Gluten Free Mama

Subway Gluten Free

2011-01-26T15:09:00.002-06:00

Yep, that's right, Subway has jumped on the gluten free bandwagon, and I must say, they've done a stellar job educating themselves on what it takes to make a gluten free sandwich, from start to finish. Here's my review:

Subway has branched out and is testing gluten free bread and brownies in 700 Dallas/Ft. Worth locations, so it's not at every store, but hopefully it will be someday! It looks like they train their staff about the dangers of cross-contamination. I don’t know if this trend is gonna stick around though, since they said my sandwich order was only the 6th order they’ve had in 3 weeks. But, I’m hopeful. I’m actually surprised that they are using this store as a test market. We’re kinda out there in the middle of nowhere! Okay, so here’s what happened:
I walk in and tell them I’d like to try the gluten free bread for my sandwich. The girl tells me she’s got to wash her hands and change her gloves, and she’ll be taking care of me. So, she gets out the pre-packaged bread(looks like a hamburger bun, but a bit larger) with knife included, on a separate sheet of paper away from everything, cuts it, puts it on a tray and puts it in the oven to toast. She then asks me if I’d like her to pull all the toppings from the back so there’s no cross contamination. Of course I say yes. So, every topping that I got was from a fresh container, including the veggies. She was the only person that ever touched my sandwich, and I watched her the whole time. Granted, it did take longer to get my order, and about 8 people went in front of me while mine was being made, but it was worth it to know that I was getting a gluten free sandwich from a restaurant for the first time in 4 years. I can imagine that it might be difficult at different locations, where the employees speak a different language to communicate your needs, but if all the stores with the test markets are being trained properly, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, and the bread is fantastic. I was very impressed. I also tried the brownie, by French Meadow, and loved the fact that it is completely grain free, using only potato starch as the flour. Very moist and flavorful, but then again I love chewy, dark, chocolatey brownies. They also display a list of all the ingredients that are gluten free(most of them) excluding the meatballs, seafood, and chicken teriyaki..and I think there might have been one other thing. They even have a list of dressings and chips that are gluten free(I think most of the chips are too, since they’re by Frito-Lay, and Frito-Lay has an extensive list on their website of gluten free chips. Anyway, Subway in Aubrey at Providence on HWY 380, east of Denton rocks! Oh, and Subway does have a list of allergens on their website, including gluten free toppings here: http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/Files/AllergenChart.pdf

One of the employees also gave me an ingredient list for the bread:

Egg whites, corn starch, modified corn starch, tapioca starch, palm oil, sugar, distilled monoglycerides, organic honey, organic apple cider vinegar, Contains less than 2% of the following: yeast, rice bran and germ, salt, leavening(sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), pectin, xanthan gum, carbohydrate gum, guar gum, enzyme. Contains Eggs manufactured on shared equipment with soy

Brownie Ingredients:
Sugar, expeller pressed canola oil, eggs, potato starch, cocoa alkali processed, natural vanilla flavor, salt, xanthan gum, natural chocolate flavor. Contains eggs, manufactured on shared equipment with soy.

I do wish more people would take cross contamination more seriously. For full blown celiac disease, cross contamination can cause serious issues. There are several people out there that just don't worry that much about cross contamination, and that's why so many restaurants don't understand what the big deal is about it. I know there are varying degrees of gluten sensitivity, and I can actually usually handle a bit of cross contamination, but I feel like for everyone's sake, cross contamination should be a universal concern for all restaurants attempting to cater to the gluten free diner. So kudos to Subway for being educated in that department. Now I want Jason's Deli to follow suit! They offer gluten free bread but make no attempt to avoid cross contamination. If you have a different experience there, please share!

Pregnant!

2011-01-09T15:52:00.005-06:00

Yep, that's right. I'm pregnant. I found out about 5 days after my last post on here! I'm due May1st, with a little girl. I'm 24 weeks pregnant now, and super excited about meeting our new little addition! Well, I guess I haven't posted all of fall and now we're already into winter. Ethan and I have kept busy going to play dates and generally just keeping busy with the day to day, house maintenance stuff. I had been feeling okay in the very beginning of my pregnancy, but by week 6, I was starting to feel the nausea. From week 6-11, I felt nauseous every day and pretty much laid around all day or tried to get out of the house in the attempt to distract myself from the nausea. Luckily I wasn't as sick this time as I was with Ethan. And it didn't last nearly as long! Thank God! I feel pretty good now, and the only food I can't tolerate is tomato sauce, like spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, etc. Which is sad because I love those foods dearly :( Every time I eat them though I throw up. It may not happen right away, but it does come back up later.

In the past few months, my mom, sister and I have started a food co-op. We basically are the ones that do all the work and provide local, organic produce, meat, eggs, dairy, coconut products, and other natural foods to other people for a lower price. We don't make any money at it, but we are able to order in bulk, larger quantities which helps us pay less in the long run. It's been fun so far. And it's been nice to be able to make the choice of what produce to buy each delivery. I only wish I could get my hubby to stop eating all the processed food he likes to eat. I'd say our only vices are corn tortilla chips(organic, from costco), commercial cereal(E and I don't eat this often though), and hubby still has that darn soda habit. We are thinking about buying the soda stream soda maker though, which will save money and the mixes have less crap in them than commercial soda. Besides that though, there's not much crap we eat. It's just enough to annoy me! I've just recently bought some organic popcorn so I can start making popcorn from scratch with coconut oil and sea salt so we will stop using that horrible microwave popcorn. I don't even like having it in the house but we bought a huge costco size box about a year ago and it's not gone yet. When it's gone, I'm not buying that crap again. The holidays weren't great for my eating habits, but then again, I had to be careful what I ate anyway, or I was at risk of throwing up! I did end up making gluten free chex party mix and muddy buddies as my holiday snacks, but man, those processed carbs can get so addictive. It was hard to put them down. My mom did much better than me and didn't use refined sugar in anything, no grain, and pretty darn healthy! I was surprised at how filling the treats she made were. Oh, I also made chocolate peanut butter cups. Those were darn tasty! I used dark chocolate, natural peanut butter, honey and coconut oil, so those weren't too bad.

My brother came home for the holidays. He got in around the 21st I think? Maybe it was earlier, and didn't leave until Jan 8th. It was great having him in town that long since I didn't feel pressured to get in all my time with him in one weekend or so. I'm glad he decided to stay that long. We had a blast while he was in town.

We started going to a new church recently. The Edge Fellowship. I really like how small it is right now and just recently joined the worship team. It's been nice getting really involved with a church finally. I have nothing against the church we came from, but I just never really got involved and again, I like how small this one is, feels more intimate. So, my Saturdays are usually spend practicing for worship about 3 hours a day, then church at 5. It's been nice having church on Sat night and then having Sunday free to do nothing!

Mark's been working a lot more lately since I stopped working in April, so that's been a little hard on us, but I try to keep our days busy and spend time with my family when I'm feeling cooped up. He always has Sunday free and Saturday mostly, so that's been nice. The week is what's tough! Also, it's just gotten harder since Ethan turned 2. He's not hit the "terrible twos" per say, but he's been dealing with teething, constipation and general toddler tantrums lately, which is so tiring! He doesn't seem even close to potty training yet, but I'm not concerned. I really don't want to start trying that process until he seems ready, and he doesn't. I just don't want to make it harder on myself than it needs to be!

We've started working on the new baby's room in the past few weeks, but certainly aren't done. We just bought the paint yesterday, and already have the crib and a rocking chair. The next step is to paint, do wainscoting, and get the rest of the furniture. I do need to get another mattress, but I think I'm going to get a regular toddler mattress for Ethan's room and use our expensive organic mattress for the baby's bed. I've read lots of studies lately blaming commercial mattress chemicals for SIDS. This is one reason a lot of people think that turning babies to their back is what helped reduce SIDS. If they're on their back, they aren't breathing in chemicals directly from the mattress. There's no solid proof for this obviously, but I don't want to take any chances. We have an organic mattress topper for a commercial mattress for Ethan, so I think that's better than nothing. Plus, half the time E's in our bed, and I'm sure the new baby will be in our bed occasionally and ours isn't organic, but I tend to feel safer if my kiddos are next to me :) The pictures at the top of the page is our crib, and the one to the right is the bedding we just ordered for this little girl. So excited to see the room all done! I like it because I think it will grow with her. It's not a "baby only" design. Well, that's about all I've got for today. I'm gonna go help Mark make dinner and I'll blog again soon, I promise!

Wow, it's been too long!

2010-08-20T21:09:00.002-05:00

What can I say, this summer has been busy! I stopped working in April, and have been staying busy with my little boy going to playdates, swimming, etc. Trying to keep cool as well! I'm glad my uncle Bryan reminded me that I have this blog, and I used to love posting. I need to get back into it. I guess I haven't tried many new dishes this summer since it's been so dang hot out and heating up the kitchen is so not on my list of things to do. I will share one specific recipe that is staying fresh in my memory, because it was so good, though. I had gone grain free and dairy free before my vacation to Puerto Vallarta in June, but fell off the bandwagon when we indulged in corn chips almost daily. We ate them with fresh salsa and guacamole though, so it was really hard to resist. Ever since then, I've been eating grain almost daily. I know I need to give it up for the sake of my allergies, but it's so hard to make a meal the whole family will love, completely grain and dairy free. Anyway, E is getting SO big. he's 26 lbs and about 34 inches long. He's still wearing 18-24 mo. clothing, so his height and weight has certainly evened out over the past several months. He's got pajamas that I finally put up because they were too small on him that he's been wearing since he was 9 months old. He's almost 20 months now! I ventured out today for tax-free weekend to see what little boy clothes I could find and found 8 items for 30 dollars. Most of it was resale and Marshall's. I did go to the mall, but I was about to pull my hair out by the time I left because the crowds were just insane. Not worth the 8% I was saving in taxes, for sure! E and I needed lunch so we were going to go to chipotle, but there was a huge line, so then we walked over to Tin Star and there was an even bigger line there, so I gave up and we went to the mall, where I knew I could get chickfila, and waited in line anyway. So annoying! Remind me next year not to do that. I'll stick to getting my daily deals at resale stores!

Anyway, so I did get another job, but it's only like 4-8 hours a week, depending on how much I work. It's good hourly though, so I hope I like it. I haven't started yet, because I need to take my TABC before I can do liquor promotions. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house for awhile without a kid. That will be nice. I joined a playgroup in May and have been doing outings with Ethan 3-4 times a week, and that's been a lifesaver for both of us. I'm really starting to bond with some of the moms in the group and making some good friends, so it's been nice.

E's been talking up a storm lately. He's starting to try and talk in sentences, but I can't understand a word he's saying. It's all gibberish right now but you can tell by his inflection that he's saying a sentence. He's started saying "no" to everything, even when he means "yes" and "why?" constantly. It's annoying and adorable at the same time. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba, and calls it "Yo Yo." He says "Nee-Nah" for "clean up" all the time. I love it! We've been working on getting him down to nursing at naps and bedtime only, and that's been going pretty well. I'd love to get to the point where he'd take a nap without me. It would totally free up my day and schedule, but we'll get there eventually I guess.

Okay, onto food. This recipe is grain free but not dairy free.

Smoked Brisket Salad

5 slices smoked brisket(we smoked ours in a smoker, but you could use smoke seasoning)
smoked almonds(we smoked our almonds, but you could use already smoked almonds)
1 dollop of sour cream
1 dollop barbecue sauce
shredded pepper jack
romaine or head lettuce, chopped
green onions, chopped
avocado, sliced
tomatoes, chopped
1 sprig cilantro for garnish

Toss all ingredients and serve. It would be nice with a squeeze of fresh lime as well.

