Paleo granola

Posted on March 15, 2014 by chatty

This is an easy one. Also easy to O.D. on, so I won’t make this one very often. It was hard to not eat this by the handful, and I really don’t need handfuls of nuts on a regular basis. But here it is, courtesy of an FB friend from grade school.
1 c almonds (slivered, though I just chopped raw almonds I already had in the kitchen)
3/4 c chopped pecans
1 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c raisins
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine nuts and seeds (mix and match depending on what you have or like).
Heat and melt coconut oil. Add sweeteners, mix well.
Drizzle oil/sweeteners over the nuts and mix well until thoroughly coated.
Spread out over parchment
Bake for 20 or so minutes, stirring throughout. Cool and enjoy.

It’s very easy to go from done to burnt, like seconds. Like when you’re toasting nuts on the stove, by the time you can smell the aroma of the nuts it’s too late, they’ve probably begun to burn. I did check and stir every 5-6 minutes, just got distracted by life, so it goes.
Next time I think I’ll add the raisins in after they come out of the oven, or perhaps halfway through the baking process. They were a little too hard and chewy for my taste.
I stored this in Ziploc bags for well over a week. There was a slight burnt taste thanks to my oversight but definitely still worth eating. I’ll know better next time, but as I mentioned at the top, it’s too tempting to overeat this stuff, I don’t think I’ll be making it often.

For anyone keeping score, while I’m posting this during the nutrition challenge, I made and finished this last month, so I didn’t lose point with the agave, okay?

**UPDATE** I did this one again with the tweaks above, and a few more … Used just 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of raw honey. It wasn’t as clumpy, but also wasn’t as oily, which I preferred. I added raisins 10 minutes in, and took out to cool five minutes after the raisins went in (so a total 15 minutes)

Very happy with these edits. Fun, easy, way too addictive.

Real food redux

Posted on March 14, 2014 by chatty

The Sound Crossfit Nutrition Challenge is back. We are now on day 5, and the only point I’ve lost so far is not drinking enough water (see previous post. Why is it so hard for me but not others). Background: you get points for avoiding grains, sugar and alcohol and eating more veggies and protein, water.

Soo this was my last fun meal. Looks a lot like my last “whole-30-breakup” meal, right? South Philly slice and Pagliaccio salad, a little wine on the side. I’m pretty sure some chocolate and cookies were also enjoyed that night as well.

And here is the next night’s meal, first day of the challenge. Turkey sliders (no bun of course, but topped with a perfectly ripe avocado), salad with olive oil & vinegar, and mashed cauliflower. The kid was interested in trying zucchini so I broiled thin slices (easy recipe). A little overdone, but she still liked them.

Honestly, this is one of those times where the picture doesn’t do the meal justice. I was pleasantly surprised with how the turkey came out. Both the husband and the kid liked the sliders.

I also see more zucchini in our future. With St Patrick’s Day coming up. I also see some low-points days in my future.

Tea party for two

Posted on March 10, 2014 by chatty

We read a lot of Fancy Nancy. I think she’s marvelous. That’s fancy for quite enjoyable. A tea party, a real one, with actual tea, would be something Fancy Nancy would do. Figured this would be a good thing for a rainy day. It’s been raining a lot lately.

Kid’s plate: baby carrots, turkey/croissant mini sandwich, grapes, olives, apple slices, Babybel, multigrain wheat thins. Minty hot cocoa.
My plate: quick chicken salad/cucumber and croissant sandwiches, grapes, carrots, apples. English breakfast tea.

We spent tea time talking about books we’d read (Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes) and movies we’d seen (Mr. Peabody and Sherman, for her). We ate with our pinkies extended. She spilled cocoa on her ruffle skirt. Everything was delectable.

Looking for a sweet treat on the #Whole30 highway

Posted on February 16, 2014 by chatty

Here is why Whole 30 is treating me better than Paleo: I am not spending my days and nights dreaming up some random concoction of almond flour, applesauce and agave syrup to create an excuse of a muffin or something that will keep my weird dessert/sweets cravings at bay. Instead, you just have to give in to the fact that these things don’t exist. And, somehow you survive.

I can tell, however, that I’m beginning to obssess about the food thing a little bit. That’s coming from late night Pinterest surfing and recipe searching. I did decide that it was time to try to find something that might be acceptable to both the Whole30 and to me as a “dessert”. Those bacon-date thingies, those were actually pretty darn good. What else is there?

I tried out two recipes that I’ll share with you. I can’t say that either of them were a huge success out of the gate, but I’m not going to give up on either of them just yet.

Let’s start with the “Slow Cooker Baked Apples”. The inspiration came from this recipe. I made swaps and substitutions based on what I had in the kitchen.

