Eggplant Pizza

It's amazing to me how quickly time flies by when you're preparing for a baby! I haven't posted a recipe in so long, mostly because I really haven't been super creative in the kitchen. I've been cooking a lot of easy repeat recipes; Asian stir-fry, steak and sweet potato, chicken cobb salad, chicken or pork tacos, etc. You know, those easy go-to meals that you've made so many times you can do it on auto-pilot. But I got tired of eating the same vegetables and needed something new in the rotation. I'm trying very hard not to go overboard on eating junk food during my pregnancy, so to avoid bread but still feel like I'm having pizza, I give you this...

Eggplant Pizza


Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves: 3-4 people

Special Tools:
Roasting pan
Large saute pan
Medium sauce pot

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant (mine was about 9-10 inches)
1 lb of grass-fed beef (I used White Oak Pastures)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 Mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning, divided
Fresh chopped basil (about 10 leaves)
Salt
Black olives (optional)
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

Wash and dry the eggplant. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Lay on paper towels and sprinkle salt on each one to draw out the moisture for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the ground beef with some garlic and Italian seasoning in a saute pan. While there are still juices in the pan from the browned ground beef, add chopped onion and green pepper and cook until they begin to soften and the juice evaporates.
In another pot, put 1 can of diced tomatoes (or about two cups of freshly diced) and 1/4 cup (or 4 oz) of tomato paste. Add in some Italian seasoning and half of the fresh chopped basil and simmer. Then combine the ground beef mixture with the sauce. It should be thick.
Check the eggplant after about 30 minutes and pat dry them to remove the excess moisture. This will also remove some of the salt so it won't be overly salty. Lightly brush the eggplant with olive oil and Italian seasoning and roast them in a 375F oven for about 20-25 minutes. Don't let them get soggy. They still need to retain their shape. 
Remove the eggplant from the oven and top each one with the meat sauce, any additional toppings you may want (fresh basil, black olives, red pepper flakes, etc.), and a generous portion of Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese.
Place under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to get nice and melted and golden brown.
 

Slow Cooker Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash

Slow Cooker Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3-6 hours

Serves: 4

Special Tools:

Slow Cooker (use a liner if you have one for easier clean up)

Foil lined baking sheet

Medium size ice cream scoop

Large mixing bowl

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

For the meatballs:

1 lb grass fed ground beef

½ lb mild pork sausage

1 egg

¼ large yellow onion, minced

¼ large green pepper, minced

¼ cup almond flour

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp oregano

¼ tsp of cayenne pepper

a few pinches of sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the sauce:

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

½ large yellow onion, diced

a handful of chopped fresh basil

a few pinches of sea salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. Put all of the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix well.

2. With an ice cream scoop, form meatballs about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter.

3. Place all the meatballs in a slow cooker.

4. Wash and rinse the bowl, and use it again to mix all the ingredients of the sauce together.

5. Pour the sauce over and around the meatballs.

6. Cover and put on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Stir about once an hour.

7. About 45 minutes before the meatballs are done, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

8. Cut the spaghetti squash in half long ways. Place both halves face down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the outside gives a little when you press it. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.

9. Use a fork to shred the “noodles” and top with some meatballs and sauce. Enjoy!

Steak Burrito Bowl

I haven’t posted anything in quite a while. Mostly because we’re so busy these days preparing for Baby Blanco. I can’t believe we’re already in the third trimester. Only ten weeks left until we meet this little jumping bean. In the meantime, I’m trying hard to keep up with a paleo-ish diet and be as consistent as possible in the gym.

I have to say, I feel like I was super lucky for never having to experience any sort of morning sickness or crazy food aversions. I read an article several months back from The 80/20 that explained how women who ate a healthy diet prior to becoming pregnant were less likely to experience morning sickness. Don’t be fooled, there was, and still is, plenty of off-putting things people don’t warn you about while being pregnant. But all-in-all, the goodness and excitement outweighs the bad and ugly parts.

