Is There an Elephant in the Paleo Room? Desserts, treats, and snacks

For those of you who subscribe to our companion FaceBook page, I posted a vent the other day in which I voiced my frustration over the amount of Paleo-ified desserts being shown on other Paleo/Primal/Clean-eating lifestyle blogs.  I thought I'd go a little more in-depth with my thought here, and I hope you will bare with me.

Now, I love pretty pictures as much as the next person. And as my belly will attest, I love sweets. I am of the mind, and most Paleo* Food bloggers probably are too, that if you are going to eat sweets, swap them out for clean-food sweets, ie: getting rid of white flour in favor of coconut or almond flour, etc. Use unsweetened chocolate and honey, or maple syrup, or dates pulverized into a paste.

I get it. I even choose to practice that philosophy of making cleaner, high GI treats for myself when I need a "sugar" fix. I'm not perfect at it, but I try. I make the effort.

But it's the sheer volume of posts and pictures of scrumptious looking treats that's killing me!

I can't be alone in this. If you subscribe to as many Paleo food blogger's FB pages as I do, your news feed is loaded with Paleo Donuts, Paleo Muffins, Paleo Sweets galore!

Why do they do this to me???? Is it because the sweet stuff draws people into their blog, generating ad revenue and spiking their pageviews?  Is this just sour grapes on my part?

I don't think so. I go looking for specific recipes a lot of the time, usually for meal idea, and I can look at a recipe index of most Clean Eating food blogs, and the dessert and snack links are usually longer than the actual meal ideas.

Am I the only one bitching about this?


*When I say "Paleo," I am referring to most clean-eating food blogs out there. Paleo is my personal catch-all phrase for Primal, Gluten-Free, Clean-Eating, yadda yadda.  Not everyone is the same flavor, and I'm not debating Paleo over Primal over Whatever the flavor of the month is.  I look at it all for ideas.

For someone cleaning up their food intake for health reasons, who is going to benefit from Almond flour cookies? Well, most likely anyone who doesn't have a sensitivity to almonds, but still. 

It's these circular arguments that go around and around in my brain. YES, it's better for you than a white flour cookies.  But what's the lesson here? I can eat the almond flour cookies and be satisfied? Or, can I eat almond flour cookies all the time, and lose weight, heal my gut, put my diabetes into remission, clear my skin, and feel badly for the poor saps out there who can't get off the processed goods?

Who out there is promoting their Veggie and Lean Protein laden meals over Paleo Cheesecake?

Or are you just providing what the masses are asking for?

I just peeked at my Recipe Index Page, to make sure I wasn't talking out of my ass here.  We have 4 dessert and snack recipes, 9 main dish recipes, 3 side dishes, 6 soups & stews recipes, and 4 breakfast recipes. Does this make this blog as bad as the rest? It's smaller, sure, but I think that the balance is good.

I checked another blog that is much larger than mine. 6 PAGES of dessert ideas. 3 PAGES of breakfast recipes, and an average of 6 pages each of main dish recipes, broken down by source: Beef, Chicken, Fish,
 etc.

ok, maybe it's just me. Maybe I shouldn't be complaining about this.

I just want to see more meat and veggie-laden recipes getting the same attention that the cookies, popsicles, and muffins do.  Is that so difficult?

Joie: Can we talk Beets??

This is a post that Joie start way back in the youngling days of our blog.  For some reason, it never got published.  Well, I'm doing it now.  So there. :)
~Rachael
 ******************************************************************************


Can we talk about beets?

Yes, I know the sugar content is high... but what about all the NOMMY stuff sprouting from the top??

I had bought a small bunch (4 bulbs) of fresh beets.  Unfortunately, they stayed in my fridge too long before I could get to them.   I ended up cutting the tops off and trashing them.   The actual beets came out great.This is what I did:

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.  Peel.  Cut.  Put in pan.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Salt n pepper.  I had some balsamic raspberry dressing.... I drizzled that on as well.
Bake.   350 degrees.  For a long time.   Add water to keep from scorching and add steam to the oven.  Keep poking till soft.

TODAY, I cleaned up the 2 full bunches of new beets.   Bulbs are in the oven.  Greens have been triple rinsed.  (buggers are FULL of sand)
I cut the bright red stalks off at the base of the leaves.  Tore into smaller pieces, and they are now awaiting a nice saute for later.

So, how do you prepare your beets?

