Smoothie Kind of Morning

I've been a breakfast eater for quite some time now, but I've noticed that since starting Whole30 I'm not always hungry in the morning. Today would be one of those days. I don't want to skip it and have nothing so my go-to breakfast on days like this is to make a smoothie. I also use this recipe if I'm REALLY craving something sweet and the craving just won't go away (I do try to ride them out).

Morning Smoothie (makes 2 small, or 1 ex-large smoothie)

1/2 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/2 a frozen banana
1.5 cups unsweetened carrot juice

Blend it all up and let the sipping begin! This makes a beautiful deep red smoothie. I'd post a picture but I've already downed half my smoothie :)

Do you have a go-to smoothie recipe? Please share if you do!

Preparation is Everything!

Week 2 of the Whole30 Challenge has begun. My general plan is to do cooking and planning on the weekend for the coming week. This week I made a yummy paleo chili to have for lunches. When that runs out I'll have salad with tuna.

Since my husband and I are worlds apart when it comes to our eating habits I also have to plan for his meals (especially now that daylight savings time is here and I'll be doing my weekday runs after work).

Tomorrow I will make a roasted chicken w/ carrots and potatoes, then on Tuesday I'll do a beef stew in the crock pot while I'm at work. That should give him enough leftovers to get by for the week.

I doubt there is anything terribly special about this chili recipe, but I'll share it none the less. It's quite tasty.

Paleo Chili (serves 6)

1lb grass-fed ground beef (or ground meat of your choice)
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
4 oz sliced mushrooms, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced (seeds and ribs removed)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes (no salt or sugar added)
1 15oz can tomato sauce (no sugar or salt added)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
chili powder to taste
your favorite Mexican seasoning to taste
cayenne powder to taste
salt/pepper to taste

In a large pot, add enough oil to coat the bottom and add all the chopped veggies and the garlic. Cook for approx. 4 minutes over medium heat until just past raw. Remove the veggies and set aside. Add ground meat (and more oil if needed), brown the meat, add the spices, tomatoes, and sauce. I like my chili pretty spicy so I used about 2 Tbsp of a local Mexican spice mix from Common Folk Farm, as well as about 1 Tbsp chili powder, and 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper. Mix the meat and tomato sauce mixture, add the veggies back in and simmer for 20 minutes.

It gets better with time, so the next day it'll be even more fabulous!

If you try this recipe let me know how you like it!

Revamping Old Favorites: Spaghetti & Meatballs

It's Friday night, I've been sick (with a cold, not Whole30 related), my car is in the shop, I haven't been able to run, so it's been a long week. I'm feeling better, but the last thing I want to do when I get home from work is make a big fuss for dinner.

I saw a really cool thing on Pinterest about how to cook spaghetti squash in the slow cooker... whole! This site says to add water, but I omitted that. Seriously, you just turn that bad boy on and plop the squash in stem and all. So this morning I did exactly that. My plan was to have spaghetti squash and meatballs for dinner.

One thing I've noticed so far on Whole30 is that it is very hard to find "convenience" foods that are compliant. While this didn't exactly come as a surprise, there are certain things, like pasta sauce, that I just haven't had time (or local tomatoes) to make my own and freeze it yet. We'll be purchasing a small chest freezer very soon and I'll be freezing goodies left and right in no time. Anyway, I was really fortunate to find a bottled pasta sauce that is completely compliant! Seriously, Bove's Marinara has exactly what I would put in sauce, nothing more, nothing less: crushed tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, onions, fresh garlic, salt, and spices. I'm in LOVE!

So now that I had the spaghetti squash cooking itself while I was at work, a Whole30 compliant bottled sauce, the next step was to create a paleo meatball. I made the meatballs with a pound of local, grass-fed ground beef from Little Alaska Farm. I kind of made the meatballs recipe up as I went along (see recipe below). I rarely make meatballs but I'm really happy with the way these came out! Even my very picky husband liked them!

It took 35 minutes from the time I came home from work until I sat down to enjoy my spaghetti squash and meatball dinner. It was VERY good!! It's nice to know I can still enjoy the flavors of some of my favorite meals and still stay paleo! If you try this recipe out please let me know what you think!

Paleo Meatballs (makes approx 22 meatballs)

preheat oven to 350F

1lb grass-fed ground beef
1 pastured chicken egg
1/2-1 cup almond meal (enough to bind the mixture)
3-4 cloves garlic minced (I like garlic)
1Tbsp dried basil
salt/pepper to taste

Beat the egg with a fork, add the ground beef and spices, mix well (I just use my hands). Once mixture is thoroughly mixed (it will be kind of loose at this point), add almond meal until mixture will hold a ball shape. Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to make evenly sized meatballs. Place in a single layer in a shallow casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Paleo Coffee Creamer!

One thing I have discovered over the years is that I DON'T like coffee black (unless it's iced coffee). As my Whole30 Challenge was approaching I tried to switch to black coffee knowing I couldn't have any dairy or processed foods (which leaves out store-bought coconut creamer). It just wasn't working for me. At first I thought I'd have to just drink tea instead, until I found a recipe for paleo coffee creamer!

I just made a batch which took all of 5 minutes to whip up! I made some minor adjustments and skipped the stevia/honey since Whole30 is a bit more strict about sweeteners. This actually works out great because I don't normally use sweetener in my coffee and just want a basic creamer.

