Trip to California

I can't believe a week has passed since my last post!  It's been busy around the Larson household.  Last weekend I went to visit my brother, sister-in-law and their newest little sweetie, Grace.  It was fun to hang out with them and enjoy loving on their new baby.  She is absolutely adorable!

This was the first trip that I took by myself with just one of the kids.  The plane rides were super busy.  Zach wanted to move around everywhere! Thankfully, on all the flights we were on, God sent wonderful people to play with and entertain Zach.  They were all grandmas that were missing their grandkids apparently.  I can't tell you how thankful I was for them.  It made a world of difference.  

Zach was very clingy the entire time we were in California.  Every time I would leave the room, even to go to the bathroom, he would cry.  This is very unlike him!  When we got back home he returned to his old self.  I think he missed his brother and daddy.  Matthew was very happy to have us back home as well.  He told me that he was going to be super nice to his little brother.  "Mommy, I will not bite Zach or push him or kick him.  I will be so nice to him!"  

The day after we returned from our trip, I got food poisoning.  Not sure what I ate but I was throwing up most of the night and was very weak the next day.  Today when I woke up, I felt great and had tons of energy!  I'm looking forward to the weekend and enjoying some much needed family time.  

Blessings!

Day 5 of Allergy Free Meals

I made it a whole week cooking meals free of soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and legumes!  Overall, I think it was a positive experience.  Zach enjoyed some of the meals but due to his age, he's not super into variety.  He tried everything I cooked which was a plus.  I will just have to make sure to continue offering him different types of foods so when he starts to diversify his tastes, he'll be ready to partake more fully of what I prepare.

Breakfast today was a bit of a failure.  I attempted to make vegan strawberry yogurt.  The recipe I used was pretty basic.  Only three ingredients.  The process started out well enough...

Soy Free Vegan Strawberry Yogurt

When the "yogurt" finished setting, I threw it in the blender with some strawberries.  Once I turned my blender on, I knew this was not going to work out.  I definitely needed a food processor.  Unfortunately,  my food processor stopped functioning a few months ago.  It was very disappointing to be so close to finishing but not having what I needed to get the job done.  Note to self: buy a food processor. 

Lunch was haystacks (a taco salad of sorts).  Ingredients I used were corn tortillas chips, kidney beans, brown rice, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, and vegan sour cream.  A food processor would have also been helpful for the sour cream recipe.  I was desperate to not throw this recipe out as well so I pulled out my coffee grinder and gave it a whirl.  It worked well enough but definitely would have worked better with a food processor.  On the plus side, it tasted great! 

Haystacks with Vegan Sour Cream

Vegan Soy Free Sour Cream

1 cup raw cashews (must not be roasted or salted)--I didn't have a whole cup of cashews so I used almonds and cashews to complete the measurement.

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 -2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 small lemon, juice of

Cover cashews with water and soak for a few hours, or overnight.

Pour off all water, and place nuts in food processor.

Add 1/4 cup cold water, salt, vinegar and lemon juice.

Puree for 3-4 minutes or until completely smooth and creamy in consistency.

Use in any recipe that calls for sour cream.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.

For Dinner today, Mike wants to treat me to a meal.  I'm not sure where we will go but I'm excited not to cook!  

Food Budgeting 

To conclude my week of allergy free cooking, I wanted to share with you what I spent on groceries for the week.  Before I bought groceries on Sunday, my fridge was pretty bare.  I did have some staples on hand but not a whole lot.  

I don't know about you but budgeting for groceries is somewhat stressful for me.  My husband has an opinion on how much I should spend which is always lower of what I think is reasonable.  This week I wanted to do some research and find out what other people spend on groceries for the month.  I found a broad range from $250/ month to $1064 to feed a family of four.  Mike and I tend to be middle of the road people so I figured $500 was a reasonable goal for us.  My sweet husband of course thought this was a bit high.  He wasn't convinced with my research.  

