the garden, the bees, cinnamon bun muffins and chemtrails

Summer  = blog neglect, no? I give you some random updates:

~ The garden is growing. I'm learning more abut plant nutrition and the great importance of feeding the soil so it will feed you. Nutrients are crucial! Kiernen has been graciously donating his pee to feed our tomato plants, and they have NEVER been so happy!

~ The bees...we haven't seen them in a couple of weeks. The landowner went out of town for two weeks, during which the gate was locked and we were unable to visit. Then it's just been intermittently rainy and cloudy, and I don't want to do anything to the hives to make them upset - like opening them in cooler weather, letting out nest scent or heat. I keep waiting for the sun to be out when we need it to be. My plan is to treat with formic acid (or nothing), and I'm not sure. Smaller bees, as we will have having a Warre hive, tend to resist mites. Perhaps I ought to do a mite check before doing a formic acid treatment?

~ I've made these cupcakes twice in the past week. (I use butter instead of grapeseed oil and honey instead of agave, and usually less of it).

The first time I had leftover icing, so what's a girl to do but bake another batch, right? These are so good I cannot even bring myself to share these with friends - I want to eat them all myself. It is all I can do to share them with my awesome husband. Kiernen and I would both easily sit down and each eat half of this batch in a sitting. Possibly all, although realistically, that's way too much sweet for either of our bodies.

The flour to make these is crazy expensive, but you won't even care - they're that good. If you're grain-free, MAKE these. Or don't, depending on your level of self control. And trust me on this one: do them WITH the frosting. Almost painfully delicious. I thought chocolate was my downfall. Apparently I was wrong: it's cinnamon. Goddess bless Elana for her freaking amazing recipes.

~ I wish summer would just decide to be here already. Its sunny, then it rains, then it's sunny, then it rains, sometimes both at the same time. We just want the sun! Dear "military": Stop flying planes over us and dumping chemicals (Titanium,Aluminum, Barium, Magnesium, Calcium)! Just leave the clear skies alone already! WTF! (Want to know what I'm talking about? Here is an introduction to chemtrails. Want to make yourself crazy? Google 'chemtrails' and watch some of the videos. But not too many. I believe it's good to be informed, and not to dwell. Keep finding ways to feel good, most importantly.)

my delicious life in recipes

This morning for breakfast I had a DELICIOUS green smoothie:

Breakfast of Champions Smoothie
Printable Recipe
(makes enough for three)(not my photo - thank you, Internet)

large bunch kale
2 cups strawberries
3 bananas
2 cups water
large slice of lemon with peel
1 Tbs honey
2 Tbs bee pollen

Later for dipping fruit, I made some

Chocolate Frosting
Printable Recipe

1/3 cup semi-soft pitted Medjool dates
1/4 cup honey
1 ripe avocado
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

Blend in food processor until creamy.

For dinner tonight, we're having Raw Pad Thai, since we're having a raw potluck in our common house tonight.

First I marinated some mushrooms:

Marinated Mushrooms

Printable recipe

10 oz mushrooms, diced

juice of 2 lemons or limes

3 Tbs coconut aminos

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

dash cayenne

6 Tbs maple syrup

Pour over mushrooms and marinate 2 hours - 2 days. I marinated for the day until dinner time.

Then I made:

Raw "Peanut" Sauce (From The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose)

1 cup raw and creamy almond butter
2 tablespoons fresh ginger (I used one)
1/2 cup water (to thin)
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons coconut aminos
4 teaspoons sesame oil (optional)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 jalapeño pepper (I omitted this, as we don't like spicy)

Blend all ingredients at high speed until smooth.

I then grated 2 carrots, spiralized 2 zucchinis, finely chopped 1/4 cup cilantro, and diced one red bell pepper

I will toss the sauce over this mix and add the marinated mushrooms on top to serve.

What a delicious, delicious life!

we really can heal these teeth

I'm kind of freaking out.

