I am back and with a yummy recipe!!

Okay I know I took a long break but I have been busy. Alot of things have change for the better in my life. One thing is that I got rid of something (wink) and I finally accepted that my body does not do well on grains at all so I had to let them go. I have been officially grain free for about a month and I feel sooooo much better. I don't wake up all brain foggy and stuffy anymore. No more joint pain or candida issues. Oh and I was tested in my new found grain freeness yesterday because we had a baby shower at work and I was responsible for the CAKE!!!! I was going to bake it but I ran out of time (due to cheerleading practice running over) so I bought them (needed two) from Wegmans. Long story short we had the shower and I didn't even want any of the cake. I just realized how much better now how I feel now that I don't eat grains and it just was not worth it. Plus if I want cake I can still bake one.

Now mind you I haven't given up on baking just yet. I have begun baking with blanched almond flour and so far so good!!! I truly think that the almond flour is much more easy to work with than wheat flour. Now I know that the flour is made from properly prepared nuts but that is one allowance I am will to make and I haven't experienced any adverse issues from using it thus far.

So far I have made muffins and cookies with great results. Last night I made Banana Chocolate Chip muffins and they are just so uber yummy!!! They are moist and rich and two (they are small) of them make a very filling snack!! So I thought I would share the recipe!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 ripe bananas
3 cups almond flour
3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons backing soda
3/4 of a cup chocolate chips (this is what I had left in the bag - hehehe)
2 eggs (I think 3 might be better)
1/4 cup honey
10 drops of stevia liquid (I used the vanilla flavored)
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
First I mashed the bananas (let the kids help with this) and then I added the eggs, honey, stevia, vanilla, and butter. Mixed it well and then added the remaining ingredients. I coated my muffin tin with butter (to avoid my muffins sticking). Fill the tins about three quarters of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes. (Enjoy)

I find that almond flour products taste better once they have cooled down.

Tonight I am making cabbage lasagna rolls (grain free) - and I will be sharing the recipe.

Our new President selects a nourishing meal for his luncheon!!!

President Obama elected (haha) to have a luncheon menu that was designed in honor of one of his heroes President Lincoln. Lincoln loved wild game, shellfish and apple cake. Obama's menu included the following dishes:

First Course:

• Seafood Stew consisting of lobster, scallops, shrimp and black cod

Second Course:

• Duck Breast w/ Cherry Chutney
• Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing
• Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
• Winter Vegetables - Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, and Wax Beans

Third Course

• Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake (not so nourishing but he recipe could be tweaked!!)

If you would like to see the recipes - http://inaugural.senate.gov/documents/doc-2009-recipes.pdf

All of the recipes could use some tweaking to make them even more nourishing, but it is nice to see that our new Commander and Chief isn't afraid of REAL FOOD!

I think I am going to have to try the seafood stew sans the puff pastry topping and on a much smaller scale. But all that yummy, nourishing seafood in one dish has my mouth watering!! The duck with the cherry chutney sounds really good as well but I would definitely make the chutney a couple of days ahead, nix the cooking, and allow it to sit out and get all good and fermented!!

Which dish would you like to try and how would you tweak it?

Eskimo Ice Cream.....

The other night I was watching Andrew Zimmerman's show Bizarre Foods and they were showing food from Alaska. The showed this one dish called Eskimo ice cream and I looooove ice cream. However this is ice cream is not what we generally think of when it comes to ice cream.

Akutag (phonetic:agoodik) or Eskimo ice cream means “the blended one, the mixture.” Traditionally it is made with:

1 lb. dried (grated or shredded)
reindeer fat
1 c. seal oil
1 pint salmonberries
3 c. blackberries
1 c. sugar

Hunters would take this mixture with them on long trips as a quick source of nourishment.

I looked up reindeer fat and found that it is very nutritious and contains a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids. I think this is due to the fact that the reindeer feed on mostly grass. Seal oil is also another good source of omega-3's. Salmonberries are are close relatives of raspberries and black berries. They a light reddish yellow color and one of the numerous berries North American Indians gathered to incorporate into pemmican. They got their name from the the Indians fondness for eating them with half dried salmon roe.

Sugar is a new addition and was not traditionally apart of the recipe as the berries were sweet enough. I think that the more refined sugar became available and was consumed by the Eskimos the more they started to add sugar to the akutag.

Unfortunately today this healthful, nutritious treat is being made with fake, dangerous fat such as Crisco. It never fails that modern way of preparing food strips most of the nutrition from it.

I wonder if this Eskimo treat had any influence on our version of ice cream?

My first post/Beef and Mac recipe

Well I guess this blog is going to be a collection of my musings as I find and prepare good, nutrient dense foods for me and my 11yr old daughter.

I do not ascribe to the new fangled nutritional doctrine that instructs us to eat high carb/lowfat, low cholesterol, and to stuff your face with as many veggies as possible and don't touch red meat. My family and I eat red meat often and we eat the yummy fat that comes with the red meat as well (this is important to help digest the meat). The only difference is that we only eat grass fed/grass finished beef which is a totally different animal (hehe) than the conventional meat you find in most grocery stores. We also eat local produce, fermented foods, raw dairy, traditional fats, and I am trying to incorporate or more like sneak more offal (liver, heart, kidneys) into our diet.

You see grass fed beef is the way that beef was meant to be meaning cows are meant to eat grass not grain. Grass fed beef contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which isn't even found in grain fed beef. For more information on the importance of grass fed beef and CLA please see http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html

We also enjoy some fermented foods such as Kefir, and homemade fermented veggies. I am trying to move more towards a low gluten to gluten free way of eating because I have a sneaky suspicion that both she and I are both grain/gluten sensitive.

I try to cook only 3 times during the week and we eat alot of one pot dishes such as beef and mac which is what we had last night. We will having left overs tonight along with some veggie and some cantaloupe. Here is my Beef and Mac recipe:

• Grass fed ground beef - 1lb
• Organic fresh oregano and flat leaf parsley, chopped - to taste
• Garlic - 6 cloves (we really like garlic and it is really good for you)
• Organic tomato sauce - 3 cans
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Elbow macaroni - 2 cups (made from rice)
• coconut oil - 4 tablespoons (to saute the onion and garlic in)

I browned the beef (didn't pour off the fat) set aside. Saute the onions in the coconut oil (I use organic refined) until they were translucent and soft and threw the garlic in at the last minute and removed from the heat. Boil the noodles according to your preference. I cook these for about half the time indicated in the package directions because they will finish cooking when you throw everything together. Combine the tomato sauce and all the other ingredients in a big pot and let simmer for about 8-10 minutes and then serve.

It tastes even better the next day after the flavors get a chance to meld.

My daughter loves this dish and she helped to make it. It is waaaay healthier than the canned or frozen version you get from the grocery store and it is super quick to make.