Homemade Dishwasher Soap

FINALLY!!!!!!!! 

I've been searching for a homemade dishwasher soap forever.  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!!!

I'm sure people already do this. If so I missed it somehow!  I had this light bulb moment. My Grandma mentioned to me that I can add vinegar to my dishwasher to help with soap residue.  I randomly remembered that while loading my dishwasher, and wanted to try it. But I wanted to try it instead of my normal dishwasher soap {which is full of things dangerous to little ones, and says on there, contact poison control if child ingests}.
I added a tsp of dish soap to help with the tough stuck on food.  I love it! It works amazing! My dishes were much cleaner than normal.  It also cleaned my dishwasher, which may be why it worked so well too.

Here it is:

1/2 Cup white vinegar
1 TSP dish soap

I pour in as much of the 1/2 c vinegar into the soap container {not sure what you call it} and close the lid.  Then the tsp of soap with the rest of the vinegar in the open soap spot.  And wash!

SO easy!
Cheap!
NATURAL!
I'm excited! Can you tell!? ;)

**NOTE: It's important not to add more than a tsp of dish soap or you will get a bubbly mess...today I tried it with a tablespoon to see, and my floor got a little wash too :) 

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

I believe we are meant to eat traditional foods that God made for us.  Real food...fresh food...

BUT I think a treat every now and then is fine, and can even be a way to stay focused on eating well %90 of the time.  If I really want something sweet {everyday!}, knowing I will have it on a certain day helps me stay on track. 

As long as that food doesn't make me sick (so sad gluten is out of the picture for me), then a treat is on the menu every now and then. 

No judging here...I went almost allllllll week with out sugar! Pretty good for me. 
All that to say....we had a treat today :) And...they were delicious, and I wanted to share the recipe.


2 Cups Peanut butter (organic if possible)
1 Cup sugar (organic)
2 Tbsp Stevia (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients in a mixer, spoon scoops onto a cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 10 minuets. Super easy, and super yummy!!!  

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Two weeks ago, we searched for a frozen gluten free pizza in a store, for our "Pizza Friday's". We couldn't find any!  Since then I found one at Trader Joes, but this homemade gluten free pizza was easy, delicious, and cheap!
While searching for a homemade gluten free crust recipe, I found they were all very complicated, made with ingredients I didn't even know where to get. (I bought Tapioca flour at Winco in bulk section).
 I was really excited when my friend Victoria gave me this recipe! I tweaked it just a bit to make the crust thicker.  Hope you like it!

*Becomes very sticky!! Use tapioca flour on cutting board liberally.


2 1/2 cups Tapioca Flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
3 eggs
2 Tbsp water
1 cup mozzarella cheese (mixes into crust)

Mix all ingredients, including cheese in a mixer.  Knead dough with plenty of flour, and roll out.  {If it's still sticky, you can spread it out on pan like a batter with a rubber spatula until smooth}. Bake @ 350 for 7 minuets. Take out, add toppings {we used cheese, pepperoni and spinach), bake another 7-12 minuets. 

Hope you like it, our family did! Thanks Victoria!

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Affects of Sugar & Weigh In

Weigh In: -2.4!! Whoot! Since Jan 1 I've lost 9 pounds! Granted 4 of those were period pounds.  I'm excited!

So, today was day 3 on Whole 30 again. Which means NO SUGAR.  Ironically I decided to make Cody some  Rice Krispy treats today to celebrate him being gluten free for 15 days (I know I know, celebrate with out food!)!!!  I made the mistake of making them while starving and I ate 3 or 4 spoon fulls.......ShakeMyHead. 
So I decided to do some research (on of my favorite things!) on what sugar does to the body to give me more motivation to not eat it. And to cut back the boys sugar intake.  SUGAR IS MY GOLIATH!!! I will most likely struggle with eliminating it for a long time.  Tomorrow is a new day, and NO more today!

