GAPS Diet Intro Week 1:

We are now officially 1 week into GAPS intro over here. While the whole household isn't doing GAPS, my fellow home cooks will understand when I say that it is a pain in the rear to create multiple separate menus. So, even those here who aren't officially doing GAPS are doing GAPS + stuff on the side just out of pure convenience.

I'm just one more bowl of bone broth away from
snapping and turning into a crazy cat lady.
It wouldn't be all bad, though.
Kittens are cuddly-wuddly!

Courtesy of the George Eastman House Collection,
Flickr Creative Commons

There are definitely a few learning curves. I enjoy bone broth and use it in my cooking all the time, but I've had to become accustomed to the prospect of always having it available to consume throughout the day. To that end I say horray for slow cookers! One big blessing is that my local Giant just switched its Nature's Promise chickens from "all natural" blah blah blah to Nature's Promise certified organic chickens. There's a big difference between the two! And while the organic chickens probably aren't pampered free range local chickens fed GMO free feed and allowed to forage for bugs, our family having regular, dependable access to certified organic chickens is a huge step up, especially when quality bones for broth are now a house staple. To get a certified organic chicken before that, I'd have had to drive at least 45 minutes away. I wrote a "customer comment" form at the customer service desk thanking Giant for carrying them! I know the folks at Giant probably don't get a lot of positive notes in the comment box, so a, "Way to go!" on their new inventory will probably catch their eye. I also mentioned that otherwise I'd have driven a ways to buy organic chickens from Trader Joe's, so that lets the staff know that they won a regular chunk of my money from a competitor by stocking certified organic chickens.

This is me stocking up on wholesome chickens,
with a slightly manic gleam in my eye.

Courtesy of the
George Eastman House Collection,
Flickr Creative Commons

They average $11-12/chicken, which is definitely expensive, but I am glad to have organic chicken bones from each chicken to supply us with at least a couple of days' worth of bone broth - not to mention being able to feed my GAPS patient the organic chicken's organs - so there is more value to them than just in the meat. I'll be keeping my eye out for sale prices on those chickens and when the price drops, I'll be stocking up!

I've already used a few shortcuts - Bubbies sauerkraut and Sunja's kimchis have been my go-to for sugar-free lacto-fermented veggies. One day in a blissful fantasy future I will figure out home fermented veggies, but for now I'm grateful to have a ready-made option to provide lots of lactobacillus for our guts. (And special thanks to my friend A. who lives near stores that stock these! She's been a big help in keeping us supplied.) For now I'm using the juice for our GAPS patient, but I readily hork down the veggies themselves, so it's all good.

Another couple of shortcuts I'm using this month include organic pumpkin puree and organic butternut squash puree. There is one ingredient in each of these: organic pumpkin, and organic squash, respectively. Also, I was happy to discover that their maker is committed to using BPA-free cans. Is peeling and slow cooking the whole food in my own kitchen ideal? For sure. But, having these around ensures that I don't forget to add some to meals for an added dose of good carbs.

What are your favorite bone broth tips and tricks? Have you had any fun discoveries in your local supermarket this week?


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Scoring Summer Workout Clothes at Half Price: $25 Buys a $50 Voucher For Reebok

The summer heat is beating down this week - yesterday it was 90 degrees outside by about 10 a.m. Whew! Even for the early morning classes at my Crossfit box it's right around 70 degrees in the mornings. We have some gigantic fans going during those workouts, but I'm still sweating through my tees and capris.

Right now Groupon has a smashing Fourth of July deal - $25 buys you a $50 voucher good on the Reebok website! This voucher can be used on sale and clearance items, also. Shipping and returns on the Reebok website are free. Vouchers are limited in quantity.

Thanks to Crossfit and a paleo-style diet, I've managed to drop about 30 lbs. since Thanksgiving. So, I can safely say that this is the first summer in ages that I'm up for more breathable workout gear that allows a little more skin to show...like the Reebok long bra top! Some of my Twitter peeps have long vouched for the Reebok long bra tops as a great choice for a no-show midriff because of its extra long body.

I really like this version of their long bra top - it has a cute light blue graphic pop, a breathable v-neck neckline (which also happens to flatter bustier wide-shouldered builds like mine), and a non-racerback v-back, which goes well with the my favorite nonracerback underwire sports bras. There are lots of styles and variations on the long bra tops, including racerbacks, so there is something for everyone.

There's also a ton of Crossfit gear on the Reebok website, including summertime-appropriate workout wear for men and women both! I'm also eyeing the 5" inseam WOD shorts these days.

I just ordered the blue long bra top shown above with my half price Groupon voucher this morning. Here's how I got it deeply discounted.

• Purchase the Groupon voucher for $25.
• Optional: Go to the ebates site and search for "Reebok" in the stores search field. I got 5% cash back posted to my ebates account by clicking to the Reebok store through ebates.
• Load your cart with at least $50 worth of Reebok material. (In my case the long bra top was retail at exactly $50.)
• Redeem your coupon code in the promotion code box in the checkout process (the voucher code is good to use on the Reebok site 24 hrs. after purchase on the Groupon website).

Since my top was an even $50 retail, I paid $25 for the Groupon voucher, plus whatever comes back from the ebates cash back (the cash back amount seems to vary between vendors and on types of promotional deals). Since Reebok long bra tops go for $35 and up on Amazon.com, that's quite a deal!

What workout wardrobe updates are you shopping for this summer?

