Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a chewy chocolate chip cookie??? I know that I sure do! I have been craving cookies for about a week now and I thought that if I would just ignore the craving, it would go away. NOPE. It didn't happen. So, I decided to give in and make some. They turned out amazing! It was everything I had hoped for and more. I know, that sounded dramatic. You just wait until you try them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 + cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl , combine melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. Add the liquid ingredients to the almond flour mixture. Combine well.
3. Fold in chocolate chips
4. Take about 1 Tbsp of cookie batter, roll into a ball and place on cookie sheet lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper*. Continue until all the batter is used up. 
5. Press the cookie dough balls down until flat. The cookies will not spread or rise much (if any) so the size you make the cookies, is the size your cookie will turn out
6. Bake cookies for approx 8-12 minutes. Mine were perfect at 9 minutes. The cookies will not be completely done. They will still be really soft. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes - this allows the cooking process to continue and the cookies will firm up. 

This made a dozen cookies for me! *Lining the cookie sheet with 2 pieces of parchment paper will ensure that the bottom of the cookie doesn't burn.

Consume one and share the rest!! I do think that these are best right out of the oven if you eat them right after they have cooled for the 10 minutes. They still taste great the next day, but we all know that fresh, warm cookies are the best.

For other variations of cookies, use the exact same ingredients, minus the chocolate chips. Then add any mix-in's you'd like. I am going to try cranberries and walnuts next! And heck, I may leave the chocolate chip's in those cookies! I have done a Snickerdoodle variation. To make these, again leave out the chocolate chips, and in a separate bowl,  mix 1 Tbsp cinnamon with 1 Tbsp coconut crystals. Before placing the dough on your baking sheet, roll the cookie dough ball in the cinnamon crystal mixture. Then place on baking sheet and flatten - follow the remaining steps. 

Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chip cookies

Smoky Burgers with Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce

This is a recipe from the newest Paleo Cookbook on the block - Practical Paleo. I loved the flavor combinations more than I can tell you. I really hope you make these, and make them soon. I think Labor Day would be the perfect opportunity. I mean, American holidays do require burgers.

Ingredients:
Burgers-

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp black pepper

Sauce-

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chopped pineapple (I used canned)
• 1 Tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:
Burgers-

1. Let meat come to room temperature, then mix in all the spices listed under the Burgers section
2. Preheat grill, or skillet, to medium heat
3. Form your meat into 8 patties and set on plate while grill/skillet is heated
4. Once warm, place burgers on heat and cook approx 6 minutes on each side or until the burgers reach the level of doneness you desire
5. Once cooked through, let the burgers rest for 10 minutes before garnishing and adding the sauce

Sauce-

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients listed under the Sauce section, except for the sesame oil, and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until most of the water has cooked out
2. Place the cooked pineapple in a blender, and blend until smooth
3. Add sesame oil to blender and blend until well incorporated
4. Use the sauce to top the burgers

*Confession: I cooked and crumbled a couple pieces of bacon to add to the burgers

Dessert on a Spoon

The other night I was really craving something sweet, and preferably with chocolate. It was already getting a little bit late and I didn't want to dirty up the kitchen or make something that required any amount of effort or time. I didn't think I would get my craving met, because let's be honest, all those stipulations I just put on myself would make creating any dessert rather tricky. What I ended up with, was pure genius (only because I couldn't figure out why I hadn't thought of this before!) - although it can hardly be called a 'recipe'. It was the perfect quick, easy, non-messy, little bit of dessert that I desperately wanted.

Ingredients:

• Metal spoon
• Almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
• Enjoy life chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Get a large spoonful of almond butter out of the jar, using your spoon
2. Place spoon in freezer on top of a small piece of parchment paper. Leave for approx 8
3. While spoon is in freezer, melt a couple handful's of chocolate chips in microwave
4. Dip almond butter-spoon in to melted chocolate and coat evenly
5. Place the spoon with chocolate covered almond butter back in the freezer for approx 8 more minutes. The chocolate should be hardened when done
6. Remove spoon from freezer and eat the chocolate covered almond butter right off of the spoon!

