Lard, coconut oil, or a blend we make at home: equal parts coconut oil, olive oil, and unrefined sesame oil.

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Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

If you're asking, then it's important. Here are some ideas for simple pantry/preparation. Even if you take 1 or 2 things maybe it will help. Above all, it's on your radar, so that's awesome.

We subscribe to the Michael Pollan eating approach, a simple seven words:

“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

We do eat meat and fish, though they play a background role on our plates. Here's what we use regularly:

oils: extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, toasted sesame oil, hazelnut oil (choose your favorites)
vinegars: white vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar (a must for beans)
salt: celtic sea salt, kept in a small dish for use in cooking and at the table
whole peppercorns and pepper grinder
soy sauce, tamari for Gluten free daughter
flours: white wheat flour, wheat flour
bay leaves
dried beans ( soak some beans overnight, cook them them the next day)
whole wheat pastas
yeast (pizza dough, bread, rolls)
real maple syrup (comes, like many things we get, from Amish farmers)
brown sugar
white sugar (kombucha)
grass fed butter: always in house, always some soft and on the counter, some cold in fridge for baking; we do not use margarine or butter-like substances
2-3 favorite cheeses (one is always parmesan)
plain whole milk yogurt (great baby food, great for smoothies, great with granola, great for dressings; we often make our own yogurt)
homemade granola (our favorite cereal), i buy sprouted garm=nola, too
onions, garlic, carrots, celery, ginger
eggs: we keep 1-3 dozen pasturedchicken eggs at home all the time: great for breakfast, snacks, baking, and they make the BEST flan ever!
local pastured chicken: we cook one a week on the stove and use the pulled meat and stock for the week
the chicken can be used to:
mix with pasta and veggies
make soup
make chicken salad
Grass Fed Beef: ground beef, 1-2 steaks, cook, slice, add to salads
caramelized onions: make them when you have people over-they smell great cooking; add to sandwiches, pasta, soups
canned or preserved organic tomatoes: in the off season for tomato sauce (no excuse four ingredient tomato sauce recipe on smitten kitchen)
fish or other seafood; small portions with lots of veggies

three last minute chances to make things more healthy:
1. grow your own sprouts at home and put them on everything (we love these folks here)
2. add your cooked beans to sauces and pasta dishes
3. add dark greens to sauces and pasta dishes raw and let the heat cook them for optimum nutrition


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Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

sorry, did not mean to post twice.

Yes you can, absolutely. Not the same flavor, but I use it all the time.

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Also note that if you aren't consuming full fat dairy then your body isn't absorbing all the nutrients in the milk and in that case it may not justify the sugar content. Have you tried an eliminating dairy to see how you feel? If you really enjoy it, then there are plenty of other things you could do to lose weight.

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

This would really drive me crazy. Actually, my parents do the same thing and I asked them to stop. If it's important to you then it's worth mentioning. Do not underestimate your instinct to feed your children well.

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Moctec Mexican Products. Used by tons of restaurants in the area.
http://www.moctec.net/products.html


Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Not sure if you're familiar with making fermented beverages but this is a super healthy way to make homemade ginger ale:

http://thenourishingcook.com/ginger-ale/

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Coach. Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

It's great that you're using coconut oil. It's a great plant-based source of healthy fat and lauric acid. Be careful of using it with canola oil, actually be careful of using canola oil period. It's a highly, highly refined (bleached) oil and is especially unhealthy when heated to high temperatures.

Enjoy the coconut oil!

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Counselor.
Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Awesome that you are reading about this! Soaking to reduce phytic acid is so important for proper digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals. We soak all grains/beans overnight in a water/acid solution. let me know if you need any assistance with this!

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Counselor.
Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Awesome that you are reading about this! Soaking to reduce phytic acid is so important for proper digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals. We soak all grains/beans overnight in a water/acid solution. let me know if you need any assistance with this!

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Counselor.
Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com

Another great site is Bonzai Aphrodite-Vegan Mom blogger.

Christy Przystawik
Holistic Health Counselor.
Chef. Mother. Motivator.
coachchristymarie.com