Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies

So we are in Arizona for Thanksgiving at my Handsome Hubby's mom's house. She is on the same page as us in terms of eating so we didn't need to make a crazy grocery trip or anything. I did have a good friend ask me how we adapt when traveling and I realized one thing I am doing is keeping a stock of high protein cookies available for the kiddos along with fruit and veggies. 

However, when I am at someone else's house I don't want to have to go out and buy a ton of ingredients. So thanks to my lovely friend and neighbor I adapted this recipe to fit our needs. I do want to reiterate that I am not as "paleo" with our boys as I am with myself or my husband. We allow peanuts and some processed sugar in the form of white chocolate chips, etcetera from time to time. So keep in mind your needs. If the slightest amount of starches causes you to "fall off the wagon" then don't do it. Also...treats like cookies should be just that...TREATS. You need to limit yourself.  If it becomes too hard to stay away then don't make these.

So with that being said...here are my nut butter cookies. 

These would be great to prep and freeze for Christmas treats. They also traveled well on the airplane. They would be great for camping trips as well.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter

1 cup coconut sugar

1 egg

1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Blend well...I use a food processor. Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

1 cup Justin's brand chocolate hazelnut butter

1/2 cup pecans

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

1 cup white chocolate chips

Blend well...Again I use the food processor but you might want to chop the pecans ahead of time. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Some things take time...

I love cooking. I love trying new recipes. I love waiting for the final product and seeing other's reactions. I love finding the perfect combination of flavor complexity even if it takes numerous attempts to get there. I love the challenge.

Yesterday, I made a crockpot marinara sauce from our leftover garden tomatoes that have been slowly ripening in our three season porch. I used the recipe from BudgetBytes with just a few minor alterations. I needed to add a bit of shallots since I didn't have enough yellow onion. Then in keeping with our unprocessed diet I added coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.  In the end, I went to bed while it cooked and I wish it didn't have as strong of an onion flavor.  I was able to add one can of organic tomato sauce and then I put it in 2 ziploc quart sized freezer bags to use for sauce later.

I also worked on making another variation of chocolate chip cookies.  I used recipes from a few sites.



Tweaking each to try to get the right flavor, texture, crispiness but chewiness.  You can see pictures of my final product.



So here's the final recipe.

Crispy and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups blanched almond flour

2 TBSP. coconut flour

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 TBSP. honey

1/2 tsp. grassfed gelatin

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

6 TBSP. grassfed butter OR palm oil shortening OR melted coconut oil

1/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Move oven rack to middle position.  Mix above ingredients and using 1 inch cookie scoop place cookie dough balls on the parchment lined pan.  Press balls down to flatten.  Bake for 11-12 minutes until golden brown on the edges.  Allow to cool before removing from the pan.

So I had to wait for the sauce, I had to wait for the cookies.  It seems waiting is what I have been doing lately. My dad passed away last week unexpectedly from a heart attack. He was an honest, kind, generous, hardworking, intelligent man. He made time for everyone.  He valued his faith in Christ, family, and those he cared for above "stuff". 

As a child in a family with 6 kids we never had to do without but we also didn't always have all the materialistic things our peers had. We shared bedrooms. We wore hand me downs. We worked for what we had. We waited and it was good. 

We didn't eat out much and that was ok because when we did it was a huge treat.  We didn't get every toy we saw in the stores but when it was our birthday or Christmas...it was that much more special because my mom and dad didn't cater to our every whim. We waited and it was good.

Now as I wade through grief on my own and with my family I am reminded to wait. You can't rush grief just like you can't rush the sauce in the crockpot or the cookies in the pan.  They are only good if you wait.  You need to cry when the tears come and pick yourself up and move when you have the energy to. You keep stepping one foot in front of the other until you realize you're not as sad anymore.

When I was a kid waiting for Christmas I hated waiting. I was so impatient.  Yesterday, was a tough day for me and I was impatient with myself. But I let myself cry. I let myself remember his smile, his laugh, his mannerisms. I lay on the floor a little longer playing Legos with my Superheroes knowing that if today was my last day...I want them to remember me playing. I want them to have a mom who emulates the love my dad emulated. Who teaches the value of working, patience, waiting, and love.

But in order to not let the grief consume me I need to wait.  I need to grieve.  I need to cry.  I need to let my husband hold me and then...bit by bit...I also need to remember to live in the present and enjoy the life I have here.  At a pivotal point in my life, facing the loss of a job and a serious relationship, my dad asked, "If you could be doing anything in your life, what would it be?"  When I told him my answer he said, "So what are you waiting for?  Life is short...go do it."  So I will get through this grief and then I will remember him saying life is short and I will live.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31

When Life Gives You Apples...

