17 days and Counting!

First of all, welcome to our new friends who are just now joining us on our Primal journey! And much appreciation for Lew Rockwell's posting of our blog on his blog! See it here: Click me!


Let's see... I started off the day with a three-egg omelet ( I always want to spell "omelet" with two "T"s, I think it looks better that way) and a few slices of bacon. Yum! This breakfast always keeps me full for at least four hours. Definitely worth the time and money (which is really not all that much).

And then I shopped around town to find some organic, clean ingredients to make a cake for Elizabeth. This takes a lot of time when you live in a place that is restricted in healthy foods. If you want to eat a lot of fast-food with little nutritional value, this is place to be! 

I found some coconut flour and coconut chips (shaved coconut) and a few other things... like, who knew there was such a thing as bottled avocado oil? Well, I'm sure many of you did know this, but it was news to me. I had to buy it of course.  Now... how to use it? Is it used to drizzle on salads, or mainly to cook with, anybody know?


Tom and I opened the coconut chips, just to try it out, and now I think I'm addicted to them! They are very versitile too. Add it to trail mix, to steamed vegetables, as a cupcake topping, or just on its own. The kids loved the crunch of it. And while I've never been a fan of coconut, this organic stuff is sooo different than anything else, it's really a subtle flavor, and it tricks your mouth into thinking it's having a sweet treat. Win. Win. Win. 


After the omelet I don't think I had lunch. I just wasn't hungry. I had some the coconut chips, and about 2 ounces of trail mix (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and a few (as in maybe one in every handful) dried cherries) and lots of water.  I was starving by dinner time though, but I find it comforting to actually feel 'real' hunger for a change. 


Dinner was a roasted turkey breast (I made about seven pounds of turkey breast the night before) and fresh green beans (a ton of them!) which were heated in bacon grease, and had coconut chips added in, and some sea salt.  It was so good!  I admit, it's still weird to have "just two things" for dinner. We're used to a meat, a starch, a veg, and rolls or salad. Nobody left the table hungry though, so I think it will start to seem normal soon. 


Also, for kids who are a bit resistant: I bought the kiddie paper plates which are cartoon animals (don't know what they're called) and started serving food on this. I want to experiment and see if it makes a difference in how the kids perceive the food or not. I'll keep you posted! 


And I would suggest buying the smallest paper plates you can find (or using your tiny salad plate) as your new dinner plate. The smaller the plate, the easier it is to fill the plate with just a meat and veg (or whatever it is you do) and trick your brain into thinking it's still a full dinner... well, it is a full dinner, but ... you know what I mean. 


We now keep olive oil and butter on the table as regular condiments to drizzle on just about anything. That's also taking a little getting used to--getting past the "it's bad for you" hype--but really, really yummy! 

I think Tom ordered a Ninja blender last night, and I can't wait for it to arrive! The smoothies are the quickest breakfast by far. And giving the girls eggs in the mornings is time-consuming and I am running out of eggs frequently.


So the girls had four eggs each for breakfast today. I mixed in butter and some coconut oil in hopes of it keeping them full.  I think it worked too well. They weren't that hungry for lunch. Oops. 


Lunch Boxes:  
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and a small handful of grapes
Lunch: 2-4 pieces of leftover meat, a bit of cheese (cheddar or feta) and a handful of cut bell peppers
Snack: Pistachios.


They were hungry when they came home, but I think more out of habit than real hunger.  I really need to figure out how many calories they need to be taking in, and if it is matching up with what they are being given. The trouble with being in school is there are designated times to eat and I can't force them to eat when they'd rather be playing with friends (during lunchtime).  I may have to make breakfast their highest calorie meal, lunch the fewest calories, and dinner pretty hefty as well. All of my kids (except Elizabeth who is a tiny little thing) are right in the middle of healthy BMI range, and I don't want them losing weight.  


BMI calculators can be a good tool to gauge your or your child's health. Try it out!

 This link is for adults.                 And this one for children.


Not sure what Tom had for breakfast, but for lunch he made avocado deviled eggs. He says he really enjoyed them. He did not take a photo of them though. :\


If you're interested, here is the recipe.  Let us know what you think!


So happy birthday to our little Elizabeth and good night!