Nom nom nom

It's been awhile since I posted anything food related. (He heh, or anything for that matter!) But I think I'm finally getting back into the groove of it. It helps to have a couple new cookbooks in my greedy little hands. My new favorite one is by one of my favorite food bloggers, Nom Nom Paleo,Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans I've been cooking her recipes since the beginning of my paleo journey and I've never been disappointed. So when she came out with a real-hold-in-your-hands-cookbook. I was all in. 

I love this cookbook. I love the pictures, both real and cartoon. I love the way the recipe are written and the tips and information given in each recipe. I love that it lays flat when open! It's a great cookbook all around.

 I've made several recipes out of it so far, but I actually remembered to take pictures of these specific two. The first is "Uova in Purgatorio". Eggs and spaghetti sauce? Really? Really! I was skeptical at first, but because I'm always looking for ways to spruce up the egg, I decided to try it. 

Oh.My.Word. Goodness in a bowl is what this is. And surprisingly, my picky family liked it too. This will be eaten again at my house for sure!

Funny thing is, the second recipe also deals with eggs. I wanted to make deviled eggs for a get-together, but I wanted to make something different. So, I decided to try her recipe for "Bacon-topped Deviled Eggs".  In order to make these, I also needed to make her "Five Minute Bacon Aioli". 

So I did. Although these took a bit more time than I usually put into deviled eggs, it was so utterly worth it. These were my favorite deviled eggs of all time. So, so good. And everyone else thought so too, even my friend who isn't much of a deviled egg fan. There was nothing left, every single egg was gobbled up. I will definitely be making these again!

Berries

Yesterday, I was grateful for berry season starting. I may be pushing it a tad, since it'll be a while before berries are ready here in Montana, but the ones at store are starting to be better priced and tastier. And I'm grateful for that, I was getting tired of apples! :)

Coconuty Strawberries

To call this a "recipe" wouldn't exactly be accurate, it's more of a quick throw-together snack or "dessert". Everyone in the house likes it, and it's perfect for that after dinner but before bed snack that seems to be almost nightly for the girls. 

All you need is some fresh strawberries, washed and sliced and plated. My slices are pretty big. Then you can either use coconut butter (homemade or store bought, both work) or coconut manna. Chisel some out of the jar, maybe 1/2 a cup or less and warm it up so that it's melty, but don't burn it. I usually put it in a little prep cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Then just sorta drizzle the coconut butter/manna onto the strawberries. If you let it sit for a moment before digging in, the coconut butter/manna will have re-hardened after being in contact w/ the cool strawberries. It makes them sorta like white chocolate covered strawberries but way better (especially cuz I hate white chocolate).

It's a near perfect snack. The berries give a hint of sweetness and the coconut butter/manna is very satiating. I look forward to having some whenever we have strawberries in the house, like now when they are coming into season! 

Heart of Stone

While on spring break, one day we drove up to a quaint little Montana town called Big Fork. It's situated on the north end of the Flathead Lake and has all sorts of cool little shops of art, goodies and other gifts or clothes. On the way there, we stopped at a shop called "Kehoe's Agate Shop." Erik, his folks and, more recently, Kera, love all things rock/crystal/agate, so this stop was mostly for them. Erik said it was the best "rock shop" he'd ever seen. The variety and scale of minerals, fossils, agates, and fine gems was impressive. We spent quite a bit of time in there while the girls decided on what little goodies they wanted to get. Lindsay went right to these cute little heart shaped rocks and picked one made of red jasper. Kera was overwhelmed with the options and had a hard time choosing, but with some help finally settled on a soapstone box that had some mother of pearl inlay. It was pretty.

As I was browsing, I found some rock/mineral that I loved. It's called rhodocrosite and I think it's beautiful. I asked the gal if they had any small pieces for sale and she pulled some out. I picked up a smaller one and found out that not only is rhodocrosite pretty, it's also expensive! The smaller piece was right around $100. I promptly put them down and decided I didn't need to own any.

    Later, when we were getting ready to pay for the girls' treasures, I noticed a basket of heart shaped stones larger than the one Lindsay picked out. And I recognized one of them as, you guessed it, rhodocrosite. I picked it up and knew I needed it. It was more affordable than the other pieces that were a crosscut of the actual stalactite, so Erik said sure, and I came home with this beauty:

I love it!

After our rock "hunting", we went on a short hike along the river. Then into town for coffee and treats. We hit a few stores in town, like the super cool kitchen store and then the jam/fudge store. I was craving fudge, so we bought this. Yummy!

