So many ideas ....

So many ideas so little time ! I have all these recipe ideas it's like my brain constantly thinks of creative ways to eat, design or invent, it's nuts it never stops in my head .... I don't have time to keep up with this brain of mine ... I'm trying to figure out my food intake for my goal and yet I have no time to just sit and figure out cause I have all these other ideas that are going 100 million km an hour ....

Anyway here's a recipe for larabars

Coconut chocolate chew

1.5 cup raw almonds
2 cups of pitted dates
¼ cup pure cocoa
1/2 cup dried coconut unsweetned
Add a little water to help the processing

Put all the ingredients in your food processor, process till its like a paste, then shape into bars, I weigh mine at 53g

Major decisions

I've decided to set a huge goal for myself and myself only... By dec 2013 I will compete in a women's natural figure fitness competition. I am both excited and nervous about this but I am ready to attack this challenge 110%. I do believe that it's a realistic goal. I need full support from my friends and family as this is something I really believe I can achieve and will achieve. No excuses, no exeptions. I don't expect everyone to understand this goal but I do expect people to support that It's something I want to do to keep me focused and motivated. I'm not doing this for the superficial reasons some might assume but more for the health benefits and how good I feel emotionaly and physically when I transform myself and better myself.

I have a great entourage and I have no doubt that they will help me achieve my goal ! :)

Here is a recipe for a quick snack

Savory seeds

1cup unsalted plain pumpkin seeds
1cup unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tbsp curry powder
1tbsp cumin powder
1tsp garlic powder
A pinch of sea salt
1tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven broiler to 450 degrees, mix seed with oil and spices and coat. Put on cookie sheet and put under broiler keeping an eye and flipping the seeds around often till desired roast is achieved !

MIA

Sorry I've been missing in action ... had to take a break from life and stress while i moved into our new house and got ready for the next chapter of my life ! I bought a better computer and went on vacation and now I'm back and relaxed and ready to attack the body transformation yet again.

So the man and I took a much needed vacation to Jamaica, yes during Hurricane Sandy ! Even though it started in Jamaica it didn't hit as hard as it hit other places it seems, we still had a fantastic vacation. As much as this vacation was fantastic it was also eye opening... I let my guards down and ate and drank like their was no tomorrow and by day 3 I felt sick and most of all depressed of what I had let myself indulge in. The physical feeling I had was not worth it. I felt like a huge bloated ball of fat and was depressed and tired. I didn't fit in my jeans coming back. I wanted to cry. I was so disappointed in myself feeling like a failure ... all this work and I really honestly thought I had gained all my weight back and started having anxiety ... We got back and I weighed myself and to my horror 12 lb gain :( I was devastated .... 7 days and 12 lb gain ! wow ... but thankfully I had the week off and I went on 100% Paleo and worked my butt off at the gym and am 4 lbs away from the weight I was when I left but even better is I felt physically better, not as depressed and not tired. So I'm back at being motivated and this has opened my eyes to what Paleo really offers me and that is an all around better physical feeling and well being.

The food was good but my food is better .... less salt, more portion control and just more wholesome and no gluten, grains, dairy etc...

So since we've been back i've been craving just meat and salads so this is what I've made (recipes to come) :

Curry pork on fatoush salad 

Curry coconut cauliflower as a side for rosemary honey chicken (see recipes below)

pizzzzazzaaaa

Funny thing is I was watching Extreme makeover last night (PVR) and Chris Powell (Hottie!) takes a bite of food and says diet food should not taste like diet food ... I could not agree more! I think the mistake people make when getting on board any typy of plan is they don't season their food and i'm not talking about salt and pepper, I'm talking about flavours like lemon, lime, hot, sweet, tangy, spicy you get the point ...

I strive to paleoize the foods I love to make them enjoyable and even sometimes better than the original recipe. I love love love pizza ... I never used to be that huge of a fan of pizza until i got pregnant with my oldest 6 years ago ... then i could have eaten pizza ALL the time ... but I didn't surprinsingly... So it comes to no surprise that that I have tried a few different ways of curbing my pizza cravings, once in a while ... it's still not the best food for you but once in a while it does the trick :)

Here is 2 ways i've done pizza lately... same toppings ... different crusts ...



