“Creamy” Chicken Tomato Soup
4 frozen skinless boneless chicken breast
Garlic salt to taste
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 clove garlic
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk (full fat)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and juice
1 cup of chicken broth (I used homemade chicken broth but you can use store bought)
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the above ingredients into the crock-pot, cook for 9 hours on low. After 9 hours take two forks and shred the chicken, set the crock-pot on warm till ready to serve (making sure to taste it before serving to make sure there is enough salt and pepper)

Served: 6 (with left over’s for lunch the next day)

Total cost: 17.48 (this is the price if you had to go buy all the ingredients; chicken, chicken broth, spices, coconut milk and diced tomatoes.. if you are buying spices at Safeway they always have a buy two get one free deal going on if you buy their brand)

Total cost per person: 2.91

hope you all enjoy my pocket friendly college budget paleo meal

Another Budget Friendly Paleo Meal by Erika: “Creamy” Chicken Tomato Crockpot Soup is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Our next giveaway is a $150 gift certificate to Tropical Traditions. 

Tropical Traditions is an amazing resource for organic foods and healthy products including coconut and olive oil.  Our family favorite products are Gold Label virgin coconut oil, organic strained tomatoes, coconut chips, coconut flakes, and organic extra virgin olive oil, just to name a few.  Winner will be announced Friday January 27, 2012.  

To enter to win, 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 in 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, so hurry and enter for your chance to win!

Stay tuned to the blog for our next big giveaway!

All entries for today’s giveaway will automatically be eligible to win each consecutive giveaway for the promotion of Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship. No purchase necessary.

EPLifefit Membership Winners and a Tropical Traditions Giveaway 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

Everyday Paleo Half Day Workshop in Laguna Niguel, CA! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

*Thanks you Katie of Wellness Mama for another informative and fun post!

Switching to natural laundry options can be a very easy transition. It doesn’t take much time or effort, and you can save a substantial amount of money.

Why switch?

Conventional laundry detergent typically contains a list of chemicals and many have not been proven safe. Most detergents contain sulfates, petroleum distillates and phenols, as well as artificial fragrances and dyes.

There are natural, homemade options for laundry detergent, stain treatment and even fabric softener. Most of the natural options work as well or better than the conventional alternatives and offer substantial savings.

For instance, when I switched to making my own laundry detergent, I noticed the following savings:

With the amount this mixture I use (1/4 cup) per load of laundry (powdered detergent), this recipe works out to $0.09 cents per load of laundry. This saves me almost $0.15 per load over using Arm and Hammer or Tide. With the liquid recipe, the saving are even more. A Five-Gallon batch costs $4.30 and washes at least 80 loads, costing about $0.05 per load.

The following are my favorite recipes for natural laundry products after several years of trying different formulas:

Powdered Laundry Detergent:

You need:

• 1 cup Washing Soda (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 cup Borax (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 bar of natural bar soap (I use homemade soap or Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, which is available in the natural/organic section at many grocery stores)

How to Make:

1. Using a fine cheese grater or a small food processor, grate the bar soap until it is a fine powder (make sure it is not an overly moisturizing soap, or this will just make a big clump of soap)
2. Mix the grated bar soap with 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1 cup of borax until evenly mixed.
3. Store in a 1 quart mason jar or similar sized container and use 1-4 tablespoons per load, depending on how dirty the clothes are.

I typically use 1 tablespoon per load for most clothes, though I have used up to 4 tablespoons on clothes that were muddy or stained.

Liquid Laundry Detergent:

I use this laundry soap 90% of the time and it works really well. One batch lasts months and it is very simple to make.

You need:

• 1 cup Washing Soda (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 cup Borax (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 bar of natural bar soap (I use homemade soap or Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, which is available in the natural/organic section at many grocery stores)
• A large 5-gallon plastic bucket with lid (the bakery section of most stores have these from the icing they use and will usually give you one if you ask)
• Gallon jugs (or other container) for storing the laundry soap

How to Make:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 quarts of water over medium high heat.
2. While it is heating, grate in the bar soap using a cheese grater.
3. Stir until soap has dissolved completely.
4. In the 5-gallon bucket, put 4 gallons of hot (not boiling) water and add the 1 cup of washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved.
5. Pour the dissolved soap mixture into the bucket and stir well until soap is mixed in.
6. Put the lid on the bucket and leave overnight. This will allow the soap to cool and gel.
7. After 24 hours, remove the lid, stir well (I use an immersion blender to make sure it is well mixed) and pour into clean, gallon size jugs for use.
8. Use 1/2 cup per load.

I have used both of the above recipes on cloth diapers and delicate fabrics without a problem.

If you aren’t ready to tackle making your own laundry soap, the three top store bought natural brands that I’ve used that work really well are: Soapnuts (read about them… fascinating), Charlie’s Soap Powder, and Nellie’s Laundry Soda. All three are cloth diaper approved.

Homemade Oxy Clean

With 4 kids in the house, stains are a big issue and this is one of my go-to solutions. Oxy Clean is actually a pretty decent natural option, but the homemade version is easy to make and the ingredients are good to have on hand anyway.

I found the idea for this recipe on Pinterest (warning: it’s addictive!) and it works really well!

You Need:

• 2 parts water
• 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 part baking soda

How to Make:

1. Pre-mix the ingredients and store in a dark colored opaque spray bottle for pre-treating stains (I just pour back into the hydrogen peroxide bottle and put a spray top on)
2. For entire loads that need extra cleaning or brightening, just add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash load and let soak for 30 minutes before running through the full cycle.

