Friday, May 20, 2011

Egg, Kale and Sausage Frittata

First of all, the word Frittata, is AWESOME!

Secondly, you can only eat so many omelette's!

This is a super easy recipe, and can be taken with you as a snack, or a breakfast on the go.

Shopping List
8 Eggs
2 links of Chicken, apple, sausage (must contain NO sugar or other sneaky additives!)
3 Stalks of Kale

Cooking Directions:

Pre-Heat Oven to 375 degrees

Saute the kale in a skillet with olive oil.  It will make cracking sounds and that is OK :)
Chop up the sausage and cook with the Kale.

In a bowl whisk the 8 eggs.  After the Kale, and Sausage are done cooking, pour into the bowl with the eggs. 

Grease an 8x8 inch dish, and pour in the mixture of kale, eggs, and sausage.

Bake for 25-30 Minutes. 

Kale Chips

My husband is very much a meat and potatoes (sweet potatoes not Idaho Spuds, because clearly those are not Paleo) kind of guy, so when I told him I was making Kale Chips, he was less than impressed, until he actually tried one!  They are quite delicious, and you can't eat just one!

Shopping List
1 Bushel of Kale (Bushel?  Head?)
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Cooking Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees

Cut the Kale off the stem and then cut the kale into "chip sized" portions.  Put Kale in a bowl, and pour in some olive oil, and season with Sea Salt.

Layer the Kale on a cookie sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, flipping the chips occasionally. 

Pork Chop Goodness!

This recipe comes courtesy of http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/2011/03/apple-and-onion-stuffed-pork-chops.html

It is legitimately delicious!

Recipe:
6 boneless pork chops (why 6 and not 4?  The packages of pork chops I bought had 3 pork chops in each package)
3 slices bacon, chopped up
1 large sweet onion
2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped up
olive oil
1 large can of Pineapples in Pineapple juice...make extra sure there is NO SUGAR or high fructose corn syrup added
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
ground black pepper
pinch sea salt
 
Cooking Directions

 
Prep:
 
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
*Gently cut a pocket horizontally in the side of the pork chop, (be careful not to cut your fingers off). Season the outside of the chops with some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.
 
Cook:
*In a large skillet cook the bacon until it is crispy.  After it gets crispy, add the onions, and thyme.
Cook until onions start to caramelize (about 10 minutes). After the onions, and bacon are done cooking, put into a bowl and add apples, 2 Tablespoons of pineapple juice to the bowl and mix well.
*Stuff each pork chop with the mixture and secure the opening with toothpicks (there will be lots of leftover filling).
*In the same skillet you just used for the bacon, add olive oil to coat pan and sear the pork chops on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to a baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
*While pork chops are cooking, add pineapple juice to skillet and deglaze pan. Bring the liquid to a simmer and add pineapples and leftover apple, onion bacon mixture to skillet.
 
When the pork-chops are done cooking, serve them covered in the extra sauce, and enjoy!
 
 

Really, really good and easy Chuck Roast!

I found this recipe on www.everydaypaleo.com and then made a few tweaks for my taste buds!

Shopping List

1 Chuck Roast
1 Onion (red or yellow is fine)
Coconut Oil

Seasoning List:
½ teaspoon ground chipotle
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
Mix all spice rub ingredients in a bowl together and set aside.

Cooking Instructions

Chop up onion and layer it on the bottom of your Crock-Pot

Heat up your coconut oil in a large skillet. 
Coat your roast in the spices by rubbing in...literally you need to rub the spices on with your hands.
After covering the roast in your spices, sear the roast on all sides in your skillet.  After it is brown on all sides, transfer to the slow cooker.  Pour in 3/4 cup of water, and cook on low for 7 hours.

Serve with a veggie or salad of your choice!

Sweet Potato Chips!

