pancakes with NO flour at all

Hello there!  I found a great way to make a very healthy pancake that your whole family will LOVE!

I got the idea from paleo mama or the paleomom....I can't remember, I read and look at so many cook books and posts..... but I took it and made some alterations and well I want to share it with you!  My kids absolutely love these and beg for them every morning and they are pretty easy to make!

What  you will need!

2 plantains make sure they are green
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon or you could add a bit more if you want a bigger flavour
1 tsp of homemade vanilla extract (when I make some more I will show you how we make home made vanilla extract that is oh so easy and delicious to add to any meal!
4 eggs
1 Tbs of coconut oil or grass fed butter.
fat for heating skillet.

Heat skillet using butter or coconut oil on medium heat.  While skillet is heating up, peal the green plantains and add all your ingredients in a blender....plantains, baking soda, cream of tarter, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, eggs, coconut or butter....you choose...just put it all in and turn on the blender!  That is it....that easy.....if you want a thinner pancake batter you can add a little milk to it if you wish...add small amounts at a time until you get desired consistency.  But we stick to the thicker batter.

here is my pancake batter 

Cook the pancakes as you would any normal pancake and whala you have a crowd pleaser.  This recipe usually makes around a dozen or so normal size pancakes!

Here is the finished product, ready to be devoured by my hungry little munchkins!  like the cinnamon sticks, I am getting fancy! :o)

TRY THIS AND DROP ME A LINE, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, AND WHAT YOU DID DIFFERENT TO MAKE IT YOURS!

UPDATE******UPDATE******UPDATE*****UPDATE*****UPDATE*****UPDATE*****

Here is a quick and better version of the pancakes.  Follow the recipe above but instead   
Use 5 eggs instead of 4
Add one banana 
3 TBS of ground flax 
These are even better then previous posted.

home made chicken stock!

A lot of my recipes, I use bone broth.  I make chicken stock and I also make beef stock from the bones. There are many benefits of consuming bone broth and here are just a few that I have learned.

1)  If you have leaky gut, consuming bone broth helps to heal your gut.

2)  Helps with the appearance of skin and hair, clearing skin and making hair shinny.

3)  Great to consume during colds and flu time!

4)  Many healthy minerals consumed from the bones.

5)  Knowing that you are consuming healthy, natural substance!

Many commercial bone broths have spices and natural flavors which is code for man made chemicals and has nothing to do with natural.  A few bone broths have MSG or rather known as monosodium  glutamate which is a neuro toxin.

Just the other day we did our last and final butcher of the season on our homestead.  We don't like to waste anything, so I take the chicken frames and make good, nutritious bone broth for our family to consume in egg drop soups, chicken noodle soups and for flavoring.  I will share my recipe with you today.   This is a 2 day process as I slow simmer the frames and ingredients for 2 days that creates the deepest, richest best tasting broth!  It sounds like a lot of hard work but is really rather easy.

3 chicken frames in a stock pot and yes I will use the chicken feet as well (but if that is something that isn't your thing...you don't have to use the feet but the feet make very rich broth).
water
salt
pepper
3-4 garlic cloves
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 red onion
1tsp of vinegar (vinegar helps to pull out the minerals that are in the bones.

Put chicken frames in stock pot and cover with water.   Add 2 TBS of salt and a dash or two of pepper.  I never measure the pepper add vinegar (optional).   Bring water to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Continue throughout the day to check on the water and when water levels begin to lower, add more water.   Keep doing this, every few hours you will need to add water.  At night I will either take the broth off the stove or just put the stove on the lowest setting to keep the broth warm over night and as soon as I wake up, I turn it up to a simmer.   I then add my garlic, carrots, celery, onion to the mix and let simmer all day....the nutrients are pulled out of the veggies, into the broth and help give a nice flavour.   At the end of day two you will have a deep rich golden broth and the aroma will permeate throughout your entire home!  Strain the broth through cheese cloth, and I will usually pick the meat off the bones and use for casserole, burritos later.....  I then transfer to jars, ziploc bags or those bps plastic ball jars that are made for the freezer.  Since it is so concentrated, you will only need to use half that ball jar for soups etx...a little does go a long way.

day 2, the broth is turning into a golden yellow colour!  

The veggies have been added, we are getting close!

