New Eats

With the new year I decided to change my eating habits eliminating grains and legumes, but not dairy so much at this point, concentrating on protein, vegetables, and fruit (mostly berries) - no processed stuff, clean eating basically.  It's sort of a cross between Paleo and Primal actually.  I do eat such little Dairy so it is definitely more Paleo than not.  A friend of mine has been a big inspiration in all this.  She has dropped 70 pounds just by changing what she eats and adding a workout routine.  That is truly inspiring.  Her husband has dropped some pounds as well, however, I do not know the amount.  Both look fabulous and feel fabulous!

So, with the new eating plan I've been trying new recipes.  Two that I've tried have been breakfast items.  One is called Egg Muffins.  These were good but they didn't particularly rock my boat.  Here is that recipe.

Egg Muffins

Ham and Egg Cups

Egg Muffins

10 -12 eggs whisked well
1 green onion, chopped
3 big handfuls of spinach
1/2 red pepper, chopped
6-8 slices of COOKED and crumbled bacon
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 and grease with coconut oil two muffin pans. Whisk all your eggs in a big bowl. Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, fill the muffin pans (you’ll be able to make 18-20 cupcakes).  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.  Enjoy!

My most favorite new breakfast item are the Ham and Egg Cups.  You simply preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Oil your muffin pan with coconut oil.  Line each muffin well with a slice of deli ham.  Crack an egg in each.  Top with a few leaves of spinach, then a tablespoon of shredded cheese.  I used a Colby and Monterey Jack blend.  Bake for 10 minutes or until set.  Serve!  I absolutely love these!!

I've also tried other recipes, most have involved nut flours ie almond flour and coconut flour.  There are others that are used in recipes and I think I've purchased every one of them.  Thus far, I've tried a biscuit and two buns for hamburgers.  None were palatable I must say.  My friend originally suggested that I stay away from the nut flours that nothing she had ever tried turned out all that good. I should have listened. 

There are two more recipes that I want to try that involved nut flours.  One is brownies and the other is pancakes.  I'll probably get to those this week so stay tuned!

Progress is Made

Lucy and I just started our READing Paws program at the New Georgia Library this past fall.  The exact month escapes me but rest assured, we haven't been there that long.  The entire month of December we took off because of schedule conflicts, either the library's schedule or our's. 

So, our first day back was this past Saturday, January 7th.  Out of three children who had signed up to read to Lucy, only one showed up.  It was Cooper, our favorite little reader.  Cooper was scheduled for 3:15 p.m. and no one had the 3 p.m. slot so I suggested he start early and he could read for the entire 30-minute period.  (The sessions are in 15-minute increments.)  He agreed and found a book and came over to where Lucy and I were set up in the children's area of the library.  This is a picture of Cooper reading to Suzy and her handler, Christine Basso.

Nonetheless, Cooper started reading and I was completely floored by the progress he has made.  Cooper is home schooled and he was taught (appropriately so, I believe) to enunciate each word.  He would do this but didn't seem to understand how to put that all together to form the word and then properly pronounce the word. Before, we would rarely finish a single book per session.

But not anymore.  He just whizzes through the words as if he has known them all his short little life.  I asked him if he had been practicing over the holidays and he said he hadn't.  His mother is very proud of him and asked me if I noticed the difference and I said, "wow, I had and Lucy did, too"!  It is amazing to see that it clicked with him.  I don't know his age but I'm guessing he must be about five.  I asked his Mom had he been practicing and she said no, that he did that all on his own.  She had not even been working with him, in particular!

I'd like to think that Lucy and I had some small part in his amazing progress.  You see, Cooper adores Lucy and talks about her all the time between our reading sessions, so maybe we DID have a little influence in his progress - just maybe!!  Regardless, it is awesome to see.  Cooper left the library with a stack of books to read for the week!  And I left with a big smile on my face! (Lucy, too!)

Baby, It's Cold Outside