CuteKittyPunk

Happy Pioneer Day! I should be preparing a special Pioneer Day feast... but we are eating something else tonight. Something that I have been reading about the Pioneers though is that they ate lots of fruits and vegetables and lived in harmony with the land. So you could say that the meal I am preparing for dinner tonight would be right up their alley. I'm making this meal from the Forks over Knives website . I will be making some changes to it though. I'm using spinach in place of collards and butternut squash in place of yams. If there had been any native African people crossing the plains with the pioneers - they would have loved it.  Seitan I read somewhere that seitan was popular among Mormons. I don't know how true that is because most Mormons that I know are particularly happy with eating lots and lots of meat and dairy. That's probably because a lot of Mormons are Americans and Americans eat the standard American diet.  Anyway, I wanted to know a litt

I never thought I would say these words: I look forward to cleaning up. I have really never cared for cleaning. I don't like messes either, but I can live with them for a while. With children comes many many messes. I actually sing a little song for them - "mess maker mess maker make me a mess..." (in the tune to match maker - from Fiddler on the Roof). Anyway, lately, something has happened. I'm not sure what snapped inside me... but I like to clean. Maybe it's because I'm pretty tired of sitting around on the couch watching Dora the Explorer with the kids.  Now every chance I get... when there is a break between cartoons, I turn off the TV and say it's clean up time. And I vacuum. I think part of it might be because we got a new (used) area rug from the thrift store (originally from Ikea). And I really like it and I like it best when it's clean from clutter and little pieces of paper and crumbs. Here's a picture of it.  I love th

Muffins says: Eat Me! I used to love baking cookies - and one of my favorite cookies to make was Monster Cookies ... but if you make the original recipe it's loaded with sugar - which is part of the reason why they tasted so dang good. Now I've reduced the sugar and used a sweeter sweetener: honey! And I've got coconut oil instead of butter or margarine. When I first tried this alternative recipe as a cookie - it was a bit crumbly and the bottoms burned. When I tried it as a muffin - it was a success! Fresh and hot from the oven! 1/2 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil 1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter (or alternative nut/seed butter) 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats 2 teaspoons baking soda 75 grams extra pure chocolate bar, chopped fine (70% cocoa) 100 grams M&M chocolate candies In a food processor cream together:      coconut oil, peanut butter, honey and sugar. Blend in

So, I just updated my about me page because it needed updating. I started out at the beginning of the year with this goal to go 100% Primal Blueprint and change my diet and lifestyle food good... and then... there was bread! I did go Primal for about 15 days and lost weight effortlessly and  then, I slipped. And then I did manage to maintain my weight for the last 6 months or so. And all the while, I've been eating loads of butter, more meat than I ever have before - a bit more vegetables and still some sugar and bread products now and again. But I've been eating full fat yogurt and kwark, full fat milk and mostly honey in place of sugar. And I have had not much energy. I've been sleeping a lot. And every morning, despite have 9 hours sleep, I'm still not ready to get up. I've been watching a few documentaries in the meantime which have helped me redirect my diet for the better. The first one I watched was Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead . Pretty good, a little slow i