Recipes, Uncategorized

Real Food Creamy Ranch Cauliflower Mash

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cauliflower mashThis is a post that I did last summer, but have spruced up because I’ve recently learned how to make my own Ranch Dressing Herb Mix and that got me really excited about this recipe again.

Luke and I don’t eat a whole lot of processed carbohydrates these days, so I’ve had to get creative with my veggies. This is a cauliflower recipe that I’ve modified from my friend Chelsea‘s recipe. If you want to get crazy, then throw in a cooked potato to make it more like mashed potatoes.

I had never really like cauliflower. Then again, the only time it’s really ever served is on a veggie platter from the supermarket, raw. After perfecting this recipe, I’ve actually acquired a taste for raw cauliflower too. Who would have guessed?

INGREDIENTS

You’ll need a big pot, colander and masher. You can try using an immersion blender, but we’ve done many tests and prefer the crunchiness of the mash over the creaminess of the blender.
1 head cauliflower
1/4 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing herb mix – make your own or buy an MSG free package
salt to taste
These measurements are estimates, use more or less of anything according to the size of cauliflower and your personal taste.

MAKE IT

1. Start a pot of water to boil.
2. Cut cauliflower into florets, removing the core. Keep them the same size so they’ll all cook in the same amount of time.
3. When water comes to a boil, add the cauliflower and boil for 5-10 minutes. When cooked, you should be able to easily pierce and remove a sharp knife from one of the florets. Drain cauliflower.

4. Add cauliflower and all the ingredients back into the warm pot, and cover for a few minutes to let everything melt.

5. Mash it, stir it, mash it some more. Taste it to see if you want to add more of anything. Mash and stir again.

cauliflower mash1

 

This recipe featured on: Family Table Tuesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Sunday School, Fat Tuesday, Cultured Palate, Real Food Wednesday, Sunday School, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Fight Back Friday

Living, Uncategorized

Weekly Link Love

link love

DIY

In an effort to eat more fermented foods, I started a ginger bug this week. This led me to what is now sitting on my counter – Strawberry Soda!

I don’t have any issues with deer eating my garden plants, but I know of plenty of people who do. Maybe this post on how to deer proof a garden will help.

Know Your Ingredients

High protein, low glycemic load food – it’s the longest living fad diet at millions of years old.

This article came out about Guar Gum and, although I’ve noticed it on ingredient lists beore, I passed on reading the article at the time. Then I went grocery shopping yesterday, and in finding a coconut milk with the least ingredients the only one I could settle on had 1 extra – guar gum. So I of course had to read the piece and pass it onto you.

Oh sweet bitter coffee. It’s the one special beverage that holds a place in my day, which I truly look forward too. And why is that? Well, the half and half has a lot to do with it, but I’m pretty sure the caffeine does too.

Get Dirty

My dad is a green thumb, and one of the few people I know who can yield a bumper crop of sun loving tomatoes just a few feet from the ocean, in the foggy coastal summer weather of California. Last week he planted his tomatoes, and my mom was shocked because he was planting them on the full moon. Here’s why she took note of the lunar calendar for this event. Who knew?!

Parenting

I’m doing this decluttering with Porter, but I’m not waiting for his ability to count to 20. I’m going for 10!

Because It Feels Good

My parents swear up and down that they weren’t hippies. I’m sure that in 60’s-70’s they had a clearer vision of who hippies actually were. Unfortunately for them, I think that cultural vision has blurred over the decades. Lucky for us, we can all have a good laugh at the bits and pieces of the “alternative culture” (is that a better description?) that did indeed influence some of my childhood. Were your parents hippies?

Earlier this week I wrote an article about using play as exercise. This guy has the balance of a teenage circus performer – he’s 70 – and guess what he uses to keep his mind sharp, his body strong, and his mood positive? You’re right, he plays!

Living, Uncategorized

Revolutionary Exercise, So Easy A Kid Can Do It

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play at beach

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
~Plato

In an effort to get healthier and lose 100 pounds I’ve been doing a lot of things differently. Along with eating Real Food, cutting out refined foods and a whole lot of grains, I’ve been “working out” more. This time around, though, I’m trying a different method of exercise. It’s pretty revolutionary – I’m playing around. Literally. If I don’t like an exercise, or I get tired of doing something, I just stop doing it and find something more enjoyable. If what I’m doing doesn’t feel like playing I’ll find something else that does.

