Camping food at it's best

So we love camping!  I jokingly say my hubby lucked out that his wife enjoys roughing it and everything that goes with it.  We have food allergies so prepping for any trip requires some amount of thinking ahead.  For this 4 day trip we have some premade things but mostly homemade stuff.  So today is food prep day.  Yesterday, I cleaned the house for the dog sitters, packed our clothing, and played with the boys.

Here's our list:

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with veggies and cheese

Banana Muffins (see Elana's Pantry recipe for Paleo Banana Muffins...I use honey)

Applegate Farms Chicken and Maple Breakfast Sausage

Milk (organic whole milk and Almond Milk)

veggie smoothies

Lunch

Spicy Black bean salad
Salsa
Avocado
Tortilla chips

raw veggies

veggie dip (see recipe below)

Uncured Beef Hot Dogs (Applegate Farms)

Supper

raw veggies

taco meat
Homemade salsa
Avocados
Black bean salad

organic corn chips (for the Superheroes)

Tillamook Cheddar Cheese

Hamburgers

Hot dogs from above

Snacks

70% Cacao Organic Dark Chocolate

Organic Apples

Organic Oranges

Organic grapes

Sunflower Seed Butter Blondies (Elana's Pantry...I use 1/2 maple syrup and 1/2 honey for this recipe instead of the agave nectar)

Now...for the recipes!!!

Veggie Dip

8 ounces organic full fat sour cream

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 TBSP dried dill

1 TBSP dried parsley

Mix above ingredients and enjoy!

Hamburgers with Feta (Thanks to our friend Jana for this recipe...with some minor additions)

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

3/4 cup crumbled feta

3/4 cup finely chopped spinach

1 TBSP fresh minced basil

1 TBSP fresh minced garlic

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/3 cup finely minced red bell pepper

1 tsp. sea salt

Mix above ingredients and fry on griddle.  Sooo good!  Enjoy!

Reinventing Leftovers

I have a Love-Hate relationship with leftovers.  I love the fact that it means I don't have to cook as much.  I hate the fact that it's the same old thing over and over.  So sometimes I need to spice things up and make ways to stretch the meal into several different meals.  I can freeze the leftovers or recreate them into a totally different meal.

A few weeks ago I made spaghetti sauce when Handsome Hubby went hunting.  Yesterday, I thawed it out while my parents were visiting and we had it for supper.  My mom couldn't believe how fast I prepped the meal.  She asked where the sauce came from.  We served it over mung bean fettuccine (as option 1) or some sauteéd zucchini (made with olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning).

Today, I gave my Superheroes the option of more spaghetti (they had eaten it for lunch) or bread sticks with the sauce.  They chose bread sticks.  I stumbled on this recipe at Multiply Delicious one day on Facebook.  It has become a favorite of ours.  My now 5 year old Superhero is bringing it to school tomorrow for his lunch.  I often wonder what the other kid's lunches look like and if he's bothered by it.      He did ask for fruit snacks today but I told him I'd give him some chocolate chips instead.  He was satisfied with that.

Tomorrow, the sauce will be reinvented again into pizza or I'll thaw out something else since we used it up tonight.  Perhaps it's time for that tilapia that's sitting in the freezer.  We shall see what I come up with.  It seems like tilapia and roasted asparagus will be the winner.  Enjoy!

You Can Make This Everyday Mom

So when my almost 5 year old says "You can make this everyday Mom" I know it's a hit.  Tonight I used some of the spaghetti sauce from Saturday's cooking extravaganza to make pizza.  I thawed some out and decided to try making a cauliflower crust.  I've been reading about them for awhile and was curious.  I perused several on Pinterest and decided on this one for no particular reason other than I know some people that had tried it too.  The blog is Eat.Drink.Smile and she focuses on real whole food recipes.

I followed her instructions almost to the word.  Just doubled it to feed our growing boys and used 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 parmesan in the recipe.  After baking for 15 minutes I topped with sauce and toppings (black olives, pepperocini, roasted bell peppers, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese).  I baked it a bit more we were ready to eat.

Superhero #2 chose the deconstructed pizza since he has an aversion to sauce these days.  He ate cheese, pepperoni (uncured), and some veggies and milk.  Superhero #1 said I could make it everyday. I asked my Handsome Hubby if he could figure out what kind of "flour" I used for the crust and he was stumped.  You can't tell it's cauliflower.  Trust me.  I don't like cooked cauliflower.  We all devoured it.

There are about 6 square pieces left in the fridge.  I packed 2 for Superhero  #1's lunch tomorrow.  The preschool classmates won't even know that it's not your average pizza and it's safe to bring to a school with nut allergies.

