merchant ships

This weekend I traveled to six different markets/grocery stores to buy food for the week.  While I was frustrated at the wasted time and gas, I was reminded of this verse:

"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."  Proverbs 31 :14

A wise woman once told me this verse might mean going to multiple places to look for good deals and the cheapest prices.  This time around however, it was also to buy the menagerie of foods needed to eat Paleo. 

On Saturday, I drove to the Coppell Farmer's Market to buy grass-fed beef and pastured pork.  I mainly went to buy specifically from Rehoboth Ranch.  I have fallen in love with this family and what they stand for. Every member works out on the ranch in one way or another. The young ones gather eggs, the older ones actually sell meat at farmer's markets around the area.  They have farm tours and even have a potluck dinner for their regular customers who buy in bulk. Their meat is amazing and full of so much flavor. People have asked if I can tell a difference between grass-fed and "regular."  I couldn't tell a difference from grass-fed meats bought at the grocery store. But there is definitely a difference when you buy fresh!

On the way home, I stopped by The Cupboard to get Coconut Aminos (a soy sauce replacement). I called so many stores in our area, and this in the only place that carries it! But while I was there, I found almond butter on sale, so that was definitely a blessing!

Husband had to work Sunday morning, so I had him go to Natural Grocers.  He found this store and said it's like a mini Whole Foods. Good thing he found it because it's a block from my school and Whole Foods is not on my way home. They had tomato products in glass jars. I read an article months ago that said canned tomatoes are one of the worst things you can eat, PLUS they can cause fertility problems. Even after reading the article, I didn't completely stop using them because they were so convenient!! Canned tomatoes no more!!  The glass jar tomatoes are not only healthier, but they are easier to store if I don't need a lot.

That same morning, I loaded up the cooler in Genevieve and set out to gather more groceries.

My first stop, and where Husband and I met up, was Sprouts.  I can buy produce pretty cheap at Sprouts and they carry some organic brands that also have no sugar or salt added. I've learned that just because it's from Sprouts, doesn't make it healthy! Organic sugar is still sugar.  =)

We took a break from shopping and went to church.  We heard an awesome sermon on community and fellowship and I'm sure you'll hear more about it soon.

Next, we went to Costco.  I like to buy bulk frozen fruits and vegetables from here. I also get household items... much cheaper than at grocery stores!  Recently I've learned they have canned salmon and tuna with no soy or salt added. Why does there need to be soy in canned tuna? For goodness' sake!

After Costco, Husband had reached his shopping limit but I kept trekking. (It worked out perfectly, because we were in separate cars and the frozen stuff needed to go home immediately. Cooler or no cooler, everything melts in Texas heat!)  Kroger was my next stop. I love their rotisserie chicken and their strawberries have never been anything but melt-in-your-mouth amazing!! They also make fresh guacamole for about the same price as buying avocados.

I was completely exhausted by the end but felt so frugal and productive! I knew I had all the ingredients I needed to have a successful week of clean, Paleo eating. That is a huge stress reliever for me! Hopefully this will become a weekly ritual and I will learn tricks to make it go faster and smoother.  Boy does it give a whole new meaning to gathering "food from afar."


humbled by His faithfulness and love,
sarah jane

i'm having a blast!

"God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'  Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.' And it was so."    Genesis 1:28-30

 I am praising the Lord today for these verses that I have so often looked over.  He gave us every animal and every plant for our enjoyment and for food!  It has been such an eye-opening experience learning about how food is processed and digested, experimenting with fresh vegetables, learning how to substitute almond/coconut flour for white/wheat flour, looking for grass-fed meat farms and Community Supported Agriculture groups, and researching and then cooking Paleo recipes.  Food has never tasted so rich or been so vibrant in color, pure beauty! I'm having a blast cooking!

I have baked before (mainly the usual... cakes, brownies, cookies, pies) and cooked simple recipes... pretty much anything that was in my comfort zone. If the recipe called for an ingredient I had never heard of or seen, if I didn't know how to chop it or where to buy it, I refused to try it.  If the preparation time was too long, the process too messy, or it required several different dishes, forget it! 

But switching to Paleo has really forced me out of my comfort zone. Can I get a Hallelujah? Praise the Lord! And Amen!

This week I've made fajitas wrapped in lettuce (not cabbage!)...

sweet potato recovery bars (with homemade sweet potato puree)...

a ginormous omelet (this one was a disaster!)...

cookies with almond flour and coconut nectar...

garlic mashed potatoes (which was actually cauliflower)...

and spaghetti with spaghetti squash, but I didn't get a picture.