One of the areas that I like, but am cautious about for obvious reasons, is food cravings. While I want to go ham on just about everything sugary and carb-tastic, I know the reality is it will be much harder taking the weight off after pregnancy than it is putting it on in the first place. So like my like pre-pregnancy lifestyle, I’m trying hard to stick to 80/20 eating, though I’m sure it’s more like 70/30 Ha! In the first trimester, I really wanted Chinese food. There was this hole in the wall place not far from where my family and I lived in Jacksonville. I may have even mentioned this place in a previous post (I seriously loved it). I would literally gorge myself on as much lo mein, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, egg drop soup, and whatever else looked appealing that day. All I can do is shake my head now. But I was seriously craving this place for weeks. Thankfully, I think I ate Chinese only once while visiting my in-laws. I barely mentioned it being a craving and an hour later I had multiple containers of Chinese food ready to be consumed. These days, I’m craving mostly tacos or some variation. I can’t eat enough avocadoes or guacamole, so at least once a week we have tacos or taco salads. Yesterday I had an idea to make a burrito bowl. I don’t usually eat tortilla shells anyway, but I like everything else inside a burrito, thus emerged my steak burrito bowl. Enjoy!

*Disclaimer – if you’re going for strict paleo, leave out the rice, beans, cheese, and Greek yogurt.

Steak Burrito Bowl

Prep Time: 4-6+ hours (inactive)

Cook Time: 1 hour, divided

Serves: 4

Special Tools:

Grill

Rice Cooker

Small pot

Medium sauté pan

High speed blender or food processor

Small bowl

Ingredients:

Steak Marinade + Bean/Rice Seasoning:

1 + ½ tsp of chili powder

½ tsp of garlic powder

½ tsp of onion powder

½ tsp of cumin

¼ tsp of cayenne pepper

¼ tsp of sea salt

juice of one lime

Burrito Bowl Toppings:

1 lb of skirt steak (or you could use flank)

1 can organic black beans

½ cup uncooked white rice

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

1 cup of sprinkle cheese

4-6 cups of lettuce

handful of roughly chopped cilantro

Cilantro-Avocado Cream:

1 avocado

juice of 1 lime

½ cup of chopped cilantro

¼ - ½ cup of full-fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani brand. Has the most fat and least amount of sugar of the other brands I looked at in the store. You could potentially use coconut milk, though the flavor and consistency would be less like sour cream).

Instructions:

1. In the small bowl, mix together all of the seasonings for the marinade, except the lime juice.

2. Place the steak in a resealable plastic bag with the lime juice. Add half of the seasoning mix to the bag and toss the sealed bag around to coat all parts of the steak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

3. About an hour before the steak comes out, place the beans in a small pot. Add half of the remaining seasoning mixture to the pot. Cover and let the beans cook on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

4. About 30 minutes before the steak comes out, add your rice to the rice cooker. Wash it twice. Add ¾ cup of water, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and the remainder of the seasoning mixture to the cooker. Put the lid on and start it up. (Confession: I’ve never cooked rice on the stove before. I have a rice cooker! If you don’t, look up how to cook it on the stove, because I don’t know.)

5. About 20 minutes before the steak comes out, heat the sauté pan on medium with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and bell pepper and let them cook down until very soft. I left mine on low once they were tender and just let them continue to cook down. Add a tsp of water or so if they look like they are drying out at any point.

6. Chop up the tomato, avocado, lettuce, and cilantro if you haven’t already.

7. Make the cilantro-avocado dressing by placing all the ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender. You’ll probably need to scrape down the sides a few times. I was looking for a creamy consistency, but if you want something more runny like a dressing, add more liquid, either lime juice or water about a tsp at a time.

8. Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Cook steak for 5 minutes on each side or longer for your meat to be more cooked through. Take it off the heat and LET IT REST for at least 5 minutes more. Then slice it into bit size pieces.

