When we first started eating paleo, what I found most challenging was simply figuring out what would work as a lunch box for fresh foods!!  Years ago I discovered Planet Box and we love this container!!!

Jaden has had the same lunch box for almost 3 years and it’s still just as good as new.  The only thing we have had to replace is the actual carrying case and magnets (only because we lost one!) but otherwise the actual lunch box is in excellent shape and has more than paid for itself in both quality and money saved NOT buying school lunches!

I also love insulated thermoses to keep stews and soups warm for school lunches and we use one made by Citizen Pip which is pictured below but now  I can’t seem to find them anymore but I recently picked up an amazing insulated thermos from Klean Kantean that both Coby and Jaden love.  It keeps hot food or drinks hot for hours!

Now, what to pack INTO these cool containers?  I have documented Jaden’s last several school lunches that I will share with you now.

Applegate Farms ham slices wrapped around avocado, celery with Ammin Nut almond butter and raisins, dried apple rings, carrot sticks.

Cucumber “sandwiches” (ham in between 2 cucumber slices), cherry tomatoes, pickles, apple slices, almond butter.

Turkey, avocado, cucumbers and tomatoes wrapped in a Improv’eat Pure Warp (we just discovered these and they are pretty darn awesome!  Made with just coconut meat, coconut water, and Himalayan sea salt), pear slices, celery with almond butter and raisins, carrots, and garlic stuffed green olives from Trader Joes.

Turkey slices wrapped around cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, black olives, carrots and banana slices.

Leftover beef stew and sweet potatoes, mandarins.

Salmon salad “cucumber sandwiches” made with homemade mayo and dill pickles, banana chips, black olives, kiwi slices.

Ham and turkey slices, guacamole, carrots and cucumbers, apple slices.

Last but not least, we often will pack beef jerky from Steve’s Originals and that’s what Coby, my 16 year old will bring with him for his lunch!

What works for your family?  What are you packing in your school lunches?  The more ideas the better!!

School Lunch Ideas is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Wow -tomorrow, February 14th, is the official release of my new storybook, Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship and also the last day to enter to win one of our final giveaways!!  I have just received notification from Lodge Cast Iron that they will also be donating to the final prizes and in addition to the following list of prizes, one lucky winner will receive a free skillet from my favorite cast iron brand!!!  Thank you all so much for your support of this book, and I hope it’s a helpful addition for your family.

And The Final Giveaways Are:

A one year subscription to Zinio for Paleo Magazine!

A signed copy of The Healthy Gluten Free Life! (This is NOT a paleo book but it does have many recipes that are paleo as well as grain, dairy, and egg free treat recipes for those who want that option for special occasions.)

A free Planet Box Lunch Box!! This is the lunch box that I use for my kids and we LOVE this product!

A signed copy of Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship

A signed copy of Everyday Paleo!

A free cast iron skillet from Lodge Cast Iron!

So here’s how to enter:  Please send an email to contests@everydaypaleo.com with your order number or proof of purchase for pre-ordering Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  You can also enter to win by emailing me a link to where you have tweeted, Facebooked, or blogged about Paleo Pals.  Thank you so much for your support!  Winners will be picked by random drawing and announced on my Facebook page and on the blog at the end of the day on February 14th, so hurry and enter for your chance to win!

Her

Tomorrows the Big Day! Official Release Date of Paleo Pals, Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Readers often send me recipes that they have created, and this one looked so good I had to give it a try! Thank you Staci for sharing such a delicious dish with us, our whole family loved it!  Now, I’ll pass it on to all of you.

Yummy Greek Meatballs

1 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons minced chives

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 egg, room temp

1 tablespoon dried mint (I used fresh)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 tespoons cumin

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8-10 dried apricots, chopped

8 (or a many as you want) kalamata olives, chopped

Mix all the above ingredients and form into meatballs (I made about 1-2in meatballs).  Place on a cooling rack which is on a baking sheet so that they brown all the way around.  Bake at 450 about 15 mins, depending on size.

Makes approximately 15 meatballs.  Serves 3-4.

Enjoy!

Yummy Greek Meatballs is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Yesterday I received my advanced copy of Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship, and needless to say, it’s been an amazing and emotional experience…

I am so happy it’s complete, wishing my mom was here to share in my excitement, grateful for the love and support form my amazing family, and hopeful that this book will benefit other families striving to live a paleo lifestyle. You can pre-order now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and the official release date is February 14th!

Paleo Pals Advanced Copy Arrived!!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

My latest labor of love, Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is now off to print with a release date of February 14th!  I had so much fun writing this book and it was truly a family driven project with Jaden and Rowan patiently listening over and over again as  the story developed.  My little ones were always eager to give their important and wise feedback that only an 8 and 4 year old can give, while my oldest son Coby and my husband John were instrumental with the development of this book.  Thank you so much to my awesome little family for your undying support of my never ending ideas…

Now, check out this video that will give you a sneak peak of the Paleo Pals!!

You can now pre-order Paleo Pals from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and I’m also super excited to announce that I most likely will be going on a book tour during the release week of the Paleo Pals!  Exact dates and locations will be announced as I find out more details.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and my hope is that the Paleo Pals will be the superheros that your family has been hoping for.

Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I have several holiday recipes on the blog that you can find here, here, and here; but what’s wrong with a couple more!  My family and I will be traveling to visit my wonderful in-laws for Thanksgiving, so I thought I would come up with two fun side dishes that I can make and share while we are there.  Both are scrumptious and I’m looking forward to making both again in just a few days!

Holiday Brussels Sprouts

3 tablespoons grass fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved and then cut into strips

½ cup walnuts, chopped

½ cup dried unsweetened cherries, chopped

2 teaspoons raw organic honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet saute the onions in the the butter, ghee or coconut oil until they start to brown and carmelize.  Add the sliced Brussels sprouts and cook until the just become tender.  Add the diced walnuts and cherries and cook for another minute or two and remove from heat.  In a small saucepan melt the honey, add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and whisk together. Pour the dressing over the Brussels Sprouts and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 5-6.

Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

5 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

12 -15 whole cloves of garlic, peeled (cut the bigger ones in half lengthwise)

3 tablespoons coconut oil or bacon grease

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  In a large mixing bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and garlic with the oil, cinnamon, thyme, salt and pepper.  Spread the potatoes evenly in a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time. Serves 5-6.

Holiday Brussels Sprouts and Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Before you read any further, you must say Herbed Halved Chicken five times as fast as you can. It’s not a just a meal but a tongue twister too!

Last weekend we picked up a halved chicken from the farmers market and John and Jaden made a delicious herb butter rub for the bird.  They rubbed both halves with the delicious mixture and cooked the chicken low and slow on the grill until it became tender, savory perfection.  If you do not want to use butter you can sub clarified butter, ghee, lard, or another fat of your choice.  We served the chicken with roasted winter squash and I made a quick coleslaw with shredded green cabbage, diced apples, sliced almonds, with olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar for the dressing

Here’s what John and Jaden created:

Herb Halved Chicken

2 chicken halves (or take one whole chicken and cut it in half)

6 tablespoons grass fed butter (we used Kerrygold) or other fat of your choice

3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sea salt

Soften butter in the microwave.  Mix the herbs and spices into the softened butter or other fat choice.  Pat dry the chicken halves with paper towels.  Using a rubber spatula, generously rub the herb and spice mixture all over the chicken halves.  Cook on a covered grill skin side up on low to medium low heat for 45-60 minutes.

Herbed Halved Chicken is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Last night I made a whole roasted chicken, tossed some cubed butternut squash in coconut oil and roasted that as well, and cooked some greens fresh from our CSA to make an amazingly easy and tasty side dish.  Here’s how I prepared the greens:

Good Greens

1 pound of bacon, diced

1 small red onion, sliced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup green beans, diced

2 bunches greens of your choice, finely diced (I used a huge bag of braising greens from my CSA which was a combo of kale, collards, and I think some turnip greens)

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

Black pepper to taste

In a large pan cook the bacon pieces and onion until the bacon starts to crisp.  Add the mushrooms and green beans and saute until the mushrooms are tender. Add the diced greens, sage and pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the greens are tender.

Enjoy!

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

This recipe was inspired by a reader who emailed me a recipe that he created for a seafood curry that was served over roasted pumpkin.  Of course I can never leave anything alone so I revised his recipe to make this Creamy Pumpkin Curry. The whole family loved this savory fall soup and I hope your family does as well!

Creamy Pumpkin Curry

1 small sugar pumpkin

2 pounds of shrimp or other seafood/protein of your choice

2 carrots, sliced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 small zucchinis, diced

1 14oz can coconut milk – (make sure you have your coconut milk in the fridge a day ahead of time so that the coconut cream is solid on the top)

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon coriander

½ tablespoon turmeric powder

sea salt to taste

1) Preheat oven to 350. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds (save them for roasting).  Place the pumpkin cut side up in a glass baking dish with about a cup of water in the bottom of the dish and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour.

2) In a large soup pot, saute the onion and carrots in the coconut oil over medium heat until the onions become translucent.

3) Turn up the heat on the onions and carrots to medium high, scoop out just the cream from the canned coconut milk and add to the hot soup pot.  Let it sizzle and stir until the cream is melted and mixed well with the onions and carrots.  Turn down to medium low and let it simmer.

4) While the coconut cream, onion and carrots are simmering, scoop the roasted pumpkin into a food processor or blender along with the remaining coconut water from the can, the chicken broth, and all of the spices.  Process or blend until completely smooth.

5) Add the zucchini to the soup pot and pour the pumpkin mixture into the pot as well.  Mix well and bring to a simmer.

6) Add the peeled and de-veined shrimp to the soup and cook until the shrimp are pink and firm (about 3-4 more minutes).  

7) Serve in bowls topped with  fresh diced cilantro.

If using a different protein, such as chicken, add the chicken in immediately after you add the coconut cream into the pot to give it enough time to cook prior to adding the zucchini and remaining ingredients.  Do not add at the same time as the zucchini or your zucchini will turn into mush. 

As always, enjoy!

