Thoughts from The Thoughtful Cavedad and French Toast Frittata!
Hi, I’m Paul, from Thoughtful Cave Dad. Well, one of the Pauls anyways. There are actually two of us nutcases over there having some fun with this family-oriented Paleo blogging thing. When Heather asked me a month or so ago to write a guest post she said, “We obviously have enough time, so there is…
Hi, I’m Paul, from Thoughtful Cave Dad. Well, one of the Pauls anyways. There are actually two of us nutcases over there having some fun with this family-oriented Paleo blogging thing.
When Heather asked me a month or so ago to write a guest post she said, “We obviously have enough time, so there is no rush.” Little does she know me, since I’m writing this within about 5 days of her due date!
I have to admit, though, I’ve struggled a bit trying to figure out what to write for the past month since she first asked me. See, Heather and I don’t know each other well. In fact, like most of us on these interwebs, we’ve never met and have only interacted a bit via Facebook. But despite that, I am truly honored she asked me to write guest post for her during this most special time of her life.
To get some inspiration I did the thing we do on the internet. I checked out her blog a little more closely than I had in the past, looked at both her personal Facebook page and her blog-related page. And the thing that struck me most were her pictures. Not the Paleo Food Porn we Paleo bloggers are famous for, but those of her and her husband Joshua, and their two little, incredibly beautiful girls, Lyla and Lacie (who’s yet to arrive as I write this, but there are pictures of Heather and Lacie together as one, and they are truly beautiful!).
Looking through all these pictures of this young family is incredibly moving. They are very obviously very much in love with each other, and I can see how much Lyla adores both Mommy and Daddy. Maybe it’s a little sappy to say this, but yes, they remind me of my wife and daughters when they were young. The love seen on their faces and in their eyes is what we feel in our hearts. We are very different families on the surface. Heather and hers living down south in Georgia, a place I’ve only passed through many years ago long before marriage or children, and me and mine living up here in the fast-paced life of the Northeast, 40 or so miles from Boston.
But yet, at the same time, we have so much in common. A mother whose daughters are her whole life; a father who will, and does, do anything possible or necessary to love and support the ladies who bring him so much joy; and little girls, innocent, beautiful gifts from God. Especially those little girls. They’re magical creatures. They have the power to turn the worst days into Sunshine and Rainbows, their smiles can melt the harshest anger, and their hugs make nothing else matter at all. I know this from my own experience, and I can see it in Heather’s family photos. They have something very special. A gift only God can bestow.
Both of our families are in the middle of a major transition as well. Heather and Joshua with the impending arrival of their second daughter, Lacie. Our family is in the process of uprooting our lives and moving to a new home and a new town. We’re leaving the home my wife and I build 18 years ago; the only home our girls have ever known, the house we brought them home to when they were born. Heather’s family will experience the joys and struggles of new family dynamics, Lyla will be a big sister (one of the most important jobs she’ll ever have), Heather will have 2 little ones to keep track of during the day, and Joshua another reason to get up in the morning and to come home to at night. We will have to deal with a new house we don’t know and that we didn’t build, neighbors a whole lot closer than we’re used to, and our girls, for the first time, will be in different schools and have to make all new friends.
These are HUGE, scary changes for both of our families and they come with lots of stress and the anxiety of the unknown. But, as the saying goes, “Worry is a misuse of imagination!”. These changes open up just as much opportunity and adventure as anything else. We are all beginning a new chapter in our lives, and are faced with the blank pages waiting for us to write down the plot and fill in the characters.
As I write this, I think of how fortunate we both are to have brought the Paleo lifestyle to our families and how we are both trying to help others find this way through our blogs and other efforts. How we both found our way here from the SAD way of life we knew previously. In both cases it was a major change and upheaval to our lives. For some the prospect of making dietary changes is just as scary as having a baby or moving to a new town; possibly even more so. But I look back on my own journey and realize how far I’ve come and how grateful I am that I made this change for me and my family. I look at all the good things which have resulted; the clearer skin, the better sleep, the lowered anxiety, and the remarkable health we’ve all enjoyed, and I thank God for leading me and my family in this direction.
To be sure, there were plenty of challenges. No one wants to give up pizza or pancakes, and to be frank, many of the Paleo re-creations are poor imitations of that sugar and chemical-laden garbage we used to enjoy (and sometimes still do on rare occasions). The kids especially have had times where our families food choices made them stand out as different at school, and concessions are often made on my part to accommodate them. No dad wants to give his girls a food-oriented complex, after all!
So yes, transitioning to Paleo can be tough, and it requires a lot of work. But it’s really like any other transition or change in life which requires us to move from the known comfortable routine of our lives into the uncomfortable, often unpredictable, chaos of the unknown. It requires trust, and Faith, and yes, a whole lot of work! And many times it really doesn’t seem worth it. We must trust, though, blindly sometimes, that the future holds as much adventure and excitement as any other possibility. And that with each big change comes growth in ourselves, for the better. As Nietzsche said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger!”. So I choose to enter this major transition in my family’s near future with the same excitement that I know Heather and her family are facing with the approaching arrival of Lacie. The future is unwritten, a blank page for us to write the story on. And so it is with those of you committed to making a change in your own lives to improve your health and heal your family. Choose health and happiness. Fill in those blank pages, create those new characters, and trust in God that he led you here because He has even greater things in store for your future!
I polled my kids and asked what breakfast recipe I should share with Mrs. Paleo Mommy and her readers. There was quite a bit of discussion, and a whole lot of disagreement. In the end, however, we all agreed on a couple things:
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There are 5 billion recipes for Paleo Pancakes which anyone can Google.
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We should share something for which I already have pictures of.
We had lots of ideas, but in the end, we agreed that it should be something our family loves and wants to share, and something you perhaps haven’t had before and probably can’t find a lot of different versions of out on the interwebs.
So I present to you…
French Toast Frittata
Now, I can’t exactly claim responsibility for this one, since it’s not mine, but I’ve raved about it to so many and my family loves it so much I feel like it’s become my own. But the true genius behind this recipe is my friend, former gym-mate, kettlebell trainer extraordinaire, and the brains behind the web site (and Facebook page) Emotional Eating Solutions. Jamie first shared this recipe with me and my friends years ago on my first 30 Day Paleo Challenge, and my family has been enjoying it ever since. Please thank her by liking her FB page and checking out her website!
And without further ado, here’s how you make it.
1. 1 Sweet Potato
2. Peel
(Note: The end is sliced off for use with a spiral slicer. If you don’t have one, skip this step)
3. Shred the sweet potato
4. Sautée shredded sweet potato on med-low heat in grass-fed butter or coconut oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
(Note: those little round pieces are the “core” of the potato from the spiral slicer.)
5. While the sweet potato is cooking, prepare the egg batter.
6. Use 8-12 fresh, pastured eggs (store bought are fine if that’s what you have).
7. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (I like a LOT of each!)
8. Beat extremely well (I use my immersion blender).
9. When sweet potato is properly sautéed, add the egg mixture to the pan.
10. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or so.
(while this is cooking, turn on your broiler and start heating up the oven.)
11. Finally, place the pan in the over under the broiler and cook for 5 minutes.
(Time will vary depending on how many eggs you used. Keep an eye on it and test it with a toothpick if unsure.)
12. Slice and serve. And, for a real treat, drizzle some organic maple syrup over it!
Voilá! French Toast Frittata! I hope your family enjoys this as much as ours does!