I'll probably post again in the next few days. I need to catch up some more!

Spaghetti with Bacon....yum

2010-06-09T21:36:00.006-05:00

Ethan enjoying zuke noodles

So, I have been eating a lot of beef this week and decided to switch it up and make something with bacon, but pasta sounded good. I'm trying to go mostly dairy free though as well, so all those yummy creamy bacon pasta recipes were out of the question. So, I decided to try something new. I'm not doing grain, so I made some zucchini noodles. All you have to do is take 1 or 2 zucchinis, and peel them with a potato peeler until you get down to the seeds. I usually just save the seedy part in a bag in the freezer until I make some soup or something.

I love spaghetti sauce to taste a little sweet, so I usually add honey, but with the balsamic and vidalia onion in this recipe, you really don't need to add any sweetener.

Tomato Bacon Balsamic over Zuke Noodles

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 tsp italian seasoning
celtic sea salt
pepper
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 lb bacon, cooked
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 vidalia onion, chopped
two zucchinis, ribboned with a potato peeler.

Combine diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and italian season in a medium saucepan, simmer while you make everything else. In a skillet, use the leftover bacon grease from cooking the bacon to saute the onions and garlic. Once soft, add the 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and cook on medium until it has reduced some. Pour the onion/garlic mixture into the tomato sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Add more water if it's too thick for your taste. While the sauce continues to simmer, clean out the skillet and add the zucchini, and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Saute until zucchini is tender, but not too soft. Serve the sauce over the noodles and top with chopped cooked bacon. I also grated a little asiago cheese and cooked some broccoli to mix in. Made a nice veggie rich meal. Very filling too!

Grain Free! Garlic Wine Chuck Roast, Roasted Green Beans & Chocolate Cupcakes!

2010-06-02T18:50:00.003-05:00

I just read (well, skimmed) The Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson and was very inspired (partly due to my mom and sister as well) to go grain free. They were doing it for allergies, and weight loss and I am mainly doing it for my allergies. It seems every year around April 1st, I start to develop chronic congestion. I get so congested I can't breathe at night. It usually lasts about 8 weeks. Either this grain free diet is helping tremendously with my allergies, or it just happens to be better because it's been about 8 weeks since my allergies flared up. I know they are seasonal, but I have environmental allergies all year round. The allergy shots help with those though. Anyway, I haven't had grains in about 2 days and I feel awesome. I am never hungry. I still crave sugary things a bit but I think it's because I haven't cut out sugar and sweet fruit yet. I don't really intend to either. I really just want to cut out the grains. This may be a temporary thing, but if it continues like this I might stick to it for life. We'll see.

Being gluten free already has made the transition pretty easy. The only thing I really miss so far is corn chips and salsa. If I could make a grain free chip I'd be in heaven! I think it's also helping that we are at the yummiest season of the year for produce. Corn, watermelon, strawberries, blackberries are all in season right now, and are quite abundant. Unfortunately, we got about 10 ears of fresh local corn in our last produce share and I'm not eating any of it! So sad. Oh well, my son and husband will enjoy it with gusto I'm sure. I haven't attempted a grain free pizza yet (well, I guess chebe mix is considered grain free, because it's made from tapioca but still processed pretty highly), but I'd like to because I really love my pizza. With peppers, and sausage and lots of onions.. drool....Hell, I may still eat the chebe. I don't think it bothers my allergies. Only one way to find out!

Tonight I made an amazing chuck roast in the crock pot. My sister helped me out with this one.

The recipe:

1 cup dry red wine (I actually used pinot noir, which isn't dry but it's all I had. Dry would be better)
1 grass fed chuck roast (mine was about 3 lbs, bone in)
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1 onion, sliced into rings
1 can organic diced tomatoes
salt and pepper ( just throw some in)
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 springs fresh rosemary

Layer all ingredients besides the roast into the crock pot.
Brown the roast in a little coconut oil before placing in the crock pot.
Cook on low all day (mine cooked from like 11-6)
If your roast is boneless, just remove and slice.
Mine was bone in so I had to remove the roast and take the bones and fat and cartilage and junk out, then chop up what was left and put it back in the pot to cook for a bit more. Drizzle with the juices from the roast.

And as a side:

Roasted Green Beans

1-2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
sea salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Toss green beans in olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on cookie sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, or done to your liking. I like mine really done!

For dessert, I made grain free chocolate cupcakes, thanks to Elana's Pantry!

Adapted from Elana's Pantry recipe:

Grain Free Chocolate Cupcakes

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup refined coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2- 1 tsp almond extract

In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda(I used my hands to smooth the lumps in this step)
In a large bowl, blend together eggs, oil and maple syrup
Blend dry ingredients into wet thoroughly
Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and scoop a 1/4 cup into each
Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes

Makes 9-10 cupcakes

Mine turned out a bit dry, but very tasty. I'm thinking butter might help with that next time? Honestly the batter tasted like chocolate pudding. I might just eat the batter next time!!

Elana has a recipe for vegan buttercream frosting on her site, but I am trying to cut back on sugar, so I didn't frost them. I just ate them like chocolate muffins. Still yum!

And onto my child, my 17 month old toddler. Can't believe he's 17 months! He's now saying "Nee Na" for clean up, no, hi, bye, mama, dadda, knee, eww, oooh (like in amazement), yumm, doggy, puppy, poopy, wa wa (water), Beeba (which is his nickname, but we say EEB, because those are his intials), up, wow...so many words! He's no sleeping about 4-6 hours in his bed at night and then when he wakes up he walks into our bedroom and sleeps with us the rest of the night.
It's called part time cosleeping. I like it. It's a nice compromise! That's all for today. I'll post again soon!

Gluten free Grain Free crackers

2010-05-18T11:42:00.003-05:00

I adapted this recipe from Elana's Pantry to suit my own tastes. This is adapted from her walnut crackers with fig tapenade recipe on her site. Just trying to give credit where credit is due and to remind everyone that very few recipes are truly original, so I'm going to call this an adaptation.

Nut Crackers

1 cup blanched almond flour (I used bob's red mill)
1 egg, whisked until frothy(not sure why, but that's what I did cause that's what Elana said to do)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey(to give it that real cracker taste..)
1/2 cup other nut flour blend (I combined walnuts and pumpkin seads in the food processor) You can play around with these combinations.
1 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Scoop out the dough with a spatula onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll out with a rolling pin (or in my case, a uniformly cylindrical glass since I don't own a rolling pin) until the dough is even and cracker-width. remove the second piece of parchment paper. Using a pizza cutter, slice the sheet of dough into cracker size pieces. I ended up with about 30 crackers. Then bake in the oven for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees. When I first read Elana's recipe, I didn't realize you could bake with parchment paper, so I removed both pieces of parchment paper and had to basically roll the dough again directly onto the baking pan. Well, the crackers stuck to the pan and I had to destroy them to get them off. I'm going to use the crumbs as a cracker crumb topping for a casserole I think and try again the right way next time. I'm sure it turns out much cleaner and the crackers are prettier like the picture on her blog. I then topped the cracker bits(a few made it) with some canned smoked sardines and kalamata olives. It was a very satisfying "snack." I call it a snack, but it was really a meal. Those crackers are super dense, but not in a bad way. They're completely nut based, so lots of protein and fat to fill me up! If I had some decent raw cheddar or aged parmesan, I would have added that as well. Anyone who attempts this, please let me know how it turns out! Mom, I know you are tonight. I'm curious to see what yours end up like.

.

My Adventures With Mayonnaise

2010-04-30T21:38:00.002-05:00

So, my sister came over a couple weeks ago and showed me how to make mayonnaise. Well, I had recommended to her that we use my immersion blender because I read online that you can make mayonnaise in an immersion blender without having to add the oil slowly. You could just throw all the ingredients in there together and it would work. Well, it didn't and but we had a nice bacon, lettuce and tomato salad with a dressing made from our liquid mayonnaise. It tasted good, but it wasn't mayonnaise.

Well, Ethan has been really cranky and needy lately, and I thought it was due to this one tooth that hasn't popped through yet, but he has been happy as a clam the past two days and his tooth still isn't through, so I'm not sure what that is all about. Needless to say, he was a happy camper today and let me get all kinds of stuff done without whining all over the house all day :). So I decided to take advantage of his mood and get cooking! I attempted the mayonnaise again. I was determined to use the immersion blender successfully, but this time I started the right way. I added one egg to the container, and then slooooowly added an olive/coconut oil blend drip by drip. It turned out fairly thick! But then I added vinegar afterward, and it became liquid again. I tried again. Cracked another egg, but this time, added vinegar to the egg, blended then added the oil. Well, I guess I didn't pour the oil slow enough this time and it never emulsified. I added too much oil and the result was a very olivey tasting mayonnaise liquid.

I couldn't let it go to waste. Afterall, I used pastured chicken eggs and good quality coconut and olive oil. So, I turned it into a honey mustard dressing.

Honey Mustard Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade)
3 tbsp mustard (I used grainy brown mustard, but yellow would be classic and yummy too)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Apple cider vinegar (not sure how much, just use as much as it takes to taste right, probably around 1/4 cup.
Raw honey ( I think I used around 3 tablespoons)
a little whey (this will make it last longer with the homemade mayonnaise)

Mix all together with immersion blender or just shake it all up in a jar.

I then had a little less than 2 cups of honey mustard dressing that I wasn't sure I would use before it went bad, and I hate wasting food, so I decided to then make potato salad with it!

2-3 lbs potatoes, red works best, but I only had russets, so that's what I used, cooked and cubed
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup honey mustard dressing
salt
pepper
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
paprika for a splash of color. I didn't have any, but it would have been a lot prettier if I did! Oohh, smoked paprika would have been really good. Oooh and truffle oil would have been a good oil to use for the mayonnaise. Why didn't I think of that before? Oh well, next time.
Anyway, make sure the eggs and potatoes are cool before tossing all the ingredients together in a bowl and let chill in the fridge for awhile before eating.

I guess you have noticed that I didn't put a recipe for the mayonnaise. I am going to perfect it first, and then I will post my final results in a recipe format. I will master this! I'm determined.

Life With a Child

2010-04-20T22:48:00.004-05:00

You know how people always say that once you have a baby, you forget what your life was like before you had kids? Well, I'm going to be honest and say I do remember what it was like, and at times I do miss it. I remember the nights where I could go to bed at midnight and get up at eight without a chubby toddler's foot kicking my face just as I'm drifting off to sleep, knowing that once I hit my pillow, I'd get a full 8 hours and could time when I wanted to go to bed accordingly. I also remember being able to go out with friends last minute without needing to call up a grandparent first to make sure there was a babysitter, being able to shower every day, sitting at the computer for hours on end just killing time without a child trying to claw at my shirt and crawl on my lap, right as I am sitting down to return an email. I could go on. Yes I remember all this stuff, but as the months go on, the small things that I used to relish have become so insignificant, and a distant memory. I can only imagine that as time goes on, the memories will become more distant, and while I do think of these moments occasionally when I've had a long day and want to relax, I wouldn't have it any other way. I think this is what the phrase is intended to mean:"Once you have a baby, you don't forget what it's like to be without one, you remember what it's like, but wouldn't trade it for anything."

This is my life.

