50 Advent Calendar Ideas

Yesterday I published a blog about using email as a quick and paper-free way to celebrate the advent calendar.  Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming", and it's a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Christmas holiday.  Upon December 1st, our family begins counting down the days until Christmas by using an advent calendar.  I decided to do advent calendars because waiting for Christmas to arrive can feel like ions of time for a child, so having something to look forward to each day doesn't seem to make the time go as slowly.

Here is a list of 50 ideas that I compiled that can work for an advent calendar.  I have used some of them in past years and plan to use many of them this year.  I try to refrain from buying too many "goodies", even if they are made with natural ingredients, and concentrate more on activities to strengthen our family, faith, and community.


50 ideas for your Advent calendar

1. Let's sit back after a long day and watch a Christmas movie--popcorn included
2. Put on your pajamas!  It's breakfast for dinner!
3. Look under your pillow.  You earned an extra surprise without having to lose a tooth.
4. Today, think of one thing for each family member that you are grateful for. Let's share them at dinner.
5. Gather up some of your unused toys and let's donate them so others can share in the joy of them.
6. Let's go shopping--for food that is, and donate it to the local food pantry.
7. Fair trade chocolate coins
8. All-natural gum, like Glee gum
9. Music is in the air. You are allowed to download 1 song for your library.
10. Bring your pillows and sleeping bags....we will be sleeping by the Christmas tree tonight.
11. Shop for a child in need
12. Make a seed ornament for our feathered friends.
13. Get your game on.....it's family game night!
14. Tonight for dinner, everything will be dipped.......it's fondue night.
15. Dashing through the snow-----tonight we will go look at Christmas lights!
16. Send a card to a military soldier
17. Naturally colored candy cane
18. Enjoy an evening with a cocoa bar
19. Borrow Christmas books from the local library and read it together
20. Make cookies for local community members, such as police or fire department
21. Grandmas, Grandpas, Uncles, and Aunts.  Family is important, so this evening we will be  celebrating the holidays with our extended family.
22. Bookmark
23. We had two extra place settings tonight. Invite a friend for dinner.
24. Let's go to the movies. Be sure to bring a can to donate  http://www.wehrenberg.com/presenting.aspx?pid=335
25. What is winter without ice?  Let's go ice skating today.
26. Our furry friends need help during the holidays too.  Let's make some dog treats to donate to the local shelter.
27. Go find a special treat in your stocking.
28. St. Nick made a visit.  Go check your shoes!
29. Pick your favorite cookie to bake with Mom today.
30. Let's go hear some beautiful music and support (insert name)  at his/her Christmas concert.
31. Special pencil or pen
32. Stickers
33. You get to buy 1 extra treat at lunch today.
34. Invite one friend for a sleepover tonight
35. A special puzzle is here. Let's see if we can be put together by Christmas
36. Try to find as many words using letters in "Merry Christmas". Bring your list to dinner.
37. Did you find the hidden pickle on the Christmas tree? If not, whoever finds it will receive a special treat.
38. After school, we will go shopping for Christmas gifts for others (siblings, parents, grandparents).  Be sure to bring your money.
39. Lego Night. What kind of holiday inspired items can you make?
40. Today we will be decorating gingerbread houses
41. Write a letter to Santa and tell him 2 gifts you would like to receive.
42. Make popcorn garland and string outside for the birds
43. Make an ornament to put on the tree
44. One extra hour of computer/tv time this week
45. Make your own pizza night
46. Go see a local Christmas play
47. Baby, it's cold outside.  Let's enjoy an indoor picnic instead.
48. Some people will not have items to keep them warm this year. Let's donate some hats, gloves, scarves, and coats to a local charity.
49. Make a snowman ---weather permitting :-)
50. Will you earn "coal" in your stocking this year? Let's hope not.  (Coal gum from Trader's Joes.)

I hope I have given you some ideas that you can share with your family during this Christmas holiday. Enjoy!

