Broccoli Fritters

We finally got snow!! It is about time, even if its only a dusting it is something. And there is something about looking at Pikes Peak and finally seeing snow, along with driving and seeing snow around. Just feels more like Winter and Christmas. My annual Cookie exchange is this Wednesday also and I have a feeling this week might be a bad eating week. I just love cookies and when my friends make super great non-paleo cookies, I eat them up! Thursday might be a lazy sit on the coach day after ingesting a million cookies...I have no will power! I will be giving away a lot of cookies after Wednesday, come find me!


I feel like Christmas can be a stressful time. I need to find gifts and buy them and I just procrastinate on actually buying anything for my family. Knowing me, I'll wait until I actually get to Arizona and then just shop with the crazies the weekend before Christmas. Throwing elbows, fighting for parking spots, and swearing that I am NEVER going to wait this long to buy gifts again. I know there is always online shopping too, and I'll do a little bit of that, but for those that don't know me I get super distracted. So one minute I'll be shopping for gifts and the next I'm surfing Facebook, looking at the CrossFit journal, watching videos, and yea you get the point. My attention span on the computer is lacking. So I'm thinking I might head to Starbucks, get a naughty drink, and do some online shopping to try and keep my attention on that. Knowing me, I'll probably just end up people watching..argh, will anyone do my Xmas shopping for me??? Oh and I need to you pick out the gifts too. k thanks.


So this recipes is not Christmasy, nor very exciting. Though it is ingenious, so of course it comes from my favorite place PaleOMG. I love broccoli and here is recipe that used the stems of the broccoli into a tasty little cake. I wasn't sure how this was going to taste, but went with it and was pleasantly surprised. Super yummy and great with burgers, chicken, and as a side. They were good as leftovers also and could be used as a side at Christmas if you really wanted to!

RECIPE: Paleo Broccoli Fritters

INGREDIENTS:

• 6-7 broccoli stems, shredded (about 1.5-2 cups)
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1¾ cup almond meal
• ½ sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• lots of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Send your broccoli stems through a shredder. If you have a food processor with the shredding attachment use that. I just had one of those little shredding tools and used that. Just a little more work. 
2. Add your shredded broccoli to a large bowl along with all other ingredients and mix well.
3. Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat with a bit of fat in it. Use a large spoon and your hands to ball up a fritter and add to a skillet. It doesn’t need to be flat, you’ll flatten it out after you flip it.
4. Cook the fritter for about 3-4 minutes, then use a spatula to flip, then flatten out with the spatula. Cook for another 4 minutes or so.
5. Once the fritters are crisp on both sides, eat them. You can top with a burger, eat plain, or get creative! 

Super easy, but SOO good. I make these all the time now. 

Coconut Brownie Bars

It is December!! And it is going to be 65 degrees today...WTH?? I know, I am not complaining at all since I have lived in Colorado long enough to know that the cold is going to come soon. So bring it on, just please bring some snow with that, please! I'm getting the itch to go skiing, but can't with no snow. I'm thinking golf might be my winter sport..Let it snow!!

Is anyone good at Christmas shopping?? I really suck and I am trying to figure out what to get my family for Christmas because of course they don't want anything. Oh and they are opposite of me, they golf, drink wine, and enjoy the indoors. If my dad wants something, he buys it. My mom says she never wants anything, but of course she'll be mad if there is nothing under the tree for her from me. My brother is a little bit easier, but I usually get him clothes or a gift card and I his closet his bigger than mine. So I think I might resort to pinterest and see what I can find to make. How lame, but its the thought that counts right? I'm probably one of the least crafty people out there, which is why pinterest is out there, for lame people like me who can barely use a glue stick. I'll keep you updated on what I find, this could be super hilarious.

So I love paleo desserts. I really think for the most part they are better than regular full sugar, gluten full desserts. Of coures paleo desserts have the same rules, only in moderation. These brownies were close to impossible to have just one of! They are amazing and probably one of my favorite paleo desserts I have made to the day. On top of that, they are super easy to make too. Great dessert for Christmas, which I think I intend on making this one for my family. Especially, since my mom rocks and told me she bought some kitchen appliances I'll see soon in the mail. SCORE!! More cooking for all of you :-)

RECIPE: Magic Brownie Bars from PaleOmg

INGREDIENTS: 

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:

• 15 dried medjool dates, pitted
• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 3 eggs, whisked
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

