Life: Thoughts after a week on Paleo

Ok, so after one week on Paleo, I figured it's about time for an update.  To catch up those who aren't following, Kevin and I are trying to go Paleo for 30 days.  We have a Paleo guide/ cook book.  It has a 30 day meal plan for any dietary needs.  We picked the 30 day meal plan for digestive health.  We started on Sunday the 12th after we got back from Mexico.

After the first day, Kevin noticed more differences than I did.  But both of us felt a little bit better.  Honestly though, there haven't been too many significant changes (probably because these diet changes aren't too different from what we were already eating). My completion seems slightly better but I don't really feel any more energized.  I do however miss chocolate.

So, after a week, Kevin and I started discussing what changes would be permanent.  The reality for us is that paleo is pretty strict and not always conducive to our life style.  It's hard being out and about and still eating.  It is also difficult since on Tuesday nights our Small Group has dinner together and Wednesday nights we have dinner with our community group.  And since most people don't really read the ingredients list in their food (and you kind of sound like a tool when you  ask), this becomes challenging.  And we aren't really ready to be the people that bring food every where.  The other issue is that as much as I love cooking, I am not a fan of cooking 2-3 meals per day.  We are both in agreement that cereal makes mornings much easier.  And I am not a huge fan of no nights off from cooking.

I have also been having some stomach issues that makes me think I might be allergic to something in our new diet... I mean... lifestyle.  Most likely I think it is eggs but I am not sure. Time will tell, but something is making me feel nauseous after eating every now and again.

So for a more permanent solution, Kevin and I have decided that our best decision is probably going to be to go mostly paleo and continue in our regular pattern of slowly evolving our diet to eating better over time.  Once this 30 days is up, we are planning to allow organic cereal back into our mornings and to be more lenient in our "cheating" to the tune of about once a day, though trying not to make it a whole meal, just a portion. We are hoping that over time, just as it has already happened, foods that make us feel bad get omitted.  It's not that we don't think Paleo is a good choice, we just aren't in a place to fully commit.

But most importantly, we are planning on doing an allergy test and optimal nutrition evaluation.  We want to make sure we cut out any foods we are allergic to, and adding back things we are missing.  We think it is probably the best start to actually changing our diet to meet our health needs.

On another note, this is one of my new favorite desserts.
I call it...

Orange Dreamsicle Sorbet


Ingredients:
10 peaches (approx)
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1 teaspoon vanilla (shout out to +Jordan Wiley for the idea)
2 teaspoons of honey (optional)

Directions: Blend in a food processor (I use my nutri-bullet).  Freeze or eat immediately.  Approx 1 serving.  (Note: The goal with Paleo is to avoid processed and refined foods.  Try to stay as natural as possible with your ingredients if you are trying to maintain Paleo too!)

Recipes: Orange Chicken

Sorry, no pictures :-)
Ingredients

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
 
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
 
Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions

Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Recipes: Easy Chicken Skewers

Alright, so here is a super easy recipe and I mostly am just throwing it out there as a simple dinner idea.
Ingredients:
Chicken (about one breast per person being fed)
Green bell pepper (about one per two people)
Red/ Yellow bell pepper (about one per person)
Zucchini (one per person)
Carton of Grape Tomatoes
Sweet red onion (to taste)
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Wooden Skewers

Directions:
Cut up chicken into cubes. Put in a gallon sized bag and coat with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (make sure you chicken is fully covered).  Set the fridge for at least one hour, but preferably more than 12.

Cut up peppers and onion into cubes.  (If they are too small, it will be hard to get them on the skewers, but if they are too large, they seem more likely to break and fall off).  Slice zucchini.

Alternate putting chicken and vegetables onto skewers.  Grill on low heat for about twenty to thirty minutes and rotate frequently.

Leftovers!

Recipes: Maui Black Bean Soup

Here is my favorite vegetarian recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped
1 fat carrot, pealed and choppedd
1 small purple onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and deveined, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and deveined, chopped
2 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press
1 t. dried cumin
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. crushed red pepper (skip if you don't like food with a kick)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans
1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes
1 c. corn kernels
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:
In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add celery, carrot, onion and bell peppers.  Saute until onions become translucent.  Add garlic and spices, cook another two minutes.

In a large pot, add stock, beans and tomatoes plus content of skillet.  Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat.  Cover and let simmer for 20 min.  Use a hand held blender and puree to a desired consistency (careful of splatter).  Add corn and let simmer for another 5 min.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition information: Calories ~ 180:  Calories from fat ~38: Protein~ 9g: Carbs ~26g: Dietary Fiber ~8g: Sugars ~6g: Fat ~4g: Sodium ~600mg

Recipe: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Ok, so here is a recipe I mostly invented with some help from google.  I haven't quite mastered it yet...