Creamy Pumpkin Curry is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

As parents living a paleo lifestyle, Halloween can be much more frightening than the expected glowing skeletons, howling ghosts, and silly monsters.  Halloween is scary because of the mountains of high fructose corn syrup and unidentifiable ingredient laden CANDY!!!  Around this time every year my inbox fills up with questions regarding what to do about Trick or Treating, kids, and the typical sugar battles that go along with Halloween.

First, I’ll share with you how we have celebrated Halloween during our paleo years and I’ll also include some new tips and resources that I’m sure will prove useful as you plan for what should be a day filled with fun and fantasy, not tantrums and tummy aches.

The Fragoso Plan:  We do the typical pumpkin carving, dressing up, and trick or treating, but with a twist!  In the days leading up to Halloween, we make a traditional trip to our local pumpkin patch with the emphasis on having fun together as a family.  We pull each other in the wagons, jump in the bounce house, feed the animals, race through the hay bales, and of course wander through the pumpkins and pick out our favorites.

Instead of baking halloween cookies and filling up on candy, we make popcorn balls and roasted pumpkin seeds with the boys, prior to heading out to tour our neighborhood.  My mom started the pumpkin seed and popcorn ball tradition when we were kids; you see, she was not a candy fanatic either and we lived so far out in the country, trick or treating was not even an option, so every year we would look forward to making the gooey treats.

I know that popcorn, and most definitely popcorn balls do not necessarilly fall into the list of what folks consider to be “paleo” but on Halloween and as an alternative to the hoards of garbage that is typically consumed, a popcorn ball made with love, honey, and molasess is a lesser evil in my opinion and a fun way to continue my childhood tradition with my own kids.  Here is the recipe that we use:

Popcorn Balls

1/3 cup light molasses

 1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon grass fed butter (we use Kerrygold)

1) In a saucepan combine the honey, molasses and water and cook slowly over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the temp on your candy thermometer reaches 250.

2) Add the butter and stir in until melted.

3) Have the popped popcorn ready in a large bowl and evenly pour the syrup over the popcorn and mix well with a spoon.

4) Once the syrup has cooled, grease your hands (and the kids hands) with more butter and form the sticky popcorn into balls!!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Remove the seeds from your carved pumpkin, wash off all the goo and dry with paper towels

Sea salt to taste

1) Preheat your oven to 350.

2) Spread the seeds evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.

3) Bake for about 5 minutes, or just until the seeds start to turn toasty.  Watch them carefully, they will burn quickly!!

For trick or treating, my kids almost, just almost like to hand stuff out just as much as they like to go trick or treating.  We will hand out pencils, erasers, bracelets, or other fun little toys all found at the Dollar store.  Yup, we are that family who does not had out candy but we haven’t yet had our house egged or kids run off crying.  In fact the response is typically, “Cool!!” or “Thank You!!”

When we go trick or treating we simply have a 2 piece of candy rule.  Maybe that sounds cruel but after popcorn balls, dressing up, carving pumpkins, and handing out treats, the kids simply know the routine at this point and are not all that excited about the candy that is so foreign to them anyway.  The rest either goes in the garbage or is donated the next day at Jaden’s school in exchange for a book.

This year I am considering changing up our typical routine just slightly by using an idea from Peggy of Primal Parent.   Peggy contributed an outstanding article to the latest issue of Paleo Magazine which was dedicated to ideas for paleo parents to make Halloween fun and survivable.  For her little one, Peggy purchases candy that is more acceptable such as organic dark chocolates, crsytallized ginger, small packages of nuts and dried fruits, honey sticks, and other more natural treats.  After an evening of trick or treating she will either simply dump the bad stuff in the trash and make a switch to the better stuff (which would probably go totally unnoticed by tiny tots) or for older kids, her idea is to set up shop and have your child trade the bad stuff for the good stuff.  For example, it will cost your child 5 pieces of junk candy for 2 pieces of dark chocolate.  Turn it into a fun game of “store” and say goodbye to the tummy aches!  I think I’ll try this plan with my Rowan and Jaden this year, they both love to play fantasy games and a Halloween game of store and trading and bartering might be extremely fun and a new twist to our old routine.

Coby, my oldest son, simply tossed his candy last year except for a piece or two and this year at the ripe old age of 16 he plans to hang out with his buddy and they will help us take the little guys out around the neighborhood.   Coby is also working on a blog post to share with a teenagers perspective on living paleo so stay tuned for that special article coming soon!

I hope this post helps to make what should be a fun filled holiday a little bit more stress free and enjoyable.

As always, enjoy!

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

First, I must say that it’s wonderful to be home and I am so proud of my little family for doing such an amazing job of keeping the blog and my Facebook page up and running in my absence!  Now on to some food – Summer Squash Soup!!

Jaden’s response to this dish, “It’s way better than it looks; it’s actually delicious!” Almost 4 year old Rowan’s comment was, “This soup is yummy!”  The teenager Coby’s thoughts, “Really good mom!” I have to agree with Jaden, this soup is deceivingly tasty despite it’s crazy green hue.  It’s now officially my new favorite soup at the moment and next time I’ll add some shredded chicken on top to make it a meal all on it’s own!

