Chicken Soup Habits

September 7th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (7 Comments)

Earlier this year I wrote about making chicken soup with bone broth and why bone broth is good for you.  To recap, broth made from animal bones and the bits that hold it all together (think ligaments and cartilage) is where lots of good, nutritious stuff is hanging out.  When you simmer these parts in water over a long period of time, you can make a broth that rich in vitamins, minerals, supports immune function and bone health.  Best of all, it’s delicious!

I’ve been making bone broth pretty regularly lately, but it took me a while to find my groove.  When I started I was buying bone-in chicken thighs, legs and breasts from the grocery store because cooking a whole chicken was a pain in my tail feathers.  The first time I cooked a whole chicken I made a gigantic mess because, well, it was my first time.  The second time I took it out of the oven too early, only to discover it was “too early” after I had begun carving into the poor beast.  Do you know what happens when you put a half-carved, not-completely-done chicken back into the oven to finish cooking?  It’s not pretty.  It’s also not juicy or tender or moist or any other adjectives one might use to describe cooked chicken.

It was after chicken #2 that I gave up on the whole chicken business.  Screw you Whole Organic Chickens!  You are not exactly what I call “cheap”, even if “cheap” is was what you said when you were a wee chick fresh from the egg.  Liars!  You’re all (cute, fuzzy) liars!  I’m outta here.  I’ll be in the butcher department at Wegmans if you’re looking for me.

Fortunately, I shared my chicken frustrations with a couple of like minded friends who in turn, shared their chicken cooking expertise with me.  Their advice gave me some much needed guidance and the courage to try again with a refined approach.  I also got some helpful information from the nice lady who sells me chickens at the market, a couple of cook books and websites too.  With this collection of tips, a little patience and courage, I’m finally getting this cooking-a-whole-chicken thing figured out.  I do feel better buying chicken from a local farmer than I do buying parts of a chicken from the grocery store, so I’m trying to go the whole chicken route as often as I can.

With that, here’s what I’ve been doing to make bone broth these days.  I’m having much better luck with my new found approach, my broth is a lot more gelatinous (that’s a good thing!) and feel like I’m coming into my own with the whole process in general. Fall is right around the corner, cold and flu season will soon be upon us!  Bone broth is one more item I’m adding to my Cold and Flu Prevention arsenal!  (The grandmas of our day totally knew what they doing feeding their families chicken soup when they were sick.)

In some ways I still feel like a poultry cooking and carving newbie, but let that fact be of comfort to you (like a nice hot bowl of chicken soup?) because I am proof you that don’t have to be a pro to make and reap the all health benefits of real bone broth.

With that, here’s what I’ve been doing lately, with a big, HUGE thanks to my friends and farmer’s market lady for their help in showing me the way.  High five for community!

Cut Chickens Apart Before Cooking

This step makes the cooking process a lot more straightforward with a lot less cursing.  The only drawback is that cutting up uncooked chicken is not exactly simple… but like anything else, once you learn how to do it it’s not a big deal.  I’m sure the same could be said for cooking an intact chicken, but let’s not go there, I’m still feeling a little sensitive about it.

In order to make chicken dis-assembly easier, you’ll need a good pair of kitchen scissors.   I like the OXO brand, they’ve made cutting up chicken really easy for my amateur chicken butchering self.  I especially love that they come apart and I feel like they get completely clean when I wash them.

Kitchen Shears

I told the children that if I ever caught them cutting constructions paper or yarn with these scissors, I would show them (with some mildly implied threat) how easily these scissors can cut through bone.

The other tool I use is a big serrated knife, which leads to my next piece of advice for whole chicken newbies:

Start with Half Chickens

Whole Chicken to Be Cut in Half

I transitioned from store bought, pre-butchered chicken breasts and thighs to half chickens (from the market) before graduating to whole chickens.  It is much easier and less intimidating to disassemble half a chicken before taking on the whole bird.

For that reason, I’ve been cutting my chicken in half first (with the bread knife) straight down the middle of the back and then cutting up a half chicken at a time.  If you can get half chickens at your market or local farmer, I highly recommend starting there while you’re getting the hang of it.  This also works well if a whole chicken is too much meat to have around at one time.  You could cut your whole chicken in half, cook one half now and stick the other half in the freezer.

Ain't No Thang

I’m still kind of a hack when it comes cutting up chicken, so I’ll hold off on any advice there.  Fortunately Martha Stewart seems to know what she’s talking about, so I’ll point you to her guide on Cutting Up a Whole Chicken because I found this helpful.

Once my whole chicken is cut up, I divide the parts into separate pans because the smaller pieces are done sooner than the breasts.  At 350, the smaller parts are usually done between 40 – 50 minutes, the breasts seem to take about an hour or so, depending on their size.

Cut Up Whole Chicken

Once the meat is cooked and has had a chance rest for 10 – 15 minutes, start removing the meat from the bone.  I typically save the meat from wings and drumsticks for soup, and some of the thigh meat too.  I put the bones, cartilage, ligaments and any other funky looking parts straight into the crock pot (but not the skin – I’m all for eating fat, but chicken fat is a bit higher in polyunsaturated fat and I already get plenty of PUFA‘s from nuts and seeds.)  I move the meat to a separate container to add to soup later, once my bone broth is ready.

Removing Chicken for Bone Broth

I follow the same method with the chicken breasts, adding the bones to the crock pot once I’ve removed the meat, but we usually eat the chicken breasts as a part of a meal, for a main dish or for adding to salads.

