I've watched and reviewed quite a few Christian, family-friendly films over the last few years. Some of them have great plots, but not such great acting. Or some have had decent acting, but the music and cinematography isn't quite right. Camp gave my family everything we look for in a movie: inspiration, tears, laughter, and art! The Story: Eli's life is a nightmare. His mother is a drug addict who neglects his care, and his transient father floats in and out of his life. Eli is filled with rage from the physical abuse he has received from his father, but he longs for his love and approval. On his 10th birthday, Eli is taken to the hospital by police who respond to a domestic disturbance call. Eli is removed from his home and is placed in Locustwood, a facility little better than a youth prison. In this environment, Eli spirals downward, becoming an angry and scared creature. Meanwhile, to impress a potential new client, investment advisor Ken Matthews signs up to be a camp counselor and gets paired with Eli. When the kids arrive at camp, the chaos begins. Ken and Eli bunk in a cabin with counselor Samuel, back from his second tour of duty in the army, and Redford, a kid who thinks he is an alien. Determined to hate camp, Eli is way more than Ken can handle. Over the course of camp, Ken’s heart is broken as he learns about Eli's dark past. Eli slowly opens up to Ken as he starts to love Eli unconditionally. Eli begins to have hope. An unauthorized visit from Eli’s father to camp sends everything spiraling out of control. Now Ken must decide what he is willing to sacrifice so Eli will understand the meaning of unconditional love. Julieanne's review of "Camp": Our family has chosen to review only family-friendly movies in our home. Camp has some mature themes contained with the movie (abuse and neglect; mentions drug use; smoking and alcohol use is seen). I was a bit reluctant at first to watch Camp, because I knew I'd need to view it without our usual ClearPlay DVD filters so that I could truly review it here for you. Camp has a PG-13 rating, which I feel is appropriate for the themes contained in this movie. Camp contains some brief language which should be mentioned here: h*ll is used twice, and the "d-word" is also used twice. While they are used appropriately within the setting that is being portrayed, we all felt like the emotion of the setting could have still been portrayed without using this type of language. The movie is also supposed to contain one inappropriate gesture, but none of us saw it...so if an inappropriate gesture is in there, we missed it. (Good. Whew!) If your family owns a ClearPlay DVD player, then your typical settings on the filtering should remove the inappropriate language as you view this DVD. So...I'm a bit picky about the quality of movies we watch. Most Christian-made films, sadly, are in the "meh" department. The plot will generally be excellent, but often the acting is grade B, or the music score/background is poor. Or maybe the cinematography is poorly done. We were so surprised to see that Camp has been made exceptionally well! Quality of acting? Check! Cinematography? Check! Music background/score? Check! Everything was excellent! And, from a practical standpoint, we laughed so hard in one scene of the movie that I think it's the hardest we've laughed as a family in a very long time! ...and cried. There are some very sad, emotional parts to this movie. Here's the official movie trailer for Camp: UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30: Buy a DVD between now and September 30, 2013, and the producers will make a donation of $3 to your favorite Royal Family KIDS camp! RF KIDS' goal is to reach troubled and abused youth and make a huge difference in their lives! http://thecampmovie.com/rfk/ To enter this giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter widget below. If you can’t see it, try opening it in a different internet browser. If you still can't see it, you may need to update the Flash on your computer, here. (Hint: just make sure to uncheck the box that says, "Yes, install McAfee Security Scan Plus - optional", unless you want this on your computer.) The Camp DVD giveaway runs through October 2nd, 2013 at midnight PST... ...and please read the requirements for entering, below, because if you said you completed a step, but didn't, I'll be checking up on you! :) Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I received a copy of this movie for review, but was not compensated financially in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based solely on my experiences while reading this book. In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Joy In Our Journey. I humbly thank you for your support!
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Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerin (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soy bean protein (conditioner), orange mica (mica is naturally sparkly), and orange valencia essential oil. |
When I unwrapped this delectable bar of Dreamsicle Bar Soap, its aroma was so amazing! Now, you have to know that when I walk down the aisles of candles, air fresheners, or cleaning products in the store these days, I literally have to hold my breath. I just can't stand the odor of artificial scents anymore.
Strange, right? I know. I never thought I'd be like that - one of those people. But when we began to remove scented products from our home, my husband's and daughter's year-round congestion due to allergies began to improve...and the artificial scents began to bother me. They just smell so fake to me now.
Celina's Dreamsicle Bar Soap is absolutely amazing. I love this!