Pizza crust

½ cup coconut flour;
1 cup almond flour;
1 tsp baking powder;
2 tsp garlic powder;
4 eggs;
3 tbsp coconut oil melted;
½ cup water;

• Preheat your oven to 375 F.
• In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, almond meal, baking powder and garlic powder
• In your mixer put all wet ingredients in the bowl and using the paddle attachment mix on low for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients and mizx for a few minutes to allow the wet and dry ingredients to combine.  The batter will seem very runny but it will harden while baking. On a well greased and rimmed pizza pan, not one with holes !!  pour in the batter and spread it until it’s covering the complete surface. Put the crust in the oven and allow it to bake alone for 15-20 minutes.
• Once your crust has baked for 15-20 minutes. take it out and spread the sauce on the surface of the crust. Put any toppings you like I chose, crispy bacon, red peppers, arugula and Mozerella cheese.
• Put back in the oven for 15 minutes or so, keeping an eye on it.



 

Egg pizza

6 eggs lightly beaten

1 tbsp water

salt and pepper

fresh basil chopped up

1tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven at 400 degrees. In a bowl beat together eggs, water, salt and pepper, basil. Heat oil in an oven safe skillet, then pour eggs mixture and let cook like an omelett. Flip over if possible otherwise just let cook as much as possible without burning the bottom and add sauce and toppings and then put in oven to melt cheese and cook the top of the eggs and voila !

chicken

computer is packed for my house showings so that's what's going on but i'm still cooking and taking pics ... don't be fooled by my absence ...My posts are getting slower but they will pick up once the house is sold and i can look like I live in my house again.

week 7 of veggies

pressure cooker Beer Tex Mex Chicken

1 beer or your choice, the darker the better I think I use gluten free though

6 chicken breasts – if they are thick cut them lengthwise

Honey to taste ( 2 tbsp) or more you can add more after it’s cooked to taste

1 large onion slices how you like it

2 garlic cloves

Ok so I do this all to what I like but feel free to add or reduce amounts:

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

A bit of salt and pepper  

Turn the pressure cooker on and set it to meat, add the chicken breasts and while you’re chopping all the other ingredients the chicken will brown a bit add all the ingredients … give it a stir and then put the lid on and let it do it’s magic for 20 minute. Sometimes if you take too long the timer starts I usually just turn it off and turn it back on so it starts with 20 minutes. Let depressurise automatically.. 

Once it is ready take 2 forks, being careful you don’t scratch your pot, break apart the chicken into pulled chicken, I sometimes set the pressure cooker to the soup setting and it simmers. If you want a thicker sauce add a cup of grated cheese and stir , sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve !

 Pressure cooker Rosemary Honey Chicken

 

6 chicken breasts – if they are thick cut them lengthwise

1/3 cup of honey

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

4 spring onions ( green onions) or 1 medium onion

2 sprigs or more of fresh rosemary chopped up

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Turn the pressure cooker on and set it to meat, add the chicken breasts and while you’re chopping all the other ingredients the chicken will brown a bit add all the ingredients … give it a stir and then put the lid on and let it do it’s magic for 20 minute. Sometimes if you take too long the timer starts I usually just turn it off and turn it back on so it starts with 20 minutes. Let depressurise automatically..  

When you open your lid stir the chicken so that it’s covered in sauce and serve …. Yum my new fave !

clean

In trying to keep my house clean and staged for visitors it's almost impossible with 3 kids and 2 adults. but im succeeding but I will need a really restful vacation after all this is done! Making it look like no one lives there and that we live in magazine pages is gonna get old if this house doesn't sell quick !!

So in between all that i still cook but i cook in bulk so we can just use the kitchen once and then just use the microwave or the basics to heat up or chop up and eat.

this week's veggie basket was..cucumbers, basil, green onions, zuchinni, sage, beets and greens, kale, lettuce, eggplant.

i've been eating the cucumbers just peeled and whole in my lunches ... they are nice and fresh that way. The green onions have been used in salads. I'm gonna try doing something new with beets, and something else with eggplant, my man is not a fan of eggplant but i'll show him that it can be delicious (as Gordon Ramsay would say)

moving on out !

Been crazy busy, took a little vacation from work not to relax but to get my house ready to sell it as my man and I bought a house together ! :) Pretty exciting stuff.

I still have been cooking just didn't have time to post all my recipes ... but took pics anyway so I have lots of dishes to show you !

