Quote of the day

"Most vegetables have more protein per calorie than meat and more calcium per calorie than milk. Nobody can consume too little protein by eating less animal products and substituting more vegetables, beans, and seeds."

-Joel Fuhrman, Disease-Proof Your Child; Feeding Kids Right

My New Life

Do you remember this graceful and courageous woman from nieniedialogues.blogspot.com?

This is what Sister Dalton calls "Deep Beauty." Happy Belated Mothers Day. (Click on the link below.)

My New Life

Going Green Giving Up Gum

First it was Peppermint altoids. So clear, so fresh, so curiously strong! It took me years to overcome their perfect power. I only wobble once in a while when I splurge on the chocolate-covered ones.

My low calorie,mouth-freshening replacement, as you all know, has been GUM. Especially Dentyne Ice. It is really nice, and does suffice.

But aspartame is BAD stuff. I'm giving it up! The replacement gum doesn't last as long or taste as good, but at least it will give me something to chomp on. I'm not committing never to eat a piece of artificially flavored gum, but it will be the rare exception that I do.

Pictured are two brands I'm going to try instead.

This is such a good, safe forum for handling our addictions. Who's next?? ;)

xoxo

PS I fixed the header.

The Lost is Found!

Hi Family,

Since we have been close together almost daily (which I will always treasure) my blogging has fallen off a bit. But I'm so excited. While organizing my journals, I found copies of the "Come" poem I wrote for Savior of the World. Rachel asked for it about a year ago, and I couldn't find it. Hooray for Dad, who had backed up my old computer. Here is the original version, and then the version which matched the meter the church wanted and has the verses they requested. I don't think I wrote the chorus to the second one.

Love to all of you, and gratitude to the Lord whom this celebrates.

Mom

PS Here is Andrew as Andrew in SOTW 2005, I believe.

Come Poem Original

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Manger;
May we see thy tender face?
Great Creator, here a stranger,
Infant in the humble place.
Darkness scatter! Morning swell!
Come, Dear Lord Immanuel!

Come, Lord Jesus, to thy Children,
Shepherd on the stony road.
Blind with sorrow, we are fallen;
Bear for us this mortal load.
In the thicket waits the ram;
Thou art he, Oh Son of Man!

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Garden
Thou hast trod the press alone.
While we slept, thy heart was broken.
Saw we not, nor heard thee moan.
Lord, we wait for only One;
Bid us rise, Beloved Son!

Come, Lord Jesus, in thy Glory;
Light of morning from the east.
Crush the serpent in thy fury;
Dry our tears, all weeping cease!
O'er the earth thy ransomed band
Shout, "Hosanna to the Lamb!"


Come Poem 2

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Manger;
May we see thy tender face?
Great Creator, here a stranger,
Infant in this humble place.

Come, Lord Jesus, to thy Children,
All creation waits for thee.
Bend to earth to lift the fallen,
Raise thy wings to set them free!

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Wedding,
With thy kinsmen, join the feast;
On this night, our joy is spreading,
Shedding starlight from the east.

Come, Lord Jesus, see the Dawning
Jubilation in the skies!
Hear the Heavenly Hosts responding,
Echoing our joyful cries!

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Wounded,
Broken heart in every child.
Worthy Lamb, thy love unbounded--
Ever tame, to claim the wild.

Come, Lord Jesus, to the Garden.
Thou hast trod the press alone.
While we slept, thy heart was broken.
Saw we not, nor heard thee moan.

Come, Lord Jesus, in thy Glory;
Light of morning from the east.
Crush the serpent in thy fury;
Dry our tears, all weeping cease!

CHORUS
Let our eyes behold thee, Lord;
Make our hearts hold dear thy word.
Bring us home no more to wander;
Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Lark Galli

Brazilian-Style Shrimp With Coconut Milk

Here's another of our favorite recipes found online. The note below is from the people who put uploaded the recipe on the site below:

http://www.mygourmetconnection.com/recipes/entrees/fish-and-shellfish/brazilian-style-shrimp-coconut-milk.php

This dish is our version of one we recently sampled at the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was being served at the Rio de Janiero booth and was called Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime. A little online research indicates that this is an adaptation of an authentic Brazilian dish called Vatapá. While not quite the authentic version, this turned out to be quite delicious as well as quick and easy and a fairly close replication of the Epcot version.

Brazilian-Style Shrimp With Coconut Milk

Ingredients ~
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 or 4 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
White rice

Preparation ~
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and red bell pepper and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne and black pepper. Stir in the tomato and cook for an additional minute.

Stir in the coconut milk and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until bubbly and beginning to thicken. Stir in the shrimp and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

Add the lime juice and green onions and cook for about 1 minute more, until the onions start to soften. Stir in the cilantro. Serve over steamed white rice.

Makes 4 servings

Recipe Notes ~
Feel free to adjust the cayenne pepper to suit your taste for heat. The quantity we call for in the recipe is pretty mellow. All you need to complete a meal is a green salad with a simple vinaigrette.

Chili with Wheat Berries

We were looking for a recipe to use up veggies in the fridge, and this turned out to be a great one! It comes from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zesty_wheat_berry_black_bean_chili.html.

6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (see Tip)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 cups Cooked Wheat Berries, (recipe follows)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
2. Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

Tips & Notes

• Tip: Canned chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeños) in adobo sauce add heat and a smoky flavor. Look for the small cans with other Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Per serving: 386 calories; 11 g fat (1 g sat, 7 g mono); 61 g carbohydrates; 14 g protein; 15 g fiber; 703 mg sodium; 311 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (130% daily value), Fiber (72% dv), Folate (48% dv), Iron & Vitamin A (25% dv).

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 very-lean meat, 2 fat

SUPER FAST Sunday Dinner

Well, down in Provo it was fast day today (as I hear it was up north). And we get out of church at 5:00, which makes it tough to know what to do for dinner. Today we had a really fast, really satisfying, fairly healthy dinner tonight that I thought I'd share with you! It comes from

"Cooking Light."

Sausage and Spinach Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 10 ounce sweet turkey Italian sausage (I'm sure any sausage would be delish.)
• Cooking spray (or not)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained (such as Muir Glen)
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups baby spinach (We had grown up spinach and it worked out fine :))
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (Hate to say we didn't have fresh herbs with this meal)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese (We also skipped out on the cheese and didn't notice a lack, although I'm sure it's great with Romano or Parm)
• I also think you'd be fine to 1/2 the sausage and double the spinach, or play around with those quantities. It's kind of a lot of sausage.

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil, and oregano. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls, and sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.