You might remember that I've been slowly transitioning my son to a diet meant to heal his teeth. This diet includes lots of raw animal fats, including grass-fed butter, high vitamin butter oil, cod liver oil. It also includes things like bone marrow, rare meat(grass-fed), bone broths, fermented veggies, lots of wholesome raw foods.

The only sweeteners we were using were honey (raw, unheated) and the rare occasional maple syrup on pancakes (no flour). No grains, no sugar, very little dairy, and then only raw cheese. I was also letting him still eat fruit as a part of the raw foods, although we'd begun to limit it a bit.

Until today, that is. I looked into his mouth because I'd noticed for three nights now he's been complaining that a particular tooth hurt when we brushed, and since it has been consistent, I wanted to see. Back bottom molar on his left side. BIG hole. Just crumbled away.

Shit. Yeah, so I am freaking out, because I thought that we were getting somewhere, even with the whole transitioning thing, but after I saw that hole, I told him straight up, "Okay, I think we've really got to get serious about healing your teeth. You've got a big HOLE in your tooth. You aren't supposed to have HOLES in your teeth like that. I think we're not going to be able to eat fruit anymore. At all. At least for awhile, until your teeth heal."

Of course he cried, because FRUIT! And I intend to take this on with him - I refuse to make him not have the one food he most loves in all the world while I eat the very same right in front of him. Completely not fair. And so Kiernen and I are going fruitless - or at least, minimal fruit. and by minimal, I mean ONE serving a day, of low sugar fruit like berries or something.

I feel like such a complete and utter failure as a parent right now. I feel like a shitheel of a mother. I've known about this decay and the crumbling of the enamel since it has been happening, since he was 6 months old. He already had his top four front teeth extracted because of this and one of them breaking. (NEVER AGAIN, BTW. NEVER.) I've known that there was SOMETHING we could do nutritionally to heal/re-mineralize teeth all of this time, I just wasn't totally sure what, and then I had this STUPID idea that I needed to let things be natural and some shit about deprivation. Not wanting to tell him he cannot have/etc. Issues from my own deprived childhood rearing their ugly heads, unbeknownst to me...

And I read:

"Cure Tooth Decay" by Ramiel Nagel

"Gut and Psychology Syndrome" by Natasha Campbell-McBride

"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets
and Their Effects" by Weston A. Price, MS., D.D.S., F.A.G.D.

"GAPS Guide" by Baden

"Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall

And a great article that summarizes well and offers even more resources:

You Can Heal Your Child's Teeth by Ramiel Nagel

It has taken me THIS long to realize not only what to do, but that I could actually do it. It took my now dear friend Baden moving into my community with her son who she healed of autism through this diet to see that yes, you CAN tell a child he cannot have a food that his friends are eating and He WILL BE OKAY. I really didn't know this. I was so worried about some kind of emotional scarring. But I see her son and how absolutely at PEACE he is with the world, and how GROUNDED he is in his body. I watch other kids in our community completely out of their minds because of the amount of wheat/sugar that is in their diet. I really, really see the difference. One child here is so volatile when he is fed certain foods that he literally cannot be around other kids, because he comes out just swinging away and screaming his head off. He literally loses his shit after he eats certain foods - just becomes out of his mind.

I see already the difference that removing these foods is making for Kiernen - taking out wheat and sugar altogether has made an AMAZING difference (at the same time adding in bone broths and lots of fats). My own son is now much more relaxed and able to handle most upsets (except the little boy who loses his mind, he is still very much affected by him and they both end up in physical scraps together). He is more confident in himself and he will be away from us, his parents, for extended periods of time - this was unheard of before. UNHEARD of. Other people in our community are seeing it, too, because they've now watched him grow since he was 14 months old and they KNOW how he was.

