Venison for the Freezer

Growing up in Mississippi, I'm very much used to hunting. My brothers are hunters, my cousins, even the girl cousins! I married a Kentucky boy, who is also a hunter, so it's no surprise that my two boys are also avid hunters.

Joseph, who is 14, is a great shot! Below is a pic of the deer he shot on this year's hunt. This was a 256 yard shot, according to my husband.

This is about as Primal as it gets!

Caleb (almost 7 years old), as you can see, is chomping at the bit to get his hands on a gun and a license, so he can bring in some game as well. I love watching my boys in their element and how excited they get when they get to hunt with their Daddy and bring in game for our freezer. I'm still working on getting the girls and myself to eat what the boys put in the freezer. I'm not a huge fan of the strong, gamey taste of venison, but I'll try.

A Bountiful Basket

If you've never heard of, or tried Bountiful Baskets, here's a peek into what you actually get in their baskets.

Bountiful Baskets is a local co-op for produce and other goods. I absolutely love getting my baskets. It's like Christmas morning, you never know what you are going to get, but you are so excited to go pick it up! This entire basket was only $22. NO WAY I would ever walk out of the grocery store with this bounty for that price.

There are Bountiful Basket co-ops in Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas.

Check it out here:

Bountiful Baskets Website

Getting Back On The Wagon, When You've Fallen Off

So over the past few weeks, I've lost track of where the Primal Wagon is. I'm certain I may not even be in the same zip code as this so called wagon. With the amount of stress in my life, I've kind of let my Primal ways go by the wayside and given in to stress eating, which I've struggled with my entire life. TODAY I will no longer give in to quick options when it comes to food. I will make the time to prepare meals that are good for me and eliminate the junk from my life, once again. I will say no to things that I know are poison for my body, and put myself and my well being first. It's all in the journey, right? We all fail, but success is in getting up when we fall and getting right back on the horse. I refuse to let the stress of life take me back to 48 lbs overweight and unhappy.

Drive, Discipline, & Determination.......The three "Ds" I live by.

Coconut Pancakes

These are AMAZING! They are a bit higher in calories and fat than I typically like to eat, but technically if you are eating primally, you aren't supposed to be concerned so much with fat and calories, but with avoiding grains. I limit how often I cook these, because I will over-indulge for sure! Caleb loves them and everytime I cook flour pancakes for the rest of the family, he asks if they are coconut pancakes. :)

Ingredients:

6 Eggs

6 Tbsp Milk

Splash of Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp Honey, Splenda or other sweetener

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

6 Tbsp Coconut Flour

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

Mix all ingredients together and cook over low/medium heat. These take a bit longer to cook than flour based pancakes.

I top mine with just a tiny bit of sugar free maple syrup and fresh berries. They have a bit of a macaroon taste, from the coconut, so they are sweet enough on their own.

The leftovers keep well in the fridge for several days.

Crustless, Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie

My daughter and I decorated our house for the Fall season today, and being in the spirit of Fall, I decided to play around with a Pumpkin Pie recipe, to see if I could work one out that I wouldn't feel guilty about eating during the holiday season. The holidays are so hard to navigate, while trying to eat healthy. I absolutely LOVE Pumpkin Pie, next to my Mama's famous Pecan Pie, that is! My ten year old even loved it! *Sorry for the not-so-good photo. I had to use my cell phone, since my oldest daughter has the camera at her homecoming game/dance.

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin (Not Pumpkin Pie Filling!)

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 to 1 cup skim milk

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup splenda (I used a tad bit less than 1/4 cup, as that's all I had in the house and it was plenty sweet)

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

This recipes makes 6 ramekins. You can double it and make an entire pie.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 35 - 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into filling comes out clean.

Let cool and top with Sugar Free whipped topping, (optional)

The entire recipe is only 240 calories, so only 50 calories per serving, when topped with 1 tbsp whipped topping. (when baked in ramekins)

*I plan to work on a grain free crust before Thanksgiving, using Almond Flour.