PALEO SWEET POTATO AND LEEK SOUP

Sweet potato and leeks! What a beautiful combination!

I just love root vegetable soup on a cold winter day!

Not only is this soup delicious but its dairy free, gluten free, and egg free.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Sweet Potatoes
1 Leek
2 Cloves Garlic
6 slices bacon
3 cups vegetable broth
200ml coconut milk
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Sea Salt

1tsp celery salt

1 tsp cumin

Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes

In a sauce pan, fry 6 slices of bacon

Remove the cooked bacon and leave the bacon grease in the sauce pan

Chop the leek, whites and light greens only and add to the saucepan

Add the garlic cloves and fry in the bacon grease until tender

Add sea salt, cumin and celery salt

Add 3 cups of vegetable broth ( I save my own veggie water and freeze it )

Add 200ml or 1/2 can coconut milk and nutritional yeast

Bring to a boil

Add the sweet potato

Continue to simmer for 30 minutes

Remove from heat and allow to cool

Add to food processor or blender and puree

Garnish with the crumbled bacon

PALEO BREAKFAST WRAPS

One thing I do really miss since starting Paleo are my wraps. 

There are many different recipes on the internet for homemade paleo tortillas and wraps but if you know me, then you know that I am not a baker! Flour of any kind,  rolling pins and eggs scare the crap outta me and I just dont have the courage to try any of them.

I am okay with cookies and squares, in fact I make the most delicious cookies you've ever tried!  According to my coworkers lol.  But pastry, flour, dough ahhhhh! 

So I decided to find an alternative and they turned out amazing!

I have been desperately trying to eat more starchy root vegetables in an attempt to gain back a few pounds.  So you will see some recipes appearing for root veggie soups as well! 

After I made my eggplant lasagna, I saved a few slices of the eggplant to use as wraps the next day.

INGREDIENTS :

3 Slices of eggplant

2tsp Avocado Oil

2 eggs

3 slices cooked bacon cut into halves (6pieces)

Fresh Dill

Goat Cheese (Optional)

Sea salt or Seasoning Salt (I use Cool Runnings All Purpose Natural Organic Seasoning Salt)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a frying pan heat the oil and sprinkle the eggplant slices with seasonings or SeaSalt.

Fry the slices of eggplant flipping them often until they are golden brown on each side.

I like mine a little crispy (for that crunch texture) but not too crispy or they crumble when you are rolling them.

Set the eggplant slices aside on your plate

Next, in the same pan scramble the eggs with a few sprigs of fresh dill.  I usually dont have to add any more oil to the pan but you can if you want. I dont measure the dill, just start with about 3 sprigs. 

When the eggs are almost cooked through add in some crumbled goat cheese.  Again this is totally optional. 

And sprinkle a little more seasoning or sea salt.

Now add 2 pieces of bacon along with the some of the egg mixture to each slice of eggplant (pile everything on the widest part of the eggplant slice) and then roll it up!!

Thats it! Delicious breakfast wraps!

You could technically put anything in these wraps and it would taste great!

PALEO LEEK AND CELERIAC SOUP WITH TRUFFLE OIL

Celeriac happens to be the ugliest looking vegetable on the planet.  It is dirty and bumpy and weird.

But boy does it taste good!!

This soup is silky smooth and delicate tasting.  The daRosario 100% organic true truffle oil just finishes it off perfectly and gives it a flavour that makes it seem like this soup was created by a world class chef!

I buy my truffle oil from amazon, and only use the daRosario brand.  It is very expensive but honestly you only use 1/4 tsp in a bowl of soup.  One bottle lasts me 2 years, so it is well worth the money.  

Be careful of the typical grocery store truffle oil, it may contain sunflower oil or canola oil and/or other preservatives. 

This is the link to the deRosario website, but as I said you can purchase it from amazon.

http://www.darosario.com/USDA-100-Organic-Truffle-Oil/dp/B00BT7G476#.UqVKFSf8XqA

This soup is so easy to make and will impress your family or guests at your next dinner party!

INGREDIENTS :

Celeriac Root

1 leek

2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 cup grassfed butter

Sea salt

1/2 cup coconut milk

3 cups chicken stock

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium saucepan melt the butter

Chop the leek, whites and light green only and saute in the butter until soft

Add the minced garlic and saute

Peel and chop the celeriac root into small pieces and add to the pot

Add the chicken stock and simmer on low for 15 minutes

Add the coconut milk and simmer 15 more minutes or until celeriac is soft but not mushy.

