The Magic Number

Some numbers are just too low.

Courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum Collection
via Flickr Creative Commons

I have a magic number. It's seared into my psyche, both beckoning and mocking me. The number is: 159.

When my first daughter was conceived, I weighed 159 pounds. It was a tall-ish and lean-ish 159 - I was a very committed cardio bunny and did light weight work, so I could wear size 8 pants and size 4/6 tops.

I'll bet big bucks that most moms out there can name their prepregnancy weights, too.

It's just a number, it's just a number, I tell myself. And yet...that 159 whispers to me. Almost every time I get on the scale, I calculate how much I'd have yet to lose to hit that number. This is absurd, because according to my body fat skin caliper tests I've gained somewhere around 15-20 lb. of muscle since I started Crossfitting last September. I'm the strongest I've ever been -- way stronger than those cardio bunny days. One of my last tests had me at 135 lb. of lean mass. If I whittled only fat down until I was 159 lb., while retaining that 135 lb. of lean mass, I'd be at 15% body fat, which is way, way, way leaner and more muscular than I was in the 159 lb. prepregnancy days.

All this to say, even though I should be reveling every day in my new strengths, my new wisdom, my new experiences, I have that magic number from the past haunting me. I have difficulty permitting the context of my current, very different state in life - avid Crossfitting, lean-mass-promoting diet, post-baby and lactation hormones, caregiving to small children, limited sleep - to soften the siren call of that old weight.

The closer I get back to 159, the more I realize that I might be riding an asymptote, and that my returns invested in training and eating right diminish, to the point where - unless I allow my hard-earned lean mass to drop - I may never see that number on the scale again.

Do you have a magic number in your head? Are you haunted by your prepregnancy weight, your high school weight, your college weight, or even another number like a former pants size or a long-ago-achieved personal lifting record? How do you deal with the magic numbers in your life? Do you believe firmly that you'll get back to them, or that life has changed enough that you've decided to allow yourself grace even while you pursue personal excellence?

~

The July Challenge, GAPS Week 2 Concludes, and Adding Sprouted Lentils

Aaaaaaand we're off!

Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland,
Flickr Creative Commons

In case you're wondering, yes, my Crossfit box does have frequent nutrition challenges - and yes, I did just finish one at the end of May in the form of a whole30. I'm grateful for the frequency of these challenges, too, because my regular dates with our nutrition gal's scale and skin calipers keeps me accountable to my fellow Crossfitters in a unique way. (Not that everyone knows my numbers - more that they see me every day and that adds a positive dose of peer pressure to not backslide.) It's a great motivator for me to continue to chip away at those last body fat percentage points.

Today starts our July partner nutrition challenge - one more level of accountability! I have a wonderful partner who is also a stay at home mom of two young kiddoes - who, like me, landed in a whole food paleo style diet before she started Crossfitting. (Usually it happens the other way around!) I can't wait to see what we can do with this challenge!

And yes, GAPS soldiers on at our house. In addition to the meats, bone broths, and select vegetables, we've added in eggs in the last few days. Next on our list will probably be raw cashews, and maybe some avocado, but it will be a while yet. We're going ultra slow with the food reintroductions.

Fortunately for me, as mentioned, GAPS is overall very compatible with a paleo style outlook. That means I basically can eat what my GAPS patient is eating on the stage 1-2 food list, and add in a few "Full GAPS" items for myself.

This one more place my paleo experience gets tailored to suit. I'm going to try out sprouted fermented lentils this month. There are a several reasons I have, but one is making sure that I'm getting a good, regular, natural source of folate. Folate is very available on a paleo style diet in organ meats, particularly grass fed beef liver. While I continue to try and add liver in more regularly - as in chili, and burgers, and meatballs, it's still a challenge to find and cook appetizing liver dishes at the generally recommended frequency of a couple of times per week. Fermented lentils are permitted on full GAPS, though, so I'm going to try some recipes, and let lentils be some of my post-workout carbs this month - we're permitted 1 cup of starchy carbs post workout on days that we do exercise. I also think that lentils have good low-reward potential - I don't anticipate that they'll stoke cravings or make me want to nomnomnom excessively on them the way other paleo carbs like sweet potato sometimes do. The bonus is that if I have them precooked they won't be hard to scoop a cup into some warm bone broth with some added leftover meat and an egg or two for a fast, rehydrating, high protein, moderate carb post workout breakfast. My choice of lentils for the first try is TruRoots sprouted organic lentils trio, which is a gluten free blend. The qualification of "sprouted" means that they've already been allowed to soak and germinate, so that mitigates to some extent a lot of antinutrient concerns. I'll give them a try and see how things go!

