2017 GOALS | part one

I'm still working on the action steps, but I have my "whats" and "whys". Realistically, I know a good chunk of this year is going to be about surviving. A new baby means sleep will be lacking, as will time to myself and my ability to have clear coherent thoughts most of the time. My goals this year are really "big picture", I've have had some 'action steps' written down and just haven't really gotten them rolling yet. I have a lot of little things to do to get ready for baby (including quite a bit of work to prepare considering I'll have a newborn the last month or so of my spring and yearlong courses and no maternity leave).  The idea of coming up with strict goals for this year with strict action steps I would likely not follow through with was really stressful and overwhelming so instead, I'm just focusing on the big picture.

Our pastor encourages us to come up with a word for the year of what we want to define or describe what God will do in our life. Nothing really came to mind for me so I asked Marshall what his was. He chose abide from one of our new songs we sing at church Hallelujah, Here Below. It's one of my favorites. I love the message and perspective. So much.

We are an altar of broken stones

But you delight in the offering

You have the heavens to call your home

But you abide in the song we sing

Ten thousand angels surround your throne

To bring you praise that will never cease

But hallelujah from here below

Is still your favorite melody

And should the fire that once burned bright

Become an ember my eyes can't see

I will remember your sacrifice

I will abide in your love for me

Jesus Christ our king enthroned

all the praise is yours forevermore

Hallelujah, Here below

All the praise is yours, forevermore

Let this be me this year! In the hours of pain, labor and delivery, where time stands still.  In the fog and cloudiness of early postpartum days. In the  eternal, seemingly never ending weeks and months of sleep deprivation and healing in my body. In the moments of toddler tantrums and crying babies. In the heaps of laundry, piles of dishes, accumulating dirt and dog hair. In the unanswered emails, text messages and assignments ungraded. In the reality of something always left neglected, unfinished, incomplete and undone. Let me abide in your love for me, survive on your word, rely on your truths and believe the promises for my future. This is my big picture for 2017. 

2017: Abide 

2016: Thrive

2015: Simplify

2014: Goals

So here's my big picture. I wasn't sure how to categorize them this year. It's a combo of what worked, what didn't work, what I want to make time for and actions I guess for abiding.

Maintain. 

• Diet. 
• Routines.
• Personal photo taking and organization. Digital workflow with Lightroom and uploading to personal Smugmug. 

Improve.

• Time management at home. 
• Adhere to chore/housework rotation to do a little bit daily, so I don't feel overwhelmed when it all starts to pile up. 
• Finish work during the day. / Improve workflow to be more efficient. 
• Online storage of RAW files.
• iPhone photos. Take less, delete more, keep fewer. 

Enjoy.

• Family time! 2+ a week, finish work before Marshall gets home so we can unwind, cook dinner, and play with Lincoln before bedtime and have QT after bedtime (aka play Monopoly Deal) 
• Baby books! Yes, plural. I still haven't finished Lincoln's. Finish Lincoln's, prepare baby girl's so once she's here all I have to do is write stuff down and print photos. 
• Print pictures for our photo wall from 2016 and 2017. 
• Order/finish my 2016 Chatbook (I currently have a ticket open with them, I have three stubborn photos that won't go into my book....).  
• Read for fun (post forthcoming with books for the year!) 
• Take care of myself. 6k step goal daily, water daily, vegetables + vitamins daily. Smoothies 2x a week, broth 2x a week. relaxing baths 2x a week. 
• Enjoy newborn days. No visitors first two weeks (sorry, but also not sorry!). Sleep, recover, nurse and savor! 
• Make seasonal goals/bucket lists for quality family time. 

Abide. 

• Read and study the Bible frequently. 
• Listen to uplifting, encouraging podcasts.
• Pray frequently.

Happy New Year! 

Recipe: For Real Healthy Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies (AIP, paleo, grain free, dairy free)

One of my favorite recipes from Danielle Walker is her breakfast cookies. I've shared before how I've remixed her recipe, and I've now come up with a great variation that we love! 

These are a favorite of all three of us. Lincoln loves to eat them, and we love how easy it is to hand him a cookie– and we SUPER love that they are dairy, grain and refined sugar free. The sweetness comes from ripened bananas and a few dates and they are a perfect breakfast on the go, snack stand alone or companion to an afternoon cup of tea while the baby is sleeping. I like to batch cook these guys and freeze them in sandwich baggies of 4-5 cookies. They don't stick together as much and I can just grab a little baggie and stick them in the fridge over night or grab one if we're headed out on some errands or an adventure for the day.

This fall I plan to experiment with spices to come up with a solid pumpkin spice cookie. I shall report back! Also, if you happen to pick up a tub of the Coconut Spread at Aldi, you can spread some of that on these bad boys and try not to eat 12 in one sitting. AIP pumpkin cream cheese roll. Not kidding. Also, just a disclaimer, these are not crispy or crunchy like you may be thinking a cookie should be. They definitely are more of a soft and crumbly cookie, which make them an excellent early food for babes and toddlers.


Ingredients (makes about 30 cookies):

• 4 super ripe bananas (mashed ~2 cups)
• 1 can pumpkin puree (~1.5 cups)
• 4 tablespoons palm shortening
• 6 pitted dates 
• 1 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• juice from half a lemon 
• 1 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• you'll need parchment paper or foil with coconut oil for greasing. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Put bananas, pumpkin puree, shortening, dates in food processor (we have/love this one) and puree until smooth (30 seconds to a minute or so-- may take a minute to get the dates chopped if you don't soak or pre-chop ahead of time)
3. Add coconut flour, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda and lemon juice. Pulse to combine. 
4. Add coconut and dried cranberries. Pulse to combine. 
5. Scoop golf ball sized balls of dough onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil greased with coconut oil to keep from sticking. Flatten balls and shape into the size cookie you want, they will not expand in the oven. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cookies are brown all over and slightly firm to the touch. Cool on wire rack and store in airtight container in the fridge or freezer. 
7. Try not to eat them all in one sitting. 