(If you have ever used Trader Joe's Citrus Air Freshener, the Dreamsicle Bar Soap's fragrance is even better than that - truly!)
Simply Natural Essentials Minty Cinnamon Bentonite Clay Toothpaste
Well, the girls and I began using a purchased version of bentonite clay toothpaste about a month ago. I told the girls they didn't have to use it. They could keep using their normal natural care toothpaste that we buy locally in our stores here. I warned them that toothpaste made from bentonite clay wouldn't contain foaming agents (sodium lauryl sulfate), so it would have a completely different texture than regular toothpaste. It also wouldn't be bright white in color, from added titanium dioxide.
Surprise, surprise - they liked it! I've already had to purchase a second tube of the clay toothpaste.
I kind of wished they hadn't liked it. Ha! Bentonite clay toothpaste is more expensive than regular toothpaste! But it has some unique properties that make it worth using:
- Bentonite clay (food grade) is actually a polishing cleanser with antibacterial properties that has been used for centuries to promote digestive health
- Xylitol is a natural sweetener that has been shown to promote healthy teeth
- Sea salt
- Essential oils means no unnatural flavors!
Simply Natural Essentials Minty Cinnamon Bentonite Clay Toothpaste is much like the product I've used from the local vitamin store in town. It contains no foaming agents or harsh flavors or colors. The cinnamon flavor is just how I like cinnamon-flavored foods: not too overwhelming, but enough to notice it and enjoy it. Celina can flavor this in a variety of choices to match your preferences.
Celina wanted you to know that because her toothpaste contains bentonite clay, metal utensils shouldn't be used to scoop up the toothpaste. Bentonite clay toothpaste needs to be stirred occasionally, so Celina has included a little wooden paddle that can be used both as a stir stick and to place toothpaste onto your toothbrush. Handy!
Simply Natural Essentials' "Plum" Loose Eyeshadow
Here are some of the colors Celina has made:
- mica
- titanium dioxide
- magnesium stearate
- ultramarine blue
- iron oxides
- boron nitride
- boron glow
I found the loose eye shadow easy to use, and it glided onto my eyelids smoothly and gently.
Simply Natural Essentials Lip Glosses . . .
Simply Natural Essentials' lip gloss contains:
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"Minty" Lip-Luvin' Calendula Lip Balm
Ingredients:
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Simply Natural Essentials "Fair" Foundation Powder
Muscle Rub and Green Healing Salves
If you've been thinking about switching some of your beauty products to a more natural version, please consider Celina at Simply Natural Essentials. She is delighted to begin developing custom-made natural skin and beauty products for you! I found that she was easy to work with and had great customer service.
Simply Natural Essentials offers choices of color in eye liner, eye shadow, nail polish, lipstick, tinted lip balm, and bars of soap made out of these colors:
Prices for custom made, natural beauty products:
Foundation: $10
Eye Shadow: $5-8 depending on size
Lipstick: $8
Tinted or plain lip balm: $5
Nail Polish: $8
Eye Liner: $5-8 depending on size
Soap Bar: $3.50
Minty or Cinnamon toothpaste: $8 in glass jar; $5 without glass jar
Now, for the giveaway!
If you're interested in speaking with Celina from Simply Natural Essentials about their natural, homemade beauty and skin care products, she may be contacted at SimplyNaturalEssentials.
or https://www.facebook.com/SimplyNaturalEssentials
Entrants must be 13 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway.
I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
Slick, big-city sports agent Rob Decker has it all. But on his latest mission to sign a high school baseball superstar, Rob becomes stranded in a small town where the simplicity of life—and the faith of the people—stands in stark contrast to his own fast-paced, win-at-all-costs mindset. Torn between these two worlds, will Rob have the courage to let faith transform his life?
Sometimes the next big thing isn't what you expect.
Starring Ryan Scharoun and Ashley Anderson McCarthy, Ring the Bell features Christian music artists Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Matthew West, along with baseball legends Rick Sutcliffe, John Kruk, and Ben Zobrist.
Like some other movies, the story line was fun but a bit predictable. That didn't take away from the joy of seeing people grow in their faith in Jesus Christ. This movie definitely had an evangelical message, and we felt it was quite touching!
The acting was decent, although sports agent Rob Decker is pretty annoying for much of the movie. Thankfully, the Lord changes hearts!
You'll see some famous names in this movie, as were mentioned already.