We have oodles and oodles of apples thanks to the generosity of friends with 7 apple trees in their backyard.  So what to do?  I made apple sauce, put the apples in our cool three season porch, and am starting my first batch of apple chips today using the food dehydrator.

My Superhero helped with the process.  Here's our recipe.

8-10 apples peeled and sliced thin (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick)

Water to cover apples

Lemon juice

Cinnamon and coconut sugar to taste

1. Peel and slice apples. Add to lemon juice and water mixture.

2. Sake excess water off apples and lay in a single layer on a parchment paper lined pan (for the oven) or the dehydrating trays.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut sugar if desired.

4. Bake at 165 degrees for 2-3 hours flipping once or twice.  In the dehydrator, set it to 135 degrees and let it dry for 6-8 hours.

5. Allow to cool before bagging. They will crisp up more when cooling. Enjoy!

Bacon and Black Bean Soup

So in my effort to budget better and save more for the future I have been shopping all the deals as best I can. Last week, I found 2 pounds of dried black beans for $1.56.  This would make the equivalent of 6 cans of beans! So I bought the bag and decided to make some black bean soup.

I have never made black bean soup...but not to be deterred I found a recipe with bacon and cilantro and thought I'd give it a go. Beans are a cheap meat substitute and while higher in carbs they are fine to have provided you are burning the carbs off with physical activity.  I do want to emphasize that you soak the beans for 24 to 36 hours first.  Soaking helps get rid of the phytic acid in the beans and makes them easier for your body to digest. Phytic acid is what is in beans that make you have gas. By soaking them your body can benefit more from the heart healthy benefits of beans.

So last week, I soaked the beans and had them cook in my crockpot.  After they were fully cooked, I froze them in 2 cups portions. Today, I took those bags out and made my soup.  The recipe,is not paleo but it is healthy and easy to make for your family. Here's the recipe below.

4 cans (8 cups) of black beans

3/4 cup dried minced onion

6 TBSP dried cilantro

1 TBSP garlic powder

2 TBSP chili powder

1 TBSP cumin

1 tsp chipotle chili powder ( for a smoky flavor)

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

32 oz. chicken broth

10 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped finely

2 carrots chopped finely

1 celery chopped finely

2 cups frozen organic corn

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP of ketchup 

Dump all the ingredients into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer 20 minutes. Cool and serve with fresh avocado, scallions, and cheese if desired.

Navigating Life...The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I like to think (hope) that I've learned a few things in my 36 years of life.  Getting comfortable in my own skin has been a long and hard learned lesson.  Now with my Superheroes I get to see them navigate this awesome and brutal world.  My oldest started Kindergarten today.  He is an introvert much like I was at that age.  We have worked at helping him to speak up when he needs or wants something.  He's great at sharing his emotions, his wants, his desires.  Unfortunately and fortunately he speaks what he needs to his peers but being 4, 5 and 6 year olds they don't always listen.  He's the quieter kid.  The one that's helping out, encouraging and kind to others.  The one that get's hurt feelings easily but hides it inside.

Today he asked a couple boys in his class to work on a puzzle with him.  The two boys were already friends before entering class and were having a grand time together.  They turned and listened to him and then went back to what they were doing.  The other boy he asked was an introvert like my boy and new to the class and school.  He looked at him but continued working on his activity with the teacher.  As my Superhero explained the scenario more quiet tears formed in his eyes.  "Why is it when I say what I want or need kids just keep doing what they're doing and don't listen to me?  Why do they listen to other kids instead?"  It broke my heart.

So I had to carefully navigate those old paths from my past.  Sometimes kids are just being kids.  They're not trying to be mean...they're just having fun and don't want to stop.  But one thing in life that is true is that you can have a ton of sometimes friends or a few close friends who will be there for you no matter what.  Those are the friends that are like pirate's gold.  The other friends are like shiny rocks...they look cool, they're fun to be with, but they're not quite what you're looking for.  The pirate's gold is what you've been hunting forever for.  I listed 3 friends that he is close with, a cousin, his brother, and a friend since birth.  "They're your pirate's treasure buddy...if you have that...you'll make it through life because you know they'll be there no matter what."  He smiled and said..."Yeah...they're the real deal.  They're real friends."