Let's see what I have to say when he hits the terrible twos :)

Gluten Free Oven Baked Pork Chops, Red Cabbage Cole Slaw and Oven Fries

2010-04-13T20:53:00.003-05:00

Yum!! Was at home all day today, so I decided to make a nice homey meal.

Oven Baked Pork Chops

2 or 3 pork chops (I used boneless)
3/4 cup corn flake crumbs
dash of lawry's salt
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
dash of garlic powder
1-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup whey

Combine corn flake crumbs, lawry's, italian seasoning, garlic powder in a shallow bowl, add melted coconut oil and combine with fingers until all ingredients are mixed well. beat egg and whey together. Let chops soak in the egg mixture for at least 1/2 hour. I also used a meat mallet to tenderize the pork some. The whey will help tenderize as well. Coat chops with corn flake mixture and place in a non stick baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chops are done.

Oven fries

2-3 baking potatoes, sliced like wedges.
olive oil
sea salt

Toss all ingredients. place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, then crank up the heat to 425 and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until fries are crispy, or done to your liking.

Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 zucchini, shredded
1 celery stalk, sliced at an angle
1 cup mayo
2 tsp celery salt
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
black pepper to taste
2 tbsp minced onion

combine mayo, onion, celery salt, honey, ACV and pepper together in a small food processor, blend until smooth. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the size. Adjust spices to your liking.

Beet Salad for those who don't love beets!

2010-02-28T16:04:00.002-06:00

So, I personally love beets, but not everyone does. It's a vegetable that doesn't really get a good rap. So, I came up with a beet salad that pretty much anyone will enjoy. It only has a faint hint of that earthy beet taste to it, but mostly you taste sweet and sourness :)

1 large or 2 small beets, peeled and shredded
2 green onions, chopped up
1 clove garlic, pressed
juice and zest of one orange,
juice and zest of one meyer lemon(or regular lemon, whatever)
1 carrot, shredded
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve. It doesn't really need to marinate, but tastes much better if you let it marinate for an hour or overnight.

i added a little bit of grapefruit juice too, just because I had it on hand. Adjust the spices and quantities to your liking. My husband who hates beets tasted it and said it wasn't too bad. (didn't love it, but liked it okay..that's good enough for me!

Meal planning..trying to at least

2010-01-24T20:10:00.002-06:00

I feel like I would be an amazing stay at home mom, but being at home all the time actually doesn't appeal to me. However, if I were, I swear, I would make my husband the happiest man. I absolutely love to cook, especially from scratch. I usually have enough time to make decent meals that are prepared quickly and taste good, but if I was at home all day, I could make awesome meals from scratch every day. Well, since I'm not at home all the time, and I do work and babysit, I don't have as much time, but I still try to cook as much as possible from scratch. Not only is it healthier, but cheaper too. One of my goals for the year is to use as much as possible from my cupboard, freezer and fridge before going out and supplementing ingredients when I don't really need to. Sometimes you just have to get creative with what you are cooking. It's taken me 7 almost 8 years to master my cooking skills, but I'd like to say that I'm pretty good at cooking from scratch without a specific recipe, and can get creative when needed. I was able to compile a list of the ingredients I have in my pantry, freezer and refrigerator right now, and I'm planning on using as much as I can with what I have, only supplementing when needed, like with milk, cheese & produce.

Here's my list

Fridge/Freezer/Cupboard Stock 1/24

Cupboard

2 lbs GF pasta

4 28 oz cans org. diced tomatoes

5 cans org. tomato paste

7 cans albacore tuna

1 lb org. dry pinto beans

1 lb org. dry black beans

1 lb green lentils

2 bags org. mixed rice

3 bags chebe bread mix

1 can coconut milk

Pamelas mix

Coconut flour

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Raw honey

1 baking potato

1 onion

3 sweet potatoes

Freezer:

2 sandwich bags frozen swiss chard

Corn

Green beans

Mixed veggie blend

1 lb ground beef

1 beef neck bone

Enough tomato mix for chili for one meal

3 pkgs pork chops(2-3 in each)

6 2 breast portions chicken breast

Peaches

blueberries

Raspberries

2 quarts smoked turkey stock

2 quarts chicken stock

Fridge:

Produce:

9 carrots

2 celery stalks

6 radishes

4 beets

6 small heads baby heirloom lettuce

1 head romaine

1 1/2 lemon

1 bag apples

3 oranges

2 grapefruit

1 head broccoli

3 pears

6 bananas

½ head white cabbage

1 turnip

6 heads baby lettuce

2 russets

Proteins:

1 pkg chicken thighs

1 pkg of 2 pork chops

7 Eggs

1 quart chicken bone broth

Condiments, dips & spreads:

Parmesan

Teriyaki

Asian Barbeque

Sweet & Tangy

Fish Sauce

Brown mustard

ACV

Braggs

Mayonnaise

Ketchup

Ranch Dressing

Hendricks Dressing

Homemade Dressing

Salsa

Sour Cream

Plain Yogurt

Queso dip

Breads:

Flour & corn tortillas

Hot dog & hamburger buns

Wheat bread

Cheeses:

Gouda

Raw Cheddar

Mozzarella sticks

Lunchmeat & Cheese

The goal is to compile meals based on all these ingredients for the next month without having to buy too much extra. I don't know if it's enough, it may not be, but that's the goal. Here are the meals that I have come up with with only a few extra ingredients that I need to buy

Menu plan

Meatloaf-make w/eggs, coconut flour, onion, veggies (include liver if possible), corn & salad

Black Bean soup made w/beef neck bone, & rotel, maybe throw some shredded cabbage in there for extra nutrients?

Chicken thighs (with San-J sauce), peppers, broccoli & rice

Autumn Pork chops with potatoes & turnips perhaps? in crock pot (on cd kitchen)

Broiled or grilled chicken breasts w/roasted beets, carrots & sweet potatoes

Chicken & dumplings & salad

(use celery, onion, carrots, leftover roasted chicken, make a roux with flour, butter & milk, thyme), top with drop GF biscuits)

Lentil stew (soaked lentils, frozen swiss chard, corn, frozen squash, carrots, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, onion, sea salt, pepper, potatoes & diced ham)

Tuna & pasta ( use 1 can tuna, linguine, lemon juice, salt& pepper, parmesan cheese, & broccoli)

Pizza (use tomato paste & diced tomatoes, garlic, spices, honey & ACV), crust made with chebe mix, onions, bell peppers, garlic, whatever other veggies I have lying around, nitrate free pepperoni

For breakfasts, I'm trying to incorporate other foods besides eggs and fruit, my staple. I am going to try and start making smoothies, including yogurt, frozen fruit, flax seed meal, and raw eggs. I would also like to start soaking some breakfast grains so we can have grains for breakfast too, something I normally don't do.

Anyway, this list of stuff is primarily for me, but I thought I'd share with everyone else, too.

This weekend has been a very productive weekend. I got all the laundry done and put up, the house cleaned, and refrigerator cleaned out. I also have planned meals and prepped our lunches for the week. It's amazing what you can do with two whole days off! Plus, Mark and I had plenty of time to play with our little boy. Now, the weekend is almost over and back to the typical busy week! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Healthy Peppermint Hot Chocolate

2009-12-09T09:02:00.003-06:00

So, in the spirit of the holiday season, I decided to make some hot chocolate this morning. Here's my recipe:

2-3 tsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups raw milk

2 tbsp raw honey, or stevia if you are trying to cut the calories

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

dash of celtic sea salt

Mix together cocoa & salt in a large mug. Warm milk, honey, and flavorings in a pot on the stove, just until it's warm so you keep all the nutrients alive in the honey and milk. Whisk the milk into the cup with the cocoa. Serve!!

Creamy Swiss Chard W/Bacon Over Pasta

2009-12-02T20:00:00.003-06:00

So this week I couldn't get my local, humanely raised bacon, so I used storebought, but everything else is organic and/or local. In the last produce coop, we each got two bunches of swiss chard, and since my husband isn't a fan of leafy greens, I had to cleverly disguise the greens in a bacon/cheese fest :) He still wasn't crazy about the greens, but ate it all, so that's a good sign! This meal closely resembles macaroni and cheese, but with some green stuff and bacon added. YUM!

1 bunch rainbow chard, chopped coarsely, stems and leaves

7 pieces thick cut bacon or 3/4 lb or so, reserving 1/2 the fat for the sauce

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup sour cream

3 tbsp flour (I used pamela's)

1/2 cup raw cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1 lb linguine pasta(I used Hodgson Mills gluten free)

Cook bacon and crumble. Cook pasta according to directions. Use 1/2 of the leftover bacon grease to cook onions and garlic in. Add flour, creating a roux. Then add the milk, sour cream, salt, oregano, onion, garlic & pepper until it thickens. Top with chopped chard, and cook down until greens are soft. Add crumbled bacon. Stir, and mix in with pasta. Serve with a crusty bread or a green salad to complete the meal.

Sheperd's Pie

2009-11-21T22:14:00.002-06:00

I love shepherd's pie, and it's probably my husband's favorite meal, so that's a plus! Tonight, I had plenty of time to make dinner, so I started at about five, peeled and cubed potatoes for mashed potatoes, and prepped the makings for Shepherd's Pie. I've adapted this from several different recipes and attempts and trials, and I think this is the best version yet.

Shepherd's Pie(serves 6-8?) Time to make:1 hour, 20 minutes

1 1/2-2 cups chopped assorted veggies(tonight I used green cabbage, celery, zucchini, carrots, onions and corn) The addition of cabbage really adds a lot of flavor

1 lb ground beef or lamb(preferably grass-fed beef)

1 tbsp gluten free flour

1 cup organic milk

1 cup beef broth(I used homemade beef bone broth)

6 small potatoes, peeled and cubed( I used 3 baby reds from the farm and 3 organic russets)

1/4 cup organic sour cream

2 tbsp grass-fed butter

1 tbsp lard (for cooking the beef in, grass-fed is very lean)

1/2 can organic tomato paste

salt and pepper

garlic powder

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350, Put potatoes on to boil. Brown ground beef in lard in a skillet(I used a cast iron skillet so I could just pop it in the oven. Add all veggies and cook until tender. Add broth, 1/2 cup milk, salt, pepper, worcestershire and tomato paste and then sprinkle in the flour, mix well. Let simmer for a few minutes. Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes. You can just take the pot off of the stove, add butter, 1/2 cup milk, sour cream and salt and pepper and mash right in the pot, or you can transfer potatoes to an electric mixer. After all is done, if using a cast iron skillet, just plop the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture and spread evenly. You can also use an 8x11 glass dish and put meat mixture in first, then top with potatoes. Sprinkle mashed potatoes with shredded cheese and cook for 30 minutes in the oven! Let cool for a few minutes before eating. It gets VERY hot!

Thanksgiving recipes

2009-11-21T16:45:00.003-06:00

I have decided this year I'm going to help out my mother-in-law with Thanksgiving dinner, even though she usually say's that I don't need to bring anything when I ask. Here's the recipe that I found I'm going to use.