The only drawback I would say is that we had to take our LACTAID pill before eating because of our lactose intolerance.  I loved the flavor but even with the pill in my stomach working I could feel that I'd had too much dairy.  So next time I might try a recipe I found that follows the same path but does use a bit of almond flour as well.  In case you're curious...that recipe is found here at the blog Love and Lemons. 

Later this week I hope to post my latest craftiness project.  I desperately needed to patch the knees of my outdoor Superheroes pants so I decided to have fun with it and make various vehicles on each knee.  That will come later with pics.  Right now they're washing.  Enjoy the pizza and let me know what you think if you try it.

Not Your Lazy Saturday

Sometimes we have lazy Saturdays.  We don't have any commitments.  We play at home, do yard work, stay caught up on laundry, etcetera.  This was not your lazy Saturday.  My feet hit the floor running at 6:30 a.m. and stopped moving at 9:40 p.m.  I literally did not sit down for a single meal.  I do not recommend this for anyone.  Especially a heart attack survivor who is supposed to be "managing stress".  However, life is life.  Sometimes you find yourself packing it in.

I woke up this morning to my sweet Superhero #2 calling for me.  So we played a little on his car mat with him explaining types of cars to me while the oven heated.  Next, he helped me make two new muffin creations using coconut flour.  I have to admit, coconut flour has not been my favorite flour of choice.  So if you're like me and don't like the texture of coconut baked goods, you may want to consider these recipes.  I made pineapple-coconut muffins and mini blueberry muffins with my boy.  They were so good and everyone devoured them as soon as they cooled.  The pineapple ones reminded me of pineapple upside down cake.  Both were from two of my favorite food blogs on whole food eating...Elana's Pantry had the blueberry muffins and The Nourishing Home had the Pineapple-Coconut muffins.

I did adapt both recipes some.  With the blueberry muffins I used melted coconut oil and grade b maple syrup instead of the grapeseed oil and agave nectar.  Coconut oil is a natural anti-inflammatory, big in "healthy fats", anti-microbial, adds moisture to baked goods, and the list goes on and on.  I replaced the butter in the Pineapple-coconut muffins with melted coconut oil and then used lactose free whole milk that I had in the fridge since I didn't have any kefir or yogurt.  Some of us have dairy allergies here so I try to limit it as much as possible.  I'm not against dairy...just against my reaction to it.

After that we left for soccer and I met a friend to go whole food grocery shopping.  She is overhauling her family's eating and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  So we met at a local health food store, traveled to Costco and introduced her to the corporate wonderland there and then parted ways for me to complete my shopping.

I arrived home to hungry kids and a Handsome Hubby who needed food for his wild turkey hunting trip this weekend.  So...I put on my cooking hat (figuratively) and started cleaning up from breakfast.  Then I made a bean salad for him with my own recipe.

Huge bowl of Greek Bean salad...ready for the road

Greek Bean Salad
2 cans white canellini beans (rinsed and drained)
1 cup chopped pepperocini
1 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
grape tomatoes (if you have them...I didn't today)
feta cheese to taste

Mix above ingredients together and enjoy!  It's so tasty!  High in carbs but when he's out hiking all day he needs them and burns through them.  He is meeting a hunting buddy so I made a HUGE bowl today.  All of the ingredients above are approximate.  Honestly...I just dump things in and taste until it seems right.

While I was chopping things up for that I started making my "secret spaghetti sauce".  It's really not a secret...it's natural sweet Italian sausage from the local health food supermarket that I bake and grind up in my food processor.  Next I found that the Kirkland brand spaghetti sauce has no added sugar or junk and as a bonus...IT'S CHEAP!  So I pour the 3 jars of that with my 3 pounds of sausage and we're set for spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, and breadsticks.  I sent a bag of mung bean noodles with him and some sauce so BAM another meal done.

Secret Spaghetti Sauce

Secret Spaghetti Sauce
3 lbs Italian sausage
3 jars Kirkland Marinara Sauce

Bake sweet Italian sausage at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.  Cut links in "chunks" and grind in food processor.  You'll have to do several small batches.  Place ground sausage into large stockpot with the marinara sauce.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes and enjoy!

So with the dishwasher running and the counter still a mess I decided to throw some laundry in and cook more!  I'm crazy I know.  I made some turkey sliders for him to take and for us to eat while he's gone.  It's a favorite recipe from The Food Network and while it does include cheese I just try to limit how much I eat.  Here's the link if you're interested...unfortunately I didn't get pics of these.

Then with Superhero #1 celebrating his birthday at school on Monday and us having a busy day at church tomorrow I decided to do the unthinkable...bake more!  They had to be nut free but coconut flour was ok.  So I made two different coconut flour recipes.  One is for a white cupcake with a maple buttercream frosting.  The recipe may look intimidating but trust me...it's worth it.  My son always wants chocolate cake and this one was his favorite.  It came from the website Deliciously Organic.  She has wonderful information on how she healed Hashimoto's disease by eating whole foods.