Want to have a chance to win a copy of this new DVD for yourself?
Let's give away a wonderful copy of the new DVD, Ring the Bell!
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
Can you imagine your child…
- Digging through the trash to find food?
- Begging for change just to survive?
- Bathing in water where animals are washed?
- Sleeping by themselves?
- Sold into slavery?
Did you know that there are over 31 million orphans in India?
I had no idea there were that many. Many of them became orphans after their parents died of AIDS, or the children ran away from home because they were beaten and abused unmercifully by parents or stepparents.
I wasn't sure what I would be viewing when I agreed to watch and review this film for you. I knew it was a documentary, but I didn't know how graphic it would be, or how interesting I'd find it.
I didn't need to wonder.
Immediately, I was submerged into the daily struggle for life that a group of orphans endures. 25 courageous orphans living together as a family along the railway in Tenali, India. No one caring about them. No one guiding them or helping them.
The horrors of what these children face every day just made me so sad.
I'm thankful that these two gentlemen took it upon themselves to let us know what orphans' needs are in India. It is such a challenge to rescue the orphans from a lifestyle of begging, addiction, and sexual abuse.
Is this film appropriate for children? Yes - older children, that is. Parents should be aware that the film shows the raw reality of living as an abandoned and orphaned child on the streets of India. Interviews include topics of drug abuse, sexuality, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Drug use is explicitly shown.
Mother India is the work of first-time filmmakers David Trotter and Shawn Scheinoha. “India is growing in both population and industry, but few people know that there are over 31 million orphans in this nation,” commented Trotter (Executive Producer, Director). “Each of these young lives is much more than a statistic. Every one of them has a name, a face and a story.” Scheinoha (Executive Producer) added, “We’re not out to just tell a tragic story. We’re focused on raising awareness and changing lives.”
Learn more about Mother India at www.motherindiafilm.com!
Let's give away a new copy of the Mother India DVD!
Please, only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. Thank you.
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
Summary:
Francois is a hard working husband and dad that gets laid off from his job. None of his efforts to get another job succeed and he is forced to use what he has, including an old bicycle, in order to provide for his family. With the help of his "black sheep" brother, a bicycle shop owner and a pro-cyclist, Francois makes some life-changing discoveries about his life, career and faith in God.
Although a fictional story, Break Away was inspired by true events around the recession that left people without work. The message brings hope and offers practical and Biblical solutions in a very entertaining way.
The Setting:
Break Away takes place in South Africa and accounts Francois’ challenge of providing for his family after losing his job. He is forced to use what he has, including an old bicycle. With the help of his “black sheep” brother, a bicycle shop owner and a pro-cyclist, Francois makes some life-changing discoveries about his life, career and faith in God.
The story came to Cronjé when he and two of the other filmmakers were all struggling to finance projects during the recession. “We began dreaming of making a movie without a big budget and relied mainly on our skills, equipment and friends,” he recalls. “We decided to tell the story of a fictional character based on our own experiences with the hopes that we can make a difference in people’s lives. The tagline for the movie says: When it seem like you’ve lost everything, use what you’ve got and let God multiply it. It’s a reference to the gospel account of the five loaves of bread and two fish which Jesus multiplied to feed the crowd of 5,000 people. This tagline became our policy to produce the movie. We used the little we had and trusted God to provide the people and equipment we needed. Each crew member even brought his or her own food to the set instead of hiring caterers.”
Julieanne's thoughts about Break Away:
☺
I'm saving my copy because I'd like to watch this again. It is inspirational, clean, and family-friendly. It has action scenes in the second half of the film, so your action-lovers will enjoy that. This film is a creative approach to encouraging us when hope seems to be drowned by despair. Anyone who has ever been unemployed or underemployed to the point that marriage bonds have been strained or you've possibly even lost your own home will relate well to the themes in Break Away.
Break Away is 113 minutes in length and releases on April 23rd, 2013.
Let's giveaway the new Break Away DVD!
Please, only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. Thank you.
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
WARNING (Ha, ha!): This is lengthy, but thorough. If you've been hearing about the new book, Trim Healthy Mama, I'm hoping this will answer many of your questions about the book and the lifestyle it promotes.
Curious about some of the foods and products I place into my shopping cart each week using Trim Healthy Mama? Check out my pictorial Trim Healthy Mama Grocery Shopping List! |
I was thin most of my life until after my first pregnancy. Not uber-thin, like a twig, but nicely shapely and thin. Pregnancies and a busy life as a homeschooling mama have kept me from working out as often as I've needed over the years...and my weight has suffered because of it.