GLUTEN FREE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Cream of Mushroom Soup:

olive oil

1 lb. button mushrooms (or any other kind you prefer)

6 Tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

2 cups whole milk

6 Tablespoons flour (sweet rice flour preferably, but brown rice flour works ok too)

1 teaspoon Coleman’s dry mustard less than 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a little kick (optional)

salt to taste (maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons)

pepper

French Fried Onions

1 3/4 – 2lbs fresh Green beans, cleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 Tablespoon Tamari J’s Wheat Free Soy Sauce

Directions: To start this recipe, I would prepare the french fried onions. It would be smart to prepare these in advance and store them in an air-tight container, so you are not stuck in the kitchen for longer than you have to be. First, saute your mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next, prepare your cream of mushroom soup. Start by melting your butter in a large saucepan and once the butter starts to bubble, add your flour. Then add your spices- I chose dry mustard, shake of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and the tiniest amount of cayenne pepper. Once the roux has cooked/bubbled for a few minutes, add your milk and chicken/vegetable broth. Whisk until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, add back in your mushrooms. At this point, cook your green beans for 4-5 minutes until bright green. Strain the water from the green beans. Once they are done, put the green beans in a large casserole dish. Mix in the soup and soy sauce. Top with the French Fried Onions. Bake for about 35 minutes on 350 degrees or until bubbly. This will make a huge casserole!

French Fried Onions

1. Gather your ingredients.

2 or 3 big sweet onions (shallots are a good variation)

enough milk for soaking onions

1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons salt (try the first batch and adjust the salt to taste)

pepper (you can also add a little cayenne pepper if you wish)

gluten free flour

oil for frying

2. Measure gluten free flours, salt, and pepper and put into a zip lock bag.

3. Slice the onions and separate into rings.

4. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Oil should be about an inch deep. When the oil is hot enough, a flick of water will make the oil sizzle.

5. Soak the onions in milk for a few minutes. Don’t try to do all the onions at one. Just one batch at a time.

6. Dredge the onions in the gluten free flour. Give them a good coating of flour.

7. Place the onions in the frying pan with the heated oil.

8. When the onions start to float to the top turn them over and cook until just golden brown

9. When the onion rings have finished cooking, lay them on a paper bag or paper towels to cool/drain some oil.

10. Store in air-tight container, top your casserole, or eat them!

Recipes taken from www.glutenfreemommy.com I think I'll also make a gluten free cornbread dressing as well. Anyone got any good recipes?

Steak Fried Rice

2009-11-19T09:57:00.003-06:00

I'm down to the dredges of the cow share that I took part in last october. Why I saved the filet mignon for last, I dont know. Well anyway, it was sort of freezer burned. So, instead of throwing it out, I decided to cut it up in pieces and make filet mignon fried rice. Turned out pretty good except I wouldnt cook the filet all the way through next time. Medium rare would have been perfect. Another good reason not to use such a fine cut of meat for fried rice!!

2 filets, or cheaper cut of meat, cut into 1 inch cubes.
2 cups cooked brown rice(day old is best for fried rice)
2 free range eggs
any combination of vegetables that you like. I used zucchini, white onion, carrot and white cabbage, about 1 1/2 cups.
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp organic wheat free soy sauce.
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, sliced
sautee veggies until tender. In a separate pan, cook meat until medium rare or medium if you are using filet, otherwise, you can cook the meat in the same pan with the veggies. Combine veggies and cooked rice. Season with fish sauce and soy sauce and ginger.Add steak right before serving. Enjoy!

Acorn Squash stuffed with Apples, Sauteed Swiss Chard with Bacon & Raisins and Roasted Lemon Chicken

2009-11-16T09:50:00.006-06:00

This is a three course meal that I made last week. I usually have to prep food ahead of time, because I get home around 6:30 or 6:45 most nights, but I will not sacrifice homemade food just because I don't have enough time when I get home to make meals from start to finish. I cooked this chicken ahead of time and reheated later. I used the microwave to cook the squash because I was running short on time, but I normally would use an oven. It would taste better but take longer to cook..probably like an hour or so. So, if you have time, go for the oven! The swiss chard took like 6 minutes to cook. I cooked the bacon ahead of time and chopped all the veggies, so all I had to do was combine ingredients in a pan and cook.

Roasted chicken with lemon:

1 whole (preferably organic)chicken-I used a 2.5 lb chicken from a local farm
1 lemon, cut in quarters
2 cloves garlic, chopped
sea salt & pepper
1 tbsp coconut oil for basting

Rinse chicken & pat dry. stuff cavity with garlic and squeeze lemon juice over it. rub salt and pepper into the chicken skin and then stuff the lemon in the cavity as well. Baste with coconut oil. Cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Apples

1 acorn squash, cut in half
1 granny smith apple, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 tbsp grass fed butter
cinnamon
agave nectar or maple syrup

Place squash in a microwave safe dish, fill cavity with apple chunks. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, or until done. Top with pats of butter, agave nectar and cinnamon. Cook in microwave for another minute or so.

Swiss Chard w/ Bacon & Raisins (adapted from recipe on www.themovementdallas.com)

1 bunch swiss chard, leaves removed from ribs, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp smoked sea salt
1/4 cup raisins
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped

Sautee onion in coconut oil until tender and transulcent. Add smoked sea salt and swiss chard. Cook down until wilted, add water and raisins and cook for a few more minutes. Add in bacon right before serving. Very kid friendly with the raisins and bacon..oh and afraid of vegetables that are too green husband friendly too. He liked it! yay!

Crock Pot Steak Chili

2009-11-16T09:48:00.001-06:00

So, I had a sirloin tip roast in the freezer that needed to be cooked and instead of making the typical roast with potatoes, onions and carrots(which I do all the time) I wanted to give it a twist. It happened to turn out like chili when I was done though. And it was darn good!

1 2-3 lb sirloin tip roast, browned to seal in the juices
1/2 yellow and 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced or chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup dry black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup salsa(I use jack's, cause it tastes so fresh with the cilantro)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 jalapenos, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Place roast in the bottom of crock pot. If there is any visible fat, trim before browning and remove bones if need be. Combine all the rest of ingredients in crock pot and stir. Cook for up to 11 hours on low. Use a fork to break up the meat into pieces after it's done. I like to stir in some ketchup afterward and top with cheese and sour cream. It really did end up tasting like a steak chili!

Gluten Free Banana/Pumpkin Muffins

2009-11-16T09:44:00.003-06:00

I made these last night and they turned out amazingly well! If you don't use Pamela's mix, make sure you add baking soda. Pamela's mix already contains baking soda. It also has a trace amount of milk, but you could make it dairy free by combining your own gluten free flour blend.

1 cup pamela's mix (or other gluten free flour blend)
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup raw honey
2 free range eggs
1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
4 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie filling(I used an organic brand)
1/2 cup mashed banana(about 1 banana)
chopped pecans or walnuts on top

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, oil, vanilla and honey together until well blended. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into muffin tin or loaf pan. Top with nuts. If making muffins, cook for 23-28 minutes, if using loaf pan, cook for 1 hour. Yeilds 12 muffins. I think next time I'll add dark chocolate chips too!

Mark's Tuna Salad

2009-11-16T09:33:00.002-06:00

My husband can make a good meal, even though I rarely see it! Last night he made tuna salad for us for dinner. This recipe could easily fit into a traditional foods lifestyle if you alter the ingredients some. I used mayonnaise purchased from www.celticseasalt.com The brand is Wilderness Family Naturals. It contains no soybean oil, and is all natural. I would omit the relish and replace it with finely chopped naturally fermented pickles and add a little honey for sweetness. You would probably want to leave out the lawry's salt as well. I would have used celtic sea salt, but the hubby was making it, so..

Here's his recipe:

2 7 oz cans tuna, drained(We like albacore)
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
lawry's salt(to taste)
2 free range hardboiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup sweet relish(we like Wickles)
sweet mesquite seasoning(to taste)
1 tbsp grainy mustard
mayonnaise, to the consistency that you like

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, serve with crackers, as a sandwich or in a salad. Mark had a sandwich with raw pepperjack cheese, and I had it served over a salad with raw pepperjack, fresh avocado and homemade dressing.

Food!!

2009-10-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

So, some people think I'm crazy, but most of my friends and family think its cool the way I eat. Yes, I have my slip ups and eat a handful of candy corn(my weakness!!) now and then, but for the most part, I've been trying really hard to eat traditional foods, local, organic and as much raw milk products as I can possibly afford. The next habit I need to kick however is my Starbucks habit. It's not that I even need the caffeine. Sometimes I go in just to get a drink out of habit. It's paying a hefty toll on my wallet though. I've found this awesome app for my palm called Budget Manager, and it's basically like a checkbook register in your phone. I always hated writing every purchase down, but I've got my phone with me at all times, so it's really easy to enter in amounts. It helps track your money and each budget individually. I know what I have in my account to the penny now and it's really helping me spend my money wisely. Anyway, back to food. My next challenge is to start taking coconut oil daily to see if it helps with my thyroid function. I've heard of people going off thyroid medication completely after taking coconut oil daily. What an easy fix! Last year, my family and I bought a whole pig from a local farm, lard, jowl, everything. A few months later, we bought a whole cow, bones, organs, everything. After reading the book, Real Food, What to Eat and Why, by Nina Planck, I was so convinced that eating traditional foods, the foods that were available and readily eaten 100 years ago is the healthiest way to eat. I understand why vegans and vegetarians feel the way they do about killing animals(well, only the ones that feel bad for the way animals are treated, not the ones that think animals shouldn't be killed at all, regardless of how humane it may be), but I'm convinced that I need a good amount of meat, protein and fat in my diet, but from a humane source. That's why I buy locally. I've felt this way for years but was convinced that I needed to eat according to the food pyramid to be healthy. Being gluten free, it's very hard to get in a lot of grains in a day, and I felt overwhelmed. Reading this book helped affirm my feelings about food and a diet that suited me. I'd say in a given day, my percentage of fat/carbs/protein is 50/30/20. Not exactly following the food pyramid. I believe that each person is different and that there's not a one size fits all approach to a healthy diet. I happen to feel great eating more fat and protein and less grains. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and share a recipe for everyone :)

Black Beans and Rice

1 can diced organic tomatoes

3/4 cup salsa or 1 can rotel

1 pork jowl, frozen or thawed

3 cups homemade chicken stock or bone broth

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 small onion, diced

1/2 lb black beans, soaked overnight and rinsed

some salt and pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups cooked rice

Combine all ingredients except rice in a crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours. Serve with rice, sour cream, cheese and some sliced avocado. Enjoy!

Rain, rain rain..

2009-09-17T17:24:00.008-05:00

Ethan is now 9 and a half months old. We had a fun filled summer. Lots of pool time, spending time with family and a fun 5 day trip to Florida with the girls and babies. On that trip, Ethan popped his 6th tooth and just about gave up his pacifier. He still takes it occasionally, but he prefers the real thing :) It did help get through those rough colicky months though, and popping 3 teeth in like 3 weeks or something. He's eating 3 meals a day (usually sweet potatoes, peas, banana, meat, some kind of cheese or yogurt, kiwi, avocado and green beans makes up his meals) I occasionally give him brown rice and brown rice pasta, but only occasionally. I don't want to overload his system with grains.

Despite the rain, I love this time of year. It starts to get a little cool outside (by cool I mean low to mid 70's) and it's now okay to make soups a regular part of the weekly meal plan(I love soup all year round, but Mark think's it's wrong unless it's cool outside). My garden is starting to take form. I now have basil, coriander(?), green beans, cucumbers, and jalapenos. I grew some tomatoes over the summer and one plant did well, the other did not. We also tried to plant blueberry bushes and they just never took off. Hopefully now that I have a rainbarrel catchment, I will keep up with the watering more frequently and save water while doing it!