I might do this in the afternoon if I’m making chicken for dinner, in which case I throw my bone broth together after dinner and let it simmer in the crock pot all night.  (I’ll tell you though that I have a kitchen door that I can close, so we’re not smelling chicken all night long.  I have a friend who moves her crock pot to the garage for night time cooking, the basement could work too.)

Other times I do this first thing in the morning, put all the meat in the fridge until I’m ready to warm it up later.  The broth simmers all day and is ready just in time to have chicken soup for dinner!  I haven’t strayed much from my original chicken soup recipe, it’s so good I don’t want to make it any other way.

Homemade Chicken Soup Bone Broth

Don’t Forget the Other Parts of the Chicken Too

I picked up an entire bag of chicken feet at the market for soup making this weekend – chicken feet are where you’ll find glucosamine chondroitin and collagen. (Joint health!  Skin health!  Perhaps some stretchmark prevention, pregnant mamas!)

I know, I know… chicken feet?  CHICKEN! FEET!  I’m trying not to think about it too much, but at least they were cheap – just a few bucks for a bag of 10 (ish).  Worst case scenario I can make some good luck charms or key chains with them.  (I smell an exciting blog giveaway!  Good luck chicken feet charm key chains!  You know you’ll want one.  Or three.)

Chicken necks are on my soup radar too (I’m pretty sure I have never strung that combination of words into sentence ever before) and in other random chicken part news, I made chicken liver pate last week, although that has nothing to do with bone broth or chicken soup.  “Feet” might be a good way to describe the taste of chicken liver pate.  I’m still twitching.

Alrighty, that’s what I’ve got in chicken soup news today!  As always, I very much appreciate any and all wisdom (chicken or otherwise) you might have, so lay it on us if you’ve got something to share.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


Are you sick of zucchini yet? Well hang tight, we’ve still got a few weeks of summer left.

With a frittata on the dinner menu, I gathered up the latest round of CSA zucchini (both yellow and green) for shredding and salting before I made it sit in the corner to think about what it did wrong.

Drained Shredded Zucchini

Oh Zucchini, you didn’t do anything wrong.  You’re just so… so… plenteous!  So abundant!  I’m at my wits end trying to come up with ideas for you.

After 20 minutes of sweating (the zucchini, not me) I squeezed, shook and shimmied my squash to get out as much liquid as I could and then moved it into a lightly oiled 9 x 13 inch baking dish with some shredded carrot and fresh basil.

Shredded Zucchini

Topped with some ham and cheese.

Garden Frittata Topped with Ham and Cheese

And a dozen eggs.  (Yowza that’s a lot of eggs!  No worries, it makes great leftovers for breakfast or lunch, but you can easily reduce the quantity of ingredients as needed.)

Garden Frittata

Summer Garden Frittata

(use whatever veggies you’ve got on hand, this was really just a great way to use up some zucchini!)

2 – 3 small zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess liquid
1 carrot, shredded
fresh basil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper

5 oz ham, diced
1/2 c cheese, shredded

12 eggs, beaten
2 – 3 Tbsp milk (optional, I used half and half)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil. Combine vegetables, herbs and spices. Spread vegetable mix over the bottom of the baking dish. Layer meat and cheese. Pour egg and milk mixture evenly over all ingredients.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it’s set in the middle.  It should puff up a little and the edges will brown up a bit.  Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into and serving.

Baked Garden Frittata

At the very last minute I decided on sweet potatoes for our side, but sweet potatoes are not typically a last minute vegetable decision.  I found these easy instructions for making sweet potatoes in the microwave and whipped these together (literally!) in about 15 minutes.  When the potatoes were cooked, I scooped out the flesh, flung them into a mixing bowl, threw in a big hunk of butter, a little cinnamon and salt and then busted out the hand mixer, all the while feeling like a sweet potato rock star.

The potatoes were ready just as the frittata was cool enough to cut into.  I slapped everything onto plates and said “EAT!”

Garden Frittata with Fast Sweet Potatoes

And eat we did.  Three more zucchinis (and two sweet potatoes.  and twelve eggs.) in the books.  Take that, Summer.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


Do The Best You Can Until You Know Better Then When You Know Better Do Better Maya Angelo

Years ago I thought the answer to the question How are we supposed to eat for longevity and optimal health? meant following a vegetarian diet.  Obviously there are many varying views and opinions about this subject, but as my understanding of nutrition deepened, I started to believe that high quality animal products played an important role in the human diet.  Chicken patties and fish sticks?  No.  Pasture raised animals and wild caught seafood?  Yes.

After reading Deep Nutrition at the end of last year, I decided that a more traditional, ancestral diet was the dietary approach I needed to take.  A “traditional diet” is usually described as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, organ meats and fermented and sprouted foods.  I had taken a more Primal approach to eating and living a couple years ago (while still a vegetarian) but once I began to eat meat again, I was curious to know the difference between Primal, Paleo and the dietary guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which is basically what Dr. Shanahan prescribes in Deep Nutrition.

I picked up The Paleo Solution to see what all the fuss was over Paleo.  I honestly had no intention of changing anything, but Robb Wolf does an excellent job of persuading you to give Paleo a try for 30 days.  Give it one month to see if eating this way can make difference for you?  OK, I’ll try it.

The Paleo Solution came along at the same I was trying to get to the bottom of my sugar and carb cravings, and I wondered if the Paleo approach to eating and exercise might help.  The biggest changes for me were going to be cutting waaaay back on my cardio and the complete elimination of grains and beans.  As far as bread went, I was eating mostly sprouted grain bread, but there was also the occasional slice of pizza, bagel or cookie thrown into the mix too.  This also coincided with the end of Zak’s 40 day juice fast, and I thought if he could go without solid food for 40 days, I could certainly give up grains and beans for 30 days to see what happened.

