Maybe because it was my last stop for the day or maybe it was because I’m absent minded by nature but the other evening I found myself standing in the frozen food aisle of Trader Joe’s utterly confused. I had stopped to pick up a few things for the next day’s dinner. We were having friends over and I wanted it to be special. I had grabbed some lemons, an eggplant, and a potted basil plant that swayed when I pushed the cart.

Near the back corner of the store the demo station was winding down for the night but left on the counter in miniature paper cups were slices of dinner rolls. I parked my cart off to side and picked up one of the cups of white processed sweet wheat.

Devouring the bread sample, I grabbed my cart and headed toward the frozen food aisle to get a bag a frozen chicken when I looked down and saw this.

My cart was piled high with of loaves of bread, cupcakes, pies, and other sweets. Where was my eggplant and basil? Whose cart was this? Then it occurred to me that it may be mine. I seriously contemplated the possibility that I had absent-mindedly wandered through the store and subconsciously picked up all this carby goodness.

Crazy thoughts like this aren’t really so crazy when you are up to your neck in sugar addiction.

I haven’t been writing much here lately. Driving to Alaska, taking care of our new baby, keeping our two older homeschoolers on task are all part of my absence here but I’ve also been guzzling sugar like M&Ms are going to be discontinued tomorrow. Then to add to the fire or should I say “lack of” my workout schedule has all been but nonexistent.

I’ve gone back to the “dark days” of pre-2008 (<==my take on nutrition has also changed a bit since). The time when I hid outside my house and drank cups of maple syrup. The times when I would steal candy from my kids.

There is some light in the chocolatey darkness. I’m not depressed like I was seven years ago. I’m not happy about this struggle with sugar but I’m not dealing with a true depression and would never want to minimize those who struggle with clinical depression because I’ve been there and it’s serious. Overall, more days than not, I feel pretty dang balanced and quite often downright peaceful.

But but but…there is this uncontrollable urge to consume sugar and my question is why?

Why?

WHY???

Is it emotional? Physiological? A combination?

A few weeks ago I kept a record of how I felt when I ate sugar and discovered…there was absolutely no pattern. None. I ate sugar when I was excited. I ate sugar when I was bored. I ate sugar when I was feeling aloof. I ate sugar when I was happy. I ate sugar when I wanted to procrastinate. I ate sugar when I was feeling peaceful. I ate sugar because it was a beautiful day and I wanted to add to my pleasure. I ate sugar because “it was there”.

The last time I combatted my sugar addiction I gave up sweets  cold turkey on New Year’s day 2008. During that time I “graduated” myself from “no sugar” to “homemade treats made with unrefined sugars”. It worked beautifully and I rarely felt deprived until I was sabotaged by the Boy Scouts and then again by Halloween when I picked up my first piece of candy in nearly four years. It didn’t take long for that bite sized piece of corn syrup to turn into an avalanche of sugar.

Before those M&Ms melt in your mouth and not in your hand, I was right back where I had started from four years before with one difference, I knew a lot more about sugar’s effect on the body. Previously, I knew my childhood dentist warned against candy and I knew sugar wasn’t helping me loose those extra pounds I was carrying but now I knew about insulin sensitivity, sugar’s link to cancer and other diseases, and sugar has even been associated with premature aging. But even my vanity can’t keep me out of the candy aisle.

Generally speaking I’m very grateful for my life and experience a great deal of happiness most days but I’m also tired. Tired of dealing with the constant cravings. Tired of the guilt that I put on myself for the sugar binges. Tired of worrying that I’m going to get cancer from all the sugar.

I really just want to be able to go to open a pint of ice cream and not eat the whole thing. I really want to be able to eat a few Hershey Kisses and not a whole bag. I really want to be able to keep my kid’s Christmas candy  in the house and not think about it all day.

So that’s where I’m at.

People who know me well know that I’m stubborn as hell determined. I’m determined to understand and overcome this addiction. It just may take me awhile and while that’s not very inspiring, it’s honest.

