There is no organic product that will "green" your lawn like chemicals. But there is no organic product that will burn out the chemistry in your soil, alter your Ph, or leach into the groundwater like chemicals. Chemicals work quickly at the expense of the soil. Organics work more slowly, a matter of a few weeks, but tend to encourage healthy soils. Something we rarely talk about is the availability of the nitrogen in terms of how long it takes to process the protein. Blood protein is almost immediately available to the plants while feather protein takes months to become available. Grains show results in 3 weeks. Blood shows results in a few days, BUT you have to be careful with the dose so you don't burn the roots. There is a great brand of organic fertilizer called Texas Tee that has a mix of a little bit of blood, plenty of grains, and a good sized dose of feather meal. With a mix like that you should get a quick green up with sustained color (and general organic benefits) for months. It seems to me I've seen similar formulae in other brands.

This makes a lot but it reheats fine in the microwave. THREE-GRAIN PILAF 1/ 2 cup whole barley 1 cup boiling water 2 tsp. butter 1/ 2 lb. fresh mushrooms , sliced 3/ 4 tsp. lemon juice 1 large egg 3/ 4 cup kasha (toasted buckwheat groats) 1 Tbs. vegetable oil 3/ 4 cup long-grain white rice 2 medium onions, chopped 1 large clove garlic, minced 3 cups beef broth or stock (can use vegetable broth) 1/ 4 chopped fresh parsley Salt & pepper Put the barley in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Let soak for 1 to 1 1/ 2 hours. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until browned. If the pan seems too dry, add a Tbs. of water to encourage the cooking. The mushrooms will be dry at first but then release their juices. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice; reserve. In a small bowl, stir the egg with a fork. Stir in the kasha until coated and then dump into the pan you just used. Stir constantly over moderately high heat until dry and lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn out onto a plate and reserve. Spoon the vegetable oil into the same pan and stir in the white rice. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring, to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer. Add the drained barley, kasha and mushrooms to the pan. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring, over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly and simmer, stirring gently once or twice, until the grains are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. Makes 10 servings of slightly under 1 cup each.

My 27 year old daughter is currently going through chemo treatment for breast cancer. She has been living on homemade chicken, vegetable, rice soup. I make a chicken bone broth and add the Great Lakes Gelatin protein powder to the broth along with local pasture raised chicken, organic rice and organic vegetables. The protein powder is flavorless but adds calories and protein. I incorporate the protein powder into almost everything I cook for her; it helps keep her weight up. She also finds she likes eggs and toast. To boost her protein and calorie intake, she has been drinking the Organic Valley protein drinks and Orgain protein drinks, both of which are organic. For the first 6 weeks, she found cheese and beef distasteful but recently has been able to eat them. I find some nights I cook three different meals before I find one she can eat. It's an ongoing process. Fortunately, DH, her brother and her 15 month old son will eat anything so nothing goes to waste. LOL Lastly, homemade juice pops are a must to have on hand. I puree organic fruit, strain and thin with water, add a little sugar or stevia and pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Lars, good for you. I know you're a great cook and adapting recipes to fit your diet will be a challenge, hopefully a fun one. There are a couple of higher protein/lower carb recipes out there, including the one that's just one banana and 2 eggs with 1/8 tsp baking powder to make it a bit lighter. I didn't like them at all, but I don't like bananas. Amanda can't have gluten and she actually liked them. I thought a tablespoon of cocoa powder might bump up the flavor, but didn't try it. Dad never had syrup on his pancakes, because he was diabetic. He used chunky applesauce or some fruit/berries cooked with a little artificial sweetener. Fortunately the sweeteners are better than they were when there was just saccharine available. Cookingrvc posted a lemon ricotta pancake recipe, but it had a whole stick of butter in it, as well as full fat ricotta, so I can't imagine what THAT would do to the calorie count! The one linked above seems healthier, but there is no nutrition information available, so you'd have to figure each ingredient separately. Good luck, I know you're going to find lots of delicious foods that you and Kevin both like, while making your health a priority. It does sound like you are feeling better, so that makes me glad. Hugs to you, and to Kevin. Annie