Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Just Keep Going :)
As I reflect on the past 30 days I am pleased. With all the office sweet temptations, my mom trying to force feed me rolls and the added stress and rush of the holidays I did pretty well. I definitely ate my fair share of chocolate, but despite this sugar indulgence, missed gym days and wine in excess, I still lost 7 pounds. I didn't feel like I was missing out a bunch or deprived. My cravings have been significantly reduced. During a month when most people are packing on extra pounds, I was able to slim down, and am heading into the new year with a head start on most resolutions! I am going to continue down my paleo path and continue to post recipes. Now that this month will be significantly easier, I am going to try to do a better job avoiding chocolate. I will keep you posted will my progress over the next 30 days! Hopefully I will have more time, and be able to work out even more! I will try to post every day with at least a list of what I ate that day and my work out! so stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
On the Road with Orange Chicken
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Glueten free Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Almond Meal
2 Tablespoons Orange zest
1/4 Teaspoon Red pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Directions: Preheat Oven to 350 ( i would change this to 400). In a small bowl combing orange juice, mustard and soy sauce. On a piece of waxed paper combine almond meal, orange zest and red pepper. Pat dry the chicken. Brush on sauce and then dredge in the crumbs firmly pressing the crumbs to coat both sides. Place on a cookie sheet lines with foil and sprayed. Bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake anohter 15-20 minutes. Serve with sliced oranges.
This was yummy and easy. Like I said, it wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. Make sure to flip the chicken with a spatula or you may loose some of the "breading". Also, if you are concentrating on weight loss, ALMOND MEAL IS ALMONDS. when eating recipes with almond meal, I recommend skipping any whole almonds or nuts throughout the day. Enjoy!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Busy Busy, so here are 4 recipies!
Easy Guacamole
2 avocados
1/4 Cup Fresh salsa
1/2 Tablespoon Lime Juice (or lemon)
Tapatio to taste
Directions : Mash up avocados and then combine with remaining ingredients! Eat on a burger, or use as a dip for just about anything!
Warm Winter Soup
1 lb Italian Turkey Sausage
2 Cloves of garlic
1 Onion
2 Carrots Chopped
1 Zucchini Chopped
1/2 a package frozen Chopped Spinach
6-8 cups Beef Broth
1 can Italian Style Tomatoes
Pepper to taste
Directions: In a large soup pot saute sausage, garlic and onion. Once browned, add in broth, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 5 minutes. Serve Immediately. I made this for lunch this week. It was quick, easy and tasty. Great reheated as well!
Also two great finds! I always use Chico bags for groceries and packing lunch! Also, I got glass tuperware from costco, it is safer for reheating and storing food!
Stuffed Zucchini (has cheese, sorry)
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
3 Garlic cloves
1/2 Cup Almond Meal
2 eggs
Directions:Poke zucchini with fork. Boil for 5-12 minutes until soft and easily can poke with fork. Drain and let cool. Half the zucchini length wise and Preheat oven to 350. With a spoon scrape out pulp and put it in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan and remaining ingredients. Process until smith. Spray and glass dish and put in zucchini skins. Even fill the skins with the mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes. This recipe turned out ok. My boyfriend liked it, I didn't care for it. I may try it again using some meat, mushrooms and tomato paste/sauce. So I would wait for version 2!
Orange Salmon (has sugar in marmalade but tastes amazing, from Cooking light!)
1/2 cup Orange Marmalade
2-3 cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons Gluten Free Soy Sauce
Directions: Preheat oven to 400.Mix all Ingredients except for salmon, in a small bowl. Line a cookie sheet (that has raised edges) with foil. Brush half the sauce on the fish and bake skin side up for 18 minutes. Flip Over the salmon, cover with remaining sauce and broil for 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Spicy Burger and Sweet Potato fries!
Jalapeno Burger and Fries
Ingredients:
Fries-
1 Sweet Potato
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Red pepper
1/8 Teaspoon Cumin
Cut up sweet potato into 1/2" strips. Put in a bag. Spray with olive oil spray, add seasoning and shake. On a foil lined and oil sprayed cookie shoot spread out the fries in one layer. Bake for 30 min, flip and bake and additional 20 min.
