Changing our diet: Goals for 2012

Ok, this list may seem like I've gone off the deep end to most of you.  In my quest for real food, I have stumbled upon the Weston A. Price Foundation.  It's a non profit organization committed to helping others find good nutrition.  Their philosophy is the closest to what I believe is true good nutrition.  Most of my goals will be in accordance to the practices that they teach.  They primarily teach how to get back to "wise traditions", the way people used to eat back before modern conveniences changed us into unhealthy, fatigued, overweight, diseased people.  We have already switched over to a whole food diet with little processed foods, but I've learned so much on how we can improve after doing some digging.  So without further adieu, here are our household family dietary goals for the upcoming year.  I'm excited and will inform you on how we are doing on each of these throughout the year. 

Buy less in the grocery store and more from farmers.  It's fresher, tastes better, supports local farmers and is better for us.

Buy a quarter grass fed cow, half grass fed hog, and 10 organic pastured chickens, and a dozen pastured eggs (weekly).

Buy raw milk from grass fed cows.

Start taking fermented cod liver oil daily.

Eat more liver and more salmon.

Eat more fermented foods.

Grow more in our garden than we currently do.

Can a significant amount of produce this year.  (I say I'm going to every year but never get around to it.)


Reduce grain consumption and soak, sprout or ferment the ones we do consume.

Get Bailey allergy tested and work on healing her damaged gut.

Healthier living in 2012

1.  Don't eat processed food.  Eat food that you know what it is and preferably where it came from.  Local produce directly from the farmer will be your best bet.  If you do buy from the store, seek out food that is in its most natural state and grown in the most natural way.  God knew what he was doing when he created the world.  Let's try not to mess with it too much!


2.  Buy quality meat and eggs: grass-fed beef, pastured chickens and pork.  Eat meat that is fed the way God intended them to eat.

 3.  Switch out bad fats and oils for the good.  You may think you are eating a good type of fat by choosing a butter substitute or a "heart healthy" canola oil.  The reality is that those are fake oils and fats, which I believe have contributed to heart disease, obesity and a slew of many other diseases.
Use instead:  coconut oil, real butter (made from grassfed cows is best), animal fats, and olive oil (light sauteing and cold dressings only)

2.  Quit buying low fat products.  Low fat and fat free is not natural.  Take milk for example.  The fat of products like milk, butter, cheese, etc is where the nutrients lie.  When you strip out the fat, you strip out the good stuff and it becomes chemically altered and replaced with junk fillers like sugars.  Ever wonder why we have only become fatter as a society after the low-fat craze?  Fat is not the enemy, just unhealthy man made factory fats. 

3.  Cook at HOME!  You will never be healthy if you eat out all of the time.  Most restaurants are concerned not about your health but the almighty dollar.  Fast food is full of non-food items, unhealthy rancid fats and oils, and sugar laden junk.

4.  Move your body.  The best exercise I have found is slow and easy like walking long distances, and short and hard like sprints, heavy lifting, etc.  Make exercise fun so you'll do it.  Play outside with your kids, bike with your family, go swimming, play basketball, play frisbee, go hiking. 

5.  Reduce chemical exposure in your home.  I will expound on this at a later time, but for now, use as natural of products as possible.  I find that homemade is usually the best and cheapest.  I make my own detergent, hand soap, deodorant, household cleaners, and occassionally shampoo and conditioner.  Most of the time castille soap, baking soda, and vinegar will clean just about anything.

6.  Get adequate amounts of sleep!  I can't stress this enough.  Sleep is so important to your health.  It heals, rejuvenates, destresses, and prevents illness.  Don't skimp on this one!  It's more important that you think.

7.  Reduce the amount of stress in your life.  Forget the drama mama!  Stress leads to a world of health problems:  high blood pressure, weight gain, insomnia, etc.  Get rid of it in your life and find time to unwind.

8.  SLOW DOWN!  Simplify your life.  If you don't have time to do the important things in life then you are doing too much.  If you keep running yourself down, you will stay sick and unhappy.  You don't really need to be on 5 different boards or committees, be involved in 15 activities, and have your kids in 5 sports each.

9.  Most importantly, seek out the One who created you and the One who died to give you life!  The health of your body is very important here on this earth, but the health of your SOUL has eternal implications.  Having a relationship with JESUS is the only way, is the truth and will give you life!

Spicy honey chicken

This meal is a family crowd pleaser for young and old alike.  It's quick, easy, and the results are tasty.  Although it's not the most gourmet meal I've ever made, it's one that we will make regularly because of it's simplicity.  The name says it's spicy, and for some it may be, but not really for us.  My three year old even ate it with no complaints.  The red pepper just gives it a kick.  I'm not including measurements on the spices because it's totally up to your personal tastes but don't be afraid to liberally season.  If Chicken is pretty bland by itself and can take a lot of seasoning.  If you like spice, add more red pepper.  If you aren't crazy about spice, only add a bit, but don't skip it.  The honey butter sauce adds a great sweet balance to the spiciness of the chicken.  I like to stretch my meat a little more, so I always slice mine instead of giving one person an entire breast.  It always goes further if it's sliced.  Hope you like this one.