We're having such a hard time not totally going overboard on toys and clothes for Ethan. He so doesn't need any clothes. Everyone I know lately has had boys so I've gotten lots of hand-me-downs, which also helps justify buying the "Happy Father's Day" onesie, "Happy 4th of July" onesie, and halloween pajamas..oh and a halloween t-shirt that glows in the dark :) We also just bought him a cool truck by this company called Sprig. It's all recycled and eco-friendly materials. I love cool unique toys, something that no one else has.

I've been really getting into cooking lately as well. Since last summer, I've grown to love the farmer's market and coop sharing. The Movement Dallas is the coop that my mom, sister and I are a part of, and they are now offering salmon, bison, and local, organic produce in addition to the raw milk, cheese, yogurt, chickens, eggs, beef and pork. I swear, I think I could live off of this coop and never go to the grocery store. My hubby wouldn't go for that though :) He likes his boxed cereal and chips and salsa too much. I've been trying to make sure that I order at least one or two kinds of meat each week so that we pretty much only eat sustainable, organic meat. I was getting so excited about Ethan being able to have milk products soon, because I strongly believe that raw milk is very healthy, but I think he's sensitive to it. Maybe he's just not ready for it yet, and in time, his body can tolerate it. I don't even know if that's it, but he's had an ear infection and has just been generally fussy and gassy for weeks now. I got all the dairy out of his diet (including butter in my cooking) and he's seemed a bit better in the past few days, so we'll see.

And on to food! Tonight I made wild alaskan salmon(packaged on the boat, frozen the whole way, so you know it's fresh). I cut open the vacuum-sealed package, and all I could smell was the sea. It was so nice to not be overwhelmed with a strong fishy smell. All I did was put some salt and pepper on it, and placed it skin side down in a cast iron skillet in some olive oil and cooked it till it flaked. Then, squeezed some lemon juice over it. I served it with sautéed bok choy, which had some chopped garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. A scoop of brown rice finished out the plate. It was so amazingly simple and delicious. Tomorrow I'm going to make bison chili, with soaked red beans and some cocoa powder (don't knock it till you've tried it!)

Work has been insanely busy lately, but in a good way. I like knowing that I can go to work and there will be plenty to do. Tuesdays are a bit crazy though. I split working and babysitting with my sister on Tuesday. My day starts at 7 am. I get up, get Ethan ready, make breakfast, get my pump ready, diaper bag packed, lunch and water packed, and head to my sister's. I have to be there by 8:45 at the latest. Either Shelley or I take the early shift to work and the other works in the afternoon. So for four hours, I watch 4 kids. We have a lot of fun in these 4 hours and I'm so glad that my little boy gets to play with his cousins at least once a week, usually more. Today, I took them all to Brilliant Sky, a kid's toy and bookstore in Highland Village. They carry all the unique toys that you don't see everywhere. You'll see brands like Melissa and Doug, Alex, Learning Toys, Edushape, Sprig, Playsilks, etc. I love it because they have a remote control train table, a marble game and other toys that kids can play with there while their parents look around. It seems like there's something for every age group to play with. We left there and it started to rain. So, we piled in the van and went an picked up lunch for my sister and mom, then drove to the studio, and when Shelley and I were doing the trade-off, Shelley stood in the rain while I got my stuff together. Addison came up with me and hung out while I worked. Actually, she was a big help. She tagged and bagged jewelry, and helped keep my boss's little boy entertained for a bit. After work ended at 6, I headed over to get Ethan, and went home to make dinner. Then there was dishes, and Mark bathed Ethan while I worked on my brother's website for a little bit. Got Ethan down to bed, and now I have some alone time. I love busy days like this, but let me just say, I'm glad it's only one day a week!! Well, that's all I got for today. I'll try to blog again soon. HA HA. right. It's been 4 months since the last post. Let's just be honest, it will probably be another 4 before I post again.

Wow, I've gotten really bad at blogging!

2009-06-09T10:39:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been over 4 months since I last blogged. Let's just say, a lot has changed in the past 4 months! Ethan is getting so big and he's growing every day! He's already 17lbs 3oz and 28 1/2 inches long at only 5 months old. He's going to be a tall boy! He's rolling over enough that I have to keep an eye on him and he's learning how to grab things, especially my hair and jewelry. He's doing great with nursing. We never really had a problem with that except for one strange week when he was 2 months old that he would go like 6 or 7 hours without nursing, and when I would try and nurse him, he'd get fussy and arch his back. I'm not really sure what that was all about, but we got through it. He still sleeps in bed with Mark and I most of the night, but mainly because I've been dealing with insomnia for the past 4 months. I know, you're thinking..surely you would have had more time to blog if you were up all night watching the clock tick away. Well, I found that getting up out of bed made me more awake and made it worse, so I layed in bed, for hours some nights, wondering why I couldn't sleep. All the while, my child was sleeping peacefully next to me..sometimes 8-10 hours at a time. I figured I would get more sleep if he was in bed with us, so all I had to do was roll over and nurse him. Instead of finally drifting off to sleep, only to hear the monitor go off and have to get up and go get him. Luckily, my sleep cycle is finally normalizing. At first, my insomnia was the result of taking too much of my thyroid medication. I guess pregnancy can do some funky things to your hormones. Then, once I went off of that to normalize my hormones, I began taking zyrtec to help me sleep. I became dependant on it, and I think it eventually gave me insomnia. I've been off all medication(excluding the small amount of thyroid med) for the past two weeks now, and am slowly sleeping longer at night. My doctor thought that it had to do with low blood sugar beacause I would wake up at 3 or 4 am, ravenous, and sweaty. One night when I woke up, I got up and got a snack. I fell back asleep very soon after that, so I guess that was it too! Once I'm sleeping normally again, we're going to start putting Ethan back in his crib. I feel jipped though, because Ethan is a great sleeper..usually going 6-10 hours each night without waking up, and then there's me, laying awake, when I could be sleeping!

Anyway... my job is going well. I've been with Rachelle Dauphinee Jewelry for the past year and half and the business is growing! My highlight of the year so far though is being able to take a metalsmithing class with her. We're trying to expand our knowledge of jewelry making and evolve a bit more, so with that comes training. This week we learned about annealing and fusing. Basically we heated sterling silver until it turned red and pulled all the copper out of the metal, leaving fine silver in it's place. Next week we will be making a cuff. I'm having so much fun in this class!

Ethan's been so cute lately. He's started pulling his feet to his mouth and sucking on his toes. It's cute until he's big enough that he's walking around..then it won't be so cute putting his dirty feet in his mouth :) I have to be careful with breastfeeding because he's beginning to clamp down on me with his gums....That hurts, so I can't imagine how much it will hurt when he has teeth! We've been recording Ethan with our video camera almost once a week for the past month or so, because I've just realized how darn quickly he grows. I mean everyone tells you that, but you just sort of blow it off. It's totally true! I never realized how fast the newborn phase goes by. Now he's 5 1/2 months old!! I just bought him some new cloth diapers. We've been using Bum Genius 3.0 pretty exclusively, but I was doing diapers every day, so I decided it was time to get some new ones. I got an Econappi by Swaddlebees in chocolate with blue polka dots, two thirsties covers and a thirsties diaper, 5 prefolds, 1 prorap cover and 1 Happy Heinies AIO in a yellow color. I absolutely love the Econappi, and of course it was the most expensive one, at 26.95. But if it holds up, it will be worth it. Maybe I'll just set aside that much each month to buy more! I never realized how fun diapering could be!

Ethan's getting close to starting on solid food. He's not showing all the signs yet, but I have a feeling it won't be long. I want to wait as long as I can though because of the history of family allergies. Anyway, as you can see, my life is pretty much all about Ethan now. I love it!

I'll post about something else now. I love this time of year. I think I posted a blog last year around the same time, but I was pregnant at the time, so food sounded awful to me. The farmer's market is in full swing, and fresh seasonal produce is abundant. Last weekend, my sister, mom, Megan and I all went to the Farmer's Market in Coppell and Dallas. We got our raw milk and cheese, organic, local eggs, and I picked up some fresh uncured ham as well. After we got back to my mom's house, we made pickled beets, fresh pickles, ricotta cheese, beef bone broth and peach/plum jam for us all to share. All of the ingredients were fresh, local and organic. I made some roast one night and homemade biscuits with raw butter and topped them with the peach jam. It was to die for! Everything tastes so fresh this time of year, and I'm glad I'm able to enjoy it, since I'm not pregnant and nauseated by everything! Tonight I made a thai noodle and chicken dish that turned out really well. It's funny because last year, the week I found out that I was pregnant, I made a thai rice and chicken dish and it was the next day that I felt the nausea of pregnancy for the first time. My whole pregnancy, the red curry paste I used to cook the meal with sounded absolutely repulsive to me. Well, tonight I opened it up again, took a whiff and it actually sounded really good! Here's my recipe:

4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp red curry paste
4 tbsp coconut oil, plus 2 for veggies
2 green onions, chopped
4 basil leaves, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp agave nectar
couple of squirts of chriracha sauce(hot chili sauce)
1 package vermicilli rice noodles (Kame brand)
12 oz chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, thinly sliced,
3 garlic cloves, chopped

Mix the first nine ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. Sautee the veggies in the coconut oil until crisp tender. Put water on to boil and cook noodles until tender (about 2 or 3 minutes). Drain noodles and rinse with water to prevent sticking. Sautee chicken in a separate pan until done, then pour in sauce and veggies and heat until hot. Serve with crushed peanuts and a sprig of cilantro.

This turned out really well. I based the recipe loosley on one that I found online, making my own alterations.

We got together with the families from the birthing class that we took on May 24th. That was so much fun seeing all the babies..they are all about a month and half within age of eachother. I also enjoyed hanging out with other moms that are in the same place in life as myself. I'd really like to get together with them again sometime. Well, that's all I have for tonight. I'll try and blog again very soon.

Pictures of baby Ethan

2009-01-28T09:47:00.005-06:00

This is my sweet baby Ethan. He's so adorable. My dad took these pictures when he was about 2 1/2 weeks old. He's now 4 weeks old. I can't believe a month has gone by already since I had him! He's getting more filled out every day and is already developing a bit of a personality. We are trying to develop a bit of a routine, but as I've come to realize, that's easier said than done with a baby. Just when you think you've got them all figured out, they change and there's a whole new set of challenges and experiences that you weren't prepared for. For example, just recently I thought I figured out all the reasons he cried; wet diaper, hungry, tired, hot, etc. Well, yesterday he was pretty fussy all day no matter what I did, and then I finally realized that he wasn't getting enough to eat, so I think he's going through a growth spurt and needs more milk now. But it was frustrating at the time because he wouldn't take a nap all day and didn't finally go to sleep until 12:30 last night. Luckily he slept really well and is currently still sleeping :) It's great once you finally figure out what they need! He's growing really well and goes back to the pediatrician in a month. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the whole vaccine thing. My pediatrician is really great and strongly believes in letting the parent chose whether or not they want to vaccinate, which is nice, but now the decision is ultimately up to me. My husband doesn't really feel strongly either way, so he doesn't have much of an opinion. I guess I have a month to decide :)

I've slowly returned to work. This week has been an exception though because my husband has been working on my car and the past 2 days have been really icy outside, so I haven't been to work all week. It's been kind of nice though and I'm trying to enjoy the time off while I can even though I am starting to have cabin fever! I've been making dinner every night too, which is nice because I really enjoy cooking, but I don't enjoy it when I don't have time. We did figure out a way for me to only have to work 25 hours a week, which makes me happy. I thought I'd be able to handle more but I guess I didn't realize how much energy a baby can take out of one person! Not that he's difficult, but caring for a baby is certainly a job in and of itself. However, it is the most fulfilling and joyful job that I've ever had! I absolutely love my job working for Rachelle and it is the perfect job to have when you have a baby because I pretty much have all the freedom that I need to tend to my baby.