For the top layer

• 1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Cream Concentrate or homemade coconut butter (I used the butter)
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 2 egg whites, whisked until foamy
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 365 degrees. I did 375, my little oven didn't go to 365 :-(
2. Now add your dates to the food processor and begin to pulse until you get a clumpy paste, it won't take long.
3. Then add your coconut oil and cocoa powder to the food processor and puree until well mixed and it has become smoother.
4. Then add your eggs, coconut flour, honey, vanilla, baking soda and powder, and salt and puree until smooth.
5. Grease an 8×8 baking dish with some extra coconut oil, then pour in your brownie mix and smooth out throughout the dish. I of course only had a circle baking dish, but it worked! 
6. Now make the top layer. Add your shredded coconut, coconut oil, coconut butter, and honey to a bowl and heat in the microwave. Just to heat it up so it can mix it up, around 30sec. 
7. Mix ingredients together ingredients until smooth then add your whisked egg whites and mix well.
8. Pour topping over your brownie batter and smooth out until covering the entire surface of the brownie.
9. Add dish to oven and baking for 20-25 minutes.
10. Let cool then cut into pieces.THEY ARE AMAZING..Thank you Juli!!!

Carrot Cake Paleo Donuts

December just creeped up on us and it is really hard to even believe it is December since it's supposed to be in the 60s all this week. I mean, I am not complaining, but I am ready for some snow in the mountains so I can get up skiing. Though my skis still have no bindings on them and won't until I can actually start making money and not spend it all at lululemon...damn you amazing clothes I love so much. I mean that is all I wear all day everyday, so it;s justified, right? 

So its coming to that time of year where people start thinking more about their health and make stupid New Years Resolutions. Arrgh I hate those, why not just start right now, why wait. I feel like most people are more likely to fail if they wait until the beginning of the year to start on their goals then if they just make a choice and start now. Who says there has to be a date on it. I am a huge advocate of writing down your goals and what you want to achieve. You should never settle for just being mediocre and should continue to achieve your potential. I found that writing down your goals and telling everyone about them helps and keeps you more accountable. Yes my goals are big, scary, and I might not reach them all, but I know they are possible and I continuously change them to fit me. If you haven't done this, take an hour out of your day, make yourself some tea or coffee, sit down and write some 1 year, 5 year, and 10 year goals. I had to do this for Lululemon and it was eye opening. I stared at the paper for the longest time before I finally could write something down and get ideas to start flowing. Since that I am excited about life, my potential, and the future. Take some time, head here for help: Lululemon GoalSetting. You won't regret it. 

So I found this recipe and went out and bought a donut pan just so I could make it. Though I realized these are more like donut cakes then anything else. I knew when Juli over at PaleOMG put these on her blog I had to make them. For those that don't know, I am in LOVE with donuts. I know, they are horrible for you and a sugar attack, but I still love them. These were an ok substitute, but I'm sorry I still just love a maple glazed donut from King Soopers from time to time....gross Stef, gross. 

RECIPE: Carrot Cake Donuts

Ingredients

• 3 large carrots, shredded
• ½ cup sunflower seed butter (I used almond butter)
• 4 eggs
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ⅛ cup chopped walnuts (optional-do not use for nut free version)- didn't use
• ⅛ cup raisins (optional)- didnt' use

For the frosting

• ¼ cup Coconut Cream Concentrate or homemade coconut butter, melted to be just a bit soft
• sprinkle of slivered almonds (optional- do not use for nut free version)
• carrots zested on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Shred those carrots!! I just used a hand shredder that worked great.
3. Add your carrots to a large bowl and then add almond butter, vanilla extract, honey, and mix well.
4. Then add your eggs and mix into a soupy mess.
5. Lastly add your coconut flour, baking soda and powder, and the rest of your spices. If you’d like to use raisins and walnuts, add those as well.
6. Place mixture in your greased donut pan. Mine made around 8 donuts, with a few of them being on the smaller side. 
7. Bake for 23-25 minutes and then let cool
8. Top donuts off with coconut butter, almonds, and a bit of zested carrot.
9. EAT THEM! 

I thought these were pretty good, but if I were going to make them again, I would forgo the coconut butter and just use non paleo yummy cream cheese frosting or just keep them plain. I just didn't really fancy the coconut butter chalky taste, but the donut itself was fantastic! I think this recipe would be great as a muffin/cupcake also!! Even though I didn't really like the coconut butter on top, I still ate them all in three days...damn donuts!! 

