Tasting Life Abundant

 Breakfast- sautéed zucchini with garlic and onion powder, dill and caramelized onions, sliced leftover mini meatloaf, and scrambled eggs.  Breakfast- carrot juice, breakfast casserole, and a GF pancake with cashew butter, honey, and cinnamon.  Lunch- taco salad: taco meat, avocado, goat cheese, and a few crushed tortilla chips, with a dressing made from paleo mayo, ketchup, refried beans, and tomatillo salsa. Easier to evenly distribute the beans on a salad when they're mixed into the dressing.  Dinner- steamed sweet potatoes with butter, cinnamon & nutmeg, steamed asparagus and green beans, and mini meat loaves. Meat loaf was made with one package each of ground beef and ground pork (1lb. ?), half an onion, chopped, fresh sage, thinly sliced, and salt and pepper.  Dinner- cauliflower purée, and chicken with mushrooms, honey mustard, bacon and spinach. Amazing!! Treat- Paleo chocolate chip cookie bars.  I used this  recipe, but tw...

                                                        <<<Breakfast- Oatmeal with cashew butter, grass fed butter, coconut oil, cinnamon, maple syrup, and almond milk. Scrambled eggs with sausage and green onions.  Raspberry Leaf Tea.                                                           >>>Lunch-Turkey patty wrapped in corn tortilla with lettuce and avocado cream sauce (avocado, mayo, tiny b...

"  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 1:4) The Bible verse above brings several thoughts to my mind.... -With Father's Day yesterday, I have been thinking about my husband a lot, and how thankful I am for him. How grateful I am to have been blessed with a strong but gentle, Christian man not only to share my life with, but to parent with; raising our children in the fear of the Lord is such an amazing responsibility, and I am so thankful to be able to share the joys and burdens with him. -I am thankful too for our parents. We are who we are largely due to their faithfulness in raising us in "the way we should go" as well. Being a parent myself now gives me a new appreciation for all the time they put in and the sacrifices they made... How grateful we both are for Godly parents. -How amazing is it too, that God would entrust us, sinful as we are, with His children? I have never been more aware of my failures and sho...

I just want to say, "where have you been all my life Avocado Toast &Eggs?!" This was my breakfast yesterday and yum, so good! And then my kids came in and begged for a bite and my son, who loves avocado tasted it and said "Yummy!" and went and got another fork from the drawer and said "I'm just gonna use my own fork..." Haha! And then I said "Nope, you already had your breakfast, this is mommy's. But I will make you guys avocado toast with eggs for lunch." And I did and they loved it, even though my daughter will say she doesn't like avocado if you ask her. So, just try it.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24 Anxiety is one of the devil's best tools. He loves to make us feel like everything is awful, out of control, getting worse all the time. I think anxiety is especially hard for Christians to deal with, because we feel like such a failure....like we should know better, like we do know better, and yet we are still "cumbered with a load of care." We feel like, if others knew about our anxiety, they would judge us harshly, as "weak" or "less than" Christians... We feel like its all our fault, and that guilt only drives us further into sickening depression. We feel like "it's all in our head", that we are doing it to ourselves, and therefore, we are also completely responsible for healing ourselves. I know....I've been there. Through my illness I have grown so m...

This sauce is also a new family favorite! I cant seem to get enough mustard lately. I was never really a fan of mustard, and still don't really like it plain, especially yellow mustard. But mixed with a little mayo and a touch of honey, this sauce is good on grilled pork chops and fish cakes , chicken, sandwiches, and burgers. Its more about the ratio of ingredients than actual measurements. Generally, we like: Two parts mustard One part mayonnaise 1/2-1 part honey Mix to combine and enjoy! I always use raw honey, since most of the nutrients are destroyed when heating, and most honey you buy at the store is pasteurized.  (remember to use caution when feeding this sauce to kids, honey isn't recommended for babies under 1 year) Raw honey has many health benefits; it has antibacterial and antifungal properties, contains phytonutrients to boost immunity, and is a good source of fuel for your liver. Mustard seed is high in selenium, omega-3 fatty acids and m...

I am trying to incorporate more fish into my diet, and these delicious fish cakes are a new family favorite! They can be made with tuna or salmon, salmon having slightly more to offer nutritionally; high Omega 3 fats, vitamin D, and selenium. (and more!) Fish is so good for your brain and heart, and can improve your mood, weight, and overall health. Interestingly, the selenium in fish helps keep our bodies from absorbing the mercury found in fish! God's good design :) This article  explains that in more detail, if you're a "nerd" like me and love learning about food. Anyway, on to the recipe! Ingredients- 3 cans salmon, tuna or sardines 3 TBS mayonnaise 3 TBS coconut flour 3 eggs 3 tsp mustard 1/4 tsp salt pepper 1/4 cup chopped green onions (1) Open canned fish and empty into med/large bowl. The fish I use has no added water, so I pour all the juices in too, no draining! Try to keep the fish somewhat off to side. Add the coconut flour to the j...

#1 Breakfast- This is a detox/liver support breakfast of beets, asparagus and dandelion and nettle tea. The beets are from Trader Joe's, and they are steamed and peeled = ready to go! I season them with garlic salt and dill. #2 Breakfast- scrambled eggs, Hempler's bacon, asparagus & gluten free toast. This picture is my husband's breakfast and he also had a bowl of plain, full fat yogurt with blueberries and homemade granola. #3 Breakfast- "Soup" made from zucchini ribbons, spinach and bone broth and topped with two crispy fried eggs and a sprinkle of cheese (pecorino romano, sheep cheese). I really love making a breakfast soup using leftover meat and greens and/or zucchini and bone broth...warm and yummy and an easy way to get in some veg first thing in the morning. #4 Dinner- Butter lettuce salad with avocado oil and salt n pepper and homemade BBQ chicken pizza. I LOVE that I can make pizza now I have some cheese back in my life! I use Tr...

Food. Food has been a big thing for me these last few years... W hat to eat. What not to eat. Without going into every detail right now, I will just say that I do not eat gluten, dairy, or soy. I limit nightshades (white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) and eggs to some extent as well. I eat mostly Paleo, but I would not say "I'm on a paleo diet." I eat the way I do for health issues and have seen a huge difference in the way I feel and how quickly I recover when eating this way. I know how sugar affects my body now, and avoid refined cane sugar, using honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and I recently started using molasses as well. I love to experiment in the kitchen! And I am so grateful for the way my new diet has opened me up to new foods...once you start eating healthier, your tastes change and you might just like something you would not have liked before.. Like sweet potatoes; my husband and I tried them more than once and hated them. And now we eat ...

------> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EKdzFbKENq0 I like to watch YouTube videos while I do my treadmill workout to help pass the time and this conversation really spoke to my heart. I have learned so much of what these ladies are talking about, and I loved the analogy of "pick up your mat and walk!" I, too, am a very hopefully person, always watching and searching for the thing that would bring on the healing I was longing for. I thought that's what I was supposed to do...after all,wouldn't I be a better person, mother, wife, friend and everything else that I could be if I was well? I thought " this is not my best work, I can't give You my best until I am healed, Lord." But things did not really get better until I learned that God wanted me here, now, in THIS situation, and that what He wanted was for me to do the best I could NOW, with everything I had going on. Because its about your heart. It's about your attitude and your humility and your...