hands of love #11...

Dear Caroline,
With the change of the weather, this week you've had the sniffles/small cold like most kids do this time of year. So alot of this week was about COMFORT food, in addition to all the "nutritional therapy" we're doing. (don't ya like that word much better than a "diet"?? Much more fitting to what we're doing anyways. "Diet" seems to imply a goal of losing weight, but that's not as important when you're working to heal your intestines!)

Prepared for you this week with hands of love...


a DELICIOUS veggie salad topped with organic spiced chicken breast and homemade dressing.

(Several people have asked me to include recipes, which is really hilarious to me because 6 months ago you'd NEVER have asked for a recipe from ME!- seriously. I didn't even know how to use a garlic press. So I'm flattered. And if it's really good or really easy, or really worth typing out, I guess I'll do so. Hopefully that can be a help to you guys & not more lines of type to scroll through...)

Here's what's usually in my homemade salad dressing (though I don't measure it out, so I'm just guessing on measurements here!!):

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
tbsp or two of walnut oil or flax oil for added nutrition
3 tbsp or so (?) of red wine vinegar
lemon juice (1/4- 1/2 a lemon?)
oregano
sea salt (throw out that table salt that has NO nutritional value whatsoever & make sure to use sea salt that will get some important trace minerals in you)
pepper
tbsp of dijon mustard (optional)

Stir it all up & pour on any salad! Yummmm....


Shepherd's pie with cauliflower potatoes on top instead of mashed potatoes. (tastes just the same or better & adds a veggie instead of a starch.)


Shrimp sauteed in coconut oil (soooo good for you), beets (yuck- but you like 'em), sauteed kale with fresh garlic (also incredibly good for your health-- the kale AND the garlic), a cucumber/tomato/olive "salad" with the dressing I mentioned above.

And here's another recipe worth mentioning as we move into cold/flu season. A woman in our church gave me the recipe for a homemade chicken bone broth. It is SOO nutritious and good for you to drink warm especially when you or your kids feel sick, or you can use it as a base for any soup, too! (Best to make this after your family eats a whole chicken--recipe coming soon-- or chicken legs & SAVE THE BONES!!!)

Looks kind gross, I know, but follow me here:

In a crockpot, place the bones, fat, or any meat remaining on the bone.
Fill pot with water, enough to cover the bones and then some almost to the top.
Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (Braggs "with the mother" is the best kind if you can find it in your health food section of the grocery store or at a health food store.)
1 Tablespoons of sea salt.
Quarter an onion or two and throw in as well.
Toss in about 4-5 cloves of garlic and some celery heads or stalks, a few carrot tops or any veggie scraps available. (that's why it doesn't look all that pretty, but that's okay- you'll strain it out when it's done)
Cover the crock pot and cook on low about 6-8 hours.
Strain the liquid with a colander and put in freezer containers when cool.


One crockpot made about 5 quart-sized bags of broth to freeze!

So about 2x a day this past week, I put some in a cup with a tsp or two of ginger for taste & nutrition, and warmed it up in the microwave!


And I had one happy gal! (not to mention, it helped drain all that yucky mucous out of you & got you feeling much better quickly)

Caroline, God is working in Mommy's life in so many ways, and I hope that is evident in every bite you eat. Through lots of pain and heartache over the past year, He has brought SO much good into our family. Though we may be low in the hair department, we have been blessed with a beautiful daughter in you and you are worth every overly-priced-piece-of-organic produce that I could ever buy!!! :) We love you, sweet girl.