Fresh Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 large bunches of broccoli, chopped
32oz chicken stock
2 tbsp grass fed butter (Or your paleo preference)
salt and pepper to taste

Also needed: immersion blender

Melt butter in large stock pot, sauté onion, carrots, and broccoli until tender. Add chicken stock and let simmer on low heat until vegetable are cooked and fragrant. Use immersion blender to get desired smoothness, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Sausage Soup (Dairy and Gluten Free)

I got this recipe from www.paleotable.com


While the recipe boasts "paleo" I'm a pretty easy going paleo-er (as in I use maple syrup and honey sweeteners, I occasionally use grass fed butter, and I will indulge in grass fed greek yogurt sometimes) but I don't really consider sausage "paleo", cavemen weren't eating sausage and that's the premise of paleo eating.

That neither makes this soup less delicious or easy to make. It is still gluten-free and dairy-free too!

Ingredients-
2 lbs italian sweet ground sausage
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 (15oz) cans of pure pumpkin puree
32 oz container of gluten free organic chicken stock
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 dried bay leaves
sea salt and pepper to taste

1 can of coconut milk (I left it out- so optional)

garnish with toasted walnuts (I also think it would be yummy with toasted pepitas too)

Sauté the sausage on medium in a large stock pot until browned then add onion and cook until translucent, add garlic and cook until tender, another few minutes. Add pumpkin and stock, stirring to prevent lumps. Season to taste, let simmer on low for 30 minutes, then add coconut milk if desired. Toast walnuts in a small frying pan until light fragrant, remove from heat immediately, top soup.

Very quick to make (15 minutes or less).

Enjoy!

Pork with Apple Onion Hash

Ingredients:

Organic pork chops
Herbs de Provence
Salt, pepper.

4 granny smith apples diced
1 onion diced
4 stalks of celery diced
4 pieces uncured center cut bacon diced

Sauté the apples, onion, and celery while the bacon bakes in the oven. Bake bacon until crisp, pat dry, then dice and top hash with it.

Season pork and cook 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Paleo Snacking- Hunt and Gather

Epic makes super easy paleo snacking- Grass fed organic beef jerky on one side, and nuts and/or fruit on the other make a perfect grab and go snack for the office, pre or post gym, or while traveling. Love it! 

Find them here: 

http://www.epicbar.com

Chicken and Beets

Super easy dinner, pop in the oven on 400, let it go for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Boom. Paleo dinner.


Ingredients-
Bone in organic chicken pieces (I did drumsticks and thighs)

Salt, pepper, dried poultry seasoning

"Love Beets" Beets (In refrigerated produce section) No mess from cooking, 3-4 in a package, and great to throw in smoothies too!


Wash and pat dry pieces, season, put them in a parchment lined pan. Cook on 400.

Throw beets in about 10 to 15 before you pull the chicken, they are fully cooked and just need to be warmed thru.

Apple Oatmeal Almond Smoothie (Not Paleo)

I absolutely love oatmeal, so it's something that I haven't given up, which is why my blog is "paleo-ish" and not strict paleo. So here is a yummy smoothie that tastes like fall to celebrate the first day of autumn!


Apple Oatmeal Smoothie

1 cup unsweetned almond milk
1 apple diced unpeeled (My favorite apples are pink ladies/pink cripps they are sweet, but not too sweet and have a great texture)
10 roasted unsalted almonds
1/4 cup organic non GMO oats (raw)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 shakes of nutmeg (do not over do the nutmeg)
A small drizzle of maple syrup (optional, but really brings out all of the flavors)
A few ice cubes for a smoothie consistency.

Blend and enjoy!

Sunday Sweets! Paleo Nut Bars

Paleo nut bars- found on www.ourpaleolife.com

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Bars:

1 cup chopped cashews
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp raw honey


Cacao Bars:
1 cup chopped cashews
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup cacao nibs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp raw honey (She says 1 tbsp in the recipe, but I matched it to the consistency of the cinnamon bars, and to do that I added 3 tbsp, not 1. It had to coat a whole 1/2 cup of extra ingredients)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
Line 8x8 baking pan with parchment leaving over hang.
Combine all ingredients except honey, mix well. Pour in honey and make sure all of the ingredients are coated then press down evenly into prepared baking dish.
Bake for 20 minutes. Use parchment to press bars back down and compact them before they cool.
After they cool for 30 minutes lift bars out of the pan by parchment and flip over so the bottom is now the top. Reshape if anything moves.
Allow to cool completely cut into 2x2 bars. Eat within one week.

Sunday Dinner Rosemary Garlic Grass Fed Lamb with Zucchini Noodles and Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Grass Fed Lamb
Garlic
Fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Let marinade for 45 minutes- 1hr.

Cook on Medium high for about 3.5 to 4 minutes each side.

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Tomatoes- Found on www.ohmyveggies.com

1 package of organic grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon of a neutral cooking oil (I used light olive oil for this)
1 tsp dried oregano

Toss together, and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet, 375 for 10 to 12 minutes

Meanwhile- Set up your spiralizer, she suggests 2 lbs of zucchini, but for my husband and I, I only used 3 medium/small zucchinis and it made a ton of noodles.

