Seeds aren't just for the birds...

I have recently been learning about Psyllium Seeds and the great fiber benefits that come with them. You all know I love healthy doses of fiber so it's no surprise these caught my attention. Okay, just a quick reminder of why we love fiber:
*It helps lower your cholesterol
*It helps regulate blood sugar
*It keeps your colon healthy
*It makes you feel full faster so that you don't eat as much
*It can help you loose/maintain weight
*Fiber is your friend!

Some more fiber facts:
*You need 25-35 grams of total fiber every day.
*Insoluble fiber helps with colon health while soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol - BOTH are beneficial.
*Dietary fiber is found in WHOLE grain products, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes.

Why Psyllium seeds? Because for 1Tablespoon of ground seeds you get 6, yes, SIX grams of fiber with 5, F-I-V-E, amazing grams of soluble fiber. That is huge! And, the best part of these seeds is that they can pretty much be incorporated into anything you currently eat. Throw some on your salad, in soup, cereal, sauce, baked goods, smoothies, yogurt, you name it! I made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and threw in a couple of tablespoons of psyllium seeds for a little extra crunch and a whole lot of fiber. Delicious!

Let me know what you choose to do with them! Enjoy!

****As with all fiber posts, there is a disclaimer...When increasing fiber, you MUST increase your fluid intake too otherwise you will find yourself feeling VERY uncomfortable! :-)

Fort Murray

You know a four-year-old boy lives in your house when all of the bed pillows and blankets are in the living room draped over the kitchen table chairs with couch cushions serving as doors and windows. Building forts is hard work - Daddy is inside the fort asleep. Seriously... I'm not kidding.

The Ultimate Hand-Me-Down

I have been so fortunate with both of my babies to receive boxes and boxes of adorable clothes from my sister (thank you for dressing Ava) and my sister-in-law (thank you for dressing Jey). This adorable dress, however, was a hand-me-down from my mom. This dress she used for her baby girl (my sister, Becca), and while I'm sure my niece wore it; it was originally Becca's dress. Ava says, "Thank you Aunt BeBe for letting me borrow your dress!"

Baby Blues

This picture speaks for itself. I don't have anything really to say about this picture, I just couldn't resist those Baby Blues!

Watch Me Grow

Matt and I do not pretend to know anything about gardening, but we have a lot of fun doing it! We started a garden a few years ago, just planting something to see if it would grow...and it did! So the next year we tried a couple of more things, and a few more things the next and so on. This year we decided to expand the garden and we have a PLAN. That's right a garden plan to increase our yeild (thank you to the Master Gardner, Gaylord, for your very informative presentation!). So far we have beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, lettuce, and brussel sprouts in the ground. Once it gets a little warmer, we'll plant something else. This year is the first year Jeremiah has been super excited about the whole thing. He can't wait to dig in the dirt, plant seeds, and spray it down with water. Here are a few pics from our planting adventure and the frist signs of our beautiful bounty.

This is one of our original plants - Strawberries! Each year they produce a little more than the year before. Matt and Jey have really high hopes for all of the yummy strawberries and therefore don't have the heart to pull them even though they are taking up HALF of the small garden space we have! :-)

Radishes are a comin'! And Jeremiah is excited!?!

Jeremiah is very busy in the garden but manages to pose for a picture.

Jey is diggin' for worms. He tells me I NEED them in my dirt to make my garden healthy. Is he a Master Gardner?

Crazy About Cupcakes!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cupcakes! Thank you to my wonderful Momma for this fun new cookbook titled "Crazy About Cupcakes" (and the fun little cupcake tote). This is my first of MANY new cupcake recipes - Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. Can you say, YUM! :-)

I'm "researching" (and when I say research, I mean bake) some yummy cupcake flavors for a certain little girl's first birthday coming up!

Stay tuned!