Breakfast of Champions (and, no, this is not about Frosted Flakes)

Hmmmm, what for breakfast?

the milk went bad yesterday so that kind of limits my options.
Lord knows i oughta eat more eggs but i need something just a little less laborious at the moment. ok, a LOT less. i need something NOW.

how about a popsicle??!

why, yes, i think i will

"really???!", you might say...

YES, this isn't just ANY popsicle...

HERE'S the recipe.
SUPER easy... and, yes, they really do turn out looking that cool

NOTE:
i pretty much always find some kind of modification to apply to the recipes i find to make them healthier.

here's what i do with this one:
1. omit the sugar, add a bit of vanilla flavoring
2. for yogurt, use
*PLAIN (vanilla flavoring ^ adds enough without added sugar of vanilla yogurt),
*GREEK variety (a LOT more protein, less sugar),
*0%-2% milk fat.

***i like Chobani or Cabot brand (less expensive and as far as i'm concerned just as good)

FRUIT? check!
PROTEIN? check!
YUMMINESS? check!

on a side note, these are also a great substitute for an ice cream dessert ;)

do you ever have one of those days when it feels like life is one endless load of laundry??

sometimes it is SOO hard to get motivated.
which brings me to another point of purging.

there's been an ongoing discussion in our home about how to spend (or not spend) our money. (a bit of a more ongoing discussion now that there is a third person.) especially now that i'm not working i don't feel nearly as free to purchase things "just for fun". BUT buying baby clothes aren't "just for fun", right?? they actually serve a very good purpose, no? well, 1 of the 2 of us has a little bit of a more conservative view on the matter...
(i'll let you do the deciphering)

it's been a few weeks and we still hadn't figured out a good balance
UNTIL
last week it became apparent that one of the main issues is freedom.
in other words, being able to "get up and go"- no being held back or tied down by

"stuff"

ok, i TOTALLY get that! anyone that knows me understands that i LOVE adventure and going...

and THEN i ran into this post while browsing one of my favorite blogs a few days later...

"I was walking back from the coffee shop near my office recently when I just happened to see a stencil of a clover on the street and snapped a photo of it. I guess it was left over from the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but I took it as one of those little messages the Universe likes to leave in your path when you’re in need of a mental bitch slap. As in, don’t forget how lucky I am to be taking a break from a job many people would kill for with a kind of pretentious iPhone camera in my pocket and an expensive handmade coffee drink in my hand. I generally take all those things for granted in the sense of just not thinking about them deeply enough. It’s as if I’ve become so used to them that I have an unconscious sense of entitlement, and I really really hate that. It not only cuts me off from reality, but it also insulates me from the possibility of astonishment around every corner.  All the things and stuff I accumulate, like that daily complicated coffee order, distract me from bigger issues, deeper needs, the solitariness and yearning waiting at the heart of every life. What can I do without in order to live a richer life?"

"What can I do without in order to live a richer life?"

wow.

well, now, that is a SPECTACULAR question!

(and i believe there's something about this in the Bible too)
ever heard of the Rich Young Ruler?

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ... "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first. - Mat 19:21-24, 30 NASB

you know, i find it rather astonishing sometimes how the truths of the Bible are inside of us in our very souls and yet sooo many people don't see that we ALL are created for God's glory- whether we decide to believe it or not!
there's no escaping his handiwork and master plan

(i don't believe in "messages from the Universe, btw, i think it's something called sovereignty)

anyways, back to purging.

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
 - 1Ti 6:6-11 NASB

you see, it's like we treat these kinds of discoveries like an epiphany when it's
WHAT WE WERE MADE FOR

the way it's SUPPOSED to be.
and we wonder why people who seem to have it all, the world at their fingertips, are just never quite "happy" enough and every once in a while someone (like my fellow blogger) says, "wait a minute, LOOK at all these blessings! look at all the little things i have that i don't even NEED."

THESE are the very things that CLOUD my eyes from what's really important. the special little moments of each day that canNOT be noticed unless i get rid of STUFF. distractions. things that i think make me happy but in reality keep me from finding contentment all around me.


