The Secret In the Sauce

So, here is the thought for the day - learn, embrace change and evolve. What I've found in my constant thirst for knowledge in all things healthy is that new information is constantly being brought to light. What was once good, may now actually do harm. There are two results for every study done and they often contradict each other; it makes it tough to sift through and find the truth sometimes, eh? That's when you go with your gut until you find something more definitive. Let's take a look at the 'low-fat' or 'no-fat' craze. Fat is the culprit behind fat right? No. It would seem likely but not true. In all actuality, is fake and processed foods and overdosing on sugar that is making us fat and sick. I was going through a stack of old magazines and cutting out recipes and came across an article titled, "Live Wise."  It had five tips to kickstart your nutrition goals. The second tip was : Choose fat-free milk instead of whole milk. Ironical...

I admit, I've been putting off my blog - it's just been that 'one more thing' nagging at the back of my mind giving me anxiety. I've also just been working on calming my totally frayed nerves. I don't know how Christmas break was for all you parents but I personally almost didn't make it. I love all my kids and thinking about each one of them individually creates mostly happy thoughts and feelings. Together however, is a totally different state of existence. Let me put it to you this way - Preston is a carbonated canned beverage and my littlest man likes to shake, shake and throw the 'Preston soda' until he explodes and goes all over the place (and it didn't take much). And my toddler is a literal whirlwind of constant activity until he just collapses. I'm getting a headache just remembering the break. I can't believe I didn't take up some addiction or binge diet over the last two weeks; it's a miracle. And now, here I am and I...

Greetings my friends and happy holidays! Tis the season for insanity, late nights and short tempers (where's the Valium?!). I have been consumed with my family, carpools, book reports, mounds of dishes and laundry, gift-brainstorming, parties and cookery. That has been plenty to keep me riddled with anxiety and exhaustion and none of which has included any of the 'elf-on-the-shelf' antics or gingerbread house or snowflake crafts - that may have done me in. Living in the swirling vortex of Christmas and regular life has also inevitably pushed my blog and all my grandiose plans for it to the back burner (or more accurately to a Bunsen burner in the garage). Well, I'm good with that. While we are on the subject of time, blogging and family, I have a few things to say. I love blogging and I love hearing from people that stumble upon my humble little site. It's nothing fancy, profound or professional; the photography among other elements ...

This recipe has to be an all-time, kid-winning favorite. This was the one meal my brother and I looked forward to the most; it probably had the most requests and disappeared the fastest from the table. I hadn't had sausage rolls in probably twenty years until a couple of months ago when I dug up the recipe from my mother and it was an instant success with my kids (and from the standpoint of ease in the kitchen for the chef, a hit for me as well). There are two ways to make these and these days I opt for the healthy version because at most it takes only ten more minutes of my time. The way my mom used to do it was buy Rhodes frozen French dough loafs in the freezer section at the grocery store. To my chagrin, Rhodes hasn't jumped on the happy bandwagon and dumped the high fructose corn syrup in their recipe quite yet. I just can't bring myself to buy them with an obesogen being the third ingredient on the list. Bah. So, I attempted these making my own bread dough and the...

It's four o'clock. My toddler has been happy and playing nicely all day. At 3:45pm MST, that all goes to hell. The door opens and Preston walks in - immediately the energy shifts and cue the circus music. It wasn't bad energy; Preston was quite happy actually. Those two boys just feed off of each other, one things leads to the next and then there is screaming and crying and mass hysteria. My head starts to throb and I start to panic realizing that it is only Monday. My husband had the day off and we spent the morning running some errands. At about 3:43pm he comes into the office and says that he is going to go for a bike ride; when he gets back he'll clean the windows and do some other stuff. I was good with the bike ride but as he started talking about his other chores and the screaming started two minutes later I held up my hands - "Really? You're going to wash the windows at 5:30 tonight?" His response in a very cheery tone: "Or you can do it some ...

I have parent teacher conferences next week at which point I will really get to find out how Preston is faring. Does anyone else get anxious for these brief fifteen minute meetings? Just me? Bah. I received (or rather found it in the depth's of Preston's backpack, crumpled and ripped) a preliminary 'report card' that has been newly refurbished using some number system. And they base the numbers off of how well the student is understanding the concept - not necessarily grades on their work. May I say that I'm not quite sure what I think about this? Do they make the number based from test scores? Do they grade the work that is turned in and base scores from this? Is it more standardized testing through Common Core? Regardless, let me say this - I was Honors and AP English throughout school. I bombed the AP test at the end of the year; I didn't get any college credit for taking the class and I had to take a placement test my freshmen year of college. I was put in a...

I remember the days when my mom would drive me down the canyon to ballet class. For quite some time I really didn't like it. She made me stick with dance until a few years went by and I finally said I was done. Ironically, several months later, I realized how much I absolutely loved dance class and how much I was missing it. Wonderfully enough, she started taking me again and from that moment on I've had a passion for dance. On occasion she would stay and watch - which I'm sure she loved. I couldn't stand it! I wanted her out running errands - I guess I've never been one for focused attention. Preston however, who just started taking karate a month ago, loves it when I stay to watch. I try to stay for at least one class a week when either my husband or step-son can watch the toddler at home; I've tried to watch class with the toddler but even just saying that aloud is a joke; he just wants to be on the mat kicking and yelling like the big kids and it just does...