Flounder...

We just finished a meal of grilled flounder, grilled to crispy perfection, cooked carrots in butter and onions and a small salad with tomatoes and avocado. I found 2 lbs of the Flounder for $5 at Wal-mart on sale last night and we were able to give everyone a decent sized piece for that. Of course they loved it and could have eaten twice or three times that. Most fish is about $10 a pound and maybe flounder isn't as good for you, I can't figure out why it was so cheap but mmmmm it was good on the grill. I rolled it in olive oil, Celtic sea salt and pepper and cooked it on our grills lowest setting on parchment paper. We don't use foil anymore and I don't think you'd get the same crispiness without the paper.

Cabbage/Chicken Soup...

I made this cabbage/chicken soup tonight and I really liked it. Out of 10 eating it about 5 didn't really like it. Maybe someone else will though. I tripled the batch for our family and because there weren't anyone rushing for seconds there is plenty left for lunch for us and for hubby's lunch tomorrow.

12 c. water
9 c. chicken broth (I cook a chicken in water for about 3 hours and used this water.)
6 c. fresh tomatoes (I used one can of ready to use chopped, all I had and I didn't make sure it was 6 c. More like 28 oz.)
4-5 celery stalks chopped
several stalks chopped green onion ( I added one chopped onion since I also didn't have this)
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp thyme
3/4 tsp caraway seed
2 TBSP or more sea salt (I don't cook my chicken with salt so it really needed a bit)

Combine, bring to boil, simmer 30-min to and hour

Add the following, remove bay leaves and serve (I brought to boil again but I think you just serve with cabbage hot in the soup and not cooked through)

9 c. chopped cabbage
3 c. cooked chicken
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp sugar (oops forgot this but I would have used honey)

I liked it and had three bowls and I don't really take to soup too well. Too many caraway seeds but it did add a good flavor but if I make this again I won't add them. My hubby liked. One child said it wasn't the best soup in the world but it was OK. We discussed the best soup in the world; chili? knepfla soup? pepper jack cheese soup? chicken noodle? Pepper jack cheese was the winner in our family!

Tomorrow: Apple slaw (I hope to get to this, forgive me if I forget and get busy with something else.)

My favorite things...

These are a few of my favorite things....talking about this diet. I can rarely get into a conversation with anyone without it coming around to this diet. I have a passion for the good health we have and when other people tell me problems they are having with health I just want to tell them how to help it change. I don't believe this diet is the absolute answer for everyone. You can change your digestive health with other changes but I do believe most Americans are suffering problems needlessly. Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon is a great place to start (and end).

There was a manager type person bagging my groceries and he was commenting on the bananas to the kids, "Is your mom going to make banana bread with these?" (referring to the very ripe bananas we bought). I told him that those kind of bananas are what you should eat because they are more digestible than the yellow ones. He looked at me astonished in a way and commented he finds he gets a stomach ache when he eats the yellow bananas. This lead to more discussion and talk of the "diet" and he finds when he eats food in it's natural state without pre-made sauces he feels better. Bingo! Natural, whole, wholesome, home-grown, home-made. These words are added to foods to entice us to eat them. Let's enjoy them for truth!

Continued improvement...

Diets are so challenging! You love them and you hate them at the same time. You know you have to do it because you know how you feel when you eat wrong. I dislike the word "diet" as it implies trying to lose weight. We like to say other things for the word "diet". "New way of eating." "Eating plan." "Breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks." We do know we have been brought to a new way of eating for a reason. We are all seeing tremendous health benefits from moving away from the SAD (Standard American Diet) to a more natural diet. I recently went on a website where the mother eats from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book for her 12 children and she broke down the cost of eating that way. Right now our grocery bill is outlandish but I'm working on developing a plan and getting some of the expense under control. While we transition from eating so many breads to eating more whole foods we find ourselves hungry so we snack a lot. When our garden starts putting out and when we get used to this way of eating I believe we will eat a bit less, but maybe not, we do have 10 people in the family!

The change I notice right now is the children's complexions. They have become clear and healthy looking. My oldest hasn't had any acne breakouts and neither have I in the last 2-3 weeks. My husband lost 20 pounds (he did not need to) but he has muscles he didn't have before. He believes his body is being nourished by the food he eats for the first time in his life and this is how his body is responding. My son with health concerns continues improving and seeing increased energy levels. His color is improving. We continue to be free of stomach-aches after meals.

Next week: We are building a chicken tractor to raise 100 meat birds in. They will be moved all around our yard working up the ground, fertilizing it and nourishing themselves in the process. Next year the ground will be fertile pasture for our goats.

Guacamole

Condiments are out on this diet so I am looking for new ways to make my hamburger tasty. I have discovered cutting thick slices of onion and grilling them. My husband especially likes these and thinks they taste like onion rings. I recently checked out some cookbooks from the library. I noticed that most cookbooks out there (not the standard church ones) use whole, natural ingredients to season the foods. Rarely do they ask for a can of anything. I found this wonderful guacamole that makes a hamburger to die for again. (I love mayo, BBQ sauce, a slice of tomato and onion on my hamburger).

2 Ripe avocados-chopped
3 TBSP finely chopped onion
1 Jalapeno chili-minced (I didn't have this)
1 TBSP cilantro
1 TBSP fresh lime juice (I only had lemons)
1 clove garlic-pressed

Mash until avocado is chunky, not smooth
Stir in one large, diced tomato
Salt to taste
Refrigerate
Makes 2 1/2 cups

We continue enjoying life on this diet. Coming up with new lunch ideas and the cost are challenges but the health benefits are wonderful. We continue seeing good results in the children and ourselves. It may be partly due to the sun and fresh air we get now that winter is over but the faces of my children are all so clear and healthy looking. For once I didn't break out all over my chin when I had "Martha" (my high-school nickname for that time of the month). I always break out and squeeze them and now have zit scars on my chin. I got the barest hint of them this time. I know it takes time to see these kind of results but I am looking forward to what else is in store. I have read of others having their gums of their mouth actually grow back and become healthy again. That is what I hope to accomplish with this. I have about 5 teeth that are showing nerves and bother me some.

Guilty...

OK, so we keep cheating on this diet. Last week it was graduations and this week a get together at friends. I have allowed the kids to have one item not on the allowed foods list and then they can't have seconds on it. I bring food that they can have as much as they want. I go back and forth as to what I should do. I know we have improved our digestion 100 percent but what if there is true healing that needs to be done. Going off the allowed list could prevent healing. Since we have one child with a serious problem because of a compromised immune system I am trying to prevent anymore problems with anyone else. I can get a bit paranoid and anxious about it. My hubby "cheats" all the time at work but does claim he feels so much better when he sticks to the diet 100 %. I have broke down twice and bought tortilla chips to eat with salsa. It gave me a stomach ache the first time but not the second.

Tonight, though for our anniversary we grilled Cornish game hens cut in half marinated with garlic powder, Celtic sea salt, and pepper. Yummy. I cooked carrots in butter and onions. Yummy, again. A small lettuce salad followed by a slice of watermelon. For dessert, the kids made rhubarb cake out of almond flour again. It was all very good and very filling. A baked potato would have been great with it and hubby said he felt like potato salad but in the end we were filled up and happy. I am praying about whether we will allow non-allowed foods anymore. Should we follow it for a year, 18 months or two years like the book recommends? I don't have that answer popping into my head right now. I do know we see results with the more ill child and with others in the family.