Payday was Thursday. That means grocery shopping. This payday I decided to dive in and begin making small changes to our diet. Of course, the changes that I’d like to make are costly. My family will also likely balk at the taste of the changes I want to make so I decided to go slow. It will be easier on the budget and easier (I hope) on my familie’s frame of mind.

I have been inspired by so many people to make these changes I hardly know where to give recognition! My friend Kelli is an avid whole foods, all natural, and organic advocate. She turned me on to a book called  Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictrocrats by Sally Fallon. It is an absolute wealth of information about lacto fermentation, whole grains and grinding your own, raw milk, healthy enzymes, coconut oil, fats, vitamins, minerals, toxins (did you know dish washing detergents are very poisonous?), organ meat (ewww!), juicing, and so much more. I am not kidding, the book is crammed with information, even the margins! I also follow a few blogs where many of Sally Fallon’s methods are followed like Keeper of the Home, and The Prairie Homestead.

So! The first items I purchased for this new way of life is 100% Organic Unrefined Cold-pressed Extra-virgin Coconut Oil, a pound of rapadura, a pound of sucanot (I am not exactly sure what the difference is between these two (They look a lot alike and the definitions for them are both very similar), 2lbs of organic butter, 1lb of orgainc gunpowder (green) tea, 1.5 gallons of organic milk (9.99 at Costco vs 12.99 for 1 gallon of raw at our food co-op), Real Salt (bulk), pink Himalayan salt (in it’s own grinder), 1/2 gallon of organic coconut milk, 1.5lbs of all natural fruit leather and a big bottle of melatonin. Already with these purchases I am way over my grocery budget. However, the hubs did accompany me to Costco and that is always a bad idea as he has little self control when it comes to food. God bless him!

I decided to make cornbread this evening to go with our supper. I thought using rapadura instead of sugar would work well here as is has a molassesey smell (and taste from what I understand) that would lend well to the flavor of cornbread. Below is my usual cornbread recipe with the changes noted.

Simple Cornbread

1c yellow cornmeal

1c flour

1/4c sugar (I used rapadura tonight)

4tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt (I used Real Salt)

1 egg, beaten

1c milk (I used 1/2 a cup of coconut milk and 1/2 a cup of regular)

1/4c of cooking oil (I have not received my coconut oil yet, otherwise I would have substituted it here)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased 8×8 square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Here is what it looks like.

It came out beautifully. It is a bit of a muddier color than when I use white sugar. The taste was excellent and the kids loved it.

Funny story. My almost 12 year old daughter came into the kitchen when I was assembling the cornbread. She asked what I was making. I told her. Then she saw the jug of coconut milk and said, “Did you put coconut milk in it?!! Ewww! That’s crazy!” I just shrugged and told she didn’t have to have any. Looks like she wound up thinking differently though because she ate 2 pieces! And she asked that I make it again! *My sweet daughter did come back and apologize to me several minutes after she sassed me and gave me a big hug.

Genesis 6:21 “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”

Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.”

Thank you Lord Father for food.