Homemade Rice Milk

So, it has been about a month since I last blogged, and those of you who actually follow my blog are probably wondering what's up. Well, our summer has just been cram packed with fun stuff, so I have had NO time to even think about writing. We have been to church camp, three Vacation Bible Schools, a self defense lesson every week, swimming with lots of different friends, and so much more that I can't even remember it all! It has been a summer unlike any other. Normally, we do school during the summer months, because there just isn't much else for us to do, and it is entirely too hot in the Deep South to do anything outside. But this summer, we have not stopped or even slowed down! School has been the last thing on anyone's mind around here. I say that just to say, that's where I've been! RUNNING!

But I wanted to stop for a minute and share a recipe I tried today. A few years ago, I had terrible tummy troubles - pain all the time. I FINALLY narrowed it down to two things - meat and the protein found in milk. So I have given up most meat, and I now buy milk alternatives, such as rice milk and almond milk. Well, a few nights ago, if finally hit me (as my poor Little Man was almost in tears because of tummy pains) that Little Man is probably having the same milk protein allergy that I have. What that meant to me was $$$$$$. Buying commercial rice or almond milk for me isn't too bad. I only have it occasionally on cereal, but I don't really drink a lot of it. But Little Man, on the other hand, has milk on his cereal and every night as a bedtime snack. So he like a LOT of milk! So my first thought was of an idea I had awhile back but never really put into action - make my own rice milk!! The Internet is loaded with recipes (mostly the same recipe over and over) to make your own rice milk. So I looked up the recipe on Vegan Reader, and Little Man and I went to work this morning. Here is the recipe I used.

Ingredients and Supplies:
1 cup uncooked organic long grain brown rice
8 cups water for cooking
More water for diluting
1 teaspoon salt
Glass mason jars for storage
A Blender
Mesh strainer

Directions
Thoroughly wash the rice.
Put 8 cups of water in a big pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Pour in the rice.
Cover the pot and lower the heat to let the water simmer.
Cook for 3 hours.

You will end up with something that looks a bit like a soupy rice pudding. Add the salt.
In batches, fill your blender halfway with the rice mixture and halfway with water. Blend until very smooth. Strain twice through a fine mesh strainer into a mason jar. Continue on with the rest of the milk until you’re finished, filling jars and screwing the lids on good and tight.

Even with the extra water, the homemade rice milk ends up thicker than the product you might be used to if you’ve always purchased Rice Dream Rice Milk. It’s more like rice cream! You may want to dilute it further at the time of serving it. Just add a bit more water until it’s the desired consistency.

Little Man and I decided this would taste really good with some vanilla, cinnamon, and sweetener. We added Stevia (because it has no glycemic index and won't raise his blood sugar) and some Agave Nectar. We added some of each and did a taste test. It needed a little more sweetener, and when we tasted it again, it was just right. (Commercial rice milk has added sweetener, too.)

This recipe would have made 4 quarts, except for the fact that Little Man wanted to eat some of the rice "pudding" that was left in the pot. So some of it went to him, instead of being turned into milk. The 3 quarts that we do have are a little thicker consistency than regular milk or even commercial rice milk, so as we use it, I will probably add a little water to get it to the consistency I want. Which means, I will probably still end up with an entire gallon of homemade rice milk.

It's important here to note that the only cost of homemade rice milk is the cost for a cup of rice, which will run between twenty cents and fifty cents. And then there is the very small cost of your flavorings and sweetener. The cost of commercial rice milk is roughly $3.00 for a half gallon. So I saved a grand total of about $5.50. Now, that doesn't seem like much at first glance. But, think about this. I buy about a gallon of milk every week, because Little Man and his sisters drink a LOT of milk. There are 52 weeks in a year. A gallon of regular milk costs roughly $3.50, depending on where you buy. So if I make my own rice milk, I will be saving about $170 a year!! Now THAT looks like a lot! And that's just comparing swapping regular milk for homemade rice milk. What if we're figuring swapping store bought rice milk for homemade rice milk? Well, my savings then would be closer to $300! WOW! But what if my girls don't like rice milk? Then I just buy half a gallon of regular milk for them and make rice milk for Little Man and myself. My savings will still be BIG! And since he is going to be drinking it with me now, I just can't afford the commercially prepared rice milk for the both of us. BINGO! Making my own saves me a trip to the store anyways!

Here is our finished product. It tastes really good! We will be using this on our cereal or just as a glass of milk. It doesn't taste like cow milk, so if you try it, don't expect it to taste the same. It is fantastic as chocolate milk, too! It can be used in any recipe that calls for milk. If you want a nice, rich, creamy consistency, just don't add any extra water. If it's a little too thick for you (like in my cereal!!), just dilute it until you get the consistency you want. I hope you'll give this recipe a try! We really had fun making it, and we are REALLY going to enjoy drinking it!!

