Archive for October, 2012

29 Oct

Grass-Fed Beef: Northstar Ranch

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Food, Organic, Paleo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

First, I’d like to send out my thoughts and prayers to everyone encountering Hurricane Sandy.  As a girl from South Texas, I understand the scariness and uncertainty of hurricane season, so my heart goes out to them-especially my ENTIRE family in New York.

Now where’s the beef?

I found yet another local place to buy grass-fed beef and naturally-raised pork, called Northstar Ranch.  We came across this beauty when perusing around the Dallas Farmer’s Market-which is at least three times as bigger than the Denton Community Market (see that post here).

My mission was to find Rehoboth Ranch since a fellow blogger, Alta, informed me they were there year-round (and the trip out there was intense).  We happened to walk past the guy at Northstar and grabbed a flyer that has his pricing.  They had individual cuts of meats along with packaged deals if wanting to buy in bulk.  But after much debate, we decided to go with one of his package deals.  We figured that would last us longer than getting a few cuts here and there.  The multi-meat pack was out so we went with solid beef for $135.

I also got brave and asked for some marrow bones, since I heard they were delicious AND had huge healing benefits.  I followed Mark Sisson‘s approach to cooking them and I’m pretty sure Emma ate about 3/4 of them for breakfast one morning.  Seriously, that kid will eat anything!

The part I’m most excited about is eventually buying our own cow (or splitting it with a couple of people since they are pricey, around the tune of $1,200!).  I figure it’s cheaper in the long run and you can customize your cuts with the butcher in the process.  You can’t beat having a farmer who’s 26 miles away, (in Krum, TX) who stands by his cows.  Brian did give us a head’s up about getting to know your butcher, too.  He has one that he trusts and would recommend to us once we do decide to get a whole cow, which luckily can be bought year-round.  Brian let us know that some butcher’s will process both grass-fed AND grain-fed cows at the same time, so you may not go home with the right meat…like what happened to Brian.  I’m pretty sure you can’t fool a rancher once they know the taste of their own grass-fed cows.  Shame on you, butcher!

So for now, we will enjoy our somewhat-full freezer of grass-fed AND grass-finished beef from a local source.  Just gotta work on putting a whole cow into the budget so we can be stocked for the upcoming year.  Wouldn’t that be nice to run to the freezer for dinner instead of the grocery store every.single.day?  I think so.

Do you have a local source for meat, eggs, dairy, etc?  Do you raise your own, when possible?  If you need some resources or just a place to start, check out U.S. Wellness Meats and Local Harvest to find what’s close to you or order online.  After watching Genetic Roulette, my mom is disgusted and ready to gut her pantry, so hopefully these sites will get her going.

Happy meating!

26 Oct

Genetic Roulette: Monsanto’s Control Over GMOs

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Baby, Crunchy, Food. Tagged: , , , , , , .

‘You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?’

Fat chance!

I just finished watching an astonishing documentary last night called Genetic Roulette.

I’m not sure how to put this mildly but EVERY.SINGLE.PERSON.NEEDS.TO.WATCH.THIS!!!

If you remotely care about what you put in yours and your child’s bodies please watch this. http://geneticroulettemovie.com/

I tend to be overly passionate on certain topics and this one is HUGE to me.  My promise, as I’ve said before, is that I don’t want to preach but rather to educate.  Preaching gets us nowhere and definitely turns people away…not my goal.

The premise of the movie is talking about GMOs and what they have done to us as a human race and how they contribute to a lot of our ailments these days.  It’s said that from the mid 90s (when GMOs were introduced), chronic illnesses have nearly doubled-think allergies, autoimmune diseases (Celiac Disease), inflammation, thyroid disease, heart disease, etc.  In 1996, GM corn and soy were introduced into our food supply and since then, digestive issues have severely been on the rise.

For those unaware of them:

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, plants, fish, and mammals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce useful goods other than food.-Wikipedia

The film is put out by Jeffrey M. Smith and tagline for the film is this:

Are you and your family on the wrong side of a bet?

When the US government ignored repeated warnings by its own scientists and allowed untested genetically modified (GM) crops into our environment and food supply, it was a gamble of unprecedented proportions. The health of all living things and all future generations were put at risk by an infant technology.
After two decades, physicians and scientists have uncovered a grave trend. The same serious health problems found in lab animals, livestock, and pets that have been fed GM foods are now on the rise in the US population. And when people and animals stop eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), their health improves.
This seminal documentary provides compelling evidence to help explain the deteriorating health of Americans, especially among children, and offers a recipe for protecting ourselves and our future.

I really can’t put into words how disturbing the information was.  Do me a favor and curl up on the couch tonight or in front or your computer this weekend and WATCH THIS!  It’s free for viewing until November 6th, and as they say, ‘It’s a MUST SEE!’