Blueberry muffins, Pineapple coconut muffins, White cupcake with maple buttercream frosting and Chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting

The second was from Elana's Pantry.  I think she must live in the kitchen because she always has so many incredible recipes and this one hit the mark again.   I did exchange melted coconut oil for the grapeseed again and used honey instead of the agave nectar.  My husband loved these the best and I honestly don't know what I like more.  I used some of the whipped buttercream from the white cupcakes and mixed it with the chocolate ganache type frosting that I had and it made a light fluffy chocolate buttercream.

In the midst of all this Superhero #2 played with water on the floor next to me showing me how to pour things, blow bubbles with straws, measure marbles in the cup with water, and many other things.  I had to experiment on and off as well and that area on the kitchen floor is SO clean.  He also saw fit to experiment with how well marbles roll on the wood floor.  He was very successful with that endeavor too.

Some playdough and Hot Wheels cars later I am finally sitting.  WHAT  A  DAY!  But you know what? Tomorrow I can relax a bit more and there are enough leftovers frozen and saved in the fridge that I don't have to cook at all while Handsome Hubby is gone.  Maybe you can all pray with me that he gets his turkey the first morning and comes home early like last year!  Enjoy the recipes...I just wouldn't recommend making them all in one day!

Healthy Doesn't Have to be Hard...

I hear the argument over and over that it just sounds too hard to eat an unprocessed diet.  Sometimes it's the busy day argument.  Maybe you travel a lot.  Maybe you aren't big on cooking.  Maybe your kids are picky.  I do agree that it takes a little more prep work.  When I have to shuttle one to preschool, make it to appointments, pick him up, etc...I have to think ahead a bit.  But you have to ask yourself why you're doing it.  Some things in life are hard.  Raising kids...is hard but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.  Marriage can be hard...but the rewards are worth it.  College or graduate school can be hard...but the degree is worth it.  So why is it we're willing to sacrifice and invest in those things but not the health of our family or our own health?

Yesterday was a busy day.  My handsome hubby had just returned from a longer trip at 2:30 in the morning.  The kids were excited to see him (and so was I).  We were all tired.  We had to get ourselves out the door in time for preschool, get the last of our grocery shopping in for the week (I try to do it all in one or two days to save gas).  Pick up Superhero #1 from school and then head home to cram in as much fun in the sun as possible since we finally had a warm spring day.  The only problem with my "playing outside" plan was that I also needed to clean the house for piano lessons later in the afternoon, make supper, and leave from piano straight to my Handsome Hubby's work to bring him supper since he had an unexpected meeting late and we all wanted to see each other.

Notice...some of the things in my day I didn't HAVE to do.  I didn't have to cram in outside play time.  But I want to make time with my kids a priority.  If I were to have another heart attack and it were fatal... I don't want them to remember how Mama kept a clean house.  I want them to remember Mama playing, snuggling, and laughing with them.  I didn't HAVE to meet daddy for supper.  But I want them to have that connection with their dad.  They adore them.  He couldn't control having the meeting the day he got back but we could have a little quality time with him before bed.  His work day was brightened, my day was brightened, and the boys' day was brightened.  I even could have left my house messy or made a McDonald's run for supper.  But I didn't.

The kids took their rest time and I vacuumed and mopped.  There wasn't much clutter because in reclaiming our house I've been getting rid of unnecessary stuff.  I wiped down the bathrooms and then moved onto supper.  I had baked chicken with lemon pepper seasoning sprinkled on it the day before.  There wasn't enough leftovers for a full meal so I made some mayo (store stuff has soybean oil or canola oil...both bad for the body and heart, both GMO's aka genetically modified), chopped up the 2 1/2 chicken breasts and 2 celery stalks in the food processor and mixed it all together.  I added a little more lemon pepper and salt to taste and voila...supper was made.  Total time to clean house and make supper...45 minutes.  Total time outside... 2 1/2 hours.  Time with daddy...45 minutes.

Busy day.  Healthy meal.  Happy kids and parents.  Below you'll find our recipe for mayonnaise and lemon pepper chicken.  As a bonus I also added a pic and recipe for a lemon pepper, cucumber, tomato salad.  Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Cucumber Salad

Lemon Pepper Cucumber Salad

Lemon pepper chicken cubed

1 baby English cucumber sliced in half spheres

1 roma tomato diced

Mix cucumbers, chicken, and tomatoes together.  Drizzle a little olive oil over top.  Sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper (without MSG added!) or preferred seasoning to taste.  Enjoy!

