Potato Nests

Potato NestsI am not much of a fan of hash browns. For whatever reason restaurants do not like to cook hash browns fully to make them crispy and delicious.

Instead I often receive a gluey grey pile of potatoes that aren’t seasoned and are always undercooked.  It’s gross. Recently out to breakfast with a friend at a very popular place here in town, her order came with a side of hash browns.  On her plate arrived exactly what I just described.  Oh they tried to make it pretty by putting it in a round pile similiar to how some places plate rice.

Yeah, it was still a gluey undercooked pile of potatoes.  She didn’t eat it.  I couldn’t blame her.

Why do restaurants insist on serving this mess?  Give me home fries or fried potatoes any day over hash browns.

But there has to be something that can be done with hash browns.  Maybe the restaurants never get it right but that doesn’t mean we have to eat the same thing at home, right?

So my stance has been changed.  If I’m in charge of the hash browns then I’ll eat them.

I wanted to make hash browns fun and also wanted to make a batch that could be frozen or reheated through out the week.  That’s when I came up with making potato nests.  Oh I have no delusions that I’ve created something new.  I’m sure there are other recipes out there but this is my version.  Crispy potatoes with lots of garlic!

Andrea’s Potato Nests

  • 1 1/2 Pounds of Russet Potatoes, peeled, shredded, and drained** (about 3 medium potatoes)
  • 1 egg + 1tsp water, scrambled
  • 1/2tsp salt
  • 1/2tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2tsp onion powder
  • Fat for greasing the pan (Lard, butter, or olive oil)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

**Make sure that you remove as much water from the potatoes as possible.  It easiest to lay the shredded potatoes on a dish towel and squeeze out as much of the water out as possible.

Grease a muffin pan with your choice of fat.  In a large mixing bowl combine the potatoes and the seasonings, gently mix.  Then add the egg mixture and mix until the potatoes are completely covered.  Scoop up a small handful and start to line the muffin tin.  You will have to play around a bit with the amount so that you have enough for each section.  Line it much like you would line a pie pan with pie dough.

This will make enough for 12 nests.

Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the nests are holding their shape.  Remove from oven and cool for about 3 minutes before trying to remove the nests from the pan.  Remove them gently so the bottoms don’t stick.  Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature before storing.

Potato nests with scrambled eggsI used a lot of seasoning on these and they are potent.  If you feel that might be too much for you, reduce the garlic and onion powder to 1/4 tsp each.

I filled the nests with scrambled eggs just to give you and idea of shape and size.  But they can be filled with whatever you like!  You could even make a frittata filling and pour it in the nests and bake them.  It will take longer but would make a great dish for brunch.

Potato nests and scrambled eggs

Also the nests don’t just have to be for breakfast.  Fill it with sausage bites and sauerkraut for dinner.  Or lunch!  You could even make this bigger by lining a pie pan with the potato mixture and then adding a frittata filling and baking.  Really, this is a blank slate that is open to possibilities.

I kept these in the fridge and reheated them in my toaster oven.  They could be reheated in the oven as well, at 350 for a few minutes.  They kept all week just fine.

Now go do something fun with potatoes!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

 

Monday Meals: A Little Off Plan

So my attempts to follow a meal plan last week didn’t happen.  We did have all the things that I mentioned previously, just not really in the order that was stated.  I tried!  And failed.  However we still ate at home and I’m feeling pretty good about last week’s eats.

 

BREAKFAST:

 

Sweet potato and chard

I have been off sweet potatoes lately.  I just don’t like them much anymore but I’m trying to change that and add them back into my diet for variety.  This breakfast bowl is getting me there!

Sauteed chopped sweet potato with swiss chard and onions. Topped with crispy prosciutto. First I crisped up the prosciutto in a skillet with a little olive olive.  Once crisp, I chopped it up and set it aside.  Sweet potatoes and onions got cooked in the same skillet in some ghee.  Once the potatoes softened, I added in the chopped chard.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Once it all was cooked, I added in the crisp prosciutto and served it up.  The ratio was:

  • Half a medium onion
  • 1 bunch chard
  • 1 large sweet potato

This made enough for two big bowls.

