I love summer! Everything just seems to slow down a little and it gives me a chance to enjoy the things I don't have time for during the hustle and bustle of the school year. And even though I'm finding that I'm waking up around the same time every day, it's giving me a chance to really enjoy my mornings sipping on coffee or chai leisurely, watching Today on NBC. Even going to work doesn't seem like work. I'm able to tackle jobs one at a time without interruptions. But probably my most favorite thing about summer so far has been my ability to get creative in the kitchen. I can't seem to get enough of those smoked grilled chicken burgers, I branched out and tried two new vegetables that I ended up loving, collards (that were crispy, not slimy...I don't do slimy very well) and bok choy (which went into this amazing Vietnamese Paleo pho soup). Those will definitely have to make an appearance on the blog soon, so keep a look out. I also roasted a beautiful chicken last week that came out golden and crispy on the outside and completely moist and juicy on the inside. My husband and I devoured most of the 4 pound bird the first night. I have been craving a good chicken salad though, so I purposely saved some of it and made this wonderful chicken salad the next day. There is something about tarragon and almonds that I can't get enough of, but the fruit and bacon just put it over the top for me! It's really hard to share, so if you're planning to, make sure you divide it out right away or you may end up eating the whole thing right out of the bowl...like I did!
Dill-Tarragon Chicken Salad
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 2
Special Tools:
Mixing Bowl
Ingredients:
2 cups of shredded leftover golden roasted chicken
1/4 cup of paleo mayo (I used a variation similar to this)
3 strips of crispy bacon, chopped
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 an apple, diced (I used a pink lady and left the skin on)
2 tbsp of dried cranberries, sugar free
12 grapes, halved
1/4 cup of sliced almonds
1/2 tbsp of dried dill
1/2 tbsp of terragon
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper
Instructions:
1. Combine the chicken, mayo, and bacon in a large bowl and toss with a spoon to mix well.
2. Add the celery, apple, cranberries, and grapes and stir again until coated.
3. Add the seasonings and mix well.
4. Cover and let the chicken salad chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
5. Eat right out of the bowl or serve in lettuce cups.
Living a paleo lifestyle for the last few years has meant giving up bread, something I use to eat more than my fair share of growing up. I can easily name some of the restaurants that had some of the best bread and rolls I loved so much. Quincy's "Big Fat Yeast Rolls" was probably my favorite place until they went out of business in my city. But after giving up bread for such a long time, there aren't many days now where I say, "I wish I had a piece of bread with this." Now I look at it and realize that it's just a filler and isn't providing any real nutritional sustenance. However, there are certain foods that are kind of hard to eat without slapping it between two ends, like a BLTA for example! I suppose a lettuce wrap would do, but using sweet potato rounds adds flavor and cuteness!
Cilantro-Lime Sweet Potato BLTA Sliders
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Special Tools:
Grill
Grilling tray
Foil lined baking sheet
Small bowl
Sauce brush
12 Toothpicks
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
3 strips of bacon, cut into 1/4 pieces
1/2 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 ripened avocado, thinly sliced
1 cup of lettuce (I used spring mix)
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 and 1/2 tbsp of cilantro, finely chopped
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven and grill to 375 degrees. *Put the grilling tray onto the grill about 2-3 minutes before you add the sweet potatoes to give it a few minutes to heat up.
2. Place the bacon on the foil lined baking sheet and bake for 13-16 minutes until crispy. Remove from oven and drain on paper towels.
3. Mix the evoo, lime juice, and cilantro into a small bowl.
4. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. I got 12 slices from each sweet potato.
5. Lay the sweet potatoes out and brush on one side with the the oil mixture.
6. Place the sweet potatoes brushed side down onto the grilling tray and on the grill. Grill for about 5-7 minutes, brushing the other side with the oil mixture and then turning and grilling again for another 5-7 minutes. The sweet potatoes are done when you can stick a fork easily through them.
7. Build your sliders with one slice of sweet potato on the bottom, then top with a piece of bacon, tomato, avocado, a piece or two of spring mix, and then another sweet potato slice. Use a toothpick to hold it all together. I served mine with some raw veggie slaw!
