Tacoless Tacos

AKA- Lettuce Wraps
These are super easy, and much more filling than they look!

Tacoless Tacos

Ingredients:

1 head of Lettuce

2lbs Ground Beef (we use Bison instead)

1/4-1/2 Onion chopped

Cumin to taste

Red Pepper flakes to taste

Cayenne Pepper to taste

Basil, Oregano, Parsley to taste

Pepper to taste

Allspice to taste

*It takes a lot of the spices for 2lbs of meat, so don't be shy...shake away!

Brown the meat and drain off the fat.  Add 1/2cup of water to the skillet and then add all of the spices until it tastes spicy enough for your liking.  

Cover and simmer on low about 10mins.

Spoon a bit into each lettuce wrap and enjoy!!

I added grilled radishes too

Have LOTS of napkins on hand!

Sweet Potato and Apple Goodness

This recipe comes from Thomi- the queen of Paleo :)
It's perfect for dessert, breakfast, or a snack!  Let me preface with: I don't like sweet potatoes normally, but this, I LOVE!!

Here's what you'll need:
*This makes enough for dessert every night for a week for myself

2 large Sweet Potatoes
2-3 large Organic Pink Lady apples
Ground Cinnamon

Bake the sweet potatoes on a foil lined pan (poke holes in them first) at 425degrees for 40mins
While the potatoes are baking- cut up the apples into tiny squares and toss them in a baking dish.
After the potatoes have cooked, drop the oven to 350degrees
Cut up the potatoes into tiny squares as well, and mix in with the apples.  You should have fairly equal parts potato and apple.
Sprinkle cinnamon all over and mix the potatoes and apples until they look ugly/brown coated.

Cook the baking dish of potatoes, apples, and cinnamon in the oven for another 30mins until the apple juices have started leaking.

Eat cold or reheat in the microwave.

Enjoy!

2 large sweet potatoes

Be sure to peel the skin off before cutting into tiny squares

Potatoes and Apples mixed pre-cinnamon

Post-cinnamon ugly but o-so-good and ready to cook!

E-A-S-Y Crock Pot Chicken

This post comes to you pre-realization that Corn is in fact NOT paleo.  Whoops.
I have been Paleo for almost 9 months and had no clue that corn is considered a grain.  Clearly I don't eat much corn.

So.  Make this without the Corn- sub in water chestnuts, snap peas, or any other veggie you wish.

CrockPot Mexican Chicken

* 1/2-1lb Chicken Breasts per person

* 2 8oz Jars of Organic/ Low-Sodium Salsa (I use Trader Joe's brand)

* veggie of your choice

Put salsa and veggies in a crock pot; stir them so they're mixed together.

Put chicken in the crock pot and cover with the salsa mixture.

Bake in Crock Pot on High for 3hrs, or low for 5-6hrs.

Scoop out chicken with a spoon and get some of the "goodies".  

*Don't use a fork to take the chicken out- it will be tender and shred-able...you will get splattered with salsa like I did :)

Enjoy!!

There's 1lb of Chicken Under there
Boy, is this yummy!!

DIY Ham

I've been eating paleo for 8 months now.  Three of it was very strict since Husband was deployed, and since I've been about 90-95% paleo.  We go out once or twice a week, so I have a few cheat meals here and there....that's enough to keep me level, rather than loosing weight and getting down that last size that just won't seem to melt off my legs (bastard athletic legs)!

Over the last week, I've taken a hard look at what I'm eating on a daily basis: My attempt to figure out why  I'm not getting smaller, given the cajillion calories (yes, I in fact burn 1 cajillion calories. Not thousand. Cajillion. Get it right) I burn at CrossFit each day.  I determined I'm eating too much fruit, and too much salt (and obviously the cheat meals each week don't help either).

The fruit is coming from my smoothies.  While they are the most delicious thing I've ever tasted (with the exception of Coldstone Creamery chocolate/peanut butter milkshakes), they give me 3-4 servings of fruit in one pop.  Not good for blood glucose levels, which means not good for weight loss.  *Insert sad face with tear running down my cheek*

The salt is coming from deli meat.  I know deli meat isn't Clean; it comes from animals shot up with hormones, fed God knows what, and processed to the Nth degree to get it looking all nice and perfect before it hits the grocery stores.  But, to my defense, it's ridiculously easy to roll up and take with me on the road for work every day.  I'm not blessed enough to be able to cook each day, so I need meat/protein that is transportable.  Deli cold cuts were my answer.  Until I talked with Mama Bug about the sodium content and havoc it can wreck on weight loss attempts.  I looked up the sodium of my favorite Boars Head Maple Ham, and of course realized I was consuming 48% of my daily amount, in 4 slices of meat! EEK!

