A day of repeats, repeated

Yesterday was a Mexican theme and today turned out to be Italian themed. Seth actually asked for spaghetti for lunch today. Even though friday has been deemed "pizza night", I went with it. I was just happy to not hear him screaming for pancakes!

I've learned a few things about myself this week. I'm extremely sensitive to sugar/carbs. I think I've had way too many fruit smoothies this week. We kept making them sweet, hoping that Seth would take a sip. No luck with Seth, and headaches for me. I had that all too recognizable I'm-so-tired-I-can-barely-move-and-I'm-starting-to-get-a-headache feeling around 2pm today. What did I have for lunch? Rice pasta and, of course, a little bite of chocolate afterwards. One carb always leads to another carb, and another, and another. I'm not some kind of low-carb fanatic at all. I believe whole grains, prepared properly, can be a healthy addition to someone's diet. Fruit for breakfast, rice pasta for lunch and a little chocolate for dessert is not healthy - for me anyways. It makes me feel like crap. So, this next week I'm making a goal to cut down on the fruit in our smoothies. More green, less pink and purple. Again, not that there is anything wrong with fruit. But, for me, right now, I'm too sensitive to it.

Here's what we ate today...

Breakfast - Smoothies with bananas, pineapple, strawberries, coconut water, probiotics. Taco salad omelet. I just heated up leftover meat/bean/veggies from last night and threw it in with eggs.




Lunch - Trader Joe's rice pasta with marinara sauce. I cooked the pasta in fresh chicken stock, for a little added nutrition. Seth was the one asking for this, and ended up not taking one bite.



Snack - Seth asked for smoothies. He had 2 teeny tiny sips. Ugh. Coconut kefir, strawberries, blueberries, spinach.



Dinner - Roasted Ratatouille Pizza. I saw this pre-made gluten and dairy free pizza crust at the grocery store today. I was going to make my own crust, but the convenience beckoned me. I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out pretty good!

I tossed eggplant, summer squash, zucchini and garlic with marinara sauce, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roasted them until they were soft. Rolled out the pizza dough, covered it with sauce and the veggies. Added a little bit of parmesan and cooked for 15 minutes.

Rhett, Ella and I really enjoyed it. Seth screamed the whole time during dinner for a banana. We told him that he had to have a bite of pizza first. Rhett and I were laughing because it must have sounded pretty funny to an outsider. "Seth, you can't have that piece of fresh fruit until you eat your pizza!" Seth did end up licking off a little tiny dot of marinara sauce off his fork. That's a big accomplishment in our house. We celebrated and Seth got his banana.

Want to be inspired?

This video is posted over at Food Renegade. I absolutely love it. It's so inspiring to me, I hope it is to you too.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

A day of repeats

Overall, today turned out pretty well. Seth had a very hard morning. He spent the first hour and a half after he woke up screaming his lungs out, slamming doors, etc. My motherly instinct tells me it's something he's eating. We've got three things to pick from...pancakes, refried beans or rice and beans. Beans, maybe?! Actually, he did eat some peanut butter yesterday, which he never does. Maybe it was that. After some snuggles, he finally snapped out of it.

Those kids of mine twisted my arm enough to go to Chipotle again. Even though we just ate there and we were having taco salad for dinner. Oh man, so worth it. That salad dressing makes my mouth salivate just thinking about it. Ella's quite fond of it too.



Here is what we ate today...

Breakfast - Another smoothie for all of us. Rhett wasn't very hungry and didn't eat anything else. I think the murder trial is killing his appetite. The kids had buckwheat pancakes and I made myself this little bowl of yumminess. Full fat greek yogurt, coco powder, agave, vanilla extract and raspberries. Had it for dessert last night and for breakfast today!



Lunch - The usual at Chipotle. We go there so much that everyone knows us. They all run over to help me open the door. They all give Ella hugs and kisses. And they throw together my order without me having to say a word. I think we're going to have to send the restaurant a Christmas card this year.