A little irritated I dug deeper to find some answers.  I came across a website put out by the USDA on what it costs to feed a family at home. They even divide it into four plans (thrifty plan, low budget plan, moderate plan, and liberal plan).  After looking at the numbers, Mike and I had an interesting conversation and decided to revisit our food budget plan for the month.   We agreed that we would  shoot to stay under $600.  Although this seems a bit high, I think it's reasonable for us since we buy mostly organic, higher quality foods.  

My food bill for the week was $190.55.  I knew it was going to be a bit high because I had to buy some staples I normally don't purchase every week.  I anticipate the rest of the month will even out.  I'm curious what some of you spend on groceries.  What is your monthly/weekly food budget?  How do you save money on food?  

Day 4 of Allergy Free Cooking

I have a problem with making too much food for our little family.  I always have a lot of left overs and end up throwing food away.  Estimating how much our family of four will actually eat at a given meal is something I am slowly starting to figure out.  It's funny because when I have larger groups of people over, I end up underestimating how much food we will eat.  Anyway, I tell you all of this because this morning as I was thinking of what to make for breakfast I realized how many leftovers I had in the fridge.  Instead of making something new to add to my already mounting amounts of food, I decided to use up some leftovers.

For breakfast we enjoyed some breakfast burritos with some of the potato & zucchini filling from earlier in the week.  Add to that a bowl of fresh fruit and breakfast was complete.

Lunch was a vegan vegetable pizza with homemade coconut cheese. It was delightful!  The pizza dough I made does not contain yeast or oil.  It's actually one of my favorites to use.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place pizza dough with sauce and veggies into oven for 12 minutes. Add cheese and bake for another 3-5 minutes.   For the pizza toppings I used spinach, yellow squash, green peppers, and crumbled coconut cheese.

Vegan Vegetable Pizza with Coconut Cheese

Dinner was Jamba Juice.  I was still full from lunch so I decided on a lighter dinner.  Zach ate some pasta and veggies before we headed out.  At Jamba Juice, Zach and I shared the Orange Carrot Karma.  It's made from fresh carrot juice which gives it an earthy taste.  Zach didn't seem to mind. He loved it!

Stay tuned for my last post of allergy free cooking at the end of the day!  I'll tell you about a new recipe I tried this morning and will share my total food bill for the week.

Blessings!

Day 3 of Allergy Free Cooking

Today ended up being a fairly simple day in regards to cooking.  I think I spent a total of 30 minutes in the kitchen all day.  Even with this small amount of time, I made a super yummy recipe that will probably become a family favorite!  I love when recipes turn out.

I woke up really tired this morning.  My brain wasn't ready to try something really complicated in the food department.  I decided on oatmeal for Breakfast.   I threw in some apples and agave nectar to spice it up a bit.

Oatmeal with Apple Chunks 

After Zach went down for his morning nap, I started on a new recipe for lunch: vegan quesadillas with coconut cheddar cheese.  I have to say I was very excited to try it out.  I first came across this recipe on the blog, Sweet Roots.  This is an amazing food blog that makes you hungry every time you visit it.  Mary is an incredible photographer and talented cook.  I'm privileged to know her and excited to hopefully cook with her one of these days. 

I was surprised at how easy this cheese was to make. Cook time was under 15 minutes.  The cheese needs to set for 2 hours but since I made it right after breakfast, it was ready to go by lunch time.  This cheese was absolutely delicious! It actually melts which is wonderful.   Zach enjoyed it to and didn't have an allergic reaction to the coconut milk.  Big relief!

Vegan Quesadillas with Coconut Cheddar

For Dinner I took the boys to the soup kitchen our church puts on every Wednesday night.  They were celebrating a birthday and we wanted to celebrate the birthday girl!   The menu was mac-n-cheese, bread, green beans, salad, and fruit.  I fed Zach before we left in case there was nothing there for him to eat.  He ended up eating some veggies at the soup kitchen and diving in to grab some cake.  Luckily I caught him before he grabbed a handful of frosting. 

Be sure to check out the Sweet Roots blog for some amazing recipes.  I know I'll be trying more of Mary's wonderful creations soon!

