Paleo Friendly Cookies!!

Paleo Friendly Cookies!!

I love, love, love my cookies!!! Before committing to the Paleo Lifestyle, cookies was the first Paleofied dessert that I just had to make!! I was skeptical at first, but they were DELISH! 

Here's the recipe!

Kale Stuffed Chicken wrapped in Bacon

Kale Stuffed Chicken wrapped in Bacon

I've been enjoying bacon lately!! I saw this recipe from Paleomg.com and had to make this! The recipe calls for spinach instead of kale, but I had a bunch of kale to use up.  I also added red pepper flakes to the kale mixture so it had a little bit of a kick.  Plus, instead of chopping the bacon and stuffing it with the kale, I wrapped the chicken with bacon.

It was so good!!! :) Here's the recipe!

Paleo Apple Fritters- OMG so Yummy!

Paleo Apple Fritters- OMG so Yummy!!!!

My man has been in the mood for apple fritters so I looked up how to make Paleo friendly apple fritters.  

My FAVE paleo website (www.paleomg.com) had a recipe for them and I simply HAD to make them!!

Doesn't this look yummy?!?!

I went ahead and prepped all the ingredients and put them in different bowls before cooking the apples since this was my first time making this.  

Ground Cashews

Dates, honey, applesauce and coconut oil; Eggs and vanilla extract; Coconut flour, baking soda & powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add each bowl and puree then add the next bowl and etc.

All pureed!

Cooked two apples in coconut oil and covered it until soft.

While the apples were cooking, I combined coconut milk, almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a bit of salt

Mixed the apples with the cinnamon sauce.  This is so DELISH!! My favorite part!

Next, I put the batter halfway up and then put a couple TBSP of apple topping on top of the batter.

Fresh out of the oven!

Added more of the apple cinnamon mixture on top! I would recommend making a double batch of the apple mixture!

This is a must! :)  My man ended up eating 3 1/2 in one sitting!!! That's how yummy it is! :-D

Vanilla Chia Coconut Pudding

Vanilla Chia Coconut Pudding

I was flipping through my Women's Health magazine and there was a section that covered coconut recipes! I saw this and decided to make it.  To my surprise, it was delish! Very light! You could add cinnamon if you wanted to.  I had this with blueberries and raspberries.  It takes less than five minutes to make it, BUT it needs to be in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

I did a blog posting about Chia Seeds if you want to read about the health benefits.  Here is the recipe that was posted in the Women's Health magazine.

Coconut Carrot Curry Soup

Coconut Carrot Curry Soup

I made delicious soup the other day!  I got the recipe from Women's Health magazine.  It is really good!

Here's the recipe!

1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1 pound carrots, chopped
1 Sweet potato, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 TBSP chopped ginger
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups coconut water
2 TBSP lime juice
1-2 TSP curry powder
1/4 TSP cardamom

1.  Heat oil in a pot, add carrots, onion and sweet potato.  Cover and cook- stirring occasionally until they brown slightly which is after about 10 minutes.  Add ginger and cook for another minute before adding the broth.  Bring it to a boil and partially cover the pot.  Cook for another 10 minutes.
2.  Puree the soup and add coconut water then put it back in the pot.  Add lime juice and spices.  Heat it throughout and serve!

Sausage Spaghetti Squash Bake

Sausage Spaghetti Squash Bake

Last night, I made a yummy dinner! I made a sausage spaghetti squash casserole dish.  It was delish!! 

Wasn't that hard to make- you could make this ahead of time and just put it in the oven.  I had it with asparagus.

Here's the recipe!  It is from one of my favorite Paleo websites: www.paleomg.com.

Shoulders

Want nice looking shoulders while wearing tank tops?! Do this shoulder exercise!!

Sausage Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Peppers

Sausage Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Peppers

Instagram is a wonderful site to get ideas for cooking! I follow a few Paleo people and one posted a recipe of this and it became dinner one night! :) It is a very simple recipe and I used Anaheim peppers.  

Here's what I did! I cut the Anaheim peppers in half and stuffed it with raw spicy italian chicken sausage.

Then I wrapped it with bacon and stuck toothpicks at each end to keep the bacon from unraveling.  

I cooked it on 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  It takes longer with a big pepper (if you do this with jalapeno peppers, check it at around 25-30 minutes).

