Why my family went paleo

I have had many people ask me this question. Some are asking because they are curious, others are asking because they want to have fodder to tell us why it doesn't work or isn't the right way to eat. Some ask so they can make judgmental comments that have nothing to do with food. 

In the last two years, my family has been going through a change. We went from a standard American diet (SAD) to organics and real food, to gluten free, and now we are paleo/primal. 

Let me explain what paleo/primal is to start with and then we'll go from there.

Paleolithic lifestyle consists of eating no processed food, no grains, no dairy. You eat grass fed meats, veggies and fruit, seeds and nuts, no refined anything, including sugar, etc. things a hunter/gatherer in the Paleolithic era would've found to eat. There are a lot of other aspects of it, such as gut health, eating fermented foods, taking cod liver oil, etc. some of these things we have not started yet. It is NOT a diet, it is a lifestyle change. It is NOT a weight loss program, it is a lifestyle change. I have done a lot of research on all kinds of lifestyles regarding food and this is the one that I have found is best for my family. As the homemaker and the one that does all the grocery shopping and cooking, I decide what to cook and what to buy. My boys enjoy the food I put on the table and little by little, we are all learning a new way of eating and looking at food. We are all learning to try new things and taste new flavors. 

When I say we are paleo, I always say paleo/primal. Primal lifestyle adds dairy in, which we continue to eat, so we are technically a cross between the two. 

When I first learned about paleo, I was taken aback that anyone could live without grains. You mean, I can't eat bread??? I almost had a panic attack thinking about it, since I have been a carb lover my entire life and lived off of cereal and toast and macaroni and cheese!

So we started with gluten free. It went okay, as my boys and I have gluten intolerance, I felt it was a necessity. I didn't really dig the gluten free "breads". I need to watch my carb intake anyway since I am at high risk do becoming diabetic, so the gluten free foods and breads were high carb. Not a good idea.

We weaned ourselves off of bread and got to eating sandwiches using pita pockets instead. We are now experimenting with paleo tortillas and pitas made from grain free flours, such as arrowroot powder and coconut flour. We have finally found a paleo pasta recipe that works for us, so we can continue to have "fettuccini" Alfredo. 

What I hear a lot of is that if you can make cupcakes and pitas and tortillas, how is that paleo? Well, if you are grain free and have certain things made paleofied, it isn't bad for you. Sweets and treats are a once in a while treat. Tortillas and pitas we can incorporate into our every day life without feeling like we are "cheating". Since this is not a diet, you can do as you please, within reason. 

Usually, once a week we go out to a restaurant and have a meal. Before, we would order what we pleased. Now, we look hard at the choices to make a good decision and try to eat as paleo as possible. Sometimes, it doesn't work, but that is okay. I can tell you, however, that we definitely know when we don't eat properly. Your body gets used to not having grains, or processed food. When you put those things back into your body, the results can be awful. My stomach hurts so bad from eating grains that I try very hard to make sure I don't eat any. I also have other food allergies, so my trips to a restaurant are usually a terribly stressful experience for all involved. I have to ask so many questions I would rather just go home and make myself something instead. 

Health wise, our bodies are different than before. I have lost a total of 27 lbs and counting. All three of us have lost some weight, which was a good thing, but our bodies are changing in other ways that the every day eye cannot see. You don't know by looking at me that my blood sugar levels are lower. You don't know that my blood pressure has went down. You wouldn't know that my measurements have gone down considerably. I have lost a total of 13" in my measurements. It has been a slow process, but slow and steady wins the race, right? I can workout harder, I can walk farther, I can lift more weight. My body feels better. Since going off of grains, I have noticed that if i do eat a pita pocket or something with grains in it, my fingers swell, and I get a headache. Almost immediately. It isn't worth it to me to go back to eating grains and having inflammation and a headache. 

I told you my panic when I thought about not having bread earlier in this post. I don't miss bread. Not at all. I don't miss cereal. I don't miss cakes and cookies, I can make my own cakes and cookies on occasions with coconut flour or tapioca starch or arrowroot powder. 

This lifestyle doesn't work for everyone. It takes patience and time to make every single meal from scratch. Is it worth it? It is for my family. Is it right for you? I don't know. Only you know what is best for you and your family.

All I can tell you is that we feel better, and it is worth it for us. If you want to know more, feel free to ask, I will gladly tell you our story and what we do and why. But, don't judge us because we eat differently than you. We are not food snobs, or hippies. We are just a normal American family trying to fix our bodies after a lifetime of processed foods on the standard American diet. 

