Visiting Oak Hill Cemetery

Hi Everyone!
I hope many of you have been enjoying my Historic Adventist Village series that my son Austin created!  Last week I posted the last of his films on the Village itself, but before we left Battle creek we did have to make just ONE more little stop!  So here you have it--a visit to Oak Hill Cemetary in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Hummm, I wonder if any interesting people are buried here???

Well, come along with us and find out!

~Susan

Touring the Historic Adventist Village, Part 5

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

For those of you who have been following Austin's video tour through Historic Adventist Village, here is part 5 and the final part of the video at the village.  I am so glad to hear from so many of you that you are enjoying watching this series.  Our family loves to go to places like this, and Austin loves to film and share that experience with others who may never be able to visit these historically significant sites.

~Susan

Introducing "Happy Herbivore Light & Lean!"

Hi Everyone!

Well, as I promised earlier in the week, here are the interview questions that I asked Lindsay and her replies. . . I hope you find something interesting and helpful to you!  Also, just to tempt your taste-buds just a little bit, I have been given permission to post for you one of Lindsay's new recipes that appears in "Happy Herbivore Light & Lean."  I was actually given a short list of recipes that I could choose from--but I could only chose ONE to share with you here.  SO, if you like this one, you just may have to go order yourself a copy of the whole book! :)  As I looked over the title of my recipe options, I decided to choose the "Meatloaf Bites," because--well--because Meatloaf seems the craziest thing to make WITHOUT MEAT, know what I mean???  Anyway, I haven't made this recipe myself yet, but I am planning on it!  And if it is anything like the recipes in the past three Happy Herbivore books, I know I will LOVE it! :)  And now, onto the interview!

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Susan:  I have heard that apples are a food that you should buy organic since the chemicals they are sprayed with accumulate in the peeling.  If a person cannot afford to buy organic produce, is it better for them to just not eat the peel?  The peeling has a lot of nutrition, but would it be more hazardous than helpful in this case?

Lindsay:  I'm not a scientist, nutritionist or other expert so I can't really say much except I think it's far better to eat a conventional apple than an organic potato chip. Don't get me wrong, I think organic is great, but if you don't have access to organics, or you can't afford them, that's okay. Just focus on eating plant foods. That's more important. Do the best you can.

Susan:  My daughter and I fell in love with the Banana Ice Cream Breakfast from the menu plan, and sometimes she asks for it every single day.  I am happy to make it for her, but sometimes I worry that maybe we are over doing it with eating so many bananas (the two of us end up eating around five frozen bananas when I make this, so 2 1/2 each).  Sometimes after we have eaten the Banana Ice Cream for breakfast, she will also ask for a banana based smoothie for desert at lunch time.  Should the daily/weekly number of fruits be limited to avoid raising your triglycerides?

Lindsay:   I'm thrilled to hear the meal plans are a hit with your daughter! Woot! That said, I'm not a nutritionist, or a doctor, so I can't say much. However, in my personal opinion, I think it's far better she's addicted to bananas than PopTarts. Variety is great, but I wouldn't obsess over it. Most kids are picky and go through phases with foods. They'll eat blueberry muffins nonstop and then never eat them again. It's just kids being kids ;) If you can get in some more variety, great, but unless your doctor is worried, I wouldn't be worried that a child loves a fruit :)  

Susan:  Sometimes my husband who is a teacher has literally 15 minutes to eat lunch between one class ending and the next beginning.    

He does not have time to eat a "real" meal, but could eat a small snack type food.  We want to avoid the typical potato chip route, but need something already prepared that is just as quick to grab--any suggestions?

Lindsay:  Sandwiches, muffins, precut vegetables, fruit, beans and rice, soup in a thermos, any of the lunches on the meal plan (getmealplans.com) since they're all made ahead and ready-to-eat. 

