Kevin's Fried Potatoes

Potatoes are something we've been receiving in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share. over the last month or so. Kevin came up with this beautifully perfect recipe that we've been using over and over each week and the whole family enjoys it.

Ingredients
1 medium onion (about 1 cup) diced
2 cups diced peppers (we've used multiple types due to whatever comes in the farm share)
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of baby potatoes (again baby reds or another type, what comes in the share)
Sea Salt / Pepper to taste
4 tablespoons of olive oil or your choice of fat


Cut potatoes into 1/2 - 1" cubes and boil for 5 minutes then drain

Dice peppers and onions and sauté in olive oil for 2-4 minutes

Add cubed potatoes along with salt and pepper

Cook until desired brownness is achieved (5-10 min)

Serve with your favorite protein and green veggies

Last night we Green Chicken with Roasted Garlic from Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook, potatoes and green salad.

Then this morning we used the leftover fried potatoes for breakfast with scrambled eggs and chorizo sausage. I topped mine with hot sauce and fresh tomatoes and a side of cucumber salad. Perfect.

A week or so ago Kevin used leftover fried potatoes for my special breakfast. The bottom omelet was eggs and bacon. Then he topped that with fresh tomatoes and fried potatoes. I can't even tell you how delicious this was!

I've also made a hamburger salad with fried potatoes in it. The burger was topped with onions and hot sauce / mustard dressing. 

The potatoes are so versatile that they are great to make ahead and just throw in with a meal. A great starchy carb for work outs also. 

Enjoy!

Yvonne

Cucumber Salad

This summer we've worked harder to eat by season. So between our garden and the farm share we purchased we've done pretty well. It has been a challenge here and there when you get the same ingridents over and over. You want to come up with something new and not always eat the ingredients the same way. I think we've been pretty successful overall. 

We planted about 6-8 plants of cucumbers this year and ALL of them grew. We had cucumbers coming out our ears. I gave a ton away, we picked a ton and then I still had a few pounds left. Earlier for a party I'd wanted to make an old fashion cucumber salad but didn't when I saw that the cucumbers had to be salted and sit for 2 hours. Well last weekend I had 2 hours to spare so I made the recipe. My mom had made it growing up and said that it froze well. We froze several pint glass jars that I'll pull out later in the fall. 

Kevin made another batch using the very last of the cucumbers that came from the garden as everything got pulled up. This batch I've been eating all week! It's stay crispy and yummy and I still have some left that I'll eat over the next few days. 

This is an old Betty Crocker recipe that we've edited for Paleo. 

2-3 medium cucumbers

1 tablespoon sea salt

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Thinly slice the cucumbers and place in a shallow pan and salt in layers. Place a cutting board and heavy object on top of the cucumbers and let it sit for 2 hours. Because we did this recipe x 5 I used a 9x13 pan, cutting board, paper towel over cutting board then our food processor. Worked like a charm. This just sits out on the counter. 

After 2 hours drain the liquid and press out any additional. Combine the vinegar, coconut sugar, and pepper and pour over the cucumbers. Refrigerate and eat later. 

FREEZER instructions

To freeze in glass jars I filled the jars with the drained cucumbers then poured liquid over and left down about 1" from the top of the jar. This allows for expansion during freezing. I lightly put the lids / rings on and place in the freezer. After they are frozen then i'll tighten the lid. I've not had any of the frozen ones yet, however mom said it works. Based on how crispy the batch is that i made earlier this week I can't see this not coming out of the freezer perfectly!

Now for what to have your cucumbers with:

 Breakfast of: PaleOmg's Breakfast Bacon Maple Meatballs + cucumber salad + fresh tomatoes

Taco Salad - Lettuce, fresh cut tomatoes, cucumber salad, taco meat, onions and lime with hot sauce
The vinegar from the cucumber salad was beyond perfect for this salad!

Breakfast of: Taco meat, cucumber salad, diced tomatoes

I've also had the cucumber salad with pretty much every meal this week because there's so much of it. The rest of the family only likes pickles and doesn't care for the cucumbers any other way. Oh well, their loss.

Enjoy!
Yvonne

Kids Paleo Lunches

I've received a few questions lately about kids lunches. I wrote an article back in 2013 that you can find here. I'll expand on that with some new favorites the kids have. First let me say that I plan lunches based on what we are having for breakfast and lunch as we use leftovers for lunch.

Meatballs
Italian Meatballs - this can be sooooo many differnt types of meatballs, it's a long list! Meatballs are pretty much a weekly food in our house

Breakfast Bacon and Maple Meatballs - leave out bacon to make this cheaper

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sundried Tomato Basil Meatballs

Marvelous Meatballs - I edit this recipe and make 1" meatballs and cook at 350 degrees in the oven for 30 min. I've tried the larger crockpot size and we don't care for them that way. 