Apple-Raisin-Coconut Concoction (dress rehearsal. Needs some work)

The result was a little dry for my taste. Kid didn’t like it. Husband didn’t like it. Oh well. I put the leftovers in the fridge and slept on it, so to speak.

In the mornings, 6 days out of 7 I will have eggs for breakfast. If I’m not following Paleo it’s more like 5 days out of 7. Usually, that seventh day I’m just sick of eggs and I can’t do it. So it’s toast if I’m not on Paleo, and random meat stuff if I am. This morning, the day after the baked apple fail, I scrounged around, and took out the apple concoction. From the pantry I grabbed a can of lite coconut milk and unsweetened dried coconut and my (new) bag of chia seeds.

And, you know what? A real improvement to this dish. I sprinkled some chia seeds on top and found what I was looking for. Oh, and since I had a can of coconut milk open, let’s pour a little bit of that in my black coffee. Great idea! This made the morning better, and somehow kept me full (alongside some mixed berries) until lunch.

Apple-Raisin-Coconut Concoction Finale

It goes something like this:

Apple-Raisin-Coconut Finale:

6 small apples (I used Pink Lady), peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 tbsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp coconut oil, plus more to grease pot
1/4 c coconut flour
3/4 c chopped nuts of your choice (i used walnuts & almonds)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Top With (measurements are to your liking):

1/4 c coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut flakes
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

Grease the slow cooker with some coconut oil.
Combine apples, raisins, tbsp cinnamon together. Melt the tbsp+ of coconut oil. Once melted mix in the flour, nuts and spices until you create a crumble top. Add it on top of the apples in the slow cooker
Set the slow cooker to High for 2 hours, then turn to low for the last 30 minutes (if you want a drier crumble top, take the cover off for the final 30).
To serve, pour some coconut milk into a ramekin, enough to just cover the bottom. serve out about 1 cup of apple concoction. Then drizzle more coconut milk over and top with dried coconut and chia seeds.

Voila! You can see how easy it would be to mix and match, fruits, toppings, etc.

That open can of coconut milk will come in handy for my next sweet treat experiment. To be continued…

Nian Gao 2013

Posted on February 11, 2014 by chatty

A little celebration for the lunar new year, which happened at the end of January. My sis mentioned she was going to try to make Nian Gao, aka New years cake and that triggered the idea for me, too. It helped that for once I had the ingredients on hand. I did another baked version this year, though someday I will try the steamed version. The recipe I tried was an individual cake recipe, so I used a muffin pan. I didn’t get the brown chewy crust like it should have. They were okay, not great, possibly due to the changes in pan. Steamed next time. For reals.

For comparison here is last year’s cake.

Slow cooker diaries: Morrocan Chicken

Posted on February 10, 2014 by chatty

I’ve made this one before, and even made the comment that it wouldn’t take much to Paleo-ize the recipe. And so, here it is:

Morrocan Chicken

chopped red pepper
red onion
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (more or less) tomato paste
1.5-2 lbs chicken thighs
raisins
Cauliflower florets
1-2 tsp cumin seeds (I mashed them with my mortar and pestle first. How awesome is it that I am using our mortar and pestle)
Pinch of paprika
Almond nut butter

Combine them all but almond butter with chicken on top in your slow cooker. I start with a half the tomato paste, then add the second half later on in the cooking process. I like my sauce/gravy thick. Cooked on high for the first hour, then low for 5 – 6 hours. Instant thermometer read 180 degrees before I decided it was ready. At that point I swirled in a big fat tbsp of almond butter.

Husband served it to little one with delicious, fresh, wonderful Parpadelle noodles that I did without. Mmmm … noodles.

So, this was my dress rehearsal to my Whole30 experiment. I bought myself a “last-supper” piece of chocolate to enjoy as my swan song … which I forgot to eat last night. Grrr.

Recipe adapted from NYMSCC.

Hello, #Whole30

Posted on February 10, 2014 by chatty

Friend at work is doing the Whole30, but for 90 days, so I guess I should call it the Whole90. Since she’s suffering through it like a champ, I thought I’d join her for a bit (but not, like 90 days). I had enough celebratory doughnuts and cake throughout the NFL playoffs to make myself feel pretty blech. You see, with each Seahawks win, we decided we shouldd have cake. And, well you know how that ended! Go Hawks! Let’s not forget (several) birthday cake(s), candies, chocolates and the like. It’s time to get back into business.

This is lunch from Day One: Lamb burger (no bun) from the work cafeteria.