Recipe: Comfy Chicken Casserole (AIP/Paleo, grain free, dairy free)

Four score and a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this recipe in the depths of Google. We made it pretty much per the directions and it turned out a little watery, but overall we were happy with the taste (so good) and decided we'd add it into our rotation of paleo dinners. It's pretty simple, basically just steamed broccoli and mushrooms chicken and bacon with a garlicky cauliflower puree and some herbs, baked all together.

A couple of days ago we revisited it, and this time left out some stuff, and changed it up a bit and it was AMAZING. All three of us cleaned our plates (even the 18 month old!) and Marshall went back for seconds and cleaned his plate again. This is definitely a recipe we will be doubling in the future and making when friends come to visit!

It has the taste and texture of comfort food, but made completely grain and dairy free and therefore nutrient dense and delicious for you and your people.

Some quick facts about my kitchen and how we cook:
1) I rarely have fresh spices/herbs. I currently have basil and rosemary growing in my garden (aka I haven't killed them yet) but I am forever using dried spices/herbs. So do that if you don't have fresh.
2) We don't really measure stuff.
3) We prefer steam in bag veggies to fresh, because EASY.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil or fat of choice (we usually use coconut or olive oil, or bacon fat) 
• 2-3 pounds of chicken, cubed/shredded and cooked 
• 1 bag of steam in bag frozen broccoli 
• 1 bag of steam in bag frozen cauliflower 
• 1 cup baby bella sliced/chopped mushrooms 
• 3 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled into pieces 
• 1 can full fat coconut milk (or just coconut cream) 
• 2 tbsp minced garlic 
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil (or a couple of leaves fresh if you have them)
• 1 tbsp dried/fresh parsley 
• some sea salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Cook the chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, bacon! Heat oil/fat in a large size skillet/pan on the stove over medium heat. If you haven't cooked your chicken yet, add it to the pan first with the 1 tbsp fat and salt. Once it's cooked thoroughly drain and set aside. Microwave your bacon, broccoli and cauliflower while chicken cooks.
3. Cook the mushrooms and combine everything in baking dish. In the skillet, add the last tbsp of fat and sauté the mushrooms. Once softened add the already steamed broccoli to the pan, careful not to add excess water. Add the chicken back to the pan, as well as the bacon pieces and thyme and basil. Sauté and combine for several minutes then add to a baking dish (8x11ish) careful not to add any liquid from the pan. 
4. Make the creamy cauliflower sauce! In a food processor (we splurged on this one for ourselves for Valentine's Day) add the cooked bag of steamed cauliflower (and any liquid that's in it) and the minced garlic. Puree until smooth (it will look kinda like mashed potatoes). Start with the cream from the canned coconut milk and add to the food processor. Add coconut milk as desired to make the sauce creamy. Creamy is good, but watery is not. Add up to an entire can of coconut milk, but we've had best results with half a can. Save the other half for a latte!
5. Add the sauce to the baking dish, garnish and bake! Spoon the cauliflower sauce over the broccoli, mushrooms + chicken. Sprinkle the top with parsley and bake at 375º for 30 minutes. 
6. Eat it up! Serve larger portions solo, or stretch it a little with a salad and a sweet potato. 

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More Veggies in March Challenge + Giveaway!

Since going paleo last August, I've been learning a ton about my body and what foods work the best for me to set me up for success. I'm coming out of 5 strict weeks of AIP (I've had coffee and chocolate since entering week 6...sigh, another story, another day) and have really come to realize that my health is truly less about what I cut out, and more about what I add in. 

That being said, I'm not ready to dive back in to a Standard American Diet, but I honestly haven't been eating copious amounts of vegetables. I have at least one veggie per meal usually (not always at breakfast though), but I am a far cry from the USDA's recommendation of 2-3 servings a day and even farther from the widely accepted paleo frame work of 5-9 servings a day. Eeep. I truly wonder what my health would be like today had I been eating 9 servings of veggies a day this whole time! 

It's strange though, once you make your own health journey "public", people in similar situations start coming out of the woodwork. I have had countless conversations both in real life and via social media lately with friends with their own health struggles as of late. Struggles ranging from suspected food sensitivities, GI troubles, thyroid issues, extreme fatigue, eczema or dry itchy skin... It's just kinda crazy how all the women I seem to come into contact with in my general age group are all dealing with these things in one way or another and have either under the guide of a doctor or dietician or their own research (thanks, Internet) decided that cutting out various food groups may be the answer they are looking for. 

So I'm neither a doctor, or a dietician but here's what I've gleaned from my own experience: 

1) Sugar ruins us. 

2) Vegetables save us. 

I don't think there's a doctor or a dietician that would argue for sugar or against vegetables (except obviously in allergy situations, but– obviously). 

All that to say, in March I am challenging myself (as part of my monthly goals) to eat more vegetables and I want you to do it with me! Don't give up anything, so if you eat a donut for breakfast every morning keep doing your Krispy Kreme thing but pair it a sweet potato or a green smoothie or something. (Side note: Juicing is kind of a gray area because the fiber is part of what makes vegetables awesome so I recommend eating the actual vegetables and not just drinking them, but again– Not a dietician or doctor, so do you. )

So here's the challenge: 

• Plan your 2-3 (or more!, I'm personally shooting for 5) servings of vegetables a day, raw, cooked, however you like them.
• Eat them all up!
• But, before you eat them– take a picture of them and post on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the tag #moreveggiesinmarch so we can be inspired for meal planning by each other! 
• Follow me (@weareblog) and my friend Lauren (@almostcasual) on Instagram to be entered into an awesome veggie giveaway (you don't have to eat a single green thing to be eligible, just follow us):
• Super cute custom veggie watercolor print by Lauren at Almost Casual 
• Reusable veggie cooler tote
• $20 giftcard to Whole Foods 

Periodically throughout the month I'll be posing on IG and here on my blog to "check in" and see how you're feeling. Is eating veggies breaking the bank? Do you feel any different? Is your family on board? 