~

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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?


~

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?

~

Gluten Free Dairy Free Egg Free Peanut Butter Pie Chocolate Cupcakes

My husband is basically a big kid at heart. When there were rumblings about him wanting a peanut buttery dessert, I thought, who am I to stand in the way of birthday boy's desires? Peanut butter shows up rarely at our house - I usually go with sunbutter instead (a fabulous stand-in, by the way, tastes very, very similar to peanut butter).

Though I frequently use Primal Palate's dark chocolate coconut cake in our celebrations, this is also a gluten free recipe that works really well for cupcakes - we did the same cupcake recipe for my oldest's birthday party earlier this spring. I've noticed that for my oldest daughter, often the big draw of grocery store creations is the bright colors and characters. Though I no longer use the artificially colored frostings that show up on these kinds of birthday cakes and cupcakes, that doesn't stop me from using colorful decorations to punch up the visual excitement factor on an otherwise neutral hued peanut butter chocolate cupcake.

In no way would I consider these cupcakes paleo or especially nutritious - just a very rare gluten free dairy free egg free treat that our whole family (extended nonpaleo family included) thoroughly enjoyed. I originally got the cake recipe from an egg free gluten free mama friend after tasting it at her daughter's party! (This one is my adaptation of the original, shared here with her permission - thanks mucho, A!)

You could make this version below that much more allergen friendly by switching around to another nutbutter or seed butter of your choice, depending on your guests' food allergies or sensitivities.

Wacky Chocolate Cake


Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar (you can play with refined sugar substitutes here, too)
• 1  ½ cups Arrowhead Mills all purpose gluten free flour - this is available at Whole Foods and Wegmans, as well as other grocery stores
  (You can also use King Arthur all purpose gluten free flour, if you also add 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (I've used apple cider vinegar and rice vinegar in the past)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 bag semisweet allergen-appropriate dark chocolate chips of your choice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put all dry ingredients in mixing bowl and blend them well, then add oil, vinegar, vanilla and water.

Beat well with mixer until smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

• For 8" round cake: Pour batter into 8" greased pan (square or round).
  Bake 35-40 minutes.
  (You can double the recipe to make an 8" round layer cake.)
  
• For a bundt pan: double recipe and bake 45-60 min.
  
• For cupcakes: Makes one dozen, depending how full they are. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. If desired, you can fill your cupcake cups halfway, add  ½ tsp. of your peanut butter, and then top with the other half of your batter. That leaves a little peanut buttery bite in the middle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Can sub sunbutter or nut butter of choice


Ingredients:

1 ½ cups smooth peanut butter, room temperature (if you can, try this with trans fat free natural/organic peanut butter)
½ palm shortening, room temperature
1/4 cup coconut nectar
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients thoroughly.

Peanut Butter Pie Bonus Decoration: I picked up a 2 pack of Justin's dairy free gluten free organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups and sliced each of the two cups into six little pie-shaped pieces to use as decorative "peanut butter pie" toppers.

What are birthday cakes looking like at your house lately? How are you tinkering with recipes to make them allergen friendly?


~


This post participates in the Life As Mom Creative Birthday Cake Round-Up. Head over there to check out more fun decorating ideas, like the DIY Angry Birds cake! This post is also participating in the Daily Dietribe's Gluten Free Birthday Cake Roundup.

The Summer of GAPS, Water Filtration, and (Hopefully) Retaining My Sanity

Weigh in time. I know how he feels.
Courtesy of the Dutch National Archive on Flickr.

I'm back. Life, as it often happens, got in the way of blogging. The inconveniently late hour of summer sunset has my girls up a lot later these days, so I frequently find myself tucking my youngest in with that last nursing session, only to cross the hallway to brush my teeth and collapse into bed myself, in the hopes of scoring a decent 7 or 8 hours before Crossfit. I also am sitting on quite the backlog of lunchbox pictures to post, once I get my dates and lunchbox numbers straightened out, so stay tuned as those slowly get filled in.

There's been a lot going on during the daytimes, too. As I mentioned in the last post, I recently finished my second ever whole30. It was a successful run - I dropped my body fat 3.58%, which was gaining 4.59 lb. of lean mass while losing 7.59 lb. of fat mass. I'm now at 135.82 lb. of lean mass, while I continue to slowly chip away at my fat mass. I also lost 2.5 inches off my hips and 3/4 of an inch off my waist.