Sugar may have knocked me down but I’m not dead.

If you have any advice I’m all ears.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at Newschool Nomads as we travel in our RV through the United States!

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How to Make Green Veggie Powder

When we decided to spend the winter in the mountains of Colorado, I panicked I imagined being huddled around the table over bowls of steaming soup. I also imagined a long winter without any fresh veggies. (Apparently, I forgot I live in the United States where grocery stores are plentiful.) The truth is store bought veggies just aren’t the same as farmers market veggies.

So I took matters in my own hands and decided to make my own green veggie powder. We  headed over to the farmers market to buy whatever greens I could find in the the last days of the growing season. I came back with bunches of kale and swiss chard…bunches so large that people in the farmers market stared as we hauled the bags back to our car.

Anyway, I don’t know if I would call this green veggie powder a recipe per say. It’s more of a method and it couldn’t be more simple.

Like I said, I used  kale and swiss chard for the veggie powder because those were the only veggies available at the farmers market late in the season but you could use any variety of veggies.

Homemade Green Veggie Powder

1. Rinse and pat the veggies dry.

2. Layered the veggies in a single layer on a dehydrator tray.  They can overlap a bit but not too much because you want them to be able to dry out. (I remove the thick park of the stems before drying. I noticed if I didn’t do this I was left with thick hard pieces in my veggie powder.)

3. Set dehydrator to the veggie setting or about 130°

4. Wait about 12 hours or until veggies are dry and crisp. I tested them by crumbling a leaf in my fingers.

5. Blend leaves in a food processor until you have a fine veggie powder.

6. Store in mason jars for later use.

You need a lot of greens to fill one jar. It took about 15 LARGE bunches of greens to fill these four jars.

So maybe you are wondering what I’ve been doing with all this green veggie powder?

I’ve been adding veggie powder to soups, chili, casseroles, curries, meatballs, and taco meat.

Have you ever made green veggie powder? If so what do you use it for?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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This grain and gluten free fried green tomato recipe isn’t really a recipe. It’s more of a fried green tomato experiment that happened to work out.

I always refer to these posts as How to I Make ____ because really how many ways can you make a fried green tomato? Tomatoes, breading, salt, pepper, egg, and oil.

Ever since we spent time in South Carolina I’ve been having cravings for fried green tomatoes. So when I saw green tomatoes at the farmers market last weekend I snatched them up. If we ever settle back down I’m going to grow tomatoes just so I can have green ones.

Since I try to limit grains, I decided to bread them with the Trader Joe’s Almond Meal I had on hand.

Grain and Gluten Free Fried Green Tomatoes

2 Green Tomatoes
2 Eggs
About 1/2 cup of Almond Meal or Flour
Salt
Pepper
About 1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil

1. I sliced the tomatoes. Brilliant, I know.

2. I dipped the tomato slices in the egg.

3. Then I covered them in almond meal. I had mixed in lots of salt and ground pepper in the almond meal beforehand.

4. The flour started getting icky so it was easier to just sprinkle it on instead of dredging the tomatoes in the almond flour.

5. I pan fried them in, my favorite cooking oil, coconut oil over high heat until almond meal was crispy.

6. Put them on a paper towel to soak up some of the extra oil.

They went well with Brent’s Santa Maria BBQ Style Chicken and baked sweet potatoes. So good.

And they were even better the next morning when I toasted the leftovers and topped them with eggs, hot sauce, and sharp cheddar. My idea of a perfect breakfast.

As far as I can tell, I’m not gluten intolerant but whenever there is an option to make something without grains I usually decide to go that route. It doesn’t always work out but in this case it did.

Do you like friend green tomatoes? Would you have made grain and gluten free fried green tomatoes or would you have gone with the traditional flour?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Grain and Gluten Free Fried Green Tomatoes (with eggs) appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Remember the 30 day paleo challenge I was doing?

