hands of love #10...

Dearest Caroline,

It's been quite a week! Once we finished the antibiotic to treat the parasite, we started seeing symptoms of yeast/candida return again, which is always the downside of taking an antibiotic. And the best way to fight the intestinal yeast also happens to be the same way to help fight parasites! (which can return due to life cycles, etc.) Know what that is?

Starve 'em so they'll die! They live off of sugar, fruit, or any carbs or sweet thing that goes into the body. So when we saw some of the symptoms returning this past week, we decided to really tighten up on an already nutritious diet for a time. Yes, it's been slightly stressful on Mommy initially, but thankfully you are still eating like a champ! (I'm sure you don't mind since it probably makes you feel so much better anyways!)

With the changes this week, we're seeing some of the "die off" poop and irritable behavior that I've mentioned on here before, so even though things are slightly worse right now, it's actually a good sign that things are working & getting OUT of the body before things should begin to improve. What a crazy thing it is to fight a slow, long-term thing with all the ups and downs and twists and turns! Thankfully, as we've said before, we see a slow climb upwards, and we pray that in the months and years to come, that will continue to unfold.

So with little or no carbs, what does that leave our family left to eat, you ask???


An organic roasted chicken with an AWESOME salad loaded with veggies. Yummm....


A snacktime of green beans & a cabbage recipe with an organic apple cider vinegar dressing. (which is SO good for your health, by the way)

And perhaps Mommy's proudest cooking accomplishment yet....


a non-dairy "ranch" dressing!!!! (ha ha) Okay, guess what makes it white and creamy... would you believe it's raw cashew nuts???? Yep! All in the blender-- soaked cashew nuts, water, and spices like basil, dill, lemon juice, etc. SOOOO easy, delicious, nutritious, and perfect to dip raw veggies in!


Another dip I made that was okay, but probably not worth doing again--- this one was made of roasted red peppers and almonds in the blender.

(sorry the following pictures are going to be blurry! I let a student borrow my good camera & was only left with a point-and-shoot)


A chicken curry over millet instead of rice. (millet is another type of grain that is more nutritious and less sugary than rice, so I'm using it and buckwheat as your grains in moderation for the time being)


A lettuce "taco" with chicken, avocado, some of the ranch dip, mustard, carrot, & cucumbers. And guess what those "chips" are? Butternut squash! Crispy and salty, just like a potato chip!


This week your cousin Johnny is here working on our air conditioning, and you are loving having him here! (of course I'm having to keep you occupied because you are wanting to jump in and help out a little too often...) But since he & his grandpa are here from South Carolina, I decided to make a regional dish that would make them feel like they're right at home...


Chicken bog! (I know... I had never heard of this stuff before, either!) But it's delish! (even though the picture is too blurry and doesn't make it look all that good) It's basically chicken, rice, and sausage cooked in together... mmmm... like warm, southern comfort food. (I pulled out the chicken & sausage for you to eat so we avoided the rice this time...)

And something else you didn't get to try this time around...


Peanut butter SQUASH brownies! Yep. SQUASH brownies. Here are the ingredients in this one: peanut butter (we used almond butter-- much better for you), 1 egg, baking soda, honey, &
pureed butternut squash!

The mixture looked so "soupy" as it went into the oven that we wondered if it would even rise! But to our surprise they turned out yummy, especially with some gluten/dairy/nut/soy free chocolate drizzled across the top!

And last, but not least, YOUR favorite meal of the week: (you were SO meant to be in this family) :)


a made-from-scratch pizza!!! (crust was from almond flour, which is technically a carb, but hey- everybody cheats a little on the weekend, right??) :)

Caroline, just in case you look back at these posts in years to come and think, "Gosh, Mom. Why did you force me to eat all of that healthy stuff?", my first reaction will be, "Because I love you SO, SO, SO, SO much."

And my next answer will be,

"It didn't bother you ONE BIT." :)