Sweet Potato Casserole

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving. It comes and go so fast, but it was one of my favorite holidays because it allows you to take a step back and really be thankful for everything you have. This was the first Thanksgiving that I did not spend with my immediate family. Though it actually worked out great as I got to spend the holiday with my amazing aunt and uncle in Castle Rock along with spending time with a lot of friends. 

I also got to play in a hockey tournament this past weekend, which was a blast since I haven't played in over a year! It was just like riding a bike..kinda. I think I looked like a fool, but I had a lot of fun and the team I played with was a blast. We were a Co-ed team and focus more on fun then anything else. Why take sports too seriously..not worth it! 

So since I was heading to my aunt and uncles I had to find a recipe that I knew that they would enjoy along with being paleo. So I thought something with Sweet potatoes would work. I searched for a lot of recipes, but this one had the simplest ingredients and looked so yummy. It was not hard to make at all and I made it beforehand and just cooked it at their house. It was a HUGE hit, so much that my cousins wanted the recipe so their mom could make it for them again. I was excited it tasted so good and had lots of leftovers, which since has been demolished. So it is a little sweet so don't feel like you have to put in all the honey if you don't want too. I would make this anytime!

RECIPE: Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS: 

For the Potatoes:

• Around 3 cups of baked sweet potatoes (I used 2 large and 2 small)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (used grass-fed)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream) - I used cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the Topping:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Make sure you bake/boil/etc your sweet potatoes. You can bake them at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until soft. Make sure you remove the skin after you are done. 
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix your sweet potatoes first and mash them then add the honey, beaten eggs, butter, cream, and salt in a bowl. 
4. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and put into a baking dish..yup that easy!!! I didn't have a 11x7 like the recipe said, so I had a 9x9 I believe that worked well. Just use what you got!
5. Place almond four, coconut flour, honey, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Then add the pecans and mix together. 
6. Spread the topping on top of the sweet potatoes. I now brought it over to my uncles house and cooked it there for 20 minutes
7. Check it and make sure the top is golden brown, it took about 25 minutes for mine to brown up. 
8. Eat it up!!! So tasty, and goes well with turkey :-) Happy Thanksgiving

Italian Meatloaf

So its official, cold weather is here. So maybe during the day it is still gorgeous, but in the morning and at night I am freezing! I seriously wore 2 pants and 4 layers going to Crossfit the other morning. Crossfit gyms are always freezing in the winter and I'm just not good with the cold. Yes, I love skiing and being outside, but I prepare since I can't control the cold! So even though I look like the stay puft marshmallow man at all times during the winter, I'm ok with it since I'm warm. I don't understand you girls that can go out at night wearing absolutely nothing and survive. I went out the other night and wore extra layers! To each their own I guess. I also just got all my ski stuff ready for the season and couldn't be more excited. Who wants to go skiing?! Though something I always have struggled with was eating paleo while skiing so I am going to think and find some easy recipes of things to make that people  can bring on the go. I know that when I ski, hike, etc, I go towards, candy bars and fries..whoops!

So I decided to spare all of you guys and make a recipe that doesn't have pumpkin in it. Though no worries, I made three more recipes that have pumpkin in them that you will see soon. You can blame sprouts for that, they had their can of pumpkin on sale for a dollar a can and I stocked up! Lucky you! 

I always loved meatloaf growing up. I know I'm weird, most kids hated it. I would slather it in tons of ketchup and would always ask for it. I know that version wasn't nearly as healthy as this one and this one is super easy and yummy. Great for leftovers also. I found it on the great paleomg.com site. She has lots of different takes on Meatloaf, so go ahead and try a different one or add whatever you want. I added a few more veggies to mine. 

RECIPE:Italian Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb Grass Fed Beef (I get mine from Sprouts)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 roasted red pepper, diced (I left out, not a fan of peppers)
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• 1 egg, whisked
• ¾ cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil, for sautéing
• I added on spinach and mushrooms, I just cooked them with the onion. 

For the sauce (I just used pre-made organic tomato sauce)

• ¾ cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh basil, chopped (to top-optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Heat up a skillet with olive oil or fat of your choice and add the onions. Cook them until they are almost  translucent and add the mushrooms and spinach or anything else if you'd like. 
3. Mix all of your other meatloaf ingredients in a bowl, I used my hands to mix it all together
4. After that your onion mixture is all done cooking. Add it to the meatloaf ingredients in the bowl and mix again with your hands if you'd like. Get dirty! 
5. Then press the whole mixture into a bread pan and bake for around 35-40 min. The sides and top should brown up. 
6. While the meatloaf is cooking you can make your sauce or just heat up some. Let the meatloaf cool a little when it is done and serve with the sauce on top or on the side. 
7. Eat up! I actually used ketchup with it, I know I know, but I got the organic with no high fructose syrup and no added sugar, so I think thats legit in my book! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Top of incline looking down.

