Carrot Fries

So I have a new addiction. Carrots. It's a great addiction and I'm excited about it. I came across a recipe that baked carrots and zucchini with salt and pepper and it was supposed to be awesome. It sure was.
I love sweet potato fries, but I know I really shouldn't eat a ton of them. I don't want to stray too far from Paleo by stuffing myself with them. But now with my carrot fries I don't have to feel guilty for eating a whole pan of them. (I've had them 3 times for a snack in 1 week...they are goooood).
So here is what I did. I like spicy and salty...so if you don't, just alter the amount of pepper or change the seasonings.
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into fries
Salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder to taste. ( I just sprinkled each over the top)
1. Preheat the oven to 415°
2. Peel and slice your carrots
3. Place foil onto baking sheet and coat pan and carrots in coconut oil.
4. Sprinkle seasonings over top.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes. (I mix them up with my spatula about 20 minutes into cooking)
6. Let cool. Taste. Re-season. Eat. Yum.
Best thing is...they are carrots.

Chicken Zoodle Soup

It has been awhile since my last posting, but for a good reason. We welcomed our third son, Grant! He is a little over 2 months old and is doing amazingly. I have been getting really excited to write this first post, post-baby, to tell you all about everything! So here it goes…

Grant was born 5 days late, weighing 7lbs. 5 ounces. I was curious how much he would weigh since I read about paleo babies being on the lighter side than what is becoming normal these days. As for the boys I’ve had, he was right in between; Pretty average baby. We had a home birth with such an amazing group of Midwives and student midwives. Good thing he didn’t get too big, since I definitely wouldn’t have made it to the hospital for a c-section. Everything went beautifully and I was ready to recover at home on the first day.

That first day went by like a flash. My husband is an amazing man. A little while after Grant was born and there was a bit of down time, he fed the midwives some of the frozen muffins for snacks (which they thought were delicious). I was finally ready to eat. For my first meal, Bone Broth Soup! I loved it and he loved having it all ready to go.  My Mom and Dad had taken the 2 older boys (4 and 2 years old) the morning Grant was born. They all came back home that night to meet their baby brother and new grand baby. It was a perfect day.  

The next day, I kept craving more soup! It was perfect since my mom just kept pouring it out from the defrosted mason jars and would serve me a bowl when ever I was hungry. I snacked on apple sauce and the muffins when I felt like something sweeter. I added in a meatloaf muffin every once in a while to boost up my protein. I was so excited that I was prepared. There is nothing that you need more than to lay down, post-baby and this was definitely what I was able to do.

My sister is the most amazing woman. She drove 8 hours the day after the baby was born to help cook, clean, and entertain the boys.  It was SO helpful having someone around that knew paleo, cooked remarkable paleo meals, and knew how to keep the kids eating paleo while I was ‘out of service.’ Her presence was the best gift.  She knew exactly what a Mom of a newborn wanted and needed. While she was here, she cooked for me and I heard her say often…SAVE THE MASON JARS! It was like they were gold.  She was right though. I needed to save those freezer meals for the days I didn’t have Mom and sister in town to cook for me. Those 3-4 days of extra meals are amazing. It was almost sad eating my frozen meals and watching the freezer shelf get a little emptier each day. But that is what they were for! And I am so glad I got motivated to cook those meals in advance.

All these meals lasted me about 2 ½ weeks. I didn’t have anyone bring over meals (my stomach is very fortunate about that) so that was purely from freezer meals and the meals my sister cooked while she was here. The larger size meals were so helpful to have to cook for the whole family when visitors were gone and I was starting to walk around the house again. I could easily reheat the frozen zucchini noodles and defrost the spaghetti sauce for a quick dinner. I felt 2 weeks of meals is a pretty good amount. By that time I was ready to attempt the whole prepping and cooking dinner thing. It took me 3 times longer than usual, however, since I had to take many breaks to nurse, change diapers, and chase the other 2 around. But at least I was healed fully (thankfully to my initial days of rest) and able to do it.

AND I had energy. That was the major reason for keeping up paleo while pregnant. That and I get all crazy if I have a ton of sugar, processed foods, wheat and corn. My stomach aches and I get headaches almost automatically. Who wants low energy along with all the other icky stuff while trying to heal and take care of a newborn? Not me.

I can’t wait to share with you more of my post-baby experiences and the adventures of breastfeeding while eating paleo. So many exciting things and experiments to come!

Here’s a bone broth soup recipe. I mixed in some zucchini noodles and froze it in mason jars. It was one of my favorites and I was suggested to use it for ‘Labor Day.’ I’m glad I took that advice. It was exactly what I craved and couldn’t get enough of.

