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Today was my daughter’s first day of school at her new school. We were so excited to take her and she was even more excited to get there!

I think they are going to miss each other after such a great summer…

On the car ride there…

So after taking pictures like the paparazzi while doing a drive by, and getting to see my daughter shake Ms. V’s hand, which will be the first of many times (a morning tradition where this amazing woman knows the name of every single student and there are almost 375 children!), we drove off.  I don’t know if was the emotions of her starting this new incredible journey, or the realization of our dream for her going to this school came true, but whatever it was, I became teary eyed, which is not like me at all.

Anyway, on the drive home, trying not to talk, my son, who is very chatty says “Mom, is California on the world?”.  Choked up, I tried to answer.  Then he continues with “Is gun powder not so good for your body?”. What?  Then “Mom, George’s bottom is on me”. After about five more questions like “has a dinosaur ever been in a volcano? ” (these questions were all asked within about 5 minutes by the way) I just started to laugh. In fact, I was laughing so hard, I was crying.  Leave it to Tate to make me laugh, even if it wasn’t intentional.  Our kids say the darndest things, don’t they?

So, since this first day of school kind of marks the last days of summer for us, I thought I would do one last summer chicken salad recipe.   This one has an avocado dressing and is really good! I made the mistake of making 3 lbs like I usually do with my chicken salads.  I forgot about the avocado not lasting past 2-3 days so next time, I’ll just do a pound and a half.   Anyway, this is what you need for this yummy Avocado Chicken Salad:

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1-2 avocados (I used 1 1/2)
• 1 apple, diced (I used a pink lady apple)
• 2 ribs celery
• raisins or some cut up grapes
• roasted flax seeds (optional)

Next, blend together ingredients for dressing until smooth.  

I don’t know if it was being at my grandpa’s house out in the country last week — a place of fond memories where my grandma use to make her homemade biscuits and we’d eat at least 4 with honey (my mouth is watering!)– or the fact that my fridge was empty (I usually have so much food in there that I’ve pre-made for breakfast and lunches) but I knew I wanted something warm and yummy for breakfast. Since I didn’t really feel like bison, Sloppy Joe’s, and broccoli this particular morning, I knew I had to make something good or this could turn out to be a cheat day, and what’s better than some warm buttery biscuits!

So after doing a little research I found for some paleo biscuits that said that they were very similar texture to old fashion biscuits.  Awesome. And they were. Look, it was like real white flour, Crisco dough!

And we cooked them and broke them open and there were just as dense as real biscuits! Only problem was, they were AWFUL!!!  So, of course I had to try again and thank goodness, with my own concoction, I think I got it right!

They were a little less dense and reminded me a little of cornbread but regardless they were still really delicious!! My mouth is watering again.  Gosh, I must be hungry!

Here’s how to make them:

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup almond meal (use almond flour if you have it)
• 4 tbsp Butter, melted
• 4 eggs or 3/4 cup egg whites
• 1-2 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt of salt
• dash of cinnamon (optional)

These biscuits were really good, and especially with some bacon! There’s just something about a bacon and egg biscuit.  Mmmmm….

I’ll admit, packing lunches is not something I look forward to doing every morning.  But it’s so important to me to feed my children well, and especially during school when focus and concentration (and good behavior) is required for a long period of time.

Over the years of packing school lunches, I have learned that there are two key things to making a healthy lunch fun and successful. Rule number one — variety, and rule number two — small quantities.  I don’t think many kids (or adults for that matter) want to eat a huge ziplock bag of carrots or cucumbers.  Just throw a few veggies in with some other fun and healthy foods and chances are greater they will disappear.

For my kids lunch we will use either bento boxes or lots of small containers in a lunch box.  Here is a link to a couple of different bento boxes:

Bento box example 1 – This is the one we use.

Bento box example 2 – I would love to get this one soon!

So, what do my kids eat for lunch at school? Well, Alice really likes her warm foods so most of the time I’ll pack a thermos with some spaghetti chili, sloppy joes, or hamburger, so she can get that grass fed, vitamin A & D filled protein fuel. Why do I feel eating this meat is important? Read this article or this old post of mine that helps explain some of the reasons.  Okay, back to lunch.  We also do lots of mini containers (they’re about 2×2 inches) along with her thermos.  These containers typically include either carrots or cucumbers, nuts (pistachios, almonds, or cashews) , olives, fruit (apples, grapes, oranges typically), and then a small treat which would include a few dark chocolate (73% cacao)  almonds or a couple of macaroons (low sugar with high omega-3s).

