Handy Little Tip About Bread Crumbs

Last week I made a batch of bread, and today the last few slices of the last loaf were looking kind of sad and I didn't think anyone was going to eat them up. So, I threw them into the food processor and made it all into bread crumbs. After that I popped all the crumbs into a container and put it in the freezer. Now when I make anything that calls for bread crumbs I have nice, healthy Honey Whole Wheat crumbs!

If you have heels of bread or crusts that your kids don't eat :) left over, you can always do this. If your food processor isn't handy, you can throw all the bread scraps into a ziploc bag in the freezer and just turn them into crumbs when you need them. It can be a little harder to get them uniform in size (sometimes bigger frozen chunks of bread remain) but if you don't care too much about perfection when it comes to bread crumbs, then it'll be ok. :)

Class Member Success!

Guess What?? I just had to tell you -- I am still needing a caffeine boost to get started in the morning, but all the rest of the day I am drinking your special lemonade. This was one of my goals, and I am so tickled -- I will start next week to completely get off the diet sodas. I am adding a scoop of protein powder to a smoothie and that makes a great breakfast for me -- I have MS and sometimes breakfast is more than I can make so this has been a big help to me. Thank you so very much -- Peggy

I love to hear from my class members about how the recipes and strategies are working for them! So many of you are succeeding in making healthy changes and I am very proud of you! Way to go!
~Erica

This Deodorant Passed the 16 Year Old Boy Test!

It's been a very long time since I've been aware of the dangers of aluminum and other harmful chemicals in most deodorants and antiperspirants. I've tried a few natural alternatives like the crystal thing and some other potions, but mainly I have found that they didn't seem to work well and weren't convenient to use.

Since adding the Miessense Organics line of products, my own family has been test driving their deodorant and I just had to let you know what we're finding:

It's easy to use and truly is unscented (Which we like. Scented varieties will come later on.)

I asked my 16 year old son to give it a try. He did, and just came in to tell me that he has no underarm odor in over 24 hours since using it! (and that included him going to a concert where it was hot and sweaty!) If THAT isn't a testimonial, I don't know what is!!!

My husband, a professional firefighter and EMT is also using it and finding it works well.

I've also used it and am also finding it very effective. (My armpits don't stink. There. I said it.) ;)

I am so excited about this!

As I learn more about the toxins in everyday body care products, and how the damaging effects accumulate as we get older, I am thrilled not only for myself, but especially for my children to have a really safe way to take care of these needs that won't cause their health to suffer later on.

You can purchase Miessense Deodorant here.

Q&A: How do you get wheat for baking?

Some of you are starting to think about trying out making homemade bread. I have enjoyed baking bread for many years now (close to a decade, actually! which is making me feel rather more experienced at this than I had previously considered myself to be!!).

I do grind my own wheat, and get wheat in 25-50lb. bags from a local Amish store that special orders it for me. If I were you, I'd do some searching on google for "organic wheat" and see what sources you can find. For sure there are places that will ship it in buckets, but of course that is more costly than finding it someplace local. You could make some calls to any of your area health food stores, bulk food stores, and Amish or Mennonite stores to see if they can help you. Typically these smaller stores have a whole catalog of products they can order, so if they know someone wants a particular item, they can get it in stock for you. If you live in an area where wheat is grown, you may be able to purchase it right from a farm.

My bread recipe is here. I use a Whisper Mill to grind wheat, and a Bosch mixer for kneading.


I will give you a little tip: On March 17 you are going to have access to a wonderful resource that will show you how to bake your own bread without needing any special equipment at all. Be on the lookout for my email that day! :)

Black Bean Brownies?!?!

On the class conference call on March 6, Tammy mentioned that a friend of hers had made fudge brownies that included black beans in the recipe!! (and apparently nobody could tell the difference)

Oh. My. Goodness!

Well, we couldn't let *that* go, now could we?!

I told Tammy that her "assignment" was to get that recipe for us, at least for curiosities sake! Here's what she sent:

Ok Erica, here's my homework assignment:-)  The black bean brownie recipe.
This friend is following weight watchers so she kindly included the
weight watchers points value for the brownies.
 
