All posts filed under: Food

mmm…food. I have a deep and devout relationship with food. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but I think we’ve finally begun to figure each other out and now we’re honeymooning.

As a teenager, I used food as a means of control, which led to eating disorders of many types. Through food education and LOADS of love and support from my tiny gang, food and I are now besties. I nourish my body with tasty and healthy-indulgent treats. I find food extremely fascinating – from a celluar level to sweet memory making with my family. It is a center of community and a grand source of sharing love. Food can literally feed the soul and warm the heart!

Here I will share recipes and ideas that will ignite your taste buds and leave your body and soul feeling uplifted. I have found through much experimentation that a Paleo inspired lifestyle works for our family. With that said, most of my recipes will be Paleo but those that aren’t will always be gluten free. Oh, and you won’t find one recipe here that hasn’t been taste tested by three kiddos and an extremely supportive husband. Many friends and family have also shared their feedback as well, leading to tweaking and playing to get the recipes as close as possible to absolutely delicious – with a capital D.

I hope you and yours enjoy them as much as our family has!

THE Tortilla (Paleo, Gluten Free, Vegan)

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Being from Texas, I LOVE Mexican food. Tex Mex, not so much, but real, honest to goodness, homemade, straight from the heart, Mexican food. I have been blessed to know and love several women from Mexico and we have shared time in the kitchen – laughing, loving and creating feasts. Before my Paleo days, I got schooled on the beautiful art of creating homemade tortillas, flour and corn (o arina y maiz). Through many torn, burnt and brick hard attempts, my family was extremely grateful when a friend gifted me a tortilla press. My tortilla rocks turned into consistent, soft and much tastier palettes of deliciousness. When I decided Paleo was a good fit for my life, I quickly realized I would no longer going be able to enjoy homemade tortillas. Cue sinking heart. And then my kitchen game face took over. My mission was to turn all foods I once loved into a healthier version for my family and myself. Of course, without sacrificing the taste! This has been a project in the works but I think …

Quinoa Power Balls (Grain Free, Vegan)

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How’s Spring Break everyone?! Ours has been oh-so lovely. We haven’t done anything spectacular (yet!) but have simply had a really beautiful time doing a lot of nothing together. This week we’ve been snacking on these super easy Quinoa Power Balls (quinoa is pronounced keen•wah; it took me forever and a half to figure that one out). I love any and all protein balls. They’re packed with such goodness and provide an incredible pick me up throughout the day! Plus, you can’t beat all of the amazing flavors and combinations you can make with them. I’ve made these little nuggets of goodness with oats, without oats, raw, cooked, smashed them into bars, etc etc. Our current fav is grain free (quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain!) and pumps us full of omega 3s from the chia and flax. They’re moist and delicious and we think you might just fall in love! Quinoa Power Balls ingredients 2 cups of cooked quinoa 1/2 cup of nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower) 1/4 cup of sweetener of …

Paleo Banana Bread

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Oh, for the love of the weather! I don’t know about you but around here it is cold today, hot tomorrow. This time of year in Texas it’s quite confusing. In my closet and in my kitchen. When it’s cold, I love to make soups and loads of baked goods. When the weather warms up, get ready for greens and lots of veggie dishes! I believe the rest of this weekend is going to be chilly so here’s what we’ll be snacking on. My (easy peasy) Paleo Banana Bread is so moist and buttery you can’t even tell it’s gluten free, much less Paleo. I’ve played with the recipe several times, subbing in coconut flour for some of the almond flour. Coconut flour is a tad bit cheaper than almond, but also a tad bit more finicky. It’s a tricky flour to nail down but I’ll keep at it and share my results! But for now, enjoy the all almond flour original and our family’s favorite of all of the Banana Breads tested. Paleo Banana …

