Thursday, January 26, 2012

So Good, You Cant Believe it's ALL Good For You!

Okay friends and family, we love Mexican food and have major cravings for it. A couple staples I have implemented: Taco Salad (no shells of course), Kale Chips with Guacamole and now......Beef Enchiladas and Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice!!!!

Here is the enchilada recipe I made this evening, to die for!
Step one: Crispy Kale
While cooking the beef I layered Kale on a cookie sheet, basted with olive oil and topped with garlic salt. Bake in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes

1lb of sirloin steak for fajitas
1/2 Red Onions
1 Serrano Pepper
3 cloves of Garlic - chopped

Cut the steak into cubes and chop your veggies
Saute all the veggies in coconut oil for a few minutes then add in the beef and brown

Place the beef in a casserole dish
Layer the Kale on top of the beef
The smother with your sauce (recipe below)
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

Tomatillo sauce:
Boil 8-10 tomatillos
place tomatillos in the food processor and blend until smooth
Add in 1/2 cup of red onions
1TBL of garlic powder
1/2 cup of beef broth
1/4 cup of cilantro
1TBL of chilli powder
1TSP of Cumin
1/4 tsp of salt and pepper
1/2 avocado
Process all until smooth

Then for the side course I made the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

You will need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 bunch of spinach
1/4 cup of cilantro
1 lime
1/2 cup of chicken or veggie broth
S&P to taste

Grate the cauliflower so it looks like rice
Cook the cauliflower in a pan with 1 TBL of coconut oil
Saute for about 5 minutes
Then add in enough sauce to make the cauliflower green!

Sauce:
Pour broth in food processor
add in spinach
Blend until smooth
add in cilantro
Blend until smooth
Add in lime and S&P

I hope that you all enjoy this recipe as much as we did! My husband was making the mmmmm this is good sound the entire time he ate it. I think it was a hit!

Husband is making Paleo

A short note to share how happy I am that my husband is doing this with me. The other day I had a little too much going on in the evening and just did not feel like cooking. Going out is not too exciting either because you cant get quality food like you can at home!

My husband stepped up for the challenge, gathered food from the fridge and made a delicious dinner.

Nitrate Free Sausage
Bell Peppers
Onions
Coconut oil
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper

That is all he needed. He sauteed the bell peppers and onions in coconut oil, worked in the sliced sausage, added in the seasonings and done! So simple and delicious!

Thanks Honey!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Good Stuff!

Completed day 3 of my 4 day week Crossfit plan today! Feeling good! I tried a new recipe last night in honor of my amazing husband! Can I just say he is doing so great on paleo with me, I love it! In honor of his love for Mexican food.....I googled paleo enchiladas last night and came across a seafood enchilada on EveryDay Paleo.(apparently the site is down today) I opted for the seafood enchiladas and picked up some jumbo shrimp and lump crab. The key to this recipe is the sauce and it was good; however, I am going to play with it and make it my own. I am a fan of verde sauce versus ranchero!

So instead of seafood, I am going to go with the ground beef or steak add some spinach and make the sauce with tomatillos instead of tomatoes! It is really like a casserole since there are not tortillas. You can make coconut tortillas if you want out of coconut flour, egg whites and water. I have made them before and they are good.

Here is the enchilada recipe I have in mind:
2lbs Ground Beef or Grilled flank steak
Red Onions
Jalapenos
Garlic
(saute all the above - the beef in coconut oil, then add in the beef and brown)

Place the beef in a casserole dish
Chop up spinach for next layer
The smother with your sauce (recipe below)
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

Tomatillo sauce:
Boil 8-10 tomatillos
place tomatillos in the food processor and blend until smooth
Add in 1/2 cup of red onions
1TBL of garlic powder
1/2 cup of beef broth
1/4 cup of cilantro
1TBL of chilli powder
1TSP of Cumin
1/4 tsp of salt and pepper
Process all until smooth

Remember, I have not made this before; I just made up the recipe based off of what I liked and disliked about last nights dish. I will try it this weekend and let you know if it good :)

Part of the exercise regimen is eating right! Log your food peeps! Yesterday I logged my food with a shake in the morning, 2 egg&ham muffins for mid morning breakfast, apple for snack.....was running around all day in the car so I ended up eating a steves orginal paleo snack; beef jerky and some almonds as another 12:30 snack. Made it home by 1:45 and ate 2 more egg&ham muffins. Took kids to crossfit at 4:30, snacked on some more beef jerky and then home to make dinner! Enchiladas would have been great with a margarita.....GRRR after this challenge, I am having one!!!!

