Paleo chocolate covered raisins, say what????

Ok so everyone has a sweet tooth of some sort, and one of mine is chocolate covered stuff. It can be nuts, fruits etc. I don’t care, I love them all! But since going paleo I have noticed that buying that kind of stuff in the stores is EXPENSIVE!!!! So I never buy it. I just can’t justify spending that much on a little package that will be devoured before I can count to 5. I don’t keep sweets in the house (even before going paleo) because let’s face it, if it’s there you will eat it. so why tempt yourself?? Anyways, that’s where todays recipe comes from. I refused to buy them, so I will just make them on my own! This is so easy, even  caveman can do it. Get that? Paleo, caveman lol ok I know it’s corny but WHATEVER! 🙂

ingredients

15 drops liquid stevia

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp raw honey

12 oz raisins (usually standard package size)

2 tbsp cocoa powder (higher quality and darker, the better)

1/4 cup coconut oil

directions 

1. in a saucepan on medium heat, melt the coconut oil, and whisk in cocoa powder, vanilla, stevia, and honey.

2. when this is totally blended, turn off the heat.

3. stir in the raisins and mix completely

4. on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spoon out clusters of the mixture

5 stick in the freezer until hard

After frozen you can place the raisins in a tupperware container, make sure to store in the fridge or freezer to avoid it melting. Coconut oil melts VERY easy and will then make this treat quite messy to eat 🙂

Paleo pumpkin breakfast muffins

With the fall season arriving I have been seeing all the beautiful pumpkins going out in the stores, and then came across some pumpkin puree. I didn’t want to make a pie so instead I decided on breakfast muffins! 

 

Ingredients    (this makes 10 muffins)

2 1/2 cups almond flour 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp fine sea salt 

3 large eggs 

1/2 cup pumpkin puree 

2 tbs raw honey 

2 tbs coconut oil (melted) 

1 tsp vinegar (white) 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

 

directions 

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a standard muffin tin with cupcake/muffin liners 

2. in a large bowl combine the almond flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together and mix

3. in a smaller bowl whisk the eggs, pumpkin, honey, oil, vanilla and vinegar 

4. when mixed add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, stirring until completely blended 

5. evenly fill each liner in the muffin tin

6. bake in preheated oven for about 16 minutes until set in the center and a golden brown at the edges 

7. when done pull the muffin tin out and set on a cooling rack for 30 minutes and then remove. 

 

ENJOY!!!!! 

 

Paleo Jambalaya, even the cajuns would approve of this one ;)

We have approached the Autumn season, and with the colder weather I always crave hotter food. Well yesterday we had cooler weather so I figured why not start out the season right! A while back I got this great cookbook called “Paleo Comfort Foods” by Julie & Charles Mayfield and every time I have used one of their recipes I have loved it, they did a fantastic job with these recipes. Here is the link to the book, it’s definitely one to add to your collection. I doubled the recipe, and I cooked this is the crock-pot. The book has the directions to do it on the stove though, and for those directions you will need the book. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936608936/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1936608936&linkCode=as2&tag=palcomfoo-20

Ingredients

2 tbs coconut or avocado oil 

1 tbs cajun seasoning 

3/4 lb andouille sausage, sliced into rounds

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used ground turkey instead)

1 large onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

1 tbs garlic, minced

16 oz crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

 

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp tabasco

2 tsp Worcestershire  sauce 

1 tsp file powder 

2 cups chicken broth 

1 1/2 cups riced cauliflower (you will need a box grater or a food processor for this, and if you are planning on following the Paleo way you will need one pretty often, so I say get a food processor. You will thank me for this later!) 

 

directions 

***I chose to put everything in the crock-pot together, the kids aren’t crazy about cauliflower and neither are some adults. So to me, adding it in and having it cook with it was the perfect way to satisfy not only make it easier prep wise but to also sneak that veggie in on the kids without them even knowing! Sneaky sneaky 😉 ***

1. dice up all the veggies and add in the crock-pot with the chicken (or turkey), sausage, spices, seasonings, oils and sauces and turn that baby on! 

High for 4 hours, low for 6 hours. 

 

*This is spicy, but to me and my family it was so yummy and perfect. There wasn’t a single drop left. My kids even asked me if they could take some to school for lunch 🙂 

 

 

kids school lunches

I have had many people ask me what do I send with my kids for their school lunches. I do a variety of things each day so they don’t get burned out, but this was todays. 

-ham (or turkey) and cheese roll ups (I use ultra thin cheese slices and cut them in half, 2 pieces of meat to 1/2 a slice of cheese)

-grapes

-carrots

-homemade chocolate chip cookies (yes they are paleo)

-cheese stick ( I only put this in about twice a week)

They also have a refillable thermos of water that they take each day for lunch. 

 

Depending on how much your child eats will determine how much of each you put in there. But this is what mine get. Every now and then there might be a carrot or grape that didn’t get eaten but on the most part it is all gone. 

 

 

 

 

Paleo Pizza, the only dish that gives me such a hard time!

Ok so when you think of pizza, what picture pops in your head? I guarantee somewhere in that picture shows you or someone else holding a piece in your/their hand while taking a bite. No matter what recipe I try I just can’t seem to get that to be a possibility! I pick up, and WHAM! Pieces hit the plate. I haven’t given up my desire to have that ‘pick up and eat with my hands’ crust, I am determined to make it happen. But until then…….. I have found the best crust so far. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against eating pizza with a fork, and I don’t know why it bothers me so much but it does.