Add the nutritional yeast flakes and stir well

Let cool and then transfer to a food processor or blender and puree.

Pour into serving bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of truffle oil.  About 1/4 teaspoon.

Enjoy!

Paleo Chicken Parmesan

Nothing beats a paleo version of an all time favorite coating and comfort food!

My husband and kids love my chicken Parmesan.   I use panko style breading seasoned with basil, oregano, garlic and onion powder and sea salt. 

I decided to find a way for me to enjoy chicken parmesan along with my family.

This recipe uses spagetti squash, and an awesome macadamia nut coating:)

INGREDIENTS:

3 Boneless chicken breasts

1 cup macadamia nuts

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp onion powder

1tsp basil

1tsp oregano

1tsp seasalt

Grassfed butter

1 spagetti squash

2 eggs

1tbsp grassfed butter

Homemade Pomodoro Sauce☆

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pierce the spaghetti squash many times with a knife

Microwave the whole spagetti squash on a microwave safe plate for 25 minutes then let cool

In a food processor combine the nuts, herbs, and spices and pulse until it resembles the consistency of bread crumbs and then pour into to a bowl

In a separate bowl wisk together 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

In a frying pan melt 1tbsp grassfed butter on med high and ensure the pan is good and hot!

Dip each chicken breast in egg first then coat the chicken well in the macadamia nut crumbs.  Then add to the frying pan and cook until each side is golden brown. At this point you are only browning the coating on your chicken.  

Place each browned breast on a non-stick wire rack on a cookie sheet and cook for 40 minutes

Then cover each breast with  ☆homemade Pomodoro sauce and sprinkle with daiyo mozzarella cheese. (optional) Bake for 10 more minutes.

Remove spagetti squash from microwave, cut in half lengthwise and separate the guts and seeds from the good squash.

Pour some homemade Pomodoro sauce over the spagetti squash and top with chicken breast!

Add parmesan cheese, or goat cheese or daiyo mozzarella cheese if desired!

☆Please see my blog post sausage stuffed manicotti for my instructions on how to make Pomodoro Sauce. 

Can you tell which ones are my paleo macadamia nut coating and which ones are made with panko breading?

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

It's hard to believe that I can eat this good and maintain a healthy weight!

I love Sunday Night Football!  I love having all of my family together every Sunday to enjoy good food and cheer on the gorgeous Victor Cruz! #salsaman

My version of this recipe includes goat cheese.  But you could leave out the cheese all together and it would still be delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 Jalapeño peppers

1 small package herbed goat cheese

1/2 lb bacon

2 chicken thighs cooked and seasoned any way you like ( I love sea salt, garlic powder and Costco dried herb mix )

Seasalt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the Jalapeño peppers in half lengthwise

Scrape out all of the inner guts and seeds

Fill each pepper with herbed goat cheese

Add one or two little pieces of cooked chicken

Sprinkle each popper with sea salt

Wrap each popper with 1/2 strip of bacon

Place on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 30 mins or until bacon is crisp!

PALEO CHOCOLATE ALMOND-BUTTER CUPS

Sometimes I just crave chocolate!

These are so so easy to make, and so delicious!

I made 2 versions, one with almond butter and one with sunbutter so that the kids could take them to school.  

They are dairy free, lactose free, grain free and gluten free.

Thank god for Enjoy Life Chocolate chips!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Package of enjoylife chocolate chips
1 cup almond or sunbutter
1/4 cup organic coconut sugar
1 and 1/2 cups Unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp coconut oil
Parchment paper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Melt 1 tsp coconut oil in sauce pan on low heat

Pour in 1 package of enjoylife chips and stir until melted

Add the almond or sunbutter and stir until mixed and melted

Add the coconut and coconut sugar and stir well

Continue to cook over low heat stirring almost constantly

Line a mini muffin pan with parchment paper 

Pour chocolate mixture into the muffin tins, the put in freezer.  

They take about an hour to set.  Then remove from freezer and transfer to a covered dish and store in refrigerator.

I packed them in the kids school lunches by placing a small ice pack in the bottom of a tupperware container, covering it with papertowel and then placing 3 little chocolate cups on top of the ice pack and papertowel covered with a lid.

This is because the honestly begin to thaw/melt in your hand.  They need to be kept cold.

This method worked great, the kids said they tasted so good, no one believed that their mom made them! Yea!!

