Memorial Day Weekend - Part One

Today we cooked out with some of the kids.  Andrew and his girlfriend, Aly, came over to help us chow down!

One way I feed many is by watching meat sales, butcher specials, etc.  Several weeks ago I found this wonderful large turkey breast on sale for $8!! I snagged that and threw it in the freezer.  I'd been waiting for a time we could grill it because I knew it would be fabulous on the grill.  Today was the day!!

I had everyone busy helping me in the kitchen today.  Truly a family affair!  These are some of my favorite moments as a mom.  I'm thankful I have a large kitchen (though I wish it was bigger) and we can all be in there together.  Besides grilled turkey, we also had a veggie try, fruit salad, roasted fresh green beans, creamy cucumbers (see Mother's Day post) and salad.  Just in case, and for leftovers, I threw some turkey burgers on the grill as well.

Here are the boys helping prep food:

Ethan snapping green beans.

Justin scooping cantaloupe seeds. 

Dawson making watermelon balls.

Matthew cutting cucumbers.

I made Magic Mushroom Powder, courtesy of Nom-Nom Paleo and used it to season the turkey before grilling.  This made the crispy outside devine!!

Turkey breast with Magic Mushroom Powder.

Yumm-o!!

Andrew cutting our bird!

A wonderfully delicious meal for all!!

More travel escapades...good friends, good food.

I've been pretty vocal about how much my life has improved since adopting a Paleolithic lifestyle.  My overall health is probably better now than it has been most of my adult life.  You can go back and read some of my personal health struggles in previous blog posts.  I truly never imagined that I could live a life free of chronic pain and fatigue. My friends and family are happy for me too.  They are also seeing changes in my children, which means whatever I'm doing is working, so keep doing it!!

I truly don't understand how friends or family members could not support something that so positively effects someone.  But I read about it all the time, "I can't go to my in-laws because everything they eat is junk, and loaded with grains."  "I can't go to the company picnic because no one understands how I eat and they think I'm a freak."  Really??  Why can't people be more supportive??  I'm not saying everyone should move mountains for one persons lifestyle, but no one should be labeled a freak. And would we say that about someone who was anaphylactic to say, peanuts?  I guess my point is, support for positive changes in someone's life should be supported and encouraged, rather than belittled and berated.

I'm super-duper thankful to my friends and family who have supported the changes in my life.  I knew it would be hard to travel, eat away from home, have meals prepared by others and be semi-reliant on whatever food was available.  I talked with our gracious hosts and my mother before our travels and discussed how we eat now, and hoped this could be somewhat accommodated, but we would eat whatever they felt comfortable serving us. I was assured by both parties that it would be no problem.  Of course you don't always know what to expect.

I should have known that the people who love me and love my kids would make sure that our needs were met abundantly!!!

Sharon, our wonderful hostess, made sure that we had eggs, bacon, sausage, and fruit for every breakfast.  My kids, who are no strangers to helping me prepare food, jumped right in and helped her everyday with breakfast and meal prep.  It is overwhelming to go from cooking for two people, to cooking for 8, but Sharon flew through it with ease!!  The other meals we ate with them were deliciously "paleo" as well!!  Ribs and chicken on the grill.  Veggies.  Fruits.  And even a batch of my chunky monkey muffins!!!  Yum!!

Since we were in KC for James' graduation, we had two events surrounding food for the weekend.  One was James' open house, the other a large family meal with our extended family.  Mom provided veggie trays, fruit trays, pickle trays and deli sandwich trays, along with the usual party fare of cake and ice cream.  I was able to remove rolls from sandwiches and eat to my heart's content from the various trays.  For our large meal, she had more trays as well as a large ham, salad and green beans.  I do believe there was another non-paleo dish and rolls.  And of course cake and ice cream.  Another meal success!!

There was never a question if I, or my children, would be hungry, or have reactions to a bunch of grain laden food.  My kids did overdo their 20% of cake and ice cream....but they are kids.  I enjoyed a small piece of cake, no icing and no ice cream.  I still live life.  I still enjoy celebrations.  I take my 80/20 very seriously. I eat about 98% most of the time, so I allow myself to splurge every once in awhile.  And this was the time to do it!!

