Easy Peasy Pudding

Veronica's teacher emailed me to say that next week they are having an end-of-school party, and she would be serving dirt cups. She said she wanted to respect our "diet" and what sort of accommodations could she make for Veronica.


I thought that was very sweet of her. Even better is when she emailed me two hours later with a link to coconut milk pudding, and asked if she could make that for V. You know your kids are at a great school when an overworked, unpaid teacher is researching pudding recipes for a student's crazy diet.


The recipe called for two hours of prep and cook time. Two hours?!  Yikes. I told Mrs. Kind (she fits her name well!) I would make the pudding and send it in next week. Then I decided I just don't have two hours to spare these days, so I was in a pickle.


About an hour later I was checking Facebook and my friend Tammie just so happened to post a link to quick and easy Primal pudding! That, my friends, is Divine Providence. ;)


I realized I actually had all the ingredients on hand, so I tried it out for dessert tonight in hopes of her liking it well enough for next week's party.


Here's the link: Yummy Primal Pudding


It's basically raspberries, lemon, vanilla, avocado, honey, and water. Blend well. Refrigerate for 20 mins. (I did have to add about a tsp of maple syrup because the raspberries (to me) were too bitter.) And serve. 


I made whipped cream using heavy whipping and a smidge of maple syrup, blend in a blender, or a Magic Bullet (which works wonders! It's the one kitchen gadget we bought from an infomercial, and it actually as great as it appears on TV) blend for about 30 seconds.


Top the pudding with the cream and enjoy!


It even passed the kids' taste test!

Quick Dinner

Tonight I threw together a quick dinner since our routine has become completely disrupted lately.


I made some hamburgers, fried onions (in butter) and corn on the cob (not technically Primal, but it's "real food") for the kids. They seemed to enjoy it! I also gave them each half a cup of chocolate coconut milk. It has a little sugar, but the fats in the milk are worth it, I think.


Now I have pork loin in the oven. And chicken soup on the stove. These should make for quick meals tomorrow, I hope.

Now I want bacon. So maybe I'll go bake up a few pounds and we can munch on it while watching TV ;)

Steak is Yummy

So I've done nothing for the last week except purge, organize, clean and clean some more. I've not had time to really make much food, so we've just been grazing on whatever is in the fridge at the time. And we've gone out for dinner several times. 


Tonight we had our first house showing (to a lovely older couple, I'm told) so I spent from 9:30am until 6:45pm (Tom jumped in to help when he could) scrubbing floors and polishing wood. I think I managed to squeeze in about five minutes for lunch... which consisted of three slices of ham, wrapped around some cheddar cheese. I'm not sure how it tasted, because I had to inhale it. 

By the time we finished cleaning (and had to be out of the house anyway) I was starving! So we headed to Longhorn Steak House and had STEAK. Which was yummy. 

The End. 

Just kidding. 

I had the 20oz ribeye cooked Medium. It was ah-mazing. I wish I had had more energy to enjoy it though. The kids had grilled chicken fingers and broccoli (and a few fries) and water. Tom had a sirloin and stuffed mushrooms (with cheese and bacon, not breadcrumbs). So we pretty much devoured all the food. Hey, we're Primal, what do they expect?

Tom had to rush off for an internet Q&A, so I took care of the bill while the kids finished up. 

Then our server (a 30ish man) walked out with four bowls of ice-cream sundaes and said "I hope this is okay, Mom?"  and I ... didn't quite know what to say. So I said "oh, you are so kind, but two of the kids have dairy allergies! I'm so sorry, but thanks so much!"  The kids were crushed. He said "not to worry! I'll return!"  and he did return with four fruit, dairy-free, smoothies. The kids were elated. 

And I was secretly envious since I knew there were now four servers in the kitchen scarfing down free ice-cream bowls. Hey, I want one, I've been working allllll day!


The showing went very well, I'm told. Great news. But I still want ice-cream.

Hot Potato!

After Mass today we decided to eat at Jason's Deli. I love this place. Not exactly Primal, but it does have free range meats and organic produce. 


Anyway, today I decided I wanted a baked potato. I am/was a potato lover. I seriously could eat mashed potatoes everyday, for every meal, all the time! Not having (white) potatoes has been one of the biggest hurdles for me in GP. I really don't like sweet potatoes, so please don't tell me I should just try that. And I know white potatoes are okay-ish in the Primal world, but you're really not supposed to eat them if you're trying to drop weight (which I am), so I have really missed them. 


