Hi friends!!!

It has been waaaaaaaay too long since my last post. I do apologize.

Today I wanted to chat a bit about something that I’ve been dealing with for a few years now…Toxic Mold.

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? As someone who has it, I can say that while it takes awhile to figure out, it’s easy to deal with overall. IF…a big IF…you’re willing to change your dietary habits.

So, how to begin my story? I guess I’ll start in 2014. My family suffers from hereditary high cholesterol. My father had a heart attack at 36. My mother was on statins in her early 50s. So, I always knew I’d have to deal with it at some point, regardless of exercising and trying to eat well.

In 2014, my doctor decided it was time. I was nearing the age my father was when he had his heart attack and I had a little guy to think of, so I agreed. My doctor put me on simvistatin. A low dose. I took it every morning for a few weeks.

Then we got a new puppy and I started waking up having difficulty breathing…it felt like a heavy weight on my chest. I assumed it was dog allergies and went about my business. One Friday night in the fall – about 5 weeks after I started the medication – I woke up completely disoriented and unable to catch my breath. I tried to keep myself calm, but ended up in the ER. They did CAT scans and ultrasounds of my cardiac region. They found nothing. They chalked it up to a panic attack.

I went home and ended up back at the ER the following weekend. I couldn’t get air into my lungs. It was horrific. The ER doctor told me it wasn’t life threatening (and got some choice words from me as a result) and sent me home.

I decided to stop taking the statins as that was the only new thing (besides a puppy) in my life. My breathing became normal but I developed GERD. I underwent multiple procedures to try and figure out why I had GERD – but again, no answers.

I started doing my own digging and found that I may have Lyme disease. Weight fluctuation, memory loss, general fatigue, etc. I started different Lyme treatments and decided on a Paleo-type diet.

Bizarrely, I gained weight. I didn’t feel better. So I started eating normally again.

Fast forward to Dec 2019. I’m tired all the time. I’m also tired mentally and emotionally of trying to figure out what’s wrong with my body. THATS when I stumbled onto Toxic Mold Allergy.

Guess what??? Those statins that I took in 2014 jump started my mold allergy. They’re made from a specific type of mold that I am very much allergic to.

I started Whole30 right before New Years 2020 and within 7 weeks, I lost 20 lbs and felt GREAT!!! I was working out, my brain felt clearer…and then BOOM. COVID-19 hits (along with some other personal issues). I stuck to my diet until this past summer. I mean…..remote teaching my son and buying/selling a home and moving took its toll. I gained 8 lbs back. BUT!!!!! I KNOW.

Sometimes it takes trial and error and lots of patience. But eating healthy and focusing on a bit of self-care is something we all need. No matter your journey or life choices.

I’d like to start sharing some of my Whole30 recipes and dishes that I’ve found with you. I hope you’re up for it!!

❤️❤️

Cheers

“You cannot make everybody happy. You are not a taco.” -🤷🏻‍♀️

Does anyone else have Taco Tuesday in their home? My little dude asked last week to have tacos and again this week. He went so far yesterday (we had Taco Wednesday this week) as to exclaim we NEEDED to have Taco Tuesday because that’s how much he loves tacos!

Anyone else? I’m a huge taco and fajita lover. I pile them high with fresh veggies (on tacos) and sautéed peppers and onions (on fajitas). I’m also the one who uses half of a bottle of Habanero sauce because – why not?!

Not only are tacos delightfully delicious, but they’re right behind pizza (for me at least) in the “how much of every food group can you get in one meal?”! 😂 You got your carbs, veggies, meat, dairy….oh glory be! Now I want a taco.

What does your family eat at least once a week? Any taco lovers in your life?

Make today an amazing day – you’re worth it! ♥️

You’re the cheese to my macaroni.

You guys!! I have been a horrible blogger as of late. It’s been months. My apologies! My plan is to start trying to blog at least once a week going forward. I appreciate your patience!

So this week I used a recipe I found on the Food Networks app In the Kitchen. I used a recipe from Rachael Ray but put my own spins on it given my gut issues. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/butternut-squash-mac-and-cheese-recipe-1916479?)

Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese! Everyone loves a good Mac n Cheese – it’s the perfect comfort food during a cold Maine winter. But! Not everyone loves squash – yet it’s super good for you. Et voila! Mix it with Mac n Cheese and you’ve got a winner!

For my dish, I completely removed the heavy cream or half n half and used full fat coconut milk. Instead of wheat flour I used Paleo baking flour. I also used twice as much Parmesan cheese and added roasted chicken and pancetta. Lastly, I used GF penne rigate (bionaturae is my favorite GF brand!!). Thankfully cheddar and Parmesan are two cheeses my stomach can handle.

The men in the house declared it my best Mac n Cheese yet – and I’ve been making homemade versions of this dish for 15 years. That says something!!

Try it out and let me know your thoughts!!

Make it an amazing day! xo

“The households that have lost the soul of cooking from their routines may not know what they are missing: the song of a stir-fry sizzle…” -Barbara Kingsolver

Oh heeeeeeey!! Surprise!! An extra post just for my followers and today we’re talking STIR-FRY, my friends!!

