As parents one thing we all face, is keeping our energy levels up, as we keep up with our children.  This month Whole Foods Market’s current podcast series suggests tips and action steps to support our energy levels naturally and safely.  

Pop over to the Whole Foods Market blog for a great health podcast series!  This week’s feature is a look a healthy energy boosters.

Pictured above, by the way, is a delicious, simple energy-boosting beverage I whipped up the other day in my Vita-Mix, with the help of my sweet daughter!

Sugarless Strawberry Lemonade

3 cups filtered water
1 whole lemon, peeled
1-1.5 cups frozen, organic strawberries
3-4 packets of Truvia or other Stevia-based sweetener

Place all ingredients, in order listed, in a Vitamix (preferably) or blender.  Blend until totally mixed. 

Enjoy this delicious low carb kool-aid alternative on a spring day. In my opinion, this tastes exactly like the expensive strawberry lemonades you can purchase at the Health Food Store or even at restaurants, and is much more healthy!

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I’m not sure what it is about the crispy, crunchy taste of something slightly salty and flavorful, but it’s something I still have a weakness for. Since going grain-free, our “cracker and chip” options are few, but whenever possible I love to transform an otherwise bland vegetable into something delicious and enticing for my kids!

Eggplant chips may not sound all that appeaing, but trust me: you’ve never had eggplant like this before!  This is a rather time-consuming labor of love, but SO WORTH IT! These eggplant chips begin as thinly sliced eggplant– about 1/4 of an inch.  They are brushed with a marinade of your choice (I used the Cilantro Marinade in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon) and then broiled for 10 minutes; 5 minutes per side (watch them!!!).

After all the slices have been broiled, they are transferred to a dehydrator OR cooked at the lowest possible temperature in the oven for several hours so they can become dry and crisp.  So tasty and convenient for packing into kids’ school lunches, and so healthy!

By the way, here’s the gist of what I do for the Cilantro Marinade:

Cilantro Marinade:

1 bunch of cilantro
3-5 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt (0r more to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend all of these ingredients in your food processor to form a paste.  Brush both sides of sliced eggplant with marinade mixture. Proceed with “recipe” above.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making a marinade, I suppose just a brush of olive oil, salt & pepper, and some garlic (powder?) sprinkled on the eggplant before they enter the oven would be delicious.

At any rate, these won’t last long in your kitchen and even the biggest skeptics will be won over.  The great thing about these chips is that they are rather sturdy, so don’t be afraid to served them with your favorite dip!

This post is a part of “Tempt My Tummy Tuesday” over at Blessed by Grace!

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These oranges are seriously the best I’ve EVER tasted.  We had some store-bought ones served at our Thanksgiving dinner (we weren’t home) and they came no where near.  You can tell by the deep orange color of the flesh and the juice that these are something special. 

I remember hearing about people growing up in the Great Depression who were so delighted just to receive an orange at Christmastime.  These oranges from Chaffin would truly be gift-worthy!  I’m usually not that big of an orange fan because most oranges available commercially are obviously not locally grown and besides they taste–I find— is nothing to write home (or blog!) about.  But these…..my, oh my! 

Chaffin is a diversified Family Farm with beyond organic practices located in Northern California (which still sorta qualifies as “local” for this Oregonian).

The great news is that Chaffin is running a special for two days!!!  Free shipping and their normally $39.99 box (for 15 lbs) is selling for $33.99!!!

Chaffin is also an excellent source of high quality, organic, locally made, extra virgin olive oil!  Please go HERE to order Chaffin’s mandarins! Order today for a fantastic deal on a delightful, organic, and healthy treat that makes a fantastic gift!

And stay tuned for my recipe on crock-pot Mandarin Shrimp that is coming down the pike in a few days!!!!

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First of all, if you’re not sure why in the world you’d want a grain-free granola, there are several reasons:

• Grains are very difficult to digest for those with food sensitivities, chronic illness, and compromised immune systems (i.e. those following the GAPS diet).
• According to the paleo school of thought, our bodies have not fully adapted to the digestion of grains.
  