At this point, everything should be done. You can plate your burrito bowl however you’d like, but this is how I did it:

Lettuce, rice, beans, steak, onions and peppers, cheese, tomato, avocado, cilantro-avocado cream, and a bit more cilantro.

Meaty Eggplant Parmesan

The first time I ever cooked eggplant was a TOTAL disaster. I cooked them in olive oil for way too long. They absorbed all of the oil and tasted slimy and disgusting! Lesson learned. Then my friend had me over for dinner one night and cooked eggplant Parmesean. I was so "wowed" at how good eggplant could actually taste, and asked her how she cooked hers. She said just fry them in light layer of coconut oil. Perfect! This week, we were given several eggplants in our CSA share, so I knew eggplant parm. was on the menu! My husband and I really love a hearty spaghetti sauce, so by combining what I learned from my friend and my sauce, I was sure this was going to come out pretty damn tasty. Ahem... It did! 

Meaty Eggplant Parmesan

Prep time: 40 minutes (30 minutes inactive)

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Serves: 5-6

Special tools:

9 x 13 baking tray

Large sauce pot

Large sauté pan

Bowl

Plate

Cutting board

Knife

Vegetable peeler

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1 lb of grass-fed ground beef (leave out if you want to keep it vegetarian)

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

6 oz of sliced mushrooms 

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

6 oz of herb goat cheese

2 tbsp of garlic powder

1 tbsp of Italian seasoning

1 tsp of basil

1 tsp of oregano

1 tsp of coarse sea salt

For the eggplant:

3 medium eggplants

2 eggs, whisked in a bowl

1 cup of almond flour

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper

Fresh grated Parmesan 

Coconut oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Start by peeling your eggplants and slicing them into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slices (enough to make 3 layers in your tray). Lay them out on a plate and sprinkle them LIGHTLY with salt. This draws out the moisture and seasons them well! Let it sit for about 30 minutes while you prep the rest of the meal.  

2. Next work on the sauce. Start by browning the meat. 

3. Then add all the veggies, except the tomatoes and zucchini. Let them cook down for about 5 minutes. 

4. Add the tomatoes and zucchini. Mix well. Add the tomato paste and all of the seasonings. 

5. Once everything is heated through, stir in the goat cheese. 

6. Let it simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes. 

7. Preheat the oven to 350. 

8. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add enough coconut oil to coat the bottom. 

9. Mix the almond flour and seasonings onto a plate. 

10. Dip each slice into the egg mixture, then into the almond flour mixture (shaking off the excess), and into the frying pan for 2-3 minutes on each side (or until golden brown). Continue until you've cooked them all. Add more oil as needed. 

11. Add the slices to the baking tray as they come out. 

12. When you have a layer, spread some of the sauce on top along with fresh grated Parmesan. Repeat for three layers. 

Place in the oven for 15 minutes until all the cheese is melted. 

Sloppy Joes

Working in the school system affords me the opportunity to travel a little bit more easily because my summer schedule is more lax. I still work, but I don't have a set schedule and can take my vacation at any point. Every summer since my parents and sister moved to the suburbs of Chicago seven years ago, I've tried to take a trip to visit them. Especially in the last few years, because my sister has started having children, and being a part of my nephews' lives is really important to me. Sadly, my husband doesn't have the same vacation time that I do, so most of my trips up north are solo. Since he and I both work two jobs, and he doesn't get home until after 8:30 every night during the week, I like to make things as easy as possible for him by leaving some already cooked and/or prepped meals.

