Rough Week

This has been a rough week or so for me. Boston is my home city. A friend yesterday told me that I positively glow when I talk about Boston and all the things to see and do while there. The prospect of returning someday is what keeps me going when times are tough in Connecticut.

And of all the things about Boston that I love, I love the Boston Marathon and Patriot's Day the most. For those of you not from Massachusetts, the idea of the marathon and an extra holiday is hard to explain. It is like Christmas combined with Homecoming all in the spring time. Often it is the first day I was outside in short sleeves after a long winter. Which usually meant my first sunburn of the year.

If I had to work, I would inevitably figure out a way to duck out early to go BBQ and have fun on Beacon Street with my friends while we enjoyed a beverage and cheered on the runners. There would be skewers of meat and veggies on the grills which were lit and churning out tasty treats right on the sidewalks. We always knew someone who was running and usually at least three or four people. Often they were running for a charity and we had donated so could track their progress on the course.

The marathon meant spending a relaxing day with my boyfriend then husband enjoying the sunshine and camaraderie of fellow Bostonians. And listening to the Red Sox game on the radio while we ate and watched the runners. Nothing more American than sunshine, BBQ and baseball enjoyed with friends.

So, when someone tried to destroy that, I took it a little bit hard. I was sad and angry and so very very worried during those first few hours that someone I know might have been killed or injured. All this on the heels of Newtown, only a few minutes away from my current hometown. And then it didn't matter if I knew anyone that was hurt because every single person that was hurt or worse became a friend of Boston. As a city, Boston stood up and said "NO!" An overwhelming show of support for the victims, their families and the first responders who risked their lives. The people of Boston and the surrounding communities banded together and were joined by people around the country and across the world saying "No! We aren't going to let this happen here, the birthplace of the United States."

And we didn't. And next year, I will pretend that I am still in Massachusetts and I will skip out of work on Patriot's Day and pack up my son and take him to his first Boston Marathon.

Fritatta of Paleo Love

One of the first recipes I came up with on my own after hubby and I started our Paleo journey was a gorgeous and delicious fritatta.

Doesn't it look good?  Ok, so maybe it isn't the most attractive dish in the world but it was DELICIOUS.  And really really filling.  It made enough for us for dinner one night and lunch each the following day and we were stuffed.  Plus it is absolutely packed with vegetables.

This recipe makes a huge amount of food but if you cut it in half, this fritatta would likely fit into a pie plate and be a bit thinner.  I made it in a Corningware dish that is fairly deep (4" or so) - you know, the white ridged baking dishes with the clear glass tops?  It is very quiche like but no cream or cheese or crust so I hesitate to call it a quiche!

Recipe

A dozen eggs
1 lb loose breakfast sausage
5 strips bacon, cooked crispy
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
1 summer squash, halved and sliced
2 cups broccoli
1 tbsp garlic, minced or chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

In a fairly deep saute pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for about five minutes.

Add the sausage and cook until sausage is well browned.

While the sausage, etc. is cooked, crack your eggs directly into the baking dish and add your cooked bacon.    Mix well (breaks all egg yolks, etc.)  Set it aside.

Once the sausage is sufficiently browned, add your zucchini and summer squash to the pan and stir well and frequently, allowing it to cook for about five minutes.

Add your broccoli to the pan and stir well and frequently, allowing it to cook for three minutes.  In order to get the veggies to cook up quickly, you may need to cover the pan depending on your pans and cooking source (gas or electric).  I usually cover because my pans don't heat evenly and we have an electric stove.

Remove the sausage and vegetable mix from the heat and allow it to cool a bit - around 10 minutes or so.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees while you are waiting.

Once cooled, add to the egg mixture and stir well.

Pop in the oven for thirty minutes or until the center is cooked through (do the clean knife test).

The leftovers of this dish (if there are any!) reheat really well in the microwave.  Enjoy!

Cooking Paleo

I have been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, both my own creations and ones I find on the internet and tweak a bit.  Some ideas are born of desperation and the few ingredients left at the end of the week and others to find healthier solutions that even my three year old will eat.

Just a little preview of what's to come this week and next for recipes:

Homemade ketchup (I made it but want to try it first before I share it.  It could be gross.)

Homemade italian salad dressing (see above)

Curried brussel sprouts with bacon

Fritatta full of Paleo love (a.k.a. meat and veggies)

Quick chicken salad extraordinaire (this was so amazingly good for something thrown together for a 9 p.m. dinner)

Paleo "ice cream" (Trying a few different flavors out over the weekend.  Planning to share the hits and misses!)

Also, check out Working Paleo on Facebook for daily status update and a great community of people sharing and working hard together to be healthy!

Paleo Snacks

I admit, I have been having some issues with paleo friendly snacks.  I come home from work hungry and have a hard time finding something to grab and munch on while I cook dinner for the little guy.  So I fall into the trap of paleo convenience foods like those plaintain chips from Whole Foods that I mentioned in my last post.  And since I am not only eating paleo for health but also to lose weight, eating a lot of fruit or nuts isn't recommended.  There goes my yummy dates with almond butter.....

