There are a MILLION Recipes out there for Homemade Mayo. This is the one I like BEST,
Ingredients:
1 egg at room temperature (room temperature is very important)
1 1/4 c Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (don't use extra virgin as the taste will be off) **Divided
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp Salt
2 TBS Lemon Juice
Put everything but 1 cup of the Olive Oil in a food processor or blender and start. Now add VERY SLOWLY the remaining cup of Olive Oil. It is important that you add this oil in a very Slow stream or even a few consistent drops at a time. It should take you about five minutes to add the oil. Once all the oil is gone stop your appliance and put in a bowl to store in your refrigerator until the egg you used is expired.
Eat and Enjoy Paleo to Plate!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Seared Salmon Salad
I was STARVING today for lunch and had a TON of fresh veggies in the fridge, waiting for consumption. YEP, I made myself a seared Salmon and Raw veggie salad with my own "Everything Seasoning" Homemade Mayo dressing. It was AMAZING!
Ingredients:
1-2 Handfuls of Greens of your choice
3 Mini sweet peppers diced
1/2 Zucchini diced
1 Handful or so of rough cut or snapped greenbeens
3 TBS Homemade mayo
1 TBS (or more if you like) Everything Seasoning
1 Filet of Salmon however big it may be...
1 TBS Coconut Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Put your coconut oil in a pan on medium heat and let melt. Put your salmon in the pan add salt and pepper to both sides. Sear it to your liking and put on a plate to let cool while you finish the rest of your salad prep.
Dice all your vegetables and put them in a bowl with your greens. Add your mayo to a separate bowl and mix in your Everything Spice.
Break up your salmon. Put the salmon on top of your salad, add the dressing and Fold until all of the contents of your salad are covered in Yummy - ness.
Eat and Enjoy Paleo to Plate!
Ingredients:
1-2 Handfuls of Greens of your choice
3 Mini sweet peppers diced
1/2 Zucchini diced
1 Handful or so of rough cut or snapped greenbeens
3 TBS Homemade mayo
1 TBS (or more if you like) Everything Seasoning
1 Filet of Salmon however big it may be...
1 TBS Coconut Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Put your coconut oil in a pan on medium heat and let melt. Put your salmon in the pan add salt and pepper to both sides. Sear it to your liking and put on a plate to let cool while you finish the rest of your salad prep.
Dice all your vegetables and put them in a bowl with your greens. Add your mayo to a separate bowl and mix in your Everything Spice.
Break up your salmon. Put the salmon on top of your salad, add the dressing and Fold until all of the contents of your salad are covered in Yummy - ness.
Eat and Enjoy Paleo to Plate!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Paleo Chicken Parmesan
In all honesty, I am not a lover of chicken. I can't find local, pasteurized chicken for any cheaper than beef, pork, lamb, or fish; therefore, without the LOVE of chicken, I pick other options. I did, however, buy frozen chicken not too long ago and decided to finally do something with it. When I went through my fridge and pantry to see what I could come up with, I realized I could create one of my favorite dishes of all time, Chicken Parm.... It turned out FANTASTIC!
Ingredients:
* If you have access to all fresh herbs and spices, use them to taste and add them to the marinara sauce. Start warming the marinara with all of the herbs and spices before you start cooking the chicken. If you do not have that luxury, use dried herbs and spices and add the dried mixture to the flour plates.
3 Large Chicken breasts
2-3 TBS Coconut Oil
REAL Grated Parmesan Cheese to taste-DO NOT use the stuff that comes in the plastic shaker
2 TBS Onion Powder
2 TBS Garlic Powder
2 TBS Parsley
2 TBS Oregano
1 TBS Basil
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
1/2 c Coconut Flour
1/2 c Almond Flour
3 Eggs - room temperature if you prefer - mine turned out fine and I used them right out of the fridge..
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 40 oz Jar "White Linen Collection by Victoria" Marinara Sauce- or any marinara sauce that does not include sugars or preservatives. If I have time, I make my own!
