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Back to School – Snack Time!

Posted on August 24, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

It is hard to believe that school has arrived once again!

I have one that started today and two that start in a couple of weeks. It is funny how that same old routine starts immediately. The one thing that stumps people the most in this rut of a routine is SNACK time! What do you serve for snacks when you don’t eat carbs? This one was tough at first, but it is much of the same foods that I pack in a low-carb lunchbox, so you can use this article as a means for both.

First off, toss the juice boxes – PLEASE! Those are loaded with sugar!

What about just water? If your child refuses plain water, try infusing it with fruit or cucumbers, or see if they like a sparkling water like La Croix. Mine think it is a treat! There are a ton of flavors from which to choose, so your family will never get bored.

Next, go through your pantry (or call us to do it) and toss the chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels, and goldfish – yep, I said it – even the goldfish. They are all carbs and carbs = sugar!

Your body doesn’t even know the difference between the two!

So, what do you feed the kiddos when you don’t have goldfish?

There are a ton of options, many of which we have posted before, but we will remind you!

This is the number one favorite in the Lutz household:

Veggies with Ranch Dip

Obviously, mine love the mini-peppers!

Other great dips to serve with vegetables are spinach dip, artichoke dip and pimento cheese. The later is a great lunch option as well!

Cheese crackers with salsa or guacamole is another favorite in our house.

Don’t forget about the yummy olives we posted last week too!

Sometimes if I want to dress things up a bit, I will do a nice cheese sampler tray. This is great for the little tastebuds too and fancy enough for company!

Another fun snack is the savory fat bombs. I was able to find some great snacks at Costco that were cheese and meat wrapped up together similar to a fat bomb. They are cute and would work great in a lunchbox as well.

A few other great options:

Cheese sticks or Baby Bells

Lunch meat (or the two together!) Choose your meat carefully. Stay away from the pre-sliced – get the quality meat (Such as Boar’s Head) in the deli and have it sliced thinly for wrapping. Watch for Nitrates and other additives.

Pickles

Refreshing Cukes

Celery and Queso

Whole milk yogurt (for the kids)

Jerky or beef sticks

A variety of nuts (w/out peanuts)

Stuffed mushrooms

Celery and nut butter

Deviled or Boiled Eggs

Sausage on a Stick

These are just a few of many options! Hopefully this will get you started in this back-to -school rush time! Don’t be afraid to try new things and push your kiddos to expand their palates a little. We hope everyone has a great beginning to the school year. Remember to be strong and eat right! You (and your children) need to eat healthy to be healthy! Happy Back-to-School week!

Feel free to drop us a note in the comments section if you have a question about lunch or snacks. Chances are, someone else is wondering the same thing! Also, feel free to share some of your favorites!

Posted in Appetizer, articles, Beverage, Dip, Health, Kids, Lunch, Sauces and Dressing, Snacks, tips, Vegetable tagged with Appetizers, Back to School, Carbs, Fat bombs, mushrooms, nuts, Snacks, water

A Dip to Rival Hidden Valley Ranch

Posted on August 20, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Well, by now, if you have been following us, you know how we feel about artificial sweeteners and those other sneaky names used so you won’t know that sugar is in the ingredient list.

Believe it or not, those sneaky names are in the fine print of many pantry items you never would have imagined. For instance, my family used to love it when I mixed in the little seasoning packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip and Dressing mix with sour cream for a yummy dip to serve with vegetables. One of the main ingredients I discovered, as soon as I went Keto and started looking at the back of packages, is Maltodextrin.

A little about Maltodextrin: It is a food additive derived from corn, rice, potatoes, or wheat and therefore a carbohydrate. It ranks higher than table sugar on the glycemic index – 106 to 136 depending on the derived source and is in a TON of packaged foods! This means that it will spike your blood sugar levels so beware and read those labels.

It became a mission of mine and that of a few of our followers to find a better way to make ranch dressing and dip. One of the best parts of Keto is freeing yourself from all of those tasteless, chemical ridden low-fat salad dressings! You actually get to eat the real thing as long as it is real food. The Maltodextrin kind of ruined that for us though. Thanks to one of my friends and fellow ketoers, Kelley, we have found the solution! This may be even better than Hidden Valley Ranch, and it is a seasoning blend that can be used in other sauces or dressings as well. I did some minor tweaking, and we all think it is delicious. We hope you enjoy!

