mocking pineapples.

I should be clear that in writing in this blog
I SERIOUSLY claim no knowledge on cooking.
or on how to go about this whole eating good thing in general.
I am learning...and this is just me writing down what I learn along the way.

so...you should know I have two organic pineapples that are mocking me.
mocking me because I have never cut up one.
ever.
yup, ever.
the aluminum canned ones have been fine by me for 33 years.
but since we're cutting out aluminum,
I now have two very rough and not friendly pineapples.
mocking me.
I like to eat pineapple...so it's time to learn.:)

so thank you jack in the yellow backwards hat with guy fieri bling.:)
p.s. I'm jealous of his knife, it looks pretty dang serious.
if you've never cut a pineapple either, here you go.

new kind-of a saturday morning

I'm learning that in order for my kids to really love a food, it's best to attach a memory to it.
I think thats one reason why they're loving the farmers markets so much
and actually even attempting things they normally wouldn't...just because its under a tent and is presented somewhat festively. :)
 
instead of the usual saturday morning dunkin donuts run,
first, we picked up our organic bountiful basket and tropical basket...
maddie was amazed at how much fruit and told me that most of our basket didn't even look gross! :)
and now have a ridiculous amount of food to figure out what to do with!
two pineapples|two vanilla beans|six limes|six nectarines|six apples|a dozen bananas|three kiwi's|three mango's|broccoli|lettuce|snap peas|corn on the cob|honeydew|two plantains|onions|cilantro|blueberries

any recipes you might have would be MORE than welcome! :)

then we followed it up with the gilbert farmers market.
after eating a free range, whole grain, nut filled, organic breakfast
they got to stop by the petting zoo and hold baby pigs (that I seriously laughed at micah trying to catch one for about fifteen minutes...and boy did it squeal LOUD) and another bunny named elizabeth that maddie wanted to take home! :)  then we got mad a non-toxic tattoo that looked like the sun from tangled...she LOVES it! :)

we brought home some tamales that mad got to sample and proclaimed that she loved...I never in a million years would have guessed that she would like a tamale!
and our new friend the tomato plant...I keep hoping they'll like tomatoes...but no luck yet!
I'm also noticing that farmers markets bring out a lot of dogs...which makes my kids happy...is this a normal thing?  if you're eating healthier, do you need a dog to be able to join the club? :)

seriously great new kind-of a saturday morning!

and what I quickly made as soon as I got home: :)

homemade vanilla extract

1 cp. vodka

2 vanilla beans

*slice vanilla beans down the center

*combine ingredients in a glass jar and shake once a week for up to three months for fullest flavor

the super farmers market

day 4.
SUPER thankful for the SUPER farm market this week!
(if you live in the area, click the hyper-link and "like" them...support local farm markets!) :)

m&m absolutely LOVED their adorable "moo-tique" and farm friends.
m&m got to feed baby calves milk bottles, goats and sheep seeds, pet a bunny, antagonize a giant turket, play catch with toby the farm dog and even go on a hayride.

and grandma and I got to shop for
organic vegetables, whole grain breads and hormone free/antibiotic free free range meat
(yeah say all that in a normal sentence - your tongue gets tied!)


this adventure totally boosted my ability to see "fun" in eating this new and overwhelming way! :)

I 100% agree. :)

they even had "green" eggs...I thought brown was strange enough...but green! :)

turk-zilla did NOT like micah. :)

do work.

so now that my entire kitchen is stocked with strange new food I've never eaten before
I've begun to scour the internet and blogs for foods we can eat...
I'm starting to think that some of these people have no taste buds.

the "best sandwich bread ever" tastes like mealy cardboard.
I have yet to believe that brussel sprouts will EVER taste good.
having no diet coke in the house kinda sucks.
I'm getting desperate.

that's 90% of the reason why I've started this little blog...
we are a fast food loving, quik trip craving, "normal" taste bud family...
and I'm just now realizing how hard this is to just make good TASTING food.

time to start digging for better recipes and do work.

the diet

so then how do we fix her insides without modern medicine?
diet and supplements (for a time)

things to avoid:
*artificial sweeteners: aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, maltitol, etc.
*flavor enhancers & preservatives: msg, nitrates, monosodium glutamate
*artificial colors & dyes: red, yellow, etc.
*canned foods and drinks: glass is acceptable
*refined carbohydrates: white sugar, white flour, corn syrup, enriched foods
*commercial meats: look for meat labeled "no hormones, no antibiotics, free range & organic".
*dairy products...sad day in our house.
*soy products
*chlorine & fluoride sources: tap water, fluoride toothpaste, etc

things to eat!
*1 quart of clean water per 50 lbs of body weight (this is hard and a major motivator to lose a few lbs. :)
*2 vegetables/fruit per meal
*25-35% of the meal should be a protein source (meats, eggs, beans, seeds, nuts, sprouts, quinoa, nut butters)
*40-60% of the meal should be carbohydate (100% whole grain un-enriched breads, pastas, rice and whole vegetables & fruit)
*15-25% of the meal should be fats (nuts, seeds, coconut oil, nut butters)

her list of supplements is going to kinda long in the beginning until her insides start to heal...most of which I know very little about...which is why I'm so thankful for Dr. Hill and his staff!

the diagnosis.

liver dysfuntion.
pancreas dysfunction.
colon dysfunction.
anemia.
hypoglycimic.
toxic.
dehydrated.

you're probably thinking I'm describing myself...it would make sense.
I'm addicted to diet coke and have been beyond nutritional deficient in every sense of the word for years.
but nope.  I'm not describing me.

I'm describing my eight year old baby girl.

modern medicine said she'd outgrow it in time...
                      here's some steroid cream to put on her angry skin until she does.
she poops once a week and it shames the largest man's intestines?
                                            we have a surgery for that when she's older...
she might be allergic to cow milk?
               give her soy...it's better for her anyways.

everything kind of came to a head about a month ago for our house.

sitting in the bathroom with my peanut, watching her cry frustrated tears at another "accident" that she has grown so ashamed and embarrassed of not knowing how to even help her...
I was done with modern "medicine".