food journal

Important Nutrients From Food (Chart)

August 20, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

Important Nutrients in Food Chart (CLICK to enlarge)

Since changing my diet from vegan to omnivore, I have found myself looking into which foods are optimal sources of various nutrients. As a result, I started making lists to compile all of the data in one place.

Here’s my latest version, which is a work in progress, but I thought I’d share anyway because it’s a nice starting point. I’ve selected nutrients that I feel are important for my family’s optimal health. The items are not listed in any order of importance.

You’ll notice that most of the best sources, for many of these nutrients, are from animals. But, I would never settle for just any animals. As someone who cares for animals, and appreciates them and the nutrition they offer, I will only buy grass-fed and/or pasture-raised animal foods: meat, fish, some dairy, and lots of eggs. To see a list of the various places I source our foods, see this blog post.

Restaurant Review: Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe New Mexico

August 14, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

Cast Iron Seared Grass-Fed Filet Mignon Steak Au Poivre #CoyoteCafe Santa Fe NM — Cast Iron Seared Grass-Fed Filet Mignon Steak Au Poivre #CoyoteCafe

We recently enjoyed a summer road trip all the way to Michigan from Arizona. Yes, that’s a looooong trip which is why many people ask why we don’t fly. Well, to be honest, apart from kind of enjoying time in the car (I get a lot of reading done: here’s a great book), there’s an important factor with which I am obsessed: Food. By traveling in the car (our mini van, specifically), I can pack things from my kitchen so that I can cook on the road for my family (induction hot plate, anyone?). As I like to say, “have induction hot plate, will travel.” Eating healthy and delicious food is my main passion so I do whatever it takes to make that happen.

We ventured to Michigan because that is where I grew up, and my brother, his wife, and their kids are there, plus my dad, step-dad, and dear sister-in-law-ish. At the time of our journey, our daughter had just turned four years old, and that meant shorter stretches of driving. Therefore, our days in the car maxed out at around 7 hours, if we could help it. That means lots of nights in hotels. How did I make high-quality, Real Food on the trip in hotels? It was fairly simple… with smart planning. I’ll detail it all in a blog post soon because I have a lot to share on the topic. I’ve made the trip twice now, a bit different each trip, and I like to think I have it figured out.

We didn’t eat every single meal as homemade though. Some of our meals, although just a couple, were enjoyed in restaurants. Enter: Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, NM.

On the trip back from Michigan we decided to spend a couple of days in Santa Fe as a little break from the non-stop driving and to enjoy the local atmosphere of Santa Fe. So lovely.

Coyote Cafe

One of the best meals of my life. And to think I almost opted for a different restaurant because of the Yelp Review stars I saw. Glad my husband urged us to go to Coyote Cafe. Greg had been there about 20 years ago (the place has been around about 27 years), and was itching to try it again.

The presentation of the meals was gorgeous and thoughtful. The decor of the restaurant was open and pleasing, artful, and chic although a bit dated. It is showing the years of wear and is overdue for a refresh.

The service was top of the line. Our server was Lynsey and she catered to our every need. I’d also like to mention that the support staff were equally great. So much of a restaurant experience goes beyond the food.

25 “Real Food Fast Food” Ideas

June 20, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

I’m not going to lie…

Living a life, where Real Food takes center stage, can take effort and time.

But. I have good news. It doesn’t always have to. For those of you who are really busy but would love to have some truly easy and healthy meal ideas to throw together, then this post is for you.

Raw oyster. Real Food Fast Food. #Zinc — Raw oyster. #RealFoodFastFood. #Zinc

For starters, let’s understand what Real Food is. Real Food, for me, is:

Eating as many foods from scratch.
Eating foods that are minimally processed.
Eating foods that are close to nature.
Eating foods that my great nana would make.
Eating foods that rarely come from a restaurant and/or box.

This is how I keep my family healthy. This is what I love. This is what works for us.

But… A life full of Real Food based on those bullet points above takes time. Quite a bit of time, in fact.

Yes, there are quick recipes that can be made in a slow cooker like this chicken recipe, this grass fed beef recipe, this grass fed beef tongue recipe, and this grass fed bison heart recipe. And, with my recent experience in a Classic Cooking school, I’ve learned how easily fresh and delicious soups can be made (15 minutes of prep max with about 15 minutes of cooking time) and how to quickly sear a grass fed steak (a couple of minutes each side and finish in the oven – that’s pretty simple) topping it with a brown sauce, and properly cooking some vegetables for the side. As well, scrambling up some pasture raised eggs or blending a smoothie can be a fairly fast food experience.

