What YouEat In Heaven

Found something that is heavenly look it even has the name Gods in it.

This is honey favor

Than to make it even more delicious we add these beauties to it.  

Fresh blueberries

Want to know another thing on my list of things I didn't like before as grumpy eater? You guessed it those wonderful blueberries.(side note a great friend lets call her Balance is the one that got me liking these. She is a amazing person I hope when I get grow up can be good mix of Bal and Trix, these two women are some of my heroes.) I don't know why it shocks me now when I found out there are others out there don't like a food I use to not like not before. I can hear my mother say, "When you get older you will start liking more things Your taste buds will mature as you become an adult." I don't know if that is something she said for sure but totally sounds like something she would say. I guess I'm not a real adult yet since there are still foods out that I can't bring myself to eat right now.

Coming back to my topic at hand, even though these two amazing foods are good us. We (Trex) more than me are finding out that if you eat too much it can cause problems to your bowels. Even though I we are eating healthier and all we still need to eat things in moderation. Live and Learn. 

Sweet Roots

Wonderfully sweet surprise of a root. I have never tried hikama before, I got it when I went to shopping with Trix and Four. It took about week before I dared to try it. I decided to make a salad try putting this root in it. The salad I put lettuce, tomatoes, cashews, turkey, and hikama than mixed vegenaise and organic mustard. It was very good  and than I decided to just cut the hikama sticks(well ok actually Trex cut it up) and it really nice to snack on it. Loving hikama!!

Before it's piled doesn't look very good. Kind scary looking if you ask me

Turned into a very yummy salad.

Scared of food

As I have mentioned before I was a picky eater. Just by the looking  at certain foods or vegetables/fruits   scared me. Trix and and Four helped me over come few of those fears, but there are some I'm still afraid to try.

I have always seen egg plant (scary food) but never darned to touch let alone buy it. It's this dark purple odd shaped vegetable I see in the produce aisle. I never saw people grab or put this purple thing into their cart, couldn't figure out why grocery stores even stock fresh vegetable and fruit that people just don't buy. Want to know a secret people actually buy egg plant...who knew....not me that is for sure.

Trix and Four haven't had it either but we grabbed it decided to make it. We brought this purple demon home and cut it into slices covered with organic butter than salt and pepper baked a cookie sheet of them. We had few left tried them on grill, but Trex and Four forgot(they were in charge of grill) burned them. It was surprisingly really good tasting to me. I was a little disappointed that the middle was softer and not crispier like the purple skin.  I was bugged and thought there as to be way I can make the middle crispier right?

This is what I tried.
Slice the Egg Plant (not good job very uneven)
Dip in egg that had salt and pepper in it
Coated in Coconut Flour
Placed on Pizza Stone to cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees

Didn't not turn out well, tasted awful. Needless to say my attempt was a failure but at least Trex was out of town and didn't try it. Though I did another experiment with cutting egg plant into little cubes putting  than drying it off with paper towel. Putting it in hot oil to try to deep fry in my own way I guess. When that didn't work the way I hoped I tried than baking the already extremely oily egg plant. Wait it gets better I packed that to take on our four day vacation. It looked really bad, I should have taken picture. I tried it it was awful and I couldn't eat more than little bite of it. Trex on the other hand ate small serving and said it didn't taste to bad. I think he was being overly nice trying to spare my feelings. I don't think the egg plant is meant to be crispy and I'm done trying. Live and Learn.

Before I cooked. I didn't cut the egg plant every evenly either

This plant looks pretty sad compared to other meals I have made. Need more vegetables

Some Failures

Here are some failures I have had. Trix told me to buy this can fish. For whatever reason we were starting dinner late, so Trex decided we should just make tuna fish sandwiches. He asks what will you have? I remember I have the can fish think great I can my own kind of fish sandwich. I open it up and it look really gross to me. Take few bites decide maybe making into lettuce wrap will make it taste better. I put vengeance and mustard,  avocado, lettuce sounds and looked good right?

I was very very wrong. I was one the worst things I have ever tasted.

I had to throw it out. I felt bad for throwing away a $4-$5 can of fish. 

Live and Learn is my new motto.

Day11

Yep Skipping around because this what I have recorded of. It's been hard with it being summer and going to picnic  and family dinners and book clubs. We go to all these different things it seem like food is this center of all these activities. I was proud of myself I went to BookClub and didn't eat the yummy looking treats. There was even Cream Soda (Dr. Pepper) are my two favorite sodas of all time. I decided to bring something I could eat. I made berry salad. Strawberries, blueberries, hazel nuts, little bit of feta cheese and "Tree blood" (real maple syrup). Very good by the way. Here is picture of the dinner we had that night.  Loving butternut squash a lot and learning to like peppers raw and cooked.

