Orange Coconut Milk Ice Cream

1 can full fat Coconut milk

3 tbsp. orange zest (The zest and juice should come from 3-4 fresh oranges.)

¾ cup orange juice

4 tbsp. honey

4 egg yolks

¼ tsp. salt

1. Zest and juice oranges, then put the orange juice in the freezer.
2. Bring the coconut milk, salt, 2 tbsp. zest, and 2 tbsp. honey to a boil in a saucepan, then take off heat, cover and let steep for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile beat egg yolks and 2 tbsp. honey for 1 minute until pale and thick. Pour in coconut milk slowing while beating egg yolk mixture, put back in sauce pan and heat over medium heat stirring frequently until custard thickens slightly and is steaming. Bring the custard to 175 degrees, but try not to let it boil.
4. Take a large bowl and fill with ice and set a smaller bowl in the middle, now strain the custard into the smaller bowl and let sit stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture reaches 40 degrees. Stir in juice from the freezer and the last tbsp. of zest and freeze in ice cream maker according to it’s directions.

I am also to happy and proud to be pregnant at the same time as my sister. I am so excited to be an aunt and to share in this experience with her! Life has been good, busy, and I feel blessed to have a husband and son who make me laugh daily!

This week Kayden requested Kale Chips as our vegetable for dinner. So Kayden and I (more Kayden than I) made Kale Chips together as usual…except this time I captured our process to share with you! Enjoy! *Note there are many ways to make Kale Chips…this just happens to be our favorite.

Well, we all knew it was coming! Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo has put out another outstanding book. This particular book is not a cook book, though it does have a some kid friendly recipes. It is a children’s book intended to help parents and children smooth the sometimes difficult transition from eating a high processed diet to a healthier, paleo diet. This story has it all: super heroes, adventures, and education. Upon receiving my advanced copy (thank you Sarah ) I was curious to see how Kayden would react to this story. Please remember that Kayden has really only been around healthy, real foods and not processed foods. His reaction was priceless! Not only did he love his new book with Paleo super heroes…(it’s cute to hear him say “my Paleo super hero book”) he also loved the pictures. Kayden is now 3, so adventures and super heroes are especially cool. The educational component in this book are valuable and pictures make it really kid friendly so that regardless of age parents can in the least talk about what is happening in the pictures. Kayden was able to distinguish between the kids in the pictures who had eaten unhealthy foods and healthy foods for lunch. Paleo Pals is truly another job well done by Sarah Fragoso! Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is a great addition to any kid/family library. The only problem is that Kayden wants me to read it to him every night…which, lets be real, is not really a problem at all, this is a good thing!

Be sure to order your copy of Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship today or pick it up at your local bookstore on February 14th.

Covered in this episode of Paleo Talk:

• Don’t I know you ladies from somewhere?
• Another birth control method is brought up by a listener: Fertility Awareness Method. Also the IUD and other methods.
• The vinegar thing.
• Kid is hungry all the time and I don’t want to withhold.
• PMS food cravings.
• Losing fat while nursing.
• Thanksgiving final thoughts.

-Dain

Inside Episode 22 of Paleo Talk:

• After tracking behavior of young son – Possible Aspergers diagnosis in future. Wait to introduce Paleo living?
• 27yr old male wants to know the basic ins and outs of this lifestyle. We don’t go over basics very often, decided this was a good time to do so.
• Omega 3/6 ratio of nuts and how to not go neurotic with tracking all this stuff. (Hint: dont)
• Birth Control hormone concerns. We talk about methods of contraception in this part as tactfully as possible. I think we did an OK job.
• How do we handle Halloween with all the candy?
• New to Paleo, with dairy cut out where am I supposed to get calcium?

Sarah, Chrissy and Dain are back in the same room – yes there is giggling and good times. If you’re one of those fun-haters that is annoyed by jovial goofiness, then go read the sidewall of a tire. While it’s in motion.