Ranch Dressing Seasoning

1 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 TBSP Onion Powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP dried parsley

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp dried dill weed (with a little extra for garnish)

1/2 tsp dried mustard seed

To mix into a dressing or dip, the possibilities are endless.

For a dip, I use the traditional 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream.

If you want to make it into a dressing, you can put all of the above ingredients into a blender and add some half and half or cream to liquify it slightly.

Modifications you can make are to add some fresh parsley instead of the dry, add some cilantro to the dressing, or even spice it up with some jalapeños or your favorite peppers. This is super easy if you use the blender! The possibilities for making this your own are endless, nutritious, and beautifully Ketogenic! Have fun with it, and enjoy!

These are Cindy’s boys! This dip with mini peppers is one of their favorite after school snacks!

Posted in Appetizer, Dip, Holiday Dish, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Sauces and Dressing, Side Dish, Snacks, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, Artificial, Dip, Dressing, Hidden Valley, kid friendly, kids, Maltodextrin, Ranch, snack, vegetables

A Tasty Snack for All Occasions

Posted on August 17, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Family gatherings are so fun, and a great way to pick up new recipes. At every family event over at Erin’s house her mother would bring these amazing olives. I finally asked for the recipe and have made them several times now. Her mom gave us permission to use this recipe in our catalog of many. They are a great Keto/Paleo appetizer or snack. Everyone is always looking for snack ideas, and this is a great one you can leave out on the counter after school if you have olive eaters in the house!

Marinated Olives

2 cans medium to large (not jumbo) black, green, or a mixture of olives (Drained)

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried

4 bay leaves

Directions:

Mix together your oil and vinegar.

Mince or chop your garlic and thyme. I really prefer the fresh thyme on these.

Add all your spices to your oil mixture and combine well.

Drain and add your cans of olives.

These are beautiful and yummy to serve. The garlic gives them a nice kick. Bring them to room temperature before serving. You can also invert the jar occasionally to let the spices cover all the olives.

We store these in a mason jar for a couple of weeks in the fridge if they last that long.

Posted in Appetizer, Holiday Dish, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, Uncategorized tagged with appetizer, Entertaining, garlic, keto, kids, Marinated, Olives, paleo, Party Food, recipe, snack

What’s Up In The Gut?

Posted on August 6, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

For those of you that have seen our library of Keto resources, you know that it is extensive. We read A LOT! Erin and I are very passionate about diet and nutrition so we literally live, eat, and breathe what we preach! While we love our books, there is also a lot of information coming out in the news on a daily basis. In addition to our books, we subscribe to wellness and health magazines, both through snail mail and email, and scour the internet for the latest and greatest information. Gut health and depression has been in the headlines quite often the past few weeks. This is an article from Paleo Plan, an online subscription I follow on occasion:

