I'm bulletproof…

…well maybe I'm not, but my coffee is!!

Last New Year, my resolution was to cut out the sugar in my coffee. I started to realize that my morning coffee contained at least 2 tablespoons of sugar. And some days I'd repeat that twice in the morning, and then again in the afternoon! That's a lot of sugar, not to mention that wasn't my only sugar intake for the day.

Before I got married I would drink my coffee black. Not because I was trying to be healthy, I just honestly enjoy the flavor of coffee. When Hubs and I got married, I noticed his coffee habits were quite different. He enjoys his sugar and cream with a dash of coffee :) Before I knew it, I was adding just as much sugar and cream to my coffee….and loving it!!

Buuut, on this journey to be eating better and setting good eating habits for the kids, we started cutting back last year. I still on occasion make a sweetened latte, but mostly I enjoy my espresso, americano, and latte just plain.

I've been seeing recipes for Bulletproof coffee all over Pinterest. This article from Stupid Easy Paleo is amazing at explaining all the benefits as well as several recipes I'm excited to try! Getting enough healthy fats in your diet is important, and this is a great way to start the day off right.

My first attempt was a different ratio than linked above. I brewed two shots of espresso and added enough water to make 8oz of coffee (technically an Americano), two teaspoons of coconut oil, and one teaspoon of ghee (organic grass-fed found here). I measured the oil and ghee in the cup that came with my immersion blender, poured the coffee right on top, then gave it a good blend.

I admit I was skeptical, I almost added some raw honey thinking I needed to mask the flavor. After one sip, I knew it was a winner and was honestly shocked at how delicious it was!! It was creamy and tasted like coconut flavored coffee. I will repeat again tomorrow, but using the "official" recipe and will report back with those results.

Food, I hate you....Just kidding...kind of...

I have a love/hate relationship with food and recipes. The more I read about food, the more I'm freaked by what I feed my family. My newest freakout: Thinking about reducing our processed foods even further by trying to buy things with less than 5 ingredients. That is if I can't make it myself....

I'm slowly going insane...and I realize its self inflicted. I know they'll survive if I don't go healthy crazy, but if I have the ability to make healthier choices for them I should. I grew up on the convenience foods. Frozen veggies, cooked in the microwave....in their plastic bag....Hamburger helper, don't even get me started.

Even when Hubs and I first got married, my cooking wasn't healthy. I wasn't accustomed to researching the nutrition facts, or really ever reading a label. Avid label readers are on diets, if you don't have to worry about it, don't. Oh brother!

When we got back to California, we heard an interesting diet. Shop only on the outside isles of the grocery store. The reason being that's where the produce, meats, and dairy is located, but hardly any of the processed or "convenience" ingredients. In hindsight, that was probably the start of the "paleo" type diet trend.

I think that's where I really started thinking about food and health. But, it didn't last. Life happened, we had jobs, school, then kids, a house...life happened quick! There wasn't time for real food, we ate out a lot, lots of frozen meals, and the ever famous hamburger helper.

It started with taking a picture of my son eating fast food for lunch, and not wanting to post that picture because I was embarrassed by what he was eating. It had no fruit, or veggies, it wasn't homemade, and it most certainly did not nourish him like it should. Did he survive? Of course, but that was my sign, we should be eating better.

The changes happened slowly, cutting out one bad choice at a time. Fresh vegetables became more of a staple, and not a treat or really a trouble to prepare. Methods of cooking included healthy oils, I discovered coconut oil, and most recently ghee for roasting the veggies. Table salt is gone in favor of low processed sea salt and pink salt. And learning to enjoy the flavor of vegetables, with the simple joys of fresh garlic and salt, passed on to the kids. A proud moment for me!

There are so many things I'm proud we have changed, but there are still a few I'd love to get rid of. It's hard to be completely free of the processed foods, but I am one of those label readers.

Am I neurotic? My husband would say YES, but I'm making what I feel are the best choices for my family.

Challenge for you readers:
Next time you pick up your sour cream, any of your favorite brands, look at the ingredients.
Report back here with what you find, and tell me if you were surprised.

The Kalua Pig and a proud mama...a food story.

I've made this recipe three times so far. Kalua pig is so delicious, but it's hard to just up and roast a whole pig. This crock pot version is absolute perfection on a plate. It seems a little crazy to have it cook for 16 hours, but seriously it's worth the wait!!

Our roast ended up being about 6.5lbs, but still 16 hours was plenty of time. Here's a picture of a third of the roast and the bone, so tender that it fell out of the roast without any effort! In fact, I had to take the roast out in sections because it fell apart so easily.

 It didn't take anything to shred the meat. In fact, I had to be careful not to over shred the meat. Here is the whole roast, it all it's delicious glory!

I had all intentions of going to the store to buy some Kings Hawaiian rolls to serve as buns for our sliders. I even went into the store, and walked out remembering I had forgotten to get them. I was talking to my son about forgetting them, and we'll have to get them later. My four year old responds, "We could just make the rolls. That would be better than buying them." 