• Grains in most commercial cereals are highly processed, extruded, and denatured making them essentially toxic (i.e. your body simply doesn’t know what to do with them).
• From a weight loss perspective, grains are high in carbs (and granted, some are high in fiber, but not really enough to offset the insulin response) and carbs that are not burned off relatively quickly become stored as fat.

So for those of us for which grains make us feel “icky” inside, here’s the recipe you’ve been waiting for!  The recipe is also very versatile and adaptable, so that you can use many different types of ingredients and customize the flavors to your liking. 

Grain-Free Granola
Makes 1 quart

1 cup of crispy nuts (I have used almonds, walnuts, and a combination of both, click on “crispy nuts” for recipe)
1 cup of raisins (or other dried fruit, cut into small pieces, such as dates or cherries)
1 cup of sunflower seeds (preferably sprouted and dehydrated)
1 cup of unsulphered, unsweetened, shredded coconut (found in bulk at most Natural Foods Stores)

1. Chop nuts into bit-sized pieces using a food processor or simply place in a bag and pound with meat hammer.

2. Mix nuts with all other ingredients. I store mine in a one-quart mason jar.

Serve with diluted coconut milk or raw milk, top with sliced bananas or strawberries if desired!

Some suggested combinations:

“Raisin Bran”: Use simply 2 cups of almonds, 2 cups of raisins, omit other ingredients.

“Blueberry Morning”: Use dehydrated blueberries in place of raisins and use a combo of crispy macadamia nuts and crispy walnuts with the other ingredients.

“Praline Pecan”: Use crispy pecans for the nuts, and chopped dates for the fruit. Use coconut and sunflower seeds as well.

“Cookie Crunch”: Use my recipe for grain-free “oatmeal” cookies. Crush cookies, add carob chips or cacao nibs.

Thrifty Notes:

• I know, I know, good nuts aren’t cheap. I reccommend Costco, Trader Joe’s, or a buying club like Azure Standard for the best deals on a variety of nuts. Foraging and looking for local suppliers is a great idea too!
• For a thrifty almond, Trader Joe’s sells “Sweet Apricot Kernals” for $1.99. This is a really great deal and although they are already roasted, you can rest assured that some of the phytates are neutralized in the roasting process.
• Speaking of bulk-buying, I purchase all the essentials for this recipe in bulk for a much cheaper price!

Yeah, but do kids like it?

Mine LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! And the best thing is, since it’s so nutrient-dense, a little goes a long way!

Check out what the other Real Food bloggers are saying at Real Food Wednesday!

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Admittedly, in my not-so-organic-and-thrifty days past, there were times when I could be found sucking down an ice-cold Slurpee or Starbuck’s Frappucino on a hot, summer day. The Slurpee is more of a relic of the 90’s; it was a favorite after-basketball snack in high school (no wonder I had acne so bad) and it was a frequent refreshment during all-nighters in college. YUCK!

As I grew older, (and gainfully employed), I apparently felt that I could upgrade from the seventy-nine cent Slurpee to a more “foofy” frozen beverage, and at $3.50 a pop, the Frappucino became a sweet indulgence.

I’ve longed weaned myself of any desire for these beverages, but recently I discovered that with a few basic, nourishing ingredients on hand, you can whip yourself up a low-carb, nourishing, delightful summer treat!

The following I offer is not so much a recipe, but a “road map” with which you may use your own creativity. I offer a basic idea with many variations. By the way, these are an absolute hit with my kiddos, but then again, they beg for Cod Liver Oil. We’re weird.

The slurpee recipe uses fruity iced tea or lemonade as a base (see details below).

12 ounces of the liquid are used; 8 are frozen in ice cube trays and the remaining liquid is blended in with the “tea ice cubes” to make a slushy, carb-free, low-calorie delight!

Sweeten with liquid stevia to taste (5-10 drops).

The Frappucino recipe abides by the same principles, only you would brow 8 ounces of your favorite coffee or herbal coffee alternative (see details below).