I will say that all my meals stayed on track over the course of those four days.  I did have some alcohol over the weekend, and gas station coffee twice.  When we got back home, we also went out for pizza and I ate regular pizza with my family.  I'm glad to say that with the amount of healing my body (gut) has done over the past three months, I did not have any adverse reactions. I did gain 2 lbs, but that was gone again within a few days of being home.  This truly says a lot about my health and where I'm at compared to a few short months ago!  I don't intend on having splurges very often, as my goal is to maintain this good health, but it is refreshing to know that they 80/20 rule can apply to me.

Thank you again to our wonderful hosts, The Wilson's, and my mom and John, for all their efforts in feeding our family healthy delicious foods over those four days!!!

Traveling Paleo Style

Traveling with kids is never easy.  Traveling with five kids, most people would rather eat glass.  But I'm pretty much an expert at traveling with many kids.  I've flown on airplanes, post 9/11, with 7 children, including a baby.  I've traveled to Florida and back, by automobile, with 6 boys.  I cannot tell you the countless other road trips my kids have taken.  This is our 2nd trip to Kansas City since November.

As you can see by my profile, one of my children lives in KS with my mom.  Last weekend he graduated from high school.  Proud Mama (and Grandma) moment!!  I would not miss it for anything!  So glad we were able to go and spend a couple days with him.  Besides Mike and I and James' four brothers, we also brought James' best friend from home with us.  Five kids under 17 in a vehicle for 8 hours, there and back.

I typically try to pack our lunches, drinks and snacks for trips.  This prevents spending gobs of dough at gas stations, fast food joints and vending machines.  It also means less junk.  This was important before, but our travel fare did include junk foods, cookies, etc.  This trip meant more prep on my part.  Instead of going to the store and buying cookies, chips and snack cakes; I went to the store for fruit, nuts and veggies.

I made a double batch of chunky monkey muffins.  I also made two batches of paleo crunch, one nut-free.  In the cooler, I packed water bottles, and the boys' traditional lunch grub: Boar's Head meat, cheese and lettuce.  This would be our travel lunch.  I also packed a variety of nuts, apples, pears, bananas, cucumbers, and baby carrots.  I grabbed some of our boxed snacks that we use for lunches, fruit leather, raisins, etc.

We had plenty of things to snack on and a good lunch to keep everyone on track.  Some other things you could pack are: jerky, celery and nut butter, pre-made salads, broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple. Just about any fruit cut up, any veggies you can cut up and eat raw.  You could also bring cooked chicken breasts or pork chops or sliders.  Any meat that you can eat cold.

A lot of people would be overwhelmed with this task but it didn't really phase me.  I did make a small grocery store run for fresh fruit.  But other than that, everything was in reach in my kitchen.  Prepping veggies ahead of time and storing in Lock 'n Lock containers helps a lot.  Keeping foods we use a lot stocked in the kitchen also helps.

We survived our four day trip.  We had plenty of food and snacks. Everyone was happy!!

More to come on the rest of our travels and our wonderful hosts!!

Mother's Day 2014

Today we spent the day with my sister, Carol, and her family.  My dear sister is one of the people who hounded me about changing my diet.  Our genes lend us to more autoimmune issues than either of us care to admit.  We both have Raynaud's, we both suffer from migraines, we both have seen specialists for other autoimmune issues.  She has been a big supporter of me converting my whole family to a paleo diet.

It was so nice to be able to plan our whole meal today with no worries.  We had a wide variety of food, and not one child complained!!  We did laugh later that there was no fruit!  How did we miss fruit?!?!  Oh well, it didn't matter, we ate well for sure!!  I even ate avocado!!  

Today's menu included BBQ chicken on the grill, with my homemade paleo friendly BBQ sauce; jicama potato salad with bacon; creamy cucumbers; carrots with dressing and sesame seeds; roasted butternut squash; deviled eggs; and a mixed lettuce salad with all the trimmings.  Oh and I brought leftover chunky monkey muffins, which everyone always loves.  Maybe that was our fruit!

Christian helped make the deviled eggs.  He is not adept at peeling them yet, but he'll get there!

Creamy Cucumbers

2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2/3 cup fresh parsley leaves (I used dried because that's what I had)

In another bowl, mix: 

1/4 cup mayo (there are many paleo mayo recipes out there but this is my 20% as I tolerate it and I failed horribly at making my own.)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Toss over cucumbers, salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe adapted from the book Well Fed.

