Primal Pizza

Why "primal," not "paleo?"  This is because I add a little cheese to my pizza.  What else do I have on my pizza?  Pizza sauce, seasoned ground beef, peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives.

 

This is the best pizza crust I've tried.  I use the larger version on my rectangular stone.  Be sure to generously grease the stone with butter, it tastes great & makes it much easier to remove from the stone.

Soup & Cookies

 
I'm fighting a cold, bummer!  Anyway, I decided to make this soup for our family and a couple special guests for lunch today.  No recipe, just a dump together soup!  I also made a batch of dark chocolate almond butter cookies.  I add about 1/2 cups of raw or toasted chopped pecans.

Lemon-Raspberry Pancakes

 
This is another family favorite.  Since today will be a work day for my kids, I can at least start the day with lemon-raspberry pancakes!  The only thing I do different from the recipe, is use the lemon-raspberry as a topping instead of mixing it in the batter.  I found it burnt to my pan when cooking when it was mixed in.  As I've mentioned before, my family believes you must always put something on top of the pancakes, so this works better for us.

A few thoughts about tapioca flour:
I use tapioca flour sparingly.  It is plant based and gluten free and gives things a great texture.  It is considered paleo.  I use it infrequently because it is a carb that lacks nutrition compared to some other options.  Want to learn more about tapioca flour? 

Grillin'

 
This warm spring day called for grilling!  My daughter grilled hamburgers and Brussels sprouts.  Sauteed baby portobellos are on top of the burger.  We also had salad and corn.  Corn is not strict paleo, but I eat it since ours is pesticide free and we had a bumper crop last year.  This would still be a great meal if you omitted corn. 

How to saute mushrooms:
Clean and slice any kind of mushroom (white cap, portobello, baby portobello, shitake, etc).
Saute in about 1 Tbsp of coconut oil until the moisture releases and there is water in the pan.
Splash in a few Tbsp of dry wine (I have used white or Cabernet with success).
Cook until the liquid cooks out and the pan is dry.
Season as desired (I used sea salt and Simply Organic all-purpose seasoning).

LOPS

For lunch today, we ate L.O.P.s (Leftovers On Purpose).  I heard this acronym and loved it.  A great way to make sure you have healthy meals around for busy days is to make LOPs.  Happy Weekend!

Paleo English Muffin

 
I tried making this English muffin today.  The consensus from the fam was that they were good, but.....they didn't taste a bit like an English muffin.  They did request I make them again. One of my go-to breakfast ideas are eggs and avocado.  They are the best cooked in coconut oil!  In an effort not to disillusion anyone, my children will not eat avocados on their eggs. 

Brownies

I have not been home for an evening for 11 consecutive nights!  Since I am tonight, I decided we needed these brownies.  These are so good, my whole family loves them.  Do you have a favorite brownie recipe?  Please share, I'd love to give it a try!

Roasted Chicken

 
Tonight's supper consisted of roasted chicken, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a salad.  I tried a new Balsamic Citrus Dressing recipe.  It was so good we all decided to pour some on our chicken too!

Egg Salad on Greens

A quick lunch of leftover salad with egg salad on top.  Eating straight out of the Rubbermaid container! 

Easy Egg Salad
9 hard boiled eggs, cubed
1/2-3/4 cup mayo (I used Spectrum Olive Oil)
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 Tbsp dijon mustard (I used Annie's Naturals organic)
about 1 tsp celery seed
salt & pepper to taste
garnish with paprika

Chia Pudding and Bacon

 
Pudding and bacon for breakfast?  Yes, please!  This is super easy and I make it the day before.  I use these little jars for a portable treat or instant individual portions.  I've kept these up to a week in my fridge, but they do not usually stick around that long.  There are so many recipes online, it can really be tweaked to your tastes.  Here's what I made:

Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding:
2 cups full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup honey (I use a bit less)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2/3 cup chia seeds

Blend everything but the chia seeds together.  Stir in chia seeds.  Pour into jars and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  We top ours with thawed, frozen raspberries.

About the bacon.......





 
This is our favorite kind.  I usually purchase from my health foods co-op, but I've found it at Hy-Vee and Shnuck's. 

Balsamic Braised Short Ribs (Slow-Cooker)

 
Here is a link to the short rib recipe:  Short Ribs   I used boneless ribs from Costco to make it even more "kid friendly."  This is a requested meal at our house.  Also on my plate are green beans, beets, and roasted potatoes.  Are white potatoes paleo?  This is a hard question to answer.  There are differing opinions.  I eat them in moderation now.  I avoided them when I first began because I was trying to help regulate my blood sugars.  Do not eat them if you are trying to lose weight.  The green beans and beets are from my garden last summer.  It's so much work canning in the summer, but it makes for super easy meals later!

