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.

Banana Bread French Toast

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! I haven't been trying new recipes at all and I have been eating out a little too much. I cooked so much for Regionals, I needed a break and cooked a lot of my staple recipes that are already on the blog. Regionals was a blast! I am happy that it is over since it was so time consuming, but all the hard work that our team put in was shown at the CrossFit regionals. Our team ended up in twelve place out of 30 teams. The best workout was WOD #4 where Soco took first in their heat and they had all of us cheering them on and screaming SOCO! The team had a lot of ups and downs, but worked through everything to give it their all. I'm so inspired by everyone on the team and how much hard work they put in and for never giving up, GO SOCO!

Non-Paleo french toast...nom nom

So I have wanted to make this recipe for a long time. I LOVE French Toast. So much that I almost went and bought bread (ahh!) and made it the the day. Though whenever I crave non-paleo foods, I wait a few days and see if I'm still craving it. If I am, then I devour it and I'm ok with that! I have been looking for a paleo french toast recipe and found this one! So I have been eyeing this recipe for awhile and finally had some time to make it. I got it from the great site of Paleomg where the genuis paleo cooker Juli Bauer made up this one. I couldn't wait to try it!

RECIPE: http://paleomg.com/banana-bread-french-toast/

INGREDIENTS:
  For the bread:

• 3 medium spotty bananas
• 1.5 cups unsalted cashews- Used 1 cup almond butter
• 2 tablespoons walnut oil -Didn't use
• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1 TBSP Raw honey
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

  For the French Toast:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-2 tbsp coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I mixed the bananas and almond butter in my Vitamix or if you have a food processor that would work well too until its smooth. After that is done add it to the 2 whisked eggs and mix it up. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Simple! I had a bread pan that was just a typical one, not sure the sizes, but I had a tin foil one I bought from the grocery store. Make sure you oil the heck out of the pan though so the bread can easily slid out. 

After baking for about 28 minutes, the top was very crusty and I took it out for it to cool! That is the hardest part since I love Banana Bread and it smelled so great. I let it cool for about 10 minutes for I let it out of the pan. The bread itself fell quite a bit and I think that is because I used a little too much almond butter, I would decrease it a little bit next time. Don't get me wrong, it still was amazing! After eating a piece of the banana bread, I was excited to make it into french toast. The bread stayed together well and was hearty enough to make a good French Toast. 

I cut a few larger pieces and dipped it into all my french toast ingredients minus the coconut oil and placed in a pan to cook! Yum Yum. They came out nice and crispy. Pure yuminess. I topped it with a few banana slices and had a little agave nectar and grass-fed butter. I had two slices and was full. The bread is dense compare to other french toast breads, but the banana and the almond butter together taste fantastic. I had no idea you could use these ingredients to make such a tasty bread. I saved the rest of the bread for later and finished in a few days since the bread itself is great. 

So even if you don't want to make it into french toast you have a great banana bread. Next time I want to add some chocolate chips. 

CrossFit Games Regional Prep

The weekend is coming and you know what that means? No probably not, but I'll fill you in...Crossfit Games Regionals?!?!?! OMG OMG. So for the few of you that have no idea what I'm talking about it is a huge competition that is going on in Castle Rock, CO where teams and individuals from the Southwest region compete for a chance to go to the Crossfit Games in California! I mean this is the creme de la creme! I am so excited for this event because I get to volunteer the whole weekend and immerse myself into the CrossFit community, not to mention meeting awesome CrossFit people. And the best part you ask? CrossFit Soco is sending a team to compete!! I can not wait to lose my voice from screaming and live vicariously through all the athletes. Sean is on the team and I think I might be more excited than he is. If anyone is in the area and wants to check out this "CrossFit" thing since all you do is here me talk about it 24/7, then you should  for sure check this out. 

We are so lucky to be able to host the Regionals in Colorado and you should take advantage of being able to watch some amazing athletes! 

So I'll be volunteering the whole weekend and Sean will be competing so the first thing that comes to my mind is food. I'll be lucky enough to have catered food from the amazing Paleo Wagon while I'm volunteering so I'm good there, but Sean will need lots of food all the time..oh vay! So we decided to start planning out a menu that will be easy, but good so Sean can power through the workouts and stay energized.