Meat Rolls - We use clean ham / salami (just two different meats) roll together and stick with a toothpick for their thermos

Hot Dogs & Eggs - Sounds gross but this is a huge fav! I use Applegate hot dogs sliced up and cooked in with scrambled eggs

ABJ a.k.a. Almond Butter and Jam sandwiches made with paleo pancakes  or using this bread

Tacos using this seasoning. Taco meat can be mixed with several different things like diced cabbage and wilted in a pan; shredded and cooked sweet potatos; send along with letttuce boats for them to load at the lunch table

Chicken Salad

Brussel Sprouts & Bacon / Sausage

Baked Chicken

Chicken Nuggests

Chicken Fried Cauliflower Rice = use this recipe and I add in diced baked chicken and extra eggs (4-6)

Cauliflower Pizza Bites

Scotch Eggs

Sweet Potato Hash

Pulled Pork 

Hamburgers

Hot dogs - Applegate grassfed hotdogs

All these main meals are paired with a pretty standard rotation of green beans, carrots, celery, salad, apples, banana, berries, pear ect. They get a fruit and a vegetable picked from what we have in the house. Everything above minus the hot dogs and eggs I would make ahead and just re heat the morning of. Kevin and I spend about 30 minutes in the kitchen in the morning together making / reheating lunch and breakfast for the family of 4. Team work gets it done and everyone gets a great paleo meal that will be kept either hot or cold depending on the dish. A thermos and lunch box are the key!

Let me know some of your favorite kids lunches or if you have any questions.

Enjoy!
Yvonne

Raising a Natural Baby vol. 4

Back to Basics with Nappies

By: Andrea Deihl

My memory of changing cloth diaper when I was 13 was old tri-fold diapers with giant pins and a rubber liner. It was truly a nasty business changing soiled diapers. With my oldest I toyed with the idea but never looked into it as those memories made me shudder just thinking about doing it all again. When I was pregnant with my second some six years later I thought about it again. This time I work in a Montessori school that also includes infant and toddler care. I see these young kids at my school in cloth diapers that look much different that the old tri-fold and rubber outer covering. I start inquiring from these teachers about cloth diapers. First they support the use of cloth diapers on infants and toddlers and they will use whatever we provide. They will not wash them, but they will send home soiled diapers to me to wash and replace with clean one each day. At first I was not ok with this but after they explained the care for these diapers can help the life of the diaper I was intrigued. I put it off until after my child was born. I started using disposables like my first, all the while I was still toying with the idea of cloth. Finding the right disposable was hard. I used Pampers® with my first and loved them, however, my sons’ skin didn’t like them. So I tried Huggies® diapers. That did not go well either. BM would come right out the top back. Yuck! After three months of having my sons’ skin reddish from diapers and using natural creams (coconut oil and red clay) I decided to dive head first and decide which cloth to use. I started to research what kind of diapers to buy, and holy cow there are many kinds and makes and models. I think buying a car might be easier that choosing a cloth diaper.

I found a brand that sell and All in One, one-size-fits-all diaper. That sound simple, right? After all the confusing could it really be that simple? Yes, it was. Blueberry Diapers make an AIO diaper with an insert that fits 10 lb – 35 lbs! That means no buying one small set until he out grows them and then having to fork over another $800 on another size up. So I purchased 5 diapers to do a trail run. It would mean I would have to do laundry each night but it was worth it. I never looked back after that first week. I loved it. It was not gross. We also purchased a hand help spray nozzle that attaches to ones toilet water line so it is right by the toilet for easy cleaning. My sons’ skin was finely clearing up from being irritated the three months. I purchased another 6 so my total came to 11 cloth diapers. I do have one different style that I don’t care for as a last back up with washing the rest of the diapers. Brand not to be named. I pack five diapers in a dry bag. (Blue berry also sells these. They are made from the same outer material as the diapers so they don’t leak.) I also pack 4 dry wipes clothes and an extra empty dry bag for soiled diapers to return home for washing. His teachers are great with using these and are very knowledgeable.

Some blogs out there suggest having 20-50 diapers. I find 11 to be  a very good number. I use about 4 per day when I’m caring for my son. His school uses 4-5 during the 8 hours he is there. That brings school day totals to 7. That leaves one for bed time and one for the morning. I was diapers every night. They do have a learning curve on how to wash them properly and how to strip them with the ammonia builds up after a time. But that only took a month or so to have my routine down.