At camp this summer, Tate used a bento box (albeit pink!).  Since he got out at 1:00 (and it was camp and not school) he didn’t need quite as much protein or food so this combination worked well for him.  In his box we included KIND gluten-free granola, dark chocolate covered almonds, fruit (berries), carrots (or cucumbers), Wellshire Turkey Sticks, and some nut butter (or nuts) every day.  And, for my little guy who doesn’t love carrots, would eat every single one of them every day at camp.  Again, small quantity and variety makes lunch fun!

Here is a list of what we will use, along with some other ideas:

You go to a friend’s house for dinner?”  During the giveway, I had a few people ask this question so wanted to address it.  Great question by the way!  Thanks guys for asking it.

Oh, and I’ll get to the picture soon.  It’s worth the wait, I promise!!

So if friends don’t know how we eat or we are unsure of the meal, we typically will eat just a little something ahead of time so we aren’t famished when we get there.  I will also try to help the kids make good choices by talking to them about it on the car ride there so they are prepared. I don’t make it a big deal, but I want them to be ready to make good decisions. And of course, at the same time, we do have to try to balance that without being rude.  More times than not, there is always something we can eat that works though.  Eating this way really isn’t hard since more times than not, there is always some protein and/or vegetables around.

Something else you can do to help, and this is one you probably do anyway, but offer to bring a dish, or two!  Bring a good appetizer or healthy side that your family can enjoy, as well as everyone else.  Or if it’s the desserts that they will have that has you worried, it’s always easy to bring a pretty bowl of some fresh cut up berries or whatever fruit you guys like. Maybe even bring some dark chocolate to melt and make it a little more fun.  Who doesn’t love fruit dipped in warm dark chocolate?? All you need is a cup and microwave so it’s simple to do.  Or make some fabulous chocolate chip cookies. I’m always looking for an excuse to bake those things!

With that said, we aren’t always going to be with our kids to help them make these decisions though and that’s why it’s so important to teach them now.  And as I’ve said before, if we don’t educate them, who will?

And of course, there are a few rare times when there’s not much we can do, so they’ll eat what is there, call it a special occasion, help them realize why they feel tired or less energetic or grumpy the next day, and chalk it up to a learning experience as well.

Okay on to the fun stuff!! So who doesn’t love or miss french fries?  These were THE BEST paleo french fries, or just french fries for that matter.  Crispy (yes super crispy!!), tasty, and good for you!  My husband had these ready as a part of our dinner the other night when the kids and I got home from the beach.  Sweet guy.  Anyway, he made them better than I did (yes of course I made them again the very next day), but they were still so good.  I think by the second or third time, I think I’ll be able to get them just right. Hope these instructions will help you. ..

You just need a few sweet potatoes and some arrowroot powder!

Wash, peel and then cut your potatoes but make sure not to make them too thick or too thing (these were a tad too thick).  I think next time I’ll just make mine round using the mandolin so they will be more consistent.

After cutting the potatoes, put them in a bag (or big bowl) with water and let them soak for at least an hour (that’s all we did) or up to 5 or so hours (this is optional if you have time).

After they soak (optional), get out another freezer bag and scoop 2-3 tbsps of arrowroot powder. Then pat dry the spears off and put them in the bag (blow some air in the bag) and shake so they are evenly coated.   Next, spray a cookie sheet with coconut oil. Then lay the spears out flat on a cookie sheet.  Make sure they aren’t bunched up or they will just get soggy.

Oh and mine have way more arrowroot powder covering them than they do in this photo below.  Turns out the more arrowroot powder, the crunchier they are!

Drizzle 1-2 tbsp(s) of olive or coconut oil across the fries. Then cook on 425 for 20 minutes, and then flip for another 5-10 minutes.  Allow to cool, add some celtic salt and cinnamon (optional) and go crazy!  I ate so many of these the first night, I gave myself a stomach ache!!  Don’t go that crazy.

Enjoy!