Snack - We went to the playground today. I ate some raw nuts and started flipping through this cookbook. Love it so far. The kids were too happy playing to worry about snacks.




Dinner - Here is the repeat. Mexican for lunch, mexican for dinner. Worse things have happened, right? I decided to throw in black soy beans since we had black beans at lunch, just to mix things up. I threw together my own dressing, instead of our usual store-bought french dressing. It turned out so good.

Taco Salad

Cook 1 lb ground beef from happy, grass-fed cows with onion. Throw in a green pepper, beans, and some taco seasoning (I use Frontier brand). Cut up some lettuce, tomatoes, and any other veggie you feel like eating. Crush some blue corn chips. Top with raw, fermented salsa (I use Zukays) and some dressing. Viola.

Megan's tangy avocado dressing

1 avocado
1 big spoonful greek yogurt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp raw honey
dash of sea salt or Herbamere (a natural all purpose salty seasoning that I use on evvvverything)
dash of pepper
1 tsp olive oil...just enough to get things moving

Puree!









Last, but not least, a little movie clip for your enjoyment. This is why I'm not afraid of fat. I load up on butter and coconut oil any chance I can get. I don't touch canola, corn, or vegetable oil. I also don't buy any low fat dairy products. The fat is there for a reason. Real food is full fat food.

P.S. I don't know why I can't get this video to embed in the post. Sorry, you'll just have to follow the link!

Link

Day 6

Ok, today was tough. The kids were in a bad mood and I'm craving Ben & Jerry's something fierce. Today is what I lovingly refer to as an "ice cream day". Just a bad day that ends with a pint of ice cream with Rhett. But, alas, I'm going to settle for greek yogurt.

Seth had a really hard day. I think it was his Chipotle yesterday. After he ate it I could hear his stomach making the weirdest noises. I need to order another round of enzymes. I think that probably would have helped.

I'm realizing that, for right now, I need more protein in the morning. Once my blood sugar regulates I think I will be able to handle more grains. But for now, I need lots of nourishing proteins. My day was full of sugar cravings and I think it's because of my high carb breakfast. I gave in and snacked on some corn chips around 10am. I could feel a slight allergic reaction about 15 minutes later. Pounding heart, foggy head. I guess I should start thinking about taking out corn. Oye.

Ella's a happy camper. Two of her favorite foods are quinoa and salmon. I made her day with dinner tonight. I hope she'll thank me by sleeping through the night.

Here is what we ate today....

Breakfast - Smoothies with the usual. Spinach, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, probiotics, almond milk. Oatmeal cooked with bananas, granola and flax seed. I love making oatmeal with the bananas cooked right in. It gives you these little clouds of fruity sweetness with every bite. Oh so good. All you do is cut up a banana and throw in in the pot along with your oatmeal. Cook as normal. All of a sudden the bananas will soften and you will smell them.....that's when you know they are ready.






Lunch - I was having a carb brain fog from the corn chips, so I just ate a cucumber. I know, it's such an anorexia meal, right? Believe me, I'll make up for it. Ella had nachos. Blue corn chips, refried beans, guac and cheese. Seth ate the refried beans.






Dinner - Salmon with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Roasted asparagus. Leftover quinoa and veggies from last night. This was so good!




Kids-are-in-bed-treat - Full fat plain greek yogurt with vanilla extract, agave syrup and coco powder stirred in.

Thoughts on snack time

I've been thinking about ways to make snack time a little bit more fun. Here's what I've come up with.

Rudolf Steiner, the father of Waldorf education, has a color associated with each day of the week.

Monday - purple
Tuesday - red
Wednesday - yellow
Thursday - orange
Friday - green
Saturday - blue
Sunday - white

I think what I'm going to start doing is have fresh fruit and veggies on a tray that correspond with the color of the day. Get out my muffin pan and put a couple dips on one row and fill up the others with fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.

Here are some color ideas...




Speaking of eating the rainbow....how fun is this? So beautiful and yummy!


I think I might have to start off with this raw nutella dip in my muffin pan...and then move on to more hummus-like dips in the future.