What You Play Can Change Whenever You Feel Like It

For months I’ve been doing yoga, and before that water aerobics, but lately it hasn’t been fulfilling my need to play. Maybe because it happens in a dimly lit room, and after the winter my body is aching to be outside in the sun. Being stuck in a rut is poor play ethic.

Riding bikes and working in the garden are much more appealing to me right now. Pulling weeds and mixing soil are deposits in my play bank of exercise these days. Dancing ALWAYS feels like playing, so no matter what I make it a priority to attend my Tuesday night dance parties at the gym.

Here are some other reasons we should be playing more:

  • People are more productive at work and get better sleep
  • It can be done anywhere and has no limitations or structure, the sky’s the limit
  • Playing develops stronger bonds with friends and creates community
  • Reduces stress, which makes a healthier immune system
  • Lowers blood pressure – more than regular exercise
  • When you do something you truly enjoy, you’re more likely to do it again (sources 1,2)

What a boon to my own health journey the idea of playing has been!

play slideAll of a sudden, the time I spend in the garden, or sliding down the slide and subsequent climbing up the ladders (which I did at least 7 times today, without my son), hanging on the monkey bars, taking P on walks around the neighbor hood or to the playground – they all become health inducing. Simply by making an effort to play at the playground, which looks a lot like following my kid around with enthusiasm, I’m burning more calories and getting stronger.

Everyone Plays Differently

That’s the benefit of play, anything goes! If weight lifting and running marathons is what floats your boat than do those things. If you’d rather hike with your dog, work at a farm, regain the ability to go across monkey bars, build a table, run with a kite, or roll down grassy hills – DO THAT! You instinctively know what’s good for you, because it makes you feel good to do it.

Last night we went to watch my husands softball game at the park. It was intensely gratifying to watch an organized sport. I can’t stand baseball on TV, but in live and living color it becomes exciting and community building for those playing and those of us who cheered in the stands.

4797975454_d01c14401fWe got to play catch with my son, run around, and teach him about sportsmanship. Through the eyes of a 2 year old, hitting a ball with a bat and catching it with a glove made his dad, and all “the guys” into real life heros. The best way to have healthy kids is to set good examples, right? So why not show them that playing around is healthy and feels good to everyone.

Participating in team sports (in both children and adults) has proven to be:

  • Good for mental health
  • Learning to overcome loss and to be a good winner translates into improved personal relationships
  • Promotes gratitude for others (teammates) which in turn strengthens bonds and gives you opportunity to practice positivity. Being positive always trumps being negative. The more you practice positivity the easier it gets to see the positive in everything.(source)
  • You have the added benefit of running, jumping, swinging and moving your body

So there it is. Playing isn’t just for kids, but do they make great playmates. If you’re using your body, enjoying the activities you are able to do and being aware of how great they make you feel, then that’s all you need.  It may seem unrealistic and strange, but I promise that when you get your mind wrapped around it, exercising can be playing and playing can be exercise. Now log off and go play.

This post featured on: Small Footprint Friday, Family Table Tuesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Sunday School, Fat Tuesday, Cultured Palate, Real Food Wednesdays, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Fight Back Friday

Uncategorized, Weigh In Wednesday

Weigh In Wednesday #17

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weigh in wednesdayAll week long I’ve been trying to figure out how I was going to write this week’s weigh-in post. Maybe I’d lie a little? No. Maybe I’d make excuses? No. Maybe I’d blame it on the moon? No. Honestly, I just stopped watching what I ate this week. Not permanently, I just needed a sanctioned break.

There was a beautiful loaf of sourdough from the market, that desperately needed to be eaten toasted with butter (I didn’t eat it all, just a few slices). And I did the Lactation Cookie post, so I had to make those and eat some of them. And I really wanted to know what my food tastes like served with rice, so I ate it. I went out with the ladies and had not one but TWO cocktails, a burger AND fries. It all tasted delicious. Portions, what are those again?

Here’s what it felt like. The sourdough was amazing, crunchy, buttery, tasted great going down. The lactation cookies eventually gave me heart burn (as they eventually did when I was eating them daily after P was born). I still had plenty of energy to dance on Tuesday night, but less enthusiasm. I’m feeling lethargic. That has something to do with the next paragraph too.

P has been suffering from some gnarly allergies, which includes copious amounts of fluid leaking from every orifice of his face and an insane amount of coughing. Usually in the middle of the night. If I was heartless, I’d let him go all night long, but I’m not.

