My boys love Sweet Potato Hash for breakfast but frankly, I’m kind of tired of it, so last weekend I decided to make my pile of freshly grated potatoes into sweet potato pancakes, or latkes if you will. We topped the savory sweet cakes with bacon and fried eggs.  Yum.

If you are looking for a way to fill up your kids in the morning, or if your trying to get them excited about eating paleo, there’s nothing like a sweet potato based breakfast fried in coconut oil to delight their taste buds.

Sweet Potato Latkes

5 cups grated sweet potato

2 eggs

2 tablespoons onions, minced

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat and melt a spoonful of coconut oil.  Take small handfulls of the potato mixture and drop onto the hot griddle or skillet and press down gently into little “cakes”.  Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy and the potatoes are done all the wat through. Top with fried eggs and bacon if you so desire. Makes 12 latkes.

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Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Latkes is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Instead of doing a day in the life, I have managed to keep track of some of our random meals over the last few days.  You might see a common theme in some of our meals which is due to the abundance of seasonal veggies that I have been receiving each week from my CSA (can you say summer squash??)  So let’s get started!

Here’s an example of a typical quick dinner.

For this dinner I cooked up 2 lbs of grass fed beef and seasoned it very much like I seasoned my recent Stuffed Zucchini recipe but without the eggplant. While the meat was cooking I roasted at 400 for about 20 minutes some baby zucchinis, japanese eggplant and okra all tossed in coconut oil.  I also made a fast salad with diced cucumber, red onion, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and we finished off some leftover mashed sweet potatoes.

I don’t have a picture of it but the next day I scrambled eggs with the leftover veggies for breakfast.  We ate everything else the night before or I would have added in some of the leftover ground beef to the scramble as well.

This next meal picture is a brand new recipe!

Kale Meatballs

1 lb sausage of your choice (I used chicken Italian sausage that I buy from our local butcher who uses pasture raised chicken)

1 lb ground beef

1 bunch kale, tough stems removed and chopped finely in a food processor

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375, mix all ingredients together by hand and form into meatballs a little larger than golf balls.  Fry the meatballs in a large skillet in coconut oil until all sides are browned.  Move into a glass baking dish, cover tightly with tin foil and finish in the oven for 20 minutes.

We ate these meatballs with my No Potato Salad with some broccoli added to it and with baked sweet potatoes.  All of us ate the leftovers the following day for lunch.

And now…

This dinner is yet again; roasted veggies in coconut oil but I added in some garlic cloves, and I sliced the eggplant thin like chips and I also roasted some cherry tomatoes and topped them with fresh diced basil.  The kids did NOT like the roasted cherry tomatoes but they will eat them fresh by the handfuls! Our protein was leftover rotisserie chicken (I had bought 2 rotisseries from our health food store 2 days earlier) that was shredded up and sauted in grass fed butter with diced leeks along with some of the leftover baked sweet potatoes from the night before and seasoned with just a little sea salt and black pepper.

Here’s dinner from 2 nights ago.  It was onions and cabbage sauted in grass fed butter with 1 lb of grass fed ground beef and 1 package of Applegate farms chicken apple sausages seasoned with a little bit of cardamom and caraway.  Again we had roasted zucchini and this time I roasted some sweet potatoes and we ate left over No Potato Salad.  This picture is actually form lunch the following day with the leftovers and some sauerkraut as well.

And here is last nights dinner!

Chicken and Kelp Noodle Stir Fry

1.5 lbs diced chicken breast

1 package Kelp Noodles

1 small yellow onion, sliced

4-5 small zucchinis, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 small red bell pepper, sliced

A few splashes of coconut aminos or wheat free Tamari

A few splashes of sesame oil

About 1 teaspoon of Chinese Five Spice

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Saute chicken and onions in coconut oil until the chicken is almost done.  Add in the rest of the veggies and saute until veggies are tender and chicken is not longer pink in the middle.  Add the noodles and remaining ingredients, mix well until warm all the way through and serve!

Last but not least, here some school lunch ideas!

 Pictured here is carrots, cherry tomatoes, apple slices, plantain chips, raisins, salami and ham from Applegate Farms and home made mayo.

 Pictured here is ham from Applegate farms, carrots, tomatoes, and guacamole.

 Last but not least is Tanka Bites, cherry tomatoes, honeydew melon and celery with almond butter topped with raisins.

I hope this is helpful and as always, enjoy!

A Few Random Meals and more School Lunch Ideas is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

When in doubt, keep it simple!  Following this one little suggestion has helped me tremendously in the kitchen and John used this simplistic approach over the weekend to whip up a delicious dip.  We picked up a box of strawberries from the farmers market this weekend and the yummy berries were the vessel of inspiration for my husband’s simple yet fabulous creation.

Before we get into the food I must say; John, you continue to amaze and impress me with everything you do for our little family, including your fun and silly adventures in the kitchen with the kids.  Also, I must point out that you have come a long way (with your cooking skills) from that burnt spam and fried rice guy that I met a long long time ago, and for that I am grateful.

Here is the recipe for John’s Decadent Fruit Dip and the two ways we enjoyed it.  As you will see in the pictures below, I also made a fresh salsa that we have dumped on our eggs and just about everything else we have eaten this weekend as well.  I used this recipe  for the salsa but added in a few tomatillos and fresh squeezed lime juice.

Decadent Fruit Dip

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ripe bananas

2 teaspoons coconut flour

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Optional)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender, except for the cocoa powder, and blend until smooth. If desired, pour out half of the mixture and add the cocoa powder to the food processor with the other half of the dip.  Process again until the dip is well mixed.  Now you have 1 vanilla dip and 1 chocolate dip!  Makes 1 cup of vanilla and 1 cup of chocolate.  After some time in the refrigerator, the dip will become even thicker.

We dipped strawberries and apples into the Decadent Fruit Dip on Saturday. On Sunday morning, I made some crepes inspired by Mark Sisson’s recipe for coconut flour pancakes but I made it with 7 eggs rather then 4 to make them a bit thinner and more “crepe” like. I then spread the inside of the crepes with the dip and stuffed them with sliced strawberries.  What a fun weekend treat for the boys and I hope your family enjoys as well!

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Decadent Fruit Dip is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

My family has been on a frittata kick over the last couple of days; they are so easy, fun and delicious as well as a great way to add some variety to the standard eggs.  I also have a scrumptious frittata recipe in my book but I have to say that I love these two new creations just as much as our old standby.   

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Frittata

10 eggs, whisked together

1 small sweet potato, peeled and grated

2 small zucchinis, grated

1/2 red onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

8 bacon strips, diced

In a large skillet, (I used a 12″ omelet pan) cook the diced bacon until crispy.  Pour out almost all of the grease, leaving some behind to cook the veggies in.  Add the onion, garlic, and grated sweet potato and cook until the shredded potato is tender.  Add the zucchini and saute for another 3-4 minutes.  Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of your pan and pour the eggs evenly over the mixture.  Cover and let cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes or until the eggs start to bubble around the edges.  Move the frittata into your oven and under the broiler for another 3-4 minutes or until the frittata is not longer runny on top and the frittata is firm.  Watch carefully while cooking!  Slice like a pizza to serve.  Serves 5.