 It's snowing!!! Ok not really just a little bit, so that means its really cold and we hardly have any snow. The other day my friend and I did the incline in the morning, I almost bailed. We started with it raining pretty hard, then that turning into sleet, followed by huge flakes of snow! I absolutely loved it, other than the other 50 people that had the same idea as us. Like the kid with the boombox in his backpack playing horrible music..is that really necessary? Headphones cost like a dollar. For those you that have no idea what the incline is, it is a bunch of railroad ties (or stairs) that go up a mile on the side of Pikes Peak. It is not for the faint of heart, but hands down is the best workout outdoors I have ever done! Natalie and I just chatted the whole way and took our time. The one time I did it for time and really pushed myself I wanted to puke everywhere at the top and it took me forever to recover, therefore doing it leisurely is much better! I know, what a horrible attitude, but that is pain I just don't one to revisit unless I have the weird urge again. So if you are in town and want to do it, let me know!! 

So last week was one of my friends, Eric Chin's bday! So I decided to make some pumpkin cookies for him. Little did I know he was baking his famous cookies and placed them right next to my pumpkin cookies. Therefore I had lots of leftovers, haha, but it's ok since Eric liked them and I ate them for breakfast the next few days. I wanted to find a recipe that was simple, but used pumpkin. I splurged and got some dark chocolate chips instead of the enjoy life since I knew the dark chocolate would go well with the pumpkin. They were simple and quite tasty. 

RECIPE: Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (I used honey)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips 
• (I actually added an egg too so they would stay together better)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees
2. Mix the Pumpkin, melted butter, vanilla, and maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice) in a larger bowl
3. Mix coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and the spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger) in a separate bowl. 
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. I just did it little by little and beat it vigorously so there were no clumps. Its like a tabata beat, beat for 20 seconds and then 10 sec break! My arm was hurting..haha. 
5. Add the chocolate chips
6. I just used a regular cookie tray and no parchment like the recipe says and it worked just fine. Just make the cookies small or they won't cook all the way through. 
7. I baked for around 20 minutes. It is hard to tell when they are done, but they should look a little brown along the edges. 
8. Make sure to let them cool or they will fall apart! 

EAT EAT EAT!!! Might have to make these for my cookie exchange too, but I think I'll try a new recipe :-) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Chicken Casserole

So let me just tell you how frustrated I am right now. Well I have been sick all day, puking my guts out this morning and just feeling like a truck ran over me the rest of the day. Yea it is no fun, I don't know anyone that actually enjoys being sick. Well in the midst of being miserable I decided to write a blog post since my ass was not moving off the couch today. So I wrote a fantastic one and went to save it and for some reason it did not work! So I lost it all...arrrgh! Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about other than complain and start over. So even though I was angry, I knew that it was probably my fault anyway and I shouldn't sweat the small stuff, so here I am again writing away.

When things do not go the way you want them too, instead of getting super mad, frustrated, and take it out on other people its important to really think if its something you can even control. Their was nothing I could do once it was gone, so I moved past it fast and started typing again and learned my lesson of copying the whole blog before I post. You really do not want the little stuff to take over your life. Once I took a step back and just realized I couldn't control all situations, I was amazed by how much my life got better. So next time some one cuts you off, someone is rude to you, etc etc etc, just brush it off and know that your life is worth to much to even stress about the little things! Life is just too short.

So I found this recipe on the amazing PaleOMG site when I was looking for a casserole recipe. Casserole recipes are really tough to find 'paleo,' but I think I scored on this one. I had all the ingredients needed and you can get them easily at a local store. And of course I wanted a recipe with pumpkin! I had an almond milk pumpkin latte the other day...I think I'm in love...