After that it was time to mosey home. 

It was a fun day and I'm really pleased with my new heart of stone. :)

 

Do you have a favorite rock/mineral/gem?

Beef Tongue

Back when I was putting in our 2nd order for 1/4 beef, I bravely asked for the tongue. Why, you ask? I know it's good for us and why let it go to waste? The gal I was ordering it from kinda thought that was different, as do most of my friends that I tell about it. Not a lot of people make use of every bit of the animal, I guess. Don't worry, I'm not going to go to the extreme of using every bit of the cow, but I figure I might as well try some of the less-desirable parts that are good for us.

It took me awhile to make the time to cook the thing, I think I was sorta scared that it wouldn't turn out, taste good or that I'd be grossed out in the process of cooking it. To be honest, I came very close to being grossed out.
r the cow's mouth, it also includes a bigger portion that it's connected to. And, the skin (?) on the tongue is bumpy and kind of weird. Here's a sideways picture of the raw tongue in my crock pot.

I used this recipe from the Food Lovers. It looked pretty good and I liked the idea of shredded tongue over big chunks of tongue. Here it is in the water w/ the onion, garlic and jalapeno.

It cooked all day in the crock pot and then I pulled it out and had to peel off the skin. That kinda of grossed me out, but the meat underneath was tender and shredded really easily. 

After shredding the meat, I warmed it in a pan with the spices. See, looks a lot like regular ol' shredded beef: 

Just in case, though, I browned up some ground beef as backup for my family.

I did give each kid and Erik a small piece of tongue to taste w/ their ground beef tacos. Kera is the only one who knew what it was before she tried it and it didn't stop her. After they all tasted it, I told them what it was and despite my fears, no one freaked out. Erik didn't like it cuz he doesn't like shredded meat, and the girls didn't like the seasoning on it. Otherwise, no complaints from them.

What did I think? I didn't like the amount of spice on it and actually didn't finish my tacos. I think the next time I try it I'll do a different recipe that doesn't cover the actual taste of tongue so much w/ spices. So, officially, I'm undecided on beef tongue. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.

I got another tongue w/ our recent 1/2 cow order, so I have another one to try. That, and a beef heart, which is even HUGER than the tongue. That one scares me even more to be honest! We'll see how long it takes me to tackle that one.

Have you ever eating beef tongue? How was it? OR another "weird" cut of meat?

Crisis in Nutrition

I watched this video this morning and wanted to share it with you. It's about 20 minutes long, but worth every minute.

Raw Sauerkraut

I've always liked sauerkraut--Reubens are like my all time favorite sandwich. But until I went paleo, I had no idea that it could be so good for me. Well, the right kind is good for you. Not the canned stuff on the shelf next to the green beans, I'm talking about the stuff that's raw, unpasteurized, fermented and full of good for you probiotics. (You know like the live active cultures in yogurt).

I was buying a really tasty brand at the local grocery store, "Bubbies" which I really, really like. It's made with just cabbage, salt and water and tastes so good. I could eat it at every meal, but just like so many things, I figured if I could make myself, I'd save some moola.

So, I tried a recipe I saw over at Balanced Bites. It didn't require any special tools like a fermenting pot, etc. Just cabbage, salt and a couple wide mouth jars. I figured I'd give it a try.  

I made my first batch with carrots and cabbage and the garlic. I forgot to get jalepeno so I skipped that part. I diligently checked my jars to make sure the cabbage stayed under the water level--that was probably the most painstaking part, otherwise they just sat there.

I was unsure if they'd work and I figured if they didn't I was only into them the cost of a head of cabbage and a few carrots. No big loss. Two weeks passed and I test tasted some. It didn't taste like the Bubbie's brand of sauerkraut, but didn't taste bad either. I  put one jar in the frig and left the other one out for a few more days, I just wasn't sure if it was fermented enough.

I've been eating out of that first jar now for about a week. I haven't gotten sick, so I'm sure it's okay. The only complaint I have is that I don't particularly enjoy the taste still. I like it with some eggs in the morning but I've tried it w/ other foods and it just didn't taste good. I am pretty sure it's the garlic flavor that I'm not liking, but I'm hoping that when I get to the 2nd jar it'll taste better/more fermented. 

So, was my homemade raw sauerkraut a success? I'm not sure. I'm eating it and I think I'm getting health benefits from it, but whether they'd be more if I'd let it ferment longer, I don't know. My plan is to finish this batch and then try another, and skip the garlic and see how that works.