The Paleo diet generally means that you eat meat, seafood, eggs and vegetables, as well as some fruit, nuts and seeds.  You avoid grains, most dairy and legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts).  No vegetable oils, no high-fructose-anything and for best results, sugar should be avoided too.

Things went so well that I ended up going way more than 30 days, but I’m not going to label myself “Paleo”.  Over these last couple months I’ve read a number of other Paleo books, too many internet articles and have listened to a bunch of Paleo podcasts.  I now feel like I have a much better understanding of what the Paleo diet is and like many aspects of the Paleo lifestyle.  I never went “fully Paleo” because I was still eating some dairy, but for the last 2+ months here I have largely avoided grains and beans.  Since early June, the majority of my diet has been comprised of meat, vegetables, some fruit, seeds and nuts with cream in my coffee, yogurt, butter and a very small amount of cheese.  (Maybe ice cream once or twice too!)

These are my cliff notes to what I learned during my personal Paleo experiment, for anyone who’s ever been curious about or considered the Paleo diet.  I want to share a little about my experience, as well as how I plan to incorporate some of the Paleo principles moving forward and which ones I’ll be leaving behind.

1.  Paleo is not just a Diet, it’s a Lifestyle

Oh-so-cliche, but it’s true.  Paleo is not just about the way you eat, but also includes your approach to exercise, sleep, stress management and overall health and wellness.

In terms of fitness, there is a lot of emphasis on building strength with heavy lifting.  There is some sprinting/HIIT and lots of low intensity day-to-day movement too.   Many people end up trying Paleo after they’ve found CrossFit, and lots of Paleo enthusiasts make their way to CrossFit eventually too.  (Neither of these apply to me, for the record.)

2. Many people find Paleo when they are looking to solve a health issue.

I thought most people came to Paleo with aesthetic goals in mind, but now I understand that lots of people turn to Paleo because they are suffering from some health condition.  Chronic pain, arthritis, heart disease, digestive trouble, thyroid issues, migraines or allergies. Others are hoping to ease the symptoms or slow the progression of an auto-immune disease like Multiple Sclerosis, Celiacs, Hashimoto’s, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Fibromyalgia, Ulcerative Colitis, to name just a handful.  And then there’s the crowd who are looking to improve the way they eat to feel better in general, for muscle gain or weight loss.  There are A LOT of success stories out there, I have no doubt that this way of eating can make serious improvements to your health if you’re willing and committed.

3. Not everyone needs to completely eliminate grains or gluten.

If you’re curious about Paleo but can’t imagine giving up bread forever, you might not have to.  Die-hard Paleo folk are pretty adamant that grains don’t belong in our diet, but based on my own experience and (Internet) research, not everyone is gluten intolerant.  Much like animal products, the quality and processing of your grains is important, and I do notice a difference when I eat less grain compared to when I eat more, but I feel fine eating some gluten and wheat.  For a while I thought I was going to eliminate grains completely, but after more thought, reading and experimentation, I’ve changed my mind and plan to keep some grain in my diet moving forward.

4.  Reducing the amount of grains you eat can make a noticeable difference in the way you feel.

In the early months after Kaz was born (the summer of 2012) we were eating a lot of processed grain.  More sugar than usual too.  Not the worst of the worst, and there was still plenty of fresh produce to go around, but there was definitely an increase in snack foods like pretzels and granola bars, we were eating more bagels, homemade breads, muffins and cookies and devoured everything and anything that was brought to us from our generous family and friends in weeks following the arrival of our newest little family member.

During that time, Zak and I both had an increased amount of joint pain, mostly when first getting out of bed in the morning.  It was really bad for a while, I felt like an old woman as I hobbled around the bedroom for the first few minutes after waking.  My ankles and feet were very stiff and painful.  I would also find myself with a very sore shoulder if I slept on my side.  I suffered a migraine headache one day shortly after Kaz was born too (with the aura and nausea and everything) something that I had only experienced two other times in my life – mid 2007, right before I cleaned up diet, lost 35 pounds and started to educate myself about nutrition.

The joint pain would subside for both of us once we were up and moving around, but there was no doubt that this was different and new.  Still, I didn’t give it a lot of thought.  I chalked it up to postpartum hormones and recovery, but the fact that Zak was having similar symptoms was a little odd.  When I mentioned it to my midwife at my 6 week postpartum check up, she said she’d never heard anyone complain of joint pain specifically related to recovery from pregnancy and child birth without corresponding joint pain during or before pregnancy.  At that point I figured these issues would probably resolve once we got back to eating better again.

My Paleo reading and research has confirmed my suspicion: all the grains, sugar and processed carbs were we eating were very likely the cause our joint pain.  Looking back, I remember now that our pain eventually vanished completely around the same time I was getting back into the kitchen and were eating less grains again.

These past couple months without grain products has been fine, but honestly it has been nothing earth shattering.  I’ve realized that I don’t feel any better or worse than I do when I simply limit my grain consumption.  I’ve reintroduced grains and know for sure that limited grain consumption is how I plan to roll.

This is all to say that you too might find that some bread consumption is OK, so don’t let the thought of “NO BREAD EVER AGAIN!” scare you off from investigating Paleo if you’re curious.  I highly encourage you to be your own guinea pig, to do your own research and see what a change in your grain intake might do for you.