Raw nutella

10 soft dates
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup carob powder

Put in food processor, add water if necessary.

Day 5

My boy is much happier today. I think he's been detoxing. I gave him one of his heavy metal clay baths last night to help things along. He woke up in a great mood. Despite not taking a nap, he had ZERO meltdowns today. What a refreshing day it was!

Not much else going on today...on to the yummy pictures!

Breakfast - This was a hit and a miss. Turkey sausage. Yikes. It was so spicy and gross. Even Rhett didn't finish his. So, I made up for it with scrambled eggs, fresh cantaloupe, strawberries and a smoothie. The smoothie was spinach, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, almond milk, and probiotics. Seth had his buckwheat pancakes. I made a little extra grain boost to go in them....quinoa, amaranth and millet in the VitaMix. I used 3/4 cup buckwheat and 1/4 cup of the mix. Surprisingly, he didn't notice a difference and ate them right up! Yay!




Lunch - Beloved Chipotle. Oh how we've missed you for a whole 5 days. That rice is so wonderful, I just wish it was whole grain. A girl's gotta splurge every once in a while though, right?



Snack - Raw cookie balls. These things are fan-freaking-tastic. They taste exactly like cookie dough.



Here is the recipe:

2/3 c raw cashews
1/3 c oats
3 Tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp of chopped dark chocolate

Blend cashews and oats in a blender until fine. Add sweetener and vanilla. Blend until it all becomes wet. Take the yummy cookie mass out of the blender, add chocolate and roll into balls. If it's hard to handle straight from the blender, you may want to put it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Do we like these?



Yes we do! Thanks mom!




Dinner - Quinoa cooked in fresh chicken broth. Roasted veggies - red potato, onion, garlic, red pepper, broccoli, carrots, zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper. All drizzled with Bragg's Liquid Aminos, which is a healthy alternative to soy sauce. This tasted better than any take-out chinese food I've ever had. Rhett could barely swallow his first bite without saying how good he thought it was.








"Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food." -Hippocrates

Day 4

We've loosened the reigns on Seth a little bit. I chatted with a couple people who work at our Healthway today for about 20 minutes. They reminded me that the food Seth is eating really isn't all that bad. They also reminded me that autistic children are so sensitive and eating other foods might be more hard than I think. His little tummy might not be ready for what I'm trying to give him. So, I've decided to be more strict on what is a meal and what is a snack. For example, he will eat his pancakes at breakfast only. No pancakes for snacks or dinner. Snacks will be a choice of fresh fruit, veggies, smoothies, hard boiled eggs or larabars. If he chooses not to eat that, then that's his choice. After 4 days of not eating, smoothies are the only thing that he has been able to try. I'll start there. I will load up the smoothies with leafy greens, probiotics, raw egg yolks from Polyface, protein powder, etc.

Rhett got called to jury duty yesterday. I was expecting to hear from him in a couple hours, after some lame-o parking ticket trial or something. No, no. He's on a murder trial. A horribly gruesome murder trial. He's going to be gone from 7am-7pm for at least the next 2 weeks. UGH. Perfect timing, right?

I am feeling full of energy. I ate a little bit too much fruit today though. I started getting a little sugar brain fog by the end of the day. My pants are a little bit looser everyday. Finally!

Here is what we ate today....

Breakfast - Smoothies for all 4 of us. The kids had buckwheat pancakes.

Lunch - All beef Polyface hotdogs, strawberries and red peppers

Snack - The kids had leftover strawberries and red peppers. I had strawberries dipped in vanilla bean greek yogurt. Oh so good.




Dinner - More Tex Mex casserole leftovers and some fresh fruit.





Dads-working-late-mom-and-kids-snack - Smoothie with spinach, strawberries, cantaloupe and goat milk kefir.

No adult snack time tonight....I was way too buzzed from all the fruit today.

A few pictures

iPhoto is up and running. Here are a couple pictures from the last few days.

