Tag Archives: #healthy

Cinnamon Swirl Success

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I am always on the prowl for something bready in the mornings, but quickly defeated by time and availability. I often make paleo muffins on the weekends but they are gone FAST…mostly by my own doing, but hey, I like my baked goods people!

Also a sucker for anything cinnamon, I came across a recipe a while back from a very good paleo cookbook, and although I liked it, it had too much coconut “tang”to it for me, personally. Sometimes the paleo recipe writers really get heavy on the coconut, using flour, oil and milk all in one recipe, leaving the whole thing tasting like coconut whatever it is supposed to be, and not much else. Coconut is great…very healthy, and I am all for it! But sometimes, just for me, I have to tone it down.

So I tweaked the recipe and made it my own…and wow what a difference! The flavors and texture sing of good old fashoined coffee cakes or muffins your grandmother used to make! Buttery and flavorful, and a much better texture, due to a quick swap of a little tapioca flour in for some of the coconut flour. This looks like the bread you used to know so well, and the texture on your tongue will make you close your eyes for a minute before you go back in the kitchen for the next slice!

Here’s how:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8×8 pan (with butter or coconut oil) or line it with parchment paper.

Wisk together in a medium sized bowl:

2 Tablespoons of Butter from a grassfed organic source, like Kerrygold (or go with coconut oil if you prefer…) – melted
2 Tablespoons of WHOLE milk from a grassfed source, or coconut milk, or almond milk.
1/2 raw organic local honey, or agave nectar if you prefer. I used honey.
5 eggs
a dash of vanilla

Bowl to sift or “fork” together:

1-2 Tablespoons of Tapioca flour PLUS coconut flour to TOTAL 3/4 cup
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

With a SPOON (not a wisk!) stir the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
Optional mix ins at this point…a handful of golden raisins, a handfull of chopped nuts, or even chocolate chips would be good!
Pour into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl mix together:
1 Tablespoon Butter from a grassfed source, or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon raw organic local honey or agave nectar
2 tspns cinnamon

Drizzle mixture over the batter then swirl with the end of a knife.

Pop it into the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Let it cool completely before cutting into it.
Really tasty with your hot cup of coffee or tea!

Enjoy it! Let me know how you like it…I love to hear the feedback!

I like my chicken CRISPY!

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chicken

The bane of my paleo existence is often textures of food. I always yearn for the BREADINESS of bread, the CRUNCH of crackers, and yes, the CRISPINESS of all things “fried”! It can be done, you can get there, but I believe there is an art to it, you have to WANT IT! And here is where I step in.
My daughter who eats mostly paleo is not a huge fan of almond flour, due to the texture. In bread items especially.
So she was sitting at the counter doing homework and rapping along with Kendrick Lamar (exhale, she is a teenager!) watching me halfheartedly throw dinner together. Nothing too startling, broccoli, check, sweet pototoes roasting in the oven, check, chicken on the counter, check….but I could see her eyes on me as I pulled the almond flour out of the pantry. RELAX, I said, you have had this before and loved it!
Here is what she saw:

Heat a large skillett (or 2) until very hot and then add in a few TBSP of coconut oil and 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter.
Thin strips of chicken (cutlets, tenders, even small chunks are fine…) go into a large ziploc bag with one beaten egg. “squoosh” the chicken around in the egg to make sure they are coated. (Squoosh is a technical term in my brain).
In a small bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 2 Tbsp. tapioca flour, 1-2 tsp salt, fresh ground pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne (for kick!), 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
Dump the mixture into the ziploc bag with the eggy chicken and squoosh some more, coating completely.
Place the chicken into the skillett and let it go for a few minutes, until brown, maybe 3-4 minutes. Turn each piece over and brown another 2-3 minutes until done.
Take out of the pan and place on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Do batch two the same way if you have more chicken.
Tada! golden brown, cripy goodness.
And my daughter….sitting on the sofa eating the chicken with her hands….says OH MY GOSH MOMMA THESE ARE SO GOOD MAKE THEM AGAIN FOR ME AND MY FRIENDS!

Approved!

Trying it out?
Let me know what you think!

A Little Green

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dressedchopveggiesdressing

My sister-in-law posted her amazing avocado dressing recipe the other day and I tried to do something similar because, let’s face it, I love anything avocado! The cool green creaminess just sings in everything!

So at lunch yesterday I was just standing in front of the refrigerator, doors open of course, pondering what to throw together in a short time frame. My eyes kept going to the spinach, so spinach salad was in the works. I started with this Avocado dressing in the bowl and built the salad on top, gave it a toss and ate it with a baked sweet potato, just perfect!

Here is what happenned in the bowl:

Mashed about 1/4 of an avocado with some salt and some fresh garlic paste. (One bud of garlic, smashed, flatten and smear onto the cutting board with the side of your knife until it is almost invisible! scrape it up and pop it in the bowl! I added the juice of one lemon and a tablespoon of olive oil. I also put in about 1/2 tsp of Sunny Paris Seasoning from Penzeys (this stuff? you have GOT to have it in your pantry!).
Now wisk away…..until creamy and smooth.
I threw a big handful of spinach on top of the dressing along with some of my favorite chopped things like tomatoes, cukes, radishes, grapes and some chopped pecans.
I tossed it all until the dressing touched everything, and inhaled it!!!!!

This was super easy, and so flavorful!
Give it a try…and let me know what you think!

