Healthy School Lunches Part 2

 1. Applegate Farms Organic all Beef hotdog (chopped), stick of Sargento Colby jack cheese, banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, baby carrots with homemade hummus, and jello jigglers.

 2. Watermelon chunks, gluten free Rudi's wrap with Applegate farms Turkey Bologna and sliced Colby jack cheese (rolled up and halved), homemade hummus and carrot coins.

 3. Another wrap, except with Applegate farms ham this time.  Again with Colby jack cheese and I heated it to melt the cheese and then rolled and halved it.  Gluten Free pretzels (I found at Aldi) and fresh raspberries.  Celery from our organic and non-GMO farmer with homemade hummus.

4. Leftover dinner from the night before.  Spaghetti squash with meatballs baked into a nest from PaleOMG.   Sourdough rolls that I made, which are gluten free.  And organic strawberry Trader Joes' yogurt cup.

Again, keep in mind these are not just for the kids!  These lunches can also be used for the office too.  Incase you missed it... also read my previous post Healthy  Lunches for School (and the office too!)

Hummus

 When I get my veggies from my CSA at the farmers market, I always wash them and chop them up for easy access to the kids for lunches and snacks!  They love to dip them in hummus!

 I use organic garbanzo beans and drain about 1/2 the can, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1-2 garlic cloves, 1/8 cup raw sesame seeds, 1 oz lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin and salt to taste.  I put everything in my vitamix and blend until smooth.  You could use your blender or food processor also.

I portion out the hummus into individual serving size containers for lunches.  Also my kids double dip and this way they can double dip in their own container without contaminating anyone else's!

*adding a few roasted red peppers would also be a nice addition and a different flavor and color hummus!

Fueling the kids for performance

 Almond Butter packets to squeeze on apples, applesauce squeezers (strawberry and carrot flavored), nut and dried fruit individual pack, fruit leather.  Bananas, apples, and grapes.  Individual servings of Wholly Guacamole. (organic blue corn chips to dip in the guac- not pictured)

Perfect Food bar (carob chip flavor), has 16g of protein, GF cheese crackers in a small individual serving packet, GF pretzels for dipping in hummus.

 Watermelon chunks (I freeze these and they are a nice refreshing treat like a popsicle), tart cherry jello jigglers (made with all natural ingredients unlike the boxed kind), homemade hummus (which they also used to dip sliced up veggies- red pepper strips, cucumbers, and celery, not pictured).

Colby-jack cheese sticks with Applegate Farms deli meat wrapped around them (not pictured), magnesium chocolate drops (to replenish the lost electrolytes lost due to sweating), mini burgers on GF sourdough rolls.

Yesterday my girls had a gymnastics competition and since they are on different levels, that meant that we would be there all day from 9-5:30!  Since the concessions usually has nothing we can eat, I needed to make sure we were fully prepared and would not need a thing!  This meant me too since I am doing the gut healing cleanse currently and only eating protein and healthy fats!  Call me crazy, but this is what makes me happy!  Fueling my kids for their best performance!  I enjoy it, I take pride in it and I know I am doing the best I can for them! 

No one went hungry!  We had plenty of food and we shared with our team mates too!  Competition was fun, but LONG!  This momma was really tired by the time we made it home!

*I will post recipes to the jello jigglers and the hummus soon!
*And the girls also ate a fat bomb each about 30 min before they went on to compete!  I brought a thermos with a "bullet-proof" coffee in it for me, and lots of boiled eggs, mini burger patties and a steak!

Healthy lunches for school (and for the office too)

 1. This lunch consists of a turkey bologna (Applegate farms) sandwich on my homemade gluten free sourdough bread, Trader Joes nuts and chocolate chunk trek mix, cucumber dices with some homemade ranch in the container with the green lid, and organic strawberries.

 2.This lunch consists of two rolled up pieces of Applegate Farms Turkey, cubed pieces of Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, wholly guacamole mini, organic Trader Joes blue corn tortilla chips (in the baggie).  And 2 Trader Joes gluten free ginger snap cookies.

 3.  This lunch consists of Applegate farms ham, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese chunks, my homemade gluten free sourdough mini rolls, fresh organic peach sliced, organic celery with Trader Joes almond butter.

 4. This lunch consists of cucumber slices, kiwi, and a cutie, Almond butter and Trader Joes fruit sweetened strawberry jelly on grain free silver dollar pancake sandwich, and Applegate Farms ham and Colby jack cheese slice.

5. This lunch was one at home.  3 slices of a mini loaf of my gluten free sourdough bread topped with Colby jack cheese, oregano, and uncured Applegate Farms pepperoni.  Not pictured she also ate 1/2 a peach and a banana, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookie (gluten-free). 

This is a weeks worth of easy and healthy lunches that are for school or the office, or home!  I will work on posting the recipes for some of the items mentioned!  In the mean time, email me or FB message me if you need a recipe before I have time to post them!
ENJOY!