Inside Paleo Talk 20:

• Adrenal Fatigue – how Sarah dealt with it.
• Puree veggies in order to get kids to eat them. Bad Idea?
• Juice for kids. An OK beverage or worse than crack?
• Looking for a chip. Crunchy, slightly salty, satisfying?
• A mysterious bad ass has a desert job that involves walking up to 20 miles a day. How to take care of oneself?
• New mom is trying to do this deal while nursing the baby and is wondering why she can’t get to hot-mom status quicker.

If you have yet to check out Peggy at Primal Parent, you should as she is another great primal/paleo parent and resource. Today she posted a list of Primal/Paleo parent bloggers. I am so happy that Peggy compiled this resource and I am sure it will be a useful tool for so many people. Happy Thursday!

Sounds pretty extreme yes? Well, it is. Sarah, Dain, and I discussed at length what we should do and we came to the decision that our followers should hear the reason for our long absence. Some may be offended or angry with what is uncovered. It has been listed as “explicit” in iTunes. At no time do we sensationalize the events or demonize anyone, simply recount what has been going on. A regular Paleo Talk (Episode 20) will be posted Monday August 29, 2011.

On another note, congratulations to Chris Kresser and his lovely wife on the birth of their beautiful little girl Sylivie.

Enjoy the latest Paleo Talk podcast – Episode 19! Click the feed on the right side bar.

Inside Paleo Talk 19:

• Coconut Milk and the Guar Gum issue. Having Coconut Milk problems? This may be why.
• Breastfeeding mother is rapidly losing her milk supply on this diet. Her 15 month old hates vegetables. Poor nutrition worries. Help my two children please!
• Folate and Folic Acid – what’s the difference? Spina Bifida concerns?
• Would grain fed meats affect a person with celiac as if they ate it directly?
• Controlling petit mal seizures with a paleo lifestyle.

Mash or puree 10-12 strawberries (use more or less depending on the size)

1 really ripe mashed banana (I added this for a little sweetness…you can leave this out if you like)

2 TBS. Vanilla

1 can of coconut milk

Mash strawberries in a large bowl. Combine vanilla and coconut milk to the strawberry puree. I tasted it and wanted it to be a little sweeter so I added a really ripe banana (mashed) to the mixture however, you could totally leave this out if you wanted to. Stir all the ingredients together and pour into your ice cream maker and let the magic begin. Usually it only takes about 20 minutes to get to a good soft serve consistency. This go around I was anxious and started my creation a little early and ended up letting it run for about 40 minutes and I actually preferred this consistency better as it closely resembled that of regular ice cream. Topping with shaved coconut or nuts would be tasty too! Enjoy!

Dain hijacks the intro to talk about baby food. Read the previous guest blog post by (Dain) that was sparked by this discussion. After “Babydaddy Talk” we get to the real material. Here is a brief glossing-over of the topics discussed.

A couple testimonials and letters of thanks from listeners.
Revisiting the “green tea” woman with headaches from episode 16
Not everyone can be all June Cleaver like Sarah – how to get your kids to help out.
Dr Cordain says coconut oil is bad! Or does he?
Menstrual cycle not improving with Paleo life. In fact, it’s getting weird.
Lost her period, not pregnant, cysts?
Ideas for avoiding the post workout crash while fixing dinner
My knee makes this terrible sound when doing squats.
Paleo perspective on peas and cashews
Dain hijacks the podcast again to wrap things up with results of the veggie ferment.

I have a 9 month old, Baby Olive. Yes, her name is Baby Olive. She will always be Baby Olive, or at least I tell myself that. She was almost entirely breast-fed until 6 months at which time my wife’s milk waned and her work schedule made pumping difficult so we began supplementing iron-fortified formula (Gerber Good Start brand). We also introduced soft foods at this time such as avocado for Olive to “gum on.” She is a remarkably healthy and happy baby girl. I made a decision early on that I didn’t want to rely on premade baby foods since a lot of them are so lacking in the fat/protein department and many are just glorified desserts with the amount of sugar in them. My wife agreed and we decided to basically give Olive what we were eating.

