Not A Good Choice

This week things got all kind of crazy around here. I was working several days in a row, the littlest Magers started a crazy gymnastics schedule that means she's in the gym twice a week for 2 1/2 hours each time and both kiddos are going to VBS at one of our friends churches every night...all of this on top of the hubs being out of town for most of the week at a conference...so I seriously was looking for meals that were super easy...que the new crock-pot.

My old crock-pot (see sad pic below) had been around for almost 10 years and one morning I got it out to throw dinner in and when I set the ceramic bowl in the base the bottom fell out!!! So I waited until I got one of those 20% off coupons from Bed Bath and Beyond and went and got me a new fancier one!

So sad :-(

So, back to this week..I found a recipe for stuffed peppers in the crock-pot, I have a recipe for stuffed peppers that I LOVE, but I wanted something I could "set and forget" so after scouring my Paleo Pinterest board I came across this recipe from Civilized Caveman. I have made a TON of his recipes and NEVER have been disappointed, but I guess there's a first for everything.

Love my timer on my Crock-Pot!

They looked so promising in the picture, but they were bland and the meat cooked in a way that it reminded me of that fake, grainy, mushy meat from a cafeteria...and this was the good grass fed stuff too (which is why I'm choking it down for lunch as I type..I can't bear the thought of throwing it away!!!)

Anyway, we were all pretty disappointed especially since we love our original recipe (see here). For the tasty one I sometimes just mix all the "stuffing"in a pot and cut my peppers into big chunks and let them cook in the sauce and eat it that way...One other note, I do double the recipe and use 1 lb grass fed beef and 1 lb Italian sausage for an extra kick. I also don't use parsnips just because I don't like them.

Take away what you will, but mushy meat reminding me of cafe food will not be tolerated in this house :-)

The Perfect Summer Taco Salad

I'm aware that the word perfect seems a little extreme, but if the shoe fits... Seriously though, I literally had 10 minutes to throw together a marinade between our jam packed Tuesday morning and this was so easy I knew it would work well. I used some grass fed flank steak from the unnamed whole paycheck store only because we were so short on time I didn't have time to stop at multiple places (that's really an excuse, I love the meat counter at previously mentioned unnmaged store). I also knew I didn't have a long marinade time so wanted something that would tenderize fast.

Since we're doing whole30 currently I omitted the honey and didn't miss it at all. To serve it I chopped some romaine, topped it with the meat that I grilled (and then diced because I like bite sized pieces), sliced peppers that I had sautéed in coconut oil and then threw under the broiler to blacken a bit, premade guac and pico from TJ and chopped cilantro. We added a squeeze of lime at the end and it was amazing. I was worried about the meat being too spicy for the kids, but it was perfect. They ate a ton!!

While the website isn't "Paleo" there are several great recipes that can me modified to fit into the "Paleo" template. Here's the link for her Carne Asada

A New Idea

So, obviously I am currently not going to be able to keep up with weekly posts that are so detailed....but I am going to post recipes that I try that are amazing (or not so much) that I want to share with everyone. Tonight's meal was amazing.

Today is day one of my next whole30. I'm coming off a few days of not sleeping well and generally feeling bleh so it's got to happen. Like for real this time. I'm super excited that several people I know are also doing a whole30 right now. Tonight was a pretty big test for two reasons. 1.) It's family movie night which means there is a blanket in the floor and pizza ordered...and 2.) as I'm sitting down with my non-pizza, whole30 approved dinner my BFF sends me a text that says "we're going to serendipity"...which is my most favorite in all the world ice cream places. They have a flavor called salty caramel swirl that I would consider to be the most incredible thing to ever touch my tongue...ever...ever ever. Just a note about this one: I am still going to have an occasional drink, but it's only going to be this amazingly pure hard cider called Crispin that I feel is the best quality gluten-free, nothing nasty added beverages.

