Zoodles Medley

Yes I know it's been a while since I posted, I got busy which lead to me not cooking anything new, just recycling old recipes; I apologize, lets move on shall we.

You don't have to be a fancy chef to make a creative, fantastic, healthy meal, you can simply make one by looking at what you have already in your refrigerator and maybe a handy kitchen utensil. This recipe is something I whipped up using left over vegetables that had about a day or two left and looking at some pictures from some of my favorite cookbooks. It can be served as a vegetarian meal (yep, I said the 'V' word) or you can throw in some left over chicken, turkey or fish for a fantastic light but filling meal. It does require on of my FAVORITE kitchen utensils, a vegetable spiralizer, I strongly urge everyone to go on Amazon and buy one NOW, prices range but I got the $20 one and its great and well worth the money!


OK...On to the recipe!

Zoodles Medley

Serves 1- because sometimes you only need to cook for yourself

Ingredients:
1/2 zucchini- spiralized- If you don't have this just chop up your zucchini
2 Carrots- spiralized- or you can use a vegetable peeler
2 1/2 cups (or more) of chopped left-over veggies- Here's what I had:
1/2 cup yellow squash- chopped
1/2 cup broccolini- chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes- halved
1 cup Brussels Sprouts- chopped
1 clove garlic- minced (smallest chop)
1 cup left over cooked chicken- chopped
1/2 cup left over Organic white rice- Add for athletes or after intense workout like Crossfit.
2 Tbls. Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation:
In a medium saute pan, heat cooking oil over med heat (butter, coconut oil, bacon fat).
Saute garlic (careful not to burn), Brussels, broccolini, squash, carrot and zucchini noodles for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften and garlic becomes fragrant.
Add tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and (if using) left over cooked meat and toss to combine. Continue to cook until meat is warm or tomatoes start to soften about 3 more mins.
Remove from heat, pour into bowl and season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little EVOO on top.
Enjoy!

Don't be afraid to throw in a handful of almond slivers or chopped nuts for some texture!

Even if you are using different vegetables the formula is still the same. You want to add the hardest vegetables to a hot pan and let them begin to soften and then add your more delicate vegetables (spinach, tomatoes, bok choy) You will want to add the EVOO at the end and never use it to cook with. EVOO is highly unstable and oxidizes under heat so its best used as finishing oil or salad dressing.

BONUS!!
Want a quick and easy, healthy dessert!
Besides a giant glass of Vino, take an Apple- I like Granny Smith
Cut it in to quarter inch slices and place on a plate. Drizzle some warmed Almond Butter on top.
Add Ons-
Melt some dark chocolate (70% or higher) and drizzle that on top also- maybe even put a few extra un-melted chunks on there
Top with some Almond slices or slivers.
Use Coconut Butter instead of Almond and Chocolate.

Try different combo's all of them are good and satisfying and healthy- as long as you don't put a whole jar of Almond Butter- try to keep it to a couple tablespoons.

Sorry I don't have a picture of this, when I make it I have a one- track mind that looks something like this....



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Here you go Mom!

Walker and Ross getting down!

Love your feedback- Please leave a comment or if you have questions or suggestions I'll take those too!

Game Day Wings

If you're like me, Saturdays in the Fall are for three things, Football, beer and wings! If you're new to Paleo you may have thought wings are totally out but really there are lots of recipes out there to keep your game day tradition alive. In fact with the right ingredients you can make your wings better than the ones you find at your favorite sports bar. Here are two recipes that are sure to please everyone. One is your traditional Buffalo Wings, the other is Honey Garlic Wings.

Buffalo Wings
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken wings (Organic, pastured chicken is best)
4 1/2 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce- I use Franks because it does not have and crazy chemicals or preservatives. Its just chilies and spices.
4 Tbsp. Butter (melted)- (Organic, pastured)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet with coconut oil, bacon fat, or (I use) palm oil. Place wings on sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

The yellow is the red palm oil, its great for greasing pans without adding any flavor like coconut oil

Cook wings 30 mins.
While the wings are cooking, combine hot sauce and melted butter in a medium size bowl. For spicier wings add more hot sauce for milder wings use less hot sauce. This combo is a medium heat.