Mama's Mayo
3 large organic eggs
1 1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup oil (we use macadamia, avocado, almond, or olive oil due to heart health and inflammation reduction)

1.  Place eggs, dry mustard, salt, and lemon juice into blender (we have a Vitamix) in the order listed and secure lid.

2.  Turn on lowest setting

3.  Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to highest setting.  Remove lid plug but NOT THE LID:-) (if possible).

4.  While machine is running, slowly pour oil through the lid plug opening into the container.  As mixture begins to thicken, the oil can be added at a faster rate.  The process should take about a minute.

5.  Stop machine and stir in any oil sitting on top.

6.  Refrigerate in a separate container and use within 2 to 4 weeks.



Chicken Salad Salad
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-3 organic celery stalks
lemon pepper or preferred seasoning(dill, Emeril's original essence, etc)
salt
mayo

Place chicken on a foil lined pan and sprinkle with sea salt and lemon pepper.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove and cool.  Prepare mayo.  Cut chicken and celery in large chunks and place in food processor together.  Pulse chicken and celery until desired texture.  Remove from food processor and mix with mayo.  Add salt and extra seasoning to taste.  Serve on Nut Thin or Paleo crackers, paleo bread, lettuce wraps, or a bed of lettuce with tomatoes.  Enjoy!

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A Taste of Thailand for my little family

So this post will be quick...Today I was hungry for a coconut milk based Thai soup.  I had read someone's post on Facebook about them having some for dinner and realized I had several of the ingredients already.  Thankfully our sons have been exposed to a wide variety of food so this didn't scare them.

In an effort to save money on this whole food eating adventure, I've started buying whole organic chicken.  Costco has them for $2.49/lb which saves us a bundle compared to boneless/skinless chicken breasts.  You can put them in the crockpot which I do often.  But to save time today I baked it.  Simply preheat your oven to 400 F.  Place chicken in a dutch oven with 4-5 cups of water and cover.  Bake 1 hour.  Remove lid and bake an additional 20-30 minutes.  The internal temperature should reach 165 F. I add the water around my chicken so I have chicken stock/broth to use in other recipes.  The recipe below is what we made today.  It was soooo good!  It made me feel like I was back in graduate school eating at my favorite Thai restaurant in Minneapolis.  My Handsome Hubby even said it was better than some Thai food we had last week.

Here's the recipe notes and link...

Thai Chicken Soup

You do have to get a few obscure ingredients that can be harder to come by in smaller towns.  Lemon grass, kaffir leaves, and fish sauce could be tough finds.  A note to remember is that coriander leaves are the same as cilantro.  It's the same plant...when it goes to seed it is considered coriander.  We added mushrooms, extra chicken, broccoli, and bell peppers to our soup to make it more of a meal.  I used the chicken from the whole chicken that I baked during the day.  Then it was served as soup for my husband and I.  The kids ate it over mung bean noodles.  All of us topped ours with cilantro, basil, and green onions.  My husband added chili paste.  Sorry no picture!  I know it helps but go to this link and follow the recipe.  It's worth your time.



Enjoy!

A Fresh Start

For some reason it takes a major life crisis or a new year to help propel us into a fresh start.  We are such creatures of habit.  I'm so guilty of trying to maintain the status quo and yet God always reminds me in so many ways that it's not worth it.

So in this "Happy New Year" mentality I'm going to show you a sample menu of what we ate the past two weeks.  I know I've checked out for about 3 weeks here due to company visiting us and and all the preparations that go into that.  Now I'm back and I still feel passionately about what my family is doing to improve our health in the long run.

I can't stress enough how thankful I am that my handsome hubby and I are doing this TOGETHER.  We both want this.  We're a team.  When the kids see what we're doing...they want to do it.  For the past 6 months, it's become our norm.  People say they don't have the time to eat healthy.  I ask, is it that you don't have the time or that you truly don't have the motivation or desire to?  We've been so busy the past 2 weeks.  Here's my lunch/supper menu during that time crunched schedule.  Every meal covered 2 to 3 days and was changed up a bit.  That saved me time and made the leftovers more interesting.  Every bit of food was eaten.   It's doable.  It's healthy.  It's necessary to reclaim your health.

Lettuce wrap with my Almond Crusted Chicken, hummus, and tomatoes.  Clementine and small dark chocolate treat for my dessert.  A perfect Christmas lunch!

Prep veggies and hummus (see previous recipe here) for the week.  Then you don't have to cut them daily and you're more likely to eat well.

Have plenty of eggs, unprocessed nitrate/nitrite free breakfast meat (sausage or bacon), and veggies on hand for smoothies and omelets.  Have a green smoothie every morning and before supper.  It fills you up and is a great way to get your veggies.  Add fresh herbs, salt, and balsamic vinegar to make them a bit more tasty (like a V8).

Have organic romaine lettuce on hand.  Replace your sandwiches with lettuce wraps filled with hummus, veggies, and meat.