5. Doing less cardio is here to stay.

I’m not sure I can accurately express how much better I feel having cut back on my cardio.  I’m not as hungry, I have more energy in the evenings, I’ve got more time to do other things I like to do and more time for house work too (oh joy!) – but I must admit, sometimes I think a clean house gives me the same endorphin rush I get after a long run.  I certainly feel less stressed when I’m caught up on the housework.

Less cardio basically means less running, and I’ll admit that it took me a while to loosen my grip and let the running go.  Running has been a part of my identity for a long time.  I do still like to get out there once a week or so and play around with jogging/running/sprinting/walking for 3 mile stretches, but for now, I’m done with the regular 4 – 6 mile runs a few days a week I use to do.  I don’t want to stop running completely, one of the reasons I love it is because I enjoy being outside.  It’s also a relatively cheap form of fitness!  But I can get all that with walking too, and sometimes I bust out into a short jog just for the fun of it, but for the most part, I’ve scaled way back on the running and have replaced running with walking most days of the week.

Doing less cardio has also given me more time for my yoga practice, something I’m really coming to value and appreciate more.  I’m still riding my bike while it’s warm, especially because I know my heart rate easily stays in the fat burning zone while cruising around the city streets and bike trails, and I still have the option to spike my heart rate for short bursts of time by climbing some hills or with some intervals if the mood strikes.

6. You can tweak your approach to Paleo based on your own health goals.

Paleo usually means “low carb”, but I’ve come to see that if I go too low with my carbohydrate intake, I struggle with limbic hunger – or in other words, feeling hungry even though my stomach isn’t growling.  Maybe it’s because I’m pretty active in my day to day life, maybe it’s because I’m still breastfeeding, but whatever the case – I know that going very low carb is not for me at this point in my life.  I’m getting carbs from sprouted grains, fruit and root vegetables like sweet potatoes, parsnips, beets, carrots, etc.  (Probably still way lower in carbs than the Standard American Diet though!)

If you work at a desk job, you might do well with fewer carbs and notice that it can help speed weight loss efforts and/or save you from that mid-afternoon/post-lunch energy crash.  If you’re an athlete, you might need way more carbohydrates to get you through your workouts.  If you like to run, then run!  If you don’t want to do heavy lifting and would rather do yoga or body weight exercise (that’s me!), then do that.  Paleo is definitely not a perfect, one-size-fits-all solution – it’s a guide that you can use to help you find your way based on your own needs and lifestyle.

7. I found some great new podcasts.

The Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness Podcast (with Sarah Fragoso and Jason Seib) and the Balanced Bites Podcast (with Liz Wolfe and Diane Sanfilippo) are two podcasts I’m not sure I would have tried without “Going Paleo” for a while.  I’ve learned so much from both of these podcasts, each are usually the hosts answering reader/listener questions, but are sometimes interviews of authors or bloggers within the Paleo community.  Both podcasts have been very helpful with lots of valuable info.  I’ve been digging through the archives and listening to old podcasts along with the most recent ones, I highly recommend them if you’re a podcast person.

8. Eat Real Food. Period.

There is definitely a common theme among all the different ways one might choose to eat; Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Food, Primal, Paleo, Grapefruit and Cabbage Soup Diet:

Eat loads of fresh food.  Cut out the processed junk.

That’s it. Maybe you have to avoid gluten, dairy or nuts due to food sensitivities.  Maybe you prefer to avoid animal products for ethical reasons.  Do what you gotta do.  But there are a few things I think everyone can agree on: Avoid processed foods. Don’t eat trans fats. Do your best to steer clear of pesticides and chemicals.  Be mindful of your sugar intake.  If you are just getting started on your own journey to better health, this is a great first step!

9. Paleo makes Intermittent Fasting easier.

Paleo does a good job of keeping your blood sugar in check because it’s hard to overdose on carbs without a lot of grain.  When a large percentage of your daily calorie intake comes from protein and fat, you will likely become fat adapted and can more readily access stored body fat for fuel, as opposed to glycogen.  I’ve written a little about my experience with fat adaptation before, but once you’re fat adapted, Intermittent Fasting gets a heck of a lot easier.

In The Paleo Coach, Jason Seib says that IF is a “late game” change to make, and I do agree.  If your diet needs to be seriously overhauled and cleaned up or if you’ve tried IF and found it too hard – start with eating clean, reduce your carb intake and focus on getting more fat and protein into your diet.  Once you’ve got your diet “dialed” (as Jason says) then try IF again.

10. The term “Paleo” is a great way to search for meal ideas.

Even though we’re eating some grains again, I still like to prepare meals that are grain and gluten free.  You don’t have to call yourself  “Paleo” to eat fewer grains or make meals without bread products, but Paleo cookbooks and websites are my latest resource for recipes and food ideas.  That one little adjective makes it very easy to filter out recipes with ingredients I often prefer to avoid.

11.  We are all different.

Well, maybe I didn’t just glean this small nugget of wisdom from my Paleo experiment – but I do want to point out the obvious here: what works for me may or may not work for you.  My hope is that some of what I’ve shared here could give you a place to get started if Paleo is something you might want to try or you think there are some aspects of this lifestyle that might work for you.  If you don’t feel healthy most of the time and know that your eating habits could use some improvement, the Paleo approach to eating and living could be just what you’re looking for.

Further Reading:

Robb Wolf: Paleo Diet Basics

Chris Kresser: Beyond Paleo

Balanced Bites: What is Paleo FAQ

The Whole 30


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


This is officially my new favorite way to eat summer squash.  I made this for dinner and I didn’t even need to add any salt because I garnished these zucchini and squash peel “noodles” with tears of joy.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles

I’ve been curious about “zucchini noodles” for a long time, but don’t own a spiralizer.

