Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Quadruple Blessing Shower


Since becoming a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Discussion Group Leader, I try to do a blessing shower for all of the pregnant ladies or new mommies at my table. This year, my table had 4!  I just love the blessing shower concept. I'll never do a traditional baby shower again. Everyone would much rather spend their time blessing the mother-to-be rather than playing games most people dread. I got the idea from an Above Rubies magazine and I really hope it spreads. Here is a picture of the lovely ladies in their various stages of pregnancy or post-pregnancy. We give them foot soaks, neck and shoulder massages, hand rubs and painted their toenails. I think they look so beautiful in their daisy crowns! Such gorgeous princesses, daughters of the King.Before we start pampering them, everybody brings their favorite mothering bible verse, lyrics to a song or something funny or touching about motherhood to read aloud. We had to pass the tissue around the room for this part of the shower. I love seeing what people come up with. One of the mommies-to-be is my friend, Girlie. Her mom was unable to be there because she lives overseas. However, she sent a wonderful writing about motherhood for Girlie's friend to read to her. It was a very special moment. I sure wish I would have had it on video! The gal to the left is my friend, Cora. She came two hours early and helped me set everything up and helped with the fresh flower crowns. Love ya, Cora!

Here are the beautiful princesses standing in front of the wonderful food. I decided not to have a cake this time and everybody was just fine with it. I always ask each guest to bring a finger food which helps keep the cost (and work) of the shower way down. I put this shower on for a total of $22, which was mostly the flowers. A blessing shower can be really inexpensive! I use quilts to decorate and our ladies are the center pieces with their colorful crowns. 

After the food, our ladies get foot soaks and neck and shoulder massages. Then we massage lotion into their hands. I just love the way the guests always jump in and help with this part. I'm also thrilled that I now have enough room in my house to do this. Before I always had it on the deck and hoped the weather would stay nice. I don't have to worry about that now. Thank you God for our addition!

I had fun painting my friend, Leslie's, toenails. She was so cute. She said to me, "All I can think about is that I want to do this for someone else". Yes, pay it forward, My Dear! 

Here is another fellow DGL, Tonya, massaging Beth's feet. This can be such a wonderful time of fellowship.

I love this picture of Girlie, relaxing in a rocking chair. I like the way the light is shining down on her face. She just looks so contented.
So the next time you are thinking of throwing a baby shower for someone, think non-traditional! I'm hoping this concept spreads. It is so much more meaningful than playing a few games, eat cake, opening gifts and then everyone goes home. You can do gifts for the baby, gifts for the mommy or no gifts at all. The gift is in the pampering and blessings. Since it was almost everybody's second baby, I decided to just have people bring a gift for Girlie only, since she is just starting out in her motherhood adventure. This shower is a celebration of motherhood with a godly focus. When we bless, we are SOOO blessed in return!

In Christ,
Jackie

Monday, February 21, 2011

Daddy's Birthday

I've finally learned that my hubby likes very simple birthdays. I no longer give him a big party. This year, our good friends, Patrick and Girlie, surprised him by coming over and cooking a steak and shrimp fettuccine Alfredo dinner for him. It was so yummy! I was super busy that day, so it was nice to not have to worry about dinner. I just made a couple of true berry pies for dessert.

The kids made cards for him (above picture) and I gave him a Life Application bible. 

The kids each got him a Christian biker shirt. Sorry this pic is a little blurry. 

Here is the very cute pregnant cook and her trusty sidekick who can bbq like nobody's business. Meal was simply delicious! Afterwards we all went to a couples bible study together. Great way to end the evening :)

Sidenote: Here is a picture of the oak window seat that Michael made for me, complete with a hand-sewn cushion. He made it mostly out of left over scraps from our wood flooring. It turned out beautifully. Now he's making me a similar one for the other window.  I've got just enough leftover material to sew a table runner to tie it all in. Each of the kids have their own homeschool basket and I've got lots of kids books in the shelves. So happy with it!

So again, happy birthday to my hubby! I hope he has a wonderful year ahead of him :)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Valentine's Day Fun

I've always loved Valentine's Day. As I get older, I realize what an important ministry opportunity it can be. Valentine's Day is either wonderful or very painful depending on what is going on in your life. If you are a wife of a deployed soldier, just lost a spouse, or are single, it can be a really depressing day. This year, I decided to show the kids that Valentine's Day isn't just about us. I'm hesitant to write this because I don't want it perceived as tooting my own horn, but I'm just hoping it will help you think of ways you can minister to others who might be hurting on this special day. 

