WB Meal Plan ~ I {heart} Summer

Summer is a time I am more chill. More laid back and lazy, I guess you could say. Are you similar? 

I wrestle with wanting things perfect, but I am thankful for when summer comes because we aren't ruled by schedules and alarm clocks and I tend to shrug off my perfectionism. 

I do love this kind of living. 

 photo credit

In my opinion, healthy eating really can't take too much of a vacation. While we have enjoyed a few donuts this summer, brownies with cousins and fudgsicle pops from Aldi... I still desire to cook up a healthy dinner. We can't be perfect in our eating all the time, but if I keep healthy dinners coming as much as possible through the week, then splurging here or there isn't so terrible. 

So as I slow-fully pull out the laptop and gather some thoughts in my wandering mind, I finally put together our week's dinner menu. 

Side note: I had a request from my friend, Jozan to start doing meal planning for breakfast, lunch and dinner... would you too be interested in this? I jumped the gun and told her yes right away, but soon found out it was going to take more planning then my lazy, summer mind had in store. Jozan, it is coming... hopefully, soon!

{monday}

lemon basil chicken with carrots over gluten-free spaghetti

roasted broccoli... otherwise known as "the best broccoli of your life" and it is!

sliced green apples with red grapes and yogurt flavored with cinnamon for dipping

{tuesday}

turkey & mushroom sloppy joes 

carrots with yogurt ranch dip

reduced fat, kettle-style organic chips

{wednesday}

curried chicken with coconut rice

quick pickled cucumber salad

cubed pineapple

{thursday}

spaghetti with turkey meatballs in spicy tomato sauce

sliced English cucumbers

cantaloupe

{friday}

pizza bianca (using Udi's gluten free pizza crust)

blueberry-coconut popsicles

what's your favorite thing about summer?

How to Soft Cook an Egg

Since going gluten-free, one's mind has to venture out and try new things. I have always loved eggs... mostly scrambled or fried in coconut oil. I do enjoy a hard-boiled egg and around Easter, deviled. But I had not tried soft-cooked until vacation. It was perfect and did not disappoint.

So venture out and try one too.

what you'll need...

1-4 eggs, preferably, range-free & farm fresh

small saucepan filled 3/4 full of water

large spoon

instructions...

1. Set water-filled saucepan on stove and bring to a rapid boil.

2. With large spoon, lower egg(s) into boiling water.

3. Lightly toss/pour boiling water over egg for 1 minute.

4. Turn heat off and set saucepan on different burner. Place tight fitting lid on pan.

5. Let sit for 6 minutes.

6. Drain hot water and rinse with cold water for about a minute.

7. To eat, use a knife or egg-cutter to take the cap off the tip of the egg and eat it straight from the shell, preferably with plenty of toast for dipping. All soft-cooked eggs should be eaten immediately.

what's your favorite way to eat eggs?

12 Tips to a Toxic-less Home

On average, we will spend half of our lives inside our homes. And unfortunately, there are thousands to tens of thousands of chemicals inside the average home that are linked to diseases. Many of those diseases take years to manifest. 

There are now 85,000 industrial chemicals now registered in the United States that are slowly finding their ways into our homes and eventually our body's systems. These chemicals are targeting major systems such as the immune, neurological, respiratory and more. Children, with still-developing bodies and immature immune systems, may be the ones most vulnerable to their effects.

When I start to research all the ways that chemicals can infiltrate our lives, I am left feeling overwhelmed, frightened and usually discouraged. But when it comes to the safety and well-being of my (four) children, I'm ready to fight... mentally, that is :) 

Although we cannot do everything to avoid toxins in our homes, there certainly are ways to minimize our exposure to them. Here are just a few ways we can. 

1. Ventilate often... daily if possible.

2. Be educated on your family's exposure to VOC's ~ you can learn more about VOC's here.

3. Establish a "no shoe" rule in your home. By doing this, you can cut down on bringing toxins in by 60%.

4. Keep the temperature and humidity low. 

5. Drink filtered water.

6. Rethink your cookware. Teflon pans release at least six toxic gases, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. 

7. Stop using air fresheners, including fabric softeners.

8. Avoid anything "anti-bacterial"... embrace your dirty side. Read more here. 

9. Try to cut down on your use of plastics... and please don't microwave your food in plastic containers. 

10. Google phthalates and dioxins. Get to know where they show up and avoid them. 

11. Invite toxin-reduce plants into your home.

12. If your cleaning products have a warning label on it, then it's probably not good to use. I stopped buying commercial household cleaners awhile ago and have never looked back. I love making my own laundry detergent... found here. One thing I do invest in is my Seventh Generation dishwasher detergent. It is hands down the best. I tried making my own and it didn't work.... maybe because my dishwasher is 15 years old, but regardless, Seventh Generation has made my life much brighter and shinier :) 

The one thing I do make and love is a general, household cleaner. I use this on my toilets, stains, faucets, stainless steel appliances, sticky messes on the floor and more. The vinegar may take your nose a little getting use to, but there definitely won't be any toxins to affect you or your children's health. 

Here's the simple, easy recipe for an All Natural & Toxic-free household cleaner:

Equal parts of water to white vinegar. 

20-30 drops of tea tree oil

1 tsp of natural dish soap (I love Seventh Generation Lavender Floral and Mint)

Shake and use.

What other ways do you keep your house free from toxins?

WB Meal Plan: Gluten-Free & You'll Love It!

 photo credit

Being married to a web and magazine editor, I get blog advice/wisdom frequently (because I ask for it). He has done very well with his website and so I know his advice is valid. His # 1 bit of advice regarding Wholesome Bits is to blog at least 3-5 times a week. Well, if you look back at the last post that definitely has not happened!