At 3 am for the past two nights I’ve gotten up and given him some herbs to calm the cough and offer him water. At which point he places his baby hands on my cheeks and so sweetly says, “I tired. Let’s go to sleep mama. Hold my hand.” It’s seriously the most tender thing you’ve ever heard.

In the hope that he’ll fall quickly asleep if I stay, I lay down. But he doesn’t fall quickly asleep, because he’s got this freaking cough. And like any mother with a sick babe, I can only rest fitfully. After and hour or more, we both conk out until he inevitably starts to cough again. It’s still too early in my opinion, but the sun is peaking through the edges of the curtains and he’s ready to roll. I’m not sleeping so good and that makes everything harder. End of story.

I need to find my motivation again. Re-read my initial post, start getting 8 hours of sleep again and drinking more water and less coffee. Yeah, it’s a lifestyle change, but it’s still not easy. Har-umph.

#17 4/24/13 Last Week This Week Difference Overall Loss
Weight (lbs) 238.5 242.5 +4 18.5 lbs
Left Leg (in) 30.5 30.5 0 -2
Hip (in) 50.5 50 -0.5 -3.5
Waist (in) 42 42.5 +0.5 -8.5
Chest (in) 43.5 44.5 +1 -3
Left Arm (in) 15.5 15.5 0 -1.5
Neck (in) 15 15 0 -1
Total inches Lost 19.5
Living, Uncategorized

Words For Friends – Earth

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Planet Earth, my home, my place
A capricious anomaly in the sea of space

Planet Earth are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn’t true
You are my sweetheart, soft and blue

Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.

In my veins I’ve felt the mystery
Of corridors of time, books of hisotry
Life songs of ages throbbing in my blood
Have danced the rhythm of the tide and flood

Your misty clouds, your electric storm
Were turbulent tempests in my own form
I’ve licked the salt, the bitter, the sweet
Of every encounter, of passion, of heat

Your riotous color, your fragrance, your taste
Have thrilled my senses beyond all haste
In your beuaty, I’ve known the how
Of timeless bliss, this moment of now

Planet Earth, are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn’t true
You are my sweetheart, gentle and blue

Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.

Planet Earth, gentle and blue
With all my heart, I love you.
~Michael Jackson

 

This post featured on: Party Wave Wednesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Small Footprint Friday, Family Table Tuesday

Recipes, Uncategorized

Real Food Lactation Cookies (For the whole family)

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lactation cookies 1

Were you lucky enough to have that one (maybe more) friend bring you weeks worth of meals right after your baby was born? I was. Thank goodness for my dear friend Chelsea and her overwhelming generosity in the days after my son was born.

lactation cookies doughShe brought over sushi, a bunch of prepared meals and these lactation cookies. As she handed them to me, her 2 year old daughter took a big bite of one too, and with gobs of enthusiasm. While they’re called lactation cookies, everyone will enjoy them. EVERYONE. Bring these cookies to your new mama friends, make them to increase your own milk supply, or just bake them because you want a chewy, oat-y, chocolate chip cookie.

These cookies are so good that my husband made batch after batch in the months after P was born (he’s never baked in his life) and there were days I’m pretty sure we lived on them. My friend Jillian, who is due in 2 weeks, is making them in preparation. I made them for P’s second birthday (make sure your baking soda is not expired). This is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe.

There are a couple of ingredients that make these cookies especially good for making mama’s milk:

  • Oats* eaten on a regular basis have been known to increase milk supply. (source)
  • Flax* meal is high in Omega-3 fats and helps in the creation of linoleic acid which helps create DHA, which is crucial for infant develpement. Flax seeds are also rich in protein, and fiber. (source 1,2)
  • Brewer’s Yeast** which is high in B vitamins and is shown to to increase nutritional value of breast milk. (source 1,2)

lactation cookies milkCombine these ingredients with pastured butter, real salt, pastured eggs and a glass of pastured raw milk on the side and not only will your belly be filled, but so will your baby’s.

*For the preparation of these ingredients, before baking, see the bottom of the recipe.
**Brewer’s yeast can be purchased online or at your natural foods store.

Ingredients

350* for 12-14 minutes
You’ll need a BIG bowl, a smaller bowl, a mixer is nice but not necessary, and a mixing spoon.
Bring all ingredients to room temperature before beginning for best results.

2 Tbsp flax seed meal
4 Tbsp water

For best nutritional breakdown, mix these two ingredients 8-12 hours ahead of time and cover with plastic wrap or a small plate to keep from drying out.

