Quinoa Burgers

I used a balsamic and maple syrup dressing and ate my burger over spinach, it was incredible!

This recipe is the best quinoa burger that I have ever had! I have been a vegetarian for a long time and I have tried many different burgers, this one surpasses them all! I was on pinterest the other day and found a quinoa burger recipe. I made some modifications because I didn’t like everything about the other one and came up with the following recipe. They are easy and amazingly flavorfull! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup shredded cheese (any variety)

1/2 cup cream cheese, cubed

1/8 cup rice milk

1 medium carrot, finely grated

3 eggs

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mixture will be sticky, be sure to mix very well!

Directions:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until seeds are tender. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl combine the cooled cooked quinoa, cheese, cream cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

I used my non-stick cooktop and it worked really well. Burgers didn't stick and I barely needed to use any oil.

Heat a pan and add a couple teaspoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat.  Mixture will be sticky. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 6 minutes on each side.   Makes a dozen burgers.

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit!

Today we tried a fun little activity for homeschool. I decided this week that we would focus on the Fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians in the Bible.

Mercy and Judah have been learning alot these days about loving each other and learning to serve one another. They are both at the ages now where they have their own STRONG opinions, ideas and thoughts about EVERYTHING and this leads to alot of arguing, complaining and fighting. We read the passage from Galatians 5 and discovered what the Bible says about our actions. We made a “fruit basket” with the fruit of the Spirit in it and placed it in the middle of the kitchen so we can remember to fill ourselves up with these fruit. This activity was a practical way to help me talk with them about the ways in which they can show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to one another.

He cut out the fruit and wrote most of the words:)

I gave them the example of how a fruit tree produces its own fruit; i.e. apple trees produce apples. I explained that in the same way we produce fruit according to our words and actions. This fruit belongs to either a “SPIRIT-filled tree” or a “SELF-filled tree”.They seemed to get the concept and I was challenged as well. It really made me think about what fruit I am producing in my life through my thoughts, words and actions. I desire to live a life that demonstrates a consecration to God and his Spirit!

What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Are there areas that need to be refocused?

May you experience the abundant love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that are yours in the Spirit. May you walk in the fullness of His plans and purposes for your life today! Blessings!!

Delightful Quinoa Salad

 

Yummy!

This is a delicious and simple salad that is full of nutrients and flavour. Quinoa is a wonderful super food that is a complete protein and is reffered to as “warrior food”! My wonderful friend Lana shared this recipe with me and I want to share it with all of you! It only takes about 30 minutes to make and can be done in the morning or even the day before you want to eat it. There are some days that I like having something pre-ready to avoid the stress of last minute meal prep. I made this salad this morning when the kids were having a snack and the baby was down for her nap.

My little Mercy stirring the ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup white quinoa

3 cups water

4 cups baby spinach

1 cup walnut halves

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup blueberries (I used blueberries and strawberries, chopped)

1 red apple & 1 green apple, chopped

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup maple syrup

I mix the dressing in a small container and if we don't use it all I store the leftovers in the fridge.

Bring 3 cups water to boil, add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. As the quinoa is cooking spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and cover with 3 tbsp maple syrup, pop in the oven at 350F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool, scraping off the baking sheet so that they don’t stick. In a bowl, add spinach, blueberries (or any kind of berries), and apples. Once quinoa is done, remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cooled quinoa and cooled walnuts to the bowl. Store in fridge until you are ready to eat it. Otherwise, in a seperate container mix the vinegar and maple syrup. Pour over the salad and mix well. Serve immediately! Enjoy!!

May you enjoy the fruit of your labour today!!

 

Mothers and Daughters

I love my mom!

After having my sweet daughters Mercy and Atirah I have become increasingly aware of the unique relationship between mothers and daughters. Having little girls is so special. As I watch them grow I see so much of myself in them. I love being their mommy. Being a mom often reminds me of my mother as well. I don’t think I truly appreciated my mom to the fullest until I had children of my own. I never really took note of all the sacrifice and service that goes into being a mother. I’m not just talking about a woman who bears a child but one who completely abandons herself to nuture and care for that child. I have been blessed in this life with an incredible mother. She has taught me 99% of what is important in life and has been a constant example of what I one day want to be like!

Today is my mothers birthday! I wrote this blog in honor of her. She is my hero, my wise counselor, and my inspiration. She is a god-fearing woman. I celebrate her life today! All the countless hours of loving me, the sleepless nights, the temper tantrums, the arguments, the hours spent driving to and fro, the millions of meals cooked, the money spent, the time invested. I could never have the words to thank or repay her. I honor my mother and I am humbled to have her in my life. Although I could never say anything that would equate to her service to me the one thing that my heart longs to do is to give my all for my girls. I want to serve, love and mentor them. I want to spend countless hours rocking them to sleep, playing dolls, teaching them about life, kissing their little cheeks, having tea parties, travelling the world, reading them stories, telling them that they are valuable and lovely. Just like my mom did for me.

