Eat Like A Dinosaur

While at Paleo FX last week, I snagged a copy of Eat Like A Dinosaur for my offspring. Well, okay it was for me as I have a very unnatural obsession with cookbooks. I buy them, borrow them, flip through them a hundred times but rarely USE them. I just like to collect them. This time was different. I flipped through this book and one of the things that caught my eye was the little hand prints (like the ones my kiddos leave everywhere) in the instructions section. I love that these hand prints denote the steps that the littles can help with -- super cute idea. I also really like the post-it notes (another unnatural obsession of mine) on the picture pages. Helps with identifying the temp to preheat the oven or any special tools that I might need. I also like that there's a post-it on every recipe for notes. The book is also broken up into color coded sections, making it really easy to flip to the stuff you need. I love that there is a 'Snacks' section because many of us struggle with snacks for the kids. There's also a word on packing lunches with great tips and a fun 'Projects' section. Ohhh and let's not forget the 'Dips/sauces' section because the girl-child is going through a must-dip-everything-in-something phase and my bbq sauce was getting old quick! 


Now - on to the best part - the recipes!
The recipes were easy to read, easy to follow, and best of all - tasted GREAT. I tried the Halupki Casserole - mainly because it came with a cool family story and because i had never heard of it. I wanted to try something that I had never had before so that I could give it a fair shake. Had i made something that I already had a recipe for or had already tweaked into my own creation, i would have been biased (yes, hard to believe i know). Anyway, loved this recipe and so did the fam. Anything with only FIVE steps rocks in my book! I also love the fact that it is totally freezable making it perfect for my OAMC super-cook fests!


I really like this book and will recommend it to all you Paleo parents out there. It does have a couple sweet treats that contain unrefined sugar *gasp* but like the author says, just replace it with your sweetener of choice. Great book with tips on transitioning, stories and a cute illustrated section to read with the kids. Loved it!

Paleo FX 2012 Highlights

If i had to describe this conference in one word, it would be WOW! I am only going to post highlights because there is so much that I could write - but this is a blog and I should really keep it short and sweet (like me). I'm not really a writer (as evidenced by the one word description) but this event has caused me to break out my skills -- don't judge :)

Pre-conference Highlights: 


Kevin and Stephanie Cottrell. They not only opened their home to complete strangers (Me and Mr. Paleo) but they made sure we were well taken care of. They made us feel comfortable in their home, fed us and  worked out with us -- We will forever be indebted to them because of their kindness. It may seem like a small thing to some, but it meant the world to us.


Tara: Tara blogs over at Primal Girl in a Modern World and to say that we connected would be an understatement. Tara is AH.MA.ZING! Her story blows me away every time (yes i have read it more than once) I read it. She is a gifted writer, a hard worker, a talented seamstress, and just an all around GREAT person. She'll be speaking at PrimalCon 2012 - can't wait to hear what she has to say - i know it will be great!


Day 1 Highlight: 
Besides getting to hang out with paleo rock stars like Robb Wolf, Jimmy More, Nora Gedgaudas, Chris Kresser and Diane Sanfilippo,  Dr. Jack Kruse of Optimal health gave an opening speech that was beyond inspiring. I must admit that I was a little afraid of what he was going to say because he admitted to scrapping his original speech in favor of 'winging it'. His talk was inspiring. He called upon each of us to stop burning each other within the Paleo community but instead to light the fire for those who need us - those who need to see the Paleo light - to be the old man that would make a difference for the starfish. As if i were not hyper enough, his speech took it to a new level. I LOVED IT!


Day 2 Highlight:
Mark Sisson talked about choices -- what I loved about it was that there was no judgement of the choices - there are no good or bad choices - just choices. Your choices determine your outcomes and it's up to YOU to perform your own science experiment. The outcomes can then be judged as good or bad for YOU. I loved it because it not only resonated with the whole 'unity' theme but it stuck with me because i am all for empowering people to make choices. To give them control of their outcomes. Then and only then can people be held accountable. Accountability is... well that's a whole other blog post... 


Day 3 Highlight: 
Dean Dwyer! Dean blogs over at Being Primal, is an amazing success story and has a book that he's about to release.I got the chance to chat with Dean on day 1 and instantly wanted to talk to him more. He's not a scientist and wasn't an athlete looking to improve performance. He was a normal guy trying to heal himself and found Paleo. I had read his blog and re-posted his posts because there is great stuff to be found there but meeting him in person brought a whole new level of awesomeness to him! In his talk, entitled "Paleo that Lasts", Dean outlined 21 points to make paleo last. You'll have to get the Paleo FX dvd to see the whole thing but what an awesome way to end day 3! I was even MORE fired up (if that's even possible) to help people make this thing last. What an inspiration! 


I left this conference saddened because i honestly did not want it to end. The concentration of positive energy in that place was so inspiring that i wanted to stay there! Good news is that it's NOT going to end! I've decided to take flight... stay tuned. Big things are coming from Mrs. Paleo - aka starfish :)

Tanka Bars (what??)

Pre-Paleo, I had never heard of them either. SO glad I was introduced!

Since going Paleo, I’ve been ALL about making my own… well… everything! I even make my own jerky so WHY would I blog about anything packaged? Because this packaged product is one of a very few that I would GLADLY eat! Tanka bars are a 100% natural sweet savory mix of Bison, cranberries and seasoning – and that’s it. They’re gluten, lactose and soy free and have no nitrates or msg. No franken food here! They are tender and yummy and great to keep in my purse for a go-to when I’m on-the-go.

They are chewy – not chewy in the you’ll-wear-your-jaw-out-fall-asleep-while-chewing sense – but much more tender than any other jerky I’ve tried. There are also whole cranberry pieces in there which was a bit of a surprise for both me and the spousal unit. Not a bad surprise but a surprise none-the-less.

I tried every size (bars, bites and sticks) and shape as well as the spicy pepper blend and original. I prefer the spicy pepper blend because of the (very minimal) kick they have – mixes well with the sweet – a lot like me, sweet and slightly spicy! The kids liked all of them but liked the sticks the best.

Wanna try them yourself? Now through Feb. 17, go to www.TankaBar.com and use coupon code: MRSPALEO for a lovely discount! Hope you like them as much as we all did!

PS - To be Tanka is to live in balance with Mind, Body and Spirit... *love*