Salmon and My Favorite Tool

Ignore my ugly plate. I seasoned this to taste (I used a salmon seasoning - probably not 100% paleo approved, not sure), and grilled it on my George Foreman grill. Oh. My. Goodness!!! I have never had salmon that tasted this good. It was moist and wonderful and delicious. I steamed some acorn squash in the microwave, too. My husband loves that I eat paleo - he works at home, so I always make him some goodness, too.

And can I just say that I LOVE my George Foreman grill? We had some gift cards to Target a couple Christmases ago and found this baby, with it's wonderful removable and dishwashable plates (genius!!). You can tilt it so all the grease drips off - we grill steaks, fish, chicken, hamburgers (low-carb burger, baby!), sausages, veggies, etc. Then I just chuck the plates in the dishwasher and use it again the next day. I need to go find me some salmon!

Kale Salad

This is also adapted from the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook by the Mayfields. I didn't have everything on hand so I kept it pretty simple, but I got people to eat it.

1/2 head kale, chopped into small pieces
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces
1/2 lemon
1-2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

This is pretty straight forward. Mix the apple and kale together, squeeze the lemon juice into the salad, drizzle the olive oil, mix it together with clean hands, salt and pepper to taste. If I had some cranberries or other dried fruit, I would have added that, avocado, onion, bacon, I can think of several things you could add to this.

Carrot Timbales

This is from the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook, by Julie and Charles Mayfield, but I changed a couple of things, so this is my version:

2 T coconut oil
1 lb carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T chopped sweet onion
1/4 t salt
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t curry powder
1/2 t dried thyme
1/3 c almond milk
2 large eggs

Heat oil in pan and cook carrots and onions on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until tender. Let cool for five minutes. Preheat oven to 350, lightly grease 8-inch cake pan. In food processor, combine carrots/onions, all spices, and milk and puree until smooth. Add eggs and puree for 1 minute until well combined. Poor into cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Three of my kids liked this, and my husband and one son cleaned out the pan. I'm not a huge fan of carrots, especially cooked, but I really liked this! I could see how you could mess with the recipe and even make it more dessert-like with a little honey and cinnamon. I don't have a picture, because they ate it all. It's kind of a puffy, souffle-type thing, sweet and savory.

Bountiful Baskets

The veggie part of the basket this week: kale, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, carrots, asparagus, green onions, sweet peppers, and anaheim peppers

A year or so ago, I was pretty avid about Bountiful Baskets - it's a co-op started in Arizona, that has spread to several other states.  It's only $15 a basket (after a first-time additional $3 fee) and you get a ton of fruits and veggies. They have add-on packs like asian veggies, boxes of apples, mangoes, etc. I dropped off for awhile because I don't like vegetables (I admit it) and they'd always go bad if I didn't give them away. Anyways, starting this paleo diet inspired me and I decided to give it a try this week. And I'm pretty excited!

I tried two recipes out of my Paleo Comfort Foods (by Julie and Charles Mayfield) book that I never would have tried because I got two heads of kale and a bag of carrots. But can I just say I LOVE my Paleo Comfort Foods book?  This is a picture of all the recipes I've dog-eared, and I may end up trying more, like the Carrot Timbales and Shada's Kale Salad I made tonight:

Kind of a crappy picture, but you can see that most of the pages have been dog-eared

Stuffed Sweet Peppers

I want to try this - without the rice...

Source: farmhousetable.wordpress.com via Karen D. on Pinterest

Fat Guacamole Devils!!

Got this one from the reader's Primal cookbook too, and it turned out SO good! Deviled eggs with avocado instead of mayo, who can say no?

Ingredients:
2 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 avocado
1 tsp hot sauce (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp lime juice
S&P to taste

Slice eggs in half, put yolks into a small bowl. Mix with other ingredients. Re-stuff eggs and enjoy! :)

 

This isn't really new, it was just seriously good. Pounded the chicken to 1/4 inch, dipped it in egg, then dipped it in a mixture of almond flour, salt, thyme, paprika, and onion powder. Heated 2 T coconut oil in the pan and fried until cooked through. For the salad, I used butter lettuce, tomato, avocado, lemon juice and salt and pepper. I love how easy it is to come up with something. 

Yesterday, instead of running to fast food with my hubby for lunch I ran to the grocery store, picked up a small flank steak and grilled it on my George Foreman grill (love that thing!). Sauteed some mushrooms and onions and grudgingly shared those with him. Ended up cheaper than a cheap lunch date.

Turkey Wrap

I found a "tortilla" recipe in the book listed below and made them up. I don't think I'm allowed to put it on the blog for copyright purposes, but it has egg whites, coconut flour and baking powder. Anyways, we had leftover turkey from last night so I shredded some, with some spinach and avocado, sprinkled it with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and wrapped it up in one of these babies. Totally delicious. My husband walked in while I was eating and pointed out I eat better (as in tastier) food since I started Paleo. Yes I do. It's good stuff.

This is my favorite cookbook right now:

Sweet Potato Pie!!!!

This is a recipe my friend gave me. I'm pretty sure he made it up which amazed me. I literally just made it tonight and it was amazing. Here was my problem. The yams I used must have been bigger than normal, because this recipe made a TON. I used a deep dish pie pan usually used for apple pie, and I ended up having to spoon some of the filling out into two ramekins so it wouldn't overflow. If you're using rather large yams, I'd suggest splitting it into two different regular pie pans. So you'll just have to keep an eye on them for cooking time. But make some fresh whipped cream to go with it? HEAVEN!!!!!