RECIPE: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1 medium sized spaghetti squash. cooked and shredded
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• ½ can canned coconut milk
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. So first thing first, chop the cauliflower and put in a 9x11 baking dish with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Also, cut the spaghetti squash in half and place face down on a baking sheet. Throw both in the oven for around 30ish minutes. The cauliflower should get roasted and the squash should get soft. 
3. While the squash and cauliflower are cooking, it’s time to cook up your chicken. Pull out either a LARGE saucepan or a large pot and put under medium-high heat.
4. Add olive oil to it along with your minced garlic. Once the garlic begins to smell, add your chopped onions and cook until translucent.
5. Then add the chopped up chicken to the onions. Cover and let steam for around 5 min.
6. After the chicken is almost done (you'll know!), add can of pumpkin, half can of coconut milk, and spices to the pan. Mix it all up as best you can. I had to add a little more salt. 
7. Once your squash and cauliflower is done cooking, and chicken saucey mixture is heated up, de-thread spaghetti squash with a fork, running the fork the opposite way of the threads. Be careful because it is going to be super hot and I may have burned myself a little bit. 
8. Add your spaghetti squash threads, and chicken saucey mixture to the 9x11 baking dish your cauliflower is in and add dish to the oven under the broiler. Cook for about 5 minutes, getting a little dark on the top.
9. Remove from oven, but let it sit for around 10 minutes so the sauces can get all sucked up! 
10. EAT IT!! It is really good, add any additional spices you need. I had lots of leftovers too. I overcooked the chicken a little, but it still tasted fine. I am still mastering that!

It looks gross, but my camera sucks and its good!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

So I am taking a quick break on pumpkin and posting on Pizza!! Don't worry pumpkin fans, I have about four pumpkin recipes I am making this week since I am so obsessed and have three parties I am going to where I need to bring some Paleo goodness. So of course I am bringing something pumpkin. So most people when they decide to go Paleo have the biggest problem of giving up pizza. Who doesn't like bread with cheese, too bad I'm lactose in tolerant and gluten and I don't get along...damn you pizza and your tastiness. I had some friends that really love pizza and told me they never could give it up so I started searching for a crust recipe. Since usually the crust is super processed, no nutrient, gross white bread, that somehow tastes good; I had to search for alternatives. 

I have made an almond crust recipe before and it actually turned out pretty good. So I was originally looking for a new recipe with that when I came across a Cauliflower Crust Pizza. Hmm, sounds gross, but it got great reviews.....so why not? So all the recipes I had added some sort of cheese to the recipe. I decided to omit, but I would say go for it to make it even more tasty!

RECIPE: http://detoxinista.com/2012/01/the-secret-to-perfect-cauliflower-pizza-crust/

INGREDIENTS:

4 Cups Raw Cauliflower Rice
1 Egg, Beaten
1/3 cup soft goat cheese or parmesan or mozzarella 
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of Salt

So go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Start by making the Cauliflower into rice. I just put it in my food processor until it was rice consistency. After done with that it is time to cook the rice! Put about an inch of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the 'rice' and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes.  Now the most important parts!!! Strain the rice after its done then transfer to a dish towel and squeeze all the water out. Check out the website above, they have great pictures! 

Next, mix the rice, egg, cheese, oregano and salt. After it is mixed really well together (and won't seem like its going to work at all) it is time to form it into a pizza crust. Press the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper making the edges a little higher and the dough itself around 1/3" thick. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes at the 400F. The crust should be firm and golden brown when done. Now just add any toppings that you would like!! I did spinach, mushrooms, grilled chicken, and whatever else I could find in the fridge. Then throw that back in the oven for 5-10 minutes. EAT IT, because it is a tasty alternative to regular pizza. I even had some for leftovers for a few days. I feel like a little more experimenting with the crust will be good since its hard to actually have a slice, you more have to eat it with a fork and knife, but I still enjoyed it. You can't even tell the crust is actually made with cauliflower.

Of course regular pizza just is amazing, but knowing the way it makes me feel and all the ridiculous ingredients in it I can't pronounce or know what they are, I'll take this crust! Enjoy :-)