CHICKEN ZOODLE SOUP

*For this freezer meal, I suggest doubling, then eating ½ for dinner and freeze the other half in mason jars for an easy and comforting freezer meal.

4 leg quarters (bone in)

6 celery stalks, cut into chunks

1 large onion, chopped

6 carrots cut into chunks

4-5 zucchinis, sliced/peeled to resemble noodles

2 tsp. thyme

2 ½ quarts chicken broth.

Heat chicken broth and thyme in a

5 qt.or larger pot. Place chicken quarters in the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for about an hour. While chicken is cooking, chop veggies and place all (except zucchini) in the pot with the chicken. Simmer veggies for 20-30 minutes. Place the zucchini in the pot for the last 10 minutes of cook time. Salt and pepper to taste.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Paleo Snack for kids

You always heard when you were younger... "It's not good manners to play with your food." Oops. I love playing with my food. It is also one of the ways I can get my kids to eat healthy snacks and meals. Cucumber slices, tomatoes,  raisins...sounds boring. BUT when you fix those same things up to make it look like a caterpillar...that's exciting!

                     

"Kids...we are eating caterpillars today!" Now that gets their attention.

In addition to my stay at home mom status, I am also a preschool teacher and daycare provider.  Snack is one of my favorite things to plan. I take the book or theme we are learning about that week and try to figure out a fun snack to make.  So now, of course, I have the fun challenge of making a Paleo theme-related snack. I love it.

It's interesting to see how excited the kids get when you created something fun with food. They don't even care they aren't getting gold fish or Graham crackers. They are eating the character from their book. That's way cooler.

So enjoy this Very Hungry Caterpillar...Paleo style.

Look at the smile on that kid. Now that is a fun (and healthy) snack

Freezer Meals - Double Up Dinners

So this sort of extends from one of my previous posts about "The Fourth Trimester" and freezing up meals for easy cooking. I am so into this idea for this pregnancy. I don't want to go off my paleo way of eating and feel icky just because I wasn't prepared. I want to be energized by eating good food and heal faster than I did with the other two kids..aka...taking it easy and not standing on my feet for long periods of time.

So... I have a few good freezer meal ideas for my fellow paleo preggos to cook up and freeze. Actually this is for anyone that has something approaching where it would be easier to have meals pre-cooked.  I decided to start a month before the little guy is due.  So that itsn't as overwhelming as it sounds; cooking meals upon meals to freeze up for later eating.  I decided to just double up the last month and cook what was on the paleo plan for dinner, then double my recipe so that  half is ready to freeze up. There has been many challenges in my way this month;dealing with 2 sick kids and if you know anything about Arizona...spring training is upon us; meaning visitors upon visitors to entertain. All of this while 38 weeks pregnant and deciding to have a home birth. Pretty nuts...but loving every minute of it.

Anyway, back to freezer meals. So here are some of the meals that I have so far stashed away. Some of the ideas listed are things I already have frozen in my freezer on a regular basis anyway. In addition, I made sure that I bought all the meats I wanted when they were on sale so that I also don't have to send my husband to the store for some chicken if he was willing to cook for us one night.

The first one is my "Labor Day" Bone Broth. I got this idea from the reading material handed out at my mid-wife appointment a couple times ago. I remember being SO thirsty and hungry after the labor of my first two sons. Having a broth made with the bones, vegetables, and meat will replenish you in so many positive ways. I made it for dinner one night, and everyone loved it, so we froze it up ready for the big day. Here are some other good paleo freeze up ideas: 

Freezer List:

Labor Day Bone Broth Soup

Paleo Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

Paleo Spaghetti Sauce with Italian Sausage Links

Paleo Chicken Cacciatore

Paleo Tomato Soup

Paleo Butternut Squash Soup

Frozen Zuchini Noodles (still raw, just sliced the way Meatloaves Paleo  like them for the sauces)

Muffin Cup Meatloaves

Egg, Veggie & Ham "muffins" (baked in muffin cups and frozen).

Paleo Waffles (This is a staple in our house anyway).

Paleo Pancakes

Frozen berries for easy smoothies

Paleo Muffins (Blueberry and Zuchini are our favorite)

Pre-Sliced Peppers and onions

 

So this is the initial list. Check out our recipe blog for some of these recipes and more.

One last tip that I have taken advantage of. Bake anything and everything you can in muffin pans. Such an awesome idea for individual servings and easy re-heating. That is what I did with my mini egg & ham muffins and mini meatloaves (Picture on the right). Love it.