Broccoli Frittata

10 eggs, whisked together

1/2 red onion, diced

1 1/2 cups broccoli, finely chopped

1 cup mushrooms, diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grass fed butter or coconut oil

Heat the butter or coconut oil in a large pan.  Add the onions and saute until they begin to turn brown and caramelize.  Add the broccoli and mushrooms and saute for another 4-5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.  Spread the veggie mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Whisk the sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder into the eggs and gently pour over the veggie mixture.  Follow the same directions above and serve!  Serves 5.

Enjoy!

Family Style Frittatas is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Easter is fast approaching and yet somehow the holiday feels incredibly late this year! The following recipes are brunch recipes but if you plan on making a big Easter dinner, I recommend either my Pot Roast or Rib Eye recipe.  I had so much fun preparing this meal!  I made most of it last night and we have been eating the leftovers all day today. My first two macaroon attempts were complete failures but this afternoon the boys and I pulled it together and came up with a macaroon we all were happy with.  Before I share my recipes I’ll share with you our typical approach to Easter, sans the “traditional” candy stuffed plastic eggs and over-sized chocolate bunnies. 

My mom was a “health nut” so even growing up I did not associate Easter with candy.  My childhood memories of Easter are of my entire family huddled around the dining room table which was crowded with my mom’s old antique gold glass coffee mugs; all which were filled with shimmering liquid color and bobbing white eggs. We would all draw pictures on eggs with crayons and dunk, swirl and dip into the many pastels and brights in front of us.  After our million eggs were dry we would take turns hiding the little treasures outside in the yard as we all would scatter and look for the goods.  I remember my dad joking, “You have to find them all kids or the lawn mower will be spitting out rotten eggs next time I mow!!” We would have an egg toss, play Frisbee and take pictures in our “fancy” Easter clothes.  I didn’t even know that there was candy to be missed, it was simply a fun day with my family.

Years later my family has created our own traditions, very similar to my childhood Easter memories. We all dye eggs together and my husband and I will hide the eggs that we have created together along with several plastic eggs filled with pennies, nickels, and dimes. We hide a few “golden” eggs that have either quarters inside or a dollar.  The kids baskets I usually fill with fun little toys that I find at the $1 store and this year a few new art supplies, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and each kid will get a small chocolate bunny. Everything is hidden in my closet and not yet assembled so on Easter Sunday I’ll take pictures of their baskets and post them later in the day or on Monday.  In years past after the baskets and egg hunts we have gone to the park with a picnic, flown kites, and played baseball.  This year we plan on heading out for bowling with friends after the morning spent with the kids. A new tradition might be born! The focus will be on fun, food, and family and I doubt the kids will even realize that the day will be lacking jelly beans and marshmallow peeps.

Now on to the food!!

Smoked Salmon Casserole

4 ½ cups small cauliflower florets

1 cup asparagus, finely diced

4 oz smoked salmon, finely diced

10 eggs

¼ cup heavy cream or coconut milk

1/3 cup chives, finely diced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely diced

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350. Steam the cauliflower for 4-6 minutes or until the cauliflower florets are tender but not mushy.  While the cauliflower is steaming, dice the asparagus. Spread the steamed cauliflower on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish.  Layer on the diced asparagus.  Next layer on the smoked salmon.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, dill, chives and black pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the veggies and salmon and back in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the casserole is done all the way through.  Cut into squares and serve. Serves 6-7.

Easter Bunny Carrots

7 small carrots with tops still attached

2 tablespoons coconut oil or grass fed organic butter

Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Trim the tops off of the carrots leaving about 4-5 inches remaining. Peal the carrots and wash well, making sure all the dirt is removed around the tops.  Heat the coconut oil or butter in a large skillet and sear the carrots, turning often for 10-12 minutes or until the outside of the carrots start to caramelize.  Sprinkle the carrots with sea salt and finish the carrots in the oven on a baking sheet for another 10 minutes or until tender all the way through. Double or triple this recipe for a crowd!

Egg Cradles

Adapted from a recipe by Sunny Anderson – Thank you to my sister-in-law Dixie for giving me the idea!!

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and grated

1/4 cup grass fed organic butter or coconut oil

Sea salt to taste

12 eggs

2oz prosciutto

Diced chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the grated sweet potatoes with the melted butter or coconut oil and with a bit of sea salt.  Grease a muffin tin with a little more butter or coconut oil. Using your hands, press the grated sweet potatoes into each muffin cup making sure the bottom and sides of each cup are covered with grated sweet potato, press down firmly when you are covering putting in the sweet potatoes to create a little potato basket.  Bake the sweet potatoes for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and crack an egg into each muffin cup, top each egg with a sprinkle of diced prosciutto and bake for another 10 minutes or until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny.  Use a butter knife to gently remove the egg cradles. Garnish the top of each with diced chives. Makes 12 egg cradles.

Tropical Macaroons

4 egg whites

3 cups finely shredded coconut

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 cups finely diced fresh pineapple

3 tablespoons coconut milk

Preheat oven to 325. In a medium size skillet melt the coconut oil.  Add the finely diced pineapple to the hot oil and cook until all the liquid is evaporated from the pineapple and the fruit is golden brown and caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl beat the egg whites with a hand held mixer until the egg whites are stiff. Gently fold in the finely shredded coconut flakes.  Add the pineapple and coconut milk and mix well.  Grease a baking sheet with more coconut oil and form the macaroons into golf ball size cookies.  Press gently onto the cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Makes 18-20 macaroons.

Easter Menu: Smoked Salmon Casserole, Easter Bunny Carrots, Egg Cradles, & Tropical Macaroons is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

This is part 2 of the “It’s too Hard Series.”  We are going to look at what to do when a person such as  our beloved “Phil” is totally on board for living a paleo lifestyle and the significant other is either supportive but thinks it’s too hard, thinks your nuts, or simply doesn’t want to.  Chrissy and I addressed this situation in our last podcast regarding another family, but I want to go over this real life scenario in further detail as I feel this is a HUGE elephant in the room for many families.

Let’s look at a comment I received regarding my original It’s Too Hard post from “Another Phil:”

“Well said Sarah!