And as always, I would love to hear from you on Instagram or in the comments here. 

Happy Veggie Eating! 

The 'What' and 'Why' of Going Paleo: Less Sugar, More Vegetables

It has been a gradual process, but we have been eating what the internet refers to as paleo for almost six months now. I haven't been super open about my health struggles on Instagram or Facebook (let's be real, those are the highlight reels, and there was nothing about eczema on my earlobes that I wanted to remember) but I have been posting a lot about food we make, which has prompted many questions from friends and followers. So here's a few non-reasons we went paleo:

1. because I wanted to lose the baby weight 
2. because it is trendy and I like to post pictures of my food with #hashtags 
3. because we have so much money we wanted to eat steak 3x a day

I've shared some about my eczema explosion postpartum but diet was one of the ways we did an overhaul on our life, mainly for my benefit. I was covered in raw, weeping eczema sores from my knees to my earlobes and conventional medicine couldn't offer me anything but oral or topical steroids that nearly guaranteed a rebound effect. So I went to the depths of the internet and came back with Paleo.

Most healthcare professionals will tell you that unless you test positive for a food allergy, eczema is not related to or caused by certain foods that you eat. This is somewhat true. Some people have true food allergies and have a reaction when they consume foods, this reaction being eczema. We see this all the time in infants. Breastfeeding moms cut out eggs, dairy, soy, etc. from their diets and some babies see almost immediate improvement within days. I do not have any food allergies. I've been tested several times throughout my life and I have none. I did go "gluten free" for a spell in college and "felt great" and did a Whole 30 during my first few years post-grad and had "tiger blood", but nothing diagnosed ever from a healthcare professional that says I should avoid any foods. So, eventually I was back on the Standard American Diet as I was for most of my life.

I can report, however, that for most of my life I have felt bloated, had a bellyache, been tired, been sick, had eczema patches, been grumpy and not slept well. So I diagnosed myself: unhealthy. How do you get healthy? You eat less sugar, more vegetables.

So we began eating these things: meat, fruit, veggies, fish, nuts, seeds, and natural sugars only. I am definitely an 'all or nothing' personality and struggle with "in moderation" so it is a lot better for me to just say: I do not eat ________. I eat before I go to parties, we don't really go out to eat without researching and planning ahead of time (which has saved us a ton of money), and we have invested in a total of three cookbooks that rock.

So at almost 6 months (with a little splurging around the holidays) paleo I am almost totally clear from eczema, and at least 80% healed compared to where I was this summer. The insides of my arms, hands, right wrist and the backs of my legs still have spots that just will not go away, but I know that eventually they will. I am not bloated, or have a belly ache, or am hungry in between or after meals, or grumpy for no good reason (I actually got my husband to admit this). The most striking of them all is that I've gotten over two colds in like 3 days or less which is really uncharacteristic for me. Especially in the winter, I usually get sick and stay sick for the entirety of the season, needing no less than 3 z-packs. I literally have woken up with a stuffy nose and two days later been totally normal. 

 I don't believe that Paleo is the answer to all the things (and I really hate 'labels', so I cringe every time I say 'I'm paleo') for all the people, but I do think that our world would be a lot different if everybody ate a little less sugar and a lot more vegetables. I honestly think people would be a lot nicer to each other, and would probably feel a little better. So, back to my non-reasons:

1. I did totally lose the baby weight (and quite a bit more) and bought a pair of pants a few weeks ago in a size that I haven't seen since middle school and it totally freaked me out. The weight loss was a nice distraction from my eczema this summer, I will admit since I gained 70 (yep, that's SEVENTY) pounds while I ate baked brie for nine months growing baby Lincoln.  I have stopped losing and have maintained the same weight for two months now so I'm feeling good about that, definitely think this is 'my size'. I am most definitely not depriving myself of anything as I am eating super nutrient dense foods and lots of them. So if you are wanting to lose weight, I defer back to the "less sugar, more vegetables" statement above. Also, I still don't really exercise intentionally, but I do chase a toddler around and carry him all over every day. 
2. #whole30 is so trendy and you know #vegan and #organic and #pastured and #freerange and #paleo and #dairyfree and #sugarfree #holistic and all  the other foodie health buzz words that actually really drive me crazy. My account on both hashtag relevant social media sites is private, so I don't do a lot of tagging because no one can see my pictures if they are looking for #paleo anything. Occasionally I'll post a picture of say, a chocolate chip cookie, and I'll #paleo it, but really it's just to avoid the "is this paleo?" question that will inevitably follow. If it's #notpaleo I'll hashtag that as well, just you know, so nobody thinks I've got some magical recipe for #paleotequila. And sometimes I just make up dumb unrelated hashtags for funsies. But yes, you're totally right, it is a health food trend that can be misunderstood and used inappropriately, but I really believe at the heart of the paleo movement are really good things: less sugar, more vegetables. 
3.  We do 90% of our grocery shopping at Aldi (there are not enough words for how much I love that store) and on Wednesdays they do "special meat buys" where you can get like 5 pounds of chicken for like 7 dollars. It's unbelievable. Steaks are discounted 50 cent a pound and I actually bought two boxes of organic spring mix (I realize, not meat) for 50 cents each and I have no idea why. The dates were great on it, I think it was just overstocked, but seriously. I will bring a quarter and my own bags all day every day to spend ~$100 a week on groceries to feed us real food. And we used to do steaks once a week, but that was expensive so now we do it once a month and it's great. It is amazing how inexpensive it is to eat less sugar, more vegetables. 