Have you tried your hand at making raw sauerkraut? How'd it go? 

365 Days!?

I can hardly believe that it all started exactly a year ago, tomorrow. It was simply a month long challenge to myself. I recently re-read that blog post and found this part ironic:

"This might be a lifestyle change, which is what it has been for tons of folks out there, but it might just be an experiment. I won't know until I try."

What started as 30 days has continued on for 365 days, but it has evolved into more than that. It has indeed become a lifestyle change for me. Not only have I changed the way I eat, but I've changed the way I workout and even now gradually, the way I care for my hair and skin. And I don't foresee me turning back to my old ways anytime soon. I may not look much different on the outside, I feel great and I know I'm getting healthy from the inside. I'm free from the ups and downs of insulin crashes and the awful grumpy hunger I use to suffer from. I'm free from counting calories and all my thoughts revolving around what I could and couldn't eat. I'm free from feeling deprived. My hormones are more under control now than ever, too. And I'm getting stronger and fitter--I know that after some time I'll be more healthy and fit than I ever was doing all that stupid running. I am excited to see what I can do, now, that I couldn't do before.

And I haven't been alone in this change, my family has joined me on this transition. Of course, at first it was by default because I'm the grocery shopper/cook of the household, but they've slowly come around as well. In the past couple months I've heard both my hubby and youngest say they feel better when they don't eat all the carbs/gluten. Specifically here's a conversation worth relaying:

A dad at church looking for his lil girls plastic ring, to the kids around that were "helping": Whoever finds M's ring, I'll give you a candy bar.

Kera: "I'd rather have a salad."


Yes, she said that. And she's even thanked God in her nighttime prayers for the fact that her family eats healthy. She has figured out that she feels better not eating all the sugar/carbs/gluten and she's only 7! Isn't that too stinkin' cool? I love it, it totally warms my heart. I've also noticed some benefits to the change in the rest of them: Hubby's pants keep getting baggier and Lindsay (oldest daughter) hasn't hardly had to use any lotion this winter and she's been my dry skin/eczema girl since a baby. So, we are all seeing some benefits to this.

It's been a year and I'm still tweaking things, like today I've decided to give up chewing gum. Why? Several reasons: when you taste something sweet, your body secretes insulin, so even though you aren't eating the gum, you're body will produce insulin in response to tasting it. Artificial sweeteners are bad news, as well. So, as of today, I'm done with it and I'm sure it won't be the last tweak I make as I read and learn more and more about optimal health. And I'll probably continue to share with you along the way, just as I've shared my journey thus far. :)

Twenty-One Days of Yum

Did you know that it only takes twenty-one days for most folks to see some of the benefits of a paleo way of eating? That's only 3 weeks! An aspect of my new favorite health tool  is a program called, "21 Jump Start". It's basically strict paleo for 21 days as a way to reset your system. It's a no brainer because there is even a menu for all 3 meals each day for 21 days with links to all the recipes available for free on EverydayPaleo.com. And then of course, there's the forum to keep track of your food intake and have some accountability with other folks who are also doing the 21 jump start.

I decided that after Christmas and all that holiday eating (even if it was mostly paleo, there were still far too many treats for me that month) I needed a jump start, so I started a 21 day challenge  on January 2nd. I made it about 12 days before I caved and had some popcorn w/ the family on movie night. So, in an attempt to actually go 21 days with 100% clean eating, I started another 21 day challenge. I finished it this past Friday night, two days short of 21 days and once again derailed by popcorn. (I'm beginning to think I may have a problem!). Despite the fact that I didn't quite get 21 days in either time, I am feeling so much better with my diet being cleaned up as much as it is. It's amazing what a little tweaking will do! So, I'll probably start another 21 day challenge today tomorrow and see if I can actually make it 21 days this time. (But if you think about it, that will be 3x21 days=60ish days of clean eating with one or two not-so-clean eating intermixed, that's pretty good!)

But, just so you know, I haven't felt deprived at all during those 21 days. Yes, I caved to popcorn but I blame it on hormones. Seriously, though, I wasn't hungry or counting any kind calories or serving size during this time. I was just focused on eating good clean food and lifting heavy stuff. I can't say I've lost any weight cuz I don't weigh myself anymore, but I feel great and that's what matters right now.

So, here's some of the yummy food I've eaten over the past 21ish days...

