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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Garlic Beef Stew

1.5 – 2 lbs of grass fed stew meat

1 yellow onion diced

4-6 carrots diced

4-6 stalks of celery diced

6-12 mashed cloves of garlic (I used the jarred crushed garlic from TJ’s)

palm full of ground marjoram

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 small can tomato paste

splash of chicken broth

Throw it all in your crock pot, mix well, cook all day on low.  It’s a lot of garlic but it mellows from the long cooking time and your house will smell amazing! 

Savory Cauliflower Mash

1 giant head of organic cauliflower steamed until soft

big hunk of Kerrygold Irish butter

palm full of turmeric powder

sea salt and white pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor.  I like to leave mine a little lumpy for texture. 

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One problem I have with managing my greens consumption is how much room the uncooked greens take up in my fridge. One of my rock-star clients Jillian H. gave me a great idea that has helped ensure that I eat my greens before my greens eat up all the space in  my fridge.  She suggested to cook ALL of my greens at once and make a giant greens mixture to keep in a big tupperware and serve up as needed.  I like to chop my greens up, smash them all down into a giant pot, poor in about 2 cups of water, cover and steam until tender.  This way you can season your greens how you want to depending on what you decide to serve them with later. That’s just what I did this week and I discovered how great greens and scrambled eggs are with a little salsa verde on top, how easy it is to serve some greens up with the Already Cooked Wild Caught Salmon I found from Trader Joe’s, and that greens are great with just about everything else I ate this week.  Thanks for the great tip Jillian and for helping me save some space in my fridge!

Also, here’s an awesome salad recipe to use with the salmon I mentioned:

Wild Salmon Salad

Salad greens of your choice

Already Cooked Wild Caught Salmon from Trader Joe’s

Roasted yellow and red peppers diced

1 organic apple diced

handful of slivered almonds

1 avocado diced

Olive oil, black pepper, dried dill and lemon juice to taste

A splash of white balsamic vinegar.

Toss all together and EAT!! 

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Sirloin Dijon

1 1/2 lbs thinly sliced sirloin (I used the pre-sliced sirloin from TJ’s)

1 red onion diced

3 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste – sprinkle meat in pan while cooking

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 ½ tbsp Dijon mustard

Saute diced onion in olive oil until tender, add sirloin and brown.  While sirloin is browning, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl, mix together heavy whipping cream, garlic, tarragon and mustard.  Pour mixture over the sirloin and bring to a simmer.  Serve immediately.

Brussel Sprouts

Approx 1/2 lb brussel sprouts

1 tbsp dried dill

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and pepper to taste

Quarter brussel sprouts and steam for 3-5 minutes.  Saute the steamed sprouts in olive oil until a little crispy and add remaining ingredients, stir and serve.  Yummy!!

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Garden Fresh Meatballs

1.5 lbs ground turkey

1 lb grass fed ground beef

2 zucchinis

1 yam

2 big handfuls spinach

1 12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers

2 cloves garlic

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 eggs

1/4 to 1/3 cup almond meal

Grate zucchini and sweet potato.  In a food processor, finely mince spinach, roasted red peppers, and garlic.  Hand mix all ingredients and form into meatballs (I made mine a little bigger then golf ball size).  Bake at 375 in a large baking dish tightly covered with foil  for 40-45 minutes.  Makes 20-25 meatballs

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Pork Loin with Peppers, Mushrooms, N’ Onions

2 organic red bell peppers sliced

1 package of sliced porcini mushrooms

1 red onion sliced

1 thinly sliced pork loin

1/2 cup of Kerrygold Pure Irish butter

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 – 1/3 cup chicken broth

1-2 tbsp caraway seeds

sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste

2 tbsp of olive oil

In a large saute pan melt the butter and saute the peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and onions until the veggies are tender. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, reduce down until it turns into a thick sauce.  Meanwhile, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in another saute pan.  Place the thinly sliced pork loin in the oil and season with a little sea salt, black pepper, and caraway seeds. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and make sure to season both sides of the pork loin.  Serve on a platter topped with the peppers, mushrooms, and onions.