My mom and my Mercy:)

There are not many people that I aspire to be like but there is one that I am sure that I want to be like, that’s my mom. She is compassionate and caring, humble, wise, discerning and full of love. She always listens, never judges, prays unceasingly, serves relentlessly and does it with joy! She is selfless and patient, kind and thoughtful, she is a leader and always follows God, she is nurturing and gentle, couragious and strong, a wonderful essence of peace. I wish these traits were genetic because I would love to inherit all of them. She has worked hard and been tried and tested. She has earned her character and integrity. I feel blessed to watch her grow! Her grandparenting skills are outstanding and all my children adore her. She is the woman that the book of Proverbs speaks about. The Bible talks about this woman’s children rising up and praising her and it would be impossible for me not to do so because “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!” Provbers 31:30. I will forever sing her praises!

Happy Birthday Momma Bear, I love you and I will spend the rest of my life trying to be like you:)

A Celebration of LOVE

My little lovebugs

Many people have asked me if we celebrate Valentines Day seeing as it is not “christian” holiday. My response: Absolutely!!! Any opportunity that we can get to celebrate LOVE we’re going for it! In our home “LOVE DAY” as we call it is a day when we can reflect on God’s love and remember His beautiful sacrifice for us. We do crafts, read bible verses on love, make hearts shaped cookies, sandwiches, and have a special Valentines dinner. (Heart shaped pizza with heart shaped toppings:) It is a day to reflect once again of God’s great love for us!

Raspberry finger puppets

I remember before I had children I would spend the entire day preparing to celebrate a nice evening out somewhere special with Jim. I would have a shower, dress up, do my nails and often wear heels. Oh have things changed!:) Today I have NOT showered, I am NOT dressed up, the kids made me wear a red shirt, jeans and red socks to be “like Valentines”, nails are unpolished and I will NOT be wearing heels:)

Dinner table

I now celebrate all day with the kids and when Jim gets home from work we have a fun dinner together. I think it is becoming a tradition in our home to stay home with the kids on Valentines evening and to tell the truth, I love it! During this season of my life I have learned to embrace the reality that being home with the kids is a blessing and sometimes it is much easier than trying

Jim bought Mercy her first bouquet of roses, she was so happy, she kept repeating "oh thank you daddy"

to get someone else to look after them or taking them out. I am sure that one day our children will grow up and Jim and I will once again go out of Valentine’s night. (At that point I’ll probably miss being home with my babies:)

Yummy fruit kabobs

I believe that as mothers we walk in a new level of LOVE. A selfless, and serving love. We use all our strength to serve our children and our husbands. We choose daily to let go of our own wants and desires to pursue a higher standard of love. I believe that this is the love we as humans are called to. To lay down our lives for one another, just as Christ laid down his life for us. I know that this is something I need to work on in my own life. Not always being concerned with myself but shifting the focus to others, and asking how can I serve? how can I help?

Getting ready to do a craft

When was the last time you had a selfless love for someone?

We used tape, less mess:)

Today we made these fun mobiles to decorate at the table. They were a great craft idea from our Awana cubbies book. The kids loved it and it was easy, no mess, no clean up! I’ve included a couple pictures so you can see them.

Finished product!

The Bible is full of verses on LOVE. I was read some of them this morning and I’d like to share a few with you.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Om tjos way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out all fear.” 1 John 4:16-18

Heart-shaped Grilled Cheese

“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal 5

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how high, how long, how deep and how wide his love is!” Eph 3:18

Pizza prep, I used the easy pizza dough recipe and it tastes amazing!

“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19

“We should love one another” 1 John 3:11b

Heart Pizza

May to feel His love today, may you come to know the depth, height, width and length of this deep love He has for you. God loved us and sent His son! This is worth celebrating!!

Happy LOVE Day!

The Weight of Worry

“Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:26 NIV

If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Matthew 6:26 Msg

Have you ever worried about you life? What you will eat? Where you will live?  Will you ever get married? How many kids you will have? How will you be able to afford a home?

This verse in Matthew serves as a continual reminder to me that worrying about my life is really pointless. When I sit back and consider things that I worry about, thinking about them isn’t going to be bring resolve and worrying about them is definitely not going to accomplish anything. I often struggle with faith in God and truly trusting Him with every aspect of my life. I worry about my children, my future, the youth, and our finances. Many days I will sit in my living room and watch the birds eating off the feeders in our backyard. They are well fed, beautiful little creatures. And here I am sitting in the warmth of my home, completely clothed and fed, worrying about my life. What’s up with that??

