Category Archives: children

Basic Granola

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IMG_0898Easy, delicious, nutritious, must be more economical than buying the best you can buy in the store, but I confess I have not done a cost analysis!

I have made granola for my family for years.  With five children it was one of the most obvious healthy economical things I could do.  I loved a recipe I got from the Tightwad Gazette.  Also, since I never bought cereal for them because of all the yuck ingredients, I had to have something to give them for breakfast!  (I confess, before my enlightenment, I went through a long phase where I did buy corn flakes, but only corn flakes.  They would have corn flakes with granola on top!)

When my first two boys were small I only purchased fruit flavored yogurts.  I had one friend who had a toddler who happily ate plain yogurt and I thought she was a freak!  Now I only buy plain yogurt – and have been for years and everyone in the family enjoys combining their own breakfasts with plain yogurt, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, seeds and granola. I am now  making my own kefir so soon I can stop buying large factory produced yogurt!

Since entering my current ultra health (aka crazy) phase I have stopped eating wheat and then removed oats and I feel SO MUCH BETTER that I have never wanted to eat them.  My family, however, still enjoys granola so I have been buying the best organic brands I could find and wincing with every expensive purchase!  I have been contemplating making my own and wondering how to incorporate coconut oil, which is also part of my ultra healthy phase.  Recently my friend shared this great simple granola recipe and I admire her a lot, so I was inspired to start making granola again – immediately!!  This is what I did, including some slight modifications, because it is impossible for me to follow a recipe!

In a saucepan melt over very low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon:

  • 1/2 Cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 Cup honey

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Because I hate wasting ingredients in measuring cups, I just eyeballed the amounts straight into the pan!  I weighed the pan first, then weighed it while adding the ingredients to give me an idea if I had it right!

I just melted it until it was able to mix thoroughly, then I added 1 tsp vanilla.

IMG_0897In a bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:

  • 4 Cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 Cup shredded coconut
  • a few shakes of cinnamon
  • a few turns of Himalayan crystal salt

Pour mixed coconut oil mixture into dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.  I baked it in a roasting pan for 10 minutes on 400 degrees F, then turned the oven off, stirred the granola and put it back into the hot oven for another 10 minutes.   after you have achieved the brown color you are looking for, be sure to stir the granola one last time to prevent it from cooling and sticking to the pan!  Next time I think I will go for a lower slower cooking.  The mixture got a bit too brown, and I remembered it’s always better to cook low and slow!

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There was a delicious smell in the house while it was baking and the test taste was great!

I can tell that I might be experimenting often with this recipe!  You can eat granola plain as a snack, with yogurt, fruit and nuts, or sprinkle on top of your Chia Porridge! The family is sure to love it! And I may even incorporate a bit of oats into my crazy hectic nutritional plan!

This recipe made 32 ounces of wonderful granola.  I’ll try to work out a costing, but I’m pretty sure it is a lot more economical and better than what you can buy!  And it is filled with love for those you love!

Super Breakfast

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Chia porridgeI’m not sure if that picture looks really really appetizing, but it is delicious AND amazingly nutritious!  My friend Simela motivated me to experiment even more with

the idea of “Chia Porridge”

I decided to have Chia Porridge for lunch.  It is super easy to make.  But you and the kids might prefer to have it for breakfast! I’m giving you the quantities for one serving, to make more just use a bit more of everything!

  • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
  • water to cover the seeds

Allow the chia seeds to sit for 10-15 minutes and they will soak up the water and become gelatinous!  So do that first while you are collecting all the other ingredients and chopping whatever you like.  Or, make yourself a cup of tea!

  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cacao powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp lucuma powder (optional)
  • raisins
  • cacao nibs
  • honey
  • yogurt, kefir or nut milk of your choice

I also added cashews, almonds, frozen blueberries, 1 chopped frozen strawberry, 1/2 chopped banana, dried coconut, goji berries, hemp seed and chopped celery (you can never get enough celery and I love crunchy things – and I was having this for lunch, and they do put celery in a Waldorf salad!).

IMG_0900Here is a breakfast version I made for my husband: chia, goji, water, cinnamon, cacao, macs, honey, chopped apple, 2 chopped strawberries, blueberries, coconut, hemp, yogurt, kefir and a tad of homemade granola.

So, get creative and try it!  Stock your kitchen with healthy nutritiously dense items and then dream up new ways of combining them!  Let me know what you discovery in your experimentation!