As always, I was so happy to have the commiseration of my fellow Crossfitters this time around. There were similar stories of fat loss and lean mass gained in the other folks doing the whole30 - it truly is a great all-purpose detox/reboot/grounding effort if you're looking to regain your dietary center in terms of viewing food as fuel first.

My husband recently spent last weekend installing a Watts reverse osmosis water filter. Water filtration has always been one of those things that I thought of as "I'll look more into that in a few years..." I was definitely putting it off. I even had a Weston A. Price Foundation oriented friend ask a few months back what I thought of water filtering, and at the time I said that it was too big of a leap for me to take.

Funnily enough, though, we've found ourselves looking at doing the GAPS diet for at least one family member this summer, and that consideration functioned as a major catalyst. If you haven't heard of the GAPS diet, its main premise is healing and sealing the lining of the gut, and promoting the growth of good bacteria while preventing the overgrowth of bad bacteria. It also happens to be a very paleo-friendly approach, based in a refined carb free whole foods diet, and lots of homemade bone broth - at least a little bit served at every meal! But...it is recommended that the broth is made with filtered water. Why is this? Tap water (like ours) often has fluoride and chlorine - the fluoride cited by the government as an addition for general population dental health, and the chlorine being there to begin with to kill pathogens (it's simply never removed after the fact). So, both of these function as bacteria killers, and if you're trying to promote the flourishing of good intestinal bacteria, that unfiltered tap water can get in the way of your efforts. So, those factors considered, we found our motivation about looking into filtered water galvanized. While you can hire a plumber to install this kind of water filter (ours fits under the kitchen sink), you can definitely tackle it as a DIY project, too. In addition to reading through the included installation instructions, my husband also spent a bit of time browsing online DIY forum advice for installation tips. He did a great job! I must say, though we weren't as motivated by taste reasons, the taste difference between our old tap water and the reverse osmosis filtered water is astonishing. I love our deliciously clean-tasting new filtered water!

Have you been motivated to make a major change in your kitchen routine lately? What projects are on your plate for the summer?




This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Shopping Amazon through Primal Kitchen affiliate links supports Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you, so thank you!! We purchased our water filter of our own volition, with no incentives or discounts from Amazon or the manufacturer.

May 2012 Whole30

Forbidden merlot.
(Cue Homer Simpson drool:)
Mmmmmdaaaaugghh.

My Crossfit box is doing its first-ever Whole30! If you aren't familiar with whole9life's whole30 program, it's 30 days of cleanest possible classically paleo eating. No dairy. Not even honey, maple syrup, or booze passes muster for this "cravings/tummy reset" protocol. You may recall I did one of these on my own for the first time last July, which was an eye-opening experience in many ways. I realized how much of my lacto-paleo aka primal lifestyle relied on dairy and dairy fat when I suddenly had to do without. I was hungry all the time because I hadn't worked out good sources of nondairy quality fats.

This time around, it's been a little different. Ghee is now allowed in the whole30 program, so I've had some of that here and there. I also have learned how to make, save, and cook with pastured animal fat. Breakfast is often eggs cooked in grassfed beef tallow, with some kimchi, and some fruit if I'm post-workout.

We're now 12 days into our whole30. There's productive chatter amongst us about what we've been shocked to discover on our ingredient labels - like corn syrup in packaged broth, and maltodextrin in frozen veggies. For me, one of the biggest challenges is the whole30 requirement to not weigh oneself until the end of the challenge. I usually weigh myself 3 or 4 times a week, so this has been a hard habit to break. I know, I know, the paleo thang is all about how you look, feel, and perform. But, I do find that having a general idea of my weight's trajectory can be useful and motivating, and I miss that.

My one mini project on the horizon during this challenge is figuring out how to make a batch of chicken liver pâté. While my sourcing of food has overall improved a lot - since last fall we've bought half a grassfed cow and a third of a naturally raised GMO-free soy-free pig - the pack of chicken livers waiting in my fridge isn't from chichi chickens. In fact, they're from (gasp!) conventionally raised chickens. Probably an OK thing as a stop-gap though; I'd rather get a feel for making pate using cheaper materials - and determine whether I like it enough in general! - before I'd invest serious time and money into sourcing quality livers.