Crock pot Chicken or Turkey (we have a large crock pot so I double this and use the leftovers)

• 1 chicken 
• sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and fresh thyme
• fill cavity of chicken with onion, parsnips, carrots, and butternut squash
• cover tops with same veggies
• Cook on low 5-6 hours until fully cooked

Turkey taco salads (Use the leftover turkey or chicken from above and shred it in your food processor)

• 2 pounds shredded turkey (you can estimate or buy a cheap food scale)
• homemade taco seasoning (great recipe here!)
• 2 small onions (saute first)
• 2 six ounce cans of tomato paste
• six ounces of water
• Combine all and serve with homemade guacamole (recipe here) on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes, green onions, and jalapeños.

Spaghetti

• 4 jars Organic spaghetti sauce (sugar free)
• 2 pounds All natural nitrate free Italian sausage (or make your own...recipe here)
• Bake sausage and grind up in food processor.  Simmer with sauce to combine flavors.
• Serve over spaghetti squash or Mung bean fettuccine.  Purchase here on Amazon.

Pizza

• homemade crust made from almond flour (Best recipe I've found here) Buy your flour online to save 50-60% off grocery store prices.
• leftover spaghetti sauce
• finely minced kale, uncured pepperoni, roasted bell peppers, olives, etc.
• NO CHEESE!

Ham

• Uncured ham
• green onions, carrots, parsnips
• Raw honey
• Bake at 350 covered for 1 hour surrounded by veggies.  Spread raw honey over top and recover. Bake for an addition 30 minutes until veggies are tender.

Chef Salad

• boiled eggs
• romaine lettuce
• chopped raw veggies
• chopped ham (leftover from above)
• Organic sulfate free balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• sea salt
• Prepare lettuce, top with veggies and ham.  Drizzle balsamic and olive oil over top.  Sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

There is no halfway.  My hubby and I talked about this and both agreed...if we still had bread, crackers, chips, cookies in the house that were made of grains...we'd still be on the carb addiction cycle and wouldn't have lost a collective 50+ pounds between us.  If we still had our Pepsi or Mountain Dew, or chocolate from Kroger's, we wouldn't have 7 bags of clothes set to be donated this week.  You either want this.  Or you don't.  That means you have to give up the coffee creamer, the pop, the fast food, and find delicious substitutes.  It can be done.  Here's a few links that I use a lot.  Always keep in mind...grain free, dairy free, unprocessed.  Our only sugar comes from fruits, honey, and Grade B maple syrup.  You have menu for your first week or 2 of 2013. You have resource links.  You have recipes.  Make a grocery list and take the leap.  It's worth it.

Extra links:
The Nourishing Home
Elana's Pantry
Unrefined Kitchen
Passionate Homemaking
Real Sustenance

Make 2013 your best yet.  Enjoy!

Traveling Food...Eating Healthy on the Road

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to my parent's house this year.  My Handsome Hubby and I were perfectly matched in the sense that we're hardcore road masters.  We get on the road, get to our destination, and then play.  We traveled about 15 hours to my parents house and if I'm recalling correctly we only stopped 3 times.  On our way back, we had a  10 1/2 hour drive and did it with just 2 stops.  All together our stops only added 30 minutes onto our trips.  We're crazy.  I realize that.  But we have 2 kids that are very content travelers and a potty chair in the back of the van.  We also stock up on cheap diapers to soak up the yuck, disinfectant wipes, Ziploc bags, and toilet paper.

One thing that we do need to calculate into the mix is food.  Now in the past, all health consciousness  was ignored.  We were on the road...the kids could eat pop, chips, candy, whatever made them happy.  The only problem is that now we realize that some of our health issues and behavior issues are directly related to the food we had been eating.  Superhero #1 is a smart cookie.  I was waiting for him to ask for pop for the trip before I bought any.  He didn't ask.  I thought for sure he'd want to pick out the chips like we've done in the past.  He didn't ask.  Candy?  No questions about it.

So what did we eat?  How can you travel 15 hours in the car without eating junk food or stopping for fast food?  What is there to eat?  How can a 4 year old and 2 year old be satisfied?  It's possible.  I do want to remind you that this is a process.  It takes some time for your taste buds to change but if you persist.  If you keep trying and keep getting back up when you fall down, you will succeed.  You can do it.  Take it one step at a time.  Today my sweet tooth kid tried a sample of candy from Costco.  I asked if he wanted more and he said no...."These are too sweet mom.  You can have them."  He ate the roast beef instead.

Here's a sample of what we had in our cooler for the road.  We haven't completely cut dairy out for our kids but at this point...only the 2 year old eats it.  Our 4 year old is lactose intolerant and seems to have lost his taste for everything that contains dairy but ice cream.