 

 

 

An Answer for the Vaccine Question

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kids shoesA friend asked, and I thought you all might also like the answer.

I was talking to my older brother, who is a strong Christian and father of three children, about vaccines and he said that there could be a very small risk of vaccine damage, but most children are fine, so it is probably a good idea to just go along with the government recommendations.

What would you have said to him?

I would say:

Based on the research of Dr Andrew Moulden, and many others, there is damage to every single receiver of a vaccine – it just isn’t always immediately apparent. Every vaccine initiates a stroke-like response in the brain of the one receiving it. Moulden described it as mass ischemia. Some of us see no evidence and experience no immediate problem. The damage may show up later in auto-immune challenges, diabetes, other health challenges, Alzheimer’s or Dimentia. The injury may result in slight brain damage – I know I want all my brain cells to work at their highest level. I have read that some research indicates that children receiving vaccines have IQs 5-10 points lower than those not receiving them. Teens and adults getting vaccines have also reported serious brain fogginess, memory loss, and some times much more severe reactions.

The combined impact of getting all the vaccines recommended has NEVER been scientifically tested. So, again, all the above mentioned health challenges showing up later in life can be connected to the combined vaccinations. We have a lot of toxic exposure in our industrialized world and it makes sense to limit unnecessary exposure of toxins in the vaccines, such as mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, and more.

I also don’t believe the science supports the effectiveness of vaccines, i.e.. I don’t believe vaccines do what they are proclaimed to do. Most cases today of measles and WC, for instance, occur in those who have received vaccines. They are now seeing cases of NPFP (Non Polio Flacid Paralysis) in kids in California (I think it is up to about 30, there are also thousands of cases in India after the recent polio vaccination drive there). NPFP is just like polio, but because the kids were vaccinated they don’t want to call it polio, or maybe they don’t actually have the same blood results – but the physical paralysis is the same. Polio outbreaks have always been associated with pesticides, When DDT use was banned the polio rates went down. Yes, there is a polio virus. But it has always been around and can still be found. Polio only causes problems when connected to the toxic ingredients in pesticides and herbicides. In fact, the mercury, aluminum and other toxic ingredients in vaccines may be making kids MORE susceptible to the very illnesses they are supposed to resolve.

And finally, as a Christian I believe God created our body with what we need. Yes, there is sin and sickness, but I don’t think God left us at the mercy of ‘vaccinologists’ for our ‘cure.’ When I first learned about the powerful immunological protection offered by breastfeeding it led me to question the practice of injecting exclusively breastfed babies in such an unnatural means – via a needle into the muscle to end up in the blood stream – with a cocktail of serious ingredients many of which are toxic. I do not have enough faith in human men who stand to profit from my choice to give me confidence in this practice. I am not alone.  Our immune system is incredible and new information is coming to light which makes many question traditional vaccine ‘science.’

Since when has God called us to be like the majority? I did a little too much of following the majority during my teens. That has led me to question EVERYTHING! I thank Jesus for saving me from the majority life!

Of course, I would never say all of that in response to one question! But f I had the opportunity and my audience was open to listening, I would GENTLY try to share along these lines.  Because people need to know.  They need to think and thoroughly research before they submit their precious children to this dangerous medical practice.

More thoughts from a mother and grandmother especially for my children…

IMG_0423Author: Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus Christ and truth seeker, especially in the areas of health and children. Facing a world quite different from the one in which I grew up, I seek to research and understand the true route to health, freedom and joyful family living!

 

More blogs by the same author:

30 Ways in 30 Days to Explore Vaccines.

Chocolate Bar in a Jar

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My hope is that this simple recipe will be made and enjoyed by my grandchildren for years and years!

Start with an empty jar.                                              Put in a big scoop of coconut oil.

 2 coconut oil1 jar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add 2 spoons of all natural peanut butter.  Add two heaped spoons of raw cacao powder.

3 peanut butter

4 cacao powder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add a generous spoon of honey.                                Add a pinch (or twist) of salt.

5 honey6 salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix it all together.                                                       Enjoy.

7 mixing8 eating

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other wonderful ingredients you can add:

  • raisins or other dried fruit (or even fresh berries)
  • seeds or nuts (pumpkin seeds and walnuts are what I chose this time)
  • cacao nibs (for a nice crunch)
  • hemp seeds/hearts (provides sustaining energy)
  • cinnamon (helps with blood sugar metabolism)

You can eat it right away, or you can put it into the fridge to get a little harder.  You can eat it out of the jar with a spoon, or scoop it into a flatter container and cut it into squares when it gets hard.  Whatever choices you make, enjoy it!

