Menu Monday: "Till Freedom cheered and the joy-bells rung."

Province to province faithful clung,

Through good and ill the war-bolt hurled,

Till Freedom cheered and the joy-bells rung.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Boston"

Instead of giving the entire weeks menu, this week I am going to highlight some of the things I want to make for Independence Day (and maybe a few things that I won't make, but would still be tasty).

For our main entrees, AC will be getting up in the wee hours of the morning to smoke both brisket and pork ribs.  We are also going to to have grilled corn, "funny" potatoes, which consist of diced potatoes baked in copious amounts of butter, and various other fruits and vegetables to snack on.  Being that we are in Texas, I may make homemade guacamole and salsa, to be eaten with either plantain chips or corn tortilla chips.  I may also ask my brother-in-law to make a jicama slaw that he mentioned last week.

For dessert, I am contemplating the following recipes:

Summer Berry Trifle W/Vanilla Cake (see pic above)

Meyer Lemon & Raspberry Cream Tarts

Apple Blueberry Pie

What is on your July 4th menu this week?

Menu Monday: "Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking..."

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity."

-Voltaire

I have decided that I want to try to post our menus for the week in hopes that it will keep me honest about sticking to them. We always start the week with good intentions, but life happens and some evenings it is just easier to run through the drive-through on the way back home from activities than it is to cook something. However, I feel horrible when we do this, and so does SC, and if AC is home, he does too. He recently mentioned that he really wanted to get healthier by doing a Whole30 and starting the Couch to 5k program, so we are going to do it as a family.

If you are unfamiliar with the Whole30 program, it is a kind-of detox designed to get your body back to rights by eliminating anything that could be causing it to run improperly, including all grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol and sugars. It also includes eliminating things that are normally found in processed foods like MSG and sulfites, and the focus is on eating real, whole foods instead. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, I would suggest you check out/purchase the book It Starts with Food.  

If you read my page about eating paleo you will see that the Whole30 is more than what normally constitutes paleo because it is designed to be a reset for your body. Then, after 30 days (or longer if you don't feel optimal), those following the paleo lifestyle try to eat paleo about 85% of the time. However, I notice a huge difference in the way I feel when I make those non-paleo choices, so my ideal would be closer to 95%. At the moment, with the fast-food funk we have gotten into, we are maybe paleo only about 50% of the time and I feel run down and get extra irritable.

So, here is our menu for the first week, days 1 - 7 of the Whole30. Many of the recipes I am going to try I have linked to, but I recently got a new cookbook called Primal Cravings that I am giving a try, so some of the recipes can be found in there. Unless otherwise listed, lunch will probably be either leftovers from dinner the night before, or a salad for AC and deli meat (organic, no preservatives) plus veggies and fruit for SC and I. Breakfast is usually eggs, bacon, veggies and fruit in some combination.

DAY 1

Monday 6/24

Tikka Masala Chicken Wings

Primal Cravings, pg. 118

DAY 2

Tuesday 6/25

Simple Herb-Crusted Salmon

DAY 3

Wednesday 6/26

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs 

(see pic at the top of page)

DAY 4

Thursday 6/27

Chile Verde

DAY 5

Friday 6/28

Shrimp w/ Garlic Sauce

DAY 6

Saturday 6/29

Lunch: 

Crispy Chicken Fingers

Primal Cravings, pg. 112

Dinner: 

Steak & Veggies

DAY 7

Sunday 6/30

Lunch:

Easy Mexican Salad

Dinner:

Pan-Fried Pork Chops w/ Parsley Butter

I would love for you to join up with our family doing the Whole30 for the next thirty days. Please comment below and let me know if you are giving it a try, plus any paleo recipes you want to share.

**This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure statement.

Top Ten Tuesday: "Cookies are made of butter and love."

"Cookies are made of butter and love." 

Norwegian Proverb

With Christmas fast approaching, I am going focus on ten dessert recipes that I would love to make in the next week (though I may actually only get to one or two).  These recipes are all going to be paleo, because that is how we are trying very hard to eat (though it is so easy to get stuck in the fast-food rut when AC is out of town), but they all look delicious!  Here they are, in no particular order, with links to the recipes and pictures from the creators' websites:

1. Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (with white chocolate icing)

2. Gingerbread Cut-outs

3. Double Chocolate Cookies

4. White & Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

5.  Cran-Apple Crumble

6. Apple Crisp

7. Chewy Molasses & Ginger Cookies

8. Chocolate Chip Cookies

9. Pumpkin Spice Cookies (with vanilla & cinnamon icing)

10. German Apple Pancake

For the record, I have made the Chocolate Chip Cookies at number eight and they are delicious - very close to "the real thing."  

What goodies are you going to be making this week for Christmas?  Share with us in the comments, then check out other Top Ten Tuesday posts here:

**I have not been asked to review or promote any of these recipes, or the blogs or websites I got them from, nor am I being compensated in any way for linking to them from P2P::W.  I have made recipes from the ones I link to in the past (with great results), so I am not fearful to recommend these I have yet to try.