Cauliflower fried rice with scrambled eggs

There was cauliflower fried rice.  It had onion and shredded carrot, all sauteed up with ghee and seasoned with:

  • Soy Sauce
  • Chili Garlic Sauce
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder

Cooked it until all the veggies were soft and the moisture from the cauliflower was cooked out.  Then I added scrambled eggs on top which was cooked in a separate skillet.

If you have never had cauliflower rice before, keep in mind,  it does not taste like rice.  It tastes like cauliflower with a rice texture and consistency.  So you have to like cauliflower to like this.  I used one head of cauliflower to make the rice and it was too much.  We had leftovers the next day but there was more left over from that.  Next time I’ll use half a head of cauliflower.

Pork fried cauliflower rice

Leftovers and this time I added in some chopped fried pork side.  Basically sliced pork belly that has not been cured or smoked.  I cooked the full strips first, chopped them up and re-fried them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Delicious!

Scrambled eggs, sausage patties, tots

Don’t judge the tots!  Sometimes really crispy potato puffs are what life demands.  I cook the tots in a 400 degree oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Along with some scrambled eggs and sausage, this was a filling breakfast!

The tots were 365 brand and had simple ingredients.  365 also makes sweet potato tots as well.

Grain free scone with blueberries

Still working to perfect my grain free scones.  This go around was much better!  These were topped with blueberries, coconut cream, and there was bacon on the side.

DINNER:

Pork chop and roasted veggies

Bone-in pork chops with roasted carrots and zucchini.  The pork chops and the veggies were seasoned the same way:

  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • All Purpose Seasoning (Can use Poultry Seasoning)
  • Tarragon

The chops were cooked in a cast iron skillet in some lard and the finished in the oven with some stock added to the pan.  Pretty simple dinner that was satisfiying.

Burgers and tots

Burgers and tots!  Salt, pepper, and worcestershire seasoned the burgers and they were also cooked in a cast iron skillet in some lard.  I also topped mine with ketchup and mustard.

Avocado and carrot salad

We had burgers again the next day and I made a quick simple salad for the side.

Shredded Carrot, Chopped Avocado, and Chopped Cucumber.  It was dressed with:

  • Juice of one lime
  • A little olive oil
  • Salt
  • Soy Sauce
  • Chili Garlic Sauce
  • Cilantro

Very quick to put together and very refreshing on a hot day!

Chicken leg and veggies

This dinner could not have been any easier.  A roasted chicken leg with some fresh carrots and cucumbers.  The legs were roasted at 400 for about 30-40 minutes.  Rubbed down with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

The chicken is fresh from the farm so it doesn’t need much done to it in order to be flavorful.

Brats, kraut, coleslaw

Sunday dinner, again super easy to make!  Since I’ve been making homemade mayo, we’ve been eating more of it.  Which means we have been back to eating mayo based coleslaws again.  So yummy!

Coleslaw on the side with a very basic mayo/vinegar dressing and lots of dill.  Along with some very spicy chili brats that were cooked in kraut, onions, and peppers.  Beer was added to that mixture and the brats simmered in all of that in the oven at 325 for about an hour.  I removed the brats and crisped up the skins in a skillet with a little olive oil.

We didn’t do too shabby this week!

I admit that I’m struggling with breakfast a little bit.  Not only deciding what to eat/make for the day but also with portion sizes.  Since protein fills me up so much, I don’t want to have a huge breakfast and miss lunch during the week (I don’t mind that on weekends).  I enjoy salads and smoothies mid-day and miss that experience if breakfast is really hefty.

So breakfast will be a work in progress for a while!

Because I didn’t plan ahead, I don’t even remotely have a meal plan in place for this week. I told you that this was a brand new thing for me to work on! I’m going to have to try and come up with something today.