Below is what I either cooked ahead of time or prepped and froze for him. Note: for side items, I left directions for steaming different veggies in the microwave. Easy peasy :o) 

• Pineapple salsa chicken bake: cook a whole chicken, then shred it and combine with 1 jar of pineapple salsa, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, 2 ounces of green chilies, and 1 cup of pineapple. Top with your favorite cheese --if you can handle dairy-- and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 until the cheese is golden and bubbly.)
• Chili pork pot roast w/ onions: place a 1.5-2 lb pork roast or loin and 1 small-medium sliced yellow onion in a freezer bag with 1 cup of beef broth, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, 2 ounces of green chilies, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of cumin, and 1/2 tsp of onion powder. I left directions on the bag to place all ingredients in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. 
• Stir fry w/ fajita strips: place 1 lb of beef fajita strips in a freezer bag with 1 tbsp of coconut aminos, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of ginger. Then I bought a pre-chopped bowl of stir-fry veggies (broccoli, peppers, onion, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, baby corn) from Trader Joe's and left directions to heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a wok (or large sauté pan) on medium-high heat. When it's HOT, cook the strips for 2-3 minutes and then remove. Add the veggies w/ 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of ginger and cook until desired tenderness is reached. Add the meat back in and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
• Organic ribeye: place steak in a freezer bag with 3 tbsp of mojo marinade, 1 tsp of worcestershire, and 1/2 tsp of 21 Seasoning Salute (Trader Joe's). You can pan sear (high w/ 1 tsp of coconut oil for 3-5 minutes on each side) or grill (on medium-high for 5-7 minutes on each side)
• Honey mustard chicken thighs - recipe in the The Paleo Kitchen Cookbook
• Simple Sloppy Joes (recipe below)

Simple Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Special Tools:
Large saute pan with deep sides

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef

1 tbsp Sugar free steak seasoning

1 tbsp Coconut palm sugar

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium pepper, chopped

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

1 tbsp of Worcestershire (sugar free if you can)

1 can of organic tomato sauce

2 tbsp of tomato paste
pre-made Paleo burger buns (Against All Grain has a recipe) or you can buy gluten-free buns.

Instructions:
Place the pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and let it start to brown. As you begin to break it apart, add the steak seasoning and coconut palm sugar and continue cooking.
Once the beef is almost all browned, add the onion, pepper, vinegar, and worcestershire and cook for 3-5 minutes until the veggies begin to soften. 
Add the tomato sauce and paste and simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. 
Place in an airtight container and store for up to a week. 
Note: waiting until the next day to eat it is always better! All the favors really have time to meld. Check out what Danny texted me...he added cheese, lettuce, coleslaw, and cilantro to his Joes. I think he liked them!

Shrimp Scampi

I have a small victory to celebrate. Yesterday's metcon portion of the workout consisted of push-ups, ring rows, and ring dips. Ring dips have been something on my bucket list to accomplish unassisted since I started CrossFit. I've been using the same purple band to help me through the range of motion for at least two years. I arrived at the gym yesterday just before the class before mine started their workout and decided to go chat with the other athletes over by the rings while they set up for their WOD. I make attempts all the time to complete a strict ring dip, but to no avail. Well, yesterday, for the first time, it just happened! I couldn't believe it! I thought No way this will happen again! But sure enough, I tried again and I totally locked out and completed a second ring dip without any assistance! Three years of CrossFit and I can FINALLY do a ring dip. I did a couple more, just to be sure I wasn't dreaming, lol. Sadly though, when we got to the WOD, the push-ups put my ego in check and reminded me that being able to do them in isolation is one thing, but add in other movements and they become extra hard. Haha. So that purple band came out again to assist. But I still walked away yesterday with a great feeling. Hopefully when I walk back into the box today, I'll still be able to do them ;o)

Switching gears on you, let's talk food! Pasta is one of those things that I really want to miss because I ate it so often growing up. But in truth, I really don't. It sits so heavy and makes me feel like garbage just thinking about eating it. I can't even tell you the last time I had a big bowl of pasta! But there are some beautiful dishes that just wouldn't be the same without noodles. I really like using zucchini noodles because it keeps the dish very light and adds a bright color to it. Toss them in a lemon-butter sauce with some shrimp scampi and voila! you've recreated a popular Italian dish. 

Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles

Prep Time: 1 hour (inactive) 45 minutes 
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Serves: 2

Special Tools:
Spiralizer, or julienne slicer (which will take a little longer)
Colliander
Large bowl the colliander will sit in
Large saute pan

Ingredients: 
2 large zucchini
1 lb large wild caught shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed.
2 1/2 tbsp of ghee, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small lemon, juiced
1 tbsp of white cooking wine
1 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped or 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley
salt

Instructions:
1. Use the spiralizer to turn your zucchinis into noodles. If you don't have a spiral machine, you can use a julienne slicer to make your noodles. 
2. Place the noodles into a colliander and sprinkle with salt to draw out the moisture. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and pat dry the noodles as best you can with paper towels. 
3. Leaving the noodles in the colliander, place the colliander inside a large bowl (to collect the draining liquid) and place the bowl into the fridge for an hour. This allows you to have really dry noodles. Take them out and let them sit on the counter while you prep your garlic and lemon. 
4. Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat and allow the pan to get hot. Add 2 tbsp of ghee.
5. Toss in the garlic and move it around to let it become fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. 
6. Add the shrimp and half the lemon juice. Saute until the shrimp are cooked through and the liquid has nearly entirely evaporated, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
7. Deglaze the pan with the white cooking wine and the rest of the lemon juice. 
8. Add the zucchini noodles and the remaining ghee. Toss well to coat and continue cooking until the noodles are heated through, about 3-5 minutes. 
9. Return the shrimp to the pan and season with parsley and salt, to taste. Toss well to combine. Serve immediately. 

Asian Ground Beef Stir-fry

How was everyone's Fourth of July holiday weekend? Mine was super relaxing and a total blast! The hubs and I took off on a 7 hour drive for my in-laws on Thursday. They live down in Pembroke Pines...that's between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami if you don't know South Florida too well. AKA the land of crazy drivers, beautiful beaches, and O.M.G...Cuban food!! Let me count the ways I did NOT eat paleo this weekend. Thursday night was a plate of citrus chicken, rice, beans, a fried egg, a piece of REAL Cuban bread, and plantains maduros (ripe plantains...the sweet, sticky ones). Sweet Jesus, it was incredible. Friday morning, Papi brought home Cuban pastelitos (little pastries) with guava and cheese from the cutest authentic Cuban bakery in Pines, Vicky Bakery. Better than any sort of American pastry...EVER. I think I ate three. #sorrynotsorry. Then we ate vaca frita and grilled chicken wings for lunch...with more rice and beans. Though I will say, I was pretty reserved on my rice and beans portions since I didn't want to go off the deep end. Bahaha, too late! My in-laws make enough food to feed an army, so we got to eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...which again, I'm really not sorry about. Add an egg and anytime can be breakfast time! I made sure to get my fill of maduros before I left. Man, those little babies are dangerously delicious. All in all, I'd call it another successful trip down south. I'm sure you're thinking, But wait Nicole, all you talked about was eating? And to that I say, Yeah, exactly. It's what I live for! I guess I could tell you that the sunshine was also amazing, both in the pool and our three trips to the beach. Ahh, I miss the days when you didn't have to drive hours to get to a beach. My husband does too, which is why we went to the beach twice in one day. ...don't ask. #worthit  

Well because we didn't get back into town until late Sunday night, dinner had to be quick and easy on Monday after I went grocery shopping. Behold, ground beef stir-fry. Easy prep work, nothing overly complicated in the cooking process, but the flavors are awesome! 

Asian Ground Beef Stir-fry

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Special Tools:
Large saute pan

Ingredients:
1 lb of grass-fed beef
1/2 large onion, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
3 heads of baby bok choy, sliced, about 1 cup
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced
1 tbsp of ghee or fat of your choice
2 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tbsp of minced ginger
1/4 cup of coconut aminos, divided
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of fish sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Place the sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the ghee. Add the garlic and ginger and stir around until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. 
2. Add the beef and begin browning the meat, breaking it up into small bites with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
3. When it's nearly cooked through, add in 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, the rice vinegar, and the fish sauce. Continue sautéing until the meat is no longer pink. Strain off the beef onto a plate and set aside, leaving the fat and juices behind.
4. Add the onion, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan and move around to coat in the juices. Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of coconut aminos and continue sautéing for 7-10 minutes. Add the bok choy and continuing cooking until the leaves begin to wilt.
6. Return the beef and any juices that settled on the plate back into the pan and stir well to combine. 
7. Enjoy with some chop sticks. You'll just feel more cultured ;o)