That’s okay. Neither do I.

Here is  our adventures in eating local while on the road plus a recap of my 30 day paleo challenge and the aftermath.

It’s been fun finding local food. We’ve been to farmers markets and farm stands from Maine to Indiana.

It was easy to find fresh local protein in Maine.

Our first whole lobster experience.

Thing Two enjoyed it.

In Maine, we also picked wild blueberries. Check out the difference between the wild blueberries on the right from Trader Joe’s blueberries on the left. Hmmmmm…..

I was sticking to and enjoying my 30 day paleo challenge until we stopped at the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier, Vermont around day 21.

I really didn’t want to order a salad. “I would never be back here again.”

So I decided, “screw it” and ordered a “garlique chic”  crepe and I would get back to the challenge after dinner.

Simple. As. That.

Except it wasn’t that simple because we stopped at the Ben and Jerry’s Factory and I saw the Coconut 7 Layer Bar ice cream.

“When would I ever be back to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory?”

So I ordered it and and enjoyed every bite.

I blame Vermont.

There were still few days left of the challenge and I decided to keep on despite my day of indulgence.

We ate well even though there was sometimes lack of selection. We stopped at small roadside stands for fresh produce.

And small local grocery stores…

…with bears in the deli.

Then we got to Indiana and my 30 days were up.

Instead of testing each eliminated food group for four days like the plan It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways instructs. I decided to enjoy myself.

Rather too much.

There have been bbq’s at home…

…and fun nights out with my family.

I didn’t throw it all out the window. We still went to farmers markets and picked apples from an orchard.

Had a date night at Trader Joe’s.

Last week, I got in a few workouts

and some kisses with kettlebells.

But I haven’t been “perfect” and that’s okay. Perfection is overrated. Or so I have heard.

I had my fair share of fun food while visiting my family but I’m ready to get back to real food or clean eating or whatever you want to call it.

Here is our freezer as of this morning. It’s stocked with as much local beef and organic chicken that will fit and our fridge is full of lots of produce.

I want to do a complete review of It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways but this post is already on the long side. I’ll try to get around to it in the next week or two but for now I’ll say one thing.

Feta.

Thirty days without feta is no fun.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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We’ve been trying hard to eat local while traveling.

Little Amish market in Lancaster, PA.

Some really raw honey.

Along with unlocal bananas, we also some some fresh ground peanut butter (which I’ve since stopped eating for my 30 days of Paleo), pecans, high quality sea salt, farm eggs, and apple butter.

There was a dairy nearby one of our campground so we stopped for some milk. They sold the milk in bags. I had never seen that before.

They also had lots of local baked goods at the dairy that I would have liked to buy .

We’ve also tried to find a farmer’s market every week using Local Harvest. Not only do we get fresh food, the farmer’s markets give a good peek into the local culture.

Not only am I going to try and post my weekly workout locations, I’m also going to post about our adventures in finding local food while traveling.

Have a great weekend!!!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook (Be sure to click “subscribe” if you want posts to show up in your feed.) Simple dimple!

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Brent grew up in Santa Maria, California. Santa Maria is known for its unique and delicious style of BBQ and Brent’s barbecuing skills are no less impressive than the BBQ from town where he grew up.

He was destined to be a GRILL Hero from birth.

Just look at that confidence at the grill!

Traditional Santa Maria BBQ is tri-tip, a specific cut of beef, but there is an equally amazing and easy way to barbecue chicken. The key to amazing Santa Maria BBQ chicken is not in the ingredients, they are ridiculously simple, but in technique. Get the technique down and you will be on your way to becoming a Grill Hero too.  

Santa Maria BBQ Style Chicken

• Chicken Breasts (Bone In)
• Bottle of Beer
• Italian Dressing Seasoning Packet
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper

We buy a whole chicken and quarter it ourselves. If you are quartering your own chicken leave the skin on.

