The kids have officially been on Christmas break for almost four days and boy, oh boy have we been busy.  I thought they would just want to be lazy and hang out but I was wrong, they have been going at 110% since they got home on Friday.  We have made Christmas cookies, Christmas decorations, and DIY Christmas gifts.  They always surprise me with all of their ambition and creative ideas.

The first thing Hannah and Liam wanted to do on Saturday when they got up was make Christmas cookies.  I have been busy keeping up with them and work I hadn’t had time to make all the cookies I wanted to so it worked out perfectly.  We made traditional sugar cookies and Hannah and Liam decorated them, cranberry and almond shortbread, and Christmas wreaths.

Cranberry and almond shortbread-

Ingredients-
•    1 cup softened butter
•    2/3 cup white sugar
•    ½ tsp. almond extract
•    2 cups flour
•    ½ cup cranberry jam
•    ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
•    ¾ tsp. almond extract
•    1 tsp. milk

Instructions-
•    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
•    Mix the butter and white sugar together in a medium bowl and then mix in the ½ tsp. almond extract and flour until the dough is formed.  Make about 1 ½ in balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Use your thumb to form small indentation and fill with cranberry jam.  Bake for about 15-18 minutes and let cool.
•    In a bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, ¾ tsp. almond extract, and milk until smooth and drizzle over the warm cookies.



Christmas Wreaths


Ingredients-
•    ½ cup butter
•    30 large marshmallows
•    1 ½ tsp. green food coloring
•    1 tsp. vanilla extract
•    4 cups cornflakes cereal
•    2 tbsp. cinnamon red hot candies, or red M&M’s, or other red candies

Instructions
•    In a large saucepan over low heat melt the butter.  Add the marshmallows, constantly stir until melted.  Remove from heat, immediately add the food coloring, vanilla, and cornflakes and mix.
•    Drop heaping tablespoons of mixture on wax paper and form into a wreath shape.  Immediately decorate with red candies and allows to cool before removing.

On Monday while my husband was at work the kids made homemade gifts for their grandparents and dad.  They painted wooden trays with chalkboard paint and glued photos on them for the grandma’s, painted coffee mugs for the grandpa’s, and made Lego cuff links for dad.  All their gifts turned out beautiful.  I believe that homemade gifts are the best and mean the most; I know everyone is going to love them.
  
I can tell already this is going to be a great Christmas break for the kids.  I hope they start getting worn out and want to take it easy.  :)

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

Occasionally I suffer from migraines when I’m stressed or don’t get enough sleep; today has been one of those unfortunate days.  I am not one to immediately turn to pills to cure something that might have a more natural from.  I was searching the internet and found several people talking about how magnesium can help with migraines.  Although it is not a definite cure, I was up for it.

I read the many people who suffer from migraines have low levels of magnesium which is an essential nutrient for many of our body’s functions.  By no means am I a nutritionist or doctor, but I read with a specific ratio of magnesium and calcium there is a way to reduce the frequency of migraines.  Instead of trying to concoct a formula I turned to foods that are naturally high in magnesium like:  almonds, cashews, dates, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, dark chocolate…and the list goes on.

Although that list of foods high in magnesium sounds great, I thought I could one up just eating the nuts or seeds plain.  I modified one of my recipes to incorporate magnesium rich ingredients into yummy no-bake bites.  Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients-
• 1 cup of seeds, nuts, or bran…what have you prefer or have at home
• ¼ cup of dates
• 2 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder

Instructions-
• Put the 1 cup of preferred seed, nut and/or bran into a food processor and process until it is the texture of sand.  Put the processed mixture into a bowl and set aside.
• Place the dates into the processor and pulse until chopped.  Add tahini, molasses, and seed or nut mixture and process until well mixed.  (It should have a consistency to make a ball out of the blend, if not add more molasses or tahini)
• Make little bite sized balls with your hands and roll in cocoa powder.  Enjoy your magnesium packed power bite sized ball.

I think they actually taste really good and have migraine fighting foods that hopefully will help my migraines from coming again.

Do you have a natural remedy to fight migraines? I would love to find out!

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

It is very important to eat a diet high in nutrients to make sure your body has the essential vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy.

Your plate should be a spectrum of bright colors.  We are naturally attracted to bright things, whether it be lush landscapes, clothing hues, bright flowers, or whatever it might be.  The foods you chose to eat shouldn’t be any different, the brighter in color the food is, the more likely it high is nutrients.

Foods that are bland colors often don’t provide as much nutrients as bright fruits and vegetables.  I taught my kids to fill their plate of color.

From when they were little, we always made sure we had at least three colors on our plate for every meal.

Liam and Hannah will even comment if our dinner or lunch is lacking in bright colors and find some fresh veggies to add to it.

Instilling good eating habits to our children is essential to their health.  Here is a list of five food color groups that are great for growing children.

• Orange fruits and vegetables are often high in vitamin A, improve immune and reproductive health, and also have anti-cancer properties.  Sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash, carrots, and apricots are all good sources of your daily dose of orange.

• Yellow fruits and veggies like squash, potatoes, bell peppers, and apples; promote skin and eye health.  They can also improve cognition.

• My favorite color, green is great for lowering the risk of cancer, improved eye health, and stronger teeth and bones.  Some of my favorite green veggies are asparagus, kale, spinach, and broccoli.

• Blue and Purple fruits and vegetables are my second favorite to eat.  Eggplant (my favorite), purple cabbage, prunes and raisins help to protect cells from being damaged and help lower the risks of heart disease, and cancer.  They also have anti-aging and brain boosting properties.

• Red fruits and vegetables like cranberries, bell peppers, tomatoes, and pomegranates contain antioxidants that benefit heart health and can help prevent some cancers.

If you have young children there was a rainbow game we used to play that can be found here.  It is a great way to get them involved with the meal and healthy choices.

I challenge you to try having three different bright colors on your plate this week.  It is not as difficult as you might thing, but the rewards will be well worth it.

Eat the rainbow.


Go green and stay keen,

Julie