No More Excuses

I hear it ALL the time, "I'm too busy to eat clean during the week" or "Its too hard to pack a lunch, I'm so busy"... That is a lazy mentality and personally offensive, as if to imply me, being completely paleo has more time than others to prepare meals. This is not the case, I am a wife, I make 2 dinners almost every night (hubby isn't paleo), I work 40+ hours a week, I run a food blog, I crossfit 4-5 times a week, I'm going to school majoring in business, and I have a bunch of furry children (pets) who demand time, walks, brushing and attention... Now tell me again that YOUR too busy. OK now that I'm don't with my rant, let me tell you how I stay clean and pack not only lunches, but breakfast for work days.

1. I get a huge skillet and fill it with all sorts of frozen veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, bell pepper strips. The list can go on and on and you can make different combinations so it doesn't get boring. I also season them well, I like to use homemade taco seasoning.

2. Separate them into dishes and these are ready to eat. I usually will take one of these veggie side dishes for lunch. Sometimes I take a little salsa to pour over the veggies to give them a little spunk.

3. Fresh veggies and fruit bags. Cut up your favorite veggies and put them I'm baggies, it gives you a little crunch and can be a good change from the sauteed veggies. I take one of these everyday to work as well and eat them with my breakfast. This is a good time to maybe peel some oranges or set aside pieces of fruit to grab on the way out the door.

4. Meat. I like burgers they are a very easy way to get your protein I usually take 2 patties to work and eat one for breakfast and one for lunch. I grill them on the BBQ, put them in separate baggies and freeze them. I take what I want out the night before work. I buy turkey burgers, salmon patties and sirloin burgers from Costco in bulk. If you aren't a burger fan you could get a rotisserie chicken and piece it out into containers or cook some steaks, cook ground beef, fish fillets... Anything you like just cook in bulk and plan ahead for the whole week, that way you aren't scrambling before bed to get something put together.

4. Hard boil some eggs. They are another good source of protein and a good snack for the afternoon.

5. Lastly, you need a little fat, as avocado half cut up with a little lemon juice will hold up or pack a bag of nuts and seeds or you could make a dressing with olive oil to dip your veggies in.

See, its not that hard, I can have all this done within 1 hour and I'm set for breakfast and lunch all week. You can do it, just give it a shot, your body will thank you!

Primal Pizza

Pizza is one of those comfort foods that as a Paleo eater is hard to give up. Have no fear I have come up with a perfectly clean pizza that is loaded with protein and you can top it however you want! I made mine with sausage, bell peppers, onions, and olives.

Here is another great idea for a topping Taco Pizza, its one of my favorites! Make the crust and sauce the same and top with taco meat bake until warm and top with lettuce, olives, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos and salsa.

To make the crust:

Boil 2 chicken breasts until cooked through, Cut into 1/4's and put in your handy dandy food processor and blend until smooth add 3 eggs while its still blending it will form a thick paste. Add 1 tsp salt and a few pinches pepper. Line a pizza pan with parchment or if you are like me and don't have one a cookie sheet will do. Pour the chicken mixture into the pan and pat out to about 1/4 inch thick. It will look like this:

Pop the crust into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with Pizza Sauce: 1 small can tomato paste, 3/4 C water, 1 tsp garlic minced, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp Olive oil a pinch of sea salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the toppings of your choice, mine looked like this:

Put back into the oven for 15 minutes more and enjoy! Here is the finished product!