Right off the bat let me say this is a super easy undertaking if you are eating Paleo as a family. Your baby will get a terrific assortment of protein and vegetable nutrients. What IS necessary though is the proper equipment. If you have one of those plastic baby food mills – toss it. You are going to need heavier artillery to really make this work. I suppose I should add the disclaimer that I am not a doctor and that you should check with your pediatrician and your own family history to make sure that there are no known food allergies. Common sense, folks. For what it’s worth, the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends delaying feeding of high-allergy-risk foods. I share that bit of info so I don’t get hate mail for feeding my baby pork and fish.

Today’s ingredients are sweet potatoes, grass-fed beef, mixed veggies, pears and pork belly. You can use whatever you like, or whatever you have leftover from last night’s dinner. I make a large supply of sweet potatoes because Olive likes to eat them as-is and it makes a great additive for the other foods. It keeps better separate than mixed in with things like beef. In the beginning of this post I mentioned that the plastic food mills of yesteryear will not cut the mustard, or the beef, or much of anything for that matter. The other drawback is that they are single-purpose. Once your child grows out of eating mush, the device is pretty much useless. Enter the heavy artillery – a 550watt  immersion blender.

Go ahead, make my purée

They also go by the names of hand blender or stick blender. This tool will last you a good while and you can use it for your own smoothies or sauce-making. Pick one up at any restaurant supply store, department store, or online. KitchenAid, Braun, Cuisinart all make fine models. Check reviews and get what best suits you.

For the sweet potatoes – wash and place in glass dish with a quarter inch of water and microwave for about 7 minutes. You can also bake them in the oven at 350* forever. Same as when you used to make baked potatoes. Slice in half then scoop out the ‘meat’ with a spoon and place into your blending container along with the cooking water. Add about another cup of water, and blend until creamy. Spoon into clean jars.

I admit this next one is weird but it goes along with using last night’s dinner. Pork belly and pears. Pork belly is SUPER fatty (and delicious) but also has some meat tucked in there. I picked the meat out and warmed it in my cast iron pan to render most of the solid fat out and isolate the meat.

Then it was meat+cubed pears+steamed mixed veggies and a cup of water in the blending jar. I couldn’t help but sneak a spoonful and it was delicious. Rich, creamy and quite satisfying! (Note: Baby did NOT like this meal. Maybe in time)

Babyfood Factory

My final meal of the day is grass-fed beef and veggies. I know Olive likes this one. In the cast iron pan I cook a pound of beef. At the same time I have a handful of baby carrots and broccoli steaming in the microwave. After 7 minutes, both are finished cooking. Combine in the magic blendy jar and liquefy!

I recommend tasting your creations. Yes, the consistency is strange – but the flavors are familiar. You will know that you are tasting whole ingredients with no added fillers or garbage. Really, there’s no new information in this post that I’m sure you don’t already know. My goal was to illustrate how easy and non time-consuming it is. I made all this (and some not pictured) in the span of an hour. You could take 30 minutes and still be able to make a day’s worth of food. If you were to process your dinner leftovers, even less time. Point is, your baby will eat what you eat and really enjoy it. (most of the time)

[UPDATED 6-10-11] Lots of folks mention practicing Baby-Led Weaning. I suppose I should have included in the post that in addition to these jarred blends, we offer soft bits of food on her tray to pick up and feed herself. Avocado, cooked carrots, beef, chicken – anything soft she is super excited to grip and place in her mouth. She only has the two teeth on the bottom at this time so her self-fed items have to be pretty basic and not tough. As she develops, the blends are getting chunkier and more challenging items are put on her tray. Playing with food is a huge learning experience! Definitely a great addition to feeding time.

• Eating Paleo with a very limited budget. Parents are older with health issues and fixed income.
• Grapeseed oil not recommended? Also, Rosacea helped by diet?
• Guiding the kids to make good choices. How to not offend or be labeled as the weird kids.
• Doing the deal for a week, and have bad headaches and feel funky. Could it be sugar withdrawals? Caffeine?
• Child with severe Reactive Attachment Disorder. (Symptoms and FAQ)
• The Great Banana Debate of 2011

My lifestyle pre pregnancy.