My inspiration for this summer squash soup was brought on by the abundance of summer squash we have been receiving from our CSA and I needed a new way to eat up our end of summer bounty.

Here is the recipe!

Summer Squash Soup

3 large zucchinis or other summer squash, cut into large chunks

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 medium sized leeks, diced

3 tablespoons grass fed butter or clarified butter (or another cooking oil of your choice)

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a pressure cooker add the zucchini and chicken broth and bring up to pressure.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and immediately run the pressure cooker and cold water until the pressure is realeased.  If you do not have a pressure cooker, simply boil the zucchini in the chicken broth in a covered pot until the zucchini is soft.

2. While the zucchini is cooking, melt the butter in a soup pot and start sauteing the diced leeks.  Once the leeks are soft, add the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the cooked zucchini and the cooking liquid into a food processor.  Add about half the garlic and leek mixture to the food processor as well and blend until totally smooth.

4. Add the blended soup back to the remaining leek and garlic mixture in the soup pot and bring to a simmer.

5. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste and serve (I even added another couple tablespoons of grass fed butter at the end as well for some extra flavor and fat)!

As always, enjoy!

Summer Squash Soup is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Resource List for Paleo/Primal Parents is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Sometimes crazy summer days lead to late night hectic dinners and last night the sun was setting as we sat down to eat.  Although the food was delicious, the actual experience ended up being more of a fiasco then a relaxing evening together.  I suppose that’s what I get for trying to have meal time at bed time but despite the hiccups like Jaden dumping his entire plate onto his lap and Rowan suddenly deciding that he no longer likes chicken, or zucchini, or eggplant, or anything at all really, we all eventually filled our bellies and gratefully crawled into bed.

So, my recommendation?  Make this yummy meal while the sun is still bright in the sky and instead of cleaning up pesto off the floor or trying to remind your exhausted 3 year old that just yesterday he LOVED chicken and zucchini, you can maybe relax and really enjoy how truly scrumptious the food is.  At least today I can look back and laugh and at lunch I’ll actually be able to enjoy the leftovers.

Easy Skillet Rosemary Chicken

2 pounds of skin on chicken pieces (I used boneless skin on chicken breasts and bone-in skin on chicken thighs from local pasture raised chickens)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

4 rosemary sprigs

1 yellow onion, sliced into rings and halved

5-6 garlic cloves, smashed flat and cut into small pieces

Juice from ½ a lemon

½ cup chicken broth

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat.  Make sure the oil is nice and hot!!  Season both sides of the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper.  Place the chicken into your hot pan skin side down and sear for five minutes or until the skin is golden brown.  Using tongs, turn the chicken over and add on top of the chicken the garlic, onions, and rosemary sprigs.  Squeeze in the lemon and pour in the chicken broth, cover and turn down to medium low heat.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Pecan Basil Parsley Pesto

I made my original pesto recipe but subbed the walnuts for pecans and used 1/2 basil and 1/2 fresh parsley and it was DELICIOUS!!

I also made Roasted Japanese Eggplant, much like my recent roasted summer squash but simplified.

3 Japanese eggplants, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup coconut oil

Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Toss the sliced eggplant with the coconut oil, sprinkle with black pepper, place in a glass baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time.

I also quickly sauteed some little zucchinis in grass fed butter and I had these amazing locally grown purple potatoes that I found at the health food store that I peeled and thinly sliced and cooked in the remaining chicken liquid, onions, and garlic in the same pan that I cooked the chicken in.  Yes, we ate some potatoes which we tend to enjoy now and then, especially if they are purple.  : )

Enjoy!!

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Easy Skillet Rosemary Chicken, Pecan Basil Parsley Pesto and more… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Finally, a post about food!!  Hurray hurray, jump up and down but don’t get too excited because this post is a lesson – a very important paleo mayonnaise lesson and one that is worth learning for those folks who figured that their creamy white blissful days of mayo were over after hopping on the paleo wagon.  Most decent tasting mayonnaise options that you’ll find in the market are made with soybean oil and really should be avoided because soybean oil is only good for, well, nothing that I can think of… But I promise, if you follow my mayonnaise making directions very carefully you’ll be back to loving the creamy condiment for dips, sauces, spreads, and salad dressings for several of your paleo creations included but not limited to tuna salad, chicken salad, sauce for fish, or to spread on your mushroom sandwiches.

Ok, here we go!  I’ll list ingredients and directions below and feel free to watch paleo mayo making in action on the video as I add a twist at the end so it might be worth the few minutes it takes to get through it.

Also, as mentioned in the video, one concern that people have about making mayonnaise is the fact that you have to use raw eggs.  The reality is that getting sick from raw eggs is extremely rare, especially if you are using farm fresh pasture raised eggs, click here for more information.  If you are still concerned or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, I would recommend pasteurizing your eggs.  Click here to learn the process of pasteurizing eggs which is a whole lot easier than you might think!

Paleo Mayo

Secret for better tasting mayo, do not use extra virgin olive oil but instead use a light tasting olive oil, or a mild tasting oil such as walnut oil.  Also, try using a hand held mixer instead of a blender if you blender gets hot quickly which can mess up the emulsification process.