Just last night we were in the common house dining room talking to some guests who came to visit all the way from The Farm. yes THE The Farm. As in "Spiritual Midwifery" by Ina May Gaskin, them who brought midwifery BACK to the US. So you know, I was VERY interested in hearing them talk about what it took to create that community and how it was able to sustain long term, etc. I'd read their book, "Voices From the Farm", and was even more enthralled. My husband and I both were, and wanted to hear what they were going to say.

after the potluck in the dining room (for which we brought our own meal instead and just joined them), Kiernen ran off with the other kids into the Playroom. Of note, he almost always request accompaniment into the playroom, so this in and of itself was impressive. But THEN he stayed out there for like two or more hours (who pays attention to time?) with all of the other kids AND one or two other parents, only returning every now and again to touch base and give me a big hug. Then off he'd go again into the wild blue yonder. Without either of us. Not even asking us to come.

WHOA.

Tonight he and I were watching a bit of the screen (he LOVES that darn YouTube, and has been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so I allowed it for a while before bedtime). All of a sudden he turns to me and says, "I love you, Mommy," and lays a big ol' snuggle on me. MELT!!!

And when I told him time was about up and only one more YouTube vid and then bed? He did not scream. He did not cry. he did not even whine. He said, "Okay," and searched and searched for just the right video to watch as his LAST video of the night. Usually? There are tears and meltdowns and DRAMA. So WHOA.

And? Did I mention? The child is bathing - willingly and even, dare I say it, frequently. I almost never ask him to take a bath anymore - instead, he informs me that he is dirty and he needs one, and I fill the tub for him, and then in he goes - and plays there for like an hour while I read email or some such.

Freaking amazing.

If anyone EVER tells you that diet has nothing to do with healing? You send them to me or my dear friend Baden. Because we will most certainly regale them with our tales of healing (hers are FAR more dramatic than my own thus far, because her son was Autistic, like banging his head against the floor until it bled Autistic, like screaming all night in terror Autistic, like he could NOT talk Autistic, like he couldn't even have food TOUCH his lips without vomiting profusely Autistic. And you would NEVER guess it to meet him - because he is happy, shining, glowing with health, mellow, sweet and flowing little guy - ALL because of their amazing program).

So yeah. I have Baden to thank for helping me to realize that I really CAN do this, and that it really is TIME. And I can even take out the fruit. I really can. Because my son's health, MY health, these are worth it. Because really, would we rather have fruit? Or teeth?

birthday party happiness

The birthday party was a success. It went off fantastically, and everyone both had a good time AND enjoyed the food. My son had a great day, he got lots of amazing gifts, and almost all of his friends got to be there - he was delighted.

We decorated the common house dining room with Tibetan prayer flags, and just as we'd put up the ones we had, a neighbour came in and offered hers as well, so we had a great amount of them. It was lovely! We did blow up some balloons, because the kids just have so much fun with them - our one eco-blunder.

I had two crafts, and most of the kids did both - making their own party hats AND making decorated jars to hold whatever they liked. I loved seeing all of the different interpretations of how to decorate those jars - such creativity!

The wonderful thing about having parties in our cohousing's common house is having the playroom right next door to the dining room - whenever we'd be between activities, the kids would naturally go into the playroom and have a great time. When we were ready for the next thing, we'd simply call them in, and everyone would come running happily - singing 'Happy Birthday'! Opening presents!

Everyone LOVED the mini cupcakes AND the watermelon cake! I got a bazillion compliments and suggestions of opening a business. I got one request to do the food for our little friend's birthday, because his Mama says, "I do practical, you do presentation. I need someone who does presentation to do his cake." I am honoured by it all.

The nice thing, too, about serving only fruit and nothing with refined sugar or wheat is that even though all the kids are fueled up by healthy food, there are no crazy sugar rushes, and everyone gets along. It is amazing seeing the difference. AMAZING. The kids were all playing together nicely and no fights erupted. Contrast with the next night when another child (who shares the same birthday as my son) had his (regular) cake in the common house. The kids were wired and immediately after eating it, a four kid fight erupted that caused all the parents to run out to break it up. I am SO glad that I've taken refined sugars out of my sweet boy's diet - I really AM seeing a difference.