It's very good! It does have a mild coconut flavor to it which is fine because I love coconut. I also LOVE the fact that I know exactly what is in my creamer (read your labels, you'd be SHOCKED at the "extras" they put in coffee creamer... or any store-bought processed food for that matter). This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Now I am fully aware that there are paleo 'purists' would would argue that our paleolithic ancestors would not have had the means to create something like coffee creamer (nor the necessity for it) therefore it's not truly paleo. I can appreciate that viewpoint, however, I have a need for coffee creamer that will fit into my paleo framework.

If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think. Did you try one of the flavored options?

Making Mayo... sort of

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a foodie. I love everything about food; where it's grown, how it's grown, the history of regional favorites, nutrition, and especially HOW TO MAKE STUFF!

Starting this Friday, March 1st, I'm doing a Whole30 challenge. Whole30 is a dietary approach based on a paleolithic framework. The Whole30 Challenge is a kind of cleanse to reset your metabolism, flush your system of toxins, and discover what food(s) may be to blame for some of your "not so good" feelings (bloating, gas, chronic inflammation, headaches, constipation/diarrhea, fatigue... you get the idea). I am doing the Whole30 Challenge to get my insulin resistance in check. Assuming I feel as fantastic as others who have tried this feel, I will continue following a paleolithic diet.

In preparation for my Whole30 Challenge I bought a paleo cookbook (and bookmarked a BILLION paleo recipes and blogs). The cookbook I chose is Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. I like that she has a nice introduction with some basics and an easy, no-fuss approach. One thing she suggests is to make some of the staples ahead of time, such as mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and BBQ sauce, as these will be used in recipes during the week. And thus my adventure into homemade mayo began...

I LOVE grocery shopping. Truly. If it were a profession, I'd do it. If I could find people to hire me to shop for them, I would. One thing I love to do while shopping is READ LABELS (what can I say... I'm naturally curious). Have you checked out the ingredients in mayonnaise? The jar in my fridge lists 20 ingredients... TWENTY!! Sure, it has eggs, oil, vinegar, and salt, but it also has modified food starch, sugar, beta carotene, lactic acid, potassium sorbate, phosphoric acid, water, soybean oil. No thank you! There is a nice easy looking recipe in Everyday Paleo for homemade mayo (I also happen to have a few friends who've made their own and they swear by it).

I bought an immersion blender (aka stick blender) because I thought it'd be the best tool for the job. Not sure if the one I bought was 1) cheap, therefore crappy 2) too powerful, therefore overheats or 3) not the right tool for the job. The first problem was that I have to hold the button on the stick blender (versus just pushing a button to turn it on/off), so my finger literally got a cramp and I couldn't hold the button long enough. The second (and more serious) problem was the issue of overheating. You have to blend this stuff for close to 30 minutes and this stick blender was HOT to the touch... no good. My oil and eggs did not emulsify and I ended up wasting a bunch olive oil and eggs... FAIL. I was also out of eggs and olive oil.

Little did I know, I could have attempted to save this batch. After my failed attempt I looked online to see if I could find a demo... and voila. I also discovered you can save "failed" mayo by re-emulsifying it.

The following day, I restocked my supplies and tried again. This time I used a hand blender, you know the kind you use to mix cake batter. I also made sure my eggs were room temperature. I started the process again, this time my eggs and oil did emulsify, however, the emulsion never thickened. Instead of tossing, yet another, batch of failed mayo I attempted to re-emulsify the batch. It got thicker, but more like really creamy dressing, not spreadable mayo. I saved this batch, if nothing else it'll make yummy salad dressing.

I also made a date with my friend, Cindy, who has been making homemade mayo for a while now and won't ever go back to store-bought.

Wish me luck on my Whole30!! I'll be making homemade beef jerky next week:)

I'm Just Sayin'... Don't Toss Your Bananas

I've decided to add a new series to my blogs. I'm calling it "I'm Just Sayin'..." and it will mainly be short words of wisdom, observations, and other miscellaneous thoughts. I am hoping this series will allow and encourage me to make my blog more active. So without further ado, here is the inaugural post for this series.

I can't tell you how many times I hear folks griping about how fast their bananas turn brown. "I bought a bunch of bananas and by the time I got home they were brown!" Well don't fret!! I <3 bananas and buy them every week; however, I don't always get to them before they brown up. Here are a few things (besides banana bread) you can do with them.

First off, FREEZE THEM!! Peel and slice the bananas and put them in a freezer proof container. Once your bananas are frozen you can use them to make banana "ice cream". All you need to do is take 2-3 frozen, peeled, and sliced bananas and put them in a food processor (you can also do this in a blender) and blend 'em up. The frozen bananas will cream up as they are blended and make a very yummy, 1 ingredient, frozen treat that tastes like banana ice cream. You can even get fancy and stir in some add-ins like walnuts, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, whatever you like! You can also add other frozen fruits, like strawberries or blueberries, and create your very own signature flavors. You can eat it right away, or if you prefer to have it later put it back in the freezer.

My favorite way to use frozen bananas is in a smoothie. I <3 smoothies for breakfast especially in the summer. My favorite blend is delicious and healthy!!

1-1.25 cup of UVAB (Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze) or you can use skim milk, or light soy milk
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup of frozen bananas
1-2 teaspoons of nonfat, non-dairy powdered creamer (like Cremora)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend it up! There is no need to add ice cubes because the frozen fruit does the job of making is thick and icy cold!

Try it, love it, thank me later!!

P.S. You can freeze just about any fruit that is on it's way out, so before you toss those berries or bananas consider the smoothie and ice cream possibilities!