paleo

Simple Paleo Protein Shake

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In an effort to get back into a healthy regimen, I’ve been forcing myself to eat breakfast every morning. I’m normally a cup-of-coffee and go kind of lady, but I realize the importance of getting some protein and fiber in before running out of the house. Breakfast is crucial to jump-starting your metabolism in the morning, so my habit of skipping breakfast over the last few weeks is likely the main contributor to my recent weight gain [up 3 lbs!] and voracious hunger in the evenings.

Since I’m all for simplicity, I’ve been making the following protein shake for breakfast every morning:

  • 1 cup Blue Diamond, unsweetened almond milk – 30 calories
  • 1/2 cup organic frozen blueberries – approx 25 calories
  • 1 level scoop of Optimum Nutrition 100% Egg White Protein Powder – 120 calories
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon – 0 calories
  • 1/2 tbsp organic vanilla extract – 0 calories
  • 2 tbsp raw, organic cocoa powder – approx 25 calories
  • 1 heaping cup of ice [if preferred]

Blend this all together for about 30 seconds [total prep time is less than 2 mins] and enjoy! I’ve had this exact recipe for breakfast the last three days in a row and I’ve REALLY enjoyed it. I drink it around 8am and don’t get hungry until after 12pm. Yesterday, I didn’t eat lunch until 1:30pm, as I felt totally full all morning. Normally I find myself grazing for snacks by 11am, so that’s a pretty huge testament to the filling power of this shake.

Of course, you’re welcome to make substitutions to this to suit your tastes. One good substitution is to remove the berries and add two heaving tablespoons of instant coffee and a handful of Enjoy Life non-dairy, non-soy chocolate chips! I swear, when I do this, the finished product tastes just like the Jamocha Shake from Arby’s. Yum!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Cleaned out the pantry, made a Paleo recipe!

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The last three weeks my husband and I have been making a conscious effort to eat some of the “miscellaneous items” out of our pantry before we move into our new house. Less to carry, less wasted.

After three weeks of eating all of the good stuff, we’ve been reduced to the interesting remainders on the back of the shelf. You know what I’m talking about: those random cans of tomato puree and diced succotash and other strange pabulum that you bought because they were on clearance sale or because you saw some really posh person put in their cart so you figured it must be delicious.

So, yeah. Dinner has been an interesting event in our house the last few nights.

Feeling creative this morning, I threw the following items into the crockpot, set it on low, and let it cook all day:

  • 1 can of Hunts diced tomatoes, Garlic flavor
  • 1 can of tomato puree
  • 1 jar of Bertolli basil marinara
  • 1/2 bottle of leftover Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 2 cans chopped button mushrooms
  • 1 small jar [approx 12 oz] of artichoke hearts [I’ve always wondered what I was going to do with those.]
  • 1 can of drained black olives
  • 1 jar of roasted red pepper [approx 10oz]
  • 2 cans of organic chunk chicken, well drained
  • 4 tbsp dried onion flakes
  • 4 tbsp dried basil
  • 4 tbsp dried, roasted garlic slivers
  • 2 tbsp oregano

When I got home, my house smelled like Buca di Beppo. It was amazing. Since my husband wouldn’t be home for a while and I wasn’t really hungry yet, I decided to add a bag of baby carrots and two chopped zucchini to the mix, letting it cook for another hour.

Inadvertently, I seemed to have made one of the best pasta sauces in the world. It’s incredible.

The sauce is rich and flavorful, but extremely low in fat. The tastes seem to deeply concentrate in the crockpot – I didn’t add a single speck of salt to the dish in any way.

I decided to serve the sauce over my last three bags of spinach Miracle Noodles [looks funny, tastes great!] and I’ve been in olfactory/gustatory Heaven ever since! Amazing!

And, coincidentally enough – it’s Paleo-friendly. A win:win!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Paleo Friendly?

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I’m on day three of my “back to Paleo!” crusade and I’ve already cheated.

Hmph. I didn’t even make it 72 hours.

Yesterday, my husband and I were invited to a special “Sake Tasting” at a high-end Japanese restaurant here in Orlando. We accepted happily, eager for an excuse to skip the gym and excited to get a chance to network with some local foodies.

Little did we know that the sake tasting included a ten-course dinner plus overflowing glasses of FIVE different sakes. OVERFLOWING.

Did I mention we got the invite 60 seconds after we finished eating dinner? Yeaaaah.

We had no idea, prior to our arrival, that we were about to sit down for a glutinous gorge fest, tasting some of the richest, most delectable sushi, sashimi, and desserts on top of guzzling sweet sake by the gallon.

On top of full stomachs.

Sadly, we ate almost every bite of everything put in front of us. The food was just TOO good to sample.

