It feels like I'm cheating Weight Watchers recipe of the evening

Hi all! I thought I would share this yummy dish I just whipped up in literally 15 or 20 minutes with what I had in my house! I had some left over asparagus from an Easter casserole that was about to go bad, 2 TBSP of 1/3 less fat cream cheese from a Sip-N-See I hosted a couple of weeks ago, a lemon that was about to spoil from the punch at the same shower, and an opened box of whole wheat spaghetti. Then I remembered a yummy recipe from a cookbook of mine to adapt and voila! Since my husband hates asparagus and I love it, I made 2 servings - one for dinner and one for lunch tomorrow. :)

Here is the adapted recipe:

2 servings of whole wheat spaghetti (8 points)

1/2 bundle of asparagus cut to 1-1.5 inch pieces (ZERO points)

1 TBSP olive oil (1 point)

1 garlic clove (ZERO points)

1/2 cup skim milk (1 point)

2 TBSP of 1/3 less fat cream cheese (2 points)

Zest of 1 lemon (ZERO points)

dash of nutmeg

1/4 tsp of salt

ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (3 points)

2 servings = 15 points, 7.5 points per serving

1. Cook spaghetti until al dente

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and asparagus and sauté, tossing constantly for 2 minutes. Pour in about 2 TBSP of water and cover pan. Cook until asparagus is just tender, about 5 minutes. Combine milk, cream cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over asparagus and bring to a boil, let simmer until preferred consistency.

3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour on the asparagus sauce, toss, and stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

YUMMY! It feels like I'm cheating, but I still have 3.5 more points for the day! Time to raid the Easter candy ;)

MAMA-JAMA Cloth Diapering Blog Post!!!

SO, as most of you know I'm super passionate about being good stewards of Gods magnificent creation...

NO I'M NOT PREGNANT AND AM NOT PLANNING TO BE FOR A GOOD LONG WHILE (just in case this post title sent off any alarms). BUT when that time comes I am VERY interested in doing the cloth diaper thing! Hey, if it was good enough for my bum it's good enough for my babies' bums too!

Ahem, AS I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted by my nosy readers. There are many benefits to cloth diapering and TONS of resources out there for moms and dads (present or future) who are interested but totally intimidated by the idea.

Cloth diapers have evolved to be JUST AS CONVENIENT as disposables, if you are willing to do an extra load of laundry every 2-3 days (and the cost benefits alone can motivate someone to do that). If you don't want to mess with the "old fashion" prefolds and covers, you can opt for the super Dad/Grandparent/Childcare Worker- friendly pocket diapers or all-in-ones. For those road trips, overnight stays, and outings where you just can't do cloth, there are always the biodegradable disposables.

ONE: God's Green Earth. That's right, we're riding on it. It gives us life, air, food, water, a place to put our loved ones, and some pretty cool hiking trails to boot! Anywho, a conservative estimate, according to the numbers in this article (8 diapers per day for first 4 months (newborn), 6 per day from 4-24 months, assuming potty training by age 2 (which these days is unheard of), a baby will go through 4,560 diaper changes. That's the CONSERVATIVE number. Assuming that a child is closer to 3 when potty trained, that conservative estimate would grow to 6,720!!! That's a bunch of diapers (that contain lots of nasty chemicals) to put in our landfills.

TWO: Money, money, yeah, yeah. According to this article, the estimated cost per disposable diaper is $0.29 and rising. Using our above conservative estimate, it costs AT LEAST $1,322.40 to diaper a baby in disposables for 24 months, maybe more depending on the sales tax where you live and your diaper changing habits. If your child is 3 before s/he is potty trained, the cost is at least $1,948.80. These estimates don't include nighttime trainers after the daytime transition to undies. WOW. This article at SunshineDiapers sites a cost of around $400 to set your FIRST baby up with cloth diapers all the way to potty training (it also has TONS of good facts). YEP, that's about A GRAND in savings (or more) for your first baby. I say that because many parents are able to reuse their cloth diapering system with their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on children (if you plan to have the dang VonTrapp family that is).

THREE: Baby's Bum. Do you really want all those chemicals (chlorine, perfumes etc.) on your little one's precious tushy?? Cloth diaper babies have fewer instances of diaper rash, AND drumroll please... potty train MUCH sooner than disposable diapered babies.

CASE STUDY: MY precious baby tushy. My mother only used cloth diapers on my precious bum. That is, until we took a beach trip (I think I was about 9-10 mos. old at the time). My virgin-to-disposable-diapers booty broke out into a horrible rash that my mother proceeded to clear up by ripping it off and putting me straight into the salty ocean waves once we arrived. I'm surprised I don't remember this special form of abuse and torture even to this day. She says "you screamed about it, but your rash went away." CRAZY LADY!

And really, really, cloth diapers are not as scary as they used to be. NO PINS, SEE??

Photo (c) Price Grabber

SO, are you curious? Wanting to know more?? Feeling guilty?? >;-) For more great reading about reasons and benefits of cloth diapers, use the links previously given in the post. They are great resources and articles. For information and reviews on modern cloth diapers from a REAL CLOTH DIAPER MOM, go to this post by the Simple Mom. She's having a giveaway of a cloth diaper package for some lucky folks, which inspired this post on my blog!! (giveaway now closed, I didn't win) :(

Remember my sweet friend Lara? She and her husband Bryan were going through the adoption process when she found out she was knocked up. >:-) Well, being Mother Earth incarnate that she is, she is planning to cloth diaper BOTH babies (SO amazing)!!! If I happen to win this diaper giveaway, they will be hers (goodness knows she will need them)!!!

