Lunch - salad with chicken, red and orange peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, lemon olive oil and strawberry balsamic. Does the job!

Dinner tonight: chicken stir-fry over cauliflower rice.

Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

2 avocados, diced (save the pits)
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 habanero pepper, diced (optional-- this will make it spicy!)
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1 ripe mango, diced (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime

Instructions
1.Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
2.Keep the avocado pits in the mixture to serve. This will slow the oxidation of the avocados (what makes them turn brown) and will help the salsa last longer

Butternut Squash with Garlic and Thyme

Ingredients
1-1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, flesh diced into 1/2" pieces (about 4 cups)
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1.Heat large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil when pan is hot.
2.When coconut oil has melted, add squash, thyme, and garlic, and stir to coat completely with oil.
3.Spread squash in an even layer in pan and allow to cook without stirring until lightly browned (about 3-5 minutes). Stir, and evenly spread out again, allowing to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
4.After browning, stir squash, reduce heat to medium, cover pan and continue to cook until squash is tender (about 10-15 minutes more).
5.Season with sea salt and black pepper (optional) and serve warm

Ingredients
3 medium (5"-6") sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 2" pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 Tbs coconut oil
4 (4-6 oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 shallots, sliced into thick rings
2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

Instructions
1.Wash and chop sweet potatoes. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water.
2.Bring pot to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 tsp sea salt and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until tender (about 14-16 minutes).
3.Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking water. Drain remaining liquid and return sweet potatoes to pot. Mash with reserved cooking water.
4.Meanwhile, season chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
5.Heat 4 Tbs coconut oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
6.When pan is hot, add sliced shallots and rosemary and cook for a minute.
7.Add chicken breasts to pan and pan-fry until golden brown and fully cooked (7-8 min per side).
8.Serve with mashed sweet potatoes on the side.

Garlic beef stew in the crockpot - yummy!!
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/03/03/garlic-beef-stew-and-savory-cauliflower-mash/

Loving a mellow holiday morning! One egg and four whites with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and avocado. One the side 1/2 cup of blueberries and a chopped nectarine. Add in the coffee too so I can actually get my taxes done today. Here's to a great start!

Curried Veggie Hash:
2 sweet potatoes
2 zuchinni squash
2 shallots
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs cury powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 tbs coconut oil

Peel the sweet potatoes and grate it and the zuchinni squash on a cheese grater, dice shallots.
Melt coconut oil in a large pot and combine all ingredients in a large skillet. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and start to crisp.

Serve with some kind of a protein source for a full meal!

Chicken breast, 3 handfuls of spinach, olive oil, almonds, an orange...1 square of 72% dark chocolate

Paleo Pizza:

Preheat oven to 350
Crust:
2 cups almond meal
2 eggs
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbs choppped fresh/dried rosemary.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a spoon, with hands, form dough into a ball
place on an oiled cookie sheet and pat and form into a large thin circle
Bake for 20 minutes

While baking, brown some spicy italian sausage and chop a bunch of veggies of your choice. Spread the dough with a no-sugar marinara sauce and top with sausage and veggies and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes.

No cheese here, but you won't really miss it that much...will you?

Aaron's INFAMOUS TUNA RIDICULOUSNESS

6 Cans of White Albacore Tuna (comes in 8 packs at Costco)
1/2 Cup Real Mayo (find it at Trader Joe's)
1/8 Cup Real Mustard (see above post)
1/8 Cup Sriracha - mmmmmmmm
1/8 - 1/4 Cup Dill Pickle Juice (from the jar...duh)
Sprinkle fresh Crushed Black Pepper to taste

Open cans of tuna and drain them to desired consistency. Squeeze out the juices if you like it dry otherwise just turn it over in the sink WITH the lid still in tact for 2 minutes. Dump all 6 cans into a large bowl or Glad container and break it up with a fork. Add Mayo, Mustard, Sriracha, Dill Pickle Juice, and pepper. Stir it into a frenzy!!! Here comes the WORST part...let it sit in the fridge for AT LEAST 12 hours before partaking so the mayo can marry the rest of the flavors. Real Mayo is kinda gross if you eat it right off the bat. You can sub out Relish for dill pickle juice BUT make sure it's dill Relish and not that sweet garbage. Oh and don't claim it to be my INFAMOUS receipe if you do use Relish, because I would never TAINT my Tuna with such things....

What do I do with it now, Aaron?

1 Head of lettuce
2-4 strips of bacon
2-4 slices of avocado
Loose spinach for filler

Carefully unravel a leaf of lettuce so it's whole and unbroken (I suck at this), add desired amount of Tuna Happiness, Bacon, Avocado, and Spinach (unnecessary unless you eat a butt load of food like I do), close that leaf up and eat the awesome ball of greatness that you just prepared!!!!!! Careful, it may leak a few drops of tuna juice.