Fajita Bowls. Fajita fixin's in a bowl over lettuce. Add some avocado and salsa and yum!

Frittata with mushrooms, bacon and some guacamole on the side.

PW's "Marlboro Man Sandwich" meat and onions, sans bread. Some carrots and celery.

Paleo tacos w/ purple cabbage slaw

Coffee w/ heavy cream, a chicken apple sausage, fried eggs and 1/2 grapefruit

Chicken chili soup

Southwestern Chorizo Burgers with Jicama Home Fries from the Well Fed cookbook.

Stir fried veggies and Ham and Egg cups from Paleo Comfort Foods.

Where's the Beef?

Apparently, it's all in my freezer.

Made the hourish drive this morning to pick up our half-cow at the butcher shop. Last year we got 1/4 of a cow, twice separated by about 5-6 months. So this year when our rancher called to see if we'd be ordering any, we got 1/2 a cow. I didn't think about how much meat that actually was until fairly recently.

This is a sideways picture of our freezer before the beef. We had maybe 5# of beef leftover from our other cow order and a little pork, otherwise I've been purposely cooking all the meat up to make room for our half-cow.

The drive up to the Flathead Valley was great. Sun shining, roads clear and great company. (My fellow at-home mom K accompanied me). I wish I would've brought my camera, because there is one sight that was totally picture worthy. We're driving north and are cresting the hill right after Ravalli, right before St. Ignatius, and as we get to the top, the Mission Mountains are directly in front of us, perfectly white with snow and glowing from the sunshine. Words do not do it justice, it was so beautiful. If you've ever seen the Mission's you know what I mean. If you've never seen them, then I'm sorry. You're missing out.

I picked up the meat, 5 boxes of it. 4 large and one smaller. I could fit them all in my trunk, so I was hopeful they'd fit in my freezer. Drove them home and started the process of unpacking the boxes into the freezer.

I quickly realized I needed to ditch the plastic organizer thingies. I needed all that space for meat. I thought to myself, "How does one even organize over 400# of beef anyways?"

You don't. You just jam it all into the freezer any old way and hope for the best. As it turns out, my ground beef is mostly on top, so guess we'll be eating that for a while.

Here's the finished freezer. Filled to the absolute top w/ meat.
Oh wait, I have a freezer in the house, too, attached to the frig...

Had to kick the nuts out of the bottom and fill that with ground beef too. And some on that 2nd to bottom shelf. And that third from bottom shelf has our "old" beef and a ham hock. 

So, folks, there you have it. Half a cow is a lot of meat. But hey, at least I know "what's for dinner"!!

Beef Jerky and A Goal Completed!

Beef Jerky. It's like the ideal snack. It's protein. It's portable. It's stable. And, of course, it's tasty!

As you can imagine, we go through quite a bit of jerky in this house. The girls pack it for lunches some days and then the rest of the time it's one of our go-to snacks. The thing with jerky is that you have to be careful about what type you purchase. Most of the store bought stuff has soy (ew) or sugar (blah) or other additives in it. I had found an organic brand at Rosauers that was passable, and an even better one online from Steve's Original. Unfortunately, we eat enough jerky that cost was becoming a factor. I knew there were homemade recipes out there, but I don't have a dehydrator and I tried one with not much success, so I was not very optimistic about making my own jerky. 

Then, one day on the EPLifeFit forum, there was talk of homemade beef jerky and a couple  recipes were shared that used the lowest oven temp of 170 instead of a dehydrator and so I decided to try again.

First, I decided to re-try the recipe I tried at first. It's from the Food Lover's Primal Palate. Back when I tried it at first, I didn't have coconut aminos or tamari, so I tried it with the dried herbs/seasoning. I also didn't cut the meat thin enough and so what I ended up with no one in the house would eat but me. This time I had both coconut aminos and tamari on hand, which I ended up using 1/2 cup of both because that's all I had left of each! Then, I wisely got out our electric knife that is usually used on the turkey and sliced the roast way thinner than last time. 

The result was perfect! I had a few slices that were a bit thick, but the rest are super tasty and the perfect size. The whole family eats them gladly. :) Success! I was stoked.

But I wasn't done yet! I decided I'd try another recipe that had been posted using ground beef instead of steak. It's suppose to be easier for kiddos to eat and I thought it might be easier and/or cheaper to use the ground beef.

