I just got back from a 15 minute walk around the block, and am now attempting to eat a super health egg salad before my next meeting. Who hates Monday? Not me!

What do you do to make your Monday awesome?

Easy Egg Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 hard boiled farm fresh eggs
1/2 C mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
dash cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. Peel eggs and smash with a fork
2. Stir in mayo, salt and pepper. Add cayenne to taste.
3. To serve, scoop on top of a bed of spring greens.

When last week’s e-newsletter was sent out, I realized I made a big mistake in the measurements of the Chocolate Chia Pudding! I wrote 1/4 C raw milk and 1 C chia seeds and really it should be flip flopped! (I’ve since corrected the recipe online.)

I apologize if you tried the recipe and it didn’t work. And if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a try! It’s quick and easy and tasty!

Eggs.

Love ‘em.

When I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago (right after I had a mini panic attack when I used my last local, free-range egg) I was shocked to see $7+ for a dozen Organic Valley eggs. Part of it is that our area — Menominee, MI — is considered an economically depressed area. So I’m guessing many people most likely do not buy organic because they are counting their pennies (or spending them on the bar tab). I’m guessing organic eggs don’t sell well, so the store hikes up the price. When 5-10 dozen eggs go past their “sell by” date and are thrown out, at least those 3 dozen they did sell pays off the bunch.

My egg-laden, protein-rich coconut flour bread would be super expensive if I was reliant on store-bought OV eggs!

Organic, free-range eggs feed our brains and body with healthy fat, protein and other vital nutrients. Eggs from hens raised on pasture show 4 to 6 times as much vitamin D as supermarket eggs (source).

Moral of the story? Find a local farmer. Organic eggs (and free-range) are definitely worth it.

If you’re in the Menominee/Marinette area, check out Smax Farm. Their eggs sell for $3/dozen and you can sign up for a regular weekly pick-up.

If you already have an egg source, how much do you pay per dozen?

Photo Credit: www.wisegeek.org

I have a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to rich, creamy foods like cheesecake, rice pudding and… well, all puddings in general. Which is a challenge for someone who tries to eat healthy most of the time. So when I heard about someone making pudding from chia seeds, it was Game On.

Chia seeds are an old food; evidence shows that humans began using chia seeds around 3500 BC. They have nutritional benefits including fiber, omega fatty acids, calcium, antioxidants and more – even protein.

The texture is slightly chewy (unless a handblender is used) and can be a satisfying, bitter chocolatey taste or sweet chocolate, depending on how much honey you add.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 C Raw Milk (or coconut milk)
• 1/4 C Chia Seeds
• 3 Tb Cocao Powder
• 1-2 Tb Honey
• 2-5 drops Stevia

Directions

1. In a jar with a lid, measure the milk and chia seeds. Let soak for 15-30 minutes, stirring or shaking the jar every 3-5 minutes to avoid clumping.
2. Then, in a medium size bowl, stir cocao powder with the thick liquid until well mixed.
3. Add raw honey and stevia to taste.
4. Option: use a hand blender to make the pudding smooth.

This is an amazingly simple coconut flour bread. Whenever I’ve made nut flour breads, they usually end up dry and flaky. Not this one! This is moist and perfect for sandwich bread.

Coconut Flour Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups coconut flour
• 1 cup ghee
• 2 tbsp honey
• 12 eggs
• 1 tsp unrefined sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat 350° F
2. Soften ghee while oven is preheating.
3. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
4. Mix wet ingredients together and then, using a hand blender, mix thoroughly with the dry ingredients.
5. Butter a loaf pan and pour batter into pan.
6. Bake 40 mins.

When I first started using squash in my kitchen, I was a bit nervous. What if I did it wrong? Do you cut it and then bake it? Do you bake it whole? How long do you bake it? Are you supposed to poke a fork all over it? Or are you supposed to steam it instead?

So let me just

You can buy pumpkin seeds at gas stations, grocery stores or nearly anywhere food is sold. But making your own is satisfying, cheaper and healthier too!

Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

Squash
Pan
Spoon
Bowl

Directions

1. Bake.
   Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place your squash in an oven-safe pan or dish and place in the oven for 2-4 hours or until a fork pierces skin. Take out and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
2. Cut & Scoop.
   Cut squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and place seeds in bowl. Scoop out the squash meat and use for soups, stews, mash it up or simply put a few pats of butter on top and enjoy.
3. Seeds.
   Wash off as much squash leftovers from the seeds (from the above photo, you can see this step isn’t exactly necessary…just makes for a bit more work when snacking.). Then follow these directions: 

• Dehydrator: lay seeds in a single layer, sprinkle with sea salt (optional) and dehydrate for a few hours, or until crunchy.
• Oven: preheat oven to 175° F or lowest temperature. Lay seeds in a single layer on parchment paper, sprinkle with sea salt (optional) and place in oven for a few hours, or until crunchy.

This morning I went to a health fair for my yoga studio, The Yoga Place. I rolled out my yoga mat and practiced Sun Salutations, some challenging arm balances and a few wraps. I also threw in Warrior poses and Tree pose, as well as seated and laying down twists. And visitors to my booth kept me busy, so it wasn’t just me hanging out doing yoga by myself!