So, what if Phil has made the transition, and really wants his family to as well. But, he’s not the one doing the grocery shopping, or cooking the meals. What if Phil’s wife does all that, and though not against eating paleo, is stuck in that comfort zone of the old ways. She still buys the crap food because that’s what she’s always bought. She still serves cereal for breakfast, because it’s quicker/faster/easier than cooking ? If Phil were there, he’d likely do the cooking and the shopping, but he’s up and out of the house to work out then off to work before anyone else is even awake. Phil’s wife would gladly make the transition to paleo if Phil were there, because it would be “easier” than what she currently does; i.e. he’d be doing the cooking. In short, how does the person who’s made the transition to Paleo, get his or her family to follow them when they are not there to lead the way ? I know that’s a tough one to answer. A person has to want to do something and you can’t make a person do something they don’t want to. But are there ways to make it easier for them to change than to stick within the comfort zone ? Thanks for yet another great post. Can’t wait to try out those egg muffins ”

Here was my reply to Another Phil and this is my advice to anyone desiring to get his or her spouse on the paleo bandwagon – or at least this is an excellent place to start:

“Hey Another Phil!
I would suggest that Phil start by having a heart to heart conversation with his wife. Give her The Paleo Solution, show her Robb Wolfs blog, show her my blog, and without arguing, pleading, or begging, let her know how much you love and appreciate her and how much she does – acknowledge how hard she works and what an amazing job she does taking care of the family, and then let her know that he loves her so much that his greatest wish is that she is as healthy as possible and that he thinks he has found a way for the entire family to not only live better but live longer!! I would tell Phil to communicate to his wife that he wants to start this amazing journey as a family and that he wants them to be a team, partners in crime with this new wonderful way of living. I would tell Phil to give her a big hug and kiss and tell her that without her he would be nothing and that together they can accomplish anything. Top it off with some flowers after work and a little note promising that even when Phil can’t help with breakfast, he’ll help her meal plan so she knows exactly what to make when he’s not there and that together they can come up with a strategy to make it happen…”

To add to my original response, nagging, pleading, crying, begging, and arguing will get you nowhere.  If you try the advice I give in the above paragraph and your significant other is not willing to give this paleo thing a go, I advice you to simply keep making your own choices and pay zero attention to the fact that you do not have a significant other who is interested.  Continue to be your loving, wonderful self, continue to become healthier, stronger, and more energized, and the less you nag the MORE your significant other will start to notice. Sometimes when YOU stop paying attention to what your spouse is or isn’t doing, he or she will start to become more involved in your journey because the fear of confrontation or the uncomfortable moments of nagging are gone and he or she will begin to notice your transformation rather than your attitude!

Remember that ultimately you can only change your own behavior and your own lifestyle and it’s truly up to your significant other if he or she is ready. Trying to shove them on the wagon will only result in a stronger urge for your partner to run away.  Make your food for the whole family and if someone wants something different, gently suggest that it’s up to him or her to provide what he or she feels is missing and instead of arguing about your differences in opinion, go on with life and you’ll be amazed at what might eventually happen.

Now, let’s take a look at “Another Phil’s” timely response and how it looks as if his astounding results after eating paleo for a while is all it took to get his spouse more interested in what he’s been up to.  In my experience, this is typically how it works out. One person starts to look, feel and perform better, followed by the other person being amazed and wants to join the ride, despite how “hard” it might appear to be.

“Sarah, What a wonderful, and heartfelt response. It’s ironic, and serendipitous that I just read it now: I started Zoning last July but had gone mostly Paleo w/ Zone portions by November. I started the 30-day Paleo challenge on January 2nd. On January 19th, 18 days in, I had my blood work done for my upcoming annual physical which was today. Suffice it to say, my doctor was absolutely flabbergasted at the change. I went from 172 and borderline high cholesterol (he was toying with the idea of putting me on statins if it got worse this time last year) to 148. Every single biomarker they tested was below the “standard ideal range”. In short, my health is “better than perfect” in his words. He asked me what I was doing, and I spelled it out to him. As I spoke, he started asking me for web references and actually wrote the URLs down on tongue-depressors! I gave him Robb’s site, Crossfit.com, Mark Sisson’s site. I mentioned your blog and recipes, and several others. I left with him asking for my e-mail address in case he had more questions. He ended with, “Geez, I should coming to see you instead of you coming to see me. This is fantastic stuff! It’s so brilliant, yet so simple!” Needless to say, I’ve been looking forward to this doctor’s appointment all month knowing what the results would be. I’ve been fairly giddy about it all day since  Fast forward a couple of hours, and I related all this to my wife, who absolutely, positively despises doctors. After telling her all this, and hearing how happy I was, she said, “I wish I could have doctor’s visits like that!” That’s my in. She can have doctor’s visits like that, and I told her so. And I told her exactly how we, as a team, can approach it. That between now and her annual physical, we have more than enough time to get all her issues in line and fixed, and that she has it easy; she’s got me, who has already “been there, done that” and knows how to approach it all. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going  Thanks so much for your support, your advice, your website, and your amazing recipes which got me here to begin with ”

Thanks so much to “Another Phil” for sharing with us!  I hope this helps others struggling with a partner who is not quite ready to dive into this whole “paleo thing!”  Remember, approach your loved one with the desire to be a team and lead by example rather than by being confrontational, controlling, and angry.  Post to comments with your own experiences and input!

Now, here’s a recipe!  I adore Spanish Tortillas.  Spanish Tortillas are typically an egg casserole made with eggs, onions, and potatoes with really no “tortilla” at all.  I decided to give a paleo version a try and I’m pretty much in love all over again but with a healthier spin on the original!  This would be great for a weekend brunch…  You’ll notice in my pictures that the kids had about every stuffed animal they own helping us with the process!

Everyday Paleo Spanish Tortilla

2 medium yams, peeled and sliced into thin rounds with a mandoline slicer

2 cups torn arugula leaves

1 purple onion, sliced thin

3 tablespoons coconut oil

10 eggs

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

In a saute pan (this is a pan that is about 2-3 inches deep unlike the flatter skillet), heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil.  Make sure your oil is hot enough that is sizzles when you lay in a slice of yam.  Cook the yam slices in a single layer in batches in the hot oil, flipping after frying for about a minute on each side or when they start to brown.  Set the cooked yams aside, add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil into the pan and saute the onions just until they start to turn brown.  While the onions are cooking, beat the eggs together with the spices in a medium sized bowl.  After the onions begin to brown, spread them evenly on the bottom of the pan and layer the yams on top of the onions, followed by a layer of the arugula.  Poor the egg mixture evenly over the layers of veggies and cook over medium or medium low until the edges start to look done (about 4-5 minutes).  Move the entire pan underneath your broiler for another 5-6 minutes until the “tortilla” is firm on top.  Remove and slice like a pizza and eat immediately.  Serves 4-5.

Enjoy!