I’ve always heard bad things about Monsanto and knew not to use Roundup, but know you will know why.  It’s unfathomable what this company is doing to our planet let alone the people of the ENTIRE world.  Please educate yourself and STOP buying GMOs.  We need to take back our food and our children’s health.

Pass this onto your loved ones and let’s start educating one another and stop living in the dark.  We deserve to know what’s in our food (Prop 37) and to stop these companies from controlling the world and what we eat!

Let me know if you do watch this documentary and what you think.  I’m definitely on a mission to get this crap out of my body, especially when going out to eat or to friend’s houses!

26 Oct

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Books, Gluten-Free, Paleo. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Sarah Fragoso, of Everyday Paleo, did it again!

To continue with my month-long cookbook challenge, I finally picked the Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook.  I received her book from my hubby for my b-day last month, and decided I had put it off long enough.  Her first book, Everyday Paleo, was a huge hit for me and her second book did not let me down.

I’ll admit it, after looking through this latest one, I was not impressed with the pictures.  Yes, I just said that.  Her first cookbook may have not had the best ‘foodie’ pictures but the recipes were delish!  This new cookbook had pretty pictures but the recipes didn’t sound appealing-a lot had curry in them and I don’t think I like it very much.  But alas, Sarah came through with delicious yet easy recipes that can please a crowd.

Here’s what last week’s menu looked like.

Breakfast

Pesto Baked Eggs

Family Frittata

Lunch/Dinner

Monday: Best Ever Chicken Wings

Everyday Paleo Ranch

Simply Coleslaw

Tuesday: Everyday Paleo Chili Verde

Wednesday: Scrumptious Seafood Chowder

Thursday: Mini Meatloaves (Super Easy and Delish)

Friday: Whole Greek Chicken with Roasted Garlic

Turkey “Sushi” Rolls

Saturday: Out of Town

Sunday: Out of Town

Snack: Rocket Fuel

Overall, I did swoon for Sarah’s second cookbook and give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!  If you haven’t checked out her website-do so now!  She is a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for going Paleo or seeing what this lifestyle is all about.

Have you made any of the recipes I’ve posted or are you doing your own self-imposed cookbook challenge?  Let’s see if we can get each other motivated to plan our weeks in advance.  Next week is Practical Paleo and it’s full of bacon grease goodness…

16 Oct

Cookbook Challenge Week 2: Paleo Comfort Foods

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Books, Food, Gluten-Free, Paleo. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

I’m back with week 2 of my self-imposed cookbook challenge (check out week 1 here).  I have to say it’s been fun exploring my Paleo/Primal cookbooks and forcing myself to plan a week’s worth of meals for the fam.

This week I went with Paleo Comfort Foods, and according to my hubby, ‘this is the best one yet!’  I’m sure that it helps being ‘comfort foods’ as the title implies, but has me wondering if the food is too comfortable (in my belly).  That’s okay because it had me making dishes I had heard of but never had the desire to try on my own.

Week 2 looked like this.  (I apologize for the pic-it’s hard to snap a photo without flash on a glaring dry erase board).

The verdict is, I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out and how close to the ‘originals’ they were.  I never would have dreamed of making Paleo Shrimp and Grits with cauliflower or eating gluten and grain-free biscuits and gravy.  Needless to say, it was a very comforting week.  The one thing I didn’t like about this cookbook, is that they don’t give you the cook time, prep time, nor serving size.  It wasn’t on my radar until I was asked by a friend to post them on my recipes page.  So bear with me as I guesstimate on all three of those…I hope it will help make your life a little easier.

Breakfast

Morning Glory Muffins

Crustless Quiche

Sawmill Gravy (&) Biscuits

Lunch/Dinner

Monday: Leftover Chicken Scramble

Tuesday: Paleo Shrimp and Grits

Paleo Grits

Wednesday: Eat out/leftovers

Thursday: Bangers and Mash

Friday: Fish Tacos

Chipotle Dipping Sauce (aka Adobo Sauce)

Saturday: South of the Border Stuffed Acorn Squash

Sunday: Farmer’s Pie

Mashed Cauliflower

Treat: Strawberry Shortcakes

Whew!  That was a crazy week of comfort cooking and I’m looking forward to this coming week with Sarah Fragoso’s new Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook-yes, I’m finally busting it out.

What’s on your menu for the week or have you planned it yet?  Did you do anything fun this weekend to get out and enjoy this gorgeous weather or are you a homebody?  We went to the Dallas Farmer’s Market and discovered yet another local Rancher, where we can get some grass-fed beef that’s close to home.

10 Oct

YHL Does Dallas (& Houston & Austin)

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Baby, Crunchy, DIY, Green. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Be still, my beating heart.  Young House Love (YHL) is coming to Dallas and I couldn’t be more stoked about it!!!!!

