Happy Tummy, Happy Hubby

It seems that every year, the day after Christmas immediately sparks a case of the after Christmas blues. All that build up of excitement over in one short day. And all that's left are scraps of wrapping paper, pine needles all over the floor, and the Tupperware full of leftovers.

Well I don't have the cure to the blues but I have something that warm the soul and help with those leftovers! Because let's be honest, no one wants to eat ham sandwiches for 2 weeks.

I give you HAM & BEAN SOUP

1 onion, chopped
1 full stalk of celery, chopped
1 bag frozen carrots
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 can Great Northern beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cups chunked ham (truthfully, use as much as you want)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper

Let sit in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours - and ENJOY. We laddled ours over 2 rolls left from Christmas, mmmmm.

My lifetime taste tester quoted, "If you continue cooking like this I'll be one happy husband".

*I'm using the mobile app for the first time so I apologize for any formatting funkiness

Cookie Extravaganza

In a matter of 2 days we have managed to bake DOZENS of cookies - frosting and sprinkles included. All made from scratch with love and found on the one and only Pinterest.

We have your traditional cut outs which I found the GREATEST recipe for! Seriously, the perfect amount of sweetness to not be too much with the frosting and they don't lose their shape when you bake them. In short, the candy canes still look like candy canes and Santa isn't morbidly obese. I also had the perfect little helper - our friends little girl - helping me with the cookie cutters. So much love went into these.

We also have some yummy white chocolate macadamia nut. This was my first time baking these and they turned out pretty well. Could've been a little softer and they didn't spread really at all - tweaks for next time. And I can't take all the credit, Evan did do a wonderful job balling them up and baking them. We're probably a dozen cookies short though - Evan bakes one, Evan eats one.

Finally the pièce de résistance, SPRITZ COOKIES! My grandma used to make these and they were my favorite cookies every Christmas, but we haven't had them since she passed 7 years ago. This year my wonderful mother found this antique cookie press and fulfilled my adulthood wish (that's a thing right?). Obviously my technique leaves some room for improvement and I'm not 100% fond of the recipe I used. I searched through a couple, some used almond extract which I didn't so maybe I'll try that next time. And yes, I'm well aware they make more modern presses but having an antique one just makes it a little more fun.

Enjoy the recipes - let me know any suggestions you may have. And of course - 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cup of Sunshine

Everyone says "make sure you drink a protein shake after your workout for major gains". Ok, maybe not everyone. Even less probably say it like that. But nonetheless people do say the best time to take a protein shake is after a workout because...science.

Well, since joining the dark side of 5:00am workouts, I've tried to remember to do just that. And at first it was hard... Not just hard to remember because it's the butt crack of dawn but because let's be honest it's winter, it's cold, I don't want to drink a cold beverage in the morning. And apparently neither did my protein powder because it kept clumping up in the cold almond milk (yes I splurge and nix the H20). At first I was just gulping it down but you can only force feed yourself for so long. So to battle this problem, I started warming up my milk first and BOOM. Life. Changing.

Now I know you're all wondering "Oh what protein powder do you use?" Right? I thought so.

  

I get my gains from Pure Selection. Pure Selection is 100% whey protein isolate and uses Stevia as sweetener; comes in your classic chocolate/vanilla or shockingly chocolate/vividly vanilla. Because really, who needs more than that? No one drinks the strawberry flavor anyways. Good news is it doesn't taste like chalky cardboard the way some powders do. But also isn't as indulgent as some that contain real sugar. That's not to say it's not indulgent, I feel lucky getting to sip my warm vanilla "latte". And I put it in this pretty little container so it looks all special; adds a little excitement in the morning.

Some people start their days with a nice hot coffee, I like to start mine with a warm protein shake.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Not going to be a long post, just a little tid bit of the Christmas spirit we're bringing (so far). Being our first home, we wanted to go all out. Correction - Evan wanted to go all out. So we went halfway out because Christmas decor is EXPENSIVE! 

Between the 5 new extension cords, 4 boxes of new lights, and figuring out how to light up the second story of the house it made for a long day. But the results are great for the first year!