Susan:   I make my own bread with 100% whole wheat and leave out all oil, but I have heard that even bread made this way is not really a "whole food."  I have wondered why, since all the fiber from the grain is still remaining.  Any thoughts on bread/pancakes/crackers/etc.?  If they are whole grain and oil free, are they something we can eat a lot of or should we still be limiting them a bit?

Lindsay:   I look at things on a sliding scale. Yes, there is no such thing as a whole-wheat bread tree. Whole-wheat bread is not a whole food in the sense that broccoli is a whole food. Whole-wheat bread, or more specifically, the whole wheat flour used to make the bread, is a broken down grain. It's a very concentrated source of calories. Yes, homemade, 100% whole-wheat bread made without oil is light years healthier than the junky white bread at the store with a million ingredients you can't pronounce, but it's still not as whole as, say, an apple, or brown rice.

        I tell my clients to eat as many whole, unprocessed plant foods as possible. Really stick to whole grains like brown rice, beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables. Broken grains like whole-wheat bread or even whole-wheat pasta are fine as long as they accent the diet, but they should not be a staple, and they should be a small serving with a big serving of other whole foods. For example with the pasta, have a little bit of pasta mixed with a ton of vegetables, not just a big bowl of pasta.

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Meatloaf Bites from "Happy Herbivore Light & Lean"
by Lindsay Nixon

Makes 8

Gluten-free, Quick, Budget

One afternoon I grabbed what I thought was corn from the freezer but later realized it was mixed vegetables. Once they thawed on the counter I knew they weren’t going back in, so I looked for a new, inventive way to use them. A can of kidney beans started calling, and before I knew it I had a vegetable-filled meatloaf in the oven. Since this meatloaf is baked in a muffin tin (great for serving sizes and portion control), I call it meatloaf “bites” and, yes, leftovers are great as a burger!

1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder (add another 1 tsp if you like it spicy)
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce (recipe in full cookbook)
1 c frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
6 tbsp instant oats

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or use nonstick. Mash beans in a bowl with
fork or potato masher until well mashed. Add remaining ingredients, except oats, and stir to combine.
Stir in oats. Spoon into muffin tin and pack down. Bake for 20 minutes until crisp on the outside and
fairly firm to the touch (firms a bit as it cools). Serve with ketchup, Quick Gravy (pg. 188), etc.

Per Bite
Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7g
Carbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.9g
Fiber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.5g
Sugars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3g
Protein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.8g
WW Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

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Hope you all have enjoyed this little interview and the new recipe!  Truly Lindsay's recipes have been such a blessing in my own life--I hope they are a help to you as well!

~Susan

It's Coming! Happy Herbivore Light & Lean Blog Tour!

Hi Everyone!

I have some VERY exciting news to share with all of you!  If any of you hang around me in "real life," and the topic of conversation turns to food and recipes you will soon realize that I am a huge fan of Lindsay Nixon--a.k.a. "The Happy Herbivore."

I first "discovered" Lindsay almost exactly a year ago.  I had read over that summer the excellent book called "The China Study" and became convinced that I really needed to pay better attention to the food I was eating and what I was feeding my family.  I was already a vegetarian, and even around 99% vegan--so "thought" I was doing pretty good.  Well, after reading "The China Study," I realized that I was wrong and that there were quite a few areas of my eating and cooking that should be cleaned up--and we would all be happier and healthier if I did.

WELL, being convinced that you need to stop eating some things is good.  But that still leaves you with a big hole of what you WILL be eating if you are not eating what you used to eat!  After much searching, I ran across Lindsay's web site The Happy Herbivore (www.happyherbivore.com).  I was super excited to see that she was creating yummy recipes that were all using whole foods and NOT using dairy, oil, and other things I did not want to put into my body or into my family.  I immediately purchased her (then) two books "The Happy Herbivore" and "Everyday Happy Herbivore."  When they arrived, my daughter and I started putting little sticky notes on the pages with recipes that we especially wanted to try.  Let's just say my two books were soon looking like porky pines with all the notes sticking out all over! :)  And within trying just a couple of the recipes, I knew that these books were going to be the basis of my cooking every single day!

