Slow Cooker Apple Butter

I searched and searched for an apple butter recipe 

that didn't require 6lbs of apples. I just couldn't find one. 

So I took from Oh She Glows recipe and modified if for us 

 2 lbs fuji apple and 2 Pink Lady's cut in eighths and cored 

(leave the skin on)

Place in the slow cooker on HI for 2 hours, stir a few time otherwise they will stick to the bottom and sides. You could always add a little water or apple juice to the slow-cooker to minimize sticking

After 2 hours your apples should be super soft 

and easy to mash with a potato masher. 

Once thoroughly mashed puree in a blender. I don't have a super high powered blender so I did it in batches. If you have a Vitamix you can do this all at once. Return to slow-cooker

Add your spices, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 

2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Stir spices in very well and cook another 45 min uncovered on HI to thicken

Store in an air tight container. 

I had this old Classico Spaghetti jar on hand. 

I know this isn't going to last long

Elliot ate 1/2c immediately and I had several spoonfuls!

This will a make a great hostess gift, or Christmas gift. 

Going to try my hand at canning them to make them last longer.

I'll let you know how it goes!

This recipe will be easy to double or triple, 

just make sure you double and triple the time and spices

Grilled Chicken, Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Chicken, Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes

This was a last minute throw together meal. My husband decided day of that he wanted to grill the chicken that I had ready for another meal. But hey he wanted to cook! So here is the yumminess!

Boneless skinless, chicken thighs
{Sweet paprika, Sea salt, Garlic powder and Black pepper}
Sweet potatoes pealed and cut into thick strips
Fresh green beans
Butter {for paleo use coconut oil}
Season both sides of the chicken with the above seasonings

Place the veggies in the center of a large square with dabs of butter of foil and fold the edges to make a pocket

Grill on med/high heat {honestly I don't know how long my hubs grilled for I'll ask and update!)

Grocery Shopping Paleo Style

What do you eat in a week? 

Do you purposely plan your meals? 

Do do you buy precooked food for the week and stop through the drive thru multiple times a week? 

Don't get me wrong, sometime it is a time saver to have a few frozen meals ready in a pinch. 

Who isn't tempted{and given into temptation} to drive thru your nearest fast food restaurant?

It all happens but after reading the following article it solidified the choice to eat paleo

Are you like the average american family?

This and the following photos is from an article Infowars

I have to say I was THOROUGHLY grossed out! 

Now if this is how your family eats I mean no offence but this is why the American

people are obese, diabetic, racked with disease and the like.

Now before you think that just Americans are poor eaters...

think again!

Great Britans weekly food consumption

Mexico...did you count the 2 liters of Coke? 12, TWELVE!!!!

Chad, this reminds me to NEVER complain about my grocery budget!

Now to show me mine now that I am eating a simple, natural, unprocessed diet

We eat pretty simply, my boys cereal/protein bars are probably the most processed food we consume. 

Now even though there isn't a lot of food don't equate this with a small amount of money spent. I made some yummy meals with this trip like sweet potato fries and breaded chicken, quiche, and garden meatballs.

I am very pro organically grown food, humanly treated animal meals and products, which all cost. 

But I would rather spend it natural foods than on medicine and Dr. visits. 

What does your weekly grocery shopping look like?

 

'Breaded' Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries

This chicken is so yummy I love the bread like coating. It is now in the meal planing rotation and the boys love it. So I am excited to share it will you! If you make it let me know what the family says!

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh

1/2 c. almond flour

1/2c. coconut flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

1 egg

In a 9x13 baking dish coat the bottom with olive oil

In a med bowl mix the flours, salt and pepper till combined

In a separate bowl beat the egg.

Dip the chicken in to the egg, then roll in the flour mixture till well coated

Place in baking dish and bake for 28-33 minutes, till juice run clear when cut into.

These fries are a favorite in our home. I eat them sparingly, but my boys LOVE them!

2-3 sweet potatoes, cut into spears

3 TBSP Coconut oil

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl combine oil, cinnamon and paprika

Toss sweet potatoes in the mixture 

Pour sweet potatoes on to a foil lined cookie sheet

Bake for 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees F.

These two go so well together with a salad and it is a complete meal the whole family will enjoy

Both recipes are adapted from 

This book is staple for cooking Paleo that the boys love. 

The author is a wife and mother of 3 boys which I love. 

Which means most of these recipes are kid friendly and delicious! 

*disclosure- book links are Amazon affiliate links- I get a small percentage from Amazon  if you decide to order from my links

My Paleo Arsenal of Defense: Going against the Grain

I have had several friends ask me about my experience with Whole30 and Paleo in general. Now I am not expert but I have read the experts books and I can makes some pretty educated deduction. Here are some great books and sites.

Books:

Everyday Paleo

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet

The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series)

Websites/Blogs:

Clean Eats in Zoo

Primal Women in the Kitchen

Everyday Paleo

Whole30

Whole9 Life

Links to Amazon are affiliate links through which I may receive a small percentage should you decide to purchase the book.

Paleo Lemon Bars

I have a sweet tooth, and I have to say I was worried that going paleo I would never get to enjoy sweets. But I was wrong. Now let's get something straight, I'm not a die hard paleo gal, my goal is to stay in the 80% range, for instance I love cheesecake. I will be having real, full fat, full sugar, full grain 

New York Style CHEESECAKE for my birthday in July!!

But in the meanwhile I will adhere to Paleo sweets. 