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Lasagna

2 lbs grass fed ground beef

1lb mild Italian sausage (I used Sicilian chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s)

1 red onion diced

4 cloves crushed garlic

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes drained

1 small can of tomato paste

1cup organic black olives sliced

6 zucchinis thinly sliced(I used my slicer blade in the food processor for thin, even zucchini rounds – for more “lasagna” like noodles slice lengthwise with a mandolin slicer).

In a large soup pot saute onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 3 minutes.  Add ground beef and sausage and brown.  Season meat mixture with all dry ingredients and add drained diced tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well.  In a big lasagna baking dish place a layer of sliced zucchini and then ladle on a thick layer of the meat mixture and top with the sliced black olives.  Top meat and olive layer with another layer of sliced zucchini and top with a final layer of the remaining meat mixture.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and back at 350 for 30 min.  Let sit for 10 min before serving.

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So, here it is: My Paleo Super Bowl, sit on my arse while not really caring about the game, and falling asleep early menu:

Big Pot of Bean-less Chili

2 lbs of grass fed ground beef

1 lb of spicy italian pork sausage

7-10 celery stalks diced

6 carrots diced

1 white onion diced

6 cloves of crushed garlic

4 tbsp olive oil

1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes w/ juice

16 ounces of chicken broth

2 big pinches of sea salt

2 tbsp dried oregano

2bsps dried basil

1 tbsps cumin

3-4 tbsps chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)

Saute veggies in olive oil for about a minute and add meat and brown.  Season the meat mixture with all the spices.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer for 35 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning if desired.  If you are feeling a little frisky, eat this awesome chili with a dollop of sour cream and some crushed corn chips.  If you are keeping it 100% paleo for the big day, it’s good just like it is!!

Deviled Eggs

12 boiled eggs

1/4 -1/2 cup of Trader Joe’s or other all natural mayonnaise

1 tbsp of fresh dill – minced

small pinch of sea salt

1 tsp of garlic powder

crushed black pepper to taste

 Bring enough water to cover 12 eggs to a boil, add eggs, and boil rapidly for 8 minutes.  As soon as the timer beeps, drain the hot water from the eggs, add cold water and ice to stop the cooking process.  The faster you cool off your eggs, the easier it will be to peel them!  Leave eggs in the cold water for 5-10 minutes before you peel.  Peel eggs and cut in half length wise.  Carefully scoop out all the yolks into a mixing bowl and mash with a  fork.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.  Fill the egg halves with the mixture and sprinkle with a little paprika if you like

Walnut Red Pepper Dip - I haven’t tried this yet but my dear friend Christina gave me the recipe and SWEARS by it, so tomorrow I’ll give it a go and I’ll serve this with an assortment of fresh veggies. – It sounds amazing and a big thanks to Christina for the recipe!

2 cups shelled walnuts (soak them for at least 1 hour to soften them; it’ll be easier to process them this way)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 – 1/4 tsp. salt

1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers – drained

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice
 
In a food processor, pulse walnuts, cumin, and salt until walnuts are finely ground (like the consistency of Hummus). Add peppers, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Whirl until smooth.

Maybe some meatballs…

If we actually need more food, which I doubt we will, I’ll have some gluten free Trader Joe’s meatballs on hand if the kids really want them… I feel stuffed just thinking about it…

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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.  We buy a lot of already cooked bacon from Trader Joe’s that takes 30 seconds in the microwave, my son will 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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Caraway Chicken With Belgian Endive

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs

8 strips of cooked and chopped bacon

1 apple sliced

1/2 cup apple juice

2 tbsp caraway seeds

3 Belgian endives

1 tsp sea salt

cracked black pepper to taste

Place chicken thighs in the crock pot and mix with caraway seeds, salt, and pepper.  Slice endives in half lengthwise, remove core, and slice into long strips.  Layer sliced endive on top of the chicken thighs, then sprinkle bacon pieces over the endive, and layer the apple slices on top.  Poor the apple juice over the entire dish and cook on low for 6 hours or until the chicken is tender and falling apart.

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