Dinner doesn't always have to be complicated!

Look good?  

It  tasted good, and was super quick and easy to throw together! 

Some nights are like that, a kind of whatever you have around or whatever you can grab night.  I had 1 precooked chicken breast (cooked in salt and pepper), so I chopped it up, threw some Herdez Salsa Verde on there microwaved it for a few minutes, while stir frying my frozen veggies.  For the veggies, threw some coconut oil in the pan, threw in a bag of frozen stir fry mix, stir fried for a few minutes, added some seasoning, pepper and some Coconut Aminos and called it good, then mixed the two together and ate! 

It was so yummy and it only took a matter of minutes to make a healthy meal.  Be creative with what you have around, you don't always need a recipe to have a delicious dinner. 

In fact some of my "creations" have been the biggest successes!

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Cookies???!!!!

Being St. Patrick's Day and having 2 extra kids this morning I thought I would make it even more fun by making a "treat".  So we made these:
http://www.primal-palate.com/2010/12/chocolate-chip-cookies.html from Food Lovers Primal Palate.  
Mmmmm...chocolate chip cookies!  They were a  hit with the 6,4,3 and 11/2 year old!  I did substitute honey for the maple syrup because I didn't have any in the house, and they were still great.  It was fun to see them enjoying a "treat" and knowing it really was still pretty good for them.  Put a smile on their face and mine. Pin It

Chocolate Dessert Revisited

Today I made a big batch of "pudding"  for the kids, I combined 6 mashed bananas, a couple huge spoonfuls of almonds butter (the more the better!), some vanilla and lot's of cocoa powder in my food processor.  Processed till nice and smooth and then microwaved for a couple of minutes stirring often, don't skip this step it's what gives it that  pudding consistency.  The kids love it, I made a huge batch so they can pack it in their lunches tomorrow, it's really good with a sprinkle of shredded coconut too!

Link to : Chocolate Dessert

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Spicy Orange Crock-pot Chicken With Baby Carrots

This is a very quick and easy recipe for a whole chicken.  I came up with this using ingredients I had on hand, hope you enjoy it.

1 whole chicken (about 4-5 pounds)
1 tsp granulated garlic 
1 Tablespoon Kirkland Organic No Salt Seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tablespoon Chipotle Powder
3 oranges sliced 
 Baby carrots


Combine spices and salt in small bowl and set aside.  Rinse and pat dry your chicken, then place it in your crock pot and rub mixture all over the chicken and be sure to sprinkle some in the cavity too!  Surround it with the oranges, squeezing a couple slices over the whole chicken and shoving some in the cavity.  Grab a couple handfuls of baby carrots and throw those in the pot too.  Cook on low for about 5 hours (depending on your crock pot.  Delicious and easy!



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Shepherds Pie

 This recipe makes a huge Shepherds Pie as I am feeding a family of 9 

( I would suggest halving the recipe for a family of 4-6)

Ingredients for Meat portion of Pie:

4 pounds grass fed ground beef
2 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound green beans (cut into smaller peices or broken if they are frozen)
4 carrots, diced
2/3 cup beef broth
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 1/2 TBSP Kirkland Signature No Salt Seasoning (my new favorite seasoning!), or more, to taste
1 tsp basil, or to taste
pepper and salt to taste

meat mixture simmering

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large skillet brown your ground beef, onion, garlic and celery, cooking until the beef is browned.  Then drain off the fat and liquid from your beef (you can save it for later use if you would like).  Add your broth, tomato sauce, carrots, green beans and seasonings.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until your veggies are tender and ready.

While that is simmering is a great time to prep and make your cauliflower mash.

After your meat mix is done, then pour it into a casserole dish or large pan of you choice and top with your mashed cauliflower ( I sprinkled mine with paprika for looks, but it's not necessary).  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes and then turn the heat up to broil and broil until the top is nicely browned.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, serve and enjoy.

Ready for the oven.

*Note:  you could easily up the veggie amount on this, however, since it's topped with cauliflower I tried to keep the carb content down a bit.

Mashed Cauliflower, if you have a recipe you like for mashed Cauliflower you can just use that.
This is just a suggestion:

3 heads of cauliflower florets removed 
Beef Broth
4 roasted garlic cloves (optional) (really easy to make homemade)
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Steam  your Cauliflower until it's nice and soft, then just throw it into the bowl on your Food Processor, along with a little beef broth, salt and pepper (and garlic if you'd like).  Hit the button and puree until it's your desired consistency.  Delish!

*I have to apologize for the fact I didn't get any pictures of this dished up, it was devoured and given a thumbs up by everyone.  I got it on the table and ran out the door to the 6:30 workout at the box, and by the time I got home the kids had polished it off, not even a crumb left! *

Fresh and hot from the oven, ready to eat.

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Deals of the week

Did my grocery shopping yesterday, here is what I found.

GROCERY OUTLET:

Simply Good Chicken Sausage, sun-dried tomato and basil (12 oz package) $3.49

Woodstock farms Organic Applesauce (flavors are: Blueberry, mango, raspberry) 24 oz.  $1.69

Gertie's Artichoke Tapenade 19.4 oz $3.99

Frozen Peaches 2 pound bag for $1.99

Alessi Pasta Sauce, FraDiavolo (good for seafood ) 24 oz $2.49


EUREKA NATURAL FOODS:

 Rocky jr. Natural Chicken, Vegetarian Fed, NO antibiotics or growth stimulants, Whole Chicken Fryers are just $0.99 per pound

Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut milk from the cooler, half gallon. $3.29

Coconut Water Amy and Brian $1.39 per can Pin It

Back Home!

Meredith and I are back from our weekend of Nutrition training!  What an awesome weekend!  We got to meet  and talk with so many people!  We met Robb Wolf and Sarah Fragoso (Everyday Paleo and NorCal trainer) and had some very helpful conversations with them (oh, and Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, Whole 9) regarding training and nutrition.  

We are moving the Box tomorrow so it's crazy busy, but one little tidbit I will throw out there is to make sure you are getting lot's of protein (nearly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight).  And a warning not to start your day out with fruit, it sets you up for sugar cravings all day!  Instead eat your eggs and bacon or leftovers from last night.

There will be a ton more information in the next couple of weeks, look for some Our Thoughts articles.

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