Lunch 2/8/2012

Pork Chop
Chicken Thigh
Apple

I'm HUNGRY

Dinner tonight: crabby cakes (recipe on nom nom paleo blog), bacon and garlic mushrooms, and salad with homemade vinaigrette. So yummy and filling!

No recipe or meal this post but tried the paleo desserts from paleotreats.com. Yum, yum, yum!! I had the Cacao Now Cookie - only 7 ingredient, four of which are nuts and berries. I ordered the Brownie Bomb too but that is hanging out in the freezer for awhile. Great for the periodic sweet tooth!!

Breakfast
Tuna Fish Suprise

Use a 4 oz. can of tuna and open with a can opener. Drain for approx. 2 Minutes and remove the lid. Acquire a fork or "stabbing" object and enjoy!

More Reciepes to come...

Dinner tonight:

Paleo coconut shrimp and cauliflower rice!

Keeping it easy...
Snack - Primal PB&J

1/2 cup berries
1 tablespoon of almond butter

Perfect!

Dinner--leftovers for lunch next day. Keeps well.

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Slaw

2 cups cooked chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne-sliced
1/2 apple, diced
4 cups green or purple cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Dinner 2/1

Almond breaded chicken (thanks xai!) and "no-potato) salad.

1 head cauliflower , roughly chopped
2 hard-boiled egg whites , chilled and chopped
1/2 cup paleo mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Steam cauliflower until tender but firm (about 8 min). Place in a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. Chill then serve,

**I added some sriracha to the salad for a bit of a kick!

cream of tomato basil soup

Ingredients
•4 tomatoes, peeled and seeded;
•4 cups of tomato juice;
•14 fresh basil leaves;
•1 cup of coconut milk or heavy cream;
•½ cup of cooking fat (butter, clarified butter and coconut oil are good choices here);
•A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped, for garnishing;
•Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation
1.In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the tomatoes and tomato juice. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes.
2.Add in the basil leaves to the mixture and puree. If you are pureeing in a blender or food processor, pour the mixture back in the pot and on the stove again.
3.Over a medium heat, stir in the coconut milk or cream and cooking fat. Continue to stir until all the cooking fat is melted, making sure it doesn’t reach a boil.
4.Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5.Serve and top off with fresh rosemary sprig pieces if desired

stuffed pork chops

Ingredients
2 bone-in pork chops (center cut with fat left on)
1/2 medium onion diced
1 tbs. coconut oil
4 tbs hot water
1 cup swiss chard chopped
2 tbs. coconut cream (trimmed off the top of coconut milk)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbs. bacon grease (or lard, or oil, or whatever you prefer!)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Saute onions in coconut oil until browned and pour water over to caramelize.
3. Mix in chard and coconut cream and saute until chard is wilted and liquid is burned off, remove from skillet.
4. Salt & pepper chops and cut a small slit in the side of the chop from the fat all the way through to the bone. Be sure to keep the blade in the same location at the insertion point so that you don’t make a huge gash in the side.
5. Stuff onion, chard, coconut mixture inside the chops and reserve what won’t fit.
6. Heat bacon grease (or other fat) in oven friendly skillet until slightly smoking over medium-high heat. Place chops in skillet and sear side for 2-3 minutes.
7. Flip chop over, remove from heat and top the seared side of chop with remaining onion/chard mixture.
8. Bake in skillet for 25-30 minutes or until instant read thermometer reads 150-160F.

Dinner
Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak

¼ c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Maple Syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb. flank steak
salt and pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add steak, turn to coat; marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature. Grill until desired doneness. Let stand, covered loosely with foil for 10 minutes, before cutting in thin strips against the grain.

This was super good. We ate it with tons of Broccolli!

Sunday Breakfast

Scrambled eggs
Almond meal pancakes--I had TWO--one with maple syrup (it was pretty freaking good)
Blueberries

Dinner

BBQ Bison burger
Wrapped in iceberg lettuce
Red onion
Mustard
Tomato
Avocado

Side: Cabbage Apple slaw

Haven't made these but found them while roaming some sites...
Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Bites
• 2 medium-small sweet potatoes
• 1 lb uncured bacon from foraged hogs
• 2 Tbsp butter or ghee from grass-fed cows
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 4 Tbsp maple syrup — OPTIONAL
Preheat oven to 350F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them lengthwise into quarters. Then cut each quarter in half, and then half again. You’ll wind up with 32 bites.
Melt butter over low-heat and stir in chipotle chili powder and sea salt. Toss the potatoes in the spiced, melted butter to coat.
Cut the bacon slices in half, so you have 32 mini-slices of bacon. Wrap each sweet potato bite with a half slice of bacon, and use a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.
Place on a stainless steel baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, turning once about halfway through.
These are done when the bacon is crispy and the sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Remove from heat, drizzle with maple syrup, and let cool before serving.

