Chili

Ok, if you're in the mood for something hardy and filling this meal is just for you. We are in the beginning of another Paleo Challenge and I think this recipe will hit the spot for most. Since this is going to feed the family I decided to skip the jalapeños, feel free to chop in a jalapeño or two to give it that extra kick if you like it hot and spicy.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Pounds Ground Beef
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Red Onions chopped
5 Lg Tomatoes chopped
3 Lg Bell Peppers chopped (I like using a Red, Yellow and Orange)
3 sliced Small Yellow Squash
2 Carrots sliced
2 (6oz) cans of tomato paste
3-4 teaspoons Chile powder
4 teaspoons Ground Cumin
4 teaspoons Garlic Powder or 4-5 Garlic Cloves Minced
Sea Salt and Pepper

In a large boiling pot over medium heat, lightly brown: ground beef with 1 red onion, 1TBS olive oil, chile powder and cumin. Add the remaining ingredients along with the rest of the onion and olive oil. Continue to cook over medium heat for 40 min. Simmer on low for 20 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Hope you like it!

Kristy~

Lamb Chops with a Tomatillo Salsa

“This is way better than any cheat meal Ive had while doing CFA's 30 Day Paleo Challenge."   That statement sums up this delicious lamb entrée. 

I was a bit skeptical about making tomatillo salsa.   I’ve never made anything with tomatillos prior to making this entrée.  I honestly didn’t know what to expect.  However, when all was said and done, this was of the more satisfying dishes I have made in a while, aside from the green beans with bacon (see earlier blog).   

To be truthful, I modified the recipe and added a couple more Serrano chilies and cloves of garlic than what the recipe required, which added a real kick to the lamb.  Venturing outside the box sure did pay off.  Then again, I like foods on the spicy side.

Although this entrée is called “Lamb Chops with Tomatillo Salsa,” you can insert your favorite meat item as a substitute.  “Chicken with a Tomatillo Salsa,” “Fillet Mignon with a Tomatillo Salsa,” or even “Pork Chop (wrapped in bacon?) with a Tomatillo Salsa.”  Depending on your craving and/or budget, you can use most any meat. 

Ingredients

12 Tomatillos (husked and quartered)

1 Medium Onion (diced)

3 Serrano Chilies (diced)

3 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)

2 Tablespoons of Molasses

¼ cup Cilantro (fresh and chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Not Sautéed

Sautéed

Directions

Set oven on broil (high).  Place lamb chops approximately 4-5 inches away from broiler.  Cook lamb chops for approximately 8-9 min on each side.  A little longer if you want them more than medium-rare.  I like my meat on the rare side.

Simultaneously, under medium-high heat, add olive oil to large pan.   When oil is hot, add tomatillos, onion, Serranos and garlic.  Sautée the hell out of veggies until veggies are soft.  Next, add molasses and cilantro and gently stir until molasses is thoroughly worked into sautéed veggies.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve salsa over lamb chop (or other meat item).  

Flowers

Deviled Egg

One of my favorite things my Grandma use to make is deviled eggs. Mmm mmmm. I've always steered away from them thinking they weren't paleo but I have no idea why. They can can totally be made into paleo goodness. You can make paleo mayo from this blog or you can use a dairy free mayo. I sometimes use Trader Joes Real Mayonnaise. There is no dairy but it does have canola oil in, so it depends on how you feel about canola oil.

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs
1 Tablespoon dairy free mayo
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Sea salt and paprika to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut boiled and peeled eggs in half. Remove yolks and mash them with a fork into a small bowl. Add salt, mayo and mustard. Mix with fork. Place mixture into each egg white and top with a dash of paprika.

Kristy

Chocolate Pudding

I was excited to make this but I have to admit I was a little hesitant to taste it. So I did what any good Mother would do and ask my kids if they wanted to try some delicious chocolate pudding. Although they could figure out there was a slight difference they really ended up enjoying this avocado based pudding. I ended up trying it and was pleasantly surprised by how much it tastes like the real thing.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small avocado
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup almond milk (or coconut milk)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size bowl mash the avocado with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and whip until you reach a smooth creamy consistency.

Enjoy!

Kristy

Green beans with onion and BACON

I am getting back to my roots.  It’s been a while since I have blogged about a recipe with BACON. 

Green beans remind me of my grandmother, who is DEAD.   As a child, she had a garden in her backyard.  Green beans was a staple vegetable that she would grow in her garden.   As a child, I loved my grandmother’s green beans and her garden.  Ahhh, fond memories.

