Delish Paleo Dishes

I truly never thought eating paleo could be so delicious…not to mention the healthiest for you too.

I saw “The Paleo Answer” at Costco and bought it the other day. I haven’t been able to put it down. If anyone is interested in Paleo and/or learning about how what we eat impacts our blood chemistry, which in turn controls our overall health and defense again diseases, I HIGHLY recommend it. I’d be surprised if you ever drank cow’s milk or ate refined grains again after reading it – it’s THAT eye opening.

We’ve been ramping up to Paleo for 5 weeks now. The “ramp part” included still eating some raw sugar, rice, quinoa, oats, peanuts, etc. here and there…but staying strictly away from gluten and dairy. We’re now at the point of excluding all things non-Paleo. Meaning, we eat meats, nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, and seafood only.

Side note – it is utterly amazing how quickly and drastically your body adapts to what you’re eating. We allow ourselves one night/one meal a week to eat whatever we want, which usually involves date night at a restaurant. Inevitably, we gravitate towards the dairy we both love but are definitely allergic to. What used to only give us bearable stomach cramps before, makes me quite ill now…no fun, but very eye opening in terms of your body’s chemistry.

The latest cookbook I bought has been a godsend. Not only does include hundreds of delicious meaty meals (yum!), but it also includes the Paleo versions of cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc.! And they are DELICIOUS!!! The book is “The Food Lovers Make It Paleo” by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. You can get it fairly cheap on Amazon (~$18).

Here are some of our favorites we tried over the weekend out of this cookbook. To say there were amazing would seriously be an understatement. Enjoy!

Coconut Flour Waffles

Ingredients:

·         ¼ C coconut flour

·         4 eggs

·         1 tbsp coconut milk

·         1 tbsp cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp nutmeg

·         ¼ tsp baking soda

·         1 tsp pure maple syrup

Banana Nut Topping:

·         1 tsp coconut oil

·         2 bananas

·         ¼ c pecans

Directions:

1.       In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend all ingredients with a hand mixer

2.       Heat waffle iron to medium setting

3.       Drop batter into center to cover about ¾ of the area

4.       Waffles are typically done in 3 minutes. Makes 4.

5.       For the topping, heat coconut oil in a nonstick frying pan on medium heat

6.       Slice banana and add to frying pan

7.       Sear banana slices until brown and crispy on the bottom side, then flip

8.       Add pecans to frying pan and lightly toast with the seared banana slices

9.       Top over waffles and serve with pure maple syrup

Chicken Satay

Ingredients:

·         1 C coconut milk

·         3 cloves garlic minced

·         1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

·         1 tbsp red curry paste

·         1 tsp salt

·         2.5 lbs chicken tenders or breast cut into thin strips

Directions:

1.       Combine all ingredients except for chicken, and whisk to combine.

2.       Add chicken and marinate for 2-4 hours

3.       Soak wooden skewers for a minimum of 1 hour, prior to grilling

4.       Preheat grill to high heat

5.       Skewer chicken tenders with the pre-soaked wooden skewers

6.       Grill over medium-high heat for 8-12 minutes, turning as necessary

7.       Serve with ‘Not-Peanut” sauce (insanely good!)

Oh So Natural!

Okay, so as many of you know, every minute of the past week Dee and I haven’t spent working, we’ve spent unpacking and cleaning our new home. I am an OCD freak, so naturally I couldn’t be happier doing all this organizing and scrubbing and making everything neat and sparkling! Plus, it gave me the perfect opportunity to try some homemade, non-toxic cleaners for the first time….which work like MAGIC! So, I had to share...

