Clean Eating You’re all about simplicity. So, here’s a fresh, uncluttered approach to healthy mealtimes.   Simple Gourmet You love to cook and live to eat. Now you can make every family dinner a special occasion.   Gluten Free eMeals makes it easy to prepare gluten-free dinners that anyone in the family can enjoy.   Vegetarian eMeals makes it easy to create balanced, delicious vegetarian recipes for the whole family.   Low Carb Watch what you eat. Watch your budget. Watch your carbs. Watch how easy it can be.   Paleo eMeals makes it possible to consistently enjoy delicious paleo meals with lots of variety. This is a website that is awesome http://www.emeals.com/ You choose which kinds of meals you want to cook for your family and they send you a plan for the week with the grocery list and prices for various stores. I did it for a few months. We didn't eat every single meal but we did a lot and the kids loved it. It costs about $5 a month and you download each weeks menu. I saved all of mine in a folder for the future. You should all give it a look. It makes meals so much easier, especially if your kids like to cook!   Angelyn

Since I have been reading a lot lately I thought I would blog about some of my favorite authors. Of course it changes as I read more but right now my favorite author is Brandon Sanderson.

Brandon is LDS and a New York Times best selling author. My favorite book is "The Way of Kings" but it is 900 pages and the beginning of a series. I would start with "Elantris" which is good for teens too or Warbreaker which I loved. His Mistborn Trilogy has been very popular. Any book he writes is great. He is extremely creative. His fantasy worlds are amazing and I heard that "The Way of Kings" is now being touted as one of the best books on leadership.

For Fantasy I also have enjoyed "The Sword of Shannara" which is similar to "Lord of the Rings" though not quite that good. Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Light" Series is also one I would highly recommend. Brandon Sanderson finished the last three books in the series when Jordan died a few years back.

If you like Mystery then I recommend Laurie R King who writes about a girl who becomes Sherlock Holmes apprentice. "The Beekeepers Apprentice" is the first in that series. Then there is Anne Perry who is LDS and internationally famous. She is very prolific. Her mysteries are mostly Victorian Era. I would start with "The Cater Street Hangman". Also the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear which takes place during and after WW1.

I have read some great Teen books lately that I just couldn't put down. "Divergent" and Insurgent" by Veronica Roth are page turners but she hasn't come out with the last one in the Trilogy yet. "Matched", "Crossed" and "Reached" are an excellent trilogy from and LDS author and "Reached" was voted one of the most popular teen books of the year on Goodreads. Also "Watched", "Protected" and "Created" by Kathy Hogan are excellent reads. She is also an LDS author and these are books you can't put down.

Then I read "Edenbrooke" by Julianne Donaldson which left me wanting more and I started reading Romance books. I found some good authors (mostly Christian) that are clean. My favorite was probably Julie Klassen. Any of her books are good but my two personal favorites were "The Maid of Fairebourne Hall" and the "Silent Governess". Carla Kelly is an excellent author who I believe is LDS but I can't recomment her Harlequin books. Stick with her LDS books like "Borrowed Light" which is about an LDS woman or "Summer Campaign" which is a Victorian Era romance. They are both witty and written well. Tamara Alexandra has some good western romances and a couple of Victorian Era books like "A Lasting Impression" and Karen Whitemeyer is mentionable with "A Short Straw Bride" and others. Also I really liked Colleen Coble with her "Lighthouse Series". She combines romance and mystery quite well.

So these are only the books I've read more recently. Someday I will go back and blog about my old favorites. In the meantime, lets get everyone blogging again. We all aught to be able to come up with at least 1 blog a week. We love to hear from each of you about whatever it is you are doing or interested in so please blog!    Happy Reading! Angelyn

Lake Powell 2012

As some of you know we did our annual Lake Powell trip this last week and had a blast. I took some of your kids with me even though everyone was invited. Next summer is Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary and I was thinking we needed to do something to celebrate it. I was thinking of having our first Wynn & Phyllis Stout Family Reunion. Cody's sister has a vacation home they rent out for family reunions in Kanab. It is a fun place. You can check it out here www.vrbo.com/283565. I thought we could spend a few days camping at Lake Powell and then a few days at the Goodfellow house, or a whole week. We could also do it separate from Mom and Dad's anniversary and do something else for them. Either way we ought to be planning something for them. Here are some pictures of Lake Powell for you to enjoy.

                                             The boys

                                          Michelle by the girls mermaid

                                          Our camp

                                             Kylee and Gabby

                                            Baywatch girls

                                        

                                           Ummm

                                           Stuart and Heidi came too!