Lamb Burger, hold the bun

When I asked for no bun, the short-order cook just shrugged his shoulders and sent me on my way, with my patty. When I got up to the cashier and told her “Lamb Burger” she looked at my plate and charged me for “Protein Only” (per the cash register reader). So, ordering the patty without the bun is not a big deal at the work cafeteria, I guess. I called this meal the “Smita-Special” as she is the one who recommended it (of course she was enjoying homemade Indian food from her mom instead of the special. Lucky). The best part, is that I saved $1.20 simply for not having a bun. Suh-weet.

A surprisingly delicious choice. I usually just grab a boring salad from the bar. This, plus an apple cost me about as much as a good-sized salad with tasteless grilled chicken. And watered down balsamic vinaigrette. So, let’s call this a win.

One more thing about this Whole30 thing … I’m not new to Paleo-eating as my readers know (all five of you). But W30 is a whole new ball game. No banana/egg/nut butter pancakes? No crazy muffin concoctions? No Larabars, or homemade larabars, or any sweet delicacy that mimics chocolate using dates and cocoa? No fake ice cream? REALLY?

This is why I will feel lucky if I can make it through the Whole7. Whole14, maybe. Gotta start somewhere.

Brinner

Posted on January 4, 2014 by chatty

Over Christmas break I was nominated for Mom of the Year when I put a plate of salad in front of the kiddo and told her to pretend she was a bunny. Eat up! Surprisingly she ate the deli turkey and carrots. Not one of my better dinners. In my defense I didn’t expect her to eat much since we had gone to Five Guys earlier that day.
Not going to repeat that anytime soon. Today we stopped at Whole Foods nod picked up a yam, sausages (chicken, mild Italian & ginger/soy/pineapple) and a kid-picked yogurt. Husband had some pancake batter already in the fridge. You know where this is going … BRINNER!!

The ginger soy was interesting, not kid-approved. A curiosity experiment, wasn’t interested in the breakfast sausage option.
Even dessert was breakfast themed. I used the rest of the pumpkin purée to make pumpkin oatmeal muffin. As you might recall I had considered more pumpkin pancakes, but since we already had regular pancake batter ready, that seemed silly. So glad I changed my mind. This recipe, which I halved to account for the amount of purée I had, contains no oil, no butter. Out of the oven they were moist.

Hopefully they are still good tomorrow. If the husband has left us any.

Slow cooker diaries, the last entry of 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by chatty

I’ve been itching for some good ol’ fashioned pasta with meat sauce. What was once a weekly staple has become something reserved for a special occasion. Now, when I do pasta for dinner, it’s got to be an event, something like New Year’s Eve!

To start, olives, marinated mushrooms, duck pate and crackers. Classy.

I made a small batch of an Italian red sauce, using ground lamb, onion, carrot & mushrooms. Fresh parpadelle is the only way I roll these days. On the side, oven-roasted broccoli with panko breadcrumbs and parm-reg shavings.

A nice glass of Cabernet-Sauvignon, an enjoyable, quiet meal with the husband and child.

For dessert the family shared a slice of chocolate pie and pumpkin pie. Stylin!

It’s been an indulgent December for me. More bread, grains, sweets and sugar than anyone deserves. Mmmmmm. Come January, back to reality. But it’s been a swell ride.

HNY!

Man, I looove Thanksgiving

Posted on November 28, 2013 by chatty

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Yesterday was devoted to baking. Today was about friends and family. It started with what has become the annual “More Pie Please” thanksgiving morning workout. Back at the boathouse, which is looking good these days. After the warm up, there was a 5×5 lifting portion where I did Push-ups and Bulgarian Split Squats. Next was the following:

The “length” was pushing the the prowler sled the length of the boathouse with 50# loaded on it. The prowler, always a part of this thanksgiving workout. The 10-1 means 10-9-8-7 etc. a classic Thanksgiving special, if you ask me.

At home to keep the kiddo busy we practiced a little baseball with the kids bat & ball set she got her dad for his birthday (yes, you read that right). After that, we did some races up and down the block. Let me just say, for a nearly five year old, this kid can run. I hope I did enough exercise to justify the overindulgence I planned to partake in.

Finally… Time to head for the the husband’s fam for the great gorge that never get old, year after year.

Have I ever tried persimmon? Well now I have.

First helping. Of all things, I forgot to take a pic of dessert, and it was plated so nicely, with fresh whipped cream and everything. There’s always a leftovers pic.

I’m not going to lie. A little part of me is grateful to not have to clean up after such a fantastic feast.

This year, I find myself thankful that I’m in a position to have a day like today, spent with friends and family. That I have co-workers that make it bearable on the hard days, and make it a joy on the good days. That my friends and family are healthy, getting healthier, that my daughter has an amazing school that cares for her, that friends, old and new are creating a great support system. My parents and sibling are far in distance but not far from my thoughts. And now the gushy part is done with. Happy.

Chatty Cha

dessert first

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