Our family still did all our little traditions, heart-shaped pizza, had cookie grams sent to the house (above picture), and even got to go to a homeschool Valentine's Day party. But this year, and I hope every year from now on, we want to pick somebody(s) who might be having a hard time with the absence of a loved one. This year, we know many wives whose hubbies are deployed. We went to the $ store and got each of them a balloon and a feather rose and then delivered them. It was so much fun! Later on that day I made a call to a lonely widower who is spending his first Valentine's Day alone in 47 years. It was a hard call to make and I didn't really know what to say, but I know it made him feel good that we were thinking of him. 

This is a picture of Josiah and Hailey opening their Valentine's Day box from their Nana and Papa. They loved it! They are each holding up their favorite things. Josiah is holding a flashlight and Hailey is holding a princess night light which goes perfectly with her new bedding. 

My friend, Dorene, invited us to a homeschool Valentine's Day party. In a rare spurt of creativity, I helped the kids make large decorative envelopes with their names on them for their valentines to go into. I had them hand-make their valentines. They used stencils and cut different shapes out of pretty paper and we stamped the back and wrote their names (I wrote Hailey's name). They made enough for the dozen kids who were at the party.
Here is a picture of most of the kids at the V-D party. Not only did they get to exchange valentines, but they got to decorate their own sugar cookies and then have a play date. It was super fun! Thanks again, Dorene. The best part was that I got to hold a baby the entire time :)

Well, hope you all had a good Valentines Day. I look forward to seeing what you all did to celebrate on your blogs.

Blessings,
Jackie

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 9 (Is Raw Milk/Dairy Healthy?)

Got Raw Milk?
Here is a picture of my daughter, almost a year old and just about ready to start drinking raw milk. Chewing on the lid of the ice cold milk must have felt good on her teeth :) I nursed for a year and then she naturally weaned and we started her drinking raw cow's milk. I have no qualms whatsoever about giving my children raw milk after one year in age. I'll spend the rest of this post explaining why.

This can be a very controversial subject, but it is one that I believe people need to be fully educated about it (just like vaccinations, circumcision, whether to use a microwave or not and other healthy eating issues) before they make a decision. It is so easy for people to state that raw milk is dangerous, but I want to first take an honest look at the paturized, homogenized milk you get in the store.

According to "Nourishing Traditions": The milk you get in the store comes from cows with abnormally active pituitary glands and high-protein feeding. This allows high levels of bovine growth hormones (present in all mother's milk) to be in milk. Large amounts of this hormone can produce growth abnormalities. The high-protein feeding of soybean meal to cows "stimulates them to produce large amounts of milk but also contributes to mastitis, liver problems and shortened lives. The proper food for cows in green plants." 

Pasteurization is a hugely controversial subject. It was originally intended to to kill bad germs from diseased cows and worse yet, the diseased people milking them. Contrary to popular believe, pasteurization is not a cleanliness guarantee. According to "Nourishing Traditions": "Raw milk contains lactic-acid-producing bacteria that protect against pathogens. Pasteurization destroys these helpful organisms, leaving the finished product devoid of any protective mechanism should undesirable bacteria inadvertently contaminate the supply. Raw milk in time turns pleasantly sour, while pasteurized milk, lacking beneficial bacteria, will putrefy." 

Some people are genuinely allergic to casin in milk, but many think they are allergic, but are really lactose intolerant. There are important enzymes in raw milk that aid in the digestion of milk. I have yet to have a lactose intolerant individual be unable to consume my raw milk products. "Heat alters milk's amino acids lysine and tyrosine, making the whole complex of proteins less available; it promotes rancidity of unsaturated fatty acids and destruction of vitamins." Many times synthetic Vitamin D(s) are added which can be linked to heart disease or be difficult to absorb. It also makes the minerals found in milk less available.  "Lipase in raw milk helps the body digest and utilize butterfat." Fermented milk products are especially easy to digest.

