Not By Bread Alone...Need Breadmaker

My bread journey began when I started reading the ingredients in my food and found that my “healthy” bread had things in there I didn’t want. I don’t need soy processed five different ways. This began my search for natural bread with the fewest ingredients I could find. As with most food products, the less it’s processed the more it costs. Spending $5 on a loaf of bread was something I was not ok with. Now coffee on the other hand is another story… but let’s not go down that road.

The saga started when I decided to make my own bread, the old school way. After being covered in flour, stressed about it not rising properly, and not having time to wait around for it to rise, I sought a different method. I went online and researched “the one” bread maker that would solve all my problems. After its much anticipated arrival, I pulled it out of the box and gently washed it with warm soapy water, as suggested. Unfortunately, once I put the pan back in it wouldn’t come back out. At one point in my fit of rage, yes, this can happen to the best of us… I put both my feet on the darn thing and pulled the handle with all my might. After I composed myself, I called the 1-800 number where a woman over the phone calmly read a pamphlet that said I “just needed to pull it out gently.” Instead of using the harsh words that were going through my head, I thanked her and began another search. This time I picked a bread maker I thought was the prettiest. Luckily for me it’s a really great bread maker.

I wish I could take all the credit for my delicious bread, but honestly, a six year old could do this. In the morning, after my coffee so I don’t add coffee beans instead of flour, I toss the ingredients in the bread pan and hit a button. You can also throw them in the night before and put it on a timer. The aroma of the bread is absolutely intoxicating. Slicing that warm bread has never made it more exciting to eat a turkey sandwich. It’s not just the taste I love, it’s the health benefits and cost savings I get. Using the best organic ingredients, it costs me $2 a loaf, has fewer calories, and contains ingredients that your toddler can pronounce. Here’s a comparison.

Oroweat Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, sugar, wheat gluten, honey, yeast, soybean oil, salt, butter (Milk), cream, calcium carbonate, monogycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium sulfate, calcium propionate (preservative), artificial flavor, nonfat milk, ascorbic acid (dough conditioner), soy lecithin, azodicarbonamide.
Calories: 100 a slice.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread (Bread Maker)
Ingredients: Water, salt, butter, honey, bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast.
Calories: 73 a slice

The comparison speaks for itself. But wait, there’s more....as if this blog didn’t sound like an infomercial enough, it also makes pizza dough, rolls, and JAM! I was buying the really expensive jam, again, fewer bad stuff equals more expensive. Now I take the left over fruit I have on hand turn it into jam.

Sure, you just read a really long blog about bread… but hey, it will all be worth it when that steamy loaf of bread makes you look like Martha Stewart (before incarceration), saves you money, and is healthier for you and your family.

NUTZ OVER COCONUTS

OK people, this is what you've been waiting for.  I was afraid that if I didn't share this coconut information soon you'd be throwing them at my house.  This immune building, weight loss, skin rejuvenating miracle food has been a well kept secret.  Well, not to the tribal people who have used it for thousands of years, but to the Western diet.  Many of you have been asking me what's so great about coconuts and coconut oil.  With a sigh I say, oh dear coconuts, how I love thee, let me count the ways...

IMMUNE BUILDER/COLD AND FLU FIGHTER
We are now seeing coconut oil being used to help fight AIDS.  Recent studies have confirmed that coconut oil has an anti-viral effect and can reduce the viral load of HIV patients.  For more information on this visit. http://www.www.lauric.org/. For those of us looking for a way to fight off or reduce cold and flu symptoms, ingesting coconut oil will help. If you get the flu/cold take 2-3 Tb. of coconut oil with every meal. Your sick time will be cut in half. People who use coconut oil regularly in their diets have made claims to be cold/flu free for 2-10 years.


WEIGHT LOSS
I think this is the one people are really interested in so let me say this… there was a study done on how farmers could make their pigs fatter. They fed one group of pigs soybean oil and one group coconut oil, then sat back to see which ones got fatter. To their surprise, the pigs that were fed coconut oil actually lost weight! Science is now figuring out how this is possible. When you eat coconut oil, your body uses it immediately to make energy rather than store it as body fat. Energy = good. Fat = bad. In essence, it boosts your metabolism even when you are not exercising and therefore burns calories. It can also help control your sugar cravings which could save you a few hundred calories a day.

ASSISTS IN FATIGUE
Instead of going for that extra cup of coffee or candy bar around 2:00, take one tablespoon of coconut oil. I really like eating it with a small bite of chocolate. It gives you a natural boost.

SKIN BENEFITS
My sister-in-law was visiting recently and I couldn’t help but stare at her skin. It was truly amazing. She chalks it up to her intake of coconut oil and lotion that she makes. (An all natural recipe that I LOVE and she sells. Let me know if anyone wants to try it and I can get you some.) Coconut oil can also reduce stretch marks, control dandruff, and be used as a conditioner. In full disclosure, I haven’t tried using it to reduce my stretch marks because I plan on getting pregnant again and figure what’s the point. My husband says they are my tiger stripes and I’m starting to wonder if that’s where all my mommy power is derived from.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
I have to admit I was really skeptical about this one. My sister-in-law said to rub it on the area that hurts with a couple of drops of peppermint oil. My knee was starting to act up so I begrudgingly tried it. At first I felt a warm sensation on my knee. Then it immediately felt better. I thought if felt nice at the time but surely wouldn't "fix" my knee pain.  I kid you not… I did this for three days in a row and my knee no longer hurts.