Freeze the coffee in ice cube trays for at least 6 hours.

Place 1/2 cup of raw milk, raw cream, homemade nut milk, or coconut milk in the blender. Coconut milk leaves awesome results, don’t worry! Add the ice cubes, 3 at a time or so, until the desired consistency is reached. Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and sweeten with about 5-10 drops of stevia. You can, of course, use maple syrup or honey as well, but I prefer the lack of calories in stevia!!

To make Fruity Iced Tea, simply purchase your favorite brand of organic herbal tea. I love Rooibios-Fruit blends, like Cranberry, Raspberry,or Orange. The Stash Tea company offers a delicious Green Tea Pomegranate, a Wild Blueberry, and a Mango Passionfruit. Mountain Rose Herbs has an amazing collection of nourishing teas, including the Hibiscus High Tea. Celestial Seasonings “Red Zinger” is delicious and makes a great, fruity treat.

Any of these work; just steep 2 bags (or two teaspoons) in 12 oz of boiling water to make a strong infusion. After about 5-10 minutes (depending upon the blend, or when it looks fully infused) carefully pour into ice cube trays and freeze for at least 6 hours. Reserve at least 1/2 cup of liquid to blend with the cubes. Proceed with the recipe above.

For a low-carb lemonade flavor, simply blend 12 ounces filtered water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add stevia to taste and you have a delicious, low-carb lemonade. Proceed with recipe above. Add a handful of frozen raspberries or strawberries to the blender if desired (this will add carbs and calories, but they’re all good ones!)

Now for the Frappucinos, you can obviously use your favorite coffee if you are so inclined, but since I’m not, I prefer herbal coffee made from a blend of chicory and dandelion root. You can make this from scratch if you happen to have the herbs on hand, or you can purchase an Herbal Coffee from the health food store. Mountain Rose Herbs has a delicious Herbal Coffee blend which contains chicory, maca, dandelion root, and roasted carob.

Yum! Caffeine-free, and full of nourishing, mineral-rich herbs! Brew the coffee or herbal coffee according to package directions.

I hope this “non-recipe” format is clear and understandable. It’s delicious, I promise! So enjoy the double-bonus of these drinks being both nourishing to your body and cheap on the pocketbook, and instead of blowing your hard-earned money on high-calorie, low-nutrition drinks, why not whip up these delicious, guilt-free delights?

This post has been submitted as a part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays! So Fight Back against the over-priced, under-nourishing junk food summer drinks and make your own! Enjoy!!!

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For this recipe, you’ll save lots of money by making your beans from “scratch”, meaning that you purchase them dry (at $0.10 per ounce, it’s a true bargain!) and effortlessly cook them in your slow cooker. Keep reading for the recipe.

This recipe for refried beans makes 15 servings, which for my family is about 4 meal’s worth. These can be made into burritos and frozen for a quick, convenient meal-on-the-go. I tweaked the recipe slightly, but the link below will lead you to the instructions on how to make this!

The Ingredients:

Refried Beans:

1 onion, peeled and halved ($0.25 when purchased in bulk from Costco)
3 cups Western Family navy beans, rinsed ($0.50 for 3 cups)
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped ($0.25)
2 tablespoons minced garlic ($0.35)
5 teaspoons salt ($0.03)
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper ($0.02)
3 teaspoons ground cumin ($0.36)
3 teaspoons chili powder ($0.33)
1 teaspoons oregano ($0.26)
9 cups water

Total Cost for Refried Beans (15 servings, mind you!) $2.10

5-Layer Dip

3 cups refried navy beans ($0.70)
1/2 lb roma tomatoes (diced) ($1.00)
1 avocado*($2.50) mashed, seasoned with salt, pepper, and juice of 1 lemon ($0.60)
1/4 bunch of cilantro ($0.30)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped ($0.25)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped ($0.13 when purchased at Costco)

Directions:

Spread the warmed refried beans in the bottom of an 8 x 12 casserole. Next, cover with diced tomatoes, then onions, then cilantro and jalapeno. Cover with mashed avocado. Serve with sliced carrots, for dipping ($0.25) or if you can tolerate them, Blue Corn Chips ($1.00 for 1 meal’s worth).