Back to life, back to reality….(you know the tune…)

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back to life

Spoiled rotten by a wonderful couple that I had the pleasure of spending a few days with on a mountain in the snow with a great group of people from my work world – I haven’t laughed so much in ages! We all had a terrific time, playing in the snow, eating too much and drinking, well, enough! And although it was such a great experience, I was so happy to wake up in my own bed this morning on familiar ground, even ready to go back to work this morning! Oddly, the snowy cold of Canada followed me back home to Houston, TX where the temperature has settled into the low 30’s with some sleety icy rainy snowy bits making for a lovely wintry day! I was so happy to fix my own little cup of coffee this morning to sip along my morning routine, blow dryer reading time, hurry off to work with my breakfast packed! I had already downed two bottles of H2O and decided to make a breakfast roll up (really just an omellette) and here is how it panned out! (see pic above…) like this:

Heat a medium size skillett with a pat of Kerrygold butter (from Grassfed Cows y’know!)
when hot, gently pour in 2 beaten and salted eggs and let it sit….don’t mess with it!!!!it will cook slowly while you fix up the rest…
Slices of Red pepper
freshly grated cheddar cheese from grassfed cows

Once the egg looks solid, turn off the burner. Sprinkle with a cheese you like all over…and lay the pepper slices in a single line up the middle.
Gently roll up the egg (much like a tortilla) and you are done!

took it to go with some berries, hit the spot! Hello Healthy, I’m back, and I’m hungry!

In case they ever see this, thank you Laura and John, what a spectacular place, fantastic people, and the most lovely hosts ever!

Lord love me a RADISH!

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radish

Radishes. That is all that is on my mind here, nothing fancy, just these beautiful little roots that make me smile! They are not even my favorite veggie or anything as heroic as that, I just think they are so beautiful! So cheery! And around all year long in all shapes, sizes, colors, just sitting there being crunch for everyones enjoyment, or not!

I think back to when I was a little girl, must have been seven or eight years old. We had a garden in our back yard that my father worked on every weekend, something new all the time. Depending on the time of year, strawberries, cantaloupes (that crossed with our cucumbers, that magically multiplied by the minute!). Broccoli (that was always infested with worms)…I bet they think I don’t remember that! Squash! Buckets of yellow squash! And tomatoes. My dad could grow tomatoes! Green beans…and radishes. I remember my mother pulling a bunch of radishes, rinsing them off in the kitchen, slicing them in half and handing them to me, still warm from the sun, to dunk in a pile of salt and crunch away! That is what I think of when I see radishes.

That house is long gone now, eventually the garden was replaced by a pool, then occupied by a new family as we had all grown up and moved different directions. Now, my parents keep a place in the country, and have another garden, this one is organic, and beautiful. And full of radishes!

I gather a few in the summer when they are at their peak and bring them home…and eat them by the kitchen sink dunked in salt. The rest of the year I pick them up in the markets, and slip them onto my salads and plates as often as I can!

Go ahead, have a bite. That crunch will get you every time!

Love me tender

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pork tender

Does not matter the weather or the day of the week, pork tenderloin is a favorite in our house, by those paleo and not, it just such a tried and true simple basic we probably eat it every week. Put on two of them and you have leftovers for a couple of meals, simplifying your week even more!

Nothing clever to say here this morning, except that anyone can do this. ANYONE! There is nothing tricky, nothing complicated. Have iron skillet, will make roasted pork tenderloin!

Here is how it works:

Have one or two organic pieces of pork tenderloin, I usually do two of them, as they will both fit nicely in the pan and give you plenty to pick off of for a day or so. 1-2 pounds each.

Rub each tender with some coconut oil (melted) or olive oil so that it spreads over the entire piece of meat. Usually 1-2 Tbsp should work.

With the tip of your knife, on one side of the meat, randomly poke in about 10 or so places about 1/2 inch deep. You will put thin slices of garlic and/or ginger in these slits….flavors up the meat nicely!
(That said, thinly slice 1-2 garlic cloves and a finger of fresh ginger…place a slice of either or both in each slit…push it down all the way.

Put your iron skillett on your stove burner on HIGH to preheat.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees as well.

While everything is heating, liberally sprinkle on both sides of the meat:
course sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
ground ginger
thyme
a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Once the skillet is screaming hot, lay the tenders in the pan to sear it to a beautiful brown on each side….about 3 minutes per side should do it.

Now place the skillet in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes….and you are done when the temperature of the meat is 160 degrees or higher at the thickest part of the meat.

Let the meat sit for 5 minutes before slicing, and you are done!

We love to serve with stewed apples and asparagus…but it goes with just about any sides! It is lovely with eggs in the morning, cold for lunch, and thankfully not an expensive cut of meat!

World Famous Veggie Dump Salad (Well, famous in my world!)

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World Famous Veggie Dump Salad (Well, famous in my world!)

This has been a favorite in my house for years…although it started of with lots of beans and potatoes, now it is paleo and delicious and truly healthful! Build it how you like it with all your favorite veggies, never the same salad twice! But beware! it grows fast! this thing overflowed two giant bowls before I got done with it! Here is what it’s got (measurements of veggies…up to you!):
colorful cauliflower florets…barely steamed
broccoli florets…barely steamed
carrots…steamed with a little crunch left
barely steamed asparagus
halved brussel sprouts, just tender
raw veggies:
halved cherry tomatoes
lots of radishes
jicama sticks
red pepper

Add slices of fennel plus the fronds for a big flavor punch!
I toss in a pint of olives
a handful of chopped parsely
salt and pepper
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raspberry vinegar
a good splash of dry white wine if you like
squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it…and start tossing!
the longer it sits, the better it gets! just toss from time to time, it keeps in the fridge for days!

find me on instagram at PALEO_K

(these pics will get better…having resolution issues)