Paleo Recipe - Pizza Crust

I was browsing through CFLO's website today and found a simple recipe for pizza crust, um YUM!  I've been wanting to make a paleo pizza but the recipes I've found have been complicated as far as what goes in the crust.  If you notice, I tend to only make simple recipes with minimal ingredients/prep time.  I think I'll make this sometime this week once I run out of my curry roast, which I can't wait to eat tonight!!

Pizza Crust

• 2 cups almond meal
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt.

Mix all ingredients together to form the dough and roll out on a non-stick pan as thin as possible. Bake crust at 350 for about 15 mins or until slightly browned. Once baked cover with tomato sauce of your choice and any from a million of pizza toppings. You can use goat cheese or real mozzarella, sticking to the 80/20 rule.

 

 

 

Paleo Recipe - Slow Cooker Curry Pot Roast w/ Lime Cilantro C-Rice

Not my recipe - this is a repost from Feasting on Fitness.  Recipe can be found here.

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Pot RoastLip-smacking delicious--this is juicy, tender, shred-able beef fit for a feast!

Prep Time: 5-10min
Cooking Time: 6hrs on Low (or according to your own slow cooker's directions)

Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk (NOT light)
1/2 bunch of washed, chopped cilantro
1-2 limes, juiced
2T Thai red curry paste (make sure the ingredients fit the bill, I used Thai Kitchen brand)
3 packets (more or less, your choice) of garlic (or about 20+ cloves)
3-4 (or more) -lb grass-fed beef roast (sirloin and chuck have worked well), deeply scored for more surface area
NOTE: despite being a curry, this one is very mild on the spiciness--if you want to liven it up, try adding some heat yourself (more/hotter curry paste, hot peppers, cayenne, etc.).

Method:
After you have the ingredients prepped, make a paste of the curry and lime juice so you can smear it over the roast (nooks and crannies too!).  Add the garlic and insert into the deep cuts in the roast (it'll melt like but-tah--oh yeah!).  Sprinkle on the cilantro and shove some in the pockets of the roast.  Now pour on the coconut milk.  Lid.  Walk away for six hours and return to deliciousness!

Note: most slow cookers change to warm after their cook time, so it's best to make this right before you go to bed.  Then, when you wake up, you can turn it off and cool it on the counter before whacking it in the refrigerator before you leave for work.  When you return home, the sauce will have congealed a bit, but some heat will melt it all back into a savory, deliciously rich sauce and warm that meat for shred-able delight.  Serve with a spoon as a stew or over Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice (recipe below) to sop up that flavor.  Yum!

Leftovers will last covered/sealed in the refrigerator for a week.

Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice
I was trying to replicate Chipotle's cilantro-lime rice and it works--quite tasty and a great accompaniment to the roast for sopping up the delicious curry sauce!

Prep Time: 15min (or less)
Cook Time: 15min (or less)

Ingredients:
1 lime (or more to taste)
1/2 bunch washed, chopped cilantro
1 small head of cauliflower / half a large head per diner (more or less depending upon taste)
salt to taste

Method:
For my basic recipe, check out Kristy's Cauliflower Rice.  Here is a derivative:

Wash the cauliflower and break into small florets. Food process them in small batches, looking for the cauliflower to stick to the sides and the blade to spin freely (it tells you when it's done!).  Once done with all the batches, you can either cook with the cilantro, lime, and salt in a skillet or microwave in a covered container until softer and less smelly (cauliflower smells strongly once cut--try to cook it or freeze it at once, seal it up tight, and eat it quickly or your entire house will smell pretty sulfurous). The time it takes depends on your preference for doneness and how much you are trying to cook at once, but it's usually no more than 15min max for large batches.  Stir periodically during the cooking.

Alternatively, you can pre-cook halfway and freeze until you need it.  Then, just defrost, squeeze out some accumulated water or drain, and add the seasonings and cook briefly.  Since cauliflower rice is so messy (those little bits get EVERYWHERE), I like to make a whole bunch and freeze what I don't immediately need.  Timesaver!

Paleo Recipe and Give Away

Everytime I log on to Facebook I see so many comments about paleo, it makes me so happy!  I have one, used, copy of the Primal Blueprint that I am giving away FOR FREE!  How do you get entered to win?  Simple, you just need to follow my blog. 

How do you follow my blog?  Click on the link on the right towards the bottom that says Follow.  Simple!

I would like to say that I made the Primal Jambalaya and it turned out pretty dang good!  The recipe is below, and can also be found here.