We'll post more as we liven up the inside, including our tree that'll get put up next week! Real, of course. Still working to sort through boxes and get things organized though, thankfully I have a couple days of vacation coming up to work on that without my better half around to distract me. And we're kicking all the house cleaning into over drive because...

More to come - including pictures of the new puppy. Here's to hoping for some snow soon!

When Life Give You a New Home...

You will gain 10 lbs.

The last few months have been a crazy whirlwind - from getting engaged, going on vacation, then coming home and moving into a new house. Between it all it's hard to watch what you eat, especially when you're getting free food (Evan and I are of the budget of "never turn down free food"). And while we're "maintaining", I look in the mirror and see the changes. I see where I've lost the lean muscle and gained the soft pudge back. I see the blemishes coming back from eating processed foods. I feel tired and overall crumby from the constant sugar crashes and can't move like I used to at crossfit.

It's hard, hard admitting I've lost control and even harder getting back on track.

But thankfully Evan is a great sport and is willing to jump right back in with me. Our amazing trainer had us on some meal plans previously so now we are starting back at the beginning.

I give you:

My Morning

Since I'm the early riser I have the awesome opportunity to get breakfast ready and lunched prep for us. It's not always fun or easy but it really is worth it. Now let me introduce you to my 2 best friends: 

If you asked Evan or I what we struggle with most we'd say sugar, cheese, and portion control. Because let's be clear, we can kill a family size box of mac-n-cheese just the 2 of us. Meet our scale, everything from meat to veggies is weighed as we prep. You really start to realize how much food you truly need to feel satisfied, it's mind blowing. The coconut oil helps give just the smallest hint of sweetness to my chicken (or really any meat). Helping with the sugar withdraw I'm bound to go through. 

Again, we eat Paleo+. Some weeks we have grains, a lot of times we allow peanut butter, and some days you just need chocolate (and I keep it dark). But all in all it works for us.

Diced, Smothered & Covered Chops

I've never been a big fan of pork. Mostly because I tend to overcook it or it ends up dry. But I found a recipe idea, tweaked it, added sweet potatoes and cheese (because cheese makes everything great) and boom: Deliciousness. I'll definitely be trying more pork recipes that involve 1 pain and the oven.
*Please note the fine china used in the making of this amazing dish.

Behold -
Diced, Smothered, and Covered Chops
Ingredients
4 - 6 pork chops
2-3 sweet potatoes, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
⅓ cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup shredded cheese (I used the casserole blend)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Place in metal baking dish.
Rub both sides of pork chops with garlic and brown sugar.
Place on top of sweet potato bed and drizzle butter over top.
Sprinkle with paprika, alt and pepper.
Bake on 350 for 25, then cover in foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for another 5 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

ENJOY!

Little Area, Big Difference

Over the weekend we decided to start tackling the yard (and there's a lot to tackle). We started in the front and moved down the side of the house. In the process we replanted what seemed like a MILLION lilies (this really isn't that much of an exaggeration), cut down 3 small trees, and ripped down about 50 feet of grapevines and netting. The end result is nothing short of beautiful. 

Don't let these pictures fool you! I did my fair share of ripping, raking, and bagging too.

 Stay tuned! There's plenty more to come...

Early Wins

When you move into a new home, especially one where you're combining 2 houses worth of junk, all the boxes and furniture can be overwhelming.

Welcome to my life.

But while the execution of day to day life is a little harder, the routine is much much easier. And last night we got to experience our first "normal" night in the house. We made a home cooked meal, watched our favorite TV show TOGETHER on our newly mounted TV (thanks fiance!), and were able to relax.

It's the little wins that make the stress of moving easier. We'll tackle a box or two tomorrow...maybe.

Our First Home

Over the weekend Evan and I moved into our first home! It sits in the historic district and comes with all the charm that that entails. Which happens to also entail small hallways and so we are currently sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Oh the joys of an older home!

The moving process was tiring but we did it! Now the sorting (and compromising) begins. As you can see we have A LOT of stuff, and this isn't even all of it...