“It’s Too Hard Part 2″ And a Spanish Tortilla Recipe is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Alright all you goal setters out there.  Are you ready?  Goal setting is great, I’m a big fan of the idea but I’m not a big fan of setting goals only at the New Year.  I hate to be a party pooper, but statistically folks who decide to turn over a new leaf starting January 1 are usually setting themselves up for failure.  Yikes.  I think I just turned off anyone who wanted to go paleo starting Saturday and are likely giving me the bird through the screen. I’m sorry, I really am, but it’s not me that’s talking it’s STATISTICS.  Ok, so please do not stop reading, I’m only here to help and I WANT you to stay on track so start by reading this article that gives very practical advice as to how one is more likely to reach his or her goals as well as continue onward with the positive changes that one has decided to make. Now, let’s look at a few paleo related ideas that will hopefully get you ready for the New Year, including some tips to keep us all on track!

What Sarah always wants you to have in your pantry:

1. Coconut milk
2. Canned organic diced tomatoes (no salt added)
3. Organic tomato paste
4. Organic Free Range Gluten Free Chicken Broth (Trader Joe’s carries a great brand)
5. Coconut Flakes (keep in the fridge after you open them)
6. Coconut Flour
7. Almond Meal
8. Raw Almonds
9. Raw Pecans
10. Raw Walnuts (all nuts actually keep better in the freezer after you open the bag)
11. Almond butter (again, in the fridge after you open)
12. Beef Jerky (gluten and soy free from Paleo Brands or Trader Joe’s is best)
13. Canned Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon
14. Canned Tuna
15. Olives
16. Artichoke Hearts
17. Dried unsweetened Bing cherries
18. Dried unsweetened figs
19. Dried unsweetened apricots
20. Olive oil
21. Coconut oil
22. El Pato hot sauce and enchilada sauce
23. Jalapenos
24. Canned diced green chilli’s
25. Sun dried tomatoes
26. As many freaking spices as you can get your hands on!!  With spices you NEVER have an excuse to eat a boring meal!!

What Sarah always wants you to have in your fridge:

1. Eggs – preferably free range (not fed soy) or omega 3 enriched
2. Grass fed Ground Beef
3. Free range chicken (thighs are my favorite, or the whole darn bird is my next favorite – you can make my amazing roast chicken and then boil the carcass for soup)  chicken is so versatile it should always be around….)
4. Nitrate Free Deli Meat  (great for on the go, kids lunches, and fast snacking)
5. Bacon
6. Mustard
7. Salsa
8. Hot Sauce
9. Chili Oil
10. Thai Fish Oil
11. Thai Curry Paste
12. Homemade Paleo Mayo
13. So Delicious Brand unsweetened coconut milk
14. Spinach
15. Kale
16. Carrots
17. Cucumber
18. Organic Lettuce Mix
19. Romain Lettuce
20. Apples
21. Blueberries
22. Lemons
23. Limes
24. Any veggie and fruit that you can get your hands on that is as fresh as possible and in season!

Ok, now that your pantry and fridge are stocked, let’s talk about preparedness!  Set aside an hour on the weekend to plan  you meals.  Think about your week ahead and start gathering your “go to” meals.  For example, my Tuesday afternoons are consistently crazy thanks to kids activities and life in general so I know that Tuesday night is always lettuce taco night.  I can  make this meal with my eyes closed and I usually prepare it in the afternoon and have everything all ready to eat before dinner rolls around.  Thursday’s are usually my soup day or slow cooker day because I am usually away working on my book or my blog and I need to have dinner ready to go for the family.  I always make enough on my slow cooker days for leftovers, in fact I always try to make enough of everything I make for leftovers so that John and I have something prepared for our hectic lunch schedules on the following day.  Use your weekend to shop.  Nothing sucks more than trying to shop on a weeknight when everyone else is doing the same thing, your kids are cranky and so are you, it’s dark, rainy and cold, and all you really want is a glass of wine and a chicken pot pie.  Don’t let yourself go there. Instead, shop when you are clear headed and fresh with shopping list in hand. Being prepared gives you a sense of freedom, capability, and no gosh darn excuses to eat crappy food!

Now, get the kiddos ready.  Get a cool lunch box like one from here.  The night before have your kid or kids help you pack their lunches.  If they are old enough, have them pack their own!  Let them decide what paleo items they want – they’ll be more excited about what you are sending and even more excited about the groovy lunch box they get to pack the fun food in!  Think turkey slices wrapped round avocado, broccoli slaw, or purple cabbage.  Carrot and celery sticks with almond butter, coconut flakes, dried fruit, and for fun a few dark chocolate covered almonds now and then.  I even like to send chicken salad, beef jerky, and leftovers if I know they will be tasty cold.  My book will have 2 weeks worth of school lunch ideas so hopefully that will help fill the void of what to pack!!

Keep the kids excited about food at home by letting them help you meal plan. Look at blogs together and let them choose a few meals that look good to them.  Let them help you pick out new veggies or fruits at your local farmers market.  Bring them with you in the kitchen and give them important jobs to do while you are preparing food.  Praise them, make them super stars at cooking, let them make a mess, let them explore your spice cabinet, let them sample what’s simmering and have them tell you “what’s missing!” Have them choose a spice to add.  Give them their own little drawer with their own kitchen utensils.  Do not make a fuss when they do not like something or they don’t eat as much as you think they should.  Always know that the next day will be easier and that your kids will survive.  More about this in the book too!!!  : )

Alright, enough rambling for now, but hopefully this will give you all a jumpstart into another healthy, happy, goal-reaching, productive year!  Do you want to know what my goal is for this year?  Ok – I’ll tell you.  My goal is to be more attentive.  I want to be a better listener.  When my kids are talking to me, my goal is to try harder to really listen, without distraction.  They tell me the coolest stuff and sometimes I miss out on what they are saying because my mind is going too fast.  Rowan, my three year old, is now talking up a storm and he loves to tell stories.  He will look at me and say, “Mom, what’s YOUR story is?”  And I’ll tell him one, and then he’ll tell me one, and I don’t want to miss any of those stories because before I know it, he’ll be as big as my 15 year old Coby and I’ll wish that I had sat still long enough to really really listen….

Now, on to a recipe.  I think this post wins as my longest ever and I love you for reading this far and I promise the time you took is worth it because this soup is so amazing.  So satisfying.  So good I want some right now as I type here in Starbucks thinking about my family eating the leftovers without me.

Everyday Paleo’s Spin on Mulligatawny Soup

1 ½ lbs grass fed ground beef

2 shallots, diced

3 carrots, chopped

2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1 leek, halved, and sliced (make sure you clean these guys really well)

1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley, diced

1 tablespoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon cinnamon

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and leeks and saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add the rest of the veggies except the parsley and saute for another 7-8 minutes.  While the veggies are cooking, brown the ground beef in a separate skillet.  Once the meat is browned, add to the soup pot and mix in with the veggies.  Add the parsley and all the dry spices and mix well.  Add the chicken stock and coconut milk, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.

Happy, safe, wonderful New Year to you all and as always, Enjoy!

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I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!!