Well actually I had a little help:)

Paleo Veal Stuffed Pepper Squash

I never thought I would ever say this.....but I LOVE SQUASH!

I tried this recipe using many different types of filling such as turkey and beef but it wasnt until I used Veal that I fell in love!

The wilder taste of veal and pepper squash together is heaven.  Add bacon and viola! Okay so you may have noticed, I add bacon to just about anything lol.

This is very easy to make, can be adjusted to feed a large group, and you can substitute other types of ground meat or squash and still get a very delicious result.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pepper Squash
6 slices of cooked bacon
1/2lb ground veal
1/2 red onion (or any type of onion)
1/2 diced red pepper
2cups chopped kale
3 garlic cloves minced
1tsp onion pwd
1tsp basil
1tsp oregano
1/2tsp cumin
Seasalt
Avocado Oil
2tbsp slivered almonds
2tbsp crumbled goat cheese

Spices are approximate,  I seriously dont measure, I just shake! So start with my suggestions and add more to taste if needed.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut pepper squash in half and clean out the guts.

2. Brush with a little avocado oil and sprinkle with sea salt, bake uncovered on a cookie sheet for 50 mins or until very tender.

3. While squash is baking, add garlic and onions to frying pan with a little avocado Oil. Cook until tender

4. Add your ground veal and cook thoroughly

5. Add cooked bacon, spices, and kale, cook another 10 minutes or so over med heat stirring often until kale is tender.

6. Toss in the red pepper and slivered almonds, toss to mix evenly.

7. Let sit in the pan covered until squash has finished cooking.

8. Remove squash from oven, stuff with veal, bacon and kale mixture.

9. Cover with crumbled goat cheese (optional)

This was honestly the best meal I have had in a long time.  I planned on eating one half of my squash and keeping the other half for the next day's lunch but that didnt happen:)

Paleo Eggplant Chicken Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those comfort foods that brings everyone together as a family.

I am not sure whether or not I prefer eggplant or butternut squash lasagna, both are pretty darn good!

Again, feel free to swap out ground chicken for ground turkey, ground beef, veal or sausage!

Prep Time: 25mins
Cook Time: 45mins

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
2lb ground chicken
1/2lb bacon cooked
2 shallots
4 cloves garlic
Homemade Pomodoro Sauce☆
Herbed Goat Cheese (optional)
1tbsp italian seasoning
1tsp dried chillies (optional)
Sea salt

Instructions:

1. Peel eggplant, slice and place in between paper towel to press out any liquid.  Leave to dry.

2. In a frying pan, add the diced shallots and diced garlic cloves with 1tsp olive oil, cook until tender.

3. Add 2lb ground turkey and cook thoroughly

4. Add the bacon, italian seasoning,  chillies, and sea salt, continue to cook until well done.

5. Place a layer of eggplant slices on the bottom of a 9x9 dish, add chicken mixture, another layer eggplant, and so on.

6. On the top layer add crumbled goat cheese and top with pomodoro sauce.

☆For easy instructions on how to make Pomodoro Sauce, see my post Paleo Sausage Stuffed Manicotti.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

 

This Was Not A Boob Job

Recently someone said to me "you are so lucky to have gotten a free boob job".

Okay so.......

First of all I did not get a "boob job"!

Second of all the only thing that I would consider "lucky" is my new found appreciation and love for what is most important in my life.

During a mastectomy,  ALL OF YOUR BREAST TISSUE is removed.  Every last ounce.

I do not have and will never have Emma Glover's big, full, squishy boobs that every man dreams of.  I could have had these boobs if I did not decide to eliminate the cancer risk from my body so that I could see my children grow up, get married and have my grandbabies.

My "foobs" are firm, round balls covered with a thin layer of dermal tissue, therefore advertising every imperfection, wrinkle and crease and my "fipples" are flat.

Any type of movement that utilizes my pectoral muscles cause my foobs to turn into something similar to a waffle ball. 

I wear Dr. Scholls callus cushions over my fipples to protect them every day and will do so as long as humanly possible.  This is so sexy!

Yes this is so amazing! To feel disfigured and unattractive, I couldnt be more "lucky".

I will be undergoing a 5th surgery in February.   Hopefully to re-reconstruct my nipples, and re-tattoo my areolas.

In June I will undergo a 6th surgery called a capsulectomy to remove my capsular contracture and release the pressure on my implants one more time! Along with more fat grafting. 

