My 30 for 30 Challenge

This past year has been one with a lot of transformation in it and it has been a great year as well.  Next month I am turning 30 and decided that to kick it off I would commit to 30 days of eating only real food. 

We’ve been doing pretty well since starting our real food journey but I still have some bad habits and some cravings that I am having a hard time kicking.  Since we are getting closer to introducing solids to Kaiden and he’s becoming more aware, I can no longer indulge in things and think it’s no big deal because he doesn’t know what is going on.  Now I have to make sure that I eat how I want him to eat.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been eating WAY better that we used to.  Things like fast food no longer interest me, in fact I can’t even stomach the thought of Wendy’s or McD’s anymore and we are making most of our meals from scratch.  But we still get caught in our unprepared/lazy ruts and will get pizza from the local Greek place (which is really really tasty) or donairs.  And it is happening a little too frequently for my liking.  I also have a big issue with chips, I eat them too often and find I eat way too many in one sitting even if I am not enjoying them.

So I decided that we needed to get into a habit of being more prepared and increasing our recipe base so that we have ideas to turn to when we are in a rut or unprepared.  I figure that if we commit to 30 days of no cheating that will really help out.  Plus it will have all the other benefits that come with a healthier diet.

For me there will be no cheating at all (although for the record I don’t consider things like homemade ice cream cheating, hehe).  Everything, including snacks and treats, will be made from scratch or a real food version will be used (in the case of bread, we aren’t making it yet so we buy organic sprouted bread).  I am letting Cody cheat though; he can choose to do what he likes at lunches with no bugging from me.

My 30 days starts tomorrow and will end on my birthday.  I think I am going to have to come up with a really good dinner and dessert for that night!

Swimming fun!

Three weeks ago Kaiden started swimming lessons with us and it has been so much fun!  I can't believe how fast these past 6 months have gone.  It feels like just yesterday we decided to start trying to conceive but it also feels like Kaiden has always been here. 

We also knew that once Kaiden was 6 months we would have him in swimming lessons.  We go away for a little bit each summer and spend time with family at a couple of different lakes so we couldn't imagine it any other way.  I was happy to find a local pool that specializes in kids swimming lessons, has small classes, keeps their pool super warm and uses UV filtration, reducing the amount of chlorine in the water.  I also agreed with their teaching philosophy which was important as I wanted swimming to always have a positive association.

The best part is Kaiden loves going every week and he loves water too!  Today he was hungry, wouldn't eat and tired but he still enjoyed every minute of his lesson.  It's a fun family outing, for the first three years you go in the water with them. 

Kaiden loves to kick and splash in the water and is hilarious on his back when he insists on throwing his legs in the air and playing with his feet (I think we'll have to try to get a picture of this).  He is already able to go under water which is awesome!

I suspect that weekly swimming lessons will be a family tradition for us from now on!

Chicken Noodle Soup Success

Tonight Cody and I made our first homemade chicken noodle soup and it was fantastic!  I had big plans to freeze a bunch of it, but I suspect it won't make it past tomorrow's lunch.  The best part is how easy and economical it is.

Yesterday we picked up a pastured chicken from a local store and roasted it.  Then put some potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic in the bottom of a pot with a bit of some homemade stock and placed the chicken on top, bottom side up.  Brush the chicken with some melted butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil and thyme (or stuff some fresh basil and thyme inside).  Cook at 375 for about and hour and then take the chicken out and flip it to be breast side up.  Brush this side with butter, sprinkle with spices and then bake approximately another hour.  Let the chicken rest and enjoy!

After you've enjoyed your chicken, take the rest of the meat off the bones and store in the fridge to add to the soup later.  Place all the bones & chicken scraps in a pot, add about 4 liters of water, some carrots, onion, celery and 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (this helps to draw the minerals out of the bones).  We also added two chicken feet and a couple of bay leaves.  Let set for about an hour, bring to a boil, skim of the foam that rises, reduce to a simmer and cover.  Then let it simmer 3-24 hours.  I usually try to go as close to 24 hours as possible.  Sally Fallon recommends adding a bunch of fresh parsley in 10 minutes before you're done, but I didn't do it this time.  Now you have a homemade and nutritious bone broth!  At this point you could freeze it if you just want some broth.  When I freeze broth I do some in jars and some in ice cube trays, then I have small amounts to add things like veggies.