Ingredients:

•  2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 lb andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced crushed 
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1.5 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
• 1 tbsp parsley (fresh is preferable, but dried will do in a pinch!)
• 1 tsp chili powder 
• 1 large head of cauliflower 
• 2 cups shelled, deveined and cleaned shrimp
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and lightly cook the sausage and chicken over medium heat. Once golden, add onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté until onion becomes translucent. Transfer items from the frying pan into a large pot. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, parsley and chili powder and bring to a simmer. While the mixture is simmering (you’ll want to let it go for about 20 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally), place the cauliflower in a food processor and shred until it becomes the consistency of rice. Add the cauliflower “rice” to the mixture and simmer for another 15 minutes until tender. Add shrimp and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust other spices as needed. Serve piping hot. Serves 6.

Paleo Recipe - Bacon Meatloaf

I found this recipe on Health Bent's website, found here.  I plan on making it tonight, sounds WONDERFUL!  I'll likely serve it with leftover cauliflower rice and/or some broccoli. 

Seriously Tasty Paleo Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 lb ground beef
• 1 c almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 c of tomato sauce (recipe below)
• 10 slices of bacon
• s&p

Ingredients for Tomato Sauce

• 1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 1/2 c (about 1) roasted red pepper
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• s&p

Method

Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350ºF.

In your food processor blend together all the ingredients for the tomato sauce.

In a large bowl use your hands to mix together the ground meats, eggs, almond flour, tomato sauce and salt & pepper. Separate the meatloaf mixture into two 9 inch cake pans. Fill the cake pans to the brim, as the meat loafs will shrink considerably as they cook. Top with the slices of bacon.

Bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and get the bacon crispy, about 10 minutes.

While the meatloaf is baking, pour the rest of the tomato sauce into a small saucepot and simmer over medium heat.

Once cool, remove the meatloaf from the pan and slice on the opposite direction you placed the bacon–against the grain, just like meat. Top with the tomato sauce and serve immediately.

Paleo Recipe - Pizza Salad

**correction, I did NOT add 32g of cheese but rather enough cheese to get 32g of protein**

I found a recipe online for a pizza salad that looked AMAZING!  I'll be honest upfront, this doesn't take the place of pizza, however it was really good and super easy to make, which are my two ideal qualities in a good recipe.  I made a large quantity so Matt and I could both have dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow, you can scale down if you don't want to make as much.

Zone math - I eat 3 block meals, Matt eats 5 block meals.  I made 16 blocks worth of pizza salad so it would be easy to divide.  I honestly didn't count how many blocks of carbs I had because I knew I was going to come up short, but it is a paleo meal and the carbs came close so that counts for me!

What You'll Need:

• 2 packets Hormel Pepperoni (or any brand of pepperoni but the serving sizes might be off)
• 1 red onion
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 jar banana peppers (picture shown below, I found them at Winco)
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 2 bunches of green onion
• 2 packets of Boboli pizza sauce (you can buy them in 3 packs)
• 1 small bag shredded cheddar cheese
• Olive oil
• Shredded lettuce (or lettuce of choice)

How to make it:
Start by cooking the pepperoni.  This can be done in the oven or in a pan, cook until slightly crispy.  I had to cook one packet at a time.  Save the grease from the pepperoni for later, it adds great flavor to the veggies.  Once the pepperoni is crisp, set it aside. 

If you used Hormel turkey you should have about 80g of protein (you'll need 112g to make 16 blocks).

While the pepperoni is cooking, chop up all of the veggies.  I bought already sliced mushrooms and used the following peppers, so all I had to cut was the onions (red and green) and the bell peppers.

Put everything in the pan with the saved grease from the pepperoni and let everything hang out together for a bit.  Once the veggies have caramelized a bit and have softened a tad, add back in the pepperoni (you can turn the burned off now).  Next, add the two packets of pizza sauce and some olive oil (I didn't measure but it was probably 1 tablespoon).  Stir it all together.

To get enough protein I added in 32g of shredded cheese, you can do this while it's hot so it melts or after it's cooled depending on preference, I added while it was hot.  Serve over shredded lettuce and you're done.  Or if you want, just eat it as is!

You can play around with your pizza topping ingredients as long as you stay paleo.  Enjoy!

My iPhone doesn't do a good job of taking food pictures.  It tasted WAY better than it looks!

Paleo in 2011

I always find it interesting to read through all the blogs and forums regarding the paleo lifestyle and see what people are talking about, or arguing about.  I found this blog: StevesOriginal.com (I need to get myself some Paleo kits, could probably make them myself!) and in his article about coffee he said two important things.  First: EAT. REAL. FOOD.  So simple, so important.  My breakfast had the following ingredients: Eggs, red bell pepper, onion, pepper, avocado, apple.  REAL food.