Spicy honey chicken
3-4 chicken breasts (3 large breasts fed 3 adults and a 3 year old) Pastured chicken is best
sea salt
black pepper
garlic powder
red pepper
4 tbs butter (from grassfed cows is best:  I use Kerrygold)
2 tbs honey (raw local is best)
2 tbs filtered water

Melt 2 T of butter over medium heat in stainless steal skillet.  Do not use a non-stick.  Liberally season one side of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic, and red pepper.  Place season side down in the pan.  Season other side.  Let cook for 4-5 minutes until brown.  Flip and cook other side.  After chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and let rest.  Add remaining 2 T of butter to the pan, honey and water.  The water will deglaze the pan.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape up bits from the pan.  Cook a few minutes until sauce is reduced and begins to thicken.  Slice chicken breasts on the diagonal and drizzle honey sauce on top.

Homemade taco seasoning

Who doesn't love tacos?  I don't know too many that don't.  It's one of my favorite meals because it's easy, quick, relatively cheap and tastes delicious!  You all know by now that I love to make food myself instead of relying on packaged food.  This is one reason why.  It was a Monday and I hadn't gone to the grocery store for the week yet.  I didn't really know what to make, but I did have a pound of ground beef in the freezer.  I didn't have tortillas or taco seasoning, but I did have spices for the seasoning, and butter, flour and salt for the tortillas.  This did mean I had to spend about ten more minutes in the kitchen but it saved me having to go to the store with both kids and saved me about $4-$5 as well.  I'll trade ten minutes in my kitchen for 30 minutes of torture dragging whining children to the store in the rain.  Coats and car seats annoy me.  Anyway, back to the taco seasoning.  :)

A typical taco seasoning mix has this in it:
SPICES (INCLUDING CHILI PEPPER, CUMIN, OREGANO, AND RED PEPPER), ONION, WHEY SOLIDS (MILK), SALT, SUGAR, PAPRIKA, GARLIC, POTATO STARCH, AND CITRIC ACID.

This may not be a big deal to you but I don't really want added sugar in my tacos and I certainly don't need processed whey solids, potato starch and citric acid in it either.  Plus any time I can decrease my grocery bill, I will.  It takes maybe about a minute more to put the spices in yourself instead of opening a package and saves you about a dollar if you already have all of these ingredients in your spice cabinet.  You can also control the salt and spice if you make it yourself.  This particular recipe does have a little spice to it, so if you don't like spice, I'd start out with a lesser amount of chili powder and red pepper and work your way up.  


Taco seasoning

• 1 T chili powder
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 1 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/8 t red pepper
• 1 t sea salt
• 1/2 t black pepper

Mix all together.  Add to browned and drained ground beef.  Add 1/4 c water and simmer until water is completely absorbed. 

Note:  This amount of seasoning was enough for approximately 1.5 lbs of ground beef for me.  Adjust to your tastes.

How to make your own chicken broth/stock

There are so many health benefits to bone broth.  It's great for healing the gut, great for healing and preventing illness, aids in digestion, and provides essential minerals and nutrition to your diet.  Lots of recipes frequently use broth or stock as a base for sauces, gravies, or soups.  Previously I have always bought an organic version in a tetra-pack.  I thought I was using a healthy version but really I was paying for mostly water, little nutrition and lots of hidden MSG and additives.  A better and even more economical alternative is to make it yourself.  I know what you're thinking.  "I don't have time for that!"  Sure you do!  It takes little time to prep and simmers on the stove for up to 24 hours.  You can do this while you are sleeping, running errands, etc. I've even heard of people doing it in the crockpot, although I've never tried it.  You can make it with leftover bones from a chicken that you have roasted or you can boil a whole chicken and go from there.  I've done it both ways and I think I prefer the whole chicken method, but really both are sufficient.  It serves as a wonderful source of nutrition and cost merely pennies.


How to make chicken stock
1 whole chicken (pastured chicken is best)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks

2 T apple cider vinegar
filtered water



Place whole washed chicken with innards removed in a large stockpot.  Add filtered water, just covering the chicken.  Add 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 celery stalks, chopped if desired, although they don't have to be.  You may also add veggie scraps that you have saved in the freezer.  Add 2T of apple cider vinegar.  Stir and let sit for 30 minutes.  This begins to draw out minerals.  Then bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top.  Reduce to a simmer.  Take out chicken after about 2 hours.  Debone the chicken and save it for future dishes.  Continue simmering for 4-24 hours.  After the time has elapsed strain off the broth, and discard bones and veggies.  You will need salt as well.  I usually add it to the dish I am preparing it with.  That's it!  It makes a ton and was practically free!  I store mine in mason jars in the fridge.  It can stay in the fridge for 5 days or frozen if you won't use it in that amount of time.

Now you can use it for a million different things such as soups, casseroles, cooking rice, etc.   Happy cooking!

