The Hangover

So, I did it.  I ate whatever I wanted for Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Okay, actually, I started a bit early.  On the 22nd, we celebrated by bother-in-law's birthday.  They had pizza.....  As pathetic as it sounds, my taste buds have not developed past Jr. High in this area.  I LOVE pizza.  It is the one food that I never fail to get excited about.  I just can't usually show my full excitement because, seriously, I'm a mother of four in my mid-thirties - that would be weird.  So, I started a couple days early with all the classic rationalizations in my head.  Mainly - "I'm going to cheat in a couple days anyway, so what's the difference of one more meal?"

The next day I felt fine.  I worked a long day without any real problems.  I even thought, "Hey, maybe I really can eat more types of foods than I thought I could!"

The morning of Christmas eve, I had a hard time waking up.  But, hey - now I'm on vacation, so who cares?  Plus, we had a long car ride to see family and I could sleep most of the way.  I did my best to eat at least one helping of everything at our family Christmas party - pasta, bread, cookies, chocolate, cheese, crackers, and of course - Vanilla Coke (the nectar of the gods).  I didn't quite make it to everything, but I got pretty close.

Christmas morning came too soon.  The kids, of course, were up and ready to go early.  By then, my brain was pretty foggy.  Waking up was really hard.  Once I was up, I was a bit sluggish, but overall not too bad.  The day held more treats for me to indulge in, and so I did.

Waking up the day after Christmas, I already had a headache.  I was awake, but exhausted.  There were things to do - games to play with the kids, food to run to the grocery store to get, an entire living room of games and toys that needed to be found a home.  By breakfast, I started feeling overwhelmed.  The feeling of "I just might cry for no apparent reason at any given moment" started to creep in.  I was making all kinds of morning-after-promises to myself.... "Never again.  It's not worth it.  All the sugar, all the gluten, all the chocolate in the world is not worth feeling like this."  Knowing, even as I thought them that they of course are not true.   I checked out of life for a few minutes, looking on line for a good deal on humidifiers.  (I know, weird).  Several of my tried and true coping skills kicked in : "Just move - do something.  Don't just sit there and think about everything that's overwhelming you.  Just pick one thing and do it."  So, the girls and I headed out to do some errands.

It was a great distraction, although I did realize something.  This is what SO MANY days of my life have been like.  After several weeks of feeling good - really good - I had almost forgotten the wet blanket, working not to cry, when can I just go do bed? feeling felt like.  So, there I was.  I guess it was a bit of an experiment - to see how I'd do again on "regular" food.  Turns out - not so great.

In order to get back on track, I decided that the snowy, cold weather called for some hearty beef stew.  So, I got out some of the fun new kitchen supplies that my wonderful hubby got me for Christmas and got to work.  

Note to self:  new knives really do cut things better.... Including fingers!

Of course, you can't have beef stew without some homemade bread - so I made a loaf of Paleo bread to go along.  If you're interested, here's what we had for dinner that night:

Whole 30/Paleo Beef Stew

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb stew meat (My family does not like large pieces of meat, so I cut it up to small bite sized pieces)
3 cups beef stock
1 cup water
1/2 cup red wine (optional - I just had some around from another recipe, so I threw it in)
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp (maybe 1 1/2) salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Carrots (how many depends on how chunky you want your stew)
3-4 White potatoes
1-2 sweet potatoes (again - how many potatoes depends on how chunky you like stew)

1 cup gravy
   Gravy:  1 tbsp butter or ghee
                1 tbsp tapioca starch or gluten free flour
               1 cup beef stock


1.  In a large pot, melt coconut oil and olive oil
2.   Add in the onion and garlic.  Cook for 5-7 minutes
3.  Add in stew meat and brown on all sides.  Don't cook it completely - just brown the outsides.
4. Add beef stock, wine, and water.
5.  Add all spice, basil, bay leaf, salt and peper.
6.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 45- 60 minutes.

7.  Add carrots and potatoes.  Simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

8.  Add gravy.  Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
9.  Serve it up!

Gravy
1.  In a small sauce pan, melt butter or ghee.
2.  As it is melting, add in starch/flour.  Whisk briskly so it doesn't burn.
3.  When it's all mixed/melted, add in the beef stock.
4.  Keep whisking!  You'll get lumps if you don't!
5.  Stir until it's thickened to your liking.