I think I've finally mastered the whole cloth diaper thing. It's really much easier than I expected it to be. I think my husband agrees. Granted, he's a newborn and washing the diapers is much easier now than it will be when he starts eating solid food, but still. I also feel much better about not throwing disposable diapers into the landfill. It's really not much more work. You just have an extra load of laundry to do every other day or so. The only downfall to me is that cloth is bulkier, so you need a bigger bag to carry them in when you go out. I'm sad because the diaper bag that my husband bought for me for Christmas is too bulky to carry around all the time (and it was expensive too!!) That, and Ethan doesn't last very long wearing a wet diaper without getting fussy because there's not that absorbant crap in them to wick the moisture away from their bum. He must be changed, and he must be changed now! Ah well, luckily the diapers we are using are cheap and washable, so it's fine! Anyway, that's been my life for the past month!

Birth Story

2008-12-28T17:58:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone, I had my baby December 26th at 1:12am. Ethan Emerson weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 22 inches long. This little guy cooperated and was born on his due date! Let's just say that Christmas day was eventful for me! I started having contractions on Chrismas eve, but they weren't too bad. We had dinner at my in-laws house and I went home that night and couldn't go to sleep because the contractions began to be more intense, but still tolerable. I was timing them on contractionmaster.com and they were anywhere from 5-11 minutes apart. I was having more pain in my lower back than anywhere else, so I got into the tub around 1am and kept filling it with warm water whenever it cooled off. Mark was sleeping at this time and I considered waking him up to support me through the contractions, but I felt like I could handle it on my own for awhile, so I let him sleep. I called Jean at 1am and asked her if there was anything I could do to help me sleep and she suggested a glass of wine. Well, I tried that and threw up a few hours later. By 6:30am, I just got up and started moving about my day. I called my mom and sister and they came up. My sister has had two natural home births so I figured she would have some nice tricks/advice to help me get through the contractions. She filled up the tub for me and began pouring warm water over my belly and when I would have a ctx I'd get up and lean over on the edge of the tub and she would pour water on my lower back. After about an hour and a half, I got out and just sort of walked around the house between contractions. I found that leaning on someone, squatting and having tennis balls rolled on my back helped the most, so we did this most of the day and evening. I had a tens unit that I was going to use but I couldn't figure out where to place the sensors exactly, so I gave that up. By 6pm my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting over a minute. We ended up meeting Betty up at the birthing center at 7pm and I immediately got into the tub right after Betty broke my water. The contractions began to get stronger and closer together, but I labored like this for a couple of hours. She checked my cervix and I was 5cm when I came in, 100 percent effaced and at 0 station. By the time I got to 7 cm, I asked for some pain relief. Betty didn't hesitate to give me the nubain, so I guess she thought I could use it. I really think as much as I didn't want to use drugs that it helped me get through those last couple of hours. The pain coping techniques worked pretty well in early labor, but by this point I felt like I had lost control of myself and needed to relax again. It definitely didn't stop the pain, just made it more managable. It wasn't long before I hit 10 cm and began feeling like pushing. I got onto the bed and laid on my back and began to push with each contraction. I pushed for about an hour before he finally made it out. Betty mentioned something about possibly having to do an episiotomy if I didn't get him out and that was all it took to push with all of my might. Apparently he had been face up most of the labor, so that was why my back was hurting so much, but he turned before delivery. I felt the ring of fire, but it was nothing! It actually felt like a bit of a relief to feel him finally making it past that point. I pushed him out and she immediately placed him on my belly and all I could do was just stare at him. I delivered the placenta and continued bleeding for a bit. Betty was a little concerned with the bleeding, so I accepted the cytotec to stop bleeding and she gave me some pitocin to help my uterus contract back. I also had some sugar water and other stuff to help from all the blood loss. I did tear and need stitches, which wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it was way better than labor! I ate some food, went to the bathroom and we were out of the birthing center by 4:30am. We are all doing really well now, it only took 2 days for my milk to come in and he's nursing like a champ! Merry Christmas, everyone! I'll type more later :)

The home stretch

2008-12-22T12:33:00.007-06:00

Well, I know it's been awhile. I may as well admit that I'm not good at keeping up with a blog. But, I have this week off, so maybe I'll just blog every day since I'll have the time. Baby Ethan is due on Friday so Mark and I are just sitting around and waiting now! We've got the nursery all ready, his car seat in the car, bags packed, clothing and diapers washed and ready to go. Now we're just waiting for him to show up! I was a little sick over the weekend, vomiting and other nastiness, but I'm feeling better now, and I'm trying to take it easy, as hard as that is for me. I never take this much time off without having plans like going out of town or something, so this is going to be hard for me. But, my brother is in town, and I have lots of projects that I have wanted to get done, so maybe I'll have the time to do them now. Oh yeah, and it's Christmas, so there's that too! It will be a nice break from sitting all day making jewelry(which lately has been killing my back). The photo above with the henna art on my belly was taken at my baby shower about a month ago, so I was about 34 weeks there. Mark and I took some pregnancy photos a couple of weeks ago at my dad's studio, and that was a lot of fun.. I'm about 37 weeks there. I know, lying down I barely look pregnant, but trust me, I am! Our organic baby mattress came today that my brother bought for us. So we put the mattress protector and sheet on it and folded his blankets up and made the crib look all pretty :), even though he won't be sleeping in it for awhile. Not sure how long it will be before he makes it to his own room. We'll just see how everything goes. Also, we received an adorable newborn shirt from my Grandma from postivelyorganic.com in the mail. Thanks, Merrylynne! We were also able to get all of our Christmas presents wrapped and put under the tree today. It's amazing what you can get done with a whole day off! I think that this is the earliest I've gotten done Christmas shopping and wrapping presents ever. Normally I'm wrapping presents the day before or day of Christmas. It's nice to see presents under the tree before Christmas!

Tomorrow, my family is coming up to cook some lasagne for us to freeze for postpartum meals and eat dinner with us. My mom's also going to make some gluten free cakeballs. If you haven't had cakeballs yet, you should! They're so good! Yesterday my mom, sister and Kerry came up to my house and cleaned it from top to bottom, dog hair and all! Thanks guys! It's stayed pretty clean so far. Then Mark and I went down to Jason's mom's house to eat dinner and play Mexican train dominoes. It was a lot of fun! After leaving there, Jason and Tamara came back to our house and we watched Wanted with Angelina Jolie. Tamara and I both fell asleep in the middle of the movie, but apparently it was pretty good! I wish I could have stayed awake to watch the whole thing, but sleep is more important at this point.

Well, I had a midwife appointment on Friday and was told that I'm about 2 cm dialated and 80% effaced, which is a good thing! Maybe this kid will actually be born on his due date. But, I know that whenever he is born is the right time, regardless of when that may be. Well that's all I got for today. Maybe I'll post again tomorrow!

belly photo

2008-10-05T14:24:00.003-05:00

Me at 28 weeks!

Yeah yeah...

2008-10-05T13:44:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile, I know. Life got in the way. Well, I'm currently 29 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. I had been exercising in the beginning of the pregnancy, then sort of slacked off for about a month. Last month I joined a gym, because I decided that paying for a gym membership was the only way I was going to keep up with exercising. My mentality is, why pay for something you aren't going to use? It's my motivation, what can I say? I've been hitting the gym about 4 times a week, and the days I don't go, I try and go outside and take a long walk. If I plan on having this baby naturally, I sure want to be in the best shape possible. Speaking of the baby, we decided on Ethan as a first name, but we have yet to determine the middle name. Maybe we'll save that for after the birth. We have a few ideas, but nothing solid yet. Any thoughts?

My only complaint right now about my pregnancy is heartburn. I've been dealing with it for about a month now, but it's just recently started getting worse. I've figured out some of the triggers though and for the most part have tried to avoid them. Cooked tomatoes, most citrus, and greasy foods cause the worse heartburn, while dairy products and eating small frequent meals seem to help quite a bit. Oh, and the best remedy of all thus far is Tums. Hopefully they will continue to work effectively over the next 11 weeks.

I've begun to think about the birth more now that time is dwindling away. Surprisingly, time seems to be moving faster than I expected. I mean, I can't believe I'm already in my last trimester! I have been thinking about whether I want to have a water-birth, what kinds of foods I'll want to have with me while I'm laboring, what labor will feel like, how long I'll labor before going to the birthing center, whether I can handle the pain, etc. etc. Luckily, the child birthing class starts at the end of this month and lasts until less than two weeks before my due date. As much as I know that preparing for birth is not exactly the same as studying for a test, the preparation classes seem like they will be comforting to me and will help me feel more prepared.

Baby Ethan seems more real to me now that he is running low on room and I can feel him move around inside, switching positions, pressing on my ribs, kicking my bladder, and playing games with me. Occasionally, I will press on my belly and he will press back. Oh and let me tell you, when he gets hiccups, it's the most irritating feeling ever. The rhythmic patter of hiccups when I am trying to go to sleep is so obnoxious, but I am trying to enjoy this stage while it lasts, because before long, he won't be living inside of me, an experience that I've come to enjoy. I know that the last trimester may be a different story. I may be so sick of this that I can't wait for him to be in my arms and not in my belly anymore, but right now I'm savoring it. I also have been trying to fight the guilt of sleeping too much, not keeping the house in spic and span shape at all times, like I used to try and do, because I know in a few months, my life is going to completely change, and I'm no longer going to have the luxury of sleeping until I wake up or the time to keep my house looking Martha Stewart-worthy. So, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

As far as cooking goes. I'm so glad that the nausea went away at around 17 weeks. Food has made me happy again like it used to. For months nothing sounded good and I only ate because I knew I needed too, but now food, especially the tasty treats that I get from the farmer's market every week make me drool again. This last week, my sister brought me some persimmons, butternut squash, apples and sweet potatoes, as well as bacon and eggs..my weekly must. Let me tell you, it's hard to compare store-bought produce to locally grown, fresh produce. Bursting with flavor, it's difficult to go back to buying an organic apple imported from Chile from the grocery store, after savoring an apple grown less than 50 miles away. With the butternut squash and sweet potatoes, I made a soup:

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 onion, chopped
6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (depending on how long you cook it and how thick you like it)
thyme, black pepper and nutmeg to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

sautee onions in olive oil until translucent

add squash, sweet potatoes, stock and seasoning and cook until vegetables are tender. scoop the veggies from the pot into a blender and blend until smooth, adding some of the liquid in if it's too thick, then transfer back to pot and continue to cook until hot. Do not add salt before tasting it. I did this and it became too salty, so I had to water it down. You can also garnish with a drizzle of fresh cream. yum!

Tonight I am preparing some chicken bone broth from the chicken I got at the farmer's market. After it's done cooking, I'll freeze it for later use in soups, stews and as a base for rice. I love homemade chicken stock! If you want instructions on how to make a bone broth, let me know.