Did you ever make bisquick?

The other day I was thinking of what to make for supper. My boys are huge fans of chicken and dumplings, so I decided to make some. But, alas, no bisquick or pioneer baking mix.

What's a girl to do?

A year ago, I would've made a trip to Kroger and bought some bisquick. But, instead, I decided I could find a recipe to mak my own bisquick and go for the real food option. Ever read the ingredients on the box of bisquick? Can you pronounce all of them? Didn't think so....

So, making bisquick is so super easy that I don't know why I haven't been making my own all along! And much cheaper than buying the box from the store! All you need is three ingredients. Yep, just three! Flour, baking powder, and butter.

Here's the recipe. It makes enough to put some in the freezer for another day when I want to make biscuits or pancakes.

6 cups flour
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup butter

Mix ingredients, cut butter into dry ingredients until blended well. Store in airtight container. Done.

It takes 2 cups of the baking mix and 2/3 cup of milk for dumplings, as well as biscuits.
See, how easy is that? Making things from scratch isn't too hard, it just takes a little extra time.

Maybe next time you want to make pancakes or biscuits, and run out of bisquick, instead of heading out to the store, make some!
Have fun!
Until next time!

When Eating Out Makes You Sick.

On Sunday, my boys and I decided to stop and have a taco for lunch after church. We don't usually go to Taco Bell, or any place for that matter, other than Sunday tradition of arni's after church sometimes. We decided to go to Taco Bell and eat lunch.

I ate a nacho supreme and a gordita supreme. I had water to drink. Literally, before we left the restaurant, my stomach hurt, I had indigestion and I felt ill. The rest of the day I was downing tums like they were candy and regretting our decision to eat that kind of food. For several months now, we have ate wonderfully, making our food at home, enjoying a treat out once a week before or after church.

A couple years ago, my pantry looked a lot like the middle aisles of the Kroger. Boxes of Mac and cheese, boxes of dried potato side dishes, pastas, canned soups, etc. My fridge wasn't much better. I made "homemade" meals, but they weren't truly homemade when you cook some meat and add a boxed side dish.

Eating real food and whole healthy foods has been an adventure for me. I am a very picky eater and I don't like trying new foods. I have experimented with a lot of new foods since we have made this switchover. I have done hoards of research on the subject. I have bought new cookbooks, I have been experimenting with gluten free cooking.

I have to say, my newest cookbook is a gluten free baking book. I have been looking for bread recipes that are gluten free and haven't been successful yet, but low and behold, this new cookbook is now my new best friend! You make five different flour blends, all gluten free, that you use with each other in recipes. A culinary institute came up with the recipes and I must say, they are quite delicious.

I made two of the flour blends on Saturday, and am planning on making the other three this weekend.  I found a dessert recipe using the two flour blends I made and so I decided to make it for our dessert on Monday evening to accompany our grilled chicken Caesar salads and lobster tails. I made a blueberry buckle. (Basically a blueberry crumb cake) and it was fantastic!! And gluten free!! So no bloated belly from the wheat that inevitably comes when I eat wheat or gluten anymore. I can, however, eat sourdough bread, for whatever reason the sourdough bread doesn't make my stomach hurt. Not sure as to why, but am researching it as I type this blog!

When you eat certain foods, does it affect your body? Your health? Both? I used to eat peanut butter and cashews for a snack. However, my body decided to become allergic. Some people can eat wheat or milk, or soy or nuts and all of a sudden, it becomes a problem. Sometimes it can turn into a fatal problem! I have found out that I have an allergy to nuts, and just on Monday I found out I have an allergy to shellfish. (Good thing I don't like fish much anyway, huh?) I am pretty sure I have a slight allergy to wheat as well, but not as bad as nuts. The way certain foods make you feel can be slight or severe, but all in all, it may be caused by an allergy. It can be something as a certain food makes your stomach feel sick every time you eat it, or it can cause your throat to start to itch. Either way, you have to pay attention to your reactions to food before it turns into something more serious.

I can tell you this, I use to pop tums like candy, literally, every single night. Since eating whole foods, I do not have indigestion and heartburn hardly at all. If I do, it is usually because I have eaten something out at a restaurant or at someone's house that isn't organic or "real food".