                                         The potty mobile- We use the fourwheeler to ride up to the potty

                                          Shelley telling Jace why had has to wear a life jacket at ALL times

                                              Jenna

                                          Emily.... or Erika

                                          Anna Banana

                                          Jace & Abby

                                         He thinks he's so cool around the girls

                                           Anna's definitely a pro wakeboarder

                                          Asia got up

                                          Jace, Jenna, and Cody celebrated their birthdays

                                          The Babes of Lake Powell

                                         Grandma Pat came too - Grandma & Gracie

                                         The Dudes of Lake Powell - Canyon, Jarem, and Josh

                                         The treacherous 8 mile hike... enough said

                                           Anna wakeboarding

                                           Anna wakeboarding

                                              Anna the pro

                                              Crystel came too!

                                                       Anna's wipeout

                                                       Shelley got up too!

Soaked flour bread update

I am reposting my recipe for soaked flour bread because I have changed it a little bit and because the last one was confusing.

Ingredients

7 cups hard white winter wheat ground
6 cups warm water
6 T apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup gluten
2/3 cup sugar

Mix together in bosch and let soak for 12-24 hours

melt 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3 Tablespoons instant yeast

Mix into dough and let raise for 30-60 minutes

Add 2 Tablespoons salt and start kneading. Add white flour as needed til it no longer sticks to the sides. shape into 5 8x4 loaves and raise in warm oven for 25-35 minutes then bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.
I have increased the amount of whole wheat flour from the last time and I still get as good results. the last couple of times I made it I used less than 1 cup of white flour.

Easy Greens

My kids absolutely love their green veggies, especially broccoli and asparagus.  To prepare broccoli, asparagus, spinach or other leafy greens, green beans, peas - I use a steaming pan with holes that sits on top of my smaller saucepans and closes with a lid.  Chop up your broccoli, trim your asparagus or beans, or just throw in your spinach or peas and steam until fork tender and/or bright green (don't overcook!).  Then drench in butter and squeeze lots of fresh lemon juice with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.  On lazy nights I'll do toast and a heaping plate of broccoli.  They always fight over who gets to drink the "juice" left on the plate.

CALLING ALL RECIPES

So, I'm really trying to feed my family more nutritious food, and I need ideas.  I think we should post a bunch of recipes that you actually use and that are healthy, and of course tasty. Sondra maybe you can just start experimenting. :) But I'd like recipes that use chicken or beef stock or grains/legumes that have been soaked, lots of vegetables, low or no sugar, low carb, or whatever.  Just good, healthy, practical, and yummy food.  Desserts are very welcome as well, just try and keep them healthy. :)  Anyway, so here is one.  Please, please, please, help me by posting more recipes.

Everyone has had cracked wheat for breakfast, but I haven't done it for a long time so I thought I'd give it a try.  My kids loved it, and ate second and third helpings.  

Cracked Wheat/Grain

1 to 2 ratio of wheat to warm water (i.e. 1 cup wheat 2 cups of warm water) plus 1-2 Tablespoons of and acid medium (whey, apple cider vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, etc.)  Soak for 12-24 hours, then drain, rinse, and add water (same ratio) and cook on lower heat for 15-20 min.  The longer you cook the more tender it will be.

When it is soft enough, then drain water, add lots of butter, and honey to taste.  You can eat it like this, or you can add a flavored yogurt or milk. I cheated and used a vanilla yogurt from the store, but my kids loved it.  I did blend some in the blender for my younger ones so they didn't have to chew so much. I tried it with oat groats as well, and it was also really yummy.

Smoothie

Here is my Smoothie recipe:

1 cup homemade raw milk yogurt.
frozen berries.
2 raw pastured egg yolks.
1 Tbs ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp concentrace
1-2 Tbs melted coconut oil
frozen bananas

I put everything but the coconut oil and egg yolks into the blender and blend until smooth then I add the oil slowly and the egg yolks last.
All ingredients are optional but the yogurt and frozen fruit. The smoothie will be thick or thin depending on how much frozen fruit you add. Adding the oil thins it quite a bit so make sure its thick before you add it. You will have to experiment to find the ratio you like.
I break the bananas into bite size pieces before I freeze them so it is easier to add how much I want. I also take my cod liver oil with the smoothie but dont add it to it or it will taste nasty.
This smoothie is full of probiotics, healthy fats, minerals and vitamins.
I dont add the egg whites because raw egg whites have enzyme inhibitors and they are best eaten cooked. Egg yolks are best eaten raw but you dont want to eat store bought eggs raw, only pastured eggs. If you dont have homemade yogurt you can use store bought but it is not as healthy. Walmart has Dannon Plain yogurt that is a good alternative. Just make sure it is NOT the low fat version. If you cant find that, look for any yogurt that doesnt have anything in it other than milk and enzymes and make sure it is not low fat. Organic would be good too.