Paleoats

 

1-cup coconut milk

1-cup water

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 TBLSP butter

Directions

Pour coconut milk and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a light boil. Add quinoa, cover and cook about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been soaked up.

Pour into bowl, top with anything you like: Honey, berries, nuts, cinnamon, and more milk.

 

Other ways to make and serve:

  This could also be made into a rice pudding by just adding a bit more (1/2 c) coconut/almond milk, 2 tsp vanilla, cinnamon and raisins to taste. I would cook 5 minutes more and then serve. to make vegetarian/vegan leave out the butter and honey and sweeten with monk fruit or coconut sugar.

Paleo Spaghetti and meatballs!

• Meatballs:
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBLSP chopped fresh basil (1/2 TBLSP dried)
• 2 TBLSP chopped fresh Oregano (1/2 TBLSP dried)
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1/2 C diced apples or cooked quinoa
• 1 egg, wisked
• 1/4 C milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pasta:
• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 cups cold water
• Salt and olive oil
• Sauce:
• 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 TBLSP honey
• Same amount of fresh herbs (dried) as meatballs
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 C chopped/sliced mushrooms
• 4 oz can sliced black olives
• ½ zucchini squash sliced
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped
• 1 TBSLP olive oil

Directions

1. Meatballs: Dump All ingredients for meatballs into mixing bowl. Mix by hand until all ingredients are throughout meat mixture. Heat 1 TBLSP oil in a pan. Wet hands with water and begin forming meatballs about the size of a golf ball (or smaller), trying to keep them all the same size. Place in heated skillet and cook on all sides until brown. Cook meatballs in two batches so as not to overcrowd your pan. Keep warm on stove top until sauce is done.
2. Squash: Carefully cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in 2-3 inches of water in a pot. Turn on high and put on lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until knife inserted into skin comes out easily. Drain and shred with a fork.
3. While waiting for squash to cook begin making sauce by putting 2 more TBLSPs olive oil into a sauté skillet. Toss in onions, pepper flake and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add rest of the chopped veggies, and cook three to five minutes. Add tomato, herbs and season. Add meatballs, and simmer on low stirring every once in a while. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
4. Serve with "pasta", dishing out 4-6 meatballs onto each plate. Serves 4-6.

Footnotes

• This recipe can be made vegetarian by not making meatballs and just the sauce with all the veggies and serving over the cooked squash.

Spicy Pineapple Shrimp Packet

1 LB medium shrimp (whatever your preference as far as cleaning, shells, veins, etc)
1 C chopped pineapple
1 C chopped bell pepper
1 tsp minced ginger
1 TBLSP minced garlic
2 TBLSP Sechwan Sauce or Siracha
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 TBLSP coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Make a foil square big enough to hold all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean shrimp, shell shrimp if needed or as desired. Mix all  ingredients in bowl and pour over foil square. Seal and place on sheet pan. Cook in oven for 20-25 minutes or until shrimp are done (red/pink and curled). Serve over quinoa.

BBQ and Egg Topped Sweet potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes
2-3 Cups chopped beef/pork BBQ (homemade or not)
2 eggs


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, take bbq (we used leftovers from our favorite BBQ place), add sauce if the meat is dry to the consistency you desire, and warm up in a sauce pan. Keep warm while potatoes are baking.

Wrap sweet potatoes in foil. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are done. To test for doneness, insert knife in center of sweet potato and if it goes in and comes out easily, it is done.

Split sweet potatoes, top with a pat of butter (optional) and top with 1/2 of BBQ.

Fry Egg and top the BBQ with it. Sprinkle with pepper and salt and enjoy!

Nori and Carrot Chips

So, I am four days and counting to the new Paleo lifestyle and already have had one handful of Doritos and a slice of bread slathered in Nutella. The cutting of the sugar and the carbs is going to be a struggle, and I have been scouring the internet for snack food craving relief. I found two things today that I am hoping will satisfy my need to crunch and munch, something besides nuts and seeds...so, I am giving Nori and carrot chips a whirl.

I found recipes for both and of course gave my own spin on them. Please give these a try and hopefully you will find, just as I have, that savory can take the place of sweet.

Nori (seaweed) chips

Take your Nori (make sure it is pure seaweed, no soy) and cut into smaller squares or triangles. I just used kitchen shears and snip, snip, snip. Spread them out onto a sheet pan. Make sure it is an even layer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I sprayed the nori with olive oil spray lightly and then sprinkled with sesame seed and sea salt. Bake the Nori for 15 minutes. Cool, place in a resealable bag and enjoy!

Carrot Chips.

These were trickier. I used large carrots and cut them into rounds, as thin as possible. By hand was harder because when I baked, some of the rounds were still too thick and didn't crisp up. I would actually recommend using a food processor or a mandolin slicer that you can adjust. These chips need to be THIN. If you don't have either, just use a veggie peeler and cut long strips. I think this works better because it keeps the carrot the same size, unlike rounds which get smaller or larger as you make your way thru the root vegetable. Anyway, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put carrot ribbons on a sheet pan, again, as with the Nori, in an even layer. Sprinkle with coconut oil/olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Mix with clean hands until everything is coated. Bake for 15 minutes, watching closely as to not burn the carrots. Let cool, place in bag or storage container and enjoy.

Bittersweet Chocolate Paleo Snack

2 bars bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler
1 TBLSP honey
1 TBLSP coconut oil

1/4 C Each:
Raisins,
Dried Cranberries
Almonds
Cashews
Pecans
walnuts

2TBLSP shredded coconut
2 TBLSP pumpkin seeds

Put all ingredients into melted chocolate, honey and coconut oil, stir until coated. Pour out onto wax paper on a cookie sheet. Spread out into even layer. Place in fridge or freezer and chill until chocolate has hardened. Break apart into pieces. Enjoy as a snack between meals or a dessert after dinner.

Honey glazed sweet potato rounds

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into rounds
1/4 C honey
1 TBLSP coconut oil (melted/soft)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 TBLSP butter (to finish)

Place potatoes, honey and spices into a bowl,season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour onto large square of foil in an even layer. Close up all open ends. Place onto HOT grill and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from grill when done, open packet carefully and plop butter on, resealing loosely. Let sit 5 minutes and enjoy!

You can cook these in the oven. Just spread onto baking sheet and bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until tender.

Jenn's Turkey Lettuce Wraps with Dipping Sauce

•   After seeing, reading about and even eating lettuce wraps, I knew I could make them at home, so I did! and boy are they good and healthier than their buffet cousins Chinese and Thai food.  Just as a side note, for all of you who are vegetarian, temp-eh can be used in place of turkey and it is still good, just use 2 packages and use soy that has no fish...
•  
• Filling:
• 2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 1 C chopped mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C cashews, chopped
• 1 TBLSP ginger grated
• 2 TBLSP low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tsp rice wine vinegar
• pepper to taste, cut way back on salt and test before adding any
• 
  
• Wraps and toppings:
• 1 large head of bib lettuce or romaine, cleaned and separated; romaine can be cut in half, but the lower leaves will be more like scoops than wraps
• 1 large carrots, shredded, lengthwise
• 1 small zucchini squash, julienne
• 1/2 large cucumber, seeded, skinned and julienne
• 1/2 bell pepper julienne
• 1 avocado, diced
• 3-4 large radishes, match stick cut
• Dipping Sauce:
• 6-8 TBLSP low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 TBLSP dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp rice wine vinegar

Directions

1. Heat 1TBLSP coconut oil in skillet. Add onions, garlic and ginger cook until slightly soft.
2. Add mushrooms and ground turkey, seasoning with pepper. Cook until turkey is almost done, add other seasonings and cashews to the end. Taste and adjust salt.
3. Place all other veggies on large tray/plate.
4. Mix together all sauce ingredients.
5. Pour turkey into large bowl.
6. Serve by scooping filling into lettuce leaf and topping with veggies. Enjoy!

I started this Blog...

Several years ago when I was attempting the vegetarian lifestyle. Through the few years I formed the Blog many more changes in diets have come across my TV, smart phone, email, Facebook, and twitter. First it was Vegan, still friendly towards animals, more so, in that you don't eat ANYTHING that comes from or is made from animals, or wear fur/leather made from animals. Sounds good, not too hard (since I have leather taste on a pleather budget), and definitely pulls on my heart strings when it comes to the humane treatment of our furry friends, even the ones that most choose to eat as meat. I mean, I watched several documentaries that showed animals being treated so badly and horribly, making me feel guilty and shed so many tears for all the years I did consume charred animal flesh even as a, well behaved eat what momma cooks because she is not a diner cook,  kid. I still feel there is still no excuse for the ill-treatment of animals, be it the ones who are our pets or the ones raised and consumed for food, which in some cases, sadly are pets. Sad, sad, sad, and a lifestyle I thought seriously about pursuing especially since I had eaten a vegan donut or two (and cinnamon rolls) from a coffee house that sells a local vegan bakery co-op's creations in Austin. I was like WOW, this tastes...good and is so moist and chewy, and hmmmm no eggs or milk?...WOW, YUM YUM YUM! Never mind the sugar rush I was getting along with the caffeine rush from the cold brew iced coffee...another entry all together!

Another diet fad that has hit the market is gluten free. I actually always thought that gluten was what forms when we mix flour with water and a myriad of other ingredients to get the baked goods many of us enjoy on a regular basis. I mean, I bake bread, cake, cookies, pie, and love pasta....and to find out that many folks these days have an allergy or inflammation to something that naturally occurs when mixing two seemingly benign ingredients kind of confused me. I have eaten bread for years; the number of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is endless, as well as the cupcakes, brownies and Italian pasta dishes that have passed these lips, that is until recently. I began noticing that if I over do it on the carbohydrate filled treats, especially pre-made, processed ones, I get an unfriendly rumbly in my tumbly and it gives me gas like you wouldn't believe! So...I was thinking about what to do. I mean, I could go back to being vegetarian...after all I have discovered the simplicity in eggs again, and they are sooooo good, and cheese, well...for those of you who love it and gave it up for a better style of living know you miss it, as it was the most common thing besides ice cream that all my vegan/vegetarian friends say they craved the most after a few months, and many still do after YEARS of living vegan. Admittedly, I felt better knowing I was eating more fruits and veggies and I did lose some weight. But like most who are vegetarians who are obese, they hit a wall, a plateau to the weight loss, and many find themselves on that plateau for years, even with moderate exercise. I know of a coworker right now who just got over her no weight loss hump, but is slowly getting to another slump in the slim down. Another friend I know, has been vegan for 5 years after 10 of being vegetarian and though he looks great, his health is worse than that of my diabetic husband who is OLDER. And this guy exercises, and takes his multivitamins and...and...and...but I have always noticed he has a poochy belly, a pocket of what I thought was fat that he just couldn't shed. Well, I found out recently it is more than likely inflammation from wheat and corn.

Now, I know some of you reading this right now are saying, "I have no health problems and I feel great! and YES, Jenn, animal cruelty, even in food animals, is WRONG, and don't you want to join us and help the environment? because not eating meat helps with that...less pollution, less global warming...etc" and guys believe me, I am a firm believer in taking care of this Earth while we are here on it living. I do NOT think that treating dairy cows like never ending milk pumps is right, and yes, when I saw the videos on the pigs being rolled in a skinning machine, or the chicken that hemorrhaged when laying an egg, I cried, boo hooed and sniffled into Eric's manly shoulder, but the thing is...the thing that gets me, after rolling it all over in my mind, is that all of the shows that I watched and I watched all kinds; for OR against vegetarian/Vegan living and, well, though they were passionate films, subjective and persuasive (they persuaded me to think differently) simply due to their sensationalism, no research, no science, just their shocking imagery. I don't even recall half of what their "experts" said because of those images that were shown to shock me into submission. I mean, one documentary about chemicals and our planet prompted me to make my own laundry soap and household cleaners, let alone wash my hair with baking soda, which I still plan on doing, possibly for the rest of my life, simply because it is CHEAPER than buying the already made stuff at the store. Plus, regarding the non-shampoo, I realized that my body has a job to do, and I, along with every other American has been duped into fighting what our bodies do naturally, by over cleansing and thus developing a cycle of continuous buying of those personal products as our bodies try to naturally recover from us stripping it  of ALL bacteria, and oil (again another entry all together). The point is, If it helps our planet, then GREAT, what a bonus!

Again, don't get me wrong, I even think that gluten free has a point. Wheat and products made from it have caused us to become "allergic" to it, and therefore we have to adjust what we eat, or modify our favorite recipes so that our guts are not on fire or cramping balls of pain after dinner.If something that we have been eating for 100 years, is causing us this much pain...well, common sense tells me STOP IT! I mean, it's kind of like putting your hand on a hot cast iron skillet without an oven mitt...hurts like hell, but you WON'T stand there holding it, letting the pain get worse...you will drop that skillet and treat your hand.