Seasons of Life

Later today, Britches, Little Man, Little Sister, and I will be leaving out to make our way to 4th and 5th grade church camp. My children are thrilled to be going this year, because this will be a first for them. I'm really excited about all the things I know they will learn while they're there, and I'm also excited about the new kids I'll get to meet and have a chance to pour the love of Jesus into their lives! Departure time can't get here soon enough! But that hasn't always been the case.

Ever since my kids were very small, there are only a handful of people who have ever kept them - mostly grandparents. Brient and I have never been ones to drop our kids just anywhere and leave them. There are just too many crazy people in the world, and I just don't trust anybody. I have always said, "My kids will NEVER go to church camp! I don't know the people who will be working it, so I don't know what they will be taught, if they will be looked after well, or even if they will end up being mistreated." That was it. Done deal. They were never going.

At this point, you may be thinking, "Wow, she's really overprotective of her kids." My answer to you is this - YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!! God put Brient and me in charge of them, and it is our greatest responsibility to do the best job possible. And it's not like I'm just making up crazy things that could never happen. I have heard too many times of people, in the church, who have been put in prison for child molestation. Just a few short years back, the Catholic church was put under hard scrutiny, because of priests that were taking advantage of young boys. There are crazy people out there, and they can and will make their way into churches. People think everything is fine, until, one day, you hear from a friend that their child has been abducted or abused by this "good Christian man/woman" that everyone in the church really liked. Enough said.

As my children have grown a bit older, we have taught them that there are people in the world who are not good. We have taught them, on our own terms, what to do if "whatever" happens. We have TAUGHT them! We have not just thrown them out there to the wolves to be eaten alive. They have aged, they have grown in maturity, and the seasons have changed. No longer are my kids small children who are completely helpless. But now they have a voice, and they know the "rules" to keep themselves as safe as possible.

One other thing that makes a difference is the fact that I am going with them. I am not "sending" my kids to camp, but I am "taking" them. We will be there together, and I will have an eye on them at all times while they are having fun and playing with new friends. Also, I know most of the people who will be at the camp with us. We have been going to our church for a little over a year now, and we have formed some very good friendships with the people there. And I don't mean just a "Hi, how are you" kind of friendship. I mean the kind where you hang out together often, you call on the phone, you eat together, and visit at each others' house. Most of the people going with us are people that I completely trust! Which means, even if my eyes aren't on all of my kids, someone that I know and trust WILL have their eye on them!

There are different seasons in your life and in your kids lives. In the beginning, it is your job to protect them at all costs. As they get older, and as the seasons of life change, they gain more freedom and more responsibility. It's still your job to watch out for them, but in a different way. It becomes your job to "teach" them the things they need to know to look out for themselves. And when the seasons of life change, and you begin to let your kids do things you didn't once let them do, it doesn't mean you are a bad parent or going back on your word or whatever. Times change. It's OK to change your mind!

So just because I once said "My kids will never go to camp," that doesn't mean I'm bad now for letting them. Things change, circumstances change, and I changed my mind! And that's OK!

So in a few hours, we will be leaving to go to camp. And I can't wait!! This is going to be a fantastic four days! I'm glad the seasons have changed.

Prayers from a Child

All this week, my kids have been involved in a Vacation Bible School at our previous church. During that time, they have learned more about God, His love, His faithfulness, and LOTS more! It has been the busiest of weeks, but WELL worth it! During this time, my sweet honey has been out of town on business. So yesterday, when he got home, we were THRILLED! He didn't get home until late last night, but, hey, he made it! Since we had to leave early this morning to head to our final day of VBS, we didn't even get to see him this morning. Soooo...

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I called Brient to see where he was and see if he'd like to meet us at our local mall for lunch. Within a few minutes, we were all enjoying some very delicious Chick-fil-A together. It was a very nice time with our daddy person!

Afterward, to my complete surprise and amazement, my Little Man asked if we could go do some looking around. Britches and I both looked at him and said, "You mean SHOPPING!? You want to go SHOPPING!?" My Little Man NEVER wants to go shopping - EVER. Well, I finally got it out of him that he wanted to go to GameStop to look at some video games. Brient said he was up for taking him, so I figured, while they were looking in the "boy" store, we girls would head across the aisle to Bath and Body Works to smell some yummy things there!