It's amazing how much you can accomplish when you can't sleep! I was up yesterday morning before the sun was. Knowing I wasn't going back to sleep, I made my way downstairs with our dog, Lucas, to let him outside. It was so early I had to manually turn my Keurig on, instead of the usual auto start at 7 AM. I spent the next hour or so sipping on Ultra Spiced Chai, watching the sun rise, and planning our meals for the week. Such a great way to start the morning. I've got a few brand new meals I'm going to test out this week and will share if I decide they are share worthy (AKA delicious), and then the other days I'm bringing back some things we've had before like taco salad, and the paleo ranch seasoning on some pork medallions. Those have been getting a lot of great feedback lately. Thanks for that! Keep letting me know what you think. Back to my morning...I was able to make it to two grocery stores and back in just over an hour and we made it to a 10:45 AM showing of Maleficent. By 12:30 I had accomplished everything I had on my Sunday agenda. We spent the afternoon making a beautiful brunch with some friends and then we all ended up napping on our couch! Best Sunday Ever!
Switching gears now...
Coleslaw is one of those side items that my husband will eat with just about anything. He really loves it. I like it to a degree, but it's really kind of boring. I ate at a place called Zoe's Kitchen, which serves Mediterranean cuisine. They had a really interesting coleslaw, which was entirely vinegar based. So this sort of came into fruition from eating theirs. Now before I even start, I will say, the dressing for this slaw is tangy from the vinegar and dijon. But it's mostly because I left the honey out to keep it 21 Day Sugar Detox approved. If you're not detoxing, add a tablespoon or so of honey to the processor or blender and it should cut the tang quite a bit.
Raw Veggie Slaw
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour + 15 minutes
Special Tools:
Foil lined baking sheet
Food processor or blender
Large bowl
Ingredients:
4 strips of thick cut bacon
1 bag of Cruciferous Crunch Collection from Trader Joe's
1 small carrot, peeled or shredded
10 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (Trader Joe's had some beautiful heirloom tomatoes)
1 cup of raw broccoli florets, chopped down to bite sized pieces
1 cup of cucumber, diced
1/4 cup of scallions
1/2 cup of light tasting olive oil
3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 tbsp of honey (leave out for 21dsd)
1 tbsp of fresh dill
1/2 tsp of celery salt
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.
2. Cook the bacon on the foil lined baking sheet for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain the strips on a paper towel and then chop into bits.
3. Place the apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey, dill, and celery salt to the processor or blender. While the motor is running, pour in the olive oil and let it mix until creamy (about a minute or so).
4. Place all of the other ingredients, including the bacon, into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and use two spoons to toss until well combined.
5. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow all of the flavors to come together.
My husband and I have been together for almost 7 years, and in that time he has come to be known in our house as “The Grill Master” for his impressive grilling skills. I can’t tell you how many times he has come back from the grill with just the most perfect, juiciest piece of meat! It’s awesome. Well, every time he’s done grilling, he used the grill brush to clean off the grates. You can imagine over 7+ years what that brush looked like, so for Christmas I decided to buy him a new one. It was one of those last minute ideas, so I grabbed one from Target. Only $9. It looked pretty decent and sturdy. Ironically, around that same time, I took over the grilling. I got tired of waiting for him to come home in the evenings to grill our meat. I just wanted dinner to be done by the time he came home and not rely on him all the time. I don’t mean to toot my own or anything, but I think I’ve developed a new skill. ;o) Lol. Back to the point of the story. The grill brush. Let’s just say, you get what you pay for. Most of the bristles fell apart after the first time I used it. I’ve only gotten about 3-4 uses out of it, and last time was actually the last time. I used our old grill brush to prop open the lid of the grill because the temperature just gets too hot otherwise. So naturally I would use the new one for the same thing, right? Wrong. I propped it open, walked away for 5 or so minutes, and came back to the whole thing melting down the side of the grill. Awesome. Just freaking awesome. Old grill brush side = metal. New one? Plastic that only appeared to be metal. Epic fail. Luckily these burgers survived and came out fantastic! So enjoy them, because I’ll never be able to make these burgers without thinking about that stupid grill brush ever again.
Grilled Tangy Burgers
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2-4
Special Tools:
Grill
Foil lined baking sheet
Large bowl
Ingredients:
For the burgers:
1 pound of grass-fed ground beef
2 tbsp of fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup of red onion, minced
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper
For the garnish:
1 ripened avocado (brown with some green still showing, outer peel should give when pressed)
juice from half a lime
salt and pepper, to taste
4 strips of nitrate-free bacon
4 slices of tomato
4 small handfuls of spring mix (or your favorite lettuce mixture)
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 365 and your grill to around 400.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the burgers. Press down to even out the meat mixture and then score the meat by making an X to evenly divide the meat into 4 sections.
Scoop out each section into your hands, roll, and then shape into a patty. Be sure to press down in the center of the patty more than around the edges, because the patties tend to puff up in the center as they cook.
3. Place your bacon on a foil lined baking sheet and put in the oven for 13-16 minutes, depending on your crispiness preference. Drain the bacon on a couple of paper towels.
4. While the bacon is cooking, place your patties on the grill for 7-9 minutes on one side, flipping ONLY ONCE and cook for 5-7 minutes on the other side. Less time for a more medium burger. Remove from heat and allow to rest for a couple minutes.
5. Prepare your avocado. Scoop it out, discard the pit, mash with a fork until most of the lumps are mashed well. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper, and stir a bit more.
6. Put a handful of spring mix down on a plate, then place the burger down and top with tomato, bacon, and avocado. I served mine with a grilled vegetable medley.
In our home, we don't get around to eating out much during the week. I've come to realize that I feel so much better after a meal at home than I do at a restaurant. Being mindful about my food consumption has really helped to open my eyes to all of the extra additives most places put in their food. I know that most restaurants and large corporations aren't putting these harmful substances in their food out of malice, but rather are looking to preserve the food, make it with less quality ingredients because it's cheaper to feed the masses, or make it taste "better" by hiding a bunch of sugar in it. Interestingly enough, when we do go out, often times I'll sit there and think You know what? I could probably make this at home, with better ingredients, and probably boost the nutritional value. That's really how my love of cooking healthy started. I would have this constant internal struggle with myself...yes, going out to eat is so much easier, but why am I going to spend money on something that I could probably make myself?! And do you know what? The majority of the time I'm completely content with my version and don't feel like I'm totally missing out. I think we've really got to train ourselves to think about food only as fuel and not as a reward system, or crutch. But!...that doesn't mean the food we make at home can't be delicious and rewarding, in addition to being healthy.
Little known fact about me (unless you're my husband or my friend Bridget who shares this same sentiment)...I absolutely LOVE Greek food. I could probably eat a Greek salad every single day of my life. I especially love feta cheese. And olives, can't forget the olives. Tzatziki sauce has a special place in my heart, though I don't eat that much dairy these days. And I don't know what it is about that phyllo dough, but it is so delicious. I wish I didn't feel so awful after eating it or I'd probably eat a ton more. So I guess it's a good thing I don't!
Here's a recipe for a delicious Greek chicken salad. If my propane tank wouldn't have run out of gas when I made this earlier in the week, I would have totally grilled the chicken instead of baking it. That would have taken the flavor to another level for sure! You know what that means?! I have an excuse to make this again. Round two coming up soon! But even baking the chicken, my husband gave me an "exceeded expectations," so I'll take it! Enjoy everyone! Let me know what you think.
Greek Chicken Salad
Prep Time: 1+ hour, 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1+ hour, 55 minutes
Serves 3-5
Special Tools:
Foil lined baking sheet
Large bowl
Ingredients:
For the chicken marinade:
3 organic chicken breasts
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh oregano, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
For the salad:
3-4 cups of cooked chicken, diced
3 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cups of cucumber, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 small carrot, shredded
1 small avocado, diced
3/4 cup of feta cheese (leave out for strict paleo)
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp of fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 pepperoncini peppers, whole or sliced (optional)
Instructions:
1. Place the chicken and all the marinade ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 415 and cook the chicken on the foil lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.
3. When the chicken is done, set it aside and allow to cool completely on a plate. Don't dice the chicken yet. Allowing it to rest lets the juices sink back into the chicken.