1. Rinse and dry chicken.

2. Mix one packet of Italian dressing seasonings with half bottle of beer (about 6 oz). Brent prefers beers with stronger flavor. (Firestone and Bluemoon are two of his favorites.)

3. Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken with garlic salt and pepper.

4. Place chicken on the grill bone side down. Let it cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the skin starts to get golden brown.

5. Flip over the chicken and start basting heavily. The idea is to dry out the meat when you are cooking it boneside down and rehydrate with the beer baste. Cook for another 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your chicken, basting the entire time.

6. You can tell when it’s done because the meat starts to get firm and it’s no longer pink on the inside.

My favorite thing to eat Santa Maria BBQ chicken with is grilled artichokes. Heavenly! I will have to post how Brent makes these soon.

The best part of Santa Maria BBQ chicken is that I don’t have to listen to my kids complain. They love it! Almost as much as I do.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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I’ve said this many times but I was spoiled in my hometown of Ventura ,California with multiple year round CSAs to choose from, raw milk from the local health food store, an Azure Standard drop off site, two Trader Joes within 4 miles of my house, and friends who could connect me to groups for the best price on grassfed beef.

Eating healthy on the road was a different story. We quickly left the year round growing climate of southern CA. Our RV kitchen is micro-sized compared to house kitchen. It was sometimes a challenge to find a grocery store much less one that stocked the products we really wanted. We had a few events that strained our budget.

But we kept on and decided we would just do our best to eat a real food diet and not beat ourselves up over the occasional fast food stop.

Seven months later, I can confidently say we have finally adjusted to finding real food on the road. It’s a combination of feeling more comfortable living in a small space, making an effort, and, I’m sure, the warmer weather.

We’ve not only adjusted but finding farmers markets has become an adventure we enjoy. Multiple times we’ve visited small towns like Port Royal, South Carolina, that we would have otherwise skipped had I not taken the time to seek out a farmers market on Local Harvest. More importantly, we’ve met great people we wouldn’t have met otherwise.

People like Michael from Mibek Farms. Their beef was fantastic!

Michael told us about his pastured raised beef farm and insisted we try our first raw oysters. Yum. I think.

Every time we come across grassfed local beef, I stock up with as much as I can fit in our little RV freezer. My boys love tacos and hamburgers but ground beef is one the things I have a really hard time buying unless it’s grassfed and blessed by the pope.

Our freezer after stocking up on beef from Tudor Hall Farm who was at a little farmers market we just happened upon in Sherpherdstown, West Virgina. (This beef will last us about 5 weeks.)

At Shepherdstown farmers market, we also met lovely Krissy from Blueberry Hill Vegetables, a certified organic farm. I found this cool article about their life as small local farmers.

We’ve bought seafood from roadside stands.

And at the urging of a particular 9 year old…

…we have gotten adveturous with some really local catch.

We’ve also been able to find Trader Joes in North Carolina and Virginia to stock up on some of our favorites.

And some places we are just out of luck…

“Natural and Organic Products”? Hmmmmm.

I’ve maintained brewing my water kefir and kombucha. Pretty soon I’m hoping to add in sprouting and someday I’m going to get brave enough to make sourdough. Or not.

That doesn’t mean we haven’t chosen to enjoy some local favorites like beignets in New Orleans or…

other less than healthy foods like fried green tomatoes. Oh my goodness who would have thought these were so good!

I had to try, shrimp and grits, a low country favorite.

While I was at it, why not some (You see that flawed logic there ) fried okra, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. BTW, I can eat a lot but Brent and I did share this.

While I’m sharing some of my less than healthy choices I may as well let you know I’m still struggling with my sugar addiction. It deserves a post of its own. I’ll just say that choosing to eat sugar again was not good choice at all.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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You may have heard of rainbow in a cup? If not it’s rainbow colored jello layered in a cup.

This salad is like rainbow in a cup only better. And healthier. And it’s so good you want to eat it in a bowl not a cup.