While we were in Bath and Body Works, I noticed the sign for 75% off of everything on this particular table. When I looked, it was several different scents of hand soap. If you have ever shopped at this store, you probably know that their hand soap is CRAZY OUTRAGEOUS! It's $4.50 for a bottle. I can buy a HUGE bottle of hand soap at the grocery store for that price. But when I calculated 75% off of that price, it came to $1.12!! Oh my gosh! I love their scents, and that was a GREAT price for it, so I bought 6 bottles. Britches was really excited.

After we left that store, we headed down to Sears to look at their clearance treadmills. Yep, I found a new one on clearance!! It's a HUGE upgrade from what I already had! As Brient was paying, I took the kids to look around, mainly to get them out of the way and occupy them for awhile. They sat on all the different patio furniture and looked in all the small storage units. They looked through all the toys, too. Pretty soon, Brient walked up and told us we could head home, because, since he was in his own truck, he was about to go let them load up the new treadmill, and then he'd meet us at home. YEAH!! We headed out. But we did go the long way to get back to the vehicle, and when we got there, I saw that Brient's truck was already gone. He had left before we ever made it outside.

About half way home, too far to turn around and go back, it occurred to me that I didn't remember putting my bag of soaps in the van when we loaded up to come home. Ugh! I thought back, and I realized that I had left the bag in one of the patio furniture chairs that we had been looking at in Sears. I was quite irritated, to say the least! Britches kept asking me questions about it, like how we were going to get it back and wouldn't someone call us. I finally told her to just stop talking about it, because I was just going to get aggravated thinking about it. It was gone, I left it, somebody probably already picked it up, so DROP IT! So she sat there quiet for a long time.

When we were nearly home, I asked her, "Are you OK?" She said she was. She was just "thinking". "About what?" I asked her. "You told me not to talk about it." I knew she was still worrying over $7 worth of soap, so I promised her that, when we got home, I'd call the store and see if anyone had turned it in. That was all we could do, and it probably wouldn't be there, but I would call.

I was on the last road before our house when Brient called me. I knew he left before us, so I figured he was home wondering how much longer until I got there to help him with that new treadmill. After I told him I was almost home, he said, "It's fine. I'm still at the mall. They forgot to give me something, and I had to go back in and talk to them and wait for them to get it. So I'm just now leaving." "STOP! Go back in!! Go get my bag of soap!!" I told him what happened, and, all the while, Britches was sitting in her seat all but jumping up and down with excitement. It was soap, for cryin' out loud. Why was she so excited? Brient went back in, and, would you believe, my bag was still there! No one had taken it. It was right where I left it! He got it, and started for home.

After I hung up with him, I told her what had happened, and about what caused him to still be at the mall. She said, "Mama, I PRAYED that God would help us get it back! I PRAYED that daddy would forget something and have to go back, so he could get our bag! Mama, God answered my prayer!! And QUICKLY!" WOW!

It is always amazing to me when I can actually SEE God work. But for Him to SHOW Himself to my Britches like that was more amazing that I could have imagined. After this long week of learning about how God takes care of us and how we can ask Him to help us, she was able to SEE Him do something that she asked of Him. Totally COOL!!

Thank you, God, for the mighty ways, and the small ways, that you show Yourself to us!

Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Produce is coming in everywhere right now in my neck of the woods. All kinds of fantastic veggies and fruits to enjoy fresh out of the garden. My mother-in-law was gracious enough to share LOTS of tomatoes with me, and they are delicious! So I was trying to think of a good way to use them. In the summer, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a good tomato sandwich! Just put some mayo on bread and load it up with fresh tomatoes! But I wanted to find a different way to make my sandwich, because I wanted it healthier and a different taste. This is what I came up with!

I started with a ripe avocado that I bought at the grocery store.

I peeled it and took out the pit. Then I mashed it up really well with a fork.

Next, I took a couple of those yummy tomatoes that were fresh from my mother-in-laws garden. They looked GREAT!

I sliced them in thick slices. When I make a tomato sandwich, I like to be able to get a nice, thick bite, so I can taste it really well!

Then, I spread half of the avocado on each side of my whole wheat bread. 

I loaded the tomatoes onto the avocado.

Then, I put it all together to make a fantastic tasting summer sandwich! 

This sandwich was so absolutely delicious! And it was a great was to use some of that fresh-from-the-garden produce! But it wasn't only tasty. It was a very healthy meal.

New Things

This is my year for change - for doing things I've never done before or even cared to do. I have a running list going, because, at the end of this year, I want to look back and see all the things I have accomplished. I want to be able to SEE that I haven't wasted a moment of time. I have become very tired of monotony. I want EXCITEMENT! I want to be out making memories and living life!