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On Extreme Couponing, and the One-Dimensionality of My Stewardship

A few years ago, from 2008 to 2010, I was an avid couponer. In some cases, when I was really on fire, you could have called me an extreme couponer. My basement shelves were full of cereal I had bought for pennies on the dollar, not to mention cake and cookie mixes and frostings. I also had huge stockpiles of various and sundry granola bars, candy (usually from CVS couponing), cereals, and Pop Tarts.

One of my old 2009 hauls from a double/triple coupon run.

Due to some double and triple coupon specials at a few local grocery stores, I was regularly scoring certain food items (especially BBQ sauces and salad dressings) for free, and I even had a few grocery runs where I bought in excess of $100 worth of merchandise for around $30.

Yes, I thought to myself, rather smugly at times, I am being a good steward! There was something that creeping up on me, though, rather uneasily. I was feeling bloated, definitely in the worst shape of my life. I was always hungry. I was perpetually cranky and had uneven moods.

As it turns out, I was only being an OK steward on exactly one axis - money-saving. But as I've found in some very humbling ways, being a good steward of what I've been granted does not mean being as shrewd as possible in only one dimension - of money. Squandering away my health and my body for the sake of us making a cheap or free breakfast out of processed carbs was not working out. I had to see my body and my health as other resources I'd been granted, and once that realization snapped into place, I've come to see stewardship as a multidimensional phenomenon, one that I am always trying to bring a little more into balance across its various axes. I definitely don't believe that I've nailed down this stewardship thing, not by a very long shot!

I do think it is still possible to save well with coupons on natural and organic items, including whole foods. But it takes a different kind of strategy, and a different knowledge set of the sellers - farms, markets, grocery stores, online vendors and other whole foods purveyors. And sometimes, the best deal just won't be found, and in those times I've often had to chalk up the higher expense to an investment in one of my other stewarded resources of health and a strong body.

What nonmonetary resources have you come to better value and steward over the years?

Have You Used Your $10 Off Any Purchase Vitacost Coupon? You Can Get BPA-Free Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk for $0.86/can!

Edited to add on Monday 4/2: the price of the coconut milk went up since the 4/1 posting - d'oh! Thanks to an anonymous commenter for the heads up.

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I'm shopping Vitacost today - in the past few months, I've discovered that for a lot of items, Vitacost is price competitive to Amazon. (Also nice that to get the low price from Vitacost without having to buy those items in bulk the way I often do on Amazon!) Vitacost also carries some of the harder to find condiments and seasonings out there.

Best of all, the $10 off any Vitacost purchase coupon is still available to first time Vitacost customers, so those price competitive items can be ordered for around the cost of shipping, or $4.99.


Now, Native Forest Coconut Milk (noted by Chris Kresser as one of the only canned coconut milks free of BPA) is down to a new lower price of just $1.69/can on Vitacost, a decent discount from the ~$2/can price at my local Giant. I love using Native Forest to make recipes like Green Curry Dairy Free Chowder and Midwestern Red Beef Rutabaga Curry.


Here's how to work a sweet deal with this new lower price.

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Optional: Go to ebates.com and search for "Vitacost". Clicking to the Vitacost.com website through ebates will get you an additional 4% cash back on your purchase - in this case it could be up to $0.60.

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6 x Native Forest Coconut Milk = $10.14
Subtract your $10 off any purchase Vitacost.com coupon -$10
======
Subtotal: $0.14
+ $4.99 shipping = $5.13

So, if you grab your free $10 off any purchase Vitacost coupon, you can score 6 cans of BPA free organic coconut milk for $5.13 (+ tax), shipped to your door. That's a bargain price at around $0.86 cents per can!


If coconut milk is not your thing, here are other posts showing some of the ways you could use your Vitacost coupon to get $10 worth of paleo and primal pantry staples shipped to your door for around the $4.99 shipping cost.

• 13 oz. jar Purity Farms organic ghee, shipped to your door for as low as $4.44. (This ghee is awesome! I've used it throughout my paleo challenge, especially for cooking eggs, and it is smooth and tasty.)
  
  
• Coconut flour, and coconut flakes at half price or lower.
  
  
• Coconut oil shipped for just $4.99.
  
  
• Coconut oil based 200-ct. Vitamin D3 5000 IU softgels - great for wintertime when you don't get as much sun as you'd like - $5.77 total for two bottles.
  
  

What Vitacost items caught your eye for using the $10 off any purchase coupon?

Vitacost $10 Off Any Purchase Coupon Means Purity Farms Ghee, Shipped to Your Door for As Low As $4.47

The $10 off any purchase at Vitacost.com coupon is still up for grabs! Using this coupon, you can get a 13 oz. jar of Purity Farms Ghee on Vitacost.com for only the cost of shipping.


The description of the ghee says:
Purity Farms Ghee is made in harmony with nature, from organic sweet cream butter from pastured cows on small, certified organic family farms.

Honoring a traditional Indian method, pure organic butter is slowly cooked to coax out water and milk solids.  What remains is traditional delicious Ghee - a luxurious golden, semi-soft spread with a rich buttery taste and aroma. 

Here's how to score savings:

• Optional: Go to ebates.com and search for "Vitacost". Clicking to the Vitacost.com website through ebates will get you an additional 4% cash back on your purchase - in this case it could be up to $0.52.
  
  
• Add Purity Farms Ghee (13 oz., $8.08) to your cart. Also feel free to add anything $1.92 or less since the $10 coupon would cover both that and the ghee.
  
  
• Use the $10 off any Vitacost.com purchase coupon to cover the $8.08 cost of the ghee by entering your $10 coupon code in the "source code" field at checkout.
  
