It's a Captivated Life!

I've moved!

2010-05-06T05:05:00.000-07:00

Well, thankfully not in real life. This blog has moved! The new home can be found at http://livinggracefully.wordpress.com/ where I share life stories about being a person, mother, parent; crafts I make; thoughts on living simply; and, of course food links and recipes.

Come on over!

Lasater Grasslands Beef

2010-01-28T18:04:00.001-08:00

We recieved 72 lbs of beef to place in our small detached freezer this Wednesday from Lasater Grasslands Beef. They are a non certified organic Coloradan ranch specializing in Beef in all shapes and forms. They were written about in The Organic Cooks Bible and comes highly recommended from a variety of sources.

The Verdict (aka review of Lasater Grasslands Beef):

Pros -

Great meat at a great price
Smaller (much smaller) than a half a side of beef - it will actually FIT in our freezer
Environmentally friendly, freezer paper wrapping
Clearly labled packages
Everything stayed frozen, even waiting all day for me to get home from work!

Cons -

Some of the ground beef was banged up and the freezer paper was ripped
Freezer paper wrapped meat is iffy to me - will it stand the test of time in the freezer?
It still came out to $6.24 a pound for the meat. I get that's a good price for organic beef - BUT that's not as frugal as I would like it to be. And I can get organic, local ground beef for 3.75 a lb at a coop.
It came in a styrofoam cooler - but it remained frozen - I just hate to put styrofoam into the landfill. :(

All, in all, I'm excited about our order and I KNOW we are doing the right thing for our family. It's just hard to shell out the money for good food - even knowing that we'll be eating less meat in the long run!

Amount of Beef we received this week - 2.12 = 2 lbs, 12 oz.

Box 1
Backribs 2.12
Short Ribs 2.01
Soup Bone 1.15
Chuck Roast 3.06
Rump Roast 3.09
Top Round 1.06
Stew Meat 1.01 1.01
New York Steak 0.09 0.1
Rib Eye 0.09 0.12
Ground Beef 15.15

Box2
Pikes Peak Roast 3.15
Pot Roast 3.12
English Roast 3.08
Top Round 1.02
Skirt Steak 0.15
Top Sirloin 0.15
Sirloin Tip 0.14
Soup Bone 1.11
New York Steak 0.1 0.1
Rib Eye 0.11 0.12
Ground Beef 17.01

I participated in the Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter and Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday!

Rhythm of the Home

2009-12-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

I am constantly in search of articles, stories, blogs and activities that I, as a full time work out of the home mom can use to cherish my child and encourage creativity with her. I have started a schedule and have been using organization as tools to encourage her development. Our house is as natural and non commercial as I can stand - we try to limit her consumption, but that is difficult as *I* also have to limit my consumption! She paints on a weekly basis and takes part in science often, but I NEED more ideas for her to do. I need ideas on how to be a mindful parent. I need to remember that I don't need to consume. I need to connect with like minded parents. Rhythm of the Home provides that. When you have a moment, check them out - whether you have children or not. Many of the ideas can be used for anyone of any age!

Check their blog out right now - they are doing a cool giveaway!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

2009-12-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
1 32 oz package frozen hashbrowns
1 large onions/2 small onions browned in your choice of fat
1/2 lb sausage (I used a sweet breakfast sausage - I'd rather have used a savory) cooked

1 cup homemade stock WITH THE FAT (I used beef) - If no fat, use another source of fat for 2 TBS or so
1/2 cup milk substitute heated with the stock until reduced - 20 minutes or so over med heat.

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt, 1 TSP all purpose spice rub mix
a big dash of hope

Food Inc

2009-12-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

I will never look at food the same way again.

I have known for a while about the horrors associated with the food industry. Who HASN'T seen the bumper sticker for v*gans with the sick looking cow saying "EAT THIS". But it is so easy to just turn the other way. There are aisles of food - I've taken to believing that if I stick to the outside of the supermarket - meats and veggies mainly, I'd be missing out on all the crap that is in packaged candy, chips, sodas, etc.

I couldn't be more wrong. There is no reprieve from the repressive evils of the American food system. Do I sound dramatic? ;) Ok. This is a little dramatic. But, unfortunately, also true. Since we have gone gluten/dairy free, we've eaten more meat. And in doing so I've placed toxins like none other in my families bodies. Meat toxins.

The movie.... Well, Food Inc. was vastly entertaining. It was educational, but it also (I have to tell the truth) viewed a little like a scare tactic film. "Let's be as bold, loud and scary and get people to change their ways." I would have rather have more documentary and intelligent conversation than scare tactics. But I get where they are coming from. I highly doubt I would be writing this right now if I didn't feel an immediate sense of urgency from the film. That urgency comes from being saddened and sickened from the film.

