Trying new recipes

I have been house bound with a small case of bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. In my impromptu house vacation I have taken up quite a few hobbies- my love for Pinterest has only grown and I have completed an endless amount of crafts including some crayon art, wedding gifts, doodles and I've tried my hand at some more baking.

Baked goods aren't really something that I've missed moving to paleo; however, they are the one thing that seem to be the most difficult to get even close to right. Every cookie, scone and cake that I had made in the past seemed to just suck all the moisture out of my mouth. Store bought paleo cookies are also not completely paleo and some of them do not taste very good. I've tried a ton of recipes and each time they do get better and better!

A not so successful recipe were these Paleo Lemon Blueberry Scones. I modified them to have a little bit of lavender I bought at the Spice Exchange downtown and the blueberries were from the secret farm Sweeny and I went picking. I used an almond flour blend, which I think was the mistake- they came out crumbly and were only good if eaten with an extra handful of blueberries and a giant cup of tea. My next challenge are muffins. Scones may have been a little ambitious. In the meantime, I have been trying some new breakfast items to master- pancakes, which used to be my least favorite.

Coconut pancakes, banana pancakes have been a pretty consistent staple for weekend breakfasts so I was in need of some variety. Today I tried a new recipe that I just made up for Pumpkin Almond Butter Pancakes. Definitely not mastered but it was a delicious start to something great. They were tough if I didn't eat them right away which means that I just need to adjust a little bit- if you can find a better way let me know in the comments below!

Pumpkin Almond Butter Pancakes

1 egg

2 scoops homemade Almond Butter

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)

1/2 cup of pumpkin pie mix (brown sugar, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and black pepper)- I have a mix from my mom but after research pumpkin mix is easy to make and there are tons of different ones online through Food Network, Pinterest, etc

2 tablespoons of ghee, coconut oil or grass fed butter

Mix all the ingredients together until you get the pancake batter consistency. Heat your pan with some coconut oil or olive oil and fry them up just like normal! Stack them together and top with some real maple syrup and some more butter. Maybe some cream mixed in will help keep them moist and some baking soda may help them fluff up a little bit. They were still really tasty.

Tip of the Day: Everything tastes good with butter. But everything in moderation so that's why I always put alternatives. For the most part they usually all work the same and are equally as tasty!

Lost track of the days on the bright side...

...a hide-a-way pick your own berry farm has been found! Sweeny and I took a drive around the island and found tons of little farms. It seems that most people will hit up the first two larger farms right when you enter the island; however, the drive around it actually quite nice.

Blue Bee Farm is a small family owned farm that has rows and rows of blueberry bushes, a small garden where they sell lettuce, they make their own raspberry jam, which is quite good and they even have bee hives for honey! BBF is unfortunately not certified organic but they do not use any pesticides or sprays on their plants. In comparison to the other larger farmers, the rows are more spaced out so you don't have to fight your way to the berries.

They were actually closed the day that Sweeny and I went, but the owner still allowed us to pick and gave us a solid background of their farm. Complete with a pair of large German Shepherds and a gaggle of kids snacking while they run through the rows of berries. We were able to pick a flat of blueberries and I bought some jam with promises of returning for beets and carrots this week. So if you're in the mood for some good company and yummy berries, this would be the place to find! I have two types of berries, Rekas and Gold something or others ready to be snacked on and baked into noms.

Tip of the Day: Sometimes the effort is worth it for something great. I don't like blueberries- I'd eat the Rekas all day long from this place.

Whole30 Day 6 and 7 Bulletproof Coffee

Fell behind. Actual Day 15

Caffeine is a must start to everyone's day. I am a tea drinker and have found some great local tea shops here in Ptown and I get the same kick. E loves his coffee and some mornings he doesn't have time to eat breakfast, which we have all established is the most important meal of the day!

I try not to skip breakfast since it is usually the only solid meal I get to enjoy cooking for myself. One "meal replacement"that people have talked about is bulletproof coffee. It's like a coffee smoothie to tide you to your next meal. The added good fats that get blended in the coffee provide that full feeling and your caffeine fix. I have yet to try it but it is paleo, not Whole30, approved with the right ingredients.

For 2 cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons grass fed butter (I use Kerrygold butter and cheeses), 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Warm a blender with warm water and put in all the ingredients, blend together and enjoy! There is also a higher quality coffee brand that you can buy that doesn't necessarily give you the side effects like jittery or the anxious feeling- always something more to look into before purchasing!

Tip of the Day: Always do your research and look into all the facts. Everything has its pros and cons.

Whole30 Day 4 and 5

Exercise is a part of a healthy diet, they go hand in hand. This past year I have suffered from a abductor  hallucis strain and kept trying to work out and run mostly because I didn't know what was wrong. After seeing a specialist I was given Correct Toes to help release pressure off the muscle, different exercises to help circulate the blood and was told to hold back on the running. Going to the gym was difficult because of the pressure on my feet and the pool was always packed- so I was off my feet for three months.