Once wings have cooked, toss in sauce and put back on baking sheet and bake for another 30 mins.
Serve and enjoy!

I made a bleu cheese vinaigrette that really wasn't that great. I ended up just eating the wings with out the sauce which was great!  I will update this recipe when I find a great sauce to serve! So stay tuned.


Honey Garlic Wings
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken wings (Organic, pastured chicken is best)
1/8 cup honey (Local, raw)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos- you can find this at a health food store like Whole Foods by the soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a zip lock bag and marinate chicken for 4 hours up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease baking sheet and spread wings out.

Bake for 30 mins, flip and bake another 30 mins.
Garnish with green onion if you want and Enjoy!

Both these recipes are so easy its ridiculous so I encourage you to try them and let me know what you think!

UPDATE!!
As some of you know I am currently enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition with the goal of becoming a Health Coach. I am about 4 months in and doing great! Unfortunately it has taken up a lot of my blogging time which is why I haven't been posting any recipes lately. I will try to stay consistent and post about once a month for now and then will ramp up again once I am done with school.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement!!

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Walker is ready for some wings and football!

Not Your Typical Cobb Salad

Hey Everyone,
 I've been a bit busy lately and have not posted anything in a couple weeks, sorry about that. Hopefully this week's awesome salad recipe will make up for my neglect. When I first started this blog my biggest goal was to post something once a week. I was doing really well and then life happened, things came up, trips and just general laziness caused me to miss a week here and there but never fear, I'll never forget about my loyal readers out there. (All 7 of you!)

This salad might seem a little labor intensive but its really not, all it takes is a little prep and it can be thrown together in 5 minutes. Don't forget to go ahead and make a few extra servings for a grab and go lunch for work or general busy-ness.

Typical Cobb salads are made up of these 5 ingredients- C-chicken, O-onion, B-bacon, B-bleu cheese, but in my version I am leaving off the final B. This version is packed with so much veggie deliciousness and protein from 4 different sources, you won't be missing that extra B. Its such a hardy salad it will keep you full for hours. Eat it as lunch or dinner, feel free to leave out or add in anything you like.

The serving size is for one salad but go ahead and chop up the entire vegetable and just store what you don't use in a good Tupperware, that way when you need to make another one you can do it in a snap!

Cob Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup lettuce, mix green, Kale, spinach or mixture
1-2 tbsp. red bell pepper- chopped
1-2 tbsp. red onion- chopped
1/2 a small tomato- chopped
1-2 tbsp. bacon- finely chopped in small food processor or by hand
(Usually I cook 5-6 pieces of bacon, put them into a mini chopper and store in a small Tupperware. I'll use my homemade bacon bits all week)
1 hard boiled egg- chopped (I make 5 hard boiled eggs and store them in the refrigerator for the week)
1/4 cup sauerkraut
1/2 avocado
6-8 pistachios- dry roasted, unsalted
1/4 cup shredded chicken- I cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker on Sundays and then have chicken for the week. Or you could get a whole rotisserie chicken from the store, just try to look for one that doesn't have any added flavors to it.

Preparation:

I think we all know how to put a salad together. Put all ingredients into bowl and toss.

This salad has so much flavor it doesn't even need a dressing but I put a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (2 tbsp.) and Balsamic Vinegar on top (1 tbsp.).

Are you a big, burly guy who requires their body weight in protein? No problem, add more chicken or another hard boiled egg.
Are you a dainty lady who fills up quickly? No worries just cut back on the amount of ingredients.
Are you a mouse? Go ahead, add a little Bleu cheese on there or some shaved Parmesan cheese. Let's try to keep the quality up and the quantity down.