And, I love chocolate. Yup. I admit it. Being honest here.
By the time I reached my early 40s, we had switched to eating mostly whole foods...alongside our chocolate. :) You know, whole wheat bread/pasta products (many homemade), lots of veggies, locally raised grass-fed beef, fruit smoothies with breakfast, eggs from my friend's chicken coop across town, coconut oil and red palm oil and...chocolate. We even drank raw goat's milk and then raw cow's milk for about a year...but hardly ever chocolate milk. Go figure. :)
But you know what? Even with eating so many healthy foods, we had no idea that we were messing with our blood sugar levels. We had no idea that I was pre-diabetic. When I learned that I was pre-diabetic, I was shocked.
Little did I know that combining a grass-fed, organic, natural steak with whole wheat pasta or a plain baked potato was wreaking havoc on my insulin levels!
That's where a new lifestyle book, Trim Healthy Mama, came into our lives a few months ago.
My doctor hadn't given me much information about how to reduce my risks of becoming a full-blown diabetic. All she told me was to "eat fewer carbs and lose some weight". She also handed me some pills to be taken twice a day, that deceive the liver (I think?) into putting less sugar into the bloodstream. I've learned that this is typical for doctors these days: Here's a pill; you don't need to change all that much about your lifestyle, because you'll end up diabetic anyway. It happens.
My doctor is a very sweet lady. I'm not being disrespectful. But after talking to a lot of people who have suddenly learned that they are diabetic or pre-diabetic, they are usually getting the same message from their own doctors.
After I had been on this medication for about 18 months and had lost around 25 lbs. due to the medication, a friend of mine accidentally learned that she was diabetic. How? By testing her blood sugar levels after her daughter checked her own levels during a biology experiment for their homeschooling curriculum. Her daughter's homeschooling science experiment potentially saved her mom's life! My friend's story has really motivated me to start getting serious about eating in an insulin-friendly way. |
Three out of the four of us in my family were having some of the same issues: excess weight around the waistline, low energy levels, and craving sugar and carbs ALL. THE. TIME. Not very much fun!
While Elmer and our daughters haven't been tested for diabetes, I have a hunch that at least one of them would show up as being pre-diabetic. And within 10 years, I'd bet you that two of them would both have been diagnosed as being diabetic, just like me.
What to do?
I hear women all the time saying how hopeless it is to be able to lose weight. They have tried every diet under the sun. The problem is that their diets probably have some good pointers that are helpful, but when women get close to their target weights and start eating "normal" foods again, they put the weight right back on.
I wanted a change in our lifestyle, not just in our diet.
At the same time, I didn't want our meals to be filled with artificial sweeteners that aren't good for us. Splenda, aspartame, sucralose, maltitol, etc. were no-no's for our family.
I learned aboutTrim Healthy Mama in November or December and decided to give it a try. Prior to this, I had only been on one diet in my entire life - the South Beach Diet. I had lost 30 lbs. over a six-month time period, six years ago, but the reason I gave up on the diet was because every dessert was full of chemicals and artificial sweeteners like Splenda. Blech. Splenda was highly processed, and it made my muscles ache. Any homemade recipes I made with Splenda, including the recipes from their website and the back of the Splenda bag, tasted a-w-f-u-l. Since I kinda like desserts, that was a problem. The other problem with South Beach was that once I began re-introducing carbs like potatoes, rice, and bread products back into my diet, I was almost instantly "hooked" on them again and began to constantly crave them.
I know that I am a beautiful person no matter what size I am, and while that is a healthy view of myself as a child of God, it also - unfortunately - slowed me down from taking a healthier step into getting down to my ideal weight.
Trim Healthy Mama isn't a "let's lose weight quick" type of book. Using THM's method of meal planning is a lifetime plan, not a quick fix. If you want to lose weight quickly, try another diet plan. Do a cleanse (ugh). Drink a ton of water. Exercise yourself to death. Train for a marathon. Have bariatric surgery...because THM won't necessarily help you drop 60 pounds in 6 weeks. That would actually be unsafe. Trim Healthy Mama recommends that people plan on losing 4-8 pounds per month. That's do-able, and healthy.
What we love about THM:
THM is:
- written in a very friendly and fun tone
- packed with information but in a way that isn't overwhelming
- encouraging!