"Image courtesy of acclaimclipart.com"

Recipe: Taco Meat

Hello again, my clean-eating, crunchy lifestyle lovin' food peeps!

In my last post, I talked about prepping to make clean eating easier during your work week. Did you try it? How did it go? I'm betting that it was a relief not having to scramble or even think when you are running around getting everyone ready for the day.

Anyway.

I promised this recipe, didn't I?  It's because I love you...no really.

Way back in the day, when I was a baby cook, coming off the Lawry's packaged taco meat seasonings mix
 (remember that stuff???  Have you looked at the SODIUM content in those things?!?!?!), I learned from my mom that she used Pace Picante Sauce as the main flavoring in her taco meat, and IT. WAS. GENIUS. I did it that way for years.  Just brown up some ground beef, throw a jar of Medium Chunky Picante sauce, cook it down a little and call it done.

And one could still do that, if one was pressed for time, couldn't one? I should really stop talking in the "one" person, shouldn't I?

When I started my clean food journey, I was a little leery of this product. How many chemicals did it have? Surprisingly, the ingredient list was pretty clean. Now, I don't have a jar in my pantry, so I can't say for sure, but honestly, you could do worse.  If you are just starting out, have minimal time, or are just not into prepping EVERYTHING when you are cooking, I say try it. The Pace website doesn't have the ingredients fully listed, but this is what it does say:

Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 2 tbsp (30 mL)
Calories:10
Fat Calories:0
Total Fat:0g
Cholesterol:0mg
Sodium:230mg
Total Carb:3g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 0g

% Daily Values**
Vitamin A 2%
* The nutrition information contained in this list of Nutrition Facts is based on our current data. However, because the data may change from time to time, this information may not always be identical to the nutritional label information of products on shelf.
** % Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

So, adjust for the jar, add a pound of ground meat, be it beef, chicken, or turkey, and call it moderately clean eating.

However, I also have a full on recipe for those of you who like to know exactly what you are putting into your bodies, and it's pretty yummy.

Taco Meat

• 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey
• 1 quart canned tomatoes (I use my own home-canned, but store bought will do fine)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1-3 bell peppers, all colors of the rainbow!
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• Chili powder
• Cumin 
• salt and pepper to taste

 Directions

1. In a large skillet cook the onion and bell peppers in a little drizzle of olive oil until mostly softened.
2. Add the ground meat and your spices
3. Cook the meat until brown, breaking up the larger chunks to get the flavor of the spices all over
4. Add the tomatoes and cook down to desired consistency. 

Serve with with lettuce as wraps or over shredded lettuce or cabbage as a taco salad.

Holds for a week in the fridge.

Note: for those of you on the Auto-immune protocol, omitting the tomatoes and peppers will not adversely effect the taste of the taco meat. I'd also omit the chili powder, but the cumin? it would break my heart to leave that out.  Cumin powder is ground up seed from a plant in the parsley family, so I don't know if that will effect your protocol.  I'm thinking not, but I'm not an expert.

Go forth! Eat your Tacos! And then come back here and tell me about it!

A Salad Bar in Your Fridge

If you follow us on our Facebook Group Page, I make a big deal about "Prepping Sundays!" The reason for that is, with my hubby and I working during the week, if there aren’t enough “grab-n-go” types of items we will make bad food choices.  

We can’t be trusted.  At.  All.  Not. One. Bit. *shakes head*

We find that we have to have the food ready and available, so the fear of it going bad will compel us to eat it, rather than hitting a fast food drive-thru or ordering take-out on those days when we are just plain worn out after work. Nothing like a little guilt to keep us on the straight and narrow, right?

Right???

So I started taking at least one afternoon out of the weekend, and cooking, chopping, and “prepping.” I say afternoon, but depending on what's cooking for the week, I'm usually in the kitchen for most of the day. If that's intimidating to you, then I don't know what to tell you, because I certainly don't have the time to prep all my meals just before I eat them. But if you can do it that way, I totally give you big props.

I try to work up a flexible menu, but mostly I work with what I have in the house, be it freezer, fridge, or pantry, along with whatever I've been able to buy on sale or from the farmer's market. I say flexible menu because I'll prep for the makings of 2-3 dinner dishes, with leftovers for lunches, and work out something for breakfasts to use Monday through Friday.

