Some rainy day love. And a recipe!

Hello my loves! It is a cold and rainy night here in San Diego (unusual, I know), perfect for snuggling, movies, and soup. Unfortunately, my favorite snuggle buddy isn’t here (although I did get him for 27 glorious hours last week and get him for another 24 this week), but I am watching The Help and having some wonderful, hot soup! 

I keep checking and rechecking every time I type soup making sure I don’t write soap... 

Anywho, I finished out this week after seeing my hubby with lots of work. we are doing so well saving money and paying things off which is so encouraging. Getting ready for some very exciting things! I am loving being back at work and am switching between different departments wherever they need me. This morning I got to lift and workout with some lovely ladies I missed so much while I was in Mississippi and we planned a church date for tomorrow morning! I always love watching my Mississippi church online, but the church I went to here in SD before I moved left me wanting more after I visited again. So I am joining my wonderful friends Lizzie and Lauren at Lizzie’s church. Delighting in the Lord is even better with friends!  

Back to this being the perfect night for soup... What goes better with soup than cornbread?! Plus, I’m waging a constant battle with my will power to cut bread, and grains for that matter, out of my diet. This is a good happy medium!

Gluten Free Cornbread

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 Cup cornmeal

1/2 cup almond flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 Cup almond or coconut milk

1 egg

1/4 cup coconut oil or grassfed butter

1/4 cup honey (I like a little less since I put honey on top)

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Mix all ingredients in a large bowl just until combined. Be careful not to over mix.

-Pour batter into small cast iron skillet or 8x8 baking pan. Whichever you choose, be sure to grease with coconut oil.

-Bake for approximately 30 minutes. This is a rough guideline because all ovens cook differently and cooking time will vary depending on which pan you use. I just checked every 10 minutes.

Enjoy with a slab of butter and drizzle of honey of course! Isn’t everything better with butter and honey? Or how about honey butter for that matter! Enjoy my friends and stay warm and dry! 

XOXO 

Em.

5 Paleo foods I love most... at the moment.

This week my great-grandmother passed away. She was very old and led a wonderful life, but nonetheless, she was the matriarch of our family and loved immensely by family and friends alike. 

In my family, like most families, part of the grieving process is eating, and lots of it. And of course, it’s not eating things that are particularly good for you. For the first time in a very good while I ate lasagna, rolls, cookies, rolled tacos, chocolate cake, macaroni and cheese, a pulled pork sandwich, uhhh.... get the picture? It’s been a pretty awful week for Em’s guts. A few nights ago, my insides finally just had enough and I am back on the wagon of good, nutritious foods. 

I thought I’d give a list, just off the top of my head, of my favorite paleo/real food items that I will be eating in great quantities the next few weeks to heal and nourish my body after this time of poor eating!

1. Bone broth. I just made this for the first time last week and it’s hugely hugely healthy. You cook beef marrow bones in the crock pot for at least 24 hours (I did mine for about 30 hours) with some hunks of carrot, celery, hunks or garlic, apple cider vinegar, and water. Cooking it low and slow like this helps extract all the wonderful vitamins and minerals and collagen from the bones. The collagen is wonderful for your skin and gut health (just what I need), and the amino acids that are extracted from the bones help the body detoxify. Can’t beat it!
2. Coconut yogurt. I don’t handle dairy very well. In fact I never have. However, I feel very fortunate to have discovered coconut yogurt. It is delicious and you still get the benefits of the live, active cultures that good-quality yogurt contains, without any of the adverse effects that dairy may bring.
3. Kombucha. My hubs thinks I’m crazy for this one but I love love love kombucha and it has awesome gut-healing properties. It is a fermented beverage, which I don’t think we consume enough of. Kombucha is essentially a tea, which is converted into a fizzy bottle of goodness by a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). It’s delicious and fun to drink!
4. Almond butter. This one can get tricky. It is a great source of healthy fats but should be eaten in great moderation. You can go overboard with mindless almond butter eating very quickly! One of my favorite little snacks is a small bowl of frozen berries with a dollop of almond butter on the top and a sprinkle of chia seeds over the top of that, then microwaved for approximately a minute and a half. Stir that gooey mess together and oooohhh goodness... holy yum. 
5. Turmeric tea. Kind of misleading because this doesn’t actually use a tea bag but it’s so yummy an comforting. All it takes is a mug full of steamed almond milk, a dash of turmeric, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of ginger, a splash of maple syrup and you have yourself a wonderful comforting drink to end your day with! Turmeric is packed with vitamins and minerals and has great anti-inflammatory properties. 
   

Eat well my friends! 

XOXO

Em