Christmas Treats-Fare Trade style Round 2: PB&C Quesadilla!!

I think I've found a very satisfying(and healthier) replacement for my precious Reese's Eggs that I can no longer buy. Peanut butter and chocolate quesadilla!!! So yummy and it only takes a tiny bit of chopped fare trade chocolate!! Cheap and delish!! This would be a great option for something a little different at Christmas brunch or just the dessert table at a family gathering . So, here's the recipe...if you want to call it that.

PB&C Quesadilla

1 small flour tortilla

1 Tbsp. Peanut butter

2 tsp chopped fare trade chocolate(I used 70% dark)

a sprinkle of sugar(I just pinches some in my fingers and sprinkled it on top of the filling.)

Spread of the peanut butter, sprinkle of the fare trade chocolate and sugar. Fold it in half and place in hot, buttered(or sprayed) pan cook till golden brown, then flip and do the same to the other side.

Seriously delish. And there is really no need to measure each item, I just put those amounts to give you an idea of what I used.

Creative bonus:
 If you cut these into triangles and drizzle with a little bit of green icing, you've got Christmas trees! BAM!

If you haven't been reading recently and are wondering why I can no long buy Reese's Eggs, read this and this. I hope maybe you'll join me in this cause.

Merry Christmas!!

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Christmas treats-Chocolate free! Round 1

This is a recipe I've never actually made, but a lady at church made them. I loved them so much I posted a Facebook status in search of who made them. They were that good!! Thankfully, Keri Taylor replied saying that she had made said deliciousness. This is the recipe she shared with me. Be prepared, they might just bring tears of joy to your eyes....or maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but rest assured, they're GOOD!

Pecan Bars:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

3/4- 1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix sugars and eggs. Blend in butter. Add salt, flour, vanilla, and nuts. Blend well. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes in a lightly greased 9X13 pan. Cut bars while still warm. Store in a tightly sealed container.

Stay tuned for more non-chocolate recipes for Christmas treats!!

Merry Christmas,

Joy

Do you want slavery in your Christmas?

I've written a blog recently about My Break-Up with Chocolate. Well, here I go again!! I just can't get it out of my head and tiss the season to buy chocolate, so here is a friendly reminder. You see, at least 75% of chocolate manufactured in the world is connected with child slavery. Cocoa farmers on the West Coast of Africa have resorted to forced child labor because there has been a rise in demand for cheap cocoa. Thats where we come in. Who out here wouldn't be outraged if we went to pick up a Snickers bar and the price was $3.00, or the price of a bag of chocolate chips was $6.00. We as consumers have demanded cheap affordable chocolate. Something that isn't even a necessity. Chocolate is a luxury people, but for some reason, we think we are entitled to get it for cheap. Well, maybe we aren't paying the price, but someone is.The big names like Hershey and Nestle get their "cheap" cocoa at the price of children.  Children who end up living off small amounts of corn and bananas(the cheapest foods in that area), sleeping on hard floors with no access to clean water, no opportunity to go to school, being beaten if they aren't working fast enough. Oh, not to mention their work involves them climbing tall trees with machetes tied to them, and risking chopping off fingers or hands all so that we can have an inexpensive candy bar. Someone is paying the price for our inexpensive treats, but I for one have somehow lost my appetite...If you want to read more facts, read this. Here is a quote from this article though: This is a quote from a child who had been rescued from a cocoa farm  "when asked what he would tell the people who eat chocolate made from slave labor, he replied that the people enjoyed something that he suffered to make, adding: “When people eat chocolate they are eating my flesh.”

So, now that we know, how can we act? I want to give you a few practical ideas for taking a step away from supporting such an industry.

• Buy fare trade chocolate. I know its expensive, but do you really want to eat the other stuff now that you know the facts?
• As you plan your Christmas baking over the next few weeks, how can you reduce your use of chocolate? make more with caramel, nuts, coconut, peanut butter, etc. There are plenty of yummy treats to be made without the use of chocolate!!
• Before you buy candy for those stockings, make the decision to skip the chocolate and do handmade salted caramels that a friend of mine makes and will ship, fruity candy, dried fruits, apples, oranges, nuts, etc.
• If you still just have to make those chocolate chip cookies, instead of usuing a 12oz bag of hershey's chips, add some extra nuts or oats and just use a 3 oz bar of fare trade dark chocolate. Chop it small so you can get some in each bite! You'll pay about the same and you'll still have that hint of chocolate!
• I'm not saying don't eat chocolate period. But where you find you just can't find a replacement, pay for the fare trade stuff, its worth a few more dollars to keep from supporting child slavery isn't it?
• I'll post a blog soon with recipe ideas for holiday baking using smaller amounts of chocolate or none at all!!

Whats your favorite holiday treat that doesn't involve chocolate? Share it with us!!

I know this is heavy stuff, so I'll leave you with a picture of my little cutie to lighten the mood ;)

ps. If you like his hat, support a friend's adoption and order here. She can have it to you by Christmas!!

Baby Number 2!!! Guess I should change the name of the blog!

So, I feel like a major slacker on the matter of blogging about this pregnancy!! Oh well, here goes!