I know I will be making a change in my life. I hope you'll at least watch the film and make a decision for yourself.

How to create a "healthy" recipe

2009-12-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

What is my definition of "healthy"? What are my restrictions? What is the top of my list right now of things to change about mydiet? What am I willing to do without? Those are just some of the things I think about when I try to take a gluten free/casein free recipe and work it into a more "traditional foods" recipe.

Take my blondies that I wrote about in an earlier post. Here's the original recipe - here's what I ended up using. I happen to love sweet things. And I just found out about some sort of dairy intolerance through an elimination diet. And I also know that if I don't have something sweet I will cheat on my diet. So I make brownies. I have a (great in my opinion) recipe for black bean brownies which I love - but I don't feel decadent while eating them. So I took an old recipe that I love and switched it around. Here's what I thought about while trying to figure out the recipe.

1. The first thing that popped out at me was the oil. "Hey, I can get coconut oil in there!"
2. I figured I could switch a starch - I switched potato starch for arrowroot. In my "healthy eating book" arrowroot is a better starch - I'm not all knowing so feel free to correct my assumption!
3. I did NOT want to attempt different sugars this time. Next time, I'm planning on on lowering the liquids and upping the agave nectar/honey. This time, it was important to me to have a sweet, yummy, gooey decadent treat. I was not willing to give that up.
4. My dietary restrictions were met - the recipe was already gluten/casein free. Yay.

Those are just some of my thoughts on the matter - feel free to share your own!
This is posted at Real Food Wednesday! Take a look!

Fudgy Blondies

2009-12-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

When my family first became gluten free, I LIVED for Karina. I lusted after her life and loved her more sweetly than any lover can love someone. Because when your life is turned upside down, you have no choice anymore. Karina gave me choice. Even better than that, Karina understood my life. Now, as my family is gluten AND dairy free, Karina is a lovely go to. These Fudgy blondies are not healthy. They have to much refined sugar (albeit BROWN sugar - I plan on trying these with different sugars, but I deviated so much from the original recipe, I didn't want to try something new. Here's the original recipe. Here's my modifications taken mostly from the original recipe.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup gf oat flour
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup tapioca
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup Coconut oil
1 1/2 cups organic light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
5-6 tablespoons milk - I had almond so I used almond milk- as needed
1 egg

Add the wet ingredients into the dry mix and stir till well combined. If the dough is way too stiff, add one tablespoon of rice milk at a time to soften. Add a spoon at a time until the dough holds together- it should be sturdy and glossy.
To Make Vanilla Brownies: Plop the dough (recipe above) into a 9x13-inch baking pan lined with greased foil, and spread the dough evenly. Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes, until the center is firm to the touch and a wooden pick inserted into the brownies emerges clean.Makes 18 generous brownies.

Thanksgiving Food 2009

2009-11-25T18:08:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is almost here. We are blessed to be able to have our small family all together, with C NOT working tomorrow - it's a first. Thanksgiving with 3 people is a simple affair, we'll have plenty of leftovers, lots of love and thankfulness to share. I got a start on the meal today, making the pie in advance, as well as the bread, and croutons for the stuffing/dress. I wanted to do the cranberry sauce, and maybe the yams, but decided to start work on some of the handmade gifts I'm making for Christmas.

Our menu consists of:
Once I decide recipes I'll post the recipes here! Not great for this year, but at least I'll know where to look for next year!

Turkey
Dressing/Stuffing made with homemade bread
Homemade bread (what an amazing recipe!)
Homemade cranberry sauce
potatoes (C REALLY wants them....)
Yams with homemade marshmallows
green beans - one way or another. I haven't decided what to do with them
And PUMPKIN PIE!

2009-11-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today, while I made marshmallows, C and E slept. I thought the picture was too cute and I had to post it!
To make the marshmallows I used organic sugar (just because I had it and it was cheap at Costco), maple syrup (also from Costco), salt and gelatin. And water. That's it. When the cuties woke from their nap, they were just in time to lick the bowl. And fight over who got the spatula. E won.;)
Here is a picture of the marshmallows all smoothed out in the pan....
...and here's our treat tonight - cocoa with homemade maple marshmallows! Yum.
Or here's a picture of E enjoying a marshmallow straight out of the bowl!

Handmade Goatsmilk Soap Recipe

2009-11-19T10:22:00.001-08:00

I love a beautiful basket of handmade items. When you make things by hand, remember: Presentation is EVERYTHING! A bar of soap is just a bar of soap, but if you wrap it in tulle, or muslin, or an artfully frayed flannel shrt, it just looks divine. In the picture above is also a homemade brown sugar scrub and an oil based bath salt soak. I packaged them with the same scents - I thought it looked nice!