If you’ve never heard of them, they’re totally famous DIY bloggers who get 5 million hits a month!  They are a quirky couple, living in Richmond, with their daughter, Clara, and dog, Burger.  Sherry and John are amazing writers and have tons of inspiring posts that get even a non-DIYer, like me, to want to do stuff mahself.

I was introduced to them when I was working at the Art Institute of Dallas.  A co-worker told me about this cool blog, where a charming couple DIYs on the cheap and easy, and were pregnant with their first baby.  I didn’t really catch on at first, nor was very big into the blogging world (ha!), but soon they became part of my daily ritual (even Josh knows about them).  After logging in at work, I would open my email, Facebook, and YHL in that order.  Probably not the best employee behavior but I did get my work done, promise.

They have inspired me to make a compost bin for cheap, become addicted to ORB (oil-rubbed bronze) spray paint, and taught me a few crunchy tips along the way.  I may have a few too many products that I learned about from Sherry, but if it hadn’t been for her making cloth diapering (CDing) look so easy, I might not be where I am today.  Thanks $herdog!

It didn’t help that our daughters are 2 months apart and Emma is obsessed with watching Clara videos.  It MIGHT be Clara’s fault that Emma is addicted to ‘Moves Like Jagger’ and ‘The Alphabet Train.’  Just sayin’!

The point of the gush is this: they are coming out with a book!  It’s a 243 page guide on DIYing with a boatload of inspirations and amazing projects concocted by this super sweet couple.  I have never been so excited for someone’s book to come out like I am with them.  I just know they will inspire me to decorate my barren house and give me tips on how to do stuff on the cheap (or at least empower me to ‘save my pennies’).

Before they released the tour dates, I just knew they had to come to Texas at some point-this state is just too darn big to pass up.  Lo and behold, they are coming to Dallas, Houston, AND Austin!  I have family in the last two, so I asked Sherry if it would be creepy if I saw them at each stop and she sweetly said ‘no.’  It sounds good now, but when they see me show up for the 3rd and final time in Austin, they may duck and hide when I come at them with yet another book to sign.

Honestly, my hope is that Emma can meet Clara.  I told baby girl this morning that she could possibly meet Clara, if she comes along with John and Sherry, when they do their stop here in Dallas.  I then asked if it would be exciting to meet Clara and she said ‘see Burger, too.’  Not sure if he will make an appearance but we shall see.  The funniest part is when I asked Emma what she would say to Clara and she said ‘Quién es tu papi?’ (Who’s your daddy?).  HAHAHA!  She is going through a phase of watching her Brainy Baby Spanish video and ahem repeating every.single.thing we say around her.  I nearly died laughing this morning as that was the start to my day…here’s hoping we do get to meet Miss Clara!

For those of you who know about them and lurve them, like I do, here are their tour dates:

  • CINCINNATI: Saturday, October 20, 10:00 A – Books by the Banks Festival, Duke Energy Convention Center. Talk, meet & greet, and signing. More details here.
  • NEW YORK CITY: Thursday, November 1, 6:30 PM – FLOR, 142 Wooster Street; Book Party, Signing & Raffle (we’re unveiling and raffling an exclusive FLOR rug of our own design!) with wine, popcorn, cookies, and soda. More details here.
  • WILTON, CT: Friday, November 2, 9:30 AM – Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road. Talk & Signing. For details, call the event partner, Elm Street Books, at 203-762-3950.
  • BOSTON: Wednesday, November 7, 6:00 PM -West Elm, 160 Brookline Avenue. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • RICHMOND, VA: Thursday, November 8, 7:00 PM – R*Home for the Holidays at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 West Main Street. Talk, Signing & Silent Auction: we’re      offering up some of our favorite finished projects from the book to support the The School of Richmond Ballet. Wine & Hors d’hoeuvres will be served. Tickets here. Update: we’re      working on a second Richmond event as well, details to come.
  • CHICAGO: Saturday, November 10, 1:00 PM – West Elm, 1000 W North Avenue. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • TORONTO: Monday, November 12, 6:00 PM – West Elm, 109 Atlantic Avenue. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • MINNEAPOLIS: Wednesday, November 14, 6:00 PM – West Elm, 3879 Gallagher Drive, Edina, MN. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • HOUSTON: Thursday, November 15, 6:00 PM – West Elm, 3910 Westheimer Road. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • DALLAS: Saturday, November 17, 11:00 AM – West Elm, 5307 East Mockingbird Lane. Cookies, Cocoa + Crafting Ideas: A festive talk with signing and refreshments to follow. RSVP here.
  • WASHINGTON, DC: Wednesday, November 28, 6:30 PM – FLOR, 1037 33rd Street NW. Book Party, Signing (we’re raffling an exclusive FLOR rug of our own design!) with wine,      popcorn, cookies and soda. RSVP here.
  • AUSTIN: Tuesday, January 8, 7:00 PM – BookPeople,603 North Lamar Boulevard. Talk & Book Signing. To reserve your copy and RSVP, call 512-472-5050.
  • MIAMI: Wednesday, January 9, Time TBD – Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables.  Talk & Book Signing. To reserve your copy and RSVP, call 305-442-4408.
  • FORT LAUDERDALE: Thursday, January 10, Time TBD – Books & Books at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, 1 East Las Olas Boulevard. Lunchtime Talk & Book Signing.  To RSVP call (954) 262-0255.
  • GRAND CAYMAN ISLANDS: Friday, January 11, Time TBD – Books & Books Grand Cayman, The Town Centre at Camana Bay, Grand Cayman. Talk & Book Signing. More info here.
  • TACOMA, WA: Friday, January 25, 1:00 PM – Tacoma Home & Garden Show. Talk & Book Signing. More info here.
  • PORTLAND: January date TBD, 6:00 PM – Rejuvenation, 1100 Southeast Grand Avenue. Talk & Book Signing. For more info call (503) 238-1900.
  • RIDGEWOOD, NJ: Friday, November 2, 7pm – Bookends, 211 Ridgewood Ave, book signing. More info here.
  • WASHINGTON, DC: Saturday, December 1st, Time TBD – Living Social, 918 F Street, Talk, holiday crafting, and book signing. More details to be released here.
  • RICHMOND, VA: Sunday, December 2nd, 1pm – Mongrel, 2924 W. Cary Street, book signing. Store information here.
  • CHARLOTTE, NC: Early February. Other details TBD