When I was given the okay to start running again, my feet no longer fit comfortably in my running shoes. So I am in the market looking into Altras or another wide toe shoe which typically can be a little spending. In the mean time, I am getting cabin fever just going for long walks and working on my 30 day challenges and have started taking up yoga classes- almost like a challenge from my mom and brother- and you don't have to wear shoes for yoga, it is a lot harder than it looks. My mom and brother are advanced and can do all these poses that I hope to achieve one day without twisting myself into a permanent pretzel. Their flexibility is my goal!

Yoga has helped me work on my flexibility, strengthen my feet and find inner peace in the quiet to decompress from a long day of work. For the most part everyone is in their own space and everyone is very nice. The instructors are helpful and flexible with everyone's ability. And if I can't get out and run this is just as relaxing.

Tip for the Day: keep moving! Exercise is your balance to a healthy diet.

Whole30 Day 3 Eating Out

Fogo de Chao- a chain Brazilian steak house, has come to Ptown. As a work perk, I was given the opportunity to check out this place aka eat to my hearts desire. Now, I have never been to one of these since it is a chain and when you have to pay for it yourself, it's kind of expensive.

E eats modified paleo, strictly no gluten, no sugars, limited fruits and nuts but he will still eat small amounts of dairy and legumes. Fogo de Chao is the mecca of meat so he said he would go with me and honestly neither one of us knew what to expect. We were in for quite a treat.

Fogo de Chao is a huge beautiful room on a downtown corner floor to ceiling windows. Upon entry there is a small bar and then steps that lead down to the ables and salad bar. We were sat at a table with a direct line of sight to the oven where all of the meats were being roasted and just on the other side of the salad bar. We were greeted by several people and offered our bottle of wine and explained how it all worked with our green and red tabs. And then I was all over the salad bar. charcuterie, palm hearts, marinated artichoke, beans of all different sorts and several actual salads- build your own Cesar, quinoa salads. One area that seemed to be neglected was the hot buffet where there were potatoes au gratin, baked beans and roasted vegetables.

After hitting up the salad bar, we sat down and flipped our tabs to green and meat on a stick just appeared out of no where- 17 different cuts, all but one flavored with simple salt and pepper and cut to order. Turn the tab to red to stop the bombardment of filets, ribs, lamb and enjoy some other tasty morsels. The Brazilian gluten free cheese bread (I have a recipe for when the Whole30 is over), fried plantains, polenta fries and garlic and paprika mash potatoes.

In short, eating out doesn't have to be difficult and restaurants will accommodate. Especially a place like this, it's a self controlled paleo's dream. I did not have self control and pretty much had to be rolled out but it was totally worth it.

Whole30 Day 2 Shopping for the Goods

Prepping and shopping for the best ingredients as mentioned before is helpful and we've talked about shopping in other posts. One of the most helpful shopping lists that I have found comes directly from the Whole30 website. They provide your staples for the pantry and condiments and a seasonal break down of vegetables and fruits.

Part of the Whole30 recommends that you eat grass fed, lean meats and go for the organic fruits and vegetables. Other sources have said organic fruits and vegetables aren't necessarily a must. I have found that either way I am eating more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis organic or not anyway now. I do however try and purchase produce from the local farmers market- gets me out and about and helps support our local business.

The grass fed meats are sometimes more difficult to find at an affordable price. One helpful hint that E shared- check out the Manager's Specials bin in the meat section. I used to think "oh gross the meat is expiring and they want to sell it to people!" I never used to buy in bulk or keep things in the freezer besides ice, booze and ice cream. Now I will stock up on meat and store my prepped vegetables and fruits for the week. Stores like Safeway put certain meats on sale 30-50% depending on their sell buy date and since grass fed meats are pretty pricy there seems to always be a plethora to put on sale. Our recent find are grass fed sliders in a pack of four 50% off...and my freezer is now stocked to the brim and are so easy to defrost and make.

Even though the sell buy date may be a few days away, freeze that stuff and use it for your meal planning! Or if you find some beautiful marbled steaks grill those babies up that night! My brunch meal today- sliders, with grilled onions and pulled pork, fried egg, avocado, caveman ketchup on green leaf lettuce, check out my Instagram @ridiculousday for a delicious looking picture.

Tip of the Day: check out that Manager's Special meat section, and if you're feeling lucky befriend the people behind the meat counter to find out when they rotate out the meats for those deals...

Whole30 Day 1

The first few days are usually typically a difficult adjustment, but the start to this Whole30 went more smoothly. This is probably due to the fact that I prepped much better than before. I slow roasted this pork shoulder for meals for the week, just basic salt, pepper and olive oil at 275 degrees for 4 hours, low and slow.

This was the delicious goodness that came out of the oven and made the house smell awesome, pull a part noms. I pulled the meat a part and let it soak in all the extra juices. My goal was to be able to make, tacos, lettuce wraps, scrambles and salads. Here's what I've created so far:

Pulled pork with green onions, topped with Stubb's BBQ sauce had so much flavor and was extra juicy. I miss the crunchy foods like tortilla chips so pair this with a crisp green leaf lettuce for some yummy wraps. My second pork meal a quick mix of sun-dried tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, garlic and my homemade taco seasoning with the pork was pretty tasty.

Tip for the Day: It pays to prep! Instead of a pork shoulder, roast a whole chicken for the same things or even make a delicious brisket- cut on cost and meal plan for the week!