There is a WONDERFUL woman named Anna Wight who actually lives here in Alabama. I had the pleasure of getting to go to a function she held about clean eating, health, and essential oils. She created a cook book with all her own recipes and let me just tell you, this woman has some serious cooking skills 🙂 While she is not paleo, she has many recipes that are or can easily be turned paleo. Here is the website so you can order the book, or pdf version. I highly recommend it!

http://living-thejourney.com/product-category/cookbook-2

I used the crust in this book, and will be using it again!

**I doubled this recipe, so I would have 2 pizzas**

1 head cauliflower

2 cups almond meal

3 organic eggs

3 teaspoons oregano OR Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Heavily grease a bar pan stone

Break up cauliflower into pieces and put in food processor. Pulse until it looks like rice. Put 3 cups of “riced” cauliflower in microwave for 4-6 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients to cauliflower and mix. Spread evenly across pan.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

I added a little bit more onion and garlic powder, because we love that stuff 🙂

Now for the rest I did my own recipe.

***** please keep in mind I have 6 people in my family, so if it’s a smaller number of people eating then break it in half if you’d like .Or you can just have leftovers! *****

3 lbs ground beef

1 bell pepper

3/4 white onion

3 cups shredded mozzarella (we still eat cheese in moderation)

26 oz tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

-Brown your beef (or you can use turkey)

-dice up your onion and pepper and add to the beef when brown. Let it cook for a couple minutes.

-dice up your tomato and place it in a bowl and pour the tomato sauce and seasonings in with it and stir until blended.

-when the crust is finished, spread the sauce over the entire area. Then layer with the beef mixture, followed by the cheese.

-place it back in the oven and let it cook for about 5 minutes

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!! 

My favorite side dish

Ok so here is a side dish I make on a regular basis, but will switch up sometimes adding different vegetables.

Ingredients

2 Yellow zucchini
1 Onion
2 Cayenne pepper
Extra Virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Pour about tbs olive oil in a wok pan on med heat
2. Cut up all ingredients to your desired thickness and place in pan when heated
3. Sauté until all ingredients are soft, we like ours to be cooked to where the edges look they are about to burn but that is just our preference.

**Sometimes I use regular green zucchini, squash or a combination of squash and zucchini. I always put onions though, but if I don’t have cayenne pepper then I will use red pepper flakes instead.

Enjoy!!!

Sweet potato chips

Another super easy, yummy recipe! Are you noticing a trend here? Lol. These are more “chip” like, and yes they will go just as quick if not quicker than a bag of chips will. These would have the same slogan as the Pringles do, “once you pop, you just can’t stop”. But these are waaaaaaaaaay healthier than Pringles 🙂

Ingredients

2-3 sweet potatoes
Grapeseed oil
Sea salt
Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Wash potatoes and then cut to your desired thickness
4. Place potatoes in a bowl and drizzle with grapeseed oil, toss the potatoes around in oil to make sure it’s got a thin coat.
5. Layer potatoes in as much of a single layer as you you can on baking sheet and then season lightly with salt & pepper. (Just as the kale shrinks, so does the potatoes so that’s why I say lightly season. You can always season more when they are done).
6. Bake for about 25 minutes and then flip, return to oven for a additional 25 minutes.

I served these as part of our dinner last night, but these are also a good thing to keep for snacks.

Enjoy!!

Because who doesn’t love bacon???

Ok so my family is addicted to bacon, like we would totally get it in a IV form if we could. No lie. I wrapped tilapia is bacon and cooked it a while back and it was a big hit so I figured why not try with chicken? Yes I’m aware that’s been done before, I’m not claiming to be the master creator of this combination but I had yet to try it. I didn’t feel like wrapping the chicken, so instead I just layered the bacon across the top of the chicken. Needless to say, the kids and the Mr have since asked for this meal or my version with pork chops at least every couple days.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts (or pork chops)
1 pack of bacon
Coconut oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Spread a thin layer of coconut oil on the bottom of a glass baking dish
3. Place chicken/pork in pan
4. Place bacon as a single layer across the top of the chicken, because I have to cook a big amount of chicken I use a large pan and it takes the whole pack to cover the chicken. But you might need the entire pack, so if you want you can save the extra for another time (just make sure you date whatever you seal it in so you don’t forget)
5. Cook chicken/pork for about a hour if the chicken/pork was frozen, and around 30 minutes if thawed out. Internal temperature must be 170 degrees.

*Here is a little bit of info that might help with this dish.

-the juices from the bacon come to the bottom of the pan and it is cooked into the chicken/pork like a marinade. Therefor the juice will cause whatever part is in juice to have a pinkish look. As long as you are using your thermometer to ensure its cooked to 170 degrees internally its ok. At first I thought it wasn’t cooked, so I flipped the chicken over and cooked it a little longer and then the other side turned pink.

With this I made steamed broccoli and sweet potato chips (recipe coming up on the next post).

Enjoy!

Today’s breakfast :)

Here is a quick post of the kids breakfast this morning 🙂

Mandarin oranges, peeled
Scrambled eggs
Bananas drizzled with raw honey
And not pictured, almond milk to drink

Quick, easy, healthy and yummy 🙂

That was a close one!!

So last night we went and participated in our cities weekly evening walk. We were so excited we were able to go finally and that the Mr actually got off work in time to go too!!! Well needless to say the change in our nightly routine and me being forgetful (yes I admit it) I completely forgot to pack my husbands lunch for today. When that alarm went off this morning it hit me, CRAP!!!!! Luckily I keep lots of veggies around so I was able to throw this together in about 5-10 mins.

It consists of

Steamed broccoli
Red pepper
Jalapeno
Sausage

I sautéed the sausage with the red pepper and jalapeño so the flavors would all come together.

Quick, easy and yummy! All in 5-10 minutes 🙂