Friday Favorites: Paleo Cookbooks

I've been paleo (no grains, dairy, or refined sugar) since August and am about 3 weeks into autoimmune paleo (paleo + no seeds, nuts, eggs or nightshades). Since our big family diet overhaul / Operation Beat Eczema,  I've discovered a few things about myself in the kitchen: 

1. I really love cookbooks. The more pictures the better! It makes meal planning a blast and let's you know how close you were to being successful when it is done. In another life I'd like to be a cookbook photographer. I lose lots of time looking at the pictures in my cookbooks. 
2. I hate reading recipes from my phone or the computer. I will actually print them out and write all over them and put them in a binder for later. 
3. I don't actually enjoy cooking. I LOVE to eat, and to make something that is simple, or that I have made 100 times before so I don't have to think about it... but trying new recipes and being all detail oriented is not my favorite (and this is why my husband is amazing). I meal plan, grocery shop and lay all the ingredients out and he cooks.  It's a win-win. 

The following books have been super helpful in our food journey so far. They not only have recipes, but many of them have lots of "science" information that explain different foods, why you should/should not eat them, ways to substitute items, and personal stories of those that authored them. All around, great reads, great recipes! 

I've been interested in the concept of paleo for several years since reading It Starts With Food in 2012. Link to purchase on Amazon here. This book goes through the iconic "whole 30" and each food group included and not included and breaks down the science behind each. It was a fascinating read. It really made me question lots of things and a few months later I decided to do a Whole 30 challenge, and made it like 25 days. I lasted until my students did a food project in Spanish III and brought in cakes and cookies and brownies and I almost literally, "fell face first into a dessert buffet" (as Stacy Toth would say).  After the fact I realized I wasn't actually paleo (I ate a ton of legumes inadvertently) but I all in all slept a lot better and lost a ton of weight, which was really all I was after at the time. This was an excellent foundation for my postpartum days when I needed to cut out inflammatory foods, I knew exactly what to do! All in all, it's a great "challenge" but I don't recommend doing it if all you're after is weight loss. If you go back to your old eating habits afterward you will feel worse and your world will be turned upside down. Ignorance is bliss, my friends.

The back of this book has meal plans and recipes, although I never used any of them. They also have a ton of great grocery shopping, meal planning and go-to guides on their website for free. Definitely a must-read before you start paleo-ing blind! 

Against All Grain is amazing, and Danielle's story is amazing. She has changed her life and is fighting ulcerative colitis, a GI autoimmune disorder with her mostly paleo diet. Personally, she has done extensive elimination dieting so she knows exactly what foods are triggers and healing for her, and her diet isn't the cookie cutter paleo/whole 30 (nobody's should be exactly the same -- more on that later!) but her recipes are all grain, dairy and refined sugar free. Her heart is in this book! So much of our culture and childhood memories are about food, whether we like it or not. Baking cookies as a family, spaghetti night, chicken noodle soup when you're sick... you name it, she has an AMAZING recipe for it. Her recipes are simple, fool proof and consistently good. I recommend getting this one first, as it has a lot of the "basics" in it (mayo, broth, nut cheese, etc.) and the most amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe. Link to purchase on Amazon here.

This sequel to Against All Grain, these are all grain and dairy recipes that are focused on batch cooking and simple, quick meals. Some of our absolute FAVORITES come from this book. There is also an allergen free chocolate chip cookie recipe for those that cannot have eggs. It comes with weekly grocery lists and plans, but I prefer to pick individual recipes. Just like her first cookbook, there is a consistency in excellence to all of her recipes. We've never had a flop! 

Danielle has a huge social media following and has a ton of her recipes posted on her blog for free. Find her on Instagram @againstallgrain. Rumor has it that she has a cooking show in the works! Find  Meals Made Simple on Amazon to purchase here.

This is the newest to our collection of cookbooks and all of the recipes are autoimmune protocol compliant, a great cookbook for those with nut or egg allergies! This book has more "out of the box" recipes, not a lot of recreations of classics, but we already have a few favorites (hello pesto chicken pizza, clam chowder, "cheesy" broccoli soup, oven fried chicken and turkey jerky). Our only complaint for this one is that it seems to make smaller portions which doesn't leave a lot of leftovers, especially if you're feeding one husband and one tiny toddler that eats like a teenage boy. There is talk of doubling recipes in the future. Many of these recipes are budget conscious and many are designed to be 5 ingredients or less or 30 minutes or less. Great for on-the-go busy people, and has some wonderful breakfast recipes (carrot + raisin n'oatmeal is the bomb!). Both authors have very active blogs and a social media presence, and I really love Sarah's podcast The Paleo View.  Click here to find The Healing Kitchen on Amazon. 

There you have it, my favorite paleo cookbooks! Happy Friday! 

Breakfast Cookie Remix | autoimmune protocol + paleo

Hi there, it's me. I'm still alive. It's been a busy season here for me, and blogging has taken it's natural place on the back-burner. Le sigh. I think of a good blog entry at least once a day and make a note of it, and of those it would seem actually .05% make it all the way to this point. So, you know it must be good if I am actually planning, writing, editing, including pictures AND posting it. Huzzah!

And, it is good. Get excited! So, first, some backstory: I've been paleo for about 3 months now and have seen some improvement in my skin, but I am still "flared" in areas and am having occasional new flares so the internet told me to take the plunge into the autoimmune protocol. I researched this months ago and we felt like it would probably be the best choice based on my symptoms, but honestly going from eating a standard American diet to AIP was quite unrealistic for me and had "crash diet failure" written all over it. Paleo lifestyle and then a casual descent into AIP seemed more my pace, and after a trial run a few weeks ago I am 80/20 paleo for the rest of the year (like I cheated and had some dairy on Thanksgiving and it was tasty, but I've pretty much had a bellyache since then) and then the week after Lincoln's birthday party I plan to do 8 weeks AIP and then some reintroduction of common allergens. This is mostly because while I was a complete and total zombie during my AIP week (no coffee is brutal), my skin was almost totally clear by the end of the week, not itchy, inflamed, red or uncomfortable. It was unreal and amazing! But, I was such a zombie without coffee and having total withdrawals I know there is no way I can make it through the holidays without my Nespresso, so... January it is. Clearly, I'm an addict, but that's another post for another day...