What did you have yummy last week?

For The Locals:

Chicken, eggs, and pork all are from Jodar Farms

Brats and beef from Whole Foods

Breakfast sausage is by Boulder Sausage Company

 

Monday Meals: Leftover Love

Whole Roasted ChickenWelcome to the first installment of Monday Meals!  I’ll be sharing eats from the previous week and also creating a meal plan for the upcoming week.  Meal plans are a new thing for me so and I will definitely be learning as I go.  At the end of this post I will also be sharing where I purchased some of the items.

A perfectly roasted a gorgeous looking chicken provided many meals for us last week.  It was huge!  And also tasty.  I rubbed the chicken down with lard (you can use grassfed butter instead) and sprinkled that with:

  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic
  • All Purpose Seasoning (Made by Simply Organic, it’s similar to poultry seasoning)
  • Dried Tarragon

I added probably a cup of chicken stock to the cast iron and let the chicken roast at 375 until it was done.  Took close to two hours for this large bird.  I also roasted some carrots and potatoes to go with the chicken.  I tossed those in olive oil and the same seasonings.   A roast chicken will make it’s own sauce and it’s delightful so do not toss those juices away.  Remove the chicken to a cutting board and bring the juices up to a simmer and reduce by half.  You’ll have lovely pan sauce to go with your meal.

We had leftovers the next day (chicken/roast veggies) and there was still chicken left!  The next day I made curry chicken salad out of the remaining chicken and served that over mixed greens.

Curry chicken saladIt’s a mayo based salad with lots of goodies inside!  I will be sharing this as an upcoming recipe.  We also had this for two lunches.  I told you it was a big bird!

Fried eggs with peppers, onions, and avocado

For breakfast one morning we had fried eggs that were topped with sauteed red peppers, onions, and diced tomatoes.  Those were sauteed in ghee and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Half an avocado sliced on the side.  This was delicious!  I love avocado and eggs paired together!

Tacos and sauteed greens

I had some leftover taco meat (beef)  in the freezer from a previous taco night so I pulled that out and made us tacos.  On the side was frozen corn and frozen chopped green sauteed up in some ghee and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic.  Just before serving I added in the leftover peppers/onion mixture from breakfast.

Breakfast tacos

There wasn’t enough taco meat left to have another taco night but I wasn’t about to toss the leftovers.  By adding in some scrambled eggs and combining the meat with the leftover greens/corn, I was able to make breakfast tacos!  You can easily extend tacos by adding in extras like corn, beans, rice, lentils, and always more veggies.  Chopped greens and shredded carrots blend in with the taco meat really well and go unnoticed.

Breakfast tacos were a hit! And I have a feeling I’ll be making these more often.

Potato, sausage, and kale soup.

Last item to share is breakfast from yesterday which used up leftovers from Saturday’s breakfast.  On Saturday we had roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, and kielbasa.  There was left over sausage and potatoes which makes a great combo for soup! Sunday morning into a pot they went with some onions and chopped kale.  I sauteed up the onions, sausage, and potatoes in the pot first with a little bit of lard, salt, and pepper.  Added in chicken stock and brought that up to a simmer.  Then added in some finely chopped kale.  The soup simmered on the stove for about 40 minutes to give the kale some time to cook down a bit.  Perfect breakfast for a chilly and gloomy morning.

We are having leftovers of that soup this morning!

I know it’s unconventional but once you get past the notion of “American Breakfast”, (eggs, grains, pastries, yogurt) and are open to trying out new things, then you realize you can have anything for breakfast!

PRODUCTS FOR THE LOCALS:

All chicken and eggs were bought from Jodar Farms.

Beef was grassfed from Whole Foods.

PRODUCTS EVERYONE CAN PURCHASE:

Tortilla shells were 365 Brand, they have minimal ingredients.

Greens were from Whole Foods (I can find the best greens at my local WF).

All other veggies were store bought.