Once your broth is done, strain it with a fine strainer and put it back in a pot.  Add the chicken, some carrots, celery, onions, plenty of good sea salt, pepper and spices (I used oregano, basil and thyme).  At this point I let it simmer for a bit and then added cooked brown rice noodles and some fresh parsley, I really like the freshness the parsley added.

And that's it!  Super easy, tasty and cost effective!  The only problem is that it is so tasty that it may be tricky to freeze some before you eat it all.

Happy Holidays!

 Photo courtesy of HikingArtist.com

I was planning on getting a post in before Christmas holidays but between being sick and leaving earlier than we expected for our trip home it didn't quite happen...

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas, New Year's and a fantastic 2011!

See you again in the New Year :)

My Kitchen Goal for December

My kitchen goal for November was to try soaking grains before cooking them.  I was out of town for most of the month, so I didn’t get around to much cooking, but I am happy to say that I did succeed.  Last month I made homemade tortillas (twice) and homemade banana bread muffins.  The grains for both of these recipes were soaked in water with some kefir water added instead of whey (I still haven’t been able to get my buttermilk culture starter to work).  I never got around to making the soaked oatmeal recipe but will definitely do that soon!  A lot of stores near me have also started carrying a brand of organic and sprouted bread which is fantastic.  We have now tried their bread and bagels and really enjoyed them.  Eventually I’ll make our bread but until then they are a much better substitute!

Since November was so hectic I plan to get a little more relaxation in this month before we head out of town again.  My kitchen goal for December is to replace the treats I normally send with Cody to give to his coworkers with healthier versions, hopefully they won’t be disappointed!  Instead of my normal chocolate chip cookies, which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all the refined sugar, I think I’ll try sending sugar cookies, gingerbread men and chocolate-coconut truffles (all from Nourished Kitchen’s Happy & Healthy Holidays e-course).

This post is part of Kelly the Kitchen Kop's monthly kitchen goals.

My Babywearing Confession

When I was pregnant I decided that I wanted to babywear, it felt natural to me to keep my baby close and convenient as well.  The more I researched the benefits, the more important it became to me.  But things didn’t end up working quite as I had hoped.  Kaiden never really enjoyed being worn and to this day is usually only happy for 5-10 minutes in a carrier. 

It’s funny because for the first couple of months of Kaiden’s life he was hardly put down because he just wasn’t happy if he wasn’t in someone’s arms.  I didn’t mind, I love snuggling with him and I was lucky that Cody was home for the first 6 weeks to help me out.  But you would think that he would love being worn, nope, apparently it’s just not the same as being held on my shoulder.  He even went through a stage where he loved being carried like a sack of potatoes!

Now that he’s a little bit older, his favorite place is still in our arms but he now also enjoys his stroller.  I can’t lie, it makes me a little sad that he’ll go for long walks in his stroller, even sleep in it, but he can’t make it more than 10 minutes being worn.

I’ve tried different carriers and different positions, but have had no luck yet!  I am going to keep on trying because I am convinced that one day that he’ll grow into it and loving being worn.  At the end of the day I remind myself that being baby led means listening to your little one.  Maybe he will always prefer his stroller to any carrier and if that is the case, I am okay with it.

Super Easy Rib Recipe

As you know from previous posts I am a big fan of ribs so I thought I would share my favorite recipe as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday.  The ribs turn out extremely tender and are super easy to make.

Ingredients:

Ribs, I usually use baby back ribs

Onion, skin on and cut in chunks

Garlic cloves, smashed

Nutmeg (I prefer freshly grated)

1 tbsp Pickling Spice, wrapped in cheese cloth

Salt and pepper

Your favorite BBQ sauce

If you are using baby back ribs, make sure to peel the skin like layer off the bottom if your butcher hasn’t done it for you, it makes a huge difference.  Put salt, pepper and nutmeg on both sides of the ribs and then place them in a pan.  Put the onion and garlic around the ribs in the pan, then fill with water to about half way up the ribs and put the pickling spice in.  Cover the pan with a lid or tin foil and bake in the oven.  I have baked it at 350F for 2.5 hours and 250F for 4 hours, both ways it turns out great but I think it has a more buttery texture at the lower temp. 

When the ribs are done you can take them out and add your BBQ sauce.  You can also wrap them in foil and put them on the BBQ at this point for a BBQ'd feel.  For a time saving tip, cook a bigger batch, add your BBQ sauce, wrap in foil and freeze.  Then when you want to cook them simply poke a couple holes in the tin foil and heat in the oven or on the BBQ.