So here's the meat! The excitement! The breakfast cookies that rock my world! If you follow me on Instagram you'll have noticed that just a few weeks ago Lincoln decided that he liked solids. Like, a lot. So I went on a quest to feed him and myself in a way that introduced him to a variety of food groups (minimal dairy, no refined sugar and avoiding gluten as much as possible) without having to prepare two separate meals/snacks 5 times a day. Enter Danielle Walker's Allergy Friendly Breakfast Cookie. The first time I made these I stuck close to the recipe but found that I was NOT a fan of dried apricots nor did I know what a currant is (and I still haven't looked it up..). But they were good! And I was mid-AIP week and withdrawing from coffee/delicious things and anything shaped like a cookie was good to me. Then, I let Lincoln have some and he LOVED IT. So, I made another batch, this time adding 2 oz. of pumpkin puree and some cinnamon and nutmeg and the rest is history. I made a double batch the other weekend and froze some so we'd have some extra should I run out in a pinch. They are a super easy texture for Lincoln to eat and although they are crumbly, you can squish the pieces together like play-dough to put it back together. Each time I follow the recipe less and less closely, like if I have an extra banana, I'll throw it in. The palm shortening does a good job of holding things together so its okay if you're not super exact. These are the perfect addition to a morning cup of coffe, an after-nap snack for your little one, a healthy pickmeup with an afternoon cup of tea, a late night "sugary" indulgence or most recently for us, a road trip snack. Enjoy!

AIP Breakfast Cookie (Remixed from Danielle Walker at AgainstAllGrain.com)

Ingredients:
½ pound ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed, 2 small bananas)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons palm shortening (or ghee)
2 oz pitted dates (about 3 or 4-- if you want to puree them into the cookie soak for 5min first)
3 oz pumpkin puree
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp lemon juice
½ cup finely shredded dried coconut
2 tablespoons raisins


Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor or blender, puree the bananas, dates, pumpkin, applesauce, and shortening until it has the consistency of baby food, about 30 seconds.
• Add the coconut flour, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda, lemon juice and pulse until combined.
• Add the dried fruit and shredded coconut and pulse twice. Don’t run it long enough to puree the dried fruit, just enough to incorporate it.
• Spoon golf-ball sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Flatten the cookies and make them the shape and size you want prior to baking, they will not expand while baking. 
• Bake for 18-20 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack, then store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later!

Three Months Paleo + Some Practical Paleo Tips

Paleooooo. I'm honestly a little tired of saying it, but dairy/grain/gluten/refined sugar/legume/white potato/alcohol free is a bit cumbersome. But I am probably 90% paleo these days with a few exceptions (namely French fries, some funnel cake from the fair, and one rogue glass of wine that got me really drunk and itchy). 

So, breaking my ties to sugar has been the best decision I've made as an adult, easily. I started in hopes of a breakthrough with eczema but it has really become what will probably be a permanent lifestyle for us. Marshall eats paleo when we are together and still does his own thing for lunches or if we eat out. Lincoln currently drinks a very dairy based formula (which makes me cringe every time I give him a bottle) but I plan to offer some milk alternatives once we are weaning from formula. He will have some cheese and grain-free puffs and eats what we eat. He's just now learning how to feed himself small pieces of food and seems to really like veggies, he loved the paleo lasagna and our weekly paleo waffles. Other than a small patch of eczema on his face that comes and goes, he seems to do ok with dairy which makes me happy. So glad he is half-Marshall. 

So here's the skinny on me and paleo:

I have honestly never felt better, in my entire life. 

I have so much energy. I sleep so well at night (although sometimes it is interrupted by a small child who has peed everywhere). I feel like I have reached some sort of nirvana that I've only read about in blogs and seen on infomercials. But it's really real! In real life! And in real life I don't tolerate sugar well. Especially in excess which is how I like to consume it (there are several documentaries on Netflix that will corroborate this). And much to my joy, eczema has improved tremendously. Healing is happening, albeit at times slowly, but it is happening. I still itch from time to time (and scratch in my sleep, starting the healing process over at times... so frustrating), but in general my skin is in much better shape. 

So, I guess this is my 3 month paleo update. I miss cheese and pizza and stuff, but I really like living life like this. It's pretty wonderful. I don't feel like I'm in a fog all the time! I love coffee black (SO MANY FLAVORS SO YUM) and I actually enjoy the taste of kale. I'm still not a celery fan, and that's a major 'eczema friendly' food, so I'm still working on it. A week or so after Lincoln's 1st birthday party I plan to commence 6 weeks of the autoimmune protocol to see what my skin/body is like without eggs, nuts and some other things. Planning way ahead and planning when I'll reintroduce some things. So grateful for this time of learning about food and my body and self-discipline. It's truly been a spiritual awakening of sorts. Although, given the choice between some kale and a paleo chocolate chip cookie, I'll most definitely choose the cookie. 

Here are some practical paleo tips if you're interested in taking the plunge. Even if you don't suspect that any foods are causing you trouble, you may be surprised to find what  ife is like off of sugar!

