One of my new favorite things...

Recently I've been told that high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. Like terrible for you. (the research right now is kind of in the middle. Some say it's bad for you, some say it isn't any worse than plain sugar...) But I decided that it probably isn't the best for me...and have been trying to limit my intake of high fructose corn syrup.

Do you know how hard that is? Have you looked at your labels lately?? Bread...has high fructose corn syrup in it (unless you buy organic or Frans, or some "healthy" brands) However even some healthy brands have high fructose corn syrup in it...

Meanwhile, I love granola bars. I really do. They are perfect for eating after work on my commute (20-45minutes depending on the time of day) home. I looked on the boxes of some of the ones I had purchased, and both of them had high fructose corn syrup in them! What a pain....I still ate them, and enjoyed them!

My verdict is that if there are nuts and dried fruit together I am in heaven. It is like so scrumptious!

A lady at work, who happens to have quite a few food sensitivities, to the point where she tries to avoid them all together, is trying to get me to eat smarter. She was disgusted in my choice of yogurt: Yoplait Light, thick and creamy. It has, yes you guessed it, high fructose corn syrup! So I have been trying all kinds of yogurt to find one I can stand. My favorite has been Tillamook Light yogurt. It has no high fructose corn syrup! Some of the yogurts I tried made me want to vomit...

I think she is making it her mission to fix me. :D Not really, but after the yogurt fiasco, she brought in a dish that I asked "what is that?" And she replied: "quinoa (kin-wa)" I stared blankly, and next time I saw her she brought me a ziploc with some quinoa in it!! (which I used in my vegetable soup recipe! And I also bought some today at the store, because it wasn't too bad!) Well she brings a Larabar to work ever so often, and I looked at the label and it said:

Ingredients: Cashews, Dates

That's it. So simple. So clean. So natural.

These suckers run pretty pricey...I bought some today for $1.79 a piece. More than I like to spend on a bar...but I thought, it will be worth it.

I tried the Cashew Cookie, and it was fabulous! Nuts and dried fruit! All I ever asked for in a bar!

I'm going to be on a look out for larabars on sale. Perhaps in bulk? I love me some granola bars...but in this case hold the granola!

It would be worth your while to try these lovely bars! They are really quite a great find! :D

This week...

Tomorrow is my monday, I work two 12-hour shifts on the floor and then on thursday and friday I have chemo class.

**Addendum: I lied, I work one 12 hour shift, and one eight hour shift, then I have class on thursday and friday...***

On my floor, we have sarcoma patients. You might remember this from my first post. Sarcoma is a type of cancer, and can be treated with chemo, radiation, and excision. Usually a combination of treatments is used.

Since I have been on the floor for a year now, I will be going to chemo class, so that I can take care of the chemo patients on our floor. It is going to be a stressful time. But exciting as well, I get to really understand the sarcoma patients, and they are quickly becoming my favorite patients. It is draining emotionally, but since they come to us for both chemotherapy and surgical excisions, we really get to know the patients and become a sort of family. (I've thought about eventually doing pediatric oncology in the future...) Kids with cancer, is what that means.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Veggie Soup

Today was a soup day. It was going to be a bread day as well, but when I was in the store looking at yeast I thought "I have yeast at home" and put it back. But when I got home I could not find the yeast. It is either hiding from me, or I didn't really buy it like I thought. Now I have some bread flour, for that day when I really do buy some yeast....


You will notice that this recipe is VERY flexible...


Aubri's Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
-32 oz Chicken broth (I use 100% fat free reduce sodium)
-6 oz tomato paste (I don't use the entire can, probably 2/3 it would be okay with the whole can in it though)
-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I use it the tomatoes with green chilies to add a little kick, but you don't have to)
-12 oz bag of broccoli and cauliflower florets (you can cut broccoli crowns and cauliflower yourself, I was being lazy.)
-1 clove of garlic minced fine
-1 tsp pepper
-2 tsp oregano
-1/2 head of a small green cabbage
-1 cup quinoa (pronounced kin-wa) cooked (it is a grain similar to rice)
-8 oz can of green beans

1. In a large pot, mix most of the ingredients except the quinoa, cabbage, and green beans (if canned, if the green beans are fresh, add them now.)
2. Cover and cook on medium for 10-15 minutes. Add the cabbage.
3. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. (If broccoli and carrots are soft enough for you, add the green beans and quinoa and cook for 5-10 minutes) If not, continue to cook until they are the right texture.
4. Add the quinoa and green beans in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

Enjoy! It is very simple. You can substitute many different things in this recipe....I was going to put onions in it but I forgot. But don't worry there was so much else in it, I did not miss them! :D

Sorry, no pictures. The camera battery is dead, and I keep forgetting to charge it!

