My Grandmother was always a lively woman. In fact I remember my Uncle Richard telling me years ago that it was Grandpa that had to tell her to simmer down sometimes. My Grandfather who was so quiet telling my Grandmother who is so social to calm down. I can see it even now.
Grandfather passed away in 1999. This week we got word that my Grandmother was not well. She fell and had internal bleeding. You see she only weighs a whopping 79 lbs. I can't even imagine! Mom told me I needed to come down and see her. So my sister and I dropped everything and drove down to see her. It may be our last time. They don't know if she will make it a week or not or if she will last another winter.
Grandmother always wanted to out do her brother and sister and live past 100 or 103. Well... she almost got there. 96. She said that she was satisfied with that today.
I'll cherish her memories. I won't forget how she looked at us today when we got there or how she looked at us when we left. I'll miss her even though I don't get to see her often.
Maybe I will have a long life too since it seems to run in the family. I can only hope.
Psalm 100:2 "Serve the Lord with Gladness: come before his presence with singing.
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I want to serve the Lord by what I do and say. By sharing my life with you, I hope that in some way I can point you to a better relationship with Christ.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
I am slowly turning into a Zucchini Fan. Who knew?
I found these on Pinterest Web-site and decided to try it last night. I only used one small zucchini with the recipe because I honestly didn't think my kids would like them. They gobbled them up! My youngest son kept going back into the kitchen begging for more. I couldn't help but laugh as I knew he had no idea he was really eating a vegetable which he had stop eating long ago.
One note: parmesan all ready has a salty taste so use salt sparingly. I added salt to mine but next time I think I will leave it out. Since I liked a lot of crumbs on my zucchini, I may double the parmesan and panko next time and use 2 zucchinis with it. Also use your baking stone.... it turns out extra crispy this way!
Enjoy!
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. zucchini or squash (about 2 medium-sized)
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan (heaping)
- 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (heaping) I used Italian Style Panko
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray lightly with vegetable spray.
Slice zucchini or squash into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Toss rounds with oil, coating well.
In a wide bowl or plate, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper.
Place rounds in parmesan-breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides of each round, pressing to adhere. The mixture will not completely cover each round, but provides a light coating on each side.
Place rounds in a single layer on baking sheets. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over the rounds.
Bake for about 22 to 27 minutes, until golden brown. (There is no need to flip them during baking -- they crisp up on both sides as is.)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Who would have thought chocolate and zucchini would be a good combination? I have always had a hard time finding a good chocolate muffin recipe just by themselves, but these are wonderful! I might actually grind the zucchini next time, but I couldn't tell it was grated into the recipe at all. My kids ate it up! They loved them. Shhh! Don't tell them there is a vegetable in there!
What's your favorite Zucchini Recipe?
Recipe compliments from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Zucchini-Muffins/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=87945295&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2012-07-08&prop28=RecipeOption&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar and oil. Add the cocoa, vanilla, zucchini and stir well.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. Mix until just moist.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin tins filling 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store loosely covered.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Zucchini Relish
Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable. I grew up detesting any squash like substance, but over the last several years I have been experimenting with them. Trying to find that perfect fit for each vegetable so that it's texture, taste and smell suits me isn't too hard when you have the internet.
Isn't it funny how Zucchini will produce so much on just one or two plants? You definitely don't want to plant too many. I am fortunate that my mother-n-law shared her garden with me. I have to say I have really enjoyed it this year.
One item that a must have in our house is Zucchini Relish. I no longer had my mom's zucchini relish on stock in my cubbord so I knew I need to at least try and make it myself so that I would always have it. I know that there are a lot of recipes out there for zucchini relish, but don't forget this one tip... The more zucchini you add to your recipe the more watered down it will become. Zucchini holds so much water that even after you feel like you have squeezed it out, there is still more. With this recipe I have added 1cup more to make 6 cups and it turned out fine. In fact, a friend of mine said the jar I gave her was the best she ever had! Not bad for a first time maker!
So stick to the ingredients. Follow the directions and you will have the best tasting relish ever! The jalapeno is optional, but if you take the seeds out, you can't even tell its in there. I don't have a grinder, but I grate my zucchini and then use my chopper to make it small as possible. It still works great.
I would encourage you to take the time and do some of the things our mothers did when they were our age. If we don't do it, these recipes and traditions will be lost forever. Look for more Zucchini Recipes to come!