This morning I threw together, yet another Mexican food inspired breakfast:
Chorizo (all natural)
Onions
Jalapenos
Roma Tomoato
Eggs

Brown the chorizo, add in the veggies and then scramble in the eggs! Delish!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Rise and Shine



I had to share this photo of Grace! She loves to get dirty in the kitchen and although we don't use flour, I bought some the other day to make stress balls. Balloons filled with flour, easy!



It is my favorite thing to do, rise and shine at 5am. OK, not really.....getting up at 5am can be difficult; however, when you have a goal in mind you just do it!

I decided to kick it in to gear and do 4 days of Crossfit this week. Yesterday was a pretty tough work out with 15 HSPU, 15 Pull ups and 100'walking lunges; 12 HSPU, 12 Pull ups and 100'walking lunges; 9 HSPU, 9 Pull ups and 100'walking lunges..Time was 8:40 and I am now down to using a small band on my pull ups. I did attempt without and could only get 2.

I chose to get up this morning and do it all over again. What was I thinking? After strict press strength we went to the white board only to find a brutal chipping away WOD:

25 back squats 115# (RX was 155lbs, my max 1 rep is 145 so I opted for 115lbs)
50 box jumps
50 wall balls #14 (RX was 18)
25 burpee box jumps
rest for 2 minutes
Run 800 M for time
Time for WOD 12:14 Time for run 3:59
Proud of myself and thankful for the amazing coaches at The Combine

One of the things I am really working on is eating the right amount of food. I love paleo and I love cooking paleo and even more, I love sharing recipes. Last night I did not want to cook, thank God for Gracie, she never wants to go out to eat so she helps keep me/us accountable to eating at home. Headed for the kitchen with my su-chef, Grace Bodman-9 years old~

Pulled these ingredients out of the fridge
100% grassfed beef
mushrooms
onions
cauliflower
zucchini
1 egg(had to borrow from my neighbor....we go through eggs like crazy in this house)

We can totally work with this! Made a meatloaf, mashed cauliflower and sauteed zucchini!!
Chop up mushrooms and onions and saute in coconut oil
Mix beef with your favorite seasonings, I chose 1TBL garlic powder, 1TBL onion powder, 1TBL oregano, 1/4 tsp of each salt and pepper
Add in egg and sauteed veggies.
Once you have it all mixed then place in a pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Then we made homemade paleo ketchup:
INGREDIENTS: Whisk all together
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste;
• 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice;
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard;
• 1/3 cup water;
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon;
• 1/4 tsp salt;
• 1 pinch ground cloves;
• 1 pinch ground allspice;
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional;

Whisk all this together, then mix 1cup of ketchup, 1 tbl Worcestershire sauce and 1tbl of raw organic honey to add a bit of flavor!

Layer the sauce over the meatloaf and bake for another 15-25 minutes, depending on how deep your pan is. I used a smaller baking pan versus the standard meatloaf pan and only baked for an additional 15 minutes!

The entire family loved it :)

Final recipe for you breakfast lovers out there. Inspired by my Paleo comfort food cookbook and a special thanks to Sarah Scholwinski for reminding me of this recipe!

After that intense work out, you need to EAT!
INGREDIENTS:
6 slices Sliced Ham - quality meat, no nitrates
6 slices sliced salami
1/2 cup of diced shallot
1 diced red bell pepper
6 eggs
Saute the shallots and peppers in coconut oil

Grease muffin pans with coconut oil
Layer the ingredients in the pan as such: ham, salami, Sauteed veggies, diced tomatoes
Then Crack and egg on top of each

Bake in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes and top with hot sauce, s&p

That's all for now, gotta go sell some properties :)