On the plus side, since this was a high-end restaurant, most of the portions were very small. The average dish could be consumed in 3-4 bites. Of course, when you eat 10 dishes, the calories still add up. I don’t even want to know how much we ate. All I can say is this: the scale was NOT my friend this morning.

Despite that setback this morning, I’ve managed to eat very little, but mostly bad foods. A banana for breakfast, two mini hershey’s chocolate bars, and handful of nuts, a chocolate cupcake [yum!], and some Ritz crackers.

Yeah, I don’t think ANY of that was Paleo-friendly.

And you know what? I don’t care.

It tasted good, especially during a stressful day at work. I’ll be hitting the gym once I leave, during which point I’ll more than make up for my debauchery. I’ll finish the night with a hearty salad when I get home, so it all works out.

72 hours… that’s better than some of my previous attempts!

I’ll do better tomorrow.

~ Tori

Paleo Egg Pie

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Weird title, I know. I can’t really call it a quiche, though, because it doesn’t have a crust.

We’ve had company in town this week and I’ve been trying to prepare both delicious, economic [boys can eat!], and still Paleo-friendly meals daily.

The first day, I laid out a feast – huge pans of scrambled eggs, a heaping plate of turkey bacon, sauteed sweet potatoes with onions, toast [both regular and coconut-bread, for me!], fresh fruit salad, organic yogurt, etc.

We had a lot of potatoes leftover and I didn’t want to just microwave them and reserve them [for shame, hostess!], so I got a little creative and made “Paleo Egg Pie.” Recipe below:

  • Approx 2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1″ pieces.
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 6 turkey sausages, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 2/3 can diced tomatoes w/ chilis, drained well
  • 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack Daiya alternative cheese
  • 2 tbsp virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil

To start, microwave the chopped potatoes for about 90 seconds. This will reduce your cooking time IMMENSELY. Seriously, I do this with all potato recipes.

Place large skillet on stove. I had it around 60% heat. Throw the coconut oil into the pan and allow to melt. Add the onion and mushrooms and saute until transparent and tender. Add the potato and turn the heat up to around 80%. This will sear it a bit and make it nice and crispy on the outside.

Reduce the temperature back to 60% and add your chopped turkey sausage. I use the pre-cooked kind, so I’m basically just warming it up. Add the tomato/pepper mixture and stir until everything is heated through. At this point, I quickly scrambled 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites and then poured the mixture over top of the pan. Make sure everything is evenly coated [all pan surface needs to be hidden.] If your pan is larger than the standard skillet, feel free to up this recipe to 8 eggs.

Sprinkle the Daiya cheese on top, reduce the heat to LOW, and cover the pan. Let sit for about 5-6 minutes, or until eggs set. Once set, remove pan from stove and slice into triangles, much like you would a pie. I served this with fresh salsa, chopped avocado, green onions, and more daiya cheese. The boys had NO CLUE it was Paleo!

For those who prefer more spice, feel free to add chili powder directly to the scrambled eggs and even some diced jalapeno into the mix!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Paleo Apple Cobbler… sort of.

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Seeking out comfort foods, I came up with the following recipe out of desperation and a desire to use those last few granny smith apples sitting in the fruit basket.

Not-Your-Granny’s Apple Cobbler:

  • 4 green apples, sliced and cored. [I left the skins on, but most people would probably remove them. I’m lazy.]
  • 1/2 chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup craisins
  • 1 cup Blue Diamond unsweetened vanilla almond milk. [only 30 cals per cup!]
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup raw honey

I literally just mixed this all together, threw it into my crockpot on low, and let it slow simmer for about four hours. When I got home, I topped it with So Delicious Vanilla Bean Coconut ice cream (no sugar added) and dug in.

It was sinfully good and the walnuts gave it a slight crunch and buttery texture, so I didn’t miss the crust at all. And this was ridiculously easy to prepare, with leftovers to enjoy for breakfast tomorrow! Not bad for a “what’s left in the pantry” concoction, if I do say so myself!

Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip TEA!

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OK, I know the name sounds weird, but don’t knock it before you try it.

This evening, I was craving something decadent and sinfully high calorie. I would have caved for that craving if it wasn’t 11pm at night and I’m allergic to Walmart. So I had to get creative in my kitchen stocked with healthy, Paleo-diet approved foods.

Well, it worked. I came up with Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip tea, which literally tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream. It’s rich, it’s flavorful, and it’s less than 75 calories for the cup! Yessssss.

Here’s the recipe:

  • One cup [6-8 oz] boiling water
  • 1 tea bag organic, peppermint tea [steep until desired strength; I went DARK!]
  • 1 tbsp organic, unsweetened cocoa powder [only 10 cals!]
  • 2 tbsp organic, So Delicious brand vanilla coffee creamer [only 20 cals!]
  • 1/2 tbsp Enjoy Life chocolate chips [approx 35 calories]
  • One stevia/truvia packet, if preferred.