 

UPCOMING WEEK MEAL PLAN:

Monday: Dinner out (rare for us, we don’t go out often)

Tues: Pork chops

Wed: Chicken Legs

Thurs: Leftovers

Friday: Burgers

Sat: Leftovers

Sun: Still deciding

You can see that meal planning is a work in progress for me.  As I get more used to creating one, I’m sure it will become more detailed and possibly more attractive.

That was our week!  How was your eats last week?

 

 

Grain Free Tortilla Wraps

Grain Free Tortillas This tortilla recipe was born out of frustration and desire.

During the Spring Clean Eats challenge limiting carbs was one of the goals.  I also used this as a way to challenge myself in the kitchen and develop new skills (grain free cooking isn’t such a mystery anymore!).  Because I was reducing carbs, I had to come up with alternatives.

I wanted a tortilla or wrap that fit the guidelines of the challenge so off to the interwebs I went.  All the recipes I found didn’t really appeal to me for two reasons.

Either they used a ridiculous amount of eggs (I’m talking like 18 eggs for one batch) and/or the recipe only resulted in like 6 tortillas.

If you think I’m using close to 2 dozen eggs to make 6 wraps, you have lost your damn mind.

I decided to take matter into my own hands and create my own tortillas.  One that would use an acceptable amount of eggs and also made more than 1/2 dozen wraps.

Andrea’s Grain Free Tortillas

  • 1C Almond Meal
  • 1/2C Coconut Flour
  • 1/2C Tapicoa Starch
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 1/2C Almond Milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • Ghee or lard for frying

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours and the salt.  Whisk so that all the flours combine.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the almond milk and the eggs.  Whisk until the eggs and almond milk combine.

Slowly add the egg mixture to the flours and stir until everything is mixed and a batter has formed.

Heat a medium sized nonstick skillet** over medium (to medium low) heat.  Add in just a small amount of lard or ghee (no more than half a teaspoon), let the fat melt and brush it around the pan.  Pour in 1/3C of batter and spread around with a spatula.  Making the tortilla as thin as possible.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip cooking for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove tortilla from heat and set aside.

Repeat until you have used all the batter.

Makes about 13 tortillas.

**Please see notes at bottom.

Grain Free TortillasNOTES:

Some things to keep in mind as you make these tortillas.  They are a work of love, they will take you some time to make.  But you’ll be left with a big batch of tortillas that work great as wraps, or for things like enchiladas, or even crepes.  They also freeze and reheat well.

A nonstick skillet is key, I would not recommend cooking these with stainless steel.  If you have a very well seasoned cast iron, you could probably use that.

You need to use as little fat as possible per tortilla.  I was able to get thinner and larger tortillas but making sure the fat in the pan was minimal.  The picture above, the tortillas on the right are noticeably larger than the ones on the left.  The ones on the right were cooked with barely any fat in the skillet where the ones on the left were cooked with a teaspoon of fat.  This is why a nonstick skillet is key because it makes it easier to make these wraps.

Coconut flour tastes sweet and has a vanilla flavor to it.  If you are going to use these for a Mexican inspired dish, some lime zest and a squeeze of some lime juice would go nicely.  I would also recommend using lard for cooking, it will provide a more savory flavor.

Grain Free tortilla with beans and eggsI’ve made enchiladas with these wraps as they fold and roll really nicely without breaking.  I’ve also topped them with beans and eggs to have at breakfast.

Since these tortillas freeze really well that makes them perfect when you want to make a quick sandwich or use for taco night.  Reheat them easily in a toaster oven or in a 300 degree oven for only a couple of minutes.

 

 

 

Breakfast Soup

Breakfast SoupOne of the first things I made when doing the Spring Clean Eats challenge, was Breakfast Soup.  I’ve seen some other paleo folks have soup for breakfast and the idea intrigued me.

I didn’t want anything too heavy, like a stew, and I didn’t want anything that was going to be loaded down with protein and veggie.