My groceries



Blueberry kefir smoothie



Beautiful cobb salad. I couldn't get a picture without the bacon lover in it too.



My quinoa



I've had a question about how to cook/use the quinoa. You can cook and use quinoa just the same way you would rice. But, make sure you rinse it well in a fine mesh strainer before you cook it. Then, put one cup of quinoa and 2 cups of liquid (I prefer chicken stock), bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Viola! You've got a complete protein, packed with minerals and amino acids. In some primal tribes, quinoa is saved and given to pregnant and lactating women. It is treasured for it's protein and milk-stimulating properties.

The possibilities are endless after its cooked. Use it as a bed for chicken. Throw in some cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. Or cook up any assortment of vegetables in butter for a wonderful lunch or side dish. In this picture, I've added onions, garlic, zucchini and carrots.

Day 3

We've still got a hungry boy. Exactly how long are you suppose to go without feeding your kid? We made smoothies, and he had a sip of his, so he got his pancakes this morning. Then he didn't eat again until right before bed - and that was another couple sips of a smoothie. Yikes. This kid knows what he wants. I thought that he'd be eating by now. Rhett is gone early in the morning and home late after the kids are in bed tomorrow - so I've got no help around here. I'm going to give it one more day for Seth and see how it goes.

Ella's in heaven. The girl loves food. She about died and went to heaven when I cooked the bacon yesterday for our dinner. Tonight I roasted a chicken and she ate more than I did. She knows how to pack down some food. I love that about her.

Here is what we ate today...

Breakfast - Smoothie with spinach, blueberries, hemp protein powder, probiotics and coconut water. Eggs with leftover quinoa.













Snack at church - Larabars and apple slices


Lunch - Nachos. Blue corn chips, refried beans, loads of guacamole, fermented salsa.


Dinner - Crockpot chicken and roasted veggies















Kids-are-in-bed-treat - Possibly banana ice cream? Maybe with a little tiny bit of dark chocolate melted on top? Seriously, this banana ice cream thing is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Frozen bananas and a blender = pure bliss.

Real Food Kids

There is a fantastic post over at Modern Alternative Mama right now. She interviewed 3 of the best real food bloggers about what they feed their kids. Just reading about some of their meals makes me hungry.

What do you feed your real kids panel

Day 2, baby steps

Seth spent the majority of the day screaming again. Doors were slamming, toys were being destroyed, the whole shebang. I ended up calling our energy healer to see if she could help at all. She said there was nothing pathological going on....simply a power struggle. That helped me feel better about what we're doing. We made some pancakes for breakfast with raw honey. The honey threw Seth off...he's use to maple syrup. So, he didn't eat breakfast. All morning he was screaming for a banana. We told him that if he took one bite of pancake or one sip of his smoothie, we would give him a banana. Nothing. Lunch was the same. Snack time was the same. Dinner was the same. One baby step Seth made was that he ate a Larabar. He use to eat those about a year ago, but has avoided them for a long time. He asked if he could have one, so I said yes. We made a big deal out of it. He got to put a sticker on his chart. Seth was so proud of himself. The other baby step was that he touched a hard boiled egg at dinnertime. Anyone who knows Seth well, or understands Sensory Processing Disorder, knows that this is a big step! Just touching the egg was huge for him! That poor little guy must be starving. He went to bed tonight with an empty belly, and lots of hugs and love.

As for me, my pants are already fitting better! That feels fantastic! I've had much more energy today than I've had in a long time. Mentally, it feels so good knowing that I'm treating myself right. I've had some very mild withdrawal headaches, but nothing to complain about.

Here is what we ate today. Pictures really are coming, iPhoto is just acting up on us.

Breakfast - Smoothie with spinach, hemp protein powder, probiotics, coconut water, pineapple, and strawberries. Almond flour pancakes with butter and raw honey.