Super proud of my kids all the time, but for that moment I was proud of myself for teaching my kids that making things yourself is something to be proud of. I make a lot from scratch because I find the challenge fun, and it's a great way for me to make healthier food for my family. To have my four year old proclaim with pride that we can make it ourselves, and offer help with excitement, is truly a proud mommy moment. 

So off to Pinterest I went to find a sweet roll recipe. I wanted to work within my pantry, so a hawaiian roll copycat recipe was out, since most require pineapple juice and coconut milk. I stumbled across this recipe for Soft and Sweet Yeast Dinner Rolls. I had all the ingredients, but I wanted to make a little change. The oil that it calls for in the recipe I used coconut oil. 

Having a KitchenAid is such a lifesaver, and was always a dream of mine growing up. We got lucky last year, and bought the floor model at Lowe's and saved quite a bit of money. But anyway, yeast doughs are super easy with a dough hook! Check out the swirling bowl of doughy deliciousness!!

The recipe called for oil in the dough, and to oil the pan. I used coconut oil for both and it smelled amazing!!

The recipe was a little time consuming, but worth...every...step.

I also tried a new recipe for Apple Cole Slaw. I really only used the dressing part of this recipe, because  it was simple and I had the ingredients on hand. 

Looking purdy!

I added some celery seeds and cracked pepper, but it was still too much mayo flavor for my taste. 

Dinner done! I was so excited to try my pulled pork that I forgot to take a picture before I started eating, so excuse the bite. 

This meal I was excited to share with our friends the Rimke's and Joe(Thanks for letting us borrow him Amie!!). We fed a group of 9 easily, but I must say I could have eaten my weight in the rolls. Next time I'll be making a double batch! The coconut oil was just the Hawaiian touch we needed for our Kalua pig. 

It's not delivery...

Oh pizza, where do I even begin?!? We love pizza in this house! It's a rare treat because it's so expensive at a restaurant or to get it delivered. Until I discovered this amazing recipe, Fail-Proof Pizza Dough.

I made three batches of this dough for a pizza party we had for my son's 4th birthday. All three batches came out beautifully! In fact, I put half a batch in the fridge over night and used it the next day and it was still perfect. The recipe is super easy, and just like the title, fail-proof. 

Yesterday's creation was a chicken and spinach Alfredo pizza. Make the dough according to directions and let it rise.

While the dough is rising, I prepped the toppings. I just grilled up two chicken breast, no seasoning, and chopped them into small cubes. I also took my fresh spinach and chopped about a 1.5 cups worth. I also made my own Alfredo sauce (recipe here). I used a store bought shredded italian style cheese on the bottom layer and on top of the toppings.

The trick about upside-down cookie sheets instead of a pizza stone really does great!

In a preheated 500 degree oven, our pizza took about 10 minutes. I made two pizzas out of one batch of dough, because our oven isn't big enough for a full batch of dough in pizza form.

Fresh out of the oven here's grub!!

I had just pulled out some carrots from the garden the day before and wanted to do something with them. I ended up just roasting them with some olive oil, and salt and pepper. 

Fresh from the dirt in the garden. Don't worry, they were washed and peeled before we ate :)

Prepped and ready for the oven! No picture of the final product, sorry!

I ended up only using one chicken breast for the two pizzas. The two pizzas (I'd call them medium sized) fed 6 people comfortably. Really easy, really cheap, and it's something I'm proud to make for the family knowing exactly what ingredients went into making it. 

One-dish wonder s'ghetti!

Lazy dinners before kids were anything that delivered, most likely pizza. We ate out a ridiculous number of times each week. It really wasn't until our first born was at the eating solids stage that I really started watching what I was cooking.

It's take a while to get a groove into making dinners, and not falling into the "don't wanna cook" mode. There's a list of things I grab at the grocery store that make up quick recipes to avoid me being lazy and grabbing the Del. Even better when it doesn't make a mess!!

This is my one pot wonder s'ghetti! I grab my dutch oven (get your minds out of the gutter!) but I'm sure this will work with any large sauce pan.

1lb ground beef or sausage
1/4 cup water
1 25oz can of spaghetti sauce (I love Fresh and Easy's sauce, no artificial junk)
Spaghetti noodles (I've used angel hair, and regular with great success)
Fresh spinach leaves

Preheat the pan a bit and start browning the ground meat with 1/4 water. This trick helps crumble the beef and distributes better in the sauce. If you prefer chunkier meat sauce, omit the water. When all the meat has browned dump in the whole jar of spaghetti sauce. Fill the empty jar half way with water (I close the lid and give it a good shake to clean all the sauce off the sides of the jar) dump in the water and stir. It's going to seem really watery, but this is perfect.

Take your noodles, however many you need to feed the family, and break them in half (so they fit in the pot). Make sure they are completely covered by the sauce. Cover the pot and simmer about 15 minutes. Check to make sure the noodles are done and give it all a good stir.

We used spinach spaghetti noodles, so excuse the green mess in there :)

To make the dish even easier, the spinach just gets thrown in the bottom of the bowl, topped with the hot spaghetti, it wilts to perfection! Add a slice of bread fresh from the oven and it's a done meal ;)