The next, and what I think so many people get hung up on: Just because it wasn't available to a CaveMan, doesn't mean it doesn't have utility in the modern diet. Just keep your head on straight about it.  Coffee is one of those things, I WILL not be giving up coffee, just won't do it.

Just some thoughts to get you going on this windy, rainy day!

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thursday!

Paleo Recipe - Shrimp Stir Fry with Mango Salsa and Cauliflower Rice

Alright, I'm not one for bragging and don't think of myself as being a good cook, but tonight I'm bragging about my amazing meal!  The title says it all, I made Shrimp Stir Fry with Mango Salsa served over Cauliflower Rice.  While it sounds complicated, its actually super easy to make, cooks fast and is super filling!  As I eluded to on Facebook, the recipe will be zone based so you might need to read through some of my earlier posts to understand it.  If you have questions or need clarification, let me know!

What You Need:

• 1 jar of coconut oil (I found a reasonably priced jar at Whole Foods)
• Frozen Shrimp (as much as you want/need, I based my recipe on zone)
• 1 head cauliflower (will probably only use a half if it's just two people eating)
• Stir Fry Veggies (whatever veggies you want, I used a bag of veggies I found at Albertsons)
• 1 jar peach/mango salsa (also found at Albertsons, you can make your own if you like too)

This is more descriptive than a normal recipe, but I made it up so I can write it however I want :)

I cook my stir fry in a certain order so I can properly measure everything.  So first I thawed, peeled (because I bought the wrong shrimp) and cooked my shrimp.  I used coconut oil this time around instead of olive oil adds great flavor, makes me think I'm somewhere tropical!

I got this stuff at Whole Foods, comes as a solid but heats up nice and adds great flavor!

After the shrimp was cooked I measured out 8 blocks of protein from the shrimp.  1.5 oz of shrimp equals one block so I measured out 12 ounces (the rest got saved for another day).

Next I sauteed my cauliflower rice.  This was SOOO simple to make.  Take 1 head of cauliflower, cut off the green stem part and then pull apart the individual stocks.  If you have a food processor with a grating plate then you'll want to use it, otherwise you can use a grater.  I put the whole head of cauliflower (cut in small enough pieces) through my food processor.  The end product looked like this:

Looks like rice!  Has a texture like cous cous, very good!

I then sauteed 4 cups of the 'rice' with some coconut oil for a few minutes.  You can microwave as well.  Once again I measured it out.  After it was cooked it ended up being a little over 14 ounces.  So I divided that by 8, which gave me about 5.25 ounces and the rest was Matt's portion.  It takes on whatever flavor your cook it with, definitely will be a staple in my cooking!

Last I sauteed my veggies, which I bought in a nice little fresh pack.  I used once again, coconut oil and water to steam them in the pan.  Finally I put everything together and topped with with store bought peach mango salsa.  1/2 cup for me, 1 cup for Matt.  It's so simple, so healthy and SO GOOD!!

You would never know that wasn't rice underneath!

 I hope everyone enjoys, we did!

Goals - Part 4

Okay, so as promised, below is a snapshot of what I ate yesterday as part of the Zone Diet, prescribed by Crossfit.com.  Now this isn't perfect and probably isn't quite ideal, yet.  But its a start.  I'd like to highlight that I opted to have hot chocolate (made with fat-free milk) for my evening snack as I needed some chocolate.  That is not a Zone snack and is not recommended, however one day at a time right?! 

One thing I'd like to point out is that I try to underestimate how many calories I've burned while working out.  I would rather underestimate than assume I burned more and in turn eat more than I should.  So when all was said and done yesterday, I netted just under 1000 calories, and felt pretty good.  I did drink a bunch of water, just didn't feel the need to track it. 

The target is that each meal, and therefore the total for the day, is comprised of 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat.  I'd say I was pretty dang close to hitting the target.  My protein percentage was a little low and my fat a little high, but that's okay.  From what I've learned by researching nutrition, especially nutrition around trying to also build a strong body, that fat is a key element.  So you'll likely see me adjust my fat consumption and possibly sub out cards for fat.  For now I'm going to stick to the plan as much as possible for the next few weeks to see how my body adjusts. 

I've included the link to the article I read and have been following (note there are new block suggestions around veggies (cards) which basically means you can eat more (volume) of veggies) The Zone Diet