Week 3 of the organic veggie basket was fresh garlic, zuchinni, swiss chard, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, and lettuce :

I was stuck in traffic wondering what to make for diner (I often do this) and it came to me. chicken crusted in coconut, lime zest, cilantro with a green curry coconut sauce!

Coconut lime crusted chicken with green curry sauce

4 chicken breasts

1 cup of unsweetned shredded coconut

zest of 1 lime

Cilantro

2 tbsp green curry paste

1/4 cup of lime juice

1 can of coconut milk ( the creamy part)

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Mix coconut, lime zest and a bit of chopped cilantro in a flat bowl. In an other flat bowl put some lime juice. dip the chicken in the lime juice then coat with the coconut mixture and put on a greased cookie sheet and repeat with the 3 other chicken breasts. Bake for 14 minutes turning over after 7 min. (or until cooked, depends on the thickness of your chicken). While it's baking make the sauce. In a skillet heat the curry paste, once it becomes fragrant add the cocnut cream part of the can .. it's ok if you get a bit of the water just want the sauce to be thick without using thickening agents. Add some more chopped up cilnatro to the sauce. Remove chicken from the oven and pour a bit of sauce over top and serve !

Roasted vegetable soup

1 tbsp olive oil

4 baby beets

4 carrots peeled and chopped into big chunks

1 onion

garlic scapes

4 cups of water

2 tbsp tomatoe paste

salt and pepper

basil

3 bay leafs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. making sure all veggies are cup up in similar sizes coat them in oil and salt and pepper and roast till the carrots and beets are soft about 45 minutes making sure to turn them over. Put all the veggies in a big soup pot and add water, salt and pepper to taste and bay leaves, chopped basil and tomatoe paste. Boil for a bit then remove from heat and put in a blender. Blend till smooth and serve !

Mexican chicken salad

1 pkg of ground chicken

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 fresh garlic clove

1 onion chopped

chilli powder, cumin

Mix of arugula and mizuna greens

1 bunch spring green onions

roasted red peppers

greek yogurt for the dressing.

1 avocado

Heat the oil in a large skillet. add garlic and onion, cook until fragrant and add the ground chicken and spices (spice to your liking). Meanwhile seperate the greens into two bowls, chop up the avocado, red peppers and green onions and split up between the bowls, add the meat to the bowls with a spoonful of greek yogurt. serve.

beet greens

So I have never cooked with beet greens but decided to experiment and came up with 2 very yummy dishes !

Honey Dijon sausage with beet greens

4 Paleo safe Bratwurst sausages sliced up

1 tbsp coconut oil

1tbsp dijon mustard

4 tbsp honey

1 bunch of green onions

1 bunch of beet greens

In a large skillet melt the coconut oil. Add sausage and sautee for a few minutes ( my sausage was pre-cooked) add onions sautee for another few minutes. Add dijon and honey stir to coat. Add beet greens and sautee till wilted only about 2 minutes. Serve ! this was delicious !

Chili basil omelet stuffed with onions, mushrooms, beet greens and cheese

6 eggs (3 per person)

2 tbsp of water

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of chili powder to taste

a few leaves of basil

6 beet green leaves

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 small sliced onion

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

These instructions are for 1 omelet. Crack 3 eggs into a bowl, add chili powder, chopped basil, salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of water, beat until well blended.

Meanwhile sautee the onions, mushrooms and right in the end add beet greens sautee till wilted not to long. set aside in a bowl.

Cook the omelet, flipping it over when it's half way cooked add cheese and veggies and let warm up a bit and then put on a plate folding it over and serve with bacon !

Organic veggie basket week 2

So i'm back at the gym and back eating fully Paleo, stomach is good and hopefully everything will stay that way ... no more weird meds ! 

This week we got baby beets and greens, swiss chard, kohlrabi , green onions, and a few edible flowers.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Bacon

Olive oil, for pan

1 cup bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed and cut into 1/2-inch lengths, leaves cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths

Kosher salt

Coat a large saute pan lightly with olive oil and add the diced bacon, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to medium-high heat. When the garlic has turned a lovely golden brown, remove from the pan and discard. At this point the bacon should start to become brown and crispy. Add the Swiss chard stems, Add the Swiss chard leaves and saute until they are wilted. Season with salt.