You Have Mail--An Electronic Version of the Advent Calendar

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner.  For the past couple of weeks, I have been busy planning Thanksgiving, so now that it has come and gone, I can now concentrate on the Christmas holiday. Recently, my daughter, Anna, asked me if I was going to make the advent calendars again.  As much as I enjoy seeing their excitement each morning to see what the surprise will be, I was dreading coming up with an idea on how to make yet another calendar.  One year, I strung goodies bags on the wall above their beds. Last year, I made an envelope for each day and used a clothespin to pin it to ribbon attached to their bedroom doors. It takes alot of time and materials to create these calendars!!

Let's not forget that traditions run deep in our family, so I wanted to continue this tradition for my children.  But as all moms know, we are the ones who end doing the work to keep most of the traditions around the holidays going.  And it's a lot of work..........the planning, the buying, the strategizing.....all with a smile on our face. 

This year, I wasn't ready for the planning of each day. As in years past, I wanted the advent calendar to be something more than the children receiving a gift, so I included activities we could share as a family.  But last year, I found myself having to "exchange" days when our schedule didn't allow for the activity to be performed.....like mom not wanting to drive around and look at Christmas lights when it is sleeting outside!!!  Sometimes the best laid plans have to be changed.

So I took the pressure off of myself and this year decided to rely a bit on technology! Both of my children are in middle school and have email accounts under our main account, so I thought it would be cool to get a morning email from Mom. I spent a few minutes writing a list of ideas of activities we can do during the holiday and I purchased a couple of treats for them to find, such as chocolate coins from Trader Joes.  The suggestions are stashed in my planner, so each morning I can decide what "gift" I would like to share with them based on our schedules and "weather permitting".

Also, I decided to add a "Random Act of Kindness" that I would like for them to do each day. In this day of materialism...............did you see the footage of shoppers on Black Friday?...............and the "all about me" attitude in our youth, I want them to make a conscious effort in doing something that would benefit someone else. This will be a wonderful conversation starter at dinnertime!

Here is an example of our first day of the countdown.  In the email, I made the background in a bright red color, and changed the text to white.  Unfortunately, you won't get that same effect on this example, but I wanted something that would grab their attention when the email was opened: 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first day of the Official Countdown to Christmas

Day 25:

 Some coins cannot be used to buy things.  Look for some of these "coins" hidden in your room.

We also will be doing something a bit different too. With each email, I will be sending a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) suggestion. A random act of kindness is a "selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people". I challenge you to accept this invitation to spread some Christmas cheer and be kind to one another!

R.A.K Day 25:

Make eye contact with someone and smile :-)

Enjoy your day!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

My hope is my children will take a moment to rejoice is the reason for celebrating this holiday and give a bit of themselves, without asking for anything in return.

 

Tomorrow: I will share a list of Random Acts of Kindness and Advent Calendar ideas.

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Halloween is over, and the carved jack o' lanterns have now found a final resting place in our compost bin.  One of the wonderful aftermath of carving pumpkins is the pumpkin seeds.  I am a traditionalist when it comes to roasted pumpkin seeds...............plain with a sprinkling of sea salt.

But this year, I decided to branch out and make three varieties:  sea salt, savory, and a sweet/salty blend. The flavors of the sweet/salty and savory were not overpowering, but gave a subtle change to the traditional ones.

All of them turned out so delicious and making them is a breeze.  I didn't even get out a separate bowl to mix the seasonings....I just tossed it on top of the seeds in the baking sheet and mixed it to distribute the seasonings. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Toss again. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

Traditional Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Sweet and Salty
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Savory
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil



Enjoy!

 

Halloween Cookies Using Natural Coloring

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom--A bit blurry, I need a new camera!

