Day Twenty-one and it's over!

Well we came, concurred and decided to make our 30 day challenge a 20 day challenge!  We spent the past weekend in Auburn with family and friends.  It was a whopping 98 degree there and we just had to have a beer--plus it's hard to stick with a different diet when you aren't at home.  I brought oatmeal, veggies and fruit and we did our best but we had to deviate slightly.  After all, we are human!

Regardless, we learned a lot over the past 3 weeks and I am definitely making some permanent changes for my family.  There they are:

1. No alcohol on weekdays -- unless it's a special occasion
2. I will try my best to soak all our our grains and beans prior to cooking
3. I will only buy organic, local beef, chicken, eggs, and produce when possible
4. We will have only raw milk, cheese and yogurt when possible
5. We will continue to have more animal fat in our diets

I have learned to cook some wonderful meals and would love to share them with anyone who is interested.  I make my own stock weekly and use it in place of water when cooking rice, beans and lentils.  I make weekly stews and soups that we have grown to love.  We are having more smoothies, fresh fruits and vegetables.

I am going to at least 2 weekly farmers markets and bringing my own bags.  I always have reusable cups, boxes and utensils in my car and stroller.  I am trying to make Travis homemade lunches to take with him to work.

And finally our big news is...we are proud owners of a herd of beautiful Jersey girl cows. We own a share of the herd.  One share provides us with 1 gallon of raw milk every week and kefir and yogurt if we chose. We will let you know how it goes.

Thank you for reading and stay healthy!!

Day Twelve

Trav here....

Wow...we haven't really been blogging!  We'll catch up...We have been doing pretty well...both dropping some pounds (though that's not really the goal).  I have been sneaking a latte every now and then but otherwise sticking to the plan.  We found some bread at Whole Foods that is made on site from 5 organic ingredients; unbleached flour, buttermilk, butter, cage free eggs, yeast and water.  Nice to have some bread, seriously.  Ang has been hitting the farmers markets around the area and getting some great fruit and veg.  Sam has been enjoying his diet....but it hasn't really changed much for him as that is how he normally eats.  We have been eating a bit more animal fats than usual but still dropping a little weight and feeling good.  I still have some stomach woes, but I think it is due to having more milk than normal and not always getting raw milk. I would like to open up the 4th as a semi-free day as it is un-American not to consume beer on such a holiday....I can't lie, I'm really looking forward to it.  We found a healthy cookie recipe that we'll be working on this weekend..yum.  Look for peanut clusters in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.  Ang has been using this book a lot for this little experiment in traditional eating.

Day Seven...

Well, here we are a week in and I feel great! However, I do miss bread, beer and cocktails...and the simplicity of convenience food.  I am in the kitchen a lot more; soaking grains, making recipes, being creative and resourceful!  But I am enjoying every minute.  I recently made beet soup and lamb and beef stew.  Both recipes are below:

I am really proud of Travis.  He went camping and managed to stick to the program...minus a half a cookie that apparently jumped into his mouth. His parents forced him to eat it --so he says! He is back on track today and human!  I will let him off.

Beet Soup - serves 6

6 medium beets

2 TBS butter 

1 quart of filtered water

sea salt

2 TBS finely chopped chives

Raw cream to garnish

Peel beets, chop coarsely and saute in butter very gently for 30 minutes.  Add water and bring to a boil and skim the top where foam is present.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Puree soup with a hand held blender or other.  Season with salt to taste and garnish with cream.

Beef and Lamb Stew - serves 6

1 lb of stew lamb meat (local, organic and grass fed)

1lb of beef stew meat (local, organic and grass fed)

32 oz of homemade stock - (chicken, meat or veggie)

Additional water if needed

10 fingerling potatoes

3 celery stalks - chopped

3 carrots - chopped

4 garlic cloves - chopped

1 medium onion - chopped

fresh oregano - about 1 TBS

fresh rosemary - about 1 TBS

raw sea salt - to taste

Place meet in a stewing pot and brown, add all of the ingredients and boil.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

Day Four...

Trav here...well I actually haven't felt super great for the last few days, stomach a little screwy...I think my body is sending me a signal..."Eat Cookies--drink beer---repeat".  Ang has been great making good dinners and lunches for me.  I couldn't get raw milk at Whole Foods in SF near my office so I'm on organic low fat for a little while, which could explain the stomach. For some motivation, I've pulled out an old book from the bookshelf called Junk Science.  It is reminding me that it is a good idea to eat like this...at the very least to establish some balance in the diet.

Day Three...

Ang here...

Soaked oats with butter and raw, whole cream for breakfast...wait a minute, what??  This is so against my "policy" and way of thinking and eating. It was so delicious and tasted so naughty.  I have lost a few pounds this week and am really surprised.  I am adding more saturated fat to my diet and just like Sally Fallon said, I am losing weight and feeling great.

I roasted the best fingerling potatoes for dinner.   I put about 10 of them in a baking dish, oven at 350, added some butter, fresh-dried rosemary and some homemade chicken broth, and cooked for an hour and a half.  I don't think I've had better potatoes.  You must try this recipe.

We are off to the Farmer's Market...to stock up on local fruit, veggies and other.  More later...

Day Two...

Ang here...

Day two; what a day!  Sam had us up most of the night.  He must be teething.  I think I had about 4 hours of sleep last night.  I needed coffee desperately this morning.  I am so grateful for coffee and am glad we didn't give it up!

For the first time I made black beans from scratch.  I soaked them overnight and then cooked them for 4 hours in water and garlic on the stove.  They were delicious.

Jen, our supportive friend, bought us 3 re-usable veggies bags today and told us how she proud she is that we are doing this. Thank you, Jen!!  I have already used them and highly recommend them.  Reusable Produce BagsI am loving this challenge and am so very proud of us!

First Day

Trav here...

I wasn't really prepared to get started today, but we had some apricots, figs, banana and left over veggies and meat from the weekend (all local/organic).  So it wasn't too bad...the milk-free Americano I had made it a little easier.  I went on a little shopping trip to be better prepared for tomorrow, stocked up on some fruit/nuts/etc.

Ang here...

Day one done!  I was pretty satisfied.  However, I did miss bread.  I am thinking about making some tomorrow.  For dinner we had a pork shoulder that cooked in the crock-pot for 8 hours--over soaked brown rice and soaked lentils.  Life is tasty when you take the time...till tomorrow.