  
• Pay only $4.99 to have it shipped to you. If you got cash back, your net is $4.47 spent on that ghee.
  
  

Other things you can buy with your $10 off any purchase coupon on Vitacost.com: 

• Bob's Red Mill unsweetened flaked coconut, $3.27/bag. You can get three bags with that $10 coupon and still pay only shipping.
  
  
• Native Forest Coconut Milk, $2.43/can. The $10 off any purchase coupon would get you 4 cans for just the cost of shipping, $4.99, which is $1.25/can - a fantastic price for organic coconut milk in BPA free cans.
  
  
• Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Flour, 1 lb., $5.81. The $10 coupon will make two bags of this $1.62 + $4.99 (shipping), so you'd get two pounds of coconut flour for $6.61 (and even less if you get cash back through ebates). YOWZA! What a price! (Or, you could combine a single bag of the flour with something else around $4.19 to avoid paying extra.)

What's caught your eye at Vitacost?

80% Off Today! $10 Buys a $50 Credit for Natural and Organic Goods at Abe's Market!

Plum District has a GREAT deal today for Abe's Market, which is a natural goods online store. $25 buys you $50 worth of credit at Abe's Market - and online store of natural and organic gifts, foods, and other products. But, you can use the code SUNDAY40 today (code CYBER40 also works through 11/29) to get 40% off the cost of your voucher - making the voucher just $15. If you're a first time Plum District customer, you'll also get another $5 credit in Plum Dollars just for signing up - so you could get a $50 Abe's Market voucher for just $10! That's an incredible bargain!

You can get a good deal on PaleoKrunch this way - because Abe's sells PaleoKrunch in cereal (2 tubs/pack) and granola bar format. PaleoKrunch is a granola-type cereal, but without grains, refined sugar, or any industrial oils. In fact, the ingredients are as follows:

Almond meal, shredded coconut, raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, almond slivers, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract

Yum!! This looks like the perfect item to have on hand for holiday road trips, slipping into a stocking, or topping your special Christmas morning treats.

Here's some other Abe's products I've ordered in the past and really loved:

• Wisey's long sleeved bib - with removable velcro sleeves! It is a smooth wipeable material and can be washed in the dishwasher. I love it.
  
• Clementine Art rock crayons. These vibrant all natural pebble shaped crayons are just charming.
  
• Great Marsh Skincare products. All natural and a steal with the voucher! I've enjoyed the lavender honey hard lotion and the ginger lemongrass lip balm (sold in 2-packs). I've already packed some of the lip balm in my daughter's preschool teachers' Christmas gift (will blog about this very soon).

There's also a gluten free foods section; just be sure to read ingredient lists carefully as some gluten free stuff is still loaded with sugar, or less desirable ingredients such as agave nectar, canola, and soybean oil.

This is a great way to stock up on some natural and organic gifts or stocking stuffers at super deep discount.

What would you use your  80% off Abe's Market voucher to buy?

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Today, STACK ($15 Buys a $50 EcoMom.com Voucher) WITH ($40 off $100) Purchase to Get $100 of Merchandise for $25!

*** Edited to add: Looks like the deal is getting even HOTTER! Ecomom's got a special running through Monday, $20 off a $50 purchase and $40 off a $100 purchase! Ecomom's Twitter feed says that this promo IS stackable with other promos, so you could theoretically buy the voucher for $15, put $100 worth of stuff in your cart, getting the total down to $60 (still above $50, so free shipping) and then redeem your $50 voucher - meaning you paid $25 for $100 worth of stuff! That's unbelievable! I haven't run this transaction through since it looks like EcoMom's servers are overwhelmed at the moment (they're working on it according to this tweet), but this is all the more reason to pick up one of these vouchers for SUPER cheap!

***

Today only, you can get a $50 EcoMom.com voucher on Plum District for just $15. And better yet, there are two active codes I've read about today that can allow this deal to happen: ENJOY10 (for $10, good today only, so use this one first) and CYBER40 (for 40% off, good through 11/29).

While food and diapers are not eligible for the ecomom.com promo, there are plenty of natural living items that you can snag for a deep discount this way, like:

• A wide selection of baby carriers and wrap carriers (great baby shower gift, especially if with this deal you're getting it $35 cheaper! -- or, for an inexpensive "backup" carrier for your car or your spouse's car)
• Natural wooden toys (a classic under-the-tree Christmas gift)
• Nontoxic nail polishes (both in colors/sets for grownups and kids)
• Natural and organic toiletries, cosmetics, and baby bath sets (also a good shower gift!)

Ecomom.com also offers free shipping on $50+ orders. I bought one voucher with this in mind: When I decide on a gift for someone at or just over $50, it will have cost only $15 with this voucher deal. In fact, I'm already eyeing some Piggy Paint water based nontoxic nail polishes as a fun stocking stuffer for my girls. :o)

What at ecomom.com appeals to you?

Stocking Stuffer Idea: 3 Green & Black's Organic Chocolate Bars, Shipped, for Only $4.99

Here's yet another of the myriad ways you could use the limited time $10 off ANY Vitacost.com purchase coupon that's out right now.

If you're looking for a nice stocking stuffer surprise, you can add three very large (5.5 oz.) bars of Green & Black's organic chocolate (my favorite brand!), to your Vitacost.com cart, which would total $9.57. The $10 off any purchase coupon will cover this total, so you'll pay just $4.99 as the shipping fee for the 3 bars of chocolate - which amounts to about $1.66/bar, extremely cheap for this normally-retails-around-$4 super delicious chocolate.