Lunch - Leftover casserole from last night

Snack - Goat milk kefir with blueberries

Dinner - Cobb salad with bacon, eggs, tomato, avocado and homemade dressing

Kids-are-in-bed-treat - Movie and homemade popcorn (with coconut oil, butter and sea salt) with my cutie


Healing quote for the day -
"The condition of the physical body can affect the spirit. That's why the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom. He also said that we should retire to our beds early and arise early, that we should not run faster than we have strength, and that we should use moderation in all good things. In general, the more food we eat in its natural state and the less refined without additives, the healthier it will be for us. Food can affect the mind, the deficiencies in certain elements in the body can promote mental depression...Rest and physical exercise are essential, a walk in the fresh air can refresh the spirit. -Ezra Taft Benson, 1974

Books I can't live without

I love cookbooks. Vintage cookbooks, health cookbooks, vegetarian cookbooks, raw cookbooks, the list goes on and on. We've had to buy new books shelves for all my cookbooks, once I ran out of space in our dining room hutch. Books are my treasure.

Here are a list of books and cookbooks that have been instrumental in my nutritional knowledge. These are the books I'm finding my inspiration from. If you came to my house, you would find these scattered on the kitchen island, the coffee table and my nightstand.

The Body Ecology Diet

Gut and Psychology Syndrome

Nourishing Traditions

Wild Fermentation

Cooking with Coconut Flour

The Truth About Beauty

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook

The Feel Good Cookbook

The Diet Cure

Mariel's Kitchen

Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living from the Inside Out

Nourishing Hope for Autism

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

A World of Wisdom

Feeding the Whole Family

Green for Life

Green Smoothies Diet

Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen

Cooking to Heal Little Tummies

Day 1

Phew. What a day. Most of Seth's days are tough....but today took the cake. I made him pancakes this morning, as usual. I used almond flour instead of buckwheat though, for a change. He reluctantly ate them. It is now 7pm and he hasn't eaten another bite of food. I made quinoa for lunch today and told him he had to take a bite of that before he had any other food. Well, 7 hours later, he still hasn't taken a bite. Today was full of screaming, throwing toys, slamming doors, tears, prayers, cuddles, and I love you's. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he will be so hungry by tomorrow that he will have to eat something.

I'm feeling pretty good. I can feel a withdrawal headache coming on. But that is a good thing, I guess. Lunch was fantastic. I ended up overeating because it was so yummy. Dinner was surprisingly good also.

Here is what we had today....pictures are coming.

Breakfast - smoothies and scrambled eggs

Lunch - quinoa cooked in fresh chicken broth with onions, garlic, zucchini and carrots

Snack - banana with almond butter

Dinner - Tex Mex Millet and Aramanth Corn Casserole from Body Ecology Diet, salad with homemade dressing, and a little dollop of refried beans

Kids-are-in-bed treat - Snuggling with my honey and maybe some banana ice cream (pureed frozen bananas with psyllium husks) if I'm really feeling lucky.

The calm before the storm

It's the night before it all happens. I went crazy and had a massive burrito loaded with cheese at Chipotle today. Then I came home and had a bowl of ice cream while the kids watched a movie. About 10 minutes after the ice cream my heart started racing. I could feel it pounding in my chest, my neck and my head. I started getting dizzy and lightheaded. (Allergic much?) But, dang, it was good ice cream. About an hour after the ice cream I turned into devil-woman. Feed me ice cream and I turn into a bad mom. I get angry, short-tempered, impatient and lazy. Seth was right there with me. Throwing toys, screaming at the world....usual Seth. That kid is in for a big shock tomorrow. At dinner we talked about all the new foods we are going to start eating. We told Seth that some of the foods he eats now makes him feel yucky, and that we're going to start eating the foods that Heavenly Father wants us to eat. Our family prayer before bed was focused on Seth. Asking for help that he will try new foods and that he will be blessed with peace in his body and mind.

I just got online to print off a few more recipes and I stumbled upon this video.

It really makes you stop for a minute and think, doesn't it? I am ready to fill my families body with health, light, peace, and love....so that we can send that back out into the world. One meal at a time.

Here's to my last bowl of chocolaty, peanut buttery self destruction.