3 slices of bacon
3 eggs
handful of fresh spinach.

Dinner: Pork Loin slow cooked with Okra, whole Tomatoes, Zuchini, Cauliflower Onion and Mushrooms. sloww cooked for eight hours.

Breakfast:
Bowl full of warmed chopped spinach with three scrambled eggs on top
Garnish with hot sesame oil...so good on eggs!

Did some research and supposedly Coconut Aminos (Soy Sauce Alternative) available @ Vitamin Shoppe and Sprouts. Also yesterday (Sunday), Raley's had grass-fed beef on sale for about $4.99 a pound...that's pricey but a god price for grass fed...lot's of fat in it though!

Dinner: Garbage Salad (read a bowl of greens with anything and everything from the left-overs pile on top)

Mixture of any kinds of greens you got in your fridge (I used arugula, butter lettuce, and chopped green cabbage)
Mixture of any kind of left-over meat you got in your fridge (chicken thighs sauteed in olive oil with oinions, garlic, a jalapeno, and mushrooms, and some Raley's Full Circle Spicy Andouille chicken sausage)
Any other leftovers (chopped veggies, chopped fruit, raisins, etc.)

Dressing: Mix as much of each ingrediant as is to your liking!
Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar
wheat-free Dijon mustard (@ TRader Joe's)
fresh cracked peppercorns
a little bit of fresh jarred horshradish (be careful and read the ingredients...this is JUST horseradish with no cream, etc. and usually found in the cold section near the meats), Roasted Walnut Oil (@ Raley's and Nugget and Sprout's...a little pricey but worth the flavor!)

Mix all ingredients together...pour on salad

INGREDIENTS

1 bag of shrimp (cooked, cooled and chopped)

1 avocado

1/2 of a cucumber (sliced very thin)

3 tbsp of paleo mayo...see Jenn Reviera's recipe (or Trader Joe's Mayo which is Paleo)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you don’t like spicy food)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

4 nori wraps (seaweed wraps)

Mix more Paleo mayo with some Schrriacha sauce for a tasty dipper...or mix regular or hot sesame oil in with the mayo or a good wheat-free dijon mustard. You can also make a soy sauce mix using Tamari sauce (found in soy sauce aisle which is gluten-free, but technically not paleo because it's soy (soy bean) sauce. Lastly try some crushed ginger and wasabi power mixed into mayo.

pickled ginger (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix mayo, cayene pepper and garlic powder to make the spicy mayo. Peel and remove pit from avocado and mix into a smooth texture.

Place the wrap on the bamboo “thingy”. Spread avocado on about 1/3 of wrap then place 1/4 of the cucumber next to the avocado, spread spicy mayo on the other 3rd and spread shrimp to cover the mayo. Then roll up using the instructions above, they might be a little messy but definitely worth every bite. Dip sushi in the sauce ideas above instead of soy sauce.

PS: I've seen online something called Coconut Aminos which is a soy-sauce-like substance, but soy and wehat free and Paleo-approved.
ENJOY!

Breakfast... if you can call it that

2 handfuls of my Super Awesome Trail Mix
2 cups coffee
Orange

Haven't tried it but....

Paleo Spicy Mexican Stuffed Poblanos

6 poblano peppers, seeded
1 lb ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (6 oz) can diced green chiles
2 tablespoons Cholula (or other hot sauce)
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
Fat of choice, for cooking

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Heat up a large skillet with some fat over medium-high heat.
Add your garlic until the smell becomes fragrant, then add your diced onions. Let the onions cook down until they become translucent.
Add your ground beef to cook down.
Once your ground beef is turning brown, add the rest of your ingredients, minus the poblano peppers.
While the flavors meld, cut the tops off of the poblanos and rinse the inside and out to get rid of the extra seeds. Cut a slit down the side of them and stuff them with the cook meat.
Place them on a covered baking sheet (I covered mine with foil) and bake for 20-25 minutes of until the poblanos begin to blister and soften.
Then eat them. I let mine sit for a bit. Actually I let them sit over night since I cooked them at 11:30 at night. Probably should eat them while they are still warm. Just sayin.

Dinner - 1/26
Huge Chicken Breast
Entire plate full of Brussel Sprouts
Dill Pickle
Apple

Still Hungry...

Lunch - 1/26
Three 4 oz. Skirt Steaks, just little guys
One whole Sweet Potato
Almonds/Sunflower seed mix
Cara Cara Orange

Dinner tonight - steak fajitas...about 125 g of steak, onions, green pepper, red pepper and orange pepper. Yum!

Stuffed bell peppers

4 yellow bell peppers
1/2 sm onion
1 lb ground beef/turkey
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 sm can sliced olives
2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Brown ground beef in pan with onions. When cooked, add tomatoes and olives. Add dry spices to mixture and simmer 5 minutes. Cut the bell peppers in half and fill with meat mixture. Place peppers in greased casserole dish and cook for 30 minutes at 350.