On the Road Menu/Kitchen items

homemade grain free pancakes with Grade B maple syrup (here's my favorite recipe from The Nourishing Home...we all LOVE THEM!)

nitrate free bacon or sausage (cooked at home ahead of time)

nitrate free, hormone free, organic thinly sliced turkey and ham

homemade hummus (here's a link for my recipe)

organic romaine lettuce

Loaf of paleo bread (here's a recipe we like from Elana's Pantry...everything I make from her website is fantastic!)

fresh veggies to snack on and put on open faced lettuce wraps or sandwiches (bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes)

homemade pickles (or store ones with nothing artificial added)

sulfate free, unsweetened dried fruit (use with Peanut Butter or Almond butter in place of jelly/jam)

Almond butter without sugar added (our kids are still adjusting to this but avoid peanut butter if possible or use in moderation it can contain carcinogens)

homemade chocolate (here's a recipe)

homemade blondies (Again from Elana's Pantry)

fresh fruit (apples, oranges, grapes (use sparingly)

ice water

almond milk

organic 2% milk for our 2 year old

cutting board

Swiss army knife

paper towel

Ziploc bags

vegetable peeler

wet wipes

small plastic bowls/plates

plastic cups

That's it.  That's what we brought and the kids gobbled up the pancakes and bacon in the morning (dipping their mini-cakes in the syrup).  Then at lunch they wanted more meat and by the end of the day they were content with open-faced nut butter and dried fruit sandwiches.  It worked great and we had enough variety we were all happy.  I admit it took a little prep work on my part but it wasn't outrageous.  I made one thing for the trip each day the week before so when it was time to leave we were ready and I didn't feel stressed.  With the pancakes I make a double batch and freeze them so I already had them ready.  I made extra bacon one day too.  The bread was leftover from our Thanksgiving meal and I had made the bars and chocolate that week too for sweet tooth cravings at my parents. 

The kids traveled a lot happier too.  I fully believe this diet is worth cleaning your pantry out for.  Get rid of the processed foods.  They only give you temporary happiness and then you end up kicking yourself for eating junk.  I know.  I've done it time and time again.  It's possible to eat well, enjoy your food, and take care of your body at the same time.  Just keep eliminating one thing per week.  Eventually, you'll get there.  Be patient with yourself...it takes time but you're worth it.

Simple is good!

So I realize I haven't posted for quite awhile!  Yikes...9 days!  Sorry about that.  I realized that Christmas is sneaking up on me so I've been trying to prep my house for that.  I also realized that in the craziness of September our house was overwhelming me.  So it's time to clean things out again.  This week I was up a lot with a head cold for me and Superhero #2.  In the wee small hours of the morning...I create things.  I must have my Grandma's brain during those times because she was one of the most creative and Godly people I've ever met.  Her faith through many trials is humbling.

But I've strayed off my main point...with a head cold I'm a bit spacey and for that reason I've needed to do simple meals while still adhering to our diet.  I don't want to sacrifice how far we've come.  I also haven't been feeling 100% with this cold so I've needed to have meals that take little time.  Here's a typical menu for our busy household.  Enjoy and if you have feedback or suggestions...let me know!

So this week...some favorites...pot roast, burgers, steak (for Handsome Hubby's birthday), and today...crockpot chicken.

Here are a few easy recipes you can throw together...enjoy!

For my pot roast recipe check a previous post.  Here's the link...pot roast

Burgers

1 lbs grass fed ground beef
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce or salsa
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 tsp italian seasoning or taco seasoning (depending on what flavor you're looking for)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all together...you can't really do these on the grill unless you use a pan.  Fry until brown on each side.  Enjoy!  You can also do these in muffin tins as little burger muffins...bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Note:  We served these with my homemade guacamole (link here... and raw carrots and cucumbers)

Steak

4 grass fed sirloin steak
organic balsamic vinegar
Montreal steak seasoning
bacon grease or olive oil
1 gallon ziploc bag

Place steaks in ziploc bag.  Pour in enough balsamic vinegar and steak seasoning to coat.  Put in 1 tablespoon bacon grease.  Marinate overnight.  The vinegar will tenderize the meat.  Bring to room temperature.  Broil on high flipping every 5-10 minutes until medium, medium-well,  or well done.

Note:  We served these with baked yams (with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper).  We also had broccoli on the side prepared with olive oil, kalamata olives, fresh parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper.

Crockpot Chicken

1 free range organic roaster chicken
thyme
rosemary (2 sprig of fresh rosemary minced)
garlic powder
paprika
chili powder
1 onion, cut in large chunks
6 carrots, diced
1 bunch celery, diced
2 large tomatoes
2 cups brown rice
salt to taste

Place chicken in crockpot.  Surround with veggies and rice.  Sprinkle spices over chicken liberally so the chicken is well covered.  Fill with water up to the top.  Slow cook in crockpot for 8 hours.  It could be more or less time depending on how hot your crock pot cooks.  Enjoy!