Jicama Potato Salad

This takes prep.  24 hours of prep.  But it's not hard.  You need two medium jicama, about the size of your two fists.  Diced into 1" cubes.  You can peel it if you want but I don't.  Place cubes into a crock pot and cover with water 2" over the top of the jicama.  Add 1 tsp salt.  Cook on high 12-24 hours.

Drain and pat dry.  These can be kept in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a bowl, mix together:

4 strips of bacon, 1/4" pcs fried (you can use leftover bacon from breakfast like I did, or cut up the bacon into pieces and quick pan fry it.)

4 hard boiled eggs, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1/2 medium red or yellow onion, diced

1 TBS dried chives (I used fresh)

3/4 tsp. dried mustard

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Add the jicama and mix well.

Add 3/4 cup mayo (see above for my mayo disclaimer)

Chill for about 20-30 minutes.

This recipe was also found in Well Fed.

My personal notes on this...I used 5 strips of bacon and next time, I will use more.  I also like mustard, so I may increase the dried mustard a bit.  But everything blended really well together and was yum!  Jicama does not taste "exactly" like potatoes, but it is a great substitute.  If you find that you do well with white potatoes, use them!  I do eat them on occasion, but I prefer to save those for a rare treat.  This I could make once a week all summer!

Need a coffee pick me up??

I love coffee.  Ok, that's an understatement, but you don't really want my true coffee feelings broadcast all over the web.

Since removing refined sugar from my daily life, though, coffee has been harder and harder for me to drink.  I admit it.  I doctor my coffee up.  Sugar, cream, sometimes flavorings.  Mocha, caramel, I'm not prejudice.  But now...coffee makes me sad.  :(  I have yet to find anything that compares to refined sugar and bottled, flavored creamer for my coffee.  I'm thankful that the paleo lifestyle gives me TONS of energy and I wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day, otherwise, well, me and that sugar bowl would still be good friends!

I've made at least three homemade creamers.  I've used coconut cream, coconut milk and almond milk.  I've used maple syrup and honey.  None are good enough.  I did resort to just putting chocolate coconut milk in my coffee and that was ok.

In my never-ending search for the perfect paleo coffee, I found this recipe and just had to try it!  I enjoyed it a lot.  I'm sure the banana helped give it the sweet kick it needed.  I will make this throughout the summer.  The recipe says it is one serving, but it couldn't finish it quick enough, so you might be able to split it with someone.  Or not!!!

 

Banana Mocha Shake from Paleo Spirit

1 frozen banana, sliced

1/2 c ice cubes

1/2 c strong coffee

2 TBS cocoa powder

1 TBS honey

1 TBS coconut butter

Small splash vanilla

Blend in blender until smooth.  Enjoy! 

The link will give you directions on how to make coffee ice cubes.

If you don't want to make this, but enjoy cold coffee, you might try this.  I'm a fan and have a few stashed in my fridge.  Just an FYI, they do contain sugar.

Chunky Monkey Muffins....my kids' favorite treat!!

Today was Jessica's birthday, so I made the whole family's favorite treat....Chunky Monkey Muffins!!!!

Mine aren't as "chunky" as they could be because I don't add walnuts to them due to our kiddos with tree nut allergies.  I haven't found anyone yet who isn't a fan of these.  Today I made a double batch!!

Chunky Monkey Muffins

1/2 c. Coconut flour

1/2 c. Tapioca flour (or you can sub Arrowroot, I've done both)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 c. Butter, melter (if you are dairy free, you can sub palm shortening)

1/2 c. Coconut sugar 

1 cup bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1/2 c. Enjoy Life mini chips

1/2 c. Walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350*.  Line muffin cups with liners.

Sift together coconut, tapioca and baking soda.  

In food processor, mash your banana.  Add butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs and blend well. 

Add the flour mixture to you wet ingredients, mix well.

Fold in chips and walnuts, if desired.

Pour into muffin cups.  I use a Pampered Chef cookie scoop for mine. 

Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown.  

Flourless Muffins

Recently, on a paleo Facebook page, a gal posted pics of her baking day.  She had these nice, large, golden, muffins.  I was jealous.  Sure, my chunky monkey muffins are amazing. And my honey muffins taste like pound cake.  But I really want muffins that puff up and crack on the top.

