Recipes are a Guideline

     When you see Pepper Steak on the Menu it doesn't necessarily mean we're having peppers or steak. One night Pepper Steak was Chicken and Broccoli. Not because we don't eat peppers or Steak, but I wanted the flavor of Pepper Steak and only had chicken and broccoli. When you live 20 miles from the store you rarely follow the recipe as written. I usually do prepare what the recipe says with little modifications: no processed ingredients (ketchup, BBQ sauce, hoisin sauce, enchilada sauce unless I made them myself) and nothing that I cannot explain as "real" food.

     I do eat a gluten free diet, not because I have celiac disease or believe in the latest diet fads, but I do have another unexplained autoimmune disease. I strongly believe that after years of cellular abuse from eating highly processed and mostly GMO products, my body tried to destroy itself. Now I work hard at making sure I know where my food came from and what I'm actually eating.

     I like to use Pinterest to find recipes for each week and then I tweak them to make them fit for my family. I love cooking new things and I love being able to use pictures to plan my meals.  

     I also follow several blogs and get recipes from Dr. Andrew Weil at
DrWeil.com, Lisa Leake at www.100daysofRealFood.com, Carrie Vitt at www.deliciouslyorganic.net, and Andrea Beaman at AndreaBeaman.com. I do plan everything for the week, so I can just go to the store once a week. The plan is for the farm to provide all of our meals, but it's very difficult to give up berries this time of year.  And I absolutely love avocados, and we'll never be able to grow them here.

     You can see my weekly meal choices on my Pinterest page jenwhitmire. I did not create any of these recipes; they are just my guidelines for planning my meals and creating my grocery list.

     I love variety! I try to cook something new everyday. This time of year it is fun to cook all of the different funny looking squashes. I just love them.

     Eat Healthy!