Happy Food Day Everyone! Celebrate this National holiday the healthy way. Forget the junk food, and let's all cook up our favorite nutritious recipes. Need a nice recipe to warm up this chilly fall day? The best part about fall is variety of yummy soups and stews you can make. They are the perfect meal to enjoy while cuddling up on the couch with your friends or family. We loved this one, and I hope you all will to!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb beef stew meat (They had some in Simple Truth brand at Kroger.)
- 2 tbsp Paleo cooking fat (I used bacon fat.)
- 4 c beef stock
- 1 c onion
- 1 c celery
- 3 carrots
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper (Add more to taste.)
Preparation:
- Dice the onion and celery into small pieces. Peel and chop carrots.
- Add beef to the crockpot followed by your vegetables, beef broth, and spices.
- Mix together thoroughly and then set your crockpot to medium for 4-6 hours. Stir the stew occasionally while it cooks. Break up the meat with your utensil.
- After 4-6 hours, set the crockpot on warm for 4-6 more hours. The mixture will thicken up as the meat separates and potatoes break up. It will have more of a soupy texture than you may expect, but it tastes amazing!
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of schoolwork, my job, volunteering, and Crossfit. I had the opportunity to compete in the WV Crossfit Championship last Saturday, placing second, alongside many awesome athletes and friends. My boyfriend, Tom, placed first in this championship! He is an incredible and talented athlete. I am so proud of him. Yesterday, I also got to judge the Festivus Competition at my home box, Crossfit Thunder. It was another competition full of great athletes who love what they do. I love seeing people do things they never thought would be possible.
I finally have some time to share my recipes with you all. I promise that next time, it will not take me this long! In the midst of a busy fall schedule, we could all use extra recipes to meal prep for breakfast. These Sausage and Spinach Egg Muffins can be made quickly. They can last for days, unless you live in my house. They didn't make it through one day here! Yum!
Ingredients:
- 1 package of nitrate free sausage
- 1 c spinach
- 1/4 c onions
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 8 eggs
Preparation:
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees F, and begin to cook your sausage in a skillet on the stove.
- While this cooks, chop your onion and mix into a large bowl along with the spinach, spices, and eggs.
- Once the sausage is completely brown (be 100% sure it is cooked fully), allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before mixing into bowl as well.
- Lather a muffin tin with olive oil to keep the muffins sticking to the pan then pour the mix in evenly into each individual cup.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the egg is solid. Scoop out and eat up!
Here are some awesome photos taken by my best friend, Emily, at the WV Crossfit Championship!
The weather is getting colder, and soup has been calling my name. I had a long day at school and work last week, and I came home to this incredible meal. This Sweet Potato Soup is a good equivalent to the Potato Soup we have all grown up having. My friend tasted this yesterday, and she said she thought it was even better!
Ingredients:
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 5 pieces of bacon
- 3 tbsp almond meal
- 4 tbsp Organic butter or coconut oil
- 1 can organic unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Dice potatoes into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces.
- Mix potatoes, onion, flour, and a pinch of salt in bowl. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes.
- As you allow that to set, put a pan on medium heat and add 3-4 tbsp coconut oil or Organic butter. While you do this, go ahead and cook your slices of bacon in a separate pan.
- Add potato mixture into a large pot then stir in your butter or oil. Make sure this is thoroughly mixed.
- Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup water or until all potato pieces are covered.
- Bring to boil once water is added.
- Lower temperature back down, and add your coconut milk. You will bring the pot back to a boil after this.
- Lower temperature to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. This is where you add your bacon. Crumble throughout and mix. Add salt and pepper here to taste.
Tom, Cory, and I were trying out back levers for the first time the other day after our WOD. Here are some pictures of our attempts! It's fun to try new movements.
With everyone's Paleo Challenges underway, I have been trying to find more recipes to try. What better way to complete a Paleo Challenge than by finding foods that are simple that we can make over and over as we go. Tom and I have really been focusing on incorporating more veggies in our diet. This is a unique way you can add some vegetables in. I enjoyed these like a sandwich, with an egg underneath and an egg on top of the latke!
Ingredients:
- 1 package of broccoli slaw
- 1/2-1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2-1 tsp sea salt
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 tbsp oil (either olive oil or coconut oil)
Preparation:
- Mix your broccoli slaw, along with the six eggs into a mixing bowl.