This morning I put together a Coconut Milk and Curry Frittata. Sounds crazy, right? Crazy but good!! Authentic Indian egg curry recipes usually include a list of ingredients as long as my arm and on a Tuesday morning with all my kids home from school, I decided to whip up a frittata with the same concept of egg curry but much faster and easier.  The end result was delicious and a hit with all three boys!!

Coconut Milk and Curry Frittata

7 eggs

½ red onion, finely diced

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

¼ cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Sea salt to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a medium sized skillet, add the onions and cook until the onions begin to caramelize.  While the onions are cooking whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, tomato paste, curry powder and salt.  Rowan helped me whisk and then I used a hand held mixer to make sure all the ingredients were well blended.  Add the spinach to the onions and oil and cook until the spinach is wilted.  Evenly spread the onion and spinach mixture over the bottom of the skillet and pour in the egg mixture.  Cover and cook over medium low heat for 4 minutes.  Transfer the frittata to the oven and cook under the broiler uncovered for another 2 -3 minutes or until the frittata is cooked all the way through.  Slice like a pizza and serve.

Enjoy!!

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Coconut Milk and Curry Frittata is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Happy Holidays!!  The holidays are meant to be a time of joy, a time of merriment, a time for reflection on the year behind us and a time to plan for the future.  Alright, now it’s time to get real. The holidays can also be down right STRESSFUL and often our joy can be lost in trying to simply survive the insanity of shopping, wrapping, packing, flying, driving, and dealing with relatives…   With that being said, I tossed together a few appetizer options, a scrumptious festive soup, and a decadent dessert in hopes that my little gift of recipes will help ease the stress that is often associated with this time of year. If you know you’ll be attending a party or function that likely will be laden with unhealthy options; offer to bring an appetizer or a dish to share so you will not feel deprived and can spread some paleo love along the way!

So please dear readers, keep your chin up, your stress level down, eat well, sleep when you can, hug close the ones you love the most, and give yourself the gift of health this season.  Here’s hoping that you take a few minutes to slow down a bit, look around at all we are blessed with, take a few long deep breaths, and really, truly, honestly ENJOY!!!

Depending on how many people you will be feeding, you may want to double of triple the following recipes.

Merry Little Lamb Bites

1 cup dried apricots, rehydrate by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes

1 lb ground lamb

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of saffron threads

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Mix all ingredients together except for the apricots and cilantro leaves.  Place the lamb mixture in fridge for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.  Remove the lamb from the fridge and heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Form the lamb mixture into small meat balls, about ½ a tablespoon size, and fry in the coconut oil for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Cover the meatballs, turn the heat down to medium low and cook another 5 minutes.  While the meatballs finish cooking, remove the apricots from the water and dry with paper towels.  Cut the apricots into fourths.  To serve, take a meatball, top with a couple of cilantro leaves, and top with a piece of apricot.  I would suggest spearing it all with a toothpick – I did not have any handy for the picture!  Makes approximately 25 meatballs.

Merry Little Lamb Bites

Bell Pepper Shrimp Boats

1 lb medium shrimp, cooked tails removed and finely diced

1 red, yellow, and orange bell pepper

1 cup celery, finely diced

½ cup mango, finely diced

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

Pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Parsley and Paprika for garnish

Preheat oven to 500. Cut each bell pepper into quarters and remove the seeds (see picture).  Roast the bell pepper quarters on each side for 6 minutes.  Remove and set aside to cool.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the finely chopped shrimp, celery, and mango.  Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices and mix well.  Fill each cooled bell pepper boat with the shrimp filling and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley and sprinkle with paprika.  Makes 16 shrimp boats.

Festive Squash Soup

1 butter nut squash, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup diced yellow onion

1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored and diced

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup coconut milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of black pepper

In a large soup pot add the squash, apple, onion, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Add this mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Add the soup mixture back to the pot and add the coconut milk and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often.  Serve garnished with apple slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Serves 4. This soup is AMAZING!!!

Festive Squash Soup

Joyful Curry Chicken Gifts

2 ½ cups finely diced cooked chicken breasts

½ cup finely diced cucumber

½ cup raisins

¼ cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons minced onions

1 tablespoon curry powder

¼ cup paleo mayo

2 cucumbers, sliced or romaine lettuce leaves cut into 3″ pieces

Mix all ingredients together except for the sliced cucumbers or lettuce leaves.  Spoon small amounts of the chicken mixture onto the cucumber slices or lettuce leaves and serve! Delicious!  Will make about 30 cucumber slices.

And finally a dessert…  I made a Zabaglione which is a light Italian custard – more like a sauce really.  It is decadent and amazing and after all your cooking and entertaining, a well deserved treat!! Before I give you this final recipe, I also recommend checking out my pumpkin pie and other recipes from this post for more holiday food ideas.  Another festive dessert idea is my Berry Cobbler, which also works well with sliced apples. Now, on to the Zabaglione…

Brandy Zabaglione

6 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel)

A sprinkle of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of brandy

1/3 cup water

1 mashed banana

Fresh blueberries

Honey

Fill a small sauce pan half way with water.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat down so that the water is just simmering.  In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, lemon zest, sprinkle of cinnamon, brandy, and water.  Place the bowl on top of the sauce pan with simmering water.  Make sure you bowl is big enough that it does not rest down into the sauce pan and touch the water but that only the steam from the water is heating the bowl.  Using a hand held mixer, beat the egg yolk mixture on low for 10 minutes.  The mixture will become pale and frothy and triple in size.  When it’s finished, it will be a foamy, creamy, very thin custard – not thick at all.  Remove immediately from heat after 10 minutes of mixing.  In a martini glass, spoon in a couple small spoonfuls of mashed banana and top with a few blueberries. Spoon in some of the Zabaglione and drizzle on a bit of honey.  Add a few more blueberries, another layer of the Zabaglione, a few more blueberries, and another drizzle of honey.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve while it’s still warm.  TO DIE FOR!!

Brandy Zabaglione

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Recipes for the season is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Sharing a Coconut

As a general rule, our family does not eat out during the week.  Establishing this family “rule” has helped in many ways.  We save money, we spend more time together at the table than time at a busy restaurant waiting for a table, and we eat healthier.  On the weekends we will sometimes eat out once or twice and we have found a couple of places in our little town that really work for us. We particularly love a little Thai place called Cocodine.  Cocodine orders these amazing young coconuts straight from Thailand and the little boys LOVE having a coconut and we all enjoy the awesome curries.   The owners know us by now and they always bring us extra veggies instead of rice.

Another favorite spot we go to is a breakfast joint called Sin of Cortez. They offer this amazing sausage straight from our local University farm and they also offer several delicious veggie scrambles.

