​    The novel, "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time", by Mark Haddon, explores the life of one particular young man (Christopher) with Aspergers (a form of autism. Read a review of the book here). Although Christopher does demonstrate some genius, I like that the book (& the award winning play) also show some of the struggles he faces.  This story is fictional, but it is clear that the author has put much time and energy into trying to understand some of the aspects of autism that make it "what it is", and shows us this through the eyes of young Christopher. 
​
   Even if you're not "into" theatre, the video clip below that shows some of the background work that went into the play is very educational regarding the inner workings of a mind with autism. 

    The book, as well as the play, follow Christopher as he becomes an amateur detective of sorts, following the murder of his neighbours' dog. I found the book interesting on a personal level because Christopher, who is approached by a policeman investigating the dogs' murder, touches him, and Christopher reacts by hitting him. My son, Caleb, who has autism, struggles with this very same problem of not being able to process unsolicited or surprising touch, and has to touch back to relieve whatever it is his body is going through as a reaction to being touched. We're really struggling with breaking this habit, as he sometimes chases people down to touch them back, and can become very angry in the process. 
 
    Themes explored in the book and play include coping with loss, feelings of value and safety, understanding that chaos is naturally present in daily life (and trying to create order in that chaos), the importance of identity, as well as grasping at that illusive time in life between being a child and an adult where you want to be seen as independent, but also realize how much support you still need. 

    Those themes I touched on are topics that reach across the entire autism spectrum, whether the individual is high functioning, or lower functioning. Caleb is now 12, and is stepping into the last theme of wanting to be independent, but still needing so much support. Allowing him more freedoms is difficult because we want to keep him safe, we want to make life a little less complicated for him, and he still requires a lot of assistance.

    I will talk about autism and independence next Thursday, but for now, I just wanted to share about this book and play, and invite you to watch the video to help gain a new, better, or different understanding of autism. 

    The purpose in sharing about this story is because autism is so broad, and can look like so many different things. So, the more you read and become educated about it, the more you understand, and can show love, compassion, grace, patience, and support. 
 

     I know it's Monday the 3rd of April today, and World Autism Awareness Day was Sunday, April 2nd, but hey, when you're a Mom, and a Mom of a young man with autism, time doesn't always co-operate! 
 
   So, happy (late) Autism Awareness Day, and happy kickstart to National Autism Awareness Month! 
    
   This month I will be sharing about life with my son Caleb, stories and articles I've found interesting or helpful, and talking with other people about their experiences with autism. 

    From last year at this time until now, I can't believe the changes that have taken place in Caleb. Besides growing....and growing....AND GROWING (he's officially 1/2 an inch taller than me! Putting him at 5' 7 1/2'!!!), he's also jumped headlong into puberty, and has also been excelling at school (hallelujah!) : )  

     I hope that this month will be a time for you to get to know autism better, my son and our life with him, as well as raise awareness about autism, what it looks like, and how we can all help and make a difference for those living with autism! 

     Check out all my past posts about autism by clicking HERE. 

 
    Well, I hate to gripe about the weather....again....but it started snowing again last night! It's official! Spring is NOT coming to Ontario this year! Sorry! With some luck we'll hopefully get summer, but I'm not holding out hope at this point! While doing the barn chores this morning, and getting the hay out for the horses from our last bale I thought, "well, crap! I guess I'm going to need to get more hay?!?!"  With the nice weather we had a few weeks ago I really thought we'd make it with the hay we had....but then the winter was like, "Psych! I'm cooooooming baaaaaack!". (insert weeping from this gal).

    Don't get me wrong, I like winter. But it's officially been spring now for 2 weeks, tomorrow is April, in 2 weeks it's Easter - so I want spring!!! I am saying that like a 3 year old having a temper tantrum!  

     Alright....move on Amy-Lyn....no amount of whining will change the weather.....