So, here are a few things on my "good" list from this week:

Sliced fresh tomato - It is kind of fun to grab a tomato and go since I can cut it up at work.

Sliced cucumber - I bought four over the weekend and peeled and sliced ahead so I can grab them in the morning for work.

Sliced peppers - Same as the cucumbers, I bought a variety of colors of peppers over the weekend and pre-sliced them as a grab and go snack.

Carrot sticks - Whole Foods sells these already peeled and cut and packed in water.  Genius!  Of course, it is way more expensive but sometimes it is worth it to pay for convenience.

Hard boiled eggs - Not my favorite because I really prefer my eggs warm but good in a pinch.

Bacon - Well, I do love bacon.  And you can pop it in the microwave for five minutes and it is ready to go.

I need some other suggestions.  A good friend is going to try making her own beef jerky with coconut aminos to make it paleo friendly.  I am waiting to see how that goes before I try it myself.

Any other suggestions?  Let me know!

Whole Foods really does mean Whole Paycheck

I love Whole Foods.  They have everything a person eating Paleo could possibly need.  I bought a variety of new things to try including cashew based gelato (review to come!) and plaintain chips.

My groceries didn't even fill three bags completely.  $113 and change!  Yikes.  Granted, I bought really high quality cacao powder and the little guy wanted this place mat and some chocolate and a billion other things so that definitely jacked up the cost (and reinforced my desire to go by myself next time).

But I did find these delicious little snacks.  To be eaten sparingly of course.

Hate Spinach?

So, I realize that not everyone like spinach.  But they may have been intrigued by this recipe.  So I thought I would give the same thing a shot with brussel sprouts.  Guess what?  Delicious.  I will be trying a few other vegetables over the next few weeks and will let you all know how it goes!

Braised Short Ribs

Not only did hubby and I share a cow with a few other families, but we also are participating in a winter meat farm share with Truelove Farms.  We had beef short ribs from both.  I had tried making short ribs from a Food Network recipe several years ago and completely struck out so I was leery to try again.  This recipe is definitely one for a weekend and isn't quick like many of the others I post but it was delicious.  I found it here and made it more Paleo friendly.  If you are avoiding alcohol altogether, you might try some unsweetened grape or apple juice for your braising liquid but not sure how that will taste (let me know if you try it!) or some beef broth.

 Recipe

8 beef short ribs (recipe says about 6 ounces each but mine were wacky sized and it all worked fine)
2/3 cup almond flour
2 tbsp onion powder
3 tbsp salt (I used sea salt which is less salty so I upped this to 4 tbsp)
2 tbsp black ground pepper
4 chopped/diced garlic cloves
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 cups organic red wine
2 sprigs fresh rosemary with the pieces picked off the stem
2 cans of either low sodium chicken broth or beef broth (don't open both - just have on hand as you may or may not need that much depending on your pan)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a shallow dish or bowl (I used a glass pie plate and it worked PERFECTLY), combine the almond flour, salt, pepper and onion powder.

 Dredge each beef rib through the the dry mixture and shake off the excess.  Shake fairly well as almond flour absorbs moisture more readily than regular flour.

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet.

Cook ribs on medium high heat until all sides are browned.  Because it is easier and I didn't have a pan large enough, I did two to three ribs at a time.

Place the browned ribs in an oven safe baking dish.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the carrots and onions to the skillet and cook until they are soft and slightly browned.

Add the red wine and rosemary to the skillet and simmer until the liquid reduces by about one half.

Pour the mixture carefully over the ribs.

Add broth until the ribs are just covered by the liquid.  I failed to plan ahead on this step and my baking dish wasn't deep enough so, PLAN AHEAD.  The liquid needs to cover the meat.

Braise covered in the oven for three hours or until the meat is literally falling off of the rib (it might take longer than three hours or shorter - I would start checking them at the 2.5 hour mark).

Once done, take the ribs out and you can simmer the remaining liquid on the stove top for a "gravy" of sorts. I just served it "as is" on the side and it was delicious, especially the carrots!

Party Pleaser - Zucchini Hummus

When you think about hummus (if you think about it - I do!), you generally think chick peas.  Which are a major Paleo no-no.  But the rest of the ingredients in hummus are all healthy and Paleo friendly.  So what the heck do I dip my vegetables in?

And then, on Pinterest (I am an addict, follow me!), I came across this recipe from SkinnyMs.  And I gave it a shot in my Ninja blender.  Party perfection!

Recipe

(I doubled the recipe and it made way more than I needed!)

2 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice (you can up this if you like a more lemony flavored hummus)
1/2 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves (next time I am going to roast these first and then make the recipe)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in a blender and food processor and mix until smooth.  Serve with raw veggies for dipping!