Pumpkin Granola

Fall in Colorado=amazing

So fall is here!! Which means all I do is eat stuff with pumpkin and wear boots. Ok I lied, I do more than just that, but those two things are my favorite. For the last week I have been visiting Chicago, spending time with my family and friends. For those that don't know, I grew up here, so it's nice to come home from time to time, but I am already missing Colorado. One of the reasons I came home was to teach my parents the Paleo diet and visit CrossFit gyms! I just love meeting people and one of the gyms I was looking forward to visiting  was CrossFit Posted! I met the guys that were going to open the gym at the CrossFit games in June. They had not opened it yet, but talked about it and the gym just happened to be right by my parents house. What are the chances! They have been open now for about two months and getting new members each day. If you live around Brookfield, IL you HAVE to check it out. Jason, Matt, and Mike are great guys that will share their passion of CrossFit with you. Thanks for letting me WOD and I am SO close to getting a muscle up, thanks to them. :-) I also got to talk nutrition with a lot of people, which is another one of my passion since education is the most important part of it. I also got to visit Windy City CrossFit, (in Lakeview downtown) where my friend Megan goes. Great gym and amazing good looking people. Super nice to me and loved the WOD even though it involved running.  CrossFit just has an amazing community and I love meeting more people that share the same obsessions of me each time I travel to a different place :-). 



So with the fall here, I am now obsessed with pumpkin. I looked online to see what I could find and immediately was drawn to Juli Bauer's pumpkin granola recipe. I need something I could eat while I went hiking and for a snack around the house. The fact that it has pumpkin in it was a super added bonus. The ingredients were not hard to find at all as I got them all from whole foods for a reasonable price. 

RECIPE: PUMPKIN GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 8-10 dried dates, pits removed, then chopped
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (I used honey)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Then in a bowl add your pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup(or honey), vanilla, and all spices. Then add all the nuts, seeds, coconut, and dates to the mixture until its all mixed and looks and smells like amazing. Spread it over a oiled up parchment paper and throw in the oven for around 30-35min. I mixed it around after about 15 minutes and kept my eye on it. It is really easy to burn, but just wait until it looks brown and crispy. Should be around 30-35 minutes. Take it out and LET IT COOL! Its important so it can stick together and harden up. The spices and combination of everything else is just amazing. I ate some by itself and some with a little coconut milk. It was fantastic and it lasts forever. I stored it in an airtight container in my fridge and had it for at least a week. 

Enjoy! I ate it all so fast that I didn't take any pictures. Way to go Stef, now people aren't even going to believe you made it. Well I did and you'll be happy when you make it and eat it. Just send me a picture and I'll put it on the blog :-). Until then I'll just use Juli's since mine looked exactly the same....believe me. 

Avocado Stuffed Burger

Haha So true...pick your battles

Holy Moly!! It has been way to long since I have posted and I have cooked so many yummy meals. So I thought it is about the time to get back at it and share everything that I have made. Paleo is such a funny word. I find myself hesitating before saying it a lot of times. I think this is because people associate Paleo with CrossFit, not eating the things they want, and judgement. So now when I talk to people about nutrition I talk about eating real food. Paleo is all about eating real food and learning why you should eat it, you really do not even have to put a name to it. It is funny how I mention Paleo to people and they are immediately against it, bash it, make a million excuses why they cannot do it, and don't listen anymore. Though if I talk about eating real foods and how grains, soy, legumes, sugar, etc are not good for them, they seem to listen. I wish people wouldn't judge that much until they try it. I am also one of those nutritionist that would never push it on anyone! I will educate you and show you the way and then it is up to you whether you decide to believe in it or not. I'm hear to help, inspire, and get you healthy, I'm hear for YOU, not me.

A great example are my brother and dad. They always made fun of me and the way I ate. Saying I was so high maintenance and should just eat. Well I look at food at a different way then them and they just did not understand. All of a sudden though they saw the improvements that I was making with myself and changes in my body and new that something must be going right and CAME to me! They now both have respectively lost 10-15 pounds. I am proud and can not wait to teach them more recipes and help them understand why I love this type of eating.

Alright enough with the paleo crap talk, right?? If you are reading this blog you probably already eat Paleo, but whatevs, I'm sure you can relate! So awhile back I had some grass-fed burgers and avocado. Sounded super boring to me...until I found this recipe by George over at Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations that combined the two! Genius!!

This is what they are supposed to look like!

RECIPE:  AVOCADO STUFFED BURGERS

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 Lbs GrassFed (IMPORTANT!!!) Ground Beef 
• 2 Avocados
• 1 Cup Sun dried tomatoes, chopped NO OIL
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• 2 Tbsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Sea Salt
• Bacon Fat (Optional)

Super easy ingredients, I had all of these (even the sun dried tomatoes) in my kitchen. I don't really like sun-dried tomatoes so not sure why I had them. I put like 1/3 cup in...did I mention I don't really like them? 

