Primal family - Page 7

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by mamaspirit 

Bacon, eggs and fresh picked blackberries with coconut cream

Lunch was -

Baked salmon with sauteed onions, scallions, sundried tomatoes, garlic and chicken stock

Muffins made with almond flour and blueberries, which I won't eat because nuts and I haven't been friends lately, but my kids and husband will gobble them up!

OMG, I am so going to move to your house!!! WOW, your menus sound amazing.

Please do share, what is coconut cream? Something you buy, or something you make? How do you make it?

Also PLEASE, yum please, share your recipes for the salmon and the muffins?

[mamaspirit]

coconut cream is the thick, high fat part of coconut milk.  It is easy to make... put your canned coconut milk in the fridge and cool for a couple hours.  Open up the can without shaking it and scoop the thick part out with a spoon.  I save the rest of the milk to add to soups or sauces for added nutrition, but I know some people just throw it away.  You can make the cream either savory by adding sea salt and herbs to make a kind of cream cheese like thing, or make sweet by adding honey, vanilla, stevia etc.  You can also whip it to make frosting and whipped cream.

Now the salmon... I don't really use recipes I kind of just throw together what I have around, but this is what I did with the salmon today and it was delish!

preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchement paper, drizzle a small amount of coconut oil and lay salmon filet on sheet.  Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, sliced lemon, chopped green onion on filet and drizzle all with small amount of coconut oil.  Place in oven and bake until browning on top, about 30 minutes.

meanwhile, sautee in cast iron skillet - 2 cups chicken stock, 2 red onions chopped, 2 sweet onions chopped, 4 garlic cloves minced, 2 bunches scalions, about 10 sundried tomatoes chopped (I snip mine with scissors), whatever fresh herbs you have, simmer until veggies are tender.  Spoon over salmon and serve!

As for the almond muffins, I often use the recipe on Grain free foodie and add berries if I want.  I also will just throw together muffins with almond flour, sea salt, eggs, a tiny bit of baking soda, and honey.  I don't measure though, so I can't tell you the exact amount... sorry!  I will pay attention tonight when I make them and let you know!

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by mamaspirit coconut cream is the thick, high fat part of coconut milk.  It is easy to make... put your canned coconut milk in the fridge and cool for a couple hours.  Open up the can without shaking it and scoop the thick part out with a spoon.  I save the rest of the milk to add to soups or sauces for added nutrition, but I know some people just throw it away.  You can make the cream either savory by adding sea salt and herbs to make a kind of cream cheese like thing, or make sweet by adding honey, vanilla, stevia etc.  You can also whip it to make frosting and whipped cream.

Now the salmon... I don't really use recipes I kind of just throw together what I have around, but this is what I did with the salmon today and it was delish!

preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchement paper, drizzle a small amount of coconut oil and lay salmon filet on sheet.  Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, sliced lemon, chopped green onion on filet and drizzle all with small amount of coconut oil.  Place in oven and bake until browning on top, about 30 minutes.

meanwhile, sautee in cast iron skillet - 2 cups chicken stock, 2 red onions chopped, 2 sweet onions chopped, 4 garlic cloves minced, 2 bunches scalions, about 10 sundried tomatoes chopped (I snip mine with scissors), whatever fresh herbs you have, simmer until veggies are tender.  Spoon over salmon and serve!

As for the almond muffins, I often use the recipe on Grain free foodie and add berries if I want.  I also will just throw together muffins with almond flour, sea salt, eggs, a tiny bit of baking soda, and honey.  I don't measure though, so I can't tell you the exact amount... sorry!  I will pay attention tonight when I make them and let you know!

Thanks! You totally rock. I'll be in phase 3 in a week or so and I can't WAIT to have yummy fatty foods again! Do you have a big family? Because that sounds like a LOT of onions and stock and tomatoes and stuff...I only have ds and me. I guess I can cut the recipe by lots, though, huh

They had these #10 cans of coconut milk at the poor store for $5.99...I hope they still have them. I want to get some tomorrow if they do. Anybody know if coconut milk freezes well? Because I'd have to open a can and split it down into manageable portions.

[organicviolin]

Lazurii  where do you get your pork rinds from?  My family would LOVE those pancakes.  DS 1 will eat nearly anything in pancake form.  I actually just made some sweet potato pancakes that were yummy.  Had them in the house and all :-)  

mamaspirit: wow that's amazing that you've nearly healed yourself from hypothyroidism!!!  Congrats!  Can you pm me with what you do?  I am trying to prevent it from happening/getting worse.  I'm on no meds, nor do I want to go that route ya know?  Are you gf?  Your menu is totally great!  :)  LOVE IT!  You cook the way I do...um, yea I don't know what I put in there but it's yummy!

Yet another question...my kid seems to like soup most of the time...but there are times when it's like pulling teeth.  Do you find it easier to give the LO's soup first thing or later in the day?