(so i guess now you know whom is the more materialistic out of the 2 of us)

so what does all this have to do with LAUNDRY you might ask?
well, while that may never actually go away i think it is the perfect reminder of how the more stuff we have the less free TIME we have. time to notice the flowers poking out of the bushes, the butterfly coasting through the air, the sun shining through the window, the feeling of a little head contentedly resting on my shoulder. AND the power of our valuing capability decreases as it is spread over a ginormous amount of objects instead of just a handful that actually MEAN SOMETHING.


i'm certainly still learning

but it's a start...

transformation of a junk food

i have to say, i absolutely LOVE how pizza night has become "clean out the veggie drawer" night!

i was diagnosed with hyperinsulinemia about 8 years ago and so since then pizza has been one of those "no-no" foods to only splurge on once in a while...

BUT NOW

NOW
my husband and i can agree on this one
very important part of his life
(haha)

here's the breakdown: 

i've slowly but surely been "cleaning" up what we use for the crust... the latest was a flatbread from our local downtown market sooooo no preservatives or anything (yes, there is an ingredient list- not assumption) but still probably not the healthiest thing.
(we've also used the Flatout flatbread before, again, being "healthy" but LOOK at the ingredient list!! ummmm, there's a LOT of things i don't think are supposed to be in there :/ ...no more!)

NEXT time i'm gonna try my hand at homemade... can't wait! i've tried making my own crust before via the bread machine but it never really turned out right (it seems due to our FL humidity maybe?) and now i've got a new method (which i'll get into another day) that i'm itching to experiment with.

ooooooh, but the TOPPINGS!
let's see....
spinach, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes, scallions, green peppers, fresh basil, and of course cheese and pepperoni
can we say YUM?!
(most all veggies courtesy of the veggie co-op i recently joined- yippy!)

so a few things i haven't really gotten into yet is dairy and meat
(tomato/pasta sauce is next on the list to make)

ALTHOUGH

i USED to be the ALDI-money-saving-at-all-costs wife buying frozen meat that ate who-knows-what while being raised and packaged in who-knows-what in the store. BLECH! 

(my husband actually encouraged this one)

so NOW i'm settling on Perdue Fit and Easy chicken which is:
1. raised cage-free
2. raised on vegetarian diet
3. has no artificial additives or preservatives

and i just grab a BUNCH to freeze when it's on sale. every once in a while the store brand organic chicken isn't too expensive so i get that when i can. as far as ground meat i 99% of the time use ground turkey or chicken for tacos, lasagna, meatloaf, patties, etc. SOOO much healthier than beef and there are good all-natural varieties available at reasonable prices.
again, SALE= stock up and freeze

(oh yeah, turkey pepperoni and turkey bacon are GREAT options too! lower in calories and fat, good amount of protein and still very good!! ...the hubby says so!)

ps- if you season enough 1- hubby won't even notice or
2- at least won't complain too much ;)

eventually i'd like to check out this place to get my meats- LOCAL, woohoo!!!- but i just discovered it a few days ago and currently don't have any freezer space. this is also an option for anyone interested if you are at all close to I-75 in TN and states south of there.

obviously i'm still workin' through my game plan in the meat department...

so anyways, the concept applied to our new way of enjoying pizza is

"stuff your fav foods full of veggies wherever you can"

and NO food is off limits! (really.)

ENJOY!!!

Step 1

one of my first apprehensions to refining the way that we eat was getting my husband on board :/

men and their food!

the challenging part is that he can eat absolutely anything he wants as often as he wants and it doesn't change a THING

(no wonder i've had a complex with MY relationship with food. j/k)

so, basically, why would he want to change?
cue: the REALLY challenging part

ok, maybe you don't understand.
my husband has been a cheeto-loving, pizza-hoarding, Snickers-craving,  fries and burgers, potato chips and crackers kind of fiend.
and no worse for the wear- yet, at least.
(that may be a little of a strong perspective but it's funny... and half way true)

in my experience with men, they tend to have this "if it ain't broke don't fix it" kind of mentality. so wheeeere exactly was i to start?