Total Cost for Meal (carrots only): $5.72 (with chips): $6.72

*Why that expensive avocado? Is it really worth it?

Yeah, that avocado really pops out to me as uber-expensive, making the meal a little more costly than without. Nutritionally,however, the avocado is an important component when fasting because it supplies lots and lots of good fats, taking the place of dairy in a traditional dip. If you really want to save money, you can get the avocado elsewhere (Grocery Outlet has them for $0.80!) which would make the meal legitimately under $5.00!

For more bargain meals at a local store near you, visit $5 Dinners!

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Fasting while also being grain-free is a big challenge, since most vegans/vegetarians rely heavily on grains for protein and calories. I’m going to rely heavily on vegetables, seafood, and good fats to nourish us during this period while still keeping the spirit of the fast. Because of our family’s dietary conditions (my weak adrenals and thyroid issues, Kirsten’s need for GAPS, etc.) I am allowing some animal fats, dairy, and eggs for their good fats. I tend to get very weak and stress my thyroid adrenals when I go strict vegan, and since I’m still nursing, I’m allowing myself this dispensation. Not to sound all legalistic, but I feel I should explain myself in case any of my fellow Orthodox readers find my vegetarian menus a “stumbling block. St. Paul says it best when he says:

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At that point I did turn to nutrition for answers, but got the advice to consume lots of whole grain carbohydrates such as oatmeal, breads, beer, etc. to increase my milk supply. So that I did, but to no avail. I only gained weight (I was sitting at about 160 lbs for the longest time) and felt awful.

A year passed by and it started to look like I’d never be back to my original size or energy level. Come spring time, I started to really get serious about diet and exercise and began following fad diets from Women’s Day. I totally fell for the “DROP 20 LBS BY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!” headlines and bought those magazines and devoured their content, page by page.

Through these magazines, I found The Sonoma Diet: Trimmer Waist, Better Health in Just 10 Days! and it taught me about portion control, limiting whole grains and starchy veggies, and food combining. I started eating more slowly and enjoying the fine flavors of real food. The Sonoma Diet has some really good concepts and recipes, but I don’t like that they include lots of low-fat or fat-free dairy in their menus. The BEST thing about Sonoma is that it finally got me off of my addiction to sugar. I was eating a huge plate of steamed broccoli every day for lunch, along with quality meats and veggies at dinner. The weight really started to fall off!!

In addition, I started reading French Women Don’t Get Fat and that is probably by far one of the top 3 most influential books that finally turned me on to real food. I started to savor more, to slow down, to drink more water between meals, to enjoy good quality fats and to dump refined sugars and carbs for good. For me, this was what really helped me turn the corner in my own healing. Looking back, I’m positive that it was the sugar and refined grains (and possibly, in my case, even the whole grains) that wreaked havoc on my system, already compromised from years of antibiotics taken. I am sure that it was those foods that kept my hormones so out of whack in high school and that caused my acne. Since my diet all those years was “low fat” (read: white sugar and white flour), it’s no wonder that my face looked so awful! They say that our skin is a reflection of what’s going on in our gut. Ick!

As I started losing weight, people began to notice and one person mentioned Coconut Oil as a real weight loss accelerator. I quickly started researching coconut oil and found The Coconut Diet: The Secret Ingredient That Helps You Lose Weight While You Eat Your Favorite Foods which was instrumental as well. We began juicing, consuming coconut oil, and cutting out the carbs.

We finally started feeling (and looking!) better! I had finally (19 months later!) dropped back to my normal pre-pregnancy weight of 126 lbs. Wouldn’t you know it was a few days after the above picture was taken that I found out I was pregnant with baby #2! This time, I had a much better preconception diet, and I planned to stay the course, even though the rough first trimester. I stuck to meats and veggies and minimized grains.

A few months into the pregnancy, I received a copy of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. It was at this time we were blessed to stumble upon a local source for fresh, certified clean, pastured organic milk and I started drinking it regularly. I was feeling so great from the milk and the coconut oil (and probably those feelgood nesting hormones of the 2nd trimester) so I channelled it all into learning about the Traditional Foods lifestyle. I started soaking grains, making my own kefir and yogurt, and making my own kombucha and sourdough bread.

I later started making beet kvass, sauerkraut, and lacto-fermented jam and pickles. By the end of the 2nd trimester I had converted our family over to a strictly Traditional Foods diet. My son’s birth, although another c-section (I tried to VBAC!!!! I have some sort of pelvic problem), was peaceful and non-eventful. He came out totally strong and healthy, and I recovered immediately. I attribute this to my boot-legged kombucha brought into the hospital! Although my milk supply still wasn’t adequate for my son, I continued (and still to this day) to nurse him and supplement him with farm-fresh, certified clean goat’s milk formula (also a subject of an entirely different post!) and watch him grow by leaps and bounds and thrive on the goat’s milk and all of the other real foods he’s been given.

It has been amazing to watch the healing that has taken place in all of our bodies as we’ve transitioned to whole foods. I have found such joy and passion in both preparing these delicious foods and eating them. I’ve felt better than I’ve felt in a long time, despite lingering structural issues (probably carrying around 30+ lbs of kid throughout the day!). My skin is totally clear and soft, the dandruff is gone, the yeast infections are no longer a problem! My monthly cycles come and go without much of a notice. I have energy and virtually no digestive issues to speak of, unless of course I eat something I shouldn’t! Seeing the health and vitality in my children also brings me so much joy and thankfulness to God for His wisdom that he gives us in taking care of our families.

For our family, the transition wasn’t difficult because it was our hope. For me, it was more important to find healing for my family than to have the convenience of “easy” food. Feeling better motivated me to do the work involved. I thank God for his grace in allowing us to obtain this wisdom, and I don’t take it for granted, nor do I forget His part in leading me here. I don’ t assume that diet is the silver bullet for everyone, but I am thankful that it has been a large part of our family’s healing.

Of course, the journey continues, as you’ll read. We are now eating a gluten-free, grain-free diet for the sake of my daughter’s healing (yet another long post!) and quite frankly the rest of us feel great eating this way right now too. I’m sure the paradigm will shift and new insights will be given, and perhaps we’ll be able to go back to eating grains, even gluten, again. But for now, this is where we are, and this is where I’ve come from.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much! May God bless you in your journey to health, healing, and wholeness!

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You’ll need to procure the following products that may or may not be homemade staples in your kitchen:

*Corn tortilla chips ( you can thriftily make these by frying regular corn tortillas–think Winco, they sell like a million for $1.29– until crisp in coconut oil)

*Refried black beans (I happen to cook like a gallon of dried black beans in my slow cooker and freeze them. I then re-fry them in coconut oil and season with taco seasonings later)

*Tomato salsa of choice (again can be easily made like so: whirl a couple tomatoes, an onion, a jalapeno, and salt in the food processor for an ultra simple salsa)

*Guacamole (quite simply: 1 mashed avocado, juice of 1 lemon, sea salt to taste. done.)

*2 chopped scallions

*Cortido (Latin American Sauerkraut. Optional but incredibly worth every minute it takes you to make this)

Layer the above ingredients in the order listed. Purposefully omit forks from your table setting. Purposefully include an extra napkin.

Delicious. Filling. Satisfying. pH balanced. No, really.

Disclaimer: By the way, if you’re wondering what’s up with that orange stuff adjacent the blue chips in the photo above, it’s a butternut squash “cheese sauce” I threw together a while ago. I used the photo for purposes of highlighting the blue chips. Unfortunately for the above recipe, my memory card was full and I was unable to patiently clear my card before consuming my supper, thus no picture of the nachos of which I write.

I’m working on refining the exact recipe for the squash nachos and will keep you posted.

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