4. Remove the juice from the baking sheet, reduce the oven to 375, and cook the bacon for 13-15 minutes, until crispy. Remove from the oven and drain the bacon on a paper towel.
5. While the bacon is cooking, prepare the the cucumber, tomato, red pepper, olives, onion, carrot, and avocado.
6. Once the chicken has cooled some, like there is no more steam and you can handle it easily, dice it up and put it in a large bowl.
7. Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl, except the avocado and bacon, and toss well.
8. Once everything is combined, add the avocado and carefully mix (if you mix it too much, the avocado can become mushy).
9. Chop the bacon and add it to the bowl.
10. Eat by itself or make some lettuce wraps with it!
Why does flying have to be so expensive?! I mean really, $500 to fly less than 1000 miles? I truly do not understand this. Being away from my family for so long stinks and airlines are not making it any easier to close the gap. Now if I drove to Jacksonville first, then the price drops by almost $150, but now I have the inconvenience of driving two and half hours, leaving my car unattended at an airport for a week, paying that fee, and then paying the cost of gas there and back. For that, I just pay the extra and fly out of my hometown. Alas, I continue my search, hoping that I can find something reasonable and won't make my stomach churn at the price. Any pilots out there want to log some hours and fly me up?
Let's move on to something that doesn't totally bum me out; dinner last night! I have to hand it to Trader Joe's, they really have some amazing products. This entire meal was concocted using items bought from their store. Whoever said they can't taste the difference between wild seafood and farm raised are crazy! Same with organic products. Trader Joe's has some of the best kale I've ever eaten. And it's only $0.30 more than the regular bags!
Pan Seared Alaskan Cod and Sea Scallops with Kale and Carrots
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2
Special Tools:
2 medium or large saute pans
Ingredients:
4 strips of bacon, chopped
2 wild Alaskan cod filets, about 6 ounces each
1/2 lb of sea scallops (that was 6 large scallops for me)
5 oz of organic kale (I used half of this bag)
2 large carrots, cut into 3-4 sections and then quartered
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/4 cup of thinly sliced and diced red onion.
1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup of white cooking wine
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp of ghee, divided
salt and pepper
1 tsp of dried parsley flakes
Instructions:
1. Place 1 saute pan over medium-high heat and add the chopped bacon. Allow it to crisp up, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and allow grease to drain on a paper towel.
2. Transfer about 2-3 tbsp of rendered bacon fat from the sauté pan to the other sauté pan.
3. Add 1 tbsp of ghee to the first sauté pan and allow it to melt. Then add the carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until the carrots start to brown slightly. Add your garlic and onion and allow to cook until the onions are beginning to become translucent, about 2 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, rinse your fish and scallops in cold water and pat dry them. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on one side. Add the parsley to the fish.
5. Add your kale to the pan with the carrots and sauté over medium high heat for about 2 minutes, turning constantly to coat each piece with the ghee and bacon fat.
6. Add the chicken broth, wine, apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to the kale and mix well. Cover and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, allowing the juices to evaporate. Then remove from heat and set aside.
7. In the second sauté pan, heat the transferred bacon fat and 1 tbsp of ghee on medium-high. When hot, add the cod and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Set aside on a plate. If there is a lot of fat and ghee left in the pan, then don't worry about adding anymore. If not, add up to 1 tbsp.
8. Turn the heat up a little more and wait about 15-20 seconds for the ghee to begin to brown.
9. Add the scallops, seasoned side down, and sear for 3 minutes on each side or until they have a golden brown crust on both sides.
10. Place the kale and carrots down on a plate, lay the fish and scallops on top, and then sprinkle with the chopped crispy bacon.
I love to cook, but sometimes a girl needs a quick and easy meal. Last night was one of those nights. After a super busy day at work and a jam packed 3 hours at CrossFit Tallahasee (front squats, snatch 1 rep max, and then a snatch AMRAP), I was pretty exhausted and not in the mood to spend more than a few minutes on my feet. My girl Juli from PaleOMG is great for coming up with ideas that are relatively simple; and this recipe originated from her, but I modified it slightly to fit my lazy attitude. While this seems like it takes a while, an hour is spent letting the chicken marinate (just enough time to watch an episode of something on your DVR) and then you're really only making the guacamole.