We topped ours with some homemade guacamole!!

Dinner, Turkey Chili (Paleo, if Amber approves)

1lb Ground turkey
1 Table spoon coconut oil
1 Green Bell pepper, diced
1 Red Bell pepper, diced
1/3 white onion, diced
¼ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
½ cove of garlic finely chopped
1 or 2 cans of unsalted diced tomatoes.
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Teaspoon of Sea Salt

In a skillet, cook the turkey over medium heat. From there I just start cutting up the ingredients and adding them in order. The longer this cooks the better but it could be ready to eat in about 20 minutes. This is one of those that get better the second day.

Dinner

Cauliflower rice n salmon

Here's the link for the cauliflower rice. I also added the following:

Shredded zucchini
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
Fresh parsley
Sea salt
And used coconut oil

http://paleodiet.cz/?p=277

Bfast: 3 eggs with veggies, coffee
Noticing I am not having any hunger swings - awesome! Been working hard on this for about 10 days now and I'm amazed at how great I feel! No sugar or bad carb cravings (cut those 30 days ago so I think they must be out of my system). So far, so good!

Mini Meatballs ( adjust ingredients as needed or wanted) I didn't add the cream cheese to it, but can be done. BUT, then it won't be a true paleo dish. :D

Ingredients

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped walnut or almond
1/4 cup flax seed
1 large egg
1/4 cup onion flakes
4 tablespoon garlic powder or to taste
season with salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions

1. Finely chop bell peppers and celery stalks; set aside. 2. Combine beef and turkey in a large bowl; mix well. 3. Add bell peppers,celery, and nuts; mix well. 4. Add flax seed, onion flake, garlic powder, salt and black pepper; mix well. 5. Add egg; mix well. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degree 7. Create bite size balls onto a cookie sheet. (I don't like the meatballs to stick to the cookie sheet; therefore I use foil and non-stick spray) and bake for 10-15 min or just until cooked thoroughly. Don't over cook or the meatballs will be dry.

Can be eaten cold from the fridge (Kim P said it tasted great that way too) or can be frozen for future meals.

Lunch "my favorite"

10 mini meatballs and 1 cup of broccoli n green beans

YES, I said 10. It can be addicting.

Breakfast
2 eggs, zucchini cakes,
Lunch
salad with chicken

Dinner on 1/20
2 oz grilled tri tip and 1 1/2 broccoli

Breakfast on 1/21
2 bacon, 1 large egg, 8 oz coconut milk

Do a google search - paleo for athletes

This was very soothing on this cold night!

Egg drop soup recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients
•3 cups chicken stock;
•1/8 tsp ground ginger;
•2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped;
•¼ tsp salt;
•2 eggs;
•1 egg yolk;
Preparation
1.Pour the chicken stock into a large saucepan over a medium-high heat.
2.Add the ginger, chives and salt to the liquid and allow it to come to a boil.
3.In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolk.
4.As the broth continues to boil, use a fork and drizzle the eggs into the pot. The eggs should cook immediately.
5.Serve warm and enjoy!

Lunch:
2 cups of spinach with 3 oz of tuna and 2 tablespoon of pesto sauce.

If you are out & about but need to eat (duh!), try Rubio's "Balsamic Roasted Salad". It comes with grilled chicken and they can easily leave off the cheese...no dairy for our "Paleo-Pals". It comes in at +/- 310 calories and does carry a signifigant amount of Sodium. But it's delicious, filling and fast...even for a guy.

Check it out...http://www.rubios.com/menu/items/from-the-garden/balsamic-roasted-veggie-salad

Dinner 1/17/12 @ Macaroni Grill with Melanie Dopson
1 side salad minus cheese and croutons with Olive oil and vinegar
1 glass red wine (OK...1.5 glasses)
1 Chicken Speidini (chicken skewer that comes with roasted vegetables including regular potatoes) threw the potatoes on another plate

Breakfast 1/18/12
6 egg whites
1 banana
coffee
"So Delicious" Cococnut Milk Creamer 3 TBS

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Scones - from elanaspantry.com
2 cups blanched almond flour (I used Almond meal from Trader Joes)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 egg
3 tablespoons agave nectar

1.In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, chips and zest
2.In a smaller bowl, combine egg and agave
3.Mix wet ingredients into dry
4.Knead dough with hands if necessary to ensure proper distribution of ingredients
5.Form dough into a circle that is about ½-inch in thick
6.Cut dough like a pizza, into 8 slices (I cut into 4 larger pieces)
7.Using a metal baking spatula transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet
8.Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes

These were perfect with my morning coffee on the weekend. They tasted even better cold.