This isn't written in stone people, use your own discretion as to how much of the ingredients you want on your salad.
Salads are like art class, its your time to be creative! Try adding some sliced mushrooms or some cooked veggies like squash or zucchini. Maybe some chopped jalapeno pepper or a little fresh lemon juice. The possibilities are endless, don't be afraid to experiment!

Here's my lunch for work tomorrow, made at the same time as the one above.

Please let me know how these recipes are working for you or if you have any questions. Just leave a comment below.

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Simple Salsa and Guac

Who doesn't love guacamole and salsa?! I eat it on eggs, I eat it on salads, heck, I'd put it on just about anything! Even though it's so easy to make my dog could do it, I thought I would share my super simple recipe for those folks new to cooking and just can't fathom making their own when a jar of the stuff is so convenient. Once you make your own fresh salsa and (as I call it) guac, you'll never go back and you will forever be able to tell the difference between fresh homemade and store bought.

So here it is, Simple Salsa and Guac- the spelling of this dip is more complicated than this recipe!

Simple Salsa
Serves 1-6

Ingredients:
2 cans diced tomatoes (I like mine with green chilies)
1/4 red onion, rough chop
1/2 a bundle of cilantro, about 1/2 a cup
1 jalapeño, rough chop
Juice from 1 lime
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend till combined. If you want a chunkier salsa, drain one of the cans of tomatoes.

BOOM! DONE!

Guac
Serves 1-6

Ingredients:
3 Avocado
1/4 red onion- finely diced- I throw it in a mini chopper
1 large garlic clove- finely diced- Throw this in the chopper with onion
1 tomato- diced
1/4 cup Cilantro- chopped- Throw this in the chopper
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon Salt for seasoning

Preparation:
Half the avocado and remove seed by sticking a knife in the middle and twisting, scrape out all meat into small bowl and mash a little with fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix. For chunkier guac, be sure to leave chunks of avocado when mashing.

BOOM! DONE!

Want to make your Guac a little fancy, cut up some mango or pineapple and throw that in there.

I will eat this stuff out of a shoe, but here's my dinner the other night, leftover grilled chicken, sautéed veggies, lettuce, salsa and guac. Simple but satisfying!

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Boston Butt in the Crock with Lazy Sauce

As I embark on the Whole 30, 6 week challenge, I am only going to post deliciously simple, Whole 30 approved recipes, so you will have to wait a little while for some more treat recipes.

This week's recipe is a slow cooker Boston Butt and broth sauce. As you know by now I love throwing a roast in the crock pot on Sundays and having dinner made for most of the week. This recipe is no different but I've added a way to use that delicious cooking liquid. I also love using up all the left over vegetables in my refrigerator before they go bad. That method of throwing whatever you have around is what inspired me to name this broth turned sauce, Lazy Sauce.

Boston Butt in the Crock with Lazy Sauce:

Ingredients:
3.5 lb Boston Butt- preferably organic, pastured
1 1/2 cups Homemade broth or box broth will work fine (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 large onion- rough chop
4 carrots- peeled and rough chop; Don't forget to throw in the carrot tops too, they add flavor and nutrients
3 garlic cloves- peeled
4 stalks Celery- rough chop; You can add the leaves also, another flavorful part that usually thrown away
1/2 tbs. onion powder
1/2 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. Oregano
1 tbs. Thyme
1 tbs. Parsley
Season with 1/2 tbs. salt and pepper

**TIP: Use whatever herbs you have, so don't worry if you don't have all of these. Also the measurements will be slightly less for a smaller Butt.

Preparation:

Put all ingredients into Crock Pot and let cook on low for 10 hrs or on high for 4-5 hrs.
Meat should practically fall apart.
Remove meat from Crock Pot and remove any bones, or sticks from carrot greens, from the liquid.
Store meat in air tight container until ready to serve.

Lazy Sauce:

Preparation:

Once meat, bones and sticks from carrot greens are removed, pour liquid and vegetables into blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Heat liquid in a pot on the stove on med-low heat until sauce starts to thicken.

