Greek Meatballs - featured recipe

How does greek meatballs sound for dinner?

This little gem is from our girl Sarah at Everyday Paleo. They sound amazing and look good enough to eat. I know you all ordered her cookbook, but here's a little something to try out in the meantime.

1 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons minced chives

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 egg, room temp

1 tablespoon dried mint (I used fresh)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 tespoons cumin

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8-10 dried apricots, chopped

8 (or a many as you want) kalamata olives, chopped

Mix all the above ingredients and form into meatballs (I made about 1-2in meatballs). Place on a cooling rack which is on a baking sheet so that they brown all the way around. Bake at 450 about 15 mins, depending on size.

Makes approximately 15 meatballs. Serves 3-4.

simple vinaigrette's - featured recipe

These tasty dressings come to us from a cute blog I found called Jen's Gone Paleo.

She is a fun crossfitter in Oregon who shares a lot of simple yummy eats.

Here is 2 of her recipes for some simple vinaigrette's...enjoy

Mixed Herb Vinaigrette
Serves 1
1 T. Red Wine Vinegar (for a more Greek-style salad) or Lemon Juice (for a more bright, citrusy flavor)
1 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 T. Mixed Herbs (Italian Parsley, Dill, Thyme, and Oregano...and Mint, if you're feeling really wild)
Pinch of Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Whisk all ingredients together in the bottom of your serving bowl.

1. Top with greens (I use spinach, romaine, or mixed greens with this vinaigrette).
2. Toss when ready to serve.

I make a salad using the following ingredients:

Mixed Greens

Cucumber

Tomato
Bell Peppers
Feta (if you're doing dairy)

Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 1

1 T. Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinegar
1 T. EVOO or Walnut Oil
Pinch of Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Whisk all ingredients together in the bottom of your serving bowl.

1. Top with greens (I use arugula with this vinaigrette).
2. Toss when ready to serve.

I make a salad using the following ingredients:

Arugula
Pears (shaved to replicate Parmesan)
Walnuts or Pumpkin Seeds
Dried Cherries (look for sour cherries, without sugar or oil)
Blue Cheese (if you're doing dairy...this one is incredible!)

Paleo Apple and Pear Crumble

Here's another great recipe from Larry at scrawnyWOD
(linda said she'd like a few sweet treats for June)
 Paleo Apple and Pear Crumble

1 cup almond meal (Trader Joe's)
1 cup coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup coconut butter (melted)

1/4 cup honey (melted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large apples (2 granny smith, 2 red delicious) and 2 medium bartlett pears, peeled, cored, then chopped in half

Preheat the oven to 350.

 

Grease a 9x13 baking dish with about a tablespoon of coconut oil, and evenly distribute the chopped apples and pears. If you really like cinnamon, add a dusting to the chopped fruit, stir it up and add a second dusting.

 

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix together. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly by hand.

Spoon the crumble mixture over top of the fruit to cover it.

 

Cover the baking dish in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve warm with a scoop (or two, or three) of Purely Decadent Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream.

Paleo Breakfast Casserole - Featured Recipe

Today's recipe comes from Larry at scrawnyWOD he's a Level 1 CrossFit certified trainer and a certified holistic health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. He lives just outside of Philadelphia, PA with his wife Kara. I have recently discovered his blog and have found some pretty great info and recipes...I'll share a few with you that I'm dying to try, let me know what you guys think.

Paleo Breakfast Casserole

24 eggs
8 strips of cooked bacon cut into small pieces
2 full strips of cooked bacon (set aside)

½ red onion (diced)
1 large yellow squash (chopped)
2 small or 1 large zucchini (chopped)
2 cups of frozen chopped spinach
1 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 350. Whisk all of the eggs together in a large bowl. Add the chopped veggies, bacon and spices. Stir everything together. Thoroughly grease the entire 9x13 baking dish (sides too) with coconut oil. Add the egg mixture to the baking dish and evenly distribute it throughout. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the center has set and is firm. Crumble the remaining two pieces of bacon. Once it is finished baking, remove from the oven and sprinkle the bacon on top.

Nicole's Story 90 day transformation!

you have to check out my girl, Nicole. She entered a weight loss/health competition and was gracious enough to share her story with all of us. She made this difference in 3 months. So in her own words...my inspiring friend Nicole.

before

after

My weight loss goals were to lose 20 pounds by losing body fat and getting stronger through exercise. I was successful in my weight loss goal and exceeded it by 10% (I lost 22 pounds, and now 2 weeks later I've lost another 4 pounds!)! My total body fat was 24.2% which was lower than what I hoped I could accomplish (a total fat loss of 7.2% body fat!).
I wanted to exercise 3-5 times a week and I accomplished this goal (other than the one week I got sick).

