Brussels Sprouts

I keep reading wonderful reviews of these, but every time I made them they...well...sucked.

Tonight I cut them in half, coated them with A LOT of olive oil, fresh crushed garlic and a little bit of salt. Baked at 400 for 30 min and they were delish!

Crispy on the outside and cooked just right on the inside. Everyone ate a good portion, so this gives us another green vegetable to add to our rotation.

Chicken Cabbage Goulash

I have  no idea if I'm spelling "goulash" right. And I'm not 100% sure what goulash actually is. But here's the yumminess I made today.

1/4 large head of cabbage
1 small sweet onion
1 small red onion
French Walnut oil
Garlic salt
One can chicken (or cooked chicken with some broth)

Cut up the cabbage and onions into strips.
Saute in the walnut oil
Add a liberal amount garlic salt
Once the veggies are well-cooked, add in the chicken.

mmmmmm....

Benessare Olive Oils and Vinegars

Wow - got a Groupon for this place and checked it out. I had gotten some of the aged balsamic vinegars before, but was in a hurry that day. Today I had time to really look around and taste - they offer free tasting of everything.

The Balsamic vinegars. are. amazing.

Seriously, you can drink them straight out of a little cup. They can be used as marinades, salad dressings, or even for an ice cream topping (I know you think I'm crazy, but just try it sometime!).

I got the Red Apple, Violet and Lemon Grass Mint this time.

Then I tried out some of the oils. In addition to olive oils, they also have other varieties such as truffle (too strong for my taste buds!) and French Walnut. I had no idea walnut oil existed, but it is spectacular!

I got the French Walnut and an orange olive oil.

They had some ideas - combine the Red Apple Vinegar with the Walnut Oil on arugula, add some nuts and blue cheese. We subbed some goat cheese and it was delish!

They also suggest the orange olive oil with cinnamon pear - kind of wishing I'd picked some of that up! I would highly recommend you try this place out, I foresee many wonderful salads in our future (and vinegar-covered coconut ice cream).

Chicken Soup

I was really craving chicken soup on this blustery Fall day, so I just threw together everything I was craving...the family downed this and went back for seconds! Made enough for our family of four to eat hearty servings today and enough to freeze for another meal.

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 29oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp Penzey Spices "Sunny Paris" seasoning
• Carrots cut into small pieces
• 1 sweet onion
• Chicken (I used two cans Kirkland canned chicken)
• Corn (optional)

1. Bring chicken stock, pumpkin puree and seasoning to a boil for about 10 minutes.
2. Add everything else and simmer for 2 hours.

Fox Point Fish

Came up with a biiiiiggg hit today for lunch. Sean doesn't like white fish, so I've been experimenting to find something he likes to expand our meat selections. Finally hit upon this today.

Fox Point Fish

• White fish fillets of your choice (I used the tilapia from Costco)
• Mayo
• Fox Point seasoning (from Penzey spices) 

Mix enough of the seasoning with the mayo to make the mayo look greenish tinged. Slather on the fish. Cook the fish at 400 for 11 min.

Served with broccoli salad to rave reviews, clean plates and complaints that I didn't make enough fish!

Hmmm...this looks like a great deal for 100 % natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artifical ingredients. $1.49lb for chicken breasts - think I'm going to have to give this a try. I found some reviews of the company from reputable sources and they seem positive. Figure it has to be at least as good as Foster Farms!

I'd like to start using more chicken - beef prices have really gone up lately!

The sale starts in about 2 hours for the Salem/Portland area. I went on an pre-registered so I'm ready to go...

Click here if you want to sign up too.

Orange Julius, paleo style

2 cups orange juice (costco sells orange juice with no other ingredients)
1/2 cup coconut milk
6 frozen strawberries
2 handfuls spinach
1 tbs vanilla
1 tbs honey
1/2 cup ice (or as desired for thicker/thinner smoothie)

Blend all together in a vitamix

It's not the prettiest to look at, but it tastes just like an orange julius!

Squash n Turkey Casserole

Ok, so I'll have to start taking photos when I come up with something good.

Although Trader Joe's carries their cubed butternut squash year round, I was pleased to see that Costco's industrial size was back in stock for the season the other day.

I threw together the following and it was a hit!:

• 1 half package Costco cubed butternut squash (this would probably be at least one bag of Trader Joe's)
• Half of one large sweet onion, diced
• 2 tbs olive oil (from Bistro Blends - this brand is awesome, try out their heavenly aged balsamic vinegars too!)
• Garlic salt to taste (Kirkland brand)
• 1lb ground turkey
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Mix the squash, onion, olive oil and garlic salt together and bake at 400 for 30 min.
2. Fry the ground turkey in time to add it to the squash mixture when it's done
3. Mix in the sliced almonds and serve. Serve with a yummy green salad.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

I found this recipe...now I need to find something Paleo to put it on...

Cinnamon Honey Butter
Adapted from Pacific Harvest Events

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey

In a mixer or by hand, cream the butter with the salt, cinnamon and honey until thoroughly mixed. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Spread on everything.

Hmmmm...maybe these:

Gluten Free Nutty Bread
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder
¼ cup flax seed meal
½ tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ cup each walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios coarsely chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds

In a bowel combine almond flour, arrowroot, flax meal, salt and baking soda
In a larger bowel blend eggs 3-5 mins until frothy
Stir agave and vinegar into eggs
Mix dry ingredients into the wet and then add nuts and seeds
Pour batter into a greased medium sized loaf pan
Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins

or these:

PUMPKIN CRANBERRY MUFFINS
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin (you can used canned, but make sure to get just plain
pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup or honey depending on your sweet tooth
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped cranberries
Preheat oven to 350. 

Mix together all the ingredients except for the cranberries until smooth. Fold in
the cranberries. Spoon batter into 6 greased muffin cups (I use coconut oil) and
bake for 20-25 minutes.

These are very soft and cakey muffins. I think that cutting them in half and
toasting them is very nice since it gives it little crisp edges.

Variations:
Banana nut muffins - use pureed bananas in place of the pumpkin, chopped
walnuts in place of cranberries, and omit the pie spice.
Flax muffins - replace up to 1/2 cup of the almond flour with ground flax seeds

Zucchini Fry

Lunch seems to be the most difficult meal - we are often running errands in the morning and don't have preparation time.

Today we came up with an easy, quick and delicious meal that we're calling Zucchini Fry.

Portions are up to you, but the mixture is very satisfying and filling.

Zucchini Fry

• Ground chuck or hamburger
• Zucchini slices
• Onion
• Garlic Salt
• optional: small diced pieces of sweet potato

Cook meat first with onion and garlic salt. Add zucchini and cook until they are texture you prefer.

2 Weeks In

So far so good! Neither of us has cheated so far...we are both losing weight. Sean went through a period of weakness about one week in, I'm still a bit tired when I workout. But both of us are feeling better and noticing that we don't get tired in the afternoon, are sleeping better, and real food tastes better.

Two more weeks to go strict - halfway there!

Cereal replacement

Frakkin' awesome. If you get tired of eggs for breakfast, I can't recommend this stuff enough. It seems like a small container, but it is so filling that you eat very small portions...

Steve's Original Paleo Krunch Cereal

New Paleo Commitment

So you may have noticed that my paleo challenge last spring tapered off. Anya had some health concerns, and I was just not able to resist the temptation when I still had to make delicious and horrible meals for the other members of the family.

However, Sean agreed to try strict paleo for 30 days (the kids will still have some dairy), with a plan to go to one cheat day a week after that.  We are starting today, and I will be using this to keep track of what we like and don't like and just other notes. Excited to start this journey with my hubby!

Paleo Challenge: 3/17/11

• Cashews
• eggs, spinach, turkey bacon
• fudge baby
• raisins
• steak
• brocolli
• sweet potatos
• homemade lara bar type ball (dates, peanuts, salt, pumpkin seeds, almonds)
• 6 oz frozen yogurt

Paleo Challenge: 3/16/11

• veggie/fruit/coconut water/flax seed smoothie
• eggs scrambed in coconut oil
• chicken sausage (found a pork free line at Trader Joe's!)
• tuna fish with paleo mayo sandwich
• salad with aged lavendar balsamic vinegar
• chicken with ground nut "breading"
• carrots
• salad with vinegar
• coconut bliss with aged lavendar vinegar

Paleo Challenge: 3/15/11

• veggie/fruit/coconut water/flax seed smoothie
• eggs scrambed in coconut oil
• paleo meatloaf (no oatmeal)
• peas
• sweet potato
• fudge baby with aged lavendar balsamic vinegar
• cashews
• apple
• carrots
• tortilla soup (no chips or cheese)
• coconut bliss with aged lavendar balsamic vinegar

This is tough during a family reunion/vacation. Someone brought cupcakes last night and it was a hard temptation!

Paleo Challenge: 3/14/11

• eggs scrambed in coconut oil
• steak
• brocolli, carrots, squash
• salad with vinegrette
• banana chips
• mixed nuts
• paleo meatloaf (no oatmeal)
• peas
• sweet potato

Paleo Challenge: 3/13/11

• 2 slices roast beef
• lamb rib
• strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, canteloupe, pineapple
• eggs
• orange juice (fresh squeezed)
• 5 bites creme brulee
• 5 bites key lime pie
• Cashews
• Chicken, tomato and artichoke casserole
• orange

Paleo Challenge: 3/12/11

• Nuts
• veggie/fruit/coconut milk/flax seed smoothie
• burger with cheese, paleo mayo, thin bun
• sweet potato
• fettucini alfredo with brocolli and chicken
• italian creme soda
• spumoni

Paleo Challenge: 3/11/11

• Egg, spinach, mushroom and onion scramble. Came with swiss cheese which I avoided
• However, I did not avoid the pancake with pure maple syrup
• veggie/fruit/flax seed/coconut milk smoothie
• cashews
• greens, almonds, sunflower seed salad
• zuchinni meatballs
• pineapple, canteloupe, strawberry

Paleo Challenge: 3/10/11

• Sunflower seeds
• Eggs scrambled in coconut oil
• Veggie/fruit/flax seed/coconut milk smoothie
• Turkey wrapped dates stuffed with almonds
• Arugula salad with vinagrette
• Mixed nuts
• Zuchinni and beef meatballs with homemade tomato sauce

 

Paleo Challenge: 3/9/11

• Mixed Nuts
• Tuna, paleo mayo, paleo garlic crackers (see recipe below)
• Veggie chips
• Apple
• Carrot
• Eggs scrambled in coconut oil
• 3 slices turkey bacon
• Peas
• 2oz green apple frozen yogurt

Did not do well on my greens today, didn't really realize it until I wrote everything down!

Garlic Crackers
1 cup almond meal
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg white
Good dash salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine well.

Place mixture on a sheet of baking paper, and place another sheet of baking paper over the top. Roll mixture out into a 3-4mm thickness using a rolling pin.

Score pastry with the back of a knife into individual square pieces. Carefully remove baking paper from the top, then holding the baking paper on the bottom of the pastry mix, move onto a baking tray.

Place in over for 15-20 min or until slightly browned. Leave to cool, then break crackers into individual pieces.

 

Paleo Challenge: 3/8/11

• Chia seed gel
• Nuts
• Veggie/fruit/egg/coconut milk smoothie
• 3 slices turkey bacon
• Apple
• Salmon
• Spinach salad with vinagrette and almonds
• 1 paleo fudge baby

I struggled with craving breads/pastries today, while at the same time not really being hungry. Weird. I think I’m discovering that I eat because I want the taste quite often when I’m not really hungry.

I read somewhere that if you sit back, relax, and imagine in detail that you are eating something you really want, you can conquer your cravings (not true hunger, obviously, just cravings). I’m going to try that next time.

I’m really digging the turkey bacon – once I stopped expecting the pork bacon taste/texture, I found that I like it quite a bit.

Paleo Challenge: 3/7/11

• Sunflower seeds
• Veggie/fruit/coconut milk smoothie
• Greens/salad/pear/walnut/onion/vinegrette salad
• Cashews, green beans and apples
• Steak
• Sweet Potatoes
• Brocolli
• 2 fudge babies (Acacia’s recipe)

Paleo Challenge: 3/6/11

• 2 scrambled eggs and 1.5 slices of french toast. With syrup. Restaurants are my nemisis. I know I could eat paleo, but…
• Mixed Nuts
• Carrots
• Mahi Mahi with paleo mayo and dill (see recipe for mayo below)
• Arugula salad with vinagrette

I think I am actually still full from yesterday.

Paleo Mayo:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Place the egg yolks, salt and lemon juice in a bowl. Beat until mixture has slightly thickened.

Keep the mixer running and slowly add the oil drop by drop. This will take a few minutes – don’t rush the process as the oil may start to separate from the egg.

When all the oil has been added, add more salt or lemon juice to taste. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Stir before serving.

Paleo Challenge: 3/5/11

• Paleo Shake: eggs, coconut milk, blueberries, flax seed
• Cashews
• Turkey bacon, sweet potatoes, onion and almond salad
• The Melting Pot: glass of wine, fondue, bread, veggies, apples, walnut/blue cheese/vinagrette salad, steak, duck, chicken, ravioli, potatoes, brocolli, dark chocolate and bailey’s fondue, strawberries, pound cake, brownie, cheesecake

Belly ache afterwards: so worth it

 

Paleo Challenge: 3/4/2011

• Paleo cereal (see recipe below)
• Chia seed gel (see recipe below)
• Nuts
• Leftover steak
• Veggie chips
• Veggie/fruit smoothie with coconut water
• Nuts
• Zuchinni Meatballs
• Arugula with vinegarette
• Bread with spinach dip (went to a party and gave in)

If you’re looking for coconut products, I would highly recommend Tropical Traditions (click here), I’ve been using them for years. If you put this number in the How Did you Hear About Us at checkout you will get a free book: 6871236.