I wanted a light soup with some protein, a little veg, and lots of flavor.  I started thinking about how to approach this and decided that egg drop style soup seemed like it fit the bill.

I played around with the recipe and now have a new favorite way to eat some eggs and veggies in the morning.

Breakfast Soup is quick to make and perfect for those mornings when you might be feeling a little sluggish or chilly days when you don’t want to get out of your PJs.

If you like savory breakfasts, this soup will hit the spot!

Andrea’s Breakfast Soup

  • 4C Chicken Stock
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp Soy Sauce**
  • 1/2tsp Garlic Powder
  • Large Handful (or about 2C) of Spinach, finally chopped
  • 3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 Eggs, Whisked

In a large sauce pan, bring the stock up to a simmer.  Add in the soy sauce and the garlic powder.  Then add in the spinach and allow to cook until the spinach is fully wilted.  Start whisking the soup with a fork and slowly drizzle in the eggs.  The eggs will puff and cook immediately.  Continue until all the eggs are in the soup. Bring soup back up to a simmer.  Remove from heat and ladle into soup bowls.  Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.

Serves two.

**If you want to make this completely paleo, substitute coconut amnios for the soy sauce.

You decide how much soy sauce or coconut amnios you want to add.  I usually do 1/4 tsp but you can do up to 1/2 tsp without overpowering the soup too much.  Feel free to add in a few drops of fish sauce as well!  Or toss on some chopped cilantro as a garnish for extra kick.

We love this soup, it has a comforting quality to it and makes us feel energized.  It’s a soup that will stick with you and not leave you feeling hungry after an hour.

If you’re looking for something new to try for breakfast, go for soup!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 25, Bad Choices, Interesting Results

Fried eggs, guacamole, mandarin orangesWe are in the home stretch! This is the last week of the challenge and I admit that I’m pretty excited about that.  Not because I’m going to go crazy and have foods that were not allowed on the challenge (spoiler alert: I totally won’t) but because posting everyday takes a lot of planning!

I’ll be posting a follow up post about the challenge once it’s over.  Then I will be posting all of the recipes that I developed during the challenge.  If there’s a particular one you’d like to see first, let me know!

On to the eats!

Breakfast was one of my favorite combos, eggs with avocados.  Two fried eggs topped with some quick and dirty guacamole and hot sauce. Two mandarin oranges on the side.

I spent most of yesterday in the kitchen developing a paleo tortilla recipe.  I was getting frustrated with recipes I was finding online and decided to see if I could create my own.  I’m proud to say that my experiment was a success!  Here’s a sneak peek, recipe will be posted after the challenge.

Paleo TortillasAfter walking the dogs yesterday, we swung by Odell to pick up a growler of a pilot beer that just got tapped.  It’s all kinds of barrel-aged and we couldn’t pass that up!

The Waffle Lab was there and we also decided to get some waffles.  Now I didn’t swear off grains completely for this challenge.  I said my goal was to limit them.  Since I haven’t had any grains, save for some small tempura shrimp, I didn’t have a problem getting waffles.  The Waffle Lab’s waffles are damn good!

Scott also came back with chicken and waffles.  I also didn’t think much about this till I opened the container up.

Waffle Lab's Chicken and WafflesOh snap! I had no idea this dish would be covered in sausage gravy.

That’s a lot of food.  A lot of heavy and very rich food.

I had a couple of bites and then had to call it quits.  Don’t get me wrong, this dish is tasty and done very well.  However that was just too much for me to handle for lunch.

Way too heavy.

That was the first time in almost a month that I’ve had that much grain and gluten.  Again, didn’t think much about it but my body sure let me know that it was too much too soon.  Interesting reaction!  While I’m not a big carb eater normally, I really didn’t expect to have such a strong reaction to it when it got introduced again.

SaladI ended up making a small salad because I needed some veggies STAT.

SmoothieAnd then later I had a smoothie.  Not the prettiest thing ever but it was tasty and did the trick.

