Food Philosophies...

Baking with the little one!

You may think its strange that I have a philosophy on food (of course, Matt would argue that I have a philosophy on everything else, so of course I have a philosophy on food). I guess you could say that my food philosophy is due to a "perfect storm" of events. I have had a pretty weak immune system in the past, and its has been remarkable how much diet has impacted the strength of my immune system. That, combined with friends who have gone the "all-natural" route, a husband in the medical community (who has a bent towards alternative medicine) and some really disgusting documentaries (anyone seen Food, Inc???), have made me really aware of the need to be deliberate and mindful of what I put in (and on) our bodies. So Matt and I strive to eat as locally, organically and healthfully as possible (while still enjoying life). Although it takes a while to get past the learning curve (there is so much we are not told about food), once you get it down, its pretty easy.

Some of the baking & cooking 'philosophies' we follow are:

- We try to avoid white flour and sugar. This is surprisingly easy. Stevia, honey and xylitol are excellent substitutes, and I can't tell a difference when I bake with them. Flour has been a progression for as, as we moved from white flour to whole wheat flour to almond and coconut flour (since Matt eats paleo).

- I don't cook with vegetable oils, ever. I mostly use coconut oil for baking and olive oil for cooking. I also occasionally use butter.

- I cook in glass, ceramic or cast iron. Cast iron is my favorite, it holds onto the seasonings, so everything tastes better.

- We try to eat only free-range chicken and grass-fed beef.

- We drink raw milk (gasp!).

- We eat lots of veggies and fruit.

We are both convinced that when we follow these guidelines, we feel better, our immune systems are stronger, and the food tastes better.

But...

I still LOVE sweets.

Thankfully, I have recently discovered almond flour in an attempt to bake/cook more paleo. I had no clue baked goods would be so delicious when you made them with almond flour instead of wheat flour, but they really are! I recently found a place where you can buy bulk almond flour very inexpensively, and we also have been grinding our own. By far my favorite thing I have made are these brownies. Amazing. We are also loving paleo bread, peanut butter blondies and chocolate chip cookies. ( I use coconut oil instead of butter and xylitol instead of sugar in all of these recipes).

 Happy Eating!