What's My Deal With Grains?

The paleo diet, going grain or gluten-free, and using sprouted grains are diet and lifestyle changes many of us have been hearing about, but why? Is it another bandwagon? Another weight-loss scheme? Digestive issues led me to an elimination diet, and that is when I discovered that there is a whole group of people that have gone completely grain-free. But why would a person who doesn't know of any grain sensitivities give up grains all together? For their health.

Before mass grain production, grains were often left in the fields to sprout. Sprouting increases the vitamin content, and makes food much more digestible. Years ago, the common person did not have easy access to grains, and prior to the invention of the roller mill (1872), flour was a luxury that only the wealthy could afford.

Now, most of us have half of an isle in our grocery store devoted to breads. Within those bread bags are the phytic acid containing grains. Phytic acids are mineral blockers that prevent the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. Phytic acid is found in all grains, and as the outer coatings of nuts and seeds. Sprouting breaks down these phytic acids.

Phytic acids block much needed calcium which may become a risk factor for osteoperosis. Grains also cause insulin spikes. Insulin is the process of storing nutrients and processing glucose in the bloodstream. Our bodies cannot handle the large amount carbohydrates we consume; therefore, leading to higher risks and rates of diabetes.

As if phytic acids aren't bad enough, there are other culprits to decreasing health and increasing waist lines. The more talked about villain in this story is gluten. Gluten is a water soluble protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other carbohydrates. Gluten can and does break down microvilli in the small intestine.

Lectins also join in on the spiral downward. "Lectins are problematic because they are sticky molecules that can bind to the linings of human tissue, especially intestinal cells. In so doing, they disable cells in the GI tract, keeping them from repairing and rebuilding." (Source)

Just because we don't see any immediate consequences of mass grain consumption does not mean that there are no effects. Phytic acids, gluten and lectins have been linked with the following diseases:

- Diabetes

- Autoimmune diseases like Hashimotos, Celiac and Crohn's

- Syndrome X - PCOS is in this category, which can lead to hormone imbalance and infertility

- Autism

- Obesity

- Arthritis

- Depression

- General lack of energy

So what does a person eat that isn't filling up on grains? Lots of protein, good fats like avocados, coconut oil, and animal fats (will write about fat soon), plenty of vegetables, and fruit. Our family does still eat grains, as you can see on my menu, but not every meal has to have a grain. It was an initial struggle for me to cut grains out of my diet, but the benefits were so many that it was worth it to stick it out. Within a week of going grain-free I noticed a spike in energy, less brain fog, much easier digestion, my skin cleared up, and weight-loss was the added bonus. I am now slowly working the grains out of my children's diets.

The road to good health is a journey. Do some more research. Would you think about doing a grain-free 30 day challenge, or challenging yourself to start pulling grains off the menu one meal at a time?

The Best Broccoli Salad!

If you want to "wow" the pickiest of eaters, or attempt to convince your children that broccoli is delicious, then this is the recipe you should turn to. This salad has been served at parties, delivered as part of a dinner, and regularly rotates through our menu. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't get seconds - including my husband who normally detests broccoli.

Broccoli, Almond and Cranberry Salad
Makes 8-12 servings (depending on size)

10 oz lb broccoli (nitrate & hormone free if you can find it)

2 heads of broccoli, or 1.5 lb broccoli3/4 c slivered or chopped almonds
1/2 c raisins or craisins
6 slices bacon, cooked until crispy
1/3 c rendered bacon fat or olive oil
1/4 c red wine or apple cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper to Taste

- While the bacon is cooking, get out a large bowl.
- Trim broccoli into bite sized pieces the tough part of the stem.
- Add the broccoli to the bowl, along with the vinegar, almonds, (c)raisins and salt & pepper.
- Once the bacon is done let it cool.
- Once cooled, chop or use your hands to crumble up the bacon and add it to the bowl.
- Pour 1/3 c of the rendered fat from the bacon directly into the bowl.
- Toss everything to combine. Serve immediately, or wait until it’s cold. It’s good either way.

Cost:

Nitrate-free/no antibiotic bacon (Costco): $3.50

1.5 lb Broccoli (Costco): $1.50

Slivered almonds: $.75

Cranberries: $.25

Red wine vinegar: $.25

Total: $6.25 (this will easily go with two meals)

Menu: Week 1

Wednesday:

(B) Egg Burritos (scrambled eggs, spinach, breakfast sausage)
(L) Smoothies - bananas, carrots, peanut butter, coconut oil, yogurt
(D) Smoked Chicken, Broccoli Salad, sweet potatoes

Thursday:
(B) Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
(L) Hard boiled eggs, apples, peanut butter, cheese slices, multi-grain chips
(D) Mango Chicken

Friday:
(B) Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
(L) Spanish Tortilla
(D) Grain-Free Pizza & Salad

Saturday:
(B) Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Meatballs
(L) Spanish Tortilla
(D) Italian beef sandwiches, carrots and/or salad

Sunday:
(B) OPEN
(L) Leftovers
(D) Chicken Fajitas

Monday:
(B) Breakfast Bake
(L) PB&J Sandwich, carrots, raw milk
(D) Carmelized Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday:
(B) Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
(L) Harb boiled egg, carrots and apples with peanut butter, & raw milk
(D) Taco Tuesday!