Balsamic Maple Glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon

I had an interesting conversation this evening. Typically when newcomers come in to inquire about CrossFit and the facility, there's one, maybe two people...friends or a couple. Well today a family of four shuffled in; mom, dad, a teenage older daughter and teenage son. As they came in, both trainers were busy with other athletes, I decided to introduce myself and see what they wanted. Mom spoke up first and said they were in vacationing in Georgia and decided to drive down and check out college campuses, however, the daughter's main concern was actually what the [CrossFit] boxes were like in town. That should have been my first clue that they were already super into CrossFit, but clearly I'm oblivious to things like that, so I started on my story about the history of our box, our other locations, the set up of our classes and how they run, etc. Come to find out, both kids have been doing CrossFit for like two years and the daughter is looking into getting her L1 certification! How cool is that?! Not even out of high school and kicking ass already! She goes on to talk about how she competes and just finished a competition last weekend down in West Palm Beach. She's already a little badass in my book. They haven't made any decisions yet on where she wants to go to school, but somewhere away from home (Port St. Lucie). I hope she heads our way. I'd love to be able to see her in action. 

In other news, this salmon is also badass. Make it soon. It's delicious! That is all. :o)

Balsamic Maple Glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2-3

Special Tools:

Small bowl

Basting brush

Foil lined baking sheet

Ingredients:

3 wild salmon steaks, about 6-8 ounces each, skin left on

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp of dark grade maple syrup

1 tsp of garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp of dijon mustard

salt and pepper

Instructions:

1.Preheat the oven to broil on low. Make sure the rack is positioned in the middle of the oven, at least three rungs down.

2. Rinse the salmon under cold water and pat dry. Then put them skin side down onto a foil lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper to taste.*

3. In a bowl, add the oil, vinegar, syrup, garlic cloves, and mustard. Mix well to combine. 

4. Use a basting brush to coat the tops and sides of the salmon, reserving more than half of the glaze.

5. Put the baking sheet into the oven and broil for 5 minutes. Then brush the glaze onto the salmon again. Repeat after 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 2-3 minutes. 

Serve it up with your favorite veggies. I sautéed up some butternut squash and zucchini and also steamed a head of broccoli. 

*If you or your significant other freaks out about fish skin like mine does, I will say it's much easier to remove once the salmon is cooked. Just hold down one of the corners with a fork or knife and slowly start lifting it up. It should come off fairly easy. 

Spicy Ginger Garlic Chicken

The heat and humidity yesterday was absolutely horrendous! Some days I can't believe I choose to work out at 3:30 in the afternoon. By the end of the hour, I've basically taken a sweaty shower, because my clothes are drenched. It's gross. But I wouldn't change it for anything! I love my CrossFit family and how hard we all work together. Lately I've been rowing a lot more before class, because one of our trainers rocked my world with some rowing techniques that are actually improving my stamina. I also committed myself to 100 lunges a day, with at least 75 of them being weighted, throughout this most recent sugar detox. So that was my own personal warm-up. Then we had a fun little mini-WOD as our group warm-up that went like this:

2 20 sec. hold wall climbs
5-10-15-10-5
Kettlebell swings
Sit-ups
Walking lunges with a PVC pipe
Followed by 400m run 

After our mobility session, we completed a 20 minute AMRAP of:

5 hspu on the parallettes (which I scaled down to using plates for my deficits)
10 toes-through-rings (I did SO much better this time because I actually got the hang of the back swing)
15 med. ball cleans

Needless to say, it was a fast paced day and lots of sweaty monsters running around. By the time I finished training and got home, I was famished! Thankfully, dinner was quick and easy, but super tasty. I really enjoyed the combination of the sweet onions with the spicy chicken, and the cabbage was a last minute idea to add crunch and some beautiful color!