I’ve always considered myself to be a fairly health conscious individual. My Bachelors is in health science and I’m a certified health education specialist working with many dietitians doing nutrition education in northern California low-income communities. Prior to starting at Norcal Strength & Conditioning, I prescribed to the traditional food pyramid plan – a diet low in fat and chock-full of grains, fruits, etc. I struggled with my weight a bit as I was always within the “healthy” zone, but I felt soft and bloated a lot of the time. In ’04 I went gluten free and dairy free upon my chiropractor’s recommendations as I’ve always had severe stomach problems. This change almost immediately resolved most of my stomach issues; however, I was still struggling to tone my body. I worked out at a traditional gym 3-4 days per week with relatively few results to show for my efforts. I then started at Norcal Strength and Conditioning and began the Paleo lifestyle in Jan ’09, about 10 months prior to getting pregnant. Within the first month at I saw a total body transformation and drastic improvement in the way I felt and my energy levels. The following nine months were my healthiest ever and I continued to see marked improvements in my overall strength and health, as well as the toning that I’d desired for many years. 

During my pregnancy, I continued working out at NorCal 3 days per week and continued eating mostly Paleo. The reason I say mostly is because some days/weeks were pretty tough as I had morning sickness throughout the day everyday for the first 15 weeks of my pregnancy. I first tried increasing my carb intake while staying Paleo (e.g. eating more sweet potatoes, berries, etc.) and this helped quite a bit. Occasionally, I still experienced exceptionally challenging days where I was extremely nauseous, so I allowed myself some gluten free crackers or gluten free bread. I also went through a period of protein aversion (the sight or smell of meat products made my stomach turn) where I relied on high-quality protein powder to help me get through the day. Fortunately, that period of time was short lived! I also drank a lot of carbonated water (as opposed to soda) to help with the nausea. As soon as I hit about week 16, the nausea disappeared and so did the grains and protein powder. I was back to Paleo foods for the rest of my pregnancy, though I continued with the increased carb intake as I felt sluggish when I went too low-carb.

My cravings included mustard, vinegary foods like pickles and pepperoncinis, and dark chocolate covered almonds. I only experienced food aversions during the first 15 weeks while I was experiencing the nausea and it was mostly around meat and meat products. This was another factor which made it difficult to stay Paleo, but I found that I was able to stomach fried eggs and ground beef most days. We had a lot of casserole type dishes during those weeks – luckily my husband didn’t complain too much (he is someone who doesn’t like different foods to much)! For supplements, I took a prenatal, extra calcium & magnesium, vitamin D3 and of course lots of fish oil. I tapered off the fish oil a bit during the final weeks of pregnancy when I was gearing up for labor and delivery.

I continued my workouts 3 days per week with increasing modifications as I grew larger. In the early months, I stopped doing hand stands. Around 20 weeks, I stopped doing any activity where I was required to lay on my back (sit-ups) and I stopped pull-ups because I was having a tearing sensation in my upper abdomen (which continued for approximately 4 months after delivery). At about the third trimester mark, I stopped doing weighted squats as my doctor was concerned about my hips, but I found that simply doing squats without weight was still a fantastic workout as all the additional weight I needed was conveniently attached to my midsection. Overall, my doctor was very encouraging of continued physical activity, even weight lifting throughout the pregnancy. He only wanted me to gain a total of 30 pounds which, as it turned out, was exactly what I gained to a T. I loved doing the workouts while I was pregnant, especially in the later months as I got larger. I found it to be very empowering and I always felt ten times better when I left the gym as opposed to when I arrived. All of the coaches were more extremely supportive, encouraging and flexible with prescribing my workouts, especially on days when I wasn’t moving so fast – believe me, there were quite a few where a penguin’s waddle would have been faster that my hybrid version!

I ended up having a fantastic birthing experience which contributed to a speedy recovery and overall positive outlook on the entire birthing experience, but I attribute that fantastic birthing experience to the Norcal/Paleo lifestyle. I felt strong and empowered going into the birth. I remember laboring while complaining of sore hamstrings from a workout which concluded only 4 hours before I went into labor! 