Stain Treatment:

For more specific stains, the type of treatment can make a big difference in how well the stain comes out.

With the right pre-treatment, most stains are removable, even paint and ink.

You can read my full article about how to treat different types of stains here.

For quick reference, I also created the infographic on the left for fast reference. I keep this sheet by the washer for reference.

Here is a printable version of the infographic: Click to download.

Do you use natural alternatives for your laundry? What are your favorite tips and tricks for keeping clothes clean naturally? Please share below!

Natural Laundry Solutions is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Someone asked me on my Facebook page to post more slow cooker recipes which was quite coincidental because yesterday, as I was reading that particular post, I was unpacking a giant pork roast that I intended to make into pulled pork.  This is about the easiest meal a person could make and so versatile.  This morning we ate the pulled pork with eggs and tonight I’ll make some Purple Cabbage Slaw to eat along with the pork and I’ll maybe even make a salad out of it for lunch tomorrow; if there is any left (which I doubt there will be….)

Beyond Easy Pulled Pork

4-5 lb pork butt roast

2 yellow onions, sliced

Dry Rub

3 tbsps chili powder

1 tsp coriander

2 tsps cumin

2 tsps onion powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

2 tsps sea salt

Mix all dry rub ingredients together.  Rub the entire roast with the dry rub (you should use it all.)  Place a layer of onions on the bottom of your slow cooker.  Place the roast on top.  Put the rest of the sliced onions on top of the slow cooker.  NO LIQUID NECESSARY!  Cook the roast on high for 5-6 hours and then turn down to low for another 3-4 hours or until the roast is literally falling apart and easy to shred.

Enjoy!

Beyond Easy Pulled Pork is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Everyday Paleo Workshop this Saturday in Marysville, CA! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I used to find myself feeling as if the hand that life had dealt to me was simply “what it was” and that I was destined somehow to be unhappy, to be unhealthy. But I have always been a fighter and there has always been that little spark that even after being dealt several hefty blows, that little spark had never entirely been put out.

So, I encourage you to fight.  You do not have to be stuck.  You do not have to be “ok” with the hand that life has dealt to you but it takes COURAGE!!  Are you brave enough to make those changes that you know need to be changed?  Are you confident in your ability to take those first steps out of your comfort zone, no matter how difficult those first steps  might be?  Have you finally decided to turn off those ugly little voices in your head that try to stop you from being exactly what you know you want to be?

The only time you have to face this journey all alone is when you are faced with the fact that sometimes YOU are the only force that makes you stuck. All the support in the world that you need is out there, but you and you alone have to take that first step. Ultimately, you can play a giant role in choosing your own destiny and you are the only one who decides weather or not you can succeed, no matter what the goal might be.  Yes, you might fall down, yes life is hard, yes change is difficult so you can plod along and just take it as it comes or you can make it; and I urge you to CHOOSE what happens next with your own life because otherwise you will find yourself another year down the road and still….. stuck.

When you open your mind, open your eyes, and open your life to opportunity, to change,  and to positive influences, the excuses start to dwindle and you will find yourself truly steering your life in a way that is meaningful more often than simply accepting “what has happened.”

I hope that 2012 is an amazing year for all of you and as I continue on my own journey I am excited to share what happens with the Fragoso family as we continue on this exciting ride.  I also can’t wait to hear back from you – what are you going to do this year to become “unstuck!!”

Are You Stuck?? is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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.

[Show as slideshow]

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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

*Note from Sarah: Coby.  My oldest son.  My teenage hero and the kid that keeps me sane when his little brothers are driving me crazy.  I wish I could explain to you what Coby means to me but how could I? It’s like trying to explain the vast expanse of the universe, so I won’t even try. Anyway,  I asked Coby a while ago if he would write a blog post and he totally went for it! Below is what he has written; from the heart of a 16 year old, he has shared with you his own personal paleo journey – short and sweet and to the point. Thank you Coby for your honesty and your willingness to put yourself out there in hopes to share with other kids that living this lifestyle can be your own unique experience.   

Coby’s Paleo Perspective

My name is Coby Fragoso, I am sixteen, and I am Sarah Fragoso’s first son. You probably don’t know much about me, but mom has wanted me to make a blog post for a while so here I am! The reason I’m not noticed much, I think, is because it’s my little brothers that look cute on the front cover of my mom’s book. I am still here though, and I have stuff to say too, like my story about being dragged along with this whole paleo thing…

I remember I never really liked bread anyways. I did not like sandwiches, and I didn’t like pizza that much. One thing I miss though is pasta. I loved pasta with all the different types of sauces. But anyways it was weird for the first couple months we started going paleo, and I’ll admit, I didn’t like it. I definitely noticed a change in what we ate and I did not enjoy eating the new food. I thought it was bland and it just did not taste right. I never complained about the food though and I eventually got used to it, or my mom became better at cooking. She never forced me to eat paleo, I just eventually stopped eating food that wasn’t paleo because I felt it was the right thing to do, and at home I didn’t have any other choice.

 A little over a year ago, I actually gave in and got a hamburger on a white bun, and it made me sick. Ever since than I have not touched any thing with gluten. I actually really like not eating things like breads and pastas; it’s something that separates me from everyone, especially at school. People will see me bring things like salami and grapes to school, or order a bun-less burger from Big Chico Burger during lunch, and they will ask me, “why don’t you eat bread?” and I say, “Because I don’t want to.”