Note:  Whole roaster chickens are one of the cheapest ways to go with meat.  You can get way more bang for your buck and it can serve you for a couple meals.  Save the bones and scraps and boil them together with veggies to make homemade chicken stock that you can freeze.  My freezer has several jars full and it tastes so much better than store bought chicken broth!

Now to get outside and rake our yard together.  The honey-do list is too long and I want to get outside. Look for my chocolate pudding recipe coming soon...still tweaking it.  It's made with avocados.  Until then simplify and don't forget to enjoy every moment God has given you.  Life is too short to waste it.

8 months

Normally, I would associate hearing the term 8 months to having children or the school year being almost completed.  However, as I write this I realize it's been 8 months since my heart attack.  Eight months to the day.  Eight months since life as I knew it was turned upside down.  Eight months since I had to rework the framework of who I was and what I want to do with my time left now that I've been given a second chance.

That might sound overly dramatic, however, I was faced with my mortality again yesterday when I got a second opinion on my heart and the cause of it all.  In very blunt terms the cardiologist told me I should be dead.  He said I got lucky.  I said I like to attribute it to God but he can choose whatever he wants.  We both laughed and then talked specifics.

Rather than dwelling on the negative...I want to dwell on what I've done and what others can do to make life healthier.  I've lost 20 pounds now and am in the smallest pants I've ever been in.  I had to go shopping to find clothes that fit.  The great thing is...most of it is from our diet.  Yes, I'm still working out 4 to 5 days a week for an hour at a time.  But diet is the big one.  But for everything we've taken out there needs to be a substitution.  So here are my tips for some easy and cheap substitutions.

Eggs scrambled with onions, thyme, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and then topped with basil and tomatoes.  Ground turkey sausage made from scratch with apples, onion, salt, pepper, thyme, olive oil, and sage (way cheaper than buying sausage and you don't have the preservatives!)

1.  BREAD BE GONE! 

Eggs and sausage from above with a frozen fruit smoothie and coffee

For sandwiches...do lettuce wraps.  For toast, skip it and have eggs!  I fry ours in olive oil and crack them in a green pepper ring.  The green pepper holds the egg in one place and then I chop up some green onion and slice a tomato thinly to set on top.  Or scramble them with whatever veggeis (fresh or frozen) you have on hand.  We also have amaranth, quinoa, brown rice, or buckwheat for breakfast.  To make it more of a morning meal we use unsweetened almond milk, fruit (fresh or frozen), cinnamon, and sprinkle it with chopped walnuts and flax seed for omega 3's (good for the heart).

2.  PASTA BE GONE!  

Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and rosemary chicken

Since I'm gluten intolerant and our one son is as well this wasn't as hard on us as it may be for others.  It may sound strange but you can use brown rice, seasoned with broths, and spices to go with your pasta sauce.  It's WAY cheaper than pasta and so much better for you.  Other substitutes are quinoa (in bulk at Costco), amaranth, and buckwheat.  Or we use spaghetti squash (like in the picture above).  Yesterday, when Superhero #1 was served spaghetti squash with my homemade sauce, he said "Mom! Why do you give me all this weird food that I don't even like."  I replied, "How do you know?  Try it."  He did and he loved it and said so.  Today when given the leftovers he didn't complain...he emptied his bowl.  One secret mommy method is I make sure there's been a good space between snack and mealtime so he's so hungry.  Then, he's more likely to dig in and less likely to resist.  

3.  CHIPS AND CRACKERS BE GONE!  
I admit...I let the boys still eat their tuna on Nut Thin crackers.  They're a little more pricey but less processed than the other stuff and they're gluten free.  I eat my tuna on a lettuce wrap with hummus and veggies.  For my salty/crunchy fix...I turn to veggies and hummus, veggies with guacamole, nuts (especially almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios...avoid peanuts if you can).

4.  BAKED GOODIES BE GONE!
I am a carb addict so this one was tough for me.  I still love baking but the sugar high and emotional crash that follows for all of us in the house is NOT worth it.  I found a yummy carrot cake recipe that didn't pull us off our unprocessed diet at the following link from The Food Lover's Kitchen.  We used that for a recent birthday and it was a hit with everyone.  This also saves because we're not reaching for junk all the time and having to restock it.