For those who know me, I am the baker of the family.  I am usually responsible for bringing the dessert to the family function, and there is always a standing order for my decorated Christmas cookies at the annual family Christmas function. Five years ago, I had a home business called "The Cookie Menagerie", and decorated all sorts of cookies.  But there is a difference in the cookies I make now, to the ones I made back then. 

If you look at the drawer below, you will see what I called my decorating drawer. Look at all those colored dyes and sugars!!!!!!  That was then...................
 

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom 

It held all the colors needed to make a rainbow of hues to fit the design of the cookies.  Believe me, everyone oooh'ed and aaah'ed over them, and some people commented that they did not want to eat something so pretty.  I was really flattered.  But then something happened....I started having some health problems. I had a continuous pain in my lower left abdomen that would not go away.  I went to the doctor, and she could not find anything wrong, so she sent me to my "female" doctor.  He found nothing.  I was so frustrated that I took it upon myself to find an answer, because I was NOT imagining this pain.............and boy did I open up a can of worms!!!!  (And by the way, I do not have the pain anymore.)

I began to realize the diet of processed foods I was feeding my family and selling to customers was not good, not good at all.  I surrounded myself with books on natural health, took notes, and read everything I could get my hands on.  I then realized that I could not serve customers cookies that I knew, good and well, contained dangerous ingredients. 

Yea.....yea, you are probably thinking, "cookies aren't healthy anyway". I get that.  Having a cookie is a treat.........but adding the artificial colors into the icing can cause all sorts of problems.  They have been linked to hyperactivity in some children and some of them, Citrus Red 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3, have all been identified as being, or being contaminated with potential cancer-causing chemicals. Did you notice that many of the colors I listed are common dyes listed on food labels?  And the kicker................artificial colors are derived from coal tar, a.k.a PETROLEUM DERIVATIVES! Yes, petroleum! How this is allowed in our food system is beyond my understanding.  And to add insult to injury, they contain a preservative called sodium benzoate which I found out is a chemical my daughter is sensitive to.

After I closed the business, I became a walking, talking infomercial for healthy living........I know I was driving my family crazy!  Shortly after this new found information, I did make some cookies, but could not allow myself to enjoy decorating cookies with possible cancer causing chemicals; ultimately I stopped making sugar cookies because I didn't enjoy it anymore.  And with that, I put my cookie baking days behind me, because I felt I could not make a beautiful cookie without those artificial colors.

But not anymore!  I found colors made by India Tree that uses natural colors for the food coloring.  The colors are more muted, but I just adjusted the cookies I made that would be complemented by the cookies.  So this Halloween, I made ghosts, pumpkins, and candy corn. 

With this new option available to me, do I bake all the time now?  No.  Recently, I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, so wheat flour is no longer a staple in my pantry, and using gluten free flours can become quite expensive! Also, I still believe having a cookie, even a homemade one, is a treat.and should be "treated" as such.  So whenever I make cookies, I usually allow my children to have a couple, and then share the rest with friends, family, or my husband's co-workers.  

And with that, I say........... HAPPY BAKING!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

 4 cups All-Purpose GF Flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder ( I use Rumford because it is GMO-free)
1 c. butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
In a large bowl, add flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. 

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Remove dough from refrigerator.  Roll dough to a 1/4 in -- 1/2 in thickness. Cut into desired shapes.  Place on cookie sheet at bake for 15-18 minutes, depending on thickness of cookie.

Cool on rack, and decorate.


Royal Icing (from Alton Brown, Food Network) 

Ingredients

3ounces pasteurize egg whites (about 2-3 depending on size of egg)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

 

Directions

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and vanilla.  Beat until frothy.  Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny.  Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks.  This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes.  Add food coloring, if desired.

 

Healthy Lunch Ideas for Your Little Ghouls

Halloween is a little over a week away, and I am strategizing on how I can amp up the kid's lunches for the Halloween week.  With both of them being in middle school, I have to add thematic items for the season without it being too, shall I say............embarrassing and uncool! And honestly, I don't even know if I will be able to get away with it, but if I add a bit of the "gross" factor, it might just work. 