Well, that's all I got for now. Hopefully I'll update in another week or so. I want to get back on track!

a quick view of our baby's room

2008-08-25T21:32:00.001-05:00

This is a video that we took the other night to give everyone a look at the baby's room

I'm not very good at this blogger thing

2008-08-18T10:40:00.002-05:00

I posted a single post for photos because I am not very good at posting multiple photos and add text also. So, here's what's going on in my life! I am currently 22 weeks pregnant. We had our sonogram about a week ago and it revealed a happy, healthy baby boy. I was a bit skeptical about trusting the sonographer's conclusion that it was a boy, but she assured me that she's 100% sure, and hasn't been wrong in 25 years. Plus, one revealing photo definitely makes it clear that he is in fact a boy. So, with the sex figured out, Mark and I have been hashing out names and haven't settled on one yet. A couple that we both like is:

Jacob Henry or Henry Jacob
Ethan (no middle name figured out yet, but I like Henry, Emery or William)

A few that we like but have no middle names figured out for is:

Carter
Emerson
Cael
Bryan (maybe)
Blake
Emery
Caiden

And that's about it right now. I can't think of anymore that we both absolutely loved...and trust me, I've tried! Anyway, the photo below was taken a few days ago..about 21 weeks pregnant. I can't believe I'm halfway there already. I don't think I even look 5 months pregnant. Crazy!

Pregnancy photo and sonograms

2008-08-18T10:31:00.003-05:00

more local finds

2008-08-03T09:51:00.002-05:00

So my sister has been going to the farmer's market in Coppell (a bit of a drive for me, so I gave her money). My mom, sister and and I have started a mini cooperative by buying local meat, eggs and dairy. Shelley lives the closest to Coppell, so she has been driving out there every week to pick up a fresh supply of milk, eggs and meat for all of us. The great thing about these farms is that most of them are organic, free range, and grass fed, something that has been important to my whole family for as long as I can remember. Growing up, we raised goats for their milk. My mom thought I had a dairy allergy, so we decided to try out goats milk instead. I tolerated it pretty well, and the thought of having milk that fresh again was very intriguing. It's been so long for me, that I literally forgot what fresh milk looks like. I forgot that when you buy a gallon of milk in the grocery store, that it has been heated to nearly 280 degrees, homogenized and standardized...even organic milk (gasp!). Shelley couldn't say enough good things about the way this milk tastes so I had to give it a shot. One thing that amazed me was that she told me that this particular minimally processed cow's milk didn't seem to affect her asthma at all. She had gone off of dairy weeks prior thinking milk was the culprit of her constant asthma symptoms, and it helped, but she decided to branch out and try really fresh milk, and voila..no problems. If any of you haven't seen fresh milk, it looks like regular whole milk but with a layer of fat on the top. This is because fresh milk has not been homogenized; a process in which milk is separated from the fat and then put back in in uniform amounts to create store varieties like 2% and1% milk. Milk is then pasteurized by heating it to 280 degrees to destroy bacteria. This high heat also destroys many of the benefits of milk too, such as live cultures. This particular milk that we purchased was only mildly pasteurized to approximately 165 degrees, just to the point of killing the bacteria but preserving the nutrients, and is non-homogenized, leaving a silky layer of fat on the surface of the milk, which can be removed or shaken up into the rest of the milk for a creamy treat. I also purchased a dozen free range, cage free, antibiotic free eggs (I like to call them happy chickens), sliced smoked ham (made from organic pork) a whole chicken for roasting and a pound of ground beef from a grass fed cow. This morning I decided to sample some of my purchases, by making scrambled eggs mixed with a little milk. When I cracked the eggs open, it took me back to my childhood. We used to raise hens for meat and eggs as well. The difference in the yolks is amazing. Store bought eggs usually have light yellow yolks, but these fresh egg yolks were a deep rich orange color (which I can only imagine is a good thing based on the taste) and when combined with a little fresh milk created a taste that was not even comparable to anything else. All it needed was a little fresh ground pepper and a dash of sea salt and I had a truly local, organic meal. This week I will prepare the chicken and ground beef and will probably blog about that too!

Okay, so enough about food (can you tell I like food?) I began to feel the baby kick about a week and half ago. It was pretty neat. Mark was able to feel the kick this morning for the first time but said "it doesn't really feel like a kick, it feels like a pulse or something." I assured him that it was indeed a kick he was feeling, but the baby is still small so it won't be as intense as it will be later on. Right now we keep referring the baby as "it" this and "it" that, because we don't know the sex yet. We will be finding out a week from tomorrow though, so then we can refer to the baby as the correct gender. It's funny..depending on what I'm wearing depends alot on whether I even look pregnant. And as the day progresses, I look even more pregnant because you know, I've been eating all day. By night time, I look way more pregnant than I do in the morning. I really have no idea how much weight I've gained because I don't have scales, so I will be finding out in a week how much I have gained. I really don't think it's very much. It's not that I don't eat, cause I certainly do eat! I think I just haven't hit that mark in the pregnancy when you start to gain weight more rapidly. I'm still wearing my regular clothes with one exception..jeans. I just can't tolerate them anymore. It's not that they don't fit, because a lot of them still do, it's just that pressure of the denim seam that my belly doesn't like. So, I've been wearing a lot of roll down waist pants and long tops, as well as skirts and dresses( and I'm so not a dress person).

Well, that's all I got for today. I'll post again later...it may be next week after we find out the sex!

just updating a bit!!

2008-07-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been awhile since I blogged, so I'll divulge a bit. I began taking my prenatal yoga class a the Blue Anjou in Lewisville, and let me tell you...I'm loving it. The first class seemed a little boring and I didn't feel like I was really exercising, but as the weeks progressed, classes got a little more intense. I think I actually broke a sweat last week! The only thing that has been a bummer is that for the past 2 weeks, it's been rainy outside whenever I leave class and there's this music festival going on at exactly the same time as my class so I have to park far away. So I get a little wet walking to my car. Ah well, at least it's not cold and rainy. Another addition to my exercise routine is the amazing Wii Fit! That's right. We broke down and bought a Wii. I figured I could pay as much for a Wii as I could to continue this prenatal yoga class for another 12ish weeks, and this way I'll have Wii forever! It's a pretty cool program actually. It features yoga, aerobics, and strength training(with a trainer) and balance games. The thing I love the most is that there's a gauge on the screen that lets you know if you are balanced or not. It really helps with doing yoga at home, because if you aren't balanced, you really can do yourself more harm than good. I also really enjoy the aerobic works outs that include jogging on a virtual trail. Just last night I finished my first 10 minute jog! I normally LOVE to go outside and walk, but with being pregnant, I don't think I can handle the 95-100 degree heat like I use to :) So, Wii is definitely a worthwhile investment if you actually use it!

Last weekend, our baby furniture arrived and we went to pick it up. It's so freaking adorable!!
It looks amazing in our nursery! Once I get all of the packaging and crap out of the room and have it looking all pretty I'll post pictures. I've already begun organizing the abundance of clothing, toys, bath and body products and cloth diapers into each dresser, and now I just can't wait to find out the sex of the baby so I can start adding pink or blue clothing and accessories to the current yellow and green wardrobe! I do have to say though, the amount of packaging that went into making the furniture unbreakable during shipment is ridiculous! I have to fill up the back of my car twice just to get it hauled over to the recycling center! Not only that, but I had to throw away 2 huge trashcans full of non-recyclable foam padding. I cried a little for the environment. Well, at least the furniture is in good shape and I was able to recycle all of the cardboard, so that's good. The picture below is the Baby Cache Manhattan collection from Babies R Us.

Me at 17 weeks!! I know, I just woke up and look like poo, but I don't care.

I've been feeling MUCH better. I think I'm completely over the morning sickness now. Occasionally I'll feel a little queasy, but it quickly passes. I've also learned that coffee doesn't settle well with me anymore, so I've switched to black and red raspberry leaf tea. It's much nicer to my tummy. I haven't really had any ailments yet except for tailbone pain. Since I sit all day at work, my tailbone begins to ache. I guess this is a normal part of pregnancy? I've been propping myself up onto a blanket at work and that seems to be helping a lot. That's really about it though! My energy is returning and my appetite for fresh food has made it's comeback. The only thing I can't stomach preparing is raw chicken. The thought of it makes my stomach turn over. I've been telling Mark that I'll buy chicken if he will grill it or cook it, because I'm not touching the stuff!

Recently, Mark and I decided to invest in a HE washer and dryer. Afterall, we will be washing lots of diapers and using more water, so we figured this would be the best time to make the upgrade. We decided to purchase the HE Whirlpool Steam washer and dryer in sage green. We also added the pedestals which makes the washer and dryer taller. Perfect for the 5'9" woman that will be doing all the laundry! Yep that's me. I'm the laundry do-er in this household. I actually really enjoy doing laundry now! After a week of using these amazing pieces of machinery, I just want to keep doing more and more because it's so easy now! And, we're saving 70% more water and 73% more electricity! A lovely added bonus. I will be very grateful for this purchase when we begin to do laundry every day after the baby gets here.

It's summer, and it's farmer's market season. I never really took advantage of farmer's markets until this year. After doing a lot of research and realizing how important it is for the environment for consumers to support local businesses and farmers, buying local became almost a no-brainer. Granted, I don't buy everything local, but I'm getting better about it. I've been buying most of my beef from a local farm only 15 minutes from my house mainly because it's organic, grass fed and about 96% lean and close to my house which brings the cost way down, but then I also realized the economic impact I'm making. There is a little produce store in Denton, only about 8 miles from my house that I finally went into this evening. They featured some local, and some not so local produce, so I chose the local ones. Here's what I walked out with tonight..Texas grown:

zucchini
yellow squash
tomatoes
fresh black-eyed peas
basil
raisins
broccoli
snap peas

Everything was grown within the DFW area! I was pleasantly surprised at the freshness of each selection. They also carried some local eggs, but I just bought a bunch, so I won't be making that purchase until I need them. I don't know if any of this stuff was organic, but it sure looked fresh and didn't seem like it was treated like the produce you see in the store. The tomatoes had a redish greenish yellow cast to them (not all perfectly red like you see in the grocery store) and fresh black eyed peas!? I mean come on, where can you get those in any grocery store chain? I've decided that I'd rather buy local and maybe not organic(but usually local small farms are organic) than buy organic from a grocery store chain that could have organic apples flown in from chile, or organic grapes which are usually from mexico. My next feat is to find a local source for milk! I definitely buy organic milk, but I'd love to find some fresh local milk!

When I got home tonight, I made a nice fresh black eyed pea salad:
Sourced from http://southernfood.about.com

3 cups canned or cooked black-eyed peas (2 15-ounce cans, drained)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 small sweet red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
.
Basil Dressing
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 to 3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Preparation:

In a serving bowl combine black-eyed peas, 1/4 teaspoon salt, chopped onion, celery, and green pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl or other container, whisk together the vinegar, basil, garlic, sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until the dressing is well blended. You can use a blender for this step, if desired.

In a medium bowl, combine the black-eyed peas, the chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, and basil dressing. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley or basil, if desired.
Serves 6.

I didn't let it marinate very long, because I wanted to dig in, but I'm sure the leftovers will taste even better tomorrow! That's all I got for today!!

The Story of Stuff

2008-07-18T08:38:00.001-05:00

Anyone ever wonder what happens to our stuff when we don't need it anymore or get tired of it? Well, there's more to the picture than just throwing it in the trash and the dump truck coming by...This video is very capturing, and I think everyone will get something out of it! I know I did!