Day 2 of Allergy Free Cooking Creations

Cooking without soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, or legumes is somewhat daunting.  This week I fully committed to making all the meals we eat at home free of these allergenic foods. If you have read my previous posts, my son Zach has multiple food allergies.  My motivation is to make sure he has a variety of healthy food options every day.  He is only 1 year old so he isn't very interested in trying a lot of new foods.  All the meals I share with you this week are offered to him, but if he's not into that particular food, I revert to some of the foods I know he loves.  At this point in his life, I want to expose him to healthy options every day and build my cooking skills so that when he's older, I will feel more competent in cooking free of the foods he's allergic to.  

I am two days into the week and I feel pretty good about the meals I  have cooked.  They are simple but tasty.  I'm amazed at how many options I actually have when I focus on all the foods Zach can eat instead of the ones he's allergic to.  It's possible I may end up enjoying cooking for him after all.  

For breakfast today, I decided to make avocado and tomato toast.  We also enjoyed some fresh pineapple and bananas.  Zach didn't care for the pineapple to much but gobbled up a banana and some toast. 

Avocado & Tomato Toast

This recipe is pretty straight forward.  Simply mash up some avocado, slice some tomato, season with salt and a little pepper.  I used Ezequiel 7 Grain Sprouted Wheat Bread.  Most of the bread you buy at the grocery store contains either milk or soy.  This is the only one I have found, besides brown rice bread, that is free of allergens. 

At around 10:30am, I started to get a little hungry so I decided to make a midmorning snack.  Zach loves smoothies!  A great way to get a rich nutrient boost is through juicing.  Since toddler's tummies are sensitive, I didn't want to give him straight fresh juice, so I juiced apples, spinach, carrots, and an orange and used it as the base for a smoothie. I then added strawberries and a banana (to add fiber) to make a smoothie.  He happily drank a whole cup and his system tolerated it just fine.  

Fruit & Veggie Smoothie

I absolutely love sandwiches.  If I could choose two foods to live on for the rest of my life they would be sandwiches and salads.  They are my fav foods for sure.  For lunch, I didn't feel like cooking so I whipped up a turkey (no, I'm not completely vegetarian) sandwich with spinach, tomatoes, and lettuce.  For the spread I used Earth's Balance Soy Free Spread.  I chose not to give it to Zach because it's made with pea protein.  Zach's lunch was left over potato & zucchini mix from yesterday.  He loved it! I also threw in a little brown rice to the mix for him.  He ate it like a champ.  

Turkey & Spinach Sandwich

 Dinner was stir-fry with brown rice.  This one was a bit tricky because I didn't know what to season it with.  Soy sauce is obviously out and Bragg's Amino Acids are soy based as well.  So I ended up using canola oil and salt.  It tasted like vegetables and rice which isn't bad, but it definitely did not have the taste of stir-fry.  Zach gobbled it up which was a plus! Anyone know of  any good stir fry seasoning that isn't made with soy?


Stir-Fry with Brown Rice

Overall the day felt easy in regards to food preparation.  Having a plan definitely helps and blogging about it helps keep me accountable.  I'm excited about tomorrow and trying out a new recipe!


Be blessed!

Day One of Allergy Free Cooking

My first day of allergy free cooking was a success!  Zach is fighting a bit of a cold so he wasn't super hungry today, but he still partook of all of my creations.  I started the day trying out a new recipe for vegan pancakes.  I ended up adapting some of the ingredients but it still turned out super yummy.  Zach took a few bites.  The texture of the pancake was new for him so he spit out the first bite.  After he experimented for a little bit, he ate more. This is a meal I will have to continue offering.  I think he will really take to it after a few more exposures.  

Vegan Pancakes {My Adapted Version}

1 cup flour (whichever kind you prefer)
1 tablespoon sugar (I used stevia)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice milk
2 tablespoons canola oil

You can use any fruit as topping. I used blueberries and bananas.  I also drizzled a bit of brown rice syrup on top.

For prep instructions click here. 

