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.