Lamb and Bacon Wrapped dates!

Never made lamb before, my dad usually makes it on the grill!  I would have to say my first attempt was awesome!

8-9oz Lamb Steak
Coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ginger, grated

High heat in coconut oil sear each side of lamb. Turn down to medium heat and add the garlic. I push the lamb to outside of pan and put garlic in center for a minute or so then place the lamb on top of garlic. Grate fresh ginger to taste on top with a little salt and pepper. I cooked on low roughly 8minutes each side!

Bacon Wrapped Pitted Dates

Preheat over 350

Line cookie sheat with foil, shinny side down. Cut uncurred bacon slice in half and wrap around the date and use a tooth pick to keep in place. 

I cooked roughly 10-15min or until it looks done

Enjoy they are amazing!

 

Weekly Menu ideas

Okay well another weekend is coming to a close which means it is that time again for weekly menus. I know you are all on the edge of your chair waiting for this one hee hee hee... Going to change it up a bit!

Sunday~ Mexican Chicken Bake
Monday~ Lamb Shanks w/ mint jelly and bacon wrapped dates
Tuesday~ Split shift at work so leftover night
Wednesday~ Taco Night
Thursday~ Split shift at work so leftover night
Friday~ Seared Ahi with wasabi mayo (making it paleo)
Saturday~ SD zoo

Getting started and Whole30....

Whole 30 is a strict version of Paleo. Highly recommend if your just starting out! Shop the perimeter of the store.

Just Eat REAL food 

Paleo 101 ...Eat none of the following:

• Grains: rice, pasta, breads, oats, corn..
• Beans/Legumes- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas, peanuts
• Soy
• Sugar
• Limit Salt
• Anything artificial or processed
• Alcohol 

♥ Eat the following:

• Meat, chicken, seafood and fish
• Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I am not this PALEO yet )
• Eggs
• Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.
• Fruit
• Vegetables (LOTS)....... Potato and Sweet potato (IN MODERATION)
• Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond (IN MODERATION) Do not eat peanuts (a bean) 
• Dairy occasional or not at all (raw)

You should expect some minor tuning problems- don’t worry, you can deal with them. It will take some time for your body to adjust to the changes after all these years. There is a huge surge in your vitamin intake. There is a huge decrease in your toxin intake.

Click on the link below
Whole30 2012 here is the info you need to do the Whole30!

MY story

Highest weight, Summer 2005------>  Summer 2011

I have battled with my weight for years, it seriously has been a roller coaster. In 10 yrs I went from 135lbs to 170 lbs. size 16 or 18 pants (I don't quite remember) to my current size 6/7 130 lbs. ♥ I don't think I realized to what degree I had gained weight until I had seen a photo. In 2005 (above) I started working out, watching what I was eating and that really seemed to help get the weight loss ball rolling. 2006~ I was roughly a size 11 Jeans, 147lbs. I continued to lose weight and feel great! I had my son summer of 2007. I jumped on this PALEO wave in April 2011, Since then I went from a size (loose) 11 to my size 6/7 and have dropped 5-10lbs of fat. Dropped my regular workout routine and started interval training, modified CrossFit (no lifting but the basic idea). I have never felt better and my moods have improved! I am the healthiest and in the best shape I have ever been in. I am still learning but loving this lifestyle. I would say I am about 90% Paleo (occasional dairy, dark chocolate, and rice in sushi)

Since going Paleo

THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED SINCE GOING PALEO~ 

• I now like Bacon.. A LOT!!!!!!
• Blueberries and blackberries are sweeter and I enjoy them now
• I liked Brussel Sprouts (short lived since I can't digest them and I will save myself and others around me that experience lol)
• I can now handle Black coffee with coconut oil in it
• I love green and black tea
• My confidence is up
• My skin looks better
• My moods are better
• Too many nuts makes me keep a little of weight

Learning and Wondering

• Too many carrots and sweet potato can turn your palms orange! 
• Does anything happen if you eat too many blueberries?!  
• If tea stains you mug what does it do to your insides?
• Can you eat too many avocados? Doubtful
• Eat when your hungry and DON'T when your not.
• You have to eat fat to lose fat.

Paleo Chocolate coconut ice cream

Shredded coconut chocolate ice cream! Wow is it sweet and yummy! My daughter loved it!!


In a sauce pan bring to a low boil whisk 
1 can full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Place in a medium sized bowl, mix in 1/2-3/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut and cover with plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours
Place in ice cream maker until desired consistency.
Place in air tight container in freezer.
Awesome!!!!!
mixture of Make it paleo and my own recipe! Enjoy ♥

MEATZA

MeatzA 
Preheat oven 400
1lb ground beef
1lb Italian sausage
1 egg
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Mix together and flatten on a cookie sheet olive oil and some Italian seasoning
Cook "crust" for 10 min drain grease
Place a layer of cooked bacon over "crust"
Sautéed veggies and place on top pizza
broil low another 10 min :) ENJOY
Inspired by my friend Tim, Go check out his Paleo page!

