Childhood and gummy snacks

It's been a long week.

It has been a week that made most of America weary, tired, and bleary eyed. I have never been so grateful for law enforcement and first responders. But, I have had to talk to my children about tragedy and about helpers.

When I was explaining the now well known Mr Rogers quote about looking for ones who help in times of chaos and tragedy, my six year old gave me a great analogy. When you are at a big dinner at someone's house, someone has to get the kids more milk. It is always the same people who get up and help. But, someone always helps. When a kid falls on a playground, a grown up always checks on the kid. People help. I love that she has faith in fellow man after this week. I love that she knows that though there are bad people; there are more people who are good. I don't try to shelter her from the world. She will have to go into that world. I can't control whether I get to be by her side. Unfortunately, she realizes that there are things neither of us can control.

What does all of this have to do with the current recipe? Well, today I took a break from spring cleaning to make some gelatin snacks. They are jiggly, silly, and yummy. I need to get cool shapes. That is what everyone wants kids to have - silly, jiggly fun.

The basics of gummy snacks are easy. You should have some high quality gelatin. I buy Great Lakes orange label gelatin. The ratio of liquid to gelatin is for each cup of liquid, you need one tablespoon of gelatin. Now a lot of times I add liquids like kombucha which I do not want to heat. Not a problem, I warm one cup of liquid, dissolve the 2 tablespoons of gelatin, then let it cool before adding the kombucha.

Today's treat - Orange Kombucha Gummy Snacks:

I squeezed 2 oranges and got almost a full cup of juice. Since it wasn't a full cup and I was out of orange, I juice a lime. Yeah that made it tart. I warmed the juice and dissolved the 2 tablespoons of gelatin. It was tart so I added 1/4 teaspoon of honey. I wouldn't have needed the honey if I would have left out the line juice. I poured it in a bowl to let it cool a bit, like 5 minutes. Then I stirred in the kombucha. I have a silicone mini muffin pan. It makes a perfect mold. I poured the mixture into the mold which I had resting on a cookie sheet. The whole thing went into the frig for 30 minutes. Yeah, this is yummy. I pop them put with a butter knife and store in the frig. I don't know how long they keep because they get eaten in about 3 days at my house.

Another versions- sub grapefruit juice for orange juice - YUM!!
- purée over ripe strawberries and sub for the orange juice. (You can also use blackberries but strain out the seeds).
- you can make these with over ripe bananas but you need to strain well and add pomegranate juice.
- blood oranges seem a bit tart so I add a little honey.

Actually, pomegranate juice is great to add anytime it will have an odd color.

Have some yummy gelatin post workout!
Have fun and don't take life too seriously, Mom

Need to reboot

I had a great weekend. I was in Austin for Paleo f(x). Now I don't totally identify my way of eating as paleo or primal. Really because my focus is eating whole, real foods and arguing about a label doesn't help anyone.

This year I listened in on some of the speakers and panels but I also did some of the Strength and Conditioning classes. Last year I walked away from PaleoFX wondering about very low carb and how much liver consumption is too much. Through out the year I figured out that very low carb is not for me. And because of the synergy between vitamin A & D, I don't worry about eating too much liver. This year I am left wondering about adrenal fatigue. Most importantly, I am super focused on not going down that path.

Most people are exhausted. Most are confused by the latest and greatest diet. Most people have an unhealthy relationship with food. Most people don't sleep. Ok, I can see why people are winding up with adrenal fatigue.

So, I am declaring now that I am going to rest more. I am going to take some down time every day. I am going to stop trying to be the most productive person. I need to stay healthy. I need to take care of my family. I need to take care of my clients. This can all be done with less stress. That is my focus.

I am feeling super tired and run down from the weekend and the business of the last few months. So, I am going to do the 21 Day Sugar Detox. If anyone would like to join me and needs the guides, Click to buy 21 Day Sugar Detox guides.