Roasted Brussel sprouts

I don't know about you, but when I was little but the sprouts were a four letter word.  It took me a long while before I really even wanted to try to eat them again.  In my last post I prepared left over meal with turkey and a side of roasted sprouts.  Well, I wanted to provide you with the quick recipe on how to fix the sprouts so even your children will eat them!

What you will need:
Brussel sprouts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt.

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Wash, and half the sprouts.  Lay them on cookie sheet, douce them with olive oil, and generously salt.   Once ready, place in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes.

That's it folks, that easy, that simple, but oh so delicious!

The struggles

Well, it has been over 2 months since we have been trying to go completely gluten free/grain free, very low carbohydrates, getting rid of simple carbs almost completely and only having complex carbs once in awhile and trying to do the paleo diet.

I have been a long time proponent of WAPF diet, and they advocate many similar diets that paleo diet does; with a main difference, WAPF advocates raw milk and sprouted, fermented grains.  The paleo diet does allow raw milk, but only if one can tolerate raw milk.  My son can not and I have lactose intolerance to milk, so if I indulge too much, WATCH OUT!  Grains are another issue.  My husband was allergic to wheat when he was little, I have one child with eczema, another with pretty significant GI issues, chronic constipation, distended stomach and I having had to deal with a chronic left sided nagging dull pain, in which I have had CT scans done and ultrasounds done finding nothing wrong, so I have just "lived" with that chronic nagging pain for 9 years.  Even trying to consume grains the WAPF way, we still have issues.  Well.  I finally did it.  After playing around with grains, no grains, some grains, 50/50 grains/no grains, I just said we are doing it good bye grains, wheat and bread.   Hello Paleo, hello to a whole new world!  I haven't been perfect with this but only through time I will get better at it!

It hasn't been easy and there are still foods that I would love to have but I know will be problematic for me or my kids.  Here are some changes I have seen in the last couple months.

I have lost 4 pounds!
My daughter does not have a pop belly, she has a flat tummy and her pants aren't tight she can button her pants!
My daughter is having regular trips to the bathroom that are not painful.
My son's chicken skin eczema is going away.
My aches and pains that I have been having, (I felt like I was 80 literally rolling out of bed) have gone away!  Yes they have gone away and YES I can now jump out of bed with energy.
I don't hit the afternoon brick wall feeling like I want to fall over.  I have energy throughout the day.
My 3 year old who would wake up on an average of 5-10 times a night screaming, is no longer doing that.  He may wake up once and maybe now not at all.

I went at this thing with an open mind.  I said what the heck, why not try it, if it works, great, if it doesn't then back to the drawing board.  I am still struggling from time to time, when I see a cookie, or cake or those no no foods, but hey I am human!  We always want what we can't  have I suppose.
Through this, I am playing a bit more in the kitchen trying out new ways to cook food, some that I have learned and some that I am creating on my own and putting a new twist to it.  I will begin to share those as they are tested a few more times and approved!

I am not a professional dietician, but I do read and research a lot.  Through this blog, I hope to document my journey, what I learn, share what I have read, in hopes that we can connect and I inspire one another to journey here on earth healthier and happier!

Time to eat the Turkey! A Paleo recipe

                                       WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE TURKEY LEFT OVERS?

Arrgg!   Well, since we have a small farm, we have decided over the past couple of years to raise our own pasture fed turkeys for Thanksgiving day festivities.  There is nothing like a fresh, pasture, fed and humanly raised turkey!   We have sold a few to family and friends but this year we have 16  5 (due to a tragic mishap)  that we will be putting in our freezer.  After our thanksgiving feast and feeding 13 people, we had a lot of turkey leftovers.  Turkey is nice, but I don't think I want to eat it every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week.  So I need to treat my taste buds and add a bit to the turkey.


                                                        Creamy Garlic Turkey over zoodles.    
(yes you read that correctly, zoodles) http://nomnompaleo.com/post/5695132949/zucchini-spaghetti-zoodles-meatballs  Here is where I first learned about them.

