Pass The POPCORN Please!!

Who doesn't LOVE popcorn!  It has been brought to my recent attention the dangers and harmful chemicals contained in microwave popcorn. 

Information and Sources:
  Researchers at the University of Toronto reported that the chemicals lining junk food/fast food wrappers and microwaveable popcorn bags are leaking into your food (source). Dangerous chemicals such as perfluorinated carbocylic acids (PFCAs) or more specifically,  Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8 (a Teflon Chemical), line microwave popcorn bags and get in to your bloodstream from consuming the food inside the bag. PFCAs have been linked to cancer and other development problems in animals.
“According to Daily News Central “In a study published last month, Food and Drug Administration researchers said microwave popcorn bags alone could expose the public to ‘hundreds of times’ more C8 than normal use of nonstick cookware.” The C8 is then ingested by the people eating the popcorn.” (source)
“Maureen McFadden of WDNU reported on 5/3/06: “Recent tests found PFOA, which can be extracted from Fluorotelomer, does cause cancer in animals.” Scientist Glen Evers explains, “Even before we cook the popcorn, the butter is already contaminated with a paper flurochemical that will be absorbed into your blood and stay in your blood for a long, long time.” (source)  info from thehealthyapron.com

I always believed that the FDA would keep things like this off of the shelves and who would ever put something harmful on consumer shelves to be eaten and harm people.  The more information that is out there the more I am realizing how proactive parents and individuals MUST be!!

So why would this post be titled PASS THE POPCORN PLEASE??   Well I guess I thought I was being clever here.  It actually has a double meaning because you CERTAINLY want to pass on microwave popcorn!! Anything that is putting chemicals like THAT into your diet is NOT welcome in my home!!

So does that mean we should pass on popcorn entirely.  NO!!!  Recent studies have come out sharing the AWESOMENESS of popcorn!!  Claiming that those wonderful little kernels may even contain more antioxidants than fruit!!! WOAH  Long study short the hulls of the popcorn (not the white fluffy stuff) contain between 242-363 milligrams per one-ounce serving. (By comparison, fruits like apples and pears often have about 160 milligrams of the antioxidants per ounce.) Overall, about 1.5 percent of popped corn is comprised of polyphenols, according to TIME Healthland Read more on this at Popcorn Facts

So is it back to the ole air poppers?  Too many appliances, not enough room in my kitchen!

REMEMBER I try to keep things super simple, quick, and healthful for my growing family!  So if you have an air popper go for it, but this is what my family reaches for!!

Grab a lunch bag, put in a scoop of popcorn kernels, fold top flap down and seal with a piece of tape, place in the microwave and microwave until you only hear a few pops per second, (our microwave has a popcorn setting we use)  pull it out and take a sniff no need to worry about chemicals!  SERVE IT UP to your family and PASS THE POPCORN PLEASE!!  

This is an AWESOME snack for the kiddos after school, while watching a movie, or whenever!! LOVE IT!!

***UPDATE**  Another option is your stove top!!  Heat some oil in a pot (works best if there is a handle don't use a teflon pan, sorta defeats the purpose :oD) and pop in some of your kernels, place the lid on (clear lids are the most fun!).  Once they start popping shake the pan back and forth to prevent burning and watch your popcorn pop!  

Veggie Salad

 

I tried this for the first time at a local restaurant and loved it!  Not really something I would have thought to put together myself, but it works and really tastes delicious.  I love that I can make it and keep it in the fridge to snack on all week and feel good about it!

Green Pepper
Tomato
Onion
Cucumber
Green Granny Smith Apple
Fat Free Italian Dressing
Salt and Pepper

Chop each of these ingredients (I peel the apples and the cucumbers) , mix together in a large Tupperware container add a little dressing, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!!

Window Cleaning

With our busy household I am ALWAYS cleaning windows, mirrors, our front door, back door, basically anything low enough for them to get their little hands on!! I've tried a BUNCH of different products Windex, Clorox Wipes, Vinegar, Homemade concoctions.  This weekend I was spring cleaning and was working on our back door.  I spent a solid 15 minutes on it wiping and cleaning it.  When I finished and looked out ready to be dazzled by my work the reality was far less sparkly!!  The glass was cloudy, streaked, not at all what it should have been! I went online in search of an answer.  Surely Pinterest or Google wouldn't let me down!  I found a TON of homemade concoctions.  Vinegar, Dish soap, Rubbing Alcohol, a bunch of different potions all in search of a better way to clean the glass surfaces.  Now I'm all for homemade, but again I just don't have much time of patients for some things.  I shouldn't have to work so hard to clean!!  I want something simpler so I can JUST GET TO THE CLEANING ALREADY!!


I FOUND IT!!