“Did you hear the good news!? At long last…science is recognizing something that’s been known since antiquity…the interconnectedness between gut health and disease!
Recently researchers have begun to realize how depression and overall brain health are intimately connected to our microbiome (the 3-5 pounds of bacteria living inside our bodies which outnumber our own cells 10:1). Several studies are now linking depression with imbalances in our microbiome. In other words, having too much ‘bad bacteria’ and not enough ‘good bacteria’ in our guts can trigger depression (and a host of other diseases).
While scientists are rejoicing about their ‘discovery’ that the brain is indeed influenced by gut health, this is not breaking news. The father of Western medicine, Hippocrates, proclaimed over 2,000 years ago, “All disease begins in the gut”.
What is more along the lines of breaking news are recent headlines likening yogurt to Prozac for treating depression. Now before you go raid the dairy aisle of your local grocery store, let’s chat about why yogurt is being touted as an antidepressant.
Yogurt is marketed to contain probiotics, which are beneficial ‘good’ bacteria critical for immune function and overall health. These probiotics are also capable of altering our emotional state, and studies have found that supplementation with them can improve mood and act as a mild antidepressant.
There are some problems with most yogurts sold at the market (other than the dairy, sugar and other non-Paleo ingredients they commonly contain). Many commercial yogurt products have been pasteurized at high temperatures after the live bacteria cultures have been added, essentially killing all of the probiotics.
Further, we house hundreds of different species of bacteria in our guts, yet most yogurts (and probiotic pills) contain only a small handful of species. Dysbiosis (an imbalanced gut microbiome) is defined as overgrowth of any one type of bacteria. Unfortunately a ‘good’ bacteria can become ‘bad’ if taken in excess.
While yogurt may not be the best source of probiotics, there are several ways to increase your microbial diversity. Eating dietary fiber from whole, natural foods at every meal feeds the good bacteria in your gut and colon, helping them to naturally populate. Other foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, coconut kefir or yogurt, kombucha, live probiotic drinks, and other fermented/cultured vegetables are packed full of living probiotics. The key is to select a brand that is live or raw, meaning the bacteria haven’t been killed via pasteurization. Better yet, you can make your own raw fermented foods!
Lastly, it’s easy to overconsume any one type of bacteria if you take the same probiotic pills over and over. That’s why I urge my clients to rotate their brand of probiotic supplements and ideally get their probiotics from whole food sources.
Ok, so yogurt is probably not the”new Prozac” as news reports are so eagerly proclaiming, but the message is valid: a happy gut precedes a happy mind! It’s time for us all to quit fearing bacteria, and to embrace the reality that our bodies contain more bacterial cells than human cells…now that’s some food for thought! :)” – Paleo Plan

While we do not recommend yogurt for adults on a Ketogenic diet, I do allow my children to have good quality, unsweetened yogurt from grass-fed cows. It has the quality probiotics as well as the nutrients from grass-fed cows that you can’t get from any other kind of yogurt. This one in particular is also WHOLE milk yogurt that is almost impossible to find in this day of low-fat everything! It is the best I have found and a great treat for the kiddos.

I was listening to this same study on Good Morning America this morning and then came across it online as well, so I wanted to share it and put it in line with the Keto diet. It is written from a Paleo perspective so it does not follow all of our rules exactly, but it does have some good tips about cleaning up your gut! This is where Keto helps a ton! Fat is great for the brain and Keto does a great job cleaning up the gut bacteria even alone. The GMA segment was mainly focusing on carbs causing depression and the great probiotic foods we can use to help it. We all know we need to cut the carbs, but not everyone knows that there are actually healing foods that can repair some of the damage we have caused.

Dr. Perlmutter’s new book entitled, Brain Maker is all about the gut, and the foods you can use to clean it up! In fact, a large part of the article above is taken directly from his book. This is on my bedside table at the moment, and about to move to the kitchen to try the recipes he has included in it as well. Check it out in our Amazon Store!

The gut and the brain are more connected than we ever thought. What you put in your mouth can greatly effect what happens in your brain. Even more, as ketoers, we know that the brain prefers fat as a fuel, and by replacing your carbs for fat you are already helping. Now imagine going a step further to feed it healing foods as well!

How do we cause damage? Many ways, but a BIG one is antibiotics. We try to limit antibiotics as much as possible. While they were created for life-saving measures, they are highly overprescribed and frankly abused this day in age. I only take them and give them to my family if they are absolutely necessary – and by that, I mean a raging ear infection, sinus infection or something we know, without a doubt, an antibiotic can fix. If a virus is a possibility – I pass. Another example; I had a severe allergic reaction to a yellow-jacket sting last week. After two days my foot swelled so badly that I couldn’t get a flip flop on and it was turning colors. I reluctantly went to an emergency clinic when my foot was hot to the touch. The doctor immediately wanted to give me an antibiotic to reduce the CHANCES of infection. I did NOT have an infection, I had a reaction! I verified this and refused the antibiotic. There ARE cases when an antibiotic is needed. Just tell your doctor that if it’s not necessary you don’t want it. So many doctors today are quick to provide a fix because they think that is what YOU want, when in reality, you may just need to wait a couple of days to shake off a virus. If, however, an antibiotic is taken, you need to know that it not only kills the bad bacteria, but also kills the GOOD bacteria your body needs for many functions. I know it sounds crazy, but your body NEEDS bacteria. There is actually a purpose for it. So what to do, if you are sick with a fever and NEED an antibiotic? Take a great quality probiotic TWO hours after taking your antibiotic. While there isn’t exact science, this seems to have the best results in replacing some of the good bacteria you kill with the antibiotic. Here are a couple of probiotics we believe are GREAT ones. I do take these daily and switch them up after I finish a bottle.

