Just in time for the Food Challenge...

OK so no not just in time, I am posting this too late for any of you to actually use this in the first week of our challenge, but to make up for it I have added 5 recipes and I am hoping to be able to post a clean stuffing recipe before Thanksgiving (fingers crossed for Tuesday.)

 

 

So I actually saw this idea on a facebook post from a CrossFitter friend and I though what a great idea, now we can't use the excuse that eating clean is too time consumer or that the paleo food is boring. I took the idea and ran with it. Below are 5 choices for freezer bag, crockpot meals. I haven't tried any of these yet, we just prepared them today and we are using them to keep up on the challenge so I will let you know in the comments of this post how they turned out.

 

Easy, simple, add all the ingredients to the bag, date it, titled it, put any cooking directions on it and stick it in the freezer. To cook them, pull them out of the freezer throw them in the crockpot and come home in the evening to a hot and ready meal!!

 

***Cook all of these in the Crockpot on low for 6-8 hours

 

BEEF STEW:

1 onion diced

2 garlic cloves

1/2  of the large bag size of baby carrots

2 celery stalks chopped

2 yams cubed

1 can V8 juice (and yes these are clean but not all of them so read your ingredients, remember no added sugars for the food challenge.)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 C beef broth

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

stew meat.

 

 

GOULASH:
1 bell pepper diced
1 onion diced
1/2 of a large bag of baby carrots
2 garlic cloves
stew beef
6 0z tomato paste
3 zuchinnis sliced
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper

MANDRIN CHICKEN:
1 C. V8 juice
2 fruit cup snack packs of mandarin oranges (1 with the juice 1 without)
brocolli
garlic powder
6 chicken thighs

TERIYAKI CHICKEN:
1/2 of a large size bag of baby carrots
1 onion chopped
20 oz pineapple with the juice
 garlic cloves
3 chicken breast cubed
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1/2 C water 
(The original recipe calls for 3 tbsn maple syrup and 1 1/2 tbns arrowroot)

 

 

BBQ PORK RIBS:

*This one has some extra directions*

1 package boneless pork ribs

1 capri sun apple juice pouch

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

slow cook for 6-7 hours, drain juices and cover with BBQ sauce and cook on high 1 more hour



 

 

 

My freezer is full and ready for the week, can't wait to try them. Let me know if you try them as well, post on the comments of this post and we'll fine tune them together !!

 



Zucchini Chocolatey goodness

OK so the picture is blurry but the bread is sssooo yummy!!! We made chocolate zuchinni bread and it was great, the friends we had over for dinner couldn't tell the different.

BIG THANKS TO THE PALEOMG.COM site for the foundations of this recipe!!!

 

Ingredients:

1 med zucchini, shredded (about 1.5 cups)

2 eggs, whisked

3/4 cup nut butter (almond, sun etc)

1/3 c. honey

1/4 C cocoa powder

2 tbsn coconut flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 c. pineapple (tidbits drained)

pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to 375.

After shredding the zucchini dry on papertowels and add to all other ingredients. combine well.

put in greased bread pan, I used my stoneware pan which is great, no greasing needed!

Bake for about 30 min. But check often, the top can burn quickly and the middle will seem raw only because it is a little spongy until it cools. If you stick a toothpick or knife in the middle to check it, it should come out fairly clean, no raw dough but the inside is very fragile until it's cooled so it could take small peices with it when you're checking it.

Cool and serve.



Non-parmesan chicken

 This was a last minute dinner idea that turned out great! Quick, easy and tasty, my kind of dinner, unfortuately I didn't make enough to satisfy the whole clan, oops. I'll know better for next time.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breast, sliced into long strips
1 jar Classico spaghetti sauce (or your favorite sauce)
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 C almond flour
1/2 C coconut flour ( **you can use a whole cup of one or the other if you don't have both, if you're going for the nuttier, crunchier feel use the almond if you like the sweeter more like wheat flour texture go with the coconut)
To taste: garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl lightly beat the eggs until fully blended. On a plate mix all the dry ingredients.Take one slice of chicken at a time, coat with the egg and than roll in the flour mixture. I use a fork because it gets pretty sticky and messy.