For me it really is more of a choice, I could survive if we WERE eating bread and sugar and stuff, but I simply don’t want to. It’s something that makes me insanely different from all the people who think it’s weird to have something as simple as a different hairstyle. I guess it makes me feel rebellious or something. I don’t plan to stop eating paleo ever actually, it’s what feels right to me, and it’s what I want do gosh dangit!

I no longer break out with zits, I’m not as tired anymore during the day, and I never get stomachaches like I used to.  I have never felt better in my life.

My favorite paleo meals include:  My mom’s meatloaf, bacon, Brussels sprouts and bacon, sausage and eggs, omelets, Thai yellow curry, bun-less burgers, dry rub grilled ribeye, and really everything we eat is good.

My Teenagers Perspective on Paleo: Guest Blog by Coby Fragoso is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

*Another post to enjoy from Katie of Wellness Mama!

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that has been around for centuries. The high concentration of b-vitamins, digestive enzymes and glucaric acid in kombucha are credited with a variety of health effects, including detoxification, improved digestion, increased liver function and more.

Many Kombucha drinkers also report increased energy from regular consumption. Some studies have even shown that compounds like glucaric acid can help prevent cancer, though the evidence on this is limited. Interestingly, President Reagan reportedly drank kombucha daily as part of his regimen to battle stomach cancer when he was diagnosed in 1987 (He died in 2004 of old age).

Countries around the world, from China to Russia, value Kombucha for its health benefits, though few scientific studies have been done in the US. Despite this, Kombucha has gained popularity, especially in some parts of the country.

Kombucha is now available commercially, though prices range from $3-5 per bottle or more.

Making Kombucha at home is another option, as a gallon of Kombucha can be made at home for a dollar or less and the process is really rather simple.

The culture that creates Kombucha is referred to as a “Mother” or a “SCOBY,” which stands for “Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.” If you are interested in brewing your own Kombucha, there are several ways to obtain a SCOBY.

How To Find a SCOBY to Brew Kombucha

• If you know someone who already brews Kombucha, ask them if they have an extra you could have. A SCOBY reproduces itself and has a “baby” every batch or two, so often someone who brews Kombucha will have one to pass on.
• You can order a SCOBY from a reputable online source. It will come in a dehydrated state with instructions for how to brew. I’ve gotten one from Cultures for Health, and they also have great tutorial videos on brewing Kombucha.
• Grow your own. I haven’t personally had great success with trying to grow my own, but this tutorial explains the process. You will just need a bottle of organic, unflavored Kombucha.

Finding a SCOBY is often the most difficult part, as the actual making of Kombucha is pretty easy…

How To Brew Kombucha:

You will need:

• A gallon size glass jar
• 1 gallon (or a little less) of brewed sweetened tea, with a ratio of 1 cup organic sugar to 1 gallon of tea – must be cooled t room temperature!
• 1 Kombucha SCOBY or dehydrated SCOBY
• a kitchen towel or coffee filter and a rubber band

Instructions:

[Note: It is very important that all materials and surfaces are very clean and that your hands have been washed before starting this process!]

1. Prepare the tea (1 cup organic sugar in 1 gallon of brewed regular tea- decaf is ok too!) Use 3-4 family size tea bags or 8-10 regular size ones.
2. Let the tea cool and remove tea bags. Make sure that tea is completely cool before going on to next step.
3. Pour the tea into a gallon size glass jar, leaving at least an inch of room at the top.
4. Add 1 cup  of liquid from a previous batch of Kombucha or from a store bought bottle of plain organic Kombucha.
5. Gently place the Kombucha SCOBY at the top of the liquid. It should float, but don’t worry if it doesn’t. Once you have put it in, don’t stick your hands into the tea to get it to float!
6. Cover the jar with a coffee filter or towel and secure with a rubber band.
7. Place in a warm location (around 70-75 degrees) and let sit from 5-30 days depending on your preference (it will be less sweet and more potent the longer you leave it).
8. When it is finished brewing you can store in smaller jars or in another big jar with a lid and repeat the brewing process with the SCOBY to make more batches. Every 1-2 batches, the SCOBY will have a baby that can be used to make other batches or given away.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of making Kombucha, you can do a secondary ferment with grape or apple juice to make a carbonated Kombucha soda that has very little trace sugar left but is carbonated. 

This video from Cultures for Health is helpful when first starting off brewing Kombucha.

Ever brewed Kombucha? Grossed out by the SCOBY? What do you think?

How to Make Kombucha by Katie of Wellness Mama is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

*Another budget friendly post by Erika Schuler!!

Thanksgiving it a time to celebrate all that we are thankful for: family, friends, good health and good old fashion paleo food! Last weekend I celebrated my first Thanksgiving of the year with my amazing college family…. potluck style. I roasted my first turkey ever and managed to stay away from burning it… it’s a MIRACLE!!! I am the only one of my friends who lives, eats, and breathes paleo, so when I sent out the invite for a Thanksgiving potluck party I wasn’t expecting it to be all paleo. With the amazing group of friends I have made at school they all respected my way of life and all cooked paleo dishes. With the exception of mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls

I was in charge of the turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. All my recipes came from Sarah’s Thanksgiving blog last year, with a few of my own twists thrown in here and there.

My posts are all about getting the best deal for your paleo meal, so even though these recipe’s are not my own, I can tell you how much it costs to cook a Thanksgiving meal for 15 hungry college students while not breaking the bank!