1. So fire up that grill! You could sauté them too, but I love the grill, I cook everything on it. 

2. First, smash up the ground beef with the 1 Tbsp sea salt and black pepper, and zest of 1 lemon. 

3. In a separate bowl smash up the avocados with rest of sea salt, black pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and lemon juice. BAM. I added some cilantro...I LOVE CILANTRO. 

4. Ok so here is the trick, making two thin, small burgers that you can stack to make one burger that hopefully isn't bigger than your head. I definitely struggle at this, I couldn't get it to stay together the thinner I made it. I finally someone figured it out for the most part. 

5. On one burger top it will the avocado mixture and then take another burger and put it on top and pinch the edges. I had a really hard time getting the avocado mixture not to spill out. Just keep playing around with it until all burgers are 'stuffed'

6. Go ahead and throw those suckers on the grill, around 6-8 minutes a side and drizzle some bacon fat on there if you have...amazing.

7. After they are done, let them rest for about 10 minutes and dig in. There wasn't nearly enough avocado inside it so I topped them with the rest of the mix I didn't use. 

This is what mine looked like...not as good as his, but still tasty

Super tasty and super easy. Two qualities I love in recipes. I paired these with a sweet potato chips and sautéed some spinach! 

Excited to be back making yummy recipes or not so yummy recipes...but haven't ran into one of those yet :-). 

Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole

Do you ever have one of those days where you just are unmotivated and really don't want to do anything? Well I had one the other day and now I am on a quest to make sure that does not happen again. CrossFit is super humbling, but really hard when you have been great at a sport your whole life and catch on to things super fast, but CrossFit is different. I played hockey in college, it came easy, it is what I was really good at and accomplished so much in my fours years in college. I'm used to having that mentality of being the best, and well at CrossFit I'm far from it. So seeing people surpass me who have been doing Crossfit for a few months is so frustrating I go through phases where I want to quit. I'm not a quitter though, and I'm deteremined to get better. It took me awhile, but I know look at CrossFit as an individual sport. Its me v. me. I read this ARTICLE about things you need to give up to be happy. It is so true. Please read it. I feel if more people do not sweat the small stuff and realize how little things  are not important. This article spoke to me especially in a CrossFit sense and I'm back at it, just trying to get better each day, for me. 

Enough of the sappy Crossfit stuff, on with the recipe. So I found this recipe as I was trolling Facebook and found an amazing website called Paleo Pot! Pot as in Crockpot druggies! Drugs are bad :-)!  It is a website dedicated all to Paleo Recipes you can do in the Crockpot. The Crockpot is a wonderful tool and being able to make a good amount of food and with minimal work is super appealing to me. So you better believe you will see more recipes from here. I need to get a bigger crockpot though since mine is a tad to small. 

RECIPE: Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds lean grass-fed beef (if possible)

1/2 pound uncured bacon

8 eggs

3 large sweet potatoes

1 large white onion

1 large red onion

Spices: Cayenne, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic, Oregano

I have a small crockpot, so I split everything in half, but if you have a medium to large one, go with the amounts above. I had all these ingredients already too so I was excited to get'er done. First I diced the bacon and cooked it up, put it to the side so I could cook the rest. I sautéed the onions next in the grease until they got translucent and then added the meat and all the spices I wanted to. I also added some kale since I wanted some greens in there and I had it in the fridge. I also started to cut the sweet potato. If you have a mandolin, use it!! It took me 15 seconds to get all the sweet potato slices I needed. I got one from amazon.com and it cost 10 dollars, I would invest in one for sure so you have the same size slices. After the meat was browned and ready to go I started my layering.  First the sweet potatoes, some meat, some bacon, first layer down, then I just repeated until I ran out of food. It got pretty high and looked yummy. Once I finished my layers I whisked the eggs and just poured it all over the layers in the crockpot. I set the crockpot to low for 6 hours and went out for the day!

How its supposed to look....

The recipe says after the 6 hours to put the mixture in the fridge over night to let it all come together. I was excited to be able to have it for breakfast in the morning. Sure enough it was all put together in the morning. I added a little bit of salt and popped it in the microwave to heat it up. It doesn't look good since I wasn't great about the pictures, but it tasted yummy. The sweet potatoes are soft and the crunch of the bacon is fantastic. The flavors all come together. The tricky part is getting it out of the crockpot with out it falling apart! Super easy, great for leftovers, and something you can have for any meal of the day! Enjoy...and I sweat it taste better than my pictures look....darn phone camera!

   

Yea I'm not great at pics.