Shopping List
2 Sweet Potatoes
Cinnamon
Cayenne Pepper
Coconut Oil

Cooking Directions
Pre-Heat Oven to 300 degrees
Peel and thinly slice Sweet Potatoes and put into a large glass bowl.  Scoop 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil over the top.  Microwave for about 2 minutes, and stir so the oil coats each slice.  Season with as much cinnamon and cayenne pepper as you desire.  Remember that a little bit of pepper goes a LONG way.  Spread out the slices in one layer on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 25 minutes, flipping the slices half-way.  After the 25 minutes is done, set your oven to Broil, and Broil the slices, flipping often until they are the **"crunchiness"** that you desire.  You can serve these as a side, bring them with you for a snack,or even eat them as a dessert. 

** I like my chips a little bit soft, but Thad likes his crunchy, so it's really up to you how long you broil them for**

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Random Things I have learned from eating Paleo

When Thad and I started on our Paleo Adventure together, we were flying blind.  I had to Google, everything!  So here are some interesting tidbits that we have learned...

1.  It isn't as hard as it seems.  Coming up with meals is fairly easy if you think about it like this...
You need protein, carbs, and fat at every meal.  There are so many combinations of these three items, it can almost be overwhelming.  www.everydaypaleo.com is the greatest resource for recipes that I have found.

2.  Your bowel movements will be different.  This may be TMI, however I KNOW that you will be wondering why you have suddenly become a pooping machine.  This is really normal, and levels out a bit.  Don't worry, I googled it, and it seems to happen to EVERYONE. 

3. DO NOT CRACK OUT ON NUTS!  "Cracking out" means that you are eating handfuls of nuts at a time...this can lead to excessive pooping (see #2).  12 almonds is about the amount of fat you need at a meal, and 3 macadamia nuts is a good amount as well.  There have been times that I have told Thad to step away from the macadamia nuts.  Nuts are delicious, but cracking out is counter productive.

3.  DO NOT CRACK OUT ON FRUIT!  This will also lead to #2...  if you are going to snack on fruit, try to eat fruit and protein at the same time.

4.  If you are hungry, you aren't eating enough.  We want you to eat 5 meals per day.  That can be three bigger meals, and two large snacks.  If you are still hungry, eat more, and really look at what you are eating.  Make sure you are getting a good balance in your meals.  You should have carbs (veggies and/or fruit), protein (meat, eggs), and fat (oils, nuts, avocado) at EVERY Meal.  I find when I skip the fat in my meal, I am usually really hungry after.

5.  For the first few days you will probably feel hungry, crabby, and tired.  This is called "withdrawals." Your body is addicted to bad foods, so it is going to be pissed when you take them away.  Keep your eyes on the prize, because soon you will feel REALLY good.  After the initial withdrawal phase passes, you will feel like you can see the world more clearly, and you will have more energy all day, with no post meal food comas.  However be warned...if after you have been eating clean Paleo for a while, you decide to binge on processed crap, be ready for your body to feel like total crap.  I ate a milkshake, and a cheeseburger (no bun), and was exhausted!  I was crabby, had a headache, and then ultimately a stom-ache.  You will learn to decide if the food is worth feeling that crappy over.

6.  This is a learning process, and we are in it together! Ask questions, be creative with your meals, and be patient with yourself, and your body's progress.

Salad

A Salad for lunch, or as a side with dinner is always an easy go to meal...you can do whatever you'd like in your salad!  Just make sure you get a mix of carbs (veggies, fruit), protein (meat) and fat (avocado or nuts).  Our standard Salad is as follows:

Spinach
Raspberries
Blueberries
Bell Peppers
Hard-boiled Egg
Chicken or Turkey
Avocado
Macadamia Nuts or Almonds

You can make it ahead of time, and bring it with you very easily!

Prime Rib

The other day at City Market, Prime Rib was on sale so I decided to go for it.  I always think of Prime Rib as a "fancy" meal and had never cooked it before...apparently I have been missing out!

(Note, Prime Rib is not considered as Lean)

Shopping List

4-6 LB Prime Rib
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Salt
Rosemary
2 Sweet Potatoes

Cooking directions

Coat the outside of the roast on all sides with olive oil, and all seasonings.
Roast at 350 degrees, for 20 minutes per pound (you may need a little more time, so use your meat thermometer to check it)

Chop up potatoes into big chunks, cover with the same seasoning as the roast, and roast with the Prime Rib for an hour.

I am not going to lie...this meal was awesome!