Lunch was my favorite meal today. It was light and super tasty.  Zach loved it as well!  I made my very own creation (I don't love using recipes so cooking using my own creativity feels very liberating to me.)  I'll try and give you a general recipe if you want to create your own version.

Potato & Zucchini Burritos

4 medium potatoes

1/2 white onion

1 medium sized tomato

2 medium sized zucchini

1 medium sized yellow squash

Salt (not sure the quantity but salt it to whatever taste good to you :)

1 Tbsp Olive oil 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 cup of water

Dice up potatoes, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash. Sauté onions, tomatoes in olive oil until tender. Add in zucchini and yellow squash.  Sauté for a minute or so and then add in potatoes.  Add salt and paprika. Mix well.  Reduce heat to medium and add water.  Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft.  I usually will tilt the lid and let the water evaporate when the potatoes are almost done.    You know you've timed it right when the water is gone and the potatoes are cooked.  Use mixture as filling for burritos. 

For the tortilla shells I used the uncooked tortillas from Cosco.  I was going to make my own but I ran out of time by the time lunch rolled around. 

Lunch also included a strawberry & banana smoothie with a tablespoon of Udo Oil. 

Dinner was left overs.  I made some pasta Sunday night and wanted to use it up.  I steamed some broccoli and dinner was ready.

All in all, meal planning felt easy today.  I loved my food option board!  Not eating soy, milk, nuts, or eggs helped reduce unnecessary snaking on my part which is a good thing.  I'm excited about tomorrow and sharing my creations with you.

Be blessed!

A Week of Allergy Free Foods

This week I am personally delving into the world of food allergies.  My youngest son Zach is allergic to milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, peas, and some bean varieties.  Although, I hope he outgrows most of these allergies, there are no guarentees.   As Zach get's older (he just turned 1), he's wanting more and more different types of food.  Since I can't just grab the typical toddler foods and feed him those, I'm finding that forethought and planning is something I have to start doing more consistently.

 To kick off my allergy-friendly food planning, I decided that this week, I will only eat the foods Zach is able to eat.  I want to enter into his world and see what's it's like.  If he doesn't outgrow these allergies, I want to feel confident in providing nutritious and tasty meals for him.

Although food allergies and sacredness are probably not used in the same phrase very often, I decided to share this aspect of my life with you because I think there is something sacred that happens in a momma's heart when she labors on behalf of her children.   I want to give Zach the gift of tasty meals without letting his allergies get in the way.  This will mean more cooking, more planning and more creative ability in the kitchen.  Honestly, I'm a bit intimidated by the whole process!

This week, I will share with you what Zach and I eat, some recipes, feelings about eating predominantly unprocessed food, pictures, and anything else of interest.  I will also share with you what I spent on groceries for the week.  Eating mostly organic and locally grown food can get pricey but I will try and stay within my set weekly food budget.    

This afternoon I made a menu of sorts and a grocery list. I decided that instead of doing a weekly food menu I was going to do a "weekly food option board" that includes various breakfast options and lunch/dinner options.  One thing I don't like about creating a weekly menu is that I don't always feel like eating the particular meal that is "scheduled".   I'm hoping that my food option board will solve this problem.  I've never used this method before so we'll see how it goes.

A more attractive looking board will follow if this system ends up working for me :)

When I went grocery shopping today, I bought all of the ingredients needed to make any of the foods on my food board.  This will give me the flexibility to choose whatever meal seems appetizing at the time. Once I cook one of the food options or I'm out of ingredients, I will cross it off.  I've included a meal for left overs and an eating out option as well.  All the meals I prepare and recipes I use will be dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, pea-free, and bean-free.  

I'm excited to try new foods this week!  The most intimidating meals I'm venturing to prepare are a non-soy vegan yogurt and coconut cheese quesadillas (not sure if Zach is allergic to coconut but I guess I'll find out).  To prepare for these recipes, I had to buy ingredients I didn't know existed.  Purchasing tapioca flour and agar agar sea vegetable flakes were definitely a first for me.  

