And now for something a little different...

I accidentally posted these garden pictures here instead of my other blog. But I'm leaving them, because we could all do with a moment of flower therapy... :)

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Recipe: Sara's Bison & Pork Mini Meatloaves

Bison & Pork Mini-Meatloaves
  
Mini meatloaves (meatloafs?) made from bison & pastured organic pork from Whole Foods Market. Thanks go to Cavegirl Cuisine, for hosting the contest where I won a gift certificate that enabled me to buy the meat for this recipe. :)

These were AMAZING!

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground bison
• 1lb ground pork
• 5 baby bella mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 1/4c ground flax

Directions:

1. Blend the mushrooms and the garlic in a food processor
2. Remove from food processor and add to bowl with both meats, egg, and flax seed meal. 
3. Mix thoroughly. Shape into patties.
4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.    

 
 This made exactly one dozen "muffins," or mini-meatloaves.
Nom nom nom!

Recipe: Lola is Paleo-fying Traditional Meals (Paleo Cabbage Rolls)

Paleo-fying Traditional Meals

by Lola Hammerschmidt

Recently, I decided to take some of my traditional non-paleo meals and paleofy them. (is that a word??!)


My first attempt was with a Stuffed Cabbage Dish. I had made a traditional Stuffed cabbage with ground turkey and rice filling and my family enjoyed it. My 13 year old son ate it and even requested that I make more!


I had some leftover cooked cauliflower in the fridge and thought, "Hey, maybe I'll substitute the rice with cauliflower." I'd read where Paleo people "rice" their cauliflower so I thought I would give it a try.


I changed the recipe from being the traditional stuffed rolls into more of a layered lasagna /casserole dish. The overall result was great however, I feel it could be fantastic with a little tweaking.


My issues were as follows:

1. Cabbage leaves, even when blanched and the woody stem removed is still not easy to cut a perfect square out of. Its not the texture of a lasagna noodle so it was a sloppy cut.
2. I cut the cooked cauliflower too small and it seemed to disappear into the meat mixture. I will not cook it so thoroughly next time or leave it chunkier for more texture.
3. Rice not only acts as a filler in the traditional recipe but also absorbs extra fluids during cooking. The paleo casserole was a bit wetter or looser than the traditional stuffed cabbage. I'd like to find a way to tighten it up a bit.

I've decided to tweak the recipe in the following ways:

1. Instead of using whole cabbage leaves, I will buy a bag of shredded coleslaw mix (with carrots!), blanch and drain the mixture.
2. Quickly blanching cut cauliflower and allowing it to continue to cook inside the casserole so its not overdone.
3. Layer more like a lasagna instead of mixing the cauliflower in the meat mixture. Shredded mix, meat mix, cauliflower, sauce, repeat.

Another option would be to make individual ramekins or possibly small casserole dishes?

Maybe mix all the items together and form a meatloaf, bake on a wire rack over a pan and allow the extra fluid to drain away from the loaf? 



Traditional Stuffed Cabbage vs. Paleo Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rice (PALEO: Add Chopped cauliflower instead of rice!!!!)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 1/2 chopped onion.
• 1 jar pasta sauce
• head of cabbage, cored and separated in hot water.

*after leaves are separated, cut out tough center stem from each leaf.

1. pasta sauce on bottom of glass pan.
2. place a spoonful of mixture in center of leaf, fold sides of leaves over to form a tidy package.
3. place seem side down into pan. 
4. Repeat until mixture is gone, cover with more pasta sauce.
5. Cover with tin foil.. bake at 350* for 60 minutes.

PALEO: bake "lasagna style" in pan..layered with cabbage leaves and meat. Finish top with pasta sauce.


As you see, the only main difference in the recipe was removing the rice!!!! The rest is just technique and making it more of a texture or presentation that I prefer. 

It's been a while, huh?

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Davis AKA Wheat Belly and his teachings at http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/ 

Or you can find an Amazon link to his book in our bookstore here.

I am finally getting it threw my thick skull the evilness that is flour and grains. I don't swell or bloat like some people I know do. I can eat a moderate amount and not experience much weight gain.  But the long-term effects on my joints has become very apparent to me recently.

I was virtually pain-free in my joints for a good portion of last year.  Then I started incorporating a wee bit of flour products back into my diet, which unconsciously grew more and more. I didn't realize until very recently how much I'd started hurting again.  My main culprit is my "good" thumb.

You see, I had a thumb joint replacement on my right hand 2 years ago, due to total degradation of the base joint (the joint that connects your thumb to your hand).

Recently, the thumb joint on my left hand has degraded to the point that I was seriously considering starting the process of getting that joint replaced too. I have been wearing a brace almost constantly, and popping Advil or Tylenol (or both) at the end of the work day just to maintain function.

I made the decision to cut out the flour again last week.  I've been working hard to cut it down to virtually nil (think I had and english muffin and cookies over the weekend). 

Today is the first day in months that I've been pain free at the end of the work day. In my hand,  at least..let's not get crazy.


So no more denial. Wheat products contribute to my arthritis and eventual joint degradation.  I know this.  I must repeat it every day when tempted by something that I know will just lead me down the path of pain.

And that's why I made cookies tonight with almond flour and honey.  Recipe coming soon!  :)