Cowboy casserole- Real Food Makeover

You all may have seen this popular and tasty comfort food on many a potluck table before, but more than likely it was mostly comprised of many non-food items like cream of mushroom soup, tater tots,  processed American cheese, and corn (probably genetically modified).  I'll be the first to admit that all of these items hold a dear place in my heart as they are the base of many yummy and easy casserole recipes that just scream comfort.  In my effort to give up processed foods, I didn't want to give up dishes like this and maybe you don't either.  This began my quest to makeover classic comfort food dishes into "real food" that will nourish your family and be kinder to your waistline and backside. Look at all of the ingredients in just these three items.

Tater tots 

POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (SUNFLOWER, COTTONSEED, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA), SALT, YELLOW CORN FLOUR, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE, ONIONS, NATURAL FLAVORING, CORN MALTODEXTRIN, AUTOLYZED YEAST.

Cream of mushroom soup
Water, mushrooms, soybean oil, wheat flour, modified corn starch cream ( contains less than 2% of: salt, whey, monosodium glutamate, soy protein concentrate, autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, garlic powder. Contains: Wheat, Milk, Soy.

Processed American cheese
 MILK, WATER, MILKFAT, WHEY, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ALGINATE, SODIUM CITRATE, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR), ANNATTO (COLOR), ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE.

I don't know about you, but I can't even pronounce half of those.  Why would I want to eat that? Not too appetizing if you ask me!  Not to mention, they are loaded with unhealthy oils, sodium, monosodium glutamate, and weird things like autolyzed yeast and soy protein concentrate.  I made it into real food by subbing real potatoes that I shredded with the food processor in place of the tater tots.  I make my own cream of mushroom soup by using butter, flour, milk, chicken broth, mushrooms, salt, pepper an garlic.  Processed American cheese was replaced with real cheddar cheese from grass fed cows.  I also shredded the cheddar myself in the food processor.  Did you know that most shredded cheese has junk added to it to prevent it from caking?  I learned that this week.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this dish.  I liked it because it was a one skillet meal.  I hate washing dishes...err...watching my husband wash dishes.  :)

I look forward to sharing with you other real food makeovers.  If you have any you would like to share with me to put on here or any other comfort foods you would like me to try and makeover, let me know.  I'd love to take a stab at it.  As always, I'm learning along with you.  I hope none of what I write comes across as snobby or high and mighty.  I'm just trying to humbly share with you what I too am learning. 

Real food Cowboy Casserole

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
4 T butter (from grass fed cows is best)
1 small to medium onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped
1.5 lbs lean ground beef (grass fed beef is best)
1/4 c whole wheat flour (coconut flour may work also if you are grain-free)
3/4 c chicken broth ( homemade is best)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c milk (raw from grass fed cows is best)
2 c green beans- I used long frozen ones and broke them in half
2 T plain yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese (from grass fed cows is best)
2 c shredded REAL potatoes (I used my food processor and it ended up being 3 tiny potatoes)





Melt one tablespoon of butter in heavy oven safe skillet.  Saute onions and garlic until translucent.  Add ground beef and mushrooms and brown ground beef until cooked throughout.  Drain most of grease.  Add remaining butter and melt.  Then add flour, stir into meat mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add broth, milk and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer until it becomes thick.  Stir in yogurt or sour cream, frozen green beans and 1 c. of cheddar cheese.  Top with shredded potatoes and remaining 1/2 c shredded cheddar.  Transfer skillet to 350 degree oven and bake 30 minutes until bubbly and potatoes are done and crisping.



If you are looking to make your own cream of...soup I'd roughly follow this recipe:

4 T butter
1/4 cup flour
1 c milk
3/4 c chicken broth
onions minced
(chicken pieces, mushrooms, celery, etc depending on what kind of soup you are desiring)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter.  Saute onions, and whatever kind of veg or meat depending on what kind of soup you are desiring.  Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add milk and chicken broth.  Whisk and cook over medium heat until thickened.  Salt and pepper to taste

Creamy Tomato Soup (crockpot)

This was a new recipe that I tried and brought to a church potluck.  Everyone liked it and several wanted the recipe so I thought I would post it on here so they could reference it.  I like an easy crockpot meal so I will definitely be trying this again.


Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients
28 oz. diced tomatoes (try not to use canned tomatoes if at all possible due to BPA)
1 small onion diced
1-2 stalks of celery diced
1-2 large carrots diced
4 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
1 T basil
8oz cream (raw from grassfed cows is best)
1- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Freshly grated parm cheese for topping

Combine tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots and chicken broth in crockpot.  Cook on low 8 hours or high for 5 until veggies are soft.  Strain out tomatoes and veggies and some broth and puree in blender until smooth.  You can puree all of it for a smoother soup or puree half for a semi-chunky soup.  I left a few chunks.  Pour back into crockpot and add basil, cream and salt.  Cook for another hour.  Top with a generous portion of grated parmesan cheese when serving.

Adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking