Happy Anniversary to ME!

It was a year ago that I started my new adventure, Wildflower Kitchen.  I had no idea exactly where it would go (I'm still not sure!), but I knew it had to go somewhere!  My family and I were experiencing renewed health, vitality, much improved numbers (like cholesterol, blood pressure, sugar, resting heart rate and my new friend - the number on my bathroom scale!), clearer skin, restful sleep, less joint pain (for me especially) and a healthy relationship with food.  After committing to and completing a Whole30, we made the switch to a Paleo Diet and Lifestyle.  The change in my appearance was pretty noticeable - I lost 80 pounds - so I got a lot of questions from friends and folks at my kids' schools and even at my favorite stores and coffee shop.  I found I couldn't stop talking about it and wanting others to give it a try.

The main justification for not trying a Whole30 or a Paleo diet was the time constraint (and not wanting to give up alcohol :-)).  I also heard a lot of "I could never give up bread...or cheese...or sugar in my coffee...or ice cream..."  Never is a long time.  I get it! (at this point I could launch into my confusion with those same people signing up for meals in boxes and liquid meals and 'weight loss' surgery, but I won't...I promise!)  TIME!  Not enough time.  I could never meal prep.  I don't have enough TIME to cook.  I just couldn't do it...It would take too much time!

And no matter how many times I said "YES, YOU CAN!" and "It is SO worth it!" and "I will help you.", I still felt like people wanted to pat me on the head and send me on my way. 

But I still couldn't let this new healthy way of eating be my little secret.  I had to share.  Because once people try it - they like it!  Especially the "not a diet" part of paleo...no calorie counting, no starvation portion control, no points or colored boxes or kitchen scales.  Just eating real, healthy food designed to feed our bodies.

So I started Wildflower Kitchen.

My ultimate dream is to own a small restaurant with a deli case for take out, convenient Paleo meals with a drive thru window especially for breakfast...breakfast is tough when you are first making the switch to a Paleo diet.  I mean, think about it!, 'traditional, American breakfast is almost all breads and glutens and grains....it was our biggest learning curve.  Sometimes it still is (when I don't plan and prep like I need to).  That drive thru could be a life saver for someone who just got too busy to make a fritatta or Paleo pancakes or these killer breakfast sausage meatballs that I make!  And besides....coffee!

I also want a big enough kitchen to host Paleo and Clean Eating Cooking classes.  I am no chef.  I have no formal training.  I make inconsistent knife cuts and break sauces more than I should.  But I am a mean Paleo cook!  And I love to do it. 

Learning to sub ingredients to create Paleo recipes isn't as hard as people make it - and I want a place to teach them my tricks and sell some of the harder to find products.  And introduce people who say they don't know how to cook to the fun of playing around in the kitchen.

Anyway, that's what I ultimately want.  Someday. 

Sadly, I do not have unlimited resources to open a restaurant...believe me, I did the research.  I wrote a business plan.  I priced real estate, equipment, existing spaces, "alternative" spaces and tried to find commercial kitchen space that was affordable and would allow me to ensure my food is gluten, grain, dairy, soy, legume and peanut free.  No luck...yet!  I have not given up, I'm just modifying the dream a little bit!

So, here's what Wildflower Kitchen and I have been up to in this first year...

• I have done personal shopping (because, let's face it, getting your hands on quality, affordable paleo ingredients is time consuming or it's expensive because if you want to get it all in one place, you're just not going to get the best deals) 
• I have cooked for a few individuals and families attempting their first month or two of Paleo eating (they buy the food OR I shop for them, we arrange a 5-6 hour block of time and I come into their kitchen and do their meal prep for a week, usually when they are at work and my kiddos are at school)
• I have done several in-home cooking classes (my favorite thing, if I'm honest....the individual buys the food (I give a list of about a dozen must-haves and then they choose their favorite veggies and proteins), I bring a Paleo Starter Kit of basics and we cook for 2 hours...which somehow always ends up being 3, but I don't mind!) Entire families get together and sample the dishes or friends invite friends and they make a pact to support each other through the seemingly insurmountable first month and we laugh and taste and learn...it's awesome!
• I prepare bulk items in my home (salad dressings, mayo, dips, sauces, main dishes, etc.) and sell them to my clients
• I bake (but it's so expensive, most people are put off by the price...and I kind of don't blame them...I have sticker shock when I bake for my family and I don't have to pay me!!!)
• I prepare meals for clients in my home (I create a weekly menu that is usually one soup, one salad and 3 entrees with a side dish and people order what they want.  I deliver to many and some pick up at my home) - so far, the bulk of my business!

I would like to do more coaching, especially with people who are experiencing health issues or who say they have "tried everything" - but I have no formal training.  I am not a doctor.  I am not a nutritionist.  I am a Paleo success story and testimony.  I know they would have to clear this with their physician because there are some conditions and some individuals who might need special care and instruction when switching their diet so drastically...even though it's to healthier, clean food!  My system went through some serious sugar withdrawal in days 3 and 4...ugh....

And I would love to write a cookbook...but I am so freestyle in the kitchen, I am not sure I have the discipline to document every ounce and teaspoon and pinch and then put exact cooking and baking times to the whole thing.  Daunting.  I think I would need an intern or a helper of some sorts to photograph things and steps and take notes and ask questions when I go off on a tangent and add things that are not anywhere on paper, but seems like a good idea...someday...

It's all I want to do these days.  I try and create a new recipe or two every week.  I bake something or modify a classic recipe every week.  I try and post something on the blog every week.  I am getting really good at documenting cooking methods and substitutions and produce finds, etc for my clients who are interested.  And, on average, I prepare 60-75 meals each week and several bulk items, especially mayo, chicken salad, dump ranch and my super anti-oxidant vinaigrette.  And I've never been happier!

And I continue to maintain a PaleoPlus diet for my family.  I have fallen off the Paleo wagon a couple of times and paid the price with stomach and joint pain, one major migraine and lots of inflammation in one of my knees.  Awful as it was - it was the best thing I could have done to deepen my commitment to Wildflower Kitchen and it's mission to provide a convenient, affordable and delicious way for people to eat healthy, wholesome, real food without having to do all the work or feel deprived.  #livehealthyeathappy

I still hope to own and operate a Wildflower Kitchen Cafe someday, but until then, I will tout the Paleo lifestyle to anyone who will listen and provide convenient meals, cooking classes, personal home cooking or shopping and coaching whenever I can.

Happy Anniversary to me...this year has flown by!  I guess it's true - "If you love it, it never really feels like work!"