In fact, if you're planning way ahead, you could send these chocolate bars to another household (say, your brother and his family across the country?) and instruct the recipient to label them as being from you before they slip them into their stockings.

OR, consider $1.66 a very cheap price for a high quality chocolate to include in a Christmas gift basket for teachers and others who support you and your family throughout the year.

What deal have you decided to catch using your $10 off any coupon on at Vitacost.com?

$10 Off Any Vitacost.com Coupon Buys Two 1 lb. Jars Sunbutter for $5.82, Shipped

The limited time Vitacost.com $10 off any purchase coupon is still available. One way that you can redeem this $10 coupon is to order two 16 oz. jars of Sunbutter - a nut-free paleo-friendly butter, for a total of only $5.82.

Here's how to score a great deal on this sunbutter:

• Go claim your $10 off any Vitacost purchase coupon. The coupon will be emailed to you.
• Optional step: In the meantime, head over to ebates.com and search for Vitacost. You'll get 4% cash back on your purchase when you click to Vitacost.com through the ebates vitacost store link.
• Search Vitacost for "Sunbutter". Select the 16 oz. jar for $5.41, and add two of the jars to your cart for a total of $10.82.
• Check out and use the $10 off any purchase source code that was emailed to you in the "Source Code" field during the checkout process.
• Your total will be $0.82 + $4.99 shipping + tax (if applicable, depending on your state). The grand total will be at or around $5.81. for both jars, shipped. (Compare - at its very cheapest Sunbutter runs $4.59/jar on Amazon, and that's when you're forced to buy a 6-pack, so this Vitacost transaction is quite a deal on sunbutter.)

Is Sunbutter a staple at your home? What else would you like to get with a $10 off any purchase coupon?


This post contains affiliate links to Vitacost Rewards and ebates. Shopping through these links results in Primal Kitchen receiving a referral bonus at no cost to you - thank you for supporting Primal Kitchen! :)

Coconut Oil Shipped for $4.99 with $10 Off Any Purchase Vitacost Coupon

I just learned that Vitacost also has coconut oil - many varieties in fact. There are several that are under $10, which means that you can use the $10 off any Vitacost purchase coupon that I first described in this post, leaving you to pay only the shipping of $4.99.

This includes my brand of choice (which I usually buy from Amazon), Nutiva. On Amazon, a 15 oz. tub of Nutiva is $7.24, but using the $10 coupon on Vitacost will get the same size shipped to you for $4.99 - a price that you'll be hard-pressed to beat. To learn how I ran my Vitacost deal (and to understand how you could do it similarly for any under-$10 coconut oil sold by Vitacost), see this post.

$10 Off ANY Purchase Coupon At Vitacost = Ridiculously Cheap Coconut Oil Based 5000 IU Vitamin D3

At Vitacost there is currently a $10 coupon available, good on any purchase. The great news is that shipping is fairly cheap at $4.95, so if you need something that's close to $10, you'd get it for about half the price with this coupon.

I redeemed this $10 coupon to get two bottles of Country Life Vitamin D3 Softgels - a 200 ct., which is $5.39. Vitamin D3 supplementation is worth considering, especially if like me, you don't get as much sunshine during the wintertime as you'd like, and the coupon made two bottles ship to my door for just $5.77 - about two and a half bucks cheaper than just one bottle is going for on Amazon right now. Great deal!

Here's how to score a great deal on these Vitamin D3 softgels:

• Go claim your $10 off any Vitacost purchase coupon. The coupon will be emailed to you.
  
• In the meantime, head over to ebates.com and search for Vitacost. You'll get 4% cash back on your purchase when you click to Vitacost.com through the ebates vitacost store link.
  
• Search Vitacost for "Vitamin D3". Select the 200 count of the Country Life Vitamin D3 5000 IU softgels, and add two of the bottles priced $5.39 to your cart for a total of $10.78.
  
• Check out and use the $10 off any purchase source code that was emailed to you in the "Source Code" field during the checkout process.
  
• Your total will be $0.78 + $4.99 shipping + tax (if applicable, depending on your state). In my case the grand total was $5.77 for both bottles, shipped. (Just one bottle of the same on Amazon runs $8.29, by comparison!)

For more on Vitamin D3 supplementation check out this thread and related threads on PaleoHacks; it's worth noting that Nephropal's Billy recommends the Country Life brand because they are coconut oil medium chain triglyceride based.

Are you supplementing with Vitamin D this winter - or are there other supplements or health products you'd like to track down on Vitacost with your $10 off any purchase coupon?


This post contains affiliate links to Vitacost Rewards and ebates. Shopping through these links results in Primal Kitchen receiving a referral bonus at no cost to you - thank you for supporting Primal Kitchen! :)

How I Scored Kids' Merrell Barefoot Shoes (Retail $60) for $34.95, Shipped Free

The deals are flying this weekend, it seems! Only the beginning of the holiday crush of sales, I suppose.

Here is the pair I got for $35.

Today there is a very hot deal on Plum District which I just used to snag Merrell's barefoot shoes for my oldest daughter for $34.95. These shoes normally retail for $60 and I have never found them for much cheaper than that! Since I wear my adult versions of these shoes all the time (including for Crossfit and just running errands), I knew that it was likely that she will get lots of wear out of them. I love that they are zero dropped (most natural toe/heel positioning without unnecessary added cushioning) and sport a thin but durable Vibram sole, so I know that they will let my daughter's feet be more in touch with the ground beneath them.

