A Day in My Paleo Life

Today I left the house at 5:55 AM and do not get home until 7:45 PM. It is going to be a LONG day. Since today is sheer chaos, I have decided to post everything I ate yesterday. This is a pretty good example of my daily eats.

At 5:20 AM, I fixed a banana coconut milk smoothie. I muffled the blender with a giant blanket so I would not wake up Chase and all of our neighbors. It worked surprisingly well!

 This consists of:
1 1/3 frozen bananas 
1 1/2 cup unsweeetened coconut milk 
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Easy Peasey! 

Each morning I take care of three kids and help them get ready for school. There mom leaves for work early, so I work two hours each morning from 6-8 AM. This is the same family mentioned in THIS post. 

At 7:30 I gobbled up some almonds in order to have some energy before my run.

I typically head straight to the gym and run. Today I did 6 miles. I am still super sore from the race so I am hoping to get rid of some lactic acid. 

Post-workout (10:30) I had a tangelo. It was AMAZING. I have been craving citrus, so I am happy oranges are coming back!

Monday's are my easy day and I have a couple of hours to run errands and clean the house/do laundry. Yesterday I did the latter! The house now sparkles!

I fixed lunch around noon and had:

Kale Chips

Apple slices with Almond Butter

Chocolate Chips! :)

Then I headed to the twinnies house. I also take care of two 13-month-old twins. I have been with them since they were 2 weeks old. They are the girls in the tutus in THIS post. I did not show their face for obvious reasons. But their little bums are too cute, as well!


This month I have off from teaching, which is actually perfect because I have needed to work almost double hours with the twin. That is where I am from 9AM-7PM today!


At the twins, I had another tangelo for a snack. I am officially addicted!

 I also had more almonds.

When I got home, around 7:30, I had a bowl of Paleo Chili. It was delish. 

For dessert, I had more apple slices with almond butter and this beauty:

 And that concludes the a Monday in my Paleo life! :)

Kale Chips

I first heard about Kale chips from reading KathEats. It took me several months to work up the courage to try out these faux “potato chips.” The first time I tried them I HATED them! However, I tried them again and the second time was the charm! I have been addicted to Kale chips for the past four months. They are my favorite lunch addition.

Kale Chips could not be easier (or cheaper) to make! You need three ingredients:

Kale

Cooking Spray or Olive Oil

Seasoning of Choice

1)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet

2)      Wash kale and make sure to DRY COMPLETELY! Tear kale into pieces (be aware that they shrink a LOT during baking, so do not make the pieces too small), spray or douse with oil and sprinkle with seasoning

3)      Bake for 12-15 minutes

4)      If you are like me, proceed to squirt a good deal of ketchup and DEVOUR!

Lately, I have been loving “Cavender’s” Greek seasoning. You can find it in the spice aisle of the grocery store.

However, when I feel like having “cheese” Kale chips, I use nutritional yeast. It is very nutty/cheesy and a wonderful non-dairy seasoning that is full of amazing B vitamins.

While, I know ketchup is not “paleo,” I just cannot give it up. I have tried and it just is not possible! I do, however, make sure not to use the HFCS ketchup.

Do these taste like potato chips—no. I am not going to lie to you. But there are incredibly yummy and I feel like they have that wonderful “snacky” quality! Also, I love that you can get SEVERAL servings of vegetables at one time, not to mention a hearty dose of fiber.

Have you tried Kale chips? What is your favorite healthy snack food?

Be sure to check back tomorrow as the amazing Meredith tagged me with the Blissful Blogger award where I get to share 7 facts about me. This is my first blogging award so I am VERY excited! :)

Perfect Paleo Pasta

I am married to an Italian and he loves his Italian comfort food. I also have always been a fan, as well. In fact, spaghetti with meat sauce used to be my Birthday dinner of choice. When I became a vegetarian I switched to Pomodoro sauce, and always made sure to have it covered with cheese. While I always got a stomach ache after eating pasta, I figured I must have simply over-indulged. Little did I know that my intestines had a FIERCE aversion to grains.

Enter the joy of Spaghetti squash.

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If you have never cooked with this amazing fruit (yes, squash is a fruit, not a vegetable), you are missing out. I have loved spaghetti squash for years and each fall I re-discover its glories; however, it is now the most perfect paleo pasta! When I saw one at the market the other day, I placed it in my cart with gleeful anticipation.

While I, sadly, had no meat on hand, I decided to make a batch of marinara sauce. If you have never made homemade pasta sauce—you are missing an amazingly easy and delicious experience. Here are the ingredients, minus the onion and red pepper flakes. 

I always keep a bag of frozen onions in my freezer because I HATE chopping onions because I can never get the smell off of my hands. They no longer make me cry, but Bath and Body Works is definitely not rushing to market an onion lotion anytime soon!

It was seriously as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1)      Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes

2)      Add all other ingredients

3)      Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Done and Done.

Voila! You are left with a pan full of tomato goodness. 

I seriously eat this by the spoonful. It is amazing both hot or cold. And it is excellent over spaghetti squash (or pasta!).

