Blueberry, mulberry, banana yogurt muffins!

I’m one of those girls that in the kitchen makes a disaster of a mess digging through the cabinets and filling the kitchen aid mixer with anything that looks sweet and ‘healthy’ enough for breakfast muffins.  And last night at about 11pm (when I finally stopped studying my anatomy and physiology) I decided it was time for some muffies.  So… since it’s Health Family Friday, I thought I’d share this really health recipe that my family, even my husband who believes that whole wheat is fundamentally wrong, gobbled up for breakfast.

*I had no milk for this recipe so I used yogurt and watered it down a bit!  It was leftover homemade yogurt that had reached it’s final days and needed to be used!

1. Mix about 1 cup of yogurt with water to a liquid texture (my yogurt happened to beat sweet mulberry yogurt).  Beat in one egg, 1/4 cup of oil.

2. When above is blended well, dump in the rest and mix mix mix: 2 cups of white whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, ~1 cup of blueberries.

3. Line a muffin pan with little paper muffin cups, fill ‘em up and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 400 Farenheit!

YUMMY!!! i feel that they are healthy because of the yogurt and fruit and whole wheat!

This faster development isn’t due to fish oil in their milk or prenatal vitamins but to baby wearing.  Yep, through observation of international research on infancy by C.M. Super in 1981 (Handbook of cross-cultural psychology, Vol 4: Developmental Psychology), we see that African babies who are carried as tradition would have it, upon their mothers’ backs will develop quicker than others.  We can attribute this developmental success to baby wearing (on the back specifically) and how it teaches the baby good posture and helps to shape and strengthen their muscles!

Wow! Go baby wearing!

Human Development: a Life-Span View by Robert Kail and John Cavanaugh, p. 81

Makes me wonder what these other countries are doing that is healthier for babies… any ideas?!!

So, I decided to kick off  ‘Healthy Family Friday’ (yes a day late) with this yogurt blog with my very own kefir… or yogurt recipe.  Now that I’m taking classes in health and nursing I figure I’ll learn so much more about health and the body that I cannot help but share it with you!  So stay  tuned for more ramblings from a health freak nursing student!

This recipe is so easy to make and if you’re into organic goods (as we are) then you’ll be tickled to death to note that this recipe will yeild just over two quarts of yogurt. Which, usually organic milk at $3 a 1/2 gallon means you’re getting organic homemade yogurt for $1.50 a quart… which is so much better than $3-$5 quart!

Homemade Yogurt

1/2 gallon of non-homogenized milk

1/2 cup of yogurt with live active bacteria (plain and whole milk yogurt works best)

1 crockpot

couple towels

1. Pour 1/2 gallon milk in crockpot and heat on low for two hours.

2. After those 2 hours of heating on low, without removing lid, turn off  crockpot until it cools off (takes 3 hours)

3. After 3 hours off with lid closed, whisk in the 1/2 cup of yogurt

4. Return lid and then leave untouched for about 8 hours with two towels (or even a heating pad on low and towels) around it to keep it at a good incubating temperature for the bacteria to grow in order to make the yogurt!

5. After those 8 hours, pour the yogurt into containers and chill for a few hours in the fridge to help it to set.  It will be runnier than store bought yogurt… but that is the beauty of it.  It’s totally ‘drinkable’ for the kids’ lunches!!!  Even the 1 year old.

We’ve enjoyed it with honey and vanilla (YUMMY!) and also a big spoonful of homemade mulberry jam from my mama’s own mulberry tree!

This week I have finished two online classes, with several exams and assignments, attended a 24-hour birth, grocery shopped, cooked, and more of the regular duties and now that I have time to sit down and relax I get myself busy.  For me, creating is relaxing and so the things that others might call chores I call ‘play’!  Right now, I sit amongst a huge pile of scrap cloth and am making yet another rag rug for my kitchen!

I guess the love that I have for creating things has flowed over into my work life – the work of helping couples become families.  I just cannot get enough of the amazing journey of ‘creating’ that becoming a family is.  I love to see those babies when they’re first born and watch those parents cry as they first set their own eyes on their very own creation.  It’s just so unbelievable!

I feel this again tonight.  Earlier today I found this amazing blog that I just loved.  I was ripping through article after article hanging upon every word written and each craft shown.  It wasn’t until I went to the front page of the blog that I realized that it had been ‘canceled’ and hasn’t been updated in over a year now!!!! Oh My!

But still I want to share it with you as it has so many cute ideas… and I’m about to get started on some crafts with my kiddos, namely the paper mobiles that are shown on this blog.

Enjoy looking through it!

More Ways to Waste Time

I made this sauce this weekend and it is to die for.  With some tips from good pal Rebekah and my own picky taste buds I came up with this awesome sauce… which I could just drink up as if it were tomato soup!

Sauce recipe:

1) Go to the market (or your garden) and pick out a variety of tomatoes.  I think I had about 3 big (ugly) ripe pink ladies, 4-5 romas (some red and some yellowish).  You’ll need a couple of lbs to make 2 small jars of sauce.

2) Skin the maters: Plunge them into a boiling water bath for no more than 5 minutes… then submerge in an ice cold bath.  When they cool a bit, their skins slide right off.

3) Squeeze or cut to remove excess seeds. Set aside.

4) Saute the following in oil on med heat: 1 small onion, 1 banana pepper (sweet not spicy for this recipe), 1/2 – 1 whole bell red pepper and 1 green pepper + a couple of cloves of garlic.