Jalapeno Burgers
1/4 cup diced pickled Jalapenos
1 lb ground beef (grass fed ideal)
1Tsp Onion powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Mix all ingredients and form into 4 pattys. Throw them on the grill or a pan and cook until they aren't pink in the middle.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Eggplant "Parmesan" & Exersize
Tonight I am making eggplant! Hope we all like it, since its a creation of my own.
1 Eggplant
1 Egg beaten (or egg whites)
3/4 Cup Almond Meal
1lb Italian Turkey Sausage
1 Jar Marinera Sauce
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
6 Mushrooms
1 bunch of fresh Basil
Assemble 1 egg plant slice, 1 suasage patty, pour on marinera sauce, sprinkle with sauted veggies and garnish with fresh Basil!
Server with a side salad and it makes a great meal!!! I would serve this to guest for sure. It turned out great! The fresh basil really makes it, so I recommend spending the few extra dollars or growing your own! Also, by boyfriend thinkgs these eggplant rounds make great bun Replacements!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A day out and a Night In
Luau Pizza
- 3 eggs
- 1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
- 1 cup whole milk or coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Marinera Sauce/pizza sauce (watch out for sugar!)
- 1 small can pineapple
- canadian bacon
- green onions
- 1 red bellpepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat eggs in a medium sized bowl. Mix in milk and garlic.
Add remaining ingredients and beat into the milk mixture. The dough will be thinner in consistency then regular dough (more like a batter). Add just a bit more coconut flour if needed. The dough needs to be spreadable and thin but not extremely liquid-y like pancake batter.
Spread thinly and evenly on a pizza pan or cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper (parchment paper is a must require!! This sticks terribly!).
Bake for 12-20 minutes in preheated oven. Crust is done when fully cooked through and bottom edges begin to brown.
Remove crust from oven and turn over. Carefully peel parchment paper from the bottom of the crust and place crust back on parchment paper with the bottom side up.
Top your pizza with sauce and whatever else you would like. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, depending on the toppings.
WOW! This was not good! in my opinion. I ended up throwing away the whole crust and just eating the toppings. The flavor of the coconut flower was totally overwhelming to me, even with the herbs. Oh well! On to the next one :) Or Next time I may try to substitute almond meal!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Lemon Chicken!
Lemon Chicken
Egg Whites
2 Chicken breast Halved
Sauce:
3/4 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
4 Teaspoons Cornstarch
3 Tablespoons Honey
4 Cups Shredded Romaine Lettuce
Directions: Pat chiken breasts dry with a paper towle. Then dip them in egg whites and coat them with the almond meal. Pour 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and fry the chicken breast over Medium High heat until chicken is cooked through and browned. In a bowl mix chicken broth and corn startch until the cornstarch is disolved. Add in honey and lemon juice. In a small frying pan bring the sauce to a boil, until the sauce thickens. Place chicken on a bead of lettuce and and top with the lemon sauce. Yummy! I promise this recipie is great and will help curve your chinnese food cravings!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Califlower "Fried Rice" Recipie & Battle of the Bread Basket!
1. Ask the waitress not to bring the bread- This is ideal! As long as the people you are with don't mind
2. Ask your friends to move it on the otherside of the table from you- I am lucky to have the support of my friends when it comes to most food battles, so if you have the same, they will have no problem moving it to one side. This helps to keep you hand from crawling into that tempting basket.
3. Get a Drink and a Straw- Sip on water or iced tea or coffee while you wait for your meal. This will help you keep your moth busy and hopefully fight off a little bit of the hunger.
4. Think about your meal- Hopefully what you ordered actually will satisfy you and sounds good. Since resturant portions are normally huge, focus on "not ruining your meal". know that your food is comming! Don't Stress.
5. Order a side salad- If it is a resturaunt where you know you will be waiting a while to eat, get a starter salad so you can eat like everyone else.