I start this whole process by thawing my chicken. When the chicken is thawed, I butterfly it and tenderize it, add salt and pepper to both sides then cut the chicken into strips and set them aside. I mix up all of my herbs and spices: onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, oregano, basil, italian seasoning, in a bowl. Put the Almond Flour on a plate, Coconut Flour on a separate plate then add half of the herbs and spices mixture to each flour plate. Put your eggs in a shallow/wide bowl, whisk them until "scrambled". Now that all of your "dippings" are prepped, add your coconut oil to the frying pan and turn to medium heat. Start dipping your chicken in the egg solution (make sure the chicken is fully coated), then dip in the coconut flour and lastly the almond flour. Complete this process with all of your chicken. Note that the chicken should be well coated before you place it in the frying pan. The frying time for each strip of chicken depends on how thick your strips turned out to be. My strips took about 10 minutes each to cook on the inside and turn golden brown on the outside. My pieces were about 1/4 inch thick. If you are a temperature person, check each strip and make sure the thickest part is at 165 degrees F.
While the last batch of chicken strips are on their first "side" of cooking, open your jar of Marinara sauce and put it in a pot to warm. If you are using fresh herbs and spices - put the fresh ingredients in a pot with the marinara sauce and start warming it up before you start frying your chicken. Stirring occasionally.
Put your finished chicken on a plate, cover with your warmed marinara sauce and cheese to taste.
Eat and enjoy Paleo to Plate!
**You will see a plate without cheese. This is because I am currently 6 days away from finishing the Whole9/Whole30 program. I could not enjoy this with cheese, but it was still super tasty without and my husband (who is super picky) loved this dish to its fullest!!
Ingredients:
* If you have access to all fresh herbs and spices, use them to taste and add them to the marinara sauce. Start warming the marinara with all of the herbs and spices before you start cooking the chicken. If you do not have that luxury, use dried herbs and spices and add the dried mixture to the flour plates.
3 Large Chicken breasts
2-3 TBS Coconut Oil
REAL Grated Parmesan Cheese to taste-DO NOT use the stuff that comes in the plastic shaker
2 TBS Onion Powder
2 TBS Garlic Powder
2 TBS Parsley
2 TBS Oregano
1 TBS Basil
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
1/2 c Coconut Flour
1/2 c Almond Flour
3 Eggs - room temperature if you prefer - mine turned out fine and I used them right out of the fridge..
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 40 oz Jar "White Linen Collection by Victoria" Marinara Sauce- or any marinara sauce that does not include sugars or preservatives. If I have time, I make my own!
I start this whole process by thawing my chicken. When the chicken is thawed, I butterfly it and tenderize it, add salt and pepper to both sides then cut the chicken into strips and set them aside. I mix up all of my herbs and spices: onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, oregano, basil, italian seasoning, in a bowl. Put the Almond Flour on a plate, Coconut Flour on a separate plate then add half of the herbs and spices mixture to each flour plate. Put your eggs in a shallow/wide bowl, whisk them until "scrambled". Now that all of your "dippings" are prepped, add your coconut oil to the frying pan and turn to medium heat. Start dipping your chicken in the egg solution (make sure the chicken is fully coated), then dip in the coconut flour and lastly the almond flour. Complete this process with all of your chicken. Note that the chicken should be well coated before you place it in the frying pan. The frying time for each strip of chicken depends on how thick your strips turned out to be. My strips took about 10 minutes each to cook on the inside and turn golden brown on the outside. My pieces were about 1/4 inch thick. If you are a temperature person, check each strip and make sure the thickest part is at 165 degrees F.
While the last batch of chicken strips are on their first "side" of cooking, open your jar of Marinara sauce and put it in a pot to warm. If you are using fresh herbs and spices - put the fresh ingredients in a pot with the marinara sauce and start warming it up before you start frying your chicken. Stirring occasionally.