So far, this is what I have on my list. At the first of the year, I bought a treadmill and started walking and running several days a week, because I wanted to get my heart in shape and build up my stamina for all the exciting things I had in my mind to do. A few months ago, I was on the news talking about how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be affecting vacation plans for people locally. Brient and I made the decision to join in our homeschool co-op this fall for the school year, and I even signed up to teach 3 classes. While on vacation last month, I faced LOTS of my fears head on. We went spelunking (caving), and I had to face my fear of heights as well as claustrophobia. That cave was DEEP and narrow and dark and - well, you get the idea. A few weeks ago, our church had its annual Singspiration, and I played my mandolin and sang. It was the first time in YEARS that I have played and sung in front of anyone! And about 2 weeks ago, I took a chance and sent in an article to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for consideration, and they immediately wrote back and said they loved my article and wanted to publish it. WOW! And we're only about half way into the year!

Last week, I decided to add something else to my list. There was a 5K run scheduled for Saturday in town, and it was to benefit the Shelby's Wish foundation. This group provides funds to local hospitals to make improvements to the pediatric floors by way of adding a play room for hospitalized children, and it also provides a stuffed bear for each child that is admitted to the hospital. It was founded in memory of a little girl, Shelby, who died at the age of 8. It is a great organization. So, I decided to enter the race. This would be my first 5K, and I was super excited! But I didn't want to do it alone, so I asked my mom to join me. The race was so much fun! It was in the evening, and after the sun went behind the trees, the breeze began to blow and the night was just beautiful. I will admit, I didn't even come close to running the whole thing! I am lucky if I can run an entire mile without stopping, let alone 5K. But we finished, and we had a great time!

After all the fun of that evening, I just couldn't stop thinking about it and wishing I could get out there and run again! And then, a very sweet friend told me about another run this weekend. YAY! I was so excited about getting out there again, I could hardly wait.

So this morning, bright and early, I was up in town getting ready to run my second 5K. Let me just say, I was very misled to think that, by running at 8:00 in the morning, it wouldn't be too hot. In the Deep South, it's hot even at that time!! This race was to benefit the Jake Owen Raborn foundation. It was started in memory of a boy who died of a rare childhood cancer, and the money that this group raises goes to give financial and emotional support to families dealing with pediatric cancer. (I have to tell you, I have watched the physical, mental, emotional, and financial effects of adult cancer, and it's not fun! No child or their family should ever have to deal with that!) And so, when the race started at 8:00, I was ready to go! It was for a good cause, and I was ready for more fun!

This race was much harder than the first one I did last week. The sun was pounding down, and there was only a little shade. However, even in the heat, I managed to shave 5 whole minutes off of my average time. Usually, on my treadmill, it takes me about 45 minutes to walk and run 3 miles. And today, it only took me 40 minutes!! (Now, for those of you who can do it in a lot less time, just don't tell me!) By the time the race was over, I was drenched and I felt like I was about to pass out! But I went into Smoothie King, and picked up my free small smoothie that they were giving away to all race contestants. They gave out strawberry banana, and it was fantastic!! That really helped perk me back up and get me going. After the prizes were handed out, none of which went to me, I headed for home. It was a great race.

Just to give you a little background history here, I have never EVER liked to run! EVER! And I really HATE to sweat! Those 2 things are what caused me to get into the poor shape I was in. Now for those of you who know me personally, you would probably say something like, "You're not overweight." But being overweight and being out of shape are 2 totally different things. I have always eaten pretty healthy, and so I have never been very big. But by living a sedentary lifestyle in the air conditioning, I had allowed my heart and lungs to get so weak that I could barely go shopping without having to take several breaks. I would just get so tired, I would need to go home and take a nap. I had no stamina at all! And that was frustrating to me, because there were things I wanted to do, but I knew I couldn't because it would make me too tired. I'd like to take my kids to Disney World one day, but I always knew it would be a waste of money. I'd spend most of the time in the hotel napping, because I would be too worn out to do any more. And I was completely tired of living like that. Which is why I bought my treadmill in January. And for the first few weeks of walking and running on it, I was completely worn out! But after I kept up with it for awhile, I could feel myself getting stronger. I could tell my heart and lungs were getting in shape. And when we went on vacation last month, I was able to out walk Brient and the kids!!! YAY! And much to my surprise, I actually enjoy walking and running and getting sweaty and stinky! It feels yuck at the time, but I know I'm going to be able to clean up right after I'm done. So I have come to a point now where I love to run! I look forward to it, and I'm disappointed if I don't have time to get in a run. Crazy!

So all in all, this year has been pretty great. I have done LOTS of things that I have never done before, and even some things that I didn't really think I liked. But turns out, I tried it, and I really DO like running! So come September, I'll be running in The Race for the Cure 5K! And I can't wait!! (No, there is no way I'm running any more races before September. Summers in the Deep South are BRUTAL! I'm waiting on cooler weather!)