Here's my personal recipe! This is a recipe that I tweaked from Miller Soap (THE website I recommend to newbies) There are many recipes out there - be careful though and make sure you run the recipe through a LYE CALULATOR (The Sage is my favorite).

These are Basic Soap Directions. Be sure to read information on making soap, use the safety precautions you find important and be informed before you start. Soapmaking can be EXTREMELY dangerous if you do not respect they LYE. Always have white vinegar nearby to neutralize the vinegar. A WONDERFUL BEGINNER website is Miller Soap. She gives amazing information for a beginner – I’m starting on the belief that you already know the safety precautions, etc for soapmaking. I take no responsibility for your soapmaking experiments, nor am I a doctor, etc, etc. I use this exact recipe for my soapmaking and swear by it though! Goatsmilk soothes my dry skin, and - as of yet, I haven't had any problemw ith the goatsmilk. Feel free to change the liquid - water and green tea both work. Do NOT use aluminum – check around and research to see what kinds of pots, mixing bowls, utensils to use! I use glass and stainless steel.

6 oz Cocoa Butter
14 oz Coconut Oil
52 oz Olive Oil
16 oz Palm Oil

32 oz goatsmilk frozen until cold and slushy/frozen
11.69 oz lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
Around 4 ounces Essential Oil of your choice

Heavy pot
Immersion blender
Plastic stirring spoon
Soap molds (I started out with shoe boxes lined with wax paper)
Mixing bowl
Digital thermometer
Digital scale
Empty box (big enough for your soap molds)
blanket

Melt oils in pot. Be careful NOT to overheat – I melt to about 100-110 F.
Pour goatsmilk into another heat proof bowl. Slowly add lye and – stirring constantly – let the lye cool to 90-110 F.
Pour lye into the pan with oils and stir with immersion blender until trace.
Pour into molds, set in a box.
Place blanket securely around box to trap in heat.
Let sit undisturbed 24-48 hours, carefully cut into soap bars. Be careful, the lye is still active at this stage.
Place in a dark, undisturbed location for 4-6 weeks to cure.

This post is linked to the handmade gift carnival at The Nourishing Gourmet

My Food Journey

2009-11-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

June 2006-June 2007 we started looking into fresh foods – shopping at Sprouts, trying new vegetables, trying vegetarian, learning about garlic, this was the lead in time for learning about whole foods. We were introduced to food allergies and intolerances through Chris’ mother. She was diagnosed with celiac disease. Unfortunately, at that time, we did not see the importance of following the diet, nor did we take the diagnosis seriously. Isn’t that how it is, you only become involved once you are the one who is affected by a life changing diagnosis. We believed it was a fad – a fact that now seriously embarrasses me to admit.

June 2007 we started hard core with whole grains – homemade whole wheat bread, etc. I found an amazing whole wheat bread recipe and I love it. It was made for a food processor and was super easy. I’m sure someone can figure out how to use sprouted grains or whatnot with the recipe. I’ll try to post it here, even though, my family has not made this recipe for a year and a half now! It worked great at high altitudes though (Denver) and made great dinner rolls and pizza dough – it was my all around basic dough. Can you tell I’m still not over loosing this as my basic go to….

In February 2008 Chris was diagnosed with celiac disease. We went through a time where we ate anything we *could* - starchy gluten free cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies – whatever just trying to stay on the gluten free diet. It was life changing and miserable. I was nursing a 1 year old who we think is also a celiac – she got better once gluten was taken out of her diet. But that means, that even though I’m not a celiac, I couldn’t eat gluten either. That probably made it easier for me to stay off gluten than for Chris – I had someone depending on me not to eat gluten to keep them healthy. Chris has a terrible time staying off gluten – there’s nothing at home for him to eat, but he can eat at school or work. It’s terrible not to be able to eat the food you prepare for others or to turn down a candy bar or whatnot his classmates offer him. I joked around at the time of the diagnosis saying “Wouldn’t it be interesting if I discovered a dairy allergy” – halfway making fun of the whole gluten free casein free diets that were out there.

In about Feb 2009, we found out about traditional foods and started jumping into a more TF lifestyle. Raw milk was out of the question, I was working full time, there was no time to stop and pick up a milk share. We did the best we could with a non homogenized, low pasteurized milk I found at a local store. We started cod liver oil and have been off and on with that. I think it feels gross – slick and oily and I have trouble swallowing it. But the little one thinks it’s fine. Go figure. It’s better though, it we wash it down with Elderberry syrup!