Crust:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. butter 
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk


Filling:
1lb chicken breast, cubed
2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 cans condensed cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
1 bag of frozen vegetables (or fresh. I like frozen since the veggies turn out softer.  I like to use the corn, peas, beans and carrots mixture, but feel free to add your own stuff to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/3 c. water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Start by cubing chicken and adding it to the skillet with garlic salt and olive oil.  Cook fully on a low/medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients.  Roll the crust into a ball and then roll out flat.  You can either divide the contents into 8 souffle cups or use a 9x9 pan.  I used my souffle cups to make individual servings (plus extras can be frozen or refrigerated/ reheated much easier).  To make the souffle crusts, use your souffle cups as cookie cutters to make the tops.  Set each crust off to the side.  Use cooking spray inside either the souffle cups or your 9x9 in pan.

Add frozen vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup to your cooked chicken.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Afterwards, add the skillet contents into the same bowl used for the crusts as well as the other can of cream of chicken soup and all of your preferred seasonings.  Add water for a better consistency.

Transfer the filling into either the souffle cups or the 9x9 in pan. If you are using the souffle cups, stretch each crust out a little bit before topping your filling.  Try to make sure each one fully stretches the top of the cup.  If you are using a 9x9 pan, make sure the crust stretches across the top, and use a fork to make a neat edge (if so desired).  Put your pan(s) on a baking sheet covered with foil (alleviates mess) and bake for 20 minutes for the souffle cups and 30 minutes for the 9x9 in pan.  Make sure the tops are a nice golden brown.  Cool for at least 10 min, then serve.

(note: I haven't tried it, but I am fairly certain a faster alternative for the crust would be to use pre-made biscuits, divide them in half and stretch them to cover the souffle dishes.  Again, I haven't tried that yet, but I seriously considered it)

Recipes: Cinnamon Muffins

Here is a great breakfast recipe.  It's really simple and I pretty much just made it up.  

Ingredients list:

2 medium eggs.
3 cups of flour.
1 cup of milk.
1 cup of sugar.
10 tablespoons of butter.
3 teaspoons of baking powder.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Topping:
1 cup of melted butter.
1 cup of sugar blended with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.

Instructions:

Grease 12 three-inch muffin pan cups.

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, salt, nutmeg and baking powder. Stir in the flour and milk alternately until mixture is just combined.

Fill muffin cups to the top.

Bake at 350F oven for about twenty minutes.

Allow to cool for a few minutes.

With each muffin, dip in the melted butter.

Roll each muffin in the cinnamon sugar blend.
(I always double dip them until I am out of cinnamon & sugar!!!)

*Makes approx. 2 dozen!

Recipes: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Served on Rice

• 1/2 cup Smucker's® Apricot Low Sugar Preserves
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup small mushrooms
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 (6 oz.) package frozen pea pods, thawed
• Hot cooked rice (optional)

PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:

Sauce

1. STIR preserves, vinegar, garlic salt, ginger, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper in small bowl until well blended. Set aside.
2. HEAT oil in wok or large skillet until hot. Stir-fry zucchini and mushrooms over medium-high heat until zucchini is crisp-tender. Transfer mixture to a platter.
3. ADD butter to wok; cook chicken until tender, stirring often. Add pea pods and cooked zucchini and mushrooms; stir gently until heated, 3 to 5 minutes

Ingredients Combined

4. POUR apricot sauce over chicken and vegetables; toss gently to mix well and heat through. Serve with rice, if desired.

Recipes: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, so here is an amazing recipe and perfect for fall.

I got this from my friend Jen, at church.  Supposedly, it makes 30 cookies, but I found one batch makes almost 50 if you are using normal tablespoon sized amounts.  So here it is:

Prep time: 10-20 min
Cook time: 12- 15 min

Ingredients:
   2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
   1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
   1/2 t. cinnamon
   1 t. baking powder
   1/2 t. salt
   1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
   1 c granulated sugar
   1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (Libby's is best)
   2 large eggs
   1 t. vanilla extract
   2 c. (12-oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy.  beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 min or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipes: Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one is one of my favorites.  This is one of the few recipes I have found that turn out both slightly crunchy and chewy and moist (this is because of the mixture of white and brown sugars).  Be careful though, there is a lot of butter and are thus, very fattening but totally addictive.

Ingredients 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips. At this point, I suggest you taste test some. (In my opinion, you should always taste test your food. It will help you know if you are doing it right, and help you identify if you've forgotten an ingredient... which I have done before)
3. Drop by tablespoon sized spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Makes about 40- 50 cookies (depending on how much batter you eat ;-P)

Recipes: Easy Taco Dip

So this recipe, I pretty much made up on the fly.  It takes some time, but the amount of work required is minimal.

