Some catching up

I'll start with yesterday's lunch for Cave Baby:

Taco meat (made with ground chicken), roasted "crispy" broccoli, blueberries, baby spinach "leaves," and Paleo bread with no-sugar-added strawberry jelly.

I like to give Cave Baby a variety. It doesn't always happen, but I try. Yesterday Cave Baby was tired, crabby and not feeling well, so she was actually crying before even sitting down to lunch. With that in mind, I was thrilled that she ate half of the meat, all of the broccoli and a couple of blueberries. Within 10-15 minutes of being done with lunch she informed me that she was getting hungry again. Imagine that? Thankfully, I'd seen such happenings in my future, and left her lunch plate out. I told her she could eat the rest of her lunch if she was still hungry, and reminded her of what was left on her plate. She thanked me excitedly, grabbed her plate off of the dining room table and took it to her little table in the living room where she proceeded to devour the bread and jelly.

Today: Well, today I am just not feeling so hot. I woke with a sore throat yesterday morning, and it got worse throughout the day. In the middle of the night last night I woke with such a sore throat that I actually took some medicine, which is not like me. And I slept all morning while Cave Baby was with her daddy. So, as you can imagine, cooking was a less than thrilling idea to me when lunch time rolled around. Keeping my fingers crossed that Cave Baby would want an almond butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, I asked her what sounded good to her. Thankfully, her answer was just that! So I cut up some cabbage and sauteed it with sea salt, pepper and curry powder, and added some blueberries to her plate (which she didn't touch. I think she's getting sick of blueberries).

Easiest and fastest lunch around: almond butter and no-sugar-added strawberry jelly sandwich on Paleo bread, with blueberries and cabbage "noodles."

Paleo bread is something that I almost never indulge in, but that is because I'm trying to lose weight. I think it's great to have on hand for Cave Baby, though. I actually have a loaf in the freezer right now, too. It's easy to make and keeps for a long time in the fridge (doesn't have a long shelf-life outside of the fridge, though). This is the Paleo bread recipe I use. It is, in my opinion, by far the best Paleo bread recipe around. I've tried several recipes and was disappointed with all but this one. It is a bit dense, but not crumbly, it works well as toast (toasted in the oven or toaster oven...the slices are short, you'd never get them out of your toaster!), and for sandwiches. Cave Baby "yoves" the stuff.

For dessert I offered some almond butter blondies that I made on Monday with some Paleo whipped "cream." Cave Baby wanted hers plain. I indulged in a blondie (I've been indulging a bit too much lately!), and had some "whipped cream" on mine. I'm obsessed with said whipped cream.

Paleo almond butter blondie with whipped double reduced coconut milk.

I love Elana's Pantry. I've gotten a lot of great dessert recipes from her site. This is the recipe for the blondies.  . This was my 3rd or 4th time making the blondies, so I knew that I didn't want them so sweet. I cut down significantly on the sweetener. Next time I think I'll omit it altogether. I used 100% cocoa chocolate in this, and I'm not a fan. I'll use 85%-86% next time. You live, you learn.

For the whipped cream, I just used some double reduced coconut milk (when you refrigerate cans of coconut milk, they separate, leaving water on the bottom, and thick, creamy, rich coconut "cream/milk" on the top. The thick stuff is what you want to use. The liquid can be used in coffee or whatever other use you can think of). I added all of the double reduced coconut milk from one can and added some vanilla extract (I'm not a measurer...but I'd say a couple of tsps maybe a Tbsp), and whipped it. It is wonderful! Like, I could probably just eat it with a spoon wonderful.

Another recipe I'm particularly fond of from Elana's pantry are her Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies. These are fantastic. And very easy. And very fast. I have a bunch in my freezer because I like to have treats on hand for Cave Baby in case I run out of time. Elana's Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake is another favorite. The chocolate "shortcake" biscuits are addictive. Consider yourself warned. I made them and used the double reduced whipped cream in lieu of her recipe calling for dairy, and that was that. I didn't use strawberries because I didn't have any on hand. These are some really easy, but incredibly delicious dessert ideas that will keep your kids satisfied and ensure they don't feel like they're missing out on anything. I don't advocate these as staples, but rather as special treats. Who doesn't like getting a random special treat from time to time?