Paleo Made Easy: Defeating disease with CrossFit and a grain-free diet

Paleo Made Easy: Defeating disease with CrossFit and a grain-free diet

This is a very inspiring and well made video, please take the time to watch it.

Chocolate Dessert

 CHOCOLATE DESSERT

1 very large, overripe, banana 

(mine are huge, so if yours are small use 1 1/2 or 2)

2-3 TBSP Creamy Almond Butter 

1 1/2-2 TBSP cocoa powder (to taste)

1/8 tsp vanilla (optional) 

Peel Banana and mash up real good in a cereal size bowl, add the almond butter and cocoa, mashing and stirring well.  Then put in the microwave for 30 seconds on high, maybe longer depending on your microwave.  Remove and stir in the vanilla.

I just eat it like that but for a smoother texture throw it in the blender and puree.

This is so yummy and hit my chocolate craving on the dot!

By the way, like anything, eat this within reason, don't eat this every night or 3 times a day.  It's a once in a while treat!  

With that said ENJOY! 

DINNER LAST NIGHT

Dinner last night consisted of Apple/Squash soup, Nutty Chicken, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Pan Fried Broccoli.  The soup and chicken were both first time experiments, the vote was that the soup was good but very rich, so small portions are the key with it and it made a great dipping sauce for the chicken.  Everyone loved the chicken, broccoli and Asparagus.

Here is what I did for the Chicken.

Nutty Chicken 

Serves 6

6 Organic chicken breast

2 cups of mixed nuts ground up in your food processor ( I used an assortment of what I had on hand, pecans, lots of raw cashews, and macadamia nuts)

4 egg whites beaten

Sea Salt 

Ground Pepper

Olive oil

Start by dipping the chicken in the eggs, then roll it in the ground nuts and place in a greased pan, do this until all of the chicken is coated and ready to go.  Then drizzle the chicken breast with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, Then uncover and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until done (depending on the size of chicken you have and your oven).  Brown under high heat if desired and serve.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

This is the easiest thing ever and taste great.  Clean your Asparagus removing the tough ends, dry on a towel and place in a jelly roll pan.  Then drizzle some olive oil over them, add a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper if desired stir them up a bit to coat and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Pan Fried Broccoli

Place desired amount of broccoli in a skillet, drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and sesame oil.  Then over high heat saute or "fry" them stirring continuously so it doesn't burn, you can sprinkle with some sesame seeds if desired.  You could also throw some slivered almonds in while cooking too, or some chopped garlic.  The sesame oil gives it a great flavor. If it's browning your broccoli to quickly you can turn the heat down a bit.  It's done when it 's nicely browned  and tender/crisp.

Apple Squash Soup

Serves 4-6

1  1/2 (2 if they are small) Organic Fuji Apples 

2 pounds of winter squash, such as Butternut, Kabocha or Acorn (I used Kabocha)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-32 ounce Carton of Organic chicken Stock ( I used Kirkland brand, if you read the ingredients on a lot of them they add sugar or other funny things,  but not the Kirkland)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground pepper

salt (optional, I skipped it)

1 cup of full fat coconut milk

Peel core and dice the apples.  Peel and cut squash into 1 -1 1/2 inch cubes.  Combine apples, squash, onions, and chicken broth in a large saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.   Then pour ingredients into food processor or blender and puree.  Return the puree to the pan, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste.  Bring to boil, then simmer uncovered 10 minutes to let the flavors blend well.  Stir in the coconut milk (or I just returned it to the blender for a few seconds), then heat soup thoroughly and serve with a dash of cinnamon.

Grassfed Ground Beef

I know this isn't new to Meredith and may not be to others, but I had a misconception that the grass fed beef was to expensive for my budget.  That however is wrong!  Grass Fed beef can be purchased at Eureka Natural Foods and/or The Co-op for a better than reasonable price! 

I have been buying regular ground beef from Costco for around $2.49 a pound, and $2.29 a pound if I bought a 10 pound tube from the butcher.  

The good news is....you can buy LOCAL GRASS FED Ground beef from the Natural food store for the following prices:

80% = $2.29 per pound
90%= $4.99 per pound


The Co-op also carries grass fed ground beef, and if you buy the 80% in a quantity of 10 pounds it is $2.49 per pound.

It supports local farmers and you get a great product!  Who would've thought you could buy grass fed ground beef for less than the price of non grass fed (the stuff fed who knows what and pumped full of antibiotics). In fact when I was talking to the guy on the phone he said it's a crazy cheap price, probably cheaper than most places in the US.

Thanksgiving Dinner

 My eldest daughter did a wonderful job of carving the turkey in the absence of her dad, today.  Yummy, that's one tradition that get's to stay while eating Paleo!  

The carcass, neck and innards are now simmering on the stove making a nice batch of stock.

What my first Paleo Thanksgiving dinner looked like, it could have been much more extravagant, but I went for ease today.  I actually had planned not to make any form of thanksgiving dinner at all.  But ended up making green beans with bacon and onions cooked in chicken stock, Creamed Spinach (using coconut milk), homemade cranberry sauce sweetened with apple and fresh squeezed O.J., oh, and dried cherries, Sweet Potato Casserole with apples and pecans and the ever traditional Pumpkin Pie (recipe courtesy of Everyday Paleo).
It was all very yummy and I didn't miss the old menu at all!!

What did you have? Please post your comments and let us know how your Paleo Thanksgiving went!

Apple Walnut Scramble

I threw this together Thanksgiving morning for the old man figuring it would be a nice cozy start to his overtime shift. The smell in the house alone was worth it! This recipe is great for those of you athletes who require a bit more fat and carb, if not simply cut the fat back to half and lose the raisins.
2 tbspns coconut oil
1 diced, cored Fuji apple
1 medium sized diced sweet potato
1/2 cup walnut halves raw
6 egg whites, 2 whole eggs
1 tspn pumpkin pie spice
1 tbspn raisins ( optional)

Heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add sweet potato, apple, walnuts and spice. Cook stirring often for 5 minutes, lower heat, cover and let cook until sweet potato is soft. Return to medium heat, add and cook eggs stirring often to keep them fluffy and light. At this point you could add a tbspn of raisins if you choose. This particular portion fed one but could easily be doubled for several hungry tummies. Zone blocks: 5P/6C/ 40F

Another Paleo Recipe Resource

Check out this sight I just discovered tonight off of Robb Wolf's blog:
It is helpful because it rates how Paleo compliant the recipe is, as well as how the readers rate the recipe.  I only looked at the ones that received 3 stars for Paleo compliance (the maximum).  Even then you will need to review the ingredients list and check with your Whole 9 list for those of you who are doing your Whole 30.  It is a great resource. However, like any of the sites out there, you must be familiar with the Paleo list of foods and study up on Whole 9, Robb Wolf and Dr. Cordain.  Remember, just because it says Paleo, does not mean it is strict Paleo.  It seems everyone has a different idea of what Paleo is, so be careful.  That said check it out for some great new recipes. 

Tasty Paleo