Spring Daze

This week my grand daughters are out of school (& playschool) for spring vacation - & I've hung out with them several days! Today was sunny (YEA) & we walked to the track by their mom's work so they could ride their bikes around - fun! Stopped to visit their mom, then went to Grocery Outlet to see if there was still some of the Coconut Oil my dau. spied there the other day! Yes!! & way cheep (& Organic, unrefined :) - got several bottles, but wanted to try it first (I've had that brand before, but not that packaging).

So I didn't get them all - ratz!! Went back later in the day & there was only one left! I hope folks that really appreciate it picked it up! I did mention it to the checker & an older lady (It's GOOD for you!) I did find some smoked salmon & got more greek style olives that second trip :)

I've been mixing coconut oil with almond butter for my grand daughters, & they tell me when they want more - their moods have been good the last few days, & even 'melts' don't seem to last long! The 4 yr old is particularly volatile, so this is good! I think it's helping with 'brain chemistry' & they sure enjoy it! The oldest said 'grammie, we need more!' & handed me the almond butter ;)
Their dog Dax, a husky mix (almost 13) waits for his spoonful as well - coconut oil? don't mind if I do! This description of dogs 'going nuts' for the coconut oil applies - I give my chihuahua Gracie a dab (about 1/2 spoonful) & Dax a couple of Tbsp - I'd been putting it on a cottonball to swab Dax's ears, as he tends to have yeast & 'itchy' ears - & my daughter just got him a 'senior' kibble.

I have been keeping up with the exercise for the Lenten Challange - got to Ballet last Sat & then Tue, & played with the hula tape again this week. & walking & . . . .

One of the Docs from our office is out of town, so I received part of her CSA 'share!' I was so excited. It included salsify, so I looked up some recipes & adapted one that called for both salsify (related to dandelion & lettuce - you cook the root & can use the long leaves in salad) & jersulam artichokes! Sauted in Coconut oil, & added some garlic & 1/2 an onion.
For liquid I used nettle/alfalfa infusion It was a hit! My daughter grew up eating Jersulam Artichoke tubers, & loves them - with this quick saute (<15 min) the veggies are crunchy crisp, & the flavors go well together! For dinner I added a bit of coconut milk, curry paste & powder & some of the greens (kale & flowering turnip tops) also quite nice! & made some coconut rice (added about a cup of coconut milk while my brown rice, quinoa & teff was a' cooking) . . . Gracie & I both enjoyed it!

I've been reading Nina Planck's 'Real Food' & appreciating again growing up with mostly real foods. The big 'culprits' of 'industrial foods' were the wessen oil & crisco, white flour & white sugar we consumed! & my mom had cooked for the haying & planting crews, so made the best deserts!
We lived across the road from a dairy, so drank plenty of raw milk, ate range fed beef, & prob. good 'farm raised' chicken & eggs, plus venison & trout. As Nina, who began farmers markets in London & NY says, isn't it intriguing how real fats & meat are (sometimes) thought to be 'bad' & are falsly acused of causing all kinds of diseases - that were rare 'till we began eating 'industrialized foods,' inc. relatively new oils (soy, corn, rape - excuse me - modified rape or 'canola'), lots of refined sugars (now GM sugar beets, & high fructose corn syrup)
Several folks mention when farmers tried to fatten hogs by feeding them coconut oil, they got skinny! So they switched to corn & soy oil, & (like so many people,) they got nice & fat!

I also ran across a blurb countering the supposed 'dangers' of feeding dogs 'table scraps' - well, what did they eat for the last several thousand years spent as human companions?? - meat & 'people food' (ie: grains & veggies & some fruits - Gracie esp. loves raw apples & carrots) . . . . rather like the 'dangers' we're told exist if we eat foods we've eaten for thousands of years (alergies excluded ) . . . Marion Nestle gives the 'formula' for pet food: "a half a pound of grains, a quarter of a pound of meat, you bury them within it, you throw in some vegetables, you throw in a couple of supplements that you can buy at a supermarket and you’ve taken care of it."
When I first got Gracie, I made her food, then life happened, & I fed her kibble (Organix - a good brand!) So I've been feeding her bits of my meals (she is sturdy, but still small!) & she loves it!

So that old La Leche League formula: eat a wide variety of food in close to its natural state, is still my watchword.