Ingredients:
*2 yams
*1 1/4 cups coconut milk
*2 T organic butter
*4 organic eggs
*1 1/2 tsp salt
*1/2-1 tsp allspice, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg
*2 T honey
*1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
*Mix up in a food processor and pour into 9" pan(s)

Topping:
*1 1/2-3 cups chopped pecans (however much you want to sprinkle on top of pie)
*2-4 T butter, melted
*1-2 T honey

Mix together well and sprinkle on pie. Bake at 350 for 35 min then check. Cook for an additional 20 min until knife comes out fairly clean.

Mix up some fresh whipped cream and enjoy!!

Chicken Parmesan

So for Sunday dinner my mom decided to make chicken parmesan. Obviously that's something I can't have...right? WRONG! With a little tweaking this ended up being one of the most delicious paleo dishes I've tried yet!!! And I was so hungry so I was intensely pleased that it turned out so well! :-) There's this amazing marinara sauce that is available at Costco that is a staple now that I know I can have it! The picture is below. It's absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

*4 organic chicken breast halves (boneless, skinless)

*1 c almond meal 

*6 T Parmesan cheese

*2 organic eggs, lightly beaten

*Grated Mozzarella cheese

*Butter

*Spaghetti sauce

*Garlic salt

Directions:

*Pound chicken to 1/4" thickness. Mix almond meal and 4 T Parmesan. Dip chicken in egg, then almond meal mixture (pie pans work great for this). In a large skillet, melt 1 T butter per breast and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove from skillet and place into a 9x13. Cover each breast with desired amount of Mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parm and garlic salt. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to brown. 

Tomato Bisque

I got this amazing recipe from a chef at a restaurant that I used to work next to. He was so sweet to share it with me, because it's the most amazing tomato soup I've ever tasted! Granted, I haven't tried making it myself yet because I completely forgot about it until about 30 minutes ago, but I'm sure most of you are better cooks than myself and it should turn out just fine. :-)

Ingredients:
*1 #10 can crushed tomatoes
*1 qt. heavy cream
*2 T fresh basil
*1 T dry oregano
*1 T granulated garlic (1 1/2 tsp of powdered)
*1 T chicken base
*1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:
*Simmer for 2 hours then puree and serve w/ freshly grated Parmesan.

Body Scans - the toll of extra weight

Body scans of 2 Women:
Left - 250 lbs.
Right - 130 lbs.
Notice the knee joints, heart size and fat around the internal organs and base of the brain..

This was from a share on Facebook. Sorry that it's kind of graphic, but it's a huge eye-opener for me.  Four years ago I went to the doctor for back pain, joint discomfort, etc. He looked at me and said, "Your body would love you a lot more if you were X pounds lighter." I went home offended and didn't go back to him, even though I knew he was totally right. It took three years for the message to hit home and for me to actually start doing something about it, and after falling off that wagon, I'm back on it again. My back pain is all but gone, no joint pain, and I feel so much better, even though I have a long way to go. A lot of that is strength training, but since I started the Paleo diet I feel "well" for the first time in years - lighter, tighter, not sure really how to describe it. 

I had read several years ago that there is something called the omentum, which is internal fat around our organs. I had always thought about the outer, visible fat, but the omentum is what makes us apples round. That's the dangerous fat that leads to cardiovascular disease, and you can see that in the scan on the left.

London Broil

I meant to marinate this and make it super delicious, but I didn't get around to the "marinating 3 hours early" part. So I just rubbed some mesquite seasoning on it and broiled it until it was medium rare. Sauteed some mushrooms and sweet onions in olive oil with a little salt, and spread that over the top because I love mushrooms!

Slice it cross-grain. Most of the kids liked it - I have a couple who aren't big into chewing meat. I don't know where they come from. I'll try the marinade another time and let you know what I think.

Garlic asparagus

Found a recipe idea on...I think it was recipes.com? Anyway, it turned out delicious!!

Ingredients:
*3 T butter
*3 cloves garlic, chopped
*1 bunch asparagus

Directions:
*Melt butter in pan over medium/high heat. Add garlic and asparagus. Cover and stir occasionally. Remove from heat once desired tenderness is reached.

The cooked garlic and butter that remains on the asparagus is to die for! Delicious option for a delicious vegetable! :)

Good info!

Basics to Eating Paleo Style!

Thought this was worth sharing....

http://623sc.com/2012/02/the-ultimate-guide-to-eating-paleo/

Shrimp! And the ease of the Food Matrix...

Tonight I cooked shrimp for the first time ever. Pathetic, I know, since it's one of my favorite foods. I'm just wary of eating shrimp or fish 1000 miles from the ocean. It's got to be really fresh. Smith's had some on sale and it looked good, so I chanced it, and it was good!

I marinated the shrimp in 1 T olive oil and the juice of a lime for a couple of hours in a plastic bag in my fridge, then seasoned it with some spices and broiled it for about 4 minutes. Serve with sauteed veggies, and voila!

Robb Wolf's Food Matrix really helped me with mental block when it comes to cooking (which isn't my favorite thing). Just choose meat, oil, veggies, and spices. I actually start getting ideas and craving veggies based on that formula. He says he cooks 90% of his meals that way. And it doesn't take very much time. Turns out different every time, too.

Why we're eating the way we do...