5.  CANDY, POP, JUICE BE GONE!
We haven't regularly bought juice for a couple years now.  Pop is just for birthdays and will probably stay that way for the kids.  I had a pack of Mike and Ike's last week and it set me into such an emotional tailspin I scared myself so I'm sure it's not worth it.  I've gotten off the roller coaster and this type of "food" is expensive and doesn't leave you satisfied.  It's horrible for you in so many ways.  Avoid it.  Have fruit.  Vary it from week to week or make smoothies with frozen fruit so you can avoidably have some variety.  Pack in some berry smoothies so you get those important cancer/free-radical fighting antioxidants.   If you barely cover the fruit with water the fruit is sweet enough and you can sneak some veggies and flax seed in for good measure.  Frozen fruit is picked at the peak of freshness and frozen immediately.  As a result it can be better than the stuff you get in the fresh produce section and it can be significantly cheaper!

6.  EAT BEANS!
Meat can be expensive so I stretch our dollar with canned beans.  Make sure they don't have sugar added and rinse them before using so you don't get as much salt.  You can also buy dried beans but they're more work.  I add them to chili, curry, sauces, etc.  We eat bean salads for lunch and skip meat for that meal and use them for making hummus.  Beans are good!  Even my Superheroes eat them!

I hope some of these tips help.  I'm learning as I go just like you.  But the journey has been successful thus far so I plan on sticking with it.  I hope you do too.

Sample Menu for the Week

So something I do every week that seems to save me from running to the grocery store multiple times and spending extra money on incidentals is make a weekly menu.  I look in my pantry, figure out what I have on hand, what I need, etc.  You get the picture...

I'll try to post a weekly menu from time to time to give you an idea of how we eat.  It has kept us full.  I'm not starving between meals.  For snacks between meals our go-to is fruit or nuts.  I also have homemade pickles that the boys like or veggies an hummus.  I bring fruit and nuts when we leave the house for errands along with our water bottles so we always have food to keep our blood sugar stable and to keep the crabby-pants away.

This amount of food is for my hubby, me and the two superheroes.  Granted our Superheroes don't eat much at the ripe old ages of 2 and 4 but they do eat.  I eat the leftovers at lunch and so does Scott.  For the boys, sometimes they do and sometimes I make them tuna.  I'm still experimenting with homemade mayo so we can stay away from the canola oil mayo that we buy.

As a rule, the only oils we use are ones that haven't been processed or altered...olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and sunflower oil.  Soybean I stay away from due to links with cancer and the estrogen that is naturally found in it.  My boys don't need any more of that.  Also Superhero #1 is allergic to soybeans.  Canola is actually a genetically modified version of the rapeseed plant and as a whole not good for your cholesterol or body as a whole.

So after that diversion...here's our menu from last week:

Monday:  
Breakfast:  Quinoa (superfood, high fiber and protein!) made with unsweetened almond milk, 1 apple, and cinnamon, sprinkled with chopped walnuts and flaxseed (omega 3's healthy fat!), 8 oz. fruit/veggie smoothie
Lunch:  Sunday's leftover chicken with veggies and hummus
Supper:  Homemade tomato soup made in our Vitamix with tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, organic chicken broth, celery, onions, carrots, salt, pepper, and marjoram.  Ginger-lime-garlic shrimp, Hummus and veggies, almond milk

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Leftover quinoa from Monday
Lunch:  leftover shrimp and tomato soup
Supper:  Shrimp, tomato soup, veggies and hummus

Wednesday:
Breakfast:  organic eggs fried in olive oil...each egg inside a  ring of bell pepper, sprinkled with chives, salt, pepper, and a thin slice of tomato.  Steam in a pan so the egg is cooked through by the steam to your liking
Lunch:  Tuna made with homemade mayo, veggies, any remaining soup, the boys use Nut Thin crackers with their tuna, I have mine in a lettuce wrap with some dill hummus
Supper:  Turkey chili  (2 lbs turkey, ancho chili powder, onion, 2 cans kidney beans, 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, etc.), serve turkey over brown rice or quinoa,  side of fruit for dessert

Thursday:
Breakfast:  eggs similar to Wednesday...switch it up by scrambling all ingredients and adding fresh rosemary
Lunch:  Leftover chili
Supper:  Leftover chili

Friday
Breakfast:  Amaranth made with unsweetened almond milk, chopped peach, cinnamon, chopped nuts, flaxseed (I love this one!)
Lunch:  Chili...yes we're sick of it at this point but there really wasn't enough to freeze
Supper:  roasted butternut squash (cubed) made with salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, shallots, and fresh chopped rosemary, ginger lime chicken (use fresh ginger, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lime juice, salt, pepper), side of raw veggies with fresh hummus.

Saturday
Breakfast:  Leftover amaranth
Lunch:  Leftover chicken and squash
Supper:  Chicken curry with carrots, onions, celery, fresh ginger, garlic, golden raisins, onion and coconut milk.  Serve over rice

Sunday
Breakfast:  eggs fixed in pepper rings
Lunch:  Lettuce wraps using fresh hummus, tomatoes, chopped up ginger lime chicken, and some fruit
Supper:  Leftover curry