Can I really feed a family of 5 on $450/month?

As you know, I did not do posts for the month of January pertaining to grocery shopping and menu planning.

And guess what? I went over. Of course, the $40 of pork loin, going to "the cheap grocery store" and stocking up on a lot of miscellaneous food stuff, and taking the kids with me and giving in to junk food didn't really help.

It just goes to show that in order to stay within budget, I cannot lose my focus....and sometimes it's good to go over if it is for a good deal and will help in the next month or two (pork loin I bought this month...turkeys I got a few  months ago, bread and bagels, oatmeal,  etc).

I have had some comments in favor of continuing the grocery posts/menu plans, so I will try to keep that up.  I may not stay within budget every month, but for me, putting my purchases on my blog is a good way to keep me accountable. :)

See you in February!

RECIPE: GF Tortilla Pizza

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so I thought I would share what I am having for lunch today. :)

I generally eat leftovers for lunch, but didn't want that today. I wanted pizza.

So, here's what I did with what I had in the house to make a tasty GF lunch.

GF Tortilla Pizza

• 1 Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla

I put this in my biggest cast iron skillet and put it in a 425* oven to thaw and crisp up a bit (watch it closely!).


Meanwhile, I put a bit of olive oil in another cast iron pan and added the following:

• 1 sliced onion

• 3 or so sliced mushrooms

• a clove or two of garlic, sliced thin

• Some frozen bell pepper slices

• some leftover cut up pork loin that was seasoned w/garlic, rosemary, etc.

• A bit of salt

I took out 2 basil cubes from the freezer and thawed them in the microwave.


When my tortilla was sufficiently warmed/crisped, I spread the basil on it, then put some shredded cheese, the sauteed veggies (you may not want to put all the oil/liquid from the pan onto the pizza, or it might get too soggy), and topped with a bit more cheese and a sprinkling of salt.


I returned it to the oven and let it cook, checking often, until it looked done enough to eat. Cool, cut, and devour.

Yum!

BioAllergenix Update: January 2012

I made an appointment to go in this week and get a chiro adjustment and test a few things I suspected are bothering me food-wise.  I have suspected having issues with yeast as well (no surprise there with the holidays in the recent past!).

The testing was muscle testing, and the things that did come up for me were Oranges (I'd gotten an itchy throat the last time I ate one) and Yeasts (again, no surprise).  The other suspects (corn, soy, molds, tomatoes...those things I check off and on just to be sure) muscle tested ok.

So, until tomorrow morning I am avoiding oranges, yeast, and sugars/white carbs.


I think that when I have the itchy throat thing, it's often a sign of yeast rearing its ugly head. Not always, but I seem to be making that connection in my food experiences...

My organs seem to be doing great this time around, so I don't think I will be doing any detox-type things that I have been considering doing.

I am going to continue on the Gluten-free diet, but plan to tend towards low-carb/sugar at the same time....it will probably look very much Paleo.

My 2001 Food Focus - No GMO

For a couple of years now, after reading a lot and with my own health experiences, I have suspected Genetically Modified Foods to have a negative impact on my immune system and one cause for the rise in allergies. (Just because Monsanto pats us on the head and assures us that GMO's haven't been proven to cause harm does not mean that they are safe to consume.)

Upon reading this article with documentation showing how GMO's do indeed effect our immune systems (they have the potential to change the DNA of our gut bacteria!), I think that my food focus this year will be to (ever more vigilantly) avoid Genetically Modified Organisms the best I can, both in our food and in the other products we use.

I hope also to increase awareness of just how prevalent GMO's are in our daily lives.

I realize that I cannot take GMO's 100% out of my and my family's lives, especially living in GMO corn- and soy- country,  but I will do what is within my power to minimize their impact.

This will require that I rethink our menu and food choices. I need to do a lot of thinking and praying and updating myself on these things to see just how far I can take it and still live within our food budget of $450/month for our family of 5.

Here's to a non-GMO 2012!