Sin of Cortez also serves up some yummy gluten free pancakes which is a great weekend treat for all of us once in a while – life’s too short to NEVER eat pancakes – and how great to find a gluten free option at a restaurant!!  Eating out is totally possible and should still be enjoyed once in a while and finding the right places to go is essential!  For more advice on how to manage eating out, check out this article that I recently posted to my Facebook page as well.

Here is a fun spaghetti squash side dish recipe that could also be made into a main dish by simply adding in some diced chicken, ground beef, or any other protein of your choice.

Scrumptious Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash

1 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 zucchini squash, diced

½ cup sliced kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon dried basil

½ cup chicken broth

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, remove the seeds and cook the spaghetti squash in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes or bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Saute the onions in a large skillet in the coconut oil until they start to carmelize.  Add the garlic and zucchini and saute for another 4-5 minutes.  Using a fork, scrape out the insides of the spaghetti squash and add to the skillet. Add the remaining ingredients as well and cook together another 4-5 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Eating out and a side dish recipe… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Hangin' with the Boys!

I thought I would start this post by sharing a fun picture of the Fragoso family hanging out together…..

It’s been a while since I have done a Day in the Life blog and a reader recently requested I outline what a typical eating day looks like for us, so here it goes! I’m going to take you along with me for last Thursday’s meals, which is typically one of my busier days thanks to after school kid stuff and other obligations that leave me running round like a mad woman.

We should start where every morning SHOULD start, and that’s of course with breakfast! Pictured is my not so breakfast like breakfast but I for one could care less about what my breakfast looks like, just as long as it tastes good and has enough protein and fat to get me through until lunch.  I made bacon and scrambled eggs for the boys – but they ate it all of course so I ate some left over ground beef that we had the night before for lettuce tacos topped with some of my favorite Purple Cabbage Slaw, and some guacamole.

Breakfast!

I made Jaden’s lunch which consisted of nitrate free roast beef wrapped around broccoli slaw, some slices of fuyu persimmons, a Lara Bar, and some purple cabbage.

My lunch that I shared with Rowan was leftover roasted delicata squash which I roasted just like the butternut squash, along with beets roasted the same way and stir fried beet greens and some leftover chicken which is not pictured.

For dinner I made a delicious and easy pot roast that I threw in the crockpot before taking the boys to school.  Here’s the recipe

Cabbage Roast

1 beef chuck pot roast

1 yellow onion, sliced

10 garlic cloves

1 head green cabbage, sliced

6-7 thyme branches

1 cup chicken broth

Sea salt and black pepper

Sprinkle the pot roast all over with salt and pepper and sear in a skillet on all sides until brown (about 4 minutes per side). While the roast is searing, cut up the onion and place in the bottom of the slow cooker along with whole garlic cloves.  Slice up an entire head of green cabbage and set aside.  Once the roast has seared, place on top of the onions and garlic in the slow cooker, put the thyme branches on top of the roast, cover the roast with the cabbage, and add the chicken stock.  Cook on  low for 8 hours or until the meat is falling apart.

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As you can tell from this post, we rely a lot on leftovers, planning ahead, our slow cooker, and taking the time to cook real food.  Yes we are busy, but we try to make it a priority to never be too busy or distracted to be healthy.  I used to be miserable, unhealthy, and sick and although now I spend more time in the kitchen or planning our meals than I used to, I have MORE time to be productive in other areas of my life because I have the energy and good health that allows me to do so.  Is it hard?  Heck yes but totally worth it!

Enjoy!

A Day in the Life is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Was it a Hollandaise or maybe a Bearnaise?  Call it what you want, but it was a darn good sauce for eggs – and I’m sure it will be tasty poured over just about any other protein or veggie.  Here’s what we did this morning to jazz up our breakfast routine.

Eggs in a Daze

2 perfect poached eggs

8 asparagus spears (toss in boiling water for about 4 minutes)

Sauce

3 egg yolks

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp hot water

1 tbsp lemon juice

pinch of sea salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

Place the asparagus spears on a plate, top with the poached eggs, cover and set aside. In a medium metal mixing bowl, gently whisk the egg yolks.  Continue whisking the yolks while adding the hot water, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper to the bowl.  Place the bowl over boiling water and whisk constantly until the sauce begins to thicken (about 30 seconds – 1 minute) Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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I’m tired as I type which reminds me to remind you that getting adequate sleep is more important than anything you might accomplish by staying up too late working on what “must” get done.  If we deprive ourselves of precious recovery time, life simply becomes less enjoyable as we continue to burn out emotionally and physically. Not to mention the scientific proof that lack of sleep is an underlying cause of many health issues and has been linked to the likes of increased cancer risk (especially in women) to fun stuff like depression.  So get your Zs people!!

Now for some food fun.  Check out this blog by Katie at Norcal – a recipe I have not yet tried but wanted to share anyway because it just sounds so tantalizing!!  Also, here’s a blueberry creation I just popped into the oven tonight for a fun bedtime snack for the kids.  Enjoy!

Bedtime Blueberries

2 cups frozen organic blueberries

1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds

4 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 350. Layer the blueberries in a pie pan and sprinkle the shredded coconut evenly over the blueberries, followed by the sliced almonds. Drizzle the entire dish with the orange juice and bake for 15 minutes.  Finish under the broiler on high for another minute or until the almonds start to brown.

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We relied this week on some good old standbys that I’ll share with you later in this post. Today, I found myself with a little down time in which Rowan and I whipped up some “cookies” with what we found left in the kitchen after our nutty week. These are not super sweet but they are SUPER tasty.  This is a great after school snack for the kiddos and easy for toddlers to snack on as well.  Plan ahead this weekend – make a big batch and your little guys and gals will have healthy and delicious snacks to take along while on the go!

Nutty Cookies

2 bananas smashed

1/3 cup coconut flour

3/4 cup almond butter

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup raw walnuts

1 apple finely chopped

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp cinnamon (or more if your 2 year old is measuring…)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to smash the bananas to baby food consistency.  Add the coconut flour, almond butter, and baking soda and mix well.  Using a hand held chopper or food processor, chop the walnuts and apples to a very fine dice.  Add the walnuts, apples, coconut milk, and cinnamon to the bowl and mix in remaining ingredients.  Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spoon heaping tablespoons of the cookie mix onto the parchment paper, placing an inch or two apart.  Back for 25  minutes.  Makes approximately 20-22 cookies.

We survived this week on lettuce tacos, a spin off of this recipe but I added curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, a little cardamom, and mixed with some mashed sweet potatoes and topped with fresh cilantro, and a crock pot chicken similar to this one with one small can of El Pato hot sauce added to a whole chicken rubbed with sea salt and garlic powder.  I threw in sliced onions, carrots and celery and called it a day. A fast breakfast earlier in the week was leftover steak from the weekend (chopped small for the little guy) with an awesome melon I found at the farmers market, a cross between a honey dew and a cantaloupe.

Enjoy!