Leeky Eggs

I tried something new this week - Leek! If you have never had a Leek, it has a very mild onion flavor. When the leek is cooked down, the mild flavor becomes even more mild. It made a wonderful base to my breakfast this week. I really liked the flavor combo, although I will tell you that Adam wasn't a huge fan. I will use it again, for sure, but will leave it out of Adams portion :) If you are looking to try something new, don't be afraid - give it a shot! I think you will be surprised.

Ingredients:

• 1 leek, green portion diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 5 strips of bacon (one for eating while the eggs cook)
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet.
2. In the same skillet, add the diced leek and bell pepper. Saute until leek is tender - consume 1 piece of bacon.
3. Create 4 small wells in the leek mixture and crack 1 egg into each well
4. Turn heat down to medium (if it is higher than that), cover, and let the eggs cook until done
5. Chop remaining bacon and garnish the eggs with it and a sprinkle of salt & pepper

Salmon Cake's

Tuesday night's are Adam's bible study nights. He isn't home for dinner, so if I cook anything, it is something really easy and a lot of times not very glamorous. This week was no exception on the 'easy' part, but luckily it did turn out a bit glamorous! I plated the salmon cakes on top of some baby spinach and garnished with dried cranberries and a piece of bacon I cooked separately. I then cooked some asparagus in the bacon fat and I used a light dressing of EVOO and lemon juice to compliment the salmon.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato, mashed
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 6oz cans of salmon
• 3 slices uncooked bacon, diced small
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• zest 1/2 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp almond flour
• salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Patty the salmon mixture - this made 9 patties for me.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat with some EVOO
3. Cook the patties for approx 3-4 minutes on each side. 
4. Enjoy!

A couple helpful hints: Wrap the sweet potato in plastic wrap and put it in the microwave for 7 minutes. You can then easily pull the skin away and remove the insides. Also, if you but the bacon in the freezer for about 10 minutes, this makes it much easier to dice the bacon.

Balsamic Steak with Garlic Zucchini

Quick and easy this recipe was! I am on a mission to get Adam to eat more veggies and so far I am doing a pretty good job (he even had asparagus for breakfast the other day!)! Here is a recipe for the meal I cooked recently and sure enough, Adam ate all his veggies :)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp EVOO, divided
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds london broil, or red meat of choice
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp EVOO over medium high. Add garlic and zucchini moons, season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute until zucchini is tender and starting to brown, approx 6 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2. Add remaining oil to the same skillet. Season meat with salt and pepper and cook until browned on all sides, approx 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil
3. Then, add balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to same skillet. Cook, stirring, until reduced by half, approx 2 minutes. Drizzle balsamic reduction over steak and serve.

 I also baked sweet potato chips for an additional side.

Cherry Ice Cream

Ice cream was a staple in my house growing up. My family would have ice cream for dessert at least 3 times a week, and I am pretty sure my parents still do. I am not going to sit here and pretend that I haven't had real ice cream since deciding to eat paleo - because that would be a huge, and total, lie. I LOVE ice cream. But now, since I have this paleofied version, I don't feel as guilty indulging in my guilty pleasure! And one more thing, don't worry if you don't have an ice cream maker. I don't.

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen, ripe bananas, cut up
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (chill a can of coconut milk, then scrape the cream off the top)

Instructions:

1. Place the bananas, cherries, vanilla, and coconut cream in a food processor
2. Process all the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until consistency of soft serve
3. Scoop the ice cream into chilled bowls and consume immediately.

This recipe will make a decent amount, so put the remainder in tuperware and stick it in the freezer to enjoy later! Next on my list of flavors to try is cinnamon peach, strawberry, and chocolate chip-something.

Creamy Spaghetti Squash

One of the first "new foods" I learned about when I first researched Paleo was spaghetti squash. I am sure you all know what it is....but on the off chance you don't....spaghetti squash is a variety of squash that, when cooked, a fork can be used to shred the squash into spaghetti-like strings. The spaghetti squash has a really mild (almost bland) flavor that is a noodle substitute for all of us paleo-folk. There are probably a thousand recipes for Paleo Spaghetti that uses this type of squash, and I think I have made 100 of them.
Each recipe has been fine...but that is the problem, they were just "fine". No spaghetti squash recipe has ever made me jump up and down. I decided that I needed to try something different with spaghetti squash. And I hit a gold mine with this recipe! This was the perfect side dish and was rich and creamy - a combination I have really missed! This recipe makes a ton, which was fine by me! I ate on it for days :)

