Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Mind Blown: Preservatives Make It Hard to Break Down Food!

     Have you ever read, seen, or heard something so simple and yet so mind blowing that you simultaneously thought, "Why didn't I think of that?" and, "Oh Em GEE!"

     Yesterday, I woke up at 3:30 am. Why? I had a dream that made my heart physically start to race, adrenaline began to pump through my blood, and I was wide awake. There would be no going back to sleep, even though it was my day off. I lay there for a good 30 minutes, just to make sure before getting out of bed and firing up the computer to do some reading while the rest of the house slept.

Image result for healthy gut bacteria     That's when I stumbled upon the fact that our digestive system has a hard time breaking down preservatives because preservatives are designed to keep bacteria from breaking them down!

     "Oh Em GEE!" How did I never realize this? It seems so fundamental. "Why didn't I think of that?"

     This makes perfect sense. If something is designed to not break down, and then we eat it, we will have a hard time breaking it down. While stomach acid and chewing our food well will help in the process, the rest of our digestive system is run on the process of bacteria in the gut breaking down food for the micro-nutrients we need. If the food is treated to be hard to be broken down by bacteria, our bacteria doesn't have much of a fighting change.

MIND BLOWN!

The Geek Family Kitchen: Snickerdoodle Apple Blocks

We made another video. The recipe is at Snickerdoodle Apple Blocks.



Thursday, August 25, 2016

The Geek Family Kitchen: Custom Undertale Shirt





It's our first video. We made fan art into a custom T-shirt. Sorry about the sound. Our next video will be better. Lydia drew the art. If you like the video, please like and subscribe to our channel. We have big plans in the works for crafts and recipes.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Paleo Changes You: You Enjoy Nature More



Image result for mimosa tree     I remember that when I was little, I loved being outside. I spent most of my summers swimming because summers in Alabama are HOT! And I loved being outside the rest of the time more, but I loved playing in the dirt, especially after a good rain. Summer rains are the best because there are times when they come and go for days, really soaking the ground and turning the iron-rich ground around here to clay. I had a wagon that was filled with pots and pans, dishes and spoons. I loved creating recipes with clay, mud, colored sand, grass, leaves, acorn, and rocks. My home was out in the woods, and we had three different colors of sand: black (great for chocolate), red (great for strawberry and cherry), and white (great for vanilla). I would make mud pies, cakes, and cookies. I would create beautiful, inedible salads. Mimosas would provide an endless wealth of salad ingredients, beans, pink sprinkles, and coffee. I would make bowls of pine straw pasta covered with red mud and a few rocks. Some things never change ;)

     As I got older, I still enjoyed being out in nature, but I wanted nature to adhere to my rules. I wanted it to be a comfortable temperature. I wanted it to be a bit breezy. A light drizzle or rain was fine, as long as there was no thunder or lightning. I could walk or bike or swim for hours. I would still be walking, biking, or swimming long after everyone else lost interest unless I went biking with my dad. He would take me to this murderous trail to bike, and by the time we were done, I was a puddle of goo who needed a sport's drink and a good nap.

     Then I got into my twenties. Let's just say, things got bad, and I no longer enjoyed being outside as much. I would still go for walks, but I was hot and sweaty and felt as if I was being tortured. I hurt. I just wanted to stay in my climate-controlled nest.

     We've been eating Paleo for quite some time now, and I realized the other day while we were walking the dog in the early afternoon in the middle of August that being outside is not that bad again. I was just chilling out. I even mentioned to the kids how the heat wasn't that bad when the breeze was blowing. We walked about 2 miles, then took a very hot and exhausted dog back to the house. Then I headed back out the door for a few uphill sprints. Later I caught the news warning that we were under a heat advisory. Really? It didn't seem that bad outside.

     I've had more times like that than I've had where I just couldn't take being outside anymore. I still get hot and sweaty. Don't get me wrong. I just don't mind as much and don't feel as uncomfortable when I get hot and sweaty. I've noticed that I get bitten by mosquitoes less, as well. When you are able to feel good outside, you can really enjoy the sites around you. I love watching the sun rise in the mornings before I go to work. There was a time when I would not have even thought it would be possible to get up that early. I go for walks for the pure joy of walking and being in the sun. And while I still have a long way to go to being that carefree child who played in the dirt, I'm getting there. This past spring, I even jumped around barefoot in mud puddles with the kids.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

All Apologies Because Book



     I know I said I was going to try to write a post once a week since getting the new job. And it was a lofty goal. Then I got into my new job and tore my arms to shreds. Seriously, I could barely move my arms by the end of the day for the first two or three weeks. The benefit is that I went from being able to do 7 push-ups to being able to do 12. Yay! The downside was that my arms and hands would hurt so bad that I could barely lift or hold or type anything. Then the early mornings and the physically demanding work load made me tired and sleepy at the end of my work day.

     But those are not the only reasons I haven't been posting as much as I would like. When I have had time, I've been working on a cookbook that I'm hoping to get ready and up for sale by the first of October! I'm so excited! It will be based on the A to Z challenge that I participated in last year, but a few of the recipes have been improved, and there will be four additional recipes. I'm also working on getting my Patreon ready. I'm just working out the details on the rewards.

     Thank you all for your patience. I'm going to try harder in the future. We'll see how it goes.