3/4 small zucchinis per two people
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 large garlic clove, minced.

Combine ingredients and whisk together.

Remove tomatoes from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then add to raw noodles. Dress and gently toss salad. Ammmazing!

Enjoy!

Paleo Brunch-Sweet Potato Veggie Hash with Eggs

I was on Instagram the other day and I saw @KELLBFITFOODS had this as a stuffed sweet potato, but I thought it would just be easier unstuffed. So I made it a deconstructed hash. Packed with flavor, and great textures.

Half of a sweet potato per person
Chopped kale
Red cabbage shredded
1 medium onion
1 jalapeño
2 eggs, or 1 egg and 1 egg white
Center cut uncured bacon (optional)
Paprika
Pepper
2 tsp grass-fed butter, (or preferred paleo cooking oil)

Aluminum foil is thought to cause Alzheimer's, so I always use parchment instead. Wrap potatoes in parchment and put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet, I put on 400 for about 45 minutes.

While that's cooking, I cut the stems from the kale and chopped it. I didn't go heavy on the kale, about 4 leaves.
I bought pre cut and washed organic red cabbage from Whole Foods, it's kind of hard to eat an entire cabbage, even if your throwing it in salads all week, made more sense to have a small container, and saved time on prep.

Dice onion and finely dice jalapeño.
Melt the butter on medium low, sauté the onion with jalapeño until onion is translucent, wilt kale and cabbage.
Line another sheet with parchment and cook bacon in the oven (Less mess and doesn't make the entire house smell like bacon), takes 7-10 minutes. Pat grease off with a paper towel, then dice.

Remove the skin from the sweet potato and dice it, put in the bottom of the dish, then top with kale, cabbage mixture and bacon.

Cook eggs however you like, top hash with eggs and sprinkle with paprika and pepper.

Enjoy!

Superfood Friday- Salmon and Broccoli

Pleeeeeease always buy wild-caught fish.

Farm raised fish have a 20% lower protein content, contain antibiotics, higher levels of cancer causing PCBs than wild-caught, and the omega 6/omega 3 balance is altered.

Part of eating paleo is eating foods that have not been "tampered" with or have very little tampering done. So keep that in mind while you are shopping for your fish. If you are just looking in the fish case, you can see that farm raised salmon is really pale and wild caught is always a nice rich orange color, it's a lot more appealing when you're picking between the two. It can be pricier, but worth it. Plus, you can usually find a market that's running a sale on wild-caught, it's a pretty popular protein.

I usually get my fish from Whole Foods and I will ask the guy at the counter what is freshest, and then just pair it with a vegetable. Tonight I was craving salmon though.

*Tip-I asked him to take the pin bones out of the salmon, because they have special tweezers back there that make it a lot easier than doing it at home!

My husband, Rob, always cooks the fish, he is just better at it, but this is pretty much a no brainer, and even if you have no cooking skills, I assure you, you can make this!

Season with some salt, pepper, lemon, dill- or what ever you like your salmon with, pop in the oven on a parchment lined cookie sheet. About 15-20 minutes for a whole piece, but if you get the individual pieces just ask your fish guy how long he would suggest.

I cheated on the broccoli- Whole Foods sells containers of organic, pre washed, and pre cut broccoli. Essential to the nights that I just don't want to cook. You can steam it, throw it on a sheet with the salmon, or cook it stove top. Rob always makes it with crushed red pepper flakes and garlic, and it's awesome. Steam it a little, then sauté with the garlic and red pepper flakes once it's tender.

Dinner in about 15 minutes. Ideal for a busy night, or one where you don't feel like cooking. It's super healthy, really delicious, and very filling!

Ingredients-
Salmon
Broccoli
Lemon
Garlic
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper

Roasted Chicken with Roasted Cinnamon Acorn Squash

Ingredients-

1 whole organic non GMO fed chicken
2-4 Carrots
2-4 stalks Celery
1 medium Onion
1 Pack of poultry blend of fresh herbs (Or fresh rosemary, thyme, & sage)
Dried poultry seasoning
Kosher or sea salt
Pepper

1 acorn squash for every two people
Grass fed butter (or chicken stock)
Cinnamon
Kosher or Sea salt
Pepper


I cube the onion into 4 pieces, stuff two in the bird, and put two around, then stuff the fresh herbs, carrots and celery in the cavity and around the bird. I drizzle olive oil on the outside of the bird and rub over it so the spices stick. Season with dried poultry seasoning, kosher salt, and fresh pepper.

I split the squash in half vertically and put a tab of grass fed butter (or some chicken stock- you want something that will keep it moist and flavorful) sprinkle some cinnamon, salt, and pepper over it and put it in the same time you put the chicken in. I bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Roast on 400 for 45 minutes to 1 hour (or until it reads 185 in thigh)
The squash should be fork tender.

Gently fork peel the squash into a mash, mixing to season.

Paleo Almond Flour Pancakes

This recipe is from The Roasted Root:


http://www.theroastedroot.net/almond-flour-pancakes-2/

It's super easy, and they are delicious, fluffy, and really satisfying if you are dying for carbs or pancakes!