(If you’re not in the know – a spiralizer is a kitchen gadget that will spin your vegetable while carving off long, thin strands to make something that resembles a noodle.)

While I would love to make piles and piles of pretty vegetable strands with a kitchen device I don’t own, I am delighted to report that you can totally make “noodles” from your favorite over-abundant summer vegetable with the vegetable peeler you already have in your utensil drawer.

Yellow Squash and Zucchini for Noodles with a vegetable peeler

Ready for the instructions?  This is tricky!  (That is sarcasm.)

In your left (or right) hand, hold your squash.  In your other hand, hold your peeler.  Be your own spiralizer and turn the squash or zucchini in your hand, peeling with the other hand as you go.  Peel and turn, peel and turn.  (Are you following me?)  Keep peeling, perhaps pretending that you’ve won lotto and you’re the generous stranger passing out 100 dollar bills.

Soon you’ll have a pile like this and you’ll likely scream “I’m rich!”

Zucchini Noodles without a Spiralizer

Move your pile of squash shreds to a preheated saute pan with a little butter.  You can toss in some salt and/or garlic powder if you like, skip the salt if you’re already watering your magnificent squash  mix with the fluid that leaks from your eyes.

Cooking Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles

Move your shreds around with a spatula as it cooks.  These will be ready in 3 minutes or less, so don’t take off or daydream for too long while it’s cooking.

Like I didn’t love you enough already, Summer Squash Peels?  Now I really love you!

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles

Tears.  Joy.  I told you so.

Pile on your sauce of choice – or just eat plain, smothered with more butter and say “I do what I want!” when someone gives you the side eye.  I wouldn’t try to pass this off as pasta to your vegetable-hating, pasta-loving family or friends, they probably won’t be fooled.  But if you already love zucchini and squash (high five!) this is a super-easy, super-delicious, super-fun way to prepare and eat it.  Super.

I made a simple meat and tomato sauce for these guys.  I also made a vow that I would never eat squash or zucchini any other way ever again.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles Dinner

Unless it’s in chocolate zucchini muffins.  Or zucchini lasagna.  Or on pizza.  Or naan pizza.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles with Meat Sauce

Whatever.  Maybe I’m a liar.  Or forgetful.  Stop questioning me and just eat.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


I’ve been making my own coconut ice cream at home for a couple weeks now.  I will totally eat regular, dairy ice cream – but I love coconut ice cream too.  So whether you can’t eat dairy or simply choose not to – or if you’re just nutty for coconut, let’s talk about this!

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I must tell you upfront that coconut milk ice cream making is an art as much as it is a science.  There are also some pros and cons when it comes to making it yourself versus shelling out the bucks for a pint of the already-made coconut milk ice cream you can find in the grocery store freezer case.  For instance:

Pro: The recipe is very simple!

Con: You need an ice cream maker for this.

Everything You Need to Make Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I realize an ice maker isn’t an appliance that everyone has in their kitchen – even ours was a hand me down.  But now that we have one, I really like it!  Mostly because it means I can control the quality of ingredients and quantity of sugar too.  Dessert control freak much?  Yes, I admit it.

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2 can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated for at least four hours
1/4 c of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla

That’s it!

That refrigeration step is crucial for a really, really creamy coconut ice cream.  Thanks to a little trick I learned from from Angela at Oh She Glows:

Canned Coconut Milk for Homemade Coconut Ice Cream

If you refrigerate a can of full fat coconut milk for at least 4 hours, it separates.

Open Cold Coconut Milk Can for Coconut Cream

Fat on the bottom, “skim” coconut milk on the top. Flip the can upside down, open and pour out the liquid.

Coconut Milk

(I’ve followed Angela’s advice and save that liquid portion of the coconut milk for smoothies and cooking.)

Then scrape out the cream.  Glorious, glorious coconut cream!

Coconut Cream

Now don’t panic!  Yes, that’s full of fat but a.) fat is our friend and b.) we’re talking about a treat here, it’s gonna be OK.  Here, have some coconut milk ice cream while you compose yourself.

You can make an incredible, and-I-mean-incredible dessert topping with this coconut cream alone.  (seriously.  this stuff is life changing.  go read Angela’s Coconut Whipped Cream post for a step by step guide and other helpful info! GO!  go right now!)

After making coconut whipped cream to top some fresh, summer berries this year (in that case, no sugar is even needed!) I got to thinking I could put this creamy concoction into the ice cream maker to make a rich and creamy ice cold treat.

Pro: It’s awesome being right.

Con: This is no downside to me being right.

Use a hand mixer, blender or immersion blender to combine ingredients well.  I like using the hand mixer because the clean up is quick and I can scrape every last drop out of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

Whipped Coconut Milk

Here’s where some of that “art of coconut ice cream making” comes into play – if your cream base is especially thick – you might need to add a 1/8 c – 1/4 c of that coconut skim milk you set aside at the beginning.  You’ll need to use your best judgement though, keeping in mind how temperamental your ice cream maker is.  (I had one batch that was so custardy-thick my ice maker stopped churning after just a couple minutes!)

More pros and cons:

Pro:  You can use as much or as little sugar as you like.  I find a 1/4 c of sugar to be plenty, but you might want more or less, or perhaps use something like honey, maple syrup or stevia.

Con:  The texture of your finished product completely depends on texture of your coconut milk out of the can.  As I’ve come to discover, no two cans every seem to be exactly the same.  Sometimes it’s very smooth, other times it’s a little grainy (why does this happen?) which means your ice cream will be a little grainy too, and that’s sort of a bummer.

Pro: grainy or not, it is ALWAYS delicious!