I guess I can say that life, children, home duties and family come way before this blog. I do intend to get back on my blogging feet now that vacation and other big summer events are over. So as I wrote out my meal plan {what's that?} for this week, I thought I'd pull out the laptop and share some gluten-free meals with you!

Tuesday... {it's summer... I'm a little behind!}

Gluten-Free crepes with fresh berries

Wednesday... 

Cajun chicken stuffed with spinach & pepperjack cheese
{I will substitute the breadcrumbs with crushed puffed brown rice cereal}

garden salad

watermelon

Thursday...

Cuban rice and beans from Kohl's Cares Crockpot "Busy Family Recipes" Cookbook

tortilla chips

pineapple

Friday...

Steamed salmon with asparagus and new potatoes in parchment

Saturday...

Honey-Lime chicken skewers with rice

cantaloupe

Sunday...

Spaghetti with sauteed chicken and grape tomatoes

{I will use brown rice spaghetti from Trader Joe's instead of a wheat-based spaghetti}

steamed broccoli

fresh mango

You will notice I went ahead with the plan until Sunday. Our family has been on the go most of the summer and now that we are home... we are home! No eating out. If you plan it out, buy your needed ingredients, you will most likely follow through. So there you have it!

The "Get Healthy" Cash Giveaway

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1 out of every 3 people will have cancer sometime in their life.  By 2020, the estimated ratio increases to 1 out of every 2 with cancer.

795,000 people suffer from strokes each year; 1.5 million suffer from heart attacks.

Heart disease is on the rise, thyroid problems, panic attacks, depression, fibromyalgia, IBS, ...and the list could go on and on!

 These facts make US citizens one of the most unhealthiest groups of people in the world!

What do you need to help you get healthy?  

A juicer?  
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My Gift...

I was given a gift this week.

Alone time.

My boys (4 of them, mind you) are staying with my wonderful parents while I do my thing here. I desperately anticipate times like these because when does a mom of 4 kids generally get time to herself? Rarely, if ever, in my case.

My thoughts raced of what grand things I would accomplish with all my free time. Run to the library, sit on the couches and read the current magazines. Clean our storage room in the basement. Make a Target run to buy things we really don't need. Blog. Create magical moments of cleaning in every square inch of my home.

 But as I awoke to the stillness and complete calm of my home this morning... things were weird. My world was flipped upside down...  No pitter-patters. No pantry door slamming like it does every single morning. No loud cartoons playing on this lazy, summer morning. No toddler whose way too old crying out for his "ba-ba".

Quiet.

Calm.

Nothingness.

And oddly my excitement for this day of having alone time turned into a sense of bewilderment and dare I say, some bits of sadness?

My life is my boys. Almost everything I plan, work and sweat for revolve around those four precious lives that God has given to me. I realize how even when I am rolling my eyes in exhaustion from cleaning yet another dish they put upon the counter or as I pull a muscle reaching for a stinky sock under a dusty bed, they are my life right now. So while they are off enjoying hot tub swims, countless snacks and thoughtful attention from their grandparents, I have suddenly found a strange emptiness without all the madness.

My bit of advice when you too get the chance to be alone without your kids? Enjoy those sacred  moments of peace. Treat yourself to something really good and savor every single second you get to renew yourself. But don't assume it's the one thing you need to help you be a better mom. And don't believe that it will be the answer to all of your stress or problems. Because it's not.

I have suddenly realized that the crazy aspects of my life as a mother that I sometimes want to escape from are really the things that keep me motivated, focused and strong. I also have learned that only Christ can fill and sustain me when the things in life make me want to roll my eyes, my brow to sweat and my feet to ache from exhaustion. Don't look for answers anywhere in this world to calm your anxieties and settle your spirit... they will only be momentary, false and never fulfilling. Jesus calls to us and says,

"Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest."

So for now, I will do my best to enjoy these quiet moments alone. Fold some laundry and dust some shelves. Love on my man. And find true rest.

Herbs-from-my-garden Quiche

The latest news with Wholesome Bits is that I am now officially gluten-free. Why you ask? Well, it all comes down to... do I want to deal with some annoying issues for the rest of my life or "man up" with my motivation and enjoy life a bit more? I finally decided the later.

And boy am I glad! I have a little community on Instagram that I am loving and feeling so welcomed since I decided to go GF. We are posting pics and giving wisdom and safe places to eat. Ohhh, I love you guys!

So for you that follow my blog regularly I guess we might be taking a different route in our food/meal journey... I will most likely be posting more GF recipes, but remember you can adjust as needed unless of course, you want to join in. I will definitely be posting more about my decision to go GF at some point and let you in on THE number one reason why I did. 

So here is one of the first meals I made once I made my official decision. I just grabbed a bunch of herbs from my garden and threw them in and voila! Hope you enjoy...

Herbs-from-my-garden Quiche 

6-7 (farm fresh, of course) eggs (you can do all whole eggs or some just egg whites depending on your preference)
1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
3/4 cup of milk or milk substitute
small handful of fresh herbs (rosemary, dill, basil, parsley), finely chopped
3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

2. Coat a round quiche dish or pie pan (about 8 or 9" in diameter) with cooking spray... make sure to coat the sides as well.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and milk together until incorporate well.

4. In a another bowl, toss together the spinach, herbs, cheese, and salt and pepper. Spoon into the bottom of the prepared dish.

5. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the herb mixture. Then I just like to pat everything down making sure the spinach and cheese are coated with the egg... just my little OCD thing :)

6. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until it is almost set in the middle. Let cool for about 7 minutes.