Then last December Lindsay came out with her new book--"Happy Herbivore Abroad," which I immediately bought.  Merry Christmas to me!  I am not naturally an adventuresome person when it comes to food--I want to eat whatever is plain old "normal" to me.  But this book featuring recipes from around the world (of course tweaked by Lindsay to be healthy!) is convincing me there are a lot of great new flavors out there just waiting to be discovered!

And now--even more exciting--is this December a new "Happy Herbivore" cookbook is coming out!  This one--as the title of this post says, is  "Happy Hervibore Light & Lean."  I have heard that not only is this book filled with great healthy recipes, but that it also has some great workouts to help you on your wellness journey.  Let's just say I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon almost as soon as I first heard about it!  And while the official release date is in December, I have heard rumored that pre-orders may actually be shipped in November. . . no promises, but that is what I have heard--and last year when I pre-ordered "Happy Herbivore Abroad" I did receive it early. . .

When I had a chance to sign up and be part of the pre-release Blog Tour and be able to ask Lindsay several questions about healthy eating, I jumped at the chance.  SO--stay tuned--my interview questions for Lindsay AND a sneak peak of a new recipe from her new book "Happy Herbivore Light & Lean" is coming up on my blog here this weekend!

See you then!

~Susan

P.S.--Are you wondering exactly what "good" changing my eating and using Lindsay's recipes have done for me over the past year???  In the past year I have dropped 25 pounds, all while I was feasting on tons of great tasting, wholesome, healthy food!  I can honestly say I have never EVER been hungry, I eat as much as I want, and I never want to go back to the SAD Standard American Diet again!

Touring the Historic Adventist Village, Part 4

Hi Everyone!

Wow this week has flown by!  Somehow I keep thinking that as soon as I am finished with ____ then my life will slow down.  But you know, we get through whatever it was that was extra going on, and something else always moves in to take it's place!  Oh well!  Guess that is just a reminder to me to start each day out with Jesus, because the rest of the day is going to be one non-stop wave of things coming at me!

I hope you have been enjoying the little tour of Historic Adventist Village that my son filmed.  Here is part 4!  One more part coming up next week! :)

Happy Sabbath!

~Susan

Tea Towel Apron

Hi Everyone!

Thought I would share a little project that some friends and I worked on over the weekend.  We each made a simple apron made out of a tea towel, and I am enjoying it so very much already.  We really did have a good "reason" to make these--this is a project that our local college is going to be doing over our soon coming alumni weekend, so whatever ladies (or gentlemen!) are interested, they can sign up and come to our location to have a little sewing project.  My good friend Judy is in charge of this project every year, and she is always on the look out for a nice, simple project--and it needs to be able to be completed in one day.

Anyway, the project she found for this year is a Tea Towel Apron, which I am at this point totally in love with.  Of course, I am an "apron person" anyway--probably because I am a messy person!  I can't say I got this from my mom--I have never seen my mom wear an apron in her life, though I suppose she may have at some point.  Maybe it's because she is a nurse and I am a teacher.  Maybe nurses are neat, and teachers are messy. . . not sure, but whatever the reason, I LOVE aprons and cannot hardly stand to do anything in my kitchen unless I am wearing one.  

So back to making one.  Since some of the ladies (and gentlemen) who come to the alumni Fiber Arts time have sometimes been completely new at any type of sewing, Judy had the good idea to run through the Tea Towel Apron-making with a couple of her local friends, on the condition that we would help her be "teachers" for the alumni who came for the Fiber Arts time.  SURE!  It sounded fun, I was planning on going to the alumni weekend anyway, and what are friends for?!

So here you have it--photos from my little apron making time, and the beautiful models showing off their new aprons at the end!