Paleo Bread ( I got this recipe from a website somewhere.  I have no idea where, or I would give credit where credit is due.  Just know that this one is not my own.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 cups almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour (or sometimes I use all purpose gluten free flour)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1 tbsp coconut oil (sometimes I use olive oil)
1 - 2 tbsp honey (depends on how sweet you want your bread)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar


1.  Mix almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda together.  Make sure you mix it really well - use a food processor if you have one.  The almond flour can stick together a little.
2.  Mix in the eggs, oil, honey, and vinegar.
3.  Line a bread pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
4.  Fill bread pan, and bake for about 30 minutes.
5.  Viola!  Eat it up :)

Music of the week:  Rich Mullins.  I hadn't listened to him in years and decided I needed to revisit the songs that I loved starting in Jr. High.  I was reminded why he was always one of my favorites.  No doubt I'll be remembering to list to him more often.

I'm hoping that my hung-over-feeling will dissipate soon.  I still have had a crazy head ache today and am super tired.  Live and learn, right?  I'm sure that I'll still have some "special" days that I eat something just because it's so delicious and I want to - but maybe not so much over-indulging next time.... maybe.

Until next time, my friends....Live well.

Becky 

Starting Out

As promised, I would like to share one of the recipes we used when we first started this journey a couple of years ago with our oldest son.  I thought I would also share some things I've learned along the way.  Here goes...


Rookie Mistakes:
1.  Not making enough food, specifically meat.   I was so excited about all these new ways to make veggies, that I would sometimes completely forget to plan for meat, or any other source of protein or fat, in my meals.  This left me HUNGRY.  It's super important to make sure you're getting those fats and that protein in EVERY meal!  Remember, fat is not the enemy!  So, plan to include it.

2.  Not planning ahead.  I can't just grab some boxed/bagged food on my way out the door in the morning.  At first, this was a pretty big learning curve for me.  Once I got used to it, it's fine.  But, you've got to plan ahead to make it work.

3.  Eating sweet potato hash for breakfast.  Sweet potato hash is awesome!!  But not so much for breakfast.  I did this over Thanksgiving one morning.  The amount of carbs in that beautiful goodness had me crashing by 10:00.

4.  Buying too much produce at once.  Again, the excitement of the veggies got the better of me, and I bought more that I could possibly eat before half of it went bad.  I've found that if I plan out my meals for the week ahead of time, I know what and how much I need to buy.

5.  Thinking "Adding some cheese to this would make it really amazing" - about almost everything I'm cooking.  I will refer to the Whole 30 gurus Dallas and Melissa Hartwig - they say, "Don't think about what you can't have - think about what you can have".  This is great advice, and something I focus on regularly.

So, there are just a few of my mistakes I've made (so far) as I learn to eat clean.  And now, drum roll please......  the recipe you've all been waiting for....

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

- 1 Spaghetti squash
1.  Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut in half.  Easier said than done.  We chop off one end of the squash (just maybe an inch) to make a flat surface.  Then, we stand the squash up on that end to push the knife downward, cutting it in half.

3.  Scoop out the seeds
4.  Place, insides down, onto a cookie sheet.
5.  Have fun stabbing small slits into the top of the squash
6.  Bake for about an hour (depending on how big your squash is, and how soft you want your "noodles" to be)
7.  Using a metal spoon, scoop out the "noodles" of the squash.
8.  I like to add a couple dashes of nutmeg

Meatballs (measurements are approximate - we mostly eyeball it)
5 lbs of ground beef (we like to make a lot and have left overs)
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Parmasan cheese (if you are having some dairy - if not, use 1 egg)
Few dashes of onion power
Few dashes of garlic power
A dash of Italian seasoning mix
A couple dashes of salt and pepper to taste

If you want to be sneaky about getting some extra veggies in, add about 1/2 -3/4 cup of riced cauliflower.  It helps the meatballs stay together and doesn't change the flavor at all :)

1.  Mix all ingredients together well - I just use my hands and really squish it all together.
2.  Use about 1/4 cup of meat per meatball.
3.  Place meatballs into a crock pot.
4.  Pour sauce on top. (We have a store brand in our area with ingredients that work - make sure you read your lables!  If you can't find something at the store, I'm putting my own sauce recipe at the bottom.)

5.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours.
6.  Spoon meatballs over your spaghetti squash and enjoy!!


Spaghetti Sauce
2 tbsp Coconut oil
29 oz can of tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp Oregano
2-3 shakes of dried Rosemary
2-3 shakes of Coriander
2 medium zucchini, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large pot, melt coconut oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for about 4-5 min.  Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

2.  Add all the other ingredients and simmer for at least 45 minutes.

3.  Spoon over your spaghetti squash and meatballs :)

This is one of our favorites - I hope your family enjoys it as well.

Music of the week:  Christmas music (of course).  I LOVED Mannheim Steamroller's arrangement of O Come, O Come, Emanuel.

Until next time, my friends..... Merry Christmas and live well!

Becky


 

Adoption Day!!

We were so privileged to celebrate our son's adoption today!!  This is such a special event that I just couldn't resist sharing.