Stir-fry is literally the BEST thing since sliced bread. Throw in your veggies and meat (or just veggies) of choice, sauté to your desired crispness and VOILA! A meal for the family is ready within minutes.

Here’s an idea of what we use in our stir-fries (sp?):

Pea pods

Sweet pepper slices

Garlic

Onion

Ginger (so gooooooood!)

Shiitake mushrooms

Garlic (literally everything I cook has garlic – it’s the spice of life!)

Water chestnuts (I don’t use these often enough – excellent bit of crunch!)

Basil

Jalapeños (not too much if your child isn’t a big fan!)

Local beef or chicken, cut into bite sizes.

Now, making a good stir-fry can be tricky – believe it or not. Sometimes it takes time to figure out the time it takes for each vegetable to cook and have nothing be over-cooked into mushiness.

Here are my tips!

1) Choose vegetables that your family likes and will eat – and remember that most kids (haha! Like I’m an expert on kids! I’m totally not.) will try things if it tastes similar (think sauces!) or they are able to help with preparing the vegetables.

2) For sauces, we like to use homemade teriyaki or an Apricot Ginger sauce that’s kind of local (Belfast, ME). I will post my teriyaki sauce in a separate post.

3) Cook your meat first in the sauce of choice only until half done. Remove from heat and cover.

4) Start with your peppers, onions, pea pods. These items take a bit longer to get the desired texture (I prefer al dente). At around the 4-5 minute mark, throw in your mushrooms, ginger and garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes.

5) Stir in your meat and finish cooking for around 4 minutes.

6) Serve as-is or on top of rice (pairs beautifully with a wild rice medley).

Tonight Evan and I were late getting home after a barbershop excursion for a back-to-school cut. The man with the plan at home helped by prepping our vegetables and when I got home, I sautéed everything and we feasted! ♥️

Eat, drink, and be merry! Make it a great day! Love to you all. ❤️♥️

“Home is wherever I’m with food.”

It’s CIOPPINO time!!! Seafood Cioppino is one of our households favorite dishes and after making it a few times, I tend to tweak it each time and make it a bit different.

This past week I went ahead and made this dish and it really is SUPER easy. Not everyone likes seafood but if you do – this is THE way to get a bit of everything in one dish. You may be surprised at how much the kids like it too!

I started with some diced onion, fennel, garlic and shallots. I sautéed them in gee (EVOO also works great!) for around 10 minutes and then added a large can of diced tomatoes, 6 cups of seafood broth, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, and some dry white wine. Throw in some bay leaves and a pinch of pink Himalayan Sea Salt and pepper. This simmers for a good 30 minutes.

Now we add in a pound of shrimp and a pound of scallops. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add a pound of white fish (haddock is perfect for this!) and a pound of mussels AND clams. I deviated from my typical way of making this and used 2 pounds of mussels. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes and VOILA!! It’s eating time!!

The reason this is an easy meal is all you have to do is dive your veggies and everything else you just pour into the pan and cook! Plus there’s almost always some leftover for the next days lunch or dinner!

If you love seafood like this family does, whip this up and let me know how it goes! I’ll be waiting. 🙂

Make it a great day – love to you all. ♥️

“All of life is a continuous state of wonder interrupted by bedtime and light snacks.” -Joyce Rachelle

Happy Monday everyone!!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a snacker. I LOVE my snacks….mostly in the evening while watching tv or reading a good book.

Snacking healthy is always what we aim to do (amirite?!) but lately I personally love to snack on chips!! I know, horrible right? I will say that I’m at least choosing organic and GF DF chips…so maybe I’m not soooo bad. 😉

A few things that I love (as do my boys) and that get consumed within a very short time frame after making or purchasing:

Kale chips

Cherries

Almonds

Cashew

Pistachios

Apples with PB and hemp seeds/flax

What are your favorite snacks?? Comment, share, like, follow!

I know a lot of you are waiting for my first dinner post! I’m working on one…a classic recipe of Cioppino and how I make it my own! As we all know, any really passionate cook doesn’t truly follow the recipe to the letter. 😉

Thanks for reading!! Love to all of you – make today amazing!

“Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all.” -David Lynch

Today is my first day of blogging! I’ll admit to being a bit fearful of putting any of what’s in my brain on a personal blog. Memes are one thing on social media, but my actual thoughts?? Ooh boy. Buckle up! 😉

So, today I’m starting with what gets me going in the morning – coffee!!! Who else loves a good cup of the ‘nectar of the gods’? I know some folks like tea, or yoga, or meditation, or even all of the above. For me, its coffee.  I’ve tried everything else – only coffee gives me that jolt of being ready to jump into my day with both feet!

My husband and I tend to be complete and utter Starbucks snobs. And in the land of Dunkin Donuts too!! I like my coffee strong and with hints of cocoa (all hail the Verona Blend!!). And of course since I have dietary restrictions (we’ll touch on that in another post), I use unsweetened almond milk to mix my daily latte at home.

Today’s blog is more or less to get some of my friends on my blog and see if my “Contact Me” area is working. What is YOUR favorite morning ritual? What gets you up in the morning and ready to tackle whatever is thrown at you? Leave me a comment or follow my blog! I promise to try and be captivating! 😉

Have a wonderful day! ❤