Turkey

12 lb turkey

Day before brine your turkey in:

2 cup water

2 cups kosher salt,

2 cups good whisky (optional)

¾ cup organic raw honey

Mix all the ingredients together. Make sure your turkey it defrosted and that you remove the giblets and rinse your bird. Put the turkey in a large pot and pour your brine over your turkey. Put a lid on it and keep refrigerated for at least 24 hours. Making sure to take your bird out of the refrigerator at least an hour before the cooking process so it is at room temperature when you cook it the next day.

Prep your turkey:

4 tbls grass fed butter at room temp

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary and Thyme (I personally used dried thyme because I couldn’t find fresh thyme)

Juice from 1 orange

Mix all the ingredients together.

Preheat oven to 400.  Wash and dry the turkey with paper towels.  Place the turkey in your roaster breast side up.  Pull back the skin from the breast and in between the skin and the meat, place the butter, rosemary, thyme and orange juice mixture. Save some of the butter mixture to rub on the top of the bird too. Sprinkle the entire bird with sea salt and pepper.  Cover and roast for 20 minutes.  Lower the heat to 350 and cook for an additional 20 minutes per pound, uncovering the bird for the last 30 minutes to brown the turkey.  Remove and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.  Make sure you use a meat thermometer to ensure that your turkey is done!

Total cost: $16

Cost per-person: $1.07

Appetizer

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Persimmons- made by Matthew Schupp

4 fuyu persimmons

8 pieces on bacon

5 skewers sticks

Cut persimmons into 8ths; cut pieces of bacon in half, wrap around persimmon slices and skewer (fit as many as you can on one stick). Put foil down on the BBQ so the bacon grease doesn’t catch on fire (learned that the hard way). Once the bacon is fully cooked take off the BBQ let them cool a little and remove from the sticks and put on your serving platter.

Total cost: $7

Cost per person: $ 0.48

Side Dishes

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 bag of small yams from Trader Joe’s (about 4 large yams from the grocery store if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s where you live)

2 tbls grassfed butter

1 tbls raw organic honey

1 tbls cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350 line a cookie sheet with foil. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Toss in melted grassfed butter honey and cinnamon. Spread them out evenly on the lined cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown and tender.

Total cost: $5

Cost per person: $0.33

Green Beans – made by Alessandra Cappello

1 bag of French green beans (from Trader Joes, if buying then in bulk, about 1-2 pounds)

3 cloves of chopped garlic

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Salt and pepper to taste

Break the ends of the green beans off and rinse them. Once cleaned put them in a large pot fill with water until the green beans are covered, add a pinch of salt for flavor. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes, until al dente (firm, yet tender). Drain the water and toss the green beans in garlic, evoo, salt and pepper.

Total cost: $2

Cost per person: $0.13

Mix Green Salad- made by Nicole Fillinger

1 bag of mixed greens

1 apple

½ cup sliced almonds

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

Oil and balsamic dressing (as much as you see fit, salt and pepper to taste)

Rinse green, tomatoes and apple. Core and cut up apple. In a large bowl put the greens, tomatoes almonds, apples and toss in dressing.

Total cost: $7.39

Cost per person: $0.49

Cranberry Sauce-Sarah’s Everyday Paleo Recipe with a few twists, made by Evan Garfeild

1 lb Cranberries (about 4 cups)

1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice

½ tbls cinnamon

1 tsp fresh ginger

2 tbls organic raw honey (if you like your sauce tangy and a little sour leave out, it is just as delicious!)

In a large soup pot add the cranberries, orange juice, cinnamon, and ginger and bring to a slow boil.  Once all the cranberries have popped add in honey and simmer, stirring often until the sauce becomes thick, about 10-15 minutes. Pour your sauce into serving bowl, cover and refrigerate. (you can either serve warm or cold)

Total cost: $ 6.50

Cost per person: $ 0.43

Dessert

Everyday Paleo Pumpkin Pie

1 sugar pumpkin

1tbls pumpkin pie spice

Crust

½ cup hazelnuts

1 cup pecans

4 tablespoons melted organic grass fed butter

Pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Place the nuts in a food processor and process until the nuts are flour like or almond meal like consistency. Pour into a small mixing bowl, add the butter and salt and mix into a thick dough. Using your hands, spread evenly into a pie pan and back for 10 minutes.

Note: buy your nuts in bulk it is cheaper this way!!!

Filling

1 – 14oz can of organic pumpkin puree (nothing added, just pumpkin) à [I made my own pumpkin puree by roasting 1 sugar pumpkin and adding in 1 tbls of pumpkin pie spice.. I will include the instruction below if you want to do it this way]

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon fresh grated ginger

2 eggs

½ cup raw organic honey

½ cup coconut milk

While the crust is in the oven, whisk all of the pie filling ingredients together.  Pour into the curst that has been baked for 10 minutes, return to the oven and bake for and additional 45 minutes

Roasted Sugar Pumpkin: preheat oven to 350. Cut your sugar pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place the pumpkins in a glass baking dish cut side down and add about a cup of water bake for 45-60 minutes. Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin into a food processor and blend until smooth (add a tablespoon of warm water if it doesn’t smooth out) once pureed add in pumpkin pie spice mix well.

Total cost: $11

Cost per person: $0.73

The grand total for the whole thanksgiving meal is: $54.89

That’s a whopping $3.66 per person!!! Now that is a price we can all be thankful for this thanksgiving year  This price includes only the major item’s bought for the dinner, this doesn’t include items that I keep on hand at all times, such as grass fed butter, oil, spices and eggs.