Homogenization is "the process whereby the fat particles of cream are strained through tiny pores under great pressure. The resulting fat particles are so small that they stay in suspension rather than rise to the top of the milk. This makes the fat and cholesterol more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation, and some research indicates that homogenized fats may contribute to heart disease."

The only concern I have with raw milk is the process of getting the milk from the cow into the jar. You need to make sure that the farmer you are buying milk from is clean and sanitizes his jars very carefully and is very careful in his milking process. They should be cleaning the udder before milking. Also make sure that their cows are disease free and fed on fresh green grass or hay. Go during milking time and watch the process. See where your milk is coming from!

We make many of our own raw dairy products. It isn't as hard as it sounds. Click here for links to some great raw dairy recipes and raw cheese recipes.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

Blessings,
Jackie 

Friday, February 11, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 8 (Where Does Your Meat Come From?)


This is a picture of my dad's cows. We get part of a beef from family members once a year. I love knowing where my beef is coming from and what they are eating. For those that know me, I can't say enough good things about buying your meats locally grown. The only meats we buy from the supermarket are the occasional "treat meats - ham, lunch meat, sausage, bacon, " when we run out of the good stuff. I could live without them, but my hubby claims he can't, so we compromise. 

One thing I think is really important for people to understand is the "organic and natural" labeled meats and dairy products in the store can be a real joke. My friend (a cattle rancher) summed it all up in an email she recently wrote me. This is what she said: 

"Being as I have been on hundreds of production agriculture sites in several several states.. I know that organic is the new best thing for many people but most people have never seen the facilities where their organic is being produced. I have been on sites that you could not pay me to feed the product to my family. I have seen cows struggling with mastitis and somatic cell counts of a million because they can't be treated, belly deep in mud where they are forced to be on 60 day "pasture" People get visions of animals on green hillsides just because it's organically produced. Consumers are paying for a feel good label with no idea where it comes from. I am a huge believer in locally grown and grass fed.. knowing exactly where your food is coming from...you are so right about the omega-3's and higher CLA's from grass fed animals. I just wanted to make sure that people know that Organic does NOT equal grass fed."

People really balk at having to pay $10 to $15 for homegrown chickens, but they are so much healthier. Watch "Food, Inc" if you want to see were those $.79 a lb chickens in the store come from. 

Our family of four eats 1/4 beef, 1/2 pig, 1/2 lamb and a 10 chickens every year, which right now costs around $700 a year for all our meat (not including excess treat meats). If my husband gets wild meat, than we supplement with that. It is less expensive in the long run to buy farm-direct. The hard part is having the money up front. We try to set back some money from our tax returns to pay for our meat throughout the year. 

We also make buying raw milk a priority. Unfortunately, our state makes it difficult for producers by making it a rule that you can't milk more than three cows at a time. This is tough to produce a steady supply for customers due to natural calving cycles. If you can get on a raw milk drop, you're very blessed.

If you aren't already buying farm-direct meats and dairy, I hope you'll be inspired to start looking for some. Go out to the farm, don't be afraid to ask the grower questions. You have a right to know exactly what you'll be putting in your body. Next post will be explain why we choose raw dairy whenever possible.

Blessings, 
Jackie

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 7 (Misc Healthy items)


There are just a few more miscellaneous pantry items I want to discuss in this healthy eating series. 

Baking Powder: While some use baking powder alternatives, I chose to use it because I think it is very convenient. However, I make sure to buy an aluminum-free baking powder. 

Arrowroot Powder: Instead of using corn starch which is usually made from genetically modified corn and is difficult to metabolize which can cause weight-gain, I use arrowroot powder instead to thicken things (sometimes I simply use whole wheat pastry flour as a thickener, too). Arrowroot flour (or powder) is the only starch that has calcium ash in it. It is easily digested and even found in many baby formulas (not that I'm a formula fan). When added to liquid and heated, it forms a jelly. You may need a little more when substituting a recipe for cornstarch.It also contains trace minerals. I love using it in my raw ice cream recipe for a smoother texture. 

About beans, from "Nourishing Traditions": 
"Beans cause digestive problems not because they contain protein and starches together, but because they contain two complex sugars, farrinose and stachyose, which are not easily broken down by enzymes normally found in the intestines. Beans and other legumes will be more digestible if soaked for a long period before cooking as this process begins the breakdown of these starches. Beans prepared properly have provided nourishment to human beings all over the globe and can be easily digest by most people. Actually, there is no food on earth that is pure starch or a pure protein. Even meat contains some sugar, and all acidic fruits contain starch". 