What a wonderful day - I can truly say that Sunday was for Kiernen (and us) a day TRULY lived to its very fullest. Bliss.

his birthday is coming!

Once a month is about my speed during the summer, eh?

My son's 4th birthday is coming up. And because we've gone and switched his diet around, I cannot do the grand and crazy cake I made last year, which was an entire gluten-free train.

I CAN make some SCD type cakes, which would be baked, but I was also thinking of something like this:



Directions can be found here.

Or this:



Original here.

Or some combination of both. He wanted me to incorporate Gordon the Train into his cake - he wanted Gordon to BE the cake, actually. But if I make the cake like the first one, I believe I can actually have a little track going around the cake upon which a TOY Gordon could ride, and that might do it for him. I could also have little giraffes and other small animals upon the cake, as well.

Since we are celebrating his birthday on August 9th (he turns 4 on the 10th), I am thinking about this constantly - going over and over things in my head and trying to figure out what the best options are.

For snacks, I was thinking of little nut ice cream parfaits with chocolate mousse ice cream and cashew whipped cream. Cut veggies, of course, with some raw dips to go with them maybe.

Any suggestions are welcome, too! He loves giraffes, so I am trying to incorporate giraffes and trains somehow...

healing the family

I've been busy in my mind rearranging our list of acceptable foods - we're shifting our diets again, focusing on gut healing. Using a combination of SCD (the Specific Carbohydrate Diet), raw foods, fermented veggies, Body Ecology...

Essentially my beautiful son has had some teeth issues since he's had teeth - the issues being that his enamel is soft and crumbles easily. He has had the top four front teeth pulled - when he was about 18 months old - and I am not at all confident that it was the best decision I could have made for him*, although at the time I thought it was my only option.

* - Not at all coincidentally, Louise Hay says that teeth issues are about feeling like one is making the wrong decisions.

I've lately been doing lots and lots of reading about nutrition and teeth, including Weston A. Price's "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" and Rami Nagel's "Cure Tooth Decay: Heal And Prevent Cavities With Nutrition".

Also recently a new friend moved into our cohousing, and her story was amazing: she had healed her son's autism with nutrition, a program called GAPS, which is essentially a more organic and more raw version of SCD. My friend, incidentally, has even written a book about this program, called "GAPS Guide", which she generously gave me as a gift upon learning of my interest in the program. Her son also had similar teeth issues, and many of the kids on this program have other similarities to Kiernen, as well.

Honestly I'm as excited as I am anxious about beginning this program - I've seen it work for other people, I've even done SCD for awhile for gut healing, and it did make a difference. I'm wondering how on earth I'll get this picky kid to take cod liver oil or eat fermented veggies, but I've read lots of stories of parents who had kids just like mine who now beg for these things and no longer ask for the french fries or the breads.

For example, I was listening to an interview on the Raw Mom Summit with a woman named Gina LaVerde who had an experience with her own son that was very similar to my friend's. The Body Ecology Diet is very similar to SCD, the differences being so minute they are almost interchangable (body ecology is less to no fruit, for example, and it DOES allow Stevia, where SCD doesn't (although many on the SCD do use Stevia)). It was a great interview, very informative, and it felt to me like the Universe just giving me a nod with the path I've chosen for us.

I tend to go through a significant amount of preparation before "officially" undertaking any change in our lifestyle like this, and this time is no exception. In addition to reading as much as I can, including books and online forums, I am also little by little changing what we have in our pantry - using up certain things and not replacing them, buying more of other things we'll be using more, etc.

I've also been talking with Kiernen about his teeth and his belly and what changes we'll be making - I keep reminding him about not eating wheat or sugar, and what kind of things contain both of those. We talked about how I can make him these foods at home now, ones that don't have this stuff in them, and so far he has seemed satisfied with that. This is going to be as much a learning experience for me as anyone else - it is taking me a bit out of my comfort zone and into new territory.

We shall see where it all leads.