Meanwhile, my parents came by this weekend with a bottle of the elusive Truffle Merlot. They've been raving about this dark-chocolate-flavored red wine since they first tasted it last summer. Ay, ay, ay, I can't even read the label without drooling! I've already designated it to be my first post-whole30 indulgence. Suddenly, merlot in my hot little hand, the May 25 end to our whole30 seemed just a bit further away.

How are you tinkering with your diet in May?




~

On Dietary Ecumenism

Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons
via the Dutch National Archive.

I've come to a conclusion after nearly two years of a paleo-style diet. I don't care if you are vegan, vegetarian, Muslim, a keeping-kosher Jew, someone with food aversions, someone with food allergies, a pescatarian, a fruitarian, a raw foodist, or someone who has sworn to never eat fat again as long as you live.

If I have invited you to dinner and you have dietary restrictions - and I don't care whether those restrictions are medically necessitated, religiously necessitated, you simply trying to do better in how you eat, or otherwise! - I will make. it. work.

I'm dead serious. No matter what your eating style, there is enough overlap between what you enjoy and what our family enjoys that I will figure out what those foods are, and I will make a menu that we can all enjoy, so when the occasion arrives, the focus is not overwhelmingly on the food, but more on savoring our time spent together.

One way I might do this is my favorite and most flexible ecumenical meal of all: DIY taco night.

If you're vegan or vegetarian, I will get some sprouted corn tortillas from Whole Foods, and perhaps soak ahead some beans to make beans and white rice - and I'll serve alongside a wide variety of veggies, and maybe (if you don't object) our family's cooked carnitas or shredded chicken.

If your religion has you fasting or abstaining from certain foods, I'll do a little Googling myself to get a ballpark understanding, and then I'll confirm with you which taco fillings and toppings you'll enjoy.

If you avoid pork, I'll avoid carnitas that night and use ground beef or shredded chicken instead.

If you are lactose intolerant or casein free, I'll see that dairy stays out of the mix.

If you're doing the GAPS diet or SCD diet, I'll do everything in my power to ensure that you have ingredients and dishes to enjoy based on the allowable food lists and where you are in those diets.

If you've recently announced you're Dukan-ing, I won't blink an eye if you want to only eat the meat and greens on offer.

If you're doing some kind of juice detox and you only want to bring and sip your juice, I don't care, as long as you come!

I. don't. care. how. or. what. you. eat. My interest in you and my affection for you goes so much deeper than that! I will do whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable and welcomed in my home - and part of that will involve home cooked meal that we all can enjoy.

Why is this? Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) When you are a guest in my home, my main mission as a hostess is uncoupling you from your burdens and worries - to give you comfort, to give you laughter, to let you relax and be yourself.

I am also required of Scripture not to cause my brothers and sisters to stumble (1 Corinthians 8). If you have arrived at dietary restrictions, I know that you did not do so lightly, and have done so based on any combination of reasons, including health, digestive comfort, and personal convictions. While society is not kind or accommodating on the whole to anyone who dares to eat differently from the norm, I want our home to be different for you - to show that you can freely enjoy an evening with us without worrying about compromising your eating habits.

