Low-Carb, High Protein Breakfast Bundles

Mommy and I have recently decided to challenge ourselves to a low-carb, high protein diet. Our focus isn't solely on losing weight, though. It is more on changing our eating habits so we ca be more healthy.

Breakfast has been quite the challenge, since both of us love our morning carbs, but we have been finding lots of good, delicious recipies on Pinterest. This morning, however, I was home alone, and was having trouble finding anything to eat that wasn't full of carbs. I looked in the refrigerator, and there I found a few simple ingredients that made a delicious and filling high-protein breakfast.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bundles:
(For 1 person)

4 slices of thin ham (or any other deli meat)
2 tsp. of Greek yogurt
1 cheese stick
2 tsp. crumbled bacon (we get the big bag from Costco).

Layer two slices of meat together for each bundle (so the filling won't leak out) and spread evenly with the yogurt.

Then add half a cheese stick to each bundle. Sprinkle liberally with bacon.

Then roll the bundles up like burritos and microwave for about a minute.

~Enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This morning I tried a recipe from Pinterest that used banannas, peanut butter, applesauce, and quick oats to make a fairly balanced breakfast cookie. They turned out to be quite delicious, but had a strong bananna taste, which I did not particularly care for. One of the comments on the recipe mentioned using pumpkin instead of bananna, so I decided to try that. I added some spices, some chopped walnuts, and some crystallized ginger. In spite of not having any sugar except the ginger, these turned out quite well. If they are not quite sweet enough for your taste, you could add some honey to the batter, or just drizzle some on top of the baked cookies.



Pumpkin-Oat Cookies:

1 small can pumpkin
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups quick oats (uncooked)
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 medium-sized chunks of crystallized ginger, chopped
1/3 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix well, then let rest for 10 minutes. (This allows the oats to soften.) Then drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten into circles.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cookies have reached desired consistancy.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Filling the Empty Places

I happened upon this book by Beneth Peters Jones in a thrift store recently, and, being familiar with the author, picked it up. From the title, I expected this book to be written for single young ladies, but the audience for which this book is intended is much broader. Mrs. Jones addresses many different aspects of life common to all women.

Even though I didn't feel very "empty" when I began reading this book, I learned a lot and gained some very helpful insights into my own life, as well as greater understanding to help in ministering to other ladies.

I highly recommend this book --"it is a must-read" for every lady!

Glamorgan Sausage Recipe

I made these today, and found them delicious! I must warn you, however, there is no actual sausage in this recipe!

Selsig Sir Forgannwg (Glamorgan Sausages, a traditional Welsh recipe)

2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup grated cheddar
1 T. grated onion
1/2 tsp. mixed herbs (equal amounts of basil, oregano, thyme, and marjoram.)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar or a strong hard cheese
3 cups fresh bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
flour for coating
dry bread crumbs for coating

Mix together cheese, bread crumbs, mustard, herbs, and onion. Season well with salt and pepper. Add well beaten egg yolks, mix thoroughly. Whip egg whites until frothy. With floured hands and board, form into sausage shapes. Roll in egg white then in dry bread crumbs. Fry in oil or pork fat, turning frequently until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes.

From: Collected Recipes of Bryn Seion Welsh Church

My Mommy...

Whether going for a walk with me,

And stopping to admire a really tall tree,

Or teaching her children how to read,

Or photographing her son on a dangerous deed,Or teaching us hundreds of hymns to sing,

Or listening to me talk about anything,

Or praying for loved ones so faithfully,

Or trying on pretty hats with me

I do not know what I would do,
My dear, dear Mommy, without you! : )

Happy Mother's Day!!

Principal Protested for Enforcing Dress Code

I saw a news story today about a school where students were protesting what was billed as a "new addition to their dress code" The principal of Niel Armstrong Middle School in Forest Grove, OR has come under attack for banning leggings. 20 to 25 students wore the banned leggings to school today in protest. According to a local news report, some students and parents are upset about the "impractical" and "ridiculous" ban.

Several facts which are not emphisized in this news story are:

• The school's dress code already bans immodest clothing and clothing that "disrupts the educational process." Thus, the principal was not instituting a new policy, just enforcing an old one.
• The leggings in question are in fact immodest and revealing (just look at the footage in the news video --or better yet, don't look!) They were distracting students and teachers, disrupting the educational process and thus violating the school's existing dress code.
• School dress code policies are within the normal jurisdiction of the school. Students should not be championed for deciding to purposely and blatantly violate a ban that is within the normal scope of the school's existing dress code. Protests are not praiseworthy because they are protests. There must be a just cause for a protest to be honorable.

In truth, what is ridiculous are the arguments cited against the ban:

"I don't see anything wrong with them" Since when have teenagers been the best judges of what is or is not appropriate? That is exactly why schools have dress codes. There will always be those, such as the student quoted above, who do not see anything wrong with the things prohibited by a school's dress code. Proverbs says "Foolishness is bound up in a child" -and despite what they might think, teenagers are still foolish children in many respects. (Before you get too upset with that last remark, remember that I was a teenager not very long ago, and remember how foolish I and my friends have been.)

"I have a hurt foot and it's hard to put jeans over it." This same student's mother also chimed in: "It's impossible to find something they can wear." Since when have leggings been the only option for ladies' clothing? It is far easier to wear a dress with a hurt leg than leggings! Also, the ban only applies to leggings without a dress or top that covers between the hip and the thigh.

Another student was quoted in one news video stating: "The guys are going to stare anyway. If you can't stop them, what's the use?" Yes, some men will "stare", but why encourage them? . Women ought to dress in a way that protects them from the eyes of ungodly men, instead of inviting improper attention.

One comment I read on this story accuses the principal of being a pedophile because he speaks of teachers being distracted. One of men's greatest weaknesses is their thought life. We should encouraging those who are trying to fight their sin nature in this area, instead of attacking them! Additionally, it is the duty of a principal to protect the students in the care of his school from distracting influences.

The following are quotes from Principal Hundley about this decision:

"We are trying to make it clear. It's a place of academics and immodest attire can get in the way of that, "

"We are simply saying this is a school. The expectation is that you come here like you're coming to work."

The purpose of school is learning. Students (and their parents) should applaud this principal for upholding the dress code, thus insuring a better learning environment for each student.

Insightful Advice...

"To prepare you to carry out the duties of your future mission with ease to yourself, with satisfation to a husband, and with comfort to a household, pay attention to the minor virtues: punctuality, love of order, and dispatch. These are all of immense importance; the want of them in the female head of a family must necessarily fill the home with confusion, and the hearts of its inmates with sadness. Set out in life with a deep conviction of the importance of habits, and a constant recollection that habits for life are formed in youth -and that these habits, if not acquired then, are likely never to be.

Aim at universal excellence. Do little things well. Avoid with extreme dread a loose, slovenly, and careless way of doing anything proper to be done. "

~John Angell James, from Female Piety