  • 1C Carrot Juice
  • 1C Water
  • 2 Large Handfuls of Spinach
  • 1C Frozen Blueberries
  • 1 Frozen Banana

Blend, makes 2 smoothies.

When I asked Scott if he also wanted a smoothie, he practically yelled, YES.  So I know it was sitting a little heavy for him too. Which is also interesting because he’s not one to notice stuff like that.  I did feel bloaty and blah the rest of the day.

5 more days left! Whoo!

 

 

Spring Clean Eats: Day 17, Experimenting

Grain free granola, blueberries, coconut creamSame old breakfast which was totally delicious and filling!

Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my recipe for the granola and the coconut cream sauce once the challenge is over!

Yesterday was pretty exciting around here, it turned into an impromptu kitchen day full of new stuff and experimenting.

  • Made stock
  • Roasted beets, prepping them for salads
  • Boiled some eggs
  • Cooked up some collards

I didn’t have a full lunch while I was in the kitchen, I snacked.

Califia Farms Almond Coconut Milk

First I tried out a new to me product, it’s almond and coconut milk by Califia Farms.  I’m still debating the dairy in my coffee.  Do I give it up or go strictly grass-fed?  Anyway as I was looking at milk alternatives at the store I spotted this line of almond milks.

One of my biggest hesitations going to back to factory made almond/soy/coconut milks is that they contain a lot of extra ingredients.  Preservatives and thickeners and all kinds of stuff I don’t really want.  This is why milk is more appealing at the moment because it’s just milk.  Period.

I looked the ingredients over on the Califia Farms almond milks and they are amazing.  They contain nothing but almonds and water.  Score! So I bought the almond and coconut milk combo.

smoothie

It’s definitely different tasting but it’s not bad.  I decided to test it out in a smoothie.

  • 2C Almond Coconut Milk
  • 1C Frozen Blueberries
  • 1 Frozen Banana
  • 1 Large handful of spinach

Blend, makes 2 smoothies.

This was really sweet!  I probably could have used more spinach and either just blueberries or just a banana and it would have tasted just fine.  I definitely liked the milk alternative though.  I’m going to give their other flavors a try as well and experiment with it a little more.

Hardboiled eggs in water

I also snacked on a hardboiled egg (sitting in cold water after cooking) and an apple.

After doing all that it was time to start working on dinner.  Scott and I both are missing pizza and seeing commercials for it doesn’t help.   I decided to increase my cooking skills and play around with a grain-free pizza dough.

I found this recipe by The Domestic Man and used that as a base.  I made only a couple of changes (and kept my fingers crossed it would still work).

For the dough the changes I made were:

  • 1/2C milk instead of 1/4C Cream + 1/4C Water
  • 1/4tsp Garlic Powder and 1/4tsp Italian Seasoning instead of 1/4tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4C Tapioca Starch and 1/2C Almond Meal instead of 3/4C grated Parmesan

The recipe split the dough and made two pizzas.  I greased up a baking sheet with some butter and made this into one pizza.

The dough was interesting! I’ve never used tapioca starch before so I had no idea what to expect.  It’s smooth but it doesn’t really stick to your hands and you can manipulate how you like.

This wasn’t a dough I could roll out.  Instead I dumped the dough onto the baking sheet and spread it with my fingers until it filled the sheet. This took some time but it worked.  I made sure to make the dough thin but not have holes.

Grain free pizza

I followed the directions on baking and walked away with a pretty good looking pizza!

Grain Free pizza

You can see that this is a very thin crust.  It had a light chewy texture to it.  I didn’t go crazy with toppings because I had never worked with dough like this before and I didn’t know how it would turn out.  I still wouldn’t load it down with toppings but it could definitely handle more.

I would like to play around with the idea of a grain-free pizza dough, something that has a yeast base and could be rolled out and cooked on a pizza stone.  Can it be done?  I don’t know but I’d like to experiment and see!

Yesterday was a pretty good day!