Voila! You got yourself a yummy dinner! :)

Mark Sisson is a great person to follow if you are on the Paleo Lifestyle and he has some yummy recipes!  Here's the link to his recipe.

Take pictures of your dish if you make this! :)

Paleo Valentine's Day Dessert- Strawberry Cream Pie

Valentine's Day Dessert

I made a yummy Paleo friendly dessert for Valentine's Day! I made Strawberry Cream Pie. It was so easy! It didn't take longer than 15 minutes and it doesn't require the use of an oven! I only used a food processor! :)

I melted some chocolate and drizzled over it which made it even yummier! I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow! :)

Here's the recipe! 

Tricep Exercise

Side-Rise Tricep Exercise!

This is one of my favorite Tricep exercises that I do in P90X Shoulders and Arms.

Work those Biceps!!

Biceps!

I had to workout this morning especially after those yummy donuts (see my blog posting about Paleo Donuts)!!!! I love working biceps! :) This is one of my favorite exercises.  

This is called a Congdon Curl.  Check out the video!

Paleo Donuts!

Sunday Morning Paleo Donuts!!

I made yummy Paleo donuts!! :) Check out my videos below and the recipe at the end.

Video 1- Putting Together the Donuts

Video 2- Maple Frosting

Video 3- Results

The one on the left is with chocolate and the one on the right is with the maple frosting.

Thumbs Up!!

Here's the recipe.  Let me know if you have any other Paleo friendly donut recipes that you like!

Primal Cauliflower Pizza with Raw Cheese!

Hey there!!

I recently made Primal Cauliflower Pizza which was interesting!! I can't have flour as I'm on Paleo.  One of my favorite foods is pizza.  I found a recipe for Cauliflower Pizza and ended up trying it.

The crust was very flavorful, but soggy! :-( I'm on the hunt for the perfect paleo crispy pizza crust.  If you know of one, please SHARE! :)

I used one of my favorite sausages that I bought from Whole Foods.  It's called Mulay Killer Hot Italian Sausage.  I buy it from Whole Foods- it's a lil pricey, but it doesn't have any added sugar (Dextrose) and it is so yummy!

I also used raw cheese from Whole Foods.  This fits with more of the Primal Lifestyle.  I have decided that I will add cheese to my diet every now and then as a treat, but it has to be raw cheese and from grassfed cows.  Again, it's more pricey, but if it is gunna be my treat every now and then, it's worth it. :)   Trader Joe's also sells raw cheese- I've found three different kinds.  It's yummy! :-D

So, those that are waiting in anticipation for the picture of my pizza, here it is! :)  

Here's the website for the recipe.

Immune Boosting Foods

Germs! You don't stand a chance! 

http://ndhealth.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/immune-system.jpg

Last week, I administered finals at my high school.  Half my students were sick- they were coughing during the entire final and kept blowing their nose.  Plus, my roommate was also sick!!! I thought to myself, time to eat immune boosting foods!

Here are some of my top favorite immune boosting foods.  I've tried to keep this as less science-y as possible!

This week, I will be posting recipes that contain the following food to help you from getting sick!

My Favorites:

http://healthy4u.org/foods4u/foodfights4u

Kale & Spinach: high in vitamin C, helps fight off infection and regenerates other antioxidants.

http://gardening.sheknows.com/2011/
10/05/broccoli-vs-cauliflower/

Broccoli and Cauliflower:  They contain high antioxidants and choline.  Choline keeps cells functioning properly and promotes a healthy gastrointestinal barrier meaning that it keeps bacteria safely in the gut.     

Cauliflower contains a powerful antioxidant called glutathione which helps fight off infection.

http://www.wishfulchef.com/2011/10/
carrot-sweet-potato-fries/

Carrots and Sweet Potatoes: They contain beta carotene which gives it its color.  Beta Carotene supports the body's mucus membrane (lines the respiratory and intestinal tracts) which makes it difficult for bacteria to enter the bloodstream.  Plus, it also increases the percentage of immune defending cells in the body.

http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/
2012/10/recipe-stuffed-mushrooms/

Mushrooms:  Mushrooms contain zinc which is an immune boosting mineral.

http://thehealthyapron.com/2013/01/06/garlic-5-reasons-why-you-need-it-in-your-diet/

Garlic: Garlic has allicin which is a powerful antibiotic and potent agent that helps the body stop germs from reproducing.

http://jeacline.blogspot.com/2010/07/egg-yolk-uses.html

Egg Yolks: The yolk in the egg contains zinc and selenium which two of the most important nutrients for strengthening the immune system.  The reasons are science-y so I'm just going to leave it at that!
 ;-)

http://www.meyerlemontree.com/
lemontree/ruby-red-grapefruit-tree.html

Grapefruit: High in Vitamin C- 'nuff said!

http://www.organicauthority.com/health/
11-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html

Cinnamon: It has antiviral, anti fungal and antibacterial properties which helps fights the pathogens that cause illness.