I want to end my post with a BIG thank you to all my friends for sharing all their wonderful recipes. The paleo potluck thanksgiving party was a blast and wouldn’t have been possible without all of you I am thankful for having such amazing friends that I am proud to call family

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Paleo Thanksgiving Potluck Party For College Students! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Play is extremely important and play is NOT just for children.  Even without kids of your own, playing is something we all need to make time for.  What does play do?  Play is a natural part of our existence and playing reminds us that life should be enjoyed and having our noses constantly to the grindstone does not produce the quality of life that we all are striving for.

What does play need to look like?  Whatever you want it to! Be silly, dance, summersault, jump, leap, throw, swing, climb, live! Do not treat play like exercise but like a game – and a way to express yourself and you will accidentally end up getting in a workout without even knowing it.

Next time you find yourself at the playground with your kids, leave your phone in your car and your worries at the gate and really play with your children.  Do not feel inhibited by what others might think about you because honestly, who really cares – most likely others will be jealous of what an awesome parent you are for paying so much attention to your little ones, and you might inspire other families to play!  Suggest an activity for your kids to try that is challenging, fun and new; show them how to do it, and then do that activity with them and make it fun – remember this is PLAY!  It’s so great for your kiddos to see you in action.  Leading by example is the best way to instill the importance of having an active lifestyle.

Challenge yourself by getting outside of your comfort zone.  When was the last time you attempted to swing on the monkey bars?  Do you remember how freeing and fun it felt to simply play a game of tag?  Go for it, don’t hold back, and let yourself just be in the moment.  You will develop a new relationship with yourself and your loved ones that will make your family bond stronger and your life more complete.  Play is therapeutic, essential, and downright fun.

Have a wrestling match with your significant other.  Yes, it sounds silly, but that’s how play should be.  Play leap frog with your husband or wife in the back yard, throw a ball back in forth with your kiddos, get some sidewalk chalk out and make a giant game of hopscotch and practice your jumping and balancing all while having a great time outdoors.

Finally, here’s a video of what happens at the park when the Fragoso Family goes out to play.

Now Get Out and PLAY!!

Get Out and PLAY!! 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

Stuffed Pork and Salty Sweet Cravings

Time for another college budget friendly meal! On tonight’s menu; sun dried tomato stuffed pork, zucchini and for dessert salty sweet cravings.

I was feeling creative tonight and wanted to try something new and fun for dinner. I opened my freezer and refrigerator to find a pork tenderloin, sun dried tomatoes, minced garlic, and fresh basil.  The basil was home grown by yours truly (bonus point: free ingredient!). Put it all together and you get Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork.

Sundried Tomato Stuffed Pork

2 pound Pork Tenderloin

1 8.5 oz jar sundried tomato haves

1 T minced garlic

7 Fresh basil leaves

Butterfly pork tenderloin. On one side spread the sun dried tomato and garlic. Lay the basil leaves on top of the tomatoes fold over the other half of the pork over and tie the pork with 3-4 pieces of string so that the stuffing stays in while cooking. Sear the pork on a hot BBQ for 5 minutes on each side and finish in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Feeds: 8

Total Coast:  $10

Coast per person: $1.25

Here is another cheap and easy recipe for those who are battling mid-day, late night, or anytime cravings for something salty, sweet and still paleo. This snack won’t break the bank and chances are you already having the ingredients on hand.

Salty Sweet Cravings

1 ½ cups unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

1 tsp sea salt

Melt coconut oil in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes and sea salt mix until all the flakes are evenly coated. Line a cookie sheet with foil and evenly spread out the coconut flakes. Bake at 350 for 4 1/2 minutes or until golden brown (make sure to watch them because they will go from golden brown to yucky burnt fast!)

Feeds: 12

Total cast:  $18

Coast per person: $1.50

Dinner and dessert together $2.75 a person!

Stuffed Pork and Salty Sweet Cravings is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Like last time, I have to get a little sciencey in this one, but I promise I will do my best to tie it all together.  Also like last time, I am oversimplifying the biochemistry to make sure you learn something but you don’t send me an envelope full of anthrax for confusing and frustrating you.  You will need to read my last post on Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Fat Loss to get the most out of this post.

Some of you lost your willpower last night.  Others of you barely made it through. You were minding your business having a normal evening relaxing or getting ready for the next day when you were completely overcome with cravings.  Suddenly it was all you could do to think about anything but whatever crunchy or sweet decadence might be lurking just steps away in your kitchen.    You were good all day – paleo breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Sure, there were momentary temptations but your busy day helped you forget about them.  Then when you finally tried to relax, cravings set in.  If you gave in to them, you are kicking yourself today for all of yesterday’s hard work you threw away.  What the heck is going on here?!?

It’s all about our friends from last time, glucose and insulin.  Here is the diet example I used in the last post to represent a typical day for most Americans:

Oatmeal for breakfast.
Fat Free/Sugar Free Coffee-like Substance at your mid morning slump.
Subway sandwich for lunch because you want to be like Jared.
Bagel, granola, or other such processed carbs (or maybe another sugar-laden caffeinated beverage) to fight the afternoon slump.
Pasta or rice at dinner.
Something crunchy or sweet between 8 and 10 pm.

