Our Food is Our Medicine & Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread {Paleo}

This morning we took a family outing to one of the local produce stands in Suisun Valley, Larry’s Produce.  My hubby wanted to make some Pluot jam and some Citrus Pickled Bell Peppers tonight, so we bought lots of pluots, some bell peppers and some other stuff for the recipe. We also bought kale, figs (YUM!), white peaches, avocados, apples, limes, garnet yams, cilantro, bananas, raw local honey from Vacaville (our home town!) and more. And the best part, we only spent about $45! Believe me, that is fantastic for all of the great food we bought! We already have a ton of zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and egg plant from our garden and my parent’s garden at the ranch, so I have been sautéing lots of veggies and making other yummy things (hint: recipe below)! We are so blessed to be able to have access to such a vast array of healthy seasonal fresh fruits and veggies! These are exactly what are bodies NEED and CRAVE! This is what I call Soul Food!

Thinking about all of the healthy foods we plan to prepare made me remember that I have been meaning to share with you all a book that I bought during my yoga teacher training when we had a lecture on Ayurvedic Health and Healing. Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is really just a generic term for “traditional medicine” in India.  I could site of bunch of information in which case you would just zone out and probably have no idea where I was going with this, and I am, by no means, an Ayurvedic expert. So instead, what I got out of this lecture and my own research regarding ayurvedic medicine is that we should view the food that we eat as medicine for our bodies, whether we are sick or not! The book, called Eat, Taste, Heal: An Ayurvedic Guidebook and Cookbook for Modern Living is amazing! 

It has wonderful recipes and talks about how to eat for your body type. I personally do not feel that there is necessarily ONE right way to eat. Some people swear by Paleo, some Vegan, some Vegetarian.  I think that there is a healthy and possibly a BETTER way to eat for YOUR body type! If you have Celiac Disease, maybe Paleo is the right way to go for you. But, it may not be the right way for someone else. We are not all made the same. And, it might possibly be that your body is just out of balance, so you might have to eat a certain way for a while to balance things back out, and then you can slowly start to add other things back into your lifestyle. I had to do this at one point. My Nutritionist had me cut out wheat and corn. It was amazing what a difference this made! My digestive system started to feel so much better. I even started to have more energy! Once my system was back in balance, I started to add some wheat products back in. At this time in my life, I choose not to eat most wheat and corn products because I have noticed that my body seems to be happier when I don’t eat them. At any rate, you probably get the idea, right! This book is not a cure all for eating or digestive disorders…but it is certainly interesting and worth the purchase.

Since I had some zucchini lying around, I will leave you with this recipe for some DELICIOUS Melt-In-Your-Mouth Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread…it is even Paleo!!!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Paleo, Clean Eating, Pure Deliciousness

What You Need:

• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 small zucchini)
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a bread pan with parchment paper so that a little hangs over each side (to make removal easier) – Personally, I think this is the only way that works with this type of bread!
3. Mix eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla until well combined.
4. Add zucchini and mix well.
5. Add almond flour, shredded coconut, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to wet mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in chocolate chips (optional).
7. Pour batter into bread pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan.
9. Eat up!

Ok, so this is what happens when your toddler distracts you...you forget to add the chocolate chips!!! That's a crime, right!! 

The up side is, you can always add the chocolate chips to the top! SAVED!

This

Let me just say that this loaf did not last very long at all! 

The Glorification of Busy & Healthy Chicken Salad

I have seen and heard this quote all over the place lately. It seems like it is popping up everywhere I go, and maybe that is not a coincidence.

“Stop the glorification of busy.”

At first glance, you probably brushed this off just like I did, saying, “This does not apply to me.” But, then after you let this sink in for a bit, you started to wonder, “Do I do that?” or “What does that even mean?”

When my husband and I were dating, we used to make little lists of things we wanted to do together, and then check those things off as we went, even if it was just a list to the grocery store.  He liked making lists as much as I did, and it was always something we could do together, even if it seemed like something very small and insignificant.  And, on our wedding day, I vowed to him that we would make hundreds more lists together, because that was our little special thing. Well, fast forward 2 ½ years later, and my husband requested that we write a list for something or other…I don’t remember what right now…but what I do remember was that I was too busy to make the time to write that list, even though it would have only taken seconds. He then reminded me of my promise, more as a way to get my attention, but that really hit home with me. Did I really just blow off something that would take seconds to do, but meant more to both him and me than anything else I was doing that day because I was what…busy????!! That was pretty lame of me!

But, the fact is, we get busy in our lives doing the mundane day to day things, and many times for others in our family, but sometimes we lose sight of the little things that matter most. In our society, we seem to be judged by the number of things we accomplish in a day, week, month, whatever. We further glorify this by calling it “multi-tasking.” I take pride in being able to multi-task, as most Moms do. But, what sacrifices have I made at the expense of my pride?

So, I asked myself, am I too busy to sit down and read to my child when she brings me a book while I am washing the dishes and cleaning? Am I too busy to make something healthy for my family to eat or would I rather pop some processed food item into the microwave just because it takes fewer minutes to make? Or should I blow off spending a few minutes of quality time with my husband to make a short little list because am I too busy cleaning the house or some other project that I gave myself that could be put on hold for a bit?

When I phrase it like that, it really puts things into perspective for me.

If you are like me, it might take you a while to realize these things, or maybe you are a quicker study than me and already have this figured out. Either way, it is still a process and sometimes we need a little reminder (thank you husband!).

And, just in case you need a quick, easy, healthy recipe for you and your family instead of tossing something into the microwave for lunch or dinner, here is one of my favorite go-to recipes!

Healthy Chicken Salad (with vegan option)

Serves 4-6

Here's what you will need:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2-3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (can sub with 2 cans drained garbanzo beans for vegan option)
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 1/2 cups seedless grapes
• 3/4 cup raw almonds

Directions:

1. Place almonds into food processor and chop into small pieces, but not fine powder.
2. Tear chicken up into pieces so it fits into the food processor. Add chicken and remainder of ingredients to food processor and blend.
3. Either serve or place into refrigerator.

Let's face it. We are all busy! But, there are still ways to make time for the things that matter, and eating healthy, clean, wholes foods does matter!