These candies are a delicious paleo friendly Valentine’s Day treat.

1 jar coconut butter

1 bag freeze dried strawberries

1 bag freeze dried bananas

1 Tbsp honey, local

1 4oz 100% Cacao bar

6 tsp honey, local

1 tsp palm shortening

Place the jar of coconut butter in a small bowl of hot water to soften.

Pour the strawberries and the bananas in a food processor and pulse until they are a fine powder.  Add the coconut butter and honey in the processor with the powder and blend until smooth.  Pour this mixture into a squeeze bottle and fill the heart candy molds.  Place the molds in the refrigerator for about fifteen minutes or until the candy is set.

Melt the chocolate bar in a small pan over low heat with the 6 tsp of honey and palm shortening.  Stir constantly until melted.  Remove the mixture from heat and allow to cool for fifteen minutes.  Dip the hearts in the chocolate mixture and place on parchment paper or drizzle the chocolate over the hearts.  Pace the candy in the refrigerator for fifteen to twenty minutes to set.  Store in the refrigerator.  Try not to eat all the delicious little buggers!

Happy Valentines Day 🙂

We had another great time at our Paleo Supper Club.  The topic of how most of the meat in this country is raised came up and yes, it is disgusting, so to see the topic on Dr. Mercola’s website yesterday morning was timely.  He talks about how chicken has become the cheapest, yet dirtiest meat we can eat.  That is, if you eat chicken bought in the grocery store.  The Animal Welfare Guidelines allow a stocking density that permits a chicken to be raised on an area equal to the size of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.  Most of these birds never see the light of day, and they can cram 30,000 or more chickens into a space that is 490 feet by 45 feet.  These animals are sick, and fed antibiotics as a result.  The chickens are also fed grain that has genetically engineered corn and soybeans in it.  In addition, chicken feathers and other animal byproducts are added to the feed, which further increases the likelihood of disease in these animals.  Surprisingly, it is not permitted to feed hormones to chickens raised in America.

Because chickens can be raised so “efficiently” in these confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), chicken has become the least expensive meat to buy and consumption has risen dramatically in the past few years.  The bottom line is that these animals become contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria, which can be transferred to us.  In addition, the nutrient profile of the meat and eggs is nothing like that of chickens raised outside, eating the diet they were meant to eat.

Take a look at Dr. Mercola’s article,  he goes into all the hidden costs of raising cheap chickens, including the ethical, environmental, and human health costs.  There is a link to the video called Food, Inc. in his article which is also enlightening.  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/23/cheap-factory-farmed-chicken.aspx

Your best option is to buy from local farmers who raise their animals in a socially responsible way.  This produces high quality food.  True free range chicken and eggs come from chickens that are allowed to roam freely outside and eat their natural diet of plants, seeds, insects, and worms.  The labels “free range” and “natural” are also tainted, so when you see this in the grocery store, it means nothing.  There are loopholes that allow the meat and eggs that come from these poultry CAFOs to be labeled “free range” and “natural”.  The frightening truth is that these conditions also apply to our beef, pork, and dairy food supply.

I follow a paleo lifestyle strictly for the most part, but we enjoy going out to eat with friends occasionally.  The attitude that I have taken is that I will stick to a paleo diet as closely as possible when eating out, even though I know that the vegetables are not always organic, nor is the meat necessarily grass fed or local.  This mindset becomes harder to justify as we learn more about how most of the food is produced in this country and it makes me want to only frequent establishments that buy from local farmers.

While I was at the farmer’s market last Saturday, buying food for the coming week one of the farmers asked me if I owned a restaurant, or if all these veggies were to cook at home.  I told her that we cook and eat most of our meals at home.  Our rule is that if we go out and spend money on a nice meal, it has to be at LEAST as good as what we can make at home, if not BETTER!  I’m thinking this should hold true for the nutritional value of the food as well as the taste.

