Healthy Soaked and Baked Oatmeal

Did you all see the whole Gwenyth Paltrow $4/day food debacle going down on the internet this past week or so?  Oh the horror of having to survive on only $4...despite the fact that the "S" in SNAP stands for "supplemental" and not "this should provide for everything you need."  Anyways, this made me curious about our budget so I did some quick math and discovered that Aaron and I eat for approximately $4/day.  Perhaps a little more but only because we purchased a 1/4 of a cow last year and we are privileged to get to eat a fair amount of high quality beef that we would not otherwise afford.  If you give us an additional $4/day for the 2 1/2 year-old, then we would definitely be well under the $4/day.  I have a whole list of tips and tricks that help us to stick to our budget but today I wanted to share an easy and healthy breakfast recipe.  I generally make us soaked baked oatmeal about once a week.  If you read healthy cooking blogs at all, you've probably heard of soaked grains.  I'm really bad at remembering to soak things but I do usually get around to soaking my beans and my oatmeal.  If you're new to soaking, here is the low down on the health benefits.  

I was going to copy and paste the original recipe (which you can view here), but then I realized that I made so many changes that I might as well write up my version of this recipe.

Healthy Soaked and Baked Oatmeal

Soaking the Oats:

The day or night before you plan on eating the oatmeal, put 4 cups of oats into a 9 x 13 in pan with one of the following combinations:

2 cups of yogurt and 1 c of filtered water

3 c filtered water and 3 T of whey, vinegar or lemon juice

Let the oats sit overnight.  In the morning, mix together the following ingredients in a big bowl.

4 eggs

1/2 C sugar

1/3 c butter or oil (preferably coconut)

2 t vanilla

1 T cinnamon

1 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 mushed up banana or 1/3 c applesauce or 1/3 cup more of the butter/oil

1 c milk

Dried, fresh or canned fruit of your choosing such as raisins, peaches, blueberries more bananas, even chocolate chips and coconut. 

Pour the wet mixture in with the oats and combine.  Bake for 40 minutes at 350.  Now this isn't very sweet so feel free to add either more sugar to the oatmeal or honey on top.  I also prefer to eat it warm with milk.  

This will last us several days and I just reheat a bowlful each morning in the microwave and then add milk.  Aaron prefers to eat his cold and without milk.  

Don't let this small portion deceive you.  Since I'm still nursing through the night, I can eat at least 1/4 of the pan in one sitting. 

Kira is a big fan especially when I let her eat out on the deck so we can watch the baby rabbit.  

Baby Shower and Quilt

One of the ways that God has really blessed me in the past couple of years is by actually giving me friends (near my age) at church!  2 years ago my sweet friend Jennifer and her husband started attending our church.  They had tried to have a baby for several years with no success and the week they filled out the first bit of paperwork to start the adoption process they found out that they were expecting!  We're so excited for them and I'm excited for my children to have a little friend.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of helping to host a shower for Jennifer and her daughter, Iris.  Since Jennifer is due in May and the baby will be named Iris, we decided to have the theme of "April showers bring May flowers."  The only problem with this is that we technically had the shower at the very end of March and there is a really good chance that the baby will actually be born in April as Jennifer has been having signs of labor already.

Here are some pictures of the evening.

Just for the record, it is really hard to make the concrete walls of a church basement look cutesy.  Believe me, I tried.  

Get it? Showers...flowers...brilliant, I know.

In addition to throwing the shower, I also made baby Iris a one-of-a-kind quilt.  I've made a couple of others kind of like this but I mixed it up a little bit with this one and did a solid back and bound it. 

I forgot to take any pictures until right when I went to wrap it so these are as good as it gets. 

My model demonstrates the back of the quilt. 

The Brew That Is True

Thanks for all the style advice.  So far I've loved everything you've all picked out.  I'm hoping to travel to a neighboring city with more shopping in relative near future.  So you might get to hear about my shopping expeditions at some point.
Today, I wanted to share with our new refreshing summer drink: Water Kefir!  As you've probably realized, make your sodas are totally a thing right now and I can see why.  Who wouldn't want to come home from a long day to a nice cold, bubbly, refreshing drink?  Water kefir is a healthy alternative to sodas and even soda stream type drinks.  It contains lots of probiotics which are good for your guts and my family enjoys getting to have a "special" drink several times a week.
Here is a quick demo on how it works.  Please do not use this as a full-blown recipe. This is meant to be a super quick overview.  If you decide you want to make your own, do some further research.  This website gives a more in depth look at the water kefir making process.