Put your finished chicken on a plate, cover with your warmed marinara sauce and cheese to taste.
Eat and enjoy Paleo to Plate!
**You will see a plate without cheese. This is because I am currently 6 days away from finishing the Whole9/Whole30 program. I could not enjoy this with cheese, but it was still super tasty without and my husband (who is super picky) loved this dish to its fullest!!
Paleo Marinara Sauce
I am very Italian - almost half. I love the comfort of a great Itallian gravy, but I don't like the addition of sugar in and preservatives in most commercial "sauces". This is my very basic Italian red gravy or better known as "Marinara Sauce". (Add some grass fed cow and some browned pastured pork ribs to the onions and garlic and you are on your way to a delicious meat sauce!)
Ingredients:
*If you have access to great looking and great tasting tomatoes, and herbs - please use fresh. If you do not have that luxury, spend the extra 20 cents and buy the Organic Canned tomatoes and dried herbs, but do be sure to still check the label for any other hidden ingredients. Commercial food distributors are sneaky!
6-8 Medium to Large Tomatoes
(4 -12 oz Cans of Organic whole tomatoes - or peeled tomatoes) - if you can't find fresh
2 - 12 oz Cans Organic diced tomatoes - use with both fresh and canned recipe.
2 c fresh / 2 TBS dried Parsley
3 c fresh / 3 TBS dried Basil
1 c fresh / 1 TBS dried Oregano
2 TBS Italian Seasoning - use with both fresh and dried recipe
1 Shallot - Minced
1 or 2 Medium White Onion - Minced
3 - 4 Cloves of Garlic - Minced
Salt to taste
1/2 c Dry White Wine
3 TBS Olive Oil
1 Bay Leaf
First mince the shallots, onions and garlic. Add them to warm olive oil in a pot (medium -high heat). Let those sweat for a few minutes, until the onions are sheer and soft. Then add your white wine and cook for about two more minutes. Remove from heat and put all of the other ingredients, except your Bay Leaf, in your food processor. Process to your likeness for chunky - ness. Add your processed ingredients to the pot of onions and garlic. Add the Bay Leaf. Cook on medium - low for about 2 hours or so. Make sure you are stirring the bottom often. You don't want to let the bottom burn. That's it!
Eat and enjoy Paleo to Plate!
I will be posting a more complex red gravy (with meatballs and pork) in the near future. Please do remember that this recipe is to my tastes and liking while you may like more of one ingredient and less of another. What's great about eating paleo? You can add or subtract almost any ingredient and it will still taste great and be great for the body! i.e add a bunch of your favorite veggies to this and chow!! Mmmmm...
Ingredients:
*If you have access to great looking and great tasting tomatoes, and herbs - please use fresh. If you do not have that luxury, spend the extra 20 cents and buy the Organic Canned tomatoes and dried herbs, but do be sure to still check the label for any other hidden ingredients. Commercial food distributors are sneaky!
6-8 Medium to Large Tomatoes
(4 -12 oz Cans of Organic whole tomatoes - or peeled tomatoes) - if you can't find fresh
2 - 12 oz Cans Organic diced tomatoes - use with both fresh and canned recipe.
2 c fresh / 2 TBS dried Parsley
3 c fresh / 3 TBS dried Basil
1 c fresh / 1 TBS dried Oregano
2 TBS Italian Seasoning - use with both fresh and dried recipe
1 Shallot - Minced
1 or 2 Medium White Onion - Minced
3 - 4 Cloves of Garlic - Minced
Salt to taste
1/2 c Dry White Wine
3 TBS Olive Oil
1 Bay Leaf
First mince the shallots, onions and garlic. Add them to warm olive oil in a pot (medium -high heat). Let those sweat for a few minutes, until the onions are sheer and soft. Then add your white wine and cook for about two more minutes. Remove from heat and put all of the other ingredients, except your Bay Leaf, in your food processor. Process to your likeness for chunky - ness. Add your processed ingredients to the pot of onions and garlic. Add the Bay Leaf. Cook on medium - low for about 2 hours or so. Make sure you are stirring the bottom often. You don't want to let the bottom burn. That's it!