Serve over meat with favorite vegetable side and ENJOY!!

So easy and so delicious!


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Weekend Update!

Hi Everyone,

First I want to apologize for missing last week. I have some exciting stuff going on and unless I prepare better for my weekly post I might miss one now and then, but trust me, it will be worth it! I can't wait to share with all of you what I've been up to in a few months!

Ok! That's out of the way. On to my weekend update!

Friday night kicked off the weekend with an awesome dinner at Holeman and Finch. This restaurant is located in Buckhead and specializes in the 'other' parts of the animal and is also known for their burgers. They only make 24 burgers a night, you have to put your name on a list and hope that you've gotten there in time. They don't serve the burgers until 10:00 PM so you have plenty of time to try some of the other interesting items on the menu as well as some of the creative, 'old school'  cocktails. I highly suggest this place to anyone interested in trying new things and have a love for some aged, cured, fermented meat.

I met my good friend Julie there at 8:00 PM and the place was packed, we both started off with a vodka soda (I know, how boring! I didn't even know what the other stuff on their cocktail menu was and we were trying to keep it Paleo) We asked for Ciroc or Tito's vodka, which they didn't have either, the bartender suggested a similar vodka, Cathead, an organic corn-based vodka from Mississippi. We got our name on the burger list and claimed the last burger, phew. We were seated just after 9:00 PM and started the journey through the menu. Knowing we had a burger coming and that we wanted to try something 'weird' we narrowed the list down to the Bone Marrow, Sweetbreads or Liver Paté. I know some of you are gagging right now but we were stoked. Unfortunately the Bone Marrow and Liver Paté were made with some gluten ingredients. We were about to order the Sweetbreads when our lovely waitress suggested the Trotter Pierre Koffman, which is basically a pig leg stuffed with sweetbreads and I think there was some liver paté in there too. (Julie, correct me if I'm wrong.) While it was literally a pig leg on a plate, hoof and all, it was absolutely delicious. SO AMAZING!! Then came The Burger. We shared ours and got it without cheese and took the bun off. The meat was seasoned really well and had a nice cook to it. The pickles were homemade and the onions were sautéed but still crunchy. Overall I would give it a B+; not the outstanding burger I was looking for but still really good. Lastly, we decided to try to Bacon Fat Caramel. It came with apples for dipping and was really good, it had a touch more saltiness that normal caramel which I'm guessing is from the bacon fat.

Not my best photography here :) I almost forgot to take a picture like I did the rest of the meal!

Final Review of Holeman and Finch: Would I go back?
Yes, but I would skip the burger and try some of the awesome meats they had hanging in a glass case. I might try one of the other plates and I would definitely have the Trotter again!

Not the Trotter but another animal leg just hanging out in the kitchen

Glass case of hanging meats, damn that glare. I need to work on my picture taking!

Saturday: Against All Grain Book Signing with Danielle Walker

Saturday at Cook's Warehouse in Midtown, Danielle Walker was doing a cooking demo, Q&A session and a book signing of her new cookbook, Against All Grain. Not only was the cooking demo and Q&A session really informative and fun but Danielle is such a delight and her story is inspirational. I highly suggest EVERYONE check out her blog, againstallgrain.com

Her cookbook has a ton of recipes in it and lots of grain-free foods we all miss and loved in our former non-paleo days, like Sandwich bread, WHAT!! Pound cake and some awesome grain-free chocolate chip cookies that she made for us and I got to try and let me tell you, you could not tell that there was no flour or sugar. I asked Danielle a couple questions that I thought I would share with you:

1. What are your 3 kitchen must-haves? Kitchen-ware and Foods

1. Spiral slicer- use this to make anything into a noodle shape like squash and zucchini 
2. BlendTec- a really good quality blender makes prepping a breeze 
3. Knives- at least 1 sharp knife makes a world of difference when chopping veggies and meat.

You can find these kitchen must-haves and more on Danielle's blog on her shop page.