If this is how you ate for most of your adult life your body would have been highly adapted to using glucose for energy while storing fat.  Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was constantly on duty ushering fatty acids into your fat cells, and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) would rarely have been called into action.  Unfortunately, you are a highly adaptive creature.  Eating this way for years has taught your body that this is normal and now you want to change the rules with proper human nutrition.  Of course there is going to be a fight.

To sharpen this concept to a fine point, you are not fat adapted.  In other words, your body doesn’t readily release stored energy (fat) from your batteries (fat cells) to run your generators (mitochondria) because it is WAAAAY out of practice.  You have been pumping a constant supply of glucose (from processed carbs) into your blood stream and, since glucose must be used first when it is present, your fat cells have turned into warehouses instead of batteries.  To correct this, your fat cells must release fatty acids and your mitochondria must accept those long lost friends as fuel.  This might take a while.  You didn’t get into your current state overnight; don’t expect to flip a switch and magically escape unscathed.

Back to your cravings and last night’s nightmare.  When you eat a processed carb-laden meal, you get a nice spike in glucose, your pancreas kicks out a bunch of insulin to mitigate the glucose, and the glucose is fed to your hungry cells, stored as glycogen, or turned into fat and stuffed into your buns and thighs.  When the glucose is all gone, a healthy body shifts into fat burning mode and uses the fat it just stored to keep on trucking.  But your body can’t remember how to make the shift.  Glucose is all it really knows.  That leaves just one option – scream for more glucose!  Screams = cravings.

There is an easy way to distinguish cravings from hunger.  Simply swap out the food you are craving for something paleo approved.  If you are truly hungry most foods will sound good.  I’ve said it more times than I can count, nobody ever looses their cool at 10 pm and eats a pound of broccoli or a 20 ounce steak.  In reality it’s more like, “Why am I suddenly surrounded by empty chip bags and ice cream containers?”

So you are probably going to throw rocks at me now because I can’t offer you an easy out.  The bottom line is that when you eat a legit paleo diet without cheating for 3 or 4 weeks (yes, that means in a row), you will become fat adapted and regain your self control and sanity.  However, every time you cheat in that starting period you will most likely knock yourself back to square one.  This is why we like to say that you aren’t cheating in the beginning, you just haven’t started yet.  (To get through the beginning, CLEAN OUT YOUR KITCHEN!)  Once you are fat adapted and healthy the occasional cheat is not a problem.  Unfortunately, the only answer is a little will power, but you can take solace in the fact that your trials and tribulations are very temporary.   Get to the other side and you will feel great, perform well, and live long in a body that’s easy on the eyes because it’s healthy.

It’s time to get serious.

Cravings 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

*Enjoy another great post from Katie of Wellness Mama!!

Beauty products and toiletries are a major source of chemical exposure for a lot of people. From parabens in make-up and shampoo to sulfates/sulfites in everything from lotion to toothpaste, chemicals can be hard to escape!

Fortunately, there are some easy and natural options for most beauty products, and many can be found in your kitchen!

Natural Lotion:

-Use Coconut Oil straight or in combination with Almond Oil for an extremely moisturizing and firming option. Consuming enough healthy fats like coconut oil internally will also help moisturize from the inside out.

This works for supermodels too!

Oil Cleansing for face:

-Use olive, coconut or almond oil with Castor oil to clean your skin instead of a harsh soap. This will cleanse your skin naturally and keep from pulling out natural oils. My personal blend is 25% Castor Oil (don’t use straight!) and 75% sweet almond oil.

How to do it: Rub a small amount of oil onto dry face and massage into skin for several minutes. To remove, Soak a clean washcloth in steamy water and place on face until it starts to cool. Gently use the washcloth to wipe your face until the oil is gone. Softest. Skin. Ever! Here’s a website with much more detailed info if you are interested.

Natural Make-up and Mascara Remover:

-Olive and Coconut Oils are great for naturally and safely removing make-up and mascara, even waterproof versions. Added benefit: helps smooth or prevent wrinkles around the eyes!

Natural Sugar Scrub:

Sugar is not good for your body. It is, however, great for your skin! Since your skin doesn’t metabolize and store glucose or fructose like your fat cells do, sugar is a great way to tighten and smooth skin! Sugar scrubs in stores are expensive! Sugar scrubs in the kitchen are not!

How to do it: Mix equal parts of white or brown sugar and olive or almond oil and add essential oils of choice (optional). To exfoliate skin, rub the mixture onto skin and massage in for a couple of minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Enjoy!

Natural Hairspray:

-Juicing a lemon and mixing with a couple cups of water in a spray bottle makes a simple hair spray. It works, but has to be stored in the fridge.

-An easier recipe is to mix a cup of boiling water with 1-4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on the level of hold you want). Stir and let sugar dissolve completely and pour into a fine mister bottle. This will hold hair and make it shine. For difficult hair, let first application dry and apply another application.

-For the natural beach waves look, make the above recipe with salt instead. This will give a flexible hold without being dull at all. Supposedly, top stylists are turning to sea salt products lately too.

Natural Exfoliation:

Ever seen those ads for microdermabrasion (not even sure I’m spelling it right!). Well, they look expensive and I’m leery of the chemicals they might contain. No worries though… the kitchen can help! Baking soda is a very effective natural and gentle abrasive that pulls off dead skin cells and makes skin glow!

How to Do It: Wet face with warm water. Pour some baking soda into hands and massage into your face for at least 3 minutes. It will sting a little (its called abrasion!). Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Natural Intensive Hair Conditioner:

Mix one ripe banana and half of an avocado and puree until smooth. Massage into hair and comb through. Leave on with a shower cap for at least 15 minutes for shiny hair. Use some essential oils if banana isn’t your favorite fragrance!