Let me know what your favorite version is.  How do you experiment with Chocolate Bar in a Jar?

 

Natural Headache Remedy

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headache

Fortunately I don’t often suffer with headaches. Headaches, like all symptoms we experience in our body, is a signal that our body is trying to tell us something.  When anyone tells me of an approaching headache (not migraine) I have a standard 3 part remedy.  The sooner you learn to respond to the signals, the sooner you will feel better.

  1. Drink a big glass of spring water (dehydration is often involved);
  2. Lie down and take 10 deep breaths, exhaling slowly. It should take several minutes – longer than you thought! Seriously deep breaths, very controlled. Loooooooong breath in followed by a loooooooong breath out.  Usually the headache is gone before they get to 10. If you still have pain, then…
  3. Walk around outside on the earth barefoot. The edge of the sea is good, or wet grass, but any connection with the earth. The negative electrons are flowing out of the earth and are a great pain reliever.

I know it might seem quite odd – but I would rather do these three things than swallow any chemical concoction produced in a laboratory!

Sometimes people who struggle with migraines have an offending food that triggers it. I am definitely not experienced with migraines, but maybe these tips can help you if you catch it early enough. Let me know.

A friend recently shared this headache remedy:

Got a pretty bad headache this evening, which was a good thing, because I finally got to test out Turmeric mixed with coconut oil as a remedy. Totally worked! I was headache free in 20 minutes.

So maybe I should add it after the water and before the deep breaths.  I don’t think it could hurt and we can all use more coconut oil to enhance our brain function!

Let me know if any of these tips help reduce or relieve your headaches.  The really important part is to REMEMBER what you need to do as soon as you start feeling it coming on!

Smoothie for Children

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Girl Cook

One of my favorite activities as a child was “cooking” in my Easy Bake Oven.  I loved independently creating things to eat! Later I received a child’s recipe book with recipes aimed just at me.  I loved reading and following the recipes and sharing my creations with others.

I hope this recipe will be one children will find easy and delicious to make themselves!

 

Ask an adult to help you get these things ready.

Bananas

  • 1 Frozen banana
  • 1 Cup Kefir, plain yogurt or spring water
  • 5 big ice cubes, frozen Kefir cubes, or frozen pineapple chunks
  • 2 Tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Hemp Seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey

Put them all into a blender.  Put the top on and start it and put it up to high speed. If your blender gets ‘stuck’ add a little more of your liquid.

Optional:  berries, fruit (frozen or fresh), Cacao nibs or beans, coconut

 

Confessions of an Imperfect Parent

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Let's be friends

I have a vivid memory of an intense serious discussion my husband and I had with our oldest son when he was 20.  He was at a stage of life where he didn’t really know what his future held or what he should be pursuing.  He was not feeling confident.

I don’t remember the entire conversation, it lasted a long time and there was a lot of raw sharing and tears all around.

There were some things he raised about his childhood that caused him pain in remembering.  There was the realization that we had not done a perfect job in raising this son.  We had made mistakes.  Some of our mistakes had left scars in his heart that he was still struggling with.  It was not an easy conversation.  Acknowledging our parenting mistakes was hard, but it was even harder trying to figure out ‘what do we do now?’  How can we help this son heal from the pain we inadvertently caused him?  How can we help him through this state of insecurity and move with confidence to the future God has for him?

Most of the discussion was between my husband and son and I distinctly remember having the thought “I’m like the Counselor in this situation, but I HAVE NO IDEA what is needed or what would be helpful for them right now.”  I usually think I have all the answers to most relational issues!! But I was completely stumped and remember telling them so.

I think we all prayed together, apologized and agreed that we did not know the way forward.

As parents of young children we do our very best to meet their needs and balance life.  But it is quite a learning curve and we can’t always predict exactly how our decisions will impact the heart of our child.  Hearing about some scars on my son’s heart based on the life choices we had made was very hard, but allowing him the space to speak about it was an important step towards his healing and growing.

He went on to find a field of study he really enjoyed.  He moved a continent away and got a lot of great work experience – some of it through some pretty difficult situations.  He dug in, faced the difficulties and grew.  God brought him an amazing woman to be his wife.  He started his own business and has seen it grow as he contracts many men older than himself to work for him.