Why don’t I trust God? Why do I feel the need to take control and make things happen? Why can’t I just wait patiently and watch Him move mountains before me?

I think our human nature likes to be in control. We think we are so smart and have it all figured out. We believe lies that say: “If I don’t take care of it, it won’t get done”, “If I don’t work hard enough I will go without”, “if I obey God now I will have little in my future”, or “if I don’t have a plan or working knowledge of something than I can’t go ahead with it”. Imagine the birds said that? What would happen if all the birds stopped flying around because they wanted to store up their energy incase they didnt get food that day? How silly would that be? The fact that they fly around in faith is what brings them into the provision of God. If they didn’t fly through our backyard they would never find the abundance of seed we have out for them. The same is true of us. If we choose NOT to fly until we are certain of the outcome we will never enter into the promises that God has for us!

I want to fly into the unknown. I want to be a woman of faith. I want the ability to trust no matter what. I want to be able to give credit to God for all areas and situations in my life whether they are simple or difficult. The future is uncertain to all of us. God is waiting for us to stretch out our wings and fly into the open skies, free of any cares that hold us back. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you“ 1 Peter 5:7. Imagine trying to run a marathon dragging a 50lbs weight? That is what it looks like to carry our worries with us. Let Go!

I am going to choose to relinguish control of that false sense of control. My sense of control is NOT reality and is NOT biblical. Last I checked in the book of Proverbs 3:5 we are called to “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean NOT of your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge HIM and He will direct your steps”!

Let’s be woman of faith who trust in God, who lean on Him, and who choose not to have full understanding or comprehension of all of our ways.

What would your life look like if you gave it all to Him?

Don’t trade the freedom that Jesus bought for a 50lb weight of worry. I pray that you will have the courage to let go of that which holds you back and run free from and hindrances. I pray for faith and hope in what is to come. May you enter into His rest and His peace. May you experience the complete freedom that comes from a life surrendered to him. May to trust Him because he cares for you!

AmAzInG aNiMaLs

This week we were inspired by the movie Happy Feet to study not only penguins but 5 different animals during our homeschooling routine. I suppose you could call it more of a unit study. It has been so fun and we are only one day in! We are going to pick one animal each day and learn interesting facts about them.

Judah's new brother, Pat the penguin:)

Through this activity I’m going to be teaching the kids how to put together a “project” that is interesting for others to read about and learn from. Kids of all ages can do this and it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Hope you have fun!!

Looking at images about Penguins

1. We picked an animal. Today was Penguins as per Judah’s request and tomorrow is going to the Blue Whale, as per Mercy’s request, I have no idea how she even knows what a blue whale is:)

2. We researched them online, I went to a couple kid sites and found interesting facts. We highlighted the facts we liked the most.

3. We searched pictures on google images and printed out a few of our favorites. .Judah picked one of a seal about to attack a penguin, I thought it was a bit disturbing but he said “that is what happens if the penguins aren’t careful mom”… LOL

4. We then printed off all the info, and the kids had races to and from the printer gathering their papers.

Breaking for a little snack, I just happened to have penguin crackers which seemed fitting:)

5. We cut out the pictures, boarders and pasted them on the poster board. The kids loved cutting and glueing, although, my counter was rather sticky afterwards they enjoyed it!

6. We then placed them on the board and glued them on, by this point Mercy was really interested so she played while we finished up.

7. That’s it! We are going to bring it to show the grandparents tonight and Judah wants to explained what he learned because now he is an expert on penguins:) haha

First "official" school project:)

It was actually surprisingly fun to do something different, for both the kids and myself. The best part about studying something that we know little about is finding out how much details and thought went into their creation. I was able to really emphasize how amazing animals are and how amazing and creative God is to think of such creatures. Whether your kids are homeschooled or in school it doesn’t matter, exploring creation with our kids is a gift to them! Take some time to learn about something new and then give glory to God for his amazing creation. We are looking forward to learning more about the blue whale tomorrow…apparently this whale has a heart the size of a car crazy?!

May you be blessed and encouraged this week as you walk in the revelation of God our creator!!!

 

Homemade Granola

For all you granola lovers out there, this recipe is for you!! I have been experimenting with it over the past couple months and I finally got it the way I like it. It is crunchy and sweet, AND 100% free of any additive, presevatives and added sugars! It is also fully of protein and fibre. We eat it by the handful and my kids actually LOVE it. (which is a miracle because they are so picky these days) It is also delicious as a breakfast cereal with rice milk. I usually make a double batch each time because it gets used up so quickly. So be blessed and enjoy!

