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.

Paleo Changes You: You Enjoy Nature More

     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.

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.

Paleo Changes You: Your Body Lets You Know Quickly When You Are Intolerant of Food

     Can I just start by saying that detoxes are not fun? Of course they aren't, but what does that have to do with this post? Well, a lot, actually. I enjoy talking about the benefits of Paleo and how delicious the food is, but I rarely talk about the downside, 1: because it only lasts a few days, and 2: because it stinks on ice!

     That said, when you first start Paleo, unless you go about it in a slow manner (i.e. introducing Paleo foods here, getting rid of non-Paleo foods there, little-by-little chipping away at your old habits), you will go through a detox period, and it will stink. You will have enormous cravings for the foods you are addicted to. You will have headaches and stuffy nose and skin breakouts and all the other fun things that go along with detox. But once you're past them, and you wake up to how good you feel, you won't want to go back to the old way of eating.

     And then you'll forget just how much of a difference you feel. It's natural. You'll think, "Eating bread didn't make me feel that bad. Drinking milk didn't make me bloated and gassy. I bet I could handle a small serving of baked beans. I miss them so much, and nothing compares." And you might be right.

     Then again, you might be wrong, and your body will let you know quickly. Recently my mom took the kids to a fast food place after my daughter's gymnastics lesson. She was in a hurry, and they were hungry, so she just ordered a chicken sandwich without the bun. She forgot completely that the chicken was battered and fried unless you specify otherwise.

     Victor got so sick from the breading that my mom was afraid he was going to coat the inside of her new vehicle with partially-digested sandwich. When they got home, Victor (my little one who never needed a nap, even when he was a toddler, who gets up bouncy and bright and argues about going to bed) got on the couch at 4:30 in the afternoon and fell asleep. He didn't sleep long, but he stayed on the couch the rest of the night. He couldn't eat his dinner. He just felt crummy.

     When you feel low-grade crappy all the time, it's hard to tell what makes you feel bad. I used to eat peanut butter almost every day. I also had mild rosacea that just wouldn't go away. Then I cut out the peanuts, and my skin cleared up a lot. Now when I eat something that I don't tolerate well, my skin flares up; my joints get stiff; I get bloated; all manner of little signs that I missed when I was eating stuff that I didn't tolerate well.

     How is intolerance different from allergy? Well, that's easy. An intolerance makes you feel bad in any number of little ways. Whereas an allergy can cause on the mild side: itching; on the moderate side: swelling, sneezing, itching, watery eyes, hives; and on the severe side: anaphylaxis or even death.

     So what are the signs of intolerance? There are so many, and they are so varied. Here's a list:

• Forgetfulness
• Brain fog
• Depression
• Dizziness
• Emotional instability
• Seizures
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Hyperactivity
• Impaired coordination
• Irritability
• Lethargy
• Melancholy
• Nervousness
• Nerve pain
• Paranoid thinking
• Violent behavior
• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Coughing
• Runny nose
• Shortness of breath
• Sinusitis
• Wheezing
• Anemia
• Chest pain
• Edema
• High blood pressure
• Irregular heartbeat and pulse
• Vein inflammation
• Abdominal pain
• Belching
• Bloating
• Canker sores
• Colitis
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Diverticulitis
• Ulcers
• Gas
• Food cravings
• Gagging
• Gall bladder pain
• Heartburn
• Hemorrhoids
• Indigestion
• Nausea
• Stomach cramps
• Vomiting
• Joint pain
• Joint stiffness
• Arthritis
• Swollen joints
• Back ache
• Neck ache
• Muscle pain
• Acne
• Cracked skin
• Clammy skin
• Eczema
• Hives
• Itching
• Bed wetting
• Cataracts
• Diabetes
• Menstrual problems
• Ear aches
• Failure to thrive (in infants)
• Impotence
• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)
• Multiple sclerosis
• Obesity
• Sneezing spells
• Swelling of nose or around eyes
• Ringing in ears

  Does any of this sound familiar? I'm sure it does. I know I had several on this list, and I'm not going to lie. It whomped! But now, unless I eat something that I know I shouldn't, or I get really stressed out, I don't have many days where I'm having to deal with these symptoms any more. YAY!

Turn Your Favorite Sandwich Into a Salad

     I hear it so often, I need a T-shirt. "I'd love to eat Paleo, but my family will never get on board with it." I don't understand this because Paleo is THE most delicious food I've ever eaten. I believe this statement to be the ultimate excuse because what people really want to say is, "I'm scared, and it sounds hard and like work, and I'm addicted to food that makes me feel bad, but I don't want to say that and hurt your feelings because you're so cute, and you're looking at me with your big, brown eyes. No, don't cry! Oh, dang! Fine. I'll try it." Look deep into my beautiful, bright eyes: "Try it; you might like it."