Tea Towel Apron

 You will need one large tea towel, and 1/2 yard of coordinating fabric.

Apron Instructions:
1.  Fold towel in half lengthwise, iron fold, and open.  If ironed crease is not easy to see, mark it by sticking a pin at the crease line.

2.  On both sides of the fold or pin, mark at 5 1/2 inches and at 4 inches from center.

3.  Now you are going to measure on the long sides of your tea towel.  Starting from the top corner, measure and mark at 5/1/2 and 8 1/2 inches.  Take a ruler and a chalk pencil, and draw a slanted line connecting your 5 1/2 inch mark on the side with the 5 1/2 inch mark on the top.  Do the same connecting your 8 1/2 inch mark with the 4 inch mark.  This is harder to put into words than it is to do!

4.  Fold and press on the inner most chalk line, and cut off the extra fabric corner by cutting on the outer most chalk line.  Then turn under the edge where you cut by 1/2 inch and press.  You are creating the casing where the apron ties will go.

5.  Top stitch edge, back stitching at both ends.  Repeat on the other corner.  The above picture shows the apron at this step.

6.  From the 1/2 yard of fabric cut 3 strips 3 inches by width of fabric.  Cut only 2 strips if you want shorter ties if you are a skinny minny--(ahem, I am NOT a skinny minny) or if you are making the apron for a child.  If you want to be able to cross the ties in the back and bring them around to the front to tie, you might want to add in one extra strip.  With the width of my fabric, I "can" tie it in front if I want, but some of the other fabrics made ties with a little extra for front-tying.

7.  Sew tie strips together, end to end.

8.  Fold in half lengthwise and press.

9.  Open and fold in half each long side to center crease, press and pin.

10.  Fold in each end, press, and pin.

11.  Top stitch along all four edges of the tie--above picture shows this point.

12.  Take your completed apron tie--this will be huge, because it is one complete tie that goes up to include the neck strap and then down the other side--and poke it through the apron casings, centering it evenly along both sides.  You might find putting a safety pin on the end helps to pull it through the casings.  Adjust the neck loop to sit how you like it.  Most of the ladies left it like this at this point.  I, personally, do not like it if the straps change on me, so I choose to sew a little spot on the casing, tacking the ties to that specific spot.  Other people like the flexibility of the apron being able to adjust to the person wearing it.  Just do whichever you prefer.  :)

Optional Pocket Instructions

1.  From the 1/2 yard fabric, cut 2 8x16 inch rectangles.

2.  With right sides of fabric facing, stitch all around rectangles leaving about 4 inches open for turning.

3.  Trim corners, turn, and press.

4.  Top stitch top edge of pocket--this is one of the long sides of your rectangle.

5.  Center pocket on apron or as desired, and pin in place.

6.  Top stitch sides and bottom of pocket, which will sew the pocket onto the apron at the same time as well as stitch closed the 4 inch spot you left open for turning.  Make sure you have that spot turned in and pressed before sewing, so your sewing will catch and close the turning spot.

7.  Stitch either a center line along the middle of the apron pocket, dividing the pocket into two pockets, or stitch two lines dividing your pocket into three smaller pockets, whichever you prefer.  My pocket was wider, so I stitched it into three pockets, while Judy's pocket was smaller so hers is stitched into two pockets.

Grab your apron and put it on, snagging a close by friend to take your picture.  Don't Judy and I look great?!  You can see her apron tied in the front, while I left mine tied in the back.

More beautiful models--Lorraine and Arlene.  What fun and laughter we had that day, over the silliest things while making these tea towel aprons!  Trust me--these ladies are a HOOT!  I just love spending time with them!
Hope you are inspired now to go make your own apron! :)

~Susan

Touring the Historic Adventist Village, Part 3

Hi Everyone!
I hope you are enjoying this little series!  As promised, here is part 3 of the Historic Adventist Village tour!
Enjoy!
~Susan