I bought them a size up from her current size so that she can grow into them in the next couple of months and hopefully through the spring, when we get back outside for trail exploration at local parks.


Here's how to score these $60 shoes for $34.95, shipped free to your door:

Here's one of the pairs of the boys' version!

• Go to Plum District's deal for today: $20 for a $40 voucher at onlineshoes.com. Use the code SPOOKY30 when checking out to get 30% off the voucher price, making it just $14 for the $40 voucher. You can buy up to three of these vouchers in one Plum District transation using that coupon code - to use in three separate Online Shoes transactions, so if you have multiple kids or shoes needed, consider that - and use your coupon code for all three vouchers.
  
• If you'd like an additional 5% cash back on your purchase, go to ebates.com and search for "onlineshoes.com". Click through the Online Shoes link to get to onlineshoes.com - so you will get back 5% of the money spent at onlineshoes.com posted to your ebates account.
  
• Once you're at Online Shoes, search for "Merrell Barefoot" and browse the kids' options. Choose your style and size and add it to your cart.
  
• In a separate browser tab or window, go back to Plum District's site and click "My Account" in the upper right hand corner to access your voucher coupon code that you purchased. Copy the voucher code.
  
• Go back to your Online Shoes window to check out. Redeem your voucher code to get $40 off the purchase price. In my case this left $20.95 (of which 5%, or about $1.05 will be posted to your ebates account if you clicked through ebates).
  
• Grand total spent = $14 + $20.95 = $34.95! Shipping is free.

Are you looking at barefoot shoes for yourself, your spouse, or your kids as a holiday gift?
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Save 66%! $17 Buys a $50 Voucher for Gluten Free, Organic, and Natural Goods at Abe's Market online - includes PaleoKrunch!

If you've been thinking about trying out some natural and organic favorites, today Eversave is selling half-price vouchers for Abe's Natural Market. Wahoo! Even better - using the promo code SPOOKY at checkout gets you an extra $5 off, so for $20 you get a $50 voucher - that's a crazy deal at 66% off!! First time Eversave customers also get $3 credit just for signing up for a free account, so the total would be $17 for that $50 voucher!

Here are some of the Abe's Market products I've ordered and thoroughly enjoyed in the past:

• PaleoKrunch - WOW, this was a huge hit at our house. Was nice to have a little nonperishable real food treat to occasionally throw into my daughter's lunches, too! Today's Eversave voucher makes it much more affordable at less than half price.
  
• Wisey's long sleeved bib - with removable velcro sleeves! It is a smooth wipeable material and can be washed in the dishwasher. I love it.
  
• Clementine Art rock crayons. These vibrant all natural crayons are down to just under $2.50 per box with the voucher.
  
• Great Marsh Skincare products. All natural and a steal with the voucher! I've enjoyed the lavender honey hard lotion and the ginger lemongrass lip balm (sold in 2-packs).

There's also a gluten free foods section; just read ingredient lists carefully as some gluten free stuff is still loaded with sugar, or less desirable ingredients such as agave nectar, canola, and soybean oil.

This is a great way to stock up on some natural and organic gifts or stocking stuffers at deep discount.

What would you use your Abe's Market vouchers to buy?

This post contains Eversave referral links. If you are making your first Eversave purchase through these links, a referral bonus goes to Primal Kitchen, so thank you!!

Today, Half Price on Paleo Krunch at Abe's Market via Eversave Voucher

Eversave has a good deal today for Abe's Market, which is a natural goods online store. $25 buys you $50 worth of credit at Abe'sMarket. That makes a lot of natural and organic products half price if you keep your total close to $50!

You can get a good deal on PaleoKrunch this way - because Abe's sells PaleoKrunch in cereal (2 tubs/pack) and granola bar format. PaleoKrunch is a granola-type cereal, but without grains, refined sugar, or any industrial oils. In fact, the ingredients are as follows:

Almond meal, shredded coconut, raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, almond slivers, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract

Yum!! This looks like the perfect item to have on hand for when nostalgia for a bowl of cereal strikes, or for going camping/hiking, or pretty much anywhere you need a fast and grain-free sugar-free natural foods fix. Even better with the significant half-price discount!


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Have you tried PaleoKrunch? What other products on Abe's Market caught your eye?



This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you!

Hot Deal, TODAY, $10 Buys You $20 Credit at Whole Foods

Today's LivingSocial deal lets you snag a $20 voucher spendable at Whole Foods for only $10. This is a great deal!

I pick up specialty items at Whole Foods that I haven't found elsewhere, like giant jars of Bubbies lacto-fermented pickles, or Traderspoint Creamery organic grassfed creamline whole milk yoghurt.

This voucher essentially makes a shopping trip for $20 of your favorites half price - since you only pay $10 for the $20 credit - so jump on it while it's still hot!





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This post contains an affiliate link, which supports Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you. Thank you!!

Delivering Moral Support Meals: Real Food for Really Intense Times

Folks in our lives need help. It just happens as a matter of course. Your friend just had a baby. Your family member just had major surgery and is recovering on the couch at home. An acquaintance you know through a group you've joined is going through a tough time.

Bring them a meal.

It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't even (gasp) have to be "perfect paleo".

Just bring them a meal! Make it mostly nourishing, make it today, bring it to them. Take one more thing off of their to-do list and make them dinner.

Here are some practical ideas for making them dinner:

• Ask in advance about allergies/dietary restrictions and the size of the crowd you're feeding. These are practical ways that you can make sure that the meal you prepare is appropriate to those consuming it.
  