     Here at the Van Londersele house we like pizza. We like store bought, homemade, take-out (well, we rarely order take-out, but sometimes people come to visit for dinner, and they stop in town and grab a pizza or two). We'll eat sauce, cheese and pepperoni on baked potatoes, zucchini, and stuffed into chicken breasts. Because, let's be honest, tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni together are soooo yummy, 

   I recently have been trying to get my kids (aka-trick my kids) into eating more veggies. They are actually all pretty good about eating the veggies they like, which isn't a bad variety of veggies, but I want to be able to make less and less variations of dinner to suit us all. I'm not a make-8-different-kinds-of-dinner-to-suit-everyone kind of Mom by any means, but I do tend to make the family something to eat (it's always gluten-free), but because I eat mostly paleo, I'm the one with the adjusted meal. Yes, I am the picky child in our family scenario. Ok, I'm not picky at all, just specific. So, for instance, if we're having a pasta night, the kids will have gluten free pasta, and Adam and I will have spaghetti squash noodles, or some other veggie noodle (because I own a Inspiralizer and can make noodles out of anything!). 

    Caleb, my eldest child who has autism is getting really, really good at trying new foods, but there are still a few he is very wary about. Spaghetti squash is one of those foods. But recently I'd made a casserole using spaghetti squash, and he ate it (he picked the broccoli out though). The casserole had a "cheese sauce", bacon and chicken though, so it was easy to get him to eat it. I'm not sure he even noticed it was spaghetti squash with how much he enjoyed the meats and "cheese".

    So, taking advantage of his enormous pre-teen appetite, and his love of meat and cheese, and the fact that he'd successfully eaten spaghetti squash without gagging, I thought this could be a good time to try something new and delicious. Pizza stuffed spaghetti squash! Yes indeed! 


    I will openly admit that he was reeeeeeealy skeptical, and wasn't into eating his "pizza" out of the squash shell (or the "squashes stinky coat" as he called it!), so I dumped it into a bowl, added another generous pinch of mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan....and he ate it! I may have also bribed him with a treat if he finished it. I mean, sometimes, no amount of meat, cheese, or treat bribery will work to convince him to eat something new, so the fact that it did speaks to the tasty value of these pizzas! He did say when he was done, "Caleb will not like spaghetti squash" (it sounds like a question, but he was making a statement), and I said, "but you ate it all?", and he said nothing. In my Mom brain though I heard him say "drat".  : )  

     So, I'm not going to say "everyone will love this recipe!", but if your family already likes spaghetti squash then it's a no-brainer that you'll want to try this, but if your kids are on the fence, this may be the ticket to getting them on the spaghetti squash train! 

​

Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Spaghetti Squash (or more, depending on how many you're feeding! You'll need one half per adult, and approx. one half per 2 children)
• 1 Cup pasta sauce (1/2  cup per each half-squash, so adjust if making more). I like to use President's Choice Tomatoes First with Basil sauce. Make sure you've chosen a suitable kind for whatever diet you're adapting to! 
• 1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 Cup per half squash, adjust if making more)
• 10 Pepperoni slices (5 per half, add or take away as you'd like!) Make sure you check the ingredients of the pepperoni if you are gluten free or Primal

Method: 

1. First, you'll need to bake the squash! Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully cut the squash in half, length-wise. If you have a micro-wave, giving the squash a quick (5 minute) zap can help with the cutting in half. Place cut squash onto the prepared baking sheet and place into the oven
2. Roast the squash for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the skin is soft when you poke it
3. Remove the squash from the oven and carefully flip over.
4. Turn the oven to broil, and use a fork to gently scrap the squash into magical spaghetti-noodle-type strands! 
5. Fill each half squash with your sauce, then add half the cheese, your pepperoni, then the rest of your cheese. I like to do it this way because I don't like the pepperoni to get too crunchy!
6. Place the squash pizzas back into the oven to melt the cheese and get a nice toasty top! This'll take about 5 minutes, but keep your eye on the pizzas to get the tops just as you like them and to make sure they don't get torched! 
7. Once cheese is melty and delicious, remove squash from the oven and allow to cool for a minute before devouring! 

      
​        For a bunch more spaghetti squash ideas, check out this post from Buzzfeed!

      I blabbed too much at the beginning of this post, so all I will say now is have a great weekend! Bye!

   Well, I thought spring was here...but it's not. The sun is out most days, but the temperature is still in the below zero mark! I'm talking -10 with a nasty wind! You step out thinking, "oh, what a sun-shiny terrific day!", and then the snappy wind sweeps up and bites you in the face! Waaaaa! Yes, that was crying. Like a baby. I've started just rubbing coconut oil (organic, virgin) on my face because it was getting so dry and scratchy from the wind! Waaaa! More crying. This morning we woke up to snow, so…..waaaaaa waaaaa! 

     Ok, crying over, I actually like the coconut oil on my face! It smells loverly, and has made my skin reeeeeal soft! 

