Decided on a whim a couple weekends ago to drag the family to Vernal to check out all the dino bones. I used to travel with my family growing-up and it is something I would like to do more with my own family. The memories and laughs that came from those trips are what stand out in my mind. The only struggle with my own family is that I have two volatile kids and a toddler. Yikes! Nevertheless, dino land was still a boat load of fun. 
En route to and from our destination, I picked up Slim for Life by Jillian Michaels which kicked off my next upward swing in, shall we say, extreme pantry habits. I totally admit that I go in spurts when it comes to my 'extremeness' regardless of the fact that I no longer buy any foods, ever, that have ingredients from the naughty list on them. However, it took until a couple weeks ago to kick my remaining holiday sugar addiction. I also dove back into Dr. Bob's Guide to Stop ADHD in 18 Days; both books re-freaked me out on the scary stuff that goes into our food. With all that being said, my newest project is weaning Preston from white bread (can you believe it! I buy white bread! Only because it was the only bread he would eat after months of experimenting with home made bread recipes - it still doesn't have stuff from the naughty-list on it) and peanut butter - as in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I've heard on more than one occasion from more than one source about mold that lurks in peanuts and peanut butter causing allergic reactions in kids that also causes bigger problems for kids with ADHD.
Jillian Michael's
I've had to get creative with lunch alternatives considering that Preston is almost the world's pickiest eater. I pulled out all of my cookbooks and scoured the recipes considering what ingredients could be tweaked and what he would enjoy and eat. I came up with the following:
~ Denver Sandwich/Homemade Egg McMuffin
~ Turkey and Cheese Pita Sandwich
~ Chocolate Cashew Butter Roll-Up (Homemade Crepe)
~ Omelet/Frittata
~ Grilled Cheese
~ Bagel Pizza
~ Baked Crispy Chicken Tenders
~ Poppy seed Vanilla Muffins
~ Bagel and Cream Cheese with Turkey
~ Homemade Waffle Sandwich (Homemade Waffles with Cream Cheese, Cinnamon and Agave Center)
Not bad sounding eh? I've got to find a good insulated lunch box for him to use. Anyone have one that they love? I also went straight away to Trader Joe's and bought some Stevia prepared to try it with cookies. I found a cookie recipe online and the end result was fascinating - they looked gorgeous! I sat down to indulge and it had the consistency of sand. Literally. The last few batches of cookies I've made Preston actually asked me if they were the 'sand cookies.' Suffice it to say, I threw them all out. Oh well. I reckon that's what happens often with many a food blogger. Second time around I used a recipe that I had on hand and just tweaked it and they turned out delicious! My husband (hard to please when it comes to food) LOVES them (and I don't dare tell him there is only 1 T. of maple syrup and pure applesauce in them). They have a cake-like consistency which is not what I was going for but not sure I can get them to be like a Paradise Cookie without using actual sugar. Regardless, these really did turn out great and everyone in the house loves them. Not to mention protein from both the yogurt and the powder. All the minerals from the fresh ground spelt and what - I love it!!
And this week I swapped out Preston's sandwiches for homemade Poppy seed Vanilla Muffins which he has been enjoying and potentially add a Tupperware container of my fabulous scrambled eggs (the trick is to take them off the burner while still really moist - almost not done). I'll rotate those out for something else on the list next week. We shall see how he continues to do with the increase in B Vitamins and the lack of peanut butter. In the meantime, here is the recipe for my cookies and the muffins!
Chocolate Chip Happy Cookies
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1 tsp. Stevia
1 T. Grade B Maple Syrup (next time I'm going to throw in 5-10 drops of Butter Toffee Stevia instead of the Maple Syrup. Or use Brown Rice Syrup which should replace some of the flavor of the missing brown sugar)
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1/2 Cup Fage Yogurt
2 1/3 Cups Whole Wheat, Spelt and/or Brown Rice Flour (I use a combination)
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Scoop Vanilla SunWarrior Protein Powder
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Melt 1 stick butter and mix with 1 tsp. Stevia and maple syrup for about a minute. Add 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and vanilla. Whip 2 minutes. Add yogurt and applesauce, mix one more minute. Add pre-mixed dry ingredients. Fold in chips.
Bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes, leave on tray.
Vanilla Poppy Seed Muffins
1 3/4 Cup Wheat and Spelt Flour
1/4 cup Xagave
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Beaten Egg
1 Cup Plain Yogurt (I like Fage - 24 grams of protein!)
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 Scoop Vanilla Sunwarrior Protein Powder
1 T Poppy seeds
Prepare muffin tin. In medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. poppy seed and protein powder. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.
In another bowl, combine egg, yogurt, vanilla, Xagave and coconut oil (add the coconut oil last and working quickly as the coldness of the yogurt may make the coconut oil to begin chunk-up). Add egg mixture to dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Batter will be stiff and lumpy.
Spoon batter into muffin cups about 2/3 full.
Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes until just browned. Makes 12 muffins.
*So, Preston loves these. I personally feel they could use a little more sweetness. Next time I will add a several drops of Vanilla Crème Stevia.
Orange Flavor Variation
I quite like the orange variation but Preston didn't and my hubby wasn't a huge fan either. At any rate, I added 2-3 drops of Wild Orange Doterra Essential Oil to the yogurt and a bit of orange zest and cut back the vanilla to 1 tsp. Fragrant and tasty.
Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 Cup Brown Rice and Spelt Flour
1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1 Scoop Chocolate Sunwarrior Protein Powder
1 T Cacao Superfood Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1/2 Cup Plain Fage Yogurt
1/2 Cup Xagave, divided
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (optional)
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine eggs, yogurt, applesauce, 1/4 cup Xagave and vanilla in a bowl, stir well. Melt 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate in a sauce pan with the coconut oil. Remove from heat and add 1/4 Xagave and combine with egg mixture. Add egg mixture to the powder ingredients and stir to combine; batter will be a little runny. Add chocolate chips (I like chocolate chips mostly for their texture). Pour into prepared muffin tin/muffin cups filling 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.
Brittany's 'Best-Ever' Scrambled Eggs
Desired amount of cage-free, hormone free eggs
An ounce or two or three of Neufchatel Cream Cheese
Touch of butter
Sprinkle of parmesan or cheddar cheese or mozzarella
Liberal shakes from the Sea Salt shaker
Pepper
Whisk the eggs thoroughly in a bowl. Add to warmed skillet that already has melting clumps of cream cheese and butter. Scramble, adding the salt and pepper. While the eggs are still moist and not quite done, remove from heat and mix in cheese and quickly remove from pan. Delicious!!
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