Mercy stirring in the almonds one at a time:)

 1/2 cup quinoa flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed or ground almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup walnut or almond oil (purchased at a local health food store)

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup combined raisins, cranberries, and sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix the quinoa, flaxseed, pumpkin, cashews, maple syrup and almond oil in a bowl. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and scrape up the mixture with a spatula. Mix in the almonds, pecans, raisins , cranberries and sunflower seeds and spread out evenly over the pan. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and scrape up the granola from bottom of the baking sheet so that is doesn’t stick and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

The Truth Behind the Fruit Snacks

I love how my children are always challenging me to evaulate my heart motives and my convictions. As a parent, there have been several times where I have chosen to “raise the bar” in certain areas of character and integrity. As leaders and influencers in our homes our ceiling will be our childrens floor, in other words, our highest standard has the potential to be the foundation for their lives.

My mother’s heart longs for my children to excel beyond where I am, I want them to go further than where I’ve been. I want my life to be an investment into theirs so that the return will be even greater. God has been challenging me to stand firm in my faith and to uphold His standards in our home. I dont’ know about you but I find it difficult NOT to compare myself with other mothers and woman who I look up to. I think it is great to have examples and role models in our lives but ultimately the word of God needs to be our greatest influence!

My son, Judah spearheaded another amazing challenge yesterday when he asked me to give him some fruit snacks in the morning. He told me that “daddy said I could have some”. I confirmed this statement with him several times and he kept giving me the same answer. Although I knew in my heart that Jim probably didn’t say that, I went along with it. I told Judah that I was going to ask daddy once he came downstairs if he did in fact tell him that. He said “ok”. I noticed at this point he looked a little sheepish and got very quiet as he ate. Once he was done we had a conversation with Jim. Jim’s response was that he told Judah he could have some fruit snacks ”at some point today, not necessarily in the morning”. However, Judah assured me that daddy said he could have the fruit snacks right then.

So what’s the problem? To some it may appear that Judah was telling the truth: Jim DID say he could have the fruit snacks at some point, right? Wrong. In actuality Judah was lying BECAUSE he was trying to twist the truth to decieve me into giving him the snack when he wanted it. Ultimately, he was trying to deceive me in that moment. The definition of lying is: the intent to deceive. Whenever we try to twist the truth or hold back the entire truth we are lying. This definition takes lying from mental awareness to a heart/soul awareness. It begs the question of our true heart motives whenever we speak to others. It makes us responsible and accountable to be truthful in ALL circumstances.

This is a principle that our children NEED to learn in order to have pure hearts before God. The Bible is clear in the book of Matthew that “blessed are those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God“! I want to see Him and I want my children to see Him too!

Have you ever thought of lying as the intent to deceive?

In the above example with Judah, he was not given a consequence because we had not taught him this principle yet. Although, it was obvious, from his countenance and behavior that deep down he knew what he was trying to do, deceive me, and he knew it was wrong. Going forward he is now responsible for what he knows. If he chooses to lie in the future he will be accountable to his words and actions. This is the same with me, I am, as a mother, responsible and accountable for my words and actions, with my husband, my children and all the people I influence around me.

How can instilling this knowledge to your children be beneficial?

May you be blessed and honored as you live a honest and transparent life. May God give you the strength and the wisdom that you need to encourage your little ones be ALL that God created them to be. May all of our hearts to be pure and truthful before the Lord!

Flour-free cookies

If you are a busy momma, like me, and find yourself needing to quickly whip up some cookies for your little ones, I’ve got a healthy cookie recipe for you! This recipe only takes 5 minutes to put together and you can do it in advance and leave it in the fridge until you are ready to bake the cookies! I always double the recipe because they get eaten SO fast!

1 cup of oats

1/2 cup maple sugar

4 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/2 tsp natural vanilla

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 egg whites

1 scoup protein powder

Heat oven to 350F.

Add oats, sugar, cocoa and salt in a bowl, stir until well mixed. In a measuring cup add wet ingredients, stir until well mixed. Pour contents of the measuring cup into the dry ingredient and stir until well mixed. Wrap the mixture from the bowl in ceran wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes until firm. (allow time for the oats to soak up the other ingredients)

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Scoup dough onto baking sheet and press down, forming small cookies. You should be able to make about 24 cookies. Bake for 1o minutes. Serve warm. These are amazing!!! Shout out to my amazing friend Michelle who originally found the recipe!

May you be blessed today as you serve your household and bring honor to your husband and children!