Grub, Caveman style.

My kids have had the last two days off from school which allows me more time to cook a decent breakfast. Yay! Today we had over medium eggs, sweet potato hash and turkey bacon.

Sweet Potato Hash:

-Large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
-1/2 cup of a diced yellow onion
-Coconut oil or Olive oil for cooking
-Salt and pepper

Wash, peel and cube your tator into about 1/2 inch size cubes. Next, throw your potato cubes into a microwave safe bowl and heat until soft, about 1 minute. While your spuds are in the micro, heat a skillet on medium heat and add about a tablespoon of coconut oil and toss in your diced onions. Cook the onions a few minutes until translucent and then add the sweet potatoes. Stir the spuds around to make sure they are fully coated in the oil so that they will get a nice crisp. You may need to add more oil later on if it looks like the potatoes are drying out. Add a dash of salt and pepper and cook until the sweet potatoes are crispy and golden.

This hash is a great recipe base for many other recipes. When I am cooking for myself and not my picky veggie eaters, I will sometimes add green and red bell peppers with mushrooms to make a Southwestern hash. You can also cook real bacon first and then crumble it up while the hash is cooking in the bacon grease. Cooking it that way is seriously amazing! Make sure you are using high quality ingredients and nitrate free bacon when you can. Serve these babies up with scrambled, fried or over easy eggs and you have a healthy and hearty breakfast. Enjoy!

The 2 minute Paleo Blueberry Muffin (If cavemen had microwaves)

I discovered this nifty little recipe a while back from Delighted Momma. It is great for a quick breakfast or if you are craving a little carb pick me up after dinner 😉 The approximate carb count for this about 22 grams. I will admit I was a little afraid of this recipe at first. Could something thrown together that quick and cooked in the micro really taste good and actually LOOK like that? The answer is YES! 

What you need:

• 3 tbs of almond meal
• 1 tbs of honey
• 2 tbs of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs of bluberries
• a dash of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

Directions:
Add all dry ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and then add the liquids. Mix everything up together and microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes. I checked mine after 1 minute to see how things were looking and it took mine about 1.5 minutes but it probably depends how powerful your micro is. If you have an aversion to microwaving things (some do!) you can bake for about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Paleo Comfort Food: Spaghetti Squash and Spicy Meat Sauce

The weather is chilly and the season for comfort food is upon us! One of my favorite go to dishes this time of year is spaghetti squash with a meat sauce. This can easily be made with ground turkey, chicken or beef. If you are in a rush to get dinner on the table you can skip a few steps by buying a jar of ready made tomato sauce but it can be tricky finding one that does not have added sugars or other ingredients that are not Paleo friendly. There are a few good pre-made sauces out there, you just need to take extra caution when looking over the ingredient lists.

Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper
• dash of garlic salt
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese (This is an optional ingredient depending on whether you eat dairy or not)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Brush 1/2 tablespoon olive oil onto the cut side of each squash and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Place cut side up on a large, rimmed baking sheet or in a glass dish and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, until the squash insides easily shred with a fork.  Be careful not to overcook as squash can become mushy.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and and cook for 2 minutes. Add turkey and garlic and cook until turkey is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and add Italian seasoning.
3. Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine everything. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and more salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Scrape out insides of spaghetti squash with a fork. Serve with meat sauce and enjoy!

Original recipe and photo courtesy of foodgawker.com

Goulishly good Halloween treats that won’t rot your insides!

I have been looking for some creative gluten free and or Paleo Halloween goodies lately and I thought I would share a few of my faves. My kids thought these were awesome and thoroughly enjoyed the banana ghosts 😉 

1. Dark chocolate popcorn balls (Gluten and Dairy free)

2. Guac Eyeballs

Fill hard boiled eggs with guacamole and use Sriracha hot sauce to draw squiggley blood shot lines. Top with a pimento filled green olive and you have a perfectly gross eyeball.

3. Bananna Ghosts and Pumpkin Oranges

Cut bananas in half and use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips to create a ghostly face. Peel small oranges or Cutie oranges and then top with a small celery stalk.

Time for a 3:00 pick me up! Guilt free chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almond butter
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

 

2. In a bowl, thoroughly mix all ingredients (except the chips) together. When combined, gently fold in chips to incorporate.

 

3. Using a regular spoon, spoon about 2 TBSP worth of batter onto the cookie sheet, about 1.5 inches about. The batter is loose, but it actually does not spread a lot.

 

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes (until just slightly firm). Remove from oven and let cool for another 10 minutes on the cookie sheet. This is important to make sure they “set up” right.

 

5. Remove cookies from sheet and allow to finish cooling on a cookie rack. Store in an airtight container.

 

Delish! Enjoy with a glass of coconut or almond milk.

Lean Protein ideas…

While I am a huge fan of the rewards of muscle gain, I am NOT a huge fan of all the work that goes into the nutrition and eating part! But, here I find myself in the middle of a 12 week muscle building regimen and I need to spice up my chicken! I am not a fan of grilling my chicken and then eating it for 5 days. I tend to do a lot of crockpot proteins and then prepare it for a few days and then prep again for the rest of the week, because let’s face it, food is so much better fresh! So, I am wondering if any of you out there have ideas on new ways to cook chicken, or any other lean protein for that matter, and what spices do you use? This week I have been eating a lot of chicken thighs with various spice combinations and lots of oven roasted veggies.  Any fresh and new ideas would be appreciated!

Sweet Potato Pancakes-Grain Free Carbs for Muscle Gains

I have been struggling to come up with ideas to add variation to my carb options. Being that I have a gluten and most types of grain sensitivity, it makes my choices really limited.  The other day I came across this recipe for sweet potato pancakes. They taste good, are easy to make and they get the job done. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients

• 1 8 oz. Sweet Potato
• 2 Medium Eggs
• 1/2 Large Banana
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
  
• coconut oil (or other fat) for cooking

Instructions

1. Wash and pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork, micro for 5-6 minutes, until soft.
2. In a  food processor add the scooped out flesh of the sweet potatoes, the two eggs, and half of a banana.
3. Puree until smooth, and add in baking soda and spices to taste until everything is combined.
4. Heat a skillet to medium and add coconut oil. Scoop 1/4 cup sized amounts onto the skillet and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes on one side and flip carefully. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes on the opposite side. Continue until all the batter is done.
5. Makes 7-8 small pancakes.

Paleo Pumpkin Cake bars with Cinnamon Icing

Pumpkin Cake
1 c pumpkin puree
1 c almond butter
1/2 c pure honey
2 cage free eggs
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla extract
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves

Cinnamon Icing

1/4 c coconut butter (You can buy this or find a recipe HERE.)
1/4 c pure honey
1 t cinnamon

*NOTE- If you can easily find coconut butter to buy, I would strongly suggest this. I decided to try and make my own and it is just tricky business. I think it is hit or miss and I would rather it be a hit every time and not dirty every dish in the house trying to concoct the stuff, so those are just my two cents… :0

For the Pumpkin Cake

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a medium sized bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Pour into an 8×8 oven safe baking dish.  Bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.

For the Cinnamon Icing

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and use either your mixing blade attachment or a whisk to beat the ingredients until well combined. Texture will be like that of a glaze that you can drizzle.

Once the pumpkin cake has cooled, cut it into 9 squares and remove from the pan. Important…if the cake is not completely cool you are not allowed to go on. If your cake isn’t cool, the icing will just slide right off into a pile of goop and all will be lost.

Use a small offset spatula or a spoon and drizzle the frosting over the top.

Store the Pumpkin Cake Bars you haven’t immediately annihilated in the fridge. The icing will harden in the fridge, let it come to room temp if you’d like it soft or micro for a few seconds.

Enjoy!

Original recipe adapted from foodrenegade.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

I tried this recipe this morning, and while the pancakes were not as “light and amazingly fluffy” as the recipe claimed, they were still pretty good for a Paleo pancake. I topped mine with a little cinnamon and some 100% pure maple syrup.

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Additional butter or oil for the pan

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, almond milk and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the coconut flour mixture and stir well to combine. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brush with coconut oil or melted butter. Scoop two heaping tablespoons of batter onto skillet and spread into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Cook until bottom is golden and top is set around the edges. Flip carefully and continue to cook until second side is golden brown. 

Top with fruit, nut butters, honey or maple syrup.

Paleo Asian Chicken Salad

Disclaimer: This is not a traditional creamy mayo-naisey type of chicken salad which is why I refer to the sauce as a dressing not a mayo, because it turned out like a dressing.

Ingredients

For the chicken base

• 1-1.5 pounds chicken, cooked, cooled and chopped
• ¼ cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup green cabbage, thinly sliced
• ¼ white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small carrot, minced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• chopped green onions, to garnish
• 3-4 tablespoons sliced almonds, to garnish

For the asian dressing

• ⅔ cup oil. I did 1/3 cup light olive oil and the rest coconut oil.
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• ½ teaspoon gluten free soy sauce

 Instructions

1. In a blender, add lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and a bit of salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly until oil and other ingredients are mixed well.
2. Place in refrigerator to cool.
3. While the dressing cools, mix together the chicken, cabbage, onion, carrot, and celery in a large bowl.
4. Then place sliced almonds in a small skillet over medium heat to toast. The will just need to toast for about 5-7 minutes until slightly browned.
5. Add all of the dressing to the chicken salad ingredients and mix well, or save half to pour over later, you choose!
6. Garnish with toasted almonds and green onions. I decided to pour all the dressing in and then dumped a heaping portion of the chicken mix on a bed of spinach and ate it like a salad. I also snuck back into the fridge later and just ate the chicken straight out of the bowl. However you decide to eat it, it is yummy.

Original recipe adapted from paleOMG