Con:  but sometimes a little frustrating from a quality control perspective.

When your ingredients are well combined, transfer your coconut cream mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions from there.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream at in Homemade Ice Cream Maker

With my ice cream maker, it’s usually done and ready to eat in 15 – 20 minutes.

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

The other difference I’ve noticed (even with the same technique and same brand of coconut milk) is that if I transfer the leftovers (leftovers?!) to the freezer, sometimes it scoops out nicely straight from the freezer, and other times it’s pretty hard and I need to let it warm up for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

Transfer Coconut Milk Ice Cream to Freezer Safe Dish

Again with the Art of Coconut Milk Ice Cream Making; you’ll have to figure out what works for you, your freezer,  your ice cream and your mouth.

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

No matter which way you churn it, me and my mouth like this stuff.

Cost Comparison

From what I’ve gathered, the cost of making your own at home vs. buying something like So Delicious Coconut Milk ice cream is pretty much a toss up.  I’ll admit that at first I thought there was going to be a substantial cost savings to making your own coconut milk ice cream compared to buying a pint of coconut milk ice cream at the store, but now I’m not so sure.

At Wegmans, a pint (16 oz) of So Delicious is $4.99.  One 13.66 oz can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk is $2.49.  So yes, that’s nearly 27 oz for $4.98, but you do “lose” some volume because you pour out the liquid portion of the coconut milk (and that amount of liquid seems to vary slightly with each can).  I am sure I end up with more than 16 oz of coconut milk ice cream each time, but I don’t know exactly how much because I’ve yet take an exact measurement of my final product.  Then there is the (minimal) additional cost of the sugar and vanilla extract, plus the time and energy it takes to make it.  This is why I call the cost comparison a toss up.

In my mind, the best reason to make your own coconut milk ice cream at home is because you can do it with just three ingredients.  So Delicious uses agave nectar for sweetener (something I no longer prefer to consume) and if I’m going to eat sugar, I’d rather just use real sugar and call it a day.  They also use some thickeners and other extracts too, and if we can make it at home without those ingredients?  I’m all over it.

If you like to keep things simple and close to home, it’s hard to go wrong making your own coconut milk ice cream.  And a fourth or fifth might be completely called for if it’s something like cocoa powder, chunks of chocolate, a little peppermint flavoring, fresh berries, nuts or nut butter – whatever your taste buds desire.  Let your dessert control freak flag fly!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


Warning: Feet Picture Ahead

Coconut Oil for Athlete's Foot

A little story about a natural remedy for foot fungus.  Love, love, love coconut oil!  (Love these guys too.)

Zak says:

I wish I had taken a “before” picture of my feet. I’ve had serious athletes feet for about three years. They were very itchy, peeling, painful, occasionally bloody; an all around hot mess.  Then one day Alison mentions to me that coconut oil has anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties, so I started rubbing some on my feet every day after a shower. I’d rub in the oil and put socks on and just leave socks on until the next shower. After only three weeks my feet are looking pretty normal and the pain/itchy is completely gone!

I guess we don’t know for sure that he had “athlete’s foot”, but did feel pretty confident it was something fungal.  Even though I know how awesome coconut oil is, I’m still a little surprised that it worked so well! I normally use Burt’s Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion when I feel like my feet need a little TLC (I’ve dealt with foot fungus, painful cracks too, especially in the colder months).  After Zak’s experience I’ve been giving my feet a rub down with coconut oil after every shower.  I walk around mostly barefoot in the summer so I only use a very light layer and focus mainly on getting it between my toes.  I haven’t had an issue with it getting all over the floor or slip sliding around because I’ve completely greased up my feet.

That’s it!  Just a quick post to share my excitement about his success with a more natural approach to a fungal infection, and to share yet another reason for my adoration of coconut oil.  Special thanks to my husband for allowing me to use him and his feet as blog fodder.

P.S., a quick disclaimer!  Please don’t misconstrue this as medical advice!  As always, seek trusted professional advice if you think something is seriously out of whack.

P.P.S., wondering about Zak’s weight since the 40 Day Juice Fast ended?  He went from 195 lbs to 162 during that time.  He regained a few pounds after he went back to eating solid foods but has been hanging out between 167 – 170 for two and a half months now.  He’s rocking out with very few grains, very little sugar, some meat, some dairy, some fruit and lots and lots of veggies.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


Oh Parsnip Fries!  Where have you been all my life?

Parsnip Fries for Lunch

No, seriously. Why have I never eaten a parsnip?

Parsnips

I have no idea, but I stumbled upon these guys (not literally) while looking for vegetables that are higher in carbohydrates to help fuel me through my floor-sweeping, baby-chasing, laundry-toting days.  Me and my orange hands need something besides carrots and sweet potatoes to eat.  Parsnips and their lack of beta carotene fit the bill, so let’s do this!

(To the paleo/primal curious and my gluten-free friends, it took me a while to figure out that I feel crummy if I go too low with carbohydrates.)

Upon further parsnip investigation (Breaking News at 6!) I came to learn that they are high in folate, calcium and potassium, they are also high in fiber and offer some cancer protection too.  Parsnips, you rock!  Three cheers for nutrition!

So how do you cook parsnips?  The internet tells me you can boil and mash them, or you can roast them.  Given my penchant for roasted root veggies, roasted parsnips for lunch it is.

And BONUS!  If you cut them into sticks, you can call them parsnip fries!

Trim the ends and then slice like you would a carrot:

parsnip ends trimmed Parsnip Fries

Coat in a little coconut oil, salt and pepper like you would (or like I do) a sweet potato.  Olive oil would work too, but (*spoiler alert*) parsnips have a slightly nutty, sweet flavor and I think they paired well with the coconut oil.