All parents want to make sure their children get the needed nutrients into their diets (myself included), so sometimes adding a bit of "fun" into the healthy food mix helps.  During this season, kids are inundated with artificial colors, flavors, and chemicals because of all the candy handed out during October 31st.  Add to that the Halloween parties serving neon-colored cupcakes and punch, and you have a recipe for major overload of junk into their little bodies.  So let's help minimize this overload by offering them a nutrient dense, healthy lunch to get them through their school day.

So for all the moms (and dads) who will pack the lunches of their little ghouls during the Halloween week, I have compiled healthy, fun ideas that can make any child "scream" with delight upon opening it at lunchtime.  Many of these ideas can also be used to substitute junk food during holiday parties at school. 

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

I use a laptop lunch system, but you can find BPA-free, sectioned lunch containers by Ziploc.  When the kids opened their lunches they could see all of it at once.  Add a Halloween cloth napkin, a stainless steel drink bottle, the "menu", and a joke for them to use on Halloween night, and you have a fun, waste-free lunch!

Main Dish Ideas:

Mini Cheese slices with Bug Encrusted Crackers 

• You can use mini cookie cutters to cut the organic or vegan cheese into pumpkin shapes.
• Use any cracker with black flecks in it. I use Back to Nature's Organic Stoneground Wheat Crackers with Flaxseed. For a gluten free alternative, you can us Snyder's of Hanover's Natural Whole Grain Tortilla Chips.

Bone Roll-ups 

• Spread natural peanut butter and fruit preserves onto an organic tortilla, and roll it up.  Cut into pieces. Place roll ups rolled-side up.

Pumpkin Face

• Cut a sandwich into a pumpkin shape

Coffin Sandwich

• Cut sandwich in a coffin shape

Mummy Dogs

• Wrap nitrate-free hot dogs (such as Applegate Farms, Trader Joes, or Wellshire Farms) biscuit dough made from non-hydrogenated oils/artificial ingredients
• Serve with "blood", aka organic ketchup (we use Trader Joes' brand)

Monster Smoothie

• Blend organic yogurt, pineapple, spinach leaves, almond milk, and a touch of vanilla and stevia.  The smoothie is GREEN, and I promise............you cannot taste the spinach!
• Advise your child to "shake up the monster" before drinking.

Zombie Sludge

• Smash an avocado and add a touch of salt, lemon juice, and a bit of salsa.  Serve with "bat wings", aka blue corn chips

Vampire Mouth

• Cut an apple in half and cut out the core thereby making the "mouth".  Line the edge of the apple with "jagged teeth", aka slivered almonds. 

Mummy Pizzas

• Spread pizza sauce onto a bagel.  Shred mozzarella cheese in wide strips and place over sauce to create the "wrapping" of the mummy.  Add sliced olives for eyes, and place into toaster oven until cheese is melted.

Here are Halloween-Inspired Names for Healthy Foods:

Bat Teeth Monster Toenails Claw Clippings Vampire Teeth Scabs Witch Skin Cyclops’s Eye Dracula Vitamins Bat Wings Jack O Lantern Frankenstein Skin Ear Wax Eyeballs Spider Eggs Ghost Juice Lil' Punkins Brains

Raw Sunflower Seeds Raw Pecans Raw Cashews Slivered Almonds Dried Cranberries Dried Apple Rings or Pieces Sliced Kiwi Pomegranate Seeds Organic Blue Corn Chips Orange with Jack O Lantern Face Cut Out Roasted Seaweed Monterey Jack./Cheddar Cheese Blend Rolled into Balls Green Grapes Hard Boiled Eggs Organic, Hormone Free Milk or Non-Dairy Milk Draw a Pumpkin Face onto the Skin of a Mandarin Orange Cauliflower Florets with Organic Ranch Dressing

Now, if you want to add a "treat" to the lunch, here are some ideas that are fun.  I have added links to some the recipes:

Meringue Bones
Gelatin Worms --I would choose and all-natural gelatin dessert that doesn't use artificial colors.
Vampire Bites
White Chocolate Skulls--I went to a candy making store and found skull molds.