- Add pepper and salt next. Mix thoroughly.
- While you are mixing these ingredients, begin to heat olive or coconut oil over stove top.
- Cook latkes like pancakes by putting a large spoonful on stove at a time. Flipping after the side becomes slightly browned.
- Add extra salt or pepper if desired and eat up!
I am finally posting some recipes of my most recent creations! I hope you all enjoy these. I have been working on meal prepping and weighing out my food more accurately, and it has worked wonders for me. Needless to say, I am stocking up on my plastic food bags and Tupperware.
Twice Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 4-6 sweet potatoes
- 1 package ground meat
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 c onions
- Less than 1 tbsp olive oil
Preparation:
- Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Lather sweet potatoes in a little olive oil.
- Bake potatoes for 45 minutes-1 hour.
- While potatoes are baking, begin to cook meat over stove top.
- Season meat with salt and pepper, and add onions to cook along with meat.
- After potatoes and meat are finished cooking, scoop out the insides and mix the sweet potato in with the meat.
- Mix together thoroughly and add back into sweet potato skins.
- Cook meat in the skins for another 15 minutes.
Paleo Oatmeal
Ingredients and Preparation:
Use my Paleo Lara Bar recipe from the previous post, and add 2 extra tbsp of coconut milk and water to create the texture you want. Heat this for 45 seconds-1 minute and enjoy! It has the perfect Oatmeal texture. I had mine with an egg and bacon. Yummy and guilt free!
Someone reminded me of this yesterday. "If you think wellness is expensive and time consuming, try illness." While the Paleo Diet is not always easy on the wallet, think of all of the bad foods that you are cutting out of your budget. Paleo is worth it; for your body, for your mentality, and for your future. Birthday festivities (and birthday cheats) are now over for me, and the start of the Lurong Paleo Challenge has begun! While I am not signed up for this challenge, I will still be challenging along with my fellow Crossfitters. Let's all join together to make some big changes in our lives! My personal goal is to be completely cheat free. I am holding myself accountable with you all.
Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp Organic unsweetened coconut milk
- 6 Medjool pitted dates
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 c cashews
- 1/4 c walnuts
- 1/2 banana
Preparation:
- Mix the dates, banana, cashews, and walnuts in food processor with 2 tbsp. of coconut milk and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- After blending, add the rest of the coconut milk and cinnamon.
- Place mixture in a storage container and allow to sit up in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours for your Lara Bar Bites to be ready! Serve it warm, and it tastes just like oatmeal. Either way, this is a simple dessert that is perfect for any Paleo Challenger.
All I have wanted the past few days was chicken salad! I have never made a completely Paleo Chicken Salad with Paleo Mayonnaise before now. I have used Organic Mayonnaise before (which still had Canola Oil in it), but I can promise you all that this recipe has the yummy taste of regular Mayonnaise and Chicken Salad created with good fats. I can not wait to use this Mayonnaise recipe for Paleo Deviled Eggs! I made the Mayonnaise first. Here are those ingredients and steps.
Paleo Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tsp Organic mustard
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 c olive oil
- 1/2 c coconut oil
Preparation:
- Blend yolks, mustard, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor.
- Add olive and coconut oils next and continue blending. The texture of the Mayonnaise will not be as thick at first, but it does set up more in the refrigerator. Do not worry! Also, this recipe made enough for two servings. You can make a batch of Chicken Salad and save the other half of the Mayonnaise, or you can just make two batches!
Paleo Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/2 c Paleo Mayonnaise
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 10 oz chopped chicken (You can either make your own or purchased Organic Canned Chicken in Water. You would want to find one that has no added preservatives. I used this for my batch!)
- 1/4 c sliced almonds
- 2 tbsp Organic mustard
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1/4 c red grapes (You may not need this much. You can estimate for your recipe. I used a little less in the second batch.)
Preparation:
- Add your chicken and mayonnaise to a mixing bowl.
- Dice your celery and grapes into very fine pieces. Add them to the bowl as well. Mix.
- Next, add your pepper and almonds. Mix it all together and add more Mayonnaise if needed.
- Allow to set for 1-2 hours and eat! It still tastes good before you let it set, but you want the consistency to thicken. Enjoy by itself, with lettuce wraps, or fresh veggies. I hope you all love this! We sure did.