As a family, we’ve been following a paleo lifestyle for about a year and a half.  We have come a long way in our understanding of exactly what constitutes a healthy lifestyle.  Thanks to Erin (our own personal family nutrition expert), I feel like I have a pretty good handle on all of this.  The other day I was ordering eggs from one of our local farmers and the phrase “sustainable farming” popped out at me.  I thought about that for a minute and actually wasn’t sure that I really understood what that meant.  So, I did what we all do when we want to know more about something….I Googled it!  Sustainable agriculture is using methods of farming that protect the health and well being of humans, is humane to farm animals, is safe for the environment, and provides fair treatment to workers.   If you eat ” sustainably,” you eat food grown by farmers that follow these principles.  We have access to this kind of food through our local farmers who farm following these principles.

Our paleo lifestyle has completely changed the way we shop for food.  Almost everything we buy comes from the local farmer’s market.  We go in with a list of how many vegetables and meats we need to make meals for the coming week, instead of a set list of what we want.  It’s very open ended in that we see what’s in season and what’s available that particular week.  This ensures a variety of tastes and nutrients in our diet, and that will change seasonally.  When a particular item like kohlrabi is in season we enjoy it, and when it’s gone we find something new to enjoy.  The meat from the local farms is grass fed, so it’s high in omega 3 fatty acids and does not contain antibiotics or hormones.   The animals are raised and butchered humanely.  The vegetables from the market are free of pesticides and GEOs.  We have gotten to know the farmers and look forward to seeing them each week.  Since the market is only open at certain times, you begin to see the same people shopping at the market and you get to know them.  At the farmer’s market you talk to the people that grow the food, ask questions about how it’s grown, what they will be bringing in the coming weeks, and they even share ideas on how they prepare some of their things.  Most of the people there are very passionate about improving the way we eat and they are concerned for the environment.

Because the food industy in this country is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, at this point we have little control over what agribusiness chooses to do.  We can take an active role in our health and that of our families.  While we may not be able to change food labeling laws, or the practices of the major food industries in this country, we can choose how we spend our money.  We can choose to buy locally and in doing so, know what we are buying.  By supporting our local farmers we can ensure that we will always have a choice.  I guess you could call this a modern day form of hunting and gathering.  We have provided a list of local farmer’s markets for your convenience so proceed to hunt and gather!

Our next Paleo friends meeting will be on Sunday, July 20th at RoseMary and Walt’s home.  We will meet about 5 pm, as before and plan to eat between 6 and 6:30.  The club house is booked for July, so this is plan B.  The address has been emailed to everyone.   It would be great if everyone will let us know what they are bringing and tell us how many people are coming with you by posting it under comments on the blog.  Thanks and look forward to seeing everyone.

RoseMary

This is Rosie’s and my first post on our blog.  We want to start by talking about the paleo lifestyle.   Or more importantly YOUR paleo lifestyle.  Paleo is not a direct eating plan like a diet.  It is more of a set of guidelines for you to work with.  If you have an autoimmune disease or allergies to certain foods, then your lifestyle will naturally exclude the foods that cause such reactions.

The guidelines to paleo include these food groups: meat, vegetables, fruits, and health fats (avocados, coconut, animal fats).  The foods in these categories in their whole form are paleo.  Paleo does not consist of brownies made with almond flour, honey, and cacao powder.  While those can be healthier alternatives to brownies that are not gluten free, they are still brownies.  Because this way of eating is a lifestyle and not a diet, we believe there is room for these treats a couple times a week as long as you are eating a normal small portion of the dessert.  If you are turning the treat into a free-for-all and eating all the things you abstained from during the week then you are missing the point.

Get creative with your paleo lifestyle and make it your own.  Be sure to center most of your meals around meat, veggies, and healthy fats, but do not forget to include indulgences that you truly love and make them count.  Enjoy them slowly.  This is suppose to be fun and don’t be afraid to try new combinations of veggies, fruits, meats, and nuts.  The possibilities are endless.