Baby, It’s Cold Outside…A (Paleo) Shepherd’s Pie Worth Squealing Over

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Okay, so it’s not so cold here right now but when I started working on this post it was freezing. Welcome to Texas, folks! One of my favorite people in the world came to visit last month and I was delighted! My extended family has always lived half way across the country so we see each other maybe once a year. Twice was a really good year! Needless to say, I was thrilled that my Aunt was coming for some sister time with my Mama and the kids and I decided to plan a feast for her. My cousin is one year and a day younger than me and we have always joked that they switched us as babies because our personalities definitely resemble the other’s parent. Remarkably so.  Now, my Mama has always guided me spiritually but my Aunt and I have this different connection. When we start sharing about God – thoughts, experiences, feelings, we’re on this crazy multidimensional plane as though our Spirits are sitting together, drinking a cup of tea and nodding …

Paleo Granola

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I have been playing with this Paleo Granola for A LONG TIME and I think I found a winner! I started out using a more traditional recipe from my friend Stephanie, over at The Nutrtion Mom. Stephanie is such an inspiration and has a really beautiful story – stop by and say hi! She’s doing BIG things in beautiful and delicious ways. Stephanie’s also my go to girl for a (delicious) Raw Detox + Cleanse! When I realized I needed to get off of grains I was super bummed to think about missing out on one of my all time favorite snacks – granola. I have loved granola since I was a young girl – before it resurged into mainstream when folks would endearingly call me a crazy hippie. Folks being my parents. Boy how they were wrong! Mostly. Love you Mom + Dad❤️ One day it struck me that I didn’t have to give up granola, I simply needed to leave the oats out and add more nuts. And that’s what I did. I …

Kale + Kate

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Today I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes using the Queen of Greens – Kale! It’s a wonderful winter green that provides SO many delicious nutrients when eaten (fiber, folate and Vitamins A, C and K to name a few). This amazing green has become one of my favorite edibles that God has so generously gifted us. It’s such a hearty green it’s even proven itself against light ice and snow in our garden! Kale and I met several years ago. I had begun working with a fabulous Health Coach and beautiful friend, Kate Lindsay, to help guide me through the beginning of our journey as a family with Food Allergies. We had just discovered that Noah, our oldest, was allergic to gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and sugar and I was a complete novice in the kitchen. At the time, the microwave and eating out were just a way of life for our family. I went to a cooking class hosted by Kate and I learned the in’s and out’s of Kale and never looked back! One of the oddest …

A Tribe Called Love…And TWO Sweet Little Recipes to Warm You Up

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Y’all! You guys! You’s guys! We have a new TRIBE of over 500 LoveJoy warriors. Here we are. Together. Ok, I’m not typically a kumbaya kinda gal but I am beyond amazed and thrilled! Welcome and big cyber hugs all around. Now, let’s get down to business. I walked into a gas station this weekend with the kiddos and we were bombarded with all kinds of Valentine’s Day hoopla. 3 foot tall cards and bears and CANDIES were screaming at us from the shelves! Needless to say, I’m not a fan of commercialized holidays. If that’s your thing, thank you for spreading love in any and all ways! Now, I love holidays – Christmas and Easter are favorites and I even like Valentine’s Day. I mean, who doesn’t love feeling extra loved? I just don’t care for the commercialism side of it all. I started thinking, how could we change this? Noah’s class recently sent home a note sharing they have a make your own Valentines policy, which I think is sweet. This sparked a conversation about why we celebrate …

Love…and Utter Joy

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Wow. You know that feeling you get when you set out to do something that could totally flop? You could fail and land face down first and eat mud? OR you could fly and breathe and feel complete exhilaration and utter joy? Well, the release of this blog last week did just that for me. I rolled out a similar concept a few years ago to little reception but plugged through for a few months until I finally let it fizzle. In the midst of my fizzling, I found out I was pregnant with Stella and work more than doubled – all big and beautiful Life happenings. On top of all of these Life happenings, a little voice in my head kept saying “Next month. You can pick it up again next month…” Excuse after excuse kept popping up until I finally realized tomorrow would never come unless I re-organized my time, stated my goal out loud (to real, live people) and set the date. I think this goal setting system might work well for me! And here we are. My heart is …

Birthday Breakfast

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We just celebrated two very special birthdays. Our sons have birthdays that are one day apart, which lends to a very exciting December. Growing up, my mom began our special day with the breakfast of our choice. I always chose blueberry muffins. Not the blueberry muffins in the little blue box that were the occasional treat. I chose the streusel topped