So I got to thinking….I love bacon and green beans, why not throw the two together?  It's the best of both worlds.  While making this delicious dish, my kitchen was over taken by the smell of BACON.  Ah, the smell of bacon, drives me insane!  

Over all this would probably make an excellent side dish but, hey, eat it as a snack too!  

Ingredients

8 cups of green beans, trimmed

1 medium yellow onion (diced)

6 slices of uncured bacon (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

***try your own proportions of green beans, onion and bacon

Directions

Trim green beans.  Place green beans in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring water to a boil.  Boil green beans for 10 minutes, uncovered. Green beans should be crisp and tender.

At the same time, combine bacon and onion in large pan or skillet.  Cook bacon/onion combo until onions are translucent and bacon is cooked.

Drain green bean thoroughly.  Combine green beans with bacon/onion mixture in skillet.  Toss mixture together (this is the best part….rendered bacon fat coating the green beans).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot!  

Kale Broccoli Salad

My friend Kat, aka my Hero, gave me the idea for this salad. I added and took out some stuff but kept the essential nutritional value of this salad batch. This salad is super easy and is sure to please the adults in your life (kids may reject the amount of green).
What you need
1large broccoli crown
2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts
1kale bunch
1 green apple
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup almond slivers
2 avocados (avocado goes on everything)
Olive oil
- chop up the broccoli, Brussels, kale and green apple extra fine. I chop it up enough that I eat this salad with a spoon. Combine together with raisins, almonds and sliced avocado. Cover in oil just enough to give every inch a glaze. That's it!!! This pairs well with an awesome bison steak :)
~Liz

Cheesecake

So here at CrossFit Anaheim we're in the middle of another 30 day Paleo Challenge. One of our members and a good friend of mine Christine aka "The Pusher" has been craving cheesecake on a daily basis, so...Christine this ones for you :) I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about this... I mean cheesecake made out of cashews?? Who would have thought? It really does taste like cheesecake and it's actually easier to make then the real thing. So if you're on Paleo and happen to be a cheesecake lover this is for you! ...Oh and Christine :)

Note: Cashews must be soaked for at least 4 hours or longer (overnight is fine too)

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups of raw cashews (soaked and drained)
2/3 cup of agave
2/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup of extra virgin coconut oil (slightly melted)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

CRUST
1/2 cup pecans (not soaked)
1/2 cup (heaping) dates pitted.
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 small dash of sea salt

Combine all crust ingredients and place in a food processor until the combination is a sticky substance. Spread evenly into the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan.

In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients and blend until you get a super creamy filling. Pour on top of crust and place in freezer for at least 4 hours. Thaw for 30 minutes and cut into small slices.

So easy!

Kristy

This recipe was modified and inspired by wholefamilyfare.blogspot.com

Apple Crisp

This is a healthy dessert that the whole family will enjoy. Feel free to use any type of apples, I chose Granny Smith. This recipe is quick to whip up but does take almost an hour to bake so plan accordingly and enjoy your house smelling like apple cinnamon. Warning: you may be tempted to eat the whole dish.....don't say I didn't warn you :)

Preheat oven to 350. Use 2 quart baking dish with cover.

INGREDIENTS

5 medium apples peeled and sliced
2 cups almond flour
4 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 cup agave
3 tablespoon agave
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and nutmeg. In a smaller bowl combine oil, 1/4 cup agave, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir together. Place apples in baking dish and toss 2 tsp cinnamon and 3 Tbs agave into the apples. Crumble mixture on top of apples. Break pecans in half and sprinkle on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take cover off and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Kristy

The most amazing chicken....EVER!

After my success with the Dry Rub Ribs, I wanted another effortless Paleo crockpot recipe.  I wanted maximum flavor with minimum effort.  Yes, I am lazy.....well, except with my Crossfit workouts.  

I rarely ever cook chicken simply because I think, for the most part, chicken is boring.  I mean, how many chicken breasts have you eaten thus far during this Paleo Challenge?  Answer: Too many. 

I set my crockpot up this morning (4am) before heading out of the house.  Please don’t ask why I am routinely up at 4am in the morning.  Yes, I am insane.  At the end of the day, when I returned home, the whole kitchen was drenched in the aroma of chicken-y goodness.  My mouth was watering.  Like the ribs, the chicken fell off the bone and the veggies along with the chicken made its own juices.  I am half tempted to eat the whole chicken tonight. 