Parsnip Fries for Baking

Preheat the oven to 375.  Bake for about 30 minutes, tossing once at the half way mark.

Parsnip Fries Baked in Coconut Oil

They had a very distinct, spicy smell within the first few minutes of being in the oven – and that smell that made me believe I wasn’t going to like them.  Fortunately that first impression was totally wrong, the taste is new and different, but also really good!

That’s it!  Roasted parsnips fries on yo’ plate and in yo’ face!

Baked Parsnip Fries in Coconut Oil

Parsnip fries for lunch with a turkey burger topped with avocado and a side of (what has inadvertently become my go-to summer salad) coleslaw.

Parsnip Fries with Turkey Burger

They definitely have a unique taste, but were easy to eat and disappeared from my plate without any trouble at all.  If you’re looking for something new to try as a dinner side, parsnips get a rousing recommendation from me!

(Rousing like: pom poms, ready?  OK!  “RA RA RA pARsnips!  I’m ROOTing for you!”)

Ahem.

Now that I’ve composed myself, this is where I ask who’s a parsnip lover and who’s never had them before?  Parsnip worshipers of the world, what’s your favorite way to prepare them?  I’ve got them back on the grocery list already and can’t wait to make these again!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


I’ve had a number of conversations with some friends and family about breakfast recently, and so I decided to put together a collection of morning food photos from the past few months.  Once upon a time I ate overnight oats for breakfast every day!  As I’ve mentioned more than once lately, I’m going the grain free route most of the time and don’t even miss my beloved oats, cold cereal or cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast with almond butter and banana.

(This [sorta scary] blog post is a good but lengthy explanation of why I’ve chosen to follow a mostly grain free lifestyle.  The Paleo Solution, Wheat Belly and The Primal Blueprint are loaded with convincing info and studies too.)

I’m up every day right around 6 AM, drink a couple cups of coffee with half and half and usually feel ready for something more substantial anywhere between 9:30 and 10:30.  These days, breakfast is usually some form of protein and a vegetable.

This was today’s breakfast beauty, tossed salad with salmon.  I had an email conversation with a friend yesterday about canned salmon and it left me with a hankering for salmon salad this morning.

Salmon Salad

This salad started with half an avocado (mashed), a tbsp of dijon mustard, a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Once my dressing ingredients were well combined, I added half a can of salmon and then half a small cucumber, one shredded carrot and half of a giant (DELICIOUS!) tomato and a heaping handful of pre-prepped salad greens.

Stirred together to coat the vegetables well with the fish and dressing mix, and then plopped it into a shallow salad plate and called it breakfast.

(The Other Half got an exact replica of this salad with the other half of all the half ingredients I just listed.)

If it’s not a vegetable on the side, it’s a low sugar fruit like berries.  We are smack dab in the middle of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year in upstate New York and I am berry, berry happy about that.  (*insert canned laughter here*)

A breakfast example from earlier this summer, leftover salmon from dinner with some strawberries and raspberries.

Pink Breakfast

This particular pink breakfast was shared with the guy in green.

Breakfast Sharing

Another day it was one over easy egg (usually two, but there was only one egg left!) a couple of Applegate Farms sausage links with a side of steamed broccoli.

Sausage Egg Broccoli

Making extra of whatever we’re having for dinner makes it easy to add to add some vegetables to my breakfast plate.

Same plate, different day.  Same vegetable, different meat.  Two over easy eggs, bacon and more broccoli.

Broccoli Bacon Eggs

If I have time in the morning, I might saute up a big bunch of kale.  This was breakfast earlier this week, served along side sliced ham from a local pig farmer.

Ham and Sauteed Kale

In order to prep kale though, I need to find a way to keep the little boy busy,

Keep Him Busy

or else this happens while I’m standing at the sink.

Kaz on Table

(Do you see what I mean? This is also the reason my kitchen chairs are now laying on their sides for most the day.)

When he’s at the sink he’s photo bombing my kale pictures, but at least he’s not standing on the table.

Kale Photo Bomber

If I’m short on time or we need to be out the door first thing, I usually go the “yogurt and berries” route.

Plain whole milk kefir, a handful of frozen strawberries, half a banana, a handful of spinach – GO!

Strawberry Spinach Kefir Smoothie

Or kefir poured over fresh strawberries, no blender needed – I’ll use my teeth today, thanks.  (P.S., this makes a great afternoon snack too.)

Strawberries_Kefir

A patriotic combo of blueberries, plain full fat greek yogurt and strawberries.

Berry Bowl

Or some pitted cherries, sunk into a bowl of regular plain full fat yogurt.

Cherries and Plain Yogurt

And for the record, I use to think people who ate plain yogurt had no taste buds, but plain yogurt is The Bomb.  The Fermented Bomb.  Maybe it’s because I go the full fat/whole milk route now so it’s more palatble than low fat or fat free?  Whatever the case, I love it – don’t be afraid to try it!

So that’s what I’ve got.  Eating anything good for breakfast these days?  Tell us all about it!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


This is my new mantra when it comes to getting stuff done around the house:

Done is Better Than Perfect

(even this image is not perfect, but I’m leaving it!  It’s done!)

One day last week I was feeling particularly frustrated with how far behind I was on the house work. Life with a busy, active, won’t-stop-climbing-the-tables-and-chairs toddler makes things… interesting.