The only problem with this rainbow salad is that it’s missing blue (and indigo if we are going to get technical). I just couldn’t think of anything blue to put in it except blueberries and that wouldn’t be acceptable. Nothing against blueberries. I just don’t see them going well with cumin or mustard. So pretend the black beans are really blue beans and you can have a full on rainbow inspired salad.

It’s a perfect salad to bring along to that Memorial Weekend BBQ this weekend.

Rainbow in a Cup Bowl Salad

Salad Ingredients

• 2 Cups Tomatoes – Chopped
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper – Chopped
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper – Chopped
• 1/4 Cup Purple Onion – Diced
• 1/4 Cup Cilantro – Chopped
• 2 Cups Black Beans – (I cook my own) Rinsed and Drained
• 1 Cup Jicama* – Chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic – Finely Chopped

Dressing

• 1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tsp Dry Mustard
• 1/4 Tsp Cumin
  1/2 Tsp Sea Salt (or to taste)

If you want to add some “gold” to the end top of this rainbow salad toss in some chopped avocado. Yum.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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We all know that soda isn’t good for us but giving it up can be hard.

Are there any healthy alternatives to soda?

You betcha! Water kefir, my favorite beverage, reminds me of cream soda with a slight tang. Personally, I prefer water kefir over kombucha. Both of these beverages are so enjoyable that I have continued to brew them while living in our RV where space is tight and everything we brought had to be “worth it”. Water kefir and kombucha made the cut.

I love my water kefir over ice. Beats a chemical laden soda any day!

Tibicos or Water Kefir Grains

What is water kefir?

Water kefir is simply fermented sugar water. Water kefir grains or, tibicos, are a symbiotic collection of bacteria and yeast that feast on sugar in water creating a fermented beverage full of probiotics.

What are the benefits of water kefir?

There are numerous health claims made for water kefir everything from clearer skin to fighting cancer but very little research to back those claims up. The biggest benefit I see is that it gives your gut a healthy dose of beneficial bacteria, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and, like I said, it’s a delicious alternative to soda. Since I started drinking kombucha and water kefir my soda cravings have virtually disappeared.

How do I make water kefir?

I learned to make water kefir from a friend a few years ago. It has always turned out so well that I stuck with her directions.

Water Kefir

4 Cups Filtered or Spring Water *
1/4 Cup of Turbinado Sugar
1/4 Cup of Kefir Grains
1/4 Tsp Organic Unsulphured Molasses (not necessary but the minerals help keep the grains healthy)

*Reverse osmosis or distilled water is not recommended. The water should contain some natural minerals.

Truth be told, I gave up measuring the molasses and now just use a “fork dip” of molasses.

First, dissolve the sugar and molasses in the water in a glass container. (I rarely wait for the sugar to completely dissolve and it turns out fine. Also I use a quart size mason jar and don’t measure out the water.)

Next, add the grains. It’s not necessary to add any of the water kefir. Cover your grains with a cloth secured by a rubberband or a loose plastic lid. If you have a metal lid (like I do) cover it with a napkin, and LOOSELY close the lid. You want the grains to get some air. Let it sit 24-48 hours at room temperature before straining the kefir and repeating the process in a new batch.

I store my water kefir in the fridge in an empty bear bottle. Often I will leave it out on the counter overnight to build up carbonation before putting it in the fridge.

Once I fermented it in the closed beer bottle. Bad idea. When we opened it it sprayed out so hard that it hit the ceiling. I was lucky that the bottle was strong or it might have exploded in my hands. So make sure it can “breathe”.

Water Kefir on the Left & Kombucha on the Right

(photo by Janetha)

Or if I’m brewing more than one mason jar at a time I use large bottles with pressure wire lids. I have no idea what you actually call these sort bottles but you can buy them from Ikea.

Simple dimple.

However if you google around you may end up with a few questions.

Do I need to use a plastic strainer?

