A Different Child

I've been meaning to post this poem for a long time now.  Being pregnant again is full of mixed blessings.  It's important to focus on the blessing itself. I feel we have worked so hard to do everything in our control to keep this baby.  And if we do actually hold this baby screaming in our arms, I will be the proudest person in the world for putting so much effort into something successful.  But I still think every day, about the little 8 month old, or 4 month old, that I would be caring for each day if history would have been different.  The different child, the other child, my little girls, that everyone but me will forget.  So I share this poem, because I will raise this baby (boy) to be the person who can relate to and comfort some mother or father who has lost a child. And who will never forget, that he has two sisters that aren't here for him to torture;-)


A Different Child
A different child,
People notice
There's a special glow around you.
You grow
Surrounded by love,
Never doubting you are wanted;
Only look at the pride and joy
In your mother and father's eyes.

And if sometimes
Between the smiles
There's a trace of tears,
One day
You'll understand.
You'll understand
There was once another child
A different child
Who was in their hopes and dreams.

That child will never outgrow the baby clothes
That child will never keep them up at night
In fact, that child will never be any trouble at all.
Except sometimes, in a silent moment,
When mother and father miss so much
That different child.

May hope and love wrap you warmly
And may you learn the lesson forever
How infinitely precious
How infinitely fragile
Is this life on earth.
One day, as a young man or woman
You may see another mother's tears
Another father's silent grief
Then you, and you alone
Will understand
And offer the greatest comfort.
When all hope seems lost,
You will tell them
With great compassion,
"I know how you feel.
I'm only here
Because my mother tried again."

For Madoka Marietta Rosalie, from your mother, Pandora Diane Waldron, March 4, 1999.

The Perfect Green Smoothie

We are drinking "green smoothies" each day now - one quart in the morning and one quart at night.  Some are super great and others are just okay. This is our favorite and you gotta love that color!

2 cups water

1 banana

1 cup mango

2 cups lambs quarters (above - it's a weed so you have to get it from a farmer)

Hmmm....  you say this is gonna taste good??

Oh yeah... can I drink the whole glass?

Two new MUST READ books!

A great friend of mine recently gave me a book called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" by Camille Kingsolver.  Mike grabbed it immediately after I opened it to read the back.  He read the first chapter while I fed Kaelyn dinner and he never gave it back!  He's almost done with it and I've started reading through the first few chapters.  It's an amazing read about a family who moved from their home in AZ to a farm in southern Appalachia and ate off of their farm. An eye-opener, it is truly educational about food and how we've come to eat in America.  I highly recommend it - it's hard to put down.

I also picked up another of Victoria Boutenko's books called "Green for Life."  I read her "Raw Family" book earlier this year and it was very inspiring and motivating.  Since I feel like I've gone a little backwards these days, this "Green for Life" book was just what I needed.  It focuses on how we need to eat more green leafy vegetables and how to easily do that through smoothies (i.e. 8 leaves red leaf lettuce, 2 cups blueberries, 1 banana, 2 cups water...viola!).  Again, it's very educational, a super easy and fast read, and I feel re-inspired and hopeful once again.  It is our New Year's resolution to go 50% raw in the New Year...and we're already doing 2-3 smoothies a day.  

As Kaelyn says - mmm mmmm good!

P.s. Both books are now in the "Enlightening Health Resources" on the right side of the blog.

Vitamin C

Tis the Season of Citrus!

This is the first year that I've actually paid much attention to seasons and food.  I do think it is quite amazing that during the winter (flu season) the citrus and most vitamin C-laden fruits and vegetables are in their full glory.  We now have no less than 9 citrus-producing trees/bushes in our yard, although only the two meyer lemons were planted prior to this year.  Just celebrating their 5th birthday, they are producing in miraculous numbers and we are so excited to be able to actually share the bounty of our garden with others, rather than selfishly relishing the few fruits of our labor!

I will share some yummy recipes we have recently tried that were winners in our home and hope they find their way to your tables as well!

E-C Fruit Salad
From Dec issue of Sunset Magazine
2 Kiwi (Trader Joes is currently selling Organic CALIFORNIA Kiwi that didn't sail a ship from around the world)
2 Oranges (CA oranges are also SUPER yummy right now, esp. from the farmer's market)
1/2 pineapple (yes, in season and on sale at Trader Joes)
1 Banana (okay, not so local...)

Slice it all up and put it in a pretty bowl. Also good for parties! YUM.

E-C Smoothie
From Dec issue of Sunset Magazine
3 T meyer lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1/4 cup juice from a fresh orange
2 t honey
1/2 cup greek yogurt
(haven't tried this yet but I think it might be nice to add a sprig of mint)

Blend and enjoy!

CREAMY RICOTTA COOKIES

SheKnows Food & Recipe Editors

Better than sugar cookies (but not necessarily healthy)

Cookies

•        1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

•        2 cups organic evaporated cane juice

•        2 large eggs

•        15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese

•        1/2 tsp. lemon extract or 1 tsp. lemon

•        3 Tbsp. Meyer lemon zest, freshly grated*

•        1 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

•        2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

•        1 tsp. baking powder

•        1 tsp. salt

Glaze

•        6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

•        3 cups confectioners’ sugar

•        3 to 4 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

•        Decorating sugar, silver dragees (small silver balls), optional

* Meyer lemons are available mid-November through early spring in specialty food stores. You will need 2 to 3 medium-sized lemons. Regular lemons can be substituted.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine butter and sugar in bowl; cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, Ricotta, lemon extract (or baking oil), zest and juice; blend well.

3. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt; blend to combine. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending to combine between each, until a dough forms.

4. Drop by rounded Tbsp. 2 in. apart onto baking sheets. Bake until cookie edges are very light golden, about 12 to 15 min. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for a few min. and transfer to wire cooling rack.

5. While cookies cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency.

6. Decorate cooled cookies adding dragees or decorating sugar, if desired, before icing sets.

Makes approx. 4 dozen glazed cookies

Shrimp Pasta with Meyer Lemon

(My Personal Favorite!)

1 pound shrimp

1 package whole wheat pasta

1/2 meyer lemon (will provide about 1/4 cup of lemon juice)

white pepper

olive oil (the greener the better)

2 cloves of garlic

Dash of sea salt 

Boil whole wheat pasta of any type (al dente).

Defrost one pound of shrimp, any size.

In pan, warm olive oil and garlic, add pasta, shrimp, and lemon juice and toss.  Add white pepper, olive oil and sea salt to your liking (The magic is in the white pepper.  I like a lot and use 1t to 1T worth). If you like zest, feel free to zest the lemon and add that too.  I'm not a big zest person!

Mike's Meyer Lemon Pancakes (found on www.myhusbandcooks.wordpress.com)


Yield: Ten to twelve 4-inch pancakes


Prep time: 15 min.


Cook time: 20 min.


Ingredients 



2 meyer lemons (juice and zest)


2 large eggs


1 cup milk


1 cup ricotta cheese



1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (1/2 stick)


1 tsp. vanilla




1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tbsp. baking powder


1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:


1. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

2. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry. Using a rubber spatula or large spoon, mix until all of the dry stuff is wet and there are no large lumps. Tons of little lumps are great and expected; they should be viewed as a sign of not overmixing. Don’t stir this until it’s smooth; this will result in a chewier, bread-like pancake. Let the batter rest for about 5 min before cooking. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time if the batter becomes too thick.

3. Place a non-stick griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Grease with butter or non-stick spray. Once the surface is hot, pour about a quarter cup of mixture onto the pan.

NOTE: You can tell how hot the griddle is by throwing a few drops of water on the surface. If the water dances — it shimmers and shakes — then it is hot enough. If the water sizzles fast and evaporates quickly, the griddle is too hot. Turn it down and let it cool. If you use butter, it should bubble and then leave a shean on the surface.

4. Cook pancakes about 4 minutes on one side. There are two visual cues to look for when the pancake is ready to flip. First, the amount of darkness on the side facing down. If it is starting to turn to a dark brown, go ahead and flip it. Second, check for bubbles on the side facing up. If you have the right temperature, bubbles will form. When they begin to set and are slow to disappear, the pancake is ready for turning. They should cook about 75% on the first side. Once flipped, cook them for another minute until both sides are brown.

5. Serve them right away, or cover with a towel and place in a warm oven until ready. Top with powdered sugar and pecans and eat with or without syrup.

Finally, some really great news!

Kaelyn has a new job. Selling Juice Plus+!!  Just kidding.  But she loves her "vities" as we call them.
You all know how much work Mike and I have done with changing our eating habits and our lifestyle. We take these changes very seriously and know they are saving our lives. I don't ever want to be a preacher, but it is amazing to me how many people now ask us for our advice, our opinions, and our healthy resources. That said, we do consider ourselves somewhat "advocates" of better health and last week, I got the confirmation that we are in fact on the right track. Let me recap our story.

April 1: changed our diet to 70% fruits/vegetables, and very little packaged goods - our focus became what is known as "whole food nutrition"...eating things in their pure form, not their refined or "packaged" form.

May 15: I had a nutrition test (www.spectracell.com) and was found to be deficient in serine, choline, vitamin a, zinc, and borderline on quite a few other nutrients. So I started taking Juice Plus+ (www.miglioreliving-juiceplus.com) and supplementing the nutrients I was deficient in.

Mike and Kaelyn also started taking Juice Plus+.

Oct 1: I had a re-test on the nutrition test and all of my deficiencies are not just normal, but above normal. Through WHOLE foods, my nutrients were restored!

Why is this such a big deal? We can be walking around with deficiences and not even know it. In the end, they cause chronic illness. By restoring our nutrients, we can avoid disease and illness. But we can fix this just by eating more fruits and vegetables. We should be eating 9-13 servings of fruits and veggies a day.

In my case, each of my specific deficiencies is linked to miscarriage and later term-baby loss. They are all involved in the processes of RNA/DNA and cellular growth. We will never have a direct link between these nutrients and my miscarriages, but it's a definite indicator. I could also have had later life implications by not fixing these deficiencies.

I do feel grateful for this opportunity to look at my body's chemistry and I realize that most people do not have the ability or the impetus to do so. That said, we have found Juice Plus+ to be such an great option for supplementing our vegetable needs. Since they provide nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in a convenient and inexpensive capsule form, on the days when you don't eat enough of your fruits and veggies at least you know they've got you covered.

Needless to say, I decided to become a Juice Plus+ distributor since I believe so strongly in the product.  Stop by my website and check it out www.miglioreliving-juiceplus.com.

And I, for the first time in a while, have a glimpse of

hope...