- adaptable to both the food purist and individuals who can't or don't like to make everything "from scratch"
- easy to use for those requiring gluten-free diets
- free of artificial sweeteners
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Plus eye-opening chapters on:
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What kinds of foods must I avoid when using the THM plan? That's always an important question people seem to have when starting a new way of eating.
Well, virtually nothing is banned, even for those needing to lose weight - except sugar and many carb-laden foods. Unfortunately, even for the whole food purists, sugar calories are found in raw honey, organic maple syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar, evaporated cane juice sugar, etc. So even if I am eating sugar in its most natural form, my body still reacts to it in the same way as it would white table sugar. There go the spikes in my blood sugar levels. Not good!
However, lest you think you must give up all cakes, cookies, pies, etc., that isn't true. There are some amazing recipes for no-carb or low-carb desserts and breads on the internet! You'll find some here on my website, as well.
For people who want to or need to lose weight, they're going to want to tone down the types of fruits that they eat. We are primarily eating strawberries, blueberries (in very small amounts), lemons, and apples. Bananas and grapes are an extremely high sugar fruit, so those don't come into our home anymore; nor does orange juice or any juices. But see, the fruit group isn't completely eliminated!
THM doesn't eliminate ANY food group, which is really nice! I'm not drinking milk with my lunch or dinner anymore, even though I've had milk with lunch and dinner for the last 44 years. Wow. I'm drinking almond milk these days for dinner - the "30 calories per serving" unsweetened variety. When eating a savory meal, I really don't want a sweet beverage, so the unsweetened plain almond milk is working well for me. I never knew I could make the switch! But I did, almost overnight. Yet, our fridge contains heavy whipping cream, half 'n half, sour cream, cheese, and plain traditional Greek yogurt. See? Dairy products aren't eliminated!
Vegetables? We've always been a big veggie eating family. Lots of salads, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc. THM recommends we avoid the starchy, higher glycemic index veggies like potatoes, but we can enjoy sweet potatoes, and in limited quantities, carrots...most everything else is allowed!
Grains? Yes! They are allowed - certain ones, and only when eaten with the right kinds of foods to compliment them in THM style so that they don't go straight to our waistlines. We have learned ways to eat oatmeal for some breakfasts, sweetened with stevia or another THM-approved sweetener like xylitol or erythritol (non-GMO). We can eat low-carb tortillas and wraps. Yum! Also, THM pancakes taste like crepes and are delicious! We can even eat popcorn, as long as it isn't laden with butter or high fat.
Proteins? Yes! Lean grass-fed beef, chicken, salmon, eggs, cheese, and nuts are our primary sources of protein now. While the authors don't eat a few things themselves, like pork products and shellfish, they allow people to eat those foods if they feel comfortable eating them.
- We love the conversational tone of the book, making it very quick and easy to read.
- The focus on the whole body health of the person, not just what is eaten, is excellent!
- The ability to use this book well as a whole food purist or as a "Drive Thru Sue" (one of the categories of people who prepare - or don't prepare - food in their homes) is provided. Flexibility is the key!
- $35 seems higher for a cookbook these days, but this book is packed from page one to the end. You will not be disappointed! There's a reason why Trim Healthy Mama has hit the #6 spot already for books of its kind on Amazon.com - without any advertising, promotion budget, big publisher, etc. Wow!
- The types of meals aren't "weird" - at least, not to my own family. We've made adjustments to some recipes, but we always seem to do that with our cookbooks.
- The level of support from one of the authors, Pearl, is amazing! She regularly answers questions on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook page as well as the private forum for THM users.
- The ease of not eating hardly any sugar and flour products for several months at a time just amazes us! We are definitely seeing great results from eating this way.
- I've appreciated the chapters on women's health, men's health, how this will work for pregnant and/or nursing moms, etc. There is a lot covered in this one book!
Challenges in using Trim Healthy Mama:
Our family has enjoyed almost every savory THM recipe we've tried, and we've tried a bunch of 'em. The dinners are great for our family; so are the lunches and sides. But I'll admit up front that my children are not picky eaters. Good thing, because they wouldn't have survived childhood. :) I've always said, "I am NOT running a restaurant here!" :)
However, I was trained to bake and cook using measurements most of the time, with measuring cups and spoons. This doesn't mean that I measure Every Single Ingredient in my home, but I do rely on seeing general measurements in recipes that I use. I guess I'm used to this because every cookbook I've ever seen, and every recipe on the internet that I've ever seen, lists exact measurements. I've always felt I could tweak the measurements if I wanted, or leave off an ingredient or add an unlisted ingredient into the recipe, but at least there was some sort of baseline from which to work.