Lightly cover the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and heat on med/high. Once the oil is heated place a few battered pieces into the oil and brown on all sides. Be careful not to turn them too much the batter will fall off.  You may have to add more oil as you go to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan.











Next, cover the bottom of a baking dish with about half of the sauce. Lay the battered chicken on top of the sauce, cover the top with more sauce and place in the over to cook for about 20 minutes. Checking as you go to make sure the chicken doesn't over cook.








Remove and serve. It is hard to dry out the chicken with all the sauce in the pan, but can be done, other than that, this was an easy and delicious meal that we all enjoyed. Maybe next time we'll add some zucchini or spaghetti squash noodles to go along side.

"Butter my butt and call me a Biscuit"!!!

 So, apparently I am on a grain bread substitute kick because this next post is for biscuits.
And a side note, we have been using a lot of substitutes for flour lately and I know it gets spendy, but, if you're willing, Huckleberrys in Spokane on Monroe (South Hill) has almond and coconut flour in bulk much much cheaper than what you can buy in the small little pre-packaged bags at the local stores.

I got this amazing recipe from the one and only Robb Wolff the man who introduced me to Paleo and changed my families life forever!!! (For the good of course.)

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Coconut flour
1/4 C Almond Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsn coconut oil (cold so it's solid but soft)
6 egg whites

(*The egg whites are a bit of a downer becuase I always feel like Im wasting the yokes, but we save them and scramble them with breakfast or in other baking goods.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend all of the dry ingredients.  For this next step I used my pastry cutter, but you can use a food processor on pulse or 2 knives between your fingers. Cut in the cold oil until it looks like even little balls or course sand.

 Next, whisk the egg whites until completely frothy, you can use a food processor or hand blender for this, I guess I was feeling kinda "frothy" my self and did it by hand. (Ha). 

Gently fold the egg whites into the dry ingredients just until nicely blended, don't stir vigorously or roughly.



















Leaving a rather sticky but light and fluffy dough.

Distribute the dough evenly on a cooking sheet. If you have the luxury of using a cooking stone great if not make sure to grease the sheet so the biscuits don't stick.

Place in over, cook about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and enjoy warm or put in a tupperware in the fridge for later.

We used them with Ragu (a recipe about 2 months ago) to soak up the broth and the next morning for sausage and egg breakfast biscuits and also found delicious with honey!!!!! If you visit Robbs site robbwolf.com he's got a recipe added to this one for biscuits and gravy haven't tried it yet but promises to be a winner.

BREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have searched long and hard for a choice to replace bread in our household. As most of you know, my daughter Kate has severe skin issues and with the removal of grains, we have been able to control her breakouts and her pain and discomfort. However, it can be a battle, especially with other kids in the house that don't have such issues, to keep the grains and dairy items out of the pantry without some very dissappointed people. I am SO SO SO SO happy to be able to present this recipe on the blog.
Now, please keep in mind, just like all the other heavy nut based recipes, these are for a sometimes treat, definitely not an everyday choice**

Thanks to cookingcaveman.com for this recipe it he spent 2 years perfecting this thing and I think he did a great job!!!

INGREDIENTS:
4 or 5  eggs (depending on the size)
1 1/2 cups  almond butter
1 1/2 tablespoons  lemon juice  (I use fresh squeezed, clean or preservatives and better tasting)
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda 
Mix everything together pour in a bread pan and bake at 350 for 30-60 min, or until the knife comes out clean. Eat it hot or cooled. Our 1st sandwich was steak strips, paleo mayo, mustard, lettuce tomato
GREAT texture, and stability, so good!!!!!!














** as quoted from LIVESTRONG website:

Medication Interactions

Almonds are quite high in manganese. Each 1 oz. serving provides you with 0.6 mg of this mineral. Under normal circumstances, this is a good thing -- you need 1.8 to 2.3 mg per day to help your body function properly. If you consume a lot of almonds, particularly on top of a manganese-rich diet, this might trigger drug interactions. High quantities of manganese in your blood can interfere with some antipsychotic drugs, as well as antacids, laxatives, blood pressure medications and certain antibiotics.