Zucchini Relish
Ingredients:
5 cups peeled, ground zucchini
4 cups ground onion
5 tbsp canning salt
1 red pepper, ground
1 green pepper, ground
2 cloves garlic, ground
1-2 whole jalapeño, ground, optional
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp celery seed
5 cups sugar
Directions:
Put canning salt on the zucchini and onions and let it stand overnight. Place a plate on this and weigh it down and cover it. The next morning drain and rinse, then drain again. (just run water over it and use your hads to loosen it up a little to let water drain off.) Add vinegar, red pepper, green pepper, jalapeño and cloves and spices, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix together, bring this to boil and then add to zucchini mixture. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let stand for 3 hours, reheat and then can.
Sterilize jars in hot water bath 20 minutes. Put mixture into pint or half pint jars and put their lids on. Screw tight and put into boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Isn't it funny how Zucchini will produce so much on just one or two plants? You definitely don't want to plant too many. I am fortunate that my mother-n-law shared her garden with me. I have to say I have really enjoyed it this year.
One item that a must have in our house is Zucchini Relish. I no longer had my mom's zucchini relish on stock in my cubbord so I knew I need to at least try and make it myself so that I would always have it. I know that there are a lot of recipes out there for zucchini relish, but don't forget this one tip... The more zucchini you add to your recipe the more watered down it will become. Zucchini holds so much water that even after you feel like you have squeezed it out, there is still more. With this recipe I have added 1cup more to make 6 cups and it turned out fine. In fact, a friend of mine said the jar I gave her was the best she ever had! Not bad for a first time maker!
So stick to the ingredients. Follow the directions and you will have the best tasting relish ever! The jalapeno is optional, but if you take the seeds out, you can't even tell its in there. I don't have a grinder, but I grate my zucchini and then use my chopper to make it small as possible. It still works great.
I would encourage you to take the time and do some of the things our mothers did when they were our age. If we don't do it, these recipes and traditions will be lost forever. Look for more Zucchini Recipes to come!
Zucchini Relish
Ingredients:
5 cups peeled, ground zucchini
4 cups ground onion
5 tbsp canning salt
1 red pepper, ground
1 green pepper, ground
2 cloves garlic, ground
1-2 whole jalapeño, ground, optional
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp celery seed
5 cups sugar
Directions:
Put canning salt on the zucchini and onions and let it stand overnight. Place a plate on this and weigh it down and cover it. The next morning drain and rinse, then drain again. (just run water over it and use your hads to loosen it up a little to let water drain off.) Add vinegar, red pepper, green pepper, jalapeño and cloves and spices, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix together, bring this to boil and then add to zucchini mixture. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let stand for 3 hours, reheat and then can.
Sterilize jars in hot water bath 20 minutes. Put mixture into pint or half pint jars and put their lids on. Screw tight and put into boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Faithfulness
I have struggled this week with the unfaithfulness of others. It made me angry to see how people can volunteer to do something and then never show up and follow through with what they committed to do. It made me sick.
Then God showed me this morning this quote,
Then God showed me this morning this quote,
"It costs to be faithful. It cost Abraham the yielding up of his only son. It cost Esther to risk her own life. It cost Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being put into a fiery furnace. It cost Stephen death by stoning. It cost Paul his life. Does it cost you anything to be faithful to your Lord and King?"
My focus was on the unfaithfulness of others instead on my faithfulness. It made me realize that even though I am faithful to do more then what is asked.... it is the above and beyond that God wants us to be faithful in, and to have a good attitude about it.
If God has allowed you to do something for Him, don't be surprised when he wants you to do more. Rejoice and be glad that he has allowed you to do it too. I believe I have some confessing to do.
If you are not sacrificing to do something for God, then it's time to stop and see if you are being faithful to him at all.
Friday, April 6, 2012
When you get close to God, it will change your life forever....
Wednesday's night message at church was awesome! We looked at the life of Simon. No not Simon Peter, but Simon of Cyrene. The man who carried the cross of Jesus.
At first glance, you would think that this mention of Simon was all there was, but as we looked at scripture we found out more about this man who was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus and the impact it had on his family's life.
Mark 15:20-21, "And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon, of Cyrene, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross."