• Clean all the things out of your pantry that you can't eat during the time you plan to paleo for. Donate to a friend or stick non-perishables on a top shelf where you won't see them.
• Plan ahead! Be realistic, the holiday season may not be the best time to give up the good stuff.
• Budget your food like you budget your money. Meal plan and stick to it, don't buy anything without knowing exactly when you're going to eat it.
• Produce will go bad, learn how to store it. What ripens on the counter? What goes straight to the drawers in the fridge? How do you kill fruit flies (because they will find you!)? 
• Eat a lot! I see a lot of "clean eating" posts where people are eating 3 pieces of deli meat rolled up and some almonds. Not cool. I literally ate 16 (!) pieces of turkey the other night before bed because I was hungry. Eat until you are not hungry because you're eating things from the planet that are good for you! 
• Don't focus on what you can't have, focus on what you CAN have!  I found that trying new vegetables and fruits and recipes was so exciting! 
• Don't spend a lot of time trying to recreate your favorite non-paleo meals.  We tried to make paleo banana pudding for our anniversary and for what it was, it was pretty good, but compared to the real thing it was not. 
• Know that preparing all your meals will take a lot of time. This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but in my previous life of working outside the home, sun up to sun down I probably wouldn't have been nearly as successful. (Actually, I only lasted 25 days the first time I went paleo then I threw it all away on some brownies because I was starving). Setting time aside/planning time for cooking is essential. Be realistic about time, say no to some things, set aside a "prep" day, etc. 
• Have a back-up plan. Have something fast that you can cook if your day doesn't go according to plan and meal prep time gets cut short. Eggs, bacon and fruit are an easy meal. Applegate makes some great hot dogs and deli meat for the freezer. Or, visit your friends at Chick-Fil-A for 12 grilled nuggets and a fruit cup (and plan to be hungry later). 
• Steam-in-bag veggies are your friend. Certainly there are reasons why those are not safe, but they are fast. 
• Cashews are super versatile, it will blow your mind the things you can make with them! Our favorite "fancy" paleo recipes use cashews... from waffles to nut-cheese in lasagna, you can make it all!
• Enjoy it! 

Happy paleoing!

Food and Spiritual Health

For the past month I've been eating a fairly strict paleo diet in an attempt to reign in some severe (literally) all-over eczema that has plagued me since I gave birth in December. I've been no dairy, no grains, no refined sugar. Paleo is also kind of weird in that it omits legumes for reasons I don't remember, as well as white potatoes. This is not a permanent change for me as I believe beans carry a lot of nutrition, although I suspect my days of dairy are totally over. 

Per usual, God has used this time to really change me in some really unexpected ways. I love how he does that. I feel like there have been so many times when I head into a situation expecting a certain level of personal growth or change and then he just knocks it out of the park. 

For starters, it would seem that God began preparing me for this season back in 2012 when I did a Whole 30 (except I only made it 24 days-ish). Before that I really had an embarrassingly basic understanding of nutrition and virtually no culinary skills. There have been times I've wondered "what if..." in regards to my own upbringing and if my parents had been healthier (both have been overweight and struggled with various chronic health issues for as long as I can remember) perhaps I would be, too, but I am grateful to be learning what I am learning NOW and not 25 years from now when it would be probably too late. 

That first experience on the paleo diet really helped me get a grasp on my dependence on consuming a ton of sugar, and really helped me see that I really felt great not eating dairy or grains. Not to mention that I also lost a good 10 pounds which I had been trying to lose since we got married and I didn't have to exercise which was a win-win in my book. I also learned how to cook, the role of certain foods, and the difference between different types of vegetables and how your body processes them. 

When my eczema started to take a turn for the worst this summer, Marshall and I literally prayed for next steps. We asked God what was next. Giving up dairy? Giving up gluten? Using topical steroids? Using an oral steroid? All of the above? Some of the above? What are our options? 

Slowly our next step became clear. I had to clean up my body, inside and out. I had to clean up my life, too, by changing some habits. 

In terms of cleaning up my body on the inside, my diet had to change. I had to take vitamins and supplements. I had to drink  a lot of water. The outside, I had to stop using topical steroids (after an adverse reaction that resulted in a terrible weepy– my skin, not my eyes– flare all over my body). I had to moisturize. I had to put good things only on the outside. I had to change my soaps, shampoos, laundry and dish detergent to remove any possible harsh chemicals that I might be having an adverse reaction to. Habits? I had to sleep. I had to stop breastfeeding all night and go to bed at or before 10pm and sleep. I hadn't slept a stretch longer than 4-5 hours since Lincoln was born. I had to vacuum our house more frequently and reduce the amount of dog hair (a common eczema irritant) so we moved the dogs to the garage and outside only.

We made a lot of changes. We researched, went grocery and soap shopping, switched over to formula and relocated the dogs. Food was probably the biggest change. 

During this month I feel like God has revealed a lot of things to me about myself, food and how my relationship with food said a lot more about me and my spiritual health than I had previously realized. So, I am not one for the "guilt gospel". In fact, I flat out refuse to believe that our God uses guilt as a tactic to draw us close to him. I do not think that he tries to teach us lessons or catch us in sin to "teach us something" or whatever, and so I think had I heard a sermon or had someone try to tell me what I am about to write, it would not have been well received at all. In fact, I can just hear the cynical, sarcastic remarks in my head that I would be telling my husband... I can't believe they are trying to tell me what to eat! Seriously?!? The audacity! But really, my food habits reveal a lot about my feels towards God. 

Seriously. 

For starters? Emotional eating.

I, like most women, am an emotional eater. Good day? I would like to celebrate with an m&m cookie please. Rough day? Just pour me a venti soy chai with a side of cheese danish. Normal day? Thanks in part to that cappuccino I made myself this morning! So, what if I believed what the Bible says about God in 1 Peter 5:7 and that he cares for me and I should give my troubles to him? Nope. I did not. I was more like, "Cast my anxiety on this venti americano with a shot of hazelnut syrup, because it will make today happen."

Then, I read somewhere where someone had the health goal of seeing "food as worship". This stuck with me and became quite interesting. So, before taking the paleo plunge, I had been making baby food for Lincoln. Some people were impressed by this, which they should not have been. It is three steps 1) wash food 2) pureé food 3) freeze food. Repeat. But in a totally geeky way, I became completely obsessed with this process. Fruits and vegetables are legitimately beautiful. There are no colors more vibrant or deep than that of a bowl of pureed carrots or broccoli. Which got me thinking about our Creator. He created those carrots. He created that broccoli. He created colors. For us to enjoy! Suddenly, eating became a very worshipful experience for me. I mean like, I'm eating a peach and analyzing the texture of the skin, the flesh, the juices, the smell... and completely in awe.  Which leads me to 1 Corinthians 10:31... literally. I had never, ever, ever, ever considered that every fruit and vegetable (and animal, I suppose) was created with us in mind. It was designed meticulously containing the exact vitamins and minerals to sustain and nourish us, to not only keep us alive but to help us grow and thrive, and us glorifying Him in the process.