Week 1 of organic veggie basket

So i went to pick up our first basket of veggies.We got some garlic scapes, romaine lettuce, radishes and kale

Grilled prosciutto wrapped chicken stuffed with cheddar cheese and basil

2 chicken breasts

4 slices of proscutto

2 slices of cheddar cheese

basil leaves

make a small slit in the chicken and stuff with cheese and basil then wrap with proscutto and cook on the bbq for 6 minutes per side on medium high or until done. super easy and yummy ! I didn't even put oil as the proscutto has a bit of fat and it crisped up nicely.

I served this with sauteed mushrooms and garlic scapes ( never cooked with scapes before but they are a cross between and onion and garlic flavor ... very tasty )I used my romaine lettuce and made a little salad with strawberries, onions and balsamic vinegar as the vinaigrette

Strawberry walnut almond flour muffins

2.5 cups of Almond flour

3 large eggs

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 cup of melted coconut oil

1tbsp of vanilla

1 cup of chopped strawberries

1/2 cup of walnuts

Preheat oven at 300 degrees. prepare muffin tins with liners. Mix all ingredients (except strawberries and walnuts) until smooth. Fold the strawberries and nuts in. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes

  



new beginings

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with an Internal medicine specialist; I finally was able to get a few answers and possible solutions to the ongoing problem that is my body and not feeling 100% all the time.

I have been struggling with hypothyroid for years and have never been able to regulate the right levels of T4 in my system. Never felt well, I sometimes felt better than some days but never 100% and could not figure out. Yesterday this doctor spent close to 2 hours talking with me and listening to everything from birth till now. Seriously, how many docs can you say take the time to really listen and that really wants to find what's going on and help you without just pushing drugs. We changed my thyroid medication to something more natural and that's not all, with everything that I told him he was able to determine that I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and Adrenal fatigue syndrome. This is good news in some ways as now that we know about this we can address it. I'm going the natural route for now taking natural supplements as with the prednisone problems I'm now afraid of prescription drugs. I went for a whole bunch of hormonal blood tests to check out what's going on more accurately. This all explains the way I have been feeling and if we get it under control I am confident that things will be 100 times better then now!

Here is a ginger carrot soup I made for us with some crispy prosciutto:

Ginger Carrot soup

Serves 4 to 5

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
8 good-size carrrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) coins
1 medium potato, cubed
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 mL) freshly grated ginger
5 cups (1.25 L) vegetable broth, chicken broth or water ( I used water)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

In a soup or stock pot, sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Do not brown. Add carrots and and potato and stir briefly. Add ginger, broth or water, and bring to boil. Turn heat down to medium-low, cover partly, and cook until vegetables are tender, 20 or 25 minutes.
Remove from heat, cool slightly and purée all or part of the soup (depending on how smooth you like it) in a blender or food processor, or with a hand-held blender.
Make ahead, if you like, and refrigerate, then reheat just before serving. Recipe doubles easily and freezes well.

I'm alive

I'm still alive but I had to put Paleo on hold for a few weeks. I had a really bad reaction to those meds i spoke about in an earlier post, prednasone. I have gone to my family doc, clinics and then finally the ER and looks like i have dyspepsia which is Severe acid reflux. It was to a point where I felt nausea all the time and even threw up lots so i'm on a bland diet of rice and boiled bland chicken. I made myself some ginger cookies ( that are paleo) and help a lot. but i've tried to add food to my diet and with no luck it makes me throw up and then i start back to zero in the healing process. It's been 3 weeks on this chicken and rice diet I have lost weight, have no energy and just am all around irritated ... my poor man has had to put up with my mood swings and hasn't run away yet ...  I'm on meds for the acid and it's helping but i'm extra careful. I had to quit coffee which was soo ahrd and is still hard as I love the taste and smell of coffee and the caffein of course ...

I'm miserable, but I guess it could be worst. I've had to go to a few parties now and bring my own chicken and rice .. i'm just sick of being sick :( if i could add variety that would be great but so far it's been an epic fail :(

so this is my story... and this is why i have been MIA but I will be back with a vengance ..

I started reasearching coconut oil and how it's a huge benefit to our bodies and started taking 1 tbsp of it today. I might up that daily, but i'm doing baby steps. Apparently it heals so many things and makes your skin and hair healthier too ! have to figure out a better way of taking it as i just ate it straight up from the jar and it wasn't to good felt like i was eating a table spoon of lard !




i went back to the gym yesterday and it felt good to be back ... Like I said i didn't gain any weight which I was worried about eating the rice but i'm eating so little that it hasn't harmed me. I can't wait to go back to eating more paleo. I'm looking up new workout programs. I need a change :)

here fishy fishy

So let's get down to business!