The Story of Stuff

Feeling better

2008-06-29T13:28:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted a blog. I just thought I'd have more to say if I wait longer between posts. Mark and I had our first midwife appointment about 2 weeks ago. We heard the heartbeat for the first time and it was so cool! It was beating at about 160...fast like a girl :) I really don't care what the sex of the baby is, just as long as it's healthy, but it would be cool if it was a girl since my sister and my sister in law just had baby boys last year. It's time for a girl! Mark is currently in the process of painting the baby's room a beautiful shade of robin's egg blue and a peachy apricot color. I think it will match the decor perfectly. Check out the no VOC paint that we bought: freshairechoice.com.

For the past 2 days I haven't been nauseous or thrown up once..so maybe this is the end of morning sickness? I sure hope so. I'm 14 weeks right now and this is the time that all the books and websites say that I should start to be feeling better. I have noticed that if I indulge my unhealthy cravings, I tend to end up feeling nauseous and throw up later on in the day. Maybe it's my body's way of telling me to eat healthy for the sake of the baby :) Not a bad thing! I have been having good cravings though too. I can't seem to eat enough fruit. And what a great season to be having fruit cravings! The nectarines and strawberries are so delicious right now. My mom's grapevines are at the peak of ripeness and next month is fig season. I've been lucky and found one ripe one the other day. It was darn tasty.

Starting Tuesday, I'm going to be taking a prenatal yoga class at Blue Anjou yoga studio in Lewisville. I haven't really exercised all that much since I got pregnant, partially because I've been so nauseous and partially because it's been so darn hot outside. My normal exercise routine included daily 30-45 min walks, and I could usually tolerate the heat pretty well, but since I'm pregnant, I figured it's not all that wise to be walking in 95-100 degree heat. I guess everyone knows by now that BellaRosa has officially closed. We had a long run...9.5 years to be exact, and while I'm a little sad that I'll never walk into that store again, I'm also relieved. Finally having only one job that will actually provide steady income has been something I've never really experienced before. It's always been BellaRosa plus one other job. I'm so grateful that I met Rachelle and she's been able to provide me with a great career and future career opportunities. Only working 35 hours a week instead of 50 should allow me to be able to attend a yoga class, childbirth classes and many other things that I've never given myself the time to do. I'll have my weekend back. Saturday and Sunday off!! I haven't had that luxury since I was 18.

Since this is a gluten free blog also, I thought I'd share a recipe that I'm going to make today. I've been craving coffee cake or cinnamon rolls for the past few days, but being gluten free means that I can't just run to the local Starbucks for coffee cake or the grocery store to pick up a container of cinnamon rolls (making them homemade is healthier anyway). Haven't tried this recipe yet, so we'll see what happens.

adapted from this recipe: heythattastesgood.com

Cinnamon Coffeecake Muffins
1 stick butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c GF flour mix (or, alternately, 2 c rice flour mix, 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, 1 t xanthan gum)
1 t vanilla
1 c sour cream
Topping:
1/2 c brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/4 c nuts (of your choice, optional)

Beat butter and sugar, then add eggs. Mix in flour, then vanilla and sour cream, and beat until completely mixed. Scoop with an ice cream scoop or plop with spoons into a greased muffin tin, if you have extra, grease some ramekins and use those for the rest of the batter. Mix the topping ingredients, and sprinkle on top, then bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, until they start to brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted in comes out clean.

Well, that's all I got for today. Will blog more later!!

Whole Foods and the joy it brings!

2008-06-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

Well, while my husband and I were out at Babies' "R" Us on Sunday, we decided since we were nearby Whole Foods (it's a good 40 minute drive from our house) that we would stop by and look around. With the way gas prices are now, it's not a trip I embark upon very often. Since going gluten free, I've realized that bread and baked goods are now something to be savoured. Going to the grocery store and picking up a two dollar loaf of bread is not a luxury we celiac's have. Since Whole Foods is the natural, organic mecca, I figured I'd go check out their Whole Foods brand gluten free baked goods section. Oh, the choices!! I browsed through the frozen section and found pizza crusts, banana bread, blueberry muffins, cheddar biscuits, and the best one of all, gluten free sourdough bread!! Just before I went gluten free I recieved a sourdough bread starter as a gift but had yet to use it because it contained wheat. I new for years that I had a wheat sensitivity, but always thought "well, a little won't hurt me," so I had every intention of using it with the thought that eventually the starter would be so watered down with the spelt flour that I had intended on using (also contains gluten) that the wheat would eventually be undetectable. Well, a few short weeks later, I decided to go gluten free (finally succumbing to the non-chalant gluten sensitivity diagnosis that I recieved 6 years prior) and that sourdough mix is still sitting in my pantry. Maybe I will give it back to the person who originally gave it to me! Boy was I happy to find gluten free sourdough bread already made. I thawed it in the refrigerator, and when it was room temperature, I began to slice a hunk off of the perfectly rounded loaf. It began to crumble, so I placed it on a plate and microwaved it for a few seconds. Instead of trying to piece the crumbs together to spread butter on it, I decided to dip the bite size morsels into some hummus. It definitely paled in comparison to a freshly baked loaf of gluten-filled sourdough, but turned out to be a nice substitute. I think I'll try my luck and bake my own sourdough next time instead of spending 6 dollars for a loaf. Does anyone have any recipes for gluten free sourdough bread?

The next purchase was the cheddar biscuits. I've actually had these before and they sort of taste like Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits. And finally, after craving pizza for weeks on end, my final indulgence was the pizza crusts. A crispy crust pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and veggies is exactly what the baby is needing right now (well, maybe not the baby, just me :) And my final selection of the day was Nancy's Organic cultured cottage cheese. .
I've always been a huge fan of yogurt and cultured products like sourdough bread, sauerkraut, kombucha tea, kefir and kimchee, so when I first discovered Nancy's Cottage cheese, I was filled with anticipation to try the tangy, sour treat. Now, I can find it at a local health foods store about 20 minutes from my house and at Sprouts, a local natural grocery store about 5 minutes from my work, so I never have to be without it again. As an added bonus, because live cultures help with digestion, and this cottage cheese is LOADED with live cultures, it seemed to help with my nausea a bit. I just eat a little before going to bed, and I feel great in the morning!

Another thing I've learned about gluten free products is that you have to pay good money to get convenience items like premade pizza crusts and bread. We left the store with the grand total of $23, where If I were to purchase mainstream goods at a regular grocery store, I could get out of there spending closer to $10 or $11. For this reason, I savour my gluten free goodies. Now I just need to learn to rely on my own baking abilities rather than on packaged goods.

Random stuff

2008-06-09T09:06:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday was an okay day. I woke up with every intention of cleaning the house from top to bottom, but around 1pm, after having put away all the laundry and cleaning our bedroom, the nausea came again. I jumped in the shower and decided to rest for a bit. My husband and I put on the new Family Guy movie (which, by the way was pretty dumb, and I typically love family guy). After it was over, my tummy felt better. Yay! So, Mark and I decided to drive to Frisco to shop for the baby. We had no intention of buying anything, but we have not been able to agree on any baby room decor until yesterday. We drove to Babies' "R" Us and found the perfect bedding and decor, but with it came a hefty price tag. the photo to the left is what we decided on. It's the Bali collection by Cocalo Couture. I was so nervous about picking out paint colors before we had decided on what the decor would look like, but I was too excited to wait, and magically, the paint we chose matches perfectly. By the way, we chose Freshaire paint from Home Depot because it is zero VOC. While the rest of our house is painted in paint that contains VOC's (because I was unaware of their dangers until just recently), I decided that we should chose as non toxic an environment for our little tot as possible. Well. I gotta run to work. I'll probably write a little more later, I just don't have time right now ;)

Welcome to my blog

2008-06-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

I've been a member of Myspace since early 2005 and have blogged there a few times, but since my brother became a TV star, I've been bombarded with friend requests from his fans. At first, I would reject the friend requests, but after several days of receiving 3, 4 requests at a time, I gave in and accepted them. Since then I haven't really gotten personal in my blogs. I thought I'd create a new blog page that is completely separate from Myspace...where I can share my thoughts and not worry about who is reading them.

In this blog, I am mainly going to talk about natural living, gluten free cooking, pregnancy and motherhood. This is what my life is mainly focused on right now. I will share tips on natural cleaning products and recipes, gluten free recipes as well as divulge what I experience in my current pregnancy. Maybe I'll get a little more personal. I haven't decided yet.

My name is Stacey Bone. I live in Oak Point, TX with my husband, Mark. We have a golden retriever/lab mix named Piper who is a sweetheart but can be a big pain in our asses at times. We haven't decided yet whether we'll keep her when the baby gets here. We are currently 11 weeks pregnant with our first child and we are very excited to bring our little tater tot into this world. Oh by the way, I own a ladies' clothing boutique with my mom and sister called BellaRosa. We've been open for 9 years now and enjoy the experience of working together. I also work for the very talented jewelry designer, Rachelle Dauphinee as a jewelry maker. I've been making jewelry since I was about 13 and I am so grateful for the opportunity to make a career out of it.

This pregnancy has certainly been a learning experience for me. While I am only 11 weeks and haven't seen the baby or heard the heartbeat yet, I am certainly aware of it's presence. The nausea and vomiting are true signs that I am sharing my body with another being. I have good days and bad days. Yesterday was a bad day. I woke up, ate some eggs and toast, but shortly after that, up it came. Not the most pleasant feeling in the world. I thought I was doing okay until I got to work, and ate lunch. I felt pretty nauseous after eating, but managed to keep it all down. Then came dinner time. I never realized what a chore eating was!. I ate some gluten free rice pasta with smart balance and salt and pepper. An hour later, the nausea came again, and there I was, bowing to the porcelain god for the second time that day. My husband was heading out to get some fast food (since I haven't cooked in, ohh about 7 weeks) and I asked him to get me a shake with butterfinger. For some reason, sugar and milk sounded tolerable. Boy was I right. It stayed down no problem.

I always criticized pregnant women for eating junk food during their pregnancy, but now that I am in the same position, I certainly understand how they feel. Sometimes you just gotta eat what sounds good and will stay down. Now, that's not to say that I eat milkshakes all the time. I certainly do my very best to eat healthy and balanced, but in the first trimester, it's all about eating what will stay down, and I have to keep reminding myself that. It doesn't do any good to choke down steamed chicken and salad when it sounds repulsive to you and you know you'll throw it up later. I've also learned that if I'm nauseous but need to eat, to make sure I eat something that won't taste horrible coming back up.

Some foods that don't taste bad if they don't stay down:
fruit smoothies
fresh fruit
tea
bland rice or pasta
umm..anything bland.

throwing up lentil soup, doritos, salad and fried eggs are 10 times worse then throwing up fruit smoothies. Now that I've grossed everyone out a bit, I'll move on to the good parts of pregnancy.
So far, even though I can't physically see or hear the baby, I know it's there and want to do my best to nourish it. Having severe allergies during pregnancy is not so pleasant. So, drugs are a last resort. I have taken a benadryl here and there for my worst symptoms, but my body certainly surprises me at times because I get through the day without taking anything and I know it's better for my child. Being pregnant has opened my eyes and made me realize that there are a lot of decisions to be made about childbirth, vaccinations and breastfeeding. I've bought so many books and read so much already because I want the very best experience possible for both me and my child. I've decided to have the baby at a birthing center with a midwife rather than a hospital. Some people may balk and criticize my decision, but I know that it is the best choice for us. I've interviewed a doctor and two midwives already and the midwives agree more with me on birthing choices.

Well, that's all that I can write today. Hopefully I'll sit down tomorrow and write some more!