Paleo economy

Sometimes concessions are made in efforts to balance a Paleo diet with economic realities. Subsidized grains make dinner immediately cheaper, but don't pay off in the long run. Tonight's dinner is ALMOST Paleo, I stretched things a bit with Lentils. I'm also using up some older spices in the pantry, and random ingredients that I find tucked away. This is free of Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy and Nuts.

Soak 1 C lentils in filtered water overnight. Drain and rinse. Soak several handfuls of dried mushrooms in filtered water overnight. Do not drain. Add drained lentils and undrained mushrooms to Crockpot, along with lots of dried onions, dried minced garlic, a can of green chilies, several shakes of chipotle hot sauce, diced sweet potato, 1 C chicken broth, and 2 C filtered water. Let that cook all day.

In a separate skillet, brown 1 pound of ground meat, I used goat. When cooked, remove all but what you need for your meal, refrigerate leftovers. Add washed and torn spinach to the meat you've kept in the skillet. Put in more than you think you need, it cooks down. Cook until spinach is just cooked, and is a dark yet bright green. I didn't season the goat and spinach, as I put a lot of flavor in the crockpot, but I could have, it would have been fine.

Mix together enough of the crock pot concoction and your goat with spinach to make a hearty serving, add a splash of your favorite vinegar, and enjoy! The leftovers keep well, and can feed a single person for 3 or 4 more meals.

In this recipe I used dried mushrooms, garlic and onions, and canned green chilis because I am making way for this year's fresh ingredients. Economy is using what you have, and everything was hiding in the freezer, pantry or came in today's CSA share. Vinegar gives your dish some sparkle, and increases the availability of the minerals in the spinach.

Ingredients:

1C Lentils

1C Mushrooms

Sweet Potato

1 C Chicken Broth

Onions

Garlic

1 can Green Chilis

Chipotle hot sauce

1 pound Ground Goat

Spinach

Vinegar

Brown Sugar

Are you still using sugar to sweeten your foods and beverages? While I don't promote sugar, I do understand that sometimes it's the most appealing or appropriate option. What can we do to change white sugar from the highly processed, nutritionally bereft crystalline powder it is into something better?

Add Blackstrap Molasses! Blackstrap Molasses is part of the sugar refining process. Blackstrap contains all of the minerals that have been removed to make sugar white. The problem is that Blackstrap Molasses isn't very sweet. It's actually pretty potent stuff. I love it, but it doesn't help me sweeten my tea on the hot summer days when sugar is what I want.

So, I make my own brown sugar, for those occasions when Stevia, Xylitol or Honey aren't my first choice.

I pour a cup or so of sugar into a jar, and then pour some blackstrap on top of that. Mix together with a fork until you've done the best you can. The bottom will be lighter, but you can put the lid on the jar and shake it until it mixes the rest of the way. Make it as dark as you want!

Blackstrap contains minerals, including Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium. There are also trace amounts of some B Vitamins.

Commercial brown sugar and turbinado sugar have slightly more nutrition than white sugar, but it is a slight difference when compared to what you'll have when you make your own with Blackstrap.

A Call to Healers

A Call To Healers ~ The energy is shifting, changes are accelerating, and it is time to get it together. Wrap up your loose ends and deal with the obstacles that prevent you from authentically offering your gifts to the World in Service. Be ready, make a difference, change. What are you waiting for? Love, Pachamama

Sometimes I feel so helpless in the face of things like Natural Disasters and Politics. The scope of what's happening compared to the size of just one person can be daunting. There is fear, and a lack of control. Sometimes there is also a feeling of victimization. Sometimes I get sucked into the political thing, and sometimes I believe the corporate media machine. Sometimes I would prefer to pretend none of it is happening, but that doesn't gel with my solution-oriented personality.

So what do we do? How can we make a difference in the face of such magnitude?

I am reminded that there are many ways to make a difference, some subtle, and some overt. For me, it's the subtle ways that make me feel better. The subtle ways hone my skills and strengthen me.

There are countless forms of energy work. Some are learned, some are gifted, some are intuitively known. All have the ability to make the world a better place, through improving the health of Earth's inhabitants and/or Earth herself.

It can be simple or complex, and I'll be the first to admit that I prefer simple. Here are some of the things I do when I have a problem or challenge that needs my attention, that you can do, too:

• Light a candle with an affirmation and focused intent relevant to the problem you want solved
• Reiki given to yourself, others and the Earth
• Prayer in all forms
• Visualizations of your desired outcome
• Pray to running water - the hydrolic cycle will take that energy around the world. Check out Masaru Emoto's work: Dr Masaru Emoto's Water Crystals
• Tonglen is a meditation technique for relieving suffering. This can be applied to Natural Disasters.

Everything helps, and I encourage you to do whatever works for you!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Gandhi