I'm not going to stay clear of processed foods all together, because let's be honest, it's hard to do, nor am I "all organic" because that's too expensive! But, I am planning on growing a good portion of our food in our backyard and teaching Solomon how to garden with me! It will be such a fun process and I believe that it was Adam and Eve's task that was given to them by God to do. Maybe that's why I love it so much? We are to "toil" for our food, not just open a bag and start eating. This is why I love making everything from scratch like homemade bread (recipe below), ice cream, cookies, tomato sauce, etc... It takes time, lots of time. I just listen to music and sermons while Solomon scrambles around the kitchen floor chasing refrigerator magnets and I just feel so... alive! I mean, this is what I've ALWAYS wanted to be... a homemaker and a mother. I feel so blessed to be able to do this, and making delicious, time consuming meals for my family is one of my favorite things to do. 

Anyway, back to real life...

So I buy different veggies and fruits (jicama anyone?), chop them into bite size pieces and throw them into the Beaba for a nice steam. When they are done I season them with spices and put them in the fridge in little containers. Solomon gets homemade wheat bread pieces with every meal and I just put about a slice of bread with a different fruit or veggie each meal. For snacks I buy dried fruit, whatever kind I can get my hands on, and chop it up into small bite sized pieces.

Here is my wheat bread recipe slightly adapted from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook.

5 c. whole wheat flour (I just bought 50 pounds of organic whole wheat flour from Azure Standard)

2 1/2 c. white flour

1/4 c. vital wheat gluten (ordered on Amazon.com)

1 1/2 T yeast (I buy the large can of it instead of the packets)

1 T salt

2 1/2 c. warm water to dissolve the yeast in

3/4 c. honey

2/3 c. canola oil or other oil

5 eggs

I mix all of the wet ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer and whisk together and then in a large bowl mix all of the dry and them dump it all in. You want to mix lightly, I just get it all wet and then set it aside to rise on a heating pad or stove top while I'm baking something else for it to rise. Let it rise for 2 hours and then put it in the fridge.

If you stir the dough more than just getting it all wet and folded in then it will become VERY gummy and the texture won't be as good. 

You can pinch off 1/3 of the dough and put it in a loaf pan and let it rise for 45 minutes and then bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or you can seran wrap it and put it all in the fridge for up to 5 days. When the dough is cold, take off 1/3 of it and let it rise in a loaf pan for 2 hours before baking. 

The dough will make 2 large loaves and 1 shorter loaf.

See you back Sunday!

Remember my friend, Steph? She was one of my two pregnant friends that endured last summer's heat wave with me in the pool everyday, well now her baby boy is nearly 9 months old! Levi is the happiest baby ever... happier than Solomon and just smiley, smiley, smiley! Here are my favorites from our shoot the other night!