GOOD SOURCE OF PROTEIN/FIBER
Coconut oil has more protein than green beans, carrots and other vegetables. One cup of dried coconut is equal to 9 grams of fiber.

WHAT IS IT?
Nutritional scientists do not agree on what it is… fruit, nut, seed? Personally, I’m cheering for the fruit team so I can count it as one of my five-a-day. What scientists do agree on is how amazing it is. It’s actually a component in baby formula because it provides many of the same nutrients as human breast milk. I think we have all heard the recent findings of how amazing breast milk is for our children’s health…even in their adult lives. With that said, let’s get started!

RECOMMENDED CONSUMPTION
Start out by consuming 1-2 tsp of coconut oil a day. If you jump to 2 Tb. a day you will be in the bathroom more than you’d like. Although this can be another benefit, I really didn't want to make a whole section on how great your bowel movements will be.  After a few days, go ahead and move to 2Tb. a day. There are so many ways to do this that I’ll just list a few examples.

• Consume 2Tb. a Day
• 1 Tb. in your morning coffee
• 1 Tb. in the afternoon with small piece of chocolate
• 1 Tb. in orange juice
• Add to Your Vitamin Routine.  While researching more for this blog, I found coconut oil capsules!  I'm really excited to try them out and add them to my evening vitamin intake.
• Cook With It. There are so many delicious ways to add coconut to your diet. Use the unsweetened coconut flakes in all kinds of recipes. I recommend the book, Coconut Lovers Cookbook. I also use coconut oil instead of shortening. In fact, I haven’t used shortening in years. I even use it in my homemade pie crusts.

There are so many benefits and interesting studies done on coconut. I highly recommend reading “The Coconut Oil Miracle.” This is where a lot of my research came from. The author did a good job of citing his resources and they were credible.

DISCLAIMER
Like any good attorney, I’d like to provide a disclaimer. Contrary to the book, coconut oil does NOT cause miracles. After trying it, you will not wake up the next morning fitting into those skinny jeans of yours. However, I do believe it is a small change to make on our journey to live healthier lives.

My Secret Diet Revealed

This afternoon my neighbor commented on how different I looked with my weight loss. I have to admit that I hear this often. Instead of making me feel good, it makes me really defensive. It was only ten pounds people! It's not like I just got off the Biggest Loser. That's when I realized that no matter if it's ten or fifty pounds, weight loss can make you feel and look like a new person.

So, it's time to come clean with my "secret" diet. Don't worry, this won't cost you a penny. My secret... I just changed the ingredients in my food and added a little exercise. I'm enjoying my food more and have no guilt. In fact, as I write this I'm eating coconut ice cream.

SECRET REVEALED

(1) Get Informed. This will take a little time but is worth the "research." When I say research I mean look at the ingredients in the "food" that you eat. There's a quote from a Michael Pollen book that states, "Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much." I equate food to mean what God created for us to eat. He did not create high fructose corn syrup. However, he did provide us with herb crusted halibut, garlic baked asparagus, mushroom risotto, and your favorite wine.

• You will see me referencing quotes from the book "Omnivores Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food" in future blogs. These books are written by Michael Pollen and I highly recommend them. Reading them is like the scene from the Matrix where Keanu swallows the pill and becomes aware of the world as it really is.
  

(2) Make the Switch. Switch to whole foods. Exchange your white rice with brown. I did this slowly over time because my husband didn't like brown rice. At first I used 3/4 white and 1/4 brown. Then added half and half. You get the idea. Now we only eat brown rice and instead of complaints I get yums. Turn in your bread for whole wheat that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, processed soy, or other nasty stuff. Future blogs will focus on simple changes to make. One quick one is to eat more fruits and veggies.

(3) Add Exercise. It doesn't matter what you do...as NIKE says, just do it. I started running. (See future blog on the day when pigs flew). You should really try different things out. You might surprise yourself. There might be one thing you hated ten years ago that you might love now. (Hint....me running). After two months of running four times a week, I went from a size 8 to a size 4.

• For those of you who need to lose more than ten pounds, I would recommend one more simple step. Count those calories. A few years back I had gained 20 pounds. (Thanks to special legislative sessions). I decided to find out what was making me fat. I did one thing...counted calories. Back then I still didn't exercise. What I discovered was that there were days when I consumed 4,000 calories on what I thought was "healthy" food.

Now you know my secret. As I mentioned before, I'll be posting more on the little things that make big changes. Adding coconut to your diet is one of those fun things I'll share with you next time. For now, stop looking at those check-out stand magazines, pinching the fat that you may find around your body, (Still guilty of that one), and remember... God made you a beautiful woman . Whether you accept that or not doesn't make it not true.

This Isn't Your Average Mommy Blog

Earlier this morning I mentioned to some friends that I was starting a blog. They asked if it was another "mommy" blog. I laughed and said yes, with a twist. You see, I'm an attorney who is now a stay-at-home mom. This means that I frequently apply my analytical thinking and research skills to homemaking. Instead of being called a "stay-at-home mom" I prefer "Domestic Engineer". Those who read my blog will benefit from my random research. Topics that my girlfriends have asked to hear more about. Future blogs will include: "Running Away," "Liberated by Cleaning Schedule," "Nuts Over Coconut," "My Secret Diet Revealed,"and "Soy, The Axis of Evil". It is my goal to make readers healthier, organized, more informed, and less stressed. I will be posting every Friday morning, or at least try to. By the way, I'm a terrible speller and will not be editing my work...I've got two kids under three and not enough coffee in the day to stay up late.