  
• Bake and/or serve the items in disposable dishware. I get foil serving trays at Sam's Club for this purpose, and at about $0.30/each they really fill the gap. After baking something, all I have to do is pop a sheet of aluminum foil on top and it's ready to go. But though it's convenient for me - it's even more convenient for the recipient, who doesn't have to worry about washing or returning dishes to you.
  
  Avoid using plastic as a disposable option, unless you're using it to contain cold foods like hard boiled eggs, clementines, etc. that don't have an acidic sauce. (Acids in sauces and dressings can cause plastic to leach, especially if they're left in a plastic container for several hours.)
  
  
• Add any necessary instructions. Even a strip of masking tape on top of your pan of lasagna with: "30 minutes covered at 350F" can help later on when the family is figuring out how to reboot dinner.
  
  
• Serve it as fresh as possible. If your meal recipient is in your neck of the woods, making and serving foods the same day works for the best-possible taste. Most meals that were made a couple of days or more before might not be at their best.
  
  
• The slow cooker is your friend. I love slow-cooking meals I bring because it's the same amount of work to create a meal for my family and for the recipient family - I just double the quantities in my massive crock pot and divide once it's done cooking! You can also cook a large cut of meat with some veggies in the oven at low heat over the course of a day - this option being best left for cooler weather temps, of course. The doubling convenience works here as well - just double your ingredients and you've covered dinner for your family and theirs!
  
  
• Don't be afraid to stretch a nutritious meal budget-wise. Purists may disagree with me, but I don't think that there's anything wrong with bringing a family (especially one that you know isn't paleo / primal anyway) a side of white rice with their meat-and-veggie chili, or some organic corn tortillas along with their soft taco fixings. Also, when I deliver meals to others, conventionally sourced items often work just fine.
  
  There are three reasons why using budget-friendly meal stretchers can work for you if you're faced with a host of potential meal recipients:
  
  ~First, now is not the time that anyone would or should be convincing a worn-out family of the merits of going paleo.
  
  ~Secondly - most families receiving our meals already eat grains and conventionally sourced items on a regular basis; upping the sourcing standard for one meal isn't going to make any kind of practical impact.
  
  ~Thirdly - and this for me is the biggest factor - for the price of a single meal produced entirely out of organic pastured animal products and organic fruits and veggies - I could deliver three or four - or more! - meals that rely more on conventionally sourced products and maybe a bit of non-gluten grains added in. Ask me what I'd rather do in a given month with our extra resources: a) deliver to one large family a singularly perfectly-sourced meal, or b) deliver multiple homecooked often-conventionally-sourced non-industrial-oil-containing gluten-free meals to several families? In our current budget, we are fortunate and blessed to be able to chose option b) many months out of the year.
  
  
• Make them breakfast if they have their other meals being covered. Sometimes, breakfast isn't the most important meal of the day, it's the hardest to get off the ground, especially for a family with other concerns dominating. Bring a crustless quiche or two, maybe a bag of apples, a box of Larabars, or some fresh strawberries, or even a Chebe (taipioca-based gluten-free) batch of cinnamon rolls. A to-go box of coffee accessorized by a half-pint of half'n'half or (for the dairy-free) coconut milk creamer would have your recipients perking up in no time.
  
  
• Cover them with a freezer meal for "who knows when". You could make any of the following, and deliver it ready to be popped in their freezer (don't forget to label and add instructions!):
  
  ~ Eggplant lasagna. I cook up the slices in single-serve squares (about 3"x3"), and stack them 3 or 4 high layered with cheese and sauce (you could make it a meat sauce). This way, if the recipient needs only one serving, they can "break off" one serving of eggplant lasagna and warm it in the microwave without having to defrost/oven warm the whole thing.
  
  ~ Twice-baked potatoes. This make-and-freeze recipe from Joyful Abode lends itself well to a kitchen with a vacuum sealer.
  
  ~ Shepherd's pie, with either cauliflower faux mashed potatoes, mashed white potatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes. Mashed white potatoes are the most budget-friendly (even organic white potatoes are still fairly inexpensive) and the traditionally used item here.
  
  



Here, Primal Palate's Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake,
as made for my husband's birthday a while back.

• Add a sweet touch. It could be as simple as a bar of Green & Black's 85% dark chocolate to round out their meal, a drool-worthy fruit salad, or a batch of home-churned sorbet. Adding something dessert-y isn't always necessary, but I think that as the capstone to a warm, lovingly-prepared meal, a sweet finishing touch can help a frazzled family to feel a little more human again. Seek paleo and primal blogs with naturally, minimally sweetened recipes - by trying to keep refined sugars minimized or (better yet) out of the equation entirely, you'll ensure that you're not setting up your recipients for a sugar-crash.
  
  
• Offer other ways to help. As you deliver the meal, be sure to ask if there are other ways the family is needing help. Maybe an able-bodied adult could stop by one weekend afternoon and mow the lawn - or perhaps for their kids to come hang out at your place for a while one afternoon so that the grownups can rest. The meal delivery is multipurpose - you get to bring them needed food, but you also get to touch base and offer them some human contact.
  
  
• Make your delivery efficient. Though it's tempting to hang out and catch up for a spell, delivering your meal, offering to help in other ways, and letting them know with a hug that they are in your thoughts and/or prayers is probably the best way to go. A hungry family already worn thin by life's demands will be grateful for your quick visit, but even more grateful to then dig in to the meal you've prepared!
  