Most grains and legumes you find in the supermarket have been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides. Many times they are genetically modified which contain foreign proteins making it harder to digest. Therefore, I find eating organic beans is important.  Soaking beans and rinsing is essential when you're buying organic because it is hard to prevent vermin from getting into them. When you soak them, they come out and wash away as you rinse. Sorry to gross you out, but that is just a reality. 

What about potatoes?
According to "Nourishing Traditions", "potatoes are the most digestible carbohydrate food. They provide Vitamin C and B complex as well as potassium, calcium and iron. Most of the nutrients are just under the skin, so don't peel them. The skin itself is full of fiber..." I haven't peeled a potato in years, which makes preparing potatoes a snap! 

I find it very important to buy organic potatoes as commercially grown potatoes are sprayed with sprout-inhibitors, which can cause cellular changes in test animals. They do the same thing with onions. 

I tend to stay away from Russet potatoes and instead exclusively use Yukon Gold or red potatoes. They are higher in vitamins and minerals and more digestible.

Next post in this series will be about the benefits of knowing where your meat comes from.

Blessings,
Jackie

Monday, February 7, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 6 (Can Salt Be Good For You?)



Can salt be healthy for you? I took this quote from "Nourishing Traditions" - "Sodium: As all body fluids contain sodium, it can be said that sodium is essential to life. It is needed for many biochemical processes including water balance regulation, fluid distribution on either side of the cell walls, muscle contraction and expansion, nerve stimulation and acid-alkaline balance. Sodium is very important to the proper function of the adrenal glands. However, excessive sodium may result in high blood pressure, potassium deficiency, and liver and kidney and heart disease; symptoms of deficiency include confusion, low blood sugar, weakness, lethargy and heart palpitations. Meat broths and zucchini are excellent sources." "Salt can be a powerful enzyme activator."

Again, it all comes down to the the refining process. The salt you get in the store is highly refined by heating and removing naturally occurring iodine, magnesium and all beneficial trace minerals. To keep it dry, they add things such as aluminum compounds. When you buy "iodized salt" they add back in amounts of iodine that can be actually be toxic. Table salt is also bleached to make it white. Even regular "sea salt" is highly refined.

According to Nourishing Traditions: 
"The best and most healthy-promoting salt is extracted by the action of the sun on seawater in clay-lined vats. Its light grey color indicates a high moisture and trace mineral content. This natural salt contains only about 82 percent sodium chloride; it contains about 14 percent macro-minerals, particularly magnesium , and nearly 80 trace minerals. The best and purest commercially available source of unrefined sea salt is the natural salt marshes of Brittany, where it is "farmed" according to ancient methods. ...Unrefined salt mined from ancient seabeds contains many trace minerals and is theoretically acceptable as long as it comes from areas where nuclear testing has not occurred nor where nuclear wastes are stored. However, it will lack organic iodine from the minute bits of plant life that are preserved in moist Celtic Sea Salt." 

I also just learned about benefits of Himalayan Crystal Salt. Click below for a video on that.


Not only do we use Celtic Sea Salt, but in place of regular soy sauce, we use Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Bragg's Liquid Aminos is a great alternative to soy sauce. It is made with non-GMO soybeans, is alcohol and preservative and gluten free. It contains 16 amino acids. What is interesting about this stuff is it contains no salt, yet it is saltier than regular soy sauce. If you do want to use regular soy sauce, make sure that is naturally brewed. Tamari can be used for those with wheat allergies, too. 

I can tell you, since switching to "Celtic Sea Salt", my tastes buds have been able to repair themselves. Regular table salt actually burns your tastes buds, so does refined sugar. When you start eating unrefined salts and sugars, you'll notice how sweet or salty things really are and as a result you won't be need as much of either to satisfy that salty or sweet craving you may get. Pretty cool, huh?

My next healthy eating post will involve information on some misc. items, potatoes, beans, baking powder and natural thickeners.