Natural Skin Bronzers:

Until I switched to eating healthy, I never tanned well at all! I used to try all kinds of natural “bronzers” and self tanning lotions (cringe on the ingredients!) in hopes of golden skin. Now, I’m excited to be able to tan easily, but for days when I want a slightly more bronze look, I head to the kitchen…

How to Do It: Mix cocoa powder, cinnamon and arrowroot (optional) until you get a shade you like. For me, this was at least half cocoa powder, about 30-40% cinnamon and a little arrowroot, but experiment to get your skin tone. Store in a small jar or container and brush onto skin for an instant bronze look. Bonus: it smells good! You can also mix this into lotion for a liquid version!

What are your natural beauty secrets? Share below!

Natural Beauty Options is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Today I’m going to attempt to help folks understand the basic biochemistry involved in fat storage and loss.  I said attempt because I am a geek and this stuff gets pretty geeky, and I said basic because nearly everything I type from here forward will be a huge oversimplification of the amazing biochemical symphony taking place in these processes.

Let’s pretend you have not heard of Everyday Paleo yet.  You are still “doing” diets instead of eating like a human.  Your head is still full of myth and fable grounded in anything but actual science.  Prior to Everyday Paleo, your typical day might have looked like this:

Oatmeal for breakfast.
Fat Free/Sugar Free Coffee-like Substance at your mid morning slump.
Subway sandwich for lunch because you want to be like Jared.
Bagel, granola, or other such processed carbs (or maybe another sugar-laden caffeinated beverage) to fight the afternoon slump.
Pasta or rice at dinner.
Something crunchy or sweet between 8 and 10 pm.

Carbohydrate is converted to glucose (blood sugar), so each one of these meals causes a nice bolus of glucose to enter your blood stream very quickly.  Your body closely regulates glucose to keep it within a safe range – not too high and not too low.  After you consume easily digestible carbohydrates like the ones on your daily menu above, your pancreas must secrete insulin to mitigate the resulting elevated glucose.  Insulin’s job is primarily to feed the glucose in your blood stream to hungry cells and then send the leftovers to the liver to be turned into triglycerides for storage in your fat cells.  Are you still with me?  Take a deep breath.  Maybe do a few squats.  Okay, let’s keep moving.  We need to dig deeper.

The story so far:  carbs are eaten and broken down to glucose, insulin sends glucose to your cells to be used as energy or to the liver for a quick composition change so it can be stored as fat.

Moving on.  Since your Standard American Diet (SAD) is nowhere near natural because of all those processed carbs, glucose and insulin remain high throughout your day.  This can eventually lead to insulin resistance in those cells that use glucose as energy.  Insulin resistance is when insulin is ever present and its “I come bearing food” signal to the cells is reduced to a whisper and then finally ignored.  This means your pancreas must produce more insulin to get the same job done, and this in turn means that insulin is ever present in greater quantities.  If you have managed to make sense of all this so far, you can see that you are amassing more and more insulin in your blood stream.  I’m about to explain why this is a problem, but you might want to do a few more squats first.

Hyperinsulinemia, this state of elevated insulin you have created by this point, is bad.  Very bad.  Robb Wolf once suggested that you can Google hyperinsulinemia and any noninfectious disease that comes to mind and you will at least find strong correlations in more links than you would ever take the time to read.  When insulin hangs around too often, it also means you store a lot of fat and have trouble using fat as energy.  This is because insulin is your body’s primary storage hormone.  Here’s how it works (take another deep breath):

High levels of glucose in the blood stream are toxic, just ask a type 1 diabetic.  As I said above, your body devotes a lot of energy to keeping glucose within a fairly tight range.  This means glucose is used for energy before fatty acids because it can’t be allowed to hang out and cause problems.  You can only store a small amount of glucose (as glycogen), but a nearly unlimited amount of fat can be stored, much to the dismay of your buns and thighs.  This is why the liver converts the extra glucose to triglycerides and ships it off to be stored in the fat cells.

Okay, we have finally come to the point of this whole sermon.  At the fat cell, an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) acts as the doorman, ushering fatty acids into the fat cells.  Inside the fat cell, another enzyme, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), has the job of cleaving the first sulfide bond on the triglycerides and releasing fatty acids to be used as energy.  So LPL is working when you are storing fat and HSL is working when you are “burning” fat.  Here’s the rub – both of these enzymes are sensitive to the presence of insulin.  When insulin  is present, LPL is on duty and you are storing fat.  When insulin is gone, HSL is on duty and you are using your stored fat as energy.  If you understand the story so far, this process makes perfect sense.  Since we know that glucose can’t be allowed to hang out and it must be used first, we also know that there is no reason to access stored fat in the presence of glucose and, therefore, insulin.  When insulin is in the blood stream, the message is clear – you have glucose to take care of before you use your stored fat.  Now it’s easy to see why hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are a problem.  They keep you in fat storage mode, without the ability to access your stored fat for energy, for plenty of time to make you plump and squishy.

Please don’t misunderstand, I am not trying to paint carbohydrates and insulin as villains.  They are a normal and natural part of human nutrition and biochemistry.  What is not normal is our mass consumption of processed carbohydrates, both in unnatural forms and in never ending supply regardless of season.  A solid paleo diet, along with proper exercise, will make you healthier and leaner by giving you back insulin sensitivity and helping you re-adapt to using your stored fat as energy so your fat cells can go back to being the batteries they are suppose to be instead of the warehouses they have become.