  

What tips and tricks do you have for delivering "Moral Support Meals"? Do you have any freezer-meal-friendly recipe links to share? Do tell! :o)

~

Planning Way Ahead for Fun Paleo, Primal, and Crossfit Christmas Gift Ideas

I know; you're thinking, C'mon, Family Grok, it's not even the end of August. Well, in the 4.5 years since I've become a parent, I've found that planning ahead for Christmas is critical if I'm to make it through the holiday season with my sanity (mostly) intact.

Also, even though my extended family isn't primal, I still enjoy creating nourishing treats for them - or giving them gifts oriented toward an active naturally-grounded lifestyle. The paleo-leaning gifts that I'd usually like to give often require either a significant chunk of time to create, or a significant amount of money to buy a quality product - so planning ahead is even more crucial.

Here's why I start the Christmas ideas so early on my mental back burner:

• I can brainstorm - collect a whole host of different projects and products on my growing Pinterest board, and from there I can figure out which ones work for any particular recipient in terms of their preferences, my budget, and my available time.
  
  
• I can map out my resources time-wise. One project this year that will be part of my Christmas gifts - see AndreAnna's homemade vanilla tutorial on the board - may take up to 8 weeks to steep - 8 weeks before Christmas is October 30 - so I basically have a couple of months now to track down all of my supplies.
  
  
• I can map out resources money-wise. If I have some ideas about what I'd like to get or create for folks, then I can be on the lookout over the next few months in terms of savings. One example is for barefoot shoes - they are normally very pricey at retail, but odds are good that if I keep an eye out I could manage to snag a discount of 20% or more off of barefoot shoes before Christmas is here.
  
  Or say that I'd like to make a homemade plyo box for boxjumps; I could be on the lookout for some free or deeply discounted materials for that box on Craigslist, or I could find a home improvement store coupon in the interrim.
  
  Additionally, keeping my Pinterest gift idea board populated with a wide range of gifts that have varying costs (down to pennies for, say, some homemade fruit leather) means that I have the flexibility to scale gifts according to budget and what I've managed to save coupon-wise or freebie-wise, as well.
  
  
• I can get most of my gifts finished and wrapped before December is here, leaving time for other important things. Taking the long road to Christmas gift prep now means that I have more time in December to focus on other things: spending time with my family and friends, trying some new special occasion recipes for holiday gatherings, and focusing on why we as a family celebrate the birth of Christ.

Have you started to percolate some Christmas 2011 gift ideas? What possibilities are you dreaming up? Have you started a Pinterest board or other resource to keep track of them? Link up your ideas!

Affording Yourself 30 Extra Pounds of Grass-Fed Ground Beef, the Easy Way

I am the first to admit that our household doesn't eat all pastured animal products; in fact the vast majority of our meat is still conventionally produced. I could spend a lot of time writing up excuses about this, but I think that my time is put to better use by instead devising ways to carve out chunks of our budget that make room to eat pastured animal products more often. It may well be years before we're able to afford to buy nothing but pastured meat, but until that point I am comfortable with making slow gains in the proportion of pastured meat that we consume.

Which brings me to one of the most affordable budget building blocks of a budding primal / paleo eater: 100% grass fed ground beef. Yes, if you are exceptionally resourceful and already have a good scoop on a local pastured beef source, you can ask your butcher to grind the beef for you - or grind it yourself at home. However, I'm talking about something like the 1 lb. packs that you can pick up at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, usually for about $6 (though occasionally you can get it on sale for $4/lb. at Whole Foods!).

So...how do you budget yourself to a gradually increasing proportion of pastured meat?

The answer is: one $6 savings at a time.

Ask yourself, Where can I save $6? Sometimes, the answers can be stunningly simple.

• Bring a loyalty coupon for your car's oil change or car wash.
  
  
• See what changes you can make in your phone's voice and data plans. As a personal example,  I text so rarely (instead relying on Gmail chat and emails), that a texting plan isn't worth it for us; the odd texts I do get or send barely amount to a couple of bucks a month without a texting plan.
  
  
• Buy fewer treats. Even if the ice cream parlour you're hitting up for post-workout carbs serves ice cream only from 100% grass fed cows and sweetened minimally only with white rice glucose syrup (insert your own proclivity/requirement here...but by the way...if you do know of such a place...tell me where it is!) -- a $12 family trip for ice cream translates into a meal with 2 lb. worth of grass-fed ground beef! That's a massive pan of spaghetti squash with meat sauce, or 8 1/4 lb. burgers! So, consider cutting out the occasional ice cream run in favor of another nourishing, quality protein meal.
  
  



I saved $11.70 on these leggings for my toddler.
That buys about 2 lb. of grass fed ground beef!

• And...drumroll..save money on clothing! Now, don't get me wrong. I understand the value of a few investment pieces - especially for a grown adult. Don't skimp on a quality, well-fitting pair of minimalist shoes - or a dress for date night that makes you feel like a million bucks.
  
  Guess what, though? Your kids' clothes are a whole different story. If your kids are out and about playing in the sunshine with you (as they well should be!), they'll have a new outfit go from "new" to "used" status in about 0.045 seconds.
  
  Another reason to save on kids' clothes is the fact that you'll be getting one season's wear tops out of most articles of clothing.
  