It was a snowy day here in West Michigan.  The kids loved going up into the court house and looking out at the snow covered city.

The adoption hearing was great!  The Judge and court staff were so friendly and excited to help us celebrate the adoption.  They even asked one of the deputies to come and talk to the kids (which the boys really loved).

After the hearing, we went for a carousel ride at our mall.  We finished off our special day with a trip to Build-A-Bear.  By the end of the day, everyone had adopted someone!  It was a wonderful, special day.

It's also got me thinking - about family and about how we are adopted into God's family.  To fully explain, let me tell you how the process of our son's adoption went.

First, our agency called us to let us know that they had a child who they thought would be a good match for our family.  We talked with several people who have worked with him over the last year.  We talked with his foster parents.  We read reports that described his behavior.  We saw a picture.  We had meetings.  We prayed a lot.

Finally, we decided that it did seem that our family and this little guy would be a good "forever family".  So, we met him.  From there, things went pretty quickly and a couple of weeks later, he was in our home to stay.  After lots of paperwork and waiting, it's now a legal fact - he is our son.

We knew going into this that there would be challenges - some big ones.  And there have been.  I think that's what reminds me so much of how God adopts us as His children.

We all come with challenges - some big ones.  While we had a pretty good idea of some of the struggles that might come with our son, God knows ALL of what we're dealing with.  He knows ALL of our imperfections, ALL of our "baggage", ALL of the things that might make us "un-adoptable". 

AND HE STILL LOVES US!

Sometimes, it just blows me away.  I know that I'm not "all bad".  I have good points.  But let's be honest.  In and of myself - I don't have a lot of redeeming qualities.  But, God redeems them all anyway.  There is nothing special about me that would make Him say, "I really want her for my daughter.  She's got what it takes."  No, He just chose to love me.  He chose to make me His.  He adopted me when there really was no reason on my part for Him to do it.

Some people might find this self-degrading.  I find it absolutely freeing.  I don't have to work at making my Heavenly Father love me.  He just does.  I don't have to strive to be "good enough".  I'm just not, and that's totally fine- because He is good enough.  I am just me - and I am fully understood and fully loved.

Do I still work to do the things God would want me to do?  Well - when someone knows you and loves you that much, that completely.... why wouldn't I want to do things they want?  It's not so much about being a "good Christian" (that phrase actually makes me gag a little), it's about living in the truth that I am God's passionately loved child, and I want to do the things that my Father loves. 

I am thankful for the way that our son's adoption helps me focus on my own adoption.  I am glad that he is part of our family.  I am glad that I am part of God's family.

Robert Paul Doane, welcome to your "forever family".

Until next time, my friends..... Live well.

Becky

Going off diet

I know what you're thinking "Wait! Did that say "going off diet"? Didn't she just start this thing? And now she's going off diet already?" Okay - take 10 deep breaths, unclench your jaw, and don't panic. Keep Calm and Read On.

I was dreading Thanksgiving - with all the white potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and pies. When the day finally came, I actually did just fine. It ended up not being quite as hard as I thought it would be. However, I did decide that by Christmas I'll be almost 60 days into the Whole 30 life style and it would be okay to indulge myself. So, for Christmas I am going off diet.

This week, I realized I had a bit of a dilemma on my hands. I said I would go off diet "for Christmas". Well, this weekend we had a family Christmas get-together. Next weekend, I have my work Christmas party. There's another big family gathering on Christmas eve. And then there's the actual day of Christmas itself. I had to decide just what I meant by "for Christmas".

I picked up my It Starts with Food book to help me remember what this is all about and to get some "tough love" in writing. So, here's what I decided - Christmas is NOT for the whole month of December. It just isn't. (longing sigh) I will indulge in glueten-filled, sugar laden, carb-loaded food on Christmas eve and Christmas day. So, there you have it.

In order to keep with my Whole 30 plan this weekend, I made a fruity dessert salad. I thought I'd share the recipe with you and tell you how it went. First, here's the recipe and how it's supposed to look.

Funny story: So, just about the time that the recipe says "cover tightly and place in the refrigerator" I realized that I have no plastic wrap with which to "cover tightly". So, I improvised. Aluminum foil + bungee cord = "covered tightly". Works for me.

Also, I have looked in several places around and have NOT been able to find full fat, canned coconut milk. (If anyone in the greater Grand Rapids areas know where I can find some I will be forever in your debt!) So, I had to improvise again and used heavy cream. No, it's not totally Whole 30 compliant. But, it's got lower lactose than milk and I'm at the part of the plan where I can start to try some dairy anyway. So, I thought "why not"?

I didn't get to take a picture before some of it was eaten, but here's what my partially consumed Cranberry Waldorf looked like.