Most people will say you do. I didn’t have a plastic strainer and since I’m into minimalism, I didn’t want to go out and buy something else so I used a fine metal strainer I already owned. I should say I don’t let my grains sit in the metal strainer (but I don’t think they would be traumatized if I did). I simply strain the water kefir into a container and dump the grains into a bowl while I’m dissolving my sugar. I’ve been doing this for almost two year now and have never had a problem.

How long do water grains last?

My understanding is that if taken care of they will last indefinitely as they multiply.

How do you “take care” of water kefir grains?

I try to make sure I change the water (start a new batch) every 48 hours. However, sometimes I forget and they ferment too long running out of food. This can damage the grains. At one point, I noticed my grains weren’t multiplying so I strained them and washed them by stirring them (rather vigorously) around in filtered water. Then I put them a quart sized mason jar full of filtered water with 1/4 cup of turbinado sugar and 1/4 tsp of molasses. I let the kefir grains “rest” in the refrigerator for about a week before I rinsed them and started a new batch. Immediately, the grains started multiplying again and making delicious kefir. “Resting” your grains also works when you are going to be gone for an extended about of time. How long it takes your grains to run out of food mostly depends on heat. If it’s hot they will ferment faster and run out of food.

What do you do with extra grains?

Since healthy water kefir grains multiply you will be left with extra grains. I use those grains in smoothies, give them away, and sometimes eat a spoonful plain. I know the thought of it kinda grosses me out too but they don’t really have any taste.

How do I know if my water kefir grains are “working”?

You will see bubbles rising up from the grains and the kefir will have a slightly fermented taste. Try the sugar water mixture before adding the grains by pouring a little into a separate cup (you don’t want any contamination) and then try it again after 24-48 hours and you should taste the difference. It also changes color.

Do you rinse your grains each time?

No, I’m lazy so I rinse them about every other batch.

Nectarine Water Kefir

Can you flavor water kefir?

Yes. After the initial fermentation I sometimes remove the grains and add dried fruit. I’ll let it sit on the counter for an extra night or two. I’ve also heard you can use vanilla extract or lemon but I haven’t tried it.

Where do I buy water kefir grains?

Personally, I have never bought water kefir grains. I got mine from a friend. So my suggestion would be to start on Facebook and ask if any of your friends make water kefir. You never know what your friends might have brewing behind closed doors. I got my first kombucha scoby from someone I had no idea was into health when I posted on Facebook I was looking for one. If that doesn’t work you could always look on Craigslist. Lastly, I’ve seen them for sale on the internet but since I have never bought them online I can’t vouch for any of the website. If anyone has purchased them online feel free to share your source.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Water Kefir – How to Make the HEALTHY Soda Alternative appeared first on Girl Heroes.

When I was at the Robert is Here fruitstand, I saw a new-to-me fruit called Sapodilla.

Mistaking them for potatoes, I would have walked past had I not read the sign.  “Tastes like a pear with brown sugar!” What??? Yes, please!

Brent and I ate most of them plain for dessert. Sapodillas are soft and creamy. They remind me of a pear flavored pudding with brown sugar. Perfect for a smoothie.

Sapodilla Smoothie

2 Sapodillas
1 Frozen Banana
1 Cup Plain Yogurt (I use whole fat)
1/2 Tbs Maple Syrup
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon
Large Handful of Ice

Throw it all in a blender and blend until creamy.

Makes one EXTRA large smoothie or two medium smoothies.

Anyone else ever tried a sapodilla? We are heading up to North Carolina soon. Anyone have any advice as to what to see or do? Any good local foods we should try?

Thank you for the kindness regarding my last post about breast cancer. Your support and encouragement were sincerely uplifting. I’m going to do my best to not think too much about it. There isn’t much I can do until we get back to Ventura in the fall. In the meantime, I going to put my energy into being present with my family and not lost in worry.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Check out our family’s adventures being inspired to follow you dreams at New School Nomads as we take a year long RV road trip through the United States!

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