Vitamin E Overdose

Including almonds in your diet provides you with vitamin E, which offers antioxidant protection. You get 7.4 mg of vitamin E per ounce of nuts, roughly half the amount you need each day. It takes a lot of almonds to rise above the tolerable upper limit of 1,000 mg per day, but it is possible, especially if you eat a diet rich in vitamin E foods, such as eggs, fortified cereals, spinach and whole grains. Too much vitamin E in your body can trigger an overdose situation, causing lethargy, blurred vision, headaches, diarrhea and flatulence.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/468243-side-effects-of-eating-a-lot-of-almonds/#ixzz266JDpmkv

Orange-y goodness!!!

From Mexican to Asian, we're traveling all the way across the Pacific Ocean for some Orange Chicken. OK, so no, it's not a true Asian dish, it's pretty Americanized, and yeah oranges aren't a great choice for us Paleo eaters, but when you've got that craving it's better than the chemical, wheat flour, kill your gut garbage food. (Plus it's really yummy!!!)
Big thanks to  health-bent.com for the base of this one!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
• 3 T coconut oil
• juice of 2 oranges
• zest from 1 orange
• 1 t fresh ginger
• 3 T  wheat-free soy sauce

the original recipe also called for:  (we didn't use them since I didn't have them at the house and it still turned out amazing. I replaced the chili garlic sauce with a spoonful of diced garlic.)

• 1 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha
• 3 green onions, chopped

 "In a medium size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, soy sauce and garlic. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks. In a saute pan, heat 3 T of coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce pot and stir to coat with the orange sauce."

We served it over some fried caulirice, couldn't get enough!

If you're in the mood for Mexican...

I must be on a Mexican kick, I found the recipe for the Jicama tacos and, I have to admit, I would easily replace it in my "favorite Mexican alternative". This was great. The spices are dependant on the flavor that you like, so I've listed the ones I used that turned out great but it's definately a personal thing.



Meat Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef

1 diced sweet onion

2 spoonfuls diced garlic

1 large diced red bell pepper

olive oil

cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano

In a frying pan, heat the oil add onions and garlic until browning, add some cumin, salt and pepper just to lightly cover. Add peppers than add meat and cook until fully done adding spices throughout the process. (I probably used 2 tbsn. cumin, 1 tbns paprika and 2 tsp of chili powder and oregano, and salt and pepper throughout.) I'll make sure I measure next time (Sorry!!!)

Set aside when done.

Salad Dressing Ingredients: (thanks to "paleo Effect" with a little changes)

1/4 C paleo mayo

1/4 coconut milk

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Thyme

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together until smooth, it will be a little running than your average dressing but very yummy!!!!

FINALLY, put a handful (or 2 depending on how hungry you are :)  ) of sweet potato chips on the bottom of the plate, cover with your favorite lettuce (I used romaine) scope a few spoonfuls of your seasoned meat on the top, a dollop of your favorite salsa on the top and drizzle the dressing around. 

Quick, easy, really tasty and clean what more could you ask for! 

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

I was doing some web surfing for some new recipe to add to our repetiore of Paleo choices, hoping to find something to satisfy that taco craving and FINALLY I have found something! Thanks to another paleo blog, and some adjustments at home I am happy to be able to post an alternative taco recipe (yummy by the way!!).

PREPARING THE "TACO" SHELL
1 medium wide Jicama (Pronounce Hickama) *the wider the better because you get bigger strips


Peel the jicama and than slice really thin, if you have a mandoline perfect, if not a really sharp knife is highly recommended. Put the slices in salt water for up to 2 days.

Ingredients:

Your favorite taco filling. We made breakfast tacos so we used scrambled eggs and Jimmy Deans all Natural Pork Sausage with some green bell peppers and onions. With some salsa on top.

Heat enough oil in a frying pan to lightly cover the bottom. Place a few slices of Jicama in the pan and flip until edges are browned, place on a paper towel to cool.

Put a spoonful of filling on the shell, fold and...

 

TA-DA!!!!!! Bite size breakfast Tacos MMMMM!!

Shisking Bob

Sorry the photos a little blurry but the bobs were so good. It's a quick and easy, clean and tasty, sensational summer meal.