There was a pile of dishes in the sink, pots and pan on the counter, more kitchen clutter and dishes on the other counter, the floor was dirty – the mess was driving me nuts and I just couldn’t get to it with Monkey Boy Kaz in the kitchen with me.  I’m also sure I was procrastinating because I felt so buried by it all I didn’t even know where to start.

I conceded temporary defeat and finally took Kaz upstairs to play in the playroom (where there is nothing to climb!) and plunked down on the floor with Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook).  As a woman who left a career in technology to stay home with my children, I don’t necessarily agree with everything Sheryl has to say about working outside the home and motherhood – but I was pushing through the chapters on this subject when happened upon the exact nugget of wisdom that I needed at that very moment:

Done is better than perfect.

She says that a poster with these words in big red letters hangs on the wall at Facebook, and she uses this phrase in her personal life when it comes to balancing her life at home and at work.

Is this really what Facebook encourages in their engineers and developers?  That “Done” is better than “Perfect”?  Whether you’re a fan of the social media giant or not, Facebook is obviously doing something right, and at that moment I decided if this approach is good enough for Facebook, I could at least give it a try in my own damn kitchen.

As soon as Kaz was bored and ready to move on to something new, I asked the girls to help entertain him for 15 minutes while I got to work on Mt. Dishmore.  “Done is better than perfect”?  Fine.  Let’s get the dishwasher loaded, the pots and pans can wait until his next nap or until Zak gets home or after bedtime or even tomorrow morning.  The kitchen won’t be perfectly clean and tidy, but at least part of the mess will be taken care of and will be that much closer to “perfect”. (*snort*)

And so that’s exactly what I did.  As soon as I was “done”, I scribbled those exact words on a piece of paper and stuck it to the fridge so I wouldn’t forget about it.  It’s been less than a week, but I’m embracing this phrase and now allowing some hope of perfection keep me from getting started, even if I only manage to get part of it done.

I’m sharing this story for anybody else out there who is struggling with too much to do and not enough time to do it all: sometimes Done is better than Perfect.  Just get it done and move on.

And with that, Kaz is up from his nap and my time at the computer is over.  This post is not perfect (or funny) but it’s done.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


Meat Ballin’

August 1st, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (4 Comments)

A few weeks ago I was out with all three kids (not unusual) and had nothing packed for any of us to eat (quite unusual). Hunger levels were quickly rising, morale was rapidly falling.  Given time and location, our best option was a small pizza place in order to save us (or save myself, really) from a hunger-induced group meltdown.

I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry

The girls each got a slice of pizza, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover there were a bunch of decent side dishes on the menu.  I got three meatballs and some sauteed summer vegetables to share with 13 month old Kaz, who does not yet know that the children in this family are supposed to demand pizza and shun vegetables.  (Shhhh!)

Anyway, the meatballs were good, although I’m sure they had all sorts of funky ingredients in them.  This was just a run of the mill pizza joint, “Free Range Grass Fed Meatballs” were most definitely not on the menu.  But let’s not overthink it or fret about funky ingredients for too long – sometimes this is just how it goes.

Instead of fretting, let’s have a happy thought and think about making our own meatballs at home with quality ingredients.  I’ve never really been a Meatball Person (especially as a former vegetarian for most of my home cooking career) and this impromptu pizza stop helped me see that Hey!  Perhaps I should be a Meatball Person!  Balls of meat are good!  I think I am ready to join The Tribe of the Meatball People.  I hope the initiation is tasty.

In an effort to keep my meatballs to be free of funky ingredients, I bought some ground beef and pork sausage from a local farmer at a farmer’s market.  I also wanted them to be free of gluten – no breadcrumbs please!  I’m continuing to read about and experiment with a Paleo-esque lifestyle, I see again and again that I feel best when I consume little to no grains in my everyday life.

So whether you care about gluten or grains or breadcrumbs or not – these guys turned out great! I didn’t even intended to blog about my meatball adventure as the newest member of The Meatball Lovers Club, but they turned out so well that I can’t wait to make them again – and that little fact makes this recipe officially blog worthy.

Paleo Meatballs

Meatballs without Breadcrumbs

(Like Doctors without Borders?  Except you don’t need a passport, and I doubt these will win you a Nobel Peace Prize.  Let me know, though.)

print this recipe!

1 lb ground beef
1 lb pork sausage (cut out of the casing if needed)
1 egg, beaten
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 small stalk of celery, finely diced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 c – 1/2 c ground almonds
salt and pepper to taste, oregano, garlic powder
optional cayenne pepper and Tabasco if you like it spicy!

Combine all ingredients, use an ice cream scoop or 1/4 c measure to scoop meat and form into balls with your hands.

Makes 16 meatballs.

You could use a jar of spaghetti sauce or make your own – I went the Make Your Own Sauce route:

Tomato Sauce

16 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 diced onion (the other half from your meatballs!)
1 small carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste, (fresh or dried) basil

Preheat oven to 350.  Optionally, brown outside of each meatball in a frying pan (coated with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking) before moving meatballs to sauce.

Cover meatballs with sauce and bake in a covered oven safe dish for 40 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in the middle. Bake time will vary based on the size of your meatballs.

Or, if it’s too hot outside to even consider turning on the oven, you could go the crock pot route like I did – 1 hour on high then 3 to 4 hours on low.

Grain Free Meatballs

Served here as leftovers for lunch with summer squash sauteed in coconut oil.  We had these with Asian coleslaw the day before, which was my favorite of the two different sides.

I suppose this recipe could win you some sort of Peace Prize if you put these in front of your hungry and quickly-losing-patience-and-all-sense-of-dignity family and friends.  Eat up and may the peace be with you.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.