buy and stick them in the garden), spinach and lettuce seeds, and some parsley plants. Many prayers that they grow - I've not had much luck with growing things here :P

And I have acquired a bread maker (thanks Grandma R) - now I can make NICE gluten free bread (really, it doesn't have to be toasted to make it palatable!), and it saves so much time (rises and bakes it without me having to supervise). Such a blessing and a treat. And very pleased to have found cheap whole grain gluten free flours at the local Indian grocer - sorghum, millet, and buckwheat.

There's been lowlights and highlights to the month, but the best thing to have happened is the safe arrival of my first niece, Juliana Grace. Many congratulations to my older sister and her hubby on the birth of their second child! I am sure she is beautiful and I am greatly looking forward to seeing pictures of her!


Blessings to all!

I'm Learning Tidiness!

Cleanliness is next to godliness, so they say. And I've (almost) always enjoyed cleaning. I've had a few cleaning jobs in my working life as a cleaner all of which I really enjoyed. However, I married someone who likes things TIDY, and doesn't notice the cleanness so much. I'm not so good at tidy....

That said, my husband and my mother-in-law have inspired me by their example to work at this weakness of mine, and with the help of some organisational blogs I follow, I am excited at my improvement in this area. I actually enjoy getting in and tidying up now instead of all the procrastinating I used to do.

My kitchen pantry, my containers/tupperware cupboard, and the toy area have been my 'tidy up' projects of late. I (finally!) bought a couple of tray basket things to put my small containers in - round in one, square/rectangle in the other. So my containers are now, well, contained, and they are accessible - I can easily pull the basket out to find what I need rather than rummaging through the cupboard. The girls' books and toys are now in 2 shelving units (from The Reject Shop), with a small table ($10 from IKEA) with a bucket of small toys underneath in the corner of the lounge; previously they were in a big container chucked in any old how and whenever Abigail was after something the whole lot came out to find it! Oh, and my kitchen table is CLEARED and has been staying that way! Yes, it (for the most part) is not a home for all those bits and pieces that like to find there way there to stay.

I am feeling very pleased with myself so far in this 'conquest' of mess. And I hope to maintain the tidiness (there's hope - all our clothes shelves are still in order after I tidied them up a while back).

Two tips I've learned:

1. Pick a small area to work at a time. A sense of accomplishment is important.

2. Pull everything out/clear off the area and start with a clean slate.

When things are tidy, they look so much cleaner. So it's a win/win for both personalities in my marriage :)


Now to tidy my desk!

New Zealand Visit

After 2 1/2 years we finally returned to New Zealand to visit my family and show off our girls. It was so nice to be back with my side of the family for a little while and to catch up on all the changes that have happened since I left (a marriage, a birth, a courtship!).

The whole trip was marked by sickness - Jon and the girls all came down with bad colds, which still continues for Abigail and Sarah. All those foreign NZ bugs :) For my part, I only got a mild dose occasionally rearing itself. We have gone through an awful lot of tissues (nearly 3 boxes!)! :) The warmer weather back home has certainly made us all feel a bit better (Jon experienced his first frost and sub zero temperatures during our stay in Timaru).

Sickness aside, it was a great time. We had quite a social calender! Loved visiting my sisters' homes, and meeting my brother's girlfriend's family; I got to see my nephew for the first time. While in Auckland we stayed with my parents - didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning (thanks mum!). Such a treat! And Abigail loved all the toys and books, and the cat!

We stayed in Auckland 9 days before flying to the South Island. We landed in Christchurch a few minutes after another major aftershock, so were delayed on the tarmac for an hour. Finally got our rental car and headed south to Timaru. It was cold! We had very long hot showers while there and the fan heater got a lot of use; the electric blankets were kept on most of the night! We visited my Nana and she enjoyed holding her great grandchildren on her lap. Sarah quite enjoyed chewing on her beaded necklaces :)

The girls weren't very well so we didn't get out as much as planned to see people, but it was nice to have some quiet time together as a family. There was a great playground where we stayed and a big jumping pillow; and we went for a trip to The Shearer's Quarters where we played a (cold) game of mini golf and got to see the farmyard animals (donkeys, chickens, ducks, goats, deer, and pigs - Abigail loved this). I was quite keen to be home again by the end of the trip and was very happy that our flight wasn't delayed by the ash cloud. It was a full flight home, so we only had 2 seats for the 4 of us, but we managed fine.

Now for the challenges involved in settling back into routine :) :)