She gladly shared her recipe with the group.  I just had to make them right away!!

I made two different kinds.  One per her instructions and another nut free.  I love the way they turned out, but they didn't give me the taste I had hoped for.  The one per her instructions were better than the nut free version.  I will definitely make them again, but I might have to alter the nut free version.

Basic Flourless Muffins

1 c. Almond Butter (you can sub other nut butters, for nut free, I used sun butter)

2 eggs

2 TBS raw honey

1-2 bananas (I used one)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Fold in dried fruit, nuts or carob nibs. 

Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake 375* for 15-25minutes

I used chopped almonds and dried cranberries in the ones with almond butter.  I put cacao nibs in the ones with sun butter.  Good but need some tweaking.  

Spring = Grilling!!!

I'm so glad we are finally seeing consistent nice weather!!!  The kids can get outside and out of my hair, and we can fire up the grill every night of the week!!  We grill year-round, but with 3' of snow on the patio for most of the winter, it just wasn't happening a lot. One of our goals this summer is to hook up our grill to our natural gas line.  Once that happens, our patio will definitely be an extension of our kitchen!  I cannot wait!!  No more propane tanks!!!!!

You must understand, you can grill anything!!!  I marinate roasts and cook them on the grill!  Veggies, fruit, mushrooms, meat, meat and more meat!!  Yum!!!!!!

Last night, I made a simple dry rub out of spices and put it on some thick cut boneless pork chops.  While those were grilling, I tossed some olive oil, salt and pepper onto fresh green beans and threw them in the oven.  Then I fried up some bacon, mixed it with cream cheese and diced onion and stuffed mushrooms and put those on the grill.  Dinner was ready in no time!  All healthy fats and delicious!

I also tried my hand at some homemade paleo dinner rolls.  They didn't turn out quite like I expected them to.  Those will be a do-over, but they weren't horrible.

In general, cooking healthy, without grains, for your family doesn't have to take a lot of extra time.  This meal, minus the rolls, was ready in about 45 minutes.  Helps to have a great guy, willing to grill for you!!!

Is it easy? The simple answer is, no.

I'm constantly asked about the time, the dedication, the cost, etc. that is involved in feeding a large family Paleolithic foods.  Yes, it takes time.  Yes, it takes planning.  Yes, it takes money.  Yes, we have meltdowns.  Yes, we have reactions.  Yes, we deal with food allergies.  Yes, there are days I just want to drive through McDonald's and call it a night.  Ok, no.  I hate McDonald's.

I have a very busy life.  I work full time, outside the home.  I volunteer at my kids' school, during basketball season this is basically a 2nd full time job.  Cooking, cleaning and taking care of a large family is a full time job.  Spending time with my kids, doing homework, entertaining, guiding, parenting, enjoying life....is a full time job.  I would say that this describes most mom's.  No one is "not busy".  Busyness is relative.  We all find things to keep us "busy" even if we only have one or two children, or even none.  I say all this to prove that busyness is an excuse.  Period.  So stop saying you're too busy.  If I'm not too busy, then neither are you.

I live on a very limited income.  I work full time, but my salary does not reflect my worth. Not even close.  For various personal reasons, I remain in my present job.  I do receive income outside my employment, but this does not put me in even a middle class income level.  Everyone has "money issues".  Few of us, maybe none, are independently wealthy.  Most of us have debt and bills and everything just keeps going up.  Doesn't matter your income level.  Money is also an excuse.  I share my personal finances, to an extent, to show that it doesn't matter how much money you make.  You're going to spend the money somewhere. Grocery store/Farmer's market....fast food....healthcare?  Money is relative.  You are going to spend it.  You choose where you spend it.  Medications to resolve your IBS, acid reflux, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, etc.  Seeing doctors for chronic fatigue, depression, ADHD in your kids.  Missing work due to illness, migraines, etc.  Fast food drive-thru because you're busy, your kids are picky, your too tired, ad nauseam.  If I'm not too poor, neither are you.

I'm an organized person, but meal planning has been a thorn in my side for a very, very, very long time.  Because of this we ended up in the drive-thru more often than not.  My kids ate the same thing for lunch every single day.  We ate the same boring meals all the time.  I love food, but I must admit, unless we were having company, our meals were boring.  I sucked it up.  Said again, this is an excuse.  And started planning.  One of the things I hope to achieve through this blog is to show other busy mom's that they CAN do this, and provide resources, tools, and tips on how to make that happen.