While many of the THM recipes do contain exact measurements, quite a few of them don't. I remember a THM Chili Relleno casserole dish I was making, but because no pan size was given, nor the amounts of some of the other key ingredients, I had no idea how long to bake this dish! Yikes! So the dish ended up taking 45 minutes longer to bake than the recipe originally stated. By the time it was ready, my husband was overly hungry and a bit on the grumpy side. It would have been much better to have exact amounts listed in the ingredients, with the recommended size of baking dish for the recommended amount of time. Then, if I'd chosen to double or half the recipe, I would have a much better idea of what size of baking pan to use and how much longer it would need to bake. Does that make sense?
Lest I give you the idea that every recipe is confusing like this, it's not. Just some of them. And thankfully, I can ask on the Facebook group and get a quick answer most of the time so that I'll know how to proceed. Then, I just pencil in the info. in my THM book for next time. I also purchased a set of Cuisinart metal measuring spoons labeled with "tad", "dash", "sprinkle", etc., and those have been very helpful - really!
We also weren't used to the taste of stevia, which has a bitter aftertaste. It took us about 6 weeks to adjust to the taste of stevia until we were very happy with using it. Unfortunately, NuNaturals changed their formulation of their pure stevia extract in April 2013, and it no longer tasted good at all, even after a few weeks. We will be switching to a new brand of stevia extract which will be available by December 2013 or January 2014. I'll let you all know what that brand is when it becomes available, and how you can purchase it online.
We've found a couple of websites that have dessert recipes that taste better to us, and while they are low-carb or no-carb recipes, they are higher in fat. We've just learned not to have dessert as often.
We've also learned which natural chocolate bar to buy in our town that is low carb and sweetened only with stevia and erythritol. (There's only one type in the entire town that will work for THM!) We've also found the type of no-sugar, stevia/ erythritol-sweetened ice cream bars in our town that THM recommends. These are expensive, though, so it's not something we enjoy as a regular snack.
SOME UNUSUAL INGREDIENTS YOU MAY WANT TO PURCHASE:
Every household has their own set of ingredients that they keep on hand. Me? I have over 100 spices in my cupboard, and I use most of them regularly. Other moms will only have salt, pepper, and maybe a couple of other well-used spices. That's okay. So while cardamom may not be unusual in my spice cupboard, it may be unheard of for you.
That's why I hesitate to say that some of the ingredients used in THM recipes are "unusual". Many people still don't use coconut oil in place of shortening and other liquid oils. So for them, buying coconut oil is going to be an additional purchase of what they would consider to be an unusual ingredient. For my family, we've been using coconut oil for years, so it's used almost daily in our home.
There are a few ingredients that you may want to purchase if you begin using THM. You don't have to purchase these, though, to stick with the philosophy of the book. It's all up to you! It's really great that the book identifies lots of places to purchase the ingredients, and their Facebook page has a document in the Files section that shows people the best price options and where to purchase them. I've highlighted the ingredients that I feel you truly do need to use Trim Healthy Mama:
- coconut oil
- almond milk (or other similar low-carb/low-sugar milk alternative)
- low-carb bread options (recipes are also included to make your own flatbreads and other bread products)
- chana dahl (a lentil/bean type of thing; I still haven't purchased this)
- chia seeds (optional)
- low-carb pasta like Dreamfields brand (doesn't work for everyone who is diabetic)
- flax seeds or flax meal (optional)
- almond flour (unless you are allergic to nuts; then, you may need to substitute other non-carb flours)
- glucomannan (a natural thickener made from the konjac root)
- konjac noodles (optional)
- nutritional yeast (definitely optional; adds flavor to savory dishes)
- defatted peanut flour (definitely optional)
- quinoa (optional - can avoid recipes that use this although we enjoy this grain)
- liquid stevia drops (or people can experiment with using xylitol and/or erythritol instead, or Truvia)
- Pure Stevia Extract Powder (or people can experiment with using xylitol and/or erythritol instead, or Truvia - I'll provide more info. late 2013 or early 2014 about a new brand that you'll love!)