First you start with some kefir grains which is also called a SCOBY.  A SCOBY is a symbiotic relationship of bacteria and yeast.  I know, way cool, right?  You can either use the grains to make a refreshing drink or save them for a science fair.  I've never tried to eat my grains but the texture reminds me of a gummy bear.   I bought my grains and since they multiply quickly, I've had the pleasure of giving some to friends.

Add the kefir grains to purified or mineral water along with some sugar and let them sit for several days.  The grains will eat the sugar and ferment the water. 

Let it sit for at least 24 hours.  The longer you let it sit, the less sweet it will be.  The temperature also has a lot to do with how long the fermentation takes so you just need to play around with it until you get it to where you like it.   

Strain out the grains and save them for your next batch.  At this point, you can go ahead and drink it or let it sit for another day or two and get nice and bubbly.If you put the kefir water in an airtight bottle, it will carbonate itself.  Swing top glass bottles would work best for carbonation but I haven't gotten around to dishing out the money for some.  You can add fruit, juice, raisins, ginger, vanilla, or whatever your heart desires for flavoring at this point.  My favorite is lemonade.  All you have to do is add some freshly squeezed lemon and you have yourself some sparkling lemonade.  Aaron prefers it when I just add some of his favorite juice or cut up blueberries.  

I hope that someday you're brave enough to give it a try!

Help! I Need a Mom Style

As I pulled out my spring clothes and put away the heavy winter sweaters, I came to the realization that I need new clothes! Last summer I was pregnant and/or had a good deal of post baby chub so I got a few things but I still need some more.  Part of my problem is my ever-changing body.  In college I could just go shopping at the end of a season and buy next summer's clothes on clearance and know that they would fit.  Now I never know if/when I'll be pregnant or breastfeeding. My body is either swelling with a baby or slowly shrinking post-baby and there is also that phase where I have trouble maintaining my weight and I can wear tiny pant sizes.

I need to go shopping but I want to be a smart shopper.  I want to focus on buying things that I really, really love instead of buying things that are just ok because either a) they are on sale or b) I'm really desperate. 

This is the part where you all come in.  I'm sure that you all dress much nicer than I do.  Lets face it, I'm not hard to beat.  So I need your advice.  I'll tell you what I like/don't like and you can give me all of your tips, favorite blogs, and even pick out an outfit for me.  In fact, if you have a blog, I invite you to write a whole post in which you "dress me up" and style a new wardrobe for me.  Just be sure and leave a comment with a link to your blog.  

In order to get you started, here are few things that I want/don't want.  

1. I want classy but not necessarily in style now. Since lately I've only been able to wear my summer clothes every other year, I want to get clothes that will last for multiple seasons instead of looking dated in 2 years time.

I would never wear this.  Source.

2.  I've been trying to look more feminine and wear more skirts and dresses.  I find that I feel so much more pretty and girly if I wear a skirt.  I especially love maxis because of the stretch waists and I think that they are generally more comfortable than a pair of jeans. 

Source

3.  So I have to feed my baby every 2-3 hours.  This complicates matters.  As much as I love a pretty dress, most are off limits.  I also really like the look of a shirt tucked in to a pair of cute pants/shorts with a belt but this look is seldom worth the effort it takes to retuck the shirt in every couple of hours especially if I'm out in public.  Access is key! 

4.  I do not wear yellows, oranges, peach, pastels or gold ever. They look terrible on me.  I love purples, grays, blues, and pinks.  Unfortunately for me, pastels have been in style for a couple of years.  

5.  I want to look my age.  I have two kids and I'm closer to 30 than 20.  I'm supposed to look mature, wise, and put together.  Hahaha, sometimes put together means that the a certain pair of pants and a t-shirt are clean.  That counts as put together, right? 

6. Comfortable is also a definite bonus.  I do not like to buy shoes that hurt my feet.  I'll take a good pair of flats over heels any day.  And stretchy knits?  Oh, ya!

So I tried to find a good "outfit" picture of me and I guess that they don't exist.  Here is the closest ones I could find. 

Easter outfit: Blue dress with white stretchy blazer, gladiators, pearls and beach waves. 

Another outfit that I got into just this past winter: Comfy sweater, scarf, skinnies, and ankle boots which I swore I would never get.  

In an effort to be "real" and honest, I just went in the bathroom and took this picture.  This is what I'm wearing right now to go to the store.  I do have a turquoise necklace that I really like wear with this shirt but Will and Kira love to pull on it so it is easier just to leave it off. 

While you mull over my fashion dilemma, I'm going shopping for pajama pants since two pairs of mine slowly disintegrated from too much use in just the past couple of months.  I can't wait to see/read all of the advice that you have for me!