If that doesnt work and the capsule returns, we will remove the implants and try another brand.

If that doesnt work I may have to eat cheesecake every day and gain 40lbs so that I have some fat to use as foob tissue in place of implants.

And after that I will wear Dr. Scholls sexy callus pads over my fipples again for 6 months.

Remembering to remove them before revealing my new sexy La Vien Rouge garter and thigh highs to my man. 

I will remember to also dim the lights and light the candles, you know for that ambience! 

God.....boob job! Seriously? 

Paleo Sausage and Bacon Stuffed Manicotti

I really do not miss pasta at all since beginning paleo in 2012. 

I dont miss the gut pain, the headaches, the carb coma or the sugar cravings that follow a pasta dish!

Especially since there are so many delicious Paleo alternatives to pasta!

Today I am sharing with you my method for making stuffed manicotti, the Paleo Way!

I was preparing the typical ricotta stuffed manicotti with veal bolognese sauce for my gang (I was using veal because I had planned to cook myself veal stuffed pepper squash) when it occurred to me....why not make Paleo stuffed manicotti for myself?

Because I had already planned to use ground veal in my pepper squash (veal is the best in pepper squash) I decided to use chorizo sausage and bacon in my manicotti and save the veal.

I also had a gorgeous firm eggplant in the fridge.

Perfect! Eggplant manicotti stuffed with sausage, bacon, onions, garlic and daiyo cheese. Mmmmmmm!

It seriously was as good as it sounds!

My rule: Use whatever you have on hand! Ground beef, ground turkey, ground veal, substitute green peppers for red peppers, substitute red onion for spanish onion, substitute store bought marinara sauce for my homemade Pomodoro sauce! 

Paleo should be easy, and adaptable!   To be successful with this lifestyle you need to be comfortable making substitutions.  I was able to make a delicious "fasta" dish to enjoy along side my family's typical pasta dish using ingredients that I had on hand. 

If I had to prepare a list, go to the grocery store etc etc.....with 3 kids at home, a full time job, and night school.....well basically I would still be a size 14.

"Make Paleo fit your lifestyle" is my advice!

Someday I hope that everyone in my family will be converted to the Paleo lifestyle.   I am getting there, but its a slow process.  These were kids and a husband brought up on boxed foods, kraft dinner and McDonalds.  

Okay I'm exaggerating,  I have always loved to prepare home cooked meals but without knowing any better I used more processed foods and frozen boxed foods then I should have. 

Now the challenge is just getting them to try my paleo food.  Everything they have tried,  they have loved!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Large firm eggplant
1lb ground sausage
1/2lb bacon
3 garlic cloves
1 spanish onion diced
1tbsp italian seasoning
1 diced red pepper
Daiyo Cheese- or goat cheese, or leave this out all together
Coconut Oil or avocado Oil
Pomodoro Sauce☆
Sea Salt
Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and slice your eggplant, dont slice it too thin or it will not be strong enough to hold in all your goodies.

2.In a frying pan heat about 1 tbsp of coconut or Avocado oil intil it gets real hot!

3. Fry each slice of eggplant until golden brown and crispy (be careful not to burn) on each side, then transfer to a papertowl.

4. Once all slices are cooked an placed on paper towel, cover in another layer of paper towel and press down firmly to remove any excess liquid. Repeat this process until the eggplant slices are dry.

5. Let eggplant air dry and begin frying up your manicotti filling

6. Add you onion and garlic to the same pan (no need to rinse or clean) and saute until onions are clear and garlic is tender.

7. In the same pan, add your sausage and bacon, italian seasoning, sea salt and pepper and cook thoroughly. 

8. At the end, add the red pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Theres nothing worse than over cooked mushy red pepper.

9. Once cooked thoroughly, use a strainer to remove oil/grease.

10. Add about 2tbsp of the meat mixture to each slice of eggplant, a sprinkle of daiyo cheese and roll.

11. Place each roll in a cast iron or pyrex dish

12. Cover the manicotti rolls with homemade Pomodoro sauce!

Bake uncovered at 375 for 20 minutes!

How to make homemade Pomodoro Sauce:

10 organic plum tomatos
3 garlic cloves
Handful of fresh basil
Sea salt

In a large sauce pan add all of the above ingredients and simmer (stirring occasionally) over low heat for about 40 minutes.

Then let cool.

Add the stewed tomato mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse until desires consistency.

Freeze in single serving air tight containers for use in all of your favorite paleo recipes!