    Alright. Food time. In April of last year I wrote something called "The Great Potato Debate" and talked about potatoes, and how they are the evil enemy to weight loss and a long and happy life!!! (a slightly overdramatic voice needs to be used when reading that. Possibly even putting a hand to the forehead like a damsel in distress?).

     Well, there are many pros and cons regarding potatoes, but sometimes, they are choice # 1 in my house. Why? Because they are really freakin' affordable, that's why! They are filling, they really do have many nutritious benefits, and they are a humble, blank slate to so many meal ideas!  And THEN they are inexpensive on top of all that? Well, hot-dog, sign me up! All you need to do is load ‘em up with toppings (see the above link for a delicious recipe that I included at the end of the post!) after they come out of the oven, add a side of veggies, and your meal is complete!
 
     When we do baked potatoes as a meal, I’ll switch up what we top them with. If the budget is particularly tight, we’ll just add butter, salt, and a tiny sprinkle of cheese. Other times we’ve made curry, chili, pulled pork, to top them with (separately, of course!) and then there's the ever “classic” baked potato toppings of sour cream, bacon bits, green onion and cheese.
 
      Now, to take a humble baked potato to a new level, someone at some point (who loved mashed potatoes!), thought, “I wish the inside of my baked potato was filled with mashed potatoes! (this account is almost certainly 100% historically accurate!).
 
      Enter the twice baked potato!
 
     Granted, these take a little more work, but you can do the first baking, as well as mash and fill the potatoes ahead of time and then put the lovely stuffed gems into the oven when you need them! You can even fully prepare these up until the final baking, and store them in the freezer! After we had Keziah, a woman from church brought us the most amazing meal, all made ahead and frozen, and one of the super tasty items was twice baked potatoes. They were so delicious! This past weekend I devoured some mini twice baked potatoes that a friend had made for a St. Paddy's day party. She made them all earlier in the week, then froze them until party time! 

     The twice baked potatoes on the menu for today are of the bacon & spinach variety.

      Enjoy! 

     I know the pictures are all golden, cheesy-topped potatoes, and you dairy avoiders are all "I bet these don't taste as good without the cheese!", well, let me assure you they are still absolutely delicious!  

     Ok, I'm signing off! Time to shovel the driveway! Just kidding! I don't need to shovel....because the snow has turned to freezing rain!.....now I'm not kidding. Waaaaaa waaaaa! 

      : )  

      xoxoxo

      March break is over!!! 

     While on a walk yesterday, one of our neighbours said to the kids, "I bet your Mom is ready for you guys to go back to school!". Well, last Sunday, before March Break started I may have thought, "Let's get this week over with!", but as the week went on, I found myself enjoying the ebb and flow I have with my kids. They are getting older, and we are all understanding each other better. Caleb, although dealing with autism, and being a pre-teen, is managing to get through his days (mostly) in one piece, and the girls have stopped their endless (ENDLESS!!!!!!!) arguing. Don't get too excited about that last one, we had to take away ALL of my youngest daughters stuffies (stuffed animals) on her bed because not only was she arguing, she was hitting, kicking, and generally expressing her anger in violence. So, everyday she gets through without blowing her top, she gets to pick one stuffy to have back. So, that's definitely helping with the arguing piece in our lives! Anywho, that was just a random parenting "aside". 

    Well, still, loving my kids and having an enjoyable March Break doesn't stop me from laughing at these memes I've picked out for today! 

   Can I say that my "motivational Mondays" should actually just be called "Meme Mondays"?. I find memes cheer me up because there are so many, and they can be so funny (because they are so true!). 

      So, here they are! My "Motivational Monday (aka-Meme Monday!) memes to help you laugh and start your week off right! 


​xoxoxox

    Which one made you laugh out loud?!? Let me know!

​

   I was doing some stress baking last week. It felt like a long, hard week, and Friday was a sad and stressful day. So, there are 2 types of stress/sad reactions I have: 1-I can't seem to find any pleasure in cooking or baking, or 2-I want to bake and cook all day! 

   I made 2 types of muffins, quick and simple rolls, and then I wanted to make cookies...but I'd used all my eggs, and I don't have a vehicle at all right now during the day, and walking into town is out of the question as it would take me probably an hour and a half to get there. Seriously. I guess that's not that bad....I could have hopped on my sons bike and gotten there in maybe half an hour? Anyway, too late for that now!