(this was my first battle- deciding i really
wanted to address this area of our family's life and habits)

(i was encouraged it WOULD be worth it by some "mommy friends" who have forged the same path in their homes. in their words, 

"if YOU do the shopping YOU can change what comes through your front door into your cabinets and fridge."

<sigh> ok, no excuses then...)

in my experience with women, we happen to build things up in our minds and blow things out of proportion. oops.

so, really, what i thought would be a HUGE discussion was more of a "well, if you stay within your food budget go for it" kind of answer.
YAY !

so that was that.
WOOHOO!

truth be told i did not stay within the budget for a few weeks but now that i've got it down to somewhat of a science i spend about 20% LESS on groceries than before.

here's a (hopefully) fairly quick breakdown of the process over the past couple months:
1. Eat through all the bad stuff... ie: crackers, chips, bread, frozen meals, granola bars, cereal, artificial artifacts (lol) ie: convenience foods, etc.
2. find some new recipes to fill voids from above listed items
3. buy organic "dirty dozen" produce items
4. be consistent with buying eggs from farm down the road

ok. gameplan...
cue: Pinterest!
(in my opinion, the perfect activity to stay busy while nursing)
next: make food! ...ahem, that's QUICK, EASY, and TASTES GOOD


i've got a LOT of awesome recipes that are changing the way we eat- and even think about food- that i can't wait to share with you...

EXCITEMENT!!!

A New Way

pregnancy changed my life in a big way.

ok, so maybe that's not so abnormal.
in case you haven't noticed, my blog has not been so consistent over the past year and that has not been due simply to the craziness of being pregnant and now a SAHM with an infant.

honestly, since i was pregnant with our little guy i have not struggled nearly as much with body image/ healthy lifestyle like i had in the past (due to different hormones, it seems- yippy!) and that's supposed to be what this blog is mainly about so i've been a little lost as to how to continue.
sooo...

as i've taken some time figuring out which direction to take my musings i think i've finally got it!
here goes...

~~~

i've always SWORN to myself that i would NOT become a crazy woman once i became a mom... crazy as in allowing only organics in the house and stuff of that nature. you know, one of those "my baby's gonna have nothing but the best and i'll break the bank if i have to, making sure of it!" kind of moms.

well, if you were to ask my husband he'd probably say that i have failed in this oath of refusal BUT although i wouldn't agree, i HAVE been enjoying purging our home of some unwanted's the past couple of months.

you see, in the past, "healthy", to me, has meant:
produce
high protein
low-calorie
whole grain
natural
(refined) sugar free

and THEN i started looking at labels for some unbeknownst reason... YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i was rather disgusted with the amount of ingredients i couldn't pronounce and certainly didn't recognize in "whole grain", "hearty", "natural" items in our cupboards. not to mention those items that to my understanding should only be a few ingredients.
practically EVERYTHING has some kind of nasty chemical preservative ...x10!!!

just so you don't think i'm naive, if i were honest i've known for awhile that this is the way our foods in grocery stores are it's just that the "frugal" side of me wasn't ready to take the plunge and reeeeeally find out if clean eating can take place on a budget... and to my husbands satisfaction- ha, right. plus, i wasn't really ready for the time investment either... until now.

~~~

i guess purity has kind of been a theme of mine the past year or so
(more on that later)

and now it's just spilling over into my day to day life as i seek to be placing more and more pure sustenance on our table and in our fridge.

i hope you will join me on this adventure! i've been having a blast so far and there is SOO much to be informed about on this gradual, practical quest for PURE health.

and just in case you were wondering, since growing.rootz is also all about
CONTENTMENT
in this place God has me in right now i will still be continuing posts about life and family and...
MOMMYHOOD
every now and again as i grow my rootz into this new makeup of my soil

CHEERS!!!