There are so many ways to start on a whole food life. It is easier than you think.
1. Buy your fruits and veggies organically.
2. Go to your local farmers market and try something from a local farmer.
3. Go to a fresh market or whole foods market or trader joes and check out some of the food there. You can make it fit your budget if you try. It takes time and effort, but you can eat healthy. I am happy to talk about food to anyone so don't ever hesitate to ask.  :)

When you tell people you are changing to this kind of life, they will call you everything for a hippie to a food snob, but I don't pay attention to it anymore.

New Way of Thinking

It's been a bit since my last post. I have been experimenting with new ways of cooking old things I have been cooking since I was a kid. Organic, natural. Real food cooking is quite a bit different than regular cooking. You have to think long and hard about what you are making, planning ahead and making sure you have everything you need.

For example: macaroni and cheese. This happens to be one of my favorite dishes to eat. Since I was able to chew food on my own I have loved Mac and cheese. I learned how to open the Kraft box and make it when I was barely tall enough to see over the stove. I then perfected my Mac and cheese when I was older to baking it and making it homemade. However, it really wasn't truly homemade or made from scratch.

I used to take pasta, dump in cubed velveeta cheese add some milk, maybe add a few crumbled crackers and bake it until brown and bubbly. Yum!

After transitioning to this new way of life, I realized that velveeta cheese isn't really cheese at all, which is why it is so easy to melt and it is so creamy. I got out my old cookbooks and checked out seem new recipes and I went old school. Melt butter, add flour, add milk, add real cheese and melt it, add to the pasta and bake for a little bit. Add breadcrumbs if you like, or don't. But, be aware that not all real cheese is the same when melted. Some has a lot of oil in it when it melts. Something you don't want to serve people is oily macaroni and cheese. Eek! So it is really trial and error. Mixing different types of cheeses gives it a while new flavor too.

As our family has been getting adjusted to this new way of life, I too, am learning a lot about who I was as a cook and have changed a .ot of things about the way I cook. I have always enjoyed being in my kitchen, but it just seems more enjoyable when I am getting the cookbooks out and making something completely and I do mean completely from scratch. No boxes of prepared things, no dehydrated potatoes from a box. It's all fresh and prepared by me. I have learned to love cooking this new way even more than before! Yes, it takes me a lot longer sometimes to make dinner or lunch, but  the taste of our food and knowing exactly where it comes from is truly worth it.

What do you cook in your kitchen now that is something you use a lot of prepared foods to make that maybe you could change and tweak into a newer better recipe for you and your family? For me, Mac and cheese. Maybe it's potatoes for you, or maybe it's a casserole you make a lot. Step back sometime and look at how you are cooking and give it a try. I guarantee you, your taste buds, and your body will thank you!!!

Until next time, if you need me, I will be experimenting in my kitchen for something new to cook!

Coffee creamer and pancake topping all in one?

Have you ever seen the commercial where the lady is ordering a piece of pie and the waitress asks if they want oil or cream? This cracks me up every time I see it. It cracks me up because it isn't actually cream that makes that brand of whipped topping. Well, I should say it has some cream in it. But it also has a whole chemistry assignment added in.

Have you ever made homemade whipped cream? It literally takes a few minutes and two ingredients. It stores well and is so much better tasting than that stuff in the can or plastic tub.

I used to buy the spray can of whipped topping or the tub of cool whip to put on pie or use in recipes calling for it. It wasn't until recently that I remembered how easy it is to make homemade whipped cream. So I got some cream and did it. Just like that. Now my boys won't eat anything but homemade. In fact, I have to keep it on hand for them to use in their coffe instead of powdered creamer and sugar. We use it in place of syrup on pancakes or waffles sometimes too.

So easy, did I mention that? Here's how to do it.

1 pint or quart of heavy whipping cream. (I use organic hormone free cream)
Powdered sugar. (I will post one of these days on how to make your own powdered sugar if you really want to go old school and homemade. Otherwise, I use organic powdered sugar.)

Pour cream into mixer. You can use hand mixer if you don't have the big mixer. Add a couple tablespoons of sugar depending on how sweet you want it. Turn on mixer (if you have the kitchen aid brand mixer, use the whisk attachment) and wait until the cream starts to thicken up and makes stiff peaks. Turn off mixer, put it in whatever container you please and refrigerate. I put half in the refrigerator and half in a container in the freezer for later use. It stores well and freezes fine for me.
Enjoy!