Since we eat mainly a paleo and gluten free diet, ( I'll touch more on that in a later post, about gluten), spaghetti noodles from wheat or even rice for that matter is really not an option for our family.  So on a search, I discovered zoodles.  It is a fun and easy way to get veggies into the kids.  The first time I cooked these for the kids, I held my breath in great anticipation as to what might come out of their little mouths (hoping that it wouldn't be the zoodles).  The first thing I heard was,  "this was good, can I have more noodles?"  Exit sigh of relief, enter more zoodles on the plate of happiness!

                                             Creamy (well, its not really creamy) Garlic Turkey with Zoodles

Take your left over turkey out of the ice box and get ready to give it a new identity!
I usually shred up the turkey in smaller bites for this.  I had for my dinner about 3 cups of chopped/cubed turkey.

chop/dice one full red onion, and if you gotem',  dice a couple of leeks.
dice up 2-4 cloves of fresh garlic.  We use a lot of garlic, so I use 4 cloves (Here is a tip that I learned.  Dice up garlic and let it stand for 10-15 minutes before you saute.  By letting garlic sit it allows all the beneficial properties of the garlic to set.  If you chop garlic and saute it directly, you will destroy all the beneficial health properties of garlic! )

Saute the onions, garlic, leeks in grass fed butter or coconut oil.

Once sauteed, add the turkey, salt and pepper to taste. Mix ingredients well together.  I also add 2 tsp. of Turmeric (turmeric is well known to have anti inflammatory properties to it, I add health when and where I can ;0 ).  Add 4 TBS of grass fed butter.  If I can't get my hands on raw organic grass fed butter, I do use Kerry Gold Grass Fed Butter.  You can purchase at most stores.  Add 3/4 cup of original coconut milk to the mixture, stir and allow to simmer on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.   

                                                            Now for the ZOODLES
Well, you can access the link above for preparation and check out her website, she is one of my favorite go to sites!

For our family of 6 I grated 3 nice sized zucchini with a grater to make shaped "noodles".

Here is the grater I use, its super fast!

Now, the suggestion was you can microwave them; however, I am not a big fan of the microwave and really limit my use to almost NEVER, when preparing food!  

finished product

So here is how I prepared them to optimize and keep the nutritional value of the "zoodles."  I filled a small sauce pot with water and brought it to a simmer/boil.  Once water started to gently boil, I quickly placed my shredded zucchini in the pot and allowed it to boil for 1-2 minutes, don't go past 2 minutes, take off heat immediately and drain water off.  You are ready to serve the zoodles.  If you over cook them you will have mushy zoodles and no one wants that.

Place zoodles on plate and top with creamy garlic turkey mixture, salt to taste, add a little feta cheese and serve up a healthy, left over meal, with a side of roasted brussels sprouts.  

Even our sweet dog, begs for turkey and zoodles :)

Let me know if you tried this and how you liked it, what modifications you used, I always look forward to hearing from you!
Happy eating.

Oregeno, Sage and Thyme OH MY!

I would like to spot light Essential oils for a moment.   Aromatic oils have played many copious roles in history, from marriage ceremonies, religion, medicinal, perfumes, cosmetic and so much more.  A brief and dutiful search will bring many references to essential oils and their role in human history.

From Egypt, China, Greece, Rome and Israel, Arabia and Europe, we observe the role that in which Essential oils play. We see that Essential oils were used along with herbs as man's first line of defense in treating ailments.  According to the Modern Essentials:  A Contemporary Guide to the Theraputic Use of Essential Oils 4th edition ,  "One of the oldest and best-preserved documents that we know of, the Ebers Papyrus, documents the Egyptians' use of frankincense and other aromatics in treating a variety of different ailments.  This papyrus is thought to have been composed somewhere between 1553 and 1550 BC."    Essential oils have been around for a very long time.  I, along with many believe that God put these various plants here for us to utilize, to our benefit.  In fact many modern pharama drugs are based off of various plants and the plants property to heal or assist the body in treating various symptoms.

I have dabbled with Essential oils for 6 years, when our first born son was diagnosed with food allergies, seizures, and eczema.  Various ones smelled nice as we used them mainly as inhalation for stuffy nose or just as a perfume.  I was then introduced to the idea that not all essential oils are created equally.  Hmm???  Let me look into that a bit.  Well, no wonder the bottle says do not ingest!  Later I find out that these oils (while there aren't many tight regulations on the production of EO) only have a miniscule amount of the actual plant derived oil, with many fillers to fill the rest of that bottle. NOW WHAT!?