So I ordered a loaded baked potato and a salad. It was all I loved about potatoes and more! Unfortunately, I totally crashed about an hour later. I never, ever, ever take naps. Never. Unless I'm pregnant that is... but today I fell asleep while on the computer. I don't know how long I was out, but I felt really wobbly for a little while after I woke up. 


I'm guessing this is due to the carb spike in the potatoes. Darn it.  


So tomorrow is grocery day again. I'm off to make a list, I guess. Blah.

We're Moving! Any Tips?

Tom and I decided last Saturday that the house we are currently living in just isn't working for us. We live on 20 acres and a huge house sits on it, and while it is beautiful and we are thankful to have such a nice place, it's just too big for me to keep up. It's also very remote. I spend about two hours a day just driving back and forth to school/errands/church etc., and with gas prices what they are... it's just too much. 


So Monday we went to look at a new potential house which is much smaller. It sits on a hill so we can overlook the city (not that there's much to see), so we will be in the city but still feel out of the way. We decided to buy it on the spot. It's perfect for what we need for this stage of our family. It's a bit small, but smaller is easier to clean!  The kitchen is really pretty but has about 1/4 of the storage I have now, so I'm going to have to be creative... being Primal means I cook a lot and use lots of different cooking items, so that'll be a little tricky, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. 


Anyway, after the euphoria of finding the (almost) perfect house began to wear off, it suddenly hit Tom and I that we have less than four weeks to get our current house move-ready. And since we want to sell this house as soon as possible, we've been scrambling to get it on the market... next week hopefully... so I've have no time to post, or cook, or even think. I've sorted the house all ready. I know what needs to be tossed, sold, and given away. Now it's on to cleaning and calling utilities and other such calls... ugh 


In the interest of my new small kitchen: What are some space saving tips you have? And what are the essential cooking items you must have?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday, hurray! And I did not stay Primal. 


I didn't eat breakfast since I rushed to get the kids to school. And then I had a chiropractor appointment. After this, I met Tom to pick up the baby, and then she and I went to the Mall and bought a new pair of sandals. 


Then we went to the movie store and rented Lord of the Rings so I could have something to watch while doing laundry. I tell you, we go wild and crazy on our birthdays here! 


 I decided I really wanted fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. I didn't have time to make this, so I went to our local grocery store where they make these things fresh. Elizabeth and I shared the chicken and potatoes. It was really delicious! Not quite as good as when I make it myself, but it was a good second-best. 


So we did laundry, at lunch, and watched LotR (well, E watched Blue's Clue's in the other room) for most of the day. Oh, and I also had a real Coke (made with real sugar). Interestingly, it other than some bloating, it had no other noticeable ill-effects on me. Not that I would want to drink it regularly, but I'm glad it doesn't affect me the same way as Coke make with HFCS does. 


After the movie, we had to run some errands. After which, Tom took the kids home and fed them, while I went to the movies. I saw that new Mirror, Mirror movie. Really odd. I didn't eat any popcorn though since movie popcorn always makes me feel sick. Which makes me wonder: what do they put in it?

Then it was dinner time! So I met a couple of friends a new restaurant and we had some really great food. We shared an order of chicken nachos. They were so good, I want some more today! I miss tortilla chips the most since having GP, I think. Then I had a salad with ranch dressing. And a Ribeye with loaded mashed potatoes. We really went crazy and ordered waters all around! 


Everything was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


On to my house where a friend brought Dunkin Donuts, fudge, and wine. As I ate my cream filled donut I was thinking "I wonder how horrible I will feel tomorrow?" but I ate every bite anyway. 

It was a very nice, relaxing birthday filled with lots of good-tasting food. Oh, and, a big rainbow!

Today I feel fine, really. I think I'm slightly dehydrated, but other than that I don't have any weird aches or pains, I don't feel like I'm about to die, or have no energy.  I am fairly bloated though... small price to pay once a year. 

Now I'll be spending the next week being super strict on GP, but it was fun while it lasted! 

Help, Please

So many of you have linked me to so many different and interesting websites, but I've never really had a chance to explore them since it usually means I have to go back through all the comments and find them. 


If you have suggested a link in the past, could you please post it again in the comment section of this post? 


Thanks so much!