I will need all the help I can get as I move forward into the world of allergen free cooking.  Do you know of any great websites that can help me with recipes that are allergy friendly?  

Blessings!

A Morning Walk in Pictures

This morning I decided I wanted to start my day by walking along the lake that is close to my house.  After my oldest headed off to school, I loaded baby Zach in the car and grabbed my camera.  It was a wonderful morning for a walk.  Zach loved being outdoors and I enjoyed taking a few pictures a long the way.  Here are some of the shots I took while on my morning jaunt:

I loved starting my day out in the open.  Even though the rest of my day was pretty busy, it didn't feel as fast paced.  The serenity of the morning stayed with me.  If you haven't ventured outside today, take a few minutes and go for a walk.  It's amazing what a few moments in nature can do to refresh your heart.  

Be Blessed!

Above All Else Choose Love

Six months ago, one of my dearest cousins died in a car accident.  Her death changed my heart.  I feel pain more deeply.  I cry easier. I live knowing that life is fleeting.  I am aware of human suffering in a way I wasn't before. I catch myself looking at strangers and wanting to hear their story. I live with a gnawing feeling in my heart that I need to live my life differently. 

My cousin and I lived very different lives.  On the surface, it's easy to make conclusions on why our lives were different.  Why I went to church and she went to bars.  Why I filled my life with the spiritual and she filled hers with the temporal.   I chose never to form judgements in regards to her.  There was an unspoken understanding between us that did not allow for it.  I knew too much to judge her. 

For reasons I will never understand, life gave her more difficult crosses to bear than it gave to me.  In many ways, the paths she took and the doors she walked through chose her.   At the age of twelve, she was thrown into a world that was going at life-altering speeds. Most of her life was spent trying to catch up.  Sadly, she never did.  At least not in this life anyway.  

My one regret in regards to my cousin is not having put into words and action the reality of God's deep love and acceptance of her. I wish I would have talked to her about beauty and freedom.  About peace and new beginnings.  I wish I would have shared with her what it means, what it feels, to be reconciled to God. To live life without guilt, without striving to gain favor.  To live in the reality of acceptance, joy, and the most profound love. 

Moving forward, I want to live my life without regrets when it comes to sharing and living out the love of Christ.  As a regular church goer, it is easy for me to get caught up in the safety and comfort of my religious community. I don't want to live like this anymore.  I want to step out from behind church walls and walk into the lives of those who are struggling to see God and who have no one to show them.   I want to stop speaking of doctrines and start using all that I have to show love to those that are hurting.  I want God to use me as His vessel to shed glimpses of light into the hearts of those who are in darkness. I want love to lead me and teach me as I cross over into a world that is different than mine. I'm tired of defining myself by religion.  I want love to define me. 

This morning, I heard a scripture in the song by King and Country, The Proof of your Love, and felt it captured the heart of this post.  I want to share it with you:

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but 

don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 

If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his 

mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have

faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't 

love, I'm nothing. 

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake

 to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love,I've gotten nowhere. 

So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love."

(1 Corinthians 13:1-7, The Message)

I am praying that God will show me how to rearrange my life so that I can learn to love well.  There is no higher calling than to love those that are forgotten among us.  I want to challenge you to come before the Lord and ask Him how you can impact your corner of the world.  How can you show love to others? No strings attached.  What cause has God placed on your heart?  If you want to read an inspiring story about how a group of friends decided to spread love to others, click here.   I read this story over the weekend and was inspired!  I hope you enjoy it too.  

Blessings!

How God Uses Momma Preachers

Two weeks ago, I was in the throws of sermon preparation.  Our church was going through a summer sermon series on the Parables and My husband asked me if I would share on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  Years ago, I read the book, The Prodigal God, which changed my perspective on this very familiar parable.  After reading the book and studying the parable further, a sermon message was birthed.

Since kids came along, I don't have the opportunity to preach very often.  Oddly enough, preaching is something I enjoy doing.  So when Mike offered the opportunity, I didn't hesitate.  What I forgot when I readily agreed to preach was the fact that I would have to prepare the message while corralling children all week.  Suffice it to say by Wednesday of that week, I was regretting having said, "yes".