INGREDIENTS:
4 large chicken breasts cubed

1 fresh pineapple cubed
3 bell peppers cut into chunks
1 large sweet onion cubed
1 box mushrooms

MARINADE:
1 cup (wheat free) soy sauce
1 cup (no sugar added) pineapple juice
1 large spoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup sake

We only marinaded the chicken but I recommend the mushrooms too. Mix al all the ingredients for the marinate in a bowl and add chicken. Let sit at least 1 hour.
Microwave the chicken about 1 min or more to help cook the chicken so you don't burn the vegys on the skewers.
If you're using wooden skewers don't forget to soak them for at least 20 minutes before you cook with them or they'll burn.
Take the rest of your ingredients and add randomly to the skewers and BBQ. It's as easy as that. We ended the night with some Coconut Ice Cream and all went to bed happy!!

Perfect summer salad

This is a great recipe for any meal, any time you're in a hurry. I have been going a little crazy with the mayonnaise for the last few recipes but it's just so good it's hard to stop.

Chicken salad

ingredients:

1 apple, diced

5 stalks celery, sliced

1/2 a head cabbage, diced

1 C. raisins

1 C. almonds, diced

3 small chicken breast cubed and fully cooked

Mayonnaise (to taste and moisture you like)

'lots of pepper (to taste)

The Mayonnaise  recipe

2 eggs

vinegar (to start 2 tsp) add as needed

mustard (to start 1 Tblsn) add as needed

1 cup olive oil

Put the eggs, vinegar and mustard in a blender or food processor. I have a vitamix and it's wonderful and makes this recipe easy!!! Put the blender on med to med high, blend the egg mixture until well mixed. SLOWLY, and I mean SLOWLY add the oil. The mayo will thicken as you go. 

SALAD RECIPE

Add  everything together and enjoy. You can wait for the chicken to cool and chill the salad for about an hour, the flavor is a little better, but I've had it both ways and loved it!!!

WELCOME TO THE CLEAN EATING CHALLENGE

Although there are only a few of us joining in this challenge it will be a great experience (and needed push for some of us) to get into a healthy living habit. Below I have attached a much needed form to help you guys stay on it, a "what to eat when you're craving crap"!!! Good luck and stay strong!

 

What you want	What you’re missing	What you need to eat
Chocolate	Magnesium	Ray nuts and seeds, fruit
Sweets	Chromium, carbon, phosphous, sulfur tryptophan	Broccoli, grapes, meat, fruit, **cruiciferous vegetables, cranberries, liver, raisins, sweet potato,spinach
Bread. Toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods
oily snacks, fatty foods	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens broccoli kale sesame
Soda and carbonated drinks	Calcium	See above
Salty foods	Chloride	Fish , unrefined sea salt

  **Cruciferious Vegetables: (most Common) Horseradish, Land cress, Ethiopian mustard, Kale, Cooard greens, Chinese broccoli, cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bok choy, Napa cabbage, turnip root and greens, Rutabaga, mustard seed, green and water cress, daikon, wasabi

Summer essentials

Ok so I know I've been saying I was going to put this up forever, so I made up for it by adding another recipe.

SWEET POTATO SALAD (and other yummy summer ideas)

With Summer coming and all the BBQ's and get together's it can be hard for us Paleo eaters to enjoy one of the best things about the season, the summer foods. So I have a good solution Sweet Potato salad and clean coleslaw.

*****The first thing you're going to need is a food processor, to make your mayonnaise, and everything else is easy!*********

MAYONNAISE:

2 eggs

2 tbsn white vinegar

1 tbsn mustard 

1 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, on med high speed (I use my Vitamix and it works perfect on 7) blend all of your ingredients except the oil for a few seconds (just enough to blend). Slowly drizzle in the oil S-L-O-W-L-Y!!! It's very important so you don't ruin the consistency of the mayonnaise. Than blend until you get the right thickness.

SORRY NO PIC :O( we were in too much of a hurry to want to wait for that, we really love this recipe!)

SWEET POTATO SALAD:

3 large sweet potatoes cubed, steamed (I like the peels on so don't forget scrubbed too)

2 large dill pickles diced

5 large hard boiled eggs

1-1 1/2 C mayonnaise

1-2 tbsn mustard

1 bunch green onions diced (I've used sweet onions too and I like that flavor just as much)

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

Mix all when potatoes are cooled and MMMMM!!!