Tis the Season for Peaches

Peach Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

For the Glaze:
⅓ cup honey
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 ripe peaches, sliced (or about 1½ cup sliced frozen peaches)

For the Cake:
½ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
¼ cup applesauce
⅓ cup honey
1 Tablespoon vanilla
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup almond milk



Instructions

• Mix the honey, nutmeg, and cinnamon together. 
• Pour into an 8 inch round baking pan that has been greased.
• Place sliced peaches on top in any pattern you prefer.
• Mix the coconut flour and baking soda together, making sure no lumps remain.
• In separate bowl, beat the eggs.
• Add the applesauce, honey, vanilla, and coconut oil and beat well.
• Combine with the dry ingredients and stir in the milk. Spread over peaches.
• Bake uncovered at 350° for 35 minutes (until the top is set). 
• Cover with foil to prevent burning the surface and bake an additional 5 minutes, until top is light brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Allow to cool, then run a knife around the side of the pan (between the cake and the pan). Turn the cake onto a serving dish.

Adapted from Gluten-Free Homemaker

Pumpkin Muffins

Who says you can only use pumpkin in the fall? These treats are spongy and sweet and sure to satisfy that pumpkin craving you may get any time of the year!

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

6 eggs, room temperature

4 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter, melted

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup honey

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. pumpkin spice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sifted coconut flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Blend together the eggs, oil, pumpkin, honey, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, salt and vanilla.

Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps.

Pour batter into greased muffin cups. Fill ½ - ¾  full.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean and the muffin feels spongy.

ENJOY!

*original recipe on Small Footprint Family

Snickerdoodles

When the sweet tooth strikes, I try to fight it with a new paleo treat. This time, snickerdoodles! They were super easy and came out tasting absolutely delicious!

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

For cookie:

2 cups Almond Flour

1/8 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

5 Tbsp Coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup Organic honey

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

For Coating:

2-3 Tbsp Coconut sugar

2-3 Tbsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Add in wet ingredients and combine.

Spoon out dough and roll into 1 inch balls.
*the dough should hold it's shape, if it doesn't add a little more flour

Roll dough in coating and place on ungreased baking sheet. 

Flatten out to about 1/2in thick (I used the bottom of a glass).

Bake for about 10 minutes, cookies will still feel very squishy but it's OK.

Let cool, they will firm up to perfection. 

ENJOY!

Easy Peasy Meal Prep

Every week I love but hate having to meal prep. The end result: having meals ready to pop in the microwave for lunch and dinner, is to say the least great. However, the 2+ hours it takes to make it all is not so great. The easy or large batch recipes are what I look for and a lot of times I'm mixing together some favorite food iteams and hope they taste good together. Here are just a couple I've come up with lately.

Squashed Banana Turkey

Ingredients:

1 Spaghetti squash

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 lb Ground turkey

1 jar Banana peppers

Directions:

Start the squash by following these directions: Prefect Every Time

While the squash is baking cook the ground turkey (drain the excess liquid off).

After the turkey is browned add in the banana peppers, as many or as little as you like. 

     *I used about half the jar

Let the 2 simmer until 

Once the squash has cooled and you've scrapped the "noodles" out layer the squash on the bottom of your container and then top with the turkey and peppers. Enjoy!

Italian Sour Apples

1 lb Ground Italian sausage

3 medium apples, chopped

24 oz. Sauerkraut

Directions:

Cook sausage

Remove sausage and add apples on low heat.

Let apples warm up, stirring frequently.

Add the sausage on top of the apples and layer the sauerkraut on top. 

Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. 

Drain excess liquid and separate into your containers. 

Enjoy!

Easter Sunday

So yes, I'm a little behind on posting my Easter creations but what are you gonna do? We had Easter lunch at my parents house. Mom took care of most of the cooking but I come baring a carrot cake and apple slaw (with BACON). Both seemed to be hits!

My mom recently started cutting sugar from her diet, but isn't sold on stevia so I was hoping she'd enjoy the cake. She did...but still added some real whip cream. Eh, still a small step in the right direction.

So here we go...

Apple Slaw
Ingredients

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Kraft Olive Oil)

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup pulp free orange juice (optional)

 juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 sm fennel, shredded

1 medium cabbage, shredded

1 pack of bacon fried crispy then broken up into small pieces (truthfully use as much or as little as you’d like!)

1 bunch scallions, thinly slice

2-4 firm granny smith apples, chopped

Directions

Mix everything in a large bowl and let sit in the fridge overnight, it helps bring the flavors out.