So there you have it...........do you have some Halloween-inspired food ideas?

Happy Halloween!

Apple Butter

 

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Colorful apples of red, green, and yellow signify my favorite season,...autumn.  As the leaves begin to change color, and the crisp, morning air requiring a jacket to keep me warm, I always begin thinking of ways to include apples into some form of recipe.  There are times I feel like Bubba reciting ways to cook shrimp in the movie, Forrest Gump.....only mine is in apple form.  Applesauce, apple pie, apple rings, apple cider, apple sauce muffins, apple cake, apple butter.....need I continue? 

Today I am talking about apple butter.  I rarely eat a piece of toast anymore (especially since being gluten free), so the only time I do have one, it has apple butter on it.  My husband recently brought home a bag of apples from a co-worker's apple tree! I love it when friends and family share the bounty. 

As long as you are patient, apple butter is very easy to make, and you can make it in the crock pot, too. That is how I do it.

Crock pot Apple Butter

 3-4 pounds of apples, cut into cubes

1 c brown sugar*

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp clove

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup water

Juice of ½ lemon

1.)  Add all ingredients into crock pot.  Turn crock pot on low.

2.)  After three hours, stir apple mixture.  Turn crock pot to high. 

3.)  After 3 hours, check apples.  The apples should be very soft.  Use an emulsifier to blend
       apple mixture until smooth.
4.)  Turn crock pot to low and cook for another 30 minutes to an 1 hour to thicken.
5.)  Let cool and store in glass container.

This recipe makes about 2 1/2 pints of apple butter. 

 Note:  I didn't have brown sugar on hand, so I mixed sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses)

Enjoy!

Could It Be Celiac Disease?

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

October is Celiac Awareness Month which brings awareness to people who are battling celiac disease, or sometimes called celiac spue.  Celiac disease is a hereditary, auto immune disorder, and it’s estimated at 1%, or 3 million in the US (1 in 100), of the human population has it.   The only way to treat this disease is to remove gluten entirely from your diet.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.  If you eat a balanced diet of unprocessed foods, keeping gluten out of the diet can be rather simple.  But unfortunately, many products found on the grocery store shelves contain gluten.  And there are other grains such as semolina, spelt, and tricale that contain gluten, so you would need to avoid those as well. Oats are well-known to be contaminated with gluten; therefore it should be avoided as well.  One speck or 1/8 tsp. a day of gluten will keep a person in a diseased state.  

There are many symptoms for a gluten allergy such as:

 

·         Fatigue ·         Cramping ·         Bloating ·         Abdominal pain ·         Irritable bowel syndrome ·         Nutritional deficiencies ·         Mouth ulcers ·         Depression ·         Anxiety

·         Migraines ·         MS ·         Headaches ·         Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ·         Autism ·         ADHD ·         Inability to Concentrate ·         Failure to Thrive in Children ·         Developmental Delay ·         Clumsiness ·         Loss of Coordination in Upper         and Lower Limbs

Gluten can cause a person to experience all kinds of neurological symptoms, yet never experience any gastrointestinal symptoms.  That is because gluten can penetrate the gut lining and go into the bloodstream.  Once in the bloodstream, it can travel to the brain where it can disrupt cells or cause inflammation.  

I watched a program on television called, “Your Health with Dr. Richard and Cindy Baker,” that talked in length about celiac disease.  When you think you have a disease, many times there are symptoms to prompt you there is something wrong.  With celiac disease, it has been found that 97% of people who suffer with this disease do not even know they have it because many times it is misdiagnosed or the person is asymptomatic, meaning he does not experience any symptoms as all.  And the 3%, who have been diagnosed with celiac, usually get a diagnosis 8-9 years after the symptoms began.