The cost of cloth diapers was another thing that motivated me and I broke it down. We have to figure in the cost of soap, however I make my own and that comes to $0.03 per load. We also have to figure in water, and electricity. Our electricity bill hasn’t gone up that much. We are coming out of winter so our bill naturally went down. However it is around normal cost for time of year. So really we have just the upfront cost of diapers that was 11 diapers @ 25.95, 2 dry bags, and 1 spray nozzle + tax and shipping came to just above $400.00. Compare that to disposables for two years is around $2.000.00+.

Bonuses to using cloth diapers; cool patterns!!! These brands have all kinds of cool patterns that are gender neutral or boy or girl. The Blue Berry Diaper Company also sells other products for babies and women. They also make reusable panty liners! I can’t wait to try these out because we all know after giving birth naturally to babies we all have leakage problems for a bit afterwards.

A guide video for this diaper is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uKqtYEiTgGo

Website:

http://www.blueberrydiapers.com/Home/Bulk-Ordering/One_Size_Simplex_Cloth_Diapers_

Benefits of Cloth Diapers:

http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

Coffee Recipes

Over the last year I've enjoyed playing with my coffee. I'm to the point where my homemade coffee is my favorite and far beats out anything from a local coffee chain. I've even managed to make a few coffee's that the teenager in the house likes - that's a huge bonus! 

I sat down recently and went back through my Instagram feed and pulled some of my recipes into one place for you. I pulled the photo and the text from IG, so it's not that I can't keep a straight thought :), or I'm all over the place. 

I tend not to measure when I make my coffee, as eyeballing is my favorite way to make it. Where I have measurements I've provided them, otherwise it's to taste. My coffee if it's hot is always 16oz and if i'm doing a cold blend it's 12oz. 

Enjoy!
Yvonne


COFFEE from Instagram Feed

1. Sunday morning grocery shopping coffee is a cold banana coconut blend. Cold coffee+banana+coconut milk+ice cubes....blend and go :) Yes it's 30 (20 WC) out this morning but that's a 60 degree increase since 1 week ago...heat wave! #coconutmilk #coffee #paleo#primal  

• 12oz cold coffee + 1 banana + 4 ice cubes + 3-4 oz of coconut milk

2. My favorite weekend coffee of Kerrygold grass fed butter and honey. I save honey for the weekend as my treat. 

•  16oz coffee + 1 tblspoon gf butter + 1 tblspoon honey

3. Enjoying my hot date this morning in a sleeping house :) Paleo Pumpkin Spices Latte. I will tell you that Starbucks pumpkin spices latte is the ONLY coffee I've ever returned because it was just gross! This paleo version is awesome! I doubled the coffee to 1/2 cup and used canned coconut milk with a touch of blue agave as the sweetener. If you like pumpkin and coffee this is the drink! #paleo #coffee #jerf #primal #pumpkin#quiettime

• http://fedandfit.com/2011/11/26/paleo-pumpkin-spice-latte/

4. This morning brought to you by an iced Paleo Pumpkin Spiced Latte. D isn't a fan of hot coffee but likes cold coffee that doesn't taste like coffee. I used the same recipe as yesterday but used the almond milk it called for. He approved :) Yet another healthy coffee option for him! Win win!#paleo #coffee #primal #dairyfree #glutenfree#latte   

• http://fedandfit.com/2011/11/26/paleo-pumpkin-spice-latte/  plus 2 ice cubes

5.   My favorite treat of the day :) Coffee with homemade paleo #nondairy eggnog and honey. Tastes like Christmas :) The boys and I are eggnog junkies! I have to say this fit the bill and I felt great after :) Recipe from Paleo Parents http://paleoparents.com/featured/egg-nog-three-ways/ #paleo #eggnog #glutenfree#dairyfree #jerf #christmas

• 16oz Coffee + honey + eggnog from above receipe

6. Coffee flavor of the day: grassfed butter, pure maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Oh and my cup is extra warm with its own sweater and an awesome scarf :) @paleotabs #coffee #bulletproofcoffee

#bulletproof#paleo #primal #grassfed

• Coffee + gf butter + pure maple syrup + coconut oil + vanilla extract

7. I guess I'm the only one that would really know this photo was upside down :) rough morning I guess! Vanilla #bulletproofcoffee whisked up! Flip your phone over because it looks better. 

• Coffee + Kerrygold gf butter + vanilla extract + coconut oil = yum!