So here is what I'm packing up for the weekend!

1. Sweet Potatoes- I am going to make chips and mash! For the chips I'm just going to cut the sweet potatoes in even circle 'chips' and bake for 10-15min at 350. For the mash I bake the sweet potatoes for about 35 minutes. I then through them all in a bowl and mash!! I usually always add full-fat coconut milk so there is some fat and carbs. Then you can get creative. I like adding things like cinnamon, grass-fed butter, chives, and anything else that might be paleo I can put in a potato! 

2. Avocados- Great fat that is easy to cut open and eat with anything else. Might make some guacamole to put on cucumbers, carrots, etc. 

3. Coconut Water- Great potassium. I think this stuff is gross, Sean loves it. 

4. Bison- I'm making a bison crockpot stew that will be good cold, but easy to make and easy to pack away and put in a cooler for a nice meal after a WOD or a snack in between. I'm honestly just throwing whatever I have in crockpot. I love crockpots.

5. Coconut/Almond Butter- Another great fat source that actually tastes really good by itself

6. Some fruits- Some oranges, bananas, and apples for a quick carb snack if needed

7. Protein Shake- Gotta have some recovery protein for right after the WOD

8. Veggies- Some quick go to veggies like cucumbers, carrots, and celery. Can dip in guac or almond butter.

9. Bacon- Obvious reasons, its awesome. 

10. LOTS of Water

11. Nuts- Probably some Macadamia and Almonds

I know I'm probably missing a few things, but so far this is what we have. It takes a lot of planning, but so worth it in the long run. The way you fuel yourself is so important especially when you are competing. Since I got rid of all processed and refined foods and have focused more on a 'paleo' diet, my energy has increase, my fitness level has gone way up, I feel great, and I have leaned out without even trying. 

I'll be volunteering all weekend long so say hi if you see me, I'll probably be stuffing my face with Paleo Wagon goodness! Good luck to all the teams and individuals, I'll be cheering you on! And right when you think you can't....just know that you CAN!!

Almond Crusted Stuffed Chicken Breast

So I did it...almost cried when I did, but I'm hoping this is the best purchase of my life...a VITAMIX!! If you don't know what a Vitamix is, get with it, its only the best ever high speed rocketship, I mean blender out there. You can put anything in this thing and it will blend it. All of my friends have gone crazy about it, so I thought I would get one...after I thought about it for 6 months. Why you ask? Google it, the price tag will shock you. 10 year warranty and a chance for me to get more vegetables and not even know it...worth it. So I thought I would dig in and make a few recipes and start experimenting. So far I haven't been disappointed (except when Sean decided he was going to make a smoothie and put chicken in it...GROSS, don't do this, he does strange things ;-)). Best one so far, banana, cocoa powder, 1 date, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, handfull of spinach, two stalks of kale. Yup you heard me right, kale and spinach. The smoothie tasted like a banana chocolate smoothie. I inhaled it and forgot that I even had put vegetables in it. 

Ok enough with the Vitamix. I went to Sunflower market and they had chicken on sale (the range-free kind!) so I bought some more. I seem to buy a lot of chicken so I have to think of different ways of cooking it otherwise I get sick of it and don't even want to look at it anymore. I actually had some time for once to make a recipe instead of grilling or baking it real quick so I went on a google search and I found a winner (it has bacon in it, so I picked it)! This recipe definitely takes a little bit of time, buts it worth it and you can make the stuffing ahead of time if need be.

RECIPE: Almond Crusted Stuffed Chicken Breast

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 chicken breasts thinned to about 1/4 inch thick (I put each chicken piece a large ziplock and pounded the heck out of them with a mallet, great way to get rid of some agression :-)).
• 1 onion (yellow or white), chopped
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled into smaller pieces
• Olive Oil/Coconut Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• coarsely ground almonds 
• Toothpicks (to hold the chicken together!)

