Sweet Tooth Fix: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Oh yeah, I have a sweet tooth. I'll admit it. Knowing that about myself, I realize if I want to eat healthy and organic I'm going to need to find some healthy healthier, sweet tooth friendly recipes. After my family's Christmas cookie baking craze, I was plum burnt out with the kitchen. I haven't done anything exciting in there since. And with being burned out with home cooking and living in a state of habitual pregnancy fatigue, my diet has made a turn for the worst--I have turned to easy, less nutritious, convenience foods and processed foods. Time to get back on track!

After scouring my cookbooks and making our recent trip to the Amish Market to stock up on ingredients, my first back-to-the-kitchen recipe is a Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin. My recipe came from Bob's Red Mill Baking Book, page 120--one of my favs!



Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• zest from one lemon
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil/butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line with muffin tin liners.

Whisk together the flours, wheat germ, poppy seeds, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and zest in  a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together with the oil, milk, and lemon juice, then combine with the dry ingredients until moistened.

Spoon the batter in the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the muffins rest for 5 minutes before serving warm, right from the pan.

Simple and delicious :)

Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Placentas Part 2

As I promised, Part 2 to my post--placenta encapsulation!! Now why would I want to talk about that? I had never heard of it before this pregnancy. My midwives offer this service at a discounted rate ($75) to their moms, which typically runs about $150.  I have an acquaintance who is a doula but offers a placenta encapsulation service as well. She has offered to do mine for me. Since I didn't really know much about this I wanted to research more into it and it's benefits. Initially, when I heard about placenta encapsulation it seemed a little barbaric--maybe even cannibalistic. Even if I could have my placenta encapsulated for no monetary charge, would I be able to stomach it?

According to Placenta Benefits.info the benefits to placentophagia (technical term for consuming the placenta) are that the placenta capsules:

contain your own natural hormones
 perfectly made for you
balance your system
replenish depleted iron
give you more energy
lessen bleeding postnatally
been shown to increase milk production
help you have a happier postpartum period
hasten return of uterus to pre-pregnancy state
be helpful during menopause
     
You can check out their web page for a plethora of information and articles on this subject. If you would like to see the process--in pictures--from start to finish you can visit here.


There are obviously many benefits to this and after learning more about it I am heavily leaning towards having it done. Some other moms I know who have taken placenta capsules rave about the positive effects. And considering how tired I am right now and the fact I've kind of been in a rut recently is all the more reason I'd like to give it a go. I'm going to have 6 little ones to keep up with so anything that can help get me, and keep me, in tip-top shape I'm willing to try. I'm going to need all the help I can get--vitamins, minerals, herbs, placentas!

Oh, and this is not something new--this idea of placentophagia--it's been around for centuries and practiced throughout the world by many cultures. Food for thought (no pun intended :)

Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Placentas Part 1

As a pregnant woman, of course I've been taking my standard prenatal vitamin. Actually, to be totally honest with you, with all of my 6 pregnancies I have used Flintstones Multivitamins with Iron--taking two in the morning. When I was pregnant with my first baby my morning sickness was really bad. I couldn't keep down the regular prenatal vitamins so my OB/GYN told me to take the Flintstones. It helped! I had a healthy 7 lb 12oz baby girl. With each subsequent pregnancy I've just kept with that same method--each time resulting with a healthy baby. In the past my iron has never been low and blood levels have always checked out fine. My Flintstones were the extent of the supplements I'd take, with the exception of a few Tums to ward of heartburn and indigestion.

With this, my sixth pregnancy, I've been feeling much more fatigued than usual. It could be from a variety of reasons--one being I already have 5 other kids I'm trying to keep up with, two which I homeschool, and a house I must still maintain! (Whew, makes me tired just thinking about it!!!). I opted for random finger pricks to check my blood levels, rather than the full work-up. I was tested a little on the low side for my iron levels recently. I was recommended Floradix. I now take that (it's a liquid) twice a day. Also to help improve my energy levels I've been taking extra care of my diet, trying to eat more whole foods. My family just made a trip up to the Amish Market to stock up on some wholesome baking and cooking supplies. They had some awesome prices on their goods; my husband and I were impressed. So I will be posting more In the Kitchen posts from here forward as I get back to cooking and baking from scratch :)

Perhaps caused from all the pregnancy hormones or stemming from the habitual fatigue, I was beginning to get the blues. One of my midwives, Aimee, is trained in herbal medicine so I texted her to ask for a safe, herbal recommendation. She sent me this helpful link from Kathleen Kendall Tackett, a well respected author in the field. She also suggested St. John's Wart and fish oil. I picked both of these up. I take one St. John's Wart capsule three times a day and the fish oil gel capsule once a day. I have to say both my energy and my mood have improved tremendously. I am also adding outside time to my schedule now. Before I was always so tired that my housework was slacking. Then because my was house was in such a horrible state I didn't feel right abandoning it for other (funner) endeavors. Only I was too tired to clean so it never got done anyway. Ugg!!! A vicious cycle was beginning to form--neither the housework or getting out of the house for free time was getting accomplished. I was stuck in my home with no ground being made.  I have purposed to get out and take my girls to our nearby park for 30 minutes every day (that the weather affords it, that is)--getting some fresh air, sunlight (vitamin D) and letting the kids get some energy out.