For example, daHubster will make a gallon of yogurt for us, and I'll make sure we have berries or some other fruit to add to it for breakfasts. We do have on our diets, because we can tolerate it, and find that yogurt in the morning is a good no-thought breakfast for us.  I've also make various egg muffins or breakfast casseroles that will take us through the week.

Lunches can be trickier for us, because I don't always have leftovers from dinner the night before to carry through to the next day. I've developed a "Salad Bar" scenario that works for throwing together a quick lunch that's both healthy and satisfying.

For example. My favorite Go-To lunch is a salad topped with taco meat and jalapenos.  And I try to push a salad at dinner time a few times a week. So that would mean I prep a lot of salad makings:

• Clean and slice up a couple of pounds of carrots
• Clean and slice up at least a head of celery
• Clean, dry, and shred 2-3 heads of Romaine lettuce and or spinach
• Clean, dry, and slice up a bunch of green onions

I put them all in individual containers or baggies.  Each day, I grab a handful of each and throw into containers for daHubster and I to take to work. I also put a couple of spoonfuls of taco meat into another container to heat up at lunch time, and then throw the meat on the salad, top with pickled jalepeno slices, and use a splash of the pickle juice from the jar as "dressing".

YUM.

Hey don't judge me on the pepper juice. I love that stuff.

Other options for adding to your potential salad bar (especially if you have a hard time adding food fats to your diet) are:

• Hard-boiled eggs that have been sliced or crumbled
• Olives
• Sardines or anchovies
• Olive oil
• tomatoes
• peppers
• really, any other veggie you like in salad

If taco salad isn't your thing, and you prefer to have a salad dressing, pre-making a vinaigrette is totally doable! If you haven't done it before, it's super easy, and will last awhile. You can totally  mix it up week to week, and change spices as the mood hits you. You just need:

Add caption

• Olive oil
• Vinegar: your choice of red wine, apple cider, or even white in a pinch
• a few drops of honey to reduce the acidity of the vinegar (optional)
• Dijon mustard
• spices of your choosing. I like garlic, onion, etc. but the sky is the limit!
• salt

I've found a good ratio of 2/3's vinegar to 1/3 oil is a good mix. throw it all together in a glass container with a good sealing lid, and shake before you pour.  When you first mix it, I'd give it at least an hour for the flavors to meld before eating.

If there's interest, I'll post my taco meat recipe at a later date.

The key word here is prepping. Have it done, so you don't have to think about it.  Now, I have some chopping to do....

Recipe: Lola's Chicken Meatball and Kale Soup

Lola's Chicken Meatball and Kale Soup

Lola's been experimenting with kale lately, and here's one she posted to our Face Book group!

1. Cook until tender:

• 3 chopped carrots
• 3 ribs chopped celery
• 1 large onion diced
• red pepper flakes
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced

2. Mix together: 

• 1 package (about 1 lb?) ground chicken
• Garlic powder
• 2 palm fulls (about 1 1/2 oz?) grated Parm. Cheese
• Salt and pepper

3. Add 2 cartons of chicken broth to tender vegetables. 

 

4. When broth is very hot, with melon scooper (that's right!), drop chicken meatball mixture into hot broth. They will cook in the broth and they will float and be opaque when they are done.

5. Add several handfuls of cleaned, chopped kale, cook until tender.

Recipe: Lola's Turkey Sausage Ratatouille

Lola's Turkey Sausage Ratatoille

*Fair warning, I do not measure. I eyeball it and just add whatever I want. The following recipe is wrote with loose measurements. I added 2 zucchini because that is what I had.. and I bought summer squash on the sale shelf.. so that is how many I used. LOL

• Turkey Sausage removed from their casings
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 onion (I used a sweet onion) diced
• 2 small zucchini diced
• 5 small yellow summer squash diced
• 1 bag (about 2 cups?) mushrooms sliced (I had bought a mixed variety bag on clearance at my store)
• dash of olive oil
• 1/2 jar of your preferred pasta sauce
• parsley
• basil
• salt and pepper
• red pepper flakes

Technique!!! For me, its all about technique.  Removing the casings and browning the sausage is key. The little yummy flavor bits that stick to the pan will lift when you add the squash and mushrooms. The moisture from the vegetables will de-glaze the pan and flavor the entire dish. (this is also the technique I use when making a soup that contains sausage.... always brown sausage first or you are basically "steaming" the sausage in the vegetables.... which doesn't sound appealing to me.. blarh!)

