Happy New Year to you all! I want to share something with you that I have been doing for years! It seems over the course of a year a lot of things can pile up, become unused, replaced, broken, no longer needed…etc. Several years ago I started “Spring Cleaning” in January. I go slowly. Very slowly. It started that way, because I was homeschooling 3 boys, and it was just easier time wise. Now they have all grown and graduated, but I still do this slow process. It takes me all of January and part of February. I do small sections at a time. Maybe spending 30-45 min each day. Unless of course I just “feel” like doing more. But that also frees me up to do other things. Besides! What else are you going to do in those cold months you are in the house anyway? Now, what does this have to do with food? Well…food…not much…until I get to the kitchen anway. 😀 But it does have a lot to do with my mental, and emotional health. 1. It keeps me busy during those cold, slow months. 2. A clean home makes me feel so good! 3. Decluttering and freeing up space makes for less work in the long run…which also makes me feel good! How to get started. I make a list of each section that needs done. I break it down by room. (I like lists. I like marking things off of lists!) Example:Master BathroomWallsCeilingCabinets/drawers under sinkLinen ClosetMedicine cabinetWalk-in Closet x2 (I usually take 2 days to work on this. The closet is off our bathroom)tub/sink/toiletFloors I do this with each room in the house. You can work on as little or as much each day as you want, but broken down this way is so much easier for me. As I go through things…I empty every cabinet/drawer/closet…whatever I am working on…I have 4 general questions I follow. Have I used this within the last year? Does it have sentimental value to me? If I was shopping right now would I buy it? If it’s broken, is it worth fixing? If the answer is NO…it goes either to the trash, donate (a lot ends up here), or selling pile…depending on what it is. I generally start on the main living level, but by the time I get to the basement I get in a hurry to finish. So this year I am shaking it up a bit, and starting in the basement. I know I will do the main level, so I am doing it last. If you want to follow along with me, you can follow each days task in my Instagram stories. It is all part of my health and wellbeing. As for “food news”. I am back to being extra strict for a while. So basically, lots of veggies, & protein. I haven’t felt super good lately and felt like I needed to be a little stricter. So even the “allowed” treats are being put on hold for now. I will still be blogging and posting so check back often! My goal is to TRY to blog at least once a week. Sometimes that is not doable, but it is my goal…
Before I get into my review today, I need to make a little announcement. The last 2 weeks have been an enormous, crazy, emotional, roller coaster ride for me. It’s a long, long story. Maybe someday I will be able to share it. (It’s not all bad…I know how brains work.) It will all work out the way it’s suppose to, but for right now, I have some things that I need to redirect my focus and attention on. Just trying to get my brain where it belongs is a big part of creating some of the emotional turmoil. God has also shown Himself mightily to my little family in the past couple weeks.
I am having a bit of an “off” week…so bear with me. Last week seemed to be a better week, as far as how I was feeling, but for some reason this week I am extra stressed, and having a couple issues. I am working on it. 🙂
I do have more items on my review this week though! AND!!! I do have our giveaway winner! She will be notified on Instagram! Congrats!
I was able to fix more items last week from our book. I will also warn you, that the next week may not have as many, if that’s the case I may skip a week and do a bigger review the next week. I also have more recipes ready to post. But first…this week’s review, from Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love cookbook.
This recipe was easy to adapt. It is also an extremely easy, fast meal. Especially if you use leftover chicken, from say...Roasted chickens! (This is one big reason why everytime we roast a chicken…I actually roast 2. I love the million uses for leftover roasted chicken. It makes meals so quick, not to mention tastes great!
One of my favorite side dishes at holiday events or any family gathering actually is Cheesy Broccoli Casserole. Especially my Aunt’s recipe. I have tried a couple different things with this one, but the recipe below is my favorite so far. If I concoct something better, you will be the first…well…second to know! 😀 But this recipe is so super easy!
Wow! I had every intention of posting more recipes before this review, but man! Life sometimes happens! But I will eventually get them. Maybe I will create an eBook, of a few for you. Would this interest anyone? Comment below and let me know your thoughts on that!