Starting small with one thing at a time is an easier way to make a switch to more homemade and organic real food. And who doesn't like a creamy coffee in the morning? Have I mentioned what kind of chemicals are in those powdered creamers? Until next time.....

How does your garden grow?

Spring is almost here! Finally!

In two weeks, Cameron and Shane are both going to be home all week. Spring break this year is going to be a staycation. We are going to be tilling up our backyard and getting some good planter's dirt mixed in and getting our garden ready for planting. It isn't impossible to homestead on a subdivision lot! It may be on a smaller scale than some, but we get by and have plenty of food from our garden. The last two years since moving into our home, we have had raised garden boxes with a few rows of garden and one full of strawberries. We are literally tilling up a large square of our backyard this year. Fortunately, our HOA doesn't have any rules against having a garden, as long as it is kept up with and  doesn't become unsightly. Yay!

I have a made a diagram and know exactly what will be planted. I am planning on planting potatoes the week of spring break, and possibly peas. Then a few weeks later I will plant the rest of our garden.

Gardening is something I have enjoyed doing. I enjoy planting flowers, trees, shrubs, seeds, anything. I even bought blueberry bushes and black raspberry bushes to have fruit. We have a small grape arbor and I am planning on planting two apple trees, three if I can make it fit in the space I have.

So, if you live on a small lot, you can still garden. Make sure it is okay if there is an HOA to contend with, but it is possible. If you don't want to have your backyard tilled under, then make a couple of raised beds and plant something small, like lettuce if you love salad, or herbs if you like to add flavor to your food. Little plants like lots of sun and water! And if you prefer to keep your garden free of pesticides, use vinegar to spray weeds as they come up. It will wilt them and they will die.
with spring coming up quick, it is time to start planning!!
Happy gardening!

Four Ideas to Help You Get Started on a Healthier Diet.

Do you know what a GMO is? If not, let me help you out. GMO stands for genietically modified organism. In short, this means that something in the food has been changed, altered, modified. Obviously, you can't know what is what these days in the grocery store just by looking at the labels. They teaase you, trick you, make you think what you are eating is good for you, but in all actuality, it is garbage. Sometimes, illegal in other countries. Sometimes, it is something that could eventually make you sick.

Sounds like a conspiracy theory right?

I have spent the last year researching foods, reading labels, catching up with other homemakers out there and finding out how this real foods thing works. I have spent countless hours reading labels and have come to find out that there are a lot of foods out there that have things in them that I can't even prounounce! Isn't what we eat supposed to be something we actually know what it is? Made from wholesome ingredients? I can tell you that when I bake homemade bread, I use flour (depending on what kind of bread I am making this could be wheat flour, rice flour or coconut flour) yeast, water, honey or sucanat (a type of organic sugar) and some oil. I mix the dough, knead it, let is rise and there you go. Nice fresh, homemade bread. Nothing I can't pronounce, nothing chemically added to preserve it. Lately, I have been going gluten and wheat free, so when I go through that process, I do add xantham gum. It is natural, it is still not a chemical.

I looked at the bread at kroger one day and found things in it that sounded like something from a sci-fi show.

Here's the exact list: enriched flour (wheat flur, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid) water, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, yeast, soybean oil, salt, soy flour, sodium stearoyl lacylate, ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, calcium propionate.

Do you even know what half of that is? I can tell you that high fructose corn syrup is a GMO. Anything with corn in it has been modified and changed, enriched flour means they bleach the natural flour with chemicals, taking out the nutrients, then add in fake synthetic nutrients. The ammonium this and phophate that is just a bunch of unnecessary garbage they add in usually to preserve freshness and shelf life. Or to make it taste good and make you want more and more and more. Yes, these chemicals they add to your food actually make you want more. They have an addictive property in them. It is disgusting.

I know some will think I am nuts, read too much and have way too much time on my hands. I decided recently that since I do have time on my hands and have read and researched this stuff, that I may as well tell you all about it. We have been eating organic, real foods for the last year, off and on at times, and I will tell you that when we are eating out at restaurants or eating processed food or foods that have GMO in them, we feel sluggish, run down and just blah. When we eat organic, real foods, we feel better and it is not just in our heads. It is really a difference.