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 6 strips of bacon (or more)
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half*, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a plate. Microwave for 10 minutes (this is much faster that 40 minutes in the oven!)
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Once bacon is crispy, remove the bacon from heat and set aside.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, whisk in the arrowroot powder to the bacon grease and let it cook for a few minutes.
4. While the arrowroot cooks and thickens, combine eggs, coconut milk, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt and garlic powder in a bowl until fully combined.
5. Pour egg mixture into skillet with arrowroot, stirring frequently, and cook eggs until cooked through, approx 3-5 minutes.
6. As the egg cooks, chop the cooked bacon.
7. Shred spaghetti squash with a fork to create "noodles" and add to large bowl. Add egg mixture to the bowl of noodles and mix to incorporate. Stir in bacon pieces
8. Enjoy as a side dish or even as breakfast!

Deconstructed Burger

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday started out with a partner WOD and Adam and I partnered together. It was awesome getting to WOD with him because we don't get to do that much, anymore. We used to WOD at the same class time at the 280 location, but since the downtown location opened, I have started going there. I really miss having that time in the gym with him so Saturday was kind of special for me :) After the WOD, ITF offered a yoga class so I stuck around for that. We were pretty much all beginners and quite frankly it was humorous at times!  I think everyone that stayed really enjoyed it and I hope that ITF will begin to offer yoga more regularly. My friends and I were pretty hungry after all of that so we went and grabbed brunch at Another Broken Egg. I stayed paleo for that meal, ordering a grilled chicken breast, bacon, 1 egg, and some guacamole. However, I did enjoy a mimosa!! Saturday is usually my cheat day and after brunch, I totally indulged in some good cheats.
A group of us met up at Avondale Brewery and had several of their amazing beers followed by a no-way-was-it-even-close-to-paleo meal at Cocina Superior. I think the only thing that was remotely paleo in that meal was the veggies......that were smothered in cheese and wrapped in a tortilla. But man, was it good! I am all about an epic cheat meal every now and then!
On Sunday I was quickly reminded why I don't cheat (to this extent) very often, as I felt so bloated, groggy, sick, etc all day. In true fashion, the only thing I wanted to "help" cure the dreaded HO was a big burger!! I at least had sense enough to not drive to Milo's and instead made this amazing burger. It hit the spot and it was 100% paleo. I also baked some basil sweet potato fries that really completed the meal.
So, here is to sticking to paleo this week and being aware of what we consume!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs ground beef*
• 4 Portobello mushroom caps
• 2 toma tomatoes, sliced
• lettuce
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
• EVOO

Instructions:

1. Form 4 hamburger patties from ground beef. *Whole Foods actually had some pre-pattied in the butcher section so that's what I bought. 
2. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3. In a skillet over medium high heat, cook the burgers for approx 6 minutes on each side, or until done
4. Meanwhile in a separate skillet, eat a little bit of EVOO over medium heat. Once hot, add the portobello caps and diced onion and let cook until onions are soft. I let mine cook for about 8 minutes
5. Once burgers are done, put lettuce on plate, then top with a burger, onions, mushroom, and tomato.
6. Enjoy!!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake

I know that I say this a lot, but this is the best paleo dessert that I have made. I have had many people confirm this truth, but I suppose there is always the chance they were just being nice. However, since I thought it was so good, I have made it 3 times in the past week. Don't worry, I didn't even have a bite of the second cake and only a (tiny) piece of the third. I made those cakes for friends. Although I can't promise that I didn't lick the batter clean off the spoon. And bowl  :) The first time I made this cake I used Ghee as my Fat of Choice. Ghee is not technically "paleo" since it is dairy, but it is clarified and has all of the milk proteins/casein removed. This is beneficial for those that have sensitivities to dairy. However, because I know that Ghee is a no-no to some, I decided to substitute it for a different FoC on the other cakes. I don't think that the texture or taste was altered significantly, so feel free to use which ever fat you would like. I think coconut oil would be a great choice, too! I used almond oil for the last 2 cakes and loved the extra hint of almond with the cherries. I also made some amazing paleo cherry ice cream (and I don't even have an ice cream maker!) that we ate along with the cake. Amazing!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup ghee (or use almond oil or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup, approx, of cherries, halved and pitted.*

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix almond flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl
3. Mix eggs, almond extract, ghee, and honey in a small bowl
4. Incorporate egg mixture in to flour mixture. Mix until well combined
5. Fold in chocolate chips
6. Spray bundt pan with coconut oil, or other non-stick spray. Place halved/pitted cherries cut side UP in bottom of pan.
7. Pour batter on top of cherries and place in oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake passes the toothpick test
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Then, place a plate over pan and flip the pan over to release the cake on the pan.
9. Slice and serve!