2 eggs

2 cups light tasting olive oil or walnut oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a blender, add the eggs, vinegar, and mustard and blend together well – leave the blender running and slowly slowly slowly drop by drop or very slow drizzle add the oil.  BE PATIENT!!  Do not dump all the oil in quickly and give up!!  When the mixture begins to emulsify or thicken, only then can you be a bit faster about pouring in the olive oil but still take your time.  Turn the blender off once all the olive oil is in and the mayonnaise is thickened to your desired consistency.  Add the salt and cayenne pepper and mix well or blend again for another few seconds.

Now for the fun part – variations!!!  Always wait until after your mayonnaise is thick before you add seasoning but here is when you can get creative.  Add dried of fresh dill, fresh basil, or cilantro, garlic and onion, hot sauce, or even curry powder to make your own spreads, sauces and dips for just about everything as mentioned earlier in the post. Now, watch my video to see the fun twist that I put on our homemade mayonnaise!

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

I was inspired to write this article after reading a recent comment posted to one of my blog entries entitled, Paleo Kids.

The comment reads:

“Hi, We have been on the Paleo diet for 3 weeks now (love your book Sarah!)
Our kids (ages 3 and 5) are Ok eating Paleo at home but when we are with other people they see what everyone else has (the bread, chocolate biscuits etc) and constantly say ‘I want that, why can’t I have that, it’s not fair!’.
We have even left places early due to our daughter’s tantrums because she can’t have what the other kids have. HELP!! We don’t know what to do!
I’m very close to giving in and taking them off the diet because I feel guilty that they think they’re missing out!”

I wanted to write my response as a blog post because I feel like this is an important topic and one that needs to be addressed.

To begin, I must ask; should a paleolithic approach to eating ever be all or nothing?  My response would be wholeheartedly no way!  If someone told me I could never again enjoy a glass of my favorite cab, a piece of dark chocolate, or a plate of nachos, they would have hell to pay.  But at the same time, I would never want to go back to how I used to eat simply because I choose to sometimes hop off the paleo wagon.  It’s not worth my physical and mental health to throw in the towel due to a few meals of indulgence now and then.  Read this post for more on that subject. With that in mind, I encourage folks to approach transitioning and feeding our kids paleo with the same realistic expectations that we have for ourselves, but at a kid level.

First, I am so proud, ecstatic, and happy that the reader was successful at making the transition to paleo at home in only 3 short weeks!  This is a huge accomplishment and often a daunting task that some parents choose to never take on. You are feeding your kids as healthy as possible and that is huge. As far as the readers concern in which she states,

“Our kids (ages 3 and 5) are Ok eating Paleo at home but when we are with other people they see what everyone else has (the bread, chocolate biscuits etc) and constantly say ‘I want that, why can’t I have that, it’s not fair!’ We have even left places early due to our daughter’s tantrums because she can’t have what the other kids have. HELP!! We don’t know what to do! I’m very close to giving in and taking them off the diet because I feel guilty that they think they’re missing out!“

I completely understand the dilemma, Paleo mom and kiddos leave for the day and are faced with unhealthy food options. What should you do?  First and foremost, take it all in stride.  I know it’s hard, especially when you have been working so hard to promote healthy eating habits at home, to watch your kids go for the garbage when it’s offered to them.  Instead of making a big deal about their choices and going over board with your own reaction, I suggest not putting emphasis on the fact that they want the junk but instead put your focus towards open and honest communication and preparedness.

For example, if you are going to a party where you know there will be junk, bring an alternative like gluten free cookies such as my Nutty Cookies, or other paleo friendly snacks to share.  Let your kids know simply and light-heartedly that they will have “fun” healthy options and then try not to worry about what might happen next.  While in a social setting and your child eats something that isn’t paleo try not to freak out.  You will be amazed at what might happen next week, next month, or maybe even next year in the same type of social situation.  As children continue to eat a healthy paleo diet, they begin to notice, just like you do, that they might not feel so great when they eat junk food.

What I have noticed with my own kids as time goes on, is astounding. Now that our family has been eating paleo for well over 3 years, I witness my children making better and better food options outside of our home simply because they WANT to and not because they are told or asked to.  As a family we have discussed what gluten and other grains do to our bodies and how it hinders nutrient absorption (but in kid terms) and how eating lots of veggies, fruits, and protein helps them to be healthier and not get sick as often. It’s not a daily discussion but in the early phases of transitioning my kiddos, we simply talked about it and explained our decision making.  I want my children to have the information they need in order to have the ability and confidence to make the best decicisions that they can for their own bodies; be it food related or anything else that they are faced with as they are growing, learning, and developing, in the real world.

Furthermore, as you transition your kids to a paleo way of eating at home, celebrate your successes, keep focused on the fact that your are doing the best you can in the world that we live in, stay positive and confident that your kids will eventually figure out whats best for them when faced with making decisions that affect their health; whether that might be food related or not.  Trust me, when I drop my 15 year old son at the insane asylum we call high school, the last thing I am worried about is what he’ll pick to eat for lunch that day.