 

 

PALEO COLESLAW:

I made this recipe with bigger chunks than most coleslaws I like texture and crunchies.

1 small head green cabbage diced or shredded (depending on how you like your peices)

3-4 large carrots diced or shredded (again based on your preferance)

2 stalks of celery diced

 1-2 apples of different types diced (I did 1 granny and 1 cameo)

1/2 C. mayonnaise

a squirt or 2 of lemon juice to taste.

Mix all together and serve next to your favorite Paleo summer BBQ, we choose BBQ pulled pork with our potato salad and BBQ pork ribs with our coleslaw.

Paleo Waffles

We have been looking for a waffle recipe forever and we finally found one and it's so good!!!! We put a little homemade plum jam over it and MMMMM!!!! This one is based off of a post I found on "The food lovers primal palate" we altered it a little, it orginally asked for stevia and no vanilla. I think next time Im adding 1/2 a banana into the puree MMMM. and again I say MMMM.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C coconut flour
4 eggs
1 Tbsn coconut milk
1 Tbsn cinnnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
a spoon of honey
1/2 tsp vanilla


This one is easy, heat the waffle iron, mix all ingredients together, melt a little coconut oil on the iron, put a spoonful in close and cook. They'll be a little more brown than regular waffles and they won't rise so don't worry so much about overfilling the iron.

Another Carribean dinner

Heres another meal we had for Carribean night and the kids loved it.

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts cubed
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
2 green onions
1 Tbsn sunflower oil
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 C coconut milk

Heat oil cook chicken, garlic, onion, chili powder, curry powder fry about 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
Add green onions, thyme, coconut milk, bring to a boil than simmer for about 40 minutes until thickened.

Kid snacks Carribean style

Our family has decided to take a weekend once a month to enjoy food from other countries or cultures and this month was the Carribean. They use coconut products like we use grains and so many of the recipes we found were clean. We made these for dinner but they are great for after school snacks too.

INGREDIENTS:
1 chicken breast cubed
1 Tbsn. almond butter (the original did ask for peanut butter)
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dried ginger
3 Tbsn water
2 unripe bananas in large slices

Put the butter, paprika, ginger and water in a pan on low heat, just enough to melt the butter, remove and put into a bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well.
You can wrap the bowl and marinade the chicken for up to 2 hours or cook right away. We were hungry, we cooked it right away.

Put chicken peices and banana slices alternately on the skewers and coat the whole skewer with the remaining sauce in the bowl. On medium heat fry the skewers a few mintues on each side until brown.

Paleo Mexican style, no really!

Ok so anyone else out there get the hankerin' for some good mexican, I do all the time and this one is fantastic.

















INGREDIENTS:
1-2 sliced bell peppers
1 sliced sweet onion
2-3 gloves garlic diced
2 tbsn olive oil
cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder (I didn't give measurements because I like my seasoning not so hot and spicy. I use about 1 tsp of ea. and about 1/2 tsp chili powder)
1 lbs beef (cut thin and long)

Spanish Calirice:
1 head califlower shredded
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 can tomato paste
1 clove diced garlic
salt and pepper to taste


Head of lettuce

Spanish Calirice:
take spreaded califlower and spread out on a plate, heat in the microwave for about 3 minutes to tenderize. In a pot put in 2 tsp olive oil and garlic on meduim temperature. Add the calirice and cook to brown a little (won't brown much). add all other ingredients for the rice (broth, tomato paste salt and pepper) stir in and cook to a boil.


Meat and vegys:
heat your 1 tbsn olive oil in a frying pan. Add 2-ish garlic, onions and peppers on med/high, saute until browning and tender. Add spices as you like for flavor, remember a little Cumin goes a long way so becareful not to over do that one. When they're tender remove from pan and set aside(leave all the scrappings in they rub off on the meat and it's tasty!)


Heat frying pan again on med/high add another tbpn of olive oil add the rest of the garlic and the meat, add spices as wanted cook until done.













Take a leaf of lettuce fill it full, wrap it up and eat. It looked so good I had to post the pic again. You can add to this with some salsa and/ or guac. Ill be posting a avacado salsa in a few weeks that would be tasty with this too.