     I really do understand how giving up certain foods, especially sandwiches, can be hard and upsetting. They are easy, cheap, and fast to put together. Fresh tomatoes out of the garden? Why not throw together a BLT or a tomato sandwich? (This may be a Southern thing, but the difference is that a tomato sandwich is made with lots of mayo and black pepper. Lettuce and bacon are optional.) Hamburger meat? Shape it into a patty and throw it on a bun with accessories of your choosing (or not), and eat it with your face. Thanksgiving leftovers? Turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and a side of sweet potatoes because we all need a good carb-induced nap after Black Friday shopping.

     But do we need to eat grains? According to all things Paleo and all Paleo authors, we really don't. They don't offer any nutritional value that we can't get from other, more micro-nutrient-dense sources. They contain anti-nutrients that keep us from absorbing nutrients from other sources. And they are highly addictive.

     So what's a food-lover to do? Why not make your favorite sandwich into a salad? I hear some of you, "But salads are so boring. They're not food. They're what you eat while you're waiting for food." Or, "I ate a salad last night. Well... it was mostly a crouton and tomato. Ok, it was pizza. I ate a pizza." But I believe that the best salads are inspired by foods we really enjoy.

     What about that tomato sandwich? Take those garden-fresh tomatoes, slice them up, make a homemade mayo-black pepper dressing, and put it all in a big bowl with some fresh leaves of a variety of lettuces. BLT? Add bacon. Roast beef and cheddar? Get grass-fed/grass-finished roast beef, chop it into a lettuce-y base, go Primal and add real cheddar, or dress with "Cheesy" Paprika Ranch Dip.

     In fact, some of my favorite salad recipes that I've created and shared on this blog were inspired by some of my favorite sandwiches. Hamburger Salad and Fang Gang Salad were both inspired by our families favorite sandwiches. So indulge your craving for your favorite sandwich without the bread. It's still fast, relatively cheap, and way better for you.

Happy Father's Day, 2016!

     I hope all of you out there had a great Father's Day. I know Ray did, even though his sugar was all over the place. He got Adventure Time: Stakes from Lydia and me, and he got Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales from the boys. I got some good pictures of Ray with the kids.

     We had our usual Father's Day fare: burgers with all the fixin's, sweet potato fries, and vegetables fresh from the garden. We also had some fried eggplant and some homemade pickles. My mom made the pickles and they are the magic pickles. They're made with apple cider vinegar and turmeric just to name a few of the magical ingredients. We napped and watched some of our favorite shows. We made crafts with the kids and just enjoyed the beautiful day. I even got out in the garden and gathered the massive zucchini that have grown there. Zucchini really get huge after a good rain. Some of them are larger than Ray's forearms. They could be used as a weapon. I've including a picture. That's a cup of pens next to the zucchini to show scale.

     We absolutely love zucchini. It can be used as a noodle substitute in traditional "pasta" dishes, "pasta" salads, and stir fries.

     We had hoped to get our first video up this weekend, but we had too much illness in the family over the last two weeks: first Ray with the flu, then Lydia brought home a sore throat/virus from band camp. Now Alex has it, so the video did not happen. Oh well. We are going to try to get that up really soon.

Reducing Acid After the Flu

     Did you know that throwing up a lot, as you might when you have the flu, can cause your body to become too acidic? It's true. Just ask Ray. He had the flu last week, and that is why I did not post. I was in charge of keeping track of his blood sugar and giving him insulin while he was in charge of sleeping, running a fever, fighting the virus....and throwing up. A lot.

     When he finally started feeling better, he was still feeling terrible. He could barely eat, even after he got his appetite back because his mouth was burnt, his esophagus hurt, and his stomach was sending acid up to his heart level on a regular basis. This is something that diabetics are even more susceptible to. I'm sure you've heard of ketoacidosis. Maybe you haven't. It's where the body becomes too acidic and starts releasing ketones in the urine and breath in an attempt to balance the acidity. It's why some diabetics get fruity breath. They'be breathing out ketones It's very bad.

     Anyway, there are natural ways to reduce the acid in the body. The medical way is to pump you full of potassium. The natural way is to eat more fruits and vegetables, especially green veggies. So this week, we've been drinking a lot of green juices for breakfast, and it's amazing how good we've been feeling. We're doing the whole juice by placing cucumber, spinach, carrots, and an apple in a blender instead of through a juicer.

     A lot of times, people see the Paleo diet and just think that it's about eating meat. While meat is an important aspect of this lifestyle, it is not the only one. The true Paleo diet encourages eating lots of vegetables, both cooked and raw, and some fruit. In fact, most Paleoistas will tell you that at least 50% of your plate should be vegetables of any and all colors. In fact, I absolutely think we should change the image in our heads to imagining a variety of beautiful vegetables in all the colors instead of brightly colored candies when we hear "Taste the rainbow."