Black Bean Brownies 

1 box low fat fudge brownie mix
1 15oz can black beans(drained and rinsed)
1 cup water

put beans (drained & rinsed) and water in food processor.  Puree until smooth.
Mix with brownie mix.  Bake in a 9X13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking
spray.  Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F.

servings 18
WW points: 3

So there you have it.  
Again thanks for the call last night I really enjoyed it.
Your mom sounds like a great person and she is full of wonderful ideas
and information.

Blessings from WV,
Tammy

Quick, Easy, and Healthy Recipes

I got this link today and saw some very interesting, colorful, and unique recipes that I thought you all might enjoy checking out. Clickety click!

Q&A: How do you make homemade yogurt?

One of the things that was discussed on our conference call the other night was making homemade yogurt. What a wonderful way to be sure that the ingredients going into your food are safe and healthy! Plus, making yogurt is very economical and easy.

If you buy a yogurt maker there will be specific instructions on how to make it work with that particular maker. To make yogurt without a yogurt maker, there are a ton of resources available on the internet. Click here for one link I found.

If that one doesn't seem like a good fit for you, google "make homemade yogurt" and you're sure to find something that works better for your situation.

One thing I liked in the above link was the tip for making the yogurt a little thicker. When I have made homemade yogurt I have always found it kind of thin and that didn't go over so well with my family.

To sweeten homemade yogurt you can add any fresh or frozen fruit and whir it up in your blender or food processor. You can mix in applesauce or any healthy jam or jelly. You can also leave it plain and add liquid stevia in a flavor that you enjoy! This adds flavor without calories.

Finally! Organic Skin Care!

Today I am about as excited as I've ever been about a new product. I have been literally bouncing up and down since my product shipment arrived a few hours ago!

For many years I have been learning about the many dangerous chemicals and carcinogens that are present in the common lotions, cleansers, cleaners, and body care products available today. It is a shame when even supposedly "healthy" products still contain dangerous parabens, petroleum products, and more.

Thankfully, I have found the Miessence brand, and it is one that I am SO excited about! This company produces organic, botanical products that are TRULY safe, healthy, and beneficial for you. Plus, they work GREAT and smell SO good!

I first learned about Miessence probably 2 years ago, and was incredibly impressed with the products and the overall integrity of the company as far as their dedication to TRULY providing safe, certified organic products (not just pretending to be "natural" for marketing purposes). I always grow this business completely debt-free, so I had to wait to add these products at a time when I was comfortably able to do so. Last week I made the decision, and I am VERY excited about it!

Truly, I could not give you a higher recommendation than I can for these products. I know you are going to love taking care of yourself so well!

I have many Miessence products in stock for those of you that want to order items along with your regular purchases, but you can also visit my Miessence web site to see and purchase all items from the full range of products. If you see items there that you would like to purchase through Supermom's Health and Wellness, send me an email to let me know, and I'll try to get it in stock for you.

I'll have more information for you about these *great* products in the future, but I just got them all added to the site and wanted to let you know about it. Go check 'em out!

Green Smoothies--from a class member

Just wanted to pass on what we and many others do to add greens in our diets. We use baby spinach or romaine lettuce along with fruit and must have bananas for smooth texture. You can add flax meal or nuts to add more protein. If you think yuck, just try baby spinach and frozen bananas and you will be amazed! Can’t taste the spinach at all! if you add TONS of strawberries to make it red then noone will know the green is there! Some hard core raw people use cabbage, chard and other greens that are more bitter.

Thanks!

Jeanette

Jeanette wanted me to mention that she was inspired to try this because of Serene Allison's wonderful raw foods recipe book Rejuvenate Your Life. I am a big fan of this book as well!

On Sale This Week

Just wanted to pop in quickly here to let you know that this week our three best products for building up the immune system or beating sickness are on sale:

Berry Well
Ultra Immune
Winter's Breeze

Sale ends Sunday morning!

On a personal note, yesterday I did some recipe experimentation for you guys! I was able to successfully convert a donut recipe into something pretty healthy and still quite yummy. :) I'll be sharing it with you sometime soon. :)

Popping in to say hello

A wonderful and inspiring video came across my path today, and it made me think of you all. :)
The main point of the message was that I need to remember that I should not only communicate with you guys when I have something big and important to say. Instead, I should remember that this is a relationship between you and me, and it's ok to just say hi and let you in on my regular life.