48% isn't awful for someone not eating paleo and trying to loose a size (I'm not saying weight anymore, it's not the number I care about, it's the size-- CrossFit doesn't allow small numbers, it allows mass amounts of muscle).  For someone like myself, who does not get sodium from anything else in my diet, nor uses salt on ANYTHING else, that's a huge amount of sodium in my diet.  My body is essentially holding onto all of that and soaking it up.

My solution- buy an uncooked Ham and make my own lunch meat (I will also make turkey and chicken each week for variation).  Doing this takes my sodium levels from: 1, 710mg (6oz Boars Head Honey Maple Ham) to 1,400mg (6oz Organic Ham Butt).  Not a huge change, but that little bit of sodium supposedly (according to paleo "experts") will make a huge difference.  Here's to hoping they're right!

Here's how easy it is to cook your own ham; not to mention it comes out to be $3/lb this way, vs. $8.99/lb when it's on sale in the store!!!!!

18lbs of Goodness!
Cook ham for approx. 4hrs

Cut ham into slices until you're left with this...

Can anyone say "that's a ton of meat!"?!?

Bag Ham into weekly portions
(this is for Husband and myself each week)

I froze the bags and pull out one each week.  The 18lb Ham made enough for 8 weeks!!!
*You're welcome Ziploc for the free advertising

Egg Muffins

This is another staple around our house; it makes breakfast quick and easy!  They're also a great pre-workout snack since they're full of protein.
Thanks, Thomi for the idea- once you have the base, you can run with it and make it your own!

Egg Muffins

* 1 Dozen Eggs (or 1/2 dozen if you're making them for only 1 person)

* 12 slices of bacon

* veggies as desired (I usually use a pepper, spinach, and onion to make it like an omelette)

Preheat oven to 350deg.

Cook bacon in microwave for 5-7mins depending on how crispy you like your bacon

While bacon is cooking, beat an egg in a bowl.  Place muffin liner in each muffin hole.  Pour 1 beaten egg into each muffin hole.

Sprinkle veggies if desired into each muffin hole.  Once bacon is done cooking, let it cool for a minute and then crumble it into pieces. 

Sprinkle a handfull of bacon into each hole (using about 1 piece of bacon per muffin).

Place pan in the oven and bake for 15-20mins until the egg is super fluffy.

* If you use a lot of veggies it may take longer to cook.  You want the egg to be puffing out of the hole.

To warm up and eat each day, just place a muffin in the microwave for 30seconds and you're good to go!

Enjoy!

Paleo Blueberry Pancakes

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!  In honor of a nice weekend at home, here's my Completely-Made-Up recipe for Blueberry pancakes.  Tweak as you wish and share your thoughts!!

Paleo Blueberry Pancakes

4 eggs- beaten

1 smashed banana

1 cup blueberries

3/4 cup almond flour/meal
1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

protein powder if desired

Mix all ingredients except blueberries with a blender.  Fold in blueberries.

Cook on a skillet just as you would regular pancakes.  They will take slightly longer to cook through than normal pancakes because of the banana's, so cook just below medium heat and be patient.  Wait for bubbles in the middle of the pancake to start popping before flipping, if you flip sooner the middle will be mushy from the banana.

They are dark in color because of the cinnamon

Enjoy!

Easy Marinade Glaze

This is my go-to "I have chicken defrosted but what the heck should I do with it?" recipe.
I use it on Salmon, Chicken, and Pork Chops..it's great on all three!  It's a sweet/natural sugar recipe, so be sure to use it when consuming a lot of protein, this way your glucose levels won't spike as much.

Sweet Marinade Glaze

1/2 cup Natural Honey

1/4 cup Organic Balsamic Vinegar

Heat honey in a small sauce pot over low-medium heat.  Once honey has thinned out, add balsamic and mix together.  Let sit on heat for 1min, then cool for 1min before adding to meat as a marinade.

Marinate meat for 1-1.5hrs.  I pour sauce into the baking dish with the meat and cook it in the sauce as well.

*Amounts will vary depending on the amount of meat you're cooking. I use this as a base for about 1lb of chicken and go from there.  

