Healthy Apple Crunch

5 Fuji apples peeled & thinly sliced 

Juice of 2 mandarins or 1 orange

1 tablespoon coconut oil

3 tablespoons flax seeds

3 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds - unsalted

1/4 cup dried currants 

1/8 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1 teaspoon raw honey

1/2 teaspoon apple or pumpkin pie spice

Dash of vanilla

Put all in skillet & sauté till apples are soft but still hold their shape. 

Homemade nut/seed butter & omgosh bugs on a log!

Cashew-pumpkin seed- flax seed butter

2 cups raw cashews

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil 

Put all into food processor & blitz till smooth

Put in jar, use like you would PB

( I keep mine in the fridge since I used raw nuts/seeds to keep fresh) 

Teaching your child the value of foods...

Today I taught my youngest son how to make nut butters. We made a raw cashew, raw pumpkin seed & flax blend with unrefined virgin coconut oil.

To me there is nothing more important than teaching your child(ren) the value of food. Where it comes from, the benefits of organic or biodiversity gardening; how to prepare it or why cooking from while foods is best. 

I don't remember the last time we had anything that was premade, out of a box or bag; we certainly haven't had gmo laden foods in years. I use to buy so called organic health foods premade in boxes; turns out they aren't that great either. So we started buying whole foods & eating that way. 

Now I've always cooked, but I'd use premade sauces, pastas, soups, etc. now I make everything 100% from scratch...and my family loves me for it. Everyone feels better, we look better, we're losing the fatty weight & gaining muscle. 

So the next time you're out & about avoid the centre isles & head for the produce section. See what you can come up with & make a whole foods dinner. 

Mean Green Deviled Eggs w/ avocadonaise..

As you know my family & I went on the Paleo bandwagon. I have to say, what a fantastic decision for us! We also have a daughter with a soy allergy; we don't eat canola oil or processed foods. So...how do we make deviled eggs without Mayo & make it fun? Avocadonaise! What is that you might ask? Fun stuff I tell you! Haha.

Avocadonaise:

2 avocados

Juice of 2 lemons or 3 capfuls concentrate lemon juice

4 garlic cloves

Salt & pepper to taste.

Food process till smooth

Mean Green Deviled Eggs:

Hard boil 12 eggs

Cool & peel

Cut in half

Put cooked yolk into food processor with the avocadonaise

Blend till smooth

Put mixture into hollow spaces of the boiled egg

Sprinkle with paprika

Healthy Paleo Chocolate Milkshake...

12 ounces almond/coconut milk

1 banana

1 avocado

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon raw cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend till smooth

Serves 2

The Paleolithic Family

Well, we went mostly Paleo in my household. I say mostly because we are finishing up the rice & beans we have in the pantry. We eat those about twice a week to get them finished up. Then...it's 100% Paleo!

I love Paleo! In less than a week I was able to take my children & myself off our meds! Yes, we talked to our family physician! She was all for our new diet change. My kids are actually more focused & calmer than they were even on their ADHD meds. How exciting! We were also able to take them off their allergy meds!

Everyone is sleeping better, better moods, & I've even lost 15 pounds! Woot! We've always eaten healthy, thinking whole grains, etc were the way to eat. Pft, I put on tons of weight following the government's food pyramid, kids were sick, had to be on meds etc. Not anymore, we are done, finished. We have found the best way for us to eat & we're happier for it.

I know it's not for everyone, of course these are just my experiences. As with everything, I urge you to do the research, find out what's best to make you happy & healthy.