Blessings,
Jackie

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Dancing With Daddy

 Love that my hubby will dance with his daughter when she asks him too. This is a cute little clip of them dancing together while Josiah (never far away when there is a camera out) "seranades" them with his guitar. The movie goes sideways for just a bit, but then straightens out. I'm still learning how to operate my camera ;)

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Blessings, Jackie

Friday, February 4, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 5 (Can Fats be Healthy?)

Yummy, healthy fats!

So my next question in this series is, can fats be healthy for you?

Again, it depends on what kind of fat. Even some saturated fats can be good for you and are even considered the new "super foods". Lets first discuss bad fats.

Bad Fats:
*Anything that isn’t found in nature (shortening, margarine or anything else hydrogenated).
*Safflower, Corn, Sunflower, Soybean, Cottonseed, canola oils: high in Omega 6 fatty acids. Should not use for cooking (frying or baking) especially – turn into trans fats when cooked.

Healthy Fats:
*The less refined, the better. Look for extra virgin, 1st cold pressed and raw when possible. Things that are expeller-pressed are less refined.
*Oils from nuts and seeds (flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower seed oil, etc) can be used in moderation. Don’t over-do because they are high in omega-6 fatty acids.
*Olive oil – best raw, high in antioxidants, should be cloudy and yellow. I like Bragg's brand the best. It is expensive, but the taste is phenomenal.  The yellow color indicates that the olives were ripe when pressed, meaning you'll get more nutrients out of it. If your olive oil tastes strong, it is because it is going rancid. It breaks down really quickly due to light exposure. Store your olive oil in a dark place when not using. 

Can saturated fats be good for you? 

Not all saturated fats are alike.

*Coconut oil – medium chain fatty acids that are easy to digest and sent straight to the liver when they are used as energy and not stored as fat deposits. Contains the least calories of all fats and can even promote weight loss, by increasing your body’s metabolism. Breastfeeding mothers can help their babies fight off viruses and germs (for themselves as well as their babies) by eating virgin coconut oil daily. Virgin coconut oil is anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-protozoal. Even fights yeast infections. Great to use as a skin moisturizer, too. Awesome to cook with. Less sensitive to heat. Doesn’t produce the trans fatty acids that become “free radicals” in the body and degenerate health from the cellular level. Even cold pressed olive oil becomes a trans fat when cooked. If you’re going to cook with it, I would use expeller pressed, it is flavorless and less expensive.

*Red Palm oil - (one tablespoon of red palm oil contains 10,000 IU of immunity boosting vitamin A which is enough to eliminate the risk of the common cold and the flu by 67%. It also contains powerful super antioxidants. It has tocotrienols is known to prevent cancer and stop the growth of existing cancer cells as well as prevent skin aging and damage from free radicals. Keeps the blood thin and free-flowing. It has palmolein, a compound that helps your liver break down sugar for energy before it can be stored as fat. (K.C. Hayes, Ph. D.). Even more stable for cooking than coconut oil. Excellent source of energy! This oil can be harder to find.

Note: can substitute coconut or palm oil straight across for any recipe calling for butter or shortening.

Animal fats, including butter – from healthy, free-range animals who are eating grass, organic is best because poisons are stored in animal fat. However, I'm not talking about the organic meat and dairy you get in the supermarket. More on that later. Butter from local free-range animals is high in Vitamin A which is easily absorbed and utilized in our bodies.

Note on Cholesterol: Mother’s milk is high in cholesterol because it is essential for growth and development. It is also need to produce variety of steroids that protect against cancer, heart disease and mental illness. 

The opening picture is of the fats I use most frequently. I mostly use olive oil for making my raw mayonnaise and ranch dressing. I use the coconut oil and butter for cooking. I'm trying to mostly use coconut oil, especially during the winter when the cows we get our milk/cream from are eating strictly hay and the butter isn't as soft or easy for us to digest. 

Hope you enjoy eating these wonderful fats in moderation, guilt-free. In the next post, I'll continue the discussion with some misc. items I've learned about including, legumes, salt, thickeners and even potatoes. So continue to stay tuned...

Blessings,
Jackie

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Getting The Most Out Of Your Food: Part 4 (Can Sugar be Healthy?)