Sprinkle some on your grapefruit today!

Eat healthy and stay tuned for immune boosting recipes!

Sweet Potato Waffles with Apple Butter (Whole30 Friendly)

Yummy Waffles without Sugar or Flour!! 

I'm on Day 21 of the Whole 30 detox program! I'm feeling great! :) It sure has been fun looking for healthy and different things to cook that fit with this program- a bit of a challenge that's for sure!

This morning, I made Sweet Potato Waffles with Apple Butter.  It sure was good!  I did double the spice for the waffles, but next time I will triple it! I like cinnamon. ;-)

When you open the waffle maker it looks kind of weird, but if you flip over the waffles it actually does look like a waffle! :)  My roomies wolfed them down! 

Instead of using just plain applesauce, I used apple butter which fit PERFECT with this recipe!  I made the apple butter a couple days ago and thought it would go well with this and it did!

I'm thinking about adding blueberries to the waffles next time! If you do something different, please let me know! :)

Waffles

Yummy Apple Butter! 

    

Throw out your pasta!!!!!

Spaghetti Squash

I remember last year someone telling me that they made spaghetti squash for dinner instead of pasta. At the time, I was like ew! I can't imagine eating that instead of my beloved pasta!!

Well, since I've jumped on the Paleo bandwagon, I can't eat pasta anymore.  I LOVE spaghetti and meatballs! I've been seeing a lot of recipes lately for spaghetti squash during my hunt for yummy paleo friendly recipes.

Last night, I decided to muster up the courage to make it.  To my surprise, it was DELISH! I'm now fine with throwing out my pasta and eating my now beloved spaghetti squash! It's EASY to make!

Basically, chop the squash in half (length wise).  Put both facedown in a pyrex dish and add water halfway to the top.  Bake it on 350 for about an hour.  Dump the water out and flip the squash over to let it cool for 5-10 minutes.  Take a fork and shred it from the sides.  Voila! You got "pasta"! :) 

Share some of your squash pasta recipes!! :) 

Whole30 Approved Recipes

Whole30 Approved Recipes!

Here's a great website for Whole30 recipes: click here.

Avocado- Healthy Fat

Eat healthy fat!

As I'm diving in the Paleo world, I'm eating more healthy fats.  I LOVE avocado and I used to limit my avocados because of the fat content.  Now that I'm doing the Paleo diet, I'm enjoying my daily avocado intake! With Paleo, your energy comes from fat.  Basically, I'm eating a diet of meat, veggies, fruit and healthy fat.  Avocado is a good source of fat. 

Here are some nutritional benefits of avocados:

Now, if you don't like avocados or can't eat them, here are other sources of good fats: coconut oil, animal fats, butter/ghee, olive oil, nuts and olives.  Click here for more information on good fats and bad fats.

Whole30- How I'm Feeling Today!

Day #3! 

I'm definitely feeling changes to my body as it is adapting to using fat as a new source of energy.  I'm feeling slow and a bit tired, but my body does feel good. My workout for today definitely won't be as intense and those that know me, I can have a high amount of energy so I need to learn to pace that energy to last throughout the day! I can do this! If you are in this program, you can do it too!!

For those of you that are doing the Whole 30 program, here's a timeline of what you can expect for the next 30 days: Whole30 Timeline.

Sweet Potato Lasagna (Paleo)

Hey all!

It's day two of my Whole30 regimen.  So far I'm doing great! Last night, I cooked a sweet potato lasagna.  It was delicious! I follow MyHealthyDish on Instagram and got her recipe.  See pictures below.  One thing though, I would roast the sweet potatoes in the oven while making the sauce to cook the potatoes halfway since the potatoes weren't completely cooked.

Let me know if you make adjustments to the recipe or if you have any paleo recipes to share! :)