My top 10 snack foods for kidos

Recently I have had a request to blog about what kind of snack foods I feed my kids.  This is always a challenge, especially because most growing kids eat every 2-3 hours.  It always seems like my kids are hungry every time I turn around.  I have mentioned before that we have some food allergies and major food intolerance, so this poses an even bigger challenge.  Again, Trader Joes is my favorite for finding gluten free foods at a very reasonable price.  I know that the one in Nashville is not located close to everyone, but go there once a month and stock up!  It seriously does save you money! 
My oldest daughter is highly sensitive to processed sugar, like High Fructose Corn Syrup, and just plain ole white sugar, so I really try to buy things organic or make them myself with honey.  The organic products still will have sugar in them, however it is usually most often evaporated can juice.  This form of sugar actually still contains the natural minerals found in sugar in nature. 
1.Amazon sells some suckers that I buy a huge bag of, its about 2 gallons worth for $30.  These last me a LONG time and are a special treat! http://www.amazon.com/YummyEarth-Organic-Lollipops-Assorted-Flavors/dp/B000HDK0DC/ref=pd_ybh_19
2.Cheese sticks by Sargento are also a good source of protein, if no one is allergic to milk.  My youngest daughter was allergic for 3 years, but now just seems to be sensitive to certain dairy products.  The colby jack form of cheese she can handle much better than the mozzarella.  Also if you want cheese from grass fed cows, Kerrygold makes a fabulous cheese.  I have found it at the best price point at Sams.  I have also seen it at Aldi recently as well.
3.Fruit, of all kinds!  A good pair in my house is apples dipped in natural peanut butter.  Almond butter is best for me as I am super sensitive to legumes.  Make sure that you buy natural peanut butter where peanuts is the only ingredients.  Organic is best, but often contains added sugar.  Krema, is non-organic, but tastes amazing and I have found it at Kroger.
Cuties are great for kids, they have no seeds and are basically mandarin oranges in their natural form.  I do buy canned mandarin oranges in the off season but only if they are in their own juice.  No syrup!
4. Popcorn, I buy the organic kernels at Trader Joes (this is also non-GMO) and pop it on the stove top in coconut oil.  I even pop this ahead of time and keep it in a zip lock bag for easy access.  We do also have an air popper that my 7 year old can pop some corn for herself if she wants to.  This version is even healthier!
5. Applesauce squeezers- again I buy these at Trader Joes.  They have a carrot/apple one that the girls really like.  I also get the strawberry /apple and plain apple too.  Be sure to read labels, because not all squeezers are "clean".
6. Raw veggies- I make a ranch dip using plain greek yogurt and they enjoy dipping baby carrots and sugar snap peas.  They also like cherry tomatoes and the seedless crispy baby cucumbers with a sprinkle of sea salt.
7. greek yogurt- chiobanni, makes a kid yougurt, called Champion.  All of the flavors are good.  My kids like the chocolate chip kind best and I let them eat it sometimes in place of icecream!  I have only found this at Publix.
8. Keifer ice cream- Lifeway makes a delicious strawberry flavor.  It seems expensive at first, but I think of it this way...its a special treat.  We only eat it on occasion, so its the same as if you were taking your kids out for an ice cream treat.  You would pay the same if not more.
9.Other ice cream treats- So Delicious makes some dairy free treats, and now they also have no sugar added treats as well.  Again, the price seems steep, but these are special treats!  If you took advantage of the Freebie I posted last week.  That ebook listed many websites you could print off coupons for healthier and organic foods.  Also if you shop at Kroger, using your plus card, they will send you custom coupons in the mail for items you buy most often. 
10.Trail mix- I buy the raw nuts trek mix at Trader Joes because it is convenient.  Otherwise you could mix some raw nuts, and dried fruit along with some unsweetened coconut chips and there you have a nice trail mix!
Read the post on my favorite things to link you up to some of my favorite blogs I get other kid friendly recipes from for breakfast items especially!