Truth be told, I have no problem with peeling back the internet layer and letting you in on my regular life. The tricky part is having time to do so! I have had a list of things to share with you here on the blog and in newsletters, and just haven't spent my time that way. (I am trying to get out of the habit of saying "I didn't have time" because I realize I always have time, just make choices about how to spend it!) Between the responsibilities of educating children at home, running the house and businesses, the needs of my family, and dealing with all of the curve balls that life throws my way, sometimes the blogging, newsletters, and communication just don't happen quite as I'd like them to.

Tonite, though, I'm checking in!

We keep having peek-a-boo weather here in central Kentucky. Yesterday we had a beautiful 64 degree day. Today it was in the 40s. I heard that tomorrow we are supposed to get snow. Oy! Thankfully, Kentucky winters are far less brutal than the ones I endured as a child growing up in central New York, but I am still plenty glad to see winter go away when the time comes.

This year my children and I plan to have a BIG garden project. Pumpkins, gourds, corn, and melons are planned for a big space at the top of our hill. Flower gardens are planned for several different areas around our yard. I have an especially exciting plan for sunflowers! :) Most veggies will probably be grown in some self-watering containers that I have my eye on. Oh--and a potato patch is definitely going to happen this year, using the above-the-ground planting method that sounds enticingly easy! (You can laugh at me in August when I am commenting about it not being so easy after all!) I also want to get some sweet onions and some garlic going. And as the seed catalogs keep coming to our mailbox every day, I'm sure our already long list will grow. :)

On the business front, I am extremely excited about a new product line that I am adding! For those of you that have been searching for TRULY safe, organic products for your skin care, you are going to LOVE THIS! I have been extremely impressed with these products for quite some time, and have found no equal to the quality and safety of them anywhere else. I will be telling you more about all of it soon, and I am really looking forward to that!

Later this weekend I'll be sending out a newsletter that will include some nice sale items, so if you haven't already signed up to receive it, be sure to do that right now. The sign up box is to the upper left on this page. :)

A few of my children have been feeling sick this week. The flu is running rampant in our small town. Thankfully, with our arsenal of Berry Well, Ultra Immune, and Winter Breeze, nobody has had any sort of serious illness, and each of them seems to have popped right back into health within a day or so of starting to feel not-so-good. I'm thankful for excellent products that are easy for even the little ones to take!

I am working on a fun surprise for you all that I can hopefully share with you next week. It'll be completely free, and quite inspirational, I think. :)

I'll be in touch with you again soon!

From a class member

Hi Erica,

I just wanted to say thank you again for the conference call last night. I really enjoyed hearing others questions and ideas. Wanted to let you know I made the fudge recipe for our Valentine's Day treat. I sneaked a little bite and it is wonderful!!!!! That would definitely take care of any chocolate cravings. Oh yeah and tomorrow I plan on making some heart shaped pancakes using the recipe in the lesson :-)

Blessings from my home in WV to yours,
Tammy

From a class member--YUMMY!

Erica,

I just want to tell you that I LOVE your healthy lemonade. As we would say in the South, "That is the best THING I have ever put in my MOUTH."

Also, your applesauce bread is evidently wonderful. I made a loaf of it Monday, and it was gone Tuesday. I say evidently, because I think all I got was a teeny tiny going to be sliver. And I live with a husband and three teens that are NOT health food fanciers!

Thanks!

Joetta

When I checked in with Joetta to see if it was ok with her for me to use her comments here, she said:

If you can give me a recipe using whole wheat flour and honey, and my kids scarf it down in less than 24 hours, then the whole world needs to know! There is hope! (LOL)

From a class member

I just wanted to say a special thank you--
the healthier eating class moves slowly enough that I don't get totally frustrated
and it means so much to me that you really are there to help with questions and suggestions. Thank you so very much.
~Peggy

If you haven't joined my 10-week healthy eating class yet, you should! I get emails every day like this one from people that are finding the information encouraging and practical.

You can read more about it and join at a BIG discount here.

Stevia Tabs are In Stock!

Some of you have been waiting for Stevia Tabs to get back in stock. They are here now. Yay!

This product has been reformulated a bit to make it even better, so I'm sure you're going to love it.

Stevia Tabs are great for carrying in your jacket, purse, or bag to sweeten your drinks while out and about. They come in a handy tin and are little round tabs similar in size to an Altoid.