Now here is the point of this rant guys...I am actually going back to being a full time meat eater. In fact I am going to work the Paleo lifestyle into it and see what happens. After reading, researching, and seeing the results in person of friends and relatives who have done this very thing, I am convinced that this is what is right for me and my family. Many of you know I am not one to follow the conventional necessarily, and this lifestyle is one of the most unconventional ones of our time, despite it being based on HARD, Scientific, objective evidence that the lifestyle of our ancestors (yes, even biblical ones for those of you who believe, as I do, in Father God), is what is needed for us as occupiers of this world, this life, to be successful. I looked up all sorts of things on this paleo style of eating, and watched a few documentaries on it, and did not run across one fly by the seat of one's pants opinion, or sensational image...only scientific findings, and images to give relation to the numbers they were talking about.

Anywho, I know many of my vegetarian friends and relatives are going to FREAK OUT! I know though that ALL of you being the mature, smart and wonderful people you are, you won't resent me or make me feel bad about this. heck, none of you would be my friends if you made me feel bad about my feelings! So...please, do your research...I know I do, and still am, even through this process. And as far as the animals...I had a wise preacher tell me once, back in my Cameron, Texas days, when I was crying to him about the almost extinct Bengal tiger, "Until someone shows what value they have alive, no one is going to stop hunting them, or destroying our planet." I think the same thing can be said for our food animals...until someone can show that these creatures are worth more than being treated inhumanely just to feed us, they will always be treated badly. As for me and my house, I thank GOD for creating the animals we eat and making them so they willingly give up their lives to feed me and my loved ones.

So finally, in closing, I know of two things that this new lifestyle will do for both my family and the world. It will make us thinner and healthier and since we won't be eating grains, it will cut down on the GMO's we will consume, seeing as most of those are grains become cereal and breads...whatever you guys are doing...good luck and be blessed no matter what! I love Ya'll!

Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

I was eating a cinnamon roll the other day. It was a rare treat and one I discovered to be surprisingly delicious, as it was a vegan confection. There is a co-op bakery in Austin, that makes all sorts of animal friendly treats and they are truly, YUM. I wanted to taste that cardamom flavor once more and decided to make my own rolls (non-vegan because I just love eggs, milk and butter when it comes to baking, but baby steps, children, I will get there one day!). Willie's kids, who are living with us right now...when these rolls came out of the oven, and I coated them with the simple powder sugar glaze I know by heart, the smile it put on their faces...one of them said I am God's gift to food...what a compliment.

So here is my twist on an old fashioned treat...hand made the old fashioned way...enjoy!

Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients


2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2 eggs
6 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
6 TBLSPS coffee creamer
1 TBLSP salt
1 stick of butter softened
1 packet yeast
1 stick butter, melted for pouring over dough
1 cup brown sugar
2 TBLSP ground cinnamon
2 TBLSP Cardamom

Directions

1.take warm water, add a sprinkle of the white sugar, add yeast. Let set while mixing other ingredients. In mixing bowl (I use a kitchen aide mixer with a dough hook), sift together flour, salt, and creamer. Add eggs,softened butter and begin mixing, on low. Add slowly yeast and water. Dough will thicken. Add a bit more water if needed to stop the dough from being too thick and not mixing well. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes until dough is pulling from sides of bowl. Dump out onto floured surface and fold dough over itself for 3 minutes (kneading) or until dough is like elastic (when you pull on a portion of the dough or pinch it, it will slowly snap back into place). Place dough into a greased bowl, and cover with a thin layer of oil (I used coconut). let rise in a dark place for 45 minutes. Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll one half of dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is in the shape of a long rectangle and is 1/4 inch thick. Pour some of the melted butter onto the dough and spread, covering the very edges. Take half the brown sugar and sprinkle the same was as the butter. Sprinkle on half the cinnamon and cardamom. Gently being rolling the dough from the long side. take 4-5" of unwaxed dental floss, lay the roll on top and bring floss up and over the top, pulling it to slice the roll into slices about 1-2" wide. Place into lightly buttered/greased cookie sheet (with raised sides). Repeat with other half of dough. Let rolls rise for 45 minutes and then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

2.GLAZE: Mix 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 TBLSP vanilla and 1/8-1/4 water or milk to make simple glaze, mix and  Pour over rolls after they have rested for 7-10 minutes. Seperate with a fork and enjoy

Footnotes to have the rolls rise faster, the dough can be placed in a warm car, covered with a towel, for the first rise. It will only take 20-30 minutes then for the dough to double. Also, before rolling and cutting, you can put nuts and/or raisins ontop of the sugar and spice. If you aren't using a kitchen aide, mix by hand in a large bowl, if strength allows.

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