Vegan Alternatives To Gelatin April 22, 2007

Gelatin serves both nutritional and culinary roles in
nonvegetarian diets; however, a lot of vegetarians and
all vegans do not consume gelatin in its many forms
because it is often created out of boiled pig skins and
dissolved veal cartilage and bones.

This leaves vegetarians with a gap in cooking
functionality when a recipe calls for a gel or thickening
agent. It also leaves vegetarians with fewer options if they
need a source of gelatin to increase bone and cartilage
health.

If you are a vegetarian and you are looking for something
to replace gelatin, do not despair. Here are some alternative
options for you:

1. Use a rice starch alternative. A&B Ingredients recently
developed a rice starch alternative to gelatins that mimics
the cooking functionality of gelatins closely.

2. Use a soy-based alternative. Soyfoods USA developed
NuSoy Gel, a gelatin alternative which was created
entirely out of of soy isoflavones and contains 100% of
your vitamin c recommended daily allowance.

3. Use seaweed-based alternatives. Agar-agar, for instance,
is a seaweed based alternative to gelatin that can simulate
the culinary functions of gelatin.

4. Increase your calcium intake. One component of gelatin
supplements that allegedly increases joint health is
calcium. If you want to increase your calcium intake
without eating gelatin, you can simply consume more
calcium-fortified foods and even take supplements.

5. Increase your vitamin c intake. Another component of
gelatin supplements that allegedly increases joint health is
vitamin c. You can increase your vitamin c intake by
consuming more citrus fruit.

6. Increase your glucosamine intake. No foods contain
glucosamine, but you can increase your intake by purchasing
supplements at your local grocery store or pharmacy. This
is rumored to improve joint health if taken regularly.

To reiterate – gelatin has two major functions: it works
as a thickening agent for foods and is rumored to improve
joint health; both of these functions can easily
be mimicked by structural and nutritional alternatives.

5 Things Every Nursery Needs March 22, 2007

As you prepare for the birth of your child, no doubt you have already set up a nursery for the new arrival. Between the baby shower and other items you may have purchased, there is no doubt the new baby’s nursery has every possible thing you could think of.  Just in case, here are 5 things every nursery needs, and then some.

1. A cradle and crib are probably the most important pieces of furniture you will buy (or receive as gifts).  Since your baby will most likely stay in your room for awhile, these would be your first choice. Later on, you can use the crib in the baby’s nursery. Or perhaps, you have a family tradition in which cribs and cradles are handed down from mother to child. How wonderful! In either case, you may already have these items covered. But, you will need to purchase a new crib mattress.

2. No doubt you have either received or acquired a mobile for the crib. With the variety of mobiles available today, you shouldn’t have a problem picking one out for your baby.
Incidentally, don’t forget the baby monitor. You will want to have this operational the minute your baby is in the nursery.

3. You will need a dresser for the baby. Depending on your color scheme, there are lovely dressers for babies. Check them out online or at your baby furniture store.

4. You will need a changing table for the baby as well. Depending upon the amount of space in the nursery, you can buy a changing table or one that can fit on top of the dresser.  In any case, ensure it is safe and secure.

5.  No nursery is complete without a rocking chair. Find a comfortable one for you, since you will be spending most of your time feeding and rocking your baby to sleep.

Here are some incidental items you may want to have in the nursery as well.  Perhaps a little rocking chair with a beautiful teddy sitting on it, or other stuffed animals. How about some music to lull your child to sleep? A small CD player would be perfect. A blanket would also be appropriate to wrap around your shoulders during those cold nights when baby needs comforting or feeding.

For more helpful articles visit SAHMom.org

When I’m an Old Lady! February 25, 2007

When I’m an old lady, I’ll live with each kid,
And bring so much happiness…just as they did.
I want to pay back all the joy they’ve provided.
Returning each deed! Oh, they’ll be so excited!
(When I’m an old lady and live with my kids)

I’ll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,
And I’ll bounce on the furniture…wearing my shoes.
I’ll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I’ll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they’ll shout!
(When I’m an old lady and live with my kids)

When they’re on the phone and just out of reach,
I’ll get into things like sugar and bleach.
Oh, they’ll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
(When I’m an old lady and live with my kids)

When they cook dinner and call me to eat,
I’ll not eat my green beans or salad or meat,
I’ll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
And when they get angry…I’ll run…if I’m able!
(When I’m an old lady and live with my kids)

I’ll sit close to the TV, through the channels I’ll click,
I’ll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.
I’ll take off my socks and throw one away,
And play in the mud ’til the end of the day!
(When I’m an old lady and live with my kids)

And later in bed, I’ll lay back and sigh,
I’ll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.
My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
And say with a groan, “She’s so sweet when she’s sleeping!”

God Bless All Moms and Grandmas Everywhere!

Women always lie for a reason… (too cute) February 25, 2007

One day, a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river,

 

 

 

 

 

 

her thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared

 

 

 

 

and asked, “My dear child, why are you crying?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and

 

 

 

 

that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their

 

 

 

 

family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble

 

 

 

 

set with pearls. “Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seamstress replied, “No.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed

 

 

 

 

with sapphires. “Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, the seamstress replied, “No.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord reached down again and came up with a simple leather thimble.

