Monday Meals: Looking For Lists

June 30, 2014Andrea 2 Comments

Ok, so who worked their meal plan last week? I did, I did! And I’m totally ready to kick this week’s ass and stick to a meal plan as well!

I print off the meal plan (template I use is here), fill it out and then stick it on the fridge. I can add or switch around meals if I need to. It’s very handy, plus I can make a shopping list right from the plan.

I want to go back to having a shopping list on my phone. I used to use Springpad but they have closed up shop (I can’t even link to them, because they are totally gone) so now I need something else. Does anyone use an app to create and maintain shopping lists? I would love to hear your recommendations!

Alright, let’s get to the meals.

BREAKFAST:

Leftover roasted potatoes with spinach and onions. I sauteed everything up in a skillet with a little lard and seasoned lightly with pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

YUM! Definitely became a favorite! This would work with sweet potatoes too if you don’t eat white potatoes.

Braised kale with roasted red pepper chicken sausage. The sausage is Al Fresca brand and is delicious! Minimal ingredients, no gluten, and no additives. In a pan, I heated up some lard and cooked the sausages first. I removed those and added in the kale with a little stock to help the kale cook down. Once the kale was wilted, I added the sausage back in. Seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I should just start calling this my house seasoning!). It was delicious and totally hit the spot!

I made a huge batch of it so that there would be leftovers for the next day. I did use a full package of sausage and 2 large bunches of kale (stemmed, chopped). This time I added a little parm on top for some tangy cheese bite.

Cubed sweet potato with onion and shredded carrot cooked in a skillet in some ghee and seasoned with chili powder. I also cut up some breakfast sausage and added that to the mix. Sadly this breakfast was completely unsatisfying and I was so bummed. The sweet potato was taking forever to cook through and even after 30 minutes, it still was crunchy. Ugh. The texture was completely off and left me disappointed.

I made a gorgeous veggie quiche with a grain free crust to chase the bad breakfast blues away. The filling contained:

5 eggs scrambled with 1/2C Whole Milk
Shredded Carrot
1/2 small Onion, chopped
2 Large handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
5 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled
Dijon mustard
Horseradish

The dijon and horseradish was whisked in with the eggs. The carrots, onion, spinach, and bacon were added to a hot skillet and cooked in some ghee until the onions and spinach were soft. I let the mixture cool and then added it to the scrambled eggs. Poured it over the crust and baked for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

The crust was a recipe from Beyond Bacon (not an affiliate link) with a little modification on my end. I used butter instead of lard. The crust was perfect! I couldn’t roll it out but was able to form it in the pie pan with no issue. It was the best tasting crust we have ever had and beats anything I’ve made with flour. We will definitely be making this again!

Scramble eggs with Mexican rice (I’m working on perfecting my Mexican restaurant style rice. Getting close!), and chicken breakfast sausage links.

Leftover veggie quiche and chicken sausage.

LUNCH:

Two lunch/snacks!

Deviled eggs, carrots, and a huge bowl of nectarines.

Leftover pork chop (which you’ll see in a second), broccoli that was dipped in hummus, and a salad of cucumber and chopped tomato. Pretty simple but totally satisfying.

DINNER:

Roasted up a whole chicken! (The chicken was prepared this way) Paired that with some parsnip mash. I also made a pan sauce and thickened that with some arrowroot powder! Arrowroot powder works the same way cornstarch does. Mix it with a little water to make a slurry and then whisk that into the sauce. As the sauce simmers, it will thicken up.

I liked the end result with the arrowroot powder. It thickened the sauce but didn’t weight it down. It also left the sauce clear and glossy while a roux can lighten the color of a sauce and cause it to be cloudy. This sauce was way more pleasing to look at!

Leftovers with coleslaw!

Gigantic pork chops and a whole mess of sweet potato fries. Chops were cooked in a cast iron skillet with lard and seasoned with salt, poultry seasoning, and tarragon. A splash of stock was added and the chops were finished in the oven at 400 until the were done.