Celiac is genetic, and it is considered an auto-immune disease. 

 

Many people can carry the gene that causes celiac disease, but never get the disease.  Only about 4% with genetic susceptibility actually get celiac, and the onset of the disease can be at any age. If you are diagnosed with celiac, your immediate family (brother, sister, mother, father, child) has a 1 in 4 chance of also having the disease.  Just because you have the gene for it doesn’t mean you will get it.  Something in the environment triggers it—stress, diet, viral or bacterial infections, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe. 

Now do you see why celiac disease is so hard to diagnose?

Many people, such as myself, are gluten intolerant; meaning our body does not experience an allergic reaction, per se, to the gluten, and our intestinal wall is not permanently damaged, but we show symptoms similar to celiac.

The show provided a very through point-system questionnaire to complete that may provide you with some clarity about symptoms you may been experiencing:

 

Give yourself 1 point for you or ½ point if it is a relative As a child, did you:  __ Direct relative has Celiac Disease __ Stunted Growth, Always Small __ Delayed Puberty __ Multiple Cavities __Poor Coordination/Epilepsy __Allergic Dermatitis  Give yourself 4 pts.  Do you currently: __ Auto-Immune Condition __Dermatitis Herpetiformis __Lupus __ MS  11% of MS patients actually have gluten sensitive anthropopathy.  Both conditions   cause  little white spots on the brains, and when brain is looked at with the MRI, they   look exactly the same. __ Psoriasis __ Rheumatoid Arthritis __ Sjorgens Disease __ Thyroid Disease __ Type 1 Diabetes __Vitiligo __ Chronic Diarrhea __Cirrhosis/High Liver Enzymes __ Food Allergies __ Irritable Bowel __ Lactose Intolerant __ Anemia __Vitamin Deficiencies (Vit. A, B, E, K, and Folate) __ Peripheral Neuropathy __ Restless Leg Syndrome __ Venous Thrombosis __ Dental Enamel Defects __  Recurrent Aphthous Ulcers (Canker Sores) __Autism __ADHD __ Schizophrenia __ Unusual Neurological Conditions __ Osteoporosis __ Unexplained Fertility Issues __ Cataracts __ Atrial Fibrillation __Abnormal Hair Loss __ Had Lymphoma Count up your score.  If you have 4 or more points, you may have celiac or have a genetic susceptibility for celiac.  __________ Score

So you scored 4 or more points on the survey, now what do you do? 

You can call you doctor to schedule a blood test.  Testing is fairly simple and involves screening the patient’s blood for antigliadin (AGA) and endomysiumantibodies (EmA), and/or doing a biopsy on the areas of the intestines mentioned above, which is still the standard for a formal diagnosis. The biopsy is the gold standard to confirm the villi in the intestine are blunted. (www.celiac.com)

Unfortunately, for those of us (like myself), who decided to remove gluten from their diets prior to being tested for celiac, typically received a negative result on the blood test.  Currently, I am diagnosed with gluten intolerance.  The thought of me having to introduce gluten back into my diet for 6 weeks in order to be tested again and possibly get a positive result is not on my agenda.  I know how I feel on a gluten free diet therefore, it confirms it for me. But some people choose to investigate further to determine whether or not an individual carries the gene responsible for the development of celiac disease via another blood test. You will just need to discuss it with your doctor.

Now, if you have confirmed a diagnosis of celiac or just decide to remove gluten from your diet to see if you feel a difference, you need to know that a response to being gluten free can take months depending on the damage done to the body.  After a week or so off of gluten, I feel much better. I am not as lethargic, bloated, or foggy headed anymore; and the chronic pain in my upper abdominal and joint point is non-existent. I find that I have more energy, less cravings for gluten foods, such as breads and cookies, as I had prior to removing gluten from my diet.   

I feel 100% better.