[mamaspirit]

maiasaura - yeah, I have 4 kids and I also make extra for my hubby to take to work the next day and to freeze for fast food, lol! 

organicviolin - I'll pm you when I get a chance to write it all down, and yes, I've been GF for almost 3 years now, and grain free with a little cheating since January of this year.  Sometimes my kids refuse soup too.  I find that if I let them help me make it they eat it better, but it's sometimes a toss up.  But I'm from the school of thouht that if they skip a meal here and there they will live.  They usually choose to eat at least protions of the soup (pick out the meat, etc) and they won't get more than one muffin if they don't eat the soup! ;)

[mamaspirit]

Oh and Maiasaura you can freeze coconut milk and coconut cream, it has a little different consistency but works great for cooking and stuff!

[sosurreal09]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/human-interference-factor/#more-22540 I read this article today and thought you all might find it interesting. I am totally going to have to give up conventional eggs now!

40% increase in LDL by consuming 2 conventional eggs a day?! OMG I don't think I want to know what my cholesterol is right now.... I feel like I have been poisoning my family.

12 eggs for $5 does not seem like a good deal or a cheap protein to me...IDK how we can afford that...

[Lazurii]

Organicviolin, I buy mine at a local bulk store called Winco.  They're not organic.  They're the rinds that are already fried up.  HTH!

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by mamaspirit maiasaura - yeah, I have 4 kids and I also make extra for my hubby to take to work the next day and to freeze for fast food, lol! 

Oh, that explains the (to me) ginormous quantities!

Originally Posted by mamaspirit 

Oh and Maiasaura you can freeze coconut milk and coconut cream, it has a little different consistency but works great for cooking and stuff!

Thanks! I pretty much use it in smoothies. Does it still work for that after freezing?

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by lookatreestar 

what a creative way to use pork rinds! where do you purchase them? i know my dh gets them from the ranchito market place but i don't know how they are cooked or if they are cooked in good oil or rendered or what. i am assuming they are different than the ones that come in the bag at the corner store?

My dh gets them at the Mexican market too and they always sound so good when he's eating them - and he insists they're "just pork skin fried in lard" but I'm skeptical. Is it canned lard with BHT& TBHQ?? Did the pigs eat GMO grain?? I kind of surrendered to the fact that if I want high quality pork rinds, I'll have to order a pig share and make my own. :)

[Mom&BabyChiro]

What an awesome thread! Love all the recent meal and recipe sharing too! A few things for different people, but don't have time to go back on phone and see who they all were to quote. Sorry!

The banana almond pancakes mentioned are awesome. We make them all the time, and have since way before taking the primal jump. Recipe on MDA calls for 2 bananas, 1egg and a Tbsp or 2 of almond butter. I usually just use 1 banana to cut down on sugar and it works great. Can double batch as they make good cold or room temp snacks. I recently added a bit of almond meal and coconut to a batch, along with the usual cinnamon I add, and found them even better!

So I love coconut milk and coconut cream too. But really try to stay away from any foods in a can due to the BPA. I've tried making my own from dried coconut, but never had much luck? Anyone else more successful than me who could give some tips? I also found coconut cream for sale in a glass jar on Amazon, but the product gets mixed reviews, so haven't tried yet.

Two typically non-primal meals that we made primal the last few days due to cravings were tomatillo salsa chicken enchiladas and eggplant parmesan (with ground beef). Yummy! I used the egg white and cream crepes instead of tortillas from a recipe on MDA which worked great after I got the hang of it. I may try next time with less cream or water instead to minimize dairy, but wanted to follow a recipe the first time. Then sauteed onion, peppers, and summer squash with chicken for the filling. Dipped crepes in homemade tomatillo sauce, rolled up, then topped everything with remaining salsa and some raw jack cheese. The meal was awesome, and almost all made from our trip to the farmers market that day!

I breaded eggplant slices, dipped in all those egg yolks leftover from making the egg white crepes (minus a couple for garlic aioli), with almond meal and a bit of parmesan cheese. Baked I. Oven for about 15 min on each side. Then put in baking dish and topped with sauteed onion, ground beef and kale mixed with a jar of organic pasta sauce - lazy, I know .

Still struggling a bit with being snack ready out of the house, but meals are going great!

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Edited by Mom&BabyChiro - 8/10/11 at 3:27pm

[lovestolearn]

So I love coconut milk and coconut cream too. But really try to stay away from any foods in a can due to the BPA.

Native Forest Brand is BPA free.

Here's a link to some other BPA-free companies that produce canned food:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/7-bpa-free-canned-foods.php

[mamaspirit]

Yes I use native forest brand and coconut milk is pretty much the only food I buy in a can.  I have made a pretty successful coconut milk from shredded coconut though, although I know it isn't as high in fat as the canned stuff.  And with how busy my household can get I often forget about the soaking coconut and end up fermenting it and it does NOT taste good fermented!  lol!

I am up to my eyeballs in berries.  My deep freezer is halfway full.  I already have twice as many as I had last year.  I am looking forward to a winter with frozen berries!

Anyway, I'm off to run some errands!  Hope everyone is having a pleasant day!

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

12 eggs for $5 does not seem like a good deal or a cheap protein to me...IDK how we can afford that...