Well, doing more digging, I found that there are essential oil companies that manufacture pure theraputic grade essential oils.  Oils that when it says clove, it is a 100% clove!  No fillers, no chemicals!  YEAH, now I can finally feel comfortable putting an oil on my children or let them inhale an oil without the fear of them also inhaling chemicals.

I have used and researched many different brands.  The two companies that I feel comfortable with are DoTerra and Young Living.  Now there are die hards out there that only will do one company.  After using both, I do feel that for my family, we choose DoTerra's oils for various ailments.

These are just a few oils in our "medicine" cabinet. No I'm not a photographer so please excuse the rudimentary mess!

 I would recommend that if you are wanting to think about essential oils to enhance your health and compliment what you are doing, take some time to research the oils, be educated and consult an aromatherapist, natural path, and have have at your disposal great essential oil guide books.  There are things that you must know, what oils work for certain ailments, safety precautions, what oils to avoid if you are pregnant or nursing, etc.  A friend once told me, you would try to make a cake without instructions, then make sure you have a good guide for your oils.

I will spot light oils from time to time, their uses, what we as a family use them for, cooking, beauty products, and so forth.  No I am not a doctor, and no I wont give medical advise, please see your doctor for that.  But I will just give you general information that hopefully you will walk away inspired and ready to take your health into your hands!  Your health apart from anything else is the single most important aspect of your being.  If you are sick, you can not enjoy your family, kids, or grand children, if you are sick, you can not enjoy outings, vacations and life to its' fullest.  If you are wealthy but sick you can not enjoy the fruits of your labor.  I hope to empower you to live your life, live it to the fullest!
Enjoy life!  Eat it UP!

Disclaimer:  This is for educational purposes only,  any information provided in any and all articles is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure.
Copyright:  All material provided by this author is copyrighted.  You may reproduce this so long as you reference the source and a link to the source!  Thank you!

my first thoughts/my first post.

Ok world.  So here I am writing my very first blog post.  I have spent countless hours reading other posters and have gained so much information and inspiration from them.  I hope to do the same here as well.

My journey begins on a road to total health.  As a child I always fought battles of illness, mainly chronic colds, and asthma.  As I continued to grow, I had GI issues (eating out was a nightmare because I just never new what would cause my next episode of marathon sprints to the restroom) and was diagnosed with IBS, and chronic fatigue.  So many doctor visits later, I decided that I should begin taking my health into my own hands.  It began the day that I went to see the allergist and walked out of the office with some 100 plus pokes protruding from my back and arms, and in my hands I carried two prescriptions.  I looked at these two prescriptions thinking I am only 26 years old and I am starting down this daunting road of never ending, looming prescriptions.  The side effects from these various drugs that were being offered to me were worse then what I was trying to combat....NO THANKS!  I thought, "forget this", and I threw the scripts in the trash and hunkered down.   Down for a journey that has taken me for a whirlwind of cleanses, natural paths, meditation, growth in faith, diet and the like, only to find myself teetering on the edge of feeling better but ready to fall off the health cliff into a spiraling down fall.  There was still so many things missing and still so many warranted visits to the doctors office for me or for one of my children.  WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG?

 Fast forward 10 years and my journey continues to evolve, but this journey has been a happy one.  I have four beautiful children.  All of which have some sort of food allergy manifesting its' ugly head in various forms.  Reactions to vaccinations, sensory issues, eczema,  distended stomach and chronic stomach pain and constipation,  could these be a secondary symptom to something greater?  Your body talks, and we should listen. This led me to really take a look at our total health, what we consume in our bodies and what we put on our bodies.  There has to be a reason why we are sick, and it has been my mission to find out why.

We now live in the country and grow our own food, we adopt a diet that is virtually grain free, and slanting more on the paleo side of things.  We consume healthy animal fats, use essential oils to enhance our health, we work, play and hike outdoors,  and we are seeing a change, a change for the better.  Many of those nasty symptoms I have seen are starting dissipate into thin air.  It is my hope to share from time to time our journey, what I have learned, in hopes it will also inspire you too!  This blog will be a hodgepodge of topics, be patient with me as I begin to add new posts and this blog begins to evolve.

Blessings to all of you and thanks for visiting!