Tasty Trail Mix

I'm a sucker for snacks. Before switching to a Paleo way of eating I was the queen of snacking. I bought into the whole "eat every two hours" mantra and didn't pass on eating a scrumptious snack to keep it up! It's common knowledge in the Paleo world that because of the higher fat/protein content of our meals that we are able to go much longer between meals than when eating the standard recommendations. If you've read some of my earlier posts, you know that this works for the whole day for me EXCEPT for the time between 2 and 3 in the afternoon...I can almost always tell you it's after 2 o'clock solely based on my hunger! When I was looking for snacks to pack in the kids lunches (and let's be honest, that looked amazing to me too) I came across this recipe for Chunky Monkey Trail Mix and I have become an addict...to the point I have to measure out my portion and hide the rest of the bag in the pantry because every time I walk by I want a handful!!!

Note: The only place I've found the unsweetened banana chips are in the bulk section at Whole Foods, but they are really reasonably priced.

All the yummy ingredients (I didn't have toasted nuts so I did them myself)

The finished product

Back In The Swing Of Things

So, it's confession time...for the millionth time...I suck at this blogging thing. I LOVE the idea, I LOVE being accountable to more than just my own body (despite it's VERY strong way of communicating about what is beneficial to my health and what isn't), and I LOVE spending the time researching and then cooking new things every week. But I can't seem to actually sit down and get it done. I have a ton of pics on my phone of things that I have wanted to blog and so now I'm going to get up to date. My goal is three-four posts per week, some with recipes, some with just pictures and some with nothing to do with food.

Today, we'll start with some new items I picked up at the store and how scrumptious they are...

Yummy Greek salad for lunch

For those of you that know me you know how much I adore the plain rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods..you know the one that has the ingredients as "chicken." I buy one almost every week just to have around and then save the bones for yummy broth. By the time grocery day rolls around I have generally depleted EVERYTHING out of my fridge (I should take a pre shopping and post shopping pic of my fridge some day) and once I get home I want something quick to eat!

I also really like pre-made salad, I know it's significantly more expensive, but you can't buy all these fun little blends separately. I have found (through many frustrating slimy lettuce discoveries) that the kind in the plastic boxes last longer than the bag kind. This new mix I got today had tons of "super greens" in it and was incredibly tasty (see ingredients below).

I had read people blogging about Tessemae's dressings on several Paleo sites but had never tried them and I am sooo glad I did!!! This Lemon Garlic one was so delicious and has all legit ingredients (there's even a "Paleo" label on the ones are compliant, some have soy in them so they're out). The only annoying thing about this type of dressing is that you have to let it warm a bit before the oil in them will actually blend. I found this out when making my own so I was prepared for it, but still.... I don't think it was any more expensive than if I bought the ingredients to make it myself and with all the ingredients being okay I'm not sure I'll make my own anymore!

The Greek Seasoning from Penzy's was already a staple in our house...I'm a little addicted to that store :-) I threw on some thinly sliced red onions, kalamata olives, and a teeny bit of goat cheese (the only cheese/dairy I've added back in on a fairly consistent basis. I haven't seen the problems I had previously when adding dairy from cows back in) and sat on the deck enjoying this beautiful weather. After picking 22# of Honey Crisp apples yesterday I ate one of those too, which I will every day until they're gone!!!!

Here's the ingredients:

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