So what is my point?  As parents we will make mistakes!  It is a given.  However, we can have confidence that God’s grace can bring blessing despite our mistakes.  Coming to grips with our mistakes is a process.  We can start by confessing to our children when we know we have made a mistake.  We can listen when they want to explain their view on their life – listen and not try to defend ourselves.  We can pray and seek wisdom and grace to build, grow and repair once we have become aware of pain we might have inadvertently caused our children.  We need to fully receive the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ and not beat ourselves up for our mistakes. All of it is worth it.  Building a long lasting friendship with our adult children is one of the most worthwhile things we can do!

What have your learned about forgiving yourself on your parenting journey?

Healthiest Hot Chocolate EVER!

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Hot chocolate

Easy, Easy, Easy.  

Delicious, Delicious, Delicious.  

Healthy, Healthy, Healthy.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to try this. Kids love hot chocolate. Truth be told, I love hot chocolate!  But the ingredients in most “hot chocolate mixes” make me shudder.  Why bother with them, when you can make your own and it REALLY IS NOT HARD AT ALL!  So just try it until your figure it out the proportions you like for yourself!

  • 1 mug full of raw milk (include lots of the top cream, if you like it)
  • 1 Tablespoon local raw honey
  • 1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
  • pinch salt

Heat on low heat in a saucepan, whisk the cacao powder into the milk a bit – avoid touching the whisk to the sides or bottom of the pan – or stir with a wooden spoon. Heat until it is the temperature that you like.

Drink and enjoy!  You can vary the amount of honey and cacao powder.  You can add a pinch of cinnamon.

Everyone is going to love it!

Stay Healthy Recipe

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With winter many people worry about catching a cold or flu.  It seems the media can’t stop reminding us that it is flu season, and everywhere we go we are bombarded by advertisements for flu vaccines, flu remedies, cough and cold treatments.  I guess everyone is just trying to do their job, market their wares – they probably need their paycheck and like to eat and live indoors just like the rest of us.

I wrote this card for my 13-year-old daughter so she could stay healthy and boost her immune system this winter!  I wish everyone would do these simple things so that they too can enjoy health and not live in fear of the flu!

However, with the intense focus on flu and sickness it’s no surprise that people are getting sick! I prefer to focus on health and how to stay healthy.  Stay Healthy Recipe

  • I like to keep my supplement-taking to a minimum.
  • I like to empower my children to take responsibility for their health.
  • It must be easy to remember, so I needed it on a card on the refrigerator!
  • I prefer to use natural substances and foods to heal.

Here is my brief recipe:

  • DAILY:
  • Water is our best detox help.  I’m trying to help my family form the habit of drinking a large glass of clean water first thing in the morning. We drink spring water only.
  • Vitamin D.  It is well-known and documented that the reason people are more prone to illness in winter is because they have reduced levels of this important factor. In the winter we need to take D3 supplements.
  • Probiotics are always beneficial to boost our gut flora since 85% of our immune system is in our gut!
  • Omega 3 boost with fish oil (or chia seeds, hemp, etc.)
  • Vitamin C in ascorbic acid form (non genetically modified) or sodium ascorbate
  • AT THE FIRST SIGN OF ANY COLD/FLU SYMPTOMS:
  • Colloidal Silver – a natural antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal.  Very safe and effective.
  • Olive Leaf Extract – has an enormous ORAC score, full of antioxidants that will help boost all the important cells in your body to do their work of fighting infection.
  • Frequent Vitamin C
  • Extra D3 and Omega 3.
  • Thieves essential oil on feet, behind ears and throat.

Another very important aspect of health is we need to eliminate all sugar especially when we have any symptoms.  If we reduce or eliminate sugar ALL the time, that is a great boost to health, but when we eat sugar while our body is trying to fend off foreign bad guys, it’s like we are feeding the enemy army.  Avoiding milk and dairy products will also be a good idea.  These concepts might seem difficult to some people in the beginning, but as you begin to increase your awareness of improving your health, you will see the benefit!

I’m not saying these are the only things important to boost your immune system,  I’ve written and shared a great video about all the facets of the immune system and know that it is important to pay attention to many areas of life, but this is just a short winter prescription.

What are the essentials you use to keep your family healthy during the winter?