 

Spring Clean Eats: Day 13, Shoot Em

Scramble with smoked salmonWhile out running errands earlier this week, I picked up some locally smoked salmon.  This smoked salmon isn’t like the thinly sliced style.  This is a fillet of salmon that has been smoked and it flakes apart.

I love the texture of this more than the very thin kind.

I knew that I wanted the smoked salmon for breakfast so I decided to add it to a scramble.  The scrambled eggs had horseradish and dijon mustard added.  Once they were almost finished cooking, I seasoned with a little salt and pepper and then added in the salmon and some green onion.

Delicious and very filling breakfast!  Some fresh fruit on the side as well.

We took the dogs to their Saturday morning playgroup so they could see all their friends and socialize.  On the way home we stopped for provisions.

You know Saturday means it’s  Odell Day!  We got some growlers and some food from Commonlink.

Sausage, fries, and fruit

Andouille sausage with kraut, cajun fries and some fresh blackberries on the side.  We also had a kombucha with lunch.

The dogs were sacked out for the rest of the day and since the sun kept hiding behind the clouds, we stayed inside and played video games.

Salad with chicken

Dinner was quick and easy, mixed greens with chicken on top.  The dressing was a super simple honey dijon dressing with balsamic.

Definitely could have used more veggies yesterday.  Next Odell day, I’ll probably make a smoothie and have a salad with lunch.

I have an event to attend today so Saturday ended up being the perfect relaxing day!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 12, Much Better

Scrambled eggsWoke up in the morning and felt much better but not 100%.  Since I didn’t eat much the day before I knew that I wouldn’t have the energy or fuel to do any kind of workout.  Which sucked but not much I could do about it.

I started the day off light and had some scrambled eggs and a mandarin orange for breakfast.

That sat a little funny in my stomach but it stayed put.

WHEW!

Later lunch, early dinner when we got back home after running a few errands around town.

Chicken breast, parsnip mash, sauteed brussels sprouts

Roast chicken (not sure if roast chicken is becoming our “thing” for Friday nights) with parsnip mash and sauteed shaved Brussels sprouts.

The parsnip mash was amazing!  I want to make it again but look for that to be a recipe soon.  It surprised me by how good it was!  The Brussels  sprouts I chopped and sauteed in some ghee with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I know this is a short post but it’s amazingly sunny outside and the pups and I are itching for some sunshine!

Spring Clean Eats, Day 9: On The Run

Fried eggs, avocado, mandarin orangeOne of the struggles with this challenge so far has been breakfast.  I’m trying to keep it different because I do get tired of the same thing all the time. But with semi-sorta-kinda-Paleo that has been the biggest hurdle for me.

If you have any fun breakfasts that are protein or veggie based, please share!

Yesterday’s breakfast was two eggs fried in ghee, topped with half a sliced avocado and hot sauce (Choloula, no sugar).  Also with a side of mandarin oranges.

We are still having milk with our coffee in the mornings.  I forgot to decrease the amount for this week’s delivery so we are trying to get through it.

I’m in the process of deciding to give it up or stick with it.  Still not sure!  The biggest draw is that we get it delivered fresh from a local dairy which is very convenient.

Exercise:

Running!  Ahhhh and it was glorious!  I probably could have pushed through the whole run but my legs started getting tired.  Mostly my quads so I had one walk break.  I wasn’t too surprised, they have been getting fatigued during kickboxing as well.

Lunch meetings and afternoon dog walks meant it was another Linner day.  This one was fantastic and totally hit the spot!

Taco salad

Taco salad!

Baby greens and chopped romaine topped with ground beef, shredded carrots, and a little cheddar.  I also made pico de gallo (tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, cilantro and lime juice) and some guacamole on the side.  I topped my salad with the pico for “dressing”.

The couch and I had a date yesterday which is why this post is late.  I really needed a couch and Law and Order moment to zen out.  I have a feeling that I’m going to need more today.  That definitely wasn’t enough of a recharge!