* I used approx 20 cherries, that I halved, minus a few halves that got consumed while mixing.

Ginger Sesame Beef

The flavor of this meal is to die for. I let the meat marinate for a few hours and it was so juicy and tender. I have always loved coconut aminos, but recently I have become obsessed with it. I somehow feel the need to incorporate it into every meal. The ingredients used in this recipe create an amazing Asian inspired dish.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs red meat of choice, sliced thin*
• 1/3 cup coconut aminos
• 1/6 cup water
• 1 Tbsp ginger (can use fresh or ground)
• 3 + cloves garlic, minced. The more garlic the better (I used 5)
• 1 tsp each of salt & pepper, cinnamon & cumin
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Thinly slice the meat. *I bought some meat from Whole Foods that was already sliced in the meat dept. They call it 'fajita beef'
2. Combine remaining ingredients in gallon sized zip lock bag, or large shallow dish. Add sliced beef and turn to coat all sides. 
3. Allow beef to marinate in the fridge for as long as you have time.
4. Once marinated, put beef in skillet over medium high heat. Cook for approx 4-6 minutes on each side, or until done to your preference

I served this over a bed of lettuce with sauteed bell peppers and onions. We also had a baked avocado to go along with it. 

Grilled Swordfish & Peach Avocado Salsa

I have once again found myself with peaches, galore! Last time I had an abundance I made this awesome chicken salad - which I also did this time around! Man, that stuff never gets old! My goal, this time around, was another simple recipe (surprise, surprise) and I found one on Juli's website, PaleOMG. This recipe included a fish that I had never had paired with a refreshing salsa! This salsa would be good on ANYTHING. I made enough of it so that I could enjoy the salsa right out of the container for a few days.

Ingredients:
For the swordfish marinade:

• 2 swordfish fillets
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• pinch of cayenne
• pinch of salt & pepper

For the salsa:

• 2 peaches, diced
• 1 avocado, halved and diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• Juice 1 lime
• salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Place all of the swordfish marinade ingredients, minus the swordfish, in a shallow bowl, mix together. Put swordfish in marinade, flip to coat both sides, then let swordfish marinade for 1-3 hours.
2. While swordfish is marinading, make the salsa by combining all salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate to chill.
3. Once the swordfish has marinated, place a skillet over medium heat. Cook swordfish for approx 5 minutes on each side. 
4. Plate swordfish and top with salsa. Enjoy! 

Blackened Ribeye

Adam offered to cook dinner one night and I happily agreed. Don't get me wrong, I love making dinner for us every night, but a break from the kitchen was really appealing. He came home with some beautiful Ribeye Steaks, carrots, asparagus and bacon!

Ingredients:

• 2 rib-eye's
• Magic Seasoning Blends, blackening steak magic

Instructions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat
2. Season the ribeye with the seasoning to your preference
3. Cook ribeye for approx 6 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. 

We also had Cumin Roasted Carrots and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.

It was a delicious meal, and it was also quick & easy. We have really enjoyed the blackening spice we found and have used it on all sorts of meat, not just steak. This particular brand can be found at Publix, WholeFoods, etc.

Eating Paleo Out

A lot of people think that eating paleo out at a restaurant is difficult. I am here to tell you that it is NOT! The biggest thing that you should know is that it is OK to ask your server how the food is prepared. Part of their job is to know this information - and if you don't like how it is prepared, ask them to cook it differently. A lot of times, for instance, restaurants will cook their veggies in tons of butter.You can simply ask the server to have them cook the veggies without butter. Restaurants are used to taking special requests all day. I used to be afraid to ask for changes, but I quickly got over that once I realized that no one ever cared! Of course, the easiest modification are basic substitutions. You can always ask for a double serving of veggies, or extra cucumbers on your salad, etc. I like to get extra cucumbers instead of croutons on my salads because the cucumbers still give me the crunch that croutons provide.