When out and about with the kiddos, place emphasis on how great your kids are when in social settings rather then what they put into their mouths.  Be honest when discussing why you want them to eat healthy and I promise that you will be amazed by what children will understand. The last thing we want to do is make our kids neurotic about food but rather educate them about food, what it’s meant to do for our bodies, and guide them by setting an example of making healthy food choices in and outside of the home.  The rest will fall into place, I promise.  Enjoy the little moments together and be proud of your accomplishments!

And as always, Enjoy!

All or Nothing?? is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

A nice beef roast is something I crave in the fall or winter months but I had a big ol’ grass fed chuck roast that was asking to be made; so I made it.  I wanted to try something different then the standard roast in the oven or slow cooker so after being inspired by watching a recent Food Network show called Chopped, when one of the contestants rolled a giant elk tenderloin in a coffee spice mixture, I decided to make my own version and try it on our roast.  The results?  So good, beyond description really, you’ll just have to try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Smokey Roast

Coffee Spice Rub

2 tablespoons coffee grounds

½ teaspoon ground chipotle

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

½ tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

Mix all spice rub ingredients together and set aside.

Roast

½ tablespoon coconut oil (I tried out a new brand of coconut oil called Kelapo and it’s very tasty, mild, and down right delicious!)

2.5 lb beef chuck roast

1 red onion, halved and sliced

¾ cup water

Heat your coconut oil in a skillet over medium to medium high heat, make sure your pan is nice and hot!  Take the spice rub mixture and rub the entire amount into and all over the roast – really rub it in, do not just brush it on!.  Using tongs, place the roast into the hot skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side.  If your pan is not hot enough you will lose your spices, but if it’s too hot, you will burn your roast.  You want it to make a nice crust on both sides of the meat.  Place your sliced onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Once the roast has been seared, put the roast in the slow cooker on top of the onions. Add the water, cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.  Serves 6.

Enjoy!!

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

There’s something about the meatball that my kids absolutely adore and who can blame them!  Meatballs are fun, easy to eat, and as I have discovered over the years, these meaty creations can be made a million different ways besides the standard Italian style meatball that most of us are familiar with.  On Sunday we made curried meatballs and I used curry powder from Penzeys Spices!  I was given an amazing gift last week of several Penzeys spices and I have had so much fun trying them all out!  Chrissy of Growing Up Paleo swears by Penzeys and now I know why.  However, any curry powder will work just as well, there are several others that I adore but it was fun using something new!

We made a huge serving of meatballs so that we could have leftovers.  Now the recipe!

Curried Meatballs

Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef

1 cup finely diced red onion

1 cup apple finely diced

1 egg

2 tablespoons curry powder

½ tablespoon sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well.   using your hands.  Form into meatballs just a little bit bigger than a golf ball and place into a large glass baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Makes 24 meatballs.  While the meatballs are cooking prepare the sauce!

Curry Sauce

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon raw organic honey (optional)

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup chicken broth

In a large skillet saute the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the honey, curry powder, and tomato paste and whisk together.  Add the chicken broth and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth.  Bring to a simmer.  After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce in the skillet and coat well.  Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Serves 6-7.

We served ours with roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Enjoy!!

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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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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

Winter Soup

Happy Friday Dear Friends!!  Some of you might have noticed that soon I will be posting podcasts.  I received a few comments in which folks expressed their concerns that I might only be posting my blog content via podcasts which is not the case at all!!  My reasoning for the podcasts is as follows: each week I receive hundreds of emails and comments via my web page and my facebook page.  I want so badly to answer every single question but the reality is, I am only one person and there is no way for me to do so. Many of the questions I receive are similar, so answering via podcast will help me to address more folks all at once.  I’ll be joined during my podcasts by Chrissy Gower who runs the Growing Up Paleo blog.  She and I together will discuss and answer your questions ranging from “What kind of pressure cooker should I buy?” to “How do I get my kids off the candy?”  If we ever receive a question outside of our scope of expertise, we will direct you to the correct source for an answer.  Chrissy and I have years of experience with paleo nutrition and combined with my background in psychology and Chrissy’s background in education, collectively we have helped hundreds if not thousands of individuals and families get on track with healthy eating. I will continue to post recipes and blog about important topics as always, so things will not change in the slightest, I promise!!  I love what I do, I love hearing your feedback, and I honestly want to be able to help more folks as best as I can!!  If you would like to submit a question for a podcast, please scroll over podcast on the home page and click “submit a question.”

Another great source of information from Everyday Paleo is my Facebook page.  If you haven’t found and “liked” my page yet, I suggest you do so here! There is often some great conversations happening on my page and I’ll frequently post quick food ideas, tips, answer questions and fill you all in on what the Fragoso clan is up to.

Now, on to the recipe!

Quick and Easy Winter Soup

1.5 lbs stew meat, diced

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced

4 carrots, chopped

1 purple onion, diced

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

4 cups beef broth (or water and a sea salt to taste, I used Trader Joe’s brand gluten free beef broth)

2 tablespoons cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, mix well and cook on low for 8 hours.  This is a great base for soup that you can be more creative with!  Try adding in some cayenne for a kick, more or different veggies (I just used what I had left lying around), or like someone suggested on my facebook page, add some fresh ginger!!  This was total comfort food….