Enjoy!

Paleo Banana Bread

Some people can eat paleo without ever craving "bread."  I'm not one of those.  So here's my solution- "bread" without all the bad stuff.  I make mini-muffins most of the time, that way I can just pop one in my mouth and feel like I'm part of America :)  Enjoy!

PALEO BANANA "BREAD"

½ cup (generous scoop) Coconut Flour

2 Tbs Ground Cinnamon

½ tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Sea Salt

1 cup Smashed Bananas (the more rotten, the better)- usually around 2-3 whole bananas

6 eggs

4 Tblsp Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Pure Grade B Organic Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Honey

1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

Organic unsweetened Raisins or Walnuts if desired (about ½ cup to taste)

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Wisk dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer, beat eggs.  Add remaining ingredients except for banana and mix well.  Add banana and mix again.  Slowly mix in flour and beat until most of the flour lumps are gone.  Fold in raisins, etc. if desired.

Grease loaf pan VERY VERY well with cooking spray.  If you’re making muffins, use a bare pan well greased, or aluminum foil muffin liners.  Do not use paper as it will stick to the muffins.

Bake Bread for approx 30mins or until cooked through.  Start checking it at 25mins as some ovens cook differently.  

Bake Muffins for 18-20mins
Bake Mini Muffins for 12-14mins

* Makes 12 muffins/24 mini muffins or 1 loaf of bread

"Fried" Flounder

This is a great way to feel like you're eating what the rest of America eats, but still stay clean and healthy!

Paleo "Fish sticks"- Good!

"Fish Sticks"- Bad 

Ingredients:
* Flounder Filets- enough to feed everyone who's eating. Usually 1/4-1/2lb per person
* Eggs
* Almond Meal
* Herbs such as Basil, Parsley, Oregano, etc.

Preheat oven to 425degrees.
Grease a baking dish.  Beat eggs in a medium sized bowl (For 1.5lbs of Flounder I used 3 eggs).  Next to the bowl, pour Almond Meal on a dinner plate and mix in herbs as desired.
Rinse Flounder to make sure it's clean.
Dip filets, one at a time, in the almond meal, lightly coating each one.
Dunk each filet into the egg mixture, then coat again with Almond Meal.  Do this for each filet, placing it into the baking dish when complete.
Bake for 10-15mins depending on thickness of the Flounder.  It should flake apart easily once it's done.
Let cool for 2-5mins and enjoy!

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon

Thanks, Rita for this amazing recipe!

Ingredients:
* Wild Caught Salmon Filet (enough to feed number of people who will be eating. Usually 1/2lb- 1lb per person)
* Dijon Spicy Mustard
* Unsalted/Roasted Pistachios

Preheat Oven to 375degrees.
Clean the salmon and place in a glass baking dish.  Coat salmon with a thin layer of mustard.
Crush pistachio's in a food processor until they're crumb-like.  Sprinkle pistachios over salmon until you're no longer able to see the mustard.
Bake for approx. 20mins until salmon is dark pink and flakes when a fork is inserted.
Enjoy!

Paleo Trail Mix

This is a staple around our house! A great snack to grab and take with you for the day; it makes about 16 snack bags worth of Trail Mix!!

* 5 cups nuts and seeds (I always use slivered almonds, flax seeds, pecans, and sunflower seeds; you can use whatever you want- pumpkin seeds are great too- but make sure you use at least 2 – 3 cups slivered almonds, as these take the place of what is normally oats). MAKE SURE ALL NUTS ARE UNSALTED/ORGANIC.
* 1/4 cup honey 

* 1/4 cup organic grade B mayple syrup
* 1/3 cup coconut oil (if you've never used coconut oil; it comes in wax form. Remove lid, and heat in microwave for 1min to melt).
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 

* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 3/4 cup organic raisins 

* 1/2 cup organic unsweetened dried blueberries or other dried/unsweetened fruit

* 1/2 cup organic unsweetened dried cranberries or other dried/unsweetened fruit
* 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (if desired)

Mix honey, syrup, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a small saucepan and bring to a boil on the stove. Let it cool for a minute. Mix nuts in a big bowl and pour sauce over them. Mix well. Spread the nuts and seeds out on a greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Allow the pan to cool slightly (no more than 3mins or it will start to form together) and then put the mixture into a bowl. Mix in dried/unsweetened fruit & enjoy!