Paleo style banana cream pie

Banana Cream Pie

Crust: 

3 cashew cookie Larabars

1/4 cup organic coconut fine shredded

1/2 cup cashew, almond, pistachio nut mix

2 tablespoons unrefined, virgin organic coconut oil

Put in food processor till fine

Smush into pie tin, then stick in freezer for 30 mins

Filling:

4-5 organic bananas, sliced into coin shape 

Layered into crust

Topping:

Whipped coconut cream

( 2 cans top quality organic coconut milk, skim off the top thick bit. Save coconut water for another meal

Put in mixing bowl

Add 1 teaspoon raw organic honey

1 teaspoon organic vanilla

Using hand mixer blend until smooth) 

A Paleo chow down

Spiced orange chicken, roasted sweet potato & mixed salad

A Paleo Dinner... Orange Spiced Chicken

5 simple ingredients

Organic chicken thighs (skin on)

5 organic mandarin oranges

Organic garlic ( 6 cloves )

Organic Moroccan spice blend

Fresh cracked organic pepper ( I used multi-coured) 

Put in an electric roaster at 200 degrees

The last 20 mins crank up to 400 degrees 

Cook until juices run clear or about 2 hours  

*will post finished pic when dinner is finished!*

Paleo?

Ahhhh! What busy last few days of research! I don't even know where to start.

I've been on a quest for years to be the healthiest I can be, to keep my family healthy & to teach my kids what healthy living is...  Holy cow I didn't realise how hard that actually was!

For years I went on the assumption that whole grains was the base of your diet, low or no fat foods, some veggies & fruits..yeah you know the food pyramid. In the last 3 years I've made my own food pyramid, mostly veggies, some fruits, dairy, a few whole grains (like cereal for breakfast), some meat. Well here I am 3 years later & I'm still struggling with my health & in Nov 3013, I found out I have a gluten intolerance. Well.... that was an eye opener. So, I set out on a mission for wellness.

That lead me to my first bit of research: what does gluten do to your body? Holy inflammation & holed intestines Batman! I had felt unwell for years, bloating, gas, nausea, etc, I always thought it was stress. Turns out I was stressed because my body was stressed, it was a vicious cycle. I wasn't getting all the nutrients, was getting sick all the time, you get the picture. Turns out that grains & gluten stop or severely limit the absorption of vitamins & minerals.  So I cut out a lot of my dairy, went gluten free. I've felt loads better, the extra weight is very slowly coming off, my joints don't hurt anymore, I thought I found the cure! However, I still don't feel like I'm at my very best, I ask will I ever be, there's got to be something I'm missing? That's the question I've been asking myself for months.

Begin the next research project, keeping in mind our diet the last 7 years has been home cooked meals, fresh foods & some organic. My next research took me to soy & what that does to the body. Soy is a phytoestrogen, meaning it mimics estrogen in the body. Yikes! That's throwing my body & my family's bodies out of its natural cycles. We were literally out of whack! So out went foods made with soy. Keeping soy sauce around for hubby because he's Japanese & he grew up on it. However, my European self did not. Okay so now I'm feeling a little bit better, my kids are feeling better. I'm on the right track. Sigh, but sitting here right now, I know deep down I'm still not 100%. What next?

Well I went vegetarian for awhile, nope still felt like crap. Well, then came Veganism, okay feeling a little bit better, however I was taking supplements & omegas. Well, okay but I don't want to be dependent on that. Back to mostly vegetarian with some grass fed, vegetarian fed, organic meats, & of course gluten free grains, okay much better but still not perfect. Yikes, what a battle!

That brought me to the Palaeolithic diet, it's what our Homo Erectus, Neanderthal, Homo Sapiens ate for thousands of years. It's what our many, many times grandparents ate before agriculture, before the industrial revolution. So I asked, "how can a hundreds of thousands of year old diet be wrong?" I don't know the answers, I've only read research, watch documentaries, spoke to my doctor & listened to stories of my friends eating Paleo. Well, I have to say my friends look great, they look healthy. Well,  must be something to it. So after a well educated discussion with my husband on the matter; speaking to my children (who by the way are older kids, not little kids) on the matter, we have decided as a family to try eating a Paleolithic diet.

Starting March 1st- May 1st, we are going to eat strictly Paleo. At the end of those 2 months we are going to evaluate how we all feel, to see if we do indeed look & feel healthier. I know we are almost there since taking out gluten, GMOs, soy & wheat, but we still have room for improvement.

I'll keep you updated on how eating Caveman style goes for us.

Remember eat to live, don't live to eat; get up & move your body!

Be well!