Finally, 1 Peter says, "Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God...so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." As I offer grace through flexible hospitality, I hope it might in a very small measure reflect the grace that God has lavished on me!

~~~
This post is dedicated to my mom and my mother-in-law, who have always patiently and graciously hosted  us (and, since 2010, our paleo quirks, too).

Accidentally Deleted Comment

Admin note: A commenter had left a comment on "On Seizing Our Chance", describing his/her own struggles with getting motivated to Crossfit. I tried to hit "publish" for this comment, only for my fat fingertip to accidentally hit "delete" on my smartphone's tiny screen. That's what I get for trying to publish comments from a teeny interface!

If this commenter was you, please feel free to resubmit (because unfortunately it would appear that I have no way of retrieving deleted comments!). I'm sorry for the inconvenience!

Seizing Our Chance

Source: Library of Congress, via Flickr Creative Commons

Sometimes, when my alarm goes off at 5:15 a.m., I can almost feel the warm comforter grow and wrap even more tightly around me.

But then it strikes me: This is my only chance.


My one and only chance to find that endorphin high that makes getting through the rest of the morning a little easier.

My only chance to greet my friends, to have a humanity-restoring dose - however brief - of community.

I see it in my fellow Crossfitters' eyes, too.

In my fellow Crossfitting moms' eyes: This is my only chance to work on me before everyone else's needs take over.


In the eyes of those of us who were poster children for participation trophies: This is my chance to be an athlete!


In the eyes of my Crossfitting friends who won't let a bum knee, or quirky shoulders, or even a prosthetic leg stop them from showing up: Today's my chance to work on everything else!


Under those unforgiving fluorescent lights in the early morning hours, we all lay waste to our potential excuses, clinging instead to the hope that the sweat and the reps drum back into our souls as we seize our chance.

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?

Paleo Parents' Eat Like A Dinosaur: Fast, Simple Recipes for the Whole Family

I spent some time Friday working on recipes from the Paleo Parents' Eat Like a Dinosaur. I try to get my hands dirty in the kitchen with a few recipes before reviewing a cookbook, and with this particular cookbook selecting just a few of the delicious-looking recipes (given my limited chunk of time) was quite a challenge!

For my cooking session, I made Chou Vert (stir fried green cabbage with cilantro), Mock-A-Mole (a quick rendition of guacamole featuring avocado and salsa), Black Olive Tapenade (a tasty blend including olives and raw walnuts), and the Zucchini Latkes.

My favorite of this group of recipes was the tapenade. Since kalamata olives were the only glass-jarred no-preservative olives I had available during my grocery shopping trip, I subbed them for the black olives, and in my opinion the recipe was not negatively impacted at all by this switch. The flavor was ultra savory - and my girls enjoyed very much. The tapenade was quick to be thrown together in the food processor, and the lack of cooking made it a super efficient recipe. I will be making this one again and again as a contribution to parties !

I just so happened to have duck fat in our fridge, which is the recommended cooking fat for the Chou Vert. The al-dente slightly-brown-at-the-edges texture of the cabbage was just right and I loved the cilantro (I'm a cilantro fanatic!). When I make this recipe in the future I'll try out for the recommended substitution fat, or perhaps do another shelf-stable fat of my own choosing to try taking the flavor in a little bit of a different direction.

The Mock-A-Mole was pitch perfect - my husband loved it! I've long enjoyed throwing together avocado and salsa in this way, but the suggested addition of lime juice was something I hadn't done before. Unfortunately I had forgotten to pick up a lime, so I used an equivalent amount of an acidic liquid - Bragg's Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, which worked very well. Adding this acidic element is something I'm likely to repeat again in the future.

The zucchini latkes were very tasty, and other than the little bit of planning time required to "sweat" the zucchini with salt, they came together very quickly. The Paleo Parents' directions were very clear about removing as much moisture as possible from the salted shredded zucchini. When I make them again, I'll take even more care on the sweating-out part - I thought I'd done a good enough job of squeezing out the water from the shredded zucchini, but my latkes were still not as crispy as I'd have preferred.

I will definitely be giving these recipes a second (third, fourth...) go-around - after all, half the fun of the first go-through is recognizing where my methods and ingredients can improve! I can also work a little more at sourcing items for future tries, like finding black olives in a glass jar.

The Paleo Parents' Eat Like a Dinosaur is superbly well done. It is especially well suited to individuals or families who are just starting out on a classical paleo journey without grains, dairy, or sugar. Many basic recipes for household staples (applesauce, mayo, etc.) are included - but as with the olive tapenade, there are recipes with flavorful twists that will delight even the most longtime paleo enthusiast. Probably the biggest plus of the Paleo Parents' cookbook is that many, many of the recipes are five ingredients or less, and a good portion come together in less than 10 minutes. Some kid-friendly-sounding recipes include "Rat on a Stick" (a curried ground beef and/or lamb recipe), "Sweet Potato Fries", "Ten Tomato Ketchup", and "Graham Cookies".

I also very much enjoyed the cartoonified forward featuring pictures of the Paleo Parents' family describing their transition to the paleo lifestyle. On a final note, my non-paleo mother - an elementary schoolteacher - told me that of the paleo cookbooks she's thumbed through, Eat Like a Dinosaur is her favorite.

Fast, simple, tasty, and kid-friendly - Eat Like a Dinosaur is the total package. I'd heartily recommend it to anybody!


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This review contains only my opinions, which are honest and my own. I was not compensated for reviewing this book, other than receiving a free advance copy. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you!

Lunchbox #188

 

Today, my preschooler's lunchbox featured (clockwise):

• Fresh sliced mango
• A hard boiled egg, and a slice of preservative free salami
• Two Clementines
• Soft cooked blue sweet potato and sugar snap peas

Lunchbox #187

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• A sausage omelette
• Mashed Japanese blue sweet potato
• Two Clementines
• Some hard full fat cheddar