I also wanted to get stronger, to gain muscle instead of lose it.

I have to say that my first day of working out with Cross-Fit kicked my butt and I was sore for days!!! But I came back because I wanted to lose weight and I wanted to be healthier and stronger. I know that cardio and weight training are both necessary for a healthy body, but I never knew you cold combine them quite like Cross-Fit knows how to! I love that I am stronger (some recent numbers after four months at three days a week with some home adjusted WOD's of Cross-Fit: 60 lb. shoulder press, 90 lb. back squat, 185 lb. deadlift), but I am mostly excited about how it makes me feel (yes that sounds girly, but I am a girl). Some days I come to exercise and I am in one bad mood. Do a workout and throw that bad mood goodbye (thank heavens - thus I am a HAPPIER mom!!!!!). I started off pretty weak and out of shape. As I have watched my progress in the little things I have found joy and excitement in them. Little things such as getting my squats lower and doing a handstand, or being able to do five full push-ups on my toes shows just some of my little successes. All this progression has really built my confidence in myself, which is something I wasn't anticipating. I still have a long way to go, but I KNOW now that I can and will do it and be super strong! 

I also have to say that working out with the Anderson's where they have created such a positive atmosphere where there is constant encouragement by them and the others I work out with has made a huge difference in accomplishing workouts and how I think all-together. I also see the power in working out with others to encourage you on and to help push you more than you would have pushed yourself otherwise. It's also nice to have a little healthy competition. 

I remember that there was one WOD where we had to run 200 meters and then do burpees, all five or six times. I remember after the first round I was in such a bad mood that I considered quitting right there and driving home. I kept debating with myself yes or no. I finally just said stop debating and DO. So I got down and did more burpees and finished the workout. That was the best thing I have done! Never quit! Keep going until you get it done. Quitting only sets you up for more failure. Now that can be used simply for just Cross-Fit or it can be used in every day life. That's what I love about Cross-Fit, it's not only exercise, but a change of how you think about all sorts of things!

Measurements: Beginning (1/09/12) End (5/01/12)

Age 32                     33

Weight 170 lbs        148 lbs

BMI 24.39               21.23

Body Fat 31.4%      24.2%

Left Bicep 11.5"     10.25"

Right Bicep 11.75" 10.25"

Waist 32.5"             29"

Hip 41.5"                37.75"

A lot has changed in little ways that others may not notice, but I have. I eat healthier and think about what I eat, whether it be choosing to indulge in that brownie or adding more vegetables to my dinner plate. I eat and enjoy vegetables and fruits many times a day. My meal sizes are smaller. I have learned that you can have a really large, satisfying 212 calorie salad instead of a fully loaded 700 calorie meal of meat, potatoes, and a small side of veggies. I have learned to look for yummy vegetable recipes so that I eat more vegetables. I eat healthy and still have those decadent meals of lasagna with salad and garlic toast every once in a while (I've also learned to have less lasagna and toast and more salad!). I found that I loved eating small meals and snacks ever 2-3 hours because I wasn't getting hungry. I realized that sometimes to eat healthy you may have to take a little more time to make a tuna salad than simply throwing together a PBJ sandwich and that a bag of veggies are a great snack on the run. I learned to curb my emotional eating by finding smaller or healthier alternatives to sweets (a dozen dark chocolate chips was just as satisfying as two chocolate chip cookies or that chia chocolate cereal is a healthy treat). I have taken time to educate myself about foods such as chia seeds and amaranth, that raw cashews may not be the healthiest snack in the world, and why I still want and should eat whole grains when some friends were encouraging me not to eat them to lose weight. I have learned that some foods just aren't satisfying so don't eat them. I exercise three times a week and I feel so much happier and less emotional when I do. Even better has been seeing my children eat more vegetables because they see me eating them. I know that the habits of eating well and exercising combined with the use of Slim & Sassy all contributed greatly to my success and I couldn't have done it nearly as well without all of them. I am grateful for exercise, healthy eating, and Slim & Sassy because they all helped me have more energy and a desire to be more active. They all have helped me become happier. They all have helped me develop greater confidence because I have learned that I can do more than I first believed I could. Thank You!

killing the fatman 8

the cronicle continues...