Richard and I are embarking on a new life-changing diet. We're starting a slowly because we've found that if we jump in 100%, we abandon the effort within two months.

We are transitioning to a paleolithic eating lifestyle. Here's the overall view of it:

We started using coconut oil in December and use very little of the non-stick sprays. Eventually we won't use anything but coconut oil. By the way, coconut oil is solid until heated then it becomes liquid so if you see it in a store, don't be surprised if it's solid. Coconut oil is a heathy oil. Olive oil is okay but only buy organic without a bunch of additives.

This is going to take time but we already feel better. I find that if I don't eat bad carbs (processed), I have more energy in the morning and I'm not bloated. Sorry if that's TMI but I exult in holding my weight or even losing a little!

This is going to involve cooking and baking, two things that aren't on my top ten list of things I like to do. However, this is really going to help us and since we have to severely decrease bad carbs (due to our health issues), we kind of don't have a choice. This also means that I may have to haul food with us when we travel. Such is life.

We'll eat only lean meat and less of it because it's more expensive. We decided that we only need 1/2 pound of ground turkey or beef in anything we cook except meatloaf. I will attempt in the future to make all our sauces but, like I said, we're starting slowly. My mom used to make our spaghetti sauce so I know I can do it. (Spaghetti = spaghetti squash, not pasta.)

This is a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, starch-free, processed food-free diet so imagine what you'd have to cut out if you were on this. Yep, kind of sad thinking about it. However, we're keeping our eyes on the future, knowing we're going to feel better very soon.

Starch-free means no rice or other grain flour. We're beginning to use almond and coconut flour. Expensive but you don't have to use a lot. I ordered some on Amazon because it was the cheapest.

Below is a recipe for some Banana Almond Flour muffins I made on January 1, 2013. I tweaked the recipe and these are pretty good. They're filling (yay!) and aren't overly sweet. 

Paleo Banana Bread Muffins (12 cupcake-size muffins)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 heaping tablespoon organic applesauce
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cupcake cups in cupcake tin and set aside. If you have a muffin tin, place muffin cups in the tin.

In a large bowl, sift together almond flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.

In a separate bowl, add the mashed bananas, eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and applesauce -- mix well.

With your hands, make a slight well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Add in chopped walnuts. Stir until combined.

Fill the baking cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a few chopped walnuts over each cup.

Bake muffins for 20-23 minutes or insert a toothpick into the center and if comes out clean, it's time to remove them. Depending on your oven, start checking after about 15 minutes.

Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes and enjoy!

(The muffins will probably stick to the cups but I think that's normal.)

You can buy almond and coconut flour on Amazon or at Whole Foods, Raley's and other stores that have a good size gluten-free section.

I want to post entries as we continue along this path. I know we're going to make permanent changes (i.e., coconut oil) and we'll see how we do with the rest of it. The people I know that have embraced this diet have lots more energy and feel much better than they did before eating like this. That's my goal -- more energy and feeling better. Losing weight would be a bonus!!

Girls Camp and Beyond!

Christy and I went to Girls Camp the last week of July. We had been asked to be cooks so we went up on Monday to help set up the kitchen. The tent moms, most of the leaders and the older girls (junior counselors) also came up on Monday so our first served meal was Monday evening. The YW girls came piling into camp on Tuesday, all excited and wide awake. Camp ended on that Saturday but we left on Friday night due to prior commitments (like Adam's baptism on Saturday).

Chris and I shared a tent and I took our trusty aerobed to sleep on. Worked like a charm! The only way to camp, let me tell you.

The camp is at Lower Bucks Lake in California and it was hot -- in the high 90s every day. And the dirt -- ! It clung to everything, got into closed buildings, and was ever present. We thankfully did not have any wind storms because that would have been downright nasty.

We were two of eight cooks in the kitchen and shared stories and laughter with all the sisters. We had such a good group of sisters -- hard workers, quick to laugh, and willing to do anything to keep things moving along. We learned new songs, made up some songs, and performed a spectacular skit one night at campfire! Well, it was spectacular to me seeing as how it was written in the afternoon by one of the ladies and we had one rehearsal before the performance.

I got up about 6:15 every morning because the sun was up and it was time to use the bathroom. It was a tad bit of a walk to the staff's bathroom so once up, I stayed up. It was so beautiful in the mornings -- the lake was quiet, the birds were singing and the camp was just beginning to wake up. I helped the early morning cook to open one of the wooden window covers so the morning seminary (6:00a) and shiver shivery girls could come up and get hot chocolate. The shiver shivery girls were girls who got up and jumped in the lake at 6:30a as a right of passage (one activity I can pass up with absolutely no regret).

We cooked for about 50 adults and 6th and 7th year girls in the camp. The 200+ girl campers cooked at their campsites. They came up and got boxes of food for each meal, cooked and ate it as ward groups. This year they tried campsites in ward groups rather than year groups. Haven't heard the final word on how it worked out but it didn't seem to be a disaster or a negative thing. I admire the tent moms who helped the girls cook over a barbeque pit three times a day. However, we cooked lunch and dinner for the whole camp on Friday. The bishops came up on Friday afternoon and a very nice brother in the Stake cooked tri-tip for Friday's dinner. We served over 300 people for that meal!

One of the things I found fascinating is the counters at the windows. We scrubbed them before and after every meal and the rags were still picking up dirt. We even tried bleach one day -- cleaned them pretty good (so we thought) but one hour later they were giving off dirt. When you go to girls camp, your level of cleanliness is at a whole different level than at home.

For those who have never been at girls camp, this must sound like a miserable experience. Oh, so not true! It's so much fun being around the youth and leaders that love the youth. We heard strong testimonies up there and saw a lot of friendships evolve. The girls are enthusiastic and love to go from the waterfront to crafts to taking a nap. Campfire songs rock the trees and each announcement or skit is met with cheering and clapping. I didn't see any tears or hear any complaints from any of the girls. We had girls show up at the kitchen to help just because they had free time.

Chris and I have both told the leaders that we'll go again next year! The spiritual high from being around righteous young woman and their leaders lasts for weeks afterwards. As long as I can physically do the work, I'm on board!!

The Thunderstorms!

For the past 2 weeks (with the exception of one day), we've had magnificent thunderstorms every day! The mornings are wonderful, in the 70s, then about 4:00, the clouds are overhead and the wind starts.

The storms occur between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. then they just go away. It's been so cool to experience this! Our grass is lush and green and happy as can be.

I'm recovering from tooth surgery so haven't been real active. I'm going to start back in the Doo-dad Room and see what creativity I can muster.

I was checking my calendar and with the exception of the weekend of 6/20-21, every weekend until 8/8 is filled! Is that good news?

Finished the book!

I finished the boardbook I was making. I'm going to attempt to take pictures today and upload them. It's always fun for me to try that because I get frustrated -- but I'll try to keep it under control!

First Post and Intro

I've decided to start a blog to keep friends up on our life (going to be a short blog if that's all I do!). In addition, I will be posting pics of activities and crafts I've been doing. In fact, as we finish our To-Do List, I'll post pictures since I forget to show people our grand activities.

My husband, Richard, and I live in Sparks, Nevada, and love the wide open spaces and the high desert. We watch our goose family grow throughout the summer and have a myriad of birds that wake us each morning with their songs. We had rabbits this winter but suspect they either took off or got caught by one of the coyotes or other roaming predators. Circle of life, you know.

We've watched hawks and white snow geese and listen to the honking of the geese leaving for other habitats in the fall.

Keep watching our blog and we'll take for a trip on the Ficklin Bandwagon. Could be fun...!