 Here's what I found while researching:

1. A high sugar intake causes the normal "self cleaning" flow inside a tooth to actually reverse, which causes decay!!  I've read about this on a few other sources and finally understand it now. A tooth is self cleaning from the inside out. Too much sugar affects the saliva production, mineral absorbption, then the flow of fluid in the teeth. (That wasn't a very good description..read the link lol)  Motivation for me!

2. Too much sugar effects your brain, your memory, and actually makes you less smart (don't like the word "stupid").

3. Lowers immune system.  Sugar is absorbed by your white blood cells the same way Vitamin C is. Since the average American eats 3 lbs of sugar a week, our white blood cells leave vitamin C out, and is unable to use it! Vitamin C is the proper fuel for White blood cells, NOT SUGAR.  Hmm...all very interesting!

4. You burn SUGAR instead of FAT.  Think about it. If we (totally guilty) have a sugary coffee (my weakness) a bowl of cereal, and a banana before we go exercise (or even worse we don't exercise..guilty there too lately!!) Our body has to burn off the sugar FIRST, before it gets to the stored fat.What a bummer.

5. Sugar feeds bacteria, parasites & yeast.  Yeast overgrowth (Candidiasis) can also cause malnutrition! When white blood cells can't fight off all the bacteria...it causes lots of health problems. Candidiasis is just one of them. Watch this video....So cool. White blood cell chasing a single bacteria. 


I copied this paragraph from LIVESTRONG because it explains it so well.  Our white blood cells are busy! I need to not be making it's job so much harder!
" According to a Loma Linda University study published in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” consuming about 100 g of sugar through drinks or food may limit your white blood cells’ capacity to kill off bacteria by approximately 40 percent. To consume about 100 g of sugar you would have to have about 1 liter of soda or 8 tbsp. of sugar. Researchers in the study found that sugar may start suppressing immune function within less than 30 minutes after consumption and continue suppressing it up to five hours after. An occasional sweet indulgence shouldn’t cause problems, but this research suggests that constantly eating sugary foods may compromise your immunity. Furthermore, cutting back on sugar will reduce your risk of obesity and weight-related conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/530904-nutrition-tips-for-a-low-white-blood-cell-count/#ixzz2Ikj5Bmjq

We also know, sugar feeds cancer, causes diabetes, obesity, ect. If the "BEAST" is an issue for you too, there are great sources to wean off of it. Like this one. 


Love, The Curvy Housewife

EXCITING NEWS

I have been SWAMPED this week!! Fewww! There is a Healthy Mouth World Summit going on I've been "attending" all week (it's online confrence with live Q&A's every afternoon). It's been awesome! Reviews coming soon whether you like it or not. :D

Also Cody has been having some health issues, and he had a long appoint and was tested for all kinds of food allergies. He is having GI issues and they also wanted 3 days worth of stool samples. That's been fun. Not.

Long story short, he's been off gluten for 10 days and is already doing so much better. Praise the Lord. Crazy to think that when I was little I saw several doctors for my stomach and the head of pediatrics eventually diagnosed me with "Stress".  My poor mom! They never even offered a food allergy test.
We've ALL been sick too. Blah. Boys had ear infections and cough, sore throat. My throat was hurting and I feel weak in general, but thanks to Fermented Cod Live Oil and my essential oils I got a much milder version. I gave Cody garlic orally for his ear infection and it worked! The dr prescribed him anti-biotics but with his messed up GI I didn't want to mess it up more! Last week a doctor said he had a pretty significant one, and then Tuesday a different doctor said it was just a little red and didn't need anti-biotics. God is so good to give us what we need.

For Reece (he wouldn't swallow the garlic) I sauteed garlic in olive oil and let it cool. Then used a dropper to put a few drops into his ears. Seems to be helping.

So on to my exciting news........for several months I've been thinking/praying about doing a program in nutrition, or disease prevention/treatment. WELL today I found a great one, and enrolled! Whoot! Starts in 11 days!!!! It's a certification program from University of California, San Francisco.  It's title is "Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention". Yay!!!!!

I had certain things I was looking for in a program: not strictly plant based, not strictly government food pyramid, touches on food and disease, and really wanted it to touch on GI issues that pertain to me (and now Cody) ie. leaky gut, gluten intolerance, ect.  This is all that! I  am prepared for some things I don't do/agree with, but no program is perfect. 