   Instead I started looking up egg-free chocolate chip cookie recipes. I wanted chocolate chip cookies! All the recipes I found were vegan, which wasn't exactly my point, I just had no eggs! Also....this'll sound judgemental, but the pictures of the cookies I saw were also of these sad, overly cooked, flat things which I was not interested in making. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some amazing recipes out there, and some beautiful photos to go with, but I wasn't in a patient mood to find such a thing!

   So, I decided I would just experiment a little. I would take my own chocolate chip cookie recipe....and try not adding eggs? It's sounds cra-cra, but that's the kind of mood I was in! 

​   I obviously knew I'd need some other wet ingredient to make up for the egg, but I wasn't too concerned about a binding agent because I make these out of this world whipped shortbread (or try these earl grey whipped shortbread!) that hold their own, without eggs, so I was feeling pretty good that I could make this work! And if they turned into some flat mess? Uh, the ingredients would still be amazing, so I could just eat them anyway! 

    I set out to get away with making chocolate chip cookies with no eggs, and I ended up making one of the easiest cookie recipes ever! I made these 3 times - yes, 3 TIMES from Thursday to Saturday to make sure I had this right because I knew I wanted to share the recipe a.s.a.p! Usually I'll make something, write a draft, save it for months, get to it eventually....but not these! No, I just need to share them right away! 

     Enjoy! 

    It is too easy to have these beauties baked up and ready to devour! I shared my 3 batches with the cast from The Belleville Theatre Guild's spring show, Little Shop of Horrors, shared some with close neighbours, some with other "neighbours" who really live a 10 minute drive away, but they're in the sticks like us, so it feels like we're all neighbours, and I shared some with a special friend from church. And I ate my fair share too, don't worry! : )  Oh, and can I remind you that because this is egg-free you can nibble (or gobble) some of the dough? Chocolate chip cookie dough is so darn delicious, and without any eggs, the "eating raw egg" danger involved in eating regular dough is eliminated! Hazaaa!

    Don't forget to peek over at my Health & Fitness page today for the latest post about foods to improve your mood! So strange, a post about amazing, and completely unhealthy, chocolate chip cookies, and a Health & Fitness post! Well my friends, that's my life! Good food, exercise, and some amazing treats on treat day!!! It's all randomness, but all this randomness is me! So, thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment if you have something to say! 

   ​  Today is a hard day for me. It's the day that marks the birth of my 5th child, a daughter, who I miscarried and who we named Ezra Faith. 

      I felt unsure where to start writing on this anniversary. I'd been starting and stopping, but not really being able to wrangle in any thoughts. 

     So, I decided to go to Kate Motaung's website to see what the theme was for this weeks "Five Minute Friday" and let myself write for a few minutes without any pressure or expectations. 
    
     The prompt for this week was "purpose", and so I set my timer for 5 minutes, and wrote:

     I hardly wrote anything. When the timer went off I felt like the 5 minutes had been sucked into a vacuum. I sat back and re-read what I'd written, and my last paragraph jumped out at me like I hadn't just written it minutes earlier. 

      "Purpose comes from passion, passion is the fruit of soul searching, and soul searching comes through adversity" 

     She was my second miscarriage, the first  miscarriage occurring just 8 months earlier. I was half way through this pregnancy at 20 weeks, and so I felt "safe". I was sure we would soon be welcoming a new baby into our family.  When I close my eyes and remember the deep, dark sadness in my heart while my husband and I sat together in my hospital bed, holding our tiny baby girl, I cry. Ezra Faith was perfect. 

      My adversity brought me to look deep into my life and heart, and that soul searching gave me a passion, and that passion brought me to purpose. I feel my purpose in my family, as a wife and Mom. I can love, and teach, and guide, and be real and open and learn and grow with my husband and 3 beautiful, crazy and wonderful children. That fills me up everyday! 

     I can't say for sure who I'd be today if I hadn't lost Ezra. And that's not my story anyway. My story has her knit into my womb, and gone before I ever got to know her. But the mark she's left changed me forever, and for the better. Part of my life and purpose is her, and who I became because of her. 