Some easy starting points to eating better.
1. Buy organic fruits and veggies. With all the pesticides and herbicides they spray all over these, you can't wash them all away. Buy from farmer's markets if you can too.
2. Buy all of your dairy products organic. Again with the hormones they give the cows in big farms, that gets transferred to you in your milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
3. Spend some time reading food labels and try to buy only things with 5 ingredients or less in them.
4. Don't buy anything that contains HFCS. (high fructose corn syrup)

These are a few starting points. I would be happy to help you in any way I can with some guidance or information. Don't hesitate to ask. :)

Whole food, whole new life.

It has been quite a while since my last post. I have recently been thinking about what I blog about and how I blog and after reading a lot of blogs lately from some other homemakers I follow, I am going to go about this blogging thing just a little differently.

Last summer, as those of you who read my blog know, our family decided to take a turn for the better regarding our health and food. We went organic and natural, eating only real foods and only foods where we could actually read all the ingredients! After a lapse back to garbage food for a few months, we have begun the journey again and doing it a little differently this time around.

Sometimes, there are circumstances where you cannot help but eat processed food. Other people's homes are a big one, out to dinner somewhere at a restaurant, etc. When Cameron is busy during the hot and heavy marching and season, it is very hard to eat good when your choices are concessions at a school. We slacked off a little at that point in time last fall, but now we are back on track.

Like I said, we are going about this a little differently this time. We were buying organic "processed" food at the whole foods market before, now we are not. It was interesting to taste the processed food that was certified organic and natural, compared to what we had been used to. While better for you, still not good for the budget, or the calorie count (if you're into that sort of thing, which we are not). Now, being allergic to nuts, I have to literally read every single label and every single ingredient list from every food. This is a giant pain in the booty, but I deal with it. You would not believe the amount of foods that have nuts in them or have been packaged in a facility with nuts or processed in a facility that also processes nuts. It's a lot to look out for! So that has become part of my every day life now


Recently, I read a book called "wheat belly". It was incredibly informational and I found it quite fascinating to read all the biology and genetics of wheat. Having had issues with my stomach my entire life, as well as Cameron, I decided it is probably a wheat/gluten sensitivity and thus, we have decided to do away with wheat and gluten as well. The doctor that wrote the book had some ideas and suggestions about what to cut out and how far to take it. I originally was going to follow the ideas, but for d out that coconut flour isn't that good for making bread. So, rice flour it is. Although coconut flour has very low glycemic index, I decided that a few carbs without wheat is still better than ingesting the wheat. So, rice flour, here we come. It makes risen yeast bread and tortillas and all kinds of flatbreads we can use in place of wheat products.

What I learned about wheat is very interesting. It isn't the same genetic makeup of the wheat originally used to make bread. It has been modified, and changed so much that it resembles the original wheat only in name. Not to mention the fact that most of the wheat we use and ingest is made  up of GMO's. (for those of you who are not privy to this kind of verbiage, GMO stands for genetically modified organisms.) Unless it is the original einkorn wheat of ancient times, it is GMO. Anyhow, wheat of today causes all kinds of troubles in your body and because of that, we are no longer ingesting it. Not to mention the gluten sensitivities.

Since I am home and don't work, I can make homemade breads, pastas and other foods. I try to cook homemade meals for my boys every day. Obviously there are times we go out for dinner or lunch or do something with friends that involves eating processed foods, but for the most part, we eat organic, real natural food. If you come to my house, you will find cage free organic eggs, organic milk, butter and veggies. Organic fruit, canned foods are organic. The meat in my freezer is Amish grass fed meat. My bread will not look like the wonder bread from kroger or marsh. My hamburger buns are homemade, gluten free. My pasta is gluten free and homemade. While some look at us like a bunch of goofballs for buying into the whole "organic natural real food fad" I can tell you with confidence that the changes in our bodies are not made up. We all three feel better, healthier, stronger. I have lost 25 lbs. and counting. Cameron has lost some weight and his body has changed shape, and Shane has lost some weight as well. We signed up for snap fitness in hopes of getting our bodies in a stronger and healthier as well. The last several years , we have discussed getting healthier, eating better, etc. and every beginning of the year it was our resolution to be the year of change. Well, this time, it is. No more talking about it. We are changing. We are making a lifestyle change.

If you are looking at making a change in your life, make this one. It is easy, it is healthier, it is worth it. I will be posting more about this subject and be sharing more about this type of lifestyle and other things that are worth changing.

Have I mentioned microwaves yet? :) Stay tuned until next time!