Coconut Smoothie Recipe

Forgot to put this in the post earlier... 


The kids were really getting hungry just before lunch, and I knew it would take me awhile to pull lunch altogether, so I made them a quick smoothie (about 5 oz each) and they loved it. I'm excited about that. It's the first thing they've really been excited about eating. So below is the recipe. Try it out!


4 frozen strawberries.
3 small pieces frozen mango
1/2 cup coconut milk
Splash of vanilla (Organic vanilla is an amazing thing, people!)
3 oz water


Place all these things in a blender and blend until smooth.


Then add one egg.
Add one tablespoon coconut oil.


Blend again. Serve with a crazy straw. 

*** update: the coconut oil has a tendency to lump up in the blender. So I suggest melting the oil first, and then pour it into the blender while *it is running*. *** 


I did not have any, because I'm trying to avoid fruit, but I don't think it's that much sugar at all. It worked out to be one strawberry and 3/4 piece of mango (about 1/2 square inch) for each girl. The rest was fat and protein. 


I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have added some cinnamon since cinnamon is a natural appetite suppressant. Not sure if it would have complimented the fruit flavors, but it's worth a try for the next time, I think.


So, if you try it, let me know how you like it! If you have a variation of it, let me know that too!

Day 14 and Thank You!

 First of all, thanks to all my bloggie friends who have offered up a lot of recipes, tips, and advice for me and my family! We are excited to put some of these things into practice. :)


So today is Day 14.... Tom is out of town (again), so it was just me and the four girls to tough out the weekend.  Okay, first of all, let me say... I spend a heck of a lot of time in the kitchen. Whether it's chopping, cooking, or cleaning. It's really time-consuming. We're starting to discover some time-saving practices, but for the most part, it's time-consuming. Maybe once I have kids old enough to wash super-sharp knives, and not kill my beloved pots and pans, cleaning will be a bit easier.  And (as I've said before) I think it is likely that we will have more free time once we get things under our belts a bit more. 


So for breakfast I made 17 eggs. Yes, 17!  12 of which were the whole egg, and five other eggs were just egg-whites (since Regina is allergic to the yolk). I scrambled it all up (the egg-whites separately) in a pan with bacon grease. Then I dumped huge portions on each child's plate (along with some leftover bacon) and I *defied* them to be hungry after this! In fact, I ate about 2 of the eggs (sharing with Elizabeth) and waited, because I was going to eat the leftovers. Well... there weren't ANY left! Seriously? How can they eat that much?! At least they left the table saying they felt full.


The full feeling last exactly two hours. ::SIGH::  I *just* finished cleaning everything up, and I hear "Mom, could we have a snack?"  Argh!  So I told them they could have a handful of trail mix. Incidentally, our trail mix consists of: Sunflower seeds, cashews, pumpkin seeds and a handful of dried bing cherries (not many though, maybe 2 cherries per cup of nuts).  They declined. They haven't really warmed up to the idea of nuts. They were really partial to peanuts before Going Primal  (GP). 


So we did our Sunday prayers and then had made lunch. Lunch was a shredded raw broccoli and brussel sprouts salad, mixed with bits of bacon, the bacon grease (about 1/2 tsp) and a tablespoon of coconut oil. On top of the salad was pork tenderloin medallions (which was prepared in the crock-pot the day before), and the pork was topped with a savory greek yogurt sauce. 


Surprisingly, all the kids ate it up. They weren't fans of the yogurt sauce (mostly because they knew it was yogurt), but I did hear "this salad is so yummy!" which was pleasant change. 


I thought the added coconut oil would help satiate their appetite, but about 1.5 hrs later ... "Mom, what can I have for a snack?"   I'm about to give up on keeping them full, people. I'm not sure in can be done. And they are by no means overweight, so I know it's not just a bad habit of eating too much. I've never seen them eat this amount of food. 

Sooo... what do you think? Is it because their minds still want sugar and is therefore telling them they are hungry, or are they legitimately hungry?


Anyway, they begged for a snack around 4pm, so I asked what they wanted. They all wanted grapes. So I gave them ten grapes. And I gave two of them cheese to go with it. The other two I asked if they wanted nuts, but they didn't. I warned them they would be hungry soon. And that would be eat, unless they wanted nuts, until dinner time. They didn't care. 


