It’s actually kind of scary.  I do major grocery shopping every two weeks, and I spend two or three days before each shopping trip carefully making my meal plan and then checking and re-checking it to make sure it meets our family’s current goals and needs.  Then I make my grocery shopping list based on the meal plan, checking and re-checking that too.  It doesn’t NEED to take this long, especially not now that I’ve got a good routine going (I’ve been doing this faithfully for over a year), but I actually enjoy it.  Am I strange?  Probably.  But that’s okay.

hen I was almost 10, we went to Disney World.  But on the way, we stopped to visit my mom’s sister’s family.  My Uncle Jim is a mailman, but in his younger days, he was a waiter at a very upscale restaurant.  Many waiters at such establishments learn to make their own versions of Caesar salad, so they can prepare it right at the table to the delight of their customers.  My Uncle Jim had learned to do this and still prepared it from time to time for his family.  The night we visited, he prepared it for us.  I loved it!  I’ve never had a Caesar salad as good as his, but that doesn’t stop me from constantly trying to find it again.  Today I’m bringing you the version I’ve recently made.  I’m not 100% happy with it, but it’s pretty good!  It’s also very healthy!

These cookies are SO yummy and they will boost your milk supply, too. Brewer’s yeast and oatmeal are known for increasing milk. For an added benefit, replace each egg with 1 tbsp. ground flax seed and 3 tbsp. water (also makes the recipe vegan, if you’re interested).

This one I absolutely HAVE to share with you. I’ve loved cheesy potatoes since I was little. Every time we had a picnic my mom would make a pan of them. The problem? They relied heavily on canned soups. I don’t do canned soups anymore, so cheesy potatoes were out (not to mention for awhile we were dairy-free). Once we re-introduced raw dairy successfully, this was on my radar! My goal was to create a creamy-soup-base-like (is that WORD?) with butter, flour (arrowroot in this case as I didn’t have sprouted flour) and spices, and to mix that with the potatoes so I could pretend there was soup in there. Success! It’s delicious. Play with the types and amounts of cheeses to get the flavor you want. Sour cream (usually not my favorite) is absolutely necessary to this dish!! You could add more butter and bacon if you wanted, dump in some chicken or vegetables to make it a complete meal. Very versatile.

I love sun-dried tomatoes.  Once I had a large glass jar of them packed in olive oil (which is how you should buy them if at all possible) that I needed to use up.  It was summer and I had fresh tomatoes, too.  I created this sauce and tossed it with some angel hair pasta.  It’s a light, flavorful and delicious sauce!

I invented this one night when I was craving a creamy, saucy chicken.  It’s delicious!  It can be modified to be GAPS-friendly by using ghee instead of butter and coconut milk, and simply uncovering to reduce the sauce (before adding milk) instead of using flour.  Serve it over rice, mashed potatoes, or, for GAPS, steamed cauliflower.

Since we’ve been no-sugar, I’ve been seeking some type of “dessert” I can eat. I tried a super simple recipe for orange sherbet and it was “okay.” I decided to scrap that and try again. The second attempt is what I’ve posting for you today, and it is excellent! In fact, it tastes like an Orange Julius to me! So for those of you missing fast food…make some of this!!

When I was a teenager, we went to the Olive Garden to celebrate someone’s birthday and had stuffed mushrooms. I created this recipe after that experience in an attempt to copy those mushrooms. I later adapted it once we were dairy-free and it’s just as good that way. My father requested this dish at a recent holiday, it’s so good.

Taco soup is yummy and easy! I make this for my weekly lunches sometimes because it is filling and has plenty of fat, vegetables, and meat!

Jerky!

This is a really great snack for us on our new diet. But when you buy it, it’s expensive, made from factory-farmed meat (often, not always…but if not it’s even more expensive!), and can contain sodium nitrite. No thanks!