1. Brown the crumbled sausage. 
2. Add all vegetables and spices and and cook on low. 
3. Stir thoroughly and cook on low until vegetables are crisp/tender (I don't like them completely mushy..).
4. When vegetables are the consistency you want, add 1/2 a jar of pasta sauce or a can of diced tomatoes if you prefer. 
5. Mix through and heat thoroughly.
6. I served with a bit of finely shredded Parmesan cheese on it.

Use whatever vegetables you want: Zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, whatever you have on-hand.

Ideas: Serve with spaghetti squash as a "pasta", or mix the spaghetti squash and ratatouille together and bake like a casserole.

Maybe stuff a zucchini boat and bake ? Stuff peppers with this mixture? Serve over riced cauliflower?

Let me know how you vary it and make it your own!!!

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... :)

I acc

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!  :)

Recipe: SaraBalls! (no-bake cookies)

You've heard of Larabars, right?
 

These are Saraballs!  (Ha.)

Ingredients

• 1.5c sunflower seeds
• 5-6 pitted dates
• 7-9 dried apricots
• 1/4c honey

Directions

1. Put seeds in food processor and blend until almost no whole seeds are left. Set aside. 
2.  Blend dates and apricots until almost paste-like consistency. 
3.  Add date/apricot mix to seeds, add honey and mix thoroughly.
4. Shape balls with hands.

 Tada! Yum.

Recipe: Lola's Stuffed 3-Way Mushrooms

Lola says, "Im really bad about instructions and recipes. I often cook on a whim and make stuff up in my head after reading other recipes on the internet. This is basically what I made this afternoon, not sure if I omitted steps or not.. (sorry if I did !!!) The best advice I can give is to have fun with the recipe and add and tweak it to your own taste. Want tomatoes? Add them. Want more spinach? Add it. Want some artichokes in there? Add them. What to add diced bell peppers, more garlic, onions or whatever floats your boat? Go for it!"

Stuffed Mushrooms 3 ways

1. Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
2. Turkey Sausage Italian Stuffed Mushrooms
3. Turkey Sausage Feta Stuffed Mushrooms.

Saute 1 package Hot turkey sausage (removed from casings and crumbled.)
Sprinkle with additional red pepper flakes and 2 diced garlic cloves if desired-I desired.

Clean, remove stems from two 16 ounce packages of whole button mushrooms. Also from 2 Portobello caps.
Dice stems and add to sausage and continue to saute.
Place cleaned, stemmed mushrooms on PAM sprayed oven ready pans.

Microwave/drain water from 1 box of frozen chopped spinach. Set aside.

In different bowl mix: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Add a HEALTHY dash of cayenne.
Add majority of drained spinach to this mixture. Save a handful for the sausage mix on stove. This batch is done and ready for stuffing!

When the mushrooms have cooked down and the sausage is completely cooked, add the spinach. Separate sausage mix into 2 bowls.

Sausage bowl 1: Italian Mushrooms: add a few tablespoons pasta sauce, parm cheese and a handful of mozzarella cheese.

Sausage Bowl 2: Feta Mushrooms: Add crumbled feta cheese to mixture.

All mixtures are ready and mushrooms are ready to be stuffed and baked.

I baked mine in sprayed glass pie plates. 350* until brown and bubbly.. maybe 20 minutes?

The sausage based ones are not finger food friendly.. they will fall apart and best to be eaten off a plate. Not a lot of binder in there to glue them together.

The sour cream/cheese spinach based mushrooms hold together better for parties etc.

I tried to use minimal dairy, however I like cheese and stronger tasting cheese goes a long way. You can get a lot of taste from a few bites of feta or Parmesan. The other "red flags" in the recipe were the sour cream, mayo, and mozzerella. I use those mostly as a binder to hold the recipe together. If you find a different binder that works for you and that you enjoy.. change it up!

New Week, New Challenge!

This week's challenge is multi-part, and a combo of other mini-challenges or ideas we've had lately.

1. Prepping - Fortify yourself against the Holiday Season, by making yourself yummy Paleo/Primal Snacks ahead of time for the week. Veggies and a dip, paleo crackers, Fruit, nut butters, etc. Whatever you think you will need to be able to keep yourself satisfied against the onslaught of Holiday sweets and treats while you are out doing your thing away from home.

2. Exercise at least 5 times this week. Do what you can within your own limits. I know that for me, it will be walking, either outside or to Leslie , or the stationary bike for about 15 mins at a time. Do what you can. Push yourself a little or a lot.