Recipe for Sally Anne's Quick and Easy Marinara

1/2 cup Onions (chopped)

2 cloves of Garlic (minced)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Giant Can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 can of Tomato Paste  

2 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)

1 tsp oregano

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

Several dashes of Red Pepper flakes

Several dashes of salt

1) Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat (5 minutes)

2) Add in all other ingredients

3) Simmer for 5 minutes of medium heat and once bubbling, simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes

What is your favorite go-to dinner? Have you tried spaghetti squash?

 

Paleo Burgers

Last night I was craving burgers. This weekend when I was flipping through this cookbook:

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I made a mental note. MUST. MAKE. THESE. BURGERS. So I rolled up my sleeves after I got home from work and got to cooking.

I realize that I am making it sound like this was a time intensive event...It was SO simple. I added onions to the beef mixture and then stirred together the dry-rub.  After I shaped the burgers I coated each one (I made four) with the rub. Sarah’s recipe calls for letting them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. However, Sarah assumes I have patience—I don’t.  Her recipe serves 7-8 people, since it is only me, I decided to make half of the recipe—easy peasey. 

This meal seriously came together in 20 minutes from start to finish. That is my kind of meal! I served my burger on a bed of mixed greens with avocado and tomatoes. This was AMAZING. The dry rub was phenomenal. I give this recipe 2 BIG THUMBS UP! 

I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone—paleo or not. The meal ideas are quick, easy, and TASTY! In becoming a Paleo eater I have found that it is rather easy to adapt any recipes; however, it is really nice to have a resource that is 100% Paleo. It is also a great way to secretly serve your friends or family paleo meals and have them LOVE it! 

For  the past several years I have been heavily relying on online recipe sites for meal ideas; however, I am making a concerted effort to delve back into TANGIBLE old-school cookbooks. I love actually “reading” cookbooks. It is something that is so comforting to me. It reminds me  of when I was in high school and I would browse through all of my mom’s cookbooks during breakfast each morning.

This one was my favorite. I loved all of the retro recipes. Fondue was BIG in the 70’s.

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 It was just me, sitting at the kitchen table, eating oatmeal and drinking tea, and browsing. I relished this 15 minutes each morning and I would love to get back into this habit.

Do you like reading cookbooks? What are your favorite ones? Or do you rely on online recipes?

A Mango Allergy and a Recipe for a Post-Workout Paleo Snack

I am what some may call an allergic person. I have endured many years of allergy shots. I am allergic to anything and everything that grows outside. I also have a deadly allergy to shellfish and have been cautioned to stay away from all seafood. I carry an epi-pen on me at all times.

The good thing is I always have a sense of humor about my allergies.

On Sunday, I discovered I have a new food allergy.

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The Mango.

Unfortunately, I found out about said allergy after whipping up Everyday Paleo’s “Kids Love Cabbage Slaw.” I was heartbroken that I could not finish this amazing dish. However, I then decided not to let this mango allergy get the better of me—I was going to adapt the recipe to my own unallergic tastes.

Enter  “No Allergy Cabbage Slaw”

Recipe for "No Allergy Cabbage Slaw" adapted from Everyday Paleo

2 cups chopped purple cabbage

½ chopped summer squash or zucchini

1 chopped nectarine (a bit underripe is best)

2 skinned and chopped kiwi

1 ½ tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

Pepper (if desired)

Sprinkle of pecans or coconut

1)      Mix all together, just be sure to add kiwi in last, as it is less robust

2)      Enjoy!

I enjoyed this today as a post-workout snack. It was awesome because it gave me a good mix of carbs with a bit of fat from the olive oil and coconut/pecans.  I very deliberately added the kiwi because it is a good source of potassium and fiber. I really try to have a potassium-rich snack after my runs to replenish electrolytes and prevent muscle cramps. 

What is your favorite Post-Workout Snack? Do you have any food allergies?

Purple Paleo Slaw

Holy Smokes. This stuff is DELICIOUS!!! It is “Kids love Cabbage Slaw” from Sarah Fragosos’s Everyday Paleo cookbook.

 

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  I have never tasted anything quite like it. My husband, who is not Paleo, saw me making it and promptly said: “I HATE cabbage. There is no way I would like that!” However, I proceded to coax him into trying one single bite.

There were several moments of complete silence as he was chewing and swallowing. I immediately thought, “He hates it, of course.” Basically we have completely opposite tastebuds. However, he then exclaimed: “THIS IS INCREDIBLE.” Boom. Amazing.

People, this recipe is a winner in my book. Also, it is so gorgeous. I always find foods taste better when they are aesthetically pleasing, as well.

Honestly, the cookbook is worth it purely on the laurels of this recipe! It is also very easily adapted to your own tastes. Sarah’s recipe calls for cucumber and I HATE cucumbers. I keep trying to love them, but I jus cannot. Instead, I added summer squash. It was a DELICIOUS substitute.

This slaw makes an excellent side dish or a snack. It is very filling and a nice way to boost your veggie count.

In completely unrelated news, I was able to see my husband for 36 hours and it was wonderful.

 I am a deplorable phone-talker. I have a tendency to get distracted and not pay attention to the conversation—I get antsy. However, I always hate having to say good-bye again. Today has been a hard day, but I know it will get easier!

Did you have a good weekend? Any fun activities or new recipe ideas?