We found out about 6 weeks ago that we are having a little girl!! We are so very excited! Though, I would have been just as happy with another boy.( I kinda love my boy, a lot.) I cannot wait to meet our baby girl, see who she looks like and have her snuggle on my chest. Can Not Wait!

This pregnancy has had a lot of differences than the first! I actually had nausea this time around. With Isaiah, it was almost non existent! I seem to dream ALOT this time. Some mornings I wake up and feel like I never fell asleep! Believe it or not, I've had a lot more energy this time around! Maybe I just had to find it somewhere since I've been chasing around a 2 year old!! All in all though, I'm enjoying this pregnancy just as I did Isaiah's. It is pure blessing to get to carry this sweet little girl and have her grow inside of me. I have to remind myself to pay attention to this sweet time. There isn't as much free time this time around to ponder and think and enjoy having her safe inside of me, but what a blessing it is. It really is going by so fast!!

Everything checked out great at our anatomy ultrasound! She got everything she's supposed to. Her heart rate was almost exactly the same as Isaiah's was during that time 143. We all three loved getting to watch her squirm. During the first ultrasound at 10 weeks, Isaiah was watching and he held out his hand and said "hold you." Melted my heart!!

I've so enjoyed seeing Isaiah show love to his little sister! From the beginning of the pregnancy, he has understood that there is a baby in my belly. He would hold up his fingers as if measuring and say "bitty." One day, I was pouring myself a glass of water and I told him that the baby in my belly needs lots of water to stay healthy. He immediately lifted my shirt and held his sippy cup up to my belly. He loves to give her kisses and he's even tried to share his toys with her. Sometimes he just spontaneously runs to me and hugs my belly and says "me ug my sistew." He loves her already and his understanding of her existence has and continues to amaze me. I can't wait for them to meet!

One thing that I've really really slacked on is the belly shots! Woops!! What can I say, I'm Mommy to a very busy little boy! I'm going to try to do better from here on out!! Here's what I've taken so far though:

5 weeks! The day we found out!!

(in New York City)

15 weeks!!

19 week comparison!! Isaiah on the left, baby girl on the right!

The Break-up....WITH CHOCOLATE

  
Who here likes Reese's Eggs/pumpkins/trees? Personally, it my favorite candy. I used to buy packages of them and put them in the freezer to save for months after the holiday had passed. I haven't done that since I learned a disturbing bit LOAD of information concerning chocolate. I recently read a blog that brought back to mind just how unfair the chocolate industry is. Unfair to whom you ask? To hundreds of thousands of little children in West Africa, that's who. This Rage Against the Minivan: the inconvenient truth about your halloween chocol... is the blog that I just read. The writer does a great job of laying it out. She has more detail than I will probably remember to include here. Please take time to read her post! But I also would like to share my heart on this subject. 
  I've known about this issue for about a year and I've started almost only buying fair trade chocolate. It easy to forget when all the Holiday candy comes out and I see my favorite candies hit the shelf again, but are the yummiest of treats worth the exploitation of children? Worth them being taken away from their family, miss out on school, miss out on play and after all this, to get paid very very little or nothing at all? No way dude. As a person, how can my conscience allow this? More importantly, as a believer, how can I take part in this? By supporting such an industry with our money, we are in disobedience of Scripture. Let me share a few passages that come to mind:

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." Matthew 19:14

WILL WE BE LIKE THOSE WHO WERE KEEPING THE LITTLE CHILDREN FROM COMING TO SEE JESUS? IN SUPPORTING THOSE WHO FORCE THESE CHILDREN INTO LABOR, I BELIEVE WE ARE DOING SO MUCH DAMAGE.

 ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:42-46

WE NEED TO BE BRINGING FOOD, WATER, CLOTHES, THE GOSPEL TO THESE KIDS! NOT SUPPORTING THE COMPANIES THAT ARE HURTING THEM!

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Luke 6:31

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF IT WERE YOUR CHILD? WHAT MEASURES WOULD YOU TAKE TO STOP IT?

“One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Luke 16 :10

WE MIGHT SAY," BUT ITS JUST A LITTLE CHOCOLATE, ITS NO BIGGIE." IT SO IS. LETS BE FAITHFUL EVEN IN THE LITTLE THINGS, LIKE THE .50 REESE'S EGGS...

I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone, but I want for people to know what is going on. As believers, we have a responsibly to look out for the least of these. Think about where your money is going. Saving money on Halloween treat/stocking stuffers/Easter basket candy is not worth the price of a child. Any child. 

So, What can we do? well,  I'm breaking up with commercial chocolate. Even in baking. To me, its worth it to spend a little more on a fair trade product. To save money, I can cut back in my use  rather than buying the cheap stuff that was made at the hands of child laborers. Whole Foods has several great products that are Fair Trade. There are also many places you can get it online.  And here is a resource list of Ethical Halloween treats: http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/roadside-assistance-kristen-howerton/2012/10/12/ideas-for-an-ethical-halloween/#sjaaks-halloween-peanut-butter-bites

What are your thoughts on this issue? Did you know? Now that you know, whats next?