3. Say "No," at least once this week, and feel good about it. Someone is bound to offer you a cookie or something. You need to learn to politely decline. Do it. :)

So what say you? Are you in??

Sara - Recipe: Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake

When preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, I knew I wanted to make a paleo/primal dessert or two.  My mom volunteered to bring over a cake, so I decided to just make pumpkin pie.  I had fresh pumpkins from Bountiful Baskets and wanted to try my hand at creating my own fresher, healthier version of this holiday classic.  At some point, I read a recipe that called for both pumpkin and cream cheese. That inspired me to make this dessert.

Christmas is just around the corner – I might just have to make this again!  It was a hit with kids and adults alike. 

Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup raw walnuts
• 1 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1 ½ c fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 can of pumpkin)
• 8oz cream cheese (can substitute ricotta, if you prefer)
• ½ c maple syrup (more or less, depending on how sweet you want the pie)
• 3 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp ground allspice
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine walnuts, butter and honey in a food processor and blend until there are no large nut pieces remaining. Press this mixture into the bottom and sides of a pie pan to form a crust.  Place crust in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the nuts begin to brown.  Remove crust and set aside.

For filling, mix remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour filling into the pre-baked crust and return to the oven.  Cook at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until a knife or toothpick can be inserted in the center and comes out clean.

Let pie cool before serving.

Whip this easy pie up and take it with you to a family gathering.  Having a delicious, healthier alternative to the sugar- and grain-filled pies normally found at holiday parties will help you stay on track.  When everyone else is moaning about how sick they feel from all the sugar and flour, you can sip on your cup of coffee (or water/tea/what-have-you) and smile to yourself. Making better choices around the holidays is much easier when you come prepared!

This Week's Challenge: Food Prep!

This week's challenge is Prepping: 

I challenge you to plan, prep, and most likely cook at least one meal for each day of the week. Ahead of time. That's 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, or 5 dinners, or any combo thereof.

That's one meal pre-prepped for each day - no eating the same thing for all meals until you hit your 5th meal Tuesday afternoon, and call it a done challenge. The goal is not to make a heaping pot of soup, and eat it for all your meals Monday thru Friday. Unless you like that sort of thing. Then by all means, don't let me stop you.
 
Try for the meal you usually skip, or have the most difficulty planning and prepping for. In my case, it's breakfasts. If DaMan didn't make us a smoothie before he leaves for work, I'm sunk in the mornings. And then I'm highly tempted to hit a drive-thru on the way to work.

Plan your menu for the week of the 5 dishes you are going make. I don't care if it's one dish that you eat 5 times, so long as you prep it beforehand, or 5 separate meals that you prepare and store for the week.  I was just kidding about the soup thing up there...

 The purpose of the challenge is to get you in the routine of pre-making food, so it's available when you don't want to cook, or don't have time to, etc. and are tempted to make bad choices. The goal is the plan, shop and prep during the weekend or early Monday for 5 meal times.

I'm rambling, aren't I?

Ok, let's see if I can sum up:

1. Plan a menu that will give you 5 meals. it can be one giant meal that you eat 5 times or 5 separate dishes that you make and store for re-heating.

2. List out the ingredients you need and shop for what you don't have.

3. Prepare your meals and store them for easy re-heating and eating, especially if they are on-the-go meals. Do not throw a giant bowl or casserole dish in your fridge and expect yourself to scoop out what you need when you are running out the door to go to work. That's not the goal here. The goal is prepping, or being prepared.

4. ***BONUS*** for all you over-acheivers out there, prep yourselves a week's worth of snacks to take with you during the day, so that you have a clean snack waiting when you are out holiday shopping, and the popcorn at the front of the store is calling your name.

Ready?  And.........................GO!  :)

Recipe: Breakfast Egg-a-muffins

In my head, I actually call these "Egg-a-Mooby-Muffins" in my head, because of Kevin Smith's films, but I don't want to get sued for copyright infringement, so I shortened it to Egg-a-muffins.


But don't be fooled, there's no muffin-isms in these cute little breakfast beauties. They are baked in oven tins for the purpose of grabbing and going during the busy work week. Because if you are like me, you can't be bothered to make yourself breakfast every single day. Heck, I'm lucky to get out of bed in time to shower and get dressed before going to work.

I'm sure my co-workers mentally thank me for at least doing that. Heh.