These first two need to stay in the refrigerator:

This one below does not need to be refrigerated so it is great for travel:

To sum it up…Take care of your gut and it will take care of you. It kind of goes along with what we have heard for years…”You are what you eat.” It seems now, that this saying is more accurate than we ever imagined!

Take care of you, yours, and your gut! Happy Friday!

Posted in articles, Health, Kids, Research, tips, Uncategorized tagged with Antibiotics, Depression, Fermented Foods, grass-fed, Gut, health, Kefir, keto, Kimchi, Kombucha, Probiotic, supplements, yogurt

A Decadent Dessert in Under 30 Minutes

Posted on July 31, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Erin and I were able to take part in a fun party that a friend of mine hosted for about 20 friends. She hired us to come in and talk about the benefits of Keto, the difference it has made in our lives, and how we cook. After our talk, we prepared a complete Keto meal for the whole group. It was a lively discussion filled with great questions and some new foods for most. I always wait for the reaction after dessert. It amazes people that we can make such decadent desserts without sugar. One of the desserts we made was a rich chocolate tart that I have slightly modified from the brilliant Dr. William Davis’ book, Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less) Cookbook. If you don’t already have it, we do recommend it, and it is available for purchase in our Amazon store.

I made two tarts, one primarily the way it is in the cookbook with a coconut crust. In my opinion, the natural taste and texture of the coconut helps cut the bitterness of the dark unsweetened chocolate for a perfectly balanced dessert that is very satisfying. The coconut also provides a nice sturdy crust for the dense chocolate. I do understand that there are some that really don’t like the texture of coconut. For those individuals, I made a regular almond flour crust. Just know that you can always change out your crust in any recipe.

Rich Coconut – Chocolate Tart

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Gather your ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups unsweetened coconut

3 Tbsp almond flour

3 Tbsp Swerve granular

3 Tbsp melted butter

Combine all of the above ingredients. I use my hands to combine and then press into your greased pie plate.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Let it cool while you prepare your filling.

Filling:

14 ounces of canned full-fat organic coconut milk

8 ounces of 100% Cocoa (Unsweetened) Chocolate

1 tsp of vanilla extract OR 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup Swerve Confectioners

In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat the coconut milk just until bubble form.

Add the chocolate that you have chopped to the pan.

It will look like the above until it begins to melt, and then it will look beautiful. Once melted, remove from the heat and add the Swerve and Vanilla or other extracts.

Whisk all your ingredients together and then pour in your crust of choice.

Place your pie in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. You can do it overnight which is great when preparing for a party or event.

This is your finished product! To add even more to the richness, add a dollop of whipped cream to the top and you are really set! Cut with a sharp knife and enjoy.

Posted in Dessert, Holiday Dish, Kids, recipe, Sugar Substitute tagged with chocolate, coconut milk, dessert, Entertaining, kids, party, Pie, Swerve

A Natural Way to Settle a Tummy

Posted on July 25, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

We have all been there – you know you’re not sick but your stomach is just… off.

Image result for feeling unwell stomach

I remember when growing up, the go-to would be 7-Up. Not exactly Keto Friendly.

There are a TON of medicinal remedies, and back before being diagnosed with the Big C, I would have reached for the “pink stuff.” But these days I’m trying to be nicer to my insides and make healthier and more natural choices.

Today has been one of those days, and I have been sipping on Ginger Tea. There are MANY varieties that can be found in the coffee and tea aisle, but it is also incredibly easy to make at home.

What you need for a single serving of super simple Ginger Tea:

1 ¹⁄₂ cups boiling water
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons freshly grated or sliced ginger root

Boil your water, add the grated ginger, and let it steep for roughly 10 minutes.