Okay, back to the food. Tonight I fixed what was supposed to be a chicken salad ,but I was too lazy to actually chop my romaine and just used the whole leaves as boats to hold this amazing sweet and salty chicken mixture. Let's be real, cooking anything in bacon is amazing.. Here is the link for Mango Chicken Salad with Chipotle Mayo I do think the chipotle mayo was tasty, but an avocado dressing might be even better...I'm going to have to try that next time! And I just realized as I'm writing this that I forgot the almond slices...I'm planning on having the left over meat mixture for breakfast with some eggs fried in duck fat (my new favorite cooking fat!!!!) My mouth is watering just thinking about it!!!

Happy Eating!

The mixture after it was finished cooking                                                                                  All done

Week, I'm not sure anymore because I'm a slacker....

This is way much more work that I ever anticipated and with a crazy month of April/May at work I've completely forgotten about getting posts on here. I'm still going to try to get every week up here...and hopefully this summer things will settle down.

Also, just because I told all of you...I must confess, I said "screw this" to another Whole30. I did make it a Whole15 prior to Mother's Day and then my birthday that same week. I've always had body image issues and am really trying to find a good balance of being obsessive about what I eat and nourishing my body with real food the majority of the time and being relaxed about enjoying things I love too...it's such a fine line for me before I am eating ice cream 3-4 times a week and feeling like a slug with low energy levels and achy joints.


Sunday: 

• Greek Chicken Stew with Cauliflower Rice and Roasted Artichokes: This is very similar to another recipe that I make regularly and I always wish there was more glorious sauce to soak into my cauliflower rice and so this stew was PERFECT in my opinion (I loathe sun dried tomatoes so I left them out...). I love these greek flavors and usually roast asparagus to go with this meal, but when I saw a recipe for roasted artichokes I thought I would give that a whirl...it was one of the most unsuccessful attempts I've ever had in the kitchen. I'm not sure if it's because the artichokes weren't super fresh (they had been in the fridge for 5 days) or what. I'll try again, but if anyone out there has a favorite fool-proof recipe comment about it b/c I would like to try again!!!

Monday: 

• Burrito Bowls: I was really excited about these. We like spicy food and this was a great straight forward recipe that the hubs was going to fix because I was working later and would be home right at dinner time....too bad it might have been the grossest Paleo recipe I've ever picked out. With all the spices it was still bland and lacked any real flavor. The hubs wants me to try making it again because he isn't sure he did it right, but I'm not sure I want to waste the grass fed beef on it. We didn't eat it for dinner and he said he would eat it for lunches, but honestly I'm not even sure that happened!!! The ingredients are listed below...don't say I didn't warn you :-)

Tuesday: 

• Burgers and Roasted Broccoli: This is a work day staple for us. I make the burgers up the night before or in the morning and it's all set to go when I get home. The flavors of the seasonings I use also meld nicely with the meat during this time too, I like to add some shakes of my homemade onion soup mix. I also always chop all my veggies on grocery store day so when I'm ready to roast some they're already prepped. 

Wednesday: 

• Cilantro Lime Chicken with Green Beans: This day made me sad, I put this is the crock pot on Tuesday to cook so I could pack some for my lunch on Wednesday as I was working a 24 and didn't have any leftovers after our huge burrito bowl debacle....But we happened to forget about it and left it out on the counter all night so it was all ruined....this wasn't a great food week in our house. I hate wasting food, especially when it's grass fed/organic/free range/$$$$ food!!!!

Thursday: 

• Lisa's Sauce with Spaghetti Squash: So, my bestie is an amazing lady. She's smart, funny, beautiful, Italian, the most amazing photographer I've ever met, and the best friend a girl could ask for....and she's a pretty damn good cook too! We went over to their house a few weeks ago and she had "whipped up" this tasty sauce to go over spaghetti squash. The funny part is that the hubs isn't a fan of spaghetti squash at all, but with this sauce on it he not only ate a large first portion, but went back for seconds too!!! I also tried cooking my spaghetti squash in the microwave this time and it was sooooo easy, not sure I'll ever cook it in the oven again. I just put the whole thing in and zapped it for 3 min, then cut it in half (watch out for the steam), scooped out the seeds, put it in a pan with a lid partially covering it and continued cooking in 3 min increments until done...for real, 10 min MAX and NO crazy heat from the oven...I'm sold!
• Ingredients (don't be scared of the long list, it's totally worth ALL of them):
• 28 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz tomato sauce
• 4 spicy Italian pork sausages (casings removed)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 jar quartered artichoke hearts
• 1 yellow onion
• 5-8 garlic cloves
• 1/2 package of cherry tomatoes
• 1 fennel
• 3 handfuls Power Greens (I couldn't find them so I just used spinach and it was still good)
• 1 package basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1-2 T Italian seasoning
• Directions (from Lisa): 
• I am a weirdo and I just had a few with pockets of time during the day to prep dinner because I have a 4 year old and a baby and a hardworking husband who had a hair appointment... So this is how I made it :)
• Warm a nice big cast iron skillet over medium high heat and pour in a few glugs of olive oil. Once hot, throw in half of a chopped onion and about 3 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté until the onions start to get translucent. Throw in all the meat and cook with the onions and garlic. Once it's done, drain on a paper towel if desired. ( I think the pork sausage can get greasy, so I always drain mine)
• Pour in a bit more olive oil and throw in the remaining half of the chopped onion. Sauté for a bit and then throw in the 3 more minced garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes and sliced fennel root. I sautéed them all together until the tomatoes were soft, but next time I think I might pop them in the oven (this is what I {Nicole}did and it turned out well, I actually put mine under the broiler)or just let them sit undisturbed on the stove so they get a bit blackened
• Dump all the cans of tomatoes (diced, crushed, and sauce) into a big pot over medium high heat. Add in the cooked and drained meat, tomato/onion/ fennel mixture, chopped basil, artichoke hearts, power greens, Italian seasoning, and salt/pepper. Stir together and adjust seasonings if needed. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer for about an hour with the lid on.
• This makes enough to feed an army. For at least two days.

Friday: 

• Fire Roasted Meatloaf, Peas, and Baked Sweet Potatoes: This is one of my favorite meatloaf recipes, it's got great flavor and anything with bacon in it is good by me! The ingredients list what is needed for the sauce also. 

Saturday: 

• Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Grilled Prosciutto Asparagus: After cutting the chicken into cubes I seasoned it with Penzy's Forward seasoning before skewering it with mushrooms, bell pepper, pineapple chunks, and onion. 

Staples:

• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Clarified Butter
• Greek Seasoning (I get mine at Penzy's)
• Oregano
• Chicken Stock
• Chili Powder
• Ground Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Cilantro
• Homemade Onion Soup Mix (I don't add the sugar)
• Cayenne Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Eggs
• Almond Flour
• Beef Stock
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Dijon Mustard
• Paprika
• Forward Seasoning (from Penzy's)

Fruits:

• Lemons
• Lemons
• Fresh Pineapple 

Veggies:

• Onions
• Garlic
• Broccoli Slaw
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Fennel
• Power Greens
• Spaghetti Squash
• Green Beans
• Peas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Red Onion
• Bell Peppers
• Mushrooms
• 3 Tomatoes
• Asparagus

Meats:

• 8 Boneless Chicken Thighs
• 5 lb Ground Beef
• Whole Chicken
• 4 Spicy Italian Sausages
• 1 lb Bacon
• 2 lb Chicken Breast
• Prosciutto

Etc:

• Fresh Tarragon
• Pitted Kalamata Olives
• Roasted Red Pepper
• Capers
• Sun Dried Tomatoes 
• Petite Diced Tomatoes
• Small Can Diced Chiles
• Fresh Cilantro
• 28 oz and 14 oz Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
• 14 oz Tomato Sauce
• 1 Jar Artichoke Hearts
• Basil
• 6 oz Tomato Paste
• 1 Can Diced Pineapple (in juice)

Week Nine

One week down of my spring Whole30...I use the term "spring" loosely. Today in Missouri it is snowing on the west side of the state...that's right May 3 and snow. Yesterday I mowed and got a little bit of a sunburn. It's just plumb crazy!