When I left the health fair, they were handing out a lunch for the exhibitors so I grabbed one. The mozz cheese stick I had as a snack was long gone and I was feeling faint, although that might have also been from being an extrovert for two hours (it’s hard!).

The point of the lunch (which they also handed out to the visitors too, I think) was to point out how much better it was (less calories and less money!) than eating fast food. The lunch consisted of:

• carrot sticks
• mozzarella cheese stick
• apple
• bagel
• peanut butter

Sounds decent, right?

Wrong!

OK, I’ll concede I have nothing against carrot sticks, mozz cheese sticks (obviously) and apples. But the bagel is simply sugar (and possibly contained soy lecithin) without proper preparation of the grains. And I really had high hopes for the peanut butter, but it contained fully hydrogenated vegetable oils. So it’s a very bad fat.

This post isn’t about how healthy I eat–I don’t make perfect choices, nor do I aim for perfection. I’m just concerned… there were so many people at the health fair, and now they think that is “healthy?” It’s only going to add to chronic disease!

A healthier snack lunch:

• carrot sticks
• mozzarella cheese stick
• apple
• real peanut butter
• celery
• organic meat sticks (without harmful additives)

This morning, in celebration of Independence Day, we decided to eat out at Perkins. Since I was planning on having a cup of coffee, I filled an empty tomato sauce jar with raw milk. It was a very little jar of raw milk, yet I felt lots of eyes looking at my hand as we were led to our table. Coffee and creamers came shortly thereafter, and I filled two cups nearly full of coffee. I unscrewed my jar and poured raw milk into my coffee and my husband opened two creamers and put them in his coffee.

And that’s when I opened my mouth.

I really didn’t mean or want to come across as a self-righteous foodie, but that is what I was labeled. I tried to explain that I just feel passionate about the relationship between food and long-term health, that I sincerely believe it’s not dairy if it doesn’t do something at room temperature and how can you trust that inside your body.

I tried coming from a spirit of ”I love you so much, I just want the best for you” and that didn’t work (partially because he turned the tables and pointed out some unhealthy things I consume that he doesn’t).

I think what saddens me, because sadness is one emotion I’m feeling, is that our diet is not something we are 100% together on. I think it’s cute how some couples shop together and promote a healthy diet together but it’s somewhat one-sided in our home. Sometimes I see a glimmer of togetherness, like when he was telling a buddy at work about the pasture-raised, organic beef we bought or when we were in Southern Illinois at the Farmer’s Market. Glimmers that leave me wanting more!

Does this happen to you and what do you say or do?

Some people wonder what I eat when my diet is so “restricted,” so here is my Top 20 list of foods + 1 supplement I make sure to have on hand! For a full GAPS legal food list, click here.

1. Farm fresh, local eggs
2. Raw milk & Butter
3. Sauerkraut (lacto-fermented)
4. Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil
5. Organic, grass fed beef
6. Farm fresh, organic bacon
7. Pasture-raised, organic chicken or turkey
8. Raw, organic cheddar cheese
9. Organic, grass fed organ meats i.e. liver
10. Organic, dry, red wine
11. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon. On-the-go option: Alaskan Pink Salmon in a can
12. Organic Beef Broth and Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (preferably homemade)
13. Organic apples
14. Organic light roast coffee (the ‘light roast’ part is just personal preference)
15. Organic Ghee
16. Peanut butter
17. Squash
18. Raw, Organic Honey
19. Homemade yogurt
20. Cod Liver Oil Capsules

Photo Credit: http://www.eatkamloops.org/weston-a-price-foundation-shopping-guide-for-canada/

Linked to: The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tuesdays at the Table, Fat Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday with iBlog4.me, Tasty Tuesday with 33 Shades of Green, Pennywise Platter, Taking a Timeout Thursday, Creative Juice

I scoured the grocery store Wednesday after teaching my 4 p.m. yoga class desperately looking, but unwilling to ask, for peanut sauce. I couldn’t even find a Jiffy and sugar version of peanut sauce! Not that I would have stooped so low…

So I trudged home, hungry and still dreaming of grilled chicken with steamed greens dipped in peanut sauce. They say hunger is the root of all tasty recipes… and so it was the case on Wednesday. I measured and mixed and taste tested until I came up with this recipe, a recipe Elav said triggered a childhood memory. I think that’s a good sign.

I invite you to test this recipe and leave comments! But first, a confession: at the Savvy Recipe Development talk (just one of the wonderful events at the Nourished Food Blogger Conference) it was recommended to test a recipe three times before publishing it. And I only tested my recipe, um, once. My only excuse is that I haven’t had time to get through 10 servings of really, really good Peanut Sauce since Wednesday. But I’ve made a huge dent.

Enjoy!

Peanut Sauce

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients

3/4 C Peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/4 C Coconut Milk
1 1/2 Tb Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tb Liquid Aminos
1 1/2 Tb Water
1 Tb Honey
1 Tb Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tb Garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp Fish Sauce
1 1/2 tsp Ginger powder
1 tsp Yellow Curry powder
1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Real Salt

Directions

1. Using a food processor, like this Cuisinart Food Processor, mix all ingredients.
2. Taste test and adjust as necessary.
3. Use on top of free range, organic broiled or grilled chicken or as the marinade for free range, organic pork chops.
4. Enjoy and…
5. Leave your comments below!

Linked to: Real Food Wednesday