*To keep this 21 Day Sugar Detox approved, leave out the mango!
Fully Loaded Citrus Marinaded Chicken Wraps
Prep Time: 1 hour + 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes
Serves: 3
Special Tools:
Foil lined rimmed baking sheet
1 medium mixing bowl
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 lemons, juiced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 strips of bacon
Mango-pineapple guacamole
Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa (totally Paleo!)
Butter lettuce, for the wraps
Instructions:
1. Place the first ten ingredients into a large gallon plastic bag or deep bowl and let marinate for about an hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the bacon strips down. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on desired doneness.
4. Remove the bacon from the sheet and let the excess grease drain off on a paper towel or two.
5. Place the chicken on the same tray (right in the fat) and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Make the mango-pineapple guacamole.
7. When your 20 minutes is up, turn your broiler on and allow the tops of the chicken to brown for about 3 minutes (make sure your chicken is cooked through).
8. Remove from oven, let it rest for a couple of minutes (this allows the juices to settle back in the meat).
9. Slice each breast into about 10 pieces.
10. Place a few pieces of lettuce cups on a plate, add chicken, then top with bacon, salsa, and guacamole. Devour!
If there is one thing that has remained true for as long as I have been able to cook for myself, it would be that waking up extra early to make sure I have time to cook my own breakfast in the morning is something I loathe! I'm sure I'm not alone in this, because there are big food companies making tons of money off people who buy easy "on the go" food items: eggo waffles, pop-tarts, cereal bars, etc. What do they all have in common? They are all loaded with sugar and processed carbohydrates that will help you feel full for a short time before you have that morning crash after your insulin spikes, because your body is trying to process the garbage you just gave it. Sugar man, it's a monster of an addiction! I know. I lived that life, day in and day out for a good majority of my life. Cereal was usually my go-to breakfast item. I could crush a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms, or Reece's Peanut Butter Puffs in just a few days. As I got older, I knew those things weren't exactly good for me, so I switched to try and include more "healthy" cereals, Multi-grain Cherrios, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Honey Bunches of Oats. Haha! What a joke.
When I finally started to realize a high carb breakfast was doing more harm than good, finding ways to get a healthy breakfast became a struggle. Whenever I participated in nutritional challenges with our gym, I made it a point to wake up and make eggs for breakfast (my competitive nature wouldn't allow me to lose points for my team by skipping breakfast), but as soon as the challenge was over, extra sleep in the morning always won out. It wasn't until this past year that I started cooking breakfast casseroles for my husband and I on Sunday nights so we could just pop them in the microwave in the morning before work.
This particular breakfast casserole I dub as "Danny's" because it's got most of his favorite ingredients. He's a fan of cheese in his casserole, so I add shredded sharp cheddar and mozzarella, but for anyone with an issue processing dairy, you could definitely leave it out.
Danny's Breakfast Casserole
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Serves: 8
Special Tools:
Food processor w/ shredder attachment
Medium saute pan
9x13 glass baking dish
1 large bowl
Whisk
Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 medium sweet potato, washed, peeled, and shredded
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
3 strips of nitrate free bacon, chopped (I like Trader Joe's Uncured Applewood Smoked)
1 cup of diced ham or pancetta
12 eggs
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1.Prep your veggies and meats by washings, chopping, dicing, and/or shredding.
2. Preheat your oven to 375.
3. Place the saute pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the onion, pepper, and ham or pancetta. Saute for about 7 minutes to allow the savory flavors to meld.
5. While that's cooking, crack you eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Place the melted coconut oil in the baking dish and spread it over the bottom and up the sides. *This will be the difference of the egg sticking to the dish or not!
7. Put the shredded sweet potato down first. Pour half the eggs overtop and make sure it gets down into the bottom of the dish.
8. Spread the meat and veggies on top. Add the remaining eggs.
9. Sprinkle on the top with cheese (if you can have dairy) and the parsley.
10. Put in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. The center should be set before removing it from the oven.