Adapted from Ghetto Foodie 

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups finely shredded carrot

3 large organic eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2.5 cups almond flour

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Icing

1 can full fat coconut milk refrigerated overnight

2-3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a 9 inch cake tin.

Combine eggs, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and melted coconut oil in your food processor.

Add in almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Process to combine.

Pour into a bowl and fold in carrots and pecans.

Pour into cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes until risen, browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Meanwhile pour water out of the can of coconut milk and whisk together hardened cream with all other coconut cream ingredients. Place in the fridge.

Once the cakes have cooked and fully cooled spread the coconut cream on top.

Store cake in the fridge in a seal tight container for 2-3 days. Serve at room temperature.

Adapted from Peachy Palate

Tortilla Tortilla

This week we experimented on Saturday rather than Sunday. I was craving some mexican food so we tried the coconut flour tortilla. The nice thing with this recipe is that it's for a single tortilla! Vamonos!

1 TBSP Coconut flour
1/16 tsp Baking powder
3 TBSP Egg whites (we used the egg whites from a container)
2 TBSP + 1/2 tsp Water

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth consistency. Pour into greased warm pan and carefully tilt pan in a circular motion to spread the batter out. The should be fairly thin once spread out, remember you're making a tortilla! Once edges are lightly browned CAREFULLY use spatula to flip. It only takes about 30 seconds on the other side and you're all done.

Fill with anything from meat and beans to berries and cream and ENJOY!

*altered recipe from Carbswitch*

Go Nuts for Donuts

I'm not ashamed to admit that my boyfriend has always been the better paleo baker than myself. Even though I've improved by leaps and bounds lately! He just has the patients and attention to detail that I tend to lack. Anywho, this weekend he successfully attempted paleo donuts with a strawberry filling (actually ours turned out more like mini cakes but delicious nonetheless). So just to keep it in mind, the recipe can be for an actual donut pan but we made 4 mini cakes per batch. If you do different donuts you'll need to adjust the bake time.

Donuts

Dry ingredients:

1¼ cup blanched almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Wet ingredients:

3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup, grade B

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 eggs, at room temperature, whites and yolks separated

1/2 cup fresh strawberry, mince in food processor

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 12-mold mini loaf pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl combine all of the wet ingredients except egg whites and minced strawberries.

Mix the wet with dry and set aside.

Beat the egg whites until peaks start to form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Fold in the minced strawberries.

Carefully fill each each mold about 1/2 full. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden.

Allow the donuts to cool, remove from pan and then chill in the fridge for half an hour before filling and glazing.

Strawberry Filling

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh strawberries minced in food processor

1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. raw honey

1 1/2 tsp. gelatin (optional)

Instructions:

Put the strawberries, lemon juice and raw honey in a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat.

Allow the mixture to boil lightly for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

If not using gelatin: Reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 20-30 minutes or until desired thickness is reached.

If using gelatin: Remove the pan from the heat, add the gelatin and stir until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a jar and allow the cool for about 15-20 minutes. 

Place the lid on the jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

*You want as few chunks as possible when mincing

Strawberry Glaze

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil melted

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 Tablespoon raw honey

pinch of sea salt

3/4 cup fresh strawberries, minced in food processor

Instructions:

Combine all of the strawberry glaze ingredients in a food
processor or high speed blender. 

Pulse until completely pureed and uniformly a light pink.
Pour the glaze into a shallow bowl for dipping. 

Immediately chill for 30 minutes until the glaze hardens. 

*Remember you're working coconut oil so if it starts to harden just stick in the microwave for a few seconds. 

Use a filling needle to fill donuts. Dip into the glaze and chill donuts for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes...Enjoy!

*based off recipes from Paleo Cupboard and Real Healthy Recipes*

Peanut Butter Pie

I'm a peanut butter fanatic and growing up my grandma used to make the BEST pb pie so I thought I'd take a swing at making it compliant. The recipe makes enough for 2 pies or 1 pie and some "frosted" cookies if you'd prefer. Or feel free to just make the filling (which I've deemed PB Fluff) and use it for a dip - either for food or fingers.

Let's get started!