There are several that you have to RSVP to, since they are way famous, so get registered ASAP!

I will definitely follow-up with a post on when I do meet them, and if they ran from me or rolled their eyes seeing that’ Texas girl with the 2-year-old spitting out Spanish sayings’ coming at them.  Ha.

Is anyone else obsessed with an avid reader/follower of YHL?  Please tell me I’m not the only crazy one who has the same whale faucet cover, wet bag, and Joovy Kooper stroller as them.  Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…

Note: Photos from here.

9 Oct

Cookbook Challenge Week 1: Make it Paleo

Posted by Crunchy Hot Mama in Dairy-Free, Food, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo, Recipes. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Welcome to my menu planning and cookbook challenge for this nice and cool October.  After getting inspired from a speaker at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) a few weeks ago, I decided I need more scheduling in my life…at least in the cooking department.

First, I sprawled out my five Paleo/Primal cookbooks to see which recipe(s) I wanted from each one, but soon realized that was silly.  I honed in on Make it Paleo because I am in lurve with their photos AND recipes, which usually turn out delish.  My hubby did get me Sarah Fragoso‘s new Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook, but I’m not excited like I was with her first book.  Don’t worry, I promise to do a week’s worth of recipes and let you know how they turn out.

After nailing down which book, I pulled out my trusty dry erase board and started jotting down a recipe for each day, including a side or two.  There was no real method to my madness, but I did try to find a few recipes that had some of the same ingredients and made sure to change up the meat so I wasn’t have beef back to back.  I also tried to plan it if I knew I’d be gone all day, or for mornings where we were working in the garden and could get something in the crock pot.  In the end, it looked like this:

I did try to allot for leftovers so Emma and I could have them for lunch and still have enough to pack for Josh’s lunch.  I have to say 95% of it turned out quite tasty and it was fun knowing what meal to expect the upcoming day!  So, without further ado, here is what we had (I will post them on my recipes page).

Breakfast

French Omelet

Grain-free Granola

Egg Muffins

Veggie Scramble

Lunch/Dinner

Monday: Tomato Basil Soup

Baked Chicken Thighs

Tuesday: Taco Salad

Wednesday: Pulled Pork Barbecue (Easy Crock Pot Recipe)

Thursday: BBLT • Bison, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

Friday: Date Night

Saturday: Pan-seared Scallops

Sunday: Family dinner with friends (on the smoker)

Treats: Pistachio Bark

Coconut Fudge

Woah!  There you have it, a week’s worth of yummy, healthy, and easy recipes all at your fingertips.  No more excuses of not knowing where to start and what to eat.  It’s in the grocery bag baby!

Are you a menu planner?  Do you know what you’re having the month in advance or do you scramble eggs at the last-minute and throw something together (like me)?  My hope in posting this, is that it will keep me inspired to at least know a week at a time what’s for dinner.  Who knows, maybe that will help me to keep my sanity.

Up next is Paleo Comfort Foods…stay tuned!

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