JOYfilledWELLNESS

Food for the Baby

December 5, 2011 by JOYfilledWELLNESS Filed Under: Baby, Breakfast Leave a Comment

I’m sad to say that I got my lil’ guy on the wrong path. Things started great when he was an infant. My babies get their teeth early and I start to introduce whole foods to them once I see the first tooth and there is interest. I start them on avocado and work from there. My lil’ guy caught on quick and soon became a good eater. (My family was following the SAD at the time.) Things took a drastic turn when my lil’ guy got sick with a stomach flu. From that point on, he became a picky eater. I think he correlated his illness with food. I became worried but trusted that he was getting enough nutrients from nursing. Then, I found the golden ticket, a food that he would eat—oatmeal (in all forms). Terrible mistake, I know. But at the time I was just happy that he was eating something.

Finally, the time has come, we are ready to toss the oatmeal for good! In the past, this was tough for me because I hate to see me lil’ guy cry for something to eat. However, I ‘m convinced that he will not starve and now I have an alternative to his favorite meal—Oatmeal without the oats. I saw the idea on other sites before but passed on them. There was no way that my lil’ guy would ever try such a dish, or so I thought. I made the non-oatmeal this morning and guess what, he loved it!!!

I added frozen blueberries to his serving and he dug in. Praise the Lord!

Good bye oatmeal!

New Pancakes

November 26, 2011 by JOYfilledWELLNESS Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes 2 Comments

The kids needed a break from eggs for breakfast. Dad and I decided to try three recipes this morning. We wanted to find a go to pancake recipe for our new family recipe book.

We have a winner!!!

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The Best Paleo Pancake Recipe

This was our winning recipe. The consistency and taste was perfection.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

This was our second fav. They were tasty but the consistency was a bit off for us.

Almond Meal Griddle Cakes

This was our least favorite recipe. Perhaps its because we substituted the almond meal with coconut flour. We couldn’t even cook these babies. My eldest daughter used this batch for her pie crust. It worked great as a pie crust.

Fast Food

November 26, 2011 by JOYfilledWELLNESS Filed Under: Dinning Out Leave a Comment

Dad and I got away for the weekend. We ate clean, majority of the time away from home but we did splurge. We found a drive-in burger stand in St. Helena—Gott’s Roadside. The line was out to the street so we figured it had to be good.
It far surpassed our expectations. Gott’s serves up a mean grass-fed beef burger.
The menu is packed with mouth-watering items but Dad and I craved a juicy burger.

On our visit, (yes, we visited Gott’s more than once), we tried the Cheeseburger and Wisconsin Sourdough. We also had the sweet potato fries. I begged for more so Dad took me to their other location in Napa. I ventured out and tried the Western Bacon Blue King and Dad had the Texas Burger. We shared the garlic fries.

Healthy Options for Thanksgiving

November 25, 2011 by JOYfilledWELLNESS Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Sides, Thanksgiving Day Leave a Comment

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my sis’s house. She is very supportive of our new lifestyle change and was very diligent to be certain that we would have options come dinner time. We brought some of our own dishes to help us with our choices.

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Garlic and Herb Mashed Cauliflower

This was a delicious dish once we got the cauliflower to the right consistency. Rose ended up using the hand-held emulsion blender. We never missed the mashed potatoes.

Slightly Sweet Cranberry Sauce

Dad can’t go without homemade cranberry sauce. This definitely topped his traditional recipe that was loaded with sugar. Those who like cranberry sauce, loved this recipe. I could have used some honey for more sweetness but overall, I enjoyed it.

Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This was my favorite side. It was good hot or cold. This would be a great snack to have handy in the fridge.

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is a family favorite and it was one of our splurges. Maybe, one day, I’ll be able to find a suitable substitute. I did eliminate the Worchester Sauce.

Grain Free Carrot Cake

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!! I’m sure there was a time when I would gawk at the idea of a healthy dessert option, this dessert did away with all my past hang-ups. We have been eating it non-stop since Thanksgiving Day. Dragonfly has even led the troops in eating it for breakfast.