So dinner was about two hours later. We had a ton of grilled chicken, a little steak, and sauteed onions and green peppers. I added in some lettuce, tomatoes, and quacomole. Every kid has said, repeatedly, over the last two years "I don't like it." So tonight I said "Look, this stuff will make you feel happier, and keep you from getting hungry so often. I want you to have at least one bite."  Two out of four kids said "Hey, this is great!"  Weirdos.  By the time they went to bed I realized I had not heard "but can we have a bed-time snack?" as I've heard for the last two weeks. So there ya go. Buy a ton of chicken-that-should-last-you-three-dinner-nights and cook it up. You'll be held over for three hours instead of two...    ugh 


Tom has really not had a fun time of transitioning from SAD (Standard American Diet) to GP "diet". He's really been down on it for the last few days. It's been tough on everyone, but especially for Tom and Veronica. Anyway... he went to UT for a speaking event and the only thing at the dinner he could eat was a salad and hot vegetables. Aww. Not fun. After the event he found a grocery store and bought a rotisserie chicken. So proud of him :)


I am weighing in for the first official time tomorrow! I kind of dread this... I feel like I've done a lot, I haven't cheated once, and I had a ton of fresh vegetables, stayed away from fruits (though I did have one apple a few nights ago), and drink a ton of water. So if the scale doesn't reflect this, I'll be really upset. 


So tune in tomorrow!

Coconut recipes?

 Hi!


I am looking for recipes that I could use as a high-fat snack... so anybody have any recipes that incorporate high (good) fats? 


Thanks!

13 Days and Counting!

I think my sweet little, baby girls have morphed into teenage boys! They eat like horses! So I've found that they do well between meals if I feed them a truckload of food at breakfast and lunch. I don't think it's an unhealthy amount of food... just a heck of a lot more than I'm used to feeding them. In addition to always watching *what* they eat, I've tried to monitor how *much* they eat. So throwing years of that out the window is proving a bit more difficult than you would think. I know intellectually that it's okay, but we are creatures of habit, so... hehe


A kind reader pointed out to me today that perhaps I am giving the girls too much fruit, which is still causing their blood sugars to spike, and thereby causing the hungriness. I know apples and cherries are pretty much fine to eat, but I'll definitely cut back on the other fruits. In fact, I told the girls today that we will be saving fruit for after-dinner desserts. Three months ago I never would have guessed we would have had swapped out our once-a-week dessert for oranges. And even more surprising is we are equally excited about it. We have made it to Food Nerdiness level, I'm afraid. 

So today for breakfast we made egg muffins with ham lining the tin (thanks to my foodie friend Kim for the idea!) and a few nuts. 


Lunch (as seen on my previous post) was a make-your-own salad. Lots of fats, greens, vegetables and proteins. Most of the kids really enjoyed it. Veronica, who is my carb-aholic in recovery, took an hour to eat her salad. She has decided that she is just not happy about not having grains. She's been giving me the cold shoulder the last few days, and I haven't been able to figure out why. Today she mentioned something about if I went away then they wouldn't have to work (today was cleaning day) and could eat. So pretty angry. Not really sure how to help her through it. I'm hoping in time it will just become normal to her. 


The other kids are pretty upbeat these days. None of us are having the same kind of issues as we were having in the first ten days of Going Primal.  I'm weighing in on Monday, so be sure to check-in and see if these way of life really does help with weight! 


We had our first lettuce-wrapped burger tonight. Interesting. I think I may be more inclined to just use a knife and fork and eat the burger without a wrap, but it was fun to sample. 


Still drinking a lot of water. I still want a Coke every once in a while, but it's really getting easier. Never thought I'd say that! ;P

 Make your own salad day in the Woods' household!

 It's cleaning day. We don't do hair on cleaning day.

Veronica's self-made salad.

She's crazy for it ... as you can see.

Day 12

I still haven't found the right balance of foods to send with the kids to school. They still get in the van at pick-up time asking for something to eat. It's really kind of frustrating. Having to find high-fat foods that also work with their food allergies AND something they will want to eat, is a bit of a challenge. But we'll get there!


If you have a high-fat snack idea that does not include dairy (butter is okay) and almonds, let me know!


