Has dinnertime at your home become a battlefield? Feel like a short order cook in your own home…without the tips? If food has become a war between you and your children, it is time to get tough and end the battle. Deb and Heather share proven methods to eliminate whining, refusal to eat, poor table manners, and how to stimulate conversation about more than the ‘yucky’ green peas. Some of these ideas might just help your child learn to love broccoli, and if not, at least you can find ways to hide the broccoli in their food. Laugh with us as you hear stories that just may have been stolen from your kitchen.

Challenge:  Choose one of the dinnertime obstacles you are facing and choose a solution to try. Give it a fair shot, at least a week, and really commit to following through. Note any improvement in your kids behavior and mealtimes. Keep trying ideas until you find one that works. Things will not change overnight, but keep the vision of the mealtime you want in mind, and you CAN overcome the food battles.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bar Cookies- Taste of Home

            Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter

            3 egg whites

            1 cup packed brown sugar

            1 teaspoon vanilla extract

            1/8 teaspoon salt

            ¼ cup chopped walnuts

 Spread cookie batter in 13×9x2 in. pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until top is dry. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in brown sugar, vanilla and salt on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread over warm cookies to within 1” of the edge. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into 2 dzn bars. 

Resources: Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, Dr Laura Schlessinger

 

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When you picture the perfect family dinner, do you see the Cleavers gathered around the table with June in her pearls and heels serving a hearty pot roast and home baked pie to a happy grateful family? That’s not what happens in my house, and probably not yours either. If you want to change dinnertime to a sacred time and bring your family closer together, you need a vision. Listen and be inspired to create a new possibility for your meal time…the kitchen truly is the heart of the home.

Challenge:  Spend time talking with your partner about the vision you have for mealtimes in your home. Together enlist your family and children in this vision. Identify major problems your family is having to making this vision a reality, keeping the possibility of a stress free, enjoyable time to gather each evening and talk with those you love the most about their days and the things that are important to them.

Resources: http://fitsugar.com/1078034/print, http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/nut198.htm, http://www.mealsmatter.org

 

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Preparing for a long term disaster can feel just like that…a disaster! Join us with Erika Collins from Emergency Essentials as we identify when we can use long term storage. She also shares great resources on how to plan for our own personal situations. You can create a year supply of food storage on as little as 7.50 per week. Listen in for great tips, inspiration and you just might catch the preparation bug!

Challenge: Assess the needs of your family. Find forms at www.beprepared.com. Decide on a budget amount per month to use for ‘food insurance’ storage. Fill all empty water bottles after use and keep them in a dark, dry place in your home.

Resources: Emergency Essentials, www.beprepared.com, Chocolate Poem by Dee Ann Gillespie

 

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Join Deb, Heather and special guest Erika Collins from Emergency Essentials as we take a fun and motivated spin on food insurance–or food storage. Learn how a 72 hour kit can be easy to put together, inexpensive, and how vital it can be to your survival.

Challenge: Take inventory of the the food you have on hand. Figure out how long you could eat, not gourmet but well enough to keep healthy. Try on putting your babies to bed hungry for a week to keep you motivated during this challenge.

Recipe:

Chocolate Mousse

2/3 c. cocoa  3 t cornstarch, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 1/3 c. milk, 3/4 c sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 3-6 T Ultra Gel, 1 t. vanilla

Combine cocoa and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Whisk the evaporated milk into the cocoa mixture until completely smooth. In a large saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Whisk cocoa mixture into hot milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Gradually whisk 3 T of the Ultra Gel into 1 c. of hot cocoa mixture. Pour mixture back into pan. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. If it needs more thickening, add the remaining Ultra Gel. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla; blend well. Pour mousse into serving dishes. Cover and chill for 1 hour. http://myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com

Resources: Emergency Essentials, www.beprepared.com, http://myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com

 

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What is your identity drug?  Your home, your yard, trips you take, your children’s accomplishments, relationships you are in?  Discover how your addiction to your negative thought patterns drives you to identity drug addiction.  Join Heather and Deb in a discussion about how to free yourself from addictive thought patterns and learn how to live joyfully within your means and be content with what you have.  Find out how to spend nothing and get everything.

Challenge: Ponder and identify what YOUR identity drug is and reconnect with your divine nature to build an “drugfree” self-esteem.

Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

16 ounces milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves

Directions

1. Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries.
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
3. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.

 

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Are you stuck in the cycle of uncontrolled impulses, loss of free will, loss of self-worth, leading to the use of an identity drug?  Are you addicted to thought patterns of complaining, fault-finding, or coveting aka are you a Pickle Sucker?  This addiction will cost you peace of mind, deep relationships, spiritual energy, and separation from your Creator, as well as lots of hard earned money.

 

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