I'll update you throughout the next couple weeks to add to the list as I add it to my freezer.  Happy Freezing Everyone!

Buy In Bulk!

It is harder to come by sales and coupons for PALEO foods: Fresh and unprocessed. But, that does not mean you have to always pay a premium price. Look at the price per pound in BULK.

1. Know what you pay. I keep a mental list of how much I will pay per pound (or per ounce) for most foods. If you can't remember off the top of your head, write it down!! 

Mine goes a little like this:

Whole chicken - $.99 per lb. 

Chicken breasts - &1.99 per lb.

Ground Beef - $3.00 per lb.

Pork - $1.69 per lb.

Bacon - $3.00 per lb.

Almonds - $3.50 per lb

Almond Flour - $4.00 per lb.

Eggs - $1.50 per dozen

Etc...

2. Consider what is important to you. You may want to eat only organic. You may want to eat only grass-fed beef. You may want Omega-3 enriched eggs. You may just want a healthier lifestyle but need to save money everywhere you are able. Paleo shopping CAN be very expensive - so if this is an issue for your family you must make some choices. In my own household, we have a limited food budget for 5 children and 2 adults. So I, for example, choose to spend more on certain items but not buy grass-fed beef. You do NOT have to throw out the Paleo lifestyle if you cannot afford $7.00 for a pound of beef!

3. Look around. Once you know what you pay, you will find deals in different places. Check online marketplaces for things like oil, nut flours, and spices. Browse the mid-week Grocery Store fliers for unexpected price cuts. Find the clearance section of your favorite grocery store for quick sale items.

4. Buy BIG! Now that you know what you want AND you know what to spend, you are ready to SAVE BIG. All of a sudden, one day you will see chicken on sale for $.67 per pound. This is when you Buy BIG and fill your freezer with 3 months worth of chicken. Stock your freezer and your pantry with the Paleo foods you see for LESS than what you normally pay. 

We are buying tons of fruits and vegetables and, unfortunately, they will only last for a week or so. Buy in BULK any foods that can be frozen or stored in the pantry. When you print off yourFamily Style Paleo Shopping List, you may be able to check off most of your list items that are already in your pantry and freezer! Then you only have to shop for those fresh foods each week.

LOVELY Bacon-candy

My husband LOVES Bacon. They say a way to a man's heart, is through his stomach; this is a tribute to my beloved!

MeeNut Bacon-Candy

2 dates, pits removed

1 tsp. MeeNut Butter

1 slice bacon, cut in half

wooden skewer

cucumber slice

Slice open dates. Fill each with 1/2 tsp. MeeNut Butter. Wrap each with 1/2 slice of bacon. Bake in oven at 400 for 20-30 minutes. Remove cooked bacon date from dish and drain on paper towels until cool enough to handle.

           

Cut a corner piece off of each date (diagonally on the bottom third of the date) Press two bacon dates together at the cut off point - forming a heart! Thread a wooden skewer through the heart to hold the two sides together. Cut off any excess skewer. Decorate the ends of the skewer with cucumber pieces shaped like the ends of an arrow.

This is a little more involved for the kiddos - but they can definitely help with assembly. 

Let me tell you, these yummy "candies" will not last long. 

Spoil your Paleo Bacon Lovers with a special treat this week!

All Natural

It dawned on me the other day why I love Paleo eating so much. It totally fits my outlook on life. I have never been one to take pain relievers when I have a headache (to my husband's dimise actually...cause I don't stop the complaining about it part) or even drinking soda since I couldn't understand how carbonation and those bubbles could ever be good in your body. To many, this may be weird. Especially since we are in a time where there is a drug to fix everything. I am definitely no expert on drugs or medical anything, but I still found it all to be sketchy business. I'm also not saying that modern medicine isn't helpful... I'm just givin my general thoughts on life here.

So last year I read Robb Wolf's, The Paleo Solution. It made so much sense to me. He addressed these ideas that I have always had in the back of my head and basically verified my hesitation to taking drugs and putting not only chemicals, but anything processed, into my body. Our bodies are just not made to process some things. So I was sold. Eat things that grow on trees or things you can hunt. Simple. Natural.  

So then, I got pregnant with boy #3 last summer.  All my friends are starting their families as well, so I have been able to talk more about birthing stories, views, and expectations. I soon realized that my pregnancy views go hand in hand with my views on health and paleo eating.  I, again, am not a medical professional, but just blurbing out my own views of how I like to birth my babies. There are options these days...All natural, C-sections, and epidurals seem to be the major 3. Since I already said I didn't like taking pain relievers with a headache, I was definitely scared of either a c-section or an epidural. I decided to commit to a natural birth without drugs. This time around I have more motivation than the 2 times before I'm not just scared of the side-effects of an epidural or recovery time from a c-section. This time I think its cool that I'm choosing to birth my baby naturally and that it goes hand in hand with my views of a healthy natural life.