Strain out the ginger, and you are ready to sip! Image result for ginger tea images

**This is a starting point – adjust the amount of ginger to your taste.

Ginger is great for you, and while for some it can be an acquired taste, it’s ability to settle a tummy is amazing. I absolutely loved ginger ale, but once I cut out sugar, it had to go.

The source of my recent onset of nausea is related to my radiation treatment. I was told that due to the location of the radiated tumor I would likely experience nausea and vertigo. This is all new territory for me! I was extremely lucky to not experience morning sickness, but I have several friends who are dealing with not just morning but all day sickies. Y’all are troopers!! This is NO FUN! The ginger tea is great for that too though.

I will post more about my treatment in the future. I have completed radiation but have several other balls still in the air about the next steps.

http://dailynaturalremedies.com/10-health-benefits-of-ginger/

Posted in Cancer, Kids, recipe, Research, tips, Treatment tagged with kids, recipe, tips

Camp Time!

Posted on July 17, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Last Sunday I sent my two oldest children off to camp in another state. They were super excited about their time at camp except for one thing…the food!

It is kind of funny that this was somewhat upsetting to them considering other children look forward to the pancakes at breakfast, chicken fried steak, and the candy store. Other children that go to this camp rave about the food, but mine, of course, were anxious. I have to admit, it makes me a little anxious too, but so proud of them at the same time for knowing that they understand the foods that fuel their bodies best. If you read my post recently about my children refusing the almond flour muffins it makes sense.

My oldest is definitely Keto-adapted. The other two have a way to go, but my middle child would be closer if not given outside choices. As parents, it is virtually impossible to keep our children healthy at all times. Erin and I have a 90/10 rule. If you are sugar-free and Keto-adapted 90% of the time, forgive yourself for the other 10%. Many times it can’t be helped if you are away from home also. If my children are 75%/25%, I am happy. I can’t control everything that happens at birthday parties, grandparent’s homes, and eating out with friends, nor do I try. Don’t get me wrong, I am a bit of a control freak, but I know a bad ending when I see it coming! The last thing we want to create is the forbidden fruit syndrome. They need to experience the difference in how food makes them feel to make them WANT to eat healthy. This takes time, just as it does for us. My goodness, it took me over 35 years to figure it out! Hopefully with our guidance it won’t take our children as long.

Once they figure out that carbs and sugar make them feel badly, it becomes much easier. That is, until camp time; or really anytime they are away from home for a prolonged period of time! I tried to counsel them about food choices before they left. I thought about requesting no sugar from the camp, but my husband talked me out of it saying this is their time to be kids. Again, the 75/25 for them, and he was right. My prayer is that they always make good choices, and just like most other bad choices, they will feel the consequences of them quickly if they decide to buy three candy bars and a gatorade at the camp store for snack. I have to admit, I am really curious to see how it goes. This is a lot of freedom for them.

The best advice I could give them was to remember the foods we eat at home and try to mimic them. If everything is fried or brown, go for the salad bar option and pile on the proteins and full-fat salad dressings to make sure you are energized. Instead of the cinnamon rolls and waffles at breakfast, remember how much better and energized you feel when you choose eggs and bacon for breakfast. They can skip the extra bread, have two patties instead of a bun, and go for extra veggies instead of the mashed potatoes. Pick the bag of nuts or sunflower seeds in the camp store instead of a candy bar or crackers. They know how food makes them feel now, so now is the time to put that into play. I think we all realize there will be days when there may not be a better choice, but that is okay too.

As many of us send our kids off for a few weeks, we pray for their safety, lasting friendships, spiritual growth, and growth as individuals. Encourage them to make good choices in all aspects of life including nutrition. Know, however, that if they can’t always make good healthy eating decisions, it is okay. The most important thing that you can do as a parent in teaching them, as in so many other aspects of life, is modeling. If you are making good eating choices in front of them, and cooking good healthy, low-sugar meals for them when they are sitting at YOUR table, you are making a world of difference in their futures. They will have those memories of dinnertime rituals at your table forever and carry those on to future generations. So set those examples at home, and with a little hope and a lot of prayer, let’s look forward to a future generation of very healthy eaters that can make great decisions on their own.

Happy summer!