Basic sweet potato fries (peeled, sliced, oil, seasonings), also roasted at 400 until cooked and crispy.

I had some leftover pulled pork in the freezer so I heated that up and placed on lettuce wraps. Mexican rice, and some roasted yellow squash. The squash had oil, salt, and chili powder. Roasted on a baking sheet at 400 until done. About 10 minutes, squash cooks up quickly!

Pizza! Working on a yeast based grain free pizza dough. Not quite where I want it to be but I’m getting close. This was baked using a cookie sheet. It’s topped with sauce, moz, banana peppers, and spicy Italian sausage.

I used too much sauce so the pizza came out really dense! Next time lighter on the sauce and the cheese.

Ending the week with a big salad, with fresh romaine and tomato that I purchased at the farmer’s market on Saturday. Shredded carrot, hard boiled egg, and golden beets on top. We used premade ranch dressing from Bolthouse Farms.

The beets I prepped for salads this week. Super easy, peeled, chopped, boiled until they were tender. Now they are ready to eat whenever I need them.

Not a bad week!

FOODS:

All eggs, chicken, pork from Jodar farms

Lettuce and tomatoes from the farmer’s market.

This past weekend was a huge indulge weekend because we attended the Colorado Brewer’s Festival. Lots of beer and foods that I don’t normally eat. I’m feeling the effects and I’m ready to get back to normal eats this week.

Our anniversary is this week so there will be some special treats but kept in check. We will be eating well, for sure!

How were your eats last week?

Monday Meals: Seafood Season

June 23, 2014Andrea 2 Comments

This week I felt like I was running a little behind since I didn’t have even the slightest outline for a meal plan. We still ate really well (whew!) but I definitely felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants.

Because I do better with calendars and lists that are actual pieces of paper (I like to make notes and I’m still old school about some things), I have decided to print off a meal plan for each week. I got the template from Real Food Liz, and you can get one too. Click HERE.

Just a side note, tangent, I bought a huge Paleo bundle of ebooks a little while back and it included a lifetime membership to Good Food For Bad Cooks. It has recipes, you can make shopping lists, there are food guides. It’s a pretty neat little site with lots of info so if you are looking for something to help you meal plan and for more recipes, definitely check it out. (That is not an affiliate link and it’s not a plug. I just like the site.)

Ok on to meals!

BREAKFAST:

Chicken with spinach that I added a little homemade tomato sauce too and sprinkled with parm. It was delicious! I always forget how much I like chicken for breakfast.

Blueberries and nectarines with coconut cream, crushed almonds, and coconut flakes.

Scrambled eggs with a black bean sauce. The sauce was really simple. In a blender, I added:

Black Beans (about 1.5 cups)
Salsa
Chicken Stock
Salt
Chili Powder

Blended till it was smooth, and heated it in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Brought it to a simmer and let it reduce just a bit so the sauce thickened up.

Easy and quick sauce. I froze the rest to save for enchiladas at some point.

Blueberries, grain-free scone, and drizzled with coconut cream. Please note that if you refer to blueberries as “bluebs”, we can no longer be friends. Sorry, but that’s life sometimes.

Veggie fritatta! I sauteed up some baby kale, red pepper, and half an onion in some ghee and let that mixture cool. In a bowl I whisked 5 eggs, a splash of whole milk, and some dijon mustard. Added in the veggies and then added that mixture to a greased skillet (I used ghee) that was heating up on the stove. Heated it for about two minutes then put the pan in a 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Topped with diced tomato and a sprinkle of parm.

We had that with some ham slices and some roasted sweet potatoes.

Another big breakfast of scrambled eggs (look how yellow they are! The yolks in these farm fresh eggs were gorgeous.), roasted potatoes, and sausage.

Random picture of a smoothie, sliced apple with almond butter. Sometimes if I have a large breakfast then I have smallish snack as lunch. I don’t normally show these pictures because they aren’t exciting and I’m not sure if you are interested in seeing them. If you are, just let me know and I’ll share what goes in the smoothies. Spoiler alert, it’s usually always the same.