I must admit – I was a skeptic of homemade, non-toxic, good for the environment, super cheap cleaning agents. I mean, how could they possibly work as great as, or better than, the disease causing environmentally poisonous (and SUPER expensive in comparison…these literally cost less than 50 cents per container) ones like my old-time favorites? Oh my gosh, it is AMAZING how well these work! I found these recipes online – there are a plethora of websites dedicated to them. You must give them a try! If not for the fact that the fumes are non-toxic unlike anything you’d buy in a store, then for the fact that they’re much more gentle on the environment, or for the fact that they’re about 30 times cheaper than anything you’d buy in the store. Enjoy!

Oh, and since I was so thrilled with these cleaning recipes, I decided to give a beauty one a try too…perhaps it would be just as amazing? …It is even MORE amazing! It seems more and more studies are asserting the link of aluminum to a wide variety of diseases – dementia, Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, etc. And the scary thing is that aluminum is in a lot of things we use EVERY day. It’s in every deodorant (unless you’re using a natural one), and in almost every baking powder, which is used in many things we eat! Yikes. So, I’ve since switched to an aluminum-free baking powder which can be bought at any grocery store. I’ve also been trying an array of these “natural” deodorants you can buy anywhere. Like Tom’s products. I love their toothpaste; their deodorant…not so much. It works for maybe all of 20 minutes; not to mention it costs more than double what Degree, Sure, etc. all do. And I’ve tried an array of other brands too…no such luck. I was beginning to think aluminum was the necessary ingredient and there was just no other way to go through the day without smelling like you haven’t showered in months. That is, until I tried this homemade recipe below. Super easy, super super cheap, and incredibly effective….it works WAY better than any commercial, aluminum-containing deodorant I’ve ever bought! It is literally like magic. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

I’m all about saving money (my dad always told me…it’s not so much how much you make, it’s how much you save!), but I’m even more about going organic and as close to nature as possible with everything. These have both…very rare when you’re going organic and all natural these days!

We hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Back to cleaning and organizing!  :)

Soap Scum & Hard Water Stain Cleaner:

-          Equal parts white distilled vinegar & blue Dawn dish soap (you can get both at costco)

-          Put into a spray bottle and shake until combined. Spray over shower, tub, sinks, etc. let sit for 30 seconds, scrub with a sponge or brush, then rinse off and enjoy the sparkle!

All Purpose Cleaner:

-          3 parts white distilled vinegar to 1 part lemon juice (not the fake stuff that comes in the lemon shaped bottle – the real stuff either squeezed fresh or from 100% natural juice bottle).

-          Put into a spray bottle and shake until combined. Use to clean counter tops (except marble). Works like magic, and makes tile literally sparkle!

Awesome website with these recipes and tons more: http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

All Natural Deodorant:

-          Ingredients:

o   Pure & unrefined coconut oil in a jar (it will be a white solid – you can get it at Sprouts or Whole Foods)

o   Cornstarch

o   Baking Soda

o   Any essential oils of your choosing (warning: if you use almond oil as I did, the mixture will smell like awesome cookie dough…and so will your armpits. Nothing wrong with that – you should just probably refrain from eating it! J)

-          Directions

o   Place 5 tablespoons coconut oil in a microwavable bowl and heat for only 5 seconds to get soft

o   Mix with 1/4 to 3/8 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 to 3/8 cup baking soda and up to 5 drops of essential oil (scent of your choosing…lavender, tea trea, etc) until you get the consistency of playdough

-          Use

o   Once mixture is made, store in a sealed jar (I use those little Tupperware containers, or even an old, cleaned deodorant container).

o   Apply a pea-sized amount by holding for 3 seconds to skin (coconut oil melts at 76 degrees so your body temperature warms the playdough-like mixture enough to easily spread on your skin)

o   Then rub over entire area, let dry for a minute before getting dressed, and you now have coverage for at least 24 hours! It honestly works better than any deodorant I have ever used…even after a P90X sweat session I still smell like a cookie! Although when I run out of this batch, I will probably switch to lavender :)

o   Again, just a fraction of the cost and aluminum free!

Source: http://www.survivingthestores.com/homemade-coconut-oil-deodorant.html