I made fish ! Yes, Me, who hates fish unless it's raw in sushi (yup I'm weird) made some yummy tilapia. And I mean it,  it was yummy. And I just made it up on the fly!

Spicy almond crusted pan seared Tilapia

4 fresh Tilapia fillets

1 cup of almonds that I crushed in the food processor (I did mine fine you choose how coarse you want your almonds)

1 tsp of Red pepper flakes (add as much or less as you want)

the zest of one lemon

Fresh cilantro (again use how much you like i used about 2 tbsp) and save some for garnish

salt & pepper

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter

Take your Tilapia and rinse and pat dry. Break 2 eggs in a bowl and beat them. In another flat bowl or plate put the almonds, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet on medium high and let 1 tbsp of butter melt and make sure the skillet is all coated. Dip your fish in the egg then make sure it's properly coated in the almond mixture. Put in the pan. I did 2 at a time, did not want to crowd the pan. I turned the heat down to medium. cooked for 5 minutes per side. You don't want to handle it to much as they coating will come off but you don't want it to burn either so keep an eye on it and fix the heat accordingly. Repeat with the 2 other fillets and serve with a lemon wedge and garnish with fresh cilantro !

I served mine with grilled veggies (sweet potato, peppers, red onion, zucchini)  that I cooked in foil with garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper. I made tons so I could have leftovers for another meal.

Bacon wrapped egg cups

12 slices of bacon

12 eggs

onion powder 

salt and pepper  

whatever veggies you desire, I used mushrooms, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, fresh basil and fresh rosemary

Olive oil to coat the muffin tin

These are super easy! Preheat your oven at 350 degrees. I used convection. Brush your 12 muffin cups with olive oil or coconut oil whatever fat of choice (paleo safe of course) now wrap a bacon slice around the inside of the muffin cups this will hold the egg. It's fine if it overlaps. chop up your veggies into bite size and put them in the cups do the same with your herbs. Break all your eggs in a big measuring cup and add salt pepper and onion powder, you could even add hot sauce and whatever you choose ... customize it to your liking! Beat the eggs and pour the egg mixture in every cup I filled mine to the top of the bacon slice, don't overflow as they will mess up your oven real good. I put them in for 20 minutes but this varies ... check them after 20 minutes if the eggs still looks soft put them back in. Once ready i put them on a paper towel to absorb the grease and then serve !

enjoy !

my appologies

Seems like I've given up but it's far from the truth just been really sick with allergies and went to see the doc who gave me prednisone for 5 days but after 3 I had to stop cause seriously has anyone tried this stuff it's worst side effects then the actual thing your treating. My face was starting to hurt and puff up, I have really bad stomach aches, tired but insomnia. So I gave up and decided to suck up the other allergy symptoms I was having instead, but no one told me that Prednisone makes your body all screwed up!!! I was on it for 3 days and it's been 7 and I still have jaw pain, nausea, insomnia like WTF really ???? I was never told to tapper off on it but I was never told how bad it was !

To top all that off we haven't properly trained for the Spartan race and i'm shitting bricks! I mean I know we won't win as other people train hard core to actually beat records but we signed up cause it was my stupid idea to have a goal to do it and finnish it ! Well it's 6 days away and we went running outside together my man and I a total of 1 time ! Yup that's us training for a race ! Mind you we did good and we did go through the forest to make it more spartan like but really we should have trained together ages ago. I mean we go to the gym all the time but don't know that our gym routine is very spartan like! Let's just say atleast i'm active and i'm not starting from couch to Spartan 5K sprint over night!

Not feeling great at all so i'm out ... I'll be back with more recipes when these withdrawl symptoms go away and im eating more then just water !

Apple Cinnamon Cookies

Apparently my link wasn't working for the cookies so here it is ....


Apple Cinnamon Cookies

Spartan

Spartan race is 2 weeks away and i'm so not ready. I signed us up to have a goal but really i'm not a race kinda girl, i mean i'll give it my all but we haven't actually trained together my man and I so who knows how that will play out ! I've done 5k easily but not with obstacles and not with insane heat and humidity like we've been getting so I hope it stays coolish and breezy for our race.