DINNER:

Leftovers, sausage, kraut, and coleslaw. I had spinach and feta sausage from Whole Foods and Scott finished the other sausages. I have to say that I’m not super impressed with our local Whole Foods sausages. I probably won’t get them again unless something really catches my eye.

Glorious salmon! Copper River salmon was in season so I stocked up and purchased a couple of sides. Please note that if you are local, our Whole Foods does not remove the bones from the fish so either you have to do it or you can ask for it to be done. If you ask, the workers tend to get really pissed off, at least they did for me. And they still didn’t remove many bones, Scott and I were picking them out as we were eating. Good times.

I brushed the salmon with some coconut oil and sprinkled with:

Lemon Pepper Mix (by Simply Organic)
Garlic Powder
Dill

I also laid it on some lemon slice while it roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

We had the salmon with roasted asparagus and rice. Fish + rice is one of my favorite combinations. We used to eat this all the time on “Fish Tuesdays” and I think I need to bring that back.

This provided us with leftovers and I was so hungry and excited when we had leftovers that I forgot to take a picture! It was salmon with a side salad. Nothing fancy but delicious!

And lastly, crispy shrimp with roasted eggplant. I whisked together 2 eggs, a splash of milk, and some hot sauce. The coating was a mix of coconut flour and tapioca starch seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. The shrimp went in the egg bath first then to the coating. I cooked the shrimp in a cast iron skillet in some lard.

This was the first time I used coconut flour and tapioca as a coating and I really liked the way it turned out. The tapioca provides a nice thin coating on the shrimp that really crisped up and turned a lovely golden brown color.

The eggplant was sliced, seasoned with soy sauce, salt, garlic powder and roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

For The Locals:

All chicken and eggs from Jodar Farms.

Sausage, ham, and seafood from Whole Foods.

Milk from Morning Fresh Dairy.

This Week:

I have my meal plan all printed out and I’m ready to get started on this week! I already have some chicken and pork chops thawing in the fridge so we will be having that this week. The chicken will last at least two days, so that is three days covered already. Now to figure out the rest of the week.

How did you do last week and what are your plans this week?

Potato Nests

June 17, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

I 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.

I 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.

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

June 16, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

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:

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.

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.

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!

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.

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:

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! 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.

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!

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.

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

Asian Inspired Minced Pork Bowls

June 10, 2014Andrea 1 Comment

Scott’s mom makes the best egg rolls hands down. The wrapper is thin so it becomes super crispy when fried. The filling is full of fresh ingredients in equal balance. And there’s ground pork! Gloriously seasoned ground pork mixed with some vegetables. It’s a welcome change from what usually passes for egg rolls here in the States.

Getting her to talk about and share the recipe is like pulling teeth. She doesn’t know specifics, she just does it. We do not live close by so sadly we do not have a fresh supply of egg rolls.

I have tried my best to work through the flavors and to come up with something that is similar. Because let’s face it, I’ll never figure out the exact recipe and I will never be able to make it nearly as well.

Instead of official egg rolls, we have deconstructed egg rolls. All of the yummy insides plus some extras thrown in because we like them. Sometimes I serve this over some rice and sometimes I add in even more veggies so that we have a huge bowl of egg roll goodness.

It’s a favorite dish of ours and it’s super easy to make!

Andrea’s Asian Inspired Minced Pork Bowls

1 Pound Ground Pork

1/2 A Medium Cabbage, shredded

2 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Medium Crown Of Broccoli, florets removed and chopped

1 Red or Green Pepper, thinly sliced

5 Green Onions, thinly sliced

For The Pork:

1/2tsp Ground Onion

1tsp Ground Garlic

1tsp Curry Powder

1tsp Soy Sauce

3 Dashes of Fish Oil

1/2TBSP Lard or Ghee

In a cast iron skillet or large sautee pan, heat the lard over medium heat. Add in the ground pork and season with the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and continue to cook until the pork is cooked through. Line a glass bowl with some paper towels, remove the pork from the skillet and place in the glass bowl.