Recently Adam and I went to DoDiYo's and I had no problem at all eating Paleo. I ordered the chicken kabobs and it came with a salad, and two sides. I asked that my salad have no cheese/croutons and for my dressing I asked for some EVOO. I also asked that I have two sides of the steamed veggies.

Some of my favorite places to eat Paleo around town are.....
In no particular order....

• Village Tavern: they have awesome spaghetti squash, with some modifications and a few good salads
• Whole Foods
• Taco Mama: they have an entire section on their menu for "The Tribe and Workout Warriors" that is paleo
• Vino: think sauteed crab claws, tuna skewers, fresh fish, etc
• Flip Burger: you can get the burger lettuce wrapped
• Urban Standard: specifically breakfast
• Chick-Fil-A: grilled chicken tenders/nuggets and fruit. Or for breakfast, a side of scrambled eggs, grilled chicken patty and fruit
• Another Broken Egg: grilled chicken breast, side of eggs, baked bacon and guacamole

Additionally if you find yourself at one of these places here is an idea of what you can order:

Steakhouse - steak and veggies. EASY.

Mexican - salad with steak/chicken/shrimp or fajitas and ask them to hold the tortillas

Italian - grilled chicken breast, grilled onions and veggies

Burger joint - bunless burger with all the toppings. Guacamole or avocado if they have it!

The point of this is that eating Paleo is not difficult even when you are away from home. 

Baked Avocado

I am going to go ahead and apologize for two things. The first is that I did not measure anything while preparing this. That includes how long I baked the avocado. I am going to do my best in approximating the measurements/time, but as with all recipes, tweak to your liking, and always keep an eye on whatever is in the oven. The second thing I am going to apologize for is really two-fold. This avocado is hands-down the best thing ever. I am totally obsessed with it and will probably be spending all my money on avocados for the next few weeks. If you end up doing the same, well, I'm sorry. And because this is so good - I have to apologize to FIVE because my baked avocado is better (IMO). Not only is mine better, it is actually paleo, unlike FIVE's version. I'm not really sure why people think FIVE's baked avocado is paleo. I mean, since when has tons of cheese, butter, breadcrumbs, etc been paleo? Never. That's when.
As a validation of this deliciousness, Adam (who does not like avocado, guacamole, etc) LOVED this. I put half the avocado on his plate and he ate the whole thing!!!!!! If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, halved and seed removed
• 3 slices good quality bacon
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• handful of toasted almond slivers

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and once cooled, chop.
3. Using a spoon, remove the avocado meat from halved & seeded avocado. 
4. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the chopped bacon, avocado meat, chili powder, and lemon juice
5. Once combined spoon the avocado mixture back in to the avocado skins
6. Top with toasted almond slivers, or toasted nut of choice
7. Bake in preheated oven for approx 15 minutes

Amelia's Spicing Pecans

Every now and then I stumble upon a little gem. Case in point, these delicious spicing pecans. Adam and I actually bought some last summer at Pepper Place and LOVED them. We ran out pretty quick and honestly had forgotten about them until last weekend when we went back to Pepper Place. We spotted the booth and knew we had to buy them again. The man who own's it said they are starting to distribute to some local stores. The only one I can remember that he said was Earth Fare. He has other flavors such as coffee and chocolate, and another that I can't think of (not sure why I can't remember anything!!!); however, the Herb flavor is the only one with no sugar. SO if you are 'paleo' this is our only option. The other flavors are really good though! The chocolate flavor would be awesome sprinkled on ice cream, and I think the coffee flavor would be awesome crunched up as a crust on red meat.

I used the herb pecans this week on chicken. I think they would be really good on a mild fish, too. Maybe tilapia???

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken tenders
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 3 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2/3 cup herb spicing pecans, crushed

Instructions:

1. Combine honey and dijon mustard. Marinate chicken in honey/mustard mixture for a few hours in the fridge
2. Remove chicken from mixture and sprinkle crushed pecans on both sides
3. In a large non stick skillet, over medium heat, cook chicken for approx 6 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink