Our ancestors ate what was available based upon the seasons and in my part of the world the summer season is the most bountiful and wonderful time to take advantage of what’s growing near you. I made a yummy breakfast this week with organic seasonal vegetables, all purchased from our local farmers market (except the mushrooms which I purchased from Trader Joe’s). Continue reading
Sometimes when life won’t settle down, it’s important to etch out time for things that nurture us. For me, my sanctuary is time spent with my husband, and as much as I love my kids and the hours spent caring for them, I equally love alone time with John – and I need it to stay sane! Continue reading
I am mildly obsessed with arugula so I will hammer my love of arugula home with one and final arugula recipe – for a while anyway. This salad has similar components to my favorite “go to” chicken salad but with the yummy smokey addition of arugula and a few other ingredients. Continue reading
I will admit that I live in a paleo bubble of sorts. As a trainer for Norcal I am surrounded by a huge community of friends who generally all eat paleo too. When Robb Wolf and Nicki Violetti happen to be the folks you work for, that’s just kind of how it is… Which by the way, if you haven’t yet pre-ordered Robb’s book- I strongly suggest you do so!! So, back to that paleo bubble I mentioned Continue reading
If you haven’t noticed, I LOVE to cook – but sometimes I get stuck in the same old chicken salad rut because it’s easy, and I know we all like it. But today I needed an excuse to be in the kitchen, rather then venturing out into the 105 degree weather so the boys and I got a bit creative in the kitchen and the results were blog worthy!! Continue reading
Maybe a few of you can relate, but it could be that I am just extraordinarily weak, but a secret about me: If I happen to have - oh I don’t know, something like chocolate ice cream in my house – I will eat it every time I set my eyes on it until it’s gone. Why? Because IT’S THERE!!! I am a strong woman, I take charge, I love eating paleo, I love feeling healthy, and gosh darn it I love ice cream. This doesn’t make me bad – nor does it mean that I lack motivation or will power or whatever other buzz words the “diet” experts like to throw around out there, it just means I like ice cream. So, what’s the solution to my dilemma? I rarely let ice cream find it’s way into my home. Instead, if we want ice cream, we leave our house and go to our favorite ice cream joint, and I eat one little scoop, and move on with my life. So – how does this relate to my title of Kids Picks? Well, the same is true for kids. If you have a bunch of crap food in your house that you do not want your kids to eat, guess what – that’s what they will want to eat because it’s THERE!! Solution – rid your house of the foods you do not want your kids, or yourself to have and replace these items with healthy choices. My kids are total foodies and love to help create, choose, and pick what they want to eat. And I can let them because in my home, they do not have a unhealthy option to pick from.
Pictured is the lunch created yesterday by my 6 year old, and the dinner cooked solely by my 14 year old (lettuce wrapped burgers with grilled onions and sauteed brussel sprouts.)
Also, here is my new favorite pot roast recipe that I adapted from a recipe that I saw on the Food Network.
Pork Pot Roast
1 Boston pork roast (4.5 lbs) or beef chuck roast
6 carrots
5 celery stalks
2 leeks
2 yellow onions
6 fresh thyme branches
6 garlic cloves
2 14 oz cans of diced organic salt free tomatoes
2 cups red wine
1 1/2 cups organic free range chicken broth
4 tbsp organic butter
1/4 cup coconut flour
Sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste
In a large soup pan or dutch oven add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt (if desired) and the crushed black pepper all over the roast. Roll the seasoned roast in the coconut flour. Sear the roast in the large soup pan for 4 minutes on each side (make sure you get the top and bottom of the roast seared as well). While the roast is searing, chop the veggies into large pieces. When cutting leeks, make sure to cut in half lengthwise and rinse well because they are full of sand and dirt in between the layers. Remove the roast from the pan and add all the veggies and cook in the drippings from the roast until the onions and leeks become tender. Add the wine, chicken stock, canned tomatoes, thyme branches (tie them together with some cooking twine so they are easier to remove later), and a bit more sea salt and pepper. With the flat part of your knife blade, crush the whole garlic cloves (as pictured) and toss those in as well. Stir well and bring to a boil. In the meantime, place your roast in a crock pot (this will only work if you have a big crock pot). Pour the vegetable mixture over the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours and on low for 1 hour. If your crock pot is not big enough, you can cook the roast in a dutch oven or large roasting pan at 325 for 2 1/2 hours and then turn down to 250 and cook for another hour. After the roast is done, remove the roast from the vegetable mixture. With scissors, remove the string holding the roast all together, and slice thin. Remove the thyme branches from the vegetable mixture and pour half of the veggie mixture into a food processor or blender, add the butter, and blend until smooth. On a large serving platter place the sliced meat and top with the remaining cooked veggies and pour the blended sauce over all of it.
This recipe is a good one to make on a weekend when you have a bit more time. I made this for my sister and her family and in my haste, I forgot to take a picture of the final product but it turned out so good, I had to share it with you all anyway.
Enjoy!!
So, I think the server issue has been resolved, so finally I can post again!!
I woke up the other morning and groggily asked John what he wanted for breakfast and he mumbled something about the usual eggs and I mumbled back that I really wanted muffins. John laughed at my silliness, because where the heck was I going to come up with muffins? So I stumbled to the kitchen and while still bleary eyed and half asleep, I mixed up these most amazing muffins and ate them feeling guilty, although I had no need to feel guilt at all…. So, I’ll share the recipe with you and hope that you feel a bit guilty too; because then I’ll know they are as good as I experienced them to be.
Paleo Apple Muffins
2 1/4 cups almond meal
4 omega 3 enriched eggs
1 organic apple finely chopped
1 very ripe banana
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 heaping tbsp cinnamon
Pre heat oven to 350. As pictured, have a two year old attack and kill an apple while you peel the banana and using a fork, mash the bananna in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Using a hand held chopper if you have one, finely chop the freshly killed apple, and add to the bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix by hand. The batter will not be super thick, but more like a cake batter. Using a bit more coconut oil, grease a muffin tin. Fill the tins about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-17 minutes. You will know they are done when you can insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and it comes out clean. Serve hot out of the oven with some ghee melted on top, accompanied by eggs over-easy, and hot black coffee. If you eat them all at once, don’t blame me… Makes approximately 16 muffins.
Enjoy!!