Snacks: organic pears & apples, organic grapes, grain-free granola, and carrots with seed butter

(I will update this post on Wednesday, November 2nd with what I spent!)

Answers to questions:

- I have been asked (love you, Jen!) if I am still doing Paleo. Yes, for the most part, I am. My kids do eat their sandwiches on sprouted bread, have peanut butter (as well as other nut and seed butters), but I do try to limit grains to once a day. On taco/quasadilla nights I use romaine lettuce leaves instead of tortillas, and many times my kids think it is fun so they join me.

- I do use many high calorie recipes. Not only am I not scared to eat fat, but I am a huge advocate of doing so. Our bodies need fat, and I commit to writing about that very soon. The recipes contain coconut oil, butter and animal fat. As you fill up on protein, good fats and vegetables (with some fruit thrown in) the body does not need the "bulk" of grains. Many may see my menu, and think that it doesn't look like much, but I challenge you to eat whole foods with good fats for a week and see how full you feel - and stay. ;)

Making a List, Checking it Twice

With the announcement of me posting my menu and spending each week, I knew that I had to finally take an inventory of what is in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. I thought about what it would look like to make up my own system, called on my creative husband to help me brainstorm something that would work for me, and then he suggested I just look up an inventory list online. Brilliant. So I turned to Google, and she of course was faithful.

I had never made an inventory of my kitchen before, but I'm bringing you all along on my journey. Before I started my commitment to the menu , I wanted to know what I have stockpiled. These are the lists that I found on Google and went with:

(Links: Pantry Inventory, Larder (Refrigerator) Inventory, and Freezer Inventory)

My inventories are now done, and in my kitchen binder (contains grocery ads, old Menu plans, our favorite recipes, and our bi-monthly Costco trip list). My plan is to follow the instructions at the bottom of the list by using a slash mark for each item in the pantry, freezer or fridge, and then each Monday when I clean my kitchen to cross out each item that was used over the week. As I try out this new system I will be sure to let you all know how it goes.

I tried to get this post out early enough so that you all can have a chance, if you want it, to make an inventory in the next couple of days. While I am making the menu tomorrow to share with you all, maybe you could make it a goal of yours to see what you already have on hand? This would also be a great time to gather the foods you know you're not going to eat, or are trying to work out of your diet, and donate them to a local food bank!

Announcement!

There are a few things in life that scare me. Frogs terrify me. If I see a frog you better believe I will be high-kneeing it until I feel I am at a safe distance away. The dark is still scary to me, and my quirkiest, once all-consuming, fear is of my teeth falling out. Strange, I know.

There is one other thing that I should mention that scares me: commitment. My fear of commitment points to my wrestle with selfishness. I struggle with thinking that I may not have the time, energy, resources, and patience to serve and give freely. The second (and third) reasons I fear committing to things is that I don't want to fail and I don't want to let people down. So now that I have exposed a bit of my inward workings, I have good news. I am committing!

Starting Tuesday, November 1st I will be posting my weekly menus on Tuesday nights. The menu will have a link to all of the recipes that I will be making that week. If you live in the Dallas area, this will be great for you because you will be able to use my menu and list as a plan. You will also be able to shop the sales at Sprouts on "Double Ad Wednesdays" (this week and last weeks sale prices are good on Wednesdays). Even if you aren't in the Dallas Metroplex you should still be able to find equivalent deals, because most produce goes on sale when it is in season. Better news, for many of you, is that I will be posting how much money I spent each week and where I shopped. Hopefully this will be an encouraging step towards health.

Our budget is $600 month for food and household items such as garbage bags, toilet paper, laundry and cleaning supplies. If we eat out, it comes out of this $600. If we think we need a coffee on the way to church, it comes out of the food envelope. We do a cash system, and twice a month I get $300 for food. We have found that it works better for us to do two weeks at a time, because one week I may spend $90 and the next $150. Sales, using up what I have stock-piled, and household supplies can tip my budget one week but not usually for two weeks in a row. So, I will be spending, on average, around $135/week on food for a family of 5 (husband, myself, two school-aged boys, and a toddler girl).

I hope my budget is a good reflection of my readers, or gives them a goal to aim for, but if your family is on an even tighter budget please leave me a comment. Two-years-ago, we were a family of 5, but I was still nursing my daughter, and I was feeding our family a whole foods diet (little-no processed foods) for $75 week. We weren't eating as many organic foods as we eat now, but it was still much healthier than eating sugar and preservative laden food. I was able to spend a lot more time in the kitchen, because we had not started homeschooling yet. So while it was more time consuming, I quickly learned that where there is a will there is a way.