Thankful Thursday: "like an apple on a tree ..."

like an apple on a tree

hiding out behind the leaves

I was difficult to reach

but you picked me

-A Fine Frenzy, "You Picked Me"

Today I am thankful, first of all, to be back from San Francisco (where AC and I had a great time together!) and back to a normal next few weeks.  

However, I am also thankful that it is apple season, and specifically, honeycrisp apple season.  Honeycrisp apples are my absolute favorite, as they are just a little sweet and just a little sour, with the perfect crunch.  Honeycrisp apples are generally only available during the fall for a short season, and I am thankful that season is now upon us.

Also, I thought I would feature a recipe for apples that is easy and delicious: applesauce.  This applesauce recipe is modified from one I found in EatingWell magazine.

Ingredients:

3 tart apples (granny smith), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 medium apples (jonagold), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 sweet apples (gala), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine apple pieces and water in a large saucepan. 

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. 

3. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the apples are very soft and falling apart, about 30 minutes. 

4. Mash the apples to the desired consistency and stir in maple syrup and cinnamon.

Linking up today with:

Top Ten Tuesday: "... nobody sees a flower ..."

"Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – 

it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, 

like to have a friend takes time."

-Georgia O'Keeffe

Ten Things I Realized Last Week

1. I cannot get all my planning done in one week.  I tried starting on History Odyssey while SC was at piano lessons, but I needed more space to spread out than the tiny bench afforded.  Also, I didn't have my computer handy, so I couldn't look up all the reading recommendations to figure out what is going to work for us.  No wonder so many homeschool moms spend all summer creating their next year's plans.

2. The tiny planner/calendar I bought is not going to fit everything I need to write down.  Even if I write small (which is fairly difficult for me), I still am needing more than one line per subject to make sure I have everything I need to know in the planner.  I have since created an excel spreadsheet that is modeled after the Sonlight lesson plans, but have yet to actually put any plans into this spreadsheet. 

3. We aren't going to really be able to start school until October 8.  This realization came as I looked at the calendar at piano lessons and tried to see how I would arrange the weekly lessons into the three sessions I have planned in my original schedule (two long on Mon/Wed, one short on Fri to finish up anything we need to).  Part of the problem is reflected in number one, that I cannot get everything planned in a week like I thought, and part of the problem is reflected in number eight, that we will be out of town for the next two weekends and SC will be spending that time with her grandparents.  Yay that homeschooling allows this manipulation.

4. I checked out more books from the library than I can read before I have to return them.  If you remember from a few weeks ago, I made a list of books that I wanted to read this year as I learn about the various styles of education.  Well, genius me decided that I should just check them all out at once!  Also, I got two young adult novels that recently came out that I want to read as well.  So, now most of my library books are due and I have barely even started on the pile.  Maybe after I send them back I will plan better to space them out over the course of the year.

5. I haven't read anything since AC came home from his last trip.  This may somewhat contribute to number four, but I also haven't read anything fun and relaxing.  Usually when he is gone I will put SC to bed and then turn on the tv for background noise while I read "fun" books.  Now that he is back, I try to spend as much time as possible with him in the evenings. 

6. SC has no emotional attachment to anything, including AC and I.  Due to this, typical discipline is not working.  I mean that you can explain to her that her behavior will exclude her from an activity, or that her toys will be donated to children who will take better care of them, or that she will miss out seeing AC come home or participating with me or AC in some activity due to her behavior, and none of this changes her behavior.  When we follow through with these explanations, like actually taking toys away, putting her to bed before AC gets home, or missing an activity, she gets upset, but only for a few minutes, and then she is over it and the behavior does not change.

7. I really need to quit having cheat meals with dairy or wheat because I feel miserable.  I do really well for a while sticking to eating Paleo, but sometimes I just really want a milkshake or a hamburger with a bun, and then I get into a rut where I eat them all the time.  Then it manifests into other things, like the amazing Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Chai Latte or breaded items like onion rings and chicken fried steak, and my allergies are back and I am rushing to the bathroom after every meal.  I love eating cleanly, just meat, fruits and veggies, and I don't know why I talk myself into needing these "treats" that make me feel so poorly.

8. We are going to be out of town for the next two weekends.  Also, these are both "long" weekends, as I leave Friday to head five hours south (see number nine), and then leave next Thursday to go to San Francisco with AC for a brief weekend trip.  This means we have a lot to do to get ready this week (including getting the house in order) so that we can be gone.

9. I am nervous about being a bridesmaid.  I have never been a bridesmaid before, and having only participated in my wedding (where there were no attendants, just AC and I), I don't know what to expect.  I also have to drive about five hours on Friday to get there for the rehearsal, and then drive five hours back on Sunday, all by myself because AC is leaving Saturday for a work trip.  I have never driven that long before alone, so I guess I am nervous about that too.

10. I think the creators of the advertising for Assassins Creed III have missed their target audience, because I am totally enamored with the commercials I have seen and really want to get this game.  Problem is, I don't really play video games, nor have the time to play something as complex as this one.  AC said maybe I should start with the free demo.