Paleo Pizza

Paleo Pizza


Crust:
2 cup almond flour (or ground almonds)
2 egg
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
I added in garlic powder and italian seasonings to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat egg then form dough with all ingredients.
Press onto a baking sheet and shape into a "pie" (sometimes I have to oil my hands with olive oil so the dough doesn't stick to me)

Bake for 7-10 minutes

Then top with tomato sauce (that has no sugar added and the only ingredient is tomatoes and natural spices- then you can season however you like with natural herbs/spices) on top and then top with your favorite toppings. garlic, Basil, spinach, roma tomatoes, olive oil and mozzarella (Cheese is NOT paleo, however I allow myself one serving a day)

Stick it the oven for 5 min to warm everything up, little longer if you add cheese!

bacon acorn squash cream sauce chicken

AWEsome bacon acorn squash cream sauce chicken
Serves 2
1 spaghetti squash
1 larger acorn squash (delicata is better if in season, fall)
1/2 lb chicken tenders (or whatever kind of cut you like)
4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
4 garlic cloves diced
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
What you do:
Preheat your 425 degrees.
Cut spaghetti squash acorn squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and excess threads. Don't be dainty.
Place open side down on a baking sheet (use aluminum foil for easy clean up) and cook for 20-25 minutes. You will know when they are done cooking when you can poke the outside skin and it 'gives' a bit.
cook your chicken at the same time. Just place chicken on a foil lined baking sheet, sprinkle some olive oil over the chicken (or other kind of fat), salt and pepper it, and sprinkle just a bit of basil on top. Easy peasy. I cooked my tenders for around 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Once your squash is done cooking, pull it out of the oven, dethread the spaghetti squash into a large bowl with a fork. Go against the grain, if spaghetti squash had grain.
Now throw your diced bacon into a skillet and cook until done. Use a slotted spoon to pull out your cooked bacon, but leave behind the grease. I used all of my grease.cads 4 diced cloves of garlic put in bacon grease. Take your acorn squash and hollow it out. Dump the insides into your warm skillet filled with bacon grease. Then add your coconut milk. You may need to add a little bit more coconut milk depending on how runny you like your sauce. Mix thoroughly with a ladle to break up the squash a bit.
Add seasonings to the mix and salt and pepper as needed. Mix thoroughly and cook on low for about 5 minutes to simmer.
Now dice up your cooked chicken.
Pour sauce over spaghetti squash and add your chicken to the mix well and Top with bacon.

Paleo Mexican Chicken Bake

Cooking Steps
Preheat your oven to 375º. In a large bowl place the shredded chicken, spices, lime juice, sour cream, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste then mix well. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking dish and top with cheese. Pop into the preheated oven for 15 minutes then garnish the top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado slices & your favorite hot sauce.

Ingredients

1 store bought organic rotisserie chicken
1.5 tablespoons cumin
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
2 minced clives of garlic 
2 green onions
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 diced jalapeño 
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional garnishes:
Shredded lettuce
Diced cherry tomatoes
Sliced avocado
Cilantro leaves

Chicken broccoli alfredo

One of my favorite sharing sites www.fastpaleo.com had this Chicken broccoli alfredo casserole  posted!
It was very good! I used heavy whipping cream, 3/4 a stick of butter, 1/3 white onion diced and a little less cauliflower  than they called for
 :-) Might have done something wrong since it was more like a soup but either way it was yummmmtastic!

Paleo MeatLoaf

PALEO meatloaf

1.5 lb ground beef (90/10)
1/2 of an 8oz can of organic tomato paste 
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 small white onion (diced)
3-4 medium fresh basil leaves (finely chopped) or 1 TBS dried
2 eggs
Fresh ground black pepper
Pinch sea salt
Squirt of mustard or dash of mustard seed

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Grease a bread pan with butter and lightly press the mixture into the pan. Cover with foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Allow the meatloaf to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Beef, bacon and spinach

Threw this together and it turned out amazing! Yes, I ate it all. LOL

• Cook 3 pieces of bacon cut into 3rds, put aside once it is done.
• In bacon grease saute 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 red onion diced, cook for 3 min on medium
• Add in 1/2 lb grass fed organic ground beef. cook until done then add the diced bacon back in 
• Add 2 very large handfuls of spinach and cover on low

Enjoy :)

Tri-Tip

Tri-Tip with Monterrey steak seasoning cooked in kerrygold with garlic, mushrooms and onions sauteed around the edge of the pan and of course bacon wrapped asparagus

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

I Took several recipes and combined to get this recipe... So good but needs some fine tuning...

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

• 2 Chicken Breasts (diced)
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 2 cup Chicken Stock
• 2 Tbsp Walnut Oil
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ medium Yellow Onion (diced)
• ¼ cup Arrowroot Powder
• ¼ cup Coconut Milk
• ½ cup Carrots (diced)
• 2 Garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Celery Stalks (diced)
• 1 Sweet Potato (small, diced)
• 1 cup Broccoli Florets (optional)
• 1 tsp Sage

Crust (optional)

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• dash of garlic powder 

Mix together and place on top of mixture after you put in the pan to bake.....

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat 1 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil and cook the chicken. Drain the grease and set the chicken aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp kerrygold butter over medium high heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are almost translucent then whisk in your arrowroot powder.  Whisk for about a minute and then add your chicken stock.  Season with salt and pepper and let thicken for a few minutes add sage and coconut milk. Mix thoroughly. Then add the remaining vegetables, chicken and season with sea salt and pepper. Saute in the pan until the mix is thick and the vegetables are slightly soft.

 Bake for 15 min then turn down the heat to 325 degrees bake for an additional 15 min

Going to need to tweak this recipe a bit. It turned into soup instead of that thick creamy texture after I baked it! Next time I will do without the crust and I will steam all veggies, add in after I put meat in with the "gravy" mixture and skip the baking part!
Enjoy