After having my son, I continued eating Paleo (plus dark chocolate covered almonds – my total weakness) and I was back in my normal clothes within 2 weeks, my skinny clothes in 5 weeks (let’s face it ladies, our closets are made up of two entirely different wardrobes: our skinny day outfits and not-so-skinny day outfits). At my 6 week post-delivery appointment, I weighed in even less than my pre-pregnancy weight and clearance to return to my normal activity level. I headed back into NorCal that very same day! I’ve had a hard time regaining my strength, but I’m gradually seeing improvements week by week. I’m still nursing, which zaps my energy and strength some days, especially if my diet isn’t dialed in.

I exclusively breastfed my son until he was just shy of 6 months. Now he is 10 months and still nurses throughout the day (and often night too). He has not had a drop of formula to date and I have no intention of ever giving him any either. I’m a huge supporter of breastfeeding moms – it’s one of the most important things we can do for our children. It turned out that I was blessed with being an over-producer. Though this comes with it’s own set of challenges, I feel fortunate that I am able to nurse at all. I worked with a local lactation consultant to gradually reduce my milk production to align with his demand. His first foods were: squash, carrots, sweet potato, banana, and avocado – his favorites being avocado and carrots. We do give him minimal amounts of rice cereal and the rice biscuits for teething, but I don’t plan to give him other grains, especially no gluten. I’m still conflicted about this as I want him to be as healthy as possible. He is doing very well and thriving, so I’m not too concerned about changing things right now, but who’s to say how long I will continue allowing him rice.

Eli has had very healthy reports from each of his doctor check-ups. He is around the 70^th to 80^th percentile for height and fluctuates between the 25^th and 50^th percentile for weight. He’s made it through his first winter with very little illness and no medications or antibiotics!! Overall, he is a healthy and very active little boy (and I highlight very active). People are often impressed with how strong and sturdy he is, and especially how much food he can eat…he gets that from his mom!!! He is crawling and standing up now. Walking and, let’s face it, running (probably in the opposite direction) are not far off now.

Inside this edition of Paleo Talk:

• Do you guys hate ground turkey? You never mention using it.
• Recovering binge eater, now on paleo, looking for a focal point to bring it all together. What is a typical day for a ‘normal healthy person’
• Mommy likes her nightly glass of wine – but is it a hindrance in reaching fitness goals?
• Do you guys hate yoga? You never mention doing it.
• Did you follow pediatrician guidelines and give milk after 1st birthday through year 2?
• Trying to stay 30 days on-target with spouse, end up making bad decisions.

If you have not already pre-ordered your copy of Everyday Paleo you can click here to order it on Amazon or visit your local Barnes and Noble or Borders on Monday, April 25th when it is released!

• Young woman and boyfriend relatively new to the lifestyle. She’s hesitant to join a CrossFit group. Intimidated. How best to find and join?
• My spices contain Hydrolyzed Sulfur Dioxy-What?  Think I should toss them out?
• Getting married in a few months and don’t want to wither away on the Paleo Diet. How to maintain that sexy image and not be all skinny OR too ripped.
• ZOMGWTFBBQ!!11!! Theres BPA in canned Coconut Milk! END OF THE WORLD!
• Mother concerned that her children will turn to the dark side when sleeping over at friends houses. How best to instill good eating practices.
• Protein supplements and why Sarah is not a fan.
• Dain. Share some recipes already why dont you?

Click the feed in the right tool bar and enjoy!

• A response from a Physicians Assistant about the A1C test in episode 11
• Leaving the kids with grandparents – how to keep the kids eating clean without offending the elders.
• Similar issue with planning a family getaway and keeping the kids garbage-intake to a minimum.
• Poopless in Seattle. How can I get things moving again?
• Pregnant and battling a doctor that thinks she needs to gain more weight.
• Coconut Oil – safe to reuse/reheat?
• What should I plant in my garden?

Please click the feed on the right side bar and enjoy! Thanks!