The first week is always the hardest for me, but I have to say that I was so ready to start this one that I've been relieved to be back on the Whole30 bandwagon. I feel great and it's always nice seeing the physical benefits so quickly. I was able to resist licking the bowl when I made one of our dear friends this amazing flourless (but not sugarless) chocolate cake for his birthday, but it was pretty difficult I won't lie.

Enjoy your week! Hopefully Spring really is around the corner!

Saturday:

• Grilled Salmon with Avocado Lime Salsa with Grilled Zucchini. This was a refreshingly light meal that had so much flavor. I think this can be used for any fish, but I think it was a great pairing with salmon. We love grilled zucchini in the summer with just coconut oil, salt and pepper so be prepared to see it often!

Sunday:

• Chicken Stir Fry. This recipe doesn't have any measurements which is how I usually do my stir fry also, I'm just a dumper! I did add broccoli to make this a "whole" meal (and didn't use radishes) and the flavors were super tasty in this. I had never added orange slices but it was super tasty and I'll keep it in mind for the future. 

Slice your chicken for tomorrow nights meal too and marinate it over night.

Monday:

• Greek Chicken Salad. Mondays are always crazy for us...so we do fast. This Monday I threw together a quick Greek chicken salad. Last night I sliced up my chicken for this meal while I was doing it for the stir fry and threw it in a bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Tonight I was able to just grill those up on my Cuisinart indoor grill and throw it together with some bagged salad, kalamata olives, chopped artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I always make more chicken so I can have quick lunches for the week.

Marinate your pork for tomorrow night, unless you want to do it in the morning...but my mornings are hell most of the time with lots of running around and usually showing up late for where we're supposed to be!!!

Tuesday:

• Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa and Roasted Cauliflower. This was a VERY refreshing summer meal. This was the first time I grilled a pork tenderloin and was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. When the hubs walked in he immediately said, "Whats for dinner, it smells amazing" and he was smelling the pineapple cooking..it really was a great pairing. I was wondering how the basil in the salsa would pair with it, I was thinking it would be more tasty with cilantro...but I was wrong, the basil was AMAZING...and as always, I doubled this recipe for leftovers and they were just as tasty (Don't use the cooking oil!!!)

Wednesday:

• Qdoba...that's right, we ate qdoba for dinner tonight. If you want to replicate it, just make a taco salad. That's what I eat there, the naked taco salad with double the meat, grilled veggies, salsa verde, and guac added. They always ask me about fifty times, "no cheese, no sour cream???"

Thursday: 

• Chicken Burgers and Baked Sweet Potatoes. These were good, but missing something. The hubs suggested making a sauce with some coconut aminos and ginger and I think that would have been a great addition to the caramelized onions. Whole Foods was out of ground chicken thigh so I used 1lb of ground chicken breast and 1lb of ground turkey thigh...it was a great combo!

Friday: 

• Pulled Pork and Green Beans. Throw a pork shoulder or butt roast in the crock pot on a bed of sliced onions. I sprinkled mine with cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, chipotle powder...cooked it for about 14 hours (just because that's how it worked out because I needed it to take to work this morning)...and green beans because the hubs is in charge of this meal while I'm working a 24 hour shift today. He does green beans really well!

Staples:

• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Onion Powder
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Fish Sauce
• Oregano
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Kalamata Olives
• Chili Powder
• Cinnamon
• Chipotle Powder

Fruit:

• Avocados
• Limes (several)
• Orange (several)
• Pineapple (I used two small ones)

Veggies:

• Red Onion
• 3 Mild Hot Peppers 
• Red Onion
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic
• Shredded Cabbage
• Red Pepper
• Green Onion
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms
• Salad
• Grape Tomatoes
• Cauliflower
• Bell Pepper
• Spinach
• Thyme
• Garlic Powder
• Dried Basil
• Sweet Potatoes
• Green Beans

Meats:

• 2 lb Salmon (or fish of your choice)
• 3 lb Chicken
• 2 lb Pork Tenderloin
• 1 lb Ground Chicken
• 1 lb Ground Turkey
• 4 lb Pork Roast

Etc:

• Artichoke Hearts
• Tomato Paste
• Fresh Cilantro
• Pineapple Juice
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Parsley

Week Eight

After a few weeks (okay probably about 8 or so...) of slowly increasing the number of both Paleo and non-Paleo treats to almost one thing a day I've realized that the sneaky little devil sugar has again found it's way into my mainstream diet (anytime I use the word "diet" I'm not referring to any calorie reduction/weight loss plan but rather what I eat on a daily basis). This means only one thing...another Whole30.

If you are not familiar with this term it's a 30 day period of time where you follow a fairly strict plan of what you can and can't eat. The website whole9life.com is full of great information and a great resource if anyone is interested in ever doing it. The way I feel is amazing after one and it is a great way to restore your body to optimal gut health...which really effects every other organ system. That is after you get through the first week "Paleo flu" from your body adjusting to fat metabolism from carb metabolism...that's where I am now, I know the benefits outweigh this time of exhaustion and headaches and it just proves even further to me how far off I had been!!!!

The main thing you guys are going to see with the recipes I am posting is that they won't have any Paleo "approved" sweeteners like honey or any Paleo "treats" made with almond flour. The main reason for both of these is that those foods while still "whole" in the sense they don't have any processed/fake ingredients they will still be taking the place of dessertish items. One of the amazing results of the Whole30 program is the reduction in sugar cravings and this can only be achieved if all added sugars/sweeter items are removed. Fruit is still okay on the Whole30, but I do reduce my fruit intake to one per day if I'm feeling a little bleh.

So now for 30 days of Whole30 Approved menu items!!!!

Saturday: 

• Bun-less Burgers with Lots 'o Toppings. The options really are endless. For this meal I just topped a burger with some sliced avocado, tomato, mustard, and cilantro and went to town. We had fresh chopped veggies dipped in my homemade ranch to round out the meal

Sunday: 

• Pan Fried Rib eye and Green Beans. I literally just melted some clarified butter in a cast iron skillet and fried the rib eyes in them. I seasoned them with some salt and pepper. I was really shocked at how good they were!

Monday:

• Blackened Grilled Chicken and Grilled Zucchini. Nothing fancy...again, see I told you last week! This time I used a spice mix that I always have on hand. It's really tasty on chicken and fish. I grilled my chicken this time, but have baked fish chunks in this to use for fish tacos. I use less for the kids pieces

Tuesday: 

• Chicken Salad.  I made double the recipe for the blackened chicken from last night and used it to have chicken salads tonight. I'm lucky, my kids like salad. I blended some avocado with my homemade ranch to make an avocado ranch dressing. I added a touch of lime juice and cilantro too...yummy!

Wednesday: 

• Asian Ground Beef. You guys have seen this several times already and that's because it's so quick and easy. I also love that it makes enough for several days of leftovers! And that you can eat your meat and veggies all together!

Thursday: 

• Grilled Chicken Zucchini Noodle Alfredo and Salad. ***Substitute note: I used coconut milk in place of the "milk." Because of this I had to add more cooking liquid to get it the consistency I wanted*** This was really tasty, we all loved it and while the sauce didn't EXACTLY taste like alfredo, it was very very tasty. 

Friday: 

• Greek Lamb Burgers, Grilled Asparagus, and Tomato/Cucumber/Kalamata Olive Salad. This has to be one of my most favorite summer meals of all time. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these burgers. Be prepared, they do smoke/catch fire easily because of the high fat content in the lamb, but these guys are really amazing. Oh and I do make them into burgers instead of meatballs like the recipe says...I tried that and I have a very temperamental smoke detector and baking these guys just caused that to go off the whole time!!! I double the recipe also, this is reflected in the ingredients below. For the salad I just halve baby tomatoes and kalamata olives, then chunk some cucumber up...toss it in olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper...so delish

Staples:

• Homemade Ranch (see link above)
• Paprika
• Chili Powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Coriander
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano
• Garlic Powder
• Coconut Oil
• Coconut Aminos
• Garlic
• Coconut Milk
• Clarified Butter
• Chives
• Parsley (fresh)
• Eggs
• Dried Mint
• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Olive Oil

Fruits:

• Avocado
• Tomato

Veggies:

• Baby Carrots
• Broccoli
• (2) Cauliflower
• Celery
• Green Beans
• Salad
• Bag of Broccoli Slaw
• Onion
• Shallot
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Zucchini (1 per person is what I use)
• Asparagus
• Grape Tomatoes
• Cucumber

Meats:

• 5lb Ground Beef  (Burgers and Asian Slaw and Lamb Burgers)
• Rib Eye (or whatever cut is on sale)
• 3lb Chicken Breast
• 2lb Ground Lamb

Etc:

• Cilantro
• Vegetable Broth 
• Dried Apricots
• Kalamata Olives

Week Seven

Time is moving along rather quickly. Here in St. Louis, Mother Nature isn't sure what the heck she is doing and can't make up her mind whether we're going to move onto the glorious time of lush greenness of spring and the golden glow of summer or stay in grey/dreary winter. I know she hasn't asked my opinion, but it needs to stop. It's the middle of April and yesterday I saw snow flurries...that has to stop...I need Vitamin D!!!!

Before I move onto food I just want to say I hope you guys have a wonderful week filled with whatever is refreshing after such an emotionally draining time for our country. As a runner, and more importantly a human being, I was horrified to hear such a cowardly act had been committed against innocent people at Boston. I have never once felt unsafe in any race that I have participated in and as a pseudo member of EMS I cannot begin to thank the countless first responders, both official and unofficial, that helped save so many lives in Boston and at the explosions in West TX. Despite the capture of one of the accused bombers we may never fully know his motives and there may never be an answer to "why." I hope that we all can now appreciate and focus on how much good there is around us. Don't let the selfish and evil acts of a few individuals cast doubt on the whole. Just reading all the stories of those helping during such an awful time proves otherwise...there is good out there. So, hug those you love tighter and cherish every breath you take...happy eating...


Saturday:

• New York Strip, Roasted Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, and Field Green Salad. I love food and this meal in all it's simplicity just makes me love it even more. We went to a friends house for dinner so I can't take real credit for this meal, but they know our food preferences and we know they truly love us because we ate a "Paleo" dinner!!! The best part of this dinner was that even though it looked fancy, it was a quick meal that was easily prepped before we got there and was pretty much hands off until it was time to eat...the guys manned the grill and the girls manned the red wine...someones got make sure the wine feels loved!!! (The best part was the flour-less chocolate cake and raspberry sorbet for dessert...I'm going to need that recipe!)

Sunday: 

• Pork Tenderloin and Steamed Broccoli. I was short on time this week too (becoming a trend...) so I just rubbed the pork tenderloin with some coconut oil and sprinkled it with salt/pepper/Italian seasoning in the morning before I went to work and then just sliced it in medallions and quickly fried them up in some more coconut oil. Steamed broccoli and clarified butter..yum..this is one of the reasons I chop ALL my veggies on grocery day. They all get placed in bags in the fridge so I don't have to wasted extra time when I'm running late and need a quick veggie. I also do it so when I'm having my 2pm hungry episode I can just grab a handful of them and some homemade ranch and move on with my day (which might be happening as I type!) 

Monday: 

• Cilantro Chicken and Roasted Veggies. Shockingly...I forgot to set out my chicken last night so instead of it being just the perfect firmness for chopping into cubes (this was supposed to be a kabob type recipe) it was hard as concrete so I just decided I'd change it up. I pulsed the ingredients in my blender and then dumped it all in a bag and decided I would just grill these guys up whole with as much marinade as possible. And they turned out AMAZING. The hubs doesn't eat with us on Monday nights and on Tuesday when he reheated them up for lunch I got a text that said "how did you cook these they're so delicious" For the roasted veggies I just dumped brussel sprouts, chopped zucchini and some mushrooms on a baking sheet, tossed them with coconut oil (always my oil of choice for roasting due to it's ability to maintain stability at higher temps than olive oil...)

                            Marinade Ingredients:

                                   Juice of 1 lime

                                   1 bunch of cilantro (just cut most of the leaves off)

                                   6 cloves of garlic

                                   1/4 cup olive oil

Tuesday: 

• Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Cauliflower Mash. WARNING!!! This does have some Parmesan cheese in it!!!! BUT I won't put it in next time, not that I'm that hardcore, just that it didn't add enough flavor to the dish to make it worth it to me. If I'm going to deviate I want it to be the most amazing thing I could possibly think about eating...and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese just doesn't fit that category.  This dish was so flavorful and full of depth I can't wait to make it again. I did double the sauce because that's what I do and am so glad I did!!

Wednesday: 

• Tilapia and Sauteed Carrots. I didn't use many recipes this week, sorry about that. I find myself doing that more and more because it's just easier for me to piece together our favorites. I think one of the best things about eating Paleo is that I have gained more of an understanding of herbs and spices. They add so much depth and flavor that I can't imagine not cooking without them. This is one example. I love my tilapia with dill and lemon now. It just blends so well with the lightness of the fish. So that's what I did, melted some clarified butter in a pan, threw in my tilapia, sprinkled it with dill/salt/pepper and then gave it a little squeeze of lemon juice to make a nice little sauce. For the carrots I just tossed them in a pan with some melted butter and let them cook up until they were tasty morsels of sweetness. 

If you don't want to spend time chopping veggies tomorrow night, do it all tonight

Thursday: 

• Rainbow Chicken. One pan cooking at it's finest!!! This was super easy, since I put it together the night before it was super easy when I walked in to start fixing dinner. I just uncovered it and threw it in the oven. I did add some extra sweet potatoes in place of the white potato, but if you like parsnips (not a fan over here) then that would work as a good sub too. This wasn't the most amazingly flavorful dish I've made, but it was super convenient and I'm sure it'll get called on again!

Make sure to read Friday's recipe ahead of time, it calls for the roast to get the rub placed the night before, wrapped in saran wrap and then put in the crock pot with the extra stuff the next day for cooking. I just prepped all my crockpot ingredients and put it in the fridge too so all I had to do was add my roast in the morning and it was ready at dinner time

Friday:

• Cuban Pulled Pork and Peas. This got rave reviews from the hubs and kids...I ate it only as leftovers and it was still marvelous. The mix of savory and sweet in this dish is perfect. It's got such a subtle smokiness that was not lost at all. I was incredibly pleased with this and will for sure keep it around as one of my meals to have prepped for the hubs to manage while I'm working. And peas...who can go wrong with some peas! 

Staples

• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Italian Seasoning
• Garlic (I think I went through 3-4 heads this week....)
• Oregano
• Chicken broth (check the labels on these too...most have added sugar!!)
• Clarified butter
• Dill
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Onion
• Dijon Mustard
• Cayenne Pepper
• Allspice
• Chili Powder
• Cinnamon
• Honey

Fruits

• (6) Limes
• (2) Lemons
• (1) Orange

Veggies

• Asparagus
• Salad 
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Zucchini
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Sweet Potatoes
• (2) Bell Peppers
• Peas

Meat

• New York Strip (or whatever steak is on sale, my ultimate fave is the rib eye)
• Prosciutto (read the ingredients, look for one with the fewest and no sugar)
• Pork Tenderloin
• 1lb Chicken Breast
• 1lb Shrimp (raw, I did that once...bought cooked shrimp for a recipe)
• Bacon
• Tilapia
• 1 1/4lb Chicken Thighs
• 3lb Pork Shoulder Roast

Etc

• Salad Dressing (just whip up your own, you'll spend 10 hours looking for one in the store that isn't full of junk)
• Cilantro
• Parmesan cheese, if you dare :-)
• White wine
• Fresh oregano (didn't use it FYI)