On another note I entered a contest on a radio station here in ottawa and at first i thought it was just a mother's day contest so i entered but now it's like a slut fest! I'm not kidding, I am the only one that owns clothing or is not covering my boobs with my hand ! I would never even show some of the pics that were entered to my best friend let alone the whole city ! So please go vote for me... I could use the prize it would be a nice boost to the self esteem! I'm Max on the site btw.

http://www.thebear.fm/BEARBabeBEARDenMamhttp://www.thebear.fm/BEARBabeBEARDenMamas.aspxas.aspx

So I think I secured my relationship for life by making these cookies over the weekend, I found the recipe on an awesome paleo site http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/grain-free-goodies/apple-cinnamon-cookies/. 

My man fell in love at first bite ! Apple cinnamon cookies

Closer

So i'm getting closer to my goal. I researched pull ups on youtube hoping to find this ah hah moment where it would click and I would go to the gym and do 10 pull ups in a row and feel awesome. Yeah not so much but I got 2 sets of 2 unassisted pull ups and that's a huge improvement from none! So i'll keep at it and will one day get 10 then maybe more ... we'll see :P

So last night i made the most amazing yummy treat for us. I had left over coconut milk so i made this:

Dark chocolate coconut pudding

1 can of full fat coconut milk

2-4 tbsp of unsweetned Dark 100% cocoa powder

Honey to taste

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat well with a wisk. Put in the freezer for 20 minutes beating with teh whisk every 10 minutes so it does not become a big block of ice. seperate in bowls and top with bananas, raspberries and chopped up almonds and serve YUM ! and Paleo !

So I started with desert but I also made some yummy diner

Buffalo style meatballs

2 lbs of ground veal, pork, beef  mix (or you can just use whatever ground meat you choose)

1 large onion finely diced

Garlic powder to taste

salt and pepper

Frank's red hot sauce to your liking

Preheat oven at 400 degrees, I used convection. Mix all ingredients together, and form meatballs to the desired size the smaller the quicker it will cook. Place on 2 foil lined cookie sheets. put in oven for 20 minutes or until done. I checked with a meat termometer to make sure they were done at 170 degrees. (very important for ground meat) I served with more frank red hot sauce.

 

Cauliflower coconut curry  "rice"

a small head of cauliflower, chopped coarsely

1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 tbsp green curry paste

1/2 can of coconut milk

Fresh cilantro

1/4 red and 1/4 of yellow peppers

salt and pepper

After chopping up the cauliflower…

 

Throw the pieces of cauliflower into the food processor.

Pulse the contents until they were reduced to the size of couscous or rice grains.

Then sautee t cauliflower in the melted coconut oil over medium heat

I seasoned it with salt and pepper added the peppers, curry paste, and peppers.  Then, I covered the skillet and cooked the cauliflower for 5-10 minutes until softened. In the last 5 minutes I put the cilantro.

 

slacking

Sorry about that folks kinda been slacking this past week. I am still alive and kicking but wasn't feeling up for posting much but then came the wonderful world of paleo safe crepes/tortillas woah this changes everything.

Was spoiled by all the men in my life on the weekend and the girls ! Had a nice breakfast for mother's day followed by a nice relaxing visit at my parents swimming and trying to tan as my skin is so white im see through ! and thent the men ( my dad, brother and my man) made us mothers a fantastic steak diner. SPOILED :) 

Take a look at
these, they were amazing and I have so many ways to use them but they do have carbs so everything in moderation folks ... remember that.

Breakfast burito !

Paleo Tortillas/Crepes

1/3 cup tapioca Flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 cup egg whites (approx. 12 egg whites)

2 TBSP Coconut oil melted

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 TBSP Honey

1/2 cup water

1. Add all dry ingredients a bowl

2. Dump dry ingredients into large mixing bowl; add in all other ingredients except for the coconut oil, that will be used for coating the frying pan. Mix all ingredients together until thin batter forms and all dry ingredients are incorporated.

3. Preheat frying pan on low heat. Add a little of the coconut oil and let melt and swivel the frying pan around to make sure it’s well coated

4. Using a ladle, pour about 1/4 cup of the batter frying pan and swirl it around to spread it out in the pan until it’s the size you want. Try not to stretch it too thin or it might tear

5. Cook until lightly browned and firm on one side, gently flip over and cook other side until also lightly browned and firm.