I also added Mushrooms and Kale since I had them. Feel free to add or take out whatever you want. I feel like this recipe you can make lots of different varieties, but I would keep the bacon! Pre-heat the oven to 350 before you start. Start with heating up some coconut oil and sautéing the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add your spinach, bacon bits, and anything else you want to. After it looks like the picture on the right that I stole from the website since I forgot to take a picture of this part, spread it on your chicken breasts. I used it all, you'll figure out how to close the chicken, don't be shy, get all that stuff in there! After you have done that roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks or sting. I used a million toothpicks...ok that is a little dramatic, but you get the idea, you need a lot. 

After you have that little bundle all secured and looking awesome, brush some olive oil or coconut oil on it, seasoning with salt and pepper and then roll in the ground almonds. I just put a handful in my food processor and pulsed until I got it coarsely ground, don't let them get to almond flour! 

Bake the chicken for about 30-35 minutes. I just had a baking dish I used to put them in and it worked great. Make sure to check that the chicken is done and the almonds should have a brown color to them. Don't forget about the toothpicks and dig in!! 

I was pleasantly surprised how awesome this was. All of the stuffing inside complemented the chicken perfectly. The bacon gave it a little crunch, but went well with the onions and spinach and kale. The almonds on the outside are a perfect addition to the meal and you won't want to stop eating it! I served it with some Cauliflower Mash and a Kale Salad! SOO good, I will for sure make this again. Especially since I probably can do it quicker than I had. I always suggest chopping your veggies too whenever you have time since that is what takes the most time in this dish. 

If you are sick of chicken and need a new recipe, try this one out, its fantastic! Enjoy!

Sundried Tomato Chicken Bake

So I've decided to take a break on baking. I know, sad, but it still has sugar in it and I had no self control when it came to not eating the whole batch. Whoops, paleo treats are just so tasty, I can't help it! I'll start baking again in May (I've already got some good ones), but I thought I would actually make some dinners, snacks, side dishes, etc also. Lately, I have still been grilling and making lots of burgers! They are super easy to throw on the grill and just as good for leftovers, especially with some avocado or a fried egg on top. This week I bought a bunch of chicken, so I decided to post about some great chicken recipes and a few side dishes!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! We couldn't have asked for a better day. Sean and I went mountain biking in the morning, a beautiful 70 degrees! Then we headed to Castle Rock to my Aunt and Uncle's house. I'm so lucky to have them here in Colorado, they are my only family here, and they go out of there way to take care of me! Not only did we have some amazing ham, but my Aunt even had some paleo foods for me! I never ask anyone to cater to my diet since I usually can always find something to eat and I hate when people make something special just for me. I was amazed on how sweet her and her sister were to think about me. Her sister made a Paleo Dip for fruit and it was great! I even made my family Kale Chips for Easter and they loved them!  Paleo is fantastic, but I never shove it down anyones throat since it isn't for everyone. Though it is what I know the most about and believe in. I love introducing and talking about it with people that want to know more about it. For those of you that don't know, I'm getting my Masters Degree in Nutrition and Health Education, focusing on Weston A. Price theories of Nutrition to eat nutrient dense foods based on ancestral times. I love it and can't wait to share what I learn to anyone else looking to make a positive change in their diet.

So today I'm sharing one of my favorite and super duper fast and easy recipes I got from Everyday Paleo! They have some great recipes that Sarah Fragroso has created and I have yet to taste a bad one. She also has a book out called Everyday Paleo that has some amazing Paleo recipes too I recommend checking out. I've made this a few times when I want leftovers and have a lot of chicken. My friend Eric introduced me to this one and raved about it, so it was my turn to try.

RECIPE: Sundried Tomato Chicken Bake

INGREDIENTS:
Around 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I get the good chicken, organic, range-free, etc), cut them to the thickness you like (I cut them in half).


8.5oz jar of julliane cut sun-dried tomatoes. (Make sure to get 8.5oz)


8 Garlic Cloves (sliced thin)


2 Tablespoons Dried Basil (This seems like a lot, but you need all of it!)


Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste


Yup thats all the ingredients you need! The jar might be a little hard to find, but I found it in the produce section on the bottom shelf under the tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw the chicken in a baking dish and then add all the spices and mix around. Then put the garlic on top followed by the whole jar of sun-dried tomatoes, oil and all! These are what make the dish amazing. Next time I might add another half a jar because I get really cranky when I get to the last chicken and there is no more sun-dried tomatoes left (Ok I might pick some off and eat them, which could be the reason why)! Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20min and then take the foil off and bake for about another 15min until you see the tomatoes are crispy and the chicken is done!