8. Very dark and not my normal froth coffee this morning.@finschef had recommended honey and cocoa for coffee....yum! Adding it to my rotation :) #paleo #cocoa#coffee #primal

• Coffee + honey + cocoa

9. Extract play....bulletproof orange this morning. While almond and vanilla are in the lead as favs orange has a fresh pickup to it. :) #paleo #bulletproofcoffee#paleocoffee #primal

• coffee + gf butter + orange extract

10. Playing w coffee flavors. Hooked on grassfed butter (bulletproof coffee) and vanilla, honey, coconut milk, ect. This morning I made butter, coconut milk and almond extract...yum! Didn't need the coconut milk so I'll ditch that next time. I'm going to jump into making my own extracts this week. It's too expensive to buy the bottle and use in your coffee :) stay tuned! Found some awesome extracts to make. #paleo #coffee #jerf

• Coffee + gf butter + coconut milk + almond extract (1/2 tsp is my normal measurement for extract for a 16oz cup)

11. Can you guess? I'm a huge advocate of thermos ownership. Thermos or @Stanley brand are my favs. This is my coffee/thermos and today it's keeping my grass-fed butter coffee hot til the afternoon! (Stanley has my lunch today) #paleo #jerf #paleocoffee #coffee#buttletproofcoffee

• Coffee + gf butter

12. I was allowed in the kitchen to make my coffee and lunch. I whipped up a coffee that was approved by the teenager!! Into the blender with 16oz hot coffee, grass-fed butter, 1tbls local raw honey and 1 tsp of organic vanilla extract. OMG heaven!!! Beats the pants off any coffee this far and for sure SBs! Teen approval is total bonus because he's picky and doesn't like the taste of coffee but likes coffee drinks. He will drink my cold banana coffee also :) #paleo #paleocoffee #coffee#jerf

• 16oz hot coffee, grass-fed butter, 1tbls local raw honey and 1 tsp of organic vanilla extract

13. Evening cup of coffee with coconut milk while dinner is cooking. #paleo #coffee #coconut. For an 'upside down coffee' I use 75% coconut milk and 25% coffee. Basically it's coffee flavored coconut milk. It's a nice way to end the day and not keep you up all night!

Raising a Natural Baby: Natural Body Soap

Finding a recipe to use for baby body wash was another important step for my natural baby. I used Johnson's baby naturals head to toe wash which only had 14 ingredients most of which came from plants such as coconut, corn, palm, soybean, and sunflower.  But it contained other things I couldn't pronounce. So I looked for a simpler one. I got it from a friend so I do not know the original source.

Coconut milk body wash

1/2 cup coconut milk (I used canned to be more creamy)

1/2 cup liquid Castile soap (I used Dr. Bronner's rose hemp)

3 tsp Vitamin E oil

5-8 drops of essential oil

Add all ingredients to a bottle and shake.

Little E loved his bath. I pour a pea size amount on my hand and wash with my hand instead of using a towel. I can feel better in cracks to get out lint and other grime. I chose a rose hemp version of Dr. Bronner's Castile soap because rosé oil is very expensive and it has great qualities. I also chose tea tree oil because of healing qualities. Both of the healing aids of these are listed below.

Rose oil: antiseptic, anti inflammatory, relieves cuts and burns, reduces swelling, aids in asthma, PMS, menstrual cramps, impotency, improves mood during menopause, aphrodisiac, antidepressant, stress reliever, and sedative.

Tee Tree:  anti microbial, antiseptic, antiviral, anti fungal. Fights: infections, colds, flu, cold sores, acne, candida.

Ordered liquid soap, and oils  off of amazon.com, coconut milk from Kroger.  

Using a funnel.

Old and new.

Enjoying the bath.

-Andrea

Raising a Natural Child: Baby Wipes

After switching bottom creams to a natural one the next step was to find a good natural bottom but cleaner. We found many formulas that used paper towels and a couple with cloth wipes. I didn't like the waist of paper towels. But here is the link to look at. http://wellnessmama.com/1459/homemade-baby-wipes-recipe/

I wanted to do a simple one that I could just spray on baby bottom to use less waist of soaps. The one I use is modified from many I found on line.

My DIY natural bottom cleaning solution. 

1 cup water

1/2 cup liquid Dr. Bronners Castile soap (rose and hemp)

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tsp Vitamin E oil

I placed this in a larger spray bottle for storage and use small 3 oz travel size spray bottles. One for his day care, diaper bag and home use. I then needed to find wipes. I thought about making my own but I knew I could find some at an affordable price. Wow! There are costly ones advertised. I went to Walmart and found a four pack of baby wash clothes for $1.98. I bought ten for a total of 40 wipes. I take ten in to school for his day care and replace what they use daily. They send home soiled wipes to clean. I don't mind at all. This was a simple fix for our house hold. Just wrap and wipe clean. 

Before diaper/ wipe area. 

After switching out wipes for to cloth cleaner and wipes. 

- Andrea