For the Veggies:

1/2tsp Curry Powder

1/2tsp Garlic Powder

1/4tsp Kosher salt

1/4tsp Ground Black Pepper

1/2TBSP Lard or Ghee

In the same skillet the pork was cooked in, heat lard or ghee over medium heat. Add in all of the veggies except the green onion, stir to coat with the fat, and sautee for about 5 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Add in the seasonings and stir. Continue to cook until the veggies are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the pork back to the skillet and combine with the veggies. Cook for another 3 minutes. Turn off heat and serve.

It’s perfect to eat as is, or you can serve over rice or rice noodles. This dish also freezes well which means you can increase the amount to have portions to freeze. The veggies can also be prepped ahead of time so that when it’s time to make dinner, you just have to heat and serve!

It has become a weeknight go-to meal since it’s so simple to make. And there’s only like two dirty dishes at the end that Scott has to wash, so everyone wins!

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

Monday Meals: Leftover Love

June 9, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Welcome 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.

It’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!

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!

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.

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.

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?

Sweet Tater Smoothie from Paleo Smoothies

May 29, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

We are in love with smoothies here at the HQ. We try to have a smoothie everyday with our lunch or if we’re not too hungry, it will be lunch.

Having a smoothie jam packed with fruits and veggies makes me feel amazing. It also helps us to get in more portions of fruits and veggies throughout the day.

We have our favorites though and are guilty of falling into a rut. Having the same smoothie over and over again, it happens. Some days I am not feeling inspired to experiment.

This is why I was thrilled to be able to review the new Paleo Smoothies recipe book by Mariel Lewis. It’s packed full of recipes that are unique and utilizing ingredients that I never thought of adding to a smoothie (hard boiled egg anyone?).

The book is broken down into 10 categories, such as Cleansing Smoothies and Recovery Smoothies. Mariel gives a brief run down of the Paleo Diet and goes over what foods are included in the diet. She also discusses how smoothies are beneficial to over all health and even gives you a guide to kitchen tools that you should have on hand.

I couldn’t wait to start making smoothies! Since I have never had a sweet potato in a smoothie before, I made the Sweet Tater Smoothie.

Sweet Tater Smoothie from Paleo Smoothies by Mariel Lewis

Republished with permission from Adams Media, © 2014 Mariel Lewis

1 Frozen Banana

1 Baked Medium Sweet Potato, skin removed

1 1/4 Cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

1TBSP Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/8 tsp Ground Cloves (to garnish)

1. Place all ingredients in a blender, except for the ground cloves, and blend on high until smooth.

2. Pour smoothie in a glass and garnish with half of the ground cloves. Enjoy!

This smoothie was rich and delicious! It tasted like a pumpkin pie. The sweet potato produced that gorgeous orange color and made the smoothie extra thick, like a well made milkshake.

I might start keeping sweet potatoes on hand just for smoothies! Each recipe in the book also has nutritional information so that you know exactly how many calories, carbs, and so on you are consuming.

Whether you are on a Paleo Diet or not, this recipe book has some amazing smoothies that will please all tastes!

Disclaimer: I was sent this cookbook for review. All opinions are my own. I was not required to write about it and was not compensated for this review.

Grain Free Chicken Enchiladas With Roasted Green Chili Sauce

May 7, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

The first thing that I made with my batch of grain free tortillas, was some chicken enchiladas. I wanted to see how the tortillas handled being rolled and how well they stood up to baking.

They worked beautifully!

I will admit that I didn’t bake them covered in sauce. Since this was my first time working with grain free tortillas, I wasn’t sure how they were going to stand up to baking and I didn’t want to risk making them soggy with sauce.

Instead I heated up the sauce on the side and we were able to use as much sauce as we wanted to top our portions.

I do think that if the tortillas were covered in sauce and baked that they might fall apart so stick with keeping the sauce warm on the side.

