I am not a blogger who typically blogs about products because otherwise, products would end up being the only thing I ever blogged about, BUT holy cow, Steve’s Original is not just another paleo product, it’s a phenomenal company making incredibly tasty food and giving back to children who need help, guidance, and hope for a solid future.

I was lucky enough to receive a sample pack of Steve’s Original goodies and we were not disappointed with any of their yummy offerings.  People are always asking me where to find jerky and paleo snacks that are not filled with gluten, sugar, or other unhealthy fillers and Steve’s Original Paleo Kits, dried fruits, Just Jerky, and Krunch Bars (to name just a few of their offerings) all fit the bill.

My kids LOVED everything we tried and Coby, my high school student, has made me promise to keep on ordering so that he can easily bring the Paleo Kits to school with him for lunch. He loved how convenient it was to drop a Paleo Kit into his already stuffed back pack and have a portable lunch ready to go that required no thought to prepare.

If you would like to give some of Steve’s Original food a try, Steve has been kind enough to offer a 10% discount on your first order by using discount code, “everydaypaleo” and Steve will have this discount available to you up until Tuesday, December 20th.

Here’s Rowan and Jaden enjoying the Paleo Krunch Cereal with coconut milk!

Steve was kind enough to send me samples of his products, however, I did not promise anything in return and I was not bribed, begged, or coerced into promoting Steve’s Original. I am happy to tell you all to check out this amazing companies products because we really love their food and what they are doing to help kiddos.  I hope you enjoy!

Steve’s Original is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Beef Jerky – Trader Joe’s carries organic gluten free jerky and I also recommend the beef jerky from Paleo Brands

Almonds, cashews, and walnuts

Unsweetened Dried Fruit

Apples

Paleo Women Granola

Carrot sticks

Coconut flakes

All of the above food items can be packed easily for trips in the car or carried on the airplane!

Speaking of snacks, here is a fun idea for a summer time snack at home:

Cucumbers (I used lemon cucumbers)

Sliced almonds

Sea Salt

Using a hand held chopper, finely chop a handful of sliced almonds.  Place the chopped almonds in a small bowl and add a pinch of sea salt if desired.  Thinly slice the cucumbers and coat both sides with the nuts by pressing the cucumber slice firmly into the nut mixture.  Crunchy, nutty, and fun!

Enjoy!

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Paleo Travel Snacks – and a fun snack for home… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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

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

Cheers!

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

Ginger Shrimp Salad

1 lb medium shrimp (tails removed, cooked, and de-veined – I buy them frozen and already cooked)

3 green onions

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Pinch of sea salt

Palm full of red pepper flakes

Juice from 1 lemon

Fresh Arugula

Olive oil to taste

1 Avocado

If you are using frozen shrimp like I did; thaw, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.  If using fresh shrimp, remove tails, de-vein, and toss into boiling water.  Bring the water back to a simmer.  Once the shrimp rise to the top remove them and place in ice water.  Then drain and pat dry with paper towels. Toss the cold shrimp with the lemon juice, ginger, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Serve on a bed of arugula garnished with sliced avocado and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Curried Hash

2 sweet potatoes

2 zucchini

2 shallots

2 omega 3 enriched eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

5 tbsp coconut oil

Peel the sweet potatoes and rinse.  Using a food processor or a cheese grater, shred the sweet potatoes and the zucchini.  Using a hand held chopper, finely chop the shallots.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded potatoes, zucchini, shallots, eggs, and spices.  In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium, add the hash, and cook stirring frequently until the potatoes are soft and start to crisp up.  Serve immediately.  This is a great post workout snack!!

Enjoy!

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Ginger Shrimp Salad and Curried Hash is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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

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

Egg Cupcakes

10 -12 eggs whisked well

1 green onion

2 zucchini

3 big handfuls of spinach

1/2 a jar of roasted red and yellow peppers

6-8 slices of COOKED bacon

sea salt and black pepper to taste

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

Enjoy!

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

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

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

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

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

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

On to snacks.  Kids like to dip things so always keep on hand almond butter and mayonnaise.  As you can see, Rowan really enjoys his almond butter.  You can find pretty good mayo at natural foods stores that have no sugar and are made with pretty much just oil and eggs.  If you add curry powder, dill, garlic powder, or whatever spice combo you prefer to some mayo, it will make a tasty dip for veggies.  I like to stock up on bags of already sliced apples and already sliced carrots and celery for easy and fast snacks for my boys. Sliced deli meat is a must to have on hand for hungry little ones and now almost all grocery stores carry decent deli meats without a ton of preservatives and fillers. 

One last tip, never leave home without food.  I always have snacks in my car because kids are always hungry and with good options available, fast food is NOT an option. 

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Easy bacon and kid friendly snackin’ is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License