here I go

I've never written much for public consumption, and honestly, the thought of it is a bit daunting. But, the fact that this is only going to be seen by friends and family helps a bit. I'm not sure where to start, but this is as good of a place as any... So then, here I go. This is my new blog for my family and friends to keep track of what we are doing, playing, eating, reading, thinking, feeling.......well, everything I guess. There will be new recipes, good ideas, fun crafts, and as always--random rants, but it's my blog, I can do whatever I want. Let's get this started. Today I had a new idea for juice. Maybe for some families, juice isn't that big of a deal, but in ours it is. We can only have it when Our blood sugar is low (and sometimes on special occasions). As always in life, when you can't have something, the want for it becomes almost unbearable. This desire for juice has lead us to search out suitable replacements for it's thirst quenching sweetness. We have tried "juice" in pouches, juice in boxes, powdered juice mix in packets, straws and tiny tubs. The best one we have found is Minute Maid juice falls, it is flavored water in a pouch. It says it is real juice, but has no carbs or calories (I use the term loosely, it probably has a few--but if you know me, I don't get stuck on all details, just the ones I think are important) This was a great option for us, until the girls started drinking them by the case, and the cost was adding up. So today I remembered an article I had read (or something, my point is, is isn't my original thought) the idea was to make caffeine free herbal tea, the flavored kind, and then add a bit of juice concentrate and water, so it was wet and sweet, but actually good for you, and didn't leave the kids skipping among the tree tops from the sugar high. I picked a couple of teas at Safeway, Celestial Seasoning were on sale, and they had lots of neat choices. I picked a raspberry and a peach. When we got home I boiled a kettle of water with 3 of the raspberry tea bags, to make a pretty strong tea, I let it cool, then put it in a pitcher with 1/4 can of apple juice concentrate and 4 packets of stevia (a natural sweetener, that is carb and calorie free), then I filled the pitcher up with water. The new "juice" was a pretty berry color and tasted great, also it had minimal calories and less than 4 carbs per 1 cup serving. Yay me!!!! I can't wait to try the peach orange combo next, maybe I'll even make fuzzy navel Popsicles this summer. With so many herbal teas and juice choices, the combinations are endless, and I feel like this is a much more budget friendly and diet friendly option for my family. So, even though I was able to relax most of the day (I was hiding under a blanket on the couch) I still feel like I was doing good things, so all in all, a passable day. Tomorrow, when My back up is back at work, I won't be able to hide, so we'll see how that goes.