Holistic Instincts

I just came back home after spending three whole weeks in the state of Michoacan, Mexico eating anything and everything that was shoved my way.  That is the life, I tell you! Most of the time, our time was spent in the town of Pajacuaran, Mexico,  One of the many things I love about visiting is the food.  Crazy, I know!  In town, if you can cook, you can make a humble living by setting up a table or two right outside your front door and serve breakfast or dinner to anyone who swings by.  We climbed three blocks up a steep hill, one block which was unpaved, to a house for freshly made crispy enchiladas, burritos and tacos more times than I care to count.  My dad took us a few times to another woman's house that served pozole, tortas and tostadas with a variety of toppings - my favorite: tender liver tostadas.  I could not get enough!  We had dinner in many different houses and once, inside an old bus. My dad almost always ordered extra...

Breakfast and lunch tend to be difficult for some to navigate when switching to a real food diet.  And the idea that a real food meal needs to be prepared with simple and fresh ingredients can seem daunting! I like to double-batch certain dinners, like roasted chicken, grilled steak or tuna patties, so that leftovers pull double duty for breakfast and/or lunch the next day.  But even I know, leftovers can only take you so far!  Once in awhile, especially when the weather turns warm, I will prep a large batch of salads or pates, such as this one, so that there are a variety of options in the refrigerator to choose from when hunger. Wild-caught tuna is inexpensive when compared to other wild proteins so this recipe can be accessible with items already probably in your kitchen.  And this tuna pate is versatile because it makes a great portable school or work lunch. I love any excuse to add extra fat to our diets so this recipe includes a nutrient-dense avocado...

Menudo , or tripe soup, is a traditional soup commonly served on a Sunday morning.  It is considered labor-intensive since it requires a very long cooking time, so it started the night before any plans to eat it, or made for special occasions. Due to its nourishing collagen-packed broth and mineral-rich protein, it has a cult following for those wishing to get rid of the Saturday night hangover! I remember my dad being the one prepping the tripe at night and I remember someone getting up during the night at various times to check on the pot of soup bubbling on the stove.  I also remember becoming a teenager and deciding I no longer would eat organ meats!  So I even gave up on all the other delicious ones, like tender beef tongue and beef cheeks.  I also happily gave up the ones I never liked - like liver and mushy brains.  Yes, brains...... As an adult, I decided being an adventurous eater was much more fun and I incorporated liver back in my diet. ...

Growing up, one of my favorite party desserts was a strawberry Jello that was made with evaporated milk, rather than water.  I recently remembered and just knew I had to recreate it! I am always looking for ways to incorporate more gelatin-rich foods in our diets due to its many health properties but there are just as many reasons to avoid standard store-bought gelatin.  Below are the ingredients for Jell-O brand of Strawberry Gelatin Dessert: Ingredients:  Sugar, gelatin, adipic acid (for tartness), contains less than 2% of artificial flavor, disodium phosphate and sodium citrate (control acidity), fumaric acid (for tartness) and red #40 Besides including gelatin from poorly treated animals, this product contains zero natural flavorings or colorings.  Red #40 is synthetically produced and linked to ADHD and a host of other health issues and is banned in the majority of other countries.  And sugar is an all-around no-no when it comes to living a healthi...

Boy, oh boy...this is a good one!  Lasagna was certainly one of my favorite dishes to make and eat because for a little work, it made plenty and was great to count on leftovers or share with friends. Once we went gluten and dairy-free, I assumed I would never be able to make this beloved dish again. You see, while commercial gluten-free noodles are now readily available in most grocery stores (and always online), I was never happy with store-bought dairy-free cheeses.  Not that I tried many, because they are just plain weird.  The texture is never right and forget about the taste!  And I know, I KNOW - dairy-free substitutions for cheese are just that: substitutions.  Close enough to the real thing, but no thanks. There are plenty of dairy-free cheese recipes available on the internets, but again, I tried a few then gave up because though some recipes were decent enough for me but my family just shook their heads.  And lasagna became a distant dream...