It was indeed pretty easy to make, and the result pretty tasty. I think it's my favorite of the two, but the rest of the family likes the flavor of the steak jerky better. Either way, I think I have two keeper recipe for homemade beef jerky! Yay! My pocketbook will be happy.

Oh yeah, and guess what? It's one of my 101 Goals! Yippee!

#62 - Perfect my homemade jerky -- COMPLETE

How about you? Do you like jerky? Have you ever made it yourself?

What's Cookin'?--Thanksgiving Edition

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Edition of my weekly menu! I hadn't exactly planned on cooking Turkey dinner on Thursday, but due to some last minute changes, it turns out I am. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by it. Yes, I love to cook and I do it a lot, but I've only ever done Turkey dinner one other time and it was a team effort with my mother-in-law. This time I'll be on my own, plus I think it's going to just be my little family of four, which means I'll really be on my own in the kitchen. So, while I was planning our menu, I tried to keep it fairly simple with at least half that I could prep on Wednesday in order to keep Thursday less labor intensive. I've also taken advantage of the fact that I'm solely responsible for the Turkey day meal and planned it to be 99% paleo. The 1% off will be the mashed potatoes, but I fear mutiny if I skip out on those!

Here's the menu I settled on for Turkey day:

Dry Brined Turkey (Paleo Comfort Foods pg 232)

Cranberry Apple Stuffing (Elana's Pantry)

Mashed Potatoes (Recipe from Gluten Free Girl's cookbook)

Gravy (just using coconut flour, drippings and broth)

Cranberry Sauce (Make it Paleo pg 340)

Sweet Potato Casserole (Paleo Comfort Foods pg 200)

Sauteed Green Beans (Paleo Comfort Foods pg 202)

Pumpkin Pie (Make It Paleo pg 384)

Coconut Fudge (Make it Paleo pg 396)

Chocolate Pudding Pie (Make it Paleo pg 382)

Relish tray: pickles, black & green olives, baby carrots, deli meat and cheese

Rice crackers and tapenade 

Deviled eggs?

So, here's the menu and game plan for the week:

Monday: Leftovers. {Prep: Turkey, brined, into frig}
Tuesday: Taco Night {Prep: Bake Paleo Bread for stuffing}
Wednesday: Bacon Omelet Roll  {Prep: Cranberry Sauce, prep Sweet Potato Casserole, Pumpkin & Chocolate pies, Coconut Fudge, prep Stuffing}
Thursday: Turkey, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, finish baking casserole, stuffing.
Friday-Sunday: Leftovers of some sort or another. Maybe Biscuits via Paleo Comfort Foods with turkey and avocado?

Okay, so there's the plan. Here's the take on last weeks nibbles:

Self-portrait of Kera and I while she gobbled watermelon as an after-school snack.

Butternut Squash Soup (Make it Paleo, pg 290)

It was super tasty. Everyone in my family liked it, which is big because they don't usually like squash in its solid state. Good to remember!

Baked Chicken Thighs (MiP pg184)

These were so easy and tasted so good! I'll be making these again, I'm sure. (NO, I didn't cook them in this container. I barely remembered to take a picture before putting away leftovers.)

Artichokes were on sale so I bought 2. I've never cooked them before, but Lindsay had mentioned she wanted to try them. I googled a prep option and threw them in a pot of water to steam. Then we dipped them in a mayo/mustard mixture. Super tasty. All of us liked them, so I guess artichokes are on my "loved veggie" list. 

 Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream (Make it Paleo pg 420) --This is the dough part of the recipe. It was basically the chocolate chip cookie recipe minus eggs and baking soda. I could've just eaten this plain!

The handy-dandy ice cream maker doing its job.

The final product.

Which I loved. It was too much cookie dough not enough ice cream for Kera, but she liked the flavor. Next time I might only add half the dough. My only complaint is that homemade ice cream is so hard--like rock solid after a day in the freezer. These pictures were taken right after I'd mixed it all together. The next day we had the rest for dessert after dinner and had to chisel it out of the container.

Bacon & Apple stuffed pork chops with mashed cauliflower and green salad. These were awesome!!! Smelled great cooking and tasted even better eating.

Banana Bread recipe out of Make it Paleo, made out of necessity when I realized I had a very black banana. Very tasty!

Lindz eating Paleo Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips

Kera, dressed to the nines and eating something....can't remember what.

After school snack: watermelon. I didn't cut it into a heart, it just fell off the rind like that. Super ripe!

Kera loves watermelon and could eat a whole mini-seedless one on her own in one sitting if I let her!