Spicy Ginger Garlic Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Special Tools:
Large saute pan
Splatter screen, optional but recommended
Small bowl

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of organic free-range boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp of bacon fat (or other fat of your choice, but bacon gives it GREAT flavor)
1 medium-large sweet onion, sliced
1/4 of a head of red cabbage, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp of coconut aminos
1 tsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of sriracha sauce
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
green onion, chopped to garnish

Instructions: 
1. Heat your fat in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Season your chicken with salt and pepper.
3. When the fat is hot, add the garlic and ginger and let it sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Lay the chicken top side down in the pan for 5-7 minutes until it gets golden brown and slightly crispy. *Try not to move it around in these first few minutes and use the splat screen if the bacon fat starts to pop.
4. While the chicken is cooking, cut your onion and cabbage. Also, in a small bowl combine the coconut aminos, fish sauce, sriracha, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
5. Flip the chicken and add the onion to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions begin to soften. 
6. Add the sauce from the small bowl and allow it to cook into the onion and chicken for another 5 minutes or so. 
7. In the last few minutes, add the cabbage and cook until it begins to wilt.
8. Top with chopped green onions as a garnish. I served mine with some sautéed butternut squash and zucchini. 
NOTE: I cooked boneLESS chicken. If you still have the bone in when you cook your thighs, it will take much longer, like at least 30 minutes, so you won't want to add your onions and cabbage until much later.

Smoked Cilantro Chicken Burgers

I am a big fan of chicken in all ways. Even prior to becoming such a health nut, I was inclined to order a chicken sandwich over a burger because I thought it was the healthier alternative. However, I've come to learn that most places don't serve very good quality chicken. Don't even get me started about certain places and their willingness to sell us meat that came from headless chickens from all of the junk they're injected with to plump them up! Eww. It's seriously disturbing. So I stick to my homemade creations for the most part. But a plain Jane chicken sandwich can be kind of boring. Well, I started thinking about how I could spice it up a bit. One of the spices in my cabinet that gets overlooked a lot because of it's powerful flavor is smoked paprika. It's really good, but I hadn't quite figured out a good way to incorporate it unless I was making BBQ. Well...You guys! I can't believe how well this worked out. The flavor is amazing and I am really excited to share it with you all. So without further ado, I give you...

Smoked Cilantro Chicken Burgers

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 3-5 (mine yielded 5, but I ate 2 and my husband ate 2)

Special Tools:
Food processor
Big bowl
Grill

Ingredients:
2 organic chicken breasts
1 medium sweet potato, steamed and skin removed
1 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly chopped
3 oz. of crumbled goat cheese
3 tbsp of fresh cilantro
1 tbsp of chives, thinly chopped
1 lime, juiced

Intstructions:
1. Put the first 7 ingredients into a food processor and turn it on until the ingredients are well combined. *NOTE: I did this in TWO batches so as not to overcrowd the processor. 
2. Using a spatula, remove the chicken mixture from the processor into a large bowl and fold in the red bell pepper, goat cheese, cilantro, chives, and 1/2 the lime juice. It looks really gross, but trust me it will turn out GREAT!

3. Put the mixture in the freezer while you go and heat up your grill on about 400. It just makes the chicken a little easier to work with.
4. Remove the bowl from the freezer and make the patties. My meat yielded 5 patties. 
5. Put them on the grill and turn every 5 minutes for 20 minutes to prevent sticking. Squeeze some lime juice onto the top of the patties every time you turn them. (Ignore the 1/2 eaten one my husband and I were taste testing!)

6. That's it! Top with whatever you want. I had tomato, avocado, and hot sauce. My husband went all out and put cheese and a bun in addition to what I had. Next time I'm adding bacon and a fried egg!