 

 

 

 

“Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seamstress replied, “Yes.”

 

< BR>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord was pleased with the woman’s honesty and gave her all three

 

 

 

 

thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the

 

 

 

 

riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the

 

 

 

 

water. When the seamstress cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked

 

 

 

 

her, “Why are you crying?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Is this your husband?” the Lord asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Yes!” cried the seamstress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord was furious. “You lied! That is an untruth!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seamstress replied, “Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a

 

 

 

 

misunderstanding.

 

 

 

 

You see, if I had said ‘no’ to George Clooney, you would have come up

 

 

 

 

with

 

 

 

 

Brad Pitt. Then if I said ‘no’ to him, you would have come up with my

 

 

 

 

husband.

 

 

 

 

Had I then said ‘yes,’ you would have given me all three. Lord, I’m not

 

 

 

 

in the

 

 

 

 

best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands,

 

 

 

 

so

 

 

 

 

THAT’S why I said ‘yes’ to George Clooney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so the Lord let her keep him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it’s for a good and

 

 

 

 

honorable reason, and is always in the best interest of others.

 

 

 

 

That’s our

 

 

 

 

story, and we’re sticking to it.

 

Stuffable Pals PlugBoard January 21, 2007

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Mouse Trap Story… January 21, 2007

 I received this in an email also… something to think about…

Mouse Story …

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his
wife opening a package.

“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered -
he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.

“There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse,
I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to
me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the
house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The ! pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse,
but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.
Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There is a mousetrap in the
house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off
my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the
farmer’s mousetrap– alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house –
like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she
did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer’s wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a
fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer
took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit
with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for
her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great
sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it
doesn’t concern you, remember — when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to
encourage one another.

REMEMBER:
EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON’S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend .

WET PANTS January 21, 2007

I received this in an email the other day! Something to think about…

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom… ..

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle
between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is
going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened.

It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he
will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down
and prays this prayer, “Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now!
Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.”

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a
look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is
carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in
front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap.
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself,
“Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the
boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives
him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children
are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is
wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have
been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. “You’ve done enough, you klutz!”

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus,
the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Susie whispers back, “I wet my pants once too.”

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.
Remember…. .Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any
more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now,
but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep
the faith.

My instructions were to pick four (4) people that I wanted God to
bless, and I picked you. Please pass this to at least four (4) people you
want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we
receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue to pray for one another.

The prayer:
Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I
care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation
of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit
at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.
Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace.
Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes,
families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.
(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more than four
“4″ people, you are truly blessed).

Easy Crab Cakes! January 20, 2007

Someone emailed this recipe to my SAH-Mom Yahoo Group! Just thought I would share!

1 package (6 ounces) stuffing mix

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 cans (6 ounces each) crabmeat, drained and flaked

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate 10 minutes. Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Shape 1/3 cupfuls of the mixture into patties; add to skillet in batches.

Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides, turning over carefully.

Variations:

You can substitute for the crabmeat -

2 cans (6 ounces each) salmon, drained, skin and bones discarded OR

2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna, drained and flaked OR

3 cans (4 ounces each) cooked shrimp, drained

*Why we LOVE Mom!* January 20, 2007

I received this in an email and just had to share!

* WHY I LOVE MOM *

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired, and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed”

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches.

Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.

She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button.

She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.

She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, “I thought you were going to bed.”

“I’m on my way,” she said.

She put some water into the dog’s dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV’s, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.

In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. “I’m going to bed.”

And he did…without another thought.

Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer…?

CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL….. (and we can’t die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)

Send this to five phenomenal women today…they’ll love you for it! I just did.

THEN, GO TO BED!

Oklahoma State Trooper January 19, 2007

In most of the United States , there is a policy of checking on any
stalled vehicle on the highway when the temperatures drop down to single digits or below.

About 3 AM, one very cold morning, Trooper Allan Nixon #658 responded to a call there was a car off the shoulder of the road outside Shattuck. He located the car, stuck in deep snow, and with the engine still  running.

Pulling in behind the car with his emergency lights on, the Trooper
walked to the driver’s door to find an older man passed out behind the wheel with  a nearly empty vodka bottle on the seat beside him.

The driver came awake when the Trooper tapped on the window. Seeing the rotating lights in his rearview mirror, and the State Trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked. He jerked the gearshift in to ‘drive’ and hit the gas. The car’s speedometer was showing 20- 30- 40 and then 50 mph, but it was still stuck in the snow, wheels spinning.

Trooper Nixon, having a sense of humor, began running in place next to
the speeding, but still stationary car. The driver was totally freaked,
thinking the Trooper was actually keeping up with him. This goes on for about
30 seconds, then the Trooper yelled at the man to ‘Pull over!’
The man obeyed, turned his wheel and stopped the engine.

Needless to say, the man from Mobile,Alabama was arrested, and is probably still shaking his head over the State Trooper in Oklahoma who could run 50 miles per hour. Who says Oklahoma Troopers don’t have a sense of
humor??

I had no idea a man could run that fast ~!!!~!!  hic cup!