A few things to note that I didn not know or think of:
1. They soldiers were not allowed to crucify Roman citizens.
2. They had to crucify outside the city.
3. Jews were not allowed to touch the cross because they would be defiled and would not be able to celebrate the anual passover.
4. Cyrene is in Northern Africa coast, some 900 to 1000 miles away.
Jews from all over made this journey to Jerusalem for the passover. The streets were crowded and the Jews wanted Jesus crucified before the passover. Jesus struggled to carry the cross so the soldiers looked for someone to carry it for him.
So why did they pick this man of Cyrene to carry the cross?
When they saw Simon of Cyrene, they compeled him to carry the cross. Why? They couldn't ask a Jew too. The Roman's honored the Jewish beliefs. So they saw a man coming from Africa with a different color of skin. They took one glance at the man and assumed he was not a Jew or converted Jew. So they compeled this man to carry the cross. Simon had come from a long way. A month long journey. He did not know anything about this man Jesus, but yet this event changed his life forever.
Did you know that compel means to be pressed into service of the King. Boy was he! Except this time he was pressed into service for the Lord!
But why was Simon even coming to Jerusalem? It was mentioned Wednesday night that he could have been a converted Jew coming to celebrate the passover. I believe the book of Josephus mentions that some of the Jews migrated to the area of Cyrene years before. So maybe he came to celebrate and the Romans not knowing he was a converted Jew, compeled him to carry this cross. Imagine coming all the way from Cyrene to celebrate the passover and you wind up defiled by Jewish law because you touched the cross....
Does the story end there? I originally thought so, but was proven there is more about this man.
Look in Acts 11:19-20. "Now they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travled as far as Phoenica, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrenen, who, when they were come to Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Acts 13:1, "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas, and Symeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod, the tetrarch, and Saul (Paul)."
Symeion of Cyrene, was Simon who carried the cross. He got close to Jesus and it changed his life, never to be the same. He was a missionary now. Telling the Gentiles about Jesus.
Remember Simon's two sons were mentioned? Where did they end up?
Romans 16:13, "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine."
Paul wrote the book of Romans and in Romans 16 he is saluting those whom he is close with. Verse 13 shows that he considers Rufus' mother like his own. Coinsidence? No. They had a family history together.
What about Alexander, Simon's other son?
A little research on the internet shows that an ossury was found near Jerusalem that had the inscription of Alexander, son of Simon. Read/click on the following document: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:8DZROnH3qcQJ:israelpalestineguide.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/alexander-son-of-simon-ossuary-illustrated-2010-edit.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjoQ5C8MLAOdZw7TZgvyneOzEqoprcGbUPB1kJ8K6-QKGoyld_aIv_n7mC3k_zhRfuZbf2NVZpnBu6FCfZ_pRNbo38gpTfPn2znvtLCHUCYno-9FG4QQoY_PE-n6a9J0CoOBKZo&sig=AHIEtbR8DHCkPhLjFj7AlMr9M1j1FZkr7A&pli=1
Amazing that science is catching up with the Bible.
Wednesday's night message at church was awesome! We looked at the life of Simon. No not Simon Peter, but Simon of Cyrene. The man who carried the cross of Jesus.
At first glance, you would think that this mention of Simon was all there was, but as we looked at scripture we found out more about this man who was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus and the impact it had on his family's life.
Mark 15:20-21, "And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon, of Cyrene, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross."
A few things to note that I didn not know or think of:
1. They soldiers were not allowed to crucify Roman citizens.
2. They had to crucify outside the city.
3. Jews were not allowed to touch the cross because they would be defiled and would not be able to celebrate the anual passover.
4. Cyrene is in Northern Africa coast, some 900 to 1000 miles away.
Jews from all over made this journey to Jerusalem for the passover. The streets were crowded and the Jews wanted Jesus crucified before the passover. Jesus struggled to carry the cross so the soldiers looked for someone to carry it for him.
So why did they pick this man of Cyrene to carry the cross?
When they saw Simon of Cyrene, they compeled him to carry the cross. Why? They couldn't ask a Jew too. The Roman's honored the Jewish beliefs. So they saw a man coming from Africa with a different color of skin. They took one glance at the man and assumed he was not a Jew or converted Jew. So they compeled this man to carry the cross. Simon had come from a long way. A month long journey. He did not know anything about this man Jesus, but yet this event changed his life forever.