  So, there are five completely painless ways to save a bundle on your kids' wardrobes:
  
  ::: Ruthlessly shop the clearance racks. Look for savings of at least 75%. The best way to do this is to wait for seasonal items to go on clearance as the season closes. Right now (the heat of summer), you can still find some leggings and jeans on the clearance racks; I bought my older daughter some jeans a last week at Target for $3.24, and today I found my younger daughter some leggings at Kohl's (above, 90% off $13.00 at $1.30). Knowing that fall weather is a good three months or more away, I bought a full size up for them. (You can always do a quick hem job on slightly long pants but lengthening too-short pants requires magical powers.)
  
  ::: Shop clearance online, and stack coupon codes. Same principles as above, seeking at least 75% off savings, only you monitor your favorite retailers' sales via email subscription to their deals and coupon sites like retailmenot.com. You should rarely, if ever, pay for shipping using this method and can often get the best selection from clearance (that is, your needed sizes in stock).
  
  If you first click to your favorite retailers' sites through ebates, you'll also earn cash back when you're shopping online - I was recently cut a $22 cash back check from ebates simply by clicking through the site to the sites I routinely buy from online...a $22 that I otherwise wouldn't have, which could buy about 3.5 lb. of grass fed ground beef!
  
  ::: Buy used. Thrift stores, yard sales, consignment sales, eBay! There are so many resources, and often the clothing looks new or even has the original retail tags still attached.
  
  ::: Enthusiastically solicit and accept hand-me-downs. Save the best items for special occasions, and let your kids run themselves ragged outside in the more well-loved items.
  
  ::: Request clothing as gifts. Grandmas and grandpas (and aunts and uncles! and friends!) love picking out outfits for kids. If you put a bug in their ear that you're looking for Christmas outfits, or other special occasion outfits, or some more durable (and therefore more pricey) basics (like jeans or new comfortable shoes), you're likely to save on some of the more expensive elements in your childrens' wardrobes.
  
  As a parting thought on this point, say that with the above methods combined you save $180 per child on wardrobing annually. That's 30 lb. of grass fed ground beef - or in our family's case, about 15 dinners, plus leftovers!
  
  

What savings have you built into your budget lately in order to upgrade the quality of the food your family is eating?

Disclosure: This post contains an ebates affiliate referral link. Thanks for supporting Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you!

Menu Plan, Christmas to New Years Week Edition

We had a blessedly full marathon week. Fun with family, open presents, eat delicous food, repeat as necessary. And oh, did we repeat. Giftwise, I made out well in the kitchen appliances department - besides the aforementioned gift of a new toaster oven, I also received an ice cream maker and an immersion blender! I foresee a good deal of minimally-sweetened ice cream and creamy blended veggie soups in my future, once I get over the learning curve of using these.

Also a delightful surprise on Christmas, from my sister-in-law: A Vosges (= la-tee-dah French chocolate, pronounced vohzh) bar with itty bitty bits of bacon throughout. Unspeakably delicious.

The Sears oven repairman should be here tomorrow to install the new part that he ordered, so after three weeks without a functioning full size oven, I will be so grateful to be (hopefully!) roasting and baking again.

Having already practically maxed our food budget for the month, I look forward to eating as many leftovers and eggs as possible before I find myself in the position of having to grocery shop. Might even make it all the way to New Year's Day if we apply ourselves.

Monday:
Breakfast - Toasted leftover Grain-Free Savory Country Biscuits via Life As A Plate, to mop up the runny yolks from some fried eggs. Very much recommend this biscuit recipe if you're looking for a savory bun/biscuit with a lot of flavor! (Thanks, AndreAnna!!)
Lunch - Leftover beef roast from my mother-in-law's Christmas dinner, soft-cooked carrots, leftover mashed potatoes from my mom
Dinner - Leftover slow-cooked chicken from Christmas Eve, in chicken salad form. Steamed artichokes with salted Kerrygold butter to dip. Clementines for dessert.

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold butter
Lunch - Sauteed kale with bacon
Dinner - Cheesy spinach bacon dip (leftover from Christmas Day), rewarmed in a functioning oven, served with flax crackers.

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Warm banana pudding
Lunch - Chicken soup with shallots and ginger
Dinner - Bacon and fried eggs

Thursday:
Breakfast - Omelette made with leftover cheese plate cheese and leftover veggie plate fresh cut peppers
Lunch - Any remaining leftovers, whatever form they may take
Dinner - Spaghetti squash with meaty marinara

Friday:
Breakfast - Fried eggs and hash browns
Lunch - Creamy curried pumpkin soup, coconut bread for dipping
Dinner - Thawed/warmed cheesy chicken potato soup, leftover and subsequently frozen from Christmas Eve, plus more coconut bread for dipping

A Sample from Crisco

I keep up with a series of money-saving blogs, and frequently sign up for freebies via the deals announced by these blogs. As a way to track my freebies' origins (and the origins of any spam/junk mail that unintentionally results), I usually sign up for a freebie using the name Valued*nameofgiveaway* Customer. But of course, these freebies and samples often take weeks, even months to arrive. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox and found a packet addressed to:

Valuedfreecrisco Customer

Crisco!? I went primal in June; how could it have been that I had signed up for Crisco? Then it all came clear:



Who's da widdle boddle of owive oil?



Seriously, though: I have a terminal weakness for miniaturized versions of things, and this teensy weensy sample of extra virgin olive oil is perfect for me to stow in my diaper bag or purse - like the times when I'm stuck in a restaurant like Panera and a naked Greek salad is the only primal offering. Mix the olive oil with a to-go packet of tamari and BAM! A little spontaneous creation of sugar-free salad dressing to add some satiety factor. Just wish that I could get about 100 of these sample-sized oil bottles, in various types - avocado oil, macadamia oil, etc.