Andrea’s Grain Free Enchiladas with Roasted Green Chili Sauce

**For the Filling:

4 Chicken leg quarters, cooked, and shredded

2C Shredded Carrot

1 Bunch Kale, stems removed

1/2TBSP Ghee

1tsp Salt

1tsp Garlic Powder

2tsp Chili Powder

6 Grain Free Tortillas

Place the kale in a food processor and pulse until the kale is finely chopped. In a medium sized saute pan, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add in the kale and the carrots. Saute for about 2-3 minutes then add in the shredded chicken. Season with salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. Add in 1/2C of the sauce (see recipe below). Stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

For The Sauce:

1 Medium Sized Onion, chopped

1 Green Pepper, seeded and chopped

4 Roasted Green Chilies (your choice, I used anaheim)

1 14.5oz can of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

1TBSP Ghee

1tsp Salt

2TBSP Coconut Sugar

In a medium sized sauce pot, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add in the onion and peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes until the peppers and onions start to soften. Add in the diced tomatoes, salt, and coconut sugar. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and pour into a blender. Blend until the sauce becomes smooth and free of lumps. Pour sauce back into sauce pot and keep warm over low heat.

Assembly and Baking

Preheat an oven to 4oo degrees. In a 9×12 casserole dish, pour in 1/2C of the sauce. Spread it around so it coats the bottom. Place 1/2C of filling in each tortilla. Roll and place in the casserole dish. Cover dish with foil and bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Portion out onto plates and top with sauce. Makes 6 portions.

Please see notes at the bottom.

**Notes:

This dish can be prepped ahead of time. Once the enchiladas are made, cover with foil and store in fridge until you’re ready to heat them up. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake, covered, for about 1/2 an hour or until the enchiladas are heated through. While they are baking, the sauce can be simmering on the stove.

The filling makes enough for two batches of enchiladas. You can make two batches right away if you’re feeding more than two people. Or you can freeze the remaining filling and use it another time. Since the tortillas and the filling freezes well, that’s already another meal you have prepped and ready to go! The filling is also great as a topping for salads, mixed with scrambled eggs, or eaten on it’s own.

I added the coconut sugar to help tone down the heat from the chilies. If you love spicy foods feel free to omit the sugar.

We topped our enchiladas with chopped tomato, green onion, and cheddar. Some sour cream and chopped cilantro would also be great as well!

This dish is really easy to make despite what might seem like a lot of steps. Perfect way to use up some leftover roast chicken and turn a weeknight meal into something a little more exciting.

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

Breakfast Soup

April 23, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

One 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 30, We Made It

April 16, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Hooray! We made it to the last day! Yesterday was a pretty awesome day. I started the morning off with a great run which always sets my day up for success. I need to remember that more.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, a crumbled up paleo scone with sliced banana and some coconut cream.

Lunch was a gigantic salad with:

Mixed greens
Cucumber
Carrot
Tomato
Red Onion
Cheddar
Bacon

I was really craving that bacon so I made sure to sneak some on the salad.

Dinner was something that Scott and I haven’t had in a while, tacos!

And just tacos. When we were discussing what to have as a side neither of us really wanted one. We wanted to focus on tacos! I have no problem with this at all. Ground pork tacos with guacamole, lettuce, and pepper jack cheese.

Scott and I also have not eliminated corn from our diet. Both of us tolerate it just fine and both of us like it. The corn tortillas were 365 Brand and the only ingredients are corn and oil. Since this isn’t something we eat everyday, I’m ok with this.

We are not paleo perfectionists nor will we ever be. We are ok with that and you should be too.

I will fully admit that I’m so glad to not have to photograph all of my eats any more!

I will be writing up a full recap post (it will be long, brace yourselves) and that will be posted on Friday morning.

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Monday Meals: Looking For Lists

Monday Meals: Seafood Season

Potato Nests

Monday Meals: A Little Off Plan

Asian Inspired Minced Pork Bowls

Monday Meals: Leftover Love

Sweet Tater Smoothie from Paleo Smoothies

Grain Free Chicken Enchiladas With Roasted Green Chili Sauce

Breakfast Soup

Spring Clean Eats: Day 30, We Made It