Cooking Clean and Simple: An Introduction : Good Enough Mother

Cooking Clean and Simple:
An Introduction

Hi, everyone! I’m Shanti Landon: a healthy food blogger, mom of 5 (four adopted through foster care), wife to a high school math teacher whom I lovingly refer to as Superman, and a lover of all things chocolate. You can stay connected with me daily over at my blog, Clean Eats in the Zoo.

I’m excited to be here on GEM, contributing recipes that are not only simple, but good for you as well!

Superman has Celiac Disease. He went through a decade of pain and doctors dismissing him before he was finally diagnosed. But even after cutting out gluten, he continued to have pain, and no one had answers for him. It wasn’t until we sought the help of a naturopathic doctor that he finally got some answers. Over the course of his life, he developed “Leaky Gut Syndrome,” a problem that manifests itself in food sensitivities, intestinal pain, anxiety, insomnia, poor immunity and a host of other symptoms. In order to heal his then permeable intestines, he could only eat meat, veggies and fruit for about 2 years. Yup. I just said that. Two years!

Initially, I was cooking two separate meals; one for him, and one for the kids and I. Coincidentally, I stumbled across a book at that time called “The Paleo Diet.” I decided to try cutting out grains, dairy and sugar for our whole family. And we’ve never looked back!

My joint pain that had been an issue for me for nearly 15 years disappeared. My periods became regular. Our son, who had experienced asthma, allergies and eczema since birth no longer had to take any medications. We made it through the whole winter without getting sick. So, we’ve stuck with it. At home, we eat mostly grain-free and dairy-free (always gluten-free because of Superman, and because I truly believe a no-gluten diet is better for everyone! More on that in another post…). When we go out, the kids can pick what they want to eat, although they will often choose the “better” choice now that they can see the differences in how they feel when they eat junk. I would say we eat a Paleo diet about 80% of the time.

My goal is to share grain/gluten-free recipes that taste amazing and don’t overwhelm you. Again, you can check out hundreds of recipes and nutritional info on my blog over at www.cleaneatsinthezoo.com.

Here’s a simple dinner recipe to kick things off!

Recipe: Chicken a la Zoo

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

½ cup butter, melted (pastured butter preferred)

3 TBSP miced garlic

3 TBSP coconut aminos (you can also buy this at Whole Foods)

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the chicken breasts in a single layer on the baking sheet. Stir together the melted butter, garlic, coconut aminos, black pepper and parsley, then pour evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt, then bake in oven for about 4 minutes, flip chicken over and cook for another 5-6 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove from oven and serve!

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to “seeing” you each month!

Shanti Landon is the founder of “Clean Eats in the Zoo,” a blog focused on faith, family and {clean} food. She is a homeschooling mom to 5 young children and wife to her Superman. They reside in Northern California on a small farm.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. I earn a small percentage of your purchase should you choose to click on my Amazon links. Thank you!