6. If all else fails- imagine the least healthy, overweight, diseased version of yourself....eating all of it. for me this idea is pretty gross and sad. Fear is a pretty strong emotion, so if it resorts to this: Fear the Basket :)
Cauliflower "Fried Rice"
Directions Grate the cauliflower in a food processor. Spray a large pan and saute (over medium-high heat) garlic. After about a minute add califlower and Sesame oil. Don't stir constantly, but move it around every once in a while. You want the cauliflower to get slightly browned. Once it is, add in shredded carrot and Soy Sauce (gluten free) for the last 30 seconds. Move the mixture to one side of the pan. On the clear side, pour in scrabbled eggs and cook. Stir together the two mixtures. Serve and garnish with the green onions (for a nice crunch and flavor).
Note: this recipe makes a lot! Like 4 cups, so if its just you, I hope you like left overs. Also, this recipe re-heats quite well and can be mixed with a variety of toppings! Its best when eaten with
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sundried Skewers & Stressed!
So last night I didn't really sleep. Between work and a service club I am in, I have encountered stress! Other than causing dreamless nights and baggy eyed mornings, it also triggers bad eating habits for me. Regardless I did pretty well being paleo today. I'm on day eight, not bad, and with stress, hunger, and afternoon exhaustion I had a mini-cheat. That's right, I cheated. I had an afternoon apple and had some left over Carmel sauce. I only used one Tablespoon with my apple, but I know what that can do to my blood sugar. I went for a 3mi run after in hopes that my body uses the extra sugar I had just savored. For dinner I also used the last 2 Tablespoons of blue cheese on my salad. I may be a cheater but at least I'm honest. Tomorrow is a new day, and another chance to be 100% paleo. So here is my latest recipie: Sundried Tomato SkewersIngredients
1 can Artichoke Hearts
1 Zucchini
10 Mushrooms
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 an Onion
2 large Chicken Breast
1 Jar Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Directions
Cut up all ingreients into large chunks. Put ingredients on soaked wood skewers, alternating ingredients. Spray grill with coconut oil spray, or something similar. Brush the Kababs with the pesto before palacing on the grill. Gill over Medium High Heat for 3 minutes, flip and cook another 3 minutes, or until Chicken is cooked. Serve with remaining pesto.
This recipie is easy and delicious. I have also made it with traditional pesto and it is every bit as good.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Whats hot, tropical, and tasty?
Hopefully everyone will be after going paleo. But weather we are or not, this coconut soup is!! This is by far my favorite soup recipe (also my boyfriends, so don't fear feeding this to a man!) The flavors in this are spicy and authentic. The coconut milk creates a creamy richness that is rarely matched eating paleo. Once adding chicken and shrimp this is a protein packed paleo meal. I add waterchesnuts, some other optional things to toss in can be Bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts (not sure if bean sprouts are paleo??) So cook this up on a cold winter night and imagine your hot bikini-ready body in Thailand!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 stalk lemon grass, minced
- 2 Tablespoons red curry paste (I like it spicy! use less if you don't)
- 4 cups chicken broth(1 box)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
- 1 can Waterchestnuts cut into chunks
- 1 large can Straw Mushrooms
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
- 1 Large Chicken breast cubed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
This recipie is great reheated, which is good beacuse it makes a ton! So if you are worried if you will like it, or don't like eating the same thing over and over again I would half it.
Green Eggs and Ham
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Dinner Party! Asperagas and Salad
I'm headed out tongiht for a dinner party! Woohoo. I am bringing my favorite salad and asperagas. Luckily they are making chicken as the main, so I am good to go, for food anyways. So my salad:
Ingredients
Spring Mix Lettuce An Apple Cubbed (as small as you like Dried Cranberries (sprinkle some on) Chopped Peacans (sprinkle as well) Top with your favorite dressing, or a splash of olive oil and vinegar. I got this recipie from cooking light and just changed a few ingedients to make it more Paleo friendly. Ingredients 40 asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 pounds) Olive Oil cooking spray 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons glueten free soy sauce 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar Cracked black pepper (optional) Grated lemon rind (optional)
Directions
Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tender.Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat. Garnish with cracked pepper and rind, if desired.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Shrimp and Peppers
Tonight I made Coconut shrimp from Everyday Paleo. I used smaller flaked coconut, and made a few little tweaks.