 
​xoxo

  

 To read  more about my experiences with the miscarriage of Ezra, you can read the stories at "Ezra Faith",  "Ezra Faith: Two Years Gone", and Ezra Faith: Three Years Gone
    You can also read about the son we lost, at "Abraham", and also at "Remembering & Forgetting: Abraham". and Moving Forward: Abraham
    There is also a story about coping at "Feeling Blue"      

     So, at the beginning of February I had my very first giveaway!  You can read all about it here if you want! 

      Anyway, I announced the winner today-you can go check out the post to see who it was (spoiler alert - if you didn't get an e-mail from me about it, you didn't win) : (  Sorry!  
I am so grateful for everyone who entered though! I'm so happy to be able to share these awesome lip balms with other people! In other exciting news regarding Bushel & a Peck (not me, but the other Bushel & a Peck that I'm giving away the lip balms from!), Aimee just released her body balm!!! Go check it out! 

       Moving on, I want to share some funny memes and comics because I can't help it! For me, laughing makes me feel so much better, and when I feel better I feel motivated! We've had a bug going through our house (a sickness bug, not an insect! Well, we have insects too, but, never mind...), so I thought I'd share some memes and comics about being sick! 

       On my health & Fitness page I'm sharing my "Spell Your Name" Workout, so check that out too! 

​    I didn't get sick at all though, so I thought I'd share this meme! 
​

    Have a great Monday! 

 Hello!

     I don't know about you or where you live, but here in Tweed, it's been feeling more like spring this week. It's actually raining right now....which is just yucky and miserable, but the spring makes me want something bright, light, and palate cleansing as a treat. Am I the only one? We spend the cold winter months eating comfort foods, then when it feels like the warmer weather is approaching we feel the need to switch it up? Maybe it's just me? I know I would, and have, eaten these cookies any time of the year, but they feel particularly "springy" to me because of the refreshing lemony-ness of them. 

    This recipe is one I've been using for a while now, but I made some changes, basically because I needed it to reflect what I usually have on hand. The original recipe is from a blog I frequent, Lauren's Latest. She's shares about home, travel, family, and she's got some wonderful, delicious and simple recipes (one of my favourites is her copy-cat Cinnabon cinnamon rolls! They are sooooooooo good!!!). 
 
   Anyway, I'm keeping this short and sweet....and sour? Get it? Lemons? Sour? Hardy har-har, I know, I'm funny. : ) 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Adapted from Lauren's Latest Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-½ Cups flour
  
• ¼ Tsp salt
  
• 1/2 Tsp + 1 finger pinches worth baking powder (or an additional  ⅛ tsp if you've got that tiny measurement!) 
  
• ½ Cup butter, room temperature
  
• 1 Cup sugar
  
• 1 Drop yellow food colouring (optional)
  
• 1 Egg
  
• 1 Tbsp. lemon Juice
  
• ½ Cups icing (powdered) sugar

​
Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease and set aside
2. .In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder, then set aside
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or your muscles, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
4. Now add in your egg and lemon juice and mix together well. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix to make sure you've got that egg well incorporated!
5. Add in the dry ingredients you mixed together in the small bowl, and gently stir until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix once more
6. Grab a large plate, or bowl with a large, flat bottom, and pour the icing sugar onto/into it
7. Using a scoop, or a spoon, scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the cookie dough and roll it into a nice little ball, then roll that nice little ball in your icing sugar! Place the sugary ball of dough onto your prepared baking sheet and repeat this step until you've used up all your dough! 
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms begin to just barely get brown, and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}
9. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

​

​   So lovely looking, right? They are just delightful, soft on the inside, lightly crisp on the outside, and so refreshing! Well, as "refreshing" as a cookie can be, I guess! Haha! 

   Have a great weekend friends! 
​
 

   Well, I thought spring was here...but it's not (apparently!) Ok, well, the sun has been out most days lately, but the temperature is still in the below zero mark! I'm talking -10 with a nasty wind! You step out thinking, "oh, what a sun-shiny terrific day!", and then the snappy wind sweeps up and bites you in the face! Waaaaa! Yes, that was crying. Like a baby. I've started just rubbing coconut oil (organic, virgin) on my face because it was getting so dry and scratchy from the wind! Waaaa! More crying. Well, this morning we woke up to snow! Whomp whomp (waaaa waaaa).

     Ok, crying over,  back to the coconut oil, I actually like it on my face! It smells loverly, and has made my skin reeeeeal soft! 