For those of you who are moms, you know how difficult it is to gather your thoughts into "higher" planes when you are cleaning up food off the floor and your children are jumping all over you.  To top things off, my dear husband is a pastor which means he is gone the majority of the time, leaving me to parent alone most of the day. As you can imagine, my frame of mind was not in the place to craft thoughts that would inspire others in their faith journey.

One of the things that helped me get through that week was the knowledge and experience of how God has held me in the past.  The preaching experience for me is like jumping off a cliff.  Once I speak that first word, there is no turning back.  I am all in, for better or worse.  The beautiful reality of taking the leap is seeing how God shows up, catches me, and leads me through the experience.  I've leaped enough times to know that He will show up. Every time.

So as the weekend rolled around, I found myself with great peace.  I diligently used the time that was available during the week to prepare, and I trusted God to fill in the gaps that remained.  When I stood up to speak, I knew God was there.  The words that refused to come earlier that morning when I was practicing were now flowing effortlessly through my lips.  I felt confident about what the Lord was going to do.  It's difficult to explain how it feels to live in a moment where God's presence is literally carrying you from sentence to sentence.  It is a dance of trust, a profoundly intimate experience that is hard to put into words.

After the message, there was a man that came up to me with much emotion in his face.  He was visiting from out of state.  As he started to talk, words seemed to evade him. After a few moments, he simply told me that God ministered to him during the message.  He said he wanted to put his words in writing and send me a letter so that I could understand the deep significance of what took place in his heart during the sermon.  I cried with him because I experienced the same grace that touched his heart.  What a humbling experience this was for me.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a masterfully told story of the gospel message.  God's love and grace  toward the lost son and the elder brother is profound.  The call to action in this parable is significant, a call that if ignored causes a terrible gap in the Kingdom of God.  If you have about 35 minutes and want to listen to the sermon I preached, I have included a link here.

This story is changing my life in more ways that I can share here.  I hope that as you listen, the Lord will speak to your heart and challenge you to reach out to the lost among us.  I thank God that He has thousands of ways to minister to His people.  He uses well seasoned pastors as well as stressed out mommas.  What a gracious God!

Blessings!

A Year of Blessing with Zach

 Yesterday was Zach's first birthday.  It is hard to believe how fast time passed this last year.  Zach has brought so much joy to our lives! This kid fills my heart.  From his birth until now, God's faithfulness has shined brightly through the eyes of this little one.  He is the sweetest kid you will ever meet.  From teenage boys to little old ladies at the grocery store, his easy smile captures the heart of anyone who sees it.  He has such a fighting spirit.  Most of his life he has fought multiple food allergies that have made him break out in rashes all over his body.  Even at the worst of his allergic reactions, he has giggled easily and smiled brightly.

He's passionate but easy going.  Relaxed most of the time but is bored easily.  He loves interacting with others but can spend time alone piecing blocks and objects together. He tolerates the pestering of his older brother but clenches his little fists in protest when he's had enough.  He dances with his hands, he loves you through his eyes, and he fills your heart with his smile.  Zach is a wonderful child who completes our family in thousands of ways.

Here are some of my  favorite pictures of Zach's first year of life:

                             

                                 

                                  

                                 

                                  

What a year of blessing with this little man!  Even though there are aspects of this last year that were difficult, God used this sweet boy to fill my heart with so much love.  I am grateful to God for this precious life.

 Lord Jesus, I pray that Zach would come to know you and love you with all of his heart.  You have given him a joyful spirit, may he use it to comfort those that are broken hearted.  Call him to a life of humble devotion to your kingdom.  Use his eyes to see those in need, his hands to serve, his smile to encourage, his passion to inspire, his voice to share your love, his heart to love those that hurt him, his ears to hear the words of your Spirit, and his feet to pursue your ways.  Bless his life more than abundantly!  Thank you for the joy he brings to our family. Thank you for this beautiful grace you have so freely lavished on us. Amen.