Italian Salad

Lately, I've been trying to increase the amount of veggies we eat.  It would seem that when you eat paleo, you would eat a lot of veggies.  However, it's pretty easy to eat just protein for breakfast and just one vegetable with lunch and dinner.  Our little dudes aren't usually begging for more veggies and they usually snack on fruit and maybe some nuts.

So, in an effort to get more veggies into our bodies, I've started eating salads again.  This may sound like a funny statement, but I think it's pretty easy to get burned out on salads.  I have a love/hate relationship with them.  We had so much lettuce in our CSA last summer that it's been a while since I actually made salad at home.

But, the drought is over.  I have been eating a big salad most nights after the kids go to bed -- and I've actually been enjoying them!  This particular salad is inspired by a salad that my friend Michelle would make that was based on the Italian B.M.T. sub at Subway.  Not that salad has a gender, but this one seems a little more manly than some.

Ingredients: Lettuce, olives, italian sausage, peppers, onions and italian dressing*.  I usually add some sunflower seeds for a little crunch.  And if I could find some decent pepperoni, I would add that too.  And maybe some bacon.

*I use this recipe for italian dressing.  It tastes just like Good Seasons (in fact, I mix it up in Good Seasons carafe).  I always have some made up and it works great as a marinade or dressing.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

This past week, we ended up with about 8-10 pounds of tomatoes in our CSA basket.  I've made salad a couple of times this past week, but I'm quickly running out of ideas to use these guys up before they go bad.  So...I decided to make and can some pizza sauce to use throughout the year.  I generally can applesauce and peaches each year, but I've never canned tomatoes before.  Lucky for me, I have a copy of Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving!  If you don't have a canning book, check out pickyourown.org, which has a TON of how to stuff on canning.

Now guys, canning is not hard.  It's SO easy.  I taught myself a few years ago and if you can boil water, you can do it.  For fruits, you just need a basic water bath canner (which basically means you seal the jars in boiling water).  Basically, you make your sauce, fill some jars, put them in the boiling water, walk away and come back 35 minutes later and you're done!  This pizza sauce is totally paleo and we always make our applesauce paleo as well--just apples and that's it!  When I do that later this fall, I'll post more of a how to for those who are interested.

Here's what I started with -- a mixture of a few different kinds of tomatoes.  I'm not sure exactly what kind I've got here, but the sauce ended up tasted great.

Our finished project!  It may only be six jars, but that should last us most of the year, as we only have pizza once or twice a month and we'll only use half a jar each time.  And the only ingredients are tomatoes, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. 

Paleo Granola

Granola is a staple in our house.  It can serve as a meal, a snack or even a dessert.  And it is definitely a must if you have kiddos around.   Jack (5yo) would eat this everyday if he could.  We've just recently given it to Sam (18mo) and he couldn't even be bothered to try to use a spoon to eat it with -- he just started using his sticky little fingers.  Most often, we serve it on top of home canned applesauce, peaches, or pears.  It could also be eaten with just a little almond milk or coconut milk.  Or maybe make some kind of smoothie and top it with this.  We also love it with fried apples and coconut ice cream.  Basically, it's good on top of anything.  It's versatile enough that you could switch up the spices (nutmeg? cloves?), nuts (walnuts? pecans?) and even add some dried fruit too.  Have fun experimenting!

Paleo Granola

10 cups nuts (we use sliced and slivered almonds most of the time)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.  Spread onto parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet or baking dish with edges.  Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Paleo Graham Crackers

This is a recipe that I came up with one day while trying to think of more kid friendly snacks to have around our house.  I did a little research on graham cracker recipes and adapted from there and they turned out pretty good.  Our boys LOVED them.  Our littlest dude (18mo) scarfed these down and kept asking for more.  (He doesn't talk much, but he knows how to sign and say "more".  Kid doesn't mess around when it comes to food!) 

Since I went with a fairly typical graham cracker recipe, there is a bit more work than just mixing it up and tossing it in the oven.  Okay, well not that much really, just some chilling time in the fridge.  I tried several different variations of shapes, chilling times, baking times, etc.  It seems to me the only really important thing is the baking time, which will probably vary a little depending on the oven.  So, as usual, just play around with it and see what works for you.

Paleo Graham Crackers

3 1/2 cups almond meal (almond flour would work as well)
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
7 Tbsp coconut oil (chilled)
2 Tbsp vanilla
5 Tbsp coconut milk
1/2 cup honey

Combine almond meal, baking soda, and cinnamon in bowl or food processor.  Add in coconut oil and combine until you reach a coarse meal.  In a separate bowl, whisk together vanilla, coconut milk and honey.  Add to the almond meal mixture and combine well.

Drop dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a ball or rectangle (it will be pretty sticky) and wrap completely.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until firm.

Now, there are a couple of ways that you can do this next part.  I found that the first way worked best for me, but the second worked as well.

1. Once dough is firm, roll out about a quarter of the dough onto parchment paper or a silpat mat (I use one of these all the time and love it).  It will be sticky, so you you may use a piece of parchment paper on top while you roll.  When your dough is about 1/4 inch thick, cut with a pizza cutter into squares.
2. Roll the dough into ping pong size balls and flatten into circles.  Place on baking sheet.
**You can also use cookie cutters (roll the dough onto the parchment paper first), but the dough is pretty sticky and hard to pull up around the shapes.  I tried it, but ditched it pretty quick.  A lot of work for something that was probably not going to be appreciated by my hungry boys.  I might consider doing it for a party or something though.