Stressing out

Eating healthy is stressing me. I feel like I'm thinking about food all the time.  I can't take care house, the yard, the kids and all the prep work that goes into each dinner. I was burning out. Cutting and chopping vegetables takes up a lot more time than I thought. I wasn't starting soon enough, I felt like all I did was clean up one mess than take kids here and there, cook again clean up, again than do that over and over. I was becoming burned out. I want to eat healthy but at what cost?  I'm realizing I should of started on the regular diving board than slowly work my way up.  I felt like I couldn't or shouldn't call Trix and Four wanted to almost prove to myself I could do this. Also feel like I shouldn't bother them with my problems. My sweet husband who I will call Trex has been amazingly supportive through all of this. He keeps reminding me that I don't need to do this alone. It's ok to not be perfect right off the bat. Live and learn right?

One week

I have reached the 1 week mark. I have lost 3 lbs which is good for me . Tonight we had tacos I like the spices the cookbook said for tacos. It is chili powder, onion powder, garlic salt, really good but too dry with organic hamburger. I think I will add water next time and also my sister suggested that purple cabbage is good for shell as well. The rest of the family had it regular soft shells. Very good, and look at the pepper on there. Unheard of before not only was I picky eater I didn't do spicy especially pepper was too much for me. Getting better.

Weakness: Sugar Double Weekness: Chocolate

Day 5

With Paleo I have been doing no processed sugar. Which is hard since Sniffer had birthday party and I made her a cake. I love sugar and chocolate specifically not having some of this cake I made her was hard but I did it. So I'm putting that down and successful paleo day for me.

Have to laugh because that is my attempt at a Lady Bug cake. I'm no Cake Boss but my Sniffer sure thought it was great. Considering it was bunch of 3 and 4 year olds eating and most of them hardly finished their piece it's all good.

Doesn't tastes the same

Day 4 

Don't know what happen to day 3, don't have pictures or record of it. Since I'm doing all this a month later it's hard to remember.

Just because something looks like mashed potatoes doesn't mean they do. I don't know what I did wrong. In this text/cook book it say that her family couldn't even tell the difference. I will give you that it looks the same, but that is for sure texture difference. I love mashed potatoes so this just didn't hit the spot and the chicken legs backed were okay. I was babysitting some neighbor kids and they seem to like the dinner more that my own kids.  It's not the best looking food but it was paleo so it should count for something right?

Pink Hand is Very different than Pink Eye

Day two of eating Paleo

 I found out that chopping beets turns your hands this pink color.(Should have gotten pictures of my hands but than it would have gotten my phone pink as well. Next time)  Sniffer(4yrs) thought it was pretty neat trick so joined in on the prep work (putting them into bowl for so her hands could turn pink like mine.) for dinner that night. Than Stinker helped me by stirring the beets and onion in a frying pan with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) we also had brussels sprouts chopped up fine and cooked the same way but no onions. Than we had steak as well. Here is picture of our meal.

If you asked my husband and other family members they would tell you. That I am not one to try new food and I'm actually a picky eater. Not so much anymore I jumped from that platform said 

"NO MORE BE PICK GIVE EVERY THING A CHANCE"

Which I have to be honest it's hasn't been easy. Beets and were hard and same for brussels spouts.

Meat no problem love it. I had to tell me kids you only have to try one bite of everything. But if you want more meat or ice cream you have eat all of it. Looking back now not the best idea. Fox(9yrs) really had hard time eating the brussles sprouts. I kept telling him as he looked like he about to vomit. 

"It's not worth it. You don't need to finish it." Fox, ask he gags "Yes I do I really want ice cream."

Not the best idea but he never did vomit that night .

What have I done??

What have I got myself into? Having you ever jumped off a diving platform before without working up to? That is what I did with going from eating okay to eating Practical Paleo with out building up to it.

If you are wondering what Practical Paleo is here what is said in the book I have been reading says.

"Paleo way of eating is simple: Mimic our ancestors, who suffered from fewer chronic diseases than modern population. This doesn't mean you'll recreate a caveman's food landscape, of course. Our food supply and our environment are different from our ancestors, so we must adapt as new information comes to light. The lifestyle is simple about (1) eating whole foods that provide better fuel four your body and (2) avoiding processed, refined, nutrient-poor factory foods. This means avoiding grains, legumes(beans) refined sugars, and pasteurized dairy products. People believe eating whole foods is hard and limiting, but it isn't it may be an adjustment at first, but it's simply a matter of eliminating foods that don't promote health in your body." Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, BS,NC

(This book it not only cookbook also text book really good. Haven't even come close to finishing reading about still working on it.)

I had a good friend Trix (not real name) that has been eating this way with her husband Four (not real name) for some time now. Though Trix has tried eating or not eating different things to help with her stomach problems she has had for years. Trix and Four came shopping with to show me what to buy and what to not to buy and explained why this good or why that isn't good. After we went to Harmons, Good Earth and Costco we went home took in all my food than Trix and Four helped my husband and me make dinner for my kids. It was late 10 pm that we were eating but the food was great.

Trix told Fox(9), Dog(8) Stinker(6) and Sniffer(4) we should give your food a fun names. I didn't get picture of our first meal. We had boiled cabbage with baby carrots we called that "orange slippers" we had baked egg plant which Stinker named "Baked Pickles".  For breakfast I mixed  "orange slippers" and spinach to my eggs. I did get picture of that.

More pictures to come.