1 lb large shrimp, tail on peeled and deveined
1/4 cup coconut flour(used less flower, could even use a bit less than 1/4 cup probably)
½ teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (added more pepper)
3 egg whites
2/3 cups coconut Shredded (i used 1 1/3 cup less flakes, they were smaller so gave better coverage)
Pre heat oven to 400. Also make coating them easier: put coconut flower and pepper in a plastic bag, toss in shrimp and shake. Then dredge each shrimp in egg and dip in cocnut flakes. Spray a foil covered pan (to avoid the mess) with coconut oil spray and place each shrimp on it. Pake for 5 min, flip them, and cook 4 more minuted. YUMMM! They are so delicious. I would lower the amount of almond flower even more, because I found the crust to be a little thick. But other than that the sweet crunch skin complemented the shrimp amazingly. This has got to be my new favorite recipe!!
on the side I served
Bell Pepper & Garlic
1 red Bell Pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Optional: sprikle with fresh parsley and toasted pine nuts before serving!
Saute all ingredients, over medium heat untill bell pepper is cooked to your liking.
The bell pepper gets so sweet and mixes great with garlic. Its a tastey side when you are burnt out on salads and green veggies.
Lastly: my cheat for the night is a glass and a half of wine. While high in sugar, 6oz of wine has about about 3g carbs which isnt all that bad. So cheers to fermented grapes, a rainy Friday night, and to making 5 days paleo!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tis the Season
 |
| Tequila Shots are Gluten Free! |
 |
| Shrimp, Salami,Cashews & Chocolate covered Almonds! Paleo-buffet heaven :) |
1. Don't go Hungry!!!! have a snack: nuts, fruit, jerky or even a small meal. This will help you steer away from temptation and eat less.
2. Drink Water Before! Weather you plan on drinking or not, staying hydrated is crucial. It can minimize your hangover. Also, many times we confuse thirst with hunger, since we aren't used to listening to our bodys signals. So a big glass of water will also help you avoid eating when your body doesnt need to.
3. Contribute! Offer to bring an appitzer, side or dessert to the event. This allows you control over at least 1 thing there. This way you can eat what you bring and helps out your host or hostess. Tips on what to bring: veggie platter with dip, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, stuffed mushrooms, a friut platter, or dark chocolate covered almonds.
5. Plan! If you plan on consuming alchol, know that it spikes your blood sugar, which causes cravings! So have carrots or another snack ready for if you get home ravenous. Also, many people say grease "cures" a hang over. So have baccon on hand for a hearty morning after breakfast, or in a pinch head to in-n-out burger for a protein style burger with mustard instead of their special sauce.
6. Get Your Party On!! What are parties really about? talking to friends and making new ones! Its pretty hard to eat and talk, so if your picking one, be chatty. Also, if there is a dance floor, get out there and burn off some of those extra tequila calories :)
So remember, its more important to feel great in those party dresses! Let this party season be a time to have fun with your loved ones, not grow your waist line.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
To Bulk or Not to Bulk That is the Question
So today was meal three of the butternut squash hash...and well, it left something to be desired. Where crispy warmth once flourished, now only moist cold mush remained. So I ate a few pieces of it, and then decided that the chicken on top was lunch enough! Luckily I had trail mix and an apple to get me through the afternoon. That is one of the hard things, cooking for a table of 1 (most of the time) Sometime its nice to not cook every single meal, but does that out weigh the delicous taste of when food was just prepared? I guess it depends on the food. So, I will add to my blog which meals are good re-heated and which are dine-and-ditch. So today was all leftovers, but I did make ahead 4 small artichokes. So attached is a recipie that I will make with them. Grilled artichokes with lemon garlic mayo (make your own if your strick paleo, or use packaged if your me)Artichokes: steam artichokes, then cut them in half and scoop out the inside. Brush the outside with a little olive oil and toss it on the grill until slightly browned and cripsy.
Dip: dice 2-3 cloves of garlic and mix with 4 Tablespoons of Mayo. add 1/2 Tablespoon of Lemon juice
This mayo is good on anything. The added flavor allows you to use less ( I think) It is best if you can make it before hand so that the garlic has time to mix with the mayo.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