I sincerely hope he becomes close with the other kids in his class.  Ideally, they would all bond.  But if they don't I want him to know it's not because of him.  Everyone is different and every person becomes friends with different kinds of people.  It doesn't mean on person is better than the other...we're just all different.

My wish is that we all could know at our core that God made us a specific way for a reason.  He gave us a natural "bent" that makes us unique and I wish for you all to embrace that and see what He has planned for you.  I used to hate that I'm so sensitive, wear my heart and emotions all over my sleeve and face, sometimes loud, quick to act, a neat freak, etc.  But I'm learning that I can use my gifts for God's glory and He'll make the best of them.  It's when I'm trying to be someone that I'm not...when I feel increasingly unhappy.  So be who you are.  Let your kids be who they are.  Be patient if you're fast and they're slow...if you're stoic and they're emotional...if you're an extrovert and they're an introvert.  Be patient.

Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they shall not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

If you Smack Yourself in the Face...Don't forget to Laugh

So this summer, I have been stress eating.  I won't go into what the stress is about.  This isn't a sob story about me.  I've gained 10 pounds since January and I know it's time to lose it.  I don't feel like I'm at my peak and my heart, my energy level, and my jeans show that.  :-)

I haven't been my "Superhero Mama" self so I needed to get back into it.  Not working out as much, not reading my bible as much, not going to bed as early, eating more 'sometimes' food, just not feeling as positive.  I try to be careful how I talk about my body and my weight in front of the superheroes.  I want them to know that strong can come in many shapes and sizes and that it's a full body, mind, faith in God package that develops strength.  So I've never said anything about it in front of them but I have made a shift backwards so I need to make that conscious shift forward again.

Step 1...I got back into my daily Bible readings (somehow life crowded them out).  Step 2... I started doing the couch to 5k program with the goal of increasing my speed (I can already run a 5k but I'm slow.).  So I run the intervals at a faster pace and the challenge is motivating me again.  Step 3...Then I started looking for new strength training routines I could do to "shake things up" a bit.

This brings me to the laughing part.  I was doing a new routine this morning.  You take a medicine ball.  Hold it over your head with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart.  Then with your arms straight you (in one fluid movement...hypothetically), throw the ball down, move to a squat, pick up the ball from the floor and stand back up with the ball above your head...ready to start again.

Sounds great right?  I picked the 12 pound ball...seemed good since I've been doing more than that for other things.  Then I read the directions...it said "Throw forcefully".  So I did.  Wouldn't you know it...that ball bounced back up...hit me in the chin and threw me off balance.  Needless to say, I didn't complete the squat but I did start laughing.  In the past, I would have been mortified and not wanted to try again.  I would have berated myself for my clumsiness and not wanted to have anyone see me attempt it again.  I would have cut myself down.  But instead...I laughed.  I picked the ball up again and this time...I didn't "throw forcefully".  It went much more smoothly.

When I got home my muscles were happily sore and I was still laughing.  I woke up my Handsome Hubby for the day and shared my highlight with him.  He just smiled.  "I bet you didn't know you married such a graceful woman!".

My point.  Don't be afraid to try.  Don't take yourself too seriously.  This journey to health is hard!  I was smooth sailing and let myself slip some.  So I gained 10 pounds.  It's OK!  I will get back in shape.  I just need to find a new challenge.  Now I've found it and away I go.  I also needed to focus on my entire self, my faith, my food, my sleep.  Working out alone doesn't cut it.  I needed to drown out those negative voices from the old me and tell them to SHUT UP!  Then I needed to relax and take it ONE...MOMENT...AT...A...TIME!  The journey is long but it's worth it.  Cut yourself some slack...laugh when the medicine ball smacks you in the face...and keep moving.

God wants you close to Him...taking care of your relationship with Him (#1 priority!!!) and the body/mind He gave you is part of that.

Matthew 7:13-14

New King James Version (NKJV)

 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because^[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Chunky Monkey Muffins

So I have a cold and needed something easy to make for the Superheroes.  The bacon was in the oven as I searched my pantry. Much to my joy I had everything I needed to make the Paleo Parents Chunky Monkey Muffins (click on the muffin name for the link).  I did use sunflower seed butter, reduced baking soda to 1 1/2 teaspoon, and added some chopped white chocolate for the boys.  When you use the dates it does help to rehydrate them some if they're dry by letting them soak for 10 minutes in HOT water. This helps when you try to chop them up with the banana in the food processor. I was very generous in my cup of dates too. I hope you try this recipe. The kids love it and so do we. Definitely worth the time in the kitchen.