6. After each crepe, remove it from the pan onto a plate and brush with cooking fat before each ladle goes in.

7. Repeat until all batter is used.

Store in the fridge

Sweet potatoe hash browns 

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

1 medium onion

1/2 a red bell pepper

garlic powder

sea salt

pepper

olive oil 

Preheat the oven on Broil 500 degrees

Wash and cube both sweet potatoes, put in a bowl and coat with a bit of olive oil. Add garlic powder and a bit of sea salt and pepper. Spread in a glass pyrex dish.  Microwave the potatoes for a bit to speed up the cooking. Once softened add the chopped up onion and chopped up red pepper and put in the oven. Keep an eye on them as they crisp up use a spatula and turn them and broil some more the whole process can take up to 30 minutes but they are delicious and worth it !

Dehydration

I really have a problem where I don't drink water. I only drink water at the gym. I can feel my body needing the water it's hard to explain but I feel like I'm get tingly and all around don't feel good except that's not even enough to get me drinking water. And it's not cause i don't like water i just don't drink anything at all, I have my morning coffee and then I can almost go all day (except for the gym) without drinking anything. It's become a problem in the past few days I really don't feel well, my hands feel swollen, I have headaches, my mouth is dry, I'm a bit light headed, my stomach isn't right. Wow all the signs are there. I bet you if they hooked me to an IV they could get like 20 bags in me and I would still be dehydrated. I don't know what's up with me .. if that wasn't enough, all those signs can easily be resolved by just drinking water all day. I still can't do it. I have a huge blender bottle filled with ice and water and lemons and then i brought 3 water bottles and I will force myself to drink them and that lasts maybe 2 days then I go back to my old ways. It's like I have a bad habit and that bad habit is I'm boycotting drinking liquids except for coffee. What the hell is my problem. I almost want to go to the doctor and ask if there is a condition called anti liquid syndrome ... what the hell ??? !!!! :( I know all the benefits of water. I just need to inject myself with it !

Goals

Now that I have your attention ladies and gentlemen yes men i know you also drool over Dwayne :P

Let's talk about goals. I've set myself a few goals one being to do and finish the Spartan race and it's coming up really soon ... like scary soon. Not sure I am prepared! Trying to do as many intense cardio sessions I can. I also have this ultimate goal to be able to do 10 non assisted pull ups, man it sounds like an impossible goal I can't begin to tell you how my upper body strenght is just not good. I'm struggling with assisted pull ups! I seem to be setting myself up for failure but I'm confident that I will get to it some time. I haven't given myself a timeline for the pull ups.... yet ...

Here is the recipe of the day:

Portobello Burger and Fatoush salad

Bbq beef pattie on a Portobello mushroom that I lightly grilled on the bbq topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado, salt and pepper and a fatoush salad. Easy and delicious!

Went to the tulip festival with the kiddies on the weekend and it was a lot of fun .. really great weather and lots of people walking around. Will definitely go to the market more often this summer I forget how much i love the market! 

The Biggest Loser

Soooo wanted and thought Kim would win the biggest loser, man she's smoking! I want arms like hers! She didn't get jack shit well except her life back ... love that show but really lots of contradictory ways of eating or thinking but whatever it's cool to see the people melt away. just really a bad concept as most go home and are faced with the same challenges they had before they left home. If you can't change your surroundings then you have slim chances of being able to succeed ... I mean unless you have tremendous will power and stuff if people around you don't GET IT then you will probably give in sooner then you think.

I find people don't get why I eat the way I do now and they won't even ask. Someone had cupcakes the other day and someone else said Max your not going to have one and the cupcake person said Max doesn't eat ... like really? I don't eat? I eat tons! I probably eat more then others that are much bigger then me. I eat differently and I choose this because it makes me feel good inside and out. It's not a diet it's not a fad. It's a way of life .. like brushing your teeth every day some choose to do it some choose not to... sorry but if you choose not to .. it's gross! BUT it's your choice who am I to judge you.