Crust:

Dry Ingredients

3/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

1-2 stevia packets

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup melted butter, or for totally casein free - use Virgin Coconut Oil or even half cup EVOO

1/2 cup almond milk

4 eggs, preferably free range and organic

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2-3 dropperfuls of vanilla liquid stevia

Turn on oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pie pan.

In a food processor, whip the 4 eggs thoroughly. Add milk in, butter, vanilla, and liquid stevia. Pulse several times to thoroughly mix. Add in half of the dry ingredients then transfer the liquid to a bowl and mix in the rest of the dry ingredients. You want a spongy consistency, so if needed add additional coconut flour.

Spread into a pie pan and bake for 15 min. 

Filling: 
1 jar natural peanut butter - I used Smuckers brand
2 cans of chilled coconut milk (you only want the thick cream part scooped out)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. honey
*you can add more/less honey depending on the sweetness level you want

Using a mixer, combine all the ingredients together.



After the crust is done baking, let cool. Once it has cooled, pour the filling in and spread it out evenly. Place in the freezer until ready to serve and ENJOY!

Sunday Experiments

Sunday is one of the few days a week I actually get to cook and try new recipes. This Sunday I was craving pizza, which is just completely not Paleo+, let alone Paleo at all. So cooked up a delicious and semi fluffy crust topped with all the goodies, including "cheese"! And for dessert, peach cobbler.

Let the drooling begin...

Paleo Pizza

Many Paleo crusts are dry or gritty and my goal was to get a little fluffiness; that's why I went with coconut flour rather than the almond flour that a lot of recipes call for.

Obviously, without yeast you won't have that typical deep dish crust, as with many Paleo recipes you can't expect it to taste exactly like the real thing. But it needs to be good enough to quench that craving.

Dry Ingredients:

3/4 cup Coconut flour

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1 tbsp. Italian seasonings

1 tsp. Zesty seasonings

1/4 tsp. Baking powder

Mix well, set aside.

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter, or Coconut Oil or EVOO

1 cup almond milk

6 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, whip the 6 eggs thoroughly. Add milk and melted butter in, then pulse several times to blend. Pour into bowl and add dry ingredients, go a 1/4 cup at a time until fully mixed. It needs to be a spongy consistency so you may need to add more flour, I suggest a tbsp. at a time.

Once mixed, spread on a greased baking pan. I used a round pizza pan and covered it in foil. Spread it out to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Place in oven for 20 min, or until the edges are golden brown.

Remove from oven, add toppings, place back in to warm up (about 20 min - melt cheese, crisp meat, etc.), and ENJOY!

Fruit Cobbler

For the filling:

Fresh fruit (enough to cover 8x8 pan)

2 - 4 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

For the topping:

1½ cups of almond flour

2 Stevia in the Raw packets

1/4 cup of melted butter or coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients for the filling and gently toss. Dump into 8x8 lightly greased pan.

In a small bowl mix together all the ingredients for the topping and then spread evenly over the top of the filling mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is slightly golden.

Let cool and ENJOY! Goes great with compliant whip cream or almond milk ice cream.

Coconut Whip Cream

To make the coconut shipped cream, you will need one can of Thai's Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk. Place the can in the fridge to chill overnight. The fat will float to the top! Scoop the creamy part out of the can and into a bowl. Whisk it together with some sweetener - either vanilla extract, cinnamon, honey, etc. and there you have it! 

Date Paste

Figured I'd start with something that will be useful in many of the recipes to come. It's simple and great to have on hand.

Ingredients

8 ounces pitted dried dates

1-2 cups water

Optional Additions

Pinch of cinnamon

Vanilla paste

Instructions

Transfer dates to a bowl and pour water over them until dates are fully submerged.

*Allow dates to soak for at least 30 minutes.

Remove dates from water and transfer to a food processor or blender. Reserve soaking liquid.

Add 1 Tb of soaking liquid and begin to puree. How quickly the dates break down depends on the quality of your processor.

*I usually end up adding 3-4 Tb liquid to get my preferred consistency.

Continue processing and adding soaking liquid by the tablespoon until you get your desired consistency.

Also add the cinnamon or vanilla for a flavored date paste. (I prefer plain)

Transfer date paste to a jar or sealed container and store in the refrigerator.

*Use within 1 weeks.