UPDATE:
So I felt bad about not clearly laying out some resources for you all. Plus, I've found lots of good stuff since I wrote this!

The REAL CLOTH DIAPER MOM sited above did an entire week of blog posts all about cloth diapering as part of an ongoing series. She answers common questions, has videos demonstrating cleaning and changing cloth diapers of all kinds, plus the type/brand review that are fabulous resources. An earlier post she wrote defines the different types of cloth diapers, with pros and cons of each! The Cloth Diapering 101 series of new and older posts by Simple Mom is the most in depth and extensive resource for cloth diaper how-to that I've found. She even talks about all the other stuff you need to have (not just the diapers) to make life easy.

If you are interested in cloth diapers and want to learn more about products AND start an online registry, go to www.kellyscloset.com. I mean, the initial investment upfront for cloth diapers is definitely worth it, but it can get pretty steep (about $400 or so)! If you want help from friends and family, this online registry is great. They also have all the associated products that you need like a diaper sprayer, washable pail liners, wet bags and the like. They also have a good CONCISE fact page on products, care and how to.

If you are interested in 2nd hand cloth diapers as a MOST echonomical choice (other than free gifts from a registry :-P), head on over to www.diaperswappers.com. This is a network of moms that swap and sell new and used cloth diapers.

Another great website as a comprehensive resource of facts and how-tos is www.cloth-diapers-made-easy.com.

Those desiring a cloth diaper system that incorporates recycled wool soaker diaper covers can find a plethera of cottage industry businesses over at www.etsy.com who specialize in them. Just search for "cloth diaper wool soaker cover." I hear that these are especially useful without the cloth diaper under for potty training. They are easy for little one to pull on and off, and can catch and hold accidents better than undies.
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SO THERE!! You have my MOST exhaustive post on cloth diapering with TONS of helpful links. So, if you are a mom, mom-to-be, or even a mom-in-waiting interested in switching to or using cloth diapers, bookmark this blog post. Or do like I do and email the link to yourself and sort the email into a subject folder like "Mommy Resources" (not that I have a folder called "Mommy Resources" in my email account, that's just a suggestion) ;-)

Tips to save $$ and GREEN clean (your spring cleaning)!!!

So, my friend Ashley who did all the amazing printing for our wedding and is totally crafty in so many ways, and I take turns at inspiring each other. I inspired her to become a Dave Ramsey faithful follower. She's inspired me to start couponing and turned me on to this SWEET website that makes it dummy-proof (exactly what I needed). On my first trip to Publix, armed with only one online printable coupon, I bought over $53 worth of groceries for $29 just by taking advantage of the weekly Buy 1 Get 1 deals!!!!

If you are going to coupon seriously, then you have to give up your brand loyalty. Now, I am not an extreme couponer; I use it mainly for food and paper products. Other items I buy, such as toiletries and household cleaners, have a totally different set of values attached that have nothing to do with price. I buy animal and environmentally friendly products. I try not to buy any makeup or toiletry items unless they have "not [been] tested on animals" (for me anyway, Matt is not a convert yet - he's brand loyal).

Collectively, we can change market production by changing our demand for certain things! We are already starting to see big companies that make chemical-based household cleaners respond to the change in market demands, like Clorox coming out with a "green cleaner" line (which probably isn't anything but dyed green anyway since they refuse to release the ingredients to the public). For things such as laundry detergent or other cleaner needs (not listed below), buy from a reputable company such as Seventh Generation (click the link for COUPONS!).

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," (Joshua 24:15) and make our own cleaning products!!! If you want to rid your house of harsh chemical-based cleaning products and create a healthier, safer environment for your family, here are a few "recipes" to use. First, tightly seal up all of your chemical-based cleaning products and dispose of them at your LOCAL HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY. Next, get to shopping and mixing!!

Shopping List:
2 Empty spray bottles (re-use one you have if it's already empty, but don’t pour the chemicals down the drain!)
2 Glass jars with tight fitting lid
Distilled white vinegar
Baking soda
Lemon juice
Olive or vegetable oil
Tea tree oil (optional disinfectant)
Non-toxic liquid soap (vegetable based/castile)

All Purpose Cleaner:

Plastic spray bottle, mix equal parts vinegar and water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp tea tree oil (optional), shake before use

Window & Mirror Cleaner:

Plastic spray bottle, mix 2 parts water, 3 parts vinegar, spray on and wipe with newspaper or paper towel

Scrub Cleaner:

Glass jar, mix baking soda and castile soap to paste consistency, add lemon juice for scent and/or tea tree oil for disinfectant (both optional), use as scrub for tough stains and toilet bowl cleaner

Wood Furniture Polish:

Glass jar, mix 2 parts olive or vegetable oil, 1 part lemon juice, shake well and apply to furniture with clean lint free rag, let stand, polish with dry rag

Silver Polish:

In 1 quart of warm water, add 2 Tablespoons of baking soda, 1 Tablespoon of salt, a piece of aluminum foil, and the item to be polished. Let item sit for at least 15 minutes.

Drain Cleaner:

Pour ¼ cup of baking soda down drain, followed by ½ cup of vinegar. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes, then pour 2 quarts of boiling water down the drain.

Recipes provided by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute

University of Massachusetts, Lowell

and Alameda County Healthy Homes Project

POST UPDATE:
Ashley (the one who is always inspiring me) once again inspired me by her comment!!!

I have always heard you can make your own baby wipes, so I figured - why not clean-up wipes too??? Just follow the directions at the link to prepare the paper towel roll and use this recipe for homemade green clean-up wipes:

1 Cup water
1 Cup vinegar
1/4 Cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon tea tree oil (disinfectant)