- whey protein powder (the brand they recommended tastes quite good; another brand we tried was not good tasting)
- xanthan gum (optional)
- Greek yogurt (traditional, plain)
I did order online via Amazon or from a couple of other sites recommended by THM:
- glucomannan powder
- defatted peanut flour
- whey protein powder
- mesquite powder to round out the flavors in any chocolate dessert and chocolate frappa recipes that called for cocoa powder
Anything else that you should know about Trim Healthy Mama?
The recipe index in the back of the book lists recipes by title, not by type of food, so it was very hard for me to find pancake recipes, for example. Thankfully, one of the gals using THM typed out a new recipe index, sorted by modern methods, and this is available for free download from the THM Facebook page!
You won't find photos of the recipes in this book. I know, sad. :( However, the good news is that the authors, Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett, are already working on their second book, and I've heard that it will contain at least some recipe photos. Hooray for those who love photos of what they are preparing! Also, there are some photos of recipes on the THM Facebook page and the private forum pages.
The THM lifestyle is not recommended for young children, pre-teens, or teens unless they are overweight and need to get down to a healthy weight for their age and height.
Has our grocery bill gone up? Definitely, the first four weeks were more expensive. However, over the last 10 weeks, I've learned where to buy ingredients that are less expensive, and the items I ordered online haven't needed to be ordered again, yet. If your grocery cart isn't used to basically only holding single-ingredient items, and is used to buying highly processed foods, you will find that the amount of money you spend on groceries most likely will go up, especially if your entire family is eating this way.
If you are more of a "whole foods" type of family, and you're used to having mostly single-ingredient items in your shopping cart, then your grocery bill shouldn't shock you too much. Keep in mind, though, that I live in the Pacific Northwest, and our groceries here are very expensive, even though much of the produce and seafood are grown and caught here. Groceries are typically much less expensive in the south and the midwest. Apparently, it's cheaper to harvest seafood and produce here on the west coast and ship it to other parts of the country than it is to keep it available in our own little part of the world. Hmm.
Lastly, how much time do I spend preparing meals?
The first week was tough. I spent a long time flipping back and forth through the book to do our meal planning for the week; then, shopping for ingredients that I wasn't used to looking for, especially since our Walmart had just finished expanding to include a grocery section, was time-consuming. I did quite a bit more cooking than normal, just because all of us weren't used to figuring out what we could eat for breakfast and lunch.
Now that we're used to the THM methods, my husband or girls will prepare their own breakfasts or lunches - or I'll prepare them. It just depends. The point of it is, we do have more dishes to do on some days, but I'm definitely not cooking as much as I did the first two weeks. It was an adjustment for us all, but everyone is pitching in to do their part, so I'm not really spending any more time in the kitchen than I used to do.
Let's give away one paperback copy of Trim Healthy Mama to one of Joy In Our Journey's readers!
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
When life suddenly becomes a few shades darker, how do you make sense of it? Where do you put the pain and confusion? When faced with a series of tragic events, JJ Heller and her husband/co-writer, Dave, decided to pull out their songwriting book to process the hurt. The culmination of these songs eventually became their sixth studio album, LOVED.
Wow. Her music is beautiful. Her words are deep and meaningful, not the repetitive, shallow lyrics that are in some albums these days.
Wanna take a quick listen and see what you think of "Loved", her new album?
I thought so. Here you go!
JJ Heller and her husband work hard and save hard to pay cash for each album that they produce. I like that. Just like the average guy around town. Here's more info. on why LOVED is written in a deeper style than some of their past albums:
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veggietales
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veggietales
How fun is this? A new VeggieTales video! Here's the newest: The Little House That Stood.
Enter below to try to win a new copy of this VeggieTales DVD for yourself! (Email subscribers will want to click back through this email to enter the giveaway.)
About The Little House That Stood
When the Three Little Pigs roll into Cabbageville looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue! Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the Master Builder's Handbook! Will the Little Piggies make the right choices when it comes to building their houses - and their lives - on solid ground? Find out in this parable that shows kids when they follow God's blueprints, then can stand strong when the storms come!
This DVD teaches a lesson in making good choices and also features a Veggie retelling of the classic Humpty Dumpty story, "The Good Egg of Gooseville." When you go to their website, please be sure to check out all the amazing resources they have too - a discussion guide for parents, coloring pages, trailer, and more!
Julieanne's take on the new VeggieTales movie:
What did our family think about it? We enjoyed the first movie selection of the DVD, a combination of The Three Little Pigs nursery rhyme from Mother Goose and the parable Jesus told in the Bible about the builders that built houses on solid rock and on sand. It was typical VeggieTales style, all the way.