Enjoy!!!

Podcast Announcement, Facebook, and a recipe… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Persimmon Love

First, I am so excited and thrilled that the Everyday Paleo book is nearing completion and I want to thank you all for your continued support and for your kind comments! Your feedback continues to motivate and encourage me to keep this think going.  Thank you so much!

Now – FOOD!

What would YOU do if you had a whole bunch of fuyu persimmons and 2 lbs of chicken thighs?  Well, I made a big skillet of what I’ll call “Persimmon Love”  and I hope you have the same response as Rowan did at the dinner table the night I made this meal.  He stood up in his chair and said, “Mom – more and more and MORE chicken PLEASE!!!”

Persimmon Love

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 red onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 fuyu persimmons, peeled and diced

½ cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

A sprinkle of cayenne pepper

1 ½  tablespoons coconut oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and sear the chicken thighs for 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and set aside. Add the other ½ tablespoon of coconut oil and the onions. Sauté the onions for 2 minutes.  Add the ginger, garlic, persimmons, poultry seasoning, cayenne, and a little more salt and pepper if desired and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, stirring well and making sure to scrape any yummy pieces off of the bottom of the pan.  Add the chicken thighs back to the persimmon mixture, cover and cook for another 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Enjoy!

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Persimmon Love… 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

Today's Lunch

So, my site feels a bit foreign to me, and I feel as if I am intruding into someone else’s space!  With the original format suddenly gone, I feel as if I have lost an old friend. Please, a moment of silence for the old Everyday Paleo…. With that being said, do not get used to how things look now, we are searching for a better look for my site and hopefully we’ll have a more user friendly version up and running ASAP! I must give a huge shout out to my friend Dain S. who is the ONLY reason I ever figured out how to blog in the first place – he’s working his tail off trying to resolve our technical difficulties.  Thanks Dain!!

Now, back to the fun!  I often mention kitchen essentials that make paleo cooking a heck of a lot easier; such as a food processor, pressure cooker, and the oh so important slow cooker.  Check out this fun site for even more fun kitchen equipment!  My favorite suggestion is the fire extinguisher.  Now that’s some serious cooking!!

I would like to share with you today’s super easy lunch which includes my new favorite way to enjoy winter squash.

Today’s Lunch

Just some good ol’ grass fed beef

2 lbs grass fed ground beef

1/2 red onion, diced

5 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

splash of balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Saute the onions in the coconut oil until translucent.  Add the ground beef and brown. Add the spices and the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes or until the spinach is cooked down and tender.

Roasted Winter Squash

1 butternut squash

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Preheat oven to 400. Remove the skin from the squash with a potato peeler.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Slice the squash into very thin slices.  Toss with the coconut oil and spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Roast for 25 minutes. Check our Rowan in the pics below trying the squash raw!  He liked it much better when it was out of the oven…

Roasted Romanesco

I received a beautiful romanesco in my CSA share this week and I roasted it exactly like the squash, first cutting it into florets and then baking for 25 minutes.  I cannot even describe the incredible taste of this veggie, a mild mix of broccoli and cauliflower.  Jaden called it, “The Best Thing Ever!!” I have never seen romanesco in the grocery stores but roasting broccoli or cauliflower is just as tasty!

Enjoy!!

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Kitchen Equipment and Today’s Lunch is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Chicken Chili Soup

I must say, this soup was a huge success!  So good in fact that the leftovers I imagined enjoying today were gone in a flash as I watched the last bits of soup being scraped from the bottom of the pot.  I’m not sure what the heck I’m going to do as my boys continue to grow, and eat, and eat, and grow and holy cow – it’s crazy how much food these creatures consume!  If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words, “I’m hungry” well – you get the picture.  So, the moral of the story is, if you have as many hungry mouths to feed as I do, or if you make this over the weekend and want plenty of leftovers to get you through another busy week, double this recipe!!

Also, stay tuned for my next blog which will feature an entire paleo Thanksgiving meal plan!  In the spirit  of the holidays, check out this blog from Cavegirl Cafe – a great reminder that it’s time to start getting ready for the season!

Chicken Chili Soup

3 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I used leftover grilled chicken breast)

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno or Fresno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced

2 – 4 oz cans of diced green chilis

4 cups chicken broth

2 tbsps olive oil

2 tsps ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Black pepper to taste

Fresh cilantro, diced

Avocado, diced

In a large soup pan, sauté the onion, garlic, and jalapeno together in the olive oil until the onions are tender.  Add the canned green chilis, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and black pepper.  Stir together and add the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, turn down to medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the chicken and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve with fresh cilantro and avocado.

Enjoy!

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Chicken chili soup is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

First, I would like to announce the winner of the Name That Recipe contest for last weeks Lamb and Pumpkin Recipe.  I let my 15 year old, Coby, pick the winner and after much deliberation and deep, deep thought – he decided on: Halloween Hash by Stefanie. Thank you Stefanie and thank you Coby for picking a great entry – I loved all of them!!

Now, on to the good stuff.