I want to help you in your areas of struggles.  Please leave comments and questions and I will try to address them in replies or future blog posts.  Trust me....it isn't easy.  My kids are picky.  (I didn't think they were!). We have meltdowns.  I'm way too busy.  And many times I'm wondering where the next $50 for fresh fruit/veggies is going to come from.  But my family eats paleo meals...every day...despite these things.  This is your wake up call!  I will venture into meal planning, grocery shopping and where to find quality paleo foods in the coming days.

Brownies!!!

They are AMAZING!!!!!!

Everyone unanimously agreed, these are a keeper!  It only took me three tries to find a good brownie recipe. I'm more limited than most, as I cannot use nut flours for general baking.  Christian and Justin both have tree nut allergies, so if I want them to be able to eat something I have to be sure it is nut free.  Nut flours are more conducive to baking.

This recipe is from Paleo Indulgences.  

Decadent Brownies

Step 1
2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
3 TBS full-fat coconut milk
1/4 c. Unsweetened cocoa powder
3 TBS coconut oil, melted

Step 2
3 TBS arrowroot starch, may sub tapioca
1/4 c. Coconut flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of sea salt

Step 3
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1/4 c. olive oil
2 eggs, whisked
1/4 c. canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place all the Step 1 ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until melted.  Remove from heat.

Place all the Step 2 ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the Step 1 chocolate mixture and all the Step 3 wet ingredients to the Step 2 dry ingredients.  Blend well with a hand mixer.  (I used my KitchenAid.)

Pour batter into a greased 8x8 glass baking dish. Bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wife rack.  Cut brownies into squares  and enjoy!

Store leftovers (ha!) in an airtight container up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months.


I think she is nuts.  There aren't any leftovers!!

Teacher Treats!! Teacher Appreciation Week

I've been spoiling my kids' teachers for years with baked goods and treats.  It's the least I can do.  They invest sooooo much I to the lives of my kids.  I homeschooled for nearly 20 years, and it broke my heart to pack up my last four babies and send them to school.  But I will say, these ladies (and men!) are the closest thing I could ever get to "me".  They love my kids and truly minister to them in every area of their life.  They make very little as a salary.  They do this out of love and dedication.  That means more to me than anything!!

This year (and last) each of my kids' teachers received a hanging plant for Teacher Appreciation Week.  It is a nice send off for the summer and they can think about my beautiful monsters all summer long when they look at it.  ;)  They can also be reminded which one they will have next!!

This has been a memorable school year for us in many ways.  We have two graduations this year.  James will graduate from Olathe Northwest High School in Kansas in a couple weeks.  And Christian will graduate from 8th grade here at KTA the following week.  Both boys are growing into tremendous young men, with lofty goals for the future.  I'm proud of all their accomplishments.  James went off 3 years ago to live with my mom and gain new life experiences.  He went from home to a large public high school.  He had a rocky start, but he overcame those struggles and will march down that aisle with his class!  He has come so far and I couldn't be prouder of all that he has done in these 3 short years.   I'm so thankful for my other's willingness to open her home to James.  She has worked tirelessly with the school to make sure James was given opportunities and success.  I will forever be grateful for all she has done.  To add to the excitement, Christian was the recipient of the Kiwanis Award for Academic Excellence yesterday. This is a great achievement!!!  Yesterday we were also informed that he will be graduating at the top of his class!  This is a beyond "proud mama moment"!!  I know Christian is a smart kid, hard worker and excels in other areas of leadership and responsibility.  It is always thrilling to see your hard work pay off in parenting and discipline in these tangible ways.  But there are women in Christian's life besides me that have contributed to his success.  Joann Meyers, who sat and cried with me more than once over my kiddos, and encouraged Christian to keep going even when he wanted to chuck it all.  She has been a rock for me the past 3 years.  Louise Soucie, who has continued to push Christian in his spiritual life and leadership in his class.  Carole Bray, who came alongside and gave Christian wings with his responsibility.  Lindsay Dorris, who has challenged him in more ways than one to keep his focus and strive to do better.  Ashley Goad, who gave him a stronger love of history.  I am continually thankful for Pastor Brad, Christine Rozak and the staff of KTA, for taking my children in, bathing them in prayer and helping me complete this job of raising them.  I cannot express enough appreciation to them!