Posted in articles, Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Eating Out, Health, Kids, Snacks, Sugar, tips tagged with Camp, Carbs, Choices, Healthy Eating, Keto-Adapted, kids, Summer, Teaching, tips

Let’s Salsa!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Salsa!

Not just a favorite in Texas, but a STAPLE!

We eat salsa on everything! It adds an extra punch to eggs in the morning, salads at lunch, guacamole, and many other dishes throughout the day. The mason jar was running on empty, and my husband just didn’t know what to do! Tragedy, I tell you!

I whipped some up last night in no time. It literally takes about 15 minutes, 5 of which are active.

Everyone has their favorite way of making salsa. I have tried steaming the tomatoes and peppers, sautéing them, browning them, but by far, the easiest is boiling. I used to use a hot skillet and brown the tomatoes, peppers, and onion, but it would smoke up the house to the point that I would have to open all the doors and windows to air out. So boiling it is! This is my newest way, and I’m sticking to it!

I don’t have a specific amount of anything, but I can tell you what I did. It is a little different each time because the heat of peppers varies so greatly. Always start small and add in small increments.

These are your basics:

Cilantro (To your liking – about 1 cup)

Onion (I used a half of an onion)

Garlic (5-6 cloves)

Celtic Salt (1 TBSP)

Jalapeño or Serrano Peppers (I only used 3)

Tomatoes (10 for this batch)

Directions:

Wash your tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro well!

Place your tomatoes and peppers (I did wayyyy too many peppers!) in a pan and fill with water not quite covering the tomatoes and peppers.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer until the skins start to peel back on the tomatoes stirring frequently.

Remove the tomatoes with tongs and squeeze gently to release any water. Place in your blender.

Remove the peppers from the water and detach the stems.

I started with 3 peppers and it was plenty! These little things were HOT! I blended the tomatoes and peppers on high for a few seconds, then added the onion, garlic, and salt.

Add your cilantro last. I blended everything together for about 10 seconds on high, and ended up with a large mason jar and medium mason jar of salsa that was some of my best!

This is a great healthy sauce full of vitamins and antioxidants that will spice up your food, literally! It will keep in your fridge for about 2 weeks.

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Holiday Dish, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Sauces and Dressing, tips, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with Dip, Jalapeno, Mexican, salsa, sauce, Tomatoes

A Little Weekend Adventure

Posted on July 10, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

A couple of weekends ago, I made a trip down to our local Farmer’s Market in San Antonio at the Pearl Brewery. I have been wanting to to go for months to pick up some fresh eggs, but something always seems to get in the way – usually the kiddo’s sports games:-).

I finally had the opportunity at the end of June, and I was not disappointed. I grabbed my two youngest, yanking them away from their iPad screens almost kicking and screaming, strapped them into the car, and off we went!

As soon as we got there, my son looked at me and said, “Wow! This isn’t what I expected! It is like a carnival.”

I have to admit, he wasn’t too far off. It was much larger than I remembered from a few years ago. It is very nicely set up, and there were many foods and vendors from which to choose along with music, an information booth, and LOTS of dogs!

I highly recommend going (EARLY) if you have the chance. I say early because when we arrived around 9:30 there were many options and plenty of stock. By the time we left at noon, after seeing everything, I was scraping at the remnants of what was left. I saw there was plenty when we arrived so I didn’t see the need to purchase anything right in the beginning just to carry it around with us. My recommendation would be to take a cooler, buy as you go, and then stash your items in the car so you can keep shopping and grazing.

And grazing you can go! My children tasted everything there you could possibly taste! Look at these happy kiddos! These do not look like the same children I tortured by pulling them away from their electronics! These are my happy children.

Of course, what is not to like after you have just tasted fresh Greek yogurt from grass-fed cows. There was no more kicking and screaming. After a bite of yogurt and some tasty cheese, they asked me if they could come back every weekend.

Like I said, I went for eggs, and there were many suppliers for eggs. The supplier that I liked the most after talking about the hens only had 2 dozen left at noon so I cleaned him out. Next time, that will be my first stop!

While I was in the Wholesome Harvest Farms booth getting my eggs, I picked up some delicious yellow squash as well, to make my yummy squash casserole!