 I have to say, I think it turned out pretty well. I think I added too much whipped cream, which took away from the sweetness of the fruit a little bit. I am planning to make this again for my work party next week, so I'll play around with less whipped cream and see how it goes.

Almost every week, I do at least 90% of my cooking on Saturday and then just pull stuff out of the fridge all week. This means I'm in the kitchen for a long time that day and I usually help the time go by with some music. I thought it might be fun to tell you all what I listened to each week. So....
This week's music: Traditional Christmas music. (I know - shocking!) I was really loving the Casting Crowns Christmas album, and the Jars of Clay Christmas album.

Looking ahead: I've had some people ask which recipes helped get me started, especially when we started Paleo with our son. Changing a kid's diet can feel very daunting. So, my next post will be some of the "beginner recipes" we've used as well as some of the mistakes I made while starting out.

Until next time, my friends..... Live well.

Becky

Journey to Whole 30

My Story


I've struggled with depression on and off since Jr. High. My seventh grade year, it affected my health so much that I missed over a month of school that winter. When I did go back, it was only for half days for a while. Jr. High is already torture, so this really made it hard for me to get through the day. Eventually, I learned coping skills that helped to some extent. But often in the winter, I get so tired that it's a battle to get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes, I feel like crying all day long - so then it takes extra energy to "hold it together" all day. I get irritable with the kids and my husband. I don't want to socialize at all, but I do because not socializing makes it worse. I feel like I could go to bed everyday at 8:00 when the kids go, but I don't because that makes it worse, too. Ug!!


My understanding of how food affects our mental health started about two and a half years ago. Our oldest son had been diagnosed with Autism when he was 3 years old. We had some wonderful early intervention that made a huge difference for him, but we wanted to also see how he responded when we changed his diet. After a great deal of research (done by my wonderful husband!) we decided to try the Paleo diet with him. The difference it made was astounding. He continues the diet and continues to make progress beyond what we thought would be possible for him.


So, when it came to my own health, this year I was desperate enough to get drastic. I started eating Paleo in September. To be honest, I cheated a lot. So, I'm not sure I can honestly say I was really "eating Paleo". I wasn't feeling fabulous. My husband said "If you really want to go for it, you could go Whole 30."


Whole what? I had kind of heard of the Whole 30, but wasn't sure what it was all about. So I read Dallas and Melissa Hartwigs's page www.whole9life.com. Then, I read the book It Starts With Food. Their realistic, tough love, tell it like it is tone convinced me. I had to go Whole 30.


I have to say - after these 30 days, I'm feeling better than I have in years! No, seriously. It's like someone came along and took the wet blanket off my limbs and lifted the fog from my brain. My mood is great. I have rarely gotten headaches (which used to plague me). Even my lower back (which will never be the same after having twins) is feeling better than is has since the girls were born.


Do I still get tired? Yep - I have four kids. Two of which routinely get up in the night for random complaints. But it's a different kind of tired. It's a "I didn't get enough sleep last night" tired. Not a "every part of body feels like there's 20 pound weights attached and I can't seem to get my brain to make sense out of anything" kind of tired.


Do I still get headaches? - Yep. Again, four kids. 'nough said. But it's not as often as it used to be.


Do I still get irritable? Seriously - I HAVE FOUR KIDS. However, I find that with my energy level staying consistent throughout the day, I can let the little things go a bit easier. And, I can think more clearly about how I want to handle the big things.

My Purpose

I want this blog to do a couple of things
- Share with others the food that I have found to be so amazingly helpful. I want to help others feel as good as I do. I'll share recipes, mistakes, successes, things I've learned along the way.


- To be real. Nitty-gritty real, I-yelled-at-my-kids-today real, this-looks-nothing-like-the-picture real, I-laughed-so-hard-I-cried real. I am nothing special. And I love that. I'm just me. It's great to just be me. God loves me. I'm His child. So, I don't have to be anything special. I just have to be me. It's wonderfully freeing. Real is freeing. So, I'm going to be super real.


So, if you're interested, follow along. Join me in my craziness, my happiness, and my messiness. And join me in my health. I hope you'll enjoy the recipes I post and find out for yourself how great it feels to be Whole 30 healthy. If you don't want to do Whole 30 - no problem. No judgements here! Just follow along with me to enjoy knowing you're not the only one with kids who drive you crazy while you still love them fully, or a kitchen that's messy, or bathrooms that don't get cleaned all that often, or that when you do a project it never looks as good as the picture on Pintrest. Join me to be real.

Until next time, my friends.

Live Well,
Becky

PS - Special thanks to my exceedingly patient husband who gently endured all of my computer illiterate questions while getting this up and running. (I know, I know - blogger is super easy to use - I really am just that bad at it!)