This recipe can feed a small contingent of Crossfitters who show up to CFA’s Sunday WOD.  What is in this amazing recipe?  Answer: Chicken (duh), vegetables, herbs and spices.  That is it!   Since this recipe involves a fair amount of chopping, I suggest using a mandolin.  The mandolin will cut your work in half.  

FYI: This recipe is a bit spicy.  You may want to tone down the proportions. 

This recipe came from www.100daysofrealfood.com but I highly modified the recipe.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

2 tablespoons of paprika

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper

½ tablespoon of pepper

1 large yellow onion

1 medium zucchini

2 large carrots

3 large jalapenos

1 container of sliced mushroom

1 red bell pepper

Hell, add any paleo vegetable you want.

4 bay leaves

5 twigs of fresh thyme

Directions

Slice onion and create a layer of onions at the bottom of the crockpot.  Next, slice all remaining vegetables and place them in a large bowl.  Mix dried spices in a small bowl.  Rub chicken with spice rub on all surfaces.  You can even throw some of the rub in the body cavity.  Place rubbed chicken on bed of sliced onions.  Fill remaining spaces in the crockpot with sliced vegetables.  On top of the mound of vegetables, place bay leaves and twigs of thyme.  DO NOT AT BROTH.  You wont need it.  Trust me.

Set crockpot on low and cook for 8.5 hours.  

Really, that is it….I swear.

Flowers

Wrapped piggies

So I usually stay away from making anything that remotely resembles bread but walking down the isles of whole foods and trader joes... Some little wieners were trying to holler... Yeah I went there. Anyway with no nitrites and all natural ingredients I decided to make paleo biscuits for my pigs in a blanket reenactment.
What you need:
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour
1tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt and garlic salt
6 egg WHITES (yeah the yolk was a lesson learned for me)

A package of about 40 pigs for your blankets.

Mix almond, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, garlic salt and coconut oils. Mix it evenly so the oil saturates all the powders. It should be kind of clumpy not too dry and not too wet. Mix in the egg whites and stir well.
Take some "dough" and make it into a little rectangle going down your fingers... Wrap the weenies just around the middle and place on a baking pan... I used wax paper cuz I wanted minimal clean up... Bad move; the little suckers got stuck. Just grease the pan with coconut oil and fill with your little wrapped pigs.
Bake for about 15 minutes depending on your oven... Mine were smoking a bit... I will do 13 minutes next time.
~Liz

Shepherd's pie

Potato... We don't miss you! Even with my A-type personality and committed (ok obsessive) Crossfit ways... I get a hankering for white starchy comfort food. But!!!!!... With the life saving invention of cauliflower mash we can still enjoy some shepherds pie and stay paleo. The best part about this recipe is that it can be easily zoned, just add cauliflower or take away some meat.
What you will need:
1egg
1 onion finely chopped
A couple carrots (chopped)
2 handfuls of chopped mushrooms
2-4 chopped garlic cloves (I go with 4)
Dry rosemary, thyme paprika and salt
1 lb of ground meat... Your choice but I recommend bison or lamb
1 chopped and cored cauliflower head
1cup of chicken stock (I made my own from my roommate's chicken soup)

Preheat oven to 400
Boil cauliflower until ridiculously soft... I mean close to falling apart soft. Strain and get rid of excess water. Mash and whisk while adding 1/4 cup chicken stock and the egg. Should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add 1/2 tsp of rosemary and thyme... Salt to taste.
Sauté onions, carrots, mushrooms and garlic until its soft and filled the kitchen with awesome aromas. Season meat in a bowl with 1/2 tsp of rosemary, thyme a generous amount of paprika and about 1/2 tbs of salt or to your taste. Add the meat mixture to the sautéed onion mix. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock. Cook thoroughly.
Place the meat evenly in an 8 by 8 inch baking dish, leaving out too much liquid from the pan, and smash to the bottom. Add cauliflower to the top spreading it out evenly as well. Bake for 10min and broil for another 10... Should become golden on the sides... I leave it in a bit longer for that effect. Let cool and serve.

Beef Ribs with a Dry Rub

I will say this rib recipe is simply amazing.   Only eight hours in a crock pot, which is plenty of time to attend the OC Throwdown, do a WOD and make fixings for dinner.   When done, the meat literally falls off the bone and the dry rub spice mix packs a punch.   If you are partial to pork ribs, then by all means do the pig and not the cow. 