This should be fun! Thank you for the feedback I have been receiving about what you guys would like to read and learn about. My hope is that this is a place where we can learn how to nourish ourselves and our families together!

Slow Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

I adore soups, stews and chili. Eating out of bowl gives me a strange sense of joy. Fall rolls into Texas later than what I am used to being from the North, and as soon as the temperature drops under 78 degrees the slow cooker is brought out. On top of the ease and comfort of my bowl full of food, I also enjoy the savings that soup season brings.

Last night I made a wild rice chicken soup that must be shared!

A splash of olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 minced cloves of garlic

4 stalks of chopped celery

2 large diced carrots (or approximately 20 baby carrots - what I had on hand)

3 raw chicken legs (or one cup of diced chicken or turkey)

1 cup wild rice

1 teaspoon pepper

48 ounces of chicken broth (homemade or boxed/canned)

1 teaspoon basil leaves

1 teaspoon tarragon

1 teaspoon parsley

salt to taste

1. Put oil, onions and garlic in a skillet. Cook on medium heat until onions are transparent. Make sure to keep on a lower heat so that the garlic and onions don't burn. (Takes about 5-6 minutes)

2. Put all other ingredients in your slow cooker while the onions and garlic are simmering.

3. Add onions and garlic to slow cooker and turn on low for 6-8 hours or until your carrots are tender and your rice is cooked.

4. Pull out chicken and shred - if it didn't already fall apart in the soup. My chicken legs were very soft, but I did have to shred them.

5. Put chicken back in soup, stir, serve and enjoy!

Note: Save the chicken skin and bones no one ate off of! Break or cut the bones into pieces, and place them in a container in your fridge to cool. Once fully cooled, I add bones to a baggie in my freezer (marked and used within the month) to make chicken broth. Which I will tell you how to do in tomorrow's post.

COST:

3 chicken legs (Rosie's Organic/Free-Range Chicken @ Sprouts) - $1.49

Organic Onion: $.30

Organic Celery: $.50

Organic Baby Carrots: $.50

Organic Wild Rice (Gluten-Free Sale @ Sprouts): $.75

Homemade broth (unsure how to figure cost because I use bones):

Organic Spices (Order Bulk with friends): $.15

Total: $3.69 (And this is why I love soup season)

Have a Plan

It is no secret that one of the best ways to save money with your grocery budget is to have a menu. There are many websites, blog posts, and pins on Pinterest (exposing my new distraction) that share many creative ways to make a menu. Nearly 2-years-ago I found one on Design Sponge that worked for me, and I have not turned back. Today, I thought I would share my system with you!

(Print)

This menu works great for our family because there is a menu section, a grocery list, and daily small spaces where I am able to write what I need to prep.

How it works:

- I sit down on Tuesdays and check out the weekly ads. The EWG List is also on hand to see where it is most wise to buy organic. For me, in the Dallas area, I look at the Sprouts and Whole Foods ads. I make note of what is on sale, and start to build my menu around sale items and what I normally buy from Costco.

- There are many sites I search to find healthy recipes. All Recipes allows me to enter ingredients I want and don't want in a recipe. Cooking Light has their "In Season" section I have previously blogged about. Everyday Paleo is another favorite recipe site of mine. And if you know me well, you know I have a deep love for Ree (The Pioneer Woman)!

- From there I figure out what meat I will need for the week. Since we have gone organic and free-range it is not too often I find meat on sale. I pay $2.39/lb for Rosie's free-range organic chicken at Sprouts, and around $4.50/lb for free-range, hormone-free beef at Matador.

- Once the days are filled in I write all the food I will need for the day on the list below that day. So if I'm making tacos ground beef, seasoning, an onion, romaine lettuce hearts, tortillas, cheese, and carrots will all be on the list for that day. Listing things out like this may seem excessive, but it keeps me from first overbuying, and then helps insure that I actually use everything I bought. In our home it is also great because Brandon likes to cook. If Brandon sees that I need that one green pepper in the fridge on Friday he won't use it on Wednesday.

- On the "Oh, I also need..." section I put snack items, fresh fruit, and other random things like oil, peanut butter, and toilet paper.

- If you open the link, you will see that there are small spots under each day. In that small spot is where I will put anything I need to do to prep for meals. If I need to soak grains and beans, or make lunches because we will be out of the house the next day, then it is written in that spot.

- I keep my menu posted on my refrigerator on a clipboard that I made after seeing the Design Sponge Post. I am currently working on a "Food Binder" to store past menus, recipes, and pantry/freezer inventory lists. I highly recommend keeping your old menus, because I find that if I'm stumped on what to make that I can look at old menus for inspiration (and to know what my family liked/disliked).

If you keep a menu, do you have any tips for others? If you have tried to keep a menu in the past, what made you stop? I would like to hear from others about what has or has not worked for them.