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One Crazy Week = Nutty Cookies is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Leftover dinner!!  This one is my personal favorite.  I love having leftovers for breakfast because this means breakfast is done!  Just the other morning I had leftover lamb chops for breakfast with some kale, and squash.  Another morning after the mad of rush of getting kids out the door was over, I found myself alone in the kitchen with leftover chicken sausages from the previous days lunch, also with kale and some bell peppers and onions.

One of my kids favorite breakfasts is:

Sweet Potato Hash

1 lb ground pork sausage

3 sweet potatoes grated

3 tbsp coconut oil

cinnamon

Brown the sausage in a large soup pan.  Add the coconut oil and shredded sweet potatoes to the cooked sausage (sometimes I’ll also add about 3 tbsp of organic butter as well). Stirring often, let the potatoes cook until they are soft, about 7 minutes.  Add a TON of cinnamon and serve.  This is a bit too much of a carb load for me in the morning but it’s great to get the kids going!  I do love eating a little bit of it with, uh oh, a poached egg.

Some morning we’ll have just bacon, ham, or sausage with coconut milk smoothies for the kids and a handful of nuts and maybe a few blueberries for Mom and Dad. I make the smoothies with either 3-5 cups of unsweetened So Delicious coconut milk or 1 can of coconut milk + 1 cup water, along with with frozen strawberries, mango, blueberries, and a banana – or any other fruit combo that sounds good!  Of course the smoothie I have pictured is accompanied by some EGGS and sausage scrambled together (another favorite breakfast option for Rowan – the 2 year old).

My breakfast advice for those of you who are darn tired of eggs or want a change in your morning routine is to look outside the “breakfast box”.  No matter what time of day it may be, as long as you have a hunk of protein, some sort of veggie, and some good fat – you are dialed!!

Disclaimer: if you are trying to lean out, I do not suggest eating a ton of sweet potato hash or fruit in the morning.  These foods, although great, are best reserved for post workout enjoyment.  Even for folks who might be healthy and lean, this kind of carb intake in the am might send them crashing a few hours later.  I personally do better if I skip the fruit at breakfast and maybe enjoy a little bit at lunch with a lot of protein.  Kids on the other hand are good to go with this stuff!!  Lucky kids…

Enjoy!

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Baa Baa Breakfast is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Also, Robb Wolf’s book The Paleo Solution, has officially been released and is currently making ripples around the world with its success!  I truly believe that eating paleo will most likely save your life, and the current leader for helping with the cause to “look good naked,” and who doesn’t want both? Thank goodness that Robb has written a stellar book telling us why and how and making it available to all the people on this planet who need it!!  There IS hope, I tell you, there really is, because as I sit here at Starbucks typing away, or driving around town picking up my kids, all you have to do is LOOK around you and realize how much help is truly needed…

Furthermore, my own book is nearing completion and editing. I have been working my little paleo fingers to the bone, trying to produce a product straight from my heart and drawn from my own experiences that will help people stay on track, get on track, get their families on track, and focus on keeping it real, sane, and simple.  We are still shooting for a February release but maybe sooner so we’ll see how things go!  Look forward to not only a book filled with Everyday Paleo recipes, but also a guide book to successfully achieving a paleo lifestyle, including a section on fitness!!  More details coming soon….

Finally, check out the pics of my 2 year olds “breakfast of champions.”  His favorite AM meal is crumbled sausage mixed with scrambled eggs accompanied by a coconut milk smoothie. I blend up 1 banana, about a cup of frozen strawberries, sometimes frozen blueberries or frozen mango, and about 5 cups of So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk. This is enough for all of my boys to share.

Also pictured is the new Free Range Organic Chicken from Costco.  So easy, already prepared and really darn tasty.  I threw a few pieces on big lettuce leaves and topped with cabbage, broccoli slaw, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, and a little balsamic vinegar for a delicious and fast lunch.  This CAN be easy!!

Enjoy!

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We did it – our very first cooking demo!  Please take a look and let me know what you think.  I know what we need to do differently next time but I also want your feed back as well.   Next time we’ll try to get more shots of  the actual food!

Breakfast Paleo Pizza

Crust:

8 eggs scrambled

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp dried basil

Pinch of sea salt

Black pepper to taste

Toppings:

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara sauce (or gluten free marinara sauce of your choice)

1 lb ground mild italian pork sausage

1-2 sweet bell peppers diced

2 roma tomatoes sliced

1 cup sliced black olives

3 green onions sliced

In a medium sized skillet, brown the sausage and set aside.  In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the minced garlic.  Saute for 2 minutes.  While the garlic is cooking, add the basil, sea salt, and pepper to the scrambled eggs and mix well.  Pour the egg mixture over the garlic in the skillet and turn the heat down to medium.  Cover and let cook for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the eggs are set and firm.  Do not stir or disturb the eggs while cooking.  Remove the lid and transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for another 3 minutes or until the top of the frittata is also firm.  Remove from the oven and add evenly spread the 1/2 cup of marinara sauce.  Add the cooked sausage and the rest of the toppings.  Place the pizza back in the oven and under the broiler for another 5 minutes.  Slice and serve immediately with avocado slices as a garnish!

Enjoy!

Cooking Demo – Breakfast Paleo Pizza! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Summer Vegetable Omelette

8 omega 3 enriched eggs scrambled

6 slices nitrate/nitrite free bacon diced

1 bell pepper diced (I used an orange one)

1 yellow summer squash halved and sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 green onions diced

1 cup fresh basil leaves diced

2 tbsp olive oil

Spoonful of julienned sun dried tomatoes

In a large saute pan cook the diced bacon until almost crispy.  Add the bell peppers to the bacon and and saute in the bacon grease for 2 minutes.  Add the summer squash, mushrooms, and onions to the bacon and peppers and saute until the mushrooms are tender.  Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.  Add the olive oil to the same pan and heat over medium.  Pour in the scrambled eggs so that they are evenly covering the pan.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, make sure the pan is not too hot so that the bottom does not burn.  Do not disturb the eggs.  After 3-4 minutes, move the eggs carefully to the oven and cook under the broiler on low until the eggs are firm, about another 4 minutes.  Move your pan back to the stove top and on one side of the open faced omelette, add your veggie and bacon mixture.  Top with the fresh chopped basil and with a large spatula, carefully fold the omelette closed.  Cut into thick slices and serve with a spoonful of juliened sundried tomatoes on top.

Enjoy!

Also pictured is a super fast lunch I made for myself and the kids with similar components to the omelette.  I quickly stir fried 4 sliced gluten free basil chicken sausages from Trader Joe’s with 1 diced red bell pepper and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms and served it all over steamed kale with some left over mashed sweet potatoes on the side.  Very simple and satisfying!!  : )

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Simple and Seasonal is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Making it happen can also mean getting those work outs in, even while on the road.  The last time we visited the in-laws, we loaded up our boys along with all of our nephews and nieces and hauled them to the park for a family workout.  The kids had a blast, and we got in some exercise – it’s all about making it happen!