The "Silly Song with Larry", one of the pieces you can count on while viewing a VeggieTales DVD, didn't disappoint us, although it might have been a bit odder than normal. :)
The last piece of the video was all about selfishness and helping and serving others. It combined pieces of many Mother Goose nursery rhymes and poems into the video, which could have been very confusing to many children who haven't been read the nursery rhymes.
My girls, however, were not happy about one very obvious part of this movie. The mayor, whom we don't know if he is a paid government employee or an unpaid volunteer, is getting tired of serving his community and dealing with their problems and complaints. He decides to leave and go on vacation, leaving his community in disarray. The final conclusion by him toward the end of the story is that he should be serving his community all the time. Sounds good - at first glance. But the kinds of things he's asked to help with sometimes look just like economic handouts instead of gathering friends together to help solve a problem. My girls noticed this right away and complained about it to us. "Let's give everyone all these handouts and do everything for them so they don't need to work together as a community," grumbled one of our daughters. It's true - most, if not all of the help that is given is offered by the mayor himself, and not as people working together to solve a problem of their own.
You may think we are really reaching far to come to this conclusion, but we all agreed that if the leader in the movie had been a pastor, we would have had entirely different conclusions. However, since everyone in the community was always whining and complaining to the mayor to solve their problems, this bothered us. We're not anti-government, but we also believe in churches helping and serving, and in individuals helping and serving themselves and others, not just relying on the government to do it all for them.
As well, we didn't see anyone in the movie praying and asking God to help them first with their struggles. Instead, they went directly to the mayor first. We personally don't think that the mayor was representing God or Jesus, just in case you wondered. This could have been a great opportunity in the movie to show children how to handle stress and financial difficulties they will encounter.
Click here or on the graphic below to download and print some new VeggieTales coloring pages:
Now for our giveaway of one new copy of
VeggieTales: The Little House That Stood!
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
If you haven't already seen this on my website, I was one of 10 bloggers selected to help promote a new Amish fiction book called Goodbye to Yesterday by Wanda E. Brunstetter...and help giveaway a brand new Kindle!
As part of the promotion, each of the ten of us hid a clue word on our blog post in capital letters. After visitors to our blogs wrote down all ten clues in capital letters, they were to combine them into a question. The answer to the question is found in the free download of chapter 1 of this new book (see link below to download and read Chapter 1).
After entrants compile the question and read the short chapter to find the answer to the question they compiled, they are to send the question and the answer to the gal in charge of the promotion. A drawing will be held of those entrants who had the question and answer correct.
I thought I'd remind you about this, because on my blog post, I've linked to each specific page on the 10 blogs so it makes it really easy to find the clue word in capital letters. It took me about 4-5 minutes altogether to collect the 10 clue words. I wanted to try it out, even though I'm ineligible to enter the giveaway, just to see how difficult it would be.
One of the clue words is a one-letter word that is capitalized, so it's trickier to spot. Another clue word appears below the book review of one of the bloggers. But it still took a total of about 5 minutes.
I couldn't quite figure out the question by combining the 10 words together, so I wrote them down on little scraps of paper and scrambled them around until I had a sentence (question) that made sense.
The answer is easy to figure out once Chapter 1 is read (free download link is also on my page for the PDF version of it).
If anyone wants to go to the 10 blogs and write down the clue words, then unscramble them into a question, and then read the chapter quickly and find out the answer, you have until Monday (midnight), February 18th to enter the giveaway. I don't know that this is Pacific time; I wasn't told that, so you should probably assume you'd need to have this done by 9 p.m. Pacific time just to make sure you get your entry in on time.
Because a lot of the bloggers didn't link to all 10 specific pages, I'm assuming that not a ton of people are going to enter the contest. I thought it would be easier to link to all of the 10 pages so you wouldn't have to hunt on people's blogs to try to find the correct blog post in order to write down the clue word.
Here's the link to the directions on my website plus the direct links to the 10 blog posts from the other bloggers, plus the link to the Chapter 1 download.
http://www.joyinourjourney.com/1/post/2013/02/the-discovery-saga-scavenger-hunt-\and-kindle-giveaway.html
I hope one of you wins the Kindle! Wouldn't that be fun? :)
Hi! I'm Julieanne!
You'll find me in the kitchen
trying new Trim Healthy Mama recipes, loving God, and carrying out that love as I bless my husband and teen daughters.
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