Okay so I'm definitely not a food photographer. And maybe the foods I've cooked with are foods you've been cooking with since age five. But I've branched out, and those of you who know me, know that's huge! (Especially since I was so addicted to carbohydrates and sugar.)

For the last two years, it seems the only thing that's been on my mind has been my infertility. I know... "relax, and it will happen!"  I'd like to see you walk this road and see how you handle that statement.  It's not easy to just relax and not think about being the one thing I feel I was created to be... a mom!

But the Lord has finally led me to a place where I can set my mind on something other than fertility, and it's actually become a beautiful worship experience.  Matt Chandler, from the Village Church, once said that everything we find pleasure in should result in worship to our Creator!  These past few years my time with the Lord has been sweet, but out of desperation... a crying out for Him to hear my prayers and draw near to me!  But in the last two weeks it has turned into a very different experience. It has been full of praise, adoration, and gratefulness. He has filled my cup to overflowing!  I never would have thought giving up carbohydrates and sugar meant getting more of Jesus!

This morning I found this...

ONE pink flower growing amidst a hundred white ones.  My favorite color is pink so I couldn't help but think of this as the Lord smiling down on me. Oh how well he knows me!

He is beautiful. And I'm so glad He's leading me in His ways, not mine.

humbled by His faithfulness and love,

sarah jane

lifestyle... redefined.

So much has happened the past few weeks I don't even know where to start.  But instead of dropping the bombshell, I'll go back to the beginning.

Six months ago when Husband and I started seeing doctors for my infertility, I was researching every natural alternative fertility treatment on the internet that I could find (I still am).  I looked at herbal supplements, nutrition, muscle testing, vitamins, etc.  Around the same time, a fad of "eating for your blood type" diets were going around. I knew I was O+ and that meant I should be on the Paleo diet. I knew maybe one or two people who were on Paleo. That meant cutting out all dairy, carbs, and sugar, which I absolutely refused to do. I remember thinking, "I get one life, I'm going to live it like I want and eat what I want." 

During my quiet times, I gently felt the Lord convicting me about my eating habits.  This verse repeatedly came to mind.

  "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own..."  

1 Corinthians 6:19  (emphasis mine)

Eating the way I had been left me so tired and lethargic. How can I be of use to the Lord when I'm constantly sleeping! But being the stubborn, must-learn-lessons-the-hard-way child that I am, I pushed these convictions aside.  I had bought a book about eating in moderation but never read it. If I started a "diet," it never lasted more than a day. To be honest, I think my eating got worse.

Fast forward five months... several of my friends had now converted to Paleo and were constantly posting pictures of their meals on Facebook. Meals that actually looked yummy! Meals I wanted to try.

So I started researching Paleo. Within minutes I was appalled at the foods I had been eating. Foods I had been told were healthy.  Foods I lived on. (This website is a great resource.)  These foods were carbohydrates (whole grains included), dairy, and sugar. 

What finally got my attention was that these foods could cause infertility.

Hold up... that meant the cinnamon roll I had for breakfast along with my chai tea could be keeping us from having children!?! What a simple fix!!

If that didn't do it, I also read these foods can cause autoimmune diseases (cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, schizophrenia... some pretty scary diseases).  My mom was diagnosed with MS about five years ago and I know it's genetic. I've seen what it's done to her and I don't want it happening to me.

The day after researching this, I went to see a nutritionist.  I'm praying the Lord will use her to regulate my hormones because I can't stand much more of this craziness! BUT, she asked if I had heard of Paleo and said if I'd be willing to commit to it that the supplements would work so much faster.  She asked if I knew my blood type (O+) and then said it's even more important that I switch.  People who are O+ generally crave carbohydrates and sugar.  After thirty days of not eating them, the cravings go away. 

How nice would that be!?

I already knew the Lord had been leading me this way. And I am SO thankful He never gives up.  I am finally switching to Paleo!! (Better late than never, right?)  And it is a new lifestyle for me, not a diet.  If eating this way glorifies the Lord, prepares my body for a baby, and prevents MS... I'm all for it, for life!

I've also changed my workout routine from solid cardio five times per week, to mostly lifting weights with a little cardio mixed in.  This picture totally sums up my thoughts, both then and now.

I am continually amazed at the love God pours out on His children.  Even when they don't listen, they pout, and they think they know best, but He never gives up.  He truly knows best for each and every one of us. I am so excited for this new journey and can't wait to see what God's got up His sleeves next.

humbled by His faithfulness and love,

sarah jane