Goodbyes

it's always a catch 22...

those blessings we are fortunate to experience in life.

for me, one of those things was the amazing opportunity to have grown up within 5 miles of both sets of my grandparents, and though something i'm MORE than grateful for, something that makes saying goodbye to them that much harder.

it's been almost exactly 9 years since i lost two of my grandparents within 5 weeks of each other- long enough to have forgotten how painful it is.

but this goodbye is SO much harder. because we've known it's been coming. anticipated. yet holding out hope we'd have at least another year.

one more Thanksgiving, one more Christmas, one more visit.

i think deep down when i left her house just a couple short weeks ago, i knew it would be the last meal, the last hug, the last goodbye wave as i drove away.

(and maybe they weren't but you just can never be so sure)

and with such a seemingly rapid decline, this past week, i can't help but wonder if that was her last hope. to meet another great-grandchild. to see a last promise of her faithfulness to her family. to be assured her work is done and it's time to move on into the place of her heart's greatest desire...

the selfish part of me wants to plead with God to keep her around for just a while longer. but deep down i just want her to go as peacefully as possible, to be taken from the pains of her aging, sick body and of being separated from her lifelong mate. and most of all i want her to finally be able to fulfill her dream of meeting her Lord and to be welcomed into his loving arms out of the pain and disappointments of this world, into the peace, perfection, and comfort of the next.

she has lived such a faithful life and i couldn't be more proud of her. more thankful for such a wonderful example of what it truly means to live by faith and in GOD's strength.

(how is it that time always truly flies by too fast the last years of a loved one's life? and isn't noticed til only then?)

i only hope i can bear this time of heartache in the same fashion and with the same grace that my grandmother has exhibited
over the course of her life...

and continue to find my hope and peace in the assurance that we will be reunited in perfect harmony and contentment one day, together in the presence of our Savior

as Family, bound through the blood that is o so much more powerful than that which flows through our mortal bodies...

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. - 1Cor 15:51-58 NASB

the make-up of a conquerer

I can't say I ever quite really listened to these words that I sang so often as a child but they are SOOOO powerful- just LOOK:
A mighty fortress is our God, 
a bulwark never failing; 
our helper he amid the flood 
of mortal ills prevaling.  
For still our ancient foe 
doth seek to work us woe; 
his craft and power are great, 
and armed with cruel hate, 

on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, 
our striving would be losing, 
were not the right man on our side, 
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?  
Christ Jesus, it is he; 
Lord Sabaoth, his name, 
from age to age the same, 
and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, 
should threaten to undo us, 
we will not fear, for God hath willed 
his truth to triumph through us.  
The Prince of Darkness grim, 
we tremble not for him; 
his rage we can endure, 
for lo, his doom is sure; 
one little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, 
no thanks to them, abideth; 
the Spirit and the gifts are ours, 
thru him who with us sideth.  
Let goods and kindred go, 
this mortal life also; 
the body they may kill; 
God's truth abideth still; 
his kingdom is forever.

Standing in church this morning singing this old hymn made me really stop and listen. It amazed me that I never realized this song spoke so explicitly about spiritual warfare but, WOW.


Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. 
- Eph 3:20-21 NASB


and isn't that the truth??! no matter how prevalent the attacks of Satan are in my life 
GOD. IS. ABLE.
HE. WILL. WIN.
TRUTH WILL TRIUMPH THROUGH US
and
NO ONE can change that!




so why DON'T i ask?
i thought this point interesting while reading "A Reason for God" about a month or so ago; that Satan and God are NOT equals warring against each other as is often portrayed but, rather, GOD ALONE rules and Satan is simply a lowly angel who happened to rebel and therefore leads a life in opposition to God's will. 





so often i become overwhelmed by the prevalence of evil in the spaces of life all around me and yet i forget that my God has the last say, that Satan canNOT do anything outside of what He allows, and that God CAN!!

but sometimes in my "own strength [i] confide"



What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. - Rom 8:31-33, 35-37 ESV

no matter how naive i may seem through the choices i make in facing the realities and disappointments of life, i AM a CONQUEROR for i KNOW God has better things in store for me than i- or anyone else- could ever think up or imagine for my life.




and
THAT.IS.PEACE.