Almond flour pancakes-

1 3/4 cups of Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup almond milk (try to avoid almond milk that contains carrageenan, a thickening agent that is thought to cause intestinal cancers) I use 365 (The Whole Foods brand)

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then combine mixing until smooth.
Heat pan to a little above medium, she suggests adding oil to coat pan, I skipped this step because my husband found an awesome non toxic non stick, but if you are using an oil I would suggest something like grass-fed butter or something that won't "fry" the outside of your pancake and make it crisp. Wait until you see bubbles to flip, and do it carefully, they are a little more delicate than regular pancakes.

I served mine with maple syrup, banana, and crumbled walnuts. 3 is a heaping helping, they are really filling! So I would say this makes enough for 3 servings.

Paleo stuffed peppers

Stuffed Peppers

So my local market sucks, I usually end up going to a place that's near my gym to do the weekly shop but when I know that the one by me will probably have everything I need then I don't bother. Today I ran out for everything for the stuffed peppers, and only found 4 decent peppers, so I decided instead of adding peppers into the stuffing I would make "Thanksgiving peppers" since I was already using turkey instead of beef to stuff them, I thought a mirepoix with some spinach, mushrooms, and parsley would go great.

Ingredients:
4 Peppers, I like to do at least 2 different colors if you can find them.
1 medium onion, diced
6 big "snack" sized carrots, (or 2 regular ones)
2 stalks of celery plus all of the leaves in the center
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 cup of chopped mushrooms (pick your favorite, I used criminis because they are a little more flavorful and could stand up to the other ingredients.
1 lbs 93/7 ground turkey (I found that the 99 has almost no taste...)
1 cup of gluten free chicken stock (unsalted)
2 tsp of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste. (Not big on salt, but trust me, this needs it to bring out all of the flavors.)

Start with a warm pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil.
Sauté  the onion, carrot, and celery on medium until tender, then added the garlic. Cook for another  minute or 2 until garlic is tender.
Chop mushrooms and toss in, then add spinach. Let cook down.

Meanwhile, chop parsley and celery leaves and mix with ground turkey, add poultry seasoning then add to cooked vegetables and cook through. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and season to taste. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

While that's cooking wash peppers and remove top and seeds.
*side note- I used to have pet rats, and you basically have to google if they are allowed to have something every time you want to feed it to them. So in my searches I found that they were allowed to have peppers, but that soft white part of the pepper was thought to cause cancer, so trim it off. Since most places test drugs on rodents before they test them on humans, I thought- if it causes cancer in rats... could cause cancer in humans. (I am, however, not a doctor.) I do always get rid of the white innards though. (Just in case)

Stuff peppers and make sure you have stock in each pepper or it can dry out. Cook on 350 degrees until pepper is tender.

**If you have left over stuffing it's delicious as a hash with an egg or egg white in the morning!

celery, carrots, onion

Celery leaves, and chopped parsley (pick out bigger stems)

Add lots of spinach

Stuff the peppers

Cap them before you bake, and enjoy!

Paleo snacking

Everyone loves trail mix!

That is a lie. No two people are going to go for the same thing in trail mix. Plus there is almost always something non-paleo in trail mix- chocolate gems, peanuts, sugared raspberries, etc.

So I have come to make my own.
Mine varies, both by my mood, and what's in my fridge, but this morning's was-

Roasted unsalted almonds
plain walnuts
golden berries (Find them! They are sweet and sour and perfect in trail mix or in paleo bars)
And salted pepitas
(Sometimes I add big coconut flakes too)

Paleo Lunch- Tuna over Spinach

3oz Cento Tuna (20 grams of protein!)
Handful of spinach
Some grape tomatoes- halved
10 pecans, crumbled.
1 lemon
olive oil
garlic clove (optional)- Made mine on a gym day so I skipped it.
fresh pepper.
For dressing I did one part lemon juice to two parts olive oil, and if you want you can crush a garlic clove to shake with it.

Paleo chili

Guy Fieri’s Dragon’s Breath Chili- Modified for Paleo-

Ingredients:

2 Anaheim chilies, chopped

3 poblano chilies, chopped

3 red bell peppers, diced

1 jalapenos chilies, minced

2 yellow onions, diced

1 head garlic, minced

2 pounds ground beef

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

2 teaspoons granulated onion

2 teaspoons hot paprika

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 cups tomato sauce

1 cup tomato paste

1.5 cups chicken stock

Add the Anaheim chilies, poblano chilies, red bell peppers, jalapeno chilies and onions, and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add the ground and brown, stirring gently. Cook until the meat is nicely browned and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, cayenne, coriander, cumin, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, salt and black pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the tomato sauce and paste, and stir to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir in stock lower the heat and simmer, about 2 hours.

Grass Fed- not widely available, but more stores seem to be carrying it.

Check to make sure it does not contain sugar. 

Lots of peppers I added an extra red pepper.

Check to make sure the sauce does not contain sugar. 365 brand did. 

Spice blend- Something that you can make ahead in the beginning of the week to make things go a little faster.

So apparently some stocks contain yeast! So read the ingredients carefully or make sure that it's marked "gluten free".