Food-

1. Farmhouse Cultures Sauerkraut- a good quality fermented sauerkraut can be a great go to healthy food. 
2. Deli meat- good quality deli meat with no additives or preservatives, it's best to look for some organic deli meat sliced from the deli counter. (I use Applegate Organics Roast Beef) and Avocado. 
3. Coconut and Almond Flour- Wellbee Almond flour has a nice texture and is blanched so it looks more like flour.  You can find this on Amazon.com 

1. What do you suggest for people who have an egg intolerance but still want to make some of your recipes that calls for an egg binder?

1. You can make a flax seed slurry as a substitute for eggs. Ratio being 1:3- 1 TBL Flax seed to 3 TBL water. 

3. What's the best way to store goods made with coconut flour?

1. Coconut Flour baked goods are best kept in the refrigerator. 

After the Q&A session, I got my very own copy of Against All Grain signed by the author herself!

Such a sweet and amazing woman and I feel so lucky I got to meet her and her her story in person. Its amazing how resilient the human body is and how powerful good, clean foods are! 

Clean food can change your health and the health of the world!

Stay tuned for next week's recipe as I start a 6 week Whole 30 Paleo challenge. All the recipes I will be posting for the next 6 weeks will be Whole 30 approved. 

**Don't for get to subscribe to the blog and leave some feedback! And buy this cookbook, you won't regret it!

Marinated Flank Steak and Chicken with Chimichurri Sauce

Hello again!
Today I am sharing a couple marinades I made up on the spot for a dinner I put together for a few friends. I knew I would be making the chimichurri sauce since this is a heavy garlic sauce and we are all garlic lovers! So I wanted to make a marinade that would help enhance the flavors without covering up the deliciousness of the quality steak and chicken. My first thought was they would be very basic and very similar. I knew I wanted a liquid component, a tenderizing component, a little acid and some similar flavors found in the sauce. Its amazing how simple marinades are to make and it really help the texture and flavor of the meat and chicken. Of course you don't have to marinate the meat at all, the sauce is very flavorful but I wanted to be fancy!

Steak w/ Chimichurri accompanied with some roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus and a organic basmati rice with sauteed veggies.

Steak Marinade:

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Flank Steak
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup white vinegar- tenderizer component
1/4 cup olive oil- any kind, I used a herb infused one just cause I had it
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon onion powder
1tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Cut your flank steak into manageable portions if you need to. Place in a large freezer bag, our in all marinade ingredients. Seal bag and shake it up to coat the steak. Put in the refrigerator for an hour to overnight, the longer the better.  To cook, heat a sauce pan on high heat, melt a tablespoon of fat (duck, bacon, ghee, butter) take steak out of marinade and brown both sides, 1 min each side, discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place browned meat on cookie sheet and bake for 15 mins.

Chicken Marinade: Looks a lot like the steak marinade

Ingredients:
2 lbs. chicken breasts and thighs
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar- tenderizer component
1/4 cup Olive Oil- any kind, I used herb infused
Juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Place chicken and all marinade ingredients into a larger freezer bag. Seal bag and shake up to coat. Put in refrigerator for an hour to overnight, the longer the better. To cook, heat a sauce pan on high heat, melt a tablespoon of fat (duck, bacon, ghee, butter) take chicken out of marinade and brown both sides,
about 2 mins each side, discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place browned chicken on cookie sheet and bake for 15 mins.

Chimichurri Sauce- super awesome easy sauce!

Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves
1 bunch parsley (about 1 cup)
1 bunch cilantro (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste.

**If you want your sauce thicker use less olive oil and vinegar, just be sure to use the same amount of each, try 1/2 cup of each and add a little more till you get the desired consistency.**

In a food processor or blender, combine garlic and oregano and a little olive oil and pulse on low, just to initially chop up garlic.

Add the remainder ingredients and pulse on low until smooth sauce it formed. Spoon on top of chicken and/or steak and ENJOY!!!

I hope you all are enjoying these recipes, if you are feel free to leave me some feedback!!

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