Anyway, I promised to put up this recipe a few weeks ago, and I slacked.

*Hangs head in shame* 

But here you go, better late than never!

The original recipe is lost in time, in an old copy of The South Beach Diet. It's where I first read about it, but I'm sure if you dug up an old farm wife from just after the Depression Era, I'm sure they were doing something like this. I mean, yes, it's a light bulb moment when you realize you can (in one shot) cook yourself week's worth of a protein-packed hearty breakfasts in a compact little muffin-like disk, but that's personal. Especially when you really think of the ways to shake it up and add your own personal touches to each little one...

Egg-A-Muffins

What you need:

*6 eggs, scrambled with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of a liquid to stretch out your eggs.  This is dependent on your dietary restrictions and/or taste preferences. You can use milk, cream, unsweetened almond milk, chicken stock, or (bleh) water.

*Spices mixed into to you scrambled eggs: Salt, pepper, garlic, no-salt seasoning. What ever floats your boat. I won't tell anyone about your deeply perverted love affair with cardamon if you don't tell about mine with cumin. Srsly.

This batch I used sliced chicken, and bell peppers

*Any left-over meats you have laying around, such as chicken, beef, pork, lunchmeat, sausages, etc. Seriously, use up what's in the fridge and feel all smug that you put it to good use instead of letting your kid take it to school as a science experiment.

*Any veggies you enjoy in scrambled eggs or a quiche. Or again, any veggies you have leftover from a meal that you want to salvage into something else.  I've used bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery, broccoli, etc.  Get crazy and make a pretty rainbow concoction, because the colorful the more health beneficial, right?

*Optional: a pinch of shredded cheese for each muffin tin. If you are paleo or don't do cheese, don't sweat it, it's not integral to the recipe. It's more of a garnish than an ingredient.


What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil
3. Add a enough of your chosen meat to cover the bottom of each muffin cup
4. Pile the veggies on top of the meat, spreading them out evenly amongst each cup
5. Pour enough egg mix to fill each muffin cup 1/2 to 3/4 to the top. I find that a ladle from a gravy boat is pretty close to the perfect measuring device.
6. Stir the egg mixture thru to the bottom
7. Add the pinch of cheese if you are partaking
8. Pop in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops are starting to brown, and a knife poked in comes out clean.

 The eggs will rise a bit as they cook (they will also fall after you take them out of the oven, but it's not a souffle, so don't get depressed when they deflate).

let them sit for about 5 minutes after taking them out of the oven, then release them from their pan. Don't wait until they are completely cook to take them out, as they tend to stick.

I divvy them up into containers for breakfasts for DaMan and I. I found that 2 egg-a-muffins were a filling meal.

So, one 12 muffin tin equals 6 meals. Not too shabby!

November's Clean Eating Challenges.

If you have joined our Companion FaceBook Page, you know that some of us are attempting a 5 day clean-eating challenge.

Those of you that are successfully paleo remember what it's like when you are starting out, trying not to cheat.  Some of us were having difficulty getting thru a straight 30 day challenge, so I proposed going slower, and thru the month of November we started with a one day challenge, the next week a 2 day challenge, etc.

Starting Monday 11/26 we are doing a 5 day challenge.  I've been cheering our peeps along, reminding them to prep early and often, providing tips like eating lots of beneficial fats to keep us satiated so that we aren't tempted to processed foods.

Have you thought about eating clean, whole foods, and slowing down or giving up processed foods?  Does the idea of a 21 day or a 30 day challenge scare you?

How about you try the 5 day challenge with us? It can't hurt, and I can pretty much guarantee that you'll feel better because of it.

Come on over to our FaceBook Page and join in on the conversation...we give great support!

from prevention.com

Recipe: Joie's Eggplant "Happeh for your Mouf."

Eggplant: Wash it. Cut it into cubes. Salt and toss. Let sit  few minutes. (I kept the skin on. I like eggplant kind. Your choice to peel.)

Olive oil: you’ll need more than you think.

Onions and mushrooms: chopped.

Can of petite diced tomatoes: do not drain.

Basil, oregano, garlic, black pepper: to taste.

1. Dump eggplant into hot oil with onions and ‘shrooms and spices. Cook till soft.
2. Lots of stirring.
3. Add can of ‘maters, simmer and stir often till you get a pot of deliciousness.
4. Top with some shredded cheese (optional) and you have a Happeh in Your Mouf!

