Sunday Afternoon Snack

What I ate:

• Pastured, Biodynamic pork 'Summer Sausage' from Whole Circle Farm
• Raw milk, organic cheese curds
• Fermented Veggies
• Grain-Free Crackers
• Raw butter from pastured cows
• Little dollop of mustard

Why it's good:

• Animals raised outside on pasture provide us with essential vitamins A and D - critically missing elements from industrial animal products.
• CLA from those same grass-eating animals.
• Low carbohydrate = less glucose ravaging through the body = less inflammation = increased immunity = healthier people
• Happy gut bacteria from the fermented veggies.
• Appropriate amounts of protein and fat results in a steady blood sugar throughout the day for satiety that lasts for hours and hours.

Thursday Morning Snack

Although I don't eat sweet stuff very often, every now and then I get a hankering for some sort of deliciousness. Today was one of those days. I spent the morning in the woods taking pictures of the beautiful fall colours. It was nice to come home and warm up with a hot cup of tea and a relatively healthy treat.

Beautiful Ontario on a cool fall morning.

I've made this muffin recipe a few times now and it's pretty much disaster-proof. You can use the base of the recipe, omit the carrots, add whatever else you may like (lemon and poppyseed is yummy) and voila! It's a grain-free, refined sugar-free, lower carb treat that still manages to be delicious, moist, and nutritionally dense. I don't consider this paleo because, come on, how many cavemen ate muffins, regardless of their ingredients, but I do consider it the best I can come up with when my neolithic mind wants a little something on that rare occasion.

What I ate:

• Grain-free carrot muffin
• Organic, real Earl Grey tea with raw, organic cream and a teensy bit of raw, organic honey

Why it's good:

• The muffins are made without grains, just a very small amount of coconut flour.
• The muffins also have all sorts of healthy fats from the organic, extra virgin coconut oil, the ghee, the soaked and dehydrated, organic walnuts (the soaking removes anti-nutrients that interfere with digestion of the raw nut), and the pastured eggs.
• The 'cream cheese' topping is made with homemade yoghurt which is high in beneficial, probiotic bacteria.
• The organic Earl Grey tea is high in antioxidants and studies have shown that it's actually good for the our lub-dub hearts, but more importantly, it tastes divine. The raw cream is just my way of saying "I love you". Make sure to check your Earl Grey tea for real Bergamot oil. Cheaper teas offer 'flavouring' instead of the real deal.
• A cup of tea and a little muffin after a fall walk in the woods fills my soul with gratitude for the abundance in my life.

Carrot Ginger Muffin Goodness

(adapted from Elana's Pantry)

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon dry or 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 cup ghee (or softened butter)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 -3/4 cup soaked and dehydrated walnuts
• 1/4 cup raisins or dates, cut into small bits

1. Sift the coconut flour into a large bowl. Stir in all of the other dry ingredients.
2. Blend the eggs, oil, ghee, maple syrup, and vanilla in a blender until well mixed.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stir until mixed.
4. Stir in carrots, nuts, and dried fruit.
5. I prefer to use unbleached, parchment paper type muffin papers, but if you are placing your muffins directly in the muffin tin, grease first with ghee or coconut oil.
6. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of your tin. Makes 2 dozen muffins.
7. You can easily split this recipe in half if you would like to make less. These muffins freeze very well in case, like me, you relish the ability to just grab a few out of the freezer whenever company may show up (or you just decide you deserve one).

For the 'cream cheese' style topping, simply drain plain yoghurt for a few hours in cheese cloth. Directions can be found here. To the drained yoghurt, blend in some butter, a spot of honey, and some lemon rind. Spread the topping on the muffins once they're good and cool. That's all there is to it!

Update October 2010: I've made these muffins a couple of times over the last year. We will have one and then freeze the others for whenever the kids have a birthday party celebration at school and we don't want them participating in the Duncan Hines madness. I don't use a topping on them and they're just as good. I also now leave out the maple syrup, sometimes throw in a banana instead for some sweetness and they're just as good and even more moist. These are pretty forgiving so feel free to tweak away.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

What I ate:

• Pastured, organic egg
• Pastured, organic bacon
• Organic apple clafoutis
• Homemade, raw goat milk yoghurt

Why it's good:

• Pastured eggs are the only type of egg shown to contain a superior nutrition profile to other eggs (even those organic, 'free-range' ones they charge a premium for in the grocery store). They're high in vitamin A and D, and omega 3 fatty acids - crucial for our health and sadly lacking in our diets. The eggs were cooked in pastured bison fat. Saturated fat is the only fat stable enough to use for cooking. And, of course, saturated fat from healthy animals is integral to our health.

• Pastured bacon brings you all the joy of bacon without the guilt of supporting industrial agribusiness confinement operations. Again, fat with vitamin A, and the overall heightened nutritional profile, from animals that have been raised on grass, in the sunshine.

• The apple clafoutis was a take on a recipe I found on Elana's Pantry. We don't eat grains so this is a nice tart, similar to a pancake without the flour to knock us into a sleepy coma. It's made with eggs, raw goat milk, vanilla, and maple syrup that we purchased from our friend who produces the most wondrous, local, maple syrup. If you try out Elana's recipe, skip the agave in favour of raw honey or maple syrup.
• The goat yoghurt is a tasty way to get some much needed probiotics into our guts. We aim to get some good bacteria in every meal, usually through kefir, different types of yoghurt, or fermented vegetables.
• Most of all, our meal was good, as in 'goooooood', because it tasted delicious and I shared it with my lovely family on a slow, rainy Saturday morning. It was one of those mornings with no agenda - nothing to do, but sit and chat, sipping warm tea while the rain pitter-pattered on our roof.