Time for me to get back on track. take a break today, Mom

The Answer

What is the most important thing to eat everyday? Bone broth. Make your own. Use bones leftover from the meals you make. Buy bones and knuckles from animals that were pastured.

Making bone broth is easy. I put a pile of bones in the crock pot to that I add about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and water. For chicken bones, I let it go 12-18 hours. For beef, 24-48 hours. I freeze some of it so that I always have it on hand. If I have some garlic, I throw that in.

Bone broth can be heated in the morning and sipped. It's a great afternoon snack. It is awesome for after your post workout meal. If I am feeling tired and run down, I drink a cup. If my tummy is upset, I drink a cup. Are you following this? Bone broth is the answer for everything.

Drink up, Mom

You are right and a challenge

It has been pointed out to me that I do not post or generate very many recipes. Well, you are right (please, do not tell my husband that I know how to speak these words). I think that people who read this, who are seeking to learn, who actually follow this blog or my facebook page are better served learning food.

What do I mean by learning food? People are very disconnected from food. I can see this from the people who want to eat healthy but refuse to learn to cook to the meat eaters who find hunting or even many cuts of meat to be gross. Or, people come to me wanting lots of recipes - something fun or super flavorful and very easy. What about not having a recipe? What about preparing some high quality food with as few ingredients as possible and enjoying the flavor of the food. One thing I learned when I started buying pastured meat was meat has flavor. A pastured chicken has tons of flavor. Vegetables are sweet, bitter, spicy, savory, and lots of other descriptive words. And you can bring out other flavors by the cooking method.

Through Friday, I am looking for your favorite meal from the last week. You can post on my facebook page Eating With Mom. Scroll down to the highlighted thread. On Friday, January 18th, I will randomly select a winner to receive the cookbook Make It Paleo.

Our next challenge? For the next week, for one meal a day, eating as simply and yummily as possible. Meat, high quality fat, and veggie. Scale back on the seasonings - focus on complimenting rather than masking.

Let work on eating simply together. Mom

Challenge Accepted

The Crossfit gym that tortures me where I am a member is doing a 30 day nutrition challenge. It is based on the Whole30 program by Whole9. Basically, it is about eating really clean and keeping insulin levels in an optimal range. So, pretty much eat meat, veggies, and good fats exclusively. I have done Whole30 before. It’s like a sugar detox. Even though I don’t eat any wheat/gluten, I still eat things I shouldn’t like corn tortillas. Corn adds nothing to my nutrition. But, you know what is awesome? Fresh corn tortillas.



So, for 30 days, everything that goes into my body will be strictly for nutrition. Now, I plan on still eating yummy things so, the planning has begun.


In my freezer, I have 3 whole chickens, a few packages of pork chops, steaks, and a bunch of hamburger. I also have stocked up on vital farms eggs. All meat will be from pastured animals. I also have 2 pounds of butter that by Sunday will become clarified butter. Yeah, no dairy on Whole30. So, my grass-fed butter will become grass-fed clarified butter which leaves the fat and takes out the milk solids. For produce, I will have whatever is in my produce share tomorrow. I will probably have to supplement with a few trips to buy some more organic veggies at the store.


For snacks, I will have hard boiled eggs, sliced Applegate turkey wrapped around some avocado, pate with cut up veggies, or bone broth. Bone broth will be my go to snack. Bone broth is so easy to make – I throw bones, a splash of apple cider vinegar, garlic and onion in a pot with water and cook for a long time. Strain and done. Oh, and I made the pate. Sautéed chicken livers and onion. Added bone broth, garlic, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and simmered until liquid was gone. Then I used the food processor to blend with clarified butter until heavenly smooth. (This is not my usual pate recipe but the one I use during Whole30 when I do not cook with wine).


So, I will be cooking a lot. But, I usually cook a lot. And, I will be planning a lot. I ordered some beef jerky from Primal Pacs because they make theirs without soy. And mine uses gluten free soy sauce.


I will keep everyone updated on what I am eating. How I keep it easy and yummy. And, how it is going.