Before you started eating paleo, did food rule your life?  It ruled mine. I had such a sucky relationship with food.  I loved, and still do love food but I was constantly trying to do things better, “eat right”, stay away from this, add that back in, eat more, eat less,so I  zoned, Atkined, South Beached, and Suzanne Somered, and what I did was I ate my way straight to the looney bin along with adding on pounds, health issues, and total confusion about what was good for me!  To  make a long story short, I finally was introduced to eating paleo and EVERYTHING changed, but, it was not an overnight light bulb moment.  I have been asked before how long it took me to, “get paleo eating down.”  The truth is, eating paleo is about the freaking easiest thing on the planet, it was getting my head right that was the learning curve.  Eating paleo is so easy in fact that I tried my darnedest to make it as hard as possible.  I freaked out over EVERYTHING.  I remember sobbing to Robb Wolf almost daily at the gym – Robb, is this paleo, is that paleo is THIS  OR THAT OR THIS PALEO until he looked at me one day and said, “Well, how do you feel?”  I thought for a minute and realized that I felt pretty amazing and before he even replied I knew the answer, all that I was eating was paleo and paleo for me, and today I darn well know it when I eat something that is not paleo for me – because my body let’s me know in often extremely vicious ways!  This whole “paleo thing”  is not a one size fits all program.  In fact, it’s not a program.  It’s life and a better life because eating paleo means eating food that makes you feel amazing instead of fat, lazy, unhealthy, and sick.  If you felt ok before, eating paleo might mean maximizing your potential and realizing that just feeling ok is pretty lousy compared to feeling VITALITY!!

Furthermore, what eating paleo looks like for me will look a whole lot different to someone with autoimmunity issues, allergies, or type II diabetes (to name a few).  I am relatively lean and healthy at this point in my life so therefore, my paleo eating includes a few more yams and apple slices then it used to.  When I was sick and fat, eating paleo for me meant very little fruit, only after a work out would I partake in yams and no nacho nights ever until I reached my goal weight and no longer suffered from the little health afflictions that I used to suffer from.  Eating paleo for someone with food allergies is very different then my eating paleo.  I’m ok eating a handful of nuts but a good friend of mine turns into an itchy, hive ridden mess so nuts are NOT paleo for her.  Am I making sense?  Now let’s dig a little deeper, what about vinegar, what about sea salt, what about the occasional use of a bit of raw honey, or baking soda, bananas, carrots, and coconut milk or God forbid red wine in my spaghetti sauce or a shot of tequila on Friday night?? Did cave people have an abundance of this stuff?  Most likely not but they also lacked cars, farmers markets, and Trader Joe’s, and the last time I checked, I do not carry a club, wear antelope hair tunics, or greet my children with an UGH in the morning (unless I haven’t yet had my coffee).  We could argue and debate for hours about how yams are a good source of carbs for post workout recovery meals (and healthy kids should eat them whenever), how baking soda is found in nature by mineral springs and is helpful in regulating blood acidity for endurance athletes, how vinegar probably won’t kill you if you toss some on your salad now and then, or that bananas, although of no real nutritional value, are nice to have around in case you are hankering for something sweet and it’s a better option then – oh I don’t know a donut??

Some of the stuff on that thrown together list is not paleo for some people and for some folks, now and then it’s about as paleo as you can get.  So, when you feel like you are suffocating or turning into a paleo junky – think about how you feel?  Are you lean, healthy, and continue to perform well in the gym?  Then you are probably eating paleo, and that’s what eating paleo means – to YOU.  If you feel like crap, gaining weight or not losing weight, or not coming close to reaching any of your fitness goals, it’s time to reassess!  Maybe you are letting grains or dairy sneak back in, maybe you’re living on nuts between meals, and “paleo treats” (like my awesome nutty cookies) are turning into mainstays rather then now and then’s.

I do not know a single person who can sit down and list everything that is or is not paleo for EVERYONE because the truth is we are all very different with very different health concerns.  The BOTTOM LINE IS, stick to the basics for this lifestyle, ALWAYS AVOID GLUTEN, and DO eat meat, seafood, veggies, a little bit of fruit, and good fats, but do not make yourself nutty – just eat what makes you feel good, and if you do not feel well, there’s probably something you are eating that’s not paleo – for you!  Continue to educate yourself – listen to Robb Wolf’s podcasts, read books, search the internet – we live in the age of information at our fingertips but the best “science” is how you feel, look and perform.

Here’s a fun recipe that I made for lunch today with what I had in my fridge.

Shrimp Loves Coconut

1 lb large shrimp, tail on peeled and deveined

1/3 cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 egg whites

2 cups coconut flakes

Pre heat oven to 400. In a mixing bowl, stir together the coconut flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.  In another bowl, pour the coconut flakes.  Taking one shrimp at a time, dry well with a paper towel and dredge each shrimp in the coconut flour mixture, dip into the egg whites and then roll into the coconut flakes.  Bake on a lightly greased (with coconut oil) baking sheet for 12- 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and the coconut flakes start to brown.

Enjoy!

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What does eating Paleo REALLY Mean?? And a recipe is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License