If you don’t completely hate me by now, stay tuned for how all this correlates to cravings.

Go forth and be awesome.

Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Fat Loss – By Jason Seib 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

If you are searching for an easy and tasty dessert; look no further!  While Sarah was away last week I wanted to fix a special treat for the boys and so I came up with Grilled Bananas!  The grill is my domain, it’s where I feel the most comfortable cooking and I realized I could easily incorporate my favorite cooking tool into a “dad’s dessert station.”

In the Paleo world many folks are stumped as to what they can make for dessert without the introduction of sugars or artificial sweeteners. The reality is; fruit provides enough natural sweetness and there is no need to look any further.  This particular recipe is about as easy as it comes and is definitely kid approved.  You need about 15 minutes of your time and a whole 2 ingredients (banana’s and cinammon), well one other important tool is needed, the grill!

I hope you all enjoy this easy yet satisfying recipe.

note:  You could take this a step further and whip up some heavy cream and finely chop some walnuts or almonds to create a Banana split of sorts.

Grilled Bananas

2 bananas, quartered LEAVE PEELS ON

Cinnamon

Coconut oil (if desired)

Brush the open side of the banana with coconut oil if desired then sprinkle on cinnamon to taste.  Grill open side down (peel up) for 2-4 minutes, flip and grill peel down for another 2-4 minutes or until the peel starts to separate from the fruit.  Remove from the grill and serve.  It’s fun to eat it right out of the peel.

Enjoy!

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Grilled Bananas – Posted by John! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I am beyond excited to announce that my new book, Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is now available for pre-order on Amazon!! Release date is scheduled for February 7th, 2012. I was inspired by my mom, Carol Purdy, to write this book.  My mom was a children’s book author and her spirit has been my bright light during this amazing journey.

As you all know I often blog, talk, podcast, and scream from the hilltops about the importance of kiddos eating paleo and how to get them involved, excited, and enjoying a paleo lifestyle. The reality is, making the transition to paleo for the family is hard work and can be daunting to say the very least and I realize that parents need a resource, a story, a hero if you will to help the kids get excited about this major life change. That’s where the Paleo Pals book comes in.  The Paleo Pals are three superhero children who come to the rescue when kids aren’t sure about eating paleo foods and they arrived determined and able to help! Here is the description of the story:

Introducing My New Book – 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 love the term “able-bodied”.  The U.S. military uses it to define individuals who are fit enough to serve, but used outside the context of a specific organization or task it would simply mean “fit”, except that nobody is in the habit of confusing able-bodied with “not over-weight”.  Able-bodied implies well rounded physical capacity, or a body that can get stuff done.

If you only think of a certain body shape when you picture yourself fit, I would like to expand your definition of fitness to include able-bodied.  I have adamantly fought for a focus-on-health-and-get-hot-by-accident perspective in previous posts and I think the next logical expansion of this concept is physical capacity.  Although some may argue, I am positing that a body must perform well to be graded at the highest levels of health.  The opposite of this ideal, taken to extreme, would mean a body could be deemed healthy without the ability to move at all.

If you are new to all of this, you are probably in need of some good benchmark long term goals because it is quite common to drastically underestimate what you will be able to achieve.  Without using any mathematical calculations, I’m going to give you some estimated ranges of capacity for the members of my gym so you can see what other people like you have accomplished.  My gym is not comprised of athletes and we are not a CrossFit or any other sort of competitive environment.  We pride ourselves in training normal people to extraordinary results.  The examples I am giving you here are attainable and I want you to have them.  Because we train regular folk, we don’t really see much of a difference in potential for younger and older clients.  Age is not an excuse in our gym, and the worst injuries we have seen in almost 4 years and thousands of workouts are a hernia caused by a preexisting condition, a few pulled hamstrings, and a minor biceps tear.

Our estimated back squat average for women is 150 – 180 lbs, and 285 – 325 lbs for men.

Our estimated deadlift average for women is 185 -225 lbs, and 295 – 355 lbs for men.

Our estimated shoulder press average for women is 55 – 85 lbs, and 120 – 155 lbs for men.

Our estimated average 400 meter run is 1:35 – 1:55 for women, and 1:15 – 1:35 for men.

About 30% of our women and 80% of our men achieve strict pull-ups.

Our average woman can perform 20 -30 consecutive push-ups on her knees with no breaks.  Our average man can do the same on his toes.

Our average member has no problem with a 24″ box jump.

Our average member can perform 50 body weight squats in under 1:30.

Hopefully this gives you some goals to shoot for.  The most important thing you can do is keep your head clear of self imposed obstacles and unsubstantiated excuses.  Just shoot for the stars and see where you end up.

Here’s Debbie (not to be confused with Deb) with some motivation for you.  Debbie is 55 years young and doesn’t know the meaning of the word “excuse”.

Remember to keep me posted on your progress by hitting me up on Facebook.  Go forth and be awesome!

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

I recently posted about Paleo Magazine which is a fairly new publication and I am so excited and honored to be a monthly contributor!  For the latest issue, the editor of the magazine asked me to contribute an article about school lunches; and furthermore, look who made the cover!! Thank you so much to Paleo Mag for the honor, and dear readers, please support and subscribe to this amazing publication. I promise you will be impressed with the quality and content!

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