It's been a while...

So just to post something, I thought I'd share my mom's potato salad recipe.

It is my favorite potato salad, for many reasons, but two are the following:
#1 it has NO onions in it.
#2 my mom makes it.

So this is a quick one for you, no real directions here:

My Mom's Famous Potato Salad
Ingredients
-Potatoes, boiled to the desired softness (firm is best) you can use russet potatoes, white, yellow or red. Remove skins before boiling, or after whichever.
-Bacon bits, (fry or bake thin, short strips of bacon)
-small cubes of cheddar cheese
-small cubes of dill pickles
-hard boiled eggs cut into cubes
The dressing is simply mayo and yellow mustard with some salt and pepper. I don't quite know the ratio, I always use the "taste test" method, meaning I dip a piece of potato in to see if it is right...it is easiest to salt and pepper the dressing before mixing with the ingredients. The color of the dressing should not be as bright as a yellow school bus, but not as pale as a cream color.

Apple, Apple, who wants an Apple?

People keep commenting on our apple trees. We have 3 right now...at the house we are renting. It could be great, except when I first noticed apples getting ripe, I also noticed holes on the apple. Every single apple had some sort of worm or bug living in it. I guess I could have sprayed them with some kind of bug killer...but that kind of defeats the purpose of having homegrown apples right? Anyway, now look at our backyard. The ground is covered in apples. And with 3 BOUNTIFUL apple trees, that sums to a ton of apples. Anyone want to come and rake them up for me? And then once raked, will you please cart them away to the nearest compost/yard waste facility? Please?

My girls, enjoying the apples. The fiber should be good for them, right? At least someone gets to enjoy them. Oh well, I guess the squirrels also enjoy the apples, the squirrels also love to bring the apples onto our porch and gnaw them to mulch.

There have been a couple deaths in our family...

***Just a warning: Some of these images are graphic, and are perhaps not appropriate for children or stuffed animal lovers. ***

Don't say I didn't warn you...

One day, I came home to find poor Octopus, murdered in his own home!

It was a terrible sight! Stuffing and beads galore.
And the killer stood by, wagging her tail and acting excited to see me. (However when the broom came out, she and her accomplice were worried and hid from me.)

(I promise, we have never hit them with the broom, it is just a large scary object that has probably fallen too many times with them nearby. It probably doesn't help that they often get in trouble, and then the broom comes out to clean up after them...)

Probably a more traumatic event was the death of Pig. Pig has been a strong, loyal and true companion for Bella. He has been with us since May 2007, when I got Bella. At first, Bella didn't know what to do with Pig. He was about the same size as she, so she was barely able to sink her teeth into his plump arms and legs. Eventually Bella realized Pig's beauty and would walk around with him in her mouth whining, until she could find the perfect hiding place for him. He would hide for a while, until she remembered where he was hiding, or until I asked "Where's Pig?" whichever came first. She would search high and low for Pig, until again he was in her mouth and she was whining. On this fateful day, Jamaal left Pig with both Bella and Bacardi, which was a mistake. Bacardi goes into "destroy" mode when left alone, and Pig didn't stand a chance against her. So now Pig isn't nearly as plump, but Bella seems to still enjoy his company.

Bella and deflated Pig. (He is completely empty now...)

I had to go to the store to buy new bones for the girls, as you can see, the top bone is a brand new bone, the bottom is a used one. It has been loved.

Bella gnawing on a bone.

Bacardi's new Witch ball. She likes it...
Can you tell what this is?

This time, Bella is the guilty party. Bacardi was outside....

Can you tell yet? It is a tea bag. There were 4 partially chewed Orange Pekoe tea bags on the kitchen floor. Fortunately it was in the kitchen...This is not the first time we have found tea bags chewed and littering our floors. I have found tea grounds on my Bella's beard...that beard has helped us to see who did what many a time. Cinnamon and frosting has been in Beller's beard before. Bacardi has a little more leeway with that, it's easier for her to clean her face up....

Here is a video of my babes...(I hope it works)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XZ1AfoHF8g

Post #50

The other day, I was at my mom's house visiting. She babysits my nephews on tuesdays and thursdays after school. So there I was, watching my youngest nephew play Wii Sports...I honestly wish I could have it on a video for you...it was hilarious!



He was boxing...and while playing, he kicked his feet, punched his arms, turned in circles, and said things like "I'm a rockstar!"



He said "I need to take my shirt off" because the boxing guy had no shirt on.

He made my day.

A little, quick poem

Connor
The little scrawny 4 year old
Shirt off
Nearly out of breath
jumping
kicking
and punching the air.
Calls himself a rockstar.
I cringe because
He is becoming such a young man.