We can choose to, or choose not to; it’s really as simple as that…  Trust me – I am FAR from perfect but I know that putting in the extra degree of effort is worth it in the long run and making choices that sometimes seem more difficult  at that moment, actually make everything else in life much more enjoyable and manageable.

Cheers!

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Making It Happen… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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!!

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Server Problem Solved and Paleo Apple Muffins!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Ok, so on to recipes.  Here is what we had for breakfast the other day.  It was not breakfast-y at all but why does breakfast have to be?

Un-breakfast Breakfast

Diced pork carnitas (from TJ’s)

1 giant bunch of red chard

1/2 a bag of frozen bell pepper and onion mix from TJ’s

1/2 a can of salsa verde from TJ’s

lots of olive oil

Chop and then saute greens in the olive oil with the bells and onions until the greens are soft.  Throw in the pork loin until warm and mix in salsa verde.  Oh, and the next day, I had some left over so I scrambled a couple of eggs with the left overs for more of a breakfast type breakfast.  Enjoy!

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Little ol’ me in Woman’s World Magazine!!! And of course a recipe… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Well, now you can have cupcakes for breakfast or at least little mini crust-less quiches that are shaped like cupcakes and like my good friend Natalie said,  (amazing athlete, trainer, and paleo cook extraordinaire who came up with these tasty breakfast treats) ”With a name like Egg Cupcakes, your kids will LOVE these for breakfast!”  

I suggest making these on the weekend so you have breakfast ready for at least the first few mornings of your busy week.  The ingredients are versatile so get creative but here’s one of my favorite combos.

Egg Cupcakes

10 -12 eggs whisked well

1 green onion

2 zucchini

3 big handfuls of spinach

1/2 a jar of roasted red and yellow peppers

6-8 slices of COOKED bacon

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 and grease with olive oil two muffin pans. Whisk all your eggs in a big bowl. In a food processor throw in the green onion, zucchini, bacon, and peppers and process until finely chopped but NOT smooth (yuck…).  Add  this mixture to your eggs.  Throw your spinach into the processor and finely chop and also add to your eggs. Mix the egg mixture well and using a 1/4 measuring cup, fill the muffin pans (you’ll be able to make 18-20 cupcakes).  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.  These are great to take on the go and I like mine with some sliced avocado and green salsa. 

Enjoy!

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Egg Cupcakes! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Breakfast was a Bacon Frittata:

8 strips of diced cooked bacon

1 carton of sliced mushrooms

1 bag of fresh spinach

1 dozen eggs

lots of olive oil

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms, spinach, and bacon in olive oil until the spinach cooks down.  Evenly spread the bacon and veggies over the bottom of the skillet.  Scramble the dozen eggs and pour over the bacon and veggie mixture.  Turn the heat down to low and cover for about 3-4 minutes.  Take the lid off and finish the frittata in the oven under the broiler until the eggs become firm.  Slice like a pizza and serve.  We ate our with sliced avocado and salsa.

Lunch was Protein Style Animal Style In N Out Burgers…. No need to say anymore than that.  : )

Dinner was Curried Chicken in the Crock Pot

3-4 lbs of free range organic chicken thighs

1 bag of baby carrots

1 can coconut milk

cinnamon

curry powder

ground turmeric

garlic powder

sea salt

Place chicken thighs in the crock pot and generously sprinkle on all the spices, mix well to make sure all the chicken pieces are well coated.  Pour in the coconut milk and add the bag of baby carrots on top.  Cook all day on low.  Serve with your favorite greens.  I have blogged a similar recipe using a whole chicken and cauliflower but it’s so good and easy I think it’s worth revisiting!!

Enjoy!

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Recipes for a day in the life… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Perfect Poached Egg

Bring a SMALL pot of water to a rapid boil and pour in a drop of apple cider vinegar.  Crack one egg, being careful to keep the yolk in tact, and slip the egg into the boiling water.  With a spatula, keep the water moving by gently sweeping the water above the egg.  After a minute or two use the spatula to lift the egg from the water to check to see if it’s done.  The perfect poached egg will have a cooked white and a bright yellow yolk.  Serve immediately!  My kiddos LOVE these eggs served in a bowl with a sprinkle of sea salt and some cracked black pepper.  My husband and I enjoyed poached eggs the other morning with fresh pork sausage patties and avocado slices…

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The Perfect Poached Egg is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Next big question I have been getting, what do I pack my kids for lunch?  Pictured is what my 6 year old will have for his school lunch tomorrow.  It’s a tupperware of chicken and hard boiled egg salad, carrot sticks, dried cranberries and pistachios, and mandarins.  Sometimes school lunch will be deli meat, celery sticks, apple slices, and a dried fruit bar from Trader Joes.  My 14 year old usually packs his own lunch of pastrami, celery and carrots, an apple, and cashews.  Sometimes he chooses to eat hot lunch and comes home feeling like crap.  He’s 14 and understands what happens when he makes his own choices.

Another question that often arises is how do we handle the need for a quick breakfast: My oldest is typically our breakfast guy.  I teach early morning classes 5 day’s a week so my husband and kids are on their own most mornings.  My son will fry up some bacon, scramble up a half dozen eggs, and then my husband packs individual tupperwares of eggs and bacon for everyone and they all eat in the car.  Sometimes I’ll make a big batch of sweet potato and sausage hash that lasts a few days or I’ll make a giant frittata that we eat throughout the week.  Hard boiled eggs are a must and I recommend always having a dozen ready to go in the fridge and you can see from my pics that hard boiled eggs do not have to be boring!  : )

Also pictured is a bunch of after school snacks as well as food I always have in the car such as tupperwares full of nuts, dried unsweetened cherries, and pieces of beef jerky.  I never leave home without a bag of beef  jerky, dried blueberries, sliced apples and nuts.  My kids are ALWAYS hungry when I pick them up from school and with food in my car there is never even a request for fast food.  At this point my kids understand that fast food is horrendous anyways, in fact, my 6 year old got into a huge debate with his teacher the other day – his argument being that no one should EVER go to McDonald’s.  She was teaching a health unit and mentioned that it is possible to find healthy choices at McDonald’s and that eating fast food periodically is ok…  For those of  you who know my 6 year old, you can probably imagine this conversation…

So, those of you with kiddos, you can make it happen!!  Don’t be neurotic, but be strong.  Remember, the food that enters your house is there because it was YOUR decision.  If my kids go to a friend’s house or to a party, I DON’T attach a note to their foreheads reading that they cannot eat gluten or sugar, I just rest assured that 95% of the time they have real, quality food, and I SEE that they are healthy, active, and overall pretty amazing kiddos….

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Food for kids…(what to pack for lunch, quick breakfast, and more…) is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License