Still… even those simplest of preparations actually do take time and maybe more importantly they take forethought. I have to thaw the grass fed meat. I have to wash the organic vegetables, prep, and cook them. I have to make sure I have demi-glace made (and thawed) for the sauce. As you can see, it can still be a bit of a draining experience from thinking about the process to actually making the food, even if the ultimate food prep is only 20 to 25 minutes for a fabulous dinner.

Where am I going with all this? Well, even though I do those things most of the time, there are times I just can’t.

My 3 year old’s food for a day

May 1, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

Here’s how my three year old ate the other day… she’s a foodie rock star who routinely eats wild caught salmon roe, grass fed liver and heart, sardines out of the can, all of her veggies, and extra dark organic chocolate to name a few.

BREAKFAST

Organic blueberries topped with 1) organic grass fed whole yogurt, 2) sprouted raw organic pumpkin seeds, and 3) raw organic coconut oil.
Herbal tea Mountain Rose is my favorite place to buy herbal teas. They really know what they’re doing. We buy many of their blends (pictured above) as well as single leaf teas to make our own blends. Tea drinking is a ritual we take seriously in our house. Coffee too!

LUNCH

Three gently scrambled organic pasture-raised eggs in grass fed ghee (this is the only ghee I buy – it’s deliciously unique). The eggs are topped with raw grass fed cheese, steamed organic broccoli, and organic salsa.
Kits organic chocolate almond coconut bar
Filtered water

DINNER

Vitamin D3 supplement
Grass fed organic liver and ground beef recipe with organic grass fed buttered mashed potatoes. I FINALLY nailed a liver recipe, after many attempts, that is so delicious. I eagerly want it every week and it’s loaded with nutrition. I will share it very soon so you, too, can happily reap the benefits of grass fed liver with a genuine smile.
Grass fed organic mint chip ice cream.
Filtered water

Kristen Suzanne’s Food Journal

April 20, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

BREAKFAST

Fermented Cod Liver Oil. High Vitamin Butter Oil. – I took a teaspoon of each and chugged them down with filtered water. They have fat-soluble vitamins that work synergistically to help boost immunity, longevity, and fertility. That being said, while I’m pretty sold on the beauty of High Vitamin Butter Oil, I’m not completely sold on the fermented cod liver oil. My jury is still out. I praise it for the high vitamin A content which is why I like it (along with the vitamin D), but I’m not sure we need fish oil in our diets especially if we already eat a low omega-6 diet, thereby requiring less need for omega-3? Not to mention, we eat sardines and wild caught salmon (along with other high quality grass fed animal products) giving us great sources of omega-3. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the answer so I usually choose to have the fermented cod liver oil on hand in the case of illness but not take it regularly.
2 raw pasture-raised, organic egg yolks swallowed from a shot glass and chased with iced herbal tea. Oftentimes I add 2 to 3 drops of this crazy hot and therapeutic cayenne tincture.
Smoked Oysters (canned)
Vitamin Supplements (various ones like magnesium, CoQ, organic turmeric – taken with fat, probiotic – trying a new one, multi)
Decaf Upgraded Coffee with organic grass fed cream and Upgraded grass fed Collagen

Eating Healthy With Limited Time – Food Journal of a Busy Day

March 26, 2014 By Kristen Helmstetter

I keep these in the car for enhancing foods I eat at restaurants.

We had a very busy day so I thought I would share how we sometimes eat when we have a full schedule and we’re on the go. The majority of our meals are all made from scratch three times a day, and almost always eaten at home. However, sometimes I need a bit of help in the kitchen so there are few organic premade items that I buy from the grocery store (jars of organic tomatoes as they’re often more delicious than fresh tomatoes depending on the season, organic pasta sauce – with no sugar added, snack bars, gluten free crackers, sardines, smoked wild caught sockeye salmon, etc). And, sometimes we eat at a couple of carefully chosen restaurants.

Here was our schedule on this busy day…

food journal

Important Nutrients From Food (Chart)

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