1 cup butter
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar – you can certainly experiment with alternative sweeteners here
2 pastured eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups already sprouted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp real salt
3 cups oats, sprouted or soaked and dried
1 cup cocolate chips (I use the whole package)
2-4 Tbsp Brewer’s Yeast

Make It

Mix flax meal and water 8-12 hours before starting.

In big bowl:

Cream together butter and sugars.

Add eggs and combine.

Add flax mixture and vanilla, combine.

In smaller bowl:

Sift (or whisk) flour, brewer’s yeast, baking soda and salt.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and combine.

Mix in oats and chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, depending on size, until golden.

lactation cookie cookedAllow to cool on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transfering cookies to cooling rack. Don’t skip this step.

ENJOY!

Now, about the flour and oats. It’s important that we soak/sprout our flours, seeds, and oats to make the nutrients more accesible to us, therefore making the recipe that much healthier. Usually we can use the liquids from the recipe to do the soaking, but there’s not nearly enough liquid in this recipe to do that. You can buy already sprouted flour here, or at your natural food store. It can be used for all your baking needs.

About the oats, that’s a bit of a quandary. You can buy them here or at your natural food store. Or you can soak them in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, vinegar or kefir, covered – over night. Then you can dry them in your dehydrator or, in my case, oven on very low heat < 200* for many hours. You can also try to mix them in wet, but I don’t know what the finished texture will be like. Let me know if you try it.

This post featured on: Party Wave Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Family Table Tuesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Small Footprint Friday, Sunday School, Fat Tuesday, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Fight Back Friday

Living, Uncategorized

Weekly Link Love

link loveLiving With Less

You can save some serious $$$ by substituing reusable and more sustainable goods for disposables.

You probably have a pantry, but do you use it properly?

Be Yourself

A couple weeks ago I confessed my less than green habits, turns out I’m not the only one! Sigh of relief, right?!

We had to pay Uncle Sam in taxes this year. It created a tense couple days, to say the least. Here’s a few ideas about how to stress less about $$$.

DIY

In my continuing effort to bring chickens to our yard, here are more reasons that backyard chickens rock!

Am I crazy for wanting to make my own soap?

It’s time to diversify into more crazy concoctions that need to ferment-in-jars-for-many-days-on-our-counters. Sorry Luke.

Eat it. Or not!

“If you love and respect your naughty bits, practice safe soy.”

For my vegetarian real food followers, do you eat these foods? Do you stay away from these?

YES! I’ve been waiting for this recipe for Ranch Dressing herbs!

Points, calories, carbs, food journals…bleck! I hate counting any of those things because I start to feel like a slave to numbers. Turns out I’m not alone. I knew it!

Size DOES matter. Plate size that is. We eat off of small plate, because they look really full with less food. It totally works. Plus you can always go back for more if you’re still hungry.

Because It Feels Good

Time for a little real food related laughter. Watch this video.

Being good to the planet feels good. It can also be an artistic expression.

Recipes, Uncategorized

Simple Asparagus – 2 Ways

asparagus 1

Eating seasonally makes a lot of foods that were once common place a lot more exciting, since they only show up once or twice a year. Two of the first spring foods that we get in the northwest (and other colder climates) are strawberries and asparagus.

When food is really fresh, the best way to eat it is in it’s most whole and simple form. This allows the natural flavors to shine and gets you in and out of the kitchen quickly. Something to remember about asparagus, don’t overcook it. It should have a little crunch when you bite into well cooked asparagus, and in no way should it resemble a noodle.

My Favorite 2 Ways To Prepare Asparagus

They both include the same 3 ingredients:

asparagus
real salt
organic pastured butter

Lucky for us, eating your veggies with fat, especially dairy fat, makes all those vitamins more accessible to our bodies, so load up your asparagus with plenty of pastured butter. (source)

P1020658

How To Prepare Asparagus (For Any Recipe)

Snap it, wash it, cook it!

Sometimes you’ll cut off a lot of the asparagus stalk, and that can feel wasteful. First, start composting it. Second, you don’t want to eat the stringy woody part that gets chopped, that’s not good eats.

asparagus 2

 

Steamed Asparagus

asparagus 3

P1020662

 

This is my 2 year olds favorite way to eat asparagus. He'll seriously eat it all.
This is my 2 year olds favorite way to eat asparagus. He’ll eat it all, seriously.

 

Grilled Asparagus

asparagus grilled

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The recipe featured on: Party Wave Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Family Table Tuesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Small Footprint Family, Sunday School, Fat Tuesday, Scratch Cooking Tuesday, Fight Back Friday

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