This probably sounds a lot more impressive than it is. It's only 6 weeks. I don't care. I'm super excited. :) 

Love, The Curvy Housewife 

A healthy coffee....

At last!!!! A healthy coffee!!! You all know how much I love my coffee...but I got depressed when I had to drink it black. I look forward to my hot coffee and bible in the morning. So I reached out to Wellness Mama {if you don't read her blog OMStars you should} and she's so awesome to have gotten back to me with this.  A healthy, lovely cup of Joe.

1 Cup Organic coffee
I use 1 tbsp Kerrygold grass fed butter
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1/4 tsp vanilla
a drop of stevia

Blend all together 20 seconds and voila! Creamy, healthy coffee. 

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Weigh In

4.7 pounds lost! Whoot!! I am good with that...I want more though. :)

Total of 61.7 pounds gone...now I just need to lose 4.3 more to get where I was a couple months ago, then PASS THAT!

This week has been kinda rough. It's so easy to say "no sugar & gluten!" but so hard to actually do it.  So easy to say, "starting whole 30 again!" So hard to actually stick with it....BUT "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!"

I am doing my best (which often isn't as good as I can do..) at not eating sugar & gluten, but I've decided no matter what I eat, I'm going to log it and try to stay with in my calories.  {I say "try" & I'm gonna do my best" because I hate it when I say "I won't" then I do.}.

Hope next week I'll be that much closer.

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Eating Organic on a Budget Part 2

Sorry for the super long delay from Part 1......It was a busy few months! These posts are because, as a family of 5, I don't find it fair that we can't "afford" organic, wholesome foods.  So, I've been determined to find organic, whole foods at a good price.  If you don't do a Paleo, Gluten/Sugar free lifestyle, Part 1 will suit you, as well as part two so keep reading!  

{*SIDE NOTE Since part 1 I have changed our eating quit a bit to sugar & gluten free (well I try). I no longer buy a lot of grains (pasta, bread, cereal, oatmeal).  Which gives me more for my meats, veggies, fruits, & fats.  My boys do MUCH better w low sugar/grains. My husband gets less headaches & I don't have tummy aches like I have my whole life!}

The Budget. We do the Envelope System.
I get our budgeted grocery money out in cash, and what I try* to do is save a few dollars each trip and put it away for something I want to save for.  Recently I used it on Christmas shopping, and am now starting over again. It's a great way to organize your money. I suggest you budget separately from your grocery money, a gluten free pizza night from Dominos and keep that in your "Eating Out" envelope for a night off :). 

Let's determine the weekly budget for groceries.  Example:

Family of 5, Budget $125 a week for food-

Fruit/Veggies- $25
Meat/Seafood-$45
Fats- $15
Dairy- $25
 Misc-$10
Condiments- $5


 
Fruits-
*Buy fruits that are in season, this way you can afford organic produce easier. Trader Joe's, Costco, Whole Foods, Farmers Markets, Walmart, & Target all have Organic produce.
*Only buy organic for the "dirty dozen":

1

Apples

2

Celery

3

Sweet bell peppers

4

Peaches

5

Strawberries

6

Nectarines
– imported

7

Grapes

8

Spinach

9

Lettuce

10

Cucumbers

11

Blueberries
– domestic

12

Potatoes

Some of our staples are: Organic Carrots for less than $1 a bag, organic Granny Smith's for $2.50 a bag, organic frozen broccoli for $3 a bag, (2) organic Spinach for $2 a bag, Banana's (don't need to be organic) for $.50 a lb all from Trader Joe's.  At Costco I buy organic Yams (huge bag) $8, and a BIG box of Oranges for $10.  At the Farmer's Market- organic Celery for $1.50 for one head and one pound of organic grapes for $2 (to name a couple). 

Meat/Seafood-

I try to do a weekly meal plan so I know what I'll be making. 

