Monthly Archives: November 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I have had a few requests to post about Thanksgiving and what we will be preparing.  The answer is not a darn thing!!  We are visiting my in-laws for the holiday and will have no say in what is prepared, so we will have to pick and choose, and do the best we can. 

Before we left, we had a paleo potluck with some of our CrossFit friends.  We grilled up gluten free chicken sausages from Trader Joe’s, chicken burgers, and all natural hot dogs.  I made my sweet potatoes (recipe below), and friends brought veggie fritters (grated zucchini, and sweet potatoes, mixed with almond meal and eggs and pan fried), mashed cauliflower mixed with bacon and goat cheese, spicy chicken legs, fresh fruit, and I also made coleslaw with broccoli slaw, sesame seeds, apples, mayo, walnut oil, and red wine vinegar.  Breakfast the next day was leftover sausages sauteed with peppers and onions and leftover sweet potatoes.

 Last Christmas, before I started this blog, I had an all paleo dinner, and it was amazing. I wish I had taken pictures of the food!!  We made a giant prime rib – rubbed it with just about all the spices we had in our cupboard (cumin, garlic, thyme, oregano, sea salt, pepper, drenched it in olive oil, and topped it with fresh rosemary), I made my famous sweet potatoes: pressure cook about 6-8 sweet potatoes, add half a jar of apple sauce, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a bunch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  We made a huge serving of baked veggies: eggplant, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and onions – baked at 375 for about 45 minutes with more fresh rosemary, garlic, olive oil and a little sea salt.  We also made a salad with pears, walnuts, and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.  We had family members over who did not even know what paleo was and everyone was incredibly happy and full.  So, my advice, if you are cooking at your house, think outside of the traditional holiday box.  If you are at the mercy of family or friends, stick to the turkey, green beans, and salad, and enjoy your precious time with your loved ones. 

Almond meal griddle cakes…

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Missing pancakes?  Look no further!!  Almond meal cakes are easy, yummy, and will keep nicely for a few days in the fridge for quick snacking – and kids like them too!  Here is my recipe: 2 cups of almond meal, 3 eggs, 1/2 can of coconut milk, a big drizzle of either walnut oil or coconut oil, 2 apples grated, and a whole lot of cinnamon.  Mix all ingredients together and cook on a super hot griddle or frying pan in more walnut or coconut oil.  These cakes are great warm or cold and are delicious served with bacon, of course!

Keep it simple.

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Simple food can be delicious food and when I hear people making the excuse of not having enough time to eat healthy, I have a hard time being sympathetic.  If we have time to text message, instant message, check email, chat, and go to Starbucks twice a day, we have time to make simple, good, Paleo food.  Here’s a 10 minute prep, 15 minute cook time - easy, simple, delicious meal:

Saute 2 cups of sliced mushrooms and one red onion in a bunch of olive oil.  Throw in a pound or two of grassfed ground beef.  Cook together until meat is browned.  Pour in your favorite marinara sauce (one with no additives or  sugar, like the Puttanesca sauce from Trader Joe’s).  Add two heads of chopped broccolli and simmer together for 10 minutes.

Also pictured is another quick chicken salad: Diced chicken breast, diced purple cabbage, two diced hardboiled eggs, a big handful of sunflower seeds, olive oil, a little mayo, lemon juice, and cracked black pepper.

Enjoy!!

Easy bacon and kid friendly snackin’

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So, am I the only one who didn’t realize that you could microwave bacon?  Well, in case I was not alone in my naivety, guess what – you can microwave bacon and it’s really good, fast, and easy!!  Take your nitrate free all natural bacon, place in strips on a couple of paper towels, cover with a couple  more paper towels, and microwave for 4-6 minutes.  Thanks to my genius friend Nicki V. for giving me this tip!  Now I’m sure I’ll be eating bacon on everything…. : ) I love BLT’s,  without the bread of course,  add some hard boiled eggs on the side to make a  quick and tasty  breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  

On to snacks.  Kids like to dip things so always keep on hand almond butter and mayonnaise.  As you can see, Rowan really enjoys his almond butter.  You can find pretty good mayo at natural foods stores that have no sugar and are made with pretty much just oil and eggs.  If you add curry powder, dill, garlic powder, or whatever spice combo you prefer to some mayo, it will make a tasty dip for veggies.  I like to stock up on bags of already sliced apples and already sliced carrots and celery for easy and fast snacks for my boys. Sliced deli meat is a must to have on hand for hungry little ones and now almost all grocery stores carry decent deli meats without a ton of preservatives and fillers. 