I am feeling better today. My face is still like a dot-to-dot book... but I feel lighter, and happier, and much more energetic. I still want a Coke with lunch, but I haven't given in, which is a feat I never thought I would accomplish. I tried for years to give it up, but it never worked out. I could go a few days (the longest was 12 days) but as soon as I became over-stressed, I went right back to it. If nothing else, I've managed to give it up and not suffer the usual depression, mood swings, and such. I did have the headaches for the first ten days, but I'll take that over turning into the Incredible Hulk.


So Tom and I took "before" photos. Tom already looks nice and trim. The jerk. I decided I'm not brave enough to post mine. Ha! So if I have great success with Going Primal, I'll post both the "before" and "after" photos at that time.


 I've asked Tom to give me a quick email update about his thoughts on the Going Primal so far. He is away on another long weekend trip, so that may have to wait.


I still spend a lot of time in the kitchen cutting up vegetables, cooking meat, mixing up yogurt concoctions, etc. I am positive this will be streamlined in the future. As with anything new, there is always that annoying adjustment period, but after that, you become much more efficient. Plus, I find I like to make a little of many different things so that we can more quickly discover what works and what doesn't for all of our taste buds.


Does anyone who has gone Primal have any time-saving tips?  I realllly need them. My fridge and freezer looks ah-mazing! ... but the rest of my house looks like a bachelor dude lives in in it. AHHHHH!

Day ... Eleven...

I hope this is still a Carb Flu cycle, because I might be dying otherwise. Ha!


Today is the first day (since we started Going Primal) that I've really felt like I could just sleep all day. I don't feel all happy and over the moon, ready to run a marathon, or like I'm a whole new person. Yet, anyway. 


I have had a few people ask how much weight Tom and I have lost. I haven't really weighed yet. I'm waiting until Monday, which will be a full two weeks since we began Going Primal. Why? For the past five years, despite doing everything right, I haven't been able to lose weight. I would run to the scale every other day, and never see any change. So I'm not going to torture myself this time around. BUT, I can tell you that my jeans are fitting much better!


I think Tom has lost about 5 pounds as of two days ago. Not bad considering we haven't really had time to add in the exercise routine. He seems to be more accepting of the "diet" today. Could be because I made him some delicious butternut squash soup for dinner, and he quiet possibly forgot he was eating diet food. hehe


The kids are starting to get used to the type of food they're eating now. They have stopped asking "how many more days of this?"  Last night I asked them "has your stomach been hurting as much as it used to?" They all said "Nooo." Then we talked about their individual problems starting to decrease... I think they are finally understanding why we're eating "the new way" now. Whew.


So today the kids lunch boxes:


                       Breakfast: Sliced apples and Sunbutter
                       Lunch:      Ham, rolled up with either cheddar or feta cheese and strawberries
                       Snack:       Dried bing cherries and nuts


Seemed to be a hit! Except poor Regina says I forgot to give her any ham. I don't think so, I think she dropped it somewhere. I remember counting out three Ziplock bags of ham and putting them into lunch boxes. Anyway... she was starving. Good thing I hate a fruit plate mixed with fruit dip (whole fat Greek yogurt with vanilla and raw honey) and nuts waiting at home!


Dinner was a Butternut Squash soup (butter, onions, squash, chicken stock, nutmeg, salt, pepper) and leftover ham. I'm told they ate it all. Score!


I went out for the night. I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and ordered chicken fajitas. I asked for no rice, beans, and no tortillas. They brought out a quesadilla fajita... chicken, peppers, and onions and cheese inside a tortilla fried in butter. I was drooling!


I. wanted. a. fried. in. butter. quesadilla!  So I sat there looking at this plate of awesomeness and I thought "well, I could just eat one bite of the tortilla and just really enjoy it. Well... no, I shouldn't. Really, nobody would know. Except me. Argh. I hate myself.  Hmm... Okay I could take a bite, but then ... since I don't lie... I'd have to tell the blog-world. I don't want to tell the blog-world! Oh fine, I'll just suffer while I eat everything off the beautifully fried-in-butter bread." And as I was battling with myself over this one bite of bread, the waiter comes over and says "Uhm, you alright, and everything?"  I felt like I was caught red-handed doing something very bad and quietly said "Yeah... I just can't eat the tortilla."  And I received a "you are one crazy person" look.  


So there you have it, blog world, you're keeping us honest over here in the Woods household! I both love you and hate you. 

;)