YUM! (photo credit Eric Chin)

The chicken stays super moist and the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes taste amazing on the chicken along with the crispy tomatoes. The basil is also a great touch and doesn't over power the taste at all, which I thought it might since you use so much. The dish has tons of flavor and I usually pair it with some spinach and a paleo side dish like cauliflower mash. For a quick, simple chicken dish this one is great! You will be amazed how something so simple can taste so good. I can't fine my picture, but here are some others that looked just like it!  :-) Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Eric's Paleo Cakes and cookies

Ok, I'm going on a baking hiatus for a little bit. I've just baked a lot and than ate a ton if it, which is never good. My sweet potato brownies were a hit at the CrossFit party until Eric showed up with his most amazing cakes on the planet. I couldn't make these cakes if my life depended on it and they were all gluten-free, and for the most part paleo! So our CrossFit party on Saturday night was ridiculous fun. My CrossFit gym knows how to party and well we did, until the wee hours of the night. I decided that I was going to have a few adult beverages since I'm usually always the DD and this night I wasn't. Well, once I get a few of those in my bloodstream dancing just takes over. I danced for about 3 hours non-stop and it was fantastic, even though I'm sure I was making a fool of myself, which made it that much better. I'm not saying I'm a good dancer or anything, but I sure had a lot of fun letting loose and having a great time with even greater people! Though the whole point of the party was to congratulate everyone that finished the CrossFit Open and to wish our team good luck at CrossFit Regionals! (May 4th-6th in Castle Rock..BE THERE! BUY TICKETS HERE!!)

Also, real quick for those people that didn't compete in the open or are thinking about it next year..DO IT!  Last year I could only do about 2 of the 6 workouts prescribed. This year I was able to do all of the workouts and it gave me the urge to want to get even better. I realized I should have done it last year even though I couldn't do it all..learn from my mistake and sign up next year no matter what.  Saturdays were CrossFit days during the open and it was inspiring. The camaraderie, support, and everyone working out, gives you the strength to do a lot more than you think you can. Don't think, just do and every time you go to the CrossFit gym from here on out, work as hard as you can, you will surprised how much better you will get ;-).

So here is a super easy recipe that EVERYONE should make. I know it might sound scary at first. Kale..ahhhh thats healthy and sounds gross. I will show you how you will want to make this amazing vegetable a staple in all your meals. I couldn't tell you how many of my friends that I have showed how to make this recipe have become obsessed with them. Most of them are non-paleo or vegetable haters too..yea they are that good! (Find Kale by the greens in any grocery store!)

Why Kale is amazing: Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on a regular basis may provide significant health benefits, including cancer protection and lowered cholesterol. Here is a link that explains the 9 Health Benefits of Kale: Kale is a superfood!


RECIPE: KALE CHIPS
1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2. Rip the leaves off the stalk (you can even keep them on the stalk too, but I'm not a fan of stalk)
3. Rip the leaves in 'chip sizes' Don't get to technical here, they shrink, so don't worry to much about the size of all the leaves.
4. Spread out on a cookie sheet, try not to have too much overlapping as then some end up a little soggy instead of crispy how you want them. I usually make a few batches
5. Add a little bit of olive oil and mix around with the kale on the cookie sheet, just enough to coat
6. Add sea salt (and anything else you want like pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, etc)
7. Bake for about 10-15min. I usually just check them a lot after 10min until I see them getting brown and they look nice and crispy! You should be able to pick one up and it shouldn't be floppy. 
8. Eat them all and wonder why you didn't know about this recipe sooner! I guarantee you will want to make more right away.


They don't take long and are a perfect side for anything you are making. They are also great when you have guests over to show them how easy to cook and how good kale is! If you haven't made this yet, go to the grocery store, grab some kale and enter into the kale obsession! Yum Yum, I think I'm going to make some now :-).