Egg Salad Sandwich

This is a totally legit egg salad sandwich!
 
This is the best paleo bread I've made.  I do not crush the sesame seeds and I use olive or grapeseed oil.  These store well in the fridge or freezer.  
http://fastpaleo.com/recipe/sandwich-bread/

Blueberry Chai Smoothie

Breakfast today needed to be portable.  Smoothie time!  Here's the link http://paleomg.com/blueberry-chai-granola-smoothies/.  
You can exchange the almond milk for coconut milk.  I do not grind the chia seed before adding since I'm using a Vitamix.  Also, I never add the granola on top.

Nut Encrusted Cod

 
Tonight's supper did not include "official" recipes.  Here's what we had and how I prepare it.
Nut Encrusted Fish:
2 cups raw pecans
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
any fresh or dried herbs (I used fresh thyme, fresh cilantro, dried chives & dried parsley)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper 
6 wild caught white fish filets (tonight it was cod)
1/4 cup butter (I use Kerrygold when I can find it)
  
Put all the nuts in a food processor until it looks like course sand.  And herbs, salt and pepper, process in.   Melt butter.  Smear bottom of 9x13 pan with a bit of butter.  Dip fish in butter, then nut mixture, then place in pan.  Really pack the nuts on the fish.  Drizzle any extra butter on top.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until fish flakes.  

Next the roasted vegetables.  Have you ever roasted veggies in the oven?  This is our favorite way to eat them!  Especially asparagus (please, please, please do not boil asparagus.)  
Roasted Aspraragus:
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
25 spears of asparagus
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. dried thyme or oregano

Dizzle baking sheet with oil.  Trim and cut asparagus spears in thirds.  Sprinkle with salt and herbs.  Toss around.  Roast about 20 minutes in 350 oven.

This is how I made the carrots last night.  I often try to think about how my food will cook, so I can streamline meal prep time.  So, I roasted the carrots too.  This way our whole meal was in the oven at the same time.
Roasted Carrots:
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
about 8-10 carrots cut in bite size pieces
 seasoning (I used the organic equivilent to Mrs. Dash & some salt)

Drizzle baking sheet with oil.  toss carrots and seasoning around on pan.  Roast about 20 minutes in 350 oven. 


 

Shopping

This morning I went shopping with a friend.  Here's what I took along for snacks.



 
Some of these were eaten by my "little shopper," some are still in my lunch bag.  If I have good things along to eat, I am much less tempted to eat junk.  The larger canister is filled with hot tea.  I LOVE this canister.  It keeps drinks hot or cold for hours!  I hardly leave the house without it.  Hot tea or coffee in the colder seasons, iced tea or mineral water with lemon juice in the warmer seasons.  I purchase these (yes, I own 3) at Target.  Anyway, about shopping.  We went to Costco this morning. I like to buy organic greens, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, asparagus, peppers, organic apples, frozen veggies, frozen berries, nuts, frozen fish, organic chicken, coconut oil, avocado oil, almond butter and dates at Costco.  Then we went to Kroger.  I can find many things I only want a small quantity of at Kroger.  My friend & I were not able to get a few things on this excursion, but I know we could have found everything else at Hy-Vee or Naturally Yours.  I also buy bulk items through my health foods co-op and online.  ALWAYS buy a small quantity of something before purchasing it in bulk, I've learned this the hard way.  Once you use a product regularly and you and your family like it, bulk prices are a huge savings. 

Comment if you'd like a specific product review.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
 

So, I was hungry this morning.  I remembered to take a picture part way through breakfast!  I will be gone most of the morning, so I decided on a protein packed start to my day.  I used regular chocolate chips for the girls & dark chocolate for mine.  Here's the pancake recipe:  http://paleomg.com/3-ingredient-simple-protein-pancakes/

Sirloin Steak Stir Fry and Mixed Berries

 
I like to squeeze a lime and add just a bit of stevia to my berries.  In honor of St. Patrick's Day I also made Irish Soda Bread.  I liked it, but the kids weren't crazy about it.  Here's a link to the recipe:  http://www.elanaspantry.com/irish-soda-bread/
 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 
Today I made chocolate chip cookies.  I didn't think this was the best recipe.  Here is a recipe I highly recommend:  http://againstallgrain.com/2012/08/29/real-deal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Sweet Potato Hash & Chicken

Pumpkin Pancakes

 
Today starts a challenge to myself to record what I'm eating for a month.  First up:  Pumpkin Pancakes!  These are a family favorite.  I often cut back on the syrup in the recipe because my girls will put syrup on top no matter how sweet they are.  

Topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of maple syrup. Recipe from Practical Paleo:   http://balancedbites.com/2012/10/easy-recipe-pumpkin-pancakes-from-practical-paleo.html