FYI: You can find  dry rubs sold in grocery stores and you likely will be tempted to use it.  If you are hell bent on buying a dry rub, please read the ingredients list, most dry rubs contain sugar and other non-paleo “stuff.”

The recipe modified from www.cosmopolitanprimalgirl.wordpress.com

Ingredients

4-5 lbs of beef ribs (or pork)

1 large yellow onion

2 tablespoons of coarse salt

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 tablespoon of fresh cracked pepper

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 tablespoon of chili powder

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper ( I was way more generous)

Direction

Mix all spices together in a small bowl.  Slice yellow onion and place a layer of onions along the bottom of the crock pot.  Next, generously apply dry rub to all surfaces of the ribs…rub rub rub the rub into the ribs.  After all, that is why it’s called a rub.  Really rub it in.  Place ribs on top of onion layer.   Set crock pot on low and cook for 8-10 hours. 

Flowers

Sweet Pepper Salad

This colorful salad is quick, easy and delicious! My husband swears that if you eat this salad mixed with a spaghetti squash recipe it will taste just like spaghetti. Ha ha.. Not sure how to take that but try it for yourself...

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
8 sweet peppers thinly sliced horizontally
4 large peppercinni's chopped
2 small avocados chopped into squares
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 lemon squeezed (if your lemon is small go ahead and squeeze in the whole thing)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and serve :)

Kristy

Chicken Alfredo with Kelp Noodles

So a friend of mine Julie asked me if kelp noodles are paleo. I did a little research and discovered that kelp noodles consist of 3 ingredients: water, kelp and sodium alginate. Now if you are wondering what sodium alginate is, it's made from brown algae that thickens the kelp into a noodle consistency. For a 4 oz serving your looking at 1g carb, 6 calories and 1g fiber. Not bad! A 12oz bag at Mother's Market only cost $3.39. It's located in the fridge section. Now that I completely geeked out on you, lets get back to cooking...

Tip: Kelp noodles are virtually tasteless so it's best to have them marinate in whatever sauce you're going to cook them in. Feel free to double the recipe if needed, it will still fit in a large frying pan.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1 12oz package of kelp noodles
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp tarragon
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, saute garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until all sides are brown.
Rinse and chop kelp noodles, add to the skillet along with tarragon. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

After cooking, pour the liquid from the skillet carefully into a small container for use in the sauce.

Add cashews, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, sea salt (optional), black pepper, and paprika to a blender. Cover and blend into a powder. Add the reserved pan juices slowly, blending into a thick sauce (use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender periodically). Add the juices until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. You can add a couple of drops of water if you like a thinner consistency.
Add the sauce to the skillet, then mix well. Cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes longer, until the kelp noodles have become tender.

Kristy


This recipe was inspired from catalystathletics.com

Baked Acorn Squash Drizzled with Honey

Baked acorn squash makes an excellent side dish and is delicious too.   What makes this even more delicious is the subtle, sweet flavor of both the acorn squash and honey.    Out the oven, the texture of the squash is like that of a baked sweet potato.  Pull out a spoon and just dig in. 

In this recipe I used butter (grass-fed), which I purchased from Sprouts.  After the acorn squash has baked, there is a pool of butter at the bottom of the acorn squash is simply decadent.  Some people will argue that grass-fed butter is not Paleo.  I say, “Hell yeah it is!!!”   If you are one of the “no rep-ers,” substitute the butter for ghee or coconut oil but its not going to be as delicious.  

Oh, did I mention prep time is literally 5 minutes?

Ingredients:

1 Acorn Squash

1 tablespoon of grass-fed butter (or ghee or coconut oil)

2 tablespoons of honey (or REAL maple syrup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Carefully cut the acorn squash in half.  Careful: acorn squash can be a challenge to cut in half.   Next, scoop the seeds out with a spoon and score insides of the squash with a knife.  Place the halves in a glass baking dish, cut side up, and fill the pan with a ¼ inch of water.  This prevents the squash from drying out.

Coat each half with a ½ tablespoon of grass-fed butter…place the remaining butter in the middle of the squash.  To be honest, I was generous with my butter.  Lastly, drizzle honey over the squash. 

Bake acorn squash for 60-75 minutes, until the squash is soft and golden brown. Make sure the squash is soft and not undercooked. 

Flowers