In addition to the flowers, each teacher also received a container of "Paleo Crunch". I've heard this referenced as "Paleo Crack" because it is so addictive and you can't stop eating it.  While I was making this, I literally burned my fingers and tongue because I kept wanting to eat it!!  I have never been a granola fan.  Oats and nuts, yuck.  But there is something about this that has that "yum factor" and I'm a fan!!

You can find the recipe here: Paleo Crunch 

I am working to make this nut-free for my tree nut allergy kids.  I will post again when I have success! 

Again, thank you to all the wonderful teachers in my children's lives.  You all mean the world to me!

Cinco de Mayo - Taco Night!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

We love tacos.  We have them probably once a week.  I've been in a frustration mode over tortillas though.  I've made them from scratch several times, but I'm just not happy with the results.

Tonight, I decided to make "Taco Boats" instead.

All you need is a package on Romaine lettuce.  Break them leaves off and viola! Boats!!

Add taco meat.  Tonight we used ground beef, but I've also used turkey.  I make my own taco seasoning do there is no "junk" in it.  

Add toppings!!!  We use full fat cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, etc.  I will often whip up some homemade salsa or guacamole in the Ninja or food processor.  Yum!!!

Everybody loved the "boats" and wanted more.  I guess I need to increase, yet again, how much taco meat I make!!  

Kitchen Organization...Cleaning House, Literall

Over the past 7 weeks I have slowly reorganized my kitchen.  I did this in small segments, one area at a time.  It would be much too overwhelming to try to do this all at once.

1. I have a fairly large kitchen.
2. I have a lot of "stuff".
3. I am an organizational freak.
4. I needed to plan each area.

I will say, this is still an on-going process.  As I do more whole food cooking and find what works and what doesn't my kitchen will evolve more.

One of the first areas I tackled was my "baking area".  I knew I needed to be able to have my new found "flours" easily accessible.  I have a pantry cabinet next to my stove/cooking area.  This has housed many a cake and brownie mix, oodles of boxes of cereal and loads of microwave popcorn.  Today, it looks much different.  

The top shelf contains staple baking items and chocolate.  

The 2nd shelf now is loaded with a variety of "flours" and "starches".  Each container is labeled with what's inside.  I don't want to ever grab an incorrect flour.  Two reasons:  We have tree nut allergies.  Non-Grain flours are all used very differently.  Since this picture was taken, I've added two more containers.

The 3rd shelf, at the point the top picture was taken, had sauces that I still have on hand, microwave popcorn (yes it's peaking back there), my small jar of coconut oil, maple syrup, etc.  This shelf now has been cleaned up a bit.  

The 4th shelf still contains baking mix and a 2 month old open box of Total.  Mike won't let me throw it out. I think some pure refined sugar pancake syrup might be there too.  But right smack dab in the front now is this beauty:

I have a bit of tweaking to do, but overall this is working well.  

The spice/baking cabinet received the next overhaul.  This was an enlightening experience.  Do you KNOW how old your spices are????  I threw a lot of stuff away that day.  At least one garbage bag full.  That says a lot when you are talking about spice jars.

I moved all my old traditional baking supplies to the top shelf, behind everything else.  These may still be used from time to time...Christmas baking.  Maybe.  The middle shelf has become an overflow of sorts.  Extra spices that I've purchased because I use them a lot, vanilla and other extracts, sea salt/pepper.  The bottom shelf contains the spices we use regularly.  This too has grown a bit since this picture was taken.  I've added some balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and local raw honey!

The "lunch" cabinet has been showcased here already.  But I thought I'd talk about it again.  This area didn't change much overall.  I have kept all our 31 lunch bags on that shelf since my kids went to school 3 years ago.  I bought two sets of the red Rubbermaid sets back then too, and they are still going strong.  I did add a few more with the twist-tops recently.  (Red distinguished them from the blue ones I used for leftovers, stored elsewhere in the kitchen.)  The "snack box" on the top shelf holds all their fruit leather, raisins, etc.  

The cabinet adjacent to the lunch cabinet used to be the "go-to" snack cabinet.  I guess it still is.  Instead of chips, cookies, and crackers, now you will find a wide variety of nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

Lock 'n Locks are stored here for easy packing up of fruits and veggies.