Okay, once you've got everything on the baking sheets, bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes, until slightly brown.  I know that's a big range, but it really will depend on your oven and the shape you make.  Watch the first batch and then you will have a good idea of what works best for you.  Also, if you've been working with your dough very long, you'll want to chill what you have on your cookie sheet before you bake them.

Cool completely.  When you first take them out of the oven, they may be a little soft, but they should firm up once they've had a chance to cool.  Store in an airtight container. 

A couple of quick and easy dinners

One thing that I've learned since we started eating Paleo almost a year and a half ago is that it's really easy to go over budget each month in the grocery department. Since we are at the store every couple of days buying fresh stuff (most often bananas for the little guy), it's easy to see some great stuff and get inspired to make something. However, we always have meat in the freezer (namely beef because we buy 1/4 cow or more each year), so we can easily cook that up with some veggies and call it good. No need to get fancy.

So, as the month came to an end last week, we challenged ourselves to "make it work" as Tim Gunn would say. (Please don't judge me by my Project Runway reference...) In addition to beef, we had chicken, bacon, and a ton of eggs, so we were set as far as protein goes. After we set aside money for bananas, we had a little less than $10 left for veggies for the week. Granted, we also still had some random veggies in the fridge too (beets, snap peas, chard, a couple of small zucchini and a few peppers). We ate a lot of "breakfast for dinner" in addition to breakfast for breakfast. But, we like eggs, so it really wasn't all that bad.

Okay, all that to say, it is possible to eat Paleo and not break the budget. It also means that not all of your meals have to be gourmet. Basic works. As long as you have meat, veggies and some good fat, you're set. An added bonus is that these basic meals take a lot less time to put together and aside from defrosting the meat, they require no planning ahead.


This was just a basic steak and sweet potato fries dinner. I marinated the steaks the night before in a little fresh grated ginger that we had laying around, along with a some coconut aminos. For the fries, I followed Nom Nom Paleo's basic recipe.

For this meal, we sauteed some snap peas in coconut oil and grilled up some chicken thighs with a Tuscan Spice Rub that my sister made for Brandon as a gift -- great gift idea, huh? Super good rub too. I would recommend making a big batch of the spice rub to have on hand. It's great for quick dinners.

Tuscan Spice Rub (slightly adapted from Eating Well)

1 Tbsp fennel seeds
6 Tbsp dried basil
3 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sea salt
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried oregano

And this meal consisted of grilling up some meatball kebabs. The meatballs were a mixture of Italian sausage and ground beef and we just stuck them on some skewers with peppers and onions. I can't remember now what we paired it with, but it's pretty safe to say that we just roasted some broccoli. Pretty simple stuff!

Fish Taco Salad

This was a super quick and easy meal that turned out fabulous. As our 5 year old says, "This one's a keeper, for sure!". So, it has the kid seal of approval too. We used some Alaskan Cod pieces that we picked up at Trader Joe's, which I snagged because it was cheaper than the fillets. The pieces are all different sizes, but for this recipe, it doesn't make a difference. We served the cod with some leftover Avocado Coleslaw and the results were great. Definitely our favorite meal of the week.

For the seasoning on the fish, we used some homemade taco seasoning, which I would highly recommend making and having on hand. It's fast and easy to put together and it lasts a while. Here's the mixture that we make and keep in our spice cupboard:

Taco Seasoning (from Heavenly Homemakers)

1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon sea salt

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake!

Fish Taco Salad

1 pound cod pieces*
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
Avocado Coleslaw

Pat fish dry and place in a medium mixing bowl with taco seasoning. Toss to coat. In large skillet, heat oil, then add fish. Cook 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Serve on top of Avocado Coleslaw.

*I would recommend 1/2 pound of fish per person. Or more. Just increase the other ingredients as needed if you are making more than one pound. You may even go closer to 3/4 pound per person. All we had was one pound, so that's what we made due with, but we'll be picking up two packages next time!

Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is one of those things that you can easily buy at the store, but I've found that, in a Paleo kitchen, the ingredients are usually around, so why not just make it yourself? You really aren't going to find a much easier thing to make and I can't tell you how handy it is to have a bunch of little ice cubes of stock that I can pull out of the freezer and throw in a recipe.

Chicken Stock

Whole chicken carcass or bones
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into one inch chunks
1/2 onion, cut into one inch pieces
2-3 stalks celery, cut into one inch pieces
1 Tbsp peppercorns
water

*check out the notes at the end of this post for some helpful hints on how to make this from leftovers in your kitchen, so it ends up virtually being free!


Instructions:

In large soup pot, place all ingredients and fill pot with water. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about an hour. Let cool.

Once cooled, strain through a colander and ladle into ice cube trays. Freeze and then place cubes into ziploc bag. Take out one or two or more when needed.

*A few notes...
-For the chicken carcass/bones, I have used anything from the remains of a home roasted chicken to a rotisserie chicken purchased from the grocery store to leftover thigh bones. Anything will do. When we have chicken for dinner, I just throw the bones in a ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer until I'm ready to make stock.
-For the veggies, I usually use whatever we have on hand. Last time around, we had some leeks in our CSA basket, so I threw those in. I also keep a bag in the freezer for random bits of veggies that we don't usually use (ends of carrots, broccoli stalks, etc.) that work great for stock.
-Our soup pot usually fills about 7 ice cube trays, which we have laying around from when our kiddos were little and I used them to portion and freeze baby food. You can snag them at the Dollar Store for pretty cheap (like, a dollar maybe? :)). Otherwise, you can use jars or small ziploc bags with pre-portioned amounts.