Morning/All Day sickness

Believe it or not, it actually makes me sick to read right now.  I can't read a book for more than a couple of paragraphs at a time.  This is KILLING me as I usually read ALL THE TIME!  Can't read blogs all in one sitting (unless they are short).  Going to have to take a break in the middle of this blog probably to finish it, or I will just cut it short.

So, to deal with my morning/all day sickness, I have been eating every hour or two, eating protein, wearing Sea Bands and avoiding too much reading or riding in cars.  Fun huh?  Most of the day I feel ok enough to go out and about in this world for short periods of time.  Come 4:00 or 5:00 pm though, I am all but housebound.  I get so sick.  Ugh!

As many of my friends and family have said to me on multiple occassions.  I DO know that having morning sickness is a good sign.  I KNOW this...but that knowledge doesn't always help in the throes of nausea and vomiting.

It IS getting better, I am not just horrifically sick ALL day like a was a couple of weeks ago.  I am hoping this is a good sign and I will be rid of this by the end of my first tri-mester.  Wish me luck!

I'm PREGNANT!!

I am 10 weeks pregnant!  We were trying to wait until 12 weeks to announce, but alas, my belly just will not cooperate!  I am showing already and my morning/all day sickness is HORRENDOUS.  My due date is May 18.

I have to admit, I am not only elated with the news of our new little one, I am terrified as well.  As many of you know, my son Daniel was still born in January of this year.  Most all women have at least some level of anxiety with pregnancy...it's normal.  My anxiety level, at times, is off the charts.  God has given me much peace about this pregnancy...however I am still human and sometimes scared to death.

I will be posting belly pictures soon, for those who are interested.  I would venture to say that many of my posts for the next several months will be about pregnancy, so I hope I don't annoy any of you!  ; )

I am starting to see a little, very small and faint light at the end of the morning sickness tunnel.  Now, I am usually only sick from about 4:00pm til I go to sleep.  I have nausea all day, but not the kind where I am afraid to leave the house, not until late afternoon anyway.  I am hoping my morning sickness will not last much past the first trimester.  PLEASE!?!?!?!!?

I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks to ensure that the pregnancy is only a singleton (as originally with Daniel I was pregnant with twins until about week 9).  The ultrasound showed only one little heartbeat, so that's good.  Not that I wouldn't want twins, but this pregnancy is high risk enough without the addition of another "bundle of joy". 

I am excited for the weeks and months to come and invite you (when and if you want) to join in my joy, fear and pregnancy brain mishaps!  Here goes nothing!

Homemade chicken broth: Why and How?

Homemade chicken broth.  Why in the  world would someone want to make homemade chicken broth when it only costs me about $3.50 for 32oz. of the stuff at the store?  And doesn't it take FOREVER to make?  Well, I am glad you asked.  If you are anything like me, you want to know WHY first.  Without the WHY,  the how is irrelevant right?

Well, the reason I make my own chicken broth is the same reason I make most all of my food from scratch:  it's healthier and cheaper.  No deep philosophical reason...just plain and simple.

Here's a breakdown of the WHY:

Here is a list of ingredients in Swanson's "No MSG" Chicken Broth:  

Chicken Stock, contains Less than 2% of: Salt, Flavoring*, Dextrose, Autolyzed Yeast Extract*, Celery Juice Concentrate, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Onion Juice Concentrate.

*For those of you who don't know...there is MSG in Autolyzed Yeast Extract and possibly in the "Flavoring" as the FDA does not require the disclosure of what constitutes "Flavoring".  They can put a certain amount of MSG in the flavoring category and still label it "No MSG", I'm not making this up!!

Here is a list of ingredients in my homemade chicken broth:

chicken

water

salt

celery

onion

garlic

carrot

apple cider vinegar

As I mentioned earlier, the cost of Swanson's 32oz. chicken broth is about $3.50 (on average).  My recipe will provide approx. 6 quarts of chicken broth and enough cooked chicken for about 3 dinners.  Average  cost of 32oz of my chicken broth is $.75 not including the cost savings of the chicken meat.  If we were to factor in the meat cost savings (compared with boneless skinless chicken breasts) the broth is all but free. 

It's simple to make...I make mine overnight while I am sleeping (doesn't get much easier than that).  

Here is the recipe I use:

In your largest stock pot, put in 1 whole chicken, a couple carrots roughly chopped, 1 onion roughly chopped, 2 celery stalks roughly chopped, a couple garlic cloves chopped in half, 2 tablespoons of apple cinder vinegar.  Then fill the rest of the pot up with water.  Bring all this to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (covered).  Let simmer for 8-12 hours.  (Here is where I go to bed for the night).  (In the morning I...)Take out the chicken and remove the veggies with a large slotted spoon.  Bring the liquid back to a rolling boil for about 1 hour uncovered (this will reduce the stock and give it more flavor).  Let cool.  Add salt to taste.  Pour the liquid through a strainer into canning jars (only the wide mouth jars as we will be freezing them).  Leave 1 inch head space.  Put the lids on and put in your freezer.  Voila!!

This was one of the first "old school" recipes I ever made due to it's simplicity, health benefits and cost savings.  In my opinion it's well worth the time and effort.  

**Disclaimer** Regardless of how "reduced" the sodium in a store bought chicken broth, you will be surprised to note how much salt you will have to add to your broth or dishes made with the homemade chicken broth to make it taste like that which you are accustomed.  It was definitely a shock for me!!

Have you ever made your own chicken stock?  If so...was it worth it?  Did it turn out like you thought it would?