I'm ALL for natural cleaning products!  I personally HATE chemicals and products that destroy the earth! This happens to be one of the exceptions for me.  I am NOT pouring this down the drain, or putting it on surfaces that my children will be eating off of!!  That being said the answer for me came in a single bottle purchased for $1 at the dollar store, and the other half of the answer came from my pantry that was purchased at Christmas time from Walmart for a little over $1  So for around $2 I was able to have my SPARKLING WINDOWS! AAAAAAHHHHHHH! (my best attempt at an ethereal angel chorus)

WHAT IS IT ALREADY!!  Okay Okay sorry, let me have a few moments to BASK in my window cleaning SUCCESS!!

AMMONIA and COFFEE FILTERS!!

REALLY!!  I didn't even put it in a spray bottle because I couldn't find one!  I just put a little on a couple coffee filters and wiped down the window and used two others to dry it to a streak free SHINE!!

AMAZING!  The filters were WONDERFUL!  Super inexpensive and they worked so much better then newspaper or anything else I have EVER tried!

It made it almost FUN to see such a HUGE difference!  Give it a try super easy and you won't be sorry!!

Family Pancakes

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for recipes.  For my family they have to fit three categories. #1 Easy to make, #2 My family loves to eat them, #3 Healthful and full of nutrition.  I have worked on this recipe for a while, and I believe I have a sure WINNER here!!  I LOVE how I can put yummy things into their pancakes and they gobble them up completely unaware of what I have put in their diet!!


Family Pancakes:

In a mixing bowl combine the following

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup of Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of Baking Powder
1 Egg
2 cups of Milk
1 tablespoon of melted Butter
1 teaspoon of Vanilla

Optional but recommended: Sprinkle in some Flax Seeds, Wheat Germ, Cinnamon, Sliced Banana **you could also add some walnuts if your family isn't allergic and likes them**


Mix them up, put on warm griddle until they bubble a little, this happens pretty quickly, flip.  I keep them in a warm oven 200 degrees until I serve them.  These are awesome to serve with sugar free syrup, turkey bacon, some fruit, and a smoothie.

Super Yummy and Good for your family!  I call that a breakfast WIN!!!

**UPDATE**  You can substitute honey or agave nectar for the sugar or leave it out entirely! Same with the melted butter!!

Bible Stories

I had a real wake up call from God last week.  One of those moments that I am thankful that we attend church every Sunday, because honestly I had not thought of this myself.  We speak of God daily in our home, we pray and thank God for what he has blessed us with, we pray and ask God for help for ourselves and for others.  We attend church on Sundays, our daughters attend a Christian School. God is with us, around us, in us, a part of us each day!  So as a mom I feel that I am doing a good job teaching my children who God is and help them grow a relationship with him.  Well that was until last Sunday morning in church!!

During the children's sermon our Pastor asked the children if they had the bible memorized.  My overly confident and ambitious eight year old raised her hand and said YES!  HAHAHA I was a bit mortified but was proud that she felt she knew a lot of what was in the bible.

After service one of our fellow parishioners and I had a chance to say hello and exchange a few words.  He stated how wonderful he felt it was that she felt she knew so much of the bible.  I explained how they had bible lessons at school, at church and how much they were learning.  He looked at me and said "I thought you were going to say how much they were learning at home."

(mouth open, glazed look, and a huge DOH!!)  What in the WORLD has been in my head!! Why haven't we learned more at home?  Have I been teaching them?  I thought I have been doing right by them??  We have a bible book and have read it to them, but not reading the bible daily!!  Well consider me awoken with one kind well intended sentence! See this is just one of those instances of a message from God to mom, WAKE UP!!  I had a choice too!  To listen, or to make some excuses!  Too busy, they won't understand, they learn that at church and school, anything would fit here.  But those words hit me over the head and woke me in a way that I realized what an opportunity I was missing!!

So I made a decision!  Our family readings would be from the bible!  HOW FORTUITOUS TOO because for Christmas Grandma bought all of the girls a bible!  We read from my youngest daughters bible!  We read two lessons, talk about them, the older girls follow along in their bible and will read some things from their bible for the rest of us to hear.  We talk about it, ask the questions at the end of the lesson, and than when we are finished we pray together.

What a blessing this message was!  I still can't believe that I have been so lax and remiss in my responsibilities as a mom.  Sad face for that, but happy that God sent a messenger to me and I heard him loud and clear!!

I wish to share my wake up call with you and ask perhaps if you need to share in it with me?  Are you reading from the bible and teaching your children God's words?  Or like me are you leaving that up to your church, school, others or just honestly never even really thought of it?

It has been a very powerful and beautiful time together!  Not only are we getting a bedtime story together, but we are also speaking God's words and learning his lessons as a family!  Who knows what may come of that together or how that may grow in our lives, but I can tell you I am committed to it, and it will continue in this house!  We are an example that it is never too late to start!!  I encourage and invite you to do the same!!