In October 2009 I discovered a milk/dairy intolerance. We are still learning about the Gluten free casein free lifestyle that I used to make fun of! Now it IS our life. I do not currently know if I’m able to have limited dairy, goat, cultured dairy – I haven’t added anything back in. I’m basically reveling in how good I feel – I don’t want to try anything that *might* make me sick. I’m sure that one day I’ll want to trial items back in but for the time being, I’m happy with NOT trialing things in! One day.

This post is a part of Fight Back Friday!

Cool Contest!

2009-11-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

Who couldn't use a little help with planning and organizing their menus? Especially if you eat a whole foods / traditional foods diet. Soaking, sprouting, cooking, cleaning.... well cleaning up after you cook! It's a bear.

Well, Cheeseslave is hosting a cool menu mailer contest - see all the details at Cheeseslaves blog . I'm hoping I'm going to be one of the five winners!

Guacamole - Quick Easy Cheap

2009-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

Guacamole can be cheap - when you shop the right places. We have a Sprouts and a Sunflower Farmers Market - neither of which are actual farmers markets, just good grocery stores to go to - they are normally much cheaper than regular stores. I got these avacados for $0.25 a pop. We bought 20 :) And we won't eat avacados again until we find them for around the normal 33-5o c each that normally comes later in the year.

Easy Guacamole

2 avacados
1 shake premade salsa - 1/4 cup or so
squeeze lemon juice - 1/2 tsp or so
shake salt
whatever fresh veggies you have - tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, whatever. You don't have to add any - I like to add a jalapeno (my salsa is mild) and cilantro. Easy.

mix by hand to save dishes - Or run in the food processor if you don't care.

Menu 2009. 11.08

2009-11-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Breakfasts:
soups with a poached egg
Santa Fe Sweet Potato Soup (crockpot and done!)
Cumin Flavored Black Bean Soup (crockpot to throw in on Tuesday)

Lunches/Dinner:
m- pizza
pulled pork Sandwich - bread cooked Sunday and Pulled Pork, crockpot on Monday
t- pizza
Sweet Potato Shephards Pie
w - pizza
African Style Braised chicken
r - aftican style braised chicken (leftovers)
pulled pork sandwhiches (leftovers)
f - chicken meatballs (freezer)
sloppy joes ?
s - leftover sloppy joes

snacks
gluten free apple/cranberry bread - just pulled from the oven! yum
pumpkin.... something - just cooked a pumpkin down so I need to find something to do! Maybe pumpkin pie.....maybe a yummy pumpkin chai bread.... this pie looks yummy....

We'll see! Here's to hoping for a wonderful week!

2009-11-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Goodness Gracious Me.

It's been a long time since I've come on here. I love my family blog, but I think I annoy my family when I post food stuff. So this will be my recipe/ food / frugal living blog. Where I can brag / complain!

I believe firmly in natural living - I follow a more or less traditional foods lifestyle but I'm not militant about it. I use my microwave. My crockpot is probably killing me and I eat some sugar and starches. We are a gluten free house and I am dairy free also. Fun. Loads of fun, really. But I'm still here, day after day!

Hope this can be of some help to you!

2007-03-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

I wrestled with my first true parenting demon today. Anger.

My daughter brought us home from church at 10:30 due to her excessive crying. I'm sure everyone else understood (it's a family service so that sort of thing is common) but I couldn't handle it. She sleeps like a log for 3 hours and wakes up at 1.00. At 3:00 she starts crying again. I'm in the middle of scanning pictures into my computer - something I told my mom I would do in NOVEMBER. So I'm stressed out and she is inconsolable. I try nursing her. I try lying down with her. I look for those long blinks that signal she's tired. She keeps on screaming.

I scream right back at her.

oh my gosh. Did I just do that. did I just scream at my beautiful wonderful baby girl. no. i didn't. yes. i did. i'm horrible. i'm terrible. why would I scream at someone. anyone. much less someone who was only screaming to communicate.

I don't know. The only answer I have for this question is because I did. I'm tired and trying my hardest not to keep falling down this slippery slope of depression. My wonderful husband is doing all he can for me and I just worry that I am going to let him down. I know that he is worried about me. Just as I know I told him I would let him know if I needed help. And I felt that I was getting better. Now I don't know.

I put her in her cosleeper and walked away and called my mom. Mom suggested I take a bath with her so her and I hop in the shower and it's magical. She stops crying. I wonder in the miracle of this person that I held in my body for 8 full months and am filled with joy. I turn off the water and the crying starts again. But I am prepared this time. Now we go and lie in the big bed (our bed) and comfort ourselves by nursing. We look into each others eyes and slowly I begin to see the long blinks that are a signal of her need for sleep. I see her blink her eyes open and struggle to stay awake and I tell her I love her and stroke her soft cheek. And slowly she unlatches and pillows her head on my breast.

She is asleep