Eat and enjoy Paleo to Plate!
I will be posting a more complex red gravy (with meatballs and pork) in the near future. Please do remember that this recipe is to my tastes and liking while you may like more of one ingredient and less of another. What's great about eating paleo? You can add or subtract almost any ingredient and it will still taste great and be great for the body! i.e add a bunch of your favorite veggies to this and chow!! Mmmmm...
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Cleaning my Produce
I looked forever to find a non - residue way to clean my non organic produce. My mom and I actually came up with a pretty cool solution, I think. Check it out!
2 c Vinegar
1 c Water
1/2 c Lemon Juice
2 TBS Baking Soda
I swish my produce around in this mixture for about 5 minutes or so, then rinse and dry!
2 c Vinegar
1 c Water
1/2 c Lemon Juice
2 TBS Baking Soda
I swish my produce around in this mixture for about 5 minutes or so, then rinse and dry!
The beginning...... All great stories need one. The old "You have to start somewhere" phrase keeps popping in my head. I'm trying to put into words my successes and failures with food. Not just cooking the food, but eating it: too much, too little, too much - throwing it up, then sustaining too little. I want to blame others for my habits, but when it all comes down to it, I did this to myself. It was my decision to eat that extra something and sit on the couch. I said yes to the sugary drink with a scoop or two of ice cream floating on top. Instead of using my gym membership, I used excuses and my extra time moping around feeling sorry for myself because I let my body look the way it does.
Tomorrow, I change all of that. By no means am I motivated to do it, but I know this whole situation I put myself in NEEDS to change. I am starting this Beginning on March 1, 2013. I like to make fresh starts on fresh dates. It's a mental thing. I will start this journey with a thirty day cleanse, and hopefully after that I can Paleo my way to those really cute goal pants. I've been wanting to dig them out from the bottom of my jeans pile for a while now. Let's hope that by the end of the first 90 days, the buttons will actually touch! I want to fit into those jeans by July. This gives me 4 months of strict lifestyle changes and attitude adjustments - with NO EXCUSES! This blog is my accountability. I want to inspire people. I want to let people know that with effort and attitude, life can change for the better. Today is my new beginning......
Paleo Crock Pot Spaghetti with "Noodles"
This recipe is posted in tribute to my Italian side. I love my Trentadue spaghetti, but it isn't cost effective or convenient. Dad, I will never stop eating your version, but here's to the busy Paleo "chef" on a budget.
Servings: This feeds about 6 - 10 people, depending on your demographic
Ingredients:
(Please note that you can vary these ingredients and measurements by preference, and don't be afraid to list your favorite tweek in the comments section!)
2 - TBS Olive Oil
2lbs - Grass Fed/Finished Ground Beef (if you don't have access to this a very lean ground beef is fine)
2 - Medium yellow onions - minced or dices
5 - Large zucchini - divided (you want two or so for your "noodles")
8-16 oz - Mushrooms (Portabella are AWESOME but white button mushrooms are WAY more cost effective)
3 to 4 - Cloves of Garlic -Minced
2 - 40 oz Jars of "White Linen Collection - By Victoria" gourmet Marinara sauce (2 for $5.46 at Costco)
1 - Bay Leaf
*Your favorite Italian Herbs and Spices - I use dried due to the lack of fresh here in winter, and cost. I currently have no room to grow these in my house. I would if I could!
I use:
3TBS - Oregano
3TBS - Parsley or 1 - 2 c chopped fresh. I use 2 cuz I LOVE Parsley! This is an herb you can find pretty easily and cost effective!
1 TBS - Basil
2 TBS - Italian Seasoning
1TBS - Garlic Powder OR Garlic Salt (your preference)
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
First take out your crock pot and pour in the jars of marinara sauce and add your Bay Leaf. Turn on High to warm up the sauce while you prep and finish the rest.
Now, put your Olive Oil in a pan. Mince your onions and your garlic. Add those to your oil and put the pan on about medium high heat. Let these "sweat" until the onions are translucent then add your beef. I now, personally, put ALL of my herbs, spices, salt and pepper in at this time. I like my meat to be really flavorful. I cook this until the meat is about medium rare - still a tiny bit pink. Add and fold this meat to your crock pot where your slightly warm marinara sauce was patiently waiting. After the meat is added, Chop, dice, mince julianne, however you enjoy consuming veggies in spaghetti sauce (I dice) do that now with your
2 zucchini, all of your mushrooms and whatever other veg you might want to throw in. Fold your veggies into the meat sauce. Turn your crock pot to low and let this mixture cook up to 6 - 8 hours. If I cook this on High, I eat this at about 2 hours. I think spaghetti gets better with time. Low cooking is my fave.
Don't forget your "NOODLES"!!!
All I do is use a peeler to "peel" my zucchini, skin and all. I peel right down to the seeds, put the peeled zucchini in a bowl then chop the seedy part and add it to my spaghetti. I store the Noodles in the bowl in the fridge until about 5 minutes before dinner time. You can eat the noodles raw or Blanche them....
Easy peasey.... A pic will soon follow! (We are eating this tonight!)
A few hints.... I always have minced onions in a glass container in the fridge. Super convenient for eggs and ALL of my cooking. This will save you lots of time, and you will learn measurements the more you do it. Second, when I get home from grocery shopping, I immediately try to clean and rinse my fruits and veggies(with these ingredients) so I don't have to waste time when I actually want to cook them. I also find time to clean my produce while making dinner, doing dishes, waiting for the laundry to dry, etc... Last, always make sure you are stocked with you essential herbs and spices. Whatever you find yourself using on a daily basis (this is my "Everything" herb/spice concoction I add to all my quick meals) make sure to have the jumbo size of these. You want to find a flavorful way to eat all of your food with this lifestyle because you want to enjoy it. You are most likely to fall back into old habits if you are not enjoying any part of your new and healthy lifestyle. Have fun and be active! Eat and enjoy Paleo to Plate!
My "Everything" Seasoning
I am currently on day 16 of the Whole9/Whole 30 program. The last few times I "tried" to finish this program, I was stressing out WAY TOO much on what I was going to make for all of my meals, and I tried to put myself, my husband and two young daughters on it with me. UTTER FAIL. This time, I am only worrying about me, and if the rest of my family wants to eat what I have made, Awesome. If not, I am not stressing about it!
So, here is my "EVERYTHING" seasoning. I seriously put this on my eggs, fish, veggies, lamb and I even mix it with mayo for dipping!
*Make sure to buy organic dried herbs and spices or check the label and make sure there are NO preservatives.. these commercial food factories are sneaky!
I make a TON of this so I have some for the week. You can add or subtract or even tweek this to your liking as well!
In a blender or food processor add:
1/4 c Chili Powder
3 TBS Oregano
1 TBS Ground Cumin
1TBS Corriander
2 TBS Garlic Powder
1TBS Onion Powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Mix and sprinkle on ANY meal to make it taste delicious!
So, here is my "EVERYTHING" seasoning. I seriously put this on my eggs, fish, veggies, lamb and I even mix it with mayo for dipping!
*Make sure to buy organic dried herbs and spices or check the label and make sure there are NO preservatives.. these commercial food factories are sneaky!
I make a TON of this so I have some for the week. You can add or subtract or even tweek this to your liking as well!
In a blender or food processor add:
1/4 c Chili Powder
3 TBS Oregano
1 TBS Ground Cumin
1TBS Corriander
2 TBS Garlic Powder
1TBS Onion Powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Mix and sprinkle on ANY meal to make it taste delicious!
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