Can any sugar be healthy for you? I just want you all to know that I have a sweet tooth. No, I take that back, I have sweet teeth. I love sugar! When I first started this journey to eating healthier, I was afraid I'd have to give up my sweets. Wasn't going to happen! I can tell you I don't eat any less sugar than I did 4 years ago, but I do eat different types of sugar. I believe sugar can be eaten in moderation and in its most natural state, in other words, unrefined.


 Nobody in our family has had a cavity since we switched to eating unrefined sugar in our home. Before we switched our diet, we were getting cavities about once a year. Does this mean we don't EVER eat refined sugar? No, when we go other places, we eat and enjoy it as a treat. I figure that if I don't keep it in my home where we eat 95% of the time, it won't kill us to enjoy special treats when we go to others houses or out to eat now and again.

I want to explain the Glycemic Index very briefly because I will be referring to it throughout this post. It is numerical index that ranks carbohydrates on their rate of how quickly they convert to glucose in the body. The higher the number, the more quickly the carbohydrates break down thus causing a spike in blood sugar. Not good for your body. This is what causes hyper activity in children and taxes our adrenal glands. For more info: www.Glycemicindex.com

I'm going to start with why refined sugars (white sugar, corn syrup) are bad for you. I know this is kind of depressing, but keep reading. It gets better!

*Like a drug -> been stripped to pure carbohydrate form
*Lowers immune system
*Body must borrow nutrients from your body (teeth and bones) in order to metabolize refined sugar. Enamel on teeth is affected.
*Body becomes more acid: Can result in arthritis, cancer, gout, gall stones and even yeast infections
*Increased body waste accumulation:
->Degenerating brain and nervous system because your brain chemistry is affected by sugar.
à Can cause high blood pressure: Too much sugar can thicken the blood, heart has to pump harder.
è    The little capillaries don’t get enough blood to them, which can also cause gum disease and cavities. 

What about fake sweeteners (Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, etc)?
 They can cause damage to the liver. When heated, they turn to formaldehyde in the body. 

What about Brown sugar? It is completely refined sugar with a little bit of molasses thrown back in.

Note: If you are going to use refined sugar, be sure to add plenty of protein and fiber (nuts, whole grains, eggs) to help counteract the affects of the sugar when your body tries to metabolize it.

But there is hope! Lets talk about Healthy Sugars: 


*Sucanat or Rapadura (pictured above) – unrefined dehydrated juice from sugar cane stalks (contains proteins, vitamins and fiber) –high on the glycemic index – fairly inexpensive
*Turbinado (sugar in the raw) – more refined, a lot of the good stuff (molasses) removed, but still better than pure white sugar. High on the glycemic index. Can be substituted straight across for white or brown sugar in recipes.
*Honey (pure) – full of good vitamins and minerals, especially when it is eaten raw. A good local raw honey is said to help with allergies. High on the glycemic index. Usually use a little less when substituting for white sugar. Be careful about buying it in the store because companies are adding corn syrup to honey to make it stretch and make honey less expensive.
*Maple syrup – Grade B is the least refined. Has lots of a good stuff in it. High on glycemic index. Expensive. Can get it at Costco for a pretty good price, I'm told.
*Slim Sweet – sugar from the Lo Han fruit – all natural – very low on the glycemic index. No weird after taste. Expensive, but doesn’t take much. No adverse affects on the teeth, so I use it in my tooth soap recipe.
*Stevia – all natural, low on the glycemic index, can have strong after taste. SweetLeaf isn’t too bad.
*Xylitol – Sugar alcohols, has documented dental benefits, medium on the glycemic index. Can be substituted one to one in recipes calling for sugar.
*Agave syrup – Extracted like corn syrup, so it is super-refined, however, unlike corn syrup, it is low on the glycemic index and if you get USDA certified organic, it shouldn’t be genetically modified. Tastes very similar to corn syrup and can be used in place of it in any recipe.
*Sugars from fruit are good, just avoid things sweetened with concentrated fruit juice. 

There are other natural sugars out there, but these are the ones I'm most familiar with. Between these options, there just about isn't anything you couldn't use an unrefined sugar for. 

I hope I've given hope to those of you out there who have sweet teeth like mine! Check out the labels section on my sidebar for healthy dessert recipes. I make them all with unrefined sugar. I'll be posting on fats next, so continue to stay tuned...

Happy Eating,
Jackie

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