I made these Lemon Bars from the Primal Women in the Kitchen

Primal Women in the Kitchen Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

Filling:

6 whole eggs

1/2 c. honey

3/4 c. lemon juice (about 7 lemons)

1/2 c. coconut oil

Crust:

1 c. of raw almonds

1 c. of raw walnuts (they say pecans, I didn't have any!)

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. of melted coconut oil

2 eggs

Directions:

Filling:

1. Whisk eggs, honey, and lemon juice together in a small sauce pan. 

2. Heat on medium and add coconut oil. Stir until the coconut oil has melted.

3. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and bubbles.

4. Remove from heat and place in a bowl in the refrigerator to cool and thicken further.

Crust:

1.Place nuts in a food processor/blender until finely chopped, don't puree.

They should be in tiny pieces but not as fine as almond flour.

2. Mix the nuts with the remaining ingredients until they are well combined.

3. Spread over the bottom of a greased 8 x 12 pan.

4. Heat oven to 400F and bake for 15-20 minutes. The crust will be done when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.

5. Cool crust completely before layering the filling over the top. Return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Be sure and check out their blog-post and the comments for tips and tricks for helping this turn out even better!

Links to Amazon are affiliate links through which I may receive a small percentage should you decide to purchase the book.

Garden Meatballs

I adapted this recipe from Sarah Fragoso cookbook Everyday Paleo

 which is amazing resource for those interested in Paleo. 

1. 1lb of ground beef

I am a firm believer in grass-fed beef/bison. Yes it is more expensive, but the taste is obvious to and the quality is unbeatable. I'd rather go low meat and all grass fed then more meat all conventional. 

2. 1 squash grated and 1 large carrot grated

3. 1 clove of garlic minced

4. 1 egg beaten

5. 1/2 cup almond meal/flour

6. 1 tsp salt and pepper ( you can add more or less)

7. Mix all ingredients together and form into balls a bit bigger than a golf ball.

Place in a oiled baking dish and cover securely with foil

8. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes 

These are very yummy and can be added to so many dishes. 

A few ways I have and will eat them;

in marinara sauce

over sauteed vegetables

crumbled over a salad

by themselves!

Enjoy!

Paleo Update

Hello to my faithful followers. Sorry to be MIA for over two weeks, this new eating lifestyle has kinda taken over in the beginning. However I now have a good rhythm. Speaking of which I love my 'diet'! It has helped in so many ways in areas like

• Better sleep
• Clear head
• Weight loss
• Less grouchy with the boys in my life

These benefits have out weighted the hurdles of changing my diet. I really and truly don't miss grains (except for pizza), I really don't miss sugar at all, and even though I will be continuing this lifestyle past my 30 days I will be having full dairy, full sugar, full grain CHEESECAKE for my birthday!

Anyway I have been experimenting with different things for meals and my staples for sure are

• eggs
• assorted raw nuts
• fruit
• cut veggies
• lettuce/spinach
• rotisserie chicken
• beef stew meat
• veggie stir fry
• Paleo quiche 
• Chicken stir-fry 

I will be sharing some pretty yummy recipes that I have tried this month. They are forth coming. If you have some yummy paleo friendly recipes I'd love to share them! Let me know!!

Paleo Quiche

Now that I am going Paleo I have to change how I eat. You don't realize how much you eat something {say pasta} until you can't. So I have pursuing blogs and websites for recipes. This quiche is something I came up with on my own. Enjoy!

Veggie Sausage Quiche

6 whole eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 lb. cooked sausage{what used isn't the best, but it was in my freezer so no waste!}

10 asparagus spears

1/3 red bell pepper chopped

1/3 orange bell pepper, chopped

1/2 c mushrooms, chopped

{any vegetable will work}

coconut oil

1. Saute mushroom and bell pepper in coconut oils

2. I broiled my asparagus in olive oil and salt and pepper for about 5 min, then chop

{you can easily saute it as well just be sure and chop it up first}

3. Beat eggs and egg whites in a large bowl.

4. combine vegetables and sausage into eggs

5. Pour into a coconut coated pie pan

6. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until set

This was a hit for the whole family! Including the boys, success!!! 

Going Paleo

I have for a while been trying to loose weight. Now I can't full blame any of diets because I haven't followed them to the letter. But I have been doing some searching and keep hearing about the Paleo diet. At first I said
 NO WAY I am not giving up grains and dairy.
I can give up sugar and legumes no problem. But I love my cheese and bread. So after reading about my friends' testimony about following Whole30 program. I was inspired by her changes, but did nothing. However last week I checked out The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
from the library and was intrigued. 

Now to fully believe in the Paleo lifestyle mean believing in evolution as the site the 'cave men' who lived 10,000 years ago and hunted and gathered. This I don't believe, I believe things started with creation as stated in Genesis 1. But the theory applies still, people still hunted for meat, had no sugar, the grains they ate were obviously not GMO. 

So I am going Paleo, which means I eat ONLY real foods - 

• meat-pasture raised, grass-fed, free-ranged
• seafood - wild caught
• eggs - omega3 enriched
• tons of vegetable - organic if possible
• some fruits- organic if possible
• plenty of good fats from fruit, nuts oils and seeds- raw nuts, extra virgin oils

This also means I DO NOT eat - 

• no grains of any kind 
• no sugar real or artificial {some folks make a honey exception}
• no legumes 
• no alcohol 
• no dairy
• no white potatoes

Sound crazy, well maybe I am a bit, but what could it hurt?

The possibility of being healthier, losing some weight and have more energy 

Why not!

What do you think about Paleo?