Sprouts!

Well, in days when I know we're not the only ones looking forward to winter and wondering how to squeeze the most out of every penny and STILL try to eat healthy, I thought I'd post on sprouts. I know a lot of people do make them, but I'm amazed at the number who haven't. . . and think they need this or that to do it.

Sprouting is one of the cheapest easiest ways I know to get good, healthy, fresh, green, crunchy food in the winter. (And thank you Mom for teaching me how to do this!) I sprout both alfalfa and red clover seed, as I don't care for the sprouts with big seeds or spicy flavors. Red clover has a little more zing to it than alfalfa, but it's almost a sweet zing, and I've gotten to really like it. You can also sprout radish seeds and mung beans and all sorts of other things, but I don't get too adventurous in the experimenting department! For one thing, a little goes a long ways in sprouting, so just a small bag of sprouting seeds will last a LONG time. And if we don't like it, well, there it sits making clutter in my little kitchen.

OK, now for the how-to's. To start you need a clear jar of some sort, a clean nylon sock, a rubber band, and 2 Tablespoons of sprouting seeds. I get my seed through the Country Life co-op, but I imagine you can pick them up at any natural/health food store. You could use about any seeds, but the ones packaged for sprouting are clean, and often organic. Put the 2 TB seeds into the jar, fill with water, and let it sit overnight. In the morning (can be as late as late morning--I don't always have time to do it first thing!I've even forgotten and left if all day too, but then it tends to get a little slimy or something) stretch a portion of the sock over the mouth of the jar and secure with a rubber band. Try to get a portion of the sock with no runs, as the seeds are TINY! Pour out the water, fill the jar again, shake, and pour out the water again. Then, once or twice a day, fill the jar with water, shake, and drain. When the jar is full, rinse an extra time, put a regular lid on it, and put it in your fridge to enjoy!



                                            

Draining the water through the nylon for the first time. See the tiny sprouts already starting?

 

After the first rinsing. These are red clover sprouts.

 

I usually leave the jar in a tilted position so the water doesn't tend to just sit (and make things slimy!) on the bottom. Every time I rinse it I rotate the jar.

 

The full jar of sprouts ready for eating! Yummy!

 

We use our sprouts on sandwiches and burritoes mostly, and add them to salads if we spend the money for lettuce--which we rarely do in the winter when we have sprouts around to provide our greens!

Is our stomach our God?

The title might seem like a strange question, but according to Phillipians 3:18, 19 it just might be a problem!

(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

I maybe would have never thought of that verse in connection to health, or, more specifically, to healthy weight loss, except a friend loaned me the book "Weigh Down Diet" by Gwen Shamblin. I've struggled with my weight ever since I can remember, and after having children that magnified and multiplied till I thought I'd end up my husband's worst nightmare instead of a blessing! I gained 35 pounds from our wedding (when I was the weight I've wanted to be all my life!) until I got pregnant with our first, and then gained ten more while nursing him, then gained another 12 while nursing our second. Now I know you're supposed to lose weight while nursing, but I just didn't! After our third, as I started gaining again (though I weighed less immediately after the birth than I did when I got pregnant!!!) a friend loaned me the book I mentioned above. In the next 4 months I lost 22 pounds, back down to my first pre-pregnancy weight! And I'm staying there. Now, with the holidays coming on and the focus on really special, rich food--and LOTS of it!--I'm finding I need to be reminded again:

We must eat to live, not live to eat.

Which means, eat only when you're hungry, and only until you're full. The Weigh Down Diet in a nutshell. Which I have been fudging on, which is why I'm sure I haven't lost even more weight. You see, if we eat to live, if our appetite is not the focus of our lives, that's all we would eat. That cuts out an awful lot of food--at least for me! I was totally amazed when I started at how little food it actually took to live off of. I have self-diagnosed hypoglycemia, and I'm nursing, yet I could eat only a fraction of what had seemed sufficient before and thrive. I listened to my body a whole lot more, and the signals it gave me were amazing once I got it figured out--which took a little time. I mean, how do you tell when you're seriously hungry, and when you're just wanting to eat? You just feel hungry, right? Well, it's a bit of a different hunger, and you can figure it out after a few days. Once I read "Weigh Down Diet" somehow it was much easier to understand.

But one thing that totally makes sense is that most Americans are in love with food. And I really struggle with that too. It just tastes SOOO good and you want to keep eating because your tongue wants more and more of that stimulating flavor/texture, etc. Plus with being a full-time homemaker, so much of my day revolves around food. From when I get up and fix breakfast to when I go to bed with plans for tomorrow's meals bouncing around in my head, I feel like I'm doing stuff with food more than not. My excuse. But not a very good one!

What if my life revolved around something else besides food? What if what I eat really doesn't make that much difference to my tongue? Well, shouldn't it? Case in point: When I got engaged 7 wonderful years ago, my life was wrapped up in this wonderful young man who was to become my husband. I was busy planning a wedding, and getting to know this intriguing, handsome figure who had rather suddenly entered my life. Did I really care too much what I ate? Was food the focus of my day? No way! And to prove it, I lost 20 pounds from the weight I'd worked to maintain from my high school graduation, without once even thinking about wanting to, or about dieting. I simply ate when I was hungry, and quit as soon as I was getting full--I didn't have time or energy to waste eating!

So how does that help today? Well, who is my God? My belly, or the Lord Jesus Christ, my heavenly Bridegroom, who is jealous over my wholehearted love? Oh, to love Him more! He gives strength to overcome that temptation to eat "just one more" bite. He helps me discern when it's real hunger or just wanting to eat hunger. He loves when I come to Him with my negative emotions and problems instead of just eating them away. He is helping to give me new habits. And all because He wants to be my Everything, my All-in-all--He doesn't want to share my affections with the monster called food! Oh, He knows we need to eat, for He made us, but He wants our love and focus to be on HIM as we get up and fix breakfast or wonder what to put on the menu for supper.

Guess this might be a bit of a funny post for a health blog, but how many things have we seen that point to the benefits of not being overweight? Come, let's focus on Jesus and let food take it's proper place!

Welcome!

Welcome to "The Healthy Family" page!!

I am a stay at home mom of three precious children:

Sweet Pea is 5, and is a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia survivor! A real, living, miracle. He is doing K5 this year. (We school at home)

Li'l Man is 2. He's a shy, but an articulate speaker for a two year old.

Little Miss just turned 1! She's the happiest baby I've EVER had the pleasure of meeting!

We live on a small acreage in the country, in Wisconsin. We raise Alaskan Malamutes (due to have our second litter of puppies next week!), and have a beef cow and calf, and a couple of cats. My husband, Jere, has a small sawmill where he does a lot of neat stuff with the local white pine grown around here! Jere and I both volunteer with the local ambulance squad, and really enjoy that.

And I am in a quest for better health, for me AND my family! I desire to be healthy enough, and to teach my children to be healthy enough, to have all of the strength needed to follow the Lord in whatever He may ask of us. Turning to traditional medicine has its place in emergencies, yes, but it's purpose is not to create and promote health, but to cure disease. Let's learn together how to promote health, and a happy, healthy, lifestyle!