*You can buy a whole organic chicken for around $13, and spread that for at least 2 dinners & 1 lunch.  (Stay tuned for my budget friendly recipes)
* 2 packages of organic free range drumsticks (for bone broth & chicken soup!) $6,
*5 dozen eggs Costco (not organic here yet, sometimes you have to pick & choose) $8,
*package of 3 Organic ground beef at Costco $17 (grass fed is BEST, & I recently found it local for 5 a lb, but if you can't organic is better than regular).

Fats-
Nuts, Avocados, Coconut oil, or Olive oil. You can buy a huge jar of organic Coconut oil from Costco that will last you at least two months for $15. Buy that one week, the next week buy Olive oil & organic nuts, the next week buy just nuts & avocados. Or how ever that's convenient for you :)

Dairy- 
Well...I'm a huge fan and promoter of Organic RAW dairy.  It's not always accessible or with in budget though.  Alternatives are organic pasteurized milk products (even though some say it's a dead food because it's pasteurized, I still think it's better than no milk products, especially for growing kids, and ONLY if they are tolerant of lactose. If someone in your family is lactose intolerant, try raw diary and goats milk products.)

*2 gallons Organic full fat milk $12 (I tend to like Horizon the best, their milk tastes the creamiest, like real full fat milk should. I get from Walmart or Target).
*Tillamook Cheese (grass fed cows when it's season, animals treated with care, no HMO's or antibiotics) $5 a lb.
*BUTTER!!! (3) 8 oz Kerrygold butter (grass fed!) Trader Joe's $7.50

Hope this helped someone, if it did, please leave a comment!  I'll be back with budget friendly organic meal ideas!!

Love, The Curvy Housewife 

PS Weigh In tomorrow!!

Nourishing Meals

 I am going to start posting some of the recipes I've come up with that are gluten & sugar free (some sugar free recipes still have organic fruit & honey). Also I am going to be doing a tab & posts on "Nourishing Meals".  (I am still learning & I want to record everything I learn!) Traditional/ancestral food is something I am really learning about and things are clicking! For those of you that aren't familiar with Paleo, Weston A. Price, or "traditional/ancestral" diets, they are going back to the way people ate 100+ years ago. Paleo or "primal" eating is based on hunter gatherer diets of "cavemen".  (I am a bible believing Christian and I don't believe in evolution, I believe we were created by the Creator God. I refer to Native Americans & primitive cultures rather than "cavemen".) I also believe we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and God put Adam and Eve in the Garden and gave them everything they needed for health.

Weston A. Price was a Dentist (DDS) in the 1930's that was extremely concerned about all the dental caries he saw people were plagued with.  His child died of a side effect from an infected root canal, & he decided to travel all across the country learning from primitive cultures, studying their health and their native foods.  He found that every cultures diet varied, but all had one thing in common. No refined, processed foods.  He also ruled out that it wasn't genetic because he followed healthy, robust groups of people to modernized areas with processed modern food and found the same thing every time: degenerative diseases, including extreme tooth decay.  The children born to the parents that had moved from their native land had smaller heads, narrow jaws and dental arches, and crooked teeth.  His book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" is truly amazing. It's loaded with pictures.  He gives the cure for tooth decay and all his studies he did, including children in the US with dozens of cavities. Dr. Price was the founder of the American Dental Association (ADA) and a genius in nutrition. Sadly today, the ADA doesn't credit any of his studies, and they don't teach anything Dr. Price discovered.  First recipe I want to share is a Berry Green smoothie...it was sooo yum!
1 Cup Organic Milk
1 Cup Frozen organic Raspberries
1 cup spinach
2 ice cubes
1 tbsp honey
1/2 a banana- Blend & serve.
Reece & Cody loved it. Shane is very picky about texture...sigh.
 

 The second is a homemade Bone Broth Chicken Veggie Soup.  Dr. Price found that bone broths daily prevent and heal cavities.  This was really new to me. My mom use to give me chicken broth when I was sick (I had stomach issues a lot as a child).  I never knew why...I thought because it was warm and soothing.  Truth is bone broths (homemade not canned!)  are very nourishing!