5) Once veggies are cooked and browned a bit, add the squished tomatoes and cook for several minutes on med-high heat.  They will cook down and loose some water… and that is a good thing!  I add a dash or two of salt, and a teaspoon or so of sugar… sprinkle extra dry onion powder and garlic powder if you want… and stir, stir, stir.  Lastly add a pinch of fresh basil!!

6) Move it to the blender to make it homogeneous, fluffy and yummy… I added 2 cloves of fresh and uncooked garlic at this point to give it an extra bite! and it was worth it!

7) I froze extra sauce in recycled store bought spaghetti sauce jars!

“Psychologist Robert Larzelere notes a problem with human punishment studies, which often find that spanked children are at increased risk for aggression, depression, and low self-esteem.  Well, yes, says Larzelere, just as people who have received radiation treatments are more likely to die of cancer, and people who have undergone psychotherapy are more likely to suffer depression-because they had preexisting problems that triggered the treatments.  If one adjust for preexisting cancer or depression-or antisocial behavior- then radiation, psychotherapy, or an occasional single swat or two of misbehaving 2-6 year olds looks more effective.

“Punished behavior is not forgotten; it is suppressed.  This temporary suppression may (negatively) reinforce the parents’ punishing behavior.  The child swears, the parent swats, the parent hears no more swearing from the child, and the parent feels the punishment was successful in stopping the behavior.  But was it?  If the punishment is avoidable, the punished behavior may reappear in safe settings [not at home in front of parents] …the child will swear elsewhere.

“Punishment may also increase aggressiveness by demonstrating that aggression is a way to cope with problems…Punishment can create fear; the person receiving the punishment may associate the fear not only with the undesirable behavior but also with the person who administers it or with the situation in which it occurs…”

From Exploring Psychology: 5th Edition in Modules, David G. Myers

Thank God for this Study that revealed in the late 1990’s the negative effects of spanking as a form of discipline.  If you’ve raised children prior to this study, don’t beat yourself up… you did the best that you knew how.   But for those of us that are raising children after this study was published we have a higher standard to discipline by.

As the saying goes, “To whom much is given, much is required.”  We’ve been given this knowledge and now we must choose what to do with it.

I get so excited when I get to work with midwives because of what they all bring to the laboring room- a confidence in natural and normal birth that regards interventions necessary ONLY in a small % of women.  In the past, I’ve had a hard time trying to convince very intelligent and open-minded women that midwives are just as capable (if not more capable) of delivering a healthy baby while protecting mom as well.

Here’s a little list that I’ve  created of WHY a midwife is a great choice for a normal birth:

-If she is your midwife she will be on-call for your birth… meaning… at 3 a.m. you call and she will meet you at your birth place.

-Unlike obgyns, midwives spend lots of time with you in your birth.  In my experience once you’re about 6 cm dilated… they don’t leave you (unless they absolutely have to go to another birth).

-They are skilled in normal birth and not surgery.  They will use tools such as massage, baths, counter-pressure,  positioning and patiences to get the baby out. They will not and in fact CANNOT use forceps for birth.  If you want a forceps delivery, you’ll have to call the dr. on-call while you are in labor.  A midwife will NOT do it.

-In my 2+ years of doula work, I’ve yet to see a midwife give an episiotomy!

-Midwives often do 2 week post-partum check-ups for emotional support.  Most ObGyns will wait until 6 weeks to check up on you post-partum.

-They are very skilled in emergency situations.  I have seen midwives deliver babies with ‘dropping heart tones,’ shoulder dystocia, 10 lbs 4 oz babies, babies in water, babies on land, babies delivered in squatting position/hands and knees, babies ‘overdue’ without any problem, babies gently delivered without any tissue tearing.  They have all the man-made instruments available  in case of an emergency vaginal birth but they do NOT rely heavily upon them.  They rely on mom’s body and their own ability.

-Midwives DO NOT do cesareans.  Imagine delivering with someone that believes cesarean is not an option.  In order to do it, they must hand their patient over to the on-call ObGyn.  This means, they are usually not eager or quick to the decision of cesarean. They care enough about their own patients to suggest one if necessary.

-They are women!!!!! They have at least experienced menstration and at most delivered several children themselves.  They know you, how your made and can truly empathize with you!

I love midwives and recommend them 100% of the time for birth.  Even if you have a dr. I recommend visiting a midwife one time during your pregnancy just to make sure that you’ve ruled one out as an option.  If you need a list of good ones… give me a holler: lauren@birthisfun.com

Here’s some good sites for info on midwives and normal birth:

American Pregnancy Association: What is a midwife and what do they do?

Lamaze International: No Routine Interventions

American College of Nurse Midwifery Info

Frontier Midwifery School

I sat down in my car after I concluded my “Birth is Fun weekend Intensive class” at Baby Moon and I was ready to head home to my babies.  I put the key in the ignition and it wouldn’t budge… not a bit.  I took it out, turned it around and tried it again… nothing.  I pulled it out slightly and jiggled, jiggled, jiggled… and, ah, there it was the gentle purr of my luxurious 2001 chevy malibu!

Like birth, you cannot force a key into a lock… you could bend the key, distort the lock or get it stuck.  It is much easier to take a deep breath and move… move… move… move.  Think ‘move that baby down, like a key in a lock…’ easy, slowly, with intention and without intervention… naturally.