The kids favorite booths were the ones with the yogurt and the many artisan cheeses. They were delicious. All were made with milk from grass-fed cows. You can’t go wrong with those nutrients. Even though I don’t eat yogurt, I certainly let my children eat this fresh one made with all fresh ingredients.

Right next door was the cheese lady. Her products were amazing, and the milk was from a farm in Schulenburg, Texas. Supposedly the best milk in the Lone Star State coming from Jersey Cows that graze the green grass of our great state! We bought two of the four flavors and they are devine. My favorite is the black pepper, but the other one was a cumin flavor that was also out of this world!

We hopped across to the goat milk people and purchased some jalapeño and artichoke cheese made from goat’s milk that is just incredible! So fresh and smooth. I spread it on some parmesan crisps for a crunchy snack.

Moving on, we made it around to the mushroom farmers! This may be the best yet, but oh how hard to judge. I bought some portobellos and white mushrooms, all of which I used for stuffing! Amazing!

Then on to the meat…Pork and Beef. There were two pork ranchers, both of which were organic and grass-fed. The one lady I spoke with seemed to know all about the different farmers and ranchers at the farmer’s market so she gave me some tips, and I purchased from her. I ended up going with some pork belly. I had never cooked the pork belly before, but have loved it as a delicacy in restaurants. It fulfills our fat intake necessity, and actually turned out pretty yummy. It is almost impossible to find except directly from those who raise pigs so this was the place to find it.

Then, on to beef! I found three vendors, and referred to my nice new friend at the pork booth. She recommended one cattle ranch that has been owned by the same family for generations. The meat was fantastic. It was pricey, but worth it! I purchased some steaks and some ground beef that were all devoured.

We also did buy some beef sticks and dried sausage from one other cattle rancher that the boys ate in no time for a quick snack. Those beef sticks are one of their very favorite snacks!

When it was time to go, we still had lots of smiles, and a request to return every weekend! If not for all the samples, just to watch the puppies tour around the market. There were many. This was a great outing not only for healthy food, but for family togetherness – away from those mesmerizing flat screens. I actually got to see my children enjoy each other, nature, great food, and a little culture all mixed in together.

If you have a chance, try to get out to your local market on a weekend. It is quite an experience and a great haul at the same time!

Happy Friday!

Posted in Groceries, Kids, Shopping, tips, Uncategorized tagged with Beef, cheese, eggs, Farmer's Market, Fresh Food, grass-fed, groceries, kids, Pork, shopping, yogurt

The Easiest Way to Cook an Egg!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

So many of us that follow the Ketogenic Lifestyle often eat eggs for breakfast. It is easy to quickly become tired of plain old scrambled eggs. We can mix them with chorizo, serve them with bacon or cheese, but underneath, they are still the same old scrambled eggs. Anytime you eat the same thing over and over again, it becomes tiresome. So what to do?

Mix it up with different cooking methods. This one is especially easy and fast with little mess, so it is a staple on busy weekday mornings. You can also gourmetify it with a little extra effort on the weekend.

Today, I am going to show a family favorite, and it only takes 7 minutes from start to finish with one dirty pan. By the way, the pan is extremely important unless you are only cooking for one, in which case, you can just use boiling water.

How to cook a poached egg:

Start with an egg poaching pan and great eggs from pasture raised and fed hens. I have two pans, one with 4 inserts and another with 6, just depending on how many want one or two eggs. You can buy the larger 6 egg poacher here where I purchased mine.

Today I used the four egg poacher. I purchased this one years ago from Williams Sonoma. Lift one cup out and pour about a 1/4 inch layer of water to cover the bottom of the pan to create the steam.

Spray each cup with coconut oil spray.

Place the lid on the pan, and turn your heat to high. It should start steaming with boiling water in no more than two minutes.

Once it is boiling, turn your heat down to Medium, and crack eggs one at a time, placing them in a cup insert.

Place your lid on, and set your timer for 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Depending on how you like your yolk, you may need to adjust your time. This time gives us a nice somewhat runny center but firm white.

Once the eggs are set, and don’t jiggle if you nudge the pan a little from side to side, remove from heat and empty each egg onto your plates. Be sure to use a hot pad to protect your finger tips. I usually run a knife along the outside edge of the insert, but it is not always needed.