It's not only the idea of how I am going to birth my baby, but more the little steps along the way and the little successes I have had this pregnancy compared to my other 2. My first 2 boys were born in hospitals, both great experiences and no major complications. I am very blessed about that. I wasn't eating paleo, and didn't even know about it, during those pregnancies.  This has been the first "paleo pregnancy" that my sister's family and my family have gotten to experience.  I'm the experiment and I love it!  Since I have had pretty good pregnancies in the past, I can't say that eating paleo is a sure fix to everyone's pregnancy concerns. But for me it seemed like much more than a coincidence that this time around things are going so much smoother.

So the first fun difference is that I will be having this baby at home with a midwife. At first it was a financial move to skip out on the thousands of dollars we would have had to pay to the hospital vs. not paying that and having the baby at home. Then as I looked into midwife's in my area and met with one near by; we were sold immediately. She knows natural remedies for things that pop up during your pregnancy. My kind of style for sure.

So the next pregnancy success came when I asked about bleeding. With my first 2 kids I tended to excessively bleed after I birthed them. My midwife set my mind at ease and told me that she prevents bleeding during the last month with vitamin k. I am about to start taking that supplement and am excited to share the results after the baby is born.

During an earlier visit when i was around 6 months along, we noticed there were traces of blood in my urine without any other indications of a Urinary Tract Infection. Her response...eat more cranberries. That's a nice paleo food to increase. Just to make sure it didn't turn into a full blown UTI, she had me go to the farmer's market to get Grapefruit Seed Extract. I took drops of that for 3-4 days. I came back to make sure everything was still ok, and those traces of blood in my urine were gone. Done. Handled without antibiotics.

A major worry of mine was my iron levels. I have been anemic many times in my life. When I was a child I remember the icky iron medicine, in college I became anemic again, and then again with my first 2 pregnancies. The solution for the first 2 times around was an iron supplement. I was fine with that and it helped...especially when I knew I loose a lot of blood during labor. I was waiting for the midwife to tell me that my iron was low again this time around. Then, as she checked my iron level, she said it was perfect. Not low at all. It makes sense. I consume so much more iron sources from my food since i have started paleo. Check that worry off the list too.

Then there were the "little" pregnancy symptom differences that are interesting to note:

1. Energy Levels - Super low energy for first two; Normal energy levels with Paleo
2. Headaches - experienced often in 1st and 3rd trimesters; No headaches with Paleo
3. Nausea - No nausea for first prenancy; bad nausea during 1st trimester of 2nd baby; food adversions that probably caused the nausea for baby #3 during 1st trimester.
4. hormone craziness - I was definitely hormonal and remember it with my first 2. (Poor hubby); Big decrease in hormonal craziness with #3. All around happier or something. Weird.
5. skin blemishes - First two I got weird skin blemishes and broke out; Skin is lookin GOOD for Paleo Pregnancy baby. Actually it has been awesome since starting paleo in general (and I have grown up with skin and pimple issues...so that is awesome).

And then there is always weight gain. First two I gained 30-35 lbs. when all was said and done. It was considered to be in the range of what is "healthy" weight gain. This time around I started at a much lower weight than started with my first two. That is due to my going paleo 4 months before I got pregnant this time around. It has been interesting though. I started at 130lbs. and now I am 152 lbs. at 35 weeks. So 22 lbs. Pretty steady gain the whole way through. There hasn't been a week where i gain 5 lbs one week and loose 2 the next (like with my first baby.) So one more month...finishing strong.

So there it is. The experiment is almost over. Only one more month to go! Go Go Paleo!!!

Valentine's Day Cookie Cutter Cookies

A Valentine's Day paleo treat for the kiddos. We couldn't make it to the cookie decorating event at our church since my son had a runny nose, so we decided to make our own Paleo-style cookie treats at home. These are much better on our stomachs since processed sugar now gives us gas, cramps, and makes us cranky. No thanks! You'll definitely LOVE these paleo "sugar" cookies frosted with melted dark chocolate.

Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies - Recipe adapted from www.primal-palate.com

2 cups almond meal

1 Tbsp. coconut flour (Optional for cake-like cookies)

2 eggs

2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup raw honey, melted

1 tsp. sea salt

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Cookie Cutters of choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients, then add in the wet and melted ingredients. Blend with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes. On a coconut oiled pan, spread the batter as thin as possible. The original recipe said to split the batter in half and spread out onto 2 oiled pans. I used all my batter on one pan, so the cookies came out thicker and more cake-like. If you split the batter and spread into a thinner layer, they will be thinner and more crunchy. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until dough is a bit dry on top. Cut out cookies and transfer to another coconut oiled pan. finish baking cut cookies for 5-7  minutes longer. Cool, then decorate with melted dark chocolate.

 

Yummy addition: Dip small cookies fully into chocolate to cover completely. These make yummy chocolate candy like treats.  

MeeNut Bon-Bons

These little treats are too good to be Paleo, you must try. Even little hands can master the simple task of these Paleo bon-bons. But really, what makes these yummy bites special is the LOVE that comes inside.

If you have never tried it, you must... but hide it from the children. It is THAT delicious.  MeeNut Butter is a carefully handmade Paleo nut butter: Almonds, Walnuts, Macadamia Nuts, and Pecans. YUM! But it gets even better. Our great friend, Mee, is an inspiration to my little ones as she single-handedly takes on the mass produced almond butters of our time.

MeeNut Bon-Bons

1 banana

1/4 cup MeeNut Butter

2 oz. DARK Chocolate

It's simple: cut. fill. dip. freeze.

 After freezing for a couple of hours, the banana tastes like ice cream! You can also use freeze dried bananas for a crunch. This recipe makes about 8.

Perfect for a Valentines Day treat for the ones YOU LOVE!

Paleo Tomato Soup

Soup has been my favorite thing this winter. There are some really good soup recipes out there and can be easily made paleo. Here is one of my favorites. Tomato Soup. If you look on a can of pre-made tomato soup, it is AMAZING how much stuff they add...sugar being a big ingredient. This is a great way to get your comfort food fix.

PALEO TOMATO SOUP

28 ouncecan diced tomatoes (fire roasted give a good flavor)

½ small white onion
6 cloves garlic
2 TBSP coconut oil

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup coconut milk

Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions in coconut oil until soft. Add garlic for last 45 seconds – 1 min. until fragrant. In a blender, blend the diced tomatoes. Dump ½ of puree in a saucepan. Add the onion mixture to the remaining tomatoes in the blender and blend until smooth. Add to saucepan with the chicken broth and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 – 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

**optional – add hot sauce or cayenne pepper to spice it up.

                                                    

Also, store in a mason jar for easy leftovers!

Gestational Diabetes and Paleo

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you all! If your Holiday Season was busy like it was for our family, then you are still cleaning up from Christmas, putting things away, and trying to get back to 'normal.' We had a successful vacation with the boys and were able to see all of our families from Santa Barbara to San Diego. I am always apprehensive on how it will be to travel with our 2 young boys. (Wait...three boys...we brought our dog, D-Bo along too.) Fortunately, they had an amazing time and did well adjusting to all the new places!

However great the trip, I always love coming back home. I am a creature of habit, that is for sure. I love routine, schedules, organization, and planning. So we are home, getting things back in order and getting things ready for our new little boy coming in March!

Since we are about 2 months out, we are going to our midwife every 2 weeks to check on me and the little one. Over the holidays we also did our glucose testing. I mentioned in an earlier post that my midwife doesn't do the sugar drink method to test my glucose levels (which I love!). She came to my house, took my blood reading before I ate for the day, then returned 2 hours later to test it again. I passed with flying colors! I know that some people have other experiences with gestational diabetes, and I'm not saying that eating paleo is going to fix that everytime...but my personal opinion ... if diabetes is a concern, read up on it and try it.

I have a close friend that had gestational diabetes, while pregnant with her son, about 2 years ago. Her and her husband weren't a paleo family, however after her glucose test, and re-test, her doctor said that she needed to control her sugar-levels with her diet. If she was unable to keep them certain a certin number (i'm not sure what that number was), then she would have to be put on medication.

She, like me, doesn't like putting medication in her body. She didn't want to take the pills. So cold-turkey she cut out all carbs. I mean all, including fruit. She basically ate broccoli and brocolli as much as she wanted. She was able to manage it with diet and come very close to the blood-sugar levels that the doctor indicated. She did it for her baby and herself. Her boy was and is a very healthy 18 month old now. Its crazy the motivation you get when it comes to your children's health.

I remind myself of her dedication constantly while I'm searching for something to eat (which is getting more and more and more often since this baby is a growin!). Eat healthy so my baby will be healthy. That is my new year's resolution...We will continue to be a Paleo Eating Family for 2013!