    Alright. Food time. In April of last year I wrote something called "The Great Potato Debate" and talked about potatoes, and how they are the evil enemy to weight loss and a long and happy life!!! (a slightly overdramatic voice needs to be used when reading that. Possibly even putting a hand to the forehead like a damsel in distress?).

     Well, there are many pros and cons regarding potatoes, but sometimes, they are choice # 1 in my house. Why? Because they are really freakin' affordable, that's why! They are filling, they really do have many nutritious benefits, and they are a humble, blank slate to so many meal ideas!  And THEN they are inexpensive on top of all that? Well, hot-dog, sign me up! All you need to do is load ‘em up with toppings (see the above link for a delicious recipe that I included at the end of the post!) after they come out of the oven, add a side of veggies, and your meal is complete!
 
     When we do baked potatoes as a meal, I’ll switch up what we top them with. If the budget is particularly tight, we’ll just add butter, salt, and a sprinkle of cheese. Other times we’ve made curry, chilli, pulled pork, to top them with (separately, of course!) and then there's the ever “classic” baked potato toppings of sour cream, bacon bits, green onion and cheese.
 
      Now, to take a humble baked potato to a new level, someone  (who loved mashed potatoes!) at some point thought, “I wish the inside of my baked potato was filled with mashed potatoes! (this account is almost certainly 100% historically accurate!).
 
      Enter the twice baked potato!
 
     Granted, these take a little more work, but you can do the first baking, as well as mash and fill the potatoes ahead of time and then put the lovely stuffed gems into the oven when you need them! You can even fully prepare these up until the final baking, and store them in the freezer! After we had our third child, a woman from church brought us the most amazing meal, all made ahead and frozen! One of the super tasty items was twice baked potatoes, and they were so delicious! This past weekend I devoured some mini twice baked potatoes that a friend had made for a St. Paddy's day party. She made them all earlier in the week, then froze them until party time! 
 
     The twice baked potatoes today are a bacon & spinach version, and they are
​deeeee-lightful! The process of baking, scooping, mixing, re-filling and baking again isn't that bad when you consider how yummy these are!

Bacon & Spinach Twice Baked Potatoes
*With paleo and non-paleo options. This recipe can easily be doubled

Ingredients:

• 4-8 Russet potatoes, depending on the number you're feeding, and the size of the potatoes 
• 2 Cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1-1/2 Cups cooked and crumbled bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 Tsp dried garlic powder)
• 1 Tsp salt
• Optional - 1 Tsp turmeric or paprika
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, but yummy and nutritious!)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, ghee, or butter (dietary preference), room temperature
• 3/4 Cup coconut cream (the thick stuff on the top of a refrigerated can of coconut milk) You can also use sour cream if not paleo
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (omit for paleo)

 Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a fork or knife, prink the potatoes all over (this releases steam at the potato bakes), then rub all over with oil and sprinkle with some salt. Once oven is hot, place prepared potatoes directly onto an oven rack and bake for 45-60 minutes (or up to 75 minutes, depending on how large the potatoes are)
2. Once cooked, remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. While they are cooling, prepare a baking sheet, casserole dish, or roasting pan with parchment paper or tin foil (skip this step if you plan on freezing)
3. Once cooled enough to handle, cut an opening into the top of your potato. I like to cut out a circle, some people cut the potato fully in half (giving you 2 halves, and others simple put a single slice through the top and squeeze open. Cook's choice!)
4. Scoop the innards from your potato, and place into a bowl. Add into the bowl your cooked bacon, chopped spinach, and all other ingredients (if using cheese, reserve some for the tops of the potatoes) If freezing click HERE for a great post from Kitchn
5. Place potato shells onto prepared pan
6. Mix the filling ingredients together until well combined and creamy (well, creamy with lumps of bacon and spinach!)
7. Carefully fill the potatoes shells back up, diving the filling equally. They will be very full! If it won't all fit.....just grab a spoon and eat the mashed potatoes! Or put them into an airtight container, stick 'em in the fridge, and add them to a scrambled egg later! 
8. If using cheese, sprinkle what you didn't put into the filling onto the potatoes
9. Place baking sheet into oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted, or tops have become brown and center of potatoes is hot

​

    Though the paleo, cheese-free version of these may not seem as yummy, trust me, they are. The tops won't have that crispy cheese appeal, but the tops so get a nice golden brown, and the potato crisps up, and they are good. 

    The End.

    Have a lovely weekend world wide webbers! : )  

​