Rachael: Review of Grass-Fed Traditions' Steaks

One of the main reasons I started this blog was because I kept hearing over and over how expensive it was to eat the foods that are promoted by going Paleo or Primal to people I was talking to about it.

My standard answers were always:

1. When I stopped buying processed foods, I had plenty left over for good, whole food.
2. You spend money to buy decent food now, and save yourself on medical bills in the future.

and when I was slightly less sarcastic, I would say

3. Eat the best you can afford, see how it makes you feel, and go from there.

I never intended on getting all snobby about the food I eat. I certainly can't afford to feed my family 100% organic, 100% locally grown 100% of the time, but I have made some changes to what I buy, and I do my best to support my local farmers.

(I'd do better to support my local farmers if the Government would get out of the way and let me buy from them the way I'd like to, but that's another rant for another time.)

Anywhoo....the point of this blog post was specifically to talk about grass-fed beef.  I figured it would be a long time before I'd be able to afford to purchase this on a regular basis, and had even started working on a fund to buy a half or a quarter of a locally grown cow and pig in the future.

But first I wanted to see if it was really worth the hype.  I know, nutritionally it is. I've done the reading on how grass-fed meat is higher in Omega-3s, and all that.  One thing that really stuck with me was that if our bodies cannot digest grains and corn...how is eating animal products that were fed on grains and corn going to be handled by our bodies?

Stew on that for a moment, and see if that doesn't give you an "AH-HA!" moment in your brain...well, then I doubt I can help you much.

DaHubster and I wanted to try grass-fed beef in order to see if there was a real flavor difference, too.  I get squiggy on some meats, and I really cannot stand gamey-ness in any way, shape or form.

But seriously, buying steak and having it shipped is wicked expensive.  Is it really worth it?

I'm a newish fan of Tropical Traditions. The Paleo blogs I frequent generally have them as an ad on their site. A few even host giveaways with their products.  I started haunting the site, and bought some Coconut Cream Concentrate to liven up some of my Paleo-ized sweet treats.

Oh yeah, that Coconut Cream Concentrate stuff is heavenly. And evil all at the same time.

But again, I digress....

I started getting their emails, and when I got an email that said their sister-site Grass-Fed Traditions was having a Mega-% off sale on some of their beef, DaHubster and I decided to try it out.  It was for 4 grass-fed beef Top Rounds, about 3 lbs worth, I think. After shipping (they offer ground shipping for a slightly cheaper option), the cost was just under $80.

Yeah, that was a tough hit.

But we knew it wouldn't be until next summer before we could get our half of a cow anyway, and we wanted to try it, so we indulged and ordered it.

The order was delivered about 3 business days after placing it, and it was totally frozen, having come in dry ice.  We thawed one for the grill that night, and....


OMG.

Top Round steaks, as you might know,are not that special a cut of meat. They tend to be tough or chewy, and are great for marinating and using for dishes such as fajitas and what-not.

We just slapped it on the grill. We didn't even throw any garlic powder or anything on it. We wanted to see what this highly expensive, usually tough cut of meat had to offer.

OMG.

It was NOT tough.  It was NOT chewy.  You really could have cut it with a butter knife, though I didn't try it.

It had great flavor. Nice Grilled Steak Flavor. The kind of flavor that makes your mouth happy. That kind of happy that makes you wanna roll on the ground and wriggle your tummy like a puppy...

OK, so I get carried away sometimes....but seriously the steaks were *that* good.

We've eaten 2 dinners out of the 4 steaks that came our way.  And when those last 2 steaks are gone, I'm going to cry. Srsly.

So, is there a difference? I'd say yes, based on the fact that I ate a "lowly" top round steak that rivaled any Prime/Choice/Gold/Black Angus/Whatever from my local big box grocery store.

Will I buy again? Probably. I don't intend to bankrupt myself by only buying grass-fed from now, but it did give me justification to continue to put away money for bulk purchase for next year.

Then I will be eating like the Paleo Queen that I am.

Our Facebook companion page is growing!

Howdy,

If you are reader here, and like what you see...we have a FaceBook companion page, where we support and encourage each other, have little challenges, share recipes and successes.

It's a pretty cool place.

It is also growing. I just added our 59th member.  I'm pretty chuffed about that!

So, I'm thinking of having a give away for our 100th member to sign up.

Not for any real reason other than I'm a big fan of having lots of people cheer each other on.