I cooked and served 10 organic free range chicken bones the night before.
Of the ones the chicken was gone I stewed the chicken bones for about 16 hours (bring to a boil then simmer all night) with onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper.
After 16 hours on simmer I strained it into a big container, then poured it back into the pot, added new carrots, celery, onion, skinned and chopped yams, and cut the chicken off the bones that we didn't eat and added those.
 I also threw in some spinach for extra minerals, Pink Himalayan salt and Thyme. Cooked it for another hour or so then served! It was very very good.  You can see how it's kinda foggy? I read the more foggy the more nutrient dense.  I hope that's true! It's easy and a great way to get our veggies in.  Reece had two bowls lol!

Love, The Curvy Housewife 

 

PS, I'M REALLY CONSIDERING CHANGING MY BLOG NAME....TO "THE NOURISHING MAMA". WHAT DO YOU THINK? One reason is because, if you google "curvy housewife, my blog will come up, then, some not so good links & sites......LOL blah! Help!

My gluten free, sugar free Banana bread! YUM

I decided to do some baking today.  I wanted Banana bread but since cutting out gluten and sugar I am on a mission to find or create delicious recipes!!!

I played around and created a YUMMY Banana bread recipe.  Next time I will leave out Coconut flour (I don't like it) & use all rice flour. Or if I get brave enough I will eventually cut rice flour & use blanched almond flour.  (BTW love my new lens hubby got me for Christmas! Can't wait to use it in a shoot).

Here's the outcome, and the recipe:
1 1/2 cups White Rice flour
1/2 cup Coconut flour
2 eggs
1/2 a cup of soft butter (I LOVE Kerrygold (Trader Joes $2.50, Whole Foods), it's from grass fed cows, much more vitamins & minerals than regular butter. Only thing better than this is Raw grass fed butter, which I've made before {I'm pretty proud of that!}. YES butter is good for you! The more yellow the richer in nutrients.... Butter, not margarine.)
1/4 c milk  (organic if possible)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp stevia
2 tbsp raw honey (local if you can)
I mashed banana (I mash it right in the peel)
1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)
Mix all ingredients in a mixer, scoop into a bread pan, bake at 350 for 30-35 mins (I don't usually time things, I poke them with a knife & take it out when its just a little under done to keep it soft and very moist...)

{For a total Paleo recipe, substitute rice flour for almond flour & milk for a 1/4 c coconut milk.}

Topped with butter & a dribble of honey.....DELICIOUS!

 

Love, The Curvy Housewife

I resolve to FINISH

January 1, 2010 was my very first blog post. Wow! Three years has flown by. It's been a wonderful, happy, trial some 3 years.
Since then we've: Lost a baby, had a baby. Gained a ministry job, lost a ministry job. Gained new friends, lost a friend to a car accident. Paid off our van, made a new nest egg.
I've LOST 66 lbs, gained some back. Lost some & gained some again. Now losing those annoying few pounds & more!
I was sick, then I got better. I had surgery while pregnant! I've adjusted to being the mommy to three boys and I love it.

I've ran 2 Half marathons (one of which I finished LAST because it was a torturous 14.5 miles of steep, narrow trails!) Completed 3 triathlons, and one 26.1 mi Bike the Coast. I got certified to teach cycle, and completed a few 5ks & 10ks.

I'm very proud of myself. I'm not where I want be, but I'm not where I was. Thank you Jesus.
With God's help, and my determination, I WILL reach my goal weight this year!

I've learned SO much these last few years. Through sickness of my own I've learned about nutrition and health and I'm so thankful.

You'll all be sad to know that after 23 months if no aunt flow (10 while pregnant, 13 while nursing!) she just returned. Yay! Not. I stepped on the scale this morning. To see a 4lb gain! What the hoots?! On top of the 5 I had gained back already. No bueno. It's going down. Big time.

I haven't posted progress pics in a while. The ones of me in all black are from march(ish) 2012 (4 months post partum) to this week. Others are from Christmas time 2009- Christmastime 2012.

Love, The Curvy Housewife