What Real Food Bloggers Really Eat: Sarah of Heartland Renaissance

It’s time for another real food journal. Today’s contributor is Sarah of Sarah’s Musings and the new Heartland Renaissance.

So that you are aware, I am a nursing mother of a, let’s say, "stocky" ten month old (27 pounds and built like the Offensive Guard his daddy was! 🙂  Picture a baby bulldog and you’ll know what my child is built like! :).  We are beginning to introduce foods to him but he is still probably getting 90% of his calories from breast milk.  In addition, all of the food you see below is also eaten by my almost-three-year old son as well (he’ll be three in one week!) and some is used as finger food for my baby. Plus I try to eat enough to keep my energy up for both breast-feeding and keeping up with both of these boys!  So having easy meals that cater to both adult and children’s palates, that are nutrient dense, is key.  Frankly, our boys eat a much more varied diet than most little ones I know, they have a wide ranging palate, but they’re still little.

We try to eat low-ish grain and higher fat than the standard American diet, but as you’ll see on Friday, my sourdough baking does come in handy sometimes. 🙂  We eats LOTS of dairy, especially cheese and sour cream and yogurt and trying to drink more raw milk, and eggs are in our diet almost every day.  We also eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies (not always local or seasonal, this time of year, but we try!) as our snacks and with our meals.

Friday

Breakfast – scrambled eggs (cooked low and slow in EVOO) with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and a slice of sourdough toast with cream cheese.  Mama had coffee with cream

AM Snack – Roasted almonds and raisins – served from a sandwich bag in my purse while shopping at Costco

Lunch– Leftover quesadillas warmed and crisped in a cast iron pan with a bit of sour cream and cortido on top, glass of raw milk, and shared a banana with the baby.  A true, scrounged together, "mama" meal after a morning of errands

PM Treat for Mama while the kids are napping – another cup of coffee with cream and some dark chocolate

Dinner – French Lentil Soup with the remainder of the leftover sourdough french bread and Irish brown bread topped with shredded cheddar and broiled.  Glass of Red Zinfandel for Mama after the kids are in bed.

Note: We ate more bread today than normal, but I was trying to finish up the remainder of two loaves of bread.  I can see why there are so many "peasant" dishes that are made with stale bread!

{Sarah’s sourdough french bread}

Saturday

Breakfast – Wakey, wakey, eggs and bak-ey!  Scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease, bacon (nitrate-free) and fresh fruit.  Coffee for the parents.  Baby ate some scrambled eggs and cut-up soft fruit.

AM Snack – an apple

Lunch – We had a special meal "family date" out.  We went to a local place that I know has great hamburgers, formed and cooked to order so we indulged in hamburgers and french fries.  Though it was, sort of, a "cheat" meal, I do feel confident about their meat quality so don’t worry about it too much

Dinner – Grilled flank steak, cooked to medium, served with grilled asparagus with homemade lacto-fermented mayonnaise for dipping and a bowl of freshly washed, organic cherry tomatoes (alas, not local, nor seasonal, yet, but I couldn’t resist at Costco and my son loves them!).  Toddler loves "dipping" anything so loved it all and baby gnawed/teethed on a strip of steak till it was grey.  Then asked for another one.

PM Snack – Glass of red zinfandel for Mama.

Monday

Breakfast – yogurt "parfaits" served with roasted, chopped almonds, organic blueberries (from Chile, from Costco – my way of helping out the Chilean economy, plus they’re my son’s favorite fruit) and cut-up bananas.  Baby had a few bites of yogurt and banana.  (We’d normally also have a hard boiled egg or two but ran out.  Making more this morning, they make for a great snack in our house!) Cup of coffee with cream for the Mama.

Snack – Clementines and dry-roasted, salted almonds

Lunch – Cold, cut-up leftover steak from Saturday, slices of homemade beef stick (sort of a salami my family has been making for generations) and slices of cheddar cheese served with more of the cherry tomatoes on the side.  Baby ate some cheese and gnawed on another slice of steak.

PM Treat – glass of kombucha to re-energize (I make mine using Earl Grey with Food Renegade’s tutorial)

Dinner – Chicken stir fry, fried in lard in the wok, with brown rice on the side for those who want it (I will probably not eat it but we’re having my brother-in-law over too . . . )  We’re moving in a little over a month and I’m trying to clean out our freezer before we go.  I have ooddles of bags of frozen veggies to go through (my "convenience" product for easy dinners!)  and found some chicken that needs to be eaten.  We also have lots of grass-fed beef, purchased with my parents from my uncle who raises them in California, and some elk and venison to go through.

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Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your food journal. I am loving the inspiration provided by all of you.

How do you do real food? If you are interested in sharing your Real Food Journal please contact me. I’d be glad to hear from you.