This completely weird obsession of what I am going to refer to as food as worship, then led me to the debate of whole/organic/raw foods vs. processed foods. I have never really been a big produce eater. Occasionally I'd have a hankering for a salad, or choose a fruit cup instead of fries, or an apple instead of a baguette. When I got pregnant and then was subsequently in the breastfeeding/postpartum period (see 'emotional eating above') all I wanted was comfort foods, which was bagels, cream cheese and a #1 combo, add cheese with a Dr. Pepper. Processed, fast, not healthy. Even when we would eat a healthy meal, like zucchini noodles with meat sauce, I'd load it up with cheese and eat my weight in accompanying breadsticks. I'm going to take an Andy Stanley moment and pose a question: What would the world be like if for one month Christians actively relied solely on God's direct creation ( i.e. not: 'God made man, man made Doritos' argument) for sustenance? 6 months? 1 year? What would that do to obesity rates? Heart disease? Diabetes? Again, not one for the guilt Gospel, but really. What if for one month we said "Hey God! I am going to trust you and your creation and only eat things that you created for me to eat (re: Genesis 1:29ish)." What do you think would happen? For me, great things happened. Amazing things happened, actually. Allowing myself to trust God in that way was HUGE for my heart– both the one that Jesus lives in and probably also the one that is responsible for distributing blood and oxygen throughout my body.

The last thing that I felt God teaching me about was stewardship. In recent years I've become very fixated on being a good steward of my things, although admittedly I run extremely hot and cold with this. Some days I am "save all the money!" and other days I am "buy all the things at Target!" so I can't really claim to be 100% committed to this, but I am constantly wanting to get rid of stuff we have laying around and wanting to be aware and take care of what we do have and use. I feel like especially in America we truly have a lot of stuff and I want to make sure that I am caring for it well. Dave Ramsey always says that our money is not ours, but we are managing it for God. While we still have a ways to go with our finances and getting out of debt, I would like to think that we keep that in mind when we budget and also approach our things the same way. Up until this month, it never really occurred to me to treat my body in that way. Like, God gave me one of them and if I want it to last, I should probably take care of it, and I can start doing that by watching what I put on and in it. Aha! Such a simple concept, yet it had never occurred to me until this season. As an act of gratitude and respect for the design of my body, and using what science has taught us about nutrition, I can care for my body in the best way by putting good things in it, and not putting toxins on the outside.

WOW. So it's been a good month. I am seeing an improvement in my eczema finally, after what seemed like weekly, discouraging cyclical flares. It could be diet. It could be dogs living in the garage. It could be the UV therapy I'm doing 3x a week. It could be the new shampoo I'm using. It could be the allergen/dye/everything free "soap" we use to wash the sheets and dishes. It could be that I am not breastfeeding anymore. It could be that it's almost fall. It could be that I switched toothpastes and deodorants. It could be the vitamins I'm taking. It could just be the typical "heal" before a big flare. Eczema is a fun disease like that. Nobody knows or can explain fully why it does the things it does. One of life's great mysteries, I guess.

But whether my body is healed or not, I would not change a thing about this month or this season. Certainly I would prefer to not have to deal with this condition, as it is an extremely emotional and frustrating thing at times, but the way that God has rescued me, held me and shown me so many things I can't help but feel grateful. And as redundant as it may sound, I am grateful for that gratitude.

Recipe: Really Banana Pudding

photo by Nancy Ray Photography 2011

I am fairly certain that banana pudding is in my blood. The preference for this dessert runs deep and far back all the way to my great grandmother Callie (and unfortunately with that, type II diabetes does as well). Because of my, let's call it,  family history, I am very particular about banana pudding. Like, for example, it has to be real. Real pudding. None of this boxed, vanilla or banana flavored stuff. I am also pretty particular about banana pudding milkshakes, and let it be known that Cookout has the greatest. Chick-fil-a used to have one, but it was 100% artificial banana flavored milkshake with Nilla Wafers mixed in. Not good, people. 

photo by Nancy Ray Photography 2011

Marshall and I share this love of banana pudding and opted out of a wedding cake when we found out that the family catering our wedding specialized in homemade banana pudding (our awesome photographer was featured on Southern Weddings with our banana pudding, check it out here!). We actually have a framed picture of it in our bedroom, which we recently realized that out of context is a little bit strange...

All this to say, an anniversary, birthday or most recently, Memorial Day and Taco Night with our small group, is not complete without a banana pudding. 

I am in the process of cutting back sugar and health-ifying meals around here, so posting this is totally and completely not helpful to the cause, but– I am willing to take one for the team. Here you have it: Really Banana Pudding (adapted from this recipe + my great grandma Callie's). 

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
2 cups whole milk (or sweetened condensed milk if that's your thing)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
30 to 40 vanilla wafers
3 to 4 medium ripe bananas

Stuff:
saucepan
whisk
measuring cups/spoons
1 1/2-2 quart casserole dish (bonus points if glass)
hand/stand mixer


Separate the yolks from the whites of 3 of the eggs; set aside the whites. Add the whole egg to the yolks.

In a saucepan, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the whole egg and 3 yolks, and then stir in the milk. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Will smell like heaven.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

While the oven preheats, you will layer your pudding. How you choose to layer your pudding is an individual choice. I like a good layer of vanilla wafers at the bottom (holy squishy yum) with some bananas on top of those. I also arrange the wafers around the side of the casserole dish.

Decide what your layers will be and start spreading. Wafers, bananas, pudding. Repeat. I typically do a solid 2 layers of each and end with more wafers and bananas.

Meringue:
To make the meringue, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff with hand or stand mixer. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until the whites will not slide out of the mixing bowl when it is tilted.

Spread the meringue over the pudding with a spatula, and bake until the meringue is lightly browned around 5 minutes.