Things I buy at Trader Joe's

For those who live in and around the Nashville area, there is a Trader Joe's in Green Hills right beside the mall.  When I talk to people about eating healthy, they always comment, "It's so expensive, I can't afford it."  So my reply to those kind of comments is simple, can you afford to be sick and go to the doctor and buy prescriptions? Then you can afford to eat healthy.  See if you make a real effort to not eat boxed and processed foods, then over a short amount of time, you will notice your health will greatly improve and you will not need to go to the doctor as much nor take medication.  It is all in the way you look at how you spend your money now, and how you want to invest in your future.  I don't know about any of you, but I want to live to be 110!  Not only live to that age, but feel great, still be doing yoga and taking no medications!  So I have found that Trader Joe's has organic and Non-GMO (genetically Modified) foods as well as no preservatives and artificial ingredients.  The best part of that is also that they are WAY cheaper than most retail chain grocery stores.  For example, a bag of whole organic carrots, $0.89.  Yep, no typo there, truly they are eighty-nine cents.
So here is a list of what I typically buy there: (and keep in mind I also drive an hour to get to  my local store)
Applegate Farms lunch meat, I buy about 5 packs of an assortment from ham to turkey
(this company has no nitrites or nitrates in any of their meat products)
Applegate farms organic beef hotdogs, 1 pk (these were found to be in the top 5 best hotdogs available)
Trader Joe's applewood bacon, 4 packs (again their brand also has no nitrites or nitrates)
Herb infused goats cheese (this is a large roll for the same price as the small one anywhere else)
Chicken thighs, 3 pks (these are boneless and skinless, and cook up so much more moist than the breast)
Organic baby spinach, 1 bag
bag of whole organic carrots
bag of organic celery
baby bok choy (look up what this is if you've never heard of it)
cucumbers 5 pack
bag of Kale
hummus, my husband likes the horseradish flavor (only way I can get him to eat raw veggies!)
Gluten Free mac n cheese (now this is a special treat for my kids because it is a boxed food)
gluten free oats
frozen green beans (the ones for $1.99, and these are AMAZING stir fried in coconut oil with garlic)
frozen fish (just make sure its wild caught)
supper food frozen mix (it's quinoa, sweet potatoes, kale and some other stuff)
Organic greek yogurt (the big tub, I use in place of sour cream)
eggs
coconut milk in the carton (original, unsweetened) use in smoothies and that mac n cheese
kerrygold butter (this is made from grass fed cows)
almond meal (I cook most all baked goods with this!) 5 bags
crushed garlic (its in a jar, makes cooking with garlic so much easier!)
sea salt grinder
black pepper grinder
assorted spices
assorted herbal teas (my fav, Ruby Red Chai)
Chia seeds (great source of omegas, can put in smoothies or on top of salads!)
Nourish shampoo & conditioner (chemical free, I'll post more on that later)
oatmeal & honey soap bars
tea tree oil facial soap pump
moisturizing facial lotion
jerkey (and assortment) their beef is grass fed
raw nuts (an assortment, almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts) 
organic rasins
freeze dried mangos (again a treat for the kidos)
organic popcorn (the whole kernel kind, I pop on stove top in coconut oil)
cocoa powder
organic tomato paste
applesauce squeezers (carrot and apple, treat for kids)
tortilla chips (they are the kind that are tri colored and have flax seed in them)
avacados
sweet potatoes
pearl baby tomatoes
onions


If this list seems incomplete, I also shop at sams, the farmers market, and publix to fill in the gaps
I'll post those lists another day!

Note: don't go shopping on a weekend, or in the evening.  A Sunday morning or some afternoon before school is out is best.  This local T.J. is crazy busy and has a not so great parking lot!

 

The first steps of the plan

I know I mentioned last night that I was going to check my blood sugar and see if maybe this MODY thing was also a problem for me.  I have had a 4 hour glucose tolerance test back in the fall and it showed that I was severely hypoglycemic, however that diagnosis can play into either MODY or Adrenal Fatigue.  So I checked my glucose around 7pm, it was 84.  Then I ate a huge carb loaded meal.  Brown rice pasta with marinara sauce and chicken, in the amount of about 2 cups of cooked pasta alone not to mention the other stuff.  Then I topped it off with 3 squares of dark chocolate.  I waited 2 hours from the beginning of my meal time and retested.  My glucose was 104, and I was so happy because that is within normal limits.
So I feel that maybe this puts me back at looking more into Adrenal Fatigue.  I received an email this evening from the Holistic Health Care Specialist I had contacted.  She is sending me a test kit in the mail with directions on how to test.  It is a saliva spit test and will give a more accurate picture of what exactly the adrenals are or aren't doing.  This is STEP 1, along with me sending her copies of all of my most recent labs and tests.
So, I went to Yoga this morning, had a relaxing early lunch with 2 friends, went to the chiropractor and got adjusted, plus made sure to eat small meals every 3-4 hours all day.  Today was a good day, meaning I did not have one dizzy, faint feeling all day!  Yippie, thats a first in a LONG time!
I did also go to Trader Joe's today for groceries and Sam's, so the fact that I was in public places with fluorescent lights and didn't have a "spell", is really wonderful!  I love Trader Joe's because they have such a great business moto, or mission that the company stands behind.  If you have never shopped there, I encourage you to visit their website and read about them.  Then check it out for yourself!  I shop there about every 2 weeks and have never found a product I didn't like.  I'll write another post on what I buy there for anyone who might be interested.  Surprisingly enough, they are significantly cheaper on so many things than other chain grocery stores.  And those  stores don't have such the wonderful mission behind them!  (no, I'm not getting paid or even a discount to endorse them, I just really like the place that much!)