Once again, my review list this week is not tremendously long. Like I said, life happened. I had to do grocery shopping over the weekend…we were about out of everything. That in and of it’s self about wipes me out. Plus, I had to do it by myself this time. Also, I may have to take a little break from making any of the “sweets”. I have a little inflammation going on, so I need to get that back under control, before it goes into a full blown flare. So we will see. But there are still plenty of other recipes for me to review, and try, and recreate! 🙂
This Baked Buffalo Chicken is one of my family’s favorites. And it is so easy to make! I really only had to edit a couple things from our original recipe, so this was an easy “recreate”. Before I post the recipe, I also want you to be able to share in the Giveaway I am doing on Instagram! Go follow me on Instagram and Facebook! Here are the details. Read carefully because you must follow all the rules! But first…let me tell you about the giveaway! I love my hot logic mini. It was a game changer for me. I was very overwhelmed at the beginning of my diagnosis. Not only was I having to change everything about what I eat, and how I eat…learn to cook all over again, but I also was having to think ahead to always have food ready to take with me…every.where.i.went. Then I found the #hotlogic. It was a #lifesaver! I now have several of these, and since it is one of my very favorite things, I am going to give one away. ($50+value) It comes with a glass container. (This one does NOT have a car adapter.).Rules…I know I know…but there has to be some. 😂.1. Like this post.2. Follow my Instagram or Facebook or both!2. Share my Instagram or Facebook post to your stories!3. Subscribe to this blog! .Winner will be announced on June 10th! Now here’s your recipe! 😉 Baked Buffalo Chicken 1# chicken breasts cut into strips 2 Tablespoons Ghee 1 Tablespoon hot sauce 2 teaspoons siracha sauce Breading:1/3 cup almond flour 1/3 cup nutritional yeast ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon paprika Directions:Combine the chicken, melted ghee, hot sauce, and siracha in a bowl and mix well until chicken is coated. Whisk the breading ingredients together and dip each piece of chicken into the breading to coat it on both sides. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375* for about 25 minutes, until cooked through. Serve with siracha spiked ranch dressing for dipping, or simply with ranch dressing…
I have debated changing the name of this, because well…I can’t imagine a “hillbilly” eating a Paleo diet…LOL I thought about something like “Caveman Trash”…but you know…haha! (Just being a bit silly.)
This recipe started out as a campfire recipe for camping. My family loved it so much that I adapted it to be made and baked in the oven. While on level 1 and limited on level 2 (of The Wahls Protocol) I technically can have potatoes some, I wanted to find a way to actually get more of my veggies into all my meals. (Potatoes do not get to count towards the 9 cups I am to consume each day.) I also had to edit the “cheese” part of this recipe.
This week’s review is not quite as long as last week. For some reason, I revamped more of my own recipes last week than I did trying ones from Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love book. I plan to post some of those recipes this week. But for today, here is a review of what I did try!
One of my boys frequently asks for Salisbury Steaks. Since changing my eating habits, I try to not make 2 different meals very often. I will occasionally, so the others can have the things they miss and aren’t restricted from. I just try to not fix multiple meals every day. (And my family has been amazingly supportive and they don’t want me to do that either!) However, I do try to alter our recipes to make them compliant for me as much as possible. This was one of those recipes. While the steak part wasn’t so hard, the mushroom soup and gravy was another issue entirely!
Before…I could not make an angel food cake to save my life! I don’t know why. But I finally gave up trying. I would always ask my mother-in-law to make me one…especially at “strawberry time”.
Here we are again. Ready for week #3’s review? If you are are new here, I am working my way through Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love cookbook. You can fine Review 1 and Review 2 here.
Before I get into it though, let me say this. I do have more recipes ready to post as well. Last week just kind of turned into a crazy week and I ran out of time. So watch for new recipes to come!
Since I have several recipes in this week’s review, I will just get right to it! Again, I am working my way through Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love Cookbook. In no particular order. Just whatever works for us each day. I am also recreating some of our own personal recipes, which you will find posted under the “Recipes” section of the blog.
Prior to an autoimmune diagnosis, my favorite date night was Mexican. All things Mexican…all things cheese… You can imagine my “depths of despair” (thanks Anne of Green Gables) when I learned I could never have dairy again. NEVER. No gluten…no soy…AND NO DAIRY! I thought Mexican food was forever a memory. No more Mexican Date nights. 🙁 I had resigned to eating salad the rest of my life. I had no idea there were actually “options” out there!
So in discovering options, I also became excited in experimenting. My first experimenting goal? To recreate my favorite date night meal! And while some of it is not exactly as the restaurant’s…I actually ended up liking my version better! And what’s more!? You don’t have that over-stuffed, sick feeling when you are finished eating!
I love making this! It smells SOOOO good while it is baking. I had a similar version of this recipe that just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It had way to many steps and you ended up with the same results. I simplified it and this is a very easy “meal prep” breakfast!
I just add whatever breakfast meat/protein I have on hand and waalaa…full meal!
There are some flavors here that you may be like…ummm??? Are you sure??? Yes! I am sure! It is a good breakfast!