 

Craving cereal? Try this! (recipe created by my awesome sister-in-law)

Almonds
Macadamia nuts
Fresh berries
Chia seeds
Coconut flakes
Coconut milk

Place almonds and macadamia nuts in food processor and pulse until it is your desired consistency. Store in ziploc. When ready to eat, add fresh berries, chia seeds, coconut flakes and a little coconut milk.

 

Chia Seed Gel
Put 1/3 cup dry seeds into two cups of warm water. Whisk, wait 15 mins, then whisk again and store gel in fridge. Use three tablespoons three times a day. You can mix them into any food or drink or just take the gel. They are tasteless, and I find the texture pleasant. The best price I’ve found is at the Raw Foods World website (click here) – they also have lots of other stuff including raw cacao.

Paleo Challenge: 3/3/2011

• Sunflower seeds
• veggie/fruit smoothie with coconut milk
• veggie chips
• cashews
• eggs
• chicken sausage
• blueberry/coconut/sliced almond/fresh orange juice crumble (click here for recipe)
• paleo spaghetti (hamburger, homemade tomato sauce, spaghetti squash)

I discovered that most chicken sausages still have pork casings. Yikes! Gotta read those labels! Trader Joes does have a few pork-free, but nearly every other brand has the casing. Hurry up and open in Salem, TJ!

Paleo Challenge: 3/2/2011

• veggie/fruit smoothie (various greens, coconut water and as little fruit as possible to make it palatable)
• 1 handful cashews
• egg, turkey bacon and spinach scramble (this was really yummy and filling!)
• banana chips
• steak
• sweet potato
• green beans

Steak marinade:

1/3 cup tamari soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons dried basil
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

Paleo Challenge: 3/1/2011

• 2 eggs, scrambled in coconut oil
• veggie/fruit smoothie (various greens, coconut water and as little fruit as possible to make it palatable)
• 2 oz cashews
• Spinach with redwine vinagrette
• Chicken baked with coconut oil and walnut crust
• carrots
• small piece jerky
• 1 oz cashews
• salmon
• brocolli & califlower

"Food as Fuel" Challenge, 30 days of Paleo at CFS!

Here's what I'm committing to for the month of March. As I am also now committed to eating Biblically clean (kosher, but not rabbincally kosher), so that means no lovely bacon treats open to other participants. I've been kosher for about 6 months, and I don't particularly miss pork or shellfish anymore, but I know the last time I tried paleo (and failed) pork was a big part of it. The setup of this challenge will keep me on track to be both kosher and paleo for March!

I'll be posting my daily log as well as recipes I find.

If you want to know what on earth I'm talking about as far as Biblically clean, click here.

So it's time again to do another monthly challenge at CFS and the paleo subject is back! We have done this once before and had a lot of fun (and learned something too). This time the format will be a little different, and hopefully some lucky people will make a few $$ along the way!

We will start on March 1st and see who can go thirty days strict Paleo, which means eating as we are designed to eat for maximum health. Expect to lose weight or lean out and get great results!

Buy In = $20 (without this there is no commitment sadly enough!)
Cash Out = everyone who completes 30 days get to split the pot!

Challenge: Eat only awesome Paleo food (Meat, Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts, Seeds.... no grains, dairy) for 30 days. No calorie counting needed, no feeling hungry!

How it works: You will be required to post one Facebook "Note" every day describing what you ate that day (everything good or bad) and at least one picture of the food.

Scoring: There are two ways to win! First you must have a post on Facebook every day for March (does not have to be made every day but you need to catch it up). The pot will be split up to people that have a post every day describing what you ate and a picture (Paleo or not). There will be added special prizes for the people that actually eat Paleo for 30 days... so you see; the challenge is really about accountability!

You are crossfitters, you are already accountable for your exercise... we see your form, we see your results, this is a big reason why it works. Now!!! You need some food accountability, and this is how we do it. Plus, as other people see your meals they will get food ideas and it will help the whole group from the dead end of eating the same meal all the time (which will not work in the long run). Non members can participate also if they attend the meeting and buy in. Make other arrangements if you cannot attend at this time. See ya at the kickoff meeting!