One last tip, never leave home without food.  I always have snacks in my car because kids are always hungry and with good options available, fast food is NOT an option. 

London Broil…

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I love the farmers market in the fall.  The leaves are falling, it’s cold enough in the morning to bundle up and cold enough that my kids are a little frozen and stay close by to hold a warm hand.  I love the colors at the market during the fall: there are falling leaves of gold and red – crunching under feet, bright orange persimmons, green and yellow winter squash all gnarled and splotchy, scarves wrapped round bustling shoppers… Let’s go back to that winter squash.  There was a stall offering some unknown variety of winter squash in which someone took the time to cut, peel, and de-seed the squash, all bagged up and ready to cook.  I am in love with this farmer because as much as I enjoy winter squash, it can be labor intensive and I am all about fast paleo food!! So today, I made a stuffed London Broil with winter squash and it was really super yummy.  Here’s the recipe: Take a 2-3 lb London Broil butterfliy it and pound it out thin (about 1/2 inch thick).  For the stuffing mix together: 1 bag frozen chopped spinach, 1 chopped purple onion, 1/2 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes, handful of diced green stuffed olives, a big drizzle of olive oil, and minced garlic and cracked black pepper to taste.  Spread stuffing mixture onto London broil and roll up.  Secure with toothpicks.  Place London broil into crockpot and place sliced winter squash all around the meat.  Pour any leftover stuffing mixture on top and a little more olive oil over the squash and cook all day on low. Delicious….

Coconut Adventures!

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Coconut milk should be a staple in the paleo kitchen.  Coconut milk is a good fat, and tastes delicious as a base for just about anything!  I made lunch yesterday in about five minutes: Pour 1 can of coconut milk into a pot, add a couple handfuls of shrimp, shredded cabbage, and broccoli.  I seasoned the whole pot with a 21 seasoning blend from Traders but you can use any combination of spices to make this dish different every time and also any kind of protein can be used as well.  I simmered it all together for about 5 minutes and for Rowan, I served it over sweet potatoes.  I had enough leftover for a after school snack for Jaden.  Our coconut adventures continued into the evening when later on at Raley’s, Jaden saw coconuts in the veggie isle and asked if we could try “real” coconut milk!  There is a photo collection below of our adventures.  I’ll say this, I think you have to be a CrossFitter to get into an actual coconut!!  The kids helped me make dinner – lettuce tacos.  So easy.  Cook ground (preferably grassfed beef) add cumin, chili powder, a little cayenne, sea salt and pepper.  Cut up a ton of veggies – we use radishes, purple cabbage, green onions, avocado, olives and tomatoes.  Wrap in lettuce leaves and enjoy!

Two dinners to dish about…

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If you haven’t noticed, I have a crock pot obsession.  I work 4 evenings a week, two of these evenings we have our awesome, amazing, CrossFitter babysitter Joye over to watch the boys while John and I are working/training.  Most of these evenings I have dinner waiting for the boys and Joye, thanks to my beloved crock pot.  Last night I made a whole frickin’ chicken in my crock pot.  Here’s how you do it: rinse the whole chicken under cool water (preferably a free range chicken) and place breast side down in crock pot.  sprinkle the whole thing with a little sea salt and then generously rub the entire bird with curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, and paprika. Pour in a couple inches of chicken broth and cook on high for 2 -3 hours.  Add 1-2 cans of coconut milk and add around and on top of the chicken 1 head of chopped cauliflower.  I used the already chopped cauliflower from TJ’s. Cook on low until the chicken falls from the bone.  I ate this again for lunch today and it was even better!  Tonight we had no-bean chilli:  In a big pot saute chopped celery, onions, and carrots in a bunch of olive oil.   Add whatever gluten free italian sausage you have, I used mild italian pork sausage.  Then add 3 lbs of grassfed ground beef (or less if you have less to feed but this freezes real well so I recommend to make a bunch to save for later).  Season the meat as it cooks with a little sea salt, a bunch of chilli powder, cumin, a little cayene, black pepper, and garlic powder.  Add one 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes, juice and all, and simmer for about 40-45 minutes.  I also pressure cooked some butternut squash to go along with it.  Two great dinners with leftovers for lunches, can’t beat that!!