My opinion is that 99% of paleo budget advice is written for/by single people who have to scrimp a bit to afford their $50,000 car payment, not for families struggling to meet the basic needs.  I'm not going to feel guilty for feeding my family conventional eggs if that's what we can afford. It's still better than Pop-Tarts or going without.

Try searching around for a local farmer selling eggs. On craigslist where I live, I'm seeing them for between $1.50 and $3 a dozen (though we seem to be in a particularly low cost of living area). These aren't necessarily truly pastured (most live in outdoor cages and do get standard chicken feed), but generally with more access to bugs and stuff than many of the "free range" eggs sold in stores.

Originally Posted by Mom&BabyChiro 

So I love coconut milk and coconut cream too. But really try to stay away from any foods in a can due to the BPA. I've tried making my own from dried coconut, but never had much luck? Anyone else more successful than me who could give some tips?

My process:

Take 1 cup shredded coconut. Mix with 1 cup very hot water (from the tap, not boiling). Let it cool for a bit, then stick in the fridge.

Several hours later, or whenever I get around to it (I've let it go for a few days sometimes, but it's still fine if it's been in the fridge), throw that in the blender and blend for about a minute. Pour in 2 more cups of water and blend for a while more. Pour it through a strainer into a jar. I reserve the pulp for some other purpose (baking, adding to random stuff, munching plain, whatever. I'm not sure it adds much nutritionally, but feel I should use it up!).

This makes nearly 3 cups of coconut milk (assuming you press as much liquid as possible out of the pulp). Functionally, it's equivalent to a can or a can and a half, since it's a lot thinner. But it tastes yummier!

If I'm planning to use it for curry or something savory, I make it with broth instead of water. In that case, I don't strain it, since the cooking softens the pulp.

Our pack of 12 8oz bags from amazon has lasted us longer than a case of 24 cans of coconut milk, and that's with using the coconut for other things, too. And it's quite a bit cheaper than the case.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by ocelotmom I'm not going to feel guilty for feeding my family conventional eggs if that's what we can afford. It's still better than Pop-Tarts or going without.

I love this. You betcha I live in the crunchiest town in America and I can't afford organic anything, pretty much. Even at the poor store. So yeah, I use grocery store meat

[MrsBone]

oh good, native forest is what I buy!
 

Originally Posted by lovestolearn 

Native Forest Brand is BPA free.

Here's a link to some other BPA-free companies that produce canned food:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/7-bpa-free-canned-foods.php

[HeckedyPeg]

Hello again. So, I am just getting started with this primal diet thing, and I have a question that may be silly (and may be addressed in one of the texts y'all have mentioned but I haven't seen it) : okay, does the body do any kind of detoxing when getting off the grain/sugar train AND if so, how will this affect breastfeeding? I read about people going through withdrawls when they stop eating lots of bready carbs, I'm afraid this will happen to me, and I'm still BFing DS ... any advice or linkage to further info??

TIA! :)

[lovestolearn]

Originally Posted by HeckedyPeg 

Hello again. So, I am just getting started with this primal diet thing, and I have a question that may be silly (and may be addressed in one of the texts y'all have mentioned but I haven't seen it) : okay, does the body do any kind of detoxing when getting off the grain/sugar train AND if so, how will this affect breastfeeding? I read about people going through withdrawls when they stop eating lots of bready carbs, I'm afraid this will happen to me, and I'm still BFing DS ... any advice or linkage to further info??

TIA! :)

No detoxing per se, unless you are also dropping body fat at the same time.  You will probably drop a few pounds of water weight in the first week or so--no worries about that!  I lost 4 lbs my first week eating Primal.

Some folks experience what is referred to as "carb flu" if they go very low carb right away.  You can avoid this by adding sweet potatoes or white potatoes to your diet.  Fruit is OK in moderation, but too much can lead to binging for some folks.

[Manessa]

I started eating primal a month ago, and I'm still bfing my 13 month old. I had 1 day where I was feeling irritable and crummy, but aside from that I feel great. I didn't notice a drop in supply and she's still happily nursing. I've lost 7 lbs, but I'm making sure to drink lots of fluids and eating healthy, so I think it's fine :)
 

Originally Posted by HeckedyPeg 

Hello again. So, I am just getting started with this primal diet thing, and I have a question that may be silly (and may be addressed in one of the texts y'all have mentioned but I haven't seen it) : okay, does the body do any kind of detoxing when getting off the grain/sugar train AND if so, how will this affect breastfeeding? I read about people going through withdrawls when they stop eating lots of bready carbs, I'm afraid this will happen to me, and I'm still BFing DS ... any advice or linkage to further info??

TIA! :)

[Mom&BabyChiro]

Originally Posted by lovestolearn 

So I love coconut milk and coconut cream too. But really try to stay away from any foods in a can due to the BPA.

Native Forest Brand is BPA free.

Here's a link to some other BPA-free companies that produce canned food:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/7-bpa-free-canned-foods.php

thanks for the tip. I went out and bought some yesterday!

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