A little side note, my midwives don't recommend Tums for heartburn, it's not so good for your placenta. One of their remedies if eating raw almonds. I picked some of those up at the Amish Market while we were there! This will be a good place to stop for today as this leads me into the topic of placenta encapsulation! I'll save that for tomorrow :)


TO BE CONTINUED. . . .

What I'm Reading: Montessori at Home

I've had my eye on this book for some time. It's actually an ebook called Montessori in the Home. I love the Montessori method and have implemented a few of the activities in my home already. Back in the day when I had fewer children and money flowed a little easier, two of my older daughters went to an actual Montessori preschool.

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The new Second Edition of Montessori At Home! is a multimedia Ebook that guides you through the entire process of doing Montessori early learning activities at home. Complete background and how-to chapters are followed by clear directions for over 250 early learning materials and activities. Areas covered include:

• Maria Montessori
• How-To Guide for parents
• Everyday Life Activities
• Sensory Experiences
• Digital Life
• Art & Music
• Science
• Geography & Culture
• Mathematics
• Reading & Writing
• Free Printable Materials

Every section is supported and expanded by the liberal use of links to web sites and videos you and your child can visit to learn more. Montessori At Home! is a complete, practical guide to home early learning, written just for parents.

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A great website I get Montessori activity ideas from is called Chasing Cheerios.

I look forward to reading my new ebook and putting the ideas and activities into use--and of course sharing them with you along the way :)

WIP: Paper Roll Twisted Oak Tree

While perusing the Internet this weekend, I came across this awesome tree craft! It's a Paper Roll Twisted Oak Tree from the blog Childmade.

It is made from brown paper bags and paper towel/toilet paper rolls. This project is both "green"(reusing items) and frugal--who doesn't have already on hand (or can't easily get their hands on) some paper bags, paper towel rolls, and a little glue! Childmade offers an excellent, step-by-step, pictured tutorial. I am determined to make this this week. With baby number 6 on the way, I was thinking of making mine into a family tree wall hanging. I'll add each family member's picture or name or something along those lines. I just finished up a portrait drawing, you'd think my creative drive would be satisfied for just a bit. It's not. I need something crafty. I love doing my art, but sometimes it's a fun, creative craft that's required to do the trick :) I'll show you my finished product later this week!

This Moment: Over the hill and through the woods, to the midwives house we go . . .

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~Amanda Soule

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My pregnancy is quickly approaching the end. My days of needing to visit my midwives' office are numbered. It is such a peaceful and serene trek through woods and back country roads--so different from your traditional OB/GYN experience. I wanted to memorialize it for the days I no longer need to make the trip.

The pictures are horrible, taken with my cell phone (again). Sometimes a Kodak moment strikes and your without your camera. You have to settle for what you have on hand. They're enough, I suppose, to jog my memory years down the road when I want to look back upon my pregnancy days and reminisce :)

 

You can't see them, but there are goats on that hill. My girls love spotting them each time we come for an appointment.

Birth Circle & Movie Night

My midwives hold a monthly Birth Circle. Last night they held a movie night! We watched Guerrilla Midwife on a projector screen, complete with popcorn and tea :)

I love documentaries. I am very happy my midwives shared this one, otherwise I may never have heard about it and had a chance to watch this beautiful documentary. Ibu Robin Lim, whom the film follows, was awarded CNN's 2011 Hero of the Year Award. You can read the article here. I have to say, I found both the movie and Ibu Robin Lim very inspiring!


A blurb from www.GuerrillaMidwife.org:

Healing the earth one baby at a time

Guerilla Midwife begins with an ancestral dream. In the dark before the dawn in Bali, the morning of the world, Ibu Robin Lim is awakened by a call to deliver a baby. What unfolds is the story of conflict, of one woman’s international battle to balance Science, Nature, and Culture in the protocols of birth.

The film captures the human rights issues of Maternal and Child survival, of how lives are sacrificed to poverty while the misuse of technology endangers our every humanity.
Following the day-to-day endeavors of a village midwife from the fragrance of her Balinese home, to Aceh, Indonesia. Visually the film moves us from the gentlest moment of first breath, to the horrific destruction of the Tsunami disaster.

Experts testifying to the importance of birth as the essential foundation for healing our planet include, French Obstetrician Michel Odent, Dr. Marshal Claus, and Midwife Mary Jackson. The facts are woven between the stories of women’s lives as they labor to bring forth the next generation. The generation that will either; live in harmony with nature or destroy it, wage war or create peace.
Guerrilla Midwife is a ninety-minute documentary film, depicting the courage of mothers and their midwives as they hold hands across barriers of language and culture, and guide us toward a reinvention of medical protocols. It is the story of a war waged gently in the belief that peace on earth can be achieved, one baby at a time.