Serve warm and plentiful so there's none leftover to put in the fridge. Nobody likes black bananas in their pudding. Enjoy!

2015 Goals: Simplify | Meal Planning

Not only is this not a fashion blog, it is not a food blog either! I am just another working lady with a baby trying to cook enough food to make everybody in my house happy. Another part of my goals for this year is to simplify food. Food has been hard for me. How do I plan what to eat? How do I shop for groceries? What the heck is in my pantry? Why do I have all these dishes I don’t use? How can I eat healthier without breaking the bank? This entry just tackles meal planning... we have the rest of the year for the rest. 

While on maternity leave we had wonderful people provide meals for us for nearly a month. I remember telling Marshall, “This whole parent thing isn’t so bad!” and then the meals stopped. And I was hungry. Also, obviously on leave I was not getting a paycheck so unlike my pregnancy hunger that was quickly satiated by the Chick-Fil-A drive thru, I finally put on my big girl pants and did some meal planning focused grocery shopping. 

I also was on a mission to see everything that we had in the pantry be put to use, so those first couple of meals were planned around what we already had (a lot of rice and beans) and once some of that stuff was gone we started fresh for the week. 

On the weekends we plan the meals for the next week. We’ve narrowed down some theme days which are fun! Crockpot Monday, Freezer Meal Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Leftovers Thursday, Family Date Night Friday, Pizza Saturday and Snacky Sunday. Having a plan for each day that narrows the choices makes it so much easier for me! I can plan for each day based on the theme and then list the ingredients I need, match the list with what we have and then head over to Aldi and get the rest. Already I can tell a big difference in the amount of money we are spending on food, we aren’t throwing nearly as much food away and our pantry is close to empty at the end of the month. Also, like budgeting in blow money, we budget and plan for fun meals on the weekend. I find it to be a win win. 

Here’s some specifics on our logistics and plans for the week:

Crock Pot Monday: Sunday night while I have some time and am packing my things, I put dinner in the crock pot for the next day. I put it in the fridge so all I have to do is stick it in the pot and turn it on the next morning. I have been doubling whatever this recipe is which leaves us enough for the two of us for dinner, some leftovers in the fridge for lunches/leftover day and then I double bag some in the freezer for another day. This feels like such a work smarter not harder thing for me, because in cooking once I am literally cooking for at minimum two meals. And really, not cooking at all, just putting stuff in a pot and telling it to go. We’ve done chili, soups, and meat (eaten with rice and steam vegetables) for easy Monday dinners. A fan. We also have an outlet timer so if we are going to be gone for most of the day we can set the crock pot to only be on for a certain number of hours. This was my brilliant husband’s idea after I burned a pork loin in the crockpot by letting it cook on low for 10 hours. Oops. 

Freezer Meal Tuesday: When I was pregnant I made about 10 freezer meals. These were awesome for some of those third trimester days when my cankles were barking and in good conscience could not eat Chick Fil A again. Once the baby came and the meal train ended, I had a few of these left and we worked them in once a week, and then once I had the double-the-crock-pot Monday epiphany we were eating one a week and replenishing them! I also am going to a freezer meal party with some girls that I work with online this month to make 10 meals, but word on the street is for smaller families (like two big people and a milk baby) it makes 20 meals. I am elated. All I do is the night before take out the bag of freezer whatever and stick it in the fridge, then come dinner making time it is just a matter of heating it to whatever temperature and preparing any sides (again, steam veggies and instant rice. Bam. Done.). These also come in handy if you’ve been particularly hungry earlier in the week and don’t have any leftovers come Thursday. 

Whatever Wednesday: I couldn’t think of a witty name for this day, but this is a day where I actually cook dinner (although the name suggests we eat “whatever”). Most of our meals are easy and simple, and most of these meals have been Tex-Mex in nature. My current favorite creation is burrito bowls: ground turkey, black beans, rice, cheese, salsa, guacamole. Takes about 10 minutes to brown the turkey and soften the beans and everyone can make their bowl to their liking. 

Leftovers Thursday: We are a family of 2 and I like to cook for four people so that we have some leftovers and stuff to eat for lunches during the week. We may not have the same leftovers, but its a fast, satisfying dinner. We also have small group on Thursdays and that used to be our eating out night, but since I haven’t been going and staying home with the baby it makes it easy for us to eat together and literally all we have to do is heat it up. 

Family Date Night Friday: Marshall wants to call this fast food Friday, but eventually I want to stop eating fast food so I don’t want to acknowledge our current bad eating habit by naming it that so… Family Date Night it is! This is not as much fun as it sounds with a new baby with a new bedtime routine, so after taking him to Chick Fil A once, Marshall now gets drive-thru and we eat on the couch and watch Netflix while Lincoln plays happily in his bouncy seat… on a good day. On other days Marshall eats his in the car on the way back, takes the screaming baby while I eat, and then we give him a bath. 

Pizza Saturday: Freezer pizzas, FTW! Although they are not the healthiest option, they are mad cheap at Aldi and are delicious, feed us both usually with a little leftover. Also this leaves room for healthifying down the road with homemade crust and adding our own toppings, but one step at a time. Also bagged salad from Aldi makes this healthier and me feel better about eating some veggies. If you ask me, weekends are most definitely for eating pizza. 

Snacky Dinner Sunday: This is our most favorite day. We eat cheese, meats, fruits, usually some freezer snack from Target or Trader Joe’s, pesto, bread, maybe fondue if we are feeling fancy…. and eat from the comfort of our couch while, you guessed it, watching Netflix. I love this day because I can even feed the baby while I eat one-handed. Easy prep (read: cutting cheese, washing fruit, opening crackers) which is made fun by using our fancy serving platters that we never use and easy clean up makes making the next day’s crock pot meal a dream. 

And there you have it, a new working mom, twentysomething, terrible meal planner, not a health nut’s meal planning guide. It is really working for us after 3 years of trial and error and I like that has the baby grows we can still keep these days and he can partake! Super excited for snacky dinner with a solids eater :)