Here I just used a Paleo safe pork Italian sausage sauteed it in a bit of coconut oil and added mushrooms, zuchinni, and cherry tomatoes and i like it spicy so added some frank's red hot sauce. Quick and yummy !



vegetables and meat

Paleo is all about natural, they really emphasize the importance of grass fed beef and organic veggies. So a little while ago I researched if my area had that program where you get a basket of random organic local veggies a week. Found a place right near by and signed up and it was fairly cheap 275$ for 16 weeks. Also I have been having a hard time finding grass fed beef in Ottawa/Gatineau I found a place but they have a waiting list and I added my name to the list but if anyone knows a place that has grass fed beef or natural pork or chicken that would be great! Help a girl out will ya!
In the meantime I have no choice but to eat regular meat. You can't say I haven't tried... It's one of my tweaks but I won't give up researching.

This weekend I did a few other meals

Friday was date night! so we ate in a hurry ... but still not bad for a quick diner .. made steak on the BBQ and on another night had leftover turmeric and curry meatballs and last night has bbq chicken with Zataar spices with some sweet potato chips and tomato avocado salad.

Self explanatory Grilled steak that I rubbed with olive oil and lots of pepper and a bit of salt. Sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms in coconut oil with salt and pepper.

For the meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef 
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil for cooking

Sauce

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 big can of whole tomatoes ( make sure no added sugar)
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients for your meatballs to a larger bowl and thoroughly mix together.
2. Shape meatballs to the size you like.Set your pressure cooker to the meat function and once heated, add your coconut oil then add your meatballs and diced onions from your sauce ingredients and let them brown for a couple minutes.
3. Once the onions and meatballs have browned a bit, add the rest of the ingredients for your sauce and mix together until meatballs are covered in sauce.
4. Add the pressure cooker lid and let meatballs and sauce cook for 10 minutes until the pressure cooker de-pressurises and meatballs have cooked through.

* remember all pressure cooker recipes can be done without a pressure cooker just have to cook longer

Zataar is the name for a condiment made from the dried herb(s), mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices. Used in Arab cuisine, both the herb and spice mixture are popular throughout the Middle East.

I put 4 chicken breast in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, add generous amounts of zataar (to your liking), add fresh lemon juice and then make sure the chicken is well coated with the herb mixture. Then I grill on the bbq. Pretty easy and a new favorite.

Tomato and Avocado cilantro salad

• 2 cups of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1 avocado diced 
• 3 tbsp of chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp of fresh lime juice
• 1-2 tsp of ground cumin

Mix everything together in a bowl and serve !

 

I bought this super cool kitchen gadget from epicure (let me know if your interested I have connections to order more) It's a silicone tray that makes chips in the microwave in 4 minutes or less with no oil ! and they are delicious !



Allergies vs. Cold

Not sure what's up but my head feels like it's going to explode, and my throat hurts. but it goes away and I feel light headed so usually that's allergies but I take allergy meds and it does nothing. ahh the joys of health!

When I feel like this I am so not motivated to go to the gym but I need to so I will.

Last night I made a recipe I found on this great site http://paleomg.com/ it was so yum ! What's great is I have leaftovers for lunch :) I served it with a side salad of avocados and cherry tomatoes with lime juice.

Caramelized Onion Frittata

• 6 eggs, whisked
• 1/2lb italian sausage
• 2 yellow onions, sliced thin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tablespoon Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil (to grease your 8×8 glass baking dish)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. First cook your italian sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Be sure to use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage while it cooks.
3. Place your italian sausage in your greased glass baking dish.
4. While pan is still hot and over medium heat, add your sliced onions to the italian sausage grease.
5. Cooking down for about 8-10 minutes, continuously stirring onions to help them from burning.
6. While the onions are caramelizing, mix in your eggs with the italian sausage in your baking dish.
7. Once your onions are caramelized, place the onions on top throughout the baking dish, covering all the eggs and italian sausage.
8. Bake for 10-13 minutes of until your eggs are completely cooked through in the middle. Use the finger poke method to check!

readers !

Wow I have one follower that makes me feel like a huge loser :P and it's my own bf :P common people show me you actually want to read this otherwise it's useless!!

I was watching tv one day and the Subway club sub commercial came on and got me wanting a club sandwich so I turned on my chef brain and came up with this...

Club Chicken

4 Chicken breasts

Cajun spices

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 Avocado

4 Slices of bacon

1 Tomato

Fresh Basil

Heat coconut oil in frying pan. Season chicken with the cajun spices and cook in pan. Meanwhile cook the bacon and drain oil and blot with paper towel. Cut up Avocado in slices and slice tomatoe and chop basil. Once chicken is cooked ( 165 degrees) serve on plate and top with bacon, avocado, tomato, and basil.