Did you know that compel means to be pressed into service of the King. Boy was he! Except this time he was pressed into service for the Lord!
But why was Simon even coming to Jerusalem? It was mentioned Wednesday night that he could have been a converted Jew coming to celebrate the passover. I believe the book of Josephus mentions that some of the Jews migrated to the area of Cyrene years before. So maybe he came to celebrate and the Romans not knowing he was a converted Jew, compeled him to carry this cross. Imagine coming all the way from Cyrene to celebrate the passover and you wind up defiled by Jewish law because you touched the cross....
Does the story end there? I originally thought so, but was proven there is more about this man.
Look in Acts 11:19-20. "Now they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travled as far as Phoenica, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrenen, who, when they were come to Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Acts 13:1, "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas, and Symeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod, the tetrarch, and Saul (Paul)."
Symeion of Cyrene, was Simon who carried the cross. He got close to Jesus and it changed his life, never to be the same. He was a missionary now. Telling the Gentiles about Jesus.
Remember Simon's two sons were mentioned? Where did they end up?
Romans 16:13, "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine."
Paul wrote the book of Romans and in Romans 16 he is saluting those whom he is close with. Verse 13 shows that he considers Rufus' mother like his own. Coinsidence? No. They had a family history together.
What about Alexander, Simon's other son?
A little research on the internet shows that an ossury was found near Jerusalem that had the inscription of Alexander, son of Simon. Read/click on the following document: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:8DZROnH3qcQJ:israelpalestineguide.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/alexander-son-of-simon-ossuary-illustrated-2010-edit.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjoQ5C8MLAOdZw7TZgvyneOzEqoprcGbUPB1kJ8K6-QKGoyld_aIv_n7mC3k_zhRfuZbf2NVZpnBu6FCfZ_pRNbo38gpTfPn2znvtLCHUCYno-9FG4QQoY_PE-n6a9J0CoOBKZo&sig=AHIEtbR8DHCkPhLjFj7AlMr9M1j1FZkr7A&pli=1
Amazing that science is catching up with the Bible.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Another Child of God
This week has been an awesome week, for the most part! We had revival services at our church and he really preached hard on our walk with God, our attitudes etc. On Monday I could tell the devil was fighting and trying hard to convince me to keep my two sons home. One being in school and the other at 18 months made me dread the late nights and bed times. I dreaded the melt downs that I knew would come.
As I cleaned my tub that day, I noticed a spot on the wall of the tub. I took my scrubber and swiped my hand over it not paying much attention. I felt immediate pain and looked down at my finger only to see the top layer of my skin on my fingertip had come off. I had a hole in the tub. I have no idea how that happened. Immediately I thought about the cost of replacing something like a tub and all the other little things in the house that I knew needed attention. AKA, spend more money on. Our faucet in the other bathroom was being replaced and we didn't have time yet to put the faucet back together as we ran into a problem with the tubes being too short. Who knows when that would be done! We had just finished painting the bathroom and don't have the shower rod up because we needed to find a new attachment to screw in the wall to keep the paint from peeling when you used the curtain rod. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention the numerous times we have had to work on our van lately? Currently we now know that it is the fuel injector that needs replaced and that should solve the problem. But wait! what about the other car? We are having problems with that and all we can do is pray it doesn't need attention soon! Oh and one last one.... we had to replace our 6 year old refrigerator a couple months ago because it bit the dust.
So as all those things ran through my mind, the Holy Spirit reminded me that devil was behind all this to keep me from going to the Monday night revival. I was then more determined to go. I was not going to let him beat me.
I'm so glad we went. At the end of the service my oldest son, asked Christ into his heart. I can't describe how I felt. This last week he had been asking about salvation but we did not think he was ready. We told him to pray and ask God to give him wisdom and understanding and he did. We had some ups and downs with our son the week before with disobeying, lying etc. I now look back and see that God used those moments to speak to him about sin and what it is and what it meant for Jesus to die for our personal sins. We my husband returned to the pew, I looked up at him to see if it was true. Did he really understand? He shook his head yes. He said he was crying when he asked his daddy about getting saved. There was a humbleness in his heart and an understanding that Jesus died for HIS sins.
When we got home that night, my son was singing with gladness and jumping around. I asked him to get dressed. 5 minutes later he bounced in our room still not dressed for bed time. When asked why he wasn't in his PJs, he said he was too excited becaused he had been saved that he couldn't change! Did I tell you what he told me that morning? It took me by surprise, but my son told me that he took God's hand and sat in his lap. I asked if he had a dream and he said no. He just said he took God's hand and sat in his lap.
As my husband and I reflected on the night it dawned on me that this was the time of year we met him 5 years ago. So I pulled up my journal and sure enough..... We saw our son's referral picture on the 23rd of January 2007 and met him in person on January 24th, 2007. On Monday, January 23rd, 2012, which is the 24th day in Russia, our son accepted Christ as his Savior 5 years to the date as when we met him. I am by all means not superstitious, but I do truly believe that numbers are special. The numbers in the Bible mean something and I by all means know it is in God's plan that our son was saved/adopted in God's family the same date he met his earthly adoptive family. It takes my breath away to think about how God worked it together.
As I cleaned my tub that day, I noticed a spot on the wall of the tub. I took my scrubber and swiped my hand over it not paying much attention. I felt immediate pain and looked down at my finger only to see the top layer of my skin on my fingertip had come off. I had a hole in the tub. I have no idea how that happened. Immediately I thought about the cost of replacing something like a tub and all the other little things in the house that I knew needed attention. AKA, spend more money on. Our faucet in the other bathroom was being replaced and we didn't have time yet to put the faucet back together as we ran into a problem with the tubes being too short. Who knows when that would be done! We had just finished painting the bathroom and don't have the shower rod up because we needed to find a new attachment to screw in the wall to keep the paint from peeling when you used the curtain rod. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention the numerous times we have had to work on our van lately? Currently we now know that it is the fuel injector that needs replaced and that should solve the problem. But wait! what about the other car? We are having problems with that and all we can do is pray it doesn't need attention soon! Oh and one last one.... we had to replace our 6 year old refrigerator a couple months ago because it bit the dust.
So as all those things ran through my mind, the Holy Spirit reminded me that devil was behind all this to keep me from going to the Monday night revival. I was then more determined to go. I was not going to let him beat me.
I'm so glad we went. At the end of the service my oldest son, asked Christ into his heart. I can't describe how I felt. This last week he had been asking about salvation but we did not think he was ready. We told him to pray and ask God to give him wisdom and understanding and he did. We had some ups and downs with our son the week before with disobeying, lying etc. I now look back and see that God used those moments to speak to him about sin and what it is and what it meant for Jesus to die for our personal sins. We my husband returned to the pew, I looked up at him to see if it was true. Did he really understand? He shook his head yes. He said he was crying when he asked his daddy about getting saved. There was a humbleness in his heart and an understanding that Jesus died for HIS sins.
When we got home that night, my son was singing with gladness and jumping around. I asked him to get dressed. 5 minutes later he bounced in our room still not dressed for bed time. When asked why he wasn't in his PJs, he said he was too excited becaused he had been saved that he couldn't change! Did I tell you what he told me that morning? It took me by surprise, but my son told me that he took God's hand and sat in his lap. I asked if he had a dream and he said no. He just said he took God's hand and sat in his lap.
As my husband and I reflected on the night it dawned on me that this was the time of year we met him 5 years ago. So I pulled up my journal and sure enough..... We saw our son's referral picture on the 23rd of January 2007 and met him in person on January 24th, 2007. On Monday, January 23rd, 2012, which is the 24th day in Russia, our son accepted Christ as his Savior 5 years to the date as when we met him. I am by all means not superstitious, but I do truly believe that numbers are special. The numbers in the Bible mean something and I by all means know it is in God's plan that our son was saved/adopted in God's family the same date he met his earthly adoptive family. It takes my breath away to think about how God worked it together.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Healthy Living
If you have read any previous post, you will know I have started a journey of Healthier Living in my home.... and yes it is a journey. I didn't clean out my pantry of all the bad stuff, but I am try new things and substituting BETTER things when I run out of the things in my pantry. While I want to be healthier, I don't think that all that I have in my pantry should be wasted either. Plus, I am not a big pre-packaged person anyway so my pantry isn't too bad. Sure there are cake mixes for the "surprise, I have to take something to work tomorrow honey." type of situations...
Today, I want to share with you some ingredient conversions that you can do in your current baking. I love making things from scratch, but my one down fall is using an ingredient when you don't know how it will turn out! That scares me, but I have taken baby steps in trying these healthier solutions out and yes they are working! Yes they tast good! Very important!!
Butter
Yum...
Butter is high in calories.
Why not try these substitutions?
1. Unsweetened applesauce:
replace about half the amount of the called for butter with applesauce. So if you end up needing 1 cup butter use 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup butter. This works best in cakes.
2. Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree:
Use the same as applesauce.
3. Prune Puree:
Using Prune puree works well in chocolate treats and with goodies that have spices.
Use equal amounts of ingredient called for with the same amount of prue puree.
4. Mashed Bananas:
Using mashed bananas works best with recipes that call for using OIL. I wouldn't try using them in baked goods that are light and fluffy though. Quick breads, coffee cakes and pancakes would work well with bananas.
How do you use it? 1 Cup of Oil= 1/2 cup of mashed banana.
How about Substitutions for Eggs?
1. Unsweetened Applesauce:
1 egg = 1/4 cup of applesauce
2. Vinegar and Baking Soda
For 1 egg = 1 tsp baking soda and 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3. Ground Flaxseed { i love this one}
For 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed and 3 Tbsp of water = 1 egg
4. Mashed Bananas
1 egg = 1/2 cup mashed banana
5. Silken tofu
I probably won't ever use this one, but who knows...
Great for baking goods.
1 egg = 1/4 cup of whipped or pureed silken tofu
Sugar Substitues:
1. Artificial sweeteners {I prefer to stay away from these}
2. Molasses
1 1/3 cup of molasses = 1 cup sugar.
Recommend only replacing 1/2 of the called for sugar with this as molasses is a very strong flavor.
3. Honey
1 cup sugar = 3/4 cup honey + 1 Tbsp
One thing to consider is this: If you are afraid to try these, just try replacing half of the ingredient to test it out before cutting the high calories out completely. A little here and a little there will add up. You will be surprised how they taste and knowing it is better for you will do us all good!
Through all this I am learning to be more self disciplined in my life. Remember our physical health will often affect our spiritual health and emotional health.
Here's to more Healthy Living!
Today, I want to share with you some ingredient conversions that you can do in your current baking. I love making things from scratch, but my one down fall is using an ingredient when you don't know how it will turn out! That scares me, but I have taken baby steps in trying these healthier solutions out and yes they are working! Yes they tast good! Very important!!
Butter
Yum...
Butter is high in calories.
Why not try these substitutions?
1. Unsweetened applesauce:
replace about half the amount of the called for butter with applesauce. So if you end up needing 1 cup butter use 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup butter. This works best in cakes.
2. Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree:
Use the same as applesauce.
3. Prune Puree:
Using Prune puree works well in chocolate treats and with goodies that have spices.
Use equal amounts of ingredient called for with the same amount of prue puree.
4. Mashed Bananas:
Using mashed bananas works best with recipes that call for using OIL. I wouldn't try using them in baked goods that are light and fluffy though. Quick breads, coffee cakes and pancakes would work well with bananas.
How do you use it? 1 Cup of Oil= 1/2 cup of mashed banana.
How about Substitutions for Eggs?
1. Unsweetened Applesauce:
1 egg = 1/4 cup of applesauce
2. Vinegar and Baking Soda
For 1 egg = 1 tsp baking soda and 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3. Ground Flaxseed { i love this one}
For 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed and 3 Tbsp of water = 1 egg
4. Mashed Bananas
1 egg = 1/2 cup mashed banana
5. Silken tofu
I probably won't ever use this one, but who knows...
Great for baking goods.
1 egg = 1/4 cup of whipped or pureed silken tofu
Sugar Substitues:
1. Artificial sweeteners {I prefer to stay away from these}
2. Molasses
1 1/3 cup of molasses = 1 cup sugar.
Recommend only replacing 1/2 of the called for sugar with this as molasses is a very strong flavor.
3. Honey
1 cup sugar = 3/4 cup honey + 1 Tbsp
One thing to consider is this: If you are afraid to try these, just try replacing half of the ingredient to test it out before cutting the high calories out completely. A little here and a little there will add up. You will be surprised how they taste and knowing it is better for you will do us all good!
Through all this I am learning to be more self disciplined in my life. Remember our physical health will often affect our spiritual health and emotional health.
Here's to more Healthy Living!
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