Ingredients:
1.5-2lbs Hamburger
2 packets of your favorite taco seasoning
2/3-3/4 c. water
1 Tbs garlic powder (I love garlic powder!)
1 jar your favorite salsa
1 can of diced tomatoes
20 oz cubed Velveeta
1 jalapeno
Tortilla chips

Directions:

Begin browning hamburger meat.

In a crockpot, add tomatoes, Velveeta, salsa (i prefer medium) and jalapeno.

Brown and strain hamburger.  Mix in taco seasoning and garlic powder and add water (use more or less based on amount of meat).  Bring to a simmer and add meat to crockpot.  Mix well.  Leave crock pot on low for a couple of hours at least until the cheese melts.  The amount of time it will take is based on how warm your crokpot it and how frequently you stir it.  But if you give it 1-2 hours by itself, it will be ready to serve!  

*If you don't like hot foods, you can get a mild salsa, mild taco seasoning, and no jalapeno

Recipes: Easy Peach Cobbler

This is a great one and always a hit! And just in time for peach season...

Instructions:
Prepare 3-4 cups of fresh/ frozen or canned fruit.  Drain frozen and canned. Just make sure the bottom of your 9-10" pie pan is covered but not overflowing. 

1c. flour                          
1c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 egg  well beaten
Mix all this together with a fork.  It will be lumpy and partly dry. 

Dump over you fruit and level slightly with your fork.

Melt 1 stick of butter and pour over crumbs.

Now get a hand full of brown sugar and sprinkle on top.
 
Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (when I use lots of fruit and a 10" pan, it can take as long as an hour). 
 
 The time can vary greatly depending on the amount of fruit. 
 The crumbs should be browned on top.

 
***A couple of suggestions for this one. I like using 8 souffle cups instead of a pie pan. If you use a pie pan and try to serve the dish warm, your cobbler will loose its shape and get all runny. The souffle cups make for perfect portion size and you can put a scoop of vanilla ice cream right on top and it will melt into the dessert. (Souffle cups can easily be bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond).

Second suggestion is just make sure the bottom of the pan is covered in fruit, but not layered in it. Especially if you use canned fruit. Otherwise the mixture will bubble over and create a big mess in your oven.

If you use canned fruit, buy the light syrup variety and rinse the peaches after straining makes for less of a mess.

A dash of cinnamon in the mix makes this so good!***

Recipes: Homemade Apple Pie

One of the things I knew I would do with this blog is post recipes.  I am pretty well known for being a good cook and I am especially gifted with desserts... probably because I have such a big sweet tooth.  In our house, I am the one that does the cooking.... mostly because this is one skill my husband doesn't have and I am a picky eater.  I would rather go hungry than eat something I don't like (which is a real problem for me and having to eat Army food).  Anyway, I am not one of those women that demands that my husband cooks and then complain because he makes something I don't like.  So we have a deal, I cook and then I don't complain.  If I want a certain type of food, then that's what I make.  (My husband has gotten pretty handy with the grill though, I must say).  

So, since I always cook, I have accumulated a lot of recipes.  And I am pretty good at tailoring them to my own tastes. I am sure this will be the first recipe of many...

This is my favorite homemade apple pie recipe.  I am not great at making it pretty, but my husband and neighbors were very happy with the results.

IngredientsPastry:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) Salt
• 10 tablespoon(s) Cold Butter Or Margarine, cut up
• 6 tablespoon(s) Vegetable Shortening
• 6 1/2 tablespoon(s) Ice Water

Apple Filling:

• 2/3 cup(s) Sugar
• 1/3 cup(s) Cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) Salt
• 3 1/2 pound(s) Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, And/Or Braeburn Apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 16 wedges
• 1 tablespoon(s) Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoon(s) Butter Or Margarine, cut up
• 1 large Egg White, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon(s) Sugar

---

Directions

1. To prepare pastry: In food processor with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until large moist crumbs just begin to form.
2. Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (If chilled overnight, let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.)
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cookie sheet on rack in lower third of preheating oven to bake pie on later. To prepare apple filling: In large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat evenly.
4. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll larger disk of dough into 12-inch round. Ease dough into 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate. Gently press dough against bottom and up side of plate without stretching. Trim dough edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust; dot with butter.
5. Roll remaining disk for top crust into 12-inch round. Center round over filling in bottom crust. Trim pastry edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold overhang under; bring up over pie-plate rim and pinch to form stand-up edge, then make decorative edge. Brush crust with some egg white. Reroll trimmings. With knife or cookie cutters, cut out apple and/or leaf shapes; arrange on pie. Cut short slashes in round to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush cutouts with egg white, then sprinkle crust and cutouts with sugar.
6. Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife through slits in crust. To prevent over-browning, cover pie loosely with tent of foil after 40 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack 3 hours to serve warm. Or cool completely to serve later.