Steep the tea first, remove the tea bag, and then stir in the cocoa powder. Add the creamer so the liquid cools just a tiny bit, then stir in the chips.

Heaven in a cup!

Enjoy and bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

 

Paleo Cookies!

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On Sunday night, as I was prepping my meals and snacks for the work week, I began to have a massive craving for chocolate.

What’s new, right?

Well, even though I was letting myself indulge freely on Sunday, it made me think about the fact that I am BOUND to have more cravings throughout the week. And, if I didn’t have a plan in place, I was bound to cave, splurge on something bad, and then feel regret/guilt.

So I decided to take proactive measures and look up a recipe for Paleo desserts.

I found a basic recipe for cookies and, feeling creative, decided to doctor it a bit. I am happy to report that the results came out AMAZING. My husband was INHALING the cookies by the handful and he’s not even a big sweets-guy, so that’s a good sign. I decided I’d share the recipe on here so that my fellow cavemen and women [or gluten-free friends!] can enjoy a tasty, easy to make snack!

Double Chocolate Chip Paleo Cookies w/ Walnuts:

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup cold-pressed coconut oil [you may need to warm slightly to get soft enough to mix]
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup raw honey or agave syrup
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened, natural cocoa powder [I went with Hershey’s but you can use whatever you’d like.]
  • 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup crushed walnuts [or whatever nuts you prefer]
  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips [soy free, dairy free, gluten-free, etc!]

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree.

I’m not a good student when it comes to following instructions for baked goods, so I just threw all of the dry ingredients into a big mixing bowl, then poured the wet ingredients on top, then stirred them like a BEAST for 2 minutes. Free arm workout!

I used a 1/4 cup scoop to make little cookie balls and then put them approximately one inch apart on a large baking sheet. This recipe makes a lot of cookies – probably 40-45 – so I ended up using two large cookie sheets to hold all of them.

I pressed the cookies flat, so they were roughly two inches in diameter and an inch thick.

Bake for 10-14 minutes to preferred texture. I like my cookies moist and chewy, so I aimed for 10 minutes and they came out perfect.

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Unfortunately, I didn’t do the calculations on calories, but I can tell you these little cookies pack a sweet punch, so my guess would be between 100-150 for every two cookies. They are very rich, however, so two cookies should satisfy even the most ravenous of dessert-munchers.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

The Paleo Diet

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Just this year, I was introduced to the Paleo Diet by a good friend. In addition to losing weight, she had noticed substantial improvement in her natural energy, her skin was clearing, and her hair and nails were growing healthier.

For those unfamiliar with the Paleo diet, it basically consists of eating the same diet that our Paleolithic ancestors followed. Lean grass-fed [free range] meats, organic fresh vegetables, fruits with their skin, and nuts. There is a bit of disagreement and contradiction regarding dairy, but most diet forums I’ve read recommend the total avoidance of milk and milk products, whereas some advocate dairy in its raw, unprocessed form.

In addition to dairy, the diet also prohibits the ingestion of grains [goodbye, whole wheat bread, pasta, rice, and corn!] as well as peanuts and other forms of legumes. Oh, and no soy.

No soy? But that’s in everything.

Yes. Soy is in almost everything. I truly feel bad for those people with soy allergies because, good God, soy is in practically everything in the grocery store except for raw fruits and veggies. It’s insane.

In August 2012, I decided to attempt the Paleo diet, impressed by my friend’s amazing results. Besides, the no-no list was short compared to the Atkins diet, right?

WRONG.

As amazing as this diet is – encouraging food in its natural state and avoiding processed crap – it is very difficult to maintain unless you can prepare the majority of your meals from scratch.

I followed the Paleo diet religiously from August 2012 until December 2012, dropping almost 12 pounds in the process. Yes, I was able to eat significantly more calories per day, coming close to 2,200-2,500 a day when you factored in the raw nuts I ate by the handful. However, purchasing only organic fruits, veggies, and meat was killing me at the grocery store [it was close to $175/week for myself alone] and I was having to prepare my breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.

I did get into a good rhythm, learning to prepare certain things in large batches to store, but I still found myself in the kitchen a solid 10 hours per week to maintain the diet.

A few resources I came across that really made the Paleo diet much easier:

 

Overall, this is a great diet plan for someone who can either:

a.) Afford to eat out at organic restaurants all the time .

(or)

b.) Has time to bargain-shop for organic/free-range products AND do all of their own cooking.

I can’t deny that I did lose weight, never felt hungry, and my skin improved dramatically as a result of this diet.

I fell off of the wagon over the holidays and have been unable to fully recommit to the program, primarily because I love Boca Burgers [soy & beans!] and cheese is as necessary to me as oxygen. While there are almond-milk cheese alternatives, nothing compares to the delicious flavor of a baked brie with crusty French bread.

Drool.

Bon appetit!

~ Tori