Week 4
Sunday night I made this delicious chicken salad!! I didn't have avacado oil, almonds or brown mustard, so I subbed olive oil, walnuts and dijon mustard. Still delicious combination!!
It made a ton, so I basically ate it over baby spinach for lunch for 4 days. It was seriously that good! The only thing is that my Brussels sprouts turned red - weird. I guess it was the vinegar in the dressing . . .
I'm trying to get back on track with eating primally after a weekend of eating the conventional American diet. It's hard . . . I lost that 1.5 pounds I had gained over the weekend pretty quickly, but I don't think I've lost any more. I'll weigh again on Monday to see my progress.
I have noticed that after eating poorly even for a couple days that I'm hungrier and craving more sugar than I had before the poor eating days. It's now Thursday and I think I'm back on track eating wise . . . I'm really trying to focus on eating lots of fresh veggies and not as much nuts/nut butter/fruit to help my body get what it needs.
But I confess that I still look forward to my "cheat" meals. I'm already planning the next one for this weekend! I'm thinking a Freebirds steak burrito!! :-)
A couple yummy recipes from the week:
BBQ Chicken
Sweet Potato and Poblano Pepper Soup (I love anaheim peppers, so I used those instead of poblanos)
Paleo "Cornbread"
My (conventional diet) husband and daughter LOVED the above 3! :-)
Paleo "Nutella"
40 Clove Garlic Baked Chicken
Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin
Chicken Fajitas marinated in Chimichurri Sauce
Roasted Lemon Cabbage
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Adapted from skinnytaste.com
3 large egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. stevia (to taste)
1 T. honey
1/2 bar of dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Slowly add in stevia and honey until the mixture is glossy. Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop tablespoon sized balls onto baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until tops are dry. Cool completely and store in parchment paper wrapped in foil.
Adapted from skinnytaste.com
3 large egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. stevia (to taste)
1 T. honey
1/2 bar of dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Slowly add in stevia and honey until the mixture is glossy. Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop tablespoon sized balls onto baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until tops are dry. Cool completely and store in parchment paper wrapped in foil.
BBQ Chicken Rub
BBQ Chicken Rub
1 T. brown sugar**
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
1.5 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
Mix all together and rub on up to 3 pounds of chicken. Cook your favorite way - grill, skillet, oven!
**Brown sugar is not primal, so omit if you prefer. But it gives the chicken a nice glaze when it's cooked.
1 T. brown sugar**
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
1.5 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
Mix all together and rub on up to 3 pounds of chicken. Cook your favorite way - grill, skillet, oven!
**Brown sugar is not primal, so omit if you prefer. But it gives the chicken a nice glaze when it's cooked.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri Sauce
from Food Network's Sunny Anderson
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 large red onion, halved and sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chuck or top round steak (London broil)
3 poblano peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/4 cup lager beer
8 8-inch flour tortillas
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
Combine the parsley and cilantro (leaves and stems), garlic, half of the sliced onion, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil in a food processor; blend into a thick and smooth chimichurri sauce.
from Food Network's Sunny Anderson
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 large red onion, halved and sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chuck or top round steak (London broil)
3 poblano peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/4 cup lager beer
8 8-inch flour tortillas
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
Combine the parsley and cilantro (leaves and stems), garlic, half of the sliced onion, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil in a food processor; blend into a thick and smooth chimichurri sauce.
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
1 bunch Lemon Thyme
1 bunch Fresh Rosemary
1 Chicken, Whole
1 Shallot, minced
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Organic
3 head Garlic, cloves separated, unpeeled
1 tsp Salt and Pepper
1. Preheat oven to roast at 350°F.
2. Cut chicken into eight pieces (2 wings, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 breasts).
3. Heat a skillet to medium heat with 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
4. Sear chicken on all sides, set aside in a large mixing bowl.
5. Sauté garlic in coconut oil until the skin of the garlic begins to soften and brown slightly.
6. Place half of the garlic on the bottom of a Dutch oven.
7. Place the chicken on top of the garlic.
8. Cover with the remainder of the garlic, pour in the juices from the bowl, and top with rosemary, thyme, shallot, salt, and pepper.
9. Cover with a lid, and roast at 350°F for 1- 1 1/2 hours until pieces are 160 degrees and juices run clear.
1 bunch Lemon Thyme
1 bunch Fresh Rosemary
1 Chicken, Whole
1 Shallot, minced
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil, Organic
3 head Garlic, cloves separated, unpeeled
1 tsp Salt and Pepper
1. Preheat oven to roast at 350°F.
2. Cut chicken into eight pieces (2 wings, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 breasts).
3. Heat a skillet to medium heat with 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
4. Sear chicken on all sides, set aside in a large mixing bowl.
5. Sauté garlic in coconut oil until the skin of the garlic begins to soften and brown slightly.
6. Place half of the garlic on the bottom of a Dutch oven.
7. Place the chicken on top of the garlic.
8. Cover with the remainder of the garlic, pour in the juices from the bowl, and top with rosemary, thyme, shallot, salt, and pepper.
9. Cover with a lid, and roast at 350°F for 1- 1 1/2 hours until pieces are 160 degrees and juices run clear.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
End of Week 3
The weekend of Week 3 was awful. We were swamped with garage sale-ing and so I ate a lot of stuff I don't normally eat any longer - tacos, fajitas, beans and rice, pizza and a hamburger. I think I gained back 1.5 pounds just over the weekend. And I felt awful!! I don't know if it was a couple days of not eating well or a couple days of irregular sleep . . . probably both. But it took me a couple days to recover from the weekend! Ugh!
Lesson learned - even when you're busy - take time to make/eat good food or else you'll feel rotten for a couple days!
Lesson learned - even when you're busy - take time to make/eat good food or else you'll feel rotten for a couple days!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Week 3
I haven't blogged in a while because I've been very busy with projects!! My business finished it's first commercial order (yay!) and I was working hard sewing bags for the store. Also, it's spring break and we're doing a garage sale to raise funds for our adoption! Talk about busy!! Ugh! I actually hate garage sales, but we've gotten donations from all kinds of families so it should be a good profit for us!
Food wise - I've been pretty good. I had 2 cheat meals and I confess that I really look forward to those! I'm already looking forward to the next one this weekend! I hope that one day I won't be so excited about those cheat meals, but right now I still am.
I had a couple recipe fails this week . . . boo. But I'll keep trying until I figure it out. I made apple fritters and I didn't get the oil hot enough so they weren't crispy. Flavor was good, but the crispness I was after just wasn't there. Also, I tried cauliflower crust pizza - again flavor was there, but I should have baked the crust before I put on toppings. I'll do that next time.
But all in all, it's been good. I've lost 4 pounds in 2.5 weeks. Yay! I haven't had a migraine - let alone a headache - since the first week. My skin is clearer, I have energy, I'm feeling good! :-)
Food wise - I've been pretty good. I had 2 cheat meals and I confess that I really look forward to those! I'm already looking forward to the next one this weekend! I hope that one day I won't be so excited about those cheat meals, but right now I still am.
I had a couple recipe fails this week . . . boo. But I'll keep trying until I figure it out. I made apple fritters and I didn't get the oil hot enough so they weren't crispy. Flavor was good, but the crispness I was after just wasn't there. Also, I tried cauliflower crust pizza - again flavor was there, but I should have baked the crust before I put on toppings. I'll do that next time.
But all in all, it's been good. I've lost 4 pounds in 2.5 weeks. Yay! I haven't had a migraine - let alone a headache - since the first week. My skin is clearer, I have energy, I'm feeling good! :-)
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